Heroes' Prison

Chapter 756 - 721: Good People, People, Inhuman

Desire Arises from the Heart was livid, his fists clenched tightly, his expression full of resentment and venom.

He hadn’t expected the repercussions of Huang Yi’s withdrawal to manifest so quickly, those three announcements were like three fierce slaps to his face.

"Just when the situation had somewhat alleviated, it now collapses all at once. God of Slaughter may not have directly participated in the national war, but his reputation precedes him, deterring many nations. Do you really think he made no contributions?" The Gentleman frowned slightly, looking at Desire Arises from the Heart with a touch of dissatisfaction.

Desire Arises from the Heart gritted his teeth, forcing himself to say, "It doesn’t matter! Even without God of Slaughter, we can still win this national war!"

...

Meanwhile, Huang Yi was walking on the streets of the City of Desire, with Zu Zaiyu following obediently by his side. Both had altered their appearances, which prevented anyone from recognizing them as they passed.

"What exactly happened inside? Why did God of Slaughter suddenly leave the Desire Legion?"

"Could it be that God of Slaughter and Desire Arises from the Heart had a conflict over the position of commander-in-chief?"

"Now that God of Slaughter has stepped down, the situation on the Hero’s Continent has gotten even worse!"

People were discussing in small groups, still shocked by the announcement of Huang Yi leaving the Desire Legion. Everyone had high hopes for him, but the outcome was disappointing. Worse still, as soon as he left, those countries that had been watching from the sidelines declared war immediately.

"Big brother, why didn’t you fight for the commander-in-chief position? There must be many people who would have supported you," Zu Zaiyu asked Huang Yi at this moment.

"I couldn’t have won it!" Huang Yi shook his head, "Desire Arises from the Heart would definitely not relinquish his power, and even if he did, he might cause trouble behind the scenes. It’s better not to take on that commander-in-chief role!"

As he spoke, Huang Yi patted Zu Zaiyu’s hair, saying, "You think I would certainly not withdraw from the national war, don’t you?"

"Yes!" Zu Zaiyu nodded, "Withdrawing now would put you at a disadvantage, and people might say you are avoiding the issue. And if you want to rejoin the war, in your current state of Reincarnation and without the support of a guild, it would be hard to achieve good results. The power of the Hero Guild alone is too weak, and even if you were to create a new guild, it wouldn’t be able to develop."

"You’re not wrong in theory, but often there’s a discrepancy between reality and theory. My plan is to wait until my strength recovers to that of the Holy Domain, then create a new guild to join the national war. Desire Arises from the Heart may be incompetent, but he can hang on for a while longer. And my temporary withdrawal from this war won’t lead to condemnation—I’m not one to be easily judged," Huang Yi said with a slight smile.

Zu Zaiyu furrowed her brow, looked up at Huang Yi, and her pure, dark eyes flashed with confusion, "Why won’t people scold you?"

"Because I’ve never been a good person. I may have done some good deeds, but I’ve killed many players and done things that many see as utterly reprehensible. There are even many who think of me as a demon who kills without blinking. So my exit won’t provoke curses, because people feel that anything I do is possible," Huang Yi explained.

Then, shifting the conversation, he continued, "If it were Dao Feng in my place today and he withdrew from the national war, he would certainly face everyone’s scorn. His image has always been that of a good person, and people would judge him by that standard. In a way, he’s been bound by morality. Everything he does is out of his control, and that kind of life is very painful. One of the big reasons he retired is that he was constrained by his good reputation, and he wasn’t living freely; he lived in the demands of others."

After speaking, Huang Yi concluded with a word of caution, "Don’t position yourself to be a good person; just be a person."

"Just be a person?" Zu Zaiyu seemed not to understand and murmured to herself.

Huang Yi nodded, "Yes! A ’person’ is only one character less than a ’good person,’ but with far fewer troubles and much more space. Just avoid doing things that not even beasts would do; some people may only look human. You’re still young; in the future, you’ll meet many people who are like humans."

"Like humans?" Zu Zaiyu pondered the phrase, shaking her head, "I don’t understand."

"To put it bluntly, they are beasts in human skin," Huang Yi said then posed a question, "Who do you think is better between Desire Arises from the Heart and Miyamoto Musashi?"

Zu Zaiyu touched her chin, thought for a moment, and said, "Desire Arises from the Heart, I guess! At least he’s one of us Chinese."

Huang Yi shook his head, corrected her, "Don’t judge a person’s character by their nationality. Our organization has many Japanese members, but they are our brothers and sisters, and they are kind-hearted."

Continuing, Huang Yi’s tone softened: "I actually think Miyamoto Musashi is somewhat better. He’s only a bad person in our eyes, with the issue of national differences playing a major part. For the Japanese, although his actions might be extreme, at least he’s fighting for his homeland. The things he does are for both himself and Japan."

