Riding the Hype Train for Traffic

Night fell, and Du Ge announced the end of the public trial.

Though the wronged who didn't receive money felt regret, they could only return to the city one after another. In this world, the concept of class was deeply ingrained. Giving them ten times the courage wouldn't make them dare to disturb the Celestial Demons' rest.

The Celestial Demons were kind-hearted, but they were truly capable of killing.

The reputation of the Peacekeeping Gang spread rapidly throughout Luyang City as Du Ge scattered handfuls of silver.

"Celestial Demon Feng Qi is a good person, an upright official, a guardian of the people..."

For a time, word-of-mouth spread, and praises flew everywhere.

Du Ge's prestige reached its peak in Luyang City in just one day. His comprehensive attributes had nearly tripled. Now, his speed and agility in frontal assaults were almost comparable to the speed of his backstab when he ambushed Qiu Yuanlang.

As for backstabbing, there was no need to even mention it. Within ten meters, his backstab could achieve a flash-like effect. In a low-martial-arts world, no one could dodge it...

Night fell.

The Peacekeeping Gang was silent.

From last night until now, the former members of the Iron Palm Sect had been tormented by Du Ge, barely sleeping. With the public trial over and the sudden relaxation, they all collapsed.

Even Liu Cheng, with his high martial arts, was yawning endlessly.

The emperor doesn't starve his soldiers. Seeing this, Du Ge simply let everyone rest.

In the vast Iron Palm Sect, snores rose and fell. The only ones active were some miscellaneous workers and the three Celestial Demons.

Du Ge: Comprehensive Rank 1, Spirit 100, Total Simulated Participants 576.

Du Ge glanced at his personal profile. His spirit had increased by 20, and the total number of participants had decreased by several dozen. He sighed, looking at the empty Iron Palm Sect, and closed the profile panel. "There are too few people I can use!"

"Seventh Brother, I can be useful!" Feng Zhong said with a fawning smile. "I can still manage. Just give me any orders, Seventh Brother. For Seventh Brother's cause, I'd go through fire and water. I don't seek ranking, I just want to experience life in the simulation..."

Having accompanied Du Ge in trying cases all day, Feng Zhong hadn't dared to run. Only now did he have a chance to speak. He was afraid Du Ge still held a grudge and wanted to kill him, so he immediately pledged his loyalty.

"Seventh Brother, kill him! The more people in the team, the less controllable. It's enough for me to assist you."

Wang San's bangs obscured his forehead, and he lowered his head slightly. His voice was sinister. He was still fiddling with a severed hand. Like Du Ge, his attributes had surged today, making him the second-ranked participant.

He knew clearly who was first.

He had previously voiced his displeasure when Du Ge revealed keywords, putting them both in the spotlight. But having his attributes skyrocket in a single day and leaping to become the runner-up in the simulation, he had gained immense benefits. Naturally, he didn't want anyone to ruin his bright future.

"Didn't you hear Seventh Brother say he doesn't have enough people? What can you do besides scare people, you yandere?" Feng Zhong retorted indignantly. "Can you influence the overall situation? If I hadn't sent a letter to Qiu Yuanlang, sparking his interest in the Celestial Demons, you'd still be looking for other Celestial Demons in Xingyu Tower! How could such a big commotion have happened, and our strength have improved so quickly?"

"Are you provoking me?" Wang San grinned and suddenly turned to Feng Zhong, his gaze like a knife.

Whoosh.

Feng Zhong hid behind Du Ge and warned, "I'm warning you, don't use your skills on me! Seventh Brother didn't kill me, if you use your skills on me and ruin Seventh Brother's plans, Seventh Brother won't spare you."

In the meantime, Qiu Yuanlang and his son were rescued by a doctor. After they woke up, they saw Wang San like a mouse seeing a cat, their eyes darting, trembling. Feng Zhong saw their miserable state and naturally didn't want Wang San's skills to fall upon him, otherwise, he truly wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Useless." Wang San sneered and withdrew his gaze. He tacitly accepted Du Ge's leadership and naturally didn't dare to overstep. Although his attributes had surged, he felt he still couldn't dodge Feng Qi's stab; his speed was too fast.

"Seventh Brother, in a few days, the reputation of the Peacekeeping Gang will reach every examinee's ears," Feng Zhong said. "Open attacks are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. No one knows what keywords others have. The best way to maintain our current situation is to strike fast, giving them no time to react or grow, and eliminate them."

He paused and asked, "Boss, your ranking should be first, right!"

Du Ge glanced at him. Before he could speak, Wang San interjected, "Is Seventh Brother's ranking something you can inquire about?"

