Heroes' Prison

Chapter 166 Forum Analysis Post (Request for Monthly Tickets)

"It’s not important to me, but it’s very important to the people behind me," Dao Feng looked out the window, "Look at the desert under the bright moon, how beautiful. I wish I could, like Yun Sihai, travel the world and experience its wonders. But I no longer represent only myself. Too many people stand behind me, taking pride in me, and I can’t let them down. I must use all my strength to maintain my Number One and prevent others from surpassing me. In a sense, I’ve been imprisoned, stripped of freedom. That prison is trust—the trust that those behind me place in me!" With that, Dao Feng turned his head and stared at Huang Yi with keen eyes, "Do you know who I fear the most?"

"Who?" Huang Yi poured himself a glass of wine.

"People like you!" Dao Feng stared piercingly at Huang Yi, "What I fear most are newcomers like you, brimming with endless hope, like that child just now, with unlimited potential and making significant progress every day. In contrast, I have practically taken shape and have little room for improvement. Whenever I hear about you and Thunder God, these rising stars, a fear arises in me because I know that even though you are weak now, one day you will catch up to me. Once I lose this Number One, I don’t know how to face those behind me." Dao Feng spoke and then closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as if calming his fearful heart.

Huang Yi shook his head and smiled, gazing at the desert outside the window, "Don’t worry about everyone because in the hearts of those who truly care about you, you will always be their Number One. No matter what position you hold, even if you were in a real prison, they would still do anything for you, even if it cost their lives. All you need to do is to protect these people."

Huang Yi’s gaze remained fixed on the vast desert, at the end of which lay a city called Dragon City.

The moon climbed higher, and Dao Feng and Huang Yi finished bottle after bottle of wine, leaving empty bottles scattered on the floor. A wind picked up in the desert outside the window, shrouding the night in haze and veiling the starry sky with clouds of dust.

"Instakill, there are some matters to take care of in the guild, I must go. I’ll take the Yanhuang Legion to fight the Zombie King for a while to get in sync. Once we’re ready, I’ll send someone to take over for you." Dao Feng said as he stood up, took out a business card, and handed it to Huang Yi.

"Alright!" Huang Yi nodded and also took out a business card to exchange with Dao Feng.

Dao Feng downed the last glass of wine, picked up his war blade, and walked out with large strides, disappearing at the staircase.

Huang Yi had a good impression of Dao Feng from this encounter.

Dao Feng was approachable, whether facing him or a virtual little boy, he conversed amicably without any airs due to his World Number One status, making it comfortable and pressure-free.

This matched the players’ general opinion of Dao Feng on the forums; he has always been seen as an upright and righteous figure, never using his power to intimidate others. He enjoys a high reputation worldwide and has the most fans.

Huang Yi drank another glass of wine, looking out at the desert and in the direction of Dragon City where Qin Shiyu was waiting for him, wondering how things were there.

A long time ago, when he went out on missions, Qin Shiyu would often wait for his return, much like a wife waiting for her husband. But since his incarceration, they hadn’t seen each other. Now that Qin Shiyu was in trouble, he couldn’t help her.

Huang Yi finished his drink, left the money for the bottle on the table, and then logged off.

In the real world, it was late at night. Huang Yi went to the window and looked out.

The night was clear, stars twinkling, and the moon shone quietly. The real world’s starry sky may not have been as brilliant as The Second World’s, but it had a sense of reality, the sky he’d always wanted to soar freely in.

Yet that sky was bound by a huge bird net, preventing even birds from flying in. Huang Yi’s greatest hope at the moment was the Best Newcomer award; if he could clinch this award, he could request his release from Mr. Huang Sha. If Mr. Huang Sha still wouldn’t agree, then he would have to find another way out of prison.

With less than two months to the award ceremony, he was currently in the lead, but who knows if Thunder God would achieve another earth-shattering feat in the future. According to his research on the forums, when he received the notification for "Harbinger of Doomsday’s Footprints," Thunder God was with Dao Feng’s Yanhuang Legion, aiming for the world’s first kill of Dragonlance Pfister. Thunder God was the main tank, helping the Yanhuang Legion get the boss to Bare Life State. But then the announcement disrupted the Legion’s healers, who failed to continue healing Thunder God in time, resulting in his downfall and the team’s missed first kill.

From a certain perspective, Huang Yi’s announcement had throttled one of Thunder God’s achievements in its cradle. Now, having left the Yanhuang Legion, it’s uncertain what new feats Thunder God is planning; the man is like a ticking time bomb, never knowing when he’ll suddenly release a new announcement.

