Chapter 42 – The Eve of Dawn

For about a month after the PvP tournament, the Ghost Server comrades had been dungeon diving. With Your Uncle gone and Crossplayer back, gear was dropping like fleas off a boss. What started as a casual pastime ended up being a jackpot—everyone was practically glowing in Orange-Tier Gear, as if their equipment had been reforged by Mu himself.

Though not everyone had the whale’s audacity to max out every enhancement slot, there was simply no better gear left to farm. Thus, their dungeon-running fervor gradually fizzled out. Left with nothing better to do, everyone resorted to finding their own ways to kill time.

A prime example was 2B Fighter Jet, who, in a stroke of whimsy, decided to level up his Life Skills—starting from scratch by gathering herbs in the Starter Village. After two days of this grand endeavor, he suddenly asked 438, “Hey, isn’t your Gathering skill already maxed?” At the time, 438 was collecting rare ores in a level 55 zone and generously confirmed, “Yep.” And just like that, 2B’s Gathering aspirations were aborted, his reasoning being: If one person in the guild can gather everything, why bother leveling it myself?

Logically, bored as he was, he could’ve just returned to Huaxia Summit. But whether it was the charm of Blood Bulls Don’t Graze or Fighter Jet’s own stubbornness, despite constantly whining about boredom and emptiness, his character remained parked in Mirage Server. Jiang Yang, on the other hand, occasionally returned to his home server, though most of his time was spent dueling Meng Chudong. As Polly’s gear improved, Mad Lad lost more often than he won, yet Jiang Yang remained undeterred. Meng Chudong, ever patient, would oblige him anytime, anywhere, to the point where Fang Zheng was tempted to hang a banner over them—Just get together already.

As for 438 and Blood Bull, one spent his days capturing monsters across various maps, fusing them in combinations as varied as Edison testing lightbulb filaments—if mobs had hearts, they’d be weeping bitter tears. The other simply AFK’d while reading books, reasoning that since the subscription was monthly, she might as well make use of it.

Fang Zheng, meanwhile, took on two more jobs—one for leveling an account, the other for gear—keeping himself busy. The only downside was the sweltering heat turning his room into a steamer, especially with two computers running simultaneously—perfect conditions for a sauna.

Wiping the sweat off his neck with a towel, Fang Zheng exhaled heavily.

The old ceiling fan spun lazily overhead, its feeble breeze doing little to help.

On YY, Crossplayer and Blood Bull were comparing their dorm conditions—one a junior in a four-person room where two roommates had moved out to live with their girlfriends, the other a grad student in a two-person suite (effectively a private room) complete with TV and AC—yet they still complained about the lack of a washing machine.

Fang Zheng gritted his teeth, itching to butt in but holding back.

What could he say? Laozi is agonizing over whether to buy a tiny fan for my desk? Shameless as he was, even he had his pride as the Legion Commander…

[Whisper] Polly: What level?

The pro gamer was always succinct, sometimes to the point where his train of thought was impossible to follow =_=

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: What?

[Whisper] Polly: The account you’re power-leveling.

Fang Zheng glanced at the character AFK’d at the Blacksmith on his second monitor—

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: 42. Why?

[Whisper] Polly: Give me the account info. I’ll level it for a bit.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: ……

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Are you actually helping or just planning to hack it?

[Whisper] Polly: Which do you think is more likely?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Hacking.

[Whisper] Polly: ……

[Whisper] Polly: I’ve been playing my zombie nonstop. Want to try another class for a change.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Should’ve said so earlier! You get to level it and have fun—two birds with one stone.

Polly didn’t reply further. Fang Zheng quickly sent over the account details, only realizing afterward how quick he’d been. At that moment, it hadn’t even crossed his mind that Polly might have malicious intent—as if the guy was already one of them, no questions asked.

The feeling was novel—a little unsettling, but not entirely unpleasant.

Once Polly had the account, he logged off immediately. Soon after, the character at the Blacksmith was forced offline.

Glad for the break, Fang Zheng noticed Mad Lad sitting on the floor of the Guild Hall, recovering. Seizing the chance, he decided to poke fun at him.

Though they were both on YY, poking fun naturally had to be done sneakily via text—

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: [Grin] Is this your, what, 30th loss?

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Are you here to get wrecked, get wrecked, or get wrecked?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Taking your losses out on others isn’t very leader-like.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Did I say I was going the Xiang Yu route?

[Whisper] Mad Lad: It’s the Liu Bang types who go far.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Why the sudden topic shift? =_=

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Fine, let’s shift back. Photo.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: ……

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: You shifted way too far forward!

[Whisper] Mad Lad: What’s with the coy act? We’re past that. Besides, I’m asking for a selfie, not to fuck you.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: ……

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Alright, alright, shy kid. I’ll just use my imagination.

Fang Zheng sighed in relief, though he couldn’t deny the thrill of this slightly flirtatious banter.

