Inside the conference room, Bai Yanzhou tilted his head back and looked up at the ceiling. Under the harsh fluorescent lights, his silver hair was tinged with a faint, pale halo.
“Actually, I’ve always known that the person that female student was talking about wasn’t me,” he said, leaning lazily against the back of his chair as the corner of his lips lifted slightly. “But there’s one thing you were right about. She really is naive, completely incapable of understanding that man’s true nature.”
What person? What nature?
Ye Jinran vaguely felt that the topic of their conversation somehow had something to do with him. Every word made sense on its own, yet once strung together, they sounded like a foreign script he couldn’t decipher at all.
Could it be that someone has finally discovered my true nature…
…as an overworked mule oppressed by the Main God?
Bai Yanzhou continued in the same unhurried, casual tone. “Praying for a god’s help comes with an enormous price. So if you want to obtain benefits from such a being, trying to approach it through something as mundane as a ‘transaction’ is truly foolish.”
Ye Jinran silently retorted in his heart, You literally just finished shopping like crazy.
The old professor let out a bitter smile. “Then what? Rob them by force? No one can bear a god’s wrath.”
“Humans, forever constrained by the limits of their own understanding…” Bai Yanzhou murmured. “That’s why I so enjoy watching the beautiful order you believe in collapse right before your eyes.”
Those rose-colored eyes, cunning, with a hint of malice, shifted slightly in a certain direction.
Standing in the corner, Ye Jinran froze.
For a brief, fleeting instant, their gazes met in silence.
Was that just a coincidence? How could he possibly see me?
Before Ye Jinran could react, the drifting gaze had already moved away. Bai Yanzhou now watched with evident interest as the old professor, still bound to his seat by some kind of restraining device, appeared as though he were being subjected to torture.
“The military plans to conduct the final meteorological weapons test this afternoon,” Bai Yanzhou said, lightly tapping the tabletop. “By the time we finish our little chat, it should already be over. Professor Reid, what do you think?”
Wariness and displeasure filled the professor’s eyes, but he quickly seemed to realize something. He tried, too late, to put on a look of surprise.
Bai Yanzhou chuckled softly. “So you did know.”
The reason the military was pushing forward with the weapons test so urgently, desperate to deploy it as soon as possible,
“The people feeding information to the independent media are meteorological observation stations cooperating with the military,” Bai Yanzhou said, folding his arms as he leaned back lazily. “That’s why they’re unwaveringly convinced the hurricane is coming. Journalists know it, so of course the military does too.”
They were deluding themselves into believing that atmospheric weapons could counteract this disaster, driving the hurricane back beyond the nation’s borders.
“For the one you worship, this kind of behavior counts as a rather blatant provocation, doesn’t it?” Bai Yanzhou mused, stroking his chin. “Though personally, I think it’s quite an interesting approach.”
Professor Reid replied in a low voice, “They can’t possibly succeed.”
“I think so too.” Bai Yanzhou didn’t argue. “But what does failure matter? The god will be enraged. That beings like them can possess such a simple, outward emotion as anger, I find it astonishing every single time I think about it.”
“Country A will be destroyed by them…” Professor Reid sighed heavily, as though he had aged a decade in an instant.
The interest in Bai Yanzhou’s eyes deepened. “Your faith stems from fear. Just like those indigenous tribes on the ice plains, you serve that being only to protect your homeland.”
“Should I thank you for your understanding?” Professor Reid’s expression darkened. “I simply… I don’t want anyone else to die for nothing anymore. I’ve already found the correct method of sacrifice. As long as we follow the plan, all of us can survive.”
Sacrificing a small number of people in exchange for the survival of many, no doubt countless people would willingly choose that option, especially those rulers seated high within the halls of power.
Bai Yanzhou gently shook his head. “As for the sacrifices required for the ritual, I can supply them at any time. Where I live, there are lowly lives everywhere, lives no one would miss or even acknowledge. However, there is one point on which I disagree with you.”
“What point?” The professor looked at him steadily. “Sir, I don’t believe you’re the soft-hearted type.”
Bai Yanzhou smiled pleasantly. “That meteorological weapon, using it is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Still, it can be put to use.”
Ye Jinran, who had just shifted to an even more concealed position, sucked in a sharp breath when he heard that.
I’m starting to lose track of his line of thinking.
Hadn’t they just concluded that the weapon was useless? Why was he suddenly placing trust in it again?
Looking over, Ye Jinran could clearly see that beneath Bai Yanzhou’s smile lurked a trace of cruelty.
Unlike his outward image of indiscriminate slaughter, Bai Yanzhou’s actions were almost always the result of careful calculation. Ye Jinran understood all too well what made this man truly terrifying.
