Chapter 140: Fulfillment, Reluctance, Two Things: Fight or Escape, It's All Quickly...
Before sensing an extremely subtle fluctuation, the raven was sitting on a steel beam between two buildings under construction at a construction site, eating.
He was eating popcorn.
To enhance player immersion, the development team included nearly a thousand different foods in the game and created unique flavors for each.
But after trying it out, only popcorn perfectly satisfied Raven's taste; the others were all somewhat lacking.
The raven tossed a seed into the air, tilted its head back, opened its beak, and caught it precisely. Then it carefully savored its texture and flavor.
The outer shell is crispy, but the inside is fluffy.
It has a creamy aroma.
It's coated with uneven caramel.
It also had a sprinkle of just the right amount of sea salt.
Every detail of this popcorn was exactly the same as the kind sold outside the run-down movie theater next to the community college he attended.
Recalling the information about the architecture manager that his accomplices had sent him from the outside world, Raven suddenly remembered a sentence the other party had said during their confrontation at the Rotten Violin Bar—
If we had met at a developer conference instead of under these circumstances, I would have welcomed you to join our team.
With a self-deprecating smirk, Raven tossed another popcorn into its mouth.
With his shabby resume, he had no way of getting his hands on the door of any company that was even invited to a developer conference.
Then, the raven thought optimistically:
However, they can "lock" the "door" to games developed by the currently recognized oligopolies in the industry, which have poured all their resources into them.
Just then, a few hundred meters below him, a door was gently pushed open by a pair of hands with bright pink epoxy hearts on their fingernails.
Immediately afterwards, a jubilant figure, made even smaller by the huge guitar bag on its back, popped out from inside.
It's Lilith Lee.
She was on her way to morning training.
With Que Ling's letter of recommendation, she did indeed qualify to participate in the entrance examination for the Nuberli Conservatory of Music in L City.
Unfortunately, the enrollment period for this year has already passed.
On such matters of principle, the Nuberli Conservatory of Music could not grant Lilith Lee special treatment.
Therefore, Lilith Lee can only take the entrance exam next year.
But this might be a good thing for her.
Although she has overcome what would be the most difficult hurdle for many people, there are still many things she needs to work hard on herself.
Today, Raven no longer thinks about whether his life would be very different if he had had a "Sparrow Feather's letter of recommendation" back then.
But he didn't want to cause others such regrets, even if it was within his own power.
Especially since this person looks so much like...
Suddenly, the raven disappeared from the beam, leaving only the popcorn he had just tossed up, which slowed down under the influence of gravity and finally came to a stop in mid-air.
Before it could begin to fall, an extremely strong force pressed it down first.
The popcorn "melted" the instant it came into contact with the one-meter-wide I-beam steel beam where the raven had been sitting, like a layer of emulsion that had been evenly spread.
At the same time, the I-shaped steel beam became twisted, as if it were being violently crushed by a pair of invisible giant hands.
The part in the "palm" position looks like a lump of rice cake that has been kneaded into an irregular shape.
The two ends, which were buried deep inside the building, were also pulled out, covered with cement residue that had not yet completely dried.
Having witnessed the entire process, the raven clicked its tongue in surprise, then looked in the direction from which the unique fluctuations it had sensed when the [special key] was activated were coming from.
To his surprise, there stood a figure he wasn't very familiar with but knew relatively well, and who he knew was definitely not someone who could be there.
Originally named Mihoshi.
Unsure whether this was a smokescreen by Fu Ze or some other trick, Raven had to be extra vigilant in searching for the other party's presence.
However, no matter how he invoked the GM [special key], or even expanded his perception range by using multiple [special keys] together, he could only lock onto one target with GM privileges.
But at the location of that target, only one original star stood.
While dodging the second attack that followed, Raven keenly noticed the movement that Hara Mihoshi made when he raised his hand.
That's the "object selection" gesture that the [Special Key] uses when activating certain preconditions.
Even within the GM group, there is no unified standard for this gesture; it varies from person to person and is entirely determined by personal preference and habit.
The raven is very familiar with the gestures that the original star used.
It's a gesture unique to Fu Ze.
Based on this detail, Raven instantly understood the key to everything.
Avoiding yet another devastating attack aimed at taking its life, Raven positioned itself opposite Harami Hoshi.
