CHAPTER 1011: CHAPTER 1008: THE BIRTH OF THE DEMON KING

"It’s okay, this is the safest place," Su Ming’an replied to Alice.

——His only advantage, perhaps, lies in the absolutely safe Dao Ya City.

He felt his vision darkening, he wanted to collapse onto the sofa and sleep, but there was still a fourth game to play through the night. He didn’t know when the next chance to sleep would be.

He reached out to Li Mingyue, wanting to take the game disc, but Li Mingyue shook her head.

"There’s still an hour before the server opens at twelve," Li Mingyue said. "You can sleep for an hour, and I’ll wake you up when it’s time."

Li Mingyue opened the door beside her, revealing a bed that was made and smelled of calming herbs, with a few bouquets of fresh flowers on the bedside table.

"I knew you might come back, so I kept the room for you. You can always come back here; this can be your place to rest," said Li Mingyue.

"..." Su Ming’an looked at the cozy little room in surprise.

Admittedly, when he saw this scene, he was indeed very touched. Like a traveler who had been struggling and hitting walls outside for too long, returning home exhausted and seeing a made bed and cooked meal. In a world full of dangers, this was the only safe place.

"Then I’ll rest for an hour first," Su Ming’an said to the air, "Chang Ge, are you there? While I’m asleep, use my body to check the internet for me and continue gathering information. Just lie down and watch; the body still needs to rest."

These days, important events happen every minute and second, and the world is extremely lively. The competition among disciples, the capture of disruptors by orderlies, the execution by fire in the Steam Age... missing just an hour online feels like entering a different era.

"Okay," Chang Ge responded sullenly.

This old geezer was always very quiet because Su Ming’an practiced Taoism every day and didn’t sleep, so Chang Ge basically never came out. Usually, Chang Ge acted as if afraid of disturbing Su Ming’an, only occasionally speaking, like an electronic pet.

"What about Alice? You should sleep too," Su Ming’an noticed Alice’s dark circles. Since becoming a goddess, she probably had been studying for the people and hadn’t really rested.

Alice looked around as if searching for a bed.

"You can sleep here," Li Mingyue nonchalantly pointed to the folding chair next to her.

Alice looked closely; the folding chair was worlds apart from the soft bed. Li Mingyue went back to reading her book without intending to fetch her a blanket.

This stark contrast left her speechless. She thought Li Mingyue was a gentle person, but it turned out to be exclusionary.

"Can I..." Alice pointed to Su Ming’an’s bed.

"No!" Su Ming’an and Li Mingyue objected simultaneously.

Su Ming’an thought that Chang Ge would be awake, and since Alice was already sixteen, it wasn’t appropriate for them to share a bed.

Li Mingyue directly took out a blanket, stopping Alice from entertaining such dangerous thoughts.

When the door closed, Su Ming’an tucked himself in and closed his eyes. He sank between the soft mattress and pillow, and his whole body finally relaxed. There was no more reassuring moment than this, comparable to the sleep after each world ended in the Main God World.

——No need to worry about waking up to a reset, no need to worry about someone spying on him, no need to worry about missing something terrifying while sleeping, nor about losing someone.

This feeling was wonderful. It was like the normal sleep of an ordinary person, yet a rare experience he could hardly possess.

The calming herbal scent wafted to his nose, and the flowers on the bedside table were also soothing...

"..."

...Hmm?

Drowsiness came like a tide, sleepiness gradually covering everything, just at that moment——a siren blared in his mind, a reflex honed through life-and-death struggles.

...Dao Ya City is a small city amidst internal conflict and ruins.

...Then why are there fresh, vibrant flowers on the bedside here?

In an instant, Su Ming’an’s sleepiness vanished, terror gripping his heart. He immediately wanted to open his eyes but found his eyelids like heavy curtains clinging tightly to his pupils.

The herbal scent at his nose seemed to entice his soul, causing his consciousness to uncontrollably sink down and forcing him into slumber.

...Impossible.

...Impossible, impossible, impossible.

His heart pounded, but he couldn’t open his eyes, like encountering sleep paralysis. He focused all his attention on his limbs, desperately trying to escape the sleep state, keeping his consciousness fiercely awake.

...Impossible, this is the safest place. Li Mingyue...

