Little Butterfly, Don't Cry If You Lose

The next day.

After a night of word spreading, Origin Internet Cafe's name had not yet spread across the entire academy, but within Bei Bei's little circle, it had already become a holy land.

Early that morning, just as the shop opened.

A blue-and-pink figure rushed in.

"Boss, boot me up! I want revenge! If I don't take down that Legiana today, I'm not Wang Dong!"

With faint dark circles under his eyes, Wang Dong slapped his money pouch onto the counter, brimming with aggression.

Huo Yuhao followed behind him with a helpless look. "Wang Dong, slow down... Your dark circles are almost as bad as Senior Xu's."

"Cut the crap! Today, I'm definitely mastering Aerial Spinning Slash!" Wang Dong snorted arrogantly, then was about to head for the station he had used yesterday when his steps suddenly halted.

Because someone was already sitting in his seat.

A young girl eating spicy strips.

The girl had long, wavy pink-blue hair cascading to her waist. Her skin was fair, and her pair of pink-blue eyes were especially eye-catching.

Most importantly, she looked seventy or eighty percent similar to Wang Dong, but softer and even more stunning, carrying an innate air of nobility and wildness.

Wang Dong's eyes widened, and even the hand pointing at her trembled. "Y-you... Who are you?"

Why does this person look a little like me? But why does seeing her give me this inexplicable... urge to beat her up?

The girl turned around in her swivel chair.

Crossing her long legs, she looked at Wang Dong as if he were an idiot.

"Are you blind? I'm that lion from yesterday."

"What?" Wang Dong's expression changed. "You're that auspicious beast? You can take human form?"

Couldn't only hundred-thousand-year soul beasts take human form? This lion only looked like it had over ten thousand years of cultivation!

"What a bumpkin."

The auspicious beast—now Wang Qiuer—gave a light snort and tossed her long pink-blue hair.

"What's so difficult about taking human form to play games better? The boss said this is called adaptive evolution."

"Alright, stop blocking the light." She turned back around. "I still need to eat my spicy strips."

When had Wang Dong ever suffered such indignity? Especially when the other party was a soul beast that had only just taken human form—and one whose appearance irritated him this much!

"Hey! You... lioness!" Wang Dong gritted his teeth.

"I have a name!" Wang Qiuer did not even turn around. "The boss just gave me one. It's Wang Qiuer. What, do you have a problem with that?"

"Wang Qiuer?" Wang Dong froze.

Wang Dong, Wang Qiuer?

Even her name has to take advantage of mine?

"Fine! Wang Qiuer, is it?" Wang Dong's competitive spirit flared, and he slapped the nearby table. "Since you took human form to play games, do you dare compete with me?"

"Compete in what?" Wang Qiuer asked absentmindedly while rapidly controlling her hunter to prepare an Iai Slash.

"A speedrun! Solo an Anjanath!" Wang Dong pointed at the screen. "Whoever loses pays the other person's internet fees and snacks for a day! And they have to call the other person boss!"

Wang Qiuer's fingers paused.

She turned her head, and a trace of fighting spirit flashed through her pink-blue eyes.

"Are you sure?" Wang Qiuer's lips curled into an amused smile. "Don't cry if you lose, little butterfly."

"Who'll be crying is still up in the air!"

"Boss! Open a room! We're dueling!"

Their argument drew the attention of everyone present.

Lu Yuan sat behind the counter, watching the scene and nearly laughing out loud.

Well, well, the fated rivals had finally met. Wang Dong versus Wang Qiuer—now this would be entertaining.

If Tang San in the God Realm found out that his daughter was dueling a soul beast over a few packs of snacks and internet fees, his face would probably turn green.

"Alright, I'll indulge you."

Lu Yuan snapped his fingers.

"Activating [Arena] mode. Target: Anjanath. Equipment: standard equipment of the same level. Restriction: no items may be used."

"Now this is a fair match."

The screens of the two computers lit up.

Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao, who had just finished cleaning, all gathered around.

"Place your bets!" Xu Sanshi cried, thrilled to stir things up. "I'm betting on Wang Dong! That kid may be arrogant, but his skills really are good! The auspicious beast only just took human form, so she's probably not used to human fingers yet!"

