TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 33

He Youjin was sitting on the living room sofa, expressionless, eating the half bag of chips that Xia Tong had left behind. After a moment, he saw Lin Mingfei and Xia Tong coming out of the lounge. He squinted, chewing the chips loudly with a “crunch, crunch,” and said sarcastically, “Thanks for remembering my existence.”

“We were talking about personal stuff, sorry~” Lin Mingfei smiled, looking completely unrepentant.

This man had always acted so arrogantly, He Youjin told himself to get used to it.

“By the way,” He Youjin patted the sofa next to him, signaling Xia Tong to sit down. “We haven’t finished what we were talking about earlier.”

Xia Tong hopped over and sat down with a “Hmm,” while He Youjin leaned his arm on the back of the sofa, speaking seriously, “You said you saw King Kong harassing an NPC. Was there anyone else who saw it that day?”

“Isn’t it enough that I saw it?” Xia Tong tilted his head, confused.

“Eyewitnesses are never too many,” He Youjin said, shaking a finger. “The more people who saw it, the more I can stick that piece of chewing gum to King Kong, making it impossible to remove!”

“Your metaphors are really disgusting,” Lin Mingfei said, sitting down next to Xia Tong and crossing his legs.

“Emmmm… Actually, there was one other person,” Xia Tong scratched his head and said in a low voice. “But whether they were there or not doesn’t matter, because they didn’t record anything or take a video!”

“Who is it?” He Youjin asked, pressing for more details. “Whose name is so hard to say?”

Xia Tong hesitated for a moment before answering, “It’s Fatty. He was still with KUQ at the time, right?”

He Youjin’s eyes widened in understanding, his expression turning complex.

“That’s a bit more troublesome,” he mused. “If it were someone else, I could at least talk to them and get them to stir things up, but with Fire, it’s a little awkward…”

“He was always criticized by someone named Zhao when he was with KUQ, being told he was ‘in Cao’s camp but his heart is with Han.’” Lin Mingfei added, “Now, if we have him come out to identify the ‘Golden Kong,’ there’s bound to be a bunch of people saying he’s an ungrateful traitor.”

“Mm-hmm!” Xia Tong nodded vigorously in agreement from the side.

“Tch.” He Youjin sighed lightly. “Never mind. Anyway, even with witnesses, it’s not certain we can nail it down. It’s just to shift the public’s attention. The dirty water you’ve thrown hasn’t exactly had any convincing evidence behind it either, but it’s still stirred up quite a fuss, hasn’t it?”

“It depends on the person,” Lin Mingfei replied lazily. “After all, popularity speaks for itself.”

“Your tone sounds quite proud,” He Youjin said, speechless.

“Of course, I single-handedly brought in a list of sponsors for P-team. Doesn’t that count as a personal achievement?” Lin Mingfei replied. “You guys should put up a statue of me at the club’s entrance.”

“…Damn.” He Youjin surrendered. “No wonder the P-team captain has no dignity—money over everything!”

“What do I need dignity for? It doesn’t put food on the table, it just makes things more difficult.” Lin Mingfei laughed lightly. “To succeed, you can’t be too concerned with face. Look at the saber-toothed tiger.” He paused, then looked down at Xia Tong, who was busy taking notes in a small notebook.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“You said I wasn’t paying attention!” Xia Tong replied, fully focused. “I think what you guys are saying is full of wisdom! I need to write everything down and memorize it before bed! Then I can be as awesome as you guys—”

He Youjin leaned over to peek at Xia Tong’s notes and read aloud in a mock serious tone, “Zero said that to succeed, you can’t care about face. If you care about face, you won’t have money, you won’t have food, and you can’t have self-esteem…”

Lin Mingfei: “………..???”

He Youjin: “Hahahahahahahaha! What the hell is this, some kind of youth cult?!”

Xia Tong looked up in confusion, glancing left and right. “Did I misunderstand?”

“Reading comprehension, zero points,” Lin Mingfei grumbled, yanking Xia Tong’s notebook away, tearing out a page, crumpling it up, and tossing it into the trash can from a distance. “Don’t follow me, you’ll learn bad things.”

