Welcome to Rewind World Game
Chapter 743 - 740: "Ms. Lin Wang’an.

Chapter 743: Chapter 740: "Ms. Lin Wang’an.

[Main God World]

"—Everyone get ready! The Number One Player is coming back! We must prepare a grand New Year’s party for him!"

"Exactly, since he missed it, let’s make it up to him. How can people from Dragon Country not celebrate New Year!"

"I heard he checks the forums, how about we bump the post when the time comes?"

"But will he come to the event?"

"It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t come; we’ll just treat it as our own event."

He Yuan was browsing the forum and looked up.

In front of him was a bright hall. Various foods, fireworks and firecrackers, spring couplets, and holographic cards, all "Number One Player-related items" stuffed the area full, with crowds of people all around, cosplayers dressed as different players could be seen everywhere.

There were Noel cosplayers in faux top hats, Lu cosplayers with blue wigs and contacts, and many Lv Shu cosplayers, with fabric butterflies and fabric mantises lying limp on their shoulders.

Simulated sunlight filtered through the glass, making the white tiles shimmer dazzlingly, with flowing patches of white light adorned at people’s feet, shattered by the scattering footsteps.

Earrings, cardboard prints, bracelets, Hanfu accessories, figurines, standees... scattered like jewels throughout hundreds of booths, glowing with a golden and white sheen.

This was an expo themed around the "Number One Player," which had been held thousands of times in the past four months, varying in scale from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of people. This expo, bearing the "New Year" title, attracted even more young people to participate, with the number of attendees soaring to several hundred thousand.

He Yuan was in charge of the "Number One Player" topic on the World Forum; she made a killing from this event, especially from her cut of the merchandise sales.

"Sister Yuan, this New Year event is a huge success. Casual Players really do have plenty of Points, and those snacks at the venue were so expensive yet they sold out quickly," a young woman from Dragon Country with a ponytail came over. Her name was Li Shanshan, and she was He Yuan’s assistant.

Li Shanshan was thrilled.

She considered herself lucky to have met a benefactor like He Yuan. When He Yuan feasted, she got to sip the broth too.

"Hmm, then have someone make more. Although there’s a limit on how many Leisure Points you can earn per product, as long as we make enough, we’ll have plenty of savings," He Yuan instructed.

"Alright!" Li Shanshan answered and turned around. After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke, "Sister Yuan, I’ve been meaning to ask you something... do you really like Su Ming’an?"

Li Shanshan always felt... that her initial fondness had begun to deteriorate as time progressed.

As she profited more and more under the guise of the "Number One Player"—she discovered her affection for the "Number One Player" starting to wane.

Instead, she liked his Honor and title.

—And the benefits he brought with them.

"Does my liking him matter?" He Yuan’s eyes reflected the bustling scene of the venue, "So many people like him, that’s enough.

To like or not to like?

...It didn’t matter anymore; what truly counted was what she could hold in her hands.

Li Shanshan simply "Hmm"-ed, saying no more.

The two of them quietly stood in the sunlight, their clothes fluttering with the movement of the crowd, the decorative silver bells jingling, giving a sense of peaceful years.

He Yuan looked up towards the center of the expo—there was a massive live broadcast screen.

On the screen, Su Ming’an stood before the Dawn System, with each of his movements stirring a wave of discussion among the people.

"—He’s definitely going to succeed! I see no chance of him failing," a young man exclaimed excitedly as he jumped up, the red braided bracelet on his wrist shaking—this was the best-selling accessory at the venue, costing only 0.3 Points.

The bracelets, a symbol of hope in the Ruined World and handcrafted by loved ones—were valued by players at just 0.3 Points each.

"Right, if something goes wrong, at most a few NPCs will die in the process of succeeding," another young man said.

"If Noel has authority related to time, then wouldn’t we possess the strength to fight against the organizers?" a couple discussed. The girl was still trying on a headband at a stall.

"Sigh, don’t say ’we’ anymore; we are just cannon fodder swept along with time. We can’t do anything, and you never know, maybe time has already been rewritten while you were choosing the headband..." The young man smoothed her black hair, smiling radiantly, "Okay, let’s go with this headband. You look good in anything."

He Yuan watched this scene as if he were outside the bustle.