Huo Yuhao watched silently from the side as Elex's voice rang out in his mind. "Foolish! That little girl may have only just taken human form, but her soul is almost perfectly compatible with this body!"

"And... the instincts of the Golden Dragon bloodline combined with agile human hands make her a natural-born warrior."

[Duel begins!]

On the left screen, Wang Dong's hunter wielded an Insect Glaive. Right from the start, he vaulted into the air with swift movements.

"Kinsect! Extract essence!"

He precisely controlled his Kinsect to draw the Anjanath's red extract. A flash of red light appeared on his body, and his attack power greatly increased.

"Tornado Slash!"

He carved brilliant arcs through the air, taking advantage of the gap when the Anjanath turned to relentlessly attack its wings and back.

"So fast!" Jiang Nannan exclaimed. "Wang Dong's sense of rhythm in aerial combat is incredible!"

Meanwhile, the style on Wang Qiuer's screen was completely different.

She had chosen—the [Long Sword].

There was no flashy aerial maneuvering. She simply held her blade and charged head-on at the roaring Anjanath.

"Roar—!" The Anjanath opened its jaws and roared.

Just as the sound waves were about to stun the hunter, Wang Qiuer did not roll. She directly used Foresight Slash!

On the screen, the golden-haired hunter strangely withdrew backward. Accompanied by a blue flash indicating a successful counter, she precisely evaded the roar, then immediately slashed upward, striking the Anjanath hard beneath the jaw.

Clang!

Her blade was sharpened! White Spirit Gauge turned yellow!

"Holy shit!" Xu Sanshi's eyes nearly popped out. "What kind of move was that? You can dodge attacks like that?"

It was not over yet.

The enraged Anjanath lowered its head and bit down.

Rather than retreating, Wang Qiuer advanced. Just as those massive jaws were about to clamp down on her, she once more assumed a drawing stance.

Iai Slash! Spirit Iai Slash!

Whoosh—!

Two intersecting flashes of blade light swept across the screen.

The Anjanath's biting motion froze in midair. A line of blood sprayed from its huge head, and its enormous body was forcibly staggered backward by that strike.

Yellow Spirit Gauge turned red!

In less than a minute, she had filled the red Spirit Gauge directly!

"That's way too violent..." Huo Yuhao watched in stunned silence. "She completely saw through the monster's movements!"

In his mind, Elex's voice sounded faintly.

"That little girl... has an extremely domineering golden bloodline flowing through her. Her fighting style combines strength and prediction to the utmost extreme! That little butterfly flying around may have flashy techniques, but in the face of such efficient slaughter, he's still a little green."

The result was no surprise.

Although Wang Dong was having a great time flying through the air, while he was still chipping away at the Anjanath's feet, Wang Qiuer had already unleashed a Helm Splitter from above and driven it viciously into the Anjanath's skull.

Boom!

The Anjanath on Wang Qiuer's side let out a mournful cry and collapsed. Quest complete.

Time: 4 minutes 32 seconds.

On Wang Dong's side, he was still playing hide-and-seek with the Anjanath, finally finishing in 7 minutes 15 seconds.

A complete defeat!

"Thanks for letting me win."

Wang Qiuer removed her helmet and elegantly stretched, revealing the curves of her figure.

She picked up the half-eaten bag of spicy strips on the table and brought it to her lips, looking teasingly at the stunned Wang Dong. "The internet fees, snacks, and... that 'boss.' When are you going to make good on them?"

Wang Dong's face instantly turned liver-colored as he glared fixedly at the girl before him, who looked so much like him yet was damned strong.

"I was careless this time! I'm not convinced! I'm going to learn that Iai Slash thing too! We'll compete again next time!"

"I'll be ready anytime." Wang Qiuer raised her chin and pointed toward the counter. "Remember to settle the internet fees. And... I want that green drink. Bring me a whole case."

Watching Wang Dong go to the counter to pay with a humiliated expression, Lu Yuan smiled like an old fox.

"Very good. This kind of healthy competition is exactly what I wanted."