Chapter 292

Chapter 292

Norton said only one sentence, very simple, but Ye Mo gradually calmed down.

The emotions that had filled his chest, burning and leaving him at a loss, slowly settled as well.

The rise and fall of his chest eased. After a deep breath, Ye Mo closed his eyes.

Norton's hand covered his eyes, blocking the glaring lights of the venue.

Then he raised his eyes, and the main viewpoint was directly in front of Norton.

His gaze seemed to pierce through the light screen, striking people's hearts.

The entire venue was very quiet.

Lakeley stood at the edge of the Leader's platform, watching Ye Mo and Norton from afar, with Grath's soldiers standing upright behind them.

Lakeley watched them, unconsciously murmuring Norton's earlier words, "It will change..."

He took a step back, looked up at the sky, and recalled the Kaileer Alliance. He had reviewed all the resource wars since the Kaileer Alliance joined, the hardships from the bottom up, the teammates who were swapped out again and again...

Lakeley had never thought any of this was wrong. He felt sad for the fallen teammates, but never found anything amiss.

For resources, for the nation, to reduce conflict, and to preserve strength and hold the remaining human star domains.

Finally, Lakeley remembered the look Ye Mo gave Aize. Surrounding them were Zergs, yet they drew blades on each other.

This wasn't uncommon in resource wars; Zergs were also part of the conflict.

Lakeley looked back at Ye Mo, watching his hands resting on Norton's knees. Both of Ye Mo's hands were stained red with blood, now darkened but still conspicuous. There was also some alien fluid splashed on his uniform from killing Zergs, but the largest bloodstain came from a human.

For the first time, he realized it.

It was too far.

...

The Resource War was hastily called off.

The Star Alliance issued a Zerg warning, and the surrounding star domains were locked down.

Central Star was temporarily locked down, prohibiting entry or exit for anyone unrelated to the Resource War. All spectators were evacuated from Central Star and temporarily housed on nearby planets.

For a moment, the StarNet became even more lively than before.

"Is anyone on Central Star? How is it over there? The Resource War was stopped—it affects rankings. So many nations, won't they cause trouble?"

"I don't know. The star domain is locked down; seems pretty serious."

"Central Star is the same as before, full of players from various nations and Star Alliance staff. I'm on a tourist planet near Central Star. I only planned to stay a few days, but now I can't leave. They provided free accommodation, which is pretty sweet, but the Zerg situation seems grim. I don't know when the lockdown will be lifted."

"Grim is an understatement. On the edge lines, only one section hasn't been overrun by the Zergs. By the time the Resource War ended, the rest had already penetrated into inhabited planets, and now there are emergency evacuations."

"Actually, that part of the edge line—if you look closely, you'll see it's Grath's section. They held the line until the Resource War ended. That's why their fanbase has grown a lot recently."

"The Star Alliance should definitely move away from entertainment and implement more measures to ensure player safety. It was okay at first, but it's been getting more intense and brutal in recent years. Have you seen the death rates in Resource Wars? They're rising year by year, and severely in recent years."

"Isn't that because everyone's equipment has upgraded? Strength improves—not necessarily a bad thing. But I agree with adding measures to protect player safety. I've never understood those who, under the guise of officialdom, openly advocate for violence and bloodshed."

"Not everyone upgraded. Take Kainan for example—only their captain's gear is decent. And sure, equipment improves, but weapons and gear against Zergs are getting fewer, while gear against humans is increasing. That's abnormal."

...

Lakeley had been restless lately. He hadn't edited anything or updated his channel.

Many questions kept troubling him: Should the Resource War have new rules? What else should change?

He logged out of the virtual world, left his pod, got a good sleep, and when he woke up to grab a drink, he glanced at a photo frame on the cabinet. The frame was face-down against the wall.

He turned it over. In the photo, a young man and woman were smiling, arms around each other's shoulders.

They were his parents, who died in the war against the Zergs.

Lakeley had always followed the Resource War closely because watching those players made him think they were the chosen ones, forming a solid human wall against Zerg incursions.

But he never imagined that one day, they would point guns and cannons at each other.

That shouldn't happen.

Frustrated, Lakeley put down his cup and logged back into the virtual world. The signal on Central Star was still normal, but the locked-down star domain would likely interfere with the signal—who knew what would happen later.

He spawned a copy, and before he realized it, he was at Ye Mo's coordinates.

Ye Mo was in the living room on the first floor of Grath's base, lying on Pawpaw's belly.

Adelaide had rarely allowed Pawpaw into the house, and for the first time let it lie on the carpet, but only after it had a bath.

Pawpaw wrapped around Ye Mo, its long fur fluffy.

Lakeley watched Cyril. His restless mood eased a little—it was like when people watch cute animals when they're upset, though the comparison was a bit disrespectful. Just as he wanted to get closer, the signal cut off abruptly, and he found himself outside Grath's base.

