First Player

Chapter 7 · "Pioneer Immortality (End)"

You spent the last day with Lin Guang.

Because you were familiar with Lin Guang's temperament and were afraid of his impulsiveness, you chose to stay with him until the last moment.

You have done the work of infusing life energy a few days ago. On this day, you are aging at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Under the ginkgo tree, the petals dance freely in the wind. You look far away and catch a glimpse of the vast sky in the distance.

"What are you thinking about?" Sitting in a wheelchair, your voice becomes vicissitudes of life.

"I want... to die with you in the end." Lin Guang said, "Don't stop me."

You don't know how to describe the look in his eyes.

Dead leaves, trampled branches, crow's pupils, mud in the lotus pond, shadows, a pot of strong wine.

No description is adequate.

After knowing that you were going to die, his eyes darkened several degrees and his expression became terrifying. You have never seen him look so strange, it's like the darkness in your heart has been completely released.

Maybe you never saw him clearly and only regarded him as a knight in the shadows. It never occurred to me that he might be the shadow itself.

"Happy 20th birthday." He looked at the gray-haired you.

You tugged at your bruised lips and smiled with wrinkles on your face: "Thank you."

"What is your wish?" Lin Guang asked you.

"I want to eat strawberry cake." You said, "Can you make it for me?"

"I will go outside to find strawberries for you now." Lin Guang said immediately.

You looked at his figure and suddenly said: "What about you, what do you wish for? I forgot to celebrate your birthday this year."

Lin Guang paused. His birthday is March 21st.

"My wish is..."

He said:

"Celebrate your birthday with you next year."

…

Lin Guang left.

You finally let him go.

"Dong An'an, are you here? Come and fulfill your contract. Remember to drag my body away." You shouted around. As long as Lin Guang doesn't see your body in the end, he won't believe that you are dead. That's who he is.

No one responded.

Under the golden ginkgo, there is only your voice. You find that Dong Anan didn't come, she obviously wants to kill you so much.

You turn your wheelchair and suddenly see a crowd of people in the distance.

"——Found it! It's right here!"

"——This is Akto's habitat! It is said that he is going to activate some kind of [two-dimensional], and he must want to kill us all!"

"Kill him! Kill him quickly! Kill him-!!"

You calmly look outside the garden villa.

At this moment, you see hell.

Hundreds of surging figures are rushing toward you like black waves. They smashed door locks, pushed through walls, poured into the garden, and pointed their guns at you.

You never lack followers, but you never lack enemies. There are always people who think you have evil intentions. Or people who lost loved ones in the war because of your decisions, they always want you dead.

You're lucky they found you when you were dying.

In this way, you can record their appearance in the Dawn System and prevent these scum from entering [two dimensions].

"Great. I don't need you in my paradise." You said calmly.

This group of people don't know that their bright future has been cut off by you. They look at you excitedly and dance, like a carnival before the end of the world:

"——This is Asa Akto! How did he become so old?"

"Whatever! Kill him!! Avenge my mother!!"

"Human sinner! Traitor! Lackey! Akto! You have killed countless people on the battlefield, kill you!!!"

They roar and surround you.

"I'm taking humanity into the future," you said.

"No! You liar, you are dragging us to hell! The Dawn System is definitely your conspiracy!" A young man pointed at you.

"The only way out is to obey him!"

"Kill him! Kill him!"

You were too weak, you didn't have the strength to stand, and you couldn't escape. You just raised your fingers with a very calm face and completed the final operation of the Dawn System.

Slowly, you raised your head and looked at the blood-red sky.

Wrong, incorrect, deviated, disordered.

Pathetic, confused, incalculable, stubborn.

Such a group of people——

Such a group of human beings——

…

They opened fire on you.

…

December 31st. That day, Dong An'an didn't come, and Akto died from human fire.

You lower your head and look at your hands - you were once known as the "scale", like a judge who kills with one hand and saves with the other.

Once upon a time, many hands of help reached out to you, and many hands of hatred wanted to drag you into the abyss. Gain, lose, gain, lose, gain, lose... You repeat these steps as if this is your destiny.

