Surname

Chen Xiaolian believes that she has gradually grasped the core of this Instance.

The target character, young Will!

Not only within the Dark Camp, but Young Will’s importance has been elevated to an insane degree by the system. Furthermore, there are many clues that prove the significance of the target character in this Instance.

For example, at the beginning of the second stage, the system allows the game participants to choose whether to kill the target characters protected by each participant team!

If… Young Will had been killed at that time, how would the plot change? Or would there be any alterations to the factions? Or would the mission take a different turn?

Chen Xiaolian looked at Thirteen, waiting for him to reveal the answer.

…

The clattering sound of hooves.

Tian Lie sat on his horse, watching Nicole galloping ahead.

He himself sat on the horse in a relaxed posture, but his buttocks seemed to be firmly attached to the saddle, making him look soft and flexible like a worm. However, his body subtly followed the rhythm of the horse’s movements, as if it were following some kind of pattern.

And right behind Tian Lie, a sack was laid across the saddle, and from the outline of the sack, it seemed like there was a person inside.

“Wait a moment, woman,” Tian Lie suddenly called out.

Nicole halted her reins up ahead, stopping her horse, and turned to look at Tian Lie. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Even if you don’t need a break, the horses still need to rest. And even if the horses don’t need to rest, the two guys we’re carrying surely do,” Tian Lie said as he dismounted and then lifted the sack from behind his horse, gently tossing it on the ground.

Nicole glanced at Tian Lie and nodded. She also dismounted and retrieved a similar sack from behind her saddle.

Two sacks were placed side by side on the ground, and Tian Lie bent over to open one of them.

After loosening the sack’s opening, a head emerged with its mouth taped shut, revealing only a pair of eyes darting around in fear. The person inside was frantically making muffled noises, trying to convey distress.

“Here, I’ll remove the tape from your mouth now and let you have some water. If you scream, you won’t get any water,” Tian Lie said, squinting at the individual.

The other person was trembling.

Nicole gave Tian Lie a somewhat disgusted look, and the same look of distaste was directed at the person inside her sack.

Nevertheless, she still approached, untied the other sack, and revealed another person inside.

Watching Tian Lie give water to the person in the sack, the individual drank it eagerly, tears and snot streaming down their face. They begged loudly, speaking incoherently, but the plea for mercy was evident, requesting Tian Lie to spare them.

Tian Lie shrugged and didn’t say anything. Instead, he patted the person’s head and resealed their mouth with tape.

“Are you intentionally trying to showcase your kindness? It’s a boring and laughable gesture,” Nicole said, crossing her arms and looking at Tian Lie with a mocking smile.

Tian Lie shook his head. “Where’s the humor in that?”

“I don’t believe these two scumbags deserve any leniency,” Nicole huffed.

The two individuals in the sacks were their respective assigned targets in the first stage of this Instance.

Although Nicole and Tian Lie had entered this Instance temporarily cooperating, they hadn’t formed a team, so in the system, both of them remained independent game participants, each with their own target.

Interestingly, both of their targets were not good people.

Tian Lie’s target turned out to be a skilled pickpocket when they found him.

As for Nicole’s target, his identity was even more complicated – he was an enforcer at a brothel. It was easy to imagine how disgusted Nicole, as a woman, felt when she found her target.

“Don’t be like that, little leaf beauty,” Tian Lie chuckled. “If you despise your guy so much, you should have chosen to kill him when the second stage began.”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “And you? You didn’t kill your target either. I won’t believe that’s your kindness. I can see from your eyes that killing him wasn’t any more complicated to you than slaughtering a chicken.”

Tian Lie sighed. “Alright, bickering like this was fun at first, but too much talk gets boring. You and I both know that we decided not to kill our respective targets because we both guessed that with Chen Xiaolian’s personality, he would never kill his own target.”

He looked at Nicole as he continued, “We’re not rookies. We have a deep understanding of this damned system and this damned game. The requirements starting from the second stage, to kill or not to kill the target, might affect the later assignment of factions. So, you and I both don’t want to be enemies with Chen Xiaolian in this Instance. We all have the same idea.”

“But now I regret it,” Nicole squinted her eyes. “I really want to blow that guy’s brains out.”

“Haha, you’re acting like a full-fledged feminist now,” Tian Lie laughed.

“I just hope that unfortunate soul who becomes the only team in the Dark Camp isn’t Chen Xiaolian’s team,” Nicole snorted.

Tian Lie shook his head. “I hope that this camp can still change. Maybe… the opportunity for change lies with our respective target characters.”

…

Chen Xiaolian looked at Thirteen and waited silently, anticipating Thirteen to utter a name.

“Hilteborgh Queevey Belia?”

These were the names that came out of Thirteen’s mouth.

