71: Chapter 71 The sword energy of youth will transform into a gentle breeze.

Chen Ze was, by nature, a very independent and intelligent person; if he weren't independent, he wouldn't have tattoos on his body.

Based on his current understanding of Su Ye, he actually quite appreciated Su Ye, because he felt that Su Ye was very similar to himself, and he now considered Su Ye's status to be roughly equal to his own.

The most prominent evidence of this was that Su Ye could clearly see the glowing 72 above Chen Ze's head. Su Ye was still wondering what he had even done; how had the favorability rating jumped to 72? He knew that this number meant Chen Ze already considered Su Ye a friend.

After several rounds of drinks and food, Cao Ye spoke up first: "Boss, Little Su, I can't hold my liquor, so I'll take my leave first. I promised my wife and the missus that I'd take them shopping today, and they're waiting for me over at Taikoo Li right now."

Chen Ze teased, "Old Cao, oh Old Cao, among all the executives in our group, you're the most family-oriented. Go on then, I'll hang out with Little Su for a while."

Su Ye knew that Cao Ye was giving him an opportunity to build a relationship with Chen Ze, so he also stood up with a smile and said, "Brother Cao, let me see you out."

Cao Ye picked up the suit jacket hanging to the side, waved his hand, and said, "No need. Just have fun with the boss. I'm heading out."

After saying that, he walked straight out of the private room, not giving Su Ye a chance to see him off. His reasoning was simple: no matter what, Chen Ze was destined to be the heir to a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. Cao Ye genuinely treated Su Ye like a younger brother and hoped that Su Ye could establish a good relationship with Chen Ze.

Chen Ze and Su Ye chatted about this and that for a while longer. Chen Ze discovered that no matter the topic—from national economic trends down to video games and movie stars—Su Ye could keep up. In fact, Su Ye even knew many details that Chen Ze hadn't noticed himself. The more they talked, the more they felt they were kindred spirits.

Finally, he stood up and said to Su Ye, "Let's go, Little Su, let's go out and have some fun."

Su Ye naturally agreed. They had drunk enough and eaten well; staying here any longer wouldn't be much fun.

Half an hour later, Su Ye looked up at the neon sign above, which read [Kawa E-sports Tea & Coffee], and was momentarily dazed.

Su Ye had thought Chen Ze would take him to a commercial KTV to hold girls in his arms, or perhaps to a foot massage parlor to enjoy some service, or even to a bar to drink and dance. But he never in his wildest dreams expected they would end up at an internet cafe.

"What are you standing there stunned for? Come on, this place is pretty good. I've been here a few times before. The private rooms have good soundproofing, and the tea is decent. Since we drank quite a bit just now, it's a good place to sober up."

After saying this, Chen Ze took the lead and walked inside.

Su Ye chuckled, finding Chen Ze to be a very interesting person, and followed behind him.

Before long, Su Ye and Chen Ze had topped up their membership cards and ordered two cups of Mingqian Xinyang Maojian tea before heading straight into a private room.

As Chen Ze put on his headset and turned on the computer, he complained, "Little Su, don't look at how glamorous I am in public; in reality, I suffer in private. During the day, I'm a corporate executive and the heir to a group. At night, it's either business socializing or going home to be a dad. What personal time could I possibly have? I'm basically a nuclear-powered workhorse."

"But I'm a human being too. I'm only in my thirties. I want to play, but I don't have the time. I can't exactly play games at the office, and when I get home, I have to be a dad, so there's no time for games there either. I only get to play maybe four or five times a year, and usually, I can't even find anyone to play with. I've caught you today, so we can play together."

Listening to Chen Ze's complaints, Su Ye understood him. After all, what was that saying? Men remain boys until they die. They also want to live freely and enjoy their own lives, but once they graduate from college, they find themselves as if they've been pressed onto a fast-forward button.

Working, saving money, buying a house, buying a car, getting married, having children, raising children, caring for the family, caring for parents.

They give all their time to everyone except themselves, leaving not a single moment for their own sake.

He can be a father, a husband, a son, but he can no longer be himself. Perhaps only a breeze brushing against his cheek occasionally reminds him of that sword qi he once slashed out with a wooden stick in a rapeseed field during his youth—a strike that only he could see.

"It's a good thing I haven't started a family yet. Tsk, tsk, tsk, Brother Ze, when you put it like that, it's terrifying. I think I'd better just not get married in the future."

Chen Ze grinned, pushed his feet against the floor, and the casters on his gaming chair rolled him over to Su Ye's side. He patted Su Ye's shoulder and said, "Little brother, your brother here thought exactly the same thing before I got married."

"Alright, enough talk. Hurry up and open Horn Island. I only have two hours. I have to go back before midnight; my daughter can't fall asleep if she sees I'm not home."

Su Ye glanced at Chen Ze, his tone no longer as formal as before: "Oh? So you're a daughter-obsessed dad? If I have a delinquent son in the future, he'll be outside your villa every day yelling, 'Old man, can I park my souped-up scooter on your villa's lawn?'"

Chen Ze's eyes widened: "Then I'll just break his legs, and I'll support him for the rest of his life. I can afford it."

The two stared at each other with wide eyes for a few seconds before both breaking into laughter.

"Horn Island, start!!!"

Half an hour later: "Holy crap, he's heavily wounded, heavily wounded! Hurry up and push, Old Hei is heavily wounded!"

Upon hearing Chen Ze's words, Su Ye didn't say a word and immediately flew into the administration building's manager's office with a 'Great Sky Might' dragon.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The muzzle of the K416 erupted with flames, and four black eggs hit the opponent's Tier 5 armor. At the same time, the opponent's MP7 unleashed a barrage of flesh-and-blood bullets into the dragon's ankles.

"Ah!"

With a scream, Su Ye watched the blood-red 'Extraction Failed' screen appear before him. He opened the combat report and saw that his four Tier 5 bullets had just barely depleted the durability of the opponent's full-durability Tier 5 armor.

His crimson eyes snapped toward Chen Ze beside him.

"Holy crap, this is what you call 'heavily wounded'?"

"A 'heavily wounded' guy with full health and full-durability Tier 5 armor?"

Chen Ze gave an embarrassed chuckle, quickly pulled a cigarette from the pack on the table, and shoved it into Su Ye's mouth to shut him up.

"My mistake, my mistake. I clearly remember hitting him six or seven times. It's a hacker, this is definitely a hacker."

Su Ye rolled his eyes, lit the cigarette, and took a deep drag. With the cigarette dangling from his mouth, he said to Chen Ze, "Alright, shut up. Listen to my commands from now on; I'll carry you to a win."

Chen Ze had no objections, after all, he had organized five matches in the last half hour, and on average, he hadn't survived more than six minutes in any of them.

"What should I bring?"

Su Ye didn't even look back as he sent a weapon modification code to Chen Ze's WeChat.

"G18, gear up, bring two magazines of flesh-and-blood bullets, stuff them in your pants, and bring a Tier 1 headset."

Chen Ze silently selected his equipment, muttering to himself, "Can we actually win with this?"

Su Ye glanced over and said, "Don't worry about it, just listen to my commands. Oh, and pick Red Wolf."

Inside the cement factory, after a burst of dense gunfire, Chen Ze looked at the G18 in his Red Wolf's hands in disbelief.

"So strong? Instant melt? How did you know about this shady spot?"

Su Ye gave a world-weary smile. "When you've been ambushed for hundreds of millions, you'll know too."