Chapter 222: The Balance of the Scales 03
Kui Xin casually skimmed the homepage before clicking into the list of fallen players to check the kill record of Remover 777; this week, Remover 777 had killed two people…
How did he find out about the players’ movements? Was he working for the Federation, or was he acting independently?
Kui Xin was really annoyed by this troublemaker; Augus was undermining the cohesion of the player community and the living forces of the First World. If circumstances allowed, she would have eliminated him as soon as possible, but she was already tied down by too many issues. The arrival of the Dark Realm was imminent, and university was about to start again… She simply couldn’t spare the time in the First World to deal with Augus unless she managed to kill him in the Second World.
However, the existence of anchor points was an uncertain factor; Kui Xin didn’t know if killing Augus in the Second World would eliminate his anchor points in the First World.
The main pressure on Kui Xin was the pressure of time.
The start date for school had long been set, but having the start of school coincide with the arrival of the Dark Realm was very problematic. If one were to weigh the importance of school life against the game, clearly the latter was more significant.
Kui Xin had always been good at distinguishing priorities and making choices, and if she couldn’t have both, she would choose one over the other.
After all the effort she put into her final year, she had high expectations for university life, but after experiencing the baptism of Crimson Soil, her feelings of anticipation had faded significantly—only restlessness remained in her heart.
Even if Kui Xin didn’t consciously avoid it, the situation she least wanted to see was unfolding before her eyes—her normal life was precarious, and now she had to make a choice.
Pretending not to see, perhaps, would allow her to lead a peaceful life, pushing the responsibility onto others, like capable players such as Li Wanran to solve it, and she might gain a temporary calm. But afterward, that peaceful life would still be unsustainable. Kui Xin could turn a blind eye to the impending disaster, but disasters do not happen at the whim of individual will.
At this critical moment of upheaval in Tonglin City, Kui Xin couldn’t just walk away.
With a heavy sigh, Kui Xin exited the fallen players’ list to view the posts on the homepage.
Every post’s title was quite shocking; each player posting seemed eager to fill their titles with question marks and exclamation marks to express their shock and amazement, to the point where almost all the posts on the homepage began and ended with question marks and exclamation marks.
“As soon as I get back home, I’m posting this on the forum! Black Snake is incredible!!”
“Whoa, whoa, have you all seen that news? A huge news item that dominated the headlines in the Second World for an entire week!”
“Even now, I still feel like I’m dreaming! God knows how shocked I was when that news popped up on my communicator; that familiar name flashed before my eyes, and I even thought I had recognized it wrong or that there was a codename with the same name!”
“When I saw that news in the Second World, I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe that the two Black Snakes were the same person! We players have stood up!”
“Crazy!! The player organization formed by Black Snake has burst onto the scene, kidnapping two members of wealthy clans in a week and demanding a ransom of twenty billion! They even orchestrated a large-scale power outage in White Whale City, causing the entire city to suffer losses in the billions, giving the Federation a heavy slap in the face!”
Post from the First Floor: Awesome! This is the first shot of the players’ resistance against the oppression of the Second World!
1L: I teared up; I was so excited when I saw the news in the Second World that I cried. No words can describe my feelings…
2L: Really, it feels like we’ve been bullied, and the big shot looking out for us is helping us reclaim our dignity.
5L: Today, I checked the pinned list of fallen players again and felt overwhelmed looking at those numbered IDs. How many of those players on the fallen list were directly killed by the Federation?
6L: Our fellow countrymen have suffered, and we don’t even dare to poke our heads out in that advanced society, but someone has stood up, leading the charge and even taking concrete actions to retaliate against those who persecute us.
13L: Wait, why is everyone just assuming that the player Black Snake is the Black Snake from The Shadowless Organization? But since the return, that player with the codename 233 hasn’t posted about this matter! I think everyone should calm down and wait for the big shot’s post.
