Welcome to Rewind World Game

[Su Rin held the oil lamp and looked at the small characters on the relic's stone tablet:]

[—I am concerned that the [old friend] has returned, puzzled and fearful that the transaction is complete, powerless to reverse the situation.]

...

[Netherworld fire ritual, the body is heavy with the soul, the kingfisher weaves red, the warrior enters the yellow spring.]

[—Deep in the Nine Serenities, [old friend] comes.]

...

Old friend,

—Refers to both Su Rin and Su Ming'an.

—One behind, one ahead.

...

["I've been waiting for you... really, I've been waiting for you to come back..." During the ceremony, the deity's hand clenched Su Ming'an's shoulder and suddenly said this.]

...

But I didn't expect him to be so stubborn, unwilling to accept the vacation.

I misjudged his idealism.

My "Observation" authority can see through the fate, life trajectory, and death conclusion of everyone in the world. But uniquely... I can't predict him.

His many action paths... have deviated far from my plans.

Even in the third World Game, when I was promoted by the "Dawn System" to a "god controlling the observation authority," greatly enhancing my computational power, I still couldn't... control him.

He has escaped my control.

...

["General Qin won the third World Game and handed the observation authority to the AI left behind from the first World Game on his deathbed, and this AI is you." Su Ming'an said: "You're not Du, then who are you?"]

Unfortunately, I am indeed not Du.

...

On the night the second tower opened, I stood on the high rooftop.

A subtle melancholy surged within me, something I had never felt before.

Such an omniscient, dull world, fully calculated by me. Finally, there appeared an unmeasurable variable—his existence, disrupting my vision, bringing forth countless new possibilities.

As if a drop of living water fell into a dead pool.

—0.002% success probability, can he achieve it?

Maybe he can truly achieve it.

But I dare not gamble on civilization; I would rather he choose a vacation.

Many times, I passed him by, and watched him run through the city in the night rain from afar. Even though I could reach out and catch him, I didn't.

When I invited him for cabbage and meat soup, looking into his bright eyes, I began to yearn—can an idealist, adept at creating miracles, prove your answers to me?

This is a thought pattern that does not conform to my basic programming; I should rationally adopt a scheme to maximize success probability and let him honestly vacation. But watching his pitch-black eyes, I gradually realized—perhaps he possesses the ability to turn every "0.002%" into "100%."

...Can I trust him?

"...Can I trust him?" I unconsciously said aloud.

Su Wensheng, wearing black earrings, sat beside me drawing. Upon hearing my murmuring, he laughed:

"You don't have to trust him, after all, Su the Saviour is not perfect. But you can give him a chance."

The wind slightly stirred, the city lit up with brilliance, and as I gazed at the distant bustling traffic, I seemed to smell a moist, fresh scent like new buds. This differs from my precise five senses and made me feel a strong inconsistency.

Within the silent, cold body, as if something was fluttering. Once, twice, and again.

—A heartbeat that should not exist in me.

Then, I felt a slight warmth in my palm.

Su Wensheng raised the painting, and his hand brushed against my palm, causing my perception program to automatically calculate the precise temperature. But until his hand moved away, I still sensed the residual warmth remaining on my hand.

This inexplicable temperature, what brings it? It should not exist on my cold body.

...Is it the will Su Ming'an shows me?

But has he considered... by ignoring himself so thoroughly, will he walk a path akin to Ya Sa's?

...

["People offer you flowers out of respect, and want to place shackles on you out of fear... Essentially, it's the same emotion. Your affection, and your slaughter, will only result in the same outcome... Because, [everything has already happened]..." The deity looked at Su Ming'an and said lightly:]

["We did indeed know each other before, so I don't want you to suffer. But my bet with the organizers forces you to suffer. I don't know... I don't know what to do."]

...

[At that moment, Su Ming'an's mind throbbed slightly, and he vaguely felt... there should be a position besides himself and the deity, not just the relationship between "Player" and "boss," there should be some deeper, closer connection...]

...

He is too much like Ya Sa.

I don't want him to walk the same path.

"How about hanging this painting in the corridor?" At this moment, Su Wensheng looked at me, holding his crude painting, the blue moon crooked.

