Chapter 6127 - 5140: Journey of Wonders (15)

But their shouting was in vain. A few players didn’t have the strength to lift clothes, let alone perform precise tasks like bandaging. The only ones who could move on the field were Andrew and Nina. Andrew was the murderer, so that left only Nina.

Seeing the policewoman on the ground, Nina seemed petrified. But Andrew immediately realized something, he walked over and helped Nina up, yelling, "He was the one who shot at us first! He killed Mokel! We were only avenging him!"

Nina was stunned into silence. Andrew had to straighten her body, hold her cheeks, and say, "If people find out I killed a policeman, I’m done for. Nina, I love you so much, you wouldn’t want to see me die, right?"

"Besides... besides, you got your hands dirty too!" Andrew said, panting heavily, "That’s right, if you didn’t push her, I couldn’t have hit her. It was the two of us together who killed her... no, no, no, it was you who killed her!"

"I’ve really had enough!!!" Greed roared in the air, "What kind of bullshit plot is this?! Why are you shitting in public, you planner?!!!"

The others were also at a loss for words. Come on, this policeman just saved you, not only took you to the hospital but also thoughtfully sent you home. And then, just when the hero’s about to take down two drug dealers, you rush over and push him, what were you thinking?

Assuming, even if the person under mind manipulation lacks rational thinking, possibly without normal empathy, but you’re having a panic attack, about to faint from hyperventilation, where did the strength to push someone come from? Did adrenaline just kick in at the perfect moment??

Andrew’s villain character is quite typical, vicious and audacious, acting without considering the consequences, and when things go wrong, he pushes the blame onto others. And yet, it’s precisely this pair of maniacs who survived, and the just, kind, and professional policewoman died. How infuriating is this plot?!!

Say it was all just a movie, where players can’t do much but watch, you could justifiably curse the director and the scriptwriter. But no, this is a game, and not just a visual novel, players can interact with the scenarios, meaning there’s potential for a good ending. That’s what’s most maddening.

Because while cursing the planner, they also have to reflect on whether they might have misplayed earlier. Deathstroke thought for a moment and said, "He didn’t have a gun before, so it’s possible the guy he was trading with today brought him one. If we had found out earlier that he had a gun and interfered as he took it out, could we have stopped him then?"

The group discussed it and realized there might have been some opportunities before, but they couldn’t be sure. At least one of them had been watching Andrew, yet they still didn’t notice when he got the gun. Had they known earlier about the gun, they could have banded together, grabbed the muzzle, and dealt him a thigh blow in the pocket, and the world would be peaceful.

But here’s another nauseating point: all games in Battleworld don’t have a reload option. So if you make a wrong critical choice, you either start over or just accept it.

The key is, this part of the plot is the third part of the entire game. There’s still Thunder Maze and Infinity Klicks to get through before replaying this part. To replay this section, you’d have to swallow those two chunks of crap again.

Moreover, you don’t even know if the solution you’ve come up with will work. If it doesn’t and leads to another bad ending, you’d have to start all over again, redoing Blizzard Mountain Villa Maze, entering Zombie Infinite City before reaching this stage.

No wonder those previous two levels were so long and boring. The trap is here. After reaching this part, you either hold your nose and accept this shitty plot development or start over and eat crap until you’re full.

Greed really started to suspect which Batman designed this instance. Whether it’s crap-flavored chocolate with popping candy or chocolate-flavored crap with enoki mushrooms, the disgust has a certain chewiness.

Clearly, no one wants to start over, but they came this far and want to see just how disgusting this instance can be.

But, unsurprisingly, this was just the beginning. After these two killed the police officer, with Andrew’s manipulative talking, Nina actually believed it, was so scared she couldn’t stop crying, and when Andrew suggested they bury the body in her backyard, she agreed and helped bury it.

This plot really made Greed faint with confusion: Say she doesn’t have a mental illness, she doesn’t serve a good purpose; say she does have a condition, yet she has the energy to dig a grave and bury a body. Can we write characters with mental illness properly?!

The agent also couldn’t handle it anymore, but his grievances were against the policeman’s behavior logic: sending Nina home was fine; police have that liberty. But, the problem is, every officer in the Federation has a strict rule: never answer a call alone.

Especially those who are the first to a crime scene must team up, at least two people, and they can’t both be rookies; at least one must be an experienced cop. Even those called for backup by phone must, unless they’re regional top guns, still be at least in a small team.

This policewoman was likely deceived by Nina’s appearance, or perhaps overwhelmed with sympathy, thinking that patients with cognitive disorders are quite pitiable, especially when saddled with a violent boyfriend, so frightened that she fainted. She sent her back home alone; if she had a teammate, it wouldn’t have been like this.

