Chapter 262 - A Mild Spring Day

Chapter 262: Chapter 259: A Mild Spring DayWhen he saw another cycle of sunlight, Su Ming’an reined in the rampant emotions on his face, and his gaze gradually became sharp.

Bird feathers fell to the ground before him, he swiftly turned around, and with an outstretched hand, before Mo Yan had time to speak, he unleashed a spatial vibration—

Bright red numbers sprung forth.

However, this number didn’t seem as ideal as last time.

...It was a miss.

Amongst the shaking vision, the golden Invincible Light Shield instantly rose.

This time, Mizushima Haru didn’t have the chance to escape, she had to activate the Invincible Light Shield, otherwise Su Ming’an’s next strike could have taken her life.

"You—"

She cried out in horror, utterly unable to comprehend how she had been exposed.

"Say your last words," Su Ming’an said, "you still have time."

Held in his hand, new light was ready to be unleashed.

From the moment he took down Mizushima Haru, Su Ming’an knew this was another bad save, and Dong Xue was bound to die.

But it didn’t matter, he also needed some bad saves to gather some extra information.

...It didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered.

He still had countless chances to try again.

"Su Ming’an, don’t think you’ve won—" Mizushima Haru immediately raised her hand, the ruby pendant on Dong Xue’s neck began to flicker: "Don’t think about forcibly removing the pendant, with just a ’snap’, and she will go ’boom’, just like fireworks!"

Mizushima Haru, with a threatening grin, seemed to think she was still in the winning position.

Although she hadn’t driven Su Ming’an’s sanity to an extremely low point, even if Dong Xue died and the instance reset, he might not go mad, but she still thought she had a chance.

...Just using some verbal tactics to drive the opponent mad would do.

Having infiltrated for so many years, she had thought of countless schemes and still had a backup plan.

Su Ming’an smiled, his face showing none of the panic she had anticipated.

"Mizushima Haru, let’s have a duel," he said.

Mizushima Haru was stunned.

"Swoosh!"

The next moment, a shield instantly rose.

Even though Su Ming’an’s High Tower Invitation skill hadn’t been upgraded to forcibly pull someone into a duel, because of his save this time, Mizushima Haru hadn’t seen through his combat style, which made her forget to refuse.

The duel was set, and the shield rose.

Like a slowly rising high tower, it shimmered with light, completely enveloping the two of them.

Mizushima Haru lost her immediate chance to detonate Dong Xue’s pendant.

"What? Trying to trap me with this?" Mizushima Haru said.

"No, I was just wondering, what are you relying on to detonate Dong Xue’s pendant?" Su Ming’an smiled and produced the Sword of Yarman in his hand.

"Heh, beg me," Mizushima Haru sneered disdainfully, "...if you could kneel before me here, like in the Fifth World, beg me, then I might spare you."

"Should I also offer myself up like you did back then?"

At the mention of that, shame and annoyance instantly appeared on Mizushima Haru’s face.

She instantly thought of that moment when she had stripped, throwing away all her dignity.

But she still held back her anger, refraining from attacking first.

The Invincible Light Shield was dissipating, and Su Ming’an did not attack.

"What, not killing me, are you afraid?" Mizushima Haru said, "Because you’re afraid that if you kill me, Dong Xue will immediately die?"

"...No, I’m thinking," Su Ming’an said, "how stupid someone must be to make the kind of decision you made."

Mizushima Haru clenched her teeth.

"However, I think I’ve figured it out, more or less," he said.

Mizushima Haru’s behavior might not have been entirely of her own volition.

Currently, it seemed clear that humanity would soon clear the game, as the progress on the collective progress bar was very promising.

And rather than keeping him, an unstable element, alive further into the game, taking up more and more influence, those in the upper echelons would prefer to replace him earlier.

...He couldn’t earn the trust of these high-level figures, and that was an eternal issue.

Because he had no "leverage".

And no matter in which world, a person without any leverage or ties is extremely terrifying.

—No family, no apparent friends, no lovers, and this world held no interests to attract him either.

Strength, status, identity—all were at the very peak. Those people could offer nothing to buy him over.

And from the perspective of righteousness, his thoughts and his actions also made it impossible for others to accept him.

The intentional care of the organizers only made him the center of suspicion.

Therefore, in the eyes of most people, his position was actually not that important—because he could be replaced by a more stable entity.

...They didn’t know what he was chasing, didn’t know his desires.

So, they thought it was normal that they weren’t suitable.

Everyone has their perspective.

"Have you figured it out, what?" Mizushima Haru spoke up, "Su Ming’an, you’re always so secretive—I didn’t need to criticize you, and I don’t have the authority to judge your stand from outside my role—but I think, you should be clear-headed."

