I Don't Agree to the Terms

Chapter 930 491: Backstabbed Scapegoat—How Is That Even a Backstab? 2

As for players, they essentially pose no threat, just staying home to play games?

This sort of thing is entirely up to him. As long as he creates an echo chamber of negative information about players for Gu Shanhai and confines the external information Gu Shanhai can access, the impression Gu Shanhai has of players will be entirely shaped by him.

"No problem. I will arrange the relevant evidence for you within three days, so you can see those dictators who brought pain to the kingdom." At this point, Qin Ji had to position himself on the side of justice as proof to persuade Gu Shanhai.

"Alright, I'll wait for your good news, Director Qin." Gu Shanhai didn't say much more. For him, it was necessary to maintain his own persona, even if it meant underestimating Qin Ji.

"Since that's the case, I'll take my leave first. I'll arrange everything for you, Dr. Gu, so you'll just have to go there when the time comes." Qin Ji rose and left.

He was placing his hopes of exterminating the players on Gu Shanhai, and surely wouldn't let Gu Shanhai go alone or give any bizarre challenges. Instead, he'd employ the utmost security and secrecy to let him see what he wanted him to see.

No sense in making things unnecessarily complicated without reason.

Qin Ji quickly left, and seeing this, Gu Shanhai was also contemplating how to hoodwink others next, and how to reasonably bring out the energy weapon capable of dealing with the players.

Development has indeed been completed, but bringing it out so quickly might seem suspicious, indicating an ulterior motive.

"If it really doesn't work, I can just dumb it down, whether it's reasonable or not."

Thinking about it, Gu Shanhai figured that since Qing Feng and Ming Yue were planning to wipe out the Demon Domain, he couldn't drag his feet either. When it comes to war, speed is of the essence.

Although the Demon Race within the Demon Domain had nearly worn themselves out through internal conflicts, they weren't fools. Upon learning that the Da Xuan Dynasty was planning their extermination, they too began to reconcile internal disputes and gradually consolidate.

For the Demon Race, where the strong prey on the weak, survival is always the top priority. No matter how powerful or influential one is, it's useless without life.

Under external pressure, the Demon Race also halted disputes and formed alliances, though currently still loosely organized. After all, it's just rumors. Again, on the Da Xuan side, they were waiting for news from Gu Shanhai, so no further actions were taken.

War is never a matter of fighting on a whim. Logistics and deployments are no trivial matters, especially since the Demon Race had also planted spies within Da Xuan, making such large-scale actions impossible to conceal.

However, the fact that there were rumors with no significant actions amounted to an inconspicuous decoy tactic.

"To exterminate the players, we must act swiftly and suddenly, otherwise, if anything goes wrong, it will trigger a backlash from the 'Path of Civilization.'

The 'Path of Civilization,' combined with the World's consciousness as a manifestation, is certainly not a simple matter.

If Gu Shanhai can't defeat them, naturally, crushing them to prevent resistance is the best approach.

"Therefore, a large-scale device must be created, capable of precisely attacking and eliminating all players within this world."

"Cost is not an issue, Qin Ji will handle it. Time is the primary concern."

"To construct such a device, both the allocation of resources and the building process will require quite a considerable amount of time."

Construction, at least, can be managed by Gu Shanhai by splitting it into node types and having them synchronously built in assembly-line fashion globally, finally integrating into a massive modular system.

The biggest challenge is resource allocation. Such a large volume of resources reaching deployment in a short time frame wouldn't escape the notice of the Player Management Bureau.

Considering Qin Ji's nature, he is not one to engage in risky endeavors.

He places hope on Gu Shanhai for player extermination, but not at the cost of his own well-being.

After all, hope need not be singular.

Thus, unless Qin Ji and his network's intelligence were drastically lowered to an idiotic level, their survival instincts would prevent them from agreeing to such plans.

"However, a solution exists: Delegating the task to uninformed individuals who are indifferent to the larger stakes."

"For example, certain player-aligned deputy directors. Achieving this through their hands is fully plausible—as long as their ignorance remains, resistance is nonexistent."

Gu Shanhai never intended to hold Qin Ji and these anti-player people in high regard; collaborating with them was merely to find a scapegoat.

The endeavor he was embarking on defied the natural order; failure would result merely in death—nothing significant.

Success, however, would require someone to take responsibility, and Gu Shanhai not only intended to dodge this responsibility but also intended to eliminate the scapegoat.

The issue is he needs time to eliminate the scapegoat. During this time, if someone could divert attention, it would accomplish multiple objectives at once.

This someone was Qin Ji and the group of cautious anti-player individuals.

With these people taking their frustrations out on the world, Gu Shanhai could strike unawares, considerably increasing both the odds and damage of his attack.

...

"Prep things—within a year at most, we can act. In the meantime, stir up more rumors to normalize it for the Demon Race," said Gu Shanhai.

"So you plan to make a move on the 'Path of Civilization' in about a month?" Ming Yue queried.

"Exactly, so have everyone start spreading the news that we're preparing to attack the Demon Domain. If this is rumored for over a year before we act, they might not believe it even when we do," Gu Shanhai said.

On the first day someone says the Da Xuan Dynasty will attack the Demon Domain, the Demon Race might be rattled, but after a year of no movement, they'll treat it as normal.

Eventually, the initial alliances of the Demon Race would grow disillusioned, and even if the alliance doesn't dissolve, it would become an empty organization.

"Master, you really are cunning," commented Qing Feng.

"If you can't speak well, don't speak at all. It's called being resourceful, and right now, we're the protagonists," retorted Gu Shanhai.

The behavior of these two protagonists was veering dangerously close to that of villains: unifying the world, massacring noble clans, and controlling sects, all things usually not done by protagonists, who are typically oppressed by such forces. However, these are traits typical of villains who act without restraint, killing as they please.

"Besides, Ming Yue might have already set everything up. Don't be fooled by his quiet demeanor; he's ruthless when he acts," teased Gu Shanhai.

"I'm aware. When I take action, it's merely wiping out the person and their immediate affiliates, but Ming Yue not only kills, he ruins their reputation and uses them as stepping stones," Qing Feng agreed.

"..." Ming Yue was speechless, but he didn't refute it.

"That's what you'd call insidiously wicked," Qing Feng added.

"Are you feeling bold lately? Offending both me and Ming Yue—aren't you afraid of bad luck afterwards?" Gu Shanhai remarked to Qing Feng, looking surprised. Truly, Qing Feng was fearless.

Offending Gu Shanhai meant Ming Yue could back him up diplomatically; offending Ming Yue might just mean extra paperwork.

But offending both means there's nobody to help him.

"What a motormouth I have!" Qing Feng realized belatedly. Typically serious, he wouldn't say such things, but with Gu Shanhai and Ming Yue, he'd let loose, now leading to his regret.

"Well, I have some work to attend to. You guys chat, chat." Qing Feng forced a smile and gave a flimsy excuse before making a hasty escape.

Flee first, deal with bad luck later. Better to consolidate future misfortune than endure it now and later.