[Yuan Shuangshuang: It wasn’t until I saw the recording that I rembered. It seems... that I’m indeed no longer here... and haven’t been, for a very long ti.]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: Now, I’m probably just a simulated segnt of consciousness.]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: There’s a diary by my side, written by five years ago. You can read it if you want. I’m so sleepy, so sleepy, I don’t want to talk too much...]
...
Next to the rotting corpse, there was a blood-stained notebook. Su Ming’an opened it and saw lines of childish text.
...
[January 1, 1223]
[...I am Yuan Shuangshuang, today is the 79th day since I was captured.]
[The beak-nosed adults said they wanted the ’test subjects to keep a cheerful mood’, so they asked what I wanted. I said I wanted a diary...]
[I can start to record every day now.]
...
[January 6, 1223]
[I heard soone calling my na? She said her na was Aier, and she’s in a place far, far away.]
...
[January 19, 1223]
[One of the beak-nosed adults is really nice, he even brought the chicken wings I always wanted. If only they could be more gentle when drawing blood and not use such a thick tube...]
...
[February 12, 1223]
[It hurts so much, those needles hurt so much, I still want to sleep, I’m so sleepy...]
[Aier said that in a few more months, I would be able to sleep well, for a long ti. Then, nobody would be able to wake up.]
[Aier said, although we people from Qiongdi are ostracized, scorned and called monsters, she believes that deformity is a form of beauty.]
[She thinks I’m beautiful.]
...
[February 28, 1223]
[I’m always in pain.]
[Aier’s voice keeps coming, she’s chatting with .]
[She said she loves us, loves , and loves many, many people from Qiongdi, her love is so selfless.]
[I asked her why she wanted to chat with , and she said it’s because our compatibility is very high.]
[What is compatibility? Does it an we are well suited to be friends?]
...
[March 13, 1223]
[I miss my mother. The beak-nosed adults said that as long as I hold out for a few more days, they would send back...]
...
[April 1, 1223]
[The beak-nosed adult wants to smile, to maintain a cheerful mood, as it helps with the experints. But I really feel terrible, so terrible. I smiled, but it was a very ugly smile.]
...
[April 12, 1223]
[The beak-nosed adults said the experint was a success! They really extracted the virus from .]
[I’m so hungry, nobody is taking care of , they all seem to be celebrating. I feel like my body is lting; is this... the curse?]
...
[April 13, 1223]
[My body is covered with black lines.]
[...My face is all broken, my legs have turned black too, not pretty at all, the spots on my body are disgusting, these tubes look so awful... My appearance, it really doesn’t differ much from that of a monster, does it?]
[So now, have I truly beco the ’monster’ they spoke of?]
[Suddenly, Aier said I don’t have to keep holding on anymore, I can have a nice sleep.]
[She said, this is "death".]
[I don’t understand what "death" is.]
[To close my eyes, to feel no pain, is there anything better than this?]
[...]
[It’s just that, her voice suddenly feels so close to .]
[I suddenly don’t feel cold anymore, nor do I feel pain.]
[...I want to sleep well, it’s been so long since I’ve had a good sleep.]
[Aier said that after I fall asleep forever, she will take over my body and avenge .]
[What vengeance? Aren’t we all for peace?]
[As long as no other children will ever have to suffer as I did, that would be enough.]
[I’m going to sleep. As I write this sentence, I hear Aier gently telling —]
["Good night."]
[Sister Aier, thank you for always talking to .]
...
[Good night.]
...
In Su Ming’an’s hand, the walkie-talkie stirs.
[Yuan Shuangshuang: You found , how impressive.]
[Su Ming’an: You are already dead... you’ve fallen asleep forever?]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: Yes, it wasn’t until I saw the recording that I rembered... it turns out, I already fell asleep five years ago.]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: Now, Aier has taken over my body. She’s very powerful, isn’t she? Much more powerful than ...]
[Su Ming’an: ...]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: I really want to eat more chicken wings, want to wear more dresses. But now, I guess I’m just a piece of fictional consciousness... I assu once you beat this little instance, I’ll be completely asleep.]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: I don’t care about world peace or any viruses, I’m just so sleepy, so sleepy... so in pain... I just don’t want to be called a ’monster’, but in the end... I seem to have really beco a monster.]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: ...]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: Okay, I want to sleep now, I can’t chat with you anymore...]
[Su Ming’an: Good night.]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: Yeah, good night, thank you for talking with .]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: You’re so kind.]
[Yuan Shuangshuang: Good night.]
...
