"Good night."

The three of them returned to the villa, and after confirming that Lu Shu and Noel were both fine, Su Mingan wanted to go back to the room and sleep for a while.

"Good night, Su Ming'an." Lu Shu said.

"Good night, when you wake up, the villa will be very lively." Noel smiled and waved to Su Mingan who was inside the door.

"Who are you going to invite over for the New Year?" Su Mingan asked. Noel seems to be very motivated for this New Year. He has been preparing since the end of the Ninth World. He doesn't know what surprises there will be.

"Of course they are all acquaintances." Noel said with a smile: "Don't worry, I have arranged everything, and you will be satisfied with the process."

"Okay." Su Mingan smiled and closed the door.

The moment the door closed, Su Mingan immediately tilted his body and fell to the ground, covering his face and gasping for air. He reached out and slapped his dizzy forehead several times, then stood up and walked towards the bed while holding on to the wall.

…

After Su Ming fell asleep, the hall suddenly became extremely quiet, with only the sound of the small stove making tea.

Noel glanced at Lu Shu, his eyes meaning unclear.

Lu Shu didn't respond, his eyes were slightly lowered, as if he was still thinking about Su Ming'an's words.

Seeing this, Noel wanted to turn around and leave, but heard Lu Shu say: "Wait a minute."

Noel turned around unsurprisingly. He knew that he had said some bad things about Lu Shu before, and this time he probably wanted to talk about it. There was indeed a conflict between their teams.

The two looked at each other. Su Lin, who was making tea next to him, raised his eyes, then lowered his eyes uninterested.

"If you have any questions, tell me." Noel said.

"——Do you really have authority?" Lu Shu asked, but the question was this.

Noel was slightly startled, and then became speechless.

"No. How many times have I said it." Noel would never affirm this verbally. Once he affirmed it, it would mean being destroyed, even if he really had no authority.

"If you really have authority, people will think you are safer than Su Ming'an." Lu Shu said: "Currently, there has been such a trend on the forum. After all, you don't need to work hard to dig out the bottom of the copy like Su Ming'an.

The secret is, as long as you complete your identity mission casually, you will be able to pass the level perfectly."

"I am not a perfect passer." Noel slowly turned over his palms. The perfect pass pattern on the back of his hand was incomplete: "It is no threat to the organizer. It is not helpful to lead mankind. As long as there is no right to make a wish, it is impossible.

Dominate the human world after the war. It is impossible for me to replace Su Mingan's position, don't worry."

"——But don't you regret it?" Lu Shu said suddenly.

"What?"

"It was the copy of the White Sun Floating City in the second world. You lost to Su Ming'an, which prevented you from achieving a perfect clearance. You are smart, powerful, and have authority. If you hadn't proactively provided Su Ming'an with the dawn password, you would not have been exposed.

authority." Lu Shu said: "You were questioned by the organizer because you helped Su Ming'an. You could have been on your own without having to assist Su Ming'an, right?"

Lu Shu's words became more and more profound.

Su Lin, who was making tea next to him, raised his eyebrows and glanced at the two of them again. Three seconds later, he lowered his gaze again, pretending not to be interested in their conversation.

"...I didn't expect you to become smarter after becoming 'Team Mu'." Noel smiled, his eyes a little sharp.

"After living for more than ten years, there will always be some growth." Lu Shu said.

"You are indeed a bit smarter." Noel stretched out his hand, pinching his thumb and index finger slightly, revealing a slight gap. There was no malice in his tone, just a simple joke: "But not much."

Lu Shu listened with no expression on his face.

After time, he is no longer easily angered. In fact, he knows in his heart that he does not hate Noel, and Noel actually does not hate him. They are more like a bickering relationship, and this relationship does not stem from a conflict of interest.

Or some kind of contradiction, just because of their temperament.

The strange smell of tea and milk lingered in the air. Noel raised his head and glanced at the closed door on the second floor. Su Mingan was sleeping inside and could not hear his argument with Lu Shu.

If this thorn in the team's side is not removed, it will definitely cause trouble in the future. Now is the time to talk.

"I have always helped Su Mingan, and even helped him as a support... not because I was willing, you understand?" Noel said.

"...Huh?" Lu Shu was stunned.

"Listen up - if I were truly invincible, I wouldn't befriend anyone," Noel said:

"But Su Ming'an is Su Ming'an, and I believe he has the ability to stand alone. At that time, I had lost the qualification to complete the game perfectly. After judgment, I thought that only by helping him can I maximize my interests, I will continue to help him fight.

Auxiliary.”

