“What, you didn’t come today?” A voice with the name Pojun Baba came from the other end of the phone. “Didn’t we agree to settle the contract termination first and then get the first boss kill for you?”
In a way, as the current president of the Crusaders, Pojun Baba had quite a nice plan in mind.
Here, they had already decided to terminate the contract, yet he was still considering exploiting free labor before the termination.
This time, eight new bosses were introduced to the Genesis Continent for the first time, and the major top guilds were eagerly eyeing them. In this highly competitive environment, Pojun Baba couldn’t resist getting some ideas.
Han Yuze leaned against the wall, held the phone lightly to his ear, apparently absent-mindedly replying, “Hmm, there’s suddenly something very important, and the contract termination isn’t official until next week anyway.”
Pojun Baba sounded skeptical, “Important thing?”
Han Yuze said indifferently, “It’s a matter of lifelong happiness. Of course, if the Crusaders could take over lifelong marriage before quitting the guild, I’d rush over right now.”
Pojun Baba: “…”
Han Yuze: “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up.”
Pojun Baba: “Wait! What about the activity to get the first boss kill in two days…”
“Oh, you mean my ‘practice activity,’ right?” Han Yuze’s lips couldn’t help but curl up with a hint of sarcasm, but he wasn’t too angry because the other person was trying to deceive him. “I’ll check my schedule.”
Having said that, he didn’t wait for a response from the other end of the phone, just hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. He didn’t rush back to the banquet hall, but chose to visit the suite upstairs first.
Jiang Yan had already accompanied Han Yiyuan downstairs to greet the guests.
Jiang Shi sat alone at his table, contemplating for a while and was about to reach for a glass when someone had already brought a cocktail to him, the exact flavor he had been considering.
Looking up, he met a pair of smiling eyes and was momentarily stunned. He took the glass and said, “Thank you.”
Jiang Shi recognized the person as the cousin introduced by Han Yiyuan earlier. He had just made a phone call and had now returned.
Seeing Han Yuze sit down beside him, Jiang Shi assessed him with a glance.
To be honest, this high-fashion model-level appearance was quite to his liking. He remembered that when he saw him downstairs earlier, he wasn’t dressed like this. He didn’t know where he changed, but now, in a formal black suit, he exuded even more charisma.
“Hear from my cousin that you also play ‘Genesis‘?” Han Yuze was the first to strike up a conversation.
He certainly felt Jiang Shi’s scrutiny.
In theory, he should be calm and collected, but because of the striking resemblance between this face and the character in the game, he couldn’t help but glance in his direction. At this point, the only way to ease this awkwardness was through conversation, and he also couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow with a calm demeanor, despite the strange reactions brewing in his chest.
“Yes, I recently returned to the game.” Jiang Shi was used to being stared at like this and was also slightly interested in talking about “Genesis.”
He took a sip of the cocktail and shifted into a more comfortable position. “Dr. Han mentioned that you’re a professional gamer. Are you more focused on the lifestyle aspect or the league?”
Both being professional gamers, there were two main categories in the Genesis Continent.
People like the president of Seven Silver Coins, who primarily focused on running businesses, or like Gentlemen Fan, who used to take on assignments as an assassin, and were closely related to their in-game lives, were referred to as lifestyle-oriented professional gamers.
On the other hand, those who focused mainly on the Century Cup Professional League, including management roles in professional guilds like Pojun Baba and the actual players in the league, were classified as league-oriented professional gamers.
To some extent, although the terminology had changed, the latter were closer to the professional players of the keyboard e-sports era in various aspects.
Before, Jiang Shi had only heard that Han Yiyuan’s cousin was a professional gamer, but the specific type wasn’t mentioned. Naturally, he couldn’t make a subjective judgment.
“I’m more focused on the league, but I’m considering a transfer recently.” Han Yuze answered quite candidly, but with a touch of caution. He casually mentioned, “As you know, it’s not easy to be a professional gamer, and finding a guild with prospects is not easy.”
Professional gaming was indeed not an easy path. Top-tier pros like Yu Weize and Divine Healer aside, many league-oriented professional players struggled to the end and couldn’t even make it to the substitute bench. Although the announcement of a transfer by a top player always created a stir within the community, behind the scenes, there were thousands of ordinary professional players like him, moving from one guild to another, trying to find a foothold.
Jiang Shi, based on the fact that Han Yiyuan couldn’t even remember the gaming ID, subconsciously considered Han Yuze as one of those players struggling to survive.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shi expressed a touch of sympathy, “It’s not easy.”
“But it’s not a big problem, and I should stabilize soon.” Han Yuze reached into his pocket and casually pulled out his phone. In a seemingly careless tone, he added, “We’re all travelers in the Genesis Continent, and meeting each other is fate. Why don’t we exchange contact information, and when I’m stable, we can play together?”
Jiang Shi glanced at the sincere face and considered for a moment. He responded with a relaxed attitude, “Sure, we can do that.”
After all, with Han Yiyuan and Jiang Yan’s relationship, even if they didn’t have any interaction in the game in the future, having each other’s contact information might come in handy.
When the two guests who had gone downstairs to greet the other guests returned, Han Yuze had just saved a new contact card.
It seemed that Han Yiyuan was also surprised that Han Yuze was sitting next to Jiang Shi.
He gave a questioning look with his eyes, and when he saw that Jiang Shi had no intention of changing seats, he looked around the two of them.
In the end, as if he suddenly realized something, he didn’t say much and turned around to continue hosting the event.
The birthday banquet officially began, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became lively.
At first, Jiang Shi thought that Han Yiyuan’s cousin had come to say hello and didn’t expect him to sit down next to him.
