Chapter 112

"Old Yuan, I truly do not wish to kill you, but the way you speak makes you sound like anything but a good person," Li Daoran stared at Yuan Muye and said slowly.

"You really are insane," Yuan Muye said, unable to comprehend the situation and feeling nothing but angry.

"Do you want to rule humanity?" Li Daoran asked.

"I do not," Yuan Muye replied, turning his head away.

"You don't? Then why make me do it?" Li Daoran countered.

"Based on what you said, you have the qualifications."

"Having the qualifications means I must do it? Why? On what grounds?" Li Daoran appeared to be interrogating Yuan Muye, but in reality, he was laying his heart bare to the world of Aquamarine.

"I have never wanted to rule anyone, nor have I ever wanted to be responsible for anyone. I do what I please—is that any of your business? Don't try to press me with grand notions of 'humanity's best interests.' My life is my own. I've finally realized that I don't owe you anything. If you want to help, then help; if you don't, then get lost. I’m done playing along.

"Do whatever you want—let the world fall into chaos for all I care. What does it have to do with me? What is this nonsense about the world being doomed if I’m around? Why? Would the world be peaceful without me? And this talk about me becoming the god of this world—I am a successor of socialism, I don't play that game.

"Listen well: I am going to live my life exactly as I please. You all can do whatever you want. If you accidentally die, don't blame me; it wasn't me who tied your fates to mine. If you must blame someone, blame yourselves for lacking the ability to break free. Honestly, I’ve had enough of this frustration." Li Daoran could no longer suppress the fire in his heart. It seemed that ever since the inexplicable situation on Aquamarine began, every finger had been pointed at him.

He did not need Natasha’s calculated seduction, nor did he need Charles’s humiliating apologies. He did not want to be the scapegoat for global instability, and he certainly did not want to be the god David kept talking about.

He wanted the love of his parents, he wanted to go out and have fun with his classmates, and he wanted to play games when he had free time—not study a heap of useless, messy skills. He wanted to sleep whenever he felt like it, rather than having to exercise the moment he found a spare second.

It is lonely at the top. Standing at the pinnacle of humanity, Li Daoran felt not a shred of joy. He had always been striving for the sake of others, doing the absolute best he could, yet there was always someone telling him it wasn't enough, that it was too dangerous, or that he should do something else. He was fed up and exhausted.

This time, when he finally sought out someone from the 'Daoran World' to confide in—looking for understanding, comfort, and an outsider's perspective—the result made him want to kill someone. "Disappointed" was not even close to describing his state of mind.

In his fury, he chose to return directly to Aquamarine.

***

Li Daoran opens his mouth, and the PR team runs their legs off.

The Aquamarine public relations team was facing a massive challenge once again, but fortunately, Li Daoran didn't seem to intend on letting them step in this time; he was going to have a moment of madness all by himself.

Opening his eyes, Li Daoran watched as Tam in his room swung a small hammer with a *thud*, smashing a hole in the wall to extract a miniature surveillance device. The wall was already pockmarked with holes, and there were several more on the floor.

Tam looked back at Li Daoran, awkward and at a loss, saying, "Why are you back? I’ll have this patched up in a moment."

"It's fine, keep doing what you're doing. Just remember to clear it all out." Li Daoran didn't bother turning off the live stream; he nodded at Tam, opened the door, and walked out.

Tam scratched his head, flashed a grin revealing white teeth, walked to the bed, shoved it aside, and hammered another hole in the wall behind it.

Li Daoran looked at the four people in the living room and said with a mocking smile, "Oh, you're all here. I’ve caused you some trouble, haven't I? Sorry about that."

With that, he gave a bow.

David gave a bitter smile. This was Li Daoran’s true face. After suppressing it for so long, he had finally bared his fangs. This was exactly what David wanted, though it had happened a bit sooner than he had anticipated.

Li Daoran walked up to Natasha, gently lifted her chin with his finger, and stared at her.

Natasha put on the demeanor of a dainty woman, her face flushing naturally as if she were shy.

But Li Daoran remained unmoved. He simply lowered his gaze to look beneath her dress. Then, he let go of Natasha. He had already gotten what he wanted—that expanse of snow-white skin was coated in a nearly invisible white powder. What was it hiding? Was it the red burn from that scalding cup of coffee?

Natasha remained composed; she knew Li Daoran had seen through it, but what did it matter?

Li Daoran walked over to Charles, took the cane from his hand, swung it around a few times, and then handed it back.

"David, open the laptop and connect it to the screen. Hmm, let's just start a live forum thread. It's been a while since I've gotten into a debate. Today, I'm laying my cards on the table: I no longer want to be the savior you all talk about. I am shedding every single title placed upon me. Who agrees? Who objects?"

***

David obediently connected the laptop to the large screen and opened a live forum thread visible to everyone.

This website had been built specifically for Li Daoran, utilizing the largest server in the world, solely for his communication with the outside. Li Daoran’s move today was expected, or rather, it was a contingency plan.

Within a single minute, the number of people flooding in surpassed 300 million, yet the screen remained blank because posting was not an easy task.

Afterward, the number stabilized at ten million. The server had been struggling the moment the influx began, starting to kick users and shunt traffic. These ten million represented ten million small servers—in essence, it was displaying ten thousand small forums.

From this, one could see what a massive challenge Li Daoran’s whim posed to the entire world.

In these ten short minutes, they had burned through at least ten billion in costs.

"It's ready," David said, putting on his headset and speaking to Li Daoran.

Li Daoran nodded and said, "Hello, we meet again. I hope you are all in good health. Well, I'm not very happy today, or rather, I haven't been happy since February 30th. Today, I’m here to debate with you all. I believe you have a lot to say to me, and as it happens, I have a lot to say to you too. Let's have a frank discussion today. David, bring me some wine."

"No," David said without a second thought. There were limits to how much he would let Li Daoran act out.

"A pity. I wanted to get drunk with everyone. Back in the day, I could drink a thousand cups without getting tipsy. Otherwise, I’d definitely have put on a show for you," Li Daoran said, shaking his head with regret.

"I know, it's hard for me to drink now. So, whoever wants to talk to me, drink first. How much? Whatever you like. Alright, let's begin. Everyone, show me what you've got." Li Daoran leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs. There was no camera pointed at him this time, so others could not see him.

However, they could see through his perspective on the screen quite clearly. Most people chose to watch through his eyes; after all, those who truly wanted to speak were the minority, while most remained in a wait-and-see stance.

No one missed this conversation that would decide the future of humanity. Although it felt a bit unconventional and unserious due to Li Daoran’s antics, every person on Earth knew how critical and important it was.