CHAPTER 809: CHAPTER 807·“TE·REBIRTH OF ALL THINGS (2)”

Dawn walked up to him.

They stood and sat together, overlooking the city-state in the night, surrounded by endless floods of data.

The night was dazzling with lights, and the lawn lamps on the square flickered in the thick fog. Trucks dragged dozens of silver-bright long dragons, like strands of ethereal hope.

Su Ming’an gazed at these countless lights, while innumerable bullet screen comments flashed across the upper right corner of his vision.

"Doctor, I will initiate the final [Zero-Dimensional], bringing only your consciousness into it. After the Ruined World has been fully invaded by Ta Wei, we might be able to lie low and wait for an opportunity to counterattack," the Dawn System said:

"Rest assured, I have recorded a hundred and seventy million blocks of knowledge in literature, art, and scientific research domains in my program in text and video forms. Years from now, we may still have a chance to strike back."

"Now, I need your authorization. As long as you nod to this plan, I will fulfill my mission and continue to strive to protect human civilization."

...Zero-Dimensional.

Su Ming’an had pondered before, considering if Zero-Dimensional existence was possible, given the existence of Three Dimensions, Two Dimensions, and One Dimensions.

It seems now that Zero-Dimensional truly exists, the last hiding space—it cannot even be called a "frontline," because according to the Dawn System, apart from him, the countless humans cannot enter Zero-Dimensional; they can only stay in One Dimensions, being destroyed by Ta Wei, tantamount to human extinction.

A race like this, leaving just one person to exist in solitude, what meaning does it have?

Su Ming’an attempted to contact his team members, only to find the signal completely cut off. He called out "Su Rin" a few times but got no response.

"So the billions of humans besides me are just to be abandoned?" Su Ming’an said, "All those 2,300 simulations of Kaius Tower, the laboratory’s Klein Bottle localization, so many theories, Ouroboros, Mobius Ring, Schrödinger’s cat... none of them were of any use?"

He wasn’t questioning. The closer it got to the critical moment of racial survival, the more one needed calmness and rationality. He merely sought confirmation from the Dawn System whether there were any other chances.

"Doctor," said the Dawn System, "You must understand how slim a success probability of one in a billion is. We cannot gamble."

"Although only your consciousness will remain of the human race, as long as you have unlimited lifespan, humanity will possess unlimited possibilities. The combined value of over a billion ordinary intelligent lives cannot match yours alone."

His declaration was sharp and ruthless.

"..." Su Ming’an remained very calm: "Really?"

"Then what would you consider to be successful salvation?" the Dawn System suddenly asked, "Is it the survival of the entire race? Or is it that most lives remain alive? Or would leaving behind an empty shell of a world count as success? If a civilization could preserve all known knowledge and technology up till now, does it matter whether contemporary humanity survives?"

Faced with such sudden questions, Su Ming’an’s pupils trembled slightly.

"Or, Doctor, if we can only save an empty world in the end, with no survivors. But after a long time, the human race could be reborn once again, using the knowledge and skills I have stored to restore the old century’s prosperity — then do you believe our ’rescue’ would count as successfully extending civilization, or as destroying past humanity?"

"And what do ’race’ and ’civilization’ really represent? In your heart, is it the survival of contemporary humanity or the future of countless future generations? If sacrificing the former allows you to obtain the latter, why wouldn’t you agree to my conditions?"

"Or in your heart, are you saving the ’present humanity,’ not the ’future of the race’?"

The Dawn System’s words were firm and resonant, echoing through the room, piercing the last bastion in Su Ming’an’s heart.

Su Ming’an remained silent.

After a moment, he finally said, "I want both."

If ’now’ and ’future’ cannot be both achieved, then sacrifice ’future’ to protect ’now.’ The best is for no one to rely on him anymore, for everyone to be able to head toward the future.

The Dawn System laughed: "You are indeed very young. I didn’t expect you to answer with such a naive answer."

Su Ming’an’s gaze wandered in the system bar, pondering how he could contact Noel and the others.

