Chapter 2758

(Wait for modification) Xu Huo did not go to the study but returned to the guest room arranged by the Butler, unexpectedly finding the three scholars waiting for him there. The two Red Feathered Hummingbirds were alive and well, and the Photographer was playing by the cage.

"Did you talk this far?" the Foodie asked.

"There’s no room for compromise," Xu Huo said. "It seems as though he’s detached from the world, but in reality, it’s just a compelled choice due to the loss of power. To soothe his emotions, he would never close the instance."

The Photographer’s face changed when he heard this, "Even under these circumstances, he’s still not forthright. The government of Zone 022 is really something, tricking Outer Zone players to relieve his boredom!"

"Can’t move, spending most of the day lying on the chair, yet he finds life quite interesting."

"Have you ever seen someone utterly bored with life plant so many precious flowers and trees in their own manor?" the Foodie said, "The post-evolution aftereffects are just too severe to handle."

"Reasoning is pointless," the Photographer pondered for a moment and said, "How about we all stay here tonight and guard the door."

"No way." Xu Huo spoke first, "You should leave in a while."

He brought the birdcage over, completed the souvenir submission, and placed it into the luggage compartment before continuing, "It won’t be long before he comes to kill me. It’s inconvenient for you to be here."

The three people in the room exchanged glances. After a moment, the Foodie said, "Was the conversation unpleasant?"

"Not really," Xu Huo said plainly, "He’s simply looking for trouble with me."

Human emotions are complex. People who lose something will involuntarily envy those who have the same thing. Mr. Wen killing people in the manor is not just from the Cannibal Player’s instinct to feed.

His words were vague, so the three scholars didn’t stay longer, asking him to call them if anything came up before leaving.

Xu Huo sat alone in the room until dawn. Just as the clock struck one in the morning, the entire manor seemed to come alive. All the walls began to wriggle, items on the walls, decorative paintings, and even wall lamps started to fall with clattering sounds. In a few short seconds, a dark shadow pierced through several walls and charged straight at him with lightning speed!

The Protection Shield and Spatial Barrier layered together to block at

*

"Blurring the concept of right and wrong is a dangerous thing," Mr. Wen said, "Especially for someone with the ability to influence more people."

"Thus, the jointly agreed-upon laws and morals of humanity are good guidelines," Xu Huo said. "As long as one follows these guidelines, they won’t make too big of a mistake."

Mr. Wen was slightly surprised. "Don’t you think the strong should create their own rules?"

"The concept of ’strong’ corresponds to ’weak.’ If I were the weak, I’d absolutely not hope for the strong to craft rules entirely according to their needs," Xu Huo said half-jokingly.

Mr. Wen laughed out loud, "This world’s rules were initially made by the strong. Even the jointly adhered laws and morals were set by the earliest of the strong."

"There are always those who can empathize with others." Xu Huo took a sip of tea, "Standing from the human perspective, they do things that everyone acknowledges. For instance, killing results in execution."

Mr. Wen’s smile widened, "In the player world, that sounds like a joke."

Xu Huo slightly shook his head, "Not being able to fully enact it doesn’t mean it’s a joke. For players in other zones, it’s impossible to achieve but if it’s a Rank-A zone, perhaps every player would have to keep their heads down, and ’killing results in execution’ could become a reality."

Mr. Wen’s smile didn’t last, but it wasn’t due to an emotional change. He felt exhausted and said feebly, "Is it meaningful?"

It was more like he was talking to himself rather than asking anything, "When I was young, the Cannibal Players in Zone 022 could walk openly and were seen as heroes by many. Some even voluntarily chose to become Cannibal Players for quick power."

"They protected their compatriots, battled external enemies, becoming the backbone protecting the zone, and shields sheltering other players."

"The crisis passed, better players emerged, and they were no longer the needed force for the zone, hence gradually eliminated."

"But that’s not the end. Cannibal Players might be momentarily erased from history, but in a possible future, should the zone be heavily damaged again, they will be needed once more."

"Their fate is the same as all players in the game world, cycling endlessly."

"Because of this, humans shouldn’t have longer lifespans," Xu Huo said. "From youth to old age, one’s spirit gets worn down. When one starts to doubt the world, their mind gradually detaches from the human shell, unable to solidly perceive the world."

"When the old era passes, new times will be infused with new blood."

"The endless cycle isn’t the world but humans."

"If humans could forever execute orders strictly like machines, the human world wouldn’t have much fluctuation."

"Yet the existing world is indeed the result of humanity’s fluctuations."

Mr. Wen pulled at the corner of his mouth, "I was also full of vigor when I was young."

"I thought the ultimate dimension of human life is to gaze upon fate," Xu Huo said. "Aging is irreversible but can be continued in others; a person might already be covered under the coffin, yet the world hasn’t ended. Since right and wrong are hard to clarify, being a spectator isn’t necessarily bad."

"I wonder if Mr. Wen is curious about humanity’s future destiny; I’m quite curious."

"Comparing this world to a story, the conclusion is often predictable, but achieving this end has countless combinations, with intentional and coincidental interweaving, possibly everywhere astonishing."

Mr. Wen was silent for a moment. When he looked up at Xu Huo again, a subtle change occurred in his gaze, "Can you calmly witness your own death?"

"No." Xu Huo gave the answer without hesitation, "I don’t seek to die."

Mr. Wen let out a long sigh, "I am also seeking to live..."

Xu Huo poured him more tea, "I heard there’s a better doctor at Level Wormhole Points. Has Mr. Wen sought medical help?"

"Famed under the heavens, but actually hard to match," Mr. Wen said with a hint of helplessness. "Even with human evolution up till now, many challenges remain unconquerable."

"I’ve seen even mightier people lose their last dignity as humans due to degeneration."

"I hope I won’t be like that on the day I die."

Xu Huo did not respond to his words, accompanying him for a while longer before getting up to leave.

Mr. Wen’s mental state is undoubtedly problematic, perhaps due to post-evolution aftereffects, perhaps due to aging and Zone 022’s attitude towards him. In any case, he is unstable, having almost lost control of his emotions twice during the conversation—an extremely dangerous signal when chatting idly with a guest at home.

Therefore, it’s not surprising he would go homicidal at night.

Despite his words brimming with bleakness and sorrow, he still can’t conceal the desire to survive, even if it means playing the role of a monster coiled in this manor.