Chapter 458 - Four Hundred Fifty-Five:

Chapter 458: Chapter Four Hundred Fifty-Five: "The Loyal Believer of Bai Shen. ... After being scared away, Mizushima Kawa Sora gradually realized something was off.

From her understanding of Su Ming’an, if his Guide was truly the Number One Guide, he should have acted more discreetly, not so brazenly.

But after she had left, night had fallen, and it wasn’t until the daytime period that she returned again.

In the sky, two black dots reappeared.

The group that was preparing to head to the First Tribe saw once more the figure holding up a long sword.

"Bang! Bang!"

The two landed, Mizushima Kawa Sora’s black hair fluttering, her pale cheeks illuminated flawlessly by the flames. Her gaze swept over Teacher Fang, Lv Shu, and Yamada Machiichi without seeing Su Ming’an, whom she had hoped to find.

"Where is Su Ming’an?" she asked, "I have something, I want to ask him."

By her side, Dian Si, ranked third, surged with flames, his presence so imposing that Lilina and Kasha couldn’t raise their heads.

"Mizushima Kawa, stay calm, striking us here isn’t a good choice." Lv Shu’s expression remained relatively calm.

He knew his own Lilina definitely couldn’t beat Dian Si and he himself couldn’t make a move, so if Mizushima Kawa Sora really intended to kill him and Yamada Machiichi here, they couldn’t resist.

Mizushima Kawa Sora observed again for a while, confirming that Su Ming’an seemed to have truly left.

"Adventurer," Dian Si glanced at those hiding inside the house like looking at rats in a gutter, "We can kill them."

"Now?" Mizushima Kawa Sora was slightly taken aback.

The second day, targeting top-ranked players, felt too early for her. Tall trees catch much wind, and if she wanted to last until the end, she didn’t want to make enemies too early in the game.

"There’s no need for hesitation," Dian Si said, "With my assistance, these adventurers are trivial."

He felt ashamed of his frenzied escape the previous night. In his view, apart from those monstrously strong top-ranked Guides, he shouldn’t bow to anyone.

"Though you’ve only brought me one Pattern Mark that increases strength, killing this group is no issue, don’t forget my rank," Dian Si raised the sword in his hand, "If you have no questions, I’ll start now."

As he spoke, the sword in his hand was raised high, the air around the blade warped by intense heat.

Meanwhile, about a kilometer away on a hillside, two players were still squatting, observing from a distance.

"Wind speed, humidity... don’t have to be calculated too precisely. This sniper rifle is self-correcting." A man with black curly hair, brown eyes, and wearing a black tight fighting suit leaned against a tree behind him. He had a handsome, noble presence, with a scar deliberately left visible on his face.

The woman lying on the hillside, holding a sniper rifle, is a Western female with long curly brown hair and a pair of beautiful blue eyes. Her features were delicate and profound, with hard lines that displayed a military-like resolve. She wore a dirty white lab coat, and her shoes were covered with mud and traces of grass leaves.

Her left hand was a mechanical prosthetic, which emitted a soft clicking sound from the joints as she adjusted the scope and confirmed the bullets, her expression filled with excitement. Her movements were somewhat uncoordinated, like a puppet on strings.

Her hand tenderly caressed the body of the gun, as though touching a lover’s skin, the action gave off an eerie sense of dissonance.

"This is a Purple Grade sniper rifle, ’Star of Death,’ a fine piece I spent all my time acquiring in the Seventh World," said the man in black behind her. "Tell your Guide to be careful with it; its bullets are specially made, fifty Points a shot. Firing this gun costs a fortune."

The man was from the Dutch State, named Cyrus, and was formerly a mercenary. He was open-minded and generous, with a hearty disdain for hypocrisy and incompetent nobility. Having fallen out with his family over differing ideologies, he left them, but after the commencement of the World game, he rediscovered his life’s purpose and met many significant figures he could never have encountered before.

