"You Don't Have to Play Anymore"
The pain from being struck in the head still lingered.
When Su Ming'an regained consciousness, his health bar showed 337/500, and it was slowly recovering.
Xiao Han lay beside him, unconscious.
The ones who knocked him out were a group of player raiders who had quietly snuck up on him. He hadn't expected to run into people like that so soon.
Still, this was fine. He could use this as an opportunity to test how well he performs against human enemies.
The chat continued to babble on. More and more dead players were converting into spectators, flooding different livestreams. His stream currently had about 300 viewers.
[Big Bro Ming'an is finally awake!]
[I don't think this is looking too good. These players are clearly after his points. Damnit, why are they making things harder for each other? We're all Chinese! Are they trying to make entertainment for the organizers?"
[We need to boycott players like these!]
[I heard some people are already rebuilding 'world government'-type self-rescue groups like the Dove of Peace Mutual Aid Association, the Human United Front, the Blue Earth Defense Squad, the Grand Victoria Division, the U.S. Freedom League, and the Northland Alliance]
[I've heard our leaders, Liu Jiahe and Sun Changqing, are working to rebuild the Yangtze Network and establish the HuangHe Forces.]
[What about the number one player? What organization are they gonna join? Or will they make their own organization? Will those world leaders from the U.S. and England be willing to tolerate someone like them? These are times where a person's individual strength can triumph over the collective.]
[IDK, we still don't know who the number one player is.]
[Who cares? I like Su Ming'an. He's good-looking, cunning, decisive, not into girls… He's definitely going to become a big shot in the future.]
…
"Boss! That guy woke up!" a man's voice called nearby. Five people were sitting around a round table in the room.
"Perfect. Drag him to the cellars." Said the man with a buzz-cut, sipping from a bottle and clearly not taking Su Ming'an seriously.
"Who's going? Wang Wang, you go!"
None of them wanted to do any work. Eventually, a short, bookish-looking boy got 'volunteered'.
"I can walk myself." Su Ming'an offered, drawing curious stares from the others as he stepped towards the boy.
He just so happened to have some questions for these raiders, and this was a perfect opportunity to ask.
The gang members exchanged baffled looks.
"He's cooperating?"
"Whatever. They always end up crying and handing over their points anyway."
"True. Alright, back to drinking..."
…
The two walked down a dark hallway lined with empty rooms and tall iron-barred windows. The boy cautiously stared at him the entire time.
Then a system notification sounded:
Ding Dong!
[Obtained A-rank Side Mission: Escape (Points rewarded will be based on level of completion)]
[Mission Description: The end times have begun, and yet the players have already turned on each other. In this painful display of infighting, will you save yourself or surrender?]
…
As the boy 'escorted' the compliant Su Ming'an, he heard him try and strike up a conversation.
"Hey, you look about my age." Su Ming'an said.
The boy looked over to him, eyeing him silently. Su Ming'an looked clean with his bright eyes and lean build. It almost felt like he exuded some type of aura that made him more likable (Charm: A). He definitely looked like the popular kid in class.
"I'm so hungry and tired… I can't stand it anymore." Su Ming'an continued: "You're amazing, handling all this so calmly."
His apparent 'weakness' lowered the boy's guard a bit. He turned his head and said in a low tone, "I'm not that amazing… they bully me too, all the time."
"This game was supposed to test our intelligence and strength, but some people just want to brute force everything using violence…" Su Ming'an said, "The moment we joined the game, we've become willing plunderers, resenting the rules while still trying to profit from them. But the truth is, nothing is ever that simple."
The boy stayed silent.
Eventually, they reached the room down the hall. Inside were several dejected-looking captives.
It was obvious these people were the 'prey', captured to be robbed of their points.
"Don't… don't talk to me." The boy suddenly raised his voice. He pulled out a rusty iron pipe from his backpack and shoved Su Ming'an into the cell, locking the bars behind him.
He pointed the pipe through the bars, his voice shaky. "Even if you suck up to me, I won't go easy on you… Unless you give up your points. Then I won't have to lock you up…"
"It's fine," Su Ming'an said with a faint smile, waving his hand. "I just think that sometimes, people shouldn't cross their own bottom line."
Perhaps he got infected with Su Ming'an's calm, sincere attitude, the boy lowered his voice, his expression showing a flicker of dejection.
"I didn't want to be like this either... When will this damn game end? I don't even know how my mom and dad are doing. Are they hungry? Are they safe...?"
Su Ming'an's eyes narrowed. "Those people you guys tortured… Some of them might have been someone else's parents."
The boy's hands trembled. Then he broke down, sobbing loudly.
"I… I didn't want this either… I was forced into it… I just want to go home… to go back to school…"
As he cried, he heard a sudden clack.
The lock to the cell dropped to the floor in front of him.
He looked up. Su Ming'an's hand had reached through the bars and was now pressed against his temple.
"You don't have to be forced to play anymore." Su Ming'an said calmly.
Before the boy could lift his iron pipe, a soft 'psst' sounded.
A dark glow flashed from Su Ming'an's fingertips. It was his skill, Oblivion.
[HP -500! (Lethal Damage, Piercing Damage!)]
The boy's health bar dropped instantly to zero. He closed his eyes, face streaked with tears.
Su Ming'an withdrew his hand, stepped over the body, and picked up the iron pipe.
[You killed: Wang Wang (Player), EXP +0 (Non-competitive dungeon, no experience gain)]
[Obtained item (Elegant Watch Strap)]
[A birthday gift Wang Wang received from his parents on his 18th birthday. He cherished it deeply and never took it off. Recycle value: 5 points (Can be sold after returning to the Hub World)]
[Obtained item (Rusty Iron Pipe)]
[Rusty Iron Pipe: Can't even be considered equipment. But once it's bloodied, it's still a decent weapon. (Cannot be brought back to the Hub World).]
[Combat Power: 190 + 5 (updated based on current status)]
...
His livestream chat exploded.
[Holy shit!]
[I thought this Su Ming'an was a harmless student, but the way he killed that kid was cold!]
[Students rise up! High schoolers save the world!]
[I get your point, but isn't killing him a bit too much? We still have to uphold our values as humans…]
[Stop being soft. The glasses guy wasn't innocent. There are other ways to survive, yet he chose to plunder others.]
Su Ming'an sharpened the pipe into a spear using Oblivion. Behind him, the other captives were calling out.
"Thank you! Please, can you get us out of here?"
"Please! I'm really, really scared…"
Their desperate cries for help showed they badly they wanted to follow him.
Su Ming'an stepped aside, revealing the boy's body.
A deep hole had been punched into the boy's temple, and dark blood was still trickling out.
"Ah…" The ones who had just been begging went silent, as if their throats had been strangled. One middle-aged person even curled up into the corner.
Su Ming'an turned to leave: "If you want out, find some kind of weapon and follow me."
He walked briskly ahead. The others hesitated.
"M-Maybe… maybe we wait a bit?" one young man murmured. "What if the rabbit was lying? What if we die for real?"
"He killed someone! He's not a good person either!" a middle-aged woman exclaimed, her emotions bursting. "He looks like a teenager, but he's already so merciless! If we follow him, we'll end up dead too!"