Chapter 1481

Character Side Story: An Mingyu — Rushing Toward

【Special Trial (Discrepancy 【Time】) has been activated......】

Continent of Hope, near the Abyss Volcano, the Inverted Gate.

Although this was a trial of 【Time】, at the beginning of the trial, no one discovered that the so-called discrepancy was happening to the players themselves.

Until An Mingyu, after who knows how many displacements, bumped into that man!

The creator of the Fire-Keepers, Qin Xin.

At a glance, she "saw" that this was a different Qin Xin. Although the other party's face was full of smiles, she could clearly feel the bitter heart within him.

What was even stranger was his attitude toward her. What had he just said?

"Mingyu, are you still the Fire-Keeper An Mingyu?"

An Mingyu was shocked, because from beginning to end, she had never been a true Fire-Keeper. She had only reached a closer cooperative relationship with the Fire-Keepers than an ordinary collaborator, and even though she also served as a Fire-Seeker for the Fire-Keepers, it was only as an outsider.

Both of them understood this tacit agreement, so the Qin Xin she knew would never ask such an ambiguous and difficult-to-answer question.

But if the person standing in front of her wasn't Qin Xin, then who was he!?

An Mingyu frowned, her expression becoming somewhat cold.

Out of wariness for a warrior, she retreated slightly, then gripped several dice in her palm and quietly performed a divination.

But before the result of the divination came out, this Qin Xin laughed aloud:

"Don't be nervous, I'm not a bad person."

"Whether one is good or bad is not defined by oneself. You are not Qin Xin; who are you?"

To be honest, when facing a "character collapse," An Mingyu's first thought was not some incredible "discrepancy," but rather considering the possibility of Cheng Shi impersonating Qin Xin.

Would that free-spirited Fate-Weaver lie to her like this?

Of course he would; otherwise, Xinxin wouldn't have so many complaints about him. After all, he was the one who had made Zhen Yi suffer a loss.

Thinking of this, her cold face softened a little, but the next second, amidst Qin Xin's response, her expression turned solemn again.

"I am Qin Xin, it's just that I am not the Qin Xin from the world you came from."

"!!!"

Not looking at An Mingyu's shock, Qin Xin gazed into the distance and said to himself:

"This trial has a problem. The true 【Time】 discrepancy is not on the NPCs, but on you and me. Every player is likely experiencing an exchange initiated by 【Time】.

At first, I wasn't sure, until I met two different versions of you. At this moment, I can very firmly tell you that you...... are not the Mingyu I am looking for.

Your face is still painted with hope; that is not the lingering injury after persistence, but an innocence that has not been destroyed.

You are different from her. The fire in your heart has not yet become vigorous, while in my world, she has long since become a true Fire-Keeper!"

"!!!"

Hearing these words, An Mingyu was somewhat at a loss, but she quickly regained her composure. She carefully combed through everything she had encountered, and before long, she verified Qin Xin's words through countless details.

So this was the discrepancy. So what 【Time】 cared about was not the omission of a certain individual, but the exchange between different worlds.

"So...... we are experiencing a displacement of different parallel worlds?"

Looking at that confused face, Qin Xin really wanted to nod and tell the other party "yes," and then just let it go. Those conjectures without evidence were too frightening; perhaps the other party shouldn't receive fear from him, and the misfortune of his own world shouldn't be transmitted to other worlds in this way.

But it was really hard to lie to a 【Fate】 believer. To An Mingyu, his pause was already a response.

An Mingyu was very sharp and very smart. She immediately realized that everything happening in the trial was far more complex than she had imagined, and the individuals being exchanged were very likely not from simple parallel worlds; otherwise, Qin Xin wouldn't be so silent.

She understood the other party's good intentions and didn't continue the topic.

No matter what the true discrepancy was, no matter what space-time the discrepancy represented, it didn't matter. At this very moment, facing a Fire-Keeper from another space-time, An Mingyu really wanted to know what had happened in that world.

What kind of world line made this firm and decisive Fire-Keeper creator become so cautious.

She didn't know how to start, so she could only comfort him first:

"You...... have suffered."

The smile on Qin Xin's face stalled, and then it brilliantly turned into a bitter smile.

Facing others, a Fire-Keeper wouldn't lower his guard, but facing "one of his own" who was also a Fire-Keeper, Qin Xin also needed to vent.

Especially since this "one of his own" didn't belong to his world; this was simply an excellent object for venting.

"Suffering is not terrible.

What's terrible is that everyone has been suffering, but can never see the end.

Being a Fire-Keeper is not easy.

