Kite Flip

Xiao Jie hummed noncommittally; the mere mention of Liu Qiang brought that familiar sense of unease back to the surface.

Could that kid, Liu Qiang, really be so kind-hearted?

Was there some sort of trap buried in all this?

Yet, no matter how wild Xiao Jie's imagination ran, he couldn't conceive of what kind of risk a web game could possibly pose.

Fifteen minutes later, the two arrived at a mid-range restaurant near their residential complex—Haitian Food Workshop.

Due to the studio's shrinking business and sluggish sales over the past two years, their food budget had been slashed repeatedly, and they rarely ate out anymore. On most days, they just threw together a stew or boiled some noodles to get by; occasionally going out for a bowl of beef noodles was considered a luxury.

In Han Luo's words—their mouths were getting so bland they were about to grow feathers.

Tonight, feeling in high spirits, Xiao Jie decided to treat Han Luo to a proper meal to boost their morale.

He walked in and ordered four hearty dishes straight away: Braised Pork Ribs, Double Cooked Pork, Squirrel Fish, and Shrimp and Green Vegetables, along with four beers. The food arrived shortly after.

Han Luo had been feeling deprived lately, and his eyes lit up at the sight of the spread. "Nice one, Boss! The food is great today."

"It's alright. Once we start making money, we'll have four dishes every day. Come on, brother, stop staring and let's dig in."

Neither of them were the type for formalities; they picked up their bowls and dove right into the meal.

Xiao Jie ate quickly, finishing his portion in under ten minutes. Watching Han Luo shovel food into his mouth, he knew it would be a while before the other man was done.

"You keep eating; I'm going to go buy some fruit for us to have later tonight."

Han Luo waved a hand without looking up, his mouth still full.

Stepping out of Haitian Food Workshop, the sky had already turned dark. Looking at the neon lights in the night, Xiao Jie felt quite relaxed.

As the head of Wuji Studio, he desperately needed a phenomenal game to revitalize his career.

He could still vaguely recall the studio's former glory. In that era when web games were sweeping the world, the studio had been thriving, raking in money with ease. They hadn't just made a fortune domestically; they had even expanded their business overseas.

But in recent years, with the rise of mobile games and the decline of web games, the studio had struggled to recover its past brilliance.

Of course, the biggest problem was that web games just weren't fun anymore. Over the past few years, every time a new one came out, he would download it with high expectations, only to be met with disappointment. Game companies were only interested in cashing in, churning out games filled with cookie-cutter laziness.

Even those game studios had shifted from competing on content to high-tech tactics involving botting scripts.

Running a dozen accounts on a single computer, farming gold coins 24/7—they relied entirely on burning out the game's lifespan to turn a profit, leaving no room for traditional workshops like Wuji Studio, which relied on studying game mechanics to earn their keep.

In the end, only he and Han Luo were left, struggling to hold on.

Now, everything was finally about to change.

The difficulty of the game Old Earth was indeed high, and it would likely drive away some casual players, but the game's visuals and impact were so stunning that it was bound to spark a craze. As long as the hype built up, there would be no shortage of players.

Besides, high difficulty had its perks; the harder the game, the more important technical skill became.

With his own gaming level, Xiao Jie was confident he could leverage the experience and skills he'd accumulated over the years to ride this wave of profit.

Xiao Jie was so lost in thought that he didn't notice a red sports car speeding toward him, ignoring the red light. It wasn't until a piercing horn blared in his ears that he snapped back to reality. As he turned his head, his mind went blank at the sight of the blinding headlights.

It's over! Am I going to die here today?

In that instant, Xiao Jie felt despair and resentment.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to die young—though he wasn't even thirty yet, he was a man who had long since looked past life and death.

His resentment stemmed from the fact that he hadn't even finished enjoying the incredible game he'd just discovered. If he missed out on such a masterpiece in this lifetime, he wouldn't be able to close his eyes in peace.

He leaped up, almost by instinct, though he held no hope; it was merely a reflexive reaction born of pure desperation.

But something unexpected happened. The moment his body left the ground, he soared into the air, spinning into a side-flip like a stuntman in a kung fu movie.

The car roared past behind him.

Xiao Jie's body rotated a full 365 degrees in the air, landing on the ground ahead with the grace of an acrobat, narrowly dodging the death-dealing sports car.

It took a long while after landing for Xiao Jie to regain his senses.

When he turned back, the sports car was nowhere to be seen.

He was drenched in cold sweat, his heart finally settling back into his chest.

Holy crap, I almost kicked the bucket just now—wait, how did I do that?

Xiao Jie thought, stunned. He was still in a one-knee landing pose; he stood up and reflected on the flip he had just performed.

It was like the reaction of a martial arts master in an action film, but that was impossible!

He knew his own physical condition all too well. Because he spent his days gaming in the studio, he only occasionally went to the park to exercise; his health wasn't terrible, but he definitely couldn't pull off such a high-difficulty move.

Was it an adrenaline rush triggered by extreme danger?

Or... wait, why did that move feel so familiar?

A flash of insight struck Xiao Jie's mind—Kite Flip!

That was it. The rotating flip was almost identical to the [Kite Flip] skill he had learned in the game.

As a man who had grown up playing games, he had certainly fantasized about using game skills in real life before. When he was a kid, he had practiced firing energy blasts into the air and posing for dragon punches more than once.

But ever since he entered the real world, he hadn't indulged in such fantasies again.

To think that in this moment between life and death, he had actually managed to execute a skill from the game?

This gave Xiao Jie a very surreal feeling.

Could he be dreaming, or perhaps he had hallucinated from drinking too much?

He rubbed his face; it was only two bottles of beer, he hadn't had too much, and this was definitely not a dream.

He took a deep breath. Whether it was real or not, he would know if he tried. He stomped his feet hard against the ground.

Kite Flip!

His body spun, performing another high-altitude somersault before landing cleanly and neatly on the ground.

It was real! It was actually real!

A wave of wild joy surged through Xiao Jie, and he felt his entire body trembling as countless thoughts flooded his mind.

Could it be that he had received a divine revelation and awakened some hidden talent?

Or had he been chosen by some system to become a host?

Or was it because of the game Old Earth, that skills from the game could be brought into reality?

"Jade Emperor? Taishang Laojun? Buddha? God?" he shouted into the air.

However, there was no response.

"System?"

Still no reaction.

So, was it really because of the game? He still found it hard to believe, completely unable to grasp the logic behind it.

But it seemed to be the only explanation.

What did this mean? If he could really bring game skills into reality, damn, that would be earth-shattering. He had only learned one of the lowest-level skills, yet he could already perform such a flashy move. Judging by the game's CG, it contained many supernatural elements—Light Body Technique, internal energy... immortal arts and Taoist spells... If spells could also be brought into reality, then why would he still be out here laying bricks?

He could directly ascend to immortality...

Wait!

After a brief moment of wishful thinking, Xiao Jie suddenly felt that something was very wrong. How could such a wonderful thing happen in this world?

Xiao Jie was a very realistic person. Having been beaten down by society for so long, he absolutely did not believe in things like pies falling from the sky.

Moreover, if this game were truly so miraculous, why would that kid Liu Qiang give it to them for nothing? He knew exactly what kind of character Liu Qiang had.

There must be some hidden danger here that he hadn't discovered yet.