'Our team is lacking a sniper, would you like to give it a try?'
Upon hearing Wu Yu's words, Chen Zhifei and Pu Taizhuang looked totally gobsmacked. Ran Maotong was so surprised that his mouth was half opened!
However, the fact that Ao Xiang Internet Cafe's PUBG Team was looking to hire a sniper was not a secret. Posters regarding the hire were displayed everywhere outside the first-floor lobby of the internet cafe.
Since the beginning of this semester, many people from the college town nearby had come for the interview without having prior expectations. They had all thought that they would give it a try. Moreover, although Ran Maotong who self-declared himself as the 'Number One 98king in Jiangnan University' had attempted it as well, he was also rejected without exceptions.
Yet the one who was responsible to conduct the interview was not Wu Yu — it was a friend of his.
He had long hair and somehow looked a little odd. He had an expression in his eyes that was extremely cold.
Technically, those who were being interviewed by him could not bring themselves to open their mouths because as they looked into his cold eyes, they immediately felt chills down their backs.
Back when Ran Maotong had completed a game, he said in an embarrassed tone as he met the person's cold eyes that he would head back to do more practice on the game.
After that interview, many people secretly discussed the strictness of Ao Xiang Internet Cafe's PUBG Team recruitment and how it was unreasonable. After all, it was merely an internet cafe team, not a professional team.
Of course, there were also people who thought that Ao Xiang was not even recruiting anybody. All they might have wanted was to promote the internet cafe by doing so.
However, Chen Zhifei and the rest did not expect that such a strict internet cafe team would actually take the initiative to invite Liu Zilang into their team.
At that instant, the three of them could not help but look at Liu Zilang.
…
As for Wu Yu, he felt an instant regret at how prompt his reply was after he said that.
This was because from his perspective, even if that was the first time Liu Zilang had played the game, he definitely would have been a professional player of sorts in the past. Who knew, he might still be in a team at this very moment.
Under the situation that he invited Liu Zilang to join his team before he ascertained if Liu Zilang was not in any team, this was no different from poaching and it was not a good conduct.
Hence, the moment he saw Liu Zilang turned around, he quickly waved his hand and said, "Bro, if you're currently in any team, just pretend that I didn't say those words just now."
Chen Zhifei and the rest did not get it but as he was part of the community before this, Liu Zilang easily understood what and why Wu Yu said those words.
"No, it's fine. I'm not in any team at the present moment." Liu Zilang smiled in an apologetic way. "Although it's just my first year of university, it's better if I prioritized on my studies now. I'm sorry."
"Prioritize on studies…"
Upon hearing what Liu Zilang had said, Chen Zhifei and the rest were instantly shocked.
If someone else were to say this, they might still believe it.
However, if Liu Zilang, the kind of person who would put 'as long as you have the courage, the entire week can be a self-declared holiday' as his mantra said such a thing, they would never believe him even if they were beaten to death.
Wu Yu was also quite startled as he heard Liu Zilang's response.
He was not a fool. He clearly realized that he was just giving an excuse.
However, since Liu Zilang was not willing to join, he could not force him to do it.
Wu Yu soon had a smile on his face again. As he looked at them, he said, "Hehe, then let's add each other on WeChat. We can play together the next time if there's a chance."
Having mingled around in the internet cafe for so long, Wu Yu must definitely understand the ways of the world.
If he were to add only Liu Zilang as a friend and chose to ignore Chen Zhifei and the rest, he would be seen as insincere. Thus, Wu Yu began to add them all as friends on WeChat, starting with Chen Zhifei's ID.
Since everyone did not reject, Liu Zilang naturally did not reject as well.
...
After adding each other on WeChat, they greeted each other and parted their ways.
When they got back to their seats, Ran Maotong asked doubtfully, "Second Brother, why did you reject him when he invited you to join his team?"
"Why should I?" Liu Zilang turned his head around while he smiled and spread his hands out.
"Err..." Ran Maotong was stunned, but he replied with an ache in his heart, "What a waste! You missed a good opportunity! If only you can give it to me!"
Chen Zhifei also smiled and replied, "Second Brother, Ao Xiang Internet Cafe's team is quite popular around the area. Their abilities are even stronger than some of the school teams in the college town area. You not going to this PUBG team recruitment is really a waste. Mantou even cracked his head to enter the team during the school opening!"
Ran Maotong quickly nodded his head. "That's right. Second Brother, you would only need to reveal yourself once in the match and you'll be popular in an instant. Even if you can't be one of the top players in terms of ranking, next time, the girls who would come over to the internet cafe to play PUBG would definitely want to be around you."
Upon hearing what Ran Maotong said, Liu Zilang was suddenly speechless.
He knew that this guy must have had some hidden motives with his shallow temperament.
Yet when he thought about it, Ran Maotong's intention of joining the competition was somehow similar to someone from the previous team. These two must have a common wavelength if they were to know each other.
As he thought of this, Liu Zilang could not help but laugh.
When Chen Zhifei and Ran Maotong witnessed Liu Zilang's sudden laughter, they looked at each other confusingly.
However, Pu Taizhuang was already urging the rest to get ready to start the game as soon as possible. Then, instead of dwelling further into this question, they quickly started the next game.
…
Much to some of their dismay, Liu Zilang performed averagely in the subsequent matches. He even developed a slight tendency of ending up as a crate.
