Chapter 220 – The Battle of the God-tier Servers

With the conclusion of the Lover’s Constellation event, Fang Zheng’s sleep schedule shifted from “battle mode” back to “daily life.” For several days in a row, he went to bed before 10 PM and didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky. At first, Meng Chudong turned a blind eye, naively believing that this guy would regain his former self-discipline after getting enough rest. But he soon realized—the laziness of chubby people was like the mobs in open-world maps: as soon as you cleared one area, they’d respawn somewhere else.

Fang Zheng had a dream.

In the dream, he returned to the frozen wasteland where Azazel resided—no food, no warm clothes, shivering and pitiful. Suddenly, smoke rose in the distance. He scrambled toward it and found a small wooden cabin, warm light spilling from its windows like a heavenly refuge in the harsh, white winter. He knocked immediately. Before long, the door creaked open, and more warm light poured out. Standing at the source of that radiance was an incredibly tall, handsome, and majestic… Birdy?! Without another thought, he rushed inside, desperate to escape the freezing cold, but Birdy blocked the doorway. He crashed into him, bounced back into the snow with a thud, and the cycle repeated—once, twice, thrice… Until finally, in his frustration, he wanted to scream, “How could you do this to me TAT!” But what came out instead was—

“Achoo—!”

The ice and snow melted away, revealing the floor and furniture. The warm light faded, exposing Birdy’s abs.

“You’re awake?” Meng Chudong stood by the bed, shirtless, wearing only sweatpants, one hand in his pocket like a magazine cover model—if not for the other hand holding a blanket.

“You missed a word—I was frozen awake!” Fang Zheng sneezed again, his eyes full of accusation.

Birdy remained unmoved, tossing the blanket aside before throwing Fang Zheng’s workout clothes at him. “Get up. We’re running.”

Fang Zheng looked at the clothes, then at him, and asked with utmost seriousness, “Running? That’s still a thing in this world?”

Meng Chudong narrowed his eyes.

Fang Zheng nodded firmly. “It is!”

Alas, though his spirit had been conquered, his body still resisted. It took him over ten minutes to sluggishly put on the outfit, by which point he was already sleepy again…

“What are you doing?”

“Taking your picture.”

“I know. That’s why I’m asking why.”

“Posting it on the Huaxia Forum. A lot of people are asking for the Ghost Server Legion Leader’s bare-faced photos.”

“But they all think I’m dashing, handsome, and more charismatic than Tony Leung and Andy Lau combined…”

“Life is cruel. They need to learn to accept reality.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll put on my sneakers and run like my life depends on it!!!”

Every time he returned from running, Fang Zheng would immediately hop on the scale to check the results. Though Birdy mocked him with, “You went for a run, not liposuction,” the hearts of chubby people were something skinny folks would never understand =_=

“AHHHHHHH—!” Fang Zheng’s eyes widened as he stepped off the scale, then back on, repeating the process several times.

Meanwhile, Birdy, who had already started lifting dumbbells, remained unfazed. “How much did you lose?”

Fang Zheng yelled at him, “Five pounds! Five pounds!!”

Birdy nodded. “Congrats.”

Fang Zheng couldn’t understand his calmness. “Aren’t you surprised?!”

Birdy tilted his head, as if reminiscing about something pleasant. “I already knew when I held you last night.”

“But I haven’t run in half a month!” Ignoring the flirtatious undertones, in the face of weight loss, all distractions had to step aside. This was the unshakable creed of chubby people!

Birdy sighed. “You also haven’t eaten properly in half a month.” Though the weight loss was good, compared to starvation-induced slimness, he preferred a healthy Kite… Worst case, they could just crank up the wind machine when flying him. ╮(╯_╰)╭

For a long time afterward, the Ghost Server Legion Leader reveled in the joy of his sharper jawline—until he realized that the Deputy Commander’s muscle definition had also become sharper.

The arm muscles made sense, given the guy’s obsession with dumbbells (like a Passing Master fixated on heal-starved zombies). But—

“Since when did you have abs?”

“Lover’s Constellation Quest Chain, 49% progress.”

Why was there such a precise timestamp for this?!!!

By the time Fang Zheng and Meng Chudong finished their morning run, the others were still asleep. By the time they returned, the others had already left for the internet café to work. Just a couple of days into the Lover’s Constellation event, the two had moved their computers from the café’s private room back to their bedroom—partly for easier switching between gaming and daily life, and partly to avoid disturbing Fifth Brother and the others with their studio’s legitimate business.

For half a month, they’d been absentee bosses, during which Fifth Brother and Diamond hadn’t bothered them with any studio matters, big or small. Now that Lover’s Constellation was over, it would’ve been unreasonable not to show their faces.

“Damn, you two are finally out of seclusion!” In the internet café’s private room, Fifth Brother gave his partners a big hug.

Diamond skipped the pleasantries and tossed the ledger at them.

Chang Xiaohu and Hou Cong worked next door, so with the door closed here, only the bosses were present—no need for discretion.

