World’s End: My Keyword is One More Than Others

"Idiot, useless fool. I invested so much mental power in him, and that dog got taken out by Du Ge in one encounter. It's infuriating."

"He was caught off guard. Although he was questioning Du Ge, he had already let down his guard against him."

"I know this guy. He barely made a move in the last Alien Star Battlefield until the end. It's normal he couldn't keep up with Du Ge's pace."

"Haven't you noticed how smoothly Du Ge operates? Guo Yougui was in the top ten, yet he acted like a fool when facing him. And he's supposed to be a veteran Alien Star warrior."

"Du Ge has always been ruthless and steady."

"And quite daring too!"

"Exactly, that's what feels off. Isn't Du Ge's keyword supposed to be 'low profile'? Yet, he's leading everything on Bi Xing. His actions are anything but low-key. Isn't it strange that his high-profile behavior hasn't backfired?"

"Because no one has exposed his identity. Everyone knows there's a mastermind behind the Homeland Defense Bureau, but no one knows who it is. Those who do know Du Ge's identity aren't speaking, and now even Gao Ming has been set up by Du Ge to take the blame and draw attention."

"With the Battle Network, Lin Hong did so much, yet his reputation only reached the Homeland Defense Bureau and the Academy of Sciences. If that's not low-key, then what is? In the previous Alien Star Battlefield, Du Ge's actions would have made him famous worldwide."

"Now that you mention it, it does seem unusual. There are indeed more women around Du Ge, and none of them have betrayed him. Nalan Li used to have a normal level of intelligence and judgment, but now she almost blindly follows Du Ge."

"Jing Aizhen also seems off. Her keyword is 'slaughter,' yet she didn't seek revenge for her people immediately."

"Does she dare? Not acting means she can still live; acting means there's no chance at all."

"Still, it's odd. Given Du Ge's caution, killing everyone would be more beneficial to him. Otherwise, any betrayal could lead to unpredictable consequences."

"Exactly. He attacked the general of the Seventh Army Group to cover his tracks, but aside from fighting Xu Wan, he hasn't harmed any other female characters."

"Honestly, I can't quite understand Du Ge's actions. He's putting himself in a very dangerous position. Covering his tracks only prevents others from exposing his identity but doesn't eliminate their hostility..."

"Du Ge has already said he wants to extend this Alien Star Battlefield, so keeping enemies is necessary. This might stem from his confidence."

"I'm curious to see how he manages to control the situation while extending the battle line, especially since everyone else is ready for the final showdown..."

...

Slaughter!

Divination!

Aside from Jing Aizhen and Yuan Xiaoyan, no one else has a useful keyword.

Skipping over Jing Aizhen, Du Ge's gaze fell on Yuan Xiaoyan. "What fate did you divine for yourself?"

"A hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix." Yuan Xiaoyan glanced at Du Ge, then at Jing Aizhen and the others, chuckled awkwardly, and said, "It's not just me. Jing Aizhen and the others have the same divination, but I didn't dare tell Guo Yougui and them, because according to this hexagram, none of us will be in danger."

The hen crowing at dawn?

A hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix?

Jing Aizhen's eyebrows twitched slightly. Does this hexagram imply that we are to become someone else's subordinates, like Xu Wan?

...

Du Ge was also quite surprised.

Damn!

Is this hexagram really that accurate?

The hexagram of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix matches perfectly with his skill of springtime awakening!

You know, the phoenix among the birds is male!

"Can you divine whether my upcoming plan will succeed?" Du Ge asked curiously.

"Deceive the heavens and cross the sea." Yuan Xiaoyan glanced at Du Ge and mentioned another hexagram.

"So, it means fooling everyone?" Jing Aizhen asked in astonishment.

"That's probably what it means," Yuan Xiaoyan stammered, "Sometimes I can't interpret the hexagrams accurately."

Indeed!

Fooling everyone.

As expected, fortune-tellers throughout history never make things clear. A single 'deceive the heavens and cross the sea' covers almost everything!

Du Ge shook his head secretly and laughed, "Deceiving the heavens and crossing the sea is indeed a good omen, but the hexagrams are too variable. I believe more in human effort."

"Yes," Jing Aizhen nodded in agreement, "Lin Hong, Guo Yougui is dead. How do you plan to arrange for us?"

"Yu Bo and Yuan Xiaoyan will stay. You take the others and escape," Du Ge looked around at everyone and said, "You can't put all your eggs in one basket. If we fail, you will be the seeds of Blue Star. There must be other Blue Star people scattered outside. Find a way to gather them and start anew."

"Wouldn't it be better if we united?" Jing Aizhen asked in confusion. She instinctively didn't want to be separated from Du Ge and found an excuse, "Since you want us to start anew, why did you kill Guo Yougui and the others? They were also the main fighting force of Blue Star..."

