Chapter 1922: "A Good Play Begins"

The Aurora Domain.

Chen Yan rubbed his flushed little hands together as he hung small, colorful lanterns one by one on the eaves, carefully lighting the candles inside.

Red, yellow, orange... The riot of faint light shone on his face, his eyes immediately crinkling into two crescent moons with a smile. He jumped lightly off the ladder and looked back. The colorful lights along the entire street illuminated the night as if it were day.

"Brother! The lanterns are all hung up!" he shouted into the house.

A youth wearing a padded coat walked out of the house, carrying two red Kongming Lanterns in his hands.

"That's amazing." Yao glanced at the neat row of lanterns on the eaves and smiled, patting Chen Yan's head. "Let's go. It's time for us to head out too."

"Where are we going?"

"To release Kongming Lanterns, of course." Yao pointed at the passersby on the street who were slowly walking in a certain direction.

"The Power Plant is broken, so we can't use electric lights right now. We can only release Kongming Lanterns... To prevent fires, the Chengtian Prefecture decreed that everyone can only release Kongming Lanterns together in designated areas at designated times."

Yao handed one of the Kongming Lanterns to Chen Yan.

"Thanks, Brother!"

Chen Yan took the Kongming Lantern, looking at it curiously as they walked.

This Kongming Lantern seemed somewhat different from conventional ones. Its color was like cinnabar, and a small, weightless white ribbon was tied to its tail, fluttering gently in the wind.

"Eh..."

"What is it, A-Yan?"

"Brother, doesn't the design of this Kongming Lantern look like water sleeves?"

Yao was taken aback for a moment before he chuckled. "I think you've gone crazy from singing opera... Hurry up and walk, or we won't make it in time."

Chen Yan and Yao locked the door to their house and followed the crowd on the street, walking in the same direction.

No one could refuse a three-day consecutive holiday. With the lanterns hung up, even the freezing Aurora Domain was filled with passion and vitality.

Countless figures walked about on the streets, each holding a freely distributed Kongming Lantern in their hands. The joyous laughter seemed able to dilute the chilling wind, making everyone feel warm all over.

Chen Yan and Yao walked for a few minutes before arriving at the closest designated release point.

It was a river, but due to the bitter cold, a thick layer of ice had frozen over its surface. Many residents were already standing scattered across the frozen river, preparing to light their Kongming Lanterns.

"Here is fine."

Chen Yan and Yao had arrived relatively early and found a rather spacious area. Yao took off his coat, pulled a box of matches from his pocket, and handed it to Chen Yan.

"Brother, we're supposed to make a wish when releasing Kongming Lanterns, right?"

"Of course."

"Then what wish do you want to make?"

"I can't tell you. It won't come true if I say it out loud."

Yao smiled and struck a match. With afwip, an orange flame flared up in the wind.

He carefully lit the candle inside the Kongming Lantern and placed it on the ice. As the temperature continued to rise, the Kongming Lantern plumped up at a visible rate and began to float upward...

At the same time, Chen Yan's lantern floated up as well. The white water sleeves fluttered in the wind, truly looking like a Thespian dancing lightly in the cold breeze.

"Brother!!"

"Look! A shooting star!!"

Chen Yan pointed at the sky, crying out in pleasant surprise.

Yao froze. He looked up... Only to see a crimson shooting star streak across the ink-black night sky, casting a red hue over the heavens.

At the tail end of that Red Star dragged a long trail. Looking from afar, it was as if fragmented stars were raining down upon the mortal realm—dreamy and illusory.

The citizens of all the major domains also witnessed this scene, immediately speaking up in pleasant surprise:

"Wow! It really is a shooting star!"

"A shooting star during the Colored Lantern Festival—what a good omen..."

"Hurry, hurry and make a wish!"

"Shooting star, please bless us! Let the epidemic end quickly, and let my dad's illness get better soon..."

"I hope I can find a good job this year."

"I want to strike it rich!!"

"When will the trains start running again? I heard the South Sea Domain is very beautiful; I want to go see it."

"Shooting star, oh shooting star, please bless our family with peace and safety..."

"..."

Crimson candles were lit, and water sleeves ascended to the heavens.

Tens of thousands of Kongming Lanterns slowly floated upward amidst countless prayers and blessings, dyeing the sky red... The crimson shooting star streaked silently across the sky, like a Divine Being overlooking the mortal realm.

...

Upon the Red Star.

