Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 256 WOW, the King Descends!
A fine spring rain began to fall from the sky.

Off-road motorcycles speed along the city's elevated ring road late at night.

"drop!"

I opened the friends system and started a voice call with Gunfire Like a Dragon.

"Ding Han?"

He caught the gun like a dragon in a second, and asked with a smile, "What is it?"

"Alliance Leader Long, you know Cao Weidong, right?"

"I know, everyone knows that. What's wrong? Did he offend you?"

"Ah."

I nodded: "I'll go over and take him out now. See if you can help me out. If you don't nip it in the bud, it will grow back in the spring. I can't kill them all by myself, so I'll need your help."

"Damn..." Gun Chu Rulong suddenly froze.

"what happened?"

I frowned: "Is there something wrong?"

"No, it just triggered a quest, hahaha~~~"

Gun Out Like a Dragon laughed heartily, "I triggered an A-level mission, which requires me to contact nearby player factions and cooperate with me. You go and destroy Cao Weidong's lair, and we'll go and clear out their other faction strongholds. Hahaha, having a mission makes things easier. I'll gather the manpower and set off right away. You take it easy over there."

"Don't worry, what difficulty could an A-level mission possibly have?"

"Too……"

……

It's midnight.

BOX Bar in the city center.

When I parked my off-road motorcycle outside, there were a few shady-looking young men standing there, while two girls staggered out of the bar and came to the side of the road where they vomited with a loud "whoop."

Several young people surrounded it, like a swarm of flies around a cracked egg.

I didn't say much, locked my motorcycle, and entered the bar. Immediately, I was greeted by somber music and a series of young, decadent faces. After passing through the bar, there was a parking lot ahead. I climbed over the wall, and behind the parking lot was an old factory. I followed the blueprints sent by Zheng Rong Sui Nian and found the factory. There, I saw a thug with an afro walking towards me.

A deep red health bar instantly appeared above his head. He pointed at me and hissed, "Who goes there?"

"Shh!"

A deep blue light flashed in the night sky, and the Wind Chaser instantly severed his head!

Using a power sword to kill these small fry really feels like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Pushing open the door behind the thug, you'll see a staircase leading to the underground. Inside, you'll hear the same decadent music, and even see women dressed as bunny girls carrying trays walking around.

"who?"

The moment I stepped into the casino, a thug with bruises still on his face recognized me and roared, "Damn it, it's you, you bastard! You dare to come here!"

At that moment, he raised the watermelon knife and charged forward!
Switching to the silenced UZI, he fired three consecutive shots, instantly blowing the opponent's head apart like a watermelon split open, with blood splattering onto a group of thugs behind him.

"grass!"

The others instantly woke up and roared as they charged forward!
"Brother Hu, something's happened! That guy has a gun!"

Someone shouted in the distance, and then a group of thugs rushed into the casino's private room, carrying pistols and submachine guns!

Damn it, they really are criminal gangs, illegally possessing firearms!!

My body sank, the Stardust Wall activated, and I entered shooting mode!
With the blessing of Lv10 Shooting Master, I felt like a gun god who had been fighting on the battlefield for many years. Every time I aimed, I had a feeling of divine inspiration, just like the critical hit described in the game. The moment I pulled the trigger, I knew that I would hit the target accurately. Every shot's aim and lead were perfect!
In an instant, chaos erupted inside the casino. Large numbers of thugs fell to the UZI's firepower, while the gamblers crouched on the ground, clutching their heads and screaming in terror, their faces pale with fright!
"You bastard!!"

Hu Mancang roared as he stormed out of the cubicle, brandishing a shotgun, his face contorted with rage: "Fuck you..."

"die!"

In an instant, I raised my right hand and hurled the power sword. With a whoosh, I threw the blade out. Instantly, a surge of Yuan energy was poured into it, and the power sword emitted a dazzling blue light, severing Hu Mancang's head in mid-air!
"Plop~~~"

His head fell to the ground, blood gushing from his neck. The group of thugs around him turned pale; they had never seen anything like it.

