Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years: Server-Dominating King Chen!

Welcome to Trapped in the Same Day for a Thousand Years, exclusively produced by Feilu Novel Network, written by Sang Ze and performed by Wang Xiaomo, Lao He, and Wang Zhuang. After hearing Wu Chen's request, Wang Zhuangyuan was stunned. It was not difficult. On the contrary, it was incredibly simple. It was just too strange.

But Wang Zhuangyuan did not ask why. He knew better than to pry into the thoughts of someone important. After hanging up, he immediately called more than a dozen of his underlings and told them to gather people.

More than half an hour later, Wang Zhuangyuan stood by the roadside outside an internet café near Huahe Bar with several relatives and brothers. He checked his watch repeatedly as he waited for Wu Chen.

A blue Lamborghini appeared down the street and soon pulled up at the curb. "Is everyone here?" Wu Chen asked as he got out and headed straight into the café. "Rest assured, Mr. Wu. They're all young guys who are good at games," Wang Zhuangyuan said.

Wang Zhuangyuan hurried after Wu Chen.

Wu Chen entered the internet café. It was huge, and the equipment looked excellent, but the place was empty apart from dozens of people gathered near the counter.

Wang Zhuangyuan had cleared out the other customers before Wu Chen arrived. He had booked the entire place for the day.

"Mr. Wu! Mr. Wu! Mr. Wu!"

More than forty people bowed and greeted Wu Chen in unison when he walked in.

"Relax, everyone."

Wu Chen raised a hand, then gestured as he said, "Turn on the computers. We're playing the private server of Legendary City Lord, the Proud Dragon Subduer edition."

Legendary City Lord was an old game, released twenty years ago. It was much like Legend from Wu Chen's previous life—not exactly the same, but with the same core gameplay.

"Get moving!" Wang Zhuangyuan called. The group sat down, switched on their computers, searched for the game, and downloaded it with practiced ease.

Most of them were around eighteen or nineteen, genuine street punks who had quit school early and spent years hanging around internet cafés. They had little else going for them, but they were damn good at games.

There were also a few middle-aged men who looked over forty.

Their gaming instincts could not match the younger players', but they were veterans who had played Legendary City Lord more than a decade ago.

Wu Chen went to the innermost row and sat alone. He turned on a computer and started downloading.

They were playing on a private server, so the game was not installed on the café's computers. They had to download it.

The café's connection was extremely fast. Since the official client was already installed, they only needed a package that modified its data. Everyone finished downloading in under a minute and registered accounts on the third server, which had opened at five the afternoon before yesterday.

"Use Server-Dominating King as the prefix for your character names," Wu Chen called across the café. He had just registered his own character, Server-Dominating King Chen. Standing behind him, Wang Zhuangyuan watched him download, register, and log in with effortless familiarity. His expression grew increasingly strange. This was bizarre.

When Wu Chen had called asking to borrow his men, Wang Zhuangyuan had assumed it was something important—his chance to prove himself. He had never imagined Wu Chen wanted people to play a game with him. And not a popular modern game, either, but a game released over twenty years ago, on a private server rather than an official one.

Wang Zhuangyuan had never played it. He had been a good student and had not skipped class to visit internet cafés. But the game had been so popular that most of his classmates had played it and talked about it. He knew it had taken Asia by storm as soon as it was released in 2000. Its popularity had only begun to fade around 2006. It still had a devoted following, and the official servers were still running, though the game had not been updated in ages.

This was hardly a game young people played. Wang Zhuangyuan was starting to doubt Wu Chen's age. As far as he knew, the people who still loved its private servers were mostly greasy middle-aged men in their thirties and forties, including some wealthy bosses.

Wang Zhuangyuan stared at Wu Chen's back, finding the whole thing stranger by the moment. He was looking at Wu Chen as if he were a freak. Was he really only in his early twenties?

Wait. No. Wang Zhuangyuan suddenly jolted. Could Mr. Wu be testing me?

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became. Nothing else could explain something so odd. Mr. Wu had to be testing his patience, seeing whether he could handle a small task properly!

Important people really do things differently. Wu Chen's back once again seemed unfathomable to Wang Zhuangyuan.

"Everyone, stay in the beginner area for now. Don't move."

Wu Chen paid no attention to Wang Zhuangyuan's silent battle of wits behind him. He looked up and called, "Wait for me to top up and create a guild."

