In the age of information, news spread extremely fast online and was replaced just as quickly. In a single day, the assassination and death of Ms. “I Am Not a Medical God” was buried beneath newer headlines.
Several northern cities of Country A experienced torrential rains and extreme heat rarely seen in a century. Each shift lasted only a few hours, leaving pedestrians utterly confused. Conspiracy theories about the end of the world once again ran rampant online.
The sudden rainfall caused some economic losses but nothing too severe. After cleanup efforts, people returned to their everyday lives.
On a certain platform, a survivalist organization’s video account with over a million followers inexplicably stopped updating. Because unsettling claims had been circulating online recently, many people began searching for apocalypse survival tutorials and educational videos.
This account’s video collection began to be replayed repeatedly, its view count skyrocketing. Attentive viewers noticed the abrupt halt in updates and unease quietly took root.
A group of curious netizens carried out a doxxing investigation and discovered that many members of the organization were homeless individuals without fixed residences or jobs, some were even illegal immigrants. A mysterious benefactor funded the organization, while these people with long term outdoor survival experience provided the knowledge and techniques. That was how the organization had come to operate.
The reason for the halted updates seemed to be that many members had met with accidental deaths over the past few days.
The causes of their deaths were shrouded in mystery. People without fixed residences had extremely poor resistance to risk; they could die at any moment from natural disasters, illness or illegal gang conflicts, street brawls and the like. No one cared whether they lived or died and no one bothered to investigate.
According to an insider, a member of the survivalist organization had stirred up a large-scale violent incident in a slum district a few days earlier. In the end, he seized a vast territory and drove out the other “residents.” Most of those people failed to withstand the extreme weather that followed and ended up dying violently on the streets.
Beneath the steel forest, the law of the jungle still prevailed in silence. The weak were prey to the strong. People treated the story as nothing more than an interesting anecdote and no one felt any regret for the rats that died in the gutters.
Ye Jinran surfed the internet on his phone with one hand, pacing back and forth inside the shop. Sitting for long periods was bad for the body, so whenever he grew bored, he got up and moved around.
Aside from Amanda, none of the players had made any major moves. He couldn’t possibly stare at the surveillance feeds all day, so he went online to scroll through the news for entertainment, having already read just about every kind of report that had appeared these past few days.
He couldn’t quite understand Bai Yanzhou’s behavior. That group of homeless NPCs had likely become sacrifices for one of Bai Yanzhou’s schemes and the sudden halt in updates on the survivalist organization’s account was probably his doing as well.
What kind of person was Bai Yanzhou? From what Ye Jinran understood so far, he was extremely selfish, lacking any conventional sense of good and evil. The deaths of other living beings were nothing more than entertainment to him. He never maintained normal social relationships.
Bai Yanzhou possessed the intelligence that “an unprecedented ice storm is about to sweep across Country A.” Under that premise, he would ensure his own survival, while others would not survive.
If he could obtain control over that video account, he would probably take down all the previously uploaded videos. Unfortunately, there were still plenty of other informational videos circulating online.
The identity he had drawn was that of an illegal immigrant, an undocumented person at the very bottom of society. This greatly restricted certain methods yet at the same time reduced some of the moral and legal constraints.
Just like Amanda. Not to mention assassinating a congresswoman, even releasing exaggerated or misleading news would be enough to cost her her position as a journalist. “I Am Not a Medical God” was even more constrained. To maintain her radiant public image, she had to remain a “hero.”
Bai Yanzhou caused the deaths of a group of homeless people yet no one cared who he actually was. Crimes like this occurred on this land every single day, repeated to the point of numbness.
Ye Jinran scrolled through a few more web pages. Bai Yanzhou’s name had not been exposed at all; the police had not investigated the matter. Amanda, who was currently being wanted, had vanished without a trace, she was very skilled at going on the run.
The glow of the screen washed Ye Jinran’s face pale and he gave a light, airy smile.
This second personality of Amanda was indeed interesting. In reality, she was nothing more than an ordinary foreign language teacher yet this second persona had allowed her to escape multiple times from an extremely dangerous game space and at some unknown point, she had even managed to offend Bai Yanzhou.
To be noticed by Bai Yanzhou, she was certainly not as weak as she appeared on the surface.
Could it be that she had been “blessed” by the main god?
After deities had clearly entered the public’s field of vision, many people in the real world, driven by admiration for power and various interests, chose to defect to the side of the main god. Such individuals were commonly known as cultists.
They acted as accomplices, spreading terror and despair on behalf of the main god, preaching those frenzied doctrines. Some of the luckier among them would gain the god’s favor and be granted sinister, powerful spells or corrupted creations bestowed by the deity.
Strictly speaking, Ye Jinran also belonged to this category. It was just that in instances, almost no one who encountered him would think of him as human and in the real world he hid himself very well. He had little social life and nearly no presence, so he had never been labeled a cultist.