As a player who has been fighting against dark tides, alien species, insect swarms, and demon spirits for many years, I have long been immune to this kind of 100% realistic battle and killing scene and am completely unmoved!
UZI continued firing, and in a single stride, he drew his power sword from the wall and charged forward several meters. With a flash of sword light, several more heads flew into the sky!
In the heat of the battle, a flash of sword light nearly chopped a bunny girl to pieces!
"Ahhhhhh~~~"

She screamed, "Handsome, it's not my fault! I didn't do anything..."

"Oh!"

I looked at the green health bar above her head. I couldn't kill her. If I did, I would be expelled and hunted down by the Crimson Dragon Kingdom, which was no joke.

"Go away, I don't kill women..."

I moved the sword away.

"Thank you, handsome..."

She was so frightened that she trembled all over and slowly left, her heart pounding with fear.

But just then, a bell rang in my ear—

[Battle Warning: Please note that Mercenary Lisa (Purple Boss) has used the skill "Psionic Chains" on you. After assessment, your mental strength is more than 50% higher than hers; the skill assessment has failed!]

With a "whoosh," a huge MISS flew up from above my head!
"not good!"

On the second floor, a woman in a gray robe suddenly cried out in surprise. Immediately afterward, as she fired her submachine gun, a silver light flashed in her pupils, and three consecutive psionic storms descended from the sky, forming a storm below that obstructed the view and raged on.

"Hahaha~~~"

A man's voice came from the second floor: "Damn it... you bastard, you actually killed so many of my people, but you probably didn't expect that I would actually hire a psychic to keep things under control, did you? No matter how tough you are, can you be tougher than a psychic?!"

It's Cao Weidong, the leader of this criminal gang has finally appeared!
As for the psionic mercenary's firepower, it was just a scratch. Her triple psionic storm couldn't even break through my Stardust Wall. As for the submachine gun's firepower, it would probably be just as ineffective against my nearly 2700 armor!
"Whoosh!"

Amidst the raging storm, he suddenly leaped into the air and locked onto Lisa with a powerful jump attack!
"Not good!"

Lisa was horrified and hurriedly retreated, but it was too late. The next second, the Wind Chaser made a "click" sound, and a beautiful head flew into the air. The corpse was still reflexively pulling the trigger, and bullets flew wildly in the casino.

"You fucking..."

Cao Weidong was horrified: "I'm sworn brothers with the city's big boss... If you dare kill me..."

Before I could finish speaking, I had already shoved the burning hot muzzle of my UZI into Cao Weidong's mouth. With a hissing sound, I pulled the trigger, and a barrage of bullets shot out from the back of his head, violently spraying blood and brain matter onto the wall behind him.

continue!

Holding the UZI, he kicked open door after door, shooting down anyone with a red health bar until he had wiped out all of Cao Weidong's men in the casino. Only then did he leave with the UZI, leaving behind a cold and ruthless figure for the trembling bunny girls and gamblers.

Entering the alley, I switched back to normal mode, hopped on my beloved little motorcycle, and started my return journey.

A few minutes later, a bell rang—

Congratulations! You have completed the daily quest "Urban Undercurrents" (Rank A)! Rewards: 80 Character Experience, 3500 Reputation Points!

It's alright. The character experience is so-so, but the reputation points are plentiful. Besides, the main purpose of this mission is to eliminate threats to Feiyang Internet Cafe and Lu Xiaobei; everything else is secondary.

"drop!"

A message came from Gun Like a Dragon: "Ding Han, how's it going on your end?"

"The mission is complete. Cao Weidong was indeed prepared, actually hiring a purple-level BOSS-level psionicist. Unfortunately, he was too weak; he was cut down with a single sword strike. How are things on your end?"

"Shen Jin, Yu Shi Wu Zheng, and I have gathered all the players scattered across the country and are targeting their hideouts nearby. Currently, the hideouts in Huaining City that are associated with Cao Weidong have been basically wiped out. There are fewer hideouts in Jiangning City, Donghai City, and Xicheng City, and players have already gone there. Basically, by tomorrow morning, Cao Weidong's organization will disappear directly from the Crimson Dragon Kingdom."

