Welcome to Rewind World Game

The moment the rebirth conditions were met, there was a dazzling brilliance, and golden light burned alive.

An ancient, powerful, and familiar oppressive energy surged from Alice.

The starlit sky shimmered with blue-purple light, and around it appeared a misty, viscous, blue-green semi-liquid energy. The buzzing in the ears was like the breathing of a deep-sea giant beast. Each vibration seemed like the sound of a heartbeat, unsettling.

"Alright. Wait one day, and the Exotic Species King will be reborn." Hei Que pressed on Su Ming'an's shoulder, "Follow me."

"I'll just... wait here." Su Ming'an looked at Alice.

"The Exotic Species King is the embodiment of all negative emotions. When it is reborn, the entire Nine Serenities will be affected. If you're not afraid of turning into a madman, then wait here." Hei Que shrugged indifferently, but the force in his fingers showed his concern.

"...Alright." Su Ming'an could only turn around.

Hei Que took him to a room. The room was on the top floor, enough to overlook the entire Mechanical City.

"Rest here for a day." Hei Que advised, "This door can block pollution, stay inside, don't go out, especially don't enter any other locked rooms. When the Exotic Species King awakens, you can go up."

"Where are you going?" Su Ming'an asked.

"I'm going to another room that can block pollution. Remember, don't wander off." Hei Que closed the door.

Su Ming'an sat on the bed, gazing at the back of his left hand.

Just when Hei Que mentioned that 'passing the dream game perfectly can earn rewards', Su Ming'an glanced at the back of his left hand—there was a white line.

Its pattern was very similar to the perfect pass line, but much lighter than the perfect pass line. It was most likely from completing the third game, "Girl's Dream Plan", right at the moment when the disc shattered.

"The 'perfect pass line' of the dream game?" Su Ming'an stared at the faint line on his left hand, then looked at the seven perfect pass lines on his right hand.

They lined up before him, making him feel a subtlety.

At this moment, the door opened again, it was Hei Que.

Hei Que carried a stack of pancakes and coffee, smiling as he handed them to Su Ming'an, "I thought a hot drink might help you sleep, so I brought this. If you're tired, remember to rest."

Su Ming'an thanked him but didn't eat, just placed it aside.

Hei Que didn't leave, instead, he stood at the door, staring at him for a long time.

Beneath the mask, it was... an extremely complex look, appearing as if with jealousy, envy, and awe, extraordinarily somber.

When Su Ming'an, sensing something, raised his head, Hei Que immediately put on a smile:

"Sometimes I'm very envious of you."

"Oh." So many people envied Su Ming'an, he no longer had much thought about it.

"You're the 'protagonist'... truly enviable..." Hei Que said softly, fingers slowly clenching.

His voice was too light for Su Ming'an to hear.

Hei Que caressed the cross necklace on his chest, drew a shallow cross, gazed at Su Ming'an for a few seconds, and then closed the door to leave. That gaze was like longing for an unattainable figure.

The room returned to silence.

"Su Ming'an, Hei Que's gaze on you is odd, like he's jealous. But I don't know what he's jealous of. It also feels like he's longing..." at this moment, Chang Ge spoke.

Chang Ge had been speaking a lot lately. This Lighthouse battle was mainly due to Chang Ge's strategic thinking, allowing Su Ming'an to relay instructions to the Revivers in time. If this battle was won, Chang Ge would undoubtedly be the key contributor.

Su Ming'an was very grateful to this militarily talented player. The world was never short of geniuses, but few could keep up with Su Ming'an's thinking. If not for Chang Ge's past unlucky streaks, he'd surely have a place among the top players.

"I always feel uneasy..." Chang Ge said.

Su Ming'an said nothing.

The Nine Serenities was isolated from the outside world, even the white cat and black cat left on the ground had lost contact. He didn't know if Yamada Machiichi and the others could locate and teleport here. He looked out the window, the viscous blue-green glow leaking from the rooftop, spreading across the entire Nine Serenities, as the Exotic Species King's heartbeat grew louder and louder.

Thump, thump, thump.

Each reverberation seemed to resonate with Su Ming'an's chest. It was an extraordinarily harmonious... feeling of fusion. Like Su Ming'an and the Exotic Species King's hearts were one.

This made him feel anxious.

...

[TE1·Perfect Completion Progress: 97%]

...

"Why don't you sleep? This is a rare break." Chang Ge said.

