Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: crow
Chapter 66: Strategy
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After Zhuge Seol-ha's shocking statement, an awkward silence hung over the room for a while.
The other possessors exchanged glances for a moment, but eventually Baek Hyun, unable to hold back the questions bubbling up inside him, spoke first.
"...Sam-soon, what do you mean by that?"
"Ah, I phrased it poorly. What I meant is, they're the ones we filtered out from the candidates we had marked."
With those words, Zhuge Seol-ha began explaining in earnest the method she had used to weed out the Falun Society's executive candidates.
"First of all, the Falun Society's information control is so thorough that it's impossible to identify their spies with conventional methods. So, I had no choice but to use a somewhat crude approach."
"So... you killed all the suspects?"
"I didn't kill them. I just created situations that even their publicly known abilities couldn't handle."
For years, relentlessly.
In such a way that if there was any means to resolve the situation, they wouldn't be able to resist using it.
Her eyes had already grown cold and sunken.
"First, I arranged for the forces I originally planned to clean up, or the corrupt factions near Hubei Province that had been pushed out in power struggles with my own forces, to spread across provinces nationwide.
And I induced them to clash with people we suspected were executive candidates. Of course, I orchestrated it like a domino effect so no one could trace it back to me, so there's no worry about tails being caught."
"Domino... you say?"
"When you induce one person's actions, it's not just that person's behavior that changes—everyone connected to them starts to unravel like dominoes.
By continuously triggering chain reactions, you can even make people with no real connection do exactly what you want.
Except for a few of my subordinates I deployed in the initial stages, the rest of the 'dominoes' probably didn't even realize they were moving according to my will. From their perspective, they were just doing what they always did.
Since even the people involved don't know their actions are being manipulated, no intelligence network can detect or stop it."
Having heard the explanation up to that point, the three possessors could only sit there dumbfounded.
The content was so absurd that their thoughts froze for a moment.
Only after spending a few seconds sorting and replaying what they had just heard in their minds could they let out hollow laughs and question what she had done.
"No way... does that even work?"
For veterans who had played the same round hundreds of times, it wasn't entirely impossible to do something similar in the game.
But in reality, which was infinitely more variable and complex than the game—and in the first round, no less—pulling off something like that was utterly beyond common sense.
How could anyone but an AI pull off something like that...
"I couldn't gather info on the Falun Society itself, but collecting other information wasn't a problem.
After gathering data on people to use as 'dominoes' and thoroughly analyzing their behavioral patterns based on that, it wasn't impossible.
There are a few theories explaining the principles—should I go into those too?"
Faced with her flawless explanation, the three ordinary men, who had lived ordinary lives with ordinary intelligence and education, had no choice but to urgently confer among themselves.
They knew Kim Sam-soon's intelligence was no joke.
Even when writing a simple guide, she would use all sorts of incomprehensible engineering formulas to calculate optimal routes and builds.
So players close to her had guessed she was a top student at a prestigious university in real life...
But no one had imagined she was a genius this far outside the norm.
"What the hell is she? I mean, we knew she was smart, but... this is on another level."
"Has she been hiding her power all this time?"
"I think she just didn't show it because we never asked. Have you guys ever asked Sam-soon anything outside of the game?"
"A."
"A."
They quickly came to an understanding.
Even a sage who knew all the world's knowledge would seem no different from an awesome game guide if you only asked about game stuff.
Until now, they had only touched the legs of the elephant named Kim Sam-soon and mistaken her for an ordinary pillar.
"Of course, for this method to succeed, you need not only meticulous calculations but also a fair bit of luck, so I didn't succeed with all the dominoes.
Out of hundreds of attempts, only about 10% worked, and even among those activated dominoes, only half fulfilled their roles properly.
But the ones that did work perfectly... they shattered beautifully and did their jobs."
A thick smile crept across Zhuge Seol-ha's lips.
"The bait I attached to the executive candidates in each region was the kind of forces they would struggle to deal with.
For candidates operating as merchants, I sent bandit groups from the Green Forest. For those embedded in sects, ruthless merchants. For candidates from famous clans, I assigned evil faction forces specialized in guerrilla warfare to harass them.
And when I observed the progress, suddenly several forces were completely wiped out one day. The candidates fighting those dominoes at the time were the Falun Society executives."
Finally, her long explanation of the situation ended, and Baek Hyun nodded as he summarized it in his own way.
"So... you basically threw a spear at each candidate's solar plexus and saw if they died or not?"
"Hm, not the most apt metaphor, but it'll do for your level of understanding."
"So... you did basically kill them all first?"
"No! They just temporarily lost some power and authority in faction wars! Sure, it was wrong, but... without this method, there was no breakthrough, so it was an unavoidable sacrifice."
Baek Hyun secretly thought she was the one best adapted to this world, seeing her avert her gaze slightly while steadfastly defending her position.
It might have left a bad impression if they met in real life.
But in this situation, wasn't someone like her the most reliable ally?
Baek Hyun decided not to press her further on the minor sacrifices from the operation process.
"But if it was just your bait getting wiped out, couldn't it have been some other faction besides the Falun Society?"
At that moment, Cheon-un, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.
Zhuge Seol-ha responded without the slightest hesitation, as if she had been waiting.
"Of course that's possible. But the key here isn't whether the bait forces were defeated—it's when, where, and how they were defeated.
The Falun Society executives we've identified so far are those whose annihilation of my bait matched the expected survival time, timing, collapse process, and method without major deviations.
