Chapter 439 Chen Xiaolian’s Weakness (1/2)

GOR Chapter 439 Chen Xiaolian’s Weakness

A bus slowly moved out of Jerusalem, moving along the road as it headed north.

The coordinate in Tel Aviv was northwest of Jerusalem and the distance between them was not too far away. They should be able to reach the place in about one hour’s time.

The one driving the bus was naturally Roddy.

Lun Tai held onto an assault rifle in his hand. The rifle also had a 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher affixed to it.

Lun Tai sat in the first passenger seat in the bus with his body leaning against the railing. On his feet was a canvas bag containing grenades.

He bit onto a cigar in his mouth as his sharp pair of eyes coldly stared up front.

Will and Soo Soo were at the centre position. Will was clearly feeling rather cautious and would occasionally cast glancing looks at Soo Soo, who was beside him – it was obvious that he had a good impression on Soo Soo. However, he was too timid to start chatting with Soo Soo.

Soo Soo had been very kind to him earlier. At present however, this little girl remained silent, appearing occupied with something.

Qiao Qiao and Xia Xiaolei sat on the two sides of the bus. Xia Xiaolei had a pair of night vision goggles hanging around his neck while his hand held onto his gun tightly. He had opened up the window to allow the wind to flow in and blow on his face. There was an absent-minded expression on his face.

As for Qiao Qiao, there was a slightly anxious expression on her face and she would occasionally check her watch. She had tried using the guild channel to contact Chen Xiaolian a few times, but got no reply.

Qimu Xi sat in the rear – in the first phase, her performance was disappointing to all.

Timid, cowardly and panicky, she had contributed nothing to the team.

If she were in another team, they would have long since kicked out such a worthless baggage.

Although the members of Meteor Rock Guild were fairly kind-hearted, Qimu Xi’s performance was still too disappointing.

In order to survive through this game, everyone will help each other out. However, it was necessary for her to first show courage. If she cannot even do that…

“Still no reply?”

Qiao Qiao, who had her head cast down, heard Lun Tai asking.

She raised her head to see Lun Tai’s stalwart figure standing before her.

Qiao Qiao forced out a smile. “No.”

“I had called him as well, but I did not get any reply.” Lun Tai furrowed his brows. “Maybe something is delaying him. However, I believe in his decision.”

Qiao Qiao took a deep breath. “Of course I trust him, but… … did you not realize his biggest issue?”

Those words attracted the attention of Lun Tai and also Roddy, who was driving. He turned his head involuntarily at that.

“This fellow has too much of a tendency to shoulder everything.” Qiao Qiao narrowed her eyes and there was a trace of vexation in her tone. “No matter what happens, he would always try to shoulder it all without telling us about it – perhaps he is doing it out of goodwill in his desire to solve the issue by himself. However, this way of doing things would only make him exhausted. If he keeps doing this, then it is only a matter of time before he gets himself killed.”

Lun Tai smiled.

He had long since realized this issue with Chen Xiaolian.

An overly strong sense of responsibility… … always trying to shoulder the guild’s burden by himself…

“Something has happened, but he refused to talk about it and tries to deal with it alone!” Qiao Qiao sighed in frustration.

Lun Tai was silent for a few seconds. Then, he sat down beside Qiao Qiao and looked at her in silence for a bit before speaking up, “Qiao Qiao, do you know how the other guilds operate in this game world?”

“Mm?”

“I am considered your senior here,” said Lun Tai with a wry smile. “Back then, me and Bei Tai were in Nangong Guild and we had some interactions with other Awakened guilds before. The other guilds, how should I put it… … all I can say is, Chen Xiaolian is the best Guild Leader that I have ever met.”

Qiao Qiao was surprised.

“This game world is very cruel. All of it is cruel. Death might come for us in any instance dungeon. Thus, every Awakened would fight and struggle with all they have in order to survive! Even within guilds, there would be civil competitions and bitter fights!

“I have seen it before. The members of the other guilds would start fighting each other for the sake of loot and resources.

“In order to maintain their position and authority, Guild Leaders would manipulate their subordinates, breaking them into factions and leading them along according to their designs. Some would even secretly eradicate dissidents.

“There is no need to look at others. Just look at the former leader of Meteor Rock Guild, Qiu Yun. His leadership led to an all-out revolt. This is an example.

