Running Away from Home (Bonus Chapter 11)

Late at night, lying in bed, the events surrounding the Ash Domain Guild kept replaying in my mind, and I couldn't shake the feeling of unease. So I picked up my phone and sent Zhang Ruolin a WeChat: "Are you free? Let's have a voice chat?"

A few seconds later, Ruolin sent a voice message.

"What's wrong, can't sleep?" she asked with a smile.

"Um."

I tucked the pillow behind my back and leaned against the headboard. "Ruolin, there's something I've been thinking about that I don't quite understand, so I wanted to ask for your opinion."

"You say."

"Yesterday, Shen Jin made it clear that he wanted to fight us to the death. If it weren't for Gun Like a Dragon bringing out some kind of administrator, we probably would have already fought to the death. But this matter is not over. Someone as ambitious as Shen Jin will definitely not give up. This is tantamount to planting a seed of disaster for us."

I frowned. "So I have an idea."

"You're right, I have that concern too."

Ruolin asked, "So... what's on your mind?"

"Give me Shen Jin WeChat, I'll add him as a friend and privately arrange a 1v1 match between us in the wilderness, crossing the Teleportation Array. What do you think?"

I explained, "If we win, I have two options: one is to kill Shen Jin directly and solve this problem once and for all; the other is to spare his life, but that would also be a way of telling him that he is no match for me and should avoid provoking us. After all, only by showing our strength and making the other side feel intimidated can we deter our enemies and prevent problems before they arise. What do you think?"

"..."

Zhang Ruolin was clearly taken aback by my idea, and it took her several seconds to say, "Ding Han, your thought process really surprises me. However, I must say, you have a pretty clear understanding of the survival-of-the-fittest nature of <Star Abyss>. But I don't quite agree with this. First of all, if Shen Jin doesn't follow the rules and sends people to ambush us, you will be in great risk. Secondly, we are currently all in the city, which is relatively safe. We will be together for the next event, so everyone just needs to be more careful."

"So, you don't agree with my idea?"

"Hmm, I disagree."

"All right."

I breathed a sigh of relief, "Then let's put this matter aside for now. You should go to sleep early; I'm going to bed now."

"Good."

After getting rid of Ruolin, I messaged Gun Like a Dragon again. "Alliance Leader Long, want to chat sometime?"

Yes! Call me via voice message.

"Good!"

The next moment, he answered the Gun Like a Dragon's, and smiled, "Still not sleeping in the middle of the night, is something on your mind?"

I guess so.

I laughed and said, "Alliance Leader Long, first of all, thank you for your righteous help yesterday. If your brothers from the Crimson Firmament Alliance hadn't shown up, we would probably have had to fight the people from the Ember Domain."

"It's a small matter. Maintaining harmony among players is one of the responsibilities assigned to me by the administrators."

Gun Like a Dragon chuckled, "Ding Han, you've come to see me for more than just to say thank you, haven't you?"

Of course not.

I took a deep breath and said, "Alliance Leader Long, do you think Shen Jin will swallow this insult and not cause trouble for us?"

I don't think so.

"But he has to swallow this insult, "Gun Like a Dragon bluntly, "Because I mentioned the manager."

So, what exactly is a manager?

I haven't had any contact with managers yet, so I'm quite curious about this.

"The managers..."

Gun Like a Dragon laughed, "Actually, in my understanding, the administrators are equivalent to the GMs in <Star Abyss>. They are the ones who unite and manage the players, issue quests to the players, and tell them the direction to move forward. I even have a guess."

"What guess?"

"Ding Han, do you still remember why you were transported to the Star Abyss World?"

"Of course I remember."

I frowned. "If we hadn't entered that so-called CD-KEY after creating our character, we probably wouldn't have even arrived in the Star Abyss World."

"That's right."

"It seems everyone's experience is similar," Gun Like a Dragon. "I also received a CD key from someone claiming to be the 'planner' in a player group for <Star Abyss>. He said that entering it would allow me to receive a beginner's set, and that I could even receive a Generation 2 Power Armor when I reached level 40. I actually believed him."

He lowered his voice and said, "So, I suspect that the administrators who issue quests in <Star Abyss> are very likely the game planner in disguise."

"Good heavens..."

I asked in surprise, "Then what's in it for him?"

"Guide the player to achieve your goal, nothing more."

Gun Like a Dragon said, "Of course, it's also possible that I'm wrong. These GMs might be real GMs, without their own intelligence, just responsible for guiding us players."

I took a deep breath. "I haven't seen a GM since I entered <Star Abyss>, maybe..."

"There is a chance."

Gun Like a Dragon chuckled, "The administrator's identity is very mysterious. He comes and goes without a trace. I'm not sure where he is either, so there's no way I can take you to him. Let's wait for the future. A top player like you is bound to meet a GM sooner or later. In fact, even if you don't go looking for him, he might come looking for you."

"Knew."

I nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries with Gun Like a Dragon, and then ended the conversation.

My mind is a bit of a mess. Never mind, I'll just go to sleep first and deal with the future later.

She closed her eyes and slept until dawn. When she woke up, the living room was empty. It felt especially desolate when Lin Qingying wasn't home.