Meng Chudong and Fang Zheng flipped through the ledger. The income and expenses over the past ten-plus days were meticulously recorded. The biggest expense was the hot spring resort trip from a couple of days ago, followed by daily costs like food. On the income side, aside from miscellaneous sellable items farmed while leveling alts in the new game, the biggest earnings came from five transactions—

February 18th: Sold 1 [Max-Level Account] — 800 yuan.

February 22nd: Sold 1 [Invitation Code] — 1,500 yuan.

February 23rd: Sold 1 [Invitation Code] — 1,700 yuan.

February 23rd: Sold 1 [Max-Level Account] — 1,000 yuan.

February 27th: Sold 1 [New Orleans Grilled Wings] — 3,200 yuan.

Max-level accounts had skyrocketed from a couple hundred to nearly a thousand. Clearly, the game’s stellar beta reception had attracted more players, but the limited beta accounts couldn’t keep up with demand. Naturally, the price of invitation codes—which allowed direct account creation and more development flexibility—had also surged. Compared to the original purchase price of 89 yuan, the current 1,500 to 1,700 yuan was… Fang Zheng suspected the Taobao seller who’d sold Birdy his invitation code had probably cried into countless pillows by now.

But… what the hell was that 3,200-yuan grilled wings about?! =_=

“It’s a level 30 Yellow-tier Weapon. Xiong Yun dropped it while leveling—the first one in the entire game,” Fifth Brother explained.

“Diamond, you’re amazing…” Fang Zheng said sincerely, while imagining whether the weapon was a wing mid-joint, drumette, or a whole grilled wing.

Diamond took back the ledger and analyzed the current situation: “Invitation code prices have pretty much peaked. As we get closer to the official launch, they’ll only depreciate. So Old Ma¹Fifth Brother. For anyone who doesn’t remember, his name is Ma Jianfeng. and I plan to sell a few more, then use the rest to create and level accounts. Right before launch, the publisher will definitely bombard everyone with ads, which will trigger a surge in player demand. We’ll capitalize on those few days to sell our accounts—profit guaranteed!”

At first, Fang Zheng just thought Diamond’s reasoning made sense. But the more he listened, the more excited he got. By now, his heart was racing toward the RMB sign. “How many accounts are left to level? Birdy and I will take them!”

Fang Zheng and Meng Chudong returned home with two alt accounts and dove into the new game. Starting from farming mobs, they progressed all the way to forming parties for beginner dungeons. By evening, they were done. Dinner was hot pot, with the entire studio present. Fang Zheng and Meng Chudong treated everyone, both to thank them for their hard work and to announce their official return.

By the time dinner ended, it was already 8 PM. Aside from Chang Xiaohu, who still wanted to hit the internet café, everyone else went home to rest.

But “rest” didn’t quite apply to Fang Zheng and Meng Chudong. The computers they’d shut down before dinner were now booted up again—except this time, they weren’t logging into the new game…

[Huaxia] Kill All Who Block Me: If he’s so capable, let him come. Talking shit is useless.

[Huaxia] Marilyn MengPing: He already came once. Did you forget?

[Huaxia] Kill All Who Block Me: Tch, that was just us being careless. Tell him to try again—we’ll mince him in seconds!

[Huaxia] War-Bodhi Patriarch: Honestly, though, every other server has been conquered at least twice. Only Summit Server’s been done once.

[Huaxia] Nicknamed White Dragon Horse: Stop lying to yourselves. Holy Light Sanctuary hasn’t been conquered even once, and you’re not saying anything about that.

Fang Zheng was baffled. “What’s going on?”

Birdy: “Probably Huaxia Summit and Holy Light Sanctuary are fighting on the forums.”

Fang Zheng: “Fighting over what?”

Birdy: “Holy Light Sanctuary’s unhappy about losing the First Kill, so they’re arguing that conquering another server is the real measure of strength.”

“Oh…” So that’s why Kill All Who Block Me was telling them to stop talking and just come, and why Bodhi Patriarch mentioned other servers being conquered multiple times while Summit Server was the exception. That made sense… Wait, they’d logged in at the same time—how was the information gap between them this huge?! TAT

[Legion] Refined Into a Demon 715: Commander, Deputy Commander, good evening!

[Legion] Crossplayer’s Blessing: Commander, Deputy Commander.

[Legion] Little Lucky Charm: Commander, you’re finally here! The World channel’s going wild!

The enthusiasm of his legion members soothed Fang Zheng’s soul, bruised by the intellectual beatdown—

[Legion] Milk is Mom: Gooood eveniiing~~~ What’s the situaaation~~~

[Legion] Grass Never Grows Fat: Someone from Summit Server posted on the forums bragging about our legion’s First Kill and claiming Summit Server is Huaxia’s number one. Dutch Chamber of Commerce disagreed, saying the real number one server should be one that’s never been conquered—meaning Holy Light Sanctuary.

[Legion] Milk is Mom: Wow, Sister Blood Bull~~~~ Didn’t you say you’d only join after hitting max level?~~~~

[Legion] Horse Without Night: At this point, the whole server knows we’re part of this legion. Joining officially doesn’t matter anymore.

