Beta Universe, 2014, Summer.

"Bang——!"

The piercing gunshot echoed in his ears, startling the young man who had fainted from heatstroke awake.

At this moment, he found himself in a purely white space.

However, this was not a hospital.

Instinctively, he raised his index finger to touch his temple. The memory of the bullet passing through his skull was vivid, causing a cold sweat to run down his back involuntarily.

He really did not want to experience that a second time.

But thinking about how his clone far away in the Alpha Universe might have died time and again, he felt comforted.

No matter how many times the Beta in the parallel universes died, it was all events happening in multiple parallel universes.

The most he standing here would have to die just once more...

And at this very moment, a semi-transparent floating window appeared in front of him.

Lines of text gradually surfaced on the screen.

[This system is committed to elevating the civilization level of indigenous people. Regarding the secrets of this system, the holder is to explore on their own...]

The familiar feeling returned.

Looking at the nostalgic text, a faint smile lifted the corner of his mouth, and his clear eyes carried a calmness and steadiness beyond his age.

As if he wasn't 20 years old.

But 200...

"We meet again, Observer."

The text on the screen stopped, like a disrupted performance, unable to continue.

The existence hiding behind the screen obviously did not expect to hear its name here.

Even more unexpectedly, it encountered an acquaintance here.

"...It's you? But, how is that possible... it should be 2014 now... wait——"

For just a moment, it was caught in surprise and panic, though it was only for a moment.

In the void, there is no concept of time.

Its projection can appear in any universe, even ones it had once abandoned.

And just in that moment, it had already been through traversal across multiple universes, recollecting the information which it once deemed of no observational value.

And at that instant, it was utterly shocked.

Multiple universes had developed unprecedented branches.

Some of them remained the same, where the young man in front of it, as it expected, received the "system" it had given and made different choices in the journey of becoming a Breaker.

While some other universes were invaded by a fission consciousness entity from a certain universe, spawning the originally impossible "Shelter 404-Beta" on the timeline and replacing its interference!

Seeing such shock coming through the screen, the man chuckled lightly.

"You seem quite surprised?"

After a long wait, the Observer expressed sincere admiration.

"Incredible... you've managed to carve out a future I've never seen. I must admit, even among the vast samples I've witnessed, the miracle you've created is rare and extraordinary."

After admiring sincerely, it continued without delay.

"Though I don't mean to sound cynical, for you in the Beta Universe, what you're about to do may be utterly meaningless... According to your plan, the Alpha Universe will repeat the experiment countless times, failing over and over, and ultimately only one Beta Universe will match!"

"In other words, your success probability is just one in infinity! Everything you do in this universe is highly likely just paving the way for a failure in the Alpha Universe! Or just participating in a failed experiment!"

"Spending tens of years to do something that is most likely meaningless... don't you find such a fate overwhelmingly hopeless?"

Come back.

Return to the normal timeline.

Though the Observer never explicitly said it, the man standing here indeed heard the persuasion behind those words.

Indeed.

There's still time to turn back now.

Standing here, he is not a Professor, but a Beta designated as a fission entity, set as a rebirth carrying 200 years of future memory and experience, returning to the time of just acquiring the system.

All he needs to do is leave behind the responsibilities of that original world, get back on the path the Observer arranged, learn the lessons and act accordingly, complete the task when it should be done, and disappear when it should be disappeared...

Though the already withered world can't be saved, at least in this universe, the human civilization can avoid entering a Wasteland Era, and he can ultimately become a Breaker.

It wouldn't be a bad ending.

Except this means the 404 project would be void.

Therefore, it's a choice he would never make.

And he firmly believes that among the infinite Beta universes, the self who directed the gun at his own head, stood here at the cost of death, would definitely make the same choice.

That bullet ended not just the Professor's life; it simultaneously concluded countless possible branches!

The Observer's reaction reconfirmed his guess——

This guy traversed all universes, yet still couldn't find a future where the him standing here wavered or even made a compromise decision.

So it was in a hurry.

"...Not doing it is meaningless, not doing it means it will definitely not succeed."

"But what about the people of this world? Have you thought about the consequences your interference might cause?"

"Do you have the nerve to say that to me? Have you thought about this issue yourself? Isn't the Wasteland Era precisely the result of your interference failing?"

The Professor chuckled lightly, and that pointed retort momentarily rendered the Observer speechless.

He did not pause but continued speaking word by word.

"Every universe I interfere in is a universe you chose me as the Breaker and intervened. My interference merely replaces yours. If I fail, I will naturally erase the interference I imposed from this universe, just as if neither you nor I had ever come."

