First Player

 Later I finally found Xia Jiawen.

 He stood on the rooftop, leaving me with a thin and upright figure.

 Complex codes appear on the screen. I recognized it—this was the order to abolish Jiuyou.

“…Is this your final decision? Fifth manager.” I said.

 At this moment, I no longer call him "Teacher Xia" or "Jiawen", but the serious "fifth manager".

 He heard my voice, but did not look back. I could only vaguely see his raised eyelashes through the reflection of the lenses, which were slightly trembling and stained with moisture.

Next to it is the display screen of the life hard disk memory, which shows the number of deaths of [1,628 people], including Lin Yawen of course. So Xia Jiawen even knew about their deaths before I did—no, that's not right. When he left the auditorium early, he should have made an agreement with Lin Yawen, and even the order to die collectively was decided by him.

 I can’t imagine how he felt when he made that decision in just a few seconds. There were his lover and children in the **** auditorium. But he bid farewell to them so resolutely and walked up to the rooftop alone to perform the final work.

 …Did he give Lin Yawen a farewell hug at the end?

I have no idea.

“…are we the only two left?” Xia Jiawen stopped typing the code and looked back at me.

When the cursor on the screen stays on the last letter, and only a simple "enter" is left, this Jiuyou will fall into a state of no one working - the control room will fall into dormancy, and the body cultivation plan of the old **** will be stagnant forever. , the old gods after a thousand years are likely to see an empty Jiuyou.

“Yes, there are only two of us left.” I responded to him.

Looking around, the building we are in is like a spire in the sea, and the black mist is like a tsunami, spreading over most of the land. The number of lives on the screen is also telling us - there are only three lives left.

Me, Xia Jiawen, and Lu Shu who doesn’t know where he is.

Just the favoritism of a researcher, just a millisecond of omission... can lead to such horrific results - God can make millions of mistakes, but as long as humans make one mistake, they will pay a terrible price. We are only responsible for the outer edge of the Millennium Plan, but it is still so tragic.

 …This is “confronting God”.

Xia Jiawen looked out through the glasses. The auditorium was no longer visible, submerged in the fog as thick as the sea, and no one could see the thousands of smiling corpses sitting inside.

 The look in his eyes felt strange to me.

  He has always been a gentle person, caring for children and gentle to his lover. He has never blushed once in so many years of marriage.

However, at this moment, his eyes were deep, long-term, and cold.

"Stop typing the code, fifth manager." My voice was also cold: "Even if all the staff die, we can find a group of new people to station in Jiuyou instead of abandoning Jiuyou."

 Xia Jiawen looked at me.

 There is something in his eyes that I can't understand.

"Mingyue." He still used the familiar name, unlike me: "The location of Jiuyou has been known by Duiying. Even if the Utopia automatically expels all the black mist, Duiying may come again in a few years. The price He paid does not need to be much: if he releases a black mist casually, the tragedy will still happen again. This time we are lucky, you and I are both alive, and we still have time to perform the final operation, but if the next time, the next time... a thousand years What if you and I died unexpectedly countless times? Who does Jiuyouhui belong to? "

“If Jiuyou is abandoned and only the basic functions are retained, and it is mechanized to operate on its own without any human intervention, there will be 100% no problems. There will be no human beings here at all.”

“In this way, at least Jiuyou cannot be taken away by the enemy, and the largest life hard drive transformed by General Qin will safely survive for thousands of years—this is the most important thing.”

“—That’s your excuse!” I said, “—You just don’t want to see any more casualties!”

 What he said actually makes sense. Jiuyou's biggest task is to store life hard drives. As for building the monitoring room and cultivating the body of the old god... they are all side tasks. Although without these tasks, the plan will inevitably have flaws, but at least it will continue to run.

 But Xia Jiawen was not afraid of Jiuyou's fall at all, but he did not want to see such total destruction happen again. The Millennium Plan was perfect, how could it be abandoned because of a single attack? But after the coordinates were leaked, the price to maintain Jiuyou was too heavy, including human lives.

 When he was chosen as the fifth manager to take charge of Jiuyou, it was because of his gentleness and kindness. But what prompted him to give up Jiuyou now was his soft character.

 —Sacrificing so many lives for some side tasks. His choice was no.

 Xia Jiawen looked at me.

 There was dust on his body and the fabric on his knees was in tatters. He should have seen a lot of tragedies on the road. Mobs shot at children, and dying children were covered in blood and crying for help... But he didn't stop. He needed to make sure he ran to the rooftop in time. In those few dozen seconds, his heart broke.

 When he ran here, he was already alone.

 The black mist spread bit by bit, gradually rising to the height of the rooftop, only a few dozen meters remaining.

 “...Mingyue.” His voice became hoarse.

I think of that starry night, when he was lying on the bench, crying and shouting... He wanted a pair of trousers, free trousers that could be bought in the mall. Jiuyou's shopping mall has been established over the years, and he has many pairs of trousers, all hanging in his closet.

 His wish has come true.

 …But his wish never seemed to come true.

