Chapter 32 – Soar to the sky
Because of a contract dispute with the guild, the live broadcast originally scheduled for the weekend did not take place as planned.
Sang Ye initially thought about finding a lawyer on his own, but Tan Mo saw him searching for keywords on the computer.
“You don’t need to worry about this,” Tan Mo said. “It’s not just your issue; the club will handle it.”
Sang Ye felt embarrassed but also truly realized, as Talk had said before, that he no longer had to fear that malice.
Because he no longer had to face it alone.
On Monday, Sang Ye went with Tan Mo to the law firm to meet the lawyer, submit the documents he had, and explain the situation.
It was then that Sang Ye learned he wouldn’t even have to go to court, let alone see anyone from the guild again; the lawyer would fully represent him and help resolve the dispute.
This made Sang Ye breathe a sigh of relief, lifting a weight off his mind.
As they went downstairs, Lawyer Zhu saw them off.
As everyone prepared to say goodbye in the lobby of the office building, a person stood at the entrance of the coffee shop on the other side, calling out “A-Mo” and smiling while waving at them.
Tan Mo told Sang Ye to wait where he was for a moment and walked toward the middle-aged man in a suit, shaking his hand when they met, indicating they were familiar with each other.
Lawyer Zhu said, “That gentleman is one of our partners and one of the top criminal lawyers in the country. He has solved many cold cases. I heard he took on a new case at the beginning of the year; it seems to be a kidnapping case from fifteen years ago. Gathering evidence has been quite difficult, and he hasn’t been seen at the firm for several months.”
Sang Ye paused for a moment. “Fifteen years ago?”
Lawyer Zhu nodded. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s the case.”
Sang Ye instinctively asked, “Is it related to Talk?”
“Kidnapping case?” Lawyer Zhu glanced at Sang Ye, his expression a bit strange, as if he found Sang Ye’s association abrupt and hard to understand.
Sang Ye realized that his question was inappropriate and lowered his eyes. “It’s nothing.”
On the way back, it was still Tan Mo driving.
Sang Ye nestled in the passenger seat, continuously searching keywords on his phone, “2007, kidnapping.” After browsing for a long time and finding nothing, he had no choice but to turn off his phone and put the matter aside for now.
After the chaotic transfer period, the PUBG clubs had generally confirmed their team rosters for the summer competition, just waiting for the transfer window to open in June to submit their information.
Once the new round of training matches began, the players could clearly feel the changes in the battlefield dynamics, with new faces among the opponents, teams that had just qualified, and even former teammates, necessitating a period of re-adaptation.
With the summer competition approaching, the first and second teams were unable to sign up for training matches at the same level, so Sang Ye and his teammates could only rotate through four-player matches.
Tan Mo occasionally participated in the first team’s training, but more often, he played solo, sometimes disappearing for half a day without a word.
One time, during a game, Tan Mo was eliminated and left his headset behind to get some water.
Sang Ye sat nearby, glancing at the headset on the table.
Given his distance, he should have been able to hear some faint noises leaking from the headset, but he didn’t hear anything at all.
It was then that he realized Talk didn’t turn on the game sounds while playing solo.
—In shooting games, sound serves as a player’s second pair of eyes; without hearing footsteps or gunshots, one cannot judge the enemy’s position, making it nearly impossible to continue playing.
Sang Ye bit his lip, his fingertips tightening painfully, yet he still chose to pretend he didn’t know.
After three consecutive days of intense training matches, Sang Ye began to feel a bit lethargic.
He really was spoiled; at home, he could comfortably lounge around without anyone expecting him to make money or have any ambitions. Previously, when he was a streamer, he was only half-hearted about it—three days of fishing and two days of sunbathing—enjoying life without pressure. But now, he spent fifteen hours a day in front of the computer, struggling to adapt, feeling uncomfortable everywhere.
However, Sang Ye accepted all of this, considering it the price of being a fan.
That evening, he went to the cafeteria for dinner and sat down at a table with Xiao Pai and the others.
Hu Fu and Miao Sen were there, but he didn’t see E Lan.
“He’s not coming down again?” Sang Ye asked.
Xiao Pai pouted, “He’s upstairs munching on bread.”
Sang Ye silently straightened his back and stopped complaining internally.
If his training hours were 15/24, then E Lan’s were 20/24.
