——The world had changed dramatically.
The mont Su Ming’an confronted Edward, everyone realized this.
They were witnessing history.
The streets of the Main God World had already been blocked by the crowd, all out to spectate the commotion. At this mont on the screen, Su Ming’an had just begun to shatter Edward’s arm.
"So Edward really can’t beat Su Ming’an," soone said in surprise.
"Su Ming’an won’t kill Edward, as Edward’s Points make up four percent of the total," analyzed a person wearing glasses. "Su Ming’an is soone who takes the bigger picture into account, I believe in him."
"I support Su Ming’an killing Edward. Compared to Su Ming’an, Edward seems more like a dictator. I don’t want to entrust my destiny to such a guy," soone else said.
"But Edward is so handso..." A lovestruck fangirl piped up: "Can’t we treat him less cruelly..."
...
In the administrative office of the United Group, a middle-aged man with a stern appearance and straight features walked through the corridor; his na was Chen Jiang, he was affiliated with the Skill Encyclopedia Editorial Committee of the United Group’s General Information Departnt, followed by his secretary, Lin Jingpeng.
"Vice Chairman, Su Ming’an has shattered Edward’s arm," Lin Jingpeng said while watching the live broadcast.
"Hmm."
"He has now shattered the chanical leg, but Su Ming’an’s expression is still very calm, it’s unclear what his next move will be," Lin Jingpeng said.
"As long as Edward lives, those people always think about nurturing him..." Chen Jiang’s eyes were extrely sharp: "If Su Ming’an could harden his heart and kill Edward, we could also help him wholeheartedly in public opinion. However, I guess he probably won’t be able to do it..."
Secretary Lin Jingpeng suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He stood, dumbfounded, at the edge of the hallway, bathed in the soft yellow glow from the streetlamp outside the window.
"What’s wrong?" Chen Jiang turned back to look at his young subordinate.
The United Group was not monolithic; apart from departnts like the "General Staff, General Political Departnt, General Logistics Departnt, General Technology Departnt, General Liaison Departnt, General Information Departnt, United Office, and the ntal Health Committee," there were also factions from various countries, such as the Nevagan Faction, Glen Faction, Gauder Faction, Annalai Faction, Odin Faction, Kungunir Faction, Tian Yu Faction. Chen Jiang belonged to the Skill Encyclopedia Editorial Committee of the General Information Departnt and was also a key mber of the Tian Yu Faction, while Lin Jingpeng concurrently served in logistics for the "Trade and Developnt Association" of the General Logistics Departnt, with an oversight relationship between them.
Lin Jingpeng was both a subordinate and a Supervisor. Such checks and balances of power were not uncommon within the Group, and whether they colluded with each other was without a clear standard of judgent.
This place was, after all, not the original Zhai Xing, without military and legal systems; the United Group had just set up a frawork and ford a rough outline. In fact, the situation was complex and difficult to discern, even for the leader of the Group.
"Su Ming’an..." Lin Jingpeng raised his head in a daze: "Just now, he killed Edward. He actually did it..."
At the sa mont, they heard an enormous roar from outside the building, a vehent cheer and scream erupted instantly, like firecrackers going off "pop-whirr-craaack," exploding from various buildings and streets—that was the roaring sound of millions of people together, an overwhelming roar as loud as the night when "IG was aweso."
"Holy shit! Su Ming’an is aweso!!"
"Edward—ah, my Your Highness, how could you..."
"Damn it! Edward finally died, always targeting his own people without considering the bigger picture, good riddance! I’ve endured him for seven worlds!"
People erged from the high-rise buildings, roaring with excitent—most of them were overjoyed. Countless people were thrilled, secretly smug.
"Vice President, this..." Lin Jingpeng was still in shock. It was hard for him to imagine what might happen next, whether all sorts of allegations would be pinned on Su Ming’an, whether a large number of new casual players would be cultivated and brought into play, and what destiny awaited Edward...
Suddenly, Vice President Chen Jiang’s mouth lifted slightly, and his deep pupils narrowed.
He smiled.
