‘Ah, this… such a pity.’
‘So close, if it were me, I’d be tilted too.’
‘The old thief’s usual style, always dropping something big when players’ mental defenses are down.’
‘That giant bastard is so insidious, hiding a punch within the laser. If you mistime your landing, you’ll easily get caught by this combo.’
‘...’
The viewers were incredibly kind, offering words of comfort and encouragement to Sanren.
‘It’s just…’
‘I just feel so stupid today, you know?’
‘The worse I play, the more frustrated I get.’
‘Too immature.’
After a long pause, Sanren managed to sort through his negative emotions and apologized, “Sorry everyone, it’s my fault for giving you a bad viewing experience.”
“And thank you to my friends who stayed in the stream and accompanied me. I will definitely overcome this next time.”
“Everyone, please give me a little more confidence.”
Perhaps dying due to not understanding the mechanics the first time was understandable, but the second time was inexcusable.
Sanren was very self-critical, having always held himself to a high standard, and the string in his heart was pulled too tight.
When it finally snapped, he felt a sense of relief.
Resuming with a much calmer demeanor, Sanren no longer put psychological pressure on himself.
Approaching the game with the mindset of enjoying it, he found himself doing much better in the early stages.
His skills were on point, and he had accumulated enough scrolls. The now much stronger Sanren reached the giant with one healing potion remaining.
Despite this being a perfect run, Sanren remained unhurried and humble.
He calmly executed every detail, avoiding every opportunity for mistakes.
Soon,
The giant, its weakness discovered, had its health slowly whittled away by the re-energized Sanren.
When the last drop of its HP was depleted,
Sanren let out a long sigh, a faint smile finally gracing his face.
“You are an inspiration to all of us.”
The giant, its health bar emptied, panted heavily, “Cough…”
“What drove you to cause so much destruction?”
The giant’s voice held a hint of sadness, “You even destroyed your own body…”
“Cough, cough, cough…”
“My king…”
The giant, losing its strength, slowly sank, disappearing below the horizon, only one hand clinging to the ground, “You…”
Sanren sighed in contemplation, “Ah, the giant loved this country deeply. Wait… what is he saying? My king… King…”
Just as Sanren thought all mysteries were about to be revealed, the giant’s hand, still clinging to the ground, gave the international gesture of friendship.
Accompanied by the giant’s unique voice:
“You… are a truly hopeless bastard!”
???
Sanren: !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ
Viewers: ‼(•'╻'•)꒳ᵒ꒳ᵎᵎᵎ
Chat:
‘????’
‘Hiss~ Soul injected!!!’
‘Hahaha, allow me to die laughing for a moment.’
‘This is too hilarious!’
‘The giant is just a tiny bit cute.’
‘You know, for a second, I thought the old thief was going to pay homage to Terminator, but I was too young.’
‘...’
In an instant, the stream erupted.
No one had expected such a ‘friendly’ exchange after defeating the giant.
“This, this…”
Sanren was speechless for a moment.
He looked at the giant’s raised middle finger with a mixture of amusement and disbelief, “Should I say the giant is too awesome, or the designer is a true showman!”
“Hahaha!!”
Unable to hold it in any longer, Sanren burst into laughter, “I can’t hold it in anymore, brothers. This scene is truly hilarious.”
“Interesting, very interesting.”
Laughter dispelled all worries. The frustration from being brutalized by the giant earlier vanished, and Sanren’s face regained its luster, a long-lost gentle smile appearing.
“Phew!!”
Taking a deep breath, Sanren recomposed himself and summarized, “Now that I’ve had my laugh, let’s get down to business.”
He picked up the equipment dropped by the giant and—[Boss Origin Cell 5]
“Hey, isn’t this supposed to drop after defeating the Hand of the King?”
“Can we start the next difficulty without going through the Mountain Peak Castle?”
“Never mind, let’s not dwell on it and return to our previous topic.”
Sanren took a sip of water to moisten his throat, “Friends who watch my stream often know that when I was at 3BC, I inferred from my conversations with the Timekeeper that the Cell People we play as are actually the King.”
“The giant’s words just now confirmed this point.”
He brought up a folder on his desktop named [Cell People Worldview] and opened a Word document.
Good heavens, Sanren had prepared a presentation specifically to support his theory. So professional!
The chat was filled with question marks expressing their astonishment.
“I’m sure many people are curious about the story Dead Cells tells and its worldview. However, because the old thief has scattered the story throughout every corner of the game this time…”
“Without spending time specifically collecting relevant materials, it’s difficult to connect these fragmented points into a coherent picture.”
“Today, I’ll use this to share my understanding with everyone.”
Opening the presentation, Sanren, like a teacher giving an online lecture, pointed his mouse at the green slime that fell from the drainpipe at the beginning of the game.
“This glob of green stuff is our King, and thus the protagonist we play as.”
“From the information revealed in the in-game statues, we can learn that the King was likely a warlike and accomplished individual, deeply loved by the people of the castle.”
“But like emperors in history, the King had a significant flaw – arrogance, and a craving for immortality.”
“So, after unifying the empire, his ambition knew no bounds, and he began to pursue immortality. Coincidentally, there was an alchemist in the city, whom I suspect is the Collector who crafts our equipment.”
The screen showed the Collector with his large beaker on his back. “From the first time I met him, I felt he wasn’t quite right. As you know, every NPC in the old thief’s games plays a very important role.”
“For example, in Undertale, the Chara, who would have thought it was the root of all evil? And the Collector, his role in the game is substantial, and his conversations with the protagonist are very meaningful.”
“But is he merely crafting equipment for the protagonist?”
“The Collector’s identity will likely be revealed in the 5BC puzzle. Let’s assume for now that he is the final antagonist. Only then can my deduction continue.”
Sanren then pulled up the [Homunculus Rune: This permanent rune allows you to temporarily leave your body]: “Our protagonist is actually a homunculus. It’s likely the Collector revealed the method of immortality recorded by the alchemist to the King.”
“So the King began to delegate the research to the Collector. I estimate the initial method was probably imperfect, and the King mistakenly believed that only the Philosopher’s Stone was needed to preserve his youth.”
“From the game’s lore, we know that a body without a soul decays rapidly. However, the King we see after defeating the King’s Hand has an intact body. The reason for this is the pink stone on his chest.”
The presentation then displayed an image of the King sitting on his throne, a diamond-shaped stone clearly visible on his chest.
As soon as the image appeared, the entire audience was stunned!