I have known this truth since the beginning of creating the Fire-Keepers, yet I never thought that keeping the fire would be so difficult.

We have experienced too much, and I can't explain it clearly in a moment...... In any case, being able to complain a few words of grievance to you can be considered the greatest gain in this trial.

Mingyu, don't mention these things to others; just treat it as a little indulgence of mine.

【Corruption】 is the great enemy of keeping the fire; one must be vigilant at all times."

An Mingyu's expression was solemn; she didn't respond.

Not long after, Qin Xin, for whom keeping the fire was not easy, left. An Mingyu continued forward and bumped into another Cheng Shi.

That was a very mature Cheng Shi; one could distinguish him from the previous Cheng Shi just by looking at his eyes.

His first sentence upon seeing An Mingyu was to say with a smile:

"It seems the God-Chosen An already knows?"

An Mingyu nodded with a cold expression and asked, "You and him, are you from the same world?"

"Who?" Cheng Shi smiled. "Qin Xin?

If you are talking about that Qin Xin who giggles all day, then I'll tell you, yes, we are from the same world.

Life is too bitter and needs adjustment; even someone as firm as Qin Xin inevitably has some emotions.

But what can be done about it?

This is life, this is fate; not every world is as lucky as yours.

Alright, what I say might be a bit unpleasant to hear; don't take a few complaints to heart.

I know what you are thinking, but I advise you not to think about it, and don't do it.

God-Chosen An, if you die here, I might not necessarily fish you back. I don't have that much energy, and you should also stop adding trouble for others...... Don't learn from Zhen Yi."

An Mingyu's movements stalled, and she quietly withdrew the dice from her palm.

"Zhen Yi, she...... no, Xinxin, is she okay?"

"When the world sinks into the abyss, how can an individual be spared?" Cheng Shi sighed deeply and described Zhen Xin's recent situation briefly. He was afraid that the God-Chosen An from another world would worry, so he was as reserved as possible.

However, An Mingyu had long since discerned the suffering of Zhen Xin in that world from the minute details. She felt a bit sad and hung her head as she asked:

"Is there no other way?"

"If you are talking about a way to save the world......" Cheng Shi gazed into the distance and let out a long breath. "There should be one, it's just that the method is not here with us.

I guess it might be in your world, but that's just a guess.

The established path is exceptionally difficult to walk; no one knows what lies ahead until the end. I only vaguely feel that your world still has hope. As for where the hope is......

It probably still needs a change that breaks the established order.

Sigh, after you go back, don't tell him about these troublesome things. I am me, he is him; our environments are different, and our understanding of the world is also different.

I cannot influence him, I just want to give him a reminder. If your world also reaches its end and you can no longer see the path ahead, then tell him this, just say:

Go find change; change is the shortcut to the future."

"Change......" An Mingyu slowly savored this word. A moment later, her eyes suddenly became firm.

She slowly raised her head, looked at Cheng Shi with incomparable seriousness, and said word by word:

"I'm not going back."

"?" Cheng Shi's gaze condensed. As smart as he was, he instantly understood An Mingyu's idea, but he refused without even thinking, "No."

"Yes.

I am a believer of 【Fate】. The intersection of fate doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't represent change. If I stay, perhaps I will bring new changes to this world.

Fate-Weaver, I am not a person with great kindness, but there is also a Xinxin in that world. She has already suffered enough; I want to bring a little hope to her."

"......"

Cheng Shi was silent.

This time, he didn't refuse again.

He knew that An Mingyu's choice was indeed for Zhen Xin, but he also knew that this choice was by no means entirely for that Zhen Xin she had never met.

You know, change is never one-way.

If the displacement of a prophet could bring change to his own world, it meant that another prophet replacing the past could also bring change to her original world!

Therefore, An Mingyu's choice was not only to "save" this world but also to take one more bargaining chip for her original world and stack one more layer of hope.

She was not doing it for one Zhen Xin, but for all the Zhen Xins in all the worlds involved in this 【Time】 discrepancy!

To this, Cheng Shi could not refuse.

No matter which world it was, it was too much in need of this "change."

Even if no one was sure if this change was useful.

"You've decided?"

An Mingyu changed her cold expression and nodded with a light smile.

"Yes, I've decided.

I will go and say goodbye to her; I believe Xinxin will forgive me.

She always will."

An Mingyu, "Fire-Keeper", Prophet, 【Fate】

Birthday: December 15th

Age: 25

Zhen Xin, older sister, Magician, 【Chaos】

Birthday: March 23rd

Age: 24

Zhen Yi, younger sister, Trickster Master, 【Deception】

Birthday: April 28th

Age: 24