E Lan was definitely a tough one, compressing his rest time to the limit, pushing himself to the extreme within the team, becoming the new generation of hard workers in WLG. Under his influence, no one dared to relax.
Another person sat down beside him—Tan Mo.
Sang Ye unconsciously shifted over a bit to give him space.
Hu Fu was watching videos with his headphones on while eating. After a while, he rolled his eyes, took off his Bluetooth headset, and slammed it down on the table.
“What’s wrong?” Xiao Pai looked up at him. “Did you bite into a chili pepper?”
“D*mn it, this idi*t!”
Hu Fu rarely cursed, unless he couldn’t hold back. He then placed his phone in the center of the table.
“Take a look for yourself.”
Since the phone was close, Sang Ye raised his eyes to take a look.
It was a video titled:
[T0 Training Match: FP Dust Miraculously Turns the Tide to Defeat Team WLG!]
Currently, domestic daily training matches were divided into three levels, referred to as T0, T1, and T2.
T0 is the highest level of training matches, gathering all the teams participating in this summer’s competition, as well as teams promoted from T1, all of which are quite strong.
“Dust? Suddenly, there are a lot of posts and videos about him lately,” Miao Sen said. “He used to play in a lower-tier league with a little-known club. His looks are decent, and he accumulated some fans, but I heard he often complained about his teammates being trash and dragging him down. FP, being a newly established club, directly bought a PCL league spot. It’s clear they have some capital backing them. They also made this guy the captain, so they probably want to package him.”
“Pah!” Hu Fu didn’t hide his disdain. “That kind of trash, a disruptor. I wouldn’t even glance at him before.”
In the video, Dust shot Hu Fu down with a few shots around a window, jumping around and making monkey-like laughter: “Is that it? Is that it? Standing still, just sending me heads? By the way, why is WLG still in T0? Doesn’t T0 have any standards anymore? Given their performance after the spring season, I suggest they play in T1 instead; otherwise, they’re not going to get any game experience here and will be utterly helpless.”
“D*mn it, what an idi*t!” Xiao Pai exclaimed, spraying rice grains everywhere. “This looks like the second round, right? We were practicing slow play in the Y City housing area when this team suddenly rushed in mindlessly. Do they really think they can charge in like that in an actual match? Who knows who would end up dead!”
Although T0 is the highest level of training matches, it has a drawback: some top teams are overly cautious, fearing that they might leak crucial rolling points and tactical strategies for the upcoming competitions. As a result, they don’t play at the same pace as in actual matches, often leading to teams playing recklessly and rushing to finish. In such cases, by the fourth or fifth circle, there are usually very few players left in the game, rendering the training ineffective.
Because of this trend, WLG temporarily played training matches in T1 until a point system was introduced. Once everyone became serious, they returned to T0.
However, there are always newcomers who don’t follow the rules and treat training matches like a free-for-all, ignoring surrounding information and engaging whoever they want, disrupting the normal flow of the match.
Sang Ye didn’t participate in the afternoon matches and was unaware of the specific situation, so he remained relatively calm while continuing to watch.
In the game, Dust was smugly leaving the housing area but still had WLG on his lips: “Don’t argue with me in the stream; WLG is no longer an indomitable myth. Talk isn’t even participating in training matches anymore and is basically in semi-retirement. He’s almost ready to retire, right…”
“D*mn it!!!”
Sang Ye suddenly exploded in anger, nearly dropping his spoon, but fortunately, Tan Mo was quick to help steady his bowl.
“…………”
The commotion was too loud, drawing terrified glances from the nearby tables.
Xiao Pai suddenly felt that his own anger was insignificant in front of Sang Ye and quickly turned to Hu Fu next to him, saying, “Hurry, hurry, put it away! Don’t watch!”
The fangirls are about to go on a killing spree!
Miao Sen managed to stay rational and analyzed, “The match started around two in the afternoon, and by six, the video was already online. It’s clear they’re riding on WLG’s coattails to gain attention. Ever since we lost in the spring season, the criticism hasn’t stopped. It wasn’t until last week when Song won chicken in a public match that the confidence of the netizens began to recover. Sigh… Anyway, let’s do our best in the upcoming summer competition; there’s no point in arguing with people like that. It’ll only affect our mood.”
