CHAPTER 1045: CHAPTER 1042: "ARE YOU A GOOD MAN?

Like the congregation of players at the opening of the Eighth World, Su Ming’an stands among the stars, surrounded by other participants. Everyone stands in a ring in this starry sky. Here, they can breathe, float, and move.

To Su Ming’an’s surprise, the original twenty-nine thousand or so participants have dwindled to just about two or three hundred.

"Three years have passed, many have died unexpectedly, and many have voluntarily given up on participating. The destroyers continue to hunt down the orderly ones, determined to bring their numbers to zero. That’s why the numbers have reduced so much." Lu said: "It’s very difficult for the orderly ones to survive."

"Are you all destroyers?"

"Both I and Yamada are. But, we probably won’t win, right?" Lu said.

Destroyers can only win by killing all the orderly ones, and since Su Ming’an is an orderly one, the destroyers are destined not to win.

At this moment, the people whispering among themselves quieted down, as they saw someone. She stood slightly in the center, her water crystal crown quite conspicuous.

"—Mizushima Kawa Sora!" Player Zhang Daoxuan shouted first. He comes from the ancient martial arts Qingyun Sect: "Do you know what you’ve done?"

Compared to other organizations, ancient martial arts value Su Ming’an’s death more, their future hinges on Mizushima Kawa Sora, and now they can only hope she’ll give a statement, giving them a way out. Now that heroes have risen, Lv Shu ignores them, only Mizushima Kawa Sora has any standing.

"Mizushima Kawa Sora, you indeed should consider how to make amends." Player Eli tossed the card in his hand and said indifferently.

He comes from the assassin organization Black Card and has no opinion on this matter. He just wants to survive, and Su Ming’an’s passing shattered that hope. Several of his brothers have been in panic for a long time because of this.

"Mizushima Kawa Sora. Now this is like a death sentence for us, how much time do we have left? Six months? Seven months?" Player Agnes waved her handkerchief with disdain. She represents the free force and only cares about her own survival.

Facing this situation where everyone is pointing fingers at her, Mizushima Kawa Sora remained calm and said nothing, as if she had truly become a pure white goddess statue.

"Mizushima Kawa Sora. You murderer, I’ll kill you—!" In the silence, player Lu Meng couldn’t help but rush out, her face full of anger and with a yellow chrysanthemum bracelet hanging from her wrist. Her hand condensed into transparent ice blades, aiming straight for Mizushima Kawa Sora’s neck!

A soft sound was heard.

Mizushima Kawa Sora didn’t make a move. It was a wave of invisible force that flashed by, compelling Lu Meng back to her original position, as if dragged by some unseen power.

"I understand your anger, but violence is prohibited here." A clear voice sounded.

In this vast starry sky, a pair of ocean-like eyes suddenly opened. The glorious blue hue shimmered with a flickering star sea, as if a galaxy was flowing in those eyes.

"What is this thing?" Player Qiuqiu was startled.

"Could it be... Dieying above the starry sky?" Xue Qixia, who knew quite a bit, recognized whose eyes they belonged to.

People looked at each other.

—Right, they are now indeed above the starry sky.

The congregation of destroyers and orderly ones actually happened above the starry sky. This suggests Dieying is the true master of the tower, calling them together. The tower is unrelated to deities.

Above the starry sky is Dieying’s domain. Dieying is a mysterious existence with unknown identity and purpose. Deities have always wanted to drive Dieying away, but Dieying remains above the starry sky. It can be seen that Dieying and deities are almost equals. Who knows what Dieying may do.

"I’m scared..." Qiuqiu said softly.

It used to be Su Ming’an who confronted deities at that level, but now without him, the burden suddenly falls on them.

Rimu Sheng doesn’t comfort, he can only pat her shoulder.

At this moment, the clear voice sounded again:

"—No need to be afraid, I’m not frightening."

As the colossal blue eyes vanished, a blue figure appeared before them.

The figure’s appearance was indistinct, showing only a pair of blue eyes. The robe that covered the body seemed woven from the galaxy, with starry points dancing upon it. As the figure raised its hand, glowing light flowed across its fingers and arms, like a flowing galaxy.

