Gaming to Death

He Zhen's pupils reflected the game interface on the computer screen as he gripped his mouse. Since things had come this far, he wanted to know just how big the gap between him and Jin was. He took a deep breath and maneuvered his hero into the match.

Wu Jin had chosen the same hero as He Zhen: Ji Kala, a top-lane hero with high mobility and burst damage. Her first skill, Adaptive Change: First Form, moved her forward, dealing damage to enemies in range and knocking them airborne. It could also pull opponents closer to her, making it well suited to securing kills.

Her second skill, Adaptive Change: Second Form, granted super armor and restored her health while dealing damage. Her ultimate refreshed her first and second skills for ten seconds, giving Ji Kala plenty of room to maneuver in team fights.

For the first wave of minions, He Zhen played cautiously, farming close to his tower. Wu Jin, however, had no intention of leaving him in peace. She pressed her first skill twice, charging up to He Zhen and hitting him with a combo. Caught off guard by how quickly Wu Jin had closed in, He Zhen tried to strike back, but she dodged with precise footwork.

After clearing the second wave, Wu Jin reached level three. She caught He Zhen by surprise several times, damaging his hero and wearing down his health. By now, He Zhen was getting nervous. He could tell that Wu Jin had deliberately gone easy on him at level two, or she definitely could have killed him. After Wu Jin knocked him down to half health again, he decided to retreat to his tower for a health pack.

Wu Jin pressed her first skill twice and rolled behind He Zhen, knocking him airborne. He stared nervously at the screen, his hands trembling as he rapidly tapped the keyboard, trying to escape. But Wu Jin gave him no chance, finishing him off beneath his tower with a combo.

The match ended with Wu Jin winning in less than ten minutes. The onlookers had watched her play the whole time. She was simply too fast, not just in hand speed but in reaction time too. Her slick footwork in many of the exchanges had them cheering despite themselves.

He Zhen smiled and sighed. He knew Jin had to be skilled to be brought straight into the starting lineup, but he hadn't expected her to be this terrifyingly good.

He had no idea how many years it would take him to reach Wu Jin's current level. Her understanding of Ji Kala was also very distinctive, and he had never seen several of her combos before. Maybe this was the gap in talent.

His lips moved a few times before he looked at Wu Jin and asked awkwardly,

"Jin, could you teach me your combo techniques? I think they're amazing."

Wu Jin nodded without hesitation.

"After I'm done playing."

Wu Jin gestured for the next person in line behind He Zhen to sit down. When she looked, she discovered there were seven or eight people waiting. The rules were the same as before: she would pick whichever hero her opponent picked. Unsurprisingly, the second person was quickly defeated as well.

He bit his lip, tears in his eyes. Jin played too brutally; she had completely crushed him. He was one of the better players in the game, yet he had never imagined a day would come when he'd get beaten like a grandson. Boo-hoo!

Everyone stared as his eyes grew redder and tears threatened to fall.

Did Jin... make him cry by beating him??

When Shi Mu returned to the villa, he found Wu Jin wasn't at her seat. He knocked on her door, but no one answered. He was about to message her and ask where she'd gone when he saw a post from one of the second-team kids on his Moments:

Sun: Today was the day Jin taught me how to behave~ [Image]

Shi Mu opened the photo. Wu Jin sat in a chair with her head tilted, a long line of challengers across from her. In the corner, a kid whose eyes looked red from crying was wiping his nose.

He had been worried she'd felt unwell and fainted somewhere outside, but it turned out she'd gone smurfing.

When Shi Mu opened the door to leave, Clear looked over curiously. "Bro, where are you going?"

"To watch your Little A Jin bully some kids."

"Huh? Then I'm coming too!"

"Me too!"

So when the three-man GOD squad arrived, Wu Jin was explaining Ji Kala's combos and how to play her. A group of people crowded around her, listening intently. Some had even taken out their phones to record videos.

"Why are you recording?"

"Hey, I'm afraid I'll forget after hearing it. I can watch the video over and over to learn."

