"I really can't stand you."
Helplessly complaining, Alister went to sit on the park bench under the lamplight, next to the smiling Lian, facing the playground with its slides and swings.
Since it was already ten o'clock at night, there were no children playing here anymore. Occasionally, pedestrians passed by, slightly surprised to see a female college student not returning home, but it didn't change their footsteps.
In the perception of ordinary people, Lian was just a female college student enjoying the late night. There was nothing strange about it.
"Shadow" naturally remained hidden from their sight, invisible like a transparent person.
Exhaling a breath, Alister ignored the fragrance intentionally emitted by Lian and glanced at her sideways, saying:
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
Lian smiled like a silver bell, her purple eyes becoming more charming, whispering softly in Alister's ear:
"Of course, we'll talk about life~"
"There's nothing worth talking about." Alister felt uncomfortable with her hair falling on him.
"In that case, let's talk about ideals?" Lian blinked her beautiful purple eyes.
"Ideals are not worth talking about either." Alister said expressionlessly.
Lian sighed lightly, assuming an upright posture. With an educational tone, she said:
"This is not good, that is not good. Mr. Shadow, you're really as willful as a child!"
"...," Alister felt there was nothing more to say.
"Alright, then I'll just talk to myself." She closed her legs and patted her sleeves, "Mr. Shadow, you just listen."
"Mmm." Alister took out a sports drink, turned his face slightly, and was about to take a sip.
Then, his movement paused in mid-air as he couldn't ignore the curious gaze of Lian, who was now looking like an inquisitive baby.
"Why are you staring at me while talking?" Alister said.
"Why don't you have to take off your mask to drink this?" Lian stared at Alister's shadowy mask that covered his mouth.
"It's none of your business."
"Alright, Lian won't mind."
After taking a sip of the sports drink, Alister returned to his usual state, and Lian seemed prepared as well. She exhaled a fragrant breath and began to speak.
"Lian, single name Lian, female, 131 years old, Pacific Islander—"
"Pacific Islander?" Alister noticed the key point.
"It means a child wandering on a deserted island in the Pacific," Lian sighed about the hardships of life, "It was so difficult to survive there, spending seventeen lonely years."
Alister secretly marveled that this woman was actually 131 years old. Without saying a word, Lian continued her recollection.
"At the age of seventeen, I became a player in the Sequence game and spent more than ten years advancing to become a Rank B player before finally having the ability to leave that island..."
At this point, Lian suddenly fell silent, her hand supporting her chin as she pondered, seemingly lost in thought.
"What's wrong?" Alister asked, concerned, as he gazed at the neon lights of City A in the distance.
"Lian, single name Lian, female, eternally youthful at the age of eighteen, enjoys traveling, has a well-endowed figure, and a fortune of 13.1 billion. After becoming a wife, vows to obey her husband in all matters and be a diligent and obedient wife. By the way, Lian's measurements are—"
"Stop right there." Alister's eye twitched, hastily interrupting her continuous barrage. "Why are you suddenly talking about this?"
"Don't we usually introduce ourselves during blind dates?" Lian turned her head and questioned Alister in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Setting aside the fact that this self-introduction is too bizarre..." Alister couldn't understand the woman's thought process. "Did we have a blind date?"
Lian's purple eyes flickered momentarily with surprise, but she showed no other expression. "Didn't we?"
"Do we?" Alister couldn't comprehend.
"Well, no blind date then." Lian let it go and sighed again. "We've talked about life, so let's talk about ideals."
With that, Lian's playful demeanor vanished, and she briefly revealed a dangerous aura as the eleventh seat of Perpetual Night's Lament.
After a moment...
"As an A-Rank player, do you want to change the world?" she asked.
"And what if I do?" Alister did have the desire to change this illusory world.
Lian withdrew her gaze from observing "Shadow" and turned her attention to the distant crossroad, her beautiful profile appearing otherworldly.
"Wanting to change the world doesn't necessarily require being an A-Rank player, but all A-Rank players definitely want to change the world," Lian observed the bustling world before her and continued, "That's a confirmed rule in the Sequence game. Those who have no aim in life do not have the qualifications to advance to A-Rank."
Alister was surprised to learn that there were hidden rules in the Sequence game.
"In that case, what specific aspect of the world do you want to change?" Lian asked, her gaze fixated on him.
Alister closed his eyes for a brief moment of contemplation, then opened his profound black eyes and said calmly:
"In this world, there is excessive deceit and unreasonable suffering."
"Oh~ That's where we have something in common~" Lian shifted her gaze from the enigmatic "Shadow" and said, "So, with that in mind, I extend to you my second invitation. How about becoming the twelfth seat of Perpetual Night's Lament?"
"If I remember correctly, Perpetual Night's Lament is an evil force expelled by the world. What do you have to say about that?" Alister rejected her proposal.
"Good and evil are relative." Lian suddenly leaned closer, resembling a purple-eyed black cat, "There are many ways to save the world. Perpetual Night's Lament just happens to be the opposite of the rest of the world."
"Evil and good are relative, and I agree with that." Alister had a slight interest in continuing to listen.
"Creating happiness is difficult, but destroying suffering is simple." Lian described it as if talking about everyday matters.
Shortly after, her purple eyes focused on Alister's silhouette, curious about his response, as she asked:
"In this world, if someone earns money, someone else must lose money. In other words, there will always be people who suffer and experience pain. Don't you think this is unfair?"
"So, Perpetual Night's Lament exists for those who suffer?" Alister stared into her beautiful eyes.
"Exactly. Since suffering is unavoidable in this world, we will destroy this world, and then no one will experience suffering ever again." Lian spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Twisted ideology," Alister didn't believe that Perpetual Night's Lament was right, "The suffering may disappear, but happiness will also be forever lost."
"And what does that matter?" Lian retorted, "Even the two S-Rank players who exist in the world are unable to create a perfect world. What can you achieve?"
"Two S-Rank players exist in the world?" Alister pondered upon receiving this information.
"So, under the premise that an absolutely perfect ending is unattainable, what's wrong with choosing an ordinary ending where no one suffers?" Lian concluded her persuasion, returning to her usual demeanor as she gazed at the night view of City A.
The late-night conversation on the park bench seemed to come to an end. Lian's hair swayed slightly in the evening breeze, and the slightly upturned corner of her mouth carried a sense of inevitable victory.
She was waiting for Alister's answer, waiting for an answer that would further advance the influence of Perpetual Night's Lament.
So, Alister collected his thoughts and spoke calmly: