| WRIAWW | Does The Sun Have it's Own Set of Principles? | 70
Joshua believed his current scheme was flawless, leaving no room for error.
A person who firmly believed in the inherent goodness of human nature would inevitably feel emotional upon witnessing its darker side.
Especially someone like Zong Le who is strong yet honest, wasting his abilities instead of utilizing them. Joshua, unable to possess combat prowess himself, deeply resented seeing such strength go to waste.
Thus, according to his script, the moment Zong Le’s idealism crumbled, Joshua would personally hand him the authority to execute fair judgment openly.
Who wouldn’t want to create a harmonious, beautiful new world if they wielded extreme justice and power?
He didn’t believe Zong Le would remain unmoved.
But as long as Zong Le accepted his proposal, Joshua had countless ways to ensure he could never turn back.
Unfortunately, Joshua had overlooked one crucial detail.
Because Zong Le never even considered making a choice.
“Hmm, I see. Let’s leave him here for now.”
“...?”
A sense of unease flickered in Joshua’s heart as he realized something was wrong.
He suddenly noticed that there was no anger at being deceived by human nature, no disgust toward its dark side... not even a trace of betrayal on the young man’s face.
Zong Le’s expression remained utterly calm, his eyes indifferent, as if what he had just witnessed was nothing more than an ordinary, mundane occurrence.
What Joshua didn’t know was that Jiang Chou stabbing Roland in the back was nothing new to Zong Le.
Guiyi City was notorious for its fierce and ruthless citizens, what wouldn’t they do?
It wasn’t uncommon for neighbors to escalate daytime quarrels into nighttime bloodshed, returning home only to brood over their anger before grabbing a kitchen knife and slaughtering an entire family.
A scoundrel like Jiang Chou wasn’t even noteworthy in Guiyi City, it was more like, 'That’s it?'
If you haven’t eaten pork, you’ve at least seen pigs run. Though Zong Le firmly believed in the innate goodness of humanity, he was well aware that this was merely an ideal he envisioned, a future he needed to work toward with his own hands, it's not something that exists now.
That was precisely why he had established Ankang Prison to detain criminals and uphold the rule of law.
Joshua didn’t know any of this. So he could only watch in bewilderment as the black-haired youth effortlessly dragged the unconscious Jiang Chou into a storage room, reminded him to set up a barrier, and then rushed off to assist the others.
“You guys work fast.”
Having been delayed by the incident with Roland and Jiang Chou, Zong Le returned to find Liu Jianhua and Dong Feng already working together to subdue both the financial elite weird and the groom weird.
The true A-level weird lurking in the shadows likely hadn’t expected them to be so formidable and was now biding its time, waiting for an opportunity.
“Prove your identity,” Dong Feng demanded the moment he saw Zong Le, raising his iron rod threateningly. Only after Liu Jianhua spared a glance and confirmed he was an ally did he lower his weapon.
“Senior Roland is injured. Senior Jiang Chou stabbed him. He’s still lying over there.” Zong Le briefly recounted what had happened. Though Liu Jianhua and Dong Feng were surprised, their reactions were exactly as Joshua had predicted, they didn't show any other emotions.
This, however, made Zong Le realize a blind spot he had never noticed before.
'It seems that not only Guiyi City needs to establish laws, but also the Infinite Space.'
As he fell into deep thought here, Joshua arrived belatedly on the other side.
With plans failing one after another, Joshua was beginning to doubt himself.
Using his brilliant mind, he briefly reviewed all the decisions he had ever made, yet found no oversights whatsoever.
The only uncontrollable variable was Zong Le himself.
Did he not understand him well or not have enough knowledge? Clearly not.
No matter how complex a person was, Joshua could see through them, let alone someone as transparent as a blank sheet. So there must be unknown, unexplored secrets about Zong Le.
"It's almost seven o'clock, let's hurry up and find that A-level weird to eliminate it."
Unfortunately, with the mission nearing its end, Joshua had no time to devise new plans or gather more information.
Though displeased, he showed no expression on his face and directly revealed the answer.
"It's the mirrors."
In the playroom, the little girl had been playing with a Barbie doll in the ball pit, holding a dressing mirror before being hanged. The bride and groom had been happily trying on wedding dresses in front of a full-length mirror before the incident.
The financial elite had been standing at a bar counter that coincidentally had a reflective mirror above. The common string in these murders was mirrors, one didn't necessarily need ventilation ducts to move indoors, using mirrors served the same purpose.
Working together, they smashed all the mirrors, leaving only that dressing mirror behind.
Liu Jianhua took a deep breath and pulled out the shimmering spirit medium's nail hammer from his chest. The moment the sharp nail pierced the mirror's surface, the entire mirror trembled violently, emitting a heart-rending scream from within.
The A-level weird fought back desperately, transforming into countless ferocious black mist clusters that surged toward them like stormy waves.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ripples spread across the golden barrier where the black mist struck. The distorted mist clusters exploded upon contact with the barrier like ignited black fireworks, their dark shadows fading in the dim room.
