CHAPTER 817: CHAPTER 815·“TE·REBIRTH OF ALL THINGS (10)”

"Yuanyuan, why are you here?"

She heard a man’s voice and turned her head to see that it was Player Rimu Sheng. Rimu Sheng wore thick protective clothing, holding a sharp black long sword, walking with the posture of a Fusang samurai. It seemed he was also here to mine Origin Stone.

Now that resources are on the brink of depletion, only in such desperate situations can some Origin Stone be found. If people want resources, they have to come here themselves.

"I’m here to mine some Origin Stone," Yuanyuan said.

"It’s not safe here. I remember you had an accident here too. Aren’t you afraid?" Rimu Sheng said. He remembered that during the Kaius Tower period, Yuanyuan almost died here.

"Beep, beep."

[Current temperature: 50℃]

The helmet beeped, and Yuanyuan continued walking.

"Afraid," Yuanyuan said, "but my brother and many soldiers went down the Heavenly Pit. I’m afraid they won’t hold up. Now all resources are being transported to the world’s edge. To protect others, you have to mine resources yourself to make anti-mist instruments. Besides... mining more spare Origin Stone might come in handy."

"Why don’t you have the players do it?" Rimu Sheng said.

Yuanyuan was Su Ming’an’s friend, and most players would generally indulge her. Why endure the high heat to suffer? Wouldn’t it be easier to move a finger and order people around?

If it weren’t for receiving a task and being unable to pass it off to others, Rimu Sheng wouldn’t have come here to suffer.

"Beep, beep."

[Current temperature: 55℃]

Yuanyuan just shook her head without saying much.

She bent down, carefully searching for protrusions in the Blood Pool. Her cheeks were already flushed from the high heat, with sweat flowing down them, making even her pupils appear blurry and damp.

Searing water flowed past her fingertips, and each time she reached out, her palms felt as if they were scalded by hot water. But she continued to search carefully for stones, enduring the high heat that enveloped her entire body.

"Moreover, Su Ming’an is very likely to abandon the Ruined World," Rimu Sheng said in a low voice, "I know you care a lot about those NPCs, but even if you save them again, it’s still..."

He thought it was meaningless.

They are all going to die. No matter how much she cherishes those soldiers, it’s the same.

"Beep, beep."

[Current temperature: 60℃]

Yuanyuan’s hand paused slightly.

She looked at Rimu Sheng through the fog-covered protective mask.

"I don’t think so," she said, "I do not exist as anyone’s follower, and neither do NPCs. No one exists just as background for an instance. Before confirming the reality of a world, every life has meaning."

Rimu Sheng stepped back slightly.

He was surprised by her eyes... resonating with a distant sense that made one think of an elderly person with grey hair, but with a childlike persistence.

The eyes beneath the mask were dark and bright, like a distant and serene full moon. While having experienced numerous tribulations, they conveyed an impression of perpetual youth.

On the World Forum, some said Yuanyuan wouldn’t grow old.

Seeing her eyes, Rimu Sheng realized that the reason she wouldn’t age was not due to the years she had lived, but because of her unwavering beliefs, clear and transparent, like the king on a chessboard in an endgame.

The youth with ideals will never grow old.

"Moreover, it is meaningful." She picked up a scalding Origin Stone, and ’zzz’ sounds emanated from her palm:

"... He will make everything meaningful."

"Beep, beep."

[Current temperature: 65℃]

[Please do not remove the protective clothing to avoid burns.]

...

"Beep, beep."

[Current temperature: -30℃]

[Please do not forcibly open the Hibernation Capsule to avoid frostbite.]

After Noel and the others left, the Hibernation Capsule entered an activation state, and the entire room began to freeze. White frost gradually covered the transparent capsule cover.

Su Ming’an lay in the Hibernation Capsule, surrounded by extreme silence. Transparent data streams flickered in the room, seemingly isolating the room from other spaces.

Twenty minutes later, Su Ming’an sensed an invisible force beginning to invade his mind, attempting to deprive him of bodily control.

Sure enough, it came.

—The Deity.

