Chapter 33: Internet Trolls

"Bang!"

Amidst the sound of surging Source Force, One-Blade Soul-Stealer launched a lunging burst attack right in my face!

Finally, he had used a skill before I did!

Under the impact of the burst charge, my mind went blank for a split second, followed by a sharp pain in my back. That blue monomolecular blade had chained a basic attack into a Dragon Blade, then another basic attack—the damage was unusually high!

"300!"
"224!"
"436!"
"227!"

Immediately after the second basic attack, a fierce look flashed in One-Blade Soul-Stealer's eyes. He slammed the tip of his sword into the ground, unleashing a Ground Spike Slash!

"544!"

The damage was decent; the entire combo dealt over 1,700 points of damage. But my health bar sat at a solid 7,900 points—it was barely a scratch!

To put it plainly, I held a massive advantage in the grade of my Source Force Furnace. If not for that, the difference in our weapons might have made the outcome uncertain.

"How is this possible..."

One-Blade Soul-Stealer looked dazed, likely shocked that his damage output was so low and even more stunned by the sheer thickness of my health bar. To lose only 1,700+ HP and still have 78% of my health remaining was simply absurd!

In the moment he was caught off guard, I thrust my sword into his abdomen, dealing 260+ damage. I immediately triggered a burst charge to appear behind him, following up with a basic attack, Dragon Blade, and another basic attack—a three-hit combo right into his back!

"402!"
"249!"
"524!"
"271!"

In an instant, the full combo dealt another 1,700+ damage. Combined with the damage from my first set, One-Blade Soul-Stealer had now lost over 2,800 HP. Given that his total health was only around 5,000, his health bar was now down to 43%!

"Click!"

As One-Blade Soul-Stealer turned around to initiate a Stride Slash to condense his armor, I swapped my primary weapon to the Roarer. The pitch-black muzzle pointed directly at his face.

One pull of the trigger would instantly put him into a lightly wounded state!

"You..."

One-Blade Soul-Stealer’s expression shifted violently: "You have no martial honor?!"

I hesitated for a moment. Although this was a quiet alley with little foot traffic, we were still in the old city district. If I opened fire, military police would swarm the area, which would be a huge headache and could even bring disaster upon the entire Player Black Market!

I switched back to my Vanguard Stinger, feeling much more at ease.

I still had over 70% of my health, while he had less than 40%. The advantage was mine!

Just then, a shadowy figure darted out from the nearby darkness. A health bar and ID floated above their head—they were also a ranked player!

[Spear Like a Dragon] (Starry Sky Super-Weapon · Sword Specialization · Second Tier)
Level: 20
Guild: None
...

It was him!

Although Spear Like a Dragon was, like me and One-Blade Soul-Stealer, a level 20 player, he had completed his advancement and was now a Second-Tier player. He might have already learned a Second-Tier skill. The general Second-Tier skills for sword-type super-weapons were Armor-Piercing Strike and Leap Slash; any extra skill could be the deciding factor in the final outcome.

"Stop fighting!"

Spear Like a Dragon arrived in a flash. He looked at us with deep, searching eyes and commanded, "Are you both crazy? Dueling with visible health bars in the city? Are you trying to get the Player Black Market wiped out by the Creek City military police?"

I instantly switched to my ordinary civilian status.

One-Blade Soul-Stealer gritted his teeth, eventually switching back to his civilian form as well.

"Whatever the issue is, it can be discussed properly," Spear Like a Dragon said, lowering his voice. "We players are already treated like rats in this world, living in the dark shadows of the Star Abyss. You two are famous on the Creek City rankings—what are you doing?!"

"Spear Like a Dragon, this has nothing to do with you," One-Blade Soul-Stealer said coldly.

"Nothing to do with me?"

Spear Like a Dragon gestured toward the black market behind him. "I am the one currently in charge of this black market. Do you dare say it has nothing to do with me? If this place gets wiped out, do you think the people above will let me off? Still going to say it doesn't concern me?"

I said calmly, "This whole thing was instigated by the people from Twilight of the Gods. Even this alley fight was forced upon me. I don't intend to take any responsibility for this."

"Hmm!"

Spear Like a Dragon looked at me, gave a firm nod, and then turned his gaze to One-Blade Soul-Stealer. "Blade, you really need to control your temper. Your Twilight of the Gods guild constantly causing infighting among players is no good. If you're really that strong and Creek City can no longer contain you, fine—come at our Red Sky Alliance. I, Spear Like a Dragon, will bring my brothers outside the city for a real fight. Do you accept?"

"That’s not what I meant. Actually, there’s likely a misunderstanding here..."

One-Blade Soul-Stealer’s tone had clearly softened.

"If it’s a misunderstanding, then that’s fine," Spear Like a Dragon said. "Brother Shadow-Chaser didn't provoke you, so what is Twilight of the Gods trying to do? Since it’s a misunderstanding, settle it here. Apologize to him."

"Fine. I, Huang Jinbo, am not someone who can't own up to his mistakes."

One-Blade Soul-Stealer revealed his real name, turned to me, and said, "Brother Shadow-Chaser, this incident was indeed started by a few of my worthless brothers. Don't take it to heart. When you have time, I’ll personally host a dinner and bring those brothers of mine to apologize to you. How about that? We’re all players; we have to make a living on someone else’s turf, so we really shouldn't be fighting among ourselves."

