Chapter 169 Onpharos 1-23 Significance

When Xia arrived at the reserved private room, Aglaia was already there.

Lady Kanori—also known as Aglaia—held a scroll and frowned in thought.

When Xia entered, the stone tablet belonging to Aglaia on the table suddenly lit up.

Xia, being very mindful of boundaries, didn't look and sat down on the other side.

He and Aglaia didn't get along, so not speaking to her was the best respect he could show her.

Aglaia heard the voice and picked up the stone tablet.

At that moment, Natsu observed that when Ms. Kanori, who was usually calm, saw the text sent by the stone tablet, she showed an indescribable expression.

—It seemed like they had expected it, but also like they were a little... speechless?

Who made her make that expression?

At that moment, Xia became a little curious about the "otherworldly person" that Aglaia had mentioned.

He had been studying the relationship between the Titans and the Golden Blood, and was also very curious about the secrets of the world of Onpharos.

Anyone with a bit of research will be aware of some strange phenomena in life.

However, these people often forget strange things because of something else.

Unfortunately, Xia did not do that at that moment.

When he was not yet a sage, but a scholar studying under a teacher, Naka used one of his own eyes as an alchemical ingredient to summon his sister who had already gone to the underworld.

He saw not only his sister, but also someone else who surprised him.

Or should he call that "Cenatus," the messenger of death?

But... will the successor to the Titans look just like the Titans?

At that moment, Xia felt she had found her direction.

His visit this time was also due to his exposure to some things about the origin of the Onpharos world. He was skeptical of the information revealed by Aglaia, which is why he sat down at a table with the antagonistic Lady Kinori to discuss matters.

“At that time, there is another person who will be arriving later,” Aglaia paused, “Also, the Crown Prince of Suspended Peak City and Bai E will be guarding outside the gate, so there is no need to worry about safety.”

Xia felt something was wrong at that moment.

Bai E was one thing, after all, when Aglaia sent him to the Tree Garden, she said that this perfect Golden Blood would take over the torch of the Fire Chasing Journey and continue running towards the finish line.

When he arrived, Xia felt it was normal.

The Crown Prince of Suspended Peak City has at most some connection with Aglaia, but has never met with Na Kexia. Why would he come?

"Are you sure, Ms. Kanori?" Natsumi asked. "Are you sure they won't eavesdrop, won't try to come in, and then panic after learning the dubious truth?"

Aglaia nodded. "I'm sure, Anaxagoras."

"Because...they knew the vague truth about this world a little earlier than you."

——

"You mean... everything we're experiencing right now was pre-programmed?" Bai Er asked, his voice trembling.

He Yuan patted his head reassuringly, "Not necessarily, this is just my speculation."

After all, the Kuroshio looks very much like a virus, while Onfaros has too many obvious characteristics.

For example, in the place where the Sky People once lived, there were several exceptionally large hard drives.

He Yuan had every reason to suspect that Onpharos might be a computer.

This also aligns with the essence of the game.

The game is a string of data, and Onpharos is also a string of data, which makes perfect sense.

For Yu Heyuan, this is just the truth, but for the local indigenous people, this "truth" is not so friendly.

No matter who it is, it's hard to feel good when you realize that you're just a set of pre-programmed data and that everything you experience is arranged for you.

Crane and Kite can understand a little.

He felt the same way when he couldn't stop the chaos of drinking the moon.

Perhaps out of goodwill, or perhaps out of regret, He Yuan concealed this suspicion from Bai E and Wan Di, only saying that Ongfaros was probably some kind of "experimental field" where collecting fire seeds and handing them over to the core of creation might bring bad results.

“Is it necessarily bad?” Bai Er said. “We’ve put so much effort and dedication into it, why can’t the outcome be reversed?”

He Yuan nodded hesitantly, "It's possible, but Bai E, think about it... if the outcome is good, why did the Black Tide come so quickly?"

And it was so targeted.

Take Bai E's experience as an example.

He had always intended to embark on the journey, but he lacked a firm belief, and that belief could have been expressed in a much more benign way, instead of... turning his friends and parents into Black Tide monsters.

If this is for Bai E's "good", then He Yuan can only say that the person who set this up is somewhat flawed.

"In short, once I get out, I'll have someone break through from the outside."

Bai E nodded silently. "Then our collecting of fire...is it meaningless?"

If everything they do is just benefiting their enemies, then what's the point of them doing it?

Will it destroy itself?

Crane Kite countered, "Why is it meaningless?"

His fingers stopped at the corner of Bai E's eye, feeling a warm, moist tear.

“I told Wan Di a story before, and now I’ll tell you a different one,” He Yuan wiped away Bai E’s tears and pinched the man’s ear. “Could you please get my stone tablet so I can send a message to Ms. Aglaia?”

He Yuan: Bai E is having an existential crisis, so I'm intervening urgently.

Aglaia: ...?

Aglaia: What did you say?

He Yuan: I was just speculating. Don't worry, I will try my best to maintain the status quo until I am completely certain.

