Chapter 44 – A Wife Falls From Heaven

Staying up too late the previous night directly resulted in Fang Zheng waking up past 1 PM the next day. The moment he opened his eyes, he knew something was off. Grabbing his phone, he confirmed his fears—he had completely missed the chance to grab the “first seat” on the server after maintenance. No, forget the first seat, he hadn’t even made it to the basement level. A faint sense of disappointment draped over the healer’s heart like a veil, but the thought of players like Mad Lad, who had to work during the day, instantly restored his psychological balance.

The anticipation for the new update overpowered everything else. Fang Zheng didn’t even bother logging into YY or QQ. The moment his desktop loaded, he eagerly double-clicked the Huaxia Online icon.

When the login screen popped up, Fang Zheng froze for a moment—his default server was gone. Half a second later, he realized: Mirage Server had truly vanished. Or rather, its essence had merged into Huaxia Summit, while its remnants had turned to dust.

He had expected server queues to be even worse after the merge, but to his surprise, he logged in after just two or three minutes of waiting. Clearly, the servers had also been upgraded, significantly increasing the concurrent player capacity.

Two days ago, Milk is Mom had logged out in the Marketplace. Now, after logging back in, the location remained the same, but the scenery had subtly changed. Fang Zheng adjusted his camera angle to take a closer look. The General Store, the Weapon Shop, the Potion Shop—all were still there, but they looked freshly renovated, giving off a genuine sense of an upgrade from 1.0 to 2.0.

As for the player activity? It was the difference between 1.0 and 100.0. The Marketplace was nearly two-thirds covered by players vending their wares. Fang Zheng strained his eyes before finally spotting an old acquaintance in a corner.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Hey=_=

[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Fuck off.

Ah, the warmth of familiarity~\(≧▽≦)/~

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: How come you transferred over too? What happened to the original sellers on this server?

[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Quit.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Why?

[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Low pay.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Then why haven’t you left yet?

[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Are you that eager for me to go? =_=

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Of course not~~ I just hope you can turn things around~~

[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Like working for you instead?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: No, like partnering up~~

[Whisper] Diamond Seller: I see no future with you.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: How heartbreaking~~~>_<

Fang Zheng was just teasing. A partnership wasn’t something that could be settled with a casual remark. Besides, though his current life was tight financially, it wasn’t bad—no need to suck up to superiors or cater to colleagues. He was practically living the carefree life of a wanderer.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: How long have you been online? What’s it like?

[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Crowded.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: That’s it?

[Whisper] Diamond Seller: I can’t exactly run around the whole world map, how would I know!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: My bad, bro, don’t be mad. Hugs~~

Diamond Seller sat in front of his computer, frowning at the message. It was an apology, but why did it feel like he was still getting harassed by this pervert?!

The two of them stared at each other in the Marketplace while the Huaxia chat channel buzzed with activity. Amidst the ads from merchants and guild recruitments, there were plenty of hyped-up player comments, all in exaggerated “roaring” text. Clearly, with the new version barely an hour old, everyone was still riding the excitement.

[Megaphone] Deadleaf: Polly, I’m begging you, can you stop stealing my mobs? [crying]

Against the rapidly scrolling chat, the sudden megaphone message stood out starkly.

[Whisper] Diamond Seller: Your better half seems to be causing trouble again.

Fang Zheng wanted to ask why Polly was his better half, and why again, as if Birdy-kun had some sort of Conan-like curse =_=

Clearly, that girl was the one stirring shit!

No evidence needed. A single ID was enough for Detective Fang Zheng to deduce the truth!

But now wasn’t the time to bicker with Diamond Seller. Fang Zheng opened the guild list—only Polly and Crossplayer were online. Using his guild leader privileges, he checked Polly’s coordinates and quickly pinpointed his location. Just as he was about to teleport, Deadleaf’s megaphone was pushed down by another—

[Megaphone] Polly: Xuanyuan, keep your woman in check. Don’t let her go around pulling aggro.

Fang Zheng froze. Birdy-kun was angry—seriously angry. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have broken his usual silence to send a megaphone warning.

Still wondering what Deadleaf had done, Polly’s megaphone was immediately replaced by another—

[Megaphone] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Don’t take it out on a woman. It’s not a good look.

Now it was a proper drama: two men and one woman, enough for the peanut gallery to start speculating.

[Huaxia] Autumn Night Rain: Whoa, two men fighting over a woman!

[Huaxia] Old Smoker: I’m curious how you arrived at that conclusion?

[Huaxia] Autumn Night Rain: Isn’t it obvious? Polly got rejected and is now stealing mobs to get the attention of Deadleaf, who’s already married to someone else.