Zero had originally refused to accept her, but Wu Jin had beaten him so thoroughly he couldn't fight back. Now he was standing obediently beside her, helping maintain order and repeatedly telling everyone to spread out and not crowd Goddess Jin.

"Looks like Little A Jin's doing pretty well for herself here."

Wantonly rubbed his chin, offering an objective assessment.

Suddenly, Wu Jin fell silent. Her eyes were closed, and she looked as if she'd fallen asleep. Sun tilted his head and poked her, and her head went thunk against the table. He sprang back in fright.

"Aaah! Jin played games until she died!"

Shi Mu's gaze sharpened, his jaw tightening. He strode over to Wu Jin and touched her forehead. It was burning hot.

He clicked his tongue. She was sick and still here teaching them to play games.

"Idiot."

His voice was low, barely audible.

Wantonly came over and crouched down. "I'll carry her. I've got more meat on me, so I'm soft. Little A Jin won't get knocked around."

Clear ran over to help get Wu Jin onto Wantonly's back. Without wasting time, they drove straight to the hospital.

When Brother Qian heard that Wu Jin had been taken to the hospital, his hand slipped and he nearly dropped his phone. He asked several times to make sure she was all right before relaxing a little and getting dressed to go to the hospital.

As soon as he opened the door, he found several second-team kids standing outside, all looking down as though they'd done something wrong.

"Brother Qian, we're sorry. We made Jin play solo matches with us and asked her to teach us, so she couldn't get proper rest when she wasn't feeling well."

He Zhen apologized first, unable to hide the worry in his eyes. If he'd known, he wouldn't have opened his mouth and asked Jin to teach him how to play Ji Kala. He didn't know how Jin was doing now, or whether she'd woken up.

Brother Qian was baffled. He'd been about to send them away and deal with the boys when he got back, but He Zhen had spoken first, and it concerned Wu Jin.

So these little brats had something to do with Wu Jin being in the hospital?

"It's mainly my fault. I was the one who went to Jin and challenged her to a duel. It's my responsibility!"

Zero pressed his lips together, his expression grave.

Brother Qian glared fiercely at them. "I'll deal with you when I get back. I'm going to the hospital now."

"We want to go too!"

"Like hell you are! It's not a funeral. What do you need so many people there for?"

The second team: You're not wrong, but couldn't you put it a little less crudely?

At the hospital, Wu Jin was still pale when Brother Qian arrived. She lay in bed on an IV drip and had yet to wake up, though her fever had gone down.

Brother Qian sat beside Wu Jin, worried like an old father. "My precious girl, please don't let anything happen to you."

"Admit it, Old Qian. You're playing favorites."

"Get lost!"

Clear, having been cursed at, snorted but didn't mind. He sprawled on the sofa and played on his phone.

A young nurse walked in and was a little surprised to see four men gathered around one girl, but she spoke gently.

"Don't worry, the patient's fever has gone down. As long as she gets enough rest, she'll wake up. She's a little malnourished.

"Make sure she gets more vitamins, and have her stay up late less often. She may be averaging less than three hours of sleep."

Hearing this, Clear sat up and walked over to the bed. He thought for a long while, then asked uncertainly, "Could it be that she plays parkour at night instead of sleeping too?"

"Get lost!"

"Begone, foul thing."

Shi Mu chuckled, his eyes curving into crescents. "If you really like parkour that much, I'll send you to try the real thing."

Shi Mu smiling.jpg = danger signal.

Clear immediately shut up and went back to lie on the sofa. Can't afford to offend him, can't afford to offend him. This guy is capable of anything.

Clear talked back to everyone but called Shi Mu alone "bro" because, when he'd first joined the team, he had feared nothing and done plenty of stupid shit. Shi Mu had taught him how to behave the hard way, and only then had he become much more well-behaved.

Brother Qian sent everyone else back to train, while Shi Mu stayed to keep watch overnight.

"Call me if anything happens, okay?"

Still worried, Brother Qian looked back at the girl in the bed once more. When he got back, he would have Auntie Lin make some nourishing meals to help Wu Jin build up her strength.