novellk Chapter 1692 Final Chapter: Crossing the Shore [36] "Flying above the clouds."
Chapter 1692 Final Chapter: Crossing the Shore [36] "Flying above the clouds."
Chapter 1692 Final Chapter: Crossing the Shore [36]: "Flying to the Clouds".
Upon passing through the door, Su Ming'an discovered that only fifteen people remained.
“Hundreds of thousands of people have been divided into small groups,” Lu said. “From now on, we’re in squads…but later on, we might be fighting our own battles.”
Su Ming'an looked around—Chen Yuhang, Mo Yan, Si Nian, Xiao Xiao, Wang Zhenzhen, Talia, Hang Xin, Lu, Polo, Evelyn, Nagasha, Alger, Lin Chunchun, Violet.
Surprisingly, most of them were acquaintances, perhaps grouped according to distance?
The fifteen people had different expressions. Being grouped with Su Ming'an did provide a sense of security, but in a sense, it was also the most dangerous.
"That's great, we're together," Lu Xinwei said.
"Master Su! Thank goodness." Chen Yuhang breathed a sigh of relief.
The next question then arises—
……
[Question of Colors - Fifth Question]
[Question: In the 482910th cycle of reincarnation, Su Ming'an used the "Devouring" authority to devour everything that threatened his homeland, gradually evolving into a cosmic overlord. However, when he looked back, he could no longer find his homeland. Who ultimately ended his life?]
【A·White Door: Time】
【B·Shimen: A Cosmic Organ】
[C·Grey Door: Noel Argine]
【D·Mirror Gate: Su Ming'an】
【E·Dust Gate: Su Bread】
【F·Ice Gate: Looking North】
Please walk towards the door that represents your answer.
……
--silence.
The entire room fell silent.
People couldn't help but look at Su Ming'an, their eyes meeting in turn, some with confusion, some with surprise, some with fear, and some with delight...
The barrage of comments also surged:
So, cosmic reincarnation really exists?!??
【No, how many times have I actually exchanged insults with you bunch of bastards?】
[Ming An is really something else; he not only devours his enemies but also his hometown.]
[Swallow me! I want to be swallowed by Su Ming'an!]
So theoretically, there really is a possibility that the first player could become the final boss...
[My guess is that Su Bread's daughter murdered her father; it makes perfect sense.]
[Su Ming'an, someone outside is sending you a message. Wang Xingkong is outside the door...!]
……
Su Ming'an's eyes flickered slightly.
He noticed the last barrage of comments; perhaps the game's blocking rules hadn't completely disappeared yet, as similar comments were quickly submerged. Occasionally, a few would surface, using various coded messages to convey information about the outside world to him.
...Was Wang Xingkong actually standing outside the Abyss Gate?
He hasn't received any contact from Wang Xingkong, probably because they haven't found a reliable way to communicate with him yet. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly.
If asked to answer, he would answer D: after his homeland disappears, he would frantically improve himself until he loses his sanity. But the question is, would the "death rollback" still exist within him at that time? If it does, he cannot kill himself; only something of equal status to the "death rollback" can. Therefore, the answer might be B. If the universe reaches its end, and he resets along with time, then A is also possible.
There is no answer.
"..."
There was complete silence in front of the door, and all eyes were on him.
Su Ming'an thought to himself, if he had to guess the answer, how many of the other tens of thousands of "fifteen-person challenge teams" would be able to guess it correctly?
Just as he was considering, Lu swiftly passed through A's door, before anyone else could react.
Settle down and stand still.
Lu calmly raised his head, waiting for something.
Then, the door shone with light, which fell upon him.
Nothing happened, and the group quickly crossed over.
"How do you know the answer?" Su Ming'an asked.
"Just a guess," Lu laughed. "Luckily, I guessed right."
Aren't you afraid of dying?
“I’m afraid. But I feel that if I don’t step in, you’ll have to guess for yourself. Rather than letting you take the risk, I’d rather do it myself.” After saying this, Lu pondered for a moment and then said, “There’s something I need to clarify… Are you intentionally trying to prevent others from being sacrificed?”
Su Ming'an didn't expect Lu to see through this.
A look of understanding flashed in Lu's eyes, and he shook his head in disapproval.
“The further you go, the less you can afford to worry about this,” Lu said frankly. “What if you make the wrong choice this time? I don’t doubt your ability to clear the level, but you’ll most likely get injured, which will affect your later actions. If you get injured, there may be more people who can’t be saved later. I’ve always thought you’re an extremely rational and extremely emotional person, but… maybe you’re feeling tired, it’s related to the burden on your soul, you’ve reached your limit.”
