Chapter 65: Jiang Yi! He is still alive!

Chang Jiaoe is quite a skilled writer. In the words of her Weibo followers:

Between her breezy and effortless words, there is a calm and unforced sense of power.

Her post was written in that same gentle, flowing style, recounting everything she had experienced since the apocalypse began.

She wrote that although she now appeared infinitely glorious and was treated as an honored guest by the four major guilds,

only she herself knew...

how difficult it had been when she first mastered the recipe for the Longevity Pill!

During that period, she did not boast loudly about her ability to refine Longevity Pills.

Instead, she cautiously utilized the Longevity Pill to steadily elevate her strength step by step.

Only after ensuring her strength was formidable enough to protect herself did she act a little more boldly.

And only then did she finally build up her reputation bit by bit.

She stated that she possessed an independent personality and had no desire to be a puppet alchemist manipulated by others.

Therefore, the path she walked today was far from as easy and simple as outsiders imagined.

In fact, she concluded that—

To achieve what she had today...

the fortuitously drawn recipe for the Longevity Pill accounted for a mere 1%.

The remaining 99% relied entirely on her own hard work!

Following that, she imitated Thomas Edison’s classic quote and served up a fresh bowl of motivational soup:

Rising in the apocalypse relies on 99% hard work, plus 1% luck!

Jiang Yi burst out laughing on the spot, barely restraining the urge to reply in the thread with a counter—

That 1% luck is far more important than 99% hard work!

Without the recipe for the Longevity Pill, try working hard and see where it gets you!

Amused as he was, however,

Jiang Yi felt not the least bit surprised upon seeing these remarks.

Because it had been exactly the same in his past life.

After becoming an official player, he had witnessed Chang Jiaoe publicly touting her own hard work and dedication on more than one occasion, desperately downplaying the contribution of the Longevity Pill recipe to her success.

It was no different this time.

Following that preamble of "inspirational" rhetoric, Chang Jiaoe went on to express—

Precisely because she had lived through it herself,

she understood the hardships of an alchemist's early days better than anyone else.

Having walked in the rain herself, she was willing to hold an umbrella for others.

She was determined to establish an Alchemist Alliance to unconditionally shelter all alchemists in Jiangcheng!

Naturally, she also hoped that all alchemists would voluntarily unite,

so that puppet alchemists would never exist in Jiangcheng again!

This declaration naturally triggered high praise from alchemists of all stripes!

Although Chang Jiaoe was the only one who could refine the Longevity Pill,

there were still a few other alchemists in Jiangcheng.

Most of them brewed pills such as Detoxification Pills, Rejuvenation Pills, Stamina Pills, and Attribute Pills.

While not as precious as the Longevity Pill, these still belonged to the category of essential consumables for players battling monsters and leveling up.

Naturally, aside from inviting those ordinary alchemists,

Chang Jiaoe specifically singled out Sun Hao, the central figure of the current trending event.

She hoped that Sun Hao, as the second player in Jiangcheng capable of refining the Longevity Pill, would also join the Alchemist Alliance as soon as possible.

Of course, if Sun Hao was truly being threatened and detained by the Silver Frost Club...

then she hoped the Silver Frost Club would release him.

Bolstered by Chang Jiaoe’s righteous post,

the players naturally launched even fiercer attacks on the Silver Frost Club, demanding that Wei Lings霜 grant Sun Hao his freedom as soon as possible!

It could be said that public opinion was entirely leaning toward Chang Jiaoe.

Even Sun Hao himself, after reading Chang Jiaoe’s post, felt somewhat moved.

He even began to wonder...

Could it be that he had been completely deceived by Wei Lingshuang all along?

Perhaps Chang Jiaoe was not some ruthless and vicious person.

On the contrary, was Wei Lingshuang the one who fabricated lies to smear Chang Jiaoe?

With the ultimate goal of poaching him into the Silver Frost Club?

They claimed they were doing their utmost to protect him...

but could their true intention actually be imprisonment?

Wei Lingshuang naturally sensed Sun Hao's wavering stance.

Grit-toothed with anger, she was just about to say something when

Sun Hao seemed to have received a message from a friend. After a moment of silent deliberation, he stated bluntly:

"I appreciate Club President Lingshuang's good intentions. But after thinking this matter over carefully—"

"Since Chang Jiaoe has gone to such great lengths to invite me into her Alchemist Alliance..."

