Chapter 1922: "The Good Show Begins"

Aurora Domain.

Chen Yan rubbed his reddened little hands, hanging small colorful lanterns on the eaves of the door, carefully lighting the candles inside.

Red, yellow, orange... The colorful, shimmering light shone on his face, and his eyes immediately crinkled into two crescents. He jumped down lightly from the ladder and looked back; the colorful lights along the entire street made the night look as bright as day.

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

A young man wearing a padded jacket walked out of the house, carrying two red Kongming lanterns in his hands.

"Impressive." Yao glanced at the neatly arranged lanterns on the eaves and smiled, patting Chen Yan on the head. "Let's go, it's time for us to head out too."

"Where are we going?"

"To release the Kongming lanterns." Yao pointed to the passersby on the street who were slowly walking in a certain direction.

"The power plant is malfunctioning, so we can't use electric lights now; we can only release Kongming lanterns... To prevent fires, the Chengtian Prefecture requires everyone to release them in designated areas at a fixed time."

"I listened to that lecture twice, and I brought one for you too."

Yao handed one of the Kongming lanterns to Chen Yan.

"Thanks, brother!"

Chen Yan took the lantern and examined it curiously as they walked.

This Kongming lantern seemed a bit different from the regular ones; its color was like cinnabar, and a small, light white ribbon was tied to the tail, fluttering in the wind.

"Huh..."

"What's wrong? A-Yan."

"Brother, the design of this lantern... it looks like a water sleeve, doesn't it?"

Yao paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I think you've become obsessed with opera... Hurry up, or we'll be late!"

Chen Yan and Yao locked their house and followed the crowd on the street in one direction.

No one could refuse a three-day holiday. Once the colorful lanterns were hung, even the cold Aurora Domain was filled with enthusiasm and vitality.

Countless figures walked along the street, each holding a free Kongming lantern. The laughter and joy seemed to dilute the cold wind, making everyone feel warm all over.

After walking for a few minutes, Chen Yan and Yao arrived at the nearest designated release point.

It was a river, but due to the freezing weather, the surface was covered with a thick layer of ice. Many residents were already standing on various parts of the river, preparing to light their lanterns.

"Let's do it here."

Chen Yan and Yao had arrived relatively early. They found a fairly open spot. Yao took off his coat, took a box of matches from his pocket, and handed it to Chen Yan.

"Brother, when releasing a Kongming lantern, do you have to make a wish?"

"Of course."

"Then what wish do you want to make?"

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

Yao smiled and struck a match. With a *fwoosh*, an orange flame ignited in the wind.

He carefully lit the candle inside the lantern and placed it on the ice. As the temperature rose, the lantern filled up at a visible rate and began to float upward...

At the same time, Chen Yan's lantern also floated up. The white water sleeve fluttered in the wind; it really looked like an opera performer dancing lightly in the cold wind.

"Brother!!"

"Look! A shooting star!!"

Chen Yan pointed at the sky and shouted in surprise.

Yao paused and looked up... In the ink-black night, a crimson shooting star streaked across the horizon, casting a red glow over the sky.

The tail of the Red Star trailed behind it, and from afar, it looked like scattered stars falling into the human world, dreamlike and illusory.

People in all the major domains saw this scene and exclaimed in surprise:

"Wow! It really is a shooting star!"

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

"Quick, make a wish!"

"Bless me, shooting star! Let the epidemic end soon and let my father's illness get better..."

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

"I want to get rich!!"

"When will the trains be able to run again? I heard the Nanhai Domain is beautiful; I want to go see it."

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

“……”

Red candles ignited, water sleeves ascended to the sky.

Thousands of Kongming lanterns floated up amidst countless prayers and blessings, illuminating the sky in red... The crimson shooting star streaked silently across the horizon, like a god looking down upon the world.

……

Above the Red Star.

A performer in red robes was quietly watching that azure planet.

At this moment, Chen Ling had completely replaced the Red Star, becoming Y-012 itself. His existence had completely transcended this world, and he could perceive the overwhelming stars outside the world, as well as the two existences in the Candlelight worlds that emitted the same level of aura as him...

No... perhaps, there were three?

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

It was as if some special existence among the stars had locked onto him, like a hunting rifle slowly being raised across infinite space and time, intending to completely erase this "hunting dog" that had been replaced by a human.

Chen Ling didn't know what that was, but there was no doubt that he was currently no match for that power. He was like a beast darting through the jungle, trying to dodge bullets; if he stayed in one place for too long, the bullets would come flying...

Chen Ling knew very well that he could not return to Earth, otherwise, when that "bullet" descended, this Candlelight world would be shattered in an instant.

Therefore, he only slightly altered the trajectory of the Red Star, brushing past the Earth.

This...

was his final farewell to this world.

