He looked around and saw many people with white pattern marks on the backs of their hands, some with one or two, others with three or four.

"I remember after the World Game in the Ruined World ended, those who wielded great power were reckless, even killing children for fun, resulting in devastation across the world. But your world looks quite peaceful, nothing chaotic happening." Su Ming'an glanced around, the city appeared orderly.

"The reason is simple: someone possesses the power to crush everything." Chao Yan said indifferently: "As long as one person's power exceeds that of the entire world, large-scale chaos won't occur, because they can suppress with ease, hence no one dares to make trouble."

Su Ming'an's gaze deepened.

This means... the World Game requires an absolute strong person to suppress others and stop chaos. One reason the Ruined World fell into chaos was that the Nine Thrones didn't have overwhelming power and couldn't stop war, Acto was ultimately killed by mobs.

So...

Humanity still needs a "God."

A guess in his mind was calling out to him, as if he heard a faint echo.

"...Deity?" He asked very lightly, as if afraid of disturbing something. Although it was just one word, it clearly showed he was confirming something.

He wanted to ask,

——Is the Deity this kind of crushing power? Is it the reason your world is peaceful?

——Is the Deity... the "Number One Player" in your World Game?

Although that pure white Deity looked emotionless, like an innate God. But before becoming a God, was it possible... that they had humanity? Just that after becoming a Deity, nothing remained.

So,

Did the [Number One Player] become a "God"?

...

Faced with Su Ming'an's cautious inquiry, Chao Yan said solemnly: "The Deity is not the Number One Player, but is also considered as such. The Number One Player exchanged for a powerful prop and helped her become a Deity."

"Her?" Su Ming'an was surprised. The Deity was actually female before becoming a god?

"Yes, in the universal sense, female... of course sometimes can be male." Chao Yan considered his words.

Seems like still a transgender person. Su Ming'an said: "Then the Number One Player didn't become a god, choosing to let someone else become a god, where did the Number One Player go?"

Chao Yan said: "Disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Maybe went to High Dimensions, maybe committed suicide due to pressure, maybe killed by an enemy, maybe wandered madly, maybe retreated to seclusion. No one knows the fate of the Number One Player. Many speculate that after giving the opportunity to become a god to the Deity, he himself integrated into the Deity, so the Deity might be the Number One Player, having lost human emotions." Chao Yan said.

Su Ming'an listened. Even though it was someone else's fate, he increasingly felt it was like a curse on him: "Do you know the Number One Player?"

"Yes. Xiao Jingsan, Li Mingyue and I all know the Number One Player. Since the World Game selected one-seventh of the population to participate, Su Luoluo and Li Yuxuan did not participate in the World Game, they do not know the Number One Player." Chao Yan said.

"What kind of person is the Number One Player?"

Chao Yan reminisced: "Optimistic, tender. He%￥#@*...!"

Su Ming'an heard a jumble of gibberish, he immediately asked Chao Yan to repeat, the result was still gibberish. It seems the World Game's blocking mechanism prevented him from receiving this information. When the instance began, during Su Ming'an's encounter with the lonely village girl Chao Yan, she couldn't say her true name, until now "Chao Yan" was the name given by Su Ming'an, not knowing what forbidden information her real name contained.

He went on to ask many questions, all resulted in gibberish.

"Then why did you become the Tenth Replica of the World Game?" Su Ming'an asked. The Ruined World also became the Ninth Replica, which kept him in a constant fear he couldn't shake.

"...I don't know." Chao Yan lowered her head, taking a deep breath: "I don't know."

She looked bewildered, her fingers curled, face showing a pain akin to reliving a nightmare.

"Was it caused by the Deity's wager?" Su Ming'an said: "The Deity made a gamble with the Organizers, betting on whether I have the Authority, thus the World of Old Days became the Tenth Replica. The Deity only needed to provide the World of Old Days as arena for the Replica, players could help consolidate the world line, so being the Tenth Replica does not matter, is it like that?"

