章節 472: Chen Xiaolian's Weakness
編輯: Dragon Boat Translation
A tour bus slowly pulled out of Jerusalem and headed north along the highway.
The coordinates for Tel Aviv were in the northwest direction of Jerusalem, not too far away. With a faster pace, they could reach it in a couple of hours.
At the wheel of the bus was, of course, Roddy.
In his hands, he held an assault rifle, complete with an attached grenade launcher, the 40mm kind.
Roddy sat right next to the driver's seat of the bus, leaning against the railing inside the door, with a canvas bag on the floor containing a bag of grenades.
A cigar dangled from his mouth, and his sharp eyes coldly scanned the road ahead.
Inside the cabin, Will and Soo Soo sat in the middle seats. Will seemed somewhat reserved, occasionally glancing at Soo Soo beside him. It was evident that Will had a fondness for Soo Soo, but he seemed hesitant to strike up a conversation.
Previously, Soo Soo had been friendly towards him, but at this moment, the little girl remained silent, appearing burdened by something.
Qiao Qiao and Xia Xiaolei, on the other hand, were seated on opposite sides of the cabin. Xia Xiaolei even had night vision goggles hanging around his neck, tightly gripping a gun. One of the bus windows was open, allowing the cool evening breeze to flow in, brushing against his face as the young man slipped into a slight reverie.
Qiao Qiao appeared somewhat anxious, frequently checking her wristwatch. She had tried to contact Chen Xiaolian through the team system several times but had received no response.
Qimu Xi sat at the back of the bus. During the first stage of their mission, her performance had undoubtedly disappointed everyone in the team.
Timid, feeble, and panicky, she contributed nothing to the team.
In other teams, someone like her might have been kicked out as a burden long ago.
Although the members of the Meteor Rock Guild were generally good-hearted, they were still quite disappointed with Qimu Xi's performance.
In this game, if you wanted to survive, others could help you, but you had to be brave first. If you weren't even brave yourself...
"No response yet?"
Qiao Qiao suddenly heard the voice of Roddy.
She raised her head and saw the imposing figure of Roddy standing in front of her.
Qiao Qiao forced a smile, "No."
"I tried contacting him too, no response," Roddy furrowed his brow. "Maybe he's caught up in something. But I believe in his decision."
Qiao Qiao took a deep breath. "Of course, I trust him too, but... haven't you noticed his biggest flaw?"
This statement not only caught Lun Tai's attention but also made Roddy, who was driving, turn around to look.
"This guy, he's too fond of shouldering everything alone," Qiao Qiao squinted her eyes, her tone tinged with frustration. "No matter what happens, he always likes to take it on himself without telling everyone. Maybe he does it out of kindness, wanting to solve things on his own, but the problem is, it'll only make him more exhausted and tired. If he keeps going like this, he might end up harming himself sooner or later."
Lun Tai sighed.
He had long noticed this flaw in Chen Xiaolian.
An overly strong sense of responsibility... as if he always tried to carry the entire team on his shoulders.
"When something goes wrong, he refuses to speak up and tries to handle it all by himself!" Qiao Qiao sighed in exasperation.
Lun Tai remained silent for a few moments, then sat down next to Qiao Qiao, quietly watching her before speaking, "Qiao Qiao, do you know what other teams are like in this gaming world?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm a bit more experienced than you guys," Lun Tai said with a wry smile. "Before joining this team, Bei Tai and I was with the Nangong Guild, and I've encountered other Awakened teams. Those other teams... how should I put it... I can only say that Chen Xiaolian is the best Guild Leader I've ever seen."
Qiao Qiao's spirits lifted.
"In this gaming world, it's brutal, everything is brutal, and a single Instance might result in death. So every Awakened individual is fighting desperately for survival, struggling, and giving it their all! Even within teams, there's fierce competition, even backstabbing!
I've seen members in other teams physically fighting over loot and resources.
I've seen Guild Leaders, in order to maintain their authority, manipulate and divide their subordinates, even secretly eliminating dissenters.
Not to mention the former leader of the Meteor Rock Guild, that guy Qiu Yun, who ended up with everyone turning against him, is a living example.
In most other teams, there's no room for warmth.
