Chapter 190: Count Robbins
Zhou Ning eagerly clicked into the forum and opened the pinned post. In less than two minutes, the thread had already racked up thousands of replies—proof of just how insanely popular the game had become.
He glanced at the video's length—unbelievable! A full 168 minutes! Just think, the last video covering the walrusmen Dick and Commons only totaled 40 minutes combined!
He paused the video and headed to the kitchen to grab a plate of bread, assuming a posture of determined long-term resistance.
He was going to binge-watch this "new episode" in one go.
Once he hit play, bullet comments began flooding the screen like a blizzard.
"Here we go, here we go—nearly three hours of continuous drama. Lemme slap on a diaper first."
"Smart folks already hooked up a catheter ahead of time…"
As a mournful BGM played, the screen filled with battle scenes—fights between humans, gods, and even between gods and humans.
The ground burned with fire, stars fell from the sky, and even humans who had died were transformed into skeletons that rose to fight again—because of the gods' conflicts, not only had the gods themselves fallen into slumber, but the elemental laws had also become chaotic, triggering a wave of elemental outbursts that created intense meteorological surges everywhere.
The music grew more intense. Suddenly, the screen flashed to a resolute-faced knight. He raised his sword and plunged it into his own chest. The screen went black.
"Clang…"
A bell tower tolled. When the scene lit up again, the camera panned to the four-hero statues standing on the banks of the Seton River. A great flock of white doves flapped skyward.
Among the doves, the statue of the Flame of Justice, Sir Archibald, stood tall—steady and solemn as ever.
The scene shifted again, and a line of text appeared:
Three years ago, in the town of West Lin, an expedition team ventured into the meteorological surge for exploration.
As the subtitle faded, an elderly man with a kind face and gentle eyes appeared on-screen, leading his team through the turbulent terrain of the surge.
Since this was three years ago, the footage was slightly yellowed and abbreviated. But through a series of simple scenes, viewers could tell that this elderly man was a highly accomplished meteorologist. He calmly and methodically directed the team's progress, occasionally pausing to battle various elemental monsters. Players saw how, after a difficult journey, they eventually discovered the ruins of a hidden temple on the outskirts of the surge.
When they cautiously entered the dead-silent temple and had advanced a short distance, the doors behind them suddenly slammed shut with a heavy bang.
In front of them stood a man holding a blue rune sword, hood pulled low, emanating an eerie chill. Before long, he plunged his sword into the old man's chest.
As screams echoed, the screen was swallowed by darkness again.
At this point, the bullet comments exploded with "Damn" reactions, filled with outrage toward the AI—this was such a cliché horror movie scare tactic! Who were they trying to scare, anyway?
Zhou Ning: "…"
He was genuinely shocked at this point—goosebumps crawled up his skin.
This elderly man often appeared in various Darkland newspapers and publications—he was none other than the "Wisdom" Count Robbins that Edwin had mentioned. One of the Kingdom's Ancestral Knights.
He was also the close friend of the late King Charles VI and the mentor of the current King Charles VII—a true aristocrat of the highest order. A man who stood at the absolute apex of the kingdom's hierarchy.
And he was also the initiator of this expedition. Edwin had launched the meteorological surge exploration campaign at school at Count Robbins' personal request.
But here's the problem—Count Robbins had clearly returned to Darkland alive, so who was the person killed by Archibald?
Let's assume for a moment—it was highly likely that someone had impersonated Count Robbins and infiltrated the upper ranks of Bryston. They incited this expedition, knowing the team likely wouldn't make it back. And even if they did, it would draw the attention of more official supernatural forces. That would make it much easier to pursue other, hidden agendas.
Zhou Ning frowned. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. But the question was—how should he report it?
He rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache coming on.
Just dealing with Baron Harrison had already left Qien West at a loss. And now we were talking about someone leagues above him—Count Robbins.
Zhou Ning's thoughts ran wild. After a while, he calmed down and decided to wait it out for now. He'd try to learn more about Robbins' identity through Edwin first, then figure out a proper way to inform the Sunwatchers responsible for this case.
He turned back to the video—he was very curious about what would happen next.
Moments later, the video lit up again, and his own close-up filled the screen—he wore a black trench coat, a matching silk top hat, and stepped into West Lin Town amidst a flurry of falling snow.
Zhou Ning: ??????
He was already starting to guess where the AI was going with this. Damn thing was coming to milk him dry again—and this time, it planned to milk him for all he was worth.
The moment he appeared, the bullet comments exploded:
"OMG, my hubby!!!"
"Crying—AI finally remembered who the real protagonist is!"
"It's been so long, but my hubby's still just as handsome. Now I can rest easy."
…
Looking at their ridiculous comments, Zhou Ning could only sigh inwardly. These idiots never change. He shook his head with a wry smile and ignored the bullet chat, focusing back on the video.
In the footage, Zhou Ning arrived at the adventurer camp. After a few scene changes, viewers learned that Wayne Sturwell would also be participating in this meteorological surge expedition.
At that moment, Qingbai Wild Sake was also watching this epic video. When he got to this part, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and silently thanked the AI for sparing his life.
So far, the AI had used cinematic editing techniques. It hadn't spliced in him or Haicheng—not really. At most, it showed a profile shot. That meant the first-person video he had, which included more details and behind-the-scenes footage, might actually fetch a higher price.
The video continued. At this point, time was fast-forwarded, and after two days of prep, the expedition team was finally ready to depart. Throughout this process, the camera remained glued to Zhou Ning—following him around even when he went to the washroom. He had no words.
Thank goodness he'd always carried himself with idol-like poise.
Note to self: as a pretty-boy idol type, even going to the toilet must be done with style.
Once they entered the meteorological surge, the BGM suddenly turned ominous. From a high-altitude view, players could clearly see the weather in the surge divided into seven sharply distinct zones: snowstorm, thunderstorm, torrential rain, clear skies, heavy snow, hurricane, and acid rain. At random intervals, these weather patterns would shift again.
This made it clear to everyone just how treacherous, unpredictable, and dangerous the world of meteorological surges really was.
Under such conditions, the expedition team split into two groups and began their exploration of the surge.
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