　　…“…we have never had freedom.”

 My fingers were aimed at his fingertips. As long as he showed signs of pressing "enter", my word spirit would stop him immediately.

 He looked at me.

 There is deep sadness in his eyes.

"...Mingyue. I told you that day that I wanted a pair of trousers. Can you let me have this pair of 'trousers'?"

 “Reason.” I needed him to convince me.

"After Jiuyou is abandoned, many areas will not be included in the protection scope of the Utopia, so a part of the Utopia will be separated. I will give this part to you. You can take the Utopia with you wherever you go. You can protect it wherever you want. ,you are free."

　　　…”

"With the protection of the Utopia, you can write the "Book of Rules" with peace of mind, right? You will write it sooner or later."

　　　…”

"With the protection of the Utopia, it is very easy for you to cultivate the old god's body. You don't need Jiuyou, you can create a spare body of the old **** yourself. After a thousand years, you can personally take over the old god, and you can even Create a natural novice village for Him. This must be much better than Him being born into the world without knowing anything."

　　　…”

“I believe in your power more than Jiuyou, Mingyue.”

 I know what he is talking about. I understand how he feels.

For some side tasks, watching generations of people die tragically... Even if I am indifferent, I still resist. If the ark of civilization needs to ride on the bones of children, he is unwilling to raise the sails.

 So under my gaze, his fingertips pressed down.

  Enter.

There was a click, as if fate had turned in a deeper direction, and I felt that I was at an unknown crossroads.

 At this moment, the black fog was less than five meters away from us.

 …

 Brilliant blue-violet light flows from the pipeline, like a blood vessel transporting venous blood and arterial blood. I closed my eyes and walked forward step by step amid the buzzing sound, the hot wind blowing in my ears.

 Jiuyou was abandoned.

All this is just because of the selfishness of a researcher, just like the demise of an empire is just because of a horseshoe.

 …Will we become a horseshoe in this millennium plan?

I don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but I can’t see where another destiny will lead, which is a bloodier, colder, and more delicate road.

Xia Jiawen put the split Utopia in my hands—a small cross necklace.

“The shape is really unique. We are anti-God, but the Utopia looks like a cross.” I hung it around my neck.

“Shape is not important. Its essence is an energy barrier that can isolate the interference and prying eyes of ‘gods’.” Xia Jiawen said.

I took off my white coat and threw it into the black mist—now I was free and no longer needed it.

“Mingyue, how do you want to live your life in the future?” he asked.

"I will find a place to establish the Utopia. From now on, not only in Jiuyou, there will also be a small Utopia in another corner of the world." I said.

"Good."

"And you?"

 “I should be traveling around trying to save children on the ground.”

“If you are tired, come to my Utopia. No matter how old you are or how many times you have been reincarnated.”

 “…Okay, it’s a deal.”

"Whatever you want to do, you can be a teacher. I can build a school in the Utopia, and I can continue to celebrate the Peace Festival."

"…good."

 We are committed to this. His originally gloomy expression had brightened.

I pushed him into the teleportation device, went downstairs again, found Lu Shu who was fighting against the black mist alone, and pushed Lu Shu in too. Fortunately, the device was large.

The white light was activated, and I stood in the gradually shrinking black fog, looking into Xia Jiawen's eyes through the glass.

 He kissed the Chaoyan flower in his hand, and tears finally fell from his eyes.

 I suddenly remembered...this flower was the one he gave to Lin Yawen last night.

 Perhaps she gave it back to him during her final farewell today.

 I remember one of the meanings of this flower,

 Love till death.

 …

 When I went downstairs, I suddenly saw a figure.

That was a young man with black hair and a blank look on his face.

 There is no one left alive in Jiuyou, and I recognize who he is.

 “Hello.” He looked sideways at me: “I am the spare body of the old god.”

 “What generation are you from?” I asked.

 Over the years, the bodies of the old gods have changed one batch after another, and each batch is closer to the old gods in history. Judging from the appearance of this young man, he is almost no different from the old god.

 “I am No. 3030.” He replied calmly.

 …Really? There are 3030 of them so soon. It seems that the update is very fast.

 I passed by him without stopping.

He said: "The cultivation plan has stalled, and I am the last 'old god'. Do you have anything to say to me?"

 After I leave Jiuyou, Jiuyou will be sealed. If this 3030 Su Mingan had not died in the black mist, he would have stayed here for a thousand years. It is difficult for a human soul to have such a long lifespan. In the end, he might go crazy, or he might give up all his memories in order to maintain his sanity. If I see him again after a thousand years, he will definitely not recognize me.

 So I have nothing to say to him.

 But I briefly recovered my thoughts at this moment. Li Mingyue wouldn't say anything, but Su Mingan would.

 So I said: “…be yourself.”

 These are the only words I have to leave him.

 Be yourself, 3030.

 We have stopped all plans for Jiuyou. You can do whatever you want. It's a big place with all kinds of entertainment facilities, and you have a thousand years of free time.

 You are free and it doesn't matter if you run away.