Chapter 322

Chapter 322: Chapter 319: "I Should Have Let Him Finish His Drink Before Leaving——Through the enticement of actions and words, and the full-scale molding of the environment, newly born concepts will easily internalize within the group’s psyche.

Even if it doesn’t seem natural in reality.

When people find themselves in such a game of absolutes, one of strength and weakness, and once a clear spotlight is cast, the person under the spotlight starts connecting their scattered minds.

On one hand, they firmly cling to the notion of "self" professing it to be a reflection of personal preference from within, yet, on the other hand, they are uncontrollably driven by such a world, unconsciously blending into it.

Under the spotlight, Su Ming’an saw such a spectacle.

The faction that "adores the Number One Player" looked somewhat insane, set against those who countered, "Your adoration is pathologically excessive."

A cacophony of opinions converged.

Su Ming’an saw such commentary.

He had also once heard Lv Shu say to him:

"Su Ming’an, you are a good person."

"You can lead the vast majority of people, making them dependent on you, to have faith in you, to believe that you will never fail—this will definitely help your Perfect Pass. You don’t need to care what others think."

"Because you are the absolute future."

Indeed, the current situation was a result of his own actions.

Under the spotlight, no matter what kind of person he was, just because of an overwhelming, dominating difference in strength, people would involuntarily first cast their gaze upon him.

These gazes contained malice, but the majority would be filled with goodwill.

Because he stood at the forefront, clearly marked as the "Number One Player," and as a chosen representative propelled by organizations such as the United Group through their "Hero Project."

But when too much goodwill condenses, coupled with the frenzy of the crowd and the overwhelming advantage, it could gather into such a situation.

He had achieved his initial wish—making people believe he would not fail, convincing them that their world still had a future.

Letting people know that a "lighthouse"-like existence stands forever on this dark path.

And with that comes the hardening of ideas, the fevered crowd, and the people arguing amongst themselves, undeniably inseparable from it.

In the short term, it was very helpful for clearing the levels.

In the long run, it was not beneficial to the future.

In a world that has moved on from gaming, stability and reality do not require dictators.

In a world that has moved on from gaming, laws should not be disregarded by overwhelming empowered individuals.

The division of power would lead to survival of the fittest, with Zhai Xing inevitably evolving into a world like that of Ming Hui.

Su Ming’an didn’t know what the future would hold, nor did he have the inclination to worry about the post-game success of humanity in addition to a Perfect Pass.

But he knew that the current frenetic scene, though insane, was not a bad thing.

...He had bestowed "hope" upon the people.

Even if this "hope" was pathological.

Because this game’s ordinary world,

is itself sick.

Su Ming’an put down the feather pen.

The charm had been copied, and he looked at the stele covered in bloody characters.

The stele emitted a glow, and the blood-red letters gradually disappeared.

A system prompt sounded:

Six hundred Resource Points seemed hardly enough.

Su Ming’an remembered that one way to earn Resource Points was by fulfilling the wishes of his subordinates.

He turned to Jin Qiangwei, "Do you have any wishes?"

As he asked, an interface popped up in front of Jin Qiangwei.

Su Ming’an chose "Yes."

The next moment, a flash of white light appeared, and a black puppet materialized beside Jin Qiangwei; floating above its head were the words "Black Devotee," indicating its name.

Following the same method, Su Ming’an asked the Black Devotee if it had any wishes, but received a response that there were none at the moment.

After walking around the shabby Demon King City without triggering any new tasks, he chose to exit the instance.

In the blink of an eye, he was back in the original bungalow.

He glanced at the time; it was five fifty in the morning.

A system prompt rang out:

Resource Points can actually be used in reality?

Su Ming’an was initially just guessing at the purpose of this side-instance, but the fact that "Resource Points can be used in reality" led him to a deeper conjecture.

He closed the interface and slept for another two hours, leaving the room at eight in the morning.

At eight in the morning, the chat in the bottom left channel was lively. Players began complaining about the Underworld at night, with some already noticing the presence of this new S-grade Soul Hunt.

This group of players chatted back and forth, all saying "do not approach him."

But he wasn’t worried about the people from the original Yate recognizing him—The Stone of Inspection was useless against him. Once his identity as a "human" was confirmed, he was already in an invincible position.

He walked up to the doorway, smelling a faint scent of blood.

This was daily life in Pulaya. Every time dawn came, night receded, there would always be a faint scent of blood by the river.

The morning light sprinkled on his face, he squinted and saw Soul Hunters, covered in wounds, walking through this street, being greeted by residents with fresh flowers.

The residents revered the heroes who protected them. He even saw an enthusiastic aunt grabbing a Soul Hunter and introducing him to her daughter.

He stood to the side when a voice came from nearby.

"Good morning, young man."

He turned his head and saw the old granny with gray hair from the neighboring house, sun-drying some salted fish.

Her knuckles were thick, with a thin layer of skin stretched over the back of her hands, and there was dirt under her nails. It seemed she was used to hard work.

Her face was weathered too, with fine creases cracking over her thin skin. A pair of somewhat cloudy eyes were smiling at him, her expression very kind.

"Good morning, Granny." Su Ming’an said.

"Ah," the old lady responded, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes forming a denser array as she smiled.

She unfolded some slightly tarnished cloth in her hands, allowing the sunlight to shine through smoothly. Bowing her slightly hunched back, she picked through the fish in her hands.

"You look like you didn’t sleep well last night," the old lady said.

