After giving me a brief explanation over the weekend, she hurriedly left.
She said she was also busy and had to report to some organization.
However, the organization she mentioned wasn’t “Paradise’s Gate” but another mercenary group. This place was far more complicated than I had imagined.
I waited where I was for a while and noticed that the “participants” in this area were indeed different. They seemed organized and methodical, often entering “Human-Level Games” in small groups.
It appeared that the man named Chu Tianqiu truly had some ability—managing to coordinate so many people so systematically.
What was his method? Force? Strategy? Or perhaps a powerful “Echo”?
As I pondered, I spotted a familiar figure approaching in the distance. No matter how I tried, I never would have expected her to be among them.
Auntie Tong, accompanied by two young people, was walking confidently past me with a map in hand. They seemed deep in conversation and didn’t notice me.
“Auntie Tong…?” I called out, barely believing my own eyes.
“Hmm…?” She turned and immediately spotted me. “Oh, you…”
She paused, then said to the two young people behind her, “You two go ahead and wait for me at the site, okay? I’ll catch up in a bit.”
“Sure, Auntie Tong,” said a boy who looked no older than sixteen. “We’ll go first. Stay safe, alright?”
This organization was even stranger than I thought. Auntie Tong was in her fifties, and the boy was barely sixteen—why would they be paired together?
Then again, thinking back, Auntie Tong was also a “seasoned Echo user.” She could certainly hold her own in ordinary Human-Level Games.
After sending the two young people off, Auntie Tong came over and grabbed my arm, smiling warmly. “Child, what are you doing here?”
“Auntie Tong… I should be asking you that. Did you join this organization?”
“Oh, yes,” she nodded. “I found him.”
“Found him…?”
“Remember what I told you?” Her face lit up with a kind, almost delighted smile, as if she’d stumbled upon treasure. “I said I wanted to find someone carrying immense ‘Good Karma’… and I did.”
I paused for a moment. “That person is in the organization?”
“He’s the leader,” Auntie Tong said. “A young man named Chu Tianqiu.”
“The leader…” I was stunned. “You mean he’s a ‘good person’?”
“It’s not just about being a ‘good person,'” she shook her head. “Carrying immense ‘Good Karma’ is entirely different from simply being a ‘good person.'”
“How so?”
“Well, imagine many people doing charity,” she explained. “Some do it for a purpose—to polish their image, to boost their company’s reputation, or even for tax benefits. Though they ‘do good’ and are called ‘good people,’ their motives aren’t rooted in true goodness. So, it doesn’t count as ‘Good Karma.’ They’ve just done good deeds.”
Thinking about it from her perspective, I instantly understood.
“So, the person you mentioned, the one with immense ‘Good Karma’—his motive is purely ‘goodness’?” I asked.
“Yes,” she nodded. “He does good without ulterior motives—simply because he wants to. He didn’t create this organization to exploit the ‘participants.’ Everything he does is genuinely to help others. This immense ‘Good Karma’ will inevitably shape his fate—that’s his ‘Karmic Force.’ If anyone here is destined for a peaceful end because of their ‘Karmic Force,’ it can only be him.”
Not only did I grasp the meaning of ‘Good Karma,’ but I also understood ‘Karmic Force.’
“Child, he calls the sane people here ‘Virtuous Ones’ and the mad ones ‘Maniacs,'” Auntie Tong continued. “Do you know what they call him?”
“No.”
She looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and said, “The Virtuous King.”
That… was indeed a weighty title.
He wasn’t just the king of a single faction, nor of “Extremists” or “Paradise’s Gate”—he was the king in the hearts of all the sane people here.
“It’s just a pity…” Auntie Tong sighed with a bitter smile. “Child, have you heard the saying, ‘Good people don’t live long’?”
“Of course…” The moment I answered, I sensed a contradiction. “Auntie Tong, based on your explanation, isn’t ‘Karmic Force’ essentially ‘good begets good, evil begets evil’? So why would good people die young?”
“I’ve said before,” she explained, “‘Good’ and ‘evil’ are defined by the doer’s own heart. Excessively kind souls don’t even label their deeds as ‘good.’ As a result, some of their ‘Good Karma’ transforms into ‘Neutral Karma’—neither good nor bad, neither increasing nor decreasing their Karmic Force.”
It seemed I had oversimplified ‘Karmic Force.’ If explored in depth, the phrase “good begets good, evil begets evil” could fill an entire thesis.
“So, relying on ‘Karmic Force’ for a ‘good outcome’ must be incredibly difficult?” I asked. “You’d have to persist in doing good while also believing it’s truly ‘good.'”
Auntie Tong said, “Child, have you noticed that honest, kind people in this world often lead hard lives and may even suffer greatly?”
Yes… How could I not know?
“Thus, doing good is inherently challenging. The world will throw countless obstacles in your path,” she reached out and plucked a loose strand of hair from my dress. “For someone like Chu Tianqiu, there are only two paths ahead—either he maintains a pure heart and attains enlightenment, or one day, he succumbs to darkness, and all his ‘Good Karma’ turns into ‘Evil Karma.’ But for now… the direction of his ‘Karmic Force’ remains positive.”
It was almost laughable. If I were the Virtuous King, I’d never selflessly sacrifice for so long—human nature is inherently ugly.
The more you give, the more others demand.
A small kindness is appreciated; a great one breeds resentment.
I didn’t know if the Virtuous King provided food for these people, but something that initially brought joy would, after a few cycles, be taken for granted.
Having food would become an expectation; lacking it would be seen as the leader’s failure. That’s human nature.
Noticing my silence, Auntie Tong took my hand and said,
“Child, if any in the ‘Extremists’ ever wish to leave, let them join ‘Paradise’s Gate’ for a peaceful end.”
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