Wang Shun felt utterly helpless and tried to stop Bai Liu.
“In the League, no one goes onto the field while also operating the betting floor.”
“Do the rules allow it?” Bai Liu cast Wang Shun a sidelong glance.
Wang Shun paused. “The rules allow it.”
But he immediately added anxiously, “But teams where the players themselves enter the field basically never make it through the preseason! Controlling a gambling house requires an enormous amount of capital and manpower, and it puts immense psychological pressure on the team members. Once you lose, you’ll be beaten down miserably by the frenzied gamblers!”
“Then we just have to keep winning,” Bai Liu replied simply.
He interrupted Wang Shun, who still wanted to continue. “I’m leaving the guild to you. Things probably won’t be very peaceful next, so be careful not to show your face with the other members.”
“—It’s very easy to get beaten up by people from other guilds.”
“...Why would we get beaten up?” Before Wang Shun could react, Bai Liu lazily waved his hand and walked toward the members of Wandering Circus waiting for him outside.
Soon, Wang Shun understood why Bai Liu had said things would not be peaceful.
“Mr. Wang Shun, there’s a fight on the forum!” Someone rushed over to report to Wang Shun, looking around anxiously. “Where is Guild Leader Bai?! Someone is impersonating him and posting on the forum!”
Wang Shun opened his system panel, and his expression gradually went blank.
At the top of the forum, dozens of posts were glowing red with trending heat, and the poster was not anonymous. He had brazenly displayed his real name.
They were all Bai Liu.
In those dozens of posts, he used sharp language to mock the top ten guilds, criticizing each one as utterly worthless. At the same time, he praised his own battle team, [Wandering Circus], to the skies, and even arrogantly issued a challenge to Spades, the number-one ranked player—
—[I’m not very satisfied with the label “Second Spades” being stuck on me, but I would be very happy to see the label “Second to Bai Liu” stuck on Spades.]
Wang Shun felt dizzy. He stumbled back several steps and almost dropped to his knees.
Right now was the most intense period of support season. A single spark between the support groups of the major guilds could blow up the sky. The actions of guild battle teams were usually cautious to the extreme, all because they feared their opponents seizing on some weakness and attacking them with it.
Now that Bai Liu had air-dropped so many heavyweight “atomic bombs,” all the firepower on the forum had gathered on him with unprecedented concentration. The whole forum had already been turned upside down.
Quite a few fans, fuming with rage, were already moving to surround Bai Liu and give him a remote beating to vent their anger.
Left with this mess by Bai Liu, Wang Shun felt his head swelling three sizes larger. He slumped into a chair and stared blankly ahead with a bitter smile.
“Stirring up trouble and then running away, Bai Liu, you really are a bastard...”
On the other side.
The bastard leader, Bai Liu, showed no remorse whatsoever for his actions. Instead, his behavior became even more arrogant. No one knew where he had obtained an exaggeratedly decorated pair of sunglasses, but he had put them on and was swaggering toward the game entrance under the escort of the Circus members, lifting his head as he selected a game to enter.
Mu Shicheng looked around alertly, puzzled. “Is it just my imagination? Why do I feel like a lot of people are showing very strong hostility toward us...”
“It’s not your imagination.” Liu Jiayi was checking the forum, her brows furrowed. “The forum is full of discussions about us, but they’re all negative... The reason is that someone claiming to be Bai Liu posted a lot of provocative threads targeting other guilds.”
Liu Jiayi leaned in to take a look. After browsing through all the posts, her expression turned into = =.
This kind of psychotic operation did not even require thought to know it was Bai Liu’s doing...
—This wave of reverse marketing to leech popularity was truly extreme. Although it had drawn an enormous amount of attention to them, Wang Shun’s side was probably going to have a massive headache.
After all, since these fans could not find the main culprit, Bai Liu, to vent on, they would mostly take it out on the guild...
As they spoke, players with furious expressions continued to approach Bai Liu and his group.
In his posts, Bai Liu had described the characteristics of the entire Wandering Circus very clearly. He had even written down what style of sunglasses he was wearing. Therefore, these players recognized Bai Liu at a single glance.
