Squelch!

An icy blade penetrated my chest. The pain felt impossibly clear. I looked up to see who my killer was. It was a cold, stern and expressionless face.

I collapsed limply on the icy ground, facing toward a starry sky. I could feel my blood and my life force flowing out of my wound.

Suddenly, a tearful voice reached my ears. "Lu Chen, Lu Chen! What happened to you…"

I looked sideways and saw a beautiful face that was covered in tears. Kneeling beside me and leaning so close that she was almost on top of me, she stared at me in worry and sorrow. "Don’t die! We promised sister Eve that we’ll beat Candlelight Shadow together, didn’t we?"

I closed my eyes and tried to sit up. However, I couldn’t find even an ounce of energy inside my body.

The image suddenly turned blurry. Then, both her and the world were gone just like that.

Lian Xin.

……

I abruptly opened my eyes. A hint of nostalgic sadness welled inside me as I sat up. It was just a dream...

I checked my phone and saw that it was 5 pm already. The sky was dark and gloomy, and the icy rain of autumn was hitting the window and sliding down the glass in irregular patterns. In a sense it was a reflection of my life; a winding journey without end and without pause, brightened only slightly by the beautiful scenery outside.

I sighed. A dream about Lian Xin, again. I wonder how she’s doing in America right now. Anyway, it was time to get out of bed and get ready to eat dinner with Lin Yixin. It had been a while since I last saw her, and her absence felt like a hole inside my heart.

After dressing myself appropriately and walking out of my room, I sent He Yi a message informing her that I would be eating out tonight. Then, I went downstairs and walked to my X12 without bothering to cover myself with an umbrella. I quickly drove to Lin Yixin’s university.

People were still walking on the streets despite the rain. Holding umbrellas of all sorts of colors, they strode across the damp streets toward their respective destinations, leaving behind many small ripples in the puddles below. Illuminated by the street lamps, the small or big pools of rainwater reflected the world above it like small mirrors.

I took out my phone and called Lin Yixin’s number—

"Hey, Yiyi. Are you at the uni right now?"

"Yep!"

"Great. Come to the gate, will you? I’ll be there very soon."

"Okay. Give me five minutes!"

"Mn. I’ll be there in about five minutes as well."

……

I reached the university, but didn’t dare to hang out in front of the guard post. After parking my car some distance away from the gates, I lowered the car window and took in the sights of loving couples walking out of the gates. I saw a man wrapping his arm around his girlfriend’s waist, and the woman looking as happy as she could ever be. From time to time, she would consciously or unconsciously stop her boyfriend’s hands from roaming to places they shouldn’t be.

Thud thud thud...

Suddenly, a beautiful girl dragging an umbrella beside her feet ran out of the university and spilled water all over the place. Judging from the bright smile on her face, she seemed to be having fun stepping on pools of water. Her hair flowed nicely around her shoulder like water, and her exquisite countenance naturally seeded restlessness in the hearts of anyone who saw her. Her liveliness added a bit of spring into this cold autumn. The way her short skirt danced in the air, and her legs glowed like marbles under the dim sky was just the icing on the cake.

An unconscious smile passing through my face, I opened the door and called out to her, "Yiyi, over here~"

Hearing my shout, Lin Yixin immediately made a sharp turn and ran toward me. Her beautiful figure dazzled a bunch of male students and caused them to swallow their saliva visibly.

"Why do you bring an umbrella if you’re not going to shield yourself from the rain?" I asked with a smile.

Lin Yixin folded her umbrella and straightened the hem of her skirt after entering the front passenger seat. She replied with a smile, "Well, the rain in spring is too cold, and the rain in summer is too strong. The rain in autumn is the only rain that’s worth getting drenched in…"

I curled my lips. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you get sick…"

"You’re the one who’s going to be sick!" Lin Yixin rolled her eyes and punched me once on the shoulder before asking, "Where are we eating today? It’s my treat tonight!"

The corner of my mouth twitched once as I glanced at her in disbelief. "You’re going to treat me to dinner? Really? Did you win the lottery or something?"

"Hehe, here, take a look at this…"

Lin Yixin passed me a small ornament. It was the kind you wear in front of your chest. I gave it a look, and I saw the logo of an eaten Apple and the word "China Lin" next to it. I asked puzzledly, "Hmm? An eaten apple? Yiyi, I’m not judging you, but your taste is getting cheaper and cheaper each day…"

"You’re the one who has cheap taste!" Lin Yixin glared at me and almost punched me again. Dumbfounded by my ignorance, she said, "This isn’t just any eaten apple, you dumb ass! It’s the logo of Apple Inc!"

"Apple Inc?" I racked my brain for a moment before realization struck me. "Wait, really? You signed a contract with that Apple, Yiyi?"

"Yep! Me, Qingqing, Purple Marquis, Shadow Chanel, and Beauty At First Sight were signed together as a team. From now on, we’re part of the Apple e-sports club."

"How much did they offer you? It has to be a lot, right?"

Lin Yixin shot me a look. "It’s not as crazy as yours. My yearly salary is only 21 million, hmph…"

I smiled. "Not bad at all. Tonight’s dinner definitely should be your treat. Once this money enters your account, you won’t have to worry about your mom’s hospital fee anymore!"

Lin Yixin nodded and looked outside the window with a smile. Even from where I was, I could see that she was very happy. "Yes, I’m really happy that I can help my mom wake sooner with my own hard-earned money…"

"Anyway, back to the matter at hand: Where are we eating?"

"How about some place with a buffet? I feel really hungry right now…"

"Got it. I know a place with shark fins and abalones on the menu. It’s only 200 RMB per person!"

"Sure! Gogogo!"

