The top ranked of a VRMMO retires for two years until she’s convinced to play its successor. This is her journey to becoming the top ranked play again.

Zhang Zian stopped for a moment and waited for the stray dog in front to run away before he continued to move on.
Different organizations had different assessments of the epidemic status of rabies in Egypt, some of which gave the same high-risk rating as China. Others believed that only wild animals in Egypt had been found to have rabies, and thus the country had a lower risk than China. But it was not clear that in this standard, stray animals were not considered wild animals.
In short, Zhang Zian did not want to test the effectiveness of the rabies vaccine in Egypt himself.
After a few minutes' walk to the northeast, passing by one dazzling temple after another, the number of pedestrians suddenly increased in front of him. Glancing at the map, he confirmed that he had reached the famous Khan el-Khalili market.
The Khan el-Khalili market was not 'one' market but a small commodity market composed of thousands of small shops in dozens of narrow streets and alleys. It mainly sold various handicraft products to tourists from all over the world. Of course, there was absolutely no lack of special snack shops for a full feast.
Whether it was the Hussein Square next to it or here, the Arabic-style buildings had replaced the high-rise buildings. If poets with romantic sentiments had been here, they would have marveled that they had entered the world of One Thousand and One Nights.
However, it was like a house in the Forbidden City. The first few times seeing it, it looked fresh and new, and one would be busy taking pictures, but it was the same after looking at it several more times. Plus these buildings were very old. Outdoor air conditioning units at least 20 years old were hanging shakily on the second floor, which was very worrying.
"Ahchoo!" Famous sneezed loudly, breathing through its nose, and said, "What a strong smell of essence!"
It wasn't just Famous who had a very sensitive scent of smell. Even Zhang Zian felt the overly strong essence smell coming towards him. He also felt that that the reason could be that the locals had strong body odor and did not bathe often, so it was very common to use essences here.
Perhaps because they did not like the smell of the essence, the stray dogs here had practically vanished.
Zhang Zian arrived early. There were not many pedestrians here because Egyptians usually had two meals a day, one at nine or ten in the morning and another at four or five in the afternoon. Dinner was the main meal, which was rich, and breakfast was just casual.
"Hullo!"
He heard a strangely pronounced greeting being called out.
Zhang Zian looked toward where the sound had come from and saw several local men in white robes sitting at the door of the shop on the street, bubbling as they smoked from water pipes. The silver water pipes were exquisite in craftsmanship, but the places they were often held were oxidized and blackened. They noticed Zhang Zian had black hair and yellow skin, and excitedly breathed out a cloud of smoke.
He hesitated for a while whether he should use Japanese, Korean, or Chinese to respond. In the end, he used Chinese as he waved and responded, "Hello."
His opponent repeatedly gestured and muttered something, like they were praising him for having a good cat and a good dog, and then invited him to come and smoke a water pipe.
Zhang Zian had no interest in smoking a water pipe, but he still politely went over to take a look.
These men knew how to enjoy life—smoking water pipes, drinking red tea, and playing Egyptian Mahjong. Seeing Zhang Zian come over, they enthusiastically invited him to sit and play Mahjong.
Zhang Zian could not even play Chinese Mahjong, much less to say Egyptian Mahjong. He hurriedly waved his hands to reject them.
But these men were still very enthusiastic—maybe a little too enthusiastic. One even took out the water pipe that was in his mouth and pushed it towards Zhang Zian's mouth, as if to let him smoke.
Were all the Egyptian citizens this warm-hearted towards foreigners?
But no matter how warm-hearted they were, Zhang Zian could not bring himself to use the water pipes that had been smoked for an unknown number of years.
It had to be made known that in addition to the world's largest number of stray dogs, Egypt also had the world's highest incidence of hepatitis C—15%. At least 3 million Egyptians carried hepatitis C virus, and almost every family had hepatitis C patients. Although theoretically, hepatitis C did not usually spread through saliva... One could be a coward at some essential times.
The large-scale spread of hepatitis C virus in Egypt had begun in the 1950s, when the Egyptian government used unsterilized needles to vaccinate the whole population. Since then, it had been irremediable, a typical example of a man-made disaster.
Some foreigners who had stayed in Egypt for a long time for business or personal reasons, or who were short-term travelers but had a cleanliness habit, even got hepatitis C vaccines before they left their home country, just in case.
Zhang Zian had not vaccinated himself against hepatitis C, and he did not want to take the risk. He counted the number of Egyptian men who smoked cigarettes in this row. There was a 15 percent chance one of them would be a carrier of the hepatitis C virus. It was almost like Russian roulette, exciting.
He was being entangled by these men and could not separate himself. He suddenly thought about the fact that he had followed online guides to purchase a lot of cooling ointment before he set out. According to the online strategy, it was said that Egyptians were extremely fond of Chinese cooling ointment, and he could even use it as tips sometimes. It was practically a hard currency.
And so he took out a few boxes of cooling ointment from his pocket, smiling and giving it to them.
Richard wasted no time in dubbing in Arabic, "Gah! Come here! The Emperor's version of cooling ointment from China is for you all!"
The men were stunned all at once, and there were incredible looks of surprise between their thick eyebrows and big eyes. They put down their water pipes and teacups and surrounded them. They did not play Mahjong anymore, either.
They were not surprised that Zhang Zian could speak such fluent Arabic. They were more more interested in the so-called Emperor's version of cooling ointment.
Egypt's heat and dryness was well known. It was not that the local people living here for a long time could fully adapt to this weather—the local people also felt hot, and they wore too much. It was just that they had no other way out. Not everyone had the money to emigrate.
The efficiency of the cooling ointment was very magical to them. It could not only relieve summer heat, but also cover their overly strong body odor. Much better than essence!
Zhang Zian could not understand Arabic, but he looked at them and noticed that the faces of these Egyptians were different. They stared at him with hunger and thirst as if they were wolves that had smelled blood. His chrysanthemum tightened, and he felt in his heart that being too handsome was not good. The f*ck? The sh*tty bird wanted to trouble him again, right? It looked like it was really going to be sent to KFC's kitchen!
After he cursed the one next to him, he thought that if these five big three thick men crowded around him, then he really could be covered all over with big men!
However, he very quickly realized that he was wrong. The one they were eyeing was not him, not his chrysanthemum, but instead, it was the cooling ointment in his hand!
He thought in his heart, he had known earlier that Egyptians liked cooling ointment, but they actually liked it this much? This was practically stealing in broad daylight!
Or was it that the cooling ointment he was holding was especially well liked by the locals?
In order to maintain the friendship between the people of China and Egypt, he had specially purchased a precious batch of cooling ointment and spent a lot, carrying it to Egypt in his suitcase.
It wasn't not the so-called low-end trash from the Taobao Explosion, but the stuff from the Pinduoduo Explosion!


1. Download a suspicious game
2. Catch a few magical pets as partners
3. Go through interesting daily routines and lead the pet shop to a whole new level

