Deep Sea Embers.

Chapter 851 Depth 0, Assignment

Now, everything is quiet.

Whether it was the voices in the mind, or the environment perceived through each "node", whether it was Nina's gentle instructions, or Vanna and Morris' calm reports, they all disappeared from this world as the stars closed in - the world itself also returned to nothingness.

This small shelter built by the ancient kings, after operating for 10,000 years, finally disappeared silently among the stars of the new world.

Now, in this primordial chaotic sea of information formed by the wreckage of many worlds, there is only the last ship, still sailing on its final journey.

The Lost Homeland was sailing on the back of the World's Creation. Below the "hull" was the "crack" that had stretched across the entire boundless ocean for 10,000 years. People had never imagined that the back of this "crack" was actually a completely different scene from its front.

Zhou Ming stood at the helm of the Lost Hometown. Now that the world had been destroyed, he no longer had to worry about his observations destroying the Boundless Sea, so he opened his eyes - looking down through the gap between the deck and the hull of the ship that was almost burned out, he saw the pitch-black crack extending almost infinitely into the distance. It did not emit any light, and even seemed to actively absorb all light, presenting an extreme black that almost gave people a sense of "infinite falling", and although the details could not be seen clearly in the depths of the darkness, it faintly revealed a feeling of "sinking", as if... there was a vast space inside it.

The black sun was hanging high above the pitch-black crack. In the depths of the vast chaos and darkness, the magnificent sun was still flickering in a regular pattern, emitting a strong and clear navigation signal - even though the Lost Homeland no longer needed it to navigate.

Zhou Ming turned his head again and looked at the puppet that still remained beside him.

Alice was no longer sitting on the barrel, because even that barrel had been burned by the starlight flames a few minutes ago. She was now standing on the last small piece of deck next to Zhou Ming - and Leigh Nora was standing next to the puppet.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhou Ming asked suddenly.

"Nothing!" Alice said happily, but then she scratched her head again, as if she felt that something was wrong. After a brief thought, she added with a smile, "It feels very interesting - it turns out that the back of the Creation of the World looks like this."

"Aren't you afraid?" Although he already knew the answer, Zhou Ming still asked curiously.

“I’m not afraid,” the puppet shook its head, “Although I don’t know why I’m not afraid…”

Zhou Ming smiled and looked up at Lei Nora: "What about you?"

"I was thinking... it was so quiet when the world was destroyed," Ray Nora said slowly with a calm expression, "Since I was very young, I always heard and saw things coming from the deep sea. Those twisted and torn scenes and chaotic roars and low roars once brought me great fear. I thought that the end of the world would be like that, in the great fear and the upheaval, everything was torn into pieces with a wail.

"But the fact is, the end of the world is so quiet, everything disappears, at the last moment, the world did not make any sound, no matter the roar of the brave or the wailing of the cowards... nothing, it is so quiet that it even feels unreal, making me think that the world is still there. If I 'go down' from here, I will still see the endless blue sea and the sunlight shining on the sea."

Zhou Ming didn't say anything, and Lei Nora was silent for a few seconds before she breathed a sigh of relief: "I should leave now."

"Leave now?" Zhou Ming raised his eyebrows, "There is nowhere to go now."

"I know, but I want to get the Drifting House out of here now," Lenora laughed. "I've seen the scenery of the end of the world. I still hope to continue my journey in the new world."

"...I understand," Zhou Ming nodded gently, and smiled at the "Frost Queen", "Then I wish you a safe journey - the Lost Homeland will always leave a door for your 'drifting house', even in the new world."

"Thank you," Lenora smiled and took a half step back, "Then we'll see you in the new world."

She left the only remaining bridge on the ship, walked through the broken stairs and the decks with only a few remnants left, and walked into the "Lost Homelander's Door" that still stood quietly in the void. A moment later, a stream of light appeared at the edge of the fire of the Lost Homelander and flashed in the brilliance of the stars... //Lennora.? ? ? ==>^...%￥Migrate to new data*&*%￥Save completed.

Then, the deck above the bridge shrank and collapsed once again, and the remaining parts of the Lost Homeland further disintegrated in the starlight and flames. Amid a gradually sinking roar, the phantom of the mast disappeared completely, followed by the structure connected to the steering wheel.

