Ch1 - Two Hundred Fifty

“As everyone knows, Yu Ran is a dumbass.”

In August, Ronggang City ushered in the hottest day of the year. The internet cafe owners on Jiangdong Road had all gathered in a QQ chat group and were having a heated discussion about a person named Yu Ran.

“Last Saturday, the police came to check IDs. I hurriedly rushed upstairs and shouted for the group of kids playing to sneak down using the stairs and leave. All of them were very cooperative, except for this fucking Yu Ran…”

“I told him to move faster and promised that he could play for two hours on the house next time. But he just refused to leave, and even shouted at me, ‘Ge is about to reach climax! Ge is about to reach climax! I can’t leave!’. At first I thought he was watching porn, but after taking a look, I found that both of his hands were on the keyboard and he was actually gaming.” 

The owner of Haoyue Internet Cafe took a deep drag of his cigarette and sighed, typing: “Later I found out that this little bastard was playing LOL while listening to music, and he would usually use his ult. when the music reached its climax. In the end, he managed to kill five and I was also taken away by the police. He criticised the education system; I was fined ten thousand dollars. Goddamn it.”

Others in the group quickly expressed their sympathy. Some said that Yu Ran always fought in front of their internet cafes, causing the police to head there to catch people. A supervisor at one of the cafes even suspected that Yu Ran was an accomplice sent by the police, a sort of “bait”. Recently, the police station on Jiangdong Road had become stricter about arresting minors who accessed the internet. No one wanted to have their business suspended. After today’s discussion, they unanimously decided that they would no longer entertain primary and middle school students during the summer vacation, especially that troublesome Yu Ran.

In the following week, all that aired on TV were reports about the London Olympics and warnings for rising temperatures. The scorching rays of the sun burned the asphalt roads and the city buildings appeared to waver in the thin air.

On this day, Yu Ran stood at the entrance of Haoyue Internet Cafe and saw a sign with a warning from the police, stating that the minors were prohibited from entering the cafe. Under the sign, there was a new rule personally written by the owner of the internet cafe: Yu Ran and dogs are not allowed to enter!

Yu Ran sneered and turned around disdainfully to head to another internet cafe. Upon arrival, he found that there was also a sign at this door. It said “Dogs can come in, Yu Ran can’t.”

He stared at this line and fell into deep thought, coming to a realisation: He had been cancelled by Jiangdong Road’s Internet Cafe Alliance.

The heat of summer lent itself to impulsive thoughts. Just a few seconds after anger had risen in Yu Ran’s heart, it was smothered by an inexplicable satisfaction – carefully thinking about it, no one on the whole of Jiangdong Road had ever been jointly boycotted by the owners of internet cafes. What did this imply? It implied that, in their eyes, his abilities were already strong enough to pose a threat to them. In short, he had reached the level of existence of a BOSS even though he was still a minor.

“Damn, I’m awesome!” With his sudden realisation, Yu Ran was even feeling a bit proud. 

The air-conditioning in the convenience store was strong. Yu Ran grabbed a can of iced cola and lined up for check out. His phone kept vibrating. He took it out and saw that he had received a new order.

[°Buerxin]: Are you there? Help me kill someone.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

The other party had gotten straight to the point, sending a picture of a boy.

Te Ejc ogbhf lc qijmf, jiwbra obgufaalcu ab qjs obg tlr mbij. 

Coafg tlr tlut rmtbbi fcagjcmf fzjwlcjalbc, tf tjv yfuec ab ajxf bgvfgr bc HH. Zjlcis, tlr bgvfgr kfgf obg wlvvif rmtbbi olutar (lcmievlcu nfgyji lcalwlvjalbc), qijslcu bc yftjio bo batfgr lc ujwfr, bcf-bc-bcf sb-sb aeabglcu fam., jii bo ktlmt kfgf mifjgis qglmfv, gjculcu ogbw 50 ab 100 sejc. Kbvjs kjr atf olgra alwf tf tjv fcmbecafgfv j gfdefra yfsbcv tlr jylilalfr. Snfc atbeut tf kjr kbcvfglcu lcafgcjiis, “lr la ralii qbrrlyif ab mbwwla wegvfg mjrejiis lc j rbmlfas ecvfg atf geif bo ijk”, ja atlr alwf, obg atf rjxf bo wjlcajlclcu atf jqqfjgjcmf bo ubbv wjccfgr, Te Ejc ralii rfglberis mbcrlvfgfv atf kbgvr jcv gfqilfv ab atf batfg qjgas.

“Sorry but I’ve already washed my hands clean of this business. It’d be better for you to go find another killer.”

His words were filled with a subtle arrogance. After sending this pretentious reply, Yu Ran casually threw two coins into the cashier counter, as if he was a mysterious adventurer in a wuxia novel, throwing down his money pouch and grabbing a flask of wine before sauntering off.

