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At this moment, the vast grassland lay eerily silent, save for one survivor—Steve.
Little Wu's first-person livestream had long since gone dark. Now, all players could only view the aftermath through the main broadcast.
[Bleak Novel Station 1 7 9 9 4 3 1 6 4]
Across the battlefield, monsters were combing through the wreckage.
Player-dropped gear was now worn by these monsters, their losses so minimal as to be almost irrelevant—barely 200 to 300 monsters in total.
From the start, only the well-equipped monsters were sent to fight. Once the players lost all will to resist, the rest emerged to clean up. This, of course, was all part of the strategy devised by the White-Eyed Monster. He wanted to maximize his gains with the fewest losses.
Looking at the ruins of the Triumph Guild, viewers in the chat fell into a stunned silence, unsure of what to say. It felt like any words would be redundant.
Finally, as the battle drew to a close, Steve exhaled deeply, switching his camera to third-person mode. His face was serious as he said, "Alright, it's time to break down what just happened…"
Seeing Steve's grave expression, the viewers braced themselves. He hadn't entered the battle to lead directly but had stayed on the sidelines, streaming—an unusual move that had unsettled many from the start. Plus, Steve had mentioned he'd explain everything afterward, making it clear this was far from an ordinary fight.
The thought unnerved players even more. Just watching the broadcast, they'd been shocked by the scale of the fight. But Steve's tone hinted there was a whole hidden layer to the story, adding a chilling sense of dread.
"What could make Steve look like that…? This doesn't feel right."
"Do you think he knew we'd lose from the start? Why else would he stay on the sidelines, just streaming?"
"Damn, this is killing me! Something big must've gone down. I want to know, but I'm kinda scared…"
"We just watched that insane fight. What could possibly surprise us now?"
"I wouldn't even be shocked if Steve told us the White-Eyed Monster was the game master. It would honestly explain a lot!"
"For real… after seeing that battle, anything seems possible now."
The viewers, oblivious to the deeper horror still lurking, felt they'd seen it all. Nothing Steve could say would shake them further—or so they thought.
Taking a deep breath, Steve began his story. "It started when I first ran into the White-Eyed Monster. Let's just call him that for simplicity."
He continued, "From the start, I posted about him because he struck me as… different, like he had a mind of his own. When he first saw me, he didn't kill me immediately. I can't say if that was part of his plan or just a twist of fate. I was the only one left alive, and I made that post, which led all of you here to this grassland out of sheer curiosity."
Regret flickered across Steve's face. If he hadn't posted about that encounter, so many people wouldn't have come, and the White-Eyed Monster wouldn't have grown stronger by taking them down. This revelation nagged at Steve. Was their initial encounter itself a setup? Had the White-Eyed Monster planned it all?
With a heavy sigh, Steve continued, "After that, we had the infamous Brother Mang livestream incident."
"And then, shortly after, came the monster's first siege. A lot of you watched that unfold, right?"
Viewers started piecing it together.
"Yeah, I remember! He wasn't that powerful back then; he only controlled around a hundred monsters, right?"
"Isn't that the time he got scared off by those wolves? Looking back, his acting was on point!"
"I remember Steve leading that fight. We completely wiped out his forces!"
Steve nodded, acknowledging their comments. "Yeah, I led that battle. But there were some things that never quite added up."
"First, I'd only fortified the north wall, leaving the east, west, and south undefended. Yet, the White-Eyed Monster just happened to attack from the north, though he hit multiple points along the wall. He knew how to break through different spots, so why only attack one side?"
"Second, he initially sent low-level monsters to attack, only moving in after they'd all been killed. With his intelligence, why would he make such a blunder?"
"Third, his strength was off the charts—those wolves should have posed no threat to him, yet he acted terrified of them."
"With all of these in mind, it's obvious he let us win that fight on purpose."
To the viewers, none of this was surprising anymore. They'd already guessed he was faking it, especially considering he could control wolves now. But what they couldn't grasp was why he'd staged that whole performance.
Many viewers voiced their confusion.
Noticing the questions, Steve explained, "His goal was to attract more players to this place."
He paused, then asked, "You've all heard of Triumph Guild's 'zero-damage monster-farming guide,' right?"
The viewers grew puzzled.
"Yeah, we know about it. But why bring that up now?"
"Huh? Does this have something to do with the White-Eyed Monster?!"
"Wait, are you saying he leaked that guide to lure people here?!"
"No way! That would mean he's putting his own minions at risk, right?"
Steve's mention of the guide sparked all kinds of theories. While some players thought it was absurd, Steve nodded, confirming their suspicions.
"Yes, the zero-damage guide was his idea. He taught it to Xiao Po, knowing Xiao Po would spread it and attract more players to the grassland, creating a mass slaughter."
"And Xiao Po," he continued, "played right into his hands."
As he spoke, Steve shared images of the trapdoor tunnel he and his friends had found. He also revealed the conclusions they'd reached after a long, hard analysis.
Finally convinced, the players fell silent. They sat there, absorbing the truth.
After a long pause, someone finally spoke up.
"This… this goes beyond words. I thought that last battle was already insane…"
"Damn, what is this thing? His whole strategy is layered, like a perfect web. He leaves no gaps at all!"
"And every single piece of it played out exactly as he intended. That's the scariest part."
"Going by Steve's logic, Xiao Po was just an ordinary player… but he was able to manipulate him perfectly, which means he could manipulate most of us. That's terrifying!"
"He has everyone's psyche down to a science. He'd even sacrifice his own kind to get what he wants—ruthless!"
"This level of planning… it's like a textbook in game domination."
Seeing that the players finally believed him, Steve exhaled a sigh of relief. His biggest fear was that they'd think he was imagining it all. But after a battle , he doubted anyone would underestimate the White-Eyed Monster again.
"Next, let's talk about those guild players who said they'd seen those armored monsters before."
"That was all part of his plan, too."
"He didn't just focus on his own power. He's been building a team, training those monsters to become leaders."
"And you've seen firsthand just how strong those armored ones are…"
Steve paused, then asked the crowd, "So, what do you think? Are we any match for them?"
That question hit viewers like a punch to the gut. They didn't even need to think about it.
The answer was obvious. They were nowhere near the White-Eyed Monster's level.
Whether it was his strength, his cunning, his tactics, or his understanding of the game—he had them all beat. Viewers couldn't help but imagine themselves in Steve's shoes, alone in that grassland, getting played at every turn by this monster without even realizing it until it was too late.
Just the thought of moving through a world so meticulously designed against you, unaware you were merely a pawn, was suffocating.
Still, even though they understood they weren't his equal, one question lingered: why was Steve telling them all this?
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