The next mont,
The body of Yuan Shuangshuang, riddled with holes, disappeared like lting snow, and the walkie-talkie in his hand dissipated along with it.
It was like seeing a fla burning in the rain. The scene before his eyes was filled with strange lights, and he vaguely saw the smile of a girl with purple hair.
She opened her mouth to reveal sharp little canines, cheekily saying to him—
...
[You’re so kind.]
[Good night.]
...
[You have completed the Ancient Castle instance story "Good Night".]
[Perfect Completion Progress: 90%]
...
After standing for a mont, Su Ming’an left the old and abandoned laboratory.
As he went upstairs, he saw a person waiting at the staircase, holding a book in hand.
"Speaking of which, five years ago, it was exactly the ti when Xiber had faith in Jiu Shen." Su Ming’an suddenly said, "Back then, Jiu Shen must have already possessed the ability to communicate with others remotely. Moreover, it seems only a deity could accurately know about Kael Nashe’s specific actions a few days ago and mimic them perfectly..."
Jingjing quietly watched him.
Her wisteria-like eyes reflected his shadow.
"After obtaining Yuan Shuangshuang’s faith, you took over her body." Su Ming’an said, "Yuan Shuangshuang and Xiber are both naive children... Both have suffered trendous hardship, so that’s how you gained such followers... Jiu Shen Aria."
"..." Jingjing’s pen moved slightly, she stopped writing.
"Deities are ford by human faith and fantasy, therefore—" Su Ming’an conjectured, "it’s reasonable to assu that if people kept believing Aria to be the Evil God, you would indeed turn from a Good God into an Evil God, right?"
"..." Jingjing’s gaze flickered.
"—Thus, to avoid becoming a complete Evil God, you split off the tentacled Jiu Shen who wished to destroy Qiongdi, to absorb the faith in evil from people, to beco the Evil God.
After all, that tentacled Jiu Shen is too weak, with a Combat Power of only 4500, it seems not to be the complete form of Jiu Shen." Su Ming’an said, "While the benevolent you, are looking for a way to lift the Curse without killing everyone—like repeatedly resetting Reincarnation, in hopes of making your follower Cici beco a deity."
Jingjing: "..."
"What convinced the most—was the timing of your awakening." Su Ming’an said, "You’ve been asleep for the past few days, and you only woke up after the tentacled Jiu Shen was defeated. This gap in ti... it fits just right, like a switch between personae."
"Your Initial Favorability towards is 95." Su Ming’an said, "—But I guess, for every human, it’s 95 to begin with."
"Because God loves all people." Su Ming’an said, "Is my surmise correct? Miss Jingjing."
Jingjing gazed at him and closed the diary to which she had been attending.
"Anjiang." Jingjing said, "Now that you’ve said this, are you expecting to silence you?"
Her diary was thick and seed to be wrapped in cowhide.
On the cover, a line of ancient fantasy script was written.
[— "Jiu Shen·Reincarnation Diary"]
...
"What are you writing?" Su Ming’an asked, ignoring her threat of silencing him.
"Like Yuan Shuangshuang, I too enjoy keeping a diary." Jingjing said.
She turned around.
"Now that you’ve seen through everything—after this small instance ends, co find at the final altar." She said, "If you beco the last victor of the Hundred Person War, I will—temporarily lend you the Black Crow Authority, to beco a deity."
"Lend?" Su Ming’an laughed. Once in his hands, it would be his. After becoming a Bai Shen, he’d push down the Black Wall, the instance would end, and Jingjing would not think about taking it back.
"Of course it’s a... loan. Because in the end, you will personally return it to ." Jingjing looked at him aningfully, "I’ll go first."
Her figure gradually faded away.
This Silver Star Replica couldn’t bind her; she could leave whenever she wished, the Ancient Castle couldn’t stop her.
As she left, a feather with the number 99 fell to the ground.
Su Ming’an picked it up.
The higher the Value, the more benevolent the person.
Jingjing’s 99 points had explained everything, she was a benevolent deity by nature.
The 99 points, plus the Values he had already collected, exceeded 100 points.
The plot of the Ancient Castle was explored; it was ti to end it.
He drew his sword and walked up the stairs, searching throughout the Ancient Castle, wherever he went, he saw a person and killed a person.
With the 100 points of feathers he now had, in the Eighth World only one victor can exist, and now everyone was an enemy.
"—Su Ming’an, I’m a Player, not a mole!"
"—Su Ming’an, we can cooperate, no need to hurry and kill —"
"We are competitors by nature, if you kill , I have nothing to say, just hope you make it quick, otherwise it won’t look good in front of the whole world..."
"..."