After choosing a game, Bai Liu turned around and slowly pushed his sunglasses down a little, revealing a pair of smiling black eyes as he looked at the players approaching him.
He seemed to find the scene quite interesting.
But Bai Liu soon turned his head back. “Let’s enter the game. Our plan is to clear at least ten games today. If anyone can’t hold on, call for a stop, and we’ll enter again after resting.”
The five of them disappeared into the center of the crowd.
In a corner, a pair of apple-green eyes watched this scene without moving, then turned and entered a Level 3 game.
Inside the Gamblers’ Guild, Charles drew the silk scarf from his breast pocket.
The golden threads of fate embroidered a crown onto the scarf, and Bai Liu’s face flickered in and out of view. Charles put the scarf back into his pocket and lightly clinked his red wine glass against the air with a faint smile.
“—To the victory and money bestowed by fate. Cheers.”
Inside the King’s Guild, Queen of Hearts swirled a bottle of Psyche’s Tears, which Liu Jiayi had returned to her.
Queen of Hearts’ gaze passed through the tear-shaped glass bottle and drifted very far away, as though she were reminiscing about a soul that had long since dissipated behind this lingering tear, until someone knocked on her door.
Someone pushed the door open uneasily and reported in a low voice, “Queen, it seems Bai Liu intends to participate in the competition this year...”
“Then let him participate.” Queen of Hearts put away the glass bottle and replied calmly, “We have already done everything we could to stop him. This result may be the true result.”
Queen of Hearts looked at a photo on her desk.
It was a group photo taken after clearing a large-scale dungeon. Guild leaders were like this. They needed to do many things filled with a sense of ritual to consolidate others’ trust in them, such as taking photos.
In the photo, Liu Jiayi had lifted a corner of her witch’s veil. Her usually cold face rarely showed such a pure smile, and she was looking at Queen of Hearts standing beside her with complete trust. The background was a strange and uncertain fog—the background of that dangerous Level 3 game.
But that danger seemed to dissipate because of Liu Jiayi’s clean smile.
In the background stood the foolish Liu Ji. Qi Yifang, his face injured, crouched at Liu Jiayi’s feet, smiling brightly and flashing a peace sign, while the massive Titan knelt silently in the back. Although he had worked very hard to lower his head, the camera had only managed to capture his chin.
Queen of Hearts stood in the center of everyone, with Liu Jiayi leaning in her arms. They were the dual cores of this year’s battle team, surrounded and clustered by everyone else.
Her gaze lingered on the photo for a moment. Then she reached out and turned the photo face down.
Queen of Hearts placed the glass bottle in the deepest drawer, then looked up.
“Release the news that the Little Witch has defected from the King’s Guild.”
The person reporting paused. His eyes reddened as he looked up. “Queen, can the Little Witch really not come back...”
Queen of Hearts continued giving orders without the slightest emotion on her face.
“...Bring forward the secret rotation player [The Nun] we originally prepared for the Little Witch. Arrange for her to enter the game pool today. I will begin formal training for her as an official member...”
The reporter’s head drooped powerlessly. “...Yes, Queen.”
Just as the reporter was about to turn and leave, Queen of Hearts suddenly called out to him.
“Wait.”
The reporter turned back, surprised to find that the usually decisive Queen of Hearts was now leaning her head against her hand in a relaxed posture, her gaze unfocused as she looked at the photo on the desk. He remembered very clearly that the Queen had just pressed that photo down.
For some reason, she had stood it back up again.
The reporter carefully reminded her, “Queen, is there anything else?”
Queen of Hearts lowered her eyes. Her slender white fingertips lightly stroked Liu Jiayi in the photo. She let out a light sigh that seemed both melancholy and helpless, closed her eyes tiredly, and tossed two boxes to the reporter.
“—These are two transcendent-grade items originally prepared for the Little Witch. One contains a pair of contact lenses that can permanently visualize sight. No harsh environment will affect their use—”
Queen of Hearts fell silent for a moment, then continued.
“—The other item is a potion. Drinking it will permanently restore her vision.”
“Bring them to her for me,” Queen of Hearts said flatly. “And bring her a message.”
“Next time we meet, it will be on the field.”
