"Beast meat, deer antlers, shrimp basket." Yutianxiao counted today's harvest and asked, "Did you gather the fuel?"

"I took down a tree spirit; although the core was destroyed, there were still a lot of miscellaneous materials left." Night Fighting Sword pointed to a small cart beside him: "Look, it's a whole cartful, enough for this week as long as that woman doesn't cause any trouble—"

"That doesn't count as causing trouble."

Long Yuqiong, who had been silently skinning, suddenly spoke with a serious tone:

"Lai Anding—she's the game's core developer. If she wants to do something, there's definitely a reason. If we don't complete her task, we won't be in a good place."

"Isn't this causing trouble? We were just playing the game properly when suddenly the officials intervened and forced us into signing that confidentiality agreement, prohibiting any dissemination of this matter through any media."

Night Fighting Sword retorted angrily:

"I bet the top brass at Qiqiao Network found some deadly bug and decided to fix it themselves but were afraid of causing a stir, so they directly intervened. If they can't solve the problem, they resolve the people who raised it. I know this too well; that's how big corporations work."

"... It's fine for you to think that way. Just know that Lai Anding isn't someone we can mess with."

Long Yuqiong continued with his work, his tone softened. He didn't bother correcting Night Fighting Sword's assumptions.

This attitude raised suspicion in Yutianxiao because it differed greatly from the usual decisive and domineering, efficiency-first persona.

It seemed that he had suffered a lot.

As his old friend, Yutianxiao stepped forward, determined to guide him with some gentle comforting words for his wounded soul:

"Long Yuqiong, you idiot, look at your pathetic appearance—cowering, decadent, weak—just like a dog with a broken spine. You look too pitiful—do you still have the style of a professional player?"

Long Yuqiong reacted indifferently, continuing to skin the hunted beast.

"Come to think of it, Long Yuqiong, what's up with you? Ever since that woman Lai Anding showed up, you've been like a cheating third party dragged out of the closet by the husband—were you beaten up or something? No temper whatsoever."

Night Fighting Sword teased:

"Did that woman make some dirty cheap deal with you, holding some dirt over your head? Ah, I'm all too familiar with plots like this."

Before Long Yuqiong could react, Night Fighting Sword continued speaking to himself:

"Rest assured, it's the era of law. Even if someone secretly filmed you and came to threaten you: 'Ala alala, Little Brother Long Yuqiong, can't believe you're this kind of person. You wouldn't want your family, colleagues, and fans to find out you turn into a perv at the sight of fish. If you don't want me to do this, come along with me...' Tsk tsk tsk, such plots are all too common. Night Fighting Sword advises you, when encountering extortion and blackmail, seek help from the police and lawyers frequently."

"Night, just how much random stuff have you watched?" Yutianxiao smirked and criticized, "The way you speak so easily, I'd believe you went into the depths for real."

Night Fighting Sword casually picked at his ears, dismissively saying:

"Would you count how many grains of rice are in each bowl?"

"Say whatever you want." Long Yuqiong, in low spirits, said blandly, "Don't try to oppose Lai Anding, Starry Abyss... The power of 'Starry Abyss' official is extremely strong; we can't compete with it."

"So, you plan to work for free for that woman?"

Yutianxiao retorted angrily:

"Do you need me to crunch the numbers for you? We've gone to great lengths to dive ahead from Empire to Border Abyss to gain an advantage for our Fiery Summer Competition Zone's progress and improvement, right?"

"To be more realistic, Long Yuqiong, don't you want to earn money? Don't you want fame? As a competitor, you don't even have the heart to be a champion; are you still worthy of being a professional player, living up to the title of athlete?!"

"You're a competitor; your task and goal should only be to win the match, win beautifully, win gloriously, win with dignity, at least be responsible for your country and your fans, for your personal dreams!"

"This isn't about the competition and competitors, don't bring up that useless esports match!"

Long Yuqiong couldn't bear it anymore, dropped the short knife in his hand, and yelled at Yutianxiao:

"Competition, players, esports—this matter has already gone beyond expectations; don't you understand? Yin Shuwen, do you really think this is just a game? The officials have already stepped in. If we don't do as they say, our personal safety could be at risk."

"Personal safety?"

Yutianxiao gazed at him:

"... So, you mean, as the leadership of a club team, you plan to concede to the officials? The chance to widen the gap with other competition zones is right here before us. Night Fighting Sword, you, me, including Caramel Snail; the opportunity for the world to recognize Fiery Summer players as the top players, and Fiery Summer Competition Zone as the top zone, lies right before us. Are you going to miss this opportunity and become the officials' lapdog? Rare indeed, Ou Shen!"