A Red-Clad Performer was quietly gazing at that azure blue planet.

At this moment, Chen Ling had completely replaced the Red Star, becoming Y-012 itself. His existence had completely transcended this world. He could sense the overwhelming myriad of stars outside the world, as well as the two existences within the Candlelight World that radiated the same level of aura as him...

No... perhaps, there were three?

But at the same time, Chen Ling also felt an extreme sense of danger.

It was as if among the stars, some special existence had already locked onto him. It was like a Hunting Rifle slowly being raised across endless time and space, aiming to completely obliterate this "hound" that had been replaced by a human.

Chen Ling didn't know what it was, but without a doubt, the current him was no match for that power. He was like a wild beast darting rapidly through a jungle, trying to dodge bullets. The moment he stayed in one place for too long, the bullets would come flying at him...

Chen Ling knew very well that he could not return to Earth again. Otherwise, when that "bullet" descended, this Candlelight World would be instantly blown to pieces.

Thus, he merely altered the Red Star's trajectory slightly, brushing past Earth.

This...

was his final farewell to this world.

Even though everyone on Earth had already forgotten him, even though he could never return to the past, he still wanted to take one last look at this place.

The azure blue planet grew closer and closer in the boundless deep space. The Red Star flew practically pressed against the edge of the atmosphere. When Chen Ling's gaze overlooked the mortal realm, he froze slightly...

His vision crossed the boundary of the atmosphere, spanning an unknown distance, to see those eight human cities scattered throughout the smog-filled world.

Swaths of cinnabar-like Kongming Lanterns rose slowly. Swaying their white tails resembling water sleeves, they carried the blessings and prayers of countless people. Like clouds propped up by the hands of all living beings, they floated above the mortal realm.

They were more dazzling than the clouds and vaster than the deep space.

Looking down from the heavens, they were like sparks of fire kindled by humanity, connecting into a single expanse and transforming into a lighthouse to guide Chen Ling's way.

Chen Ling was stunned.

Human civilization was never just about airplanes, cannons, and exploring the skies and the earth. When the tide of material civilization receded, the spiritual civilization—more dazzling than pearls—shone brilliantly beneath the boundless deep space.

At this moment, Chen Ling saw the shape of civilization.

They were like scattered Torches in the smog-filled world. Although sometimes fragmented and shattered, although sometimes turbulent and unstable, as long as they gathered into a whole, they could start a prairie fire once more... They would never be extinguished.

This was the gift bestowed upon Chen Ling by all living beings.

Even though this world had already forgotten Chen Ling, their gift still arrived exactly as promised, at the most precise moment.

This scene was clearly reflected in Chen Ling's pupils, and a gentle smile surfaced on his lips...

"To think they actually prepared a gift for me..."

"What a coincidence."

"I... also have a grand gift."

As the Treasure Chest on the screen continuously shook, Chen Ling tapped it with a finger. The slip of paper for Extracting Abilities surfaced once more.

"Detected that Audience Expectation Value has exceeded 100% for the first time. Achievement unlocked: 'Flawless Perfection'!"

"You have obtained one additional Gacha Draw right."

"Upon use, one character skill from all participating Roles in the current play will be randomly extracted for learning."

Chen Ling tapped it casually. The densely packed Card Faces instantly flipped over simultaneously, ultimately gathering into vast, star-like motes of light that scattered around Chen Ling...

He could not specify a candidate for this final draw, and there were far too many characters that had appeared in this play. This was a choice filled with uncertainty.

But when Chen Ling flipped over one of the Card Faces, a long-predetermined plot unfolded before his eyes:

[[Skill: Stars Fall to Dust]]

[[Attribution: "Astronomy", Chapter 2.]]

[[Character: Lu Xun.]]

Standing atop the crimson shooting star, Chen Ling looked at the surging torrent of firelight below and spoke softly:

"Human civilization..."

"...shall never be extinguished."

He lightly snapped his fingers.

In the next second, the undigested material civilizations of this world that the Red Star had stored within its body were directly dispersed outward by Chen Ling. They transformed into stardust trailing behind the crimson shooting star, silently falling back to the mortal realm...

He gave up on absorbing these civilization fragments, gave up on becoming the even more powerful and special "Theatre God," and gave up on that supreme throne that originally belonged to him.

He was returning humanity's civilization... back to humanity.

At this moment,

boundless stardust rained down upon the mortal realm.

