Welcome to Rewind World Game
Chapter 650 - 647·BE18·"Self-immolation

Chapter 650: Chapter 647·BE18·"Self-immolation

"Pfft."

The fist sank into the soft belly of the rabbit.

Boss Rabbit tilted its head and looked at Su Ming’an, a hint of confusion in its red eyes as it let Su Ming’an’s fist punch a deep pit into its abdomen.

"My dear Number One Player, what are you doing?" it asked.

Su Ming’an didn’t speak; he pulled back his fist, twisted his wrist, and pointed the tip of the Amber Knife forward, "pfft," stabbing through Boss Rabbit’s belly as if popping a balloon.

Boss Rabbit tilted its head, still acting as if nothing happened.

It extended its fluffy white hand, intending to scratch its head in confusion but instead saw Su Ming’an looking down, a ripple of light flashing briefly on the ground.

"I say, my dear Number One Player, you couldn’t possibly be..." it said.

It found this amusing.

A billion humans relied on the Number One Player. Moreover, there was no shortage of people who loved him, swore to treat him well for life, and wanted to make him happier.

Yet, when he was in tears, there was no one to hold and comfort him. Those who claimed to love him for a lifetime could never see him at his most vulnerable.

It found this funny.

Su Ming’an lifted his head.

His pupils were still as dark as before, with a thin film of moisture that soon dissolved away, leaving not a trace behind.

Only a small damp spot on the ground proved that something had just happened.

Su Ming’an’s gaze met Boss Rabbit’s red eyes at that moment.

—Those were bright red, like the setting sun, like two sparkling red gemstones.

Their gaze held for a moment, then Su Ming’an retracted his knife, "pfft," and Boss Rabbit’s belly reinflated like a pumped-up balloon.

"So you can be attacked?" Su Ming’an said, his expression no different from usual as his emotional release had reached its end.

He had even slashed at Boss Rabbit with a knife and still hadn’t been insta-killed by the white light; had he not violated any rules?

"Of course not," said Boss Rabbit. "It’s just that I don’t want to kill my dear Number One Player, after all. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if the great ’Ruler’ died while attacking me?"

"You don’t seem like Boss Rabbit today," Su Ming’an said.

He remembered how Boss Rabbit had sneered at the opening ceremony. Boss Rabbit was bloody and disgusting then but now had turned into a cute, fluffy giant rabbit.

As the game progressed, it somehow became cuter and cuter.

"Shadow’s impersonation of you was more convincing than the real you," Su Ming’an thought of Boss Rabbit in the Eighth World Dome, impersonated by Shadow. At that time, all Players couldn’t tell Shadow wasn’t the real deal, and even Edward had bowed down and pledged allegiance to Shadow.

Boss Rabbit’s mouth corners slightly upturned, it touched its belly, and the rabbit’s ears twitched:

"What if—" it said.

"I’m Shadow?"

Su Ming’an looked up.

Boss Rabbit looked back at him.

The room fell silent for a while, only the ticking of the wall clock was heard.

Outside the transparent glass door, students kept passing by, but no one noticed the anomaly in the room. Even Tereya and the twins, who were stationed there all year round, had not visited, as if they were trapped in a space isolated from the world.

The pink and white giant rabbit stood in front of the bed, its smile as evil as ever; it seemed to be waiting for his reaction.

"Boss Rabbit, this assumption isn’t funny," Su Ming’an said after a moment of silence.

When he first acquired the "Judge" Occupation, Ming told him—Ming and Shadow were variants of his personality, the kind of person he could become. In any case, he could never become Boss Rabbit, so the assumption didn’t hold.

And besides, Shadow couldn’t be Boss Rabbit itself; it was just a Skill.

"Hmm," Boss Rabbit acknowledged, without saying much more.

"Boss Rabbit, let me ask you," Su Ming’an stared into its eyes: "Can Perfect Passing all levels truly end this game forever?"

The smile on Boss Rabbit’s mouth gradually faded.

In an instant, the originally relatively relaxed atmosphere in the room vanished.

As if countless sharp gazes were aimed at this area, Su Ming’an felt a prickling sensation on his back. In Shadow State, he was very sensitive to such malice.

He had asked this question once in the Sixth World, White Sand Paradise, and received an affirmative answer. Now, by asking again, he just wanted to see if Boss Rabbit would kill him out of anger.

In the midst of silence, he heard Boss Rabbit let out an almost imperceptible laugh.

