First Player

The Milky Way is rolling in the sky, and the galaxies are like broken silver needles, slowly sinking towards the earth.

People looked to the sky in fear.

"There are only 1220m left before the Holy City is fully lifted into the air. Lord God, we should continue to move forward." Yi Zhongyu's voice came from the left headset.

"Are you kidding? Four of our companions have died, Lord God, and we still have to move forward?" Xia Jiawen's voice came from the right headset.

"Compared to the weight of civilization, five lives are not heavy. If I were to die, I would say the same thing."

"Lord God, please go back! We have urgently calculated the current situation. You can go back five or six times!"

Su Mingan knew that there was nothing he could do to persuade Xiao Ying.

Distant water cannot save near fire, Duiying said. He can even infiltrate the United Regiment. Xiao Ying's mother is under his infiltration. To kill her would only require someone to disconnect the oxygen tube, which is no different from crushing an ant to death.

Su Ming'an thought about it, if other people faced this dilemma - their mother's life was in the hands of a high-dimensional person, and she only needed to let the old shrine explode and kill some people she didn't know, in order to save her mother . I'm afraid many people can't let their mothers die.

Xiao Ying's behavior was reasonable, but Su Mingan could not forgive it.

Likewise, there is no possibility of peace between them.

——So, there was only one thing left that he could do.

The bright blue light lit up, and the Ring of Time emitted light, like a high bright blue blanket floating into the sky. Snow-white tentacles clustered behind him, and each of these perfect clearance marks shone with light.

He raised his right hand flatly and concentrated intently——

Like a god who controls time.

In the blink of an eye - morning and dusk alternate, the stars move, the roaring darkness is dispelled, the flames on the ground are extinguished, and the ruins and broken white jade on the ground float up.

Sweat dripped from Su Mingan's forehead, and the ring of time in his hand became as heavy as a thousand, as if a force was fighting a tug-of-war with him. His soul desperately moved the pointer to turn back time, but there was a strong resistance against his consciousness.

…This is what it feels like to actively look back in time.

It's like the laws of time in the entire world are resisting this kind of retrospection. Flowers, grass, trees, earth, rivers and mountains all resisted the countercurrent. They tried their best to block his return, causing his soul to feel tearing pain, his mind buzzing, and his five senses extremely confused.

Click, click, click.

In the past, as soon as he closed and opened his eyes, the regression was completed, but now he had to tear it apart with his own hands.

...can’t move it anymore.

When a certain time critical point was reached, and if he turned back again, the resistance would increase exponentially, surpassing the limit of his consciousness, and almost tearing his soul to pieces...

He was forced to let go, and the pain in his head was excruciating, as if hundreds of hammers were smashing into his head.

When he regained consciousness, he saw violent sparks erupting from the old temple, and the golden-red light was like a bright firework.

"boom--!!"

The heat wave hit his face, and a broken bone followed the strong wind and scratched his cheek. His breath caught.

…It’s too late.

This moment of retracement... happened to be the second when the Holy City exploded.

"——!!"

The noise in his heart made him feel a dull pain.

The overlapping shadows floated in the air, and they had a good time to look at the fireworks flying high on the ground: "...It seems that it is too late, Su Ming'an."

Su Mingan stared at the blazing old shrine without saying a word.

"Even if we go back against the current, you are only a mere human being. A combat power level of more than 4,000 is simply not enough." The shadow of the overlapping shadow floated to his side: "But it doesn't matter, as long as you agree to ascend to higher dimensions with me. , I can let everyone go. Yueyue and the others can be safe, and I can give up on the old world. I have told you before, the only thing I value is you."

Now, it seems there is no other choice.

Su Mingan fell to the ground and did not reply.

In the distance, Chaoyan was coming from the headquarters. She was limping on crutches and stared at the old shrine for a second with slightly cloudy eyes, then looked at Su Mingan: "Have you ever backtracked once? From after the explosion?"

"Yes, do you have a solution?" Su Mingan said.

Chaoyan sighed, as if she saw a thin and helpless shadow. She had been his teacher for too long, but there was really nothing she could do for him to ask for help this time.