James Reid, this NPC, had an activity range limited to the campus. He was practically an exclusive information source for high school–level players. Other players would never be able to come into contact with him, yet Bai Yanzhou had found his way here.
His purpose was still unclear.
Bai Yanzhou had monitored every move of the other players and possessed perfect opportunities to ambush them. Yet he had chosen instead to prioritize contact with an NPC unrelated to combat.
He was actually attempting to push the plot forward.
Based on Ye Jinran’s understanding of him, Bai Yanzhou preferred to bulldoze through instances with overwhelming force. Unless there was absolutely no alternative, he would never obediently follow the story’s progression.
The fact that he had chosen this path meant that even his power was no longer sufficient to take shortcuts.
While all players had extremely limited ways to obtain information, Bai Yanzhou had been the first to judge the strength of the mastermind behind the scenes, and he had swiftly adjusted his strategy for clearing the instance.
There was another point as well.
He had realized that killing other players offered no benefit whatsoever toward clearing the instance.
Even Ye Jinran found this difficult to believe.
How on earth had he figured that out?
It was the greatest secret of the entire dungeon.
What was the truth of this game?
The system was merely the spokesperson of the Main God. The tasks assigned by the system were things the Main God wanted to see the players do.
Whether it was unrestrained slaughter or subtle undercurrents of intrigue, what It wished to witness was humans harming and killing one another.
Those fortunate enough to escape would naïvely believe themselves to be lucky survivors, when in reality, they had simply been entered into the next game roster, transformed into even more valuable toys.
From the very beginning, the task objective displayed by this instance had been a form of misdirection.
Completing it could indeed lead to victory, because such behavior aligned with the Main God’s expectations. A corresponding reward would naturally be granted.
Like animals finishing their performance on a circus stage, the master would not begrudge tossing them a hunk of blood-soaked meat.
But Ye Jinran still remembered the information he had seen before entering the instance.
<Riding the Wind> had been cleared three times.
Bad Ends were also counted as successful clears. In one round, all players had been wiped out.
The objective released by the system was meant to kill them.
To survive, the best approach was to overturn the chessboard itself, to refuse to play by the predetermined rules.
Yet people revere the Main God and fear powerful anomalies. Instinctively, they can only think of obeying the system’s guidance.
Who would ever think of doing otherwise?
Bai Yanzhou’s irreverent attitude toward divinity was precisely what allowed him to break free from this mental trap.
He had grasped the true path to clearing the instance. From the very beginning, he had never intended to play this game according to the Main God’s design. That was why, despite having countless opportunities to kill the others, he maintained a low profile and had never once attacked another player after entering the instance.
Ye Jinran no longer dared to think too deeply.
Bai Yanzhou might very well be planning to unite the other players.
Still, the concept of “unity” felt absurd when applied to someone like Bai Yanzhou. Calling it a temporary cooperative relationship would be more accurate.
In the face of natural disasters, humans occupying different positions would inevitably struggle desperately to protect their own small plots of land. Even if they shared the same goal, differences in method would cause them to obstruct one another sooner or later.
Just like Professor Reid, who chose to offer sacrifices to a god; He Ran and her classmates, who insisted on relying on prediction; and Wang Aimin, who attempted to develop meteorological weapons, each of them was striving to protect the people of this land, yet they had become stumbling blocks to one another.
Not to mention the conflict between new media outlets that sought to incite panic and the government, which wished to maintain social stability.
Bai Yanzhou intended to put an end to all of these conflicts.
That was no different from defying the heavens themselves.
Countless thoughts flashed through Ye Jinran’s mind. On the surface, however, he remained calm, deliberately minimizing his sense of presence.
Professor Reid closed his eyes and spoke with resignation. “You’re just as stubborn as I am. Then why did you bind me here? What exactly do you want me to do for you?”
“Nothing,” Bai Yanzhou replied lightly.
“I merely came to confirm a few things. But now I’ve changed my mind. I won’t allow the sacrificial ritual to the Windwalker to take place, and I’ve already experienced your stubbornness for myself, so…”
There was nothing left to discuss.He had never intended to let this NPC leave alive.
“Travellers from another world, we bear no personal grudge,” Bai Yanzhou said, an elegant yet cruel smile on his face. “But this is simply what I must do.”
Ye Jinran did not continue watching.
He turned around and left the conference room the same way he had come.
He didn’t know how Bai Yanzhou would end that NPC’s life, but whatever he did, he did it cleanly. Not a single sound came from the conference room behind him.
On the way, Ye Jinran stopped to check on He Ran.
