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Chapter 281 - 278th - : "Born Not Silent

Chapter 281: 278th Chapter: "Born Not Silent

"What? Is it Noel?"

"The blond cutie, he’s so strong and adorable, I really love him..."

"Let me see, his daily routine seems to be sharing about his crows, what’s with the crows today..."

"Husband! My husband! I’m here——"

The word "Noel" was like a trap for young girls; as soon as they heard his name, the crowded queue instantly quieted down.

Liangzi was left speechless.

...Just a moment ago, you all were yelling "Lv Shu husband", how fickle you are!

She had no particular thoughts, only that she quickly tidied up the messy tabletop.

A girl’s high-pitched scream erupted.

"Ah! Noel and Edward are flaming each other... LOL."

"Really? That’s so cute... although I like Edward quite a bit too."

"The one who said they like Edward, keep it down, this is the Dragon Country area, supporting Edward will get you beaten up. Over in the western region, no one would say anything to you."

"Move it along at the front, if you’re not taking photos then go somewhere else to browse the forum, don’t block the way!"

Calls of impatience came from the back.

Liangzi looked up, greeting the next customer, while those who had finished taking photos slowly withdrew.

She attended to one customer after another, listening to their discussions.

"...Damn, this time it seems pretty serious, are the big guns all coming out?"

"Looks like they just got past the Sixth World, the big shots are all irritable. These netizens who do nothing but nitpick all day have finally hit the gunpowder keg, this scene is probably the biggest I’ve seen since the game started..."

"When the human self-rescue meeting was called, the forum wasn’t even this lively."

"No way, at a time like this, why isn’t big brother Lv Shu showing up? Shouldn’t he be the first one here?"

"Don’t know, hey, Miss Shop Assistant, do you know?"

A girl’s face leaned in closer.

Liangzi pulled a face:

"I’ve said it before, I don’t know Lv Shu..."

The girl looked unconvinced, but seeing her silence, she could only shrink back in disappointment.

"Yamada has spoken up too, I remember he’s not close with Su Ming’an, right?"

"Man, at times like this, everyone wants to ride the wave of attention. It’s just like the old days on Weibo, whenever there’s a big event, whether it’s wishing longevity or kicking off a major activity, it’s your fault if you don’t speak up, at least you have to post something just for the look of it."

"Lin Jiang has also spoken up, is she okay... I heard she hasn’t said much since her strength was cleared..."

Listeing to the group’s discussions, Liangzi wiped the cloth in her hand and was somewhat curious.

Despite being this busy, she still freed up one hand to switch to the world forum, planning to check out this "world-scale flame war" that people were talking about to see how far it had gone.

As soon as she opened it, she saw a row of scenes where Noel and players flaming Su Ming’an were "battling" it out.

At a glance, she saw a bunch of threads full of bickering... There were those sarcastically targeting Noel and those mocking the Number One and Number Two players for colluding, those claiming the future of humanity was hopeless, and those railing against their hypocrisy.

"[Yo, the protect-Ming’an-dogs are out, I just said how did Noel get to where he is without any background, turns out he’s just a dog as well, I’m dying of laughter.]"

"[Protective ones, stop whitewashing, it’s an open secret these two are cheating.]"

"[I was wondering why the world situation is so weird right now, why are two kids at the very top.]"

"[Don’t knock some while praising others, Edward is no saint either, the top-ranked players are all mentally disturbed.]"

"[I’ve seen through it all, humanity’s future is hopeless, creating a fandom-like world, do you really worship your Number One Player as a god?]"

"[Stop yelling... just looking at you guys really makes me nauseous, how can people be so wicked...]"

"[LOL, the chaos of the modern internet is the same everywhere.]"

In no time, all sorts of foul language abounded.

The argument started up again.

To Liangzi, such a situation was all too familiar.

She browsed through the posts, where at the moment, people were shouting at each other, the scene a complete mess.

But even before she could look closely, a series of "ding dong ding dong" noises startled her.

She glanced and discovered that many influential figures she followed were posting at the same time.

Her eyes quickly found the name of the biggest player of them all.

...Wilson?

Staring at the name of the poster, she paused for a moment.

Wasn’t this a super-player from the United Group?

Could it be that the United Group was also fanning the flames in such a situation, ready to crush the Number One Player with public opinion...?

She read on.

[Wilson v (United Group Leader): Long before the official establishment of the human self-rescue organization, there was a man who stood up first, becoming a goal many aspired to and worked towards.]

After reading just the beginning, Liangzi felt something was off.

This didn’t seem like it was meant to criticize Su Ming’an.

She continued reading.

[At the opening ceremony, his speech inspired everyone, and the opinions of the fellow travelers have become one of the key principles that the United Group abides by today.

