Chapter 195 – Lovers’ First Gathering

Fang Zheng and Meng Chudong entered Lover’s Constellation hand in hand under the eager, hopeful gazes of their Ghost Server Legion comrades, with just five minutes left before the three-day deadline expired. As the moral floor of the Ghost Server Legion, Milk is Mom wielded lewdness in one hand and sass in the other, stirring up chaos in the Legion Zone with both. He wrapped up his journey there with a dominant 2000 points. Meanwhile, as the pinnacle of the Ghost Server Legion’s strength, Polly, after effortlessly embracing Milk is Mom’s tactical philosophy, went on a killing spree, unstoppable and ruthless, turning the Legion Zone into a bloody wasteland. With unparalleled combat efficiency, he surged ahead to first place on the leaderboard with 2200 points and left in style.

The next five minutes were the most peaceful, harmonious, and blissful five minutes the Legion Zone players had ever experienced. Even though players like Don’t Stop the Meds and ice Iceborn held overwhelming advantages over others, losing to such elites was something they could accept with dignity. As for Don’t Stop the Meds and ice Iceborn finally breaking through 2000 points just before midnight—that was a story for later.

Beijing Time, 23:55

Entering Lover’s Constellation wasn’t as grand as Fang Zheng had imagined—no fanfare, no firecrackers. As for the “sea of people waving red flags,” that would have to wait until after the opening cutscene. Since it was called Lover’s Constellation, it naturally revolved around romance. Thus, every player who entered, whether by choice or by default after the time limit, had to endure this story—

The mermaid princess of the sea fell in love with a prince from the land. One day, the prince fell into the water, and the princess risked her life to save him. But the prince mistakenly believed it was another human girl who had rescued him. So, the mermaid princess traded her beautiful voice to a sorcerer in exchange for legs. Yet when she reached the shore, she found the prince had already married someone else…

Up to this point, the story was still tolerable. Sure, it was a blatant rip-off of The Little Mermaid, with zero originality, but classics never go out of style. However, the scriptwriter for Lover’s Constellation was clearly an artistic soul with lofty ideals and a yearning for truth, goodness, and beauty. Thus, the mermaid princess’s tears at the prince’s wedding moved the sorcerer, who returned her voice. She rushed into the ballroom and confessed everything to the prince.

Finally, the prince realized that the one who had truly saved him was the stunning beauty in front of him, not that plain-faced, lying commoner. So, the wedding proceeded as planned—except the bride was now the mermaid princess. From then on, the prince and princess lived happily ever after…

Yeah, right.

On their wedding night, the princess reverted to her true form—don’t ask what the prince did to her (╮(╯_╰)╭)—her beautiful legs vanished, replaced by a fish tail. The prince, horrified, believed he had married an evil witch—don’t ask why he didn’t realize she was a mermaid. Even Xu Xian fainted dead away when he saw Lady White Snake’s true form after she drank the realgar wine. In that sense, the prince’s resilience was commendable. Anyway, the prince called his guards, who captured the princess and threw her into a dungeon, awaiting trial at a later date.

At this point, the cutscene ended. The moment the screen returned, every player heard a ding and received their first quest in Lover’s Constellation—

Warrior, please go to the bottom of the sea and find a stone!

……

The Ghost Server Legion Leader stared at the screen, now transformed into the beach of Lover’s Constellation, his emotions turbulent for a long, long time.

Fang Zheng: “Birdy.”

Meng Chudong: “Hm?”

Fang Zheng: “Did you understand that?”

Meng Chudong: “Hm.”

Fang Zheng: “Then explain to me what the hell the background story has to do with the player quest.”

Meng Chudong: “No idea.”

Fang Zheng: “Then what did you understand?!”

Meng Chudong: “The scriptwriter they hired probably specializes in suspense romance.”

……

Regardless, they now had a quest. Judging by the color and the 2000-point reward, this was a Main Quest. Main Quests were mandatory—they had three defining traits:

1. The quest content formed the backbone of the game’s lore. Completing all Main Quests meant understanding the game’s world.

2. The XP rewards were massive. Finishing one Main Quest could net you as much XP as hours of grinding, especially noticeable for high-level players.

3. Once a player reached a certain level, if they didn’t complete the Main Quests, even if they maxed out their XP, they couldn’t level up further. For example, that mob in the endgame dungeon that had to be defeated to reach Level 70 could be considered a hidden Main Quest.

Azure sea, clear skies—the horizon blurred the two together. Only when the breeze stirred could you tell the shifting blue was the sea, while the still blue was the sky.

If Lover’s Constellation were treated as a regular server, every player who just entered would be a Level 0 noob. And as a starter village, this place was way too beautiful.

[System] Crossplayer’s Blessing has died.

