novellk Chapter 1714 Final Chapter: Shore Crossing [58] "I can fight you."
Chapter 1714 Final Chapter: Shore Crossing [58] "I can fight you."
Chapter 1714 Final Chapter: The Shore Crossing [58]: "I can fight you."
"Oh?" Alger tapped his fingers on the table. "Go on."
“We’ve pinpointed the bullet’s location. As soon as we spot it approaching, we’ll rotate the magazine to prevent anyone else from getting this lethal bullet… This will become a pure probability game, depending solely on where it lands randomly after the rotation.” Su Ming’an picked up the pistol and weighed it in his hand.
"But I've come up with a way to decide the winner in one round."
“Mr. Alger, I will shoot you. But this time I won’t tell you whether I rotated the magazine.”
"Then, neither you, Miss Chang Yue, nor I checked the position of the hammer, and we were completely unaware of whether our guns were loaded. When it was our turn, we only made one judgment—who to point the gun at."
"And so it continues, until the dead are born."
Immediately, Su Ming'an slung the pistol behind his back, made a gesture as if to rotate the magazine, and kept the numbers covered to ensure that no one, including himself, knew the numbers at that moment.
Chang Yue's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this. It sounded like a pure game of luck, with no regard for the hammer's position or the magazine rotation… fate was determined solely by the direction the gun was pointing. From that perspective, she might have a chance of winning. After all, it was just a gamble.
After listening, Alger narrowed his eyes and gave a cold smile: "Fine."
Heididoa chuckled upon hearing this: "It seems you have your own rules. That's fine; there can be extra rules within a game. I will maintain my respect for you... Please."
Chang Yue sat upright and solemnly.
Su Ming'an, still concealing the numbers, fired a shot at Alger.
Empty gun.
"No rotating magazine." Chang Yue picked up the pistol, hesitated for a moment because she couldn't see the numbers, but still aimed at Alger and fired a shot.
"Click".
Empty gun.
Chang Yue wiped her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.
The pistol reached Alger's hands, but the numbers were still obscured.
Alger narrowed his eyes, certain that Su Ming'an had set a trap for him, and the fate of both sides depended on this round.
If Su Ming'an hadn't spun when he fired, the hammer would have ended up in Alger's hand at the fatal "position 1." But if Su Ming'an had spun, the hammer would have landed randomly in a different position, and all probabilities would have been reshuffled.
Alger looked up at Su Ming'an. The other man's expression was calm and expressionless, his hands clasped together on the table, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as a bottomless pool, revealing no information whatsoever.
Alger frowned, his hand trembling slightly. After a moment, he turned the gun and pointed it at Su Ming'an.
"Did you spin?" Alger asked.
"Who knows?" Su Ming'an smiled.
Alger gritted his teeth.
His best course of action was to point the gun directly at Su Ming'an. No matter what Su Ming'an did, this shot wouldn't kill him…
and many more.
Alger suddenly realized something.
—There is a possibility that if I were to point the gun at Su Ming'an, I would be the one who dies!
He stroked the silver-painted pistol in his hand, and cold sweat suddenly slid down his forehead.
That is, the hammer strike is at a number of 6 at this moment!
If he fires a shot at Su Ming'an, Su Ming'an will take the fatal bullet and shoot him in the next round!
The only two ways to solve this problem are to rotate the magazine or skip one's turn. Su Ming'an had already deleted the "rotate magazine" option, leaving only "skip one's turn".
So, if the hammer strike is 6, and you skip this round, the fatal bullet will fall into Chang Yue's hands, and Chang Yue's target will also be you!
Therefore, if the hammer strikes a 6, you've already lost. If the number is 1, then Su Ming'an has lost.
But Su Ming'an himself was also randomly spinning the hammer. How could Su Ming'an be so sure that the number of the hammer strike would be 6 instead of 1? If the number were 1, Su Ming'an would be the one to die!
It's purely a matter of luck! At this moment, it's 6, and Alger dies. At this moment, it's 1, and Su Ming'an dies.
Alger pursed his lips, cold sweat dripping down his face, and suddenly sneered, "Let me see what kind of trouble you're up to."
He regretted it.
He immediately flipped the pistol over, looking at the number the hammer was pointing to—
6!
In an instant, a tremendous panic gripped him.
...If it's not 1, it means Su Ming'an must have rotated the magazine, but rotation is purely random. How could Su Ming'an be sure that after the rotation it would be the number 4, and then become 6 in Alger's hands?