Xia Tong: “Eep!”

He Youjin collapsed in laughter, pounding the sofa. Lin Mingfei looked at him, bemused. “Is it that funny?”

“It is! I laughed so hard I almost split!” He Youjin nodded furiously, wiping his tears with a tissue.

“I just remembered something.” Xia Tong suddenly had an idea, clenching his fist. “I reported the ‘Golden Kong’!”

“Mm???” He Youjin immediately stopped laughing, his expression turning eager. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? If you reported it, it would be easy to handle!”

“But at the time, ‘Golden Kong’ changed his name.” Xia Tong pointed to his chin, recalling the details. “And I don’t know if the report went through. If it did, why can he still play the game normally? Shouldn’t he have been banned?”

“KUQ is at least a top-four team, and Zhao is a man with methods. He must have deals and connections with the league, so it’s easy for them to protect someone like ‘Golden Kong.’” Lin Mingfei said calmly. “But even if he changed his name, the report record should still exist. I suspect he was banned for a while, but through Zhao’s operations, he was let back in.”

“Can you check the report record?” He Youjin asked eagerly.

“I’ll give it a try.” Lin Mingfei lowered his head to fiddle with the restraining bracelet on his wrist, his eyelids drooping lazily. “Oh, by the way, let me tell you something else.”

“What?” He Youjin’s heart skipped a beat, sensing something ominous in Lin Mingfei’s tone, like he was about to start a scare tactic. He immediately shifted away from the edge of the sofa, leaning against the backrest.

“A few days ago, I went to Saber-tooth Tiger with Shi Ya. We were trying to recruit one of our old team members, but the negotiations fell through, so we took care of him.” Lin Mingfei said flatly.

“……’Took care of him’ means?” He Youjin felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

“It means exactly what you think.” Lin Mingfei smiled. “But don’t worry, the cameras didn’t catch anything, and we didn’t leave a mark on him. Even if he went to the hospital to check for injuries, it wouldn’t do him any good. So far, he hasn’t said a word. He’s probably just swallowing his broken teeth and blood.”

He Youjin shuddered violently. “……So what’s the point of you telling me this now?”

“It’s nothing special, just a report.” Lin Mingfei stood up. “Consider it a gesture of respect for you. After all, you’re our manager now. Information sharing, no secrets.”

He Youjin, feeling deeply “respected”: “……Thanks!”

Xia Tong looked up at Lin Mingfei’s back for a while, fiddling with his clothes before he couldn’t sit still anymore. He hurriedly stood up.

Lin Mingfei’s phone had run out of battery, and he was about to go back to his room to get a charger when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind. He turned around and was startled to see Xia Tong right next to him, causing him to stumble backward.

“Goddamn!” Xia Tong lost his balance, slipping and almost falling down the stairs. Lin Mingfei quickly grabbed his collar and pulled him back to his side.

“Ahh! You scared me to death!” Xia Tong leaned against the stair railing, panting heavily.

“What are you doing?” Lin Mingfei chuckled, bewildered. “You’re sticking so close to me, and I didn’t even hear you.”

“I… I was just seeing where you’re going.” Xia Tong pouted, speaking quietly.

“I’m going back to get a charger.” Lin Mingfei laughed, showing Xia Tong his nearly dead phone screen.

“Oh…” Xia Tong’s fingers nervously rubbed the stair railing, as if wanting to say something but hesitating.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Mingfei asked. “Do you have something to say to me?”

“Uh… hmm.” Xia Tong nodded, biting his soft lips. He looked down, speaking awkwardly. “The one you and TImer dealt with… is it Ping Shuai?”

“It’s him.” Lin Mingfei replied indifferently.

“Is… is he not coming back because of this?” Xia Tong nervously lowered his voice.

Lin Mingfei paused for a moment, then gave a dry laugh.

“This isn’t the reason, it’s the result. He’s the one who refused to come back.”

