The room felt empty.

His parents were away on a business trip overseas. They wouldn’t be home for a while.

For a lot of kids his age, that would be genuinely hard to bear. No one cooked for you. No one helped with laundry. And in an empty house, all by yourself, loneliness would creep in too.

The loneliest time was waking up on a summer afternoon, when it was already close to dark outside, the day just about over.

But there still wasn’t a single person at home. Not one message on your phone.

At times like that, you’d get the illusion that the whole world had gone dead, and only you were left alive.

Lu Huai got lonely too. But it also saved him a lot of trouble. Like the trouble of talking to people.

He could do his own laundry, and he could order takeout himself. As for cooking, he really wasn’t good at it. Anything that needed hands-on teaching was a problem for him.

He wasn’t hungry yet. He checked the time. It was almost four, kind of an awkward hour. Too early to order dinner, even earlier to sleep. He’d already finished his summer homework long ago, so... should he write an update for his novel?

The boy opened his computer, then opened his writing software. After thinking it over, he wrote an opening.

Less than three hundred words.

Then a QQ message popped up.

One look and he knew it was a private message. Lu Huai had basically muted all his group chats. There wasn’t any special reason. He just could never fit into their topics. He worried that if he said something and no one replied, the chat would go cold. It felt like he could already see the mocking faces behind their phones.

“This guy seriously can’t chat, hahaha...” Stuff like that.

Maybe it was a bit paranoid. But what if it really happened? And he couldn’t deny that seeing people he vaguely knew in class groups and other chats posting where they’d gone traveling, what expensive things they’d bought, or even flaunting their relationships like happy normies... it brought out an ugly kind of jealousy in him.

Things he could never have...

Better not to see them at all. So he just turned the notifications off, to keep his mood from getting worse.

And this way, if a message did appear, it meant someone had specifically come to talk to him. He wouldn’t get his hopes up, open it, and realize no one was looking for him at all... it was just the group chat going wild.

Though after muting them... very few people actually came to talk to him. The little box in the lower right almost never flashed.

But this time, it did.

So Lu Huai opened it and saw a message from someone named: The Cutest Heroine in the Server.

“Master! Get online, it’s guild war time!”

Only then did Lu Huai remember. It really was about time for guild war. The first round on weekends started at 4:30. This xianxia MMORPG, Sword and Zither Heart, gave out points through all kinds of social and interactive gameplay, and those points could be exchanged for gear.

Of course, gear from guild war points was for PvP, while dungeon gear was for PvE.

And the gear you got from arena and guild war naturally covered different slots. So if you wanted a full endgame set for the current patch, you had to grind until you bled.

It took a ridiculous amount of effort. But for internet-addicted teens, that was part of the fun.

It was guild war time now, but he’d only just opened his writing software...

Lu Huai thought about it. He’d already written three hundred words. After the guild war, he’d log off immediately and go back to writing. He definitely wouldn’t stay on even a second longer.

So Lu Huai replied.

“Okay.”

If he said too much, people might misunderstand and things would get awkward. So simple and direct should be... fine, right?

“Then come to YY first. The guild leader said it too. You’re our number one hitter, so we’re waiting for you before setting things up.”

Lu Huai had just clicked back into the game. The moment he saw that message, he tensed up.

Because he didn’t put effort into social stuff, he’d put plenty into gaming instead. So naturally, he’d managed to earn himself the title of an expert. He didn’t think he was that amazing... but calling him the number one hitter was way too much, wasn’t it?

That meant... even more attention was landing on him again. What if the moment he entered YY, the voice chat was full of people shouting his name?

Lu Huai got a little nervous. But at least he didn’t have to meet anyone face to face. He still had his sacred technique of not having a mic. The virtual world gave him a strange sense of safety.

So he entered YY.

And when the system announced: User [Feihua] has entered the channel...

“The eleventh-tier boss is here!”

“The guild leader’s number one sword cultivator is here!”

