"Ding dong!"

[Congratulations on completing all the "Millennium Ago" storyline!]

[Task content: You have entered the final stage of the instance, all steps have been completed, please enjoy a vacation life.]

[Task reward: I have nothing to offer you, but given the rule of "equal harvest and effort," I can provide information as your reward. Every 50 years you pass, I can inform you of one piece of information, totaling 20 pieces.]

...

[Current progress: 15 years/1000 years]

[Please choose the direction for information selection?]

[A. The past of the Players (When you pass a thousand years, you will receive the life memories of a total of 10 players. For example, the childhood human experiments Noel experienced, Mizushima Kawa Sora's hidden past in the orphanage, what drove Boris's madness... and their ultimate wishes. This information may not be accurate.)]

[B. Information about the next instance (Instance type, storyline direction, identity selection advice, etc. This information is based on the experience left by multiple World Games from the World of Old Days as a reference.)]

[C. Methods to end the World Game early (Promotion paths of the Ruler, secrets of the World Game, the weak points of the Organizers, how to end the World Game at the end of the Tenth World, etc. This information is derived from the experience of the second World Game's early end in the World of Old Days, with certain reference value.)]

[D. How to protect oneself (The nature of special identities, paths for ascending to High Dimensions, how to find loopholes in bets, how to survive to the end in the World Game. This information is based on the experience of passers from the World of Old Days, but does not guarantee others' survival and the end of the game.)]

[Please choose two out of four.]

...

Su Ming'an had just stepped into the starry sky when he heard this voice.

Now, no illusion can bewilder Him, the authenticity of this task can be guaranteed, but surprisingly, they used the pronoun "您" for him.

"B, C." He said very softly.

A was the first He excluded, He had no interest in digging into others' pains, wishes may not be accurate as well. Compared to other options, the cost-effectiveness is low.

C was the first He selected, it is very valuable.

D also seems to have a lot of useful information. But after thinking for a while, He realized that these pieces of information, like paths to ascend to High Dimensions and loopholes in bets, He would know sooner or later as long as the Ruler ascended, and He already knew a lot.

Choosing B is like leaving an escape route for C, in case there is another instance, He can continue. It wouldn't be like the Tenth World, where He was already in the tenth Great Cycle upon waking, wasting too much time.

Due to the blocking mechanism of the World Game, even the people of the World of Old Days, who participated in the World Game, could not tell Su Ming'an the content. But task rewards are different, this is the "information reward" allowed by the World Game, at the same level as Points, Equipment, Props.

...

[Selection complete. Every 25 years, you will automatically obtain one piece of information related to B or C.]

...

Su Ming'an looked up, only to find Dieying had been staring at Him. He had already taken a human form, with a layer of star colors coating his surface.

Su Ming'an spoke, "Where are we going? The universe?"

Su Ming'an thought Dieying would take Him on a cosmic journey, such as shuttling between stars and planets, like in the cartoons I watched as a child.

Dieying shook his head: "The universe is not safe, a cosmic journey is an unrealistic fantasy. I want you to go to my 'home'. For a thousand years, besides being in the starry sky, I usually stayed at 'home'. You are the first guest I've ever invited."

Su Ming'an was a bit surprised, so Dieying had a home?

"Is it your civilization?" Su Ming'an was somewhat looking forward to it, finally, after being hidden for so long, Dieying's background would finally be revealed.

Dieying's starry hue flickered slightly, with no expression on his face, yet one could read sadness.

"...Consider it my civilization," Dieying said.

Beneath the flickering stars, strange birds and swimming fish wandered beside him.

A silhouette of black and gold, draped in stellar light, extended its hand to a figure clad in pure white.

"Let's go." He extended the invitation:

"—To the [New World] I created."

The oceanic blue in His eyes seemed like distant starlight, carrying millennia of silence and the clarity of life.

Surrounding starlight flickered, Su Ming'an closed his eyes.