At this moment, she was in a large lecture hall, discussing the next stage of their plan with her classmates. When Ye Jinran dropped his disguise and appeared directly in front of her, she was so startled her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“Bl… Black!” He Ran pointed at him, shouting in disbelief. “How did you get out?!”
Ye Jinran found it rather amusing. “Why wouldn’t I be able to come out?”
“I thought an NPC like the shop owner could only spawn at a fixed location inside the shop!”
Ye Jinran shrugged. “Sometimes I like to take a walk, too.”
Still in shock, He Ran coaxed and persuaded the other students to leave the lecture hall first. After she closed the door, the vast classroom was left with only the two of them, instantly falling into silence.
Ye Jinran casually found a seat and spoke first. “Bai Yanzhou has entered the campus, but he didn’t come looking for you. Do you know what that means?”
He Ran had just bent her knees to sit when Ye Jinran’s words froze her in place for a full three seconds. When it finally sank in, she nearly launched herself straight toward the ceiling.
“What?!!”She frantically fished her phone out of her pocket. In her panic, she entered the password wrong several times in a row. Her trembling fingers wobbled across the screen until, at last, she stumbled into the contacts interface.
“Brother! Where are you, brother! Come save me right now, bro, ahhh!!!”
Ye Jinran couldn’t help but laugh. He raised a hand and waved it slightly, signaling her to calm down.
“Your brother used that voodoo technique, didn’t he? Planning to deal with Bai Yanzhou using a sympathetic doll? I can tell you right now, it won’t work. Before entering the instance, he stockpiled a huge number of items. Any debuff that weakens attributes through the doll can be neutralized by potions. And if it’s just pain… I imagine his pain tolerance is quite high.”
After her brother finished crafting the voodoo doll, he had most likely already tested it. Any damage inflicted on the doll would be reflected directly onto the target. Yet Ye Jinran had just seen Bai Yanzhou looking utterly at ease, showing no sign of discomfort whatsoever.
“One of the essential materials for making a voodoo doll,” Ye Jinran continued with a smile as he explained his inference, “is the target’s hair. Your brother most likely infiltrated the area where Bai Yanzhou operates and managed to obtain it. What do you think the odds are that he did all that without Bai Yanzhou noticing?”
“So Bai Yanzhou already knew what we were doing…” He Ran murmured, disbelief still lingering in her eyes.
Ye Jinran nodded. “That’s right. But instead of dealing first with the voodoo doll and the caster, who posed a direct threat to him, he came to your school instead.”
Bai Yanzhou hadn’t cared about that little trinket at all. He judged it incapable of posing any real danger. For him, there were far more important matters to attend to.Ye Jinran smoothly shifted the topic. “That said, your brother is pretty impressive. I took a look at where Bai Yanzhou is staying earlier, it’s truly a net cast across heaven and earth. Even a fly wouldn’t make it out alive once it went in.”
For a kid, he played the game with a decent amount of skill.
He Ran stammered, “H… He’s not here to find me, right? If he wanted to kidnap me or kill me… he should already be standing here before you arrived.”
“Exactly,” Ye Jinran said, pleased that her thoughts had finally begun to turn. “But he might come looking for you later. So I’ll need you not to mention that you saw me here.”
He Ran swallowed nervously. “Then why did you come to see me, knowing the risk?”
“Can’t I just be dropping by for fun?” Ye Jinran replied lightly. “The meteorological data you and your classmates have obtained contains some errors. I can provide you with correct, detailed data, data that won’t be affected by that meteorological weapon test.”
Step by step, he tempted her with precisely what she desired.
“You really want to predict that thing’s landfall time and trajectory, don’t you? With current human technology, there simply isn’t enough information available. Missing pieces of the puzzle will lead you to conclusions far removed from the truth. Only I can help you complete that missing part.”
His immediate superior, the Main God of the infinite game, stood at a higher level of existence than the deity responsible for this ice storm.
Naturally, such a being possessed the ability to fully grasp every one of that god’s actions.Standing above the sandbox, watching the world’s ever-shifting changes, nothing could escape the gaze of a higher dimension.
Ye Jinran discreetly made use of his privileges as a favored emissary and obtained the crucial information needed to support He Ran’s predictions.
With He Ran joining forces with her brother, who was a meteorologist, internal conflicts eased. The experiment on her brother’s side would be completed today, and there was no longer any need to interfere with her judgment through misinformation.
At this point in the game, the instance had entered its second phase.
He Ran drew a steady breath, forcibly calming herself before asking, “What price do I have to pay?”
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
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This translator has expenses. Coffee is one of them.
☕ 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)