Thanks once again to Green KiTea for the kofis, hope you enjoy the bonus chapters!

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When he opened his eyes again, Jian Xingyi saw that the scene before him had changed. 

He was lying on the bed with Shanhai. Leaning against Shanhai, he looked somewhat dejected. “The merger failed. What do we do now?” 

Jian Xingyi was starting to feel a headache coming on. He instinctively reached to rub his temples to ease the pain, but he couldn’t control his body. It felt as if something was ramming wildly through his mind, and fragmented images began to surface one by one. 

Memories surfaced in his mind, but they were incomplete. For instance, he now knew there were two reasons why the merger had failed. First, they had reached the member limit. 

A guild requires at least 50 members to be established. Everyone had assumed there was no upper limit, but after Xinghe attempted to merge with Grapevine Peak… the system popped up a notification stating that the maximum capacity—500 members—had already been reached. 

That’s right—the guilds under Xinghe’s jurisdiction had already reached an absurd total of 500 members, and the base had reached its maximum capacity. As a result, each member’s home area was quite small, even a bit cramped. 

Moreover, not every guild can simply “merge.” Among the guilds in Peace Mountain and Peaceful Mountain, only Grapevine Peak has reached the 500-member capacity. 

Secondly, Grapevine Peak originally set a combat power restriction that cannot be changed—meaning only players with a combat power of T1 or higher are eligible to join their guild. 

In the second chapter, Xinghe followed Shanhai’s lead and focused on building combat power. With the rewards and Shanhai’s guidance, he managed to reach T1, but not everyone else was so fortunate. 

Shanhai said, “Wan Yu and the others are advocating for kicking people out.” 

“Sacrificing a small portion… to save the majority—that is the kind of resolve a leader should possess. That is what it truly means to save everyone.” 

That was their stance. 

Xinghe: “What do you think?” 

Shanhai shook his head. “I’m not good at this. I trust your judgment.” 

Xinghe sighed, “Then I don’t agree with sacrificing the pawns to save the king. My original goal was simply to keep everyone alive; if I did that, I’d be betraying my initial intent. I still believe that building the walls with our own hands is the only way to stand firm. If anyone disagrees, let them join Grapevine Peak.” 

“Alright.”

Though Wan Yu and the others didn’t agree with Xinghe’s plan to build the walls, they weren’t willing to actually leave the guild. After all, in this apocalyptic world, staying by Xinghe’s side was their greatest guarantee of safety. 

Yet the disputes grew more intense day by day, and the division within the guild became increasingly apparent. 

Due to the hostility between the two sides, a single issue snowballed into countless problems. Even those who had no prior grievances against one another developed genuine animosity through their daily clashes. 

Jian Xingyi gradually absorbed Xinghe’s memories, watching helplessly as the guild fell further and further apart. 

Yet Xinghe refused to back down. He continued to lead Cangshui, Wuyun, and the others in tirelessly building layer upon layer of city walls. Faced with those who were dissatisfied, he could only choose to placate them with resources. 

Until… 

“Guild President… Guild President!!” 

Jing Luo stumbled in, grabbing Xinghe’s shoulders as his whole body trembled. “They’re dead… they’re dead!” 

“What…? Who’s dead?” 

Jing Luo croaked, “Shanhai, and Wu Yun…” 

In that instant, Jian Xingyi could feel Xinghe’s heart plummeting into an ice cave; the physical reaction and the trembling of the soul merged in an instant, leaving Jian Xingyi unable to tell whose emotions were whose. 

“H-how did they die…” Xinghe stammered, “Did you guys get something wrong? Shanhai is a full-power player, and so is Cangshui—they wouldn’t die so easily…” 

“It’s true. They met with an accident in the SS dungeon—they were infected.” 

It all started when Cangshui needed some building materials and decided to run the dungeon. To ensure nothing went wrong, Shanhai accompanied him, in addition to Wu Yun. 

Xinghe jumped to his feet, ready to storm out. “I need to see them—alive or dead, I must see them! This can’t be true! How could an SS-level dungeon take down three players at full power like this? Shanhai could clear it alone!” 

“Guild President……！” 

Jing Luo held Xinghe back. “Please let me finish.” 

Jing Luo took a deep breath and tried to steady his emotions as he said, “They weren’t killed by the dungeon; someone ambushed them.”

Jing Luo’s eyes turned crimson as he said, “I told you this long ago…The guild’s internal strife was bound to lead to disaster sooner or later… Wan Yu and the others wanted to take down Cangshui to sabotage the wall-building project. Since many members didn’t want you to continue building the walls but couldn’t go after you directly, and since Cangshui was the one who released the blueprints… Cangshui is still physically impaired, dungeons are inherently dangerous, and Wan Yu’s group outnumbered them…” 

Xinghe froze. 

He seemed to be struggling to process the information Wan Yu had just shared. 

“The only one who’s returned safely is Cangshui…” 

Xinghe pushed Jinglu aside and stumbled off to find Cangshui. 

Cangshui had locked himself in his home. Xinghe rushed inside and found Cangshui curled up in his wheelchair, his eyes vacant. “Cangshui…!” Xinghe gripped the armrests of his wheelchair. “What happened?!” 

It took Cangshui a long time to find his voice again. He spoke haltingly, “Wu Yun was torn to pieces by zombies in the dungeon while trying to protect me… Shanhai carried me out, but he got infected too…We were ambushed outside the dungeon. Shanhai told me to run first while he covered our retreat… By the time Wu Yun and the others arrived with reinforcements… when we went back, Shanhai was already gone, but… his ID was offline.” 

