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Chapter 586 - 583: ’Both Ends of the Balance.

Chapter 586: Chapter 583: ’Both Ends of the Balance.

"...Let’s leave this place first," he said after a moment.

Central City can’t be returned to for now.

His only way... was to wait for the nine-person meeting at night, to see if the meeting could be approached.

"I’ll go with you," Yuanyuan immediately said.

"No, you and Che go back to the guild. Don’t worry about me; Noel can follow me," Su Ming’an said.

Under the blood-red warning lights, Che clenched his fists and took a step forward.

"Lewis, you..." Che had just begun to speak when the other guild members crowded around.

"Leader, the city has issued a red alert. Let’s hurry back, the brothers in the guild must be panicking," a bald member named Beiji urged.

"Leader, the city must be in chaos by now; it’s probably those power struggles again. Let’s leave first, and get in touch with everyone," a blonde-haired, dark-skinned woman beside him said.

Next to her, a guild member wearing a soft hat looked at Su Ming’an. "Lewis, it’s not that we don’t want to take you back to the guild. You’ve only known the leader for a day, and everyone’s wary of strangers. It’s not personal against you. Please go back to your residence. It’s chaotic outside; be careful and take care," he said.

Su Ming’an’s eyes flickered.

Before knowing Su Ming’an’s true identity, everyone in the guild had been friendly to him. After all, Su Ming’an’s disguised identity was not that of a high-ranking official but of a university professor of psychology, a teacher whom people generally hold in respect for imparting knowledge.

...But once they found out that he was the Yasa Acto to be subdued, would these passionate men still show him such friendly smiles?

Che’s gaze was still fixed on Su Ming’an’s mask, and in his eyes was a perplexity that should not be present in a leader.

He, who should have been resolute and decisive in leading people away, stared at Su Ming’an sitting in the wheelchair, motionless.

"You..." Che began hesitantly, "Lewis."

He still used the fake name, selectively ignoring the truth he knew.

A struggle flashed in his eyes, and the mechanical arm attached to his right hand trembled slightly.

He was wondering—

—Under the strict citywide manhunt, under the command of the highest red alert, was he to protect Yasa Acto?

—Was the capital he now held worthy of his rare emotional moment?

—Against the hostility of the entire guild, with the risk of Acto’s identity being exposed at any moment... Did he have the ability, the capital to protect the other?

If he simply asked the other to stay, he could help him under such universally hostile circumstances.

If only... he asked him to stay.

"Lewis, come with us..." Che spoke.

The next moment, Su Ming’an interrupted him.

"Let’s go," Su Ming’an turned his head back to Noel.

He made the decision for Che.

Su Ming’an had seen too many people die because of emotion. Aelas, Sherrod, Aiske, Fengchang... They died for some inescapable sense of duty or for a firm belief. One couldn’t say they weren’t great.

On the contrary, because they were too great—so great that their so-called "emotion" surpassed the desire for life and the will to survive—it made their partings and deaths all the more inevitable and shocking, like a tragic epic.

He no longer wanted to see this kind of "shock" and "tragedy."

No perfectly tragic death, no matter how fulfilled, could compare to "happily surviving."

It’s better to nip this kind of trouble in the bud.

"Okay, let’s go!" Noel stepped forward and swiftly pushed Su Ming’an’s wheelchair, their figures dashing out incredibly fast under the flickering blood-red light, crossing over mountains of trash of varying heights, like arrows shot forth.

Che stood his ground, slowly retracting the mechanical hand he had extended, its iron-filigree-covered fingers still trembling from excitement.

He closed his eyes, took his fighting group, and left the checkpoint.

He and the two departing figures were forced to go their separate ways.

...

"Wuhu—charge!!"

Noel, pushing the wheelchair, ran almost as if they were about to take flight, sliding over the metal mountains as though he were pushing a roller coaster.

Su Ming’an didn’t know why this guy was so cheerful. After all, they were already in a situation where the whole city was hunting them down.

There were already many footsteps around; although the area was desolate, there were quite a few scavengers. People had begun to wander around, trying their luck at finding Acto.

...The worst-case scenario still happened.

