After obtaining permission from both parties, What Pen Carries Fragrance joyously renamed the live broadcast room as soon as possible: [Live Preview: PoisonedMilk vs. Yu Weize, Don’t Miss Out on the Qixi Evening!]
Just after the live stream ended, the netizens who were previously happily interacting in the barrage messages within the live stream hadn’t completely left. Suddenly lifting their heads, they saw the new title of the live stream.
Momentarily stunned, upon grasping the vague implications within the title, they became thoroughly excited once again.
Shortly after, a new post appeared on the official forum.
The content undoubtedly targeted the intriguing title of What Pen Carries Fragrance live broadcast room, inevitably sparking intense discussions.
[8L: What does this mean, PoisonedMilk challenging Yu Weize? Is that what I understand?]
[22L: What’s the deal with these two? Weren’t they in the same guild? How come they suddenly challenged each other? Did something happen between them?]
[32L: You never know… I’ve been in the Seven Silver Coins guild. Lately, it seems like they haven’t been playing together.]
[45L: Setting aside everything else, why choose Qixi? Don’t they know the Undersea City introduced the Qixi series event this year? Who has time to pay attention to these things?]
[56L: Doesn’t matter, they’re just setting up a challenge. Watching a live stream while doing Qixi tasks when you’re bored.]
[92L: Why is everyone so concerned about the live stream time? Am I the only one who wants to know who will win between the two?]
[111L: Let’s place bets, let’s place bets! I’m betting on Yu Weize! He’s an old-school expert, completely different from those noobies in the arena. If he can even dominate while being supported, where else can he show his face?]
[124L: Hilarious, count me as a rebel, I’m betting on PoisonedMilk! Look carefully, it’s PoisonedMilk, can a regular support compare?]
[145L: Stop arguing here, there’s a dedicated post for placing bets next door. Those who want to play, head over there.]
[148L: Hahaha, what’s interesting about the betting post? I think those digging up old posts next to it are more intriguing.]
Having spent a good part of the day in the arena, Jiang Shi felt a bit tired. After saying goodbye to What Pen Carries Fragrance, he went offline to sleep, not paying attention to what happened next.
The next day, just before logging into the game, he suddenly remembered to check the forum. At a glance, he noticed several highlighted posts on the homepage —
[Season One Veterans Count the Grudges and Enmity between Milk and Yu,]
[Predictions of PosionedMilk vs. Yu Weize Win Rates, Analyzing Waves,]
[Qixi – Who Will Prevail? Welcome to Bet – Double Forum Coins Returned!] and
[Insider Info: There’s Quite a Bit of Old Grudges between PoisonedMilk and Yu Weize] and more.
Some of the eye-catching titles contained a hint of darkness, apparently old posts from the forum being dug up by those bored troublemakers.
Jiang Shi: “?”
Glancing at the date of the day, he confirmed he hadn’t inadvertently time-traveled during his sleep.
Slowly blinking, he randomly selected a few posts and ended up surprisingly engrossed in reading them one after another.
Leaving aside everything else, these so-called Season One veterans were quite adept at storytelling, leading him, as someone directly involved, to gain a broader perspective.
Without reading these posts, he wouldn’t have realized that he’d been entangled with Yu Weize for so long, from five years ago until now.
Seems like old foes can’t help but meet.
Jiang Shi found it quite engaging. After logging in, he didn’t forget to forward a few highlighted posts to Han Yuze, who was already online.
The other party apparently clicked on those links and took a moment before replying.
[Yu Weize: .]
[PoisonedMilk: Finished reading? How was it? Quite exciting, right?]
[Yu Weize: It’s quite thrilling.]
[Yu Weize: [Link] I particularly liked this post, what about you?]
Jiang Shi clicked and saw it was a dedicated thread from five years ago where some players shipped him and Yu Weize as a couple.
Speechless.
[PoisonedMilk: I thought you’d be more interested in the others.]
[Yu Weize: Like what?]
[PoisonedMilk: Like, it seems many people think I was forced to quit the game by you back then.]
Han Yuze: “…”
In some ways, that doesn’t seem entirely incorrect.
[Yu Weize: Then I’ll stick to shipping.]
[PoisonedMilk: Let’s not dwell on that. So, are we not doing raids today?]
[Yu Weize: Yeah, no raids.]
[PoisonedMilk: Still preparing? How’s the preparation going?]
Han Yu Ze, slightly choked up upon seeing the word “preparation,” replied: [Almost done with the preparations.]
After sending the message, he added: [You don’t really need to work so hard in the arena; you probably won’t need it later.]
[PoisonedMilk: I understand. It’s almost Qixi, last-minute cramming might not work.]
