He frowned for about half a minute before his brows finally relaxed.

Then he turned to look at Black Blade, a look of excitement spreading across his face.

"I got it!"

Seeing this, Black Blade was about to ask what he meant, but before he could even speak, Grayfist had already walked up quickly to him and leaned in close to his ear, whispering softly.

"Of course I know what I want."

After saying that, Grayfist stopped, staring straight into Black Blade's eyes. There was a sly glint in his gaze.

"I want to…"

The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk, and he said each word slowly and deliberately.

"Send... you... to... see... Steve!"

Hearing Grayfist's words, Black Blade's heart jolted violently, and a flicker of surprise flashed across his face.

He instinctively reached out and shoved Grayfist away hard, then quickly stood up, putting some distance between them again.

Black Blade originally thought Grayfist would take the chance to attack him in secret just now, but after backing away, he was shocked to find that Grayfist hadn't drawn any weapon at all.

Grayfist looked at Black Blade's startled expression and showed a smug grin, teasing him.

"Oh? You scared?"

"Weren't you just treating this place like your own home? What's there to be afraid of at home, huh?"

Grayfist did this mainly to regain the face he had lost earlier.

After all, the moment Black Blade showed up, he looked like he had everything under control, even trying to lecture him.

Grayfist hated being told what to do, especially by someone he already resented. Naturally, he wouldn't let Black Blade keep acting all high and mighty.

This was his turf, how could he allow Black Blade to act arrogant here?

Actually, Grayfist hadn't completely ignored the question Black Blade asked him earlier.

Ever since he defeated Steve, he had already started thinking about it.

Before, he'd been obsessed with beating Steve, and that obsession had made him overlook many other important things.

He had thought about starting over once he left the trial grounds, exploring and experiencing this mysterious game world wholeheartedly.

But he had no intention of telling Black Blade any of that. After all, he didn't plan on being friends with him, so there was no need to share.

Besides, in his mind, answering whatever Black Blade asked would just make him look weak.

At this point, Grayfist's behavior completely pushed Black Blade past his limit.

Black Blade let out a cold snort, shook his head with a bitter smile, and said sarcastically, "I really shouldn't have listened to Steve and tried to talk to you nicely."

"Someone like you…"

He was just about to continue when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the room, it sounded like players arguing.

Hearing the noise outside, Black Blade suddenly calmed down.

He exhaled deeply and thought to himself, 'It's finally about to end…'

He turned to look at Grayfist and raised an eyebrow.

"It's pretty noisy out there. Aren't you going to check it out?"

Still basking in the thrill of pranking Black Blade, Grayfist didn't notice the change in his expression.

Hearing the noise, he didn't think much of it and hurried out of the room.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw several of his own players grabbing one of Steve's players, seemingly interrogating him.

"Speak! Where did you hide the crates?!"

"You little punk, trying to stash supplies behind our backs?!"

"Can't keep your filthy hands to yourself! Told you we shouldn't trust them!"

Grayfist's men were shouting at Steve's player. Seeing Grayfist come out, they immediately stepped forward to report.

"Boss! I just passed Warehouse One and found only one supply crate left!"

"I was about to come report it, but then I ran into this guy right here!"

"The supplies must've been stolen by him!"

Grayfist's face darkened instantly. He looked at the reporting player and asked coldly, "You said only one crate was left in Warehouse One?"

The player didn't dare meet his eyes, lowering his head nervously as his voice trembled.

"Y-yes… that's right…"

As soon as he finished, Grayfist pressed again.

"What were you doing before the supplies went missing?"

He spoke while reaching out to lift the player's chin, studying his face closely.

"I remember Warehouse One was assigned to you."

Seeing Grayfist's expression, like he wanted to tear him apart alive, the player stammered incoherently.

"I… I…"

"U-usually…"

He stuttered for a long time but couldn't give any useful answer.

He couldn't exactly say he'd been hanging around the square watching the commotion, could he?

