25. A Conscientious Game, the Best Game

It was nearing evening when Jiang Heyi returned from his job hunt.

Carrying his suitcase and with fresh produce he had picked up along the way resting on the floor, he found Zhong Zemo playing a mobile game right outside his door.

The sudden emergence of *Star Witness* had not stifled the vitality of other games. By restricting playtime and only becoming accessible after one had fallen asleep, the game fit perfectly into the gaps left by other genres.

Jiang Heyi opened his door. "I'm surprised you managed to get your clothes back."

"I timed it right; she wasn't home." As Zhong Zemo stepped inside, he asked, "Where is the kitchen?"

While Zhong Zemo busied himself in the kitchen, his phone suddenly rang incessantly. Jiang Heyi picked it up and glanced at it—an unknown number.

Zhong Zemo poked his head out. "Mute it. Don't answer."

"She seems quite desperate," Jiang Heyi remarked, catching on to the situation.

"There's nothing to be desperate about. It's all over." Zhong Zemo sounded calm, as if he were recounting a matter that had nothing to do with him.

After an hour of work, Jiang Heyi had finally cleared the clutter out of the spare bedroom just as Zhong Zemo finished his preparations. Scallion-braised tofu, oil-braised chicken, pork tripe and chicken soup, and a dish of garlic-sautéed morning glory made up their dinner. Although Jiang Heyi could cook, his skills were far inferior to Zhong Zemo's; the meal was so visually appealing and delicious that he couldn't stop until he was full.

"Is this your standard at home?"

Zhong Zemo nodded. "I can't play physical card games or build models, so I have to develop new hobbies to fill the void."

Used to being busy at home, Zhong Zemo started to clean the dishes and looked for something else to do, only stopping when Jiang Heyi reminded him to relax, which made him smile with relief. At home, any attempt to spend his leisure time doing something would be met with nitpicking, to the point where he had long forgotten how to simply unwind.

With five hours left until midnight, they had plenty of free time.

Zhong Zemo borrowed Jiang Heyi’s other computer and opened Steam, which he hadn't touched in a long time. Scrolling through his library, he noticed that most of the games had not been played for months, or even a year or two.

"Let me see what you've been playing..." Jiang Heyi leaned in.

*War Thunder*, 1,700 hours.
*Stellaris*, 1,200 hours.
*Rainbow Six Siege*, 1,000 hours.
*Civilization VI*, 700 hours.

Beyond these, there were plenty of AAA titles purchased during sales over the past two years, most of which had never been launched. Fully relaxed, Zhong Zemo chose *War Thunder* to start his recovery.

As he passionately fired off P-51s at enemies, Jiang Heyi opened the official *Star Witness* forum, *Starry Dream*. As the only designated official community, it was the front line for game news and boasted a fervent atmosphere.

Jiang Heyi’s handle in the community was "Potato Fried with Ginger Slices." He was the type who only read posts and never commented, quietly gathering the information he needed. He frequented two sections: the strategy area for sharing useful game tactics, known as the "Star Messenger," and the "General Discussion" area, where anything could be posted, from wild chatter to aimless ramblings.

Today, the most popular post in the general section was titled "Barrel Water Holy Roman Guild Recruiting PVP Experts." Usually, such recruitment posts would be quickly buried by other content, yet this one sat firmly at the top. As the saying goes, if a thread in the general section builds to a skyscraper, it’s either because of a pro or an idiot. This thread, as it happened, featured both.

To keep their recruitment post at the top, the management of the Barrel Water Holy Roman Guild decided to use their "wealth power," offering random red envelope giveaways within the thread. Everything was fine until a guild called "Dream Dominator" came to the thread specifically to provoke them, leading to a heated war of words.

In any other game, Jiang Heyi would have assumed the developers were stirring up infighting to boost microtransactions. However, since the primary revenue for *Star Witness* came from monthly passes and custom skins, it was highly likely that the "Dream Dominator" guild was genuinely lacking common sense. And so it was; even as everyone pointed out that posting their own recruitment links and trash-talking in another guild’s thread was essentially a provocation, they continued to argue righteously against the crowd.

*The vibe is just right,* Jiang Heyi thought. No game is ever free of fools; if there weren't a few, players might actually start thinking *Star Witness* was paradise.

Watching the back-and-forth with amusement, Jiang Heyi was about to post a "I want to see blood run in the streets" emote when he spotted a familiar name.

