Chapter 146

Chapter 146: Chapter 144: "Don’t Die HereSu Ming’an knew that by this time, Edward should have already arranged a fight with Lv Shu.

But as long as he kept Edward detained here, preventing him from leaving, the plan could not succeed.

"Su Ming’an... no, Number One Player, you..." Minister Liu was stunned at first, then quickly adjusted himself. He managed a forced smile, but the scars on his face became even more sinister, "Number One Player, I’m pleased you could come here... may I ask, is that a Cloning over there in the square?"

"Yes, I am the original body, and now I want to talk to Edward." Su Ming’an said as he gripped Edward’s shoulder and pulled him inside, "Come, I’ve wanted to see you for a long time, now let’s have a good chat..."

The strength of Bright State was immense; Edward, a Time Series Method Occupation, couldn’t break free at all. He was infuriated by Lv Shu’s private messages and looked at Minister Liu with a pleading gaze.

"Hey, hey, Number One Player, there’s still a meeting going on inside, you should wait a bit..." Minister Liu was also somewhat at a loss. At this moment, he was quickly notifying other executives while trying to stop Su Ming’an.

But seeing the look in Su Ming’an’s eyes, he dared not.

...That look, it was as if he truly wanted to kill him.

Perhaps in the live broadcast room, in numerous recordings, he had seen the look of the Number One Player countless times and thought that this kid was just a kid, but when the person actually stood before him, he felt as if his feet were glued to the floor, afraid to step forward.

"Don’t get in the way." Su Ming’an said, continuing to drag Edward by the shoulder, pulling him inside.

"What are you doing, what exactly do you want!" Edward shouted, his shoulder painfully gripped. He thought of activating his Time Skill, but the Main God Space did not allow proactive attacks, and his own strength was not great, so he could only let himself be dragged:

"—any grievances should be resolved in the instance world, you..."

"You know that grievances should be resolved in the instance world too."

He heard Su Ming’an’s retort.

It was indifferent yet inexplicably made him feel a chill in his heart.

He saw the other’s turned sideways face, with a depth in his eyes like long-held emotions were brimming.

There were also other members of the United Group in the hallway. Seeing the situation, they thought of intervening, but when they realized the one pulling Edward was Su Ming’an, they hesitantly withdrew their hands and turned to notify their superiors.

"Come here, come in, let’s have a good talk." Su Ming’an said, pushing him into the lounge and forcefully pressing him onto the couch.

"Bang!"

The door to the lounge was closed by Su Ming’an, isolating all the surprised or curious gazes outside.

Yang Changxu hurried to the door, wanting to knock, but his hand stopped.

All he could do was press his face against the door, with other organization ministers gradually approaching, also displaying curiosity.

"Is everything okay?" someone whispered.

"...It should be fine, the Main God Space doesn’t allow direct attacks."

"These two still need to talk, to actually meet without starting a fight..."

"Don’t get it, anyway, hurry up and notify the upper echelons..."

They looked at each other, and then, unanimously, they all pressed their faces against the door, trying to eavesdrop on the activity inside.

"Sit properly."

After pressing the person onto the couch, Su Ming’an sat on the other side.

"You... that matter with Lv Shu, was it your doing?"

Edward gritted his teeth, all the while rubbing his sore shoulder, with Lv Shu’s provocative words still on the screen in front of him. Each sentence, sharp as a needle, deeply pierced his heart.

...How had he never realized before that this wooden-like Number Four was so adept at cursing people?

He truly wished he could burst out and beat this man senseless, but now someone more detestable had arrived.

"Come on, don’t rush, Edward, I’ve wanted to talk to you for a long time." Su Ming’an appeared calm and unhurried, acting like a host looking for tea on the table, but finding none, he had to start a dry conversation: "After that incident in the Third World, you seem to have not understood yet."

He was referring to that "conversation" one-on-one with Edward in the Time Domain.

