Chapter 541 I’m Happy When You Are Happy
The thickness of the old man’s face went way beyond what Zhang Heng imagined. After the rescue team arrived to deliver the gasoline, he offered to let Zhang Heng and head back with him.
“The high-speed rail will only be completed by the end of the year. You can either go back by ordinary train or long-distance bus. Besides, after that, you still have to travel some distance before you can get to the train station. I don’t think you can any cabs at this hour. We should go back together. Besides, I can keep you company as well.”
Zhang Heng thought for a while before finally agreeing to the old man’s proposal. He hopped into the driver’s seat and the old man sat beside him. Zhang Heng started the car, and the Volvo’s engine hummed to life. After twenty minutes, the two finally got out of the gra.s.slands. Since the rescue team only brought them two small barrels of fuel, Zhang Heng drove to the nearest gas station to fill up the tank.
The old man in the Tang suit took the opportunity to sneak into the small supermarket at the gas station and bought a large bag of snacks, half of which were sweets of all kinds. After getting into the car, he tore open a pack of marshmallows and handed a box of egg yolk pie and a pack of braised eggs to Zhang Heng.
“Hey, it’s almost dawn. Let’s have some breakfast before driving.”
Zhang Heng was browsing through the latest news in the player forum. The battle in the urban village had ended, but the outcome was not known for the time being. The Arc of Light blocked the news, and no statement was made. Other than that, Shen Xixi had not logged into the forum since midnight. Players hanging out on the forum were now waiting anxiously to acquire the latest updates of the battle. Other than that, many posts were discussing him on the forum. Zhang Heng took a quick look at it and turned off his laptop. He then started to devour the egg-yolk pie.
He had fought several battles in a row and was now famished.
The old man in the Tang suit looked at Zhang Heng. “Are you still angry with me for pulling you out of the battle?”
“Should I?” Zhang Heng asked, expressionless, as he finished the last bites of the pie and threw away the wrapping.
“To be honest, I don’t like Just.i.tia either. Roman mythology is like a pot of chowder. The folks pour everything into it and stir constantly. It looks good from the outside, but it might not taste as good in the mouth. They tend to mix up mythologies of the east and the west, even incorporating Greek and Egyptian mythology with folk religion. But you have to admit; they did a good job once. Now, most of them have fallen from grace. Just.i.tia is lucky. She tied herself to the law. Nowadays, n.o.body believes in G.o.ds and monsters anymore. They are more willing to believe in the law.” The old man babbled on as the Volvo pulled away from the gas station. In the rearview mirror, the staff on duty at the gas station walked back to the duty room with a yawn. “Let’s not talk about these frustrating things.”
The old man finished his marshmallows, then tore open a pack of popping candy. He stuck out his tongue, pouring in a landslide of sweets. His eyes closed as he took in the sweetness.
“How’ve you been doing recently? Is everything good? We haven’t met for a while. You should have completed seven games by now, right? Are you satisfied with the little gift that I gave you?” “What is this? User-feedback survey?”
“I can understand.” The old man smiled as he waved the popping candy. “I am different from deities like Just.i.tia, who abuses her agent when she has nothing else better to do. I will always take care of my partner’s well-being. When you are happy, I’m happy. After all, I have invested everything I have in you. Like the old saying goes, don’t mess with a gambler who is already losing.”
Zhang Heng made no comments. If it was a few months ago, Zhang Heng might have still believed what he said. After the Greenland incident, however, he no longer thought that the old man approached him with the sole purpose of making him beat the game.
The old man continued, “Actually, I came here deliberately to look for you. You should already know that the proxy war is about to begin.” Zhang Heng first heard of the proxy war from Mr. Coffee, and then he also asked the bartender lady about this question. However, he only managed to acquire some ambiguous descriptions about it. Now the old man was here for this matter. It seemed like the proxy war was vital for him.
“Proxy war was somewhat similar to what you have experienced in thee games. It is still considered a quest, but it will be more dangerous. Not only do threats come from the quest itself, but also your compet.i.tors. As its name suggests, the proxy war only involves only the agents. Of course, your former teammates can continue to team up with you as an apostle-Don’t underestimate the apostles—If you can lead them well, they can become a mighty force. After all, many players have skills that equal the agents, and it’s only because of affiliation or better choices that caused the deity to give up on them. Of course, if you like to fight alone, that’s up to you as well. The gift to you is still valid.” After eating the popping candy, the old man finally stopped talking for a while.
“Other than that, I have to remind you of something. When we first met, I warned you to be careful of other agents. Some of them will use every means necessary to get rid of their compet.i.tors in the real world. Especially after tonight’s events, you are now famous among the players. Fortunately, other than Just.i.tia, no one can recognize you. Just be careful not to run into her again. If you have the time, you can also kill the players you don’t like. I have to say that you are very decisive tonight.”
“Just paying back the favor,” Zhang Heng replied nonchalantly.
“Yea, yea, whatever you say,” the old man shrugged, “I know you don’t trust me fully, but it doesn’t matter. One day, you will realize who cares about you… Finally, you have to remember that I am your solid backup. No matter what happens in the future, you can always ask me for help. Tsk, if you want, you can write the sentence in a notebook. Okay, I’ve said what I wanted to say. We can relax now. The journey is still long. What song do you want to listen to?”.
The old man in the Tang suit turned on the stereo. “I remember there was a song called ‘Learning how to Meow.’ Have you heard it before? It’s trendy! “Seaweed Dance” is quite good as well. Earlier, I saw a female streamer on TikTok, and I have to say that her body is nothing short of a masterpiece created by G.o.d himself. I’m not sure if she used filters while she was recording the clip, which is why I’m planning to get her contact and ask her about it..