Chapter 5: "Save Everyone, Kill Everyone."
Su Ming'an walked towards the direction where the attacker had fallen.
Maybe they only acted out of caution, to try and control him before he could strike. But his retaliation won't be limited to the bounds of 'self-defense'.
"—Wait." They called out, and a beam of light flared to life.
It was a ponytailed woman, now collapsed on the floor. A grotesque, melted wound marred her arm. In her trembling hand, she held a flashlight.
Su Ming'an approached, fully intending to kick her while she was down.
"Wait—are you a player too?" she shouted.
"I am."
"We could work together to find clues! My identity is a janitor at this research facility. There are a lot of natives around—I'm afraid they'll see through my cover," she said quickly.
"There's no need." Su Ming'an replied.
She looked pretty, but to him, men and women were no different. He treats everyone equally. He wouldn't extend kindness based on gender, especially not when the other party might harbor ulterior motives.
He took another step forward. But before he could reach her, she activated some kind of skill and vanished. As a fellow player, she clearly had her means of escape.
The flashlight rolled on the ground.
He picked up the flashlight she had dropped in her panic and continued his search.
...
Su Ming'an had many thoughts about his unique ability, 'Death Rollback'.
He didn't treat it as some miraculous 'cheat ability' to become a godlike isekai protagonist. Instead, he pondered its true origin.
According to cosmological theory, the birth of a universe is a long process: energy condensing into matter, and matter dissolving back into energy. Identical parameters created cycles—'loops'. The difference in parameters caused each loop to change.
Just like a Mobius strip: a simple loop made by twisting a strip of paper 180 degrees and joining the ends. One could walk along its surface forever, never reaching the end. But—if someone outside the loop reached in and tore the paper apart—then the cycle would be broken.
…So.
Could he be the one who breaks the loop?
The planet Earth had fallen under the control of higher-dimensional beings, and he held the power to 'break through'. If he merely used this ability to dominate as 'the strongest player', to abuse and 'faceslap' others, wouldn't he be wasting something that could've been used to 'break through'?
Not to mention if humanity failed to accumulate enough score in the end, leading to them being erased… wouldn't he be stuck dying over and over in an endless loop?
…No.
Humanity had to win.
Moreover, he began to wonder: what if control of this 'World Game' didn't fully lie in the hands of the organizers? What if some of that control… resided in him?
What if he wasn't an ordinary player at all, but the true orchestrator of human civilization's survival, an amnesiac master tactician beyond the gameboard?
What if, through time travel, causal loops, the Grandfather Paradox, or the Ouroboros of cause and effect, he would someday face off against the organizers directly?
What if this ability, Death Rollback, is a weapon his future self had left behind?
Su Ming'an's thoughts spiraled deeper and deeper.
…He needed more information.
He had to climb, step by step, to the pinnacle of human civilization—starting here, in the first world.
And if Death Rollback really was a secret ability only he possessed… then his starting position was practically godlike.
He could rewind time at will. Freezing time. Preventing anything from moving forward.
—He could save everyone, understand everyone.
—He could guide anyone, speak with anyone.
—He could visit every corner of this world, see everything with his own eyes.
—He could, through repeated resets, learn anyone's likes and dislikes, win their favor, and become their closest friend.
—He could also learn anyone's weaknesses, hurt or even kill them, and become their most hated enemy.
—Anyone could come to love him. Anyone could come to hate him.
—Because after each rollback, no one would remember what he had done. Not the killings, not the sacrifices, not the acts of kindness or cruelty. He could manipulate emotions, test people's behavior, and control them without them ever realizing it. Everyone would move exactly as he had already foreseen.
—He could complete every quest, max out someone's affinity meter, unlock every possible ending, and open every hidden treasure chest in every region.
He wouldn't need to move time forward. He could remain in place and enjoy it all, like a god playing house, holding the world in his palm.
—It was too perfect.
Yes… far too perfect. Who wouldn't love this kind of power?
—But…
—He wouldn't do it.
Su Ming'an took a deep breath, pressing a hand to his pounding heart.
He had to move forward.
This time-reversing power was certainly amazing. But he didn't believe living in endless loops would bring him peace. This ability could be a gift just as easily as it can be a trap.
He had no desire to toy with anyone's emotions. He didn't want to trap humanity in a stagnant, looping cage.
He was the one who would break the cage.
Not become it.
Even with Death Rollback in hand, he couldn't afford to become arrogant or corrupted. This was no toy—it was a heavy responsibility.
He stored these thoughts and resumed his search.
…
[You've discovered an item: Petri Dish.]
[Petri Dish: Currently empty. It could potentially be used as a murder weapon when shattered.]
...
[You've discovered an item: Empty Test Tube.]
[Empty Test Tube: If you don't have a wine glass, it could serve as a delightfully eccentric substitute.]
...
[You've discovered an item: Worn Wooden Rack.]
[Worn Wooden Rack: Ideal backrest for sleeping upright at night.]
...
[You've discovered Clue VIII: A test tube containing a colorless liquid.]
[Clue VIII — Test Tube with Colorless Liquid: Smells like insecticide. It might be relevant in the process of finding the truth. (Note: Identifiable via hidden skill 'Appraisal' or chemistry-related knowledge.)]
[Clue recorded in Clue Log. You can review it at any time.]
[Obtained Exploration Points +10]
...
The number 'VIII' on the clue suggested there were at least eight clues in total.
He carefully pocketed the colorless liquid. But as he took a step back, he tripped over something.
"Hm?"
Within the narrow beam of his flashlight, he saw it—a corpse, perfectly preserved, sealed within a transparent box.
What unsettled him was the fungus growing from the body… It seemed to flourish in human flesh like fertile soil—still moist and tender, in disturbing contrast to the shriveled, lifeless corpse.
Su Ming'an murmured: "Looks like the cause of the apocalypse is closely tied to fungi."
A bell-like giggle echoed through the air.
"haaah…"
He felt a cold breath on the nape of his neck, as if someone was breathing softly right behind him.
"…Please. Please… come find me. Save me…"
He spun around.
Nothing.
...
By the way—
His A-rank Charm wouldn't happen to work on bosses or ghosts right?
...
[World Game · Current Surviving Players: 1,046,580,632]