"What do you mean?" Edward raised an eyebrow, "You think now that we’re in the Main God Space, I can’t lay hands on you, and you’ve grown arrogant? Indeed, you were bold enough to rush into the United Group, but... in other words..."

"You’re not going to say that even if I’m kept here, no one would know, right?" Su Ming’an said with a smile, "Previously at the Guild Headquarters, I was too naive to trust you, which led me to come to the Guild Headquarters myself. Now... I probably understand that there are very few things I can trust. Thus, I came here with much fanfare, probably those who want to win me over are already gathered at the door, right?"

The high-level executives outside exchanged uneasy glances, but none entered.

They too were curious to hear what exactly Su Ming’an wanted to discuss with Edward.

"..." Edward tapped his fingers on the sofa, "... What exactly do you want to say by barging in here, just say it."

"Lv Shu just sent me a message saying something about ’clearing all obstacles’, I guessed he was probably coming to challenge you... His behavior is too childish, you didn’t fall for it, did you?"

Edward coldly said, "Lv Shu provoking me like this... it wasn’t at your instigation, was it?"

"As expected, that’s what you thought, which is why I said... from the beginning to the end, he hasn’t understood anything," Su Ming’an said somewhat helplessly.

Even if Lv Shu dragged Edward to his death, for these organizations, it was merely losing a man-made product.

Under the nourishment of Points, these organizations could easily create a new, or even many new Players... though the investment might be high, these new "man-made products" might not have the Pattern Marks of a Perfect Pass, appearing somewhat inferior.

However, if Lv Shu died, that would be a real trouble.

Lv Shu saw himself as too insignificant; he believed his only utility was dragging Edward to his death, but Su Ming’an clearly felt that a companion who didn’t drag him down was far more useful than letting Edward die.

Moreover, even if Lv Shu actually dragged Edward to his demise, it wouldn’t sever the connection with Su Ming’an; it was easy for people to speculate his involvement after the fact.

So he had to revert to prevent this action.

As for Edward... in his eyes, he never regarded this man as a serious enemy.

To Edward and Eni, in his view, they were merely Chess Pieces used by the upper echelons, lost Travelers; the only difference was how much trouble they brought him.

One had awoken, while the other was still basking in his self-esteem, believing he had never been brainwashed.

However, as human Points supplies, they were still qualified.

"—Su Ming’an, with you coming here alone, are you looking to join the United Group?"

Even in such a secure environment, Edward was filled with hostility, his words laced with iciness.

While saying this, he noticed the walls had ears, so he typed directly on his panel to show Su Ming’an:

Seeing the words he typed, Su Ming’an laughed.

"Your perspective is at this level." He nodded, "Now, I understand."

He saw that Edward was afraid.

Edward had also been partially awakened... Realizing that his strength was entirely built by the organization, he began looking for ways to turn the tables, tightening his grip on the organization and trying to manipulate it to his advantage.

But all this was about to change after Su Ming’an joined the United Group.

Training Su Ming’an... was far better than training him. Anyone would know which to choose.

It was only because the United Group hadn’t yet established its system that Edron had found an opportunity to try to eliminate him early and elevate Edward.

But after Edward also lost... all their conceptions were inverted.

Before finding a suitable, new artificial product, Su Ming’an had become the darling of all organizations.

What means hadn’t some organization’s people resorted to? Why would they then hesitate to train a watchdog for the organizers?

As long as it would raise their status, they didn’t care even if it meant joining the organizers.

... Not everyone is so altruistic as to steadfastly maintain human decency.

Thus, Edward was afraid — once the United Group chose Su Ming’an and began to train him with all their might, what would he become?

Following Eni’s footsteps?

He wasn’t confident yet about seizing the opportunity to counterattack.

"What do you mean?" Edward sensed the obvious mockery in Su Ming’an’s words.

"Hold on... I’ll write it out for you. There aren’t any cameras here, right?" Su Ming’an looked around.

Those outside the door grew more anxious; at this moment, Director Liu also approached, pressing his eyes against the crack in the door, almost wishing he could squeeze his whole body in.

