mousepad-d2 Chapter 1750 - 94: Alice Has Finished Her Last Dance
Chapter 1750 - 94: Alice Has Finished Her Last Dance
"Ding Dong!"[You have completed the character setting creation, breaking through A-level Creator/Book Turner!]
...
[Requirements for advancing to S-level:]
[1. Complete the final climactic battle - [Battle to Crush the Dome · Radiant Mother God].]
[2. Collect five cards (currently possessed: Su Qing, Su Jingtang, Qi Zhou, Hui Zi)]
[3. Achieve endings for more than five characters (currently achieved: Tian Yu, Perlo, Najasha, Si Nian, Lu)]
[4. Make a conclusion.]
[(After advancing to S-level, you will unlock a new feature "Creator Mode.")]
...
[Congratulations, you have broken through "First Level God"!]
[You have received the "Divine Name · Lighthouse", "Authority of Death", "Form · Pale Jade Tree"!]
[Your power has reached the pinnacle of what the World Game can offer; the World Game can no longer provide further condition for surpassing. The following path, please explore on your own.]
[Your current combat power: 9500 (normal state), 9999+ (Deity state)]
...
[Player (Su Ming’an), welcome back to Luowasha.]
[Welcome back to the World Game.]
...
Su Ming’an gently exhaled. Finally, there was a day when he too had 9999 combat power. How enviable Holy Initiation was at that time, now he reached this realm.
He stepped out the door, stretching his body, adapting to divine power...
"Shua!"
Scorching, spicy, pungent.
The air was mixed with demonic qi, poison gas... an intense hatred surged directly at him, with a terrifying and hideous aura.
"Pa" A bony claw grabbed onto his legs and feet, viscous darkness rolled over, countless shriveled and twisted demon claws clutching silently and swiftly at him, a vast and cold "Eternal" force sweeping towards him like an invisible tide!
It was the Seventh Thrones Yuritilola!
Even if no time to complete a trap, before leaving, it used its last force to turn this area into a trap targeting Su Ming’an.
Su Ming’an’s pupils contracted, he’d long foreseen that surely someone left a trap for him. But this energy of hatred clearly targeted Su Ming’an, who just absorbed the Demon Mother Goddess, with weak mentality defense, specifically attacking his soul.
A sharp pain in the head, the shriek of the Demon Mother Goddess sounded by the ear attempting to seize the chance to take over the body.
"Leave it to me... leave it to me...! Your body, your soul...!!!" The Demon Mother Goddess instantly counterattacked, restless.
"Quiet!" Su Ming’an’s soul ached sharply, immediately trying to transform into divine form...
Suddenly, he felt something beneath holding him up.
Neither solid ground nor energy shield.
In an instant, the pervasive demonic qi lightened considerably, during this harsh transition, filling his brief discomfort. With this buffer, Su Ming’an’s divine power surged incessantly, instantly suppressing the unruly Demon Mother Goddess, a flick of sword blade, Yuritilola’s trap unraveled.
"Tsk." The great timing shattered, as Su Ming’an regained composure, the Demon Mother Goddess could only retreat.
Who supported him? Su Ming’an looked down.
The touch... felt odd.
Warm, yet trembling incessantly. Soft, yet seemingly carrying the hardness of bones. Even could sense... minute pulsations, like the rhythm of life.
Gaze penetrating the swirling demonic qi and eternal shadow, he saw the "thing" lifting him up.
——A terrifying, hideous, skinned human silhouette.
The youth’s body embedded nearly into the ground, yet with utmost force raised arms, using shoulder and head where bones pierced through flesh, firmly holding Su Ming’an’s feet!
His appearance... had gone beyond "miserable".
Skin extensively rotten, unveiling purple-black decaying muscle and pale white bones, bloody and indistinguishable, even the outline of smashed internal organs visible. Little on the face remained intact, lips long gone revealing blood-stained teeth and gums like a silently shouting skeleton. Whole body convulsing uncontrollably, already bearing pain surpassing human limits.
Scarier than the most dreadful monster.