Is it really just a matter of pure luck?
Did Su Ming'an really gamble with a 16.66% probability, and he just happened to be right?
Alger repeated the rules, trying to find Su Ming'an's trap: "Each round, the person whose turn it is must do two things... First, publicly announce your objective: whether to shoot yourself or another player... Second, secretly decide whether to rotate the magazine..."
In that instant, he suddenly realized!
When exactly did Su Ming'an rotate the magazine?
—Was it before speaking or after speaking?
The rules require that the magazine rotation must take place after "publicly announcing your objective," so the only possible time for Su Ming'an to rotate the magazine is after which sentence?
……
Su Ming'an picked up the pistol and weighed it in his hand: "But I've thought of a way to decide the winner in one round."
"Mr. Alger, I will shoot you. But this time I won't tell you whether I rotated the magazine."
"Then, neither you, Miss Chang Yue, nor I checked the position of the hammer, and we were completely unaware whether our guns were loaded. When it was our turn, we only made one judgment—who to point our guns at."
"And so it continues, until the dead are born."
Immediately, Su Ming'an slung the pistol behind his back and gestured as if to indicate whether to rotate the magazine.
……
People might assume that Su Ming'an rotated the magazine after saying those words.
But in fact, after Su Ming'an said "I will shoot you", he could have easily performed the "rotating magazine" operation.
The operation of the rotating magazine is completely silent; without Heidi's announcement, no one else can tell whether the magazine is rotating.
Alger said slowly, "After you finished saying that sentence, you immediately flipped the magazine and found that it was 4. Then, within two seconds, you thought of your next words - how you need to compose the next rules to put me in a dead end."
“You didn’t… design all the rules from the beginning. You only made up the subsequent ‘game’ rules after you saw the result.”
Su Ming'an nodded slightly, with an air of complete control: "The rules require that the magazine can only be rotated after the target is publicly announced. When I said 'I will shoot you,' that was precisely the 'public announcement.' At that moment, I had already fulfilled the prerequisite of the rules."
He paused briefly:
"Then, as I continued speaking—my fingers had already silently moved the magazine."
A chill ran down Alger's spine.
“The rotation is completely silent. So, as I was saying the rest—” Su Ming’an smiled, “the magazine had already stopped rotating. The number the hammer was pointing to was an unchangeable fact.”
"And I, the instant my fingers felt the rotation stop... about two seconds later, I saw that number."
Alger's throat went dry: "...How much?"
“4,” Su Ming’an said. “So, when I said, ‘From now on, we won’t check the hammer’s position, I already knew the hammer was stopped at 4.”
He raised his eyes, his gaze like a mirror, reflecting Alger's suddenly pale face.
"—So when the gun is passed to you, the hammer will always be pointing to 6. And the bullet will always be at 1."
Alger's breathing stopped.
Su Ming'an is unsure if the number is definitely 4.
If the number rolled is 4, Su Ming'an will use 4 as a starting point and, within two seconds, devise a game rule that can eliminate Alger's position. If the number rolled is 5, Su Ming'an will use 5 as a starting point and, within two seconds, devise a game rule that can eliminate Alger.
Su Ming'an only needs to quickly deduce the subsequent hammer movement path based on the numbers he sees within two seconds after the rotation stops, and then—make up a "rule" on the spot that will lead this path to Alger's predicament.
“Mr. Alger, I will shoot you.” — Everything Su Ming’an said before he said this was prepared in advance. But everything he said after he said this and after the magazine started spinning was improvised on the spot.
The conventional wisdom is that no one can simultaneously speak, spin a magazine, and devise a completely new set of rules that will inevitably kill the enemy within two seconds. Even Chang Yue believed that Su Ming'an's proposal was purely a game of chance.
But in fact, before the rules were even announced, "luck" had already determined the outcome; the numbers had already been drawn by Su Ming'an.
Su Ming'an didn't need to predict the future or manipulate probabilities. He only needed to weave a seemingly fair, exciting, and grand "bet" in words after the outcome had already occurred, luring Alger into it.
Su Ming'an's impassioned speech about "courage," "luck," and "real Russian roulette"—a provocation that got Alger's blood pumping and he couldn't refuse—was all a performance based on the premise that victory was certain.