“Hurry, hurry, go invite the Buddha from the Western Heaven!”

“...”

The instant he entered the channel, the flood of information nearly killed Lu Huai on the spot.

[Are you sure you want to mute all sound?]

[Confirm!]

In an instant, Lu Huai muted his entire computer.

The movement was smooth as flowing water, like a drill he’d practiced thousands upon thousands of times.

It was a habit he’d developed to protect his fragile little heart.

After a while, once he’d calmed down and adjusted himself, Lu Huai turned the sound back on.

“Huh? Where’d he go? Why’d he disappear?”

Only after making sure there were a lot fewer voices did Lu Huai type in the channel: “Had something to do just now.”

Someone immediately sighed in admiration. “As expected of an expert who’s ruthless and doesn’t waste words. This is exactly the kind of no-BS killer we need!”

A man was speaking. This was the guild leader of Lu Huai’s guild.

Good. A man. His pressure instantly dropped by half.

If it were a girl, and her voice was sweet too, Lu Huai would blush on the spot.

And if it were an older-sister type voice, Lu Huai would boil alive and start letting out the mournful cries of a steam engine.

“Alright, Feihua, you still don’t have a mic, right?”

“Right.”

It gave people the instinctive impression of an expert’s disdain and coldness.

“Okay then. We’ll keep the strategy simple. Today’s guild war is against the fifth-ranked guild on our server, so this one’s got real weight. If we win this round, we probably won’t need to join the next few. Feihua, your name carries a lot of weight, so they’ll definitely keep a close eye on your ID and defend their points hard. This time, what you need to do is take a few people and feint at their most remote point. The rest of our main force will break through one by one. But don’t die too easily, alright? Any problem with that?”

It wasn’t that Lu Huai had no opinions. He just couldn’t bring them up even when he had them. So he answered honestly.

“No.”

Very good. Still the same ruthless, quiet expert. The kind who didn’t even have a mic.

“Alright then. Once we’re in game, start pulling the parties together.”

So Lu Huai entered the game. Ten minutes before the guild war started, the teams were set.

Lu Huai glanced at his team. There were five people total.

A tank, himself as the sword cultivator DPS, a healer, a magic DPS, and... another DPS.

That other DPS was The Cutest Heroine in the Server.

Why was there a girl here?!

And this one, of all people! Wasn’t she the second-highest DPS in dungeon runs? Her mechanics should be decent. But his team was supposed to be the feint, so why had they sent her over too?

Lu Huai still hadn’t figured it out. He only felt, from the bottom of his heart, that this was troublesome.

Then the team voice chat lit up.

“Hmph hmph, I specifically asked the guild leader to put me on your team. If you won’t teach me, I’ll learn by myself!”

Just for that simple reason?

What a weird kind of persistence...

Lu Huai could only reply, “...”

The standard three dots. One more would’ve felt awkward.

Soon, the guild war began.

The mode was simple. Over forty minutes, both sides fought to seize points. Hold the enemy’s formation node long enough to capture the flag, and your side gained points. When the forty minutes were up, whoever had the most points won the guild war.

The map wasn’t small. It could hold at least a hundred players fighting at once.

Fifty on each side. Sending a five-man squad to feint at one point wasn’t an unusual tactic.

Lu Huai drifted lightly onto the battlefield, then marked a point farthest from the central clash.

And flew there alone.

“Hey, hey, wait! Don’t start acting cool yet! If you go by yourself, you won’t even have your buffs stacked!”

So the sword cultivator obediently ran back like an idiot.

It wasn’t really about acting cool. He was just used to fighting like a lone wolf. Communication made him nervous, and coordination was a little hard for him too. Except in high-level matches, where everyone just understood each other without words.

“Why are you acting like a dummy?”

The girl laughed as she said it. She really did think this eleventh-tier god seemed a little silly.

And what Lu Huai was thinking was...