[Legion] Grass Never Grows Fat: Plus, running with our legion tag makes PUGs way easier. Commander, you’ve done an amazing job leading the Ghost Server Legion ^_^

Ah, women in love—so full of warmth!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: 2B, you better treat Sister Blood Bull right. If you slack off, you’re getting kicked out!

[Whisper] Grass Never Grows Fat: First, I’ll break his legs—into tiny pieces—then have you kick him out.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: ……

This was why couple accounts were a bad idea. One wrong click, and disaster struck. TAT

After processing the current intel, Fang Zheng minimized the game and logged into YY, QQ, and other tools. He’d planned to check the Huaxia Forum to witness the server feud up close, but the moment his QQ logged in, it started beeping urgently, as if the house were on fire. Helpless, he opened all the messages—

[Stranger] Wu Wang Fa Zhou: Holy Light Sanctuary account, level 0, Blood Warrior. How long to max level, and how much?

[Stranger] Jue Xing: You there? Need power-leveling.

[My Client] Bai Lu: Milk Mom, power-level a Holy Light Sanctuary account for me. Still 500 per week?

[QQ Group (VIP) — Actually, We’re Not That Close] (999+)

Ever since the studio was established, Fang Zheng’s power-leveling business had dwindled. On one hand, professionals like Fifth Brother and Diamond took over most of the advertising. On the other, he’d shifted focus to building Milk is Mom as the elite Ghost Server Legion Leader, reducing self-promotion. Especially during Lover’s Constellation, hardly anyone contacted him for power-leveling, in-game or via QQ. Now, suddenly, he had multiple inquiries—old and new clients alike—which was baffling.

But none of that compared to the last QQ group—

Milk is Mom 20:13:09

You guys must be really bored to hit 999 messages in less than a day!!!

Big H 20:13:27

Only 999? Should be more than that.

Everything Breaks 20:13:55

Definitely more. QQ just caps the display at 999. Beyond that, it’s 999+.

Nicknamed White Dragon Horse 20:14:10

Can we get to the point??? Milk Mom, are you in or not?

Milk is Mom 20:14:33

Can someone tell me what I’m supposed to be in on first? =_=

Polly 20:14:48

Attacking Holy Light Sanctuary. Conquering their City Gate Tower.

Milk is Mom 20:15:12

Since when were you part of this discussion…

Polly 20:15:41

When you sent that whisper to Blood Bull by mistake.

How could you spot my in-game whisper in the middle of such a heated discussion?!!!

But this explained the sudden power-leveling requests. If Dutch Chamber of Commerce was this arrogant toward Summit Server—conquered just once—imagine how they treated other servers. The natural result was that not only Summit Server but all other servers were itching to retaliate. As the saying goes, ‘know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.’ Creating accounts in Holy Light Sanctuary was the most effective way to gather intel.

Nicknamed White Dragon Horse 20:16:00

Zombie said your legion’s decisions are up to you. So, Legion Leader, what’s the verdict?

Milk is Mom 20:16:17

Aww shucks~~ I’m just a figurehead~~ Not some big-shot Legion Leader or anything, hehehehe~~~~

War-Snow Wolf 20:16:36

Done blushing yet?

Milk is Mom 20:17:19

We can’t let Dutch Chamber of Commerce get away with this. We have to take down their City Gate Tower!

Nicknamed White Dragon Horse 20:17:45

Then it’s settled. We attack tomorrow. Your legion holds the home front!

Milk is Mom 20:17:58

……

Milk is Mom 20:18:09

When did we decide on roles? I don’t remember this step =_=

Drink Till You Drop 20:18:40

Judging by the timeline, probably when Polly saw you whisper to Blood Bull.

Milk is Mom 20:19:24

Drink, you’re here too~~~ But no amount of face-saving will work. Even for you, I can’t just roll over—why do you get to attack while we defend?

Drink Till You Drop 20:19:59

For tomorrow’s attack, and every attack after, we must leave enough strong players to defend Summit Server. Because we’ll have countless chances to assault Holy Light Sanctuary—if we fail this time, we’ll just charge again. But if Dutch Chamber of Commerce conquers us even once more, that’s it. We’ll never recover. So what you’re defending isn’t just our home—it’s Summit Server’s last shred of dignity.

Milk is Mom 20:20:19

I get it. With great power comes great responsibility.

Drink Till You Drop 20:20:50

Milk is Mom, can you defend our Huaxia Summit for us?!

Milk is Mom 20:21:11

Charge ahead without worry! Leave home to me!!!

……

[Temp Chat]

Nicknamed White Dragon Horse 20:26:00

Drink, you shouldn’t be a Legion Leader. You should be in MLM.

Big H 20:26:16

Brainwashing skills MAX… Terrifying. TAT

Everything Breaks 20:26:50

But he’s not wrong. Defending Summit Server’s tower is the bottom line. So I get why Milk is Mom got hyped.

War-Snow Wolf 20:27:00

What I don’t get is that “great power” line.

War-Black Gold 20:27:29

Don’t think too hard about it. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

Nicknamed White Dragon Horse 20:27:46

Because if you do understand, you’ll want to smack him with a brick…

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  Fifth Brother. For anyone who doesn’t remember, his name is Ma Jianfeng.