Chapter 7 The True Meaning of Towards Death and Life_1

Only those who have truly played "Towards Death and Life" can understand how high Xiao Douzi's skill level really is.

Wang already felt his hands were steady, but compared to Xiao Douzi, they were simply not on the same level.

The other player was obviously a professional gamer, whose movements during platform jumps were incredibly stable. In several spots where there was barely any room to land, Xiao Douzi would jump with ease and precision.

Apart from the fluid movements during the jumps, Xiao Douzi's judgment of distances was also spot-on. Many times, when Wang thought he wouldn't make the jump, Xiao Douzi would land exactly where he intended to.

The control was mature, and the understanding of the game even more accurate.

And it was through Xiao Douzi that Wang realized that many objects in the game were not randomly placed.

The decrepit elevators could be operated; if the button light on the elevator was on, then it could be used, saving a great deal of jumping time.

Some inconspicuous places could also be used to move quickly and speed up climbing, greatly saving time.

After watching for a while, Wang kept nodding, impressed that this person seemed born to play games.

But what surprised him was that at a certain platform, instead of jumping directly across, Xiao Douzi took a three-minute detour to activate an unremarkable-looking switch by the roadside.

Once the switch was flipped, a multitude of light particles began to converge, and a palm-sized mechanical sprite appeared next to Xiao Douzi's character, intermittently saying, "We meet again, unknown traveler."

Wang Say Games: "...F*ck!"

He was thoroughly convinced now.

He originally thought it was a horror game, but it turned out to be a platform-jumping game.

He thought jumping was the only option, but hidden mechanics revealed so many interactable items.

He thought that was all there was to the game, but there was actually a storyline.

A small game with so much depth, Fang Cheng, you're quite something!

The sudden appearance of the mechanical sprite gave Wang Say Games a jolt of energy, rousing him from drowsiness and making him watch with renewed excitement.

It wasn't just him; a bunch of users on Bilibili also exclaimed "F*ck" on the bullet comments, causing the entire screen to lag for a second before the video could continue playing.

At that moment, Wang was certain that Xiao Douzi was the first person to discover the storyline within the game.

Xiao Douzi didn't speak during the stream, but the palm-sized sprite certainly had a lot to say.

It appeared to be a semi-transparent little person, its body blurry due to mechanical faults and occasionally glitching, effectively conveying its damaged state.

Floating beside Xiao Douzi, it intermittently said, "It has been an hour since we last met."

"Pleased to see you, unknown climber. Let me introduce myself again, I am your climbing aid tool; you can call me Alpha."

"This climbing path was built to commemorate the 1100th birthday of the Republic. The whole course is 5 kilometers long, and you can appreciate the magnificent scenery along the way. If you feel tired, you can use the elevator to get to the top. However, according to my diagnostics, the elevator has broken down, and I have already contacted staff for repairs."

"I have learned your language, which I find very interesting. Its intonation rises and falls like music, very pleasant to listen to, and I like it a lot."

"Why don't you speak? Is it because you dislike my explanation? My apologies, it's been thousands of years since I've seen a living being, and seeing you makes me overly excited."

The sprite chattered ceaselessly while Xiao Douzi climbed in silence, letting the sprite relate everything around them.

Although occasionally there would be a harsh noise, the sprite's voice was very pleasant.

Through its explanations, players learned a lot of information.

An ancient kingdom fell due to war, and terrifying biological weapons ultimately destroyed the entire civilization. Unknown monsters descended from the sky, began devouring this planet, which no longer bore signs of civilization, and sent the climb path built to commemorate the Republic into the air.

Civilization was destroyed by its own people, all life was wiped out, and only the mechanical beings from the last days of civilization dedicatedly carried out their prior orders, one of which was Alpha.

The story wasn't long, but after everyone heard it, they felt somewhat choked up.

What initially seemed like simple environmental design, after the truth was unveiled, had a powerful emotional impact. The dead civilization presented itself to the players in this way, letting them hear, through their screens, the last echoes of that civilization.

At last, in the video's finale, Xiao Douzi finally reached the endpoint, a small room at the top of the tower.

After entering the room, the sprite flew onto Xiao Douzi's shoulder and happily said, "Congratulations, you are the first and second person to reach the top after a thousand years. We have prepared a fine gift for you, which you can collect from the administrator after descending the mountain."

Then the ground began to tremble, and the massive Star-devouring Beast finally sensed the presence of the "little one" and, following Fang Cheng's orders, lifted the little one into the sky with its tentacles.

As the altitude climbed, the tentacle pierced through the atmosphere and the dust layer overhead, finally reaching outer space where the endless cosmos unfolded.

There, they saw the vast universe, the greatness of the cosmos and their own insignificance starkly contrasted at that moment, giving everyone a new interpretation of the game's name, "Towards Death and Life."

This civilization had died.

But it still left something behind, lingering in the hearts of the players after death.

In the end, Alpha turned its head towards the screen and smiled, saying, "Thank you for participating, I hope you found the journey satisfactory."

"...And thank you," Xiao Douzi finally spoke his only line in the video.

Just that simple sentence broke through the defenses of everyone watching.

The playful and adorable sprite was like a little angel; behind her optimistic and cheerful demeanor was a millennium of lonely waiting, but luckily, fate had not abandoned her.

Xiao Douzi had also become the voice for the players, finally expressing what they had all been wanting to say.

The original triple-digit follower count exploded before their very eyes as a flood of gamers rushed to the Steam platform to download the game and tagged it with a "recommended" review.

Wang Say Games was no exception.

After turning off the video, he purposefully restarted the game and located Alpha's switch during the gameplay. Accompanied by the sprite, he climbed tirelessly until he finally reached the end.

After watching the ending scene, standing in the dawn's light, he couldn't help but reflect,

"This world is truly beautiful."