Chapter 15 – The Holy Land for Stealing People

Meng Chudong rarely went to bed before 2 a.m., so when Lu Yue walked into the shop at 9 a.m. and saw his childhood friend curled up on the single sofa slurping soy milk, he thought he was hallucinating.

Regulars at the Overwinter Internet Cafe knew that the computer at the far end of the VIP lounge area was off-limits—it was the reserved spot for the shop’s second owner. Of course, most of the time, Boss Dong would occupy it in person.

Stepping into the lounge area, Lu Yue quickly made his way to the single sofa. To his surprise, the lit-up monitor wasn’t displaying a game screen. “Did you wake up early, or did you not sleep at all?”

“Woke up early.” Meng Chudong yawned listlessly, feeling that the biological clock was like a GM—you had to follow its rules, or it would torment you.

“Tsk, that’s rare,” Lu Yue said, pleased. “Don’t tell me you somehow knew I had something to discuss with you?”

Meng Chudong finally lifted his eyelids. Though nominally the second owner, he had only contributed half the capital for the internet cafe. The management and operations were all handled by Lu Yue, so the profits were split 70-30 between them. Originally, it was 60-40, but later, feeling that he was far too hands-off, he voluntarily reduced his share and then guiltlessly devoted himself to gaming without a care.

The term “wasting time on gaming” was something Lu Yue had picked up online and immediately bestowed upon him.

Lu Yue rarely bothered him with trivial business matters. If he brought something up, it had to be fairly important. So Meng Chudong set down his soy milk, straightened his posture slightly, and assumed a serious, attentive expression.

After a moment of deliberation, Lu Yue tried to keep his explanation concise to avoid wasting the gamer’s time: “I want to use last year’s surplus to expand our internet cafe.”

Currently, Overwinter Internet Cafe only occupied one floor. Aside from the main hall, there were two small four-person private rooms and one larger eight-person room. On paper, it might sound decent, but in reality, it wasn’t much—just seventy or eighty machines in total. There were profits, but the gap between “profitable” and “substantial” was still quite large.

Meng Chudong ran the proposal through his mind—just once—and found nothing unreasonable about it. So he readily agreed: “Sure.”

Lu Yue hadn’t been entirely confident, so he couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous while waiting for a response. But when that straightforward “Sure” came out, he was dumbfounded: “That’s it?”

Well, of course that was it. Meng Chudong gave his childhood friend a puzzled look for a few seconds before finally understanding: “Is there something else?”

Lu Yue wanted to strangle him!

It wasn’t like killing this guy would be any real loss—he wasn’t even useful as a night-shift manager!

While Lu Yue was internally seething, Meng Chudong had already moved on to the practical steps: “I’ll withdraw the money and give it to you later. You handle it however you see fit.”

“……”

Lu Yue’s inner herd of alpacas stampeded.

Last year’s surplus was 250,000 yuan. Meng Chudong’s 30% share came to 75,000. Yes, that was 75,000, not fucking 7.50—could you at least show some human reaction?!

Meng Chudong could.

He gave Lu Yue a sincere look that said, “Thanks for your hard work,” then picked up his soy milk again and resumed slurping.

…

Three days had passed since the Corpse King Necropolis incident. Fang Zheng hadn’t logged into Mirage Server even once, channeling his frustration into leveling Mad Lad all the way to 55 in one go.

By the time the little Assassin hit max level, it was already 2 a.m. Fang Zheng thought it over and, out of consideration, decided not to disturb his client with a text. Instead, he took his little Assassin in yellow gear out for a stroll.

Perhaps the game operator had launched some new promotional campaign, because Fang Zheng felt that the population of Huaxia Summit was still growing. Queue times to log in were getting longer, and new guilds were sprouting up like mushrooms after rain. Huaxia Dominion and Five Peaks Pavilion still dominated the top two spots on the guild leaderboard, but the gap between them and the third, fourth, and even fifth-place guilds was subtly shrinking.

Fang Zheng had a keen sense that Huaxia Summit was heading in an unstoppable direction—balance.

Where there were people, there was a jianghu¹Literally “the world of martial arts,” but used as a general descriptor for anything that is “a world of its own,” especially if it operates outside of societal norms, like the underbelly of society, a cut-throat industry, or an online game in this case.. And a jianghu where forces were evenly matched was the most vibrant.

