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Chapter 207 - 204 - "From the Wild Mountain, Return to the Swamp

Chapter 207: Chapter 204 - "From the Wild Mountain, Return to the Swamp

"The Human Future Self-Rescue Conference?"

In the dimly lit room, a youth wrapped almost entirely in darkness, donning a hooded stand-collar sweatshirt, lifted his head.

The hood slipped, revealing his strikingly colorful blue hair, his arms tattooed with the logo of a heavy metal band, his sweatshirt splattered with high-saturation colors like paint, dressed like a Euro-American gaming geek who might show up at the E3 expo.

He was still chewing something in his mouth; it seemed to be bubble gum.

He looked up at the blond youth who had cracked the door open, his body slightly tilted to consciously avoid the light pouring in, like a creature that feared the light.

"Come check it out with me, it seems pretty important," said the youth who opened the door.

The door-pusher had hair as though dyed with sunlight, and skin so porcelain-like it seemed fragile. As he stepped inside, he resembled a sun-bathed angel from legendary frescoes, bringing with him a sliver of daylight, his eyes easily reminiscent of the colored glass embedded in church windows.

"Don’t pull me; I’ve told you, Boris, I’m not interested in this—"

"The top hundred Players have arrived, including Number One Player," said Boris, pleading in his tone, "Join me for a look, Laine. If we need to seek him out in the next world, we can learn more from this conference."

"I don’t want to seek him out, you do."

"Yes, it’s me. I just want to tell him some stories," Boris replied, eyes cast down as he crushed the ripples within like a wave: "...And about this conference, it seems extremely formal. Earlier, I went to the street and found it deserted. The scene is very much like the peak of the Fourth World’s competitive event—people are quite focused on this formal conference."

Laine squinted his eyes, adjusting to the light outside.

"What could that bunch possibly discuss?" he said: "They’re just a group of Players."

"But the person presiding over the conference, Wilson, and those around him—Dragon Country’s Liu Jiahe, Gran’s royal military technology academy’s history professor Grett, Moke’s air force squadron captain Aishikel, and the land self-defense force’s mecha team Suzuki Kentaro..."

"...Alright," Laine abruptly held up his hand as though trying to zip Boris’s mouth with the gesture: "...I got it; I’ll watch with you, okay?"

Boris smiled.

The screen’s azure glow lit up the dim room.

Boris enlarged the screen to the size one might enjoy for a movie, moved his fingers, and affixed the screen to the wall.

The dark room now resembled a screening hall.

He took his place on the sofa with a serious posture, as though watching a formal ceremony.

Laine yawned and slumped into the soft sofa.

In front of them spun an animated chibi rabbit logo, indicative of loading in a livestream, with a slight delay, but the top right corner’s popularity count jumped out first.

"688 million."

A terrifying number, at the peak of historical popularity. Even Number One Player’s livestream had never achieved such a number; it was as if all eyes were drawn here.

It was already a break period, and with a convergence of heroes and the news that Number One Player would attend, a surge of viewers flooded into this livestream room, and word spread even throughout the world forum.

During the brief wait, Laine noticed Boris’s anticipation.

"Is it that formal?"

"Extremely formal." Boris’s eyes twinkled: "They’re people gathered from all around the world, who possessed completely different identities and statuses in the past. Unlike previous conferences where equals mingled, these participants are as diverse as a palette of colors.

They come from utterly different pasts, lived in entirely different nations, abiding by drastically different social systems.

Their views on everything in the world are also shaped by their innate environments and personal reflections, all unique as diamonds, shining brilliantly in my eyes...

Laine, you can even see billionaires and beggars from the past communicate on equal footing—in such a world, within such a system, everyone is treated with equal regard, and the sudden gathering of such disparate individuals around one conference table, their thoughts will spark fireworks as magnificent as fireworks..."

Laine blinked.

"Then I’ll look forward to it, with some reluctance," he smiled, "about that official meeting concerning the destiny of humankind that you mentioned."

The next moment, the screen flashed instantaneously.

A torrent of bullet comments suddenly emerged, almost smearing the entire large screen completely. Boris hastily restricted the comments to the top, only to see a scene at the conference table where, like in a free-for-all fight, participants were red-faced and spittle was flying.

"—You’re digging your own grave, alienating yourself from the masses. There’s no good ending for you!" a bald middle-aged man with a beet-red face pounded on the conference table before him.

"Beep—" Red lights flashed one after another, and various voices rose and fell.

