1 A lead...!
The afternoon sun peeked through the curtains and a man called Wang GuiYing groaned as he turned away from its burning rays.
He was never a person who would wake up early and since the one that had always woken him up was no longer around, he had learned to sleep all throughout the early afternoons.
In the past few years, his life had really taken a turn for the worst.
Even his room seemed to be more sorted out than his life and that in itself spoke a lot considering the fact that his room certainly didn't look anything better than a pigsty.
The empty cans of beer lay around on the ground, waiting for someone to trip on them and the door of the fridge remained opened as if someone had forgotten to close it.
The leftover pizza that had not been touched for more than a week seemed to have become a feast for rats and the light switches no longer worked as the tenant forgot to pay the electricity bills.
There was only one area in his room that remained a bit cleared and it was a huge bulletin board that he carefully cared for.
There were a lot of pictures and news articles pinned on the board with a huge map that had a lot of spots marked with red. In the middle of the board, there was a single picture of Wang GuiYing and his missing best friend, Zhou Xinyi.
Although the picture was old, it could be noticed that it had been greatly treasured since it still looked brand new.
Ring~ Ring~
Ring~ Ring~
Ring~ Ri-
Wang GuiYing suddenly snapped out of his dreams and woke up with a jolt as he immediately answered his phone.
His fingers trembled as he picked up the phone and his voice was anxious as he spoke, "Hello?"
"Yo Trash, we might have a lead," A voice of a girl could be heard coming from the phone and Wang GuiYing seemed to have recognized it in the blink of an eye.
"What's the lead?" The man questioned in a hurry as he straightened his back and slapped himself completely awake.
"You know that cocky bastard who has been trying to overthrow Mastermo?" The girl clicked her tongue as she asked but didn't even wait around for a response as she continued, "He has been boasting about it. The guy says he met Hulk online."
There was a feeling…
A feeling that could not be explained easily.
As if the earth beneath one's feet had suddenly disappeared...
"Is it worth following?" Wang GuiYing gulped as he carefully asked.
This time, the girl took a minute to respond. With a sigh, she spoke, "It seems to be the case. I've already checked and the guy might just be telling the truth."
Wang Guiying felt his mind go blank and he immediately hung up the call without giving a response.
For some reason, there was a sense of fear in his heart. A fear so deeply rooted that it made him unable to breathe sometimes.
In the very next moment, the man received a message and it was from the same girl that had called him.
[Li Ying: I'll send you the details over text. Look into it and keep me posted if you get anything.]
Wang GuiYing gulped as he read the message and patiently waited for the details that the girl had promised to get him.
For over four years, he had only got cold leads that led him to a dead-end, but even though he had been disappointed every single time, he had never stopped searching.
No matter if it was a faux lead or not, any type of lead was worth following for him cause he didn't want to let anything go. He didn't want to live a life with more regrets.
Li Ying took a minute to send all the information of the player and Wang GuiYing was a bit surprised as he read about the boy who was supposed to have a lead.
[Username: Asmodeus]
[Real name: Fang XinLi]
[Occupation: Pro-gamer]
[Phone number and address: *attached below*]
[Actively plays 'Dungeon wars' as an attacker.]
[Don't go to his house and look for him 'cause he might not be there. He spends most of his time in a gaming cafe near the Tianshan road]
[Don't call him either 'cause he mostly ignores his phone.]
[There are only two ways to contact him. Through the games or through his livestreams.]
With this much information collected, Wang GuiYing seemed to have been satisfied.
He stumbled on the wrinkled blankets as he tried to make his way towards his messy desk.
Underneath all the files and torn-up paper was a laptop that was hardly used anymore.
Wang GuiYing coughed as he sloppily dusted the laptop and tried to turn it on.
However, it seemed that the laptop had run out of battery.
"Damn it!" Wang GuiYing cursed as he kicked the empty beer cans away and frantically searched for the charger, "It has to be here somewhere!"
