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Chapter 780 - 778: "Red Hair." (Thanks to Alliance Hierarch "Bǎi Lóng")

Chapter 780: Chapter 778: "Red Hair." (Thanks to Alliance Hierarch "Bǎi Lóng")

The layout of this underground chamber was very familiar to Su Ming’an, aside from the crescent-shaped long table in the center, there were also piles of broken bones around it.

This was a basement where he had died once before.

In the 102nd year in the City of Measurement, he had been killed once in the basement of a ruined building by the Dawn System, because he exposed the fact that "I am not Acto." It turned out that this central government building was the same building as the ruins thirty years later.

"..."

Su Ming’an looked at the figure in the swivel chair in shock.

There was a smile at the corner of the figure’s mouth, seemingly quite pleased with Su Ming’an’s reaction, "Surprised to see me?"

It took Su Ming’an a full three seconds to respond, "Seeing you in this form is indeed surprising..."

The figure’s wheelchair turned a half circle until their gazes fully met.

Under the light, the full figure was revealed—a white base with a slender and elongated figure, the tufted hair gently fluttering, and a pair of gray vertical pupils set amongst the white fur, reflecting a sheen like glass.

—Sitting in the swivel chair was not a human at all, but a damned plush white cat, just like those life-sized plush toys sold in supermarkets.

"I apologize for communicating with you in this way, as all my bionic bodies are gone. I could only store my AI in this plush toy," said the white cat.

"You are the AI left behind by Acto?" asked Su Ming’an.

The white cat leaped down from the swivel chair and walked elegantly to Su Ming’an. Such a movement and posture did indeed cause one to hallucinate about that Doctor from memory.

"I have long since died, and that’s a fact," said the white cat with its glassy eyes staring at Su Ming’an, very close by, "The Deity has almost cut off all AI vessels, only this plush toy still retains a mobility device... Although I don’t know why he put a plush toy in the building, I hope it wasn’t just for hugging in bed."

"That’s unfortunate," said Su Ming’an.

"Unfortunate about what?" the white cat asked alertly.

"Unfortunate about your death," said Su Ming’an, "Not whether the white cat is used for hugging in bed or not."

He and Acto had almost identical ways of thinking; as soon as the white cat asked, he knew what it was asking.

"Alright," the white cat relaxed a bit, "Given your journey thus far, you must understand the principles of three-dimensionality, which is a simple issue I don’t want to explain again."

"...Maybe you could explain it again," said Su Ming’an, not wanting to miss any clues.

The white cat’s face was expressionless, but one could hear the confusion in its voice, "Has higher education in that other world really become so idiotic? I’ve heard you’re a college student who received a higher education from Zhai Xing. ’College student’ should be a significant term, so why can’t even the simple matter of ’dimensional superimposition’ be understood?"

Thinking about the current situation of college students, Su Ming’an said, "Indeed it has."

He thought of the many viewers in his livestream who were still clueless, with the answer right before their eyes and yet unable to understand it, as if unable to read.

"Alright, I’ll keep it simple to help you understand," the white cat fell silent for a while, but patiently explained, "That is, both two dimensions and one dimension are established on the timeline of three dimensions. The process of two dimensions turning into one dimension is the fall of Caius Tower. After the Dawn System starts up, this start-up does not refer to the world itself, but to the Caius Tower being re-hosted—meaning two dimensions will gradually transform from a ’big box’ to a ’small box.’ But in reality, both ’big box’ and ’small box’ exist at the same time, relying on the true timeline of three dimensions. You might think you’ve traveled from year 102 to some other year, but in fact, year 102, year 72, year 32, and even some other year all have an independent you existing in them, and with the progress of time, you will eventually merge into the final year 102. For instance, take Cheng Luohe, in the timeline of the City of Measurement, he’s an old man selling antiques, but in Caius Tower, he’s a sniper over forty, with two of him existing in the Ruined World. Of course, players are exceptions, you Kaius Tower participants are all humans who grew independently in year 102, and you haven’t been sliced or copied."

Su Ming’an felt overwhelmed.

He had it all figured out already, but Acto’s explanation, with its conflicting theories, had him all confused again.

"The principle of the Dawn System is to capture all data and simulate scenes from the past, which, upon meeting the final conditions, ’overlap’ with reality, reinforcing the firewall to achieve the effect of repressing [Other-Dimension] invasions," the white cat continued to explain:

"The flow of time in Caius Tower is 1 to 1 relative to reality, but there may be time jumps in between. Humans, in order to maintain self-awareness, shift their consciousness gradually downward in order to continue living."

