Chapter 413: The President of the Real Protection Association Captured?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 413: The President of the Real Protection Association Captured?
"Monroe. Male, forty-three years old, born in the year 23385. You were once a V7 Explorer player with extensive experience in clearing game worlds. You were even invited to become a Game Architect, which you proactively refused..."
"Yes, I refused—vehemently."
Inside a completely sealed, specialized interrogation room, a middle-aged man, slightly portly, sat in a chair in the center of the room. His limbs were symbolically shackled. He didn't seem the least bit surprised as the young man before him recited his personal data.
"I suggest you adopt a more serious tone, Mr. Monroe! You need to understand that you are currently a capital criminal who has betrayed civilization. Or perhaps I should address you as the... President of the Real Protection Association?"
"The person you went to such great lengths to arrest is merely a man named Monroe," Monroe said with a chuckle, showing not a hint of fear. "The true President of the Real Protection Association will always be active on every world you invade, rather than sitting here playing along with your interrogation."
"But you must understand, whether you are the President or not isn't something you can simply deny..."
"What do you think the Real Protection Association is? Some loose social club that turns into a pile of sand the moment it loses its leader? Don't be ridiculous. That joke isn't funny." Monroe cut the other man off, his tone dripping with mockery.
The man who had been interrupted moved to retort but stopped abruptly. His posture shifted as if he were listening to something; clearly, he had a team of analysts or a brain trust behind him, providing support for the interrogation.
"Mr. Monroe, we didn't bring you here to argue about that. We are well aware that you aren't the first President of the Real Protection Association, and I suspect you won't be the last. Even though the Association hasn't been established for very long, I hope you will cooperate with our investigation."
"Oh? And what exactly do you want to learn from me? Even I'm curious about that question," Monroe asked, adopting the air of a man who had nothing left to lose.
"Your Real Protection Association—why did you betray your own civilization!"
"What constitutes betrayal? I don't understand. Could you explain it to me?"
"I asked you why you betrayed our civilization! Why you betrayed our world!" the interrogator repeated, his voice heavy with emotion, attempting to use pressure to break the man. It didn't work.
"I don't understand. List my crimes. Let me know what 'betrayal' is!" Monroe’s voice suddenly boomed, seizing control of the conversation. His sheer presence forced the young interrogator to instinctively take a few steps back. Only then did Monroe sit back, satisfied.
"I don't consider this betrayal. Don't you agree? The Real Protection Association has simply threatened your interests. Otherwise, I would be facing a public global trial right now, not sitting in this little dark room buried God-knows-how-deep underground. You... you don't even dare to make the truth public!"
"If the ignorant masses, who do nothing but parrot what they're told, knew the truth, it would only introduce more instability into society..."
"Then you have no right to strip them of their right to know. Our existence is dedicated to fighting for that very right."
"Yes, that was the original philosophy of the Real Protection Association. It's why we didn't target your Association so aggressively in the past. But you are testing the limits of the Architects. You are no longer satisfied with your original ideals. Now, you're nothing but a pack of mad dogs biting everyone in sight—a group of genuine lunatics. You are inciting war between civilizations!"
"And isn't that exactly what you are doing? You have the gall to treat entire worlds as games for people's amusement, letting a 'game' mindset take root in the depths of our civilization. But... games are not the proper path for a civilization's development. They are an art form, a seasoning, not the whole meal. You are turning the entire civilization into a freak! You are using all the bottom-layer players as fuel to keep the civilization running. You only treat Game Architects as real human beings. Are we players not human too? Well?!"
As Monroe’s words poured out in a fit of agitated emotion, the room fell silent. The interrogator was stunned, while Monroe smiled with a sense of relief. This time, he had managed to question the Architects to their faces. He had vented what needed to be vented.
However, he knew very well that this wouldn't make those high-and-mighty Game Architects wake up. His actions would likely become nothing more than a joke for them to laugh about over tea.
Only pain could startle them into awareness. He knew his own strength was weak, and the Real Protection Association was just as fragile.
Even though the Association had taken a radical path, wrapping itself in the shell of "Protection," they were never trying to protect the characters inside those games. Even though Monroe knew those people were living, breathing beings, what did that matter?
From beginning to end, the ones he wanted to protect were the real players in reality!
Those people spent their entire lives—from birth to education to graduation to becoming professional players—inside games.
It was because of this that he felt so powerless. He understood that any action taken by the Real Protection Association was futile. Therefore... he, and the entire Association, were searching those game worlds for clues to higher-order worlds. Only by inviting calamity could this decadent civilization and this broken world be reshaped. Until they found that sliver of hope, the Real Protection Association would remain the sole enemy of this civilization.
