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Chapter 392 - 389 - "Where’s Yuanyuan?

Chapter 392: Chapter 389 - "Where’s Yuanyuan?

"...I grew up in Pulaya and have witnessed many things."

"Many people, from the moment they are born, never become an ’individual.’ They don’t even consider themselves as one."

"A symbol, a name, a mark etched on a stone monument. That’s how the sacrificial Soul Hunters understand themselves, as kindle and firewood; from the moment they fire their first shot, they see themselves as a brick in the land."

"The Princess says that you only treat us like mechanical gears, as swords or guns in your hands to be utilized, and do not regard us as independent beings..."

"...But Captain, you seem different—somehow, I’ve become a soul with whom you can communicate on equal terms."

"..."

"And then I gradually realized,"

"—that I too am a ’person’."

...

[NPC (Sherrod) Favorability: 95 (Sharing Weal and Woe)]

...

Looking at the number before him.

Su Ming’an’s gaze slowly moved downward.

In front of him, a young man with an earnest gaze was staring at him with intense focus.

The almost frantic barrage of comments floated past from the top right corner.

They were discussing fiercely:

"Is this really an NPC? Are you calling this an ’NPC awakened to self-awareness’? "

"But, indeed, this is the first NPC I’ve seen in a live stream claiming to become a Player, which is quite unusual."

"Then that means, buddy, we could also be called NPCs, right? Our role is the ’NPCs who think they’re Players of the World game,’ so I think that’s a reasonable assumption."

"What’s all the noise about? I think it’s quite good. Whether it’s an NPC or Player, isn’t it good enough if it’s helpful?"

"But, ladies and gentlemen. If NPCs can become Players, and Players can become NPCs, doesn’t that mean we are no different from these NPCs?"

"—Of course we are different!!!"

"Everyone must remember, these instance worlds have been copied, and there are many NPCs, but we are unique!"

"When did this live stream turn into a philosophical one? I just arrived, can any handsome guy explain?"

"—Think about it this way, gentlemen, if we detach ourselves from the current distinction between Players and NPCs—then could the ’World game’ itself be an independent instance world? And could we, who claim to be Players drifting through various instance worlds, also possibly be ’NPCs’ of this largest, independent instance world?"

"Indeed, why assume we are higher than these NPCs by one dimension, why assume we can’t be the products defined by ’character setting’ and ’system’? Why believe that we are unique? Perhaps, in places beyond our sight, there may exist beings a dimension higher than us, specially shaping our ’character setting’ and actions, and yet we remain utterly unaware."

"Are you joking? I am alive and thinking right here, my thoughts are crystal clear; how can I not know if someone is manipulating my thoughts?"

"Isn’t Sherrod the same? How does he know whether or not something else is controlling his thoughts?"

"Now you’re stuck, because I know for sure that I’m an independent person, there definitely isn’t anything controlling what I say..."

"..."

The discussion in the barrage was incredibly intense.

It started as a normal discussion but eventually escalated into a battle of obstinate debaters and flame wars.

The comments in the live stream were so dense that they rose up like snowflakes, nobody knew who was arguing with whom, and some people had already escalated to calling each other out for a fight offline.

Quite a few people said they would go to the World forum to discuss this situation.

—Because they were compared to NPCs, this group of people felt incredibly indignant, wishing to strip away this possibility from themselves immediately.

"..."

Su Ming’an retracted his gaze and looked at the system quest bar.

The moment Sherrod made his request, he heard a "ding-dong."

...

"Ding-dong!"

[Character change detected... Arranging world lines...]

"Ding-dong!"

[You have unlocked a Third Rank Player Mission·Character Plot Class.]

[In this class of missions, you can influence a certain character’s actions through any behavior, leading them to different outcomes.]

[When the character reaches an outcome, you will receive a mission reward.]

[The Character Plot Class mission is equivalent to a high-reward side mission and is unrelated to Perfect Completion Progress.]

...

[You have triggered a mission·Character Plot Class]

[Do you choose to give Nuoliya’s Red Rose to Sherrod?]

[(Character Sherrod Outcomes: HE·Immortality/TE·Endless Road/NE·Decay, your actions will affect the outcome he achieves.)]

[Mission Reward: No matter which one of the three outcomes is achieved, the second skill of the golden equipment "Lasting Radiance" will be unlocked.]

...

