Chapter 428 - -

Chapter 428: Chapter 425 - "The Legendary Deity"..."

Faced with Su Rin, who had little common knowledge about the modern world, Su Ming’an really wanted to leave.

In fact, this so-called cultural exhibition of the world wasn’t all that interesting to him either.

However, no sooner had he thought of leaving than this youth dressed in modern garb, with a hoodie, jeans, and sports shoes, appeared before him.

In just two days, this legendary "Deity," reappeared and was dressed in a manner that was quite up to date.

Su Ming’an had no idea which fashion guide Su Rin had referred to.

"There’s no shadow substitute; these people are impersonating me because they like me," Su Ming’an explained.

"I see," nodded Su Rin, seemingly understanding, "A shamanic ritual, is it?"

Su Ming’an: "?"

... How could Su Rin’s line of thought jump to such an extent?

"This is similar to the Hall of Light in Pulaya," said Su Rin, "where they recreate the achievements of past heroes or dress as godly attendants to gather and inspire the next generation of Knights and Soul Hunters... I’ve seen similar rituals held by the residents of Yun Shang City."

Su Ming’an: "..."

Su Ming’an: "Your interpretation works, I guess."

"That massive altar has quite a unique style too," observed Su Rin, looking towards the stage where "Number One Player and his Lighthouse Lover" were being performed, "Their dance is very ingenious, much more detailed than the dances in Pulaya... And their clothing material is quite special; it looks much better than what the residents wear, and it doesn’t seem like hemp..."

At that moment, the two performers on the stage were singing and responding to each other, progressing through the story to the scene where "Number One Player" and "Lighthouse" were fighting side by side in an instance.

As the stirring background music began, accompanied by the sound of blades and arms clashing, the performers playing the minions in the instance fell to the ground in coordination, creating a bizarre scene.

... It really did seem quite like a ritual.

Su Rin appeared to be observing seriously. His gaze swept over the host’s face at the edge of the stage, his tone inquisitive, "Using reenactments of the performers to harvest faith energy towards heroes, what a clever method. And... to have a Sound Transmission Gem for everyone, the material conditions do seem quite good. It seems the music isn’t played live; what principle is it based on? Remote sound transmission? Or energy mimicry..."

"And," he continued his observations, "all along the way here, there are many food items for sale that are complex to make yet not filling, truly an excessive luxury. Your world has developed so many kinds of edible products, yet most of them merely focus on appearance, fancy but insubstantial snacks...

Right, I saw a drink called ’milk tea’ that seems to be very popular. I noticed that almost every youngster had one. Does this liquid provide some boost to your bodily functions? Or can it quickly replenish a person’s daily consumption?

...And your age demographics. In a place supposed to be dominated by the middle-aged and elderly, I see mostly young people and children..."

It was as if a god had descended to the Mortal World, making observations.

Su Rin watched the scenes at the expo, making wildly irrelevant and ludicrous observations.

Su Ming’an was ready to leave.

He had just turned around, about to step away, when he suddenly heard a sigh from behind Su Rin.

The sigh was faint, not overly heavy with emotion, but rather tinged with wistfulness.

Su Ming’an turned his head back.

Su Rin stood with his hands in his pockets, looking up, studying the structure of the building as the colorful lights from the top of the venue cascaded down on his youthful face.

"However, although the material conditions are quite good, in my eyes, this world is also quite ordinary," said Su Rin.

"Is that so?" Su Ming’an turned around and looked at him, "This world with no wars, where direct harm is forbidden and material conditions are superior, isn’t it the one you’ve always dreamed of? These people live with abundant conditions, each leading a very happy life. The smiles on their faces are much more plentiful than those of the residents of Pulaya."

Su Rin’s gaze slowly swept over the smiling faces of passersby.

He lowered his head and adjusted his very trendy lettered hoodie, struggling to stuff the turned-out sleeves back into the garment.

He seemed to have only just adapted to the way this clothing was worn, having not even properly arranged the sleeves and collar. He even wore a hoodie with a white shirt underneath, who knows what he was thinking.

