Chapter 170 – Love in Eden (Part 1)

[Five Peaks Pavilion YY]

Fire Cloud Evil God: “Brothers, if you don’t come to Sky Arena, it’ll be the biggest loss of the century! Back-to-back battles nonstop—live fast, die young!”

Unintentional Mistake: “You started fighting as soon as you got in?”

Fire Cloud Evil God: “Duh, why else would it be called Sky Arena?”

Suave Not Sleazy: “We already fight enough in normal play. Now’s the time to abandon the pen for the sword. Las Vegas is where the real fun is, but you guys don’t have a chance anymore.”

Marilyn MengPing: “Summit of Mount Tai, how does it feel being the Commander? Does an indescribable mix of sourness and pleasure surge from your heels to the tips of your hair?”

Summit of Mount Tai: “Wanna try it yourself?”

Marilyn MengPing: “No no, I wouldn’t dare take on such a heavy responsibility, hahahaha.”

Summit of Mount Tai: “But I’ve seen a lot of legions I’ve never heard of before.”

Suave Not Sleazy: “That’s normal. After the game update, tons of new players joined. Those dead servers like Silent Fortress and Frostbite Canyon have come back to life. I’ve seen a lot too.”

Summit of Mount Tai: “Even though the accounts and legions are unfamiliar, their playstyle doesn’t seem like newbies. Feels more like veterans who came back and made new accounts.”

Demon Tamer: “What are you trying to say? That they’re all really strong?”

Summit of Mount Tai: “What I’m saying is…”

“DRINK TILL YOU DROP, I’LL FUCK YOUR MOM!!!”

—The Deputy Commander of Five Peaks Pavilion seamlessly finished the sentence.

The Five Peaks Pavilion members communicated telepathically. Clearly, the Deputy and Summit of Mount Tai, who was temporarily acting as Commander, had encountered a formidable opponent in the Flagship area. Though no one knew what bloody storm had erupted in the otherwise peaceful Flagship zone at the start of the event, it had successfully reignited the Deputy’s grudge against Drink Till You Drop for “abandoning his bros for a girl.”

What they didn’t know, however, was that the “girl-abandoning” Commander was currently not having a good time.

Drink Till You Drop had chosen Eden without a second thought—or rather, it was his girlfriend’s choice. After careful consideration, he had temporarily stepped down as Commander and promoted the steady Summit of Mount Tai to lead the guild into the Flagship area with White Dragon Horse. Drink believed he had struck a rare balance between his girlfriend, his brothers, and the guild.

And yet, Drink Till You Drop still regretted it.

With the help of a Gender Change Scroll, Drink Your Sister 3X had shed her rough exterior and redesigned herself as a female character. Whether by talent or luck, she had created a stunning avatar—big eyes, a round face, sweet shoulder-length curls, and a flowing gossamer dress. Compared to her old look, it was like evolving from an ogre to a fairy maiden.

Drink was quite pleased with his girlfriend’s new appearance. The sight of the eye-catching Drink Your Sister 3X healer slightly eased his regret—by about 10%. The remaining 90%, however, fermented alongside the flurry of pink balloons floating through the air.

“So beautiful…” Drink Your Sister 3X gazed around the pastel-colored Eden Main City and sighed. “Whoever designed this area was definitely a girl. Or a gay guy!”

Drink sighed internally. He really wanted to tell that girl—or gay guy—”Pink balloons, blue skies, beige tiles, rose-pink city towers—did you even consider how the other half of the player base (the guys) would feel?!”

Aside from its color scheme, Eden’s Main City also had a playful, cute aesthetic. Though half the players were male, the fact that they had come to Eden as couples made it clear who the target demographic was. For example, right now, nine out of ten couples were tirelessly taking screenshots in front of various landmarks, as if carving “So-and-so was here” into them. Even the background music was something else—

“This is a city in love~~ starting from the moment you finally smiled at me~~ every street, every tree’s position~~ is just right~~ as if everything was set up for love~~~”

Drink couldn’t take it anymore and muted the BGM, leaving only the game’s sound effects. His thoughts involuntarily drifted toward the Flagship area. He did like Drink Your Sister 3X and was willing to make small sacrifices for her, but the frustration afterward…

[Whisper] War-Six Souls: “You there?”

[Whisper] Drink Till You Drop: “Yeah.”

[Whisper] War-Six Souls: “Why didn’t you go to Flagship?”

He wanted to know that too, dammit TAT

In their newly created two-person YY channel, Drink Your Sister 3X called out to her boyfriend for the third time: “Hey, what are you thinking about? I asked you a question.”

Drink shook his head, temporarily ignoring his restless heart: “Huh? What did you ask?”

Drink Your Sister 3X frowned. “Why are you so distracted? I asked which mini-game you want to start with first.”

Drink was grateful the event had started at midnight, meaning both he and Drink Your Sister 3X had to stay at their own homes. If they had been face-to-face, his lack of enthusiasm would’ve earned him an earful.

“Anything’s fine. Whatever you like.”

“How about the Haunted House?”

“Sure.”

