As a player, can you be normal?

Chapter 730 The Lingering Connection of Fate

Let's go back to a long time ago.

2030 years.

4 month 1 day.

Marger, a genius who entered university at the age of 16, is how he introduces himself.

Today is his first day at the hospital after graduation, and he is very excited... He is finally one step closer to his dream.

"Ugh... Finally... Ah... I can, I can let the nurses wear miniskirts... Ah!"

Marger sat on the toilet, his face pale.

"Humph……"

"Why would I, a proctologist, have diarrhea on my very first day on the job?! Ugh!"

"what happened……"

He suddenly felt dizzy.

"Oh no, this is... high blood pressure, which can cause aneurysm to rupture or blood clot to shift, leading to an embolic event."

"Damn it, my brain control circuits, please respond quickly!"

"What? You guys are dizzy too? Heart, heart racing, blood boiling! Could it be related to that prophetic dream I had a few days ago? That dream... I became a world-renowned tycoon... Hahahaha! So that's how it is! It makes perfect sense that rich people have blocked channels because of their dreams, causing them to have trouble excreting!"

Marger's sudden death was caused by problems such as elevated blood pressure during defecation, daydreaming, and other disconnected issues.

The man on the toilet next door was so frightened by his maniacal, pained laughter that he didn't dare to leave for three hours.

[Newcomer Screening]

When Marge stood on the train, looking at the sunset outside the window, his first thought was, "I've traveled through time."

"Hmph, so you want me to go to another world and turn all the nurses there into miniskirt exhibitionists?"

"That's a good idea."

[Please, player...]

"Alright, I know! I know! Now, those who are boarding this train will be your future masters! So... let me sign my autograph for you."

"Damn it, I forgot to bring a pen when I went to the toilet."

[Please, player...]

"By the way, I have a steel-like spear on me!"

Marjee didn't listen to the system's announcement at all.

He pulled down his pants, faced the setting sun outside the window, urinated on the door, and left the words "Maerjie was here".

"Oh no! The water pressure is too low!"

"Hey!"

"Give me some water!"

Get lost!

The train jolted.

Marger was thrown back by the force of the impact.

When he came to his senses, he was already in a perfectly sealed room where a murder had been committed and the body hidden.

Because he wasn't wearing pants when he got off the bus, his appearance made the girl opposite him scream like a chicken being slaughtered.

Marger tried to communicate with them in a self-righteous manner.

It turned out to be a "revival match".

But the problem at hand is huge. He looked around and found that there was no one among the people present who could lead the team to victory. If there was such a person, at least... at least he could be considered a partner.

……

The task was completed in a race against time.

Marger leaned against the wall, wiping the blood from his face, and stuffed all the pieces of excrement in his hand into the strange man's mouth.

Everyone else died.

"Player..."

Marger looked at the corpses and began to question the name.

The system reminded him to leave the area as soon as possible.

Before leaving, Marger noticed a crack in the wall. Opening that crack might allow him to glimpse a corner of the world, but he didn't have time for that now.

So, Marger took the key and opened the door to leave the "Newcomer Screening" area.

I always feel like there's a void in my heart.

It seems like something is missing.

As he walked out the door, he glanced back at the crack in the wall... Why was he so concerned about the world outside the crack?

……

The world outside the wall right here in this crack.

Its name is Chuangjie Mountain.

"The most dangerous monsters have now left the Creation Mountain." Guild Master Watano looked at the dozens of towers, each with only three floors, and said, "The most troublesome 'Celestial Convergence' will send things into these towers. We will issue an early warning if there is anything extremely dangerous."

How to issue an early warning?

"confidential."

"Old Chairman, if you don't tell us, we'll assume you can't do anything about it."

"This one……"

"Don't forget, we're studying journalism."

Just as Watano was pondering what to do, the reporter suddenly exclaimed with wide eyes, "Wow, the legendary ○○ cannon sculpture really exists!"

On the plain not far away, the sculpture of the "Armstrong Cyclone Armstrong Gun" stands there.

After the car left the sculpture, they didn't notice that the sculpture turned into foam and scattered all over the ground, indicating that it did not exist.

At the same time, dark clouds appeared in the sky.

Watano found it strange that it was cloudy.

"Forty years ago, the Craftsmen of Light defeated the Demon King..."

"Guild Master, what are you saying? The Craftsman of Light didn't defeat the Demon King? Who is the Craftsman of Light?"

The car they were in disappeared as soon as the reporter finished speaking.

Watano stood frozen in place. The reporters, the cars, everything vanished, leaving him alone on the third level of Creation Mountain, where there were no dark clouds.

