Cheng Shuang, Have You Been Secretly Leveling Up?!

"!!!"

My mind went completely blank. This woman actually knew Milo.

"..."

Beside me, Lin Qingying covered her mouth and chuckled. She probably already knew that Lin Jianwei and Milo knew each other, and deliberately didn't tell me just to see my surprised expression.

"How come you know Milo?" I asked in surprise, coming back to my senses.

"That's normal."

Lin Jianwei said, "Milo is currently the most popular singer-songwriter in China. His musical style is unique, and he has been called the New Music Godfather. It's impossible for me not to know him. Besides, I'm a fan of his, and we're both in the entertainment industry, so it's normal for me to know him, isn't it?"

Her eyes gleamed with slyness as she chuckled, "Didn't expect that, did you?"

"Hmm, I really didn't expect that."

I said speechlessly, "I thought Milo, that shut-in, only knew how to bury himself in his work every day. I never expected he would know a big star like you."

"Actually, Milo's wrist is bigger than mine now!"

Lin Jianwei said very seriously, "In the domestic music scene, he is absolutely number one right now. In terms of fan count, he's probably more than five times as many as me, really!"

"Why don't we sit down and order first? Then we can chat while we eat?" Lin Qingying asked with a smile.

"Okay, okay!"

After we sat down, Lin Qingying handed me the menu, which I immediately handed back to her, saying, "You order. I can't stand the prices; they're too expensive, it'll hurt my wallet!"

Lin Qingying glanced at me, speechless.

Soon after, the dishes were served one by one. The high price was justified; they were slightly better than the boxed lunches at Feiyang Internet Cafe.

During the meal, everyone's conversation almost entirely revolved around Milo.

Whenever Milo is mentioned, Lin Jianwei's eyes light up, and she becomes very talkative, even making her manager cover her mouth and laugh.

When Lin Jianwei asked me about how Milo and I met, I held back a bit, definitely not mentioning anything about the players, only talking about some trivial matters, but she still listened with great interest.

The meal lasted until around 8 p. m. After it ended, Lin Jianwei and her agent left in a car arranged by the company.

Outside the hotel, a slightly chilly spring breeze blew, making one feel exceptionally refreshed.

"Xiao Ying."

My expression turned serious, and I lowered my voice, saying, "I've heard that although Lin Jianwei is a top-tier actress in China, she has a lot of scandals. Is that true?"

"I don't know..."

Lin Qingying shook her head. "Actually, I don't know her very well. It's just that Lin Jianwei signed a contract with Yuening last year to be their spokesperson, and she said she knows Milo, so I organized this gathering tonight. Otherwise, I'd probably still be at the banquet at the awards ceremony right now."

"Did you notice? She seems to have a bit of a crush on Milo."

"It's not just a guess, it is."

Lin Qingying said with certainty, "If you're concerned about this, you can just ask Milo directly. Wouldn't that be much clearer?"

"That's true."

I nodded. "We've both been drinking, who's going to drive?"

"Let Shen Man see us off."

"Good."

In the car, Shen Man instructed the two of us in the back to fasten our seatbelts. Then, this lazy driver slowly started the car and drove onto the road.

"Ding Han."

While we were waiting at a red light, Shen Man suddenly turned around and glanced at me, saying, "Manager Lin's birthday is March 12th, don't forget."

"I remember."

I nodded. "Don't worry, I won't forget."

"Good."

Shen Man smiled slightly, "Have you decided what gift to give our Manager Lin?"

"This..."

I hesitated; I haven't thought of anything yet.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Lin Qingying protested, "Shen Man, how can you ask for a birthday present like that?"

"Cough cough..."

Shen Man looked completely innocent. "I was just worried that this straight guy wouldn't prepare anything."

"Don't worry, we'll prepare it."

I smiled, then fell into deep thought.

Lin Qingying's birthday is approaching, what gift should I give her? Buying luxury goods is not something I can't afford with my current financial resources, but she certainly doesn't lack them. Even if I spent all my savings to buy something, it would probably be nothing to her. So, a birthday gift needs to be thoughtful and meaningful.

Forget it, let's talk about it later, no rush!

Nighttime, in the old house.

Lin Qingying was still in the living room, looking through materials and busy with work.

I sat to the side, arms crossed, watching Crayon Shin-chan on TV, but actually had the game's voice chat enabled, starting a "silent" conversation with Milo.

