"I see…" Hao nodded before reforming their words on his own, "so one of you doesn't like the intense strategy and decision making of the MOBA games, and the other likes the early intense action, right?"
The two friends exchanged looks together. They were just close to each other in length, yet both were slightly shorter than Hao. Hao estimated them to be senior students here, similar to his age perhaps.
But looking at the two considering their physical build, there was a staggering difference indeed from the first look. Ibra was slim and the other was rounded like a meatball.
In Hao's eyes, both seemed to neglect physical training. "I want to say good luck to you playing that shooting game but unfortunately I can't," Hao started speaking about Dawn game in this way. "After all, Dawn game isn't as simple and superficial as you might think."
"How so?" John asked in surprise, while Ibra kept looking in silence and little vigilance.
That dude seemed to hate speaking too much, at least compared to his friend here.
"In there, shooters like you are a hot trade," Hao simply said before extending his arm inside the box, taking out the keyboard. "See this?" he pointed at the joystick, dealing it with extra care, not like how Hil did before.
"A joystick? What's special about it?" John seemed to be not impressed by this.
"It's the revolutionary stick that will allow people like you to be a loose cannon inside the game," Hao was unlike him, excited in talking about this.
In fact from day one he fell in love with this joystick, considering it as the most ingenious and mind blowing idea ever introduced in the world of gaming.
But of course, not all pros shared his opinion about this.
"I…"
"You have to give it a try before saying anything," Hao shrugged before adding, "this beauty here is enough to grab you two from the collar and make sure to never leave Dawn."
The two friends looked again to each other while Ibra shrugged in a carefree way. That dude wasn't impressed at all while John decided to not refuse the first face to face request from their boss.
"Alright, we will give it a try when the game is launched," he said but this time Hao and Hil exchanged gazes. Hao didn't speak and so Hil decided to keep her silence about this matter for now.
"Let's start unpacking then," Hao led the way and started taking out everything from the box with extra care. He installed the screens over the holder over the desk. As for the station, he placed it just beside it.
As he linked everything together, the station with everything looked really cool. "Isn't it better to leave the computer case below?" John asked in doubt but Hao gave him a weird look.
"And let this beauty be hidden? No way."
"Ok," John looked at Hil who shrugged. After all this was Hao's way, not necessarily all of them would follow it.
In the next hour, Hao watched from the side while the students Hil brought kept unpacking and installing everything the same way he did. During this, Hil also told him that she ordered things from a local electronic store to be used in the internet framework upgrade process.
The price was staggering to reach twenty grand dollars. Hao simply told her to bring the bill to him while he would pay using his credit card.
As for installing all of these things, she reassured him that students here could do it. Just before everyone finished here, a guy came from that electronic store, looking excited to have such a deal at such a time of the day.
"Here," Hao handed his credit card to the one who brought everything into the corridor of the dorm. That dude kept talking non-stop, trying to offer his help in installing these cables and devices with an extra fee of course.
But Hao refused whatever he offered. He didn't need that help, for now at least.
"Let's do it," as the guy left slightly dejected from losing a chance to gain more from such a wealthy customer, Hil shouted. In a second a group of twenty students, boys and girls, descended from the stairs and started working on the cables and devices.
Hao wasn't that much interested in watching them, so he left this task for Hil. he also emphasised over the time of the meeting at the theatre, to be just after they install everything.
As he returned into his room, he stopped in the middle of his corridor. With a big smile on his face he started to slowly move from one side room to another.
Four rooms on each side, making up eight rooms in total opening at the corridor. Each room had two devices over desks brought over by John and others.
Just seeing the neatly arranged screens and stations made him feel satisfied. At this moment, everything he lived through and endured didn't matter.
"It looks cool," he was this close to opening all of these stations and test them, but he decided to wait until he finished his talk with the students first.
Two stations in each room, with the last two having only one in each one of them. As for his room, there was his desk and his station.
He went and sat over the brown seat, looking at the three screens in front of him in silence.
*Knock!* *Knock!*
Just as he was lost in his thoughts, a sudden knocking came from the direction of his door.
"Come in," Hao shouted while feeling a little puzzled. He left the door open for Hil and others to come and update the cables here.
"Oh, you came," but the face he saw there was someone he didn't expect to see at this time.
"Is it not a good time?" Rayan asked while his face showed a troubled expression.
It seemed this dude here did a lot of thinking before coming here to meet Hao.
"Welcome," Hao stood and greeted him, "you just came at the perfect moment."
"Really?!" Rayan looked in doubt towards him before adding after shaking hands with him, "I saw many stations here… Holy sh*t! What's with that keyboard? Is it broken?!!" Rayan noticed the joystick on the side of the keyboard and was scared to see it.
