Looking at her annoying little brother’s face full of disbelief, Zhang Yu let out a chuckle, “How could someone as beautiful, generous, cute, and charming as your sister not have suitors? Tonight, I’ll let you meet my boyfriend. He’s ten thousand times better than you, you brat!”
Although Zhang Cheng usually acted like he was annoyed by Zhang Yu and hated how she always teased him, deep down, he actually liked his sister a lot. Now, hearing Zhang Yu say she had a boyfriend, he felt an inexplicable discomfort rise in his heart.
Maybe he was worried that his sister’s attention would be divided by her boyfriend from now on. For a moment, Zhang Cheng felt a little lost, but then he quickly adjusted his mood, waved his hand, and turned to head back to his bedroom.
Zhang Yu saw Zhang Cheng listlessly walk into his room and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Where am I sleeping?” Zhang Yu caught up and shouted through the door to the master bedroom.
A muffled voice came from inside, “There’s still a guest room available. You can stay there. The other guest room is taken up by the Game Pod.”
*****
By 6 p.m., their mother had already canceled Zhang Cheng’s meal subscription that morning, so now the two siblings were considering what to eat.
Since Zhang Cheng couldn’t cook and the kitchen only had pots and pans but no rice, noodles, or oil, even Zhang Yu, a clever woman, couldn’t cook without ingredients. The two had no choice but to go downstairs to a restaurant for dinner.
Zhang Cheng had thought his sister came here to avoid their parents and make it easier to bring her boyfriend home. But when he asked, he was met with Zhang Yu’s strange look.
“Hey, what are you thinking? We just started dating not long ago.” Zhang Yu was clearly displeased. She was quite traditional about relationships—she wouldn’t date just because of some adolescent impulse. She insisted on finding someone who genuinely matched her and viewed dating with marriage in mind. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stayed single until now.
But with society’s development, in some people’s eyes, now that it’s almost 2100, tradition is practically the same as feudalism.
“Ahem, you just started dating and you’re already in a long-distance relationship?” Zhang Cheng was shocked. Was his sister really that carefree?
Zhang Yu snorted disdainfully, “Him? If I tell him to go east, he wouldn’t dare go west.”
Thinking about Zhang Yu’s personality, Zhang Cheng silently mourned for that unlucky fellow and sincerely hoped he could handle Zhang Yu. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “If you’re not having dinner with him, then where do you want me to meet him tonight?”
Zhang Yu gave him a look that screamed “I’m disappointed in you.” How had she never realized her brother was such a blockhead before? She replied, “Of course, in the game!”
Only then did Zhang Cheng have a sudden realization. In fact, it wasn’t really his fault for reacting like this—he’d never seen Zhang Yu play video games since they were kids. Even though he’d heard today that Zhang Yu had started playing Eternal World, he hadn’t seen it for himself. Besides, he’d been preoccupied with the news that his sister had a boyfriend, so he was too distracted to connect the dots.
On the way, Zhang Yu made a video call to her boyfriend, threatening him to log into the game on time. Zhang Cheng sneaked a look and saw there really was a man sweet-talking Zhang Yu on the screen. Only then did he truly relax. His sister was already twenty-five this year and finally had a boyfriend!
After dinner, the two returned home.
Originally, Zhang Yu had wanted to try out what the Game Pod felt like, and as soon as she got home, she rushed to occupy the Game Pod in the guest room. It wasn’t until Zhang Cheng, both amused and exasperated, explained to her that this was a closed beta Game Pod already bound to his account and couldn’t be used by others that she reluctantly crawled out.
Zhang Cheng entered the game and waited patiently in Knight City for his sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law to arrive, all the while planning his own class change quest.
He’d already reached Swordsmanship LV2 as a swordsman, and was halfway to LV3. Now that he was level 19, he only needed half a bar of experience more to change classes.
A flash of blue light crossed his left field of vision, and the system notified him of a new friend request.
“Player ‘Cold Coffee’ requests to add you as a friend.”
Seeing this nickname, Zhang Cheng’s face darkened as he recalled his conversation with his sister before entering the game. He really hadn’t expected his sister’s sense of humor to be so… basic.
“You said your name is Pink Rabbit? Hahahaha…”
“It was randomly assigned by the system…”
“You can’t change your name in this game, so you’ll just have to stick with that nickname, hahahaha…”
It was as if Zhang Yu’s arrogant laughter was echoing in his ears again. Zhang Cheng’s mouth twitched. Actually, it wasn’t “as if”—her laughter really was echoing in his ears.
“Hahaha… Wenwen, look at the nickname above his head.” Zhang Yu’s unrestrained laughter rang out beside him. She was dressed as a priest, her appearance virtually unchanged from real life.
The man standing next to her seemed to have imported his real appearance as well, unlike those players with odd tastes who wandered the streets with bizarre faces just to scare others.
Judging by the one-handed sword at his waist, he was probably a swordsman. When he saw Zhang Cheng, the man looked a bit nervous, forcing a smile and greeting him.
‘It’s over. Judging by this soon-to-be brother-in-law’s demeanor, there’s no hope!’ Seeing how nervous the man was just to say hello, Zhang Cheng knew he had no chance of taming this demoness. Even if they got married in the future, he’d probably be completely henpecked.
Zhang Cheng could tell this soon-to-be brother-in-law was rather introverted, so he took the initiative and extended his hand, “Hello, I’m Zhang Cheng.”
