Welcome to Rewind World Game

Su Ming'an sat at a table filled with exquisite desserts, looking down in silence.

In front of him was a laptop, filled with hymns.

The deity stood by his side, showing him these hymns. Each piece was full of fervor, as if people were puppets bound by strings, their free will constrained.

"They write these hymns on the internet, and I can see them," the deity said. "The oracle can be delivered to every household in just a second. Isn't it much faster than the traditional way?"

Su Ming'an sighed.

The times were progressing, and a deity from Yun Shang City still needed to use steles to transmit oracles. But this deity only needed the internet, and people could see them as soon as they opened their phones.

"Have you ever heard a story?" Su Ming'an adjusted his demeanor.

"I'm happy to hear it," the deity said.

"A long, long time ago, a civilization came to an end when powerful invaders descended upon it, using technology to oppress and the lure of benefits to make its people turn on each other," Su Ming'an said. "At a critical moment, one person stood up and gathered eight companions to protect the world."

The deity's eyes showed a ripple: "And then? Did they succeed?"

He forked a strawberry and offered it to Su Ming'an, only for Su Ming'an to slap it away.

Su Ming'an said, "No, they failed."

A look of surprise appeared in the deity's eyes: "I thought you would tell me a success story."

Su Ming'an said, "I haven't finished yet."

"Later, that person built an Ark. He sent his companions to it, allowing them to set sail into the depths of the universe with the memories of the civilization's end, searching for a new home."

"He knew that even sending an Ark was merely sending out the embers of civilization. But at least, the Fireseed still remained."

"On the Ark, at least there were people who would become strangers to the civilization. They would cry when they missed home, laugh when they dreamed of the future, they could still breathe, they were still alive, they still had thoughts, and they would...sing, paint, and record words. They hadn't become mere text on a screen or tombstones in the minds of invaders."

"Eventually, the civilization indeed perished."

"If the spaceship wanted to find the next habitable planet, it would take a long time, calculated in hundreds or thousands of years. So, the people on the spaceship used a tool that allowed them to dream, sleeping in hibernation capsules, repeatedly reminiscing about the past civilization, longing for and cherishing it."

"In their dreams, they returned to the civilization that had not yet been destroyed, laughing in spring, fishing by the lake, weaving hats from straw, making garlands from fresh flowers, and hanging blessing knots on their wrists, leaving behind a whole city's spring."

"Occasionally waking up, they felt lost. Facing the vast, dangerous, lonely, lifeless universe outside the window, facing the cold spaceship with only a few living souls, facing the ashes of their homeland, they would embrace each other, giving each other the last warmth, and say in the words of a poet:"

"[Once,

I dreamt that we were strangers.

Upon waking,

I found out we deeply loved each other.]"

"The civilization is gone. But the people remain. Perhaps one day, they can find a new home. Then, they can truly wake up."

The deity was silent for a moment. When he heard "the civilization is gone," there was an instant where Su Ming'an felt the deity was almost about to shed tears. But that feeling quickly dissipated.

His voice was somewhat hoarse: "I like this story. It gives me hope."

Su Ming'an: "I don't like this story. It fills me with despair."

The contrast in their tones was immense, an unbreakable barrier between them.

Deity: "Whose story is this, and which part of your journey is it?"

Su Ming'an: "It's no one's story; it's just a story I told you, a story that belongs solely to you."

A strange color flowed in the deity's eyes; his pupils subtly trembled. He should have found it interesting, yet he did not. What he could perceive was only the faint sorrow in Su Ming'an's tone. He rarely empathized with human emotions. In his eyes, under the distraction of the internet and the suppression of social pressures, humans became increasingly silent, hypocritical, selfish, narrow-minded, content to settle, lacking any spirit of resistance. They cared about nothing beyond stable jobs and a house and car for marriage.

He had trained them well.

People entertained to death were no longer interested in tracing history.

The deity said, "Your story makes me happy, so I'll give you a second choice."

Su Ming'an lifted his eyes.

This should be equivalent to a reward for reaching a certain favorability value, but the deity did not display favorability.