"Memories in the brain..."

He didn't know why, but many things in his mind disappeared.

He only remembered that the "Warrior of Light" had come and gone, but it seemed... who was the Warrior of Light?
At this time.

Watano saw several bricks fall from a tall tower, and he picked up his binoculars.

Nothing happened.

……

Leviathan, slumbering within Mount Creation, awaited the appearance of the Warrior of Light, but he did not appear.

She continued to sleep, but felt that something was wrong.

She opened her eyes inside the [Magic Crystal].

It seems that something has been forgotten.

……

Leviathan seemed to be having a dream.

When she awoke, she was still standing on Mount Creation, the dragon girl, not Leviathan in dragon form.

Time rewinds to the day she fought against the Gates of the Border Prison.

Leviathan sealed the Borderlands and prayed to the heavens, Warrior of Light.

The Fate Changer appeared under her divine power, bringing her will to her homeland, Final Fantasy.

And in that place, shrouded in dark clouds.

The duel between the higher-dimensional demons and the priests has just begun.

Leviathan wanted to capture the priest, for she saw in him the power to defeat demons, and that he was a future warrior of light.

But for some reason, everything in front of me turned into a shattered scene.

The Master of Mirrors stared at the brat who had ruined his plans, the damned priest, the guy who was more repulsive than a demon.

"I will kill..."

And then the next second.

The scene of Novigrad appeared all around, and the Master of Mirrors stood there, stunned.

He looked around blankly and realized he was back in The Witcher, in the Middle Ages, but the priest was gone.

"Mr. Li Nuo, what is this one of your doing...?"

Boom!
The heartbeat of the higher-dimensional demon pierced the sulcus of the brain.

He forgot everything that had happened.

Leviathan, who witnessed all of this, shook his head in mid-air: "No... this shouldn't be the scene... the future, the future shouldn't be like this!"

She stared intently at the Mirror Master. Was this high-dimensional demon doing something...? If so, kill him!

The water god Leviathan at his peak descended upon Novigrad.

The higher-dimensional demon died.

On the other side of the sea.

The future of time.

Ciri gazed ahead on the plains of Toussaint; the lake was calm, as if something was missing.

She turned her head and looked at Geralt's tombstone.

"Have I forgotten something...?"

It started to drizzle.

Ciri touched her head and realized her hat was gone. Hat... she then remembered that she wasn't wearing a hat.

The hat Li Nuo gave her vanished in the rain.

"Geralt...I think I've forgotten something. Can you help me remember?"

She stood before the tombstone of the legendary Witcher.

He lowered his head and recounted his past.

"The last place I went to was called 'Cyberpunk'..."

……

Hi! This is Night City!

[Beep...]

[Hello viewers. I'm Gillian Jordan. Welcome to News 54. First, I'll be bringing you the latest local news.]

V turned off the broadcast.

"Damn it, why can I still hear broadcasts in outer space..."

This is clearly a planet in the Cairo system.

"Hey, Nie Chuang! This damn radio signal is acting up again! Can you fix it for me?"

She jumped out of the convertible and called out to Nie Chuang across the street.

"Nie Chuang!"

"V, what are you shouting?"

Mariko made a strange sound of confusion behind her.

V turned around, only to see... that he had returned to Night City.

"What the hell is that Mewtwo?"

“This isn’t Mewtwo…” Cairo-kun, who had traveled with her through space, said, “We’re back…”

"what?"

V now wields a gun, transforming back into the mercenary she once was, while her companions who had always traveled with her through the stars have vanished.

"Hey everyone! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

she yelled.

Many years have passed since the priest killed the high-dimensional demon and went to the world of Cairo with that group, so she cannot accept the sudden change now.

She couldn't tell whether what she was seeing was real or a dream.

In her desperation, V activated the hacking system in her mind. When Marger and Victor transformed her into a YoRHa unit, her brain's neural network was connected to the sub-network of the YoRHa unit, and there was a backup save file. However, the reflection in the glass next to the road told her that she was no longer a YoRHa unit.

"Hey...are you kidding me..."

"Just kidding!"

Yakohl punched the wall.

The YoRHa unit's network signal is malfunctioning, and the 34th timeline constructed by Lino is disappearing.

Yako is currently in the Night Kingdom, and she must find the root of the problem before the anchor point of this timeline completely disappears.

otherwise……

The fate of this world will revert to that of endless despair...

The root of the problem... Jako can only think of one person.

The Kingdom of Day.

A port city by the sea.

