“Miss Shen, you’re a smart person.”
Fu Songcheng’s voice came through the encrypted audio to Source Star, unhurried, his tone carrying a strange calm.
“Child Star people coming and going freely on Source Star; or Death Party going down the drain—pick one.”
This was less a multiple-choice question than an execution. People generally don’t choose “the more acceptable”—they think about which outcome they can less accept.
Shen Ning leaned back on the leather sofa, uncrossing her legs and setting them down, her fingertip leaving the armrest, hovering in midair.
Fu Songcheng gave her no time to think. His tone suddenly turned mild, as if genuinely considering things for a partner in a predicament, so sincere one couldn’t find fault.
“Actually, we can very well have a win-win.”
“Miss Shen, I just want a channel. My going to Source Star isn’t to destroy your empire. I’ll keep it secret, and do my best not to make things difficult for you on Source Star.”
Fu Songcheng paused, his voice growing even gentler.
“At the same time, Death Party will continue running as you wish. It’ll still be the most profitable chip in your hand. You could even, within this instance, let players jointly decide the direction, making the livestream more dramatic.”
Shen Ning lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the holographic screen. She raised her hand and tapped the console once, turning Fu Songcheng’s volume down.
The steady, penetrating voice grew faint in the empty control center, yet its bewitchment and oppression didn’t diminish.
Shen Ning sneered inwardly, but had to admit Fu Songcheng was far too good at negotiating.
He threatened that he could destroy everything, then immediately offered a candy called “win-win.”
In this unnoticed span of time, in Fu Songcheng’s far-from-glorious—one might even say cramped—instance rest room, Fu Songcheng was making an earth-shaking gamble against the game’s investor.
He’d staked himself, staked Yu Huaiting, staked the lives of everyone in this instance.
To buy a ticket to keep exploring the truth of the world.
Fu Songcheng waited for Shen Ning’s decision with extreme patience.
The choice had actually always been in Shen Ning’s hands. She was still the lofty Source Star person; she need only lightly utter a word, or press a destroy key on the console, and he and Yu Huaiting would be destroyed instantly.
Of course Fu Songcheng didn’t want to push Shen Ning to the point of mutual destruction, nor did he want to truly destroy everyone in the instance.
So he alternated tension and release.
First, pull Shen Ning to the negotiating table with the cost of destroying everything, forcing her to face his demands; then, with mild concessions, lay out steps for her, guiding her toward the endpoint he wanted.
“Deal.”
Shen Ning finally agreed.
Fu Songcheng let out a soft breath.
“But you must eliminate Quan Heng immediately.”
Shen Ning named her condition. “After that, every rest-area calendar day, I can open a ten-minute channel for you at midnight.”
This was her bottom line.
Shen Ning didn’t want Quan Heng leaving alive, and even less wanted him to have another chance to reveal even a single extra word of Source Star secrets to anyone.
Fu Songcheng did indeed understand how to quit while ahead.
Ten minutes was already enough for him to do a great many things.
“A pleasure doing business, Miss Shen.”
Fu Songcheng nodded slightly, his tone lightening a little.
“Mm.” Shen Ning responded carelessly.
The communication cut off.
Shen Ning sighed. She had to start dealing with Quan Heng’s aftermath.
Not only did it have to be cleaned up thoroughly, but this “death” had to be maximized for profit. She quickly brought up her private encrypted channel and contacted her core data team.
“Immediately revise all records of Fu Songcheng and Yu Huaiting in the current instance.”
Shen Ning’s orders flew out one after another without the slightest delay. “Make Quan Heng’s cause of death solid. Change it to: Yu Huaiting and Fu Songcheng saw through Quan Heng’s disguise in the rest area, discovered he was impersonating Fu Songcheng. Yu Huaiting flew into a rage and hacked Quan Heng to death in the rest area with one strike.”