"Since Su Ming’an dares to kill, we’ll help him build montum. After all, public opinion is on our side, we don’t need to be restrained," Chen Jiang said cheerfully, his eyes sparkling, "In the ’Hero Project,’ Su Ming’an is already the most important character. The Annalai Faction and the Tian Yu Faction will stand with us. Jingpeng, go inform Minister Deng and Minister Qin that we need to have a eting. Starting imdiately, I am willing to place my trust in him..."
...
United Group, Humanitarian Affairs Coordination eting Hall.
"Latest news."
"It has been confird that Su Ming’an has killed Edward, a scene witnessed by over three hundred million people, with recordings spreading wildly through forums and boards, and the event is still fernting."
"Public sentint is tumultuous, the information is no longer under control, we need longer-term asures to deal with this sentint. And we need to suggest andnts to the ’Hero Project’ after Edward’s return..."
In the eting room, voices of telephone commands were incessant, and a man holding a tablet stood at the lectern, with dozens of attendees sitting upright below. They ca from various departnts, such as the "Departnt of Law and Order Planning," "Institute of Social Developnt Research," "dical Aid Foundation," "Main God World Points Trading Research Institute," "Scientific and Technological Developnt Promotion Committee," "Skill Training Research Institute," and more. There were old and young, n and won.
So pressed their temples with a headache, feeling that all their efforts ca to naught, while others could hardly contain their secret joy, believing that there was hope for the future of mankind.
To many, the existence of Edward was a thorn in their side. The sa was true for Su Ming’an.
Aishikel on the stage finished reading about the incident and asked the attendees for their opinions regarding Su Ming’an’s killing of Edward.
For a mont, the room was silent.
Suddenly, the tall woman from "Red Heart Volunteers," Qiao Mani, raised her hand high, her eyes bright, "I think what Su Ming’an did was not wrong. Edward’s targeting was essentially high-end players infighting. It’s our lack of control that led to his current out-of-control behavior. Edward has gone mad, and being stripped of his strength and starting over is the best outco. We can provide him with the best treatnt, he is just ill."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Liu Lin from the "World Independent Society" imdiately supported her, "I agree. This was a provocation by Edward to begin with, the Number One Player was rely defending himself legitimately, no fault lies with him."
He looked towards Aishikel, "We should recognize such behavior, sir."
Aishikel showed no additional expression, only turning his gaze in another direction.
At this mont, a middle-aged man raised his hand, "I disagree, Su Ming’an has set a precedent by killing a top-ranking player, it’s a form of human infighting. As the Number One Player, he should lead by example and shouldn’t have killed Edward, who holds a significant share of the points. The United Group should denounce this behavior."
Qiao Mani responded, "It’s re self-defense. If Su Ming’an hadn’t acted, he might have faced even more terrifying retaliation."
"Edward had already lost his ability to act; Su Ming’an should not have killed him," said Kailuosa, a blonde woman volunteer, "The drop in the progress bar by 3.98% is a disaster for humankind."
"That’s not the case, Su Ming’an killing Edward is also a warning against humanity’s infighting, Su Ming’an’s actions could be seen as pioneering, but also as a punishnt for such ’pioneering’ behavior," said Dong Jiangpeng of the Yangtze River system’s Bai faction, speaking tily.
"But..."
Aishikel shook her head silently, finding it hard to weigh the inconsistent internal and external stances of these people.
Recently, many on the forums had been saying that the Number One Player was becoming increasingly qualified. His external performance was getting closer to Shadow Ming, and he was equally adept at using acting and speech to convince people. Whether it was Pulaya’s pre-war speech or pretending to be Bai Shen in Qiongdi, his emotional appeal was applicable to any instance, including the "Zhai Xing human" instance.
This caused so who initially did not approve of Su Ming’an to gradually start believing in him—that this ordinary student might truly possess the ability to lead the masses. Even within the United Group, a division ford between those who "believe him" and those who "wait and see."
The situation was the sa even now.
The indoor lighting cast upon the people, reflecting the heated debates flickering across their faces, their eyes filled with anger, calm, lancholy, and joy...
With Edward’s death, it seed like a landmark signal that the plan for "man-made players" had failed. The progression of the world ga seed to have moved into the second stage.
A new curtain lifted over the world, and the storm of public opinion rapidly expanded, swiftly sweeping into every household.
So said Su Ming’an did well and that traitors like Edward, who attacked other players, deserved to be punished.