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

The azure planet grew closer in the boundless deep space. The Red Star flew almost against the edge of the atmosphere. When Chen Ling looked down at the human world, he was slightly stunned...

His vision crossed the boundary of the atmosphere, crossed an unknown distance, and saw the eight human cities scattered in the gray, hazy world.

Clusters of cinnabar-like Kongming lanterns rose slowly, swaying their white, water-sleeve-like tails, carrying the blessings and prayers of countless people, like clouds held up by the masses, floating above the human world.

They were more dazzling than the clouds, broader than the deep space;

Viewed from the firmament, they looked like sparks lit by humanity, connecting into patches, turning into lighthouses, guiding the way for Chen Ling.

Chen Ling was stunned.

Human civilization had never been just about planes, cannons, or conquering the heavens and the earth. When the tide of material civilization receded, the spiritual civilization, more dazzling than pearls, shone brightly under the boundless deep space.

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

Like torches scattered in a gray, hazy world, although sometimes sporadic and broken, although sometimes turbulent, as long as they gathered into a whole, they could start a prairie fire again... never to be extinguished.

This was a gift from the masses to Chen Ling.

Even though this world had forgotten Chen Ling, their gift still arrived on time, at the most precise moment.

Chen Ling's pupils clearly reflected this scene, and a gentle smile appeared at the corners of his mouth...

"To think you even prepared a gift for me..."

"What a coincidence."

"I, too, have a grand gift."

As the treasure chest on the screen shook continuously, Chen Ling tapped his finger, and the paper for drawing abilities appeared once again.

"Audience expectation has exceeded 100% for the first time. Achievement unlocked—'Flawless'!"

"You have received one extra draw."

"After use, you will randomly draw and learn one character skill from all the characters who appeared in this act."

Chen Ling tapped casually, and the dense array of cards flipped over simultaneously, eventually converging into star-like, vast points of light that scattered around him...

This final draw could not specify a candidate, and there were so many characters who had appeared in this act; it was a choice full of uncertainty.

And when Chen Ling flipped over one of the cards, a long-predetermined plot unfolded before his eyes:

「"Skill: 【Starfall into Dust】"」

「"Origin: 《Astronomy》, Chapter 2."」

「"Character: Lu Xun."」

Chen Ling stood on the crimson shooting star, looking at the surging torrent of fire below, and spoke softly:

"Human civilization..."

"Never to be extinguished."

He snapped his fingers lightly.

The next second, the material civilization of this world that had been devoured and stored in his body—yet to be digested—was released by Chen Ling directly out of his body, turning into stardust that fell after the crimson shooting star, silently returning to the human world...

He gave up absorbing these civilization fragments, gave up becoming a more powerful and special "God of Drama," and gave up that supreme throne that was meant to be his.

He returned the civilization of humanity... to humanity.

At this moment,

boundless stardust drifted down to the human world.

……

Hum————————!!!!

The whistle of the Domain Train, which had been silent for a year, roared across the sky like the first growl of a civilization breaking free from its shackles.

At this moment, all the craftsmen who had been racking their brains around the train, trying to figure out how to improve it, stood frozen in place... They stared blankly at these steel beasts reviving in the night, their pupils contracting violently.

"It started..."

"The Domain Train started again?!!"

"How can this be!! We didn't change anything at all..."

"Hahahaha!! The Domain Train has started!! The domains can communicate with each other again!!"

"Quick! Go report to His Majesty!!"

"Wait..."

"Look outside, everyone!!"

“……”

Figure after figure swarmed out of the factory.

Cinnabar-like Kongming lanterns, like vast clouds, floated silently under the night sky...

As a streak of red crossed the horizon, the light of electric lamps knocked on the door again like an old friend after a long disconnection. After flickering uncertainly, they lit up again in the deep, dim city!!

Large patches of light connected with each other in the city, and within a few seconds, the entire city was illuminated as bright as day!

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

The light of civilization grew wildly on the earth,

stretching all the way to the edge of the horizon.

The lost civilization returned to the human world. Electronic devices from before the Great Cataclysm, which had been buried in the deepest parts of human history, lit up their screens one after another in dark warehouses...

Stardust drifted silently onto the earth; a lost era was reviving.

Everyone who witnessed this scene stood blankly like statues, as if they were in a beautiful dream.

At this moment, everyone looked up in unison at the shooting star trailing a long tail of stardust as it streaked across the sky...

The crimson shooting star streaked across the sky once more,

and this time,

it did not bring destruction,

but rebirth.

……

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!!!"

A figure rushed into the bedchamber in excitement.

"Your Majesty! Those Domain Trains that had been scrapped have actually restarted!!"

"Not only that, the electricity has been fully restored, and the signal towers, ships, cars, and all those things that had been sitting in the warehouses for ages... they have all recovered at the same time!!"

