The rewards he received were completely disproportionate to the consequences he had to bear after choosing to join Xu Yuan's camp.

Steve was a representative figure of the player camp. His current status could already be considered the face of all players.

That also meant that whenever it came to competition between factions, Steve was, in truth, representing the entire player camp.

Therefore, whatever he did, he had to think from the standpoint of the players.

In the past, he always kept this in mind.

For example, during the previous Divine Domain Competition, even though Steve had grown tired of Grayfist at the time, he still chose to cooperate with him first because they were in the same camp.

No matter who won in the end, the one who benefited would still be the player camp.

However, what he did in the Trial Grounds was completely different.

He didn't choose to cooperate with the player camp, but instead decided to join Xu Yuan's camp.

Although most players' views of Xu Yuan had changed by now, they still couldn't break free from their sense of faction identity.

Even if players trusted Xu Yuan now, they would never truly see him as one of them.

So Steve's choice this time would inevitably draw some players' contempt.

His decision would undoubtedly damage the good reputation he had built in the player camp over time.

In other words, the negative effects of his choice far outweighed the benefits he would get.

Steve was a smart man, how could someone that shrewd do something that hurt others and himself at the same time?

After sending Steve out of the Trial Grounds, Grayfist had also tried to calm down and think about this question.

But he couldn't figure it out. He was already irritated enough over Steve's "betrayal," and he didn't want to make things even more complicated, so eventually, he just stopped thinking about it.

Now that Black Blade brought it up again, and judging by his tone he seemed to know something, Grayfist didn't mind hearing him out.

After thinking for a while, Grayfist looked at Black Blade and said, "If you've got something to say, then just say it. Don't play riddles with me."

Seeing that Grayfist was finally calm enough to talk properly, Black Blade secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had complained about Grayfist to Steve before, he really couldn't stand Grayfist's childish personality.

Black Blade had prepared two backup plans. If Grayfist still refused to talk properly, he would've had to use the other one.

Luckily, Grayfist was at least willing to communicate now.

"Steve made those choices because he knew exactly what he wanted," Black Blade said.

"He truly loves this game, loves this game world."

"To him, this game is his safe haven. He wants to leave behind precious memories here."

"For him, those precious memories aren't about ruling the game world or being admired by everyone."

"Because those things are just illusions. Even if he becomes the most admired Steve in the game, once he leaves it, he's still just an ordinary person."

"What he means by 'precious memories' might be something small, or something big."

"Small, like interacting with the creatures of this world. Big, like sacrificing himself for the peace of the entire game world."

"All of these are precious memories to him."

"All of these are things that mean something to him."

Although Black Blade had never had a deep talk with Steve, he could still understand what Steve was thinking.

Black Blade's own mindset and journey were, in fact, very similar to Steve's.

At first, Black Blade also chased fame and profit, wanting to stand out in the game.

After all, becoming famous in the game was what most top players sought.

What made Black Blade's thinking change was Pengpeng.

Pengpeng was the first person Xu Yuan granted power to. Back then, Black Blade, as Pengpeng's right-hand man, was extremely jealous of him, he also wanted to obtain Xu Yuan's power.

Not for any deeper reason, just to become stronger.

That was why he went to Pengpeng for advice, trying to figure out what exactly Pengpeng did to earn that power.

After all, Pengpeng's skill level at that time was nowhere near his own, so he couldn't understand why the one who got the power wasn't him.

Even Pengpeng himself wasn't clear on why he received it, he couldn't explain it well either.

After chatting for a while, their conversation suddenly shifted to why Pengpeng joined Xu Yuan's zombie camp.

Black Blade originally thought Pengpeng did it for the same reason as him, to get stronger.

But Pengpeng's answer completely caught him off guard.

His exact words back then were...

———

"You've seen it yourself. My gameplay's mediocre, I'm no big-shot player, and I don't want to become one admired by everyone."

"The reason I've stayed in the zombie camp all this time isn't for anything else, just for my own selfish reason."

"You know about me and Little Bug. I just want to see it, watch it grow, go through different things together."

"Kind of like making up for regrets in the real world…"

"We play games to find comfort in this virtual world, don't we?"

"Little Bug is my comfort. I hope it can live happily in this world."

"Even if one day I stop playing, thinking back on it will still make me happy."

"In the end, I just don't want to waste time. I want to spend my limited time on things I think are meaningful."

"Only when a person knows what they truly want and acts on it will they feel genuine happiness."