“Why would it affect our mood?” Yu Haotian appeared out of nowhere, walking over to their table with a cheerful expression. He said, “It’s not just the netizens; even the investors are regaining their confidence.”
Xiao Pai’s eyes lit up, knowing something good was coming. “Which investor is back?”
“We just received a new collaboration invitation from the peripheral brand Zhu Tu,” Yu Haotian said, stopping and locking his gaze on Sang Ye with a smile. “They specifically want Song to be their spokesperson.”
“Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh~”
Xiao Pai and Hu Fu were the loudest in their cheers.
“That’s equivalent to China’s Li Ning in the sports world, Germany’s Adidas, and America’s Nike! I heard Zhu Tu wanted to enter PUBG, but I didn’t know who would get it. I didn’t expect Song to secure it in one go; that’s impressive!” Xiao Pai suddenly realized, “By the way, Yan Ba has the advantage of good looks, right?”
“Right now, the two investors that the club is most eager for are Zhu Tu and Mercedes,” Hu Fu pondered. “Forget about Mercedes; that’s a multi-million dollar endorsement, totally on another level. They’re probably going to collaborate with one of the championship favorites. Given our current situation, being able to secure Zhu Tu is really something to be proud of!”
Amid their enthusiastic discussion, however, Sang Ye remained silent.
Yu Haotian noticed something was off with him and asked, “What’s wrong, Song?”
Sang Ye stirred his rice with a spoon and suddenly said, “Has the squeezing already begun?”
“…………”
Opportunities for endorsements that others would beg for seemed to Sang Ye as though they were…
Xiao Pai slapped his mouth, regretting that he had said too much during their dinner gathering, causing Sang Ye to develop an impression that the behind-the-scenes bosses were exploiting the players.
Yu Haotian was about to persuade him, but Tan Mo subtly gestured to Yu Haotian to stop, his eyes downcast and somewhat helpless.
Yu Haotian swallowed his words with difficulty and finally asked Sang Ye, “Do you not want to take it?”
Sang Ye shook his head.
Dealing with training matches every day was already exhausting; he didn’t want to get involved in other messy business.
Yu Haotian sighed heavily, blaming himself for foolishly hoping to get the boss’s wife to go out and make money.
The boss’s wife didn’t need to make money at all!!!
Disappointed, Yu Haotian left.
Xiao Pai was anxious. “Why don’t you take it? This is a good opportunity! There’s endorsement money involved, at least 500,000!”
Before Sang Ye could respond, Tan Mo spoke up calmly from the side, “It’s fine if he doesn’t take it; he can focus on the competition.”
“That would be quite a loss for the club too,” Xiao Pai said, a bit heartbroken. “We’re about to struggle to find sponsors for the summer competition… Wait! Brother, what’s wrong with you? I didn’t want to take the spicy strips advertisement before, didn’t you help Yu Gonggong persuade me? When you come to Bai Mao, you help him to go against the club, right? Can’t bear your wife fans to work hard, right?”
“……” Sang Ye nearly lost grip of his spoon.
But Tan Mo remained calm, looking up and saying, “The poor working class must unite.”
“You!” Xiao Pai was left speechless.
…
Even though he was put down by Tan Mo at the dinner table, Xiao Pai couldn’t help but bring up the endorsement when they went to dispose of their plates.
As Sang Ye passed the food window, he habitually took a cup of yogurt, thought for a moment, and grabbed another bottle to put in his coat pocket for Talk.
“Think about it, Bai Mao,” Xiao Pai said. “This is definitely beneficial for you. The more famous you become, the more endorsement deals will come your way. Before long, you’ll be able to lie back and count your money!”
“I don’t want to lie back and count money,” Sang Ye said, poking the straw into the yogurt lid and taking a sip, muttering to himself, “I want to lie back and watch Talk…”
“What?” Xiao Pai didn’t hear clearly. “You want to lie on Talk?”
“……” Sang Ye choked slightly, about to tell him to shut up.
“What?!” Hu Fu, who was walking behind, probably hard of hearing, took off his headphones. “You want to sleep with Talk?”
Sang Ye’s face turned bright red, and he stammered, “Wh-what nonsense?”
Others burst into laughter, enjoying the sight of the usually composed Bai Mao turning red; it was just too funny.
But before they could continue their teasing, the laughter suddenly ceased.