For some unknown reason, the Dawn System suddenly decided to take action against Su Ming’an. Under this red alert, every player was now his enemy.

He glanced at the world chat, which had descended into chaos.

Even though each person had a limited number of times they could speak, with most having only one to three chances to speak, the chat was still refreshing incessantly like a breached dam due to the sheer number of people.

[Bankroft (Unaffiliated): Guys, guys, anyone want to team up? The lockdown across the city has been lifted, and we can now freely travel between areas. Anyone want to go check out The Fringe?]

[Baron (Pedro Island): I am already in The Fringe. I saw someone flying in the sky earlier; it might have been Su Ming’an.]

[Jing Yichun (Olive Branch Alliance): I happen to be nearby, too. There are too many garbage mountains here, blocking the view a bit.]

[Yuna (Cross Judgement): Hey! Have you guys gone mad? Do you really want to hand over the Number One Player? We could have just slacked off, right? The Dawn Chip can’t monitor what you’re thinking.]

[Mirala (Black Card): Funny, the Dawn Chip constantly measures persona and emotional stability, like a lie detector; it can’t see that you have something to hide? If we slack off, we’re the ones who will die.]

...

[Luna (Peak Alliance): —Stay calm, everyone. Anyone who makes a move against the Number One Player, the Peak Alliance will not let them off; we will initiate an unrestricted hunt-down. Infighting among humans is worthless. Please act with caution.]

...

A line of gold-edged text suddenly refreshed the screen. Luna, a top player’s chat with a gold text box, was especially conspicuous among the mass of white messages.

Luna had spoken.

Her statement confirmed to everyone that Su Ming’an was indeed in this instance. Some withdrew out of fear of the Peak Alliance’s notoriety, but some self-important individuals were even keener to test their mettle, with some even declaring they "wanted to bump heads with the Peak Alliance."

[Violet (House of Tamers): Then I’m even more eager for a fight with you guys.]

[Babru (Lia Guild): I’m very interested in getting on TV. How about letting me make an appearance?]

[Kosai (Warrior Ship): Does the Peak Alliance also bully on the basis of power?]

...

[Luna (Peak Alliance): You will pay for your folly.]

...

In such role-playing worlds, real names can be hidden. As long as you hide under the shell you inhabit, no one knows who the assailant is, much like the anonymity provided by the online world.

Even though most players think that Number One Player shouldn’t be pursued and killed, the presence of a few is still like mouse droppings, making the world chat murky and unpleasant.

After the chaos, a large section of text outlined in gold appeared.

...

[Yamada Machiichi (Peak Alliance):—In the end, it’s not a question of whether Su Ming’an is worth betting on. It’s that you have to believe he can make it to the end, you have to believe in this "Number One Player". Once he falls, even if a new Number One Player takes his place, you’ll keep comparing Su Ming’an with whoever follows, and things will only get worse—you don’t understand how heavy the title of this "everlasting Number One Player" is.]

[Yamada Machiichi (Peak Alliance):—Do you really just covet the faction rewards? No, it’s just the thrill of being involved in world affairs. Your stupidity and your baseness go hand in hand, all the peaceful slogans that the United Group called for have been forgotten by you, a bunch of human trash.]

...

Yamada Machiichi joined the fray, making the waters even murkier.

The top-ranked players could speak about five times, but this was nothing compared to the sheer number of players. Although their golden text sparkled, it was quickly washed away.

The gap between top-ranked players and ordinary players had already grown wider, and the contradictions were becoming more apparent.

...

[Artemis (Xi Country Civilization): Everyone, calm down. Considering the current situation, it’s best to follow the arrangements of our NPC superiors and not actively seek out Su Ming’an. As long as we aren’t deemed to be showing favoritism, that’s fine. We don’t seek rewards but just our own safety.]

...

Someone made a fairly reasonable suggestion.

But soon, he was countered by a Western Country player named Aix, who said, "Since we’re all being so conceding, shouldn’t the Number One Player also make a gesture, lead us along? I think it’s quite fair, responsibility and obligation should be aligned."

Even worse, some started to stir the pot, saying, "What? Peak Alliance just got established and now they want to use this opportunity to bully others? How is your behavior any different from those disgusting large organizations?"

