Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 204 - 185 Chaos and Compassion (8000-word long - , seeking monthly passes)_3

Chapter 204: Chapter 185 Chaos and Compassion (8000-word long Chapter, seeking monthly passes)_3

He had once tried to spread various religions among the lower-class people and disseminated ideas like "The heavens are dead, the Yellow Heaven should rise." He even wrote a few anti-poems, but not long after, he was discovered by the government officials and was sent to the execution ground to be beheaded.

He had also traveled everywhere, begging along the way, following the news of the Rebel Army and searching for them, but he was killed midway by robbers on the path, even as he loudly declared his intentions to join them, the other party was completely indifferent...

At this moment, Lu Heng was like a rookie who had entered a ’battle royale’ game by mistake.

If Hu Yun Ying and Chu Ge were playing a round every half hour, then Lu Heng was the one who managed to start dozens of rounds in half an hour.

He died too quickly, and many times, his death was inexplicable.

What frustrated him the most was that at this moment, he still had no clue about how to successfully complete the instance.

Previously, he had analyzed that the biggest possibility was to take some initiative.

He couldn’t always wait for the Rebel Army to find him; he had to find a way to form an army himself and forcibly enter the second phase of identity role-playing.

But after several attempts, he found that it simply didn’t work.

Thus, Lu Heng felt as if he had returned to the starting point.

This dealt him a huge blow, and he even worried that he might slow down the whole team’s progress.

What if, by the time the other three had completed the instance, he alone was still wandering around playing the role of a beggar? What then?

He couldn’t afford to lose that face!

Finally, another life in role-playing began.

Lu Heng mechanically carried out a series of standard operations he had summarized: whether tending cattle or farming early on, he first tried to survive; when he found the right opportunity, he would go to a nearby temple to become a monk, then he would travel all over, trying as much as possible to get close to the life trajectory of Emperor Taizu of Sheng...

But this time, what disappointed him was that there were no temples nearby.

Done for; it looked like this role-play was doomed to fail again.

Just as Lu Heng was considering whether to just find a rock and smash himself to death to restart, something unexpected happened.

Following a severe drought, angry peasants stormed the government office; someone took the lead and raised the banner of revolt.

Someone invited Lu Heng to join the Rebel Army.

Without hesitation, Lu Heng eagerly joined.

He didn’t hold much hope, because he had encountered such situations before; the Rebel Army was usually quickly dispatched by the arriving government forces, and their leaders were all beheaded and their corpses displayed at the city gates.

But for Lu Heng, continuing as usual offered no hope; he might as well die a swift death.

In his role-play as a "beggar," he had experienced countless tragic lives and too many deaths, to the point of becoming numb.

He had communicated with countless lower-class people, knew their hardships, knew too much of the government forcing the people to rebel and the unbearable life of the people, and knew that common folks simply couldn’t change any of it.

He wanted to take up the cleaver, but countless attempts had ended in failure.

He thought this time would be the same as before, but unexpectedly, at the moment he decided to join the Rebel Army, his perspective started to rise.

The government office was on fire.

Then, his view continued to elevate—this city, and the smaller and bigger cities farther away, were all in smoke.

And within Lu Heng’s view, a system notification he had never seen before appeared.

["Beggar" identity cleared!]

[Completion Evaluation: Sometimes, the process is more important than the end result; sometimes, the course of the world relies merely on a chance. Heroes are not the only architects of history, but they certainly leave the most vivid marks in the annals.]

Seeing the system notification, Lu Heng was completely stunned.

I... cleared the instance?

Just like that?

How did I clear it?

He even found it hard to believe this fact.

One second ago, he was struggling through the chaos like a dog, begging in the streets, chased by soldiers, and the next second, he had cleared the instance...

This instance was just too nonsensical.

Even Lu Heng himself couldn’t understand how he had managed to clear it.

Thinking back carefully, he realized that he had indeed done nothing; it was just a chance encounter with angry farmers burning down the government office in rebellion, and he had merely joined them along the way.

And then he had cleared it.

But the problem was, he had encountered this situation before, and he hadn’t cleared it then?

Lu Heng was completely baffled, so he looked again at the completion evaluation.

Afterward, it seemed he understood.

Actually, the core of the "Beggar" identity trial was already contained in the completion evaluation.

"Sometimes, the process is more important than the result."

"Sometimes, the course of the world relies merely on a chance."

"Heroes are not the only architects of history, but they certainly leave the most vivid marks in the annals."

Why is the process more important than the result?

Because the trial of the "Beggar" identity wasn’t about reaching a specific outcome like becoming part of the Rebel Army.

Instead, it was about letting the player realize certain things through the entire process.

For instance, the struggles of the lower class and the difficulties of a successful uprising.

Throughout this process, Lu Heng had played many roles of lower-class individuals and experienced many completely different lives.

In real history, there had been countless people like Emperor Taizu of Sheng, who might have been herdsboys tending cattle, peasants who died due to corvée labor, or beggars killed and falsely claimed as able-bodied for personal gain...

Only by understanding the hardships of the lives of these lower-class individuals, one could comprehend some decisions made by Emperor Taizu of Sheng later. Only by understanding this pain could one gain the courage to change the world.