Welcome to Rewind World Game
Chapter 597 - 594: "Who am I?

Chapter 597: Chapter 594: "Who am I?

Lv Shu followed the crowd, watching as the players approached a residential house.

About eighty to ninety players came to find Su Ming’an, not a large number, as most people did not want to court death. The smarter ones chose to communicate directly with the Hawk Hound.

Those who attended were a mix of fervent star-chasers, newcomers who had just finished playing and were empty-handed, and those who simply wanted to appear on TV.

They immediately spotted Su Ming’an at the door of the house.

"Damn, isn’t that too obvious? Do we even need coordinates?" a player whispered sotto voce, "With such a big cat on his shoulder, who wouldn’t recognize him?"

"What do we do? Shall we all go over and say hello?"

"You came all the way here just to say hello?"

"Yeah... do you want to kill him or something?"

The players hesitated, and for a moment, no one dared to step forward; they just watched as a squad of mechanical soldiers walked towards Su Ming’an.

"City Lord?" The leader was a Hawk Hound captain wearing a soft cap, who hesitantly raised his identity scanner.

"It’s me." Su Ming’an lifted his head, unwavering, "Go ahead and scan; Xike, grant him scanning access."

As the scanner beeped, a mechanical voice began to report:

[Name: Yasa Acto (Dawn Type Personality)]

[Identity verification complete—City Lord of the City of Measurement.]

...

"It really is the City Lord." The Hawk Hound officers exchanged glances; they had no desire to arrest the City Lord.

Anyone a bit older remembered the glorious era when Acto led them to crush ten cities; even if the Dawn System wanted to arrest him, they were reluctant...

"I will go back with you, but I have some matters to deal with," Su Ming’an said. "Wait for me at the checkpoint."

The lead officer hesitated, then put away his scanner and gestured to those behind him, "Let’s go."

If it weren’t for the fear of being detected by the Dawn chip for favoritism, he would have let Acto go already.

"City Lord," the middle-aged police chief said softly before leaving, "please take care."

Su Ming’an nodded.

He drove toward the players who had been staring at him around the house; this group had been watching him for quite some time.

——Just then, several light signs suddenly went up.

[Number One Player, I love you!!!]

[Su Ming’an! Mommy loves you (๑′ᴗ‵๑)!!]

[Ming’an, my Ming’an, I really like you so much, hehe, Ming’an, Ming’an...]

The colorful light signs were particularly eye-catching against the increasingly dusky sky.

...In such a massive crowd, all kinds of ghosts and monsters abound.

Su Ming’an turned and walked away.

Knowing full well that he detested being entertained to death, these people still showed such an attitude—did they truly like him? Or did they just like his fame, honors, and the spotlight he was in?

"Ming’an—don’t go! I came to bring you equipment! Hey, Ming An’an—"

"Didn’t you accept equipment from others at Ming Hui? I’m here to give you some too! I’ll give it all to you! Can we take a photo together, please—"

"Don’t run, Mommy loves you—"

Fanatical voices came from behind.

He waved his hand and the Lamb Barrier abruptly rose, like a boundary line, separating the fervent players from him.

Looking at the players standing in disarray, his expression was indifferent.

"Don’t come to disturb me, don’t come to surround and annihilate me," he said. "That is the best help you can give me."

If it weren’t for this group of people swarming over, attracting the attention of the surroundings, Hawk Hound wouldn’t have locked down this area so quickly.

The small team that Ming Hui sent to deliver equipment has an essential difference from this group of people. The situation is completely different.

The current situation is also... completely different from the situation in the Fifth World.

Committing evil deeds unscrupulously in the name of love is the most contemptible thing.

He drove toward the checkpoint, leaving the chatter of the Players behind him.

"I told you, you’re useless. Smart people have gone to report the coordinates to Hawk Hound."

"You really think you’re fans? See if they care about you..."

"..."

The night grew darker, and he looked up, gazing in the direction of the city.

The TV tower, glittering with lights, stood tall, and beyond it was the era-defining skyscraper of Central City, where the city’s prosperity was brewing.

Thinking of Noel, who had disappeared without a trace, his eyes were somewhat bewildered.

... What exactly is the concept of Ta Wei?

Can Players really have their thoughts changed?

If he too were invaded by Ta Wei, would his will, the ideals he had upheld until now... also be brainwashed, changed? If so... would humanity still stand a chance?

"—Su Ming’an," a voice called out. He turned his head to see the black-haired girl standing in the night and the leader of the battle group wrapped in a blood-red scarf.

