Welcome to Rewind World Game
Chapter 199 - 197 - "Are You Su Ming’an or Number One Player?

Chapter 199: Chapter 197 - "Are You Su Ming’an or Number One Player?

[High-dimensional life-forms have invaded humanity, making them stakes in a game of Russian roulette, plunging every participant into a world game where one question lingers—will the rules of this world remain as familiar as we know them to be?]

[The answer is affirmative, yet it’s also negative.]

[...The lighthouse that leads mankind lost at sea, and the ever-present existence beneath the brightest light, it’s not so easy to be such a being.]

[With countless gazes watching, every single action gets infinitely magnified.]

[But this world, it needs someone to stand up.]

[Whether it’s because "only through resistance can there be hope," or "to resist till the end for the sake of resistance itself."]

[What cannot be crossed, ends up being crossed.]

[In such a bewildered crowd, in the face of danger looming over everyone, we need a spotlight.]

[And beneath the spotlight, we need a person.]

[And this person, just happens to be the Number One Player.]

[And the Number One Player, just happens to be Su Ming’an.]

[We have various names for him—Number One Player, Ming An’an, Su God, Ming’an Bro, Su Lighthouse...]

[But behind all these names, lies a judgment we have all made about him.]

[This judgment will determine our stance and attitude, and it will also decide whether we can truly become "Light Pursuers" in the literal sense.]

[People of the super topic, in your view—I ask you—]

Su Ming’an was looking at this line of bold words, each word feeling like a heavy hammer.

And upon seeing the last line of the question, he slightly averted his eyes.]

[—Is he Su Ming’an, or the Number One Player?]

...

"—Create virtual scenery! Daylight Floating City! Entry Tickets for 10 Points, perfectly recreates the White City environment, without any danger! Players who haven’t experienced it yet, come try it out!"

"Tour groups are ready to set off! One-on-one, one-on-two groups with guides available! Guides are over seven-hundred strength and have experienced at least three worlds, welcome New Players who wish to join!"

"Looking for live stream moderators, Casual Players are preferred, just need to handle cereal bros and inappropriate comments, terms negotiable..."

Under the simulated weather of the Main God Space, the sky was clear and bright.

With the help of the new mechanism "Create Virtual Scenery," many scenes that exist only in people’s fantasies have been constructed.

And in the most bustling squares, there were many people scrolling through channels, advertising.

Dai Yong was one of them. In Zhai Xing, he had been an insurance salesman, and after realizing he was not cut out for fighting in the world game, he quickly retreated behind the scenes and went back to his old job.

For instance, becoming a forum spammer.

For instance, selling Props for secondary Occupation Players.

For instance, becoming a cereal bro... but he’d washed his hands of that.

Dai Yong considered himself a person who had forsaken low-level tastes and had professional ethics! Even if he had dabbled in cereal-related part-time jobs back in Zhai Xing, he now had no intention of continuing in that role in this kind of game... That wouldn’t look too good.

Others fought and adventured through thick and thin, and you filmed; others toiled at blacksmithing, and you dealt with cereal.

...That’s just inappropriate.

So, after contacting a major "travel group" intermediary organization, he decided to become a marketing representative, hustling for clients.

And it was at this moment, he saw a player who looked like a potential big spender walking by.

He quickly approached.

"Hello, would you like to learn about our travel group that specializes in guiding novice players through the game? We have contracts to sign, with system authentication, and whether you choose to be a guide or a tourist, you can benefit from it..."

His pitch faltered slightly.

Because he suddenly realized that the seemingly easy mark he had randomly picked from the crowd was rather remarkable in appearance.

...Quite handsome, in fact.

Remarkably handsome.

The potential client’s blond hair seemed to be dyed by sunlight, eyes shimmering with the lustre of white pearls, eyelashes nearly transparent under the daylight; eyes that harbored sunshine made one think of an angel’s smile when they looked your way.

He appeared to have spent a sleepless night, yet the resulting dark circles did not look out of place—rather, they added to a melancholic charm, looking like a decadent artist you might find in photos shared on QQ Space.

...Such a stunning foreigner.

Delicately pale, the epitome of a beautiful youth.

