Chapter 1727: Chapter 71: "You Were Named Too Rigidly.
"Swish!"
In an instant, Lu’s body along with the blue wing disintegrated instantly, like a storm flowing in reverse, he appeared behind Su Ming’an, his face as pale as paper, with his right arm completely vanished from below the elbow.
At some unknown time, he had conjured a water-blue dagger in his left hand, and with a "swish," pierced through Su Ming’an’s back, protruding from his chest!
"——!!"
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
On the chessboard, everyone witnessing this scene—Evelyn, Xiao Xiao, Yang Changxu, Violet... all had their pupils constrict abruptly, their minds blank.
"You damn——" Yang Changxu, who always adhered to rules, couldn’t help but curse, who would’ve thought Lu would lose his mind at the crucial moment?
"He’s gone mad, I thought his state seemed off just now, without saying a word." Leslie’s face was pale, her legs weak.
"Su Ming’an!" Xiao Xiao shouted in panic. It was difficult for them to get here, anyone could die, but Su Ming’an absolutely could not.
"He faked it so well before, really fooled him..." Joy frowned. They should’ve detected Lu’s true nature earlier, a gray area arms dealer, what benevolence can he have? The gentle behavior he showed before was indeed superficial, when truly capable of independently ascending, he immediately revealed his true colors.
They almost rushed over instantly, but couldn’t even take their steps. Xiao Xiao instantly drew out the Priest’s Staff, elements around Leslie went berserk, Rimu Sheng lowered his stance pulling out the Blade Edge, Si Nian instantly transformed into a bright red wild wolf...
The bullet screen was already in chaos:
[!????]
[What?]
[Brother Lu, what are you doing?!]
[Amireru!]
[Indeed, human nature is fragile, the best allies become mere stumbling blocks when reaching the realm of human gods. Noel is, Ming is, Lu also is.]
[Lu was never a good person, too many were deceived by his surface impression. A bunch of screaming little boys and girls forgot what he used to do, right?]
[I still can’t believe it...]
[This...]
[Su Ming’an...]
...
Su Ming’an slightly lowered his head, looking at his chest, a blade tip resembling autumn water.
With his abilities, Lu would crumble before him upon contact, unable to approach him. He paused three times previously because he saw or heard three things.
The first time was the instant Lu attacked, he saw Lu’s fingers slightly move, presenting him with an interface——
...
[You have purchased "Authority · Naming" (10 Silver Stars)]
[First, assigning concepts, definitions, and rules to nameless objects. Second, stripping or obscuring the "name" of things, making them unable to be understood or remembered, loosening from the established rules framework.]
...
It turned out Lu redeemed this. Su Ming’an also saw this authority in the store, assigning concepts or withdrawing concepts is extremely potent, especially the phrase "loosening from the established rules framework", which solves the biggest current dilemma for them.
Their essence is "trapped within the established rules framework". Su Ming’an’s entrapment is being endowed with a strong protagonist concept by the curtain; once stripped off this concept, he can break free from the framework.
But its price is very awkward, 10 Silver Stars, only Su Ming’an and Lu could afford it, if Su Ming’an purchased it himself, the remaining 3 Silver Stars would be almost useless in the final battle. Lu purchasing it was most suitable.
...
Lu Likalpos discovered in the Silver Star shop, all high-value authorities are related to "existence".
"Ruins" signifies an end, "Void" means erasure, while "Naming" is different. It operates on the positioning of things in the rules system. This authority is definitely a great assistance for Su Ming’an against the Lord of Dreams.
As expected, the Lord of Dreams overturned the table this moment, forcefully assigning thirteen winners the "Player" status, isolating reality with a curtain, pulling them from backstage to the stage for additional games.
After the game began, the world Lu saw was different from others, he saw "conceptual threads" entwined around each person, colorful and interwoven with varying thickness.
Su Ming’an had the densest threads, with orange-yellow friendship, bright red love, deep blue betrayal, pitch-black destruction, bright yellow ideals... all connected to the void above the curtain.
Evelyn’s threads were "loyalty and protection"; Xiao Xiao’s threads were "love and regret"; Yang Changxu’s threads were "belief and dedication". Su Ming’an’s definition was most complete, strongest, and most stubborn. He was the "Red King", the "Number One Player", the "Savior", the "Lighthouse", the ’protagonist who must survive till the end, bearing all hope and despair.’ He was too thoroughly "named", and too thoroughly solidified.
The more labels that cannot be torn off, the more things he must complete, the easier it is to become a puppet on strings in the game.
——If Su Ming’an’s existence in the curtain game is seen as forcibly assigned a "name", then stripping this "name" would allow him to loosen from this framework, making the game unable to define or constrain him.
——Lu’s intention was not to kill Su Ming’an, but to kill Su Ming’an’s "name".
Hence, seeing the game about to begin, Lu immediately attacked Su Ming’an. This stab wouldn’t really kill Su Ming’an, it would only peel away his identity, transforming him into a vague existence, bringing him out of the game’s curtain back to reality. Under circumstances where breaking the curtain is impossible, this is the only way to leave the curtain—strip the game character’s identity, turning him back into an outsider.
So, when Lu stabbed, Su Ming’an hesitated for an instant because he thought of these things.
However, trusting Lu meant letting himself be pierced through the chest... After Noel’s incident, Su Ming’an couldn’t entrust trust to Lu; Su Ming’an only froze for an instant, then immediately countered. If it were real betrayal, he couldn’t let himself be slaughtered.
He paused a second time, hearing Lü God’s voice transmission:
"Trust him, I will cooperate with Lu and Ming, I’ll inform you of the Source Point curtain’s existence, breaking it from the outside. Lu will assist you from within, achieving internal and external attacks, the curtain can be broken."