Jako rushed anxiously toward the research institute in the alley, ignoring the people at the door who tried to stop him and forced open the door.

"Annabelle!"

Annabelle sat in a chair inside the room, her face gloomy.

"Yakol, perfect timing, I was just about to look for you... What happened?"

She pointed to the mechanical life form sitting in the corner of the room.

Yakoll stared wide-eyed in surprise: "Xing Kai, how did it turn out like this..."

“Just a few days ago… Xing Kai…” Annabelle lit a cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke listlessly, and said, “Xing Kai suddenly turned into a semi-transparent life form. I don’t know what happened to him, but…”

"Xing Kai!" Before Annabelle could finish speaking, Yako went over and grabbed Xing Kai's head, shaking it violently. "How could you just die like that! If you die, my timeline will be finished!"

Annabelle walked over and kicked Jacques away.

"Hey, he's not dead."

"what?"

"I almost got shaken to death by you," the mechanical lifeform carrying Xing Kai said, bouncing like a bean.

Annabelle explained, "I was careful and modified Xing Kai's brain circuits. When he turned into a semi-transparent creature and slowly disappeared, I put his memory bank into the abandoned mechanical life form."

Yakoll breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great."

Xing Kai: "Not at all, not good. I don't have any right now, not even bananas..."

Annabelle: "Be serious."

Yakoll adjusted his glasses and stood up: "I've discovered that the 34 timelines I drafted are showing signs of disappearing... Xing Kai, do you know anything about this?" As the person who brought this world's fate line to an end, Xing Kai's importance is self-evident. It was his return to this place and his permanent stay that brought this timeline to its final conclusion.

"Li Nuo".

Xing Kai said the name.

“My memories of the past are in disarray. If, in addition, your control over the anchor point is weakened, it means, Li Nuo…”

"Li Nuo has disappeared?" Annabelle asked in surprise.

“It’s not that he disappeared…” Yakoll lowered his head: “His initial existence disappeared… I am the recorder who controls the timeline, and I know very well that every life is an archive that constitutes a world, but there are some special individuals who are the foundation of a spacetimeline. Once these special individuals disappear, it means the complete loss of the timeline…”

After she finished speaking, the small room fell silent.

Yakoll turned to leave: "I will try to contact Miss Chabai's archive records... After all, she has a connection with 'Threshold,' so perhaps there is a way to find her."

Xing Kai suddenly called out to her, "Yakor, the reason I didn't completely disappear, the reason why only a part of this timeline disappeared... is probably unrelated to that Cha Bai..."

After a few seconds of silence, Jakoll...

"Is it because of the mechanical cult?"

"Probably……"

"But mechanical cults... don't seem to have originated from our world."

Jako's words startled Xing Kai and Annabelle.

Everyone believed that the mechanical cult originated here.

But the evil god should have existed first, followed by the cult.

The evil god first descended in another world.

……

Ys.

The summit of Tanggula.

Succubus Mansion.

In the empty tavern, Tia sat on a bench, sunlight streaming through the window and falling on her cheeks, but it couldn't dispel the gloom on her face.

"The leader's faith fluctuations have weakened."

She looked across at the other side.

"You forgot what I asked you to tell Karl on the train?"

Sitting opposite me is Master Wang.

"Yes... If Miss Angel hadn't asked me about you, I wouldn't remember at all..."

Angel went to Basel to see Wang Li because Tia had been there.

After that incident, Master Wang used his personal authority to return here to find Tia.

Because this world had once opened the gates of the border prison, and because Tia was a veteran player of the "Corridor of Redemption," she had experienced the past events. After the "Demon" incident, she deduced that the judge might not be dead. For the safety of this world, she completely severed the connection between the world and the corridor.

"Because this place is completely cut off from your 'Endless Corridor', your mind won't be affected."

"I don't understand, doesn't the World Tree care about these things?"

Wang Li was referring to why the World Tree ignored the world that wasn't connected to the corridor.

"Judging from the location of the fruit, this place is too close to the Border Prison. Besides, the World Tree is just a program, and I don't understand these things."

Tia crossed her legs.

"If you want to know the truth... you'll have to find out where Karl is hiding now."

A girl's voice rang out from the side: "But... 'Endless Corridor'..."

Tia and Wang Li looked over together. There were two other people who had been with them in this tavern all along: the two protagonists of this world, who were also players of the "Sky Corridor," the idiot couple.

Aita: "I heard that something strange happened in the 'Endless Corridor'. Pippen wanted to ask Mr. Marger, but he's not on my friend list anymore."

Pippen added, "Later I asked Brupper, and he said he didn't have Li Nuo's contact information either."

