I looked over at Bao Wang who had removed the hood of his cloak. “Yes, Champion Michael. That is one of my monikers. I told you I did what I had to, to rise up the ranks,” Bao Wang said.

Looking back at Ren and everyone else who had gone tense at the revelation. “The Butcher, skinned and staked the various people,” Ren said and that didn’t seem that bad. It was bad, but not terrible. “Then he used the prisoners and cooked them to use as rations.”

“It was economical,” Bao Wang replied. I gave him a look to shut up. He shrugged a bit, not even a bit remorseful.

“He even started a business in New Beijing which spread to other cities. The idea behind it was a group of men would pay to rape a woman and then eat her for dinner.” Okay, Bao Wang, that was a bit too much. On the flip side I knew Clarissa was using hybridization and killing people to empower our troops.

“The practice was only changed slightly since the Divine Empress wanted children. But that is how he rose through the rank,” Ren said.

“You are remarkably well informed about him?” I asked curiously.

“That kind of stuff isn’t censored, and everyone talked about it. Either in disgust or how they wish they had the idea first. You say he is your prisoner?” Ren looked at me and asked.

“Yes. He has important information I need,” I replied.

“Let me get the information out of him. I promise I can do it,” Fuyuka said, clearly desiring to kill Bao Wang in the most horrific manner possible. I honestly couldn’t blame her. At least Bao Wang had the presence of mind not to be grinning under my protection.

He was on par with Danian in terms of combat ability. So nothing compared to me, but the rebels couldn’t act without my input. I scanned everyone while I thought about to do with my Sense stat, nothing out of the ordinary. Not like I expected a spy to be flashing neon colors in the energy spectrum.

I considered what to do. I couldn’t promise to kill Bao Wang, since I needed his active help. I weighed his crimes and what I required of him. The answer was simple when I focused on the most important aspect of the situation, what was best for me.

“Leave him be.” I noted the scandalized looks. “He serves me. He could be the blood drinker of Beijing and I wouldn’t care.” I laid out my position clearly so there was no misunderstanding.

“What…what could that piece of filth have to offer you?” Fuyuka asked. I shook my head slightly at that.

“Don’t question Champion Michael Fuyuka. The company he keeps is his own decision and it is clear he is no friend of the Dragon Empire,” Ren replied. I could see him frowning as well probably trying to work out what I needed Bao Wang for.

The fact he was instantly recognized was a huge negative. Why didn’t he suggest a fake name or something? I might have taken all the points and left Bao Wang alive after the heist as paying back his debt to me for letting him live and get stronger. Now he was going to die for sure, but I couldn’t let him know that.

That was why I sided with him over the rebels. Bao Wang had value and had been trained up. These people had not. It wasn’t practical to switch out people. Also, Bao Wang looked clean and knew exactly what to do.

Changing people out now, would be a massive headache. So, the fast-food developer of human entertainment combined with human cuisine was getting a pass for now. It hit me. The Divine Empress had to know about consumption.

They weren’t even going to hybridization, but directly eating people. People that were served to the troops to save money. While most of them had unpowered, I had no doubt that the best bit went to the officers of the Empress’s army.

It would also explain the high stats across of the board for the Black Talons in comparison to the Envoy. He probably didn’t use consumption, but they all did to boost their stats and save crystals. I had been wrong about the Divine Empress.

She had somehow managed to maximize human cruelty and suffering while at the same time increasing her crystal income. No wonder why Bao Wang got promoted to Lord. He had clearly explained that only the Divine Empress could appoint people to the position.

While the Lord General ran the show, she was the ultimate decider and I felt I had a good enough grasp of how she ran things, she wouldn’t let anyone else have the authority to appoint a Lord in her place. She wasn’t just going to promote a bureaucrat or a sadist, but rather a sadist bureaucrat. It was the best of both worlds.

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“Let’s keep going,” I said and began to slowly walk. Everyone got moving again and Ren caught up to my side.

“Sorry about my people,” he said.

“It is water under the bridge,” I replied. No harm in letting things go. I still wanted to cause a scene to the North and the rebels were the perfect patsies.

“Well, don’t turn your back on him,” Ren added. I scoffed at that. Did he think I was stupid? There were two ways Bao Wang could really betray me, but he would just be signing his death warrant.

“I trust him to look after his self-interests,” I replied and deflected.

We continued on silently after that. We passed back through the intersection from before. All the debris was gone. We made our way through the intersection without incident and kept going through the mistlands.

