Chapter 25

The second factor that compels Ye Yun to continue being cautious is the alignment path.

Killing the Vulture changed Ye Yun's alignment path to [Chaotic Evil - Neutral Tending (CE~CN)]. Why did this happen?

Here, we need to discuss the sequence of alignment paths.

As mentioned earlier, Neutral Evil refers to 'true evil, taking evil as an ideal, without honor, committing evil only for personal convenience, not under organizational control, and not actively committing evil'; while Chaotic Evil refers to 'unrestrained, actively committing evil, targeting all that is good and the lives of others, unorganized or loosely organized, spreading evil through the most malicious violence.'

In these, both evil paths have their unique key terms.

The key terms for Neutral Evil are: committing evil only for personal convenience, not actively committing evil.

The key terms for Chaotic Evil are: actively committing evil, spreading evil through the most malicious violence.

What Ye Yun wants is the Neutral Evil path (NE). 'Not actively committing evil' means he can avoid being overwhelmed by a large number of random tasks. His involvement in this major event also deviated from Lawful Evil (LE). The system's prompt is based on his subsequent actions, indicating that he will choose one of the two paths other than Lawful Evil.

However, Ye Yun did something that made the system determine he had a tendency towards the Chaotic Evil path (CE).

He killed the Vulture and Xu Yanan in an incredibly cruel way, destroying both their minds and bodies.

Killing the Vulture did not affect the alignment path determination for Neutral Evil or Chaotic Evil. The Vulture's death was simply a matter of 'survival' for Ye Yun, satisfying both Neutral Evil's 'committing evil only for personal convenience' and Chaotic Evil's 'actively committing evil.' In other words, killing a player from the same faction might be considered a betrayal, but 'killing' and 'betrayal' are not negative terms in the T faction; they are defined as 'the nature of bandits.'

Therefore, killing the Vulture does not indicate Ye Yun's alignment path.

However, the way Ye Yun killed the Vulture is highly indicative!

He 'used' Xu Yanan's life to kill the Vulture, inflicting fatal damage to the body and mind of the woman who loved him. This aligns with the second key term of Chaotic Evil: 'spreading evil through the most malicious violence.'

Imagine, dear readers, what kind of person in a TV drama do we find the most despicable and hateful? It's not necessarily the villains who use cunning schemes, nor the ones who cause the most harm to the protagonist. It's those who 'betray the women who deeply love them,' 'use the women who love them as tools,' and 'cruelly discard them after use.' The reason is undoubtedly that such people are more despicable, their actions more infuriating, and their values more nauseating.

Regardless of Ye Yun's reasons (this is not me tarnishing the protagonist, please don't hate him!), he ultimately used the most infuriating method to kill Xu Yanan. Describing this behavior as 'the most malicious violence' is not an exaggeration... The Vulture fell victim largely because Lawful Evil faction members generally would not use such a 'vicious' method to kill.

Obviously, the game system would naturally determine that Ye Yun has a tendency towards the Chaotic Evil path.

So, let's return to the beginning of this topic: Why does Ye Yun need to be cautious?

Going out to fight is certainly exhilarating, and fighting both sides at the risk of his life is not a problem. After all, the protagonist is bound to survive, and a great slaughter would be thrilling.

Such behavior might seem immature, but isn't it the protagonist's job to make the audience feel exhilarated through the fights?

However, don't forget that the consequences of such actions are not just death... Whether fighting with 'fellow members' of the T faction or 'enemies' of the CT faction, it is a form of 'evil.' Wantonly seeking battles is more inclined towards Chaotic Evil's 'actively committing evil.'

On the other hand, being cautious and waiting in a corner aligns with Neutral Evil's 'not actively committing evil.' As a bandit, any fight Ye Yun engages in, whether with anyone, is a form of 'evil.' Fighting fellow members is betrayal, and even though betrayal is normal for bandits, it is still an 'evil act.' Fighting enemies is also 'evil,' as his enemies are the police and military, and fighting them is always a crime, regardless of the reason. Try slapping a traffic cop at an intersection and see what happens.

The system's judgment of [Chaotic Evil - Neutral Tending (CE~CN)] is actually a hint from the system: You are currently developing towards Chaotic Evil, and what you do next is up to you.

It is a 'hint' rather than a 'determination,' meaning Ye Yun still has a chance to correct his alignment path.

Why did Ye Yun risk his life to join this major event? Wasn't it to switch to the Neutral Evil path? If he ends up becoming a Chaotic Evil person, completely opposite to the principles of Neutral Evil, Ye Yun would likely go insane.

(Please don't misunderstand; I'm not underestimating the readers' intelligence. I just believe that even in a fantasy novel, the plot should be clear and logical. I apologize if this explanation affects your reading experience!)

With these two factors in play, Ye Yun, who was originally just here to play a minor role, naturally would not go out carelessly.

...

It has been over two hours and forty minutes, and Ye Yun can no longer hide.

What scares him now is not the threat of firearms but the fear of the unknown.

As time passed, the battle escalated like a roller coaster, then plummeted. The sounds of gunfire and shouts have gradually faded.

But the unknown lies here: the number of people in both factions has clearly decreased, but the explosions in the building have become more frequent and louder. Initially, the building would shake every few minutes due to explosions, but now, sitting on the ground, Ye Yun feels as if he is on a train, with the ground shaking every few seconds, indicating continuous explosions are destroying the entire building.

Fewer people, but more frequent explosions, this is indeed perplexing. Ye Yun guesses that the CT faction is likely weakening and is using a scorched earth tactic to prevent the T faction from achieving ultimate victory, activating explosives that seem to have been buried throughout the building.

This is the most reasonable explanation, but it is also the most terrifying. Compared to the疯狂的场面 when the bandits stormed in, the current actions of the CT faction are no less intense.

Thinking of this, Ye Yun's heart tightened, and he could no longer suppress his fear. He cautiously walked to the kitchen door.

Gently pushing the door open, the smell of gunpowder and smoke rushed to his nose.

A few bodies lay scattered in the corridor outside, showing signs of explosions and gunfire, but clearly, it had been a while.

In fact, since Ye Yun arrived on this floor, the gunfire outside had not been intense, and after a few minutes, it had decreased to almost nothing.

Ye Yun knew that this was probably below the 35th floor, and the main objective of the battle was above the 40th floor. It was normal for this area to be swept through quickly.

Carefully holding his gun, Ye Yun crouched and approached a police corpse, trying to sell a QBZ95 to the store. As expected, he received the message, 'Real-world weapons need to be used in more than three missions to become system weapons for sale or enhancement,' and he immediately abandoned the idea of scavenging.

He tiptoed to the corner of the corridor, looking left and right. One direction led to the elevator, and the other to the main banquet hall on this floor. It was clear which way to go.

Just as he was about to turn left, the door next to him suddenly opened, and a person in a black combat suit appeared.