At odds

"Honestly, I knew it would be you... Li Hua."

The "secretary," who was firmly pinned against the wall by Lin Yu, looked at Li Hua, who walked out from behind the door, and a hint of relief appeared in his eyes.

Li Hua pushed up his glasses and said in a low voice.

"But I didn't expect it to be you, Secretary. I didn't expect it to be you—why did you betray the organization?"

"You and 'General' laid the foundation for this organization, and I was even introduced to it by you... Many of the Rule of 'Order' were set by you."

At this point, Li Hua's voice unusually betrayed a hint of sorrow. "Why is that?"

The secretary sighed.

"I'm sorry... but I was a member of 'Copper Furnace' from the beginning."

"I joined 'Order' because I sealed away my Memory of being a member of 'Copper Furnace' and participating in the previous version of the Game," the secretary pointed to his head. "I didn't betray 'Order,' it's just... once I recall those Memory, I can only return to my original path."

"But you were the one who formulated those Rule. You didn't join because you agreed with the concept of 'Order,' you constructed the concept of 'Order,'" Li Hua looked at the secretary, "Those Discipline that you emphasized when you believed you were truly a member of 'Order,' will you completely disagree with them just because you remember your identity as a member of 'Copper Furnace'?"

"What exactly does the experience of 'Copper Furnace' and the experience of the Previous Version mean? You've been playing this Game for two years now, and I haven't sensed any confusion or wavering in your daily life... Could the experience of the Previous Version really turn someone who takes 'building Order's as their mission into someone who can assassinate colleagues, hunt down ordinary Player, and even sacrifice non- 'Player'?"

Li Hua questioned the secretary again.

Lin Yu did not interrupt Li Hua, because he knew that Li Hua needed to clarify these things.

The current situation also gives him the capacity to ask these questions clearly.

The secretary looked at Li Hua and nodded slowly, almost imperceptibly. "Yes, we will."

"But it's not entirely because of the experience in the Previous Version; it's more because of... the 'Final Trial'."

As the secretary spoke, Li Hua frowned.

"I am not unaware of the existence of the 'Final Trial,' and I understand the urgency and horror of that matter. It's like the 'Great Filter' in Fermi's theory, and it's a real 'Great Filter,' which certainly creates pressure... But that's not a reason for you to do these things."

"We all know this Truth, but that's not an excuse for us to break the 'Order' now, for us to kill indiscriminately... Just because the 'Final Trial' exists, just because we must pass the 'Final Trial,' does that mean we can do anything, pay any price, make any sacrifice? Is that really reasonable? -- You know better than anyone the importance of 'Discipline' and 'rules'!"

Even if Final Trial, it's just death... We've already experienced death; we shouldn't be driven by 'fear'.

The secretary looked at Li Hua and smiled bitterly, "To you, the 'Final Trial' is just a term, a 'disaster' depicted indirectly... but you haven't experienced it firsthand, so you don't know that it's more than that."

What if it's not aimed at all "Player"—what if the Final Trial's evaluation affects our world?

"The will of the 'Death game' doesn't care about our 'Discipline' and 'rules,' Comrade Li Hua," the secretary said in a low voice. "It's not even a will, just a 'phenomenon'... Its goal is to devour our world and turn it into a 'Game Venue' that it can reshape and manipulate at will, like the Ten Realms."

"Do you know about the Heat Death of the Universe? Haven't you felt fear thinking about this imminent 'end of the world'? I've experienced it once—and I know clearly that it will happen again seven years from now."

Li Hua remained calm despite hearing news that would shock any "Player".

"Really? Then our world is still fine, isn't it? You're even still alive!"

The secretary's expression twisted slightly. "We were just lucky last time; we won't be lucky every time."

"Why attribute success to luck?" Li Hua said, leaning on his cane. "Even if success is due to good luck, we should still do our best."

That's exactly what "Copper Furnace" does!

The secretary spoke again.

Li Hua said, "Then I still don't feel that the situation has become so urgent that you need to 'abandon your bottom line'—do you think doing this will allow all the 'Player' to pass the Final Trial?"

"If the goal is simply to get more 'Player' through the Trial, then the sacrifices you're making now, to gamble on a 'possibility' with an uncertain future improvement... I almost find it hard to believe you would make such a judgment and decision."

