Welcome to Rewind World Game
Chapter 677: Section 674 - "D-R-E-A-D

Chapter 677: Section 674 - "D-R-E-A-D

[Fifteen Minutes Ago]

"Crash—" Tretiya slammed into the glass on the 107th floor, accompanied by a loud shattering sound, they landed in the corridor.

Complex streams of data flickered across Su Ming’an’s AI wristwatch, the alarm system of the City of Gods still under his control.

"Wait... Tretiya, I have something to ask you," Su Ming’an said.

Tretiya looked down slightly, her eyes shining brightly, "Hmm?"

Su Ming’an, "Why did you announce that I am a bionic body before?"

Tretiya, "Only by committing such an act of betrayal against you could I gain the trust of [Ta Wei] and successfully enter the City of Gods. It was then that I could successfully save you."

"What exactly is [Ta Wei]?"

Tretiya patiently explained, "[Ta Wei] is an invader from another civilization. Due to the measures you left behind during the Century Catastrophe, they could not invade our world directly but could only whisper to incite agents like Lin Guang to provoke internal human strife. I speculate that if human infighting reaches a certain degree, they might be able to genuinely interfere in our world."

Her voice was calm, and the content she spoke was exactly the same as what the Dawn System had informed Su Ming’an. It seems this was true information.

She patiently answered all his questions, the cuts from the glass on her body still bleeding. And yet, she seemed not to feel the pain.

She knew that her former teacher, Yasa Acto, was already dead. In the first year of the Century Catastrophe, after Acto decided to initiate the Dawn System, she personally saw him enter the "LIGHT" Dawn Code, saw his radiance pour into the Dawn System, his body turning into an old man with white hair.

All who came after were Acto’s bionic bodies.

She was prepared mentally, knowing she would never see him again.

But the instant she saw Su Ming’an at the beginning of the 32nd year of the Catastrophe, she was stunned. He was too much like Acto, too similar. He was equally calm and resolute, wise and decisive, adept at inspiring others with his words, playing the few good cards perfectly, leading the teetering human civilization to the situation of today.

"... The moment I saw you, I suddenly understood that the teacher would never actually die," Tretiya said with a smile on her face, "His obsession before passing away was etched into this world, like his undying soul. Whether you are a being from another Otherworld or a bionic body made of programs. Even if death counts are numerous, accumulating countless bones, as long as there are people like you, the flame of civilization will not be extinguished. Heroes have always advanced by stepping over the bones of their fellows."

Death counts...

Su Ming’an’s expression remained unchanged.

"Bang!" Tretiya extended a hand, her Yuan Guang piercing into the slumbering mechanics’ bodies beneath the floor, which obeyed her command, clearing a path for her to rush towards the rehabilitation room.

They were welcomed by the same stance, the same gunfire, the blood on the ground seeming like a red carpet, and they advanced upon this carpet as though signifying destiny.

To the left, less than a meter away, the floor-to-ceiling glass offered a clear view of the snowy scenery outside. Beneath the thick clouds at the height of the 107th floor, one could see the flames rising skyward in the distance. With observation skills, perhaps one could see Su Rin and others in aerial combat, and the blood-soaked legions on the ground.

The distance between them suddenly felt incredibly close.

So this was what it felt like to view the battlefield from afar in the City of Gods. It was as if the gods themselves were overlooking the world.

Walking down this long corridor, Su Ming’an suddenly felt something akin to "destiny," as though he had truly experienced this tumultuous Dawn War, despite only seven days passing since the start in Caius Tower. Now, the tolling of destiny’s bell signaled the final moments, every performer on the stage inexorably marching toward the inevitable ending.

Will this war have a victor? Or will everyone walk towards extinction together?

Will this story have any survivors?

Tretiya, Rong Yuan, Sen, Xia Sheng, Cheng Luohe, Yao Wen, Noah, Bi... In these short seven days, he met countless people living in the past and history. None of them seemed like NPCs, but like living, breathing beings.

The beige strands of Tretiya’s hair fell, brushing against his ear.

Her deep blue eyes, like condensed amber, reflect his figure intently:

"— I will assist you in realizing all your wishes, whether it is to overthrow the Deity faction, kill Lin Guang, or keep the flame of mankind burning forever. Whatever you wish for, I can do," she said.

This was an oath.

Her gaze was resolute and fervent, Tretiya was crazier than Xiber. If Xiber was a gigantic iceberg lurking beneath the sea, Tretiya was a volcano ready to erupt at any moment, with such intense heat and scalding magma that even she could be engulfed.