Upon hearing this name, Chen Xiaolian’s heart trembled slightly, and he frowned as he gazed at Thirteen.

Thirteen immediately exclaimed, “I swear, I’m telling the truth!”

A few seconds later, Chen Xiaolian, through eye contact and Thirteen’s demeanor, confirmed that Thirteen was not lying.

Hilteborgh Queevey Belia?

These were not the names of the target character for the One-Eye Squad. It wasn’t Will, not at all!

This revelation left Chen Xiaolian somewhat surprised.

However, he quickly realized something even more important!

Hilteborgh Queevey Belia – Belia!

That surname!

What was the full name of young Will?

Will Rez Belia!

Belia!

Will also had the surname “Belia”!

The surname “Belia” was a significant commonality between the Meteor Rock Guild and the One-Eye Squad’s target characters.

Chen Xiaolian had a vague suspicion that this surname must represent some crucial information.

“So, what about your target characters?” Chen Xiaolian inquired.

“They’ve been killed by us,” Thirteen admitted. “After the system prompt for the second stage came out, our One-Eye Boss made a decision, and we didn’t object.”

Seeing the look in Chen Xiaolian’s eyes, Thirteen hurriedly added, “We found our target characters quickly and received a system reward prompt, which suggested that killing the target characters might give us an advantage in the subsequent tasks. Also… the Thornflower Group appeared in this Instance, and it’s a massive presence. Our One-Eye Boss felt that it was too inconvenient to drag a burden in the Instance, so he decided to eliminate them.”

Chen Xiaolian nodded in understanding.

The explanation made sense.

“So, what happened after killing the target characters?” Chen Xiaolian inquired. “I remember the system provided reward conditions back then. I recall the reward was: ‘Priority entry into the ultimate plot in the subsequent stages.’ Chen Xiaolian fixed his gaze on Thirteen. “What is this ultimate plot? Did the system provide any information?”

Thirteen shook his head.

“No,” he quickly added, “I’m telling the truth! The system only gave us a small hint.”

“How was it worded?” Chen Xiaolian asked.

Thirteen didn’t dare to hide anything and said with a wry smile, “The hint from the system was like this: ‘Eliminate the threat of the Light, gain favor with the Light Camp, and prepare for the Holy War.'”

Holy War?

Chen Xiaolian furrowed his brows.

“Eliminate the threat of the Light…”

Killing the target characters equaled eliminating the threat of the Light?

A sudden realization dawned on Chen Xiaolian!

Light represents purity, justice, and sacredness… So…

Chen Xiaolian let out a soft sigh. “Belia… Ah, I was foolish to overlook this surname. Belia!”

…

After returning to the carriage, Chen Xiaolian left Thirteen in a corner of the carriage, and the fellow behaved obediently without any resistance.

Then, Chen Xiaolian gathered everyone for a discussion.

“We’ve overlooked a very important clue.”

The team communicated in Chinese, deliberately chosen by Chen Xiaolian because he didn’t want young Will to understand their conversation.

“The surname Belia has been overlooked by us… which happens to be young Will’s surname,” Chen Xiaolian looked at everyone and continued, “And just now, I interrogated Thirteen, and he told me that their squad, during the first stage’s mission to find their target character, coincidentally had a target with the surname Belia. I believe this is a very important similarity.”

Lun Tai asked calmly, “Is there anything special about the surname Belia?”

“It may not be special to us, but in Jewish legends, it holds significant importance.”

As he spoke, Chen Xiaolian turned to Qiao Qiao. “Do you remember the history of the Western Wall I told you when we went there? It’s the remains of the Jewish Temple, originally built by the most famous and greatest king in the history of the Kingdom of Israel, King Solomon. It was once magnificent.

But later, because King Solomon made a mistake and betrayed his faith, the Kingdom of Israel declined… Hundreds of years later, the Temple was repeatedly invaded and destroyed by external enemies… Today, only this Western Wall remains as a relic.”

Roddy was the quickest to react. “King Solomon is the key, right?”

“Yes,” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “King Solomon is the key. The key is that the Temple built by King Solomon was once a symbol of Light, and King Solomon later betrayed his faith… leading to the decline of the nation and its subsequent division.”

“What did King Solomon do wrong?” Qiao Qiao also grasped the key point.

Chen Xiaolian smiled bitterly. “In the legends, King Solomon was tempted by a demon, fell into the dark magic, and was believed to have betrayed his faith and God. So, God punished him, causing the Kingdom of Israel to go from prosperity to decline.”

Qiao Qiao’s eyes lit up. “Tempted by a demon?”

“Yes, in the legends, the demon who tempted King Solomon is considered the ‘King of Demons.’ ” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “Its name is… Belia.”

After a pause, Chen Xiaolian smiled bitterly again. “That’s right… Belia!”