The hounds of the main god were reviled by all. In reality, they knew how to hide themselves and would not easily expose their faith. Amanda’s second personality was very likely one of them.
As for the excessively outrageous Bai Yanzhou, Ye Jinran’s intuition told him that he probably relied on no entity at all. Acting alone was one of Bai Yanzhou’s most obvious traits.
Sitting in place brought no clarity. Ye Jinran simply closed the shop and decided to go out for a walk. He had fully thought it through, what did the convenience store’s reputation have to do with him anyway? In a few more days, he would be leaving this place forever. As for those players, there was nothing more to squeeze out of them until they made their next move.
He put on the baseball cap he had selected in advance, blocking out the harsh midday sun and making his field of vision a bit clearer.
On the system provided map, the coordinates of every player in the instance were displayed. Wang Heran and Wang Aimin were at their respective workplaces. Bai Yanzhou was moving at high speed between several districts. Amanda was in the outskirts. “I Am Not a Medical God” was marked as deceased.
Although Ye Jinran could catch up to Bai Yanzhou after using a few items, chasing him around like that would be far too ridiculous. He wasn’t curious enough to insist on seeing things in person. As for what that man was doing, he would naturally find out once the results emerged.
In a moment of inattention, when Ye Jinran looked back at the system interface again, he discovered that Bai Yanzhou had moved into the area of the school where He Ran was located.
Was he going to make a move against He Ran?
Ye Jinran headed toward the direction of the school while continuing to monitor the players’ movements. Strangely enough, Bai Yanzhou did not approach He Ran. Instead, he entered another building, the teaching building of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The coordinate point representing Bai Yanzhou stopped after reaching a certain floor and did not move for a long time. Unable to suppress his curiosity, Ye Jinran gritted his teeth and activated a teleportation spell, arriving directly at the foot of the academic building.
Just in case, he used every stealth and disguise item he could think of that had relatively strong effects. Now he was utterly imperceptible, unseen by eyes, unheard by ears and even surveillance cameras could not detect his presence. Only after all preparations were complete did Ye Jinran enter the elevator.
The elevator reached the third floor. At last, he was on the same level as Bai Yanzhou. Ye Jinran advanced with extreme caution, passing through the wall and stepping into a conference room.
Inside the conference room stood a long table and dozens of chairs yet there were only two people present. One was an elderly professor with a haggard complexion, sitting at the chair at the far end of the long table in an extremely unnatural posture, his head drooping in dejection. The other person sat opposite him, idly manipulating a potted green plant beside him.
Bai Yanzhou pinched a leaf between his fingers and made a few idle gestures with it. He quickly lost interest in the greenery and turned his head instead. The smile in his eyes sent a chill straight down one’s spine. “It must be exhausting, mustn’t it? You believe in that being so devoutly yet you can’t let anyone know. No one around you will understand you, nor can they ever understand. After that journey, you and this world filled with false appearances have already become strangers walking separate paths.”
Having slipped in under stealth, Ye Jinran instantly felt like he had stumbled upon some truly sensational gossip. He wasn’t very familiar with this instance, so he immediately used his system privileges to pull up the NPC’s background information and began cramming on the spot.
The elderly professor was named James Reed, a geologist and folklorist. When he was younger, he had ventured deep into the Arctic alongside colleagues to conduct investigations. While studying the indigenous peoples within the Arctic Circle, he came into contact with a rare and mysterious belief system. His curiosity was stirred and with a secret longing in his heart, he continued pressing further north.
Then, amid the endless snowfields and the unbroken expanse of pristine white mountain ranges, he saw it, rolling, surging black clouds that raged like the roar of demons and within them, a massive shadow whose shape could not be clearly discerned.
Ye Jinran understood the sensations that came with encountering those terrifying gods. One’s original worldview would be utterly shattered, the overwhelming influx of information crushing the will. Many people, because of this, would directly become cultists belonging to some faction, never again able to find any other meaning in life.
After returning, James Reed obsessively began gathering information about that thing. At first, he tried to explain it using reason and science. Gradually, however, he realized that what stood before him was an insurmountable mountain. His rationality irreversibly tilted toward the abyss and he became a member of the Windwalker Esoteric Sect.
The professor seated in the chair let out a long sigh. His body was stiff, completely unmoving. Only then did Ye Jinran realize that he had been placed under some form of restraint.
“So you are the person that young woman mentioned?” the old professor said weakly. “Young people really are poor judges of character…”
Bai Yanzhou smiled faintly. “He Ran? She mentioned me to you? I truly didn’t expect that, didn’t think she’d have anything good to say about me at all.”
The old professor gave a bleak, powerless smile. “She still naively hoped that you might find a way to stop this disaster but you’re just like the kind of person I imagined. You probably understand as well, no one can stop His arrival.”
