Chapter Ninety-Two: The Privilege of Evil

"We need more people."

Somewhere in what had become a half-ruined Tingfeng City, between two seven- or eight-story buildings, Zhao Nan leaned against the wall and said to Xiong You.

This was a tiny pocket of safety wedged between the two buildings. The building at Zhao Nan's back had already been overrun by monsters, and in the building ahead, they could see corpses-rotting creatures roaming past the windows. The air carried a faint, nauseating stench of decay. From here, through the gap between the buildings, the condition of the plaza beyond could be seen clearly.

Zhao Nan frowned. "And not just more people, but people with enough courage to challenge the monsters in the plaza."

"At this point, the number of people still alive in Tingfeng City is probably just a little over ten thousand at most..." Xiong You sighed. "If all of them could be gathered together, killing that giant snake wouldn't be difficult."

"It's not that simple," Zhao Nan said. "The monsters in the plaza automatically leave combat once they step outside the plaza. And I just tested it: if you don't enter the plaza's boundaries, you can't attack at all. In other words, that plaza can't possibly hold ten thousand players at once."

He pointed toward the plaza and sighed. "At most, only five hundred people can get in. If there are too many, combat will become chaotic. That place isn't a safe zone, and the splash damage from area attacks could easily hit our own people."

"We can keep switching party status, rotating in fresh groups to withstand the attacks of those mutated elite monsters," Xiong You said quickly. "Even the people attacking that giant snake can take turns. We can wear it down slowly!"

"That's a good idea..." Fei Nina shook her head. "The problem is, where are you going to find that many people? And then how are you going to mobilize them? Besides, before the assault, we'll still need time to work together and get used to each other."

Then silence fell.

In the end, the problem of manpower still remained unresolved.

"How about we try contacting the people in the safe zones inside the city?" Ya Nan said softly. "The people who survived the monster siege this time are not weak to begin with. I know several who are strong enough to fight elite monsters of the same level one on one."

Being able to fight an elite monster of the same level one on one did not necessarily mean one could do the same against a mutated elite monster. But Zhao Nan had no intention of discouraging her. In fact, Ya Nan's suggestion was already something he had been thinking about ever since leaving the plaza.

"Do any of you know anyone in these safe zones?"

"One," Xiong You said hesitantly. "Before Tingfeng City fell, we were in the same guild. Later, we ended up squeezed together. Some time ago, because of a few conflicts, I chose to leave the guild, and I didn't want to stay there anymore."

Zhao Nan nodded. "Could you try contacting them?"

Xiong You sighed. "I get along fairly well with the guild's vice leader. I'll ask him."

The wait was dull and tedious.

After a while, Xiong You suddenly said, "He replied. But he says he wants to meet in person and talk properly."

Zhao Nan shrugged. "That's only natural. Let's go."

"All right."

Xiong You let out a faint sigh and looked at Ya Nan beside him. "Xiao Nan, there's really no other way... If not for this, I would never go back."

"It's fine. The important thing is the business at hand," Ya Nan said.

"What exactly... happened?" Fei Nina could not help asking curiously.

Since they had belonged to the same guild, they should have been united after the city fell.

"It wasn't anything too serious..." Ya Nan lowered her head and said softly, "Some people just lost control because the pressure was too great."

Fei Nina murmured in acknowledgment and did not ask further. Ya Nan clearly did not want to say more, and it probably was not a pleasant memory. In truth, when she and Zhao Nan had rescued Ya Nan, they had already understood that it had been far more than simple loss of control.

...

...

The safe zone where Xiong You had originally stayed was a kindergarten in Tingfeng City. When he left, there had been around a thousand people there. The kindergarten itself was not large, but with a thousand people packed in somewhat tightly, they still had enough room to move around in a small playground.

At the kindergarten entrance, Zhao Nan saw a man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with fiery red hair, a single horn growing from his forehead, and two swords in leather sheaths strapped across his back. He was leaning against the wall, gazing into the distance.

This man had chosen the demon race when he logged in, and his class was dual swordsman.

"So you're Zhao Nan, the one Xiao You mentioned? Hello, I'm Lin Yu. Yu as in feather." Lin Yu smiled slightly and extended his hand to Zhao Nan.

"Zhao Nan."

After a brief handshake, Lin Yu got straight to the point. "I learned a bit about the situation from Xiao You's email... I'll just ask you one thing."

He looked at Zhao Nan intently, without blinking, and said in a low voice, "Is the information about the Soul Crystal really true... and where exactly did you get this information?"

"For now, I can only tell you that the information is true... once I've gained your trust," Zhao Nan said, shaking his head.

On the way here, he had already told Xiong You not to reveal that he was from elsewhere. The man had saved him, so of course Xiong You agreed without hesitation.

