Su Ming’an looked at the splendid scene before him.
Like completing a mission, he stepped in and walked into the room at the very bottom.
Noel followed him in, sat across from him, and closed the door.
The speed of the Ferris wheel was extrely slow, as if trapped in an independent space, where everything shaking outside the window was just the lingering remnants of the past, all cast aside in the back of the mind.
"My guest," Noel looked at him, "you seem to have suffered many hardships, so much so that you no longer smile."
Su Ming’an looked at him, waiting for his invitation.
"And now, as far as I know, there are still many who have their sights set on you, including so dead warriors." Noel chuckled lightly, "Gran Country’s assassin organization, Spades, have you heard of them?"
"I’m just a student."
"Hehe," Noel laughed, as if he had anticipated his response, and continued:
"These organizations have been around for a long ti, always existing in history, doing the sort of things rcenaries do, taking the kind of rewards that can’t see the light. However, in modern tis, as wars have dwindled, these organizations funded by conflict have declined, struggling to survive in peaceti and forced to rely on the big capitalists."
"But now—"
"They are like fish back in water."
"They have no bottom line, no dignity to maintain on the surface, as long as there is benefit, a chance to live, a chance to climb higher, they would do anything," Noel stared at him, "It’s very interesting; they are a group of pure egoists."
"You’re warning ," Su Ming’an said.
"Yes, I’m reminding you," Noel said, "Join my team, Su Ming’an. I have resources beyond your imagination, I can protect you, ensure your path is unobstructed, and the new world needs you, too."
"Trust ," Noel continued, his eyes vividly leaping with life, like the shimring of waves:
"I know your ideals, I know all your actions, I even know your ultimate goal.
I know that you are not an accomplice of the organizers," Noel said, "because you are a ’Ruler,’ and coincidentally, I hold a similar status.
—If it’s about winning till the end, dominating Zhai Xing, I’m sorry, but I have lost that qualification.
If there must be one person,
I would rather believe that you are the one who will stand till the end.
I haven’t perfectly passed all the levels, nor will I deliberately pursue it afterwards, I have no fundantal conflict with you.
I can help you; trust , you need a companion, and that person is best to be .
I am willing to bet on you, unlike those human organizations that only know how to fight amongst themselves, I am more sincere. I’ll team up with you, we have a common goal of interests..."
Su Ming’an guessed that Noel might also possess an additional identity.
Even Lv Shu has a status like that of a Supervisor, and Noel, always second on the world ranking list, naturally also has his opportunities.
"I am more trustworthy than Yu Ruohuo, more helpful to you than Lv Shu. Su Ming’an, you need a collective, and if that collective cannot be the United Group, then choose —Let’s ga happily together, adventure happily together, and then confront the new world together," Noel looked at him, with a trace of a sunny, leisurely smile.
His facial features were incredibly soft, approachable. Just by looking at him, one could think of the breeze in springti, the fragrance of grass and trees, and find it impossible to dislike him.
"New World Guild," Su Ming’an mulled over the term, "May I know your principles? In such a world, under such desperate circumstances, do you intend to laugh and ’play gas’?"
As he spoke, his tone grew increasingly solemn:
"Do you think, this kind of world, this kind of ga... is fun?"
Noel’s smile faintly receded.
He seed to fall into a brief silence, and as Su Ming’an’s expression slowly faded, he suddenly spoke, his face devoid of any smile.
"Number One Player, do you know?" Noel looked at him, his voice flat, without a hint of humor, "Humanity is about to be destroyed."
Su Ming’an abruptly lifted his head.
"In the past, humans often had this thought. Wondering if one day, a volcano might erupt suddenly, a cold snap might sweep in, a massive earthquake might strike, a tsunami might devour everything..." Noel’s eyelids drooped as he spoke of these matters with apparent indifference:
"And then, as the world progressed and technology developed, people shifted their doubts."
"They would wonder, might a teor fall out of nowhere, might the sun move out of its orbit, might artificial intelligence slip out of control, might an alien civilization suddenly arrive..."
"People are always doubting, doubting the future of humanity, doubting whether civilization can continue to exist safely and smoothly."
Noel looked up, his eyes suddenly as calm as a lake: "And now, these doubts are about to co true."
"Things beyond human imagination have occurred, an alien intelligent race has appeared, a world ga has appeared, a high-level alien civilization has appeared... By the ti the world ga ends, Zhai Xing, will no longer be the Zhai Xing that we know."
"Human civilization is really facing a crisis."
"At a ti when we are not yet prepared, not yet fully ard, even when our interstellar travel capabilities are still confined within the Solar System, an unimaginable high-level civilization has arrived."
"We are like toys, like chess pieces, like clowns on the stage... for others’ amusent, confused, afraid, frantic, acting according to the rules given by the organizers, timid, unable to resist, like a bunch of ants pinched in the hands of children."
