052 Hero

"The Eleventh Alliance Cup is about to begin!"

The cold night wind howled outside the window. Although it was close to February and the warm spring was just around the corner, that was still a matter for the future—even with the advanced technology of the twenty-second century, the winter brought by the seasonal transition could not be altered. Although the energy, heating, and other basic necessities in the apartment rented by Duan Qing were fully prepared, for some reason, Duan Qing still felt as if it were the dead of winter in his heart.

Therefore, he gave up tossing and turning in bed, got up to brew a cup of hot coffee, and began browsing the recent news. The afternoon before yesterday, a former coworker of Duan Qing had come to visit and repaid an old debt from a long time ago. This came as a huge and pleasant surprise to Duan Qing. To celebrate, he had run off to the supermarket on a massive spending spree, stocking up on plenty of provisions for his lifestyle as a homebody. The coffee he was brewing now was one of them—artificially synthesized, of course, and the cheapest kind available.

After the chill in his heart was slightly dispelled, Duan Qing noticed the most prominent headline.

The new season of the Alliance Cup was about to start. Although news regarding the registration for the Alliance Cup was released around this time every year, making such schedule announcements hardly worthy of being called breaking news, the gaming community still paid immense attention to it. On the forums of major platforms, the view counts were on the verge of surpassing the "Emerald Forest" incident from a few days ago.

After years of dedicated development, the Alliance's hard work was finally bearing fruit. This large-scale event, which they spared no effort in organizing, had steadily grown into a grand celebration within the virtual gaming world. Whether people were focused on the clashes between top-tier masters, the exchange of gaming techniques, networking, testing their martial arts against others, discovering talent, or simply joining in for the excitement, everyone flocked to participate in this gaming feast, making the tournament even more lively. Of course, since the inception of the Alliance Cup a decade ago, numerous deified players and competitors had been born from it, and all sorts of anecdotes and gossip had originated from the event, becoming casual chat material for players during their spare time.

Furthermore, this year's Alliance Cup seemed determined to undergo some internal changes after completing its first decade.

"A more streamlined tournament schedule! A fairer scoring system! A more relaxed competitive environment! What are you allies waiting for, come sign up and showcase your true colors!"

Heh, they sure knew how to hype it up... However, as Duan Qing casually browsed through the tournament schedule for the year 2135, which had already entered its countdown phase, he found that there were indeed quite a few changes.

The new competition categories had finally trimmed away some of the "nostalgia," decisively discarding virtual gaming competition categories that still relied on the previous generation of game technology. Naturally, this would provoke opposition from some veteran players, but in the face of the overarching trend, these waves of resistance, which had continued unabated for several years, ultimately grew powerless.

Two years ago, in 2133, a new generation of game architecture relying on the latest optical brain calculation methods was released and underwent official testing. Marked by that node in time, several virtual games that had already fallen behind by two generations finally began to lay down their glory and march toward the end of their lifespans. After all, the design and architectural traces of these games, which had been born seven or eight years ago, were far too antiquated. Even if these categories were retained for the competition, they would always feel somewhat out of place compared to the games of the new era.

At a tournament set against the realistic scenes of a virtual world, wouldn't having flat competition categories driven purely by graphics and simple inputs feel... jarring?

In the end, they were simply no longer on the same level.

Of course, Duan Qing knew that on the surface, the content of these current virtual games hadn't changed much—gunfight themes, martial arts themes, fantasy themes, sci-fi themes... As for game content, it could never exceed the boundaries of human imagination. However, someone like Duan Qing could also see that beneath these superficial contents, massive changes had indeed taken place, both in terms of the internal design and logical calculation methods of the games, and the external operation and response methods.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be struggling quite so much in Free World.

He imagined that the others must be feeling much the same way... Duan Qing took a sip from the rim of his cup, closed the news page, and checked his friend list, unsurprisingly spotting the name Snowfall Phantom Ice.

Such a dedicated worker... Duan Qing thought to himself. He then used the input device to send a message: "Will you be participating?"

As one of the few surviving player participants, none of the five-party members led by Duan Qing had stepped forward to provide any detailed explanation regarding the towering beam of light that occurred on the day of the Emerald Forest incident. On the contrary, those players who had previously fought Duan Qing atop the Emerald Tower came out and strutted around a bit. However, faced with all sorts of skepticism, and lacking further details, they were completely unable to paint a complete picture of the whole story. Having failed to round out the narrative, their only contribution—aside from exposing even more layers of mystery—was making the incident even more explosive.

Of course, the participants did mention the names of Mountain-Breaker and Snowfall Phantom Ice. As for the rest... they mostly treated Duan Qing and the other three as subordinates or nameless passersby, and thus didn't mention them much.

Regarding this matter, Duan Qing hadn't spoken up himself, nor did he have the leisure to go out of his way to warn the others—he felt that whether or not to disclose such things was up to his teammates. Therefore, as to why Snowfall Phantom Ice and that fellow Mountain-Breaker chose not to speak of it afterward, he had no idea—for the two of them, this was a golden opportunity to build their guild's reputation.

