It was clear now that Xie Shuangxue was definitely not as simple as he’d initially seemed.

The players crouching to watch the storyline unfolding didn’t have to wait long for their teammates to arrive from the respawn point. Eager to take on the boss, these teammates didn’t realize what had been happening. After they gathered together, one of them eagerly suggested, “I thought of a strategy for our team battle—let’s try it out right away! I heard from outside that someone’s already managed to kill one and got gold drops!”

“Idiot, who cares about the boss right now?” one of the players pulled him down, looking utterly thrilled, as if he hadn’t even heard what the other player said. “Quick, watch Xie Shuangxue with me.”

The teammate: Huh?

Did someone hack his account?

Just yesterday, he’d been complaining about how he couldn’t stand these “delicate flower” NPCs, calling them bland and wondering why fans had such shallow taste for mere appearances. But here he was, acting like an obsessed fanboy.

The teammate voiced his confusion out loud, unable to hold back his incredulity.

“This is a full-immersion game! Who’s going to bother hacking?” The player shot him a glare. “Also, I’m streaming. You want me to get roasted alive?”

The teammate finally noticed the live stream interface.

“You’re getting so many views,” he commented, realizing his earlier remarks might be a little outdated. “Well, for money, who cares about pride, right? Hate-watching is still watching.”

Ling Jiao Live views could be exchanged for money, after all. No wonder so many people said that Xie Shuangxue was a “traffic magnet.” He understood now, and had to admit it with admiration.

“Do I look like that type of person? I stand for integrity!” the player glanced cautiously at the streaming interface and then spoke with a tinge of genuine admiration, “I’ll admit it, I was wrong about him before—Xie Shuangxue’s character is actually quite different from what I thought.”

The bullet screen was immediately flooded with “haha” comments, cheering on his change of heart.

As the stream’s popularity grew, however, he wasn’t getting roasted because the “mom fans” were all too busy admiring Xie Shuangxue, their eyes glued to him.

“Oh, finally, I can see my precious boy.”

“My baby even knows how to threaten people…!”

“What can I say? Maybe I never truly understood Shuangxue, but I like this side of him too.”

And then, more diehard fans voiced their admiration.

“Look, Shuangxue planned all of this for Ling Luo, even putting himself in danger just to save his senior brother. I’m just saying—who could resist a son like him? You wouldn’t be a mom to him? Who else would you even be a mom for?”

“Xie Shuangxue, let me tell you, you’re never escaping. Even if you’re demonized and turn evil, you’re my forever baby!”

Then, as the player continued his now-successful live stream, he saw more curious messages roll in, each stranger than the last, turning the chat’s tone into something entirely different.

“Group 2 chiming in here, I’m moved. Our group holds the real truth; the dedicated fanbase group is a cult.”

“Look at this! They call themselves ‘mom fans’? It’s blindingly obvious—they’re blind to the truth, talking nonsense.”

“Our Shuangxue hits my ultimate weakness for ‘evil beauties.’ Thank you, Endless Sea, you nailed it.”

“Hah, mark my words, the dedicated group will be ours one day. The mom fans are just denying the truth now, but eventually, they’ll join us.”

The player who had just switched sides could hardly help wanting to join their group.

The storyline, however, continued to unfold.

Yun Panlong, standing there, didn’t need long to think things through. Yun Ruowei, who was controlling his body, seemed to have a special way of communicating with Yun Qiang. Before long, Yun Qiang showed up with her entourage.

Hidden nearby, Yun Pannan looked at her, wanting to yell but holding back out of fear. When he finally spoke, his voice was so low it was barely audible. “Yun Qiang, you…! Colluding with the Demon Clan, you’ll pay for this one day!”

Yun Qiang ignored him, her full attention on Xie Shuangxue, her face filled with concern.

“Shuangxue,” she sighed, “this matter has nothing to do with you. Leave while you still can.”

Xie Shuangxue, however, focused solely on checking Ling Luo’s condition. Seeing that he was still alive, he finally relaxed.

Thankfully, he’d arrived in time. Ling Luo had held his own for quite a while, and the additional protection Xie Shuangxue had set up during his own demonization had helped. The Feather Clan’s divine power was indeed formidable. Even though Ling Luo was at a disadvantage, Yun Qiang hadn’t managed to break his defenses.

Ling Luo couldn’t speak, but his eyes were filled with anxiety, yet Xie Shuangxue had already made up his mind.

“Elder Sister Yun Qiang, you’re not one to let your emotions cloud your judgment. Things have reached this point, and it’s enough for only one of us to face it,” Xie Shuangxue said. “If anything happens to Senior Brother Ling Luo, I wouldn’t know how to face Ling Xuan or live without regret. The more you stall for me, the more pain it brings to us both.”

With the Feather Clan reinforcements still on the way, now was the best time to complete the exchange. Yun Qiang hesitated, but Yun Ruowei had no patience left.

She could sense Chen Xin and his group approaching.

It wasn’t the right time for a direct confrontation with the Feather Clan, and Yun Qiang was powerless to stop her while she was controlling Yun Panlong’s body.