Upon seeing such comments, before others could even get angry, a flash of gold text immediately leapt out.

...

[Lv Shu (Peak Alliance): F*ck your mom’s c*nt, f*cking trash, nmsl, why don’t you eat shit.]

...

"..." Noel looked away, as the world chat had turned into a "civilized" exchange.

With Lv Shu’s words, the swear words from various countries began to brawl, each side started greeting each other’s family members, and countless people became horseless riders, many suddenly bereft of their mothers.

Noel cleared his throat, no longer looking at the chaotic chat, and looked up at Su Ming’an: "Alright—City Lord who makes enemies with the world, you can’t go home now, so where do we go next?"

Su Ming’an wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth.

He pondered, with several potential plot developments unfolding in his mind.

A moment later, he raised his finger.

"There are now two optimal routes," he said. "One, you take me back, cleanse your name, and we head to Central City together, to see what the Dawn System really wants to do."

Noel arched an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. This route seemed passive, basically entrusting their fate to the instance.

"The other option—" Su Ming’an turned around.

He looked at Noel, whose clothes were pockmarked and riddled with bomb scars.

"Let’s escape together, leave this place," he said.

Upon hearing this, Noel laughed. He stepped over the uneven metal-stone surface, placing his hands on Su Ming’an’s wheelchair.

"—Good, let’s escape together! Get away from here!! The farther, the better!" Noel declared loudly. "Acto was once a hero, the technology you master is brilliant even if not in this damned City of Measurement. As for this place, let’s just give it up! It’s rotten through! And those city-state residents, we won’t bother saving them either. A city that only turns inward, wanting to kill its own hero—what’s the use of saving it?"

Noel’s voice was loud, attracting the attention of the wanderers nearby, but he made no attempt to conceal it, as extreme anger had caused him to laugh in fury.

Noel had never imagined—some of the humans he saw could stoop so low.

—Obedient to system missions, servile and flattering to NPCs, yet willing to stab the heroes of their own world in the back, their myopia reached a pitiful level.

—This scene of enmity with the world didn’t need to happen; Players had their own exclusive world chat, the only place the Dawn System couldn’t monitor. If only the players had pretended to chase him on the surface while intentionally letting Su Ming’an escape through the gaps in the world chat, it wouldn’t have come to this. This was an opportunity deliberately left open by the instance.

Were there few smart people? No, there were many who understood.

Were there many fools? Not many, but they were good at muddying the waters.

—In the end, the one chance they had to escape their predicament, the one opportunity to escape the Dawn System, was actually destroyed by the players themselves.

—Why would someone turn their spear against the "heroes of the City-State"? Noel couldn’t understand, but it happened, reality turned out to be much more absurd than theoretical speculation.

Su Ming’an looked at the world chat flying by like snowflakes, filled with mutual cursing.

...It was so similar.

The extremely similar scenarios playing out both in the City of Measurement and the world chat were uncannily alike.

...The City Lord chased by residents, Yasa Acto, and the Number One Player chased by players, Su Ming’an.

He felt a sense of unreality.

"Let’s go, head east first, there’s hardly any military presence there."

Su Ming’an pulled out a map of the City of Measurement from the inside pocket of his lab coat, which he had acquired earlier in Central City.

"Dingdong!"

He heard a system notification sound.

[You have chosen (Escape) from the City of Measurement.]

[Entering Perfect Pass · Counter-Offensive Line · Path of Truth]

["—His obsession before his passing, was etched into my program, as if his undying soul."]

"...He’s still around."

"That’s good."]

...

[Current progress of passing: 30%]

...

Noel pushed Su Ming’an, running through garbage hills reeking of gasoline.

The wheelchair sped over the mounds of trash, the shouts of people barely audible, the air constantly permeated with an enduring scent of rust.

As the sunset faded and the sky darkened, rain began to fall and the visibility grew even more blurred.

In the lower left corner of Su Ming’an’s vision, the world chat continued its relentless noise, turning into a massive flame war.

In the upper right corner of his vision, the barrage of comments continued their fervent sprays.

Like two worlds passing in parallel.

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