Honey Stewed Squid

Chapter 3

A whole week later, Tong Nian’s mood has already sunken into the deep, deep sea.

Her Weixin is empty. Regardless of how many greetings, weather forecasts, promotional messages, or even winning another lottery message she send out, the other party did not respond.

Certainly, she must have been blacklisted…..

She lies on her bed, numb to the verge of submitting herself to participate in the ‘Animation Festival’ and ‘Winter Comic convention/Anime Expo’, ‘Winter game exhibition meeting’ advertisements. She keeps scrolling down on her Weibo. All her fans are excitedly leaving comments. As a person who’s heart is made of glass, her mood is extremely easily influenced by online remarks. She is quite afraid of interacting with netizens. Therefore, she uses Weibo to basically forward activities, send songs, and commercial collaboration.

It wasn’t until Dou Nai called her for the 7th time, she listlessly picks up: “Hello?”

“Small cuttlefish,” The voice on the other line was low. Deliberately pretending to be mysterious, “I have a way to find that person.”

Really?!

She immediately sits up, nearly kicking her laptop off the bed.

“Really, I found an expert to help me from the main engine, to investigate his screen “shot” from that day. Right now, my brother will identify him under the latest group battling game.” (1)

“Chamber Storm.” (2)

“I know…” She is disappointed, “That day I already saw, I have also specially found a person to ask.”

“You, a game idiot, asking in such a shallow way, how can you possibly have good source?” Dou Nai laugh happily, voice push down even lower. “I can even tell you what server he is in, and his id.”

“Really?!”

“Absolutely, not a fake source! I will also help you borrow a high ranking ID. This way you will have the ability to be in the same ranking tournament to run into him.”

“…what competition?”

“Ranking!” In fact Dou Nai also just understood it. But, in front of her, he puts on an air of superiority, “I’m not going to talk with you rookie about this anymore. Wait for me to resolve everything for you, and then I’ll come and teach you.”

Therefore, that evening, Dou Nai personally went to her home, and greeted her parents. He went to the kitchen on the ground floor and freeloaded off several mouthfuls of mapo tofu. (1) Then he went to her bedroom on the second floor. The two grew up together since childhood. Even their parents don’t think that have anything (gf/bf relationship). So much so that they wish, this “aunty”(4) is blurted out to call. Actually, there really isn’t any blood relationship. Can’t say for sure, even if they are a real complete couple, there is also nothing to worry….

“Ah…” Inside the room, Tong Nian impatiently look at the downloading strip, it will be done soon enough, “So, this game is, five people in one group, and two groups spar?”

“Pretty close, have you heard of LOL and DOTA? (5)

“What, ‘lu ah lu’ (6),” She heard of it before, just that LOL this nickname is really indecent, but towards her temporary teacher, she honestly answer nodding her head: “The period when I participated in the comic convention, they also have a booth nearby. DOTA… seems like a few years ago they became popular, when I was in high school. The male students in my class frequently go to play. Nowadays, there are still people playing?”

So outdated?

“DOTA came out with season 2. At the moment, it is the most popular online battling game, award money is the highest.”

“Online battling?”0.0

“Electronic skills, this is… on the computer playing a game competition….” Dou Nai explains in the most plain and simple way to her.

“Online? Three swords? Fantasy Journey to the West?” 0.0

“No…Online gaming just like spending time to practice your level, every time you go up in level and to accumulate a long term game… Competition, competition…”

“Okay, explain to me again later~”

The computer has already finished downloading ‘Chamber Storm’ and she is completely not interesting in listening anymore.

It doesn’t matter, later when I’m more familiar with that man, I’ll have him explain to me more….Why is my heart tingling….

Unable to bear it she bows her head, buried her head inside her arm, ferociously rubbing, only to regard herself a bit normal again.

At this time, treating the matter very seriously, Dou Nai took out a piece of paper from his pocket. An ID (username) and password was copied on top. Tong Nian receives it, carefully putting it on the top of her desk. She inputs in each and every letter of the username and password, and logs in.

She hears the sound of a double edged sword unsheathing.

Log in successful.

Confused about 20 something server names to choose from in the frame….

“Ugh…next, is the server, select a server,” Dou Nai once again takes out from his pocket another piece of paper. On top on the paper is that man’s video server name and id: Guevara Legend, Grunt that he left behind.

“Grunt?” She mutters, “It has a nice ring to it!”

No wonder his Weixin is ‘GN’.

Yes, that is absolutely him!

“… How come I do not think so? Reading the word closely ‘go away’ isn’t the same. Doesn’t it feel like I am swearing at someone?” (7)

Yeah right, she blankly glimpse at Dou Nai.

Then, Dou Nai opens an ‘embroidered pouch’. Inside was a detailed written explanation from the other person in the afternoon, of how to participate in the ranking competition. How to receive an assigned ID invitation and how to enter the game room. How to choose your own game character, and how…two people think their brain is boundless, although seriously reading over it, but still puzzled.