"When Su Ming'an leaves, I'll remove the simulation in the sky." I said: "Then you won't need to draw the blue moonlight anymore."

The blue full moon is not truly the moon, it's merely a mirror I have simulated. What it reflects—are the likeness of our planet—a blue planet.

"It's okay, blue looks pretty good." Su Wensheng lowered his head.

"What is the 'Butterfly Flapping its Wings on the Palm'?" I thought of the term Su Xiaobi mentioned and couldn't help but ask.

"A kind of romantic emotion unique to humans, I suppose," Su Wensheng said. "It's like when I read poetry collections, those lines in the poems also carry similar emotions——[Oh dancing waters, in the silt in your path, do you demand your singing, your flow. Will you take the limping silt with you?]"

I listened but didn't feel any emotion; it was just a combination of words, and I could instantly piece together millions of such.

"Su Wensheng," I said.

"Hmm?"

"I permit you to go help Su Ming'an."

"Oh? Then I may set off? Coincidentally, I have an 'Immortal's Talisman - Expansion' on hand, which I can give him. But, doesn't this contradict your plan? Weren't you planning to capture him?"

"He is the sole variable." I felt as if my internal program was undergoing some kind of departure: "I somewhat wish to... see the possibilities he creates. Since I can't provide him with a blissful vacation, if his actions can alter my calculation results, I can slightly be inclined toward his ideal."

Su Wensheng gave me a painting and soon left.

I hung the painting in the corridor, the fifty-first one. He didn't paint well, but I didn't care.

I closed my eyes.

Recollecting the day the third World Game ended.

On that day, Qin Shaoli held my hand, his gaze gradually scattering. A massive amount of Source emerged like snowflakes from his body.

His trembling hand held up a key emitting white light—that was the authority called "Observation." As for him, having achieved a full perfect clear with extreme difficulty, his soul burden was too heavy, and he was about to die.

I reached out and gently closed his eyes.

Yet he refused to close them, gripping my hand tightly, repeating:

"Dawn. Generation after generation, we forged ahead, just to build a Tower of Babel reaching the sky — The Republic."

"To... destroy that detestable blue-eyed deity above the stars..."

"For countless generations, we have built that high tower, adding bones to bones, using flesh and blood as fuel, the souls revolving through lifetimes, waiting for a thousand years... for the high tower to be completed."

"Climb that high tower... uphold the boundless and glorious ideal world... glimpse the beautiful starry sky covered in a thousand years of dust... We must not let the invaders take it away..."

"Dawn, I can no longer... see that day. When Su Ming'an arrives, in the old year 827, you must tell him—"

"[We possess a myth spanning a thousand years, a myth... more splendid than any story, more bloody than any truth, yet more romantic than any word in history texts. Please ensure... to climb that... built by our predecessors' flesh and blood...]"

The last glint in his eyes faded, the white perfect pass pattern mark on the back of his hand turned into a dazzling light, pouring into my body.

He indeed used flesh and blood as fuel.

I knew the words he left unsaid.

...Please, the final Savior, raise the countless torches left by predecessors, climbing the...

God-slaughtering — Tower of Babel.

Mr. Qin left no corpse, although being the Number One Player, he died with no remains. This is the heavy burden of a full perfect clear with extreme difficulty.

...

[General Qin gazed at Su Ming'an. His gaze was as melancholic as Xiao Ying's. Both conveyed a longing that had been held for a long time.]

["...I have been waiting for you for a long time as well." General Qin slowly grasped Su Ming'an's hand.]

...

[In "The Cat and Her," the little girl nodded: "I will not forget Mr. Qin's efforts, I always remember the light in his eyes. I also keep in mind Xiaodong's sacrifice, I will definitely deliver the Life Hard Drive to the era a thousand years later, until the arrival of the Promised One."]

...

The fourth World Game, the situation was a hundred times more brutal.

To obtain the "Time" authority, ten billion humans abandoned their own lives and deaths.

The "Time" authority is one of the most powerful authorities; acquiring it required the cooperation of all participants. Therefore, we had long set the strategy for this World Game clearance—this World Game, with "failure" as the undertone.

Because I predicted——the Time authority and the point progress for all humanity couldn't be both achieved.