"I hope you can be like me and figure out what you really want."

———

Even though Pengpeng said all that, Black Blade didn't really understand what he meant at first.

He and Pengpeng were different, Black Blade had skill, awareness, and talent.

Before, in every game he played, he only ever pursued strength, becoming a top player, someone admired by others.

He wanted to stand at the top, basking in everyone's attention. For that, he kept pushing himself, putting in endless effort.

But over time, Black Blade gradually realized that the "strength" he chased didn't bring him happiness. Instead, it became a heavy burden.

Watching the zombie players around him improve rapidly, he felt pressure like never before.

Every day he logged in with anxiety, constantly checking how much those around him had changed.

He feared being surpassed, losing his position.

So the only thing he did after logging in every day was grind like crazy to improve himself.

At first, that grind gave him a bit of satisfaction, but as time passed, that sense of achievement faded.

His obsession with "power" became exhausting.

He spent countless hours studying how to get stronger, it wore him out mentally and physically.

It felt like he had found another job inside the game. He'd finish work in real life, only to clock in again in the game.

The original point of playing games was to relax and have fun, but he'd turned his "fun time" into "work time."

That was when Black Blade realized this wasn't the life he wanted.

He began to question whether he truly liked the game, or if he was just driven by obsession and had forgotten the things that mattered more.

Once he understood that, he finally grasped what Pengpeng had meant.

At first, he hadn't understood Pengpeng's words about "knowing what you want," but now he did.

Thinking back, Black Blade used to look down on builders, farmers, and fishing players.

He thought they had no ambition, that they were wasting their time.

But now, he realized those were the real "players."

They knew what they wanted and what brought them joy.

They truly used the game to make themselves happy.

They were the ones actually playing the game, while he had just been played by the game.

Because he finally understood Pengpeng's words, Black Blade gradually changed.

He started joining player-run events, actively connecting with zombie players, sharing his PK techniques.

He also reached out to creatures from other factions that had developed consciousness, listening to their stories.

These changes made his life feel full again.

Even without spending every waking hour training, his strength didn't decline, if anything, he improved faster.

He realized that once he stopped obsessing over power, everything became better.

Since Black Blade had gone through this himself, he could truly empathize with Steve.

Even though Steve never told him his full story, he could pretty much guess it.

———

At that moment, hearing Black Blade's words, Grayfist froze.

In his mind, Black Blade had always been the quiet, cold-blooded type, someone who killed fast and spoke little.

So hearing him talk about "precious memories" and "meaningful things" felt surreal.

The contrast was too huge. Grayfist just couldn't process it.

He looked at Black Blade with disbelief and a bit of disgust.

"What? When did you turn into some motivational guru?"

"And those things you said, did Steve really tell you that himself?"

"'Precious memories'? 'Meaningful things'? Has he been reading too many self-help quotes or what? How can he even say crap like that??"

Grayfist, nicknamed the "elementary schooler," really did think differently from normal adults.

It wasn't that he didn't listen, it was just that his brain couldn't catch up. And whenever someone gave him a long speech, he always managed to miss the point.

Hearing that, Black Blade took a deep breath, clenching his teeth so hard his jaw trembled.

He widened his eyes, glaring at Grayfist, muttering inwardly, 'He really doesn't understand human language!!!'

Right now, Black Blade wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face, but he forced himself to stay calm.

After a long moment, he finally steadied his emotions, sighed deeply, and shook his head helplessly.

'Forget it… looks like I overestimated him…' he thought silently.

He'd had some hope that if he explained why Steve chose Xu Yuan, Grayfist might finally understand and change his view.

But reality crushed that hope, Grayfist simply didn't get it.

Black Blade paused, adjusted his wording, and tried one last time to talk to him in the simplest way possible.

"I'll ask you one last question," he said.

"Do you even know what it is you really want?"

Black Blade wasn't someone who liked talking much. Today, he'd already said more than enough, he'd explained everything he could.

If Grayfist still couldn't understand, Black Blade no longer had the patience or energy to convince him.

Now, all he could do was silently hope Grayfist would come to his senses, otherwise, he'd have to move on to his second plan.

Hearing Black Blade's words, Grayfist didn't answer immediately.

He propped his chin on his hand, frowning hard, as if seriously thinking about the question.

Seeing him like that, Black Blade was so moved he almost cried.

'Finally! He's finally using his brain!!' Black Blade prayed silently, hoping this time Grayfist would actually figure it out.