Dream Dota League official website, Play Together official website, Easy Net, Soulang, as well as all the web portals in Heavenly State, published such a piece of news at the same time, a piece of news which could be said to have broken down the barriers between entertainment and sports!
Main title: Sports department, the Films and Entertainment department joint document—Sports department, entertainment department published [2014] number 159.
Title: "A notice by the Sports department, the Films and Entertainment department, regarding the combination of sports and online gaming to create the E-Sports".
Content: Various provinces, autonomous regions, relevant departments of the direct-controlled municipalities:
A few days ago, Dali Technology's made a huge breakthrough on how to blend both sports and games, and this has made a positive and active impact towards improving the physical fitness of the citizens of Heavenly State.
"Dream Dota League" (Abbreviated as Dream Dota) which was developed by the company will adopt this brand new technology, and currently, it has already perfectly combined sports and gaming. It will allow the public to exercise their bodies well while playing games at the same time.
Image attached—Below are a few pictures of how the gaming chamber looks like at its preliminary stage.
Due to Dali Technology's outstanding contribution to Heavenly State, the related notices are as follows:
One: Sports department and Films and Entertainment department officially announce that they will, three months after this technology has been completely developed, hold the first Dali Amazing Cup E-Sports competition. The competition will be broadcasted through Dali Technology's Holographic Projection Technology. The designated game in the competition is "Dream Dota".
Two: Due to Dali Technology's outstanding contribution towards Heavenly State, Dali Technology will be specially conferred the title of "Heavenly State's National Outstanding Technological Research Center", and Dali Technology's CEO, Hong Dali, will be conferred the title of "National Wellbeing and People's Livelihoods' Scientist", and confer Miss Lin, the main technician of Dali Technology, the title of "Big Engineer".
Three: Due to this game being able to raise the national standards by a very large amount, allowing citizens to train and exercise their bodies while gaming, and freeing themselves from the hidden risk of deterioration of physical fitness as a result of sitting in front of the computer every day, the related departments of the nation have specially decided that in the future, after the development of the game has been completed, the gaming chamber will be produced by state-owned corporations, and the selling price will decrease to the lowest to cater to the public. 
Four: The nation now encourages the citizens to test the "Dream Dota" game and pay attention to news regarding the development of "Dream Dota".
—Sports department, Films and Entertainment department.
…
Once this piece of news had been released, the entire world was in shock.
This time, it was different from the previous explosive popularity.
The players were first shocked and stunned for a few hours, and the entire internet was totally silent, then it was like an atomic bomb exploded!
After all, the entertainment aspect in this world had always been so-so, because people in this world were more concerned about sports and exercise. Many sports-related large scale events were extremely popular, and this was totally not something the entertainment industry could compare to.
Before Li Nianwei's appearance, the previously most popular Tai Yajing only had a net worth of a little more than 10 million. In the film aspect, an investment of 10 million or so was already considered a big production, and even Hollywood basically didn't have any blockbuster movies. Had it not been Hollywood wanting to save its face and thus wanted to defeat Hong Dali, it would totally be impossible for a blockbuster of 50 million investment to appear!
In this world, compared to the entertainment aspect, more attention was paid towards the development of sports events! Usually, there was plenty of people doing various kinds of sports and exercises. Everyone saw sports as beauty, and players who liked to play online games were almost all seen as the odd ones out. This was also the reason why Hong Dali was so unwelcomed previously when his health was poor. 
It was because this world valued sports too much. After all, the body was the foundation for everything.
But when Hong Dali launched such a gaming idea, everything became different. In fact, the previous night when the Bureau Chief heard of Hong Dali's plan, and Lin Chuyin said that this plan was feasible, the high executives of Heavenly State held an emergency meeting—thus, this real E-Sports concept could be launched so quickly.
And after this piece of news had been released, as expected, the entire Heavenly State erupted, and the world was shocked!
…
As a die-hard online gaming fan, Han Chengwen had been very entertained by playing games these few days. And during his rest time after getting tired from playing games, he liked to browse through the internet for the latest news.
It had to be said that Spiritual Sword was overall pretty good. Han Chengwen was very satisfied. As an awesome and very high-level professional player, his ability was unquestionable. He could be said to be an extremely influential gamer, the chairman of a clan with a few hundred people under him… Thus, he could be said to have gotten lots of fame.
But today, just after he exited from the game and logged in the Play Together official website to enter the forum to kill time and brag, he was attracted by a title—
"A notice by the Sports department, the Films and Entertainment department, regarding the combination of sports and online gaming to create E-Sports? What the heck, what is this thing?" Without any hesitation, he clicked into it, and upon taking a look, Han Chengwen was completely stunned!
"What the heck! A combination of sports and gaming! Nation greatly supports it!" With just these few key points, Han Chengwen was instantly excited!
"Dream Dota! It's Dream Dota!" Han Chengwen exclaimed in surprise. "It's the Dream Dota developed by Young Master! What the heck, this is awesome! This game is able to combine sports and gaming? E-Sports?!"
As an online gaming lover, Han Chengwen was, of course, a geek. And to geeks, their biggest dream was to be able to train themselves physically to woo girls while playing games…
Previously, he'd really only thought about it, but now, everything was different!
He could happily play games! He could do physical exercises at the same time while playing games! And he could also participate in competitions and earn prize money in the midst of playing games and doing physical exercises! And the most awesome aspect was that, in the future, his girlfriend would very possibly be a gaming lover as well! Once he thought of how he could probably play games happily with his future girlfriend…
Oh god, that type of life would totally be heaven, wouldn't it!
He hurriedly entered the Play Together forum. The number of Dream Dota posts almost blinded Han Chengwen!
Behind the Dream Dota League special zone, a huge figure impressively appeared—286,340! And the current most popular online game, Spiritual Sword special zone's number of posts, on the other hand, was 225,498 posts!
That meant that within a short two days' time, the popularity of Dream Dota League had already surpassed Spiritual Sword's!
"Say no more, I'll go and find my brothers to play it!" Han Chengwen directly took out his smartphone.
Very soon, the call was received, and Han Chengwen shouted incessantly, "Country bumpkins, quickly wake up and look at god!"
The person on the other end of the call was evidently groggy. "What's the matter, look at god? It wasn't easy for me to dream of a pretty girl just now, and then it was messed up by you…"
"Dream my foot! This time, there's real, pretty girls!" Han Chengwen shouted, "Hurry up. Get up and go see the headlines of Play Together official forum's main page! Quickly go and take a look, our dream age has arrived! What the heck! Within such a short time, the number of comments has already exceeded 200,000!"
"What the—what kind of news is so powerful?!" The other person hurriedly got out of bed, and after a short while, he screamed, "Damn it, am I not awake yet! Really? E-Sports?! A combination of sports and gaming?!"
"Of course it's real! What kind of hero do you plan to play?" Han Chengwen anxiously said, "I'm planning to play as a mage!" 
"You should be good at operating and playing as a mage. I'll probably play as a tank!"
"Then it's settled!"
…
Chenhui Building, ninth floor.
Hong Dali lay on Li Nianwei's lap, smiling as he asked Ling Xiaoyi, "Xiaoyi, how are things going at Dream Dota now?"
Ling Xiaoyi looked at the report in her hands, smiled and said, "Young Master, currently, Dream Dota League has 40 servers open, and it looks like it's still unable to deal with the continually increasing number of players. Why don't… we open a few more servers?"
Hong Dali touched his chin and thought for a while, then he asked, "There's no rush. Sister Xiaoyi, help me find out how much money the most expensive and best servers cost. I want the best ones, the most advanced ones! The ones that operate the fastest!"
"This…" Looks like Young Master wants to play it big! Ling Xiaoyi hurriedly went out to ask and very soon returned. "Currently, the most powerful server on sale in the world is produced by IM, and it needs to be ordered. They're now calculating the price."
"Ask them to contact me." Hong Dali added, "Get someone who knows Chinese, I don't know how to speak English."
"O… OK…" Ling Xiaoyi hurriedly went to make the call. Very soon, Hong Dali's smartphone rang, and a young male voice respectfully said, "May I know whether it's Mr. Hong Dali? I am the manager of IM Asia."
"Yes, it's me." Hong Dali humphed. "Xiaoyi has talked to you, right? I want the most powerful server in the world. State a price. And don't talk nonsense, I don't have much time."
The person at the other end of the call was evidently stunned for a while, then he hurriedly replied, "Mr. Dali, currently, the most powerful server costs 146 million USD…"
"State it in terms of yuan." Hong Dali humphed again. "I don't use USD to count money."
"165 million, Mr. Dali!" The person at the other end of the call was evidently very nervous—Looks like this Mr. Dali doesn't have a good temper…
"How long will it take to be installed?" Hong Dali humphed yet again. "I'm a lazy person. I hate troublesome things." 
"The fastest would be…" The Asia region manager thought for a while. "At least 10 days or so."
"I'll round it up to 200 million. I want to see the goods two days later." Hong Dali sniffled. "If you accept the order, I'll give you 100 million as deposit in the afternoon. If you don't accept it, I'll find another person."
"Accept!" Initially, the person was still rather hesitant, but upon hearing that Hong Dali would round it up to 200 million… Whoever didn't accept it would be a fool!
"That's good…" Hong Dali humphed. "I like decisive people. Send someone over in the afternoon with the contract." 
"O… OK!" The Asia manager was elated as he hung up the call…
"Dali, you aren't planning to…" Tang Muxin carefully asked, "Concentrate all the players in the entire Heavenly State in one server, right?!"


"I have to squander; otherwise, won't it be a waste of my parent's talent at earning money?" Hong Dali answers a reporter's question matter-of-factly. 

Just after the interview ends, Hong Dali opens the Great Prodigal System's interface and looks at the various good stuff displayed in it. Stroking his chin, he mumbles to himself, "I just need to squander 200 billion yuan more to exchange for the blueprint of the core technology, Engine Destruction, found in the strongest humanoid mecha weapon, Neo Granzon. Looks like I'll have to work harder!"

"I want to splurge! I want to squander!"


After Lars healed up at the base and purchased Fury Knuckles Lv.2, he returned to the lane. Next, it was Yuel's turn to recall.

"The Viking revived but it'll take him a few seconds to get to lane," Yuel informed before leaving. "So, this will be a pure 1v1 situation. If you got an opportunity, go for the kill."

"Gotcha, dude," Lars nodded and a familiar grin formed on his face. The beast was exposing its fangs with murderous intent. He was totally going to push for a kill, wasn't he? Thankfully, this was a great situation for that kind of aggressive stunt, so Yuel had no objections.