“Forget it, first invite right…”

Doing it twice will be possible, practice makes perfect….

Thus, according to the system search, very quickly, they find names starting with G. The look down each row….Suddenly, they both took a deep breath, Grunt is online!

Her heart kept thumping. What is the matter….

Her fingers are trembling. What is the matter…

She is trembling, right click, let go… invite.

She waits.

She waits for a long time.

Suddenly, a dialog box jumped up.

Her heart jumped thump, thump twice, opens:

“System message: The other party is in the middle of a competition, please wait patiently.”

……

“That scared me…” She exhales a breath, stroke and consoles her stomach, “And I thought he wanted to talk to me…”

Dou Nai had on an expression that said you thought too much, but he did not have the nerve to attack her.

In the end, they waited for at least 30 minutes. At last the system messaged ‘The other party has finished the competition, please wait patiently for the other party to reply’. As if she is confronted with this so called ‘other party’, she does not dare to breath, until, the system really messaged her: ‘Grunt has accepted her invitation, please wait patiently for the system to randomly select 8 people.”

“He accepted! Accepted it!”

“Uh…Uh…don’t be nervous, in a moment we will go in, you need to calmly greet them okay?”

“Uh…Uh…” She also did not care for Dou Nai’s cheeky tone.

In the end she does not know what kind of character she has selected. She just watches the computer screen with fixed eyes.

A very beautiful game screen.

It just so happens today is Christmas Eve, therefore there was a specially snow falling scene.

Tong Nian is unable to appreciate the exquisite 3D scene. She joins the game, at once and she begins to look on the screen for his name everywhere. Ah? How come it isn’t there? There were definitely 10 people who joined the game, how come there are only 5 characters on the screen?

Including herself there are… five people.

“Oh no, he choose the opposing team,” Dou Nai is depressed, “You can’t see him, unless you are in the public viewing side. Unless you run into him in game, then you will be able to see him.”

“Ah?” Tong Nian is baffled, “Why do I have to wait until I run into him, I cannot go find him?”

“…that is also okay? Even though he is the enemy, you can also greet him. Friendship comes first, competition comes second.”

So… a few seconds later…

The remaining nine people immediately look at the game screen, one ID who did not buy any equipment, so completely crazy and ridiculous, step by step ran out of the base. Eyes follow along the displayed map…bouncing toward the enemy’s base and ran past inside….

It would appear… that person is still very lively?

**********************************

Grunt’s eyebrow kept twitching; ruthlessly he kills the opponent in front of him in two cuts…the person who kept saying ‘Hello’.

Still expressing themselves? Does this person have a mental disorder?

“This man…” 97 stared at his own computer screen, “He’s been hacked right?”

“I suppose he is,” Another person also does not dare to believe to watch Grunt kill this opponent with no defense. He got the first kill, “ranking competition indeed have real points, and the people in his group must be depressed. If this competition keeps going on, we will surely get a lot of points.

“… this much hatred, to specially hack, and to specially invite Grunt to kill himself?”

And the murderer Grunt, doesn’t feel quite feel happy. He used his index finger to push his eye glasses up. Naughty laugh but not to laugh to provoke a brother: “Come, you let me beat you for one match.” He can’t expect to waste his time with a character that has been hacked.

He finishes speaking, and gets up from the computer. He stretches himself: “Where is boss?”

“Taking a nap. He just came back from watching the Chicago match. Still jetlagged.”

97 smiles ambiguously, then says: “Oh right, that day I heard him say on Weixin. I thought he doesn’t use Weixin to chat? Is he in love?”

“No, an internet café added him. They kept sending him advertisement, so I told him I’ll help him black list them. He felt that doing this will be a big blow to their marketing enthusiasm, so he doesn’t blacklist. He just let me set it on mute. In any case even if they do send, he isn’t looking at the advertisement.”

On the contrary Grunt unexpectedly: “Boss since when are you so kind?”

“I suddenly discovered my conscience, I guess.” 97 casually say.

Everybody felt embarrassed.

Gun this big demon have this thing called ‘conscience’?Grunt (GN) sounds like go away in Chinese

Notes:

1. Apparently, that day GN took a screenshot that was left behind on the computer….

2. I tried looking up this game, but couldn’t find any clues

3. Mapo Tofu: A Chinese dish from Sichuan province. A spicy tofu dish in bean based sauce.

4. According to Chinese customs, we would always address a friend’s parents as aunty and uncle.

5. LOL aka League of Legends, a free to play multiplayer online battle arena game by Riot Games

DOTA aka Defense of the Ancients, a multiplayer online battle arena mod for Warcraft III

6. Lu ah Lu. In Chinese, this sounds like the word for masturbating

7. Grunt (GN) sounds like go away in Chinese