"Brother Ming’an..." The "monster" opened its mouth, smiled,
"You... came out."
"I waited for... you."
"No need to worry about Yuritilola’s trap, I’m here waiting...! Won’t let it... have even one thousandth chance!"
Su Ming’an’s mind blank for an instant.
He couldn’t comprehend.
An ordinary youth without special enhancement, lacking divine lineage, barely suffering fatal wounds... how did he manage to retain a sliver of consciousness amidst abdominal bullet, deep demonic qi corrosion, poison outbreak... waiting for Su Ming’an to emerge.
At this critical moment, using such a body even more frightening than a corpse?!
Already beyond medicine, biology, even conventional miracles.
Both creating impossible miracles. But the irony lay—Su Ming’an’s "miracle" enough to save the world, guard countless lives. While Wang Xingkong’s "miracle" merely barely enduring two more minutes.
Su Ming’an reached out intending to pull Wang Xingkong out.
But he only pulled out a wavering half body. Head, neck, and upper half from abdomen complete corrosion... Wang Xingkong’s remaining part, already gone.
Turns out Wang Xingkong wasn’t "buried" but only this part remained.
"Brother Ming’an... I lifted you up...!"
"Go, fly upwards!"
Flowers.
Layer upon layer, endless flowers.
Bright red roses, white lilies, golden tulips... flowers layer upon layer, blossom in filthy dark abyss, bloom in hell swept demonic qi, flourishing beneath Su Ming’an’s feet.
One by one, a blossom lifts him up.
Wang Xingkong exhausted his last bit of strength to activate the "Infinite Bouquet" skill.
This skill, which had no offensive power and could only make flowers, under the remote support of thousands of support system players, blossomed into a beautiful garden domain, helping Su Ming’an get through the initial discomfort.
Wang Xingkong gritted his teeth as countless flowers bloomed, lifting Su Ming’an higher and higher...
—— Countless flowers lifted the pure and newborn deity, as dirty and blackened skeletons sat in the realm of hell, raising their heads.
Wang Xingkong cried upon seeing Su Ming’an. In that instant, all the grievances, pain, and despair he had endured until now found an outlet. He finally burst into tears, with large droplets falling. Yet he continued to focus on his actions.
He finally waited, and the pain was unbearable.
"I waited for you... I finally waited for you..."
The boy wept heartily, blinking as his whole body sank into the mud, almost devoid of flesh, resting in hell like a terrifying skeleton.
...
[After the Seventh Thrones Yuritilola returned without success, Wang Xingkong was left alone, slowly decaying in the mud, when he suddenly saw a silver-white sparrow. He recognized this sparrow, he had dreamed about it.]
["Do you regret it, boy?" asked the sparrow.]
["Hmm?"]
["If you had agreed to my request back then and let me ’buy’ your potential, your ambition, adventurous spirit, and curiosity—all the roots of your downfall—would have disappeared. You wouldn’t die, and you would have become more than just a hero."]
["No, I became a hero; I shot myself..."]
["Is that enough?"]
["Ah? Could I have lived? God... save me! I don’t want to die, do you have a way to let me live? I’d definitely sell my potential to you immediately!"]
["..."]
["God? God? Why aren’t you speaking?"]
["Life and death are matters even I cannot reverse."]
["Okay..."]
["But, I can give you one last gift, without requiring any price from you."]
["God, you’re so kind... oh no, you’re such a kind bird. What will you give me, God?"]
["Do you want to be seen by the whole world? To die alone here, unnoticed, is very sad, right? I offer you two more minutes of life, so you can wait for your Brother Ming’an to come with the eyes of the world upon you... Do you wish it?"]
...
The "fireworks" in the sky would soon disappear, and Su Ming’an had no time to linger. The only thing he could do was——
"Wang Xingkong," Su Ming’an spoke.
Having waited until now, Wang Xingkong surely harbored some hope that his Brother Ming’an, once emerged, could create a miracle to save him. But his Brother Ming’an truly couldn’t. Under the pressing time constraints... Su Ming’an needed to rush into the sky, with his sword pointing towards the radiant light.