"Given your intelligence, even if you recall your experiences as a member of 'Copper Furnace,' you should stand on the side of 'Order.'"

The secretary looked at Li Hua, then at Lin Yu was standing very close by.

"You still don't understand what I meant by that outcome... that ending where our world becomes subservient to the 'Death game,' is the result of 'passing the Final Trial' —each of the Ten Realms should actually be a world that 'passed the Trial.'"

At this point, Lin Yu couldn't help but speak up as well.

"So, does that mean our world is safe and sound now because we 'failed the Final Trial's in the Previous Version? Because too few 'Player' survived?"

The secretary shook his head. "Whether it passes or not doesn't depend on how many 'Player' survive; it's based on a different criterion."

"But we didn't exactly fail last time... the last 'Final Trial' was unresolved and incomplete."

"The likely outcome of a failure to pass is that the entire world disappears completely, becoming utterly 'nothingness'—the whole world falls into death."

Li Hua was slightly moved, but still shook his head.

"The 'General' also underwent the 'Final Trial,' and he never sealed his Memory... He's the same as you are now, but why are his thoughts different from yours?"

The secretary was silent for a moment, then said, "He Becoming a God, so his thoughts are naturally different from ours... I can't say he's definitely Error, but I don't think what I'm doing now is wrong either."

Li Hua couldn't help but ask, "Including killing 'Gao Shan' and 'Sherlock,' offering a bounty on 'The Director'... and even cooperating with 'The Diviner'?"

"We need more, more powerful Deity," the secretary said, raising his head. "Only when our world Living Foot Deity who wield Authority, or even three Authority, can we strive for as many possibilities as possible amidst the inevitable despair. I just hope that after the 'Death game' takes over our world, it won't lead to the complete annihilation and extinction of our civilization, with over 90% of 'humanity' dead."

"Diviner's can Becoming a God, a 'general' and an 'emperor' can further consolidate their Authority... I don't want to kill people, and I don't want to kill good people, but someone has to do it, someone has to do it... You ask me if I can sacrifice anything? My answer is yes, I can."

The secretary whispered, "Because you can't imagine what we've already sacrificed."

Li Hua's face darkened. "Incomprehensible... How are you any different from those lunatics in the 'Psychology Society'?"

"There are still differences, but the emergence of this organization must be because the founder saw that 'inevitable future'... but the direction is wrong," the secretary shook his head, "Creating more experts and improving the overall potential of the 'Player' is meaningless; only 'Deity,' 'Divine Kingdom,' and 'Authority' have meaning."

"Within that organization, only the First Generation 'Jung's' direction was relatively correct."

Li Hua pointed at Lin Yu: "And what about him? He was even personally selected by you for the 'God Creation Project,' so why... did you put a bounty on him and try to kill him?"

The secretary looked in the direction Li Hua pointed, and then looked at Lin Yu standing in front of him.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.

"I'm sorry, this really has nothing to do with you... but I can't allow even the slightest possibility that you could actually Resurrection your sister."

Lin Yu said coldly, "I don't need your permission—I know she even pushed for the end of the world in the Ten Realms, but I don't think she did anything wrong."

Even if Lin Zhao really did something wrong... it doesn't matter.

Even if one makes a mistake and dies, Lin Zhao will still Resurrection them.

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, the secretary paused briefly, then shook his head violently.

"It had nothing to do with the apocalypse; almost all the high-ranking 'Player' at the end of that version were involved in it to some extent..."

"No, you don't understand. Your sister... she probably didn't want to Resurrection either. She sacrificed herself," the secretary said, somewhat confused. "She... the Previous Version of the 'Final Trial' wasn't completed because she 'stuck' it. She used her own 'death' and some arrangements that we still don't understand to cause contradictions in the 'Death game' mechanics, making it unable to continue operating."

"So, by Resurrection her, you might be making all her efforts futile... making her sacrifice in vain!"

"Even the 'Final Trial' from the Previous Version might be affected... Perhaps, by Resurrection her, you could directly kill all the 'Player' and most of the non- 'Player' in the current version, or even cause our entire world to disappear!"

The secretary spoke while staring at Lin Yu.

"Therefore, I must stop you..."

Lin Yu also stared at the secretary and spoke.

What you're saying... is completely unsubstantiated.

"I don't believe it."