"Is it that obvious?"

"The area under your eyes is all blackened, and your complexion isn’t good," she pointed at her face with a finger: "You should pay attention to your sleep, young man. Although it’s true that outsiders typically can’t sleep their first night in Pulaya for fear, don’t worry with the Soul Hunters around."

Su Ming’an glanced at the system mirror—his complexion did seem a bit off.

He had definitely been awake during the night’s side instance; two hours of sleep weren’t enough to sustain his energy consumption for the day.

He looked towards the Soul Hunters returning along the river and the roadside; their expressions were similar to his.

...After all, they too were people who hadn’t slept all night.

"Soul Hunters are pretty cool, huh," the old lady said with a smile: "To become a Soul Hunter, that’s a path to a great future. Not just the living conditions at home... but potential partners... everything gets much better."

Because Su Ming’an hadn’t gone out in the middle of the night, the old lady took him for a mere traveler.

"Hmm," Su Ming’an nodded.

The old lady was quite chatty; as soon as Soul Hunters were mentioned, she talked at length about the thrilling experiences of the Soul Hunters in Pulaya.

She spoke of the hundred-man hunt in the West District, the Royal City defense in the Northern District, the handsome Soul Hunter leader from Central City, which family had a child who brought honor to their ancestors... The big and small histories of Pulaya were all poured out by her rapid chatter.

From the old lady’s perspective, becoming a Soul Hunter, especially one fighting at the forefront during the night, was as glorious as ancestors producing a trail of smoke.

Even though they were likely to sacrifice themselves, to die, they would still bring considerable wealth to otherwise not so affluent families, and these families would then be taken care of and respected by those around them.

After talking a lot about the honor of Soul Hunters, the old lady took a breath and shook her hands.

The sun shone on the salted fish that had been laid out properly, the cloth reflecting a faint glow.

"Young man, after saying so much," she wiped her hands on her apron, looking at him: "You are a descendant of Lord Su Rin, do you want to become a Soul Hunter?"

"I do," Su Ming’an said.

...After all, he already had.

Listening to his answer, the old lady let out a sigh.

The dawn light played upon her silver hair, and her figure seemed a bit frail.

"...Just now, I’ve said so much, indeed us old folks talk too much, meeting a young man from outside just makes me blabber on."

"But over the years, the old lady has seen so much; she truly doesn’t want to see any more children become Soul Hunters... even if it is considered an honor," she said.

"What’s wrong?" Su Ming’an looked at her, noticing a tinge of sadness in her expression.

"The mortality rate for Soul Hunters..." she said, "is as high as seventy percent... Seventy percent."

"Seventy percent?" Su Ming’an was indeed shocked.

He had thought that Soul Hunting was dangerous, but he had not imagined the mortality rate would be so high.

If the mortality rate was really that high, shouldn’t the Soul Hunters of Pulaya have disappeared long ago? How could they always maintain a number of more than one hundred local Soul Hunters...

At that moment, he suddenly understood.

...It was because of generational replacement.

With each generation passing after another.

When the old die, the new will fill up the ranks. When the former Soul Hunters die, the second-tier ones will take their place.

Soul Hunters indeed were always dying.

But there would always be people becoming Soul Hunters.

"I know my thoughts are somewhat selfish, for without these heroes, we too would cease to exist," the old lady said softly. "But, young man—you are Lord Su Rin’s child. After wandering for so long, you finally found home, and the last thing I want, old lady as I am, is for you to die on this land as quickly as the others. People yearn for their hometown, and Lord Su Rin has done so much for Pulaya; shouldn’t you live a good life on this defended land as well?"

"You’ve seen that I have a daughter," the old lady said, turning around and starting to arrange the seaweed in the bucket again.

Her movements were slow, and it seemed difficult for her to continue arranging, likely because of some ailment that made it hard for her to move.

Su Ming’an stepped forward to help her with the seaweed. After all, he was also there to gather information.

"Thank you, young man," the old lady smiled at him:

"Actually, before this... I also had a son about your age."

As she spoke, she seemed to be lost in her memories.

Through Su Ming’an helping her, she appeared to see another child’s figure.

"Little Hel... he went traveling with a merchant ship, and when he returned, he became a Soul Hunter. After a period of internship, he was assigned to the most dangerous mission team to undertake a significant task."

"I still remember what he looked like when he left."

"A smart black uniform, a pretty little pistol, and a glowing star."

"It was then that I suddenly realized, Little Hel had become a grown man."

"I remember on the day he left, he said he really wanted to drink the aged rice wine I brewed."

"I told him ’Let’s talk about that when you come back. You’re about to go to battle, and here you are wanting to drink. Just remember to bring back a pretty girl, don’t embarrass our family.’

"I remember his response."

"He told me to tidy up the house quickly, wait for him to bring someone back. He seemed to have a good relationship with a girl from another street."

"He also said, make sure to have the wine ready, because he would be back in a few days to drink eight big bowls of it."

"Now that I think about it..."

Her voice was very slow, and her tone was flat, as though an old person was telling a commonplace story.

The old sorrows had settled over the years, and when brought up again, her emotions were no longer as overwhelming as they had once been.

Time is a good medicine for healing emotions.

Shriveled seaweed twisted in her hands, with the thin skin on the back of her hands showing traces of bluish veins.

She lowered her head as the morning light left a thin trail across her aged cheeks.

"How foolish I was back then."

"...I should have let him have his drink before leaving."