"Ha, smuggling arms, trafficking people, trampling the law, selling your soul to the devil—Sopel, do you think someone like you has the right to sit at this table and discuss the future of all humankind?"

"What, are you upset because I haven’t slapped handcuffs on you and forced you to mine in a dark, cramped hole to forgive my past?"

"Beep—"

"All of us bathe in the glow of civilization... Law and order are rooted in everyone’s heart; they are sacred mountains we cannot surpass..."

"You’re making me laugh, Anger. The land I come from is anything but the peaceful place you describe."

"The sacred mountain should be toppled, and only from its ruins can we build a new nation."

"Why should we people of this world cross swords?"

"Intrigues and schemes are but a petty path, while a grand scheme is out in the open, honorable and upright. Clearly, we are in the midst of the organizers’ grand scheme."

"Those who fight for war must sound the drums at the front, never showing weakness first."

"A world transformation is an inevitable trend; the future of humankind is in everyone’s hands. We are not only predecessors, leaders, and forerunners but could also become the sacrifices, leaving behind nothing but tombstones and ash..."

"Heed Destiny, follow the human heart, set the heavens and earth aright!"

"Wait a minute, I’m considering that since the organizers are not the order side we can communicate amicably with, unable to form alliances, nor can we expect others to provide us with an opportunity for decent development, why not just follow the will of heaven and act on our hearts?"

"Paying respect to a wide knowledge base, clear and organized. What you’ve said makes sense, but to me, it seems overly idealistic, at best a decent story..."

"Beep—"

"Beep—"

"Beep—"

Laine watched the scene that resembled a noisy marketplace and tilted his head slightly.

The well-sitting young man seemed to be petrified by a collapse of faith.

"Hmm." Laine nodded, his smile grew broader, "... Indeed, it’s quite a meeting. The fate of humankind, I think I can already see tomorrow’s humanity destroyed by the organizers."

"..." Boris stiffened for a moment, then hurriedly stretched out his hand:

"Wait, where is Su Ming’an? Where’s the Number One Player? Didn’t he come to attend the meeting? Why haven’t I heard his speech..."

His trembling fingers fumbled with the angle adjustment system, and then his gaze caught the bullet comments flowing like the mighty Yangtze River.

[I understand now, humanity is doomed.]

[Not necessarily... I think what they’re saying makes sense, it’s just a bit chaotic.]

[Which topic are we on now? The fifth one?]

[Doesn’t this look like my local vegetable market?]

"[No way, I think this verbal confrontation, the clash of thoughts between players of different standpoints, is indeed more exciting than a fiery debate.]"

"[The Number One Player seems to have been silent all this time. Doesn’t he have unlimited speaking rights? I thought he came here to say something earth-shattering, to brainwash this crowd. I’m a bit disappointed...]"

"[He’s just been sitting there. To be honest, I think this might be a Cloning; I don’t believe that Su Ming’an would behave this well.]"

"[Damn, why does the comment thread always get derailed to Su Ming’an, no matter what we discuss? The man hasn’t even spoken yet...]"

"[I find it quite interesting. I’ve never seen a meeting like this before. I’m not the least bit sleepy and actually feel quite spirited. This is more entertaining than a variety show, and I wouldn’t mind if it went on until tomorrow.]"

"[...]"

"Bang!"

A gavel struck, and Wilson, standing on the stage, spoke:

"Ladies and gentlemen, time is up. The discussion of the fifth topic has concluded.

All your remarks have been fully recorded and will be summarized after the meeting ends."

As the gavel fell, the dozen or so people who were flushed with excitement and had stood up to argue in unison also ceased their rebuttals, shooting one final glance at each other before slowly sitting down.

Meanwhile, those players dressed in a variety of mismatched and odd costumes, behaving like a group of old-school fans, were completely stunned by the scene.

...The few top-ranked players, who didn’t dare to speak and were just there to show their faces, had an unmistakable look in their eyes that read ’what are we even doing here?’.

It was at this moment that a young man dressed in traditional Han attire slowly stood.

"I request to extend the topic discussion," he said.

It was a privilege each person could use only once. When someone still had doubts regarding the current topic, they could request time to express their opinion alone, limited to three minutes, during which no one could interrupt them.

Wilson nodded, and the young man began to speak:

"Hello everyone, I am Hu Runkang, ranked ninety-eighth on the world leaderboard."

His voice was calm and soft, with an affability reminiscent of the Jiangnan region of the Dragon Country after a rain.