“Then… does it have anything to do with me?” Xia Tong’s eyes flickered with a hint of panic. “Is it because of me?”

“No.” Lin Mingfei replied firmly, “It has nothing to do with you. Don’t overthink it.”

“Really?” Xia Tong didn’t seem convinced.

Lin Mingfei chuckled softly, then placed his large hand on the small Omega’s head, ruffling his hair. His palm was warm, and the reassuring strength was transmitted through his touch. “When have I ever lied to you? There’s no need.”

“Then why doesn’t he want to come back? It’s so good here.” Xia Tong asked, confused.

“You might think it’s good, but others might not.” Lin Mingfei smiled lightly. “He thinks this place is a den of thieves, where he won’t gain anything and will tarnish his reputation.”

“Why is he like this!” Xia Tong’s delicate brows furrowed, his fist shaking with anger. “Saying such things! Doesn’t his conscience hurt?!”

“Well, people… there are all kinds of them in the world. Some just don’t have a conscience. Once you see more of them, it won’t surprise you,” Lin Mingfei said.

“Then why did you and Timer deal with him?”

“We didn’t plan on dealing with him, but he’s got a filthy mouth, asking for it.” Lin Mingfei snorted lightly. He slipped his hand into his pocket and suddenly bent down, tapping Xia Tong on the forehead. “So, if anyone’s mouth is getting on your nerves in the future, remember to tell me, and I’ll take care of it for you.”

Xia Tong’s mood lifted, and he smiled brightly. “Zero, you’re really a great team captain! Being a member of Team P is so lucky. Now I can rest easy!” He said, his gloomy expression clearing up. He happily ran downstairs.

Lin Mingfei watched his back for a while, shaking his head helplessly. He smiled and muttered to himself, “Being in Team P has nothing to do with you, silly.”

—

Zhou Yanjun and Bo Yu were old partners. Their awareness and tacit understanding from the battles were ingrained in their bones, so they didn’t need intensive training to bring it all back.

The King’s Tomb arena had 2V2, 3V3, and 5V5 formats, with different player limits and requirements for each. 2V2 had less coordination, and 5V5 often turned into a chaotic brawl. The 3V3 format was the most popular, making it the best for practicing skills and strategies. Players could team up or queue solo, and the system would randomly and intelligently assign teammates based on their configuration.

Since Bo Yu hadn’t played in a while, his ranking was still at the zero stage, so Zhou Yanjun had to drag him into lower-tier games. As soon as they queued up, they were matched with a newly leveled-up elf player still wearing quest gear.

The arena would randomly assign different maps, and each map had different effects, requiring different tactical strategies, which greatly enhanced the PVP experience. This time, the system placed them on a Beast Colosseum map, where beasts would periodically spawn and interfere with the match. In the center of the map, a beast cage slowly descended, containing a fierce tiger, its menacing posture convincingly lifelike.

“I-I-I’m not very good…” The elf player trembled during the preparation phase. “If I can’t heal you, p-p-please don’t yell at me.”

“It’s fine, you can AFK if you want,” Zhou Yanjun said carelessly.

Bo Yu remained cold and indifferent. “Hmm.”

The elf player remained anxious.

When the countdown finished, the beast roared out of its cage, and Zhou Yanjun and Bo Yu rushed out like arrows from a bow.

“Hey, wait for me!” The elf player was so scared she was shaking in place, unable to move her legs as if they were made of lead. She felt like crying, but the two DPS players didn’t even acknowledge her and charged forward.

The opposing team consisted of a hunter, an axe warrior, and another elf. The elf player, flustered and unsure, tried to locate the enemy DPS players to avoid them, but before she could even leave the base, the screen flashed with a big “Victory” sign.

The game was over.

Elf player: “???”

Did the 3V3 match not need her at all?

Zhou Yanjun and Bo Yu felt like they were just practicing their moves. To them, the three low-ranked players on the enemy team were hardly any different from NPCs, especially since they could move on their own.

None of the two noticed the elf player’s inner turmoil, and they just left the match and queued again. Not long after, they were matched with the same elf player.

