This bug is amazing!

Chapter 157 The Players' Alliance

After enjoying the massage, Ji Yi sat up and stared blankly at the message sent by Zui Wan Gu Hong on her phone.

Zuiwan Guhong: "Are you and Xiaoqin done with your work?"

This opening sentence sounds so strange.

Zuiwan Guhong: "I investigated this Ye Luoyanyu account, but I couldn't find it. However, I don't think he's dead. If you have time now, come to Hall 13B to talk about the future, and I'll introduce you to a few people while I'm at it."

Seeing this, Ji Yi stood up decisively and looked at Xiao Qin: "That's all for today, you can go back now."

With that, he walked out of the room on his own, leaving Xiaoqin inside in a daze.

ten minutes later.

Seven people were sitting at a round table in the villa's main hall.

Among them, besides the familiar faces of Zui Wan Gu Hong and the driver from that night, there were three men and two women.

One of the women had short hair and looked three or four parts similar to Xiao Yichangkong, though their body types were slightly different.

The other three men and one girl were dressed casually, and their demeanor did not suggest they were officials.

Zui Wan Gu Hong spoke first: "Ji Yi, let me introduce you again, she is Xiao Yi Chang Kong."

As he spoke, Chang Kong raised his hand halfway to greet Ji Yi.

After nodding to her, Gu Hong prepared to introduce the remaining unfamiliar faces.

"I'll do it myself."

Suddenly, one of the men spoke up. He was wearing square glasses and had a very ordinary, common face; you could easily find several similar-looking men on the street.

"My game ID is 'Third Floor is an Idiot,' you can call me Third Floor, but you're not allowed to call me an idiot."

Seeing how familiar the other party was, Ji Yi nodded in acknowledgment and said, "Okay, silly Sanlou."

Third floor: "."

He rolled his eyes, sighed, and stopped looking at Ji Yi.

Ji Yi knew this person; he was ranked third in the Magic Tower rankings, second only to Brother Jiao Ying.

Judging from his appearance, he must have been invited by Gu Hong as well.

How many non-official staff are actually in this official organization?

At this moment, another man stepped forward to introduce himself. He was tall and thin, and his demeanor was very polite and refined.

He then extended his hand and said, "I am 'What the person upstairs said is right.' If you know the person on the third floor, then you should also know me."

"Oh~" Ji Yi suddenly realized, "I've heard so much about you."

This person is ranked fourth in the Magic Tower, and is also ranked second in the two-player Magic Tower with Brother Sanlou.

It's not that Ji Yi has a particularly good memory; it's just that the combination of these two IDs is quite amusing.

The remaining man and woman were completely unresponsive. The man only glanced at Ji Yi sideways before looking at him again, while the woman seemed to be completely disconnected from the situation.

Zui Wan Gu Hong then began to introduce himself to Ji Yi.

"This is 'Longhe,' who ranks in the top ten in the individual Magic Tower rankings."

Ji Yi looked at the somewhat aloof man. His hairstyle was rather unconventional, long and sharp, and the dark circles under his eyes, like smoky makeup, enhanced his aura, making him seem unapproachable.

"This girl's name is 'Invincible WarGreymon,' and she's also in the top ten of the Magic Tower."

She was a girl with long, straight black hair, dressed in a gothic style. She looked quite young, maybe not even eighteen yet.

This room is full of celebrities, and some of them are even career changers. If you take any one of them out on their own, Ji Yi would hardly be confident that she could win in a fair one-on-one fight.

While strength is one aspect of conquering the Demon Tower, their ability to enter the top ten must also mean they are very intelligent.

Hmm, a room full of experts.

Except for the driver.

The driver's game name is "Driver," and his skill level is relatively average among players. His work focus has mainly shifted to the real world.

Ji Yi quickly took her seat.

"Are they like me, also people you sought out for protection?"

Ji Yi suddenly asked.

“No,” Zuiwan Guhong replied, “Only you are. They are all helpers that I managed to invite.”

Fine, so I'm just a dependent, and I'm beholden to those who give me money, right?
Ji Yi simply leaned back in her chair casually, but secretly observed the expressions of the people around her.

They may be indifferent, disdainful, or casual.

Ji Yi suddenly remembered a saying: "Scattered, they are stars in the sky; gathered, they are a pile of dung."

This statement directly reflects his first feeling.

In team-based dungeons, where everyone's interests and goals are aligned, top players can achieve a synergy greater than the sum of its parts.

