Hearing Rookie's words, everyone's brows unconsciously tightened a little. They looked at each other, but no one knew how to begin asking questions. Seeing this, Entity 303 was the first to speak and break the silence.
"What do you mean by making the HIM of the surface world completely disappear?…", Entity 303 frowned deeply, his tone full of confusion.
Seeing Entity 303 bring up HIM, the Ender Queen beside him hurriedly cut in, "Whether for public reasons or personal ones, I hope our king can safely return to our side again."
At this point, her delicate brows knitted tightly. There seemed to be some unease in her eyes. After pausing for a moment, she finally spoke again, "But if the price is the disappearance of the real HIM… forgive me, I cannot accept it…"
After saying what was buried deep in her heart, the Ender Queen slowly lowered her head, like a child who had said something wrong, not daring to make eye contact with anyone else.
After taking a deep breath, she hurriedly tried to explain her words, "In my view, the real HIM is the same as our king. They are both heroes of their generation, both existences I deeply respect…"
"So I… I think it shouldn't be like this… I can't accept it…"
The usually sharp-tongued Ender Queen now found herself unable to properly express what she meant.
———
Earlier, when many people learned about the existence of the real HIM, the game forums were instantly flooded with posts comparing the real HIM and Xu Yuan.
These posts carefully examined and compared the two from many aspects, such as who was stronger, who deserved more respect, and so on.
However, the people participating in the discussions argued endlessly. Everyone stuck to their own opinions, and no conclusion could ever be reached.
But if you traced it back to the source, whether it was the authors of those posts or the people commenting on them, none of them had actually met the real HIM or Xu Yuan. Naturally, they had no way to truly understand either of them.
So all those comparisons were nothing more than purely subjective guesses based on the scattered and one-sided information they had managed to gather.
In fact, the real HIM and Xu Yuan were not comparable at all.
Both of them were irreplaceable shining figures. There was simply nothing between them that could be used as a standard of comparison.
Both of them had made sacrifices for this world. Both of them had done everything they could to protect it. Those comparisons were completely groundless.
However, if someone really insisted on digging to the bottom of things and comparing the two, then the only person qualified to give the most authoritative conclusion would be the Ender Queen.
The Ender Queen was currently the only one who still remembered the past and had fought side by side with both the real HIM and Xu Yuan.
She understood both of them. Because of that, whatever she said naturally carried the greatest authority.
Logically speaking, the Ender Queen had spent more time with Xu Yuan and was closer to him.
Not only that, deep in her heart she was also deeply in love with Xu Yuan. It could be said that whenever anything happened, she would definitely consider Xu Yuan's interests and safety first.
But at this very moment, she showed no favoritism toward Xu Yuan at all.
Just as she said, whether it was the real HIM or Xu Yuan, both were great beings worthy of admiration and respect.
Just as she said, both the real HIM and Xu Yuan were figures worthy of reverence. They were the faith of countless living beings.
The disappearance of either one of them would bring a heavy blow to countless lives.
Especially the idea of sacrificing the real HIM to bring Xu Yuan back was something the Ender Queen simply could not accept.
Although she sincerely wished for Xu Yuan to return safely, she could never accept such a method.
After explaining what she truly thought, the Ender Queen still did not lift her head. She felt uneasy inside, her hands unconsciously picking at her fingernails.
She was afraid everyone would blame her. After all, the plan Rookie mentioned seemed to be the only one right now, yet she had spoken out against it.
And aside from the Dragon Prophet, the Last Dancer, and the Dreadlord, most of the others here knew nothing about the real HIM.
Naturally, they had no personal feelings toward him either.
However, it was understandable why the Ender Queen would think this way. She had previously been immersed in her love for Xu Yuan and simply had no time to get to know the others.
If she had spent even a little more time with them, she would not feel this uneasy right now.
Seeing the Ender Queen show such a timid expression for the first time ever, Entity 303 truly wanted to record this moment and play it on repeat in front of her later.
Unfortunately, he knew very well that now was not the time for jokes. After patting the Ender Queen on the shoulder, he spoke to comfort her, "It's not just you who can't accept it. I can't either."
"Even though I've never had any contact with the real HIM, everyone can see the contributions he's made to this world."
"Besides, without him, we wouldn't have met our king. Or rather, without him, there wouldn't even be us, right?"
"I believe if our king knew that the way to save him was to sacrifice the real HIM, he would absolutely never allow us to do that."
Although the atmosphere was very serious, after hearing Entity 303's words, everyone smiled knowingly and echoed his thoughts.
"If something like this even needs to be said, then what are we? Some kind of vicious villains?"
"Our king chose to trade his own life for the lives of those living beings. If we now used the real HIM's life to bring him back, then what meaning would his choice and sacrifice even have?"
"This isn't a good plan. Let's think of another way."
"…"
Hearing everyone's words, the Ender Queen still did not raise her head, but her fingers dug even harder at her nails. She tried her best to hold back the tears gathering in her eyes.
But just as she calmed herself slightly and was about to speak, she was interrupted by Rookie.
Even though everyone had completely misunderstood him and talked for quite a while, he had not interrupted them.
Because those words represented the growth of everyone present.
Everyone here held an almost fanatical faith in Xu Yuan. Yet even so, when faced with the need to sacrifice the life of someone unrelated to them in order to bring back the king they revered, every single one of them chose to refuse.
Wasn't this exactly the final choice Xu Yuan had made in the surface world?
Wasn't this a kind of inheritance?
Xu Yuan was no longer just one person. He had become a belief hidden deep within everyone's hearts. It could be said that at this very moment, every one of them was Xu Yuan.
Thinking of this, Rookie let out a long breath. The expression on his face finally relaxed a bit. After sweeping his gaze across everyone, he spoke, "Although you just wasted quite a bit of time, what you said did give me some peace of mind."
"You all talked so righteously it almost made me sound like some sewer rat."
"People are influenced by those around them. If my thoughts were really that dark, then Entity 303 wouldn't be any better either."
"Relax. My plan doesn't require sacrificing anyone."
"The real HIM and Xu Yuan, we're going to save them both!"