Bai Yanzhou let out a cold laugh. The look in his eyes grew even more repulsed. “Me? Heh, that’s an interesting idea but I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. I didn’t come here to save anyone and as for the thing you’re talking about, I have no intention of bowing my head to it either.”
If not everyone could be satisfied, then let no one be satisfied at all.
Ye Jinran silently observed a moment of mourning for all the NPCs and players in this instance.
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Congratulations. You survived the chapter. Now survive the coffee request. 😈
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Blood Moon Town: ShhhChapter 2 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (1)Chapter 3 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (2)Chapter 4 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (3)Chapter 5 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (4)Chapter 6 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 7 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (6)Chapter 8 · The mist over Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 9 · The Mystery of Nanjin Village (The End)Chapter 10 · Real WorldChapter 11 · Riding The Wind (1)Chapter 12 · Riding The Wind (2)Chapter 13 · Riding The Wind (3)Chapter 14 · Riding The Wind (4)Chapter 15 · Riding The Wind (5)Chapter 16 · Riding The Wind (6)Chapter 17 · Riding The Wind (7)Chapter 18 · Riding The Wind (8)Chapter 19 · Riding The Wind (9)Chapter 20 · Riding The Wind (10)Chapter 21 Part 1 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 21 Part 2 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 22 · Real World (1)Chapter 23 · Real World (2)Chapter 24 · Golden Sands Fade Away (1)Chapter 25 · Golden Sands Fade Away (2)Chapter 26 · Golden Sands Fade Away (3)Chapter 27 · Golden Sands Fade Away (4)Chapter 28 · Golden Sands Fade Away (5)Chapter 29 · Golden Sands Fade Away (6)Chapter 30 · Golden Sands Fade Away (7)Chapter 31 · Golden Sands Fade Away (8)Chapter 32 · Golden Sands Fade Away (9)Chapter 33 · Golden Sands Fade Away (10)Chapter 34 · Golden Sands Fade Away (11)Chapter 35 · Golden Sands Fade Away (12)Chapter 36 · Golden Sands Fade Away (13)Chapter 37 · Golden Sands Fade Away (14)Chapter 38 · Golden Sands Fade Away (15)Chapter 39 · Golden Sands Fade Away (16)Chapter 40 · Golden Sands Fade Away (17)Chapter 41 · Golden Sands Fade Away (18)Chapter 42 · Golden Sands Fade Away (19)Chapter 43 · Golden Sands Fade Away (20)Chapter 44 · Golden Sands Fade Away (21)Chapter 45 · Golden Sands Fade Away (22)Chapter 46 · Golden Sands Fade Away (23)Chapter 47 · Golden Sands Fade Away (24)Chapter 48 · Golden Sands Fade Away (25) The EndChapter 49 · Main God’s DomainChapter 50 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (1)Chapter 51 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (2)Chapter 52 · Item FactoryChapter 53 · Defrosted Friendship (1)Chapter 54 · Defrosted Friendship (2)Chapter 55 · Defrosted Friendship (3)Chapter 56 · Defrosted Friendship (4)Chapter 57 · Defrosted Friendship (5)Chapter 58 · Defrosted Friendship (6)Chapter 59 · Defrosted Friendship (7)Chapter 60 · Defrosted Friendship (8)Chapter 61 · Defrosted Friendship (9)Chapter 62 · Defrosted Friendship (10)Chapter 63 · Defrosted Friendship (11)Chapter 64 · Defrosted Friendship (12)Chapter 65 · Defrosted Friendship (13)Chapter 66 · Defrosted Friendship (14)Chapter 67 · Defrosted Friendship (15)Chapter 68 · Defrosted Friendship (16)Chapter 69 · Defrosted Friendship (End)Chapter 70 · The Real WorldChapter 71 · Matching TimeChapter 72 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (1)Chapter 73 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (2)Chapter 74 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (3)Chapter 75 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (4)Chapter 76 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (5)Chapter 77 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (6)Chapter 78 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (7)Chapter 79 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (8)Chapter 80 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (9)Chapter 81 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (10)Chapter 82 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (11)Chapter 83 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (12)Chapter 84 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (13)Chapter 85 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (14)Chapter 86 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (15)Chapter 87 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (16)Chapter 88 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (17)Chapter 89 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (18)Chapter 90 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (19)Chapter 91 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (20)Chapter 92 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (21)Chapter 93 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (22)Chapter 94 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (23)Chapter 95 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (Complete)Chapter 96 · The Main God Invites You for TeaChapter 97 · The Player ForumChapter 98 · Training GroundChapter 99 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (1)Chapter 100 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (2)Chapter 101 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (3)Chapter 102 · Eternal Night · The One Who Strikes the Stone (Finale)