“Ah, it’s you two again!” The elf player exclaimed, both surprised and happy. “Are you duo-queuing? We’re really lucky, huh?”

Zhou Yanjun glanced at her and said, “Hah, is it that no one’s playing arena at this hour? We keep matching only with each other.”

“Maybe!” The elf player laughed. “Island, why didn’t you say hi to me?”

Bo Yu asked blankly, “Who is she?”

Elf player: “…”

Zhou Yanjun wasn’t surprised. “He’s faceblind. You’ll get used to it.”

Elf player: “…”

Zhou Yanjun smiled. “He didn’t notice you because you didn’t heal him. He has no impression.”

“Hahaha.” Zhou Yanjun laughed mockingly, urging, “Alright, no more small talk, let’s get started.”

So, the two DPS charged forward like mad dogs.

Hua Feihua was feeling very wronged. She thought, it wasn’t that she didn’t heal earlier, it was that the match ended too quickly, and she didn’t even get the chance to heal them.

“I’ll definitely heal you guys this time!” She said loudly, gathering her courage to run out of the camp.

This was a rice field map, with reeds that were taller than the players, thick and dense, stretching for miles. Hua Feihua only ran a few steps before losing her way, hearing the sound of fighting in the distance, but unable to see anyone. Then, just above her, the word “Victory” appeared.

The match ended again!

Hua Feihua felt defeated.

She really wanted to talk to those two DPS players, to express that she too wanted some room to contribute, but the two DPS exited the game almost immediately.

Did these two players not intend to communicate with anyone in the arena? They finished the match and just left? Would they only stick around for winning matches? Was she just a tool to level up?

Hua Feihua felt a bit indignant. She had only started playing this game not long ago, attracted by the elven character’s beautiful appearance and the game’s beautiful, dreamlike maps. She hadn’t paid much attention to competitive play. She just wanted to experience what it felt like to fight side by side with DPS and be protected by them. She didn’t care about winning, but she did hope to meet a handsome, strong DPS player in the arena, and maybe even become partners and explore the King’s Tomb together.

The two DPS she just played with fit her definition of “strong DPS,” but in terms of looks, the silent and handsome axe warrior was more to her taste.

Too bad he was faceblind.

Faceblindness could be cured, right? Besides, if he was only faceblind with everyone but liked her, wouldn’t that actually be a positive trait?

The more Hua Feihua thought about it, the better it seemed. She wasn’t giving up. After exiting the match, she queued up again, praying in her heart.

“Please let it be them again!”

And the heavens answered her. She was overjoyed to find that, after queuing, it was them again!

“Hey, ge!” Hua Feihua, now more familiar, took the initiative to greet them, blushing. “What a coincidence! We ran into each other again.”

Zhou Yanjun clicked his tongue. “Looks like no one else is playing arena at this time.”

Bo Yu replied with a simple, “Yeah, it’s a workday.”

Hua Feihua said, “Can we add each other as friends? We can team up and rank together, please take me with you!”

“Take you?” Zhou Yanjun asked Bo Yu.

Bo Yu answered indifferently, “I don’t mind.”

Hua Feihua immediately smiled sweetly, “Please, ge!”

Zhou Yanjun didn’t care, as to him, it was a small thing.

“Alright, we’ll take you.”

Hua Feihua happily joined their team.

The three of them started queuing for ranked matches without any difficulty.

Hua Feihua soon realized that she was really unnecessary in these matches. At lower ranks, Bo Yu and Zhou Yanjun could easily crush the opponents and wipe out the team without even losing health. She didn’t even get a chance to heal them. She thought maybe when they reached higher ranks, she’d have a chance, but she soon discovered she was being too naïve. In mid to high ranks, she would be taken out by the enemy DPS immediately, and she couldn’t even last ten seconds in the game, let alone heal her teammates.

The process of leveling up was quick, but there was no real experience in the game. It was far from the romantic heroics she had imagined. She was even starting to get a little scared in the arena, trembling as she said to Bo Yu, “Ge, can you save me? I can heal you guys…”

“Saving you is pointless.” Bo Yu dismissed her idea with a few simple words.