Because they knew all too well that a civilization without an enemy would only rot faster.
As for whether the unknown civilization or world they invited would be enough to destroy their own, he could only say "sorry" to everyone.
There will always be people whose ideals don't involve settling for the status quo, and there will always be one person who leads a group to try and leap out of the rotting mire.
One could call Monroe an extremist, but didn't these Game Architects, relying on the Terminal of Myriad Worlds, risk plunging civilization into eternal damnation with every "game development" they undertook?
"I heard that your Association members encountered an entity called the Calamity Witch in the Star of Sin, correct? Is she a traveler from outside this world?"
"Heh... I see ignorance in your eyes. But the fact that you're so desperate to ask me this question tells me everything. You're panicked. And if you're panicked, it only proves we've found the right path."
"Your Association is full of lunatics!"
"Lunatics? Why? From what I know, the power that Witch displayed shouldn't have been a threat to you, right? And yet you're so wary of her? Is there something else I don't know?"
"Hmph. Sorry, but that matter is... hm. Are you sure you want to know?" The interrogator had intended to keep quiet, but he suddenly changed his mind halfway through.
"It seems the people behind you still want me to know. Go on, then. Let me see just how big a mess our Association has stirred up."
"Fine. There's no harm in telling you... Witch. The full term is the Transcendent Witch race. A powerful existence that wanders throughout the Void. They take a humanoid female form and possess extreme intelligence and strength. Currently, our knowledge of Transcendent Witches comes entirely from indirect rumors..."
"Indirect rumors are enough to make you this nervous?" Monroe mocked.
"The space beyond the Void is vast and boundless. Any information that can be detected and recorded is of immense value. Imagine a Void Graveyard left behind by a civilization countless times stronger than ours. The epitaph they spent their entire civilization's resources to write contained only a few measly paragraphs of information. And in those short paragraphs, an entire section was dedicated to warning others to 'Beware of Transcendent Witches.' Do you understand what kind of existences they are?"
"That's impossible!" Hearing the young man's heavy description, Monroe's first reaction was disbelief.
"Nothing is impossible. You should pray that the so-called Witch you found isn't the kind of Witch described there."
"Why wasn't such vital information released sooner!"
"Who do you think you are? Do you think you're worthy of being told top-level encrypted information? Furthermore... the Supreme Architecture Council has already passed the proposal to abandon the Star of Sin world. Follow-up work is already in preparation. Your final plan is about to fail."
"Heh... if I can force you to convene the Supreme Architecture Council and even abandon an entire world, then even if I die, it will have been worth it. I recall that the Secret Digger project for that world still hasn't made any progress, right? Your initial evaluation of that world was that its hidden secret was a resource on the same level as the Terminal of Myriad Worlds. This is going to hurt you for a long time, isn't it?"
"So what if it does? The Star of Sin has already been opened for the final destructive excavation plan. The announcement for the server-close carnival has been sent out. Even if we abandon it, we will squeeze every last drop of value out of it first."
"Exactly what I expected of you. Your hideous faces truly make me sick."
"You have no right to say that to us."
* * *
Inside the small world.
"Hand that girl over to us! Is running the only thing you people from the Real Protection Association know how to do?"
Currently, because the server-close carnival announcement had been issued for the open world Star of Sin, the Terminal of Myriad Worlds had released a massive number of additional game qualifications. This caused the player count in this world to skyrocket.
The previous strategy guide post regarding the hidden quest in this game had become the most likely mission to end the game!
Consequently, a flood of high-level players had poured into the world. With their methods, it didn't take long to uncover traces of the "Calamity Witch's" interpersonal relationships.
They eventually locked onto the young girl named Qiu Ruxin. Furthermore, they discovered that she was involved with the Real Protection Association, and the information that the Association had made contact with the Calamity Witch was leaked.
This led to the current situation.
Members of the Real Protection Association were being targeted and besieged by even more Secret Diggers. One by one, the Association's strongholds were being uprooted. The original villa had been blown to bits, forcing the Association members to flee with Qiu Ruxin in tow.
They were running for their lives while dragging along this "dead weight" who knew nothing.
From this, one could see how deeply the Real Protection Association branch had rooted itself in this world; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to evade so many Secret Diggers time and again.
But it was clear that they had finally reached the end of the line...
"Hey! I'm serious, do you really have no way to contact that Calamity Witch? If she stepped in, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"I do... but that method is only for when there's no other choice..."
"This is the moment of no other choice! Otherwise, we're all going to die! Falling into their hands will be worse than death! Do you understand?!"
