Chapter 429

Chapter 429: Chapter 426: "This is a Perfect Sacrifice." (Half-drunk Pomelo Alliance Hierarch adds 1.5/5)Su Rin’s figure quickly vanished amidst the crowd.

"...Pulaya, the legendary Deity."

Watching Su Rin’s departing silhouette, Noel hummed meaningfully, "What an imposing presence, I could feel his aura even across a stall, never concealing it."

"If he were to participate in the game with us in the Eighth World..." Lv Shu said softly.

"He’d be like a bug-like character... feels like the difficulty has been raised again," Lin Yin said, "Su Ming’an, regret bringing him back now? After a few of us bite the dust, it just might end up being the ultimate showdown between you and him."

"I’m not afraid of him," Su Ming’an shook his head.

Honestly, he felt no threat from Su Rin.

Once the burdens of Pulaya were laid down, Su Rin’s sense of danger seemed to have disappeared too; during the recent conversation, Su Ming’an didn’t feel any hostility from Su Rin.

He wasn’t afraid of this Su Rin, who in both action and thought, resembled him so closely.

The benefits Su Rin brought to himself were likely to outweigh the disadvantages.

"Not afraid of him?" Lin Yin touched her chin, "This guy’s wordplay is no worse than yours, and his strength probably isn’t weak either, not to mention his experience and wisdom... His only weakness might be that he didn’t grow up in the modern world from childhood, lacking common knowledge, but in other aspects, he’s practically a hexagon-shaped warrior. How are we supposed to fight that."

"Sometimes, it’s not necessary to defeat everyone standing by your side," Su Ming’an said, "Not all the strong ones are our enemies."

"That Red Rose prop of yours, did it bring him back?" Noel was very interested, "If we could have a few more of those props, we’d be invincible."

"No more," Su Ming’an did not reveal his Ruler’s Skill but simply denied it.

That new, Ruler’s Skill, which transformed NPCs into "followers," had yet to be tested by him, unsure of its power. He wouldn’t make empty promises to his teammates before the skill was put into real practice.

"...Come on, let’s go, why are we back to talking about instance games... let’s not talk about this anymore."

Noticing the atmosphere was off, Noel immediately interrupted the topic and grabbed Su Ming’an and Lv Shu by the shoulders, one in each hand, with an air of brotherly love.

Lv Shu appeared quite resistant, but that didn’t matter.

Noel’s hand was firmly clasped on Lv Shu’s shoulder as if pinning him in place.

"Su Ming’an, I just saw a really fun, immersive game. I think you’d be perfect for it. Come play with me..." Noel’s tone was excited.

Being a lover of fun, his eyes seemed to see only all sorts of "fun" things, possessing the most unique, adventurous nature’s curiosity and desire to explore.

The setting sun sagged low.

Outside the venue’s floor-to-ceiling windows, vast swathes of thick, blood-like sunshine spilled over the smiling faces of the people.

After playing Noel’s "fun game," the group left the venue.

The fun game Noel mentioned wasn’t actually fun; shockingly, it was a game that made people shout embarrassing lines face-to-face. Su Ming’an gave up after yelling just one sentence. In informal situations like this, he just couldn’t shout them out.

It was Noel who had the thickest face; he persisted until the very end, passionately shouting all the embarrassing lines from the script without cracking a smile even once.

Eventually, he triumphantly received a small trophy handed out by the game’s organizers.

Apart from that, it’s worth mentioning a small incident that happened during this time.

Su Rin, who had quickly left earlier showing no desire for anything, surprisingly showed up on the most eye-catching main stage in the center of the venue after a while.

This was discovered by Su Ming’an and the others only because they were walking past the stage intending to leave. It was unclear if Su Rin intended to deceive them and wander around on his own.

Su Rin had been personally invited onstage by the host because, "after public voting, he was the coser who best represented the character Su Rin."

When the host passed the microphone to Su Rin for a speech, Su Rin was serious.

Secretly watching the excitement among the crowd, Su Ming’an’s group sensed something amiss.

Wait a minute...

Asking Su Rin, who had no modern knowledge and even thought this was a ceremony, to give an award acceptance speech...

"This is a perfect ceremony."

Indeed, as Su Rin’s voice echoed in the venue, Noel burst into laughter.

Lin Yin covered her face, feeling somewhat unable to watch.

Next to her, the audience was stunned, and a man munching on popcorn blinked.

"What’s he on about?" he muttered in dialect, bewildered.

