You are the master of your own destiny.

 

“I don’t think you’re fake.” Before Mirror Xiang Ye completely disappeared, Xiang Ye grabbed his only remaining hand.

“Even now, I still haven’t recovered my past memories. If we follow the system’s logic, your body is fake but your memories are real—then which one of us is real? Me, who has a physical body, or you, who possess memories? Between the soul and the body, which is the true subject?” Xiang Ye said seriously to Mirror Xiang Ye. “I think neither of us is complete. I have the body; you have the memories and experiences. Only together do we form a whole.”

Half of Mirror Xiang Ye’s body had already dissipated. Hearing Xiang Ye’s words, his single remaining eye flickered faintly.

Xiang Ye continued, “The system never wanted us to fight ourselves. It split a complete person into two. In the end, no matter who wins, what remains is still not a complete human being. ‘Mirror’ itself is what the system told you—how do you know it didn’t lie to you? When has the system ever told the truth?”

Mirror Xiang Ye’s eyes shifted as he looked toward the collapsing black cube. The cube was not a simple three-layer cube, but a far more complex, higher-order one. Inside it, the number of black and white blocks was equal; the all-black cube was merely covered on the surface by black blocks. As those black blocks continued to explode and fall away, the white blocks hidden within were gradually revealed.

Xiang Ye went on, “I also believe in Lu Mingze. His ‘Eye of Truth’ will never be wrong. Whether it’s judgment or intuition, he would never be deceived by the system. If he believes you are the real Xiang Ye, then you are.”

Mirror Xiang Ye did not stop dissipating because of Xiang Ye’s words, yet he did not vanish completely either. Instead, he transformed into a QR code—one that looked like a smiling face shaped like a QR code.

Before the QR code disappeared, Xiang Ye quickly scanned it. A prompt appeared on his phone: “Memories and experiences Xiang Ye is willing to accept—accept?”

Xiang Ye decisively tapped “Yes.” The QR code turned into countless points of light and entered his mind through the centre of his forehead. Xiang Ye closed his eyes, then slowly opened them after a moment.

Lu Mingze, inside the mirror, watched Xiang Ye nervously—worried both about Mirror Xiang Ye and about whether this QR code might be yet another trap set by the system. Only when he saw Xiang Ye’s gaze did he finally let out a breath of relief.

This was the real Xiang Ye. He had returned.

“Good thing you didn’t let him just disappear like that,” Lu Mingze said with a sigh of relief. “The system is way too insidious—after everything, it still had another trap waiting for us.”

Throughout the whole process, Lu Mingze hadn’t spoken. He felt that the QR code should be absorbed, yet feared it was a system trap and didn’t dare influence Xiang Ye’s decision. Thankfully, Xiang Ye bravely chose to accept it.

With his memories fully restored, Xiang Ye said, “The system is truly formidable. It constantly escalates conflicts, deceives and tempts players, using every possible method to make them lose their original intentions and themselves. If not for what you said at the end, I probably wouldn’t have thought this far.”

“M-me? What did I do?” Lu Mingze asked in confusion. He felt like he hadn’t done anything—he had only called out Xiang Ye’s name, regretted not recognizing him, and… believed that memories were also real.

“You called my name at the end. That was enough,” Xiang Ye said.

Without Lu Mingze’s emotional journey—without that instinctive call—Xiang Ye might have watched part of himself dissolve helplessly. Even if a QR code remained, he might not have dared to absorb it.

Xiang Ye and Lu Mingze looked toward the black-and-white cube. Too many black blocks still remained, and the smaller cubes were still exploding. Lu Mingze said uncertainly, “Can a single ‘Inner Wounds’ QR code really defeat the system? It feels a bit unrealistic.”

Xiang Ye replied, “Of course it’s not just that one QR code. In the Final Level, we didn’t turn on each other; Mirror Xiang Ye—my memories—didn’t vanish. Everything we did in the Final Level did not allow malice to grow. That alone was enough to deal the system a heavy blow. And ever since the very first world, we’ve consistently maintained kindness, resisted the system’s temptations, held fast to our original hearts (坚守本心: to remain true to one’s original intentions), and believed that kindness can overcome malice. That belief itself is a form of power.

“Did you notice? Starting from the higher-level worlds, the system gradually lost its composure and became desperate to kill me. I think that’s because every ‘perfect ending’ in each beginner and chaotic world dealt the Black Cube a heavy blow.

“The ‘Scars of the Heart’ QR code in the battle royale world could never achieve this effect—but the Final Level’s QR code absolutely can make malice devour itself!”

As Xiang Ye spoke with conviction, the black outer shell of the black-and-white cube finally peeled away completely. The surrounding void of black and white began to change. When the cube fully transformed into a smaller white cube, Xiang Ye and Lu Mingze realized they were no longer in the Final Level or the black-and-white space, but had arrived at a familiar place.

Before them stood a massive golden throne. In front of it lay five items. The small white cube emitted a gentle glow, illuminating the entire space.

This was the third floor of the cemetery they had once stumbled into within the spiritual world:
the first floor held countless doors,
the second floor had ten doors,
and the third floor contained only an empty throne.
Above the third floor, in the attic, was a mysterious monster locked away.