"No, Yin Shuwen. I'm not being a lapdog for the officials, nor am I conceding to them."

Long Yuqiong shook his head and said:

"I am a member of the official team."

Yutianxiao paused, bewilderment gradually turning into anger as he clenched his fists, causing the magic wand to creak, but then suddenly seemed to understand something, and his expression grew complex—mixing shades of blue, white, and red changing alternately, resulting in an extremely unpleasant spectacle.

Night Fighting Sword looked on, confused.

Among the many people in the temporary team assembled by Leoz, perhaps only Night Fighting Sword's mind is relatively simple.

He is neither management nor any team's commander. Though capable, he is also ranked as the number one hated Professional Brother on the domestic server, playing games without any burden, he's just a pure fun player.

Compared to others burdened with worries, he's genuinely just a game enthusiast.

The two stood in confrontation like this, and Night Fighting Sword was utterly bewildered, so he casually started a game of Auto Chess to kill time.

"...I have a question."

After a moment of silence, it was finally Yutianxiao who broke the quiet and said:

"You're the one who facilitated the merger of the Fragrant Chicken team. Why did you relegate Cumin Powder and others back then?"

"This version greatly favors cannon shooters like her, and Cumin Powder was too dominant. Although incompatible with our system, if she lands in another team, she would instantly become a core player. Shelving her is greatly beneficial for us."

Long Yuqiong answered honestly:

"This was my personal decision, unrelated to the officials."

Night Fighting Sword suddenly screamed, "Oh damn, snowballing! Wuhu! Winner winner chicken dinner is here!"

Yutianxiao ignored him and asked, "You just mentioned a personal safety issue, what do you mean?"

"Literally, if we don't proceed carefully, the officials might harm all of us."

Long Yuqiong said bitterly:

"I am trying my best to protect you, mediating in between, but Lai Anding is currently a figure of immense power within Qiqiao Network, and she is still trying to groom a successor to continue consolidating her control over 'Starry Abyss',"

"Isn't Qiqiao Network just a gaming company?"

"It's very complicated, involving many confidentiality clauses. By obligation, I can't explain it to you in detail."

"Officials, can they alter everyone's game data?"

"No, this isn't possible. Even Lai Anding herself has to follow procedures honestly when entering the game. The authority of the officials is not as strong as you think. They can't retrieve your missing account, nor can they restore deleted data."

Long Yuqiong explained:

"You could even say, even the in-game currency—Point Tickets—is essentially built on the core of 'Starry Abyss'. In other words, the game's Point Tickets have a redemption limit, so Starry Abyss sets players a one-time recharge cap to ensure it doesn't run out of Point Tickets."

Yutianxiao opened his mouth and finally said:

"...It sounds almost as if 'Starry Abyss' is being developed and exploited like a colony."

"You could understand it that way."

Night Fighting Sword exclaimed, "Harvest time, woohoo, my three-star five-cost is about to appear."

"In the previous campaign against the Hairdresser, the number of guild member accounts lost reached over a hundred, many of whom later went missing. Except for Cumin Powder, whom I know passed away suddenly during resuscitation, all others, no matter how contacted, seemed to vanish into thin air."

Yutianxiao looked at Long Yuqiong:

"May I ask, do you know what happened to them?"

"I can't say," Long Yuqiong said, "This is a confidentiality clause. They check my chat records irregularly... The forum posts and game group chats are owned by Qiqiao Network, there's no way to avoid that."

Yutianxiao extended a finger:

"1 means 'yes', 2 means 'no'. I ask a question, you extend your finger."

Long Yuqiong didn't react, so Yutianxiao asked:

"Are they alive?"

Long Yuqiong was silent, extending two fingers.

Yutianxiao felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to his head, and he gathered himself, asking solemnly:

"Did they die because of the Hairdresser?"

Long Yuqiong extended one finger.

"As expected... The Society-type enemies directly attack characters, other games typically have an unlimited revival mechanism, but here it's limited and specially marked with the 'Lai Anding Medical Protocol.' Initially thought to enhance rationality, now it clearly shows that 'Starry Abyss' is not a normal healthy game!"

"Cognition Filter, Society Citizen, Medical Protocol, Electronic Immigrants, corporate units stationed, mercenary defense of key areas... This all seems like intentionally leading people to enter the game."

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