Chapter 1199: Hearts and Minds Are Controllable
Wei Yang felt that his force might now be the most powerful army in the entire "End Land."
This army was born from fear and resentment, and now it only awaited his command.
Whichever side he joined would tip the scales of victory.
"Qi Xia..." A grin crept across Wei Yang's face, revealing a barely suppressed smile. "Entrusting me with such a massive army... Are you that confident in me, or that confident in yourself?"
Wei Yang slowly walked to the roadside, found a collapsed low wall, and climbed atop it in a few steps, looking down at the crowd of "natives" before him.
He felt like a king.
As a seasoned con artist, he knew exactly how to sway hearts and minds at a moment like this.
"I restored your sanity by hook or by crook, and this is how you repay me? By playing dead?" Wei Yang said loudly.
His aged voice echoed across the square several times, causing everyone's bodies to tremble slightly.
"Lift your heads!" Wei Yang barked again.
The crowd slowly raised their heads, looking at him with a hint of timidity. Yet every time they saw him, the pain and despair buried deep in their minds surged back.
Most of them still bore wounds, and their faces had grown gaunt from prolonged hunger, feeling the pangs of starvation.
Wei Yang knew it was time to test their fear. Perhaps everyone had their own gamble with the two dragons—and now he had his.
"I want to overthrow Azure Dragon and Heavenly Dragon!"
Hearing this, the natives exchanged glances. The reason nearly all of them had lost their sanity was due to failed life-or-death gambles, and those games had come precisely from Heavenly Dragon and Azure Dragon.
Because of some oversight, they had failed, then endured this hellish existence for so long. And now they were supposed to fight back?
Wei Yang slowly turned his head toward a middle-aged woman.
The woman froze, quickly lowering her head.
"Don't you want to go back to see your son?" Wei Yang said. "His name is Sheng Sheng, right?"
The woman's eyes widened in terror, as if she had heard something utterly horrifying.
Wei Yang then looked at a young man and said softly, "You were supposed to have your wedding the next day, but ended up trapped forever in the 'End Land.' How ridiculous is that?"
The young man opened his mouth as if to speak, but hesitated, feeling as though he had been completely seen through.
"I am nothing like those two selfish dragons! I know every detail of your lives, every joy and sorrow in your hearts," Wei Yang said. "I am more of a 'god' than those two dragons are. So... who among you wants to join me in opposing them?"
The crowd fell silent, as if two kinds of fear were battling within each person's heart.
Resist a mad "god"? Or refuse a ruthless "ghost"?
Wei Yang knew that this level of persuasion wasn't enough to make them risk their lives. He needed to shift their emotions.
He had to turn their fear of Heavenly Dragon and Azure Dragon into hatred, and transform their hatred for him into gratitude.
That way, emotions would reverse, and hearts and minds would become controllable.
"The ones who reduced you to this state are the very culprits! Who was it that created the rules that brought you to this point?" Wei Yang said. "Who robbed you of your sanity? Are you willing to be slaughtered like sheep?"
Wei Yang looked down at a young woman, pointed at her, and asked, "Tell me, who was it?"
"It... it was Azure Dragon," the woman answered.
Fear was shifting. Hearts and minds were stirring.
"Yes... at least you still remember it was Azure Dragon. Don't you remember all the efforts I've made over the years to let you move normally, to make you look barely human?" Wei Yang said. "Even after the whole world abandoned you, I still led you forward."
The crowd stared at Wei Yang, their expressions gradually changing.
"What was it all for?" Wei Yang continued. "It was so that one day I could restore your sanity and then overthrow those two who call themselves 'gods'!"
People in the crowd began to nod, apparently agreeing with Wei Yang's words.
Wei Yang swept his gaze across the crowd, expressionless.
Hatred was shifting. Hearts and minds were stable.
Only one final move remained: using deception to make everyone believe that, aside from themselves, everyone else had already accepted the idea of rebellion.
"I won't force you," Wei Yang said. "Originally, I planned to restore your sanity and set you free. I myself am determined to resist. So let's be democratic..."
He fixed his eyes on the crowd again and said, "Those who oppose, raise your hands. I won't make things hard for you."
As he expected, not a single person among nearly a thousand raised their hand.
After all, they still feared him. How could they raise their hands now?
This was both a deception and a high-stakes gamble.
If one person tried to raise a hand, a second would follow, and his entire plan would fail.
People are selfish. After being tortured for so many years and finally regaining their sanity, who would want to be the first to stick their neck out?
And who knew what would happen if they did?
With no one raising a hand, a thought would form in everyone's mind:
"Everyone else agreed, so I can't be the one to object."
After all, every word Wei Yang said pulled at their thoughts. Now he was their lifeline.
Just as people are most likely to worship gods in times of despair, at this moment, he was their only belief.
Wei Yang read their hearts. Sure enough, all minds were in turmoil. The setup was complete.
"Good..." Wei Yang didn't give them any more time to think. He nodded immediately. "I was right about you all... It wasn't in vain that I spent all these years trying every way to wake you up."
"But... what do we do?" someone asked.
"To be honest, the resistance has already begun," Wei Yang said. "Do you remember where you came from?"
"From... the interview rooms?"
"Correct." Wei Yang turned around and pointed at Dizhu's teleportation door.
The door had no physical form. Though it looked shaky after the massive explosion, it hadn't been destroyed and still stood in place.
"All the 'referees' have returned to the 'interview rooms' by nightfall," Wei Yang said with a smile. "And I've already sent an advance force to infiltrate the interview rooms. Now we just need to go in and make some noise, let them know we outnumber them by far."