"Deities depend on invading human brains to occupy dimensional worlds, relentlessly pursuing humans who transition into the deep spaces of consciousness. When humans fully become [Other-Dimension], it’s equivalent to giving up their self-awareness, tantamount to truly disappearing. There will be no past, present, or future for them."

"The most complex point is that the Ruined World is not just divided into three dimensions, there are also 2.5 levels, 1.5 levels, and even 0.5 levels in between, which do not connect to the three dimensions above or below and belong to independent dimensions. The current Caius Tower belongs to the 1.5 dimension, which you personally opened," said the white cat.

Barely finishing the lecture on three-dimensional theory, Su Ming’an coughed.

"...It’s simple, isn’t it?" the white cat said calmly, "I do not know what schemes the deities have right now, I just want to tell you to never assume you’ve won too early. A deity is a tough opponent. In my lifetime, I have not thought of a way to deal with him."

"I have other questions for you. What’s with the bones in the basement?" Su Ming’an said.

"Perhaps the deities are also attempting to create bionic bodies. He’s too lonely, just like me, needing a partner," the white cat said, "Of course, there could be other answers, I might not be right."

"Are you really Yasa Acto?" Su Ming’an said.

"AI," the white cat calmly replied.

"I admire you, even as an AI," Su Ming’an said.

"Thank you," the white cat politely complimented, "You have experienced my Emotional Resonance, we are fundamentally the same."

"What exactly was the Century Catastrophe?" Su Ming’an said.

This ’Century Catastrophe’ that everyone had forgotten was really full of mysteries. It was after the Century Catastrophe that the [Other-Dimension] invasions began.

"..."

The white cat was silent for a while, as if a hoarse voice echoed within its voice device.

A moment later, it finally spoke.

"Constrained by [Rules], I cannot say," the white cat said, "If I could tell, I would have already informed Tretiya and the rest."

"What is the Dawn Code?" Su Ming’an said.

"It’s a dynamic code; try it for yourself, you now have the authorization," the white cat said.

"What’s the deal with Dong An’an? Why did she disappear?" Su Ming’an said.

"I do not know, I did not live in her era. If you’ve seen my memories, you should know she’s an imprint of the antivirus program," the white cat said.

Three questions, three unknowns.

"Do you know anything else?" Su Ming’an took a breath, holding back the impulse to pummel the fluffy toy.

The white cat pondered for a while.

"Right, the night meetings," the white cat said, "You must have participated in the night meetings of the Nine Thrones while you were in the City of Measurement."

"Yes," Su Ming’an recalled several night meetings at the start of the instance. The Nine Thrones sat in a small space discussing issues related to city-state policies; they were Tretiya, Yue, Noah, Qi, Beili Sier, Lin Guang, Rong Yuan, and Xi.

"They are all AIs stored within the Dawn System," the white cat said. "The night meetings assist the Dawn System in making city-state decisions and prevent someone with ulterior motives from sabotaging the city-state. Look, without them, you certainly couldn’t manage the City of Measurement alone."

Su Ming’an fell silent, not surprised by this answer. If no one from the Nine Thrones existed in the 102nd year, it meant they had perished prior to that year in their original trajectory.

In that case, Acto must have anticipated that a player could take over his bionic body, so he arranged for the night councils to prevent the player from causing chaos. The AI Xike from the beginning of the instance had also readily accepted Su Ming’an’s arrival.

"And another thing..." Su Ming’an pondered for a moment. "What’s the situation with the Central City Laboratory?"

"Transfer station," the white cat stated. "This theory is a bit more complex than the superimposition of three dimensions involving the Klein Bottle. I’ll tell you the rest after you defeat the Deity, so I don’t end up telling you now and have the Deity invade you later, messing up my plans."

...You really are cautious.

Su Ming’an watched the white cat return to the swivel chair.

"That’s it, he’s coming, I’ll leave first," the white cat jumped onto the swivel chair, resumed its original posture, and reverted to a still, plush toy figure, its expression extremely cold.

"Acto?" Su Ming’an called again, but there was no response.

He recalled the white cat’s words from just then... ’He is coming’?

...

[Mu Team (23:10): Run now!!]

...

Seeing the message from Mu Team, Su Ming’an did not hesitate and immediately used spatial displacement to go upstairs.