"Take care," Yuanyuan said.

Su Ming’an nodded.

Che looked at him with a complex expression. After a moment, Che took a four-leaf clover pendant out of his pocket and handed it to him.

"This is a farewell gift. I don’t know if, once you return, you will still be the Lewis I know... or just return to being the Lord of Acto City of Central City," Che said, "I hope you will remember everything that happened here in The Fringe, I hope you... can see us, ’the few’."

His eyes reflected the image of Su Ming’an:

"Please don’t... forget us."

"I won’t forget." Su Ming’an put the pendant in his pocket and turned away to leave.

He arrived at the Third Ring District checkpoint, where a team of Hawk Hound was already in strict formation, and Luna, with hair as white as snow, was among them.

"You’re really going to let yourself be captured like this?" Luna approached, her voice laced with concern, "Run away, even if you run... we can use the friend chat to help you..."

"I’m going to negotiate with Dawn," Su Ming’an said, "Without touching the core, you can never see the truth clearly."

He confidently entered the Hawk Hound’s encirclement as the image of the blond and blue-eyed Xike appeared beside his wrist. Confronted with the armed soldiers and the intense searchlights, his gaze was unwavering.

Surrounding him were gazes of complexity, regret, and doubt. Even though the Dawn System had ruled for decades, with profound authority unquestioned, when it issued a red order against the city lord, they still hesitated.

"Rumble—" A silver-white car drove over the uneven ground, coming to a stop in front of Su Ming’an.

"Give me a hand," Su Ming’an whispered to Luna. He had already dismantled his mechanical leg.

Luna helped him into the car, folding the wheelchair into a cubic piece of metal that she placed beside him.

"Chatter chatter—" The sound of a helicopter circling overhead came through, reporters in the sky recording and broadcasting this moment live.

"Click," the car door closed, Su Ming’an waved to Luna outside the window, and the car began to move, with the broadcaster’s voice coming from inside.

"September 30, New Era Year 53, City-State News brings you the latest update."

"Cartha Danger Zone states that City of Measurement’s military deterrence has interfered with border crossing, Cartha demands that Hawk Hound Mechanical Army immediately withdraw from the border or face armed action..."

"—City-State time 5:43 PM, bringing you breaking news. According to information from the Third Ring District, the city lord has voluntarily proceeded to Central City, Dawn System revokes the red order. A spokesperson from Olive Branch News Agency described the current situation as [a confrontation of an era between mechanical governance and human governance], and there remains uncertainty concerning whether the Lord of Acto City has committed any legal infractions.

As of now, the Core Area councilman has not made any statement regarding this matter, City-State News will continue to update you on the progress of the incident..."

Su Ming’an was listening intently when the car’s broadcast was abruptly shut off by the driver with a "Turn off".

The vehicle was autopilot, and the driver was only responsible for monitoring; he almost didn’t notice there was a driver.

"The Dawn Brain categorizes humans into eight personality types, while Yasa Acto, who created all of this, has set his image as the highest level of Dawn Type Personality, becoming an eternal benchmark," the driver said, in a crisp and pleasant male voice:

"So, Yasa Acto, what do you think ... why did Dawn issue a red alert to you?" the driver asked.

"It’s sick," Su Ming’an said.

"..."

Su Ming’an’s reply effectively shut down any further conversation, and the driver remained silent for the entire journey, not uttering another word.

The wind outside the window ruffled Su Ming’an’s black hair as he watched the sedan pass through several unmanned checkpoints, proceeding unhindered.

Central City had been locked down for a long time, yet only this sedan managed to drive in smoothly. The storefronts on both sides were shut tight, and the streets were deserted.

After the car stopped, Su Ming’an pushed the door open to see a cross-shaped building resembling a white wall, with a high tower standing tall in the middle. These two buildings, one horizontal and one vertical, stood together like a cross erected.

...I’m back.

Finally back to Central City.

He saw the driver turn his head.

Those ethereal eyes that seemed capable of seeing through anything were like frozen snow.

The male figure, its white hair cut short, gazed emotionlessly, mechanically straight at him, as if time had frozen at that moment.

An AI could simulate any appearance, any gender.

"...Doctor, I will be waiting for you at the highest level of the Central Tower," it said.

"Dawn?" Su Ming’an said.

Dawn’s figure flickered, and it vanished from the spot.

It could appear in the driver’s seat because the car was equipped with projection technology; it was just an illusion, which would disappear once it left the car.

...He had just mentioned it was sick, right?