Watching the outside, Su Ming'an suddenly said:

"I'm very grateful to you, Chang Ge, but I also don't want to lose trust in you."

Sometimes when he woke from a nap, he would notice slight shifts in the position of his shoes. The black cat told him that sometimes Chang Ge would use his body to go out, but basically did nothing—just went to a place to watch the scenery, look at the sky, or write, play the piano, talk to himself, or just move some items meaninglessly, smash some harmless props. As nothing bad was done, Su Ming'an didn't restrict Chang Ge's actions. Chang Ge might be suffocated, having met someone like him who rarely slept.

Over the past few days together, Chang Ge didn't talk much, but he was indeed reliable. At this critical time, Su Ming'an didn't want Chang Ge to suddenly change after he fell asleep and do something betraying. After all, the black cat and white cat weren't around, and Du couldn't stop Chang Ge.

"...I won't, Su Ming'an." Chang Ge's voice remained clear, he should be in his early twenties, "So many people are watching you. If I want to continue down the road, I wouldn't betray you. Besides, we're friends, right? Friends won't hurt you. I know some friends betrayed you before, but I'm not them, I won't."

Su Ming'an's gaze flickered.

Fact was, he was already very tired, wanting nothing more than to throw himself onto the soft bed. But this wasn't a safe place; if Chang Ge could protect his safety, it would be one of the few heartwarming aspects of the game's mechanisms.

"I... will sleep for a while. If anything happens, wake me with pain." Su Ming'an said.

No matter what, he couldn't just sit here for a whole day; he needed to rest.

...Finally completed this major task, the instance was at its end.

"Okay." Chang Ge said.

Su Ming'an, after falling asleep, woke once within half an hour.

Chang Ge was playing the piano by the bedside, a tune Su Ming'an had hummed before - "To Alice." Hearing Su Ming'an awake, Chang Ge gently "hmm?"

"It's nothing, go on." Seeing everything normal, Su Ming'an went back to sleep.

Chang Ge's gaze deepened a bit.

He pressed his fingers against the hard lump in his abdomen, a flash of contemplation in his eyes, then quickly resumed his piano-playing posture. A fluent "To Alice" flooded out, like a briskly flowing stream in the cold Mechanical City.

...

Hei Que closed Su Ming'an's door and remained there for a long time without leaving.

Hearing the melodious piano sound like flowing water, his gaze became deeper, as if harboring profound darkness.

"...Finally, I have seen you, Angel..." His hand pressed against Su Ming'an's door, murmuring to himself in a voice so low that only he could hear the slight, almost breathless sound: "Finally..."

His fingers touched the cold crucifix pendant, and he kissed it, lingering at the door for a long time.

"Haven't you returned yet, Hei Que?" Suddenly, a young voice came through Hei Que's earpiece.

Hei Que then left Su Ming'an's door and responded, pressing the earpiece: "I'm back, I'll come see you right away."

Hei Que walked to the end of the hallway and opened a locked door.

Inside the door, the room was an exact replica of Su Ming'an's room. The bed, blue window drapes, piano at the bedside, and the sheet music on the desk.

Most astonishingly—a person with an identical appearance to Su Ming'an sat on the bed. Black hair, black eyes, dressed in pajamas and slippers, clearly having lived in the room for a long time. He was contemplating the sheet music, learning to play the piano.

Hei Que handed over a tray of pancakes and coffee to the young man: "I figured a hot drink might help with sleep, so I brought it for you. If you're tired, do take a rest."

The size of the pancakes, the temperature of the coffee, Hei Que's leaning posture, the curve of the smile on his face—all were identical to when he had just given pancakes to Su Ming'an, as if the scene had been re-enacted.

However, the young man on the bed reacted completely differently from Su Ming'an. He looked at the pancakes in Hei Que's hands and accepted them with a smile: "Okay, I'll eat them now."

The next moment, Hei Que's expression changed instantly, the smile completely vanished, and his respectful attitude abruptly shifted.

He reached out, pressing the young man against the wall, coldly stating: "—As 'Su Ming'an', how can you eat food given by others! No, where's the data wrong?"

The young man's face turned red, and his voice became somewhat mechanical: "But according to... the 'character setting'... I am now... very tired... and want to... eat something sweet. Also, your favorability level has been maxed out. So, 'Su Ming'an' accepting your food... is... reasonable..."