The thing was, Grayfist's men had long since stopped suspecting Steve's players.

Steve's players hadn't done anything suspicious at all.

Some of Grayfist's men had even become close friends with them.

When the player still couldn't explain himself, Grayfist took a deep breath, forcing down his anger, and turned his gaze toward the captured player from Steve's side.

"The supplies…"

Just as he was about to question him, something suddenly clicked in his mind. He spun around and glanced toward the room he had just left.

"Him?…"

Realizing that, Grayfist quickly turned back to his men and shouted anxiously.

"You, check the other warehouses!"

"And you, go find the rest of Steve's people!"

Right then, Grayfist finally realized this wasn't just about someone hoarding supplies. Ever since Steve left, he had never fully dropped his guard toward Steve's players.

He even assigned people to secretly monitor their every move. But he never found anything suspicious.

Over time, he had relaxed.

After all, Steve's players had behaved well lately. They often helped the group strategize and contributed to their growth.

But now, right after Black Blade's arrival, they suddenly started hoarding supplies?

Could it really just be coincidence?

Grayfist couldn't help recalling Black Blade's confident, self-assured expression earlier.

Black Blade had come to the base alone. If he didn't have something up his sleeve, how could he be so calm?

Thinking about it, Grayfist didn't even dare continue. He desperately hoped he was just overthinking it.

Now he was on edge, unable to go back in to face Black Blade, he was terrified his fears might actually be true.

"Damn it! How long does it take to check such a small area?!!"

Barely a minute had passed since his men left, yet Grayfist was already losing his patience.

He paced back and forth, feeling like time had stopped completely.

A few minutes later, the two players finally came running back, panting heavily.

"Boss…"

"The supplies in the other warehouses… are all gone…"

"Boss…"

"Steve's players… they're all gone too…"

When he heard the report, the taut string in Grayfist's mind finally snapped. The last bit of hope he'd been clinging to completely shattered.

"Are you sure?! Did you search carefully?! Checked everywhere?!"

Even though the report made everything clear, Grayfist still couldn't accept it. He wanted so badly to believe this was all a mistake.

He wished the two players had just misreported.

But hearing their stammering responses, he had to face the brutal truth.

"S-sure…"

Their voices trembled, as if they were afraid that saying one wrong word would get them punished.

"E-everything's been checked…"

The other player echoed softly, head bowed, not daring to meet his eyes.

At that moment, Grayfist let go of his final illusion. He let out a long, heavy sigh, his face sinking into despair.

When he was waiting for their report, he had imagined the worst countless times and even prepared himself mentally.

He had thought that if it truly came to that, he would just storm in and fight Black Blade to the death.

If Black Blade had trapped him in this mess, then at least he'd make sure Black Blade couldn't walk away either.

But now, that fire was gone.

Even though the truth was right in front of him, he no longer had the will to fight.

Grayfist felt nothing but a wave of helplessness rising from his chest, because he understood clearly that he had lost this battle from the very start.

He began to reflect on everything that had happened and realized there had been signs all along.

This wasn't something Black Blade planned at the last moment when he arrived. The plan must've begun the moment Steve joined them.

And that's exactly where Grayfist's deep sense of helplessness came from, because Steve hadn't even joined voluntarily.

Grayfist had been the one who insisted on "taking Steve in."

At the time, he was just thrilled to finally have a chance to be above Steve. He wanted so badly to hold onto that moment that he didn't think about anything else.

But he hadn't realized he was walking right into their plan.

If it hadn't been for his own selfish desire to enjoy suppressing Steve, Black Blade and Steve's plan would never have worked.

That alone showed just how well they understood Grayfist.

They had predicted he would fall for it, didn't even need to push him. He had invited Steve, the "wolf," into his own den.

Thinking about that, Grayfist couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, filled with regret and self-blame.

If only he had been a little calmer, a little more rational back then, maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this.

But it was too late now. All he could do was accept it silently.

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