"Who is the one not being clear-headed?" Su Ming’an said, "When most of the people become madmen, can those remaining few still be considered ’normal’?"

"..." Mizushima Haru frowned, "Don’t think you understand everything, Su Ming’an. I understand this world much better than you. Do you really think you’re a Savior? Who gave you your righteous indignation and your spirit of sacrifice? Did you give those to yourself?"

"...Because no one wants to be left with only an unfortunate ending waiting for us."

"I don’t believe in your so-called ending." Mizushima Haru said, "You hesitated when you answered, you’re afraid—you yourself aren’t even firm in your belief."

"My intentions are very clear, they’re written on the notebooks of those Lighthouse Group folks from the World Forum, recorded in my past livestreams.

...Your doubt is due to your blindly growing self-confidence.

Mizushima Haru—and you know almost nothing about what I’ve done."

As Su Ming’an spoke, a light shone from his hand.

He no longer wanted to speak with her much.

At that moment, Mizushima Haru cracked a smile.

Facing the threat of death, she smiled like a madwoman:

"Su Ming’an, seeing how confident you are, I regret to inform you that Dong Xue’s pendant is timed. Even if you kill me now... within four minutes—she’ll go ’boom’ and be completely obliterated, a bloody mess."

"Oh, that’s quite long," Su Ming’an responded flatly.

Su Ming’an hadn’t expected her to set the timer so long this time.

Mizushima Haru clenched her fingers tightly.

She felt a sense of panic as things slipped out of control.

But no matter how she thought about it, she didn’t see any chance for Dong Xue to survive.

...Unless the opponent was confident, able to remain calm throughout the reset simulation.

"...Su Ming’an, do you think you still have a chance?" she opened her mouth.

Su Ming’an smiled and looked back at her:

"Mizushima Haru, do you think you still have a chance?"

He smiled, ignoring her growing sense of panic, his hand glowing brightly.

Before Dong Xue, it was Mizushima Haru who burst open first, her frail body seeming to take more damage, her body blending like crushed bean paste, the scene was exceedingly bloody.

Zhuang Guo, who was terrified, cried out.

And Su Ming’an reached out his hand again.

His hand, pointing at Mo Yan.

"Come here," he said.

"Here I am, big brother," Mo Yan immediately moved, walking to his side.

Su Ming’an’s hand slowly moved.

Then, gently, he placed it on the temple of Mo Yan.

From beginning to end, Mo Yan just looked at him. Although his body was tense, Mo Yan did not step back.

Su Ming’an withdrew his hand.

"...Thank you," he said.

In every save, Mo Yan was the most trustworthy presence.

He was someone who would never harm him. Sёarᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Mo Yan looked at him somewhat bewildered.

Then, Su Ming’an slowly shifted his gaze.

Suddenly, he saw someone standing outside the far fence, gazing over here.

...In previous rounds, he had never noticed that area, so he had not discovered that someone was there.

He blinked and then immediately teleported, blinking continuously as he swiftly approached the other side.

As he neared that brilliant golden flowerbed and saw the person standing beyond the deep blue fence, he saw her hair fluttering in the wind.

She tilted her head, looking at him with a gaze that was gentle and pure.

He was incredibly familiar with such a look.

"I originally thought you weren’t in this instance," Su Ming’an chuckled.

She was too far away from him and stood so off to the side, if he hadn’t been sharp-eyed, he probably would have unconsciously ignored her.

After counting numerous deaths, seeing a familiar face brought an unmatched sense of security.

It was like a wandering traveler who, upon seeing familiar homeland, also feels the pleasure of homeward emotions.

In her hand, she held a flower basket, and her skirt was stained with petals as if she had just happened by.

"I can’t get close to White Sand Paradise." She spoke softly, "My identity is that of a city dweller here for a picnic, and I will be heading back soon."

"Can you take Dong Xue to the city?"

"Yes, that’s also part of my mission. As long as there are players who seek my help, I can offer assistance," Yuanyuan smiled slightly. "But my appearance here is very limited, you actually found me."

"Alright, I’ll remember that."

"Do you need help now?"

"Not for the moment."

"Shall I go back then?"

"Yes, go back."

Su Ming’an watched her turn around, his eyes following her figure as it disappeared into the wind before he raised his hand.

No matter what, he would not wish to commit suicide in front of her.

... At least he’d wait until she turned around.

The erasure commenced.

"Boom—!"

The bodies of Suzune and Zhuang Guo were simultaneously torn to shreds; Su Ming’an’s face was expressionless, his hand’s glow flashing intermittently.

"Big brother, what are you doing..." Mo Yan spoke up quietly from the side.

"I’ve thought it over, better not to bring extra people along," said Su Ming’an. "Take Dong Xue out of here, let’s go."

