First Player

Chapter · "She won't move."

"Bang", a sound.

A wooden coffin wrapped with white roses was transported from a truck. Su Mingan did not open the coffin, he knew who was lying inside.

He glanced at the system time.

Current time, 7:45 am.

Her time of death was before 1:40 a.m.

It is said that she was killed by a cannon. Her shoulders and arms were not connected together, and her whole body was covered in blood. Before she died, she tried to write down her last words, hoping that he would not be sad, but she vomited blood until she could not speak, so she could only vomit her last words. A teammate was pinned under her body, and she tried to protect the other person before she died.

However, no one survived the attack. She didn't want him to see her bloody state.

Several soldiers stood silently, and someone said, "Please forgive me."

However, except for "please express my condolences", no one can make the girl in the coffin stand up.

Her blue lightsaber is in the hand of an accompanying soldier. The sword is like a transparent glass column, or like a long tube of crystal. It is very beautiful, like her always clear eyes.

A black card and a lightsaber seemed to be all she had left. No one knows that she is a traveler from another world who travels around the world, no one knows that she is a girl who likes to eat chocolate, no one knows that she has all kinds of game ideas in her mind. What she left behind was only a broken corpse, half of her young face stained with blood, no different from other people who died on the battlefield.

The girl holding a chocolate bar and wearing a cat-eared hat suddenly turned into a cold coffin.

She can't speak.

It won't move either.

[...Ming'an, I can be like this. Arrive at every copy in advance and pave all the way for you in advance... I will help you better and help you achieve anything. 】

【I can help you. 】

【I am very happy. 】

…

[——Did I help you this time? 】

…

Su Mingan stared at the white roses on the coffin.

The hot air that floated up from the cold weather lingered on the side of his face, and he raised his eyelids to watch the white air linger and dissipate, as if he was frozen in place.

He was so far away at this moment, like a fragile dream.

Soon, he dropped his eyes to the ground, then raised them unconsciously, looking at the coffin in silence, even the look in his eyes was trembling.

Su Lin also looked at Su Ming'an silently. Cars were passing by on the street, and some people were staring here curiously, and quickly looked away when they saw the coffin.

No one dared to disturb them.

There was heavy white snow falling in the sky, and the white roses were covered with a layer of frost. Su Mingan's eyes were like white roses, condensed and frozen in silence.

Rationality supports sensibility, and sensibility provides the basis for rationality. They are not incompatible. Su Lin believes that Su Mingan is a person with both high rationality and high sensibility. Sometimes, Su Mingan's high rationality will suppress his high sensibility for a long time, and sometimes, his suppressed high sensibility will burst out uncontrollably.

——Just like now.

It is impossible for a person to remain normal after enduring inhuman pressure for too long. Su Mingan was about to collapse a long time ago, but he was still unaware of it and even felt that he was a normal person.

——How can there be normal people in the world game?

Only madmen can adapt to such a crazy world. People who appear to be normal are actually the craziest existences in this game. Their madness goes hand in hand with disguise. This terrifying mask is where their madness lies.

Su Lin stared at Su Ming'an, observing the slowly changing expression on his face, and suddenly saw Su Ming'an raising his hand——

The finger pointed towards the temple, and the fingertips were dark.

With a "pop" sound, Su Lin forcibly interrupted Su Ming'an's movements and held Su Ming'an's wrist tightly.

"——You want to commit suicide? How could you commit suicide?" Su Lin asked, his fingers trembling in disbelief.

Su Mingan raised his eyelids, his expression still calm.

This calmness shocked Su Lin even more. Su Lin felt absurdly that Su Mingan was so rational that he wanted to commit suicide.

……How can this be?

"Su Ming'an! If you die, what will happen to this world? What will happen to the humans on Zhai Star? Have you ever thought about what will happen to you after you die? The Door Key Corps of the God camp killed her, with the intervention of Edward and others, don't you Are you going to take care of it?" Su Lin asked.

No one can imagine how the world will change drastically if the "first player" fails.

At that time, Lin Jiang failed in the Sixth World. According to statistics, more than three digits of people went online to mock her, insulted her, and launched terrorist attacks on her. The number of abusive posts on the forum exceeded five digits. Many people used the worst words to describe her wrong behavior at that time, saying that if she had done something else, she would not have died.

