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Chapter 143: One Hundred and Forty-One: ’Are You Mocking Me Too?

Chapter 143: One Hundred and Forty-One: ’Are You Mocking Me Too?

[Main God Space · No. 12]

"—Cheers!"

Amid the steam, glasses clinked together, the clear liquid shimmering under the light.

There was night in the Main God Space as well, but without the time zone differences of Zhai Xing, all servers shared the same day and night schedule.

It was night now, and the spicy and mild broths of the hot pot boiled vigorously, while the warm light seemed to even soften the darkness with a touch of warmth.

Yang Changxu looked at the two foreigners sitting at the same table and downed his glass of white liquor in one gulp.

They were dressed in uniform gray-and-white urban camouflage, with silver stars on their chests—the insignia of the United Group.

Although Yang Changxu had previously taken part in stability maintenance in the Great Northwest before entering the game world and was considered an elite troop who had seen real combat in peaceful times, he still faced a considerable shock in the game instances.

The experiences in the First World had told him that the world had already changed, but he still managed to maintain the small sanctuary, protecting people until the fifteenth day.

After it ended, he tried to find his parents and relatives in a world forum overwhelmed with missing persons posts, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. There were no large-scale organizations established yet, and having stayed in the sanctuary for fifteen days, his Points were extremely limited. He had no choice but to re-enter the fray with just a pistol in hand.

He was just an ordinary person. Although he had some courage, he was well aware of the principle that one shouldn’t court death needlessly, despite not fearing it.

He roamed the Apocalypse near the sanctuary, worked as an outer-city explorer searching through slums in the Floating City, and was merely a secure music teacher at Mingxi Middle School who survived without triggering the Rules and dying at the hands of those terrifying students.

As for achieving a Perfect Pass and uncovering the truth, he could only see the most superficial layer—perhaps he was just like most people with some guts; they could only reach this point, but it was already a great success.

At least, he had always survived.

He thought that was enough; it was not easy to keep living in such a chaotic world of instances.

...But just when he was feeling happy about surviving another round, he suddenly realized—when he saw that "ordinary student" uncovering the truth behind a sea of floating corpses at the pinnacle of the world—that the world had indeed changed.

All structures of the past shattered at the moment everyone appeared in the square.

Those who could reach the top, who could be at the forefront... might be a completely new set of characters.

He knew he was no match for characters like the Number One Player, whose will and foresight he held in high esteem. He changed the definition of "selfishness" for Su Ming’an in the First World because he felt someone with such a will could not be so shortsighted.

[But... if one can’t be a towering tree, why not be the grass?]

He joined the United Group, because of the mission of a soldier.

What he needed to do was to protect the civilians, to help more people survive, while gaining as many Points as possible, which was the only hope for humanity’s survival.

The three men enjoyed the hot pot and the alcohol, chatting happily. The hot pot shop was full of camouflage-clad operators, and the twelfth service was the base server of the United Group—they were all members of the United Group.

Hot steam rose from the hot pot, and smoke swirled around.

Suddenly, just as Yang Changxu was reaching for a slice of mutton with his chopsticks, he heard footsteps outside. His heightened senses and excellent hearing, thanks to a skill, allowed him to detect a series of approaching footsteps; it seemed like a group was nearing the hot pot restaurant.

...This was an internal restaurant; logically, there shouldn’t be any outsiders arriving at this time.

The two foreign comrades also put down their chopsticks and looked towards the door, hearing the tinkling of the wind chimes.

A middle-aged man in high-ranking military attire of the United Group walked in first, sporting a scar on his face—a player who had perhaps chosen not to remove the scar, letting it stretch across his face like a badge of honor.

Following him were several figures shrouded in concealing Black Mist, their faces indistinct. Their secretive manner made Yang Changxu and his companions frown slightly—clearly, if someone was so covered up in their own server base, they were most likely not one of their own.

"Yang Changxu."

He was suddenly called out and "whoosh" snapped to attention.

"Emergency meeting, come with me."

The middle-aged man gave him a look, then said to the others, "Continue."

He turned around and left. Those enshrouded in the black mist also silently departed.

