Chapter 1056: The Preciousness of the Human Spirit
Success meant destroying a large-scale space teleportation device. Involving space-time instruments might require special Primordial Stones or Subclass Stones, which were scarce consumables. It wasn't surprising that such a one-time, high-threshold condition existed.
"Wasn't today's incident a trap set by Snow City?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.
"It was a trap, but both sides knew it well. It just depended on who was clever enough," Uncle Guan said.
"A large-scale space teleportation device—only one?" Whether using such a device to lure the Holy Sword Society or genuinely miscalculating, the cost for Snow City's side was far too great. Or was it that the Holy Sword Society had become such a threat to Zone 002 that they were willing to pay any price to eliminate it?
Or perhaps the Game Government was secretly driving this? After all, the two sides were inherently opposed.
"The information shouldn't be wrong," Uncle Guan said. He paused and then added, "You came with Yuanzhu willingly, so you must have your own plans."
Xu Huo nodded. "Zhou Yuanzhu mentioned Dr. Wu and the Defect-Free Potion. I've heard of Dr. Wu and the Perfect Potion before, but I never knew Dr. Wu had ties to the Stellar Corporation."
Uncle Guan smiled. "Everything in the game—all the Super Items, high-quality potions, top-tier technological weapons—almost all of them come from the Stellar Corporation."
"Although the game world has established a government, the true controller is the Stellar Corporation. But so far, no one knows where the Stellar Corporation's headquarters is located or who the supreme game controller is."
"After all, this is just a game. Even if it can cover different wormhole points, the system that keeps it running—or rather, a set of mother devices—its physical form might be large enough to cover an entire zone, or small enough to be invisible to the naked eye. At least so far, tickets to the top ten A-level wormhole points rarely appear in the game."
"It could also be because most players aren't high enough level to obtain tickets to A-level wormhole points," Xu Huo said.
"That's possible too," Uncle Guan said. "What I'm trying to say is that any achievement in the game that surpasses imagination is inseparable from the Stellar Corporation. When the Holy Sword Society was first founded, they speculated that Dr. Wu might be one of the founders of the Stellar Corporation."
This speculation caught Xu Huo off guard. After all, Dr. Wu was an expert in potions. If he had once worked at Stellar Pharmaceuticals, that would make sense. But to say he was one of the game's founders was a bit of a stretch.
He really couldn't understand how a genius of such high intelligence could go from being a founder to being completely blacklisted by the entire game. Moreover, judging by how Dr. Wu had arranged the Perfect Potion, he wasn't just knowledgeable in potion science—at the very least, his ability to conceal his tracks was exceptional.
"Don't believe it?" Uncle Guan seemed to read his thoughts from his expression. "You think it's impossible for Dr. Wu to have survived until now?"
Xu Huo had once speculated that if Dr. Wu had truly been alone all this time, he would be at least two hundred years old. But it was hard to say how long the game's history actually was. He had only been to E-level wormhole points. Most people's zones had decades of game time, making it difficult to imagine how many years the other wormhole points had been in existence.
Of course, if the game's technological development had completely surpassed human imagination, reaching the point of time reversal or rejuvenation, it wasn't impossible.
"Most people think that way, so it's not strange," Uncle Guan continued. "But I can tell you, the game's history is definitely not as long as you imagine. The wormhole points arranged in alphabetical order aren't necessarily generated sequentially. Wormhole points and zones are constantly being updated, just at different speeds."
"Players like us have always been under the sky of the game. It's hard to judge whether what we see and hear is real or fake."
"Even now, you probably can't be sure if the me in front of you is real, whether I'm a living person or a virtual entity created by the game without knowing it myself."
"Players have been blinded. Their knowledge is far too limited."
"So the Holy Sword Society's original intention was to gather strength to fight the Game Government?" Xu Huo finished his sentence for him. "You want to invite me to join the Holy Sword Society?"
Uncle Guan nodded, then said seriously, "I'm not trying to expand the Holy Sword Society. I want to fight for a chance for myself and my comrades to live clearly. When the day comes to unveil the Stellar Corporation's veil, perhaps everyone struggling in the game will have a bright future."
Xu Huo could see that these words came from the heart. At the same time, he couldn't help but silently admire him. These people were also struggling to survive in instances, yet they voluntarily shouldered the burden of saving humanity. Saying it out loud might sound a bit ridiculous, but upon careful reflection, one could appreciate the determination and courage behind their choice.
Anyone could touch upon or choose a lofty goal, but not everyone had the courage to see it through to the end, even at the cost of their lives.
But that was precisely the preciousness of the human spirit.
"Everyone here today comes from backward zones," Uncle Guan said, introducing the others. First, the middle-aged man and woman. "You Xuewen and Lin Qiao. They are cousins. Their entire family of one hundred and twenty-seven people—except for the two of them—all died in a Game Government siege."
Next was the man in the raincoat. "Ruan Qiyan. As a child, he was raised by nobles as a death warrior."
"Zhou Yuanzhu. A slave bought by a large family, transferred out three times, her back covered in different family crests."
"Cui Bang. Once an Artificer, but because of his exceptional skills, he was ostracized and assassinated by the Game Government's Artificers. His entire family became sacrifices."
"Tao Li. Her parents and children were taken hostage, forcing her to become a killer..."
Everyone present had an unbearable past. Even when vaguely mentioning past events, they couldn't fully control their emotions, their eyes churning with pain and hatred.
"Actually, you don't need to say all this," Xu Huo said solemnly after listening. "A noble character doesn't need tragedy to set it off."
It wasn't necessary to have tragic experiences to justify their actions. If the Holy Sword Society's original intention was true, any reason was valid—whether it was for family, hatred, light, or some other reason that seemed trivial compared to these.
"I-I can join the Holy Sword Society?" The woman from Zone 002, who had been hiding behind him, stepped forward. "I'm not a player, but I can wash clothes, cook, do housework, and I can handle a little business. You're all players, but you should need someone to manage general affairs. I can do all of that!"
Of the four who had come, only she was excited. Beside her, Chi Minghong, the boy standing by the box, and the seated Xu Huo—all three wore identical expressionless faces.
(Chapter End)