Chao Yan kept her head down, her expression looked hollow, she truly didn't know.

Su Ming'an didn't care much about the truth, he still believed this was a simulation scene of the Third Tower, not the real scenario from a thousand years ago, so the information obtained might not be true.

But the matter of the Number One Player becoming a god was stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down. He knew well that if the World Game finally ended up with all heroes rising, each refusing to yield, then chaotic post-war situations were very likely. Even if the Peak Alliance tried to stabilize the situation, the United Group tried to maintain order, but... only "God"-level combat power can suppress everyone, like the absolute suppression of 9999 combat power. Thus the best way is indeed to let a trusted person become a god.

As a stabilizer of order, the Deity undoubtedly qualifies, everything it does aligns with a god's perspective, but some methods are too cruel. Inquire with oneself, Su Ming'an couldn't do such extremely ruthless yet great deeds like the Deity. But to let civilization continue to exist, it needs just such a cold 'civic principal.'"

"...Then what about me." Su Ming'an said.

Facing the gaze of the crowd, he repeated: "Then what about me, where did this Old God come from?"

...

[Old God, Asasto. This name Su Ming'an found in an ancient book, the book was very vague, text fragmented, it should be the real name of an Old God.]

[But he searched the ancient texts and did not find the real name of the Deity. If the Deity is a power usurper, there should be the person Deity beside Asasto. However, there's no trace, as if the Deity appeared out of thin air.]

...

The Deity originated from last year's World Game, so it suddenly appeared. Then where did the Old God come from?

"It's simple." Su Luoluo stood beside him.

Her eyes exuded the silence of twilight, she looked up, gazing at the clouds burning at the end of the sky. Arms crossed, as if lost in prolonged contemplation.

"...This indicates the World Game happened more than once."

...

Under the respectful escort of people, Su Ming'an returned to the residence of the Old God. In the spacious room, an icy divine nature pervaded.

His brows furrowed tightly, rubbing his temple.

...The World Game happened more than once.

This information is too overwhelming.

According to Su Luoluo, the World Game happens every once in a while, selecting one-seventh of the population to participate. So far, it has been the third time.

It seems that during the very first World Game, the wish of the Full Perfect Clear achievers wasn't coordinated well, leading to the continuous arrival of the World Game in this world. Moreover, the wish segments in the subsequent two World Games also failed to solve the problem.

The scariest part was a seemingly casual remark from Su Luoluo:

"We only remember three World Games, but who knows if there have been more than that? Who knows if there was a group of people who wished to save the remaining humans, but didn't wish to protect themselves, and were erased by the World Game..."

This possibility is chilling. It's as if the world's population should have been eight billion and not seven billion, and a billion people have already been erased by the World Game, with no one knowing of their existence.

...He doesn't know if this information is fabricated by Dieying, but it should be true.

"Chao Yan." Su Ming'an looked at Chao Yan, who stood quietly under the light: "Can you answer my questions about the Old God?"

Chao Yan tilted her head, her eyes seemingly containing amber.

"There's no need to doubt, you are indeed our Old God. You appeared a hundred years ago and have been leading us for a long time, from the first World Game till now, your wisdom and charm have conquered us. Although you haven't participated in any World Game since, you are indeed the god in our eyes," Chao Yan said.

"But I am Su Ming'an, not some god from a hundred years ago. If it were possession, I could understand, but this is clearly my own body. I am a player, how could I have been leading you guys for so long?" Su Ming'an said. "Unless you're saying that my body has been acting on its own without my control, leading you for all those years."

"That's exactly the case." Chao Yan nodded.

Su Ming'an was helpless; how could this be possible? It seems Chao Yan is unable to explain.

"This body of mine isn't a divine body, nor does it have divine power; it's essentially human. How could it be called a god?" Su Ming'an confirmed, "You actually consider me a god?"

Chao Yan said, "Yes. Gods don't necessarily need great power, the key is that we have faith in you, we're willing to believe you are a god."

