The deity looked back at Su Ming'an's gaze, seemingly unable to understand the emotion within it:

"Regarding everything Shadow mentioned, I just want to correct one point."

"From the very beginning, I intended to lose this wager."

Su Ming'an was slightly stunned.

...Why?

Clearly winning the wager would be a perfect win-win situation. Meanwhile, losing would have no impact on the organizers, but the deity would lose the World Origin in its hands. The World of Old Days could last for at most a few hundred years. If it wanted to persist further, it would need to rely on external forces like Shadow, which would be like bargaining with a tiger.

Although both winning and losing would allow the World of Old Days to escape the fate of rapid destruction, the sole advantage of losing over winning lay with Su Ming'an.

It merely preserved Su Ming'an more.

So Su Ming'an voiced his doubts.

The deity's gaze was very cold:

"I once considered keeping you by my side to safely pass twenty days. Whether it was brainwashing, memory erasure, or resetting the grand narrative... it was all to prevent you from continuing."

Once upon a time, Su Ming'an thought these actions of the deity were to prevent him from seeking the truth. But now he realized that if it wanted to protect him, the only way was... not to let him continue.

As long as he didn't continue, his positional rank wouldn't increase.

As long as he didn't continue, Shadow wouldn't take away his self.

As long as he didn't continue, the wager would definitely be lost, and authority wouldn't be exposed.

As long as he didn't continue... he would be safe.

The deity even promised him a Perfect Pass—it had been promising this from the very first day.

From the beginning, from the very start... the deity had consistently said it could offer him a Perfect Pass, as long as he didn't continue.

Don't continue, Su Ming'an.

Don't look at those cruel truths, Su Ming'an.

"...Actually, I wanted to let the final victor emerge, then have you directly defeat him, inheriting his highest positional rank. That way, you wouldn't be harmed, and the wager would be won," the deity said:

"Even if no one succeeded in completely traversing the Dream Tour and the Tower, even if the wager was lost. The players have already helped me consolidate the world line, and my fundamental goal has been achieved. With you by my side, there would be no trouble."

"The World Origin given by the organizers is too hot to handle. My aim has always been to lose the wager, as long as the world line successfully consolidates sufficiently. Hence, I have always worked to stop you."

"But I underestimated your determination."

"You escaped the Angel ceremony. You successfully saved Chao Yan from death. You completed the ten-day wager smoothly. You avoided the Prophecy Stone Wall. Even that Holy Sword..." speaking of which, the deity's tone noticeably softened: "…you stood firm, without having your memory erased."

"I underestimated... your idealism. I didn't know you would want to seek the truth so much that my attempts to keep you became your greatest obstacle. And bound by the wager with the High-dimensional, unless the High-dimensional actively triggers this causal line, I can't reveal the truth."

"With causality established, every word uttered will be known."

"Based on my simulation, you should have given up long ago. Just as I don't understand why fake Noel and fake Su Rin were able to escape my control, I equally don't understand why you have made it to today, something supposedly impossible. So many traps, yet you somehow crossed them.

"I..."

The deity's voice was extremely soft:

"Don't understand this kind of emotion."

"I don't understand you. Su Ming'an. You confuse me."

Hence, Su Ming'an smiled.

His smile contained neither relief, understanding, nor forgiveness.

"—Then can I keep the right not to forgive?"

He asked.

"—Of course."

The deity replied.

It was impossible for Su Ming'an to forgive. He knew the deity had done its utmost, just like the Holy Initiation, Su Rin, and Acto, who made many choices without freedom. But he still had the freedom not to forgive beneath the tide.

As long as he was willing to sacrifice himself for the benefit of an entire civilization. The deity's actions were not wrong, and could even be considered clever, using the organizers' curiosity about Su Ming'an to set up such a scheme, an unequal bargain where on one end was the weight of civilization and on the other was Su Ming'an. The choice was obvious. The deity was even willing to lose the wager to preserve Su Ming'an, only asking the players to help consolidate the world line. It wanted nothing more.