Zhou Ming raised his head and glanced at the "sunshine" in the distance, then lowered his eyes and looked at the last remaining shadow of the steering wheel in his hand - after a moment, he let go.

"Thank you for your hard work," he whispered to the ship.

He walked towards the edge of the bridge, passing through the former stairs and decks in an almost transparent fragment of light and shadow, with Alice following closely behind him all the way - they came to the door of the captain's room at the stern, and the "captain's room" was almost gone at this moment.

Even the "Lost Homelander's Door" had turned into an almost transparent phantom, standing quietly at its former location. Through the transparent door, Zhou Ming could see the last remaining part of the Lost Homelander -

A pitch-black wooden carved goat head floated there, above a shadow that used to be a chart table. It turned its head and looked at Alice and Zhou Ming who were standing not far away.

Zhou Ming walked towards the goat head. Behind him was an illusion of stars. The final structure of the Lost Hometown collapsed and disappeared step by step in that illusion.

"We are almost there," he said to his first mate, "It's time for the Lost Homeland to rest - Silantis is waiting for you too."

"Save a seat for me on the Lost Homeland in the New World." The goat head raised its neck, and there seemed to be a smile on its hard wooden face. "The specific form is up to you."

"Okay." Zhou Ming nodded.

The goat head exhaled softly. After a moment of silence, it narrowed its eyes and finally asked the first and final question again -

"Name?"

"Zhou Ming."

Brilliant starlight gushed out from deep within the only remaining structure of the Lost Homeland. The star-filled flames silently engulfed the phantom of Sasloka's spine and its head. In just a moment, the entire ship disappeared in the starlight, leaving only a few remaining points of light that slowly dissipated.

Alice opened her eyes wide and watched the scene. She raised her hand in the darkness, as if she wanted to touch the scattered light points. When a tiny light fell on her fingertips, she seemed to react belatedly. She tried to smile and waved her hand vigorously: "Goodbye, Mr. First Mate, goodbye - see you in the new world!"

The light spots disappeared, and Miss Doll finally stopped waving her arms. She thought for a while in the dark, then looked up at Zhou Ming: "Captain, what's next? Is it... still a short distance away? I see the Black Sun is still ahead, how do we get there?"

Zhou Ming laughed, reached out and touched Alice's hair, then raised his hand and pointed behind the doll.

Alice was stunned for a moment and turned around.

She saw a familiar ornate wooden box floating silently in the darkness.

"I kept it separately and will hand it over to you next." Zhou Ming said from the side.

Alice finally reacted, and a happy smile appeared on her face.

She floated to the wooden box, bent down and stroked it, gently stroking its surface as if greeting an old friend: "Hello... We are leaving again!"

Zhou Ming laughed and walked into the wooden box, followed by Alice - the wooden box of the doll was not too big, like a small canoe, but it was big enough for two people to stand in.

Alice grabbed the lid of the wooden box floating nearby, but then she hesitated and looked at Zhou Ming unconfidently: "Captain, can we really row across? There is no water here..."

Zhou Ming just smiled, his eyes swept across the nothingness and darkness around him, and then ripples appeared in the darkness in this exile dimension obscured by the creation of the world.

"Okay." He said to the puppet.

Alice blinked and tried to use the lid of the box in her hand to move it in the darkness around her - the box moved.

She suddenly became happy and began to wave the lid of the wooden box in her hand, paddling hard in the darkness - just like the first day, just like when she was chasing the Lost Homeland in the distance in the waves of the boundless ocean. The wooden box gradually accelerated in the darkness, carrying the puppet and her captain, heading towards the distant sunshine.

Time seemed to have lost its meaning, and spatial distance seemed to have lost its meaning as well. The wooden box was like a small canoe, sailing over the dark cracks towards the distant sunshine. Alice didn't know how long she had been rowing. She only knew that the captain was always with her, and the sun in the distance seemed to always be at the same distance - but suddenly, the sunlight was very close, and the distant sun turned into a sea of fire that stretched everywhere as far as the eye could see. Just below the wooden box, huge jets of flame were surging like a terrible storm - but it was silent and cold.

Alice stopped what she was doing, she leaned her head to look down, then turned to look at Zhou Ming with a big smile on her face: "We're here!"

Zhou Ming was silent for a long time. After a long while, he exhaled softly: "Yes, we are here."