[Huaxia] Lovebirds Want to Hug: Nonsense. Clearly, it’s a man and a woman fighting over another man. Polly lost, so now he’s taking revenge on his romantic rival.

[Huaxia] Old Smoker: I’m even more curious how YOU arrived at that conclusion!!

[Huaxia] All the Rage: Noobies, just stop. Polly and Huaxia Dominion have old grudges. He’s not targeting Deadleaf—he’s targeting the entire Huaxia Dominion.

[Huaxia] Andersen: I’m at the scene! He’s not targeting Huaxia Dominion—he’s stealing mobs from anyone he sees!

[Huaxia] Crossplayer’s Blessing: That’s because there are too many players and not enough mobs! There are no free mobs left!

[Huaxia] Andersen: Fine, I admit I’m outmatched. But stealing mobs from a girl? That’s just low.

[Huaxia] Crossplayer’s Blessing: How do you know she’s a girl and not a catfish?

[Huaxia] Crossplayer’s Blessing: Not everyone is as honest as Laozi!

Fang Zheng was about to whisper Crossplayer to praise his fierce combat skills when Polly responded—

[Megaphone] Polly: In-game, there are only IDs, no genders. And right now, “it” won’t leave me alone. I’m very troubled. Seeking solutions.

The entire Huaxia chat fell silent for three seconds…

[Huaxia] Blue Waters Clear Skies: It.

[Huaxia] Blue-Faced Beast: Won’t leave me alone.

[Huaxia] Fire Phoenix: Brutal.

[Huaxia] Big H: Did no one notice “seeking solutions” is the most aggro-pulling phrase here…

[Huaxia] Crossplayer’s Blessing: Oh, I’ve seen the PvP tournament videos! You’re the one who lost to Birdy!

[Huaxia] Big H: What Birdy?! I don’t know him!!!

Since the game had just updated, few industry insiders were online, so Big H’s attempt to cover his ears and steal the bell escaped mass ridicule.

No one noticed when the megaphone was replaced, but when they looked again, a new one had appeared—

[Megaphone] Snow Elf: As an objective bystander, I’ll just say this: with your attitude, Polly, you’ll never find a girlfriend in-game.

Not every man plays games to find a girlfriend, okay? Players like 2B Fighter Jet are the weirdos—weirdos, got it?!

Fang Zheng had no energy to roast this megaphone, but then someone chimed in—

[Megaphone] Deadleaf: Polly, I’m not trying to curse you, but I think even in real life, it’ll be hard to find a girl who’d like you. Honestly.

Deadleaf had spoken—who dared challenge her?

The irritation Fang Zheng had just smoothed over with Birdy’s sharp tongue surged back into his chest.

One second.

Ten seconds.

A minute.

Three minutes.

All of Huaxia waited for Polly to send a megaphone, but Polly remained silent, like a dud firework.

Fang Zheng suddenly felt a pang of heartache. Damn it, were they bullying the Ghost Server Legion for being short on members?!

[Huaxia] Blue Waters Clear Skies: What’s going on? Did that really hit a nerve?

[Huaxia] Fire Phoenix: Honestly, Huaxia already has way more guys than girls. Not finding a girlfriend is normal~~

[Huaxia] Big H: What’s wrong with no girlfriend? Even the Tang Monk got the scriptures without one!

[Huaxia] Kill All Who Block Me: If he had a girlfriend and still got the scriptures, that would be the real problem =_=

[Huaxia] Greatsword: I’m begging you, stop embarrassing the guild and just come back to leveling!

[Megaphone] City Toppling Beauty: I know you didn’t want me to step in to avoid pulling aggro, but I can’t just watch anymore. My heart aches for you, husband.

The world fell silent.

[Megaphone] City Toppling Beauty: Honestly, I don’t care about aggro. As long as I’m with you, even if the whole world turns against us, I’ll embrace it gladly!

The world collapsed.

[Huaxia] Big H: What the hell?! You actually have a wife this stunning?! Go die!! On behalf of all single guys, I despise you!!

[Huaxia] Love You For a Few Days: Ooooh, the main heroine has appeared! Come on!! I love a good drama!!

This account was one Fang Zheng had leveled from scratch but never sold. Polly, who had only power-leveled two client accounts for him, didn’t know about it. His Ghost Server Legion comrades didn’t know. Even random teammates from Huaxia Summit who might have crossed paths with him once wouldn’t remember. It was a completely clean slate, free for him to mess with as he pleased. And now, this account had finally found her life’s purpose.

The only concern was the guy who had suddenly been dubbed “husband”…

[Megaphone] City Toppling Beauty: Husband, coords.

[Megaphone] Polly: Hawaii, XX, XX

Birdy-kun was surprisingly cooperative =_=

With the coordinates in hand, Fang Zheng quickly pulled up the world map. Sure enough, the original Huaxia map had expanded into a full world map, complete with teleport points for even the North and South Poles.