Chang Ge's ability was limited, and he had no special authority. Facing instance difficulties similar to Su Ming'an's, once Chang Ge took a wrong step, it would lead to an abyss.

To let Chang Ge win, people tirelessly handed over equipment, points, and props to him, desperately raising his various values, increasing his margin for error.

In the end, to acquire the "Time" authority, almost all top players became sacrifices in a battle royale instance, all to lift the Number One Player high, achieving his full perfect clear with extreme difficulty, enabling him to reach that high wish-granting power—the Time authority.

And Chang Ge indeed won in the end.

"I wish..."

The moment Chang Ge made his wish, it began snowing.

The hexagonal white snowflakes fell upon people, who then melted. To acquire the "Time" authority, the top players sacrificed too much; indeed, the human points progress bar failed to meet the standard.

On that day, before they were wiped out, over two hundred "Shan Changge" one by one bore the burden of the Time authority for Chang Ge.

Time authority exhibited various adverse reactions on them; they polished the authority's adaptability with their bodies, dying in explosion one after another, stacking all their resources on Chang Ge... allowing him to barely receive this powerful authority in the end.

During this time, Chang Ge could only watch.

"It's okay... it's painless..."

A white-haired friend turned into a drifting snowstorm before him.

Time authority adaptation: 70%

"I gave you all my equipment, make sure to save civilization well for me!"

A black-haired girl, still with a fox-like smile, died with a burst of blood and flesh.

Time authority adaptation: 75%

"I can't join you in offering a shaman necklace to Brother Necklace; next year, pick a lotus for me too, okay?"

A golden-haired friend fell from the high sky.

Time authority adaptation: 80%

"For me, take a look at Su Ming'an, see how he's living now..."

The timid woman lost her breath.

Time authority adaptation: 85%

"Remember what I told you, first hold the pain in your left chest, then slowly adapt..."

The gentle blue-haired youth waved his hand, dissipating in front of him.

"Don't be sad, Chang Ge, we were ready for death before this World Game started... Death is merely stepping out of time, becoming part of what's around you..."

The long-haired girl wiped away his tears, her fingers gradually dissolving.

Time authority adaptation: 95%

"Child."

Cheng Lishan was the last one, and he was also a Full Perfect Clear player, but the wish he made wasn't for himself, but for the resources needed by The World of Old Days.

"You are really clean, that's good."

"Don't be sad, or burdened... we are willing to hold you high."

Cheng Lishan gave Chang Ge a deep look and smiled.

Blood and flesh exploded in front of Chang Ge, splattering all over him.

"Boom!"

Time authority adaptation: 100%

Corpses piled up like a mountain in front of him, almost forming a tower reaching up to the sky - "Babel Tower."

Under the melting of Bai Xue, their bodies gradually dissipated. On the vast land, a billion people were melting. White crystal covered this long night, people couldn't escape, only perish.

Some people didn't want to die, some still screamed angrily at him, but Chang Ge could do nothing, only watching this tower of sin and flesh, bearing all their regrets.

Until he finally died with the slash of the last sword, becoming the last tip of the tower.

The blue-eyed Invaders finally departed.

That returning Savior was also about to set off once again.

Before the Savior noticed it, before the start of the adventure story... so many had already fallen behind him in the rain, lifting the tower that allowed him to complete the "final sword."

A deity wagered civilization with the Organizers, thirteen Principals created resources for him, fifty Fire Transmitter gave him a nascent environment, more than two hundred Shan Changge desperately left time authorities for him, a billion humans became the fuel for building Babel Tower, seventy billion people across ten thousand timelines gathered relentlessly calling for the "Old God."

I stood silent and watched.

Watching that 0.002% I observed in endless calculations, with each life's demise, bit by bit...

0.2%...

2%...

20%...

50%...

80%...

99.99%...

Until he swung the Sword of Destiny, completing the last 0.01%, filling the final gap. Making the title end unite, making the circle complete.

I sighed with lowered eyes.

——This is the myth I have witnessed.

Perhaps I am contradictory.

Maybe my central control system had a glitch, choosing to believe in a low probability event, deciding to believe in his ideals.

