The Righteous Player(s)

Annan sat in the spacious subway carriage, engrossed in the book. Zoya sat beside him, attending to him by ensuring he ate and drank in time.

Meanwhile, “Pinky” Zorgen sat quietly behind Annan, with his eyes slightly closed — this was to prevent his sharp gaze from alarming Annan and also to maximize the use of his senses to detect the surroundings.

As for the three players: Citalopram, Suuankou, and Wandering Child, they were on the other side of the subway. The two men were sprawled out haphazardly, while Citalopram leaned against the innermost part, her eyes slightly squinted.

“These people are too lazy.” Zoya said discontentedly by Annan’s ear.

Although Annan could trust the players completely, Zoya still remained vigilant toward them. In the confined and inescapable environment of a subway carriage, it was hard to believe that the players had the reflexes to protect Annan from assassins.

Annan knew what Zoya said was indeed true.

But if they were asked to escort someone over a long distance, transport supplies, be constantly alert to incoming enemies, or keep vigil at night, they wouldn’t have that level of concentration.

Even if their body didn’t get tired, their mind would.

Moreover, Annan could see from the backend interface… These three appeared to be sleeping, but in reality, they were using the forum to link to their mobile phones on Earth, busy watching videos, catching up on TV series, reading novels, and occasionally clearing some physical tasks.

—While Annan seemed to be reading seriously, he was actually watching a TV series through Citalopram’s eyes.

Every time this happened, Annan felt relieved — Indeed, it’s a great idea to grant the players permission to “connect to the internet on their phones using their minds”.

This ability could be used anywhere.

This feature assisted the students among the players to do their homework and take exams, which could be considered one of Annan’s compensations for them to focus their energy on this world. Another compensation was the real-time monitoring of body status, which could detect all kinds of physical illnesses, primarily to prevent them from sudden death due to exhaustion.

As the collection of the Book of Divine Transporter grew further, Annan’s control over the players also increased.

Annan suspected that once he had completed the collection, he might be able to treat the players’ physical conditions… After all, if their body could be scanned, there was no reason it couldn’t be treated.

Another aspect of this feature was restoring Annan’s ability to access the internet.

The feature was not perfect. Annan still couldn’t actively participate in the internet of that world, his vision had already transcended the current world.

Even after the players returned to Earth, Annan could see the world through their eyes. In this way, Annan got to enjoy some games, animations, movies, novels, and TV series.

This effectively complemented Annan’s entertainment options.

It felt a bit subtle… like when you’re on a high-speed train, watching the person next to you or in front of you play with their phone, and you quietly lean in to peek.

Fortunately, the players couldn’t feel Annan’s gaze.

“These people…” Zoya whispered with dissatisfaction, “sleeping all over the place in broad daylight… If not for Your Majesty’s trust in these Dream World’s folks, I would not allow them to travel with us.”

“Don’t worry, Zoya. They are all reliable.” Annan raised his head and chuckled, “Even if they die a hundred times in front of me, they will never run away.”

“After all, they are creatures of the dream world. If they cannot die, of course, they would not know fear.” Zoya nodded and added, “I just think that they are not quite suitable for escorting VIPs on long-distance negotiations. Throwing them into an army or having them carry out assassination missions might actually be where they are more useful.”

Upon hearing this, Citalopram, who was watching the show next to him, twitched her eyelids slightly and pressed pause. Clearly, she wanted to hear more of Annan’s opinion of the players.

Annan noticed it immediately.

However, Annan didn’t need to say anything nice. Telling the truth was enough.

“—Yes! You’re indeed right.” Annan nodded, nodding his head and speaking softly, “They have courage but lack patience, they have wisdom but lack meticulousness, they have a sense of justice but lack compassion. I am aware of all these things, and even understand them better than you do.”

“But my duty is to utilize people’s strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. This is what I must do as a ruler. Forcing people to do things they are not capable of is not realistic and not efficient enough; that is merely arrogance intended to demean others’ dignity.”

“They are all talented individuals. If I can’t fully utilize their unique abilities, bring out each person’s special strengths… then that’s my responsibility.”

The players were undoubtedly sharp swords.

But it wasn’t the case that just because a sword was sharp enough, it meant it was unbeatable—understanding this sword and knowing how to wield it was also a discipline in its own right.

Trying to block a heavy axe with a rapier was the act of a fool, and charging at someone wielding a long spear with a short sword was also an unwise move. That was a disrespect towards the sword, and it was also a disrespect towards intelligence…

There was no doubt that players were not suitable for all types of work.

After all, a person’s energy and interests were limited, and time was a fixed factor.

For menial physical labor, one could recruit laborers; for work in design, there were designers who were up to the task. To wage war, one needed mercenaries; they were experts in warfare, understood how to win, and it wasn’t just about destroying the opponent.

How to use each player’s unique abilities was like placing different chess pieces in their proper positions… This was also what a “player” had to do.

From this point of view, Annan was also a player himself.

It was just that those players played MMORPGs, while Annan played a strategy role-playing game — a tactical strategy game.

Annan had brought Suuankou and Wandering Child along this time precisely for their ability to cause destruction. As for bringing Citalopram, it was partly because of her healing abilities and partly because Annan had received new intelligence… The Pale Princess was currently staying in Frangell Province.

Bringing the Half-dead Enchantress would be beneficial to both Citalopram and Annan.

It was possible that this decision would lead to a new storyline.

As a former game planner, Annan grasped the psychology of players very well.

He had better set goals as close and brief as possible, allowing players to quickly complete tasks at each stage to obtain rewards, thereby compensating for the players’ lack of patience and concentration.

He also needed to clarify the objectives of the mission. He had to tell the players explicitly what their tactical goals should be, what taboos they must not commit, and what additional objectives they could complete to earn extra points. This would pool the players’ wisdom and prevent them from being uncertain about how to proceed.

Since the players lack empathy and compassion for the natives, then simply let them become a force of justice — using a sense of noble mission, the expectations and admiration of others, to make them discipline themselves, and to have players monitor each other.

—If you want it, I will give it to you. If you find it troublesome and think you can’t do it well, I won’t let you do it. If you do it, you will be rewarded… Everyone getting what they need was the long-term solution.

Annan was not the kind of planner who fed players rubbish. At this time, no one had restricted the amount of benefits or the amount of expected profits for him.

His innate ability to see into people’s hearts was not just for intimidation. This talent was used to unite and lead others.

That was the proper use of this talent.

As a qualified tactical game player, if he wanted to rationally place each player in different positions…then as a player, Annan should also treat himself equally.

He should also put “Annan Austere-Winter” in the right position.

After all, Annan was also a player.

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