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Chapter 484 - 481: ’Do You Only Need That Kind of Dog?

Chapter 484: Chapter 481: ’Do You Only Need That Kind of Dog?

"What if I refuse?" Su Ming’an asked.

Tu Yuan’s hand rested on his staff, revealing his readiness for battle.

"Qianqian Zeven is the only believer of Jiu Shen currently, the source of Jiu Shen’s power. Only if she is killed by Lord Raven, who represents the Bai Shen, will Jiu Shen lose the last person who believes in him..." Tu Yuan stressed.

Upon listening, Su Ming’an realized that the idea he had refuted was actually correct.

The concept of this Qiongdi was that the belief in a deity by humans gives birth to the deity, it’s the humans themselves that endow the gods with their expected forms, thus the gods manifest to meet people’s expectations.

—The gods are a necessary product of this kind of social relationship.

That’s why everyone says that the existence of Xiber is a mistake in itself.

It was her belief in Jiu Shen that made Jiu Shen increasingly powerful and brought so much misfortune to Qiongdi. Because in people’s eyes, all good things are brought by Bai Shen, while bad things are associated with Jiu Shen.

Belief here is not free, there is only right and wrong.

"How about it? You were chosen by Lord Raven, you should also detest the followers of Jiu Shen deeply." Tu Yuan’s voice was earnest, "Since this is the case, why not kill her? You could gain the support of this Qiondgi by doing so."

Su Ming’an smiled and was just about to speak.

Suddenly, he felt an intense spatial fluctuation around him as if something had suddenly locked onto him.

The next moment, his vision transformed dramatically—

...

[Three hours earlier]

"Snap!"

A crisp shattering sound rang out as Edward fell awkwardly from the teleportation, headfirst, and crashed to the ground in a headlong tumble.

He quickly scrambled up, noticing that he had been teleported to a grassland—this random teleportation prop had sent him to a safe area.

He was utterly frustrated. Just when he had grasped the chance for capture, not only did he fail to catch anyone, but even his own Guide had betrayed him. This whole affair was like he was going on a delivery run. In the live broadcast room, all kinds of mocking words were already overflowing. There were also many from Su Ming’an’s live broadcast room who had come over to enjoy the spectacle, with comments that were truly unsightly.

[Hilarious, this is the ’Number One Player’ Edward cultivated by the United Group?]

[He has been abandoned already, didn’t you see how the United Group recently hyped up Su Ming’an? They were literally slapping Edward’s face.]

[Just give up, it’s not the world it was before, your tricks are useless now. Just mentioning an identity suppresses you and leaves you speechless.]

[Why all the mockery? Go back to your Number One Player’s live broadcast room!]

[We’re all striving for Points for humanity, shame on you for mocking the players battling at the front lines. Probably, if you were to meet them in an instance, you’d kneel faster than a dog.]

[Running away so disgracefully and we can’t say a word... I actually want to join the fray, but this world of top hundred players, isn’t it just for us to watch?]

[Getting anxious, are we? What, you dare to challenge the Number One Player and don’t have the awareness that you can also fail and be ridiculed...]

"Snap!" Edward could no longer stand the ridicule, he closed the live broadcast room, unable to maintain his aloof expression anymore.

He didn’t know how Su Ming’an managed to ignore these viewers. These people were like a bunch of noisy ducks; although there were good people supporting him, the pot always has a few grains of rice that are like black-hearted mouse droppings, a single glance can ruin the mood.

...Identity, identity, always this identity!

It’s always been like this; he has always been losing here!

He believed his sensitivity to the plot was no weaker than Su Ming’an’s, he only lost because of his identity.

If the other person didn’t have some skill or identity that made them particularly close to NPCs, Migael would never have been lured away, and he would have already won just now.

His face set in determination, he quickly adjusted his strategy—since Migael had been lured away, he would swiftly find a Guide to renew the contract, even though that would mean handing Migael over to Su Ming’an on a silver platter, but he desperately needed a helper who could fight during the day.

With that thought, he suddenly saw a dark figure not far away.

This was an endless grassland with no obstructions to view, and he spotted the dark figure at a glance. He started moving quickly, and with the sound of a stopwatch’s "click," he leapt over tens of meters and appeared right beside the dark figure.

