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墨書 Inktalez
The latest broadcast announced that tomorrow marks the 515 event, the day with the most benefits. In addition to gift packs, this year's "Red Envelope Frenzy" is definitely something to watch; after all, who wouldn't want to grab a Red Envelope? Set your alarms!
In the arena, the audience was gradually leaving. Liu Na and Ding Dewen had been waiting nearby, ready to approach and ask if they could conduct interviews. Regardless, the first Competition Match was quite significant, and as the champion of this inaugural event, it held milestone value.
Having won the match naturally put Ding Ze and Beiyue in high spirits, making them the focus of two media interviews. Mi Xiaonan remained out of the spotlight because they had defeated the York Clan in the finals; while feeling proud inside, one must still remain humble outwardly. Li Qing showed no interest in such matters, and Cui Ming preferred a low-key yet luxurious lifestyle, avoiding interviews as well.
The spectators watching the match were quite realistic; there was no frenzy like that seen during the World Cup. They enjoyed the thrilling moments of the competition but dispersed immediately afterward. The Competition Match did not have any supplementary events planned. The North Moon Group lingered in the arena for only about half an hour. Upon returning to their hotel, they found that the occupancy rate had dropped from 90% to 60%, meaning 30% of guests had already checked out.
Even more left in the afternoon, and by seven o'clock in the evening, the hotel occupancy rate plummeted to just 20%. Of course, some guests who received invitations from Liu Meier had already headed to her estate purchased in Hero Town, which used to be the headquarters of Hero City. They could stay at the estate, get to know each other, and wait for the charity gala starting two nights later.
Cui Ming thought Liu Meier was quite clever for spacing things out over three days. Those practitioners interested in her would not mind waiting those three days. This time frame would help filter out those who had received invitations but were not genuinely interested in Liu Meier. People's attitudes toward her generally fell into two categories: admiration or disdain; hardly anyone could ignore her presence.
Meanwhile, Hunter Headquarters remained quiet. Wei Wei was at the reception desk knitting quickly. She enjoyed doing delicate work; knitting and carving were among her hobbies. The best part about these hobbies was their portability.
Upon seeing Cui Ming and his companions, Wei Wei greeted them warmly: "Welcome champions! Wandering and Beiyue are on the second floor; I'll take you up."
"Busy?" Cui Ming casually asked.
"Jack."
Oh right, he hadn’t thought about Jack and Magic Doll Anna until now.
Cui Ming finally understood why they interrogated mice on the grass; because the first floor of headquarters served as a reception area, kitchen, storage room, hunter residence, garden, etc., while the second floor was designated as a prison.
Each prison cell was quite spacious with relatively complete facilities. All were equipped with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, leaving those inside with no privacy whatsoever except for restrooms. Currently, there were four inmates in total; two were Class Two fugitives who wouldn’t stay long—after interrogation, hunters would transfer them to a coalition court established by representatives for trial. One individual was essentially doomed; he had killed over three hundred villagers after slaughtering an entire village simply because the village chief's daughter rejected his advances. His identity as a practitioner fueled his anger as he displayed his immense power before innocent villagers.
Another person was a resident of Silent City. He was an old man with white hair, clearly showing signs of madness. He had smeared feces all over the room, drawing incomprehensible magic circles and runes that seemed to belong to an amateur. It was likely that he had been sentenced to a specialized prison for the insane, serving a life sentence. He had no worries about food or clothing and would not be released to harm others, provided that the hunters assessed him as having no tendency for violence.
Magic Doll Anna sat quietly in the room, completely still. There was also a beautiful girl present, wearing a Cowboy Hat with two pistols holstered at her sides. She had golden hair. Anna was the only inmate not subjected to Force Lock; the Hunter Girl patiently repeated her simple questions, such as whether Anna identified as female and if she felt comfortable at that moment. Occasionally, Anna would respond with nods or shakes of her head.
In the deepest part of the prison, Joker Jack was conversing with Beiyue and Wandering. The Alliance was not a place that upheld legal fairness; although Jack had killed many people, he might not necessarily face the death penalty. The first condition was that Jack needed to cooperate. The second condition required him to have a reason for killing—his reason for Anna could barely be accepted by the Alliance. The third condition examined whether Jack killed out of personal pleasure or anger. The fourth condition assessed his mental state—whether he exhibited signs of instability or aggression. These were the initial criteria for judging Jack; even if the Alliance did not sentence him to death, he would still face at least four to five years of imprisonment. During this time, specialized prison staff would observe him. If Jack showed any signs of resisting, such as damaging his Force Lock, he would be immediately returned to the Alliance and could even face execution directly from prison. Regardless, Jack was a dangerous individual who had killed many.
Li Qing pressed her ear against the floor-to-ceiling window and listened for a while before saying, "Jack is cooperating; he answers questions readily. He says he wants to live, and his reason for living is Anna. Because Anna is alone and he is the only one who cares for her, he cannot die. He also implores the Alliance to temporarily look after Anna, promising to comply with all their decisions. From his words, it’s clear that Jack is rebellious and does not regard the Alliance highly; he doesn’t seem to care about his own life or death—I truly feel it’s for Anna."
