Chen Gu hadn't broken any rules, so the Alliance wouldn't "expel" him.
However, the Alliance was going to aggressively recruit Energy Gathering chanical Species behemoths to prevent Chen Gu from remaining the sole dominant player.
Subsequently, in the fan forums, posts about "expelling" Chen Gu and the Combat Rooster were massively locked or directly deleted!
Just a few hours after the Alliance released this statent, a research institution from the Confederation and one from the Star State each announced they had developed a type of "Restrictor." This device could, to so extent, suppress the inherently volatile nature of the Energy Gathering chanical Species, making them more cooperative with players in competitions.
Chen Gu saw this news as he and his classmates were boarding the spaceship, preparing to depart for their third practical training site.
Lin Xiaochen had a stock trading interface open in front of him. He clicked his tongue and said, "Look, as soon as the good news about the Restrictor was announced, the stocks of the companies behind those two research institutions skyrocketed. They're definitely going to hit the daily limit today—it's just a matter of seeing how many successive limit-ups they can achieve…"
Chen Gu let out a wry laugh.
He was utterly confident that the Alliance would support him. That was why he had remained composed during the heated discussions while Lin Xiaochen and Qiao Shuangyi were furious.
The Alliance had orchestrated the grandiose "Seven-Day Battle" to personally elevate him to superstar status. How could they possibly kick him out just because so people were conspiring behind his back?
But Chen Gu felt he had still underestimated those old foxes in the Alliance. To say that those bigwigs hadn't bought into these companies' stocks beforehand... heh, how naive and foolish. I did benefit quite a bit from this affair, but at most, I only got to sip the broth; those guys are the ones truly feasting on the at and divvying up the gold, he mused.
The spaceship's hatch closed, the engines ignited, and they slowly ascended into the sky.
The teacher leading the team was still Deputy Director Xue. Her voice ca over the broadcast, "Students, we expect to arrive at the target planet in eight hours. You can all rest and adjust your condition."
"The target planet is quite desolate, and our military is currently engaged with the Alien Insect Race. It's very dangerous. We might face the battlefield directly upon landing, with no protection or logistical support. Everyone must be prepared."
Chen Gu lay in the hibernation pod. Suddenly, the lid flickered, and a line of text erged: "My friend, how have you been recently?"
A jolt went through Chen Gu's heart, and he frowned impatiently. "You're here again?"
"Hehe, so unwelcoming? I thought that after our last exchange, things would be different between us, that you might even look forward to my arrival."
"I've been practically suspended by the Bureau of Mystic Security. Are you happy now?" Chen Gu grumbled.
But Number 21 was watertight. "You don't need to test with words. I am now devoid of human emotions—they are human weaknesses."
Chen Gu was indeed probing him, hoping to use his reaction to the suspension to guess his motives for continuously contacting him.
"You're about to engage the warp drive soon, so we don't have much ti. Let's skip the insincere pleasantries. I ca this ti to tell you sothing."
Then, the screen in front of Chen Gu rapidly flashed with a large amount of information.
"Did you see clearly? The one plotting against you behind the scenes is Park Sungwan."
The text began to fade, creating the sa effect as last ti, like a figure receding into the distance. Number 21 was gone.
Chen Gu's brows knitted slightly.
The information Number 21 had just provided was damning. It was evidence that Park Sungwan had privately colluded with many Behemoth Alliance players previously defeated by Chen Gu. They had agreed to stir up trouble together and incite fans to force Chen Gu out of the Behemoth Alliance.
This included transcripts of their account chats.
Park Sungwan was also one of the players Chen Gu had previously defeated.
"Hmph!" Chen Gu let out a cold snort.
Compared to Park Sungwan's sche against him, Chen Gu was more interested in Number 21's motives. He just didn't know... if he and Aviloya were on the sa page.
「...」
On the top floor of the headquarters building, the Valkyrie sat in a spacious office. Rainbow reclined on a sofa, her long hair fluttering, each strand glinting with a splendid, colorful light.
A ntal illusion unfolded, constantly changing.
This was the cultivation thod of an Eighth Energy Level "Brain Domain Hacker"—yes, despite Rainbow's seemingly lazy appearance, she was extrely diligent to have reached the Eighth Energy Level.
Through this flashy display of skill, a brainwave connection was established between Rainbow and Aviloya.
Only in this way was it possible to evade the ubiquitous Number 21 and communicate safely.
Can Chen Gu understand my deeper aning? Aviloya wasn't sure.
Rainbow expended a significant amount of spiritual power to construct a synchronized environnt in their minds, where both their projected images were astonishingly perfect.
"I have confidence in that guy," Rainbow said.
Aviloya, however, dared not be so certain. "We both have... prejudices against each other."
Rainbow giggled. "You actually admit you have prejudices against him?"
Aviloya shot her an annoyed look. "If he had done... those things to you, you'd have prejudices too!"
"Alright, alright, let's not dwell on these old matters. Can we catch Number 21 this ti?"
"If Chen Gu can truly grasp my intentions and knows this is a plan to lure the snake out of its hole, then I'm seventy percent confident!"
「...」
Park Sungwan was of Korean ethnicity.
After the destruction of their ho world, many nations disappeared into the annals of history, and power in the Star Sea was reshuffled. Only the major powers of that era were able to continue their cultural legacies among the stars.
Smaller countries... were crushed in the great turmoil of the Star Sea's pioneering era.
Simultaneously, the concepts of race and ethnicity were drastically diluted.
But the Koreans were an exception. They dared not openly declare their "ethnic superiority" in the current climate, but deep down, they genuinely and stubbornly believed this.
This, paradoxically, beca a kind of distorted "cohesion" for their "ethnicity."
They felt they should be at the forefront in every field. If they weren't, they would resort to all kinds of despicable ans to seize that leading position.
And they saw nothing wrong with doing so, nor did they consider that the leading position achieved through such thods wasn't truly "leading" at all.
As long as it satisfied their twisted sense of gratification and vanity, that was enough.
Their way of thinking was singularly bizarre, utterly incomprehensible to anyone but Koreans themselves.
For example, after being defeated by Chen Gu, Park Sungwan couldn't accept his failure.
Even though Chen Gu had clearly beaten him fair and square in the competition, adhering to all rules, he still felt, It shouldn't be like this!
But if he were to fight Chen Gu again, he knew he would still be thoroughly defeated. So, what then? We Koreans must dominate the Behemoth Duel arenas! So, let's find a way to drive Chen Gu out! As long as he's not there, I might beco the champion!
What? You say such a championship is aningless, that I'm not actually the strongest? I can't hear you; I won't acknowledge it. As long as the champion's title is mine, decades, centuries later, who will rember Chen Gu? They will only know that I was once the champion!
When it ca to scheming and underhanded tactics, Koreans seed to possess a natural talent for it.
So, he finally found his opportunity. Just as success seed within his grasp, the Alliance suddenly threw its full support behind Chen Gu!
Damn it, this is a fix! This is collusion! This is disrespect and an insult to the Korean people!
Anything not favoring the Koreans was deed a conspiracy, and they wouldn't hear otherwise!
Park Sungwan drove back to his residence, dejected. Along the way, he inadvertently glanced at a holographic billboard by the roadside and thought he saw a large number flash by.
21? he muttered. Is this so new brand's marketing strategy?
After that, along his route, he kept catching glimpses of that fleeting "21" on various billboards he passed, each ti in a different font.
Park Sungwan sneered with disdain. "Such flamboyance. No matter what the product is, I won't buy it. Anything made by us Koreans is the best."
His ho was just ahead; he could already see the building. But sothing seed odd today. I rember my unit number being 401. When did it change to 21?
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