Upon stopping, he was momentarily stunned.

Standing in front of him was a giant rabbit three meters tall.

...The Boss Rabbit.

Shadow also noticed Edward.

He was just doing his patrol missions when Edward spotted him, and it would look strange if he ran away now.

"You..." After a moment of silence, and to avoid suspicion, Shadow took the initiative to speak.

However, at the next moment, he saw Edward’s face going pale, as if he was facing a difficult decision.

He saw Edward in front of him suddenly shrink a little.

Edward suddenly bent down and gave him a deep bow.

"Organizers! Boss Rabbit!" Edward said, head bowed, voice resolute, "Please tell me... what must I do to be granted a special identity?"

Shadow: "..."

Shadow: "(Smiles)"

...So Edward really did mistake him for the leisurely wandering Boss Rabbit.

A mischievous smile appeared on Shadow’s face, and he suddenly found the situation much more amusing.

He understood what Edward was thinking. This man always lost at the very brink of victory, sometimes even in befuddling ways. He was close to breaking.

So, was he trying to actively align himself with the Organizers now?

Shadow wasn’t surprised; after all, humans are creatures that, when on the verge of collapse, will frantically grasp at any straw to save themselves, not caring about their human principles and stances.

Edward, who had been brainwashed and was highly competitive, was even more so. Watching the object of his hatred climb higher and higher while he fell harder with each failure, surrounded by so many onlookers scoffing and jeering, it was normal for him to think of borrowing power from the Organizers.

After all, no one had ever said they absolutely wouldn’t let humans defect to the Organizers’ side.

Shadow had heard that there were quite a few human defectors who advocated for becoming the dogs of the Organizers, for all mankind to become the overseers of slaves, enslaving other, lower worlds. Such people indeed existed everywhere, after all, even in peaceful times, there were those who would voluntarily seek allegiance with foreign countries.

"At the very least, you need to show us your loyalty first," Shadow said. "Is a mere bow enough?"

He had only said it casually, just to see how much Edward had really broken down.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he spoke, he heard a dull "thump."

Shadow’s expression changed slightly.

In front of him, Edward, who had always been proud and arrogant, abruptly knelt down with decisive action.

In Edward’s kingdom, the act of kneeling wasn’t seen as particularly shameful; their kneeling often conveyed "loyalty" and "awe," or served as a form of etiquette. But such meaning could represent much more. In times like these, it signified the subordinates’ unconditional submission to their superiors.

Yet, even if only in the past, Edward had been— the one United Group planned to promote, aiming to replace Su Ming’an, the new Number One Player belonging to humankind.

If Edward had truly succeeded before, the Number One Player of all humanity would now be kneeling before "Boss Rabbit," expressing a desire to betray his own kind, wanting to be their dog.

...What did this all amount to?

"You really want to be our dog, huh?" Shadow said in a very calm tone.

Edward’s body trembled, but he offered no rebuttal. He truly needed a special status urgently, one that could exempt him from the mockery of the audience and allow him to rise above Su Ming’an.

Status, power, position, the pride of the superior—all were trampled into the mud with his kneeling. It didn’t matter if he was scorned as a traitor—wasn’t it natural to seek help from a higher race to stand at the apex of one’s own?

What was his mistake?

—Did humans ever possess any dignity to begin with?

He knelt, ready to hear Boss Rabbit’s judgment.

Whether it was to assassinate someone, to stir the murky waters of public opinion, or to guide the direction of large organizations, he could do it all. His only fear was the Organizers not needing him, as they had shown no interest in intervening in the infighting.

He knelt, just knelt, and time seemed to slow to a crawl at that moment.

Then, he heard footsteps.

"Crunch, crunch," the faint sound of grass rustling reached his ears, and he abruptly looked up.

"Boss Rabbit" had left in front of him, leaving him nothing but a silhouette.

The grass fluttered in front of his eyes, and the silhouette of the fluffy white rabbit looked somewhat desolate.

Seeing this, Edward couldn’t help feeling discarded—after all, he had knelt and pledged his absolute loyalty, yet he was still unwanted? Could it be that his current achievements weren’t enough to be utilized by the Organizers?