In the last round, Su Rin, using the Dream Weaving Technique, informed him that the Deity would not allow him to enter the Zero-Dimensional space because if any surviving elements of the Ruined World were left, the likelihood of [Ta Wei] becoming the next Ruined World could not be ruled out.

According to the Darkness Forest Law, once the Ruined World publishes the world coordinates of the already mastered [Ta Wei], both civilizations will suffer a devastating blow, and the Deity will not leave Su Ming’an as a hazard.

So, currently, the primary target of [Ta Wei]—is definitely finding a way to terminate Su Ming’an’s hibernation. The best and seemingly only way is to invade Su Ming’an.

As long as the Deity can replace Su Ming’an, not only will the Dawn System be entirely in control, but the remaining Fireseed of the Ruined Humans will also fall into the Deity’s hands.

Su Ming’an did not call Noel for assistance; he actively entered hibernation, waiting for the Deity to invade him.

Indeed, at this moment, a familiar Deity’s voice sounded in his ears:

"Surprised to hear my voice?"

The Deity thought Su Ming’an hadn’t anticipated this, speaking with a teasing tone, not knowing that Su Ming’an had already mastered the information and was specifically waiting for the Deity to come.

"Hisssss—"

The Puppet Threads emitted a hoarse sound, wrapping around Su Ming’an’s wrists and ankles, like lifting a puppet. Su Ming’an immediately moved his fingers, using the Puppet Threads to suspend his anesthetized body.

Scarlet hues flickered and vanished in Su Ming’an’s pupils, then the Deity spoke the second sentence:

"It’s too late; where else do you want to go?"

The Deity’s voice, as usual, was gentle, but its disdain was palpable:

"The Downgrade Dimension has already been activated; even if you leave the Hibernation Capsule, I will be rooted in your brain. I will go to the Zero-Dimensional space with you; do you think I would not anticipate your method of downgrading into the Zero-Dimensional space?"

The Deity had prepared accordingly long ago.

Way back in the Kaius Tower period, it had laid groundwork while assisting Su Ming’an in completing the Dawn War. Su Ming’an had even been fully invaded by the Deity in a previous round. Now the Deity reappeared, inheriting the initial invasion stage, making invading Su Ming’an seemingly effortless in the Deity’s eyes.

If it wasn’t for Noah helping Su Ming’an at that time, he would have been invaded long ago.

Now in the eyes of the deities, the ruined world is a complete stalemate—if you enter the zero-dimension, it means taking the deities in with you, completely eradicating the last spark. If you don’t enter the zero-dimension, then you wait to die with everyone in the ruined world, which aligns more with the deities’ intent.

As the supreme leader of [Ta Wei], the deity possesses wisdom no less than that of Yasa Acto. The zero-dimensional plan of the Dawn System is something the deity cannot ignore. For the ruined world, the deity will only strive for complete annihilation.

"You concluded too early." Su Ming’an didn’t even bother with the deity. He used threads to pull his stiff fist toward the lid, and as the annihilation emerged, a burst of extreme cold air pierced into the cabin through the opening.

"Beep beep, beep beep!"

[Current temperature: -35℃]

[Please return to the hibernation capsule in time! Please return to the hibernation capsule in time!]

The blood-red warning lights flowed through the room, Su Ming’an’s fingers instantly turned blue-white from the cold wind, and the sound of freezing "crack crack crack" echoed in his ears, the cold air stabbing into the warm cabin like a sharp blade.

He braved the biting cold to pull himself out of the cabin. In an instant, his robes made a "crack crack crack" freezing sound. On the ground, the patches of blood Noel left before had also frozen into ice, like several frozen roses.

"Beep beep, beep beep!"

[Current temperature: -40℃]

[Please return to the hibernation capsule in time! Please return to the hibernation capsule in time!]

Under the scarlet light, Su Ming’an’s face was pale. Yet he continued to walk outward.

He felt a splitting headache, as if a cloud of dense fog occupied the space in his mind, competing for territory.

"Are you leaving the hibernation capsule? Are you giving up on the dimension downgrade plan?" the deity asked.

"You’re really noisy." Su Ming’an leaned on the wall. He recalled his overall plan in his mind, ignoring the deity’s chatter.

