After a good night's sleep, Jiang Yuan set his alarm for 6:30 AM. Last night, his best friend Ding Ye had mentioned he'd arrive in Songjiang City around six or seven in the morning.
"Hey! Where are you?" Jiang Yuan finished washing up, picked up his phone, and dialed Ding Ye's number.
"Whoa! You're up this early? That's not like you! I'll be at Songjiang High-Speed Rail Station in about half an hour." Ding Ye's voice on the other end sounded a bit tired, like he hadn't slept much.
"Alright, wait for me at the exit when you get there. I'll come pick you up." Jiang Yuan said to Ding Ye, then hung up. He walked to the wardrobe, picked out a hoodie, pulled it on, paired it with jeans, slipped on his sneakers, and headed out.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!" As soon as he left the school gate, his phone vibrated nonstop in his pocket. To get a good night's sleep, he'd switched it to vibrate mode the night before.
He pulled out his phone and saw WeChat messages flooding the screen. Opening it, he found that Hamster Pudding had added everyone from today's gathering to a group chat, and they were already chatting up a storm.
Scrolling to the top of the chat, Jiang Yuan started reading through each message. At 6 AM, Hamster Pudding had sent a "Good morning" sticker along with a photo from the airport waiting lounge. Below was a string of "Safe travels" stickers, followed by Ding Ye's photo of the scenery outside the high-speed train window and a message: "Your emperor has returned—why aren't you rushing to greet me?" After that, the replies were all "disdain" emojis.
At 6:20 AM, Hamster Pudding messaged, "Boarding the plane now, see you at noon!" and then went silent. The dozens of messages below were all from Ding Ye, bored on the train, chatting with equally bored Zhang Ergou, Hua Qiangu, and a few nearby members of the Genesis Guild.
"Old Ding, I'm heading to the station now. How much longer?" Jiang Yuan @mentioned Ding Ye in the group and asked.
"Almost there, maybe another ten minutes." Jiang Yuan saw Ding Ye's reply in the group, quickened his pace, hailed a "magnetic levitation taxi," and rushed toward the station.
...
At the best private hospital in Songjiang City, Xu Yi (Arrogant Little Rage) stood guard outside a ward on the 8th floor with several men in black suits and crew cuts.
"Click!" The door handle turned, and a young male doctor in a white coat stepped out.
"Doctor, how's my brother-in-law?" Xu Yi immediately approached, surrounding the doctor with the crew-cut men.
"The patient suffered a shock, causing a spike in intracranial pressure. We just did a CT scan—there's a minor crack in a blood vessel in his brain. Luckily, he's young, so there's no risk of a cerebral hemorrhage. A few days of rest should do the trick." The young doctor rattled off quickly.
"So is my brother-in-law awake now? Can we go in and see him?" Xu Yi, also the vice president of the Arrogant Guild, pressed on.
"The patient just woke up. Normally, he needs quiet rest..." Before the young doctor could finish, Xu Yi pulled out a red envelope and slipped it into the doctor's coat pocket.
"Fine, since you're family, I'll let you in. But don't stay long. I'll come back for rounds in ten minutes—you need to leave by then, or the department head will catch us." The young doctor glanced at Xu Yi, winked, and walked off humming a tune.
"How are you, brother-in-law?" As soon as the doctor left, Xu Yi pushed open the door and led the crew-cut men in black suits into the ward. The room was a private suite, elegantly decorated—anyone would think it was a hotel.
"It's you guys. Have a seat." Arrogant Dragon Emperor, lying on the bed in blue-and-white hospital pajamas, glanced at Xu Yi and pointed to the sofa in the corner.
"Brother-in-law, are you feeling better?" Xu Yi sat down, picked up an apple, and started peeling it, looking up at Arrogant Dragon Emperor.
"I'm fine. Just pissed off at that scumbag Jiang Yuan! Cough, cough!" Arrogant Dragon Emperor barely got the words out before he started coughing violently.
"Boss, take it easy!" One of the crew-cut men in black stood up, walked over, and patted Arrogant Dragon Emperor on the back. These were his real-life underlings, also top executives of the Arrogant Guild in the game "Ten Thousand Realms."
"Brother-in-law, calm down. Have an apple." Xu Yi handed over the peeled apple, leaned in close to Arrogant Dragon Emperor's ear, and whispered, "Brother-in-law, I've got some big news about Jiang Yuan."
"What news? Spill it!" At the mention of "Jiang Yuan," Arrogant Dragon Emperor's hand jerked, and the apple rolled off the bed with a thud.
Seeing the apple drop, Xu Yi didn't dare offer it again. He casually passed it to a crew-cut man behind him, returned to the sofa, and started peeling another apple. Once it was ready, he handed it to Arrogant Dragon Emperor and shared the major news he'd uncovered.
"Brother-in-law, I accidentally heard something from a lackey. His younger brother is in the Cloudrise Guild in the game. According to him, their guild leader announced in the group chat last night that their alliance is having an offline gathering today. Several top members of Cold River City will be there, including Jiang Yuan and Heng Yuwei."
Heng Yuwei was Hamster Pudding's real name. Her family's Hengyun Group was named after her parents' surnames combined, much like a certain e-commerce giant.
"Really? Are you sure?" Arrogant Dragon Emperor had just taken a bite of the apple when he heard this. He spat it out, sat up straight, and asked.
"It should be true!" To prove it, Xu Yi quickly pulled out his phone, opened the chat history with that lackey, and handed it to Arrogant Dragon Emperor.
"Call and verify it again. Do it now! Hurry! Cough, cough!" Arrogant Dragon Emperor got worked up, grabbed Xu Yi's sleeve, and shouted, then broke into another fit of coughing.
A moment later, Xu Yi put down his phone. Since it was on speaker, Arrogant Dragon Emperor heard every word the lackey said. The Cold River City higher-ups were having an offline gathering at noon today, right in Songjiang!
"Perfect! Perfect!" Arrogant Dragon Emperor clenched his fists, visibly thrilled. He said to Xu Yi, "Xu Yi, send someone to find out where they're meeting. This time, I'll make Jiang Yuan pay a heavy price!"
"Brother-in-law, Heng Yuwei is the heiress of the Hengyun Group. If we hurt her..." Xu Yi immediately caught on to Arrogant Dragon Emperor's intent but hesitated, wary of Heng Yuwei's status.
"Are you brain-dead? Just go after Jiang Yuan alone. Don't come back unless you've turned him into a vegetable!" Arrogant Dragon Emperor slapped Xu Yi on the head and said coldly.
"Get out now! The department head will be here soon!" Just then, the young male doctor rushed in and said nervously to Xu Yi.
"Brother-in-law, we're leaving. Rest up here. I'll call you if anything comes up!" Xu Yi nodded at the doctor, said to Arrogant Dragon Emperor, and quickly left the ward with the crew-cut men in suits.
"Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan—after today, I'll make sure you never play games again!" Arrogant Dragon Emperor's lips curled into a cruel smile, his face dark and his gaze icy.