"Boss Rabbit!" Edward stood up and shouted, "I am sincere!"

"Hmm, I can see that," Shadow kept walking. He wasn’t really Boss Rabbit, so why would he make any promises to Edward? Anyway, this was just for laughs; Edward had kneeled to him, and he even took a picture to show his real self, which was sure to be amusing.

A smile still hung on his face, a delight of a prank well played. He was very satisfied with this turnout.

At that moment, he heard Edward’s voice from behind.

"Why won’t you accept me?" Edward exclaimed loudly, "—Do you only need dogs like Su Ming’an?"

The smile gradually faded from Shadow’s face.

—"He’s been your dog for a long time! I’ve seen through it!" Edward stood up straight: "He has always been accepting your favors, maintaining friendly relations with NPCs, becoming the Number One Player as a matter of course, winning everyone’s trust, and then finally betraying humanity—in such matters, I can do the same! I’ve realized that you also have to abide by certain necessary rules, like the overall progress bar for human points; that’s something you can’t interfere with, right?"

As he spoke, he staggered toward Boss Rabbit, blood seeping from his knees.

"But as a Player, I can interfere with this! You probably have similar plans, right? In the end, have someone like Su Ming’an assassinate top-ranked Players, weaken everyone’s points, and cause all who trusted him to collapse..."

He said, catching his breath with slight difficulty.

The weather had become somewhat cold.

"I am now the third-ranked Player, just behind him and that Noel whose background is unknown... I can help you all. Only the most straightforward fear can deter everyone, and I understand many ways to intimidate humans, to create panic, manipulate public opinion, all of it. I can even," he continued, "help you all develop your following, to dissolve them from the inside—as long as you can grant me greater Strength and allow it to persist even after the game is over..."

Edward was saying loudly.

The temperature was somewhat low, and with every word he said, a cloud of white breath rose, his beautiful, Heavenly Sea-like eyes fogging up, gradually obscuring his vision.

Shadow stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at him.

"...Have you gone mad?" Shadow asked.

If the one standing here now wasn’t him, but the real Boss Rabbit, what would happen?

Or rather, if Edward were to encounter the Organizers or Boss Rabbit in the future, would this scene be replayed?

With such thoughts by Edward, having occurred once, there would undoubtedly be a second time.

Perhaps Edward, ridiculed by the audience today, had let anger get the best of him when he spoke out; perhaps he was showing weakness to the Organizers, seizing the opportunity to bargain for more information for humanity.

But Shadow believed that, deep down, Edward had always thought this way.

It was just that today, it had been provoked.

And now, with Edward, there would be more people like him. Edward was simply the epitome of the countless powerless.

...After all, being dogs, who was nobler than whom?

...After all this, do humans even have a future?

"I’m not crazy!—Since Su Ming’an can gain your favor, can be your dog, so can I! I can outperform him, a student with such a background!" Edward exclaimed loudly.

Edward had the Skill to see through disguises, so he was convinced the other person was Boss Rabbit, and that was why he spoke so boldly. However, he didn’t realize that Shadow’s disguise was a product of the Rules; his Skill was ineffective.

"Su Ming’an is not our dog." Shadow’s smile had entirely vanished at this moment.

"Then how do you explain his special status? His foresight regarding the plot... never mind." Edward stopped midway, not wanting to clash with Boss Rabbit. Since Boss Rabbit was adamant about defending Su Ming’an to this extent, he wouldn’t provoke him further.

"I admit, Su Ming’an isn’t your dog." Edward said quietly: "Then... can I be? As long as you grant me enough strength to suppress him."

Shadow’s steps did not linger.

"—Where did I lose to him? He obviously has so many flaws, and so many people have noticed them—being dogs, why can’t I be one—"

After he took a step forward, Edward’s angry shouts came from behind him.

Shadow didn’t turn back.

In his hand, a photo of a blond youth kneeling in humiliation slowly became visible. He didn’t spare it a glance, but tore it vehemently.

Pieces fluttered to the ground with the wind, landing on the grass and leaves, like slanting star-snow.

"So boring." Shadow let go of his grip, and the pieces slowly fell.

He closed his eyes: "...So boring."