Apocalypse: I Have One More Keyword Than Others-Chapter 41 - 0 Riding the Hype Train for Traffic_1
Chapter 41: 041 Riding the Hype Train for Traffic_1
Chapter 41: 041 Riding the Hype Train for Traffic_1
Night fell, and Duge announced the end of the public trial.
Although those who did not receive money were regretful, they could only return to the city one after another. In this world, the concept of class is deeply ingrained in people’s hearts; even with ten times the courage, they would not dare to disturb the rest of the Heavenly Demon grandee.
The Heavenly Demon grandee might be kindly-hearted, but he was truly bold in killing.
The reputation of Peacekeeping Gang also spread quickly through Luyang City with the handfuls of silver coins Duge scattered.
The Heavenly Demon Feng Qi is a good man, an upright official, a guardian deity of the common people…
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For a time, by word of mouth, his good reputation soared into the sky.
Duge’s prestige reached its peak in Luyang City within just one day, and his comprehensive attributes almost tripled, reaching the speed and agility of a direct attack that was now almost equal to the speed of Backstab when he ambushed Qiu Yuanlang.
As for Backstab, it goes without saying, within a distance of ten meters, his Backstab could achieve an effect akin to teleportation; in a world of low martial prowess, no one could evade it…
…
When night fell.
Peacekeeping Gang was in utter silence.
Since last night, the former members of Iron Palm Gang had been tormented by Duge nearly without sleep. As the public trial ended and they relaxed for a moment, they all could not hold up any longer.
Even Liu Cheng, with his high martial prowess, was yawning continuously.
An emperor wouldn’t starve his soldiers; seeing this, Duge simply allowed everyone to rest.
In the vast Iron Palm Gang, snoring sounds rose and fell, and the only movements were from some handymen and three Heavenly Demons.
…
Duge: Comprehensive ranking no. 1, spiritual power 100, total number of participants in the simulation field 576.
He glanced at his personal information, and saw that his spiritual power had increased by another 20, and the total number had decreased by several dozen. Duge sighed, looking at the empty Iron Palm Gang, he closed the information panel, “There are too few people I can use!”
“Brother Qi, I can be of use!” Feng Zhong said with a smile on his face, “I still have energy to spare. Just give me your orders directly, for the career of Brother Qi, I’d climb a mountain of swords or descend into a sea of flames without hesitation. I don’t aim for ranking, only to experience the life in the simulation field…”
After spending a day accompanying Duge in judging cases, Feng Zhong had not dared to leave until now, and finally found the chance to speak, fearing that Duge was still considering killing him; he professed his loyalty as soon as he spoke.
“Brother Qi, kill him! The more people there are in the team, the less controllable it becomes. With me assisting you by your side, that’s enough.”
Wang San’s hair covered his forehead, and he slightly bowed his head, his voice sinister. He was still fiddling with a severed hand, and like Duge, his attributes skyrocketed today, ranking him second on the leaderboard.
He knew very well who was first.
He had previously exposed keywords regarding Duge, putting them both under the spotlight, and had some complaints about it. But in a single day, his attributes surged, becoming the runner-up in the simulation field, and he certainly did not want someone to spoil his bright future.
“Haven’t you heard Brother Qi say we’re short on people? What else can a Sickly Cute like you do besides scaring people?” Feng Zhong retorted, “Can you influence the overarching situation? If it weren’t for my letter to Qiu Yuanlang, piquing his interest in Heavenly Demon, you would still be in the Prosperous Jade Building looking for other Heavenly Demons! How could you have caused such a commotion and progressed so quickly in strength?”
“Are you provoking me?” Wang San grinned, suddenly turning towards Feng Zhong, his gaze cutting like a knife.
With a whoosh.
Feng Zhong took refuge beside Duge, warning, “I’m warning you, don’t use your skills on me! Brother Qi didn’t kill me, if you use your skills on me and mess up Brother Qi’s plans, Brother Qi won’t let you off.”
Midway, Qiu Yuanlang and his son were revived by a physician, and upon waking up, seeing Wang San as a mouse would see a cat, their eyes flitted nervously, trembling uncontrollably. Feng Zhong, witnessing their pitiful state, naturally did not want Wang San’s skill to be used on him, for then he really wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything.
“Waste.” Wang San sneered coldly, withdrawing his gaze. He acknowledged Duge’s authority and naturally dared not overstep. Although his attributes had soared, he felt that he still couldn’t escape Feng Qi’s Backstab; his speed was too fast.
“Brother Qi, in a few days, the reputation of Peacekeeping Gang will reach the ears of every candidate.” Feng Zhong said, “An open spear is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to defend against. No one knows what keywords others carry. To preserve our current situation, the best strategy is to strike swiftly, eliminating them before they have time to react and grow.”
He paused, then asked, “Boss, your ranking must be first by now, right?”
