The president’s face turned pale. Initially, he thought the police and the special forces’ betrayal was due to some underhanded tactic by Mudslide.
Perhaps they had caught key figures in compromising situations or made some sort of exchange.
Lu Qingjia’s impression on them was not one of straightforwardness, which led them to expect deceit and ruthlessness.
Though they were wary of him, their caution was based on his personal methods and the threat of his abilities, referencing the God Envoy. Therefore, even though they found him troublesome, they did not strategically prioritize him.
After all, just a month ago, he was a poor kid, newly in control of a mid-level talent agency. Although his chess moves were sharp and he had recently made a lot of money, ultimately, such a person could not easily enter the circles of real power.
Letting such a madman run amok and disrupt everyone’s interests was naturally not good, but frankly, the destruction he could bring was limited.
Even though many had been held hostage earlier, the association and those above were not really concerned, viewing it as temporary damage to reputation and interests. As long as they firmly controlled the industry, the temporary losses would be recouped manifold later.
However, they never imagined that Mudslide controlled far more than they thought, and more critically.
He had even summarized the causes of the current plight of the mutants and unearthed evidence pointing to the exact planners.
If it were just a matter of ideology, it could be manipulated without specific individuals taking responsibility, even if a few scapegoats were pushed forward, it would be insignificant.
But now that the other side had pointed out this was a long-planned conspiracy, the police and military’s intervention indicated that the country, anticipating public reaction, decided to use this opportunity to uproot this already colossal interest organization.
Lu Qingjia smiled: “Unfortunately, why did you choose a ‘dictatorial’ country for the first Hero King Cup?”
“If you had chosen a capitalist country, perhaps maneuvering would not have led to such a decisive move from above.”
The association president and the capital magnates finally couldn’t sit still. They knew being trapped here, missing the first response time, was fatal.
So some tried to contact the outside world.
But it was too late; a former faded hero appeared behind their seats, initiating electromagnetic interference, preventing signals from being transmitted.
These people then ordered their bodyguards to resist.
However, the bodyguards were also mutants. Previously, they thought having abilities gave them decent jobs and good salaries, a pretty good life.
But upon learning the truth, they discovered that the people they protected were the very ones oppressing and discriminating against their community.
Except for a few, most bodyguards not only did not act but restrained their employers, searching them for hidden communication devices.
For a moment, the VIP seats were in disarray, no longer maintaining their usual condescending dignity and arrogance.
At that moment, two figures from the military and political sectors suddenly appeared, both top officials in the national power apparatus.
They immediately announced the dissolution of the country’s Hero Association, which would no longer have the right to recruit and command heroes. In the coming time, relevant departments would thoroughly investigate the association and related capital parties.
Once verified, this would be serious crimes such as undermining national security and stability, oppressing the people, and hindering social development.
Moreover, the country promised to reorganize laws and regulations concerning mutants, eliminate unequal treatment, and address the limitations on the living environment of mutants.
And stated that since its founding, the country has never had issues of racial discrimination and would not in the future.
Hoping the people maintain confidence in the country and work together on reforms.
Not to mention these official words, at least the attitude is here, clearly not allowing capital to control the living space of mutants and guide societal attitudes towards mutants.
Although ideological issues are the hardest to change, the indoctrination of a generation has already formed fixed societal views and attitudes towards mutants, striving for fairness is not an overnight matter.
But the initially infected population was also classless; while the vast majority of mutants were ordinary people, there were also not a few at the top of various fields.
Neither the military nor the political side lacked those who evolved abilities, such as the military big shot who acted this time, himself an ability user.
After the country announced its solution, many other countries followed with statements, all dissolving their national Hero Associations and conducting thorough investigations.
Only a few strongholds of capital still stood without falling.
But now the public’s anger had flooded the government, and to quell the anger, they had to hand over the key planners.
After all, the information Lu Qingjia released earlier left no room for shirking or bluffing, pulling out the designers of this conspiracy one by one.
