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Chapter 171 - One Hundred Sixty-Nine: "He is Already Dead

Chapter 171: Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Nine: "He is Already Dead

[The Fifth World, Day Eight]

Below the city walls, the army was ready to march.

A sea of heads pressed together like waves, various armors and weapons gleamed different colors in the early morning light.

Everything was silent, save for the sound of windblown sand scraping against the ground, a stark contrast to the previous chaos of the large bandit gang.

On everyone’s face was a hint of joy, and their eyes shone brighter than before.

...All because of a glowing pattern mark on their hands.

It was a source they once yearned for but could never attain, the hope they desperately sought.

In just one night, under a simple array, everyone’s wishes were fulfilled.

"—Our city is in danger,"

All of a sudden, a resonant female voice rang out from atop the walls, a black ponytail swaying slightly in the sandy wind.

"—Both the imposter army and the demon beasts are eyeing us with covetous intent."

The young girl in military attire, wielding Black Blade, slowly approached the edge of the wall; facing the dense crowd of soldiers below, she spoke with a firm voice, showing no sign of stage fright.

"The world crisis is upon us, there is no escape."

"Everything has reached the most critical moment.

The entire army fell silent, leaving only the girl’s clear voice reverberating like a drumbeat before the battle.

"—Yet, we will not be afraid. We are no longer civilians struggling to survive, no longer bandits known only for fleeing. Our blades now have direction, the hands that grip them have strength—our eyes, bear flames."

"—We are no longer powerless; our bodies are no longer frail, our strength can be traced, and we can fight for everything..." She extended her hand, palm up, the pattern mark on it sparkling brightly:

"All this."

She said, raising her hand high as if lifting a banner:

"—Is now within our reach."

...

"Shua shua shua shua—"

In that instant, countless weapons were raised high, their sharp points aiming skywards, their edges unhidden as if to pierce the heavens. The light slid over their tips like water, like another constellation upon the ground.

An iron current, though of different make and model.

But at that moment, surged like a tidal wave.

The girl leaped down from the city walls, standing before tens of thousands, her light armor gleaming faintly, her cape fluttering in the sandy wind.

"All soldiers, heed my command!"

She raised Black Blade, her tone filled with vigor.

"—Charge!"

...

"Cough cough cough cough..."

Inside the tent, a series of coughs broke the silence.

The tent flap was swiftly pulled aside, and a travel-weary girl rushed in, immediately grabbing the hand of the person inside.

"Why are you as frail as paper." Dan Shuang furrowed her brows, transferring energy bit by bit.

"I never expected to become this weak," Su Ming’an wiped the blood from his lips, focusing on the swiftly scrolling bullet comments.

The whole army had just started to move out.

His arrival had been abrupt, and so was the plan to call for troops, resulting in the other legions not having time to assemble promptly. Dan Shuang, the Second Commander, had hurriedly led an army from Goka City.

Now it was the afternoon of the eighth day; they had set off in the morning and were now taking a rest. Dan Shuang had pitched a tent for Su Ming’an, who looked increasingly unwell, to rest awhile.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Second Legion should reach the Regular Army’s site by tomorrow, and then wait for the other legions to assemble.

Su Ming’an didn’t understand military affairs and knew nothing about how to fight a war. He had just arrived and wasn’t clear about the state of the Revolutionary Army. He spent the previous day bleeding to enhance the army’s strength, which left him feeling terrible now, needing to rest after walking just a few steps.

He had the Revolutionary Army set out in haste because he wanted to test the Regular Army’s reaction.

He felt that if they continued to wait on the spot until the tenth day, something unpredictable would happen.

The survival rate of 49.448% that had not increased hung in his mind like an alarm bell.

When he decided to mobilize the Revolutionary Army, the survival rate climbed to 52%, which made him believe his decision was right.

In a world where the overall situation was unclear, the survival rate was the best benchmark for his repeated trials.

The bullet comments continued, seemingly discussing previous matters:

[Is the Revolutionary Army gearing up for a collective counterattack?]

[Number One Player’s identity is too advantageous, isn’t it? Everywhere he goes, things go his way...]

[I’m not sure how Players are assigned their roles, but this batch of roles really smacks of favoritism by the Organizers.]

