Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1314 - 1308: [Narrative Error (Part 3)]

Ian was closing in step by step.

The situation was at a stalemate, and Su Ming’an felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

He rubbed his temples, just feeling a headache. But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the Su Wensheng to his right had a slight smile on his lips, as if he was laughing.

...

Current narrative anchor point: [Su Ming’an] → [Hui Bei] → [Su Ming’an] → [Su Ming’an] → [Su Ming’an] → [Su Ming’an].

...

Su Ming’an touched his earring and couldn’t help but smile.

Watching the Jellyfish Emperor suffer such a disaster, he was glad he had changed bodies. Otherwise, it would be him who felt like he was sitting on pins and needles now. However, looking at Su Liujin, he seemed quite composed, without the arrogant air of an emperor.

Just now, during their eye contact, he almost thought he was looking in a mirror. As expected of The Original, Su Liujin’s eyes were exactly like his own.

At this moment, the class bell rang. To avoid breaking school rules, Ian had to return to his seat.

The first class was mathematics.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Footsteps echoed as a white-haired young man expressionlessly carried books onto the podium. Above his head floated a line of text: [No. 3·Lv Shu].

... Lv Shu was the mathematics teacher.

Su Ming’an couldn’t help but wonder if Lv Shu could understand math problems.

Sure enough, Lv Shu stared at the book in silence for a long time until Su Ming’an raised his hand: "Teacher, let me explain."

Only then did Lv Shu breathe a sigh of relief and hand the book to Su Ming’an.

Thus, Su Ming’an "substituted" to teach the class until the bell rang for the end of the class. He returned the book to Lv Shu and went out. Staying here for the class was pointless; it would be better to look for some clues.

"Ian." Lv Shu also timely stopped Ian, who was about to follow him out: "Come to my office, I’ll explain a problem to you."

Lv Shu timed this perfectly; as a teacher, he had the advantage of authority. Just by saying something like this, Ian, as a student, could not ignore him; otherwise, he might publicly violate the school rule of "respect teachers and education."

Su Ming’an slipped out, unconcerned. As an auditor, his presence didn’t matter. Lv Shu’s coordination was truly skillful.

At the same time, Su Ming’an saw Noel in the hallway.

"Are you the literature teacher?" Su Ming’an noticed the literature book in Noel’s arms.

"Yes." Noel smiled and winked: "Are you going out? The auditorium might have something good."

The code matched.

Su Ming’an, confirming Noel’s authenticity, nodded: "The third phase shouldn’t last too long. When it’s over, come to the Undead Territory; it’s my base."

"OK." Noel brushed past him.

Su Ming’an headed toward the auditorium. The shadows of trees swayed, sunlight was bright, birds chirped lightly on branches, everything seemed vibrant...

...

Buzz, buzz.

Dear Master, I inform you.

The culprit causing the narrative anchor point deviation has been traced... it’s the Master of the End of All Things.

Unfortunately, his intrusion level is too deep, and the narrative anchor point is still in a state of wander.

Please forgive me, I will strive to repair it, trying to stabilize the narrative anchor point and reduce this arbitrary perspective switching.

Current narrative anchor point: [Su Ming’an] → [Hui Bei] → [Su Ming’an] → [Su Ming’an] → [Su Ming’an] → [Su Ming’an] → [Su Ming’an].

...

Su Ming’an opened his eyes, sitting up from the ground, gasping for breath.

"Huff... huff... huff...!"

He put his hand over his chest, gradually catching his breath.

Looking around, he found himself sitting in a room, holding Yuanyuan’s book.

The clock on the wall showed it was past six in the morning.

... What was going on? He hadn’t entered the third phase of the Disciple Game.

At midnight, he had been sitting on his bed waiting for the Disciple Game to start when he suddenly felt a lapse in consciousness and fell unconscious. When he woke up again, it was already now.

The audience in the live broadcast room also indicated they had been watching Su Ming’an in a coma the whole time, without seeing anything else.

Su Ming’an immediately went out to consult the World Master but received the World Master’s surprised response: "—Su Ming’an? Why are you still here? Haven’t you already entered the Disciple Game?"

The World Master possessed a prop for peering into the Disciple Game, able to see the progress within the game. After meticulous inquiry, Su Ming’an learned that there were two "selves" within the Disciple Game. One had Su Liujin’s appearance and the other Su Wensheng’s appearance.