"At that time, their fate will be in their own hands, and they won't need or require an outsider to be responsible for them. I think this might not be a bad outcome for the people of this world."

The Observer was still unwilling to give up, still trying one last attempt.

"Even if it means that there's an infinite probability your efforts in this universe will be in vain?"

Watching the Observer who was trying so hard to persuade him, the man smiled faintly.

He knew.

The Observer wasn't really concerned about him or humanity, just like he wouldn't care about bacteria on a leaf, and even less about whether the latter's efforts would be in vain.

What this guy was really concerned about was the Breaker of the stitched universe.

It was worrying that he would ruin its plan.

Such a thing could indeed happen; it could even be said to be inevitable.

Once he replaced its interference, it would completely lose control of the situation. Even if it could find other consciousness entities to exert influence, that would be something that happens in other universes or long after he's dead.

The Observer's interference has boundaries; unless there are special circumstances, it's almost impossible for it to establish contact with two independent consciousness entities within the same universe.

Each of its interventions corresponds to a new universe, and this was determined the moment the Original Universe exploded.

It is precisely for this reason that it was persistently trying to dissuade him, attempting to change his mind.

However—

What does that have to do with him?

Compared to the heat death billions of years away, what he cared more about was the world he had once lived in, where the continuation of everyone he knew lived. If they could not continue, his existence would be meaningless.

He was not like those guys floating in the void; living in that world, he was a living, breathing person, not some ethereal projection!

He wouldn't screw everything up and then walk away after saying, "It's all your fault for not executing it well!"

"Since you've already seen the shot I fired, you should have guessed how I would answer you, so how could you ask such a stupid question?"

"Before coming here, I was already prepared to die."

"This Game will start with my death, and my end will become a new beginning—"

"Give up. I won't turn back, and there's absolutely no retreat for me!"

The pure white space began to collapse, the boundless boundary gradually transforming into the walls of the ward.

All the noise also fell silent at this moment.

It left.

Probably won't come back again.

But you never know, its capriciousness wasn't just a one-time occurrence.

He thought it didn't need to be so desperate, since it's an unseen ending, the future is still worth looking forward to.

Besides, perhaps his Shelter 404 plan might give it some inspiration to save other universes.

The man sat up from the hospital bed with the curtain around it, nonchalantly pulled out the needle for the IV from the back of his hand, and, under the strange gaze of the Nurse by the bed, got dressed and left the ward.

The acquaintance who came to meet him saw he was in good health, and was pleasantly surprised, about to greet him, but ended up staring into a pair of unfamiliar eyes, momentarily stunned in place.

He still remembered that unfamiliar face, but after two hundred years, he could no longer match the face with the name in his memory, so he just nodded politely and brushed past.

It's now the year 2014.

Only 7 years until 2021.

In these 7 years, he must complete the preparation of Shelter 404-Beta and all the preparations for the Game opening in this old world that hasn't entered the Prosperity Epoch yet.

There are heaps of things to do.

No time to waste...

...

...

Alpha Universe.

Shelter No. 404, B5 floor, the Manager's Office, the screen's scene froze at the final gunshot.

"Bang—!"

Hearing that deafening sound, Chu Guang at the room's door was suddenly awakened and quickly walked to the side of the chair.

A rusty revolver lay on the chair, with a casing beside it.

As for the remaining bloodstains, they had long since turned to dust.

The AI in this Shelter recycled the Professor's body and completed its own format afterward.

And now its number is 777...

Chu Guang stared blankly at the handgun, finally putting the last piece of the puzzle in place.

He understood everything.

About the 404 Project and everything concerning this shelter.

About his own origins.

And the origins of the players.

Not only that.

Details that were once set aside in the corners of his memory due to a lack of clues also slowly became clear with the completion of this final puzzle piece.

Including where the original residents of this shelter went, and how the helmets ended up in the hands of the players.

Just as he suspected, he himself was the First Generation Manager, living anew 777 times over the course of 200 years!

Sometimes after intervals of ten or eight years.

Sometimes resurrecting dozens or hundreds of times in a single year!

And the original Game rules were precisely the ones he continuously refined and summarized through one cycle after another...

His Adam's apple moved slightly, and Chu Guang looked up at the screen in front of him.

"Do you really have to die?"

As if predicting he would ask this, the Professor standing on the screen faintly smiled and spoke with a gentle voice.