The deity said, "As long as you become my Archangel, I can delay the opening time of The First Tower by a day. I grant you abilities equivalent to those of a Sixth Rank Talisman Family member, allowing you to freely investigate everything about this world. All nations must make way for you. We can establish a bet as proof, how about it?"

Su Ming'an was taken aback.

He had heard something unbelievable.

Originally, the deity offered nothing, just forced him to become an Archangel, which Su Ming'an disliked. But now the deity was getting it right, even knowing to offer benefits, and very tempting benefits at that.

What he feared most was not death, but a lack of information.

Information is the most crucial thing in the World Game. But so far, he's already missed a lot.

For example, he did not observe the antidepressants in Su Wensheng's room to determine whether it was special medicine or something else. For example, he did not touch the angel statue in Li Mingyue's chapel. For example, he had not approached Xiao Ying and Chao Yan in depth, knowing only the surface about them.

His time and energy were limited, which dictated that he could only focus on one storyline. Choosing to investigate the Ark Project meant he could not possibly have time to investigate Dao Ya City. But if there were more branching routes, adding up all the storyline information, the final success rate would be higher.

If given a full day of investigation time, he could unravel many mysteries.

"..."

Su Ming'an hesitated.

Under normal circumstances, he would have agreed immediately. But this time was different. The deity had previously shown methods to prevent suicide, and he feared making the wrong choice with no chance to turn back. Just like the Red Rose in the Seventh World—he was nearly trapped in Yun Shang City forever.

He was constantly walking a tightrope.

"Su Ming'an, what are you worried about?" Chang Ge's clear voice echoed in his mind.

Su Ming'an remembered this friend, who was usually so quiet and thoughtful.

"Su Ming'an, you can agree with him," Chang Ge said. "If you're afraid of being controlled after becoming an Archangel, I can help you... self-terminate."

Su Ming'an kept a straight face.

... Self-terminate? What was Chang Ge talking about?

Chang Ge said, "We now know that you're not Su Wensheng himself, so even if you die, the perfect pass won't fail. After all, you should have many TE lines. Moreover, it's you becoming the deity's Archangel, not me. I'm an independent player. At a critical moment, I can help you commit suicide, then you can transfer to the clone."

Su Ming'an remained silent.

Chang Ge made sense, but Su Ming'an didn't accept it. Firstly, he didn't trust Chang Ge.

It was difficult for him to trust someone.

But... Noel.

Su Ming'an suddenly thought of Noel. If it were Noel, just a secret signal, even if he was controlled, Noel could still act.

"Have you thought it over?" The Deity reached out, seemingly trying to pat Su Ming'an's shoulder.

Just then, the little fox, Little Love, jumped out from Su Ming'an's shoulder and fiercely bit, almost catching the Deity's hand.

"Get away! Who allowed you to steal my Divine Envoy?" Little Love shouted.

The Deity frowned and directly kicked Little Love, like shooting a goal, Little Love bounced away like a ball, jumping four meters high each time, with excellent elasticity.

"Have you thought it over?" The Deity retracted his foot and asked again as if nothing had happened.

Su Ming'an glanced at him and then looked away.

In the Deity's somewhat expectant gaze, Su Ming'an said, "No, I won't."

"You clearly wanted to agree just now but now refuse me." The Deity showed clear confusion on his face: "Why? Is it because I kicked it?"

Su Ming'an realized that the Deity's way of thinking was completely abnormal. The first thing he suspected was the reason for kicking Little Love.

"Didn't you say you could show me my future?" Su Ming'an said, "Let me see first."

The Deity raised a hand: "Close your eyes."

Su Ming'an closed his eyes. After waiting a moment, he didn't hear the Deity's voice, so he asked, "Can I open my eyes now?"

There was no answer.

After waiting a while, Su Ming'an opened his eyes.

Instantly, he smelled a moist atmosphere, and he was standing at the edge of a crosswalk, holding an umbrella. Heavy rain was pouring down, city dwellers bustling to and fro, with no one noticing him.

...Where is this place?

"Ming'an?"

