"Tap."
The shoe sole touched the tal floor with a crisp sound.
Cold air blew in, and the sight was an icy white chanical wall, the light reflecting off the smooth glass. Several chanical n gazed at Su Ming’an.
—Su Ming’an had never imagined such a world beneath the Nine Serenities.
No one can return after going to the Nine Serenities, so no one knows what it’s like. The Nine Serenities is the mythological gathering place of sins. According to stereotypes, it should be filled with crimson magma, buried white bones, and blooming Manzusha Flowers. But it’s so... technological?
Red light scanned over Su Ming’an, and the chanical man said, "Scan complete. Visitor 0001, welco to the Nine Serenities."
"..."
Su Ming’an looked around, intelligent trash bins automatically cleaning the floor, and driverless public transport on the street. The buildings were cold and silent; besides him, there wasn’t a single living human.
"Visitor 0001, please lift your foot." The intelligent trash bin glided to Su Ming’an’s side.
Su Ming’an lifted his foot. The trash bin extended two small steel hands to remove a piece of trash under Su Ming’an’s foot, and the display screen on the bin showed a smiling face emoji: "Thank you."
"Are you a living being?" Su Ming’an asked.
"I am an intelligent trash bin, not under the category of life." The trash bin said.
"Did Dieying create these intelligent machines?" Su Ming’an asked.
"Nope. Dieying is above the starry sky and can’t intervene. The owner of the Nine Serenities is soone else..."
Su Ming’an focused, suddenly hearing footsteps. In this city where only chanical sounds were heard, human footsteps were particularly noticeable.
A young man ca holding a lamp, wearing a black tilted round hat, a brown-black robe on his back, and a warm yellow lamp in his hand. He wore a half-face Evil Ghost Mask with spiraling ram horns and carried a sword resembling angel wings.
...
["I have no impression of my past life." Hei Que lay on the crow: "Just a few days ago, I walked out of the Black Mist, rembering nothing and already having this Sword of Destiny in my hand."]
[Su Ming’an said, "So, you’re saying you experienced mory cleansing?"]
[Hei Que said indifferently: "I don’t know, I just want to find out who I am."]
[He had no past mories, no family or friends, walking out of the Black Mist alone, founding a nation with the Sword of Destiny.]
...
The approaching young man turned out to be the ruler of the Huo Muli’er Nation, Hei Que.
This cycle, Su Ming’an had not yet t Hei Que; they were still strangers, and the Sword of Destiny was still in Hei Que’s hand.
Su Ming’an intended to co to the Nine Serenities alone first, so others could subsequently locate and teleport to him, including Hei Que. Who would’ve thought—Hei Que was already in the Nine Serenities?
"...Nice to et you, Old God." Hei Que approached with the lamp, the light outlining the ever-whitening Evil Ghost Mask on his face.
"Why are you in the Nine Serenities?" Su Ming’an asked.
Hei Que, holding the cross necklace on his chest, gazed at Su Ming’an with a complex expression. When Su Ming’an felt a bit unnerved, Hei Que finally smiled, saying, "I am the master of the Nine Serenities, responsible for guarding this place. Upon learning of your arrival, I returned imdiately."
Su Ming’an stared intently at Hei Que.
"However, I did suffer mory loss before. But just as you were about to step into the Nine Serenities, I suddenly recalled that I am its master, hence carrying the Sword of Destiny, which belongs to Nine Serenities. It’s like... so kind of suddenly triggered mory chanism." Hei Que raised the lamp, letting its glow shine on Su Ming’an’s face: "Let’s not talk about this now; I know you must have many questions. I’ll take you to see the Exotic Species King."
Hei Que led Su Ming’an forward. Su Ming’an glanced back, finding the place he entered now empty, only a darkened sky remaining, with no entrance in sight.
...
[You are currently in a special environnt: ’Nine Serenities’, and cannot use teleportation props.]
[TE1·"Hooray! Die, all of you!" Perfect Pass Progress: 96%]
...
This place essentially functions like a small instance, impossible to leave easily. Following Hei Que, the surroundings were filled with cold chanical items as if only he and Hei Que were the living beings in this city.
Sitting in a white sedan, the car automatically started.
"Would you like so coffee?" Hei Que pressed a button on the car, and without unnecessary operations, a steaming cup of coffee appeared beside Hei Que’s hand.