"By the way," the Dawn System noticed Su Ming’an’s thoughtful look, suddenly adding: "If you’re worried about reproduction issues, whether it’s bionic technology or fellow Nine Thrones, they can solve it."

"...Solve?" Su Ming’an was momentarily unresponsive.

"If you feel lonely in the Zero-Dimension, I can recommend a companion for you. Whether it’s physical fitness or dual intelligence level, I believe Miss Treya can meet this need. If you want someone else, my system also contains the personalities and images of the Night’s Nine Thrones," the Dawn System said.

Su Ming’an: "..."

Su Ming’an: "?"

Su Ming’an never expected the Dawn System’s thoughts to suddenly twist in this direction.

"This is good, Su Ming’an, you like white, don’t you..." Little Love popped out again, only to be pressed down by Su Ming’an once more.

At this moment, he suddenly heard the system prompt:

"Ding-dong!"

[TE5·"Goodbye my dear don’t be afraid in the dark" (Married to Treya) Perfect Completion Progress: 80%.]

...

...There really is such a plot line!

Su Ming’an realized—such a plot line was already embedded at the beginning of the instance. He had wondered then, what kind of bizarre plot required him to marry an NPC.

—He once thought it was just a nonsense humorous plot line.

—But he didn’t expect it to be the final lament of a civilization.

Su Ming’an stood up and walked to the window.

The pale data flowed around him like a dreamlike splendor, slowly passing by.

In the distance, several lights extinguished, as if the last warm afterglow was extinguishing from the city-state.

From here, Constantine University in the inner city could be seen, its grand hall sleeping in the black mist; a thousand young students inside could be seen through the window. They were immersed in deep thought, tapping keyboards, as if still conceiving tomorrow’s research domains.

Dim yellow lights shone in houses along the street, an aged couple with blurry figures sat by the window, in the glow of the warmth stretched their bent shadows, the rocking chair mixing the light and shadow beside the window.

Trucks kicked up dust, speeding away, fully armed soldiers relying on each other front and back, flowing into a long and narrow galaxy. Faces old and young, varied and uneven.

A cold wind lifted Su Ming’an’s black hair, his pupils reflected the countless families in the mist, as if seeing a paradise falling into a quagmire.

"Dawn, what if I disagree with your plan?"

The Dawn System walked up beside him: "Doctor, regarding the existential crisis of the city-state, I have the final decision-making authority."

"...Is that so." Su Ming’an said.

It turns out the Dawn System was just going through the motions, whether he agreed or not, it would activate the final plan. Perhaps the plan had already begun.

At this moment, Su Ming’an suddenly recalled some words Yasa Acto had secretly discussed with him before leaving Kaius Tower.

At that moment, a thread in his mind connected... he realized this matter was not as simple as it appeared.

He suddenly changed his attitude, turning to the Dawn System, and said, "If I agree to your plan, what do you need me to do?"

"Leave everything up to me, you just need to go into hibernation," the Dawn System said: "If you need, you can do a broadcast before hibernation."

"A final broadcast to say goodbye to all humanity."

...

"Click-click-click——"

On the vast sandy ground, dozens of helicopters scattered boron and sand.

This is an area with extremely high concentration of the black mist, with three nearby energy stations. To repair these stations, a firewall must be established in the center of the black mist.

This is an almost certain death mission; many people will die quickly, their bodies already suffering irreparable damage.

On the sandy ground lay corpses, with mechanical pillars like flagpoles planted beside them. The firewall is set up using them as coordinates, resembling a silver bridge.

"NPCs are different from us; when you die, it’s final. Aren’t you afraid?" Violet asked an old man. The old man was putting on protective clothing.

This task is too dangerous, even Violet felt it was unnecessary to take the risk. Hence, a group of players stood hesitantly on the edge, no one daring to rush out to set up the firewall.

Only those NPC soldiers charged forward, slowly falling amidst the brilliant silver lights, their bodies forming a small white mountain.

