"Whether it’s an Adventurer Player, a player with a secondary Occupation, or a Casual Player, or even observers with special identities... they are all indispensable parts of this ga.
All of us are in a world being pushed forward, striving ardently to build the High Towers in our hearts. In this process of construction, we each are a unique masterpiece in the world, the Protagonist of our own life’s stage—each one of us exists for a reason.
Whether it’s the leaders at the forefront, the Lighthouses that bring hope to everyone, or the Light Pursuers marching forward for their Faith, it’s the sa. I have never denied the value of anyone, because all of us as individuals are filled with aning..."
The young man in the white suit on the glowing screen was the focal point of the cara, spreading his hands in a perfectly poised smile, speaking words that touched hearts under the steady room lighting.
He was the center of everyone’s attention, naturally standing under the brightest light, speaking words that everyone could hear.
Su Ming’an watched the dazzling figure on the screen and slightly averted his gaze.
"Hmm?" Noel’s hand was still outstretched, his eyes filled with an animal-like confusion, "What? What did you just say?"
He glanced outside, the amusent park had completely shut down, the colorful lights gone, those attractions now like beasts slumbering in the darkness.
Other than the streetlamps beside the road still faintly lit, there was nothing special elsewhere.
"Let clarify," Su Ming’an did not continue with his previous words, but confird a new topic, "The New World you ntioned, its significance lies in embracing High Dinsions?"
"Yes," Noel withdrew his gaze from the window, "No matter what our goals are, no matter where we ultimately will go, whether we can maintain our original intentions, and whether we will still be ourselves in the end... In this process, I hope to be your support. On this path towards our ultimate goal, we cannot refuse everything else just to preserve so dignity."
"For example, embracing High Dinsions?"
"Of course," Noel looked at him, "I have researched human history—across its course, humanity has always been good at breaking the old to welco the new. Even if so changes seem too rapid in so eras, almost to the point of earth-shattering transformation. But after walking through the Long River of Ti, looking back, those things that seed to bring about reckless destruction... often beco the beginning of a new era.
It seems so now as well. Since we can’t resist it, why not go with it? As long as we can turn the passively endured into our own, then in the end, the ones who benefit, will still be us..."
Noel’s eyes were overly solemn as he spoke these words.
It was as if the childish naivety and cruelty had vanished in an instant. While Su Ming’an was confirming his gaze, Noel was also paying attention to the changes in Su Ming’an’s expression.
Noel was also betting.
Ranked second in the world, his background should have been thoroughly dug up by people, and yet he has always been known as the most mysterious Player. His background is unclear, his relatives are unknown, even his past on Zhai Xing is unknown to anyone.
He shouldn’t lack companions, but he has always fought alone. When he finally resolved to find a long-term teammate, he was also conducting a selection.
He had considered Su Ming’an before, but considering Su Ming’an’s performance at that ti, he did not seem like a qualified Number One Player. Su Ming’an’s ideas were too sharp then, like a sword pointed at everyone, ready to discard any "valueless things," and the difference in his attitude towards people was too drastic, to the point of notorious "double standards," causing many to fear such an existence.
Noel thought the other party wouldn’t pretend to be sothing he wasn’t, and was still immature, so there had been no communication until then.
But now, Su Ming’an seed to have matured a lot.
In a public setting like the human self-help conference, with a Cloning taking the stage and saying those pleasant words that pacified the hearts of the people, he was no longer in opposition to everyone.
So Noel approached him.
From beginning to end, from deliberately shouting Su Ming’an’s na, with the off-the-wall invitation, to presenting his philosophy... during this ti, he kept probing, testing in various ways to simulate and confirm the other’s thoughts.
Noel was like soone building with blocks, one after the other, from low to high, gradually steering the conversation to a point where the other could not retreat, and then seeking to understand the other’s ultimate thoughts.
Now, the ti had co to place the final block.
Noel’s hand rested on the red triangle block.
His gaze remained steady, as though no matter what Su Ming’an said, he would not particularly rebut but choose to accept.
