DNF Return to 2008

Chapter 2: The Wind-like Warrior
Back to the bar.

Leaning back comfortably in a chair, thinking quietly about life.

Although Maple Leaf Internet Cafe is located in Suicheng, it is a remote industrial town surrounded by leather shoe factories. On weekdays, the air is always filled with a pungent smell.

People like Brother Hua just now may be workers in nearby factories, and some are local thugs who ride motorcycles here to surf the Internet.

It is now 08, the most prosperous era for the Internet cafe industry.

However, the Maple Leaf Internet Cafe is of average size, with only more than 80 computers. The venue was converted from two connected buildings, so it is not big, but not small either.

The boss’s surname is Liao, a local man in his thirties who likes to play World of Warcraft in a team in the Internet cafe.

The network administrator works in three shifts. During the busy day shift, there is a cashier girl...

"It seems that I will have to work as a network administrator for a few months in the short term..."

After sorting out the original body's information and looking at the two hundred yuan in his pocket, An Yi sighed.

Fortunately, although the salary for this job is not high, at least accommodation is provided. After work, just walk a few steps upstairs and there is a double room dormitory.

Moreover, the network administrator has a hidden benefit, which is free Internet access!

The original owner saw this point and chose to earn this job like many outsiders.

After all, only a very small number of families can afford to install personal computers these days, and it is in the black Internet cafes that are scattered all over the streets and alleys that the Internet-addicted teenagers come into contact with online games...

"It is now mid-July 08, DNF has been open for a month, and most of the players are newbies... In other words, there is gold everywhere!"

"Equipment can be collected, materials can be stored, soul crystals, signs of disaster, Terra...get Biyouji (crossed out)"

"Oh right! There's also the inheritance jar!"

An Yi excitedly found a pen and cigarette paper and wrote down everything he could remember now.

DNF is definitely an amazing game.

It has been stumbling through the past sixteen years, and it is not an exaggeration to call it an old man's game, but it still ranks among the top three in China's online game revenue list for many years, and there is a reason for it.

Most of this is thanks to eight million brave warriors!
Now is the worst time for DNF, but also the best time!

Before I knew it, the sky was already getting light.

An Yi put the cigarette paper into his pocket and kept it carefully. After all, this was the key to his treasure that would make him rich.

After stretching, An Yi started his career as a network administrator.

He picked up a snakeskin bag from the toilet and started picking up beverage bottles along the machine.

Don't underestimate these bottles; they are an important source of income for network administrators, who can earn a hundred or so yuan at the end of every month.

From this point of view, Boss Liao is a pretty good person. At least he is not the stingy type.

After picking up the bottles, An Yi took the trash can and rag, cleaned up the garbage on the table one by one, and cleaned the ashtray.

Finally, mop the floor and put the chairs back in place.

"Huh, this job is quite tiring..."

He straightened up while holding the mop and let out a breath of air leisurely.

These tasks may seem simple, but there are many tricks involved. People who have never worked as network administrators simply don't understand them. For example, how to spread the rag so that it can be wiped quickly and cleanly, and how to wring out the water from the mop...

After doing all this, An Yi returned to the bar, turned on Kugou Music, and played "Twilight".

"Over the summer

Sadness is no better

Driving on the endless road
I feel like I'm leaving myself

Can't finish a song
Tiredness still leaves dark circles under the eyes

In the emotional world, hurt is inevitable
No matter how beautiful the dusk is, it will eventually be dark..."

A sad and low male voice came from the speakers of the Internet cafe. Many customers who were sleeping soundly opened their eyes and got up one after another.

Of course, some people are still fighting in the virtual world of the Internet, seemingly tirelessly.

"Hey, Xiao Anzi, are you changing your taste today?"

At this time, a tall and thin young man with dyed yellow hair, wearing an orange network administrator T-shirt and holding a cigarette in the corner of his mouth walked in from the sliding door. He smiled and said, "I admit that Zhou Chuanxiong is a little more handsome than me, but it's not good to always plagiarize Xiaogang's songs..."

The tall and thin young man said this and clicked the mouse to change the song to the opening warm song "Gamgan" by Shindong Thai.

For a moment, the sweet voices of European and American DJ psychedelic girls filled the entire Internet cafe.

In fact, one advantage of being a network administrator is that you can spread your favorite music style throughout the Internet cafe.

An Yi glared at him angrily: "Fuck you, can you please stop calling me Xiao Anzi?"

At first glance, the name Xiao Anzi sounds like someone who has been in the palace.

In the Cantonese area, addressing people is definitely a science. People who are unfamiliar with them call them boss, handsome guy, or pretty girl, while those who are familiar with them call them Xiao Ma, Ayou, Ahao, or Haoge...

Of course, if they become brothers, they will respectfully call each other "Diaomao".

The yellow-haired guy in front of him is called Du Fei, he is in his twenties, from southern Hunan, he is good-looking, and has the kind of cool and handsome look that is popular in South Korea these days.

Du Fei held a cigarette in his mouth, letting the smoke pick at his long bangs, and began to count the money in the cash register and the cigarette cabinet, and check the sales accounts.

"Have you counted everything?"

"OK, I've got the numbers."

After both parties signed their names, the handover of Internet cafe work was completed.

An Yi has officially finished get off work.

Du Fei is a veteran in Maple Leaf Internet Cafe. All the little tricks like wiping the table and wringing the mop were taught to him by his ex-boyfriend.

However, both parties were meticulous when checking the accounts, otherwise whoever made a mistake would have to pay for it out of their own pocket.

