Chapter 86 – Rekindling the Past

That afternoon, 438 and Your Sister got to know their Deputy Commander all over again.

By the time they rushed back, the four-man squad had already left. So the Deputy Commander asked them to wait a moment, and then they headed to a Dutch farm to take down the first lone Papaya Papaya. Next, they eliminated Love Trade and Hell Emissary on the cliff of the Valley of Heartbreak. Finally, unable to find Toy Boy anywhere, they went back to kill Papaya Papaya again.

Papaya Papaya was deeply hurt and immediately gathered his three brothers to regroup and launch a counterattack. Though the Deputy Commander didn’t say a word, 438 and Your Sister could clearly sense the immense joy radiating from him. They were still wondering—what trump card did the Deputy Commander have to guarantee victory in this three-versus-four fight? Then, Diamond Seller and Fifth Brother suddenly appeared from the shadows, turning the three-versus-four into a five-versus-three. The poor four-man squad was quickly annihilated.

Diamond and Fifth Brother curiously asked the Deputy Commander how those guys had offended him. Your Sister and 438 pricked up their ears, as they were also completely confused. However, the Deputy Commander only sighed faintly and said, “The sun is setting…”

Your Sister and 438 immediately understood. Fine, let’s go kill them again =_=

Sharp and fierce? That’s weak sauce. Damn, this is pure sadism, live-action sadism!!

[Huaxia] Papaya Papaya: Polly, screw your uncle! When will you stop?! If a grown man gets killed, just kill back and be done with it! What kind of skill is it to bring the whole legion to gang up on us?!

Fang Zheng ended his telepathic conversation with the bank card and logged into the game, only to see someone calling out Birdy’s name in the World Channel.

Before he could figure out what was going on, his own name was dragged into it—

[Huaxia] Papaya Papaya: Milk is Mom! Don’t hide and pretend you’re not here! As the leader of such a big legion, do you dare to keep your people in check?!

Since he’d been named, even if he didn’t know the full story, the Ghost Server Legion Leader couldn’t resist making his presence known—

[Huaxia] Milk is Mom: Uh, ahem, brother, I really don’t dare claim to be a ‘big’ legion leader. Right now, I’m still in the puppy love phase of my relationship~~~~~~~~~ [hides face]

[Huaxia] Papaya Papaya: Damn it, playing dumb, huh? I’m not talking about your age, I’m talking about the size of your legion!

[Huaxia] Milk is Mom: I don’t dare call that big either~~~ A dozen people, seven or eight weapons, so tragic >_<

[Huaxia] Papaya Papaya: …

[Huaxia] Proud Papa: In terms of acting cute, the gap in skill is too wide [sighs]

[Huaxia] Rain on Banana Leaves: But behind the cuteness lies sheer shamelessness…

[Huaxia] Return of the Princess Witch: Ghost Server Legion Leader, stop bullying the poor guy. He said you guys ganked him—at least give an explanation.

What explanation? Getting ganked in the game is as common as getting bitten by a mosquito in summer. You’re not a low-level alt, and you’re not legionless—both sides fight with their own skills, so what kind of explanation do you want? Back when Birdy got ganked, Xuanyuan did give an explanation, but it was just that—an explanation—to justify the attack and avoid criticism. But when it comes down to it, ganking someone is just about—Laozi wants to gank you!

However, after being a Legion Commander for so long, Comrade Fang Zheng had somewhat tempered his impulsiveness. So he first asked Birdy—

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: What’s going on?

The Deputy Commander replied quickly—

[Whisper] Polly: Let me handle this.

The Legion Leader instantly felt the weight on his shoulders being lifted and nibbled away. Gazing at the Deputy Commander’s brief four-word response, he felt as if bathed in spring breeze.

[Huaxia] Polly: Doesn’t matter whether there’s an explanation or not. There’s no love without reason in this world, and no hate without cause. Ganking him has nothing to do with our Legion Leader—I just wanted to gank him.

[Huaxia] Princess Meimei: Damn, what a real man!

[Huaxia] Refined Into a Demon 715: But they ambushed us first!

[Huaxia] Drink Your Sister 3X: I can testify.

[Huaxia] Drink Till You Drop: You got killed too?

[Huaxia] Qiankun Ring: Legion Leader of Five Peaks Pavilion, why are you butting in? =_=

[Huaxia] Love Trade: Papaya already said it—we did ambush you, but you could’ve just killed us back. Tit for tat. But you killed us over and over and over and over—what the hell are you trying to do?!?!?!

