nycdaug Chapter 1693 - 36: Flying Above the Clouds
Chapter 1693 - 36: Flying Above the Clouds
Walking through the door, Su Ming’an found that only fifteen people remained."Hundreds of thousands of people have been divided into groups," Lu said. "From now on, it’s squads... and later we might fight on our own."
Su Ming’an looked around—Chen Yuhang, Mo Yan, Si Nian, Xiao Xiao, Wang Zhenzhen, Talia, Hang Xin, Lu, Perlo, Evelyn, Najasha, Alger, Lin Chunchun, Violet.
Most of them were acquaintances, perhaps grouped by proximity?
The fifteen people had different expressions. Being in the same group as Su Ming’an provided a sense of security, but in a certain sense, it was also the most dangerous.
"Great, we’re together," Lu said with relief.
"Su the God! Thank goodness," Chen Yuhang breathed a sigh of relief.
The next problem followed—
...
[Color’s Question·Fifth Question]
[Question: In the 482910th reincarnation, Su Ming’an used the "Devour" authority to devour everything that threatened his homeland, gradually evolving into the Cosmic Dominator. However, when he looked back, he could no longer find his homeland. Who, in the end, ended his life?]
[A·White Gate: Time]
[B·Stone Gate: Cosmic Organ]
[C·Gray Gate: Noel Agnini]
[D·Mirror Gate: Su Ming’an]
[E·Dust Gate: Su Mianbao]
[F·Ice Gate: Bei Wang]
[Please walk towards the door representing your answer.]
...
——Silence.
The entire place fell into silence.
People couldn’t help but look at Su Ming’an, pairs of eyes looking at him, carrying confusion, surprise, fear, and delight...
The barrage was also surging:
[So there’s really such a thing as cosmic reincarnation!!!??]
[No, how many times have I sprayed with you guys?]
[Brother Ming’an is really strong, not only devouring enemies but also his homeland.]
[Devour me! I want to be devoured by Su Ming’an!]
[So theoretically there’s a possibility for the Number One Player to become the big BOSS...]
[Blind guess Su Mianbao, daughter kills father, very reasonable.]
[Su Ming’an, the outside is conveying information to you, Wang Xingkong is outside the door...!]
...
Su Ming’an’s eyes moved slightly.
He noticed the last barrage, perhaps the world’s game blocking rules hadn’t completely disappeared, and similar barrages were soon drowned. Occasionally, a few would surface, using various codes to convey external conditions to him.
...Wang Xingkong is actually standing outside the abyss door?
He hadn’t received any contact from Wang Xingkong, probably because the outside hadn’t yet found a precise method of communication, hoping everything goes smoothly.
If he were to answer, he would choose D. After the homeland disappeared, he would frantically enhance himself until his rationality disappeared. But the question is, was the "Death Rebound" still on his body then? If it was, he couldn’t kill himself; only something of equal positional rank with the "Death Rebound" could, so the answer might be B. If the universe came to an end and he reset along with time, then A could also be possible.
No answer.
"..."
It was incredibly quiet before the door, and everyone’s eyes were focused on him.
Su Ming’an thought that if he had to guess the answer, he wondered how many of the tens of thousands of "fifteen-person breakout teams" would get it right.
While he pondered, Lu swiftly walked through the A door, so fast that others didn’t have time to react.
Landed, stood firm.
Lu calmly looked up, waiting for something.
Then, the door bloomed with light, falling on him.
Nothing happened, and the group hurried through.
"How did you know the answer?" Su Ming’an asked.
"Guessed," Lu smiled, "Thankfully, I guessed right."
"Aren’t you afraid of dying?"
"Scared. But I felt, if I didn’t go at that moment, you would have guessed yourself. Rather than letting you take the risk, I’d rather do it," Lu said, pausing for a moment before continuing, "There’s something I need to clarify... are you deliberately avoiding the sacrifice of others?"
Su Ming’an hadn’t expected Lu to see through this.
Understanding flashed in Lu’s eyes, and he shook his head disapprovingly.
"The further you go, the more you can’t be concerned with that," Lu said frankly. "What if you guessed wrong this time? I don’t doubt your ability to clear the game, but you’re likely to get injured, affecting the actions later. If you’re injured, there might be even more people you can’t save later. I’ve always thought of you as an extremely rational and extremely sentimental person, but... maybe you’re tired, and it’s related to the burden on your soul, you’re at your limit."