Although there is no shortage of people in the world who send warmth to Lin Jiang, some people have even built a seven-digit high-rise building to support Lin Jiang. But just those disgusting hundreds of people almost made Lin Jiang suffer from depression.

Due to survivorship bias, people tend to see evil people even though there are far fewer evil people than good people. Lin Jiang was still just a top player on the list, and he was still in this situation. If it were Su Mingan...

Behind him is an abyss.

If Su Mingan died in the dungeon, everything he would suffer would be more terrifying than his real death. Accused by thousands of people, scorned by millions of people, insulted by others, stigmatized as a hero, blasted offline... all kinds of vicious encounters will befall him.

Not to mention that he died by suicide. This will make everyone feel that they have seen the wrong person, and their anger and shame will completely destroy him.

——Su Mingan's life is not in his own hands at all. He is the number one player and he is not qualified to commit suicide.

The soldiers nearby also gathered around at the same time, and they tried their best to hold Su Mingan's body. In their eyes, the Battle of Dawn had just been won, and "Asa Akto" could never commit suicide.

"Su Ming'an, are you so selfish that you want to be buried with her?" Su Lin said word for word. He knew that only this statement could make Su Ming'an stop committing suicide: "Everything will stop after you die. Where is the promise you made to me? Zhai Xing Where are the humans on the planet? Where is Luna who died for you? How can I return to Praia if you die?"

"You are a selfish person who only has eyes for Praia." Su Mingan suddenly spoke.

There wasn't even a hint of grief or anger in his voice.

Su Lin laughed angrily:

"You are right. I would rather you only see your world. You are still young and suicide is a stupid thing. I am older than you and I know that you will regret your life because of your impulse. One person's sacrifice It’s normal here, your journey has just begun!”

He squeezed Su Ming'an's hand tightly.

The wind and snow covered their hair, and no one dared to come over to hold an umbrella. A layer of wet snow fell on Su Mingan's shoulders.

"[Normal] should not be regarded as [ordinary]."

Su Mingan said in a low voice.

Just as Su Lin was about to continue persuading, she suddenly saw Su Ming'an raise her head.

The dark hair stuck to his forehead, and his eyes were like the noisy sea wind and tide.

"I am a human, Su Lin!" Su Mingan's eyes were red and bloodshot: "I am not... a clearance machine."

Su Mingan's gaze was as sharp as a blade.

Su Lin's hand relaxed a little.

At this moment, Su Lin took a step back and stared at Su Ming'an blankly. He suddenly felt a sense of dissonance.

It seems that Su Mingan's state shouldn't be like this. Everything Su Mingan showed now, including his demeanor, movements, words... made him feel out of place.

——Su Mingan... seems to be performing.

What to perform?

Why did Su Mingan still perform before he died?

A flash of light suddenly flashed in Su Lin's mind - Su Ming'an was not someone who would commit suicide. Su Ming'an's death must be able to save something that made Su Ming'an want to die. Only in this way is it logical.

"You..." Su Lin realized that Su Ming'an's "recovery method" should not be exposed, so Su Ming'an had to act like he was "heartbroken to the point of wanting to commit suicide" to prevent being forcibly interrupted by some unpredictable factor. .

——So much so that after Su Mingan learned about Yueyue's death, his first reaction was still to perform.

What makes Su Mingan's death able to save everything?

authority.

Death...authority?

Death...the authority of reincarnation?

Su Lin's eyes trembled, and in an instant, a flood of shock overwhelmed his psychological defense.

——Is Su Mingan still a human?

He thought he had gradually seen through Su Ming'an, a traveler from another world. He treated Su Ming'an like an elder and wanted to help this nineteen-year-old youth go on, but he never thought... that one day he would be treated like a god by Su Ming'an. Shocked by calmness.

Even before his death, Su Mingan was able to perform calmly even under extreme pain in order to ensure that his death would not be interrupted.

...How strong is his heart?

Su Lin let go of his hand.