"Ah."

I nodded: "And what about his protectors?"

"Don't worry about that."

Gunshot grinned: "We've gathered a lot of evidence of Cao Weidong's crimes, as well as evidence of his bribery. The national intelligence agency just called, saying they're going to investigate this thoroughly and eliminate all of Cao Weidong's protectors. After all, the person Cao Weidong and his gang bullied this time is a recipient of the Silver Star Hero Medal..."

"I rely on..."

I was surprised: "The Silver Star Medal is that powerful?"

"Pretty much. The Bronze Star Medal already has a lot of power, and the Silver Star Medal is even more extraordinary..."

"The Crimson Dragon Kingdom's resolute attitude this time can be seen as a statement to our player faction. At the same time, they also took the opportunity to eliminate local criminal gangs, benefiting the region. It's a win-win situation."

"That's good……"

I smiled and said, "Thank you, Alliance Leader Long. I owe you all a favor this time."

"What are you saying? We players are all on the same side!"

"Ok!"

……

One o'clock in the morning.

The hotel behind Feiyang Internet Cafe.

Cai Cai stood with her arms crossed, like a door god at the door of room 201.

"How did it go?" I asked with a smile.

"Boss, you're back? Everything's fine. Kou Mei is inside with Lu Xiaobei."

"That's good."

"Has the matter with Hu Mancang been settled?"

"All done, they've all been slaughtered."

"Comfortable……"

Cai Cai grinned: "That's why they say in the Crimson Dragon Kingdom, we players are the biggest H-society..."

He makes a lot of sense; I'm starting to think so too now.

……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and things went smoothly.

For the past few days, I have been asking Ruolin, Koumei and others to take turns protecting Lu Xiaobei's safety, but nothing has happened. Just as Qiangchu Rulong said, Cao Weidong's forces have been completely eradicated, and no one will threaten Lu Xiaobei and Lin Qingying's safety anymore.

The crisis was over, and life returned to normal.

……

In the early morning, looking at the daily turnover of the internet cafe, I took a deep breath. The income is rising steadily, which is naturally a good thing. It just feels like the scale is not big enough. Feiyang Internet Cafe's expansion pace is a little slow.

But she was too embarrassed to tell Lu Xiaobei, since her money basically came from Lu Changzai, and it was really difficult for her to ask Lu Changzai for money.

As for Lu Xiaobei herself, although her collaboration with Milo on "Bare Face" became a huge hit across the country, she insisted on not accepting any endorsements or advertisements, which was quite willful. Therefore, she probably didn't have much money to expand her internet cafe business.

In the morning, after fixing the computer, I stepped outside.

"Where are you going?" Lu Xiaobei suddenly called out to me.

"I'm bored. I'll go find Gao Tianyu to practice my ball skills."

"Then I'll go watch the game."

"Fine!"

"Wait for me a moment, I'll go back and change my clothes, I'll be quick!"

She left in a whirlwind and returned in a whirlwind, dressed in a white knit sweater, a beige long skirt, and a gradient-colored cardigan. It made me feel as if I had suddenly returned to my days in Xicheng, and she had become the Lu Xiaobei I knew before.

"Ding Han, do you want some milk tea?" she asked.

"Sure, you're treating?"

"Ok!"

She rushed to the COCO milk tea shop, ordered two cups of hot milk tea, and brought them back, smiling, "Shall we go?"

So, the two of them walked towards Huaining University while drinking milk tea.

We were quickly stopped by the gatekeeper.

"We could go in before, why can't we go in now? What's going on?" Lu Xiaobei asked angrily.

"Young lady, this is a school regulation. People from outside the school can't just enter and leave the campus at will. There's nothing I can do about it; it's a school regulation."

The old man acted as if he owned the place, with his hands behind his back; anyone who didn't know him would think he was the president of Huaining University.

"Sir, could you please make an exception?"