[PoisonedMilk: I’ll just casually accumulate some arena points for future duo matches.]
Han Yuze: “.”
No! Judging by that response, you clearly don’t understand!
However, the last sentence of the response was very much in line with Han Yuze’s intentions.
During the first season, their coordination was so seamless that they often dominated in the arena, tormenting opponents. Even though he hadn’t been pushing rankings for a long time, his score still lingered around 5000. If Jiang Shi could quickly boost his personal score, it would indeed be convenient for them to venture into the arena together once more.
[Yu Weize: Well then, just take it easy while playing, and remember to rest properly.]
If previously Jiang Shi didn’t have much of a reaction to Han Yuze’s messages, at this moment, it was actually the caring concern in the last sentence that made him pause for a moment.
He didn’t know why, but through such emotionless words, he unexpectedly sensed a hint of excessive tenderness.
Was this because the pressure during the preparations was too much?
After pondering for a while, Jiang Shi finally replied with, “You should relax a bit more by reading some posts before diving back into the arena.”
What Pen Carries Fragrance truly understood the concept of exhausting traffic easily. In the following days, they refrained from live streaming with Jiang Shi in the arena, until six o’clock in the evening on the seventh day of the seventh month when they resumed.
The moment he logged in, he was almost overwhelmed by the number of people waiting online.
200,000!
Wow, he had never seen so many people online simultaneously before.
“Uh, hello everyone, I am today’s anchor and commentator, What Pen… umm, What Pen Carries Fragrance.” What Pen Carries Fragrance struggled to make his voice sound less shaky, “It’s exactly 18:00 in Interstellar time right now, and in an hour and seven minutes, tonight’s highly anticipated showdown will commence. I believe everyone, like me, is very excited. So, let the host witness this historic moment together with you all!”
On the Qixi Festival, due to the recently launched official activities in the Undersea City, a series of Qixi events were opened. Because of the rich rewards, many players were multitasking, watching the live stream while engaging in event tasks.
Many had been hanging around for a while, but upon hearing What Pen Carries Fragrance’s voice unexpectedly, they all started flooding the barrage with comments.
[“No rush on the tasks, Anchor, you go ahead and wait at the scene. Shout out when it begins.”]
[“No need for early stage buildup, just want to see the process tonight. Muting for a while, be back at seven.”]
[“Just be a camera; skip the commentary. Qixi tasks are a bit challenging, Anchor, don’t distract me too much.”]
[“Sit and wait, does anyone have a kind heart to notify me when PoisonedMilk and Yu Weize show up?”]
What Pen Carries Fragrance: “.”
Being a popular anchor is not an easy job!
Unable to avoid being criticized again for speaking up, he temporarily turned off the voice system and headed towards San Tingpo.
San Tingpo had cliffs on three sides, with only one road leading to the hillside.
Just before that sole pathway, What Pen Carries Fragrance was stopped.
Green Fanatic: “This path was made by me, this tree was planted by me. If you want to pass through here, there’s no way!”
What Pen Carries Fragrance: “…Can you make it rhyme a bit?”
Green Fanatic dropped the blocking stance and smiled, “Anyway, my master said it takes about five or six minutes from the foot of the mountain to the top, so nobody can go up before seven.”
“Creating such a mystery?” What Pen Carries Fragrance curiously poked his head up, asking, “What about PoisonedMilk? Hasn’t he arrived?”
Green Fanatic replied, “Not yet, it’s still an hour away. My master said Master… uh, PoisonedMilk’s temperament means he won’t come until at least seven.”
What Pen Carries Fragrance, with a doubtful expression, sent a message to his friend list: “Hey, Brother Milk, where are you? Why haven’t you come?”
The response came quickly: “Huh? Isn’t there still an hour left? I’m finishing a few Qixi tasks here.”
What Pen Carries Fragrance looked at Green Fanatic, “…Your master indeed didn’t make a mistake.”
“Of course.” Green Fanatic felt very pleased at the thought of being able to openly call Master soon. Glancing up, he noticed several figures approaching.
Serious Young Man, Deep Well Ice Player, Gentleman Fan, Wuchuan Pants, and even Scavenger gradually arrived.
The group gathered together, waiting at the foot of the mountain.
It wasn’t until exactly 19:00 that the protagonists of tonight’s peak showdown arrived slightly late.
“Hey, everyone’s here,” Jiang Shi appeared as if he hadn’t arrived late, smiling as he greeted, “You’re here pretty early.”
Everyone’s thoughts: You set the time yourself; can’t you be a little nervous?!
Green Fanatic clapped his hands, “Alright, it’s past seven, everyone can go up now!”