But this is reality; are everyone's goals and interests aligned? And among these people, how many have almost completely stopped running raids?

Gu Hong shouldn't have been unaware of this, but if there weren't enough people, he had no choice but to do it.

Just like he gave Ji Yi a house and women, he probably promised these people a lot of benefits as well, otherwise who would be willing to get involved in official troubles?

"I'm very happy that so many people from the 'Games Club' could attend this time, as it's rare to find everyone with such free time."

Gu Hong spoke in an official tone.

"However, given that everyone is very busy, I will skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point."

As he spoke, his demeanor suddenly changed:
"I need everyone's cooperation to deal with the 'Headhunter Alliance.' Perhaps, for various reasons, you are unwilling to join the official organization, but that's okay. In fact, I hope that as long as players can form their own force to protect themselves and the mid-to-lower-tier players, that will help."

"and many more."

Suddenly, Longhe interrupted Gu Hong.

"To be honest, I'm also quite afraid of being hunted down in real life. It's fine to form a team to protect myself, but I don't want to be someone's babysitter and clean up the mess for some idiots."

After saying that, he glared at Ji Yi as if on purpose.

Sensing the hostility, Ji Yi remained unmoved, merely glancing back indifferently.

He was indeed the one with the least say among those present, after all, his previous outstanding performance was entirely "thanks to Miss Cat's influence".

Discrimination based on rank and ability is all too common in this setting.

Ji Yi even knew that some people just didn't show it, but in essence, they still looked down on him.

This is not okay.

Ji Yi knew when to yield and when to stand firm.

You might need to use a strategy of playing dumb to outmaneuver others when running dungeons, but you can't actually be a fool in front of your "allies".

Ji Yi didn't immediately step forward to prove anything; instead, crooked ideas started popping into her head.

At this moment, the driver suddenly spoke up: "Brother Longhe, you can't just enjoy the benefits without doing any work, can you? This is a proposal that benefits everyone, and our official team will also participate in the assistance. We won't ask for any benefits, and it's not about us ruling over the players."

"Who do you think you are, lecturing me like this?"

Long He gave the driver a cold look. This kid, so unique?
Ji Yi looked at Gu Hong, wondering if he had anticipated this situation.

Gu Hong said solemnly:

“Mid-to-lower-tier players are the foundation. Without a foundation, how can there be a tall building? If we don’t protect them, the overall number of players will decrease, and high-level players will not fare any better.”

"Moreover, in the real world, you are no different from them. If a bullet pierces your head or heart, you will die just the same."

As he spoke, Gu Hong actually pulled out a gun.

But instead of pointing to Longhe, it was placed in the very center of the round table:

"We can use the same methods that Headhunter Alliance uses to control low-level players, but instead of controlling them, we protect them and make them contribute their labor for the protection they receive. In the real world, nobody talks to you about professions or levels."

The people on the third floor and the upper floor felt a chill run down their spines as they looked at the real gun.

The Tyrannomon's eyes gleamed, making no attempt to hide its intense interest.

"Besides, you said you were short of money before you came, so transferring 200 million to your account should be more than enough. Don't say things like 'it's only worth one epic-level piece of equipment.' Do you really think you'd be willing to sell such a strategic resource?"

After this whole ordeal, Longhe, though still somewhat unconvinced, fell silent.

Seeing this, Gu Hong continued:

"Perhaps in your eyes, your own interests are more important, but I am certain that only by helping each other can players maximize their benefits. In the short term, you may lose effort and time, but in the long run, your efforts will eventually pay off."

Gu Hong is right; from a rational perspective, that is indeed the case.

However, from a short-sighted perspective, even if people understand this principle, they may not be willing to put it into practice.

The game is about to become even more brutal, with headhunters hunting and plundering resources everywhere, and even pure egoists like Ye Luoyanyu emerging.

If left unchecked, the future will certainly turn out to be terrifying.

It must be said that Zuiwan Guhong is a man of great vision.

From this perspective, we should reluctantly forgive him for using his beauty to test cadres.

Just then, someone upstairs spoke up, saying, "The person upstairs is right":

"In that case, the establishment of a player alliance is imperative. If we each call on our friends and post on the forum, we should be able to unite the players to the greatest extent possible, right?"

"In addition, especially regarding the penalty for competitive dungeons that you mentioned before, let's find a time to reveal this information together, which should prepare us for the next version iteration."

What the person upstairs said is basically correct. The team is led by several top players, and the interests are clearly explained and agreed upon. It will definitely have a large number of followers.

