Translator: AnubisTL
"But I didn't change it. At the time, I hesitated for a long time."
"Although this innate ability guaranteed my temporary survival, it hung over my head like the Sword of Damocles, constantly reminding me that death would eventually come."
"Yet I still didn't change it."
"Because this ability, with a small probability, could grant human players a higher drop rate when killing mutated beasts. It seemed like an unremarkable effect, but when amplified across the entire human player base, its impact became immense."
"Even then, I had already prepared myself to face death directly."
"And though it sounds laughable, I genuinely harbored a heroic ideal: to protect all human players and give them a long-lost sense of security in the Ten Thousand Races Arena."
"But now it seems I failed to protect them. Instead, I led them to their deaths."
The human guardian paused before continuing, "I've already chosen my successor. If circumstances allowed, you would have been the ideal candidate, but I know you dislike such trivial matters."
"Actually, I could have lived longer and chatted with you more, but you seemed to have been delayed on your way here."
"Mm."
Chen Jiang nodded slightly and said softly, "I had to take care of some matters along the way."
"Are you going to seek revenge?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, will you avenge Kindling City?"
Chen Jiang looked at the group of human players amidst the ruins and then at the spot where the old woman had stood by the light gate earlier. After a moment of silence, he finally said, "I will."
"Then you must hurry."
"How soon?"
"Within forty-five minutes. That's about all the time I have left. If possible, let me join you. I want to see Feng Jiutian die."
"Let me see."
Chen Jiang nodded but didn't immediately agree. Instead, he opened the Human Race Merit Points Shop and purchased an item.
[Item Name]: Heaven's Eye Pursuit Order
[Item Star]: Three-star Item
[Item Effect]: Enter a player's name and approximate information to obtain their real-time updated location for seven days!
[Item Description]: Stronger than the Two-star Heaven's Eye Pursuit Order, for example, it lacks the drawback of self-destruction upon failure to eliminate the target.
But just then—
A voice suddenly rang in the ears of all players.
[Global Speaker!]
[Mechanical Race Feng Jiutian: "Chen Jiang! I want you and all human players to know that the deaths of these 5 million human players are your fault. If you hadn't repeatedly provoked me, I would never have destroyed Kindling City."]
["As for the other human players, don't hate me. Hate Chen Jiang instead. He's the one who doomed you all! Hahahahaha!!"]
["Isn't he supposed to be so powerful? Didn't he bombard the light gate for 24 hours straight during the global event to defend Kindling City, repelling countless alien attacks?"]
["So why couldn't he protect those 5 million human players in Kindling City?"]
["Don't be fools. Did you really think Chen Jiang was helping you by defending Kindling City during the global event?"]
["He did it for the glory of the top ranking, for the rewards of the top ranking, for the massive kindling points reward—it had nothing to do with you!"]
["You can't possibly be naive enough to think Chen Jiang was working so hard to protect you, can you?"]
["Go ask him if he's ever killed a human player and stolen their items. Guess what his answer will be?"]
["Hahahaha, you fools! This is just the beginning. Remember the name Feng Jiutian—it will haunt your nightmares for the rest of your lives!"]
"Ah, that feels good!"
After sending this global speaker message, Feng Jiutian couldn't help but exhale a breath of relief, his expression exhilarated. He felt all the pent-up frustration of the past few days finally released.
"Grandpa, thank you. If it weren't for you, I don't know when I would have been able to get this off my chest."
"It's nothing," the elder sitting across from Feng Jiutian said with a gentle smile, shaking his head. "Mere reputation means nothing to the mechanical race. We care not whose name is attached to it—it's meaningless. The significance lies in the five million fusion points, which is what the mechanical race truly needs."
"No matter what, you're still my grandson."
"After suffering several setbacks at Chen Jiang's hands, your complexion has been looking rather poor. I can't just let you continue to wallow in despair, can I?"
"You've finally gotten your revenge this time, haven't you?"
"It feels amazing, utterly amazing."
Feng Jiutian stood tall and triumphant, his expression radiating satisfaction. He licked the corner of his mouth. "It's just a pity Chen Jiang wasn't in Kindling City earlier. Otherwise, this starship bomb would have sent him straight to the heavens too!"
"Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities to play with him later."
"From now on, you'll stay with your grandpa. This is one of the mechanical race's Eight Great Satellite Cities, and it's also the Capital City. Its defenses and everything else are far superior to those infrastructure cities. You'll be much safer here."