In reality, Li Nuo had already deleted Brupp's contact information.

"In short, we are very worried... We heard that a scenario is going to be started outside of the World Tree, and we want to know what happened? Is it related to that event?"

Tia took a deep breath.

"Would you like to come in and talk, sir?"

Phil came in from outside: "As expected of a goddess, haha~ there's no escaping it."

Aita explained, "Phil is a Witcher, and although we're not in the same corridor, we always rehearse together."

Tia looked at Phil and asked, "How's that Galdella (the Demon God) doing?"

Phil laughed and said, "Rumor has it that something happened. By the way, don't get me wrong, I just have an agreement with this couple that I'll follow and protect them wherever they go. As for Li Nuo's disappearance... damn it, who did it?"

He still couldn't suppress the anger hidden in his heart: "Linuo and I are both demon hunters, and we often exchange materials. That guy disappeared, what will happen to my supply... Miss Tia, you know who did it, right?"

Following the pattern of "The End," they don't care who their opponent is; as long as they know who it is, they'll fight them to the death.

Tia sighed, "I also want to know how the Evil God is doing..."

At this moment, Master Wang asked, "Aren't you...the people in the other corridors affected?"

Phil explained, "It will have an impact, but not a big one. For example, you might forget memories related to Li Nuo. There are two versions of the World War in my mind: one with Li Nuo and the others, and the other with a fool named Kroyd. I am a 'Glutton,' so my brain's memories can split into several versions. But most people will forget these things. Oh, right, some people will disappear completely. For example, do you know Anmi?"

Master Wang said, "Among the players who haven't broken through to level 99, the most powerful one recently lost to Brother Li."

Phil: "He, along with the [scholar] and those 'Twelve Heavenly Tower Fiends,' have all vanished into thin air."

Master Wang said, "It's because their main world later became the territory of the 'Endless Corridor,' so they were deeply affected."

Aita: "I don't understand why my memories are affected, but the future still exists."

Master Wang explained, "Worldline repair... Under the butterfly effect, countless possibilities have emerged, and ultimately the 'World Tree' will guide them towards an ending that aligns with the present."

"You guys, go level up."

It was Tia who spoke.

Everyone looked at her.

"Those who are unhappy, those who want to save their friends, those who don't want their memories to be altered, those who want to save everything—I don't care what your purpose is, you are all too weak."

Tia said this to the three people besides Wang Li.

"Wang Li".

"The students are here."

"Stay by my side and don't go to the 'Endless Corridor' for now."

This place is disconnected from the five major corridors. Only here can Master Wang keep his memories intact. In other words, the origin of the mechanical cult is now the only safe house.

Master Wang: "So... what are your plans next, Master?"

Tia said, "Because the aura of the Evil God has weakened, tens of thousands of Steel Soul followers at the foot of Tangula Mountain have begun to suspect that this world is to blame. They plan to destroy the world as a sacrifice for the Evil God. You help me manage those idiots."

Master Wang: "But..."

“Idiot.” Tia chuckled. “How could Karl, and the people he’s set his sights on, possibly lose so easily?”

Wang Li: "Okay... I'll listen to the teacher."

He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Wang Li, where is Lillian?"

Tia suddenly asked.

Wang Li paused, "Lillian... I... I don't think I remember this person?"

Tia narrowed her eyes. She realized that even if Wang Li came here, his memory would still be affected, or rather, his memory fragments would be gradually affected.

……

"Wells, do you think it's possible that our memories could be affected?"

"Hey, has your brain been fucked by a white pig, you four-eyed guy!"

"You damned black devil..."

Soren stood on a street in Basel.

Basel is unusually quiet today, or is it always like this...? His mind was in a bit of a mess.

Wells patted him on the shoulder, urging him to hurry up. They were carrying a lot of parts and were going to find the indigenous repairmen in the lower district to modify the equipment.

"Wells, don't you feel anything is different? For example, memory modification."

Are you in heat?

"Wells, are we on the same team?"

"Soren asked."

"Are you even doubting whether you ate yesterday?" Wells asked.

“Yes, it’s strange…” Sauron said, “Why am I on the same team as you?”

"Because you lost your battle against Crowd, I took you in."

“Crowd, [Critical One]?” Soren touched his glasses and lowered his head, saying, “Yes, in that scenario, my team encountered Crowd and was ambushed by their people. Although I survived, my teammates all died, so I joined your team, and in the recent World War… I successfully avenged myself?”

He finally asked a question, and Wells stopped and turned to look at him.

“Wells, how is this possible?”