In the following period, there were daily protests everywhere in the world, both by ability users and ordinary people opposed to discrimination.
The glamorous hero idol culture had its underpants stripped off, and now no hero took pride in becoming a top star, only feeling shame.
Of course, this also harmed the interests of a few; some heroes actually enjoyed this high-paying, widely admired life, so not every mutant was grateful to Lu Qingjia for opening a gap in their predicament.
But ultimately, those who could stand out in the hero idol industry were among the top abilities of the current era; even if they weren’t idols, they were talents the country wanted to recruit.
Only those with no real skills, relying solely on marketing to carve a niche in the circle, couldn’t bear to part with this glamorous cage.
But to maintain this cage required the misfortune of countless compatriots and narrow life choices as the price.
So even those with some dissatisfaction, as long as they had some brains, dared not speak out.
Countries that had stated their reforms early smoothly passed the protest period, and many who responded less quickly also followed in the face of enormous social pressure and the deterrent of the mutants’ powerful destructive capabilities.
Only a few strongholds of capital, who originally wanted to rely on national power to suppress, labeling all protesters as rioters, but the demonstrations of ability users were not as simple as traditional racial discrimination.
Ability users truly had destructive power, and even with military suppression, there wasn’t much disparity in overall strength between the two sides, so society fell into chaos, and once developed countries became a laughingstock, with domestic people in dire straits, desperately hoping to solve the problem and restore calm.
Those targets had been pointed out long ago, with the Hero Association and the huge capital families being attacked daily, and even an ability user successfully assassinated one of them.
The situation escalated, and just before it got out of control, those countries finally compromised, and there was a large-scale reshuffle in the political arena.
Countries that had made quick statements, whose societies had not been much impacted, took the opportunity to act, thus changing the world’s landscape.
Lu Qingjia eventually won the Hero King Cup, although the association had already been dissolved, and in theory, the Hero King Cup was meaningless.
But he said since they had come this far, it would be a pity not to decide a winner, not fighting for the so-called association and future value and status, the top heroes were actually curious who was stronger, right?
This might be the last show treating heroes as idols, but the venue was ready, surrounded by high-priced protective isolation, allowing heroes to give their all.
The remaining heroes were also quite eager, including the old heroes Lu Qingjia had invited out of retirement.
Finally, in the thrilling battles, it seemed as if they saw the pure, helpful fervor of those days; although hero idols were a disgrace to mutants, their initial formation was the glory of a group of people with great righteousness.
The title and organization of heroes were established by them and ultimately shattered by their own hands.
This gorgeous and tragic finale moved countless viewers to tears.
Perhaps after this event, contradictions would still exist, the gap left by the hero idol industry would be filled by other entertainment projects, and ability users nostalgic for the industry’s splendor might still choose industries under the spotlight.
But idols and heroes were completely separated, and future choices would be just one of many options, not the entire group’s helplessness.
After Lu Qingjia received the Hero King Cup trophy, he got the game’s mission success information, and the next moment handed the trophy to Poison Skin and the others.
They smashed the trophy, marking the end of this pleasant collaboration.
Because of Lu Qingjia’s manipulation, the association’s conspiracy to manipulate the betting pool to harvest netizens’ funds fell through.
Under their previously controlled public opinion, it was suggested that Lu Qingjia had the highest probability of winning, but the odds were not low, the reason given being that Mudslide, as a new top hero, was slightly inexperienced compared to other heroes.
This made countless people think betting on Mudslide was a sure win, but before the competition, it was announced that he was disqualified.
Many initially thought their money was lost, but who knew a series of twists would follow, Mudslide not only did not withdraw but even won first place, so the bookmakers had to pay out.
The entire betting pool suffered huge losses, naturally also with Lu Qingjia’s handiwork, investing a huge sum before the competition started, adding to the already dire situation of the capital.
As Lu Qingjia tallied the assets gained in this round, he praised: “It’s indeed more enjoyable in such instances, accumulating points is too easy.”