"Reminding you, your self-thinking time is now only twenty-two minutes and thirty-eight seconds left," the deity said. He even calculated the precise second when Su Ming’an would be fully invaded.

Su Ming’an tread cautiously on the cracking ice as he slowly moved out.

He thought Noel should have already started acting. Twenty-two minutes and thirty-eight seconds, more than enough.

He forcefully opened the door already shattered by Noel and walked outside, where the corridor was still extremely cold. White frost covered the walls and the floor, like winding and coiling white dragons, akin to white vines wildly growing on a midnight castle.

Even the guardian mechanical men were frozen, frozen in gun-wielding postures along the corridor, like a grand exhibition of mechanical men. The lights on the ceiling, the fence of ventilation ducts, the neat bookshelves, the huge LCD screens... all covered by frost, as if stepping into an ancient ice age.

Post the initiation of the dimension downgrade plan, the central building housing the hibernation capsule would all be frozen, perhaps part of the dimension downgrade plan or perhaps to prevent Su Ming’an from escaping.

"Beep beep, beep beep!"

[Current temperature: -45℃]

All around was silent, only the sound of Su Ming’an’s "crack crack" breaking ice while walking. Under the blood-red warning light, half of his face was shrouded in heavy crimson.

"I advise you to stop moving forward and go back to sleep," the deity said.

"Has anyone ever told you that your voice is unpleasant?" As Su Ming’an spoke, his lips began to freeze. Layer after layer of frost spread from his ears, gradually covering under his cheeks.

"I consider Yasa Acto’s voice to be somewhat pleasing," the deity replied.

"You consider it wrong."

"Is Acto really that good?"

"A thousand times, ten thousand times better than you."

"Amusing."

Scarlet appeared and vanished before Su Ming’an’s eyes. His mental fortitude and resistance were far beyond what the deity had anticipated.

Even while engaging in meaningless conversation with the deity, his will remained strong.

After their meaningless exchange, Su Ming’an gradually reached the end of the corridor. In front was an elevator already frozen, with emergency stairs beside it.

On the ground lay the wreckage of several mechanical men and some players’ corpses, likely left during a rescue earlier. Walking past, Su Ming’an surprisingly found a heat pack beside a player, presumably brought by the player.

He slapped the heat pack onto his chest, feeling a negligible warmth spread.

"What’s the use of that?" the deity’s voice still came.

"Just because it’s useless doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it." Su Ming’an gazed at the towering stairs before him.

The puppet threads wove into a crisscrossing net, sustaining his body as they slowly carried him up the stairs, like boarding a transparent ship. The frozen frost crystals shimmered beneath like a star sea under the ship.

The hibernation capsule was located deep underground, far from the surface.

Supporting his frost-covered body, he slowly inched upward, with an emotion in his eyes that even the deity was bewildered by.

"What exactly are you persisting for?" the deity asked.

Su Ming’an remained silent.

The information from [Ninth World·Zhai Star] still echoed in his mind.

Unable to determine truth or falsehood, unable to discern meaning.

Just because it’s useless doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.

Just because you can’t save them, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to save them.

"Beep beep, beep beep!"

[Current temperature: -50℃]

[Extreme danger! Please return to the hibernation capsule immediately! Extreme danger! Please return to the hibernation capsule immediately!]

A stark white figure was suspended by threads, ascending higher and higher. Within the frost, he seemed frozen too, with only the puppet threads constantly moving his body.

Atop the corridor, warning lights spun endlessly, like a pair of scarlet eyes.

...

"This is the City of Measurement’s aviation management bureau, your flight information doesn’t match the actual information, acknowledge by flashing lights, please acknowledge by flashing lights!"

High above, a passenger plane flew through the black mist.

The piercing alarm resounded continuously within the plane: "Your flight information doesn’t match the actual information, please actively stop the plane and accept arrest. Please actively stop the plane and accept arrest..."

A hand pressed the mute system, sparks flickered, and the warning sound ceased instantly.

At the airplane’s pilot seat, the pilot extended a hand and pressed the autopilot button. The plane continued gliding, charging toward the skyscrapers.

...

[TE·Rebirth of All Things Perfect Completion Progress: 92%]

...