The shady, red-named players, as well as those who are controlled and forced to buy and sell for the Headhunter Alliance, ultimately only make up a minority.

Once the "righteous forces" are established, the so-called evil forces will be reduced to rats in the sewers. Why should they be allowed to act recklessly and be beyond the control of the authorities?
Ji Yi naturally hoped that things would go smoothly.

After all, he's someone whose personal information is completely exposed, someone who could be easily captured by the Headhunter Alliance.

It's always better to resolve this sooner rather than later.

But
"The plan is good, but there is a major problem."

Ji Yi suddenly spoke up.

All eyes turned to him, and Longhe looked like he was about to start cursing.

Zui Wan Gu Hong said calmly, "You speak."

Ji Yi nodded, her gaze sweeping over each person on the field:
"Posting predictions about future versions is perfectly fine. But is the Headhunter Alliance really afraid of forming such a so-called player alliance so openly? I think they're probably overjoyed."

Many people on the field began to ponder and reflect, as if they had grasped the flaw in this strategy.

"What should we do with the traitor? Or rather, can you guarantee that the identities of tens of thousands of players can be verified one by one?"

These words seemed to awaken the person upstairs. He slapped his forehead, as if regretting that he hadn't figured out such a simple thing earlier.

As if afraid that someone hadn't understood, Ji Yi continued:
"Even if we establish a clear hierarchy and never reveal our real identities to each other, as long as players make contact with each other, there will definitely be a higher risk of exposure."

"Because our operating model is fundamentally different from that of the Headhunter Alliance. Take their lowest-level scum as an example, their lives are completely threatened and controlled by the higher-ups. The difficulty for them to plant spies in the 'righteous alliance' is not on the same level as the difficulty for us to plant spies in them."

To put it simply, the less moral boundaries one has, the more advantageous it is.

Even if the Joker is weak, he can still use the life of an innocent woman to force Batman to risk his life.

If there is even a small group of bad people in the community, everyone else might be doomed.

One side is in the open while the other is in the shadows, and the advantage in numbers cannot completely overwhelm them.

"Pshaw, that's nonsense."

Longhe scoffed dismissively: "Stop your pessimistic and worrying thoughts, you gigolo who likes to live off rich women."

"puff"

Chang Kong couldn't help but laugh when she heard the second half of the sentence, but she also realized that it was impolite, so she covered her mouth tightly with her hand.

"Hehe, I wonder what insightful opinions Brother Longhe has?"

Ji Yi met his gaze with neither servility nor arrogance.

"Insightful opinion? What insightful opinion is needed to refute your nonsense? According to you, there's no need to establish a player alliance. Everyone can just go their own way and pray that the 'Headhunter Alliance's' sword won't fall on their own bodies."

Ji Yi shook her head: "I didn't say that. I was just pointing out the possible risks and reminding everyone to avoid them."

"cut."

Longhe said with a face full of contempt, "In my opinion, you are just trying to disrupt thinking and confuse people. What risk-raising nonsense? You're just a spineless coward who lives off a woman."

As the tone of the discussion shifted, it escalated into a pointless flame war.

Chang Kong sensed something was wrong and wanted to say something to persuade him.

Sudden.

But then Ji Yi suddenly stood up, grabbed the pistol from the table, pulled the safety, and aimed it at Long He!
Everyone was shocked: "?!"

The lone goose remained expressionless.

"I've noticed you're quite the chatterbox. Is this what the Headhunter Alliance's boss sent you to do?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present was taken aback.

Is Longhe an undercover agent?
This shouldn't be the case. How could Ji Yi be so certain that he is an undercover agent?

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Longhe showed no fear, but roared fiercely but inwardly.

Ji Yi didn't respond, and continued speaking to herself:
"The top ten in the Demon Tower must be high-ranking members of the Headhunter Alliance, right? That's great. At least someone like you doesn't have a locator on you, and to ensure everything goes smoothly, all your contact information is clean. This means that even after you die, this place will still not be exposed."

Longhe was furious: "You need evidence to back up your claims! Do you think people will believe you if you just make things up?!"

Ji Yi narrowed her eyes: "Did Ye Luoyanyu ever teach you to control your expression when you're lying?"

Upon hearing this, Longhe's pupils contracted, revealing a momentary look of surprise.

Hmm, looks like I guessed right.

boom!
The bullet pierced Longhe's skull, and blood splattered on the spot!
　I recommend a fan fiction novel; everyone who's interested should definitely check it out. The author can make anything, including chicken legs.

(End of this chapter)