They saw Tan Mo walking towards them, his gaze leisurely sweeping over each of their faces.
Xiao Pai quickly suppressed his expression.
Over time, it became clear that Tan Mo didn’t like anyone bullying Sang Ye in any form, not even if there was no malicious intent.
Xiao Pai and Hu Fu hurriedly left first.
Tan Mo took a piece of paper from the window and soon walked over to Sang Ye’s side, quietly saying nothing.
Sang Ye finally let out a breath, but his face was still hot.
As he walked forward, he stuffed one hand into his coat pocket, feeling the small can of yogurt inside. He couldn’t find the right moment to take it out, and the longer he waited, the more his heart raced.
Sang Ye opened his mouth, just about to take out the yogurt.
—“I’m asking you.”
Tan Mo held a tissue to his lips with both hands.
Sang Ye hurriedly put the yogurt back, replying, “Uh… um?”
Tan Mo wiped his mouth, his long lashes casting shadows downwards, and asked in a calm voice, “When do you plan to sleep?”
“……”
Sang Ye’s brain suddenly short-circuited, freezing in place.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah—
Here it comes again!!!
Talk always did this!!!
Realizing he was being teased again, Sang Ye, in a fit of anger, shoved the yogurt into Tan Mo’s arms and turned red in the face as he ran away.
Tan Mo stood there, looking down at the yogurt in his hands. There was a faint bite mark around the edge of the transparent straw.
Without changing his expression, Tan Mo continued walking forward, casually taking a sip from the yogurt and lightly biting the edge of the straw.
…
The training match on the afternoon of the second day was Sang Ye’s turn.
In the first two rounds, they pushed toward the center while playing cautiously along the edge of the circle, and everything went smoothly in the training.
However, during the third round, Xiao Pai was knocked down by a grenade in a dirt pit near G Village.
The kill notification showed that the one who threw the grenade was FP’s Dust.
Xiao Pai expressed his confusion in the voice channel, “I didn’t leak any footsteps, did I? I didn’t hear anything from the other side. Where did they throw it from? …Miao Sen, help me, help me; I can still be saved.”
Hu Fu climbed onto the roof with his sniper rifle, looking for enemies.
Miao Sen dragged Xiao Pai to a nearby cover to start the rescue.
Just then, another grenade bounced in, hitting the cover precisely and killing Xiao Pai while Miao Sen was injured from the blast.
WLG didn’t have time to exchange information before a team charged down the hillside directly toward Sang Ye and Hu Fu’s location.
Sang Ye was in a room on the first floor, engaged in close combat with one person. He had just eliminated his opponent when another enemy shot him from behind through the window, knocking him down and jumping in to finish him off.
[FP-Dust used M416 to headshot and kill you.]
Hu Fu, alone on the upper floor, was also eliminated shortly after.
Only seven minutes had passed since the start of the game, and WLG was wiped out.
The four of them were baffled, as FP appeared like a ghost and struck at their vulnerabilities. They didn’t even know where they had made mistakes; they were all caught off guard.
Xiao Pai and Hu Fu had already started cursing in the channel.
“Did we give them too much face?”
“Is this how training matches are played?”
“This chicken team doesn’t even understand the rules. Don’t make me target them next round!”
Sang Ye remained silent; he could only wait to review the replay that evening.
In the fourth round, WLG was moving around the hillside near the edge of the circle when another grenade suddenly appeared, flipping over the car that Sang Ye and Xiao Pai were in.
Sang Ye fell out of the car and onto the ground, while Xiao Pai was left with very little health.
“Get someone here! Get someone here!” Xiao Pai quickly threw down a smoke grenade and shouted anxiously.
However, Hu Fu and Miao Sen were struggling to protect themselves; they got shot in the tires and were eliminated from a high position.
As the smoke cleared, FP’s Dust came rushing in, knocked Xiao Pai down, and then jumped on his corpse to fire several shots.
Xiao Pai slammed his hands on the table and cursed loudly, “Disrespecting the dead!? What the hell? Do they have no decency? Are they brain-dead? Next time, I’ll go find him myself; don’t anyone stop me!”
Disrespecting the dead is a highly insulting act in PUBG, something that a normal person wouldn’t do.
It wasn’t just Xiao Pai who was furious; Hu Fu’s face was twitching with anger, and even Miao Sen, known for his good temper, let out a curse.