"Dieying... Looks like this?" Alger scratched his head.

People stood in a circle at their positions, Dieying in the center, facing the direction of Su Ming’an.

Su Ming’an moved quietly to the right. Lu understood and silently switched places with Su Ming’an, only for Dieying’s head to turn slightly, aligning itself again with Su Ming’an’s direction.

Su Ming’an nudged Yamada Machiichi to his right, and Yamada Machiichi understood, immediately switching places with Su Ming’an. The next moment, Dieying’s head turned again, aligning once more with Su Ming’an’s direction.

Now, Su Ming’an realized—out of over three hundred people here, you just have to look at me when speaking, huh.

"Participants, you may have heard rumors about me. People call me—’Dieying above the starry sky’. However, it’s the first time we’re communicating face to face like this." Dieying’s voice carried a hint of laughter: "The deities surely told you ’Dieying is not a good man’ information, advised you not to approach me. However, it’s the deities who killed your Su Ming’an, wiped out history, turned people into numb walking corpses, arranged a destiny of death for you. I believe in your ability to judge, you should be able to discern true good and evil."

People listened, breath held in concentration.

"Dieying. Then are you a good man?" At this moment, a girl spoke up. She’s only eight years old but carries a heavy sword. Her name is Xixi, and without any guardians selected for the World Game, she had to venture alone at her tender age, still illiterate.

Dieying flickered slightly, appearing before her in the next second.

People were immediately frightened, someone reached out wanting to save the young girl. They all thought Dieying might harm her, as she interrupted.

However, Dieying merely extended a hand and patted the girl’s head.

Its voice softened almost to the point of melting: "...Big Brother Dieying is not a bad person."

Xixi widened her eyes, staring at Dieying just an arm’s length away. It looked truly beautiful, the whole body like a flowing galaxy, those pretty blue eyes felt like they could pull a person in.

"Where are your mom and dad?" Dieying crouched down, tidying her disheveled collar. Such a young child, with a few drops of blood on her collar.

"They’ve disappeared. The principal said I can see them again after a year." Xixi answered with wide eyes.

"Principal?"

"He’s the one who takes us kids in. He gives us delicious treats, new clothes, a place to live, and teaches us to write and draw. He also teaches us how to clear instances." Xixi looked up and said, "He’s taken in many, many kids like us, thousands and thousands. Everyone likes the Dean Brother. The Dean Brother also has eyes like yours, blue and beautiful, just like the blue sky and the sea."

"I see." Shadow’s gaze was profound as he gently patted her head, "Be good, Xixi, don’t be afraid. You’ll get home safely, alright?"

"Mhm!" Xixi nodded vigorously.

Children are the most sensitive. She can feel who is kind to her and who is not. Even after just a few exchanges, Xixi felt this Shadow Brother was very nice.

Shadow stood up and looked towards the people.

"So, let’s get to the point. Welcome, everyone, to this place." Shadow placed one hand on his chest and slowly bowed, "You may treat this as a social dance ballroom. Chat, make friends, sing, dance, whatever you like. You have one hour."

Yi Zhongyu furrowed his brow.

From the beginning, he thought Shadow’s attitude was very friendly. He had the demeanor of a gentleman, extremely soft, modest, and humane, without any of the deity’s coldness or indifference.

"What will happen after an hour?" Yi Zhongyu asked.

Shadow looked at him gently, "We’ll talk about that after an hour." Suddenly, he raised his hand, and the light of the stars appeared, "——Now, it’s your dance time. Please enjoy your free leisure time in this weary world."

In an instant.

Many small tables and chairs appeared around the starry sea, with exquisite treats and drinks floating on them. Baroque cakes, mango puddings, Swiss rolls, tiramisu... People’s clothing also transformed. The ladies wore intricate dance dresses, and the gentlemen donned suits. Even a small child like Xixi was clad in a fitting dress.

Sophisticated music flowed from the starry space, as if a band really played deep within the star sea. Rivers of stars floated among the people, as they seemed to tread on a radiant star carpet. Everything in sight was vast and beautiful.

Twinkling starlight dotted Shadow’s hair and shoulders as he gave a slight smile.

