CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER 74: "FOLLOW ME

The man was a youth with half-length golden hair, dressed in a high-end tailored suit, his deep blue eyes resembling the ocean, looking down at Su Ming’an with disdain:

"Let me introduce myself first. I am Edward, an existence your kind can’t even begin to comprehend, so there’s no need to explain in detail to you," Edward said coldly, "Su Ming’an of Dragon Country, Number One Player, listen well, don’t think that after experiencing two game worlds, you can rule over everything. This world is far bigger than your shallow imagination."

On the back of his hand, he had two complete and perfect marks of Perfect Pass.

"Su Ming’an, remember this, whether it’s Edward, Eni, or even Lv Shu, they are all far more suitable than you," Edron said indifferently, "We won’t correct the news of your death and resurrection, and it’s lucky that you came to us on your own. You will be buried along with everything you have done."

He saw the young man in front of him smile.

That was merely an expression crafted by the manipulation of muscles.

It was as though forcefully shown for him to see.

"...If you don’t want to be a waiting Light Pursuer, then, give it your all to win for me to see?" Su Ming’an said softly, "Actually, if you all became the Lighthouse... then it doesn’t really matter."

"This is too dangerous, utterly abnormal," Edward snapped coldly, immediately retreating as if he was prepared, "—Adolf, Andre, take him down!"

The two top players who had just arrived immediately pounced, one on each side, pinning Su Ming’an’s shoulders, but in the next instant, the light of the space flickered, and Su Ming’an appeared behind Edward, his finger instantly against his neck.

"You plan to take action against the Number One Player," Su Ming’an said as a faint black light churned in his hand, "in the Main God Space where people can truly die... what are you trying to do?"

But he soon realized that none of the gazes looking at him was tense; even Edward in front of him started laughing.

Su Ming’an heard a faint "tick-tock", like the second hand moving, as if ringing beside his ear.

An invisible tremor suddenly erupted around Edward’s body.

Su Ming’an loosened his grip, and in the next moment, Adolf and Andre instantly appeared behind him, pressing down on his shoulders from both sides.

"Hey..." Lv Shu felt it was a bit much.

"You don’t know yet, Su Ming’an. Thanks to you, we’ve tried out a lot of mechanisms for small spaces," Edward said coldly, "You probably don’t know... The Guild Headquarters space is far more dangerous than the Main God Space. The Main God Space, at least, forbids direct combat, but in the Guild Headquarters space... all forms of combat are allowed—In other words, if we kill you here... no one would know."

Su Ming’an immediately felt several gazes full of malice fall upon him.

"...Has it really come to this?" Su Ming’an laughed softly.

"No, Edward, it’s not that serious. We just need to detain him temporarily," Edron said, looking intently at Su Ming’an, "Su Ming’an, we have researched your skills; don’t underestimate human scholars. Your Core Skill is Cloning, but it’s already dead and won’t be able to rebirth anytime soon. You and your Clone are good at different aspects; its Strength, Fitness, and Agility are very high while your Mentality Points are high. You also have skills similar to Spatial Displacement and Elimination, but Spatial Displacement requires a long time to recharge, and Elimination can only be used at your fingertips... such a flawed skill setup, and you thought you were strong. We won’t give you a chance to open the world forum and say anything strange. You’ll just stay here until the Third World starts."

"...Edward, detaining him won’t solve the problem," Mizushima Kawa Sora said from the side, "Once the world countdown ends, he’ll still automatically enter the game world."

"We just don’t want him to send any messages to the outside world in these two days," Edward said, staring at the subdued Su Ming’an, "We will use all our means of public opinion to minimize his influence on others and then position Miss Mizushima Kawa as the new Number One Player. This kid took us too lightly, he will understand being alone is useless. Let his theories go to hell."

Saying this, he turned and left, Adolf and Andre clutching Su Ming’an’s shoulders, pushing him toward a room in the back.

During this period, Lv Shu was always watching his expression.

But Su Ming’an seemed indifferent, as if he had heard nothing at all, walking towards the inner room.

Lv Shu followed the whole way until he saw Su Ming’an was pushed into a room by the two, saw his hands both shackled in iron hoops, and then he said:

"...You guys, it’s a bit too much," Lv Shu said with a frown.

