Huang Yi didn’t ask Sharp Sword why he made this choice, because when every possibility can be simulated, reality and virtuality cannot be distinguished at all. It all depends on what each person chooses to believe, and belief is a very subjective thing.
Mr. Huang Sha looked at the fish swimming in the lake and said, "Now, both of you have made your choices. There is no right or wrong to your choices, just different things that you believe in. We will honor your thoughts and let you see what you wish to believe."
Huang Yi and Sharp Sword exchanged a look, neither of them speaking, as if it were a silent farewell.
They made completely different choices, perhaps living in completely different worlds in the future.
Maybe one day, they would et again, and what they believe in may change, and the world they are in may beco different.
"I’m leaving now, hope to see you again in the future." Huang Yi nodded at Sharp Sword, gave him a last deep look, and then vanished into the air.
In the Lake Heart Pavilion, only Sharp Sword and Mr. Huang Sha were left.
Sharp Sword gazed at the door on the opposite side of the lake, took a deep breath, and said calmly, "If you decide to go to a faraway place, under what circumstances would you co back again?"
Mr. Huang Sha looked at the float on the lake, as if reminiscing about sothing, his gaze gradually losing focus, a gentle smile appearing at the corners of his mouth: "When the person I need, needs ."
Sharp Sword pressed his lips together, seemingly pondering this sentence.
The air was quiet, with only the afternoon breeze blowing by.
"I see! Goodbye, Mr. Huang Sha!" Sharp Sword’s expression turned firm once more, and he bowed deeply to Mr. Huang Sha’s back, then turned and left.
...
After leaving the Courtyard of the Pantheons, Huang Yi suddenly felt aimless.
He no longer had a goal, only needing to wait for the release date in a few days. Logging on had turned into rely a way to pass ti, with no enemies, no quests.
He returned to the place where he had first been born, to the city where the cat had given birth to him. There wasn’t a single player here, it was all empty, everyone had traveled through the Black Hole to the Land of Origin, leaving only so NPCs behind.
As he walked down the deserted streets, he suddenly felt a bit sentintal, like being in an old ga that no one plays anymore, being the only one left online, with all the avatars in the friends list grayed out.
Those once highly sought-after bosses weren’t being fought anymore, Legendary Equipnt wasn’t being competed over, those densely surrounded NPCs now stood alone in the Main City, and the nas on the leaderboards hadn’t moved in a long ti, quietly showing the past glory.
Huang Yi strolled slowly, traversing the paths he once walked, arriving at the now-ruined Wind Forest Stronghold, at Bai Long Lake, at Thornbush City, at the desert Dragon City, reflecting on the past few years in this empty world.
Several years passed just like that, and those experiences felt like they happened a long, long ti ago, like a dream.
Standing outside the city walls of Dragon City, he recalled the scene when he first ca here, trying to et Qin Shiyu but was blocked by the Skeleton Army outside the city, only entering with great effort.
The bits and pieces of those trivial matters are so nostalgic to rember now.
Fortunately, the long and winding road was not in vain, all the struggles were not betrayed, and he would soon be released and live the life he truly wanted.
Suddenly, the air in front of him rippled, and a graceful figure was teleported over, it was Qin Shiyu.
Seeing her, Huang Yi suddenly recalled Mr. Huang Sha’s words: if this beauty before him is a fake NPC...
Huang Yi just stared at her, watching her affectionate eyes, seeing the sweet smile at the corners of her mouth, sensing the air she exhaled, feeling her presence.
"Brother Yi, what’s wrong with you?" Qin Shiyu asked in confusion, seeing the strange expression on Huang Yi’s face.
"You know, just now Mr. Huang Sha said you’re not a real person, but an NPC!" Huang Yi chuckled, shaking his head, and reached out to stroke Qin Shiyu’s hair, as if he were telling a joke.
Qin Shiyu was amused too, hugged Huang Yi, and said softly, "Silly, of course I’m real!"
Huang Yi trembled violently, standing still like a statue, his hand staying motionless on Qin Shiyu’s head.
"Brother Yi, why are you so surprised?" Qin Shiyu asked, increasingly puzzled, tilting her head and pouting, whimsically said, "I’ve been here for a while, and you haven’t even kissed yet!"
"You almost scared to death!" Huang Yi exhaled deeply, puckering his mouth like an unhappy child, "Your answer was just like an NPC! I don’t care, you have to answer it again!"