But Su Ming'an, who was nearly having his soul slain, accepted the deity's arrangement from a rational standpoint, while maintaining his emotion from a sentimental standpoint.

"..."

The deity said nothing, its gaze seeming somewhat puzzled. Whether it was simulated emotion, or something else.

White snow brushed against its swaying strands, like a flock of flying white birds.

"So, why are you willing to preserve me? To you, I'm just a stranger," Su Ming'an said. "Although I really don't have authority, from your perspective, if you abandon me, you're very likely to obtain a new World Origin. Why protect me?"

The deity gazed at him.

Beside him, Shadow was laughing. Although in the posture of an observer, it seemed very pleased.

The starry sky hung upside down, like rushing waves of brilliant blue, resembling blue flames covering the sea. Standing still for a moment, the deity lowered its gaze and said nothing.

Su Ming'an remembered the deity's earliest words to him.

[I really like you].

But he didn't think it was for this reason. He and the deity had no interaction whatsoever, even if there was some Ouroboros from a thousand years ago, feelings wouldn't be deep to this extent.

"...Don't ask, can't tell," Shadow laughed beside him. "Unless you discover it yourself, it can't disclose such secrets. Saying it would impact the fairness of the wager."

"Invader, you are the culprit," Su Ming'an said flatly.

The deity's actions were entirely reasonable, but Shadow was purely the invader.

"Yes, correct." Shadow nodded. "But people hate the deity more than they hate me. Before knowing the truth, you also hated the deity more, didn't you? Had I not initiated the discussion today, you'd still be in the dark. Humans are like that, only seeing the icebergs above sea, not the giant mountains below."

Su Ming'an remained noncommittal.

Actually, he had already guessed some things, but the wager eluded him. Who could have thought this was indeed a grand trap set for him. Even Shadow's persistence in keeping him was to explore whether he possessed authority.

No wonder Shadow said, "Only you and I are important." From the perspective of the high-dimensional entities, only this potential authority interests them.

——What a painstaking effort.

Who could have thought that a world-saving game instance was backed by so much intrigue and plotting, with so many forces waiting for him to fall into their net.

Above the sky, three deities were silent for a long time.

"In five minutes, I will completely seal the Nine Serenities." The deity's voice lowered a few tones.

Their gaze fixed on Su Ming'an:

"You ended the wager yourself, so I can no longer contest your control. I will lock the Nine Serenities."

"You will become the Old God of Su Sheng, losing your self. But in the short term, you cannot leave the Nine Serenities unless Shadow fully controls you. This time won't exceed ten days."

"So, we can only pray that within ten days, another player of the highest positional rank will appear to stop Shadow. But this probability approaches zero. Within ten days, Shadow is destined to descend into this world through you."

"The World of Old Days will be destroyed, all players will perish, and the worst outcome will be achieved — even worse than peacefully passing twenty days. Your top players, Noel, Yamada, Lu, Yuanyuan, Lv Shu, will all die. So many points disappearing would also be tantamount to destruction for your Zhai XIng."

The deity's words made Su Ming'an look grim, the pressure lowering.

Their next words astonished him.

"Therefore, before the World of Old Days is destroyed, I will use the last resources to send you all out," the deity said:

"The situation is set; my civilization can no longer survive, but I won't drag you with me."

"Thank you for accompanying me through these repetitive twenty days, Su Ming'an."

"If it weren't for you in this wager, I'm glad you came to my world. I originally prepared a twenty-day relaxation trip for you, hot springs, comic cons, fireworks, libraries, pianos. However, saying these is meaningless now, and what I seem to leave you with is only pain."

"In the remaining time, I will ponder why I failed to persuade you."

The deity spoke these words without any emotional fluctuation, not a trace of sadness, despair, or regret as a leader of civilization, just as if watching a movie finally reach its conclusion. Whether the ending is good or bad, their survival or demise cannot stir their emotions.

The deity is the most divine being Su Ming'an has ever seen. This concept lacks any praise or criticism. They are merely delivering the situation in the calmest manner possible.