With that, Wu Chen took out his phone.

"Mr. Wu, some of the guys haven't arrived yet, but they'll be here soon. Another thirty or forty should come in gradually," Wang Zhuangyuan said, stepping forward and bending to speak by Wu Chen's ear.

"Mm."

Wu Chen acknowledged him with a hum, then glanced at him. "You don't have to stay with me. Go take care of anything you need to."

"Will do."

Wang Zhuangyuan straightened, looked around the café, and headed out.

Before leaving, he turned back and shouted, "Keep Mr. Wu company. Whoever does the best today gets a hundred thousand from me." Then he added to Wu Chen, "Don't worry."

"Don't worry, boss!" the group answered, and Wang Zhuangyuan left.

Wu Chen began topping up his game account. He put in one million yuan, created a guild, and had everyone in the café join. He then used the guild function to buy VIP levels for every member. VIP status came with equipment, sets, and other items, such as experience pills.

The private server's VIP levels were absurd, going all the way up to VIP 15. Wu Chen did not buy them the highest level right away. There was no need; they could work their way up.

After distributing VIP status to the entire guild, Wu Chen made another call. Li Ruobing was in a meeting when she answered. "Give me ten million," Wu Chen said.

Wu Chen asked for the money outright. "Mm. What for? Expenses for an event?" she asked.

"All right."

Li Ruobing agreed and hung up without even asking what Wu Chen was doing that required so much money.

Their relationship was complicated now. In some ways they did not seem close; in others, they were very close.

Li Ruobing also trusted Wu Chen for some inexplicable reason, at least when it came to money.

She was not afraid he would cheat her. After all, he had done Li Ruotai such a huge favor yesterday that giving him a hundred million would not have been excessive.

More than four hours later, it was past noon. Wu Chen's guild had become the largest on the server, crushing the former leader, Dragon Slaughter of the World.

It had cost him more than eight million yuan in successive top-ups.

He had bought VIP 10 for every young man in the café, at five hundred thousand yuan apiece, securing them the best VIP reward weapons and armor.

Now they could enter the highest-level dungeons, fight bosses, and obtain the best rings, shoes, and belts.

It was not his own money, and someone else was footing the bill. Wu Chen did not feel the slightest sting.

Ordinarily, he would not have needed to spend nearly so much. But he and the guild leader of Dragon Slaughter of the World had locked horns, each pouring in more money to outdo the other.

More than eighty people in the café were now playing the same old game's private server. Cries of "Hack him!" and "It dropped!" rang out everywhere. Smoke hung in the air as players smoked and talked without pause.

Wu Chen had allowed it.

When playing games, emotions mattered. Some of them were heavy smokers who would struggle to concentrate without a cigarette.

Games also demanded cooperation. If they could not communicate, they could not play well.

Wu Chen had made no other demands of them. He had only specifically told them not to swear in the game.

They could taunt their opponents as viciously as they liked, as long as they kept it clean.

And these guys were brilliant at taunting. Their fingers flew across the keyboards as they typed.

At lunchtime, someone ordered takeout and arranged for the younger guys to deliver it from desk to desk.

"Mr. Wu, your food." A young man wearing an earring approached Wu Chen's desk and carefully set down a takeout box.

"Ah. Thanks, you can go."

Wu Chen glanced at him, then turned his attention back to the screen.

Things were almost ready. There were no independent players left on the server. Players from the smaller guilds had been killed so often they had quit. Only Wu Chen's Server-Dominating King guild and Dragon Slaughter of the World remained.

On this private server, a siege took place every three days. It was the decisive battle of each stage. A successful siege earned the Legendary City Lord title and exclusive equipment.

A siege could also be started early by paying for it, but doing so meant facing the ultimate boss.

The ultimate boss was secondary, though. On a pay-to-win private server, the real challenge was the other players. Unless the attacking side defeated them first, it would never even see the ultimate boss.

Wu Chen clicked a few times. A server-wide announcement appeared: Server-Dominating King Chen, guild leader of Server-Dominating King, had started the battle for the main city early. All players were advised to prepare. The battle would begin in thirty minutes.

"Eat up. The siege starts in half an hour!" Wu Chen called out.

Half an hour later, the whole café erupted as the siege began.