After washing up and having breakfast, I squeezed onto the bus to go to work.

"Ding Han!"

Just as I squeezed onto the bus, someone shouted behind me. I turned around and saw it was Fatty, who was rolling down the window and yelling, "Get off and ride with us to work!"

"Never mind, I'll put in the coin!"

I waved my hand and sat down by the window.

A quick glance revealed that the car the fat man was in belonged to Shen Yue. Shen Yue came from a well-off family and drove a white CC. It was clear that their relationship was becoming increasingly passionate, as Shen Yue had actually gone out of her way to pick up the fat man and take him to work.

He's a freeloader.

Arriving at the company, a busy day began.

In the afternoon, when he had a little free time, Fatty's phone rang.

"Shh!"

He gestured for me and Haozi to be quiet, saying, "This is my mom's video, so watch your words."

"..."

I was speechless for a moment.

The next second, Fatty answered the video call, and sure enough, a familiar figure appeared on the other end. In the real world, Fatty's family lived in the same neighborhood as mine, and the two families were very close, with Fatty's aunt being someone I saw all the time.

"Mom."

The fat man gave a simple, honest smile and exchanged a few polite words with the aunt.

"Huh?"

On the phone, the aunt seemed to see me and said, "Xiao Wei, isn't that Ding Han behind you?"

"Yes, that's right!"

The fat man chuckled, "Ding Han now works in the same department as me."

"Hey, that's more like it. Good brothers should stick together so they can look out for each other. Come on, let me talk to Ding Han."

"Okay!"

The fat man spun around in his chair, leaned his head against mine, and laughed, "Mom, look, hasn't Ding Han gotten even more handsome lately?"

"He really looks handsome!"

Hello, Auntie!

I flashed my signature smile, "How have you been lately?"

"Very good, very good."

The aunt smiled and said, "Ding Han, I saw your dad this morning on my way to work. The two of them chatted for a bit at the entrance of the community. If you ask me, your dad has had a tough time. He raised you all by himself and got you a master's degree. If you were a sensible boy, you should work hard, find a girlfriend, and get married. Don't let your dad worry about you at his age."

"Yes, yes..." I nodded repeatedly.

"Oh, right."

The aunt continued, "Our Xiao Wei has already found a girlfriend named Shen Yue. I've seen her in videos, and you've probably seen her too, right?"

"Yes, I've met her. Shen Yue is a very nice person."

"It's pretty good, so what about you?"

The aunt said, "You're much better looking than our Xiao Wei. You should settle down and find a girlfriend. Your dad can help you with a down payment, buy a house in Huaining, and get married. Wouldn't that be great?"

"Auntie, don't worry, I know what to do, I'll get right to it!"

"You child, all you do is appease your elders; you've always been like this since you were little."

"Mom, look at you, always nagging!"

The fat man took the phone and said, "Ding Han finally got some peace and quiet, and now you're nagging again."

"How can you talk like that? I watched Ding Han grow up, he's practically my son. What's wrong with giving him a few words of advice? You two think you're all grown up now that you're working outside, and that you can't be talked to like this?"

"Look what you've gotten yourself into again! I'm really fed up with you!"

For a moment, Fatty listened to the rambling on in the video, while Haozi, sitting next to him, stared in disbelief and whispered to me, "Having a mom like that is really not easy..."

"It's really not easy."

I completely agree.

However, what my aunt said did put some pressure on me. Although Old Ding didn't say many things, I had to be aware of them.

However, as a player in the unfathomable Star Abyss, things like falling in love and getting married are far from easy. In the face of leveling up and becoming stronger, these trivial matters should naturally be put aside.

In the evening, I had a dry pot meal with Fatty and Shen Yue. Afterwards, the two of them went to see a movie, while I took a car home.

Around seven o'clock, a light winter rain began to fall.

Huaining City doesn't get much snow in winter, but it gets quite rainy. After a rain shower, the weather suddenly becomes much colder, and the wind feels like knives scraping your bones when it blows on your face.

"Beep beep~~~"

Just then, the phone rang; it was Milo calling.

"What's wrong, Luo'er?"

"Ding Han, something terrible has happened!"

His voice was panicked as he said, "I just got word that Xiao Bei has run away from home and should no longer be in BH City!"

"Run away from home?!"

"Um!"

Milo's voice was anxious. "Uncle Lu just called. I reckon Xiao Bei only has two options: either he went back to Creek City, or he went to Huaining City to find you!"

"Looking for me?"

My heart skipped a beat.

"Anyway, if you see her, you need to pay more attention to her and take good care of her, okay?"

"Knew."

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now."

He hung up the phone in a hurry.

When I arrived at the bottom of the building, I saw someone sitting on the lowest step of the stairs.

She was dressed in a designer women's winter outfit, her trousers covered in mud, looking as if she had tripped and fallen, appearing quite disheveled. She was holding a piece of bread that looked dry and hard, took a big bite, then unscrewed a mineral water bottle on the steps and took a small sip.

It wasn't until I looked up that I finally recognized her.

"Lu Xiaobei?!"