A screen appeared before them.
[(Yasa Acto) is seeking public opinion. Do you agree to the condition of "exchanging the Dawn System for the survival of 100 million people"?]
[Options: Yes (213,112 people have chosen) / No (180,982 people have chosen)]
...
"Is this... asking for our opinion?" The old lady was surprised, "Since when could we make decisions?"
"I want to live. Even if it’s just a one in twenty-eight chance, I still want to live."
"Forget it, even if we survive, we’ll just beco the ’lower class’ on this land." A young man shook his head, pressing "No" with indignation, "Let it die, let it die, the world should have been destroyed long ago, all those in power should go to hell! Those foolish leaders should go to hell!"
Little i listened silently to these words and walked into the black mist.
"Little girl, the black mist outside is dangerous, don’t go out!" A kind-hearted old lady tried to stop her, but Little i had already gone far.
She stumbled along, coughing as she walked.
During her treatnt, she kept thinking about how, as a person born inferior, living like garbage on the fringe, she would be used by her father until she died from illness if she hadn’t t the City Lord.
But before dying, she t so very good people.
The white cat jumped onto her shoulder, and a spatial barrier ford around her, shielding her from the black mist.
"Kitty, you learned this skill?" Little i raised it high, "Amazing!"
The white cat owed arrogantly, stretching its paw to point at the "Yes" button on the screen, indicating Little i should press it.
"I understand, Kitty. If [Ta Wei] coexists with us, there will be a treatnt plan for my illness, right?" Little i said, "I have such a good relationship with the City Lord, once we receive dical technology, he will surely treat , won’t he?"
The white cat owed again, also hoping she would survive.
Little i smiled gently.
Her smile felt like a spring breeze, her features not particularly stunning, yet with an elf-like purity, reminiscent of a blooming flower under the midnight sky.
She held it up, spinning around like Cinderella at midnight’s end, though her prince was just a cat.
"...But I won’t." She said loudly, "I won’t take up dical resources! I won’t trouble him, an ordinary person like , my life has already been wonderful. Kitty! Let’s go to Constantine University, shall we? I’ve never been to school in my life, my biggest dream is to see a university. Let’s go together, okay?"
The white cat owed, waving its little paws. It jumped out of her hands, leaping towards her—
Little i hugged it tightly.
She rubbed against its fur, striding forward with bigger steps, walking faster and lighter, as if shedding her illness, the wind couldn’t catch up with her pace. Even the blood she coughed up was left behind, as if she was a nimble gust of wind.
"I’ve never been to school since I was a child. I heard Constantine University has many rare books, and all you need is a library card to read them."
"Everyone there has a personal terminal. If they have problems, they can ask a ntor, not like who has to rummage through garbage for books. If they et soone they like, they can have a campus romance, not like who can only exchange my body for money."
"Knowledge is the most valuable resource, Kitty. If you ever beco human, don’t forget what I said today."
With her limited imagination, Little i sketched an image of a white ivory tower in her mind. The white cat kept owing, using its paw pads to wipe the blood from her lips.
Suddenly, she stopped.
The white cat tilted its head in confusion and owed.
"Kitty, look," Little i lowered her head, her gaze falling on the soil at her feet.
She reached out her bluish-purple hand, her five fingers covering the soil, brushing away the top dust to reveal so small flowers like stars.
She stared blankly at these fragile flowers.
"Look," she said, "there are flowers."
...
[Total Energy Station]
[5km from Central Building]
"Have all power stations been destroyed?"
"Councilman, most of our power stations have been invaded by the black mist. The turning lights Anjie and the others carried out are the city’s last large light source."
"Understood, keep looking."
In the energy station like an iron barrel, Player Aylan and a team gathered here, searching for remaining usable energy.
After a brief exchange, they split into several teams, moving separately in the vast energy station.
"What exactly is Su Ming’an doing? He’s issued so many orders with Noel, not one makes sense to ." Aylan said while searching, "Collecting all the light sources and fireseeds of the city-state, requiring thirty-six aircraft to escort and protect him. What exactly does he want?"
The player Qiuqiu beside him said, "But Su Ming’an’s negotiations are very credible. If 100 million people can survive, all of us players can definitely survive."
"You’re right, maybe that’s his goal..." Aylan nodded.