"Ding Han?"

Milo chuckled, "I heard Lin Qingying dragged you to the Yuening Grand Ceremony today? And you were sitting next to Lin Qingying? That's something! It's obvious she cares about you quite a bit!"

"No..."

I frowned and said, "Luo'er, weren't you always trying to set me up with Lu Xiaobei? Why are you suddenly interested in what's between me and Lin Qingying?"

"Damn it, what else can I do? You can't force someone to drink water. What's the point of forcing you to be with Xiao Bei? Besides, Xiao Bei has already let go of the past, so what do I have to be upset about?"

"What has Xiao Bei come to terms with?"

"Last time she said that it was nice to stay by your side at Feiyang Internet Cafe, and that she would disappear immediately when you and Lin Qingying announced your marriage."

"..."

I felt somewhat helpless, and suddenly remembered the line on the wall of the Wutong Inn: "Ding Han is sorry to Lu Xiaobei."

"Let's talk about your situation."

I said in a deep voice, "Luo'er, I saw Lin Jianwei today."

"I know, she told me, and even said you're kind of handsome!"

"Damn it, is that Xiao Shuai's problem?!"

"Holy crap, how do you describe that? Super handsome? Super fucking handsome?!"

"In short, 'handsome' doesn't quite capture who I am."

"I understand, I understand."

Milo, with a sarcastic expression, laughed and said, "So stop talking nonsense, what the hell are you trying to tell me?"

"Damn it, you've been rambling on and on, I almost forgot about the important thing."

I said seriously, "When I saw Lin Jianwei today, she kept talking about you. I could tell she really likes you, so I wanted to ask you, what's your attitude towards Lin Jianwei?"

"Ah???"

Milo seemed stumped by the question, hesitating for a full five seconds.

"What, is it hard to answer?" I asked.

"This involves personal privacy..."

"Go to hell! What are you talking to me about privacy for?!"

Hahahaha~~~

Milo burst into laughter again and said, "Well, to be honest, Lin Jianwei is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Of course, Xiao Bei and Lin Qingying excluded. She's third on the list!"

"What about Cheng Shuang?"

"Damn, I forgot about Cheng Shuang, Lin Jianwei is fourth..."

"OK."

"Damn it, stop joking around and don't try to disrupt my train of thought with these kinds of details!"

He glared at me and said, "If you ask me about my attitude towards Lin Jianwei, I think she's pretty good. In fact, she's extremely obsessed with my songs and says she'll be my die-hard fan for life."

"Is she obsessed with you? He's obsessed with Jay Chou, Pu Shu, and Xu Song. What does that have to do with you?!"

"I fucking..."

Milo roared, "Can't you let me speak properly?"

"Okay, okay, so you're planning to be with her?"

"That's hard to say..."

Milo said, "I am indeed a little tempted right now. You know, I'm a single man in my late twenties, it's tough... I'm surrounded by a bunch of artsy, music-obsessed guys. I have a lot of female fans, but I can only admire them from afar. Now that Lin Jianwei has appeared, do you know how I feel?"

"How does it feel?"

"I'm like Illidan Stormrage, the demon hunter imprisoned in a dark cage. After enduring tens of thousands of years, I finally see a ray of moonlight shining into the darkness, and Lin Jianwei is that ray of moonlight."

"Holy crap, you didn't just fall for it already, did you?"

"No, not really..."

Milo said, "I'm still considering it. After all... some of the rumors about Lin Jianwei aren't good, so I have to be careful. My agent also told me it's best not to date anyone and to focus on my career. Ding Han, could you give me some advice?"

Will you listen to my advice?

"Your own relationships are a mess, why should I listen to you?"

"Then what's the point of me saying anything at all?!"

"Damn it, just say it! I want to hear what kind of weird suggestions you have!"

"Get out of here!"

So, after exchanging a few sarcastic remarks, the two ended their conversation in a cheerful manner.

The next day, at Feiyang Internet Cafe.

After fixing a few broken computers downstairs, I went straight upstairs, locked myself in the manager's office, and started designing the Yue Ning Mall Algorithm on the three computers Lin Qingying had provided me.

After four hours of immersive work, Zhao Yihang interrupted him by calling him to eat.

So, I stored away some of the algorithm code I had written and went downstairs for dinner.

"What have you been doing all morning? I thought you weren't at the internet cafe."

Lu Xiaobei sat to the side, holding a boxed lunch, and said.