Others called Su Ming’an a murderer, claiming his Judgnt Skill with sanity had destroyed Edward’s rationality.
Influential people posted comnts on social dia. Well-known broadcast host Avril lanted to her audience, saying that Edward was also a hero of humanity and should not be abused just before his death.
"He was also outstanding, wasn’t he? He just fell ill, we should have let him get healing..."
She wept and even kissed a photo of Edward: "I wish he could have lived, I wish he could co back, not be discarded..."
In other interviews, so players said this was a job well done.
"Edward deserves to be hacked to pieces a thousand tis over for daring to kill Yuanyuan while Su Ming’an was saving the world!! Who’s the brave soul who will join offline to set up a blast, let’s find a place and kill this bastard!" said an enthusiastic young man facing the cara, his shirt emblazoned with the words "Yuanyuan’s Number One Male Fan." He was so impassioned during the interview that he even raised a 90% realistic replica of Yuanyuan’s Light Saber.
"Yuanyuan left a deep impression on , she was a good girl, and she should have had a good ending, not die in such a filthy place. Edward’s actions against her disgust ," a middle-aged man also ntioned Yuanyuan during his interview.
"The United Group has been quiet, probably will have etings for several days, but considering the trend of the world, they are definitely going to side with Su Ming’an. Edward is dood not to turn the situation around," comnted a famous strategy post player.
"I wonder what situation Edward is in now... I always used to go against him, now that he is gone and the live stream is blacked out, I’m a bit lonely..." said a single mother sighing in front of the cara.
Since Edward was the first to strike, 70% sided with Su Ming’an, and the remaining were mostly Gran Country players and irrational fangirls kicking up a fuss.
The supporters of Su Ming’an’s Lighthouse Church are known for their fanaticism, able to fire off thousands of posts in an instant. There was endless chaos across various live broadcasts.
So issued joint letters, demanding the United Group deal with the matter, declaring their trust only in the United Group.
Others argued that Edward should not have died for this, at the very least, he should have been kept alive to save his Points.
Yet others expressed support for Su Ming’an. Xu Changying of the World Independent Association even claid in his post that he thought Su Ming’an could launch an unrestricted counterattack, fighting all the way to the Main God World and completely kill Edward to prevent future trouble.
Ma Qiaoli comnted that "Edward is a cancer to humanity, and Su Ming’an’s actions are also too extre," which sparked a huge debate.
But soon, a player with the ID "Lin Yin" released a video post that imdiately stirred the waters.
——It was a video shot in the Main God World.
In the video, Su Ming’an ran through a corridor covered in blood, pursued by Edward and others, with the video ti-stamped after the end of the Third World.
For a mont, everyone fell silent.
The content of the video revealed that it was Edward who had first chased Su Ming’an in the Main God World. Considering the ti stamp, this happened a long ti ago.
——It was Edward who had set the precedent for the "kill ranking players" list.
The release of this video was undoubtedly the final straw that broke the cal’s back.
If this video had been released earlier when Su Ming’an’s position was not yet stable and Edward’s supporters had other excuses. But now, at this critical juncture of Edward’s failure, they had no room to turn around. Their only argunt—"it was Su Ming’an who set the precedent"—lost its persuasive power; any defense would only make matters worse.
——This was a coup de grâce. The timing was perfect.
Edward’s supporters lost completely.
They were actually defeated by a student who had foreseen the current situation and given the video to Lin Yin in advance.
They lost utterly, without a shred of room for rebuttal.
The spokesperson of the Peace Dove Mutual Aid Association praised this:
[I’ve never seen a student as farsighted as Su Ming’an, who could hold back until now before releasing that video. If it were , I would have let it out long ago to slap Edward’s face, I can’t hold back for such a coup de grâce.]
[That’s why he’s the Number One Player...]
...
"Ding dong!"
[You have killed (Edward)!]
The system alert sprang forth as Su Ming’an wiped the blood splatter from his face.
The High Tower Invitation shield dissipated, and Edward’s body thudded heavily onto the ground. His handso features were distorted, his eyes bulged out before death as if made of blood and mud mixed in a lump of putty.
Even the audience who liked Edward for his looks fell silent; their affection was only skin-deep, as fragile as a bubble, just the title of a "ranking player." And when Edward fell from grace, their affection popped with it.
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