Chapter 125 – Forum Aftermath

Although No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains’ arrival was grand but his departure humiliating, the news of him breaking through layers of blockade to reach the top of the tower of Huaxia Summit still became a trending post on the Huaxia Forum the next day.

The poster wasn’t Thousand Mountains, nor was it anyone from his White Chapel Legion, but rather an ID from the Windmill Faction. However, since the three factions shared the same roots, it didn’t matter much. The post didn’t seem casually thrown together by a player either—it had a clear format, an eye-catching title, content that built up layer by layer, and ended with the malicious punchline: “Looks like the god-tier server of Huaxia might need a name change.” It was complete, provocative, and cunning—a professional promotional post. The only oddity was that the screenshots used weren’t from Thousand Mountains’ perspective but from the audience below the City Gate Tower. This meant they definitely weren’t provided by Thousand Mountains himself. Either some busybody from the Summit server had taken them, or someone from Holy Light Sanctuary had an alt mixed in with the audience below at the time.

But none of that mattered. The first time the Dimensional Rift opened, the so-called god-tier server Huaxia Summit had been slapped in the face—and with such a loud sound at that. The players of Holy Light Sanctuary were thrilled, and the onlookers from other servers were equally excited, eagerly pushing the post to the top with their various forms of excitement. The comments quickly piled up to thousands of replies, with the general sentiment being schadenfreude at the Summit server’s humiliation. However, a few Summit server players couldn’t stomach it and left sarcastic remarks like, “What’s there to gloat about? If you can’t win in PK, you just run like a dog.” Unfortunately, these were quickly buried under the rapidly rising flood of new comments.

At that time, it was 10 AM—the most energetic part of the morning. Aside from Fighter Jet and Your Uncle, who were at work, and Crossplayer, who was in class, and Mad Lad, who was busy making money, all the Ghost Server comrades were online and naturally couldn’t resist joining the forum spectacle.

Wait, isn’t 8 AM more energetic than 10 AM?

Sorry, the kids weren’t even awake by then.

“Strange, Thousand Mountains hasn’t said a word,” 438 suddenly remarked amidst the lively discussion in the YY channel. “I’m already on page 1,700.”

Fang Zheng was carefully studying the exact location from which the screenshots in the post were taken below the City Gate Tower. Hearing 438’s words, he was surprised. “He really didn’t come out to gloat?”

“Probably because the ending wasn’t great—he must be sulking,” Blood Bull’s analysis cut straight to the point.

Given that guy’s personality—where he didn’t care about the cost as long as it was flashy—yesterday’s exit would indeed have left him internally wounded. His silence made sense in that light. Thinking further, perhaps posting wasn’t even his idea. After all, Thousand Mountains would have enjoyed gloating after a complete victory. This kind of summit conquest, with its embarrassing footnote, was far from perfect.

The Ghost Server comrades’ speculations were soon confirmed.

Around lunchtime, the post was still on the front page due to continuous replies. On a whim, 438 refreshed it and unexpectedly saw a comment from No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains’ ID.

Poster: Dutch Chamber of Commerce Rules

Title: Holy Light Sanctuary Conquers Huaxia Summit! God-tier server? Heh.

Content: (2,000 words omitted)

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Reply by: No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains

Content: [Reply to #987 Fruit Mwah] Screw you, who ran like a dog!!!

No one had paid attention to the earlier comments from Summit server players, dismissing them as sour grapes. After all, the screenshots were right there—no amount of stubborn denial could change the fact that their City Gate Tower had been flag-planted. But now that the man himself had shown up and so graciously replied, the onlookers were ecstatic. They meticulously dug up every comment involving “dog escape” and bundled them together, demanding an explanation—they’d heard of “peeing escape,” but “dog escape” was definitely a new one.

The original posters probably weren’t paying attention and had long logged off, but more Summit server players who were still lurking, seeing Thousand Mountains shift the narrative himself, were overjoyed. They rushed to explain, and so on and so forth.

From then on, talk of summiting or Holy Light Sanctuary dethroning the Summit server was forgotten. A new post exploded onto the scene—“PK Forfeit Due to Dog Pulling Out Power Cord—Huaxia’s Top 1 Most Unprecedented Incident in Ten Years of Operation! HAHAHAHAHAHA”

In the internet age, the masses don’t need accurate or objective news—they just need something entertaining. The Summit server’s “humiliated faction,” having finally found a chance to retaliate, were pumped up, practically chanting “heave-ho” as they piled on replies. The “HAHA” post shot up at a rate of dozens of comments per second, threatening to overtake the Dutch Chamber of Commerce’s promotional post.

The Dutch Chamber of Commerce wouldn’t back down, of course. They immediately rallied their troops to keep pushing their own post, using their accumulated momentum to firmly suppress the new challenger.

Naturally, the Ghost Server comrades preferred the “HAHA” post. Plus, the drowsy post-lunch hours were perfect for mindless activities, so they all joined the comment war.

Until—

438: “Commander, no need to keep spamming. Our post is already above the Dutch Chamber of Commerce’s.”

Fang Zheng: “We can’t let up. Given Holy Light Sanctuary’s nature, they won’t admit defeat easily.”

438: “But the mods have already pinned the HAHA post.”