Most people who love you will sacrifice for you. There is endless darkness under the seat, and your feet are hidden among the bones.

On this day, many people discovered your residence. Among them are your enemies and those who seek refuge with him. They know that the activation of [2D] cannot be reversed, so they rush into your villa and aim their artillery fire at you.

You already feel that it doesn't matter, that you are destined to die.

But when the ginkgo leaves fall and catch your eyelashes, you still feel reluctant to leave.

You thought of the countless soldiers you had cared for, their relatives, and several of your companions.

"...Live." Your lips trembled.

No one heard the sound.

In this virtual electronic spring, stay alive.

Go be an electronic sheep, go be an electronic ghost, and live.

——This is the best ending.

"The only difference between a saint and a sinner is..."

"Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."

…

"Boom boom boom——!!"

Countless artillery fire will drown you, like the long wind in the sea of ​​sand.

The scenery you look at at the end of your life is still the anger and hatred of mankind. But your eyes have already seen through these angry faces, through the distant light and shadow—through an entire dimension—to see the billions of human beings who have been saved by you.

——They will chant "your" name, sing "your" story, and survive together with your bionic body in the electronic world you constructed.

——They will regard "you" as the city lord, regard "you" as a hero, write epics for "you", create statues for "you", and continue "your" deeds with human civilization, superimposed layer by layer in the dimensions. Fight against [Tavi].

All the strong desires are drowning and struggling.

You slowly closed your eyes as the pain continued and your consciousness faded away. Like being plunged into deep water, sounds and sights become distant.

The body was penetrated by bullets, the flames engulfed you, the ginkgo tree was burned until it withered, and you finally laughed.

"Ha ha……"

Your eyes are stained with pain and regret bit by bit, followed by satisfaction and relief.

"I won this long battle to the end. I successfully brought everyone to [2D] and completed the impossible task of 'civilization continuation'."

"I died as a 'god' as a nineteen-year-old young man."

"correct."

"Today is my birthday, I am twenty years old."

You finally think of the silver-haired woman drinking with you under the moon. Her silver hair flows under the moon. She is more beautiful than the moon.

Kai, who handed you candy, made his last words to you, "Kill me."

Tredia, who calls you "teacher" with a smile, her bronze pocket watch, is your anchor.

The blond young man holding the white bird looked at you quietly, with a smile on his lips.

The little boy who said he would wait for you "forever\

,"Xi has entered the Dawn System.

besides……

A white-haired young man just walked into the garden.

They seem to be standing at the end of the light, waiting for you.

At this moment, you remembered things from long ago, like a revolving lantern. Countless soldiers had sworn allegiance to you, and their voices were deafening.

"——Fight for humanity!"

"——Fight for you!"

"——We will always be loyal to your will! Until the end of the world! Be loyal to you for the rest of our lives!"

And you fulfilled your promise and sent them to the vast future at the end of the [three-dimensional] world.

In the final moments, you heard countless people calling your name.

That sound is mixed with the sound of rain, the sound of ginkgo leaves, and the "rustling" of artillery fire that pierces you.

Wind, rain, leaves, stars, flowing fireflies, white feathers, wine, second hand, cat, candy, machine, flame, lily.

You face the gunfire and raise your head like a soldier.

Then facing the sunset, he died like a soldier.

…

——Just like countless "little soldiers" on the battlefield.

…

"The ark of departure has arrived at hope."

"I forged the ship with my own hands, pushed it to the shore, and pushed everyone aboard."

"I stood on the shore and watched them set sail - this was the spring they were sailing towards at all costs."

"Ethical behavior or institutions should promote 'the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people'. Happiness or joy is homogeneous and can therefore be compared and added up among people. When we judge whether an action is correct or not, we should According to the addition and subtraction of the total amount of happiness.”

"I hope I can take actions that 'make more people happier'. But that doesn't represent my wish."

"I just feel...this world shouldn't be like this."

"so."

"I built this huge 'Ship of Theseus.'"

…

…

"——My compatriots traveling far away."

"Go to the misty and distant homeland."

…

The only thing you regret is one thing.

You didn't fulfill your promise to Lin Guang, so you sent him out. When he comes back and sees your body, what will he do?

