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Chapter 408 - 405: "Eighth World

Chapter 408: Chapter 405: "Eighth World

[Instance Activation Time: Day 11, 8:00 AM]

Exiting the nighttime instance, Su Ming’an opened his eyes.

The heavy snow in Pulaya had ceased after the Maritime Banquet ended, and he turned his head to see a faint mist clinging to the window.

On his wrist, the same noisy voice as always rang out:

"Good afternoon, Master! The time is now 8:10 AM, System Time. Adoo will broadcast calm and soothing wake-up music for you..."

The voice from the wristwatch wasn’t the inorganic sound of the system, but rather a female voice with a hint of a mature woman’s charm, often making the audience exclaim, "I can do this."

However, this overly foolish built-in communication couldn’t be taken seriously.

With a "bang!" Su Ming’an slightly turned his wrist, facing the screen of the watch outward, and fiercely smashed his left hand against the white wall beside him.

Accompanied by a crisp collision sound, the house seemed to tremble slightly.

The wristwatch that was broadcasting the "Rainbow Sunshine Exercise Radio" suddenly went silent, and the room finally quieted down.

Su Ming’an withdrew his hand to look, and surprisingly, the watch face hadn’t shattered from the impact. The thing was really of good quality, even passing the hardness test. Maybe in the future, it could be used as a projectile for long-range attacks.

He sat on the bed, starting to think about the progress of the instance.

Through the process of each instance, he had gradually formed the habit of organizing the storyline every early morning, looking down from a bird’s-eye view of what he knew globally, to prevent overlooking any important clues.

In last night’s instance, he inevitably initiated the disastrous Sea Monsters’ siege on the city.

The instance didn’t give him a choice, only letting him observe everything that the "Demon King" had done. If he hadn’t chosen, what had already happened wouldn’t change, and even more so, he would have lost his qualification to play the game directly due to the failure of the mission.

Just now, as the night instance was drawing to an end, he had already completed the construction of the entire Demon King City and collected all his soldiers.

The figure of the Brave was gradually appearing on that magma-like deep red land, casting a dark shadow. Perhaps, in tonight’s final challenge, he would have the ultimate confrontation with the other.

He didn’t know if this would be a confrontation of "I kill myself," or how such contradictions would be resolved.

After organizing the Underworld storyline, he went to the small hill near the Southern District, according to the agreement, to learn shooting from Nailuo.

The redhead girl stood amidst the misty grassland.

The snow on the ground hadn’t melted yet, still offering a vast expanse of white flatland as far as the eye could see.

Not far away were high-rise buildings and clock towers erected, and the Church of Light, even in name only, remained; the priests unaware of the happenings above still carried out their prayers.

At the Southern District docks, the damaged city walls were undergoing repairs; people were voluntarily transporting bricks and bags, walking through the streets and alleys crisscrossed by rivers. And those who had taken refuge and survived returned to their homes, warm air slowly emanating from inside the houses.

This land, after the disaster, welcomed the vitality that people had wished for.

"Ding——"

A breeze passed by, and the necklace around his neck made a crisp sound, the noise from the double-sided metal clip holding the photo was very clear.

Su Ming’an hesitated for a moment before putting the necklace into his backpack compartment.

A piece of equipment that makes sounds is unsafe during combat; he decided to keep it as a collectible.

He would remember that knight, no matter how many instances he experienced afterwards.

He would go to see more of the world in his stead.

"What’s wrong?"

With a Soul Hunt Gun in hand, Nailuo glanced over at him.

The gun she held, like the "Training Gun" in Su Ming’an’s hands, was a product from the Soul Hunt side. These firearms were not recognized by the system, not considered as task rewards, and couldn’t be taken out of the instance; however, they could be used for training in non-combat situations.

"Nothing, just picked up a necklace," said Su Ming’an. "Thanks, let’s continue with the lesson."

Although Nailuo came across as a bit of an heiress, surprisingly, she was very reliable when it came to teaching. Not in the least fastidious, she showed no signs of wanting to rest even with injuries on her body.