Two people currently at the pinnacle of the world, were in a small, unknown Ferris wheel compartnt, confirming each other’s philosophies.
"Number One Player, what do you think of my proposal? Does it et your needs?"
Noel asked, slowly stacking the red blocks, his gaze unwavering, "I need your direct answer, tell , I can help you..."
Su Ming’an pondered for a mont and then nodded at him.
Noel’s hand trembled slightly, and then, row by row, the blocks collapsed completely with the succession of crisp colliding noises.
A hint of surprise, like fireworks exploding, appeared in his eyes, and he didn’t even bother to pick up the fallen blocks.
"Have you agreed?" he asked, as if whispering.
"I totally disagree," Su Ming’an replied quietly.
Noel blinked.
The next mont, Su Ming’an suddenly felt an oppressive silence envelop him, like a tidal wave sweeping over.
It seed a dangerous aura was slowly seeping through the depths.
He sighed.
"The agreent is established," he said.
Noel blinked again.
Su Ming’an continued, "I agree to ’Embrace High Dinsions.’ What I don’t agree with is the philosophy you just ntioned."
"Ah... it doesn’t matter." Noel suddenly laughed out loudly, seemingly very happy, "All I wanted was for you to agree with . As for those words I just used to persuade you... they’re not important."
He began picking up the fallen blocks one by one, then piled them together, like a hamster collecting things.
Su Ming’an watched the apparently delighted Noel, considering in his heart.
He did not choose to refuse.
From any angle, he should not refuse.
Even though Noel had just ntioned sothing like "abandon humanity, embrace high dinsions," under the organizers’ watch, he could not refuse.
Although he didn’t know what the "chance of evolution" Noel spoke of really was, he needed to agree at this mont.
If achieving high dinsions would improve his chance, even slightly, of a perfect pass, then he should not refuse. His margin for error was too low; he could not let go of the opportunity to beco stronger due to pride that said "as a human, one must never bow to high-dinsional beings."
Such pride is not self-respect; it is foolishness.
Like an egg striking a rock, blatantly opposing the other party in a ga set by the organizers is a aningless act.
As long as he rembers what his goal is, the nature of the path along the way is irrelevant. He only wants one result.
And at the mont he nodded, he felt a sudden rising sensation, causing him a bit of oppressive discomfort.
It was like a heavy stone suddenly pressing down on his chest, the blood-red hotness on the back of his hand burned, and as he raised his hand to look closely, the heat gradually faded away.
He stared at the back of his hand for a mont, dazed, and heard Noel’s voice brimming with laughter on the other side:
"Su Ming’an, I’ve actually seen you on Zhai Xing, although you may not have seen ."
Su Ming’an raised his head.
"I rember your eyes, they are not the kind that a student should have... What kind of eyes were they?" Noel pondered with his chin in his hand, as if reminiscing, as if reflecting:
"Your eyes back then... numb, as if resigned,"
hollow, and wooden."
——"Like you had lost all your blood, your entire being had beco withered." Noel’s smile, with a touch of angelic innocence, but when those eyelids slightly drooped, allowing the implications in those eyes to compress and condense, a naive sense of danger emanated from them,
"And now, I seem to see you, with eyes and soul alike, sparkling with light."
Noel reached out a hand and placed a box of blocks in his:
"I’ve written information about the Sixth World on it. You can go back and prepare at your leisure.
Thank you for your trust, human Lighthouse.
We’ll et again in the next team world."
...
Su Ming’an walked out of the amusent park, a rotating spatial vortex spinning behind him.
He held a stack of neatly packaged blocks in his hand, colorful and inscribed with bright, twisted characters.
He stared at the stack of blocks sealed within the glass pane, and suddenly felt a coolness on his cheek.
Looking up, he saw a smattering of willowy, snowflakes drifting down from the sky.
...November 26.
He rembered that the Main God Space did not specifically simulate weather systems, so was this, soone spending Points to simulate it?
Ever since the construction of virtual scenery chanisms, many unreal things could be recreated.
Weather simulation was no exception; many flower and plant enthusiasts found a boon in creating various weather conditions in their own yards.