He wasn’t as lucky as Xi Li; back then, his Brother Ming’an still had the leisure to think of himself. But now, his Brother Ming’an truly had no time to save him, only enough to ease his pain.
He picked up Wang Xingkong’s gun, aiming it at the smiling boy.
He initially thought that at the moment he raised the gun, he would meet Wang Xingkong’s eyes filled with sorrow and anger. Why didn’t his Brother Ming’an save him? Why did his long-held hope end in death?
But the boy’s gaze was calm.
...
["Is it worth it, for the life of ten thousand ordinary people to advance the Number One Player further?"]
["Is it worth it, for the lives of ten million ordinary people to ensure the peace of an entire planet?"]
...
Is this the logic of the world’s operation? Cold, efficient, measuring value by numbers, deciding sacrifice by probability.
But he was just a deceived child, thinking most fondly of meals in the cafeteria and ending up being seen as a great hero by the whole world.
Wang Xingkong very slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was already blurry, only able to make out the rough outlines of light and shadow—the glow of the doorway, the figures flickering in the distance’s abyss, and Ming’an’s dark eyes.
Brother Ming’an... instinctively took care of everyone around him. Even knowing Wang Xingkong might be a "fake," Su Ming’an treated him no differently. When he needed to pull someone, he pulled them; when he had to give a chance, he did, even entrusting such a significant task of transmitting information to an ordinary person like him.
A true man. Loyal. Chen Yuhang, that silly boy, managed to follow all the way until now, thanks to Brother Ming’an’s care.
From a girl named Yuanyuan to Lü Shu, to Lu, to Noel, to Yamada, to Lin Yin, to countless others... Having to shoulder the expectations of countless people, make such difficult choices, face such terrifying enemies, and in moments of desperation, find ways to lead everyone out, time and again.
Brother Ming’an, it’s truly been tough.
But...
Brother Ming’an.
At least this time, I got to help you, didn’t I?
Finally, I can consider myself a "supporting role," can’t I?
Wang Xingkong was smiling; with his flesh corroded, his features were unrecognizable, nor could one discern how much bitterness was in his smile. He strained to extend his decaying arm, strength rapidly fading, trembling more violently.
The oppressive "gaze" from the sky grew stronger, and the drag from the abyss intensified.
His rotting shell moved slightly, the toothless cavity opening and closing slightly
"Brother Ming’an..."
"I may not be everyone’s hero."
"But at least..."
This address, he called it so naturally.
"I will be your hero."
"... your guardian hero."
...
...
["Bang——!!!"]
...
Bang——!!!
Sure, here’s the translation of the provided text:
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[Amidst Wang Xingkong’s eyes filled with joy and panic, the hope in his hand was instantly pierced through by a bullet, and then, along with the exploding flesh, the glowing core shattered in an instant.]
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After Wang Xingkong tightly closed his eyes, his heart was instantaneously pierced through by a bullet, and along with the exploding flesh, the boy’s heart shattered in an instant.
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["Bang!"]
...
"Bang!"
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[The core shattered, and glass shards fell to the ground like crystals.]
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Wang Xingkong suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, involuntarily widening his eyes, as the fragile bones in his chest instantly shattered, and the pieces of his heart fell to the ground like crystals.
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[Yang Changxu held a gun, solemnly and with a strong sense of condemnation in his eyes.]
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Su Ming’an held a gun, silently gazing, his eyes filled with calm and sorrow.
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[Wang Xingkong’s bloodied hand searched the fragments, scratching around, trying hard to piece them together, but they could never be assembled.]
...
This shot was very decisive, the pain lasted only a moment, and the boy finally stopped his painful gasping, the tormenting agony coming to a halt.
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["Don’t... don’t be like this..." His throat emitted a faint sobbing sound, but his hand couldn’t piece them together.]
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"Thank you... Brother Ming’an..." His throat issued a whimper, his hand finally ceased its painful spasms and tremors, slowly lowering.
...
[The core completely lost its light, not a speck of brightness remained.]