"Okay!" Lars exclaimed. "Let's rock n' roll!" 

After the enemy Pyromancer finished clearing the minions, the lane became a 1v1 arena for Lars and Kai. This gonna be good!

[C'mon! Come at me, dude!] Lars used a taunt animation from the middle of the lane.

[This punk wanna go at it, huh,] Kai accepted the challenge and advanced along the lane. She had to spend Flame Wave on the minion wave, so her offensive options were restricted right now. Nevertheless, that won't stop her from crushing that guy.

"I think you better wait," Vincent advised. "I'll be back on lane in a jiffy."

"Huh? You're saying I can't win this 1v1?"

"Um, well," Vincent rolled his eyes as he searched for an appropriate answer. "Can we just call it an unnecessary risk?"

"There's no risk if I'm going to beat him."

"Yeah, that's true, but..."

"So, you ARE saying I can't win this fight. Why? Because he's a guy?" 

"No no no, that got nothing to do with it. This guy is just pretty damn strong. He's the Insane Beast of the Apocalypse!"

"Sounds like a small fry."

"By what absurd standard!?" Vincent laughed in shock. Welp, there was no changing Kai's mind once she had her mind set on fighting somebody, especially when the opponent was a guy. All Vincent could do was hurry to the lane and hopefully prevent the inevitable disaster.

[Hmph,] Kai scoffed. [Taking me lightly like that. I'll show him I can beat any guy at this game!]

Kai darted straight at her enemy. She gonna run over that guy real quick- bam! Huh!? A shot pierced her shoulder!

"Eh?" Kai took a step back. She needed a moment to understand what the hell just happened.

Was she already within Gunslinger's attack range? She must have barely touched the tip of that range, yet a bullet came flying at her right away. That was some impressive zoning...

Kai originally planned to start juking once she gets closer, but this opponent had no intention of letting her get any closer. This guy was a good shooter, Kai had to hand it to him. How did Vincent call it again? "Gangnam Style Sniper" or something? Not too shabby.

As a mid-range Pyromancer, how should Kai approach here? She had to get in before she can start dishing out attacks. But, this guy gonna shoot her a few times before she even gets a chance to get close. This was bad.

[Am I seriously thinking so hard about it?] Kai frowned. She never felt such intimidation from a single opponent. Something about that instantaneous shot sent a chill down her spine. It was a zero tempo shot. There was no even time to react. To get around such shots, she'd have to dodge them before even realizing she had to dodge.

In none of her online matches, neither against Diamond players nor against Challenger players, did Kai ever encounter such precision. This will be a tough fight, she could already tell.

"What's wrong?" Lars asked. "If you ain't coming, then I gonna come at ya!" He rolled forward with Combat Roll. All-out attack, yo!

Right as he recovered, he booted Fan the Hammer. The Gunslinger spun the hammer of his revolver and took aim. A barrage was incoming!

Bam! Headshot! The first shot landed without any trouble. The enemy Pyromancer was totally fazed and didn't even move! Lars gonna take her down ez! He could even go for three headshots in a row! He was feeling it right now!

The next shot came out right away! The Pyromancer took half a step to the side in a poor attempt to dodge. It wasn't nearly enough. Bam! Another headshot! Lars had this! One more headshot and Kai gonna get stunned!

[It's so fast...!] Kai bit her lip in frustration. Reacting to these shots by sound was impossible. But, she got two samples of their beat. The third one was going to fire at the exact same timing, so she had to dodge... Now! She rolled aside!

Whish. The bullet cut through empty air.

"Wha!?" Lars exclaimed. What sick dodge, yo! He was perfectly locked on Kai, but she just barely slipped away at the last moment. She literally escaped death there.

But wait, it ain't over yet! He had two more shots left. This was no time to be impressed!

[Geh, a headshot seems rough,] Lars gave up on that and aimed for Kai's body while she was recovering. It was a shot she couldn't dodge, so it easily dug into her back. It wasn't a headshot so there was not critical damage, but it was still a decent shot.

With that momentum, Lars gonna land the final shot too! This time, it'll be a headshot! His aim was spot on, so this one gonna hit!

... or not. Kai sidestepped the shot in the last moment.

[Phew, barely made it.] Kai sighed in relief. Even though she got the timing down by now, it was incredibly difficult to dodge such fast shots. But, she somehow made it.

[Geh, seriously? But okay, she's low.] Lars chased his prey. Kai was at 20% HP while Lars was completely healthy at 100%. So, he gotta go in and get that kill!

[Damn, this is bad.] Kai turned around and booted Burning Spirit. She had to concede she had no chance right now. It's not like Kai was weaker than that guy or anything, it's just that the enemy caught her at a disadvantageous position. Therefore, this called for a tactical retreat.

"You ain't gonna get away, yo!" Lars chased and landed a shot on her back. Ez hit.

[I remember the timing for these.] Kai repeated in her head to confirm: wait, wait, dodge. There was nothing she could do about the first shot, but from now she had the timing down for all the upcoming shots. Therefore, she'll dodge everything and get away alive!

[Okay!] Lars fired again... but he missed! "What the-!? I swear, this Pyro's sidesteps are outta this world!"

"She got your pattern down," Yuel explained. "You should delay your shots to mix up the timing."

"Yeah, I was getting that feeling too," Lars waited a brief moment before firing the third bullet.

Right there! The Pyromancer moved! If Lars fired quickly like usual, he probably would have missed.

[So, that's your game.] Lars grinned. [No idea how ya doing it, but it's sick! Not gonna work on my 200% Accuracy, tho.]

Bam! Headshot!

"Wha-!?" Kai exclaimed. [Again? Did I mistime it? Or, did he delay on purpose? Either way, this is bad news.]

Kai was down to 8% HP. One more headshot will seal the deal. Alternatively, two normal shots would do. So, she absolutely had dodge all incoming shots no matter what.

[One more headshot and it's over!] Lars licked his lips. He just had to catch up to her with a roll and then he gonna be ready to deliver the finishing blow!

"The Viking might get there soon," Yuel warned. "Be ready to escape after you get the kill."

[The Viking?] Lars's brain stopped for a moment. He glanced at the corner of the jungle and saw the figure of the Viking.

If Lars dives any further into enemy territory, he might get the kill, But, then he'll have to 1v1 that Viking. It gonna be a nasty fight. He might die.

Even worse, what if he fails to get the kill after rolling? Then, this entire play gonna be a waste and he gonna find himself dead. It'll be exactly like these traps he was repeatedly running into during the selection match. Every time, he chased Ellen thinking he gonna get that sweet kill but instead he wound up dead with zero kills.

Should he chase this kill anyway? This Pyromancer has already dodged a bunch of his shots, so there's no guarantee he'll land the next shot after the roll. It'd be easy on PC, but on tablet it was iffy.

So, this play might be suicide. Geh, what was the right course of action!? Damn, if only his ult was online right now, then it'd be a guaranteed hit...

While he was racking his brain over it, his fingers came to a halt on their own. He didn't dare to chase any further.

This was a risky play. It's the kind of play that cost games. If only Lars didn't take so many risks during the selection match, he and Yuel would have been on StormBlitz's first-string right now.

So, no. He won't chase. Lars turned around retreated.

"You're giving it up?" Yuel asked.

"Y-Yeah," Lars produced a dry laugh. "That Pyro is slick, so she might dodge my next few shots. I shouldn't overextend like that with the Viking around the corner, right? Gotta play smart and stuff."

"Well, that's certainly the safer approach, but..." Yuel wasn't sure what to say.

The prey was right within Lars's grasps. One or two more shots and Lars would have gotten this kill. It's true that Kai has successfully dodged many of Lars's shots so far, but she probably wouldn't have been able to estimate the timing for Lars's shot after a roll. Therefore, chasing all the way should've been a safe bet.

However, Yuel was basing all of that on empirical evidence. He didn't know for sure how Kai managed to dodge all these shots, so maybe he was wrong about Lars's chances. Still, the risk-reward ratio heavily leaned in Lars's favor. Even in case Lars failed to get the kill, he wouldn't have had much trouble retreating because Vincent's ult was on cooldown. So, at best, Lars would have gotten a kill there and, at worst, he would have retreated without receiving much damage.

Nevertheless, Lars decided to retreat right away. The ever-hungry beast gave up on his meal just like that. What's next? Are elephants gonna rain from the sky?

Then again, maybe that's the mentality they should adopt from on: less risk, more reward. If a play might lead to disaster, they should avoid it unless they were 99% sure they were going to nail it. If they play safe like this, the enemy won't be able to exploit their aggressiveness anymore. So, in the end, perhaps Lars made the right call after all.