"...No." She shook her head.

His expression broke for a moment: "Maybe there will be, Chaoyan, please think again."

Chaoyan opened his eyes wide.

This was the first time... she saw him asking for her help like a child.

Blazing fireworks exploded behind him, and the red-gold firelight swayed on his face. There was a large blank in his expression, as if he didn't know what to do for a moment. This expression was too rare on his face, like a child who forgot to bring his homework.

People felt at a loss - the first player finally showed his helpless side. Before this, everyone thought he was invincible.

Chaoyan lowered his eyelids and sighed:

"Okay, there is a way."

"You can go back one more time. At the moment when the explosion occurred, I could give my life authority to one person instantly, so that I could save the next person. As for who to save, you choose among the five people."

……What.

Su Mingan's pupils tightened, his hearing was blurred because of these words, and something violent exploded in his mind.

The words of Chao Yan kept echoing in his mind.

——You choose among five people.

Yueyue, Lu Shu, Nuoer, Lu Meng, Li Yuxuan... you choose one.

His vision was distorted.

Far away, leading to the distance where the blue sky meets, there are five railway tracks. The bright red Manzhushahua spreads, blooming with countless colors of blood.

The heat wave blew, and his pupils were filled with golden and red color. The companions stood in the distant fields, with sunflowers all over the sky, looking back at him and waving to him.

He stepped forward. But they stood at different forks in the road, waiting for him.

Lu Shu held the black knife and smiled silently at him, an ugly smile.

Yueyue lowered her head, pressing the ticking game console with both hands. As the game over voice sounded, she raised her head and looked at him in confusion.

Noel held the brim of his hat and let a white bird fly. He turned his head and looked at him with a smile.

The sunflowers swayed, and the golden sunlight fell into his bloodshot pupils.

"...Are you crying?" He said this unconsciously.

Because he saw Chao Yan crying.

Maybe the air was too hot, and the smoke splashed into her eyes. The tears flowed more and more, and she looked at his hesitation silently, as if she was witnessing all the suffering.

"Yeah... so fresh." Chaoyan wiped his eyes and showed a confused expression: "Seeing you sad, I started to feel sad too. Obviously I haven't had such intense feelings for a long time. I thought... this is twilight years. The human mentality.”

Su Ming'an's five fingers were still involved in the puppet string. He clearly knew the death position of everyone, and he remembered this information in his heart.

Under the ruins of angel wings.

Under the scorching fire.

The side of the statue.

"That time, you went to save the exiled Lu Shu for selfish reasons. You were not wrong." Chaoyan raised his head and said, "This time, it doesn't matter how many times you save them. It's you who made our civilization what it is today."

"Your kind of salvation structure will not lose even without me. After all, the 'Old God' is not a real god. As long as anyone is given the title of Old God, he can take my place. I am not...irreplaceable. Yes." Su Mingan said.

"But at least in our world line, you have become this old god. We are willing to repay you, including my right to life. You don't need to have any psychological burden." Chaoyan spread a pair of wings behind him.

She floated up, her green eyes reflected him:

"...My life was originally reserved for you."

"Go ahead and choose. Tell me which one you want to save. I'm very smart. If you tell me the name of the person you want to save in the next episode, I'll know what you mean."

Su Mingan's fingers were trembling.

The puppet silk let out a hissing cry.

He didn't have to say anything, she knew what he needed most.

It was as if she was his reflection in the mirror, his female counterpart, describing his life. No matter the companionship a thousand years ago, or the protection a thousand years later.

People looked blankly at the god and his angel of judgment in the sky. They didn't understand why the god's expression was so painful.

"...Chao Yan."

As if parting a rain curtain flowing with life, he slowly opened his mouth, but simply called her name.

She was stunned: "What did you ask me to do?"

Suddenly she understood that this was his response to her last sentence - [Tell me which one you want to save].

He declined the option.

He just called her name.

Her pupils shrank, as if she heard an incredible fairy tale, then she smiled bitterly and shook her head: "I should have taught you a long time ago, whether you pull this trolley pole or not - [you are correct]. You’re still too idealistic, and that’s not right.”

yes.

