In the pure white space, Lin Yi's consciousness trembled slightly.
He looked at the floating ball of light before him, the miniature images of the worlds that flowed by were like crushed stars, each trace of light reflecting a different possible life—there was his disheveled state when he was chased by monsters in the newbie village and fell into a mud pit, sometimes the tragic scene of the air force regiment forming a defensive line with their bodies on the battlefield of another dimension, and the fluorescent light that dissipated from Su Qing's fingertips when she smiled for the last time and said, "This time it's my turn to wait for you."
"Surprised?"
The sound came from all directions, like icicles piercing eardrums.
Lin Yi's pupils contracted slightly as he saw spiderweb-like patterns cracking on the surface of the light sphere, from which a dark shadow seeped out—a being denser than darkness itself, its outline sometimes clear like a mechanical god of an advanced civilization, and sometimes distorted into a superposition of all the enemies he had ever seen.
"This is the point where the fates of all parallel universes converge." The shadowy figure's voice carried a morbid tenderness. "You witnessed humanity's most brilliant resistance, and you also witnessed their most vulnerable struggles."
Now, I'm giving you a choice.
It extended a hand formed from black mist, and a rhombus-shaped crystal with a flowing galaxy floated in its palm: "Take the entire 'Infinite' system and join us."
You will have the authority to control all dimensions and become a true god.
"Your companions won't die, your Su Qing..." the shadowy figure deliberately dragged out the sound, "...can live forever in every parallel world."
Lin Yi's breathing suddenly became rapid.
He recalled Chu Yao's face, her data distorted from crying; he recalled Long Wu's shout before breaking his sword, "Boss, lead us through the next level!"; he recalled Su Qing's fingertips gently touching the back of his hand before her consciousness faded—like a butterfly resting on a dying candle flame.
"You're tempting me." His voice was soft, yet like a steel needle piercing silk. "But you've got one thing wrong."
The shadowy figure stopped moving.
"I am not the successor you selected." Lin Yi raised his hand, the seven-key totem glowing faintly in his palm, the fragments of faith he had collected flowing beneath his skin. "I am the ruler I chose."
The space suddenly trembled violently.
The owl's mechanical arm tore through the void, and half of its charred body crashed down at Lin Yi's feet.
Sparks flew from his mechanical prosthetic eye in his left eye, and his right cheek was still scorched by the lava from another dimension, yet he still grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth: "Lin Yi!"
Do you think you can win by locking down the dimensions?
This broken core contains...
\"Shut up.\"
Lin Yi raised his hand.
Time seemed to freeze into ice crystals above the owl's head. His roar was stuck in his throat, and the blue flames spewing from the power unit in his mechanical chest hung in mid-air, like fireworks that had been paused.
"You should be grateful." Lin Yi walked towards the imprisoned Night Owl, each step shattering a piece of void. "If I kill you now, the tears of those innocent people you slaughtered will give me nightmares."
The owl's eyes darted around frantically, finally settling on the ball of light behind Lin Yi.
He suddenly laughed, blood foam spilling from the corner of his mouth: "You can protect this world... but what about the other dimensions?"
When even more ancient beings smelled the power of faith...
"That's enough."
The shadowy figure's voice suddenly turned as cold as an icebox.
Its outline began to blur, and fine electric currents seeped from the black mist: "It seems you're more interesting than we imagined..."
Before the words were finished, the dark figure vanished into the patterns of the sphere of light, like ink scattered by the wind.
The space returned to silence.
Lin Yi stared at the imprisoned Night Owl and suddenly felt a warm itch on the back of his neck—a resonance that only occurred when Su Qing's consciousness was near.
He slowly turned his head.
In the void, a semi-transparent figure is coalescing.
She wore a white dress, her hair was studded with stardust, and her eyes were like glass soaked in morning dew.
Lin Yi's breathing stopped.
He heard his heart pounding like a drum, and saw the figure raise his hand, his fingertips drawing a faint light in the air, as if to touch his face.
"Su Qing..." he called softly, his voice trembling without him even realizing it.
The space of consciousness suddenly began to distort, and the microcosm of the world of the light sphere began to flow again.