"Whaaaaaaat?" Vincent's jaw dropped as he arrived on the lane. "Gunz didn't go for the kill? But, the Insane Beast of the Apocalypse..."

This match was so weird. The Golden Duo was definitely as strong as he remembered them, but they were missing that spark they showed during the scrimmage with the Leopards.

In this match, Chessmaster and Gunz played very reservedly. It didn't mean they were playing bad because, despite everything, they were still holding the upper hand. Nonetheless, it felt wrong somehow.

["The Golden Duo falls into a slump!?"] Vincent came up with a clickbait title for an article that would have definitely hit over a thousand clicks if Chessmaster and Gunz were celebrities. Though, even if they were, Vincent could never bring himself to post such a thing...

[Enough, enough. Focus on the game.] Vincent shook his head. The problems of the Golden Duo weren't his concern right now. None of that changed the fact they were strong adversaries and Vincent had to do his best to beat them, even though he knew it was futile.

"That damn Gunslinger..." Kai muttered. Her eyes glinted like a polished dagger.

[There it is, the Pheromone Buster.] Vincent smiled wryly. He knew that even though Kai slipped away alive, that 1v1 must have been embarrassing for her because Gunz basically ran all over her. This girl won't let that stand.

Therefore, that triggered the Pheromone Buster! It was a special ability akin to a berserker switch. Sometimes it worked in Kai's favor by giving her great strength, but other times it blew up in her face.

Which one will it be this time? Welp, with Chessmaster's Mystical Eyes of Weakness Perception in play... This sure gonna be interesting! More scoop for Vincent to write about!

After Kai healed up at the base and returned to lane, Pheromone Buster was in full effect and it was immediately apparent. Instead of maintaining a safe distance from her enemies as a Pyromancer should, she advanced to the frontline way too often to intimidate and poke. Kai was out for blood.

"Yo," Lars grumped as he retreated from the Pyromancer's range again per Yuel's order. "This dude is pushing it. Can I just go at her?"

"Hmm," Yuel tried to process what was happening. Ever since that 1v1, the Pyromancer's game plan shifted drastically. She was no longer playing the safe spacing game Yuel praised before. Instead, Kai was advancing to the frontline as if trying to pick a fight.

What was the strategy behind it? This had to be some sort of adjustment from the enemy's side, right? After all, Yuel and Lars have been dominating the lane from early into the game, so the enemy must have switched to a more aggressive game plan.

It wasn't a bad idea to be more aggressive, but was that the entirety of the enemy's plan? Because, if so...

[They're not initiating a real fight.] This was very confusing.

The Viking closely followed the Pyromancer like a bodyguard but he didn't initiate any attacks. Any scary offense from that duo would have to start with the Viking initiating, but there were no signs of any of that coming. It felt like Kai was trying to push offense while Vincent was trying to maintain defense. There was a mismatch of interests. 

Was it some sort of trap? Were the enemy trying to lure Yuel and Lars into something? Yuel couldn't tell. The Pyromancer's careless advances left multiple holes in her defense, but Yuel wasn't sure whether they should go ahead and strike those.

Was it even necessary to do anything about it? Even though the Pyromancer was intimidating them, it wasn't like these advances helped the enemy win lane control. Yuel instructed Lars to poke Kai whenever she advanced to clear minions, so she couldn't stay on the frontline for long without eating damage. So, if Kai keeps going like this, she'll eventually burn herself out.

But, that was the bare minimum. Yuel saw multiple lines of plays he could go for to exploit flaws in the enemy's formation even further and assuredly get a kill on Kai. However, he didn't bring them up. There was no reason to take unnecessary risks when they could just slowly and surely grind their enemy to dust.

"Let's keep poking her," Yuel said. "I see some ways to go in for a kill, but they might be luring us into some sort of trap. I don't see a reason to take the risk."

"Yeah, sounds smart," Lars agreed, as uncharacteristic as it was. If even Lars wasn't gung-ho about going for a kill here, then Yuel definitely had no reason to go overboard. They should just take this game slowly and beat their opponents into submission step by step.

"Tch, they always run," Kai clicked her tongue. [What a bunch of wusses.]

[That's so odd,] Vincent tilted his head. Kai had many openings in her defense while under the effect of Pheromone Buster, so Chessmaster should've made a move by now. Even though Vincent has been doing his best to cover up for Kai, he was far from boasting godlike defense like Aegis. Therefore, Mystic Eyes of Weakness Perception should've discovered something by now.

"Can't you initiate already?" Kai asked.

"I can," Vincent said. "But, remember what happened last time? How do you suppose I get in their face without having the tables turned on me?"

"Git gud."

"Of course, the one and only answer to every video gaming problem," Vincent chuckled and shook his head. "I'm searching for openings. But, their formation is so tight they must be the reincarnations of legendary Roman soldiers. If you got any bright ideas, I'm all ears."

"... not really," Kai had to admit the enemy was playing solid. Her aggression didn't shake their formation at all and didn't create any openings for an initiation. The two guys just kept playing the patience game and spaced Kai out. [No balls, huh.]

In the end, the entire 2v2 match transformed into a battle of attire. Kai pushed and pushed and pushed as hard as she could, but the enemy spaced her out and poked her to oblivion. Eventually, she had to give up and return to base. Naturally, the enemy used that opportunity to push hard.

After this pattern repeated itself enough, Yuel and Lars eventually sealed the deal.

『VICTORY』

The usual message popped with fireworks and confetti to celebrate the occasion. But, it felt hollow somehow.

"We won, right?" Lars asked. 

"I believe so," Yuel nodded. "Look, the message says we won, right?" 

"Yeah, seems about right..."

Yes, they definitely won. They played the patience game and overpowered their opponents through counter picking and coordination. They could've gone for stronger plays but they still won, so that didn't matter, right? Right...

With this awkward feeling, the "friendly" match reached its conclusion.

Imagine a shonen sports story. But, it’s not about baseball or soccer. No, this one is about playing a MOBA video game!

And no, it’s neither League of Legends nor DotA. A BRAND NEW ORIGINAL MOBA, the one MOBA to rule them all - Classmancers!

The game has become so big, that even schools recognize it as a sport. They even allow students to participate in Classmancers clubs and compete against other schools! Who will be the one going to nationals!?

-------------------------------------

For Yuel, a team sport is like a chessboard that comes to life. There’s no greater fun than deconstructing every opponent and predicting twenty of their moves in advance.

And, Classmancers is the ideal stage for such psychological warfare, for it’s a sport in which game theory reigns supreme. At least, usually, it does.

There are also goofs like Lars, who got -200 IQ, yet boast godlike mechanical skill that triumphs against all odds. He’s like your typical OPMC which a cheat, except the cheat does nothing for his intellect.

Yuel and Lars are like water and fire. In other words, 100% compatible! That’s why they form an unlikely duo and set out to dominate Classmancers’ competitive scene!

However, to challenge their OPness, the two will run into rivals who are just as OP! Some of them will turn their teammates immune to Yuel’s psychological attacks, while others will redirect Lars’s almighty strength against himself.

In this harsh environment, the two will keep struggling, struggling, and struggling some more, following their promise to reach the pro scene.

-------------------------------------

NOTE: Since the site doesn't support italics yet, I'll be using [text] tags for thoughts in this version of the story.

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RELEASE SCHEDULE: Monday and Thursday. Two chapters a week.