"Also, the Gray Realm that had always shrouded the outside of the domain has suddenly receded... as if it were taken away by something. We can see the blue sky outside!"

"Your Majesty! A miracle has happened! Your Majesty!!!"

The cheers and shouts passed through the hazy medicinal mist, through the folding screens, and into the ears of the aged figure lying on the bed.

The silent eyelids twitched slightly, and a moment later, a pair of cloudy eyes opened silently...

He slowly turned his head to look out the window.

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

At this moment, the obsession in his heart, which he didn't know where it came from, was finally let go, like someone who had been standing on a tightrope over a cliff finally planting their feet back on solid ground.

He slowly closed his eyes, a faint smile curling at the corners of his aged mouth.

The tired and painful heart stopped beating, bit by bit...

The Emperor slept eternally with a smile.

……

A gentle breeze blew, and the grass rolled in layers like waves.

A figure in a white research lab coat stood under the night sky, watching that crimson shooting star—which he had never noticed—silently streak across the horizon...

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

For some reason, he felt a sense of loss,

"But what..."

"what exactly did we forget?"

……

*Plop*—

The fishing line cast a long arc under the night sky, and the bait fell gently into the river.

Two figures sat side by side under the bridge, each holding a fishing rod, staring blankly at the distant sky.

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

"I don't know, I just feel... empty inside."

"Me too."

The two fell into silence in the darkness.

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

"How many more times do we have to repeat this conversation?"

"Who knows? One Soldier-path demigod, one Drama-path demigod, acting like two bitter women abandoned by a scumbag every single day... The key is, we can't even remember who this scumbag is now." Sun Bumian cursed.

"There's no way... even those God-path users related to memory can't restore our memories."

"Don't let me find out who stole our memories, or I'll definitely slaughter them."

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

Jian Changsheng seemed very depressed. He glanced at the empty end of the fishing line, stood up, and walked straight under the bridge.

Sun Bumian remained in his seat, looking at the shimmering river surface reflected by the light of the Kongming lanterns, wondering what he was thinking.

*Rustle*...

Just then, a soft sound came from beside him.

Sun Bumian turned his head and saw a strangely shaped holy grail beside his chair, shaking gently...

"...What the hell?"

Sun Bumian picked it up to examine it.

Jian Changsheng walked under the bridge, pulled out a black box from the corner, and opened it... He took out the bait and was about to turn and leave, but his gaze suddenly fell on a 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, then picked it up and flipped it open gently.

On the title page were dense lines of text. It was his own handwriting, and every stroke was very neat... At least, it was as neat as he could possibly write, as if he had been sitting at a table, writing these words down seriously and earnestly.

This page was filled with a repeated name:

"...Chen Ling?"

Jian Changsheng was somewhat bewildered.

Who is Chen Ling?

He flipped past the title page and continued to look back...

At the same time, the holy grail in Sun Bumian's hand suddenly emitted a faint light!

A curse suddenly surged out from it, climbing up Sun Bumian's palm and onto his wrist like a winding centipede, giving Sun Bumian a huge fright!

"What the hell?!!"

Sun Bumian looked closely...

【I will feel pain forever, I will remember sorrow forever...】

【I will never forget】

The moment this curse appeared, a roar echoed in Sun Bumian's mind, and a memory that had long been erased surged into his heart!

He stood frozen in place like a statue...

A crimson shooting star streaked over his head.

*Clatter*—

He jumped up from his seat!!

"Spade!!" Sun Bumian turned and sprinted toward Jian Changsheng!

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

"Give me your hand!"

Sun Bumian shouted.

Jian Changsheng raised his hand subconsciously...

*Slap*—!!

Sun Bumian's hand, holding the curse, gripped Jian Changsheng's hand tightly!

Jian Changsheng's pupils contracted sharply!

……

The azure planet gradually drifted away in Chen Ling's pupils.

The eternal silence and darkness slowly enveloped him. The performer in red robes looked back at what he had left behind, and after a long while, he let out a long sigh...

This grand farewell had ended. He might never return here again. A beast locked in the sights of a gun could only survive in the dark world by constantly running.

However...

He would not be a fleeing beast forever.

"I want to see... who is behind the stars?" Chen Ling's gaze seemed to pierce through the layers of Candlelight worlds, looking toward a certain direction beyond the stars.

Regardless, he had to walk the path ahead by himself...

He had returned civilization to Earth and taken away the Gray Realm that had plagued Earth for hundreds of years. From now on, the boundaries of the domains would no longer be a limitation for humanity, and the light of civilization would soon cover the 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 does not belong to him, Chen Ling.

He would leave alone with this star, leaving no trace behind, and would not exist in anyone's memory.

"Time to go..." the performer in red robes muttered to himself in the lonely universe.

He raised his hand and tapped into the void.