Of course, he neither cared nor concerned himself with such matters. As for whether anyone would come looking for trouble with them after this, that was even less up to him to decide.

Before long, he received a reply: "I want to, but my level isn't high enough."

Then he received another question: "Why are you in stealth mode?"

"Naturally... for personal reasons. Your level isn't high enough, really?"

Duan Qing had once checked up the ID Snowfall Phantom Ice in the Alliance's Hall of Fame. It belonged to a competitor who had emerged over the past three years. She naturally had some achievements to her name, but in Duan Qing's eyes, those accomplishments were hardly worth mentioning.

Because she was blessed with beauty and always wore a stern, ice-cold expression in her daily life, the fans of Wings of Freedom had bestowed upon her the title of "Ice Goddess." After spending some time together, Duan Qing naturally scoffed somewhat at this title—her skills weren't all that impressive, and she wasn't particularly cold either, she was just... a bit stubborn.

Of course, he couldn't deny that she was beautiful.

"The Emerald Forest business delayed things quite a bit, and my level has fallen behind. If I can't push past level forty before the registration deadline, the guild master won't approve it."

An insufficient level meant insufficient stats, and lagging equipment, which equated to inadequate strength. Even if she went to participate in the tournament, she would most likely just end up getting beaten to a pulp. The higher-ups of Wings of Freedom likely made such internal demands with reputation and win rates in mind.

"I see... Then you'll just have to work hard."

"I will."

"If... you participate, I'll cheer you on as well." Duan Qing hesitated for a moment before adding that extra sentence. Right after, he felt that his hands really had a mind of their own.

He had already fallen into such a trap once before.

However, not long after, he received the characteristically brief reply as always.

"Thank you."

Closing the chat window, Snowfall Phantom Ice shook her head and then brought the previously paused conversation back in front of her: "I understand the guild master's intention. Do the members of the first team have any other requests?"

"None... However, the team members' emotions have been a bit unstable lately, and I'm afraid... it might affect their performance in April."

"If they can't adjust their mindset... can they even be called professional players? Those are my exact words, tell them that."

As she typed those words, Snowfall Phantom Ice actually felt a twinge of embarrassment in her heart, because during the Emerald Forest incident, she had more or less also displayed some emotional instability, as well as...

"Understood, captain."

Thinking of the ID name of the man who had just conversed with her, a ripple stirred once again in Snowfall Phantom Ice's heart. However, it lasted only for a fraction of a second before her iron will, forged over many years, allowed her to return to her usual state.

"Do you have any other..."

Passing Breeze... Breeze... Right.

As if suddenly remembering something, she pulled that chat dialog back up: "How is that person named Duan Qing whom I had you investigate earlier?"

"Xin... there's no result yet, but we're narrowing down the scope. What's wrong, Captain? Is the situation..."

"Nothing, just... casually asking."

She casually waved her fingers in front of the screen and temporarily cast these matters, along with that massive stack of windows, to the back of her mind.

"Truly... matching her style." On the other end, Duan Qing shook his head, closed the chat window as well, and conveniently deleted a large batch of other messages.

Ever since the rumor that "Blade of the Shattered Sky has re-entered the martial world" spread, a mountain of inquiries would pop up in his friend messages every day, and even his mailbox was flooded with various similar emails. Adopting an attitude of remaining unperturbed even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him, Duan Qing brushed all these things aside. He had already said goodbye to his past self, both in reality and in the game.

Right now, he just wanted to enjoy playing the game properly.

Casually browsing through industry news, professional commentary, and player gossip—the world of gaming was simply this vibrant and never lacked topics. Even events like "Jianghu and Wings of Freedom clash on the battlefield," "Hot-blooded youths brawl fiercely over NPCs," or "New skills released, but their ownership sparks disputes" were eagerly discussed by players with a spectator's mindset. Among them, a few passionate or righteous individuals who cursed out opposing camps were mostly just venting for the viewpoints they supported, or for the stars and guilds they backed. After all, stances and values were things that had to be firmly upheld no matter what.

However, certain topics were unsuited for such routines. For instance, the news article Duan Qing looked at next.

"Kristo passes away at the age of 91."

Duan Qing let out a soft sigh of mixed emotions.

Kristo was one of the leading figures of the "Liberator" development team and the chief designer of fourth-generation virtual gaming technology. A few years ago, this lovable old foreign man frequently appeared on various media terminals, flaunting his intelligence while showcasing the research achievements of their entire team. But it had to be said that thanks to the development of those technologies, he had completed a threefold leap in virtual gaming technology in his twilight years, achieving a transition from utter poverty to billionaire status.

This unkempt, witty designer always maintained the air of an eccentric old urchin when conversing with the media, leaving people simultaneously amused and deeply admiring. Of course, this admiration wasn't because of the billions in capital he had earned, but because of his contributions to virtual technology. Without the years of hard work by him and his development team, perhaps all games would still be lingering in the peripheral operation and control stage to this day.

Yet this elderly pioneer who opened up a grand era in the gaming world had ultimately failed to break through the shackles of time.

