"Ah…"

Both He Yi and Lin Yixin were completely speechless. They clearly had never encountered a shock like this before.

……

Gui Guzi raised his spear and said, "Boss Broken Halberd, we'll always support you no matter what anyone says! That Tang Long is nothing, hmph!"

Chaos Moon also nodded. "Mn."

Dazed, He Yi turned toward Hot and Sour Noodles and asked, "Zhang Chun, why didn't you say anything? Weren't you the vice-chairperson of the CGL? Why didn't you say anything during the moment we needed you the most?"

Zhang Chun punched the pillar next to him and uttered, "What am I supposed to do!? Tang Long is practically the king of the VR department, and his men are everywhere in the CGL organization! You saw yourself how he exiled a G.o.dd.a.m.n Heavenly King from the server with a single order, not to mention that the waters of China's politics run deeper than you and I could imagine! Anyway, we need to rein in our impulse and plot carefully. There must be a way to turn this around!"

Zhang Chun looked at me and said, "Lu Chen, you are our hero. I, Zhang Chun, promise you that I won't let you suffer this indignity for too long!"

I jumped off the throne and climbed up my mount. Then, I shot everyone a smile and said, "I'm fine. The map's gonna close in 30 minutes for maintenance, so you should all return to the city… whatever happened, we are the victor of this Nation War, so… even if I'm no longer a player of China…"

I nearly broke out in tears when I said this.

To think that this would be my payment after everything I did for my server. I...

Warsky stood up and said, "Maybe… you should've listened to Tang Long earlier, Lu Chen…"

I shook my head smilingly. "No, Warsky. I quote from the Confucian a.n.a.lects: the virtuous is free from anxieties, the wise is free from doubts, the bold is free from fear. I don't regret the path I chose. The j.a.panese are wolves, and only a fool would think that they can tame them. No, wiping them out has always been our only path to survival. I had made this choice out of consideration for the long-term stability of the China server, not because of a moment of pa.s.sion. Plus, after everything my brothers and sisters had sacrificed for this result, how could I not make this choice?"

Warsky Nodded and said solemnly, "The wise is free from doubts, the bold is free from fear. Well said! I've never truly admired anyone in my life, but you would be the first, Lu Chen!"

I shot him one last smile before turning away.

"Where are you going, Little Cheat?" Lin Yixin caught up to me and grabbed my hand.

"I'm going to Final Duel Valley to pray for my brothers and sisters' souls!"

"And after that?"

"I will stay there!"

I said without hesitation, "Tang Long thinks I can't survive alone in the j.a.pan server? Very well, then I'll stay at Final Duel Valley and show him the backbone a true Chinese would have, not of his so-called 'compromise' and cowardice!"

He Yi nodded. "Got it. Be careful!"

"I know… I love you both!" I replied smilingly.

Both girls broke into beautiful smiles at the same time.

……

The Armored Ice Qilin Horse let out a long neigh, and soon I was outside the city and riding toward Final Duel Valley. I encountered almost no one because the map was about to enter maintenance. The only ones who remained were scavengers who were picking up trash equipment that no one wanted.

Final Duel Valley was a cold and desolate place. When I arrived, the piles of bodies hadn't been desp.a.w.ned yet.

When I reached the end of the valley, I found Li Chengfeng still leaning against his sword, and Heaven's Rain lying against a nearby wall with tears in her eyes, and a dozen or so arrows on her chest.

I slowly sat down next to Li Chengfeng's body and let out a bitter chuckle. "I've come to keep you company, brother…"

I looked at my friend list and noted that everything had been deleted by the system. Moreover, I couldn't add anyone as a friend because I was now an unaffiliated player. Tang Long sure knows how to hit where it hurts.

……

Time pa.s.sed slowly as I continued sitting next to Li Chengfeng's body. There were a couple of Elephant City players staring at me from a distance, but no one dared to walk close to me because one, the Nation War was over, so even if they killed me they wouldn't obtain any reward, and two, dying in Final Duel Valley meant losing everything. That wasn't a price anyone would ever want to pay.

I logged out of the game right before the game entered maintenance.

When I took off my gaming helmet, I felt so weak that I nearly blacked out there and then. Part of the reason was because I had been gaming for 24 hours straight, but more importantly I was just mentally drained after, well, everything.

Knock knock...

I heard Chaos Moon saying, "You there, Lu Chen?"

"Mn."

I opened the door for her, walked outside and just slumped heavily on the floor. I was beyond caring how dirty the floor might be at this point. I was exhausted to the bone be it physically or mentally.

……

Chaos Moon was wearing a black lace stocking. She gave her skirt a pull before kneeling in front of me, watching. "Well, talk to me. I know you must be feeling really bad right now. Just say whatever you want. I'm right here with you."

I shook my head with a bitter smile. "It's fine, this is hardly the first time I've been forced to swallow a humiliation of some sort…"

Still watching me, Chaos Moon put a hand on my shoulder and asked me, "Really? Can you really endure this? You don't have to carry all the burden by yourself, you know. In 10 hours, you'll be the only Chinese player left in Purple Grape City…"

"It's fine, I can deal with it…"

"Red Maple will send his army after you. You can't possibly fight them all by yourself."