"In the team competition of the martial arts tournament, he let all of Japan’s experts join to both secure victory and share the glory together; by kidnapping Xiao Yu and the top executives of China’s top guilds, he was seeking revenge on me and also trying to weaken the overall strength of Chinese players in preparation for the invasion of the Hero’s Continent; he would rather destroy his own heavily invested Northern Sea City than find ways to kill me to avoid defeat of the Land of Dongying. Not everyone has such resolve. His actions are not just for himself but also for his homeland; he can be considered a person."

"In contrast, as a commander in a national war, Desire Arises from the Heart acts for personal gain under the guise of serving the public. Like in that recent meeting, instead of discussing how to deal with the invaders, he called for action against the Sun Guild to eradicate this guild that offended him. And anyone who disobeyed would be kicked out of the legion, barred from participating in the national war. His behavior doesn’t even qualify as human," Huang Yi concluded.

Speaking of this, Huang Yi turned his head to look at Zu Zaiyu and said, "The views of a nation can blind your eyes, but you need to truly feel who your real enemies and kin are. Some people may not be from the same country as you, but their intentions towards you are genuine, just like family. Even if they are weak, they would stand in front of you in battle, prioritizing your protection. Even if they only have ten thousand Gold Coins, or can’t even find a job, they would still buy you gifts. You must not let down such people."

"Okay! I got it!" Zu Zaiyu nodded obediently. He was like a blank piece of paper, pure and untainted, and Huang Yi was the first to add color to this blank slate.

"The greatest pursuit of a man is to not become a beast," Huang Yi reflected, watching the endless stream of people on the street.

As the two of them walked towards the Teleport Plaza and chatted, they gradually disappeared into the crowd.

...

Meanwhile, on the Singapore mainland.

In the tranquil town, Huang Yi strolled leisurely towards the Teleportation Circle with Haitang, Yue Yue, Shuimo Qingxiang, and Tingxi, all four girls laughing and playfully bantering, radiating youthful joy.

Just as they passed by a barbecue restaurant, Haitang suddenly wrapped an arm around Huang Yi’s shoulder and said with a beaming smile, "My dear disciple, your master Yue Yue and I have received the callback for the final interview! There’s hope for a job now, and once we find work, we’ll treat you to a big meal!"

"Sure!" Huang Yi nodded, his gaze shifting as he pointed at the "Temple Bidding Notice" pasted on the door of the barbecue place and asked casually, "Have you signed up for this tender?"

"Stop dreaming! We don’t have the skills to take on such an assignment!" Shuimo Qingxiang laughed behind her hand and playfully pinched Huang Yi’s arm, as if trying to wake him from his daydream.

"How can you know without trying?" Huang Yi urged.

He had resolved to give away the money; he would have to leave eventually, and leaving a sum for his several masters would at least ensure they were free from financial worries. Although the Gold Coins of The Second World were continuously depreciating, the amount converted into real-world currency was still a substantial fortune—comparable to their proper office salaries.

"Oh, come on! Let’s not fantasize! Let’s hurry and level up. You’ve reincarnated, but you’re still not focused on accumulating Experience!" Yue Yue urged, tugging on Huang Yi’s hand and striding forward.

Huang Yi, left with no choice, sent another message to Ying Lin, "Change the requirements for the bid registration. Right now, they don’t even want to register; you have to find a way to encourage them to do so."

"Alright, I’ll have someone change it," Ying Lin replied with a tone of resignation. It seemed that even giving away money could be this troublesome.

...

As time passed, the day gave way to night.

Huang Yi and the four girls walked leisurely home under the bright moonlight.

It was peak login time; players had finished work and were now enjoying the night in The Second World. The streets were bustling with foot traffic, and the calls of street vendors were incessant.

"Hmm? How did the requirements for the tender change?"

"And they’ve changed in such a strange way!"

At that moment, near a place where notices were posted, a crowd was gathered, engaged in animated discussion.

Huang Yi was intrigued and immediately walked over to the notice.

"Big Baddie! You’re still not giving up, huh!" Shuimo Qingxiang teased with a laugh, following him.

The five of them stood outside the crowd, looking at the new tender notice.

While other parts of this fresh notice remained the same, there was something new about the applicant requirements—

"Due to the religious nature of the construction project, this tender considers predestined affinity of the utmost importance. Therefore, the name of the applicants must have some relevance to the Heroism Religion. The religious frescoes of the Heroism Religion depict the God of Slaughter standing under the moonlight, so the applicants’ names must include the character ’Yue’; surrounding the God of Slaughter are blooming flowers, so those with ’flower’ in their names also meet the application criteria..."

"Can you believe it? What a coincidence! Yue Yue, Haitang, both of you perfectly fit the requirements!" On seeing the new notice, Shuimo Qingxiang suddenly covered her mouth in surprise. (To be continued. If you like this novel, please come to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your Recommendation Ticket and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)