In subsequent worlds, he has always stood at the forefront of humanity, and along the way, some of his theories have become universally recognized standards.

His foresight and leadership are indelible. History has passed, and he was the leader during the most chaotic time for humanity.

He is the greatest contributor to the progress bar of all humanity’s points, a pillar of peak strength, a step-taker on the ladder of truth, a Fire Transmitter in the darkest of times, and a guide to the future of humanity.

No matter the path humanity takes hereafter, his contributions must not be overlooked.

Comfortable living can cause us to gradually lose our fighting spirit and turn our pointed spears inward. Those long immersed in peace consider themselves mere witnesses to history, with responsibility and duty never going hand in hand.

This era needs heroes. And heroes should never be defamed by public opinion.]

...

"Wilson...?" Liangzi couldn’t suppress her exclamation.

This, this is a world-class leader!

Why even he is posting to speak up for Su Ming’an...

As she kept reading, she realized this was just the beginning.

...

[Liu Jiahe v (Dragon Country Ten Thousand Miles Troop): Lands apart, sky shared. As fellow travelers, why must we cross swords?]

...

[Hubert v (United Group Certified Gold Level Strategist): Our material wealth is immense, yet our spirits are starving. When disaster strikes, there are always those who stand up. And behind them, there are always those who make meaningless denunciations.]

...

[Ma Qiaoli v (Yu Country Storm Systems Countermeasure Unit): There is no strict line between the ordinary and the great, but in such quarrels, the difference between them becomes clear.]

...

[Donna v (Eagle Country Countermeasure Systems): The image of a superhero saving the day is indeed desirable. But if we amplify individual differences and speculate about others with the worst intentions, we’re no different from the creatures in the sewers. We should be travelers of life, Pilgrims with a mission and clear goals, not petty people who spread suspicion online.]

...

[Kore v (Gran Victoria Science): The sun and the stars, strewn across the sky. All shine brightly, all are unobstructable.]

...

A series of posts, like bamboo shoots after a rain, emerged one after another, pushing the already sweeping global fervor to a new level.

Liangzi’s gaze flickered, almost at a loss for words.

Wilson, Liu Jiahe, Donna... these people, even in the old world, were considered big names that shook the world.

But now, these individuals appeared together, with a strikingly unified stance and language...

...all to speak up for one person.

She involuntarily stopped what she was doing.

"My God..."

"This, what’s happening, how could this be..."

In front of the counter, those who were waiting and had opened the world forum were exclaiming in surprise.

"Whew..." Leaning back in his armchair, the old gentleman suddenly exhaled a ring of smoke, his voice a bit hoarse from smoking.

"Just as I thought..."

He took a deep drag of his cigarette, his face, rough as tree bark, filled with wistfulness.

It was as if a switch had been flipped; the moment he spoke, someone immediately cried out.

"What, what’s going on here?" someone exclaimed in alarm.

"How come there are so many big shots speaking up... I feel like I’m witnessing the birth of a historical moment..."

"[As fellow travelers on this journey, why speak of blade meeting blade...]" The girl with the twin ponytails suddenly sighed, "Minister Liu is right... In such a world, that group still harbors suspicion toward the players on the front lines..."

"Not me, I really like Brother Lv Shu."

"...Who knows who started this mess, spraying nonsense without even understanding the situation. With such importance, if they keep spraying, they won’t even be able to find their own graves."

"Alas, there are always people who think they’ve seen through everything. Internet surfing is the norm, confusing forum members, their quality leaves much to be desired."

Listening to their words, Liangzi stared at the panel in front of her.

...

[Kore v (Gran Victoria Science): The sun and stars, arrayed across the sky. Each shines brightly, each is indisputably visible.]

...

"The sun and stars, arrayed across the sky..." she murmured softly.

Having been born into the Ancient Martial Families, she was naturally not just any ordinary girl, requiring only to complete the necessary formal education. But in fact, her vision and courage far surpassed that of students who attended classes in a systematic way.

Yet when she suddenly found herself in this kind of world, her first reaction was still to look for elders for help, or to lean on large organizations, blend into the crowd, and tackle difficulties with peers.

Even if they didn’t fully integrate into the group, people would instinctively follow the herd, acting according to the movements of others, following the calls of forum players.

This is the normal thinking of an ordinary child who has just emerged from chaos.

When organizations like the United Group were first established, these people who drifted with the tide felt like they had found a beacon, suddenly gaining a sense of security as if they had found home. Seeing many familiar faces appear in live streams and listening to their speeches, they felt even less lost.

Liangzi was one of them.

After finding her father and the feeling of home, she decided not to enter the fray again, focusing instead on the trends in the forums.