Lu Xiaobei started to whine, "I'm a celebrity, after all, I have my pride too..."

The old man was unyielding: "Even celebrities aren't allowed; rules are rules!"

"Cough cough..."

At this moment, I took out the pack of Jinliqun cigarettes from my storage space, pulled one out and handed it to the old man, and said with a smile, "Uncle, please make an exception. We're going to talk to the student council about cooperation, it's serious business."

"Oh……"

The old man, twirling his cigarette, squinted and smiled, "Alright, I'll make an exception for you. Just don't wander around inside."

"rest assured!"

……

Once inside the campus, Lu Xiaobei was furious and kicked at the sycamore leaves by the roadside.

"This society has really changed; people's hearts have lost their traditional values!"

Lu Xiaobei said, "The social atmosphere is ruined by people like this, don't you think?"

"I do not know……"

As I sipped my milk tea, I chuckled and said, "Maybe it's because I'm getting older, so my way of doing things is a little different from yours. I think as long as things get done, that's enough. I don't care much about anything else."

"Do you know what this is called? This is being assimilated by society, losing your own principles, losing your original aspirations! Ding Han, you're making me feel a little heartbroken!"

She patted her chest proudly, and once again I heard the shameful echo.

court.

Gao Tianyu arrived as agreed, bringing several of his teammates, while I met up with a few students from the School of Atmospheric Sciences who were good at playing ball.

"you……"

Gao Tianyu, wearing his school team uniform and with a basketball tucked under his arm, walked straight up to us, stared intently at Lu Xiaobei, and asked, "Are you a celebrity?"

"what?"

Lu Xiaobei almost burst into tears of joy. Finally, her celebrity identity was discovered by these idiots at Huaining University!

"Ah."

She nodded.

"Ding Han".

Gao Tianyu looked up at me and said, "How could such a beautiful star hang out with someone like you?"

"You ride on the horse..."

I was completely baffled. Gao Tianyu was acting strangely today, probably because of Zhang Ruolin. He felt ashamed that his confession to Zhang Ruolin failed, and the fact that I was with Zhang Ruolin and Lin Qingying that night might have made him misunderstand and think that there was something between Zhang Ruolin and me.

But this guy is too blunt; he turned his anger on me right away.
So, I need to teach him a lesson today and show him what basketball is all about!

The two sides quickly engaged in a confrontation.

The school team lived up to its reputation, their teamwork was excellent, and they scored more than ten points in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, I, as a god, carried four weak teams, keeping the score close and never letting the other team gain an advantage.

"Dong dong dong~~~"

During the intense dribbling, Gao Tianyu and I were head to head, and it was time for another one-on-one match.

"Ding Han, don't even think about getting any points from me!"

His eyes flashed with ferocity: "I, Gao Tianyu, swear!"

"What's the use of swearing an oath? I'll definitely get the points from you."

On the sidelines, Lu Xiaobei, holding a cup of milk tea, shouted, "Ding Han, don't hesitate, attack his weakest point!"

I immediately dribbled the ball frantically, staring into Gao Tianyu's eyes and saying, "Zhang Ruolin doesn't even look at you!"

"Ah~~~~" Gao Tianyu broke down and suddenly reached out to intercept the ball, but slapped it onto my hand, committing a foul.

After that, the scene turned into a complete massacre, and in the end, I led the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences to a 66:42 victory in this game!

"gone!"

After putting on my coat, I left Huaining University with Lu Xiaobei. After defeating Gao Tianyu, there was nothing left on campus that could interest me.

"Ding Han, you're all sweaty. Want to come to my place for a shower?" Lu Xiaobei asked.

"no need."

I shook my head: "Being covered in sweat is nice, it's all about the smell of hormones."

"Pah! It stinks!"

She didn't insist and came back to the internet cafe with me.

……

In the evening, Lin Qingying sent me a message saying she had to work overtime, so I didn't want to go home too early either. I stayed at the internet cafe to work overtime as well. Eventually, when Lu Xiaobei saw that I hadn't left, he invited Zhao Yihang and me to eat dry pot.