Duan Qing silently opened the news article, and after a brief obituary and biographical introduction, he came across a video. This video was reportedly recorded by Kristo while lying on his hospital bed before his death. According to his wishes, after his passing, this video would be released to the world as his final words to everyone.

It surely wouldn't be something like "Do you want my treasure?" or the like... Duan Qing thought maliciously, then opened the video that players had already clicked on countless times.

The video was very short, and perhaps due to hasty recording and emotional agitation, the camera kept shaking. In his final moments, the old man did not have much strength to spare. However, from the visuals, he was extremely excited, his wrinkled face flushed with the vitality of a final surge of energy.

Duan Qing spent five minutes watching it, remained silent for over ten minutes, and finally closed the browsing interface to enter the game.

In his mind, the playful voice of that old man was still echoing.

"Dear players, I am about to head to another world, a free world."

"My life has been colorful. I am deeply honored to have created more colorful worlds and allowed more people to appreciate them."

"I believe that what virtual technology can achieve goes far beyond this. However, the remaining path must be explored by you."

"However, I will not depart just like that. I have left a gift for players all over the world, and I hope you will discover and utilize it."

"Free World is the best work of my life, and also my most satisfying creation. I hope that in this world, you will find..."

"The true meaning of freedom."

*******************

"You're so slow, Big Uncle! Do you know how long I've been waiting here for you?"

Before the scene before his eyes cleared up, Duan Qing heard Mengzhu's lively voice shouting loudly at him.

Still wearing that purple robe, still sporting her bouncing golden ponytail, the young girl looked extremely excited, hopping around Duan Qing before pulling a leather garment out of her bag: "Look! What is this?"

"This is... leather armor?"

"It's leather armor made of wolf skin! Do you know what wolf skin is..." Seeing the utter indifference of the big uncle in front of her, Mengzhu's little mouth showed signs of puffing up again. But the very next instant, she excitedly cradled the equipment once more, introducing it as if begging for praise.

"I bought this from a player setting up a stall at the village entrance! Purely handmade, top-quality wild wolf skin! It's said the sewing process even passed through Uncle Norman's hands. I checked the marks on it, and it should be real! And the most important thing is..."

"That player only sold it for two hundred Ebri coins!"

Duan Qing covered his eyes, wanting to pretend he didn't know this young girl whose eyes were flashing with coin symbols.

Ever since their parting that day, Duan Qing and Mengzhu had made the joint decision to go out and venture into the world, so they had been preparing for their departure during the past few days of gaming.

Although their adventure in the Emerald Forest hadn't yielded much actual harvest, it had allowed both Duan Qing and Mengzhu to gain quite a few levels. Coupled with their slacking off over the past few days, one of them was now level twenty and the other level nineteen. If they didn't leave Greenstone Village now, they wouldn't see any new development.

Moreover, Greenstone Village was truly at a newcomer village level now. The wild wolves on the grassland north of the village had become the toughest monsters players could find, while the now-living up to its name Emerald Forest made it very difficult to find any monsters at all.

Many guild forces, and even some renowned experts, had rushed here in a hurry after the incident that day. However, they hadn't found anything of value either, because the principality's forces had arrived earlier and were much stronger.

Any players who ventured a little too deep into the "Stone Forest" of the emerald region were immediately chased out by patrol squads composed of principality soldiers, under the pretext that the principality was carrying out research missions inside and unauthorized personnel were barred from entry. This attitude of "there is treasure inside, but we are going to hog it all" made the players extremely furious, but other than that, they had no way around it.

Players could not beat orthodox NPCs—at least, not right now. And they didn't want to provoke these NPC factions, as that would mean endless trouble.

However, Duan Qing and Mengzhu held no lingering resentment over this; anyway, there was truly nothing left inside. Presumably, it wouldn't be long before these patrolling soldiers lifted the blockade...

In comparison, they had a much more headache-inducing matter to deal with.

On the third day after that incident, Duan Qing accompanied the conflicted young girl to the north of the village to find that little boy. After explaining the truth to Benny, they wanted to return the pair of gloves to express their apology, but the little boy, biting his teeth and holding back tears, refused.

Whether or not to tell the truth was something the two of them had discussed beforehand. Judging by the current outcome, Duan Qing's persistence had not been in vain; at the very least, the title "man Benny" could be rightfully bestowed upon this little boy. Watching the little face struggling to hold back tears, the young girl felt a pang of sorrow, leaned down, and hugged him: "It's all our fault, we didn't find your father sooner..."

"No, it's not like that..." Benny lowered his wooden basket while struggling, then wiped his eyes with a dirty sleeve, resulting in his small face becoming even dirtier instead: "Actually..."

His voice choked up slightly: "I think... father has been gone... for so long without returning... it's very likely... they said... said..."

"But, I just... I, I hope he... isn't like what they said... My, my father is a man, so... I... I also want to..."

"Your father isn't just a man." Although somewhat chaotic, the two of them could still discern a child's small hope from those intermittent words. Recalling that tattered figure constantly fighting against that forest, Duan Qing finally squatted down and patted Benny's thin shoulders.

"Your father is a hero."