3 “Can I PK with you?”
A blond-haired man in a Hanfu dress, Dizi flute in his hand, and sword on his belt look toward the direction of the sound with his blue eyes.
'This dude is really a player, not NPC, right? Is this dude an ABC? If not why does he wanna wear a dress like this in an American server?'
Her reason why she's wears Hanfu in American server is that she had received this skin as a gift from completing the Han dynasty and Three kingdoms quiz, it's her favorite time of history that she has enough knowledge to have fun and enjoy this kind of quizzes anyway.
But what about this dude? Most American players that she heard about like to wear modern fashion or fantasy dress in VR games especially Peace, where they can customize and use real clothing photograph as an input for their avatar's skins.
NOTES: ABC is American Born Chinese for short.
"You wants to Player Kill with me?" He asks with a confused look.
"This is a PvP zone, and this lawn is an arena isn't it? go ahead!" He said, taking out his sword calmly.
'He responds, so he's not an NPC... American English with a little bit of accent that I think I can identify as Mandarin Chinese, but which part? I only know what Teochew and Minnan dialect sound like' Xiao Bai Mao though.
"Thanks! I won't be humble then!"
Xiao Bai Mao is very excited, the challenge of killing this man before her 2 hours of Internet cafe ran out made this even more exciting. She takes out her bokken sword and attacks this man.
He's hiding his name tag, so she has no idea what to call him.
While slashing and hitting him she takes a moment to reach her headphone mic and ask "Uh umm... Hey... Big brother, where are you from? Are you usually playing on this server or are you from somewhere else?"
"I'm from the other server, Chinese server to be exact. Kinda wandering around and check out American Server." He said while defending the attack comfortably.
"What about you? Are you a local in this server?"Although he seems to be very vacant on the battlefield, he seems to the defense all of the attacks without any difficulty.
Xiao Bai Mao is interested, she headed since the early days of the Esports industry in 201X- 202X Chinese and Korean servers had been the most "savage" and "hardcore" servers within the entire gaming industry. It was also well-known as a training ground for the high-rank professional teams.
"Ah well... I don't know about that whether I'm a local or not since I'm from America but play Peace only for a week and this is my first time here." She replies.
"And for the dress, I receive this skin by completing the Three Kingdoms quiz. Is this your main ID? What's your user name? ...Sir?" She asks while trying to increase her APM to kill this guy.
"Huh? oh... I see... Yeah, this is my ID-made for a hobby. My avatar's name is Tian Xia Di Yi, which means invincible. What about you? Are you an ABC? Why do you have your name in pinyin and hanzi?" He replies while defending her attack effortlessly. He seems to not be bothered by any of those attacks at all.
'Tian Xia Di Yi, Number One Under Heaven huh? what an arrogant name...' She thought. 'But he's not a noob so far... how did he even dodge my attack and defense it without even getting tired? And what he means by "hobby" is he a professional player?'
"Ah... I actually born in America but raised in Thailand, my parents are Thai citizens. I use pinyin and hanzi because I couldn't think of any unoccupied name for an MMO game.. haha.."
She fake a smile faintly, frustrated with not being able to beat this man. She almost swears she's going to defeat this man someday.
"Interesting!"
'Which is more interesting is that If he really is in China, Beijing GMT, What an early bird this guy is to be awake and play online game in this early morning, ... It must be a very early morning in East China right now' She thought about her temporary enemies.
Xiao Bai Mao tries out some kendo moves she remembers, although she's not a genius she's not a bull-headed person who can't learn anything either so maybe this may work.
'Sayu men' aim the eyebrows
Tian Xia Di Yi defended it.
'Kote' aiming for the wrist
He swipes her bokken away with his sword
'Men' aiming for the head
He dodged it.
'Tsuji" aiming for the throat
He knocks that bokken out of her hands.
Xiao Bai Mao can feel her hand clenching against the mouse, while her avatar is tensing the bokken while picking it up.
While Xiao Bai Mao was trying to pick her sword back up again to kill her opponent, Tian Xia Di Yi who just notice what had been there all the time just realized it exclaimed out loud "You had been using that wooden sword to fight during this the whole time?!!"
"Um, that's my favorite bokken" She replies frustratedly while trying to pick up her bokken.
"Do you use any other weapons rather than that?" he asked.
"Yeah, I have my claws" Xiao Bai Mao show him her claws under her small palm.