Yet, the real him was clearly here.

"I suspect it’s the ’narrative anchor point’ that has deviated..." the World Master mused, stroking his chin: "The Master of the End of All Things has started meddling, disrupting Luowasha’s narrative anchor point."

"Narrative anchor point... what is it?" Su Ming’an asked.

"It’s something difficult to explain in words; you can think of it as a ’camera,’" the World Master said. "Luowasha’s time structure relies on spliced ’Memory Clips,’ in numbers of trillions. The appearance of these Memory Clips depends on the direction the ’narrative anchor point’ lands. Therefore, just changing the ’narrative anchor point’ can cause a significant transformation in the ’Memory Clips’ and consequently result in a significant change in the entire timeline of Luowasha."

Listening to the World Master’s long explanation, Su Ming’an immediately focused: "Can you provide an example to explain it? I’m a bit confused."

The World Master chuckled: "... What do you take me for? I answer whatever you ask?"

Yet Su Ming’an stepped forward, speaking with concentration: "Please explain it more clearly; I really want to help you."

The one who hadn’t entered the Disciple Game had Sique’s appearance. When those golden eyes flashed, it was hard to harbor any dislike. The World Master turned his head slightly, the silver mask glinting as he said softly:

"In light of our alliance."

Su Ming’an showed a smile; he had been prepared to use the Ruler’s Skill, but fortunately, the World Master relented. Afraid of reenacting Noah’s tragedy, he preferred not to indiscriminately use the Ruler’s Skill unless necessary, opting instead to persuade others with words. After all, forcibly creating goodwill comes with many issues.

"Think of the ’Narrative Anchor Point’ as a ’camera’, and the ’Memory Clip’ as the ’film shot by the camera’," the World Master said:

"Thus, when the camera angle changes, all the shots it captures will naturally change."

"Moreover, this change is causal, disregarding temporal order. This means that even tapes that were shot earlier will change in the instant the camera is altered."

Su Ming’an nodded, indicating that he understood the concepts behind these two terms.

Seeing he understood, the World Master delved deeper: "Originally, the ’Memory Clip’ is stable, and the ’Narrative Anchor Point’ only fixates on the protagonist. Thus, Luowasha’s time is stable, history will not be altered, and the future will not undergo significant changes."

"But the Master of the End of All Things is altering Luowasha’s ’Narrative Anchor Point’ by unknown invasive means, causing a slight deviation in the ’Narrative Anchor Point’."

Su Ming’an somewhat grasped the meaning, asking: "How is it determined who the ’Narrative Anchor Point’ falls upon?"

"Previously, the ’Narrative Anchor Point’ would fixate on each generation’s great individuals, those who led entire eras and achieved commendable feats. With Sique emerging suddenly, his existence overshadowed the great individuals of the present time, so the ’Narrative Anchor Point’ fixated on Sique. After Sique disappeared, it fixated on the Lighthouse Jellyfish. When you arrived, the ’Narrative Anchor Point’ landed on you." The World Master’s fingers tapped on the chair:

"I speculate that it’s an automatic selection mechanism: whoever is the greatest person of this era, that’s whom the ’Narrative Anchor Point’ will automatically fall upon. It is not controlled by the World Tree, nor does it follow the will of the Supreme Lord, but rather the world’s own rules."

"I previously sought to collaborate with you because I noticed this era’s ’Narrative Anchor Point’ had fallen on you, so I knew you would inevitably undertake something world-transforming. Collaborating with you is like adding wings to a tiger and flowers to brocade."

"But now... the ’Narrative Anchor Point’ seems to be shifting away from you; sometimes it’s on you, sometimes it’s not. I suspect that those two ’Su Ming’ans’ in the Disciple Game were created by the Master of the End of All Things, meant to lure the ’Narrative Anchor Point’, counterfeit versions."

"As soon as they succeed in luring it, and the ’Narrative Anchor Point’ settles on them, Luowasha’s time goes awry, and so do all of us."

"What kind of chaos?" Su Ming’an still couldn’t quite grasp it.

The World Master pondered for a moment, then laughed: "—Can you imagine? One second, your true friend is Noel, and the next second, your true friend becomes Edward."