"Yang, it’s actually an emergency meeting involving Director Liu..." His blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign comrade-in-arms raised his glass to him in surprise, "You go ahead, I’ll make sure Zhu keeps your dish for you... although it might be cold by the time."

"No worries, don’t wait for me." Yang Changxu draped the overcoat from the coat stand over himself and followed the footsteps of the others, plunging straight into the cold night wind.

The inside of the establishment was a completely different world from the outside. Inside was warmth from the heating, while the chilly wind outside penetrated every opening. He quickly buttoned up his overcoat, securing every button, and silently followed behind Director Liu.

...He could probably guess what the emergency meeting was about.

In previous instances, he had experienced being suddenly called to a meeting like this. With his qualifications and position, he shouldn’t have been summoned to such a high-profile meeting.

Without exception, it was only because it was related to the Number One Player.

...Merely because he had had two encounters with that person. The First World, the Third World.

He knew that Moli had been exonerated and even been fully equipped, solely because she had a brief connection with Su Ming’an.

And he had been promoted beyond usual protocols, to become one of the three flag-bearers, largely because of this person as well.

Today’s meeting...

He thought of the Number One Player’s dominant performance in controlling the Fourth World, such an overwhelming victory, it truly alarmed him.

The trust of the NPCs, the admiration of Boss Rabbit, all this led to many speculations in his heart.

As he thought, this meeting should also be about that person, right?

He walked all the way to the lounge, to rest here first. The bigwigs in the conference room were still having other meetings, only letting him in when it was time for the topic related to him.

As he entered the lounge, the black mist around those few people dissipated—this was a necessary measure because no one knew if others might blend in, and with the black mist, no one could recognize anyone.

Yang Changxu recognized that among those people, there was one particularly conspicuous figure.

...Edward.

The once dazzling figure now seemed very silent. As they neared the conference room, Edward didn’t seem to have the credentials to enter either, so he came along with him to the lounge.

Yang Changxu, having heard the forum’s analysis of Edward, knew that he might well be another man-made Chess Piece, but it didn’t change the fact that the other party was indeed strong. More than a thousand Combat Power was real and solid, and wouldn’t change just because Edward had lost so miserably.

The lounge was lit with steady lighting. Yang Changxu habitually chose a hard chair to sit in, while the other party let himself sink completely into the plush sofa.

The light shone on Edward’s dazzling blonde hair, casting a halo of shining gold.

Yang Changxu looked straight ahead, contemplating the upcoming meeting.

Unexpectedly, it was the other party who initiated the conversation.

"Yang Changxu." Edward slightly bowed his head. Despite having a lower stature than Yang, when he spoke, there was a tone of looking down on others:

"... You’re mocking me in your heart as well, aren’t you?"

Yang Changxu looked at him inexplicably.

Although he had indeed disapproved of this man’s defeat in his heart, it didn’t mean he felt compelled to scorn the man... Coming out and starting by accusing him like this, it really left him at a loss for how to respond.

Seeing him not answering, Edward laughed again.

"You’re all laughing at me, laughing that I’m artificial... laughing that my reputation is undeserved, laughing that I’m a paper tiger."

He was bending his own fingers, one by one, to an extreme degree, as if it didn’t hurt at all:

"... I lost miserably, lost without any value, provoking ridicule. He, however, won brilliantly. Everyone says I’m strong yet brainless, possessing nothing beyond the equipment added to me by others. People on the forums have it so easy, they only need to sit back and give orders, while I’m like a clown, easily defined and stamped with labels in just a few words."

Suddenly he looked up, his eyes dark:

"... So, you also think I overestimated myself, that I’m not as good as him, right?"

Yang Changxu opened his mouth, unsure how to reply.

He felt that Edward wasn’t entirely wrong. In his view, Edward truly was nowhere near Su Ming’an’s level, lacking even a basic strategic sense, picking infighting over factional struggles.

The organization cultivated Edward solely because he had managed three Perfect Passes. To bring forth a peak player, having achieved all the Perfect Pass conditions was the least one must have.

... But after this time, the resources Edward would gain might not be as plentiful as before.

Among the organization’s subordinates, Edward wasn’t the only player with all Perfect Passes.

It’s just that he was the easiest one to control.

