"Kill the Warlock, kill the Warlock! I've got him locked down with Shaman! He used Grounding Totem first, no matter, I broke it. Full lockdown, full lockdown! Kill the Warlock! Chop, chop, chop! Beautiful!"
Another cool autumn day had arrived. In a residential building in Xiajing City, a room on the third floor once again echoed with the same passionate shouts.
Malone, an ordinary white-collar worker, was sitting at his computer, enjoying one of his rare days off.
Unlike others his age, Malone's idea of entertainment wasn't going on outings with his travel buddies or going on dates with his girlfriend. Instead, he spent his holidays playing a famous online game, World of Warcraft.
Twenty-six-year-old Malone had been playing World of Warcraft for over eight years. He'd started in middle school, continued through college, and kept playing after he started working. He'd changed schools, cities, and girlfriends time and again, but his love for this game had stayed with him every step of the way, never fading.
As one of the gaming world's evergreen classics, World of Warcraft naturally offered all kinds of gameplay. Its main modes were "PVE" and "PVP." As school and work kept Malone busier and busier, he had gradually simplified his playstyle, going from a mix of "PVP" and "PVE" to playing "PVP" exclusively.
"PVE" referred to players interacting with the "environment"—in other words, fighting monsters in the open world and in dungeons. "PVP," on the other hand, meant players fighting other players.
PVP in World of Warcraft had grown year by year. It had started with "duels" between players, commonly known as one-on-one fights, and gradually expanded to open-world brawls between groups of players, as well as battles in designated settings: battlegrounds and arenas. Malone was currently playing in an arena.
As the name suggested, an "arena" was a place where groups of players were teleported into the same confined area to fight. Malone's arena teammate was one of his high school classmates, and among the first people he'd met through playing Warcraft.
"Hey, nice work just now! We've run into that team several times before, and that was the most satisfying win yet!" After finishing an arena match, Malone deftly opened the "PVP" panel on his computer and queued for the next one, while chatting with his teammate—and classmate—over voice chat.
"Yeah, Brother Long, those were some sharp plays! You broke the Grounding Totem instantly, haha!" His teammate's praise came through the voice chat.
Naturally, someone had to disagree. "Oh, please. You saw how many times they caught you with the lockdown before. This time you just got lucky!" another classmate scoffed. He wasn't being malicious, of course.
"Aw, shut up. If you don't buy it, come meet me outside the Garrison and we'll have a go!" Malone teased. By "have a go," he meant a one-on-one PVP fight.
"I'm a healer. You really think that's fair?" Malone's heckler said dismissively.
"Then I'll switch to a Holy Paladin," Malone pressed.
"Forget it. Two healers—are we going to fight until Warcraft shuts down?" Another classmate seemed completely uninterested in the idea.
"Brother Long only knows how to play two classes anyway, right? A DK, the Death Knight, and a Paladin. He's pretty good with both, but unlike me, he doesn't dominate with every class! Haha!" one classmate joked.
"Huh? Why can't I get into another match? Doesn't seem like many teams are queued up now. How about we call it a day? My wife's waiting for me to take her shopping!" Seeing that he still hadn't been matched after a long wait, one classmate was the first to back out.
"Hey, come on! You're old enough to go shopping? Just hand your bank card to your sister-in-law and let her shop online to her heart's content!" Malone said anxiously. They'd barely played for a little while!
"I agree. Maybe we should call it a day? I've got to have dinner with my family tonight too. I've got some elders to meet, so I need to get ready," another classmate added.
"Come on, I finally have a day off, and you guys..."
Malone hadn't finished when a voice came through the chat and cut him off. "Brother Long, sorry, I've got to log off. My wife's about to pull the plug! Hey, hey, don't get worked up, honey! I'm logging off now, I'm—"
A soft chime sounded. Malone knew the voice-chat program was notifying him: "A friend has gone offline."
"Uh... Brother Long, should I head out too?" the last classmate asked tentatively.
"Yeah, go on. Brother Han's already bailed, so the two of us can't queue up anyway. Let's call it. You guys are all ditching me, so I'm going to kill lowbies." As he spoke, Malone left the arena group, took off his headset, and exited the now-empty voice channel.
After passing through several portals, he summoned his mount and pressed the "auto-run" button, directing his character toward a place called Stranglethorn Vale.
Stranglethorn Vale was always one of the best leveling zones for players around the same level. It had lots of densely packed monsters, and its quests offered plenty of experience in a concentrated area.
When Malone said he was going there to "kill lowbies," he meant picking on players who were far below his level. Some were newcomers who had just entered this world; others were characters newly leveled by longtime players like himself. But they all had one thing in common: against Malone, who had been at max level for ages and was equipped with top-tier PVP gear, they were easy kills.
World of Warcraft, thriving for over a decade, still had plenty of loyal fans. But compared to its heyday, its player population had naturally dwindled.
Malone flew through the sky, searching for a long time before spotting an enemy-faction Hunter fighting several wild tigers.
He moved his mouse over the Hunter and clicked to check their stats. Level thirty. The number surprised him a little.
"Looks like an old hand. Not bad with a Hunter, kiting that many tigers at this level." Malone shook his head as he spoke to his computer. Then he landed beside the Hunter and struck before they could react. A moment later, all that remained on the ground was a gravestone.
That was just a small slice of his afternoon and evening. Malone spent hours killing lowbies in Stranglethorn Vale, stopping only when he grew tired. He hurriedly ate something, then went to bed.
"Yaaawn." Malone climbed into bed and casually placed his phone, with its alarm already set, on the bedside table. "Sleep. I have work tomorrow..."
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