Eden’s map wasn’t complicated—just one large Main City: Love City. The city was divided into three zones: the northern Romance Zone, the central Proving Zone, and the southern Unity Zone. The Romance Zone featured cooperative mini-games for pairs with 0–200 points. The Proving Zone was a PvE area where pairs or multiple teams fought NPCs, for players with 201–400 points. The Unity Zone was a PvP zone, strictly for 2v2 battles.

Scattered throughout these zones were cozy little details—modern photo booths, dessert shops, cinemas, as well as ancient-style opera stages, embroidery towers, arched bridges, and more. Couples could take breaks from grinding to enjoy the scenery and bond.

Since players entered the event zone in pairs, the system automatically grouped the two as a team. Players couldn’t disband or leave mid-game—if they wanted to earn points in this area, they had to stick together. After all, couples weathered hardships together. If they split at the first sign of difficulty, they were just business partners.

The Haunted House was a small maze—it could even be considered an open-world map, though without any world bosses, just endless mobs. The Blood Warrior Drink cleared the path while the healer Drink Your Sister 3X kept him topped up.

After one-shotting fourteen mobs in a row, Drink sighed. “There’s zero challenge here.”

Drink Your Sister 3X thought he was showing off and scoffed. “Without me healing you, you’d have wiped long ago.”

“I brought HP potions, my dear.”

“Fine, I won’t do anything then. Go ahead and chug them yourself.”

“No no, having a healer and still needing potions? That’s just sad.”

Drink Your Sister 3X laughed. Though she vaguely sensed Drink’s distraction, the fact that he had given up Flagship to accompany her to Eden was already a compromise. A girl had to be content, right?

The unchallenging Haunted House run ended twelve minutes later. Drink Your Sister 3X and Drink’s points rose from 0 to 10. Drink yawned, alt-tabbed to check YY, and saw that White Dragon Horse was still mad at him, so he could only ask Summit of Mount Tai for updates: How’s it going over there?

Summit of Mount Tai replied quickly and succinctly: Chaos.

Drink: Lots of new players?

Summit: Faces are new, but could be veterans. They’re strong.

Drink: I trust you. But if you need help, call me.

Summit: ?

Drink: I can log into your account if it’s urgent.

Summit: Got it.

His restless heart settled slightly. Drink switched back to the game and noticed a new whisper—

[Whisper] Drink Your Sister 3X: Who were you talking to? Your keyboard was clacking so loudly.

Drink didn’t hide it.

[Whisper] Drink Till You Drop: Summit of Mount Tai. Said things are chaotic over there.

But he didn’t mention that he had asked, not the other way around.

“Alright, since you’re here with me, stop worrying about them,” Drink Your Sister 3X said, switching to voice chat now that the issue was out in the open. “C’mon, let’s take a break and snap some photos!”

Drink patiently followed the beautiful healer to the photo booth, but as he watched their avatars on-screen, he couldn’t help but feel ridiculous. His guildmates were fighting tooth and nail, and here he was… doing what, exactly?

Click!

With a single sound, a nine-photo collage of Drink Till You Drop & Drink Your Sister 3X appeared on-screen.

The screenshot was cute. Despite his distraction, Drink silently saved the image.

[System] Congratulations to Drink Your Sister 3X & Drink Till You Drop for obtaining a Red Apple!

The sudden system notification startled them. The next second, a Red Apple appeared in both their inventories—though it was grayed out since it couldn’t be used yet.

Drink hovered his cursor over the item—

[Red Apple]

Level: Unknown

Price: Unknown

Description: The most beautiful fruit in Eden. Collect seven, and something good will happen.

Mysterious things always made imaginative girls starry-eyed, and Drink Your Sister 3X was no exception. “What good thing? What good thing?”

Drink sighed. “I’m not a prophet.”

He didn’t share her boundless curiosity, but if collecting seven could instantly boost them to 500 points, he’d be willing to put in the effort.

Despite his boredom, Drink helped Drink Your Sister 3X reach the 200-point milestone by 3 AM.

Drink: “It’s late. Let’s sleep and continue tomorrow.”

Drink Your Sister 3X: “…”

Drink: “Hm?”

Drink Your Sister 3X: “Nothing. Goodnight.”

Drink: “Night.”

After shutting down her computer, Drink Your Sister 3X lay in bed, unable to sleep. Having known Drink for years, she could tell whether he was happy, frustrated, excited, or just going through the motions—even if he tried to hide it, it only delayed the inevitable. Maybe dragging him to Eden had been a mistake. But if he didn’t want to come, he could’ve just refused! Forced relationships never worked out; it wasn’t like she had held him at gunpoint.