"Not entirely," he said with his head lowered, "The souls of the people in your world... they seem too monotonous to me, almost everyone reeks of decay, which is the excessive result of abundant resources and too much ease in life. They’re... completely different from the people I love in Pulaya."

"Is that so? Then..." Su Ming’an’s voice faltered.

He suddenly noticed that more and more onlookers were beginning to stop around them.

Perhaps attracted by them, the two "perfect cosplayers," the number of people who approached was increasing, and some even called over friends, encircling them.

"Let’s talk somewhere else." Su Ming’an immediately put on the Demon Fox mask.

Su Rin glanced at passersby who seemed to be taking pictures of him: "Strange."

He looked at the crowd of eager Players, some of whom even looked like they wanted to get close for a photo: "They don’t seem to fear me?"

He found it very novel.

The fear of power and prestige had almost become second nature to the people of Pulaya. Whenever his Heir went to Pulaya, even wearing a mask, the look in people’s eyes was either fear or reverence; never had anyone been so... so bold, so blatantly staring at him.

Yet this group of people, their excitement was not concealed at all, openly visible as if they weren’t afraid of attracting disaster.

...Are the people raised in a world without strife really so naive?

"No, I think the main reason is that they think we’re both fake..." said Su Ming’an in passing.

Su Rin was unlike him.

He could contain his aura, but Su Rin had no intention of doing so. Standing here, Su Rin was like a shining high-explosive bullet, constantly sending signals to the people around him, "I am Su Rin, come find me!"

Although people surely thought he was just a convincing cosplayer, over time, some Adventurer Players might notice something off about his aura.

"These people don’t even have basic aura perception, and they mistake the World’s Strongest man?" Su Rin muttered to himself, "The alertness of people in this world is sadly low."

Su Ming’an ignored whatever Su Rin was prattling about and immediately dragged him away from there.

As for the likes of Noel who were still playing around, they were no concern of his; they could go wherever they liked now, even playing together in a group of three was fine, but handling the dangerous person before him was the priority.

He quickly pulled Su Rin to a corner without any stalls.

Su Rin didn’t resist, letting himself be pulled over, and Su Ming’an could not detect any combat values because of the enormous disparity in strength.

"How did you find me?" asked Su Ming’an.

With so many cosplayers, some of whom were even more convincing than him, Su Rin had managed to find him with such certainty.

"I placed a Tracking Technique on you," said Su Rin.

Su Ming’an heard something amiss, "Tracking Technique? Your powers weren’t reset?"

He had thought that an NPC turning into a Player would have had their combat power somewhat reduced.

"It’s not a reset, just a return to the origin," Su Rin said. "Having left Yun Shang City, I have lost the identity of a deity, and all the powers belonging to deities and sea monsters were stripped away... Of course, this is all because of you."

He was still tidying up his troublesome sleeves, casting a somewhat accusatory glance over.

Su Ming’an made a preliminary judgment.

With this, Su Rin’s strength definitely wasn’t as preposterous as before, it should be the strength Su Rin personally had before he ascended Yun Shang City sixty years ago.

He had looked at the combat power rankings once before, which didn’t have Su Rin’s name on it; perhaps such midway-joining players weren’t counted. Otherwise, Su Rin’s combat power might have soared, trampling over the likes of Edward.

But there was no doubt about Su Rin’s identity as a player.

It was just unknown whether in the Eighth World, Su Rin, the player not listed in the rankings, would join as one of the "top hundred players..."

Right.

A flash of inspiration struck Su Ming’an’s mind.

...If he could deceive Su Rin into his cooperative sphere here, the competition in the Eighth World would certainly go much smoother.

Regardless of Su Rin’s current strength, his experience and wisdom were top-notch. If he became his ally, it should greatly assist his clearance...

"Su Ming’an," Su Rin fixed his gaze on him and asked abruptly, "Are you brewing your strategy pitch again?"

Su Ming’an’s train of thought was interrupted.

"I almost forgot," he expressed regretfully, "That doesn’t work on you."

If it hadn’t been for Red Rose putting an end to it forcefully, he truly couldn’t have convinced Su Rin with just sweet words alone.

