Nighttime, Suzhou University of Science and Technology.

"Let’s eat at Chuanxiangge…" Lin Yixin said immediately after she entered the car.

"Sure!"

The restaurant was only a few minutes away, and we happened to be the first supper customer to attend the restaurant. We ordered a couple of small dishes and a plate of white steamed buns. It was a pretty novel experience to chew on stir-fried pork with green peppers and a bun at the same time.

"Our grinding speed today is pretty good, right Yiyi?" I asked Lin Yixin with a smile.

She nodded. "Yeah, it’s great. At this rate, it really does look like we can hit Level 150 in a week. In fact, once I hit Level 140 or so, I could get a set of Spirit-grade equipment and actually reduce your burden."

I let out a chuckle. "Oh no, it’s no burden at all to carry you."

Her smile was as sweet as honey. "Mn, I see."

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice from behind me. "Aiyo, what a coincidence…"

I turned around and saw Zi Chuanyu walking over to our table with a girl. The girl was probably his girlfriend as she was holding his arm in an affectionate manner.

Lin Yixin waved a hand at them and greeted them with a smile. "Hi, Senior Zichuan! I didn’t think I would run into you here!"

When Zi Chuanyu reached us, he abruptly gave Lin Yixin a military salute and declared, "Greetings, guild leader!"

Lin Yixin immediately broke into a giggle.

I pointed at the free spaces around the table and offered, "Come take a seat and eat with us! We’ll just order a couple more dishes!"

"That’s very kind of you! I’ll gladly accept your offer!"

After both people took a seat, Zi Chuanyu introduced us to his girlfriend. "Lil Meng, as you already know, this beauty here is our guild leader, Lin Yixin. As for this guy, he’s—"

The girl interrupted him with a chuckle. "Shut up you, I know who he is, hoho. You’re Lu Chen, right? The legend whose contribution points in this Nation War were literally 8 times that of the runner-up, Luo River God of the Capital? You’re so amazing. Right now there’s no one in China who’s as strong as you are!"

I responded with a humble smile, "Those contribution points came at the cost of 90 levels, so it’s really nothing to be proud of."

Lil Meng then asked Zi Chuanyu, "Hey, how much contribution points did you get? If I remember correctly, you got less than Purple Marquis, didn’t you? You both share the surname Zi, so why is he so much better than you…"

Zi Chuanyu blushed red. "Oh come on, if I didn’t run into Vienna and got one-shot by him on the second day, I would be rolling in contribution points, okay?"

A giggling Lil Meng continued teasing her boyfriend, "I can’t believe you brought that up yourself. Exactly, you got one-shot on the second day. Look at Lu Chen, not only did he survive until the last moment, he even took out Blade of Kings, Vienna’s Sorrow, Grief of the Dark and many more super experts in the process. According to the tally, Lu Chen took out a total of 14 Heroic Bannermen in the Nation War. Man, the difference…"

Zi Chuanyu groaned. "How do you know so much about Lu Chen, Lil Meng?"

"I’m his hardcore fan. You should already know this…" Lil Meng shrugged.

Zi Chuanyu replied while rolling his eyes, "I brought this on myself, didn’t I? I shouldn’t have agreed to sit at this table."

I laughed. "It’s nothing, really. As long as you keep up the hard work, it’s only a matter of time you become strong as well. Lil Meng probably doesn’t know this, but back in the days, a single Tempest Shadow was all it took to force me to change major cities again and again…"

Lil Meng replied cheekily, "That’s different. If you change cities, it’s called a tactical retreat. If Zi Chuanyu changes cities, it’s called running with his tail between his legs. Don’t you agree, Lin Yixin?"

Lin Yixin let go of the white bun she was clenching and responded dumbly, "Uh, huh? Can you repeat what you said?"

"My god, you’re such a glutton, Yiyi…"

I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed on Lin Yixin’s behalf, but the girl simply stuck her tongue out at me and said, "Come on, I’ve been grinding levels all day! It’s only natural that I’m real hungry!"

……

A while later, Zi Chuanyu cleared his throat and got serious. "Lu Chen, guild leader, did you hear what happened after the both of you went offline that day?"

"No…?" Both Lin Yixin and I shook our heads at the same time.

Zi Chuanyu answered, "Less than ten minutes after Lu Chen logged out of the game, Candlelight Shadow returned to Dawn City with 300000 troops. When he saw that the army surrounding Dawn City was gone, he actually dropped to his knees and cried out loud!"

"What?" Lil Meng looked surprised. "Why would he do that? Isn’t he the Martial God?"

A hint of intelligence fleeted behind Lin Yixin’s pupils as she answered, "Candlelight Shadow knows full well that the world belongs to those who can win the heart of the people. However, he made the wrong move and left for Burning City even though he was technically under duress at the time. He wasn’t crying because he felt guilty for betraying Dawn City, he cried because he knew that Candle Dragon’s status in China was truly shaken now. His decision to invade Burning City with the Avengers instead of saving Dawn City had deeply disappointed countless Chinese players, and Candle Dragon can no longer claim that they were more reputable than Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls today."

Lin Yixin then looked at me with a proud look on her face. "My Lu Chen definitely fought well this war even though the cost was great, and I had to sacrifice myself in the end…"

I replied cheekily, "So what? You’re my woman. It’s only natural that you sacrifice yourself for me…"

She let out a sweet giggle at that.

Staring at the two of us in shock, Lil Meng asked, "Did you two… you know… did that already?"

"What on earth are you talking about!?" I stared at her. "It’s not what you think! In fact, we’re the ones who should be asking if you and Zi Chuanyu have done that already!"

