"Woah, Brother He, that was way over the line!"
In a quiet corner of Radiant Imperial City, He Yucheng, Lengjiang, Xiaoye, Recomposed Words, and Moonshadow regrouped. Moonshadow watched the exploding world channel notifications and shook his head at He Yucheng.
"How’s that over the line? A real man doesn’t pick fights with women. He bullied my wife—doesn’t he deserve a lesson?" Though He Yucheng’s victory relied on Lichou’s misjudgment, as long as Lengjiang stayed silent, everyone would believe He Yucheng had utterly humiliated Lichou.
Just imagining a top 100 PvP player getting wrecked by an underleveled newbie… Lichou must be fuming, one step from a heart attack.
He Yucheng had recorded the clip purely for payback. After forcing him to humiliate himself in real life, didn’t Lichou owe him this debt?
Still, making more enemies didn’t worry He Yucheng. What troubled him were the consequences for others.
He never expected Lengjiang to go all out for him. Calling this game world a "second society" wasn’t an exaggeration. She knew standing up for him would make her a pariah—like a rat in the streets—yet she fearlessly stepped forward when he was most powerless. He was deeply moved.
This virtual world was He Yucheng’s lifeline. Lengjiang’s help was a lifeline in his darkest hour. The price she paid weighed heavily on his heart.
He knew she, too, survived through gaming. But after this, she’d been marked for "bounty hunting"—jointly targeted by major guilds. This wasn’t something easily fixed.
Though Lengjiang had massive popularity, she lacked a powerful guild backing her. Many players were fair-weather fans, swaying with the wind. Most wouldn’t actively hunt her, but they’d stop openly fawning over her (true fans excepted). Defying multiple top-ten guilds? The likely outcome was being griefed until she quit the game.
This game had no "recreate character" function.
A gamer without a game was like an addict cut off from their fix—drifting through days in a zombie-like stupor.
He Yucheng knew Lichou wouldn’t let this slide. Revenge was inevitable. But He Yucheng was used to being hunted; he barely cared. His real worry was how this would shatter Lengjiang’s carefree gaming life.
Speaking of bounties—someone *had* issued one for Lengjiang earlier, visible server-wide. Lichou wouldn’t do it himself; that’d only deepen his humiliation. So Xiaoye, Recomposed Words, and Moonshadow all knew about it.
Recomposed Words and Moonshadow could only sigh helplessly. Xiaoye and He Yucheng watched Lengjiang anxiously. Her joyful world had just been shattered—surely she felt uneasy?
Yet Lengjiang simply stood quietly beside He Yucheng. When all eyes turned to her, she shyly ducked behind him, tilting her head with a soft "(*/ω＼*) What’s wrong?"
She wasn’t naive. She understood the consequences of angering those mega-guilds. But even knowing that, she’d charged in without hesitation when He Yucheng needed her most.
Seeing no distress on Lengjiang’s face, Xiaoye merely quirked a faint smile and stayed silent. She adored her little sister—her peace of mind mattered most.
"Nothing, sweetheart," He Yucheng finally asked, unable to hold back. "Aren’t you worried you won’t be able to play freely anymore?"
Lengjiang tilted her head, puzzled: "?"
He Yucheng stared, torn between laughter and exasperation. Lengjiang squinted playfully, circling him like a cat rubbing against its owner. "(*/ω＼*) Hubby~ Was baby amazing just now?"
She was pure kitten-energy, craving his affection.
He Yucheng ruffled her hair with a sigh. "Yeah, yeah. My wife’s the strongest."
"(*/ω＼*) Hehe~" Lengjiang purred under his touch, eyes half-closed in bliss.
These two acted like an old married couple despite barely knowing each other…
*And they’re forgetting we’re still here…*
Recomposed Words cleared his throat sharply. "Moonshadow, bro—lend me a lighter. I need gasoline."
Moonshadow burst out laughing. He Yucheng and Lengjiang froze, cheeks flushing crimson as they remembered their audience.
"Brother He," Moonshadow glanced at He Yucheng’s bare guild tag—only his ID and title visible. "Looks like no guild will take you now, huh?"
