Working Records in a Weird World - 101

 

| WRIAWW | Joshua's Face Suddenly Appeared in His Mind | 101

Qin Ye's words were loud and clear, effectively cooling the restless crowd.

However, Zong Le's outstanding performances in two ?-level missions, combined with Qin Ye's rather rough crowd-clearing tactics upon arrival, had stirred up resistance and discontent among many spectators.

Even though the speaker was theoretically the more authoritative 2nd-ranked survivor, many voices of opposition emerged immediately after he finished speaking.

"Are you kidding? If Zong Le was a native, how could he have helped us clear two question mark-level missions?"

"Exactly! Do you know how many people would have died if we'd followed the original plan? Stop talking nonsense!"

"What kind of game is the Watchtower Guild trying to play today? Could it be that after hearing this talented newcomer doesn’t want to join you, and preferred the other two guilds, you’ve resorted to slander?"

"Honestly, that wouldn’t surprise me. And to bring this up right after he cleared a question mark-level mission, how tasteless. Besides, the burden of proof lies with the accuser. Anyone can spout baseless accusations. Zong Le helped us with two question mark-level missions, and now he’s being questioned like this? My heart aches for him."

"Yeah, what era is this? Are you trying to wage a smear campaign?"

In the Infinite Space, hero worship was usually at its most extreme.

Normally, the mere mention of the 2nd-ranked survivors' name could resolve 99% of issues, as there were always those who blindly followed authority. After all, people naturally idolize strength, making it hard to escape the trap of blind faith in authority.

That was why today’s scene, where the crowd rose in passionate defiance was so unusual.

Listening to the surrounding skepticism, Qin Ye didn’t grow angry. Instead, his expression grew increasingly grave.

A belated realization sent a chill down his spine.

In just the two months since the ultimate dungeon opened, Zong Le had quietly built an army of supporters behind the scenes, crafting an impeccable reputation for himself.

He seemed harmless, and he had already won hearts through subtle influence. The voices defending him and their heartfelt support were undoubtedly an extremely bad sign.

If not for the crucial evidence he held, Qin Ye might have truly retreated under the barrage of public scorn today. Meanwhile, Zong Le could walk away unscathed without lifting a finger... Such cunning and calculation were truly remarkable!

Most importantly, everyone knew the story of the boy who cried wolf. If Zong Le’s wolfish ambitions weren’t exposed today, it would be far harder to reveal them later.

After quickly weighing the stakes, Qin Ye steadied his breath and raised his voice: "Silence, everyone."

Amplified by his abilities, his words boomed like thunder, spreading across the entire central square and forcibly drowning out all doubts.

"I, Qin Ye, am a man of honor and I do not engage in baseless slander. If I dare to say these words in public, it’s because I have evidence. Otherwise, how could I speak with such conviction?"

His forceful declaration successfully captured everyone’s attention.

After all, the title of "Strongest Soldier" carried weight. When he got serious, maintaining order was child’s play.

Seeing the room quiet down, Qin Ye seized the moment. He retrieved a medical record from his spatial artifact and raised it high. "Everyone, take a good look. This medical record in my hand is the best evidence proving Zong Le isn't a survivor in the Infinite Space!"

Those standing in the front with sharp eyes noticed the words on the record and voiced their doubts.

"Taikang Yongle Hospital records... Wasn't that the location of the last question mark-level mission?"

"Right, what's the point of showing this? Besides, what can a lousy medical record prove?"

"Everyone, calm down and let me explain."

Qin Ye gestured for silence with a composed demeanor, his voice steady and convincing. "Here's what happened. During the last question mark-level mission, I and several other survivors were assigned to the psychiatric ward, which happened to be next to the hospital's archives. Since the ultimate dungeon just opened not too long ago, we all urgently needed intel, so I took a risk and sneaked into the archives and used my spatial artifact to take many hospital documents. Everyone in that group department at the time witnessed this and can vouch for me."

Coincidentally, a B-level survivor who had been in the same ward as Qin Ye was present and immediately raised his hand. "Brothers, Guild Master Qin is telling the truth! This did happen!"

Seeing someone step forward to verify his claim, Qin Ye nodded in gratitude and immediately followed up: "The situation was urgent at the time. I just put all the information into the spatial artifact and didn't check it carefully. After the task was completed, I handed the information to Si Yuyan, the brain power faction in our guild, and asked her to help with the screening."

The Infinite Space only had a few top strategists, and Si Yuyan, an A-level survivor, was well-known, adding credibility to Qin Ye's account.

"Due to the sheer volume of documents, Si Yuyan and the logistics team worked overtime daily to sift through them for useful intel. Unexpectedly, yesterday afternoon, they found this medical record among the files, which is this piece of evidence."

Qin Ye flipped open the record, revealing the first page with Zong Le's personal details. "Although it's slightly blurred, the photo can't be faked. Most importantly, the admission and discharge dates were all before the survivors' entry into the ultimate dungeon, which is enough to serve as evidence!"