Sweet Chocolate: “…”
Infinite Game: “Hahahahahaha…”
Of course, Lu Qingjia did not neglect the company’s employees; those with strong abilities like Bullethead and Frostbringer were also found good paths.
Others with not so prominent abilities, but since they could be signed as heroes, clearly had a big gap with ordinary people; such talents, as long as they found the right professional counterparts, had no problem with life.
After all, the company’s scale was not large, not many people, those who wanted to start a business, as long as they presented feasible plans, Lu Qingjia was not stingy with funding.
As for other ordinary people or those who could not be signed as heroes, only capable of clerical and auxiliary positions, the company’s shell was still there.
Lu Qingjia then gifted the company to the employees according to their position abilities and contribution ratios, and advised them to take advantage of the gap left by the disappearance of the hero idol industry, with the public’s attention now on social issues, to think of a way out during this blank period.
After settling everything, Lu Qingjia planned to enter Infinite City.
Sweet Chocolate was a bit worried: “Once you enter Infinite City, I’m afraid the Deceiver won’t let you off.”
Lu Qingjia said: “Not necessarily, unless he’s watching the God Envoy’s encounter with a crystal ball, hearing what I said, otherwise he wouldn’t risk offending another game just because his subordinate failed a level and directly eliminate another game’s player.”
Frankly, no matter how domineering the Deceiver is, he can only act on his own turf. The exchange student system between games is to lay the foundation for competition and is a symbol of friendly relations between games.
Don’t think Lu Qingjia is just harvesting points in the Infinite Game; exchange students from the Infinite Game entering the Horror Game, if they have good abilities, can also freely obtain abilities and items that are highly priced in the Infinite Space.
No one loses out; the three major games are both competitors and allies.
Even if Lu Qingjia is just a small intermediate player, he represents the Horror Game. If he really killed the God Envoy, the Deceiver could indeed retaliate by killing him.
But if it’s just a matter of his subordinate losing out in a level, and he wants to kill out of dominance, that would directly undermine the fairness of the exchange student system and disrupt the cooperative relationship between the two games.
Not to mention the Horror Game, even the Infinite Game could use this as an excuse to deal with him.
So Lu Qingjia released the God Envoy without any guilt: “The God Envoy isn’t dead or missing any limbs, just lost some items and his bloodline, that’s just his own incompetence, can’t say I specifically targeted him, right?”
As he spoke, he reassembled the God Envoy, who started jumping around again.
“Ha, damn it, I guessed you wouldn’t dare to kill me, right? In the end, you still have to back down, have the guts not to go to Infinite City.”
“I’m telling you, be sensible and return my stuff and bloodline, then break your own arm and kneel to apologize to me, otherwise—”
Before he could finish, Lu Qingjia slapped him: “Your front teeth are missing, your bad breath can’t be hidden, we just finished a level exhausted, why do you have to stink us out with this kind of deep-seated hatred at this time?”
The God Envoy has suffered many insults from Lu Qingjia, but he has a bad memory after being locked up for so many days.
Now being slapped, his blood rushed to his head again, looking at Sweet Chocolate: “You damn well act, my uncle told you to protect me, you’re just a wooden club?”
Sweet Chocolate: “I was coerced.”
God Envoy: “…”
Sweet Chocolate pointed at Lu Qingjia: “He said so.”
Lu Qingjia: “…”
It seems this guy can mix in Infinite City, not without a bit of flexibility.
The God Envoy had no choice but to glare at Lu Qingjia, about to exit the game and return to Infinite City, when he felt a sudden emptiness in his mind.
The next second he appeared in his room, feeling sore all over, looking in the mirror and seeing a mess, recalling the game progress, only knowing he encountered a tough opponent and suffered a big loss, but the specific details were unclear.
Lu Qingjia said to Sweet Chocolate: “Let’s go.”
Sweet Chocolate frowned: “How did you do that?”