"Human civilization is about to be extinguished, Su Ming’an," Noel looked at him, the smile no longer on his face, as if everything before was just a façade, "before the world ga ends... we are the last generation of humanity."
Su Ming’an had been quiet all along, silently listening to the other’s words.
"Transcendent, superpowered, beyond science—individual strength now greatly surpasses that of the collective; all order has been thrown into chaos and reconfigured, while the Organizers can still ddle with Zhai Xing without restraint and even hold one ga after another to their satisfaction..." Noel rubbed his head, his blond hair losing its luster in the gradually quieting night:
"It’s all over; we are in the twilight before darkness, and civilization is already like a candle flickering in the wind..."
He lifted his head, fingers touching the glass of the checkered window, observing the slowly descending scenery:
"You see, just like this nightfall.
We’re now at the most critical mont." Noel looked at him: "Human civilization is about to be destroyed."
Su Ming’an remained silent.
However, looking at him, Noel suddenly revealed a smile.
It was as if a faint light had reignited in his eyes, and he looked at Su Ming’an with a gaze filled with intense satisfaction.
"Su Ming’an." He looked at him and continued: "—You are an extrely cold person."
Su Ming’an’s hand trembled slightly.
"Others can’t see clearly and think you genuinely want to make it to the end, to beco a stable existence in the eyes of the confused. They believe you are a martyr pursuing faith with passion, fervently loving the ’Lighthouse’ you speak of.
...But I can see clearly, your strong sense of ’purpose.’
When Yuanyuan died, your lant was rely that [a Lighthouse was lost].
Iris was killed by your hand in the Fourth World without hesitation.
You conversed with Bai Xiong, sparred with Shen Xue, personally killed her, then convinced Moli and the Ghosts to achieve your Perfect Pass.
During this period, in the midst of events that could have changed a student, your emotions remained undisturbed.
I can tell, your heart is as calm as your expression.
You are a cold person; this is not a derogatory term, but my admiration for your ’purpose.’
Noel smiled, spreading his hands: "—I fight only for my own preferences, and I like people who always have such a strong sense of purpose.
You are like a bold adventurer, unafraid of any risk, your direction always firm.
That is also why I was reluctant to act at night in the Fourth World; though I beca a Werewolf, I did not want to kill you. Compared to a victory in a ga, I’d rather support a natural adventurer like you.
I don’t want to watch you drown with those humans while clinging to your ideals, so I found a new thod—a thod of surviving." He smiled: "Like the ’New World.’
His smile remained pure and clear, like a child’s delight in receiving a toy.
It also carried a hint of naive cruelty, as if ready to destroy the toy at any mont.
"Let the obsolete human civilization be eliminated,
and let life that survives, that fits, continue.
To embrace the future, to embrace high dinsions, to embrace rebirth, to embrace—a whole new world civilization."
...
[To turn the Mortal World into Hell is exactly what people are doing when trying to create Paradise.]
...
[United Group—Human Future Self-Rescue Conference]
Standing on the stage are officers in military uniforms, standing at attention with stern deanors.
Next to them are United Group personnel strutting about in standard uniforms, creating a distinct visual scene.
And at the four wide-open doors, people are entering in a continuous stream.
Ma Qiaoli adjusted the scarf around her neck, adorned with a pattern of flax and willow leaves, her favourite design.
She sat in the seat prepared by the United Group for the top-ranking players, in front of her a bottle of unbranded mineral water and a portion of tiramisu with a cherry on top.
With the data-converted bodies, many diseases difficult for humans to resolve were eradicated; there’s no issue of diabetes preventing one from eating cake.
She sat upright in her chair, ensuring her posture was proper and that her blond hair wasn’t rudely sticking out. Then, she directed her proper gaze towards the entrance.
Although Ma Qiaoli gave great importance to this eting—dressed in a red formal gown and noticing many others in formal attire—the people entering were a riot of colors.
Yes, a "riot of colors."
Most were Players, so of whom actually wore their Equipnt rather than just keeping it in their inventory, now sparkling with cool brilliance, making the serious conference room resemble an old second-dinsion gathering.
Their attitudes varied, and their attire was bizarre. Aside from the serious black and white suits, there were casual clothes, Hanfu, Lolita, JK, modified ani elent outfits, pain-inducing clothes, chanical coats, armor belts... and even so who ca in pajamas.
Seeing these young people of various appearances and odd attire, Ma Qiaoli, already past fifty, wondered for a mont if she had fallen out of touch with the tis.
But upon glancing at the system interface and seeing her face, as beautiful and youthful as a young girl, she suddenly felt—that maybe this era wasn’t so bad after all.
Humanity is always rich and colorful.
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