"What you should think about is how many people you can save if you survive, not how many people you have sacrificed now. I also understand you’re tired of the sacrifice, but this most distant path you must walk, cannot be without sacrifice."
"If you encounter a situation later where someone must die, I hope your heart won’t be too burdened, remember them, and carry their souls... If you can’t, it’s not your fault."
"We all came to the battlefield with full awareness, not wanting to be your burden."
"Only if you live well can you save us."
Su Ming’an fell silent.
"You might be thinking of using some special method... avoiding this path, not activating the ’Source Point’ from the start, to avoid our sacrifices, but I believe the person behind it has already guessed your thoughts. They deliberately set this checkpoint on the farthest path, with the involvement of the Seventh Throne and even the Lord of Dreams... wanting you to ultimately play this game alone with them," Lu said. "Our sacrifices here, none of them count as a loss. But if you abandon this path to avoid our sacrifices... that’s the real loss."
"This path," Su Ming’an said.
Lu paused for a moment, then smiled: "Yeah, [Lu hopes you don’t abandon Lu to save Lu]."
Lu had known about this fascinating Dragon Country pun for ages, and in such a serious setting, both of them couldn’t help but smile.
With the laughter, some of the heaviness in their hearts dissipated too.
Su Ming’an pursed his lips: "I will hold on to the end."
"Hmm, if you come to detest it, then win till the end and then thoroughly detest yourself," Lu said. "If you really want atonement, then at the end, die for peace of mind."
This is how the top-ranked players comfort each other.
Incredibly hardcore, with no evasion, no beating around the bush, perfectly aligned with Su Ming’an’s mindset.
...
Luowasha, normal world line.
"Welcome—ladies and gentlemen, to our world stage! I am your host—Red Nose Yamada!"
On the ocher eaves of the ancient bell tower, a teenager dressed in a clown costume juggles plush balls, wearing a comical red round nose and colorful curly hair.
"Our protagonist Mr. Alauddin has encountered a beautiful noblewoman. What will he do? Let’s wait and see!" Yamada Machiichi shouted exaggeratedly and boisterously.
Within the Black Water Dream, bizarre shapes stand tall.
A white-robed mage with purple gemstone-like eyes embedded in his forehead sits quietly in the corner.
"White Robe." A colorful hexagonal solid floats in front of him, "Aren’t you coming? It’s time again for the Lord of Dreams to have us record Luowasha’s time."
The White Robe plays cards by himself, without responding.
The hexagonal solid says, "The Lord of Dreams has been extremely concerned with this civilization lately. However, it seems our anchor point has some issues, falling upon a clown instead of targeting our Cosmic Savior Su Ming’an."
Hearing this name, the White Robe has a slight reaction.
He hails from a civilization of card battles, where everything from the king’s election to bargaining at the market is decided by card games. He who has the stronger deck wins it all.
Once, Su Ming’an possessed "Su Qitong" and summoned the Four Divine Dragons of Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire, winning the position of world dominator and even defeating the gods who intended to overturn the world... Even the cards that White Robe uses were modified by Su Ming’an. Unfortunately, after pacifying the gods, Su Ming’an left behind a legendary card deck and disappeared.
Now White Robe realizes that the "Little Fortune Star" Hui Zi that Lü God introduced him to was actually Su Ming’an in disguise! And White Robe, unaware, even taught Su Ming’an how to use the cards! Isn’t this absurd? How can a disciple teach the ancestor how to use cards?
"People like Bai Chun are indeed annoying; she takes all kinds of heavenly pride as targets for strategy, but we haven’t done anything outrageous, we were just playing games." A plainly dressed girl shakes her head, "I was merely in a representative democracy civilization making some eggs, arguing with village grannies, trying to pick up a handsome fallen general... Is that wrong too?"
The urban woman with bull horns calmly says, "We should be equal with everyone. After all, we ourselves can’t figure out why there is reincarnation, why some futures are predestined."
"We don’t know, but the Lord of Dreams probably does..." says the White Robe, "At most, we can only be considered ’workers’ in the Black Water Dream, our stance no different from the organizers in the world game. Su Ming’an aims at the Lord of Dreams."
The few people fall silent for a moment, a lump of moon-white jelly suddenly says stickily, "Then won’t our master just tell him?"
It is immediately smacked down by a mechanical arm, flattening into a slime.