Zhou Yanjun was even more blunt, “If we save you, you won’t last ten seconds. Instead of wasting time on you, we might as well swap out their healer! Sigh, this is strategy.”

The two of them were indeed just leveling tools! Straightforward men!

Hua Feihua was emotionally breaking down inside.

She regretted joining this heartless team, but she had to admit, their strategy for leveling up was absolutely right. After more than an hour, they reached the highest rank, nine.

At this point, however, they found it harder to continue their winning streak. To be exact, Bo Yu and Zhou Yanjun were struggling to carry her. Hua Feihua, however, still enjoyed the feeling of crushing the opposition. She even began to feel that perhaps she had a small role in their victories. She didn’t want to leave the team. She wanted to stay in this trio for as long as possible, so she kept quiet.

The two didn’t immediately ask her to leave.

Hua Feihua felt a little giddy inside, wondering if she could keep playing with Bo Yu.

Then she heard Bo Yu ask, “What did he say? Are we waiting for him?”

Hua Feihua’s heart skipped a beat.

Who? Who were they talking to?

Zhou Yanjun said, “I’m asking. Remember that special-effect staff from last time? It was pretty powerful, we should show it off.”

A staff? A wizard?

Hua Feihua immediately relaxed.

What would a wizard do? They can’t heal, they’re worse than herself!

Her heart settled back into her chest, and she happily moved closer to Bo Yu. “Ge, are we continuing? I can heal you guys again.”

Before Bo Yu could reply, Zhou Yanjun clapped his hands in excitement. “He’s coming! I managed to convince him!”

Hua Feihua: “???”

Her smile was still frozen on her face when Bo Yu said, “Oh, sorry, our friend is coming, we can’t keep carrying you.”

“But, but I’m the healer!” Hua Feihua exclaimed urgently. “Isn’t your friend a wizard? How are you three DPS going to manage?”

“Knife squad, understand?” Zhou Yanjun, oblivious to Hua Feihua’s broken feelings, happily jumped around. “We’re getting warmed up! I’m ready!”

​“He’s online, I’ll pull him in.” Bo Yu said.

*Ding dong.*

Player [Xia Xiaotong] has joined your team.

Hua Feihua was momentarily stunned, staring at the icon next to Xia Xiaotong’s name. It was indeed a wizard.

“Oh, you have someone in your team!” After joining, Xia Xiaotong typed in the team chat.

“A random player, just carried them through a few matches,” Bo Yu replied.

Zhou Yanjun said kindly, “We can’t form a 3v3 with four people. Little sister, you should leave the team.”

Hua Feihua stayed silent and pretended not to notice.

She didn’t want to leave the team. She intended to stay.

How can a meat grinder team win? Doesn’t a meat grinder team have a lower margin for error? Of course, the healer like her is important! And hadn’t they been winning continuously just now?

She wouldn’t leave, and she wanted to see what they would do. Surely they wouldn’t kick out a young girl from the team, right? After a while, they would realize that it was safer with a healer.

Hua Feihua smugly thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yanjun wondered, “Why hasn’t she responded?”

Bo Yu thought for a moment and said, “Maybe her sensor disconnected, leaving a ghost image here. In reality, she’s already offline.”

Xia Xiaotong was confused, “So what do we do now?”

Zhou Yanjun replied, “Kicking her out feels a bit bad. Let’s just leave the team.”

Bo Yu said, “Okay, I’ll create a new team.”

Hua Feihua: “???”

The next second, [Polaris_Island] left your team.  

[Polaris_Fire] left your team.

Xia Xiaotong, polite as ever, left a message: “Bye Hua Hua, maybe we’ll meet again!”

[Xia Xiaotong] left your team.

Hua Feihua was immediately enraged and started crying.

Wasn’t this the same as kicking her out of the team?!

Feel free to donate for earlier/bonus chapter releases! Thanks for supporting me and enjoy reading 😀