Lu Qingjia: “I’m not without mental abilities, just a bit of suggestion, making him forget some key words.”
Actually, with the God Envoy’s strength, it’s not easy for Lu Qingjia to control his mind.
But that guy had his bloodline stripped by Lu Qingjia and was locked in a dark space for so long, using traditional psychological suggestion and emphasizing irrelevant information, finally activating the ability when he was completely off guard.
This made him successfully forget the attitude Lu Qingjia exposed when obtaining the bracelet, thereby preventing the Deceiver from figuring out his origins and purpose.
Now he doesn’t have the strength to directly confront the Deceiver, even if it’s just buying a little time, it’s fine.
As they spoke, they logged out of the game, appearing in Sweet Chocolate’s room.
Generally, exchange student players, if they have teamed up with players from their own game, can be transmitted to that player’s room first.
If not, like Poison Skin and the others, who haven’t established relationships and cooperation with Infinite players, they would be transmitted to a unified guest hall.
Sweet Chocolate returned to his room, obviously much more relaxed.
Seeing Lu Qingjia’s bulging shirt, his stomach moving, he was startled.
“You weren’t parasitized by an alien, were you?”
Lu Qingjia smiled, unzipping his jacket, a black cat’s head popped out from the collar, sticky and cuddling Lu Qingjia’s neck.
Sweet Chocolate said: “You really like this cat.”
Lu Qingjia meaningfully said: “Can’t help it, it’s my own after all, I have to take it with me.”
The black cat, upon hearing this, as if drinking a box of honey, felt sweetness flowing through its heart, the whole cat rubbing against the person, meowing and acting coquettish.
Sweet Chocolate looked on, feeling the cat was somewhat lascivious, but couldn’t put it into words.
Lu Qingjia asked him: “You didn’t protect well this time, any problems?”
Sweet Chocolate said: “I got the qualification for this game’s competition before, before that, I had a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
“After that, it’s up to my own luck, if I can quickly advance to a senior player, even the Deceiver wouldn’t make a fuss over such a small matter, right?”
Lu Qingjia smiled: “Relax, he won’t live to see that.”
Sweet Chocolate: “…You’re still just an intermediate nobody, really talk big.”
But deep down, he felt a bit touched, having seen the other’s capabilities, he wouldn’t consider this confidence as arrogance born of ignorance.
Sweet Chocolate said: “You better buy what you need here while you’re at my place, if you act fast, maybe you can leave before the God Envoy snitches on you.”
But Lu Qingjia said: “No way, I still want to look around here.”
Since he’s here, it would be a pity not to see the Deceiver in person.
But Lu Qingjia still started browsing the exchange shop here.
The Infinite Game’s exchange shop is different from the Horror Game’s, existing in the player’s mental space, its shop interface is projected.
Every player’s room has it, various shops, restaurants in Infinite City also have it, the square and streets are full of it, more common than ATM machines.
For Infinite players, the shop interface opens according to the number of points you have, meaning it will only display items priced within your point limit, but there’s no restriction on purchases.
But for exchange students, there are level restrictions, otherwise players like Lu Qingjia, now sitting on a million points, saying they could empty the shop is an exaggeration, but sweeping the goods too aggressively would make the game feel the pinch—
After all, they’re not their own kids.
But with Lu Qingjia’s current level, the shop’s open permissions are not low.
Although this is only his second intermediate level, the first one, due to Ouyang Bai, was of late intermediate crossing into advanced difficulty, and the second was a competitive game among three players, with a grand game nature.
He passed both with stunning performances, so the shop had many good things to offer.
Here, weapons, precious metals, and technological items were dirt cheap for Lu Qingjia.
He swept up several weapons of various calibers and lethality, rare metals and raw material items for making weapons, countless items with peculiar abilities, and space rings that weren’t too expensive.
Although Lu Qingjia’s backpack capacity was decent and he had spatial abilities with blood manipulation, there was still room for development in this area, and space rings had their unique convenience.
