nucmednet Chapter 1654 The Endgame Part 4: "The Guiding Lighthouse in the OE Universe" (10)
Chapter 1654 The Endgame Part 4: "The Guiding Lighthouse in the OE Universe" (10)
Chapter 1654 The Endgame Part 4: "OE: The Guiding Lighthouse in the Universe" (10)
[—A memory from a certain cosmic cycle, countless years have passed, its origins lost to time.]
[Recorder: Yueyue]
[Recorded within the world game's storage module, as follows:]
【…】
Did you know? Ming'an.
Humans can be really annoying sometimes.
I have witnessed too many civilizations destroy themselves through internal strife, suspicion, and shortsightedness. I have also seen stories like Akto's, played out again and again in different worlds, under different names and with different faces.
Idealists burn themselves out, only to be pushed off a cliff by those they wanted to illuminate. Sacrifices are forgotten, contributions are erased, good intentions are misinterpreted as ulterior motives… I've seen too many of these scenarios, so many that I almost believe this is the tragic fate of intelligent life.
[All the malice, misunderstandings, exploitation, and betrayal poured out on you... every indifferent bystander, every cheer that gloated when you were down... I know it all.]
Why?
Why do people suffer so much, their ideals fade, and their bones pile up in an indescribable state?
Why do fireflies fly into flames, butterflies break their wings, and the Tower of Babel remain standing for a thousand years?
I have seen a dying mother stuff her last loaf of bread into the arms of a homeless stranger. I have seen a civilization, upon learning of its impending destruction, desperately launch all its paintings and poems into deep space. I have seen ordinary people, in the face of utter despair, display courage surpassing even that of the gods.
The contradictory nature of humanity is what makes it so. They can blindly harm others out of fear, and they can create miracles out of love.
[…Do you know, Ming'an?]
I created a dream.
I have woven a vast, warm, and eternal illusion with the purest "dreams" and "peace."
There, summer under the sycamore trees lasts forever, and all the sad stories never happened. You don't need to carry any burdens; we can live a peaceful, mundane, and vibrant life like any ordinary child. That's the sanctuary I can imagine, a gentle retreat I offer you. You can hold a red umbrella and walk quietly in the city rain, without any pain, without caring about anything.
I've invited you.
And you rejected me with your own hands.
Your eyes are clear and resolute. You said you would face the bloody truth. You said that indulging in beautiful dreams may bring happiness, but it means giving up the possibility of everyone truly walking in the sunlight.
At that moment, I felt a slight stinging pain.
Because I saw it.
[—I see the burning desire in your eyes.]
This desire will consume you completely.
Yes, my dream is beautiful, but it is essentially another form of "cycle," an escape.
So, when you turn and walk onto the path of thorns—
I shattered the beautiful dream I had woven myself.
I must go further, see more, and become stronger. Not to catch up with you, but so that one day I can become a strong pillar, standing tall like a giant.
This is why I chose to step into the higher-dimensional battlefield and become one of the "Twelve Seats".
I faced a severe test. My humanity, my memories, and all my traits as "Yueyue" attracted countless predators eager to devour me. I was attacked countless times, until I was on the verge of collapse, even reduced to a faint shred of consciousness.
Sometimes, I even feel confused: Who am I? Am I still "Yueyue"? After cutting myself apart countless times, do I still have the right to call myself the original me? Do you also feel unfamiliar with this version of me? Or even afraid?
They said: Let go, let go of the joys and sorrows of being a tiny life, let go of insignificant human memories, and become a greater, more eternal life. Why struggle to maintain the fragile humanity of being "Yueyue"?
Many times, in the face of near-eternal solitude and the covetousness from all sides, I have trembled.
But I keep remembering who I am.
I am a traveler, an observer, and a human being.
I firmly occupy a place in the higher dimensions; I need this position to protect what I want to protect and to do what I want to do.
[Ming An.]
My decision to remain as the "coordinator" of the world game was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The next civilization may be on the path to glory, or it may be sliding into the abyss. In the past, I could perhaps only sigh and observe yet another fall. But now, I can try to do something. Not to condescendingly save them as a god, but to understand their predicament as an insider and help them break free from their predicament.
This is the kind of "travel" I truly crave.
[No longer will we stand idly by, watching the fire from across the river; no longer will we merely observe the outcome.]
【certainly--】
I also foresee the eternal solitude you are about to enter.
I cannot bear this weight for you; you must carry it yourself.
However, Ming'an.
[If my new journey, my path to realizing my dreams, happens to run parallel to your long voyage;]
[If, while I delve into each civilization, I can bring you warmth;]
[If our respective ideals happen to align on the same path—]
Isn't this a better ending than a simple farewell?
I didn't stay for you.
I chose this more arduous path for my own sake.
It's just a coincidence that you were a fellow traveler on this path.
We are all complete, each pursuing our own path.