No wonder it hadn’t spoken all the way.

Su Ming’an headed toward the gates of Central City.

The gate was old, covered with cobwebs and dust; even the mechanical voice for iris recognition stuttered a bit.

Inside, straight ahead was an elevator leading directly up and down, surrounded by corridor bridges that offered glimpses of rooms on the floors above and below. The overall structure of the building was pyramidal, narrowing towards the top, with a glimpse of the sky visible through a hole-like gap at the top.

There were no signs of human life here, and Treya and the others were perhaps in another building. Dawn would not allow him to meet Treya and the rest so easily.

Logically, he should have taken the elevator right in front of him to the top, but the circle of red Clue Insight around the corner was conspicuously eye-catching.

"Dawn, wait for me, will you?" he mused to himself.

He had turned off Xike, and didn’t see any cameras nearby; he didn’t know if Dawn had heard him.

Pressing the elevator, he went directly to the F3 level; the Clue Insight circled just below.

After a slight friction sound, the F3 level was reached; the elevator doors opened, and a distinct stench of blood assaulted his senses.

This was a sealed underground room with no light.

"ADU, light," he said.

"—Good evening Anjiang! It’s 20:56! Today, ADU will bring you a hometown tune, ’Listen to Me Say Thank You’~"

ADU lit up, its lively voice echoing eerily in the room.

In the light, Su Ming’an saw horrific bloodstains on the walls of the underground room, as if someone had desperately scratched at the walls before dying.

Several transparent human skins were pasted on the floor, the room filled with the smell of blood.

A wave of strange, fearful, and nauseous negative emotions hit him face-on. As a member of the Hundred Gods Profession, he had a strong empathy for these emotions.

[Emotional Value +100 points]

...

"Listen to me say thank you ~ because of you ~ the seasons are warmed ~"

He covered his mouth, feeling a bit nauseous. This was a physiological reaction; the red demon patterns in the room were affecting him all over.

... He had seen these patterns in the eyes of Noel and others. They represented the patterns of Ta Wei.

That is to say, the humans in this building may not have left but were... wiped out due to the influence of Ta Wei?

Enduring the discomfort, he drove on, the singing of A Dú at least helped to dispel a bit of his nausea.

"Thank you ~ I’m grateful for you ~ the world is more beautiful ~ ~"

"Click."

A faint sound came through, he looked down, a light swept over an area, revealing that the wheelchair had crushed a piece of patella.

The fractured bones, piled up like snowflakes, were like ghastly white fragments of building blocks that could make anyone with a fear of clumped objects shudder.

"I want to thank you ~ because of you, love always resides in the heart ~"

"Dingling..."

He suddenly heard the sound of chains.

Looking inside, there was a person chained up, their muscles atrophied, laying on the ground.

"Ah ah..." Hearing the noise of the wheelchair, that person struggled crazily as if they had gone mad. Their head was covered with a black hood, preventing Su Ming’an from seeing their face.

Su Ming’an stepped forward and pulled at the hood on the person’s head. Suddenly, the person extended their hands, encircled by iron chains, and grasped Su Ming’an’s throat.

"Ah ah, ah ah..." The person screamed frantically, their grip getting stronger.

The person was surprisingly strong, and Su Ming’an, in his Shadow State, couldn’t break free.

Bearing the pain of suffocation, Su Ming’an reached out and lifted the other’s hood, seeing a pair of empty eye sockets and a mouth that had its tongue cut out.

The person’s appearance was extremely pitiful; their legs were neatly sawed off, their wrists had atrophied, and their eyes and tongue had been cut out, like a human pig.

—But what surprised Su Ming’an, or rather, what was horrifying, was the face under the other’s black hair.

His and the other’s, features, face shape, facial lines... were all exactly the same.

This was a person with the face of Yasa Acto.

Or rather, he saw another "Yasa Acto."

Cold sweat slid down his spine abruptly as Su Ming’an’s fingers tapped into oblivion, breaking free from the other’s hands.

A terrifying hypothesis rose from the bottom of his heart, his pupils constricted.

"Thank you ~ I’m grateful for you ~ passing on happiness ~ ~"

"... Yasa."

A voice, almost gentle, suddenly appeared behind him, sounding somewhat cold.

Su Ming’an turned around in haste, and saw under the corner’s projector, the transparent male form of the Dawn.

"—Who am I?" Su Ming’an gasped, his face red from strangulation.

He stared at the one who looked just like himself, locked up as a human pig in the basement.

"Dawn."

"I am... who?"