Not only that, during the meal, he would occasionally lean closer to him and ask if he wanted to eat something, all done with warmth but not overly so.
He was very friendly and yet not overly friendly.
Clearly, every action naturally revealed intimacy, but he maintained a subtle limit that wouldn’t make people uncomfortable.
Han Yuze served Jiang Shi another bowl of soup.
It was the emerald tofu that Jiang Shi liked. It was his own bowl before he took Jiang Shi’s, and the entire process didn’t show any problems.
Overall, the meal was quite satisfying.
It wasn’t until most of the guests had left that Han Yiyuan escorted Jiang Yan and her brother downstairs. He watched them leave before returning. His first order of business was to pull Han Yuze aside and ask, “So, is this the reason you suddenly have nothing to do?”
Han Yuze appeared as though he couldn’t understand what Han Yiyuan was saying.
Han Yiyuan frowned and looked at him, “Don’t pretend. I saw it during dinner; your eyes were practically glued to him.”
“Is it that obvious?” Han Yuze touched the corner of his eye and a smile played on his lips.
Although he thought it was futile, Han Yiyuan couldn’t help but give a reminder, “That’s Jiang Yan’s brother.”
“Yes, I know he’s my sister-in-law’s brother,” Han Yuze raised an eyebrow and smiled, “I’m just considering whether to get even closer.”
“…,” Han Yiyuan was known for maintaining absolute calm in any sudden situation on the operating table, but at this moment, he couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
However, Han Yuze was not exactly a playboy. In fact, due to his exclusive focus on the gaming field, his romantic history had always been a blank slate.
After thinking it over, Han Yiyuan decided not to say much, “… Anyway, just be careful.”
Han Yuze’s smile never faded, “Don’t worry.”
He had been waiting for everyone to come online for five years, so there was no one more patient than him.
After a moment of contemplation, since Han Yiyuan had already noticed, he couldn’t help but ask another question, “Do you think I look good standing next to Jiang Shi?”
Han Yiyuan’s lips twitched again, and he finally squeezed out a word, “Compatible.”
It seemed that Han Yuze didn’t pick up on the deeper meaning in Han Yiyuan’s eyes. He just smiled and walked away, “Well, I should go back now.”
It could only be said that he was in a good mood today. Most importantly, Han Yuze hadn’t expected to meet Jiang Shi in real life like this.
Although his initial interest in Poisonous Milk wasn’t because of that face, after a night of interaction today, he couldn’t help but find it more intriguing.
So, could this be considered an online romance coming to life?
That night, Han Yuze took a particularly long shower.
After rinsing himself several times with cold water, he finally dried his hair and stepped out of the bathroom. He stared at the new contact card on his phone for a moment, suddenly losing his sleepiness. He then dove into his virtual cabin again.
After switching to his bound account and logging in, he opened the friend list and immediately spotted the shining game ID.
Jiang Shi had returned home earlier than him.
Han Yuze sent a message.
[Sweetie Cutie: Big Brother, why are you still awake at this hour?]
Jiang Shi had actually logged in just to check Gentlemen Fan’s progress, and seeing that neither Nai You Du nor Xiang Liang had been apprehended by the patrol squads, he felt relieved.
At the moment, he was considering taking a stroll in the city. When he received a new friend’s message, he decided to respond.
[Material Main Account: Just logged in.]
[Sweetie Cutie: Logged in so late, were you busy with something?]
[Material Main Account: Yeah, I went out for dinner.]
[Sweetie Cutie: Did you have a good meal?~^_^~]
[Material Main Account: It was okay.]
Han Yuze recalled the meticulous meal service he had received earlier in the day and briefly fell silent after rating it as “okay.”
[Sweetie Cutie: Ah, is it just ‘okay’? I thought you were going out to eat with someone you liked.]
[Material Main Account: No, I went to a birthday banquet with family.]
[Sweetie Cutie: I see!]
Jiang Shi always felt that this Sweetie Cutie was trying to pry into something.
In fact, from the very beginning of their dungeon runs, he found this girl to be peculiar from start to finish. At least in his opinion, Sweetie Cutie’s true strength was definitely higher than what she displayed externally. Deliberately concealing something, she was either an exceptional player far beyond the average, or her playstyle made it easy for someone in their group to recognize her.
However, regardless of her reasons, until he figured out what she was scheming, as long as there were no aggressive actions, he would simply turn a blind eye to it.
One thing was certain, though: this girl was a tease, and she was a natural at it.
Jiang Shi raised an eyebrow, not sure about the purpose of the small talk, and didn’t continue this uninformative topic.
He actually had a reason to contact her, and he seized this opportunity to get to the point.
[Material Main Account: By the way, are you free the day after tomorrow? I’ll probably need your full time from the afternoon to the evening, and there might not be time for dinner in between.]
[Sweetie Cutie: I’m free! Is big brother taking me for a dungeon run?]
[Material Main Account: Not a dungeon run, we’re going to hunt wild map bosses.]
[Sweetie Cutie: Wow, which map are you going to hunt? Can I choose?]
[Material Main Account: We’ll decide tomorrow. If you have any ideas, feel free to suggest. Are you in or not?]
[Sweetie Cutie: Of course, I’m in!~^_^~]
With the conversation concluded, Han Yuze looked at the chat contents in the friend list, a smile flashing in his eyes.
One could only say that wherever there was mischief to be had, this person never missed an opportunity.
A while later, he opened the friend list again and sent a message to Green Fanatic: [The Crusaders probably have a first-kill meeting soon, right? Try to find out where they’re planning to send their main team.]
[Green Fanatic: Got it!]
oh he’s planning a revenge.