Lakeley circled Grath's base, dazed, but couldn't get back in. "Bad signal?"

He sighed. "Today is just my unlucky day."

Theodore, who had kicked Lakeley out, returned to Grath's base without a trace. Recently, unstable signals gave Theodore plenty of room to manipulate behind the scenes.

Except for occasionally opening some unimportant areas as a disguise, Grath's base had been almost empty these past few days.

Lakeley was one who had slipped through the cracks.

Ye Mo turned over but didn't open his eyes. "Theodore?"

Theodore responded.

"It's inconvenient not being able to see you."

"It'll be resolved soon."

As it finished speaking,

Arnold rushed in excitedly, his footsteps light. But Pawpaw on the floor heard him and lazily flicked its tail without lifting an eyelid.

Arnold crouched down, reached over Pawpaw, and touched Ye Mo. Ye Mo opened his eyes, lifted his head slightly, and looked at Arnold.

Arnold spoke first. "Your subordinates are fine—they're already out of bed."

Ye Mo blinked and then sat up.

Arnold circled back in front of him, reached out a finger, and pressed it against his forehead. "Feeling more awake now? This'll cheer you up, right?"

Ye Mo leaned back a little. "I wasn't unhappy."

Arnold snorted and didn't push it. He reached out a hand to Ye Mo. "Let's go out for a walk. There's nothing much to do lately, everyone's out having fun. I saw Ye He brought you tons of gifts—your room's piled up. Let's go get some too. Baide's coming as well..."

Arnold pulled Ye Mo up, and Ye Mo protested, "It's not all from my brother."

"We want some too, anyway."

Arnold took his hand and headed outside. Pawpaw hopped up and trailed after Ye Mo.

Not far away, Herli waved at them. Baide leaned against the wall, and Jacob squatted by a flowerbed.

Arnold speeded up. "Deenlie and the others are working at Big Brother's place. Let's hurry—so we don't get caught."

He didn't forget to tug Pawpaw over to Adelaide, who was passing by, before pulling Ye Mo and dashing out.

They brushed past Baide and the others.

Herli chased after them. "Arnold, my turn!"

Baide and Jacob exchanged a glance. Jacob spoke first. "How childish."

The two of them strolled along behind them.

Baide threw up his hands. "Nothing I can do—my kids aren't the sharpest."

Jacob looked at him, seemed about to say something, but thought better of it. Arguing with Baide was exhausting, and he usually lost anyway.

Lakeley, who had been waiting at the entrance, followed them with a delighted expression. He hadn't started livestreaming, so he walked along, relaxed, muttering to himself, "How nice."

The streets weren't crowded.

Central Star's population consisted solely of the leaders and their teams from various countries, along with the Commander's battle personnel. There were quite a few people, but it wasn't congested. With the recent downtime and Central Star being bustling with nearly everything, many took the chance to come out, but even with everyone out, it didn't feel crowded at all.

"Let's check the map first and decide where to go. Secretary-General Lin went shopping earlier and told me—"

Arnold turned as he spoke, then came to a stop, his gaze fixed in one direction.

Lakeley looked up curiously, and his smile faded, without his realizing it.

In the crowd, not far away, was Aize, surrounded by his Xiboen teammates, all in casual clothes. But Arnold remembered him from their last encounter.

Ye Mo also looked over. Aize was the first to turn his head away, pulling his hat lower.

They paused for a moment. Baide walked over and placed a hand on Ye Mo's shoulder. "Need help?"

Ye Mo turned to look at Baide. Baide leaned close to his ear, made a throat-cutting gesture, and whispered, "It'll be quick."

Lakeley, standing nearby, took a moment to realize what Baide meant and pulled his hands out of his pockets.

Ye Mo shook his head.

Arnold, beside him, spoke up. "Afraid of making a scene? Then I'll help you next time."

Ye Mo looked at Arnold and shook his head. "Life shouldn't be a game."

He didn't want to become that kind of person.

Ye Mo tugged Arnold. "Let's go have fun. We can still buy gifts for Dad and the others. There's plenty of time until dinner."

Arnold looked at Ye Mo, then glanced back at Aize in the distance, and finally followed Ye Mo away. He fidgeted like a worried new father, fidgeting with his fingers.

He looked down at Ye Mo and said seriously, "I'm a bit worried—worried you'll get hurt, worried you'll tire yourself out—but also glad. Cyril, you've already learned to think for yourself, instead of just going with the flow."

Baide stretched lazily on the side. "But that's something only the strong can afford to do. You'd better get stronger, Cyril."

"Don't worry. With Arnold and Baide, I'll get stronger."

Actually, it probably didn't matter much. After all, he had plenty of kids to do the work, Baide thought.