CHAPTER 399: 399 GAME RHYTHM

Little Flame said, "I knew it would come to this sooner or later."

Starry Sky said, "The wheel of fortune turns. The game company is now focusing on new players."

Tree said, "Shouldn’t new players be treating us like Bosses to overcome? Why let an NPC eliminate us? What’s the point of that?"

The bald avatar said, "Someone who can erase Skills isn’t an NPC; that’s a GM."

Starry Sky said, "Has the game company finally decided to abandon the game’s rules and personally intervene?"

Water Flower, who had been silent, suddenly said, "Lin Bai is definitely not a GM. I’ve studied his past experiences. He single-handedly threw the new game’s progress into utter chaos. The new game has been open for less than a year, and rookie players just starting out have already entered the Fairy World. For them, any Celestial Being is stronger than the top-tier Bosses of the Lower Realm. Such an environment is comparable to hell; it’s fundamentally impossible for them to develop. I’m more inclined to believe Lin Bai is a saboteur sent by the game company’s rival to cause destruction."

Little Flame said, "I know. It’s the Righteous Door. Like the game company, they never take direct action. Lin Bai is their agent."

Starry Sky said, "Why don’t you consider this a new type of gameplay developed by the game company? Introducing a ’catfish’ between NPCs and players to increase the game’s difficulty and entertainment value."

Thunder Heavenly King said, "Don’t you think we’re getting off topic? My hammer was stolen, and my Skills were erased. Shouldn’t we be discussing how to take down Lin Bai instead of his origins? Do you want him to pick us off one by one and ultimately lose the power you hold?"

Little Flame said, "Although it has become somewhat boring sitting in the position of Heavenly King for so long, I certainly don’t want to lose my power. Besides, with a new Map opened and new players, our unchanging lives have become interesting."

Thunder Heavenly King said, "Exactly. So, who cares if he’s a GM or a saboteur? We must kill him first to maintain our power. Lin Bai can’t hide the truth forever. This time, I was careless. My battle with the God of Darkness resulted in mutual injury; otherwise, he wouldn’t have stood a chance."

Tree said, "If we kill him, what happens if the Magpie Bridge disappears? I still want to visit other worlds!"

Little Flame said, "Then let’s not kill him. Let’s beat him into submission and make him our exclusive ’driver.’ Or, we could get the method of using the Magpie Bridge from him, and then kill him."

Starry Sky said, "That makes sense, but the prerequisite is to lure him to the Fairy World. That fellow has the Magpie Bridge and can slip away at any time, which makes it troublesome."

Water Flower said, "Find Old Dream. Let Old Dream trap him. That guy is a master at brainwashing; he should be able to handle Lin Bai."

Thunder Heavenly King said, "We need to get my hammer back first. If he manages to cultivate Thor’s Advent with it, he’ll be difficult to deal with."

Starry Sky said, "We need to devise a foolproof plan. If you knew more about Lin Bai’s past, you’d realize he has an extremely precise understanding of human psychology. His intelligence level should be no less than ours."

Thunder Heavenly King recalled his own encounter, and really wanted to warn everyone not to be careless. But he ultimately swallowed his words. He would rather admit his own carelessness and negligence than admit his intelligence was lower than Lin Bai’s!

Moreover, he felt that with several of them wielding Holy Artifacts, taking down a mere Lin Bai shouldn’t be a problem.

After all, Lin Bai was just a Starshine Realm player who knew some opportunistic tricks. If he had the ability to engage in a direct confrontation, why would he have provoked a fight between me and the God of Darkness, waiting until we were both severely injured before making a move?

The players reacted quickly enough, but they still felt like they couldn’t keep up with Lin Bai’s pace.

Lin Bai’s grand wedding had concluded just a day ago.

But now, to the players, it felt as if a year had already passed. Explosive news, like the Anti-Linbai Alliance and the revelation that the Heavenly Kings were players, came out one after another, gradually overshadowing Lin Bai’s wedding.

In the internet age, people already felt that the pace of life was accelerating; often, a hot topic would be relegated to the dustbin within a few days.

But after entering the game, the pace was like being strapped to a rocket.

Every few hours, major news would erupt within the game.

This rhythm was actually quite typical for a game, but when combined with reality, it made players feel that the pace was excessively fast, and they couldn’t react in time.

Players had no choice but to pay close attention to every issue of "Justice Weekly." The content of "Justice Weekly" was directed by Lin Bai and represented the new direction of the game.

Far Vision Eagle tapped the stack of "Justice Weekly" issues beside him and said resignedly to the several players nearby, "They’re printing several issues a day. This can’t be called ’Justice Weekly’ anymore; it should be ’Justice Hourly.’"

