Chapter 69: School
Nan Yu had originally thought that once he got back to school, he would definitely run into Bai Zhouyun.
After all, while he had been at home, his older brothers had been protecting him, so Bai Zhouyun hadn't had any chance to get close.
Once they were back at school, Bai Zhouyun should have been impatient to come looking for him.
What Nan Yu hadn't expected was that Bai Zhouyun could actually hold himself back this long.
Classes had already resumed for almost three days, yet Bai Zhouyun still hadn't come looking for him.
Had he given up?
Nan Yu thought that was impossible.
It didn't take long before he learned the reason.
After school that day, Yang Zhou found him.
"Hey, don't leave yet. Want to come over to my place for a while?"
Nan Yu nodded.
"Sure. I'll send my eldest brother a message first."
He opened his messages and sent one to Nan Yun.
Less than ten seconds later, the reply came.
No problem.
Nan Yu smiled.
"Let's go to your place. We can chat and have some snacks."
Yang Zhou grinned.
"Hehe, I already prepared plenty of snacks. They're all your favorites. Oh right, there's something I need to tell you."
"What is it? You can't tell me now? Why so mysterious?"
Yang Zhou deliberately kept him in suspense.
"I'll tell you after we get home. It'll definitely surprise you."
"Really? Did you hear another piece of gossip somewhere?"
He waved his hands.
"No, no. Do you think I'm that shallow? The things I know are things other people don't. Seriously, this news is absolutely explosive, and nobody else knows about it yet."
Nan Yu laughed.
"Then how did you find out?"
Yang Zhou chuckled.
"Hehe, I just happened to pass by at the right time and saw it. This is a huge piece of gossip. Don't tell me you don't want to hear it?"
To be honest, Nan Yu wasn't someone who enjoyed gossip.
But seeing Yang Zhou so excited, he didn't want to ruin his mood.
"Of course I want to hear it. Tell me everything later."
Yang Zhou brought him home.
They didn't run into anyone along the way.
As soon as they arrived, Nan Yu walked over to the sofa as though he had done it countless times before, sat down, and grabbed the snacks from the coffee table.
Sure enough, they were all the sweet treats he liked.
Yang Zhou came over carrying two glasses of fruit juice, handing one to Nan Yu.
"Hehe, listen to this. Yesterday after school, remember how I said I had something to take care of and left early?"
Nan Yu nodded.
"Yeah. And then? You happened to see something?"
"What I saw might've been someone else's secret. Are you sure it's okay to treat it as gossip?"
Yang Zhou gave a sarcastic smile.
"If it were someone else, I wouldn't know. But those two? No problem."
Nan Yu immediately thought of the pair.
"Don't tell me it was Bai Zhouyun and Yun Feiyu?"
Yang Zhou raised a thumbs-up.
"As expected of Nan Yu. You guessed it immediately."
Nan Yu instantly lost interest.
"I don't want to hear anything about those two. Forget it."
"Come on! It's really interesting! When I walked by, I saw them pulling at each other. Neither of them looked happy. At first I thought Bai Zhouyun was forcing Yun Feiyu, but it turned out to be the exact opposite."
Nan Yu thought to himself, Of course it was the opposite. Bai Zhouyun and Yun Feiyu got together willingly, so...
...Wait.
The exact opposite?
"Aren't Bai Zhouyun and Yun Feiyu always close? Did Bai Zhouyun suddenly start hating him?"
"I don't know the whole story. I only saw that part. Yun Feiyu kept grabbing at Bai Zhouyun, but Bai Zhouyun just frowned and kept a cold face, completely ignoring him. In the end he got so annoyed that he said, 'Don't come looking for me again,' shook off his hand, turned around, and walked away."
Nan Yu's eyes widened slightly.
"Seriously?"
Yang Zhou nodded vigorously.
"I couldn't believe it either. At first I thought they were putting on an act. But then I realized it was probably real, because Yun Feiyu squatted down right there and started crying. His tears were practically sparkling like pearls."