"I really didn’t expect the Nine Serenities to be such a modern automated city..." Su Ming’an mused. This gave him a sense of discord. This trip to the Nine Serenities would surely reveal so shocking truths to him.
...But this is a mythological world, isn’t it? Angels, deities, Heavenly Valley, Nine Serenities, papyrus, reincarnation, goddesses, Black Mist, religious judgnt... and yet a technological city appears. Just monts ago, he was speeding over magma filled with Manzusha Flowers, and now he’s in a technological city.
This chanical City isn’t vast, filled everywhere with connected wires, pipes, and chanical tubes. Automated machines and small chanical n thodically proceed in all directions without orders, yet in perfect order.
"So, did you build this city?" Su Ming’an inquired. This hyper-modern layout seems beyond the capability of a single individual. Even if given several decades, the current world might not attain this technological level.
"No. I’m just a guardian." Hei Que smiled, "I don’t know where the Nine Serenities originated, but from the ti I had consciousness, my mission was to guard here. You may understand as ’security’."
...From master to security in a flash.
Su Ming’an was speechless, "You’ve been guarding here since gaining consciousness, what about your parents?"
"I’m not sure, maybe my family has been the guardians for generations. When I took over, they were already gone, I suppose." Hei Que said, then suddenly remarked: "Given I’ve always been here, why did I erge from the Black Mist days ago in a state of amnesia with the Sword of Destiny? Logically, there’s no reason for to leave the Nine Serenities..."
He pondered a mont, tapping his mask with a finger, chuckling lightly: "Perhaps it’s the erosion of mory, staying here too long; amnesia is common after all, as the lifespan of a soul is finite."
The car arrived, and Hei Que led him to a towering building. On a rooftop as large as a football field, Su Ming’an saw her.
Under the vast starry sky, a black-haired girl sat strapped in a cold chanical chair, her limbs perforated by iron wires. She stayed silent, eyes closed, with a scarlet python surging behind her. Her brewing aura grew stronger by the mont, suggesting the Exotic Species King was about to be reborn.
...Was Alice truly waiting in a place like this for two whole years?
Su Ming’an looked up; the rooftop neighbored the starry sky, nearly blending with the horizon. Faintly visible were vast ocean-like blue eyes shimring among the stars. The Nine Serenities still belonged to the World of Old Days, Dieying trapped above the starry sky could only watch from afar.
Humans, gazing at the starry sky, often reflect on the universe’s vastness and their own insignificance. Su Ming’an felt a faint sting in his heart, his shadow flickering beneath the expansive starry sky, as if tiny enough to disappear at any mont.
"As you can see, the rebirth of the Exotic Species King is reaching its final stage." Hei Que said: "[By the Immortal’s Talisman gifted to Him, the flesh becos the Sword of Destiny. By the Spirit within, the Eye of the Old Days, by the human symbolizing the Red Python offered to Him, He may be reborn. At the bottom of Nine Serenities within the tower, recite in my na.]—This ans that when the special dicine rains down, as long as you carry the Eye of the Old Days, the Immortal’s Talisman, and the Sword of Destiny to Him, He will awaken."
"Since that’s the case..." Su Ming’an looked at the silent Alice, his fists clenched.
"You’re still missing my Sword of Destiny, right?" Hei Que shook his index finger. Half of his mask covered his eyebrows, but the exposed mouth below the mask was smiling: "In your countless journeys of rebirth, I should have seen you, right... Did I ever say that I also wished for the potential to beco a god?"
Hei Que knew about Little Su’s save-load ability, which was no secret.
Eye of the Old Days, Immortal’s Talisman, Sword of Destiny. Now gathered here, who wouldn’t be envious? Even Xiao Ying wanted to seize the three elents of becoming a god, and Hei Que couldn’t help but yearn for them.
Su Ming’an knew the stakes were high and imdiately used the Ruler’s Skill on Hei Que, raising the favorability to 100 to avoid entanglent.
...
[npc (Hei Que) Favorability: 80 5 5 5 5...]
[npc (Hei Que) Favorability: 100 points.]
[Current Favorability Evaluation: Soul connection.]
...
Su Ming’an withdrew his gesture, only to suddenly notice Hei Que’s expression.
Hei Que’s shoulders shook continually, as if he had seen sothing very amusing. He laughed and laughed, suddenly covering his face, saying: "... Ah, what is this feeling."
Su Ming’an’s eyelids trembled slightly.