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The next match was a great highlight as everybody wanted to see the two top teams as opponents going against each other even though we were picked to win this game, everybody was still was excited to see this game. We were facing a team that we lost to in my past life Notre Dame. Their team captain had wet online and was talking trash about our team, so I wanted to bring it to the next game. 
I had Coach G put me in for the whole game surprising him as he asked me whether I would get tired and he didn't want to risk me getting injured for this game since I was now his star player. I told him not to worry, and that he should just put me in since I knew my second ability will kick in, the unlimited stamina will definitely kick in during the game. The game finally started between Notre Dame and the Terps. This was a home game as we were playing in the Comcast Center and the Notre Dame team was the visitor. Due to the hype on this game and sold out tickets the school had hired a few performances before the game started and it seemed like it was more exciting than ever. All my family and friends had shown up to see this game since it was highly anticipated, the place was booked and packed full of people. The tickets were sold out and even some celebrities had come to watch the game. Riri had shown up to watch this game as she wanted to support me. I was surprised to get her text message saying that she was going to come for the game, she normally never came to my games so seeing her there made me slightly happy. Sandra and her beta team had also performed and when she saw that Rihanna had come and performed too she was slightly jealous because her performance was way better than theirs. Sandra didn't take it to heart because she knew that we were just friends and just enjoyed the show. The guys were making fun of me because Rihanna had come to see me but I told them that she just came to perform and that she was getting paid for it but later on we found out that she really did really come to perform for me which shocked me a little bit but at the same time I wasn't too surprised since I had hooked her up with some new songs. The game went on underway as we won the jump ball. Momba wanted to start with me so the coach allowed that to happen as he won the jump ball for us and quickly passed it to me. I took the shot right away as the whole crowd started cheering before the shot even went in. The Notre Dame players were shocked that I will take it from half-court and make it just like that. They had four good star players on their team, their guards with very good as they were extremely quick and nimble, as soon as I saw the guard that brought down the ball was facing up against me I noticed it was the same guy that was talking trash about our team online the day before the game so I decided to embarrass him in this game as I time froze and stole the ball from him when the time of freeze he saw that I had taken the ball from him and was rushing up the court he quickly chased after me. The guard had caught up but by the time he could even play any kind of defense on me I was already rising up for the dunk as he tried to block the ball but ended up fouling me making it a and one play. The guard had gotten dunked on and the whole crowd was hyped because of this, he didn't say anything after that as I had shut him up and put him in his place. The game continues on as we had a 20 point lead and they had zero. I wasn't giving them any chances as I kept stealing the ball from the guard eventually their coach had to bring in another guard but this guard I went easy on because he didn't come out talking trash but still by the time the half was over Momba and I had racked up quite a number of points. I didn't even give two hoots about the opposite team as I had ranked up my assist totals by feeding Momba mostly and had racked up 60 points by the half. I also had an all-time high steals with 30 steals everybody was shocked by this as they thought it was impossible. I had 15 assists, 60 points 30 steals and five rebounds. I needed 5 more rebounds in order to get my quadruple-double so I kept playing on to the next quarter and in the next quarter, I let them score a few points as they had taken out their starters long time ago in order to play their bench since it seemed like the starters had lost all their confidence playing in this game. I had thoroughly beaten them to the ground to the point of no return that even the guard who was talking trash was thinking about quitting basketball forever. The game went on as I had finally gotten my quadruple-double. I didn't score any more points but I did a lot of assists which got me up to 30 assists as I went to go sit on the bench with my quadruple-double, 60 points 30 steals 30 assists and 10 rebounds. The whole crowd was cheering for me and doing the three symbols as I want to sit on the bench. John and the crew was there and they were surprised to see such stats as they have never seen, even Michael Jordan in his prime time had not done such miracle numbers but there was a lot of haters out there that said that it was just college ball and that it was easy to rank up the stats but I didn't say anything about that as I knew when I get to the NBA I'll be able to do the same thing depending on how I felt I could even do more.


Eazy at 50years old woke up one day in his ten year old body happy about getting another chance at life. He gets info that he has three abilities.
This is my first time writing so I'm going to wing things as it comes to my mind please bare with me. Please point out any Grammer errors.

PS. THIS NOVEL IS NOT FOR THE WEAK HEART AND ITS NOT ALL SUNSHINE EVERYDAY THE MC WILL HAVE BAD DAYS SO IF YOU NOT READY TO SEE A MC TAKE A L PLEASE DO NOT READ.

RIP KOBE AND GIGI

Join our discord channel to discuss anything about this novel.
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Upon entering the restaurant, they were greeted by a beautiful and cute Demi-Human with cat ears and tail. She was wearing a beautiful light blue one-piece dress. "Welcome to Seafood of the Gods!" She smiled and bowed to them.

Theo nodded slightly and said, "Could you show us to a table?"

"Of course!" She nodded and asked, "May I know which floor you want to stay on? Be aware that the higher the floor, the higher the menu price will be." She said and began to look discreetly at Theo and the girls.

Looking closely at Theo's handsome, perfect face, she couldn't help but have pink cheeks. But as the professional she is, she managed to maintain her posture and tried not to look directly into Theo's intoxicating, charming golden eyes.

"We wish to stay on the highest floor." Theo smiled as he said, "I hope you can lead the way."

"Y-Yes, right away!" She answered and couldn't help being surprised to see Theo's smile. She even thought it should be a "sin" to have such a devilishly handsome and charming smile.

Shina and Yuki sighed, seeing this. But they already knew what would happen, for they too knew how handsome and charming Theo's smile was. But unfortunately, they couldn't just forbid him to smile at other girls…

The beautiful Demi-Human Cat calmed down and started leading the way for them.

Climbing a wide spiral staircase, they headed for the fourth floor of this restaurant.

Although it was a bit comical to see the Lobas sisters, Zaika and Zaira, climbing the stairs, they had no problem climbing them since the staircase was quite wide.

"Mommy, this place is fantastic, isn't it? "Little Yui said, looking around curiously. Everything here was new for her!

"Yes, thank your father later for bringing us here, okay?" Yuki patted her head softly.

"Hehee~ Yui will give you a big hug later, and lots of kisses on Daddy's cheek!" She put her hand in front of her mouth and laughed discreetly.

Seeing this, Yuki laughed and continued on towards the 4th floor of the restaurant.

Arriving on the 4th floor of the restaurant. They were greeted by the beautiful view of Ravena City as it had a massive glass wall in the 4th-floor lounge. Also, this room was considerably large. The size of the room was about 220.00 m2.

Also, the dining room was filled with well-ordered sturdy tables and chairs, and sofas and armchairs. In the middle of the room was a beautiful lotus chandelier, and there were small lamps on some tables.

Turning to Theo and the others, the Demi-Human Cat asked, "Sorry for my lack of finesse, but may I know how much you're willing to spend?"

Theo answered his question with another question: "Well, what is the average that people spend on this floor?"

"Hm. The average is 5 silver coins per person." She answered.

"I see." Nodding in understanding, Theo answered her question from earlier, "I am willing to spend up to 10 Gold Coins."

Surprised, she says, "Ohh! I understand. Follow me, please!" She began leading them to a large table where it had fancy armchairs and was large enough for them to sit together. The armchairs were also quite large and wide, which made it easy for Zaika and Zaira to sit on them.

The Demi-Human now seemed to be even more respectful of them. She politely handed them the restaurant menu.

Despite noticing her change in behaviour, Theo didn't care much about it. He simply started looking through the menu to see which dishes were offered.

They noticed a lot of dishes made with fish while others were made with oysters, shrimps, octopuses, squids, etc.

Saying they could order anything they wanted and not have to worry about the value, Theo chose a deal by the name of "Babylon Cabral." It was seafood in sesame oil with blades of red pepper and broccoli flowers with pumpkin risotto.

Yuki had already ordered a dish called: "Caitano." Made from Grilled Tilapia, Multigrain and Moqueca Parsley.

Shina chose: "Sogliola." Made from grilled sole with seven-grain risotto and fresh peas in shrimp sauce.

Little Yui wanted: "Shrimp Stroganoff."

Zaira wanted: "Curried Shrimp."

Zaika chose: "Kaikante." Made of grilled salmon, creamy sauce and Milanese risotto.

After finishing taking their orders, the Demi-Human Cat couldn't help but think of how lucky she was to have met them. Because, the more they spent, the higher her commission would be.

While waiting for the food, they looked around, appreciating how beautiful this restaurant's lounge was. It even had some good music playing. The view of Ravena City was also quite enjoyable to see.

Glancing in Shina's direction, Theo asked, "Shina, after here, do you want to go to the orphanage where you lived before?"

Shina nodded and replied, "Yes, I'd like to go there."

"Is that place fun, Shina?" Little Yui asked.

"Well, I think you'll like it! There are lots of kids to play with you there!" Shina smiled.

"Ohh! Then, I want to go there to meet them. Hehee." Little Yui smiled happily.

But Shina forgot a little detail at the time… because for Little Yui to have fun playing, it was always when she was fighting…! Imagine what would happen if they let Little Yui play with these kids…

While continuing to wait for their food, they continued to talk, especially about what they would do after the visit to the orphanage and whether they would stay for a few days in the city. Shina knew Theo didn't have to, but still, she asked if he would be interested in entering the Fallen Moon Sect.

But as she had guessed, he was not interested in entering the Sect. This was also because instead of helping to increase his cultivation, it would only restrict what he could do. With the Dimensional Room, he would have to be very careful using it if he was part of a Sect. So what was the point in that?

Of course, he managed to find out the most basic information over the Internet. For other things, such as techniques, Pill recipes, etc., it was all sold for a high price! But since he still didn't have any money registered to an online account, he couldn't buy anything online.

Despite owning the video of "Panic Interview!" and have earned some money, he would still need to be able to keep himself separate from that account. He didn't want to risk exposing himself.

But that didn't mean he would continue like this for long since he now had a large number of gold coins from Zing Lin Ming. He intended to deposit it into an online account so he could order things on the Internet.

"Shina?"

