Seeing Xu Yuan's confident, composed face, Black Blade also calmed down a bit, then asked, "My king…"

"Those two problems… you already have solutions for them?…"

Xu Yuan nodded, then asked Black Blade, "I heard you got in touch with Steve before?"

Black Blade nodded and answered truthfully, "Mm. He'll help us keep an eye on Grave, and with the scattered-player squad you formed, the players basically can't pose much of a threat to us anymore."

Xu Yuan nodded, thought for a moment, then said, "Set up a time with him. I want to meet him face-to-face."

Hearing Xu Yuan's words, Black Blade couldn't help but freeze.

"Steve?"

Black Blade never expected Xu Yuan would want to personally meet Steve.

Xu Yuan choosing to meet Steve at this time definitely meant that Steve might be able to help with the current situation.

That was exactly what Black Blade found strange.

After all, Steve was just a player. Even problems that Entity 303 found troublesome, could Steve really solve them?

Not that Black Blade was looking down on Steve. After their last meeting, Black Blade had already dropped his prejudice.

And since the two of them were among the top players in the game, naturally they had mutual respect.

To put it bluntly, Black Blade just felt a bit uncomfortable.

Both of them were players, yet Steve could help with something, while he himself couldn't.

But Black Blade quickly adjusted his mood and went off to arrange the meeting.

———

[About an Hour Later]

Steve finally rushed over to the meeting spot.

Seeing that Black Blade and Xu Yuan were already there, Steve jogged a few steps to catch up.

Once close, he nodded at Black Blade as a greeting.

Then, when his eyes fell on Xu Yuan, Steve suddenly looked a bit restrained.

Black Blade had been in contact with Steve for quite a while, but this was the first time he'd ever seen Steve act like this.

But it was understandable.

At first, Steve and Xu Yuan were enemies. Later, Steve gradually changed his view of Xu Yuan, but it only went as far as no longer treating him as hostile.

After entering the Trial Grounds, following the Rainforest Incident, Steve's stance gradually started to lean toward Xu Yuan's side.

It wasn't until his recent talk with Black Blade that Steve fully established his stance, he stood with Xu Yuan now.

Although Steve had seen Xu Yuan many times before, this time his position was completely different.

Now, Steve looked at Xu Yuan with admiration, respect, and reverence.

And because his stance had changed so much, Steve wasn't sure how exactly he should act.

He mostly didn't know in what manner he should face Xu Yuan.

Seeing this, Black Blade glanced at him.

Though Black Blade didn't say anything, his eyes seemed to tell Steve, 'Don't be nervous. Relax.'

Taking the hint, Steve steadied himself, walked forward quickly, looked at Xu Yuan, nodded, and smiled.

"In your player form, you don't actually look much like me."

"When Black Blade told me you wanted to see me, I was worried he might not be able to tell us apart once I got here…"

Steve cracked a little joke to ease the awkwardness.

Back when Steve first saw Xu Yuan, he'd been scared out of his mind.

Other than those blazing, white-glowing eyes, Xu Yuan's face had looked exactly the same as his own.

Steve had already heard from Black Blade that Xu Yuan had entered the Trial Grounds in the form of a player.

So when Black Blade said Xu Yuan wanted to meet him, Steve's first reaction was, wouldn't that be like looking in a mirror?

But now that they actually met, he realized Xu Yuan's player form didn't look that much like him after all.

Steve's words instantly pulled Xu Yuan's thoughts back to that night when he first entered the game world.

That same night, Xu Yuan met Steve.

And come to think of it, if Steve hadn't hesitated back then, Xu Yuan wouldn't even exist in this world.

Everything began on that night.

Thinking of this, Xu Yuan smiled and said, "You could say you're an old acquaintance who's witnessed my whole journey."

"Back then, you probably never could've guessed that today you'd be standing on the same side as me, right?"

Hearing this, Steve froze for a moment.

He too seemed to recall that first night when he met Xu Yuan.

Even though so much time had passed, thinking back now, it still felt like yesterday.