Hei Que’s lips curled slightly downward. He seed to be savoring sothing in detail: "Is this... the legendary ’Ruler’s Skill’? To experience it firsthand is indeed extrely interesting, this feeling of forcibly altering soone’s favorability... It’s like I originally didn’t like bananas, but now I’m suddenly very interested in them. Even though I know you changed my emotions, I find it hard to dislike you. Truly interesting, interesting... ’Players,’ really remarkable..."
Even knowing his emotions had been forcefully altered, Hei Que didn’t exhibit the shock Fengchang did at the ti; instead, he laughed brightly, as if he had found an interesting amusent, even though this amusent was himself.
Su Ming’an felt a bit awkward, as the Ruler’s Skill was used invisibly and silently. He didn’t expect Hei Que to be so blunt about it. He was the first to clearly state the na and effect of this skill.
Unexpectedly, Hei Que suddenly moved a few steps closer, his gaze becoming lively.
"Do you have similar skills?" He grabbed Su Ming’an’s sleeve, like a child who found a toy, his eyes sparkling: "Do you have more? Those skills that suddenly decrease favorability, those that manipulate the soul suddenly, those that control a person’s ntality suddenly... magical, interesting, those that don’t exist in this world, extraordinary, your ga ’players’ skills, do you have them? Can you use them on ? Let experience it..."
Su Ming’an was taken aback by his approach and imdiately pushed him away.
However, Hei Que clung to him again, like sticky glue. Su Ming’an pushed him away again like a tumbler.
"I’ll show you my skills, and you give the Sword of Destiny," Su Ming’an thought for a mont and said this.
"Sure. But you have to show them in detail." Hei Que agreed very promptly.
Su Ming’an did not believe that Hei Que would so easily give up the chance to beco a god, but perhaps Hei Que was too confident. After all, this was Hei Que’s city, and he could easily take it back.
The favorability is maxed... Surely nothing will go wrong.
He thought of several tragic precedents, where people with maxed favorability were generally not quite normal...
"This is Spatial Vibration. Long-range attack, group attack, power determined by mana points." Su Ming’an, facing the starry sky, unleashed a Spatial Vibration.
The vibration reverberated in the sky, the stars surged for a mont and quickly returned to normal.
"This is Gravity Suppression, control, group attack." Su Ming’an activated the Equipnt Skill of [Heart of the Future (Purple Grade)].
"This is Puppet Threads, multi-functional."
"This is Stabbing, kicking, single target."
"This is Condensation, magic series attack."
"Ti Loop and Noah’s Chain I’m not going to demonstrate, the cooldown is too long."
During Su Ming’an’s exhibition, Hei Que continually asked questions.
"How is mana calculated?"
"I see, when you level up, you get attribute points, as long as you allocate them to ntality Points, you get more mana points..."
"Killing enemies gives you Experience Points, completing tasks earns you Points, this is your trading system... interesting... It’s quite similar to the Dreamwalker ga. Your perfect pass earns you World Origin, the Dreamwalker ga also seems to have rewards upon completion..."
"In that case, my world is quite similar to your ga. A ga within a ga, truly interesting..."
"So, you even have Casual Players and Adventurer Players... Hold on, doesn’t that an there are many people watching us now? Over a hundred million?"
Hei Que suddenly realized this point, raising an eyebrow.
Su Ming’an made a sound of acknowledgnt.
Hei Que touched his chin, waving at Su Ming’an, like a curious baby: "Where’s the cara? How should I face it?"
"If the audience views from a first-person perspective, they see the world through my eyes," Su Ming’an said.
Hei Que walked up to Su Ming’an, staring into his eyes.
"How lucky," Hei Que said, staring deep into Su Ming’an’s pupils as if trying to see the hundreds of millions of viewers behind the darkness: "... Players."
His once sunny expression turned extrely cold and profound for a mont. When Su Ming’an noticed it, Hei Que quickly regained his sunny and cheerful smile, as if it was just to say hello to the audience.
This almost made Su Ming’an think he had seen it wrong, that mont of extre darkness in Hei Que’s eyes.
"Here, take it."
As promised, Hei Que handed the Sword of Destiny to Su Ming’an.
...
"Ding!"
[You have completed all conditions for the "Exotic Species King" Rebirth, the rebirth program has been activated.]
[Please wait one day, and the "Exotic Species King" will et you :)]
...
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