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Chapter 1718 Final Chapter: Crossing the Shore [62] [Second Major Challenge: Who is the Undercover A

Chapter 1718 Final Chapter - Crossing the Shore [62] - [The Twelfth Major Challenge - Who is the Spy?]

...They are calling me.

Su Ming'an paused for a moment, and ripples of black water spread out beneath his feet. He didn't know when, but a liquid resembling rain began to fall from the void of the starry sea; the liquid didn't wet his clothes, and its origin was unknown.

The next moment, he opened his eyes, and what he saw was—

"Welcome to the four contestants of group 1732, level 003, 'Who's the Spy?' This is your ninth round of the game, and I am the host for this level..."

It was as if I were looking at a classical portrait from the late 19th century.

This is a villa in a glass garden. Outside the glass, flowers are thriving. The afternoon sunlight slants across the brim of the hat, bathing half of the boy's body in a warm amber hue. The velvet hat is pulled low, allowing a few strands of curly blond hair to escape, like sunlight sneaking out.

Beneath the shadow of the hat brim, a pair of blue eyes squinted lazily as they gazed over. He wore a red velvet tuxedo with velvet trim on the collar and cuffs. His posture was relaxed, his left knee slightly bent, and his black high heels barely touched the ground with the tips.

A walking stick, blooming with a bewitching rose, fingers loosely resting on the connection between the flower stem and the stick, eyes revealing a night-like indigo.

Su Ming'an remained frozen in place.

After a moment, he spoke softly:

"...Noel Agni."

"despair."

Noel shifted slightly, her weight slowly moving from her right leg to her left, the stiletto heels making a soft "click" sound, the velvet hem swaying.

He walked slowly, so slowly that you could see the light trailing across his eyelashes. It was as if invisible threads were guiding his movement through the air, each step precise as a dance.

"Long time no see," Noel smiled.

“It seems like we just met not long ago,” Su Ming’an said.

"Hmm," Noel said, "I didn't expect to appear before you like this?"

"Actually, I expected it."

“Heumis is a proud and lazy being… He doesn’t want to see you, precisely because He fears being recognized by you and the people, and following in the footsteps of the Radiant Mother Goddess,” Noel said. “Why refuse Heididoa’s invitation?”

“I really don’t understand you, Noel Agni.” Su Mingan stepped forward.

As he expected, Noel did not dodge.

Su Ming'an stared intently into Noel's eyes: "You're the one who wants me to move forward, and you're also the one who stops me from moving forward; you're the one who wants me to live, and you're also the one who wants to kill me; you're the one who hopes I'll be mediocre, and you're also the one who hopes I'll be great; you're the one who wants me to forget everything, and you're also the one who wants me to know everything..."

He paused for a moment, as if something was stuck in his throat.

Rather than being soulmates, both of them still harbored something deep within themselves. Su Ming'an never truly understood Noel, and Noel never grasped the limits of Su Ming'an's stubbornness.

“You said we should be free, even if we don’t pursue perfection. Then you should accept any future we have. But you’ve tried to kill me time and time again, just because I’m heading towards a certain future—can this be called freedom? Isn’t this a form of dictatorship?” Su Ming’an said.

"You want me to walk the most profound, the longest, the most perfect golden path—which is the one I am currently walking. I am walking it, but not because of you, but because this is the path I want to walk. This is not your perfection, nor your freedom, but simply the future that I, we humans, create with my own hands."

“That’s good,” Noel suddenly spoke, a cloud gathering in his blue eyes. “Different paths, same destination.”

“Now that I have embarked on this longest road… why do you want to persuade me to turn back?” Su Ming’an asked.

Noel's many actions made it impossible to draw a definitive conclusion. But Su Ming'an had a strange feeling... that Noel wasn't deliberately pretending or hiding anything.

Rather, it's more like... Noel himself is like a wild beast in the jungle, groping for a definite answer in the darkness.

This idea plunged Su Ming'an into deep thought. He had always subconsciously placed Noel in the position of a "problem solver" and a "schemer." He assumed that "Noel already knows everything," "Noel is the mastermind," and "Noel has recalled countless memories," believing that Noel was already a "perfect" and "flawless" being... believing that Noel must know everything and must possess complete information...

But is Noel, like him, still searching for an answer?