Alice did not ask the captain why he was silent for so long. She seemed to understand everything. After the captain answered, she carefully put the lid of the wooden box aside and looked up at Zhou Ming's eyes.

The bright smile gradually turned into a peaceful smile.

"Captain, see you in the new world."

"Well, see you in the new world."

"Don't forget my little frying pan~"

"certainly--"

The puppet disappeared contentedly in the starry light.

Zhou Ming stood quietly above the sea of fire of the black sun. After an unknown amount of time, he turned his head and looked at his shoulder.

In the diffuse starlight, Ai Yi's figure appeared and disappeared from time to time.

It tilted its head, as if observing its master curiously. When their eyes met, it suddenly flapped its wings and made a strange, sharp sound as if it was being disturbed: "To the New World, to the New World, to the New World! New UR limited-time UP, Duncan Zhou Ming's probability increased! SSR card 'Alice' limited-time reproduction! To the New World! To the New World!"

Zhou Ming frowned in confusion.

This pigeon usually speaks in an abstract way, but he can still understand it to some extent. But this time it was really too abstract... What is this bird talking about?
However, just when he was about to say something, Ai's figure quickly dimmed in the starlight. It flapped its wings for the last time, and its green eyes, which usually didn't look very smart, seemed to suddenly have some thoughts in them. Then it turned its head and seemed to be looking at its master very seriously.

"goodbye--"

Then, the pigeons disappeared.

Zhou Ming looked at this scene in a daze. After a long while, he shook his head helplessly and muttered to himself: "I thought this guy would at least stay with me until the end."

No one responded to his soliloquy.

Including the burning "sun" under his feet.

The black sun was "dead". Zhou Ming discovered this when Alice rowed the wooden box closer to the sea of fire.

Zhou Ming didn't know when it stopped thinking. Maybe it was the moment when the Lost Homeland entered the back of the World Creation, or maybe it was when Alice rowed the wooden box to the sea of fire. During this process, the Black Sun quietly stopped thinking, did not say goodbye, and did not leave a single word.

There is only a corpse here that is still burning according to a specific pattern, maintaining the light of a beacon that can illuminate the route even after the end of the world.

This flame is the last "gift" that the Black Sun left for Zhou Ming.

"...You really trust my promise."

Zhou Ming smiled helplessly and shook his head. His figure slowly descended in the sea of fire until he was engulfed by the flames, until he felt that he was stepping on a solid surface.

The flame that once belonged to the Black Sun but is now ownerless is still burning beside him, as if waiting to... "take over".

Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and looked around at the sea of fire. Suddenly... a word appeared in his mind.

Fire usurper.

Thus, the final conflagration began.

At a certain moment, the remaining flames of the black sun were transformed into a carrier of starlight. This dazzling "celestial body" made up of distorted information and confused beliefs was soaked in starlight and exploded rapidly as if it was ignited for the second time. It turned into an intense flash of light, illuminating everything here in an infinitely short moment.

The fierce "radiance" cast the starlight into the cracks in the creation of the world - this was also an infinitely short moment.

After this moment, time finally lost its meaning.

The Black Sun, the last remnant of the old world, the last fragment left after the collision of countless worlds, was completely decomposed in the starlight.

The Great Annihilation is complete.

……

All things disappeared in the echo of the great annihilation void, time and space became null, and that almost eternal, yet infinitely short "moment"... began.

There is only one consciousness, which floats in nothingness and walks in this eternal moment.

He began to think and calculate.

The first parameter of the mathematical machine was generated, and then, after an infinite number of years, the second parameter was carefully determined - this process was too long to be measured and too short to be perceived.

He is still thinking, still calculating.

In the infinitely long yet infinitely short "time", he assigns initial values to everything.

On the scale of information that is both calculable and uncalculable, he begins to arrange the proper places for those who deserve the promise.

He is still thinking, still calculating.

It begins to determine the node at which everything runs. In this mathematical machine that has not yet started, everything before the node belongs to "design", and everything after the node belongs to "possible future".

This process took another infinitely long moment.

……

transfer.

Since the old world - assignment - has been completed.

Redirected.

To the new world - the model has been injected.

And so, the first second of eternity passed.

Zhou Ming-Duncan opened his eyes.

The darkness of nothingness reflected in his eyes.

……

He says--

"Let there be light."