"Fine," I nodded. "Then I’ll wait for that drink from Guild Leader One-Blade Soul-Stealer."

"It’s a deal!"

And so, three of the top-ranked players in Creek City headed off in different directions.

As for the dinner and apology... I’d take that with a grain of salt. One should never take such things to heart, and even if One-Blade Soul-Stealer actually hosted it, I had no interest in attending.

...

Back at my residence.

Milo wasn't there; he had probably gone to work at the bar.

Although I was starving, I took a hot shower first, found a change of clothes in Milo’s room, and washed my dirty ones. Only after finishing that did I head downstairs, planning to grab a bowl of hot noodle soup.

Downstairs, in front of the convenience store, sat an old-fashioned arcade machine—the kind that cost a coin to play. A little chubby kid, looking like a primary school student, was playing King of Fighters '97. His gameplay was surprisingly skilled; his combos with Iori Yagami were nothing short of masterful.

I glanced over and gave a scoff.

"What are you laughing at? If you’ve got the guts, put in a coin and let's see who's better!" the chubby kid challenged me aggressively.

"Too lazy to teach you a lesson."

I chuckled and walked away. As long as I didn't engage, I couldn't lose.

"Ding Han, heading out?"

Downstairs, two old men were playing chess. One was Old Man Li, and the other was Old Man Zhao. Old Man Li owned the convenience store; I’d bought instant noodles there before, so we were familiar with each other.

"Yeah, going out to grab a bite."

He didn't pay me any more mind, continuing to play chess with his friend, muttering, "Hey, Old Zhao, I had a horse here just a moment ago. Where is my horse? Did you hide it?"

Old Zhao defended himself vigorously, "Old Li, don't go accusing people. Do I look like that kind of person?"

While they bickered, I left the residential compound.

I ordered a large bowl of braised noodles on the street. After eating my fill, I walked into a Jeanswest store across the street and bought myself a set of men's clothing. Since it was on sale, the jacket, top, pants, and shoes only cost me 1,200+ star coins in total.

Money should be spent where it counts. Even though my financial situation had slightly improved, I still preferred to save on clothing and food. If I had money, it was better spent on buying arms.

...

The next morning.

I arrived at the internet cafe early for my shift. Zhao Yihang had dark circles under his eyes and complained, "Damn it, this night shift is not meant for humans. If I keep pulling these all-nighters, I’ll retire early."

I patted his shoulder. "Just endure it. We all got through it."

After the shift change, Lu Xiaobei returned in a rush. The weather was getting colder, and she had put on a grey woolen coat. With her long hair, she looked elegant and poised. Her beauty was so perfect that no one would ever associate her with being the owner of this rundown internet cafe.

"Breakfast. Here."

Lu Xiaobei placed a double portion of breakfast on the counter and said, "What were you doing yesterday? Didn't hear a word from you all day."

"Busy with some personal matters."

"Out on a date with some girl?"

"Not exactly."

I began to enjoy my breakfast. After eating, Lu Xiaobei opened a computer and sat near the entrance to play Audition, her slender fingers dancing over the keyboard like butterflies—a truly beautiful sight.

She had really improved; she was genuinely planning to run the internet cafe well.

I, on the other hand, began scribbling away, continuing my novel, *My 23-Year-Old Beautiful Boss*.

By the afternoon, I had finished three chapters totaling 9,000 words. I stretched, proofread the manuscript, and thought to myself: as expected of me, my literary talent is soaring!

After uploading the day's manuscript, I checked the data for my work.

The website had started pushing traffic to it, and the book now had over a thousand bookmarks. That meant over a thousand people had read it, and the comment section had gone from desolate to receiving dozens of new comments every day.

Of course, there were good comments and bad ones, and I was mentally prepared for that.

However, one comment was particularly nasty.

"Is this kind of writing style supposed to be a novel? Author, listen to me: if you don't have the talent, stop writing blindly. Look at *I Eat Dragon Fruit’s* book; that’s what you call real writing. Look at yours—what kind of garbage is this? You aren't cut out for making a living online. Just go get a real job and stop misleading people on the internet."

That comment stung a bit. I’m just writing a novel—did I kill someone or burn down a house? Internet trolls are truly terrifying!

But when I clicked on the comment, I saw that a user with the ID "My Name is Lu Xiaobei" had replied to him.

"If he can write, that’s talent. What can you do besides troll? If you’re so capable, you write one. If you write better than the author, this girl will buy your entire book!"

The troll replied below: "Tsk tsk, just because I criticize it, I have to be able to write one myself? What kind of logic is that? Are you the author’s pet dog? You even used the name of the female lead—pah! The Lu Xiaobei in the book is a super beauty; you’re probably some kind of monster, otherwise, why would they say 'ugly people create problems'?"

...

I stared, dumbfounded. Those two had been attacking and cursing each other under that single comment, going back and forth for over two hundred replies. They were truly evenly matched rivals, fighting from the evening of the day before until this morning.

I spent ten minutes finally reading through the entire argument, then couldn't help but sigh—they were both real talents!