Chapter 118 – The Fluffy Legion

The interview began harmoniously and amiably, proceeded with great awkwardness, and ultimately concluded with the interviewee being permanently banned from the channel.

Afterward, Meteor Blitz and Five Peaks Pavilion both expressed that they were not at all surprised by this outcome and highly praised the Ghost Server Legion Leader for his composed and dignified demeanor throughout most of the interview. As for the Ghost Server Legion members, they said nothing—they simply surrounded their healer in the Guild Hall and engaged in a one-on-one brawl—or rather, a one-sided gang-up.

The barely alive Legion Leader tearfully protested—

[Legion] Milk is Mom: Birdy said I could go wild just this once~~~TAT

[Legion] Refined Into a Demon 715: Deputy!

[Legion] Little Lucky Charm: Deputy!

[Legion] 2B Fighter Jet: Birdy!

[Legion] Mad Lad: Zombie!

[Legion] Blood Bulls Don’t Graze: Deputy.

[Legion] Polly: Those in love are always forgiven by God ^_^

The Deputy rarely acted cute, so the members obliged him by sending him straight to meet God.

As for the storm the interview stirred on the Huaxia Forum—where pro-Ghost and anti-Ghost factions engaged in heated debates (and insults) over whether the sleazy playstyle was a cancer to the game or a player’s freedom, whether it was a toxic trend or a unique charm—and the Ghost Server Legion’s skyrocketing notoriety as a result, that’s another story.

“Oh, by the way, Birdy, Diamond, Fifth Brother, and I probably won’t be able to log in for the next couple of days. You guys have fun on your own~~” The collective entrepreneurial venture was no longer a secret.

Refined Into a Demon: “You won’t be online for several days? Legion Leader, I’ll miss you!”

Fang Zheng: “Just miss me casually, no need to get too invested~~~~”

Blood Bull: “Oh yeah, the game is getting a patch in a couple of days. I think they’re opening something called Dimensional Rifts.”

Drink Your Sister: “What’s that?”

Your Uncle: “It’s a random teleportation point that spawns somewhere on the map. You can use it to jump to another server.”

2B: “There’s a time limit, though. You can stay on the other server for up to two hours. But if you get killed before then, you’ll respawn back on your home server.”

Blood Bull: “Killing cross-server players or getting killed by them gives rewards.”

Mad Lad: “Ah~~~?”

Crossplayer: “Assassin, your voice is trembling.”

Polly: “He can’t contain his excitement.”

Your Uncle: “Deputy, you’re trembling too…”

Despite the trembling, Jiang Yang still found time to send Fang Zheng a whisper—this time without any ambiguous undertones, just genuine concern between friends—

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Even though partnering with someone you’re dating comes with risks, I still wish you mountains of gold.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: You’re my role model!

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Yeah, being a tycoon is pretty sweet.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: [grinning]

[Whisper] Mad Lad: How about… I invest too?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: No way, don’t butt in~~

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Why? No entrepreneur ever turns down investment.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: This is a small operation. If you invest, I might end up getting swallowed whole one day =_=

[Whisper] Mad Lad: If taking a blade for a friend is a sin, then I’ll just stop doing it ╮(╯_╰)╭

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: You’re getting more shameless by the day…

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Aligning with our legion’s style is my lifelong pursuit.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: But the idea of Zombie investing makes me feel like you’re selling yourself [smirk]

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: You have no idea how happy I am that I can actually sell myself~\(≧▽≦)/~

Lu Yue received his childhood friend’s call at 8:10 PM—right in the middle of a blind date.

He had no idea how many relatives his mother, who lived in another city, had gone through to find this local girl for him. She was pretty, had a good job, and though her opening question about whether he owned property was a bit blunt, it wasn’t a dealbreaker. The turning point came when the first dish arrived—the girl’s phone rang. Her slender fingers gracefully swiped the screen to decline the call, and she smiled sweetly. “Just a spam call.”

By the time all the dishes were served, Lu Yue had counted—nine “spam calls” in total.

Later, the girl excused herself to the restroom and took an unusually long time. Bored, Lu Yue decided to take a bathroom break himself. Little did he know, the men’s and women’s restrooms were separated by just a thin wall. Standing at the urinal, Lu Yue caught the second half of a live performance.

A demure girl turning into a shrew wasn’t the scary part—the scary part was the NSFW content of her outburst. Lu Yue abandoned all thoughts of a long-term relationship and started plotting his escape. As luck would have it, barely ten minutes after the girl returned from the restroom, Birdy called.

Lu Yue didn’t bother hiding it—he answered right in front of her, intending to use it as an excuse to say, “Sorry, my buddy’s got an emergency,” and bolt. But Birdy delivered a real bombshell, eliminating the need for pretense—Lu Yue immediately transformed into the Roaring Emperor—

“What? You’re bringing him back tomorrow?”

“What do you mean it’s already decided? This is a business partnership, not a game of marbles! Shouldn’t you think it over???”

“I said you could invest with fixed assets, but that was just a suggestion, a suggestion! You need to conduct a thorough, objective feasibility analysis…”

“Bullshit, you’ve already ‘analyzed’?! It hasn’t even been that long! You wouldn’t even have time to roll around in bed!!!”

“Oh, if fixed assets are being converted to cash, then… You just had him sign an IOU?!?!”

“And I have to book them a hotel first?! Wait, why ‘them’?”

“Three people… WTF, weren’t you going to find Princess Fluffy? How did it turn into the Fluffy Legion?!?!By the time the call ended, Lu Yue, still trembling from his roar, realized his date had vanished.