"It's simple. Because I am Du Ge, I won't allow a single entity to dominate the Homeland Defense Bureau. At least on the surface, we need to distance ourselves from Blue Star. Jing Aizhen, separating doesn't mean we won't be in contact.

When something happens, we can unite openly and covertly, making it more advantageous to act. At critical moments, you can even ally with people from other planets to attack the Homeland Defense Bureau, inviting them into the trap," Du Ge explained, "To achieve great things, one must not be constrained by minor details. As long as we can achieve final victory, some sacrifices must be made."

"Lin Hong, you won't sacrifice us in the end, will you?" Jing Aizhen looked at Du Ge with a somewhat complex expression.

"If there were to be sacrifices, you would have died just now, unless you lack the ability and die in the chaos. Otherwise, no one else from Blue Star will die," Du Ge said seriously. As he spoke, he turned to Yuan Xiaoyan to change the subject, "Xiao Yuan, divine a hexagram for Jing Aizhen and the others, see what their prospects are?"

After discovering that Yuan Xiaoyan's divinations had multiple interpretations, Du Ge became fond of using this method to boost morale. After all, the right to interpret was in his hands.

"Seek life in death." Yuan Xiaoyan paused for a moment and said.

Well!

This time, no explanation is needed!

Du Ge smiled, "Now are you reassured?"

Jing Aizhen nodded silently and asked Du Ge, "When Guo Yougui asked who you were earlier, you killed him. Can I know your real name on Blue Star?"

"Geng Qing." Du Ge glanced at her, borrowing Xu Wan's real name. He was a meticulous person and had previously inquired about many details of Blue Star from Xu Wan to prepare for the current situation.

Fortunately, the situation on Blue Star was similar to that on Qi Yuan Star. The Alien Star warriors were not familiar with each other. Knowing a name was already quite good, and they wouldn't pry into each other's past.

After asking for Du Ge's name, Jing Aizhen didn't pursue more information. After everyone exchanged contact information, she led her former subordinates and the remaining people away in a hurry.

...

Yu Bo remained silent throughout.

He vaguely sensed something was off with Jing Aizhen and the others, but the ruthless Du Ge made him bury all his thoughts deep inside.

Even so, he couldn't escape a beating from Du Ge.

However.

Du Ge didn't beat him in front of Xu Wan and the others but dragged him into Xin Tianyang's Mirror Space for a thorough thrashing.

After coming out of the Mirror Space, Yu Bo's injuries healed.

But the beating made him realize that Lin Hong was definitely not from Blue Star.

There's a high chance he is the real Du Ge, but being isolated and alone, he kept this guessed truth to himself.

Playing dumb meant survival; dying meant nothing.

...

After conquering the Kingdom of Malta, the Homeland Defense Bureau finally officially announced their glorious victory over the Marta nation.

The bodies of Guo Yougui and others were blurred out, and their keywords and skills, along with their crimes, were publicly announced. They emphasized again that the Alien Star warriors of Bi Xing should accept supervision and abandon actions that would divide Bi Xing.

They also pointed out organizations like the Sixteenth Army Group, Bi Xing Business Union, and Assembly Line Organization, which were clearly controlled by Alien Star warriors, as their next targets...

With the Seventh Army Group's footage of entering the Kingdom of Malta, the Homeland Defense Bureau finally had a moment of pride on the Battle Network.

...

Leaving the Seventh Army Group to clean up the aftermath in the Kingdom of Malta.

Du Ge and others returned to the Imperial Capital.

Nalan Li detected that members of the Assembly Line Organization, Business Union, and Benevolence Association had split into two groups, one heading to Gao Ming's Haibin City, and the other gathering near the Imperial Capital.

Every Bi Xing person's Battle Network ID is locked, and no matter how they change their names, the Battle Network server can trace them back to their origins.

Alien Star warriors need to spread their influence through the Battle Network, so tracking their movements is not difficult.

So many Alien Star warriors coming to the Imperial Capital have only one purpose: to control the leadership center of Bi Xing and target the space battle line. This was already within Du Ge's expectations; there's no reason others wouldn't think of what he did.

The power center has the highest authority to control the space battle line, so protecting the president has become the top priority.

Of course, Du Ge had his own reasons for returning to the Imperial Capital. He couldn't allow any possibility of his identity being leaked.

Thus, the top-secret files about him created by the president must be destroyed, and everyone who knew his identity must be beaten by him.

The sooner, the better.

A day later, it could push him into an abyss.

Therefore.

On the day Nalan Li returned to the Imperial Capital, Bi Xing's highest power center encountered an unprecedented attack.

The vice president, secretary of state, ministers of various key departments, secretaries, etc., anyone who had access to confidential files, all received a brutal slap from a mysterious person.