He might’ve gotten too nervous.

Once the buffs were up, the battle spread open. After the players in the central area finished probing each other, Lu Huai and his four teammates also reached the remote area.

Sure enough, just like the guild leader had said, the moment the ID Feihua appeared, a whole group of enemies started rushing over one after another.

Lu Huai glanced at his teammates moving toward the flag, then chose to stay outside the center of the fight.

Hovering at the edge.

The Cutest Heroine in the Server said with certainty, “The boss is covering us!”

Lu Huai froze for a second. He’d only stayed back because there were too many people, and he’d instinctively avoided them...

When one opponent moved toward him to test the waters, Lu Huai worried the guy might call over teammates. So he decided to rush up and kill him first.

From opener to finish, it was fast. Even though their gear was about the same, Lu Huai didn’t make a single mistake in his combo.

He killed one player with effortless ease.

The Cutest Heroine in the Server shouted excitedly, “So this is what an eleventh-tier god looks like? You’re out of mana, hurry back and get some mana!”

Lu Huai had originally been about to go back for mana. But the moment he heard that, his heart tightened. A rebellious impulse rose up in him. He clearly had a people-pleasing side, but refused to admit it was part of his personality.

So Lu Huai ran back out and killed another one.

Only when his mana was finally empty did he force himself to return. Watching the healer restore his mana made his whole body feel uncomfortable.

The Cutest Heroine in the Server was still shouting, “I learned something from that! As long as you’ve got enough mana for one combo, you don’t need to refill!”

“...”

Lu Huai was on the verge of breaking down.

And aside from occasionally snatching a low-health kill and helping a little, the only thing The Cutest Heroine in the Server really contributed was being the hype squad.

“That was brutal! That interrupt into heal block!”

“You’re amazing, boss! How did you 1v2 that?!”

“No, wait! You’re almost out of HP! Aren’t you coming back?!”

“That was awesome! Big bro, you’re so flashy—eh, why’d you die?”

How could I not die?!

Can you stop talking already?!

If there hadn’t been so many enemies coming in so fast and so densely, Lu Huai would’ve already found time to adjust settings and type back. If he’d had the guts to turn on his mic, he would’ve absolutely gone off on this girl by now.

She was so annoying!!

Just as The Cutest Heroine in the Server was shouting in full excitement, she suddenly got a message from the guild leader.

“What’s going on over there? Wasn’t that supposed to be a feint?! Why’s everyone going to your side? We’re crushing them on points here!”

“Huh? Crushing them? What happened?”

The girl glanced at the score at the top of the screen.

125:45.

That score was... absurd.

“I should be asking you what happened! I told you to feint, and instead you pulled the whole mob and wiped them all? Our main assault team looks stupid now! If you hold that point for another five minutes, it’ll be like you held it from start to finish!”

The girl was a little dazed.

When the points were finally tallied, they won the guild war without question.

And while everyone was still talking about how ridiculous that guild war had been, The Cutest Heroine in the Server cleverly chose to become the first smart, good woman to privately message [Feihua].

“Do you still have time? Could you maybe give me some pointers? I really think your mechanics are amazing. So cool~”

“886.”

“???”

The girl had just been getting ready to show off a little of her flirty tea-art skills when she was caught completely off guard by the other side’s grayed-out avatar.

It really went gray!

Why did he log off just like that?!

Were experts all this cold? Is he frigid or what?!

Still unwilling to give up, the girl sent him a private message on QQ.

“Why’d you log off, big bro? Is little sis’s voice not nice to hear? How about I sing you a song?”

“886.”

Then the other person's QQ avatar went gray too.

“Smack!!”

The girl viciously slammed her headset down and smacked the desk.

“What the hell?! That bastard!”

Her mother's voice came from outside the door.

“Xu Wenxi, why are you cursing?”

The girl named Xu Wenxi didn't even turn her head.

“Mom, it's because I have no manners!”