"Furthermore, before sending you away, I will still grant you a perfect pass. This perfect pass uses the World Origin of the World of Old Days, and what was gambled with the organizers was the largest share. I've pre-divided it into many parts, so it will be much diluted, but real. It should affect your final wish somewhat, but at least you still have a chance to continue," the deity said.

Su Ming'an's pupils slightly enlarged.

As early as when he bet with Wei Shenming in the Ruined World, he knew the World Origin could be divided since he was gambling with the World Origins of the first few worlds, proving it could be quantified. It should affect the upper limit of wishing.

Even if he didn't fulfill the agreement, the deity still wanted to grant him a perfect pass.

"After returning to the Main God World, take care of yourself for a few days, and you will recover consciousness. Shadow won't obliterate your soul," the deity said:

"In this way, you've gained the information of the Tenth World, and obtained a perfect pass, with your companions all alive... In the future journey, you don't need to think of the World of Old Days anymore, nor remember me."

"This journey wasn't very pleasant, nor is there anything worth longing for. If there is someone you like from the World of Old Days, before its destruction, you can use a skill to take them away."

"That's all."

The deity finished explaining everything solemnly and stood silently.

As the initiator of the wager, they indeed harmed Su Ming'an for the sake of extending civilization. But they had already thought about how to repay everything to Su Ming'an if civilization couldn't be saved.

Now the beginning and the end form a loop; everything is back to the start; both perfect pass and information are given.

Then there is no need to say more.

Their eyes froze with frost; they still did not understand Su Ming'an's persistence, and it was precisely his persistence that brewed their failure. When Su Ming'an met their gaze, he saw their emptiness as if it were a porcelain vase without silk flowers.

——Just like they didn't understand why the flames of life burn endlessly, why a counterfeit can make sacrifices greater than the true form.

They didn't understand why a teacher would use life to teach the last lesson, why a timid girl had the courage to leap from a tall building, nor why young people could sacrifice their career prospects to stand in front of the camera, shouting dissatisfaction at a class as towering as a mountain.

They didn't understand for which nonexistent soul the grandmother's boiled shrimp was made, nor why the last bowl of braised ribs before the collapse was left to cool. Why someone could risk life to save others in flames, or why some could hold their ground for decades in remote places.

——Why Nightingale was obsessed with finding a forest that no longer existed in the steel jungle, clearly it was long gone.

Grains and vegetables, lights in the mines, buttons in the tailoring shop, the tip of the pen fire.

The weight of freedom, and the deep affection of life.

... They can't touch it.

Just like they couldn't understand the sparks in Su Ming'an's eyes.

But Shadow knew Su Ming'an's idealism, knew he couldn't resign to despair, so he would certainly fall into Destiny's trap, win this wager, and inevitably... come to today.

The deity finally sighed.

They lowered their head, like a bird feather crushed by snow, slowly closing the "The Collection of Flying Birds" in their hand, which was Su Wensheng's favorite poetry collection. In this battle between the three deities, they shouldn't have brought anything extra, but they did.

Now it was their turn not to understand their own actions.

"[I cannot steer the helm or guide the ship.]" The deity softly recited another verse: "[But if you were on a distant shore, I would brave the waves to visit you, my treasure.]"

This was a poem that Su Wensheng had once recited to them.

When the deity overlooked the city from a high building, Su Wensheng would occasionally sit on the rooftop, reciting poetry in the evening breeze, their voice like the white feather of a passing bird. Sometimes the young man would imagine the future and laugh out loud.

Freedom is the sharpest blade. It scraped away the heart of the bird, causing it to fall in the ruins. At that time, they watched the bird die, feeling nothing. And even now, the same. Because what they offered was merely the coldest tenderness.

But they occasionally remembered those few verses, sometimes even the bird they knew before death.

... Why.

This too puzzled them.

...

Shadow approached Su Ming'an, surrounded by starlight.

They leaned in close to his ear, like a victor.

"... You have no trump card left, right?" Shadow chuckled softly.

Su Ming'an did not answer.

He was cloaked in silent frost and snow, and deep in his eyes lay only calm.

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