Chapter 51 - Fifty -

Chapter 51: Chapter Fifty - "The Chosen Bride"Whoosh——"

Above Mechanical City, a sudden intense wind noise arose.

A few people looked up, noticing a disc speeding towards them from afar, atop which a snow-white, very smackable figure was hopping around.

"Woo-hoo——Hello to the ten Players of instance number 338465~ I’m your dearest, Boss Rabbit——!"

Boss Rabbit’s massive body stuck to the flying disc, its two snow-white rabbit ears twitching like facial muscles, while that UFO-like disc continued to spin, emitting flashing green lights: "Now, your beloved Toot-Toot——will announce the background and quest of the Second World to the Players~"

"Boss Rabbit? Do you announce all the instances?" a woman with a ponytail asked.

"There are countless Boss Rabbits! Although the consciousness is the same source, it’s still quite simple for a high-dimensional life to split itself, right?" Boss Rabbit said, giggling, and then, as if discovering a new continent, suddenly fixed its gaze on Su Ming’an: "Oh my, my dear Number One Player, I didn’t expect us to have such fate to meet here..."

"Dear Boss Rabbit, talk about the quest." The light in Su Ming’an’s eyes gradually faded.

Hearing this address, a weird blush spread across Boss Rabbit’s white face, and it twisted shyly, then began to contort in quite an uncomposed manner: "Stop it, I’m going to tell you now..."

Su Ming’an opened the panel to check it.

[Story Background (Mechanical Floating City):

The original homeland has been polluted, and humans, like rats, have migrated here.

They use trash as a foundation, paint the sky with pollution, creating their own sky Floating City.

However, they have been "polluted," a special virus spread to people’s bodies, and they have lost their ability to reproduce.

They chose to transform their bodies and became obsessed with the integration of mechanics and life.

Now, you are a Player who has acquired the "Groom" status, and you hold the most precious "right to marry."

Scattered throughout the city are two "Bride" status Players, and if you can find one and get her to acknowledge herself as your "Bride," you will be put on the throne by the people of this city who long for offspring.

——Come on, dear Players.

Win your Bride and obtain the highest privilege!

——You deserve to give it your all and win everything.]

After reading the story background, Su Ming’an frowned.

... So disgusting.

He gazed at the city below the Corridor Bridge, bright and colorful, people in shiny metallic apparel walking beneath the play of light and shadow, various convenient mechanics flying past the streets, looking extremely futuristic.

But really, he very, very, very much disliked this world.

Be it the backstory or the quest objective, both made him feel immensely disgusted.

...Such a world. Far more than the Apocalyptic World where people are pushed to cannibalism and strife, this one made him feel much more disgusted.

Even for a Perfect Pass, he would not choose this method...He wanted to try another route.

Looking at the giggling Boss Rabbit, for the first time, he felt the urge to beat it up.

After the quest information was released, Boss Rabbit disappeared without a trace.

The players started discussing amongst themselves. Even though this was a competitive instance, they were used to moving in groups. As for the final struggle... they would deal with it when the time came.

Among these eight players, there were also female players who had received the "groom" identity, so it was possible that the players who got the "bride" identity could be male...

No one dared to talk to Noel and Su Ming’an, who now found himself surrounded by a clear space. Su Ming’an had no desire to stay in this place any longer and walked towards the Corridor Bridge.

"Wait, wait..." Suddenly, there was a feeling of being hugged around the leg. Su Ming’an almost kicked out instinctively but found that the person clung on as if stuck to him, immovable.

He looked down and saw a kid around twelve years old—this was one of the players, and his age was indeed noteworthy.

"Hello~ My name is Qin Ze, I’ve always liked your Lighthouse theory~" Qin Ze smiled brightly at him, emphasizing the word Lighthouse.

"...No." Su Ming’an gave him a look, "You don’t like it. I can’t see any fondness in your eyes. Don’t try to approach me with a feigned interest in the ’Lighthouse’... or I might really kill you."

Qin Ze seemed to be scared as he stepped back a few paces, while Su Ming’an took the opportunity to leave the Corridor Bridge.

In the moment Su Ming’an turned around, Qin Ze lowered his head, and a cold glint slowly flashed through his seemingly innocent eyes.

Meanwhile, two "bride" players opened their eyes.

Ming’an originally was a college student at the Dragon Country Art Academy, equipped with eyes that had a keen sense of beauty.

She was one of the first to follow Su Ming’an’s live broadcasts and considered him the ultimate "work of art." She studied his thoughts and painted him, then chose to become an Adventurer Player to have a chance to meet him.

She was not one of those girls who would mindlessly shout for a husband nor a fan. She was an artist in pursuit of beautiful thoughts.

Because rules prohibited disclosing other players’ whereabouts in the live chat, she didn’t know that she had just entered the same instance as Su Ming’an.

When she awoke, she found herself in a glass compartment, and the female player next to her also sat up straight, her body emitting a series of mechanical noises.

She lifted her leg and was horrified to find her skin completely encased in metal—it looked like a pair of cold mechanical legs.

At the same time, she heard the system’s quest announcement.

The task for the "bride" players was entirely different from that of the "groom" players.

In this instance, "grooms" chose their "brides," seeking to win their hearts. In the Mechanical Floating City, which was gradually losing the ability to propagate life, they pursued a glimmer of hope.

——But the "brides," imprisoned and modified, desired more than just love that was controlled by others.

——The grooms of the Mechanical Floating City, out of greed, shackled the brides and subjected them to coercive modifications, and in the process of modification, they themselves became true machines. Their instance task, to put it accurately, could be summarized as "the machines’ revenge."

The grooms attempted to choose their brides, thinking up ways to win their favor, believing they could attain so-called "happiness."

The waiting brides, however, had long shed their pure white attire and taken up the knife.

This life-and-death game of asymmetrical information between the two sides——had officially begun.