16: coma

"Phew!" Lin Yue suddenly sat up, gasping for breath!

Finally, the character 'Qin' on that large banner must have signified reinforcements.

Hekawa Castle should have been defended.

Lin Yue stood up and stretched his limbs. He wasn't sure if it was exhaustion from the game or lying down for too long in reality, but he felt a bit sore all over. He stretched and went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water.

"Gulp, gulp." After finishing a glass of water, Lin Yue felt much better.

He glanced at the time: February 3, 2060, 9:06 PM.

Lin Yue put on his helmet, ready to log back into the game to see if his character had died.

"Character is unconscious, expected to be unconscious for 8 hours. Game login is suspended during this period."

Unconscious?

It seemed he wasn't dead, and Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief.

If he died in the game, he would need 24 hours in reality, which is six days in the game, before he could play again.

Additionally, some of his five-dimensional attributes would be deducted upon revival, a small amount, but still not worth it.

Lin Yue took off his helmet, tossed it onto the bed, and started browsing the ascension forum.

"Lin Yue's city defense battle: A famous general buried by history?"

"Lin Yue, terrifyingly formidable! Is he a Ming Dynasty captain and imperial son-in-law?"

"Zhao Bo's first battle failure: A detailed look at Zhao Bo's questionable maneuvers."

"General Yu's live shrimp deveining!"

"1r per episode!"

As the Great Xia Region players' first attack on the Great Qin Empire, this battle instantly topped the trending searches!

Many players witnessed the entire process through General Yu's livestream!

They urgently needed a victory to boost their spirits, to rally the people.

"Looks like I've become quite popular, huh?"

Lin Yue muttered to himself, "But they think I'm a historical figure, which isn't bad. It saves me from being seen as a traitor."

"Bah, no, that's not right. I'm in the Qin Camp, but my heart is with the Xia!"

Most of the forum content was about Zhao Bo's siege. Lin Yue picked out some interesting posts and read them for a while.

"Master, master, you have a call!"

"Answer."

"Xiao Yueyue, what are you doing?" A sweet voice came through, and a light screen appeared before him. In the screen, a stylish young woman wearing sunglasses asked.

"Ban Xia, is something wrong?" Lin Yue rubbed his eyes as he listened to the sweet voice.

"Can't I call you if there's nothing wrong?" The young woman feigned a bit of anger, took off her sunglasses, and glared at him. Lin Yue could only give a dry laugh.

"I saw many game companies laying off a lot of staff, so I wanted to ask how you were doing." The young woman sat in a car, and up close, one could see her fair skin and picturesque face. Her pair of captivating eyes were like the finishing touch, truly a rare beauty.

"I was laid off too," Lin Yue said calmly.

"Haha, that's just too great!" The young woman burst into uncontrollable laughter, completely disregarding her goddess-like image.

"Ah? What about you?" Lin Yue felt a little embarrassed.

"Me? I'm so popular, you know that."

"Did you watch the Spring Festival Gala?"

The young woman deliberately tossed her hair as she asked.

"No, why?" Lin Yue asked.

"Sigh, even you didn't watch it." The young woman sounded a bit disappointed.

"What's wrong? You were on the Spring Festival Gala?"

"Exactly! I could have gained some popularity, but who would have thought everyone would be playing games? Hardly anyone watched!" The young woman said disappointedly.

Although the Spring Festival Gala's viewership ratings had been declining for nearly 60 consecutive years, it remained the highest-level stage in the hearts of the Chinese people.

It was indeed a bit unlucky for the young woman to appear on this stage for the first time and encounter such a situation.

"Don't be sad, you're still very popular!" Lin Yue comforted her.

"Right, I'm already a popular young star, a future superstar!" The young woman laughed heartily.

Lin Yue gazed distractedly at an advertisement on the electronic billboard of a shopping mall building outside the window.

The two had been childhood sweethearts, but after college, one became a programmer, while the other dropped out midway to become a highly sought-after popular young star!

After that, due to work, their contact wasn't as frequent as before, but they would still meet up occasionally.

