The door closed up.
Chen Xiaolian regarded the furniture within the room that he had been to twice. He felt strange inside.
If that bloody Fatty had not blackmailed him that night, if he had not picked up the ancient painting in this room…
Chen Xiaolian headed into the kitchen and found himself a cup, opened the water faucet and filled the cup with water. Slowly, he gulped down the cup of water. Then, he walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa.
“Out with it then. What will we be talking about?”
Skyblade did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked, “Can you tell me, how did you become… what I mean is, this non-Awakened identity of yours, what exactly is it?”
Chen Xiaolian did not answer.
“Fine.” Skyblade continued in a dejected tone. “Maybe I am prying too deep with that question. Or maybe this is your biggest secret. I did not mean to pry, but… … I just want to satisfy the curiosity in my heart.”
Chen Xiaolian maintained his silence.
Skyblade continued talking by himself.
“… … back in the day, I was high-spirited as I led my brothers with me, successfully conquering instance dungeons again and again until we made our way into Zero City. Our strength gradually grew – no, it would be more accurate to say I was the one who grew stronger. For the sake of the guild’s development, I challenged the resident guilds of Zero City. After a series of trials and tribulations, we managed to obtain the acknowledgement from the other resident guilds, thereby allowing Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild to gain the permanent residence status in Zero City.
“Back then, I was very excited. I thought that I had acquired for myself, or rather, acquired for my fellow comrades in the guild a place of safety and security for the long term. To the me back then, Zero City was unquestionably the safest place within this game world.”
Hearing that, Chen Xiaolian gave a harrumph. “You mean, a refuge?”
“That is correct, a refuge, a… … … paradise.”
“And?” Chen Xiaolian asked without showing any change in his expression.
“And… naturally, I was wrong.”
Chen Xiaolian noted that Skyblade had used the word ‘naturally’.
He had spoken those words with a very firm tone!
“In the beginning, all was well within Zero City and everything was as I had desired. This was a very safe place. Although there are still conflicts here, it is at least something that we can control. At least we have our freedom – or so it seems.
“However, it did not take long for me to gradually turn unhappy.
“This refuge that we are in, is it not a cage?
“This place is safe while the outside world is dangerous. As long as we stay inside and not go out, we will be fine – not go out! Is there any difference between that and going to prison?
“Additionally, there is something else. In the outside world, we are constrained by the control of the main system.
“But in here, we are subjected to the constraint of Zero City’s system!
“Freedom? At the very least, I did not get to enjoy much of that within Zero City.”
Chen Xiaolian did not say anything and just listened carefully.
He had a keen feeling that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to understand Zero City.
These words had come from the mouth of a top [S] class expert from Zero City, a Guild Leader of a resident guild of Zero City.
Skyblade continued.
“… … … if Zero City is supposed to be safe, a refuge, then the first question I have to ask is… how was Zero City founded in the first place?”
Chen Xiaolian deliberately let out a smile. “How?”
Skyblade sighed and said, “No one could be certain about it.”
After a pause, he continued, “Be it those within Zero City, even those on the Board of Patriarchs, every one of them said the same thing… … … the same thing, but ambiguous.
“Everyone agreed that some time long ago, a group of powerful Awakened ones, for the sake of evading the constraints of the main program, went through a difficult and dangerous trial to create this paradise known as Zero City… an unprecedented accomplishment.
“However, who exactly were these founders… … … we do not know.
“Where did those founders go and why did they not stay inside Zero City – we have no answers for that either!”
Chen Xiaolian was silent.
He might know more regarding this matter compared to Skyblade.
Suddenly, Skyblade threw a question at Chen Xiaolian, “Have you ever moved to a new home before?”
“Eh?”
“Moving house,” Skyblade reiterated. “Say you were staying in a house. Then, you chose to move away, moving into a new house.”
“Er… … why are you asking this question?”
Skyblade chuckled before continuing, “Moving house can be quite an interesting thing. Think about it in detail. You already have a house, but you would choose to leave that house for another… … if so, that would prove that there was a problem.”
“What problem?”
“The house is not good enough.”
Chen Xiaolian was rendered speechless.
“Consider Zero City to be a house… … why did the first batch of owners here choose to leave? Did they move? If that is the case, wouldn’t that mean that the first batch of owners consider this house… … … lacking?
“Perhaps they found a better house? A better refuge? A better paradise?
“Otherwise, why would they leave?
“Was this house lacking? Unsafe?”
Chen Xiaolian thought about it. “This thought process is quite interesting. However… … maybe they did not move… maybe, they died?”
Skyblade laughed. “Died? Very well. If that is the case, there are even more questions… … how did they die? How is it that none of those who later come to reside within Zero City could explain this matter? It would appear that everyone is in the dark about this matter.
“Additionally… since Zero City is supposed to be a refuge, why would those within a refuge die?
“If the people within Zero City ended up dying … … … doesn’t that imply that this refuge is simply not safe?”
Those words rendered Chen Xiaolian silent once more.
“Have you participated in a battlefield? A real battlefield?” Skyblade asked indifferently.
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