Chapter 484: Unwilling to Endure Injustice

I saved over a thousand people, yet they might wonder why I couldn't save more—or what gives me the right to be the one who saves, am I colluding with the system? When a huge disaster cannot be blamed, people often subconsciously look for a nearby cause, even if that cause is far-fetched.

"This isn't fair!" Xinxue's voice sounded a bit tight.

She understood all the reasoning Cheng Shuili explained; even if she herself were the one being attacked, she wouldn't have such a strong reaction.

After all, she hadn't done anything, so even being scolded didn't matter—but Lao Da had saved people.

"Fair?" Cheng Shuili shook her head. "In this world, fairness is the most luxurious thing. The system doesn't give it, and players certainly won't either."

The voices of doubt in the channel kept increasing, mixed with some trying to defend her, but they were quickly drowned out by more suspicion.

"That's right—why is only Wu Ya getting the server-wide announcement? And so many times?"

"Black Feather's development is too fast, right? Do they know some insider info, or are they just cheating?"

"Just thinking about it is terrifying…"

"And there's that kiss from Qing Qing…"

Cheng Shuili looked at these comments, her eyes showing no ripple.

She gently closed the interface, as if shutting a noisy jar full of insects.

Having been famous for too long, she sees things more clearly than anyone; having enjoyed the conveniences fame brings, she naturally must also bear the suspicion and scrutiny that fame brings.

The system issued only a cold compensation notice, and players internally split, distrusting and attacking each other, even starting to look for moles.

Human fragility and suspicion, plus the tendency in desperate straits to harm one's own kind, were fully exposed.

She recalled the player killed over a single word, whose avatar had turned gray and could never light up again.

She also recalled those 340,000 avatars that had gone dark.

Death spread in various forms—some from the system, some from fellow players.

The path she must walk is destined to be misunderstood by everyone, possibly bearing ever more misunderstanding and infamy.

But what of it?

Cheng Shuili picked up the now-cold teacup and drank the remaining tea in one gulp. The slight bitterness and coolness slid down her throat, yet it made her mind clearer.

She didn't need to be everyone's light.

She only needed to be a blade that could cleave darkness, cutting a path of survival for those willing to follow her.

Cheng Shuili suppressed all her emotions and turned her gaze to Xinxue.

After softly soothing her with a few words, she inquired about the situation with those several forces of the Black Feather Alliance.

When work was mentioned, Xinxue's emotions also calmed a bit; after a brief thought, her speech slowed and she reported work in an orderly manner.

After a few exchanges, the conversation naturally broadened, and they stopped thinking about the regional channel.

On the Black Feather side there was no movement at all, while Qin Wen on the other side was fuming.

She was a lone wolf; after returning to the vehicle she had no one to talk to, and besides, the regional channel had been praising her and Wu Ya, but suddenly seeing the wind shift, the blame pointed straight at her and Cheng Shuili, and a surge of anger shot up to her head.

"Bang!"

She punched the vehicle's sturdy inner wall, emitting a dull thud that startled the mechanical pet dozing in the corner into a jolt, its electronic eyes flashing red in fright.

"A bunch of brainless idiots!" Qin Wen ground her teeth, voice squeezed from between her teeth, "Just before they were praising us to the heavens, now they turn on us faster than flipping a page! Is saving people our fault? Is our seamless cooperation our fault? Is destroying the instance our fault?!"

She paced irritably back and forth in the vehicle, her boots thudding heavily on the floor.

The more she walked, the angrier she got; she suddenly stopped and pulled up the regional channel again.

Looking at those ever more absurd speculations and malicious guesses—especially seeing someone single her out and lump her together with Wu Ya as suspects—made her fury explode.

"Say I'm colluding with Wu Ya as spies?" she laughed in extreme anger, "Great, wonderful! Spies saving over a thousand people, spies destroying the instance and opposing the system? Do these people have no brains?"

Qin Wen's fingers frantically tapped the virtual keyboard.

After typing out a long passage herself, her inner anger miraculously lessened considerably.

She didn't know whether the people speaking in the regional channel had brains, but at this moment her mind suddenly kicked into gear.

No… that's not right…

These people's main target isn't Wu Ya, is it?

Why hasn't Wu Ya come out to say anything?

After mulling it over, Qin Wen still couldn't swallow her anger; she turned and opened a private chat with Wu Ya, bombarding her with over a dozen messages before finally asking the question she most wanted to ask:

"Wuya Lao Da! Are you just going to watch them spout nonsense? Not angry at all? Not planning to do anything?!"

After sending the message, Qin Wen stared at the screen; her anger hadn't fully subsided, and a touch of anxiety was added.

She knew Wu Ya; that guy would likely reply with something like "the clear will clear themselves" or "focus on the present," but this situation was different—slander had already been splashed on her, could she still stay so calm?

A few seconds later, Cheng Shuili's reply popped up, brief and to the point; one could even imagine her calm, expressionless face at that moment:

"I saw it."

Just three characters?!

Qin Wen's forehead veins jumped; she was about to say something when, unexpectedly, the other side sent another message.

【Wu Ya Zuo Fei Ji】: You're a lone wolf—what are you afraid of?

Qin Wen paused.

What does that mean? Is it saying she's barefoot and unafraid of shoes, or that she's impatient?

Qin Wen stared at that sentence, about to clatter back a rebuttal, but her fingers froze.

She pondered it carefully, and suddenly sensed a different flavor.

This wasn't mockery, nor perfunctoriness.

Given Wu Ya's personality, this was more like a hint: your situation differs from Black Feather's.

Yeah, she's a lone wolf, with no force needing protection, and no force reputation to maintain.

Her actions are freer, with fewer concerns.

The impact of public opinion on her personal reputation is far less deadly than it is for Black Feather.

Cheng Shuili's implicit meaning might be: "You don't have to weigh the whole situation like I do; you can respond in a more direct and more willful way." Realizing this, the fire in Qin Wen's heart suddenly turned into something else—a kind of awakened sharpness that became clearer.

This wasn't over yet; Wu Ya sent another message: "If you can't win the argument, I'll come help you?"

Qin Wen's eyes lit up instantly, then suddenly dimmed.

She actually felt that she understood Wu Ya...

She had never seen such a Wu Ya!

And, will you help her?

Qin Wen raised an eyebrow, "You really can?"

Cheng Shuili didn't argue, but instead directly sent a passage of extraordinarily brilliant output; seeing Qin Wen nod repeatedly without making any changes, she directly posted it to the big area channel!