After briefly explaining a few things to me, Zhoumo hurriedly left.

She said she was also very busy and needed to report to a certain organization.

However, the organization she mentioned wasn’t “Heaven’s Mouth,” but another mercenary organization. This place was even more complex than I had imagined.

I waited in place for a while and discovered that the “participants” in this area were indeed quite different. They seemed to have plans and organization, frequently entering “Human-level games” in groups of two or three.

It seemed that person called Chu Tianqiu did indeed have some ability, capable of organizing so many people in an orderly manner.

What did he rely on? Force? Strategy? Or a powerful “Echo”?

Just as I was pondering, I saw a familiar figure approaching from the distance. No matter how much I tried to predict, I absolutely couldn’t have predicted she would be among them.

Auntie Tong, accompanied by two young people, was holding a map and strutting right past me. They seemed to be discussing something and hadn’t noticed me.

“Auntie Tong…?” I called out somewhat incredulously.

“Hmm…?” Auntie Tong turned her head and immediately saw me. “Oh my! You’re…”

She paused and said to the two young people behind her: “Why don’t you two go wait for me at that venue first? I’ll come over in a bit.”

“Okay, Auntie Tong.” A boy who looked at most sixteen years old said. “We’ll go ahead then. You take care of your own safety.”

This organization was even stranger than I had imagined. Auntie Tong was roughly over fifty years old, while that youth was fifteen or sixteen—why would they be acting together?

But thinking about it again, Auntie Tong was also a “veteran Echo user.” Self-preservation in ordinary Human-level games shouldn’t be a problem for her.

After sending off the two young people, Auntie Tong came forward and took hold of my arm, saying with a smile on her face: “Child, what are you doing here?”

“Oh my, yes.” Auntie Tong nodded. “I found it.”

“Found it…?”

“Do you remember what I said?” Auntie Tong had a kindly smile on her face, as if she had found a treasure. “I said I was going to find someone carrying enormous ‘good karma’… I found them.”

After hearing this, I paused slightly: “That person is in the organization?”

“He is the organization’s leader.” Auntie Tong said. “A child named Chu Tianqiu.”

“The leader…” I was stunned. “You’re saying he’s a ‘good person’?”

“It’s not as simple as being a ‘good person.'” Auntie Tong shook her head. “Carrying enormous ‘good karma’ is a completely different concept from being a ‘good person.'”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s like how many people do charity.” Auntie Tong explained to me. “But some people do charity with ulterior motives—some people do it to glorify themselves, others for their company’s reputation, and still others for tax avoidance. Although these people are ‘doing good’ and are nominally ‘good people,’ their starting point isn’t ‘goodness,’ so it doesn’t count as ‘good karma.’ We can only say they did good deeds.”

Thinking carefully, as long as I stood from Auntie Tong’s perspective, I could instantly understand what she was saying.

“So the person you mentioned who carries enormous ‘good karma’—his starting point is ‘goodness’?” I asked.

“Yes.” Auntie Tong nodded. “He does good deeds without any purpose, just because he wants to, so he does them. He didn’t establish the organization to extract anything from ‘participants.’ The starting point of everything he does is entirely to help other people. This enormous ‘good karma’ will inevitably affect his fate—this is his ‘karmic force.’ If there’s anyone here who will achieve a good end because of ‘karmic force,’ I think it would only be him.”

I not only understood the meaning of “good karma,” but also understood the meaning of “karmic force.”

“Child, he calls the normal people here ‘good people,’ and the ones who’ve gone mad ‘insane people.'” Auntie Tong continued. “Do you know what the people here call him?”

“I don’t know.”

Auntie Tong looked at the sky and took a deep breath: “The Good People’s King.”

These… were indeed three very weighty words.

He wasn’t the king of some team, nor was he the king of the “Extreme Path” or “Heaven’s Mouth” organization, but the king in all normal people’s hearts.

“It’s just a pity…” Auntie Tong shook her head with a bitter smile. “Child, have you heard the saying ‘good people don’t live long’?”

“Of course I’ve heard it…” As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt there was some contradiction, so I asked: “Auntie Tong, according to your explanation, doesn’t the so-called ‘karmic force’ mean ‘good is rewarded with good, evil is rewarded with evil’? Why would there still be situations where good people don’t live long?”

“As I said…” Auntie Tong explained, “How exactly ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are defined depends on the person doing the deed themselves. Children who are too kind, when doing ‘good deeds,’ won’t define them as ‘good deeds’ at all, so part of the ‘good karma’ will become ‘neutral karma’ because of their own perception—that is, neither good nor evil, with karmic force neither increasing nor decreasing.”

It seemed I had still thought of “karmic force” too simply. If one were to elaborate, these eight words “good is rewarded with good, evil is rewarded with evil” would be enough to write an entire thesis.

“So relying on ‘karmic force’ to obtain ‘good rewards’ is quite a difficult thing?” I asked. “One needs to persist in doing good and also believe that what they’re doing is indeed ‘good deeds.'”

Auntie Tong said: “Child, have you noticed that in this world, honest and kind people usually don’t have satisfactory lives, and may even be bullied quite miserably?”

Yes… how could I not know?

“So doing good was never an easy thing. There will be many obstacles in this world blocking your progress.” Auntie Tong reached out and removed a fallen hair from my skirt, then said, “For a child like Chu Tianqiu, there are only two paths ahead in the future. Either he can keep his heart untainted and persist in himself to achieve enlightenment, or one day he’ll turn into a demon, with all his ‘good karma’ transforming into ‘evil karma.’ But at least for now… the direction of his ‘karmic force’ is still good.”

Come to think of it, it was quite laughable. If I were that Good People’s King, I definitely wouldn’t selflessly dedicate myself for such a long time. After all, the essence of human nature is ugly.

The more you give, the more they take.

A small favor creates gratitude, but excessive giving breeds resentment.

I didn’t know if the Good People’s King would provide food for these people. Things that could initially make everyone overjoyed would, after several cycles, become commonplace.

Having food would be expected; not having it would mean the leader was incompetent. This was human nature.

Seeing me fall silent, Auntie Tong reached out and took hold of my hand, saying:

“Child, if one day someone in ‘Extreme Path’ develops thoughts of retreat, you might as well let them join ‘Heaven’s Mouth’ to exchange for a good end.”