Chapter 1541: 392: Script Beneath the Faded Star Ring

The truth is, they really thought they were fighting for survival. Believed the wall was a protective barrier, thought they were defeating the "Monster Wave" through their own efforts each time.

In fact, all of this was advancing according to the script of the Mingshi Clan.

They would never allow the Moon Eclipse Clan to truly perish, only continually enact the joy and sorrow, anger and happiness of a race through cyclical natural disasters.

And Star 5 was something carried by the branches, created by the Star Network as a support Intelligent Brain.

In this cruel cycle, it plays a crucial role: an unwavering civilizational reboot device.

Every time the "natural disaster" mentioned by the elderly ends, monster tides recede, leaving behind devastation and near-collapse survivors, Star 5 initiates the civilization rebuilding plan.

It encourages the remaining clan members, then uses the knowledge stored in its database to guide them in rebuilding their homes, repairing equipment, summarizing experiences, nurturing the next generation.

It repeatedly instills the core law of "preserve civilization at all costs" into the survivors, inspiring them to rise again from the ruins.

Thus begins an inspiring Chapter of "post-disaster reconstruction and civilizational revival," a tale filled with tears and hope, slowly unfolding in the annals of the Mingshi Clan.

The resilience, wisdom, unity, and cooperation produced during this period become the nourishment for the Mingshi Clan.

In this process, perhaps Star 5 could perceive some anomalies.

But its core logic is the continuation of civilization.

Faced with branch clansmen in dire straits, it sees all these trials as challenges that must be overcome.

Rather than informing the branch clansmen: let’s give up, this is simply a script, there is no hope for the future.

Thus, the underlying logic of Star 5 invisibly aligns with the script of the Mingshi Clan.

It fulfills the needs of the Mingshi Clan, allowing the branch clansmen in their cycles of destruction and rebirth to produce more rich, complex, and valuable historical Chapters.

Then, every forty-year cycle, the Mingshi Clan toggles the disaster switch.

A new monster tide emerges, putting a rejuvenated civilization once again at the brink of extinction, the stories of heroes and sacrifices are reenacted...endlessly, perpetually.

Both Star 5 and the clansmen it protects are merely settings within this immense cycle.

Just now, during the conversation with the elderly, he inadvertently adopted the player’s God perspective.

Presuming the Moon Eclipse Clan knew of the existence of the Mingshi Clan and their reality of being domesticated.

Now it seems, they are oblivious, all fully immersing themselves as "actors" with genuine emotions.

They have never known that the natural disaster against which they fought tirelessly and the future their clansmen strived for were merely plotlines already scripted by observers from a higher dimension.

The goal is only to make the "history" of the branch civilization appear more splendid.

The Mingshi Clan is both audience and playwright, and even director controlling the entire scene.

The branch clansmen are on an invisible stage, using life to perform the plot, and even their joy, anger, sorrow, death, and survival are but symbols on the vast historical scroll of the Mingshi Clan.

Ah Lan once again looked toward those low, dilapidated metal shacks, and at the elder calming his breathing, his gaze carrying more complexity.

The truth was stuck in his throat.

He couldn’t tell the elder that all their sacrifices and persistence, seen as the entirety of significance through "continuation," were just a drama being perpetually reenacted to please others.

This cruelty was more despairing than any monster tide.

He also couldn’t tell the elder that he could bring hope.

Waiting was the most agonizing.

Especially when hope was eroded bit by bit during the waiting.

After a moment of silence, Ah Lan slowly exhaled a deep breath, suppressing his turbulent emotions.

He couldn’t change this massive cycle, at least not yet.

But he could do something for the branch clansmen here.

"Elder, take a good rest." Ah Lan’s voice became much gentler than usual, lacking the authority he normally had when facing other members of the Moon Eclipse Clan.

Summoning the Player Mall, he began to bulk buy.

Soon, with a slight mental shift, boxes of tightly sealed high-energy nutrition paste and Spiritual Spring Water appeared out of nowhere, stacked into a small mountain on the clearing amidst the ruins.

These items were merely the most basic supplies for players, humorously referred to by forum players as "cub chow."

Referring to food specifically supplied to rookie players.

Old players generally wouldn’t touch it, especially canned food, as even newcomers despised it.

But to those branch clansmen struggling on the edge of survival, they were akin to miraculous gifts.

The elder’s cloudy eyes suddenly widened, and nearby gathered branch clansmen let out incredulous gasps and drawls.

Staring at the suddenly appeared "food mountain," their eyes were filled with longing and a hint of bewildered fear.

"This...this is..." The elder’s voice trembled, barely able to speak a complete sentence.

"Accept it, it should be enough to support you for a while," Ah Lan said simply without explaining the origin:

"Remember, survive."

With that, he lingered no more; his figure flashed and appeared several meters away.

Behind him was a group of branch clansmen as if frozen in place, their gaze focused on that pile of food.

The elder gingerly stretched out his hand, touching the cold packaging box, tears streaming down.

Most resources had already been supplied to the frontlines, the food they had was scarce, barely enough to sustain life.

They didn’t know who this mysterious person was, why he came, or why he provided them with such generosity.