Song Que was a little depressed because of the superficiality and vulgarity of the system. He thought that simply finishing his book wouldn’t be enough. He didn’t expect that the system would change the evaluation criteria and force the progress bar to the maximum. When he died, he was only in his forties, having collapsed at his desk. His reputation was ruined by overwork.
Song Que tried hard not to think about his friends and children. Their lives had each taken different paths, and even if he was gone, they would be able to move on after the temporary sadness.
This mental suggestion quickly took effect. In the end, Song just scoffed at the system: “You useless piece of junk!”
System:”!”
When you need someone, you call them ‘baby,’ but when you don’t, you call them a ‘useless piece of junk’?
The system silently criticized Song Que without him knowing. After adjusting his state, Song Que quickly immersed himself in this new world. This new world was a little strange. Song Que looked at the people coming and going. They had long hair, some tied their hair into a bun, and some wore crowns. Many of them rode tall horses with swords hanging on their waists. They looked like chivalrous heroes from the martial arts world, but their clothes were a little revealing.
A little girl bought a bunch of things and was staggering with them in her arms, but no one came forward to help her. Instead, she took out a small bag, and all those items fit neatly inside.
Cultivation?
Song Que shook his head. He found that he also had a similar bag. When he opened it, a display screen appeared in front of him, showing an organized interface with grid-like compartments.
It turned out to be a holographic online game.
Song Que said, “You still claim there’s no behind-the-scenes manipulation? If you promised me something easy, then give me an easy one.”
System: “It’s just random. It’s none of my business. I don’t want to bother with you.”
It was still resentful about being called a useless piece of junk.
Song Que smiled. Intending to coax the system a bit, when he noticed a rather inconspicuous notification light up in the lower left corner of the interface. He had just been distracted by those strange costumes, and only now did he realize that there was a prominent button on the screen. He clicked it, and suddenly many buttons appeared on the corners of the interface. It turned out that they were hidden just now. Song Que planned to study it later, but for now, he clicked on the notification.
⌈Wei Shu: “Where are you now?”⌋
Song Que studied the other buttons and finally found something like a map with the words “Duanqin Cliff” written on it.
⌈Que Zhi : “Duanqin Cliff of the Wuqiu Villa.”⌋
⌈Wei Shu: “Wait for me there.”⌋
⌈Que Zhi: “Okay.”⌋
After replying, Song Que stood there waiting for Wei Shu while also studying the game.
With the name “Jianghu Strategy,” the game’s background became quite clear. This game naturally featured different sects, but instead of the usual Wudang and Shaolin, it included various factions. There were monks, but they were not from Shaolin Temple, but from Dajue Temple. Handsome young monks wore white robes, with a dot of vermilion on their foreheads, and when it came to romance, they were quite charming.
Before Song Que came, Que Zhi had already entered Wuqiu Manor. Wuqiu Manor specialized in swordsmanship, and its name, “Wuqiu,” meant “flawless”. They use two-handed swords instead of left-handed swords or right-handed swords. Song Que had never used a two-handed sword before, and suddenly felt eager to try it.
He said to the system: “By the way, you are usually not that kind. Whenever you throw me into something, it’s never for anything good. This time is no exception, right?”
The system which usually claimed not to know, surprisingly made an exception today. It sneered, “This time, you’re a con artist in romance, the kind that needs some gossip. A girl who’s come to settle the score with you is about to arrive.”
Song Que’s smile gradually froze. He was most afraid of emotional debts. Suddenly recalling something, he immediately opened the chat history with Wei Shu. Wei Shu was indeed a little girl, and the chat history showed that Que Zhi had been quite aloof. It was only under the little girl’s persistence that his attitude gradually softened. After the two became friends, Wei Shu began to mention another game, asking him if he had played that game and whether he had also used this name in that game.
After Que Zhi gave an affirmative answer, the conversation shifted to Song Que and Wei Shu. The little girl asked him where he was, and he said he was at the Duanqin Cliff.
Song Que made a quick decision and forcefully logged out.
The system said: “Forcibly logging out may cause data errors.”
Song Que said: “Does that really matter? What does it mean in a life-or-death situation?”
The system felt pleased.
Song Que accurately captured the keyword “another game”. He checked and found out it was a mobile game. He opened Que Zhi’s mobile phone, clicked on the mobile game, and then found the closest possible truth.
This Que Zhi possessed a skill common to all boys. When faced with formidable opponents in a game, he pretended to be a girl. Although he couldn’t charm them with elaborate flirtation, he could still spout sweet words one after another. It’s something that very few girls would do, while boys seemed to handle it with ease and finesse.
Que Zhi seemed to have latched onto a big player, known as Wei Da Bu Diao, who often carried him in the game, achieving impressive results. Looking at their conversations in the game, though not overtly obvious, Song Que could tell that Wei Da Bu Diao was indeed smitten; their exchanges had a hint of flirtation.
Song Que let out a sigh of relief. It was definitely wrong to pretend to be a girl and trick people into playing games with him, but the two did not make things explicit, which was still one step away from truly deceiving feelings. Although he did not know the specific relationship between Wei Da Bu Chui and Wei Shu, Song Que decided to log back in and take responsibility and solve the matter thoroughly.
Song Que settled into the nutrient pod, awkwardly navigating the controls. On the login confirmation interface, he saw his current image. His long hair was neatly tied up, and he held a two-handed sword in both hands that was shorter and smaller than a normal sword. Male characters’ clothes were often less revealing than female characters, his long legs were comfortably tucked into his pants. Song Que sighed, “It would be perfect if they could cover my chest.”