"Surely she wouldn't dare to openly wipe me out, right?"

"If I were to truly die within an Alchemist Alliance built by her own hands, wouldn't that be a direct slap to her face?"

"Furthermore, as for President Lingshuang's previous claims that Chang Jiaoe might make dark moves against other fortunate individuals who could refine the Longevity Pill..."

"Those are merely one-sided words from you without any concrete evidence."

"..."

Wei Lingshuang's expression visibly stiffened.

Sun Hao continued, "Even though in the context of the apocalypse game, so-called 'public opinion' doesn't wield the same influence as it did before the end times,"

"but the entire forum is now filled with voices condemning the Silver Frost Club. President, you surely understand the implications behind this, don't you?"

"If I continue to stay here any longer, I'm afraid it will only spell trouble for your Silver Frost Club!"

Point by point, these arguments rendered Wei Lingshuang speechless and incapable of refuting!

Her face turned ashen, and she nearly crushed her pearly teeth!

Clearly, she was reminded of their university days,

when she had similarly been outmatched by Chang Jiaoe every single time!

Gritting her teeth, Wei Lingshuang clearly still did not want to let Sun Hao go.

She was currently struggling to formulate the right rhetoric to make herself appear more reliable than Chang Jiaoe.

Yet Sun Hao had already made up his mind, entirely impervious to persuasion!

Whereas he had spoken reasonably just moments before,

he now dropped a chilling remark out of nowhere:

"If I've put things this plainly and President Lingshuang still refuses to let me leave..."

"Could it really be, as public opinion suggests, that you simply intend to use me as a refining puppet for your club?"

Wei Lingshuang took a deep breath.

She finally saw the reality of the situation—

Sun Hao, whom she had gone to such great lengths to have secretly escorted to the city center,

had now completely thrown his heart over to Chang Jiaoe's side!

She could find ways to deal with the condemning voices,

but against Sun Hao's own stubbornness, she was truly helpless!

After a moment of thought, Wei Lingshuang closed her eyes and finally compromised:

"Fine! You are a noble alchemist! You have the freedom to choose!"

"But I hope you won't think I'm the kind of petty villain who slanders Chang Jiaoe."

"I hope you will at least retain a sliver of doubt regarding what I told you earlier."

"Lastly, I want you to make a post asking Chang Jiaoe to personally come and escort you to her so-called club, and make her reply with a sworn oath publicly guaranteeing your safety!"

These conditions were not difficult. Sun Hao nodded in agreement immediately, then posted a request asking Chang Jiaoe to personally come fetch him and reply with a vow to ensure his safety.

Once Sun Hao, the focal point of the controversy, made his post, it naturally trended rapidly.

Shortly after, he received Chang Jiaoe’s reply:

[I do not know what Wei Lingshuang of the Silver Frost Club has told you, but rest assured. Within this thread, before all official players, I am willing to pledge to do my utmost to keep you safe.]

[However, as for coming to escort you in person, I'm afraid that will have to wait until I return from the Fierce Beast World.]

Buoyed by her previous post about "holding an umbrella for others because she once walked in the rain," Sun Hao held an immensely favorable impression of Chang Jiaoe!

He replied immediately: [It doesn't matter, I can wait.]

Yet neither Sun Hao nor Wei Lingshuang—nor Jiang Yi, who was currently eating melons on the sidelines—knew at that moment:

Chang Jiaoe had not yet entered the Fierce Beast World.

She had only...

just arrived at the shores of Qin Lake!

Yes, the Qin Lake in the suburban Qin Lake Park!

Right at that exact moment, Jiang Yi’s move of listing a massive quantity of Longevity Pills on the trading market completely stunned the player base, sparking a frenzy of discussion on the forums!

In almost an instant, it eclipsed the issue of Sun Hao's allegiance to become the hottest new topic of conversation!

Chang Jiaoe lived up to her name.

Her temperament was cold and detached, akin to a mysterious moon goddess.

At this moment, her gaze fell upon the smartphone transformed from her exclusive destiny disc.

Her watery eyes were like melting ice and snow, carrying a natural chill.

Expressionless, she sent another message to Tang Ke:

[I just received accurate information.]

Tang Ke replied from the other end: [What is it?]

Chang Jiaoe: [Jiang Yi is still alive.]