Andre revealed a toothy grin: "To prevent him from raising his hand to open the forum panel, we have to do this, right? Lv Shu, make it clear, he’s not your Dragon Country companion, he might even be a spy sent by the organizers."

Adolf nodded silently beside him, seemingly in a low mood, lighting a cigarette only to snuff it out again.

"...Adolf," Su Ming’an suddenly spoke up: "I’ve heard of you, don’t you want to exchange some words with me? Now I’m right here in front of you, do you have any questions?"

The pale blue flame flickered on and off on the lighter as Adolf sank into the shadows in the corner, his expression murky and unclear.

"Adolf, don’t listen to this guy, he has a knack for deception, stay away from him," Andre dragged Adolf’s arm to leave, "It’s different from what you think, this guy is no hero, don’t get infected by a madman."

Adolf’s eagle-like eyes softened a bit, as he gave Su Ming’an a slightly stony look, then sighed and walked out following Andre.

"Lv Shu, you can’t stay here either," Andre turned back and looked at Lv Shu standing at the doorway, "Edward specifically instructed me about you. You’ve had contact with Su Ming’an, and I don’t trust you to watch over him."

"Su Ming’an..." Lv Shu’s fingers were curved, the emerald mantis on his shoulder twitched with impatience, and his gaze became desolate in an instant:

"...I can sense your turmoil... Your contrast between before and after is too vast, sometimes you are so arrogant, and sometimes overly self-deprecating... What exactly are you worried about? Can you tell me?"

The young man locked in the innermost cell hung his head, the smile at his lips gradually fading away.

"It’s nothing," Su Ming’an murmured to him, "In the future... this won’t happen again."

"What?"

"..." Su Ming’an turned his head, "It’s nothing... I’ve completely understood now, what it is that you all want."

Lv Shu didn’t understand his meaning.

The iron door slammed shut in front of him, Lv Shu watched as two people stood guard by the door, his hand tightened on the hilt of his knife, and then he walked back.

...

Two days had slowly passed by.

The nearby area was sealed by the power of a rule, seemingly a high-level prop, so Su Ming’an couldn’t use spatial displacement to leave.

During this period, Lv Shu visited Su Ming’an several times, looking through the tall windows, he saw that the man’s posture seemed unchanged as always, just sitting there quietly, shrinking into the corner’s shadow, his expression hardly discernible.

Lv Shu even saw Mizushima Kawa Sora once. She appeared to be talking to Su Ming’an, but receiving no response from him, she left in a huff. Eni also visited, he spoke provocatively, essentially saying "You got lucky defeating me once, your strength is not bad, but don’t sink down from here," but upon seeing that the man inside did not even lift his head, he left with a red face.

Only a few high-ranking individuals knew that Su Ming’an was locked up; the outside world was oblivious. Although there were many speculations about whether the death was of the actual body or a clone, many audiences still decided to become players—they did not wish to continue feeling powerless.

Among the numerous forum posts, there were more and more about "Mizushima Kawa Sora" and "Edward." The group’s power was massive. Once they rallied, their influence on public opinion was unstoppable, trying to mold the few chosen, suitable successors of the "Number One Player" into their desired image.

A Number One Player who is bright, just, stable, and obedient.

...What a beautiful and longed-for future it is.

And in the time before the Third World was about to begin, Su Ming’an was constantly thinking.

This act in front of the whole world easily netted him 80 points.

Perhaps in the future, he could also use his identity as the Number One Player to guide this world and gain points.

Of course, the condition was not to be misunderstood too much by these people.

It seemed that some proper disguise was necessary, what Yu Ruohuo said essentially made sense.

His mentality had begun to change.

Perhaps, this audience wasn’t completely useless after all.

Saving them, leading them could naturally...

[Use them].

He started to recall the personality of that clone who was once adored by people.

So much so that when he heard the sound of fighting outside, when he heard a sudden crash at the main door, the motion of him lifting his head was somewhat sluggish.

"Bang—!"

The youth wielding the Black Blade violently broke through the door, Andre, who had passed out, lay at his feet.

"Came to rescue you, come with me," Lv Shu vibrated the blade, blood splattering all around.