Chapter 440 209: Preparing to Stir Things Up (2)

Batubohe and several other "big shot" Lords realized something was amiss and decided to take action. But on the eve of their move against He Zhiping, the guy went and did something huge—he provoked the Ratman Race of the Central Zone!

That was like poking a hornet's nest, plain and simple!

People say rats are timid creatures, but in the Central Zone, the Ratman Race are tyrants. Not only are they not timid, but they're incredibly audacious, constantly waging wars in every direction. Even when the Lords didn't provoke them, they would come looking for a fight. Now that He Zhiping had dared to stir up trouble, how could the Ratman Race possibly tolerate it?

They declared war immediately!

Well, now there was no need to deal with He Zhiping. They had to settle things with the Ratman Race first.

According to the reasoning of Batubohe and the other big shots, if all the Lords of the Central Zone united, it wasn't that they couldn't beat the Ratman Race. Even a mutually destructive outcome would have been acceptable. Worst case, they could just rebuild. After all, Lords like them developed far faster than the Ratman Race.

But the Lords never imagined they would be played by He Zhiping again. When the great battle began, that guy fled at the first sign of trouble. He didn't even fight, just ran for it. This move shattered their morale, and many Lords were already thinking of escape before the fighting even started.

The battle with the Ratman Race didn't end in the mutual destruction Batubohe and the others had anticipated. Instead, it was a total victory for the Ratman Race. The Lords' Alliance Army couldn't hold them back at all, crumbling under their assault and suffering a massive rout. A great number of Lords died in that battle.

Routed by the Ratman army, the Lords scattered in all directions. The vast majority fled toward the Desolate Land of Death, dispersing into other regions. And it was because of this that Batubohe came to the Wasteland where Li Ziyu resided.

[Soaring Eagle]: Brother Li, you need to be careful. He Zhiping is not a good person. He's vindictive and especially fond of using cunning tricks.

[Don't Want to Get a Driver's License]: Got it. I'll be careful.

Batubohe's story made Li Ziyu feel utterly disgusted by He Zhiping. He despised people like that—they were no better than sewer rats.

'When you're a man—no, when you're a person—you don't have to be some reckless brute, but you should at least be honorable and not act like a petty villain. That's the bare minimum, right?'

'On the battlefield, using schemes and tricks is perfectly fine. Be as ruthless as you want to your enemies. Even the art of war says that nothing is too deceitful in warfare. But you have to treat your own people with sincerity! Who in their right mind focuses all their energy on screwing over their own side?'

'If you've got the skills, be a lone wolf! Go it alone and take on the world. Li Ziyu would give a thumbs-up to that and call you a real man!'

'But He Zhiping? Forming cliques, undermining unity, being two-faced... those were the actions of a pure villain, and Li Ziyu found them contemptible.'

He had never considered himself a good person, but compared to He Zhiping, Li Ziyu suddenly felt a surge of confidence. 'How the hell am I not a good person? I'm practically a saint, okay?!'

'Liu Xingxing and Zhang Peng have been with me for so long, and I've never once screwed them over. I've even helped them out! That's clearly the work of a saint!'

'Holy crap, should I be proud of myself for a second?'

Among the Transmigrators in the Otherworld, people like He Zhiping were not uncommon. After all, they had left a peaceful world governed by the rule of law and arrived in a world where might makes right. Their principles and morals were challenged, and many simply gave up, abandoned their humanity, and sprinted down a dark path.

"Heaven and Earth will destroy anyone who does not look out for themself." This was a saying Li Ziyu had always wanted to put into practice. He had seen so many people who lived by this creed; they were rich and powerful, living lives of superiority, wealth, and privilege. In contrast, the Li Ziyu of his past life had been a complete slacker, just coasting along and waiting to die, perfectly embodying the phrase, "Some people are alive, yet they are dead; others are dead, yet they live on."

But for Li Ziyu, "Heaven and Earth will destroy anyone who does not look out for themself" wasn't a conviction or an ideal. It was a dream.

And what is a dream?

It's something too far away, an illusion like the moon in the water or a flower in a mirror—unattainable. It was something to fantasize about, but never to be acted upon. He just couldn't do it.

The way Li Ziyu was raised had given him principles and a moral compass. His values weren't so straight-laced that he had no friends, but they prevented him from acting wantonly. So, he was sorry, but "looking out for number one" could only be a passing fantasy. If he were actually forced to live by it, he wouldn't be able to overcome his own conscience.

He wouldn't dare claim he could be a "great hero, serving the country and its people." He could only say that when he had the power to spare, he was willing to help some people. Nor would he dare claim he could achieve the poet's wish for "a great mansion with a million rooms to shelter all the poor scholars of the world." At most, he could manage something like, 'If I have that many houses, I'll just lower the rent a bit so more people can afford to live in them.'

Li Ziyu never called himself a good person; he wanted to be a bad one. After all, being a good person was too exhausting. His shoulders couldn't bear the weight of the words "good person," but they could bear the weight of the word "person."

If He Zhiping was truly as Batubohe described, then the man couldn't even be considered human. He deserved to be put down.

*Sigh*... 'Looks like the peaceful days are over.'

'I was originally planning to just lay low and develop, peacefully climbing the tech tree. Once my tech was advanced enough and I had sufficient combat power, then I'd think about leaving this Wasteland. But now, it seems that's not going to happen.'

'He Zhiping didn't die; he escaped. Based on my understanding of people like that from my past life, he'll go and collude with others, then come back for a counter-attack. If I want to peacefully advance my technology, he probably won't give me the time.'

'Time to get moving.'

The Undead amassed their troops at the border of the Wasteland and the Desolate Land of Death. Two full days passed.