Chapter 141: Choice

To be honest, Guo Lang was not particularly eager to venture into the next plane at the moment. The current plane had just begun to develop, and there were still many loose ends to tie up. Furthermore, when a plane reached its harvest season, one needed time to consolidate and elevate oneself!

Apart from training more military units and unlocking additional technologies, the most crucial task was to gather the energy points of this plane. These energy points could be used to purchase professional training courses and high-level training rooms, both of which were essential for personal advancement.

Although the plane Guo Lang was currently in was not exceptionally powerful, raising him to the Silver tier within a year posed little problem. Besides, Guo Lang himself intended to hunker down for a period before attempting to develop the next plane. He was naturally a cautious person who preferred playing it safe. Having secured an advantage, he had no intention of taking overly aggressive strides; instead, he planned to progress steadily step by step!

The opportunity of a recruitment plane was immense. If he succeeded, he would stand among the top tier for a long time to come. If he could maintain that momentum afterwards—no, even if his subsequent progress slowed down—he would still rank among the absolute elite of the world!

High rewards, however, came with high risks. This was common sense. Every single thing in this world possessed two opposing sides—a principle Guo Lang had always firmly believed in. Since a recruitment plane offered such enormous opportunities, it naturally harbored matching dangers!

The so-called recruitment plane was what players commonly referred to as a hidden plane. These planes often displayed weak energy on the surface; whether in terms of technology, biological strength, or demonic energy intensity, they appeared unremarkable. Yet, such planes possessed extraordinary potential!

For instance, if it were not a magical plane, it undoubtedly harbored unimaginable technology hidden in obscure places. A plane called Atlantis, for example, contained a location that housed a technological civilization surpassing the constraints of its era!

Of course, it could also possess magical potential—meaning the plane displayed low energy on the surface, but actually concealed a vast amount of things deep within, known as being sealed. In Eastern terminology, it was called the Age of Dharma Ending. Once the seal was lifted, all ancient powers would flood back into the plane, and you, having already occupied it, would naturally reap tremendous benefits!

Correspondingly, one had to bear the risks involved. For instance, could you digest this plane when your level was relatively low? Theoretically, if handled properly, it was possible. However, the Gaia plane would inevitably rebound, and the severity of the rebound depended entirely on your performance. That was the first risk!

Secondly, there was the competition. Since it was a multi-racial contest, the various races would undoubtedly dispatch their most exceptional individuals. This was something Guo Lang was rather reluctant to face!

His title as the Night Elf champion was somewhat watery. Without utilizing special states, anyone in his squad possessed an aptitude superior to his own! Yet none of them had received an invitation, not even qualifying for a ticket. One could easily imagine what kind of people Guo Lang would face if he went there!

They might not necessarily possess terrifying combat power, but their potential was undoubtedly recognized by the Main God as the absolute finest existence. Out of fifty million people, after being sifted and filtered, those whom the Main God deemed most suitable and outstanding—Guo Lang stood not a fraction of a chance against them!

Heaven knew what kind of freaks they would be! He had struggled so bitterly just fighting a mere undead; in a multi-party melee filled with apex big shots like those, Guo Lang had zero desire to get involved! Cuddling his foreign girlfriend and slowly leveling up to Silver was the ultimate path to happiness!

Therefore, after pondering for a long while, Guo Lang flatly refused.

Little Tao, however, did not let him off the hook immediately. Instead, she tempted him: "Master, this is an exceptional opportunity. Once you succeed, not only will you win glory for your lord, but you will also reap immense personal benefits. Let me tell you, a plane like this..."

"Not interested!" Guo Lang stated bluntly. "No matter how great the benefits are, I have to be able to digest them first. As for Main God glory... what the hell is that?"

"Do you consider glory to be completely worthless?"

Guo Lang picked his nose, too lazy to reply to such an embarrassing question within the conscious realm.

"May I ask why you are refusing such a wonderful opportunity?"

"Afraid of death!" Guo Lang continued to pick his nose. Laura, sitting beside him, slapped his hand and chided, "We're eating! What on earth are you doing?"

"Oh, oh..." Guo Lang smiled sheepishly at the others.

"Were you talking to the AI just now?" Xielin asked with a gentle smile. "Care to share? What happened?"

"This..." Guo Lang hesitated for a moment. It wasn't that it couldn't be spoken of, and after a brief pause, he decided to reveal the matter.

After listening to the story, everyone wore vastly different expressions. Jiang Liuying slammed the table, stood up, and roared indignantly, "Are you kidding me? There are people in the Blood Essence race even more outstanding than yours truly? Is the Main God blind?"