Lin Yi subconsciously reached out, but only grasped a handful of nothingness—the figure had not yet fully formed before it was swept into the stream of light.
"Wait!" He took a step forward, but was blocked by an invisible barrier.
At that moment, he heard Chu Yao's voice explode in his mind, trembling with sobs: "Lin Yi!"
The power of faith at the Earth's core began to flow backward, and the golden markings of all those who had changed jobs... were converging towards your brow!
Lin Yi looked down and saw that the Seven Keys Totem in his palm was emitting a dazzling light.
Those fragments of faith that once belonged to millions are now flowing into his heart like migratory birds returning to their nests.
He recalled the shadowy figure's words about "the real trial," the unfinished threat in the Night Owl's last words, and the familiar figure from just now—that fading light that was still struggling to approach him.
"Chu Yao, activate the full-dimensional coordinate synchronization of the Time-Space Legion." His voice was as steady as a bell. "Long Wu, have the Reality Alliance prepare to receive the extradimensional refugees; Aizen, take your Shadow Guards to guard all the spacetime rifts."
"As for me..." He gazed at his hands, which were gradually enveloped in golden light, a sharp smile playing on his lips, "I'm going to pick someone up."
The light stream in the space suddenly accelerated and spun, drawing Lin Yi's figure into its center.
Before being completely engulfed by the golden light, he took one last look at the imprisoned Night Owl—the arrogant leader of the invaders, who was now staring at him with the eyes of someone looking at a monster.
In the far depths of the void, the silhouette of the figure in the white dress reappeared.
Her fingertips finally touched Lin Yi's palm, and in that instant of merging consciousness, he heard the words hidden deepest in his memory:
"This time, it's my turn to come find you."
The light in the pure white space suddenly solidified into tiny starlight, and Su Qing's figure emerged from the light mist.
Her skirt was no longer stained with stardust, but looked like moonlight washed by water, and her translucent body was filled with a dying glow—the last warmth before her consciousness dissipated.
Lin Yi's pupils contracted sharply. Just as he was about to reach out to grab her, he saw her fingertips gently pressing against his palm.
The moment he touched her, he felt as if he had returned to the stormy night three years ago: Su Qing was just an ordinary college student then, standing outside the game pod with an umbrella, waiting for him, her hair dripping with water, her eyes shining like sparks.
"Don't grab me." Her voice was softer than I remembered, like a feather drifting in the wind. "Right now... I can barely hold on to my physical form."
Lin Yi's Adam's apple bobbed, and something hot pressed against the back of his eyes.
He saw glimmers of light at the corners of her eyes, the energy spilling out as her consciousness disintegrated. "You said this time it would be your turn to wait for me," his voice trembled. "You lied to me."
Su Qing smiled, but tears welled up in her eyes and fell before they could, freezing into ice crystals in the air: "Back then, I thought I could hold on until the end... But who knew that when all the parallel universe versions of me chose to dissipate, this remnant soul became the most greedy." She raised her hand, her fingertips gently touching Lin Yi's brow, where the golden light of the Seven Keys totem was surging wildly. "I saw it; you were hesitating."
Lin Yi's breath hitched.
He was indeed hesitant—the allure of the shadowy figure was like a fine needle pricking his consciousness. Su Qing's immortality and his companion's immortality—things he had sought for so long—were now within reach.
But as he watched the starlight in her eyes gradually dim, he suddenly remembered the blood that splattered on his face when Long Wu broke his sword, the shadow that vanished when Aizen shielded him from a fatal blow, and all the voices shouting "Boss, go first" on the battlefield of the other dimension.
"Their sacrifice should not be used as a bargaining chip for me to become a god," he heard himself say, his voice softer than he had imagined, yet like a heavy hammer striking the void.
Su Qing's tears suddenly fell even more rapidly. Instead of hitting the ground, the teardrops merged with her body, making her semi-transparent figure appear more real: "If you truly want to commemorate me..." Her fingertips traced his cheek, the touch like the gentlest electric current, "then use this power to create a world where sacrifice is unnecessary."
Lin Yi's tears finally broke free.
