CHAPTER 635: CHAPTER 634: DOUBLE REVERSAL

Lu Zixun, who hadn’t figured out what was wrong, simply believed that he had been thinking too much recently and was a bit paranoid.

The plan went ahead as scheduled, with Demon Country stepping in and bringing up the Chi Family’s annihilation again, along with corroborative evidence from Chi Yan.

Order also released information at this time, revealing unknown energy residues around the Chi Family’s remnants, originating from the Plague God.

The crowd, who were originally just ready to watch Demon Country and Sha Fei tear into each other, were stupefied by Demon Country’s and Order’s three-pronged attack and began to sense that something was amiss.

The annihilation of the Chi Family was common knowledge among the Spiritual Ability Users on the Night Talk Forum.

They had been wondering why Crimson acted so quickly this time, with their statement and investigation results coming out almost in a single day.

Now, with Demon Country stepping forward to expose Crimson, the Night Talk Forum exploded.

"I freaking knew it, how come Crimson suddenly became so efficient at work? Turns out they’re linked with the Chi Family’s annihilation, huh, while Order is fighting tooth and nail against the Insect Breeding Ground invasion, Crimson is having internal strife?"

"Speaking as a complete outsider who hasn’t participated in any battles, just to share my take: Have you guys considered that this might be a smear campaign by Order in collaboration with Demon Country against Crimson? Let’s leave Order aside and just talk about Demon Country—haven’t people remembered the incidents revealed on the forum, or are they now whitewashed and forgotten?"

"To be fair, I have some thoughts. Crimson definitely played some disgraceful role in this incident, but probably not as bad as Demon Country has exposed. After all, Crimson is an established power, and wouldn’t do something so thoughtless."

Lu Zixun read these comments with amusement.

These silly netizens really brought a lot of joy.

But after laughing, Lu Zixun began to feel that something was wrong.

Normally, Crimson’s review would have already begun controlling the narrative, but today, it was just letting things ferment.

"Lord Xun, the Crimson combat team has been dispatched, headed for the Crimson headquarters."

As Lu Zixun pondered the reason behind it all, Ling’s voice came through his earpiece.

He was startled and stood up, summoning the Night Evil Sword, ready to head to Zone 3.

However, as he stepped onto the Night Evil Sword, Lu Zixun hesitated and did not proceed to Zone 3.

Lu Zixun’s aim was simply to slow down the arrival of the Bloody Moon; he didn’t actually want Crimson to perish.

After all, a starving camel was still larger than a horse, and a cornered rabbit might bite, too— if Crimson was pushed too hard, who knew if they would end up in a lose-lose fight with Demon Country.

If that happened, Lu Zixun would be at a great loss.

Considering various concerns, Lu Zixun chose not to go and only asked Ling to keep watch.

...

"That’s bold."

Zeng Haoyang, who had been following this event, understood what Yang Guohong was planning to do when he heard that the Crimson combat team had moved to the Crimson headquarters in Zone 3.

When a situation became so dire that it could no longer be resolved, the best solution was often to find a scapegoat to wash away public opinion with blood.

With this thought, Zeng Haoyang chuckled lightly, his smile tinged with self-mockery, "Clever plan indeed."

Demon Country leaked the news of "Crimson conspiring with Plague God believers to slaughter the entire Chi Family."

Just an hour later, Yang Guohong, who had already prepared the purge plan, dispatched combat personnel.

With swift and decisive action, many of the dissenting voices within Crimson were silenced.

"Hello to all Spiritual Ability Users, I have a few words to say regarding the incident that occurred on the Night Language Forum..."

Just as the tide of opinion on the Night Talk Forum began to sway toward the Demon Country, a statement from the Crimson Society leapt out—the gist of it was three points.

One, indeed there had been collusion within the Crimson Society with followers of the Plague God, which had now been resolved.

Two, thanks to the Demon Country and Order for helping Crimson discover these errors, allowing them to correct them in time and preventing the situation from worsening.

Three, effective immediately, the previous Society President Yang Guohong would step down, with the new President to be assumed by Lu Xinran.

The succinct statement, somehow, unnoticeably quelled the turmoil.

Moreover, the video interspersed with this declaration added a layer of credibility to it, making the document all the more convincing.

The voices that had previously condemned Crimson had died down by more than half, and the direction of public opinion began to shift again.

"The old President is actually resigning? God, it wasn’t his fault, though."

"I still remember, when I first arrived in the Crimson Land, if it weren’t for the old President teaching me so much, I probably wouldn’t have survived till now."

"Seriously, who is this Lu Xinran? Can she really live up to the role of President of the Crimson Society?"

Lu Zixun, looking pale, silently watched the changes on the Night Talk Forum.

He had thought that the Crimson Society was facing certain doom this time, yet somehow Yang Guohong had resolved it in such a way.

Not only that, but he had also managed to boost his reputation in the process, the ever-kind President.

Associating this with Crimson’s swift and ruthless decapitation plan made Lu Zixun even more dejected; he finally understood why things had gone so smoothly before—it had all been Yang Guohong’s machinations.

"Clever strategy."

Gazing upon the persona that had been quickly rebuilt after the collapse of Crimson, Lu Zixun muttered.

Now, on the Night Talk Forum, everyone was asking if Yang Guohong really had to step down.

If Lu Xinran could lead the Crimson Society to do even better, and whether, after this reduction in members, would they recruit new ones.

Yet the Chi Family, wiped out due to the "mistake" made by the Crimson Society, seemed to be forgotten by everyone, unmentioned and unqueried.

Feeling oddly uncomfortable, Lu Zixun silently tossed his phone to one side and looked listlessly at the ceiling.

Admittedly, it was because Chi Yuan had angered him that he had taken those actions.

Yet, when he saw the indifference of the spiritual ability users on the Night Talk Forum, Lu Zixun felt uneasy once again.

Why did no one care about the lives of an entire family?

Much later, Lu Zixun understood that in this world, there truly was no such thing as empathy—unless the needle pricked your own flesh, you would never know the pain.

The personas created on the surface garnered the belief of countless spiritual ability users as if they were followers.

Why this was so, Lu Zixun neither knew nor wanted to understand.

...

As Lu Zixun struggled with his emotions, unable to find solace or transcend his feelings, a call from Zeng Haoyang came.

Initially not wanting to answer, Lu Zixun thought it over and decided to pick up.

"Are you in pain?"

Zeng Haoyang’s voice came through from the other end, and Lu Zixun, filled with a sense of doing the right thing with the wrong outcome, remained silent without speaking.

"The reason you feel pain is because your moral baseline is still there. Don’t lose this feeling; it’s the most fundamental condition of being human."