He thought that the him on the screen might have guessed—outside the screen, there would be so many people idly selling his merchandise, hugging his pillows, drawing his portraits, gathering to watch him bleed.

Did he not care?

Or did he know that he could not control such things at all?

Because if such activities ceased, it would ruin many people’s livelihoods. Previously, some adventuring players had expressed their dislike for such events, yet to no effect.

He Yuan walked up to a huge wishing wall, a five-meter-tall structure made of wooden stairs arranged in three layers, where people could write their blessings.

On it, stick-on notes bore the attendees’ thousands of wishes written in marker:

[May Su Ming’an have smooth sailing in everything from now on!]

[Wishing the Number One Player happiness every day, and no need for medicine!]

[Number One Player, you’ve worked hard these past four months, hoping to see you continue to succeed in the coming eight months.]

[If I could meet the Number One Player, I’d love to teach you how to cook personally, hehehe, I’d love to drink the soup you make, could drink it everyday.]

[The God of Yun Shang City is here! I hold the power over sea monsters and the authority of souls, and yet you do not kneel and submit! Little Su Ming’an, laughably pathetic, behold my Dream Weaving technique!]

[Wow, that stick-on note claims to be the God of Yun Shang City? Then I’m Su Ming’an’s dog!]

[When Su Ming’an saw butterflies and mantises land on me, he thought I was Lv Shu. How should I let Su Ming’an know I am not Lv Shu now? Urgently need advice online, it’s quite urgent.]

[...]

He Yuan placed his hand on this giant wall, and it felt as though he could see through it—seeing countless expressions of people, smiling, excited, laughing...

A bright red blessing character was pasted on the convention glass, the sunlight filtering through thin red paper, warm and inviting.

Suddenly, he heard a scream erupt from the crowd, and men and women scattered in all directions.

"—What happened!"

"Aaaaaah—!!"

He Yuan looked up, seeing people dispersing in terror.

A young man stood in front of the live streaming stage, with several players who were unconscious lying next to him. The youth’s eyes were blood-red, disturbing to observe, as if brimming with hell’s magma.

"Who is that person!"

"What’s going on, did he use a bomb, weren’t there explosion-proof talismans here!"

"Poison, it’s poison! Poison! The people on the ground look the wrong color!"

Like startled birds and beasts, people scattered in all directions.

The young man with blood-red eyes, lifted his head.

"Snap!"

His fist struck the live streaming screen with a "crack," and glass shards scattered everywhere, breaking all over the ground.

"They don’t deserve to look at you like that..." the red-eyed young man stared at the shattered screen, his fingers touching the figure on the screen. His eyes burned with a fiery fanaticism.

"They don’t deserve..."

...

"—Ms. Lin Wang’an, today is the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, I wish you a Happy New Year."

In the pristine white hospital room, the lady lying on the bed had a graceful countenance and gentle demeanor, her hands folded on the snowy white sheets, her ring finger slightly glowing with light.

Upon hearing the greeting, she glanced at the black-haired man who had entered. His features were handsome, with traces of Su Changming between his brows and eyes, and facial lines similar to Su Ming’an, yet sharper than Su Ming’an’s, like a piece of sharply angled marble.

"Today I’ve brought you some eight-treasure porridge; if you don’t feel like getting out of bed, just have some porridge. You shouldn’t miss out on the pleasure of taste." Lu Changshen carried a basket.

Seeing that Lin Wang’an did not speak, Lu Changshen helped her open the lid of the pot containing the eight-treasure porridge and handed the bowl to her:

"This is the craft of a five-star chef from before on Zhai Xing, give it a try."

Lu Changshen was a member of the United Group, specifically, the United Group’s Yangtze River System officer under the Tian Yu Faction, one of the seven factions, currently responsible for handling matters related to Ms. Lin Wang’an.

As for why he always cared about a powerless Casual Player—it was solely because of Lin Wang’an’s identity.

She had a son whom the whole United Group valued.

These days, since Lin Wang’an had awakened, Lu Changshen had been visiting daily to check on her condition.

The light blue window curtains fluttered gently, the aroma of eight-treasure porridge floating in the air. Lin Wang’an still didn’t take the bowl, her expression faint, as if she were lost in her own little world.

After a while, as Lu Changshen’s hands started to ache from holding the bowl, Lin Wang’an suddenly spoke:

"—You look a lot like them both; does the United Group always send you to approach me because of that?"

