First Player

Chapter 9 · "You will die on the eve of dawn."

Su Mingan opened his eyes.

——What catches the eye is the opening animation of the game "Girls' Dream Project".

In the shot, a steam-era locomotive stirs up dust. A white bird flies across the bell tower and over the glazed church, and the camera follows the white bird as it browses through the beautiful steam age—until a narration sounds:

"Train her well. Finally, look forward to the birth of an ideal country."

The scene turned and the camera came to a detective wearing a felt hat. The detective held a necklace in his hand, followed by a little girl with black hair.

"I will take care of you from now on." The detective said calmly, his voice extremely magnetic.

The little girl nodded.

Su Ming'an took a closer look and saw that the detective's necklace was a living eyeball - wasn't this necklace the [Eye of the Old Days]?

Before he could think deeply, the animation in front of him used a montage technique to quickly edit a dozen shots. There are knights who adopt orphans, there are washerwomen who pick up babies, and there are children who are baptized in the church... Finally, the camera returns to the detective. The little black-haired girl beside the detective has grown into a girl. She raised her head in the sun:

"Detective Sir. What do you think life is?"

"Detective Sir, are you willing to believe me?"

"Detective Sir, will I kill you with my own hands?"

"Detective Sir, as long as we smile, is that enough?"

The detective did not answer these questions, but just clenched the Eye of the Old in his hand.

Then, the church bells rang, and the hour and minute hands on the bell tower rotated rapidly, as if to symbolize that time was passing quickly. The tone of the animation began to dim, the originally warm and harmonious rhythm took an abrupt turn, and all the shots were stained with blood.

"——A bright red python! It's a bright red python!" Someone screamed.

"——If I go, can you continue to study antiques?" A pleasant voice sounded. There was a faint sound of carols from the nuns in the church, but it quickly disappeared.

"——If one day, I kill one person to save the world, will you support me?" A young man's clear voice sounded.

"-Kill...kill them! Judge--judge your crimes!!!" This was a hoarse voice. The man and woman could not be heard clearly, and his voice was already hoarse.

After countless sounds overlapped, the scene cut faster and faster, and the background music suddenly sounded, with epic solemnity. The sound of orchestral music overlapped with the sound of magnificent horns, and the sound of drums rumbled, as if resonating with Su Mingan's heart.

It was obviously just a game opening animation, even though he couldn't understand what these pictures represented for the time being. But he seemed to be in it, and he resonated with every game character whose face he couldn't even see clearly.

The scene turned, and on the plains covered with yellow sand, swords and magic clashed continuously. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers stared at each other with hatred.

"Kill, kill, kill the witch, kill the witch—!"

As the scene changed, the blood became darker and darker, the village was burning with flames, and a frail figure knelt in the ruins crying, holding a charred corpse.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Holy Son..."

The scene turned, and a man wearing a mask stood on the edge of a cliff. Facing thousands of soldiers holding torches, he laughed wildly and fell into the cliff.

"The top of your head... is too dazzling..."

Then came various scenes of killing, betrayal, plunder, assassination, fire, war... Countless scenes of blood flashed by, and even civilians began to pick up hoes and swords. The world has fallen into never-ending war.

Su Ming'an gradually couldn't see anything clearly, and blood spurted out from the screen like real substance. He actually felt like he was also covered in blood. He was gradually out of breath.

And at this moment——

The distorted and dark background music stopped abruptly, and the scene was extremely quiet.

At this moment, the screen suddenly lit up.

Under the warm, silent, dim light, the detective was wearing a warm orange velvet coat, standing in the heavy snow, holding the black-haired girl's hand, walking step by step towards the snow-covered valley.

"Crack, crack." The sound of stepping on the snow.

There was nothing in the entire scene except the two of them.

The ubiquitous flames, swords, blood, and ugliness did not appear in this scene, as if they had never been contaminated.

"Sir Detective, the war has begun. Where are we going?" the girl said.

"To the end of civilization," the detective said.

"Sir Detective, where is the end of civilization?" the girl said.

"It's..." the detective was silent for a moment: "... it's my untouched hometown."

"Sir Detective, will you still hold my hand at that time?" the girl said.

"Yes," the detective said, "I'm going this time. It's not for farewell, but for goodbye. It's not for the end, but for the beginning. Remember our agreement."

"Yes." The girl nodded seriously: "I will definitely abide by the agreement and meet you again. By then, the war will definitely be over."

The footprints stretched all the way in the snow. The scene of the detective and the girl walking in the snow was played for a long time. The scene was monotonous and boring. There was only a scene of the two walking on the snow. The few dialogues were constantly replayed, like a paragraph. The constantly replayed slides were in sharp contrast to the previously exciting war scenes, and even the audience in the live broadcast room felt bored.

until--

"From now on, you will continue to despair and hope." At this time, the voice of the narrator suddenly sounded.

The scene is still a monotonous scene of the detective and the girl walking on the snow, without any changes. Su Mingan even thought the narrator was talking to him.

"After this, you will lose everything and gain everything." The voice of the narrator continued.

"Crack, crack." The sound of stepping on the snow.

"Hereafter you will redeem everyone and kill everyone," the narrator says.

“You will be the kindest version of yourself.”

"You will be the most evil version of yourself."

"You will write every name."

"You will erase every name."

"Crack, crack." The sound of stepping on the snow.

“No one is with you, no one is with you,” the narrator says.

"Can't speak, can't confide, can't be trusted."

"Measure all destinies and brush away the dust of history."

"Experience all destiny and chase the dawn of the future."

"The world will insult you, misunderstand you, and not understand you. Your love will become obsession, and your pain will become eternal. Only death can make you feel warm and restful."

"Once you set foot on this path, you can never look back. Even if you look back, you will be crushed to death by the weight of the world and your own guilt."