[Huaxia] Proud Papa: Just hearing the description makes me feel the intensity of the scene [candle]

[Huaxia] Rain on Banana Leaves: Polly, everyone knows you’re skilled. It’s reasonable to kill back after being ambushed, but ganking someone over and over is a bit brutal…

[Huaxia] Princess Meimei: +1. You can’t just keep shearing the same sheep.

[Huaxia] Polly: They dropped my necklace.

[Huaxia] Proud Papa: A top-tier one?

[Huaxia] Polly: Then sold it to the shop.

[Huaxia] Qiankun Ring: That’s a bit too much.

[Huaxia] Polly: It was the only gift given to me by someone I like.

[Huaxia] Princess Meimei: Kill. No. Mercy!

[Huaxia] Love Trade: Damn it, Zombie, you’re fishing for sympathy!

[Huaxia] Milk is Mom: Damn it, you still have Xuanyuan’s stuff on you??!!!

[Huaxia] Harry Porret: What does Xuanyuan have to do with this? Xuanyuan already quit the game!

[Huaxia] Hu Yifei 12138: I knew Polly and Xuanyuan had something shady going on back in Huaxia Dominion, ahahahahaha~~~~~~~~

[Huaxia] Princess Meimei: Ah, Yifei, when did you come back?! Did the whole legion return?

[Huaxia] Hu Yifei 12138: Return what? Work’s been crazy. I’m the only one with an office job who can sneak online occasionally—the others are all slaving away on the production line for the capitalists!

[Huaxia] Princess Meimei: After graduation, stepping into society is like diving into the deep sea.

[Huaxia] Hu Yifei 12138: Exactly~~

[Huaxia] Rain on Banana Leaves: Ladies, we’re getting off-topic…

[Huaxia] Proud Papa: Let’s stay off-topic for a bit longer. The main topic has too much to digest…

[Huaxia] Polly: Let me know when you’re done digesting. I still have more to say.

[Huaxia] Proud Papa: Done!

[Huaxia] Qiankun Ring: …

[Huaxia] Polly: Legion Leader.

[Huaxia] Milk is Mom: What!

[Huaxia] Polly: The necklace you gave me was dropped.

Fang Zheng froze for a long time before finally understanding. His mouth uncontrollably stretched toward the back of his head, the years-old jealousy in his chest turning into candied hawthorns—the sourness fading, revealing sweetness. But upon closer taste, that sweetness carried a hint of shy sourness.

[Megaphone] Milk is Mom: If it’s dropped, it’s dropped. I’ll make you a better one later~~~~ Mwah~~~~\(≧▽≦)/~

Long afterward, when Huaxia Summit had become a legend among god-tier servers, this day remained a vividly colorful page in that legend.

An eyewitness described it like this: “It was a very ordinary evening in the real world, a very ordinary morning in Huaxia Online. The then-Ghost Server Legion Leader, Milk is Mom, detonated an atomic bomb named ‘The Shameless Legion Leader’s Ultimate Weapon.’ A giant mushroom cloud rose with the words ‘mwah,’ then dispersed in the air with a ~\(≧▽≦)/~ emoji.

And then, the entire Huaxia Summit fell silent.

“Such an explosive event, and you didn’t wait for me! You guys are so mean!” That night, as soon as 2B logged in, he heard 438 recount the moment the atomic bomb exploded. He was so upset about missing it that he slapped his thigh until it turned blue.

438 was aggrieved: “It’s not that I didn’t wait, but the Legion Leader didn’t wait.”

The Legion Leader comforted him sincerely: “It’s fate. My condolences.”

Mad Lad had logged in at the same time as 2B—of course, the two hadn’t arranged anything offline or planned to meet. It was just a coincidence they showed up back-to-back, so they listened to the tale of the Legion Leader’s exploits together. But compared to 2B’s simple regret over missing the excitement, Comrade Jiang Yang’s feelings were far more complicated.

Though he already knew the two Legion Leaders had gotten together, every time he thought about it, it still felt unbelievable. He hadn’t noticed any hints of their relationship—hell, he hadn’t even realized Birdy was gay. Yet, without him having a clue, the two were already burning with passion. How was he supposed to handle that? When he’d met Fang Zheng in person, the guy had still seemed subtly interested in him. And then, in the blink of an eye, the guy was sending “mwahs” in the World Channel.

Shameless online, shy offline—Jiang Yang didn’t know which version he liked better. Or maybe he didn’t like either. But this ever-changing charm could’ve been his. Just thinking about that made his chest inexplicably tight.