He appeared to have been thinking all along, alongside those old-school fans who hadn’t said a word, but no one expected this student-looking man from the Dragon Country to take the floor at this time.

He seemed to be brimming with confidence, as if he was certain the content of his speech was of utmost importance.

"Ever since the World Game began, I’ve been contemplating a possibility," he said:

"And this possibility has also been mentioned in numerous forum posts."

"I’ve been wondering... maybe the Organizers who appear to have absolute control over us and seem utterly unopposable, are actually weak—or perhaps they don’t even exist?"

"While browsing through speculations, I came across an idea that shocked me. Someone suggested—that everything we see has been arranged by a human who encountered an adventure, staged for us to see.

It’s like the backdrop of a stage play. They’ve prepared in advance everything that’s needed for the play, showing us only what they want us to see.

For instance, they would set up a blue sky and white clouds on a ladder, and then conceal the ladder that supports them. In doing so, we would believe that the blue sky and white clouds are truly floating in the air, not that someone is holding them up."

"Such a speculation has a unique term in Zhai Xing."

"[Main God Construction Stream]."

"It generally means that as a weak entity, by exploiting the gap in information, one deceives the entire world, deceives all of humanity, using their emotional responses to enrich oneself. It leads us to believe that there is a massive force playing with humanity, but in reality, there is only one person behind the scenes."

Hu Runkang spoke, then halted his words, seemingly giving others time to ponder and reflect.

After his speech, the conference room fell into complete silence.

Many people looked over as if they were watching a madman, never expecting that he could come up with such a conjecture.

"Main God Construction Stream... it’s not impossible."

Just then, Qiao Mani, the Number 37 Player, suddenly nodded:

"The novels from Dragon Country are indeed very interesting, addicting even. I have seen similar novels on Zhai XIng, where the protagonist exploits information disparity, utilizes some super-dimensional tools that are rather rudimentary at the beginning, making all of humanity believe that the Main God truly exists, but in reality, only the protagonist is crafting the background."

"Hu Runkang, are you implying that behind the seemingly omnipotent Boss Rabbit, there could actually be one of our human brethren?" Buzz, clad in a suit of armor, frowned slightly.

"Ridiculous!" Igor immediately spoke out: "How could that be the case! Our human brethren are playing us for fools? Young man from Dragon Country, can you even suggest such a conjecture?"

"Ridiculous." Edward snorted softly from the side. This World Number Three, who had just been thoroughly humiliated by Igor before the meeting, only now started to speak his first words.

"Indeed, it’s too far-fetched..." others also said one after another.

"Everyone, don’t be so hasty," Hu Runkang, however, was not at all flustered, continuing to smile: "...I’m just putting forth a conjecture.

And it may not necessarily be our human brethren who are playing us. What I’m saying is, we cannot overlook a possibility—that the high-dimensional beings we imagine aren’t so omnipotent, after all. They may just have a mastery of some sort of Law, just a bit more information than us, aliens whose abilities are also limited.

As long as we realize this and discover the information gap, we can treat the problem precisely...

We might also be able to escape this dangerous vortex."

People exchanged glances.

The words of Hu Runkang, like opening a window for them, led them to think of something completely new.

Could it be, facing the seemingly insurmountable Organizers, they could also find a new Method?

...

If you reach the end with a Perfect Pass and become the true Ruler,

— Su Ming’an, what would you truly hold in your heart?

Noel’s gaze was pure, his clear eyes looking over, haloed with a faint light.

"Nothing at all," said Su Ming’an.

"Why? Humans ascend to higher dimensions, you become the ruler of everyone, dominating the entire Zhai Xing, shouldn’t we cheer for this?" Noel asked, puzzled.

"There’s nothing to be proud of," Su Ming’an shook his head, his tone flat, as if narrating a story:

"Everything we have obtained has been bestowed by the Organizers. Under absolute information suppression, we have no power to resist.

Even if I win in the end, it’s just winning the game, but not truly defeating the Organizers.

’From desolate mountains we come, to the swamps we return, amidst ruins we dwell. Only in the valleys can we make our wells.’

Hardly have we, within such a game, glimpsed the light of truth."

He said this and sighed softly:

"Having seized the advantage for the moment, we believe we’ve won the entire game—what is there to be proud of?"

Noel tilted his head: "Is that so?"

He stared into Su Ming’an’s eyes:

"... It seems you also agree with the idea of embracing high dimensions?"

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