Sang Ye’s expression darkened.
—Offending his teammates was the same as offending him personally.
However, Sang Ye remained calm and focused on recalling what information they had missed during their move earlier.
When the fifth round began.
Xiao Pai spotted the FP team while parachuting and ominously said, “I’m going to find them first.”
“Don’t go.” Sang Ye suddenly spoke up.
Xiao Pai was taken aback, frowning, “Bai Mao, don’t interfere…”
Sang Ye interrupted, “Who’s streaming?”
The others were momentarily stunned.
Hu Fu and Miao Sen spoke simultaneously, “I am. What’s wrong?”
Since the summer competition was starting next week and they would be away for over a month, they decided to stream more often now.
It wasn’t just them; many professional players would stream during this stage of training matches to accumulate watch time.
Sang Ye replied succinctly, “Shut it down.”
Hu Fu realized something and quickly turned off his stream, feeling disgusted, “That’s just dirty.”
In this round, FP didn’t swarm around them like flies again. The only regret was that before they could confront FP, the team had already been eliminated by others.
After the training match ended, Hu Fu and Miao Sen immediately went to find their coach.
Xiao Pai glanced at the calendar on the table, circled the date for next Friday, and cracked his knuckles loudly, “That b*stard Dust better watch out; I’ll see him in the PCL training match.”
But then he turned and grinned at the microphone, flattering, “Xiao Bai Mao, you’re so smart, figuring out right away that they were stream sniping.”
“Why do you need to say that?”
Sang Ye was still upstairs, coolly dropped that line, and took off his headphones.
…
The incident of FP peeking and desecrating corpses during the training match was dealt with that evening, and the person in charge of the training matches issued a suspension notice to them.
FP also released an apology statement on Weibo, but it was just some official wording, which was as useless as flatulence.
After the review session that night, Yu Haotian brought a piece of news to Sang Ye: “The contract dispute case has been resolved. The guild falsified the contract and lost; you no longer have to be bound by them.”
Sang Ye nodded and sincerely said, “Thank you.”
“It’s the club’s responsibility to protect the interests of every player,” Yu Haotian smiled, but his expression turned hesitant. “Song, WLG wants to collaborate with other agencies to report your former guild to the platform.”
Sang Ye responded coldly, “That’s good.”
That corrupt guild should have disappeared a long time ago; it deceived many young people with dreams. Sang Ye felt lucky to have encountered a benefactor and avoided being dragged into the mire.
“But when the results come out, it may affect your reputation,” Yu Haotian frowned. “We are reporting that the game streamers in the guild were cheating and hope the platform will conduct a thorough investigation to provide a reasonable explanation to the public. However, you once worked there, and I’m afraid…”
“I never cheated,” Sang Ye said directly. “The announcement of the results will increase people’s suspicions about me, but those suspicions have never disappeared, so I have nothing to fear.”
Yu Haotian looked at the clear-eyed youth, feeling a sense of admiration for his openness and courage: “Cheating is a difficult issue to define. Many professional players can play at a cheating level, but the public can’t distinguish between them. You should think carefully.”
“When Talk first debuted, he was also suspected of cheating,” Sang Ye lowered his head and looked at his hands. “But he proved himself through repeated competitions and performance, becoming a god in everyone’s eyes. Before a god proves himself, he is often misunderstood… This is the path I want to take.”
Yu Haotian completely relaxed, smiling: “Alright, I believe you will prove yourself, Song.”
Two days later, a major event occurred in the Chicken Eating Zone of Maoya.
The platform announced a list of streamers who had been banned after review.
Some of these streamers were already famous, while others were relatively unknown, but everyone noticed they all came from the same union.
Upon checking online, it turned out that the legal representative of this union had canceled their registration and fled overnight.
The once-famous agent in the industry—Jiang Lily—was banned across the entire sector.
Sang Ye glanced at the announcement and saw Liu Mingxuan’s name.
He took a quick look and then closed the webpage.
Two days before the team was set to depart for Guangzhou, Sang Ye finally had his live streaming debut as a professional player.
However, before Sang Ye could start, FP’s Dust had already garnered a wave of attention in the streaming room with his bold remarks.
