62: Li Ke and Xiao Bai

“Whoosh!” Li Ke opened his eyes to a simple bedroom.

“Bang!”

A party popper exploded, scattering colorful petals and glitter everywhere.

“Xiaobai, what are you doing?!” Li Ke was startled, taking off his gaming helmet and jumping out of bed.

“How about it, surprised? Unexpected?” Xiaobai asked with a mischievous grin.

“Why did you set off that party popper? You almost scared me to death!” Li Ke rubbed his chest, still feeling a lingering fear.

“Of course, to congratulate my brother on becoming a true man today!”

He then glanced at his watch: “It’s February 8th, 2060 of the Great Xia Calendar, 7:22 AM!

Remember, this is your second birthday, Li Ke!”

Xiaobai said with a lewd smile.

“Get lost! I’ve been a man for a long time!” Li Ke cursed.

“Oh, come on, with our relationship, are you still trying to act tough with me?”

Li Ke looked dejected and stopped arguing.

“Wait, how do you know what I was doing in the game?” Li Ke suddenly asked, wondering if Xiaobai was trying to trick him.

“You raised the flag, how could I not understand?”

“No, I didn’t!”

“Look.” Xiaobai swiped his finger on his phone, and a short video appeared on the virtual screen in front of them.

The video was very short, only 3 seconds long.

Li Ke lunged Li Ke a tiger, trying to snatch it, but Xiaobai easily dodged with a sidestep.

“Hahaha, you finished in seconds?” Xiaobai asked with a teasing raised eyebrow.

“No!” Li Ke shouted!

“Then why was it only 3 seconds?”

“You forgot, the game time ratio is 1:6!” Li Ke retorted.

“Alright, I’ll give you 18 seconds!”

Upon hearing that number, Li Ke immediately looked a bit downcast and said gloomily, “Actually, I didn’t do anything.”

“You finished in seconds?” Xiaobai asked, looking incredulous.

“Get out!”

“Alright, alright, I won’t talk about that anymore.

Let’s talk business, how are things over there?” Xiaobai asked.

“Young Master Zhao did arrange things well for us; there was food, drinks, and even beautiful women. But I didn’t do anything,” Li Ke said.

“How many?”

“I only asked for one, to gather some information.

I don’t want to do that kind of thing in the game.”

Xiaobai looked at Li Ke with an expression that clearly said, 'I don't believe you.'

“Seriously!” Li Ke feigned anger.

“You could resist?” Xiaobai looked at him suspiciously.

They had been university friends for almost four years, and Xiaobai could tell Li Ke's little schemes with just a glance.

Li Ke felt uncomfortable under Xiaobai's gaze, then stiffened his neck and said,

“In the end, I couldn’t resist, so what!

Who could withstand that kind of temptation?”

“And then you finished in seconds?” Xiaobai asked.

“Can we not talk about this topic anymore!

I told you, I didn’t do anything!

I hadn’t even taken off my pants when Zhao Bo said the Qin Army was coming and told us to quickly log off!

So I logged out!” Li Ke shouted.

Xiaobai was a bit stunned by the shouting, somewhat dazed: “The Qin Army came?”

“Yes!”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know either, Young Master Zhao was in a hurry, so we quickly logged off.”

Xiaobai pondered in silence, then asked, “There aren’t any moles among you, are there?”

Li Ke was startled by the question, then shook his head Li Ke a rattle drum: “Impossible, absolutely impossible!”

“Last time when we were smuggling, we just happened to be discovered by the Qin Army. This time, you hadn’t been there for many days before the Qin Army went again. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?” Xiaobai asked.

“Impossible, don’t you dare slander our Azure Dragon Gang brothers!

This matter ends here; I hope you don’t bring it up again.” Li Ke said uncharacteristically, with a serious tone.

“Alright, alright, call me when you log on. I don’t have much to do these days, so I should be able to play for a while.

Also, you said the Jurchen beauty tempted you. Think about it, what about you is worth tempting?

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. I want to see what Young Master Zhao is really up to!”

Xiaobai said in a deep voice, stroking his chin.