...

OOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!!

The train whistle of the Realm train, which had been silent for a year, echoed across the sky like the very first roar of civilization breaking free from its shackles.

At this moment, all the skilled craftsmen gathered around the trains, racking their brains to figure out how to improve them, stood frozen in place... They stared blankly at these steel behemoths reviving before their eyes, their pupils contracting violently.

"It started..."

"The Realm trains started again?!!"

"How could this be!! We clearly haven't changed anything..."

"Hahahahaha!! The Realm trains have started!! The domains can communicate with each other again!!"

"Hurry! Quickly go report to His Majesty!!"

"Wait..."

"Look outside quickly!!"

"..."

One figure after another swarmed out of the factory building.

The cinnabar Kongming Lanterns were like vast clouds, floating silently beneath the night curtain...

As a streak of crimson crossed the sky, the glow of electric lights—like an old friend knocking on the door after being out of touch for a long time—flickered erratically before illuminating once more in the deep, dim city!!

Massive patches of light linked together within the city. In just a few short seconds, they lit up the entire city as bright as day!

One street, two streets... One city, two cities...

The light of civilization grew wildly across the land,

stretching all the way to the end of the horizon.

The lost civilization returned to the mortal realm. Those electronic devices from before the Great Cataclysm, hoarded in the deepest depths of human history, lit up their screens one after another in the dark Warehouses...

Stardust rained down upon the earth silently. A lost era was reviving.

Everyone who witnessed this scene with their own eyes stood blankly in place like statues, as if they were in a beautiful dream.

At this moment, everyone coincidentally raised their heads to look at the shooting star dragging a long tail of stardust across the sky...

The crimson shooting star streaked across the sky once more.

This time,

what it brought was not destruction,

but rebirth.

...

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!!!"

A figure rushed excitedly into the bedchamber.

"Your Majesty! Those scrapped Realm trains have actually restarted!!"

"Not only that, but all the electricity has been restored. Even the signal towers, ships, cars, and all those things suppressed in the storehouses that had long stopped working... they've all been restored simultaneously!!"

"Also, the Gray World that has been shrouding the outside of the domain has suddenly receded... It's as if something took it away. We can see the blue sky outside!"

"Your Majesty! A miracle has occurred! Your Majesty!!!"

The jubilant and cheering voices passed through the hazy medicinal mist and the Folding Screen, reaching the ears of the aged figure lying on the bed.

His still eyelids twitched gently. A moment later, a pair of clouded eyes opened silently...

He slowly turned his head to look outside the window.

A crimson shooting star streaked across the reflection in his eyes.

At this moment, the obsession in his heart—whose origin he didn't even know—was finally put down. It was like a person who had constantly been standing on a tightrope over a cliff finally planting their feet back onto solid ground.

He slowly closed his eyes, and a faint smile curved his aged lips.

That exhausted and pained heart stopped beating, little by little...

The Emperor smiled, falling into eternal slumber.

...

A gentle breeze blew past, causing the grass to roll in layers like ocean waves.

A figure draped in a white lab coat stood beneath the night sky. He watched as that crimson shooting star, which he had never noticed before, silently streaked across the heavens...

"What a beautiful shooting star..." Lu Xun murmured to himself.

For some reason, he felt a sense of loss.

"But what..."

"...did we exactly forget?"

...

Plop—

A Fishing Rod cast a long arc beneath the night sky, and the bait gently dropped into the river.

Two figures sat shoulder-to-shoulder under the Bridge Underpass, each holding a Fishing Rod, staring blankly at the distant sky.

"Spades... what are you thinking about?"

"I don't know. I just feel like... my heart is empty."

"Me too."

The two of them fell silent in the darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, Jian Changsheng spoke again:

"How many more times are we going to repeat this conversation?"

"Who knows? A Demigod of the Way of the Soldier and a Demigod of the Theater Dao, acting every day like two resentful women who were played with and abandoned by a scumbag... The key is, we can't even remember who this scumbag is right now." Sun Bumian cursed and swore.

"There's nothing we can do... Even those Divine Path Wielders related to memory can't restore our memories."

"Don't let me find out who stole our memories. Otherwise, I'm definitely going to butcher him."

"Forget it... I'll go change my bait first."

Jian Changsheng's overall state seemed to be at rock bottom. He glanced at the empty end of his fishing line, stood up, and walked straight toward the space under the bridge.