If you are the eye of the storm, destined to be unable to interfere with the world's fate; the host of the world's game, unable to intervene; a confined bystander,
I will become the "Lorentz butterfly" of this world.
【dance to tune.】
[Transform into a long wind.]
……
Several years later.
As more and more higher dimensions entered the world of the game, the vacant seats were gradually filled.
Su Ming'an had no intention of forcibly imprisoning higher dimensions; these were all higher dimensions that had come voluntarily. Some were eager to comprehend the rules of the universe's organs, while others hoped to find a place of refuge.
His consciousness often flowed into the depths of the game world, contemplating its internal structure and comprehending the principles and mysteries of this organ. He gradually came to understand many secrets he had never encountered before.
Some civilizations are like fireworks, bursting into dazzling brilliance before quickly cooling down;
Some civilizations, like ancient trees, are eventually hollowed out from within.
Some civilizations, like vines, frantically climb and plunder, ultimately strangling and killing the world they depend on;
Some civilizations, like deep-sea fish, have evolved new organs under darkness and high pressure.
He was increasingly able to grasp the cold yet grand operating mechanism of the world game: it was an incredibly complex system. He needed to find gaps within this colossal chain of logic.
Consciousness sinks into the rise and fall of countless civilizations. He is like a traveler going against the current in the waterfall of time, trying to change the predetermined trajectory and leave information for "the next time".
One day, a new figure appeared in the vacant first seat.
The hall was silent, and the stars hung low.
The seating arrangement in the higher dimensions resembles a clockwork arrangement, with white jade pillars standing like those in an ancient Greek debate arena, and the remnants of civilization drifting like bone fragments.
Someone walked towards the first seat.
A flowing, dark robe, its hem rippling with tranquil waves, its waist bound by a bamboo-patterned clasp. Her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, like the first snow covering a crescent moon, unbound and trailing to the ground, a few strands brushing against the back of her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, her palm pale and slender.
He slightly raised his eyelids, revealing a pair of dark green eyes.
This is not a guest who needs to be "confined". He came on his own, like a star returning to its orbit, like a long river flowing into the ocean.
“Zhai Xing’s funeral arrangements have all been made, and humanity is now fully capable of surviving on its own… I’ve come to find you.”
"Have you thought this through? If you stay, you might not be able to leave again," Su Ming'an said.
He can no longer return home, but others are different.
“I’m sure.” Lu Shu nodded. “Becoming the first seat will help you.”
“Kaiser was fine. He was locked up for a few days, and I secretly released him to help him live in anonymity. He stayed by my side for a long time and had no regrets. He lived a happy life and died at the age of one hundred.”
“The crystal object that Su Lin gave me, I used to collect the remnant soul of Yamada Machiichi. When you resurrect him in the future, he will join us.”
“Su Ming’an, you will not be alone. Even if the night is long... it doesn’t have to be endless.”
Like clouds chasing the moon.
Starlight pierced through the invisible barrier of the high dome, slanting across half of his profile. His white hair shimmered with a thin silver glow in the dim light. The white-haired youth was like a verdant boat, having traversed the long river of time, sailing here from one side of the universe.
……
—I want to be a green boat, hoping one day to cross all the rivers and seas, sail past the end of spring, and reach you.
……
The boat has arrived.
Myself, Yueyue, and Lü Shu.
Perhaps Beiwang, Yisong, and Yamada-cho will be able to return...
If a miracle happens, perhaps there will still be Lu, Su Lin...
Perhaps, even if they were to start over a thousand times, even if they were polished smooth with the most sophisticated tools, stripped of all sinews and sharp edges, their eyes softened, and their ideals made realistic, they would still be "big fools."
So even if they are still wondering "is there a better way", even if their footprints are eventually buried by the sands of time... they will become a spark, a story, a parable.
All of this—Yueyue who decided to become the "coordinator," Lü Shu who stayed without hesitation, Yamada Machiichi who stayed behind in Zhaixing, Su Lin who returned to her homeland, and Bei Wang who went to the universe—was left beneath the beach.
We await the day when, in the future, a pair of eyes will be able to truly "see," peel back the layers, and discover these ancient footprints hidden beneath the endless yellow sand.
To be able to unveil... their epic.
This time.
next time.
……
[On a certain day in the year 2819281092 of the Universal Calendar.]
[Leave a record in the world game save module.]
[Recorder: Su Ming'an]
I don't see the decision to take over the world of gaming as a cycle.
I will not meet a fate similar to Boss Rabbit's. I will use my power to transform this cold, cosmic organ.
When the organizers learned of my outlandish idea, they called me arrogant and crazy—a mere heir who dared to dream of modifying organs.
Yes, I am greedy. I have already stood at the pinnacle of power, enough to make even the likes of the Shadow of Deception bow down. I could have comfortably enjoyed my crown, watching countless "Zhai Xing" repeat their past despair and struggles from my eternal throne. I could have stood in the position once held by Boss Rabbit, cheerfully issuing judgments of "annihilation" or "pardon."