"There must be a reason it can’t be said! Fool!"
"Come to think of it, if it can’t be said. Could it be that the Lord of Dreams has an unbeatable enemy too?"
"Impossible, He is the most powerful life form in my eyes."
"I also find it impossible, the nesting dolls can’t go on forever, it’s probably something like rules."
"But those life forms from the ’Shore Guard Faction’ probably won’t let it go..."
From the perspective of the Dream Patrol Family, it’s like being immersed in an alternate sensory experience, like playing a game called "Ring of Rosasha." When the game camera is forcibly shifted, they can’t know what happens in other times and spaces.
In observation, time isn’t linear, so they can’t tell if the world game has truly ended, if Su Ming’an and others have truly left.
They can only see Yamada Machiichi.
Only see...the clown with a smile on his face.
...
With Bei Wang’s ability to turn the world into a stage curtain and the energy of countless players supporting him, Alauddin writes diligently.
Until he writes the final Chapter—Dara and Yelena’s younger sister reunite, and the three open a curry shop, living a peaceful life and stepping into mundane routines.
The communicator transmits Yamada Machiichi’s voice:
"Alauddin... thank you."
Alauddin puts down his pen.
He looks at the photos of Samira and Aliya on the wall, tears dropping down.
The slum is dead silent.
No more cheers, no more petals, no more cries of "Dara is here."
Widow Old Banu stirs the curry, the mute girl Aisha remains silent, the mango pit on the slingshot rolls to the ground, and Shiva’s spirit monkey babbles to itself.
Alauddin gets up, walks to the wall, and hums a song to the photos of Samira and Aliya—a theme song he made for Dara when Aliya was young, with childish lyrics and a simple tune:
"Dara flies and flies, flies over the mountain of trash."
"Dara flies and flies, kicks over the bad guy’s bowl."
"Dara flies and flies, brings smiles to all."
"Dara flies and flies..."
He hums to here and stops.
Because the last line is: "...flies above the clouds."
But Dara didn’t fly above the clouds.
Dara landed in the curry shop, wearing an apron, living a peaceful life.
Alauddin closes his eyes, changes the lyrics:
"Dara flies and flies..."
"Flies very low...flies very dirty...flies covered in mud..."
He stands up, piles all the polluted manuscripts together, strikes a match.
The firelight illuminates his tear-stained face, illuminating the eternally young smiles of Samira and Aliya on the wall.
As the manuscripts burn, he seems to hear Aliya ask, "Dad, did Dara win in the end?"
Dara lost.
Lost miserably, vulgarly.
But...
The flames rise high, licking those dirty pieces of paper.
In the crackling of the burn, Alauddin deeply feels his own helplessness. It turns out ideals can be dirtied by reality.
As the last page of the manuscript burns, "Dara’s Sky," along with its once free wings and last remnants, turns to ashes.
As the ashes rise, Alauddin seems to see—in some high place, the sky is blue.
Will more Samiras and Aliyas be saved because of this? Will more Daras head towards tomorrow because of this?
...
Bei Wang’s eyes are closed tightly; he is stabilizing the big picture.
This scene, most importantly, relies on his control.
Using Alauddin’s "Dara’s Sky" as a story base, combined with the scene instructions captured by Laine, Bei Wang’s power of "Peace" transforms into an all-pervasive dream information network, silently spreading.
To be frank, they actually know almost nothing about deities, high dimensions, it’s all about doing their best and letting fate decide.
Fortunately, humans aren’t useless; upon learning Lu’s proposed method, Yamada Machiichi immediately sought help from the emperors, gaining substantial assistance from Xi Ting, Xi Ge, and others, and even connected with the former Second-level God of Divine Intelligence...which is the Dawn System.
Besides, top-ranked player Qin Chunyao’s special identity as a "Listener" had a significant effect, with a "World Channel" that lasted half a day appearing in Luowasha, allowing any player on the normal timeline to speak.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, suggestions were made one after another, plans finalized, gathering the wisdom of all players—Yamada Machiichi donned the clown suit, arriving at the Creator Conference; Laine hidden underground managed the network with the Dawn System’s help; Qin Ze took charge of central control and feedback... thus leading to the scene before us.
Perhaps, without Su Ming’an’s guidance, the overall plan of all players seems rough, even extremely unconventional, but this is the wisdom demonstrated by the Fourth Catastrophe in a desperate situation.