14L replies to 13L: Agreed, it might be a coincidence. I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade; The Shadowless Organization in the Second World is incredibly powerful. Black Snake is a player, just like us, who’s only been in that world for a few weeks. Does he really have the strength and capability to plan out such consecutive major events?
15L: The news said that the city blackout was due to an accident at the power plant; isn’t that something The Shadowless did?
16L replies to 15L: I saw a lot of discussions in the comments under the news; most people believe that the blackout was indeed caused by The Shadowless. Half of the city’s lights went out—wasn’t that The Shadowless? I suspect the Federation government is downplaying this incident to protect their image.
20L: The Black Snake from The Shadowless Organization is absolutely the player Black Snake! I’ve gathered information from various channels and found out that The Shadowless Organization is currently in a recruitment phase; they’ve directly posted a recruitment ad on the dark web, and Big Shot Black Snake has also posted a recruitment ad on our player forum. There was some hesitation, and not many responded to his recruitment. From this perspective, the actions of Black Snake in the First World and Second World are highly synchronized, basically confirming that they are the same person!
21L: Agree with the previous comment; I also think the two Black Snakes are the same person—just a gut feeling!
23L: The recruitment of The Shadowless Organization in the Second World has been going on for quite a few days, right? Could it be that some players were drawn over and took part in the recruitment interviews? Can anyone reveal the situation?
24L: Waiting for someone in the know.
59L: Someone in the know has arrived. I participated in the recruitment interview and can basically confirm to you all that The Shadowless Organization was built by players! The two Black Snakes are indeed the same person!
60L replies to 59L: No way, really? Can you tell us more details!
61L replies to 59L: Wow, someone in the know has really shown up!
62L: Is it really someone in the know? Please don’t be just spouting nonsense…
72L: I can’t reveal too much. Although the interviewer didn’t ask me to keep it confidential, I think this information isn’t quite suitable to be disclosed publicly. Like everyone else, I’m waiting for a response—both for the interview result and for Big Shot Black Snake to make an official response on the forum.
76L: What a mess, being all mysterious. When you say “basically can confirm,” it means you can’t be 100% sure! If something is uncertain, sharing it can mislead others; it’s better to wait for a direct response.
82L: Just to clarify, during the interview, I asked the interviewer whether The Shadowless was related to players. Of course, I didn’t phrase it that way; I was more implicit. The interviewer neither denied nor directly confirmed it. I feel that not denying and not confirming is an implicit acceptance, so I can say that I can basically confirm it.
85L: Damn, after hearing from someone in the know, I also feel like it’s about ninety percent likely.
86L: Why was the interviewer ambiguous and unwilling to state it directly? If it really is a player-related organization, wouldn’t it be better to just admit it?
87L replies to 86L: You’re too naive. After hanging around the forum for so long, have you forgotten that a few weeks ago, someone revealed that players might be subjected to brainwashing in the Second World and become traitors? The Shadowless Organization needs to carefully screen its members; what if someone with malicious intent sneaks into the interview and wipes out the organization? If Black Snake is founding this organization and recruiting members, he has to be responsible for all of them! Not denying or confirming is the right attitude, leaving room for maneuver while also hinting at something.
91L replies to 87L: Got it. My last post was too hasty and I didn’t think it through; your point does make a lot of sense.
99L: I just find it unbelievable!! How did Black Snake do it?! Or rather, how did The Shadowless do it? Those are members of the top families in the world! The Popov family is rich enough to rank in the top twenty of the Federation; they are genuinely at the top of the pyramid, holding over half of the wealth in the Second World among the top one percent of the population. The two people who were kidnapped, one is Dmitri Popov, the son of the family leader, and the other is Abrak Popov, who is highly valued in the family and often appears at various important events. Each of them must have bodyguards, right? How did The Shadowless manage to pull this off? It’s incredible!
100L: Isn’t Abrak a fake news? He appeared at the Popov family’s press conference and wasn’t kidnapped.