Even in the Nangong Guild I was with before, the Nangong Guild Leader was already quite a loyal guy, but still, neither I nor Bei Tai dared to trust him unconditionally. Sometimes, he would do things for self-preservation or personal gain that lacked fairness.
Let me tell you this, regarding the Nangong Guild Leader, I used to think he was a pretty decent Guild Leader. If he were to die, I'd be willing to retrieve his corpse for him.
But if it were Chen Xiaolian, I'd be willing to die with him! Or even die in his place!
That's the charm of Chen Xiaolian's personality. Whether it's me or Bei Tai, we both respect him.
And the reason for that is precisely because Chen Xiaolian is always selfless, always willing to shoulder the team's burden alone, and when there's a problem, he always wants to solve it on his own, not wanting everyone to take risks together.
This is his flaw, but it's also his strength."
"But if he continues like this, he will end up harming himself sooner or later," Qiao Qiao clenched her fist tightly.
"In that case, we should unconditionally trust him and, at the same time, try to showcase our own strengths. Let him understand that we don't need his protection, and he doesn't need to shoulder all the burdens alone. He can rely on us, trust us, and depend on the collective strength of all of us," Lun Tai said with a bitter smile.
Roddy, who was driving, suddenly interjected, "Qiao Qiao, you still don't understand him enough."
This statement immediately changed Qiao Qiao's expression.
Indeed, in the team, if it came to intimacy, Qiao Qiao and Chen Xiaolian were a couple, and naturally, their relationship was the closest.
But after all, they hadn't been together for a very long time.
When it came to understanding, Roddy, who had been friends with Chen Xiaolian for many years, was the one who truly understood him.
"You don't know that before entering this game, Chen Xiaolian was actually quite a solitary person."
Roddy sighed softly.
He took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth, about to grab his lighter. However, Lun Tai had already leaned over, offering his lit lighter to Roddy.
Roddy glanced at him, then opened the window, letting the evening breeze blow in. He took a puff of the cigarette and exhaled, watching the smoke dissipate into the air.
"Roddy, tell us more about the Guild Leader's past," Xia Xiaolei chimed in.
"His past?" Roddy squinted his eyes, keeping his gaze on the road ahead.
The night road was deserted, and it seemed like there were no pedestrians around. It was unclear whether it was sparsely populated or if the system had emptied the area, but their bus was the only one on the road.
"In the past... he was very reclusive, and he always avoided getting too close to others," Roddy sighed. "You all should know, right? Chen Xiaolian is an orphan; his parents passed away a long time ago."
Qiao Qiao fell silent for a moment and whispered, "I know that, but he never likes to talk about his parents."
"...I don't know many specifics," Roddy held the steering wheel with one hand and the cigarette with the other, looking ahead at the road. His eyes revealed a hint of contemplation as he continued, "In his core, he's a very proud person.
What I know is that before he entered junior high school, his parents were already gone - I attended the same school as him in junior high, and at that time, everyone thought he was eccentric. He didn't like to talk to people, he didn't like to communicate with others.
No, what I mean is, he was not closed off.
Quite the opposite, he was very polite and friendly to people. His attitude was gentle and kind, no matter who spoke to him. But... it was a kind of politeness and kindness that kept people at a distance.
He spoke gently, and in all the years I've known him, I've never seen him argue or fight with anyone at school. He was almost immune to disputes and fights.
He never even thought about chasing after girls like those boys of his age in school.
On the surface, he seemed to like basketball, and he interacted normally with his classmates. But in reality, he had no friends.
It's not that people didn't want to be friends with him, but rather... I felt that he himself didn't want to be friends with others.
I even had the feeling that he never really respected those people of his age and always thought others were too immature.
In junior high, he finished reading on his own, going to school and coming home from school, during holidays, he never played with others.
At that time, I only knew that he lived alone.
Before he was even fourteen, he began living on his own.
His parents left him an inheritance, a house, but he had no legal guardian.
You can imagine, a child that young living on his own, taking care of himself, what kind of situation that was."
When Lun Tai heard this, he pondered for a moment and asked, "What about you? How did you become friends with him later on?"
"Me?" Roddy chuckled, a nostalgic expression appearing on his face.
"That year... I had just transferred to his class. I thought this kid looked fragile and gentle, always smiling at people, but... how should I put it... there was always something cold in his gaze.
