Ye Kai retires 1

Chen Guo still didn't understand. Even if Ye Kai didn't mind, how could the others accept him into their team?

"What exactly happened?" Chen Guo asked.

"I guess they initially added me to the team intending to set me up, but after seeing how well I played and realizing I was of great help to them, they let me off," Ye Kai said.

"So you're just willing to work for them like this? Don't you have any ambition?" Chen Guo felt indignant on behalf of Ye Kai.

"It's alright, no big deal," Ye Kai said, as he took down a spider king surrounded by five players on the screen. Chen Guo saw a series of system messages in the information column, showing that his teammates Tian Qi, Yue Zhong Mian, Mu Yun Shen, and Qian Sheng Li all chose to pass on the loot dropped by the spider king.

"What does this mean?" Chen Guo was surprised.

"I'm a big help to them, so they insisted I pick the loot first. Ah, there's no helping it!" Ye Kai said, and also decisively chose to pass. With the priority to choose, he had already assembled a full set of blue gear, but these guys still wanted him to have a look.

Chen Guo was stunned. It seemed Ye Kai had been modest in his description. He wasn't just working for them; he was being treated like the boss. Having the first pick of the loot after a boss fight was a privilege reserved for the core members of a team. And that usually happened within a circle of friends who knew each other well, allowing the most hardworking person to choose first. But the team she was looking at? They seemed like enemies who had calculated against each other before going to sleep. How did it turn into them all becoming his followers overnight?

"Tell me exactly what happened," Chen Guo insisted, determined to get to the bottom of it.

"I was a big help!" Ye Kai repeated.

"How big of a help?"

"I led them to achieve the first kills of the Spider Cave and the Spider Lord," Ye Kai said.

"You achieved three first kills in one night?" Chen Guo was shocked. Her character, Zhu Yan Xia, had played for five years without witnessing a single first kill. Here was someone who, in less than 12 hours of playing overnight and into the morning, had achieved three first kills. The contrast was stark.

"Got lucky," Ye Kai said, stretching and standing up from his seat. The team had already exited the dungeon, and faint farewells could be heard through the headset. Ye Kai grabbed the headset from Chen Guo, shouted a couple of goodbyes into the mic, and then logged off the game.

"I'm so tired, I'm going to sleep," Ye Kai said.

"Do you want to eat something before you sleep?" Chen Guo asked, eyeing Ye Kai. Honestly, she couldn't see any sign of "tiredness" on Ye Kai's face. He had been up all night and morning, looking a bit listless, but he had appeared just as lifeless when they first met yesterday, so the lack of sleep didn't seem to have taken much of a toll on him.

"No need, I'll eat after I wake up," Ye Kai turned off the computer, greeted her, and left. Chen Guo had given him the key to the suite on the second floor the day before. He opened the door to his modest storage room and went straight to sleep. The room was quite suitable for sleeping during the day; once the door was closed, there was hardly any light disturbance, thanks to the small window at the top.

Ye Kai fell asleep quickly and slept soundly. When he woke up, it was dark again. It was hard to imagine how someone who had just experienced significant ups and downs in life could sleep so soundly. Sitting up in bed, Ye Kai didn't bother to turn on the light. He lit a cigarette, quietly finished it, and then got up and left the room.

Both bedroom doors in the suite were locked. Ye Kai knew one was occupied by Chen Guo, and the other by a girl named Tang Rou, reportedly the longest-serving employee at Xing Xin Internet Café, having been there for nearly two years. However, she had taken a few days off and wasn't around. Other employees who needed accommodation lived in a nearby apartment complex, where Chen Guo rented a suite specifically for her staff. Ye Kai was currently on the waiting list for a bed there; Chen Guo had mentioned that he could get a spot once someone left.

While going to the bathroom, Ye Kai noticed a sticky note on the mirror. Out of boredom, he glanced at it and realized it was addressed to him. Chen Guo had prepared toiletries for him and placed them on the shelf.

Ye Kai peeled off the sticky note, feeling a bit bewildered. Mainly, he hadn't expected this new boss to have such a thoughtful side. As for being moved, such a small gesture wasn't enough for that, but he was grateful.

After freshening up, Ye Kai checked the time; it was already past nine o'clock. He hadn't eaten all day and needed to find some food. Leaving the suite and entering the internet café, he felt something was off. The second floor was a premium area with higher charges, but it was unusually quiet at the moment. Ye Kai found it strange and headed downstairs, only to find it getting darker—the first floor of the internet café hadn't turned on the lights.

"What happened?" Ye Kai looked around in confusion. Although the lights were off on the first floor, there were quite a few people, some even crowded in the aisles. On the south wall, a 200-inch projection screen hung high, displaying images from a projector, with the sound echoing throughout the café. Everyone was quiet, whether sitting at computer stations or standing in the aisles, seemingly forgetting the internet café's purpose and treating it like a cinema, quietly watching the projection screen. Ye Kai soon heard the commentary, mentioning two names he was all too familiar with.

Ye Kai, One Autumn Leaf.

The projection was showing highlights from his career in Glory, with the commentator dramatically describing his series of achievements and honors.

Three-time league champion, three-time MVP, twice the top scorer, once the one-hit wonder.

Whether in team or individual competitions, Ye Kai was a pinnacle in the Glory Professional League, the target for all current Glory professionals to surpass.

"Next, let us remember the brilliant moments One Autumn Leaf under Ye Kai's control has brought us," the commentator said in a mournful tone, and the screen began showing One Autumn Leaf's unstoppable moments. These were scenes that could excite audiences at any time. However, at this moment, everyone in the internet café was silent, with no cheers or applause, just quietly watching each scene pass by, knowing that all of this had become history as of noon today.

At noon that day, the Jiashi Club held a press conference announcing the team captain Ye Kai's decision to retire.

This always-mysterious expert didn't even attend his own retirement press conference. Everyone only saw the retirement declaration signed by Ye Kai presented by the Jiashi manager. The Jiashi manager then claimed that Ye Kai, having retired, declined the club's offer for other positions and had already left the Jiashi Club alone.

The screen continued to flicker with battles, skirmishes, and records, with the commentator timely explaining, gradually moving to Ye Kai and Jiashi's recent dismal situation. In the audience of the internet café, there were faint sounds of sobbing.