Four Split Personalities

"This sort of thing..."

Yu Chen listened quietly to Motan’s analysis, tilting her little head in thought for a while before curiously asking, "Will it have a big impact?"

Motan sighed and nodded gently, "Definitely. Just think about it, if during a certain period you discovered a large number of high-dimensional beings somehow blending into your life, although they seem indistinguishable from us, they are still genuinely extraterrestrial life forms. What would you think?"

Yu Chen blinked and replied without hesitation, "If it’s someone like Motan... uh, high-dimensional beings, appearing in daily life, I suppose they could become good friends, right?"

Motan: "..."

"However, since I’m rather introverted..."

Yu Chen stuck out her tongue and quickly added, "So it would have to be you who greets me first, right? That, is it not very representative?"

A few black lines seemed to appear on Motan’s forehead as he shook his head with mixed feelings, "It’s not about being representative or not, that mindset of yours is quite bizarre, no matter where you put it."

Then, the girl lowered her head and fell silent.

"Ah, if everyone thought like you, we could probably easily achieve world peace."

Motan held his forehead and chuckled bitterly, spreading his hands, "They are of a different kind, so their hearts must differ. This kind of mindset is the common sense of the world. For Earthlings who can use even skin color differences as a pretext for attack, if they one day found out about high-dimensional beings like us players in The Realm of Innocence, their first reaction would definitely not be ’friendly coexistence’ or ’wait for the other side to initiate conversation before friendly coexistence.’ They would undoubtedly capture them for all kinds of dissections. Of course, this is based on the premise that there isn’t a huge power difference between the two parties. If the other side far surpasses oneself in every aspect and has no hostility, perhaps a facade of peace may arise. Ten generations later, pretense might turn into reality, but if the other party’s tangible strength is weaker than or similar to one’s own... heh, ninety-nine percent would rather wrongfully kill a thousand than let one go."

"But... there’s always other possibilities, right?"

Yu Chen, not being the naively idealistic type or an ignorant girl living in an ivory tower oblivious to reality, still tried to contemplate alternative methods besides resorting to violence.

Motan nodded with particular approval, "Certainly, if it happened in G Province, you might end up on a dinner plate before being sent for research."

"Hey!!"

"Speaking of which, if it happened in F Province, it’s easy for people from G Province to capture and cook them."

"Stop with the cannibalism jokes! Think about the feelings of the people in G Province!"

Even a nice girl like Yu Chen was driven to make a complaint.

"Cough, right, right, I’ll stop messing around."

Motan shrank his neck and said with a sheepish laugh, "Anyway, your previous idea is not impossible, but... my Saintess, even if some common people like us could accept and even want to be friends with a non-hostile party, it’s likely that those who can influence the situation are not us. The cold and precise national machinery would be the decision-makers. Those who truly have the authority to respond would not think like you and me. Let’s say, hypothetically, if I were a head of state rather than a freeloading shut-in, I too would make rational and cold decisions. As the saying goes, to rule in your position is to act in your capacity. Before confirming that there is no threat, necessary vigilance, even inhumane probing, is indispensable. Even if there’s a one in ten thousand chance of losing control of the situation, the superiors must nip it in the bud. It’s a matter of responsibility and duty."

The girl was silent for a long time, then looked up seriously at Motan, her little face full of earnestness: "I don’t think Motan is a do-nothing shut-in!"

Motan: "...That’s what you’ve been holding back to say?"

Yu Chen nodded vigorously, "Mhm!"

"Alright, in any case, what I mean is that it’s only a matter of time before most NPCs find out about us players," said Motan, scratching his cheek, speaking softly. "Of course, this place is ultimately different from the real world, after all, it has a more fantastical setup. Even the natives living on the Innocent Continent represent many races, Dwarves, Elves, Lizardmen, Half-Dragon People, Humans, Goblins, Gnomes, Dragons, and even intelligent Undead Creatures, etc. They’ve built a society that has discarded racial concepts and is relatively harmonious, so their xenophobia isn’t too extreme. But ’extraterrestrial visitors’ is an entirely different concept."

Yu Chen didn’t interject, she just quietly sat beside Motan, her lips curled into a peaceful smile.

She was smart, so from the start, she had detected the undertone in his words.

"NPCs in this world are no less intelligent than us players, and among them, some are extraordinary and vastly surpass most ordinary people," Motan whispered, thoughts of Luwei Fitzelban from Sky Pillar Mountain and Hugh Bresen from the Violet Empire flashing in his mind. "They are observant, meticulous, and extraordinarily wise. Though naturally a dimension lower than us, if the system doesn’t impose restrictions, it wouldn’t be too difficult for these people to figure out ’players.’ And the system of The Realm of Innocence really hasn’t limited them. On the contrary, most players wouldn’t bother concealing their identities in a virtual game. With that as a premise, those of us who can disappear in an instant, who always have space storage items no matter how poor, who speak words others can’t understand, and even those who can’t truly die, would find it hard to hide."