Chapter 367 - 364·BE13·“New World”

Chapter 367: Chapter 364·BE13·“New World”From atop Yinke’s back, Su Ming’an saw the players below as tiny as ants, scattered like black dots across the streets and alleys of the island.

River channels crisscrossed, dividing this bloodstained land into neat squares.

He saw that holy church, covered in golden light.

At its peak, the glazed roof gleamed undiminished in the snow, a phantom golden bridge reaching upwards, connecting Pulaya with the Deity’s city in the sky.

Like a golden galaxy spanning the sky.

The blizzard faced him head-on. Su Ming’an bowed his head, burying his face in the raven’s feathers to avoid the overwhelming wind and snow.

Still wearing the Soul Hunt Suit, which felt rather thin, combined with a substantial loss of blood, he felt cold inside and out.

"...Su Ming’an," Noel’s voice came through the wind and snow, slowly reaching him from the side, "what do you think a god is?"

"Sorry, I’m in a bad mood right now," Su Ming’an said, burying his head in the still-warm feathers.

In the past, he would have discussed this topic with Noel, but now, he just felt exhausted.

Enduring the fatigue and resisting the cold while constantly thinking about the next step was indeed not a pleasant experience.

He didn’t respond, but Noel started speaking on his own.

"The current world, the human world, has already entered the era of information. They are adept at storing information, transforming information, sharing information... if there were no ’World Game,’ the enduring quantitative change would lead to qualitative change. Continuing this way, their technological achievements will get higher and higher..."

Besides information technology, their progress in biology is also noteworthy. Synthesizing real life forms, with flesh, blood, and thoughts, actually won’t be too far off.

"Humans... they can integrate information, unearth thoughts, and even, in the not-too-distant future, they can—create life."

Noel’s voice came through the wind and snow, sounding somewhat muffled.

"Su Ming’an, do you think such humans match our previous longing for ’Deity’?"

Su Ming’an huffed.

His frozen hands slightly regained warmth. He raised his head, looking at Cloud City, which was no longer far away.

They were already close in altitude to the city.

His heart started to beat faster, and his breathing turned more rapid, as the high altitude began to affect him.

"...Su Ming’an?"

Su Ming’an turned his head, "Noel, I don’t want to talk about these things right now."

He lifted his eyelids.

He locked eyes with a pair of ice-blue eyes.

Tiny blue scales grew beside Noel’s cheeks, his exceptionally clear, glass-like blue eyes silently watching him.

He could see the calm and indifference in Noel’s eyes.

"There are lightning and storms because of gods. The land yields grains and plants grow naturally because of gods—this is a long-held notion by the ignorant from ages past," said Noel.

Su Ming’an watched him.

He could see fine blood vessels intertwining at the base of the other’s eyes, like coagulated waves.

"...And ignorance has run through the entire history of mankind, including us now, who cannot escape the limitations of ’ignorance,’" Noel looked at him, "So, what could high dimensions be in our eyes? Are they invincible, mighty existences, or just opportunistic who happened to obtain authority and could be completely overthrown by us? Do you think deities could shuttle through endless timelines, and could humans also become such ’deities’?"

"Noel," Su Ming’an cut him off directly, "you’ve definitely encountered sea monsters; don’t say such things, let’s go down from the sky first."

Noel’s words were too dangerous.

Perhaps affected mentally, Noel was no longer able to stay calm and even said such words during a live broadcast to the entire world.

He wouldn’t let Noel become the next Mizushima Haru, targeted to death.

"—The journey has already started, and it will not return," Noel smiled as if he had received an answer.

At this moment, his tone was exceptionally passionate:

"—Su Ming’an, I will lead you to your ’New World’."

Even Su Ming’an did not understand the riddle Noel was playing at this moment.

Facing a match in riddles, he was somewhat unable to comprehend what the other was saying.

He watched Noel pull out a silver-white controller, watched Noel’s hand press upon it.

Snow fell on his fingertips.

"Su Ming’an."

At this moment, Noel’s voice suddenly became a bit choked. He turned his head, looking at Su Ming’an with an incredibly complex and hopeful expression:

"...I love all the people in this world."

Suddenly, Su Ming’an’s attention sharply shifted to another side, the perspective belonging to Shadow.

Archilev, his body wrapped in transparent threads, abruptly appeared among the Soul Hunters preparing to exit. His cane was already aimed at Shadow.

Su Ming’an immediately needed to warn Shadow.

"Bang!"

Blood flowers exploded within his field of view on the other side.

Phantom pain from being pierced filled his chest.

Noel somewhat stiffly put down the silk line controller in his hand.

"...You really came prepared." Su Ming’an endured the pain and spoke.

Shadow had died.

Killed by a sudden attack by Archilev.

And on Archilev’s body, Noel’s silk lines were still wrapped around.