“I notice Bao Wang is holding a rod,” Ren said quietly. It wasn’t a whisper, but he clearly wasn’t speaking loudly. “A Rod of Minor Calling?”

“Perhaps. If I wanted to kill you, I would just kill you. Also if I wanted to deliver you to the Divine Empress, we would be headed towards the Forbidden City, not away,” I countered his suspicions.

“Perhaps. But we have had issues with spies in the past. So please forgive me,” Ren said.

“It is fine. I would be the same way. I also understand the disparity in our respective power is disconcerting, but that is something you just have to deal with. Tell me about the spies?” I asked.

“Just the occasional high level or a person who has been around for a while defecting. Half the time they betrayed us. While most of them were killed, one or two got away, dealing great harm. Now we only recruit from new arrivals. But training people to get the stats is hard,” Ren said.

“You have to have crystals ready for them get a lot of stats right away. Since you travel through level 3 zones,” I pointed out.

“Unfortunately, yes. It isn’t my first choice, but our only choice to avoid the possibility of infiltration. I am not questioning your decision, but I am concerned that Bao Wang is with you,” Ren said.

“He has an important use to me. Once that is completed, we will go our separate ways. But until then he needs to remain unharmed and unmolested,” I explained.

“Don’t worry, there won’t be a problem,” Ren said.

“That is good to hear. So, more hiding after Wuhan?” I asked.

“And building back up slowly. We have suffered a lot of losses. And Danian is good as our main fighter, there are issues have you have seen. It is just one day at a time in this nightmare,” Ren said.

“So, you don’t think this is all simulation?” I asked.

“No. If it is, then it is so real as to be reality itself,” Ren explained.

“I am curious what you think the Systemic Lands are. I know everyone has some kind of guess. At least something,” I asked since I was curious what the people of the West and the Dragon Empire thought about the Almighty System and the Systemic Lands. It was the universal point of suffering we all shared.

“Before, I used to this as one of those adventures the kids all read. A magical world with powers and abilities. Now I think it is hell. One that everyone is tossed into to sort out their wickedness in their first life.” I nodded at that. The unrelenting misery of the evil empire would make a person change their perspective. “What about you Champion Michael?”

“Me? I think that the Almighty System is our new god. The old god or gods got kicked out of their jobs. The Almighty System moved in on their territory and now runs things like machine or an virtual intelligence would. Very powerful, but also very dumb. The waste, it is just mind boggling,” I said.

“Waste. That is a good way to put it. People die and die. More keep arriving. Will they eventually run out or will we start all over again?” Ren speculated.

“Well based on the time frame of things. I would say eventually people would run out. But that is thousands of years,” I answered.

“Every day seems longer and harder than the last. I will be surprised if I live another ten days, let alone ten years. A thousand years, I might just lay down and give up,” Ren muttered.

“But you won’t.”

“No. As long as there is breath in my body. I will keep fighting. Not just for me, but for all people to make this place just a bit less miserable. The Divine Empress is really wasteful,” he said.

“That I agree one hundred percent with. But her goal isn’t points or development, but accumulating human suffering,” I replied.

“That is a good way to put it, accumulating human suffering. Well, if you manage to get rid of her somehow, I will, what it is they say in the West, bend the knees.”

“Bend the knee,” I corrected.

“Bend the knee in gratitude.” He was the kind of man who just wanted the nightmare to end. I couldn’t really blame him for that. If I was under the Divine Empress’s rule, I would thank whomever got rid of her, man or monster.

We continued onwards passing into a level 2 zone and then the level 1 zone as it began to get dark. We called it a day a short distance from the city, which we would assault early tomorrow morning before dawn.

“I am concerned,” Ren said after everyone had settled down. “We didn’t pass a tribute cart.”

“A delay or hold up until they know the road is secure. Better to build up a savings than lose the tribute. The tribes are maintaining their distance to the road like always,” Fuyuka said.

“The tribes keep clear of the road. They are killed by the soldiers for sport and know to avoid it,” Ren clarified for me. I nodded my head towards him slightly in thanks for giving context to Fuyuka’s words.

“Well, we are going to smash open the city tomorrow. It will be good working with you,” Danian said to me. I had suspected him as a spy, but he was just too straightforward. If he was a spy he was a masterclass, world class, and god class actor.

Everyone broke up and the rebels set up a watch. I dozed off to get some sleep in.