Standing behind him, Si Yuyan put away her phone and added, "For those who want more details, a high-resolution scans of this record have been uploaded to the survivors forum. Feel free to verify its authenticity yourselves."

Hearing this, many survivors immediately pulled out their phones, accessed the forum, and located the post.

As Si Yuyan had said, the medical record was clearly displayed:

[Psychiatric Patient: Zong Le]

[Special Note: Highlighted in red, this patient is Extremely Dangerous!]

[Diagnosis: Severe hallucinatory disorder, early-stage schizophrenia, cognitive confusion...]

[Years of inpatient treatment, discharged on X/XX/20XX]

[Address: Unit 302, Building 4, Ankang Community]

[Contact: 1xx-xxxx-xxxx]

Everything was written in black and white, and clearly written. The patient's photo showed a black-haired young man staring blankly at the camera.

Zong Le was not an ordinary-looking man. On the contrary, his striking features often earned him talent scout business cards when walking down the street. Even this ID photo on the medical record looked like a promotional poster. One could tell at a glance that it was definitely the same person.

Witnessing this, the survivors on the steps began murmuring in uneasy confusion.

"Wait... I don't remember any missions in the Ankang Community. Didn't someone dig up talented newcomer's mission history before? Did he take on that mission? And it seemed to be quite a big deal too, and also related to the Watchtower Guild's Young Master Qin?"

"Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember something like that. It shouldn't be possible..."

"I skimmed through everything in one minute... Just as Guild Master Qin said, the medical records contain not only Zong Le's personal information but various treatment documents too. It was dated before the Ultimate Dungeon opened."

"True, the yellowed edges show these records have existed for years. There's no way they were created after the question-mark level mission began. This is terrifying when you think about it!"

As if on cue, two more replies appeared in the string.

One came from Yu Anlian under the "Strategist" title.

[This is Yu Anlian. When Guild Master Qin showed me these medical records yesterday afternoon, I was definitely as shocked as everyone here. But what chilled me more was how this discovery perfectly explained an encounter during the 'Ankang Community' mission... As everyone knows, I'm part of the brainpower faction. Although I am not on the same level to S and A-level seniors, I at least possess super memory. I distinctly remember Zong Le didn't arrive via light beam like other survivors, he walked out from inside the community area.]

Another survivor that participated in the mission of "Ankang Community" Sun Ming also came to tell his side of the story.

[This is Sun Ming. Like Strategist, I also took the 'Ankang Community' mission. Mid-mission, I heard a B-level weird kid mention 'brother' and specifically reference someone living in Building 4, Unit 302. At the time, I was struggling to protect myself at that time, and neither Strategist nor I pursued this lead. If Guild Master Qin hadn't found us, I'm afraid we would still be kept in the dark by this scheming NPC! ]

More and more solid evidence came forward... all of which shocked the crowd.

With the battlefield shifting to the forums, the audience expanded far beyond those at Central Court's entrance.

Only a fraction of survivors attended the Central Court. Most celebrated indoors with friends. In just ten minutes, the pubs and restaurants were full, with balloons and ribbons everywhere.

This was precisely the time when everyone was most idle, and casually scrolling through forums on their phones.

At this moment, the Watchtower Guild used its official account to make a statement using its influence and rallying power within the Infinite Space, and immediately attracted a large number of onlookers.

"What's going on? Why is the Watchtower Guild suddenly posting something like this?"

"Yeah, aren't we supposed to be celebrating? The new question-mark level mission was cleared so easily, shouldn't we be partying all night?!"

"No idea. Is April Fool's Day coming early? Is this some new kind of celebration?"

"Hey, check out the other post they uploaded. Something's happening at the Central Court! 2nd brought a group to confront the talented newcomer, they are accusing him of being an NPC from the Ultimate Dungeon who infiltrated our group!"

"Huh? What the hell? Am I going crazy, or is the Infinite Space losing it? Are they really slandering against the heroes already?"

More and more people discovered the post, and like a depth bomb, it set off a storm in the forum. The survivors who were celebrating in various places in the infinite space also stopped their celebrations and refreshed the page in astonishment.

Amidst this tension, Qin Ye didn't relax, instead, he tensed up even more. He subtly made a signal, and the Watchtower Guild's elites tightened their formation, sealing off the steps completely.

Everyone was prepared for Zong Le to lash out violently, and they were ready to shield the other survivors behind them.

The atmosphere shifted from excitement to dead silence in just a few minutes.

The Watchtower Guild had gathered overwhelming evidence. To avoid tipping off their target, the entire operation had been done in secrecy, with agents monitoring Zong Le's movements on the forum, ready to apprehend him the moment he appeared.

But Zong Le had always been low-key. Even when the top three guilds tried recruiting him, they couldn't catch him online or offline.

What's more, this ?-level mission wasn't mandatory for all survivors, so Qin Ye had braced for the worst, which was to to search for him in the mission itself.

Unexpectedly, halfway through, news came that Zong Le had appeared at the Central Court, prompting an urgent mobilization to corner him there.