"You should be thinking about how many people you can save if you survive, not how many people you are sacrificing now. I understand you are tired of sacrifice, but the longest road you are about to take cannot be without sacrifice."
"If you encounter a situation where someone has to die, I hope you won't feel too much burden. Remember them, and carry their souls... If you can't do that, it's not your fault."
“We all went to the battlefield prepared, and we don’t want to be a burden to you.”
"Only if you survive can we be saved."
Su Ming'an remained silent.
“You might be thinking that by using some special method… to avoid this path, by not activating the ‘Source Point’ in the first place, we could avoid our sacrifice. However, I believe the person behind the scenes has already guessed your thoughts. He deliberately set up this obstacle on this furthest path, with the Seventh Seat and even the Lord of Dreams intervening behind it… wanting you to face Him alone in the end,” Lu said. “Our sacrifice here is not a loss. But if you abandon this path to avoid our sacrifice… that is the real loss.”
“This road,” Su Ming’an said.
Lu paused for a moment, then smiled: "Yes, [Lu doesn't want you to abandon Lu in order to save Lu]."
Lu had long known about the double entendre of the magical Dragon Kingdom phrase, and despite the extremely serious occasion, the two couldn't help but smile.
After laughing, some of the pent-up emotions in my heart dissipated.
Su Ming'an pursed his lips: "I will persevere to the end."
“Well, if you hate it, then win until the end, and then hate yourself fiercely,” Lu said. “If you really want to atone, then die in the end and find peace of mind.”
This is how top-ranked players console each other.
It was very hardcore, without any reservations or beating around the bush, which perfectly suited Su Ming'an's tastes.
……
Rovasa, normal world line.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to our world stage! I am your host, Red-Nosed Yamada!"
Above the ochre eaves and the old clock tower, a boy dressed as a clown tosses pom-poms, wearing a comical red round nose and colorful curly hair.
"Our protagonist, Mr. Alawudin, has met a beautiful noble lady. What will he do? Let's wait and see!" Yamada Machi shouted exaggeratedly and flamboyantly.
Within the Blackwater Dreamscape, strange and bizarre figures stood.
A white-robed mage with eyes like purple gemstones embedded in his forehead sat quietly in the corner.
"White Robe." A colorful hexagon floated in front of him. "Aren't you coming? It's time for the Lord of Dreams to record Rovasa's story again."
The man in the white robe continued playing his cards, offering no response.
Hexagonal said, "The Lord of Dreams has been extremely concerned about this civilization lately. However, it seems that our anchor point has encountered a problem, falling on a clown instead of locating our cosmic savior, Su Ming'an."
Upon hearing the name, the man in the white robe reacted slightly.
He came from a civilization of card game battles, where everything was decided by game battles, from king elections to haggling in the market. Whoever had the stronger deck won.
On one occasion, Su Ming'an possessed "Su Qitong" and summoned the four divine dragons of wind, earth, water, and fire. He won the position of world overlord all the way and even defeated the gods who wanted to overthrow the world... Even the cards used by the white-robed man were modified by Su Ming'an. Unfortunately, after pacifying the gods, Su Ming'an left behind a legendary deck and disappeared.
Only now did the white-robed man realize that the "little lucky star" Hui Zi whom Lu Shen had introduced him to was actually Su Ming'an in disguise! And the white-robed man himself was completely unaware of this, even teaching Su Ming'an how to use cards! Isn't this going against the natural order? What kind of disciple teaches their ancestor how to use cards?
“People like Bai Chun are really despicable. She treats all sorts of high-achieving men as her targets, but we didn’t do anything outrageous. We were just playing games.” The simply dressed girl shook her head. “I was just making some eggs in a modern civilization, fighting with some old ladies in the village, and trying to pick up a handsome, down-on-his-luck general… Is that wrong?”
The urban woman wearing bull horns calmly said, "We should be equal to everyone else. After all, we ourselves don't understand why there is reincarnation, or why some futures are predetermined."
“We don’t know, but the Lord of Dreams probably does…” the man in the white robe said. “At most, we can only be considered ‘working people’ in the Blackwater Dream, with a position no different from the organizers in the World Game. Su Ming’an is targeting the Lord of Dreams.”
After a moment of silence, a ball of moon-white jelly suddenly said in a sticky voice, "Then why don't we just tell him, Master?"