Lu Changshen’s expression stiffened. He knew Lin Wang’an was referring to Su Ming’an and her husband. He was about to explain, but Lin Wang’an shook her head:

"Never mind."

"I don’t mind."

She stared at the floating live streaming screen, carefully observing Su Ming’an’s features on the screen.

The room fell silent for a moment as Lu Changshen took back the porridge.

He looked at Lin Wang’an, who possessed a transcendental aura, as if her soul had never stepped into this earthly realm and had always remained in a dust-free heaven, enjoying the air of another world.

"Mr. Lu, before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, according to custom, people should not curse or quarrel." Lin Wang’an suddenly spoke, "but yesterday, I browsed the world forum and everywhere there were scolding posts, and defaming a hero was common. Once they are stripped of reality’s veneer and lose their real names—do people enjoy treating others with the worst kind of malice?"

Lu Changshen raised an eyebrow. He knew that Lin Wang’an’s mental illness stemmed from cyberbullying. This might have touched her wounds.

"If you dislike something, just close the interface. If you can’t stand someone, just don’t watch..." Lin Wang’an’s eyes filled with sorrow: "but why... do they have to defame him like that?"

Lu Changshen paused in slight shock, the "he" Lin Wang’an referred to was probably Su Ming’an. She must have seen the negative comments related to Su Ming’an—there were too many such comments online, with people calling him hypocritical, childish, selfish, and self-righteous, eager to describe him in the worst possible terms.

Lu Changshen thought for a moment, then said, "I’ve heard a hypothesis: humans can see the world clearly with their eyes, and hear its sounds clearly with their ears. Because their senses aren’t directly linked to the brain, they can’t hear the criticism in others’ hearts. But the emergence of forums is like an ’extension of the senses,’ with this added ’sense,’ they can finally understand others without obstruction, so they speak without restraint."

Lin Wang’an was silent for a while.

"But those words could hurt him." Lin Wang’an said.

Seeing this, Lu Changshen couldn’t help but sneer inwardly—wasn’t it you who once hurt him most? And now you presume to care about him? What were you doing earlier?

What a good child, so understanding and obedient, doing household chores from the age of four. Yet, you had to fall ill and hit him with a violin board, you had to drive him out into the streets to freeze in the middle of the night. And now you start to cherish him—what’s the use?

When a heart is punctured and peppered with holes, can it heal itself if you apologize to it?

Impossible.

Not to mention someone like Su Ming’an. According to psychological profiles from various experts, Su Ming’an is not the type to bury the hatchet with a smile or forgive and forget. The people who have hurt him, he would remember for a lifetime.

Lu Changshen had a thousand words to scold the woman in front of him, but seeing her, fragile as porcelain, Lu Changshen could only remain silent.

A moment later, Lin Wang’an sighed softly.

"Thank you for wishing me a happy new year, Mr. Lu," said Lin Wang’an. "Please visit me less in the future."

"Ms. Lin..."

"I’m tired." Lin Wang’an closed her eyes, her demeanor still graceful. Her rejection was always gentle and smooth, her tone as light as a feather.

Lu Changshen could only pick up his basket and silently withdraw.

As he left, he couldn’t help but look back, towards Lin Wang’an on the bed—

She was still staring at the live stream screen, highly focused, with her ring finger flashing a faint silver light.

"This world..."

Lu Changshen sighed and closed the door.

...

[Caius Tower]

Su Ming’an shivered.

It was as if a pair of eyes was watching his every move.

But as he looked around, nothing was amiss. He cautiously approached the Dawn System, ready to forcefully connect if there was no news from Noah.

Suddenly, the ice-white ground beneath him began to tremble.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The lights around him suddenly dimmed, as if someone had snapped off the power switch, plunging his vision into darkness.

—It must be Noah making his move.

Su Ming’an immediately moved forward, his finger nearing that blood-red heart—

...

[Initiating control of the Dawn System, please maintain close contact.]

[Current progress: 1%, 2%, 3%...]

...

The numbers leaped out, AI Yeah was infiltrating. Su Ming’an stayed alert, but suddenly felt a tightness around his neck.

"!"

The next moment, it felt as if something had gripped his neck, involuntarily making him tilt his head back; the air in his throat was suddenly and violently cut off—