Chapter 191 — The First Event
The city shook again.
This time, the sound was louder.
Buildings trembled.
Windows shattered.
Cars stopped in the middle of the streets.
The people who had appeared only moments ago began running in every direction.
Panic spread through the city.
Tony looked toward the horizon.
The red light had grown brighter.
"FRIDAY."
There was no response.
Tony frowned.
"FRIDAY?"
Nothing.
He tapped the device on his wrist.
The screen remained completely black.
Tony stared at it.
"Well."
He sighed.
"That's annoying."
Yiping looked at him.
"Your technology isn't working?"
"Not just my technology."
Tony pointed toward the people around them.
"Everyone's phones are dead."
Yiping immediately checked his own system.
It was still functioning.
Barely.
[SYSTEM CONNECTION: 63%]
[WARNING: ENVIRONMENTAL RULES UNSTABLE.]
Yiping's expression hardened.
"The world is still being constructed."
Tony looked toward the sky.
"And whatever is coming is being constructed with it."
A massive explosion erupted in the distance.
BOOM!
A wave of energy crossed the city.
Tony raised his arm instinctively.
The shockwave hit them.
But instead of destroying anything, it passed through the buildings.
The streets changed.
The architecture shifted.
Roads rearranged themselves.
Entire blocks moved several meters.
Yiping stared.
"This isn't an attack."
Tony looked at him.
"Then what is it?"
"An event."
Tony frowned.
"The first major event."
The seven anomalies gathered around them.
One of them pointed toward the horizon.
"Look."
The red light had transformed into something enormous.
A tower.
It rose from the ground in the middle of the city.
It was impossible to tell how tall it was.
Its top disappeared into the clouds.
Symbols covered its surface.
Tony stared at it.
"That's subtle."
Yiping's system reacted.
[MAJOR EVENT IDENTIFIED.]
[EVENT: THE TOWER.]
[PURPOSE: UNKNOWN.]
[ORIGIN: TIMELINE FOUNDATION.]
[THREAT LEVEL: UNDEFINED.]
Tony looked at Yiping.
"So the timeline just created a giant mystery tower."
"Apparently."
"Any idea what's inside?"
"No."
Tony smiled.
"Then I guess we're going inside."
Yiping immediately shook his head.
"That's exactly what we shouldn't do."
Tony looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because this world is reacting to our decisions."
Tony's expression changed.
Yiping continued.
"If we enter that tower, the timeline may create events specifically around us."
Tony stared at the tower.
"So you're saying we shouldn't act like protagonists."
"Exactly."
Tony thought about it.
Then he smiled.
"That's easy."
Yiping looked suspicious.
Tony pointed toward the crowd.
"We don't go in."
He pointed toward the seven anomalies.
"They don't go in."
Then he pointed toward the mysterious stranger.
"He doesn't go in."
The stranger raised an eyebrow.
Tony smiled.
"We let someone else enter."
Yiping immediately understood.
"Tony..."
Tony turned toward the crowd.
"Does anyone here want to explore the giant mysterious tower that just appeared in the middle of the city?"
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Tony nodded.
"Yeah. Thought so."
Then a young woman stepped forward.
"I'll do it."
Everyone turned toward her.
She looked nervous.
But determined.
Tony stared.
Yiping's system immediately reacted.
[SIGNIFICANT VARIABLE DETECTED.]
Yiping's eyes widened.
The woman took another step.
"My name is..."
She stopped.
Her expression became confused.
"I..."
She looked frightened.
"I don't remember."
Tony frowned.
Yiping stared at her.
"That's impossible."
The woman looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because everyone else remembers something."
Yiping looked around.
The people around them were confused, but they had names.
They had memories.
They had families.
They had occupations.
But this woman had nothing.
She was completely blank.
Yiping's system displayed a new message.
[ANOMALY DETECTED.]
[IDENTITY: NONE.]
[HISTORICAL RECORD: NONE.]
[FUTURE PROBABILITY: NONE.]