“For all the previous controversy about unfairness toward these two players, release internal employee information—pin it all on Quan Heng. And say he voluntarily joined the Death Party testing and ultimately died in the instance. Finally, erase all traces of my and your operations completely.”
“Understood, Miss Shen.”
The team’s response was crisp.
Shen Ning cut the communication and, without pause, immediately dialed another number.
“There’s been a bit of a significant incident on Death Party’s side. Yes, something’s happened to Quan Heng.”
On the other end was another vice president of Death Party, a considerable force on the board.
“He actually went down personally to interfere with instance progress and operated in violation of the rules. A Child Star player caught the flaw, and he was killed in the rest area—we couldn’t save him.”
Shen Ning sighed with feigned regret, her tone full of pity and worry. “Once this gets out, the safety of Death Party’s metaverse plan will be questioned by all viewers. We need to immediately unify our story and minimize the damage. Externally, we’ll say he had personal feelings for a player and interfered with instance judgment and matching mechanisms—self-inflicted.”
“Also, Quan Heng’s shares and the business he was in charge of need to be taken over quickly, and we need to find more investors…”
She wanted to drag more people into the water, to share the risk.
Quan Heng’s death wasn’t just a problem to solve—it was an opportunity. Shen Ning intended to use this heaven-sent chance to thoroughly reshuffle Death Party’s management.
…
And inside the instance at this moment, in the rest room.
As Shen Ning’s careless “Mm” fell, the communicator-shaped item in Fu Songcheng’s hand gave an extremely faint crack.
The usage time of [Quit While You’re Ahead] had ended.
The item shattered piece by piece in Fu Songcheng’s palm, dissolving into black data light points, completely dispersing.
Everything was settled.
Fu Songcheng looked down at Quan Heng, still sprawled on the ground, barely clinging to life.
Quan Heng wasn’t deaf.
He’d heard Fu Songcheng and Shen Ning’s conversation just now, clear as day.
He’d heard how Fu Songcheng used the fate of the entire instance to threaten, and how Shen Ning had so easily used him as a bargaining chip, discarding him without mercy.
He stared at Fu Songcheng, his lips trembling violently, a gurgling sound coming from his throat, yet unable to produce a single complete sentence.
Under the forced requirements of the [Quit While You’re Ahead] item and Shen Ning’s orders, Fu Songcheng had to fulfill every term of the deal—including killing Quan Heng immediately.
“You can choose how you die.”
Fu Songcheng’s voice was soft, as if discussing an inconsequential trifle.
Quan Heng shook his head frantically, tears mixing with blood streaming down his face.
He didn’t want to die. He was a Source Star person—he was a high and mighty god! How could he die like trash in an instance, at the hands of players he regarded as consumables!
Fu Songcheng straightened up. His gaze passed over Quan Heng and glanced at the dazed Yu Huaiting beside him.
“You’ve been abandoned by your own kind.”
Actually, when relaying Shen Ning’s decision, Fu Songcheng had chosen relatively “gentle” wording.
He hadn’t directly said “Shen Ning told me to kill you.”
But Quan Heng also understood: it was his own kind who’d personally issued the order to eliminate him.
The ones who wanted him dead weren’t Fu Songcheng and Yu Huaiting—it was the lofty Source Star class. Though, of course, Fu Songcheng and Yu Huaiting hadn’t spared him either.
“Your becoming Bitter Couple—that was arranged by me.”
“I…” Quan Heng looked at Yu Huaiting, not knowing what to say.
Chasing something unattainable and dying for it—he truly regretted it deeply.
He still liked Yu Huaiting very much, admired his strength and directness, but he’d burned himself out and still couldn’t earn the other’s favor.
Fu Songcheng lifted his chin, signaling Yu Huaiting to act.
Yu Huaiting gave him no more chance to breathe. He stepped forward, and the blade fell.
The sharp blade sliced through the air.
Quan Heng’s body jolted violently, his pupils contracting sharply, the light in his eyes extinguishing completely.
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