What if Noel were also stepping out to explore the Golden Forest?

Noel is not a perfect sculpture; he too experiences confusion and hesitation. Just as he felt a deep-seated aversion to sacrifice when faced with Tianyu's death. They had been companions, sharing countless moments of intellectual resonance. If Su Ming'an constantly regrets some of his choices… Noel might also be pondering this.

But neither side would show this kind of thinking.

They are all searching, pondering, and examining.

"Thud." Just then, the sound of a pen falling to the ground came from behind.

Su Ming'an turned around and saw three participants already seated under the dome of the glass flower room, staring in disbelief as they waited for Su Ming'an to finish speaking. One of them quickly picked up a pen and waved his hand tremblingly, saying, "It's alright, you can continue, continue, we won't disturb you, we won't disturb you."

...If they weren't mistaken, this should be Su Ming'an chatting with Noel. It sounds like they're arguing, yet it doesn't. It's like they've made up, yet it's like they've broken up. It's like they're about to cooperate, yet it's like they're about to become enemies.

They couldn't understand a word of their conversation! They couldn't even grasp the atmosphere between them.

……

[The game is about to begin. Participants, please take your positions immediately.]

……

Su Ming'an walked back and sat down in a chair.

He was not as angry as he appeared; his mood remained calm and rational throughout.

Through his recent probing, he learned that Noel was also a contradiction, hesitating over something. In the upcoming events, Noel might not become an enemy, but he also couldn't be a partner.

The island has been severed; it's impossible to forgive past grievances, nor can a few words erase all previous betrayals. Who knows if this is a magician's elaborate scheme?

So be it. Maintain your independence, maintain your ideals, go your own way, and don't interfere with each other. If someone blocks your path, kill them; if they help, be wary. Until the very end, when everything has settled… until that moment, if they are still alive and lucid, and open the cat carrier… then we can discuss how tomorrow's flowers should bloom and how the sun should rise.

Su Ming'an raised his eyes in the shadow of the pillars.

He met Noel's silent eyes.

In that instant, he suddenly understood—those blue eyes were never looking at the world before him, but at some idealized vision of tomorrow. They were looking towards the future, not reality. They were looking towards the fruits of the future, not the saplings that were still growing.

What Su Ming'an saw was always the real reality.

From the very beginning, they saw things differently.

The "realistic idealist" and the "idealistic realist"... since they cannot walk together, let them each move forward. When they must confront each other or cooperate tacitly... then they will either tie or sever the threads, each cutting or supporting the other's ideals and future.

Su Ming'an raised his eyes and looked at the other three.

A person was shrouded in gray fog, making it impossible to see their face.

A young man with dark circles under his eyes, wearing a plaid shirt.

A man with flowing red hair and demonic horns on his forehead.

Perhaps because Su Ming'an's conversation had been too lively, the three of them remained silent. It wasn't until Su Ming'an sat down that someone spoke.

"Master Su Ming'an! I've finally met you! I didn't dare interrupt you because you were chatting so enthusiastically!" The young man in the plaid shirt was excited, wanting to approach but not daring to. "My name is Wang Yu... It's nice to meet you!"

“We meet again.” Perlo nodded to Su Ming’an. “In the previous level, you reminded me of who I am… Thank you very much.”

"..." The gray-mist man remained silent.

A breeze stirred, carrying the fragrance of roses. The blond boy walked up to the four of them, stepped to the side, and stood still.

"Now I will explain the rules of this round of the game." Noel adjusted his top hat, bowed slightly, and the sunlight sliced ​​across his face, half of it smooth and bright, the other half hidden in shadow.

"I'm sure everyone has played the game 'Who's the Spy'. Three of you four get the same word card and are called 'civilians'. The remaining one gets a different word card and is the 'spy' in this game, but the spy doesn't know he's the spy."

"The game will consist of several rounds. In each round, each person will describe the word they have in their hand in one sentence. However, they cannot say the word directly, nor can they show it to others."

"After two rounds, you will need to vote to select the player you think is most likely the 'undercover agent'. The player with the most votes will be eliminated."

"If the voted-out is indeed the undercover agent, the game ends, all civilians win, and the undercover agent is eliminated. The remaining three players then proceed to the next round. Conversely, if the voted-out is a civilian, the game continues, proceeding to the next round of description and voting. The game continues until the undercover agent is successfully identified, or... the undercover agent survives until the game cannot continue, in which case the undercover agent wins, and all other civilians lose."