It was the same chicken and frog restaurant again. I ordered a big pot, plus two servings of egg fried rice and some drinks.

"Our business has been pretty good these past few days."

Zhao Yihang said, "During the prime time of 8 pm, the occupancy rate can basically reach over 75%, and on league days, the occupancy rate can jump to 85%. I've looked at the occupancy rates of internet cafes in Huaining City, and they are basically not as good as ours. Even the largest internet cafe, Zhuoyue, is slightly worse than us."

"Ah, this is so nice..."

Lu Xiaobei smiled and said, "The flagship store in Huaining City is indeed doing much better than the other flagship stores."

"Young people, don't be complacent too early!"

I slammed my hand on the table and said, "Is a mere 85% enough? I don't think so. Our Feiyang Internet Cafe is so excellent, it should have 100% occupancy during peak hours, with customers queuing up to get a computer!"

Lu Xiaobei rolled her eyes: "A 100% success rate? How good would the business have to be?"

"It's not necessarily impossible to achieve."

I was unconvinced, and the next moment, a bell rang in my ear. My argument with Lu Xiaobei had actually resulted in a super daily task—

[You have triggered the daily quest "Strive for the Peak, Feiyang Internet Cafe!" (SS-rank)! Quest objective: Use all means to increase the peak usage rate of Feiyang Internet Cafe's Huaining flagship store to over 95% during prime time! Quest reward: "Ring of the Adversary" (Quality: Cyan)!]

……

Holy crap, the reward is a cyan ring!!

When I saw the task reward, I was struck by a thought, and it confirmed once again that Feiyang Internet Cafe was indeed my lucky place. Although a 95% attendance rate is indeed difficult to achieve, it is not impossible to reach as long as you are willing to find a way. And the cyan ring is not something that everyone can get!
If this ring has three attributes plus critical hit, life steal, or burst skill, then it would be an extremely valuable ring!
Thinking about this, I couldn't help but smile.

"Hey hey hey~~~"

"Hey, Ding Han!"

Zhao Yihang, who was standing next to me, tilted his head and glanced at me: "Why are you smiling so lewdly? Have you thought of something good?"

"Huh? No?"

I chuckled and said, "I was just thinking how awesome it would be if our Feiyang Internet Cafe could maintain a 95% usage rate with 300 machines..."

“But I think maintaining an 85% availability rate during prime time in the league would be pretty good. As for 95%, that’s really too difficult. There are only so many people around Huaining University who can access the internet. If we want to improve further, we’ll have to squeeze money out of other internet cafes,” Lu Xiaobei said.

"Not necessarily."

Full of confidence, I said, "Let's make a bet. What if I can really get the success rate to 95%?"

"bet……"

Lu Xiaobei gave a weak look: "I feel like you're trying to trick me. If I agree to the bet, you're sure to win. I think I'd better not. Even if I lose to you for a meal, I might feel bad for days. Treating you to a meal will earn me a favor, but losing would be too painful."

"The boss is brilliant!"

Zhao Yihang gave a thumbs up: "I also feel that there's nothing Ding Han can't do in the internet cafe business. This guy is simply amazing when it comes to internet cafe operations..."

I grinned, but didn't say anything.

As for why we are confident in achieving a 95% or even 100% occupancy rate during peak hours at Feiyang Internet Cafe, it's because after the Red Dragon Kingdom's competitive players won the WCG Warcraft III World Championship, another major event is about to happen in the world of Star Abyss!
Three days later...

The groundbreaking 3D online game "World of Warcraft", published by The9 Games, is about to be launched!

Riding the wave of WOW, getting Feiyang Internet Cafe's occupancy rate to 95% is definitely not a problem. It all depends on how I operate and manage this super popularity!

"Xiao Bei."

I glanced at Lu Xiaobei across from me and said, "Do you have any business-style clothes?"

"what happened?"

She asked in surprise, "Don't I look good in this outfit?"

"Not really."