The boundary of this Candlelight world was torn open by him as if it were fragile paper, and a gap leading to a higher dimension appeared before his eyes.

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

Seven deep red cloaks fluttered silently in the depths of the void;

Chen Ling looked over and immediately saw An Qingyu and Jiang Er, whom he had seen outside the world before, as well as Shen Qingzhu, who had disappeared during this restart... He hadn't seen the others, but their auras were not weak.

Especially the person in the lead, who, like Chen Ling, emitted an extremely strong aura that transcended dimensions. He was exactly one of the three people at the same level he had sensed in the Candlelight worlds just now...

Was he the "Captain" that Shen Qingzhu and An Qingyu spoke of?

For some reason...

Chen Ling felt that the Captain's appearance was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

"You are..."

"Nightfall Squad Captain, Lin Qiye." The figure in the deep red cloak smiled and extended a hand. "Hello... Chen Ling."

Chen Ling extended his hand and shook it gently.

"Hello, have we met somewhere before?"

"Perhaps. I often treat people for mental illnesses... Of course, some of them may not be 'people'." Lin Qiye smiled, seemingly with a deeper meaning.

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

"Number 1 said so."

"Number 1?"

"The Director of the Star Observation Bureau, another guy who ascended dimensions." Lin Qiye didn't explain further. He looked behind Chen Ling... A flash of confusion crossed his eyes.

"Are you... all alone?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Don't you have any companions?" Lin Qiye said. "For example, we in Nightfall have seven people, and Mr. Ji also brought two people... Not to mention Number 1, who can recruit newcomers into the Star Observation Bureau from various Candlelight worlds at any time, but you..."

Chen Ling fell silent.

"Yeah, I'm all alone."

The members of the Nightfall Squad looked at each other, their expressions complex.

"...It's okay." Shen Qingzhu walked up and patted Chen Ling on the shoulder. "From now on, we are companions too."

"It's time." An Qingyu said. "We should go."

Chen Ling nodded slightly.

He was about to step across the world boundary when 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 at the corners of his mouth. "Look... you're not all alone after all."

The next second,

three God-path stars lit up in the deep space behind Chen Ling!

Chen Ling was startled and looked back subconsciously. In the boundless deep space, one black, one purple, and one red star were emitting scorching radiance. At the same time, two figures rose from the azure planet, turning into long arcs and rushing toward him at high speed!!

The figure in black stared fixedly in this direction, his intent echoing through deep space via the Soldier-path God-path star!

"RED——HEART————！！！"

Chen Ling's pupils contracted slightly.

Jian Changsheng, Sun Bumian, and the holy grail shimmering with faint light in his hand streaked across deep space, approaching Chen Ling... The three flickering God-path stars fell into Chen Ling's pupils; this scene felt vaguely familiar.

How could this be?

Shouldn't they have completely forgotten him?

Chen Ling hadn't used his own power to modify the story, and the ending he left for himself didn't include anyone's company... This was an accident that didn't belong to his life's trajectory, this was something that jumped outside of all his established...

"The If of the If."

"Red Heart! Where the hell do you think you're running off to?!" Jian Changsheng grabbed Chen Ling's shoulders and shook him frantically. "Do you have any idea how lost we've been lately? We just sit there fishing all day... and we haven't caught a single damn thing!"

"How did you..."

"It was the Plum Blossom." Sun Bumian held the holy grail in his hand. "I told you he was still alive."

"Eh? Is this something from the Star Observation Bureau?" A chubby figure from the Nightfall Squad leaned in, examining the holy grail carefully, and exclaimed in surprise.

"That must be Number 1's handiwork."

Lin Qiye smiled as he looked at Chen Ling and the people beside him. "Let's go... after you meet him, you'll understand."

The members of the Nightfall Squad turned and walked out of the world.

Jian Changsheng followed Chen Ling out while grumbling, and Sun Bumian followed closely behind... Chen Ling's surroundings were finally no longer just the cold silence of deep space, but filled with a bit of liveliness and human warmth.

The three of them walked side by side through the gap in the world and arrived outside. Just then, Chen Ling suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, Red Heart?" Jian Changsheng and Sun Bumian turned back in unison.

Chen Ling didn't answer.

He turned to look at the void behind him...

The gap in the world boundary healed slowly, like the curtain of a grand play that was finally about to fall.

The performer in red robes stood beneath the grand curtain, looking back at the stage, his gaze seemingly piercing through the fourth wall to look here...

【Audience expectation +9】

【Current expectation: 39%】

The stage curtain gradually obscured his figure, and a faint smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

Chen Ling bowed slightly, one hand placed on his chest, the other behind his back... like a performer after a grand performance, taking an elegant bow.

His lips parted slightly, but it was not a farewell, but rather...

「"The good show..."」

「"begins."」

……

……

The End.