Everyone sweatdropped. Guo Lang rolled his eyes even harder: "Could you show a little poise? You're already referring to yourself as 'yours truly'? Your style has completely changed, classmate!"

"Shut up, you salted fish!" Jiang Liuying retorted ungraciously. "Had I known, I would have chosen the Night Elves too. It's great having fewer people—how on earth did you manage to be number one?"

Hearing this, Guo Lang choked slightly, and the oatmeal he had just swallowed almost sprayed out. "Hey, I didn't provoke you. No personal attacks, please!"

Cang Mingyue, sitting nearby with an icy expression, suddenly stood up. "Settle my energy points. I'm leaving!"

"Huh?" Guo Lang blinked in surprise, feeling the atmosphere had turned rather strange. Did things really warrant such excitement?

At that moment, Ye Zhiqiang also stood up and rubbed his bald head. "Ah, I need to go too. You should settle my reward as well!"

"This..." Guo Lang was somewhat baffled. Although this outcome was music to his ears, the sudden turn of events caught him off guard. He asked, "Why... the sudden rush?"

"I have to be rushed!" Ye Zhiqiang's expression was solemn. "I always thought I was quite strong, but after meeting you guys, I realized I might not be all that impressive. Still, I figured people like you must be exceptions. But just now, you told me that the others"—Ye Zhiqiang pointed at Cang Mingyue—"aren't even the strongest among them. I suddenly felt I had no time to waste!"

Guo Lang was left speechless, the corners of his mouth twitching. "There were fifty million people... talents emerge in droves. What's so strange about not being the strongest? Aren't you guys harboring a bit too much self-admiration?"

"Perhaps so..." Ye Zhiqiang smiled, but then added with utmost seriousness, "However, we all entered the game at the exact same time, which means our starting points were identical. So... why couldn't I be the strongest?"

"This..." Guo Lang was stumped by the question, a flicker of astonishment flashing through his heart. That logic was truly simple and brutal. Guo Lang desperately wanted to explain the issue using a myriad of factors—such as the game not being entirely fair, early stages relying heavily on luck, and so forth... but for some reason, he simply couldn't get the words out.

He had a vague feeling that once he offered such explanations... he would permanently relegate himself to the ranks of the weak. Most weaklings were rational... especially in an era ruled by the law of the jungle; most possessed self-awareness and understood one fundamental truth: many things in this world could be accomplished by others but not by oneself, so one should never overestimate one's capabilities!

Yet, the strong were precisely those individuals who dared to overestimate themselves. Ye Zhiqiang's mindset was remarkably pure: since everyone entered the game at the same time, why couldn't the strongest person be him?

Guo Lang suddenly understood why this man would be capable of creating miracles in the future. Because at the very least, this person truly believed he could achieve it. The strong... should always harbor ambitions higher than the heavens!

Guo Lang was moved... For a split second, an intense urge washed over him to accept that recruitment mission. He wondered: if Ye Zhiqiang were facing this exact choice right now, he would probably participate in the recruitment without a moment's hesitation, wouldn't he?

In his mind, so what if he had to face the top prodigies? Who could definitively say that he was bound to fail?

"Alright!" Xielin suddenly stood up and clapped his hands. "Since it's like this, let's all leave together. After all, the master has been wanting to chase us out for ages anyway, right?"

"Ahem..." Guo Lang flushed upon hearing this. "Don't talk nonsense. It's mainly because I was afraid of delaying your development. After all, you've already lingered here for quite a while. It's indeed time to head back and check on things, isn't it?"

"Heh!" Xielin smiled without a word, making Guo Lang feel even more awkward!

Subsequently, Guo Lang settled the energy point transactions one by one. Jiang Liuying stubbornly insisted on auditing the trade publicly, terrified she might get the short end of the stick. After a noisy commotion that lasted quite a while, everything was finally wrapped up, and Guo Lang activated the plane portal!

As everyone prepared to leave, Cang Mingyue, walking at the very back, suddenly turned around and asked, "Are you going?"

Guo Lang froze slightly, never expecting this fellow to possess a gossipy streak. He then shook his head. "Probably not..."

"Is that so..." Cang Mingyue turned away expressionlessly and stepped into the portal. Just before leaving, however, she dropped a parting remark: "If it were the you of yesterday, you probably would have gone, right?"

Guo Lang stiffened upon hearing those words, staring blankly at the glowing portal. Long after she had departed, he remained rooted to the spot in a daze, her words echoing endlessly in his mind: *“If it were the you of yesterday...”*