Nan Yu twitched the corner of his mouth.
"And then?"
Yang Zhou's expression became rather strange.
"And then? What else?"
"I thought Bai Zhouyun had really left. But less than two minutes later he came running back, grabbed Yun Feiyu's hand, led the crying guy away, and kept coaxing him the whole time."
Nan Yu nodded thoughtfully before asking,
"So... what's the point of this gossip?"
Yang Zhou thought about it seriously.
"...Come to think of it, maybe there isn't one. Those two were together to begin with. Breaking up and getting back together every now and then seems pretty normal."
"It's just that when Bai Zhouyun shook off Yun Feiyu's hand, the expression on his face looked so resolute that I honestly thought they were really finished."
Nan Yu smiled.
"Enough about them. Let's talk about something else."
"Actually... why don't we log into StarNet and play a game?"
Yang Zhou's eyes immediately lit up.
"Sounds good! I haven't played in ages. I wonder if I'm rusty now."
Whether Yang Zhou was rusty or not, Nan Yu didn't know.
But he knew he definitely was.
Adding together his previous life and this one...
How much time had passed?
He could barely remember which game he and Yang Zhou used to play together.
So there was no question that he was out of practice.
Yang Zhou went into his room and returned carrying two virtual reality helmets, handing one of them to Nan Yu.
"This is the one you used before. I kept it for you."
Nan Yu looked at the helmet.
It felt both unfamiliar... and somehow familiar at the same time.
His emotions became rather complicated.
"So... what should we play?"
Yang Zhou shrugged.
"We haven't logged in for a long time. Let's just go admire the scenery and relax."
Nan Yu looked at him.
"Sure. Where should we meet?"
"The Ice Velvet Sea. The scenery there is amazing."
"Alright."
In truth, Nan Yu had completely forgotten where the Ice Velvet Sea was.
Fortunately, once inside the game he could simply open the map and teleport there.
The two of them put on their virtual reality helmets and logged into the game.
Nan Yu closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he found himself standing on a street in a city.
This was probably where he had logged out last time.
A private message from Yang Zhou quickly popped up.
Against the Current: "Xiao Yu, come to the Ice Velvet Sea. I'll wait for you at the highest point. The view here is incredible."
Nan Yu replied.
From South to North: "Got it. I'll be there in a bit."
Against the Current: "Oh, right. You're still in the main city, aren't you? Buy some food while you're there. We can eat while enjoying the scenery."
From South to North: "Sure."
Just moments ago everything had felt unfamiliar.
Yet the instant he entered this game, everything gradually became familiar again.
This had once been the game he played more than any other.
In his previous life, whenever Bai Zhouyun left him heartbroken, he would escape into this game and spend his time grinding monsters, farming dungeons, and fighting in the arena.
At one point, people had even started calling him the Northern God.
But thinking about it now...
Maybe he hadn't been all that amazing after all.
Nan Yu walked toward the food district in the main city.
One of this game's greatest attractions was its food.
Everything looked exquisite.
Everything tasted delicious.
Even though everyone knew it was virtual, countless players were still willing to pay for it just to enjoy the flavor.
Most other items could be purchased with gold earned in-game.
Only the food had to be bought with credit points.
Fortunately, it was quite cheap for Nan Yu.
Standing in front of the food counter that accepted only credit points, he browsed carefully for nearly ten minutes before finally selecting twenty or thirty different items and paying.
It should have been an utterly ordinary purchase.
Yet trouble still found him.
Just as Nan Yu finished paying and turned to leave the shop, a mocking voice sounded behind him.
"Who knows what took him so long to choose? Maybe he was just pretending to be rich. Bought the cheapest stuff, then stood there for ten minutes acting important. Don't you guys think so?"
Several others immediately chimed in as though Nan Yu really were that kind of person.
Nan Yu had no intention of arguing with them.