But I'm not resigned to it.
Because my desires burn like a raging fire.
I'm different from Boss Rabbit. I possess high authority, a clear mind, and a pure soul... most importantly, I'm a "perfect scorer."
Don't view the World Game as a den of dragons and tigers; the health of an organ depends on its controller. It can be a ruthless purifier of civilization, or it can be the salvation of countless civilizations.
What I need to do is control its course, guiding it towards a civilization where it can pass the level.
Instead of eradicating, save.
Substitution instead of purification.
I am a "perfect scorer"; no one knows better than me how to redeem a civilization. Even the most dilapidated civilization can be transformed into a perfect one, changing its fate of annihilation.
—I want to become a true guiding "lighthouse" in the universe.
[Guiding the world's game like a lighthouse, and telling people how to save themselves as a host. It's about being on the same side, not adversarial.]
This is something only I, a "perfect scorer," could do.
[Besides Zhai Xing, I don't know how many civilizations I will save... that will be a number calculated in trillions over endless future years.]
The organizers called it savior arrogance. Whatever, I've always been arrogant, always feeling I should shoulder all responsibility, and I don't deny that.
I once suffered from a fatal disease. On my twenty-first birthday, I lay in a medical pod as my companions, one by one, pressed their palms against the glass to wish me a happy birthday. Their eyes, their smiles… gave me the fatal disease. The most stubborn virus invaded my genes, making it impossible for me to view the end of any civilization merely as substandard data.
Now that I've become the master of the world's game, I can no longer lead from the front, dragging the entire civilization into the future as I once did. What I need to do is say to people:
"There's a loophole here. Observe it, change it, save it. Use all your meanness, all your wisdom, all your resentment, and all your love—try to live on and show me."
"Prove to me that you deserve to live."
I will leak the exam rules and hidden question bank to the candidates. I will stand on the same side of the abyss as them, guiding them on how to survive in this meat grinder. I will become the most rebellious and supreme host at the pinnacle of this vast cosmic organ, demonstrating standing to those I should execute.
【"Whoosh—"
As I walk through the pristine white doors, towards the next stop in this world's game, I seem to hear the sighs of sheep, the sounds flowing through my veins—
"You are about to do something countless times more difficult than what Boss Rabbit is going to do."
"You are about to do something that no one in the millions of years of world games has ever accomplished."
"You are about to change the very nature of the world game, turning it from a blade to a shield."
"How audacious you are! How arrogant you are!"
The artificial sunlight shone on my eyelids; before me lay a road leading home, shaded by sycamore trees.
The bright spring day, the raging fire of White Sand Paradise, the fall of Playa, the black walls of the collapsing dome, the long snow in the ruins world... scene after scene flashed before my eyes.
[Simply close your eyes, abandon such fanciful ideas, and honestly be a ruler; that's enough to command the winds and rains on a cosmic scale. I have many high-dimensional beings at my command, and I have already been crowned, reaching heights I never dared to imagine before.]
However, greed burns within my heart.
—I'm not satisfied yet.
[I want to improve this cosmic organ; I want to study every inch of its blood vessels and every muscle; I want to secretly protect the chosen civilization; I want to touch the deepest mysteries of the universe, leaving enough information for the next time. With great difficulty, I've managed to deceive "their" eyes.]
[Elimination will cease, chaos will return to peace, and the endless increase in entropy will be slowed down.]
My heart pounded wildly in my chest, my veins surged like flames, as if resonating with this cosmic organ. I trod upon my own heart and veins, reaching upwards to touch the heavens.
I know what this means.
This means that in the endless future, I will experience failure countless times. Every civilization that ultimately perishes due to my insufficient guidance or misunderstanding will become an unhealable wound.
But I still want to let this necrotic organ, which was born solely for purification, grow new nerves.
They mocked, and Aria sighed, saying: "Ming'an, this is a fool's dream, a plea to a tiger for its skin, a banishment to the flames of karma for eternity. You stand in the position of executioner, yet you aspire to be the most rebellious saint—how laughable!"
Let this karmic fire begin by burning me.
The turbulent wind whipped through my hair, my blood was boiling, and it felt as if a blazing sun was rising before me, while the pitch-black night sank behind me, and what I saw—was a dazzling glow stretching to the distant horizon.
I smiled.
I want to leap into this world as blazing as the sun.
……
In the distant depths of the universe.
A pair of blue eyes slowly opened, silently gazing at the world game navigating the depths of the starry sea, shaped like a heart, pounding loudly.
“This time, it’s an unprecedented development. You have become an eternal guiding light in the universe…” He murmured.
So, can we look forward to it?
"A desperate gamble, a desperate gamble... This time your lifespan will be incredibly long, but if your soul is corrupted... in the next decisive battle, will you be able to face the Lord of Dreams directly..." Blue eyes flashed with complex light.
The universe is silent; whispers vanish into nothingness.
……