Alger's fingers tightened suddenly, the silver-painted pistol becoming cold and sweaty in his palm. He stared intently into Su Ming'an's calm eyes, trying to find any trace of pretense within them.
But there was nothing there.
In those abyss-like black pupils, there was only a kind of cruel clarity.
Silent, tranquil, profound.
It was as if all tenderness and hesitation had been suppressed.
As a top player, Alger had considered this possibility and guessed that Su Ming'an might spin the magazine in advance. But he didn't expect that Su Ming'an would shoot the arrow first and then draw the target.
Alger was pale and swaying, then suddenly gave a bitter smile.
"...I lost."
He accepted his defeat wholeheartedly.
He could indeed refuse the extra rules proposed by Su Ming'an, in which case Su Ming'an's trap would be doomed to fail. However, Su Ming'an had his grasp on his humanity—Alger, the first player wants to play a pure gamble of luck with you in a Russian roulette game. If you win, you won't have to bear any guilt for killing the first player. This is a battle between heroes. Would you refuse?
Alger, of course, would not back down.
From the moment Su Ming'an smiled and suggested taking a gamble—for Alger, it was already a hopeless situation with no way out.
“…I am destined to lose,” Alger said.
Su Ming'an was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Yes."
Two words, a simple and understated description.
Alger suddenly chuckled softly, his laughter dry. "So, from the moment you smiled and said to me, 'Let's gamble on a real game of Russian roulette'... no, from even earlier... when you chose to shoot yourself in the last round, not to spin, to put the pressure on Chang Yue, and anticipate that she would definitely spin, you were already planning for this moment. You calculated Chang Yue's fear, you calculated the exposure of the bullet's position, you calculated that I would be alert because of the bullet's clarity, and you also calculated..."
"...You knew I wouldn't refuse your public challenge."
How could he possibly back down when Su Ming'an proposed "betting on courage"?
But he didn't know that this wasn't a pure game of courage, but a carefully set trap.
Su Ming'an didn't exploit loopholes in the rules, nor did he use force. He simply used the most basic fact: "Who is Alger?" Alger overlooked Su Ming'an's greatest strength—not in intelligence, nor in numerical and probabilistic deductions, but in his humanity and his eloquent and adaptable communication skills.
Ultimately, Alger couldn't withstand the pressure and decided to break the rules set by Su Ming'an, secretly checking the numbers... but it was too late. Before the game even started, the moment Su Ming'an fiddled with the magazine, Alger had already lost.
Alger raised his head and gave Su Ming'an a deep look, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
The humiliation of defeat, the awe of wisdom, the mockery of fate's cruel jokes...
He once thought he needed to "give" victory to Su Ming'an in exchange for the chance to be resurrected and save his sister, but now he realized... Su Ming'an was fully capable of winning.
For someone so terrifying, capable of crafting rules that guarantee certain death in two seconds… Su Ming'an is truly a genuine “player.” He has taken the game rules to their extreme, even transcending them to create his own rules and lure his opponents into the game.
Alger raised his gun.
He held it out to the side and weighed it in his hand.
Then, pull the trigger on yourself.
"Click".
The expected blank shot.
Su Ming'an took the pistol and aimed it at Alger.
—This is a bullet that will surely kill.
"Host," Alger looked up, "can I fire this shot myself?"
Heidi's eyes flickered, and she smiled, "According to the rules, it's not allowed, but... your defeat is inevitable. If the other party agrees, you can kill yourself. Please note, you are not allowed to shoot others while you are at it; only shooting yourself is effective."
“Hmm.” Alger reached out his hand to Su Ming’an.
Without hesitation, Su Ming'an tossed the pistol to Alger. He knew the rules very well, so he knew Alger had no room for maneuver.
“I lost to you.” Alger raised his gun, a smug smile playing on his lips. “But at least, I’ll pull the trigger myself for this last shot.”
He turned the gun around and pressed it against his chin. This action was exactly the same as when he chose to "shoot himself," but the meaning was completely different.
This moment marks acceptance and the final act.
He looked at Su Ming'an, one last time, as if handing over some kind of mission.
Suddenly, Alger smiled:
"This is the last time, right? Number One Player."
Su Ming looked at him quietly and nodded.
Alger pulled the trigger, not looking at Su Ming'an, but staring into the void, as if looking at someone far away. His crimson eyes flickered, and after a moment, he lowered his gaze.
"Is this the last time this moment will be frozen in time?" Alger whispered. "Will there be no more reincarnation?"