101L: Naive. On the morning of the day Abrak got into trouble, there was news saying he had been kidnapped, with several news media even claiming they received confirmed information that The Shadowless provided. Later, The Shadowless released a video of Abrak where he claimed he was the real one! Since The Shadowless dared to release this information, it shows they have considerable confidence and aren’t just spouting nonsense.
102L: So there’s a fake Abrak?
103L: From the various signs, it seems The Shadowless is deliberately hyping the Popov family kidnapping case; they likely want to make this a big deal known to the world. The purpose of The Shadowless should be quite complex.
109L: Everyone will notice that players in the Second World are in a rather fragmented state; we’re monitored by the super AI of the Federation and must be careful in everything we do and say. We don’t even dare casually search information or send messages online, making it easy for fellow countrymen to struggle to recognize each other.
The appearance of The Shadowless has broken this stagnant situation. They’ve created these big news items, using the news media of the Second World to tell all players who can see the news that The Shadowless is right there! In White Whale City!
So I think they kidnapped members of the Popov family in order to use this news to generate buzz, conveying a message to all players, recruiting personnel, and gathering us scattered individuals together.
116L: Oh my, since they’ve openly recruited, then all players can apply to join The Shadowless, right?
117L: I want to join as well; having a big shot for protection feels very reassuring…
123L: The analysis from the previous posts is very reasonable; I also want to add a point.
As stated in the title of the original post, the series of actions taken by The Shadowless can be summarized with one word—insane!
This is a direct slap in the face to the wealthy clans and the Federation government. It’s easy to predict that such actions will undoubtedly provoke fierce retaliation from those in power; any smart person would weigh the consequences carefully and be deterred. Yet, The Shadowless did this without leaving any room for themselves, and without giving the Federation and the wealthy clans any face, even kidnapping not one but two members of wealthy families, deeply offending the people in power.
To all players wishing to join The Shadowless, I advise you to consider carefully. Black Snake is incredible, and the group of players around him must also be top-tier players. What The Shadowless does in the future may not be any safer than kidnapping a wealthy clan member, and I don’t think this organization will accept lazy people who only want to enjoy protection without taking action.
In a word, for anyone wanting to join The Shadowless, are you prepared? Do you have the courage to sacrifice? Do you have the guts to risk your life?
With every step we take, we are dancing on the edge of a blade; The Shadowless is at the very tip of that blade. If you don’t have that determination, don’t go adding to the chaos; some things aren’t as simple as just showing up.
124L: So, the series of significant actions taken by The Shadowless is both an advertisement and a declaration to everyone that they are powerful and do not accept useless members?
125L replies to 124L: I think this interpretation is correct… What can you do once you join? You can’t just loaf around, right? The Shadowless is a player organization resisting the Second World, not a charity organization!
136L: My personal view is that The Shadowless being so high-profile isn’t necessarily a good thing. As some earlier posts mentioned, the Second World also controls a lot of players; they might catch wind of our forum’s related information. This means that from the moment The Shadowless started to use big news as advertisement, the Federation government likely guessed that this is a player-formed organization, especially since Black Snake conspicuously threw out his codename.
The Shadowless has completely offended people; the Federation and the wealthy clans can’t swallow this anger. Will they shift their wrath onto other players?
137L replies to 136L: I think so too; The Shadowless really has gone too far, and I’m really worried that other innocent players will suffer reprisals…
137L: Seriously, did the Popov family offend The Shadowless? Kidnapping them is going too far. I hope The Shadowless considers the feelings of ordinary players more; ordinary players cannot withstand the revenge of the Federation and the wealthy clans.
140L: Ha, look at what the above posts are saying? The bloody death toll—don’t you see it? Whether or not The Shadowless exists, they would pursue us to the end. You’re blaming The Shadowless for going too far; to me, that’s like getting slapped and then trying to curry favor with the slapper! To put it more harshly, someone wants to kill you; a righteous passerby sees this and gives the murderer a beating, and then you turn around and criticize the righteous passerby for being too ruthless? What kind of logic is that? Stockholm syndrome?