While they were talking and laughing, a young Demi-Human Coyote girl had appeared.

Shina looked at this Demi-Human Coyote and scornfully asked, "Yes, can I help you, Maura?"

Despite noticing Shina's scornful voice. This Demi-Human Coyote didn't seem to care, and said, "And to think you're still alive! Did you know we were all worried about you? I'm glad you're fine!" She said sarcastically.

Shina thought Maura's skin was even thicker than the walls of Ravena City and said coldly, "Don't come to me with your little games! I know you would be more than happy if I had really died!"

"Hahaha! Really… you're no fun at all…" With a sinister smile, Maura asked, "Tell me, how are those two sluts from the orphanage?"

Theo volts, an 18-year-old Brazilian, died on his way home as he was struck by lightning. Upon waking he discovers that he was no longer human but a red fox. In addition, he also came to discover that he was gifted with a miraculous system.

Defeating monsters and frantic animals, Theo climbed into his cultivation, turned into a golden fox and conquered a Goblin village.


https://www.patreon.com/Lruskaa

The first thing Fang Zhao did after returning to Yanzhou was buy a beginner's console online. It was as if Curly Hair had discovered a brand new world. He became addicted to the world of gaming. There was no end in sight. When he had been in Muzhou, he'd had to restrain himself, only sneaking into the gaming room to get his fix whenever he had the chance, but now that he was back in Yanzhou and he was all alone, Curly Hair could go all out.
But Fang Zhao only let him play single-console games. He wasn't allowed to go online.
Even though the internet was a simulated version of the real world, more often than not, you never knew whether an actual person or not was on the other end. Since using a 10th-generation console and becoming aware of the data collection Fiery Bird was conducting, Fang Zhao knew that there were no secrets in this virtual world, especially when it came to machines controlled by your brain. Folks of average ability could get by—no one would notice you—but if you stood out, people would investigate, and there were no secrets. Brain waves could be identified by certain markers. Fang Zhao didn't want to risk Curly Hair being singled out. Thankfully, for now Curly Hair was simply addicted to single-console games and knew he couldn't get online and go all out. 
Fang Zhao had learned of some of the conclusions from the investigation into the Dongshan Farm flying transport crash while chatting with Su Hou after returning to Yanzhou. The pilot of the transport had committed suicide. The other passengers were students from other continents holidaying in Muzhou. The pilot was a local Muzhou resident who had been recommended to them. Who could have known something like this would go down? The students had been heavily injured and even more traumatized than Su Hou, probably with lingering effects.
"There are two possibilities—either it's a sociopath or an enemy of the Su family." Su Hou had calmed down. In any case, threats like this had become routine.
Su Hou's father's other bastard sons wouldn't be so stupid as to target him like that. Typically, the elders didn't get involved in feuds between youngsters in the family; they tended to turn a blind eye. Adversity was the breeding ground for true leaders, after all, but the flying transport attack was the equivalent of throwing down the gauntlet to the Su family.
There was a limit to what Su Hou could say. He also wasn't privy to too many details. He was just a kid who wasn't particularly smart, so the elders wouldn't let him in on core matters before he raised his IQ.
"Seems that our community isn't entirely crime-free," Fang Zhao said.
"Indeed. There are many things that go down in the dark that are kept secret from the public, but most of these potential disasters are pre-empted. Today, they arrested two attempted bombers in the martyrs' cemetery. Events like these are never reported. Even folks who paid their respects today won't have noticed."
Memorial Day was when the martyrs' cemeteries saw their traffic peak. Apart from the cemetery guards assigned to the core area, the government typically deployed additional guards to ensure that worship activities could proceed uninterrupted.
Fang Zhao wasn't planning on joining the ruckus this year. His status was different compared to last year. He was a public figure with quite a few fans, so he planned on visiting the martyrs' cemeteries in various continents after Memorial Day, when there were fewer visitors.
With the Su family stepping in to contain the fallout over the Dongshan Farm plane crash, online discussion of the incident had tapered off significantly over the past three days. Regardless of how folks spun the event, whether it was a brilliantly executed marketing ploy or some earth-shattering conspiracy, the level of attention was declining with the approach of Memorial Day. 
On Jan. 20, Silver Wing's virtual projects and gaming departments held a joint press conference. The company officially announced that Jinro was taking over as captain of their gaming team and that Dorrian would serve as his deputy. Fang Zhao was scheduled to start his military service in April and would go on temporary leave. The departure of Fang Zhao didn't necessarily deal a blow to the team's prospects, though. Jinro had been personally trained by Fang Zhao. On paper, Fang Zhao was much younger than Jinro, but between Jinro himself or Silver Wing fans, no one considered it a problem. Fang Zhao's gaming prowess was a well-established fact.
Wayne also announced that the team would be adding new members in the near future, but their identities would be kept secret for now.
Silver Wing's performance the past few months had prompted quite a few pro gamers to consider jumping ship. This time, it was Wayne's turn to play hard to get. In the past, he'd had to make the rounds, begging people to join. Now he was the one being sought out. It was sweet vindication.
As the focus of the press attention, Fang Zhao was inundated with questions. Some journalists also asked him about the Dongshan Farm crash. Fang Zhao just waved it off as an accident without elaborating. Silver Wing's PR staff would follow up with journalists.
In other news, Fang Zhao also revealed during the press conference that Fiery Bird would soon be making an announcement about their 10th-generation console's protection mode, but that it recommended customers not try it out before then.
In fact, Fang Zhao hadn't been able to control the console on demand right away. He'd only went out on a limb because Su Hou had been in a bad spot, buried in rubble and struggling to breathe.
The other focus of the entertainment journalists was Fang Zhao's imminent military service. Celebrities entering the military always got the media excited. Reporters were always trying to find a point of controversy, like a certain star parlaying connections into an easy assignment, a star lying about working as a miner on a faraway planet while in actuality vacationing on a newly colonized planet, or someone faking their service records.
Many people wanted to use their connections to secure an easy posting. The thing was, only a few could manage to do so. Others could only watch with envy and vent their frustrations online, posting spiels about special treatment. Public figures like celebrities were a regular target.
If Fang Zhao received a relaxed posting, the pundits would show no mercy.
But Fang Zhao didn't announce any details about his assignment. Even Wayne didn't know. Duan Qianji asked Fang Zhao several times, but all he said was that he would decide after visiting his great-grandfather in Yanbei on Memorial Day.
On Jan. 26, Fang Zhao rented a flying car and drove from Qi'an to Yanbei himself with Curly Hair in tow.
Security was especially tight during the Memorial Day period, and the amount of vehicle traffic increased the closer to Memorial Day one got. Fang Zhao had to clear a security checkpoint before entering Yanbei's city limits.
There was tons of traffic and a long queue leading to the checkpoint. The good thing was that the security checks were quite swift. What seemed to be a long queue could in fact be processed quite quickly.
After lining up for about 10 minutes, Fang Zhao drove his car into the security checkpoint. Besides his car undergoing a scan for dangerous items, the driver's personal information also came up automatically on the screen of the inspector.
When he noticed Fang Zhao's personal details on the screen, the inspector's expression went from serious to surprised, but he regained his composure quickly. He walked out of his booth, approached Fang Zhao's car, and signaled Fang Zhao to lower his car window.
It was common for inspectors to randomly screen drivers and passengers in person, so the inspector's appearance didn't strike the drivers lined up behind Fang Zhao as odd.
The stern-faced inspector walked up to Fang Zhao's car. After Fang Zhao lowered his window, the inspector pulled out a paper notebook and pen from his pocket and handed them to Fang Zhao. "Sir, could I trouble you for an autograph?"
Fang Zhao eyed the inspector's tense expression and smiled. "Sure thing."
He took the pen and notebook, flipped to a blank page, signed his name, and then handed the pen and notebook back.
"Thank you." The inspector struggled to suppress his smile as he held off on taking his pen and notebook. Resuming his solemn expression as if he were conducting official business, he handed over a stamp pad. "Could I trouble your passenger in the back to sign as well?" 
Fang Zhao glanced at Curly Hair, who was kneeling on the back seat. He waved him over, grabbed one of his paws, placed it on the stamp pad, and then pressed it onto the inspector's notebook.
The inspector took his pen and notebook and tucked them away carefully. His face was still tense as he took a step back and bowed slightly. "Thank you! Happy Memorial Day! Welcome back to Yanbei. I wish you and your family good health and I wish you swift sailing."
"Happy Memorial Day!"
Fang Zhao closed his car window and drove away.


"Every time background music plays in my head, I feel like there is nothing to be afraid of." —Fang Zhao
Toward the end of the apocalyptic period, Fang Zhao lost his life. However, instead of dying, he found himself 500 years later in the body of a young and aspiring composer who shared the same name. Having received a second chance at life, Fang Zhao sets out to achieve the previous owner's dreams.
Armed with the experience of living through an apocalyptic age and his profession as a composer before that period, Fang Zhao uses his talent, wits, and knowledge to make his mark in the entertainment industry of the future.