Su Ming’an opened the panel, covered it with his hand, and began to write.

"Moreover." Edward saw him writing and continued to ask: "You deny that you instructed Lv Shu, yet you specifically came to find me at the same time, talking all this nonsense—what are you really aiming at?"

He saw Lv Shu’s private chat still provoking him, infuriating him immensely, while the Su Ming’an in front of him was leisurely writing away, not letting him leave.

"There." Su Ming’an put up the panel: "Look for yourself."

Edward immediately looked intently —

"You—!"

Edward understood — this person had specifically come to provoke him.

"If you actually go ahead and fight Lv Shu, that’s when your perspective is truly narrow." Su Ming’an said, "Edward, now that you understand your position, face it honestly. It’s important to know where you stand. You carry many people’s expectations, even if they are twisted. You must understand you can’t just shake them off anytime."

Edward was about to get angry when he saw the gaze of the man in front of him.

An unprecedented solemnity.

"Many people gather strategies, many study their secondary professions diligently — they might not know where their points actually go, but since it ends up concentrated on you, you must understand your origins..." Su Ming’an said, writing on the panel, then holding it up:

"Your casual departure, a sudden surge of impulsiveness leading you to fight and stir up infighting, once you die, you become worthless. In the Main God Space, you strike forcefully, in the game instance you’re overly cautious..." Su Ming’an quickly set down the panel, looking at him: "If you’re as foolish as Lv Shu, just rush out, I can’t manage you for a whole year."

Edward looked at him.

"You..."

He was still very angry, the private chat from Lv Shu on the panel still flashing, still provoking him.

But as he looked at the man before him, he was speechless.

The man before him, he wasn’t here to provoke him.

On the contrary, Su Ming’an was... specifically here to calm him down.

He felt very strange — everybody knew that the relationship between them was tense, always on edge as if they would draw swords at the sight of each other.

From the moment Su Ming’an approached him, Edward had prepared himself for a fight... Just like the challenge letter sent by Mizushima Kawa Sora in the Third World, face to face, a direct clash, simple and brutal. Who knew this person would complicate everything, causing everyone to be unable to extricate themselves due to his own mental breakdown.

But when Su Ming’an actually pulled him down to sit face to face and started talking to him, he realized — maybe he had thought too little of him.

Su Ming’an, he seemed to have never hated him.

Or rather, this Number One Player, he never really took him as a serious rival.

... He was actually lecturing him like a parent to a child.

"The total human points must reach a certain level to avoid being annihilated collectively." Su Ming’an continued earnestly, "Edward, if you want to accumulate a lot of points, if you want a greater share of power, survive together with me. As for the Perfect Pass, whoever is the last winner, I wait for you to challenge me in the game instance — before all personal interests, we must ensure our survival. Do you really want to die with those useless spectators?"

"Of course not." Edward stared at him, "I, of course, will win in the end. Don’t act so high and mighty, and don’t forget, you’re suspected of being a lackey for the organizers, I absolutely, absolutely won’t let the final opportunity fall into your hands."

He didn’t trust that the person facing him was so kind-hearted.

All the performances proved that Su Ming’an was different from ordinary players, he was trusted too outrageously by the organizers, and his relationship with NPCs seemed too good from the start. There were too many doubts about him, and Edward wasn’t about to hand over the benefits he’d gained to someone else.

"The eventual leaders will only be a few." Su Ming’an suddenly laughed, looking at Edward’s spirited demeanor, his eyes sparkling, seemingly genuinely pleased: "I will be one of them... of course, I also wait for you to challenge me. After all, that Mizushima seems to lack a desire to win now; beating her holds no meaning."

"You really look down on people." Edward scoffed.

"... I hope you prove me wrong," Su Ming’an said, approaching, reaching out as if to press his shoulder again.

Edward immediately shrank back; the place on his shoulder that had just been pressed was still hurting:

"... What are you really here for, to provoke?"

Su Ming’an’s hand shifted position, pressing on the sofa instead:

"Do me a favor."