Shepherding Humanity

Just as Longji said, ordinary players were being cruelly and mercilessly massacred en masse by the various nations’ elite agents who had infiltrated them!

Regular people could not possibly compare to trained soldiers!

In the forums, people were gradually beginning to realize that something was wrong.

Paranoia reigned.

Only a dozen minutes had gone by since the first player death—about a week in the Magic World—but many more people have already died.

Without exception, they had all been stepped on by a passing giant beast.

“How could I be so unlucky? How did a giant beast accidentally step on my king of all things?”

“Same here! I only play sim games and am a very laid back person. Which was why I only wanted to create a nice comfy burrow to settle down in… Goddammit! I’ve even hidden myself underground, but that giant beast still got me!”

“I’m also in the same situation. This otherworld is too dangerous. There are too many giant beasts running around.”

Over 20 people have been kicked out of the game in this brief period of time. Furthermore, this mortality rate was not slowing down at all.

If this kept up, it wouldn’t even take an hour for all 100 players to be gone!

But with this many accidents, observant people quickly became suspicious.

Learning is a Waste of Time: “I’ve studied the screenshots of those giant beasts who trampled you guys. They were kinda stiff, almost as if they were corpses being manipulated by someone.”

“That can’t be right. Even the Empress of Death Medusa is still researching a method to control the dead.”

Learning is a Waste of Time: “I’m the one who came up with this plan and am also a ‘muscle’ player, which is why I’m well aware of the muscle species’ properties. What if those giant beasts were being controlled by a ‘muscle’ player from within?”

With this, everyone realized what was going on.

Other scattered organs might not be able to do this, but if it were the muscles…

Not only were “muscle” players essential, they also controlled the strongest organs of them all. If they could control the Evil God’s body, then controlling a mere giant beast once they got inside its body was a simple matter.

Many people were agitated:

All of them were being hunted by a “muscle” player?

Once they thought this far, they realized that all the players who had died shared one thing in common: they had been the first to reveal their location.

People began to angrily comment.

“Why is someone secretly trying to kill us? Weren’t we supposed to join up against our common enemy, the God of Wisdom, Mercury? (?)”

“F*ck! I’m so pissed off! I’ve been betrayed! So this is human nature, huh? Our external enemy remains a threat, but we’re already stabbing each other in the back! This is why the majority of games make PKers’ nicknames turn red! (?)”

“To make a long story short, this happened because you’re all eccentric troublemakers. Why bother working with you when they could just kill your kings and take custody of your leaderless species? That way, they won’t have to worry about rebelling organs once they’ve taken them in as part of their body. (?)”

“Doesn’t this mean that we can’t trust anyone right now? (?)”

“Sh*t! I’ve already revealed my location, I must move quickly before I attract the attention of a PKer!”

…

Everyone was furious.

The peaceful atmosphere was utterly ruined.

There was a fearsome serial murderer hidden among the “Council of Thirteen” muscle players who was mercilessly hunting them down and harvesting their organs. Knowing this made everyone tremble in fear.

“This person must be mentally ill. He must be twisted pervert who delights in murdering other platyers.”

Everyone was full of anxiety.

On the other hand, the spectators on the internet were having a blast discussing this latest event.

Guild wars and inter-player intrigue was a natural part of MMORPGs. It was about time for something like this to happen in “Spore Evolution”, which had been peaceful until now.

In a certain way, this game has been true to its claim of being a “relaxing” game. Everyone had their own species to evolve, and players had no reason to fight one another.

But now, the infighting has started.

The selfish and evil murderer hidden among the “Council of Thirteen” had a very simple and obvious goal: getting rid of everybody else and becoming the sole “muscle” player who could control the Evil God. This would clear the way for him to reign over the Magic World as the next Emperor of Alchemy.

Countless people were screaming and cursing. After all, even a bunny rabbit would turn rabid when cornered.

