"So, you desire my recognition?" Su Ming'an concealed his smile.

"No." Shadow denied: "My actions don't require anyone's recognition. I don't care about other people's moral criticisms or hatred. I also don't care about whether others evaluate me as a good man or a bad man. I kept you because your time authority is quite impressive, and I believe you can go far in the future."

"Aren't you afraid that I'll surpass you and destroy your New World?" Su Ming'an said. Time and causality are of the same level of authority. Over a long enough time, it's hard to say who is stronger. Moreover, Su Ming'an also possesses the death rebound, which should be a very high-level strength.

Shadow chuckled and changed the topic:

"Let's not talk about that. Let me take you around. Understanding the initial form of a world is beneficial to you."

He hopped off the swing like a child and walked over to Su Ming'an's side.

Both were "harboring ulterior motives" and guarded against each other, yet at this moment, they seemed like friends who had spent some time together, wandering in this pale world.

Occasionally, they exchanged glances, and Su Ming'an saw indifference in Shadow's eyes.

Do not trust the humanity of high-dimensional beings.

Su Ming'an always remembered this.

They rode the roller coaster once. Clearly at a very fast speed, which would make ordinary people scream loudly, but neither Su Ming'an nor Shadow showed any expression. Su Ming'an carefully sensed the stiffness of this world. Shadow looked at the mountains and rivers outside the car, not sure of what he was thinking.

They sat on the giant pendulum once. Su Ming'an observed the intricacy of the patterns on the pendulum, but Shadow was looking at the ground, as if there was a flower there.

Throughout, Shadow remained expressionless, likely not out of childlike curiosity, but checking something, perhaps the reasonableness of the world.

The last ride was the Ferris wheel.

After boarding the Ferris wheel, both remained silent, faces devoid of smiles. Su Ming'an took photos and screenshots of all the sights he saw, saving them. He did not start any livestream, as the scene was too similar to Noel's, and with the truth uncertain, there was no need to expose the second player to people's malicious doubt.

"This Ferris wheel, in the flow of my time perception, was hand-built by me 883 years ago." Shadow spoke.

Su Ming'an studied the distant mountains, ignoring him.

"When I'm tired of observing the starry sky, I return here and take a ride on the Ferris wheel." Shadow said: "Until now, my world hasn't had any visitors... you're its first guest."

"... May I know your name?" Su Ming'an asked: "People call you Shadow because you resemble a shadow, but I still don't know your real name."

"I said before, you can call me Xiao A."

"Noel Agnini?"

"Of course not, I have nothing to do with him."

"Don't you find that everything you've shown now is very much like him?"

"There are countless people who look alike in this world." Shadow said calmly: "Does wanting to establish a New World have to be him? I must remind you, high-dimensional beings don't need to care about humans."

"We are the ones truly suited for ascension, Su Ming'an. The future of humanity is meaningless. Here..."

"We own the [New World]."

The Ferris wheel slowly ascended to its highest point.

Su Ming'an gazed into the distance—high-flying wild geese, dragon-like mountains, trickling streams... If there truly were a group of good-hearted people stepping onto this land, perhaps, this "New World" could indeed have a very long future.

But the premise is... it cannot come at the cost of another civilization's demise.

"What is your answer?" Shadow asked:

"I can tell you, if your ruler identity continues to ascend, you too can have the opportunity to create a civilization. But since you've already embraced high dimensions, it's even simpler; you'll sooner or later walk the same... path of plundering civilization as I have."

"For the sake of our civilization, at any cost."

"This is the vision of high-dimensional beings. Just like humans raising bee colonies. When the time comes, one must gather honey. Civilization war is just like this, no one can morally accuse us."

"So, are you willing... to become my true friend, use your time authority, and create this New World together with me?"

Shadow's expression was unexpectedly gentle, even mixed with anticipation. It was hard to tell if this expression was genuinely from the heart or deliberately disguised as a lie.

Su Ming'an leaned forward.

His voice was small, but Shadow heard it clearly.

Su Ming'an said softly—

"Cannot agree."

...