They were the corporation’s game managers, but now, with the game’s player base exploding and its integration with reality, they found themselves increasingly overwhelmed by unexpected events and were gradually being marginalized.

Of course, their marginalization wasn’t due to a lack of ability but because the main corporate group had begun to impose restrictions on them.

The fusion of the game and reality had become an established fact. The leadership of the main group clearly didn’t want to see these employees, who wielded extraordinary powers, become too influential. Reducing their external support and reclaiming authority was a natural course of action.

"In this post-god era, Lin Bai is shifting his focus to the Continent of Gods and Demons!" Like the Midday Sun said. "The God of Darkness, one of the main gods of the Continent of Gods and Demons, was taken down single-handedly by the Thunder Heavenly King. You have to admit, top-tier players are incredibly strong!"

"We shouldn’t just look at the surface," Far Vision Eagle said, shaking his head. "If the God of Darkness was truly defeated by the Thunder Heavenly King, why was it ’Justice Weekly’ that reported the scattering of the Divine Status? A lot must have happened behind the scenes that we don’t know about. One thing’s for sure—Lin Bai reaped a great benefit from it. The scattered Divine Status is undoubtedly linked to him."

"The Anti-Linbai Alliance is stirring up trouble in the Fairy World. What should we do?" Ride the Wind asked. "The corporation clearly intends to give us the cold shoulder, withdrawing players from under our command to cultivate their own loyalists."

"Let’s request permission from the corporation to go and develop the Continent of Gods and Demons!" Far Vision Eagle said. "Following the corporation now doesn’t guarantee a feast, but following Lin Bai will at least get us some soup. Haven’t you all realized it yet? In the game world, the corporation’s influence is waning. In the end, it all comes down to individual ability. We need to change our thinking as well."

"The Nine Heavenly Kings?" questioned Like the Midday Sun.

"Yes, the Nine Heavenly Kings, who have suppressed the Fairy World for tens of thousands of years," Far Vision Eagle said. "They could almost be called Emperors. That’s the pinnacle for players, the direction for the future."

"Lin Bai won’t allow us to grow," Ride the Wind stated.

"Lin Bai is very good to his fans. He doesn’t restrict their development and even provides support," Far Vision Eagle said, shaking the copy of "Justice Weekly" in his hand. "Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi and his team were unknown before, but Lin Bai single-handedly propelled them to fame. They now control countless resources. Even leaders in the real world have to cooperate with their decisions. Isn’t that enough? Our abilities are surely stronger than theirs!"

"Lin Bai has a procedure to identify his own fans. I can’t bring myself to blindly trust Lin Bai unconditionally, let alone become his fan," Like the Midday Sun said with a bitter laugh.

"If you imagine Lin Bai as a real person and compare him to corporate CEOs—no, compare him to figures like stock market gods or financial tycoons—you’ll realize he’s truly outstanding, completely worthy of being idolized," Far Vision Eagle said. "My previous idol was Sophia Lotte. But these days, after comparing Sophia Lotte’s experiences with Lin Bai’s, I’ve gradually come to realize that Sophia Lotte isn’t even fit to shine Lin Bai’s shoes. Sophia Lotte could never have single-handedly conquered such a vast territory in less than a year. No emperor in history, ancient or modern, could..."

A hush fell over the group, and everyone looked at Far Vision Eagle with a somewhat peculiar gaze.

"Yuan Zong, you’re being rather harsh on yourself," Wind Rider commented with a sigh.

"Mr. Cheng, the tide is irresistible. We’ve already been marginalized by the corporation; if we get marginalized by the Justice League too, how will we survive in this chaotic era?" Far Vision Eagle said. "Right now, the Justice League still allows players to join freely. The longer this goes on, the more Lin Bai’s trusted followers will occupy high positions. Ever since we learned the Nine Heavenly Kings are players, corporations and the like have become relics of the past."

"Have any of you ever wondered why, in the vast Fairy World, there are only nine players?" The Bright Sun suddenly asked. "If the situation in the Fairy World was initially similar to ours, why were only nine players left in the end? Where did the other players go? Was the game company selecting the strongest? Without figuring this out, prematurely siding with Lin Bai is meaningless."

"Like the Midday Sun, you’re thinking too far ahead. Unless you can get the truth from a Heavenly King’s mouth, it won’t be easy to uncover the truth about the Fairy World, which has existed for tens of thousands of years," Far Vision Eagle said, shaking his head. "Life is short; we must seize the day."

「The Western Continent.」

"Mr. Speaker, after the war between the Thunder Heavenly King and the God of Darkness, Lin Bai indeed disappeared from my body," John told the assembled high officials. "He must have been caught in the crossfire during the war."