Su Ming'an understood a bit more. It seems that a hundred years ago, he had significant prestige, so people were willing to follow him. The millennial plan involves a broad range of issues and requires a "god" to lead the public, thus conferring the title of "god" to a human. Just like how Acto was not a god, yet he had civilians regard him as a god, creating statues and shrines for him.

A thousand years later, Su Ming'an had a similar experience: clearly not yet becoming a god, yet already regarded by people as a "reawakened Old God."

Could the title of god always have been a long-standing lie?

"Was there anything significant a hundred years ago?" Su Ming'an was sure he had no time to go back a hundred years, just casually asking since the instance was already near the end.

"A normal era, nothing special, similar to your world, not worth revisiting," Chao Yan replied.

Su Ming'an nodded, dropped the question, and began to invest himself in the millennial plan.

...

[Perfect Pass Task · Eighth Ring: "Plan the Millennial Plan"]

Task Requirement: Do you seem to have returned to a thousand years ago? Is this real? But no matter what, you have to plan the millennial plan well, or the Dieying of this era will invade soon, and you will die a thousand years ago.

Task Reward: Occupation Advancement

Task Note: "...Uh."]

...

[Please choose your occupation advancement direction in advance:]

[(Direction 1) Bright Night Clone: Enhance the combat abilities of the "Ming" and "Shadow" states, allowing you to summon two clones simultaneously.]

[(Direction 2) Judgment: Enhance the single-target control ability, group suppression ability, and the infection ability of the emotional infusion effect of the "Judgment" skill.]

[(Direction 3) Faith: Enhance the absorption speed of faith, making you more sensitive to abilities related to "God."]

...

"Direction 1," Su Ming'an said. Despite the allure of direction 3, he had an uneasy premonition, especially after hearing about the Number One Player's becoming a god.

Chao Yan brewed a pot of black tea for him. The present Chao Yan is the original Chao Yan, the Judgment Angel in mythology who led thousands of troops to protect the Old Gods. No matter how the deities later persecuted the remnant followers of the Old Gods, the Judgment Angel always protected them, always standing with a sword at the front.

At the current time point, the deities had yet to seize power, and the Old Gods still dominated.

But paradoxically, due to the help of the Number One Player in last year's World Game, the deities had already reached the level of "gods," while the Old Gods remained human. This created an intriguing situation where humankind seemed to be above gods.

Su Ming'an looked up, often seeing towering airships and airplanes flying by outside the window, with swirling light rails and high-speed trains adding to the confusion. A statue of the Old God stood in the square, indeed depicting his own true form.

The minstrels played beside the fountain, singing ballads praising the Old God:

"He descended a hundred years ago, saving the world from peril..."

"He left under the sunlight, yet will reappear in times of crisis..."

"He will never abandon this land, never stray far away..."

Su Ming'an closed the window.

At this moment, a tall young man swaggered into the Old God's room. Anyone who saw his casual demeanor would think this was disrespectful.

"Old man, you're back?" the man opened his mouth and called him 'Old Deng.'

Su Ming'an's pupils shrank. How could he be considered old? Although Chao Yan said he was the Old God a hundred years ago, he hadn't accepted this fact yet.

"How does this simulation feel? I heard your reaction was exceptional this time, still not believing that everything you've experienced was just a simulation." The man plopped down, claiming the bed with intricate carvings. He propped his chin and watched Su Ming'an with interest: "Don't tell me you still think we're in the daytime section of The Third Tower? Wake up, The Third Tower is something from the simulation, it doesn't exist at all. What you're seeing now is real."

This level of rudeness was the first Su Ming'an had ever encountered. Throughout his journey, everyone had been respectful to him.

The man had white hair, blue eyes, yawned, reeking of peach blossom brew, with unfamiliar features.

"Who are you?" Su Ming'an asked bluntly. He didn't expect a stranger to appear in this simulation.

The man widened his eyes, the teasing expression vanished, pointing at himself, and asked in disbelief: "…Su Ming'an. Have you forgotten me?"

"Old Deng, who are you?" Su Ming'an said.

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