As the post gained traction, many people commented: "Taking notes," "Our Gathering Point just had a meeting and we’re going to do the same thing!" and "Let’s get these mutual protection alliances going! Since the government won’t stop the strong from preying on the weak, we’ll protect ourselves!"
Guan Tong couldn’t help but marvel at the power of human initiative and collective will.
If the people in the Gathering Points could truly unite, place their challenges in the immediate vicinity, and post patrols and sentries around the clock, any outsider who wanted to attempt a challenge would face enormous risk.
Guan Tong understood this all too well from personal experience. Back on Skytop Mountain, if his own power hadn’t so greatly surpassed that of the camp’s inhabitants, he might have struggled to even get away.
’If the Gathering Points in the cities quickly reach a consensus and form these mutual protection alliances, most powerful Ascenders will be out of options. They’ll have no choice but to turn their attention to the loosely organized campers outside the cities...’
’...It’s also worth noting that, aside from releasing the intel, the government has made no other official statements. They aren’t stopping the strong from seizing first place from others, nor are they stopping the Gathering Points from forming mutual protection alliances...’
Guan Tong figured the government was probably caught between a rock and a hard place. If they condemned the strong, how could they justify their own centralized resource distribution system? And if they tried to stop the Gathering Points from violently attacking challengers, they would lose all credibility with the public.
So, they simply refused to take a stance, letting the strong and the weak each find their own ways to seize or protect their interests.
’That’s fine by me.’
Guan Tong himself wasn’t inclined to enter the cities to take challenges from the people there. His targets were mostly in the wilderness.
It wasn’t just about the risk assessment. As he’d thought before, people had to be responsible for their own choices.
People who chose to stay in the cities had their movements restricted and their items and Sublimation Coins distributed collectively, but in exchange, they received protection from the government in all aspects.
And those who chose to leave the cities and live in the wilderness opted for freedom of movement, but they no longer had anyone to provide them with sanctuary.
So if their first-place spot was taken, who could they blame? Would they wonder if it would have been better not to leave the city, where they could have used a shelter or a Gathering Point collective to protect their ranking?
You make a choice, you accept the consequences. For this reason, Guan Tong felt no shame in taking first place from others. This was simply a reality one had to face after choosing to enter the law of the jungle that was the wilderness.
He scrolled down and discovered a peculiar post.
The post’s popularity was second only to the "strategy threads," with replies already numbering in the thousands and growing rapidly.
The post’s title read: "Calling For/Compiling a List of Challenges Created by Supporters."
Supporters...
The word in the title caught Guan Tong’s attention. He opened the thread, and the original poster had unloaded with a long, fiery post on the first floor.
"First off, some of you might not know what I mean by ’Supporters.’ To put it bluntly, they’re Ascenders controlled by certain organizations and groups, forced to provide resources for the key individuals those organizations are cultivating! These people are Supporters. To put it more crudely, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them ’human resource farms.’
"Let me give you an example. The most typical model of this is the Tulip Federation’s: Flock—Wolf Pack—Alpha Wolf model."
"Most of you have probably never heard of this, but the Tulip Federation now divides all the Ascenders in their country into three categories:"
"The Alpha Wolf is the chosen strongest, and all resources are funneled to them first. The Wolf Pack is a group of powerful individuals surrounding the Alpha Wolf, second only to them in status, who also receive prioritized resources. And the Flock... they are the ones responsible for providing the resources. They’re the Supporters I mentioned in the title!"
"How do I know this so clearly? Simple. I’m in a city in the Tulip Federation right now, and I’m one of the Ascenders in the Flock! My Sublimation Coins, my items, and even the challenge I have to create for this event—all of it must be used to serve the Wolf Pack and the Alpha Wolf. If we don’t comply, we’ll be publicly executed!"
"So, why am I posting this? First, this website is the safest place to be. I can speak the truth without fear of being traced. Second, I believe that we ordinary people shouldn’t be treated like this. We need to launch our own counterattack!"
"And I believe one way to fight back is for us Supporters to publicly post the details of the challenges our superiors are forcing us to create. Then, I’m begging the truly powerful individuals from every country, or any capable public groups out there, to go and take first place in these challenges! The more you take, the faster this entire support system will collapse!"