Under the fluctuations of space, a solid sensation was felt underfoot, it seemed like they had arrived at Dieying's home.

...What kind of beautiful and prosperous civilization could this be?

Su Ming'an opened his eyes.

However, He only saw a pale world.

... This world could indeed be described as "pale".

It seemed like a world whose modeling was not yet complete, very small in size, you could even see the cracks at the world's edge, with a rough texture, giving a very strong sense of unreality. It's somewhat like a half-finished game on the Steam platform.

The largest area was taken by an amusement park. Ferris wheels, carousels, and roller coasters were set up inside, with no sign of people. Apart from that, there were vast empty spaces, as if still unfinished.

However, at its core, it is already a relatively complete world. There is blue sky, green grass, streams, enough for ordinary people to live here. It just looks very rough.

Su Ming'an suddenly understood.

—This should be a world Dieying created himself.

Perhaps too little time, perhaps a lack of energy, although this world was established, it feels very unreal. Compared to the complete and integral worlds like those of the World of Old Days or Ming Hui, this one appears to be a half-finished product.

"I've been thinking for a long time, why do you steal the Source of Civilization from the World of Old Days. I thought, like the High Dimensions Deities of the Ninth World, it was because your own homeland couldn't survive, so you wanted to steal others' World Origin to save your homeland." Su Ming'an gazed at the pale scenes: "But I never imagined... you stole the World Origin from the World of Old Days for this... for this half-finished civilization you created with your own hands... is that correct?"

He couldn't understand Dieying.

For the sake of a half-finished civilization created by his own hands, for this place to become a complete and real world... he wanted to steal the Source of Civilization from the World of Old Days and transplant it here.

In the state of being a Deity, Su Ming'an saw at a glance why there was no life here—this civilization doesn't have a World Origin. So this civilization can only passively accept; if Dieying places grass here, there will be grass, but more than that, nothing will appear.

—Without the World Origin, the world cannot operate on its own. It is like a closed box, without any new possibilities.

The World of Old Days had ten thousand possibilities for development. Fantasy side, technology side, martial arts side, non-magic side... it would bloom with increasingly beautiful flowers. But this half-finished world... is likely to always remain this pale appearance, without any derivation or change. Even if humans were placed into this world to reproduce, they would find it difficult to survive for long.

This half-finished civilization is without "vitality."

Su Ming'an suddenly understood why the "World Origin" is so important; it represents hope. Zhai Xing's "World Origin," although invisible and intangible, its concept never appearing in the human mind, must exist in places beyond human reach.

"I cannot understand your actions. The World of Old Days, such a complete and enduring civilization, such brilliant and beautiful possibilities... Just because you want to build a world from nothing, you have to deprive the World of Old Days of its future, it's really..." Su Ming'an looked back, but didn't see Dieying.

Su Ming'an stopped speaking.

A soft "whoosh, whoosh" of wind sounded nearby, Su Ming'an looked over.

Under the parasol tree, Dieying sat on a swing, gently swaying. His expression was very serene, as if in this simple act of swinging, he found inner peace.

A kingfisher perched on his shoulder, lightly touching his face.

And he gently closed his eyes, tilted his head, and brushed against the soft feathers of the kingfisher, responding to this fragile creature.

"Since ascending to high dimensions, I can no longer return to the civilization I was born into. Throughout my long years, I can only float in unfamiliar worlds, unaccepted by anyone, unwelcome by any civilization." Dieying swayed on the swing, his voice gentle.

This was the first time Su Ming'an saw this high-dimensional being so tranquil. Like a true child, swinging on a simple swing, enjoying pure tranquility.

"However, I have no nostalgia for the civilization I was born into, nor do I like most people in the civilization. Human selfishness, ugliness, vileness, disgust me. Although they have a kind side, it is indeed scarce." Dieying said:

"I saw too much helplessness in my childhood... A country forever at war, refugees only able to eat grass roots, groups exploiting the populace, false smiles at the dinner table, ever-present unwritten rules, powerless cries."