Oh, to be more precise, he stood in a position opposite to Fu Zeyao.
With one hand half-covering its mouth, the raven cried out, "This is so interesting, my friend! Would you like to chat with me?"
Fu Ze ignored Raven's words and continued his attack relentlessly.
Knowing full well that he, as a fake GM, couldn't go head-to-head with the real GM, Raven could only try his best to dodge the endless waves of attacks, and then squeeze in comments and questions whenever he could.
"Please live as me, how romantic is that? Did you two plan this beforehand?"
"He didn't say anything and kept a straight face... I understand, he made the decision on his own without your knowledge."
When did this happen? Yesterday? Or the day before yesterday?
"Tsk tsk tsk, not only do you have to be determined to kill your lover, but you also have to be determined to kill yourself. How cruel."
"I would call it: the greatest fulfillment."
"Sigh, if you had known this would happen beforehand, would you still have written the program for 'death and rebirth'?"
Raven's intention to ask questions and chat was genuine, as was her attempt to interfere with Fu Ze.
Despite the verbal harassment and attacks, Fu Ze's operation remained unchanged, and even became more and more proficient with the continuous use of the [special key].
Only his constantly heaving chest testified to his anger and the backlash he suffered from activating the [Special Key] at high frequency.
But he showed no sign of stopping; instead, he intensified his efforts.
It's like igniting a dawn of the century.
As Fu Ze fought with increasing ferocity, Raven had no choice but to abandon his previous nonchalant attitude and begin to concentrate fully on dealing with the situation.
After dodging another fatal attack, Raven caught a glimpse of Fu Ze's suddenly piercing gaze out of the corner of her eye.
!
What is he going to do?
In the next instant, the curtain walls of the buildings on both sides of the raven's location suddenly exploded, and countless large and small shards of glass flew towards him like the sharpest arrows in the world.
It looked as if they wanted to pierce him with a thousand arrows.
Raven immediately used Teleport once again.
Although he landed in a safe place, he still felt that something was not quite right.
To be precise, nothing feels right.
Looking at the remaining glass on the curtain wall, the raven realized that it had completely changed its appearance.
Where there should be eyes, there is a mouth, and the tongue inside the mouth has been replaced by a finger.
One thigh was stretched extremely long, while the other was compressed very short.
It's like some kind of monster created due to a mishap in the splicing of genetic data.
In this worldview, this "monster" is a bug.
Since it's a bug, it's something that needs to be eliminated by the [Center of All Things].
In the blink of an eye, the raven began to disintegrate, which means it was deleted.
Fu Ze, who had instigated and caused all of this, coldly watched the raven gradually disappear into nothingness.
But he knew the battle was not over.
Sure enough, almost instantly, the large screen not far away emitted a "buzzing" sound, and after flashing twice, the raven's face appeared.
"Alright, alright, since you're so serious, I have to show the same attitude."
"Consider those ravens a small gift to you, don't be shy."
Still wearing that cold and aloof expression, Fu Ze looked at the raven on the big screen with the same look he had for something already in his pocket and someone who was about to die.
That look reminded the raven of many unpleasant experiences.
Changing his previous "friendly" tone, he said in a deep voice:
"To be honest, if I were to get serious, with the vast expanse of the sea and sky here, thousands of meters up and down, do you really think you could easily catch me?"
As if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, Fu Ze smiled slightly for the first time since waking up in Yuan Jianxing's body.
He leaped down from where he was standing and walked step by step toward the raven on the screen.
With each step he took, ripples that overlapped and reinforced each other spread out from where his toes touched the ground.
Just like the old rotten violin bar, everything in the space covered by the ripples, even time itself, was frozen.
Immediately afterwards, the area began to collapse, turning into a void where there was no place to stand or any option to choose.
Clearly, as long as Fu Ze continues to do this, this "vast sky and boundless sea" world will eventually become small enough for him to kill all the ravens.
"Hahahaha!" Upon seeing this, the raven on the screen burst into maniacal laughter. "My friend, wouldn't you say you're willing to sacrifice the entire world for one person?"
All the hard work of some people was ultimately in vain.
However, no matter how battered and broken the world becomes, it has nothing to do with him coming from outside the world.