—If not for the occasional players chasing each other down for kills, that is. =_=

The only way to see a player’s death without being in a party was if they died nearby. So Fang Zheng quickly adjusted his camera angle and finally spotted his teammate—who had been missing for three days and was now on death’s door… no, stabbed to death—behind a rock to his right.

Surprisingly, the killer hadn’t fled. Instead, he was leisurely pacing beside the corpse, his fiery red Mohawk swaying in the wind, mirroring his current jubilant mood.

[Local] Seven Emperors: I told you, didn’t I? If you had the guts to show your face again, I’d wreck you. Hahahahaha!

[Combat] Milk is Mom used Crimson Lotus Holy Fire.

[Combat] Polly used Netherworld Ghostly Claws.

[Combat] Polly used Specters and Ghouls.

[Combat] Milk is Mom used Zephyr Jinx.

[System] Seven Emperors has died.

[Local] Milk is Mom: Silent Fortress~~~ Twin Pupils Legion~~~ Why does that sound so familiar… Whatever~~~ The point is, why’d you kill our Blesscaller?

[Megaphone] Seven Emperors: No comment.

[Local] Milk is Mom: Ugh~~ Even dead, you’re still so stubborn~~ >_<

[Megaphone] Seven Emperors: You know I’m dead?! Who the hell kills someone first and then asks questions?!

[Local] Polly: Twin Pupils… a sub-legion of Silence?

[Megaphone] Seven Emperors: Now you get it. Our legion is the top legion in Silent Fortress. You’re dead meat!

Fang Zheng was about to type a string of “hahahaha” when his computer suddenly lagged. Then, in the upper-left corner of the screen—where he and Birdy had just spawned into Lover’s Constellation—a dense swarm of figures appeared, topped by an even denser swarm of IDs.

Beijing Time, 0:00.

Players who had lasted the full three days in each of the seven zones were all transported here at the same time!

This was a spectacle Huaxia Online had never seen before. Not even past Guild Wars or Dimensional Rift events had matched this. If players who entered the zones at the very start were considered one group, then those who stuck it out for the full 72 hours before being automatically sent here made up 80% of that group. In other words, this beach now held 80% of the most elite, diehard players from every server’s top legions!!

Forget azure skies and deep seas—right now, the sky was a blackboard scrawled with player IDs, the sea was a sweltering public pool crammed with player avatars, World Chat was a slot machine spinning too fast to read, and Lover’s Constellation was the New World, where the first true wave of pioneers had arrived after the early explorers. Let the party begin!!!

[Constellation] Dragon Slumber: Holy shit! People mountain people sea!!!

[Constellation] Indian Mane: Ever since that National Day holiday trip to the Great Wall last year, my fragile heart has been scarred by crowd phobia—I even close my eyes during school exercises now! And now you show me this?! You monsters!!! TAT

[Megaphone] King of the Gods: All Outer Flame members, get on the legion YY! Don’t make me repeat myself!!

[Megaphone] Fist of the Gods: Announcement 1: Effective immediately, I am leaving Outer Flame Legion. Announcement 2: Sorry to the guy whose megaphone I just overrode, but looks like you’ll have to repeat yourself.

[Constellation] Festive Lantern is My Male God: Fuck! I lost track of my male god!!! [crying][crying][crying]

[Constellation] Festive Lantern: No worries. Have you seen No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains???

[Megaphone] Dutch Souvenir: Fist, sorry, but I gotta override you. No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains, I’ll fuck your uncle!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Constellation] Festive Lantern: He really didn’t come in?! I knew he didn’t!!!

[Megaphone] Fist of the Gods: [Sigh of the Gods] I DMed you—why didn’t you reply? Wanna quit with me? Just say yes or no.

[Megaphone] Sigh of the Gods: My brain was fried earlier, didn’t see the DM. You’re quitting? Why?

[Megaphone] Fist of the Gods: No reason. Just felt like it. You in or not?

[Megaphone] Sigh of the Gods: Hold on.

[Megaphone] Sigh of the Gods: Done.

[Megaphone] Fist of the Gods: True bro. We’ll start fresh, go solo.

[Megaphone] Sigh of the Gods: Sure.

[Megaphone] Fist of the Gods: Why so quiet today?

[Megaphone] Sigh of the Gods: Not feeling great.

[Megaphone] Fist of the Gods: Sick?

[Megaphone] Sigh of the Gods: Nah, just injured from Arena PVP.

[Megaphone] Fist of the Gods: The Sky Arena zone lets you PVP in real life? =_=

[Megaphone] Dutch Souvenir: Internal injuries. Also, if you two aren’t just flexing your relationship, take it to DMs. The megaphone isn’t your private chat. Is Boss Yao here?

[Megaphone] Don’t Stop the Meds: Hellooo~

[Megaphone] Dutch Souvenir: Check DMs.

