Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Chapter 171: "You Are the LighthouseSu Ming’an didn’t speak.

He didn’t know if these words truly came from Dan Shuang’s heart, or if they were manipulative suggestions intended to make him stay with the Revolutionary Army. However, he had to admit, she was clever, and her words indeed attracted him.

But he didn’t view things as black or white, just because the Regular Army wanted to kill him, and the Revolutionary Army wanted to save him, that he had decided to stay, and that was it.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of grass rustling, then he felt his hand being abruptly grasped by the other.

"After the coming-of-age ceremony ends, after the war is over... we will still need you." Dan Shuang’s tone was very soft: "After everything is over, can you continue to work with me and spread your achievements? You are an indispensable presence in this world, our hope and future... I hope you can stay, guide us, and become the new leader of the Revolutionary Army..."

Su Ming’an suddenly heard a system notification:

...Here it comes again.

In the Second World, he had been tempted to stay in White City and become an Observer. Now, at this crucial juncture of impending great war, another such offer arises?

Each invitation always came with unparalleled temptations. The Second World tempted him to become the ruler of White City, commanding an army of androids, and this time it was even more exceptional, attempting to tempt him to become the leader of the entire magical world.

He looked at Dan Shuang, the young girl’s eyes were very bright.

Her eyes now, completely different from usual, shone with a fleeting light, like spanning a bridge across a sky full of stars, and with each blink of her eyelids, it was as if the whole long river was flowing.

Such earnestness and seemingly pouring everything into it, was beautiful.

Perhaps she herself did not realize what her words implied, but the expectations within them were too obvious.

He recognized that look, the same as Hui Shuhang before.... They both saw him as the future of the world, believing he was more precious and more important than their own lives.

Their eyes, just like those of the Light Pursuers in his dreams. More resolute than Lv Shu, longer-lasting than Yuanyuan. He too was saving all the people of this world, albeit as part of his missions.

He suddenly remembered the look in the eyes of those Players he had killed before—they looked at him as if he were an enemy of a lifetime, as if he were a sinner of the entire world.

Audiences with unclear stances, indulging in pleasures, pontificating from on high as though commenting on a realm beneath them, reaping benefits as if dealing with entertainment broadcasters.

Girls claiming to be Light Pursuers, misconstruing his few words.

Self-righteous Number One Players, indifferent to the hopes of others vested in their Equipment, going down in mindless brawls in the Main God Space, dying worthlessly.

It seemed his thoughts had never been understood from the beginning, and his unrequited wish to redeem Zhai Xing also approached collapse after the rules of the Main God Space were changed.

He had read the world forums, he had seen the discussions about him.

People said, he had gone mad long ago.

Apart from perfectly completing the instance missions, his actions and behaviors were completely discordant with those of a normal person.

This was only the fifth instance.

There were still more than ten months to go.

He placed his hand on Dan Shuang’s hand and then began to gently uncurl her fingers.

"I..." he was just about to speak when he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps coming from behind.

"—Over here!"

"Found them, found them!"

Dan Shuang’s expression changed, she quickly got up, the Black Blade swept in an arc, pointing in that direction.

Bursting from the side of the hillside were players not dressed in Revolutionary Army uniforms. Perhaps, they had some stealth props which allowed them to dash from the patrol lines of the Revolutionary Army without being detected by others.

Their gazes were fixed on Su Ming’an with unmistakable excitement.

The barrage had anticipated this scene; they often saw such players suddenly pouncing because Su Ming’an’s identity had long been exposed, and even Revolutionary Army imposters would suddenly attack him.

Faced with this scenario, the audience was not the least bit panicked, as they had long accepted the axiom that "Su Ming’an could not possibly fail."

"Back off!"

In Dan Shuang’s hands, Black Blade flashed a chilling light, her expression icy as if she could strike at any moment.

Su Ming’an stepped out from behind her, his body already faintly surrounded by spatial white light.

... He did not intend to let these people go.