The system glanced at the exposed patch of chest beneath the tattered clothing and chuckled with glee.
Song logged in on the spot, and with a flash of white light, he instantly drew the attention of those around him.
“Fuck, forcibly logging out? which guy has the guts to do that?”
“From Wuqiu Manor, hahahaha, everyone in that Manor is crazy.”
“Who are you calling crazy?”
“It’s the truth, why don’t you let me say it?”
Song Que felt somewhat helpless. He, the one who had been told off, hadn’t reacted much, others had already started fighting because they were unwilling to accept being hit by the map attack.
Song Que didn’t have the time to explore why people said the brains at Wuqiu Manor were messed up. Wei Shu had sent him several messages.
“I’m here, where are you?”
“Why did you log out?”
“Where are you?!”
Seeing that the little girl was about to blow up, Song Que looked around and saw that there were fewer people on the edge of the cliff, so he sent a message: “I had something to deal with and logged out just now. I’m back now. I’m waiting for you at the edge of the Duanqin Cliff. There are fewer people here.”
After Song Que moved over, a tall and slender girl soon came towards him aggressively, carrying a heavy-looking sword on her back. Although he knew that the weight in the game had a numerical benefit, this extremely discordant scene still attracted Song Que’s attention.
The girl was indeed Wei Shu. She walked up to Song Que and said, “You know Wei Da Bu Diao, right?”
As Wei Shu said this, she seemed to be waiting for Song Que to show a hint of fear.
Song Que felt a little depressed about what was about to happen and nodded.
Wei Shu’s face showed a mix of anger, embarrassment, and a touch of the loneliness that follows a breakup. Song Que felt that he had caught something, but the thought only flashed through his mind. Wei Shu asked him, “Why did you pretend to be a girl and deceive her?”
Song Que, feeling the weight of the blame, replied tearfully: “Because I’m not very good at the game, and Wei Da Bu Diao has great skills, I want him to help me… What is your relationship with Wei Da Bu Diao?”
Wei Shu’s face turned a mix of pale and flushed as she shouted, “I am Wei Da Bu Diao!”
After shouting, she swung her large sword with a move called “Rising Wind and Gathering Clouds”.
Wei Shu was a girl who played the game exceptionally well and had a rather bold personality. Because she was so skilled, people often suspected her as a male using a female character, especially her defeated opponents, who would call her manipulative and accuse her of lowering their guard with a female account. In a fit of anger, she switched to a male character and became even more ruthless against her enemies. This time, the ones bothering her were a new wave of “little girls” begging, “Big brother, please carry me.”. Wei Shu has seen a few guys pretending to be girls and scoffed at those messages, but to her, Que Zhi was different.
Que Zhi was a female player who mostly remained quiet. Her skills weren’t exceptional, but she genuinely enjoyed the game. The first time she matched with Wei Shu, she simply praised her skills without any intention of trying to game together. For reasons unknown, Wei Shu added Que Zhi as a friend, and occasionally, when she saw Que Zhi online, she would invite her to play. Over time, they became regular partners. Compared to girls her age, Que Zhi was unusually quiet, never chattering away. She only occasionally showed concern and never swore, even when excited. She was too gentle and considerate.
Such a rare girl turned out to be this man in front of her in disguise! If it weren’t for the fact that the gender in a holographic game couldn’t be changed, she might have suspected that Song Que was using a male character in the game.
The disguise was so successful that Wei Shu was on the verge of tears from anger.
Wei Shu was quite skilled at handling games, and although “Jianghu Strategy,” as a holographic online game, limited her capabilities to some extent, her years of experience as a player allowed her to quickly envision the counter attacks that disciples of Wuqiu Villa might use, ready to execute her next skill at any moment.
However, Song Que didn’t dodge. He stood there as if frozen and took Wei Shu’s blow head-on. The blow stabbed into his shoulder and blood spurted out. The effect was quite impressive.
Although Que Zhi’s pain sensation was set to only 30%, it still felt quite exquisite, and Song Que let out a muffled groan.
Wei Shu’s knife stuck in Song Que’s shoulder. She stood there in shock and asked, “Why didn’t you dodge?”
Song Que was originally very serious, even trying to act cool, but when he heard her question, he suddenly broke character and laughed, asking, “Aren’t you the one who wanted to chop me?”
Was this asking whether she wanted to chop him or not?
Seeing the dramatic scene unfolding, people gathered around. Spotting a handsome man and woman, they speculated about a romantic entanglement. Those who were business-minded even started selling small stools and melon seeds in the front row.
Wei Shu said unhappily, “You need to fight me in a duel.”
She pulled out the knife and the blood spurted out again. Wei Shu turned her face away, thinking that this was exactly what was affecting her performance!
Song Que shook his head and said, “I did something wrong and I’m really sorry. You can beat me up or kill me. If you want to blame me, go ahead. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
This reaction was something Wei Shu had not expected. She had come here to seek revenge, but now faced with this situation. She didn’t know where to vent her anger.
One onlooker asked, “Brother, what did you do wrong? Did you cheat?”
Song Que turned around and said, “No, in another game I pretended to be a little girl and asked her to help me. At that time, she was using a male character.”
The people around laughed. They looked at the two people in front of them who were both playing disguised characters and said, “Isn’t it actually pretty good for you two like this?”
Wei Shu rolled her eyes, “Good my ass! I’m lesbian!!”
