As the school bell signaled the end of class, Liu Bin's eyes lit up with anticipation. "Seriously, what's not to get excited about? We're definitely setting this up tonight!"
Upon hearing about the non-pay-to-win server, Liu Bin immediately reacted with enthusiasm. "No top-ups? Ha, I'd like to see how you show off without those paid weapons!"
"No need for glory; a plain AK47 headshot is easy peasy for me!" Liu Bin boasted, clearly enjoying the prospect of a level playing field.
Guo Song couldn't help but laugh at Liu Bin's bold declaration. "It might be good for me too, to try out a different server and see how the pros play there. See you online on QQ tonight then!"
The ringing of the school bell ushered everyone back to reality as the classroom, previously buzzing with chatter, quieted down instantly when a teacher walked in.
Wait, wasn't the class just over? Why is the homeroom teacher back so soon?
"Everyone, gather your workbooks; it's time to start the class. Recently, some students haven't taken their notebooks seriously, and I've had talks with them. I hope everyone else takes this as a cautionary tale. 'From little steps comes a mighty mountain; from small streams, a great river springs.' Persistent effort builds the foundation for sudden success, and the debts of neglect must eventually be repaid..."
My goodness... Alright, go on, I suppose the math teacher isn't in a rush to start yet.
After a day filled with academic rigor, the sun sets as Liu Bin, laden with a backpack full of homework, makes his way out of school toward home.
By ten o'clock, Liu Bin slams his last, most challenging piece of homework—the notebook—down onto a stack of equally daunting workbooks. The pile, quite lofty at the start, now looks pleasingly manageable from its new position on the floor.
Luckily, he had finished his homework relatively early today, leaving an hour to spare before eleven.
So, shall we begin?
Logging onto QQ, Liu Bin clicks on Guo Song's profile and types:
"Hey, bro, finished your homework?"
Guo Song, usually online, responds immediately.
"You're done already? How much did you write in your notebook? If it's not enough, Old Feng will check."
"I wrote over four pages, okay? How could she say it's not enough?"
"…You're incredible."
Guo Song's resigned smile reflects his own slower progress. He was only just getting started on his second workbook entry.
"Never mind that, we're just logging in for a quick game. Hurry up."
Dropping his pen, Guo Song shoves his own dreaded notebook aside, grabs his mouse and keyboard, and starts logging into the official game site.
"You're not joking, right? Where's this test server?"
Liu Bin carefully scans the server list on the official website—China Telecom First Zone, Second Zone, Third Zone...
Wait, other than the usual Telecom and Unicom servers, there's no test server at all. Guo Song, are you pulling my leg?
"Of course, you won't find it by just logging onto the official website as usual, you have to refresh the page 25 times."
"What? Refresh 25 times? That makes no sense, will that change anything?"
"Just try it, someone said that after 25 refreshes, an unnamed server appears—that's the test server."
"How could that even be a thing…"
Though skeptical, Liu Bin trusts Guo Song wouldn't usually lead him astray. For the chance to play on a non-monetized server, he's willing to refresh 25 times to see what happens.
One, two, three, four…
The refreshing starts off quickly, the simple task of hitting F5 repeatedly puts no strain on his computer.
Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen…
Now the computer begins to lag slightly, Liu Bin suspects it's protesting his relentless refresh assault, showing no signs of any new server.
Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three…
With each refresh, the computer slows further, the cooling fan buzzing as if handling a hefty application, Liu Bin grows impatient yet pushes through to the twenty-fifth refresh.
Twenty-five… wait, what's this?