"Come on, listen to me, keep your wrist taut, let your shoulders absorb the recoil..." Nailuo’s hand supported his arm, correcting his slightly off movements: "I know you’re tough and not afraid of breaking your hand, but conserve energy when you can. Otherwise, after one shot, your wrist will be very tired. I’ve seen plenty of idiots back home who’ve hurt their hand from shooting..."

Listening to her instructions, Su Ming’an changed his somewhat improper stance.

In fact, he had learned about gun techniques and shooting postures on the World Forum and had practiced diligently since firearms were also one of his combat methods, though infrequently used.

But when it came to using a sword or a gun, he generally killed enemies with a single strike. Using a gun also cost Points for buying bullets, so, except for intercepting some important targets who were trying to escape, he hardly ever used a gun.

However, what Nailuo taught him was not physical techniques. After going over the basic gun-holding postures, her advice gradually became more esoteric.

She said that one should communicate with the gun in hand.

She said that the gun in hand had a spirituality, and only those with a calm heart and a peaceful mind could accurately hit their targets.

... Su Ming’an had seen on the World Forum, and in strategy posts, people saying one should "communicate with one’s own weapon," like swordsmen in fantasy novels proclaiming "If the sword lives, the person lives; if the sword perishes, the person dies!" and advocating "to invest one’s whole will into it!"

But besides feeling that these people were being esoteric, he really couldn’t grasp this sensation.

Even with deliberate practice, he had never sensed this "weapon spirituality" they talked about.

In his personal space, he had even placed the Sword of Yarman on his lap, talking to himself like a madman, trying to chat with the Sword of Yarman and get it to "come alive" with spirituality.

But obviously, aside from making him look foolish, this behavior was of no help.

Now, however, under Nailuo’s tutelage, he was gradually beginning to grasp this feeling.

It was very clear that while holding the training gun in his hands, he had a kind of inexplicable sensation, as if when looking in a certain direction in his field of vision, his gun would more easily hit the target.

This is the importance of teaching-class NPCs. They were like imparting sudden enlightenment, not relying on the player’s insight, but directly and forcibly enhancing the Skill level.

Without hands-on instruction from a high-Level specialized Skill NPC, it would be difficult for players to break out of their own molds with mere fragments of advice on forums, let alone using language alone to improve their specialized Skills.

Su Ming’an knew he was just an ordinary student, not particularly clever; he couldn’t have a Flash of Genius and break through, nor could he, like in fantasy novels, devise some unique firearms techniques through his own research.

Under Nailuo’s guidance, he saw a definite improvement in his values.

"Ding-dong!"

[Firearms Mastery has been upgraded to lv.2!]

...

"— So you are here, Number One Player."

As he fiddled with the training gun in his hand, he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the hillside.

He looked up and saw a team of players clad in elite equipment coming over, their armor emblazoned with the pattern of a yellow rose, and the team captain at the forefront was Luna.

She still looked spirited, her long hair flowing behind her. The battle on the Bridge of Life did not make her shrink back; in fact, the scars left by the Sea Monsters had been deliberately kept on her face, as though she wanted to use them as a mark of honor.

This woman from North Country was as resolute as any man, her steps as steady and firm as a soldier’s.

"Do you need something?" Su Ming’an stopped practicing.

"Is this... an NPC who has mastered firearms specialization skills? I’m envious; such NPCs are rare," Luna glanced at Nailuo, who was frozen to one side: "It seems different from that self-aware Knight, it doesn’t understand our conversation, does it?"

"..." Su Ming’an didn’t speak.

"Sorry, I spoke too much." Seeing Su Ming’an’s expression was off, Luna immediately apologized, her tone very straightforward.

"What’s it?"

"Do you find this kind of life good, Number One Player?" Luna began with this question.

Su Ming’an originally thought she had come to discuss an alliance, but it seemed she wanted to talk philosophy with him instead.

Before he could speak, Luna went on:

"Your actions will be watched by a billion people, any mistake will be insulted by hundreds of millions, and once what you do goes against their beliefs, they will fervently criticize you, imposing their demands on you... Look, just like the previous Maritime War, those despicable faces watching from under the city walls, how disgusting..."

"Luna," Su Ming’an said, "I have the live stream on."

