The King's Avatar

Blue River and Cold Night weren’t wrong.

If Lord Grim continued with his kidnapping of the record, then the matter wouldn’t just be between him and both of their guilds. The big guilds would unify and propose a way to resolve the issue; whether that was by bribing him or by killing him.

But at the moment, the crisis was only between their guilds. Even if the other guilds knew about Lord Grim’s snatching nature, they wouldn’t come out and help them immediately. They would watch them struggle first. If the two guilds actually fell, then that’d be great news for them.

“What do you plan on doing?” Blue River asked Cold Night.

“I don’t know. I wanted to see what you were thinking.” Cold Night said.

Blue River hesitated. Should he pay the ransom or fight against the kidnapper and compete for the records from now on?

Blue River had already clicked on Lord Grim’s name several times, but he hesitated each time. Record-related matters weren’t trivial. If they were, then he wouldn’t have went over to consult Changing Spring. But since he had just gone to see him, if he went back again, it’d make him seem less capable. Poplar Beach and his gang would definitely mock him for that.

But…… if they knew that he went to pay the ransom, then Poplar Beach and his gang wouldn’t say anything good about that either. Requesting help from the headquarters had already made him look shameful. In all of the new servers’ history, such a situation had never occurred before. For all the previous times, the experts that had been sent used their own strength to start anew.

This time! He definitely couldn’t pay the ransom.

Blue River made a decision. He had to demonstrate his worth.

“I’ve decided to set the record first and then worry about the rest later.” Blue River didn’t click on Lord Grim’s name and instead sent a message to Cold Night.

“Oh? You’re going to ignore Lord Grim’s actions?” Cold Night said.

“Yes!”

“Okay….. I hope that everything goes smoothly.” Cold Night said, but he still felt a bit of uncertainty within his heart. Was Blue River really going to set the record or was he just saying that to avoid giving me a bargaining chip? After all, if word came out that they had paid the ransom to Lord Grim, it would also hurt their reputation. Which is why when he discussed matters with Blue River, Cold Night didn’t say what he had decided on doing. When talking with other guilds, they had to always be on guard.

After verifying Blue River’s attitude on the matter, Cold Night decided to hold back his troops for now. In any case, they still needed some time to prepare for the Line Canyon record. For today, at least, it was impossible for them to do it.

The day gradually brightened. Being Su Mucheng’s pillow for the entire night, Ye Xiu’s shoulder had become sore long ago. But once he heard the quiet snoring, Ye Xiu knew Su Mucheng had really fallen asleep.

However, it was almost seven o’clock. Some of the customers at the Internet Cafe had already tidied up and were ready to leave. It was almost time for a shift change as well, so there was no way for them to continue staying here like this.

“Hey, hey.” Ye Xiu turned his head and said, “It’s time to wake up.”

“What time is it?” Su Mucheng asked drowsily.

“6:50.” Ye Xiu said.

“It’s not even 7 yet, another ten minutes……” Su Mucheng said and even shifted her head to a more comfortable position.

“Hurry up! I still have to take care of the customers who are getting ready to leave! You were lucky today. No one came to buy food at night.”Ye Xiu said. Usually, if anything happened to the machine or if the customers wanted something to eat or drink, it was his responsibility as the manager to take care of it. But it had been particularly peaceful today. It seemed as if everything magically went well for the all-night customers, allowing Su Mucheng to get a good night’s rest.

“Really? Then I really am lucky!” Su Mucheng finally lifted her head. She rubbed her eyes and constantly yawned.

“Cover up well. The customers are coming over.” Ye Xiu said.

“Oh.” Su Mucheng wrapped herself up like when she first arrived. Her appearance right now wasn’t too revealing. Everyone was about to leave now!

Su Mucheng left the receptionist desk and watched as Ye Xiu helped the customers log out. Some of the customers, who weren’t leaving yet, paid to continue using the computers. All-night had its own price, while the morning had a different price.

“Brother Ye!” At this moment, the cashiers and managers with the morning shift arrived. Most of them lived close to each other, so they all ate and walked over together.

“Almost done.” Ye Xiu called out to them. He quickly finished up and left the receptionist desk. The morning shift took over. Ye Xiu’s workday was done.

“What would you like to eat?” Ye Xiu asked Su Mucheng.

“Anything is fine…….” Su Mucheng clearly wasn’t fully awake yet. She still looked a bit drowsy.

“Okay, then it’ll be the usual!” Ye Xiu said. The two of them left the Internet Cafe together.

Chen Guo had gotten up early today. As she went downstairs, she happened to see Ye Xiu leave the Internet Cafe with a girl. Her first thought that the girl was Tang Rou, but after getting a better look, she could tell that the girl wasn’t her. She had lived with Tang Rou for a long time, so she would be able to recognize her just from a rear view.

“Who is she?” Chen Guo ran over to ask others. Everyone shook their heads. Ye Xiu hadn’t introduced her to them.