"No, I'm writing code in my office."

"Oh."

Lu Xiaobei blinked and said, "Ding Han, I plan to rewrite the development plan for the Future Feiyang Chain Internet Cafe. These days I've felt the dramatic changes in the industry, and plans can't keep up with the changes. The previous plan may need to be revised."

"Then write it down. When you're done, show it to me and I'll check it for you."

"Good."

She then asked, "Shall we go play ball this afternoon?"

"Beat!"

"Okay, call me."

Afternoon, on campus.

A master thrower, crushing the school team's Rukawa Kaede —everything is self-evident.

Lu Xiaobei sat on the sidelines with her milk tea in her arms, too lazy to even cheer. Every time I made a three-pointer, she thought it was only natural, and it would be abnormal if I missed.

"Ding Han, someone is looking for you!"

Suddenly, a voice came from the sidelines.

When I turned around, I was immediately taken aback. Outside the basketball court, there was a group of people dressed in the uniforms of the Crimson Dragon Country. The leader was a general with the rank of major general on his collar. Above his head, the words "Dragon General Fang Ran" were written.

Suddenly, a chill ran through me!

Why are the Great Wall Watch contacting me? Do they want to bring up old issues again?

After handing the basketball to a teammate, he walked out of the basketball court and headed straight for the Dragon General named Fang Ran.

Lu Xiaobei followed, seemingly afraid that I might be in danger.

Hello, Ding Han!

Fang Ran extended his hand and smiled, "My name is Fang Ran, and I come from the Great Wall Watch First Army Corps!"

"Hello!"

I reached out and shook his hand, asking, "Excuse me, is there something you need?"

"I witnessed your performance on the Frost Whisper Glacier."

Fang Ran smiled calmly and said, "You've met Wei Yang, right? He also praised your performance highly. Therefore, I am here to formally invite you to join the Great Wall Watch again. If you agree, we can skip the recruit period and go directly to the Dragon Guard. I hope you will seriously consider this matter."

Suddenly, a ding-dong sound rang in my ears.

[Please note that the quest "Great Wall Watch" (SSS-rank) is activated again! Cheng Feng's will never fade. Confirm to join the Great Wall Watch immediately. Upon confirmation, you will receive the title of "Senior Dragon Guard," and your Crimson Dragon Country faction reputation will be directly increased to "Glorious Comrade"!]

Good grief, here they come again!

Looking at those enticing lines of text, my heart skipped a beat. But once I accepted this mission, I might have to stay on the Great Wall forever, which meant that the life I had grown accustomed to would change completely.

"Fang Ran, thank you for your recognition, but I have no plans to join Great Wall Watch at the moment. I still have many things to do and many problems to solve. I hope you can understand."

Before my eyes, the SSS-rank mission notification vanished once more, turning into golden sand and disappearing.

"Yes, I understand."

Fang Ran glanced at Lu Xiaobei beside me and laughed, "If I had such a beautiful girlfriend, I wouldn't want to suffer in this harsh land either. As a man, I completely understand!"

The next second, Lu Xiaobei spoke directly, "Sir, Ding Han will not join the Great Wall Watch, and I don't want him to join the Great Wall Watch either. I just hope he lives well."

"Understand."

Fang Ran smiled, then turned her gaze to me. "Ding Han, I won't force you. How about this... let's add each other on WeChat first. When you want to join Great Wall Watch, just send me a message. We'll welcome you anytime. What do you think?"

"Can."

I nodded, took out my phone, and added Fang Ran on WeChat.

His WeChat picture was actually a snowfield, probably a landscape from somewhere in the Northern Frontier, which had a very old-fashioned, cadre-like feel to it.

"Alright, then I won't bother you any longer."

Fang Ran raised his hand and gave a perfectly standard salute to the Crimson Dragon Country soldiers, then left the campus with a group of soldiers.

The old gatekeeper trembled with fear; he didn't even have the courage to ask for a cigarette, let alone stop them.

In the afternoon, I continued to hide in the office writing code until around six o'clock. Lu Xiaobei called me to eat, and the four of us, along with Zhao Yihang and Chen Xiaoman, went to that Chicken Frog Dry Pot Restaurant to improve our meals.

It was around 7:30 when they finished eating. The group left the dry pot restaurant and strolled along the road back to the internet cafe.