There are a few ambiguous areas, but that's more than enough to narrow down candidates."
After that, Zhuge Seol-ha answered the other possessors' minor questions without stumbling.
With her clear responses, the possessors fully grasped the situation, nodding as they scrutinized the personal dossiers she had shared.
The process was shocking, but regardless, her achievements in the information war were undeniable.
Even if info on the Crown Princes or Heirs was still nowhere to be found, uncovering this much on executive-level cadres was nothing short of miraculous.
Thinking they had heard all the info, the possessors expected a full meeting on countermeasures based on it.
"This is everything I gathered before entering closed-door training."
She spoke as if there was still more to say.
"Huh? Does that mean anything special? You couldn't have done much meaningful activity while in seclusion anyway."
"No, it does. While I was in closed-door training, two major breakthroughs occurred."
Not exactly welcome news, though.
She continued with a somewhat bitter expression.
"Hyun, do you remember So-wol? The one who passed my message to you."
"Ah, that shadow-like person? Yeah, I remember. Her stealth skills were impressive."
Baek Hyun recalled the mysterious woman who had first informed him of the other possessors' existence.
Someone trusted enough by Seol-ha to deliver messages on her behalf—one of her closest aides.
They naturally lost contact after Sam-soon entered closed-door training three years ago.
"Come to think of it, where is she? On some assignment or..."
"So-wol is dead."
"...What?"
In that instant, a suffocating silence filled the space.
Her, who had top-tier stealth skills and was Sam-soon's closest aide... dead?
"The operation to uncover the Falun Society executives' identities was a success, but I realized the limits of my martial power in the process. I had their identities, but they were all opponents I couldn't handle alone.
So before going into full-scale war with the Falun Society, I entered closed-door training to shore up my martial weaknesses."
Zhuge Seol-ha continued, head bowed in gloom.
"Before entering seclusion... I gave So-wol one order. To go to regions where the bait hadn't worked properly and gather information.
It wasn't for Falun Society intel—it was broad intel collection to perfect the dominoes. A routine mission, not particularly dangerous... but contact was lost. She's effectively presumed dead."
At that grim update, Baek Hyun looked troubled for a moment before questioning her with a puzzled expression.
"But why is that one of the major breakthroughs? Isn't it bad news?"
"...So-wol was one of my best cards. Her loyalty goes without saying, and as an assassin from the Shadow Curtain, her stealth was top-notch, and her combat prowess outstanding too.
For even So-wol to fall without doing anything too risky means..."
That place must be that sensitive.
'!!'
Only then did Baek Hyun understand why she called So-wol's death a major breakthrough.
It was the exact same principle as her earlier strategy.
A place so heavily guarded with Falun Society manpower that even Zhuge Seol-ha's top assassin couldn't escape death.
At minimum, a Crown Prince-level figure was there, or perhaps...
'The Heir himself.'
"Where is it?"
"...So-wol's last contact came just before entering Jiangsu Province."
"Wait, Jiangsu Province...?"
"...This isn't welcome news."
At the mention of Jiangsu Province, all the possessors' faces hardened.
Jiangsu Province.
The region where Nanjing, the former capital of the Ming Dynasty, is located.
The nation's richest area, called the heart of China's economy through the Ming and Qing eras, where all wealth and riches converged.
It's also the headquarters of the Evil Dao Alliance, the federation of evil factions.
The holy land of evil factions, home to the Bow God—the leader of the Evil Dao Alliance and the current world's greatest.
A strategic hub in Dominating the World where dazzling light and endless darkness coexist without doubt.
"Jiangsu Province... has fallen?"
"...Fuck, we're screwed."
Thus, the possessors could only despair momentarily.
Jiangsu Province held value comparable to Henan Province, home of the Shaolin Temple headquarters, in some ways.
The Evil Dao Alliance's core, Jiangsu Province, falling to the Falun Society meant most evil faction forces had been infiltrated by them.
In other words, half of the current martial world's power had turned against them as enemies.
If it were the righteous factions' territory, maybe—but with no foothold to intervene in evil faction territory like Jiangsu, it was a massive headache.
"This... looks like we can only rely on that guy."
"...Yeah, if he doesn't do something, it's pretty grim."
YSG.
The overwhelming PvE rank 1, rivaling Baek Hyun in PvP.
A rotten water veteran with single-digit PvP ranking too.
Whether the evil factions fully turned enemy or not depended entirely on his capabilities.
"Well... nothing we can do about this right now. So, what's the second breakthrough?"
"Actually, this is the most important info. Gathering you all here was basically to relay this second breakthrough."
With that, Zhuge Seol-ha pulled a crumpled black note from her sleeve.
Clearly different from ordinary Central Plains stationery, it gave an alien feel.
"Right after I finished closed-door training, this note was secretly delivered to me, bypassing my base's strict guards. As if it was meant only for my eyes."
"? What's with the suspense..."
"It's a message from 'Carnivorous Dinosaur'."
'!!'
'!!'
'!!'
The successive shocking name made everyone's faces stiffen.
"That lunatic sent a letter!? More importantly, what did he write to make you emphasize it like this!?"
"Better to see it for yourself than explain."
It was pretty shocking content.
She unfolded the note solemnly and held it forward, revealing its shocking contents to the possessors' eyes...
"……………"
"……………"
"……………"
"Ah, I accidentally showed the back. This is the real content."
Zhuge Seol-ha gave a small fake cough and flipped the note over.
The moment the true contents entered their view, the possessors could only gasp in unison.