Moreover, although drawing a gun in the face of a criminal is correct, one should simultaneously use the radio to call for backup. Although sometimes American police in movies seem useless because they call for backup over trivial matters, every regulation has its rationale.

Because American police are famously known for violent law enforcement and the police unions are notorious, any criminal who dares to confront the police would definitely be an evil violent element or a deranged ice shooter, who doesn’t care about the years they’ll face; they operate on the principle that killing one is not a loss, and two is a huge profit.

In such situations, calling for reinforcement during confrontation is necessary, and even running away isn’t disgraceful; most officers don’t resist running but lack preparation thus failing to escape.

This female officer’s slow call for reinforcement has likely left the central station unaware of the situation, perfectly providing these two criminals with a chance to flee, even giving them time to bury a corpse.

Deathstroke is certainly enraged too. Actually, he lowered the gun’s muzzle because he saw that, without human interference, the chance of a shot reaching the heart is very high; simultaneously, he knew that lowering the muzzle increases the likelihood of hitting the stomach or thighs.

However, hitting the heart virtually guarantees a death rate of 100%, with survival chances nearly nonexistent. But if the shot hits the abdomen or thigh, as long as immediate bleeding management is conducted, there is a relatively high chance of survival, and the possibility of recovery is significant, even making a return to work feasible.

His reaction was already very swift, and his operation was highly professional. Because many might choose to raise the muzzle hoping for an empty shot over the shoulder, but in reality, since shooting inherently has slight recoil causing the muzzle to rise, further elevation could lead to gun imbalance, making the shot outcome uncontrollable—if it hits the head, survival is completely hopeless.

Conversely, if Deathstroke helps in lowering the gun, though it may still hit the body, at least it ensures non-lethal outcomes, with higher survival limits. And seasoned killers like Deathstroke never enjoy gambling.

But assuming beforehand was contingent on someone assisting the injured female officer. Deathstroke never expected Andrew to do so, as he had seen many of his kind, who had lost their humanity. However, Nina appeared relatively normal, even playing the role of a victim, misleading Deathstroke’s judgment.

He thought Nina pushing the female officer was possibly to protect her boyfriend; after all, one cannot easily accept the fact that their boyfriend might be shot dead, wanting to protect is understandable. Yet, this female officer previously helped her, not saying there was gratitude but at least no enmity—shouldn’t she try to save her instead of harming her? She had the strength to leap from the sofa, then surely finding some cloth for thigh bandaging isn’t difficult either?

In some ways, just because he’s long stood at the bottom of the food chain, seldom dealing with small fish and shrimp, Deathstroke underestimated the frenzy of these people. They can ignore saving a dying person—it seems humanity is indeed becoming distant.

Little Superman indeed isn’t much better; though he appears to kill whoever he wishes, he’s far from righteous and kind. Yet he holds a simple concept of morality: you treat me well, I reciprocate with better, you treat me badly, I destroy you.

To him, Andrew being so bad to Nina, and Nina helping him instead, while the policewoman was so nice to Nina, Nina sought to harm her, contradicts his entire value system—it makes him more infuriated.

The main thing is, apart from Greed, everyone felt the subtle anger and embarrassment of being manipulated. The plot of the first few minutes constantly builds Nina’s victim image through her actions, demeanor, and memories, including the recollection with Andrew, heightening everyone’s Sympathy immensely. But then, they were abruptly met with a huge revelation.

This made Greed realize that the game’s creator is not without skill; it’s a clear psychological trap, or even a narrative trick, showcasing Nina’s trauma-driven past, completely devoid of her lack of empathy and blurred moral appearance.

Greed doesn’t believe Nina’s actions are entirely trauma-driven; to put it simply, such behavioral logic is mainly grounded not in her current state but in her past shaped Personality. Personality shaping involves more than just trauma.

Her excessive protection of Andrew stems partly from Manipulation but largely from selfish desire, needing Andrew’s approbation—even his exploitation—to affirm her value, leading her to unconditionally protect what brings her comfort, disregarding all else.

This was evident in previous retrospective plots. For instance, Nina surely wasn’t unaware of her male relative’s behavior, yet she chose to bring his friend home, believing it benefits her—enjoying the company and familiarity while ignoring the friend’s safety, eventually resulting in tragedy.

She certainly isn’t a direct perpetrator; her actions were motivated and partially grasped, garnering understanding and sympathy, coupled with past trauma experiences, easily classified as a victim identity, allowing her to exploit this image to find those sharing experiences or emitting Sympathy towards her, dragging them down, often unbeknownst to them—themselves harming while staunchly regarding themselves as victims, continuing self-indulgence, complaints, and grievances.

Greed prefers to term such individuals "Ghost Personality," fairly common but too deceptive, often hiding amidst crowds, challenging detection.