Morning light slanted through a gap in the blackout curtains and spilled into the room.
Ding Xiao cleared away the opened nutrient solution packaging. As he walked back toward the Game Pod, his gaze unconsciously settled on the photographs on the wall.
In the first photograph, his smile still held a hint of youthful innocence. He held the Starfall Battlefield championship trophy in one hand, with ten thousand armored guild members gathered behind him in a torrent of steel.
They raised their weapons on the virtual battlefield, their cheers seeming to carry through the photograph.
In the corner, the gold-stamped game ID "Po Wan Jun" remained clear, as though branded onto the glory of the past.
The second photograph was a group shot from his time in Eternal Kingdom.
That, too, had been a game played within the Human Race.
He stood on a command platform, with ten thousand people arrayed in orderly formations behind him, battle flags snapping and iron armor forming a forest.
By then, he had shed his youthful immaturity, and his features had gained a measure of composure, yet the desire for victory still burned in his eyes.
The third photograph, however, held only a handful of people.
It was the final battle in Blood Color. Only seven core members remained beside him, against a backdrop of smoke-shrouded ruins.
In the photograph, his back remained straight, but the smile on his lips had faded considerably.
It had been an incredibly difficult battle. Facing one of the Human Race's finest commanders had nearly wiped out the army he led, but he had ultimately secured victory.
The fourth, the fifth, the sixth-every photograph held a glorious memory.
He gazed quietly at the photographs. Whenever his eyes focused on one, the corresponding memories welled up in his heart.
Those