บท 2: The Sudden yet Inevitable Betrayal

It was during the fight with his next target, a level 450 Master Berserker, that Mahn Li felt there was something wrong.

His chest began to constrict, making breathing difficult.

He checked Ghost Blade's conditions but found no negative status effects.

It meant that something was happening to his real body.

Then the system's messages filled his screen, accompanied by a soothing but urgent female voice.

〕— !!! WARNING !!!—-〔

〕—- Anomaly detected in user's vitals -—〔

〕—- Force logout in progress —-〔

〕—- Emergency services contacted —-〔

〕—- Please remain calm and find help as soon as possible —-〔

Mahn Li opened his Virtual Reality headset, gasping for breath.

"What… what's wrong with me?!"

He crawled out of his chair but his legs gave way under him and he crumpled onto the floor into a heap.

"Where's my phone?" He reached for the phone next to him but did not find it.

"Somebody… help!" He tried to shout, but a croaking groan escaped his lips.

He looked around the luxurious hotel room, trying to locate the telephone, and saw a person standing.

It was a man wearing a room service uniform.

"Help… me… please" He croaked. The man approached him, helped him up and sat him down to the armchair next to the television.

He handed Mahn Li a glass of water, which he gulped down hungrily.

"Thank… thank you!" he said. He tried to move his limbs, but could not do so. He felt extremely exhausted.

Wordlessly, the man took out his phone and dialed a number. He held up the phone, and when the call connected, a face showed up on the screen.

It was Fatty Fu, the player behind Black Mamba.

His friend and close confidante. The person had accompanied him when they brought Scourge from a low-tier guild to the top guild among the Epoch of Liberty.

"Sorry, it had come to this. We gave you plenty of opportunities." Fu said, though his face did not seem sorry at all.

"Fatty Fu? What are you talking about? Who's 'we'?"

"Oh for f*ck sake!" His composure dropped, Fatty Fu spoke with an exasperated tone, "It's League of Justice! Who else? Get your head out of your *ss for just one second, will you?"

"They've been trying to negotiate with us for years! Scourge and League of Justice. Two of the biggest guilds in the whole continent. No, THE two biggest guilds ever!"

Mahn Li knew too well what Fatty Fu was getting at.

For several years, the League of Justice had been trying to get Scourge to form an unofficial alliance with them. The two guilds together accounted for 10% of the player base, about 50 million players. Taking into consideration their relations to other businesses, they affected at least a quarter of EoL's economy.

It was much more than that, however.

On the outside, they were Light and Darkness, two sides that never coexist.

However, if the leaders of two sides were working together, then they could essentially write the own script for their conflict.

Every skirmish, every battle, every campaign. The leaders would be able to manipulate players to fight, driving supplies and demands up and down when it mattered. Their own businesses would prosper, while their opponents would dwindle. Until eventually, they would be the monopolizing force within Epoch of Liberty. It would be unprecedented.

"If we work together with them, it'll be a win-f*cking-win situation for everyone! And for years we haven't been able to. Do you know why? It's because of you, you stubborn piece of sh*t!!!" Fatty Fu shouted.

"Do you realize how much money you cost us each year? Do you know how much money we could have made? No, you don't! You know why? Because you only think of your stupid f*cking grudge!!!" He seemed to have been holding back for quite a long time and needed to vent.

"You have talents, Li, I'll give you that. No one plays this game better than you. But your understanding of the meta-game is sh*t" For some reason, Mahn Li noticed a bead of sweat was running down from Fatty Fu's oily forehead down to his eye.

"You've got a big head, Li! Too bad your brain can't keep up! But now you're no longer in our way." Fatty Fu said with a grin.

"You'll… never get away with this!" was all Mahn Li managed to say.

"Oh, you're talking about the poison! It's a little something special. Tomorrow, people will know that you died of a heart attack while playing. Quite tragic, but common enough."

"And you will be survived by... Oops, I forgot. You've got no one else. Your parents are already dead. And as for your girlfriend, well… Don't worry, I'll take good care of her!"

The screen pulled back, revealing a girl standing next to Fatty. Mahn Li's eyes widened. Mei Lin!

She had dyed her hair blue, and wearing a revealing dress that hugged her perfect body. She never dressed like that when she was with him.

"I'm sorry Li. I had to. My father…" She said, averting her eyes.

"Who else was in on it?" Mortified by the betrayal, it was all Li could do to croak out the question.

"Well, most of your 'friends,' in fact. Except for Roland. The guy's ridiculously loyal. A pity you treated him like sh*t."

"Isn't it funny? The world renown assassin died of a heart attack."

"F*ck you, Lu. You… won't get away with… this!" Anger burned white hot in his throat, overpowering the stiffening muscles, Li struggled to deliver the threat.

"What was that? Bah, never mind! Now rest in peace. The guild is in good hands. And so is your girlfriend! Ha ha ha!!" Fatty Fu cackled and planted a sloppy kiss on Mei Lin's face. She stiffened but did not react.

Mahn Li tried to say something, but his voice caught in his throat. His breath quickened. His vision blurred. The only sound he could hear was his own heartbeat hammering in his chest.

*Ba-bump *Ba-bump *Ba-bump

Jumbled thoughts warred in his head. Grief, panic, fear.

Rage.

"These bastards! I curse you all!" he wanted to shout, but no words came out.

Then everything went black.

The man wearing the room service uniform picked up the phone and said: "It's done!"

"Oh, he's gone? Ah well, you know what to do!" Fatty Fu said callously.

"I've got a battle to end!" he said excitedly, then turning to Mei Lin, he snickered "We'll celebrate later tonight, babe! Bring your girlfriends!"

Then he hung up.