“Feelings of camaraderie are something absent in most of the other guilds.

“That holds true even in my previous guild, Nangong Guild. Guild Leader Nangong was quite a righteous big brother to us, but me and Bei Tai dared not trust him fully. There are times that he would act in an unjust manner in order to protect himself or gain personal power.

“Let me put it in another way. I had originally thought of Guild Leader Nangong as a good Guild Leader. When he dies, I would be willing to help him out with any final requests.

“However, in Chen Xiaolian’s case, I am willing to go die with him! Alternatively, even die for him!

“This is the magnetic charm of Chen Xiaolian’s character. Be it Bei Tai, or me, the both of us are willing to follow him.

“The reason for this is precisely because of his selflessness. Chen Xiaolian is always acting in a selfless manner, willing to shoulder the guild’s responsibilities by himself. Whenever a problem arises, he would always want to solve it himself without dragging others into the dangers involved.

“This is a weakness. But it is also a strength.”

“But if he keeps this up, it is only a matter of time before he kills himself.” Qiao Qiao clenched her fists.

“Then we should trust him unconditionally. At the same time, we need to do our best to display our strength to have him understand that we do not require his protection. There is no need for him to take it all on his own. He can put his faith and count on us, on our strength.” Lun Tai smiled wryly.

Roddy, who was driving, suddenly spoke out coldly, “Qiao Qiao, you still don’t understand him.”

This sentence caused Qiao Qiao’s face to flicker.

In terms of intimacy, Qiao Qiao, who was Chen Xiaolian’s girlfriend, was naturally the most intimate with him.

However, they had not known each other for that long.

When it came to understanding him, Roddy, Chen Xiaolian’s best friend, who had known him for years, was the one who knew him the most.

“You all do not know this, but before getting sucked into this game, Chen Xiaolian was a very withdrawn fellow.”

Roddy sighed softly.

He retrieved a piece of cigarette and stuffed it in his mouth. As he was reaching for the cigarette lighter, Lun Tai, who was beside him, leaned over and used a lighter to light it up for Roddy.

Roddy glanced at him before winding down the window to allow the night breeze to flow in. Then, he puffed out a breath of smoke, which dissipated into the air.

“Roddy, tell us about Guild Leader’s past.” Xia Xiaolei moved over to join their conversation.

“His past?” Roddy narrowed his eyes and he observed the road ahead.

At this late hour, the road was empty. Who knows if this was due to the lack of people or if the system was the one that had emptied the area. At any rate, their bus was the only vehicle to be moving along the road.

“In the past… he was a very withdrawn fellow. Additionally, he refused to have people get too close to him.” Roddy sighed. “You all should already know this, right? Chen Xiaolian is an orphan. Both his parents are long gone.”

Qiao Qiao was silent for a moment before speaking in a hushed tone, “I know that. However, he is never willing to talk about the matter with his parents.”

“… I don’t know much about the specifics myself.” Roddy kept one hand on the steering wheel as his other hand held the cigarette. He looked at the road ahead and a contemplative look appeared on his face. Then, he slowly said, “Deep inside, he is a very prideful fellow.

“From what I know, his parents were gone since before he got to junior high – I went to the same school as him for junior high. Back then, everyone thought he was a weirdo. He disliked talking or getting to know others.

“No, I do not mean he is a very reclusive person.

“On the contrary, he was very courteous. No matter who talked to him, he would reply in a very warm and kind manner. However… … it was a very distant form of courtesy.

“He would speak courteously, and in all the years I know of him, I have never seen him have feelings or argue with anyone. He seemed insulated from all those things.

“He had never once chased after girls like our other school mates.

“From all outward appearances, he too liked basketball and could communicate normally with others. However, he did not have a single friend.

“It was not that they were unwilling to be his friend. In my opinion… … he himself was unwilling to be friends with others.

“In fact… … I had this feeling that he was looking down on his peers for being too childish.

“During junior high, he would come to school alone and leave school alone. When holidays came, he would never play with others.

“At that time, I only knew that he was the only one in his family.

“He had begun living alone since before he was 14 years old.

“His parents left him some inheritance and a house. However, he did not have any guardians.

“Just think about it, a child who was still that young had to take care of himself. What was that like?”