But Tretiya didn’t have Xiber’s chance of reincarnation; she only had one life. What made her so desperate to help him?

The City of Gods was fraught with danger. She had disappeared silently from Doomsday City until she infiltrated the architectural system of the City of Gods. How great a risk was she taking? Once dead here, she would forever be branded a "traitor" with no chance for redemption.

"I don’t understand why you’re helping me. I’m not the teacher you’re familiar with," said Su Ming’an.

"It’s okay, to me, it’s all the same."

Su Ming’an furrowed his brow, emphasizing, "But I am Lewis, and I am not the same person as Acto."

Tretiya lowered her gaze, as if her eyes contained a shallow pool of shining light.

"The soul I love is the spirit that tirelessly devoted to civilization, the type of soul you possess, and that’s the kind of soul I love. It doesn’t matter who you are. No matter what identity you take on, what name you are called, as long as you have such a soul, I will love you."

Her words stunned Su Ming’an.

This unique and peculiar "love" was unheard of to him.

To pierce through appearances, wealth, and background, to love merely the most essential characteristic of a person, regardless of their identity. This love could be broad enough to fall for anyone with a similar soul, but also selfish to the extreme, willing to do anything just for that one loved soul.

This definition of "love" he had never heard before made him think of God.

God loves all people.

Thinking of Tretiya, who loved a kind of soul so thoroughly, this broad yet possibly selfish love, brought to mind the love of God.

In that moment, she seemed very god-like.

Suddenly, her beautiful features, her bright red lips, and her intensely bright eyes all blended together in his view. He seemed to perceive a soul equally pure and peculiar, a love so fanatical it was beyond understanding.

It was as if she had a magnet on her, making it tough for ordinary people to look away. This intriguing philosophical concept set her apart from the masses.

"We’ve arrived," Tretiya suddenly stopped. She turned to the side, and through the glass door was a white room with a towering machine resembling a punch press. Beneath it, a quiet pod lay on the ground.

Lin Guang slept in the rehabilitation pod, serene, with none of the usual gloom and distortion on his face. When his eyes were closed, he looked incredibly like Lv Shu, exuding a gentle, peaceful aura.

...But right now, he was merely Lin Guang.

This was a demon, a demon who sacrificed millions of lives, wreaking havoc upon the world. Though this demon seemed peaceful and harmless now, upon awakening, the demon would bare his fangs.

Su Ming’an leaned against the wall, standing. He could barely control his legs as the effect of the anesthetic gradually wore off.

"Why does he enter the rehabilitation pod every year?" Su Ming’an asked.

"Perhaps to repair his memory," Tretiya began to lay the explosives. She set a pulse electric current explosive that could sweep the room in an instant, ensuring quick action. "Lin Guang is at his most vulnerable when he awakens and the pod door opens. At that moment, he is without the protection of the rehabilitation pod and disconnected from the red tubes."

Su Ming’an turned to see the heavy snow outside the corridor windows. The snow scene, almost tangible, unfolded before his eyes like a movie screen, with clusters of pure white blossoms reflecting the blazing fire in the distance.

So the City of Gods wasn’t able to maintain eternal spring.

This world didn’t have a spring after all.

...

Time ticked away.

As Lin Guang opened his eyes and got up, that instant occurred.

"Boom—!!"

An explosion thundered.

Flames, like a tsunami, instantly swept through the room. The floor-to-ceiling glass of the corridor, only two meters away, expanded from the heat and bent like thin paper. In an instant, a torrent of snow burst in through the breach, instantly whitening Su Ming’an’s hair.

Harsh, skin-stinging cold air pierced Su Ming’an’s body, making him feel so cold that he nearly lost consciousness. This body had undergone surgery by Su Rin, who had instructed him to "infuse it with energy once every day."

But now the situation was urgent, Su Rin was commanding on the front lines and couldn’t leave, and he was in the City of Gods, so it was impossible for them to meet.

"Huff, huff, huff—!"

Flames soared to the sky on one side, while ice and snow erupted on the other, suddenly lighting up the 107th floor as bright as day. Shadows burned fiercely on the ground. Su Ming’an stepped back, clearly hearing his long-anesthetized body let out a moan.

Bullet wounds, lingering effects of anesthetic drugs, side effects of Mentality Stability Capsules, insufficient body energy... A series of negative effects surged at that instant. The cold intensified Su Ming’an’s senses.