Before they died, the Players had different deanors, and in a one-on-one situation, none could escape the mandatory duel of the High Tower Invitation.
As soon as a duel began, it would inevitably be Su Ming’an’s victory.
The audience was stunned—the whole way, Su Ming’an marched on, blade in hand, killing as he went, teleporting away when he encountered Curse Black Beasts, and slashing directly at anyone he soon t. In such a cramped indoor space, once his Spatial Vibration was released, almost no one was spared.
[I... wow.]
[The Number One Player really went on a killing spree, huh...]
[If it hadn’t been for Su Ming’an running out of bullets for those two guns, he would have killed even more efficiently.]
[To him, Purple Grade weapons are just like cabbages, it’s infuriating how so are just naturally better. I’m still cherishing a Blue Level weapon like it’s a treasure...]
[Nonsense, this is the disparity in strength that the Number One Player earned with his life. Stop being jealous.]
As the sun set in the west, Su Ming’an, who had gone on a rampage, returned to the grand hall on the first floor.
The quiet hall was filled with the aroma of at.
The black-robed figure, the issuer of the castle’s rules, sat enjoying a bowl of soup with an ease that suggested he owned the place.
Su Ming’an’s entire body was dyed red with blood, even the twin swords in his hands were dripping with it.
The thick sll of blood mixed with the aroma of at in the hall, creating an eerie atmosphere.
"You’re here?" the black-robed figure looked up and pointed to the opposite seat, "How about a bowl of at soup?"
Su Ming’an glanced at it and noticed that the black-robed figure was drinking the very sa at soup he had made in the kitchen earlier, even the shit-yellow color was identical.
He had so leftovers that he hadn’t finished, and now, unexpectedly, the black-robed figure was drinking it.
"Is it good?" asked Su Ming’an.
"Delicious," replied the black-robed figure, "Those who think it’s not good simply don’t appreciate it."
With that said, he took a big gulp of half the bowl, seemingly enjoying it very much.
Favorability 5 for Su Ming’an.
"Okay, I ca here to tell you that there’s no one left alive in the ancient castle," Su Ming’an took out a black feather worth 100 points, "I’m submitting the feathers early. I’ve won."
"That’s not correct," said the black-robed figure, "Even though you’ve collected 100 feathers, you’ve killed too many innocents, I can’t acknowledge your victory."
"But apart from Mizushima Kawa Sora, all the others were traitors, not innocents," countered Su Ming’an.
He had killed everyone once, and could basically confirm anyone who did not trigger an Occupation upgrade notification as a traitor.
"What if I don’t agree with you? You say others are traitors out of nowhere, what if I don’t believe it?" the black-robed figure stubbornly said.
Su Ming’an was a bit surprised—could you really deny that?
"I have found an anomaly," Su Ming’an explained, "I’ve obtained 100 feathers, yet my Perfect Pass isn’t acknowledged—doesn’t this imply that the real victory conditions have been altered by you?"
After killing everyone, he began to sense that perhaps the rules of victory were different.
The ancient castle rules this ti weren’t prompted by the system, but rather verbally stated by the black-robed figure.
So, there was a possibility of deception.
The victory condition of collecting 100 feathers as declared by the black-robed figure could very well be a fabricated rule.
...
[Player (Su Ming’an) has discovered that the ancient castle’s victory rules have been altered by the black-robed figure.]
[Transferring the remaining players out of the parallel instance...]
...
A flash of white light.
Suddenly, six blood-covered people appeared around Su Ming’an, the players that were still alive, including the supposedly dead Herbert, Joy, and Sherry.
It was clear that those who died before were impostors pretending to be them, not the individuals themselves.
They were on guard and watched each other warily the mont they appeared, their stances extrely defensive.
Noel thought for a mont and understood.
"I see," he said, "just now, each of us was transported into an identical ancient castle parallel instance, almost entirely surrounded by impostor traitors. It’s only when soone, like Su Ming’an did, goes to the black-robed figure and exposes that he altered the rules, that we would be brought back."
Su Ming’an nodded.
The black-robed figure was indeed clever.
The black-robed figure had anticipated that the players’ ultimate goal was to defeat him, so he staged a grand entrance, projecting an aura of importance, pulling out a false victory goal to make the players obediently follow his lead.
In the parallel instance, each player was surrounded by almost exclusively traitors; they would fight to the death with the traitors amidst suspicion and then, weakened, be easily swept up by the black-robed figure’s Black Beast.
No wonder the black-robed figure’s Black Beast was so eager to hunt them down.
...
As Noel finished analyzing, a system prompt sounded.
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