At Zone C’s respawn point, J had just crawled out in a sorry state when a fist slammed hard into his face.
“Ugh!”
It had been so long since he’d been beaten like some street thug that J was momentarily stunned. Only after being pinned to the ground and pummeled did he think to fight back.
But Yi Luo’s earlier shot had reset his level to zero—right now, he wasn’t a match for any player.
“Stop! Stop!” J scrambled, shielding his head. “I have the wealth of an entire nation—I still have an army and weapons—ugh!”
Raj gritted his teeth and drove a punch straight into his eye socket. Only when it turned black and swollen did he grab J by the collar and haul him up.
There was killing intent in his eyes. “It’s because of you—because of people like you—that Zone C became like this!”
“Cough—!” J clawed at his hand, struggling to breathe as Raj tightened his grip.
Raj’s eyes were bloodshot. “Because of you, Kalei ended up in danger. Because of you, my parents abandoned their children and ran. Because of you, people kill each other over scraps of food…”
“Because of you, people betrayed humanity and became those damned believers. Because of you, so many people died—it’s all because of you!”
He grabbed J by the throat, his eyes gradually filling with a crazed loss of control. Ignoring J’s resistance and his own trembling hands from overexertion, he tightened his grip bit by bit. “It’s all because of you—because of you!”
“Raj…”
Someone called out nervously, but Raj ignored it. “I’m going to kill you—if I kill you, Zone C will be freed from this cursed disaster!”
“I’ll do it—I’ll kill you myself…”
For the first time, fear of death appeared in J’s eyes. He struggled wildly, nails scratching open Raj’s skin, his throat emitting hoarse, dying sounds.
The surrounding players had mixed expressions—some couldn’t bear to watch, some looked hateful, others wished they could kill him themselves. The fear in J’s eyes slowly turned to despair as his vision began to blur.
A hand grabbed Raj’s wrist. “That’s enough.”
Yi Luo crouched down with a smile. He looked relaxed, but his grip was firm. Under the pressure, Raj was forced to let go.
“Ah—!” Raj seemed to snap out of a nightmare, his eyes widening as he looked at his hands. His teeth chattered, but he still glared stubbornly at J, forcing out words through clenched teeth. “Why won’t you let me kill him?! He almost killed Kalei!”
“Because killing someone is still too early for a kid,” Yi Luo paused. “Actually… adults shouldn’t be killing people either.”
He didn’t seem very good at handling this situation and looked back at He Wuning.
He Wuning gave him a helpless look. The two stared at each other before realizing—they had forgotten to bring Director Xue. Both of them were only good at fighting.
Left with no choice, Q-chan stepped in. It cautiously floated over to Raj. “Um… killing people isn’t allowed! You can’t become like the bad guys!”
“We’ll lock him up! Q-chan will help you beat him up!”
Raj’s eyes slowly turned red again—but this time not with blind hatred. He bit his lip hard and finally broke down like a child. “He already killed people… not just the ones in the post, but before too… he killed so many…”
“He killed so many…” He collapsed to the ground, crying uncontrollably. “And I—I actually thought he would change our country!”
“I believed him… I thought after the rotten royal family was overthrown, Zone C’s suffering would end… that we could live like everyone else… ahh!”
He clutched his head in anguish. “What are we supposed to do? Who are we supposed to believe?!”
“I really thought we could protect this place… even if it’s poor and broken, it’s still our home… can we really… save it…”
He lay on the ground, crying hysterically. Even the crowd that had gathered in anger couldn’t help wiping away tears.
“Raj…” Kalei’s eyes filled with tears too. She walked over and knelt beside him, gently patting his back.
“It’ll… it’ll get better.” She wasn’t good at comforting people, only repeating what came to mind. She suddenly remembered her mother—a middle-aged woman somewhere unknown—who used to wipe away tears and force a smile, saying, “It’ll get better.”
She thought she had forgotten her mother, but in this moment, she instinctively mimicked her and said those same words.
Kalei pressed her lips together, feeling it was both absurd and unwilling to give up.
She gripped Raj’s clothes tightly. “Raj, we still have each other.”
“Zone C still has us. J said I might be the administrator candidate… but even if I’m not, it doesn’t matter. We’re still here.”