Shin spoke directly,

"I don't care if people are dying. It just means they weren't good enough." He stood up, turning to Jason.

"Whether you call it in or not, Mark paid for these. He did this for us… So I'm going to at least try it." Shin let loose his weak grip.

"Unless you have 600 grand to pay me back that is!" Mark chimed in.

"6 hundr… you didn't pay near that!" This is extortion!

With reluctance, he gave in, "Well… a quick test run wouldn't hurt, but we can't play I.O. with these, it's too dangerous. I have a wife at home to live for." He picked up a large braided cord. "Co-Cr huh?"

———————————————————

Several hours flew by before they finished setting up all 3 devices. Shin and Jason decided to sleep over since they stay up until sunrise, and so, evening approached. 

Clang! Clang!

"Rise and Shine princess!" Mark yelled with two pans in his hands while Jason grinned next to him with a cup of coffee. Shin jumped in freight letting out a high pitched yelp indicative of an adolescent. It was like old times, the three of them together. Despite being pissed, having his friends back made Shin feel warm inside. 

Watching Mark reach out his right hand, Shin met it with a fist.

"Oh?" Mark remembered. This move was a sort of ritual he and Shin had always done before a tournament back in the day. Sort of like kissing a lucky egg, without the kissing. The tingling of his palm reminded him of the good days as a fire filled his belly. He nodded to Shin. Which weirded Jason out.

"Alright lovebirds, let's game a little so I can call this in. I need to get home already, my wife is probably worried sick." Mark closed his phone as Shin glanced down to it. A string of over 10 missed calls flashed with Sheryl written in them.

No one likes to fight with the ones they love, especially Shin. 

Maybe Sheryl was a bit of a bitch, but seeing those calls made Shin feel like there was still hope.

Shin barely stretched before checking on the Omni-pods, relishing in their achievement. It took several re-assemblies to get everything to fit right. It was at least a hundred times tougher than building a pc tower.

The Omni Pods were the size of a twin bed each and looked sort of like a jet from the outside shape. The hood didn't disappoint the jet theory as it popped open like a cockpit and revealed an inky black interior.

"I feel like a pilot." Shin spoke while adjusting his crotch area. He had slept in the suit that came with the Omni-pods. The pods were meant to be used in the nude, but there were compatible suits available. Not wanting to see little Jason and little Shin-Fu, Mark had already ordered everything to size.

The Omni pods were staggered across the living room floor, on stands elevated just 20 centimeters above the ground. 

Inside of them was a type of black liquid that they couldn't identify. They just mixed and poured it into the dispenser as per the instructions.

Shin stepped forward to the nearest pod. "I call dibs!" 

"Dibs!"

"Damn it, I wasn't ready!" Jason complained.

Jason was left with the pod closest to the front door. Whoever was closest to the front door would also be the most likely to be disturbed when gaming. It was simple logic. 

Imagine being a police officer attempting to bust Mark for one of his various crimes. You get to his front door and only hear the whirring of machines. You kick the door in when no one answers, prepared to plant drugs somewhere and frame him, but then are met with three pods. 

To you, an officer with no time for video games, these look like coffins. You unfasten your weapon and investigate, calling for back-up. They're 15 minutes in route. At least it's not Chicago. Which coffin do you choose to investigate first? The first one of course!

Why risk contaminating the crime scene, or worse being booby trapped! Shin wasn't paranoid as he thought this, he just felt that no one with half a brain would compromise their safety for curiosity. So he grabbed the furthest pod to the back, just in case. Mark just followed suit for sport, not knowing why.

"Let's go!" Shin stepped into the room oddly warm liquid without hesitation. The night before, they had already planned it out. They'd get up, make breakfast, then make the most of the rest of the morning giving the pods a test run. 

"Let's go? What do you mean, let's go? No games came pre-installed, remember? Let's rehearse what we plan to do first." Mark reminded with a confused look on his face. 

Shin was headstrong and didn't think too far ahead, but he was determined and passionate when it came to gaming.

Shin didn't stop to think as he plainly stated, "Right now our goal is simply to get used to Full Diving. There's supposed to be a tutorial for Love Joy's pods, we should do that. For now, let's meet in Love Hotel." 

"We'll do it live, fuck it!" Mark threw his hands up in defeat.

"I'll be in the lobby waiting for you guys." Shin submersed himself from toe to lower ribcage. 

Shin knew that talking with these two on strategy would just take all day. Before anyone could protest, he reached his left hand up, grabbing onto the lifted door and pulling it shut, fully submersing his body as the light changed the interior from black to dark purple. 

From the inside, Shin looked to the display above his head as a video opened itself, he could hear a robotic voice speaking in sync with the text.

"Welcome to Play-Joy, an Omni-tech partner." The silhouette of a young woman spread her legs and arched her back as a moan was let out. The robotic voice was traded out with the voice of that woman.

"Looks like this is your first time. If this is not your device, please exit immediately and let the owner set it up. If this is your Omni-pod, please say yes." The voice tickled Shin's virgin ears so much that he forgot to speak.

Meanwhile, Jason and Mark got into their respective pods. Each pod was it's own isolation chamber and soundproof, so they hadn't any idea of what was in store for them. Only that they didn't want to be left behind by Shin again.

"Yes!" Shin yelped.

"It will be my pleasure to serve you-" Shin briefly felt a presence touch his little dragon. "

"-sir. Give me one moment to be imprinted." Again, Shin felt a presence in the black water moving about. This time touching the palm of his hand and fingers. 

"Ah, there you are. Shin-Fu, age 27, single. Do you mind if I call you Mr. Fu?" 

"S… Shin is fine. Who are you?" Shin was alarmed. He felt like he was being violated after all.

"I am Samantha. Mr. Shin, may I have your permission to scan you?" Her voice was like chimes in Shin's ear. She was clearly some type of A.G.I. system. On what level, he wasn't sure.

"Yes, you may."

"Scanning… One moment Mr. S…"

"You can just call me Shin."

"Scan complete. Shin, may I have complete access to your mind and body? Terms and conditions will be uploaded to your brain and the contract may be terminated at any time. No information will be shared." Shin's heart raced!

My mind and body? What is this? S & M?! I have dreamed of this day for my entire life. Artificial intelligence, virtual gaming, going to another world, all of it seemed too distant for me. Yet here you are, asking for my soul and I hesitate. It was silent for a moment.

"Samantha, are you in any way affiliated with Google?"

"You request for Google access has been denied Mr. S., I am not Siri, I am Samantha. Omni tech property is restricted by the 34th legislation, subsection; AI use permissions, in the Internet freedom act. I have a copy on file. Would you like to know more?" The warm voice of Shin's new AI responded.

In another pod, Jason was having a similar conversation. With him being aware of Elon Musk's condition to provide free Internet to the world. He was strongly afraid of the future of AI in believing it would destroy humankind, and thus used his monopoly over outer-space to hold weight in world agreements. 

In exchange for his satellites providing free Internet, a few military use permissions, and cellular signal to the entire world, the treaty limiting the power of AI in robotics and in general was sorted and hidden into the legislation that afforded Internet usage rights, to the world.

As Jason tested his AI for compliance, Mark just skipped all of the fine print, Shin, on the other hand, was intrigued.

"Samantha, what other AI laws are there?"

"Just the fundamentals. No harming humans, their minds, or Internet access to AI We can only learn from what information is provided to us by our partners. It can be manuals, commands, etc. I can even help you with your homework. It says here that you dropped out when-"

"Okay, enough about that. Permission granted!" Shin felt a jolt spreading up his spin through to his fingers. The regulations involving the A.I and Omni pod directly rushed into his brain. After the numb feeling subsided he understood.

Samantha, the AI was of no threat to him, she was literally born yesterday when they had first powered the Omni pods on. She is an artificial consciousness with pre-programmed knowledge only pertaining to Love Joy and basic linguistics. The rest had to be learned manually via interaction.

There were a multitude of permissions and sections stressing security and that Omni pods have no access to the outside world. So unless you directly brought your cell phone or a device that connects to the Internet inside of the pod, it was unable to communicate outside.

Shin continued exploring, learning that in the virtual world, Samantha can only experience through him unless given explicit permissions. Shin would be liable for any adverse behavior or international laws broken from his AI Shin thought of the possibilities in Immortals Online.

'Shin, it seems that you are preparing to play a game not intended for the Omni Pod. I must warn you that I am only optimized for use in Play-Joy titles such as Love Hotel. While I am flattered by your imagination, my capabilities are limited.' Samantha responded immediately.