Duge glanced at him, but before he could speak, Wang San already said, “Is Brother Qi’s ranking something you can inquire about?”
“Anyone with a bit of sense could guess, okay? Causing such a commotion in two days, if he’s not first, then there’s no justice in this world.” Feng Zhong shot Wang San an impatient look, “Can’t you shut up for once and go fondle your disgusting hand? Do you understand strategy?”
“Let him speak.” Duge said, as Liu Cheng and others lacked the energy to support him, and Qiu Muqian and Han Zuo hadn’t come back since they entered the city; who knew what they were scheming behind his back!
Nowadays, the Iron Palm Gang only has a little over four hundred people, and the only one who can be considered a master is Liu Cheng, whose martial arts skills are merely on par with Feng Shiyi.
Before.
Duge’s plan to establish the Peacekeeping Vanguard Group was to progress step by step, accumulating like-minded individuals gradually, but Feng Zhong’s interference caused the operation to expand suddenly, leaving too few people available for use. No matter how energetic he was, he couldn’t possibly take care of everything personally.
Feng Zhong suggested moving quickly to strike quickly, which was a method, but implementing it would be extremely difficult, after all, the world was too vast.
“Brother Qi, the top ten names from the simulation rankings are only made public once a month. You might be pleased now, but you’ve essentially revealed your ranking ahead of time,” Feng Zhong said, “Moreover, you’ve disrupted everyone’s covert growth, effectively making yourself a target for all. No one would sit by and watch you become stronger, after all, defeating you would mean taking over your spot directly. And your keyword is ‘maintaining’…”
He chuckled, “Of course, I know that’s a disguise, but someone will be able to deduce your real keyword from your actions, and when they do, you’re sure to be deliberately targeted. Even if they can’t figure it out, enough trials will reveal it. Especially since you’ve revealed the Heavenly Demon, there will always be clever people who, like you, will seek to use the power of the natives.”
The top ten names from the simulation rankings will be made public after a month?
The shrinking circle?
From Feng Zhong’s words, Duge gleaned even more critical information.
No wonder—he had previously thought that, with tens of millions of people in such a vast world, hiding a few hundred individuals seemed too easy. How could one demonstrate competitiveness if everyone solely focused on personal growth?
So there was such a mechanism in place.
A one-month growth period, after which the top ten would become glaring targets, subjected to everyone’s focus. Anyone ambitious about climbing the ranks would see killing one of the top ten as a shortcut to growth.
And as the competition progressed, with fewer people remaining, the killing would become even more intense…
MBD!
Not understanding the rules can be deadly!
Luckily, he had the move Backstab as a cover, and those people, influenced by inertia, hadn’t taken ‘maintaining’ for his real keyword; otherwise, he would’ve indeed been in deep trouble…
Duge’s head began to ache.
But on second thought, what difference would it make if he knew the rules? Would he not strive for the top ten?
After all, he had one more keyword than the others, a natural advantage, making it too easy for him to be among the top ten.
Being exposed now or a month later made almost no difference to him.
Expanding early would allow his attributes to rise rapidly. Facing a bunch of weaklings who hadn’t grown was always better than facing those who had been growing for a month.
With this thought, Duge felt relieved again.
Feng Zhong’s voice continued: “…This is where my ‘Tongue of Right and Wrong’ becomes necessary. We can keep all the sects busy, get them moving, even draw their masters over to either recruit or finish them off. That way, our power would grow larger and larger, preventing others from leveraging the power of the natives.”
Tongue of Right and Wrong?
Such an effective ‘Tongue of Right and Wrong’; this guy really was persuasive!
Duge glanced at Feng Zhong: “What’s your rank now?”
Feng Zhong grinned, somewhat smugly, “Thanks to Brother Qi, after stirring up the situation between you and the Iron Palm Gang, I’ve also stirred up the major trends. Now in the simulation rankings, I’m ninth, barely making it into the top ten.”
Fuck!
Duge cursed, he had worked hard to become number one in the simulation rankings, and this guy, from start to finish, merely wrote a letter and rode the coattails into the top ten; it was so damn unfair.
“Lucky bastard.” Wang San grumbled, clearly dissatisfied with Feng Zhong squeezing into the top ten.
“What’s your ranking?” Duge asked Wang San.
“Thanks to Brother Qi, in the simulation rankings, I’m second, barely making it into the top three,” Wang San cast a glance at Feng Zhong and deliberately stated his rank to annoy him.
“Fuck!” Feng Zhong’s eyes bulged, “You freak, you’re the one who’s hit the jackpot! Without Brother Qi, with your disgusting keyword, you would have been burned to death the moment you showed up. How could you possibly have grown this fast?”
One second place, one ninth!
Duge suddenly laughed: “Alright, stop arguing. Now that we’re all in the top ten, we’re all tied to the same string, and none of us can escape after a month. We might as well work together and figure out how to keep our rankings.”