"Buzz~~~"

Suddenly, the roar of an engine caught everyone's attention. A white Ferrari convertible pulled up to the side of the road, and inside sat a stunningly beautiful woman wearing sunglasses. She tilted her head, looked at us, and smiled, "Ding Han, do you still recognize me?"

"You..."

I was astonished; I didn't recognize him at all!

Lu Xiaobei and Zhao Yihang also looked over.

The woman driving the Ferrari took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of very expressive eyes and a beautiful face. She was indeed a great beauty, and she looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen her before.

"Who are you..."

I drew out my words, waiting for her to introduce herself.

"Sigh, am I really that hard to remember?"

She looked somewhat helpless, reached for an ID on the center console, unfolded it towards us, and said, "Su Wei, commander of the Crimson Dragon Legion 99th Division. We met her in Creek City."

'Holy crap...'

I was utterly shocked. Who the hell could connect her with that female general in Power Armor? The Su Wei in front of me looked like a rich girl or a female celebrity.

"Depend on..."

Zhao Yihang's voice trailed off, and he looked at me with suspicion, probably unable to understand why I would know such a powerful person.

"Can we talk privately?" Su Wei smiled faintly. "Get in the car?"

"Um."

I nodded, then said to Lu Xiaobei, "I'll go for a bit."

"Careful..."

Lu Xiaobei pursed his lips, not daring to stop her. After all, this woman's identity was extremely impressive in the eyes of ordinary people. People at this level were simply impossible for ordinary people to come into contact with.

After getting in the car, accompanied by a strong push in the back, the two left the central street.

Soon after, Su Wei drove to the lakeside, and the two of them went to the lakeside, looking at the water and enjoying the evening breeze.

"Ding Han, it's been a long time!"

Su Wei turned around, and after taking off her Power Armor and military uniform, she appeared to be nothing more than a stunningly beautiful woman. She smiled and said, "Aren't you surprised to see me like this?"

"Um."

I nodded. "It's more than just surprise, it's that we couldn't recognize him at all."

She chuckled and said, "So, do you think I look better now, or better wearing Power Armor and wielding Power Sword?"

"Of course, it's better the way it is now."

Without hesitation, I replied, "If only there were no wars in the world."

"You're right."

Su Wei smiled and said, "Unfortunately, that's just a dream. As long as there are conflicts of interest, there will inevitably be war, especially since we live on a home planet where resources are already relatively scarce."

As I gazed at the lights on the opposite shore of the lake and inhaled the fragrance of the water, I suddenly found myself at a loss for words.

"Ding Han."

Su Wei said, "I came here specifically to see you because I hope you'll consider joining our Crimson Dragon Legion. I wonder if you're interested?"

"Ah?"

"I've seen your name on the Ministry of Defense's roster and in the Great Wall Watch's combat logs; your growth rate is truly astonishing."

Su Wei smiled slightly, "If you are willing to join the Crimson Dragon Legion, I can be your guarantor and let you join the Dragon Cavalry Regiment directly as a Regiment Commander Dragon Cavalry Regiment. This is a very rare opportunity, so I hope you will consider it carefully."

"Su Wei."

I turned around, looked into her bright and expressive eyes, and said, "While the conditions you offered are tempting, I've grown accustomed to my current life, so... I cannot join the Crimson Dragon Legion. I'm sorry, I may have disappointed you."

I am not disappointed.

Su Wei raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I came here to invite you this time. I'd be very happy if you're willing to join, but it's okay if you're not. I've still managed to see you again, so my trip wasn't in vain."

That's good.

"Can we add each other on WeChat?" she asked.

"Yes, that's fine."

The next moment, they scanned the QR code and became WeChat friends.

Su Wei's personal WeChat picture is a selfie, with her even making a peace sign. In the photo, she appears to have just woken up, her hair is messy, and sunlight streams in through the window onto her hair, making her look breathtakingly beautiful.

Compared to her commanding a massive army of ten thousand, the contrast is indeed stark.

"Beep beep~~~"

Just then, a phone call came in. Su Wei turned around to answer it, "Yes, it's me... Ah? Humph, how dare they do this... I understand, I'll be right there. Send fighter jets to Huaining Airport No. 5 to pick me up. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

She hung up the phone, turned around and said, "Ding Han, Dark Tide has made another move. I need to handle it. Let's keep in touch via WeChat. Do you need me to take you back?"

"It's not far. Don't delay your business. I'll take a taxi back."