“Little Tang?” Chen Guo turned around and called out to see if Tang Rou was there.

Tang Rou was there, but she was in the middle of playing a game. So she couldn’t hear her with headphones on. But since she sat in the same place everyday, Chen Guo quickly grabbed her.

“You woke up very early today?” Tang Rou turned around and saw Chen Guo.

“Yeah.” Chen Guo replied and then directly asked: “Who’s that sister together with Ye Xiu?”

“Together?” Tang Rou heard this and took a look at the receptionist desk: “They already left?”

“They left! They left just as I came down. Who is she?” Chen Guo said.

“Uh…… I don’t know her actual name, but she’s a girl that dungeons with us everyday.” Tang Rou said.

“An online friend?” Chen Guo was shocked.

“Those two…… know each other I think……..” Tang Rou had seen Su Mucheng sleep on Ye Xiu’s shoulders. Anyone could tell that the relationship between them wasn’t ordinary. But she wasn’t a gossipy person, so she didn’t ask about it. She didn’t want to assume that there was a relationship between those two. Online friends shouldn’t be so close, which meant that they knew each other very well.

“So this guy can seduce a girl too!” Chen Guo expressed her lament, “What does she look like?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t see her properly.” Tang Rou said.

“What were you doing the entire night then!” Chen Guo expressed her discontent with Tang Rou.

Tang Rou helplessly laughed.

“What do you want to eat?” Chen Guo asked.

“I’ll eat whatever you’re going to eat. It’s not like I have any money. Sigh…….” Tang Rou also acted shamelessly sometimes.

“Wait here!” Chen Guo rolled her eyes and left. She took care of food and shelter, but because she didn’t have any standards, most of the time she would just decide what everyone ate on the spot. Sometimes she would be in a good mood and would invite everyone over for a big meal. Those that were there during those times always felt very lucky.

The area around Happy Internet Cafe had quite a few restaurants. Chen Guo naturally had places she frequently went to. After ordering wontons, steamed buns, porridge, and a bunch of other random dishes, she even looked around trying to catch their affair but wasn’t able to find anything.

When she returned with the breakfast, she didn’t see Ye Xiu. She called for Tang Rou to come and eat. She saw Ye Xiu come back with a cigarette in his mouth once they were halfway done.

“Woah! Boss, you woke up early today!” Ye Xiu greeted Chen Guo.

“What about that girl that was with you!” Chen Guo didn’t even try to ease into the subject. She just straight up asked him.

“She went back.” Ye Xiu replied calmly.

“Hmph, you can’t mix up work with your social life.” Chen Guo said.

“Wow, wontons! Give me a bowl!” Ye Xiu said as he completely went off topic.

“Didn’t you go and eat already?” Chen Guo said.

“I had to pay for that myself, so I ate less.” Ye Xiu said.

“Shameless!” Chen Guo ground her teeth, “There’s none for you.”

“Really? Then I’m going to bed!” Ye Xiu ran off. Chen Guo was baffled. She still wanted to continue prodding. Why’d he have to run off?

“Ha ha ha……” Tang Rou laughed on the side.

“What are you laughing at?” Chen Guo glared at her.

“Nothing…….” Tang Rou didn’t explain.

“You’re becoming more and more like him.” Chen Guo wasn’t happy.

“No way.”

“All you do is play games everyday. And you also have that weird aura. How long has it been since you’ve went out and been in the sun?” Chen Guo said.

“Okay, okay. I’ll take a walk with you on the weekends. Is that good enough?” Tang Rou said.

“Fine.” Chen Guo was satisfied. She had lived with her for almost two years, so Tang Rou had already become her close friend. She was the one who kept egging her on to play Glory. And now that she had succeeded, she discovered that the time they spent together had actually lessened.

In the beginning, Chen Guo thought about whether or not she should level a low-level account and play with them. If Tang Rou or Ye Xiu had brought it up, she would have definitely done it. But those two only minded their own business. There was no way they would have thought of her this much. In the end, after pondering about it for awhile, she discovered that those two’s levels had already gone up. If she started leveling, then she’d have to start from the beginner village, so she threw away that idea.

After all, she had played with Chasing Haze for so long that she was very attached to it. If someone told her to give it up, she definitely wouldn’t be able to. The only reason she wanted to go to the new server was to play with those two. After they got to the Heavenly Domain, she would definitely switch back to her main account. The way she saw it, it was already too late to start from the new server, so it’d be better to just wait for those two to reach the Heavenly Domain.

Although Chen Guo didn’t say it, she really did feel a little lonely nowadays. Whether that was in the game or outside of it, she felt a bit lonely.

“I’m full. I’m going to sleep!” Tang Rou finished her breakfast and got up to leave.

“Go ahead!” Chen Guo waved her hands and shooed Tang Rou away. She sat there by herself with a bowl of porridge and gazed out towards the empty Internet Cafe.