Server-Dominating King and Dragon Slaughter of the World clashed in the main city square. The fighting was fierce. Players on both sides died, revived, and plunged back in.

"Hack him! Hack him!" "His weapon dropped!" "Give it to me! I just lost my gear!" "Get in there!"

The café roared with noise.

The young players were genuinely fired up by the final battle.

The two guilds fought for more than half an hour without a winner emerging. Wu Chen's Server-Dominating King guild held the advantage throughout, however, because it had more core members.

Wu Chen suddenly announced in public chat, "I'm done. I'm done playing. Something urgent came up. Brothers, let's call it a day. Give away your gear, log off, and quit the game. Drop your equipment and leave."

Wu Chen shouted the order in the café as well. The eighty-odd players froze, unsure what had happened, but they all obeyed.

The main city square was instantly covered in glittering top-tier equipment. It lay everywhere.

Now it was the members of Dragon Slaughter of the World who were dumbfounded. They had been fighting a decisive battle, and their opponents had simply quit!

Losing an opponent so abruptly could make the whole game feel pointless.

"What the hell, friend? Why are you leaving? Come on! We haven't settled who wins!"

"I've spent ten million, and you must have spent eight or nine million yourself. I finally found a worthy opponent, and you're quitting?"

Wu Chen received three private messages in a row, all from the same person.

He smiled faintly when he saw the player's ID.

In the game, the man went by Dragon Subduer Without Regret and led the Dragon Soaring Across the World guild.

In real life, he was a slovenly, greasy middle-aged man, the youngest son in his family and the heir to an enormous fortune.

He had another identity as well: he was the wealthy backer behind the wildly popular star Tao Manying.

Most actresses meant little to truly powerful people. The exceptions were a handful of veterans who had worked their way up and become major shareholders in their agencies, or women who had influential backgrounds before entering the industry.

Even so, a star at the height of her popularity was not someone people could touch lightly. She was her company's cash cow.

The entertainment industry ran deep. Major agencies and entertainment companies had powerful connections. Some had even been founded by members of prominent families. Naturally, they did everything they could to protect their cash cows from trouble.

In other words, most actresses might not wield much power themselves, but they usually had formidable connections supporting them.

Besides protection from an entertainment company, there was another possibility: being kept by a wealthy backer.

Tao Manying, whose backer had made her a star, fell into that category. She had graduated from Beijing Film Academy, but her backer had been supporting her since high school.

She wanted to become an actress, so he had agreed to let her study acting.

While Tao Manying was in university, her backer began spending money to get her film roles. After she graduated, he threw his full weight behind her.

Over the next few years, Tao Manying starred in several films but never quite broke through, hovering between the first and second tiers. Then a film last year catapulted her to stardom. Her backer had played a part in all of it, including the more than twenty Best Actress titles she had collected in one sweep.

She had won some through her own influence, but others were the result of her backer's maneuvering.

Dragon Subduer Without Regret was that backer.

Wu Chen replied by private message.

"Friend, something urgent came up. I can't play any longer today. I have to log off."

"Come on, brother, don't leave! What's so urgent? Can't we finish the fight?"

"You're not a plant hired by the private server, are you?"

"You tricked me into spending over ten million, and now you quit? Are you messing with me?"

Dragon Subduer Without Regret fired off several more messages, his tone crude.

"If I were a plant, I'd keep playing with you. I really do have something to do," Wu Chen replied.

"Uh, right."

Dragon Subduer Without Regret came to his senses. Anger had made him suspect Wu Chen was a plant, but a little thought showed that was impossible. A plant would not push so aggressively that he drove a big spender away within hours. Dragon Subduer Without Regret had encountered plants before. They strung him along for days, making him spend plenty by the end, but ensuring he enjoyed himself along the way.

Server-Dominating King Chen had shown no interest in making him happy.

There was a gap between the guilds' total membership. Dragon Slaughter of the World had nearly four hundred members, while Server-Dominating King had only a little over two hundred. Yet Dragon Slaughter of the World still could not win. It had just over twenty core players, and the rest could not be counted on to log in at any particular time.

This server had opened the day before yesterday. Dragon Soaring Across the World had recruited plenty of independent players over those two days, but many played for one day and never logged in again. So during the decisive battle, the two sides had roughly equal numbers, with a little over two hundred online each. Server-Dominating King not only had more core players; even its independent players, whose IDs had acquired the Server-Dominating King prefix only that morning, followed orders like core members. They had all started playing that day and had kept fighting together on that initial burst of enthusiasm.