[So boring... I don’t know why you people bother sending bullet comments, he doesn’t even look at them.]

[Did anyone see the new posts on the forum about Number One Player?]

[Which new post doesn’t involve him? Come on, specify which one you mean.]

[I’ve seen it too... Seems to be about what happened during the time Su Ming’an turned off the live broadcast, some Players said they were tortured and robbed of their Equipment, then killed...]

[That kind of thing happens a lot, I’ve seen it in other streams as well.]

[Some people are talking about sending a joint petition... but I really think those people have issues. Who are they petitioning to, who’s in charge? Can’t they see the situation clearly by now, who the boss is?]

[...]

"Why do you keep coughing up blood... Is that how they treated you over with the impostors?"

Su Ming’an, paying attention to the bullet comments, suddenly heard Dan Shuang’s voice.

The seemingly valiant female general continued to frown, as if from the moment Su Ming’an had seen her, she had always carried a look of deep-seated grievance.

"I’ve heard that on the impostors’ side they used the excuse of an adult initiation rite to harm you, and yet everyone was brainwashed by that Divine Sect, truly believing you were going to ascend to immortality. If possible, I’d rather we not be so hasty to send troops in for a total assault. It’d be better if we could keep you to help us improve our talents, build up our strength, and then in one fell swoop annihilate that bunch," she said.

Su Ming’an responded while watching the bullet comments’ reactions, "There’s no time."

"What time?" Dan Shuang paused, then realizing: "It’s alright, we’ve been prepared to sacrifice for resources, it’s how we’ve survived year after year. Even if we postpone a few days and a few more die, it’s not a problem—it’s all for the sake of ultimate peace."

"I mean, me."

Su Ming’an loosened his grip and breathed into the palm of his hand, but he felt his mouth was all cold.

The curse of the blood-red pattern mark still lingered, still occasionally deducting a little blood, not a significant impact. What really made him feel uneasy was this body that was gradually cooling down.

He seemed to suddenly understand why Holy Initiation was in such a hurry—the day of his coming-of-age ceremony, perhaps Qin Wang intended for him never to live to see it. Even if the ceremony wouldn’t kill him, he wouldn’t survive until the experiment ended.

His body simply couldn’t hold out.

"..."

Dan Shuang seemed to fall silent for a moment.

She seemed to want to say something comforting, but after opening her mouth, she couldn’t say anything at all.

Yesterday, when Su Ming’an was bleeding himself and harming his own body, she didn’t stop him.

In her eyes, from her standpoint, her respect for such a person was solely because of his achievements, not because she truly adored him. Even after his identity as Qin Wang was exposed, her favorability only increased to 60, just a notch above friendly.

In her heart, there was always a scale that weighed everything before her eyes, where rationality always prevailed over her emotions. In her view, the Revolutionary Army was the heaviest counterweight, and Qin Wang, in her eyes, could only serve to add weight to the Revolutionary Army’s side of the scale.

If letting him bleed and weaken could strengthen the Revolutionary Army and truly crush the Regular Army, she would not stop it, she’d even be glad.

—If the sacrifice of one individual could bring progress to everyone, then it was a matter of course.

Her current concern for Su Ming’an was simply that she regretted not wanting him to die; she wanted him to continue living and to derive more results from his research.

For this, she didn’t care at all about the words "Player" and "NPC" that Su Ming’an had mentioned in the meeting room. She couldn’t understand them, and he didn’t explain, so she didn’t ask.

As long as she could see everyone progressing in the same direction, all the details were irrelevant to her.

"By the way," Dan Shuang suddenly remembered something, "where’s the Great Commander?"

Su Ming’an lifted his head slightly.

"I heard Chen Yang say he was about to exterminate some Demon Beasts nearby, but there’s been no movement for a whole day... I sent him a message, but he doesn’t seem to have replied..."

"He’s dead," Su Ming’an said. "Holy Initiation killed him."

His words were very direct, with no attempt to sugarcoat the truth.

The passing of life was an all too common occurrence in the eyes of the people of this world, barely causing a ripple anymore.

Dan Shuang’s eyes blinked slightly.

Her crow-feather-like eyelashes quivered like a pair of black butterflies trembling on the tips of flowers.

