First Kill Team

"What's up?" Chen Guo asked in return.

"If you're going to pull an all-nighter, then you stay here, and I'll go sit in the smoking area," Ye Kai said.

"If you go sit in the smoking area, then who's actually on duty, you or me?" Chen Guo said, annoyed.

"Oh, then how about you move somewhere else? You don't like the smell of smoke, right?" Ye Kai suggested.

Chen Guo was on the verge of tears. Although she understood that he was considering her feelings, she couldn't help but feel rejected.

Meanwhile, Ye Kai was already holding a pack of cigarettes, signaling to Chen Guo that it was time for her to make a decision: either stay and cover for Ye Kai or go play elsewhere.

"Forget it, I'm not playing anymore. I'm going to sleep," Chen Guo said abruptly, quitting the game and leaving.

Ye Kai watched Chen Guo leave and noticed that she had left her account card on the table. It wasn't forgotten; Chen Guo treated the internet cafe like her home, and it was normal for her to leave things around. An idea popped into Ye Kai's head, and he quickly called out, "Boss, you forgot your card. Do you want me to level up your account tonight?"

"Do whatever you want," Chen Guo replied casually.

Ye Kai nodded, lit a cigarette with almost three hundred actions per minute, and put it in his mouth. The battle against the Skeleton Warrior continued, but Ye Kai was unaffected by the multitasking. Soon, the Skeleton Warrior was defeated. The sword Ye Kai needed was already on the ground. He picked it up and ignored the rest, while Tian Qi and the others didn't hesitate to take the equipment according to their professions and sweep the rest of the materials into their bags. Tian Qi said, "Brother expert, we're planning to keep the high-level materials from the hidden bosses we got yesterday and sell them later when the price goes up. Right now, in the new zone, there are only swindlers buying at low prices. We'll sell them when the price stabilizes and then give you your share of the money."

"I've already taken my share. The rest is yours," Ye Kai said.

"The more capable should take more. Don't be too modest, brother expert," Tian Qi said.

Ye Kai just smiled and didn't say much more. The four of them continued to clear the dungeon, and Tian Qi asked, "Do we want to add another person?"

Ye Kai understood what he meant; they had already obtained what they needed. Adding another person to the team would make things more efficient.

"Whatever! But I'm only leveling up to 20 today. After that, I'm going to help a friend level up," Ye Kai said.

"Oh, okay. Do you need our help?" Tian Qi asked, having overheard Ye Kai's conversation with Chen Guo, even though the microphone wasn't turned off.

"No need, you guys just do your thing," Ye Kai said.

"Okay," Tian Qi and the others didn't pry further. They had only known Ye Kai for a day, and although relationships in online games can develop quickly, as adults, they still knew their boundaries.

After leaving the dungeon, Tian Qi started calling for people to join the team. It was easy to form a team in the new player zone, and from a long list of applicants, Tian Qi eventually picked a level 17 female player to join the team.

The female player's name was Chen Yu. After joining the team, she was thrilled to see the names on the member list.

Tian Qi, Mu Yun Shen, Qian Sheng Li, Jun Mo Xiao—wasn't this the team that achieved the first kill in the Spider Cave and against the Spider Lord? She couldn't believe she had the chance to join such an expert team, and as soon as she connected to voice chat, she expressed her excitement to everyone.

Thanks to the widespread use of the voice system in Glory, it was nearly impossible for players to pretend to be the opposite gender. When players interacted, they would use voice chat, and any female character who only typed and never spoke would immediately raise suspicions. Of course, if a male player had a voice that sounded like a woman's, that was a talent that others could hardly guard against.

Tian Qi and his friends listened to the girl speak, and without much thought, they all took a turn walking in front of her character, about a meter away. Ye Kai knew they were checking out her appearance.

In Glory, there were only two character templates, male and female. Players could customize their appearance and body type using an editor, either by designing it themselves, generating it randomly, or for those who preferred realism, by scanning their own photo into the editor. After providing some basic data, the editor could automatically generate a game character model that closely resembled the player. Therefore, whether the appearance of a female player in the game was her real one was a matter of great concern to male players. Some experienced players claimed they could tell at a glance whether a female player's appearance was real or fake.

Tian Qi and his friends didn't seem to have this "wolf-like" ability. After observing the newcomer Chen Yu, they concluded she was "ordinary," unable to tell if her appearance was real or not.

Chen Yu, however, was very proactive. After expressing her admiration for the first-kill team, she felt honored to join them. She then expressed surprise that the experts were still at level 18 and finally submitted her application to become a permanent member of the first-kill team.

Tian Qi could only regretfully explain that their team already had another member who just couldn't make it today, which was why there was an open spot.

Chen Yu was very disappointed but didn't give up. Since she couldn't be part of the main team, she tried to secure a substitute position and inquired about their guild or organization.

This question was difficult for Tian Qi and the others to answer. It was obvious that outsiders revered them as an expert team. They hadn't entered the dungeon yet, and Chen Yu was the same. But as soon as they started the dungeon, any experienced player would immediately realize that only Jun Mo Xiao was the true expert in the team, and the others were not noteworthy.

Chen Yu's questions and expectations all fell on brother expert. Now she was asking about guilds... Tian Qi and the others did have a guild, but now they were basking in the glory of brother expert. To boast about their own guild would be like slapping their own faces.

"Uh, let's hurry up and get to the dungeon!" Tian Qi changed the subject, leading the way inside. Mu Yun Shen and the others quickly followed. Once inside, Ye Kai took charge, and as soon as he spoke, Chen Yu was surprised, "Eh, who's talking?"

She had been chattering non-stop since joining the team, interacting with Tian Qi and the others, but this was the first time Ye Kai had spoken since they entered the dungeon.

"Jun Mo Xiao, our team's expert. We owe our first kills entirely to him. Without him, our team is nothing," Tian Qi found the opportunity to speak the truth, feeling much relieved after saying it.

"Respect to the expert!" Chen Yu typed, adding an emoticon and her own voice.

"Hehe, let's go!" Ye Kai laughed and led the way. Commanding and slaying monsters, it didn't take long for his expert demeanor to become evident. However, in the face of such genuine skill, Chen Yu didn't react as excitedly as expected.

Tian Qi and the others realized that this girl was a true newbie player.

"This girl is ruined," Mu Yun Shen whispered.

"Yeah, starting too high. She's a newbie and has already seen such an extreme expert. How is she going to mingle with ordinary people later?" Tian Qi said.

"Tragic!" Qian Sheng Li sighed.