Merely a Substitute

The Three-Body Game world was plunged into deep darkness. Apart from sparse starlight, everything was immersed in pitch blackness. The horizon was invisible, and the sky and earth merged into the darkness.

This was a Chaotic Era, an era without a sun.

But this did not affect the mood of the ETO members at this moment.

They had achieved a great victory this time. Feng Taylor had been utterly crushed, and his dejected appearance made them burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Feng Taylor has truly fallen this time!"

Mozi boasted proudly about his achievement. After John von Neumann, he was the second Wallbreaker in the organization to successfully break a Wallfacer. His status and prestige within the organization had soared.

If this trend continued, becoming the next leader of the ETO after Evans was not a dream!

"Fallen? I don't think so. Feng Taylor's security level is still very high, and assassinating him is still very difficult. His mind has already been killed; tell me, how do you plan to kill his person?" King Arthur taunted unhappily.

Ever since the last incident, King Arthur and Mozi had been at odds, disliking each other.

"Difficult? That's relative to us, because we are ETO, which makes it difficult."

In the darkness, King Arthur couldn't see Mozi's expression, but from the context, he could tell that Mozi was sneering.

"What do you mean?" King Arthur frowned.

"What if it wasn't us assassinating him, but America itself?" Mozi asked.

King Arthur thought for a moment and shook his head. "No one would take that risk to assassinate a Wallfacer except us."

Assassinating a Wallfacer was something only ETO would do. Wallfacers existed to give humanity a sliver of hope in the fight against the Trisolarans.

What would be gained by assassinating a Wallfacer? The destruction of the Trisolarans? This clearly did not align with the interests of humans who were not ETO members.

At the same time, being identified as ETO meant bearing the stigma of being despised by all of humanity.

Don't think this is an easy matter. People might not care about their own lives or their reputation, but everyone living in this world must care about something or someone, right?

Do they not care what happens to those they care about?

Unless they were extremist fanatics, who would dare to join the ETO and stand against all of humanity?

Mozi replied with a sinister, cold laugh.

"Hehehe, if a Wallfacer is officially appointed by the United Nations, then naturally no one would have any objections, because it is the result of everyone's choice and possesses inherent legitimacy. But Feng Taylor is just a substitute; he is not Frederick Taylor."

It was not everyone who chose Feng Taylor as a Wallfacer, but the Wallfacer Frederick Taylor!

They were in the same game, but in different places.

Entering the Three-Body Game world, Lin Feng felt lost in the complete darkness before him.

On Earth, it was difficult to experience such darkness.

"I thought you wouldn't log in again after your identity was revealed last time."

Liang Gong's voice sounded beside Lin Feng.

"Why wouldn't I log in?" Lin Feng retorted.

"Caution."

Liang Gong was referring to the fact that she had exposed Lin Feng's identity as a Wallfacer.

Lin Feng shrugged indifferently. He was cautious, but not much more than before.

Liang Gong was ETO, and ETO were mortal enemies of the Wallfacers. Even though Liang Gong, as an ETO member, chose to save him, Lin Feng felt that even if it was for other reasons, it wouldn't be too bad, so he didn't harbor excessive caution.

"Thank you for what happened last time, Liang Gong. If it weren't for you, I would surely be dead by now."

"I still can't understand why you wanted to save me."

Lin Feng knew how terrifying ETO's surveillance network was.

With the help of the Trisolarans' Sophons, they could achieve 100% all-around surveillance of humanity. The entire human civilization was an open book to ETO.

The risk Liang Gong took to transmit information to him through the game was unimaginable.

"There's a reason, but I don't want to tell you. Figure it out yourself," Liang Gong said.

Since Liang Gong didn't want to say, Lin Feng didn't press further. After all, no matter how bad the reason was, it couldn't be worse than ETO's anti-human nature.

"Liang Gong, won't you have problems doing this?"

"ETO never goes easy on traitors. Your current situation is very dangerous."

"If absolutely necessary, you can come to me. I can provide protection."

Lin Feng wasn't a good person, but he was someone who repaid kindness. If Liang Gong died because of this, Lin Feng would never forgive himself.

Lin Feng had thought about Liang Gong's situation for a long time. He had considered forcing her to leave ETO.

But after careful consideration, he decided to follow her wishes.

"Protect me? Forget it, bystander. You're in danger yourself."

"Even if ETO wants to assassinate me, it's not that easy. With my current authority, it's quite simple to protect someone..."

Before Lin Feng could finish speaking, Liang Gong interrupted him.

"Not ETO, it's someone else."

Lin Feng removed his VR gear after exiting the Three-Body Game, covering his eyes with his hands and rubbing them due to fatigue.

However, if someone could see through him, they would notice his somewhat grim expression.

Soon, Lin Feng's expression shifted from gloomy to clear, returning to normal.

His gaze fell upon the photo frame on the table, a picture of him and his father, Frederick Taylor.

Then, Lin Feng picked up the phone and dialed a long-uncontacted number.

"Dad, how have you been lately?"

"I'm doing very well. I go out for walks every day and occasionally play golf."

Frederick Taylor's voice came from the other end of the line. He asked, "Feng, do you regret becoming a Wallfacer now?"

Lin Feng replied, "Regret? Not at all. I never make choices in my life that I regret."

"It's just that I've been feeling a bit unsettled lately and wanted to talk to you, Dad."

"Dad, I want to come back to your place for a meal. Can I?"

Frederick Taylor laughed heartily on the phone.

"Of course. What reason would a father have to refuse a child who wants to come home?"

"See you soon."

After hanging up, a cold glint flashed in Lin Feng's eyes, but he quickly concealed it and called for the maid.

"Please arrange for me to visit my father today."

"I'll arrange it for you right away."

News of Lin Feng leaving his residence to visit his father, Frederick Taylor, quickly spread.

In a certain room, unknown to Lin Feng, a group of people were holding a meeting targeting him.

"Why did Feng Taylor suddenly return to Old Taylor's place? Did the information leak?"

"Impossible. How could he have gotten wind of anything? The CIA?"

"He's probably been hit hard by the ETO's Wallbreakers and finally can't take it anymore, wanting to return to a safe haven to rest."

Upon hearing this, someone gritted their teeth.

"Feng Taylor has absolutely no talent as a Wallfacer. Being Wallbroken twice in a row is simply a disgrace to America..."

"No, their whole family is a disgrace. Including his father, this is the third time they've been Wallbroken. America has become an international laughingstock."

Another person interrupted the former, criticizing Lin Feng and Taylor with even harsher words.

No one present believed they were actually performing their duties as Wallfacers; they saw them merely as incompetent individuals clinging to the privileges of Wallfacers.

"To cling to the rights of a Wallfacer even now, they deserve the worst kind of death!"

"This is precisely why we've gathered here. The plan must be thorough and executed cleanly, without implicating us. Old Taylor's death must be made to look like an 'accident'."

These people's plan was simple: Feng Taylor's Wallfacer rights were derived from Frederick Taylor. Therefore, instead of assassinating Feng Taylor, who was heavily protected, killing Frederick Taylor would suffice.

With Wallfacer Frederick Taylor dead, Feng Taylor would lose his Wallfacer rights, and a new Wallfacer would have to be chosen.

"When should we make our move?"

"We can't delay too long. The sooner, the better. We need to complete it before that good-for-nothing who abuses his Wallfacer rights can react. Otherwise, if he uses his Wallfacer authority, we'll be in a lot of trouble."

"Feng Taylor won't suspect anything. We have people within the CIA," someone replied with a cold laugh.