“Uh, hello, I’m Qi Wen.” Seeing Zhang Cheng take the initiative, Qi Wen hurriedly extended his hand as well.
Noticing the nicknames above their heads, Zhang Cheng realized the pair were named Cold Coffee and Hot Milk—couple nicknames?
After Zhang Yu finished laughing, seeing the two had already met and added each other as friends, she didn’t bother with any more introductions.
In real life, Zhang Yu was 178 cm tall, and Qi Wen looked a bit taller than her now. If neither had changed their height in-game, Qi Wen must be at least 180 cm. The two looked quite a match standing together.
From their conversation, Zhang Cheng learned that Qi Wen was his sister’s university classmate. Both had given up on postgraduate studies, joined the same company after graduation, and gradually developed feelings for each other at work, becoming a couple not long ago.
Qi Wen had regular features and the kind of face you’d expect to see as a protagonist in TV dramas or comedy skits. Although he was a little stiff at first, he soon loosened up after chatting, and Zhang Cheng was fairly satisfied with his behavior.
As Zhang Cheng and Qi Wen were hitting it off, Zhang Yu came over with a mysterious look and said, “Little brother, do you know how we managed to find you?”
Zhang Cheng had been wondering about that ever since he saw them, but he’d put it aside while chatting with Qi Wen. Now that his sister brought it up, he followed along.
When Zhang Cheng shook his head, Zhang Yu revealed the answer, “Qi Wen triggered a hidden quest and got an item called the Subordinate Teleport Magic Stone. It can teleport up to four people to any friend in Eternal World! It can only be used once every twelve hours!” Seeing Zhang Cheng’s jaw drop in surprise at Qi Wen, Zhang Yu looked very pleased.
Just as Zhang Cheng was about to say something, a petite figure flashed in his peripheral vision. His heart skipped a beat as he turned to look—there was a cat-eared girl walking down the street.
It was already getting dark, so most NPCs had gone home, and more players were filling the streets. Considering most people had to study or work during the day, the officials had designed it so there were more players online in the evening and at night, making the city brightly lit even after dark.
Zhang Cheng focused and realized—wasn’t that Spicy Rabbit Head? She’d escaped last night, and he hadn’t expected to run into her again today. “Sis, brother-in-law, help me out—catch that catgirl over there!”
After he said it in a low voice, Zhang Cheng realized his words might have sounded wrong. When he turned around, both lovebirds looked a bit awkward. Zhang Yu just glared at him, but Qi Wen’s face turned red first.
“Sis, I’m heading over. You two follow right behind me!” Realizing things might get out of hand, Zhang Cheng quickly made his escape, striding toward the troublesome catgirl.
Qi Wen felt a bit awkward, but he knew that being called “brother-in-law” on their first meeting meant he’d basically passed the test, and he relaxed. Seeing Zhang Yu next to him, he couldn’t help but feel happy.
It was Zhang Yu’s first time introducing a guy to her family. Now that her brother and Qi Wen were getting along quickly, it meant her choice had been approved, and she felt a sense of satisfaction.
Seeing Qi Wen standing there like a fool, she pulled him along and pretended to scold, “Come on!”
Zhang Cheng used the other players as cover and quickly pursued the girl ahead. The two lovebirds caught up and walked alongside him.
“What did that catgirl do to offend you? Are you planning to take her back as your captive bride?”
Zhang Cheng gave his sister a helpless look. Where did her mind even go? He explained, “She did offend me, but it’s because…” He recounted the whole story to them.
“So that’s how it is. I completely understand. I support you!” Zhang Yu seemed very interested, but Zhang Cheng felt she was more in it for the fun.
Qi Wen tossed out a question, “Isn’t it impossible to PK in Eternal World’s towns?”
“Generally, that’s true, but there are loopholes.” Zhang Cheng nodded and continued, “Today at work, a colleague found a secret post from the backend. I checked it out. It was an internal post from a group of PVP enthusiasts who, after four days of observation and experimentation, came to a conclusion.
“They found that in Eternal World’s towns, only crimes committed in areas covered by Light Source will be detected by guards.
“My colleague praised those players repeatedly, so this rule should be reliable.” Zhang Cheng glanced at Qi Wen and added, “By the way, I forgot to mention, I currently work at Eternal World Company.”
Qi Wen looked at Zhang Cheng in surprise, thinking it over seriously. “If that’s the case, then during the day, sunlight covers almost everywhere, so there’s no opportunity. But at night, some remote alleys would be pitch black.”
Zhang Cheng nodded, confirming the theory. The three fell silent and continued tracking the cat-eared girl ahead.
The cat-eared girl didn’t seem to notice her tail of pursuers, and led the three of them toward the edge of town. There were fewer and fewer players on this road, and some alleys without Light Source appeared on the sides.
Seeing the opportunity, the three exchanged glances, quickened their pace, and prepared to make a move.
The girl’s cat ears twitched as she heard the hurried footsteps behind her, and she darted into a nearby alley.
The three hurried after her and blocked the entrance, discovering it was a dead end. A blurry figure, looking like the cat-eared girl, stood at the far end of the alley, but it was too dark to see clearly.
A ball of light appeared in Zhang Yu’s hand, illuminating the alley.
This was a basic illumination spell any priest could learn at level one. Compared to regular illumination, this divine spell’s light was softer, but its range was small and it consumed mana continuously.
As the divine light spread through the alley, the three saw the cat-eared girl standing at the far end, trembling all over, her eyes glistening with tears.
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