He was a firearm enthusiast, particularly fond of all kinds of guns, with sniper rifles being his favorite. At this stage, Purple Grade weapons were still extremely rare, treasured possessions, even among top-ranking players, and this rifle, which he acquired at a great cost, had passive features like automatic targeting and danger perception blocking, making it almost impossible to escape its deadly shot once aimed.

The woman in front of him named Isabella was an obsessed scientist who had transformed herself into a half-biochemical human. She was calm, cool yet cruel to the extreme, with a strong control desire, dreaming of a perfect integration of the human brain and machinery. She also had a high curiosity for such divine-like firearms.

She had approached Cyrus, claiming to have located the Number One Player, and together they had come to this area aiming for an assassination. Training the Church’s Guide on how to use the rifle would make a successful shot straightforward.

"This, this." The Guide by their side couldn’t help but comment upon seeing the sniper rifle. "The firearms of you adventurers truly are advanced; it seems times have changed . . ."

"With this rifle, even the Number One Player’s first Guide is useless. As long as we hit with one shot, his Guide won’t be able to save him. There’s just his Cloning, which we haven’t spotted yet. But no matter, his rebirth must come at a great cost," Cyrus said. "One shot and we leave. If successful, it would be a grand achievement witnessed by the whole world. If not, no worries, a thousand miles away, he won’t know who fired the shot."

In his mind, he had gradually started treating the Number One Player as a boss, using strategies meant for a boss battle.

Isabella had finished adjusting the rifle and pulled out a telescope to watch the movements in the distance. Suddenly, she uttered a surprised sound.

"Su Ming’an seems to be missing," she said. "But no matter, sniping either Lv Shu or Yamada Machiichi is also fine . . ."

She squinted her beautiful blue eyes, slowly straightening up.

". . . or Mizushima Kawa Sora would also do," she suddenly said.

"Mizushima Kawa is here too?" Cyrus was startled.

"What do you think, Cyrus?" Isabella put down the telescope. "Your prey . . . who would you like to choose? There appeared four potential targets over there."

Cyrus pondered for a moment:

"I heard that Mizushima Kawa Sora’s Guide is Dian Si, a prestigious elder in Qiongdi and truly the third Guide. His lethal ability is second only to Fengchang’s. Let’s observe a bit more. This shot, we must make it count, at least we must kill one . . ."

"— Mizushima Kawa."

Just as that sword was about to be swung, Su Ming’an came back along the path.

As soon as Mizushima Kawa Sora saw Xiber, he immediately noticed that Su Ming’an’s Guide had been changed.

"A breath of Jiu Shen... you’re certainly not the first Guide," Dian Si sneered. "If I’m not mistaken, you must be Qianqian Zeven, the young miss who was expelled from the First Tribe a few years ago."

"..." Xiber, holding a shotgun, lifted her head without showing panic.

"Does this Xiber have any special abilities?" Despite Dian Si’s words, Mizushima Kawa Sora did not underestimate Xiber. She knew she might have encountered the only pair of "Heretics."

"I’ve heard of no abilities," Dian Si said. "Just hundredth place trash."

Mizushima Kawa Sora’s brow relaxed, and she suddenly felt relieved.

While she was pleased that Su Ming’an had drawn a bad hand, she also wondered—why didn’t Su Ming’an choose to hide?

Was it an empty fort strategy, a diversion or did he have some other reliance?

Having suffered severely under Su Ming’an before, she had learned to anticipate his moves.

"Judicator Dian Si," Su Ming’an said. "To my knowledge, you are a faithful zealot of Bai Shen in Qiongdi."

"Of course!"

Hearing Su Ming’an mention Bai Shen, Dian Si’s expression instantly turned serious: "I believe in Bai Shen, who controls the three great Authorities, thwarts the Curse, and protects Qiongdi. Maintaining the stability of Qiongdi by eliminating those verging on cursing outbreaks, and judging their sins, is also a testament to my faithful belief. If asked who has the most devoted faith in all of Qiongdi, I would not bow to anyone, not even Lord Fengchang—"

"Oh, so you are Bai Shen’s most loyal believer..." Su Ming’an smiled.