Then, Raven asked a second question, from a higher dimension, a question that existed only between him and Fu Ze:
"Even if you wield unparalleled supreme power in this world, you only have one life in the real world. Do you think you can outlast me?"
Finally, Fu Ze uttered his first words after the battle with the raven: "Then let's have a match."
“Although the outcome is already decided, whether you fight, flee, or want to use any other tricks, please decide quickly.” Matching Yuan Jianxing’s tone, Fu Ze’s tone showed an unprecedented coldness and determination. “I’m in a hurry.”
-
Fu Ze didn't know how long this final battle lasted, but none of that mattered.
In order to find the ravens scattered in every corner of the world.
In order to completely remove the virus that the other party has implanted in the game.
He has traveled to almost every corner of the world.
From cities to villages, from mountain peaks to deep valleys, from oceans to snow-capped peaks, from rainforests to deserts...
His footprints traversed day and night, and his figure passed through the four seasons.
Wherever he went, everything turned to nothingness.
In the end, the vast world was reduced to a tiny square, where stood the weathered Fu Ze and the last remaining raven.
With defeat inevitable and nowhere to escape, the raven leaned against the tree trunk behind him, took out a small box of popcorn he had pilfered from a stall, and calmly chewed it.
Raising his hand, Fu Ze began to prepare for his final strike.
A gentle breeze rose from his feet, then gradually grew stronger, turning into swirling air currents that made the hair on his forehead and the dusty hem of his clothes tremble.
“I will still write,” Fu Ze suddenly said.
Upon hearing this seemingly random statement, Raven was initially taken aback, then realized that the other party was answering a question he had asked earlier—
[Sigh, if you had known this would happen beforehand, would you still have written the 'death-for-life' program?]
"Because that was the safest decision I could make based on the information I had at the time."
Swirling in the rising, swirling air, Fu Ze's eyelashes seemed to tremble slightly.
"So even if I could foresee the outcome, I would still do it."
Amidst the whistling wind, Yuan Jianxing's words echoed perfectly in Fu Ze's ears.
"You need to do what you're supposed to do."
"Because this is what I should do as a game developer."
"You must go and save those players who chose this game because they trusted you, who belong to the same world as you, and who have real breath and heartbeats."
"Because I have a responsibility to the players who chose this game because of their trust."
Raven has always scoffed at such righteous and morally righteous rhetoric that tries to impose values.
He knew all too well that the vast majority of people who made such statements would not keep their promises, and they themselves did not even believe what they said.
But for some reason, Raven subconsciously felt that if time could be turned back to the beginning, Fu Ze would indeed make the same choice.
Even though the facts have proven that this choice will cause him immense pain.
"Also, you'd better log onto a computer science forum before the police come knocking on your door and check out reports on the application of cutting-edge technologies from two months ago."
Fu Ze's tone suddenly became more relaxed than ever before.
"I didn't delete this world; I just transferred and backed it up."
"Because this place holds memories that he and I share."
Although the original star is no longer here.
"I can't bear to part with it."
But he still couldn't bear to part with it.
Looking through the shell of Yuan Jianxing at Fu Ze inside, Raven finally realized why he felt this person could keep his promise—
Because he is very genuine and sincere.
Because he loved games, he created this world.
Because he enjoys sharing, he invites others to join in.
Because he hoped that more people could enjoy this world, he resolutely stepped in to face almost completely unknown difficulties.
Because he was resilient enough in the face of hardship, he was able to meet Hara Mihoshi during his struggles.
Because he has enough love and understanding for Hara Mihoshi, he chooses to accept her "gift" and tries his best to protect their traces while completing his mission.
Everything is perfectly self-consistent.
At this point, the raven finally felt that it had truly lost.
Just before Fu Ze's final attack was fully prepared, Raven suddenly said:
There are two things I particularly like in this game.
"One is the popcorn flavor; I recommend you try it."
"The other one is a rumor about the clock tower in L City, which I suggest you believe."
The next second, a white light flashed, and the whole world returned to nothingness and silence.
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Author's Note: Yesterday's update was quite heavy. I almost cried myself to death while writing it, so I didn't write anything, even though there's a lot I wanted to say.
But today is different (hands on hips)
Do you all remember the rumors about the bells in L City? [Sunglasses]
By the way, the synopsis even included a callback to Chapter 20, which made me feel like a real pro [noob emoji].
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