Gradually, the looks directed at Zong Le began to change. Numerous gazes, like spotlights, focused on the black-haired young man at the center. The once-grateful eyes were now tainted with doubt and fear.

"If this is true, it's terrifying!"

"Yeah, judging by the timeline, doesn't that mean he infiltrated our ranks on the very first day the Ultimate Dungeon opened? Damn, that's insane."

"Exactly! Remember how the final boss of Eternal Night Castle took over a survivor's identity? But this guy went further, he bypassed the system's identity check and got a survivor ID?"

"What I want to know is how he exploited the system's loopholes. If he can deceive the system, does that mean none of us are safe?!"

"Then all our forum discussions, plans, and operations targeting Guiyi City, have they all been leaked to the NPC's?"

"Not just that, I think he's extremely scheming. Both question-mark level missions were only completed thanks to his personal assistance, yet he actually tried to gain our trust through reverse psychology! My god, I can't believe we were all kept in the dark!"

"You said it. If not for Guild Master Qin and Miss Si's sharp eyes, the consequences would have been unthinkable..."

Seeing public opinion had been completely swayed, Qin Ye who had finished all preliminary preparations loudly demanded: "Zong Le! You deliberately infiltrated our ranks, what is your purpose, and what are your intention?!"

"That's not all."

Si Yuyan also spoke coldly: "What is your relationship with that 'boss' mentioned in Taikang Yongle Hospital's psychiatric department? Are you his subordinate? Was infiltrating our group done under his orders?"

"If you confess obediently, we might show mercy."

A barrage of accusations left Zong Le momentarily stunned.

He had no idea how to explain, only managing to say: "I never intended to harm you all, and I didn't deliberately infiltrate your group either, it was just an accident that day..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted.

"We're not interested in your lies. Brothers, take him down!"

"Yes! Guild Master!"

Watching dozens of core members from the Watchtower Guild charge toward him, Zong Le had no choice but to dodge backward.

He realized things had spiraled completely out of control. In this situation where violence was the first resort, any explanation would be futile.

Moreover... they weren't entirely wrong. He was indeed native to Guiyi City.

This was an unchangeable fact.

When Zong Le was in a dilemma, an ethereal voice suddenly echoed above Central Court:

"Today's trial has ended. The Central Court will now close its doors to visitors. Please leave the court before the countdown ends."

"3, 2, 1."

Instantly, hundreds of light beams descended from above, enveloping everyone present.

When the blinding white light dissipated, the entire central plaza was empty, with only Zong Le left.

The black-haired young man remained still for a long moment before looking up: "Thank you for the help."

He might be slow, but not so much as to miss the Chief Judge's deliberate assistance.

After completing this question-mark level mission, theoretically, the survivors can stay in the city for one hour every day.

Although there were twists and turns in the middle from the completion of the task to the sudden change of the situation, if you count the time, barely twenty minutes passed.

If it weren't for the help of the Central Court, Zong Le would not have been arrested, but the current situation of being unable to communicate would definitely make the situation more complicated.

"No need for thanks. I just guessed you wished them no harm, so I offered my assistance."

The Chief Judge paused: "If I'm not mistaken, these outsiders are repaying kindness with hostility?"

"Well, I can't entirely blame them. After all, I am different from them."

Feeling dejected, Zong Le casually sat on a step, stretching his long legs outward.

From the Chief Judge's perspective, he looked very much like a salted fish that had been beaten down by reality and withered under the sun.

When speaking with Zong Le, she never used the ethereal tone of her former judge persona, instead she used her natural voice. Now, her voiced was more gentle and comforting.

"Ah, people have always been like this. Those who are not of our race must have different hearts. Ordinary people will hate and suspect each other because of their country, skin color, bloodline, or even other unfounded reasons, unless they are a saint like you..."

This praise immediately made Zong Le feel embarrassed.

"Don't say that. I'm just an ordinary person with many shortcomings myself."

"So what will you do now? From what just happened, it seems the outsiders aren't willing to accept you."

"To be honest, I don't know."

Zong Le lay down on the steps. "I'm not powerful enough to change people's prejudices."

But perhaps someone skilled at maintaining a person, and twisting right and wrong could do it.

At this inappropriate moment, Joshua's face suddenly appeared in his mind.

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TL: Man I remember when I first read this chapter, I was so pissed off at Qin Ye. I know the survivors have PTDS because something similar happened like this before. But Qin Ye decided to confront him???? I don't know if it was just me but that was so dumb of him to do. I feel like he should have confronted him in a private setting with no violence, but Qin Ye is just a meathead that uses force to get his way, so I am not entirely surprised.

Update 07/10/2025: Unfortunately there is only one update for today, I usually proofread and edit a chapter twice before posting them, but I could not proofread and edit the next chapter for a second time due to a family emergency. 

So I decided not to post it to prevent the drop in quality of the chapter. 

Sorry, I'll try to post another chapter later today but depending on how this family emergency goes, I will not be making any promises. Thanks for reading.