Lu Qingjia even bought some high-level instance food ingredients; the instances he had experienced were mostly close to real society, so there were no ordinary specialties.
Especially some ingredients, if possible, Lu Qingjia even wanted to try growing them in a farmhouse.
If they could survive, it would mean it’s within the game’s allowed range, and cultivating better varieties of vegetables and fruits could also be considered a contribution to the world.
Sweet Chocolate, watching his shopping spree, could only feel envious.
Although he also made a good profit this time, picking up many benefits with Lu Qingjia, that high-level bloodline he had eyed before, and some items, could now be bought without blinking.
But seeing such a big spender who didn’t treat points as points, it was like swallowing a whole tree of lemons.
After Lu Qingjia finished shopping, he also transferred some points to Sweet Chocolate.
Sweet Chocolate was stunned: “You, what are you doing?”
“Help me buy something,” Zhong Liyu said, asking him to come over and open the panel. Sure enough, there were more items available for purchase than what Lu Qingjia had access to.
Sweet Chocolate was startled: “How did you know that letting an Infinite Game Player buy things for you can bypass the item restrictions?”
Lu Qingjia smiled: “Of course, otherwise why would the priority after teaming up with an Infinite Game Player be to teleport back to the Infinite City and come to the player’s room first?”
“Is it to check if the exchange student can walk or if they’re shy?”
“Of course, this really tests the trust between two game players. If you don’t buy it for me, my Points will be wasted. I think that’s why many people are reluctant to try.”
Lu Qingjia patted Sweet Chocolate’s shoulder: “But I believe you wouldn’t be so short-sighted. After all, we’re already in the same boat now.”
Sweet Chocolate really couldn’t say that he hadn’t been tempted the moment he got the Points, but he understood Lu Qingjia’s abilities and ambitions.
He deeply realized how miserable it would be for anyone he targeted, so without hesitation, he helped buy the restricted items for him.
At that moment, Lu Qingjia clearly heard the sound of someone spitting blood in his mind.
No doubt, it must be the Infinite Game, and there was even a faint sound of suppressed laughter nearby.
But after buying the items, Sweet Chocolate found that there were still a few thousand Points left and was about to return them to Lu Qingjia.
Lu Qingjia, while opening the door, said, “Consider it your reward for being my shopping agent.”
Sweet Chocolate naturally accepted it with a smile.
Seeing that Lu Qingjia was about to leave, he felt that as an Infinite Game Player, he should also do his part as a host.
Sweet Chocolate, as a mid-level player, lived in a fairly high-end apartment.
The Infinite City planned residential areas based on the player’s level and status. The top-tier big shots even had their own mansions and palaces. The higher the status, the more luxurious the residence.
There were more styles and layouts to choose from. With just a thought, the room could be adjusted to the desired decor, though there were level restrictions.
Of course, newcomers who had just entered the game and performed poorly lived in places no different from real-life slums.
Looking down from the apartment’s floor-to-ceiling window, every second, houses changed their positions and appearances as their owners’ levels rose or fell, going up and down, rising and falling.
Lu Qingjia chuckled: “Your place is really interesting.”
Sweet Chocolate smiled bitterly: “Just a luxurious prison. What’s better is you Horror Game Players. After coming out of the game, you can live peacefully, at least some nerves can relax.”
Lu Qingjia wasn’t exactly envious, but he was really eager to experience the fun of the Infinite City.
Lu Qingjia casually asked, “So how did you get in here?”
Sweet Chocolate: “Killing someone, you know the selection criteria for Infinite Game Players.”
He added, “In reality, I was a boxing coach. One night, I was drinking with someone when I saw a girl being bullied, so I stepped in to help.”
“A few guys thought they could take me on because they outnumbered me. I wasn’t very sober at the time and didn’t hold back, so here I am.”
The Infinite City was full of vicious murderers, but there were also unlucky people like him. Unlike the Horror Game, the entire player base here, except during special periods, was not protected by the game. It was a pure, cruel jungle of survival of the fittest.