Lil Meng was about to answer when Zi Chuanyu covered her mouth in a hurry for fear of her chastity. He then defended himself saying, "Hahaha, we haven’t done anything, haha, it’s totally the truth…"

"You really think anyone would believe that?" Lin Yixin rolled her eyes at him.

……

Zi Chuanyu took a bite out of a bun before eating a pickled pepper. Tearing up from the scalding heat burning his tongue, he said, "Now that the Fortress of the Iron Halberd had appeared like a gift from heaven and sealed off the Northern Alliance’s only entrance to Dawn City, we should have a short period of peace. What are your opinions regarding the latest situation?"

Lin Yixin set down her chopsticks and took a sip from her fruit juice. She then looked to the distance and said, "It’s simple. The Nation War lasted 3 full days, and the Fortress of the Iron Halberd is blocking the way to Dawn City. The Northern Alliance will be using this time to rest and recuperate, and I don’t see them invading Dawn City for the next half a month at least. This means that Lu Chen and I can focus fully on grinding back our levels during this time. This is good for Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls as well since Gui Guzi, High Fighting Spirits, Sister He Yi and more all lost 30 levels during that war."

I nodded. "Our biggest threat now becomes the southeast main city of India, the Elephant City and Cyan Earth City. When we were fighting against the Northern Alliance, Elephant City had already dispatched a small troop of cavalry to harass Sky City. We absolutely must keep a close eye on them. Besides that, there’s one more variable we have to pay attention to."

"What is it?" Zi Chuanyu asked with knitted eyebrows.

I answered, "Practically speaking, the territory to the north of Wind City belongs to the Northern Alliance, but that isn’t completely true. There is a barren land at the northwestmost side of the map where 27 smaller countries, the Chaotic 27, are engaged in a seemingly endless civil war including Argentina’s Black Earth City, Serbia and more. If these nations were to come under one united banner, they’d become a force no one could ignore. In my opinion, we can use them to control the Northern Alliance’s progress. We can also sow dissension between the eight major cities of the Northern Alliance and let them destroy themselves. You don’t always need to defeat an enemy by force, even if it’s the most gratifying method of them all."

Zi Chuanyu sucked in a deep breath. He was so agitated that the bun he was holding was crumpling under his grip. "Fuck, I felt like my horizons are broadened just speaking to you. I didn’t realize that you’re such a forward planner, Lu Chen. My earlier considerations could only be described as short-sighted compared to yours…"

Lin Yixin gave him a gentle smile and advised, "Zi Chuanyu, this is one part where you really need to improve on. Both you and Purple Marquis are the commanders of Snowy Cathaya, and as a commander, you require both martial prowess and strategic thinking. Lu Chen might look like a simple boy on the outside, but in reality he’s one cunning motherfucker. It’s no wonder Lonely Grave once said that anyone who obtained either Candlelight Shadow or Falling Dust would be able to conquer the world…"

I complained, "Since when am I a cunning motherfucker? I’m just analyzing the situation based on the current facts!"

"Yes, yes, you’re just a simple boy!" Lin Yixin cooed.

Lil Meng’s eyes were starry. "Lu Chen in serious analysis mode is so handsome…"

Lin Yixin immediately coughed. "Lil Meng, your boyfriend is Zi Chuanyu, not Lu Chen. Understand?"

Zi Chuanyu rubbed his nose embarrassedly, and Lil Meng stuck out her tongue in cute defiance before saying, "It’s fine, a bit of simping won’t affect my relationship with Zi Chuanyu…"

Zi Chuanyu asked, "If the Chaotic 27 were to start a war against the Northern Alliance, does that mean we can play the fisherman of this conflict?"

I smiled. "Why don’t we eat our supper and consider that another time? Those days are still a long time away. Don’t worry, China has absolutely stumped the Northern Alliance during this Nation War, so it’ll be a long while before they can regain their team spirit, if ever."

"Mn!"

……

Like starving ghosts, we swept clean the table after ordering a couple more dishes.

By the time we finished eating and returned to the university, we realized that the gate was already closed.

Zi Chuanyu grabbed Lil Meng’s hand and said to her, "It’s late. Let’s find some place to rest, shall we?"

Lil Meng nodded with an obvious blush in her cheeks.

Behind the duo, I whispered to Lin Yixin, "See that? I told you they did it already…"

"So what? It’s none of your business!" Lin Yixin slapped my shoulder with a smile. "The real question is, where am I sleeping tonight?"

I looked at my car and voiced my scheme, "If you think a hotel is too much, we can sleep in the car this time…"

"No way!"

Lin Yixin immediately rejected the suggestion with a pout, "I’m sure people would stare at us in the morning!"

"Where do you want to go then?"

For a while, Lin Yixin’s eyes looked everywhere but me. She was clearly avoiding my gaze for some reason. Suddenly, she whispered in a small voice, "Lu Chen, can I sleep at the workshop tonight?"

I was shocked. "Seriously?"

"It’ll be fine." She turned around and grabbed my arm. "I’ll sleep with Beiming. Also, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Sister He Yi and Sister Mingyue in person. Please?"

I still hesitated, unable to come to a decision right away.

Lin Yixin kept shaking my arm up and down. "Come on, take me home, please?"

……

On the pavement, a passing uncle turned green in the face when he overheard our conversation. He couldn’t believe that the dude had the gall to look reluctant when his female companion begged him to take her home. Full of regret, he lamented the fact that he was past his prime, and he wanted nothing more than to be young again and say a million yeses to the beautiful woman.

In the end, I couldn’t deny Lin Yixin, so I held her hand and said, "Alright. We’ll head home!"

"Mn!"