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The crimson heart burst open, never to beat vivaciously again.
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[Wang Xingkong shrank in the corner, his hands full of irrecoverable fragments.]
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Wang Xingkong was covered in filthy blood, clutching a melted lemon candy in his hand.
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[His body was gradually disappearing, from bottom to top, dispersing into glowing firefly-like light spots, sparkling.]
...
His body was gradually disappearing, from bottom to top, dispersing into glowing firefly-like light spots, sparkling.
...
[Su Ming’an saw the gradually disappearing Wang Xingkong slightly lift his head, moving the blood-soaked muscle tissue, smiling toward Su Ming’an:]
["...So that’s what it is."]
["I was always so afraid of death, afraid to the point of being useless, afraid that made me become the person I hated the most... but in the end, I realized, I wasn’t afraid of dying, but of being forgotten... If I die in front of Ming An’an, in front of a world... it wouldn’t be so painful."]
...
Su Ming’an saw Wang Xingkong, gradually disappearing, struggling to move his decayed bones and muscles, and he could no longer maintain the smile on his face, dissipating:
"Yu... Yuhang... save... Yuhang... he can save..."
"Also Dad... Mom... save them..."
"Thank you... you... Brother Ming’an..."
The garden finally watered with blood and life quietly bloomed amidst demonic Qi and war. Crimson, pure white, golden... one by one, bunch by bunch, gently supporting the broken body.
"You’re... really... good."
"Brother Ming’an... glad... to have known you..."
Brother Ming’an.
I have not lived in vain.
I did not silently collapse before the piles of exams.
I did not fall in the eternal campus.
I once thought the world was only this big. Homework, exams, teachers, it was my everything. But now it’s different... I came out.
I came out. I saw the wilderness. I held hands with friends. I stood at the center of the world.
I protected those I wanted to protect. Leapt decisively. Supported each other with Chen Yuhang. Successfully transferred information for the first time. Chat with Brother Si Nian on the hillside. Met idol Brother Ming’an. Resolutely stood at the door. Heard praise from Lin Yin, saying the mission was complete. Players beside the abyss cheered me.
And at this moment, knowing "who you" can become.
I saw. I touched. I participated. I chose.
When Su Ming’an looked over, the whole world looked over.
I became — [Eternal].
I am not your new [Regret], I am your already filled [Regret]. Wang Xingkong from Mingxi campus or the brand new Wang Xingkong... if not for you, I would have fallen in school, fallen under Yang Changxu’s gun, fallen before heaps of homework, fallen amidst relentless warfire, fallen under Radiant Mother God’s eradication... I am not your regret. You are not the hollow hero who couldn’t save anyone.
Once skinned by Shen Xue, appearing as a skeletal BOSS. Now corroded, still appearing in skeletal form.
Once, the shot from Yang Changxu shattered the dream of becoming [Eternal] at the Mingxi campus. Now, Yang Changxu is missing within the Source Point, separated by only one door—those who once fought each other, one outside the door, one inside. Different paths, same destination.
I have seen the vast horizons, realized that life is a wilderness. I am like a runaway wild horse running in the boundless world, seeing the blue sky, white clouds, and endless future.
——My eyes are still vividly colored, never turned into glass beads.
——No matter how high the walls of Mingxi campus, or how cold the railings, they cannot confine the thumping heartbeat of a young boy gazing at the stars.
Two gunshots, once at Mingxi campus, once at Luowasha.
Once the third, once the eleventh.
As if unable to maintain the last shape finally, brilliance floated up from his head, brushing past flowers, brushing past the sky, brushing past leaves...
"I am Wang Xingkong."
"Not Wang Han..."
...
["I was always so afraid of dying, afraid to the point of being useless, afraid to the point where I became the person I hated most..."]
["But in the end, I found that my fear was not of death... but of being forgotten..."]
["If I were to die in front of you, Brother Ming’an, in front of a world..."]
...
Outside the Abyss, Qiuqiu and other support system Players were waiting for Wang Xingkong to return safely, standing at the edge, eagerly watching, chanting "Brother Wang, Brother Wang" non-stop.