"Yes, so what?" Luna said: "I have never been one to hide my thoughts. Let them curse if they will. The more famous one is, the more the common people will curse. The worst part is, not all who curse you are bad people, good people curse too, kind people curse... We can’t just condemn them all..."

Su Ming’an raised an eyebrow.

He thought that someone like Luna at least wasn’t stupid; she wouldn’t stir up a public opinion battle on a live stream without reason.

By saying such things, she must mean to convey that...

He turned off the live stream.

"You want to form an alliance with me in the next world?" he said.

A smile appeared on Luna’s face.

"I know you’ll understand what I’m getting at, Number One Player," she said, extending her hand. "I’ve already paid the price in terms of face, and now, those people must be criticizing me wildly. With that in mind, do you still need to worry that I would use our alliance to create favorable public opinion for myself?"

Su Ming’an did not reach out his hand, which was his habit. To prevent inadvertently forming some special alliance merely by shaking hands, he would not easily shake hands with other players.

Luna naturally withdrew her hand, not seeming to care in the slightest.

"The Eighth World can be preliminarily determined to be a world where the top hundred players compete at their peak," Luna said. "The information comes from players with special identities and should be reliable."

"So the members are indeed the top hundred players?"

Su Ming’an knew that there were more players with special identities than just himself, it was only that the Ruler’s status was the highest. It was clear that other players with special identities also received many benefits, they had even known such information before the Seventh World had ended.

"After preliminary analysis, the Eighth World should be similar to the Fourth World—an instance emphasizing player competition, with less focus on the instance’s plot," Luna said. "This way, it’s more fair, reducing instances where players overpower others due to inherent advantages of birthright."

"An instance focused on conflict?" Su Ming’an said. "Emphasizing rules, emphasizing communication, assistance, competition... that way... it must be similar to board games."

"Yes. We conjecture that the rules of the Eighth World will likely lean towards board games," Luna said. "Space Killing, Box Girl, adventure game scenarios, Ghost Catching games... although the rules will inevitably change, the core will likely remain the same; these games are all possibilities. Therefore, as one of the top hundred players, I would like to find a reliable teammate."

"An instance with a hundred player competition means everyone is an enemy to each other," Su Ming’an said.

"Not necessarily," Luna said. "Number One Player, I’m not greedy enough to want you to join my chariot. I acknowledge my own status. Although our first meeting was not very pleasant, through the battles these days, I feel that I have begun to demonstrate my value. If you can tentatively recognize my value, I hope that in the Eighth World, at the very least, we will not become enemies. If we can go a step further... I hope that when necessary, we can help each other."

Luna spoke very directly, and her words were comforting to hear.

She laid out her value clearly, without any beating around the bush, and did not attempt to lure the other party with her charm or rhetoric. Instead, she took the attitude of a merchant, discussing cooperation with Su Ming’an.

And she was not greedy at all.

After berating the audience and showing her sincerity, she decisively provided Su Ming’an with intelligence and information, requesting the most basic, most appropriate cooperation.

Luna, the smart person, was much more pleasant to talk to than Mizushima Haru, who had been like a madman at the Werewolf Killing Game table. She was a sane person, with a brain, who knew how to communicate.

Also, the content of the Eighth World she mentioned... a short board game style instance...

By all accounts, there were only about five days left until the start of the Eighth World.

After the end of the Seventh World, during these few days of rest, he should familiarize himself with some board game rules, and also, collect information on the other top hundred players.

At least, he couldn’t really do as Noel suggested a few days ago, and go and celebrate New Year’s Day, wander through shopping streets, soak in hot springs... that would be a bit too relaxing.

Though he knew that during those few days, the Main God World would definitely be bustling with activity. Especially on December 31, he had heard that the group of overly energetic guys from the fandom had already planned to book an entire server to throw him a nation-wide carnival-like birthday celebration...

These people, really, were excessively flamboyant.

"I agree to the most basic cooperation with you," Su Ming’an said. "I will not take action against you under unnecessary circumstances."

"Thank you for your trust," Luna nodded. "Then... let me wish you a happy 19th birthday in advance, Number One Player... I’m embarrassed that even though I’m more than a decade older than you, compared to you, I still fall far short."

Her gaze lingered on Nailuo for a moment before she turned and left.