Chapter 21: The Membership Card

Deep into the night.

The patrons for the overnight session at the internet cafe had all logged on one after another. I heard that Xicheng was planning to crack down on internet cafe operations recently, even going so far as to discuss banning "overnight" services and restricting late-night business hours. Because of this, I had pulled down the rolling shutter early; regardless of who showed up next, I was absolutely not opening the door again.

After dismantling, repairing, and reassembling a faulty computer several times, I lay back in the manager’s throne to rest for a moment.

When I opened the regional leaderboard, I couldn't help but feel a slight chill—my ranking was rising rapidly!

1. Gun Like a Dragon, Level: 18, Class: Starry Super-Warrior
2. Soul-Reaping Blade, Level: 17, Class: Starry Super-Warrior
3. Bubble Tea Life-Extending Immortal, Level: 17, Class: Starry Super-Warrior
4. Shadow Chaser, Level: 16, Class: Starry Super-Warrior
5. Chaos Overlord, Level: 16, Class: Starry Super-Warrior
6. Lu Xun Deleting Comments Overnight, Level: 16, Class: Starry Super-Warrior
7. Rabbit Critical Strike, Level: 15, Class: Firearm Specialist
8. Zuan Liberal Arts Valedictorian, Level: 15, Class: Psionicist
9. Ruolin, Level: 14, Starry Super-Warrior
10. I’m Trash But I Can Trash Talk, Level: 14, Class: Firearm Specialist
...

Currently ranked fourth, it was really a bit too conspicuous!

I have to say, the leveling speed of the top three is indeed fast. Unless something unexpected happened, they must have either taken on large-scale missions or, like me, obtained dungeon crystals; otherwise, such rapid leveling shouldn't be possible.

Of course, if one had deep pockets and formed a squad with infinite ammo to blast their way through everything, the leveling speed certainly wouldn't be slow. However, most players at this stage are penniless, so the possibility of "RMB players" (pay-to-win players) can basically be ruled out.

Daily shout-out, continuing on.

Consuming 1% of my current level's experience points, I opened the star map and said in a deep voice: "Player Shadow Chaser, looking for player Light Chaser. Any players with information on Light Chaser, please contact me! Many thanks!"

"Wow, it’s the big shot Shadow Chaser..."

A player entered the star map chat room almost instantly. It was that same female player named "What's to Eat, Give Me a Bite Too": "Big shot Shadow Chaser, have you still not found your friend?"

"Not yet. The world is vast; it’s a bit difficult..."

"Indeed. But your level has been rising so fast lately. I feel like if you push a little harder, you might make it into the top three of the Xicheng leaderboard!"

"Just lucky, that's all. The leveling speed won't be this fast from here on out."

At this moment, a male player entered the chat room. It was actually the 10th-ranked "I’m Trash But I Can Trash Talk." He started off by asking directly: "Brother Shadow Chaser, fourth place now... awesome..."

He chuckled and asked: "Could I impertinently ask what your overall combat power level is? Let a little noob like me feel how terrifying the combat pressure of a top-five big shot is..."

"You guess?" I laughed.

"At least 150 points, right?"

He said cautiously: "Two days ago, I heard that Soul-Reaping Blade’s combat power level officially broke 150 points. You’re ranked fourth now, and two days have passed, so logically your combat power should be close to 150, right?"

"Not yet, still a bit off."

I glanced at my own 325-point overall combat power level without revealing my true strength.

"Oh, that’s still pretty good."

"What's to Eat, Give Me a Bite Too" said: "Trashy, what’s yours?"

"Just hit 140 points. How about you, Mouthy?"

The one called "Mouthy" laughed: "I’m a small fry, just passed one hundred. Taking it slow; I don't dare to be greedy for quick success, afraid of dying out there. I heard that if you die, you really die. I don't want to die yet."

I smiled and then exited the chat room.

Trashy, Mouthy... These players are quite interesting.

I crossed my arms, closed my eyes, and tried to get as much sleep as I could.

...

I don't know how long I had been asleep before I was suddenly shaken awake.

"Ding Han, my machine is acting up. It’s a critical moment, help me take a look!"

The person who woke me was a regular customer who was there almost every night. He played *Legend*, known as Old K, and seemed to be a professional player running a Taoist character, making a living by farming items to sell for money.

"Oh?"

I stood up immediately: "What’s the problem? Let me see what’s going on."

"Take a quick look. The screen has been shaking since just now, no idea why."

Old K was a bit anxious: "I’ve been poisoning that Huangquan Cult Leader for twenty minutes. It’s about to die, Ding Han, hurry up and look, don't mess this up for me."

I quickly tested it, and there was no major problem; a reboot would solve it.

Shortly after, the machine rebooted, and everything returned to normal.

"Holy shit..."

Old K was covered in sweat.

"Don't worry."

I pulled up a chair and sat nearby, laughing: "What’s yours will always be yours. Maybe the machine issue was just a small hiccup; just keep a calm heart. Want a cigarette?"

"Give me one."

I pulled out a Liqun and handed it to him, then helped him light it.

Old K puffed on the cigarette, logged into his account, and squinted, looking very satisfied.

A while later, the character logged in.

"The boss hasn't regained much health. Great!"