He drew a circle with his finger: "The order of speaking is as follows."

Su Ming'an glanced at it; the order of speaking was: Gray Mist Man – Wang Yu – Perlo – Su Ming'an.

……

[Participant (Su Ming'an), your ninth game is: Who is the Spy?]

[Game Type: Competitive Game]

[Winning rule: You win after everyone else has lost.]

……

...It's another competitive game. That means there can only be one winner in the end.

Su Ming'an closed his eyes, then opened them a moment later.

"A question," Su Ming'an raised his hand, "What do we do when there are only two players left?"

“I will explain the new rules then,” Noel said.

"Ask another question." Su Ming'an raised his hand. "If everyone gives vague answers, wouldn't the undercover agent be guaranteed to win?"

“As the rounds progress, I will ask a set of questions for everyone to answer. Those who are clever enough will be able to spot the differences and also conceal their own.” Noel removed his top hat, waved his hand, and four white doves fluttered out of the hat. “Now, please receive your respective vocabulary cards.”

White doves carrying different flowers landed in front of the four people, nodded their white heads, and then Noel snapped his fingers. The four doves turned into four pieces of white paper and fell into the palms of the four people.

Then, the flowers fell into their palms, bright and beautiful, glistening with dew. Red, orange, blue, and yellow—each a different color.

"So cool," the young man in the plaid shirt exclaimed.

"..." Su Ming'an swept aside the flowers, opened the paper, and glanced at his vocabulary words—

……

The word you drew is: Noel Agnes.

Please describe this term.

……

Su Ming'an's facial muscles twitched for a moment.

In the first round, he needs to observe the vocabulary descriptions of other people, judge whether his vocabulary matches that of others, and whether he is an "undercover agent".

The Gray Mist Man spoke first: "This person... is someone who walks in the opposite direction."

The excitement on Wang Yu's face gradually faded. He slowly realized that this was a life-or-death competition instance. After a moment, he hesitated and said, "This person... is a very complicated person."

Perlo stroked his chin: "I'm not very familiar with this person."

The first three accounts are consistent. But the question is... how did the Gray Mist people come to know Noel? Had Noel's reputation already reached other civilizations?

After a moment's consideration, Su Ming'an could only describe it as vaguely as possible: "This person... knows me."

This description is utterly shameless; who in the world doesn't know Su Ming'an?

In the second round, Noel drew a question card and read: "Please describe your impression of this person, and do not be too brief."

The Gray Mist Man hesitated for a moment before speaking: "I don't like this person. He's ambitious and a complete fanatic. But I never doubt his ideals, and I believe he can achieve them."

Wang Yu said, "It's hard to judge this person. He could be considered a good person or a bad person. I used to think he was very bad, but now I remain neutral. Everyone has a reason to do evil, and I could also become like him."

Perlo paused for a moment, then said, "I don't know him very well... but I often hear people say that he is very smart and keeps a low profile. Now that he has come to us, that's impressive."

Su Ming'an lowered his eyes.

Many eyes were focused on him.

He slowly raised his head: "I've had dealings with him before. He's intelligent and enthusiastic, but also has completely opposite traits."

After two rounds, it's time to vote.

Su Ming'an raised his hand and pointed at Wang Yu. The other three surprisingly chose the Gray Mist Man. After all, humans tend to exclude those who are different; the Gray Mist Man's appearance was too suspicious, and everyone's descriptions were similar, so it was better to choose him.

……

[The Gray Mist Man's identity is (civilian). Your identification is incorrect. Please leave the scene for now. The remaining three will continue to the next round.]

[Please note that if you choose incorrectly again, the undercover agent wins.]

……

Su Ming'an pondered for a moment.

In fact, Perlo's words were quite clear—"Now he's standing before us," which explicitly indicated that Perlo's vocabulary card was "Noel Agnes." In a normal competition, no one would directly utter such a highly specific description, essentially revealing their vocabulary. However, Perlo's self-destructive statement immediately made Su Ming'an realize that since his vocabulary card matched Perlo's, he wasn't the mole. The mole could only be Wang Yu.