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I've already thought this through on the way here. The Ten Thousand Races Arena is too dangerous, and you don't have any family around. It's too risky for you to be alone. From now on, let me protect you."
"You little rascal, you just want your grandpa to protect you, don't you?"
"Heh heh, same difference."
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang and his group, standing before Kindling City, also heard the global speaker.
"Chen Jiang," the human guardian said, his expression grave as he turned to Chen Jiang. "I urge you not to listen to Feng Jiutian's words. Every human player in Kindling City harbors not a single grievance against you, only gratitude."
"If it weren't for you, Kindling City might not have survived that global event."
"Every human player in Kindling City feels only gratitude toward you, nothing else."
"Mm," Chen Jiang replied calmly, nodding slightly without speaking.
At that moment, surviving players standing amidst the ruins of Kindling City noticed Chen Jiang beside the human guardian. Their expressions grew complex as they turned to look at him standing by the light gate.
Soon, more and more players, still clinging to hope as they searched through the rubble for their loved ones, slowly rose to their feet and turned their gazes toward Chen Jiang.
No one spoke, but their faces were a mix of emotions.
They all recognized him.
Chen Jiang, the strongest human, who had single-handedly defended Kindling City for a full 24 hours during the global event, armed with nothing but his cannon.
More and more eyes turned toward Chen Jiang. Even those who didn't recognize him now knew who the man standing beside the human guardian was, thanks to whispers from those around them.
Some emerged from the light gate and fixed their gaze on Chen Jiang. Others stood atop the ruins, their eyes locked on him.
There were too many people.
Despite the staggering losses among human players, nearly a million still stood here. And more continued to pour through the light gate into Kindling City.
Some were human players who had left Kindling City to hunt alien race players and participate in the global event. Hearing the news, they rushed back in a panic.
Others were players who, for various reasons, had never come to Kindling City. Now, hearing the grim news, they hurried here, hoping to offer any assistance they could.
It was even possible that mechanical race players had infiltrated the crowd.
At this point, no one was checking whether anyone was a human player anymore.
Nearly a million people stood motionless, their faces etched with grief, sorrow, despair, disbelief, and rage. These human players, standing amidst the ruins, stared silently at Chen Jiang.
Some stood too far back to see Chen Jiang clearly, yet their gazes were fixed in his direction.
Chen Jiang stood calmly, leaning on his cane with one hand. He silently endured the scrutiny of countless eyes, saying nothing, simply standing there.
The crowd of players before him remained equally silent, creating an eerie stillness that hung over the scene.
"Revenge!"
A bare-chested man, covered in scars and standing atop the rubble, suddenly roared with raw emotion, his voice tearing through the silence like fingernails scraping across a blackboard.
"Brother Jiang, lead us to avenge our fallen! Slaughter the mechanical race!"
"I've only got one life to live, and if I don't spend it today, I'm a son of a bitch! Either the mechanical race dies, or I do!"
As his words faded, a woman nearby, clutching half a brick, her face twisted in fury, suddenly shrieked, "Revenge!"
"Revenge!"
"Slaughter the mechanical race! I'm not afraid to die! I'll charge in first!"
The woman's husband had perished in the explosion. She had searched frantically through the wreckage for days, finding nothing—not even a scrap of his remains.
"Revenge!"
Another piercing cry rang out!
A young man, barely sixteen or seventeen, who might have been a high school student on Blue Star before coming to the Ten Thousand Races Arena, stood with his face contorted in fury, brandishing a sharp blade.
"We must have our revenge!"
"A man can die, but he must never live in shame!"
"I'm done! I'm sick of this miserable existence. I don't want this life anymore!"
"Such crude language," a man with a buzz cut and a bare, scarred torso emerged from behind the youth, carrying a heavy machine gun. "You haven't even grown your first beard yet, kid. Who are you calling 'I'?"
The man grabbed the youth by the shoulder and pushed him down, then turned to Chen Jiang with a calm expression.
"Brother Jiang, I'm Fang Cunshan. Do you remember me?"
"I was the one who killed Li Xiumei for you."
"When you came to Kindling City last time, all the brothers saw you, but we didn't approach you. We didn't want you to think we were the kind of people who demand rewards for past deeds."
"During the explosion, my brothers and I were outside the light gate, so we're fine. But all the disabled brothers we left behind in the city, along with their families, were killed."