"You will be bound by chains and filled with pain."

"You lose many companions and are always alone."

"You will leave behind many important people, and they will eventually die on the eve of dawn for your ideals."

"You will no longer be you, but an obsession called 'you'."

"Until the end of the world and civilization. Where flowers bloom, there is no way back, and no one welcomes you."

"From now on, you will experience a long period of loneliness, burdened with hundreds of millions of graves. All the expectations of the past will no longer belong to you. Laughter and happiness will no longer have anything to do with you."

"Your life should have had many futures, each of which would be filled with happiness, flowers blooming, and countless friends. It would be far better than it is now."

At this moment, the epic feeling of the music suddenly intensified, the orchestral tone became higher and higher, and the heavy drums rumbled, and every sound seemed to hit people's hearts.

The narrator's voice suddenly became much more serious, and his speaking speed increased, as if the waves were crashing towards the shore one after another, questioning the listener urgently.

"Even so -" the narrator's tone was very serious, as if he was knocking on Su Ming'an's heart outside the game:

"——Do you still want to choose this irreversible road of salvation and redemption?"

This moment.

The detective and the girl in the picture suddenly raised their heads at the same time and looked in the direction of the camera. The monotonous sound of stepping on the snow stopped, and a dim yellow streetlight shone on their faces, completely illuminating their blurred faces. The animation stopped at this moment.

——"Girls' Dream Project".

The game name appeared in the center of the screen with golden lines.

Three lines of text appeared slowly, with blood-colored fonts.

["Yes, I will choose this path that I will never regret again and again." (Start the game)]

["I will bring a glorious future to everyone. Whether they have good intentions or bad intentions." (Live Broadcast Management)]

["I occasionally want to consider my own happiness." (End game)]

…

Su Mingan was startled. This was the end of the opening animation. As a player, he can start the game.

He looked at the still detective and girl in the animation. The girl's skin was still fair, but the back of the detective's exposed hands was covered in bruises, making him look old. It should be the change that this snowy road has brought to them. I don’t know what the reason is.

He chose ["Yes, I will choose this path that I will never regret again and again." (Start the game)].

Games start.

"After that... the years have been long." The narrator's epic voice slowly faded away, as if a story of ups and downs was about to begin. The solemn background music also faded...

The bustling sounds gradually entered the ears, and accompanied by the free and relaxed daily bagpipe music, the game began.

In front of Su Mingan was a steam-style street background. A detective wearing a shabby coat stood on the street, holding a black felt hat in his hand and a pipe in his mouth.

Beside the detective were some street children jumping around, old men selling newspapers, small vendors selling vegetables, and armored cars spraying steam. The detective just stood quietly on the street, smoking his pipe, as if admiring today's night view. The overall game style is realistic and the tone style is very bright. It seems that this is a peaceful and peaceful steam city, with relaxing and pleasant background music.

A line of text appeared above the detective, with an arrow pointing at the detective, like a novice guide in the game: [The game begins! This is the character you are about to control. Please give the character a name! 】

Su Ming'an thought about it and named it [Su Ming'an].

【Name completed! Please start controlling your character! 】

In an instant, Su Mingan felt his perspective change, from the third person to the first person. There was a weight of the coat on his body, and a choking smell of smoke came from his mouth.

Su Ming'an coughed. He looked down and saw that he had become the detective himself, wearing the detective's clothes.

[Detective: Cough, cough, cough! (Choke on pipe)】

When he coughs, a line of text will also appear in the lower right corner, indicating that the detective is making the sound.

Game prompts continue to pop up:

…

[Please follow the game instructions and complete the main storyline of the game! 】

[In addition to the main plot of the game, you can also explore this steam country and take on other side plots. You can even learn additional knowledge, such as cooking, forging iron, alchemy, tailoring, ancient writing, etc., and become a new professional here. You can explore any mechanic. 】

…

Su Mingan threw away the pipe and coughed the smoke out of his mouth.

Before he understood what the main plot of this game was, a green arrow appeared in front of him, pointing to the alley across the street. He should have to go through it to start the main plot.

A gray-haired old man passed by him and laughed suddenly when he saw him coughing.

[Morgan Maxey: Young man, you can’t even smoke a pipe? (Smiling heartily)]

The way NPCs speak is text, and text will appear in the lower right corner. But there is also sound, so it’s no problem if you don’t read the text.

Su Mingan put his black felt hat on his head and lowered the brim, not wanting to communicate with others.

But at this moment, an interface popped up:

[Morgan Maxey (Age: 68)

Occupation: Retired high knight

Personality: Kind and steady

Force value: four stars

Intelligence value: four stars

Skills: Whirlwind Slash, Single Riding Thrust, Advanced Equestrian, Advanced Communication, Advanced Swordsmanship, Advanced Spearmanship.

Overall evaluation: A+

Favorability: 20 (friendly) (Due to your status as a leader, the minimum initial favorability of all NPCs towards you is 20)

Note: A high-level light knight who retired from the royal city served the royal princess in his early years. Because he liked the fireworks of civilian life, he refused the princess's offer to stay and returned to the civilian area after retirement. He has mastered many advanced techniques, and he will teach them only to those he likes. 】

…

Su Mingan was stunned and looked at the old grandfather in front of him. This old man looks kind-hearted and has white hair. The back is very straight.

Su Mingan looked at the vegetable vendor next to him.

…

【Matthew (Age: 32)

Occupation: Vegetable vendor

Personality: Simple and hard-working

Force value: half a star

Intelligence value: half a star

Skills: Elementary planting, vegetable selling skills

Overall rating: E

Favorability: 20 (friendly)

Notes: An ordinary vegetable vendor who likes liquor and growing vegetables. 】

…