He grasped her hand, this time not touching nothingness, but a real, warm sensation—a physical entity formed from the last vestiges of her consciousness. "Okay," he nodded firmly, pressing his forehead against hers, "I promise you."
The space suddenly trembled, and the golden light of the Seven Keys Totem burst forth from between Lin Yi's eyebrows, condensing into seven flowing chains of light in his palm.
He looked up at the suspended core—the origin of the Infinite System, which was now violently vibrating as the power of faith poured in.
"Chu Yao, locate the core coordinates." His voice calmed, like ballast before a storm. "Synchronize the mental links of all job changers."
"Synchronized, host." Chu Yao's voice was choked with emotion. "We've detected that your divine power is decreasing... What do you want to do?"
Lin Yi did not answer.
He raised his hand, and seven chains of light suddenly detached from his palm, darting towards the core like serpents.
The Seven Keys of Creation—the keys that were once used by advanced civilizations to manipulate dimensions—are now carrying his will and reintegrating into the system's origin.
\"bite--\"
A clear sound echoed in the void.
The cracks on the core surface began to heal, and the rules that had been altered by the shadows receded like the tide.
At the same time, Lin Yi felt something being drawn from his chest cavity—it was the divine essence he had built with millions of faith, which was now shattering into dust inch by inch as the Seven Keys were returned.
"Are you crazy?!"
The voice of the shadowy figure suddenly rang out.
Its black mist body surged violently, and the outline of the mechanical god almost collapsed: "That is the authority that can control all dimensions!"
Do you know what you're giving up?
Lin Yi looked up and saw a dark red glow seeping from the black mist of the shadowy figure—a sign that the law enforcement of a higher civilization had been alerted. "I know," he said, wiping away his tears, his smile clearer than ever before. "What I gave up was transforming myself into another version of you."
Meanwhile, outside the Earth's atmosphere.
Long Wu, who was commanding the starship, suddenly gripped the communicator tightly.
The golden patterns on his wrist were dazzlingly bright; the faith power that once belonged to Lin Yi was now flowing into the starry sky along the patterns, like countless golden rivers. "Boss, he..." His Adam's apple bobbed as he looked at the core data on the command center's holographic screen, "...is returning the divine spark."
"System rule reset detected!" Aizen's shadow guard suddenly emerged from the shadows, her pupils reflecting a sky full of golden light. "Stability of all spacetime rifts increased by 300%, extradimensional energy begins self-purification!"
Players in the distant, otherworldly battlefield simultaneously looked up.
The professional badges on their chests glowed warmly, and the task prompts that had been forcibly assigned by the system disappeared, replaced by the purest voice from their hearts: "It's time to go home."
In the pure white space, Su Qing's figure finally solidified.
She wore the white dress she'd worn three years ago, virtual raindrops dripping from her hair, her eyes devoid of starlight, radiating only the most vibrant light. "Look," she said, pointing to the gradually calming core, "the system is free."
Lin Yi looked at his palm—the Seven Keys totem was no longer there, only a light pink scar, left from when he was scratched by a wild monster in the starting village.
He suddenly laughed, a laugh filled with the relief of surviving a close call: "So this is what it feels like to be a mortal."
He opened his eyes the moment the last fragment of divine essence dissipated.
The sunlight from the real world streamed through the window and fell on his face.
He lay in the base's medical pod, Chu Yao's projection lying on the edge of the pod, her hair still dripping with wet "tears."
Ryugo, Aizen, and the others huddled outside the cabin, their foreheads pressed against the glass, their eyes as red as rabbits'.
"Welcome back, mortal." Su Qing's voice resonated from the depths of his heart.
He turned his head and saw her sitting on the windowsill, swinging her legs, holding a cup of freshly brewed tea in her hands—exactly the same evening three years ago when she waited for him to finish his game.
"From today onward," Lin Yi said softly, his voice carrying an unprecedented ease, "I am no longer a 'god,' but a mortal who protects this world."
Before he could finish speaking, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Deep within the starry sky outside the window, a shadow belonging to no dimension quietly emerges.
It was an existence older and larger than the shadow, its outline churning with bizarre patterns that Lin Yi had never seen before, like countless gaping mouths slowly opening towards the Earth.
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