He simply pretended he hadn't heard anything and continued walking away.
Unfortunately, his complete indifference only irritated them further.
Before he even managed to leave the shop, someone stepped in front of him.
"Don't be in such a hurry, little brother. Since we're all here pretending to be big shots, why so cold? Want your big brother to teach you a few tricks? You'll be picking up girls in no time."
Nan Yu wondered whether this guy had something wrong with his brain.
They didn't even know each other.
Why was he acting so familiar?
Then something suddenly occurred to him.
His equipment...
Wasn't it top-tier divine gear?
Ah.
He remembered now.
Back in his previous life, his divine equipment had been far too eye-catching, so he usually wore an ordinary fashion outfit over it to hide the gear underneath.
To everyone else, he now looked like nothing more than an average player.
"No thanks."
"I'm in a hurry. Please move."
The other party clearly didn't dare start a fight inside the main city—or inside the shop.
Although Nan Yu's icy attitude annoyed him, he didn't dare do anything.
He merely snorted coldly.
"Just you wait."
Nan Yu silently thought,
What a bunch of lunatics.
He quickly threw the matter to the back of his mind and teleported to the Ice Velvet Sea.
Standing on the teleportation platform, he looked around.
The scenery was breathtaking.
Flowers sculpted entirely from ice bloomed everywhere.
Some were icy blue.
Some icy green.
Some pale pink.
The colors were varied, yet all soft and delicate, creating an unimaginably beautiful landscape stretching as far as the eye could see.
Especially when viewed from the highest point.
Turning around, Nan Yu saw a mountain in the distance.
At its summit stood a pavilion.
From there, one could overlook the entire sea of Ice Velvet Flowers.
However...
Entering that pavilion required money.
Yes.
It literally cost money.
Combat and other competitive gameplay were completely fair to everyone.
But luxury experiences like sightseeing required payment.
That was one of the game's unique features.
As a result, wealthy players often socialized with other wealthy players, while ordinary players stayed among themselves.
There were rarely any conflicts.
When Nan Yu reached the summit, he saw that the pavilion was marked as Currently In Use.
He assumed Yang Zhou had already arrived and simply needed to grant him access.
Walking over, he pushed on the door.
Although it appeared to be an ordinary door, opening it would instantly teleport the player into the pavilion atop the mountain.
But when Nan Yu reached out—
It wouldn't budge.
"Sorry. This instance is currently in use. You do not have permission to enter."
Nan Yu frowned.
Had Yang Zhou forgotten to give him access?
That didn't seem possible...
He opened his private messages.
From South to North: "What's going on? Didn't you give me permission?"
The reply came instantly.
Against the Current: "Holy crap! I got so mad earlier that I completely forgot to tell you. Someone else took the place."
From South to North: "If it's occupied, then forget it. We can go somewhere else. It's not the only paid scenic spot. What's there to be angry about?"
Against the Current: "That's not what happened! I actually got there first. Right when I was about to pay, a group rushed over from behind. One of them used a control skill to freeze me in place. Without saying a single word, they chatted and laughed while paying to enter, leaving me standing outside."
"I had to stand there for several minutes until the skill finally wore off. It was absolutely infuriating!"
Nan Yu thought they had indeed gone too far.
"Where are you now?"
Yang Zhou sent him his location.
Nan Yu quickly found him.
He was standing at the edge of the Ice Velvet Flower Sea beside the Ice Velvet Sea itself.
The scenery there was still beautiful.
But compared to the pavilion on the summit, it was clearly inferior.
Nan Yu looked at Yang Zhou, who was still puffing with anger.
"Still mad?"
"Of course I'm mad! If they'd just talked to me properly, I wouldn't have minded. If there were a lot of them holding some gathering, I'd understand. I could always come back another time."
"But look at what they did! Was that something any decent person would do?"
Nan Yu frowned slightly.
"Since it was only a control skill, you didn't lose any HP. It didn't count as attacking you, so they didn't get a red name, right?"