Sun Bumian remained seated where he was, looking at the river's surface shimmering under the glow of the Kongming Lanterns, not knowing what he was thinking.

Rustle...

Just then, a soft sound came from beside him.

Sun Bumian turned his head to look, only to see a strangely shaped Holy Grail gently wobbling next to his chair...

"...What the hell?"

Sun Bumian picked it up and examined it.

Jian Changsheng walked under the bridge, pulled out a black box from the corner, and opened it... He took out some fish bait from inside and was just about to turn and leave when his gaze suddenly landed on a certain spot in the corner of the box.

A black Notebook was lying there quietly.

Strange...

When did this thing get here?

Jian Changsheng hesitated for a moment before picking it up and gently flipping it open.

On the title page was a dense cluster of words. It was his own handwriting, and every stroke was incredibly neat... At the very least, it was the neatest handwriting he could possibly produce, as if he had sat at a desk and earnestly written down these words.

The entire page was filled with a single, repeated name:

"...Chen Ling?"

Jian Changsheng was a bit bewildered.

Who was Chen Ling?

He turned the title page and continued reading...

Meanwhile, the Holy Grail in Sun Bumian's hand suddenly began to glow!

A Curse suddenly surged out from it, tracing along Sun Bumian's palm and climbing up his wrist like a meandering centipede, scaring the living daylights out of him!

"What the hell?!!"

Sun Bumian fixed his eyes on it...

[I shall forever feel pain, I shall forever remember sorrow...]

[I shall never forget]

The moment this Curse appeared, Sun Bumian's mind suddenly roared. A segment of memory that had long been erased surged into his mind!

He stood frozen in place like a statue...

A crimson shooting star streaked over his head.

Clatter—

He shot up from his chair!!

"Spades!!" Sun Bumian turned his head and sprinted madly toward Jian Changsheng!

Jian Changsheng, who was flipping through his notes, looked up blankly...

"Give me your hand!"

Sun Bumian shouted.

Jian Changsheng subconsciously raised his hand...

Smack—!!

The hand with which Sun Bumian held the Curse heavily grasped Jian Changsheng's hand!

Jian Changsheng's pupils contracted violently!

...

The azure planet gradually faded away in Chen Ling's eyes.

The eternal, unchanging dead silence and pitch-blackness slowly enveloped him. The Red-Clad Performer looked back over his shoulder. A long while later, he let out a long sigh...

This grand farewell was already over. He might never return here again. Only by constantly running could a wild beast locked onto by a muzzle survive in the dark world.

However...

He wouldn't remain a fleeing beast forever.

"I want to see... who is it behind the stars?" Chen Ling's gaze seemed capable of piercing through the countless, overlapping Candlelight Worlds to look in a certain direction behind the stars.

Regardless, he could only walk the road ahead by himself...

He had already returned civilization to Earth and taken away the Gray World that had plagued it for hundreds of years. From now on, the boundaries of the domains would no longer restrict humanity, and the light of civilization would soon cover the entire globe.

Every person on Earth would enjoy the fruits of this victory. Just as he had said...

Victory belongs to all of humanity;

But...

it solely did not belong to him, Chen Ling.

He would leave alone with this star, leaving no trace behind, nor would he exist in anyone's memory.

"It's time to go..." The Red-Clad Performer murmured to himself amidst the lonely universe.

He raised his hand and tapped the void.

The boundary of this Candlelight World was like fragile paper being gently torn open by him. A gap leading to a higher dimension appeared before his eyes.

And at this moment, several figures were already standing behind that gap...

Seven crimson cloaks fluttered silently deep within the void.

Looking over, Chen Ling immediately spotted An Qingyu and Jiang Er, whom he had seen outside the world before, as well as Shen Qingzhu, who had completely disappeared during this reset... Chen Ling hadn't met the others, but none of their auras were weak.

Especially the man leading them. Just like Chen Ling, he exuded an extremely powerful aura that surpassed dimensions. It was precisely one of the three beings in the Myriad Worlds of Candlelight on the same level as him that he had sensed earlier...

Was he the "Captain" that Shen Qingzhu and An Qingyu had mentioned?

For some reason...

Looking at this Captain's face, Chen Ling felt he looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

"You are..."

"Captain of the Night Watch Squad, Lin Qiye." The figure draped in the crimson cloak smiled and extended his hand. "Hello... Chen Ling."

Chen Ling reached out and gently shook hands with him.