Frequent world chat spam was another hallmark of a lively server.

[Huaxia] Piano Prince: City of the Dead, looking for a party. No noobs, please.

[Huaxia] White Night: Fuck, where’s the guy who ambushed me in Hulunbuir just now?! Have the guts to give Laozi your name!

[Huaxia] Chips Ahoy: Kraft Biscuits Guild recruiting~~~ Friendly guild, warm and harmonious~~~

[Huaxia] 2B Fighter Jet: Looking for PVP, looking for a sugar daddy, looking to get wrecked, looking for girls~~~~

Fang Zheng was enjoying the spectacle when a familiar ID suddenly popped up, nearly blinding his titanium alloy eyes.

But since the guy had delivered himself to Fang Zheng’s doorstep, it would be a shame not to tease him.

[Huaxia] Mad Lad: How much for a night?

The moment this question dropped, the world chat exploded. Lonely noobs always had a keen interest in risqué topics.

[Huaxia] Piano Prince: Holy shit, what’s going on? 2B’s not just selling skills but his body now too?

[Huaxia] Old Harmony Squad: Hurry up, how much for a night? Hahaha, we’re all waiting!

[Huaxia] Scumbag Li: Waiting +10086~~ *lewd grin*

[Huaxia] Miracle Healer: Piano, hurry up and keep recruiting. If you keep dragging your feet, I’m leaving!

If the healer left, that would be a disaster. Within seconds, the world chat was flooded with Piano Prince’s party recruitment messages.

Fang Zheng thought the matter would end with the crowd’s teasing and the target’s feigned ignorance. He hadn’t planned to continue, but not long after Piano Prince’s spam, a reply drifted up—

[Huaxia] 2B Fighter Jet: How much can you offer, dear~~

Fang Zheng’s interest was immediately piqued. Shamelessness meeting shamelessness was a rare treat.

[Huaxia] Mad Lad: Depends on what services you’re offering~~

[Huaxia] 2B Fighter Jet: What services do you want~~

[Huaxia] Mad Lad: The full package, of course~~

[Huaxia] 2B Fighter Jet: The full package costs extra~~

[Huaxia] Mad Lad: No problem~ As long as I’m satisfied~~

[Huaxia] 2B Fighter Jet: Don’t just talk, put down a deposit~~ Come On Baby~~

[Huaxia] Miracle Healer: GM! How about banning these two?!

[Huaxia] Mad Lad: >_< We didn’t say anything inappropriate~~

[Huaxia] Miracle Healer: Just the way you’re throwing those tildes around is already a crime!!

[Huaxia] Piano Prince: Healer, you’re too innocent. Just say they’re flirting back and forth and be done with it!

[Huaxia] 2B Fighter Jet: Fuck this, I’m done with you guys~~~~~~~~~~

The onlookers unanimously agreed that the lingering tildes at the end completely undermined his declaration.

Teasing 2B was fun, but afterward, Fang Zheng thought of Mirage Server, and his heart soured a little. If it had always been a ghost town, that would be one thing. But Mirage Server had once been glorious, just like Huaxia Summit was now.

Guiding Mad Lad through the bustling Marketplace on Nanjing Road, Fang Zheng was actually quite distracted. Yet, by sheer coincidence, another dashingly handsome guy with a familiar ID brushed past him—his aura so radiant that even his back view was dazzling.

Nanjing Road was so lively~~

And enemies truly crossed paths in narrow alleys~~

Even without seeing the ID, Fang Zheng suspected he would’ve recognized the other man. After all, healers who liked wearing the Warlord Set were few and far between. The Warlord Set was orange-tier gear—high attack, low defense, making it top-tier equipment for ranged DPS classes like Spirit Masters. But how many healers actually prioritized high DPS?

My Blood for Xuanyuan was the exception.

Back in Mirage Server, this guy’s reputation as a DPS Healer was already set in stone. Fang Zheng couldn’t understand why anyone would enjoy playing a DPS Healer. Sure, dealing damage was fun, but could it really compare to pure DPS classes? And when it came to healing, it just wasn’t robust enough. It was a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Still, you had to admit Xuanyuan had made it work—he could heal in dungeons and had no problem in PVP. If you didn’t take him down in the first thirty seconds, you’d be the one on the ground—those without self-healing were truly at a disadvantage.

