Infinite spooky game

At the summit of the snow-capped mountain, the illusions of lava and flowing fire have long since vanished. The shattered sky has returned to a seamless whole, and as far as the eye can see, both the sky and the earth are pure white. On the other side of the mountain lies an endless glacier.

The fierce winds spurred by the temperature difference between day and night whipped up snow flakes and ice shards, and the gray dust danced wildly in the air. The highest point in the world, where one can touch the sky, is not lonely. Mountaineers who want to conquer nature are led by guides and trudge along in the footsteps of their predecessors.

Qi Si and Fu Jue sat on two raised snowdrifts on either side of the road, silently playing the role of gatekeepers, watching the waves of climbers with utter boredom.

For some unknown reason, Xiao Fengchao and Chu Yining were brought back into the real world and were taken down the snow mountain by the investigators who arrived later. At this moment, only the two of them remained on the snow mountain.

Isolated in a parallel space from reality, they can only observe and not touch. The vast world seems to have been wiped out, leaving only two humans. If they want to communicate, they have to compromise and find each other.

There's no point in talking when you can't see eye to eye. Qi Si had already felt incredibly unlucky hanging out with the three from the Ark Guild, and now he's stuck alone with the stubborn and uncommunicative Fu Jue. It's truly pathetic.

It must be said that fate may indeed have a certain wicked sense of humor, always finding the most unpleasant way to push him towards the most absurd and ridiculous developments.

“Fu Jue, whether you prefer to sit on the snow mountain and enjoy the breeze or want to experience life elsewhere, I think it’s time for us to split up.” Qi Si jumped off the snowdrift and turned to walk straight towards Jiangcheng.

The 4,000-kilometer journey was just a matter of a few more days for him in his current state. Although the long journey was very boring, it seemed inexplicable that he had traveled thousands of miles to come and was going back thousands of miles away.

"Where do you want to go?" Fu Jue also stepped down from the snowdrift and followed. "We cannot rule out the possibility that there are dangers in this world. The survival rate of two people traveling together in case of an emergency is much higher than that of traveling alone."

“I want to go back to Jiangcheng. As for safety…” Qiston paused, sighed, “Rather than continuing to live with a guy like you who’s been marinated in collectivism and public order and good morals, I think I’d rather just die right now.”

Fu Jue said earnestly, "Collectivism is one of the secrets to humanity's long-term survival in evolutionary history by virtue of its weak individual strength, while public order and good customs are the most suitable guidelines for human survival that have survived after millions of years of selection. Following these two is a rational choice in most cases..."

"Stop. You don't want to hear me expose Lin Jue's secrets, do you?"

Fu Jue subtly changed the subject: "After leaving the snow mountain, my choice will also be to return to Jiangcheng. Jiangcheng has special historical and geographical characteristics. According to records, a total of 1724 strange events have occurred in Jiangcheng throughout its history..."

“I suggest you stay on the snow mountain.” Qi Si stopped and turned to look at Fu Jue seriously, giving his reason without hesitation, “Do you remember when you picked up a piece of ice and made a noise that the climbers noticed?”
"From this, we can infer that, like Chu Yining and Xiao Fengchao, your connection with reality has deepened after arriving at the snow mountain. Similarly, if you continue to sit on the mountaintop like a statue, you will surely be able to return to reality in time."

Qi Si's gaze was sincere, as if he truly cared about Fu Jue.

Fu Jue lowered his eyes slightly and fell into deep thought. After a while, he took a few steps back and sat back down on the snowdrift.

Having achieved his goal, Qi Si turned and headed down the mountain with satisfaction. He had only taken a few steps when a sharp noise suddenly rang out behind him, like the claws of a monster tearing through the dome, or the agonizing screams of an ancient ghost.

The sound of shattering glass echoed continuously, as if an unseen behemoth was devouring the edge of the world. The sound penetrated flesh and bone, resounding at the level of the soul, arousing an uncontrollable restlessness and unease.

A golden light filled the sky and earth. Qi Si looked back and saw that the snow mountain was divided in two by its summit. One side was still transparent ice and white snow, while the other side had turned into a sea of ​​fire.