Ever since entering the World Game, Dai Yong had grown accustomed to being surrounded by foreigners. Even when off work, he preferred staying in Dragon Country’s service area—being constantly with foreigners, he always felt there was a considerable cultural difference.

But now, he seemed to have met an exceptionally attractive foreigner.

"Travel group?"

The other party actually spoke up, seemingly very interested in the matter.

A very professional Dai Yong continued swiftly, "Ah... It’s an organization where high-level players guide novice ones into the game... Typically it’s one on one, or one on two, but the latter requires a much stronger player, and the cost will be higher. We use contract paper produced by the Main God Store to establish agreements, ensuring a fair transaction for both sides. The fee acquired by the high-level player will be taken from the future points earned by the novice..."

"Oh..." The beautiful youth responded:

"A viable organization, mutual progress?"

"Right." Dai Yong wiped sweat from his brow—somehow, standing before this foreigner, he felt an unusual amount of pressure:

"We also thought that this time, there may be many novice players wanting to re-enter below, so we came up with this model. After all, if the intermediate points are wiped, using this high-level player as a kind of ’safe deposit box’ can reduce the high casualty rate of novices when they first start the game. Get strong by following strong, right!"

The beautiful youth nodded slightly.

Dai Yong was eager to recruit him into the group—seeing his demeanor, he wasn’t someone ordinary. As a marketer, he couldn’t let go of any potential customer.

But before he could speak further, the other person spoke again:

"So, does that include those top-ranked players?"

"Uh, what did you say?"

"Guides." The beautiful youth looked at him. "It would be safer for stronger, top-ranked players to guide the novices, right? They often have the capacity to spare."

"Well..." Dai Yong laughed awkwardly: "Actually, we have made contact with some top-ranked players, such as Geode, who is ranked seventy-third in the world and currently serving as the number one guide in our travel group."

"Number one guide." The beautiful youth’s words carried a hint of amusement: "I thought it would be the Number One Player."

"Haha... You must be joking, how could the Number One Player have the patience to guide novice players..."

"That’s the thing." The beautiful youth smiled slightly: "I don’t really like such mechanisms."

"Uh... Ah?" Dai Yong stiffened.

"I also detest this game." The beautiful youth said, "I dislike any extreme will that dominates, a world that forces people to complete tasks is very troubling... The leaderboard system is even more so, overturning the old world’s definition of ’greatness’, and the so-called pinnacle players in the top ranks have traits I simply can’t appreciate."

Dai Yong silently wiped off his sweat—you don’t have to say you dislike something outright!

Moreover, on the street, suddenly saying so much to a salesman... Dai Yong really wondered if this foreigner had some issues.

He knew that the Number One Player had many supporters. Even those who were not fervently fond of him would generally have a favorable impression. During the short stay in this crowded square, there had already been many unfriendly glances cast their way.

Not to mention, this fat sheep had basically launched a map cannon, bombarding all the top players at once, detonating mines that were not stepped on before.

"Traveling group..." The beautiful boy seemed not to notice these glances, casually nodding his head, "Good, I like it."

A sincere smile appeared on his face.

Then, he passed Dai Yong, as if the conversation had never happened, and continued on with his original pace.

The gazes of others—he paid them no mind.

He was still pondering over the story he had just made up.

He was Boris Ziosecku, a Romanian.

Born in the land where vampire legends originated, his parents were devout and mild-mannered Christian believers. Although not wealthy, they still insisted on helping the poor, always showing mercy to the less fortunate.

He had a fondness for various folk legends and loved the arts, yet never imagined that he would one day be swept into this world where freedom and art were utterly restricted.

A very small number of people became the core of the world. Those who were truly great in the scientific and artistic fields remained unknown. All art and entertainment were tailored for the tastes of the few, and beyond that, no one paid attention.

As a pure artist, he detested such a world, but was still deeply moved by stories with profound artistic beauty, giving him a sense of being torn apart.

Naturally, his impression of the top-ranking players wasn’t good, especially after learning about the actions of that self-proclaimed "artist," the madwoman from Dragon Country named Su Style.