"Hello. Have we met somewhere before?"

"Perhaps. I often treat people for mental illnesses... Of course, some of them might not necessarily be 'human'." Lin Qiye smiled, his words seeming to carry a deeper meaning.

"Did you all come here specifically to wait for me?" Chen Ling asked in confusion. "How did you know I would come out?"

"Number 1 told us."

"Number 1?"

"The director of the Star Observation Bureau, another guy who ascended dimensions." Lin Qiye didn't explain too much. He looked behind Chen Ling... A hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.

"Are you... alone?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Do you not have any companions?" Lin Qiye asked. "For example, our Night Watch has seven people. Mr. Ji's side also brought two people... Not to mention Number 1, who can summon newcomers into the Star Observation Bureau from any Candlelight World at any time. But you..."

Chen Ling fell silent.

"Yes, it's just me alone."

The members of the Night Watch Squad exchanged glances with one another, their gazes somewhat complex.

"...It's fine." Shen Qingzhu stepped forward and patted Chen Ling's shoulder. "From now on, we are also companions."

"It's about time," An Qingyu spoke up. "We should go."

Chen Ling nodded slightly.

Just as he was about to step across the world boundary, Lin Qiye suddenly spoke:

"Wait."

Chen Ling looked at him in confusion.

Lin Qiye glanced at the boundless deep space behind him, a faint smile curling his lips. "Look... you're not all alone either."

In the next second,

three Divine Path Stars lit up in the deep space behind Chen Ling!

Chen Ling froze. He subconsciously looked back, only to see a black, a purple, and a red star radiating scorching brilliance in the boundless deep space. At the same time, two figures rose from the azure planet, transforming into long arcs and charging toward him at breakneck speed!!

That black-clad figure stared fixedly in this direction. Through the Divine Path Star of the Path of the Soldier, his intent echoed across deep space!

"HEARTS————!!!!"

Chen Ling's pupils contracted slightly.

Jian Changsheng, Sun Bumian, and the faintly glowing Holy Grail in his hand rapidly streaked across deep space, approaching Chen Ling... The three flickering Divine Path Stars fell into Chen Ling's eyes. This scene made him feel a vague sense of familiarity.

How could this be?

Shouldn't they have completely forgotten him by now?

Chen Ling had not used his own power to alter the story. In the ending he left for himself, he did not have anyone's company... This was an accident that didn't belong to his life's trajectory. This was something that jumped out of all his predetermined plans...

"The If of the Ifs".

"Hearts! Where do you think you're running off to by yourself?!" Jian Changsheng grabbed Chen Ling's shoulders and shook him madly. "Do you have any idea how lost the two of us have been recently? We were just fishing there every single day... And we didn't even catch a single f*cking fish!"

"How did you..."

"It was Clubs," Sun Bumian said, holding the Holy Grail in his hand. "I told you he was still alive."

"Eh? Isn't this a Star Observation Bureau item?" In the Night Watch Squad, a chubby figure leaned in, carefully examining the Holy Grail, and spoke in surprise.

"Then that was Number 1's doing."

Lin Qiye smiled, looking at Chen Ling and the people beside him. "Let's go... You'll understand once you've met him."

The members of the Night Watch Squad turned and walked out of the world.

As Jian Changsheng grumbled and complained incessantly, he followed Chen Ling outward, with Sun Bumian right behind him... Chen Ling's surroundings were finally no longer just the dead silence of cold, deep space. Instead, there was a bit more liveliness, a bit more humanity.

The three of them walked shoulder-to-shoulder through the gap in the world, arriving outside the world. Just then, Chen Ling suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong, Hearts?" Jian Changsheng and Sun Bumian looked back at the same time.

Chen Ling did not answer.

He turned and looked toward the void behind him...

The gap in the world boundary slowly healed, like the curtain of a grand play finally falling.

The Red-Clad Performer stood beneath the Grand Curtain, looking back down below the Stage. His gaze seemed to pierce through The Fourth Wall, looking right here...

[Audience Expectation Value +9]

[Current Expectation Value: 39%]

The Stage's curtain gradually obscured his figure. A faint smile curled on his lips.

Chen Ling bowed slightly, placing one hand on his chest and the other behind his back... Like a Thespian after a grand performance, taking an elegant curtain call.

His lips parted slightly, but it wasn't a farewell. It was...

""A good play...""

""...begins.""

...

...

[End of Book.]