Skill that could control Archilev... Su Ming’an didn’t believe current players had such a monstrous ability.

Either it was some kind of one-time, unique equipment, or Noel had utilized some special features within the instance.

Having used such hard-to-come-by equipment to control Archilev... Noel then chose to kill Shadow.

Su Ming’an did indeed intend to test Noel, and this situation really wasn’t too favorable for him. He needed a restart, so why not see if Noel would act before his death?

But he hadn’t expected that not only would Noel take action, but he would do so decisively.

Noel’s expression was a bit stiff.

He seemed to be brewing some emotion.

"Now you have no way out," Noel whispered, "or, you could choose to kill me here and then jump down. It doesn’t matter if you’re confident in calculating the distance for spatial displacement after falling from high altitude."

Su Ming’an didn’t pay him any heed.

His gaze was fixed in the direction of Yun Shang City, as if waiting to see something.

"Even after I’ve said so many strange things, you’re not the least bit nervous," Noel laughed from behind. "It seems my guess was correct."

Su Ming’an did not respond to Noel.

The crows were flying closer.

He could already vaguely see a corner of that airborne city.

It was a ground as white as white jade, without fallen snow; that city among the clouds was very beautiful, completely isolated from the stormy outside world.

Noel’s somewhat annoying voice continued behind him. It seemed the man had taken to talking to himself.

"...Su Ming’an, I probably will end my journey here, because I’ve learned from The Great Library that I am under the influence of the Sirens," Noel said. "This influence... I can’t resolve on my own. And if I want to save myself, there’s only one way..."

The outline of the City in the Clouds was becoming clearer.

Su Ming’an grasped the crow’s back feathers, inching forward little by little, using his hands and feet powerfully to gradually climb up its neck.

Noel’s voice floated from behind: "Do you see it? The appearance of that city above the sky."

Su Ming’an raised his eyes to look.

— It was an extremely beautiful cloud city... or rather, a cathedral.

Towers soaring into the clouds, a church dome glittering with golden light, crystal-clear gemstone steps.

Two armored figures wielding weapons guarded in front of that church, their bodies radiating golden radiance.

Beyond that, there was nothing else.

The beautiful church had no pedestrians around it, no so-called Pulaya residents of sixty years prior, not even a hint of the breath of life. Apart from the church, there was only a vast platform, not even the shadow of other buildings.

...This was just an uninhabited church, like a model.

There was not the slightest sign of human life, like a dead city.

"Is what you see of any help to you? After seeing the aspect of Yun Shang City, can you find a way to dispel the influence of the Sea Monsters?" Noel asked him, turning his head.

"...It’s a great help. As for the Sea Monsters, perhaps," Su Ming’an said.

"Then I am relieved," Noel showed a smile.

"You’re helping me?" Su Ming’an didn’t understand Noel’s seemingly contradictory series of actions.

"—Of course I’m helping you, aren’t we good teammates?" Noel responded somewhat innocently.

"Then why did you kill Shadow?" Su Ming’an turned around to confront him.

Noel smiled and said nothing, only reaching out his hand to touch Yinke’s head.

Yinke affectionately turned its head and nuzzled his palm.

Noel spoke as if he didn’t care about the current peril, his tone still light:

"Su Ming’an, I forgot to tell you, according to what I know, when ascended to high altitudes, an undispellable poison gas will appear around us. That is to say, once you saw Yun Shang City, there wasn’t much time left for your life."

Su Ming’an looked towards the status bar in the upper left corner.

Affected too deeply by dizziness, he had just realized that he had acquired a debuff called "Poison Gas."

"Is this your idea of ’help’?" Su Ming’an looked at Noel, "Your so-called help is to drag me to die with you, knowing that you were affected by the sea monsters and there’s no turning back?"

As he spoke these words, the pain in his chest still lingered.

The top right corner chat was going insane, the audience couldn’t believe that the world’s first and second were going to fall here, in a way that seemed like an absurd internal conflict.

It was just like a joke.

"Su Ming’an, although the outcome is death, this way, you’ve seen the true form of Yun Shang City, haven’t you?" Noel smiled.

"Then why did you kill Shadow?" Su Ming’an demanded.

Noel’s eyes suddenly softened: "Because it would make things easier for you."

"..." Su Ming’an’s voice trembled slightly, "Easier for what?"

"Su Ming’an." Noel’s hand caressed the crow’s head, his voice drifting through the snow:

"—What do you think, how killing Shadow would facilitate your actions?"

Noel’s question exploded in Su Ming’an’s ears like thunder.

In an instant, a flood of emotions filled his mind.

His eyes slightly widened, the prepared accusations suddenly stuck in his throat.

Killing Shadow, the only advantage for him was...

...it made it easier for him to quickly reset.

The snowstorm grew fiercer.

