Shen Tian didn’t hate him.
That complicated things.
Jiang Feng wasn’t entitled.
He wasn’t possessive.
He wasn’t constantly blaming everyone else.
He respected strong players.
Accepted losses.
Helped weaker players.
And even when MoonPetal’s attention began shifting...
He simply accepted that she wasn’t his property.
Shen Tian liked him.
Unfortunately...
The system didn’t care.
Fate was Fate.
Rewards were rewards.
And Jiang Feng possessed an absurd amount.
Shen Tian leaned backward.
"Xu Ning."
[Yes?]
"Can I steal opportunities without completely destroying him?"
She blinked.
[Of course.]
"Meaning?"
[You don’t have to drain every protagonist to zero.]
She folded her arms.
[The system rewards you for altering Fate.]
[Not necessarily murdering or ruining Fate carriers.]
Shen Tian’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"So... I could compete."
[Yes.]
"Take some things."
[Yes.]
"Let him keep others."
[Yes.]
"And still get rewards?"
[Correct.]
Shen Tian smiled.
"That’s better."
Xu Ning watched him.
[You’re going soft.]
"No."
[You’re literally planning ethical Fate theft.]
Shen Tian stared.
"That phrase doesn’t make sense."
[I know.]
He laughed.
"He’s alright. So I’ll treat him like a rival instead of livestock."
Xu Ning blinked.
[That’s...]
She paused.
[Actually considerable character development.]
"Thanks."
[The fact that "not livestock" represents progress concerns me.]
Shen Tian ignored that.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message.
He checked.
Unknown account.
MoonPetal: This is embarrassing, but I found your public business contact through your stream page.
Shen Tian stared.
Another message arrived.
MoonPetal: Before you freak out, no, I am not stalking you.
A third.
MoonPetal: I just wanted to apologize for accidentally outing my donation account in front of 60,000 people.
Shen Tian smiled.
He replied.
Shen Tian: I thought it was funny.
Three dots.
Then...
MoonPetal: Of course you did.
Shen Tian: Thanks for supporting the stream.
Pause.
Longer this time.
MoonPetal: You’re welcome.
Then...
MoonPetal: You really were good.
Shen Tian smiled.
Xu Ning floated over his shoulder.
[She’s messaging you outside the game.]
"Apparently."
[Interesting.]
"Don’t start."
Another message.
MoonPetal: Are you playing tomorrow?
Shen Tian typed.
Shen Tian: Yes.
A response arrived almost immediately.
MoonPetal: Good :)
Xu Ning’s smile became unbearable.
Shen Tian locked his phone.
"Not one word."
[I said nothing.]
"Your face."
[What about it?]
"Annoying."
The following morning...
The Eternal Realm forums had changed dramatically.
Shen Tian’s name appeared everywhere.
But...
So did another.
FallenWind.
Videos of Jiang Feng’s Sword Wanderer combat had begun spreading.
People analyzed his movements.
Some recognized similarities to professional esports techniques.
A rumor formed.
IS FALLENWIND A PRO?
Then another.
FALLENWIND MAY BE FORMER TITAN CAPTAIN JIANG FENG
The speculation exploded.
Jiang Feng logged in to hundreds of messages.
He stared at them.
Then closed everything.
LittleMaple appeared nearby.
"Captain!"
Jiang Feng looked toward her.
Instantly...
The notifications mattered less.
"Morning."
She ran over.
"I found another quest."
Jiang Feng’s smile disappeared.
"...Difficulty?"
LittleMaple smiled innocently.
"Unknown."
He closed his eyes.
"Of course."
MoonPetal arrived moments later.
Then Shen Tian.
This time...
Shen Tian’s arrival created immediate attention.
Players whispered.
Several began recording.
MoonPetal noticed.
"You’re famous."
Shen Tian sighed.
"Apparently."
Jiang Feng smirked.
"Better numbers."
Shen Tian looked toward him.
"...You watched the stream."
"Everyone watched the stream."
LittleMaple raised her hand.
"I watched!"
Shen Tian smiled.
"Thank you."
LittleMaple pointed toward Jiang Feng.
"Captain watched too."
Jiang Feng looked at her.
"Traitor."
"You commented."
MoonPetal immediately turned.
"What was his username?"
Jiang Feng’s eyes narrowed.
"Maple."
LittleMaple covered her mouth.
Shen Tian laughed.
"Tell us."
"No."
Jiang Feng grabbed LittleMaple by the shoulders and gently turned her away.
"We have quests."
LittleMaple laughed.
MoonPetal smiled.
For a moment...
They felt less like strangers who had met in a game...
And more like the beginning of an actual group.
Xu Ning watched the golden threads.
Some belonged to Fate.
Some didn’t.
And slowly...
They were becoming difficult to distinguish.
Their destination that day was no longer Greenleaf Village.
They had finally leveled enough to leave.
A large stone road stretched toward their first real city.
Silverbrook.
Unlike the beginner settlement...
Silverbrook had walls.
Thousands of NPC residents.
Professional halls.
Guild registration offices.
An auction house.
Player property.
Faction representatives.
Large quest chains.
And...
Most importantly...
The next Guild Foundation Fragment.
Jiang Feng didn’t know that yet.
Shen Tian did.
Xu Ning displayed its location.
[Fragment two.]
"Where?"