Cui Ming picked up the phone outside, and Wandering saw this and picked up the phone inside: "Ten minutes; let Wei Wei take you for some tea."
Cui Ming asked, "Senior, can we trust Jack's words?"
Wandering knew Li Qing was eavesdropping and replied, "Yes, she is his reason for existence."
Cui Ming continued, "If that's the case, why not give Jack to me? I can accompany Beiyue to Witch Island. Jack knows Mundo; first, we can use this as an excuse. Second, we can assess Jack ourselves. Thirdly, if we run into trouble, he can cover our retreat if he truly loves Anna."
"Seriously, Cui Ming? Can you be any more ruthless?" Wandering couldn't help but curse.
Cui Ming replied, "Senior, he has killed many people; you’re only giving him a few years—it sounds very unfair."
Wandering Path said, "I don’t want to argue this point with you; this is how the Alliance operates. Just wait a moment; we’ll be done soon." With that, she hung up.
Wei Wei said, "This way please."
Cui Ming asked, "Sister Wei Wei, what do you think?"
Before Wei Wei could answer, Ding Ze interjected: "In theory, the Alliance places practitioners above ordinary people and even above some leaders of City-States. This satisfies practitioners' psychological need for respect and privilege under certain circumstances while also imposing some restrictions on them as a form of balance—a management style that includes both rewards and punishments."
Li Qing walked while saying, "The Alliance categorizes practitioners as one type of people and ordinary individuals as another. Human mentality can sometimes be quite dark. For instance, as an ordinary person, I certainly cannot accept the unspoken rules of the Alliance. However, as a practitioner, I tacitly accept these unspoken rules."
Upon reaching the living room, Wei Wei invited everyone to sit down while preparing tea. "We haven't gotten to the crux of the matter yet. The most important point is to avoid the occurrence of war. The Ding Family supports the Dawn Empire, while the Ye Family backs Twilight City. The Liu Family was originally a prominent family in Nordo City but later shifted allegiance to the Dawn Empire due to their declining power. In the first two instances of the Third World War, they were triggered by a certain proportion of practitioners from a single nation. Observant individuals recognized this pattern, leading to the establishment of the Force Alliance. The purpose of the Force Alliance is to regulate practitioners, maintain neutrality, and prevent any one nation's practitioners from becoming too numerous. Under such circumstances, the Alliance must provide privileges and benefits to practitioners. After hundreds of years of development, aside from the Dawn Empire still engaging in practices that nurture prospective practitioners, around eighty percent of practitioners are neutral and belong to the Alliance's camp. The aristocratic families have no choice; they have their principles. For example, the Ye Family prioritizes loyalty to Dawn City before loyalty to the Alliance. The same goes for the Ding Family."
Wei Wei continued, "This way, large-scale intercontinental wars will not occur. For instance, if the Alliance severely punishes Jack and he escapes under some ambitious figure's banner, another Jack may emerge over time, leading to a division between dark and righteous practitioners. In the early days of the Alliance's establishment, seven to ten practitioners were judged each year; based on this number, that amounts to one hundred over ten years. Thus, the Alliance adopted a carrot-and-stick approach: increasing privileges for practitioners while also establishing boundaries for them, reducing penalties for criminal practitioners and strictly controlling those with criminal records."
Mi Xiaonan remarked, "This is called a sense of belonging."
Wei Wei pondered for a moment and said, "It should be referred to as a sense of achievement—a feeling of superiority. Psychologists have shown that individuals with such a mindset typically do not quibble over gains and losses with those at lower social strata; they tend to be more magnanimous. For example, in a conflict between two people, one may be broad-minded but usually does not want to feel cowardly or afraid of the other party, which can exacerbate conflicts. If there is a disparity in status—like when the Prime Minister of Twilight City was slapped by an elderly woman—you all know about it; he did not retaliate and even stopped his guards from arresting her while explaining things kindly. Although the elderly woman left in anger, the Prime Minister was not looked down upon for being cowardly; on the contrary, due to this incident, he managed to regain trust and was re-elected despite being in a crisis of confidence. Once there is a significant gap in identity, there is no longer such a thing as cowardice."
At this point in their conversation, Wandering and Beiyue arrived. Wandering invited Beiyue to take a seat and sat down on the opposite sofa himself. "Cui Ming," he said, "you really have too many concerns regarding morality and legality."
Cui Ming shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I just feel that having someone I can rely on gives me a certain sense of security."
Wandering took Wei Wei's tea cup, took a sip, then placed it on the table. He traced a magic circle on the table with his finger before pulling out an ancient book from his pocket. After opening it and placing his right hand on it while muttering for a moment, the magic circle activated and revealed three treasures.
"Wow! What a grand reveal!" Cui Ming, Li Qing, and Mi Xiaonan exclaimed in astonishment.
These tasteless individuals—aren't you shocked by my magic just now? This is an interdimensional storage compartment; it's not something an ordinary practitioner can activate—it's very high-end! Can you stop focusing solely on the treasures?
(Note: The story continues...)
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