He instantly fired another 4000 Mana Points of Spatial Vibration into the room, "Boom—!" With a roar that nearly shattered eardrums, even the reinforced metal walls began to collapse, and everything in sight shook and steamed—

"Teacher!" Tretiya attempted to support him.

"Kill Lin Guang!" Su Ming’an immediately shouted.

Tretiya didn’t hesitate. She turned and rushed into the room, wrapped in Yuan Guang, her wheat-colored hair lifted high by the blast wave, her eyes red from the smoke. They had used the highest-level flame bomb for human targets, to ensure killing Lin Guang.

The floor had begun to shake, showing signs of collapse. The 4000 Mana Points of Spatial Vibration was more ferocious than precision explosives; the twisted mess of metal that was visible couldn’t be identified in its original form. Tretiya rushed straight toward the direction of the Rehabilitation Pod, her pupils almost dyed blood red—

She saw Lin Guang amidst the flames.

His body was scalding, as if dissolving under the light, half of his body charred, revealing large patches of cracked, scorched flesh. He seemed to be saying something, but his voice was too fragmented, and she couldn’t make it out.

"Screech—!!!"

The ceiling cracked, and several awakened mechanical beings firmly blocked her path. She fired a shot, Yuan Guang exploded, and with her Combat Power as high as 3700, she was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

"Boom—boom—boom!"

Flames thundered, and charred fire rose high into the air. The agony of the air trembled, her hands turned into metal arms, and with a punch, she shattered the mechanical beings’ interfaces, decapitating them. Her hair dancing, she delivered a knee strike, her knee landing in the chest of a mechanical being diving at her.

"Bang!"

Metal pieces flew through the air, scraped against her cheek, leaving a fleeting cut. Her hand opened and closed, and the sharp metal spikes aimed straight for Lin Guang—

At that moment, she finally heard Lin Guang’s voice.

"Tretiya, humanity has long lost. You and I are nothing but ants struggling in this world."

Despair was etched on Lin Guang’s face, the resurgence of memories making him recall a great deal. He had come to know the true nature of this world.

"Lose my ass! You are the one who should die!" Tretiya cursed, not hesitating as she stabbed at his throat.

But Lin Guang just looked at her:

"Tretiya. D-R-E-A-D."

The next moment.

Tretiya’s fingers stopped short in front of Lin Guang’s neck.

Her expression changed from anger to confusion, then disbelief, doubt, and sorrow... until her face was left with nothing but despair. Her pupils quivered violently, tears tracing down her cheeks.

Lin Guang’s sentence acted as a switch; at that moment, a flood of memories surged in her mind.

...

Su Ming’an waited at the door for a while but Tretiya did not return.

He leaned against the wall, slowly sitting down, his body nearly frozen stiff.

The snowstorm met his face, flames soared in the distance. It was eleven o’clock at night, and the war had reached a fever pitch - every second, countless lives were lost.

"Tap, tap—" Footsteps came from the right end of the corridor.

He slowly turned his head and saw a red-haired woman walking towards him. Her face was youthful and beautiful, and a shell necklace hung around her neck.

—Su Ming’an recognized her.

She died sixteen years ago, when Doomsday City was first established. Her name was Fayse, and she died from a bottle of poisoned milk.

Why was she here?

"Hello." The red-haired woman slowly bowed her head, as if blind to the current flames engulfing the place, her words stiff and robotic like a operated program:

"It’s too cold. Please have some hot milk."

She extended her hand, offering him the bottle of milk she held.

"Who are you?" Su Ming’an asked.

"I am Fayse, a mother," Fayse said.

"Weren’t you dead?"

"I am not dead, I am Fayse, a mother," she repeated.

"But you don’t have children," Su Ming’an said.

"I will have children. I am Fayse, a mother," Fayse repeated, offering him the milk again: "Have some hot milk. At your age, drinking milk is good for growth."

But Su Ming’an did not accept it.

He looked at Fayse, who smiled mechanically, and suddenly vaguely realized the truth of the world, though he was still one step away from piercing through it.

At this moment, a strong sense of absurdity and rupture surged in his heart.

He turned and rushed into the room, seeing Lin Guang, battered and bruised, and the missing Tretiya.

"Lewis," Lin Guang said:

"You play games, so when you control a character to fight, letting them get hit and wounded over and over, did you ever think about how sad it would be if they had consciousness but couldn’t control themselves, always being controlled by us?"

"I do not understand what you are saying," Su Ming’an said.

Lin Guang just gave a wretched laugh.

There was no light in his eyes.

"We are just ’Electronic Hearts,’ Lewis."