However, while Su Ming’an was still contemplating, Su Rin agreed outright.

"If you’ve come to work with me, I agree," Su Rin stated. "These past two days, I’ve already gotten a basic understanding of the rules of this world and the tasks of your so-called ’players.’ According to the information I’ve gathered, you are the strongest among the ’players.’ Collaborating with you benefits me."

Su Ming’an blinked, surprised by how readily Su Rin had acquiesced.

Su Rin raised a single finger, as if to emphasize, "Of course, my only demand is that you must not lie to me, not even one word. I don’t trust someone who lies to their comrades."

"Yes, you’re right, lying to comrades is truly despicable," Su Ming’an said. "Like sixty years ago, in Yun Shang City, the young captain who lied to his comrades..."

"Stop!"

For once, a crack appeared in Su Rin’s normally calm expression.

He reached out, his palm facing Su Ming’an as if he intended to do something, but then he retracted what turned out to be a bluffing gesture upon recalling the rule against direct attacks.

It was then that Su Rin realized that this youth, barely in his twenties before him, was also profoundly knowledgeable about him, having seen all the Memory Stones he had left behind, which meant he knew all Su Rin’s key information.

If he continued to put on airs, the Number One Player might just reveal all of his first love details.

In fact, Su Ming’an was pondering whether to expose Su Rin’s first love history right there and let the man have a proper setback.

For such a person who had been a deity for over sixty years, who wasn’t inherently bad but insisted on posturing, uncovering the person’s dark history seemed like a fine choice.

Both were beings at the pinnacle of their own worlds, neither more humble than the other.

Even with Su Rin before him, who had been a deity for over sixty years, aging several generations beyond him, Su Ming’an had no intention of bowing down.

In this matter, he would not compromise.

In front of him, Su Rin finally adjusted his sleeves properly.

He straightened out his slightly wrinkled hoodie, his gaze returning to its indifferent state.

"Then I’m off," Su Rin said. "I hear today is your nineteenth birthday... So young."

His tone ended on a slightly ambiguous note.

It seemed Su Rin had especially come over just to form an alliance, coincidentally aligning exactly with Su Ming’an’s own purpose.

"...Goodbye?" Su Ming’an waved.

At this moment, Noel and the others who had been idly wandering nearby finally noticed the commotion here and hurriedly donned their masks to come over.

"This guy... how can he be here..." Lin Yin was shockingly pale.

She immediately recognized Su Rin, who looked as though he had just stepped out of the Ivory Tower, appearing like a graduate student.

She was intimately aware that this seemingly ordinary youth had been venerated as a legendary "deity" by generations of Pulaya inhabitants for the past sixty plus years.

The thought processes of deities were entirely different from those of ordinary players; their environments, experiences, world views—everything was worlds apart. The perspectives and standpoints they took were fundamentally different.

"He counts as a teammate now," Su Ming’an stated.

"For the time being, not really," Su Rin immediately contradicted.

After retorting, he no longer looked at the group and immediately turned to leave.

Some passersby with cameras, thinking he was a cosplayer, tried to come up for photos but were dissuaded by a single dismissive glance from Su Rin.

"Su Rin," Su Ming’an called out from behind.

Without turning back, Su Rin simply slipped his hands into his pockets.

His figure stood quietly by the entrance of the conference venue, ready to step out at any second, looking somewhat solitary in his stillness.

He had left his beloved homeland and was thrust into this entirely foreign world.

Separated from his lover, with a sudden shift in environment, he was still in a state of unknown confusion.

However, the pride of being a world leader didn’t allow him to seek help from others.

"Something the matter?" he asked indifferently.

Su Ming’an’s tone was just as indifferent as he pointed out: "Your shirttail isn’t tucked in properly."

"..." Su Rin fumbled under the hem of his hoodie, accurately grabbing the corner of the white shirt that had slipped out.

He stiffened, quickly tucked in his shirt, and rapidly walked out of their sight.

The downward sunlight elongated his figure as he swept through the crowded throngs like a gust of wind.

His slender form gradually faded away, swallowed up by the sea of intersecting people.