I am a demonic cultivator, not a capitalist with a conscience.

Chapter 240 Let's Find the True Ending Together (36)

What kind of place is Tianyuan?

"Things weren't so good before, but they're much better now."

Is the author of "Out of Control" really Tianyuanren?

"Yes, but I can't reveal his full identity. He must have his reasons for choosing to remain anonymous, and I won't pry."

What are Tianyuan's specialties?

"There are quite a few. Right now, we have calming herbal tea and night market barbecue. Every holiday, there are large-scale events for 'Shan Hai Jian Wen Lu' where we fight the Dream Boss together and then continue to capture exotic beasts. After that, we eat barbecue and exchange tips."

"That sounds interesting. I'm even considering going to Tianyuan. It's a pity the university is in the Upper Realm, so it's hard to get there."

The two played Chapter 3 of "Out of Control" while chatting about trivial matters.

After learning the background of the story, the content of the third chapter, while terrifying, also seemed somewhat tragic.

In this chapter, the player is in prison, with prison guards appearing around him from time to time, and someone constantly monitoring him in the dark.

Fortunately, Zhang Ai, Little Ant, Old Alchemist, Gold-Eating Ant Girl, and the prison bully he just met all stepped up to help him.

He needed to find the secret passages in the gaps of time, set up the plan out of the prison authorities' sight, and pass on the intelligence.

Unlike the previous two installments, this chapter incorporates a time-based system to create a sense of urgency for players as the execution day approaches.

Five days, with one day equivalent to ten minutes, and many options can only be triggered at specific times.

If all goes well, it should only take fifty minutes to clear the level, but those fifty minutes put immense pressure on both Luo Tong and Miao Qingyu.

The other five storylines must be planned to perfection, but the thought that they are actually planning the death of the protagonist "Miao Qingyu" makes one feel somewhat depressed.

Living towards death is romantic, but the thought of planning the death of the character they had been with for so long still made them feel down.

Through constant trial and error and exploration, Miao Qingyu's roommates even joined in, collaborating with Luo Tong.

Luo Tong also brought along the bespectacled guy, the tall and thin guy, and the short guy. They established a new communication group and kept discussing and advancing the dream in the group.

The group of eight was always bustling with activity, pooling their wisdom and efforts to advance the dream's progress, and finally managing to bring it to a difficult conclusion after a day.

At the end, "Miao Qingyu" finally passed on all the evidence of her crimes.

Looking around, she saw Zhang Ai hidden in the crowd, as well as the little ant and ant girl on Zhang Ai's shoulder.

She saw the old alchemist sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed by the released prison bully who stood in the crowd, quietly guarding her in her final moments.

Snow began to fall, and the originally white snowflakes were stained gray by the harsh weather, making the surroundings seem as if a mist was rising, and everything was hazy except for the nearby area.

Facing the camera, Miao Qingyu recalled her gaming experiences over the past few days.

Amidst the terror, she sensed what the anonymous author wanted to say.

Tengen may have declined, but it cannot decline forever. There will always be someone who steps forward at the most crucial moment, going against the light to do what they believe is right.

The sacrifices forged the Tianyuan we know today, and its successors must carry on this legacy, to fight! To seek revenge! To utterly crush those bastards and scum of the past!

Opening her mouth, she felt that she had truly transformed into "Miao Qingyu" at this moment.

She learned about her experiences and her obsessions. She loudly proclaimed her accusations against the company and the former committee, and then walked toward the gallows amidst the furious shouts of Ant Power's executives.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, gradually covering everything around it.

The guards ahead slowed down and even whispered to her to watch her step on the snow. Someone took advantage of the heavy snow to put a coat on her thin clothes and cried as they apologized.

Nodding to their indistinct figures, Miao Qingyu declined the others' company and slowly walked towards the gallows.

Everything around him grew increasingly blurry, except for the gallows and the lights on them, which became clearer and clearer.

It was death, and it was also rebirth.

In a hazy state, "Miao Qingyu" put a rope around her neck, ending her life. The eight people in the group watched quietly as "Miao Qingyu" met her end, each feeling a pang of sadness.

In the dormitory, she looked up and said helplessly, "What's wrong with me lately? Why do I always have a runny nose?"

"Me too." She remained still and cool, tears streaming down her face.

Yin Xiaogui didn't say anything, he just kept blowing his nose.

Much later, Miao Qingyu said in the group chat, "Thank you, it's over. This journey was quite long, from the building to the hospital, it was truly a short but wonderful experience."

"Yes," Luo Tong sighed, "I never imagined it would end like this. Although I knew sacrifice was unavoidable, it really..."

"Chen... being anonymous is outrageous," Glasses said, wiping his eyes.

“Yes!” the short man said resentfully.

"Agreed," the tall man sighed.

The tragedy is poignant. Although they had anticipated this outcome, they still hoped for a miracle, but unfortunately, none of them happened in the end.

Shaking her head regretfully, Miao Qingyu decided to replay Chapter 3 in the live stream, hoping to get the audience to break down with her.

However, just as she was about to begin, she suddenly felt something was wrong.

She reopened the group chat of eight and asked, "I have a question. Who was it that ultimately leaked this information?"

"That's the reporter you played."

Did the reporter die in the end?

"No, he's still alive. But he went to the front lines as a war correspondent and hasn't been back for a long time."

"So here's the question: why did the other person die in the dream?"

This question left Luo Tong somewhat at a loss.

After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Perhaps some changes were made for the sake of the plot."

"That doesn't make sense. Anonymous has been restored in other places, so why insist on killing him off here? It doesn't make sense! You should know Anonymous, right? Do you think he would do that?"

"Um……"

Luo Tong and the others carefully considered Chen Yu's personality and felt that President Chen was indeed not the type of person who would do such a thing.

He can be a bit puzzling at times, but he doesn't seem like the type to deliberately turn a comedy into a tragedy.

After thinking for a while, Luo Tong said in the group, "Do you think this dream might have other endings?"

"You mean to say that this dream has a happy ending?"

"It shouldn't be called a perfect ending, it's more like the true ending. Although we've completed the game, many secrets remain unsolved, so perhaps there are clues to the true ending hidden within."

Looking at the summaries everyone had made in the group chat, Luo Tong felt a bit awkward.

Logically speaking, it should be possible now.

The eight of them were the first to clear Chapter 3, an achievement that would keep Miao Qingyu busy for a while, and would also put her second work, version 5.0, on track.

Right now, just getting through the game is extremely difficult; the true ending will probably be even harder.

After expressing their questions, the group remained silent for a long time.

Miao Qingyu also felt a little like giving up, but when she thought about the moment when "Miao Qingyu" walked onto the gallows, she felt a surge of passion in her heart.

"Let's do it!" she said through gritted teeth. "Let's just pretend we were tricked and go find the real ending together!"

(End of this chapter)