18. Elder Xu

"A piece of art, isn't it, my young Xu Lei?" The sudden words surprised him so much that he almost jumped. Then, from the corner of the room, an old man appeared, slightly hunching over. He was small, shrunk by his age. His head was mostly bald, with sparse, white hair growing here and there, accompanied by dark spots on his skin. His face looked like a raisin due to the wrinkles, and his eyes were just two lines with a dark spot in the middle - the iris.

In one hand, he held a red shard with a ball of light swimming inside it, and the other was placed on his back. "Grandpa Xu? What are you doing here, elder?" Xu Lei asked, not hiding his clear surprise. His mouth was wide open, just like his eyes.

"Dear boy, do you really think I would just ignore the fact that you bought this?" the old man pointed with the strange stone at the machine in the corner. "I was keeping track of the day just as well as you did," he smiled, briefly showing his lack of teeth. "I also knew you would be busy, so I waited to give you some time. But now I'm here, so tell me everything."

"Yes, elder." Xu Lei bowed slightly, then closed the door. "Please sit. I'll make some tea."

The old man chuckled in response. "Oh, please save your tea. I didn't come here for a drink, and even if I did, I would prefer some Baijiu instead. Now talk."

He first extended the shard towards the boy, who took it, then slowly went to sit down on the mattress. "Uhm... I barely started," Xu Lei informed, then went to lean against the washing machine with his back, just as he put the stone in his pocket. "I'm only getting accustomed. I told you, elder. This will take a long time. Rushing is not a good idea. The game is filled with secrets to the brim, so the people who just chase numbers won't be the ones at the top. They might be now, but this will begin to change after a year, two…"

The old man smiled again, showing his gums. "I remember, young Xu Lei. You also have to remember that I'm not getting younger, and this elder would like to see the people who killed his son pay the price. You promised you would avenge your father."

"And I will," Xu Lei said with a surprising burst of energy. A vein popped on his temple, indicating how angry he had become.

"This old man is only making sure you remember. You, the young, tend to lose focus on what is important and get distracted by new, shiny things," he said, nodding to his own words. "It is only the two of us now, Xu Lei. The rest of this rotten family doesn't care anymore. Move on, they say... But we, the two of us, we remember. Don't we, Xu Lei?"

"I will never forget, elder. It might be a slow process, but I promise you that this Xu Lei will get justice for both of us. They will pay," Xu Lei said, putting so much force into the last words that a little bit of spit fell out of his mouth.

"Your words make this elder happy," the old man said, standing up and revealing the hand he had kept behind his back the whole time. He held a thick red envelope. "Here. Take it. I saved it for you. It might not be enough for you to stop working, but it should at least ease your burden a little bit. Maybe you will stop eating those instant noodles and get some proper food. Pork and rice."

At first, Xu Lei hesitated, but then he took the money. 'Arguing with him won't end well, besides I could really use some...' he thought. "Thank you, elder," he said out loud, using both hands to receive the gift while bowing politely. "As for the work... I'm working on it."

"The guilds you spoke to me about before? So this is why you were so late," the old man nodded, and the smile once again blossomed on his face. "How did it go?"

"Terribly," Xu Lei admitted. "They may have had sponsorship from a company, but they weren't the right people. I can't work with just anybody. I need the right group. A group that will understand that this is not just a game you beat because you know how the previous one worked, and you will keep leveling up. They didn't know that."

The old man sighed, sending a chill down the boy's spine as he anticipated an argument to start. "You understand this better than this elder, Xu Lei. So I will leave it in your hands. As a simple man, I can only tell you that the more work you put into something, the better you will get at it."

His words surprised Xu Lei, and he remained frozen in shock for an entire second before he smiled. "This is different. You can't clear the game alone. You need other people, and they have to be the right people for you. Otherwise, everything will fall apart eventually," he explained.

"This elder trusts you," the grandpa repeated himself. "Now eat and get to work," he said before heading towards the door.

The boy stood there, watching the man leave with a heavy heart. After all the old man was the only one who understood his pain. As soon as he disappeared from sight, the boy's eyes darted down to the envelope in his hand. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of the generous sum of money that lay within. It was enough to sustain him for months, maybe even a year, if he managed it carefully.

But he quickly shook his head, scolding himself for even considering such a thought. This was a long-term game, not a short-term fix. He carefully hid the envelope in the mattress and walked over to the corner of the room, where a small cardboard shrine sat. He reverently placed a jagged shard of glass on top of it, then turned to prepare for his evening ritual.

After washing up and cooking some noodles, he crawled into the capsule and fixed his helmet. It took a few frustrating moments to untangle the cords, but he finally managed to settle in and the machine activated automaticaly. As the colorful LEDs flickered to life, he could feel the familiar tingle of excitement and curiosity building inside him. The quiet humming of the computer further heightened his anticipation.

With a deep breath, he pressed the button and watched as the lid of the capsule slowly closed, enveloping him in a cocoon of shadows pierced only by the rainbow light. "Set alarm at 5 in the morning, and start the game," he spoke to the machine, his voice barely above a whisper. The humming sound and the lights died, leaving him in complete darkness.

Suddenly, a voice whispered in his ear, "Welcome to 'The Elysia', Xu Lei. Your adventure begins now." A bright light flooded his vision, and he could feel the rush of adrenaline surging through him as he was transported to another world.