Whenever she saw live broadcasts of certain events from the United Group, watching many talented individuals give speeches, she felt a sense of shared glory.

...Look, even in such a world, we are still united, all sailing on the same course.

She had always thought proudly like this.

But, after the end of the Fourth World, when she saw that person who stood apart from the group, who eclipsed the other eleven pinnacle players, she felt lost for the first time.

The Human Self-Rescue Conference, his impassioned and surging "Destiny" performed before a billion people, his figure bathed in the shine of the spotlight, truly shook her as she still lay in her bed at home.

...He was a peer of the same age.

...He had a similar past experience.

Yet that person was hailed by the people of the time as the "Inborn Guide through the Night", as if he had stepped out of that social stratum leaving a gap, reaching heights she had never thought of on his own.

Heights under the attention of the whole world.

She truly couldn’t understand how one person could suddenly rise so high in such a world.

Having no entity behind him, his own previous experiences so ordinary.

Why was his path always the right one?

Why were his theories so profound?

And why... why couldn’t he fail?

It was incomprehensible, hence hard to trust, and hard to accept for Liangzi.

Therefore, she thought it was normal for this person to be isolated by so many groups, doubted and slandered by so many. The very evidence was that the United Group she deemed most correct in conduct, hadn’t spoken up for him either. Since even the United Group didn’t protect him or sing his praises, as an individual under the United Group, naturally, she had no reason to believe he could win to the end.

That was how she had always thought.

But now.

But now...

The group she trusted the most, understood the most, the organization she committed all her trust to... the United Group.

No, not just the United Group.

Even including those other organizations, revered and formidable, that she had heard of before and now witnessed.

The Ancient Martial Families Alliance, Gran Victoria Science, Yu Country Storm Science, the Alliance Watchers, Dragon Country’s Long March Troops, Dragon Country’s Yangtze System, Eagle Country’s Countermeasures System...

They all stood up together.

To speak for him.

They created momentum for him.

They shielded him from all the storms of public opinion.

In such a moment, amid such sharp conflicts, in such a world, they released statements, believing in him.

It was as if an invisible pair of hands had firmly grasped the lifeline of public opinion, totally overturning an era dominated by a prevailing tide of distrust.

Ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, a billion, ten billion.

Streams flow eastward into the sea; Kunpeng rises from the plain.

The soaring popularity, the endless people, were all related to this forum at this moment.

The entire world’s opinion, the forum of a billion beings, the direction of all players’ public sentiment,

Concentrate strength, control the tide, reverse opinion, unify attitudes, seize the narrative.

One man is the world.

Liangzi found it hard to describe her feelings at that time.

It was as if all the spotlights in the world had turned towards him all at once, and the countless glittering stars dimmed in an instant.

As if that invisible hand that reversed the tide of opinion was squeezing her heart.

She remembered, during past visits to the forum, she had also made remarks similar to slander against the Number One Player.

Because everyone was saying it, and no one stopped it, so of course, she could join in with everyone else.

Even if someone really did jump out to stop it, they could easily be labeled as "guard dogs," "house dogs," triggering a hearty and inconclusive war of words.

But now.

She stared at the newly refreshed posts on her screen, looking at those impassioned words of support, feeling suffocated for a moment.

"Why, why has it come to this, he’s just a student like me, what gives him the right..." she murmured to herself.

"Liangzi..."

On the lounge chair, the old man fanning himself with a large leaf fan suddenly spoke lazily, as if in response to her:

"[...If the sky is dark, then survive in the darkness.]"

Liangzi slowly turned her head.

The old man’s words were still full of vicissitudes, and although his face, like old tree bark, was covered by the leaf fan, his words seemed to lock in the ages:

"[...If making a sound is dangerous, then stay silent; if you feel too weak to shine, then curl up in the corner...]"

"Ding-dong!"

Liangzi heard a system notification.

It was from her set VIP attention alert, belonging solely to one person.

And since the game had started, this sound had only rung twice.

At the sound of the VIP alert, all the guests bowed their heads in unison, as if trained to do so.

They made this motion simply because, simultaneously and coincidentally, they were opening the forum interface.

But this scene, reflected in Liangzi’s eyes, seemed like the transformation of an era.

Liangzi felt her breathing become a bit rapid.

She looked down, blending naturally into the crowd like everyone else.

In her ears, the words of the old man ground on slowly, like a stream barely flowing through a dried-up riverbed:

"But do not defend the darkness just because you’ve gotten used to it; don’t take pride in your own ignobility;

Don’t mock those who are braver and more passionate than yourself..."

As she opened the interface, Liangzi saw her trembling fingers,

...And the words reflected in her eyes, an extremely brief message.

...

[Su Ming’an v (Number One in the World):

"You can be humble as dust,

But never twisted like a maggot."]

...