In the next second, just as planned, Yun Ruowei forcefully pushed Ling Luo forward. In turn, Xie Shuangxue stepped forward, dragging Yun Mu along.

It should have been a smooth exchange, but Chen Xin arrived too quickly, trailing a crowd of players. Just ahead of them was Yu Haiqing, who had logged in urgently after receiving the news, with Bai Qiuyan close behind.

The storyline had been veering back to normal, but somehow, things had gone off track again.

Yu Haiqing’s face was full of worry.

“Shuangxue! Watch out for a sneak attack!”

Hearing the warning, Xie Shuangxue instantly went on guard. He had an instinctive trust in Yu Haiqing—this man had genuinely been helping him from the start. Still, Yun Ruowei was a master of schemes, and he couldn’t completely let his guard down around her.

Moreover, he was waiting for the system’s alarm, which still hadn’t sounded. Even if the SEA system’s tolerance threshold had been temporarily raised with the latest patch, he’d just hijacked Ling Luo’s storyline for the second time, so there should have been at least some warning sound.

Xie Shuangxue’s body reacted faster than his mind. Without fully understanding why, he used all his strength in a sudden motion to push Ling Luo out of harm’s way.

He’d put in all his power, and Chen Xin, who was charging forward, reacted swiftly, driving away the Skeleton Ghost General blocking his path and catching Ling Luo.

At that same moment, Xie Shuangxue sensed two surges of demonic energy underfoot. Ling Luo was out of range, and the full brunt of the energy poured into him instead. The force of it made Xie Shuangxue stagger, almost toppling forward, but Yun Qiang caught him just in time.

Yun Qiang quickly guessed what had happened, her face darkening as she shot Yun Panlong a sharp look. “Don’t go too far.”

Yun Panlong merely shrugged, looking disappointed.

His original plan was to demonize both Xie Shuangxue and Ling Luo together. Yun Qiang had already proven Ling Luo’s defenses were strong, making it impossible to get through directly; he’d hoped there might be some way to break through from underground.

Having narrowly escaped, Ling Luo sensed the danger, immediately informing everyone as soon as he reached safety.

Yu Haiqing, having just arrived, was dumbfounded.

He knew the script. In the original storyline, Ling Luo’s defenses had been breached once from below, and he worried Xie Shuangxue might face the same danger. He’d shouted to save the one he wanted to protect, so how did things end up like this?

Strangely, just as Ling Luo was pulled to safety, the system alarm briefly sounded but was quickly silenced, never to sound again.

Only Xie Shuangxue knew why.

His Light Veil skill had leveled up. Unlike before, when it was passively depleted, this time he’d actively used it, expending over half of his reserves. When he’d pushed Ling Luo away, the remaining strands of light wrapped around him, vanishing in the process.

After that, the system had stayed silent.

Testing it once gave him a pretty good idea.

Previously, he had to constantly test the system’s limits, probing it cautiously. Now, even if he crossed the line a bit, he could cover it up with his upgraded skill.

After all, Endless Sea would always find a way to justify things. Ling Luo’s demonization in the original storyline wasn’t a one-off event; it took multiple encounters to fully develop. The Lu Yun Tower storyline was still unfolding, so nothing was set in stone yet.

With Ling Luo safely out of the way, Yun Panlong decided it was time to stop wasting time on the Feather Clan. He returned to his original task, raising his massive blade and striking Yun Pannan on the shoulder.

Yun Pannan let out a pained scream as Yun Panlong extracted something—a single drop of crimson blood, held in his hand.

Xie Shuangxue glanced at it and thought the wound looked all too familiar.

He’d seen a nearly identical injury on Yun Panshan before. It seemed Yun Ruowei was trying to extract something from the three Yun brothers.

Chen Xin wasn’t idly standing by. He tried to charge forward to rescue Xie Shuangxue, but more Skeleton Ghost Generals blocked his path, while Yun Panlong remained unfazed.

“I’d advise you not to act rashly, or I can’t guarantee what might happen to Xie Shuangxue.” He clicked his tongue. “Stay put, all of you.”

“Really, though, the Xie family’s last descendant, suffering each time for your Feather Clan’s sake. Aren’t you all supposed to be so powerful? Yet every hardship is borne by others. Imagine how this will sound if it gets out.”

“Want to save him? Too late.”

His words struck right at the group’s sore spot, but no one had time to respond. In the next instant, the entire City Lord’s Mansion shook violently, as if something beneath had roared in anger. The Feather Clan felt a powerful repelling force, and before they could rescue Xie Shuangxue, they were blasted backward by it.

As they were flung away, everyone’s eyes were fixed on Xie Shuangxue, pinned down by Yun Panlong.

His white clothes were filthy, his face pale, looking utterly bedraggled. Yet he still cast one last look their way, seeming concerned for their safety.

“Go.”

In the chaos, they could only make out his lips forming the words, “Don’t worry about me. I have a way out.”

How could they not worry? That was precisely why they were most worried!