At this mont, everyone suddenly heard a prompt.
[(Yasa Acto) is seeking public opinion. Do you agree to the condition of "exchanging the Dawn System for the survival of 100 million people"?]
[Options: Yes (16,913,112) / No (13,280,982)]
"What?" Aylan was shocked, "Is Su Ming’an serious? He still needs to ask everyone about this kind of thing?"
"It fits his style though..." Qiuqiu said.
Suddenly, darkness engulfed everything, the lights on the ceiling went out in an instant, and around them, sounds of panic and running erupted.
"Alarm, alarm."
"Oxygen concentration is below safety range, fire safety system has been damaged."
"What’s happening?" Aylan sensed sothing was wrong. Turning his head, he was shocked to find the soldiers behind him had started killing each other. So had bloodshot eyes, attacking comrades as if they’d gone mad.
"Rat-a-tat-tat" gunfire rang out continuously, blood splashing all over Aylan. Those red-eyed soldiers, as if they didn’t care for their lives, raised their weapons and fired wildly.
"What’s wrong with you guys? Stop!" The other soldiers shouted.
"Why at this ti..."
Flas roared around them. Aylan panicked.
"It’s the work of the Deity," Qiuqiu realized, "According to the instance’s start information, many in the city-state have already sided with [Ta Wei]. The Deity had them expose themselves at this critical mont to obstruct us."
"The Deity must believe Su Ming’an has beco a real threat to him."
...
[Constantine University]
[1km from Central Building]
Hundreds of students erged from the auditorium, marching grandly into the black mist. They arrived at a square where hundreds of small flying devices were parked.
"Luocha, can this thing fly?" Yamada Machiichi touched the pitted surface of the aircraft.
"This is my graduation project, even though it was rejected by my ntor three or four tis... but it’s fine!" Luocha boarded the helicopter, extending his hand to Yamada Machiichi, "Didn’t the City Lord say he needed light sources and fireseeds? Our aircraft are all equipped with temporary light sources! Co on, get on!"
Yamada Machiichi blushed, grasping Luocha’s hand.
Similar to them, hundreds and thousands of small flying devices ascended from the square, helicopters, small airships, even UFO-shaped aircraft... one after another, they took off, heading towards the Central Building.
Compared to the City of asurent as a whole, Constantine University was the only area without red-eyed people. Despite the risk of black mist, they still stepped out of the safe and warm hall.
The student living in the Ivory Tower, for the first ti, radiates such a dazzling light.
...
"Help ... Take these Origin Stones out."
The crashed aircraft fell in the Inner City, and a pilot, barely clinging to life, crawled out, wrapped in a tattered protective suit.
Judging from the scene, his protective suit was entirely sufficient for him to survive the air disaster. Yet he chose to wrap it around the Origin Stone Bottle, ensuring it remained undamaged.
As the pilot crawled weakly out of the aircraft wreckage, a girl stood before him and took the Origin Stone Bottle from his hand.
"I understand, I will help you take it out," the girl said softly.
"Thank you..." The pilot raised his head, bloodied: "Your eyes... are beautiful."
Dong An’an blinked, startled.
"Like my daughter..." The pilot closed his eyes.
Dong An’an, holding the Origin Stone Bottle, turned and boarded an aircraft. She skillfully started the plane, took off, carrying an entire aircraft’s load of Origin Stones. The destination was the Central Building.
"16km." She glanced at the distance and pressed the autopilot button.
...
From a certain mont onward, the City-State shifted from extre quiet to extre motion. With the first gunshot at the energy station, people engaged in a bloody struggle with the red-eyed ones.
Su Ming’an faintly heard the sounds of chaos below, but he couldn’t see what was happening in the City-State.
"...Are people fighting among themselves?" Su Ming’an murmured: "Deity, is this your command?"
"Yes." The Deity replied: "I didn’t intend to do this originally. If you agree to trade with and ignore the others, I’ll imdiately stop the red-eyed ones from fighting."
Su Ming’an shook his head: "The City-State is in turmoil, but I believe soone will handle it for ."
"Su Ming’an, do you have too much faith in humanity?" The Deity spoke coldly.
Su Ming’an chuckled:
"Deity, do you not have enough faith in humanity?"
At that mont, he suddenly heard a faint "whoosh." He turned his head, his pupils reflected the silver-white shadow of a sniper bullet.