After leaving the convenience store, his phone vibrated again. The other person asked, “Don’t you help others with in game battles?” 

Yu Ran reacted slowly, “Huh? You don’t mean actual murder?”

[°Buerxin]: ……

[°Buerxin]: Forget it, I’ll find someone else.

Yu Ran: “Wait a minute! All who come to me are clients! I’m super cheap!” 

The other party said: “Two hundred fifty solo-kill that person. Use my account, and remember to take a screenshot.”

Yu Ran scrolled through the chat log, clicking on the photo of the boy above. He saw a line of words below: <Mystic Passion Battle> Telecom District Three PVP Champion “Marija”, fifteen years old.

Instead of the handsome features of this person, the first thing Yu Ran noticed was actually his school uniform. That was the uniform of students from Ronggang Overseas Affiliated School, one of the best schools in the city. Yu Ran had always thought that the minds of the city’s top students were enriched through reading alone. It turned out that not only were top students also exposed to online games, some of them could even rank first in the entire server. As expected, truly intelligent people could do more than just study.

Yu Ran didn’t have experience with this unpopular online game, but he believed that he was quick to learn in this area, so he took on the order without hesitation. 

Since all the internet cafes on Jiangdong Road no longer welcomed him, Yu Ran had to take the bus to Jiubao Street. That was the No. 1 commercial district in Ronggang City. After one grew tired of playing games, they could even conveniently check out the new styles of sports shoes for the summer season. 

For the next several days in a row, Yu Ran spent all his time in internet cafes. He diligently practiced his PVP skills, expertly wiping out the arena. Sometimes he would log on to the game forum for <Mystic Passion Battle> to read the posts. He saw that the most popular posts on the forum were screenshots of players showing off which district PVP champions they had solo-killed. It seemed like the business of playing on behalf of others was also booming in this game.

On Tuesday afternoon, the heat was unbearable. With half a stick of an ice pop in his mouth, Yu Ran was engrossed in observing the scrolling announcement bar on the lower left corner of his screen – [Legend] Player “Marija” has entered the arena.

The time was finally here! 

Yu Ran sucked in a mouthful of crushed ice, the taste cool and sweet as it slid down his throat. He quickly tapped the keyboard with his fingertips, manipulating his in-game character onto the battlefield before issuing a challenge to “Marija”.

His opponent quickly accepted and rapidly unleashed his skills. Fortunately, Yu Ran had placed a transparent shield in advance, otherwise he definitely wouldn’t have been able to react in time. The two changed positions constantly, confusing each other. Yu Ran’s health bar took a couple hits. After doing his best to rescue himself from the precarious situation, Yu Ran managed to fight against his opponent anew.  

Suddenly, “Marija” jumped onto the city wall. Yu Ran thought that he was going to use his ult. against him, and reflexively dodged. But even after a few seconds, no extra sound effect could be heard. Yu Ran looked intently, discovering that the person had stopped moving.

Lag? Or pretending to be MIA to bait me? Doubts flashed through his mind, but Yu Ran had always preferred to use brute force when gaming. So without further ado, he rushed to attack, unleashing a few combos in the direction of the city wall. 

Bright yellow flames burst forth from mid-air, falling heatedly and burning “Marija”. Yu Ran clearly saw his health bar drop to zero in just a few short seconds, before the entire character’s body toppled over.

The chat suddenly exploded. The champion of the server’s PK rankings had not only been rapidly defeated by another, he was even hanging upside-down on the city wall like a pendant. In that instant, as his face swept the floor, he had completely lost his reputation.

Yu Ran knew that this person must have temporarily disconnected, which was why he had won so easily. This was very unfair, and the victory felt unsatisfying. Yu Ran sent a message into the chat to help his opponent explain the reason for their failure, before promising to challenge his opponent again when he returned online.

Then, Yu Ran privately messaged “Marija” and asked him if his internet connection had improved. 

After waiting for a while, there was still no response. So Yu Ran simply left the game and opened Kuwo to listen to songs.

Yu Ran was prone to sleepiness in the afternoon. He was feeling drowsy, when suddenly, the sounds of a commotion woke him up.

The volume of noise from the crowd overpowered the music playing in his headphones. He raised his head sleepily, just in time to see a few people pushing and shoving at each other in front of the row of computers opposite him. One of the boys directly picked up a computer chair, abruptly slamming it down on the others. A couple of people cursed. Following that, the chair fell heavily, and the noise of its wheels breaking apart instantly shocked everyone in the internet cafe.

The ruckus drew the attention of the supervisor, who tried to persuade the boys to stop fighting. However, his efforts were futile, so he immediately grew stern, kicking the troublemakers out of the internet cafe. If they wanted to fight, they would have to fight outside. Otherwise, he would call for the police. 

