I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

Chapter 206 Welcome Back, Shore Guardian Rust (Two in One)

"really."

Dean Yin flicked his tail, jumped lightly from the computer desk, and squatted on Last's shoulder.

"I knew that the little girl you rescued was hiding a big secret."

"Even now, it's very likely that they're connected to the origins of the Night World... After all, in the first six epochs, there were no such things as the 'Night World' or 'Night Travelers'. It wasn't until the Sixth Epoch that the 'Night World' was born."

"How about it……"

It winked at Luster and said, "Do you regret saving that little girl in Frozen Water Town now?"

"If you hadn't done that, perhaps all of this wouldn't have happened, and the world would have taken a completely different and divergent path."

"Who knows."

Last placed the gaming headband in his hand back on the charging base.

"That is the mighty power of 'fate.' Perhaps the trajectory of my destiny was already determined long before I entered the historical reverberations of Frozen Water Town."

He looked at the computer monitor that was constantly flashing game news and pop-up ads: "But——"

"I won't regret it."

"That was a choice I made on my own volition. Since this is the path I'm taking, I'll complete it no matter how absurd it may be."

"Oh, yes."

Dean Yin shook his head in boredom: "I almost forgot, I was asking you."

This guy is a man who crawled out of hell and has a heart as hard as a robot.

The word "regret" probably never appears in this guy's dictionary - because in his eyes, wasting time and mental energy on regret and remorse is just a pure waste of time and reduces his efficiency.

It swung its tail, moved the mouse with its little paw, and opened the activity ranking list of "Poems of the Shore Guardian".

On the ranking list, the ID "小杀手软糖" ranked first with a high score of 100,000 points, more than three times the lead of the second place.

It seems that 100,000 points should be the upper limit of the score for this Deep Blue Harbor limited-time event. However, when designing the event, the game company obviously did not expect that someone would actually reach this upper limit that only exists in theory.

In a corner of the ranking list, the end of the event and the countdown to the finalization of the ranking list were displayed in highlighted fonts. At this moment, the countdown was less than two hours away.

"The official announcement said they would contact us offline... but I don't know when that will happen."

Dean Yin looked at the big number one on the leaderboard, as well as the ID "Little Marten Soft Candy." He became more and more delighted, pacing proudly on his computer desk.

"I don't know if the game's officials are trustworthy enough to truly lead us into the secrets of the Mechanical Research Institute carrying out the 'Artificial Angel Project.'"

"If it's just a casual tour of the Mechanical Research Institute, like an elementary school extracurricular activity, with no access to the core secrets, then that's pointless. It would be a waste of all our effort to complete this virtual game."

Hearing this, even Last couldn't help but glance at Dean Yin.

"What do you mean by 'all our efforts to clear the level were wasted'?"

"So, does Dean Yin have anything to do with the process of completing this game?"

"Why does it not matter? Isn't it my contribution to help you choose a nickname?"

Dean Yin stretched out his little paw and wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead: "Although I don't know what I did, it still worked hard for me."

Last was silent for a moment, then he reached out and grabbed Dean Yin by the back of his neck.

Ignoring Dean Yin's ferocious struggle, he lifted it into the air and looked at it carefully for a long time.

Although they have known each other for a long time, sometimes Last couldn't help but wonder - is this style of pretending to be stupid and cute a deliberate disguise that Dean Yin has created in his long life to protect himself, or is it just the nature of this ferret?

Of course, it could be a bit of both.

However, such thinking is doomed to produce no results.

After a while, Rast put the little ferret down again.

"The game company behind "Poem of the Shore Keeper" should be reliable."

He watched the countdown ticking away on the rankings page. "They and the research institute carrying out the 'Artificial Angel Project' must be affiliated with the same organization, and inevitably have a connection to Gray. They're likely the technological successor to the original shore guardians."

"even……"

Luster paused for a moment. "I suspect that even this limited-time event, the Deep Blue Harbor Speedrun Challenge, was orchestrated by Gray."

"Arranged by Gray?"

Dean Yin was slightly stunned: "But, didn't that little girl disappear in this era more than ten years ago?"

"She has already reached the eighth level of angels, the long-ranked angel of the Fate sequence."

Last smiled. "Little Gray was already able to travel back in time under certain conditions, even stopping an entire city, even before she reached the fifth or sixth level, before she even reached the legendary level."

"And now, she has not only surpassed the legendary level, but even achieved the status of an angel... To what extent has she gained control over her destiny? No one knows."

According to the current timeline of historical remnants, two hundred years have passed since the Battle of the Broken Coast.

During these two hundred years, Grey led the human civilization of the Sixth Epoch to eliminate the Iron Cross, the Beast Tide, and the cultists from the entire continent... and established an extremely brilliant and prosperous technological civilization. She has become a well-deserved leader of the Guardians.

Therefore, she is now somewhat elusive and difficult to understand even for Last himself.

"Even if Grey herself disappeared for some reason, she could have observed the future decades before her disappearance and left behind a backup plan. This might not be impossible."

"By the way, Dean Yin." Last glanced at the little ferret beside him: "Don't you think that this activity of "Poem of the Shore Keeper" is designed specifically for me?

"Now that you put it that way, it seems to be true."

Dean Yin also came back to his senses at this moment. He rolled up a small dried fish with his tail and stuffed it into his mouth. He touched his chin with his little paw and looked thoughtful.