...Li Mingyue wouldn’t betray him... If even Li Mingyue would betray him...

Then he...

No, no...

Su Ming’an struggled with all his might, his spirit steadfastly defended the line. He breathed heavily, fighting furiously with his drowsiness until——

"...!"

Suddenly opening his eyes, Su Ming’an finally broke through the limitation of his eyelids and sat up. Fortunately, he was alert enough before, he merely closed his eyes a bit, not yet sinking into deeper relaxation.

He never imagined that this safest, most reassuring, and only place he trusted could also be a trap. Had he not woken up, who knows what might have happened.

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead as he turned his head.

——The door, ajar.

Amid the shadows of flowers, outside the door was a beautiful blue full moon. It was low at the intersection of the lake and sky, like a jade plate scattering silver light, moonlight spilling through the wide-open door.

The white-clad bishop stood at the door, his moonlit hand on the doorknob, like a frozen moonbeam, seeming just to have pushed the door open. When his eyes met Su Ming’an’s, a look of astonishment appeared, as if he hadn’t expected Su Ming’an to wake up.

"...Wen... Ming’an. How are you awake?" Li Mingyue said.

"...Why." Su Ming’an’s voice was calm. But if listened to carefully, it carried an imperceptible tremble.

Why, is it like this.

Tell me, where did the flowers come from. Flowers cannot originate from Dao Ya City; who sent them to you.

Who could possess such fresh flowers, and why did you receive their flowers, what did you communicate about.

Su Ming’an was long accustomed to traps and being targeted. However, such a soft and warm bed, this familiar and safe church... was the only place he didn’t want to doubt. So when he saw the flowers on the bedside, he even directly ignored its unreasonableness, unconsciously wanting to believe here, if not for his instinct of suspicion...

He wouldn’t have woken up.

If he hadn’t woken up, he likely wouldn’t have seen Li Mingyue’s door opening.

"I..." Li Mingyue began.

But for the next moment, his expression instantly turned indifferent, as he said:

"——Don’t you like my flowers?"

In hearing this mechanical tone, Su Ming’an realized that a deity had possessed Li Mingyue.

Although Li Mingyue protects Dao Ya City, and the Oracle cannot intervene in Dao Ya City, it seems that the Deity can always possess Li Mingyue. There might be some connection between them. But their differences are also obvious, so much so that with a change in gaze, Su Ming’an can sense it.

"Deity, if you truly have hardships, you can tell me. If you have any enemies you cannot oppose, you can also tell me." Su Ming’an’s voice was somewhat broken, clutching the sheets tightly: "Don’t—don’t do this anymore."

Don’t be omnipresent anymore.

Stop appearing next to me at every turn, harming the people around me. Stop hindering me under the guise of doing what’s best for me.

But the Deity shook their head: "Perhaps Lin Guang from the Ninth World gave you some misunderstanding, making you think everyone has hardships. Unfortunately, I am not like him, and my targeting of you is just to prevent you from dying within the permitted rules. If you die, I will lose interests, that’s all."

"I participate in the tower, and that’s courting death? So much so that you want me to stay by your side all the time, and you use various means to disable me?" Su Ming’an said softly.

The oppressive feeling the Deity has given him these days is too strong, even Alice is a trap of the Deity, and he has already had several close-to-death scenarios. Even at the most desperate times in the Eighth World, he wasn’t suffering this much.

Hearing his somewhat broken voice, the Deity just silently watched him, as if there was something on his face.

Su Ming’an clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and five seconds later, he quickly adjusted his mindset, his expression becoming calm:

"...Then let’s talk, Deity."

The silver-blue moonlight sprinkled between them, and Alice on the folding chair had already fallen asleep. She slept soundly, without hearing the commotion on this side.

The Deity fiddled with the flower branches, not even looking at Su Ming’an.

"There’s nothing left to talk about." The Deity said in a low voice: "You want to complete the tower, and I don’t want you to do it. So between us, there is an irreconcilable contradiction. However, I can’t kill you directly, at most make you lose the ability to act."

"Are you really not doing this for my good? You previously had Mizushima Kawa Sora tell me, you don’t want me to clear the tower because I’ll be devoured by the Exotic Species King in the end." Su Ming’an asked.