When asked by fans if he was worried about being beaten by WLG, Dust sneered dismissively:
“WLG is nothing without Talk. Their performance in training matches is like watching an old man on a rocking chair. I’m anxious just watching it; who gets blown out is still up in the air…”
“Song? Isn’t he that former streamer from the cheating guild? Well, we all know what’s up—only in offline competitions can you see true skills…”
“The era of WLG is over, and their commercial value has plummeted. Just look at the sponsorship logos on their official website; there are hardly any sponsors left.”
“Everyone clearly has more faith in FP now. Oh, quick announcement: thanks to Spider Path for sponsoring FP’s journey in this summer competition, and thanks to our generous benefactor… That’s right, Spider Path is my endorsement…”
“Shut it down, shut it down!” Xiao Pai said in the practice room of the second team, feeling irritated by the live streaming voice coming from Ji Feng’s computer. “Bai Mao is about to stream.”
Ji Feng clicked his tongue and shook his head, closing the webpage: “That Dust… he’s done for sooner or later.”
Sang Ye adjusted the camera angle, glanced at the time, and reminded them, “I’m starting; pay attention.”
Tan Mo was originally practicing shooting with a mini-program but switched out of the streaming interface upon hearing this.
Sang Ye caught a glimpse of this and suddenly felt a bit nervous, unconsciously sitting up straighter.
At exactly eight o’clock, Sang Ye clicked the start button to go live.
As the screen lit up, over a million fans eagerly awaited.
[“Fu Gui!!! I miss you so much!!!”]
The familiar address made Sang Ye relax slightly and brought back the feeling of his previous streaming sessions.
He adjusted his headset and said, “Hello everyone, I am WLG player Song.”
[“Ahhhhhhh!!! Is this boy walking out of a comic? And that voice—ah, I’m dead!”]
[“Talk really is a level ten face-control player; with such a beautiful wife, it’s no surprise he’s smitten.”]
[“Old fans are tearing up hearing I’m WLG player Song; Fu Gui is amazing, heading towards the starlight and becoming a shining star himself.”]
[“Haha, with a solid background, your name wasn’t on the list of banned personnel.”]
[“Why did you choose WLG when you’re so talented? WLG is obviously struggling, with a support rate of less than 1% for the summer competition.”]
[“Will you play in the summer competition? Are you confident about it? Everyone suspects you’ll show your true colors offline; do you feel pressured about that?”]
[“WLG has a cheater as a starter; they’re really hopeless.”]
As more and more people tuned in, the bullet comments suddenly filled with a lot of discordant voices.
Xiao Pai volunteered to be the moderator but didn’t have time to mute anyone: “D*mn… is someone deliberately buying trolls to mess with us? Bai Mao, just ignore it, don’t pay them any mind.”
However, Sang Ye didn’t ignore it. He focused on a comment that was undermining WLG and said, “WLG has indeed been in a slump since the spring competition. My performance during the livestream has also faced increasing scrutiny, but none of that affects us because WLG is waiting for an opportunity to burst forth and firmly believes…”
The young man raised his eyes and looked into the camera:
“One day, we will rise with the wind and soar up to ninety thousand miles.”
— This was what Talk said before the 2021 World Championship.
The bullet comments froze for two seconds, then the tide of public opinion turned. Fans were stirred up by these words: [“Go WLG!”] [“Go Song!”] flooded the screen, drowning out all the malicious comments.
Tan Mo looked at the pair of determined, bright black eyes on the screen and suddenly felt a strong heartbeat.
Xiao Pai gritted his teeth tightly, and after a long moment, finally let out a “D*mn!”
All of WLG’s despair, disappointment, and resentment from the entire season were erased by Bai Mao’s words.
Now, everyone in the base watching the livestream felt filled with a vibrant, uplifting energy, as if they had returned to WLG’s peak period—or perhaps they were standing even higher than before.
“Today, I’ll be playing solo.”
Sang Ye opened the game icon.
But then he suddenly paused.
Then they heard him casually say:
“By the way, a quick announcement: thanks to Mercedes-Benz for sponsoring WLG’s journey in this summer competition. We will not disappoint, thank you.”
With those words, the entire esports community was stunned.
No one expected that the eighteen-year-old rookie would land a contract worth millions.
Author’s note:
The text makes use of Li Bai’s famous line: “The great roc rises with the wind, soaring straight up ninety thousand miles.”