The white cube spoke: “Congratulations, player x8205, on achieving a perfect victory in the Final Level. You have obtained the achievement title ‘Winner in Life.’”

“So the Final Level’s reward is just the title ‘Winner in Life’?” Xiang Ye asked, pointing at the mirror in his hand. “Then what about him?”

The white cube replied, “How do you interpret the term ‘Winner in Life’?”

“Most successful people could be called winners in life,” Xiang Ye answered.

The white cube said, “Fate has always delighted in toying with humanity—making people yearn without fulfilment, suffer unbearably. But there are some who can clearly recognize themselves and society, who can maintain freedom in life and ease of spirit, fully experience life and transcend both self and circumstance, who are not swayed by external things, who possess their own principles and standards, who hold fast to their original hearts and never waver. Such people, no matter what hardships they endure, can still achieve their goals and become true ‘Winners in Life.’ When one accomplishes all this, they become the master of destiny.”

Lu Mingze said softly, “It’s been praising you this whole time.”

Xing Ye smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t be fooled by sugar-coated bullets. Until the very last moment, I will not let my guard down.”

The white cube: “……”

Xing Ye continued, “Actually, you might not know this—every time my company holds its annual meeting, my subordinates take turns praising me in all sorts of creative ways. They’re far more skilled at it than you are. I’ve already heard enough of that kind of thing.

“So after all this talking, what exactly can the ‘Winner in Life’ achievement title do? What kind of power does it grant? What rewards do you get? And what does ‘becoming the master of destiny’ even mean—does it mean I can control the game?”

The white cube lagged for a moment before replying, “Player, please look at the five items in front of the throne. These are your authorities. Once you sit upon the throne, you will possess them.”

Floating before the throne were five items: a book, a pen, a gold coin, a knife, and a humanoid figurine kneeling toward the seat.
The white cube said, “The book represents all knowledge from ancient times to the present; the pen can write history and represents power; the gold coin is wealth; the weapon is force; and the kneeling figure represents the hearts of the people. Sit upon the throne, and you will become the one and only ruler of the world today.”

“That’s so chūnibyō,” Lu Mingze said. “It feels like something out of early twentieth-century anime novels. Even manga artists wouldn’t dare draw something like this now—it’d get mocked for being old-fashioned, conquering-the-world stuff and all…”

The white cube: “……”

Xing Ye’s fingertips lightly brushed over each of the five items as he spoke:

“The book—knowledge from all ages. But knowledge can be learned. There’s no need for me to become an omniscient being. Memorizing that much would make my brain explode, like trying to store 1000TB of data on a 1TB hard drive—not only would it not fit, it would slow everything down. Learning what you need, when you need it—that’s the fun part. This is unnecessary.

“The pen—power. I don’t particularly enjoy the feeling of stepping on others. A sense of achievement should be earned through effort; achievements without effort only leave people feeling empty. Useless.

“The gold coin represents wealth. I’m already rich enough, and bankruptcy isn’t very likely. There’s no need to own all the wealth in the world—no single person can swallow the entire global market. You have to let others at least drink some soup. Useless.

“The knife represents force. Am I supposed to research nuclear weapons and command armies? I’m just a businessman, not that ambitious. And world peace is pretty nice—I don’t want to start wars. Useless.

“The figurine represents winning people’s hearts. That phrase itself has two meanings: one is false obedience, the other is genuine affection. False obedience never lasts. As for genuine affection… I’m not the RMB , why would I need so many people to like me? I only want one person to like me—and he already does.” (NT: RMB, China’s currency, is jokingly called “everyone loves it.” )

After saying this, Xing Ye’s eyes curved gently as he looked at the mirror in his palm.
Lu Mingze, a little embarrassed, said, “Yes, I already like you. So this thing really is useless!”

After receiving Lu Mingze’s response, Xing Ye said to the white cube, “I don’t need any of this. I don’t want to sit on the throne either. Is the reward for clearing the Final Level really this shabby? Just a verbal title of ‘Winner in Life’ to brush people off?”

The white cube: “……”

“And besides,” Xing Ye said, tapping the throne lightly with his fingertip, “ever since I entered this space, I’ve asked you multiple times about leaving the game and restoring Lu Mingze’s body, haven’t I? Yet you’ve never answered—only kept persuading me to sit on this seat. But if I remember correctly, this place is a cemetery, right? The first and second floors are the consciousnesses of countless players trapped in the game. So what does it make me if I sit on the third floor’s throne? The king of a bunch of dead people? That’s not a ‘Winner in Life’—that’s a ‘Grim Reaper.’”

The white cube said, “Then what do you want, player? You are the master of destiny. You have defeated the system, and the system will obey any of your wishes.”

“The system will never truly comply with a player’s wishes,” Xing Ye said with certainty. “If I chose to sit on the throne, then I think I’d be trapped forever in this empty gate on the third floor. The only difference between me and the other players would be that my door is a bit bigger.”

Xing Ye no longer spared the throne a glance. He surveyed his surroundings, thought briefly, then revealed a look of sudden understanding. Turning to the white cube, he said: “I want a key—the key to open the attic.”

 

Translator : DarNan