Chapter 15
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Chapter 15: No. Nine
“It’s too late. Boys should be vigilant and protect themselves outside.”
Bai Yan felt a flicker of fear as he assessed the situation.
Meanwhile, Mu Ling hesitated to approach him. She wavered, uncertain of her next move. After all, he had subtly warned her to keep her distance.
If he wasn’t that mysterious authority figure, it wouldn’t matter… but their voices were identical.
Though Mu Ling wanted to leave, her curiosity proved stronger. She finally approached Bai Yan.
Bai Yan sat in his seat, lost in thought. As he watched the beautiful, powerful girl walk toward him, his heart began to race. He feared she might attack him.
Mu Ling bowed slowly and asked with utmost respect, “I forgot to ask… Are you the leader of Babel Tower?”
‘Perfect! She doesn’t recognize me!’ Bai Yan contemplated deeply. After weighing the benefits against the risks, he decided to pose as the leader of Babel Tower to prevent her from acting rashly.
He swallowed hard and maintained a stoic expression. “Ah, you’re perceptive,” Bai Yan said gravely.
That confirmed it! The same voice!
Mu Ling trembled involuntarily. This was the voice that had haunted her these past few days!
“I came to verify…” she explained hastily.
“And now you have. You may leave,” Bai Yan said, wanting to end the conversation with the mysterious “Nightsaber” before he revealed too much.
However, Mu Ling remained. Instead, she asked anxiously, “Master, could you ease up on the training?” The regimen was overwhelming her. Though she had practiced swordsmanship since childhood, she had never endured such grueling training.
Bai Yan fell silent. He realized that Nightsaber was a real person, not merely a game operator. While his ignorance before was excusable, how could he continue pushing an innocent girl so hard?
As he considered agreeing to Mu Ling’s request, he remembered the imperfect ending of his first gameplay. He hadn’t maximized the operators’ potential then. Though he had cleared the game, many missions were poorly executed, resulting in less than 10% of the world’s population surviving.
It would have been acceptable if it were just a game. But now he understood that everything in the game affected reality.
He had to achieve a perfect clear this time, knowing that the game’s events would manifest in the real world.
‘Can I accept such an ending?’
Being lenient with Nightsaber and other operators would exact a bloody price.
The early missions were nothing compared to the later stages, which demanded sacrifices. Even though operators had multiple lives and could revive, the pain and despair of death remained inevitable. Worse still, the responsibility for these decisions lay with him.
Conversely, if he trained the operators rigorously to accumulate energy points early on, the later missions would become more manageable. More training now meant fewer sacrifices later.
The answer was clear.
He met the girl’s eyes and replied, “No.”
“Saving the world isn’t a game. Your earnest attitude will determine your success, Nightsaber. Your sweat and anger will eventually yield rewards.”
Though this wasn’t in-game, he counseled Mu Ling with complete seriousness.
Mu Ling could see the depth of consideration in his eyes. Perhaps Babel Tower truly was an organization destined to save the world. She took a deep breath and nodded. “I understand.”
Raised with a strong sense of family honor, she willingly accepted sacrificing for the greater good. She even felt ashamed of her earlier complaints.
Bai Yan sighed inwardly. At this point, achieving a perfect clear was non-negotiable.
Even if the operators came to hate him after completing the game, he was prepared to unlock the achievement “Is it all worth it?”
‘She’s truly beautiful. Will such a beautiful girl continue to follow my orders?’
Though Bai Yan maintained his expressionless facade while regarding her indifferently, he struggled to maintain his composure.
“You have an enemy approaching,” he said calmly, changing the subject.
“What?” Mu Ling asked, startled.
She glanced around warily, gripping the cross at her fair neck, ready for combat.
“The danger hasn’t arrived yet, but it’s predetermined… It’s your destiny to face these challenges,” Bai Yan said cryptically.
Mu Ling stood speechless. Destiny… This suggested the Savior was powerful enough to foresee her fate. ‘Who is he? How did he build the formidable Babel Tower and take on the mission of saving the world?’
Mu Ling’s heart raced with excitement. She felt privileged to be associated with such an important figure.
Perhaps the other members of Babel Tower were even stronger than she was.
Bai Yan said nothing more. Truthfully, he disliked speaking so grandly. Some people deliberately spoke in half-truths! But playing the mysterious figure was oddly entertaining.
Mu Ling removed her black cross necklace and waited for her prophesied enemy. ‘Where are they?’
She wondered if the Savior was truly a prophet.
She waited silently by the door as darkness fell, but no enemy appeared.
“Will anyone actually come?” Mu Ling’s confidence wavered.
Bai Yan appeared indifferent but felt anxious inside. “They’ll be here soon.” In truth, he too was eager to witness the game manifesting in reality.
“Were you waiting for me?” A deep voice emerged from the darkness. In the classroom’s corner stood a bald man in black, only his pale face visible. Black lines covered his face like hideous tentacles.
Mu Ling stiffened at the sight of the black lines. This was undoubtedly the mark of a sinner!
“You’re a sinner! You’re with the Black Star Faction!”
She drew a sharp breath. ‘The Savior was right. This was my destined enemy.’
The Black Star Faction had nearly destroyed her family.
‘A sinner?’ Bai Yan vaguely recalled that some Babel Tower operators were sinners. Their morale often suffered from others’ discrimination.
Sinners were descendants of those who worshipped evil gods. Once, a mighty kingdom in Noah had nearly unified half the world at its peak, but it fell after summoning the Outer God. The entire world suffered the consequences.
The current natural disasters worldwide were all attributed to these evil gods.
People spurned the kingdom’s remnants, branded their descendants as sinners, and banned them from almost every city.
The sinners were forced to survive in dangerous wilderness. These people, raised in the most savage conditions, held weak moral principles.
They were considered trash, traitors, beasts, and demons!
Almost no one viewed sinners favorably. An Air Alliance citizen killing a sinner would be deemed self-defense under any circumstances.
More than half of the Black Star Faction consisted of sinners. As a crime hunter, Mu Ling was intimately familiar with these shameless “beasts.”
“Hehe, I am indeed from Black Star. That big shot called me… No. Nine,” the bald man said, fixing Mu Ling with a malevolent smile.
“I heard you killed a priest of Ash. You little brat! I’ll take you alive to that big shot. Your despair will be an offering to the great Chaos Star! Hahahahaha!”
Mu Ling remained unmoved by the bald man’s taunts until his final words.
“Be a sacrifice. Just like your family!”
Boundless rage blazed in Mu Ling’s eyes. Her fair hands trembled as she gripped the black cross sword.
“Sinner, I will reclaim the crime hunter’s glory with your head!”
Fearing she might act recklessly, Bai Yan calmly advised, “Stay composed. He’s no match for you.”
Mu Ling took a deep breath and began, “I got—”
Before she could finish, that familiar voice resonated in her mind.
[Stand by, Nightsaber.]
“Yes, my master.” Though horrified, Mu Ling couldn’t resist. She obediently knelt beside Bai Yan.
Now she was certain this man was indeed the true leader of Babel Tower, the mysterious and terrifying being who called himself the Savior!
‘What’s happening?’ Bai Yan was bewildered. Mu Ling’s behavior surprised him too. ‘What is she doing? Is she swearing allegiance to me?’
No. Nine was equally shocked!
‘She comes from the legendary crime hunter family. How could she bow to any man?’
No. Nine quickly realized that this strange man was regarding him as insignificant.
He was definitely no ordinary person!
“Who are you!?”
