Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Choice

Continuations to the game’s storyline were undoubtedly going to be based on “The Duel.”

This did not mean that all the prior quests had been meaningless. They had been instrumental in fulfilling all the necessary conditions that allowed for this. Players were rewarded with an overpowering sense of achievement, knowing that they had brought the game this far!

After all, players who chose the path of Yan Qingmeng were not able to completely enter the heart of the Jane Doe Su. Of course they would never learn of her secret. They had also lost the opportunity to choose a side. Hence, they could only stand on deity Yan and the Zhao King’s side…

Zha Feng was simply too cunning. From the very beginning, he had already cast out a huge net. If the players did not take the initiative to explore the storyline in-depth, there was a 90% chance that they would end up following Yan Qingmeng, without even being aware that there were other routes!

In this route, there was no doubt that Jane Doe Su played the role of the supervillain and the mastermind boss, as Yan Qingmeng solidifies her states as the heroine. Deity Yan was always pure and beautiful, just like a goddess. She was an eloquent orator. Her smile and her laughter were so discreetly intoxicating. The players would be willing to sacrifice everything for her

She could not offer the players security as she seemed to be constantly hiding behind a mask, but she was sufficiently pretty, and her CG scenes knotted heart after heart up. It gave the players a feeling that she was their first love!

Was this not enough to make some players lose their bearings and willingly sacrifice everything for her?

Jane Doe Su did not seem as approachable. At most, she seemed to be a reliable comrade in the field. If this was real life and not a game, a savior like the nameless girl might have been more trustworthy.

However, one must not forget that this was just a game. Players received no penalties upon death. Even on expert mode where they could not save their progress, they would be literally saved by pre-saved checkpoints. In that case, the nameless girl who almost sacrificed her life to save them was nothing much.

Why did players have to be immortal?

Such circumstances led to players subconsciously making the choices that Zha Feng cunningly wanted them to take…

The game gave off a refreshing sense of freedom. Players could do whatever they wanted till the very end of the game. Little did they know that the first choice they made would already determine their fate. It was a trap! An illusion of free will!

Sadly, they would remain clueless, even in that huge net that they have swum into. They would carry on, like wayward little soldiers

Most depressingly, players would assume that they were dutifully serving the world, saving it from despair, only to realize at the end, that it was that very duty that had led them to near-doom. It was precisely because of them that the world was now in utter chaos!

Someone like Wu Shun represented most of the players in the game.

Wu Shun’s live stream channel was enjoying quite a fair bit of popularity. Indeed, it was riding upon the great wave of the new DLC. Many viewers were at the edge of their seats, anticipating the grand finale of the game, the climactic “Duel”!

Many viewers already had high opinions on Fenghuo Gaming Company that produced the Tale of Wuxia game series. They believed that the company was ethical and honorable. A new DLC like this, according to what some money-grubbing companies usually did, could have been marketed as “Tale of Wuxia 4” instead!

Fenghuo Gaming Company was comparable to a certain foolish Polish company[1] in another world. Indeed, it was the company that created the “Witcher” game series. The company had produced “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” with a good conscience. This made many players who pirated the game become embarrassed of their own actions. Thus, eventually, they went ahead to get the genuine copy

Of course, this foolish Poland company only had such good conscience because they rode on some the misdemeanors of other companies in the same trade. Many foreign companies were getting smarter and smarter. They were following Tencent’s footsteps in profiteering by adding in-app purchases into their games. This was indeed a worrying trend.

In any case, the new “Tale of Wuxia 3” DLC in this world was just a weapon to kill time. Wu Shun had already been playing it for quite some time. Finally, he reached the last chapter. The sidequests alone were more than enough to keep players occupied. The only problem was that this game could not seem to find an ending that was remotely optimistic. Who created such a monstrosity of a Wuxia world?

No wonder the players wavered because of the nameless girl. It was to be expected, as that’s how the world worked. A “heroine” like Deity Yan, was, of course, an exception, as she was born righteous!

The name of this new DLC was “The Law of Humane Justice.” It obviously referred to her. Was there any reason left to doubt?

“These small monsters are still as difficult to deal with! These cultists from the anonymous city are actually not that powerful when they are alone, but once they group up, they become particularly tricky. They are ridiculously proficient at coordinating their attacks!” Wu Shun groaned into his microphone as he tactfully maneuvered through the citizens of the anonymous city, committing ethnic cleansing.

The whole palace was already in a pretty chaotic state. The news of the impending intense battle between the owner of the anonymous city and the Sword God Li Xiye had already spread throughout Jianghu. Hence, many martial artists had come from far and wide to this place. Naturally, they mingled with the citizens of the anonymous city…

Wu Shun had already decsignated all the people from the anonymous city as enemies. Hence, in the process of carrying out his rescue mission and crushing this rebellion, he would, of course, have to get this bunch of people out of the way. Of course, his allies were the soldiers of the Kingdom of Zhao. There were also a few other “righteous people” helping him. However, they did not look like they could do much.

In fact, this was very much in line with the process of fighting a boss in a game. No matter what RPG game it was, players always had to cut their way through a thick mass of enemies before they could fight a boss. Bosses never made themselves available from the get-go. The small monsters were necessary; they would at least allow the players to warm up a little.

Wu Shun began to clear the small monsters along the way. Then, he went straight into the depths of the palace. Since he had gotten an insight of the conspiracy of the nameless girl, he would naturally decide not to watch the decisive battle. Instead, he went straight to his destination.

From his point of view, heading where the fake decisive battle was held might lead to a bad ending. Now, the main storyline had presented him two choices. The first was to immediately make a beeline for Yan Qingmeng as she was with King Zhao. The Chunyang clan was considered to be worshippers of the Kingdom of Zhao. Thus, they had an obligation to protect the Zhao King Su Hu.

The second choice was to go to the place where the decisive battle was being held to help Li Xiye. In the previous parts of the story, the players had the opportunity to earn the Sword God Li Xiye’s favor. Some had even made it their goal in the game. They treated Li Xiye as if he was the most important person in their lives…

“The choice of going to help Li Xiye is really a nonsensical one. If Li Xiye can’t even defeat the fake owner of the anonymous city, could he still be considered a Sword God? Hence, going to find Deity Yan is most definitely the correct choice! Finally, I will be able to see the meaning behind following Deity Yan’s path and finishing all her storyline quests since the very beginning. Otherwise, how would I be able to gain insight into the conspiracy of the anonymous city?” Wu Shun explained to his viewers triumphantly.

Translation note :

[1] Here, the author is referring to the Polish company “CD Projekt.” CD Projekt S.A. is a Polish video game publisher and distributor based in Warsaw, founded in May 1994 by Marcin Iwiski and Micha Kiciski. Iwiski and Kiciski were video game retailers before they founded the company.