I noticed him right away. When others teased him, made fun of him, he would smile. If someone deliberately provoked him, he would smile. When the teacher scolded him, he would smile, and when the teacher praised him, he would smile.
However, I just felt that deep down, he didn't really care about anyone.
I got to know him during one evening after school.
It was probably during the end-of-term parent-teacher meeting.
I was wandering alone on the playground, and I saw him sitting under the basketball hoop, watching others play.
So, I casually asked him why he wasn't going home.
He asked me why I hadn't left either.
I said, 'My old man is talking to the teacher; I guess they'll finish talking soon and come to pick me up.'
He asked me, 'Why don't you run away, then?'
I replied, 'The sooner they finish dealing with me, the sooner it'll be over. If I run away, I might have a little fun now, but when I go back, they'll punish me even worse.'
He smiled at me and said, 'You're pretty smart.'
I was a bit of a smart-mouth, so I asked him another question, 'What about your parents?'
He looked at me calmly and said, 'They're in heaven.'"
"Just like that? So simple?" Qiao Qiao was also captivated by the story and couldn't help asking.
"Was it really that simple?" Roddy chuckled, "It wasn't. At that time, I found this guy interesting, and the key was that I felt he was quite pitiful, so I kept an eye on him.
Then, something happened.
A few troublemakers showed up at our school, on the way, they were robbing students of their money.
That one time, I saw it with my own eyes. A girl was stopped by a few troublemakers, and I was about to step in, but Chen Xiaolian got there first.
I saw him exchange a few words with those troublemakers, and they let the girl go. Then Chen Xiaolian followed them into a narrow alley."
"He actually knew those troublemakers from outside the school?" Qiao Qiao was somewhat surprised.
"At first, I thought the same way," Roddy sighed. "But later, when I followed and eavesdropped on them, I realized that it wasn't like that."
After a pause, his expression became quite strange, "The truth of the matter is, he saw those troublemakers robbing a little girl's money, so he went over, took out his own money, and told those troublemakers: 'She has no money, and bullying a girl will bring shame to you in the Martial Arts world. If you want to rob, rob me. I have money.'"
"That was a clever move," Lun Tai sighed. "Using the shame of bullying a woman to pressure those small-time thugs. Those guys are obviously scum, but ironically, they still care about their reputation, and then he took out his own money to tempt them with self-interest. He's so young, yet he could think so deeply about the situation."
"I also think he's quite smart, but no matter how smart your mind is, it can't be a substitute for fists," Roddy chuckled bitterly. "That day, I wanted to follow them, but I lost track of them. I don't know what happened between Chen Xiaolian and those thugs, but the next day at school, I saw him with some injuries on his face."
Qiao Qiao's eyes flickered with curiosity.
"I asked him, but he didn't say much. Anyway, later on, it seemed like many days went by, and almost every day, he had some injuries on his face, and he would occasionally add new ones.
However, I don't know how much time passed, those thugs suddenly had an internal conflict on their own, and there was a fight. I heard they even hurt someone seriously, and they were all arrested. After that, he never got injured again; it was as if the whole thing just passed."
"Did you ever ask what exactly happened?" Qiao Qiao inquired.
"I did ask; later, we became friends, and I asked him," Roddy thought for a moment and said with a bitter smile, "That day, he saved that girl, and those guys took him into an alley to take his money. When they tried to take his money, he fought back.
Of course, it was quite miserable; he looked frail and was beaten up badly, and his money was taken.
Those thugs thought he was an easy target, a fat piece of meat, so they kept going after him later on.
Every time, he resisted with all his might, and they managed to rob him of his money, but it was always a struggle.
Then, I asked Chen Xiaolian later on. He told me that those thugs suddenly had a fight among themselves one day, and they hurt someone seriously. In the end, they were all arrested."
Xia Xiaolei became interested, "What did the leader say?"
A peculiar glint appeared in Roddy's eyes.
"He told me, first, through several incidents of being robbed, he roughly figured out the hierarchy among those guys, who was the leader, who was the second-in-command, and who were the underlings.
Second, he figured out that these guys didn't have any significant background. After all, they were just scum robbing students near the school. They couldn't have any powerful connections, and even if they did, they wouldn't stoop to such low-level crimes.