"When it comes to speedrunning Deep Blue Harbor, who can compare with you, the one who cleared it in the first place?"

"This is clearly an event tailor-made for you, a tailor-made version—"

Dean Yin clapped his paws. "So, this is actually Little Gray, who had the game company create this event specifically for you so you can win the championship?"

"You're actually a custom champion?"

"uncertain."

Luster shook his head: "But we don't need to dwell on this."

"After all, if this is all that Gray arranged specifically for me."

"Then once we get to the Mechanical Research Institute, everything will be revealed."

He looked out the window at the bustling sci-fi city with its bustling traffic and vibrant lights: "If I'm not mistaken—"

"Then the contact information for us to go to the Mechanical Research Institute should arrive soon."

……

It turned out that Last's guess was not wrong.

On the web page, the moment the countdown for the limited-time event ended, a message with an official note was sent to the email address.

Dear player "Little Mink Soft Candy":

Congratulations on achieving the top spot on the leaderboard in the limited-time challenge event "Poem of the Shore Keeper."

[Ranking rewards have been distributed. The top-ranked winner will be invited to visit the Third Institute of Machinery.]

[Based on the real-world address and iris ID information you provided when registering your account, our unmanned floating vehicle is waiting downstairs at your address. If you wish to claim your top-ranked reward, feel free to take the vehicle.]

【Reply to TD to unsubscribe】

"Oh my god, it's here so quickly?"

"They've already sent the black limousine here, just waiting for the event to end so the leaderboard can be finalized!"

Dean Yin turned his head and glanced at Last, his eyes becoming more subtle: "You still say you are not a custom champion."

"Alas, capital, you win... Capital has set you up again."

"Stop talking nonsense and let's go."

Last picked up the little ferret and put on the mask he had prepared when he entered the night world.

By the way, he also put a mini mask specially tailored for ferrets on Dean Silver in his hand.

"If the people from the Mechanical Research Institute don't let you in, Dean Yin, you should know what to do, right?"

"Hmm...how do I do that?"

Dean Yin was stunned.

"When the time comes, I'll say I'm a mentally ill patient with bipolar disorder, and you're my spiritual comfort mink, the kind that must be with me all the time. If I leave you, my bipolar disorder will flare up."

"Hmm..." Dean Yin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Wait, then I will become your pet, right?"

"Isn't it always like this?"

"You damn it!"

……

When Last arrived downstairs in the residential area, a black luxury car with a streamlined appearance was already waiting for him quietly.

But unlike the black limousine that the woman sang in when the man died, this sci-fi vehicle was floating silently in the air.

There was also no one in the main driver's seat.

The moment Last's right hand touched the car door, he felt an invisible ripple sweeping across his body silently before disappearing.

The car door opened silently, and after Last held Dean Yin in his arms and closed the door, this sci-fi vehicle rose up out of thin air and carried them away into the distance.

"Ah, the light, ah, the water..."

"It really has the style of a science fiction world in every aspect."

Dean Yin leaned against the car window, looking at the colorful sci-fi city scenery outside the window that was flashing like fleeting light and shadows, and exclaimed in admiration from time to time.

The big, furry, snow-white tail swayed against the car window, making Last more and more suspicious that this creature's true race was not a ferret at all, but a husky from some other world.

Time passes by little by little.

Outside the car window, the tall buildings that once stood in a forest and the hovering vehicles that kept passing through the sky gradually disappeared.

The prosperous scenery of the sci-fi city slowly faded away, and in its place was a huge tower that soared into the clouds.

The entire tower seems to be made of some kind of alloy, reflecting a silvery-white glow under the sunlight.

An unmanned vehicle slowly descended somewhere on the tower.

The next moment, a mechanism in the tower seemed to be triggered, silently opening a gap, allowing the unmanned vehicle to enter directly into the metal entrance of the tower.

"It looks somewhat similar to the Mysterious Tower in the present world."

Dean Yin stopped his wagging tail and, together with Last, turned his gaze towards the magnificent alloy tower.

It is obvious that compared to the existing arcane tower, the mechanical spire in front of us is undoubtedly more magnificent and has a more sci-fi and futuristic feel.

Beside it, Rast never made a sound.

He had already identified the location and the prototype of the spire before him.

This is clearly the "Watchtower" that was the headquarters of the Shore Watchers organization two hundred years ago.

Before the betrayal on that rainy night, he and Grey had spent about half a year of peace here, under the protection of the Watchtower and Leader Cecil. Those were also the best days of Grey's life.

Now, more than two hundred years have passed.

The tower that was once built with burnt bricks and mortar made of stone paint has now completely changed its appearance. It is made entirely of high-strength alloy, and is countless times more magnificent and majestic, full of science fiction atmosphere.

However, from the shape of the tower, one can still vaguely make out the scenery of the watchtower in the past, which has not faded after hundreds of years.

The flying vehicle entered the alloy tower.

After passing through several twists and turns, the unmanned flying vehicle slowly stopped in a spacious and bright room.

This seemed to be a huge library, with bookshelves stretching out all the way to the deepest part. However, when Last took a look, he did not see any other managers.

However, when Rast opened the car door and got out of the flying vehicle.

He heard a light mechanical sound, echoing throughout the tower.

"Welcome to the Third Mechanical Research Institute of the Watchtower. Player ID: 'Little Mink Soft Candy'."

"as well as--"

The mechanical voice paused slightly.