The World Master’s example immediately cleared Su Ming’an’s mind.

"No wonder everything in Luowasha runs according to ’story logic’, because this civilization’s foundational framework is constructed from the concepts of ’Narrative Anchor Point’ and ’Memory Clip’..." Su Ming’an stroked his chin: "Like reels of film in a movie, if the film is jumbled, the movie turns into a mess."

In his university literature class on film appreciation, he learned about the principles of film.

First, film recording: The camera focuses light onto the film through the lens, capturing the moment on film.

Second, film arrangement: These still images are arranged sequentially on the film, with a small gap between each frame. The film is continuous, recording the entire length of the movie.

Third, projection: The film rapidly passes through 24 frames per second. The projector shutter briefly opens for each frame projected onto the screen, then quickly closes, reopening for the next frame. This fast switching process prevents the eye from detecting the frame gaps, creating a continuous dynamic image effect.

Therefore, the sequence of images recorded on the film determines the sequence displayed upon projection.

And Luowasha’s concept of time is—[Filmized Lens Time].

In comparison:

Film denotes—Luowasha’s long, enduring Time Flow.

Each frame on the film denotes—each Memory Clip.

Movie projection denotes—the countless Memory Clips aligned, allowing civilization to operate normally.

First Epoch, Second Epoch, Third Epoch, Fourth Epoch... the first flicker of flame kindled by humanity, the first white vapor of the Watt Steam Engine, the first hum of Siemens’ electrical equipment, the first operation of electronic computers... Before the "movie" is projected (before civilization begins to operate normally), these pivotal historical turning events are like unarranged films, piled up together.

You cannot ascertain when they happen, nor can you ascertain if they exist.

Just like—

When electrons pass through a double slit,

before your observation, you cannot ascertain whether the electrons observed are to the left or the right.

When the "Narrative Anchor Point" has not yet been determined, these films can freely combine into chaotic historical and future possibilities, displaying a multitude of complexities. For example, perhaps the Watt Steam Engine was never invented. Perhaps humanity never kindled the first beacon of fire; it merely requires removing the films representing these two critical historical events for them to cease existing. You could even freely combine them, placing the "film" of the Second Industrial Revolution before the "film" of the First Industrial Revolution, reversing the temporal order of the two revolutions.

However, when the "Narrative Anchor Point" is determined (the Memory Clips’ sequence is confirmed, and civilization begins to operate), the scattered films instantly form a movie, with all other possible sorting "possibilities" dissipating. Just like opening the lid on Schrödinger’s cat’s box revealing the only true result, the film arrangement completes, and the Time Flow flows downward—Watt undeniably invents the steam engine, and humanity has long ignited the prairie fire.

And everything Su Ming’an currently sees—is built on this singularly dropped Narrative Anchor Point.

Namely, great individuals→ Sique→ Lighthouse Jellyfish→ Su Ming’an.

This sequence is fixed, eternal, unchanging. Thus history stands indisputably, with no alterations occurring. Time operates chronologically, like a river flowing from top to bottom.

But what the Master of the End of All Things is currently striving for is the deviation of this sequence.

Becomes:

Great individuals→ Sique→ Lighthouse Jellyfish→ Su Ming’an→ Su Ming’an No. 2→ Su Ming’an No. 3→ Su Ming’an No. 2... with the Narrative Anchor Point repeatedly jumping, like an endless irrational number.

This would lead to Luowasha descending into chaos, giving rise to unforeseen consequences and deviations.

Causing the Memory Clip arrangement to change, resulting in historical disarray, turning time—into a river flowing in reverse.

Tearing apart the movie itself, scrambling all the film reels.

—to kill the Savior script.

Su Ming’an felt a shiver run through his body at that moment; suddenly, he remembered the saying.

Kill... Savior script.

Previously he didn’t feel much, nor did he understand what this meant, but now... he seemed to grasp a bit.

"Now, the most intriguing part is..." The World Master tapped his knuckles on the back of the chair, smiling as he spoke:

"How do you confirm you’re Su Ming’an and not ’Su Ming’an’? How can you ascertain those two in the Disciple Game aren’t real?"

"Can you show me?" He spread his hand, a violet flame lifting from his fingertips:

"—Are you the one true Su Ming’an? Su Ming’an."