Chapter 237: Bookkeeping

Thud-thud-thud

Footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

Thinking, his thoughts heavy.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, simply maintaining a tacit silence.

One piece of evidence cannot prove anything.

Lin An believed.

The truth of the world, the meaning behind the Doomsday Game, cannot be grasped merely from this.

These things may be explored later, but certainly not now.

Wasting too much mental energy on such vast, unsolvable problems only drains the mind.

What must be done now is to survive and grow stronger.

Corpse tide sieging the city, possible hostility from the capital, major catastrophes, YiKongjian invasions, demonic beasts...

Every disaster is like layers of barriers.

These matters should be investigated after clearing the levels...

After suppressing his thoughts, Lin An walked at the front.

Behind him, Colonel Chu suddenly spoke:

"Lin An, I hope you can maintain the demeanor of a superior in the future."

"Perhaps you think it meaningless."

"You think it's merely tedious, a meaningless act."

"But your image must be established."

"Mysterious, powerful, unfathomable."

"Like ancient emperors, like the pope and deities in faith."

"Such an image will greatly help your future actions."

Lin An neither agreed nor disagreed, frowning slightly.

He certainly knew the essence of people admiring the strong, and he had indeed done so himself.

Like subduing the academy, essentially it was shaping the image of a half‑savior and a mysterious powerhouse.

Strength lies in being unknown.

Likewise for fear.

The root of all human fear lies in the unknown.

"I've been doing that; are you referring to Zhang Tie and their attitude toward me?"

"They are my partners, my friends. I don't want this used on them."

Chu An shook his head after listening and opened the chat channel:

"I'm not talking about how to treat them."

"But about the image projected outward."

"Now the outside world's evaluation of you is very poor; almost everyone wants to step on you to rise."

"Insults, slander, mockery, rumors, defamation..."

"If left unchecked, it will be detrimental to your future expansion of power."

Chu An opened the chat channel; surely he could see a flood of news about Lin An, unbearable to behold:

"Long'an Base has already been overrun by zombies; their previous Awakened Ones are all dead; we found Lin An's corpse—anyone want to buy his head? Private chat if interested."

"The world's first Safe Zone, yet it still dares not appear? Truly a disgrace to Huaxia."

"Coward Lin An is merely hiding in a corner, a useless waste afraid to exert himself."

"We are Long'an Base; our true leader is the Blood Wolf King Meng; traitor Lin An is already dead—welcome all Awakened Ones to join us. We are in the South China War Zone..."

"I'm fucking Lin An's safe home, he's kneeling at my feet—damn, it's exhilarating. Soon I'll change the name of Long An, and then you'll remember we are the War God Hall!"

Chu An pointed at the constantly updating messages in the chat channel and continued:

"For some factions, letting a few people send such messages daily costs little yet draws attention."

"Those impersonating you and claiming you're dead number no less than a hundred thousand."

"Crowds are easy to incite; they habitually rely on rumors and hearsay to judge facts."

Lin An's steps did not stop; he turned his head and spoke his thoughts:

"That's only temporary."

"In a month, I will appear."

"Without strength, any image crafted now is false."

"In a month, I believe the base will have taken shape, and my strength will break through to the Second Level."

"By then, killing a few to warn the many will suffice."

"As long as we eliminate a batch, these rumors will collapse on their own."

Lin An's idea is simple.

Just like the keyboard warriors and spammers of his past life.

Do you expect to convince them with words, or to slap them in the face with facts and logic?

That's utterly unrealistic.

The best way to deal with such people is to find them.

Then let them completely disappear from this world.

If a dog bites you, you shouldn't bite back, nor should you curse back.

Skin it, then put it in the pot.

Any other method besides this is just wasting your time.

Anyone who spreads rumors and insults him, Lin An does not intend to let any of them go.

Being broad‑minded... not to care about being insulted?

Then why am I getting stronger?

"Lin An, I can understand your thoughts."

"For you, it's indeed inappropriate to waste thought on these matters."

"But, your approach is still too rough."

"Killing is indeed the quickest solution, but it's certainly not the best."

"Once you do that, it's hard to win people's hearts."

"Moreover, it will give others an excuse to attack you."

"Sometimes righteousness can crush people, but it can also achieve great feats."

"Throughout history, those who accomplish great deeds always cloak their actions in the skin of justice."

"Often, 'lies' are more effective than slaughter."

Lin An's steps hesitated, he turned to look at Chu An in the darkness:

"Then what do you want to do?"

"At this stage I cannot show up, nor can Long'an Base."

"I cannot take this risk."

"You should have heard Zhang Tie and them say that the base will soon face the pressure of a zombie tide attack."

"I currently lack the power to deter all directions; once someone harbors ulterior motives, even a one‑in‑ten‑thousand possibility..."

Chu An took out chocolate from his pocket, broke a piece, then calmly spoke:

"I will not disrupt your plan."

"I will help you handle these problems."

"Honor, reputation, people's hearts. These you must hold in your hands."

"Have you thought about later annexing other safe zones—will you still keep cleansing them like this over and over?"

"How many slanderers can you kill? How much time can you waste?"

"People will fear you, but there will always be those unafraid of death; there will always be those who bear grudges because friends, comrades, or family died at your hands."

"Ten thousand hostile toward you, you could not care; what about a hundred thousand, a million?"

"By then you will still be weary of people's hearts, just like the central empire. The sovereign's mind, after the empire is built, is often wasted on internal affairs."

"The world is vast, not just Huaxia."

"Even in the apocalypse, humanity will not unite."

"Moreover, don't you need military factories? Air bases? Fleets? Large numbers of trained soldiers and engineers—you don't want them?"

"They cannot be subdued merely by killing."

Lin An turned his back to Chu An, his steps hesitated, he fell silent for a moment:

"Then you go do it."

"But, it must not affect my plan."

Having said that, Lin An raised his head to look at the exit on the first floor.

Outside the tunnel, weak light fell on his face.

It was somewhat glaring.

Behind him.

Chu An stopped his steps in the darkness, silently watching him walk into the light.

He murmured silently.