What Pen Carries Fragrance eagerly reopened the live stream’s voice system and swiftly switched back to the role of the anchor, “Okay, everyone, we’re about to officially head to today’s showdown scene. In a few minutes, as the highly anticipated battle of the night begins, whether PoisonedMilk can have the last laugh or if Yu Weize will ultimately claim the pinnacle, let’s watch and see!”
Although Green Fanatic had heard about the live stream from his master earlier, walking alongside and hearing What Pen Carries Fragrance’s passionate words, his mouth couldn’t help but twitch slightly. He suppressed the urge and didn’t let this idiot shut up.
This isn’t the battle of the century; it’s more like a century-long confession!
In the midst of his inner musings, suddenly a voice echoed near his ears, a voice only they could hear: “So, God Yu, how exactly are you planning to confess today?”
The Green Fanatic paused, raising his head to meet the questioning gaze of Serious Young Man. He blinked in confusion, “…You know?”
“Of course, outsiders see things clearly,” Serious Young Man said, glancing at the dimly lit road ahead. “So, can you answer my question?”
Green Fanatic: “I’d really like to answer, but, truthfully, I’m not quite sure.”
Though he had been assisting with the preparations throughout, everything on San Tingpo was personally arranged by his master, and not even a hint of the specific plan was revealed.
Serious Young Man: “Oh…”
Green Fanatic: “…”
What did that regretful tone mean?!
The others didn’t hear this conversation, but Muchuan Pants muttered softly, “Are we sure we’re meeting here? It’s so dark; I should’ve brought a lantern.”
This statement clearly echoed the thoughts of others.
As they ascended from the foot of the mountain, there were no lighting systems along the way, only a crescent moon hanging high in the sky, serving as the sole source of light.
Everyone on-site had extremely limited visibility throughout this journey, especially those in the live stream.
A moment of complete darkness in the camera almost made online viewers suspect a black screen. It took several attempts of coming in and out to confirm it was an issue with the visuals.
Jiang Shi wasn’t sure what Han Yuze was up to.
Upon arriving at San Tingpo, it was about 7:05 PM.
In the distance, a tall figure stood at the center of the open ground.
Clad in white, the bright moonlight cast a halo around the figure, and the gentle breeze played with their clothes, making them look ethereal and independent from the world.
Han Yuze evidently spotted the arrival of the person, stood still without moving, and a faint smile crept onto his lips.
He waved slowly towards Jiang Shi’s direction, “Perfect timing, come here.”
Huh? Is it starting now?
Jiang Shi received the signal; the large cross in his hand spun around, and he quickly dashed towards Han Yuze.
What Pen Carries Fragrance exclaimed in excitement, “It’s starting! Today’s century-old ma… uh! Uh uh!”
The rest of the words were abruptly muffled by the finally fed-up Green Fanatic.
Although he had been dominating in the arena for many days, whenever facing Han Yuze as an opponent, Jiang Shi never felt any hint of complacency.
In the corner of his eye, he noticed the positions of the scattered series of mini-mechanics and, as they gradually approached, the large runestone in his hand was ready to unleash its power.
Just as they entered the attack range, the mini-mechanics lit up with fire, and a vast runic field soared up at an extremely close distance.
However, Jiang Shi didn’t face an attack as imagined.
At the moment when Han Yuze was completely enveloped by the runic field, the surrounding area exploded loudly, but instead of an attack, a sky-reaching display of fireworks burst forth.
The dazzling scene of exploding fireworks against the dim environment created a daylight-like effect.
The exquisitely hidden displays within the trees finally revealed themselves to everyone.
In this dreamlike scene stood two figures within the enveloping runic field, appearing illusory amidst the interplay of light and shadow.
Jiang Shi had always remained unruffled even in the face of adversity. However, amidst this unexpectedly exaggerated display, he was momentarily stunned.
In this seemingly century-long moment, amidst the noisy fireworks, only the world within their gaze seemed to feel the closeness of their breaths.
At that moment, even though he was in a holographic game, Jiang Shi still felt his heart racing suddenly, unusually uncertain about the current situation.
As if after a century of enduring the bustling fireworks, finally, the last of the fireworks exploded.
This time, including the barrage in the live stream, the entire world seemed to fall into a subtle silence.
Jiang Shi tightened his grip on the cross in his hand, pondering whether to continue the action, when he felt Han Yuze’s hand gripping his tighter.
Then, the man in front of him looked straight into his eyes, with a gentle smile. “Today, I have only one question, a question I’ve wanted to ask for five years.”
Pausing for a moment, he asked earnestly, “PoisondMilk, can I pursue you?”
Jiang Shi: “?”
Others present at the scene: “?”
The frenzied barrage in the live stream: [?]