“—Tell her that no matter what she chooses, whether it is the future, betrayal, or doubt, she must not regret it or run away from it. She must use her own eyes to watch.”
“Consider this the last principle I teach her.”
The reporter stood there for a long time, then bowed and withdrew.
“Yes, Queen.”
Queen of Hearts sat alone in the dark for a long time, facing that photo. In the end, she also placed the photo into the drawer that held Psyche’s Tears.
In the deepest part of the drawer, an even older photo could faintly be seen. In that photo, a young Queen of Hearts sat on the lap of a man whose face was obscured. His arms were wrapped around her waist, while she waved her arms lightheartedly and laughed with wanton abandon.
Queen of Hearts locked the drawer, stood up, and left without looking back.
Golden Dawn Guild.
Although this third-ranked guild had such a shining name, its headquarters was actually located beside a rather gloomy district of the game. From the outside, the building looked dim and dull, drawing no attention at all, much like the guild’s own style of conduct—low-profile, simple, rigorous, and rigid.
In contrast, the interior of the building was brightly lit, as bright as a summer day. Players with floating system panels analyzing massive amounts of data shuttled back and forth with solemn expressions. Rather than a guild where players gathered, it looked more like some high-end technological experimental base.
Golden Dawn was a very unique guild. Compared with highly open guilds that allowed a large flow of players to enter and leave, Golden Dawn, like Killer Sequence, was an extremely closed guild.
Players who wanted to join Golden Dawn had to undergo strict screening, and no one knew what the guild’s screening standards were. They only knew that very few players could join, and very few could leave. As a result, there were very few ordinary players in the guild. This also made it difficult to probe for internal information, giving the guild an air of mystery.
Most guilds’ impression of Golden Dawn matched Wang Shun’s evaluation.
It seemed to be a guild made up almost entirely of foreigners.
And just as Wang Shun’s impression suggested, the chairman of Golden Dawn Guild was also a foreigner.
“Knock, knock, knock—!”
Someone knocked on the door of the chairman’s office.
“Captain George, I have something to report.”
“Come in.”
The door was slowly pushed open. Sitting behind the desk was a tall, slender man with long, deep-brown hair and deep-brown eyes.
This captain named George had deep yet gentle features and a high nose bridge. In the words of his fans, he possessed a kind of pure elegance like the first light of dawn, blended with the luxury of shining gold.
Simply put, he looked very expensive.
When this captain first debuted in the League, he was voted into the safety line by fanatical fans and received a death-exemption gold medal. He was famous for obtaining a gold medal based on his face. Currently, he ranked third on the beauty/popularity chart, second only to Queen of Hearts. This was also related to George’s habit of living in seclusion and disliking public appearances.
His profile appeared quite approachable, but once he looked directly at someone, that impression instantly dissipated.
George’s gaze was very focused and very powerful. Anyone watched by him would involuntarily develop the illusion that [I seem very important to him], but after understanding him, one would discover that he was merely observing whether that person possessed any danger. He was a serious man, and not an easy person to get along with.
In a reflection of his personality, George’s smooth, deep-brown long hair was neatly tied into a high ponytail at the back of his head. However, his complexion was clearly unhealthy. A peculiar cold pallor appeared at the edge of his lower lip, though it was not evident at all from his usual behavior.
The person who entered saw George supporting himself against the desk to stand up and immediately stepped forward nervously, making him sit back down.
“Captain, your old injuries from being contaminated by a heretic attack haven’t healed yet. Just sit and listen to my report!”
George coughed lightly into his fist a couple of times and sat back down only after apologizing.
The other person breathed a sigh of relief and continued, “Captain, it’s like this. District 1 of the Heretic Management Bureau recently contained two heretics. One is called Rose Perfume, Special Grade 1 Red. The other seems to be corpse pieces related to Rose Perfume. It is said to be extremely dangerous, and the current danger rating cannot classify it yet.”
“These corpse pieces are said to be capable of affecting other heretics and causing them to evolve, so keeping them in District 1, where the greatest number of heretics are gathered, is not good. They are preparing to transfer them to an overseas branch of the Heretic Management Bureau.”
