Chapter 1 A New Day

A new day had arrived.

But the guilt in Jian Gui’s heart hadn't lessened because he'd logged off to rest. The moment he logged back on, he immediately dove into the forest without a word. He wasn't looking for Shui Shen or Lu Ke; Jian Gui was going to the Oak Forest to tell Ge Lu that he was giving up on his assassination mission.

NPCs were, of course, always present. Jian Gui found Ge Lu and explained his intentions. He immediately saw the young NPC’s brows furrow into a twist, resembling the old man in the Lin Yin City library.

"Give up? Joining the Assassin's League means abandoning life and dignity, everything only to punish the evils of this world. In the Assassin's Creed, there has never been the word 'give up'," Ge Lu said.

Jian Gui was stunned. This Ge Lu was good at rambling long-winded speeches, going around in circles to make a simple rule seem very impressive. What he meant now was simply that a mission issued by the Assassin's League couldn't be abandoned. At least, that's how it was for daily missions.

"Then... what if I can't complete it?" Jian Gui asked.

"Having perseverance is not a bad thing, young man. Keep trying!" Ge Lu said.

Jian Gui was stumped. From the sound of it, if he couldn't complete it, he'd have to keep going until he could. But the problem was that for Jian Gui, completing this mission required not just perseverance, but also ruthlessness. He then tried asking Ge Lu if he could leave this mission and take on another one. Ge Lu then gave Jian Gui a lively speech about the importance of focus...

Jian Gui was in pain. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—he'd joined a faction that few people knew about at this time. But it was also a fatal coincidence that he'd received a mission he couldn't complete. Would he never have the chance to accept daily faction missions again?

Jian Gui left the Oak Tree Cabin feeling dispirited. The guilt from the other side hadn't been cleared up, and now he'd added more sorrow to this side. It was truly a case of troubles never coming singly. Of course, Jian Gui couldn't change the system rules. He was thinking of contacting Shui Shen to apologize to Duan Shui Jian again, to settle the issue on that side first. Just as he was about to send a message, he suddenly noticed a figure passing by in the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his head and entered stealth mode.

It wasn't that Jian Gui was too cautious, but the game environment forced people to be careful. In this lawless society where bad deeds went unpunished, it was not uncommon to be suddenly attacked. Jian Gui was used to solo training, and he would often encounter players who had malicious intentions while he was soloing, choosing to suddenly attack when Jian Gui was struggling with a monster. Of course, the weak ones who ran into Jian Gui were just asking for death, but when he faced the professional team led by Can Meng Si back then, Jian Gui didn't even see their faces before he was killed.

Now he was in Lin Yin City, a place he didn't know well, and this ghostly place was an extremely suitable environment for ambushes. Having suffered this loss before, Jian Gui was naturally even more wary of these attacks.

In the direction he was looking, someone pushed aside the branches and stumbled out, seemingly having suffered a lot in this difficult forest. This person looked in the direction where Jian Gui had disappeared into stealth mode, spread his hands, and said, "Brother, don't be so nervous. I don't have any malicious intentions."

Jian Gui didn't move. Judging from the other party's attire, he was a priest, level unknown. Using Appraisal in stealth mode would also expose him. Seeing that the other party seemed to be a stranger, Jian Gui had no intention of staying. He was thinking of leaving quietly, turned around to leave, when suddenly another person walked out from behind the big tree beside him and said to the location where he was in stealth mode, "Wait, Brother Jian Gui."

"Duan Shui Jian!" Jian Gui couldn't help but exclaim in stealth mode. Looking at Duan Shui Jian, and then at the person behind him, these two guys seemed to be coming for him.

"We don't have any malicious intentions, we just want to talk to you about something," the person behind him said with a smile.

Jian Gui thought of Han Jia Gong Zi and Xi Xiao Tian’s analysis yesterday: Although Duan Shui Jian wasn't the malicious element from some studio trying to invade the guild that they imagined, he should also have some purpose with some people. Could it be that the priest behind him now was the so-called "some people?"

The other party repeatedly stated that they had no malicious intentions. Jian Gui was certainly not the kind of timid guy, and stealth was originally just for self-defense. Hearing the other party’s repeated statements, he naturally showed himself generously.

"Who are you people?" Jian Gui asked.

"Just players of the game, like you," the priest replied.

There was no more useless answer than this. It was like the dialogue, "Who are you? I'm a human." Jian Gui couldn't figure out the other party's intentions, so he had to continue asking step by step, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"First, let me ask you a question," the priest said.

"Speak."

"As an ordinary player, what do you think of Qian Li Zui?" the priest asked.

"Qian Li, do you know Qian Li?" Jian Gui was surprised.