Three seconds later, all the gentleness disappeared from Shadow's face in a perfect face-changing act.

He stopped the Ferris wheel coldly, opened the car door, and floated out.

"Now, I answer the question you asked earlier—you asked me if I'm afraid of you surpassing me." Shadow looked at Su Ming'an inside the Ferris wheel: "My answer is, not afraid."

Su Ming'an blinked.

Shadow said: "If you can leave, you indeed might surpass me. But this is my world. If I want to lock your ceiling, then there's no possibility."

Su Ming'an said "Oh": "So, in the end, you're forcing me to agree. If I don't agree, you'll trap me here. You could have said it straight from the beginning, instead of going in such a big circle, with the Ferris wheel and sincere invitation, always making me envision some Agent."

Shadow floated away.

Su Ming'an touched the car door, and sure enough, he couldn't open it. But he had collected enough information and could make his escape.

He closed his eyes and switched consciousness.

In the next moment, a body with no consciousness lay in the Ferris wheel's compartment.

...

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Under the azure sky.

Under the bridge, the sound of blade swinging could be heard.

A white-haired young man dressed in a black robe was silently swinging the blade, standing tall like a sturdy old tree.

—Ten years had passed since the deity's sacrifice.

In the player's eyes, it was like experiencing an immersive emotional resonance. Only a few hours had passed in System Time. In Lv Shu's perception, he'd been swinging his blade under the bridge all this time.

"Pretty big brother! Why are you swinging the blade again?" a child shouted. It was said that many years ago, this big brother was always wandering around here.

Lv Shu continued swinging his blade, his eyes vacant.

"Look, that's the weirdo who swings his blade under the bridge all the time. I wonder who he's waiting for." A couple whispered as they walked past, secretly taking a photo.

Lv Shu remained unaffected, focused solely on swinging the blade.

Occasionally, he would whisper something, but no one heard what he was saying.

After finishing his blade practice, he walked towards the pale giant tree. Now, temples and shrines had been built around the sacred tree, its lush white branches like the tendrils of a deity. Many believers knelt here, chanting hymns to awaken the deity. People believed that one day, the deity would awaken within the sacred tree.

Lv Shu approached the sacred tree and saw a figure with flowing white hair.

It was a girl dressed in a fiery long dress. She leaned against the branches of the sacred tree, wearing a mask, motionless as if asleep. Her fingers rested on the pale flowers, surrounded by branches and grass.

The sacred tree forbade anyone from touching it to avoid offending the Deity, yet this girl had leaned here for a long time, as if in eternal slumber with the sacred tree.

It seemed the girl had fallen asleep here long ago.

Lv Shu was always puzzled, wondering who this was that dared to sleep under the sacred tree. But his mind was always numb, so he didn't ask further. Today, he suddenly wanted to investigate.

Approaching a few steps, Lv Shu whispered, "Who are you?"

The girl did not answer; she continued to lean against the sacred tree as if sleeping soundly.

Lv Shu said, "If you keep pretending to sleep, I'll take off your mask."

The girl did not respond.

Lv Shu's hand reached out but suddenly stopped.

He discovered... the girl seemed to have no sign of life.

This was a corpse.

To ensure the safety of the sacred tree, Lv Shu gently removed the girl's mask and saw a familiar face. The ends of her black hair had turned white, but her features remained youthful.

After a long silence, Lv Shu gently placed the mask back and sighed.

...He didn't know why an angel with the Life Authority would die. Clearly, she... could have had an incredibly long life.

Was the last phase of her life spent leaning against this big tree until she perished?

Lv Shu watched the branches sway in the wind, the thick foliage gradually obscured the girl's figure, soon vanishing from sight.

...

Su Luoluo came to the sacred tree.

Her black hair was already streaked with white, and her steps trembled.

She sat under the tree reading a book, telling the story of the nightingale: "Once upon a time, there was a nightingale that wanted a heart..."

This story, she had told the tree over a thousand times.

Su Luoluo finished the story, closed the book. Her fingers showed pale bones, and blue-green spread along her entire arm: "Little Cloud, if you don't come back soon... I might not be able to wait."