Qin Shiyu stuck out her slender finger, poked Huang Yi’s forehead, and teased, "Big fool! What’s in your head? Just a few words from Mr. Huang Sha and you think I’m fake? We’ve grown up together, been through so much over these years, and you don’t believe , but are swayed by a few casual words?"
"No, I just got startled your answer matched an NPC’s. I was just scared!" Huang Yi quickly hugged her to comfort her.
Qin Shiyu wrinkled her nose: "Humph! Any normal girl would reply like that when asked by her boyfriend, right? It’s an easy guess! If Mr. Huang Sha could predict everything I would say the next day, then I’d have reason to consider if I’m really real!"
"Alright, don’t be mad! I don’t believe Mr. Huang Sha, I just trust my feelings." Huang Yi said, kissing her on the cheek.
Qin Shiyu finally cald down, hugged Huang Yi’s neck, and said, "Why don’t you go to the Land of Origin?"
"My past is all here, I want to take a longer look, and the Land of Origin is a new era, I’ll go there later to see." Huang Yi reached out to caress Qin Shiyu’s silky hair, imagining that in a few days, he could truly feel her hair, and every night hold her in his arms, breathing her scent, and sleep peacefully.
These years of hard work were all for this day, finally about to be realized.
Qin Shiyu placed her face against Huang Yi’s chest, closed her eyes, and said, "Yes! That kind of life will stay here forever! We should live our own little life now. But I believe, your legend will continue to circulate in the Virtual World, newcors will beco your Successors, and they will carry your glory, stirring up storms in that new world, creating new legends..."
...
The Land of Origin, atop a mountain peak.
A youth with a wild expression sat at the edge of a towering cliff, leisurely swinging his legs, gazing down at the mountains and rivers, grasslands and forests below, a beautiful world unfolding before him, as if miracles were everywhere.
"Hmm?" At this mont, he slightly raised his head and looked towards the sky not far away.
A small Green Leaf drifted over, light as a feather, rolling continuously with the wind, coming from who knows where.
The leaf drifted right in front of him, he reached out, grabbed that leaf, and looked at it closely in front of his eyes.
This Green Leaf was delicate and petite, unremarkable, but there was a line of small characters written on the front, which he softly read aloud—
"We fight not because there are enemies, but because there are loved ones."
As soon as he finished reading, an electronic synthesized voice sounded—
"[System Prompt]: Congratulations on obtaining the [Drifting Leaf] of [God King · God of Killing], you have received part of the inheritance of [God King · God of Killing]."
The youth was stunned, it was only after a good while that a wildly joyful smile suddenly blood on his face, he excitedly cradled that leaf as if it were a Treasure.
This Drifting Leaf must be from a distant place, perhaps blown away by God of Slaughter one day, drifting and drifting until it naturally landed in his hands, granting him the inheritance.
He quickly checked the abilities he inherited, one of them was conspicuously—
[Eye of Ti]: Able to see the distant past and a limited future.
He stared at the Drifting Leaf in his hand, imdiately using the Eye of Ti to look into its past, to the day it started drifting—
It was an endless ocean, a giant turtle was slowly swimming in it, its back resembling a small island with villages, bamboo forests, and peaks on it...
The view began to descend, the island growing larger, details becoming clearer, finally settling in a valley reminiscent of the Immortal Realm.
In this valley stood a man, surrounded by several small Blue Elves, holding a Green Leaf in his hand, lightly exhaling a breath.
The Green Leaf instantly floated up, as if held by an invisible force, drifting higher and farther.
The man raised his head, gazing in the direction of the disappearing Green Leaf, precisely aligning with the perspective, as if transcending ti and confronting the youth.
"God of Slaughter, I will carry your glory onward..." The youth murmured.
...
In a Cold Storage sowhere on Earth, the door was slowly opening.
In the darkness, Sharp Sword held his sister’s small hand, standing at the entrance, quietly watching the door slowly open.
Years of accumulated dust gently fell, a ray of golden sunlight illuminated from outside, slightly dazzling.
Sharp Sword squinted, adapted for a mont, then took his sister’s hand and slowly walked out, into the warm sunlight.
Outside was a desolate wasteland, not far away were several abandoned cars, covered in rust, engulfed by weeds.
The distant city was in ruins, skyscrapers overgrown with weeds, broken windows extending green vines, resembling a scene of human extinction.
Sharp Sword stared blankly at all of this, not taking a step forward for a long while, as if once stepping forward, he would truly enter that wasteland-like world.
"Brother, is this the real world?"
"I don’t know, perhaps this is also a Virtual World."
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