Su Mingan also remembered Chaoyan’s teaching more than ten years ago. Even though time passed very quickly and many things were unimpressed, he remembered her words about the trolley problem clearly.

He also remembered his answer at that time.

At that time, his answer...

He closed his eyes and was silent for ten seconds.

He never looked down or looked back. The white tentacles surrounded him, as if countless white stars were surrounding him. In people's eyes - it's like a god who really stepped out of a myth.

Duoying watched the show from the side, admiring his struggle.

But he raised his right hand again, and the ring of time shone with starlight.

Duoying's eyes were filled with astonishment.

"...This is not a completely fixed [critical time reversal point]. The reason why I stopped at this time point is because I feel that the pointer cannot move anymore and my soul is about to be torn apart by the resistance."

"If I continue to backtrack, the resistance will increase exponentially, but I can still try...to push forward a little bit."

"Overlapping shadow." Su Mingan announced to the high-dimensional people above the starry sky:

"Don't be too proud."

"——I want to tell you, you can't calculate my limit."

Thus, the song of time was played.

The stars are bright. The pure white god put his right hand on his forehead, and his forehead against the fluorescent ring, as if to stop his trembling.

He took a long breath, and in the disbelief eyes of Duoying and Chaoyan, once again... launched the retracement.

Keep moving forward.

Onward, forward.

Not ahead in distance, but ahead in time.

Tracing back to the upper reaches of the long river, under the never-ending waterfalls like thousands of giant mountains, I carry this pain that tears my soul.

The magnificent blue halo flashes, as if time and space are turning and overlapping. He pressed his forehead tightly, almost leaving a mark of time. His left hand was like a steel bar, firmly holding down his right hand that he wanted to retreat from.

Click, click.

The hour hand rotates and plays the sound of time. Drops of blue water stepped under his feet, jumping like a fish, while he fiddled with the pointer, letting the rough waves try to push him back.

The flames extinguished, the dust dissipated, the bricks flew up...the old shrine returned to its original state...

When he crossed the limit of time, he felt that his whole body was about to break apart. This was an extreme pain that could not be compared to death. Every second was stretched infinitely, as if he had experienced tens of millions of near-death experiences in an instant.

When he stopped, his consciousness almost collapsed.

But when he opened his eyes and took a deep breath - an unparalleled surprise came to his heart -

Although the pain was excruciating...but time did move forward a little bit. The explosion had not occurred yet, and the old shrine was still standing.

He subconsciously looked at the first puppet thread first, concentrated on it, and pulled the thread back. As he gradually retracted his puppet silk skills, the puppet silk became shorter and shorter...

The next moment,

The person connected by this thread was dragged out of the old palace by him.

...saved.

Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he immediately focused on the second puppet thread——

"Boom - boom -!"

There was a roar.

The golden-red butterfly flies up.

Before his eyes, the old shrine bloomed with thousands of fiery and beautiful flowers.

An explosion occurred.

…

Su Mingan is acting in a puppet show.

He is the god who controls all living beings on the stage.

The god's thumb pulled a green bamboo. The god's index finger pulled a sword. The middle finger of the god is holding a bird.

If the god pulls on the first puppet string, the second and third strings will break. Pull on the second puppet string and the other two will break. Bamboo, sword, and bird can never perform on the same stage.

He felt devastated.

So he restarted again. This time his soul was tortured to pieces, but he was finally able to pull back nearly half of the second thread.

But still, not enough.

Just a few seconds...a few seconds...

He tried to use other methods, such as letting the watch A Du transmit the message, but there was no time. He asked Chaoyan to save others, but Chaoyan almost died in the fire.

He restarted again, experiencing the pain of soul trauma again, trying to push time forward a little more.

However, it has really reached its limit.

He thought of Duiying's words:

[Even if you go back against the current, you are still just a human, with a combat power level of more than 4,000...it is simply not enough. 】

A mere human being with a combat power level of more than 4,000...so it is not enough.

So,

What if we were no longer human?

It dawned on him.

He suddenly understood what he should do.