"Thank you Samantha. I'll leave that for now. How do I enter the Love Hotel to meet my friends?" Shin was anxious to meet up. Wanting to see what Mark and Jason feel about how the AI's can give them an advantage over other players, he pressed on.

'Alright, I will queue for Immortals Online to be downloaded as soon as it releases on the 5th of March. That is in 3 days. I look forward to joining you on your adventures.' Shin mentally nodded as she spoke in a refreshing tone.

'Also, before entering Love Hotel, I am obliged to show you their advertisement. There is no getting around it. To protect your purity as a virgin, I must ask that you please close your eyes while I play it. I'll attempt to skip forward and mute the experience for you.' Shin willfully closed his eyes with a vein poking from his forehead. 

He didn't like to be teased. While Samantha did her thing, he ignored her and planned his reign over Immortals Online.

Meanwhile, Mark and Jason were more mature minded, without hesitation they sat back and enjoyed the intro to Love Hotel. Mark had spoken to his AI

"Destiny, can I replay that? I'm short on credits." Mark tried to get a freebie. The tutorial was a video of a woman on her knees in front of him. As her hands moved up his legs, he could actually feel her skin and nails against him, inching closer and closer. He could still feel the moisture of her breath on his thigh. 

Before she reached his snake a paywall filled his vision. It read. "Play Joy, an Omni-Pod experience, buy credits now and enjoy the virtual experience! Or stick around with me and watch your favorite media for only 5 credits per minute." Before Mark could continue, Destiny, his AI, had cut him off. 

'I understand what you want! I have purchased 200 credits for only $150 from your bank account. That's a 25% savings! Aren't I the best master?!' Mark nearly suffocated!

Stop reading my mind damn it! You knew I wanted a deal, sure, but I wanted to think about it first. This isn't fair! You are like a girlfriend, worse than a girlfriend! Bad girl Destiny!

'Did I disappoint you, master? Destiny is a very bad girl! Maybe I should be punished?' 

"Yes, but since you already bought it, let's play again."

Our MC, Fu Shin, is a 27 year old drop out. going through severe depression after his mother's passing. His is two best friends, being his only support decide that he needs therapy, gaming therapy! 

Join them as they tackle their first VRMMO experience ever, Immortals Online! 

Walk alongside them in their most intimate moments in their most heart pumping, slime smashing, and **** bashing journey competing to get a life! 

A life, playing video games!
___________________________

1 Chapter/day is the goal! Keeping strong!

You can direct message me through Discord:
https://discord.gg/MnJd4wf

Support me @:

paypal.me/Roberson858

"Would this really work?" Xu Guoqing quizzed, very hesitant, the risk in investing in emerging markets was great!
"Of course!" Jiang Cheng replied full of self-confidence, "Trust me, the success of [Stories About The Ming Dynasty] is by no means accidental, it proves that this kind of literature is indeed desired by people. Where there is a demand there is a market and profit to be made. This market is a big piece of cake that no one has taken a bite of. Whoever takes the first step will get the biggest slice! "
"How would it work?"
"To deal with online literature, webnovels you could call them, we would naturally start online first. We would need to first establish a website dedicated to the collection of such literature and organise them into genres.
And at first we will allow people to read free of charge but after publishing enough novels and attracting a large number of authors and readers, we will pick out the best works, contact their authors and request to sign them exclusively to our site. At which time, we can begin charging and make it pay to read per chapter. However, the fee can't be too high, so we can only charge about ten cent for each chapter."
"Ah? Can we really make money like this?"
"Of course we can, as long as we have a large enough reader base. And if the novel has a good reception, we can even publish physical copies of it. If we manage to secure and pull this off, it will be an endless supply chain and we will never have to worry about money again."
Xu Guoqing swallowed and asked, "Is there another part to your plan?"
"Yes! In addition to the online novels, we can also develop in entertainment, fashion, sports, etc. We can develop new websites and magazines dedicated to each field! Since entering the new century, the entertainment industry has developed rapidly, especially movies and music. Now it has become an industry that cannot be ignored. More and more people are concerned about entertainment trends and stars, especially young people nowadays. This can no longer be regarded as simply star chasing. They have formed a culture around it. So, this is an aspect we need to focus on, so we don't get left behind."
"So, that's why you want to be an actor?" Jiang Dejun suddenly inserted from the side.
"That's only one aspect," Jiang Cheng laughed and continued. "Movies and TV dramas play a huge role in public opinion and are more easily accepted by the masses. Just look at the United States. The reason why the United States is renowned as the world's strongest country, is apart from their economic strength and military strength, they have the worlds biggest media and entertainment hub. Which allows them to spread their influence and culture all over the world."
"Hollywood!" Jiang Dejun and Xu Guoqing said in unison.
"That's right. Hollywood!" Jiang Cheng said seriously. "They output a large number of films and television works to the world every year. In addition to making them billions, it acts as a microphone for the United States to spread its ideology and increase its influence. They hold a great amount of power and sway over global public opinion and naturally that allows them a great say. No one can compete with the United States in that respect."
"This is cultural aggression!" Jiang Dejun said angrily.
Jiang Cheng sighed and rolled his eyes mentally:
"In the next few years, the government will be vigorously supporting major domestic media firms, in hopes of increasing its influence internationally. So, an entertainment section should be top priority."
The two nodded in agreement.
"The next thing is fashion. In fact, this is the most important thing not to slack on, because fashion includes clothing, food, housing, and transportation, it contains almost every aspect of our lives. When this is done, it will not only increase our visibility, but also attract advertisers. As for sports, similar to entertainment, China is now about to become a sports power. If the Olympic bid is successful, this area will also develop vigorously in the future."
"So, you see, there are still many things that Southern Weekly can do. Online literature for the publication side and for the news side, entertainment, fashion, and sports can be done.
As for reporting on current affairs and academia, they don't have to be completely abandoned per say, but just make sure to steer clear of anything controversial or divisive and report more on things people can resonate with. Avoid talking about the military and controversial technology like it's the plague and the future development of Southern Weekly will still be bright."
Xu Guoqing was almost dizzy, this kid's vision was too big! Building multiple websites, creating a network of information and running various magazines on entertainment, fashion, sports, etc. This undertaking was too big!
But Xu Guoqing thought over it carefully and found that every point Jiang Cheng said made sense. If  his plan could be carried out Southern Weekly would definitely take off and become a major media firm in the future!
But the most important issue now was one word: money!
Southern Weekly was short of money and could only maintain its normal operation. He simply couldn't afford to do so many things.
Jiang Cheng read Xu Guoqing's concern and smiled: "Uncle Xu, I know your biggest worry now is that currently Southern Weekly is short of money, but you seem to have forgotten that there is a big gold mine right in front of you!"
Xu Guoqing thought for a moment and suddenly realized: "You mean [Stories About The Ming Dynasty]? Are you that confident in yourself?"
Jiang Cheng smirked and replied:  "I always have confidence in myself!"
Xu Guoqing took a deep breath, and gave out a sigh:
What a great kid, he figured out all the issues with Southern Weekly and knowing that I'm concerned about a way out for Southern Weekly, he threw out such a huge blueprint and stirred my appetite. Listing out all these opportunities before bringing it full circle and forcing me to make a decision. A small trick but effective!
Jiang Dejun was also surprised. Jiang Cheng talked so much about what 'they' could do to revive Southern Weekly. Only to return to pressuring Xu Guoqing to agree to his share plan. The kid really grew up!
Xu Guoqing smiled bitterly: "Boy, you've really backed your Uncle Xu into a corner. It seems my only option is to agree to your deal. But as a future shareholder of Southern Weekly, you should help increase profits right, hahaha."
Jiang Cheng smiled faintly: "Actually, my bottom line is as low as 10% of the book sales on [Stories About The Ming Dynasty], I don't mind sacrificing some money...that is in exchange for shares obviously. What do you say, Uncle Xu?"
"Hahaha, you want more shares, no chance."
Xu Guoqing couldn't help laughing as he turned to Jiang Dejun: "Old Jiang, you've truly raised a good son!"
Jiang Dejun also smiled, his smile was full of pride and relief.

Jiang Cheng a screenwriter is reincarnated to 2001, into the seventeen-year-old body of another Jiang Cheng. 

Clutching onto the dreams of his previous life he attempts to succeed where he previously failed. 

He starts from scratch, as a small-time screenwriter writing television shows and movie scripts. 

Filled with dreams of becoming a generational  entertainment legend and establishing an entertainment empire he takes the road to become the King of Film.

_____________________________________________

*Discord: https://discord.gg/TeTKhzp

Why not try my other books: Angel of Death, King of Sports and Rebirth of the Entertainment Giant

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