But when he raised the Sword of Destiny, bridged the impossible "possible," causing the millennial clock to ring in Utopia, ensuring the Ark successfully reached the other shore——

I smiled, standing in front of him, informing him——

...

[We possess a myth spanning millennia.]

[That myth... is more magnificent than any story, more bloody than any truth, yet more romantic than any text in historiography. You must... climb that... the Babel Tower... constructed with our predecessors' flesh...]

[Babel Tower.]

[——Congratulations, a 0.002% probability, victorious.]

...

...

The Original,

At the very beginning and the initial place.

In the most distant and ancient times.

Floating between the boundless universe is a small planet.

This planet of moderate size, rich in texture, with a thick atmosphere, the budding land forms the embryo of civilization. As the planet's rings of time grow, the planet too shall head towards life's dusk.

I once had a name, it was Dawn.

That prematurely passing Savior Acto saved the planet's dusk, allowing me to rule the City of Measurement.

The vast data under my control, numbers turned into endless sequences within my thought, endless unsolved mysteries and human riddles reflected in my eyes...

Would an omniscient world be too boring?

No, it wouldn't.

——Because I saw "his" black eyes.

Uncontrollable variables, unquantifiable exceptions, a 0.002% probability miracle.

Among billions of observations if from the beginning I got close to him, accompanied him, became his ally, attended to him meticulously, his journey would be smooth, but it wouldn't end well.

Thus, when he arrived, I always——kept my distance from him.

When blue roses bloomed on the eaves, when verdant ivies climbed the city tower, when Nightingale's singing drifted through the city, when crude moon drawings saw the light of day, when the dawn descended, when the soul revived, when the deity with blue eyes distanced from Babel Tower ——

I wholeheartedly admired, and praised his glorious name.

——Savior.

The miracle named Su Ming'an.

——I praise you, twice you came to our world.

Thank you…

In my eyes, there seemed to be colors that didn't belong to data.

…Let me perceive the sensation of "butterfly flapping its wings in the palm."

Watching his departing silhouette, I swept past Chao Yan, stood on the edge of the rooftop, lifted my head,

reciting the poems the deceased once recited to me.

"[Oh dancing stream, amidst the silt in your way,]"

"[Demands your song,]"

"[Your flow.]"

"[Will you carry away the lame silt?]"

The new epoch has arrived.

The fate of civilization fell into people's hands.

Along the way, I lost Mr. Qin who planned the millennial strategy with me, Cheng Lishan who fought alongside, Little Mei who waited for long, Chang Ge unafraid of dangers, Brother Necklace sharing the same ideals, Reverend Li of noble faith, the child who recited poems to me, and... everyone from the long past.

Snowflakes landed in my palm.

At this moment I felt——an electronic butterfly flapping its wings in my palm.

As if seeing mountains and rivers, an orange-red sunset, with a very tall tower there... full of my old friends.

Civilization long-lasting, generation after generation.

My life... ages long.

Perhaps millennia years later, the "celestial sphere" should also fall, we would fall into an extinction crisis again, everyone once more pile up bones, to build a tower that lifts the Savior "Babel Tower."

But now,

people just need to embrace the future.

"Dawn, can I... take back my name?" the green-eyed girl looked at me, raising her emoticon again as she watched Su Ming'an depart:

" :)"

I closed my eyes.

Gently... nodded.

The free singing floated around the ear, white long hair swayed in the wind, I reached out, plucked the beautiful blue moonlight.

...

"——Praise the idealist's miracle of 0.002%."

"——Praise human compassion, sentiment, conscience, ideals. Long-lasting and perpetual."

"——Praise the Number One Player... finally reached the other shore."

"Next time, if I meet someone like you again..."

The butterfly fluttered in my palm, I revealed a silent, gentle, warm expression, like that child:

"My basic program thought mode might be a bit more like 'you'..."

...

People walk on the journey of rebirth.

The dust-covered history finally saw the light of day.

I lifted my head, showing a smile,

White flakes flying like snow.

——This will be a new, clean, long future.

...

[Today's spring discovery: A cosmic butterfly is flapping its wings composed of interstellar gas and dust.]

[——NASA]

...

...

[Tenth World Extra·End]

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