At that moment, he could hardly hear his own voice, as if a hand had fiercely grasped his heart.

And then, in front of him, the young boy sitting on the crow’s back, stood upright.

Laughing heartily, he opened his arms as if demanding an embrace from death and the snowstorm:

"—Go embrace your New World, Su Ming’an—go save that ignorant version of myself, Su Ming’an!" he laughed loudly, his laughter breaking free from the constraints of the snowstorm, scattering like the flying snow outwards.

Laughing, a faint choke came from his throat, sounding like the buzzing of a broken bellows.

...like an explorer who found a secret, like a navigator discovering a new world.

Drenched in blood, the fair-haired boy stood in the snow with an attitude fearless of death, opening his arms to the vast snowstorm and poison gas.

"—If my death can help you, if my death can make you trust me—then believe in me, save me, see me as your best companion, see me as a great explorer who gave his life for the unknown!"

Snow covered Noel’s increasingly frostbitten skin, as if draped in a robe of fluffy snow.

Laughing heartily, his outstretched hands slowly began to freeze, the long-hidden poison gas tainted his face, and the scales by the young boy’s face gradually began to shatter.

Within a primarily white field of vision, Su Ming’an saw the swatch of sunlight-like golden hair gradually turning snowy.

At that moment, the opponent’s gradually dimming gaze shone particularly brightly in his eyes.

"Boom!"

Noel’s hand pushed against his chest.

The second-ranked player, with a smile, parted his nearly transparent white lips.

His eyes carried the vivid, overt zeal of a zealot.

"Su Ming’an."

"...Go embrace your New World."

The loud proclamation, through the flurry of snow, pierced towards him.

The white sky, in front of Su Ming’an’s eyes, fell downwards.

Atop the giant crow, the gradually ice-sculpted figure still stood there, arms wide open, as if embracing an entire world.

The fierce snowstorm swept across Su Ming’an’s face, his eyes still filled with intense shock.

...World Rank No. 2.

This was World Rank No. 2.

He wasn’t some lucky small fry who got this far, nor was he just a young boy known for being cute and having fun in amusement parks.

...He was Noel.

The second in the entire world.

He had even figured out Su Ming’an’s death reset skill.

Even more, Noel had guessed that once they ascended to Yun Shang City, there would be no return.

He foresaw his own end, knowing that if he kept on this path, he would eventually be metamorphized by the remnants of the sea monsters’ influence; he had to save himself.

But at this moment, Su Ming’an deeply mistrusted him, if he just waited, he couldn’t assure that Su Ming’an would definitely save him later,

So,

so,

before facing the inevitably destined death,

he chose to "save himself."

A "self-rescue" based on the premise of "his own death."

He took Su Ming’an up into the sky, showed him the views of Cloud City—then forcefully made Su Ming’an truly trust him. He hoped that in the next reset, Su Ming’an would be able to save him.

He couldn’t even be sure whether Su Ming’an’s death would cause the kind of reset that would truly save him, or if it would only save a Noel from a parallel world.

But he did it anyway.

Because this is what it means to be an "Adventurer," a perpetual curiosity about the unknown.

Noel was the only person Su Ming’an had come across in his journey through time who even utilized his own death resets.

The shock of Noel’s actions replaced the panic of being discovered.

More snow piled on, like a downpour, sticking to Su Ming’an’s thoughts like glue as he fell.

White faded before his eyes, replaced by constantly shifting dark shadows, like a sprinkling of snowflakes.

In the moment of falling, Su Ming’an suddenly felt an unprecedented exhilaration.

Voyagers had once looked across to each other from their ships.

... and now they had finally seen their companions.

Whether high-dimensional beings had discovered them or not was aside, but if Noel had already noticed this,

... then had he already found another "Solitary Island"?

He suddenly burst out laughing.

In the rapid descent, he laughed out loud.

Intense dizziness and a stabbing pain assaulted his brain; at this moment, it felt like every cell in his body was roaring, a flame-like pain searing through him.

Yet he laughed heartily as if he felt no pain.

He remembered what Noel had said.

... Ignorant humans can’t easily create the unknown or glimpse the sky light like deities.

So, they learned to use everything they had, racked their brains, bent their bones, burned their lives, shattered their souls,

— and raised a flame of war to the heavens.

They are weak, ignorant, only possessing short lives and shallow visions, incapable of crossing the so-called timelines.

... yet, they could use everything "known" to calculate everything "unknown," to save a so-called "future."

If they cannot win yet, then they wait to venture again in the next reincarnation, if they still cannot see the sky light, then they pass the torch to the next.

Nobody is unaware of their despicable desires.

Yet the remaining nobility and faith allow this group of "Adventurers" to continue burning in the darkness.

Death will allow the successors to regain their dignity.

In their eyes,

there were millions of scars belonging to their brethren etched.

"Bang!"