“—Currently, District 1 is inclined to transfer them to our branch, District 3.” The person handed over a system panel. “District 1 wants us to clear out a base in advance to separately contain this heretic of unknown danger. Captain, if you agree to District 1’s application, we will begin preparations as soon as we log out of the game.”
George took the system panel, but when he saw the signature on the application, his brow furrowed.
“—Why is it the Second Branch Captain, Cen Buming? This kind of Special Grade 1 Red heretic transfer is usually applied for by the Third Branch Captain, isn’t it?”
The visitor hesitated for a moment, seeming not to know how to tell George about this matter. But in the end, he surrendered under George’s piercing gaze and had no choice but to confess honestly.
“—I heard that the Third Branch Captain has left the bureau.”
“Left the bureau?” George was startled. “Why would he leave? That captain seemed to love this job very much.”
“—Don’t treat everyone like yourself, Captain,” the team member complained. “Not everyone is a workaholic like you, coming into work and training even when you’re injured and could take leave. The work at the Heretic Management Bureau is so exhausting, and the salary isn’t as high as the extra money earned in the game. I can completely understand why that branch captain resigned.”
George glanced at him flatly. “This is a sacred job.”
The team member tactfully made a zipping motion over his mouth and stopped talking.
After George approved the application, he handed the system panel back. The team member took it, glanced at George with concern, and did not leave. Instead, he asked in a low voice,
“—George, is your didi still sulking because you didn’t take him on that mission where you got injured?”
The way he addressed him as [George] rather than [Captain] clearly made this a private inquiry.
George’s speed of reviewing documents slowed. He curled his fingers tightly around the pen, but he did not look up.
The team member understood.
“Or are you still angry because your didi hid from you that he had entered the game for a year, and even secretly joined our guild as a battle team member this year to prepare for the League, only for you to expose him?”
George still did not speak.
The team member could not help rambling on.
“Young people are very reckless and impulsive. He did it because he was worried about you. Maybe you can talk to him. You are his last family member. You also know that after being affected by that heretic, your health has been poor, and you’re always suffering various injuries. He just wants to protect you...”
“He is also my last family member.” George looked up, interrupting the team member’s words. “If he had considered my feelings, he should not have hidden this from me.”
Due to his emotional fluctuations, George’s usually calm face flushed faintly red, and his breathing quickened considerably. He lowered his head, covered his mouth, and coughed violently.
“OK! OK! I’ll stop!! George, calm down!” The team member raised both hands and helplessly backed away. “Deep breaths!”
George said coldly, “Please leave.”
The team member turned away helplessly, but in the end, he added a small remark through the crack of the door.
“George, I heard the Third Branch Captain quit the bureau because of someone named Bai Liu.”
“It’s said that Rose Perfume was created by him, but for some reason, District 1 released him, and the Third Branch Captain even followed him and ran away. Some people even say the Third Branch Captain fell in love with this Bai Liu and followed him. Otherwise, there’s no other logical explanation.”
The team member shrugged. “Sounds ridiculous, right? I think so too, so it’s just gossip. Just listen and forget it.”
After saying this, he quickly closed the door and fled before George, that old fogey, could scold him for gossiping.
Inside the room, George frowned in deep thought.
“Bai Liu?”
On the other side, Bai Liu’s group emerged from the game after clearing ten games.
Bai Liu’s shirt and pants were soaked through. He looked as if he had been fished out of water, but it was actually all sweat. Mu Ke collapsed to the ground the moment he came out and did not move. Liu Jiayi sat on the floor, panting for breath, half-dead.
Mu Shicheng was the only one in better condition. He leaned against the wall and gulped down stamina recovery potions, sweat dripping from the ends of his hair.
The one in the best state was naturally Tang Erda. Aside from the slight dampness of his back, he looked exactly the same as before entering the game.
The players who had originally wanted to mock Bai Liu sarcastically in the game entry zone were now numb. This was already the tenth time they had seen this group appear at the entrance.
These freaks...
On average, they cleared a Level 2, or even Level 3, dungeon in less than half an hour. The games displayed on the screen were extinguished one after another by this group, as if they were being devoured.