"I understand!" Qiu Ruxin gritted her teeth. Her right hand was clenched tightly around the green Tears of the Mad Plant—the item used to summon Sister Xiao Han.
Sister Xiao Han had said that as long as she held it tight and prayed, the ritual to summon her would be complete... but she didn't know what to pray. It was probably supposed to be some kind of summoning chant... but Sister Xiao Han's explanation on that part had been glossed over in a single sentence!
"Do you know any summoning chants? Anything at all!"
"A summoning chant? How would I know a summoning chant?! Who are you asking? You're the one summoning the Calamity Witch, why are you asking me?"
Just as that complaint was uttered, a flame trap suddenly detonated. A terrifying explosion echoed, instantly knocking the Association member carrying Qiu Ruxin to the ground.
Qiu Ruxin was thrown through the air, tumbling several times before slamming hard against a rock.
"Ugh! Ungh..." Qiu Ruxin couldn't help but let out a low groan of pain.
An impact like that was enough to leave an ordinary person with severe injuries or broken bones, let alone the final collision with the rock.
Intense pain and dizziness washed over her. She could only vaguely hear voices approaching from a distance.
"Run! Go on, keep running! Did you really think we were going to let you lead us around like dogs again?"
The first person to catch up began to strike the fallen man—not with high-damage attacks, but with insulting, petty blows to vent his frustration.
Others arrived and immediately went to check on Qiu Ruxin.
Upon inspection, they found the pendant clutched tightly in her palm.
He forcibly pried the pendant from her hand. No matter how hard she tried to hold on, she couldn't resist the Secret Diggers.
"Is this important to you? Tell me where the Calamity Witch is, and I might consider giving it back."
"You... in your dreams... Ah!"
"I'm not negotiating with you!" The man stood up and ground his boot into Qiu Ruxin's wrist, making her howl in pain.
"Still acting tough for someone who doesn't even care about you?"
"Heh... Sister Xiao Han... will kill every last one of you for me!" The agonizing pain completely cleared the dizziness from her head.
Never before had she desired power so desperately. If she had Sister Xiao Han's strength—even half... even a tenth... she wouldn't be in such a pathetic state...
But she clearly remembered her "mission." If she didn't start the summoning ritual, Sister Xiao Han might... never come here again...
"Sister Xiao Han? Oh~ you mean the Calamity Witch, right? Heh, as I thought, you know something! Out with it. Since you think she'll avenge you, tell us how to find her. Otherwise... I'll see if she shows up after I kill you."
"If you kill me... you'll never see the Calamity Witch you're looking for..."
"Oh? You're talking now? What... she can still keep her cool even if you die?"
"Sister Xiao Han isn't from this world... She has already left. In this world... besides me... no one can bring her back!"
"Heh... fine! I'll see how you bring her here! Do it! Now! Or I won't mind killing you!"
"You lunatic, get back! If you dare kill her, I'll hunt you until the day you die!" Seeing that the madman was about to kill the most critical lead for the hidden quest, someone nearby immediately stepped forward with a threat.
"Hah... I'm just scaring her. Come on, prove your worth. Let's see if you were worth chasing for all these days!"
"Cough, cough..." Qiu Ruxin coughed, the taste of copper spreading in her mouth. The fall had split her lip, but fortunately, her internal organs seemed mostly intact—no internal bleeding.
"Give me the pendant. It's... an important tool for the summoning. Only I know how to use it..."
"I hope you aren't trying any tricks." He snorted and handed the pendant back.
Seeing the pendant return to her hand, a flicker of hope flashed in Qiu Ruxin's eyes.
This time... she was truly at a dead end... Sister Xiao Han, please don't let this be a lie...
She clutched the pendant tightly with her blood-stained, scraped hands and lowered her head, whispering fervently: "Sister Xiao Han... please answer me... just like the first time we met, when you appeared so suddenly by my side..."
Qiu Ruxin still didn't know any formal prayer, but what she spoke was her heart's deepest desire.
The moment she closed her eyes to pray, a transcendent aura surged from the pendant. A complex rune ritual instantly expanded, and mysterious, shifting patterns were etched into the air by an unknown force.
Before long, the ritual for the Reverse Summoning Spell was deployed. The sudden change caused the Secret Diggers to instinctively retreat several steps. Most of them had never seen such an eerie phenomenon before.
Faced with the unknown, most people reacted with caution.
They all stared with wide, curious eyes at the transformation. No one dared to step forward and interrupt the ritual.
Some Secret Diggers stood as if facing a great enemy, motionless, like players waiting for a world boss to finish its entrance animation.
Finally, a surge of intense energy coalesced into a portal, and a figure abruptly emerged.