Tian Xia Di Yi look at that small hand with little sharp claws
'That's all she needs?' He thought.
He coughs a bit and says "I'm not a faggot who will bully a girl at such a low level, Seeing an adult male like me hitting a young girl who only has her claws and wooden sword as weapons to defend herself is unacceptable."
He reaches out his hand and lowers his knee.
"What do you mean by that?! I'm the one asking you to PK with me!!! It's not your fault, let's continue!" She stands up pushing Tian Xia Di Yi's hand away. Unbelieving how realistic the feeling of that fall is although it's a semi-VR.
"How long had you been playing this game again?" Tian Xia Di Yi asks.
"About a week or a few days ago" Xiao Bai Mao reply.
"So this is your first time PKing?"
"Yes, I hurried to gain EXP to reach level 15 just to PK with other players!"
'Only for a week huh? Although she's not a genius, she seems to put lots of effort into her actions' He thought.
"What about you? How long had you been playing this game?" Xiao Bai Mao asks back.
"Uh... about three years already... But I'm only at level 35 with this ID"
"I see, what are you doing in this area then, it's just for a newbie like me and low-level noobs" Xiao Bai Mao just realize that he's on his level 35 and how wide their level gaps are, his main ID would be a lot stronger than this one and she would have little to almost no chance of defeating this guy.
She just wants to experience the feeling of fighting with other players, although she's going to be killed by another player with higher levels, she won't regret it at all.
"I wandered around, nostalgia.. you know.." Tian Xia Di Yi answered in a low voice."
"Nostalgia? You mean this is not your first time here?"
"Yes... Long story short, I had been playing around this arena in this server when I'm still a newbie. I use to play and PK with my best friend when we were still young and have nothing. It's a priceless experience of making everything out of nothing at that point.."
"You like PKing too, right?" Xiao Bai Mao asks with her eye narrowed like a predator aiming its prey.
"To be honest, ye-"
Before Tian Xia Di Yi could complete his reply, Xiao Bai Mao snap.
"Then let's continue! I want to experience those feelings of fighting too, probably just like you back then, I don't regret dying!"
Tian Xia Di Yi looks at Xiao Bai Mao with a tender gaze, he uses to be like this girl ---- eager to fight and become a warrior when he first enters this game and plays with his friend too, right? Would he forget that kind of feeling someday? When was that type of feelings all gone and how?
It's an irreplaceable moment.
What's it like to PK excitedly with a stronger or worthy opponent? And when was the last time he has done that? He feels a little excitement forming in his heart, even if this is not him who will gain the experience of trying to defeat a stronger enemy, at least he would give this little new fellow of his a first and forever experience of Player Kill.
Like feeding meat to tiger cubs for the first time, this will introduce them to the world of carnivores, She would learn the pleasure of killing like tiger cubs learning the pleasure of hunting and eating meats(Although she's just a little white cat). And Tian Xia Di Yi will teach this little cub (or kitten), giving her the experience of either the first kill or the first death.
He won't disrespect Xiao Bai Mao's purpose by pulling the punch.
He knows how good it feels to interact with other human beings in a world where you can be anyone you want. Only pure identity exists there.
It's their endless joy.
He then grinned and stand up, holding his sword and point it at Xiao Bai Mao.
"Whenever you're ready"
Xiao Bai Mao grin. Tian Xia Di Yi should have seen her fangs shining like a predator taking down bigger prey for sure, it triggers his ambition wildly.
"Let's do it!" Xiao Bai Mao roar.
A wooden sword smashed on the silver shining sword about a dozen times. Although it seems to be something that can't kill anyone, that attack is almost as strong as hitting a forged weapon in full strength, normal players in full VR linked to the neuro system would have felt terrified after that hit, although the weapon is just a wooden sword without any sharp blade.
Xiao Bai Mao won't take it easy on her opponent too.
Her physical body sitting on the gaming chair under the cold air-conditioned room feels the blood boiling.
The White Cat leaps behind her opponent and points her claw toward the neck, somehow Tian Xia Di Yi manages to flip her risk before her claw rip off his throat.
"Y... You can use Aikido?" Xiao Bai Mao never expects this guy to know anything about Japanese material art, She expects Tai Shi or some kind of ancient sword technique from a guy who came from a Chinese server.