Looking at the series of mission prompts that appeared, then at Sherrod, who knelt before his knees...

Su Ming’an suddenly found the term "character outcome" extremely ironic.

...It seemed as though the system had anticipated that Sherrod would inevitably reach one of the three outcomes, foreseeing that he could not escape any of them.

Maybe Sherrod wasn’t wrong.

Whoever it was wouldn’t willingly accept that an inexplicable being suddenly restricted their possibilities and future, turning them into something akin to a program.

The players who were striving to liberate their homelands actually harbored such thoughts, more or less.

Looking at the line of bright red [Do you give Nuoliya’s Red Rose to Sherrod? (Your actions will influence its outcome.)]

Su Ming’an pondered for a moment.

He remembered that when he had taken Ming Hui’s Qingqing back before, the system had triggered a "follower" mission, without mentioning any need for a Red Rose.

But it seemed different this time.

Perhaps it was because the system also disliked NPCs seeking to break free, and taking Sherrod away would come with a cost.

He suddenly turned his head, looking over at the empty space beside him.

"Boss Rabbit," he said, "come out for a second, I need to ask you something."

Above the empty ground, there was silence.

The crackling sound of flame echoed in the quiet room, warming his face to a flush.

He bit into a piece of chocolate, only to find that it had somewhat melted.

The barrage was a bit stunned:

[What’s he doing?]

[Summoning Boss Rabbit? Useless, many have tried, Boss Rabbit simply won’t care.]

[I’ve tried, calling for anyone is useless, even calling for God won’t work.]

[Number One Player is a bit naive, how could Boss Rabbit possibly come out just because he called. Edward, who is third on the leaderboard, has tried and got no response...]

...

Su Ming’an called out once, then spoke no further.

His gaze remained fixed on that area, utterly composed, as though convinced that Boss Rabbit was bound to appear before him.

Just when the audience was collectively mocking, advising him not to waste his effort...

The pink radiance suddenly burst forth in the quiet room.

"..." Sherrod looked at this scene in shock.

Above that open space, a bright, star-like pink brilliance suddenly lit up.

A snow-white figure flitted in and out of visibility amidst the dainty pink hues, its shining glimmer adorned with a hint of blood-red scales on its chest.

Like peach blossoms blooming in succession, dreamy rainbow bubbles floated around it, and a pair of crystal-clear ruby-like eyes sparkled with clarity.

It looked incredibly cute, the kind that could be commanded "Transform for me!"—an adorable bunny.

Like a magical girl making her entrance, the large white rabbit popped up with a pair of fluffy ears which glistened amidst the twinkling pink light.

"Sweetie—Number One Player!"

The boss rabbit, now in a cute white bunny skin, stretched out its fluffy white paws, and its tone was as insufferably smug as ever.

"Long time no see—ah, really, it’s been too long, in your words it can be said as... ’like three autumns have passed!’ If you hadn’t called me, we might have had to wait even longer to meet..."

Those ruby-like eyes were gazing "deeply" at Su Ming’an, who was leaning on the couch.

Its appearance seemed much more charming, like those plush giant white rabbits displayed in malls that lure people to dive in at first sight, without the creepy, nauseating feeling it had during the opening ceremony, now appearing highly bewitching.

Su Ming’an realized that either the boss rabbit enjoyed playing this game of changing skins, or perhaps... the boss rabbit itself could evolve.

...Although he didn’t know where the evolution went wrong.

He wasn’t surprised that he could summon the boss rabbit, for in his previous runs—the death in First World’s underground, the death amidst the rain in Sixth World—he had successfully caught sight of the boss rabbit.

It wouldn’t interfere with Player actions or meddle with the instance’s course, at most appearing before him to answer some questions depending on its mood.

Thus, this time he summoned it because he wanted to ask some questions.

By now, the live stream room was already full of "66666."

They had no idea that being the "Number One Player" came with such a Skill.

And that viewer who had just said, "Even Edward can’t be summoned, Su Ming’an is really naive...," constantly praising and criticizing in the live stream room, whose ID was "Edward’s Fanatical Female Fan," suddenly fell silent.

Not just her, many other spectators who were kindly explaining that the boss rabbit simply ignored players, were also instantly dumbfounded.

...It turned out it wasn’t that the boss rabbit couldn’t hear the players calling it.

Rather, these Players, it simply scorned to bother with them.