"Not a single one survived."
"We've been in the Ten Thousand Races Arena for almost four months now, and life has lost its meaning for us. It's been exhausting, and we've lost the will to live. We want to follow you, Brother Jiang, and avenge our fallen comrades."
"If the mechanical race wants our lives, we'll give them what they want."
"It's just one life. It doesn't matter."
Chen Jiang's face remained impassive as he stared at the man who spoke. He recognized the name but was seeing the person behind it for the first time.
Then, a cacophony of harsh, ferocious voices erupted in waves:
"Avenge them!"
"They want our lives? We'll give them what they want! It's just one life! What kind of man would cower before them?"
Soon, countless voices merged into a single, decisive roar:
"Avenge them!"
"Avenge them!"
The deafening cries surged skyward like tidal waves, nearly shattering Chen Jiang's eardrums and those of his companions.
Chen Jiang stood motionless, silent. After about the time it would take to smoke a cigarette, he slowly raised his right hand.
As Chen Jiang raised his hand, the human players at the front fell silent, their eyes fixed on him. Those behind followed suit, and soon the entire crowd fell into a hush.
Chen Jiang scanned the crowd before turning his gaze to the fusion point rankings. For the first time, he spoke aloud.
"Human Race Horn!"
"Player Chen Jiang: 'This vengeance will be ours, but not mine alone. We will all take it together. I will now open teleportation gates within Kindling City. Step through these gates, and you will emerge in the heart of the mechanical race's city.'"
He glanced at the fusion point rankings. Currently, 57 mechanical race players occupied the list.
Without hesitation, he spent approximately 170,000 human race merit points at the Human Race Shop to purchase 56 more Three-star Heaven's Eye Pursuit Orders.
The next moment—
[Global Speaker!]
[Human Player Chen Jiang has used a Three-star Heaven's Eye Pursuit Order on Mechanical Race Player Feng Jiutian. For the next seven days, Feng Jiutian's real-time coordinates will be continuously displayed on Human Player Chen Jiang's map.]
Immediately afterward, another announcement rang out.
[Global Speaker!]
[Human Player Chen Jiang has used a Three-star Heaven's Eye Pursuit Order against Mechanical Race Player Yan Fengnian. For the next seven days, Yan Fengnian's real-time coordinates will be continuously displayed on Chen Jiang's map.]
But it didn't end there.
[Global Speaker!]
[Human Player Chen Jiang has used a Three-star Heaven's Eye Pursuit Order against Mechanical Race Player Xu Potian. For the next seven days, Xu Potian's real-time coordinates will be continuously displayed on Chen Jiang's map.]
This announcement repeated a staggering 57 times!
Of course, using a Three-star Heaven's Eye Pursuit Order wouldn't trigger a world announcement. These 57 messages were all broadcast by Chen Jiang using the global speaker.
Why? To boost morale, of course.
After using 57 Heaven's Eye Pursuit Orders, he had obtained the precise coordinates of 57 Mechanical Race players.
The coordinates of 17 Mechanical Race players overlapped, while the coordinates of the remaining players often indicated the location of a Mechanical Race city!
In other words, these were the exact coordinates of 40 mechanical race cities!
Chen Jiang shared the coordinates with Li Hao, who closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment before speaking. "The nearest mechanical race city is 70,000 meters from the second-to-last light gate on the left."
"Enter that light gate, then open 70 phantom gates, and you'll reach the mechanical race city."
"Mm." Chen Jiang nodded slightly. "Open the gates."
Soon after, Scar Dog and Li Hao emerged from the second-to-last light gate on the left, their expressions serious as they looked at Chen Jiang. "Brother Jiang, it's ready."
"Good." Chen Jiang paused, pointed at the light gate, and addressed the vast crowd of human players before him in a low voice. "Enter that gate, and you'll exit into a mechanical race city."
"Those seeking revenge will find what they desire inside."
He planned to go to Feng Jiutian's location.
In truth, he could handle this all alone, but he knew these human players desperately needed a war to vent their rage. They might die, but as that young man had said:
A man can die, but he must not live in humiliation.
Humans are strange creatures.
Sometimes, to survive, they'll do anything—even crawl on their knees like dogs to cling to life.
But other times, they couldn't care less about their own lives.
Just as Fang Cunshan said:
"It's just one life. It doesn't matter."
(End of the Chapter)
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