Onstage, Su Rin addressed the puzzled players below with a solemn voice:

"Thank you all—for honoring the trailblazer with rituals and dances."

"Your imitation during the ceremony recreates the immortal soul of the trailblazer, and your performances on the shrine remind us of their noble acts. Among them—for the strong among you, travelers who Shuttle through worlds, you have shown a vow and will that binds your Destiny with theirs."

"Even in times of peace, such ceremonies and reminiscences are needed. Whether it’s wielding weapons of wood, harmless in combat, or donning costumes with obvious flaws, it’s a remembrance of the past and a vision for the future."

"You will not succumb to meaningless violence, and peace and kindness will share your destiny."

"Perhaps I will envy your luck, living in a beautiful world where material conditions are superior and there’s no need to fight terrifying races."

"— May you carry forth this love of peace and never forget the will to struggle."

He handed the microphone back to the stunned host, nodded at the crowd, and walked down.

"Applause—"

After a brief moment of stupefaction, people began to applaud.

"What a dedicated coser, even the award acceptance speech is so immersive." This came from a dazed girl.

"I think we can include a language cosplay award. That coser’s speech was full of vigor, even surpassing Number One Player’s live stream." A judge commented.

"He’s so cool, I almost forgot to breathe just now... A coser who truly embodies the character..." A young man with a camera said.

Su Rin’s speech hit the mark.

Even though it was off the cuff, as a deity of the past, his presence was enough to overpower all the audience members below, even Lin Yin who had frozen her beaming smile.

"Not bad at all," she sipped her milk tea.

Su Ming’an turned his head to watch Su Rin quickly walk away, his gaze following the blue sweater hem and the corner of a white shirt that hadn’t been properly tucked in...

Although he verbally dismissed this world, during his speech, Su Rin still revealed an envious attitude.

Perhaps, deep down, he too longed for such an idyllic world.

Only now, the people living around him were no longer the residents of Pulaya he loved.

...but rather a group of players who saw his loved ones as NPCs and acted without restraint.

"..." Su Ming’an was silent for a moment, "Let’s head back."

As evening approached, it was time for them to leave.

In the end, Su Ming’an’s group, as an exceptionally talented "Number One Player protagonist team cosplay," attracted quite a bit of attention.

Many people recorded their appearance and shared the footage on public platforms.

People claimed that they were the cosers who resembled the true characters the most at the event that day, with perfect wigs and makeup. The only pity was that these four were dressed in casual clothes and hadn’t fully committed to the Number One Player team’s standard battle garb, so they missed out on the Best Coser Gold Award.

Clearly, these people would never realize what they had missed.

While laughing and waving goodbye to the enthusiastic photographers and arranging to cosplay again at the next event, Noel was almost cracking up.

"Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter... dying, they definitely can’t imagine what they’ve really missed. Seriously, I didn’t expect that we, completely undisguised, could move around so smoothly in such a place..."

Noel’s laughter continued.

The crimson sunset kissed his cheeks, turning his pale face a warm red, as if a soothing warmth was circulating on his skin. S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

He seemed to always be this optimistic and cheerful, laughing the most throughout the entire event.

Positive emotions always spread smoothly to others, and seeing Noel laugh like that, the mood of the others lifted a bit as well.

Su Ming’an turned his head to glance at the silvery event hall bathed in the sunset, resembling a slumbering giant beast, and observed the throng of people hustling inside through the glass.

The sun cast golden and dark shadows, and people with warm-toned hair laughed as they walked out, with cheerful music occasionally emanating from the entrance.

Gradually, various lights brightened up, like scales on the giant beast, and the flowing crowd moved within like ants, with a warm scent of food in the air.

"..." Su Ming’an’s thoughts underwent a subtle shift.

This was his first time being so close to casual players since the start of the World Game.

These people, without ambition and afraid to enter the fray, seemed to live happily in such a world. They had already freely chosen their way of life, seemingly indifferent even if they would decay in a year’s time.

Just like Observers.

Some gave up their player identity for personal desires, assuming various roles, and their choices were not exactly wrong.

In the grand scheme of things, these choices had no value. But not everyone has to be a drop in the larger ocean; they also have the right to choose their own way of life.

For these people, he could only guide and try to change their minds, but would not force them.

The enlightenment and thoughts between people are always different, and they should have the freedom to make their own choices.

This world is fair; input and output may sometimes be disproportionate, but most of the time, they correlate positively.

These people had already paid in advance for their present happiness.

Even though they themselves have yet to realize it.