To avoid suspicion that he was targeting Suzune deliberately, he killed Zhuang Guo, a fellow student, as sparing only Dong Xue.

This save was the best one for him, one where he needed to finish flawlessly.

His demeanor at that moment was utterly normal, vastly different from his previously extremely arrogant air.

... He was always adept at adjusting himself in extremely difficult situations.

When he looked up, he pretended to glance nonchalantly towards the blue fence.

... Unexpectedly, Yuanyuan’s figure was not beyond the fence.

How could that be.

He was stunned for a moment before realizing something.

He closed his eyes, conserving his limited energy, no longer pondering on that point.

This save was to continue on the previous Escape Line, talk to Xia Luoyang, then talk to Dong Xue.

He had always been on the right path, and if it hadn’t been for Suzune’s disruption earlier, he would have made it through much sooner.

He was now feeling emotions on the brink of collapse, the sense of crisis becoming more apparent.

That previous death in the rain had already nearly broken him, only, the presence of Mo Yan and Yuanyuan had barely pulled him back.

People like them were like a beam of light on the edge of a cliff, always able to pull him back from the brink of despair.

There is always beauty in the world.

He continued the previous line.

He went to the nearby building, talked to Xia Luoyang, killed him, and searched his body for a lighter and matches.

He entered the password for the safe, retrieved the car keys and map, and went to the security room.

He handed the stun gun to Dong Xue, went out, got in the car, and drove towards the bridge.

... And cut down all the white monsters that rushed at him one by one.

He stepped into the cave.

The fire danced in front of him, blurring in his eyes into a ring of orange light.

He coughed softly, facing the girl in front of him, "...Admitting your own ordinariness is not something shameful. That’s exactly what we need...cough, we need..."

The girl, her eyes bright and clear, looked at him, a teardrop hanging on her eyelash like a butterfly poised to fly.

"We need the freedom to choose our own way of life..."

He said, and suddenly his body leaned forward sharply.

He paused, then quickly raised his hand and braced himself on the ground, forcibly shifting his body so he didn’t face-plant into the fire.

With a "thud," he fell next to the dancing flames, the bright colors clinging to his left cheek, the somewhat hot temperature transmitting little by little through the air.

Exhaustion surged like a tide.

When people are happy, their brains secrete neuromodulators, making even the most fatigued person seem radiant. But when the excitement fades, the previously ignored fatigue instantly gains the upper hand.

Frequent resets had gradually caused his perception of time to become distorted.

After relaxing, his body suddenly felt as if it weren’t his own anymore.

He lay on the ground, feeling the warmth of the flames and listening to the rain, his eyelids becoming impossibly heavy.

He felt something soft brush against his cheek; Dong Xue’s hair was falling, she was getting close to him.

"...Xia Luoyang, are you tired?" she asked.

Without the ultimate answer being revealed, Dong Xue still seemed as innocent as an ungrown child.

She had not yet approached breaking point.

"So, you get tired too," she said.

She had thought that Xia Luoyang was capable of anything.

"Previously, when I couldn’t sleep, Xia Luoyang would always hum songs to comfort me," she said. "Like you comforted me before, let me sing for you today."

He heard a rustling noise; his head was gently lifted, and she stuffed some hay underneath it.

...Sleep?

He thought for a while.

Now, in the final phase, Mizushima Haru was dead, and Dong Xue here wouldn’t run away. If he slept here, it likely wouldn’t affect the final outcome.

After all, Dong Xue and Mo Yan... they would absolutely not harm him.

He indeed needed to rest.

Otherwise, even basic combat would become problematic.

He blinked his eyes, then closed them.

Then, he began to hear her gentle humming.

"A witch wanders the castle."

"Guided by a dark star..."

Surprisingly, what he heard was not a gentle lullaby but a particularly lively song.

Yet, in Dong Xue’s soft voice, the sharp lyrics sounded gentle as well.

...To think that in front of the whole world, he was being lulled to sleep by a girl.

"The moment the King saw her, he stared at her without blinking."

"Of course, she wouldn’t miss the opportunity."

"With a flick of her finger, she touched the King’s heart."

"...That’s what she needed for her potion."

He closed his eyes.

The sound of the rain grew louder around him.

It seemed he could see, in his dim vision, the intricate white sands under the dark blue sky.

He felt as if he could hear many rhythms, hearing the rise and fall of emotion in her singing tones.

Sometimes, he wasn’t strategizing these NPCs.

...But rather, he was listening to the whispers between their souls.

"Dear witch, oh dear witch, you are full of tricks,"

"Now mix yourself a potion to drink because,"

"You need to become a bit smarter,"

"—The King has fallen for you."

Dong Xue kept singing, her voice low and tender, singing very gently, seemingly a natural at comforting others.

Yet she herself was also a child desperately in need of comfort.