A moment later, Luo Qiusheng stared at the Zerg base on-screen that Lu Mingfei had completely flattened, still too bewildered to come back to his senses.
The sweet taste of the iced cola in his hand faded away in an instant.
"I specialize in Zerg. How did I lose to you, Lu Mingfei, in a game of Free-for-All?"
He turned to Lu Mingfei with a scowl. "You weren't deliberately throwing the game, were you? Even if Nono really had used wallhacks back then, with how you played this round, you shouldn't have lost at the third-tier encampment."
He failed to notice the Little Devil, dressed in black from head to toe, curled up in the shadows beside Lu Mingfei.
The boy leaned close to Lu Mingfei's ear and whispered, "Brother, if you want this kind of power to do whatever you please, I can give it to you whenever you like."
Luo Qiusheng immediately pulled Lu Mingfei into another game. The tide turned in an instant this time. His hands moved with perfect ease, and he won effortlessly, as if he'd become a different person.
Lu Mingfei narrowly won the third game.
Luo Qiusheng took the fourth.
They kept trading wins over several more rounds. As the StarCraft battles shifted back and forth across the screen, Luo Qiusheng suddenly held down the mouse and called a halt.
"Something's wrong!"
"I'll check the game files."
He snatched the mouse from Lu Mingfei and quickly pulled up the match records. A few seconds later, his brow eased slightly.
"The files are fine." But he still felt puzzled.
Lu Mingfei's heart had lurched just then. He'd nearly thought that Luo Qiusheng had discovered the existence of Lu Mingze. Only now did his pounding heart begin to settle.
He had to admit that Luo Qiusheng was far better at StarCraft than he'd imagined. The screen-switching speed was so fast it made his eyes swim. Even if you deliberately peeked at his screen, keeping up would take exceptional eyesight and instant recall. An ordinary expert might be able to steal a look at his view, but that didn't mean they could beat him for sure.
After several rounds, Lu Mingfei accepted his losses wholeheartedly, but a trace of resentment lingered deep in his heart.
If Lu Mingze could easily turn the tide of a game, why couldn't he?
Everyone around him shone so brightly. Chu Zihang had extraordinary talent, and Caesar had been born into a position of privilege. He alone had accomplished nothing, like some useless burden who didn't belong.
After checking the match records, Luo Qiusheng teased Lu Mingfei a couple of times, then quit StarCraft.
"Give me a minute to get around the firewall and download a new game. By the way, Mingfei, want to go out tonight? I know a few interesting places."
Lu Mingfei's eyes settled on Luo Qiusheng's interface. A string of unfamiliar characters flashed by, and the game tag [LOL] at the end piqued his curiosity. "Hasn't this game still not gone into open beta in China?"
"Easy. Just get around the firewall if you want to play. If you don't know how, ask Eva. You're an S-rank student, after all. It'd be a waste not to use your privileges."
As he loaded the client, Luo Qiusheng got up and went to the counter to fetch two bottles of iced cola.
When he returned and saw Lu Mingfei lost in thought, he pressed the cold bottle against his cheek. The biting chill instantly brought Lu Mingfei's wandering thoughts back.
"Don't keep getting stuck in your own head and imagining the worst. Clear your mind. We Hybrids never get to decide our own fates. No one can say whether tomorrow or an accident will come first, so the most important thing is to live in the moment."
He sat back down. Seeing Lu Mingfei remain silent for a long while, he tipped his head back and took a long swig of cola, his voice tinged with wistfulness.
"Jiu De Yaji and Ye Sheng were the ones who recruited you into the Academy, right?"
Lu Mingfei's voice was low. "Mm..."
"Without enough strength, all you can do is watch helplessly as regrets come to pass. Don't wait until it's too late to regret it."
As he spoke, Luo Qiusheng's thoughts drifted back to his past on the Douluo Continent.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered using the Constantine dragon bones within him to travel between the two worlds again, but two difficult obstacles stood in his way.
First was the flow of time. His last journey had confirmed that time passed at nearly the same rate in both worlds. If he set off now, he'd either miss Dragon Three and watch Erii walk toward a tragic fate, or miss the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. By all rights, he should prioritize protecting Erii, but deep down, he kept wondering how he could have both.
Second, he still hadn't fully grasped the medicinal properties of the rare herbs on the Douluo side. Going back rashly would only mean a fruitless journey.
"But I... I don't have the innate bloodline talent Chu Zihang was born with, and I don't have a family like Caesar's to back me up."
Beside him, Lu Mingze kept whispering words of temptation. "Brother, you're the best!"
Luo Qiusheng didn't respond. He calmly opened League of Legends, entered a simple firewall-bypass program, registered an account, and logged in to a beginner match.
Silence stretched on for several minutes. Luo Qiusheng quietly watched himself win match after match on the screen, understanding the deep-rooted inferiority Lu Mingfei carried inside. Perhaps, starting today, the gears of this loser's fate would quietly shift onto a different track—and he, too, might find a way to have the best of both worlds through that change.
The games went smoothly from start to finish. Lu Mingfei only glanced at the first few, barely interested. After ten consecutive wins, curiosity appeared in his eyes. By the time dozens of straight victories came to an end, his face was full of disbelief.
Seeing that he'd successfully piqued Lu Mingfei's interest, Luo Qiusheng smiled faintly. "Look at this game. Even if I fall behind early, I can still turn it around if I drag things out to the late game. Some people start with a huge advantage, but that doesn't mean they'll win in the end. People are the same. Your inferiority and sensitivity are only a temporary low point. One day, the power hidden inside you will fully erupt. I've always believed that."
Lu Mingfei spoke quietly. "Luo Qiusheng, you don't need to comfort me. A game is still just a game. The tricks you use to turn things around in it can't be brought into the real world."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Little Devil's whisper surfaced in his mind again. Those words caught in his throat, and for a moment, he couldn't find anything to say in reply.
It was nearly three in the morning before Luo Qiusheng finally rubbed his eyes and slumped over the desk.
"Mingfei's bloodline is too high-grade. I can't keep going, I can't. I'm going to rest."
Lu Mingfei looked at Luo Qiusheng's computer, which had just gone dark. The words "Diamond" had been shining across the screen. His eye twitched. Then he looked at his own rank: Gold...
To be fair, for a beginner like Lu Mingfei to reach Gold in just a few hours was something he could have bragged about for half a year. But he didn't know that. All he knew was that someone who'd just picked up the game was slumped beside him after tearing through the entire server.
A true case of a genius running into a cheater—no matter how gifted the genius, he was powerless.
The next morning, the smell of Lu Mingfei making instant noodles woke Luo Qiusheng.
He glanced at the time. It was a little after six.
"Lu Mingfei, instant noodles aren't nutritious. Want me to take you out for a balanced breakfast?"
Luo Qiusheng's sudden voice made Lu Mingfei jump. He'd been trying to sneak a meal for himself. When he heard "balanced breakfast," he glanced at the instant noodles he'd already made. "I'm good."
"Suit yourself. Just don't stay cooped up in the internet café all the time. Get outside for some fresh air, be a little more outgoing, and girls will come up and talk to you."
To be honest, Lu Mingfei had a pretty good foundation. It was just that he always walked with his head down, so his inferiority made him look like a monkey and turned him into an easy target for ridicule.
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