Originally, Fang Zheng and Xuanyuan had been like two parallel lines—in four and a half years on Mirage Server, they’d never interacted. But in just one day on Huaxia Summit, Xuanyuan had firmly secured Fang Zheng’s aggro. Of course, that was thanks to another little friend.

Where was she?

Fang Zheng had a hunch that Little Deadleaf was nearby, but no matter how he adjusted his camera angle, he couldn’t spot that ID among the densely packed crowd.

Xuanyuan was probably heading to the Guild Warehouse, so it wasn’t long before he came out of the Guild Hall.

Fang Zheng lurked in the crowd, quietly tailing him all the way to the Teleport Master. Soon, Xuanyuan’s figure vanished. Fang Zheng also guided Mad Lad over. Opening the Teleport Master’s menu, he saw that Nanjing Road connected to four major maps. Fang Zheng’s intuition pointed to the first one, but after searching there for a while, he found nothing. He then tried the second and third maps, still with no luck. Finally, in desperation, he teleported to the fourth map—where he finally saw the light of hope, while also soberly realizing that he truly lacked any sixth sense for such mystical things.

Shanhai Pass.

The endless Great Wall stretched along the mountain ridges, its beacon towers still lit with flames as if time had rolled backward.

“He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man”—that was for the real world. In Huaxia, the Great Wall had no dungeons, no mobs, and no herbs or materials. The only thing it had was peace and quiet. Sitting atop a beacon tower, you could look up at the vast sky or down at the teeming masses. Jump off the tower and roll into any lush bush, and even your own mother wouldn’t be able to find you. Thanks to these unique geographical advantages, it had become a paradise for illicit lovers—and a holy land for catching cheaters.

Mad Lad didn’t spot Xuanyuan. Instead, he saw a name with even higher aggro—Deadleaf.

Little Deadleaf was a Zombie, but Deadleaf was a Demon Refiner. Fang Zheng hadn’t been entirely sure whether this was actually Little Deadleaf’s main account until he crept closer and saw the guild tag. Perfect, no doubt about it now. The best part? The kid was alone, sitting there gazing mournfully at the sky at a 45-degree angle like a tragic poet.

The person had to be stolen ^_^

But how? That required some thought >_<

Stealthily maneuvering Mad Lad behind Deadleaf, Fang Zheng paused, thinking for a few seconds while rapidly cycling through possible skill combinations. Crimson Lotus Holy Fire was a must—it was the only big move a healer had for killing. But for insurance, should he follow up with Willow Leaf Blade or Five Animals Play? Tsk, support classes were really such a pain in PVP…

Wait!

He was an Assassin now (⊙o⊙)!

A massive wave of joy surged in his heart, even more exhilarating than a screen full of tildes. Fang Zheng unconsciously grinned, the pale glow of the LCD screen making his plump cheeks look even more lecherous.

On-screen, the little Assassin crept up behind the girl. Off-screen, Fang Zheng closely monitored the system’s distance tracker—7M, 6M, 5M! Mad Lad opened with a mid-range Backstab! The delicate scream of a female character rang out, but the Assassin didn’t wait for her to react before following up with a Throat Seeker!

Backstab + Throat Seeker—a signature Assassin combo, typically used in ambushes for devastating damage. Against squishier targets, it could even be an instant kill. But Deadleaf’s gear was decent, leaving her with about a third of her HP after the combo.

Those two moves gave the Demon Refiner enough time to summon her Fire Sprite pet while she herself scrambled backward.

Fang Zheng wasn’t about to let her escape. Activating Evasion (an Assassin skill that increased dodge rate by 13% for 60 seconds), he quickly switched to his bow and fired a Frost Arrow, freezing the girl in place! The Fire Sprite’s attacks kept missing thanks to the dodge buff, and Fang Zheng seized the chance to chug a Speed Potion before charging straight at Deadleaf!