Suddenly, a gentle call came from behind him.

Su Ming'an turned around and saw a girl holding an umbrella. Her black hair draped over her shoulders, her eyes clear. Her appearance was all too familiar to him.

"Yuanyuan...?" Su Ming'an said softly.

"Yes, what happened to you?"

Yuanyuan saw the alertness in Su Ming'an's eyes.

She pursed her lips. Then suddenly, she threw away her umbrella and hugged him.

Su Ming'an looked at her flowing hair in astonishment; his umbrella almost flew out of his hand. She held him tight, her lips pressing against his shoulder, her ten fingers wrapped around his spine.

In the heavy rain, passing pedestrians looked at them strangely; no one recognized Su Ming'an, as if he were just an ordinary person.

"Alright, alright..." Her voice was extremely soft: "It's over... It's alright now... The World Game has ended. Are you still having episodes recently? What did the psychologist say?"

"If you often forget who you are, remember to look in the mirror more often."

"If you find it really painful, take some medicine. Although they all have resistance now, there's no choice; we'll find more suitable healing methods..."

"Settle down... Don't look at me with such unfamiliar eyes... Ming'an. Have you forgotten who I am again?"

Su Ming'an's spine was very straight, the heat in his arms was scorching, his hands stretched aimlessly, unsure where to put them. Eventually, he slowly withdrew his hands and gently embraced Yuanyuan.

In that moment, he understood—this was the future the Deity wanted him to see.

—The World Game was over, humanity was safe. People quickly returned to their daily lives, with everything orderly.

His own mental state, however, was poor, and people no longer remembered all of his efforts. So, was the Deity deliberately creating this scene to make him give up on saving others?

"Take a breath, here." Yuanyuan took out a spray, pointing it at Su Ming'an: "First breathe in this, I'll take you to find the doctor immediately."

She seemed to have become accustomed to caring for a mentally ill person who occasionally went mad. "Long illness, no filial child at the bedside," she wasn't even his biological relative, yet she had become accustomed, numb with a tender care.

"I'm not sick." Su Ming'an pushed the spray away. Perhaps he'd really have psychological issues in the future, but he was mentally healthy now.

Yuanyuan silently gazed at him, silently increasing the dosage of the spray in her hand.

He looked around, wanting to end this dream. This kind of future illusion shouldn't linger for too long; he had seen it and there was no need for prolonged immersion.

"Deity, end it!" He raised his head and shouted to the sky: "It's enough, I have seen!"

The sky still poured the same rain, pedestrians looked at him strangely, as if he were a mental patient who had snuck out.

Yuanyuan continued to silently gaze at him.

"Deity! Did you hear?" Su Ming'an threw away the umbrella, and suddenly, the torrential rain drenched his head, pounded on his face, wet black hair clinging to the sides of his face, his whole body sinking into the coldness.

He continued to look around, trying to find an exit, the rain running down his clothes, resembling a confused madman.

But when he lowered his head, he suddenly saw Yuanyuan's gaze.

...In her silent, sorrowful gaze reflecting him, she seemed to be looking at a terminally ill patient. Her hands were full of colorful medicine, like candies in a rainbow. Her hand stretched forward, as if she wanted to hold him, yet dared not, like a hesitant ceremonial kiss.

This made his eyes sting, as if sharp ice blades were cutting through his pupils.

His fingers trembled uncontrollably, and after a long silence, Su Ming'an finally whispered softly.

"...Yuanyuan."

"Yes...?" Yuanyuan looked at him.

"Actually, this kind of scene won't really make me despair..." he said.

Her gaze had a long-lasting calmness. When she looked at him, the silence in her eyes turned into his reflection.

She reached out and tentatively hugged him. This time, their embrace was not as intense or as tense as before, but rather gentle, like small animals comforting each other in the rainstorm.

Yuanyuan was gently patting his back, one stroke after another: "It's alright now, it's alright, it's alright..."

He bit his lip and held in the words he couldn't speak: "..."

...Actually, this kind of scene won't truly make me despair.

Because in my plan,

There was no better ending than this.