[STATUS: UNDEFINED.]
Tony slowly lowered his arm.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Yiping looked at him.
"She's the first person born without a predetermined identity."
The mysterious stranger suddenly spoke.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
He stared at the woman.
"She's not a person created by the timeline."
His expression became serious.
"She's the timeline's answer."
Silence.
Tony looked at the woman.
"Answer to what?"
The stranger didn't respond.
Yiping stepped forward.
"Answer to the lack of a protagonist?"
The stranger nodded.
Tony's expression darkened.
"So the world created one anyway."
"No."
The stranger shook his head.
"Not a protagonist."
He looked toward the tower.
"An observer."
Yiping's eyes widened.
"She's going to watch the timeline."
"Yes."
"And record its development?"
"Yes."
"Then she isn't controlling anything."
The stranger smiled.
"Not yet."
Tony immediately understood.
"Not yet?"
The stranger looked at him.
"Every story creates someone who watches."
Tony crossed his arms.
"You're saying she's going to become another Observer."
"Perhaps."
Yiping stared at the woman.
She was still confused.
She looked at them.
"I don't understand."
Tony sighed.
"Join the club."
The woman turned toward the tower.
"I feel like I should go there."
Yiping immediately said:
"Don't."
She looked back.
"Why?"
"Because we don't know what will happen."
She thought for a moment.
Then she smiled.
"That's exactly why I should go."
Yiping couldn't argue with that.
Tony looked at him.
"You see the problem?"
Yiping nodded.
"She made the decision herself."
The moment she took her first step toward the tower—
The entire world reacted.
The sky changed.
The tower opened.
The city stopped shaking.
And Yiping's system displayed:
[FIRST MAJOR DECISION REGISTERED.]
[TIMELINE STABILITY: 21.4%]
[TIMELINE STABILITY: 27.8%]
[TIMELINE STABILITY: 34.2%]
[TIMELINE STABILITY: 41.7%]
Tony stared at the numbers.
"That's going up fast."
Yiping nodded.
"Her decision is becoming the first fixed event."
Tony looked at the tower.
"Then we have a problem."
"What?"
"If her decision becomes the foundation of this world..."
Tony pointed toward the tower.
"Whatever happens to her inside that tower may determine everything that comes after."
Yiping's expression became serious.
"Exactly."
A deep sound echoed through the city.
The tower had opened completely.
The woman stepped inside.
The doors closed behind her.
And the moment they did—
Every screen in the city turned on.
One sentence appeared.
THE FIRST STORY HAS BEGUN.
Tony stared at the message.
Then he smiled.
"Okay."
Yiping looked at him.
"Why are you smiling?"
Tony put his hands in his pockets.
"Because now I know what we're supposed to do."
"What?"
Tony looked at the tower.
"We don't become the protagonists."
He turned toward the seven anomalies.
"We become the people who make sure she survives long enough to choose her own story."
Yiping stared at him for a moment.
Then nodded.
"That..."
He smiled slightly.
"Actually makes sense."
Suddenly—
A second message appeared.
This one was different.
It appeared only on Yiping's system.
[PRIVATE MESSAGE]
FROM: OBSERVER
"If you protect her, you will become part of her story."
Yiping stared at the message.
Then another line appeared.
"And if you become part of her story..."
The final line appeared.
"You may become the protagonists you were trying to avoid becoming."
Yiping's expression became cold.
Tony noticed.
"What did he say?"
Yiping slowly closed the interface.
"He wants us to enter the tower."
Tony smiled.
"Then we definitely aren't doing that."
A pause.
He looked toward the tower again.
"...At least not yet."
To be continued...
Author's Note
Only 9 chapters remain until Chapter 200!
The final arc is now moving into the main conflict. Yiping and Tony have rejected the predetermined roles, but this new world is already creating its own rules—and someone is trying to manipulate those rules.
If you're enjoying the final stretch, please support the story with Power Stones, votes, and comments. Every bit of support helps as we approach the ending.
See you in Chapter 192!