Chapter 483: Grievance?

"???"

"Still human?"

"How could they say something like that?"

"Everyone, be careful of the non-human things around you! Maybe the system has mixed in among us? Think about it: the system wanting to appear human and post a message in the regional channel would be too easy for them!"

"No need to wonder if this is necessary. A righteous friend has already attacked that non-human individual, using a Designated Player Duel Card; the victory report will spread shortly."

"Alright, stop paying attention; the person is already dead."

"Cheng Shuili saw these few lines, dragged the progress bar up a bit, and indeed that person's avatar turned gray."

"Suddenly I feel ridiculous. Aren't we speaking up for our fallen comrades? Why… does just a different voice take another life?"

"The channel exploded again, but this time the topic had deteriorated."

"On what grounds kill someone? Just because he said an inappropriate remark?"

"That's not inappropriate—it's whitewashing the system! What's the difference between that and abandoning humanity? Those not of our kind must have different hearts!"

"Whitewashing? Isn't what he said the truth? The system issued the announcement and gave compensation; what more do you want? Drag the Weaver out to be shot? Can you even do that? Cutting down your own people is quick, though!"

"How? A mistake that killed over three hundred thousand people, a little compensation, and it's considered over? This is a life! That dead guy just lightly said a sentence, but does that sentence… justify those who died?"

"A life? In this world, aren't there few enough dead already?"

"Humans used to have 1.4 billion, and now?"

"The key isn't how many died before; it's that we should now unite, present a united front outward—why are we causing internal strife now?"

"He was just expressing another viewpoint! Does he deserve to die? What's the difference between this and the system's indiscriminate killing? No, you're worse—the system at least dares to admit fault, but you still don't think you're wrong."

"He had a foul mouth; he deserved it! Who knows if he's a spy sent by the system to deliberately disrupt our view? Kill him cleanly!"

"Where's the evidence? You call him a traitor just because you say so? I could say you're a murderer!"

"Who is the person who used the duel card? Dare you reveal your ID? Let everyone judge!"

"Make it public? So you can go kill them? What a joke!"

"The argument in the channel quickly shifted from anger at the system to mutual attacks between opposing players, and the system didn't utter a single word to change any of this."

"Cheng Shuili closed the channel and rubbed her brow."

"The air was thick with a suffocating anxiety, even the fragrance of Wan Yi's freshly brewed flower tea couldn't dispel it."

"Cheng Shuili lifted her teacup, took a sip, and felt considerably better."

"Her gaze swept over the surrounding fields, she sighed, and she reopened the regional channel."

"The good news is that the argument sparked by the duel card has ended; the bad news is…"

"This trend doesn't seem right, does it?"

"When I saw the global announcement that Wuya Dalao and her team had saved over a thousand people, I thought they were amazing, saving so many—but then the whole instance ended up with 340,000 dead! Exactly 340,000! Only over a thousand were saved!"

"Compared like that, doesn't it look even more tragic?"

"The system is really strange: it praises Wu Ya in a global announcement for saving over a thousand people, yet ignores the 340,000 who died because of its mistake……"

"No, why is that? The gap between these two numbers is huge—deaths are 340 times the number rescued? That's too absurd!"

"Wu Ya couldn't possibly be related to the system, right? Otherwise why is the only person ever announced globally Wu Ya?"

"Correction: it's not just Wu Ya who's been announced globally, but all those announced are related to her!"

"That light kiss from Qing Qing is also Black Feather's, right? She and Wu Ya ended the instance together. Their coordination is so seamless, and both can trigger a global announcement… really just a coincidence?"

"Everyone, think again: from the game's start to now, doesn't every major event have Wu Ya's shadow? Once is coincidence, twice is luck, every time it's her… is she really still a player?"

"Makes sense! That instance was so high‑level, yet they handled it with ease and even dismantled it… is that normal? We go into instances facing nine deaths to one life—what do they have that we don't?"

"……"

"Because waiting for rescue also requires strength. Even if Wu Ya were a god, clearing the instance takes time; by the time she ended it, most people were already dead, so only over a thousand were saved."

"Amid a sea of absurd speculation, this truly reasonable answer sank without a trace, not even raising a ripple."

"When the regional channel's tone went awry, the Black Feather member in charge immediately reported it; Xinxue, realizing the seriousness, hurried over to find Cheng Shuili sipping tea in the pavilion she had specially drawn in the field."

'"Boss…" Xinxue gasped while standing, "The regional channel——"'

'"I've seen it." Cheng Shuili's voice was utterly calm; she even had the leisure to lift the kettle and pour Xinxue a cup of flower tea, gesturing for her to sit down, "Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji—that's me. This ID, which once stood for strength, for salvation, or in other words, humanity's hope, in just these few short remarks has gone from hero to crony."'

"Xinxue detected the mockery in her words."

"She took the cup but didn't drink, her brows knotted tightly: 'Boss, letting this negative news ferment won't bring anything good… shouldn't we do something?'"

"Cheng Shuili lifted her own teacup and took another sip of the warm tea."

'"What should we do?" Cheng Shuili's voice was soft, as if asking Xinxue and herself, "Should we, like them, launch into long-winded explanations or rebuttals in the channel? Or should we send the Black Feather members out to clash directly with them?"'

"Xinxue knew just how hard this sort of thing is to resolve."

"Spittle can drown a person; stepping out to argue with them only plays into their hands."

"Rationally, Xinxue clearly knew silence was the best solution, but emotionally…"

"She clenched her fists: 'How can they act like this, Boss? You obviously saved so many people!'"

"Xinxue's voice carried a hint of grinding her teeth; she was clearly speaking up for Cheng Shuili."

'"Because only over a thousand were saved, compared to the 340,000 dead, this ratio seems utterly insignificant."'

"Cheng Shuili set down her teacup, the corner of her mouth even curling into an extremely faint arc: 'Human psychology can be this strange sometimes. The system killed 340,000 people, yet they're fearful and powerless.'"