In truth, however, Xie Shuangxue remained calm. Having successfully hijacked the storyline point, he even felt a hint of satisfaction, analyzing the situation in his mind. He noted that the mysterious power came from underground, and the Skeleton Ghosts seemed to respond to it, growing stronger.

Using all the information he’d gathered, he soon found his answer.

This was the divine vein Yun Panshan had once mentioned. Yun Ruowei must have tapped into this to control the vein, making this city her domain.

No wonder Yun Panshan was poisoned and injured. The poison was to control him, immobilizing him temporarily, while that injury served Yun Ruowei’s true purpose.

No wonder Yun Panlong’s defeat was such a hassle in the original storyline, requiring the Feather Clan to muster numerous allies and spend considerable time to barely overcome him.

Now that Yun Ruowei had captured him, it was undoubtedly a major advantage. Xie Shuangxue had become both a hostage and a bargaining chip. She took him to a location and locked him up, leaving him unattended for a while.

With Yun Panlong’s body, she used the divine vein’s power to command the Skeleton Ghosts, seizing the entire city.

During this time, Xie Shuangxue found a moment to check the forums. He saw that the Feather Clan reinforcements had arrived but were blocked outside the city, while players were already buzzing with ways to rescue him.

They moved faster than the Feather Clan, having their own backdoor routes.

Their previous undercover efforts in the sanctuary came in handy; the City Lord’s Mansion was so preoccupied after Yun Ruowei’s takeover that the sanctuary group soon snuck in.

Not long after, someone crept into where Xie Shuangxue was held, and he recognized who it was at once.

It was Yun Ren.

The young man was small and nimble.

He handed Xie Shuangxue a message, which he opened to find Ling Xuan’s handwriting.

“I will risk my life to get you out.”

Followed by numerous others.

“Me too!”

“Hang on, Shuangxue!”

They sounded like things the players would say.

Yun Ren looked up at him, wide-eyed, no longer holding any of his previous reluctance.

But before Xie Shuangxue could respond, his gaze sharpened, and he quickly pulled the boy into his arms, raising a hand to intercept a dart aimed at Yun Ren.

“Isn’t it a bit much to go after a child?”

Xie Shuangxue remarked coolly.

In the next moment, Yun Panlong stepped through the doorway.

He’d captured several people with him—players, among whom Xie Shuangxue recognized Qiao Zhihui, though not Ling Xuan. Likely, the first wave of players had arrived prematurely and been caught, but they hadn’t fully exposed themselves.

Qiao Zhihui looked worse for wear, but she hadn’t chosen to die and respawn just to catch a glimpse of Xie Shuangxue.

“I told you not to come,” Xie Shuangxue sighed, but his tone was gentle. “See? I’m fine.”

In the livestream, the fans went wild with excitement.

“My poor, sweet baby, mwah!”

“Tough on the streamer, but bliss for the masses—so moving.”

However, the atmosphere here was anything but pleasant.

“Traitorous scum, think I can’t deal with you?” Yun Panlong sneered, “Dream on if you think you’re saving him.”

Meanwhile, Xie Shuangxue continued to shield Yun Ren, patting him gently, as if to comfort him. “No need to be so harsh.”

“Still pretending?” Yun Ruowei, controlling Yun Panlong, scoffed, clearly disgusted by his demeanor. “I’m not buying it.”

“Only Yun Qiang would be stupid enough to fall for your tears. She listens to you, doesn’t she? You wouldn’t let her kill Yun Pannan’s people—merely injure them and lock them up. They’re still alive. Frankly, in my eyes, they don’t even deserve that.”

Indeed, before being locked up, Xie Shuangxue had spoken with Yun Qiang, and it seemed those people were indeed spared, though nobody had known until now. As a result, Qiao Zhihui’s livestream chat went wild.

“Snow Bun’s a softie with a sharp tongue, a kind-hearted boy at heart.”

“Wow, even comforting the Emperor… haha, this must be the first time he’s been comforted by anyone.”

“Our Snow Bun doesn’t seem that affected by demonization. Still so gentle, so kind.”

But those comments were rolling out too fast.

These fans were blinded by their filter. In reality, some players had already realized that Xie Shuangxue wasn’t quite so pure-hearted.

Sure enough, his words took a darker turn in the next instant.

“I didn’t mean they shouldn’t die. Avenging wrongs and settling grievances is only natural,” Xie Shuangxue sighed, “but killing them outright is too easy a punishment.”

“I completely understand what you’ve been through. In fact, Yun Qiang, you and Yun Ruowei are too kind.”

As he spoke, he continued to gently comfort Yun Ren, a stark contrast to the words he was saying. Yun Panlong froze for a moment, glancing at him with a mix of curiosity and caution. “What exactly do you want to do?”

It was the first time someone had used the word “kindness” to describe her actions.

“Yun Pannan repaid kindness with betrayal. The entire Yun family has been ungrateful, hunting countless innocent Demon Clan members. Don’t you want them to feel agony from the depths of their souls?” Xie Shuangxue replied calmly. “Even villains have their uses.”