“See, you’re just too suspicious. Young Master Zhao is so rich, he wouldn’t try to steal your kidney!” Li Ke said with an indifferent laugh, patting Xiaobai’s shoulder and asking, “Where’s the food?”

“In the living room, go get it yourself.”

“Alright, bro!” Li Ke chuckled and ran outside, followed by a gasp of surprise: “Why is there so much food?”

“My family had a dinner party last night, and I packed up a lot of leftover food that wasn’t really eaten for you. Don’t worry, it’s not spoiled,” Xiaobai called out.

“You shouldn’t have, my old son. Actually, you could have just bought a few steamed buns from Old Shen Tou downstairs,” Li Ke said it was too much, but a wide grin spread across his face.

“Get lost, Old Shen Tou’s shop downstairs is closed. You can’t even eat them if you wanted to,” Xiaobai cursed with a laugh.

“That’s not right, I remember he used to be open by this time, didn’t he?” Li Ke asked, leaning against the door with a chicken drumstick in hand.

“The shop is closed. The sign says he went to play games,” Xiaobai said indifferently.

Playing games has become a craze among the elderly now. Young people still have work and various other pressures, so the proportion of gamers isn't particularly large.

But it's different for the elderly; they've already seen through things. After players confirmed the 1:6 time flow in the game, countless elderly people rushed into the game!

Even now, among the top ten guilds on the ascension forum, two are made up of old players.

One is called 丿丶心灬弑天, rumored to be some kind of 'kill-me-style' from the last century?

It’s hard to imagine how such a Martian-text guild name was even typed out in the game.

Another guild name is quite simple, called Zang Ai Family.

Don't let their age fool you; the aggressive fighting style and precise, ruthless attacks of these two guilds truly give other guilds a headache.

Furthermore, elderly players are very loyal and often appear in groups. They usually keep a low profile, but once a conflict arises, countless young, middle-aged, and even sexagenarian players will appear in the guild to help them fight.

Over time, other guilds couldn't help but steer clear of them!

Ultimately, they carved out a formidable reputation in the game!

Li Ke wasn’t very concerned about these things; he just asked with a mournful face, “So I won’t be able to eat these cheap and delicious steamed buns anymore?”

“No, he left an address. In the game, near Heyecheng in Liaodong Commandery, at Black Tiger Stronghold. Old customers who want to eat them can go find him there. Oh, and he said Black Tiger Stronghold is very friendly to players, so you don’t have to worry about being captured,” Xiaobai laughed.

“You can even go into the game to eat steamed buns?” Li Ke’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Yes, he said that although the seasonings aren’t complete, he’s made improvements to guarantee the original flavor.”

Upon hearing this, Li Ke’s worldview shattered a bit, and he stood in disarray in the room alone.

“Alright, you eat slowly, I have to go home now.” Xiaobai stood up and walked towards the door.

He stopped at the doorway, turned around, and said, “You work hard! Try to make the Azure Dragon Gang famous, so I, as the strategist, can have some face.”

“Xiaobai, when did you start caring about face?” Li Ke asked, puzzled.

“My cousin talked to me last night during dinner and wanted me to take her to play ascension when I have time. I told her I’m a guild strategist, second only to one person and above ten thousand.

I really don’t want her to know that all a few hundred people in our guild are just playing battle royale!” Xiaobai recalled his past gaming experiences, feeling a bit disheartened.

“Absolutely, I’ll let you know once I’ve settled in over there.

Oh, and is your cousin pretty? What’s her name?” Li Ke promised, patting his chest.

“Of course she’s pretty. When has our family’s genes ever been bad?”

Li Ke had to admit, Xiaobai was indeed very handsome, with a slender build, fair skin, the image of a pretty boy. During university, countless girls actively pursued him, so his cousin must be just as attractive.

“You still haven’t said her name!” Li Ke saw Xiaobai about to walk out the door and couldn’t help but press him.

“Yao Siyu. You’ll get to meet her once you’ve made a name for yourself.” Xiaobai waved his hand and walked out.