"Fair enough... then let's get back to the matter at hand. About the Soul Crystal, we'll talk inside. Let's move quickly and not let anyone see us."

Zhao Nan readily agreed. He only found it strange that the other man seemed to be wary of something.

...

"Strange, there seem to be fewer tents outside the playground?" Xiong You said suddenly.

Lin Yu sighed. "The day before yesterday, we organized a group to rush a level-20 monster. We lost some people."

Higher-level monsters were more likely to drop food, and charging high-level monsters was indeed far more efficient than hunting those low-level creatures.

"How many people are still here now?" Zhao Nan asked.

"Eight hundred and forty-one," Lin Yu said after a moment of silence, forcing the number out with difficulty.

At that moment, a strange moaning sound drifted over, and Zhao Nan looked up curiously. In a classroom ahead, a woman was lying naked beside the window, while behind her a dark-skinned man was thrusting with obvious relish, one hand pressing hard on the woman's head.

The moaning held no trace of pleasure; it sounded more like a painful, stifled groan.

"Di Qiang!"

Beside him, Xiong You clenched his teeth, his voice thick with hatred.

Lin Yu sighed. "Xiao You..."

"One day, I'm going to kill that bastard myself!" Xiong You said fiercely.

"If you do that, there will be a lot of people here who won't let you off," Lin Yu said, patting Xiong You on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Xiao You..."

Sorry for what?

Xiong You suddenly began to tremble all over. It was not fear, but the almost uncontrollable strain of his emotions.

"Ha ha ha! Isn't that Xiong You?"

At that moment, the dark-skinned man by the window, Di Qiang, stuck his head out. His movements showed no hesitation at all. With one hand he grabbed the woman's hair beneath him and yanked her up, making her look as though she might burst into tears from the pain.

"What, you've finally come back to beg me? Fine, I'm generous. Send your woman to me, and I guarantee I'll let you eat your fill! Ha ha ha!"

"I'm going to kill you!"

Xiong You ground his teeth, then threw himself forward and charged into the building.

"Come back!"

At that moment, Lin Yu forcefully pulled Xiong You back and swept his leg, knocking him to the ground. "Calm down... I don't want to fight you!"

"Brother Yu!"

"I've already made myself clear," Lin Yu said flatly.

"Ha ha ha, wait until I'm done before I entertain you properly!" Di Qiang yanked the woman beneath him into the classroom, and only then said, "Lin Yu, make sure you keep a better eye on your people! Don't let anyone run off again like last time!"

At this point, Xiong You struggled violently and slammed a fist into Lin Yu's chest. Lin Yu did not resist at all, only said with difficulty, "Has... your anger eased a little?"

"That's why I really didn't want to come back..." Xiong You clenched his fist, his face pale. "I didn't want to come back because I didn't want to see the old Lin Yu turn into this!"

The two stared at each other tensely. Lin Yu turned his head away and looked outside the wall, saying nothing.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened?" Zhao Nan stepped between them and asked in a deep voice.

Seeing Lin Yu hesitate as though he wanted to speak but could not, Xiong You sighed. "Let me tell it then... That guy Di Qiang was an outsider in Tingfeng City to begin with. After Tingfeng City fell, the city he originally came from managed to survive the monster siege. Then, through the mail system, he kept having people send him food and other supplies."

"And then?" Zhao Nan frowned.

"Just like you saw a moment ago," Xiong You said through gritted teeth. "Once he had a huge stockpile of food, he started running wild here. If you wanted to get food from him, you had to satisfy all kinds of his demands! There were plenty of people who disliked him, but going out meant risking death... Before I left, there were already quite a few people around Di Qiang willing to let him exploit them however he pleased."

He shook his head, then looked at Lin Yu's silent figure and said helplessly, "Looking at it now, there are probably even more people who have submitted."

Zhao Nan fell silent for a moment, then asked softly, "You left here because of that?"

Xiong You nodded. "Back then, Di Qiang took a liking to Xiao Nan. But Brother Yu protected us... Unfortunately, one of the guild members tried to sneak Xiao Nan away in the middle of the night and hand her over to Di Qiang in exchange for food. Brother Yu found out later and secretly let us escape."

Lin Yu gave a bitter smile. "I thought Di Qiang was too busy entertaining himself to notice this side. Sigh... Come inside quickly. Right now, this place has split into two groups. If you go over to my side, Di Qiang won't dare act recklessly."

"Hey, President Lin, who are you saying isn't acting recklessly?"

A boisterous voice rang out. A dark-skinned, bare-chested man stepped out leisurely. A great many people followed behind him.

"Di Qiang!" Xiong You said bitterly.

"So fast?!" Lin Yu frowned and blurted out, "You're a beast!"