It was immediately smashed down by the mechanical arm and flattened into a slime.
"There must be some reason you can't say! You idiot!"
"On another note, this cannot be said. Could it be that even the Lord of Dreams has an invincible enemy?"
"Impossible, He is the most powerful life form in my eyes."
"I also think it's impossible. Matryoshka dolls can't go on forever. It's probably some kind of rule."
"But those 'shore-guarding' faction probably won't let this go so easily..."
The Dream Explorers' perspective is an immersive experience, akin to playing a game called "The Lovasha Ring." When the game's camera is forcibly shifted, they are unable to know what happened in other times or other spaces.
Time is not linear in observation, so they cannot know whether the world game has really ended or whether Su Ming'an and the others have really left.
They could only see Yamada-cho.
All you can see is... a clown with a smile on his face.
……
With the ability to look north and turn the world into a backdrop, and with the support of countless players' energy, Araudin wrote furiously.
Until the final chapter was written—Dara and Yelena recognized each other, the three of them opened a curry shop, lived a peaceful life, and entered into a mundane and boring daily routine.
The voice of Machiichi Yamada came through the communicator:
"Araudin... thank you."
Alawuddin put down his pen.
He looked at the photos of Samira and Aliya on the wall, and tears streamed down his face.
The slums were deathly silent.
There were no more cheers, no more flower petals, no more shouts of "Dara is here!"
Old Banu, the widow, stirred the curry, Aisha, the mute girl, remained silent, the mango pit on the slingshot rolled to the ground, and Shiva's monkey babbled to itself.
Alawuddin stood up, walked to the wall, and hummed a song softly in front of the photos of Samira and Alia—a theme song he had composed for Dara when Alia was a child, with childlike lyrics and a simple melody:
"Dara flies and flies, flying over the garbage mountain."
"Dara flies and flies, kicking over the bad man's bowl."
"Dala flies and flies, bringing laughter to everyone."
"Dala flies, flies..."
He hummed this part and then stopped.
Because the last line of the lyrics is: "...flying to the clouds."
But Dara did not fly up into the clouds.
Dara settled down in the curry shop, put on an apron, and began a peaceful life.
Alawuddin closed his eyes briefly and changed his words:
"Dala flies, flies..."
"Flying very low...flying very dirty...flying covered in mud..."
He stood up, piled all the polluted manuscripts together, and lit a match.
The firelight illuminated his tear-streaked face and the eternally youthful smiles of Samira and Aliya on the wall.
As the manuscript burned, he seemed to hear Aliya asking, "Daddy, did Dara win in the end?"
Dara lost.
It was a very ugly and vulgar defeat.
but……
The flames leaped high, licking at the dirty scraps of paper.
Amidst the crackling of the fire, Alawuddin deeply felt his own powerlessness. He realized that even ideals could be tainted by reality.
The flames engulfed the last sheet of paper. "Dara's Sky," along with its once free wings and its final remains, was reduced to ashes.
As the ashes rose, Araudin seemed to see—somewhere high up, the sky was azure.
Will more Samiras and Alias be saved because of this? Will more Daras move towards tomorrow because of this?
……
Looking north with his eyes closed, he was trying to stabilize the situation.
This performance owes much to his control.
Based on the story of Alawudin's "The Sky of Dara," and combined with the scene instructions captured by Ryan, the "peace" power of looking north transforms into an omnipresent dream information network, silently covering everything.
Frankly speaking, they know almost nothing about gods or higher dimensions; they do their best and leave the rest to fate.
Fortunately, humans are not to be trifled with. After learning about the method proposed by Lu, Yamada Machi immediately sought help from the Emperors and received great assistance from Yuu-ting, Xi-ge, and others. They even made contact with the former Level 2 God of Intelligence, the God of Dawn System.
In addition, Qin Chunyao, a top player, played a significant role with her special identity as "The Listener." A "world channel" that lasted for half a day appeared in Rovasa, allowing all players who remained in the normal timeline to speak.
Amidst the excitement, suggestions were offered and solutions were finalized, drawing on the collective wisdom of all the players—Yamada Machiichi donned a clown costume and arrived at the Creators Conference; Ryan hid underground, managing the network with the assistance of the Dawn System; Qin Ze was in charge of central control and feedback... and thus, the scene before us came to be.
Perhaps, without Su Ming'an's guidance, the players' overall plan seemed rough, even extremely unorthodox, but this was the wisdom that the Fourth Calamity displayed in the face of dire circumstances.