"Good!"

Su Wei got into the car and drove away.

I frowned. Following the Great Wall Watch, the Crimson Dragon Legion is also recruiting. It seems that both of these legions are quite eager for talent!

The journey wasn't far, so I walked back to the internet cafe and continued writing algorithms.

About half an hour later, I checked my phone and found that Su Wei had liked every single one of my Moments. Wow, she's a like-obsessed person?!

"Drop!"

A message came from Zhang Ruolin: "Ding Han, are you busy? Would you like to come over and sit for a while?"

She posted a photo that showed her and Lin Qingying sitting together, and judging from the background, it seemed to be inside the Flowers Blooming on the Path shop.

"Why did you kidnap Xiaoying?" I asked.

"Snort!"

Zhang Ruolin dropped a bombshell, saying, "It's true she's your fake girlfriend, but she's also my best friend. I went to pick her up specifically. Do you want to come over? We're having an event at our store today."

"Okay, that works too..."

I shut down the computer immediately and said, "I'm afraid you'll kidnap Xiaoying; I have to go over and keep an eye on her."

"Yeah?"

Zhang Ruolin posted another photo, showing her hugging Lin Qingying, both of them covering their faces and laughing, "Look how much Ying'er is laughing! Come over here quickly, I'm waiting for you, I'll order you a chicken leg!"

"Alright, save the chicken leg for me!"

I went downstairs, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for Flowers Blooming on the Path.

Soon after, we arrived at the restaurant, which was very lively. A singer was performing an old song, and the atmosphere was quite nice.

I sat down next to Lin Qingying and stared at her intently for a while.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, feeling a little guilty.

"You're being corrupted by Ruolin; you've even started going to bars after work."

"I came to support the store's event today," she explained.

"Stop talking, let's roll the dice and have a one-on-one duel. I'll talk after you win."

"Good!"

So, Lin Qingying and I started playing games, while Zhang Ruolin took out her phone to record videos and post them on her Moments. The atmosphere was incredibly pleasant, until...

Then a familiar figure appeared in the store—it was Gao Tianyu and his buddies, holding up a banner that read "Gao Tianyu will always love Zhang Ruolin," acting incredibly arrogantly!

"Those bastards!"

Zhang Ruolin was genuinely angry. She rushed forward, tore the banner to shreds, and then grabbed the microphone, saying bluntly, "Please stop harassing me, okay? I have absolutely no interest in you. Xie Xie for your liking, but please stop bothering me."

In the crowd, Gao Tianyu's face was ashen, and he couldn't have looked any worse. He was dragged by his buddies into the Zhulin Tavern across the street to drown his sorrows!

What a tragedy!

I really want to tell Gao Tianyu that this isn't how you pick up girls, and that you absolutely can't do this when you're trying to woo Zhang Ruolin. But Zhang Ruolin is my teammate, and I'm definitely not going to teach an outsider how to woo my teammate.

Three days later, on Friday.

Early in the morning, at Feiyang Internet Cafe, I sat in my manager's seat, checking the previous day's revenue.

"Ding Han, good morning!"

Zhao Yihang walked in from outside, his clock-in motion flowing smoothly.

I glanced at him and said, "You wear a suit to work now?"

"Of course, I'm an assistant operations manager now, after all."

He said in a very serious voice, "This is what the boss ordered. Saying this makes the management of our Feiyang Internet Cafe seem less like a makeshift team."

"..."

I was speechless for a moment, then retorted, "Don't even mention if you're wearing formal attire, even if you were wearing a cheongsam, we'd still be a makeshift crew!"

"Shh!"

He glanced furtively towards the door and said, "The boss is here!"

With that, Zhao Yihang dashed up to the duty desk and sat down with a serious expression.

Outside, a spring breeze was blowing. Lu Xiaobei, dressed in a nice casual outfit, walked in carrying a package of COCO milk tea. He then picked out a coconut milk tea and placed it in front of me.

"Lu Xiaobei."

I looked up at her and said, "We have a milk tea bar in our internet cafe, why do you insist on buying it outside? What's wrong... is our milk tea too hot to drink?"

"I just like Coco, it's none of your business!"

She raised her eyebrows and walked over like the wind.

Today is a big day! World of Warcraft is about to launch its second server, and many players are already eager to get started. In addition, today is also the day when two of the top contenders for the WHL championship clash. Therefore, today will be an excellent opportunity to achieve a 95% success rate.