"Anyone with a brain can guess it, can't they? Causing such a huge commotion in two days, if it's still not first, then it would be truly unjust." Feng Zhong impatiently glared at Wang San. "Can you, you pervert, talk less and go play with your stinky hands? Do you understand strategy?"

"Let him speak," Du Ge said. Liu Cheng and the others lacked the energy to support them, and Qiu Muqian and Han Zuo hadn't returned since entering the city. Who knew what schemes they were plotting behind the scenes!

Currently, the Iron Palm Sect had just over four hundred people in total. Only Liu Cheng could be considered a master, but his martial arts were only comparable to Feng Shiyi's.

Previously.

Du Ge's plan to establish the Peacekeeping Vanguard was to proceed step by step, accumulating like-minded individuals bit by bit. But with Feng Zhong's meddling, the scope had suddenly expanded so much that there were too few people to use. No matter how energetic he was, he couldn't be involved in everything personally.

Feng Zhong's suggestion of striking fast was a viable method, but its actual implementation was extremely difficult, given how vast this world was.

"Seventh Brother, the names of the top ten in the simulation will only be publicly announced after a month. You're having fun now, but you've also prematurely exposed your ranking," Feng Zhong said. "Moreover, you've disrupted everyone's hidden growth. You can be said to have become the target of public criticism. No one will watch you grow bigger, because defeating you means directly taking your rank. And your keyword is 'Maintenance/Protect'..."

He chuckled, "Of course, I know this is a disguise, but someone will always be able to judge your true keyword from your actions. You'll definitely be deliberately targeted then. Even if they can't judge it, they can figure it out through repeated attempts. Especially since you exposed the Celestial Demons, there will always be smart people who, like you, will leverage the power of the natives."

The top ten names in the simulation would be announced after a month?

Shrinking circle?

From Feng Zhong's words, Du Ge obtained even more crucial information.

No wonder! He had previously thought that with such a large world and tens of millions of people, it was too easy for a few hundred people to hide. If it was all about self-growth, how could the confrontational aspect be reflected?

So there was such a mechanism involved.

After a month of growth, the top ten rankings would become obvious targets, scrutinized by everyone. Anyone who intended to compete for a ranking would see killing the top ten as a shortcut to growth.

And in the later stages, when fewer people remained, the fighting would become even more intense...

Damn it!

Not understanding the rules could be fatal!

Fortunately, he still had Backstab as cover. These people were influenced by conventional thinking and didn't consider Maintenance/Protect as his true keyword. Otherwise, he'd be in real trouble...

Du Ge's head ached a little.

But then he thought, even if they knew the rules, would he still not contend for the top ten?

After all, he had one more keyword than others, giving him a natural advantage. Becoming top ten was too easy.

Whether he was exposed now or a month later made almost no difference to him.

Developing early would also rapidly boost his attributes. Facing a bunch of weaklings who hadn't grown was better than facing a group of seasoned veterans who had grown for a month.

Thinking this, Du Ge felt at ease again.

Feng Zhong's voice continued: "...At this time, we need my Tongue of Right and Wrong. We can make all the sects busy, get them moving, even lure their experts over, recruit them one by one, or eliminate them. This way, our influence will grow, and others won't be able to use the natives."

Tongue of Right and Wrong?

What a Tongue of Right and Wrong! This guy's eloquence was truly convincing!

Du Ge glanced at Feng Zhong: "What's your rank?"

Feng Zhong chuckled, looking a bit smug. "Thanks to Brother Seven, I used Manipulate on you and Iron Palm Sect to stir up trouble. I've also stirred the general trend of the world. My current rank in the simulation is ninth, barely making it into the top ten."

Damn it!

Du Ge cursed. He had worked so hard to become first in the simulation, while this guy, after writing just one letter and riding on the hype, made it into the top ten. It was too unfair.

"Lucky dog," Wang San grumbled, clearly dissatisfied that Feng Zhong had made it into the top ten.

"What's your rank?" Du Ge asked Wang San.

"Thanks to Brother Seven, I'm second in the simulation, barely breaking into the top three," Wang San said, glancing at Feng Zhong and deliberately stating his rank to annoy him.

"Damn it!" Feng Zhong's eyes widened. "You freak, you're the lucky dog! Without Brother Seven, your disgusting keyword would have been burned to death the moment it appeared. How could you have grown so fast?"

One second, one ninth!

Du Ge suddenly smiled: "Alright, stop arguing. We're all in the top ten now, like ants on the same rope. None of us can escape in a month. Why don't we work together and think about how to protect our rankings?"