...What kind of artist is she? Just a self-destructive star-chasing girl, her actions were in some ways no different from girls who, failing to repay loans taken to pursue stars, jumped off buildings. At most, they wore the label "voluntary."

Seeing her figure still active on the forums enraged him.

He looked at his backpack, where a prop shaped like a four-pointed star lay quietly.

As his fingers brushed over it, he saw a clear description:

[Number Transmitter·Unique Prop: Obtained in the area of Ming Hui within the Fifth World, a special identity prop that allows specifying a player to enter the same instance world without prior knowledge of the number.]

He enjoyed telling stories. When providing aid to the poor, he loved to speak of the eerie legends from his homeland.

And now, perhaps he could carefully prepare a story that might move the top-ranking players; a beautiful, wondrous tale that could provoke imagination and resonate with others, much like a work of art.

"What should I say?" he murmured, "Upon meeting him, what kind of beautiful story could I tell that could truly transform him...?"

...

Su Ming’an arrived at the agreed location.

As he looked at the message forwarded by Lin Yin, he checked again, making sure the coordinates were correct.

Main God Space server, number 97, a very ordinary mixed server.

There was no specific nationality planning, and due to its earlier server number, it was a popular living area for Adventurer Players of various nationalities.

And there, covered in black mist, rushing to the coordinates to meet Noel, he saw a long line.

People of various appearances were queuing up in a line that stretched from one end of the street to the other end of the square.

He was not in the mood to honestly join the queue—he wasn’t that free. When he arrived at the front of the line, he saw what people were queuing for.

A circular portal, blue in color, large enough to admit one person, similar to a teleportation gate.

And standing off to the side was a casual player.

Casual players are generally easy to recognize, they don’t exude any intimidating presence, wear plain clothes instead of armor, and they don’t back away with the alacrity of a startled rabbit when approached.

"If you want to enter the paradise, you need to queue up."

The casual player, wearing a baseball cap, noticed him and tapped the sign beside them.

Su Ming’an shifted his gaze to it—

[Structure Virtual Scenery No. 03·Paradise]

[(Recreating Zhai Xing’s beautiful scenery, available for a thousand visitors! Come bring your child to experience the joy of Disneyland all over again!)]

"..."

Su Ming’an looked at the line and, sure enough, they were all obviously casual players, with children tagging along.

...He really didn’t quite understand the thought process of these casual players.

He double-checked the coordinates.

"Oh—You’re here!"

Suddenly, he heard a stir in the crowd, and it seemed like someone was calling out softly. When he turned around, he heard the enthusiastic voice of a blond youth about one meter sixty tall, waving and approaching.

World Rank Number Two, Noel.

Su Ming’an still remembered what he looked like.

...But what he hadn’t expected was that, like Lv Shu and Mizushima Kawa Sora, when they first met for tea, such peak players really didn’t bother to conceal their identity.

The crowd buzzed instantly, even the children turned their heads to look at the golden-haired youth as if he was bathed in sunlight; the atmosphere suddenly heated up.

"It’s Noel..."

"It’s really Noel! I remember him!"

"A live Noel, my God—"

"World Rank Number Two? He actually lives in this district..."

Su Ming’an still remembered the scene when he was recognized in the First World. That scene... was almost like a zombie siege, forcing him into the fountain with the Boss Rabbit statue; he only managed to escape by cutting down the statue.

Now, here was Noel, World Rank Number Two, showing up alone in such a busy place... and not even slightly disguised.

Su Ming’an stood still, watching the crowd that seemed ready to break from the queue. The streets beside them suddenly filled with a bunch of curious onlookers, mostly children. Their eyes gleamed as they watched Noel, sparkling with fervor.

...The familiar scenario of being surrounded was probably about to ensue.

Su Ming’an didn’t know if Noel had ever experienced something like this but judging by his undisguised demeanor, he probably hadn’t.

Only by knowing pain does one start to cherish.

...So let the other guy feel the "affection" of the public now. After all, he was cloaked in Black Mist; he was safe.

Su Ming’an moved aside, planning to leave the epicenter before it turned into a celebrity meet-and-greet.

He heard the sunny young lad call out loudly:

"—Su Ming’an, I’ve been waiting for you for ages!"

His tone was brimming with enthusiasm.