In one match, when Liu Zilang landed and had just entered a house, he was chased by someone who was holding a pistol for a distance of three houses and he was almost killed.
In another match, they had discussed to get a car once they landed in order to travel to somewhere further away from the rest.
However, they failed to do so as Liu Zilang and Ran Maotong were knocked down by a car and were killed instantly.
There was another match that was much more ridiculous, where the few of them confidently wanted to land on the Sosnovka Military Base to have head-on confrontations with the other players. Yet Liu Zilang, who wanted to jump down from the Duga was stuck on top and killed himself after he fell.
After playing for the entire afternoon, Chen Zhifei and the rest completely took back their previous opinions about Liu Zilang.
Ran Maotong even scolded Wu Yu for not knowing who the talented one truly was, that he was trying to pouch someone who would always end up dead into the team.
As for Liu Zilang, he had a lot of fun playing.
After a whole afternoon of gaming, he also discovered that aside from killing people and testing your weapon skills, there were a lot of other fun things about this game.
For example, the landing phase.
…
"Langzi, you really don't want to come with us?"
At night, at the entrance of Big Plate Chicken restaurant, Chen Zhifei could not resist but to ask Liu Zilang who was planning to take a cab home.
Liu Zilang shook his head. "I'm sorry, I have to get home tonight. There's something I need to settle."
"Hehehe." Ran Maotong tapped Chen Zhifei's shoulder while he winked and replied, "Eldest Brother, don't you worry about this. Second Brother must have some 'serious business' in which he needs to settle."
Chen Zhifei nodded his head and said 'oh' while dragging his tone. He then waved to Liu Zilang and said, "Since you have some serious business to attend to then I'm not going to keep you. Be on your way then."
Among these two people, one expressed himself explicit while the other was being secretive.
Then, they put their arms around each other and started to make fun of Liu Zilang. Although Liu Zilang was already in the car, he instantly had the urge to get out and punch them.
"What's going on?" Right there and then, Pu Taizhuang joined the conversation with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Err… It's nothing much. Third Brother, let's quickly go in to have some food. I'm starving."
For someone as honest and innocent as Pu Taizhuang, explaining the whole thing to him would not be such a good idea. Hence, the two of them quickly switched to another topic.
…
As for Liu Zilang, he did not lie to them. He really had some things to sort out and that was why he did not eat with the rest of them.
After he arrived home, he immediately ransacked the refrigerator and he found noodles, eggs, and some vegetables. Then, he walked into the kitchen wearing an apron.
While he was playing the games in the afternoon, Liu Zilang received two messages from his father, Liu Yi.
"Where the heck did you go? Get back home now!"
"The housekeeping aunty is taking a break tonight, so you're responsible for making your sister dinner."
Not to mention that his father, Liu Yi's message was easily understood and meaningful at the same time.
The first message seemed simple, but it was filled with Liu Yi's dissatisfaction with Liu Zilang's absence at home when he returned. More so, the three words 'get home now' was filled with such a violent and threatening tone!
Whereas the second message was an extension of the first message that revealed the specific threat of violence.
In situations like this, in the face of his father who had control over the family's rules and finances, as well as having absolute control at the same time, Liu Zilang had no choice but to rush home.
…
After he messed about in the kitchen for a while, two bowls of 'Brother Love Brand' noodles were served. Before that, he poured a little soy sauce and added a sprinkle of spring onions.
When everything was served on the table, Liu Zilang went to the kitchen to wash his hands before took off his apron. Then, he walked to the Zhang Xiaotong's room to let her know that dinner was ready.
However, before he could knock on her door, he heard a 'deng deng deng' sound that was made from the contact of the heels and the floor. He occasionally heard lively and rhythmic music coming from the inside as well.
'What was she doing?'
Liu Zilang was filled with doubt. Unknowingly, he then leaned down and put his ear close to the door in an attempt to listen clearly.
Though before his ear managed to get close to the door, the music inside the room suddenly stopped.
'Sh*t!'
The door opened before Liu Zilang was able to stand up.
Now, Zhang Xiaotong appeared at the entrance of the door, wearing a brown one-piece koala pajamas. She looked at Liu Zilang who was squatting by the door, looking creepy.
"Ha... That..."
Liu Zilang quickly stood up as he averted his gaze. His body then turned to point at the table while he said with a smile, "I… came to tell you that dinner is ready."
Upon hearing Liu Zilang's words, Zhang Xiatong blinked her wide eyes. She stared at him for a while before her eyesight was shifted to the two bowls of noodles on the table.
Then, a 'boom' sound followed…
The door was closed!
…
'Oh...'
'What?'
At this moment, Liu Zilang was enraged!
'I sacrificed eating Big Plate Chicken and I came back to cook noodles for you instead. How dare you give me this kind of attitude!' He thought.
'No way, I must solve this with you today!'
Liu Zilang, enraged, lifted his hand in preparation to smash the door.
Yet this time, the door opened once again.
Zhang Xiaotong held her phone while she gave Liu Zhilang, who had his arms raised, a strange stare. She then looked down as she walked past him and walked towards the table in the living room.
For a moment, Liu Zilang was startled. Only when he saw the phone in Zhang Xiaotong's hand did he then realize that this girl might have entered her room to grab her phone.
'The question is, do you actually have to close the door to get your phone? Do you really not trust your brother that much?'
At that instance, Liu Zilang felt miserable…
...