Chapter 257 - -

Chapter 257: Chapter 254 - "Have you ever seen a star fall from the horizon?The resident singer randomly selected a live broadcast room, at least not to show the audience overly negative scenes.

The screen flickered, and what appeared was a live broadcast of a top player ranked within the top one thousand, a woman about thirty years old, who was standing by a desk, looking stunned with tears filling her eyes.

"I’m sorry, I was wrong, I’m sorry, I was wrong, I’m sorry..."

She kept repeating it, surrounded by people who were also repenting. Their regret almost converged into a river, and the negative emotions almost hit the viewers through the screen.

The resident singer frowned and switched the live broadcast room again.

Whispers came from the booth:

"Now that’s truly ridiculous. There must be many who’ve gone mad."

"It’s the truth serum again, and the real illusion realms, who would have thought White Sand Paradise would have such things."

"Many top players have been tricked, resulting in complete loss of face..."

"It’s not exactly a complete loss of face, it’s more like exposing their true thoughts."

"It’s said that with Lin Jiang’s death, human progress dropped by a full 1%... With such a significant impact, I really can’t pin my hopes on these people, there are too many hypocrites. I didn’t expect Dore to have such thoughts."

"Tsk, and what can you do if you don’t pin your hopes on them? Alke, do you dare to take the stage?"

"People have already begun speculating about the weight of even higher-ranked players."

"I’m afraid the strongest one might have as much as a 10% impact, you know which one I’m talking about. But what scares me more is that I think my guess might actually be true."

The girl in the mask yawned, listening to these words while she sipped her drink.

She was still holding a paintbrush, seemingly practicing quick sketches.

She just wanted to find a place to rest, but she could always hear about that person wherever she went.

Information related to the Number One Player was like a convergence of world lines; no matter what people were talking about or where they were chatting, they always ended up discussing something about him.

The girl in the mask listened and watched as the live broadcast on the screen switched.

Countless comments, in an instant, fluttered across the screen like snowflakes, almost completely covering the screen.

The girl swept her gaze and immediately saw a bunch of white comments in the live broadcast room:

The heat value in the top-right corner of the live-broadcast room started in the billions.

The girl heard a familiar voice coming from the LCD screen, that voice, it resonated in her soul like an echo, each word striking a chord.

...After all, that was her "deity."

Even though the deity had once ignored her at the United Group conference, disregarded her, she didn’t care, a deity should be just that, a deity, and as a "Light Pursuer," she shouldn’t expect the deity to respond to every one of His believers.

She listened to his voice, a smile unconsciously spreading across her face, satisfied.

Her "deity" was now sitting in a cave, the bright red fire was exceptionally dazzling in the dim cavern, and the flickering flames danced across his face, which wore an extremely tranquil expression.

He appeared to be speaking calmly or telling a story, his steady voice like water flowing smoothly, as if passing through the crackling fire, surging towards her.

"...There will always be special people in this world, but not me. I am merely on a journey to discover my own mediocrity," he said to the girl opposite the fire, his voice very gentle.

The girl named Dong Xue was also staring at him, her pitch-black eyes incredibly bright.

The firelight danced in her eyes, within them a feeling of reassurance and peace.

The "deity" in the screen continued, his tone very tranquil and approachable.

"...When you realize that you are no longer that special, that’s when you’ve grown up. Admitting you’re an average person, accepting your own mediocrity, it’s truly difficult, painful, frustrating— but that is the essential path of growth."

"The words of others’ praise can easily become a curse for a lifetime."

"Dong Xue, do not let these words dominate you, you are good enough."

The "deity" said, pausing briefly in his speech.

Outside the screen, the girl in the mask listened intently, as if to the words of a sacred text.

"—Miss Su, Mr. Anger is looking for you," came a calling voice from behind.

The girl with the mask, Su Ming’an, set down her glass of wine.

"I will only believe in one deity," she said. "I won’t listen to his preaching. Have him roll out. Don’t disturb me while I’m listening to the deity’s words."

Su Ming’an spoke and tapped her glass on the bar’s countertop, producing a crisp sound.

A young man dressed in a snow-white priest’s robe slowly walked in from outside the bar, pinching a white cross in his hand, seemingly muttering something.

The patrons nearby, upon seeing this scene, immediately stopped their conversation, raising their hands to start taking photos and recording.

"That’s Anger! The Dark Priest Anger!"

"A top leaderboard celebrity, record this, record this, if we post it on the forums it’ll probably blow up."

"...Damn, Anger, always controversial, last time at the United Group Human Self-Salvation meeting, he preached during the discussion, the scene was hilarious, I really have a vivid memory of it..."

"Seems like he’s spreading some nonsense, that guy is paranoid and stubborn, ready to pass judgment on whether a person is good or evil himself, murders without batting an eye, he’s seriously a madman..."

Listening to these people’s words, Anger’s smile remained unchanged, he simply walked forward slowly.

He had a pair of jade-green eyes, and even with a smile on his face, he exuded an inescapable air of melancholy.

"Anger?" Ming’an turned around.

The mask covering the upper part of her face concealed her features, preventing others from recognizing her as Ming’an.

Otherwise, this crowd of patrons would’ve probably fled by now, afraid of being blown up by her again.

"Aren’t you a top-ranked player? Didn’t you make an appearance in the Sixth World?" Su Ming’an asked.

"That is a world of extreme evil," Anger sighed softly. "I travel to other worlds merely to save those struggling on the brink of life and death, but such a world, just from the keyword, we know, is too despairing, and I am powerless to turn the tide."

"If you’re here to preach to me, you can leave," Su Ming’an said.