Deadleaf finally shook off the Petrify effect, but the lingering slow from Frost Arrow still drastically reduced her movement speed! As Mad Lad closed in, Fang Zheng’s grin widened, his inner monologue roaring with cheesy lines like Scream all you want, no one’s coming to save you!—as if he were evolving from a delinquent into a full-blown ruffian…

Boom!

A dazzling crimson explosion lit up the screen.

Fang Zheng knew that effect all too well… Dammit, Crimson Lotus Holy Fire!

Assassins weren’t as squishy as magic classes, but Mad Lad’s gear was garbage—his HP bar instantly dropped to one-sixth!

Shit! Fang Zheng cursed inwardly but kept his hands moving, determined to at least take Deadleaf down with him. Unfortunately, the girl’s gear was annoyingly tanky—two Heartstabs later, she still hadn’t keeled over.

But her Fire Sprite pet and the healer’s Willow Leaf Blade were already closing in…

Fang Zheng didn’t want to “entertain guests,” but in the end, his delicate corpse hit the ground ╮(╯_╰)╭

After death, you couldn’t speak outside of party chat, but you could still read all channels.

[Local] My Blood for Xuanyuan: What happened?

[Local] Deadleaf: No idea. I was just sitting here, and this guy attacked me out of nowhere. He really is mad!

[Local] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Looks familiar.

[Local] Deadleaf: Hm?

[Local] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Got it.

Fang Zheng was reading the chat when a system prompt suddenly popped up—

My Blood for Xuanyuan has chosen to resurrect you. Accept?

No need to think—of course, decline!

Who knew if he’d just get slaughtered again after reviving? =_=

Fang Zheng, who always projected his own tendencies onto others, rejected Xuanyuan’s skill and immediately let the system send him back to the respawn point.

But before his Resurrection Sickness could wear off, Xuanyuan reached out via private message.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: There was some misunderstanding last time. You’re max level now—is it really worth holding onto a grudge from a level 30 dungeon and ambushing a girl? Not a good look.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: I’m a girl too. Did you feel bad when you kicked me? Let me tell you, my ass still hurts from that fall!

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: ……

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Then what do you want? Just say it. No need for a drawn-out feud—it’s not worth it.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: An apology.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: From both of you.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Heh, you think that’s possible?

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Then divorce her and marry me ^_^

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: ……

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Let me be honest—the reason I’m targeting Deadleaf is all because of you. A woman’s heart… you don’t understand~~~~~

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Right, especially the heart of a woman who asks a man how much he charges for a night on the world chat.

Damn, exposed =_=

2B had believed Fang Zheng was a girl purely because of his own idiot nature, but someone like Xuanyuan, who managed a guild of hundreds, wasn’t that easy to fool. The conversation had reached a dead end, so Fang Zheng decisively added him to the blocklist. Then he opened the system search and looked up that self-deprecating ID…

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Little JiJi~~

As the saying goes, a gentleman’s revenge is ten years late, but a fatty’s revenge is from dawn till dusk.

Little JiJi was currently guildless, so every long night must have been unbearably boring—hence his lightning-fast response to any random provocation.

[Whisper] 2B Fighter Jet: The fuck you want?

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Not the fuck, but the who—50 Huaxia Coins, how about it?

[Whisper] 2B Fighter Jet: Huh?

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Weren’t you looking for a sugar daddy? Now that business is knocking, you wanna turn it away?

[Whisper] 2B Fighter Jet: I’m only worth fifty cents?!

[Whisper] Mad Lad: JiJi, don’t look down on the fifty-cent party.

[Whisper] 2B Fighter Jet: ……

[Whisper] 2B Fighter Jet: I can’t swim—go find some other water army =_=

[Whisper] Mad Lad: I don’t want a water army. I want you!

[Whisper] 2B Fighter Jet: Laozi ain’t into dudes!

[Whisper] Mad Lad: What about girls?

[Whisper] 2B Fighter Jet: (⊙o⊙)

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Someone else’s wife.

[Whisper] 2B Fighter Jet: ╮(╯_╰)╭

[Whisper] Mad Lad: But we can still take her down!

[Whisper] 2B Fighter Jet: ~\(≧▽≦)/~

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  Literally “the world of martial arts,” but used as a general descriptor for anything that is “a world of its own,” especially if it operates outside of societal norms, like the underbelly of society, a cut-throat industry, or an online game in this case.