Hu Xiao's chest heaved violently as he said, "I was willing to be his underling and regard him as my elder brother. I invited him to leave the mountain time and time again, but he not only refused firmly, but also advised me to abandon the darkness and return to the righteous path."
"Are you kidding me? In less than a year, my gang has amassed nearly a thousand men, becoming the largest underworld force in Northeast China. If I were to disband the gang on the spot, would all my nearly a thousand brothers starve?"
Su Hang frowned. "Forced relationships are never happy. Perhaps your friend doesn't want to get involved in the underworld and get into unnecessary trouble."
"Damn it! Don't want to be in the underworld?" Hu Xiao crushed a beer can, his face contorted in a terrifying grimace. "Then why did he help me in the first place? If it weren't for his strong support, how could I have gotten into the underworld?"
"Now I have no choice but to go down this path to the bitter end, while he just packs up and leaves. Why should he?"
Su Hang disagreed.
He could understand Hu Xiao's good friend's thoughts. Helping you was a favor, not helping you was his right. But to use this as a form of moral blackmail was really disheartening.
If it were him, he would also refuse and advise Hu Xiao to turn back from his misguided path.
Hu Xiao said coldly, "That's why I need to find him!"
Su Hang asked, "Why did we find him?"
"Tie him up, put a knife to his neck, and give him two choices: either accept my invitation from nine years ago, become my boss, and take over the loan company my gang used to launder money."
The Hu Xiao roared, its killing intent palpable, "Either continue to refuse and become the first soul to fall beneath my blade!"
"Sigh." Su Hang sighed softly, " Deputy Hu, why are you doing this? You've cleaned up your act and are now successful in both your family and career. You're a true winner in life. Why cling to the past?"
"Brother Su, you are not me, you don't understand," Hu Xiao said in a deep voice. "My malnutrition is a mental illness, and that mental illness is all because of him. I've suffered alone for so many years, and he must give me an explanation!"
Su Hang had nothing to say.
Like Huyan Lan and Yin Long, Hu Xiao's obsession runs deep and cannot be resolved by a late-night chat on the balcony.
"However, Brother Su, I feel much better after confiding in you." Hu Xiao turned back, his voice unusually gentle. "If I had met you, Su Hang, instead of him, my life would have been very different."
Watching the Hu Xiao roar as it departed.
Su Hang fell silent.
Whether it's Hu Xiao yearning for friendship, Yin Long hoping for family, or Huyan Lan longing for love, they are all tormented by the [men] in their hearts.
Why do I feel a sense of satisfaction, like I've finally gotten my revenge?
Su Hang frowned, his hand pressed to his chest. Logically, he should feel pity and sympathy for his three vice-captains, but his wildly pounding heart told him to be happy.
"That's strange."
The following day, on the Douyin short video platform.
The game trending topics list is still firmly dominated by Exalted Emperor.
[Shocking! Exalted Emperor defeats the two vice-captains of the Gods, his actual game level is infinitely close to that of the Champion Emperor player?], 10 million views.
[Are you crazy?! The Exalted Emperor rank has surpassed 800 stars, and he is currently ranked 20th on the overall rank leaderboard!], 12.58 million views.
[Highly anticipated! Tonight, Exalted Emperor may advance to Legendary King 900 Stars, becoming the second player in the history of Honor of Kings to reach 900 Stars! Click to jump to Exalted Emperor's live stream], 36.57 million views.
More and more viewers flocked to Exalted Emperor's live stream.
The number of online users soared until it reached two million before stabilizing, and the public chat was flooded with messages like a locust swarm.
"Just a passerby who came from the trending topics, is it true that Exalted Emperor advanced to Legendary King 900 stars tonight?"
"Brother upstairs, it's true, the Exalted Emperor has already reached 870 stars. I estimate that he'll be able to break through to 900 stars around 4 or 5 in the morning."
"Damn it, we're made of mud, but Exalted Emperor is made of reinforced concrete, right? He hasn't slept for five days, yet he's still full of energy?"
"My buddy has become a fan. Just based on Exalted Emperor's relentless work ethic, whether he wins all the way to the top of the Thousand Stars rankings or not, I'll give him a thumbs up."
"Fun fact: To date, the Exalted Emperor's King of Glory has never lost a match, maintaining a perfect record in hundreds of games."
"With an excited heart and trembling hands, Exalted Emperor has already reached 890 stars. A few more wins and we'll break 900 stars! Brothers, tonight we are about to witness the birth of a miracle."
Su Hang downed his sugar-free cola in one gulp and continued his run.
In the 35th game of the broadcast, Gan & Mo, top MVP, added three stars, Legendary King 893 stars.
In the 36th game, Guan Yu, the top MVP, received three stars, reaching the Legendary King 896 stars.
In the 37th game, Guiguzi the top MVP, earning three stars and reaching the Legendary King 899 stars.
"They've arrived."
Su Hang's gaze darkened slightly. "A crucial game for breaking through 900 stars in rank."
Back when my old account, Imperial Emperor, was trying to reach 900 stars from 899, I almost failed because the matchmaking system kicked in and I was matched with a powerful opponent, while my teammates were all terrible.
"The hidden MMR of my new account is incredibly high now. The opponents the system is matching me with might be even stronger than those I had with my old account."
Su Hang prepared himself mentally and took a deep breath.
"Just open it!"
After clicking "match," it took a full 5 minutes to get a game.
Entering the game loading screen.
Su Hang is on the fifth floor, and his assigned location is on Fayu Road.
"Hello, everyone, can you hear me? This is Exalted Emperor. If it's convenient, please report your respective Peak Tournament scores."
Upon learning that the development lane was led by Exalted Emperor, the teammates were extremely excited and eagerly revealed their Peak Tournament scores.
"Master Exalted Emperor, I'm at 2200 MMR in jungle, and I'm in the top 10,000 at the peak."
"I have 2300 points in the top lane, and I'm among the top 1000 at the peak."
"2350 points in the roaming position, top 1000 at the peak."
" Exalted Emperor, then I must be the player with the highest peak rating, 2450 points in mid lane, a top 100 mid laner."
The viewers in the live stream were shocked and dumbfounded.
"Holy crap! What kind of terrible teammates did they give Exalted Emperor? A top-10,000 jungler is here? Are you kidding me?"
"I'm a newbie, are the teammates of the Exalted Emperor- level player really that bad?"
"He's not bad for us, but for a player like Exalted Emperor, he's incredibly bad. He's a provincial-level jungler, Minor National Badge- level player in PvP, Minor National Badge- level player in roaming, and a slightly better mid laner, at Major National Badge- level."
Su Hang's gaze was deep. The thing he was most worried about had still happened. Apart from the mid-laner, the players in the other three positions had all reached the 800-star rank by playing a lot of games, and their actual skill level was not strong.
"To be absolutely sure, let's switch lanes with our teammates."
Su Hang spoke into the microphone, "Second floor, do you know how to play the bottom lane?"
"Sorry Exalted Emperor, I mainly play the top lane; I don't understand the bottom lane."
"Alright, alright." Su Hang didn't press the issue further. If changing lanes didn't work, then they'd start with hero selection, using warriors and assassins suited for the development lane, like Li Xin and Yuan Ge...
"Um?"
But Su Hang was stunned when he saw the enemy switch positions.
What the hell?