Chapter 107: Power from Wangliang |
"Why aren't your eyes amber?"
Ming Po's pupils abruptly contracted.
Click.
The very moment he heard those words, Ming Po distinctly heard a crisp click echo from the deepest recesses of his mind.
It was as if a switch had been flipped.
He blankly stared into the little girl's amber eyes as the world before him spun dizzily. It felt like being dragged into a warm ocean by a swirling vortex; the warm, fishy seawater flooded his nose and mouth, stopping his breathing instantly. Next came his ears. As if he had put on noise-canceling headphones, the surrounding world plunged into absolute silence.
He was entirely cut off from the rest of the world. Finally, his eyes—in a daze, Ming Po saw another world.
It was not from his own perspective, but a third-person view looking down upon everything.
"So, you let those two go?" The little girl with waist-length black hair and amber eyes asked softly, her voice filled with amusement. "Even though you could have killed everyone?"
"Ah, yes. After all, they managed to escape the illusion I created... For newcomers to possess such resilient minds, I thought they deserved a little... reward."
Ming Po revealed a malicious smile, his own pupils also an amber hue.
"However, I specifically dropped a hint that they could use their chips to return to the beginning of the game and change all of this. If nothing unexpected happens, they should immediately try using those chips the moment they leave the game. I wonder... when they watch the chips burn without any reaction... will they be able to discern the true meaning behind this action through their despair? After all, by the time I realized it myself, it was already after my second game. If they figured out the truth in the 'Prologue,' they might actually be able to stop me. I am genuinely looking forward to the birth of a 'Hero.'"
"Big brother... do you still enjoy making trouble for your future self so much?"
"It's called adding variables, little Wangliang."
Ming Po's voice was deep and magnetic.
Standing on the roof of the teaching building, holding a can of iced cola in his right hand, he said leisurely, "Wouldn't it be incredibly boring if this terrible world never changed? You see it that way too, don't you? I am very curious! If they get the information and return to the very beginning, what kind of choices will they make?
"Will they make an enemy out of me? Or will they beg for mercy?
"Will they plan to run away? Or... will it really be like she said when she broke down, that they want to protect everyone?"
Ming Po laughed heartily, spreading his arms wide.
"I really want to see it—if those people crying and pleading truly get a second chance, will they actually act the way they cried about?"
Half of his foot was already stepping off the edge, using only his heel to anchor his body.
He finished the last sip of his cola and casually tossed the empty can far into the distance.
Watching the beautiful parabola the empty can traced, Ming Po murmured softly, "I really want to see it."
It was sunset.
Only the two of them were on the rooftop.
Or rather... they were the only two living people.
Right behind Ming Po, four or five people lay collapsed on the ground, their eyes tightly shut, seemingly having lost consciousness or fallen into a nightmare.
Yet Ming Po showed no sign of being on guard against them.
...Perhaps it was more than just confidence.
It felt more like... some sort of craving for self-destruction.
Even when the little girl gently pressed her hand against the small of his back, Ming Po's entire body remained completely relaxed.
Even the moment those cold fingers touched his body, he didn't tense up in the slightest.
"Big brother..." Wangliang whispered softly, "Why use my power? The power of a Twilight Species... shouldn't be very suitable for leading others."
"You certainly know a lot, little Wangliang."
Ming Po smiled. "However, since I have already fallen onto the path of twilight... it makes no difference who I sign a contract with."
As he spoke, his body leaned forward slightly.
Just as his center of gravity was lost, at the very moment he was about to plummet from the heights, he violently engaged his core, straightening his body back up once more.
Playing with his own life just like that, he remarked casually, "You are right, the paths of 'Virtue' and 'Strength' are much better suited for commanding other Deceivers of the World. After all, the path of 'Slaughter' will be instinctively rejected by players hailing from the Material Realm... After all, it is a destiny already corrupted by the twilight. Just like how beasts naturally fear fire, it is an 'experience' carved into biological instincts. But as I am now... wouldn't it be a bit too difficult if I wanted to turn back?"
Ming Po did not turn his head, only saying playfully, "Don't you think that having me walk the path of Virtue... would terrify people if word got out?"
"Doesn't big brother... want to destroy this game?" Wangliang said softly, reaching out and shoving Ming Po straight down.
But the very moment his body was about to fall, Ming Po forcefully righted himself again.
Like a roly-poly toy... or like swinging on a swing.
This was the game he used to entertain himself.
"Yes." Ming Po didn't move this time, merely standing on the brink of death, and answered softly, "I swore to end this game... at any cost."
His pupils were a deep amber.
That was power from Wangliang.
Magic eyes that could plunge others into illusions of their deepest fears with just a glance.
He gazed at the setting sun, as if he wanted to force the sun itself into despair.
"But, if it truly is at any cost..."
Wangliang floated up, her cold and illusory body drawing a little closer.
She reached out to hug Ming Po's shoulders, whispering in his ear, "Why is big brother unwilling to even give up his own self?"
"...Are you trying to bewitch me into killing myself, Wangliang?"
Ming Po narrowed his eyes.
"Why not? That should also be a form of [Death], right?"
Wangliang said softly, ""
Her final sentence, however, was deliberately muted.
"Count down from seven..."
Ming Po pondered for a moment. "It's not impossible."
Saying so, his body leaned forward.
This time, he didn't correct his posture, but simply let himself fall forward.
"Ah!"
The next moment, Ming Po's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright.
He panted heavily, his gaze sharp as a falcon's as he swept it across his surroundings.
There was no one.
The little girl seemed to have vanished without a trace, as if she had never existed in the first place.
...What's going on?
Could it be... a mental breakdown brought on by the Madman Title? Or a visual hallucination? Or...
Was it a dream?
Ming Po's brow furrowed tightly.
But... it didn't really feel like one.
Could a person really dream of things they knew absolutely nothing about and had never seen before?
But to call it an illusion... it was so incredibly real.
Or rather, was that a certain memory?
A memory... that he had once forgotten?