"You should have asked first about the absence of a mouse… Sit first, I'll explain things over to you," Hao laughed while inviting his friend to sit. He spoke little about the game and much about this keyboard.
When he finished, Rayan's face was a marvel to see out of his shock.
"So… This is used to fight in the game?" he still couldn't believe it. Hao knew from his talk with Rayan and the latter's reaction that talking was useless. So he intended after that meeting tonight to lead a teaching session for everyone to see.
In fact he was just thinking about moving a desk, screens, keyboard, and station from one of the side rooms to the theatre before the meeting. It would be better to show everyone in such a spacious and well equipped place about how to use this keyboard and gloves.
"It's the breakthrough in the world of gaming," Hao nodded, "using this and being swift and nimble at the keys here, anyone can totally control his champ."
"You mean…"
"You can control even his hair if you wanted to, but I won't recommend doing such complicated moves first," Hao laughed as he felt really excited talking about this.
"Anyway, I'm going to hold a big meeting tonight. Then I will lead everyone in a run test of the real game, to show you what the real abilities of such a game are."
"The real Dawn game?! Won't it be released in a few days?!!" Rayan was puzzled. Yet what Hao expected, with his explanation, Rayan's puzzlement only grew bigger.
"Damn! I never thought you are such a big shot in the gaming world!" Rayan wasn't stupid. Just hearing that the game gave these codes to selected people was enough as evidence.
"I was," Hao didn't deny it. After all, his own glory with his team was made fair and square out of his sweat.
Why would he run and hide from his personal achievements? That didn't make any sense to him at all.
"So…" Rayan turned his eyes towards the outside corridor, "can I test this game tonight?"
"If you want it," Hao made an inviting gesture with his hand, making Rayan show an honest expression of happiness.
"That's my lucky day then," he said with a grin, "I hope it won't disappoint me after what you just said."
"It won't," Hao confidently said, "in fact it will blow up your mind."
"Come here, take these out and start packing things."
Just as Hao said it, a loud ruckus from the direction of the door came to make him stand in doubt and move towards the corridor. And Rayan simply followed.
"Hey hey! Who the hell are you?" Hao shouted in rage when he saw a group of five adults, wearing all black suits and looking more like bodyguards, coming into his place.
From the serious look on their face and the shout that just thundered earlier, Hao knew they didn't come for any good.
"Are you Mr. Tobe?" a much smaller in size middle aged man found his way through those giant guards. He was bald, so fat that his grey suit was this close from bursting out thanks to his belly.
"Who asks?" Hao didn't show any sign of courtesy while dealing with such a rude intruder.
"I'm here on behalf of the board of the academy," that middle aged man said before adding in a harsher tone, "your application to join the academy is refused. You are asked to go out now. Please come with me out without making any fuss be…"
"Screw you," Hao didn't let that bold and rude man continue his words, "if you wanted to expel me, then you have to be ready for the consequences."
"Watch your tongue, kid! You are too green to talk like this in front of me…"
But without the need to say anything else, Hao simply took out his phone, played a short clip where a familiar sound appeared in it.
"This…" the face of that man suddenly changed when he heard this voice and the words he said.
"It's not a voice recording," Hao evilly smirked, "it's a full video clip, viewing everything from the moment of my arrival till getting formally admitted."
Hao didn't know what was going on here, but he had already guessed a big deal of it. He simply snorted, closed his phone and placed it in his pocket before adding:
"I'm just a nobody, but you? You all have a reputation to defend. What do you think will happen if such a recording came to public? Reached the news and press? Aha, stop right there! Do you think I didn't already upload it over the net?"
Just as he was speaking, that middle aged bald man motioned with his eyes to one of his guards. The guard just took a single step before Hao added his last sentence, threatening them that if they took his phone, this wouldn't solve anything.
"A cunning little bastard you are," the middle aged man said with a fierce look, "do you want to be the enemy of people like us?"
"It's you who made me your enemies," Hao shrugged before coldly adding, "and I don't say no to any challenge."
"We'll see," that man knew it would be risky to do what he intended from coming here. So he just waved his hand, led the way with his guards before stopping just in the middle of the dorm.
The entire dorm students already gathered at the stairs and around the opened rooms in the corridor. They looked in curious ways towards what was going on, while whispers spread all over the place.
"That person is the enemy of the dean, the enemy of our academy. Work with him and you'll also be branded as our enemy," the middle aged man stood in pride, seemingly finding this declaration as a good response to what Hao did just now.
"Is that so?" Unlike what that man expected, Hao wasn't fazed. The rich experience of standing in front of a big audience, hostile to him and his team, shouting insults all the time during their competition showed its worth at this moment.