"What about the scattered Dark Divine Seal?" Madeleine asked. "Do you have no memory of that battle at all?"

"Ms. Madeleine, I was the one whose body was snatched by Lin Bai, not the other way around. How could I possibly retain his memories?" John said with a helpless expression. "It’s not just memories; I didn’t retain any of his miraculous Skills. In fact, because I died, my Level even dropped by one."

"We truly are people not favored by the gods," the Speaker said, dejected. "In the end, Lin Bai has abandoned us."

"Mr. Speaker, is it possible that he never considered us important from the beginning? That his target has always been the Continent of Gods and Demons," General Joseph interjected.

Silence filled the room. A gloomy mood began to spread throughout the meeting.

Their much-vaunted modern weaponry had been utterly defeated in the conflict with the otherworld. Now, without Lin Bai’s support, they couldn’t imagine how they could secure a place for themselves in this game’s competition.

After all, the Continent of Gods and Demons initially didn’t have Lin Bai, and the players’ levels there were generally low. Even if tens of millions of players entered the game, they couldn’t make significant waves in the game world.

Furthermore, their total population was smaller than that of the Eastern Continent. Once the game became universally adopted, they would also be at a disadvantage in terms of player numbers.

"What should we do next? Continue to seek help from Lin Bai?" Madeleine asked.

Another silence fell.

"He won’t pay attention to us. We are of no use to him," Johnson said.

"I’m tired. I’ve decided to resign from the position of Speaker," the Speaker looked at everyone and suddenly made this startling announcement. Then, he began to walk out on his own. "This damned world is driving me crazy. If it were possible, I’d rather be an ordinary player in the game."

"..." Everyone was stunned, but no one tried to stop the Speaker. They, too, had no idea how to resolve the current awkward situation.

"Clearly, Lin Bai’s focus is on the Continent of Gods and Demons. We should send someone to find Lin Bai," Joseph suggested. "At the very least, we are more familiar with the game than those people from the East. Tell Lin Bai that we will do our utmost to cooperate with him to end this damned game as soon as possible and return the world to normal."

Ye Song and the others officially arrived on the Continent of Gods and Demons. Lin Bai had endowed them with the language of the Western Continent, allowing them to communicate with the natives of the Continent of Gods and Demons without barriers. Correspondingly, they also lost the other Skills Lin Bai had granted them. Tuohai and the others had to accompany them, responsible for coordinating their efforts.

Meanwhile, "Justice Weekly" also launched a massive promotional campaign for them on the Continent of Gods and Demons.

The God of Darkness could appear in the form of a dense fog. Combined with the language of the Western Continent, this could perfectly help them conceal their original identities.

The identity of Lin Bai’s Disciples was a bit sensitive and would likely be resisted by the original followers of the God of Darkness. It would be easier for those followers to accept that the Divine Status had fallen into the hands of their own people.

Thus, the God of Shadows, the God of Darkness, the God of Night Color, the Shadow God, and the Night God successively appeared in various Dark Temples across the land. They lit the Dark Holy Fire, gathered the scattered followers of the God of Darkness, and preached new doctrines through various methods, primarily centered on revenge...

However, not everyone chose to appear as natives of the Continent of Gods and Demons.

After Joseph and others contacted Lin Bai through Xu Longyun and expressed their willingness to submit, Lin Bai warmly received them. He told them that he had also seized a portion of the Dark Divine Seal and needed to spread the faith of Darkness in their lands. By using the power of faith from the real world, he would absorb the other five scattered pieces of Divine Status, re-condense the complete God of Darkness, and he asked them to coordinate with players for publicity.

Feints within feints, truth and deception—this was the essence of strategy!

On one side were the natives of the Continent of Gods and Demons, and on the other, the players. Once the information spread that one side had to absorb the other to obtain the complete Divine Status, players would inevitably join the real-world God of Darkness to confront the natives...

The confrontation between players and natives is a recurring theme in all games.

Where there is conflict, new faiths are bound to emerge.

The most crucial point was that Lin Bai revealed a new piece of information: shattered Divine Statuses could be inherited by players.

He promised that as long as the players in the Western Continent were willing to cooperate with the God of Darkness in attacking other gods, then after those other gods were defeated, the Justice League would randomly distribute the shattered Divine Statuses to players, allowing new gods to be born from among them.

Once this news was released, most players in the Western Continent erupted in celebration, including many members of the Anti-Linbai Alliance.

Unlike the West Continent Congress, which felt abandoned by Lin Bai, these players had finally been waiting for Lin Bai to come and stir things up on the Continent of Gods and Demons.

Because Lin Bai’s presence meant abundant resources, and that meant rapid Level advancement...