And indeed, just as Xu Yuan said, back then, Steve could never have imagined that one day he'd be standing alongside him.

Steve shook his head, smiled, and sighed.

"To have witnessed all this, I feel lucky. To be able to take part in your plan, I feel happy."

"To me, this world isn't just a game."

"The things I want to protect are the same as yours."

Those words from Steve came straight from the heart.

He truly was the only one who had witnessed Xu Yuan's entire transformation, from "the white-eyed monster," to HIM, and then to Xu Yuan.

From the white-eyed monster who tricked and slaughtered players with every means possible…

To the terrifying demon lord HIM, feared by all…

To Xu Yuan, who silently shouldered the fight against the Void alone, protecting this world.

Steve had seen every stage with his own eyes.

That was why Steve felt Xu Yuan was worth trusting.

Because Xu Yuan had experienced so much, endured so much, every transformation had forged the Xu Yuan standing before him today.

Steve's heartfelt words didn't surprise Xu Yuan.

Steve wasn't someone who blindly trusted others. Every decision he made had to pass the test of his own heart.

He was the one who had sought out Black Blade to connect, showing he had already thought through what he truly wanted deep inside.

Of course, Steve's words also carried a note of loyalty, and Xu Yuan understood that.

"Mm. The reason I wanted to meet you today was because I already knew where you stood."

The small talk and pledges of loyalty were about enough, Xu Yuan didn't want to waste more time, so he cut straight to the point.

He gave Black Blade a glance. With the tacit understanding between master and servant, Black Blade instantly knew what Xu Yuan meant.

He leaned closer to Steve and put his mouth by his ear.

Steve startled at the sudden closeness.

"Wha… what are you doing?…"

Seeing Steve act like a shy bride, Black Blade rolled his eyes.

"What, you think I'm gonna eat you?!"

He didn't bother explaining further, just yanked Steve closer.

Then he started telling him about the Void, and also passed on the information Pengpeng had given them.

Black Blade had to be cautious.

He knew their every word and action could be seen from outside the Trial Grounds in the main world.

Even though Witherzilla had descended and no one was keeping watch outside anymore, it was still better to be careful when it came to the Void.

About forty minutes later, Black Blade finally finished.

At just the right moment, Xu Yuan stepped in, moved closer, and continued, "That's everything we know about the Void."

"And also, the rumors outside about the Trial Grounds, they're all true."

"This trial is the real trial held by HIM. Whoever wins will gain the true power of HIM."

"But as things stand, even if someone does obtain HIM's true power, beating the Void still won't be that simple…"

Even long after Xu Yuan finished speaking, Steve still hadn't recovered from the shock.

Because what he just heard wasn't just Pengpeng's intel.

The information he got was everything Xu Yuan had filtered and compiled.

Even Black Blade, who already knew quite a bit about the Void, had been stunned when he first heard all this.

So for Steve, who had almost no prior exposure to it, this was like the sky collapsing.

Right now Steve just felt the world spinning.

"This… this…"

"This… I…"

"Ah, this…"

At that moment, Steve desperately wanted to say something.

But no words came to mind, his brain had gone blank, like it had crashed.

After struggling for a long time, he finally squeezed out two words, "…Holy shit?!"

When you don't know enough words, holy shit covers everything. (Not really)

It wasn't that Steve lacked education, it was just that this information was so explosive it completely fried his brain.

At that moment, only those two words could sum up his feelings in the simplest, quickest way.

And besides, he hadn't been mentally prepared at all.

When Black Blade contacted him, all he said was that Xu Yuan wanted to see him. Steve originally thought maybe Xu Yuan just wanted to test him or hand him some task.

Who would've thought, Xu Yuan would lay out everything about the Void to him?

Steve had never seen anything like this.

And another reason he was so stunned, since he had chosen to stand with Xu Yuan, Steve had already accepted his position.

He knew that most of the time from here on, he'd simply be following Black Blade's orders.

In other words, in Steve's mind, his status was beneath Black Blade's.

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