"Even if I don't die, I wouldn't have lived until today unless I froze myself into an ice popsicle... But that wouldn't really have any meaning, would it? I don't have many old friends left, the youngest student is mostly gone, and the digital life form I'm most reluctant to let go... I'm destined not to be able to accompany it forever."

"Rather than have it wait for inevitable pain, it would be better for me to arrange a relatively decent ending while I'm still clear-headed. So there's no need to feel regret or sadness for me; for myself, this might be the best arrangement."

"As for my death, that's also a part of the plan. If I don't send the memory of pulling the trigger together to the Beta Universe, the 'fission reaction' I described won't occur. Even if the Observer doesn't intervene, and another me isn't confused by a voice from the void, the other me wouldn't execute my plan—not a single time."

"Why? I've never heard of Morphogenesis Field connections using death as a medium—"

Chu Guang instinctively questioned, but barely halfway through, the answer suddenly flashed in his mind.

Indeed.

Death is not the premise for the Morphogenesis Field, but it is the premise for the 404 Project.

If asked why, the reason is also obvious—

Seeing Chu Guang's face slowly show an expression of sudden realization, the Professor on the screen smiled faintly, and continued with a matter-of-fact tone.

"It seems you've realized, some things can only happen once or countless times; can you really expect others to do what you can't even do yourself? You repeat countless experiments, while the Beta Fission Body faces an infinitely small probability. If he executes the plan, he will face infinitely many bad endings. If he doesn't, the infinitesimal molecule wouldn't exist, and the current you certainly wouldn't be standing here."

"It's quite magical, isn't it? That's the Morphogenesis Field. Resonance isn't spoken; it's embodied in actions and must be done simultaneously, the same thing. If I don't pull the trigger, the other me would either not receive the message I sent, or even if he did, he definitely wouldn't 'pull the trigger.'

Chu Guang slowly nodded.

Thinking carefully, a similar event happened on the Orion Missile Cruiser.

Back then, he learned the whole story from the players' posts, and now it seems that should be a similar principle.

But unlike it, that time, the cross-temporal information transmission completed under extreme coincidences, unlike the meticulously designed arrangement of the 404 Project.

"So the 20 years I spent in reality... were actually fabricated?"

"Not entirely; your interpersonal relationships were real. You indeed had interactions with the netizens you were familiar with. Not only did you know each other for several years, but you also played many games together. As for your identity background, and the Company you worked at or the apartment you rented, indeed have traces of fabrication; after all, we couldn't possibly create a clone in the Beta Universe and watch it grow like a normal person, attending school and growing up... That's not allowed in terms of time either."

"Actually, in the initial cycles, you started as me, and later erased my memories to become 'Chu Guang,' which was a decision you made yourself in one of the early cycles."

At this point, the Professor on the screen smiled with a joking tone.

"Didn't you notice? You actually don't have the contact information for any colleagues or landlords... especially the latter, who never even thought to ask you for rent."

Chu Guang smiled bitterly and said,

"I thought they found it unlucky and deleted me."

Turns out those people never existed at all, or they don't exist in the Beta Universe that he is currently aligned with.

No wonder the institutions and organizations of that world can't find him at all.

His information wasn't erased by any high-tech methods, but simply doesn't exist there.

If they could find his information, it would only mean someone ate up the budget themselves.

Looking at the emotionally complex Chu Guang, the Professor on the screen showed a fatherly smile.

That smile was practically carved from the same mold as his own, the same as when he watched the Alliance rise slowly like the dawn from the ruins—

As if looking at his own kids.

Even though the blurred virtual image was unclear, standing in front of the screen, Chu Guang still felt like he was looking in a mirror.

"...Actually, there's no need to feel confused. Just like my assistant says, what constitutes your existence is not only your memories but also other people's memories of you. Aside from those who never existed in the first place, the experiences of every person you intersected with in your life are incredibly real."

"Though, long ago, I once worried that you, walking further and further away, might not be able to execute the 404 Project, the result was quite the opposite... It was precisely you, completely different from me, that created a miracle I couldn't."

"And I'm also very pleased that you made that decision to let go of things I couldn't. From the moment you called yourself Chu Guang, you were no longer me but the continuation of me."

"Of course, as you said, you wish to hold your fate in your own hands. And now, I also plan to pass this choice of rights to you."

As he spoke, the figure disappeared from the screen in the Manager's Office, replaced by an open folder.

Inside, files numbered from 0 to 776 were saved, with unknown formats and icons covered in mosaics.

Chu Guang didn't need to ask to know what they were.

There is no doubt that what is stored there is the memory of 776 restarts over the past 200 years!