"Me? A free agent. Living the dream!" He Yucheng grinned. Guilds were great for networking, but any guild accepting him now would face instant bounties. No sane player would risk it.
"Starting a guild’s tough, man," Moonshadow sighed, pointing at his own dim blue guild tag. "Look at me—I’m a founding elder of a ‘dead guild.’ The others log in once a blue moon. Even the crew I brought today’s itching to jump ship."
Recomposed Words winked at He Yucheng. "Tell me about it. Our guild leader never recruits anyone. Always whining about ‘work stress’ or ‘this game’s too hard.’"
"I’ve got things to do. Catch you later." Xiaoye raised a hand and turned to leave. He Yucheng hesitated, then whispered in party chat: *"That Concealment Jade…"*
He’d freeloaded off her help and dragged her into this mess. Guilt gnawed at him. Once Xiaoye vanished from sight, her reply popped up: *"It’s fine. Little Leng rarely makes friends. Consider it a welcome gift."*
"…" He Yucheng stared at the message, mouth slightly open. He finally typed back: *"Thanks."*
"Brother He?" Recomposed Words, Moonshadow, and Lengjiang peered at his frozen expression. He Yucheng snapped back with an "Huh?"—only to catch Recomposed Words’ sly grin. His eye twitched.
*This guy’s fishing for me to start a guild and recruit them… just to ogle Xiaoye and Lengjiang daily.*
Lengjiang blinked in confusion. He Yucheng beamed innocently. "Maybe in my next life."
"…" Recomposed Words itched to tackle Churan and pin him to a bed. *This guy really puts girls before bros.*
He Yucheng suddenly remembered something. "Sweetheart, those fireballs earlier—cheat? Glitch?"
"(oﾟ▽ﾟ)o Hehe~ Not telling hubby~" Lengjiang teased, dodging the question.
He Yucheng sighed. By game mechanics, those fireballs shouldn’t have blocked high-tier Drawn Blade Slashes.
Could it be her cosmetic weapon’s bonus effect? She’d owned one before—ugly but functional. If it granted "Copy" as a unique skill, sacrificing looks for power made sense.
But a cosmetic weapon granting *Invincibility* plus "Copy"? That’d be absurdly overpowered.
He Yucheng knew OFO Studios aimed for balance. Such a broken skill made no sense.
*Definitely not a cosmetic effect.* Cheats were impossible too—this game was too new and popular; hackers would’ve caused riots by now.
Only one explanation remained: a game-breaking bug.
Exploiting unpatched flaws could turn small advantages into chaos. Reporting bugs was every player’s duty… but most hid them for personal gain.
He guessed Lengjiang’s fireballs exploited an invincibility glitch. Reporting it? Out of the question.
Even Xiaoye’s trick—using channeling items while moving and casting—relied on unpatched exploits. Those would be fixed eventually.
Lengjiang glanced meaningfully at the house behind He Yucheng. Seeing nothing, she turned back with a bright smile. "(〃'▽'〃) Hubby! Big sister says it’s dinnertime~"
He Yucheng nodded. "Go ahead."
"(｡･ω･｡) Mhm! Baby’ll be back soon!" She slipped away, melting into the crowd—safest place when hunted.
Recomposed Words sighed dramatically. "Guess I’ll go find food too."
Moonshadow echoed him, and both vanished. He Yucheng called after them: "I’ll send you guys some reward money later!"
They waved dismissively. "Whatever’s fine." Then they were gone.
He Yucheng idly checked his quest log. Next stop: Eternal Night City—a map shrouded in perpetual darkness.
Only he and Lengjiang were marked by the "Butterfly Shadow" guild. Lengjiang was secondary; *he* was the primary target.
"Ah, might as well grind quests." With Concealment Jade and Stellar Guardian, escaping would be effortless.
"I’d suggest staying put for now."
He Yucheng’s expression darkened slightly. He turned.
Perched on the rooftop behind him stood a sharp-eyed female player. Above her head glowed the title: **Sentinel Tomb Guild Leader**.
His face grew even grimmer.
*He remembered this guild.*
**OFO’s second-ranked guild.**
And this woman was its leader.
