No matter which world it is, you are my brother.

 

That “someone” was naturally the “Xing Ye” from another world. Using the power provided by a pirated Challenge Destiny game, he resurrected his parents, his younger brother, and Lu Mingze. After these people were revived, the impressions the rest of the world had of them were correspondingly altered. Only in this way could the irrationality of this world be explained.

Having learned of this complex speculation through “Hearts connected as one”, Lu Mingze was still somewhat confused.
He asked, “It sounds like a parallel world, but this is your final stage! Was this world automatically generated when you entered the final stage, or did it already exist? Is this place real or illusory? If it’s real, why does it appear in the final stage? If it’s illusory, why does the software on their phones look like an incomplete version of the game? And why do ‘Xing Shuo’ and ‘Lu Mingze’ also have systems?”

Like a defective product that couldn’t be fully replicated due to poor hardware conditions, how were they supposed to view this world?

“I don’t know either,” Xing Ye said. “One thing is certain: we are the outsiders in this world.”

As the two were talking, Xing Ye’s phone suddenly rang. It was the pirated system:
“Beep beep beep, warning, warning! Target is nearby, target is nearby!”

Xing Ye casually pressed the phone to silence it, shutting off the irritating alert sound.

Then he saw his younger brother, ‘Xing Shuo,’ sitting in another car. The window rolled down, and Xing Shuo frowned at him and said, “I installed monitoring software on your phone. I saw your verification code. What are you doing at A University?”

Xing Ye glanced at his phone. His brother was fast enough — he had already prepared to monitor him back when he handed over the phone.

“I’m here naturally for a reason,” Xing Ye said as he looked at ‘Xing Shuo.’

‘Xing Shuo’ smiled at him but hadn’t spoken yet when Lu Mingze cried out in Xing Ye’s mind,
“This is bad — that smile is clearly harboring malicious intent. He wants to attack you! I’ll go to his rear-view mirror to help you!”

“Wait! Don’t move!” Xing Ye said urgently. “Of course I know he’s hostile, but you mustn’t act rashly or without caution.”

Lu Mingze was just about to move his consciousness. Fortunately, the speed of their telepathic connection was faster than speech, and he stopped in time.

‘Xing Shuo’ narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “Why did you borrow Lu Mingze’s phone?”

He even knew that — clearly there was audio surveillance as well. Luckily, all of Xing Ye’s conversations with the little mirror took place in his mind, so there was no fear of eavesdropping.

Xing Ye didn’t answer ‘Xing Shuo’s question. After a brief moment of thought, he understood his intention. He got out of the car, placed the phone on the roof, raised his hands, and stepped back several paces to show that he wouldn’t use the phone to attack and that he was harmless.

“Since you can monitor the information on my phone, you must have seen the newly released task from the game. I will not complete that task,” Xing Ye said.
“You are my younger brother. I will never hurt my own family.”

‘Xing Shuo’ stepped out of the car and said, “Do you know how your previous task was completed?”

Xing Ye nodded. “I know. Since you also have the app, and are very likely someone who died and was resurrected, that means you may remember the experience of dying, and you also know that our parents passed away nine years ago. So when I messaged you saying that I had lost all my family members, you believed I was your brother — the brother from another world — because in that world, my younger brother was never revived.”

Only then could it be explained why ‘Xing Shuo’ had so quickly guessed the existence of a parallel world. Everything Xing Ye said was something he remembered — he was merely pretending not to.

“Then do you know why I came to find you?”
‘Xing Shuo’ walked forward and pressed his palm against the car. An ordinary sedan instantly transformed into an armoured vehicle with a mounted machine gun, its barrel aimed straight at Xing Ye. It was unclear what ability he had used.

Xing Ye looked at the vehicle, still faintly smelling of gunpowder, and said, “It seems there’s no need to guess.”

Seeing the atmosphere suddenly turn tense, Lu Mingze anxiously asked, “Why does he want to kill you? Is it because of the task issued by the app? If he believes you’re his brother, he should know you would never hurt him!”

Lu Mingze was not afraid of fighting. He and Xing Ye had fought their way here together — what desperate situations had they not encountered, what enemies had the little mirror ever feared? Insects aside.

But this enemy was different. Even if he was very likely just a copy of Xing Ye’s brother created by the final-stage system, Lu Mingze knew that Xing Ye was unwilling to fight his family.