The security of the Presidential Palace was useless against the assassin. The soldiers on duty outside didn't even see the shadow of the assassin, and the surveillance cameras could only capture a blurry shadow.

With the experience inherited from Guo Yougui, the chaos caused by low-profile actions, and the speed boost from Sang Chao's quick resolution, Du Ge's speed, even if not as fast as the Flash, was not much slower than Quicksilver after isotope upgrades. Ordinary people keeping up with his speed would be a miracle.

That day.

The president's phone was ringing off the hook.

Everyone demanded that he severely punish the perpetrator and eliminate these unstable Alien Star warriors.

The president was in a tough spot. Others didn't know who did it, but he was clear. Yet, he couldn't reveal Du Ge, as he relied on Du Ge to stabilize the situation after learning about the Alien Star warriors' movements from Nalan Li!

Offending Du Ge meant he couldn't remain president, and whether Bi Xing would continue to exist was uncertain!

The president had a premonition that if Du Ge wanted to, or if he wasn't restricted by keywords, he might solve various problems even more efficiently than now if he took over as president!

However, the president didn't sit idly by. He quickly replaced the Presidential Palace's guards with genetically modified warriors.

These genetic warriors combined the strengths of various animals in nature, enhancing attributes like vision, smell, and recovery ability, making them far superior to ordinary ace mecha pilots.

Although they might not be able to stop Du Ge, they should be able to block ordinary Alien Star warriors.

Seeing the effects of genetic modification, the president even considered modifying his own genes, but the genetic modification was overseen by Fan Lie. The president knew he was responsible for Bi Xing's future and didn't dare entrust his life to a stranger Alien Star warrior.

Although Du Ge was a bit reckless, often slapping people out of the blue, the president still trusted him the most...

...

After overseeing the genetic modification of the Imperial Capital's guard corps, Fan Lie's attributes soared, and in just two days, his ranking shot up to third place.

His mental power advanced rapidly with the rewards from various gamblers, and with the fusion of various animal genes and Hill people's genes.

Fan Lie felt capable again, and when Du Ge came to find him, a hint of tentative arrogance crept into his words.

As a result.

With a single look from Du Ge, he was dragged to bed by Zhao Mei for a heart-to-heart talk for an hour and then pulled into Mirror Space by Xin Tianyang.

In Mirror Space, Xu Wan, Xiang Jiaojiao, and others took turns visiting him, extinguishing the little arrogant spark in Fan Lie's heart.

No matter how strong personal abilities are, they can't compare to group skills.

Thus, Fan Lie obediently admitted his mistake to Du Ge, swearing never to challenge Du Ge's authority again, and only then did Du Ge let Zhao Mei release him.

He also had Fan Lie help Nalan Li undergo genetic modification.

The Alien Star warriors around him were getting stronger, and Nalan Li's physical strength couldn't keep up with their pace. Relying on medication would eventually break her body, so genetic modification became imperative.

Not just Nalan Li.

Gu Qingyan and Shen Yuning from the Imperial Capital Academy were also brought in for genetic modification.

Du Ge didn't have much affection for them, but due to the influence of springtime awakening, the two women had feelings for him, so naturally, his own people were prioritized for care.

Cultivating them might come in handy someday.

In the struggle with Pan-Universal Entertainment, Du Ge didn't mind making a few extra moves.

...

While Du Ge was busy setting up in the Imperial Capital, Gao Ming, under Du Ge's name, gathered about twenty Alien Star warriors from Qi Yuan Star.

Among them were even three top-tier keywords: deception, disguise, and order.

But the owners of these three keywords hadn't kept up with the initial development pace, so their attributes and rankings were low, making them obscure figures among the Alien Star warriors.

Yu Xia also survived, this time possessing an old man with the keyword 'mischievous,' awakening two skills:

One was 'Childlike Fun': she could forcibly drag someone into children's games, and the loser must accept punishment;

The other was 'Playful Bones': no one could escape her pranks, but when using this skill, her mind would regress to a child's state;

The first skill was both a divine skill and a double-edged sword. It was divine because winning the game could instantly take the opponent's life, but the downside was that she couldn't guarantee the outcome, and the punishment for losing was too great for her to bear;

The second skill could be useful with cooperation, but overall, it was slightly better than Feng Zhong's skill...

It must be said.

The Alien Star Battlefield is truly a game of luck.

With Du Ge's big data information, Gao Ming and others naturally knew that the main battlefield had shifted to the Imperial Capital, but they couldn't let their guard down here.

After all.

With Du Ge here, there might be others from different planets launching a surprise attack on the Doomsday Cult to cover the Imperial Capital's actions.

But at this time, neither Haibin City nor the Imperial Capital dared to make any rash moves. It seemed everyone was waiting for the first to make a move, waiting for someone else to fire the first shot.