In the dorm, four girls chatted excitedly about the God Forsaken Game. Chu Yan, the short-haired girl and Qin Xiaoyou's closest friend, stuffed clothes into her suitcase as she spoke.
"I heard that as long as people in the same region fall asleep at the same time, they'll spawn in the same Xinshou Town. I need to go back and pick up my parents. They've never touched games in their life, and I'm afraid they won't be able to adapt."
One girl sighed helplessly and shook her head. "Don't drag yourself into that mess. It's better for us to develop first and bring our parents later."
Another girl with glasses chimed in, nodding frantically like a pecking chick. "Exactly. We can't even ensure our own basic progress right now…"
Qin Xiaoyou didn't join the discussion. She only tapped her phone again and again. In truth, she was waiting for Qin Feng to apologize.
But even after all this time, there was still nothing, no message, no call, not even an emoji. The silence gnawed at her patience and turned annoyance into irritation.
"Something this big happens and he won't even apologize? Is he really that arrogant?" But having her take the initiative was even less likely.
In her eyes, she had done nothing wrong. Skipping an exam for Song Fei's concert was perfectly reasonable. To her, what could compare to the chance to get closer to her idol? Exams could be retaken whenever; concerts came and went once in a lifetime.
As long as Chu Yan had gone with her, the memory was worth it, she had never been that close to "Big Brother" Song Fei before.Just thinking about the concert made Qin Xiaoyou's expression soften.
His opening line, "I missed you all", lingered pleasantly in her mind. She wondered what Song Fei would be like in the God Forsaken Game. With his strength and diligence, he would surely shine there too.
It was funny: the "Big Brother" in her heart wasn't Qin Feng anymore, but Song Fei. Qin Feng from the previous timeline never knew this. Because of the game's arrival, he had rushed to campus, apologized, persuaded, and finally entered the game with her.
But in this life? He let things unfold as they pleased. And with that choice, the situation shifted. In the last life, although Qin Feng had been late because of work, he at least sent constant apologetic messages to keep her from acting impulsively. This time, he didn't bother at all.
Apologize? For what? He had better things to do. If so, Qin Xiaoyou was very likely to enter the God Forsaken Game early. But what did that matter to him?
Suddenly, Chu Yan glanced at her screen and gasped. "Girls, look! Zhang Wei got out of the game and hit level three already!"
Qin Xiaoyou looked up, surprised. "So strong? Reaching level three already means he's definitely a big shot!" She quickly picked up her phone and pinged @Zhang Wei in the class V Letter group.
Zhang Wei, the boy who always slept on his desk entered the world to a flood of admiration. Qin Xiaoyou messaged him directly: "@Big Shot Zhang Wei, do you have any guides for us?"
The praise bloated Zhang Wei's ego instantly, but Qin Xiaoyou's message made him especially excited. To him, this was the perfect opportunity. Normally, Qin Xiaoyou didn't give boys a second glance. If she messaged first, why not aim high?
Zhang Wei immediately slid into her private chat and boasted happily. "Don't worry, Little You. As long as someone in town hits level five, they can activate the teleportation array. Then all the starting towns can teleport to each other. Just find a town, join a leveling team, and when my town activates, I'll teleport over to carry you!"
He even whispered a "secret." When entering the game, put all initial attribute points into Agility, otherwise monsters would overwhelm her. Qin Xiaoyou stared at the message blankly. "If I play a magic class, do I also add Agility?"
"Of course," Zhang Wei replied solemnly. "Agility increases casting speed. It's crucial early on."
Qin Xiaoyou nodded. "Understood."
Looking at her cute avatar, Zhang Wei felt victorious and began fantasizing. But Qin Xiaoyou had no interest in him at all. Aside from Song Fei, everyone else was just a convenient tool to level her up.
She thought of Qin Feng again and sneered internally. "He still won't apologize? He really thinks I can't live without him." Fine the, she would enter first.
When Zhang Wei's town reached level five, he would teleport over and carry her. Qin Feng could enter later, for all she cared.
Little did she know that Qin Feng had already reached level five. If Zhang Wei counted as a big shot, then what was Qin Feng?
The teleportation arrays in Initial Towns were two-way. Lighting one alone was meaningless; other towns also needed level fives to awaken theirs.
That was why Qin Feng wasn't rushing back. His goal was to push straight to level ten and then head for the main city, that was where the real game began.
"Teleporting between towns is free…" Qin Feng muttered as he effortlessly farmed monsters in the Gloomy Forest. "Which town was Song Fei in again?"
In the previous life, Qin Xiaoyou had wanted to chase Song Fei down, but Qin Feng had stopped her. Thanks to her fangroup, they had located Song Fei's starting point at the time—Yinghuo Town.
"Right. Yinghuo Town. I'll go level there later. Every time I meet Song Fei, I'll kill him." A cold gleam flickered in his eyes. The in-game hunt was merely a prelude; its purpose was to make Song Fei log off in fear. The real hunt would come after.
He opened the Shell Town leaderboard. Level 6: Shadow. The rest were stuck at level three. It would take time before other towns produced level fives. "Continue farming."
Instant Shadow Slash!
-754.
-754.
-754.
Monsters that terrified other players exploded into experience, life span, and loot beneath Qin Feng's strikes.
Meanwhile, in reality, Blue Star, Jianghai City. Wang Meng rushed to the bureau to report."What?! Someone in Shell Town already reached level five? Solo?"
More than a dozen officials stared at him, stunned. "Codename 'Shadow'?If that's true, wouldn't that make him globally first?!".