Volume 1, Chapter 53: Turning Black into White

Indeed, just as Qin Shang opened the official tasks section, he was astonished to discover a particularly eye-catching trending topic highlighted with red text against a red background under the official missions column.

Its popularity was off the charts, and the view count had already surpassed a thousand.

The title read...

"A trickster player killed four companions in a multiplayer instance to murder and plunder, resulting in the annihilation of all players except myself."

"Wanted player trickster 'Desperately Licking Cockroach Jade Feet'! Reward: 15 points."

The moment he saw this news, Qin Shang felt a surreal sense of vertigo.

It felt just like opening a news browser and seeing clickbait headlines like 'Shocking' and 'Must Watch'.

That red-lettered, red-background title was exceptionally striking, especially since this sensationalist headline was followed by his very own name.

Wanted who?

Me?

I’ve made it to the official mission bounty board?

For a split second, Qin Shang found it hard to believe.

A nobody who had just become a Divine Path player, barely even figuring out this new community—

How on earth did he manage to land on the official forum's wanted list of Divine Path players?

He took a deep breath, suppressed the complex emotions swirling in his chest, and tapped on the post.

A moment later, after finishing the post, Qin Shang's expression had turned as dark and gloomy as water.

Even the Red Cult Leader driving beside him could intuitively feel the towering fury and murderous intent suppressed within the young man's chest.

"'Justice Eagle', it really was a colossal mistake not to use the Boss to kill you off in the second-round carriage back then."

Qin Shang's expression shifted uncertainly between light and shadow before he finally bared a set of glistening white teeth and said coldly.

There wasn't much substance in the post. It was written from the perspective of an Arbiter player, recounting everything he experienced after matching into the multiplayer instance known as [Death Train].

However, 'Justice Eagle' laid the blame for the deaths of several players squarely on Qin Shang.

Clearly, the mature woman 'Green All My Supporters' and 'Green Green Grass by the River', along with the accomplice 'Handsome Enough to Be Hacked', had already died at the hands of the Godslayer in the first round.

Yet Justice Eagle completely distorted the truth, attributing all of it to Qin Shang.

He claimed that a player named 'Desperately Licking Cockroach Jade Feet' had sowed discord, undermined team harmony, and caused those two individuals to succumb to psychological pressure and choose to separate from the main group.

In the end, they were left isolated and brutally murdered by the Godslayer.

As for the details of clearing the second round, Justice Eagle perfectly exemplified what it meant to talk sheer nonsense.

He attributed Qin Shang's deductions to himself, claiming that he was the one who analyzed the mystery of the disappearing passengers and the entire sequence of events.

As a result, seeing that the exploration mission was ending, the player 'Desperately Licking Cockroach Jade Feet' was tempted by greed. Seeing that everyone else had received rewards for actively providing clues to assist in clearing the level, while his own trickster task remained uncompleted,

he harbored malicious intentions and murdered the elderly priest and the crossdressing confidant sister.

True to his official background, Justice Eagle had likely spent plenty of time polishing essays to pass the Arbiter examinations.

While there were quite a few logical flaws throughout the post, the phrasing was impassionate, and every line oozed profound grief and a passionate crusade against the unhinged trickster player, whipping up high emotions.

It inadvertently made people overlook the underlying logical issues.

The post was extremely popular, with new comments refreshing below almost every minute.

What a brilliant move of deflecting blame and splashing dirty snow onto his own head.

*Milk White Snowflake*: Is something like this even possible? Murder and plunder, and they actually did it to an official personnel?

*Single-Minded Desire to Die*: That kind of thing is pretty common. But to murder and plunder just after someone helped you clear a game instance, isn't that a bit lacking in martial virtue?

*Coke Plus Ice*: Unhinged, simply unhinged. But it looks like this player named 'Desperately Licking Cockroach Jade Feet' kicked an iron plate. He probably thought killing everyone would make him foolproof, allowing him to swallow all the clearance rewards and return to reality alone, but he never expected this official player to survive by a fluke.

*Never Stay Up Late Again*: There's something a bit off about this post. I feel like the author is agitating everyone's emotions. Calm down and think about it: according to the poster's narrative, that trickster should just be a newbie player whose level doesn't look very high. Can a low-level trickster take down four other players?

*Men Disturb My Heart*: Yeah, I feel like this post is trying to sway public opinion. A trickster player's initial skill is only [Inheritance], which is somewhat useful in a multiplayer instance, but in direct combat, everyone knows a low-level trickster can't even beat a dog.

*Stumbling into Deep Spring*: As a trickster player, I feel like I just caught a stray bullet...

Qin Shang finished reading the entire post with a gloomy face; the majority of the comment section was out for his blood.

Of course, there were also quite a few rational players, such as 'Never Stay Up Late Again' and 'Men Disturb My Heart' who raised questions.

The trickster was universally acknowledged by all players as the profession most suited for clearing instances.

But that didn't mean tricksters were equally heaven-defying in other aspects...

Right at that moment, another reply refreshed beneath the post.

*Red Cult Leader*: Although the [Death Train] instance is somewhat bizarre, having turned into an A-grade instance for ordinary players and an S-grade instance for tricksters due to contamination, when all is said and done, it is still merely an Order-realm instance.

*Red Cult Leader*: An Order-realm instance naturally can only be entered by Order-realm players. Order realm, levels 1 through 3... Players above this level would be matched into Chaos-realm instances. In other words, the trickster in the poster's mouth is, at most, a level 3 player.

She didn't offer any further explanation; veteran players understood everything that needed to be understood.

Sure enough, as soon as Red Cult Leader's post went live, a flood of skeptical posts surged underneath.

They questioned the poster's motives. When a trickster profession enters the Order realm, prior to level 4, there are only three skills in total:

[Inheritance], [Feigned Death], [Trade].

Which of these three skills is meant for combat?

A profession deemed entirely devoid of combat capability below the Order realm managed to pull a one-v-five inside an instance?

Qin Shang naturally saw this post as well, slightly stunned, before a hint of gratitude welled up in his eyes.

"Thank you..."

The next moment, he looked toward the woman in the red dress beside him.

There weren't many players on the official Divine Path forum who would use that ID and still be willing to stand up and speak up for him by making a post.

After all, people were inherently egoistic; they tended to mind their own business.

With no relation or ties to speak of, who would have the time and boredom to explain things for Qin Shang?

Except for the Red Cult Leader right beside him!

Meanwhile, the charming woman was playing on her phone while driving.

Hearing his voice, she gave a slight nod.

"I knew the instance you cleared must have been a contaminated one, but I never expected you to conquer [Death Train], a legendary run with neither precursor nor successor. You really do have some tricks up your sleeve!"

'Justice Eagle' had mentioned the name of the instance in his post; Red Cult Leader wasn't blind, so she could naturally see it.

"Still, you're a bit unlucky, kid. You got targeted right after clearing your beginner trial instance. That's not a good thing."

"Rational Divine Path players are a minority after all, not to mention this Arbiter has put out a bounty reward for you."

"Even if some people realize that in all probability you never harmed other players inside the instance and were framed, those same people might still choose to hunt you down as a newbie player just for the 15 points he offered as a reward."