After hearing Rookie's words, Steve had originally decided not to say anything more. However, after a brief silence, he ultimately could not suppress the impulse in his heart and firmly spoke out everything he was thinking.
"We all know it clearly, D will definitely use those innocent creatures' lives as bargaining chips next, to threaten my king and force him to choose self sacrifice."
"Although I haven't known my king for that long… but based on what I know about him, when facing the choice D throws out, he absolutely won't hesitate even for a single moment. He will never choose to only protect himself!"
"I don't know whether my king has any plans or preparations for this, but…"
Just as Steve was about to continue, Rookie suddenly interrupted him.
"Wait a moment." After interrupting Steve, Rookie quickly stood up from the game pod.
Holding his phone, he walked quickly to the desk nearby and skillfully turned on the computer.
He logged into the game forum page, and after searching for a while, Rookie successfully found Black Blade's livestream and clicked into it.
Then he stared at the screen with full focus for quite a while.
Only after confirming that D was still going crazy and had not yet asked Xu Yuan that key question did Rookie finally let out a small breath of relief. Then he picked up the phone and spoke quickly to Steve on the other end.
"Time is tight, we can't afford to waste any more."
"I'll keep it short and briefly tell you some of my thoughts."
After saying that, before Steve could speak, Rookie began explaining on his own.
"First, the reason I told you not to tell Entity 303 and the others about the current situation is not because I'm afraid they'll become hostages."
"In this game world, aside from players, every living being can become D's hostage. For D, having them doesn't make a difference, and not having them doesn't make a difference either."
"Everyone knows that Xu Yuan now no longer belongs only to the few of them as their king."
"You should understand what I mean, right?"
After hearing Rookie's words, Steve nodded and quickly replied.
"I know. What I'm worried about is…" Before he could finish, Rookie cut him off again.
"I know what you're worried about."
"If D asks that question everyone already knows about, Xu Yuan definitely won't disappoint everyone."
"We all know what the worst outcome is. You're afraid they won't get to see Xu Yuan one last time, right?"
Rookie was no ordinary person. His mind was comparable to Notch's. Naturally he understood what Steve was thinking, so he predicted what Steve was going to say before Steve even spoke.
At this moment, even though Rookie and Steve were not talking face to face and could not see each other's expressions or actions, Steve still could not help but nod hard.
"Yes… if things really develop like that, it will become a lifelong regret for them. Something they will never be able to let go of…"
"And… this decision was made by me on their behalf… I…"
Actually, Rookie had long understood the reason for Steve's anxiety, but he still patiently listened to everything Steve said this time and did not interrupt him.
After all, saying it out loud would at least help relieve some of his anxiety.
After listening to Steve, Rookie immediately gave his response and solution.
"I understand."
"Based on the information we gathered earlier, I have already made a plan."
"Entity 303 and the others in the item dimension are also part of the plan…"
"Not long ago I used a program I wrote to simulate it once. The success rate is over 60%…"
"With so many uncertain factors, having over a 50% success rate… is already quite high."
"But… I have to admit, this plan… carries high risks."
"I was still hesitating whether to do this, but those hackers… and those physical hackers used their own actions… to convince me…"
"Every single person, no matter what the final outcome will be, and regardless of how high or low their personal talent is, all of them are doing everything they can and giving everything they have to fight for that tiny bit of hope."
"They have already done everything they could do and everything they could think of."
"Since everyone can be this determined, then I naturally have no reason to hesitate anymore."
The reason Rookie could empathize with Steve was because he himself was also carrying heavy responsibility just like Steve at this moment.
While comforting Steve, he was also comforting himself and giving himself courage.
After hearing Rookie's words, although the worry in Steve's heart did not completely disappear, he felt much more relieved.
Do your best and leave the rest to fate. That was probably what it meant.
Everyone does their best, and as for the final result, it can only be left to fate.
After thinking this, Steve suddenly felt a bit guilty. "Sorry, I delayed your time…"
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"No…" Rookie stopped halfway through his sentence. After a moment of silence, he continued.
"Think about what this game means to you."
Although Steve did not quite understand what Rookie meant, he did not ask further. He knew very well there was no time to waste on questions now.
"Alright, I won't disturb you then."
———
[Outside The Trial Ground]
Although D held hostages and seemed to have the absolute advantage, in reality, ever since meeting Xu Yuan, he had been constantly losing his composure.
Right now he only felt a deep sense of powerlessness and frustration.
At first, D had not taken Xu Yuan seriously at all. The only one he had truly been wary of was Notch.
So after dealing with Notch, he had faced Xu Yuan with a playful attitude.
However, when he truly confronted Xu Yuan head on, he realized he had repeatedly suffered setbacks and was completely at a disadvantage.
This situation made his emotions fluctuate like a roller coaster, rising and falling uncontrollably.
After a fierce struggle, D was already exhausted both mentally and physically and no longer had any mood left to play around.
At this moment, the only thought in his mind was that he hoped the Xu Yuan in front of him would immediately disappear from his sight forever and be completely erased from this world.
He slowly flew in front of Xu Yuan. His eyes became empty and lifeless, as if he had lost his soul.
He stretched out his hand and pointed behind him toward the transparent space without turning his head, then spoke in a low and hoarse voice.
"Hand over Notch's power. I can release these hostages and promise not to harm a single living being in this world again."
"Otherwise, I will show no mercy and slaughter every living being in this world until none remain!"
After saying this expressionlessly, D looked at Xu Yuan again and said, "I respect you. This is my promise to you. I will keep my word."
"Xu Yuan, it's time to settle this."