"Hey! Are you even listening?!" A sweet, displeased voice came from the other end.

"Hm? What did you say?" Lin Yue asked.

"I said, open the door, I'm at your doorstep!" Lin Yue watched as the image on the light screen changed to show his own front door.

"What? Wait a minute!" Lin Yue hung up the phone.

He hastily tidied up the room. Housing prices in S City were high, and Lin Yue's rented room wasn't large, a simple one-bedroom, one-living room, so it was easy to clean up.

Lin Yue opened the door, and though familiar, he was still struck by her beauty.

Fang Banxia stood at the door, black sunglasses obscuring her distinctive eyes, holding a black handbag whose name Lin Yue couldn't recall, looking every bit like a big star.

Lin Yue, however, secretly grumbled, "Wearing sunglasses late at night, how ostentatious."

"Making me wait so long."

Fang Banxia shrieked, pushed Lin Yue aside, and walked straight into the room, tossing her handbag and high heels aside before flopping onto the bed.

"When will you stop throwing things around?" Lin Yue picked up the handbag and high heels, placing them on the shoe rack, saying grumpily.

"Stop talking nonsense, quick, massage my feet, big brother, they're killing me." Fang Banxia said weakly, completely different from how she was at the door just moments ago.

"Dream on?"

"Why did you suddenly come?" Lin Yue pulled out a chair and sat on it, asking.

"I had an event nearby, so I stopped by to see you."

"It's only the second day of the Lunar New Year, and you're already working?" Lin Yue asked incredulously.

"Oh, I'm a big star, you know, too popular."

Lin Yue felt a bit helpless. She hadn't changed at all, still so full of herself. His colleagues all really liked her, saying she was beautiful, kind, and humble and polite.

Lin Yue had told them at the time that it was all an act, asking where the humility and politeness were. That colleague then emotionally shouted, "Do you even know her? How can you talk about her like that!"

Lin Yue opened his mouth but ultimately held back.

Fang Banxia and Lin Yue's families were neighbors and old family friends. The two grew up together. When she was little, she looked like a little princess, showered with affection.

He, on the other hand, was a little chubby follower, only slimming down and becoming handsome in junior high.

From a young age, Fang Banxia would pretend, acting like a good girl, and he would always be the one taking the blame.

He had grown accustomed to it.

"By the way, is the new game really that fun?" Fang Banxia asked casually.

But Lin Yue knew she was clearly still bothered by it; her meticulously prepared performance being interrupted by the game had put her in a bad mood.

"It's alright, I guess," Lin Yue said perfunctorily.

"Our company says this game has a 1:6 time flow, and they're going to shift some of our business into the game in the future."

"What do you mean?"

Lin Yue was a little surprised. Even celebrities were going into ascension?

"Yes, exactly. They want us to train and perform in the game. I heard there are even directors going in to make movies!"

"But the game environment is really bad right now. You just get wiped out as soon as you enter." Lin Yue found it strange. In this environment, they were going to film a big breakout?

"I don't understand it either. My assistants are preparing for it, but it'll be a few months from now at least."

"If you don't do well then, come find your older sister. Your older sister will take care of a little noob like you." Fang Banxia changed her posture, half-lying and looking at Lin Yue with a half-smile.

"Forget it. Big brother won't rely on a woman."

"If I do, I'll still do it in a tough way!" Lin Yue said.

"Hmph, you stinky man, dream on!" Fang Banxia kicked him, then picked up her handbag and walked to the door, bending down to put on her shoes.

"You're leaving already?" Lin Yue asked.

"If I don't leave, what are you going to do?" Fang Banxia gave Lin Yue a flirtatious glance.

"Uh, I was just being polite." Lin Yue scratched his nose, feeling embarrassed.

"Hmph! I just came to see you. This young lady is busy all day, I'm leaving!" Fang Banxia rolled her eyes, speechless, then opened the door and walked out.

Lin Yue saw her all the way to the community gate. The roar of an engine sounded, and only after it disappeared from sight did Lin Yue return to his room.