"You could say I know him!" the priest nodded.

"But what do you mean by this question? I don't quite understand," Jian Gui said.

"I'm just asking you what you think of Qian Li Zui’s image in this game. What do you think?" the priest said.

"Very good, very powerful," Jian Gui summarized succinctly.

"Don't you think it's a bit exaggerated?" the priest asked.

"You mean his strength? Of course, it's exaggerated," Jian Gui nodded.

The priest looked at Jian Gui strangely, "Such exaggerated strength, don't you have any thoughts? You seem very calm."

"What thoughts should I have?"

"You should know why his strength is so exaggerated, right?"

Jian Gui nodded.

"Don't you think it's a bit unfair? We're all here to play the game, but he has such a high starting point, extremely high leveling efficiency, and the ability to solo bosses. It's like he's using a cheat."

"Qian Li is using a cheat?" Jian Gui was startled. Actually, when playing online games, when encountering some awesome people with unimaginable skills, everyone would suspect that the other party was using a super cheat. But Parallel World was no ordinary game, and cheats had long become a legend. So, Jian Gui had never thought of Gu Fei's strength in this way. The other party's sudden statement startled him. To be honest, Jian Gui only despised cheats, but he really didn't understand them.

"No, I'm just using an analogy," the priest said.

Jian Gui breathed a sigh of relief, "So, it's his real strength, then what's the problem?"

"You really don't think there's a problem?"

"You're really strange. What's your relationship with Qian Li? If you think there's a problem, just say it directly," Jian Gui said.

"Don't you think his existence is a huge disruption to the game balance?" the priest said.

"Game balance?" Jian Gui laughed, "What game can achieve absolute class balance? Even in Parallel World, the combat classes use a cycle of suppression, right? Balance doesn't exist at all. There's a cliché saying among players that you must have heard: There is no strongest class, only the strongest player. In my opinion, Qian Li is the only one who fits the definition of the strongest player here. Only in his hands can any class become the strongest."

"You're only talking about the balance set in the game, but what about the balance between players? Don't you think he has broken it too much?" the priest said.

"Balance between players?" Jian Gui was confused.

"Forgive me for being blunt, but Qian Li Yizui’s strength is something that you ordinary players can never catch up to. With such a player, do you still think there's balance between players?" the priest said.

"You're being inexplicable! When did I say there's balance between players? I never thought there was any balance between players, let alone breaking or not breaking it..." Jian Gui said.

"You're making me dizzy..." the priest said helplessly, "You, why can't you understand what I mean?"

"I understand what you mean..." Jian Gui smiled, "You think Qian Li is a balance breaker, but I don't think he is, because there's no balance in the game at all, it's that simple."

"In that case, it seems like there's no point in talking anymore," the priest said.

"I really don't know what you want to talk about..." Jian Gui replied.

"But haven't you seen the damage and destruction that Qian Li's strength has caused to this game?" the priest asked.

"Is there any? Where?"

"Let's talk about the recent one! The Extremely Cold Guild of Lin Yin City, in the large-scale mission against your Yun Duan City’s Zong Heng Si Hai, if it weren't for the existence of Qian Li Yizui, I think they could have successfully won at that time, you don't deny that, do you?" the priest said.

Jian Gui recalled and nodded. If Gu Fei's role wasn't obvious in that big melee in Lin Yin City, then Shui Shen's planting Lu Ke as a spy and launching an ambush in Luo Ri City at the last moment, if it weren't for Gu Fei’s existence, Wu Shi Zhi Jian and their mission might have become a tragedy.

"You see!" the priest said.

"See what?"

"Because of him alone, this kind of impossible reversal happened," the priest said.

"How do you know it was impossible?" Jian Gui said.

"Then tell me, besides Qian Li Yizui’s role, what other way could the situation be reversed?" the priest asked.

"I can't answer you that. But I know that if our team didn't have Qian Li, there would inevitably be ways without Qian Li. Maybe it would be successful, but of course, it might also fail. But you're taking away the important factor that triggered the qualitative change from a victorious situation, and then saying that we would inevitably lose at any time, there's something wrong with your way of thinking, right?" Jian Gui said.

"Important factor? Is that just an important factor? Isn't that a necessary factor?" the priest retorted.

"Okay, let's assume everything is as you said, what exactly do you want to say in the end?" Jian Gui asked.

"There's no need to say these things anymore. As a beneficiary of Qian Li Yizui, ask yourself, have you lost your principles?" the priest said.

"I haven't," Jian Gui answered without thinking, "But you, I don't know what your principles are?"

"My principles? To bring back all the unjust things caused by Qian Li Yizui to the right track," the priest replied.

Qi Pei Jia