"Xiao Bei, have you finished sending out World of Warcraft badges?" I asked.

"There's one more thing."

Lu Xiaobei walked over with the milk tea in her hand. "What's wrong?"

"Go get a fluorescent board and write down an announcement about giving away World of Warcraft player badges for today's recharges. Hang it up at the door. It doesn't matter how much you recharge, you get a badge. Don't be so stingy."

"Okay!"

She excitedly went to prepare, while I got a batch of World of Warcraft Alliance and Horde badges from Chen Xiaoman, took a set of photos, and posted them on my Moments with the caption. "Weekend Grand Sale! Recharge and get free World of Warcraft badges! Also, stay tuned for tonight's WHL highlight match: Academy of Social Sciences vs. Department of Atmospheric Science! All the excitement is at Feiyang Chain Internet Cafe! Address: ***** Huaining City South City District"

Less than a minute after posting, I received more than a dozen likes.

Surprisingly, Su Wei was the first to like the post, followed by Lu Xiaobei, then Cheng Shuang, Milo, Liu Yan, and others.

After fixing the malfunctioning machine, I grabbed my milk tea, went upstairs, and continued working on the core algorithm for the Yue Ning Mall.

Compared to the programmers in the R&D department of Yue Ning Group, my advantages are enormous. On the one hand, although my programming skills are only at the LV10 master level, this level of programming skills far surpasses those of Yuening's programmers!

In addition, I know more about the rules of user profiling and trending topics on platforms like Taobao and JD. com, giving me a "know-it-all" advantage, which makes the design process much easier!

However, the workload is simply too great. Even laying the foundation for the algorithm will take a very long time. It is a task that requires slow and meticulous work, and it is unlikely that results will be seen within ten days to half a month. It is probably not even possible to achieve 10% completion.

So I was busy until evening. Apart from going downstairs for lunch, I devoted myself entirely to algorithm design. In the evening, I had to go downstairs.

"Drop!"

A message came from Lin Qingying: "Ding Han, I'm getting off work early today. Save me a boxed lunch; I want to go to the internet cafe to support them."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you!"

I immediately reserved a boxed lunch for her, and a few minutes later, a message popped up from Cheng Shuang: "Liu Yan and I are coming over to hang out later. We haven't eaten yet, do you have any boxed lunches?"

"Yes, come quickly!"

"Good!"

She posted a rocket launching meme, which shows that the boxed lunch really appealed to her.

Before long, the internet cafe became increasingly crowded. Students who were playing in the competition and HGL's live streamers had all arrived, and the live streaming booths had already been set up. In addition, there were many players going online to level up in the new server. In the blink of an eye, the internet cafe was packed with people, and the several counters were extremely busy.

"Ding Han."

Lin Qingying arrived, carrying two cups of Ba Wang Cha Ji and Boyá Juéxián. She smiled and said, "Am I late?"

"No, let's eat first."

"Good."

She took the lunchbox from my hand and obediently sat down at the bar to eat.

"..."

Lu Xiaobei craned his neck to look at the two cups of "Boyá Juéxián), then complained, "Five-tenths sugar, you'll be sick of it... Aren't you afraid of getting diabetes at such a young age..."

"Cough cough!"

I said seriously, "Young man, I have to explain this to you. Diabetes is not simply caused by sugar intake, but is related to insufficient or abnormal insulin secretion. In addition, it is also related to whether you exercise regularly and whether you are obese. So the argument that drinking an extra cup of milk tea can induce diabetes is untenable!"

"Snort!"

Lu Xiaobei glanced at Lin Qingying, who was eating, then glared at me before walking away with her lunchbox.

A few minutes later, Cheng Shuang and Liu Yan arrived.

I took out the boxed lunches I had saved for them, then stood up and ate mine while leaning over the counter, making room for the two of them. In no time, the three big bosses, Lin Qingying, Cheng Shuang, and Liu Yan, were eating side by side, enjoying their meal immensely.

"Want to play games tonight?"

Cheng Shuang said, "I'm already level 30."

What???

I almost dropped my chopsticks. "You practiced secretly?"

"Otherwise what?"

Cheng Shuang said speechlessly, "I don't have too much work. After I finish, I have nothing to do in the office, so I go online to do quests and level up. I'm about to leave Darkshire and go to Stranglethorn Vale to broaden my horizons."

"I'm so envious..."