141L: Agreeing with 140, I just feel great about what The Shadowless has done; I will not harbor any sympathy for the powerful figures in the Second World. The worse they fall, the happier I become.
142L: Additionally, let me point out that everything Black Snake has done has been noted by everyone; he is a player with principles who cares for his fellow countrymen. I don’t believe he would target a wealthy clan for no reason; the Popov family must have offended someone first, and The Shadowless just took the opportunity to strike back. The Popov family is definitely not innocent!
143L replies to 142L: Although your speculation has no basis, I agree.
144L: The wealthy clans in the Second World exploit the ordinary populace ruthlessly; their wealth is piled high and their lavish lifestyles are built on the blood and bones of the people. They are certainly not innocent; no wealthy clan is innocent, remember that!
189L: Looking back at the past posts from Black Snake, I can see that every step he took was calculated.
First, Black Snake posted a personal section recruitment announcement on the forum, informing everyone that only by revealing their identity and activity scope in the First World could they obtain entry into Black Snake’s personal section. What was he doing? Filtering! Black Snake had to ensure the purity of his team, and knowing their real identities and activities was crucial for timely disposal of any traitors within the organization.
At the time, many were skeptical and took a wait-and-see attitude, but after this week, I think everyone can at least put their doubts to rest.
The Shadowless stands on the side of players, leading the charge in the Second World, and what they have done in the Second World has proven their strength. They can even pin the Popov family down!
I believe I might not have the ability to join The Shadowless directly, as it is an action-oriented organization. However, I think I can definitely join Black Snake’s personal section; I can reveal my identity to Black Snake in exchange for access to his section. This is my trust in his capability and character.
I have a feeling that the personal section “Black Snake” will become the safest communication channel and information exchange for players in the Second World. Players joining won’t have to worry about exposing their identities because Black Snake is the guardian of order in that personal section!
190L: Given this situation, Black Snake should post a clarification tonight, right?
191L replies to 190L: That’s inevitable. I’m not sleeping; I’ll wait for the post.
192L: Didn’t you guess that Black Snake might be dealing with the arrival of the Dark Realm in Tonglin City? Is there anything happening in Tonglin City tonight? He hasn’t posted anything for so long; could he be caught up in something?
193L: I’m also there, and from what I see on the outskirts, there’s no movement; it’s calm. I expect nothing unexpected tonight.
194L: Uh… Is no one worried that Black Snake and Remover 233 might be the same person? This topic was hotly debated last week.
195L: I suspect these two individuals know each other; they’re both in Tonglin City. Perhaps Remover 233 is a member of The Shadowless Organization.
196L: To be honest, this topic is no longer important. Black Snake has already provided the answer; just like he required us to prove our identities to join him, The Shadowless’s stance and their actions are their answer and proof. Stance and actions are what truly matter; real action is infinitely more significant than powerless words and clarifications.
197L: Let’s give some advice to the skeptics—don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Kui Xin closed the post at this point. This thread had nearly reached three hundred comments, and the smart ones had pretty much analyzed the situation. Most people were waiting for her post.
Kui Xin had a solid understanding of the general direction and thoughts of ordinary players after learning of the news.
She switched to the forum backend to check her private messages, and her inbox was completely flooded. During the time she refreshed the page, new messages kept popping up. Some people directly provided their real identity information in the private messages, hoping to enter her personal section… and quite a few were doing this.
Kui Xin turned off the private messages, opened the posting page, and typed out the following title: “The Shadowless Organization is openly recruiting. Players who have undergone an interview, please contact me to prove your identity. Others interested in an interview may also reach out to me.”
First Floor: Awakened players take priority.
Additionally, Black Snake’s personal section is still recruiting, and the entry conditions remain unchanged.
As soon as this post was made, it sparked a massive wave.
If the previous threads about The Shadowless and Black Snake were merely speculations, after she personally posted this thread, everyone was a hundred percent certain—The Shadowless is indeed a players’ organization!
Soon, someone replied to the post Kui Xin published: My God, you really are something else!