[Megaphone] Don’t Stop the Meds: My DMs are getting spammed by fans from other servers right now. Too popular, what can I say? Just use megaphones or YY.

[Megaphone] Dutch Souvenir: Can’t wait for YY. I remember Thousand Mountains is in the same city as me—you mailed him stuff before, right?

[Megaphone] Don’t Stop the Meds: That was centuries ago. Why the jealousy now~~~?

[Megaphone] Dutch Souvenir: I need his address.

[Megaphone] Don’t Stop the Meds: Hm?

[Megaphone] Dutch Souvenir: Now! Immediately! Right fucking now!!!

[Megaphone] Don’t Stop the Meds: Hold up, don’t get worked up. I’ll give you the address, but at least tell me why. Besides, I heard he’s got a leg in a cast right now—not exactly convenient for visitors.

[Megaphone] Dutch Souvenir: Oh no, it’s perfectly convenient. Hehehehe.

[Legion] 2B Fighter Jet: Mad Lad, I have a feeling Thousand Mountains is about to lose his other leg.

[Legion] Mad Lad: How did I ever have the brilliant idea to invite Thousand Mountains into the team? I could bow to my own wisdom!

[Legion] 2B Fighter Jet: Don’t Stop the Meds really is Thousand Mountains’ legion leader—they’ve got the same punchable vibe.

[Legion] Mad Lad: But doesn’t this vibe feel familiar…

[Legion] 2B Fighter Jet: Now that you mention it…

[Legion] Milk is Mom: ALL OF YOU, GET OUT OF THE ZONE CHAT AND BACK TO THE LEGION YY CHANNEL!!!

Sensing the conversation veering into dangerous territory, the Ghost Server Legion Leader quickly intervened, pulling his teammates back before his authority crumbled. It wasn’t just the Ghost Server Legion—other legions also gradually reduced their spamming. Aside from a few using megaphones to air grievances, most had likely retreated to their legion chats or YY channels to regroup with comrades from other zones.

In stark contrast to the quieting World Chat, the players on-screen began moving en masse—some east, some west. But unlike the initial confusion when they arrived, everyone now seemed to have a clear direction.

Soon, the once-unified crowd splintered into small clusters. Though the beach remained packed, it was like comparing a freshly baked pizza to a sliced one—same size, same shape, but now clearly divided into distinct portions. Or in this case, distinct legions.

After finding their groups, players stopped moving around. Every legion was likely doing the same thing: gathering their members, having the leader take roll call, analyzing the new competitive landscape, and formulating strategies. Of course, some less competitive legions prioritized checking in on their members’… romantic entanglements.

[One such less competitive legion]

Fang Zheng: “Crossplayer, why did Seven Emperors kill you?”

Crossplayer: “In Hide-and-Seek Paradise, I got lucky and escaped him. He refused to give up and hunted me down. I thought Lover’s Constellation would be safe, but we ran into each other on the beach. Just bad luck.”

Fang Zheng: “I heard names don’t show in Hide-and-Seek Paradise, and every Blesscaller looks like you. How’d he recognize you?”

Polly: “A Blesscaller with Rally active over their head 24/7 is pretty easy to spot.”

Crossplayer: “The deputy knows me well.”

You got hunted down to this sorry state and still have the nerve to spout literary nonsense!!!

[Another less competitive legion]

Silent Hill: “Seven Emperors, who killed you?”

Seven Emperors: “A healer and a zombie. Didn’t catch their legion.”

Insidious: “Must be some no-name legion. No vision, no brains. Any decent-sized legion knows Silence—they wouldn’t dare touch us.”

Silent Hill: “What about their names? You remember those?”

Seven Emperors: “One was an English name—forgot it. The other was five characters, had the word ‘milk’ in it.”

One Night Resurrection: “Dammit, how are we supposed to find them in this crowd?”

Seven Emperors: “But I know the Blesscaller in their legion—Crossplayer’s Blessing.”

[Megaphone] Silent Hill: Crossplayer’s Blessing, what server and legion are you from? Got the guts to answer?

[Megaphone] Milk is Mom: Hill~ I knew you’d come to avenge your little assassin hahahaha~~~~

[Megaphone] Silent Hill: My bad, wrong person.

Seven Emperors: “That’s the guy! Why’d you back off, Leader?”

Silent Hill: “I know. One’s called Polly, the other Milk is Mom. Legion name: Ghost Server Legion.”

Seven Emperors: “Yeah, yeah! You know them?”

One Night Resurrection: “Not just know—we’re very familiar.”

Seven Emperors: “What kind of people are they?”

Insidious: “Zombie—quiet. Milk Mom—loves to sing.”

Seven Emperors: “Are you friends?”

Insidious: “No.”

Seven Emperors: “Then why isn’t the leader helping me get revenge?”