Apart from Gou Xiaonian and Xu Di, Fang Zheng had never really interacted with other gay guys. He’d realized he was gay even later than he’d realized he was a shut-in, after which he’d settled into a life of instant noodles and his computer. The occasional online fling usually fizzled out if photos weren’t exchanged within three messages. As for Gou Xiaonian and Xu Di, they were purely friends—not by his choice, but by the nature of their relationship. The two had also silently agreed not to introduce him to their circles, making Jiang Yang one of the few he’d known and chatted with for so long—and not purely as a friend or comrade.

If only…

Fang Zheng pinched the fat on his stomach. If he were thinner, better-looking, maybe something could happen. But as things stood, all he had was this virtual back-and-forth, teasing but never quite touching.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Speaking of, how come you’re online 24/7 without a proper job?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Don’t discriminate against emerging professions!

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Quit dodging. I’m serious. This stuff’s fine for side cash, but it’s not sustainable.

Jiang Yang was never one for seriousness, so his sudden sincerity left Fang Zheng at a loss.

Jiang Yang himself paused after sending that. Since when do I play wise older brother to some rando online?

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Wrong chat. Forget I said anything.

Still unsure how to respond, Fang Zheng could only reply with an “Oh.”

Which, of course, the client took issue with—

[Whisper] Mad Lad: “Oh” what?

That, at least, was easy to answer—

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: I’ll “oh” if I wanna oh.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Asking for a beating?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Oh? Then come hit me~~

[Whisper] Mad Lad: X City, right? You think I’m that far?

Fang Zheng froze. No—panicked. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, suddenly afraid to type another word.

He’d given his account details, including his real name and bank info, back when their relationship was purely transactional. Who’d have thought they’d end up here…

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Fang Zheng, right? I remember your friends on YY call you Kite?

I see nothing, this is all a hallucination…

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Just wordplay, or is there meaning behind it? Are you so thin the wind could carry you away?

Damn, this hallucination is brutal TAT

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Though I prefer a little meat—better for hugging [Grin]

Fang Zheng unilaterally ended the conversation.

His heartbeat was unsteady.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: I’m Jiang Yang. Jiang Yang as in Jiang Yang the Bandit. Got it?

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Brat, I haven’t even done anything, and you’re already running?

[Whisper] Mad Lad: Bring back that shameless charm of yours. It’s endearing [Laughs]

Fang Zheng simply moved Milk is Mom away, convinced that distance would magically block the whispers =_=

Luckily, the guy didn’t press further. Honestly, this teasing was fun in small doses, but any more, and Fang Zheng wasn’t sure he could handle it.

Not two steps out of the Guild Hall, he spotted the ever-dedicated Diamond Player at his usual vending spot. It had been a while since they’d chatted, and under the quiet midnight sky of the ghost server, Fang Zheng was suddenly struck by the profound loneliness of life.

[Whisper] Diamond Player¹either an alt for Diamond Seller or the author didn’t bother to keep the diamond guy’s name consistent. : Do you have ADHD or what?!

Clearly, Diamond Player failed to appreciate the melancholy poetry of Fang Zheng hopping around his stall.

Fang Zheng quickly adjusted his tone to match—

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Don’t you get bored sitting here all day? Even if not, you’ll get hemorrhoids!

[Whisper] Diamond Player: Don’t! Make! Me! Go! Feral!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Come at me, babe~~ I’m already lying down~\(≧▽≦)/~

[Whisper] Diamond Player: Your guildmates not keeping you satisfied? =_=

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Don’t say that, my heart belongs only to you >_<

[Whisper] Diamond Player: Piss off!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: If I leave, who’ll play with you?

[Whisper] Diamond Player: You mean play with me in that way.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Must you be so blunt?!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Look, we’re practically old flames. In all of Mirage Server, who’s known you longer than me?

[Whisper] Diamond Player: If you don’t get to the point in three messages, I’m blocking you.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Isn’t the publisher doing anything about our ghost town of a server?

[Whisper] Diamond Player: Was that so hard? =_=

[Whisper] Diamond Player: Rumor has it there’s a version update coming.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: For real?! (⊙o⊙)！

[Whisper] Diamond Player: Boss said so.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Then it’s true!!

Finally—new dungeons to run! Fang Zheng wanted to kowtow to every deity in existence.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: But seriously, your boss is something else.

[Whisper] Diamond Player: The man’s got connections.

[Whisper] Diamond Player: But even gods trip sometimes~\(≧▽≦)/~

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Huh?! Spill! Now!

[Whisper] Diamond Player: Nah, boss’s privacy is off-limits…

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: That emoji already betrayed you =_=

[Whisper] Diamond Player: Fine. Some woman’s panties fell off a balcony—no idea whose—right into boss’s place. Boss was napping peacefully when his wife came home. Bed was a mess.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: So he was cheating?

[Whisper] Diamond Player: Nope.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: [Candle]

[Whisper] Diamond Player: [Confetti]

…No venom like an employee’s scorn!

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  either an alt for Diamond Seller or the author didn’t bother to keep the diamond guy’s name consistent.