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[ Wen Kexing looks thoughtfully through the projection cast by the coin, as if he's trying to see the people on the other side of the network. He can't yet, but he's judging anyway. ]

Who is a leader here?

[ That's not very helpful. He considers and tries again. ]

It looks like a lot of the people brought here belong to groups or sects of some kind. Isn't that weird?

Anyway, the most important question is which of you is the strongest?

[ He folds his arms across his chest. ]

We're all from different places, so how can we tell?

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Dunno, man, you got me there. Unless somebody discovers how to get us all home, what's even valuable here? Problem is, there's a whole big world out there and if we're stuck in this tiny corner, ain't no way to know if there's something worth it just beyond the border.

[ooooh he just had a rare idea] ...two birds one stone. We get to explorin', and hire up all the big talkers who wanna prove themselves, to lead the charge. If they're not strong enough, they get blitzed and the stronger survive to keep on goin'. Eh?

[That is surprisingly useful. He wasn't thinking much about the expanse of the world or even the Chosen's place in it, since he's always been firmly separated from the normal community and happily living as lord of pariahs, but would exploring be a good plan? Zhou Zishu had wanted to see the world before.

And like Bartolomeo says, it's an easy way to see who gets eaten and who survives. Wen Kexing can support that logic.]

You're right. We can't wait around hoping someone will change what is. So we should see what lies further out for ourselves. Maybe we'll find the capital.

[Or the actual gods? Maybe they can hit them in person.]

Or the sea, or somethin'! Nobody seems to be stopping us from lookin' around, so we might as well. If this so-called haunted forest is the scariest thing around, I'll eat my shoe.

Beats sitting on our asses wonderin' about these 'sentences.'

[ Ah, well that says something. ]

You want to find something scarier than the forest? What if they are only made up stories?

[ He does believe there are real dangers somewhere out in the big, wide world, but Wen Kexing also loves to be contrary. ]

[actually no, but...bravado]

Heh, they usually are. No point in bein' too afraid of some shitty stories to go out and see what's out there. What if there's a huge treasure, or a door back home? Either way, it ain't here.

[ He sort of wants to find the creepy things and dangers. Morbid curiosity or shounen protagonist lack of fear energy, you choose. ]

Hm... That's true. We don't know there isn't a way back.

[ The parchment didn't give them details and they really have nothing better to go on. ]

All right. Let's do it!

[ Punching monsters and searching for clues. ]

All right, sign me up! You gettin' a whole crew together or what? 'Cause there's only so much two people can do. Or carry.

A crew? You mean a group?

[ Like an alliance or sect? Teamwork?! ]

If you bring more people, won't they just stab you in the back if you do find treasure?

Yeah, whatever you wanna call it. [used to be 'gang' but times change]

Nah, you see? You gotta work it. Someone's the boss, that's indisputable. Boss gets the biggest share because they did all the work. You got other people doing the thinking or the heavy lifting? Staff officers, they get a share but not as much as the boss. Everyone else is peons, they get something because if they get nothing they'll try to kill you, but it can't be as much as an officer because if they didn't do jack shit, they don't get jack shit. There's a whole system! That way, you're not the one guy carrying all the bags for everyone else.

[clearly spoken like he's been there and done that; pirate captain may be similar to mob boss in some ways, but not in all of the ways]

Someone's the boss? But we've only had a few do far claim they can take us all and be that.

[And no one has yet taken up the offer to fight, even if they think they can.]

If you're making a group, then how are you going to pick your boss? You have to find someone strong enough to command everyone else.

[He wouldn't exactly mind seeing that either, if anyone could get these people into one group.]

Besides, I don't think any of them see themselves as peons.

Ohhhh I see. It all leads back around in a circle, eh? Gotta find the strongest to even pick who gets to be captain or commander or whatever. So we're back where we started. Though, I guess if you tell everybody who wants to step up and take charge they gotta fight for the right, that solves the incentive problem.

Well, if we're all here, we should learn about each other.

[He's not the clever spy Zhou Zishu is, but he still acknowledges the intelligence behind learning. It's just that Wen Kexing is a sledge hammer trying to do the work requiring a scalpel. He learns the most about people through action, so all he knows is how to instigate and manipulate emotions--not much finesse in that.]

Ah, I guess if we have to, I can invite people to fight. It only matters if they want to do it anyway. But I wanted to see everyone's skills.

[Wen Kexing sighs heavily, waving his fan like an abandoned romantic. Life is so hard when you're a villain.]

[boy, ain't that the truth. He feels for you, Kexing]

Yeah, I know. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Might as well give it a shot and see what comes of it - see who's actually up for it without needing some stupid reason like 'for the good of the people' or whatthefuckever.

Exactly! See? It's better to just start making things clear now.

[The only way he really knows how to relate to people is through violence, so he isn't a great candidate for friend recruitment. But he also isn't really against the idea of seeking out monsters or adventures beyond Aldrip.]

If they want to find something, we'll probably run into each other eventually. I don't need to recruit them for that.

But if they want to follow along, I guess that's fine.

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