Afterwards, Su Ming’an paused a third time, it was a moment before he was about to kill Lu, at that time he was contemplating:
First, if Lu truly intended to betray, there was no need for such a blatant attack; there were many opportunities before. Second, Lü God’s path is aligned with mine; there’s no reason for enmity for now. Third, even if Lu’s betrayal were true, piercing my chest, I have the "Faith" authority as a fallback to sustain life. Should I discover Lu’s intention not to activate his authority, I’d immediately use the "Devour" authority to counteract. Given the absolute power difference, the greatest cost would merely be further corrosion of my soul. Fourth... Lu is already nearing death, but has made no other move; it truly doesn’t seem like betrayal. Fifth, without employing Lu’s method, I’d have to reveal my final trump card to resolve this predicament, and now is not yet the time.
Even if everything points to this not being true betrayal, Su Ming’an must be certain until the very last moment. This is caution, it’s the shadow, and it’s also responsibility to everyone.
Thus, in that instant, Su Ming’an’s movement halted, while Lu instantly flickered behind him, the dagger piercing his chest.
As everyone was in shock, anger, despair, and sorrow... Su Ming’an’s gaze remained silent.
He turned his head slightly, briefly meeting Lu Hailan’s eyes, then—
"Buzz——!!!"
At the moment the dagger pierced Su Ming’an, it was as if it plunged into a rippling sea of pixels.
The humming sound echoed throughout the entire chessboard space. Countless golden, silvery, and flickering runes burst forth from Su Ming’an’s body!
Shattering, dancing, rotating.
[Hero], [Savior], [Idealist], [Lighthouse], [Rule’s loophole], [Focus Point]...
His body began to turn transparent, transforming from "existence within this game" to "an existence not defined by this game."
These things were ethereal and indistinct, visible only to Lu, who held the "Naming" authority, and Su Ming’an himself. Lu gazed at them, muttering to himself: "Su Ming’an, you’re so firmly ’named’..."
...
[First Layer: [Red King]... stripped away]
[Second Layer: [Curtain Focus]... stripped away]
[Third Layer: [Game Protagonist]... stripped away]
...
A crisp sound.
"Snap!"
In the midst of the crowd’s exclamations, Su Ming’an abruptly dissipated, melting into a pool of jelly.
The star sea was vast, the ocean silent.
...
Su Ming’an’s consciousness drifted like a wandering soul, in a state of "unnamed."
He did not feel the coldness of death, but rather an unprecedented lightness and weightlessness.
It was as if the heavy armor woven from countless expectations and responsibilities were being stripped away layer by layer, the nails that once held him firmly in the position of "game character" were loosening one after another—[Hero], [Savior], [The One Who Must Move Forward], [Savior]... he was finally erased from the richly hued, meticulously painted picture, becoming a presence that could drift inside and outside the canvas.
His consciousness was like a light boat free from all ropes, thrown into a strange, colorful torrent.
Before him spread an infinite vista, with shattered blocks floating upside down. They seemed like remnants after a brutal explosion: ["Fight for..."], ["Victory was mine..."], ["Let Zhai Xing go, take away..."]. The words that once defined him transformed into floating phosphorescence, like ghosts drifting through ruins.
Unfinished dialogue bubbles rose like soap bubbles, emitting indistinct echoes, fragments of conversations with countless people: "Goodbye, thank you...", "Clearing all obstacles for you...", "Did I help you this time..." The voices were familiar yet distant, as if separated by thick frosted glass.
He moved with lightness, traversing an invisible and formless labyrinth.
Like colossal blocks, squares, triangles, cylinders... stacked to form a labyrinth without exit: [He stood atop the ruins, black hair fluttering in the wind, eyes ablaze with unyielding fire...]; [In the conference room, everyone’s gaze turned to the always silent young man...]; ["Awake?" Lü Shu seemed to sit by the table, sipping tea...]
He glided through like flowing water, leaving no trace.
He drifted within the dizzying consciousness stream, feeling as though he were swimming in a vast sea of collective unconsciousness, where the grounded reality was the iceberg above the sea, and he now delved beneath the ocean.
Suddenly, a clear and familiar voice reached out to him:
"Su Ming’an, come toward me..."
It was Lü God.
More precisely, it was Ming.
Lü God and Ming had established a connection, thus locating the drifting Su Ming’an in the sea of consciousness, assisting the "deceased" consciousness of Su Ming’an toward the direction of the Demon Mother Goddess. If not for Lü God abducting Ming, it would indeed be difficult to find Su Ming’an in the vast sea of consciousness; only someone with resonance like Ming could pinpoint Su Ming’an’s soul.
Following the direction of the voice, Su Ming’an drifted, his form light and airy like a white bird, passing through the consciousness of others, where he saw Lü God’s figure, a great white wolf.
"Finally found you, come with me." Lü God floated upon the sea of consciousness, looking at him.
"How’s the situation with the Curtain?"
"Rest assured, they’re fine... except for Lu Likalpos." Lü God said.
"Because of the replacement?"
In the last second before Su Ming’an’s consciousness departed, he saw the golden pixels bouncing from his body, surging toward Lu, like chains binding Lu.
—After Su Ming’an’s departure, the vacuum of this "name" needed filling, and Lu actively used his "true name" and existence to fill the void.
"He will not die, rest assured. At most, he’ll have some inseparable connection with the Lord of Dreams..." Lü God said, "The name is the shortest spell... both a shackle and a liberation."
They drifted through the gentle consciousness stream, where Su Ming’an saw countless souls twisted and mottled, swimming through an endless procession of images.
The sea of consciousness of all beings.
Countless consciousness fragments slid past them, representing the consciousness of each life.