The audience in the small TV area was even more dumbfounded. Watching the small TVs of these five people felt like watching at thirty-two times speed. Sometimes they had not even understood what the game was about before these five had already cleared it and entered the next one.
On the forum, there had originally been many people cursing Bai Liu for being ungrateful, but now the forum had fallen silent. Not a single person dared to make a sound.
Tang Erda’s absolute suppression through strength was too shocking.
Where had Bai Liu found such a terrifying main attacker?!
Just how high was this guy’s attack panel?
How did this group manage to keep up with Tang Erda’s attack speed?!
Could they even clearly see his firing speed?!
Under this massive amount of attention, these discussion topics successfully replaced the posts Bai Liu had originally released and became the hottest topics of debate among everyone in the entire game.
Lying on the ground, Bai Liu smoothed his hair back, pushing the dripping wet strands behind his head. He exhaled with refreshing satisfaction and looked at Tang Erda with a smile.
“In those ten games just now, you were the one among us who received the most recharge points. It seems the audience really likes your appearance and strength. Of course, so do we.”
“...” Tang Erda was not very good at discussing topics related to his own attractiveness, so he stiffly changed the subject. “Today’s game training ends here. Log out of the game. You all need to learn specific information about our future opponents.”
“How is there more...” Mu Shicheng let out a tragic wail and sat on the ground, having completely lost the will to live.
Bai Liu made an OK gesture.
————————————————
Inside Bai Liu’s rented apartment.
No one knew where Bai Liu had found a whiteboard and some markers, but he had set them up for Tang Erda to write and explain. The others sat on the bed opposite the whiteboard in a neat row, looking at Teacher Tang, who was about to begin his lecture.
Being stared at with such thirst for knowledge by his former enemies made Tang Erda feel uncomfortable all over. But he forced himself to suppress it, cleared his throat, picked up a red marker, and began outlining and explaining on the whiteboard.
“The top ten guilds in the game are your number-one enemies. You must be prepared to fight any one of them. As the saying goes, ‘know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.’ Next, I will explain the characteristics of each battle team according to their guild ranking...”
Tang Erda’s gaze sharpened as he looked around.
“Since I don’t know the battle team of Killer Sequence particularly well, and all of you have a deep understanding of the King’s Guild, the guild we will discuss today is the third-ranked guild—”
“—The Golden Dawn Guild.”
When today’s explanation ended, the others packed up to go home or return to school. Bai Liu looked at Tang Erda, who was staring blankly at the words [Golden Dawn] on the whiteboard. He poured a glass of water and brought it over.
“You know their leader, don’t you?”
Tang Erda paused and did not take Bai Liu’s water.
“I no longer want to ask how you knew.”
“I could see it.” Bai Liu put the water aside and sat beside Tang Erda. “You were deliberately avoiding explaining his skills. This is usually your attitude toward acquaintances. Can you tell me about this leader, George?”
Tang Erda pulled a cigarette from his pocket and gestured toward Bai Liu.
“Do you mind?”
Bai Liu smiled. “You know I don’t like the smell of smoke, but smoke if you want to.”
Tang Erda lit the cigarette and took a long, slow drag.
“—He and I aren’t exactly acquaintances. We can only be considered colleagues. He belongs to District 3 of the Heretic Management Bureau and is in charge of high-risk heretics.”
“To be precise, the person who truly counts as his old acquaintance—”
Tang Erda looked at Bai Liu.
“—is you, Bai Liu.”
Bai Liu understood. “What happened between me and him in other timelines?”
“When your subordinate Mu Shicheng was smuggling heretics overseas, he ran into George, who was on patrol. He captured George and handed him over to you. After you did something to George, or perhaps used some heretic contamination, you released George the next morning.”
“But after George returned, his body weakened day by day. Every day, he seemed to endure some form of intense torture. His mind was unclear, and he could not even clearly state what you had done to him that day. Sometimes, he would even display suicidal behavior.”
Tang Erda slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
“—Later, George’s didi, Armand, in order to avenge his gege, ambushed the smuggling line managed by Mu Shicheng and died together with Mu Shicheng.”
—
Author’s Note:
4: Why am I always the one who gets hurt!!!