About ten thousand other players in this world, since they were aligned with him, were destined to become his stepping stones. Previously, it was alright not finding players, but now that these people had actively delivered themselves, he saw no reason to let them escape.

During this time, his combat power had skyrocketed significantly, and his hidden occupation had also begun to take effect. As his attributes gradually stacked up, the damage he could inflict would be destructive.

He approached these five players.

The sword was already in his hand as he looked at the group, his gaze indifferent.

Strangely, although his stance to engage was clear, the five people in front of him still hadn’t drawn their swords and continued to stare at him fervently.

"Lighthouse, Lighthouse Ann!"

The sudden cry made him flinch.

The young man of East Asian descent at the center of the five-person team looked at him, his fists clenched tight, eyes bright, appearing like a starstruck young girl.

His address also caused the previously tumultuous barrage that cried, "Take them down!" to momentarily stagnate.

"Lighthouse Ann, we’ve come to give you points!"

The five-person team was straightforward.

Before Su Ming’an could respond, the young man began speaking rapidly:

"Lighthouse Ann, we all saw the channel chat, someone reported your location, probably many people are heading here now... Someone said you were grabbing points, right? I guess you must be short of points..."

Next to him, a pretty-looking girl flicked her hair: "Uh... We five have been adventuring since the Third World, we still have a lot of useful things, thinking you might need them, we just hit it off and came over..."

"Number One Player, don’t strike just yet, listen to us, we really came to give you points, no tricks or schemes... This world has us totally confused, we have no idea what to do, feel like even if we survive, we won’t earn any points, completely clueless, scared of dying in ignorance. Hearing that the Number One Player was matched up with us, we immediately ran over..."

These people seemed to fear his hostility, explaining everything from the beginning in detail, stating their intentions and the process they had followed to come here.

Su Ming’an looked at them somewhat stunned.

The sword he had slightly raised earlier was now slightly lowered.

... Goodwill.

This concept, which seemed particularly foreign after the start of the world game, was gradually unfolding before him.

From their words, he discerned a single meaning.

—They were trying their hardest to show him goodwill.

"We are minor administrators of the world forum’s super chat, not sure if you ever look at it..." a stocky fat man wearing multiple layers of armor scratched his head, "We really don’t dare to enter the fray, so we just keep watching your livestreams; right now, the most prominent topic in the super chat is about suggestions for your skill equipment settings, which we took great effort in making... We hope it could be of at least a little help to you..."

"We just thought of visiting the legendary Otherworld, look around and then take off, but unexpectedly we actually got matched in the same world as you... Just right, we were carrying props that suit you..."

The group continued speaking.

Su Ming’an blinked and suddenly asked, "Props suitable for me?"

The chubby man, who had been chattering away, suddenly got a response, his round face quivering fiercely as he hurriedly fumbled several props out of his backpack, hands shaking as he displayed them one by one as if offering treasures:

"Lighthouse Ann, look, this is a one-time use spatial teleportation prop, you always like running into the most dangerous places, with this, should you find yourself in trouble, you’ll at least have a way out... and this one!"

In his chubby palm lay several small red bottles, glowing bright blood-red:

"Mentality Recovery Potion! Although it sounds mystical, it really works, at... at least the sleep is effective. We noticed you always seem tired, so we specifically asked a pharmacist to create this. And..."

Between his fingers, he held several small stones, akin to pebbles:

"These are Equipment Repair Stones, expensive and consume a lot, you always fight a lot, definitely need these. If these items get to you, they should save you quite a few points..."

He introduced each item one by one, enumerating them like family treasures, his demeanor full of excitement, like a little child proudly showing off his toys.

But Su Ming’an understood the meaning in his words.

...These people, it seemed from the beginning, had been prepared to meet him, everything on them very helpful to him at this moment.

"We heard about that crazy girl Su Style’s house explosion incident, and have been thinking ever since, even someone like her managed to luckily meet you in the instance world, why couldn’t we? So we have been preparing..."