Su Ming'an knew what he was asking. He was asking if he would still be remembered if he died, and if he would be reborn in some story.
“Yes,” Su Ming’an said, “this is the last time.”
Alger smiled.
"Hmph... Good luck, crush that arrogant prophet," Alger said. "You're more terrifying than a god."
“Su Ming’an, you are a terrifying person. You calculated everything.”
He paused for a moment: "But you also overlooked one point."
"what?"
“Actually…” Alger said, “I envy you. I envy that so many people are willing to sacrifice for you, I envy that you can get here carrying the expectations of the whole world… This envy has even evolved into jealousy. I crave to get close to you, to understand the qualities in you, yet I also deeply loathe your excellence and yearn to defeat you.”
"You previously won me over, and I promised to do everything in my power to help you complete the game. But in this round, you resolutely refused that concession and insisted on a fair duel with me... This shocked me. So, even if you don't need to provoke me... I will agree to the bet with you."
"Do you regret it?" Su Ming'an asked. "You were a member of the Peak Alliance, with a bright future ahead of you, but you chose to betray me, stabbed me in the back, joined the eighth seat, and were finally kicked out by Aland... Do you regret it?"
Alger remained silent for a moment.
He suddenly burst into laughter:
"Hahaha, hahahaha—!"
"If I say 'I regret it' here, I'll get nothing but ridicule and laughable pity from the audience!"
"I don't regret it! Su Ming'an! I'm glad I took this gamble with you!"
“I’m even more grateful that I made a pact with you… Even if I die, you must help my sister… Cottoria, she is innocent! She is still waiting to wake up!”
"Su Ming'an, I'm so happy to have fought you! I have no regrets about coming this far, and Alger never regrets anything!!!"
……
"boom--!"
……
A deafening roar.
Blood splattered, staining the silver gun barrel red.
The red-haired youth fell backward, crashing heavily into the chair before sliding to the floor. His eyes were open, his pupils rapidly dilating, and a wild smile lingered on his lips.
A faint smell of gunpowder and blood filled the room. Heidi remained silent, while Chang Yue covered her mouth.
……
[Player Alger has died.]
[Current number of survivors in the squad: 13/15]
……
A cold, impersonal system notification sounded.
Su Ming'an looked at the body on the ground, which was rapidly losing its temperature. The young life that had just been so proud and made its vows had turned into a bloody stain under the rules in the blink of an eye.
My hands are trembling... Is it from the excitement of victory? Is it from the smugness of a successful scheme? Neither.
The darkness in his pupils twitched slightly in the dim light, and complex emotions surged within his obsidian-like eyes, ultimately culminating in a very soft sigh.
Alger.
There are all sorts of people in this world, and you can't force everyone to support Su Ming'an. Alger isn't entirely bad, nor is he entirely good. He simply lived out his true desires and circumstances. He wanted to become stronger, so he joined forces with the higher dimensions. He wanted to save his sister, so he was driven by Aland. He made a wrong move, and that's why he ended up here.
He is not any noble or great... He is not the embodiment of a human "hero" like Lu Shushantian; he is an exceptionally prominent figure among millions of selfish ordinary people.
He didn't die from stupidity or mistakes, but from clear-headed judgment. This man was definitely not a good person; he could even be called a "traitor," but his final actions couldn't entirely label him as evil. He was indeed a selfish person, after all, the world had never shown him warmth, and in the end, he used all his strength to protect his sister... Cottoria. Because of the contract, even if Alger died, Su Ming'an would save this innocent girl.
However, at least until everything is over and Su Ming'an has some free time.
At least, this outcome... will be one of the reasons why Alger smiled before he died.
……
"Ding dong!"
You have obtained the item (Strawberry Bunny Cufflinks)
[Strawberry Bunny Cufflinks (White Level): "Brother, so bunnies like to eat strawberries too."]
【Spirit +5】
[Special Skill (Strawberry Bunny): Conjures a white bunny. The bunny has no offensive capabilities and disappears after a short time.]
[Note: Whenever Alger is near the ice coffin, he often conjures a white rabbit named Jiang Jiang. He imitates Jiang Jiang's speech, hoping his sister will hear him and wake up. This was the rabbit the two used to raise together, but it died when the family broke apart.]
……
Heididoa picked up the silver-painted pistol, gently wiped it clean, and placed it back on the table.
"Click".