I tilted my head and glanced at Lin Qingying: "Qingying, what level are you?"

"I haven't logged on since I last logged off, I've been too busy, haven't had time. I think... I was level 15 or 16? I forget..."

"It's okay, I'll take you there in a bit."

Lu Xiaobei appeared out of nowhere and retorted, "You're only level 19, what makes you think you can carry her?"

"What, are you some high-level player? Why are you so loud?!"

"I'm Level 21, higher than you, so what?!"

"Okay, okay, okay!"

I said sullenly, "You and Cheng Shuang will lead the two of us on a mission later."

"Snort!"

Lu Xiaobei said, "There are a lot of people today. I'll go and turn on the machines. You guys log in and queue up first."

Not long after, all five were implicated.

Perhaps because the new server had opened, the queue in the first area only took an hour to log in. Several people logged in one after another, and Lin Qingying's character appeared by the small river north of Raven Ridge. But the moment she appeared, a fireball suddenly flew over and instantly depleted her health bar!

He's a necromancer!

Good heavens, the necromancer actually danced on Lin Qingying's grave the moment she died!

"Holy crap, who is this guy so arrogant?!"

Old K quickly got up and looked over, and I also looked at the person's ID, which read "Sannoji".

"No..."

I scratched my head, suddenly feeling a bit dazed. How could a legendary player who used to specialize in killing low-level characters in World of Warcraft be appearing in the world of <Star Abyss>? It's probably just some player playing a prank!

"Do you want revenge?" Zhao Yihang clenched his fist and said, "Damn it, this bastard dared to kill our Manager Lin, he's practically asking for death!"

"What revenge are you talking about...?"

I was exasperated. "This guy is level 45, the current maximum level, no chance. Little Ying, revive him, I'll come pick you up. Let's just do the quest properly."

"Oh..."

Lin Qingying smiled, resurrected from her corpse, and then said, "Ding Han, this game is actually quite cruel to some extent; player-versus-player combat is hard to accept."

"Um."

I nodded, but in my mind I was thinking of the game <Star Abyss>, which is actually even more brutal. The player-versus-player combat is a true life-or-death struggle, and many players have already paid the price for it!

"It's okay, let's play for now."

I looked at her and said, "If you think the PVP mode in this game is too brutal, I can introduce you to some other more casual games later, like Defense of the Ancients or Tower Defense TD. Especially TD, I think you'll really like it given your personality."

"Hmm, we'll talk about it later."

Afterwards, the group started leveling up together, while Old K, who was the highest level, clamored to take us to a dungeon, but unfortunately the level difference between everyone was too big, and there was no need to go to a dungeon at the moment.

Time passed slowly, and as the WHL matches began, more and more people logged on to the computers. As a result, many customers wandered around the internet cafe but could not find an empty computer. Some customers even found their computers being targeted by several people at the same time as soon as they paid and logged off!

Based on this situation, the internet cafe's occupancy rate today is most likely over 95%!

Sure enough, at exactly eight o'clock, a ringtone sounded in my ear—

[Congratulations! The internet cafe's occupancy rate has finally broken through 95%, and even reached 100% at one point. You have completed the daily task "Climb to the Top, Feiyang Internet Cafe!" (SS-rank), and received the following rewards: Character Experience +12 million, Charm Value +2, and an additional reward: "Ring of the Go-Getter" (Quality: Cyan)!]

Sure enough, they gave me a cyan ring!

With a pleasant "thud," the sound of the item falling into the storage space was incredibly melodious. The next moment, I turned my gaze directly to the Dimensional Storage Space and saw a ring, shimmering with a blue-green glow, lying in a corner. My gaze lingered for a moment, and lines of text and data floated out—

[Ring of the Go-Getter] (Quality: Cyan)

Rank: Fifth Tier

Strength: +50

Agility: +48

Spirit: +45

Blessing: Critical Hit Chance +8%

Blessing: Lifesteal +8%

Specialty: Attack damage +14%

Blessing: Mighty Strength - II, increases attack power by 400 points.

Burst Skill: [Absolute Space], transforms Yuan Power into an Absolute Space, granting the user and teammates within 3 yards invincibility. This effect lasts for 7 seconds, consumes 50 Essence Points, and has a 2-hour cooldown.

Biography: The Ring of the Go-Getter, a relic of an ancient sage, contains extremely powerful energy and is truly a masterpiece among masterpieces!