"Just to meet me one day." Su Ming’an took up his words.

The chubby man paused, then spread into a sunflower-like smile.

"Right," he said with a beaming smile, the props in his hand shining like gemstones, "— it was all for the day we could meet you."

"Why?"

"Because we like."

Su Ming’an’s vision blurred a little.

He was somewhat puzzled.

So... there really are people who, just for a "like," would give up all their prospects, just for a single meeting, prepared from the Main God Space all the way... up to sacrificing all of themselves?

This is the struggle of all humanity, where Points determine everyone’s ranking after the game.

He, for his own future, had harvested so many people’s futures, because he was the direct beneficiary, he couldn’t stand on a moral high ground, thinking himself entirely innocent.

The overly pathological behavior of Su Style, the gloomy transformation of Yu Ruohuo, Lv Shu’s mad suicidal attacks, all told him— in such a mechanistic world, liking and admiration became "abnormal," because everyone was already "abnormal." Even the Light Pursuers, they were just chasing him for various reasons, not purely out of emotion.

Thus, making all concepts "abnormal" gradually became normal.

But now,

he saw in these people’s eyes the true name called "like," a diamond-like precious pure emotion, abandoning everything.

These people spilled everything they carried, then smiled as they waved to him.

"— Goodbye Lighthouse Ann!"

"You must win! Show those guys from Edward a thing or two!"

"Number One Player, we only respect you, no one else!"

"Don’t mind what those silly people say, we all support you"

"— Su Ming’an, you are the Lighthouse!"

"If we meet again, we will still come to bring you warmth!"

"Hehe, gotta run, the Revolutionary Army is closing in..."

The five laughing people, dressed in worn novice cloth outfits, waved their hands, gradually disappearing over the hill.

The breeze blowing through their colorful clothes seemed like fluttering banners in the early morning light.

Su Ming’an stood still, watching them gradually leave.

He was thinking.

As he received these props, putting them one by one into his backpack, he was constantly on alert.

...Would trading Points reveal his Number?

By interacting with these people, could they have left him with any curse marks?

Were there any sort of forced contracts among the props that could take effect during the Point trade?

Getting close to him and gaining his Favorability, what advantage could it bring these people in their following strategy?

And... if this recorded segment gets out, could these people benefit? Could they be under some organization’s instructions to appease him?

He thought of many possibilities that could disadvantage him, repeatedly going over the process of this exchange.

But in the end, what was imprinted on his mind was just the twinkling eyes of these five people.

...It really was purely because of like.

The audience, in his eyes, has always been the least valuable existence, a group of people without a future. Apart from sending some meaningless bullet comments, shouting for someone to die, they were of no use. These people merely assumed his perspective, then lay in bed all day, daydreaming, waiting for all of humanity to reach the Points quota.

But now, these people told him, they too had once been failed audience members, and some other audience members who managed to create super-talk, allowed them to become Light Pursuers, truly able to help him.

He stood still, repeatedly contemplating his understanding of these three terms, his previously fixed concepts beginning to shift.

Borders began to disappear, concepts began to blend.

This sinking sensation pressing on his heart grew stronger, as if something was flowing away like quicksand.

The utterly overlapping yet distinctly chaotic sensation felt like another lifetime.

When Dan Shuang approached, draping a coat over him, he tightened his ice-cold hands, his breathing somewhat slowed.

"— Can you stay?" she asked, the warm breath in his ear as she bowed her head, her tone almost devout: "...the world needs you, everyone here needs you."

She seemed to automatically disregard the just-mentioned concepts of "Player," "Instance World" by that group of players, at that moment she didn’t seem like a real flesh and blood person, rather, she was much like a NPC issuing a quest invitation.

He reached out, slowly pushed the coat aside, then smiled, shutting off the live broadcast.

"Forget it," he said, "ruling this world isn’t as interesting as ruling yourself."

The panel began to crack.

The writing appeared in front of him, then gradually dispersed in the breeze.