And now, it seed that in this server, soone was simulating a snowy day?
Su Ming’an stretched out his hand, snowflakes falling on it, triggering a burst of coldness.
Nearby, the streets were lined with LCD screens, one after the other, hung outside shop doors, uniformly broadcasting live footage of the human self-rescue conference.
"...Number One Player, so, your concept is to let everyone maximize their own value?"
From the screen, a clear female voice ca through, seemingly asking a question.
Su Ming’an turned his head and saw, atop of the screen accumulating a bit of lted snow, the image of a leader bathed in light.
"Of course."
The Number One Player in the conference room, faced with countless gazes, spoke with extre sincerity: "We need to clearly understand that every individual has value. Just because one is not useful in the current crisis, or has been stripped of purpose, it doesn’t an our efforts are entirely wasted. We need more players to enter the ga and earn Points. In my opinion, concentrating Points on a few individual players has its rits, but for safety, we should ensure that everyone becos their own deposit box of Points..."
"But I rember, Number One Player, your earlier theory was not like this, you believed that those who were useless should not enter the ga, they should beco spectators, they should learn to gaze upon existences like you..." soone raised an objection.
"As ti changes, and systems change, people’s thoughts are always evolving," Ming’an said: "I cherish those willing to gaze upon , but I admire their striving even more.
Everyone is a luminary; even if not the sun, they are stars that can reflect light.
If we don’t want to remain forever displaced in a constantly changing era, to beco pawns of public opinion, if we want to change the script of our lives and catch a glimpse of daylight, then it’s up to us, to pursue our own light...
In such tis, no one is luckier than anyone else, nor is anyone more unfortunate."
Su Ming’an watched the screen.
The lting snow on his hand, he lowered his head to see the cold patch on his palm.
"——Don’t run! Don’t run! Take my sword!"
From the street corner, suddenly ca the voices of children, two little ones with braids, wearing just single layer clothes, who ran wildly from the side, brandishing dangerously sharp swords, jabbing at each other.
In Zhai Xing, such things used to be seen as extrely dangerous, but here they appeared ordinary, as people’s physiques had beco digitized, winters not particularly cold, children with added physique points could run around in single layer clothes. And the rule against direct attacks and harm ensured that even sword fighting would not be dangerous.
"I got you, take my Rainbow Sword!"
"Take my Ice Soul Sword!"
"Hey ya, you can’t hit !"
The two children called out as they fenced with each other, sparing no effort.
There were no adults behind them; whether it was that the adults hadn’t been selected to co in, or they were unable to contact each other, it wasn’t clear.
Since organizations like the United Group began to be established and humanity started moving from chaos to order, many posts seeking family sprang up like mushrooms after the rain. World forums even opened a special section dedicated to posting requests to find relatives and friends.
Even the elderly, who were not adept at using such tools, or children who understood nothing, could get free help from organizations like the United Group to find their relatives.
This way, there were not so many unattended children around.
...But there were always those who couldn’t find their family.
Su Ming’an watched the two children who kept running energetically from one end to the other, unattended, and wondered if they had not found their relatives as well.
Then, he suddenly heard one of the children shout.
"——I want to be the Lighthouse! I am the Lighthouse!"
The other child imdiately objected, dragging the sword half as tall as themself and shouting: "No! You’re not, I’m the Lighthouse!"
"I am!"
"You’re a Light Pursuer! I’m the Lighthouse!"
"You don’t understand the aning of the Lighthouse, you’re just, rely a Light Pursuer!"
"You don’t understand, I do!"
"What do you understand?"
"The Lighthouse ans you have to overthrow everyone, to beco the strongest——!"
"Light Pursuers are all rubbish! They’re no good! Just by beating you, I win!"
"You’re not, rebound!"
"I rebound too!"
"Rebounds don’t work!"
"No invalidation allowed! Don’t run away——"
...
Su Ming’an stood still, watching the two children grow more distant as they ran.
The snowlt stained his clothes, forming large, spreading damp patches.
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