Digging through the mess to look for a charger was certainly alike digging through a mine in search of gold and it took the man an entire hour to find it.
Wang GuiYing gulped as he immediately connected the charger to a power outlet and tried to charge the laptop, however, it seemed that there was something else that he was forgetting.
"F*ck this sh*t!" Wang GuiYing roared angrily as he threw the charger away and picked up his phone.
He dialed the number of the apartment owner and immediately started shouting, "Why is there no electricity in here?!"
"Eh? Let me check," The man spoke as he took a few minutes to check before he asked, "Is this apartment 103?"
"It is!"
"Young man, you have yet to pay your electricity bills. It's not my fault that your power supply was cut off," The apartment owner sighed as he spoke, "I keep reminding you at the end of every month and yet you still forget."
Wang GuiYing immediately ended the call and hastily grabbed a jacket and a mask from the mess before picking up the laptop and its charger as he headed out the door.
He put on his shoes in such a hurry that even the laces looked to be undone but Wang GuiYing couldn't care less about it as he ran towards the nearest subway station.
Thankfully, his wallet was still inside his jacket and hence, he didn't have to worry about his transport card.
Since it was the afternoon, there were not really many people using the subway.
As soon as he was inside the subway, Wang GuiYing immediately boarded a random train without even checking where it was headed to.
He found a corner seat that was located right below a charging point but somebody else seemed to be using the charging point.
With a frown, Wang GuiYing glared at the man as he spoke, "Mister, this is a matter of life or death and I am fighting with time here. Can you move it?"
The man looked to be confused and worried as his eyebrows creased together and he looked at Wang GuiYing as if he was looking at a mentally disturbed patient who had run away from a mental asylum.
"Move it!" Wang GuiYing snapped a bit louder as he clicked his tongue and it seemed that this was more than enough to intimidate the man who immediately grabbed his phone and charger before scurrying away.
Wang GuiYing ignored all the weird glances that he received and plugged in his laptop with the charger before connecting it with the charging point.
He continued to click on the power on button but it took a few minutes for the laptop to be charged enough to turn on.
As soon as the laptop was turned on, Wang GuiYing searched for the gaming livestreamer named 'Asmodeus'.
It seemed that this 'Asmodeus' was quite a famous pro-gamer and hence, with just a few clicks, Wang GuiYing was able to easily find the livestream that he was looking for.
He quietly watched the livestream for a few minutes before scoffing as he commented, "What a lousy player."
He wasn't lying when he said that.
In reality, Asmodeus really was a lousy player who only depended on his teammates. Although he was playing as an 'attacker', Wang GuiYing was yet to see the man taking the lead and attacking anything. He was hiding behind his teammates and acting as if he was the boss who was ordering others around.
As much as Wang GuiYing hated to admit it, he couldn't help but feel as if this Asmodeus was much alike the old BBtrash.
Wang GuiYing didn't hold back his disdain and openly commented his honest opinions on the boy and his gameplay.
[It feels like I'm watching a street cat bluffing like a Lion. How boring and cringy. Next time you try to play, why not actually watch the how-to-play tutorial instead of skipping it? You look like you need it.]
These words were aimed at Fan XinLi, but after typing it all out, Wang GuiYing felt as if these were also the words that he wanted to say to his own younger self.
There were thousands of comments in the comment section and Wang GuiYing expected this one single comment to get lost in the comment section just like a single drop of water in the ocean, however, shockingly enough, it seemed that Asmodeus was currently going through the comments and somehow came to read this comment out loud.
"Okay, so I guess somebody is being a jealous loser," Asmodeus spoke with a chuckle as he mocked the one who had left such a comment, "Brother, if you don't like the way I play, why don't you come and show me just how much better you are?"
This was a clear challenge and Wang GuiYing was not a person who would usually turn down such a challenge where he was being looked down upon.
With a proud smirk, Wang GuiYing unhesitantly left another comment.
[Sure. Let this Laozi teach you, kids, a few things.]