"However, Miss Ming’an, I believe that my thoughts are very similar to those of the Number One Player, but I do not understand why your attitude towards us is so vastly different."

Impatiently, Ming’an tapped her fingers on the table: "What do you understand? You’re nothing like them."

"The key lies in the ’Grading’, doesn’t it?" There was a hint of confusion in Anger’s green eyes. "Useless people should not be kept; they need to be ’Judged’. And those who should be saved, we should reach out to them, pull them from the fire. We must not repeat the same mistakes and need to understand that only blunt horror can awaken people, avoiding is not the solution, and people know almost nothing..."

"Anger, what exactly did you come here to do?"

"Miss Ming’an, it seems I cannot persuade you; you have already preemptively rejected my words." Anger appeared somewhat helpless as he kissed the cross between his fingers and then closed his eyes. "...So I want to say this to your deity."

Ming’an fell silent.

Anger raised his eyebrows, looking quite surprised: "As the most ’loyal’ Light Pursuer, you can’t even get in touch with your own deity, can you?"

Anger’s words stabbed into Ming’an’s heart like a knife; she clenched her teeth, somewhat irritated and embarrassed.

"Get out, get out!" she pointed towards the door, telling him to leave.

The people by the booth raised their hands, silently recording the scene.

"It is a pity," Anger said. "It seems my visit was in vain; you are not recognized by your deity."

"If you don’t leave now, I’ll have the boss throw you out," Ming’an said. "Just a priest who has only added Mentality Attributes, you will be powerless to fight back; you’ll regret it."

"Understood." Anger smiled slightly, apparently not angry at all.

He turned slowly, facing all those eyes that were shocked, curious, or investigative, and walked away at a leisurely pace just as he had come.

Ming’an’s fingers tapped the tabletop as she raised her gaze.

In the screen, her deity was gently persuading a "sheep in the rain."

His voice was soft and deep, filled with tenderness and patience she had never felt before.

She watched the scene with immense envy, her fingers slowly curling.

"Dong Xue. Have you ever seen stars falling from the sky? That is a scene you need to leave here to witness," Su Ming’an said softly: "You can’t stay here, repeating the old processes, you must eventually see new sceneries—you need to build a tower that belongs only to you."

Among the flickering flames, the girl with downcast eyelids gently parted her lips.

"...Then do I not deserve to dream?" Dong Xue said softly. "Yang Xia, I don’t want to grow up."

Su Ming’an slightly frowned; he lowered his head, not letting Dong Xue see his expression.

His mentality was already not in a good state, having to enter this strategy mode and continuously formulating his speech. Staring at the fire before him, he felt dizzy, and it took all his effort to speak and manage his expressions.

But he had no way back.

From the moment he entered the cave, found an excuse to send Mo Yan away, and began conversing with Dong Xue,

the most crucial part began.

A glowing panel was now floating in front of him, lingering persistently:

"Dong Xue, there were times in the past when I, too, would dream and fantasize, imagining that I was the protagonist of the world, that everyone revolved around me, that I alone was real in this world. I believed I was born to experience a life surrounded by NPCs," Su Ming’an organized his words. "Perhaps you can think the same, but first, you need to step out of this newbie village and face a bigger, broader world."

"But have you forgotten all that we’ve done together? I don’t want to leave," Dong Xue looked at him.

She seemed to fall into a very special emotion, her exceptionally clear eyes seemed to dance with flames, flickering as they vividly jumped when she gazed at him.

"Yang Xia, we... we’ve stepped on the golden autumn leaves together, heard that crisp sound... During winter days, I would throw snowballs onto the frozen lake surface, knock the icy leaves down, and you would look at me with a joyous smile... We walked by the Jiang Shui riverside under the sunset, ran together in the chilly night... Numerous times, I’ve turned to sketch your face, carefully contemplating your eyelashes... But you always told me that I needed to grow up," she spoke, her voice as light as a feather. "But I’ve never grown up; I don’t need to grow up. I’m special, and so are you. I would rather perish here than step out of this space."

Su Ming’an closed his eyes briefly.

Twisting lines spread towards him, he breathed deeply, faintly hearing the eerie singing of children.

He suppressed the twisted emotions in his heart, reopened his eyes, and revealed a gentle smile.

"Because growing up is realizing that point. Is it not okay to not be special?" he asked softly.

Dong Xue blinked in surprise.

"No one should have reasons to be far above others," Su Ming’an said.

"No, my parents do, they’ve always been above me," Dong Xue said. "At first, I wondered why they had children. But now I understand—it’s to continue their surname, to take over their property, to fulfill emotional needs. Only by being obedient do you get to eat candy, only what the teacher says is the right answer. Anything else is wrong, we aren’t encouraged to be creative."

"We are neither slaves nor deities," Su Ming’an said. "You should have had the chance to escape their shadow."

Dong Xue didn’t speak.

The firelight traced the lines of her face, the vibrant red danced in her eyes.

"The more you grow up, the more you learn to reconcile with your past self," Su Ming’an said:

"—Dong Xue, you can do what is within your power."

"Remember what you want to accomplish, who you want to become. No matter how distant or unsure, without trying, you’ll never know the outcome. Because you are aware of your own ordinariness, you must exert much more effort than those who are not ordinary to have a chance at success."

"And the greatest luck in one’s life is to discover their mission at the midpoint of their life, in their prime years."

"Suffering and time have forged us into who we are now."

"...If we give up just because hope seems too faint, does that mean we’re not even willing to confront our own ordinariness?"

He smiled, and his tone gradually became milder:

"...I would feel guilty."