And after playing all night, Drink Your Sister 3X felt she had performed decently—yet Drink hadn’t even given her a simple “good job.” Though she was past the age of seeking praise for effort, she had worked hard to learn Huaxia Online, practiced her mechanics, and genuinely tried to understand the emotions Drink once described—those highs and lows she used to dismiss. She had even reflected on her past selfish behavior more than once…

She knew that if she asked, Drink would give her the validation she wanted. But she wanted him to say it unprompted! Was that so hard?! This bastard TAT

The “bastard” in question remained blissfully unaware of the curse, as he had already logged into Summit of Mount Tai’s account in the Flagship area. From then on, Summit of Mount Tai fully embraced his role as a puppet—though only Heaven, Earth, Drink Till You Drop, and Summit himself knew the truth. Even White Dragon Horse was kept in the dark. It wasn’t that the Five Peaks Pavilion Commander wanted to be mysterious; he just didn’t want to deal with his Deputy’s endless nagging.

Drink Your Sister 3X logged off at 3 AM and back on at noon, well-rested after eight hours of sleep and a proper lunch.

Drink Till You Drop logged off at 3 AM, logged into Summit of Mount Tai’s account at 3:05 AM, logged off for real at 7:30 AM, and was back on at noon—running on a measly four and a half hours of sleep and no lunch.

Drink Your Sister 3X: “Why do you sound so tired?”

Drink Till You Drop: “Just woke up. Probably not fully awake yet.”

Drink Your Sister 3X: “Are you a pig? How are you still sleepy after all that sleep?”

Drink Till You Drop: “Yup.”

Drink Your Sister 3X: “…”

It never crossed her mind that he might have gone to another event area afterward, so she didn’t dwell on his exhaustion. With 200 points, they could now enter the Proving Zone for PvE. Drink Your Sister 3X focused on deciding whether to challenge the Love Devourer or the Heartbreak Bug.

Drink Till You Drop tilted his mic away and discreetly yawned. The moisture in his eyes blurred his vision, distorting the entire screen on his retina…

[Eden] Searching a thousand times in the crowd, player [Ray-Ban] has chosen Random Partner Swap from the three blessings with seven Red Apples!

[Eden] There she stands in the dimming lights, player [Drink Your Sister 3X] embarks on a new journey!

Eden was usually a place for sweet nothings, with little World Chat activity—after all, romance was a private affair. Most players were still in the mini-game or PvE stages, so without conflict, no one had reason to broadcast their love lives. The system was even quieter than the players; while couples occasionally flaunted their affection in World Chat, the system had remained silent since the event began.

Thus, these two consecutive system announcements were like boulders dropped into a tranquil lake of love—stirring up waves of gossip. After all, curiosity was human nature, even for the lovestruck =_=

[Eden] Kitchen God: “What’s going on?”

[Eden] Queen Mother of the West: “Actually, I’ve been wondering—what do seven Red Apples even do? Summon Shenron?”

[Eden] Dryland King of Hell: “This humble bystander can confirm it doesn’t summon Shenron, but it can summon a beauty. That girl is gorgeous… [drool][drool][drool]”

[Eden] Kneel on Keyboard: “Pics or it didn’t happen.”

[Eden] Dryland King of Hell: “[screenshot]”

[Eden] Kneel on Keyboard: “[drool][drool][drool]”

[Eden] Dryland King of Hell: “Haha, told you! But Keyboard Brother, aren’t you worried your teammate will actually make you kneel on a keyboard for admiring so openly…?”

[Eden] Kneel on Keyboard: “Haha, my wife only plays QQ Mahjong. I came with my bro—he’s on a female alt.”

[Eden] Dryland King of Hell: “A kindred spirit! Same here! Bros are way more reliable than girlfriends!”

[Eden] Blood Swallow: “This is too much information… =_=”

[Eden] Chasing Feifei Forever: “Seriously, can we get back on topic? Is the reward for seven apples a girlfriend swap?”

[Eden] Six Paths of Rebirth: “And it’s random.”

[Eden] Old Five: “That’s such a scam.”

[Eden] Dryland King of Hell: “There must be multiple options. Didn’t it say ‘three blessings’? Random Partner Swap is probably just one of them.”

[Eden] Kneel on Keyboard: “Random anything is way too risky.”

[Eden] Dryland King of Hell: “This humble bystander can also confirm that Ray-Ban’s original teammate seems to have DC’ed.

[Eden] Handsome Piao: “If they DC’ed, why not just wait? Swapping today might mean never reuniting. Isn’t that too harsh?”

[Eden] Dryland King of Hell: “Maybe they were already fed up, or maybe the other person won’t be back anytime soon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯”

[Eden] Blood Swallow: “Stop speculating. Where are the involved parties? Say something.”

[Eden] Blood Swallow: “Ray-Ban, what are your thoughts on the system choosing Drink Your Sister 3X for you? Drink Your Sister 3X, any words for your new partner? Damn, this feels like a wedding ceremony, lol.”

[Eden] Six Paths of Rebirth: “Wait, aren’t we forgetting someone?”

[Eden] Old Five: “Now that you mention it…

[Eden] Handsome Piao: “Who was Drink Your Sister 3X’s original partner?

[Eden] Dryland King of Hell: “That’s not important [candle]”

[Eden] Kneel on Keyboard: “An ID is just a label [candle]”

[Eden] Chasing Feifei Forever: “[candle]”

[Eden] Blood Swallow: “[candle]”

[Eden] Kitchen God: “[candle]”

[Eden] …