The bullet was sniped from below, aiming straight for his head. It seed a red-eyed soldier wanted to snipe him.
"Ding——!"
Suddenly, a sharp golden light flashed before his eyes, nailing the flying bullet to the ground.
"Clatter——" The sound of helicopter rotors ca from above. Su Ming’an looked up and saw a long line of thirty-six aircraft flying toward him, like migrating wild geese.
Their silver-white bodies cut through the Black Mist, like blades stabbing through the darkness. They approached in neat formation, like a team of Knights. Leading the helicopter was Lu, whose hand glowed with golden light; it was Lu who had just intercepted the bullet from the air.
The strong wind ruffled Su Ming’an’s black hair, and he squinted at the patrol team in the air.
"——Su Ming’an! Negotiate without worry! We are here!" Lu’s voice ca through the loudspeaker.
"——City Lord! We are here!" voiced from an unknown aircraft.
"——City Lord! We will respect any of your decisions!" another voice from an unknown aircraft.
All thirty-six pilots were untouched by [Ta Wei]’s invasion. Thirty-six glows shimred across the firmant, connecting like a silver-white constellation. They beca Su Ming’an’s most solid shield.
Su Ming’an nodded toward them and looked up at the pitch-black firmant.
"Yasa Acto, it’s ti to make your decision. Who do you wish to collaborate with?" A voice from the sky inquired.
"Acto, choose ! I will treat the one billion people well, providing food and warmth for you."
"Acto, collaborate with . I can even propose a marriage alliance; if you desire, you can choose any marriage partner within our civilization."
Those voices alternated, each offering their bait, overflowing with desire.
Su Ming’an looked up.
The strong wind blew icy fragnts around him, like dazzling stars encircling him.
"Su Ming’an, are you really going to choose them?" The Deity’s question ca without any fluctuation in tone, like an ultimatum.
"Not necessarily," Su Ming’an said: "I will wait until the crowd finishes voting."
In his vision, the votes for "yes" and "no" were continuously increasing.
"No, you don’t care about the outco of the vote, you are stalling for ti," the Deity realized.
"Perhaps," Su Ming’an said.
No one could see that the Puppet Threads in his fingers were not only manipulating his body but also synchronously pulling his soul. His soul was tethered by threads, half residing in his body, half floating in the air.
In this state, he was like Noel back then, simultaneously controlling his body and soul—his body was in the Central Building, while his soul was secretly communicating with the electronic ghost "Mu Team." This was unknown to even the Deity.
"She is 16km away from you," Mu Team floated in the air, constantly updating Su Ming’an, their secret exchange had been ongoing for twenty minutes, ever since Su Ming’an left the Hibernation Capsule.
"14 km."
"12 km."
"10 km... Su Ming’an, hold on a bit longer, she’s almost here."
"Click".
The Central Building where Su Ming’an was suddenly plunged into darkness, the building’s light source was destroyed by red-eyed individuals.
Lu’s voice in the sky exclaid, as red-eyed Players launched an attack from the ground.
"Su Ming’an, the radar system is down! We cannot pinpoint your location! Be careful!" Lu’s voice was drowned in the explosion.
"Boom——Boom——Boom——!"
Several flas burst out in the air, accompanied by flying aircraft debris. The planes in the sky exploded one after another, like scattered fireworks. Shadows of pilots faintly fell from the sky, like wingless white birds.
In the pitch darkness, Su Ming’an’s eyes began to turn crimson. He felt a splitting headache, as if a consciousness was invading his brain.
He understood that the Deity was becoming anxious; if Su Ming’an agreed with anyone in the firmant, all the Deity’s previous efforts would be in vain.
The Deity accelerated the invasion speed, trying to imdiately replace Su Ming’an.
And Su Ming’an indeed could not resist the invasion; his invasion degree was already high, barely able to withstand up to twenty-two minutes, it was the limit.
But as his eyes glowed faintly red, and his consciousness was about to be taken over, he smiled.
"Deity."
He revealed a relieved smile, like a traveler who saw the first bloom of spring.
His palm faced upward, and a box appeared in his hand.
"Deity."
"Have you ever heard of... ’Hephaestus’?"
...
[(TE·Rebirth of All Things) Perfect Completion Progress: 96%]
...
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