Shen Xixi took Western cultural history as well, but she didn’t make it to class today. In fact, she did not show up in school at all for the whole day. Many were used to this, though. The boys would show a hint of regret whenever the name of their course’ beauty queen was mentioned. The girls, on the other hand, didn’t care too much about her.
Even among the three residing in Zhang Heng’s dormitory, two had drawn a clear line with Shen Xixi. Wei Jiangyang’s girlfriend, Han Xiaoxiao, still couldn’t let it go. She and Shen Xixi used to be close, and she once even persuaded her to rethink what she was doing. After all, she was from a decent family, where she didn’t need to sell her body. Her dad was no wealthy CEO, but compared to most girls born to working-class families, she never had to worry about her life.
It did not make sense that she went down this path, not to mention how she was never a vain girl in the first place. However, neither those who cared about Shen Xixi nor the gloaters at school knew the real situation she now faced.
The union’s impromptu meeting had been going on for a day and a night. Most important discussions had actually been completed in the first hour but, the founder of the union, Shen Xixi, didn’t agree to the solution. It was why the meeting had been dragging on until now. Arc of Light gave them only one day. That was, if the union did not give them what they wanted by midnight, war would then be declared on them.
If that were the case, it was an acceptable outcome for the union.
Most in the conference room knew that once the players were handed over to the Arc of Light, the foundation they were built upon would fall apart. If the players were to be handed over today, they might end up the same tomorrow. That said, they should at least try to stay alive today, much less think about tomorrow.
The president of a medium-sized guild attempted a last effort. In persuasion, he said, “I know you are displeased by the outcome. In fact, none of us are happy. This is a huge blow to the union, and it might also affect your reputation. However, we all know how tough a decision it must have been for you, and we guarantee this position will remain as yours in the time to come.”
“Reputation? I felt misunderstood! I don’t care who the boss of the union is. We are not a guild. It doesn’t matter who the chairman is.” Shen Xixi shook her head, “I cannot possibly agree to hand them over to Arc of Light. They will be killed!”
“You may not want to surrender them, but we can’t keep them as well,” someone immediately retorted. “Although our numbers won’t suffer, our players have far less strength than top guilds like Arc of Light. Their current admission criteria are to have at least survived five games, let alone that their guild has more than ten Grade-B game items. Most of our players have completed only three games, a less than average number. Moreover, we only have four Grade-B items, and most of them are non-combat type.”
“The Arc of Light is not the only top guild,” said Shen Xixi. “We will pay dearly if we go against them. Arc of Light must also consider if the balance between Silver Wings and the players can still be maintained.”
“What is that dear price we will need to pay then?”
The guild leader of a small guild asked the question that everyone was waiting to ask.
The union’s composition was inherently complicated, wherein small and medium guilds and independent player teams participated. So far, they had no problem cooperating, but in times of real danger, these apparently close allies would find it very difficult to work together.
Now that everything was out in the open, masks had come undone, and everyone spoke their minds. The medium guild leader who spoke before continued, “The agreement between us was to deal with monsters in the city. That does not include a battle against one of three major guilds, Arc of Light.”
Shen Xixi frowned and was about to say something, but the next moment, someone abruptly kicked the door open.
Li Bai, still with blood still on his body, and Rabbit, a lollipop in her mouth, strode into the meeting room. They brought along three captives with them. “These bastards wanted to kidnap someone, but we caught them,” said Li Bai. Rabbit went on, “…they are from Horizon. Li Bai beat up another two unlucky bastards, and they are now lying in the hospital.”
Shen Xixi cast her gaze on a middle-aged man who had not spoken much. He seemed gentle. It was the guild leader of Horizon, and he did not avoid her gaze. He pushed up his glasses and confessed, “Someone has to do it, at this point. Since you are unwilling, we will do it for
you.”
“We haven’t even come up with a conclusion yet!” answered Shen Xixi, still taken aback by the sudden intrusion.
“I don’t even know what the point is for discussion,” said the middle-aged man. “If you don’t hand them over, there is no need for the union to exist anymore!”
“Is that a threat?”
Shen Xixi looked around the people in the conference room.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense. No one replied to her. In other words, they must have agreed with the middle-aged man.
“So, this is the justice your heart seeks?!”
Shen Xixi’s heart sank, but there was a slight glimmer of hope, where she hoped to awaken the conscience in their heart through those questions.
However, after a long while, the oldest man and a representative of the independent players spoke slowly.
“Politics has nothing to do with justice.”
There were only less than three hours left before they had to reply to Arc of Light.
Until now, the union still hadn’t revealed their stand. On the other hand, the player forum was getting livelier by the minute-players had posted speculations about Shen Xixi’s decision, and some had even started a bet for this event. Judging by the wager that most people placed, they leaned more towards Shen Xixi eventually handing the players to Arc of Light. It was only a matter of time.
Dragging it a little longer would show that the union did surmount some resistance against the Arc of Light onslaught, something that might ease the consequences of handing over the players. Public opinion on the forum seemed to have reached a consensus-it was a choice any reasonable person should make.
After all, Arc of Light wasn’t really intending to destroy the union. At best, it was only because of the union’s rapid growth, causing the three major guilds to ruffle their feathers. They wanted to use this opportunity to stunt and stifle their development, in the fear that they might someday become a threat.
Handing over the players meant reducing the union’s internal cohesion, allowing the union to maintain its loose structure, and in turn, stopping Shen Xixi from integrating the emerging union into a powerful force. This would be an acceptable result for both parties.
However, at 11:12 in the evening, the medium-sized guild, Horizon, announced the forum, reiterating their respect for Shen Xixi and the union she led. They had also stated that the two sides chose to split due to personal differences and wouldn’t rule out the possibility of working together again in the future.
As soon as this thread got posted, a second thread emerged before the lurkers got even to say anything about it. It was quickly followed by the third, then fourth. These were all posts by guilds or independent player groups within the union. Anybody smart would promptly sense that something wasn’t quite right.
Without warning, the newly formed union was now on the verge of collapsing overnight.