At this time, big-shots such as Akina’s Speedster and Learning is a Waste of Time stepped forward to calm everyone down.

Learning is a Waste of Time: “The situation is urgent! Right now, you must not reveal your location under any circumstance! This could get you killed! And, don’t carelessly trust other ‘muscle’ players!

But, you guys still need a “muscle” player to help you unite your scattered organs.

Among the 13 of them, I am one of the few who can be trusted. If you decide to believe in me, tell me your location, then stay where you’re at and bide your time. I will slowly travel around the world, find you, and take you in.”

Most people felt that Learning is a Waste of Time could indeed be trusted, and everyone sighed in relief.

Akina’s Speedster also spoke up: “If you guys think that I can be trusted, you could also join me. You can absolutely believe in me! I should have already proven my character to everyone by now!”

Although Akina’s Speedster enjoyed messing around, he was someone with a passionate and upright personality. For the sake of his friends, he wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself.

At this critical juncture, countless people had joined forces in a moving display of unity. They began to calmly and methodically discuss their options.

Other “muscle” players naturally did not want to fall behind. After all, if everyone joined those two, there’d be nothing left for them!

“I can also be trusted! Join me, guys!”

“Down with the evil PKer who’s ruining our reputation!”

And thus, 11 people began to passionately swear that they were trustworthy and that others could count on them for protection.

“Goddamnit. Everyone’s saying the same thing. So who’s the murderer?”

“Who’s the werewolf?”

“This is just like that Werewolf party game! We’re supposed to find the werewolf who’s hunting down the innocent villagers!”

Everyone marveled at this comment. What an apt comparison!

“LOL, as an old hand at this game, I’m certain that there’s more than one werewolf among the 13 players. But how many of them are there? Finding this out takes top priority!”

“Right, we shouldn’t trust people so easily! Or we’d end up as sheep led to the slaughter!”

…

They started to play their impromptu game of Find the Werewolf.

There were many rational and well thought out posts. Masters of deduction spoke up one after another. Even the process of elimination was employed. They scrutinized the 13 players’ usual habits and tried to prune the list of suspects one by one.

But, how could ordinary netizens possibly outsmart some of the best spies in the world?

Before they knew it, this “relaxing sandbox game” had attracted the attention of people who were far above their pay grade.

Another person suddenly spoke up.

“Who says this is a Werewolf hunting game? Think about it guys, over a hundred players are put on the same map to engage in a battle royale. You compete for loot and kill people to obtain their items… Isn’t this more like a PUBG game?”

This immediately drew other people’s attention.

“When you put it like that… isn’t getting scattered throughout the entire world the equivalent of parachuting down at the beginning of the game? (?)”

“Right! And people who immediately died after falling to the ground would be the air dropped items, right? (?)”

“Come to think of it, isn’t biding one’s time, searching for opportunities, discreetly acquiring the Evil Eye’s genes, training in magic and growing stronger… the same as looting abandoned buildings for stuff like 98k rifles, helmets, and body armor? (?)”

…

In no time at all, what should have been a very serious incident had turned into a joke. What used to be an evil plot by certain “muscle” players to PK everyone else was now a game of Find the Werewolf; or a fun and challenging PUBG game, depending on who you asked.

The spies who had infiltrated the game were speechless.

We underestimated you. Not only have you noticed our plot and reacted much quicker than we expected, why are you so cheerful even though we’ve viciously massacred you? You really think this is a PUBG game, and that you can beat us?

They’ve been lurking the game forums and could not help but be amazed. These players were truly resilient. Just a moment ago they were all worried, but now, everyone was happy again.

Even though death was only one step away. Even though they could die at any moment… Why were they getting all excited?

This fervor only grew as time passed.

“I can’t praise this game enough! It’s even taking advantage of the latest trends! Battle royales are among the hottest types of games right now!”

“Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!”

“Welcome to the exciting battlefield of: Battle Royale in the Magic World!”

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