Will he rebuke you for your bad faith?

Cry for you?

A statue for you?

Or...turn it into a tombstone that belongs to you?

…

Lin Guang failed to fulfill his wish.

sorry.

…

When Lin Guang came back with a frame full of strawberries, the villa was already in a mess.

All enemies die under your self-destruct device, which explodes along with the building, burying everything.

"..."

Lin Guang's chest heaved violently, and there was an abnormal blush on his face. He gasped sharply, making a cat-like sound, and quickly inhaled, breathing hard and whining.

"Asa... Asa..."

"I...you..."

The result he had been fearing finally hung over his head like a sharp blade, piercing him in an instant.

The strawberries rolled to the ground, and he struggled to step on the gravel, kneeling in front of your broken body and holding your hand with only a piece of skin remaining.

"fraud."

"fraud……"

His pupils began to blur.

If you were still awake, you might be able to see it.

He leaned down and used your sharp hand bones to penetrate his own heart.

…

Later, Dong Anan, who had not yet entered [2D], came to the ginkgo tree and used the blade of a knife to build a tomb for Akto.

She looked at you quietly, wiping your broken and blood-stained wheelchair.

"Asa."

"You can finally rest."

"I will help you take care of your world and maintain my personality."

"Next time...you who are made up of programs...I will definitely come to you with the best killing intention."

"After the dimension is lowered, I will hand over my body during the day and keep thinking to a minimum. At night, I will stay awake during sleep intervals to extend the life of my soul."

"If nothing else happens, I will keep my personality intact."

"Then, keep watching for a long time."

…

Human civilization did not end that year.

Carrying swords, guns and fire, they fell into the two-dimensional world and became a race sliced ​​into time.

——They worked hard to develop technological weapons, and sacrificed their lives in bloody battles on the battlefield, allowing those who came after them to see spring.

——They imprison themselves in the past time and become a piece of data that is repeatedly superimposed.

——They work together to make up for [one-dimensional] humanity’s last firewall. It became a real stepping stone.

——They lock themselves in the cold winter, imprisoned in the ice and snow, and never see spring in their lifetime.

As a result, human civilization has forcibly continued for 102 years, until today.

Dawn is coming.

Asa Actor died in the fire of the people.

——The fire that day has not burned out even today, after thousands of simulations.

…

…

"A long time ago, a long time ago. Tredia once wanted to leave with me, leave here, go to a place where no one can find it, and sail away unfettered."

"However, I can't."

"I only learned how to make guns with my hands, how to lighten the eyes of bionic bodies, how to input programs for artificial intelligence, and how to awaken the people's consciousness of resistance... However, I did not learn how to escape."

"My soul is imprisoned here. The lifespan of civilization is like my life. I-can't leave here."

"Nothing can stop a soul from returning home."

"Go home for me."

"I hope the sun can rise as usual, and the ship of Theseus full of humans can return victoriously. Even if the tomb of memory where flowers bloom everywhere is full of my bones."

"Even in the extreme cold of hypothermia."

“Even in the hell of humanity.”

"I am Asa Akto, 20 years old. I used to like piano, exploration, and philosophy."

"Millions of idle hours in this world pass by before a truly historic moment begins, a moment when humanity's stars shine brightly."

"I hold up a new dawn."

"I only wish I could see you under the dawn."

…

Among the burned ashes, under the dead ginkgo tree, the incomplete diary was blown up by the wind, and the last page fell.

You can imagine it.

You lay down at the table, writing down its appearance one stroke at a time in the dark night.

Finally, you close it, raise your head, and look at the rising dawn in the distance.

You stop and smile, then turn around and disappear.

A new dimension shrouds behind you, like an ark traveling far away——

Billions of souls are carried by it, singing for you, and they will live forever for a long time——

As long as they are still there, their homeland will not be far away, and the perishing souls will have a place to return to and an end to come——

They sang loudly together——

“The pioneers he lifted up will never die.”

“Eternal life in the fire of dawn that he transformed into.”

Pioneers never die.

Dawn lives forever.

…

…

…

【PhD. 】

[Don't be... don't be the dawn itself. 】