"You didn't even say goodbye properly, you just left. I didn't even get to see you ascend to the stars."

"No matter how much I train, I can't surpass human limitations..."

"People say you'll leap out from the tree, is it true? Or have you already awakened, watching me right now."

She picked up a branch, pressed it to her face, and whispered softly:

"Are you by my side... Little Cloud."

She murmured for a long time before getting up to leave. The cold moonlight cast her shadow on the ground, everything silent.

...

Xiao Ying slit his wrist.

Looking at the blood flowing, he felt happiness, a destructive desire for self harm. As long as he made himself riddled with scars, he felt as if it was some form of redemption.

The Deity had already been sacrificed. No matter how much he gave... it had lost the value of compensation.

He repeatedly asked himself why he didn't die in that disaster? Or was it that... his previous life was just a bloody illusion?

He had lost too many things.

Even the black bird sculpture was gone.

He had lost himself.

Pain became a delightful feedback; with every cut, he felt as if he was atoning in some unknown direction. Because he had no means of redemption... he could only take it out on himself.

Was this pathological? Or some kind of addiction?

He once thought that his obsession would end with Su Ming'an's death, gaining freedom, but who could have expected...

"So that's how it is."

He held a peace charm in his arms, laughing bitterly. It was something he stole from the chapel. According to the priest, if the peace charm remained unbroken, the holder would receive the blessing of the Deity.

But the moment Xiao Ying acquired it, the peace charm shattered in his hands.

"So you also believe that I can't be redeemed... even the papyrus angel can't overlook my sins."

He suddenly didn't understand why he survived, knowing there must be many expecting his death. So, he started to stab various sharp objects into himself.

...

When Su Ming'an woke up, the sky was pouring snow.

He didn't know how much time had passed; the flow of time above the starry sky differed from the World of Old Days. Glancing at the system time, only a few hours seemed to have passed.

His original body was placed in a chapel, seemingly moved by someone; he had woken up from the ground.

The watch Du informed him of recent events.

Jiang Xiaosan became a doctor and is now married. Su Luoluo is still traveling, the dream-tour game is becoming more refined, unbelievably she hasn't collapsed yet. Li Yuxuan became a military training instructor, playing the guitar in her free time. Yuanyuan became a violinist, enjoying a real and long life. As for the time of the other players, it sped up like the Kaius Tower, with nothing special to note.

However, there was a girl with black hair and emerald eyes. Since he left, she would always sit quietly under the sacred tree, holding a candy, waiting from dawn to dusk until her full head of black hair turned to frost and snow.

Su Ming'an quickly realized... a long time had passed.

He donned a black robe and walked toward the city.

"I will become the Life Hard Drive. When you activate me a thousand years later, you will surely be affected by the accumulated malice of a thousand years. So your sole mission for this thousand years is to accumulate enough 'goodness,' ensuring you won't be overwhelmed and collapse by malice at that moment. If you don't collapse at that moment, you will be able to harness the energy accumulated over the millennium and defeat Dieying. As for the method to accumulate 'goodness'... simply put it is... to vacation across various timelines, enjoying a happy life."

These were General Qin's final instructions to Su Ming'an.

Everything else had been accomplished, requiring no effort from Su Ming'an. Now the sole task he had in this instance was—simply to experience life and begin his vacation.

This left him in astonishment.

The World Game was being kind to him for the first time, as it turns out he also had the possibility of happiness.

"It is said, fifteen years ago, the Deity ascended in that direction towards the sky..." In the city teahouse, people remained enthusiastic about mythological stories. A bearded old man pointed to the sky:

"From then on, strange creatures retreated, allowing us our current peaceful life..."

No one paid attention to Su Ming'an as he walked towards the sacred tree. Along the way, passing by bards reciting myths, believers holding flowers, gossiping women, and laughing children...

Under the sacred tree, he saw a weary figure. A young man wearing a high hat placed a dish of strawberry pudding at the branch, sighing: "Su Ming'an, you can go at ease..."

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