"I see," she said, her tone quite indifferent, "...I see."

Her gaze grew somewhat dim, but soon she stood up, as if the sudden death of her comrade-in-arms had no effect on her.

Outside the tent, the army was about to set off again.

The people of this world seemed to have grown accustomed to sacrifice and being sacrificed.

As long as everything was for the sake of moving towards ultimate victory, in their eyes, everything was dispensable.

Comrades, relatives, lovers... life had gradually become a quantifiable number, and everyone was struggling to survive for the sake of a "future" that was tough and fraught with danger, due to scarce resources and looming crises, even the naive children understood that surviving was a matter of constant struggle.

Some people might step out the door and never return.

Some farewells can mean an eternal separation with just a single turn.

Even Dan Shuang herself had long been aware of this.

Chen Yang had merely taken the first step.

She seemed reluctant to speak, nor did she shed any more tears. As she turned her head back and lifted the curtain door, Su Ming’an noticed her hair tie swinging behind her head, vibrant as a red butterfly.

...That was probably the only item on her that still had a touch of girlishness.

Su Ming’an slowly stood up, feeling very cold, but not to the point of being immobilized.

He sensed the movements of Shadow.

Previously, he had allowed Shadow to move freely, capturing some Players in the nearby forest or slaying lone Demon Beasts to accumulate experience. Thanks to shared experience, his experience bar was near Second Rank Nine, and he had six Occupation Points, providing a high margin of error.

As long as there were no mishaps in these last six or seven days, following the original plan should not pose any problems.

He lifted the curtain and saw the army already on the move. He belonged to the Guardian team, which was segregated from the regular army, comprising a special elite force to protect him, thus he didn’t have to live and eat with the soldiers whose Equipment was incomplete.

But as he left the tent, he saw a figure with a butterfly perched on its shoulder, standing in the shade of a tree nearby.

He had seen Lv Shu early on, ever since Dan Shuang brought him in, noticing Lv Shu among this troop, but from their return to Goka City to the army’s departure, he had never spoken with Lv Shu.

Lv Shu couldn’t see him, and he wasn’t particularly keen on communicating with Lv Shu at the moment.

Because he had been busy dealing with various NPCs and thinking about matters of the bigger picture, he simply didn’t have the energy to persuade the fellow from the Fifth World who set out to blindly Assassinate Edward, although he did say before that he would have a good talk with Lv Shu, just not now.

He glanced at the figure waiting under the tree, then strode past the people and headed out.

...

[Main God Space·Number 23]

The brightly-lit room, with curtains completely blocking out the outside world.

A savvy-looking man in his thirties, dressed in a high-end suit, sat informally with his legs spread from the inside out, sprawling on an office chair with a swivel backrest.

He seemed completely unaware of the no-smoking sign on the wall, the cigarette casually burning in his hand, with an orange ember glowing like a speck of brilliance in his eyes.

In front of him sat a man who appeared to be in his forties, bald, with a square face and distinct lines, emanating an aura of a high-ranking official. Judging by his rejuvenated age, he must have been at least in his seventies or eighties before. He could have used some Points for hair growth, but he still sported a bald head, perhaps out of habit.

Yet faced with this man who was nonchalantly smoking, the high-official-looking man seemed to be troubled.

"Still no progress?"

The man exhaled a plume of white smoke, the silver stars on his shoulder glistened under the bright lights of the conference room.

"Although the World Forum has restored Zhai Xing’s previous network system, and many foundational websites are back online, we’ve still lost a lot of data," the bald man explained, straightening his slightly hunched back as he stared at the man smoking leisurely:

"This has made it... difficult for us to clarify the family backgrounds of certain individuals, including those on the leaderboard."

"Heh," the man chuckled, the cigarette still burning leisurely in his mouth. He pulled the cigarette out, expelling a cloud of smoke along with his words, pronounced clearly: "So you mean to say there are no results?"

"Not necessarily," the bald man’s eyes flashed with excitement: "Although we couldn’t find the background info of those top-ranked Players with deep backgrounds, we’ve made a significant discovery."

"What is it?"

"The Number One Player," the bald man said gravely: "We’ve cleared up his background—including the identities of his parents."

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