But Hei Que shook his head, repeatedly like a madman: "This is not right—originally, I didn't find anything wrong, logically, 'Su Ming'an' should accept the food I gave, your reaction is not wrong. But in fact, he himself just did not accept the food, so it is not right, not right! Your response—it is wrong!"

Hei Que's fingers tightened in anger, the young man's face showed fear, and the inorganic voice carried some emotion: "I... was wrong, let me... comprehend more... I... won't deviate from the 'setting' again..."

Hei Que's disappointment grew heavier on his face.

"How can you show such... a fearful... expression." Hei Que looked as if he was seeing an extremely ugly artwork.

In the next instant, he increased the force in his hand, and the young man in his grip suddenly burst apart, transforming into glowing specks that drilled into his body. It was as if Hei Que "devoured" the young man.

Hei Que stepped back, gasping for breath, the half of his face exposed was reddened from emotional agitation. He rubbed his fingers, which still retained residual warmth.

"Record 3018 failed." Hei Que muttered to himself, took out a tablet, and wrote down: "Record the final data of this failed product, start fine-tuning. Until the similarity is closer..."

"Millennium Myth's Wish... Millennium Myth's Wish..."

...

The sky was getting brighter, and Yamada Machiichi looked at the compass-like prop in his hand.

"Lu! This thing doesn't work!" Yamada Machiichi shouted.

Seeing Su Ming'an had already entered Nine Serenities, the locator prop had been ineffective all the while, and they couldn't teleport into Nine Serenities.

Lu adjusted the compass a bit, and the pointer remained in a state of chaotic rotation.

"It seems Nine Serenities can isolate teleportation props, nothing can be done about it." Lu stroked his chin.

"Then we form an elite team to break through. Now that Su Ming'an has gone in, the defense line has loosened a lot." Rimu Sheng suggested: "Chao Yan has also stalled Xiao Ying for us, now is the best time to break in."

Lu nodded: "Only need the elites to go. Su Ming'an doesn't need combat power assistance, we just need to lend a hand. The key is not to drag him down."

After discussion among the group, Yamada Machiichi, Lu, Li Yuxuan, and Yi Zhongyu were the four assigned to go. Their combat power ranged generally between three thousand and four thousand, allowing them to have self-defense capabilities.

The black cat on Yamada Machiichi's shoulder moved slightly.

"What's up, Black Flame?" Yamada Machiichi tilted his head.

"Meow meow meow! (Su Ming'an wants you to get over quickly!)" The black cat's words were translated by a player from the summoning category.

"Do I need to make any preparations?" Yamada Machiichi asked.

"Meow! Meow meow meow! (Bring the Immortal's Talisman!)"

Yamada Machiichi carried an Immortal's Talisman named "Copy", which he gained from completing a task. Seeing this, he took the talisman and proceeded.

"Do you think, Nine Serenities will be like in Minecraft, all lava and obsidian." On the road, Yamada Machiichi joked: "Su Ming'an had mentioned wanting to play computer games before."

Lu, however, remained expressionless, only staring at the map in his hands.

Yamada Machiichi restrained his smile. Sometimes he felt as if his teammates seemed a bit unhappy, clearly, Lu should have rewarded a face-saving smile, but Lu didn't.

...Was my jest so boring? Yamada Machiichi thought.

"Let's go, try to reach within an hour, waste no time." Lu closed the map, said plainly.

...

The manzusha flowers bloomed, the stream deep and ink-like.

A young man with a long pole crossed the creek, slowly approaching Nine Serenities. The Youming wind lifted his hem, and with each stroke of the oar on the water's surface, deep black ripples rippled.

He wore a long robe and a bamboo hat, heading towards the fiery red mouth of Nine Serenities, surrounded by only the sound of drifting flowers and leaves.

"...Is he inside Nine Serenities?" The young man suddenly spoke, and beneath the bamboo hat were a pair of golden eyes.

"Meow meow. (Yes.)" A white cat lay at the stern of the boat.

"There was no sound all along, and now suddenly, he went inside Nine Serenities." Su Rin said: "Got it, I'll go take a look... consider it a stop on the journey."

"Meow meow. (Thank you.)" The white cat meowed.

A person and a boat sailed into Nine Serenities.

A solitary boat crossing the water, the silhouette hazy.

...

When Su Ming'an awoke again, the sky had already turned towards the afternoon.

He had slept for more than eight hours, and the air carried the scent of pancakes.