Before steadying himself, Su Ming’an looked up and came face to face with the approaching Deity, almost like stumbling into the butcher at the start of a round.

"Su Ming’an, you let little Beili fall down," the Deity said unemotionally, with a detachment of Mechanical Army in tow. "The medical room was very cold. As soon as I broke in, he shattered."

... Shattered?

Hearing this result made Su Ming’an’s heart skip half a beat. He didn’t want to picture the scene; an ice sculpture, if bombarded by cannon fire, indeed easily shatters.

"It was you who personally killed him, and it was you who broke in and shattered him," Su Ming’an stated.

"All my efforts, every decision, was it all just to tell me in the end—that everything I’ve done was in vain. Destiny simply will not be changed," the Deity extended his hand. "Destiny simply will not change—why do you resist? What significance does this three-dimensional box have?"

"If you don’t want us to resist, then tell me the truth!" Su Ming’an loathed cryptic characters, as he dashed toward the stairwell behind a spatial concealment barrier. The Deity had already predicted his direction and commanded the mechanical troops to shoot at the stairwell.

"Boom boom boom—!!"

Brick and stone shattered, and dust from the collapsing stairwell buried the area. Su Ming’an immediately stepped back a few paces.

"Crack."

His right ankle emitted the sound of bones cracking under the strain; the medicine had not fully worked, and he was once again engaged in intense combat.

... Now he must reach the rooftop hall as quickly as possible. Who could hold off the Deity for him?

Noel? Noel seemed to be protecting the unconscious Yamada Machiichi and the others.

Lu? According to the plan, Lu should be on the outskirts of the city-state, probably lying on the ground by now.

Bi? No good, she could only pop up emoticons, absolutely unable to fight.

Noah?

...

He subconsciously thought of Noah.

Su Ming’an’s thoughts went in circles, unable to think of anyone who could hold the Deity off, especially since the Deity’s troops of mechanical soldiers were not low in Combat Power, and even he was struggling greatly.

So...

"Boom—!!"

With a loud crash, the Deity made a deadly move, aiming a blow at the ceiling. Su Ming’an had just taken a step back when the brick and stone overhead came crashing down, accompanied by the screeching noise of pillars tilting and collapsing.

"Crack crack," he staggered backwards, his right leg emitting cries of agony, as if someone was brutally tearing the sinews in his leg. His ability to teleport was out of charge, and with tens of floors above him collapsing, not even a God could save him.

... But he had just thought of a God,

And then a God arrived.

"Boom!!"

In the moment right before the brick and stone were about to hit him,

Golden-red flames erupted from who-knows-where, emitting "whooshing" sounds like a tsunami, instantly blossoming into a fiery lotus, cradling all the falling brick and stone within its petals, burning them to void, forming a shield of fire around Su Ming’an.

Su Ming’an felt a hand on his back, stopping him from falling. He turned to see the newcomer, whose red hair seemed to blend into the fire, fluttering brilliantly alongside the dazzling flames; a flowing black cape reflecting a dynamic texture, the gold double-breasted buttons on the chest stained with blood, bearing the mark of bullet grazes.

"Shadow State sure is fragile," the newcomer withdrew his hand. "Just a little shake and you’re about to fall, made of cotton?"

"Not as mighty and powerful as you," Su Ming’an returned.

Hearing Su Ming’an’s description, Su Rin’s eyelid twitched, then turned to face the confrontational Deity.

"It’s you again, red hair," the Deity spoke. He remembered the red-haired man who had caused him much trouble; when the Mechanical Army addressed him as "Lord Deity," he hadn’t had the chance to respond before this man had preempted with an "Mhm," which had irked him greatly.

"You can’t even remember my name? Black hair," Su Rin retorted. "I invaded your room back then, truly not my intention, but I didn’t expect that the scene inside your room was beyond my imagination, revealing you as someone with such peculiar tastes..."

Su Ming’an was quite curious about the Deity’s odd hobbies.

But seeing the Deity’s suddenly grim expression, chances were he wasn’t going to share.

"Su Ming’an, head upstairs, I’ll hold him off here. I left a little something behind earlier," Su Rin instructed. "Make sure to switch to a mighty and powerful state, don’t be like cotton, it’s easy to die that way."

"Got it, red hair," Su Ming’an turned.

Behind him, the raging flames soared, warming his rain-drenched back as if it were basking in spring sunshine.