Huang Yi stood under the moonlight for a while, then returned to his bed and calmly fell asleep.

...

The next day, as soon as Huang Yi got up, he heard a commotion emanating from the large cell nearby. It seemed the Prison Overlord was organizing another training session for the criminals. His energy appeared to be limitless, turning a lifeless prison into a place bursting with vitality.

After washing up, Huang Yi also began his daily training in his cell. He exercised for an hour before entering The Second World to start a new day’s struggle.

He first visited the forum to check his support rate, which hadn’t changed from before, just like Thunder God’s. Without the release of any new achievements, it would be hard to see any change in the support rate.

In terms of the Best Individual Award, Dragon Spike had triggered a system announcement the night before, obtaining the Imperial Jade Seal and thus, the qualification to found a nation and become an emperor. This Unique Achievement had caused a surge in his support rate, catapulting him from around seventh or eighth place straight up to second, only behind his arch-rival War Blade. The gap in support rate even narrowed down to just 0.23%, nearly reaching parity.

Huang Yi didn’t pay much attention to other awards, including the ones he was nominated for; those were merely titles without any real benefits, unlike the Best Rookie Award.

Back on the forum homepage, he clicked on today’s hot post list, and his eye immediately caught many messages about Dragon Spike. Having triggered an announcement last night, Dragon Spike was naturally the main character on the forum today.

"Dragon Spike’s blade is still sharp! His actions crush rumors of a hero’s twilight!" Huang Yi clicked on this top-ranked post to read more, having discussed Dragon Spike with War Blade just last night, he was quite interested in him.

"The China Region, a cradle of top players, has always been one of the global focuses. Since Instakill and Thunder God, two superstars, rose, the aura of the older generation, War Blade and Dragon Spike, seemed to fade quite a bit, especially for Dragon Spike. Known for his forbearing and low-profile nature, and with no recent achievements, his reputation had taken a hit, leading to whispers of a hero’s twilight. However, last night’s system announcement powerfully shattered such public opinion, sending a strong signal to the world — Dragon Spike is still Dragon Spike, and he hasn’t been eliminated purely because of Instakill and Thunder God’s rise."

"The author believes that Dragon Spike is this year’s hottest contender for the Best Individual Award. Currently, the top five contenders for support rate are War Blade, Dragon Spike, Heavenly Dao, Pope, and Pharaoh. War Blade won the award last year so according to typical award ceremony trends, it is unlikely to be his turn again this year. The Pope and Heavenly Dao are tied down by their guild’s power struggles, unable to dedicate themselves fully to competing for the Best Individual Award, while Pharaoh recently failed to overcome the 9th Stage of War Soul, dropping a level and affecting his power; he is unlikely to make any significant moves soon. So as things stand, Dragon Spike has the highest hopes of winning..."

This post only provided a basic evaluation of Dragon Spike and didn’t delve into too much internal information. Huang Yi didn’t know much about Dragon Spike; he left behind very little footage and was very low profile, much like his assassin-type class, always lurking in the shadows.

If Huang Yi didn’t win the Best Rookie Award this year, then when competing for the Best Individual Award next year, Dragon Spike would be a very strong opponent!

Next, Huang Yi returned to the forum’s hot post list to check out the rest of the hot posts.

"Latest news from the 50th floor of the Tower of Pantheons! War Blade to compete with Pope for the Zombie King’s first kill!" At that moment, Huang Yi saw an outstanding post and couldn’t help but click on it to read further.

"Since the Heavenly Group secured the world’s first kill of Dragonlance Pfister on the 50th floor, Dragonlance Pfister no longer drops Legendary Equipment, losing its competitive value. Currently, five teams around the world are capable of defeating Dragonlance Pfister, allowing these teams to contest for the second round of world first kill. Now, the second, third, and fourth bosses can be chosen freely without any specific order required for their defeat."

"Among these, the fourth boss has the highest Attack Power but the lowest Health Points and has been selected as the newest target by the Heavenly Group. The main tank of the Heavenly Group, Zuo You, is the world’s top tank, and currently, only he can withstand the boss, giving the Heavenly Group the sole chance for a first kill against the fourth boss. According to the data on the Tower of Pantheons’ rankings, the Heavenly Group has already been able to reduce this boss’s Health Points to below 50%. Given some more time, they should be able to secure the first kill."