Welcome to Rewind World Game
Chapter 58 - 57 - ’Welcome to my city!

Chapter 58: Chapter 57 - ’Welcome to my city!

...

Inside the glass room, the female player was talking with her companion, a scene that had been going on for several days.

She had learned that the other person’s name was Nuoliya, but knew nothing else about her. Nuoliya was very silent, always keeping her head down and ignoring what she said. Eventually, they stopped communicating.

They had been in the glass room for a long time, not knowing how much time had passed, until suddenly the glass door in front of them slid open, and a metal tray with two shiny knives on it was brought in.

Next to it was a note: "The groom is gradually approaching, get ready to come out, dear brides."

Ming’an stood up, her mechanical suit creaking as she picked up a knife, which reflected her image on its surface.

Nuoliya also quickly picked up a knife. Her movements were swift, as if she was used to handling weapons.

The glass doors slid open to either side, revealing a long corridor in front of them. The two exchanged glances and walked forward along the corridor.

At the end of the corridor, dazzling lights from the Mechanical Floating City suddenly fell, illuminating the icy-white ground in front of them. They found themselves in a hotel-like corridor with rooms to the left and right.

A bloody smell wafted through the corridor, mixed with a strange odor. As Ming’an walked to the middle, she found a body lying on the ground. The person wore white clothes, blood pooled around him, and there were some broken mechanical parts, as if the body had been kicked, extending the trail of blood. She hesitated to turn the body over, but Nuoliya did and told her,

"It’s the body of a young man." she said, "He was stabbed from behind, and his head is missing, so I don’t know who he is. There’s also a long wound on his back."

Ming’an stood in front of the body, noticing that the doors on either side had names, she turned her head and was shocked to see, clearly marked:

[Su Ming’an]

"Su Ming’an..." She thought she had read it wrong, but after double-checking, she realized the characters were correct—it really was the Su Ming’an she was thinking of.

She couldn’t believe it and even momentarily doubted it was someone with the same name. She pushed open the door, which was unlocked, and entered the room. A stronger smell of blood rushed out. The room looked like it had seen a fierce battle, with dark and bright red blood splattered everywhere and drops of green fluid scattered on the floor. Frowning, she searched the room and saw a dagger lying on the floor.

[Obtained equipment (Damaged · Poppy Dagger)]

[Poppy Dagger: It was originally a fine weapon, but it appears to have been damaged in a fierce battle, marked by blade scrapes.]

Picking up the dagger and confirming its appearance and name, Ming’an finally realized — this dagger, she had seen it in a live broadcast, it had been held by Su Ming’an. This room, it might really belong to him.

Herself... had she actually matched into an instance with him?

She suddenly felt overwhelmed with happiness, but soon she remembered the headless body lying by the door, and endless fear surged through her. She quickly ran out, even thinking about lifting the clothes to check, but then hesitated, realizing that even that wouldn’t confirm the identity of the person.

"Ming’an, come take a look." Nuoliya’s voice echoed in the room.

Turning around, she saw Nuoliya squatting by the window, pulling open the curtains. Below, scattered mechanical parts rolled down, and another body in white clothes lay there, also covered in bloodstains and green fluid.

The two also checked several other rooms labeled with names like [Noel][Eli][Qin Ze][Kay], a total of ten; the other rooms were clean, but [Noel]’s room, like that of Su Ming’an, showed signs of battle and bodies in white.

"Logically speaking, after coming out we were supposed to knock on these male players’ doors and choose our groom," Nuoliya said. "But why... is this the scene we come out to?"

"I don’t know." Ming’an shook her head, looking towards the end of the corridor, "Shall we go out and take a look first?"

"Okay." Nuoliya gripped her knife handle and walked towards the end of the corridor without looking back, as if she was fearless.

Soon, the two reached the end, pushed open the somewhat heavy door, and light burst in instantly.

— Before them appeared a Colosseum, set up like a ritualistic altar. The nearby sunlight from the Mechanical Floating City poured in brilliantly, making the ice-white mechanical ground dazzlingly bright, painfully bright to the eyes.

At the moment they stepped out, they were startled by a sudden deafening cheer.

The spectator seats were filled with people, stretching from one end of their view to the other, but they did not seem alive, their postures incredibly stiff.

Their gazes all shifted simultaneously, piercing the two like numerous blades.

Su Ming’an stood frozen, while Nuoliya went straight ahead with her blade, as if she had not seen the scene at all.

After the two entered, the gate they faced slowly opened—

...

[Half a day earlier]

"Welcome, travelers from the outer world—welcome to my city!"

The man in the white lab coat at the Inner City gate greeted Su Ming’an, Noel, and the others warmly, led them around the Inner City for a while, but only showed them the views of the city, never mentioning anything about the "transformation grounds." Noel had tried to indirectly inquire, but his question was promptly deflected with a casual remark "It’s nothing significant," followed by a warning that they should not ask any further.

While the group toured the Inner City, almost every house was shut tight, doors and windows closed, and the streets had not a single person, only the cold mechanics dragging streams of light overhead, and everywhere emitted the chilling sense of machinery, utterly devoid of human warmth.

Comments kept streaming:

[Wow! The mechanical feel, the futuristic sense! Amazing!]

[Only in World Gaming can one see such worlds... I really wonder whether these are game instances or truly existing worlds, those NPCs feel just like real people...]

[Inspiration comes from life, I feel during World Gaming, the landscapes of different worlds could provoke a major innovation in the fields of literature and arts...]

[How can there be no one at all in this city? It’s too spooky...]

[Why is Ming’an so quiet?]

[Honestly, the clearance rules of this world disgust me, I wonder what choice Ming’an will make...]

[But if it were Number One Player, no girl would reject such clearance rules, right...]

[What if the other person is a middle-aged woman, old enough to be Ming An’an’s mom...]

[What if the "Bride" turns out to be a man...]

[In that case, I can understand why Ming’an dislikes this rule, neither could I...]

[...]

...

[World Gaming·Remaining Players: 195,438,106]