novelraw Chapter 348: The People Beneath the Surface; Long Jiu!
Chapter 348: The People Beneath the Surface; Long Jiu!
The world was eerily silent, like a city of the dead.
Due to the extreme quietness, the calm voice beneath the Wrath mask clearly reached everyone's ears without the slightest hint of provocation.
It truly seemed like just a simple question.
Yet no one stepped forward at this moment.
The extreme of wrath is tranquility.
A tranquility so profound it feels like it's about to annihilate everything, facing endless scorched earth.
Everyone remained silent, waiting for the first person to break the stillness.
Many factions had gathered here. Beneath the surface, there were masters who once belonged to the previous era, each harboring their own thoughts.
They were complex.
The world was complex.But "Wrath" was simple.
As long as he remained simple, the entire world would be forced to follow suit!
Lu Ce had deliberately not chosen Greed or Lust but had instead chosen this mask because he was tired of playing games.
He knew his understanding of this world was too shallow—he couldn't win at these mind games.
So he would make them play by his rules instead!
Sometimes, caution backfires. The intuition of Wrath told him he wasn't wrong in what he was doing now.
At this moment, it wasn't just the scene before them that was silent. Far beyond, thousands of miles away, many others remained equally quiet.
On the warships along the coastline, there was no movement whatsoever. Not even the relevant weapons or naval guns had begun to prepare for action.
"Have all signals been blocked?" the Grand Elder asked calmly. At this point, he was no longer in a hurry.
"Sin" had essentially drawn all the focus onto himself—what did they have left to worry about?
"Ever since he fired his first shot, I've already given the order," replied the black-robed elder with golden patterns on the warship.
"Good. Remember, we must remain patient, understand?" the Grand Elder responded. "This 'Sin' has created such a perfect opportunity for us—let's not waste it."
"We won't make the first move, got it?!"
"Understood," the elder replied.
Then, standing on the warship, he turned and beckoned to a flamboyant man in red robes.
"Jiu Tian, come here."
The red-robed man turned around, revealing a somewhat familiar face—Jiu Tian.
"Elder."
"During wartime, just call me Long Jiu!" the black-robed man with golden patterns said.
Within the Dragon Group, there was a clear rule to distinguish roles and identities in the game: those who wore red robes belonged to the "Operations Unit."
In other words, they were the true frontline combatants.
Those responsible for intelligence gathering, cleanup operations, and public relations usually wore blue robes.
Of course, their attire wasn't strictly enforced since they didn't enter the game.
As for the black robes with golden patterns—that marked the "Council of Elders" of the Dragon Group.
They were the true foundation of the organization, composed of veteran players who had survived from past eras. They were the "submerged strength" of the Dragon Group, somewhat similar to the "ancestors" of the Chiyo Eine family—though in terms of both quantity and quality, they were superior.
In theory, exceptionally outstanding newcomers in terms of strength and contributions could also earn the right to wear black robes with golden patterns. But currently, the only candidates the Dragon Group had in mind were Taiyang and Sin.
Though obviously, that selection had been a complete failure...
"Yes!" Jiu Tian responded.
"You've played games with him before, right? Twice?" Long Jiu glanced at Jiu Tian and asked.
"Correct," Jiu Tian replied somewhat stiffly.
"What are your thoughts on him?"
"A very powerful and eccentric man."
"...Do I need you to tell me that? Can't I see it for myself?" Long Jiu was dumbfounded.
"I'm asking—based on your close contact with him, what do you think his true nature is?"
"Is he really just a cold-blooded, emotionless madman?"
"At his core, how would you describe him? Summarize it."
Jiu Tian: "..."
After a moment of silence, he shook his head.
"We tried profiling him."
"But it's impossible!"
"It's hard to say who lies beneath that mask. If he really is insane, I wouldn't be surprised, but..."
"Somehow, in every game, he always makes the right choice in what seems like the worst possible way!"
"Personally," Jiu Tian swallowed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, "I believe he's still more trustworthy than our enemies."
For a "civil servant," speaking to this extent already showed considerable loyalty.
Long Jiu nodded but neither agreed nor disagreed. This wasn't something they could decide anyway.
He glanced into the distance, at the figure beneath the skyscraper hotel, and sighed. His turbid eyes grew complex.
"If not for you, Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother might never have been freed..."
"I truly don't wish to be your enemy."
There was much more he wanted to say, but with so many eyes and ears around, he ultimately shook his head.
What was Long Jiu, after all?
Back then, weren't there those stronger than him? Plenty!
But they had died—or been trapped in the game before they could grow, enslaved—while he had survived.
He knew all too well: no matter how talented, one had to survive first!
Death was death—there was nothing beyond it.
He had watched the "Nightmare Hospital" game and was shocked to see that the Long Wu and Long Liu inside were unmistakably his long-lost comrades from years ago!
Because of this, his feelings toward "Sin" were relatively positive compared to the rest of the Council.
That was why he had been chosen to lead this mission.
But this time, both "Sin" and that girl from the Xie family had been dragged in too deep.
No matter how this game ended, he had a feeling neither of them would come out unscathed.
Tch...
"Are you really prepared for this?"
......
On the island, everyone displayed remarkable composure—so much so that even Lu Ce found it strange.
Was he really that terrifying now?
Honestly, it was getting a little awkward. Maybe there really was no conspiracy—had he overthought it?
But since no one was paying him any attention, he decided to proceed. He weighed the metallic sphere form of the Black Knight in his hand and suddenly tossed it upward!
He couldn't be bothered to search floor by floor—let the Black Knight scout ahead instead.
However, halfway up, the Black Knight seemed to collide with a powerful golden light—a kind of special barrier.
The metallic sphere, thrown like a baseball by Lu Ce, rebounded violently upon impact and crashed into the ground, even embedding itself into the earth.
The next second, the Black Knight's true form materialized. The combat motorcycle parked beside Lu Ce and immediately started cursing:
"You motherf—! Picking on the weak, are you? When that guy was literally shitting on your face earlier, you didn't say a damn thing! Why the hell are you attacking me now?!"
"@#$%&*...!"