Moreover, Su Ming'an could also tell that there was something unusual about Wang Yu's statement. As an ordinary player, how could Wang Yu become someone like "Noel"?

Round three.

Wang Yu rubbed his hands together, his mood growing increasingly somber. His expression had changed the moment Su Ming'an pointed at him. Only the elimination of the Gray Mist Man made him feel a little better.

“In this round, please describe how you would treat this person, and don’t be too brief.” Noel held up a vocabulary card.

“I…I won’t have any further interaction with him. I’m just an ordinary person…I have no right or position to treat him.” Wang Yu clasped his hands together and hunched his back.

“I have already met him,” Perlo said calmly. “In these years as a demon, I have missed many things… I don’t know when I became addicted to alcohol, and my head is also aching… I am just a weak third-level god, an ant trapped in a cage within Rovasa, a cat in a cat box that cannot know its own meaning… The only thing I can do is probably to let the person who can end everything face this guy.”

When it was Su Ming'an's turn, he remained silent for a moment before saying, "Each goes his own way, waiting for the two to intersect or contradict each other."

When it came to the voting, both Su Ming'an and Perlo pointed to Wang Yu.

Wang Yu's face turned pale. After a moment, he suddenly stood up and looked at Su Ming'an: "Can you go back? You said you could go back. Please go back. I don't want to die... As long as you go back, I will definitely, definitely never be matched with you again."

Su Ming'an slowly shook his head: "I'm sorry."

He has already given the contestants many opportunities.

Wang Yu's lips moved slightly, his eyes lifeless.

“Your word should be ‘Alger’,” Su Ming’an said.

“Yes. Similar yet different. I thought for a long time about whether I was an undercover agent, until Perlo said that, and I realized I had said something wrong.” Wang Yu wiped his face. “I know I didn’t describe it well, ‘I could become like him’... Ha, how could I be worthy of becoming someone like Noel? I don’t... I don’t know him at all.”

His gaze towards Su Ming'an was incredibly complex, filled with awe, resentment, and understanding. The fact that he had made it to this eighth round of the game meant it was no easy feat, and who would have thought he'd be matched with Su Ming'an… when he was so close.

"It's a pity," Su Ming'an said.

"Yes, it's a pity. I was thinking that if we won this time, I could bring my parents to a safer area... I've even been looking at a wedding house for a long time."

Wang Yu sniffed, trying hard to hold back her tears.

"But I'm just so useless. I can't compete with others in real life, and I still can't compete in this game. I don't even dare to go out and take risks, I only dare to hide in the back and type... I thought that way I could live a peaceful life. But what happened? The result is that I can't even beat the real protagonist in a simple game."

"Master Su, did I make a mistake? I should have continued working overtime at my desk every night. I shouldn't have risked coming here..."

Su Ming'an remained silent. He had many ways to comfort the man before him, but what was the point? Everyone had already made their own choices.

"But the harder I try, the more desperate I become. I've long realized that even if I work my hardest, I might not be able to live the life I want in the future. I need to buy a wedding house, a wedding car, gold and silver jewelry, and there's the future tuition for my child, my parents' medical expenses... The world will change drastically in the future, and currency will inevitably depreciate, so I need to save as much as possible..."

Just then, a figure leaning on a cane suddenly strolled over and grabbed the man's arm:

"Alright, alright, it's time to leave. Don't cling to people. You chose to leave the game yourself. Su Ming'an had Yueyue pick you up afterward, but you refused to leave twice. So accept the result! You can go back if you accumulate five wins. If you don't accumulate enough... well, there's nothing I can do."

Wang Yu was neither agitated nor hysterical; he simply nodded quietly and accepted the fact.

He turned and walked out of the glass room.

Then, he paused in his steps:

"Master Su, tell me... what is the purpose of life for people like us?"

Su Ming'an said, "Living is just for the sake of living."

Wang Yu smiled bitterly: "Yes, it's just to survive... It must be tiring for you to carry everything forward like this, right? But for me, just staring at the little things in front of me, desperately reaching out to grab them, but never being able to reach them... it seems tiring too, and even more desperate."

"I don't understand what the 'Trial of the Origin Point', 'Cosmic Balance', and 'Source of Civilization' are. The paper money that humans have created is enough to turn me into a beast of burden and waste my entire life. I should never have met a 'protagonist' like you in my entire life, but I achieved it at the cost of my life... How lucky, how unlucky."