Your Uncle & Diamond & Fifth Brother & Blood Bull: “…”

Birdy: “The mods must be really bored in their free time…”

But someone was even more bored than the mods—

Poster: Professional Onlooker

Title: PK Forfeit Due to Dog Pulling Out Power Cord—Huaxia’s Top 1 Most Unprecedented Incident in Ten Years of Operation! HAHAHAHAHAHA

Content: (2,000 words omitted)

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Reply by: Husky Enthusiast

Content: Calling Thousand Mountains! Bring out your husky for a walk!

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Reply by: No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains

Content: [Reply to #534 Husky Enthusiast] [Image]

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Reply by: No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains

Content: [Reply to #534 Husky Enthusiast] [Image]

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Reply by: No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains

Content: [Image]

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Reply by: Husky Enthusiast

Content: [Reply to #549 No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains] So handsome! So handsome! But you can upload multiple images at once—no need to post them one by one.

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Reply by: No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains

Content: [Image][Image][Image][Image][Image][Image][Image]

No one knows how many photos of his dog Thousand Mountains had saved on his computer, but the Huaxia Forum users deeply felt his profound love for it.

Holy Light Sanctuary’s summit conquest showed players the ultimate purpose of the Dimensional Rift. Over the next few days, servers clashed in all-out war. Surprisingly, a few servers even successfully summited others. Huaxia Summit wasn’t humiliated again, but Holy Light Sanctuary slapped Dragon Soars Tiger Roars, with Thousand Mountains reportedly wiping out all challengers on their City Gate Tower. However, Holy Light Sanctuary only posted a simple announcement and screenshots this time, not the grandiose propaganda of the first attempt. Rumor had it that Thousand Mountains was banned from forum posting for a month.

Huaxia Summit didn’t successfully summit any servers during this time—they were too busy organizing revenge. But whether they acted alone or teamed up with other legions, none could break through Holy Light Sanctuary’s blockade at the Dimensional Rift entrance. They fought repeatedly, losing every time.

The Ghost Server didn’t team up with others. Fang Zheng, Birdy, and Blood Bull believed that fewer people were better—easier to strike unexpectedly, move flexibly, and fish in troubled waters.

But the fish were hard to catch.

After their fourth crushing defeat, the entire Ghost Server was frustrated—not just by the loss, but by seeing a chance at success slip away at the last moment.

By 10 PM, the comrades had all logged off early to lick their wounds.

Fang Zheng leaned back in his chair and stretched. As he straightened up, he glanced outside and froze. “Birdy, it’s snowing.”

Meng Chudong was reviewing their earlier chaos-fishing and summarizing lessons for their next attempt. Hearing this, he looked up and said calmly, “The New Year’s almost here.”

Fang Zheng got up and pulled open the aluminum window. Cold air mixed with snowflakes brushed against his face—not painful, but ticklish, almost teasing.

He took a deep breath, feeling his body clear up along with the air in the room.

Without realizing it, Meng Chudong noticed Fang Zheng had lost more weight. His once-fitted winter sweater now hung slightly loose. Maybe they should get a dog like Thousand Mountains, Meng Chudong thought. It would make morning walks less monotonous and spare him the biweekly lectures that always ended with the commander pouting, “See, you do think I’m fat…”

Lost in thought, Meng Chudong felt something stirring inside him. One second ago, he was thinking that if they got a dog, it absolutely couldn’t be a husky. The next second, all he wanted was to have his way with the commander.

He walked over and hugged Fang Zheng from behind, resting his chin on the other’s shoulder and exhaling softly.

Fang Zheng shivered involuntarily but didn’t pull away, instead relaxing into the embrace.

This was how relationships worked—initial shyness and hesitation gave way to comfort over time.

Meng Chudong’s “The New Year’s almost here” triggered complex emotions in Fang Zheng. He suddenly realized they’d never really talked about parents or family. He only knew the other had come out—and that was it.

So he asked bluntly, “Are you going home for New Year’s?”

“No,” Meng Chudong answered succinctly, offering no further explanation before starting to lightly kiss Fang Zheng’s neck.

Fang Zheng hadn’t expected the conversation to shift to “late-night mode” so abruptly, and now he was heating up too.

Breaking free, Fang Zheng cupped Meng Chudong’s face and planted a passionate kiss on him.

They kissed their way to the bed, shedding clothes along the way. By the time they reached it, they were ready for battle.

Fang Zheng pushed Meng Chudong onto the bed and then pounced like Mount Tai crushing its target!

He expected to land on Birdy’s firm yet supple body, but the other nimbly rolled aside. Fang Zheng crashed onto the sheets—his body unharmed, but his pride shattered!

Birdy, suppressing laughter, flipped over to pin Fang Zheng down. “I don’t mind your weight, but mental endurance and physical endurance are two different things.”

Fang Zheng, heartbroken: “You don’t love me…”

Birdy leaned down to nibble his lips while one hand wandered lower. “Love isn’t about sacrificing myself to mutual destruction. It’s about dodging your sumo moves and still cherishing you the same.”

With Little Fang Zheng in his grasp, Big Fang Zheng’s consciousness began to drift. Clinging to the other’s shoulders, he managed to voice his thoughts before losing himself completely: “You’ve been spending too much time with 2B lately. That’s not good…”

In another city far away, 2B—who was sweet-talking Blood Bull into a “Darling, mwah” so he could sleep satisfied—suddenly shuddered. Glancing up, he realized he’d left the window open for fresh air earlier. As he went to close it, an snowflake slipped through the gap and landed on his hand.

That night, snow fell over many cities.

Under the streetlights, the flakes danced like fireflies on a summer night.