Lu Qingjia opened the door, but as soon as he stepped out of the room, a fierce gust of wind attacked him.
The force was something Lu Qingjia had never seen before. Compared to it, the punches of Sweet Chocolate and the God Envoy seemed childish.
If that punch had landed, Lu Qingjia knew that with his current strength, there was no way he could survive. The attacker was at least an Advanced Player.
But Lu Qingjia had also anticipated such a crisis and had prepared a means of survival.
Before he could act, at the critical moment, the attacking gust of wind suddenly stopped, and a tall figure appeared between Lu Qingjia and the attacker.
The figure, dressed in black, extended a long arm and grabbed the attacker by the neck, lifting the Advanced Player effortlessly.
The attacker was shocked. He thought it was just a somewhat capable mid-level player, a task he could easily handle. But now, he was the one on the chopping block.
Sweet Chocolate was also shocked, first by the sudden attack, then by the instant reversal.
He couldn’t help but ask, “Who is this?”
Then he saw the black-clad man turn to look at Lu Qingjia and ask with concern, “Did it scare you?”
Even during the battle between the God Envoy and Lu Qingjia, he had restrained himself from intervening because he knew that Lu Qingjia could handle it. That level of fool, even if temporarily strong, was no match for his Jiajia.
But this time, he couldn’t just sit back, even at the risk of exposing his identity and being kicked out again.
Because the attacker’s strength was on a different level from Lu Qingjia’s, and the attacker had come with the intent to kill.
He was prepared to exchange his life for Lu Qingjia’s. The so-called concern leads to confusion, and Zhong Liyu even forgot that Lu Qingjia might have already prepared a means of survival. He had similar things in his previous instances.
But at that moment, he didn’t have time to think. He only knew that someone Lu Qingjia couldn’t handle was about to kill him.
This threat was different from any before. In that instant, this guy had truly put Lu Qingjia in mortal danger.
Zhong Liyu’s eyes were filled with cold killing intent. Looking into the attacker’s eyes, he extracted all the information he needed from the fear in them, then tightened his fingers and snapped the attacker’s neck.
An Advanced Player had just met his end here.
Sweet Chocolate was shocked: “You’ll die—”
But the man stood there unharmed, not suffering any backlash. There might be a reason that the attacker had struck first, and this was self-defense, but it certainly didn’t come without a cost.
After all, the attacker had already been subdued.
Then Sweet Chocolate realized: “An Administrator?”
Not an Administrator from their game, but from another game. He looked at Lu Qingjia, complexly saying, “Is this the reason for the game’s difficulty this time? And the confidence you have in surviving?”
If an Administrator was really on Lu Qingjia’s side, then the previous statement about the fraudster not surviving the next competition would carry a completely different weight.
Looking at Lu Qingjia again, except for the missing cat, there was no change.
So the previous statement, ‘My things must be taken away,’ now had a deeper meaning.
At that moment, Zhong Liyu, having dealt with the attacker, immediately put on a full posture and spoke quickly, “Don’t be angry. Now is not the time to settle accounts with me. I got some information from this guy’s brain, you need it, right?”
Lu Qingjia raised an eyebrow: “I’m not angry.”
Zhong Liyu’s face turned even more bitter, thinking this meant a thorough settling of accounts was coming.
But then he heard Lu Qingjia laugh: “You’ve sacrificed so much, I feel bad to even argue with you.”
Zhong Liyu’s heart skipped a beat, instantly feeling that something big was about to happen.
Then he heard Sweet Chocolate, as if he had just realized something, say, “Eh, is he the black cat you brought out?”
“Wait, wasn’t he neutered—?”
Sweet Chocolate’s last word hadn’t even fallen when he saw the man turn to look at him, his eyes filled with genuine killing intent.
Author’s note:
Green Bro: Shut up!!!!
Game×2: Hahahahahahahahaha