Soren frowned slightly.

"How could I possibly lose to Kroyd? How could I possibly join your team?"

"Hey? Are you acting crazy again?"

“No, listen to me… Wells.” Soren looked around: “Since when has Basel become so quiet? Look at the staff on the street, they’re all acting like idiots. We’re supposed to be from the world of comedy, is this reasonable?”

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

It seemed only Soren's voice could be heard. Wells stood there, stunned, staring at the guy's serious expression.

"Wells, given my existence, don't you think you haven't become a sufficiently powerful being because of my existence?"

Wells: "Tell me quietly what you're saying."

Soren pushed up his glasses.

"Timeline shifts... When a person is on their own worldline, the events that happen on that worldline are certain for that person. In other words, that person is an observer for this world. If that person goes back to the past, they will find that no matter what they do, the events that are supposed to happen for this world will still happen. This is called worldline convergence, and you are in the state of 'worldline convergence,' Wells... So who went back to the past?"

“Someone should have disappeared. Who… Let me think… Since the ‘Immortal Train,’ among the capable people around me who died… Marger? Muto Sora? No, it should be a higher-dimensional being.”

Soren Lee turned his gaze to the towering central tower in the center of Basel.

The sound of cicadas could be heard in the street.

His ears twitched.

[The Explorer]

[Issued]

This is the "Endless Corridor." We are making some adjustments to your accounts based on current events. Please don't worry about what happened in the past.

Soren spotted the shadows of unfamiliar players nearby, not just one, but many.

【Redemption Corridor】

This is the name discovered by the Explorers. The group of Wells and other players who are invisible to the players come from the Redemption Corridor.

【The Corridor of Redemption: the precursor to the "Endless Corridor"】

"Hey, Four-Eyes! Say something!" Wells' voice interrupted Soren's thoughts.

"Wells, what is our manager called?"

"Judge."

"Judge……"

Soren slapped Wells' hand away, covered his head, and walked forward, saying, "Damn it... I think I overthought things."

I didn't think too much about it.

He pondered this.

A few hours later, Sauron returned to the real world.

He sat on the high-end sofa in his home, exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay, his mind constantly pondering his discovery.

The butler knocked on the door, entered the room, and bowed respectfully.

"Master, it's time for dinner."

"I have a question for you..."

The butler kept his mouth shut and waited for the questions.

Soren said, "If you find that everything you've experienced might be a hoax, do you follow the story or seek the truth?"

The butler was silent for a few seconds, then raised his head and strode out the door: "Master! I have failed your trust!"

"I haven't been involved with any drugs!" Soren roared, then sank into the sofa, lighting a cigarette in frustration. "There must be something wrong... This can't go on..."

Just then, the butler ran back: "Young Master! There's someone at the door..."

Soren stood up: "Hahaha, is it the mafia next door coming to kill us? Great, I've been feeling annoyed!"

He grabbed a decorative long knife from the wall and went outside. As his prosthetic leg stepped through the doorway, he realized, wait... when did this leg break off?

Suddenly, the butler grabbed his shoulder: "It's not the Mafia... it's a deliveryman..."

Soren only saw the goods the steward was talking about when he stepped out of the room.

The delivery truck was outside the manor gate, and the driver was unloading the goods.

The goods turned out to be, "What if a phone booth?"

Soren walked over.

The driver handed him a pair of glasses.

These glasses... are the same as his gear in the corridor.

Soren suddenly raised his head.

The delivery driver lifted the brim of his hat, revealing a sly smile: "Soren Lee, cash on delivery."

This guy looks familiar.

Soren couldn't tell that the other party had any ill intentions, so he put on the glasses.

"You're back?" Wenk took off his deliveryman's hat.

Soren touched his glasses, the lenses flashing white light: "Heh~ you're back. Thanks for your hard work, Mr. Wink."

……

Let's go back to the day before Li Nuo left.

Soren and Lino were in the phone booth, looking at the book Lino had written, "The Room of the Warrior of Light".

"My diary contains everything I've experienced since I became a player. If my life gets changed, I'll leave it to you then."

"Is this how I repay the debt of saving your life?"

"Whatever you say goes."

After saying that, Li Nuo returned a smile.

Soren lowered his head and stuffed the book back into the hidden compartment of "What If Telephone Booth"; he had a way of preserving the book's information.

"Li Nuo, we need to find another place to talk."

They both knew that there was a dragon girl in the courtyard who had turned into an insect and was hiding.

Li Nuo stepped out of the phone booth.

"I've already thought of that. Let's go find Wink and have some fun."

(End of this chapter)