Old K was energized, smoking while operating the game. Red poison, green poison, summoning a divine beast—the whole set of operations had become muscle memory. Then came a barrage of fire talismans, draining the boss's HP.

I didn't speak, just watched from the side.

About five minutes later, accompanied by a miserable shriek from the boss, it dropped a ton of loot!

"Holy shit!"

Old K’s eyes widened suddenly. Before I could even react, he maneuvered his character to rush over and pick up the treasures. He opened his inventory, let out a booming laugh, and said: "Ding Han, look at this!"

In his inventory, I saw a thick, black staff.

"Judgment! Dammit, a Judgment finally dropped! The first Judgment in this server!"

Old K laughed heartily, didn't hesitate to teleport back to the city, and stored the weapon named "Judgment" into the warehouse. He turned to look at me and smiled: "Ding Han, you really are my lucky star. As soon as you came over, the first Judgment of the server dropped. Guess what price those big shots in this server are offering for this Judgment?"

"How much?"

"This much..." He opened his five fingers.

"Five hundred?"

"Bullshit, five thousand!"

Old K was ecstatic: "So satisfying! Two months of rent and internet fees are covered in one go!"

I smiled slightly: "Congratulations. That just goes to show that our Feiyang Internet Cafe is your lucky ground."

"That’s for sure!"

Old K laughed: "Not gonna lie, the first Wuji stick in this server was also dropped by me, but I didn't sell it, I used it myself. See, the snowball effect is working. I’m the only Taoist in the entire server who can solo this boss. Pretty awesome, right?"

"Awesome..." I nodded.

Old K quickly logged into the forum, took a screenshot of the Judgment, posted it for the highest bidder, and left his contact information. He was too lazy to log back into the game, asked for another cigarette, and puffed away, laughing: "Ding Han, you’re not from Xicheng, are you? Your accent doesn't sound like it; it feels more like someone from Tengshan City in the Red Dragon Nation, or maybe a bit like the accent from Huaining City."

"Is that so?"

I smiled: "Where are you from, Boss K?"

"Don't even mention it. I don't want to talk about the past anymore."

Old K seemed very wary of his past: "I think you’re a decent guy. I heard that last time Lu Xiaobei was caught by the urban management for setting up a stall on the street, it was you who went to bail her out."

"Just a small favor."

"Hmph..."

Old K exhaled a smoke ring gently: "Ding Han, do you know Lu Xiaobei well?"

"Where is this coming from?"

I was slightly stunned: "To be honest... not particularly well. But I can tell that Lu Xiaobei probably isn't a local. This internet cafe hasn't been in her hands for long, right?"

"Yeah."

Old K nodded: "I knew the old owner of this internet cafe. Business wasn't doing well, the machines were few and the performance was trash. Later, I heard their son got into a university in BH City, so the couple planned to sell the shop. Just so happened that Lu Xiaobei arrived in Xicheng."

He squinted and smiled: "She was quite wealthy when she first came to Xicheng. Dressed in designer brands, the bags she carried were all luxury. Later, I heard she sold those bags and used the tens of thousands from the sales to take over this internet cafe. She’s been running it ever since, but she had no idea how to manage it until you came along and things started to pick up a little."

"No wonder."

I nodded: "I could tell at a glance that Lu Xiaobei isn't the type to endure hardship. Her delicate skin and tender flesh—you can tell she’s been pampered since childhood. She’s not cut out for running an internet cafe, working from dawn to dusk."

"So you should treat her well..."

Old K gave a meaningful smile: "What if one day Lu Xiaobei gets blind and takes a fancy to you, kid? Maybe you won't have to work hard for the rest of your life. Follow her home—who knows what kind of wealth you’ll have?"

"Forget it."

I couldn't help but laugh: "I’ve had a strong stomach since I was a kid; I was born not liking to be a gigolo!"

Old K laughed heartily.

Afterward, the two of us chatted for a while longer. Then Old K received a few calls from people who wanted that Judgment. It seems this game is truly popular in this era; a single Judgment is actually so highly sought after.

...

In the morning, shortly after I opened the rolling shutter, I saw a figure dash down from upstairs. Lu Xiaobei, dressed in a cute casual outfit, rushed out.

"Where are you going?"

"Buying breakfast!"

She didn't look back, as if she would starve to death if she delayed for even one more second.

I was speechless, waiting for Zhao Yihang to come and take over the shift.

Not long after, Zhao Yihang and Lu Xiaobei arrived side by side. Zhao Yihang’s face didn't look too good, head hung low, while Lu Xiaobei was lecturing him, pointing out all sorts of shortcomings in his work.

"Ding Han, breakfast."

Lu Xiaobei sat down on the manager’s throne and opened the breakfast bag. She had actually bought enough for two people.

"Boss, I haven't had breakfast either?" Zhao Yihang said with a shameless grin: "Is there a portion for me?"

"No, go buy your own."

"Boss, you’re so biased!"

I didn't stand on ceremony either, since I was hungry. Besides, hot meat buns, fried dough sticks, and spicy soup were definitely better than instant noodles. So, I ate breakfast with Lu Xiaobei.

"Ding Han."

She pursed her red lips and said: "Business has dipped again over the last two days. The occupancy rate during golden hours is still too low, and it's hard to retain customers. Do you have any ideas?"

"If you want to retain customers, there is actually one way."

"What way?"

"Issue them membership cards!"