The old man shook his head and smiled slowly, "I know, I’m what you call an NPC, but what does it matter? I once thought selling some antiques in the sand was enough to live a simple life. But now I’ve realized that the world still needs an old man like me."

"Are you going to carry this with you? Let me hold it for you." Violet noticed the old man carrying a heavy vermilion sniper rifle on his back.

"No need."

The white-haired old man slowly turned his head, revealing a blind eye, "It reminds me of the war where I lost all my friends."

After speaking, he smiled slowly, the fine wrinkles gathering on his face with childlike enthusiasm. The smile was almost identical to that of the original Acto, like the reflection of countless ruins world humans.

Violet retracted her hand, watching the old man walk into the dense black mist.

She placed her palm on her chest, feeling the pounding of her heart. In the ruined world, she had faced too many indomitable souls. Their unyielding spirit in the face of the war of civilization made her realize for the first time—humans can be so united and brave.

The organizers’ division tactics were indeed superb, like boiling a frog in warm water, stirring up conflicts between adventurer players and casual players, turning the players into scattered sand.

She couldn’t help but wonder, if the world game was without the interference of the organizers, whether the Zhai Star people could unite like the humans in the ruined world?

Clearly, humans should be the same, their spirit and resilience should be awakened. What exactly led to the current situation of the world game players? Is it inequality, laziness, jealousy, or the selfish desires and struggles of some individuals?

"..."

Violet stared straight at the black mist in front of her, a piercing pain emanating from her heart.

"Violet, have you received the new mission from Su Ming’an?" At this moment, a female player with a ponytail approached.

"No," Violet said.

"We haven’t either," the players beside them shook their heads one after another.

"Did something happen to Su Ming’an? Why did he suddenly vanish into thin air? Didn’t he promise to assign us new tasks..." said player Rock.

"Who knows..." player Zhang Xiaoqi scratched his head.

Violet frowned but then heard the "hiss" sound suddenly coming from the car radio. Not just the car radio, but even watches, personal terminals, mobile communicators, and distant loudspeakers—all the transmitting equipment emitted this sound.

"Is there a broadcast?" one player said.

"Is this the legendary global broadcast? During the Dawn War, Su Ming’an often did this!" the ponytail female player said excitedly.

Amidst the noisy discussions of the players, Su Ming’an’s voice gradually emerged from the broadcast.

"——Everyone, I am Yasa Acto, the City Lord of the City of Measurement."

His voice penetrated through buildings, swept across the vast sand sea, and spread over every piece of land that could receive the signal, like a free white seagull.

People looked up in surprise.

"Great, the City Lord finally has news."

"Shh, it must be a crucial command..."

Su Ming’an clutched the transmitter tightly, looking at the vast city-state lights spreading out like a starry sea. His eyes shook in the black mist, seeing many residents in the city-state looking up.

Then, billions of lives on this land heard Su Ming’an’s words.

"Science is the last step of human intellectual development and can be considered the highest and most unique achievement of human culture, equal in value to life."

"It represents ultimate peace and clarity, and now each of us has reached this step."

"I have witnessed the ruins world’s humans’ resilience and struggle; each of you deserves respect. Whether it’s the frontline soldiers or every struggling ordinary civilian, your desire and respect for survival shine brighter than anything else."

"But I must tell everyone——"

He took a deep breath, yet his eyes remained extremely calm.

"Regrettably, after calculations, the human victory rate is almost zero, the ’Dawn Plan’ has been declared a failure."

"The 2.893 billion people in the ruined world."

"...you have worked hard."

In an instant.

The city-state fell silent.

People froze in place, the soldiers within the black mist collapsed to the ground with weakened legs.

Everyone realized what these words represented.

Dawn has abandoned these 2.893 billion people.

...

At the world’s edge.

Su Rin walked forward step by step, golden flames burning around him. The black mist couldn’t come within a step of him.

He gazed at the bottomless world’s edge ahead, speaking softly:

"...Can you hear me?"

No response was received.

He took a step forward, his figure vanishing into the torrent.

...

[(TE·Rebirth of All Things) Perfect Completion Progress: 85%]