"It's quite beautiful, it's like New Year's fireworks,"
Zong Le commented with interest, casually moving to a corner.
Distrustful of the silver-haired bad guy, he took the opportunity to confirm with Liu Jianhua and Dong Feng the information he'd heard earlier, receiving confirmation that the Infinite Space indeed imposed no punishment for killing survivors.
"Oh, I see."
Just as Zong Le was beginning to understand what he intended to do, he suddenly felt Joshua standing beside him.
"The mission is about to end. Since the misunderstanding is cleared up, why don't we get to know each other properly? How about adding each other as friends?"
With a light tap of his finger, the man displayed his friend ID on his phone screen.
It was evident that Joshua's friend list is not long, filled with either leaders of major guilds or rising S-level survivor's. This friend list was a microcosm of the Infinite Space's top-tier fighters, any one of whom was a renowned figure.
Zong Le didn't know what supreme honor it was to be actively friended by the 1st rank, but Liu Jianhua and Dong Feng beside him had already widened their eyes in shock, momentarily forgetting even the crucial task of advertising for their guild.
To be actively invited to add the 1st rank as a friend, this was the highest honor countless survivors could only dream of!
"Uh, no thanks." Not only was Zong Le unaware, but he also politely declined.
He really didn't want to have anything to do with that silver-haired bad guy, especially since he is gay.
The others who heard this all sighed in regret, but out of respect for Joshua's reputation, they couldn't say anything.
"......"
In conclusion, Joshua's first attempt at a conquest plan ended in complete failure. He didn't even manage to secure a spot as a friend.
In the final second before the main system's light beam descended, Joshua stood motionless, his silver hair gently floating in the glow of the teleportation. His eyes were inscrutable, his gaze lingering on the number floating above Zong Le's head, a silent testament to the utter failure of his first conquest attempt.
But it wasn't a total loss.
Moments later, staring at the familiar dome of the Temple, Joshua expressionlessly tapped the surface of his authority ring with his fingertip.
At least this failure had made one thing clear, Zong Le wasn't the type who could be won over by ordinary methods.
Joshua had originally thought that, given Zong Le's hatred for evil, he would choose to punish or take action. To his surprise, Zong Le remained indifferent. Perhaps he wasn't as foolishly kind as Joshua had imagined.
"Interesting. A sun with his own set of principles," Joshua murmured to himself.
"Sir, the guild master of the merchant guild requests an audience," an attendant announced just then.
Joshua adjusted his collar and resumed his usual practiced smile.
As he walked through the Temple's dimly lit corridors, he glanced casually at the gilded full-length mirror at the end.
In the mirror, the silver-haired patriarch stood tall, wrapped in a low-key and luxurious robe, with a smile on the corner of his lips, holy, merciful, and compassionate, in line with everyone's yearning for light and holiness.
Since entering the infinite space, Joshua had never let this mask slip in front of anyone. Yet, in this minor A-level mission, he had unexpectedly shed all pretense and reverted to his true self.
It wasn't exactly liberating, nor was there any nostalgia, just a strange sense of novelty. He was accustomed to using this facade to win favor, but he found himself facing someone who already knew his true nature.
'If friendship isn't an option, then other methods must be used to forge a connection. Maybe next time I should try being myself?'
Joshua knew that the more delicious the prey, the more patience was required.
He would have to wait patiently to savor this sweet treat.
......
[A-level mission 'Haunted House Test Sleep' completed]
[Team mission evaluation: Perfect]
[Individual mission evaluation: Perfect]
A few minutes earlier, Zong Le stood in place.
At seven o'clock, as the main system announced the results and prepared to send the survivors back to the infinite space. At the same time, footsteps echoed outside the apartment door.
The receptionist, seeing the time was up, came to unlock the door and check on the unlucky haunted house test sleepers.
At the moment when the beam of light descended from the sky and submerged everyone--
Zong Le suddenly struck.
The fruit knife that had recently slain the little girl's weird slid from his sleeve into his palm. The blade gleamed coldly in the light. He crouched low, using the momentum of his slide to send the knife sharply toward the opposing light beam.
What appeared to be a casual flick of the blade actually tore a fine crack in the space it passed through.
Such a terrifying attack effortlessly severed even the system's descending transmission beam.
The condensed light of teleportation, having lost its target, dissipated into glowing particles.
Once they had all teleported away, Zong Le saw Jiang Chou lying unconscious on the ground opposite him.
"It was a success? It seems my theory was right. As long as the transmission is disrupted from the outside at a critical moment, the survivor can be kept within the instance."
In good spirits, Zong Le tucked the fruit knife back into his pocket.
He wasn’t as indifferent to Jiang Chou’s actions as Joshua had assumed.
On the contrary, not only was he not indifferent, he also wanted to take this man back to Ankang Community to jail.
TL: By the way, if there's anyone impatient about reading further (like me) from these updates, you can try looking for the raws using bing. I saw that some websites already have up to 84 chapters available already~
Unfortunately, I will not provide the links, just in case I get in trouble, and I will also delete any comments that provide the links. You'll have to find them on your own, sorry~ (-ω-、)
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