Hanging up, Birdy returned from the balcony to the living room and cheerfully announced to his companions, “My buddy’s thrilled to hear you’re coming.”

Lu Yue tossed and turned, losing half the night to insomnia. When he finally dozed off, his dreams were filled with him and Birdy getting scammed into bankruptcy. Thus, when he went to pick them up the next day, he repeatedly reminded himself—keep your eyes wide open and yank out the fox tails of these fraudsters.

After waiting about twenty minutes at the arrivals gate, his childhood friend appeared with three foxes in tow.

Tall, short, fat, thin, handsome, delicate—but the plump fox, Princess Fluffy, stood out the most. Deciding to strike first, Lu Yue feigned enthusiasm and enthusiastically grabbed the other’s meaty hand: “I’m Lu Yue, Meng Chudong’s childhood friend. You must be…”

“?”

“…the Fang Zheng who begged Chudong for ages to tell you my name and only now finally agreed to introduce us! Nice to meet you, haha!”

Why did that feel like such an awkward pivot? =_=

But the Legion Leader had no time to dwell on it—he was too busy being nervous about “meeting his boyfriend’s friends for the first time.” His smile was restrained and controlled, inexplicably giving off a “quiet, refined youth” vibe.

Fifth Brother and Diamond exchanged glances behind him, reading the same thought in each other’s eyes: Don’t look at the Legion Leader right now, it’s terrifying TAT

Meng Chudong resisted the urge to smirk but still felt a pang of sympathy for Lu Yue. He then pulled Fifth Brother and Diamond over to introduce them to his friend.

The trio of supposed scammers turned out to be far more upright and steady than expected, which threw Lu Yue off. Diamond, equally unsettled after shaking Lu Yue’s hand for nearly half a minute, hesitantly asked, “Have we met before?”

“…” Lu Yue tilted his head 45 degrees toward the sky. He’d just been hit on by a man—his already unfortunate life had officially hit rock bottom TAT

But Diamond wasn’t joking. He suddenly pulled out his phone, scrolled through his gallery, and held up a photo: “Is this you?”

Birdy, Fifth Brother, Fang Zheng, and Lu Yue all crowded around the 5.4-inch screen. The photo was a selfie of a couple—a pure-looking girl and a handsome guy, both beaming brightly.

“Is this you?” Diamond asked again.

“Yeah.” Meng Chudong, as the childhood friend, provided confirmation.

Fifth Brother and Fang Zheng simultaneously widened their eyes, glancing between the photo and the real person, then back again… Brother Lu Yue, what hardships have you endured over the years?!

Finally snapping out of his shock, Lu Yue quickly asked, “How do you have this photo?”

“Xiong Yun is my sister¹Cousin,” Diamond explained, putting his phone away. “From my dad’s side. Two years ago, she told me she’d found her Prince Charming and sent me this photo to show off.”

Under the burning gazes of his curious companions, Lu Yue could only summarize the backstory in the simplest terms: “She’s my ex-girlfriend.”

Meng Chudong frowned, “I’ve never met her.”

Lu Yue: “We literally had a meal together!”

The gang: “…So why’d you break up?”

Lu Yue swallowed hard: “You know how it is, compatibility is such a subtle thing…”

Diamond: “He cheated.”

The gang: “Scumbag.”

Lu Yue resumed his 45-degree skyward gaze.

What to do? Running into your ex-girlfriend’s cousin… so awkward >_<

“But my sister ended up marrying a seafood merchant~ Life’s not bad~ At the start of this year, my brother-in-law started an aquaculture business. The company has hundreds of employees now~~~”

This guy was definitely sent by his ex to torment him =_=

“But the world really is small, hahaha~~~~”

Definitely!!!

The bizarre appearance of a shared acquaintance from the supposed fox den diluted much of Lu Yue’s wariness. By the time he hit it off with Fifth Brother—

“Oh, by the way, I have a Weibo account too. You should follow me—it’s called ‘My Business Partner is a Weirdo’…”

“Holy crap, no wonder it said the username was taken when I tried to register! Just give me your login, and we’ll post memes together…”

—he’d completely accepted the trio as brothers.

Aside from the divine twist of fate linking Xiong Yun and Lu Yue, everything else unfolded as Meng Chudong had predicted. He knew his childhood friend’s personality inside out—outwardly shrewd, occasionally calculating, but at heart a hot-blooded young man who’d throw himself into anything for a friend after three sentences and two drinks. His favorite TV show was “Water Margin,” and the anime he was currently obsessed with was “One Piece.”

Since this was just a scouting trip, the trio hadn’t brought much luggage. Lu Yue drove them straight to a restaurant for a welcome dinner.

During the meal, Birdy quietly asked Lu Yue, “So, what do you think?Lu Yue immediately understood and glanced at Fang Zheng again before answering honestly: “The photo was a basketball, but in person, he’s a rugby ball.””

Birdy narrowed his eyes.

Lu Yue hurriedly added, “But I can tell he’s got a great personality.”

Birdy smiled, satisfied.

Lu Yue mentally roasted him a hundred times over—then felt genuinely happy for Meng Chudong.

He’d once asked his childhood friend: What kind of guy do you like?

After thinking for a while, the other had answered: Sincere, not frivolous, not too loud—serious or rigid is fine, looks just need to be passable, but not too fat.

Lu Yue didn’t know how much malice the universe had unleashed upon his friend, but he did know one thing: If one day, every single one of your “standards” for a partner becomes completely meaningless in the face of someone you call “true love,” then pay attention—this must be the real deal. True love.

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