"It's fine, I have high movement speed, I can always run if I find myself outmatched. Also, didn't they say that the killer can steal 10% of their victim's total experience? I just need to kill 10 Level 195 players to level up to 196. I bet my leveling speed will shock the world…"

Chaos Moon smiled. "Is that so? You're surprisingly optimistic, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "This is nothing. I've gone through worse than this!"

"Aiyo, I give you an inch, and you take a mile?" Chaos Moon continued smiling. "So, you're telling me you're not sad at all? That you think that everything's perfectly fine the way it is?"

It was as if her eyes were filled with magic. Her gaze tore through the mask I weaved for myself and exposed all of my emotions.

Chaos Moon pecked me once on the cheek before saying gently, "You idiot…"

My nose tightened, and before I knew it my tears were sliding down my cheeks. I looked at the ceiling and sobbed, "Who the f.u.c.k does he think he is… It's one thing if he just removed me from the CGL Hall of Fame, but to strip me of my nationality as well? How could he do this! How could he…"

Chaos Moon lost control of her own tears and hugged me tightly. "It's okay. It's okay. We all believe in you, Lu Chen. Everyone in Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and China is proud of you. You are our pride, our only pride…"

My body wouldn't stop shaking. I was just so tired after everything I was forced to endure today. I didn't know what would've happened if Chaos Moon wasn't by my side.

……

A while later, my phone rang. It was He Yi.

"Hey, Eve…" I greeted her in a trembling voice.

He Yi replied, "I'm so sorry, Lu Chen…"

"I'm fine. Is there something you want to tell me?" I asked her.

He Yi sighed quietly before saying, "Uncle Zhang Chun wasn't kidding when he said that Tang Long was the king of the VR department. That vile man has forcefully squashed all opposing voices in the department. However, I, Beauty Lin, Warsky, Zhang Chun, w.a.n.g Luo and Stranger are all doing their best to fix this, so please be patient."

"Mn, also…"

As if guessing what I was going to ask next, He Yi said in a smiling voice, "Don't worry, I just spoke with Li Chengfeng and Heaven's Rain. Li Chengfeng told me to tell you that becoming your brother was the best decision he has ever made in his life…"

I felt a twinge in my nose. "Thank goodness they didn't blame me for what happened. Thank goodness…"

"Of course they wouldn't. You did the best you could…" He Yi said before adding, "And don't worry. I will fix this no matter what, Lu Chen."

"Mn. Thank you, Sister Yi…"

"One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"You and Chaos Moon are still at Tekes County, right? I would strongly suggest that you move to a different city soon. Your location was leaked, and I'm worried that Tang Long will try to hurt you in real life. He's the kind of b.a.s.t.a.r.d who'll do anything in his power to get his way, so either you skip to another city soon or return to Suzhou as soon as possible. Also, you should use a hidden ID before logging back into the game. I've written the code already, and I'll send it to your phone later. All you need to do is to register it."

"Mn, got it."

"Have you decided which city you're leaving for? Or are you coming back?"

"No," I declared firmly, "I'm not coming back to Suzhou until this is over. Chaos Moon and I are near Bagua City, a tourist city. That's where we'll head next."

"I see. Well, have fun. Don't think about this too much, okay?"

"Got it."

"Okay then, I'm hanging up. I still need to call a couple people and grease the wheels so to speak…"

"Mn."

He Yi never stopped smiling throughout the video call. She was probably feeling even worse than I was, but she didn't let it show because she knew it would only depress me further.

……

When I looked back at Chaos Moon, she had moved next to me with her head tilted. I asked her, "You heard that? Let's check the internet now and book the hotel rooms."

"Actually, I already booked them…"

"G.o.d d.a.m.n, you're fast…"

We packed our belongings and took a cab to Bagua City right away. Bagua City had a city layout that was exactly like its namesake; a bagua formation that was packed with tourists. Thankfully, Chaos Moon managed to book two hotel rooms in the one and only 4-star hotel in the city. The room was huge and a tad expensive, but thankfully we had more than enough money to cover for it.

……

The next day at noon, almost 12 hours of sleep later, I got out of bed, ate a quick lunch and used He Yi's code to conceal my IP address. When I logged into the forums, I discovered that the forums were in a riot with me at the center of nearly every topic.

The very first thing I saw on the home page was the t.i.tle—

"Little Heavenly King Lu Chen Destroys Purple Grape City in a Fit of Anger. the VR Department Strips Him of His In-Game Nationality for the Crime of Treason"

……

Right beneath it was a stickied and gilded thread from none other than Hot and Sour Noodles himself—

"Lu Chen waits alone at Final Duel Valley for the wolves while millions of China players do nothing. Did our hero betray us, or did we betray our hero?!"—Posted by Hot and Sour Noodles

1. T/N: meanwhile, Li Chengfeng is wearing the oddest looks on his face at Sky City. "I'm still alive, bro. This is a f.u.c.king game, seriously, dude."