Dense cracks covered half the sky, orange beams of light poured down to the earth through the cracks, crimson and gold flames fell like meteors, and black and white card phantoms enveloped the entire world, only to be seized by a pair of giant hands in the next second.

The hands tightened little by little, and the card seemed to know that destruction was imminent, emitting a series of low, mournful cries. As a result, everyone was forced to look up at the sky and witness this irreversible destruction.

Black and white debris was scattered from the sky, turning into black and white feathers as it fell to the ground. The phantom of the black cross stood tall and upright, its originally inverted position slowly turning around. The person nailed to it walked down step by step and merged with Fu Jue.

At this point, Fu Jue's figure was completely submerged in light and shadow, his edges shrouded in a blinding exposure that caused a phantom pain in the eyes even to look directly at him. He stood before the cross, his body fading and dissipating at a visible speed...

Qi Si gazed at the golden-red sky for a long time until all the strange phenomena disappeared and the dome and glacier returned to their white state, then he tapped his chin with his finger.

"Could he really have returned to reality? Interesting..."

Qi Si was very familiar with the combination of black and white cards and the cross that had just appeared; it was clearly the identity card of the "Fallen Savior" that had once belonged to Fu Jue and later to Lin Jue.

At the end of the final instance, Lin Jue used the effect of [Dark Judge] to judge himself, and then committed suicide, allowing the other players on that timeline to leave the snow mountain.

Then, Fu Jue, who possessed the identity card of the Fallen Savior, activated the effect of "Resurrecting the soul of the deceased in the body of the holder", pulling Lin Jue back from hell to the human world, while he himself was trapped in the past.

But now, the [Fallen Savior] identity card has been destroyed, so its effects can no longer be generated. The souls of the deceased have returned to hell, and the body of the holder has been returned to its rightful owner.

Very few beings can destroy an identity token, and the most likely candidate is Lin Jue, who possesses god-level power.

"Has he finally chosen to become a 'god'? Becoming a god and then pulling Fu Jue back into his body, is it to avoid something? Is there something that 'Lin Jue' cannot do and must be done by 'Fu Jue'?"

Qi Si's eyes narrowed into slits, and a word popped into his mind at just the right moment—"contract".

He vaguely speculated about what happened in the 2035 timeline. If nothing unexpected happened, Lin Jue had most likely achieved his ideal of saving the world, and probably through some kind of self-sacrifice. Humanity had finally overcome its hardships after thirty-six years of struggle and achieved the long-awaited happy ending... After briefly imagining what happened in another timeline, Qi Si got goosebumps. Just thinking about how, when he was thrown into this godforsaken parallel universe, ten billion people around the world were living so-called happy lives, he really wanted to ask Zhou Ke how he had ruined the cards he had left behind.

Okay, he didn't have enough cards left in his hand, but with the [Fate Pocket Watch], he could restart the timeline multiple times. Surely Zhou Ke wouldn't use up all his chances and still not succeed even once?

Or perhaps... something happened that made items like the [Fate Pocket Watch] unusable?

Just as Siqi was at a disadvantage in terms of information compared to Qisi for some reason, Qisi also lacked knowledge about Zhou Ke, and he didn't even know that Zhou Ke had changed his name to "Siqi".

They knew nothing about what was happening in each other's worlds and could only make speculative guesses based on clues.

"Now it seems Zhou Ke is probably dead. In the only gamble I ever made where I unconditionally trusted myself, I ended up losing everything, which is a kind of negative proof that 'one's own abilities are not necessarily trustworthy'..."

Qi Si squinted and squatted on the ground. He grabbed a handful of snow, rolled it into a snowball, and placed it on the ground to serve as the snowman's body. Then he grabbed a small handful of snow to make the snowman's head.

He suddenly realized a problem: "Wait... why did I trust Zhou Ke unconditionally back then? With my personality, even if I were in dire straits, I would never willingly hand over all control over the future and tie my fate to another person, even if that person is myself."

"I will definitely leave some kind of backup plan that can help me regain control, just like in the 'Dialectical Game' instance. Back then, my backup plan was a weapon. What will my backup plan be this time? No, did I really leave a backup plan? Why... do I have no recollection of it?"