"I finally know why this feels so familiar." Yamada Machiichi came to a realization, "Turns out Shadow is a Disney princess."

It was just like a princess casting a spell; the starry river sparkled, desserts floated, then music played, and people went to the dance floor. It was indeed quite familiar.

"Go ahead, everyone." Shadow bowed deeply again, glancing meaningfully at Su Ming’an, then disappeared into the starry sea, leaving only the splattering starlight and the floating desserts behind.

People looked at each other for a while until someone tentatively took their dance partner’s hand.

"The mood is set, shall we dance? Otherwise, what else can we do?"

"If we don’t dance, will there be a punishment? I remember in that campus instance, you had to dance."

"It’s so beautiful, honey, take a picture of me, I want to keep this dance dress, it’s so pretty..."

Su Ming’an watched people dance coldly. Shadow seemed genuinely kind, there was no poison in the sweets, and the dance floor had no curse buffs. It really seemed like an elaborate romantic dance party above the stars.

People held their partners’ hands and shoulders, dancing simple social steps lightly. The surrounding was filled with beautiful and brilliant starlight. As the ladies’ dresses twirled, the star sea bounced upon the fabrics, like countless small deep blue fish flickering at the hems.

Yamada Machiichi saw this and said, "Banana. If we don’t dance, will we look out of place?"

This so-called starry ball was supposed to last an hour, and they would stand awkwardly for an entire hour, which was too conspicuous.

Su Ming’an said indifferently, "No need. This feels too strange. It’s better to be cautious."

Mizushima Kawa Sora and the others didn’t dance either, standing with them.

Su Ming’an glanced at his white suit. Shadow certainly knew how to choose; Yamada Machiichi even got a dress, a Lolita-style dance dress at that. He really does... understand them well.

To gather everyone at the starry sky and conjure countless desserts and dresses from nothing, Shadow’s strength was evident. Su Ming’an hadn’t expected, upon their first meeting, that Shadow could present so many unexpected things. Initially, he thought Shadow would be as cold and unfeeling as a deity, but it turns out, Shadow was quite knowledgeable about social interactions and human romance.

Before becoming Shadow...Wasn’t he human? If he was merely a creature born from above the stars, that was unlikely. It must be some kind of reason preventing him from entering the current world.

"...Why are you standing here alone? Don’t you like dancing?" A clear voice came from behind.

Su Ming’an turned and saw a pair of blue eyes.

Beside him, Yamada Machiichi was instantly dumbfounded. What do you mean ’standing here alone’? Wasn’t he a person?

"I prefer sleeping over dancing," Su Ming’an said.

"That’s because the deities make you too tired," Shadow said, "If it weren’t for him making people kill you so many times, you wouldn’t be this exhausted."

...Shadow really doesn’t miss a chance to badmouth the deity.

Su Ming’an seemed to understand why the deity had been in such a hurry lately to bring him back, even going as far as deploying the Holy Sword. The deity was likely trying to sever Su Ming’an’s connection with Shadow, preventing them from meeting. In other words, as the Old God, Su Ming’an holds a crucial position in this conflict between the two sides.

"Do you want to form an alliance with me?" Su Ming’an asked.

Shadow’s goal must be to descend into the real world, that is, "resurrection." He undoubtedly wasn’t content being confined to the starry space.

"I don’t need you to ally with me," Shadow shook his head, "I just want you to relax and dance."

Yamada Machiichi stood stunned by the side.

"I don’t buy this," Su Ming’an remained unmoved. This soft strategy didn’t work on him. This dark sesame-filled big boss clearly harbors ulterior motives toward the Old God.

"Alright then." Shadow’s figure slowly disappeared.

Su Ming’an hadn’t expected Shadow to leave so straightforwardly.

Logically, Shadow should start offering various benefits to entice him to join as an ally next. But Shadow didn’t; Shadow just slipped away.

"It seems there are two possibilities," Yamada Machiichi said upon observing, "First, Shadow believes that as long as you continue, you’ll undoubtedly help him achieve his goals, so they don’t need an alliance, just need to watch you. Second, Shadow truly just wants you to relax."