[Silverbrook Adventurer Association.]
"What does he have to do?"
[A reputation quest chain.]
"How long?"
[Several hours.]
Shen Tian smiled.
"Can I take it?"
[Potentially.]
Then...
She added.
[But there is another opportunity.]
A second Fate thread appeared.
Far stronger.
Hidden Event: Siege of Silverbrook
Activation: Tonight
Original Hero: FallenWind
Original Result: Saves east gate, gains city reputation, receives Guild Foundation Fragment and Epic Equipment
Fate Value: 11,000
Shen Tian’s eyes lit up.
"That’s better."
Jiang Feng noticed him smiling.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You’re doing that thing again."
MoonPetal nodded.
"He does have a thing."
Shen Tian looked between them.
"What thing?"
"The suspicious smile."
MoonPetal pointed.
"Whenever something interesting is about to happen."
Shen Tian stared.
"...You notice too much."
She smiled.
"So do you."
LittleMaple looked confused.
"I don’t notice anything."
Jiang Feng patted her head.
"We know."
She stared up.
"Was that an insult?"
"No."
"It sounded like one."
"Probably."
She punched his arm.
Jiang Feng laughed.
MoonPetal watched.
Then looked toward Shen Tian.
Their eyes met.
She smiled.
Shen Tian smiled back.
Jiang Feng noticed.
Again...
That faint feeling.
But this time...
It barely bothered him.
His gaze drifted toward LittleMaple.
She was still complaining.
"Captain!"
"Hm?"
"Stop ignoring me!"
"I’m listening."
"What did I say?"
"SEE?!"
Jiang Feng laughed.
Maybe MoonPetal choosing Shen Tian wasn’t a loss at all.
Maybe...
It had simply made room for something else.
Several hours later...
Silverbrook’s walls appeared on the horizon.
Thousands of players moved along the road.
Merchants traveled in caravans.
NPC knights patrolled.
Massive banners hung above the gates.
MoonPetal stared.
"Wow."
LittleMaple’s eyes lit up.
"This feels like an actual city."
Jiang Feng smiled.
"This is probably where the game really starts."
Shen Tian looked toward the walls.
Xu Ning floated beside him.
[Host.]
"What?"
She pointed toward the east.
Dark clouds were gathering.
But they weren’t clouds.
They moved.
Hundreds...
No.
Thousands...
Of distant shapes.
Shen Tian’s golden eyes narrowed.
A system message suddenly appeared across every player’s vision.
WORLD EVENT TRIGGERED
WARNING
Monster Horde Approaching Silverbrook
Estimated Arrival: 2 Hours
All players may participate.
Rewards distributed based on contribution.
The road became silent.
Then...
Chaos.
Players started shouting.
"MONSTER HORDE?!"
"EVENT!"
"GET TO THE CITY!"
"FORM PARTIES!"
"GUILDS ARE RECRUITING!"
Jiang Feng’s eyes sharpened.
MoonPetal immediately opened her spells.
LittleMaple looked nervous.
Shen Tian smiled.
There it was.
The event that Fate had originally prepared as Jiang Feng’s first great public stage.
A battle where the fallen champion was supposed to reveal himself to the entire server.
Save an entire city gate.
Earn the respect of thousands.
Receive a rare guild item.
And take another step toward the top.
Jiang Feng looked toward Shen Tian.
Their eyes met.
Neither knew exactly what the other was thinking.
Then Jiang Feng smiled.
"Competition?"
Shen Tian raised an eyebrow.
"Contribution ranking?"
"Highest wins."
MoonPetal groaned.
"Again?"
LittleMaple raised her hand.
"What does the winner get?"
Jiang Feng thought.
Then smiled.
"Loser buys dinner."
Shen Tian stared.
"In real life?"
Jiang Feng paused.
That would mean revealing identities.
MoonPetal noticed.
LittleMaple looked excited.
"YES!"
Jiang Feng laughed.
"Fine."
Shen Tian smiled.
"Deal."
MoonPetal looked toward Shen Tian.
"If you lose..."
"You better actually show up."
He laughed.
"Planning my defeat already?"
She smiled.
"Maybe."
Then...
The warning timer began counting down.
1:59:59
1:59:58
1:59:57
Across Silverbrook...
Thousands of players prepared.
Guilds formed battle lines.
NPC guards closed the gates.
Archers climbed the walls.
Merchants shut their stores.
Quest boards changed.
And somewhere deep beneath the Adventurer Association...
A Guild Foundation Fragment waited for the player destined to become Silverbrook’s hero.
Jiang Feng tightened his grip around his sword.
His eyes burned with competitive excitement.
This was exactly what he wanted.
A challenge.
A stage.
A chance to show everyone that Jiang Feng hadn’t disappeared when Titan Esports discarded him.
The champion still existed.
He just had a new name.
FallenWind.
Beside him...
Shen Tian checked his bow.
[Host.]
"Hm?"
[This event belongs to him.]
Shen Tian looked toward the approaching horde.
Then toward the thousands of players preparing to fight.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Not anymore."
And high above the city...
The server contribution board appeared.
Waiting.
Empty.
For now.
(Author’s Note: IMPORTANT!)
SEND POWESTONES!!!
ALL SUPER GIFTS (Magic Castle, Space Ship, Golden Gachapon) = MORE ChapterS!

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