"If someone were to say, 'Give me a lifetime of peaceful, unchanging dreams,' and let me live on, I would be willing. At least, it's better than death now. I could slowly walk towards the twilight of my life with my parents, in that ordinary way... I would be willing. Many people would be willing."

These words made Su Ming'an's eyes flicker slightly.

Wang Yu didn't wait for Su Ming'an's answer, perhaps knowing there wouldn't be one. He slowly supported himself on his knees and walked forward, his legs feeling a little weak.

Finally, standing by the door, he turned back and glanced at Su Ming'an. "Great God Su, this is the path you chose, and it is also the path I chose myself. I chose stability, so I should bear the risks that come with mediocrity."

He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"I hope you can make it to the end. If you can really change something, so that there are fewer people like me in the future, who try so hard but can only despair. So that my parents... can retire in a slightly better world."

Just like every time he walked out of the office building after working overtime, the man straightened his overburdened spine and headed towards the end.

"...Please go and see for me what that future, where you can live without accumulating points, is really like."

The figure in the plaid shirt appeared somewhat frail in the light, eventually fading away slowly, like countless fireflies silently extinguished in a vast system.

……

[Remaining participants: 3]

[The next round of the game is about to begin.]

……

In Su Ming'an's palm, the piece of paper transformed into a white dove, took flight again, and returned to Noel's shoulder carrying a flower.

He suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder, looked up, and saw it was Perlo.

"When faced with the trolley problem, think about how many people you've already saved, not how many you haven't saved... I vaguely feel like I've heard this before, maybe you said it to me." The red-haired man's voice was deep, and the look in his eyes felt both strange and familiar.

The Gray Mist Man even said, "Without you, humanity would not have reached this point."

Su Ming'an clenched his fists, gazing at the disappearing figure.

"Your biggest mistake is underestimating yourself." Surprisingly, Noel also spoke up. He adjusted his top hat and said calmly, "If you choose to turn back, countless people will accuse you of self-degradation. Why bother with what others say? [Treat the doubts of others as flickering will-o'-the-wisps, and boldly walk your own path in the night.] Since there will always be people dissatisfied no matter where you go, should you be cheered for if you stand still?"

He leaned on his cane, his gaze fixed on the distance:

"If people are afraid of the darkness of the forest, light a fire, burn the forest, and force them to look directly at the sky. If people fear the vastness of the ocean, break wood to make boats, take bronze to make rudders, and use charts and new sea routes to make them realize the ocean's insignificance. If they know, they will not fear. If they understand, they will take the path. If they are dissatisfied, let them step forward until they can steer the course for you, allowing people to make their own choices—but the problem is, they cannot. Now only you can steer the world, only you can determine where we should go. So must you bear all the blame and disparity that comes with rejecting other paths? That is too unfair. Since they have given you the choice, choose boldly and fearlessly. The new world cannot be glimpsed by looking back, nor can it be reached by standing still."

Su Ming'an chuckled upon hearing this.

“You haven’t wavered at all.” Noel glanced sideways, the petals rustling. “You’re testing my attitude.”

“I was quite surprised… that the Gray Mist Man would actually comfort me.” Su Ming’an looked at the Gray Mist Man.

"I admire your tolerance and humility towards civilization, and I am also amazed by your stubbornness and arrogance." The gray-mist man bowed slightly to Su Ming'an. "Kindness and cruelty, empathy and indifference, tolerance and demandingness... such contradictory qualities coexist in you. You clearly feel so much pity for the plight of ordinary people, and you feel pain for them, yet you immediately use this pain to test Noel's attitude... I must say, sometimes, you are so noble that it warms people's hearts, and so cold that it frightens people's hearts."

"Is it necessarily right to give the choice to everyone? Is it right to let the majority decide what kind of future to take by voting? Or is it right for me to dictate everything?" Su Ming'an said. "Whether it is right or wrong is no longer a matter of decision. I face all the sacrifices that this path has brought, and I am grateful for all the warmth and truth that this path has brought."

When the power of choice is concentrated in the hands of one person, correctness becomes a price that the decision-maker must bear and cannot eliminate.

The highest decision-maker is inevitably lonely and tends to pay the price for outcomes that cannot satisfy everyone.