Chapter 22: Ye Qiu's Retirement (Part 1)

  Chen Guo still didn't understand it. Even if Ye Xiu wasn't bothered by it, how could the other side possibly accept him into their team?

  "What's going on?" Chen Guo asked.

  "I think they initially added me to the team just to try me out, but later on, seeing that I played well and was helpful to them, they let me off." Ye Xiu said.

  "So you're willing to work for them like that? Don't you have any pride?" Chen Guo felt indignant on Ye Xiu's behalf.

  "It's nothing, it's fine." Ye Xiu said as he spoke, the screen flashed with a swift strike, taking down the five-man team attacking the Spider King. Chen Guo saw a row of system messages in the information bar, and his teammates Tian Qi, Yue Zhong Lou, Mu Yun Sheng, and Shallow Autumn all chose to give up on the equipment dropped by the Spider King.

  "What does this mean?" Chen Guo asked in surprise.

  "I'm so helpful to them, so they have to let me pick the equipment first. Sigh, what can I do!?" Ye Xiu said as he also decisively chose to give up the priority selection right. He had already assembled a full set of blue equipment under his priority selection right, but these guys still wanted him to take a look at it again.

  Chen Guo's eyes widened in shock. Ye Xiu's description was an understatement - this wasn't just a job, it was like he had come to be the boss! After defeating the BOSS, getting priority on equipment was a privilege reserved for the most core members of the team. And that was only possible if they were in a close-knit group where everyone knew each other and would let the hardest working person have first pick. But what about this team he saw? Weren't they still sworn enemies just before bedtime, so how did they all become his underlings after one night's sleep?

  "Tell me clearly what's going on here." Chen Guo was not giving up this time and had to ask for a result.

  "It's all because of my great help!" Ye Xiu said.

  "How big can it be?"

  "They completed the Spider Cave and Spider Emperor's first kill with them," Ye Xiu said.

  "Did you get three first kills in one night?" Chen Guo was shocked, she had been playing Zuo Yanxia for five years and hadn't seen a single first kill. The person had only played for one all-nighter plus one morning, less than 12 hours, and got three first kills. This comparison was too glaring.

  "Good luck." Ye Xiu said, stretching his waist and standing up from his seat. The screen showed that the entire team had already exited the instance, and the faint sound of farewells could be heard in the headset. Ye Xiu grabbed Chen Guo's headset and brought the mic to his mouth, shouting two sentences of farewell before exiting the game.

  "I'm so sleepy, I'm going to bed." Ye Xiu said.

  "Want to eat something before sleeping?" Chen Guo said while sizing up Ye Xiu. Honestly, she couldn't see any signs of fatigue on Ye Xiu's face. This guy had been up all night and half the morning, looking a bit worn out, but the thing was that when they first met yesterday, he already looked like this - half-dead and depressed. It really didn't seem like going without sleep for so long had any significant impact on him.

  "Never mind, eat after sleeping!" Ye Xiu shut down the computer and called out before running off. The key to the room on the second floor had been given to him by Chen Guo yesterday, so he opened the door and returned to his own small storage room, covering his head and falling asleep. To say that this room was actually very suitable for daytime sleeping, once the door was closed, relying on the light from the small window at the top, there was basically no interference from light.

  Ye Xiu fell asleep quickly after lying down. He slept very soundly and when he woke up again, the sky was dark once more. It's hard to imagine that someone who had just experienced a major ups and downs in life could sleep so soundly. Getting out of bed, Ye Xiu didn't even turn on the lights, lit a cigarette, smoked it quietly, then got up and left the room.

  The two bedroom doors in the suite were locked, Ye Xiu knew that one of them was Chen Guo's room and the other was a girl named Tang Rou, who was said to be the longest-serving employee at Excellent Internet Cafe, having been there for almost two years, but had taken leave recently. As for the other employees who needed to be housed, they lived in a nearby neighborhood, where Chen Guo rented a suite specifically for his internet cafe employees. Ye Xiu was now on the waiting list, and Chen Guo said that as soon as someone left or quit, he would have a chance to get a bed.

  When Ye Xiu went to the bathroom, he saw a post-it note on the mirror. Out of boredom, he glanced at it and found that it was actually written for him. Chen Guo had already prepared his toiletries and placed them on the washstand.

  Ye Xiu tore off the convenience sticker, feeling a bit dazed. Mainly because he didn't expect this new boss to have such a meticulous side, as for being moved or anything, it wasn't worth it for something so small, just a simple thank you would do.

  After washing up, Ye Xiu came out to take a look at the time and found that it was already past 9 o'clock. He hadn't eaten all day and needed to find something to eat. As soon as he walked out of the suite room and into the internet cafe, he felt something was off. The second floor, although being a higher-end area with higher fees, was surprisingly quiet to the point of being eerie. Ye Xiu curiously walked downstairs, only to find it getting darker and darker, and the first floor of the internet cafe wasn't even lit up.

  "What's going on?" Ye Xiu looked around, finding that although the lights were not on, there were quite a few people, and even more crowded in the aisles. On the south wall, a 200-inch projection screen was hung high up, playing the images projected by the projector, with the sound echoing throughout the internet cafe. Everyone was very quiet, sitting at their computer seats or standing in the aisles, seemingly having forgotten that this was an internet cafe, and instead treating it like a movie theater, silently watching the projection screen. Ye Xiu soon heard the commentary from the images, two names he was extremely familiar with repeatedly appearing.

  Autumn of a leaf, autumn of one leaf.

  The projection played out, and it was a glorious career trajectory of fragmented images, with the narration describing his achievements and honors in an extremely sentimental tone.

  Three-time Alliance Champion, three-time Alliance Most Valuable Player, two-time Output Star, one-time One-Hit Wonder.

  Whether it's a team or an individual, Ye Qiu is the pinnacle of Glory Professional League and the goal that all current professional players want to surpass.

  "Let's take a moment to reminisce about the brilliant scenes that Ye Qiu, under his control, brought us in 'The Gods'. The commentator's low and mournful voice faded away as the projector screen began to play back the magnificent scenes of Ye Qiu's dominance. These were scenes that could have excited the audience at any time. But now, everyone in the internet cafe was silent, without cheers or applause, just quietly watching as scene after scene flashed by. They knew that all of this had already become a thing of the past, starting from noon today."

  On the same day at noon, Jia Shi Club held a press conference and announced that team captain Ye Qiu had decided to retire.

  This mysterious ace did not even attend his own retirement press conference, and everyone only saw the retirement statement signed by Ye Qiu in person presented by Chairman Cao. Chairman Cao later claimed that Ye Qiu politely declined the invitation to other positions in the club and has left the Jia Shi Club alone.

  The screen flickered constantly. Battles, killings, records, and commentary were being carried out in a timely manner, gradually reaching the dismal recent situation of Ye Qiu and Jia Shi. In the crowd of onlookers at the internet cafe, there were also faint sounds of sobbing beginning to emerge.

  Finally got the cover! I forgot to shout yesterday. Thanks to Huà Tuō's classmate, Bàn Yuè's classmate who wrote the words, and Shuǐ Yìn's classmate, Zá Gē's classmate, Xiǔ Mù Zhī Chóng, Bā Yún Jiǔ's classmate, Bái Shuài Shuài's classmate for providing many options. Of course, I also want to thank Dié Huā Die's classmate who actively provided suggestions. You are all talents!