And this time, the system was forcing Xing Ye to stand against the thing he cherished most. It was simply too despicable.

At this moment, Lu Mingze heard Xing Ye’s steady inner voice: “He’s testing me. Since he’s already seen the system task on my phone, he must eliminate potential threats. Even though I’m also his brother, between brothers from different worlds, which one matters more is obvious at a glance. ‘Xing Shuo’ would kill me to protect the safety of the brother in this world, so his killing intent is real. But eliminating risks doesn’t have only one method — there’s another way, which is to confirm my attitude. If I won’t harm them, then it will be everyone ending up happy.”

Lu Mingze said, “But this is too dangerous. If he really hardens his heart and acts ruthlessly, your final stage will definitely fail.”

“Yes,” Xing Ye sighed softly in his heart. “Are you willing to gamble with me?”

“Gamble on what?”

“Gamble that ‘Xing Shuo’ won’t hurt us. If you’re willing to gamble, we won’t resist. If we lose, our final stage fails completely — you and I will die together, trapped behind the door forever, never able to come out. If you’re not willing, I’ll immediately use ‘Mirror Reflection’ to rebound his attack. I can be reckless, but I can’t disregard your safety. So you decide. If you don’t agree to the gamble, I’ll act.”

Xing Ye believed in ‘Xing Shuo,’ but he could not force Lu Mingze to do the same. This was their shared final stage, and Xing Ye would not make a decision unilaterally.

Lu Mingze looked at ‘Xing Shuo’s’ eyes filled with killing intent. Even when observing him with the “Eye of Truth,” ‘Xing Shuo’ genuinely intended to kill them.

The brother Xing Ye described was obedient, family-oriented, and reasonable.
But the ‘Xing Shuo’ Lu Mingze saw now was someone who would stop at nothing to achieve his goal, indifferent to life and death.

Lu Mingze still remembered Xing Shuo’s basic information obtained from the world behind the door. He had erased the consciousness of seven players. Unlike Xing Ye, he was someone who would cross the line.

Moreover, the person before them was not Xing Ye’s real younger brother. They did not belong to the same world. The ‘Xing Shuo’ opposite them would naturally prioritize protecting the brother of his own world and would find it difficult to show mercy. The logical choice was to take the initiative, restrain ‘Xing Shuo,’ not kill him — just control him. With Lu Mingze’s abilities, restraining ‘Xing Shuo’ would be easy.

But… but…

Lu Mingze was full of thoughts about gambling, and hesitated.

“Fine, let’s gamble!” Lu Mingze gritted his teeth and said. “I don’t trust him, but I trust you. You’ve never made a wrong judgment. And I trust myself — my luck is great. I’ve never lost a bet!”

“Thank you,” Xing Ye smiled in relief in his heart.

Lu Mingze said angrily, “What are you thanking me for? If we really fail, I’ll smash your head even in the grave.”

The exchange of thoughts between the two lasted only as fast as a flash of lightning and a spark, and at this moment Xing Ye was still standing with both hands raised, facing the firepower of “Xing Shuo.”

“Xing Shuo” said, “It seems you really did figure it out. I admit it — I believe you are my brother. But you would pose a danger to me and to my current life. I am very satisfied with how things are now, and I don’t want anyone to change it, so I will eliminate you as a potential threat.”

Xing Ye said nothing, only focused his gaze on “Xing Shuo.”

“Xing Shuo’s” face was calm and heavy like still water, revealing no emotion at all. He raised his hand and lightly snapped his fingers. The machine gun made a “tututu” sound as countless bullets shot toward Xing Ye.

Xing Ye quietly closed his eyes.

After waiting about two seconds, there was no sensation of being hit, yet the deafening gunfire continued. Xing Ye opened his eyes and saw countless bullets passing straight through his body. He reached out and grabbed one — the bullet was only a phantom, and the gunfire was fake as well.

“‘Holographic projection,’” “Xing Shuo” said. “The effect lasts for one minute. Just endure this irritating noise a bit longer.”

Xing Ye let out a soft laugh.

“Xing Shuo” walked up to him, reached out, and hugged him, then gave his back a firm pat.

It was as if he were saying: no matter which world it is, you are still my brother.

 

Translator : DarNan