He couldn't say a word. He couldn't take his eyes away from Su Ming'an's bloodshot eyes. In those eyes, he saw layers of tombstones and a river of memories formed by countless timelines.

The young man in front of him used his resilience to weave a disguised cage, letting his active expression of self turn into a butterfly dancing in the cage, turning his independent suffering into a beautiful performance.

No one can understand this beautiful scene. Everyone's sight is superficial and only sees the arrogance and success of the performer. See him high, see him have everything going smoothly, see him be invincible and unstoppable, see him be like a god who is omniscient and omnipotent and the drama will never end. Titled "Ready Player One", it is a sophisticated and grand drama that is popular with the public. Everyone is amazed and excited to hear it.

And behind the curtain, in the corners where the light does not shine, on other abandoned stages, the performers tear off the costumes that are stuck in the flesh and blood, and step on the mountains of his own bones.

...He is only nineteen years old.

Su Lin suddenly understood that Su Ming'an must have experienced such profound despair and failure countless times before he could calm down enough to figure out how to start over.

His ideals are far from “grand” or “terrible”.

"Cluster" sounded softly.

Su Mingan pushed away the soldier who blocked him, and placed his finger on his temple without any hindrance.

Bright red blood flowed down, and amidst the exclamations of the soldiers, Su Lin saw Su Ming'an's expression, tired, sad, and determined. Su Mingan's calmness was incompatible with everyone's sadness, and death did not even bring him too much pain.

"You're too tired." Su Lin said.

Regardless of whether he is standing on the stage, in the eyes of everyone, he seems to be acting like a dog to the organizer. Or go deep into the shadows and die again and again until you get used to it.

Su Lin supported him, frost fell on his face, and his face was as white as snow.

"...Did you see it?" Su Mingan's breath gradually dissipated.

"Um."

"Then I'm... happy." Su Mingan said, "Although... it's just this time."

He smiled a genuine smile.

Su Lin saw such a warm, relieved and reassuring smile on his face for the first time, as if he had found a traveler's smile.

Su Lin silently supported Su Ming'an until the young man's breath disappeared. He knew that this rescue was very difficult. Su Mingan was in such a state in the early morning that it was almost impossible to succeed.

However, Su Mingan's original intention to clear the level perfectly was to try his best to save everything. If it doesn't conflict with customs clearance, he will save it.

Not just Yue Yue, if Lu Shu or Nuoer died, he would save them. Although it may take several retracements, or even dozens of times this time. But the cost of rolling back is simply the pain he will suffer.

The least valuable thing for him, the easiest thing to pay for, is his death and his pain.

Tredia was right, he clearly had feelings, but it was as if he had no feelings. Part of the reason why he saved Yue Yue was because she was more helpful alive, and because she was alive his emotions could be more stable. He needed information about the key to the god's camp, and he needed to kill Edward completely - but so what. ?

So what?

Go save her, he is human.

If he didn't save her, he would be a god.

Although his actions to save her after the performance were more like an extremely calm "god", he is still human.

He is not a wise man who has understood reincarnation and seen through life and death. He is just an ordinary student who is also afraid of death. He will feel despair because of the passing of others - just a human being.

It is a person who wants to identify with his behavior, but always feels hesitant. Those who don’t want to lose again but keep losing are just humans.

He empathizes with NPCs and the possessed, he uses them and deceives them, he is so cold-blooded that everything is measured by the percentage of clearance, and he is so impassive that he looks down upon the sacrifice of millions of soldiers and civilians. He has no way out, he is always alone, but he will still cry in the abandoned archives and struggle in the deep sea of ​​memories that others cannot see.

But he is only human.

Her road is still long, at least until all humans are rescued, at least until he becomes a hero. She recalls her long and splendid journey, listening to him playing the piano, until she really reaches the end of the road... That is the end.

The captain of Theseus's ship struggled to survive in the storm, and struggled to survive under the gaze of thunder. When he was in extreme pain, he dropped a heavy "anchor" in the deep sea. It may be the unbreakable bond of family love, or it may be the straw of survival for a drowning person.

——What separates "people" from "programs" is whether they need this kind of spiritual anchor.

…

[Did I help you this time? 】

…

Su Mingan closed her eyes.

--some.