Teleporting to Hawaii as fast as possible, Fang Zheng followed the coordinates and found three people by the beach.

No, it wasn’t just three anymore. Spectators drawn by Polly’s coordinates, along with players already farming mobs in the area, had formed a massive sightseeing group. The corpses of shell monsters littered the ground, likely casualties of the crowd clearing space for a better view.

But City Toppling Beauty still had star power. The moment she appeared, the crowd parted like a red carpet walk.

Her pale yellow dress fluttering in the breeze, City Toppling Beauty walked straight to Polly’s side before turning to face My Blood for Xuanyuan and Deadleaf—

[Huaxia] City Toppling Beauty: I’ve always thought mob stealing is wrong.

The crowd erupted. Was she switching sides?

[Huaxia] City Toppling Beauty: Mobs don’t have your name on them. How is it stealing?

The crowd collapsed. So the issue wasn’t mob stealing—it was the term “mob stealing”?!

[Huaxia] Deadleaf: I’m not here to argue semantics. Whether it’s stealing or not, everyone knows the truth.

[Huaxia] City Toppling Beauty: I get it—first come, first served. But I also know the winner takes all. Look at Andersen—he admitted he was outmatched and took the L gracefully. So classy.

[Huaxia] Fairy Tale World: Little An, you got hit by stray fire?

[Huaxia] Andersen: No, I was deliberately targeted TAT

[Huaxia] Deadleaf: Beauty, I admit I can’t beat Polly. But him, a man, beating me isn’t exactly something to be proud of.

[Huaxia] City Toppling Beauty: Then I’ll fight you in his place. If you lose, stop playing the victim in global chat.

[Huaxia] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Beauty, no need to be so harsh.

[Huaxia] City Toppling Beauty: Husband, Xuanyuan’s bullying me [crying]

[Huaxia] Polly: Xuanyuan, don’t take it out on a woman. It’s not a good look.

Fang Zheng went silent.

Using the opponent’s own words against them—Birdy-kun was as vindictive as ever~\(≧▽≦)/~

Xuanyuan couldn’t come up with a retort right away, but Fang Zheng didn’t care. He’d challenged Deadleaf to a duel, and a duel it would be. The challenge had been issued—her consent was irrelevant.

Before anyone could react, Deadleaf was already hit by Crimson Lotus Holy Fire.

The Demon Refiner’s squishy health bar dropped by a third!

City Toppling Beauty was a healer, but when Fang Zheng had leveled this account, he’d intentionally built her as a DPS Healer, so her spell damage was nothing to scoff at.

Deadleaf quickly summoned her pet and downed a health potion.

My Blood for Xuanyuan began chanting a spell but stopped at the last moment—clearly, he still couldn’t bring himself to intervene.

Polly, on the other hand, was completely at ease, casually clearing the area for his “wife”—

[Huaxia] Polly: Ladies fighting, please step back. Thank you, thank you.

The crowd sweatdropped. They all had the same thought: This guy’s gonna pull out a collection plate and start charging admission fees any second now.

Before anyone realized it, the space around City Toppling Beauty and Deadleaf had cleared. Meanwhile, Deadleaf’s Rootling lashed out with its massive vines. City Toppling Beauty rolled away, instantly circling behind the Rootling. Before it could turn around, she used a Speed Scroll and dashed toward Deadleaf like the wind!

Deadleaf wanted to run, but she hesitated, thinking she should use a Speed Scroll first. But the scroll was in her bag, not quickbar, so digging it out took time…

No one knew of her dilemma. They only saw her standing frozen until City Toppling Beauty landed a second hit, snapping her out of her daze.

Deadleaf’s escape wasn’t without strategy—she ran straight for her Rootling!

City Toppling Beauty didn’t care. Even when she reached the Rootling, she dodged its attacks with unpredictable movements. Of course, the Rootling’s broad vine swings made it easier, but her control was undeniably top-tier.

[Huaxia] Andersen: I want a wife like this too…

[Huaxia] Big H: Quietly +1…

The crowd’s mood shifted from pure spectacle to something more admiring. They secretly hoped City Toppling Beauty would pull off even flashier combos or maneuvers. At the same time, their negative opinion of Polly faded. As the saying goes, A virtuous wife keeps a man out of trouble—a man’s taste in women says a lot about him…

[Huaxia] City Toppling Beauty: I suggest you get a new pet. This one’s about as useful as a wooden dog~~ Hahaha~~

[Huaxia] City Toppling Beauty: Husband, husband! How’s my footwork?~\(≧▽≦)/~

[Huaxia] Polly: Very dirty. Keep it up.

What kind of messed-up couple is this?!