She wiped her tears clumsily. “We’re not like those who ran away or surrendered. We’ll stay. We’ll protect Zone C.”
She sniffed hard. “And everything will get better.”
She looked at He Wuning for confirmation. “Right?”
Raj looked up at him too, eyes full of hope.
For a moment, He Wuning felt a lot of pressure. He touched his nose and nodded lightly.
That small bit of affirmation gave them immense strength. Kalei’s eyes lit up as she grabbed Raj’s hand. “See? Even the Savior says it’s possible!”
Yi Luo nudged him. “Was that a bit too perfunctory?”
He Wuning said flatly, “No.”
Yi Luo chuckled and proudly pulled up his communicator. “I knew it—got you a cheat sheet. Give the kids some hope.”
He Wuning glanced at his chat with Xue Xun:
Yi Luo: “Director Xue, emergency—how do I encourage kids from Zone C?”
Director Xue: “What kind of question is that? Can’t you be sincere? Speak from the heart—wish them a bright future, tell them hardship makes us stronger, that a nation may fail but won’t be easily defeated!”
Yi Luo replied with a thumbs-up.
Director Xue, as expected of someone accustomed to being a spokesperson, delivered blessings and encouragement with ease. He Wuning opened his mouth and looked at Raj and Kalei.
He Wuning opened his mouth—but the words stuck in his throat.
After a brief hesitation, he gave up. He was never good at encouraging people or reading speeches anyway.
He pushed aside Yi Luo’s “cheat sheet” and looked at them seriously. “I won’t be Zone C’s savior.”
Raj’s expression wavered. “But…”
“I’m not even from Zone C,” He Wuning said bluntly. “Even if you call me a savior, it’s impossible for me to save this place.”
Q-chan nervously peeked from Yi Luo’s shoulder. “Is that… a bit harsh?”
“Shh,” Yi Luo gestured. “Just watch.”
He Wuning paused, then reached out and patted Raj’s head. “But you might be.”
“Huh?” Raj’s eyes widened.
He Wuning also patted Kalei’s head. “You too.”
“At least you belong to Zone C. I remember when we first met—you said you wanted to protect it yourselves.”
Raj flushed and muttered, “Back then… we didn’t know how hard it would be…”
He Wuning chuckled. “That’s a pretty good goal. Worth striving for.”
“If Zone C is going to be saved, it has to be by you.”
Raj and Kalei looked at each other. He Wuning raised an eyebrow. “What? Can’t do it?”
Raj straightened instinctively. “Who says we can’t!”
Yi Luo nearly laughed out loud. “Even kids aren’t immune to that kind of provocation.”
He beckoned Raj over and whispered, “We can’t let you kill J—but I can teach you where to hit so it hurts the most without leaving obvious marks…”
He Wuning raised an eyebrow. “Can you teach something better?”
A small kid who used to follow Raj timidly stepped forward. “Boss… can we do it too? Can we protect Zone C?”
He Wuning didn’t know how he became their “boss,” but he nodded. “Yeah.”
The kids immediately swarmed him. “Boss, pat our heads too!”
“Me too, me too!”
Yi Luo raised an eyebrow. “Hey, hey—what are you doing? Patting his head doesn’t give buffs, you know. Move aside!”
As they left Zone C with the bound J, He Wuning glanced back from the car. “They might realize later that what I said was just idealistic nonsense.”
“But you protected their dreams,” Yi Luo leaned against the window with a smile. “In a way, that’s like playing Santa Claus. Besides… what’s wrong with kids being a little innocent?”
He Wuning didn’t respond, but his expression softened slightly. He stretched his neck. “It’s about time. Once we’re back, we’ll need to prepare for the update.”
“The final battle.”
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The author has something to say:
Mini bonus skit (not canon):
Yi Luo: If I write a letter to Santa Claus asking for a naked Ningning, can that wish come true? How big of a stocking would I need?
He Wuning: Santa Claus would get arrested for kidnapping and indecent assault. Before that happens, he'd also get beaten up by me.
Yi Luo: Then nobody's going to take that job. Looks like I'll have to do it myself!
Rabbit hereby solemnly declares that none of the above will appear in the main story. Feel free to imagine it yourselves. Welcome to the brand-new self-service dream-reading technology of the year 2999. (doge emoji)
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