“Xinghe…” After speaking, tears streamed down Cangshui’s face. Covering his face, he nearly broke down, sobbing, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Xinghe stood frozen in place. He opened his terminal and saw—Wu Yun and Shanhai’s online statuses were indeed… offline. 

“It’s my fault. Why did I have to go into the dungeon… They were targeting me in the first place, but they…” Cangshui choked out, “Why did they protect me… If I could walk normally, I… I wouldn’t have dragged them down…” 

—Because Cangshui was the one who created the blueprints. 

Xinghe embraced Cangshui, his whole body trembling. “No, it’s not your fault.” 

—It was his fault. He was the one who insisted on building the wall. 

Jing Luo was right—he had been too naive. He never imagined that, in the name of resistance, they would turn on their own comrades. It was his fault that his beloved died, and that Wu Yun died as well. 

He could feel Cangshui’s body trembling just as much in his arms, and it was so… cold. 

…How could he be so cold? 

Xinghe paused. He looked down and saw Cangshui’s hands beginning to turn blue. 

“You… have been infected?”

Cangshui froze in shock, only then noticing a wound on his leg inflicted by a zombie. 

It was only because his disabled legs had lost all sensation that he hadn’t realized it. 

Just then, a commotion and uproar erupted outside the door. 

“Get out! Get out of here! How dare you show your faces?!” 

“What are you doing?!” 

With a loud “Bang,” the door was kicked open. Xinghe saw Canglang, Mao Tuan, and Jing Luo blocking the doorway, preventing Wan Yu and a crowd of others from advancing. 

Wan Yu shouted harshly, “It’s come to this, and you still want to protect Cangshui? He’s the one who killed Shanhai and Wu Yun! The three of them went into the dungeon together—how come only he, the cripple, came back safe and sound?!” 

Someone inside the room shouted to the Guild President, “Guild President! Don’t let them fool you. As soon as Mao Tuan and the others arrived, they accused us of ambushing them. We never even left the guild—they don’t have a shred of evidence!” 

“Exactly! Now that trouble’s happened, they’re trying to pin the blame on us!” 

“You bastards have the nerve to twist the truth like this?!” Mao Tuan’s eyes turned bloodshot with rage as he lunged forward and grabbed Wan Yu by the collar. “Damn it, I really want to kill you right now!!” 

Canglang was trembling with rage as well. He drew his weapon and said, “Why are you even talking to these sewer rats? They’ve already come to bully us! Wu Yun and Shanhai were both killed by them!” 

As Canglang drew his weapon and swung at Wan Yu, a brawl erupted between the two sides. But with both sides being high-level fighters, neither side was getting the upper hand. 

Xinghe watched the two groups fighting fiercely inside the guild base outside the door and found the whole scene absurd. More and more people were joining the fray; with old and new grudges piling up, there was simply no end in sight. 

Xinghe looked at Cangshui, his eyes devoid of any light. In a very low voice, he said, “It’s not your fault. I’m the one who dragged you all into this. I’m sorry. I’ve failed you. I made the wrong decision.” 

Cangshui froze. Both of their faces bore traces of fresh tears, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say. Xinghe took a deep breath and pulled out his terminal. 

【Player 【Wanyu】 has been removed from the guild】

【Player 【XX】 has been removed from the guild】 

【Player 【XX】 has been removed from the guild】 

Outside, more and more people and bases were “vanishing on the spot.” Eventually, all voices of resistance fell silent. 

Xinghe then stepped out of the room and handed the guild to Mao Tuan.

“……?” 

Xinghe whispered, “Take good care of Cangshui.” 

Mao Tuan’s mouth fell open. This was the only flower of the afterlife in their guild. 

Xinghe said, “Don’t let Wu Yun and Shanhai down. Protect Cangshui well, and help him pull himself together so he can continue leading everyone in building the walls.” 

He then turned to look at Whalefall. “Now that I’ve kicked out most of the members, you can merge with Grapevine Peak and continue with our plan.” 

Jing Luo sensed something was off. “What do you mean? What about you?” 

“I want to go find Shanhai. I’m sorry, Jing Luo, but you truly have more resolve than I do—you’re better suited to be a leader.” With that, everyone watched as Xinghe’s figure vanished right before their eyes. 

【Player 【Xinghe】 has been removed from the guild】 

“Xinghe kicked himself… out?! Why would he do that!” 

“No… it’s… the Guild President triggered the guild protection mechanism… If the Guild President kicks out more than half of the members, the system will take action against them as well, stripping them of their position and the right to remain in the guild…” 

“Then we have to go find him right away…!” 

The images that followed were fragmented, and Jian Xingyi was overwhelmed by a flood of emotions. Despair, grief, self-blame… each one left Jian Xingyi nearly unable to breathe; the memories, laden with such intense emotion, brought him to the brink of collapse. 

He saw Xinghe wandering aimlessly through the wilderness, searching for Shanhai’s body—his expression shifting from initial anxiety and grief to utter despair.

He saw Xinghe leave the guild, only to be struck by an unprecedented, colossal tsunami before he could even find the body. In the face of the disaster, everyone was in chaos, and amidst that chaos, he was captured by Wan Yu and the others. 

The final image in his memory was the gleaming tip of the blade 

in Wan Yu’s hand. When Jian Xingyi opened his eyes again, he saw Shanhai. 

This wasn’t the Shanhai from the memory bubble, but the Shanhai that had entered with him—the one that belonged to him. Jian Xingyi recognized it instantly, without needing a reason. 

Shanhai paused. “Why… are you crying?” 

Jian Xingyi held out his arms toward Shanhai, his voice trembling slightly. “Then… give me a hug.”