Actually, ever since D materialized, Rookie had been trying to find ways to track him. Although he was able to locate D's position, he didn't dare follow him.
He knew very well that with D's abilities, he would definitely be able to notice him easily, so Rookie never dared to act rashly.
Later, when he discovered that D had appeared in the area where the Land of Trials was located, Rookie already had a bad feeling.
Not long after that, Rookie detected that Notch had also appeared early at the Land of Trials.
Rookie originally thought Notch would be able to turn the tide and personally deal with the trouble that was D, but unexpectedly, Notch still failed to pull himself together.
Even after learning that something had gone wrong on Notch's side, Rookie still had no intention of activating the plan he had prepared in advance.
Although he clearly knew the current situation was extremely troublesome, he still believed Xu Yuan had enough ability to resolve the crisis.
And when Rookie entered Black Blade's livestream room and saw that Xu Yuan was still appearing in the appearance of the real HIM, he was filled with confusion.
The end of the Land of Trials had already confirmed all the rumors about the real HIM.
From this it could be seen that Xu Yuan's previous body belonged to the real HIM. His appearance was not different from the real HIM.
And it wasn't hard to tell that Xu Yuan's true appearance and name were exactly what he had shown inside the Land of Trials.
The real HIM didn't want Xu Yuan to keep living under his skin, and he also knew that Xu Yuan had already surpassed him in many ways.
So after entering the Land of Trials, the real HIM allowed Xu Yuan to become himself.
This was where the real HIM showed his brilliance. What he did was actually killing two birds with one stone.
First, it gave the living beings of this world and the players a buffer.
Xu Yuan had always appeared with the real HIM's appearance, and everyone had already gotten used to how he looked.
If he had never shown his true appearance and then suddenly appeared as himself after the trials ended, everyone would definitely have felt uncomfortable.
Secondly, by letting Xu Yuan participate in the trials under his identity, if Xu Yuan won the trials, then the image of the savior in people's hearts would become Xu Yuan's appearance.
Actually, Rookie had long since understood the real HIM's deeper intention. That was exactly why he had been so surprised when he saw Xu Yuan still appearing as the real HIM outside the Land of Trials.
At that moment, Rookie was truly moved. At that time, only one phrase came to his mind, 'mutual devotion'.
Although the real HIM had done a lot, he still felt it wasn't enough, and he clearly knew that once the trials ended and he handed over Notch's power, he would dissipate.
So he gave all the credit and glory to Xu Yuan.
What he didn't know was that Xu Yuan had done the same thing.
Of course Rookie didn't simply think Xu Yuan had just forgotten to change his appearance.
The truth was the exact opposite. Xu Yuan had deliberately changed his appearance. He deliberately turned himself into HIM.
Because his thoughts were exactly the same as the real HIM's. Along the way, he had witnessed everything the real HIM had given.
So he felt that all that credit and glory rightfully belonged to the real HIM.
———
After seeing Xu Yuan appear as the real HIM, Rookie didn't stay confused for long before understanding the meaning behind Xu Yuan's actions.
He had originally thought that after Xu Yuan, using the real HIM's identity, agreed to D's life-for-life condition, he would find a way to escape the current predicament.
But when Rookie saw the calm, still expression on Xu Yuan's face after giving his answer at that moment, his heart instantly rose into his throat.
From that expression alone, it was clear that Xu Yuan's answer wasn't a temporary measure, but a decision he had truly made.
At that moment, his eyes were clear. The answer he gave was the truest thought in his heart.
As himself, as Xu Yuan personally, he was willing to use his own life in exchange for the safety of the living beings of this world.
It was precisely because he saw that look in Xu Yuan's eyes after he answered that Rookie chose to pause the server after Xu Yuan dissipated.
Xu Yuan's farewell and disappearance in the Surface World would become a seed buried in the hearts of all living beings.
All it would take was the right opportunity, and that seed would take root and sprout, forming Xu Yuan's veins and flesh.
———
After hearing Rookie's words, Notch suddenly felt a sourness in his nose.
"I knew it…"
"How could someone like him be unable to deal with D? If he really wanted to solve D, he would definitely have had ten thousand ways to do it…"
"He chose to give up willingly…"
At this point, Notch shook his head and let out a self-mocking bitter smile.
"I've always claimed I loved this world, but compared to him… I'm just a joke."
Seeing his former leader looking so self-blaming, Entity 303 was just about to comfort him when Rookie stopped him.
Rookie couldn't help rolling his eyes at Notch.
"Hey, Mr. Joke, stop stealing the spotlight. There's no time to comfort you. Go stand to the side by yourself!"
After saying that, before Notch could even react, Rookie suddenly seemed to remember something. He patted Notch on the shoulder and said,
"Oh! I remember now, you're actually not a joke!"
"Come to think of it, this plan being able to move forward is largely thanks to you!!!"
Hearing this, Notch's eyes widened a bit, "I… is that so?…"
From his tone, it was obvious how little confidence he had. Even though Rookie said he had made great contributions, he didn't even know what he had supposedly contributed…
Seeing this, Rookie nodded vigorously and then said, "Earlier I accidentally found D's dark web account and password on your computer…"
"I logged in thinking I might get lucky and find some useful clues."
"Didn't expect I actually found something."
At this point, Rookie glanced around at everyone present before slowly continuing, "I saw several of his search records from more than ten years ago."
"Can a data world connect to the real world?"
"Can human imagination materialize?"
"Herobrine"
Hearing these search records, everyone looked puzzled.
"Can we be sure these were things he searched after discovering changes in that game world back then?"
"Are these pieces of information connected?"
"Why was he searching herobrine?…"
While everyone was confused, Entity 303 and Notch both frowned and fell into deep thought. Not long after, as if they had thought of something, they both spoke at the same time.
"Could it be… the real HIM is an entity formed from people's imagination?!!!"
"The real HIM was formed from imagination?!!!!"
Hearing each other's guesses, Entity 303 and Notch both froze for a moment, then once again spoke at the same time.
"Does that mean our imagination could also materialize into My King?!"
"Our imagination could become Xu Yuan!!!"
[T/N: This is so epic!]