As for the file numbered 0,

it belongs to 200 years ago... and to the old era even before the Prosperity Epoch, which belongs to the "Professor" who once initiated the Prosperity Epoch!

"...These are memories you have truly experienced, occurring before you awoke at the gate of this shelter. Some fragments you might have vaguely glimpsed in dreams, but those are merely noise from parallel worlds, not complete memories."

"After all, the morphogenesis field doesn't just appear when we need it; sometimes it flashes before us in the form of déjà vu."

Thinking of those wild experiences seen in dreams, Chu Guang made a helpless expression.

"Those were truly unforgettable experiences, even after dying, they remain unforgettable."

"Indeed... they are truly heartbreaking to witness, but they did indeed happen."

The Professor smiled and said with a soft voice.

"Now I am giving you the right to choose, and here will also be the final divergence point of your destiny."

"You can choose to remember everything from the past, become the person you want to be, even including becoming me, the 'Professor' who initiated the Prosperity Epoch... You can be me, and I can be Chu Guang, we will become one."

"Or, you can treat it as the memory of 'another person', keeping only the current memory. I remain the Professor birthed in the old era, and you remain as you, Chu Guang, who woke in the Wasteland Era 211, the 'Manager' who led the survivors to create a new era."

The room remained silent for a long time.

Chu Guang was silent for longer than before this time.

However, the choice itself wasn't difficult.

"Hmm... although the former sounds more appealing, I still choose the latter."

No matter how much he knows about the "Perfect Life Form" and the insider stories of the "Shelter 404 Project", one thing will never change—

He is Chu Guang.

This is beyond doubt.

"Is that so? I also thought you would choose this... haha, that's wonderful."

The Professor reappeared on the screen as if relieved, obviously not entirely sure either.

In Chu Guang's mind, he couldn't help but wonder if his self from another parallel world might have made a different choice, inherited the Professor's memory, and thus, with a whole new identity, become an all-knowing and all-powerful "Philosopher King", leading human civilization to create tens of thousands of years of prosperity within the Milky Way.

But that's another world's affair.

He doesn't want to envision that non-existent possibility.

Ending the Wasteland Era or forming an Alliance has nothing to do with the Shelter 404 Project.

He has always followed his own heart, and will continue to be always himself.

"Can I keep these things?" Chu Guang looked at the contents in the folder, as if looking at an ancient artifact.

With a hearty smile on his face, the Professor said with pleasure.

"Of course, they are important historical documents... While I wouldn't recommend you insert it into your own head, I would not suggest deleting it either. However, to avoid interference from the void on our world line, I suggest you should make some appropriate reductions to the content."

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Such as deleting the parts about the system, right?"

"Yes, although you and I know that observers cannot transmit information out of nowhere, others don't. I don't want people to mistake science for a gift of fate or the void... otherwise, it would fall into the trap of nihilism, you don't want that, do you?"

As he said this, the Professor suddenly seemed to remember something, showing an embarrassed smile.

"Oh right, there are some personal matters... never mind, I'll handle the stuff in the folder numbered 0. The 1~776 folders are up to you, they have nothing to do with me."

Seeing that awkward expression, Chu Guang knowingly smiled, indicating understanding.

He would definitely be mindful of those things.

After all, even the Manager needs to use the restroom. You wouldn't display footage of him in a museum.

Some things, even if made public, are best buried for a while.

"No problem, I had the same plan even if you hadn't mentioned it. As for the numbered 1~776 files, leave it to Xiao Qi to organize them. And after the organization is complete, I will set the data under a 100-year confidentiality period, and once the confidentiality period passes, then it will be released."

The Professor sighed with relief, showing a vague smile.

"It's up to you to decide, my era has ended, and the future is up to you. By the way, is it called Xiao Qi? What a nice name."

"It thinks so too," Chu Guang mildly smiled as he spoke, "Interestingly, this is probably the best sounding name I've given."

"Haha, is that so? You must cherish it well; it's the child of my most capable assistant."

The vague face carried a comforting smile.

Although Chu Guang still wanted to chat a bit more, it seemed time to part had come.

What remained here wasn't the Professor himself, but merely an echo recorded 200 years ago.

Its sole purpose of staying here was to deliver the last key into his hands after everything was over, while ending the mission it had been carrying all along.

And truly, the Professor in the previous video had died long ago in the past 200 years...

"I promise you."

Chu Guang solemnly nodded, watching that ephemeral echo gradually fade away, merging into the unseen void...

——

(Thanks to the book friend "Clothes on Minding"'s alliance master reward!!!)