Gu Chao Yan had been waiting for a while, chuckling with Ji Canghai, “Hey, bro, you’re going to the rooftop too?” Ji Canghai was a bit nervous, “You’re going too?” “Yes.” Gu Chao Yan’s smile was as bright as the sun, “I’m going to test the machines in the competition room to make sure they’re good for tomorrow’s performance. Not my keyboard, still feels off, you know.” Ji Canghai gave a forced laugh, “Haha, same here.” Ji Canghai was generous, gifting equipment worth 200,000 yuan without hesitation, but he would never share the cheat that would decide the ownership of the divine artifact. As a professional con artist, Gu Chao Yan was well aware that Ji Canghai was lying to him, but he didn’t probe further, already brewing a scheme in his mind. He linked arms with Ji Canghai, engaging him in conversation as they made their way to the large conference room on the rooftop, which had been reserved by the game company for the competition. The conference hall now had thirty-six high-end computers neatly lined up, with several staff members on guard, allowing players to test the machines but watching to prevent any installation of cheats. “Oh, the machines are assigned according to our maps, nice, makes it easier.” Gu Chao Yan glanced at the schedule.
“Haha, Brother Chang Sheng, you’re at machine number 28, I’m at 22, not too far apart.” Ji Canghai said with a knowing look. After showing their competition certificates and signing the test machine list, the two entered, arm in arm, only to find someone was already there.
In front of Machine No. 15, a young man wearing a duckbill cap and wrapped in a thick coat turned his head upon hearing the sound.
Chapter 45: The Great Substitution
The eight elite members of the Great Xia Elite Thieves Group, along with their leader Acao, were currently gorging themselves at the revolving restaurant of the bustling hotel. This floor offered a seafood buffet with the finest air-freighted fresh food, and with unlimited free drinks, the group of thieves were eating with great enthusiasm. The only one not enthusiastic was our thief, Ding. He speared the last lobster with his fork, causing a priest from the Dawn Church of Daxia to stand there with an empty plate in anger. Yes, not only were the thieves there feasting, but Nanbo Wan had also brought his seven priests to drink for courage. The two groups had just arrived.
Acao originally wanted to find Su Yao, but her phone was off, and he didn’t know what she was doing. So, he led the hungry thieves to the restaurant first, only to run into the group from Yan. Before the final match even started, they were already clashing over food. Of course, they treated it as entertainment, except for Thief Ding, who seemed to take it seriously.
No wonder, Thief Ding was the only one in the group who didn’t advance. He thought he had victory in his grasp, but who would’ve thought that Luo Zishang suddenly went crazy and chose his Chart No. 15, leading to Thief Ding’s misfortune. This time in the capital, it was only because Acao promised to reimburse his expenses and let him stay the night that he reluctantly came along. So, when Thief Ding saw the group from Yan, he treated them like enemies. However, after circling the restaurant with his plate, he didn’t see his nemesis, Luo Zishang. Thus, he vented his frustration on the priests, leading to a food fight.
“Can’t eat you to death!” the priest snorted coldly, going to fetch crabs from another plate. Thief Ding quickly grabbed all the crabs into his plate. Frustrated, the priest went for the salmon, but Thief Ding just threw his arms out, grabbed the entire plate of salmon, and swaggered away with it. The priest, looking at the now-empty table, was furious…
“Ding,” Thief A teased him, “weren’t you just saying you wanted to cut down Luo Zishang?”
Thief B: “The boss already agreed to sleep with you, and you’re still steeped in hatred?”
Thief A: “Damn, you know how to use ‘steeped’ now? Who taught you that!”
Acao: “…Who said I’d sleep with him! I just agreed to let him stay in my room… WTF! Ding, what are you doing! WTF, come back here!!!!”
Seeing this, Thief Ding, with a plate of leftover crab legs, menacingly approached Nanbo Wan’s table, who was complaining about the Great Xia thieves.
Acao flipped the table: “Damn it, I’ll sleep with you, okay? Don’t embarrass me!”
Only then did Thief Ding obediently return, his gaze still resentful: “Brother, I just wanted to ask where Luo Zishang is…”
In fact, Nanbo Wan and his group didn’t know where Luo Zishang was. Since the advancement list was out, Luo Zishang hadn’t answered his calls, and all arrangements for their trip to the capital were made without him. Frustrated, Nanbo Wan could only hang out with the high-priced experts he had hired. Watching the thieves across the table, he couldn’t help but feel envious.
“Shall we go to the rooftop to test the machines later?” Thief C nudged Acao’s arm, only to be kicked away by Thief Ding.
Thief Ding, looking pitiful with tears in his eyes: “Brother, wherever you go, don’t leave me behind!”
Thief A laughed wickedly: “The boss will definitely check on Sister Yao first, Ding, do you want to be the third wheel?”
The plate of crab legs, originally meant for Nanbo Wan, was immediately placed on Thief A’s head.
Completely unaware that he had narrowly escaped, Nanbo Wan choked. This… how great it would be if he could recruit these thieves! He was so envious! Ahhh! Nanbo Wan, whose life companions were only money and the masks of high society, now felt all sorts of envy, jealousy, and hatred. As he thought, he unconsciously picked up a plate full of fish bones and dumped it on the head of a priest beside him… What would the effect be? Before he was drowned out by the roar of the angry priest threatening to cancel their contract, Nanbo Wan was blissfully thinking…
Ji Canghai’s first reaction was that the heating in the room was broken. Just moments ago, the room felt like spring, but the moment the person in front of Machine No. 15 turned around to look at them, the temperature seemed to drop to zero. Ji Canghai had never seen such eyes in his life, as if covered with millennia of frost—cold, hollow, desperate, distant…
Despite being on forums for a long time, Ji Canghai had never seen a photo of this young man.
No. 15… No. 15… It was Gu Chaoyan who first thought of it, “Luo Zishang?!” He exclaimed in surprise. This was a complete mismatch, wasn’t it?
Despite his robust mental fortitude, Gu Chaoyan managed to greet him, but Luo Zishang didn’t even acknowledge him. His gaze lingered on Gu Chaoyan and Ji Canghai for a moment before returning to his screen. The elegant figure in white sat atop the Acacia Tower, his pale, cold fingers typing out lively, playful words, telling colorful jokes to the girls, as if this day would never change.
“Ten years…” he suddenly typed out these words in a daze, then said no more. Ten years felt so long that he vaguely thought he was already old, old enough to forget the days when he was a student.
The passage of ten years feels so fleeting, so short that it seems as though I just said goodbye to them, so short that he still looks like a boy, even though time has relentlessly rolled over him, taking everything away, but not his youthful appearance.
The brief span of time, the mocking nature of it, sometimes he can’t even remember if he’s twelve or twenty-two. He only remembers those rainy nights after he left the training camp, locking himself in the attic, roaring like a madman. He’s had enough of these days; this time, he’s determined to end it. Qin Chuan, you will definitely come.