While Yang Changxu was still pondering how to comfort him, someone who was, after all, an asset of the organization, he heard Edward continue:

"... Actually, I’m clear on my own inadequacy compared to him, it’s just, on what basis, why... why can those useless spectators criticize me at will? I, after all, have fought desperately to Perfect Pass up to now, while they, they are merely standing still, waiting for the game to end..."

He fell silent for a while.

Maybe this man, who originally held an extraordinary status on Zhai Xing, had long been aware of the answer to his question.

It was just that he had been bottling it up for a long time and now vented in front of this straight-laced Dragon Country soldier acknowledged by everyone.

"Take it easy." Yang Changxu strained for quite a while, only to come up with this response.

He hardly read the forums, and when he did, he only looked at the strategy area, unaware of what others thought of him.

But, he could imagine what the audience thought of Edward.

Edward lowered his head.

His hair color was still brilliant, as if it was always shimmering with light.

Yang Changxu felt somewhat irritated, standing up and moving his body around, his peripheral vision catching Edward seemingly having a private chat with someone.

... As long as it wasn’t with him, he really didn’t know what kind of opinions to express.

He was thinking about the upcoming meeting—the organization wouldn’t put all their bets on just one person like Su. As someone who had previously encountered Su Ming’an, he was certainly one of the candidates to be approached. Every organization was putting great effort into securing the Number One Player.

As he was pondering this, he suddenly felt a gust of wind pass by him.

Looking up, he saw the blond youth charge out like a shot arrow, his fists cracking with tension.

"——Edward, the meeting is about to start, where are you going!"

He shouted loudly, only to see the figure’s stride unbroken, vanishing from his sight in an instant, no longer to be seen.

Yang Changxu abruptly recalled Edward’s recent behavior.

He seemed to have been having a private chat with someone.

And after the private chat, Edward’s emotions fluctuated as wildly as a roller coaster.

... Who exactly was talking to him? And who lured him away?

Yang Changxu immediately rushed to the nearby office, needing to report Edward’s behavior.

...

"No leads? Alright... Got it." Su Ming’an closed the video call and sat on the edge of the bed.

Beside him, Moli was lifting her head from a pile of fairy tale books, her eyes imbued with confusion.

... Since the afternoon, the Lighthouse brother seemed to have been caught in an anxious search for someone.

She saw him dial many calls, accept many private chats, but his emotions were always fluctuating and never settled down.

She didn’t speak to interrupt him, only shrinking back and reading her book.

But seeing her brother’s actions... it seemed he would not stop anytime soon.

"Lighthouse brother." Moli lifted her head. "Are you looking for someone?"

"... Looking for a troublemaker." Su Ming’an felt somewhat of a headache brewing.

His spirit was already in a less than ideal state, his routine naps having gone unfulfilled, and now Lv Shu’s sudden intimate chat had struck him right where it hurt.

Now weariness surged up like a tide, with the soft bed just behind him, he really wished he could just fall backwards and forget everything.

It was this afternoon, verging into evening, that he finally opened the long-abandoned private messages, one after another accepting friend requests from several high-end organizations.

And when the big shots from the other side excitedly started speaking, saying "Name any terms you have!" "We can satisfy any needs!", ready to pluck the stars from the sky for him, he only asked about Lv Shu’s whereabouts.

In the Main God Space, finding a person is truly difficult.

Once privacy mode is activated, a person is like a drop of water, disappearing into the sea of people with ease.

He even activated the condition search mode, searching for a power that had contacted him back on Zhai Xing but that he had since dismissed from his mind. Sadly, even they regretfully informed him that they couldn’t find Lv Shu.

Su Ming’an was genuinely worn out. There was probably little more he could do regarding Lv Shu.

He could roughly guess what was written on that note—Lv Shu’s trust was stubborn and paranoid, perhaps its content widely differ from Lv Shu’s expectation.

Although the other side had always followed him, had always been helping him, when Lv Shu suddenly wanted to act alone, to do something as absurd and steadfast as "clearing all obstacles for him," he couldn’t prevent it.

... But Lv Shu simply didn’t understand that his enemies were never the likes of Edward.

In his eyes, Lv Shu was just a "Lost Traveler," no more.