But grabbing her arm and push her body to the ground? She knows a little bit about Aikido, although not as hard as Yudo, it's still useful to the people who 'Don't know how to fight'
'Fxck' she thought.
'I gotta use another strategy now'
She got up and escape to the other side of the field, expecting Tian Xia Di Yi to follow her. Xiao Bai Mao is trying to lure him into the valley where she can be the dominant one in this fight since geography will be more suitable for her. As long as it's a PVP zone, she wouldn't mind investing in some escape.
"You're giving up now?" Tian Xia Di Yi laughs.
"Escape is the best strategy, it said in the last lesson of 36 Strategems" She replies
"Haha, I never expect an ABC to have interest in such an ancient topic, you find a friend now, mate. I like studying these strategies too. And you're escaping to lure me to a trap like what Zhuge Liang did on his first job with Liu Bei huh?" He smiles.
"You're really are one worthy opponent I never expect to have, Sorry for underestimating you. Ma'am"
He grins, like a male tiger after seeing his cub kill their first prey after being fed with the first meat.
"Don't call me with such a noble prefix in all of the sudden! I think that must behind a knife behind a smile strategy!" Xiao Bai Mao shouts behind the rock she's hiding behind.
'This guy is not a noob... He must be an expert.' She thought. Although she knows she underestimated him and Tian Xia Di Yi is a lot stronger than her, she didn't fear him at all.
'But if I can kill this guy.. wouldn't it be fun?'
Tian Xia Di Yi who never expects such a newbie like this to share an interest in war strategies and ancient literature was happy to have this good day and met someone like Xiao Bai Mao. Today must be his lucky day.
Meanwhile, Tian Xia Di Yi is feeling sadistic and admiring his opponent at the same time, he can kill Xiao Bai Mao if he wants to but there's still some chance and potential in her that's too valuable to be wasted if she dies this time, yet he's feeling hesitate because it's important to know that the world of the online game won't be a mercy to the noobs. 'If she becomes a pro player, with this kind of ambition and knowledge, she must become one of the most successful players for sure.' He thought.
'I hate to do this, but I really want to know how far can she go for the maximum'
'I have to fight with the morals in my heart to do this to you, Xiao Bai Mao... This action of mine will be like committing a consent with some drunken individual, forgive me Xiao Bai Mao'
He knows Xiao Bai Mao's cat ear is an accessory one might get from some quest animal shelters made for pets knowledge, it gives users cat instincts and feline's (avatars) physical traits, in her case she's probably able to smell some nearby organic matters and sense something cat can sense with their whiskers already.
He takes out an item wrapped in a piece of cloth and unwrapped it. It's a bottle of potion, he also received from completing the animal shelter's quizzes too. It's called 'Feral Feline's Silver Vine', how it works is slightly different from a normal silver vine, It simply makes any NPC or Players with feline traits go wild and attack whatever is in their way with all they got.
He opens the bottle to let the smells float in the air. As soon as Xiao Bai Mao smells it, the whole area filled with killing intension, Xiao Bai Mao herself even forgot that her physical body is sitting in the chair in front of the computer screen. Her cat eyes pupils widen as she attacks Tian Xia Di Yi, this time with a bite. Her jaws and fangs are sharp enough to rip some monster's fur and flesh apart, she didn't even know if her physical finger is still tapping the keyboard or not. Everything suddenly turns black and the only thing she knows is...
'crap, I guess somehow I want to kill him with all I got in all of the sudden, is this what it's called instinctive respo-'
And she turns unconscious
.
.
.
.
"What's your real name, brother veterans?"
He hesitates for a moment about his identity, then remembers how she's only a week old in this game and doesn't know any professional player yet, how many people in this world would have that same first and last name?
"Surname is Sun, the name is Liang. Liang that means bright"
"Sun Quan's son?" Xiao Bai Mao tilted her head a little, She remembers some 2nd generation Romance of the Three Kingdoms characters' names, and Sun Liang's name reminded her of Emperor Sun Quan's son.
"Ah... sure we have the same name, but mine was meant to be named after Zhuge Liang, my surname just happened to be Sun haha.." He laughed awkwardly.
"What about you? What's your name?"
Xiao Bai Mao hesitates for a moment then turns her head away. She looks at Sun Liang for a moment, thinking something on her mind, then answers...
"Surname is Xiao, the name is Ping... Ping that means duckweed"