The buffet restaurant wasn’t far. In fact, it only took one push on the gas pedal to get there. After I got out of the car and locked the door, I subconsciously reached out for Yiyi’s hand. However, she deftly and cheerfully moved her hand out of the way, and I only managed to catch her sleeve. Still, I didn’t let go and pulled her into the restaurant like that.

……

After Yiyi footed the bill at the counter, and we entered the restaurant, the wonderful scent of food immediately filled our lungs. Both Lin Yixin and I had stayed online for nearly 24 hours straight, and after that we slept until not long ago. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we were so hungry that we could eat a horse. This was especially true since we just woke up not long ago, and our body desperately needed some nutrients to recover. Seeing the food was like seeing our parents again after a long time.

It took only a moment for us to fill our plates completely with food. Then, we sat down at a corner in the restaurant in satisfaction.

"Lu Chen, I haven’t returned online yet, so I didn’t know what reward you got after you gathered the nine dragon scales. What was it?" Lin Yixin asked me while holding a slice of lamb meat with her chopsticks.

"Well, I got 3 Luck, 3 levels and a Level 140 weapon, the Cyan Netherworld Sword. It’s a Heaven-grade, 6-star Outstanding sword."

"6-star Outstanding? Heaven-grade?" Lin Yixin’s mouth dropped open. "That’s crazy! It must be incredibly powerful, isn’t it?"

I nodded. "Hehe, of course it is. With a max Attack of 1500, it’s way stronger than your Blade of Violet Lightning…"

Lin Yixin immediately let out a cute whine. "Lemme borrow the Cyan Netherworld Sword when I’m Level 140, please…"

"Sure, no problem!"

……

We were having a good time when a group of five sat down at the table next to ours. Their plates were filled with crabs, abalone and more, and the small hill of food threatened to fall off at any moment. We were hungry, but the food we took was nothing compared to theirs.

These people were clearly not students, because students usually couldn’t afford to pay 200 RMB for a single meal. Only trust fund babies or working people would choose to eat at this place.

Lin Yixin shot them a glance before going back to her shark fin soup, paying them no heed.

However, I was very interested in them because they were talking about Heavenblessed. Even better, they all sounded like high-level players—

"The battle of Nine Lost Dragon Domains sure was a merciless one…" said the youngster with short hair.

The plump man replied with a chuckle, "Yeah, even our guild leader and vice leader were killed. I never thought that it was possible for a pro like vice leader Farewell Song to die until he did. I’ve seen him fight before, and his technique is almost flawless. To think that even he isn’t invulnerable…"

The thin guy smiled. "Come on, it’s not that surprising. Our vice leader was fighting Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand, the 7th CGL ranker and top dog of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, you know. It makes sense that the 7th place would beat the 11th."

The plump man’s features suddenly darkened. "By the way, did you guys hear that the guild leader was raging after he was killed? He even said that he’s going to launch a counterattack and take revenge against Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls."

"Oh? Revenge?" the thin guy exclaimed in surprise.

"Mn!" The plump man nodded. "As for how he’s planning to carry it out, I have no idea…"

The thin guy replied, "It’s probably something like a siege on Dark Moon City, but I honestly don’t think well of our chances. Dark Moon City is less than half an hour away from Silver Fir City, so Wind Fantasy could reinforce them real quick. Even if we combine our strength with the subguilds and attack, our chances of winning are still lower than 30%."

"What if we ask for Mad Dragon and Flower Room’s help? Maybe it’ll go up to fifty-fifty…"

……

Lin Yixin couldn’t stop herself from snorting when she heard that. Lying lazily on the table and smiling cutely, she said, "Adding trash guilds like Mad Dragon and Flower Room into the mix is only going to lower Warsky Alliance’s chances of winning…"

"What?!"

All five people rose to their feet in surprise and stared at us. Since Lin Yixin was staring right back at them, it didn’t take them a second to recognize the peerless beauty that was Wind Fantasy sitting at the table right next to theirs. Their mouths opened so wide that you could fit a toad in them. "Wi… Wind Fantasy? Are we seeing right?"

"What’s wrong? You have a problem with me?"

"No… not at all…"

The plump man was so confounded by the unexpected meeting that he actually clasped his hands together and said, "I’m the leader of the Cloud Piercer Workshop, and we’re stationed at District B Office, Building 11, Luye Tianyuan Community, Jinchang District, Suzhou. My ID is Buddha’s Palm, and our workshop’s motto is ‘Send us a cloud piercing arrow, and we will bring an army of thousands to help you’. So, er, good day, Beauty Wind Fantasy…"

The corner of Lin Yixin’s mouth curled up. "You’re welcome. You should get back to your meal."

"Oh, right, hmm…"

……

For a bunch of hot-blooded men, they sure looked like they were sitting on pincushions after learning that Wind Fantasy was sitting right next to them. They started eating their food really quick as if they wanted to escape before Lin Yixin could pull out her White Moon and end their lives.

Meanwhile, I was slowly sipping my soup and eating my n-th abalone meat. Lin Yixin couldn’t help but stare at me. "Are you trying to kill yourself by eating?"

"What are you talking about? Even if I am, it’s a blessing to die with a full tummy…" I replied while rubbing my stomach.

"Despicable!" Lin Yixin shot a scathing remark.

The Warsky Alliance players turned to see who the legendary Wind Fantasy was talking to. The moment they saw me, they jumped to their feet like they were electrocuted and moved as far away from me as possible. One of them shouted, "Holy shit, is… is that Falling Dust, the Little Heavenly King? Bye… bye bye!"

Then, they ran out of the restaurant like the wind.

……

A crab leg was hanging on my mouth as I stared at the entrance where the frightened men had escaped from. I asked Lin Yixin, "Am I scary?"

Lin Yixin nodded. "Of course you are. Take a mirror and look at yourself, you glutton…"