"I think that helping him will allow me to achieve my goals to the greatest extent. By helping him, I can maintain my status as the 'second player' stably and safely. By helping him, I can get closer to the most precious thing, the 'right to make a wish'

.”

"If helping him is beneficial to me, of course I will help him."

"There has never been inexplicable feelings and trust in this world. The source of everything in the world comes from interests. Only when there are interests at the beginning, will more and more feelings and entanglements be mixed later. Anyone who says 'because I like' means 'because I have a good impression'

'I don't even believe this."

When Noel said this, he smiled and said: "You wanted to make friends with Su Mingan in the first place, wasn't it because... he was very powerful and could help you get revenge in the future, so you would follow him? You can't just go up to someone when you see him.

Dedicate everything to him. Only if your family background, your three views, and your decisiveness allow you to judge that following him will be helpful to your emotions and interests, will you follow him. If you

When I met him in the apocalyptic world, he was not the number one player, but just an ordinary player. Would you go up and say you wanted to follow him?"

"So you are helping Su Ming'an for profit?" Lu Shu was silent for a while and asked.

"Not entirely, it was at first." Noel smiled and his expression became softer: "Later, it was mixed with many other things, such as friendship, such as trust... Aren't you the same? In other words, everyone in our team

Individuals become friends this way."

"It starts with interests and ends with sincerity."

Lu Shu looked at Noel steadily for a few seconds and said, "...I understand."

Su Lin next to him looked up again, then lowered his head pretending not to be interested.

Noel took off his white gloves and stretched out his hand towards Lu Shu.

"I have been targeting you before because I thought you might have other intentions." Noel said: "But now, everything you have done in the Ninth World makes me feel that you are wholeheartedly for the good of 'Player One'.

So I won’t target you again.”

He raised his palm slightly and showed a smile as bright as the sun: "From now on, we can become the most trustworthy team alliance and friends without gaps. Lu Shu, do you agree?"

Lu Shu stared intently at Noel's outstretched hand.

After listening to Noel's analysis of his confession, he realized that Noel was really completely different from normal people - Noel's thinking was extremely rational, highly logical and purposeful, and could even explain things like feelings extremely clearly.

Clear. But Noel's sunny smile on the surface can cover up these coldnesses, making him quite approachable, making people think that he is an optimistic and cheerful angel.

In fact, if Noel is truly pure, pure, enthusiastic, bright and cheerful, how could he be so adaptable to the dungeon world of the underworld and firmly occupy the position of the second player.

The enthusiastic Little Sun is only a part of him. His rationality pulls his sensibility and at the same time amplifies his sensibility - allowing him to make extremely emotional behaviors with an extremely rational mentality, and allowing him to risk his own life for a future.

, even sacrificing himself to protect Su Mingan.

This kind of rationality, when truly expressed, will be more sincere and enthusiastic than most emotional people.

"Okay." Lu Shu stretched out his hand, shook hands with Noel's, and stared into the other's blue eyes: "Let's celebrate the New Year together."

Lu Shu didn't dislike this kind of person. Once a friendship was established, this kind of person would not give up easily due to changing feelings. In relationships, people like Noel were the most steadfast.

Noel smiled with crooked eyebrows.

"That would be great." He smiled and said, "We will be good friends forever."

…

In the room on the second floor.

Su Mingan sat on the bed and closed the monitoring interface.

He had previously placed two followers, Jasmine and Qingqing, in the villa. For safety reasons, he installed surveillance cameras in the lobby of the villa.

Therefore, he listened to the entire conversation between Lu Shu and Noel.

Leaning on the bed, he stared at the black-and-white ceiling. His vision was filled with liquefied light. His mind was buzzing, and he could hear vague whispers.

【Asa.】

【......Asa.】

...The sequelae are gradually unfolding. Emotional resonance is not something that can be easily overcome. Even Noah and Sen died from this in the first place. This is a pain that can almost tear apart the soul.

He stood up, walked to a cabinet, and opened the drawer, revealing a square vermilion box inside.

His hand paused on the box, and after three seconds of hesitation, he opened it with a "click".

The box was opened, revealing fifty rose-like solids arranged neatly inside, with a layer of moist light on the surface, like vermilion gems.

Su Mingan held the box, sat on the bedside, and stared at the box for a while.

His eyes wandered from the box to these solid objects, and then quickly drifted away.

Finally, he pulled his gaze back and fixed on the fifty pieces of rose blood. They were like the tempting snake fruits in the Garden of Eden. Looking at these rose blood, his breathing became more and more rapid, and the fingers pressing the box became more and more intense.

Use force.

With a "click", he pressed down with his palm and closed the box.
To be continued...