Chapter 2, District C, Number 47
"Tch, what's with the attitude!"
"Forcing him to retire is for his own good—what else could he do anyway?"
"Exactly. At least he's sensible enough not to cling to the club for a cushy retirement."
Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng left. The people remaining in the conference room seemed to snap back to reality, their whispered chatter resuming. Sun Xiang's expression flickered uncertainly. He didn't join in but sidled up to the manager instead: "I don't get it. How could he accept those terms?"
"He had no choice," the manager said.
"Why?"
"Because he can't afford the contract breach penalty," the manager said.
"No... really?" Sun Xiang was stunned. Ye Xiu had been a professional player in the league for seven years—one of the absolute best. Even if he'd turned down all commercial activities, his salary alone should have been enough to cover the penalty for terminating a one-and-a-half-year contract.
"You weren't around in those days—you didn't experience it. In the league's early years, pro players weren't as glamorous as they are now. Most people were just scraping by, working part-time jobs. Those who washed out back then had it rough. They'd spent their prime years gaming, with no other skills, and ended up struggling financially. Ye Xiu was a genius of that era, rising to the top purely on skill, but he has many friends from those times."
"You mean... he used a lot of his money to help those friends?" Sun Xiang's eyes widened.
"That's right."
"But if he needs money too, why won't he accept commercial activities?" Sun Xiang asked.
"No one knows the reason," the manager said.
"Do you have any guesses?" Sun Xiang asked.
"Perhaps it has something to do with his family," the manager said.
"Oh?"
"No one has ever known anything about his family, and he never talks about it. It's strange, so I have my suspicions," the manager said.
"This guy... has so many stories." Sun Xiang clutched the "Yi Ye Zhi Qiu" account card Ye Xiu had handed over. He knew that "Yi Ye Zhi Qiu" had been Ye Xiu's recreational account in the online game long before the professional league existed, and he'd used it ever since. It was one of the oldest accounts in the Glory community.
"Anyway, let's not talk about him. The boss couldn't come today but specifically left me this bottle of red wine he's been saving for years, just to welcome you," the manager said.
"Ha, then I'm truly honored! With me here, Jiashi is going to turn things around."
...
Ye Xiu left.
Su Mucheng stood at the club's main gate, watching him walk away until he disappeared. He kept turning back to wave at her, and Su Mucheng's face was already streaked with tears.
There weren't many parting words. Ye Xiu only said eight words in total: "Rest for a year, then come back."
Su Mucheng didn't say a word, just nodded firmly. She was no longer the naive young girl of the past. She now had the courage to shoulder many things on her own.
Snowflakes began to drift from the sky. This winter was so cold.
...
It's snowing?
When Ye Xiu left the club, he hadn't figured out his next step either. After years of one kind of life, suddenly facing change felt disorienting. He just wanted to walk a bit, keep walking until he sorted out his thoughts.
But the heavens wouldn't even give him that chance. Snow began to fall, growing heavier. Swirling flakes quickly dampened his shoulders, and icicles started forming in his hair. He had to take shelter.
Ye Xiu looked around. An internet café on the side of the road was still brightly lit late into the night. He dashed toward it at once.
The café was warm. Ye Xiu burst in, shaking off the snow, and went to the front desk to rent a machine.
"C area, number 47," the young woman at the counter announced the location and handed back the ID of the person who'd signed in. By the time she looked up, the person was already gone. She wasn't surprised—she was clearly used to this. She quietly put away the ID; whoever lost it would come looking for it.
C area, machine 47. Ye Xiu followed the numbers. The café was quite large, with many machines, and even a second floor. C area... Ye Xiu saw the section sign hanging from the ceiling. He wouldn't need to go upstairs after all.
When he reached machine 47, Ye Xiu froze. A woman was already sitting there, playing Glory. She was in an arena, dueling someone in a fierce match. Her intense movements made the high ponytail behind her head sway.
Looking at her profile and seeing the Launcher character on her screen, Ye Xiu felt a moment of confusion. He almost thought Su Mucheng was sitting there.
But he quickly realized it wasn't her. Su Mucheng was always so gentle and calm, even during intense PvP battles, maintaining a slight smile. Sometimes, Ye Xiu would watch her smile as she blasted someone to bits with a cannon, then politely apologize—and for some reason, it would give him chills.
As for this girl, her appearance was equally beautiful, pure, and gentle, but the way she gritted her teeth and hammered the keyboard and mouse was so fierce that her looks seemed like a complete deception.
"The killing intent is terrifying, but unfortunately..." Ye Xiu looked at the screen and could tell the woman was about to be in trouble. Sure enough, the opponent seized an opening she'd just revealed. A combo later, her remaining health bar was instantly emptied.
"Damn it!" Ye Xiu heard the woman curse furiously. She slammed the keyboard, closing the game entirely.
Ye Xiu hesitated about whether to still take the seat, but the woman turned her head, spotted him standing there indecisively, and stood up, asking irritably, "Using the computer?"
Ye Xiu nodded.
"Sit here!" she said, then left.
Ye Xiu shook his head at such an average player's lack of composure in competition and finally sat down.
Chen Guo was annoyed—very annoyed. She'd just dueled someone in the Glory arena, playing 52 matches and not winning a single one. She could hardly believe it was real.
Her account wasn't bad. Chen Guo patted the "Zhu Yan Xia" account card in her pocket. Among ordinary players, her account was quite strong. And Chen Guo's skill level wasn't low either; she'd been playing Glory for five full years. Her opponent's account was inferior to hers, yet she couldn't win a single match out of 52.
"A real expert," Chen Guo concluded with a nod.
"Hey boss lady, didn't you log out of your game? How come someone's playing it now?" Chen Guo was lost in thought while walking when a voice suddenly came from beside her. She turned to see a regular customer at the next machine, craning his neck toward the computer she had just been using.
Not good! Chen Guo's heart sank as she hurried back to her seat. With the popularity of Glory, the game's login device had become a standard computer accessory, especially essential in internet cafes. Since the account card only needed to be inserted during login, in public places like internet cafes, people typically removed it right after logging in.
One card for one account, and if lost, it could be reported, making account theft virtually extinct. However, in such places, people often forget to log out or only minimize the game by mistake, allowing the next person to seize the opportunity to steal money and equipment. Chen Guo had just lost 52 games in a row and was extremely frustrated, so she didn’t notice that she had only switched back to the desktop without actually logging out.
Chen Guo rushed over and, sure enough, saw someone controlling her account. It didn’t seem like they were looting items but rather happily battling others in the arena. Before she could even shout, two words flashed across the screen: "Victory!"