It's Time to Take Action

"Why care about a dead person?" Jiang Cheng felt quite bewildered by Huo Silou's words.

To be honest, he didn't even know he was that gentle.

Was this little girl deeply in love with him?

Or was it merely a sense of admiration at work?

Jiang Cheng wasn't very knowledgeable in this area, so he wasn't clear why Huo Silou praised him so highly.

But from the looks of it, Huo Silou was quite deeply affected.

When she spoke of him, that admiration was evident to anyone.

Jiang Cheng felt he should help her escape from this misery.

"What did you say? I won't allow you to talk about him like that! He's not dead! The news must be wrong, he probably just had some difficulties and faked his death, what right do you have to say he's dead?"

Huo Silou seemed quite agitated, and in her words, she no longer showed any reverence toward Jiang Cheng.

"They even held a funeral. This is an undeniable fact. People should look forward, not live in the past."

"What business is it of yours? Hmph, I like him, I choose to live in the past, so what? You're not me, how could you understand my feelings?"

"I swear, in this life, I'll marry no one but Jiang God!"

"Put me down, I'm not going anymore!"

Huo Silou was very averse to Jiang Cheng talking about her idol, becoming even more agitated, almost incoherent.

To this, Jiang Cheng could only remain speechless.

This girl was beyond saving.

"What happened between you two that makes him worth all this from you?"

"None of your... between us..."

As Huo Silou spoke, she suddenly fell silent, the shadow in her eyes growing deeper.

"Between us, there was actually no real connection... sigh... it was always just me being overly imaginative, but I just can't control myself... I really don't quite believe he died just like that..."

"If there was no connection, what feelings could there be? What you have is merely admiration born from worship, not anything that could be called love."

Jiang Cheng really didn't understand much about emotions, so he could only counsel her with knowledge he'd learned from books.

Of course, if his advice didn't work, that was fine too. After all, he was just killing time because the journey was too long.

Besides, there must be many who were infatuated with him; Jiang Cheng couldn't possibly counsel them all.

"Huh, strange, you're just a skeleton, where do all these profound theories come from? Talking so convincingly, I almost believed you."

"You almost believed me just from a few casual words, which shows your conviction might not be as firm as you think."

Jiang Cheng advised.

"Why do I feel like you're trying to talk me out of something?" Huo Silou finally noticed something odd in Jiang Cheng's words.

"Talk me out of what? Not to be delusional, or to escape from misery soon? Not to dwell on the past? Or maybe, you... do you know Jiang God... are you Jiang God's enemy?"

Jiang Cheng: "..."

Jiang Cheng's breath slightly faltered. He felt this girl was beyond salvation.

Her imagination was truly powerful.

He wondered how Qionglou had ever been managed by her.

How had they ranked sixth in the Mythic era, firmly above Fist Dominates Mountains and Rivers?

With this level of intelligence, it seemed insufficient.

Without saying more, Jiang Cheng headed straight for Qiuming Mountain.

In three days' time, the Great Wasteland's development naturally wouldn't halt for Jiang Cheng.

After experiencing the calamity of the Nine Nether Three-Headed Hellwolf, though there hadn't been any major open conflicts in the entire Great Wasteland.

But the relationship between NPCs and players seemed to have become somewhat subtle, no longer as harmonious as before.

There were often rumors saying that someone had been expelled from the Holy Light Church or other NPC professional forces, with all their skills removed and faction bonuses disappearing.

Most players, however, scoffed at such news, believing it to be impossible.

But Xie Changkong and others from the Temple naturally wouldn't be so careless.

"This world-level disaster might be announcing to us that the Great Wasteland is actually a real world?" Xie Changkong frowned in the Temple's meeting room.

"Not just that, if we really think about it, we should be considered invaders. Historically, no one could maintain a friendly attitude toward invaders, so it's not surprising these NPCs are acting this way."

Emei Ci said languidly.

"Indeed, even my profession instructor's attitude toward me seems to have changed dramatically. Before, when he looked at me, it was with approval, but now, there's a hint of hostility."

Zhao Bai'an sighed gently, "I feel the Great Wasteland is about to face its greatest variable."

Jue Ying nodded, his brows tightly knit,

"The Great Wasteland is unique, with a time ratio of 3:1, equivalent to extending our lifespan by three times. No technology in reality can compensate for such a rule."

"Although we players are numerous, now reaching ten billion, our strength is nothing to these NPCs."

"If we truly come to blows, with their ability to strip skills and remove profession bonuses, we might not even have room to resist!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, "It's time to think about an escape route."

"If profession instructors no longer teach us players skills, and we can't improve skills through experience points, then players might be finished."

Ren Cangqiong, after listening, shook his head, "It's not that bad. You may not have noticed, but the situation in the Great Wasteland isn't as good as we imagine."

"The forces are constantly fighting among themselves. If we count, it should be the most classic light and dark factions, except the Great Wasteland has taken a strange turn, or perhaps Hell has been too underhanded."

"Haha, I feel the same way. Hell actually took over the Holy Light Church's position as angels in the human realm first, which is quite ironic."

Zhao Bai'an laughed, shaking his head, "I also think they'll have trouble staying united for long. Light and dark are ultimately opposing forces. Perhaps now with us players as a common enemy, they can present a united front."

"But between them, there are thousands or tens of thousands of years of hatred, not easily reconciled. Right now, they're probably just being held in check by the powerful beings above. Once there's any conflict, it will likely be hard to mediate."

Xie Changkong snapped his fingers and stood up, "That's right. So we can't just wait passively. It's time to take action."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Bai'an, Emei Ci, and others all looked to Xie Changkong with questioning gazes.

"It's simple. Since they have no conflicts now, we'll create conflicts for them."

"What we need to do is make them break this relationship themselves."

"How do we do that? Changkong, you know as well as I do that while we players are many, our strength is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Whatever actions we take will barely make a dent."

Zhao Bai'an remarked, his tone laced with doubt.

Xie Changkong nodded in agreement, but he wasn't agreeing with Zhao Bai'an's point. Instead, he explained,

"Our strength is indeed inadequate, but... there's still him."