Third, he said he was sure that these guys, who could even rob little girls, were definitely lowlifes, and there was no sense of honor or trust among them.
Fourth, he told me that by resisting every time, he left an impression on these guys. It was never easy for them to get money from him each time, but because he always had a considerable amount of money on him, at least a few hundred. This had whetted their appetite and greed.
Fifth, he realized that those thugs weren't always present every time they tried to rob him. Sometimes it was these guys, and sometimes it was others.
Finally, one day when Chen Xiaolian was about to be robbed again, he intentionally didn't carry any money on him.
Coincidentally, on that day, one of the leaders brought two others to confront him. Chen Xiaolian directly told him, 'You're late; I had over two thousand yuan in tuition fees on me, and it was already taken by one of your guys.'"
"..."
After a few seconds of silence, Lun Tais chuckled, "Haha! That's pretty cunning!"
Roddy shrugged, "He really is actually quite cunning.
I guess on that day, the guy who came back empty-handed must have gone to find his comrades, thinking they'd share the loot. But where was the money? So, they probably didn't trust each other, and one side was greedy. I guess that's how the fight started. That guy must have thought his comrades had taken a good chunk of money from Chen Xiaolian, and such a big piece of meat would definitely be worth sharing. And since these guys were all trash, there was probably no trust or loyalty among them, which led to that internal conflict.
I later asked Chen Xiaolian, 'You were robbed several times, and you even got beaten up. Was it worth it?'
Chen Xiaolian told me, 'In the end, one guy had his intestines punctured, another had his spleen ruptured and was groaning in the hospital bed. Three others were left—one went to prison, and the other two were sentenced to prison for assault. My total cost was just a little over three thousand yuan, and I endured a few beatings, which I tried to keep within my limits. I showed strong resistance and didn't suffer too much harm.
Oh, by the way, when the police station investigated the case, the families of those thugs found Chen Xiaolian. To avoid additional charges for robbery, they paid him back the money; otherwise, they would have faced even heavier penalties. Chen Xiaolian received five thousand yuan, plus three thousand yuan for medical expenses.'"
Lun Tai suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, "How old was the Guild Leader at that time?"
"Seems like... he was around fourteen."
"..."
"..."
Unable to contain his surprise, Xiaolei exclaimed, "Holy cow!"
Roddy sighed, "Back then, I already knew that this kid would definitely make it big. I had no interest in making friends with the idiots at school, but this guy, I was determined to befriend him. I told my old man about it when I got home, and he said, 'You must make this friend. If you can't, stay as far away from this kid as possible.'"
"Then what happened?"
"Then, of course, young master Roddy took the initiative to desperately cling to his coattails," Roddy burst into hearty laughter.
After laughing for a while, Roddy took a deep look at Qiao Qiao through the rearview mirror, "Qiao Qiao, you see, this guy used to be very reclusive, and he had a kind of arrogance deep down. But in reality, he was very lonely, always very lonely. So, his biggest weakness isn't having too much sense of responsibility; he actually has no responsibility at all.
His problem lies in the fact that he was too lonely before, without any family or friends. But once he had those, he instinctively wanted to do everything to protect them.
In a nutshell, he's actually quite vulnerable, and this vulnerability manifests in his strong desire to be needed, relied upon, and trusted by others.
In this team, he's the leader, and everyone relies on him. This situation makes him feel an overwhelming sense of duty, because he always believes that everyone needs him, depends on him, and he must strive for the best, to excel!"
...
Chen Xiaolian leaned against the wall, took a few breaths, and then extended the blade of the Stone Sword, using the reflection on the blade to see a unicorn slowly trotting down the street, with an armored knight holding a war hammer just behind.
Chen Xiaolian snorted.
The opponent had a considerable number of people, and they even had the advantage of a strange mount like a unicorn, which provided speed and maneuverability.
Chen Xiaolian ran for a while in this neighborhood, but gradually found himself surrounded by the opponents. They were clever; they spread out and flanked him from both sides, forming a gradually tightening encirclement.
Chen Xiaolian watched as the individual carrying the war hammer slowly approached on the street.
A hint of a smile appeared in his eyes.
"Let's deal with you first."
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