The King's Avatar

Chapter 2: Section C, Number 47

"Che, what's there to show off about!"

"Retiring is also for his own good. What else can he do?"

"That's right. It's considerate of him not to linger in the club for retirement."

Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng left, and the people left in the meeting room seemed to suddenly come to their senses. The discussion in whispers started again. Sun Xiang's expression, however, was unpredictable. He didn't participate in the discussion; instead, he approached the manager, "I don't understand. Why did he accept these conditions?"

"He had no choice," the manager replied.

"Why?"

"Because he can't afford the penalty for breaking the contract."

"No... it can't be." Sun Xiang was surprised. Ye Qiu had been a professional player in the league for seven years, and he was one of the best. Even if he refused various commercial activities, his salary alone should be enough to cover the penalty for terminating a contract one and a half years early.

"You didn't come from that era; you haven't experienced it. In the early days of the league, professional players didn't have the glamour they have now. Everyone was barely making ends meet, and most people had part-time jobs. Those who were kicked out during that time had a hard time. They spent their prime youth on the game, lacking other skills, and most of them struggled financially. Ye Qiu was a genius of that era, reaching the top with his skill, but he has many friends who faced such difficulties."

"Are you saying that much of his wealth has been used to support his friends?"

"Yes."

"Since he needs money, why doesn't he accept commercial activities?" Sun Xiang asked.

"No one knows the reason for this person's actions," the manager said.

"Do you have any speculation?" Sun Xiang asked.

"Perhaps it's related to his family."

"Oh?"

"No one has ever known anything about his family, and he has never talked about it. It's strange, so I have this suspicion," the manager said.

"This person has... a lot of stories!" Sun Xiang held the account card that Ye Qiu gave him. He also knew that One Autumn Leaf was Ye Qiu's entertainment account in the online game, used since before the professional league was formed. It was one of the oldest accounts in the Glory game world.

"Enough about him. The boss couldn't make it today, but he specially gave me this bottle of wine he has been cherishing for years, specifically for you." The manager said.

"Haha, thank you! With me in Excellent Era, we're about to turn things around."

==============================

Ye Qiu left.

Su Mucheng stood at the entrance of the club, watching Ye Qiu walk away. He kept turning back and waving to her, and Su Mucheng's face was already full of tears.

There were not many parting words. Ye Qiu only said eight words in total: "Rest for a year, then come back."

Su Mucheng didn't say a word, just nodded heavily. She was no longer the innocent girl from years ago; she now had the courage to take on many responsibilities.

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky. It was a cold winter.

==============================

It's snowing?

When Ye Qiu left the club, he hadn't thought about his next steps. After living this way for so many years, a sudden change was a bit uncomfortable. He just wanted to walk, walk continuously, until he figured things out for himself.

Who knew that fate wouldn't give him that chance. It started snowing at this moment, and it was getting heavier. The swirling snowflakes quickly dampened his shoulders, and his hair began to freeze. He had to find shelter.

Looking around, there was an internet cafe on the side of the road, still brightly lit in the late night. Ye Qiu rushed towards the internet cafe.

Inside the internet cafe was warm. Shaking off the snowflakes on his body, Ye Qiu opened a computer at the front desk.

"Machine in Section C, Number 47." The girl at the counter reported the location of the computer. She handed back the ID card of the person who started the computer, but when she looked up, the person was already gone. The girl didn't find it surprising; apparently, she was used to such situations. She silently kept the ID card and knew that the person who disappeared would come back to claim it.

Machine in Section C, Number 47. Ye Qiu found it following the row numbers. The internet cafe was not small, with a considerable number of computers and even a second floor. Ye Qiu didn't need to go upstairs; he saw the section number hanging from the ceiling.

Counting to the 47th machine, Ye Qiu was surprised. There was already a woman sitting in this position, playing Glory in the arena with intense and skillful maneuvers, her high ponytail swaying behind her.

Looking at her profile, especially her character, a Marksman in the game, Ye Qiu felt a bit bewildered. He almost thought it was Su Mucheng sitting in this position.

But he quickly realized it wasn't. Su Mucheng was always gentle and calm, even in fierce player versus player (PvP) battles, she could maintain a smile. Sometimes, watching her smile while obliterating opponents with a single shot made him shudder for no apparent reason.

As for the girl in front of him, her appearance was similarly beautiful and pure, but the determined and fierce strokes on the keyboard and mouse made her seem like a complete deception.

"The murderous aura is terrifying, but it's a pity..." Ye Qiu saw the screen and recognized that the woman was about to face trouble. As expected, as soon as she revealed a flaw, her opponent seized the opportunity, delivering a combo. With little health left, she was instantly wiped out.

"Damn it!" Ye Qiu heard the woman angrily shout, and she waved her hand to hit the keyboard, directly closing the game.

Ye Qiu was still hesitating whether to keep this position. The woman had already turned her head and, at a glance, noticed Ye Qiu's hesitation. She got up with an angry expression and asked, "Taking over the computer?"

Ye Qiu nodded.

"Sit here!" The woman said and left.

Ye Qiu shook his head at the lack of composure in this ordinary player's competitive skills and finally took the seat.

Chen Guo was frustrated, very frustrated. Just now, she dueled with someone in the Glory arena, played 52 rounds, and unbelievably didn't win a single one. She could hardly believe it.

Her account wasn't bad at all. Chen Guo touched the "Seeking Plum Blossoms" card in her pocket. Among regular players, her account was quite strong. Moreover, Chen Guo was skilled too; she had been playing Glory for a solid five years. The opponent she faced just now had an account that wasn't as good as hers, yet Chen Guo lost all 52 rounds.

"He's a great expert." Chen Guo nodded to herself.

"Boss, you didn't log out of your game? Why is someone else playing?" Chen Guo was walking and thinking, and suddenly she heard someone say. Chen Guo turned her head and saw a familiar face, a regular customer in the internet cafe, peering at the computer she had just occupied.

Not good! Chen Guo was startled and quickly rushed back. Due to the popularity of Glory, account logins had become a standard part of computer setups in internet cafes. Because account cards only needed to be inserted when logging in, it was common for people to log in and then put the cards away.

This "one card, one account" system made account theft a thing of the past. However, in places like internet cafes, it was common for people to forget to log out or pseudo-log out of the game, leading to their accounts being taken over by the next user. Chen Guo, irritated after losing 52 rounds, had been careless, and instead of exiting the game, she only switched back to the computer desktop.

Hurrying to the front, Chen Guo indeed saw the guy at the next computer controlling her account. Surprisingly, instead of sweeping equipment, he was passionately playing in the arena. Chen Guo hadn't even had a chance to scold him when two large characters appeared on the screen: "Victory!"