On the World Forum, numerous attempts to summon the boss rabbit could be seen in videos, with players either bathing in incense or kneeling and shouting, employing all kinds of extravagant methods trying to attract its attention and summon it, yet all to no effect.

Yet when the Number One Player casually called out, the rabbit appeared pronto and more solicitous than anyone else.

"The description on the Prop is not clear, so I want to ask a question."

Su Ming’an took out the "Noria’s Red Rose."

This red rose was still as fresh and vibrant as the day he obtained it, vivid red like fire, an undying flower.

...

[Noria’s Red Rose (Red Level): A one-time Prop. When pinned to the chest, it will automatically disassociate from the Player identity, becoming the Observer of the current instance world]

...

The boss rabbit squinted at him.

"The Prop description states, when pinned to the chest, it will automatically disassociate from the ’Player’ identity, becoming the Observer of the current instance world," said Su Ming’an. "Then, what would happen if an npc used it?"

In the Daylight Floating City instance, he was the only person in the world to achieve the Hidden Line’s Perfect Pass, meaning, he was the only one who obtained this Prop.

As a result, he had no way of knowing what this Prop would do if used on an npc.

"Eh...? This kind of question... I really didn’t want to answer it," the boss rabbit scratched its head, looking adorably foolish.

"But it’s written right there in the Prop description..." Su Ming’an was well prepared.

"—But because you are the dear Number One Player! The beloved ’Ruler,’ so then—I’ll take pity on you, and reluctantly answer it!" the boss rabbit’s voice suddenly rose, like boiling water, interrupting Su Ming’an’s attempt at reasoning.

It spread its arms, with an unmistakably delighted tone:

"NPCs—of course, the same logic applies! Dear Number One Player, why not think about it the other way around?"

Su Ming’an was slightly startled.

Think about it the other way around.

A Player who wears Nuoliya’s Red Rose becomes an NPC.

So, if an NPC wears the Red Rose, they will...

He looked down at Sherrod on the ground.

Sherrod was staring in shock at the giant bunny that had suddenly appeared amidst the pink light, his face rigid with astonishment, as if he were looking at a visitor from another world.

"...Organizers?" he asked softly, in disbelief.

However, the Boss Bunny merely glanced at him out of the corner of its eye, as if it was looking at an ant on the ground, completely ignoring him and continued to smile at Su Ming’an.

"Answer’s over, so I’m off—" it called out, and with a flash of pink light, was about to leave.

"Wait!"

Su Ming’an instantly shut off the live stream, stepped forward, and grabbed hold of it.

What he held was a patch of warm, fluffy white fur, and it indeed felt comfortable to the touch.

But his attention wasn’t on that.

The Boss Bunny hadn’t disappeared, it was merely surrounded by flickering pink light, looking at him.

"So," Su Ming’an said, "...where’s Yuanyuan?"

"..."

The Boss Bunny’s crystal eyes still twinkled as they watched him.

Through those seemingly inanimate and cold pupils, Su Ming’an could faintly sense some swiftly passing emotions.

"What Yuanyuan?" it blinked and continued to speak cheerfully.

"She’s an Observer now; does that make her an NPC?" Su Ming’an continued to stare intently into its eyes.

"Such a question..." the snowy white bunny shrugged its shoulders: "Your Ruler authority is not enough yet—I can only tell you that this rose in your hand is ineffective on her."

What it implied was that he should improve his status, and once his Ruler Level was elevated, it might consider answering his question.

But Su Ming’an quickly let go.

"She is a special Observer," he had already concluded.

Ordinary Observers are confined to specific worlds, unable to shuttle between them.

But Yuanyuan is different.

She possesses different identities in each World and can shuttle between them just like a Player.

She is definitely not any ordinary entity, trapped within a single virtual instance World.

The Boss Bunny’s smile remained unchanged.

Pink radiance burst forth from its being, the saturation and brightness of the color extremely high, almost amounting to light pollution.

It was the same routine as always, a flash so bright it could almost blind someone.

Su Ming’an closed his eyes quickly to avoid this retaliatory sudden strike.

When he opened them again, the giant white bunny’s figure had disappeared.

Shadows of flames danced on the empty space, and the room seemed unusually quiet.

In his right hand, he was clutching the Red Rose, when he suddenly realized his left hand was empty.

As he raised his hand, he found the half-melted chocolate that he had been holding had vanished without a trace.

...

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