It’s not that he is overthinking, it’s just that he has seen too many similar people. All claiming to be for his good, yet doing many things that harm him, though most of them are for the responsibility to the world. Whether during the time of Yun Shang City with Su Rin, or the near-metamorphosis of Xiber, or even Lin Guang.

"Oh." The Deity chuckled, even laughing, their smile looked very faint: "Don’t take yourself too seriously. I don’t want you to be devoured by the Exotic Species King, also because if you are devoured by it, I will lose my interests."

The Deity had no riddles to tell, they had already made it very clear. Besides why Su Ming’an’s death would cause them to lose interests, the Deity had almost revealed everything.

With the conversation reaching this point, Su Ming’an couldn’t strategize against them further.

"You once helped me delete posts across the computer screen, then said you ’really like me.’ Now you say that you’re not doing this for my good." Su Ming’an still remembered this.

The Deity seemed to recall this as well. Their expression slightly changed, then said coldly: "There is no conflict between the two. I can appreciate you, yet still target you, they can coexist."

Su Ming’an neither confirmed nor denied, it was indeed so.

"...Alright, now you can really sleep. I won’t set any more traps for now." The Deity dispelled the incense in the room: "However, it’s best to lock the door before sleeping."

Su Ming’an knew he couldn’t blame Li Mingyue. Maybe Li Mingyue just wanted him to sleep, but the Deity took the opportunity to possess Li Mingyue, almost taking Su Ming’an away.

"By the way." The Deity seemed to think of something: "Your physical body is still with me, remember to come by when you have a chance to retrieve it."

"How is Su Rin?" Su Ming’an asked.

"He can’t kill me, and I can’t kill him." The Deity said: "He can’t leave my place now, so I look forward to you coming for him. Right now, he’s causing a ruckus every day at my place, it’s making things difficult for me."

Su Ming’an was barely holding it together.

...Su Rin, I told you to keep seeking the Deity every day.

It’s rare for him to hear of Su Rin hitting a wall, but this is indeed because of him. If Su Rin hadn’t given him the body, Su Rin wouldn’t be stuck in the Deity’s lair. However, the Deity can’t kill Su Rin, and Su Rin even gets to do whatever he wants there, he just can’t leave. Hopefully, this won’t become a crisis later on.

Su Ming’an maintained his silence, and the Deity had no intention to continue communicating.

The Deity closed their eyes, and after a moment, Li Mingyue’s consciousness returned.

"...Ming’an." Li Mingyue called, his gaze struggled for a moment, finally saying slowly: "I will... leave here, stay a little further from you."

Su Ming’an wordlessly nodded.

He locked the door, summoned two cats for alert, and put on his Dream Patrol Helmet. Sleep time was almost up.

He looked at the game disc of the fourth game, "Fate Simulator." On the disc was engraved a young boy in a red robe, holding a scalpel stained with purple blood.

——What type of game is this?

Su Ming’an splashed a basin of cold water on his head to stay awake, then dried his hair and put on the helmet, his senses began to shift——

...

Su Ming’an originally thought he would see a flashy opening animation for the game. After all, in "Girl’s Dream Project," there was a very long game opening animation.

However, when he opened his eyes, he only saw a—boy in a red robe.

In the pure white space, the boy in the red robe quietly looked at him, accompanied by three choices:

["Please shatter that iceberg and start your voyage."——Start Game]

["Amidst everyone’s gaze, the Demon King is born here."——Live Management]

["Ride the crane from Song Mountain, retreat amidst the clouds."——End Game]

...

Su Ming’an waved his hand, and the boy in the red robe returned a smile. The boy in the red robe had jet-black hair and eyes, looking handsome.

"Hello?" Su Ming’an said.

"Hello." The boy in the red robe smiled and nodded.

"Who are you?" Su Ming’an asked.

"I am the NPC guiding you through the game, please start your game." The boy in the red robe replied.

"Is this game fun?" Su Ming’an looked at this NPC, noting its seemingly high intelligence, and asked.

"You’ll fall in love with it." The boy in the red robe smiled.

...Really?

Su Ming’an glanced at the time, it was almost twelve. He opened the live broadcast, reached out, and clicked on [Start Game].

The game began.

A line of white text appeared.

...

[Welcome to the warm and healing short game.]

[——The Demon King is born here.]

...