However, they saw the pink fox holding a piece of brown cloth, walking back.
"What is this?" Qiuqiu asked in confusion, what is this cloth?
Xining scratched his head: "Is it a special prop?"
Xiao Love handed the cloth to them, and they hastily caught it.
"Xiao Love, what’s this?" They didn’t understand why Xiao Love would give them a piece of cloth, covered in mud and black blood, and very dirty.
The support team players nearby also came over to look, still constantly throwing skills towards the door. They didn’t know that their skill target was no longer there.
"Wang Xingkong," Xiao Love said, "I couldn’t salvage him, just a piece of cloth."
The two of them stared wide-eyed, a bit confused.
At the next moment, they suddenly heard a voice from the sky, extremely angry and resolute, as if wanting to crush everything, also representing the hope of countless people—
...
"Kritchens!"
"—I extend the High Tower Invitation to you!!!!!!"
...
...
Temporary medical quarters.
In the pale ward, Chen Yuhang was still in a coma.
The boy lay in a white quilt, attached to an IV drip, the "beep beep beep" of the monitor sounding rhythmically. Hideous black scars on his waist and abdomen were exposed, oozing strands of Demonic Qi.
The monitor readings were getting lower, and the doctors looked at them, shaking their heads, saying he might not last through the night.
"What a pity, he was clearly a hero..." They shook their heads regretfully.
"We really can’t save him..."
"Violet over there as well..."
"None of the heroes who chose to keep moving forward and not turn back survived in the end..."
For some reason, Chen Yuhang’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and just when people thought he was about to wake up, he still didn’t open his eyes.
A small paper crane perched on his bedside.
That was the paper crane they released for the dead at the camp with Lü Shu. It was a custom to bless the dead. Birds made of paper would transform into the ’Thousand Paper Cranes,’ flying up into the sky.
Hundreds and thousands of paper cranes were thrown into the air. They would fly over broken steel and concrete, over scorched earth, over people’s heads...
At that time, the locals didn’t tell them there was another step to this custom—after the releaser’s death, the ’Thousand Paper Cranes’ would fly back to tell friends that the living were no more.
The paper crane lingered on the table for a while, but Chen Yuhang remained unconscious. Finally, it lingered long enough, lifted its wings, and flew out of the window, soaring into the sky.
Coma-ridden Chen Yuhang, initially sweating all over his head, unconsciously became more at ease, as the unbearable heat gradually subsided and he no longer felt so heavy and uncomfortable.
He dreamed a dream.
In the dream, the light from the campus fell on the bright-haired boy’s headband, and the boy, who had been dozing off at the desk for too long, stretched lazily, yawned, and casually walked out of the classroom of [Grade 3 (Class 4)], leaning on the railing to look far away.
In his eyes, there was a sparkling anticipation, and infinite freedom.
"Hey, Yuhang. Do you know Alice?" The boy turned back to look at him.
"Alice? Do you mean Alice from Alice in Wonderland?" Chen Yuhang raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah."
The slightly loose school uniform on the boy’s body, he reached out to shield the sunlight, squinting his eyes, the golden reflected on his trembling eyelashes. Even though the sunlight made his eyes a little sore, he still tried to look far away, towards the playground, towards the blue sky, towards endless freedom...
Suddenly, the boy looked over.
In his small dog-like wet and joyful eyes, reflected the summer sycamores. When his gaze fell on Chen Yuhang, for a moment he was filled with warm sunlight.
He bared his teeth in a bright smile.
"Alice finished her last dance."
"The boy who once was has grown up."
...
The sky.
The dark nebula resembled soft velvet, dotted with dim and almost invisible distant stars.
Up in the sky, it felt as though the whole person had become insignificant, with no familiar scenery in sight, as if arriving in a strange outer space.
Through the crack-covered observation window, the face covered in greasepaint of the "clown" looked towards the endless, deep black far place, seemingly capable of swallowing everything. The cabin window light reflected in his eyes, spreading shimmering colors.