His live stream was already going crazy.

Dian Si looked at Su Ming’an’s inexplicably smiling face and frowned.

He raised his sword, ready to swing it down.

"—Wait!" Mizushima Kawa Sora stopped him.

She took a step forward: "Su Ming’an, I know the hand you’ve drawn this time is not good; you’ve been matched with the worst Guide. But, it’s okay, I won’t attack you, I can even offer you protection. Until the final stage arrives, I can ensure that no other Guides attack you, you can trust me, Dian Si has this overwhelming ability."

Her words were not a joke. Previously, she had encountered a Player who attacked her, but Dian Si had merely waved his sword lightly, and that Player, along with his Guide, vanished in an instant without even splashing.

Hearing her words, Dian Si frowned. He was unclear why Mizushima Kawa Sora would not attack and even wanted to protect the other party; he was not interested in being anyone’s bodyguard.

"Adventurer, I must remind you this is war, a deadly battle where it’s kill or be killed," Dian Si said. "Even if you encounter your lover or someone to whom you are attracted, you cannot soften your heart to offer protection..."

"Hold on, we are not in that kind of relationship." Mizushima Kawa Sora’s forehead creased as she continued looking at Su Ming’an: "I can offer you protection, Su Ming’an. As you understand, a very weak Guide will make your situation perilous during the daytime phase. Just like now, I know you have Cloning, I can’t kill you all at once, but it would be easy for me to interfere with your actions and prevent you from collecting all 12 Silver Stars..."

Xiber looked up and glanced at Mizushima Kawa Sora without saying anything.

"You should know, the eyes of the whole world are now on you. Those streets, alleys, parks, pubs... many people are watching you closely. The situation is no longer the same as in the Fourth World. If you really lose here, the impact won’t just be on you alone..." Mizushima Kawa Sora said. "Can you understand that?"

"Yes," Su Ming’an nodded. "I understand."

He understood it very clearly.

Unlike the past, people had gradually accepted his status as the "Number One Player," and any plan they made was based on him as the core and planned accordingly. For example, the "Hero Plan," various betting schemes, gathering towards top-ranking players, or campaigns run under the banner of "Number One"... all these actions invariably involved his presence.

If he lost or his title changed, the upheavals it would cause were unimaginable. Who knew how many small groups and Players would cause chaos with the authorities for a new title. Plans would change drastically, and many stakeholders would undergo major turnovers. The crazed supporters of the Lighthouse might even resort to terror acts like public disturbances, self-immolation in squares, forum blasts, storming of organizational buildings.

What he represented had become not just a "title" but a "new order."

An order based on, and backgrounded by, the "Number One Player," recently established and still fragile, unstable, and teetering. It needed more time, more people adding bricks and mortar, and if the foundation brick was removed before the order was stabilized, it would lead to a comprehensive collapse... or a restructuring.

This restructuring could be good or bad; the change of the Number One Player after three months could mark the start of a new era. But in whose hands the flag of this new era would fall was unknown.

It was unknown, chaotic, unstable.

And people despise instability.

In the past, they loathed Su Ming’an, who was unstable as the newly minted Number One Player. Now, they despise the instability caused by the change of the Number One Player and the significant shift in the order.

Of course, Mizushima Kawa Sora was speaking from the standpoint of an organization leader, not considering the position of players who anticipated further progress.

...Offering him protection might be her way of checking his strength to strike at the opportune moment or to exchange some benefits, such as information about her sister.

"Your way of speaking now feels very familiar to me," Su Ming’an suddenly said.

"Hm?" Mizushima Kawa Sora was a bit puzzled.

"At the end of the Second World, our first meeting in the teahouse," Su Ming’an said with a smile: "’The control of Zhai Xing must never fall into your hands. The Number One Player—still better suited to someone more stable and knowledgeable.’... back then, the way you spoke in such a ’for the greater good’ condescending tone was truly memorable."