At 9 p.m., the whole team had assembled, and the Legion Leader led them to continue the unfinished grassland quest.

From the Main City to the Horqin Prairie, they passed through several teleportation points along the way. Without exception, the Ghost Server Legion was met with stares from the locals—or, to put it more accurately: gawking + pointing.

The Ghost Server comrades were quite pleased, feeling as if they’d gained a buff called “The People’s Protection.”

The Grassland Deity didn’t have a fixed residence. Following the fine tradition of nomadic peoples, this great deity spent his days galloping across the grasslands on a steed, galloping and galloping. So the ten of them spread out to search for traces of the deity.

In the end, Fang Zheng was blessed by the God of Luck, stopping the startled horse and initiating a conversation with the Grassland Deity.

[System] Grassland Deity: Once, the grasslands were full of vitality, the children innocent and lively, the adults hardworking and honest. But now, the children either go out to study or to work. Those who study don’t want to return after graduating, and those who work don’t want to return after making money. Only the elders remain on the grasslands. But when even the elders are gone, who will remember these grasslands, this most precious gift of nature? Since humans don’t know how to cherish it, I won’t protect these grasslands anymore. One day, all the green here will disappear. If no one is coming back, then let it all turn to desert!

The conversation ended, and the next phase of the quest appeared—Find the scattered children of the grasslands (0/16).

Damn it, the upgraded Huaxia has hundreds of maps! Finding 16 children whose appearances are a complete mystery—isn’t that too cruel?!

Polly: “Divide the world map into five sections—northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, and the center. Two people per group, each responsible for one area. How’s that?”

Fang Zheng knew this question was directed at him.

In the past, Birdy would’ve just issued orders. Now, he either waited for Fang Zheng to give the command or offered a suggestion and sought his opinion. This subtle change went unnoticed by others, but Fang Zheng keenly felt the… respect?

At the Overwinter Internet Cafe, the big boss, who had been sticking around for the past few nights, sat next to the second boss. Hugging an iPad while playing Find Your Sister, he nodded quietly and said, “Yeah, that’s the way. Don’t act like a dictator all the time. Even the most carefree guy will crack someday.”

Birdy glanced sideways at his childhood friend, suddenly feeling uncertain—was it really okay to take advice from someone who hadn’t even solved his own personal issues? =_=

In the end, the whole legion implemented the Deputy Commander’s plan, embarking on a game-wide needle in a haystack quest =_=

Fang Zheng and Birdy were responsible for the central region, which had the most maps. So they divided it into left and right sections and searched separately.

After about half an hour, reports of success came in from all over the world. Five out of the sixteen children had been captured, leaving Fang Zheng and Birdy as the only pair without results. Fang Zheng was frustrated and couldn’t help grumbling aloud: “Damn it, abandoning your parents at home to run around the world—what the hell?!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze.

It was as if a voice in his ear repeated the same complaint, but this time, it wasn’t directed at the game characters—it was directed at him.

It had been four years since he left home. The last time he’d returned was two years ago. When he left, he’d been full of bravado, thinking that one day, when he returned in glory, his parents would surely be impressed. But now… this was all he had to show for it. It wasn’t that he didn’t miss home, but with nothing to his name, he had no face to go back. Just the thought filled him with shame, so he could only suppress the longing along with the guilt.

It’s all that damn card’s fault, the Legion Leader thought irritably, making him emotionally unstable.

Oh, and this damn quest too!

Was the level designer some model youth who loved moral lectures? So annoying >_<

A sleepless night.

Early the next morning, before the Deputy Commander’s wake-up call arrived, the Legion Leader opened his eyes. After struggling for a while, he finally sent the text message he’d saved in drafts all night—

[Mom, I’ve hit a rough patch.]

As soon as the message was sent, Fang Zheng tossed his phone aside and buried his head under the covers.

His mom was definitely already awake by now—she might’ve even finished her morning exercises—meaning she’d see the text soon. Just imagining the scene made the Legion Leader break out in a cold sweat >_<

Ding-dong!

About three minutes later, the message alert chimed.

The Legion Leader spent a long time steeling himself before mustering the courage to pick up his phone and check—

[Stealing a phone is bad enough, but stealing and then trying to scam people is just too much. I could tolerate the scam, but failing to do your homework beforehand is unforgivable. My son only ever calls me ‘old lady.’ That’s what we call tacit understanding. Honey, I suggest you turn yourself in.]

In just a few short years, the world had changed. The old lady had abandoned the market for Taobao TAT