"...Of course you can," Boss Rabbit smiled: "If you wish to end it, you certainly can end it—that’s indeed your true desire. We thought you’d prefer to bring back your father or become one of us... It surprises me that not all humans are selfish and petty, hm?"

It probably thought of behaviors of people like Edward and Mizushima Kawa Sora, and the current chaotic foulness of the forums.

It remarked, "You really are special; no wonder the game chose you to be Acto."

"Human desires are endless, and most people live for their selfish gains, which is not shameful," Su Ming’an said. "I just have a bit more forethought than others."

"If you made such a wish to protect your home but did not wish to dominate Zhai Xing for yourself—you wouldn’t be strong enough to suppress other humans after the game ends," said Boss Rabbit lightly. "Do you know what kind of situation you’ll face then?"

"That will be a matter for then," replied Su Ming’an indifferently.

After saying that, he slashed backwards—

Intense brilliance rose from the blade as the Skill[Condensation]activated, making the surrounding air churn as if boiling.

"Swish!"

A loud noise, the ground slightly trembled.

In front of him, the pink and white giant rabbit’s figure—split apart under this slash as if a rag doll was being torn, disintegrating into two halves.

The air was filled with snow-white fluff floating up, the rabbit’s fur scattered in the air, and Boss Rabbit’s body was shredded into wisps upon wisps.

Su Ming’an was sprinkled with Boss Rabbit’s pink and white fluff, breathing slightly heavily, his knife-holding hand trembling lightly, as if a beautiful goose-feather snowfall had just occurred before him.

He hadn’t expected to be able to slash Boss Rabbit into pieces with a single cut.

"Click-clack."

Two crisp sounds as Boss Rabbit’s red eyes fell to the ground, rolling like two dropped glass marbles.

He stared at the ground and didn’t wait for the Organizers’ white light to insta-kill him for a long time.

He reached out and picked up the bright red eyeballs on the ground. The eyeballs were almost transparent, reflecting his own eyes.

At this moment, he heard the voice of the boss rabbit inside the marble, still lazy:

"Dear Number One Player, you seem to be quite eager to die."

Su Ming’an discarded the glass marble and raised his hand, extinguishing his presence.

This probe was almost over—so it turned out that even if a Player violated the rules, the boss rabbit still had the authority to choose whether to execute the Player. Since it didn’t kill him, it might as well let him rewind time himself.

Intense pain whirled in his brain, and he closed his eyes.

At the point of death, the last sense to go is always hearing.

In the end, within the pitch-black field of vision, he heard the boss rabbit’s voice in a sudden realization:

"[So it is... Your Authority isn’t prophecy and inference.]"

"[But rather, death, huh?]"

...

Su Ming’an opened his eyes.

The words of the boss rabbit still echoed in his mind.

So the Organizers had speculated about his Authority long ago... they just hadn’t suspected the death rewind yet.

The point in time to which he had rewound was about six hours earlier. He continued the process up until the moment of Caius Tower’s return was imminent.

The laboratory’s time always repeated within five days, and considering the "laboratory was destroyed in an explosion in the 72nd year of the Catastrophe, with 99% casualties," this timeline of the 72nd year of the Catastrophe must have been artificially set up, or even simulated. It was certainly not a true scene.

—What, then, is its true nature?

Perhaps only at the end of Caius Tower would he find the answer.

...

[Caius Tower]

Amidst the blood sun’s red light, thousands of floor-to-ceiling glasses linked with metal structures, constructing this nearly transparent building.

In the silent city, only the circling aircraft and the cold mechanical army moved about, like well-oiled gears.

"Click, click, click."

Yamada Machiichi walked over the ground reflecting the blood light in his leather boots, followed by a neat row of mechanical soldiers.

Today, he was not wearing a Lolita dress but the uniform of the Deity faction. Golden patterns trailed down along his arms and waist, the pure white top with a unique texture shimmered with a unique breathable gloss, and there were hidden switches at the cuffs and metal belt that could trigger instantaneous defensive devices.

Taking into account Su Ming’an’s identity, Yamada Machiichi did not join the Freedom Faction like the other Players. Instead, he switched to the Deity faction, attempting to gather intelligence as a spy, and his "baked sweet potato" Sanctuary was also established under the protection of the Deity faction.

Depending on his Charm Props and personal Charm value, he had gained a bit of trust from Lin Guang, earning himself a team of mechanical soldiers.

"Where have I returned to now?" Yamada Machiichi stopped in his tracks as soon as he opened his eyes. He remembered being in Zone One of the Deity faction before leaving for Caius Tower. How had he ended up in the City of Gods immediately upon returning?

