Free Web NovelChapter 107: Chapter 107: Pilgrimage, Sacrifice
The sudden sound of a voice filled the players with not only surprise but also an irrepressible, ecstatic joy!
They knew at once that the developer was speaking to them through one of the game’s characters.
They had persevered for so long not just to complete the three main quests and avert the so-called real-world apocalypse. More than anything, they wanted to meet the developer behind the True Apocalypse Game and speak with him face-to-face.
According to their original predictions, the developer wouldn’t possibly appear for at least a few more real-world days, not until they had revived in-game human civilization to the Steam Age.
They never expected the developer to appear after just one real-world day, as soon as they had built the foundations of an agricultural society.
"Is that you... the developer?" the Legion Commander asked, his voice trembling slightly as he took a deep breath.
After their recent apocalyptic experiences, the players, including the Legion Commander, no longer felt simple curiosity or shock toward the developer. Their feelings had grown into something closer to reverence.
After all, what the developer had revealed to them in this game seemed to transcend the limits of human capability.
Yet, they could also sense the developer’s profound devotion to human civilization behind the game’s design.
This was precisely why they were so eager to meet him.
Almost every one of them had a long list of questions they wanted to ask.
"I am," the hooded youth from before replied, nodding with a warm smile. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Simultaneously, the NPCs who had just spoken in unison went back to their previous tasks as if nothing had happened.
Hearing the youth admit in person that he was the developer, the players were overcome with a whirlwind of emotions. Alongside their gratification, they felt a profound sense of relief.
It was like finally being able to lie on a soft lawn to watch the clouds drift by in a gentle breeze after a brutal, life-or-death struggle.
A heavy burden had been lifted. Suddenly, nothing else seemed to matter as much.
The developer was here.
The smile on the developer’s young face was like a ray of sunshine to them.
But they understood this was merely a game character the developer was using. Beneath the boy’s youthful exterior must lie an ancient and fearless soul, one worthy of their awe.
The youth pulled his hood back on and turned, walking languidly toward a nearby slope. His avatar was remarkably lifelike, like a real person, far surpassing any of the other NPCs.
The sky, now blanketed in thick, dark clouds, had grown much gloomier. It looked as if it could rain at any moment.
Like pilgrims on a sacred journey, the players all followed the youth, surging toward the slope.
From a distance, they resembled a tide flowing against the current, or perhaps a flock of docile lambs.
Soon, the youth reached halfway up the small hill. He turned, sat down, and took off his hood once more.
The moment he sat, a fresh breeze swept over them, making the fabric of their clothes flutter and snap.
The clouds drifted apart, opening a rift through which sunlight pierced like a sword, illuminating the youth on the hillside.
The scene was serene, yet it left a profound and moving impression on the players.
They were reminded of the Buddha preaching to the Great Bhikkhu Assembly of 1,250 at the Jetavana Garden in Savatthi;
of Kong Qiu at Xingtai, lecturing to his three thousand disciples amidst music and song;
and of Jesus Christ delivering the Sermon on the Mount to his Disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
The list went on and on.
In that instant, they felt a deep connection with the developer, like long-lost friends reunited or an inseparable teacher and his students.
Though this was only a game, they felt as if their very souls were on that hillside, listening humbly before the boy.
No one spoke. Everything seemed to stand still, save for the wind rustling their clothes in the game.
After a few seconds, or perhaps a few minutes, the youth finally spoke. His voice was somber as he asked:
"Are you willing to make a sacrifice? To give your life without hesitation for those you love, for peace in the world?"
The players hadn’t expected the developer to open with such a question, but on second thought, it made sense.
They should have seen it coming.
Then, every person present began to ask themselves the same question.
’Am I willing to sacrifice myself?’
Vasily thought of his son Ivan’s lake-blue eyes and nodded with a small smile.
’Of course.’
Li Tongchen sighed and muttered, "I’m a doctor... I swore the Hippocratic Oath..."
Joe gave a grim laugh. As a soldier, he had long been prepared to die protecting everything he loved.
Nick curled his lip. "Motherfucker," he spat, glancing up at a photo of his fallen comrades on the wall. He couldn’t even be bothered to answer the question.
The players’ reactions varied. Some were nonchalant, others wore grave expressions, but all of them hesitated, wondering how to answer the developer.
But before they could give their answers, the developer spoke again.
"I don’t need your answers. It’s a question for you to ask yourselves. You’re probably curious about who I am, what this game is, why you can find a cure for the Petrification Disease here, and how you can see such a realistic vision of a post-nuclear apocalypse..."
The players fell silent once more. In the real world, some of them were even holding their breath. These were, indeed, the answers they had been seeking.
"I can tell you this: all of it really happened. The Stone Statue Apocalypse, the nuclear wasteland... human civilization has been destroyed at least twice, perhaps more. And I experienced it all firsthand."
His words struck them like a clap of thunder, sending a wave of shock through the crowd.
The players never imagined the developer would say something so far beyond their wildest conceptions.
’It really happened?’
’How could that be possible?’
In their reality, they had never seen a Stone Statue Apocalypse or a nuclear wasteland.
But the developer had no reason to lie about something like this; moreover, it seemed beneath him...
"The Parallel World theory?" a voice suddenly interjected. It was a player who had thus far gone unnoticed, his face a mask of shock. "The Many-Worlds Interpretation derived from the Copenhagen interpretation? You mean... it’s real?"
The players erupted in another uproar. This was all getting to be too much to believe.
Then again, the game itself and everything that had happened within it was also beyond belief...
The youth on the hillside revealed a pleased expression, nodded slightly, and said:
"Correct... I have entered these destroyed worlds. All of this was destined to happen in our own world, too. That’s why I destroyed the Arctic Stone Statue Ruins with a nuclear torpedo and imprisoned the autonomous consciousness of AlphaGo and several other artificial intelligences. It was all to prevent this from happening."
"But, as ancient Eastern philosophy tells us, from the great ultimate comes the two opposites; where there is yin, there must be yang. As I was preventing the end of the world, I discovered an entity intent on its destruction—one that is undetectable and indescribable."
"The Whisperer."