The original body had experienced this several times before. One time, he received a counterfeit hundred-dollar bill and considered himself unlucky, as it was equivalent to working for several days in vain.

Push open the glass door.

An Yi looked up at the dazzling morning sun, and the heat of midsummer hit him in the face.

The scattered buildings were only three or five stories high, the crowded streets were filled with motorcycle and car exhaust, the noisy city atmosphere, and the gray sky made him feel as if he was in another world.

“It tastes just right…”

An Yi smiled gently. It was the summer of 08.

This year, the country's economy was taking off, but it was far from the prosperity of the later Chinese era. Of course, it was also because the town of Hengpu where he was located was too remote, far away from the prosperous metropolis of Suicheng.

"Boss, I want a rice noodle roll with egg and meat, and a cup of soy milk..."

I walked to a breakfast stall run by a couple at the intersection and ordered some breakfast.

The refreshing rice rolls, coupled with special seasonings, immediately satisfied his hungry stomach.

After eating and drinking, An Yi returned to Maple Leaf Internet Cafe again.

For a teenager addicted to the internet, it is impossible to stay up all night and then fall asleep right after get off work.

Because, anyone who has worked the night shift knows that it is impossible to fall asleep.

Of course, he was only eighteen years old, young and energetic.

"Brother Fei, recharge my Penguin with 30QB."

He went straight to the bar and took out thirty dollars.

"Fuck, don't you charge yourself while you're at work?"

Du Fei grumbled unhappily, but still opened the recharge system and operated it for the other party.

At the end, he did not forget to say: "Remember to help me step on the space!"

"..."

An Yi was stunned when he heard this, and his brain seemed to be attacked by some shameful memory.

He shyly hid his embarrassed look.

If Brother Hua last night was a Shamatte, then Du Fei is the non-mainstream that is popular on the Internet today.

Their flashing penguin heads, the penguin shows that blow bubble gum and show off their glowing bodies all cost a lot of money and thought.

As for Penguin Space, it is a place for them to show their personality.

Du Fei's background music was playing something like TVXQ's gibberish, but An Yi couldn't understand a word of it.

After finding a corner with few people, An Yi stretched out a finger and pressed the power button.

On the big-butt display screen, the classic Windows XP system slowly started up.

Then, a dark blue Wanxiang network management page popped up. An Yi quickly entered the card number and password as if by muscle memory.

The next second, the clear and melodious XP system startup music came from the headphones.

On the display screen, a classic picture of the era came into view, with blue sky, white clouds and green grassland.

“The classics are passed down.”

Seeing this scene, An Yi felt mixed emotions.

He unconsciously right-clicked and refreshed the mouse in his hand, just as naturally as washing hands after going to the toilet.

When I boarded the penguin, the sounds of dripping and the old man's coughing immediately came to my ears.

And that damn penguin pet...An Yi just threw it away.

But when he saw the online name "Sadness Flows Like a River", An Yi was silent for a long time.

The original person escaped from his mean uncle's home and went south alone from the hilly and mountainous areas in western Guangdong. He is actually very introverted and sensitive.

That is to say, after coming into contact with the Internet, people gradually become addicted and their true side is revealed in the virtual world.

There is nothing wrong with these. Who didn’t have a young childhood?
An Yi shook his head, his fingertips dancing, and in the blink of an eye he changed his online name to "Leave Sadness".

What does it matter if you are sad or not? As long as you change girlfriends quickly, there is no sadness, only love!
"Bubble Hall, MapleStory, KartRider, QQ Fantasy, Feifei, Wendao, Hot Blooded Jianghu... and CrossFire. You play quite a variety of games, right?"

Penguin’s friend list is full of gaming friends.

Among them, there are many Q-version casual games from South Korea, and I haven’t come across too many large-scale online games.

This situation is mostly related to age and the history of development of online games in China. For example, KartRider was developed by NEXON and represented by Century Tiancheng.

That’s right, it’s NEXON, which is the parent company of Neople.

Nowadays, the most popular game in Internet cafes is Cross Fire.

But none of this matters. What matters is that An Yi knows clearly that in the next few years, DNF will be the most popular one!
Anyi first opened the official website and recharged his account with black diamonds.

Then click on the game menu and move the mouse over the khaki gear-shaped icon.

"Dean Caress, activate!"

Followed by a light blue reading bar.

A rough and extremely retro DNF login window slowly emerged.

On the screen, there appeared two servers, China Telecom and China Netcom, and a total of sixteen ancient regions with green punctuation marks.

Telecom areas: Northwest District, Southwest District, Sichuan District 1, Sujiang District, Northern Hubei District, Southern Hunan District, Guangnan District 1, Guangnan District 2, Fujian District, Jiangsu and Zhejiang District 1, Shenghai District 1, and Shenghai District 2.

Netcom areas: North China District 1, Northeast China District 1, Dongshan District 1, and Beijing District.

In addition, there are several newly enlarged areas with green "recommended" signs.

"Emmm, choose a district."

An Yi didn't hesitate too much and directly chose Guangnan District 1.

Not only because I am in Guangnan, but also because it is old enough, there are many wealthy players and prices are stable.

Of course, when it became a slavery area in the later period, he no longer had the final say...

"Guangnan District 16, ms..."

Seeing the words "network delay" appear in the default box, An Yi clicked OK.

A black frame appears, followed by the channel screen.

Soon, the clear and pleasant piano melody echoed in my ears from far away.

“Ding ding ding… Ding ding ding ding…”

The song "Warrior Like the Wind" seems to penetrate deep into the soul, and the ancient notes awaken the long-forgotten DNA.

In an instant, An Yi's eyes were filled with tears.

(End of this chapter)