Insidious: “Seven, you’re still young. The world is vast—you should go see it.”

Seven Emperors: “……”

Alps, who had already “seen the world,” listened silently, saying nothing. Compared to Dutch Souvenir’s rage and Festive Lantern’s frustration, he was the picture of serenity. Because he had already seen the truth—just like his leader:

Only five Ghost Server members had spawned on the beach at midnight—Mad Lad (800 points), 2B Fighter Jet (800 points), Refined Into a Demon 715 (400 points), Crossplayer’s Blessing (1000 points), Milk is Mom (2000 points), and Polly (2200 points). The remaining members—Drink Your Sister 3X (2310 points) and Little Lucky Charm (1000 points)—had entered Lover’s Constellation early and were now sprinting over to regroup.

But the YY channel was fully assembled—

Fang Zheng: “Your Sister’s score is so high~~ As expected of a mixed-gender duo~~ Your Uncle and Crossplayer aren’t bad either~~”

Your Uncle: “Leader, don’t flatter me. My base score was just 500. I got another 500 from finishing a quest.”

Crossplayer’s Blessing: “Same here—base 500, plus a quest.”

Your Sister: “My base was 770. Already finished two quests.”

Fang Zheng: “So your base score is how much you get rewarded for each system quest you complete?”

No wonder his “find a stone” quest rewarded 2000 points—it matched his base score. So this was the purpose of desperately grinding points in the zones.

Wait…

Fang Zheng: “438, care to explain your base score…?”

438: “I captured a purple-tier pet!”

Fang Zheng: “Leader loves you most!”

Your Uncle: “Leader, don’t you love me too? TAT”

Fang Zheng: “Too scared to love! TAT”

Amid the lively chaos of the Ghost Server YY, aside from the usually quiet deputy, one person hadn’t spoken at all. In fact, he wasn’t even looking at his computer or wearing his headset. He had fully detached from the virtual world, fiddling with a real-world artifact—his phone.

[Text] To Blood Bull Where are you?

[Text] From Blood Bull Not online?

[Text] To Blood Bull Obviously. If you were online, I wouldn’t be texting you.

[Text] From Blood Bull Oh. My account got taken over. If you see Blood Bulls Don’t Graze from now on, it’s not me.

[Text] To Blood Bull What do you mean???

[Text] From Blood Bull Exactly what it says.

[Text] To Blood Bull Hacked??? You can recover it!

[Text] From Blood Bull Not hacked. It was his account to begin with. He took it back.

[Text] To Blood Bull He? Who?

[Text] From Blood Bull Ex.

[Text] To Blood Bull Your ex-boyfriend? Didn’t he quit ages ago and give you the account?

[Text] From Blood Bull Wanted to play again, I guess. Anything else? If not, I’m going to sleep.

[Text] To Blood Bull So what, you’re just not gonna play anymore? If the account’s gone, make a new one!

[Text] From Blood Bull Too much hassle.

[Text] To Blood Bull Then buy one! Or hire a power leveler—our leader does that!

[Text] From Blood Bull Maybe later. Alright, I’m really going to sleep.

[Text] To Blood Bull Do you not want to play anymore?

[Text] From Blood Bull Haven’t decided yet. Kinda reluctant to leave the leader, haha.

[Text] To Blood Bull Just the leader?

[Text] From Blood Bull Are you asking seriously or joking?

……

[Text] From Blood Bull Actually, let me ask you something.

[Text] To Blood Bull ?

[Text] From Blood Bull What name did you save my number under in your phone?

……

[Text] From Blood Bull Never mind, forget I asked. I’m sleep-deprived and dumb.

[Text] To Blood Bull What about you? What’s my name in your phone?

[Text] From Blood Bull 2B. Goodnight.

This time, it was a real goodnight. No matter how many messages 2B sent after that, there was no reply. He wanted to call, felt like he had so much to say and ask—but even after selecting the number, he couldn’t bring himself to hit the call button. Because he suddenly realized that all those things he thought he wanted to say and ask couldn’t be distilled into a single clear sentence.

Lin Yi—Blood Bull’s real name—was clean and sharp, with a hint of heroic spirit, just like the person herself. Milk is Mom was the opposite. The name Fang Zheng gave no hint of the lewdness that defined the leader. Then there was Meng Chudong, Jiang Yang, Ning Xiaoke… If his teammates ever shared their real names, 2B remembered them. But remembering was one thing—in his phone, they were still Blood Bull, Milk is Mom, Polly, Mad Lad.

2B lived in two worlds: the virtual and the real. He poured his soul into the former, parked his body in the latter. The two were meant to stay separate, never intersecting.

So he’d just asked a really stupid question.

Not because the question about contact names was cheesy, or because it blurred the line he’d drawn between game and reality, but because… he’d just realized he’d never told her his real name.