[Jailer Bathing Feet Wanting to Rinse]: "What's the point of arguing on the forum? Get in the game, meet in the Conflict Zone, let's settle this. Whoever doesn't show up is a dog!"

"Isn't the whole point of recruiting PVP experts to compete in the tournament? Use them as practice! Go beat the hell out of them!"

Where there was fun, there was Jailer. The chaotic "Jailer Bro" had entered the fray to stir the pot. It was as if he had provided a solution to their conflict; the discussion quickly shifted toward arranging a duel, and soon:

"[Barrel Water Holy Roman] will be waiting for [Dream Dominator] tonight in the Conflict Zone near the trade route outside Wind-Pod City."

Those who love watching chaos are always in the majority, and other guilds soon responded. The guild leader of [Khorne’s Chosen] chimed in: "You might need professionals to serve as referees. We are very willing to accept an invitation." Players were even more eager to join the spectacle and watch the battle.

Wherever there are people, there is a world; wherever there is a world, there is strife; and where there is strife, there is no shortage of onlookers. The two guilds, already goaded into a corner, had no choice but to fight. Jailer Bro seemed to have inadvertently acted as the fuse for a historical event.

Seeing Jiang Heyi chuckling, Zhong Zemo stopped playing his game and leaned over.

"Is this a warm-up for the guild wars?"

"The guild wars seem to use a balanced mode, which is a bit different from the standard PVP," Jiang Heyi said, his lips curling upward. "If I wasn't trying to clear the Underground Temple, I’d be tempted to go watch the fun myself."

Because the game lacked tutorials and beginner guides, every player had started their "second life" in the dreamworld in a daze, which meant most posts in the general section were questions. Someone was curious why they had ended up with a 6-hour "Imprisoned" debuff after being caught by a Judgment Knight, even though they had only tried to steal something twice.

"What did you steal?"

"The Judgment Knight's armor."

Someone else had tried to kill an NPC in Wind-Pod City to disrupt other players, only to find that they had only killed an NPC within their own "world bubble," while everyone else continued to interact with the world normally. They were now posting in a meltdown, seeking help. Jiang Heyi felt no sympathy; their malice was subjective, and they had brought it upon themselves.

Another player had accidentally triggered a special event and been teleported to an unfamiliar area, but before they could use a Starry Gem to record the coordinates, they were killed by a monster and were now begging for help. The thread was highly active, though limited by strength and map accessibility; most players' active regions were quite limited. They had only seen the tip of the iceberg of the vast Empire of Anna.

If there were a way to reach entirely new regions, those confident in their skills and keen on "over-level" challenges would surely flock to it. Jiang Heyi thought of the "Clear-Seer Underground Temple" they were exploring and quickly searched for the keyword.

The search returned nothing, which made his lips curve into a smile. *Void Boundary* was still leagues ahead.

"Do you guys feel like the game’s crackdown on third-party trading is incredibly fast?"

Seeing this discussion thread, Jiang Heyi clicked on it immediately.

"I saw it on the comments section of a small video site. An influencer acted as a middleman to help a wealthy player speed up their guild construction by buying materials. The moment the items were delivered, the trade was frozen."

"From the warning about illegal trading to the refund of the items, the whole process took less than 20 minutes. It's so efficient."

The post resonated with players who had tried third-party trading. Their inherent gaming mindset was that if they could use money to accelerate progress and enjoy the core gameplay, they wouldn't mind spending a little. Upon discovering that the developers didn't sell stats, they felt a bit uneasy and turned to "external assistance." Their attempts, without exception, ended in failure.

Players had never seen such efficient and accurate oversight mechanisms before. Not only had third-party trading vanished, but cheats had also completely lost the battle against this epoch-making game. *Star Witness* stood out for two words: "Pure."

The discussion about third-party trading soon caught the attention of community moderators; the thread was locked, buried, and swept into the waves of the general section. This approach clearly signaled the official stance—don't try to look for loopholes; keep your "wealth power" for the in-game shop's outfits and items that don't affect combat power.

While no one knew how they managed such precise oversight, the approach undoubtedly boosted the favor of most players. A "conscience game," the "best game." It was so conscientious that Zhong Zemo wanted to pull out his wallet and let *Star Witness* take a little more.

"Tonight, I'm buying another set of the black-and-white templates!" Having regained control of his wallet, Zhong Zemo spoke with newfound confidence.