Qi Si placed the small snowball on top of the large snowball, fixing it in place. Then he took out two blades from his special bracelet and inserted them into the snowball, one on the left and one on the right, to serve as the snowman's arms.

A trembling voice suddenly sounded from behind: "What...what's that snowman over there? It wasn't there a moment ago, it just appeared in the blink of an eye..."

Qi Si stood up calmly, took two steps back, and turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound came. The mountaineer in the orange protective suit was staring intently at the snowman he had just built, his expression terrified.

Qi Si realized that he could now exert influence on reality and be seen by people in reality, was it because Zhou Ke was dead?
Chu Yining, Xiao Fengchao, and Fu Jue have all returned to reality. Does this mean that he can also go back to the timeline of 2035?

The logic within was so chaotic that Qi Si couldn't immediately piece together a clear narrative. However, he suddenly had a strong feeling that Zhou Ke's death was part of his plan, a preparation for his return to reality.

He had forgotten about that plan, and it was very likely that he had deliberately forgotten it. Now, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't find any clues.

However, Qi Si believed in his planning abilities. Since he had devised this plan, he must have also pre-set a trigger that would make him remember everything.

……

December 31, 2014, Hong Kong.

"Yuan" failed to activate the [Calamity Priest] identity card effect for the eleventh time. The disaster he created could not target any group of people. The prompts repeatedly told him that there were no living beings in this spacetime who could be involved in the disaster.

He took a breath and exhaled, silently put away his ID card, and stood on the top platform of the statue, a city landmark, overlooking the bustling city.

At this point in time, the influence of the Ping Church was not as deeply entrenched as it would be twenty years later. Xiangcheng was still a glamorous commercial metropolis on the surface. Orange lights would come on one after another at dusk, illuminating overpasses, shopping streets and skyscrapers. The whole city was decorated as bright as day, bustling and prosperous.

Anyone who has lived through the changes of the past few decades and looks back at the city's past will feel as if they have lived in another world.

“I joined the Church of the Balance twenty-two years ago, which is shortly after Ragnarok.” Yuan spoke without warning.

For the past six months, Dong Xiwen had accompanied this leader on his various adventures, and now that he was still standing there, his mind had already wandered far away. Suddenly hearing this sentence, he subconsciously let out a questioning "Ha," wondering to himself what this humanoid ape was up to now.

"Yuan" didn't look at him, and continued in a reminiscent tone: "Thirty-six years ago, the first batch of players entered the bizarre game. Under the grand narrative of the Ark Guild, there were some overlooked pessimists who did not believe that humanity could win. They admired strength, and after realizing the existence of the bizarre and gods, they immediately began to believe in these supernatural forces. After seeing a certain evil god whose status was equivalent to that of the main god, they devoutly and fanatically believed in Him, hoping to receive His blessings."

"I used to think this was a very foolish thing. Since that god created the bizarre game, he must be full of malice towards mankind. How could we expect mercy from the culprit? But before Ragnarok, I saw the god in a dungeon and learned about the existence of the rules. Both gods and humans are subject to the rules, which are the source of all evil and suffering. The gods also deeply hate them."

Dong Xiwen interjected, "So you joined the Balance Church and started believing in God?"

“No, I have never believed in any god.” “Yuan” shook his head, his voice gentle. “During that instance, I made a deal with God, but at that time I did not understand the contents of the deal. It was not until I came to this time and space that I glimpsed a corner of His plan.”

Dong Xiwen's gaze darted around: "And then you took me running around to different places, repeatedly trying to activate the effect of the [Calamity Priest] card?"

“Because I didn’t intend to complete that deal for a long time.” “Yuan” took a few steps back, away from the edge of the platform, and walked towards the spiral escalator. “As I said before, I don’t believe in any gods. So I’d rather find a way to ascend to that position myself and glimpse the corresponding rules. I think He must have thought of that too, so He allowed me to come to this space-time recklessly based on my arrogant ambition.”

Dong Xiwen suddenly had a bad feeling and touched his nose: "So what should we do next?"

Yuan descended the steps calmly and said, "I have no choice but to go to Jiangcheng at the appointed time to fulfill the promise made twenty-two years ago." (End of Chapter)