He opened his wristwatch and glanced at the calendar—

[Catastrophe Year 42, March 29.]

Yamada Machiichi was stunned.

He remembered it being Catastrophe Year 32 before. How had it suddenly become Catastrophe Year 42...

He summoned the system mirror and found that his visage had aged significantly since his last visit to the Kaius Tower.

"Damn it," Yamada Machiichi cursed silently, suddenly understanding the essence of the Kaius Tower—after completing certain key moments, players would enter a rest period, skip a span of time, and arrive at the next pivotal point. They wouldn’t have to experience the full 40 years of the Dawn War.

The character he played was a leader in the Deity faction, and it appeared that during the 10 years he had skipped, his character continued to take actions, eventually getting from Zone One to the City of Gods and even getting a promotion.

He immediately opened his wristwatch to access the archives and see what had happened over these 10 years.

—The Deity faction still held the advantage, suppressing the Freedom Faction.

The largest ruler of the Freedom Faction—Doomsday City was in a phase of development, assimilating the technology left by Acto, engaging only in passive resistance and not launching large-scale wars to plunder people and territory.

There had been many small-scale wars between the two sides, with victories and defeats. The armaments of the Freedom Faction were visibly improving, with some high-precision and sophisticated energy weapons surpassing the Deity faction’s level. However, they were limited by insufficient resources and unable to fully arm their troops.

Over these 10 years, many settlements chose to defect to the Freedom Faction. The division of the world from Zone One to Zone Ten no longer existed; numerous small and medium-sized cities sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain, totaling in the hundreds and thousands. The war situation became extraordinarily chaotic, with constant scheming and daily outbreaks of conflict.

Among these, the Lighthouse Church developed smoothly. With the slogan "Eradicate the tyranny of the gods, the world belongs to the Lighthouse," they harvested a large number of followers from the Deity faction, which was quite a spectacle.

The most surprising was—the human hero who had a fleeting presence 10 years ago, the Sect Hierarch of the Lighthouse Church, the City Lord of Doomsday City, Yasa Acto, had not been seen since.

Some speculated that he had died in the outside world, others that he was hidden away by Doomsday City as a secret weapon, and some believed that he had become a captive of the gods. But in any case, no one heard from him again.

"These 10 years have been skipped over, and the character I’m playing would act for 10 years following the original pace, making his way from Zone One to the City of Gods. So, if Acto is not dead, he should continue to lead Doomsday City and wouldn’t just disappear..." Yamada Machiichi pondered. "So, if Acto isn’t dead, he would likely continue to lead Doomsday City rather than disappear like this..."

"Beep beep." The wristwatch suddenly lit up, his immediate superior, Lin Guang, was calling him.

Yamada Machiichi immediately rushed to the lowest level of the City of Gods, where at the entrance stood a white-haired young man.

Countless tubes were connected behind him, spreading into every corner of the building. They were like capillaries covering the surrounding walls and ducts, with the white-haired youth as their blood-supplying heart.

He stood there quietly, his clothing pure white and the exposed skin almost a ghastly pale, devoid of any colors other than white, as though he blended into the pure white of the building itself.

Hearing footsteps, the white-haired youth turned around, revealing a face identical to the one he had 10 years ago. His eyes remained indifferent, and time had not left a mark on his face.

Even Yamada Machiichi’s character had aged a decade, but Lin Guang still preserved his eternal youth.

Yamada Machiichi stood firm, surrounded by Violet, Klish, Rock, Wu Yu, and others. They were all players who had joined the Deity faction.

"It looks like you guys are back," Lin Guang suddenly smiled.

That smile, much more natural than it had been 10 years before, seemed like something he had practiced for a long time, learning how to wear it.

However, his eyes held no trace of joy. Compared to 10 years ago, he seemed more melancholic, as if he had experienced something profoundly sorrowful.

Yamada Machiichi and the others were shocked—so Lin Guang knew they were players, and even knew when they would be replaced by players.

"I’m going to retrieve a body now. You all defend this place. If any intruder comes, kill them," Lin Guang ordered.

"People’s bodies turn into white light and disappear after they die. Whose body are you going to retrieve?" Player Klish inquired, his good relationship with Lin Guang affording him the boldness to ask such a question.

Behind Lin Guang, a "click" sounded as the myriad crimson tubes connected to him fell away.

Stepping out of the gates of the City of Gods, the bloody sunlight fell upon his shoulders, and he said with a smile devoid of warmth:

"He has no Source, so his body will remain after death and won’t dissipate."

"..."

"I’m going to pick up... my best friend’s body."