He said this, looked at Su Ming'an, and fell silent for a while.

The wind carrying the scent of lavender blew past, lifting the long white hair, brushing against the wing-flapping kingfisher.

"Those ugly humans even..." Dieying gazed at Su Ming'an:

"... Almost killed my most treasured friend."

Su Ming'an's heart moved slightly.

It was as if scalded by Dieying's gaze, which was... extremely deep sorrow and despair.

"Before becoming high-dimensional, I thought about... Whether I should destroy my civilization, letting that already hopeless civilization start from the Primitive Age, to clear away accumulated filth. Otherwise, no matter how much education, human evil has already seeped into their bones, this daylight-deficient situation would be passed down from generation to generation."

"However, I realized. Pure destruction is meaningless, what's most important is 'creation.'

"I want to create a better 'New World,' rather than destroy everything that already exists. So, I ultimately just left the civilization."

"Embracing high dimensions, I finally have the ability... to create a better world according to my ideals. That's here."

"In this world, there will be forever pure white 'Adam and Eve,' I will not let Eden's snake bring poisonous fruit. Since I cannot change those continuing for millennia's darkness, I will let this newborn world not grow crooked."

"During the long years as a high-dimensional being, I built this world from nothing, piece by piece."

"Every seed, every flower, every animal... I placed into this world myself, bit by bit."

"Those swings, Ferris wheels, roller coasters... too, I made by my own hands with wood and nails produced in this world. I know them inside out, every part, every piece."

"Now, the only thing missing is residents."

He swung on the swing. At this moment, night descended.

From bottom to top, gradually dyed, flowing colors rose into this pale world.

The warm lights by the roadside, the balloon lights in the hands of the amusement park's puppets, the stars on the roller coaster tracks, the rainbow lights on the Ferris wheel...

As the night gradually descended, the lights turned on automatically, one by one. Decorated with colorful lights, this world became beautiful and gentle. The light and shadows shimmered with the spinning of the Ferris wheel.

The Creator remained calmly swinging on the swing, his eyes unruffled. As if he had seen such scenes of day and night changes millions of times.

"I've long envisioned the first residents of this world." Dieying said:

"Adults have decayed long ago, I cannot change their already formed views, most people's refined selfishness has seeped into the bones."

"So, I thought, start with pure white children..."

"Children beaten bloody by domestic violence, female infants drowned in water, disabled children abandoned in welfare homes, orphans born into warfare... I want to keep them away from lives meant to be tragic, to become the beginning of the New World, to be the first generation of residents here. I want..."

Su Ming'an felt stiff.

As if frozen in place by familiar words, Su Ming'an's face stiffened, unsure if this was coincidence, or...

The Creator with golden black hair raised his head.

The kingfisher sang around him.

He looked at the beautiful amusement park scene before him and spoke:

"... Everyone, let's happily play together."

...

Su Ming'an's mouth curled slightly.

He couldn't show genuine smiles, his stiffness seeming like mockery, which was actually quite accurate.

Dieying's love, rather than liking children, was using children to maintain the pureness and idealization of the New World. If someone proposed that abandoning the children would make the New World better, Dieying would surely choose to abandon them.

He was a qualified high-dimensional being, seeing only civilization and his kind. If actions were judged without considering intentions, he indeed saved those dying children, giving them fairy tale-like lives. But the problem is... he has yet to start saving.

What he is currently doing remains at the stage of "wanting a World Origin," and for this, he intends to seize the future of the World of Old Days.

However, during the process of plundering civilization, Dieying unexpectedly discovered Su Ming'an—the desire for Su Ming'an's time authority exceeded the desire for the World Origin, hence he was willing to spare the World of Old Days temporarily for Su Ming'an. As for later on... when Su Ming'an truly becomes his kind, the World of Old Days remains within Dieying's grasp.

His thought process was flawless, the only mistake being that Su Ming'an outsmarted him and wasn't assimilated.

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