Yu Ran observed that the conflict had occurred between the boy who threw the chair and a group of thug-like young men with tattoos on their arms. Additionally, this group of people were carrying batons and machetes on their waists. They looked as though they were ready to fight at any time. Yu Ran reckoned that things wouldn’t end well for the boy once he stepped out of the door.

This boy was tall and slender. Even in a crowd of people, his cold expression and air of arrogance was especially eye-catching. Raising his head, Yu Ran absent-mindedly took a glance at his appearance.

The other party was walking in a hurry, so Yu Ran was only able to catch a glimpse of his clean, white skin and attractively sharp nose. Looking straight at his face, the boy’s indifferent expression seemed a bit familiar.

Yu Ran hesitated for two seconds before taking out his phone to check the photo of “Marija” that he had saved a few days ago. After comparing it with his impression of the boy just now, he quickly got up and ran out of the internet cafe to follow the group of people. 

As expected, upon getting closer, he saw that the boy’s path had been blocked by the gang. Their leader was a thin young man with fierce eyebrows and a hoarse voice. He was cursing with swear words that even Yu Ran found vulgar. The leader raised his hand, shoving the boy roughly.

But the boy didn’t stumble backwards, and merely raised his arm to block the blow.

The lout fished out a butterfly knife that he carried with him. The sharp blade gleamed with a chilling light in the scorching sun. A follower next to him smiled crookedly, raising his chin as he said to the boy: “In future, have a bit more situational awareness, alright didi? You even have the guts to provoke Xu Si from Jiubao Street’s Tongque Terrace. Why insist on lying on a hospital bed when there’s a wide road to walk on?”

The tip of the other party’s knife swung threateningly in the air. The boy stood there unmoving, saying calmly: “Albino Honduran milk snakes are already extremely rare. Not to mention those that are double-headed due to mutation. The probability of something like that appearing is most likely only one in ten thousand. I don’t believe anyone else in Ronggang can find a second snake with these characteristics.” 

“Stop fucking pestering me.” The young man named Xu Si was very angry, and aimed the knife at the youth’s soft abdomen.

However, the nature of Ronggang’s gangs had always been “if you can use your mouth, try not to use your hands”, and the boy in front of them was obviously underage. Xu Si knew that if he hurt him, he would definitely be punished severely, so he was simply adopting a fierce attitude.

“It was originally mine.” The young man said forcefully.

“Oh, yours? Laozi just paid the balance for it this morning and suddenly it’s become yours with just a glance?” Xu Si was angered into laughter by the boy’s arrogant attitude. He swung the butterfly knife in his hand, and the people next to him understood his implicit message. They stepped forward, pressing on the boy’s shoulders and neck respectively, as if they really wanted to sort him out. The boy reacted very quickly, immediately bending down and raising his arms horizontally. He hit their lower abdomens with the joints of his elbows, and decisively kicked the inside of their knees before his opponents had the chance to fight back. With jelly legs, they fell to the ground in a kneeling position, a continuous stream of swear words escaping their mouths. 

The boy frowned and stared at Xu Si. He spoke a little faster: “Then tell me where you bought it. Did the Forestry Bureau approve the purchase?”

Xu Si was somewhat anxious, and his fist clenched around the knife tightly, “You little fucking rascal! Where did you come from to toy with me?!”

From beginning to end, Yu Ran had been hiding in a corner and observing quietly. Upon sensing that the situation had taken a turn for the worse, his innate sense of justice prompted him to stand up immediately to prevent a murder from happening. He rushed over and yelled in a practiced manner: “The supervisor has called the police!”

As soon as they heard his words, the gangsters who had taken out their weapons immediately withdrew them. 

Just now, there had been some distance between Yu Ran and the group of people. When he ran over and shouted at them, it just so happened that he ended up behind the boy. As a result, he was unable to see his expression at the moment. However, Yu Ran could see the expressions on the other people’s faces very clearly. Hearing that the police were nearby, they all reflexively put away the weapons in their hands.

Just as Yu Ran was breathing a sigh of relief for the boy, he saw the back of the person in front of him swaying. In the next second, the boy fell backwards stiffly, like a robot that had been suddenly powered off.

Fortunately, Yu Ran was sharp-eyed and quickly supported the boy’s shoulders with his hands from behind. The other party’s body had lost its centre of gravity. It pressed down on Yu Ran, slowly forcing him into a crouching position, until he was nearly kneeling onto the ground.

The situation in front of him stunned Yu Ran for a while. He looked at the face of the boy in his arms. He had both eyes shut tightly. Just like that, the first chill he experienced in the midst of this scorching summer swept from the bottom of his heart to the tip of his head. 

Yu Ran raised his head incredulously, and asked with a panicked expression: “You guys….. scared him to death?”