Thinking it over, Dragon Subduer Without Regret realized he had probably met another billionaire who shared his hobby. An ordinary rich man would not do. Spending millions, even tens of millions, on a private server was beyond most wealthy people.

After a moment, Dragon Subduer Without Regret sent another message. "Brother, don't go. Finish this fight with me. I'll reimburse everything you spent today. Call it the price of making a friend."

He was genuinely miserable. He had not had a moment's peace since that group of players with the Server-Dominating King prefix had appeared.

He did not spend this much every time he played a private server. It depended on his opponents. Usually, a few days of play cost him tens or hundreds of thousands. The last time he had spent millions was half a year ago. He had only started playing on this server the day before yesterday and had spent less than three hundred thousand over those two days.

Wu Chen had deposited a million right away and begun hammering Dragon Soaring Across the World. At first, Dragon Subduer Without Regret had been excited to find an opponent. He promptly put in a million of his own. Then Wu Chen added more, so he did too. Dragon Soaring Across the World kept taking a beating until Wu Chen suddenly started the siege. By the end, the contest was no longer about who had more money; Wu Chen certainly could not outspend Dragon Subduer Without Regret. But every private server had a limited player base. By the final battle, almost everyone online belonged to one of the two guilds—only a few hundred people in all. Top-tier gear could also drop in high-level dungeons, so both sides were nearly fully equipped. Spending more would make little difference.

The deciding factors were the number of core members and whether the players followed orders.

Dragon Subduer Without Regret knew he might lose today's siege, though he still had a chance to turn it around. He wanted to win—a proper victory would feel good. Instead, Wu Chen had handed him the win by suddenly quitting, with every core member of his guild stripping off their equipment. If he had not needed to message Server-Dominating King Chen, Dragon Subduer Without Regret might have smashed his computer.

"Brother, what's so urgent?"

"Surely it can wait an hour or two?"

"If you quit, who am I supposed to play with?"

"Who else is there?"

"We've spent twenty million between us. What's the point if we don't settle this?"

"We'd just be handing it all to the private server owner!"

"It's a matter of pride, brother! Come on, let's fight! I'd accept losing to you today, but you can't leave!"

His urgency came through in the words. He kept sending several messages at a time.

While Dragon Subduer Without Regret messaged Wu Chen, the members of Dragon Soaring Across the World stopped attacking Server-Dominating King. They stood still and did not even pick up the top-tier equipment scattered everywhere.

Evidently, Dragon Subduer Without Regret had issued an order in the guild channel.

"I told you to stop fighting because I really do have something to do."

Wu Chen smiled at the screen as he typed quickly.

"I have to go to Donghai City's CBD right now. I can't keep playing."

"You're in Donghai City too?"

"Are you from Donghai City?" Dragon Subduer Without Regret replied.

He sounded surprised.

"You're here too?" Wu Chen typed back, sounding even more surprised.

"I'm not from Donghai City, but I'm here right now. What a coincidence!" Dragon Subduer Without Regret replied. Wu Chen answered, "All right, all right. I have to go."

"Wait, wait!" Dragon Subduer Without Regret responded almost instantly. "Brother, are you in some kind of trouble? Tell me. I'll handle it for you."

"I'm not bragging. There's nothing in Donghai City I can't settle." "Thanks. You're impressive," Wu Chen replied.

His words said he believed the man, but his tone felt like a polite brush-off.

"Hey, you don't believe me, do you? I'm telling you, if you stay and play with me today, I'll take care of anything, no matter how big. You can't leave!"

That impressive?

Wu Chen kept typing. "It's not that something happened to me. A woman at my company ran into trouble. Our product spokesperson was hit by a car, so we had to terminate the contract and find a replacement. I need to go back and help him sort it out."

"A spokesperson?"

"A celebrity?"

"Male or female?"

"A female celebrity?"

"Female celebrities are easy. I've got a few working for me. Just tell me what tier you're looking for."

Was she really that well connected?

Wu Chen still seemed unconvinced.

"You don't believe me? I'm not bragging. I could get even Tao Manying here with one phone call."

Wu Chen's fingers stopped over the keyboard. He looked at the screen and smiled again. That was exactly what he had been waiting to hear.