Yang Zhou became even angrier.
"Exactly! They're unbelievable! I'm so pissed..."
Nan Yu thought that if the same thing had happened to him, he'd probably be angry too.
"In that case..."
"How about I help you get some revenge?"
Yang Zhou blinked.
"How?"
Nan Yu scratched his cheek with one finger and grinned.
"With money."
"...?"
"Just leave it to me. Tell me their character names first. I'll check them out. If everything's fine, we'll solve this with money."
Yang Zhou looked puzzled.
"How are you going to solve it with money? Throw money at them until they give us the spot? That'd only benefit them. No way."
Nan Yu smiled.
"Of course not. Just tell me."
Yang Zhou listed the names.
"Tian Zhongyao, Shui Zhongyou, Di Zhongbeng, Huo Zhongfei... and one more called Wuxing Feiwo... Huh? Wait..."
Nan Yu also remembered something.
"This Wuxing Feiwo..."
Yang Zhou's entire face twisted.
"I knew it! There's no way they'd come after me for no reason. I knew something was wrong!"
Nan Yu nodded.
"If I remember correctly... Wuxing Feiwo is one of your relatives?"
"Yeah. He's from that awful branch of the family—the one I hate the most."
"After my grandfather died, they were the ones making the biggest fuss over the inheritance. He was the one leading the charge."
"He even encouraged all the relatives to unite and kick me out of the house so I wouldn't receive a single credit point."
"What none of them expected was that Grandpa had already made a will."
Nan Yu nodded.
"Alright. I understand."
"In that case..."
"Why don't we be a little arrogant ourselves?"
Yang Zhou blinked.
"What are you planning? You're using your own account, aren't you? Don't forget that From South to North is somewhat well-known."
"That's exactly the effect I want."
Without another word, Nan Yu purchased one hundred World Horns and began broadcasting messages across the entire server.
From South to North: "Bounty on Tian Zhongyao, Shui Zhongyou, Di Zhongbeng, Huo Zhongfei, and Wuxing Feiwo. 100 credit points per kill. 100,000 credit points for forcing any one of them to quit the game. Send me screenshots via private message and I'll transfer payment immediately!"
He scheduled the message to broadcast once every minute.
One hundred horns would keep the announcement going for quite a while.
Then Nan Yu smiled at Yang Zhou.
"Think that'll help vent your anger?"
After all, a great many top players in this game weren't rich in real life.
Money could buy comfort and convenience.
But the strongest players usually earned their living in-game by carrying wealthy clients through dungeons, crafting equipment, and completing commissions.
For them...
Nan Yu's bounty was incredibly tempting.
Anyone short on money—or simply not wealthy—would almost certainly accept it.
Yang Zhou hesitated.
"But those guys are still inside the pavilion. If they never come out, won't the bounty hunters have no way to find them?"
Nan Yu shrugged.
"That's not my problem."
"I've already posted the bounty."
"If they can't even locate those five people, then they probably wouldn't be capable of killing them anyway."
"Just wait and see."
The automatic broadcasts continued every single minute without interruption.
As expected...
The world chat exploded.
Lemon: "A rich boss posted a bounty! Any experts taking the job? I want in too! One kill is worth a hundred credit points! Ten kills is a thousand! A hundred kills is ten thousand!"
May Every Ability Beast's Entire Family Die: "And forcing one of them to quit is worth a hundred thousand! Where I live, that's enough to buy a two-bedroom apartment! Damn, rich people really are different."
Invincible Under Heaven: "Where are those five? My blade is already thirsty! Give me their location! If I get the kill, I'll split ten credit points with you!"
It wasn't long before someone sent Invincible Under Heaven the location of all five targets.
The World Horn messages were visible to everyone.
Naturally...
The people enjoying the scenery inside the pavilion saw them as well.
Wuxing Feiwo: "Someone actually put a bounty on us? Who the hell is this From South to North? Did any of you offend him?"