Setting down the stone tablet, He Yuan embraced Bai E's head, feeling the warmth of Da Yue's body, and slowly recounted a story of constantly returning to the past, yet always being unable to change the outcome.

"...In the end, the little bird still couldn't stop Sesame Crisp and Little Green Dragon's plan. It could only do its best to protect many people and run around to arrange a way out for Sesame Crisp and Little Green Dragon. Together with the big white cat, it rebuilt the fairy ship and restored it to its previous state."

"It tried forty-two times, but the result remained the same."

"Bai'er, do you think everything he did was meaningful?"

He Yuan, do you think it's worthwhile for you to spend so much effort reloading save files and trying every possible method?

This is just a string of data that can be changed at will. Is it really necessary to waste time on an ending?

“…Yes!” Bai Er said firmly, “It was meaningful. He saved many more lives and also brought a less-than-perfect end to this glorious story!”

He Yuan smiled.

With a smirk and a cheerful expression, he asked, "Then haven't you saved a lot of lives too?"

"The result is part of the meaning, but not the meaning itself. There are many, many things that can be called 'meaning,' and saving lives is just one of them."

Even data is data created by people and infused with their emotions.

Everything He Yuan did was not only for them and for the data in her heart, but also for the regrets and hopes in her heart.

“Bai’e, don’t blame yourself,” He Yuan said. “Blaming yourself will only make the mastermind happy. What we need to do is to find out who the mastermind is and change all of this.”

The underlying code of "Immortal Boat Life Simulator" is not in He Yuan's hands, so he cannot modify it.

Koonpharos is a game within a game, a model delivered to the player, a "play within a play" whose ending can be altered from the outside.

Since no one has stepped forward to claim this "play within a play," then He Yuan will gladly accept it.

Bai'e pondered for a while in his arms, then got up and embraced the priest from the side.

"I think I understand."

Golden flames burned in Bai E's eyes, like the sun.

“Whether something has meaning or not, I already knew the answer when I was a child, in the temple of Euronis,” Baier said. “It is memory, memories, whether beautiful or terrifying, that make up me, construct me, and nurture me. As long as memories exist, as long as I can still feel the beating of my chest and the flames within me…”

"That's meaningful."

“The journey to seek fire must continue,” Bai Er said with a cheerful smile, “but we can plan a few more surprises to see if anyone can’t resist making a move, or if someone is stirring things up, and find them out.”

Regarding this person… He Yuan has an answer in her heart.

When he first arrived in Onpharos, a large number of "error" signals floated in the space, along with a gradually receding black tide, all of which indicated that Onpharos did not welcome him.

To be precise, it was the people who led the Onpharos experiment who didn't welcome him.

When He Yuan makes choices to accelerate his adolescence, he doesn't just pick randomly. He looks at the names and stats of the NPCs, silently memorizes them, and categorizes them into three main types: "neutral," "can be won over," and "needs to be eliminated."

But there is no such thing as complete neutrality in Onpharos—or even in the entire universe.

Every human being has their own inclinations.

Just like He Yuan himself.

If both the company's people and the people of Xianzhou are vying for Pinocchio, and He Yuan has influence, even if his status is "neutral" as a member of the Starry Sky Train, he will unconsciously side with Xianzhou.

Therefore, even if they are neutral, Crane and Iris will be divided into two major categories.

And that is indeed the case.

Apart from one person, there was a robot resembling a screw-like goo.

—He Yuan felt that comparing this person to Screw Gum was somewhat insulting to Screw Gum.

One is an open and honest omnipotent omnipotent king, while the other is a strangely shaped "mastermind" behind a mask who is also suspected of being naked. No matter how you compare them, it is an insult to Screwgoom.

Lai Gushi, that's the suspect's name.

He claimed to be the only surviving Antikythera from Onphalus, a divine audience member of the Senate, and declared himself neutral.

He Yuan did not believe that anyone could be absolutely neutral, not even androids.

Because this requires absolute rationality, and there must be absolutely no emotion or feeling involved.

But if that's the case, he'll have to doubt whether Screwgoom is pursuing his authenticity.

So He Yuan tried to win them over, and well…

It didn't work out, and he almost got caught by Kenneth!

What's with this supposed neutrality? Turns out they're on Katniss's side!

Crane Kite is very vengeful.

As a player, he had a million ways to get revenge on Lai Gushi, but they were always inexplicably neutralized by the other party.

When the subtle approach failed, He Yuan directly hired someone to pour excrement into the hole in Lai Gushi's chest and arranged for several birds to defecate on his head.

That was a success.

But within a few days, He Yuan encountered several assassination attempts. If it weren't for his ability to reload saves and his strong vigilance, he would probably have already recorded several death endings by now.

Crane Kite was furious.

He felt that simply throwing filth at people was useless; he also needed to ruin the reputation of Lai Gushi.

You told Katniss on us, didn't you?

Then the main characters will be Katniss and Ragus!

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Author's note: The reason I didn't mention rumors earlier is because Lai Gushi has censored them.