I smiled and said, "It would be even better if you had business attire. Tomorrow you're coming with me to visit the Huaining branch of Nine City Games, so it's better to dress formally."

……

The next morning, at Feiyang Internet Cafe.

I appeared at the internet cafe for the second time wearing the Armani suit that Lin Qingying had bought.

"I go……"

Zhao Yihang craned his neck to take a look and said, "Ding Han, judging from your posture, you're determined to take over Jiucheng today!"

"Just do your best. Who can guarantee success?"

"Too."

Where is Lu Xiaobei?

"They were just here, probably went to buy breakfast."

Sure enough, before he finished speaking, Lu Xiaobei walked in from another door, dressed in a beautiful women's formal suit. She was just missing a name tag, otherwise she would have looked like a beautiful senior executive of a group.

"you……"

The moment Lu Xiaobei saw me, he froze for a moment, then said, "Your clothes... must be expensive, right?"

"Armani, of course, is not cheap."

"..."

She looked at me incredulously: "You're so stingy, how could you afford to buy such expensive clothes?"

I grinned, but didn't say it was from Lin Qingying, otherwise it might affect her mood.

"pity."

I glanced at her clothes and said, "Your red Ferrari isn't in Huaining City. Otherwise, if we drove this car to discuss the cooperation, with both of us dressed today, the success rate would increase by at least 10%."

"Just be content."

While eating her breakfast, she said, "Do you think everyone is like that coward Ken, who insists on driving his R8 over a thousand miles to show off?"

"It makes sense..."

I wholeheartedly agreed, and then walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi.

The driver frowned, glanced at the two of us in the back seat through the rearview mirror, and gave us a strange look, as if he felt that Lu Xiaobei and I shouldn't have taken a taxi dressed like that.

Upon meeting the driver's gaze, Lu Xiaobei felt a little annoyed and said, "Ding Han, shouldn't we get a car? After all, as our business grows, both you and I need a car to get around Huaining City."

"There's no rush yet."

I shook my head: "Let's talk about it after the business gets better. How much money has our internet cafe made? With your spending habits, you probably wouldn't even look at a cheap car."

"You were peeking through the crack in the door, weren't you?"

Lu Xiaobei retorted, "I'm planning to buy a Buick minivan that costs two or three hundred thousand yuan."

"Let's talk about it later."

……

In the morning, we arrived at 9City Games.

At the reception desk downstairs, I handed over my and Lu Xiaobei's business cards and said, "I'd like to schedule a meeting with your manager to discuss offline cooperation for the internet cafe."

"Please wait a moment, I'll call Manager Lu right away."

The receptionist made a phone call, said a few words, and then said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Lu and Mr. Ding, our manager Lu has a very full schedule of meetings today, so he probably won't have time to see you."

"It's okay, we can wait until he finishes his meeting."

"Is such that……"

The receptionist looked embarrassed and said, "After the meeting, Manager Lu has to fly there, so he simply can't find the time to see you both. I'm so sorry!"

I took a deep breath and led Lu Xiaobei out of the Nine City Games building.

"He clearly doesn't want to see us!"

Lu Xiaobei was furious and said through gritted teeth, "It's all an excuse! Ding Han, don't you think so?"

"Yes!"

I nodded in affirmation of her judgment and said, "Xiao Bei, don't be angry. Let's go back first and think of a solution slowly. I don't believe we can't get past his mere branch manager."

"Ah."

Back to Feiyang Internet Cafe.

"drop!"

An in-game message actually came from Chen Dongqing: "Ding Han, our CEO Lin's hand is injured, what happened?"

"It happened a few days ago, and you're only just finding out?"

I briefly explained what happened at Feiyang Internet Cafe.

"Depend on……"

Chen Dongqing said, "I never expected that there would be someone like Cao Weidong hiding in the seemingly prosperous Huaining City... It's lucky that we players met him. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably have suffered a great loss."

"Ah."

I nodded and said, "By the way, Lao Chen, you're in business, I have something I'd like you to analyze for me."

Then, he briefly explained how Lu Ping'an, the manager of the Huaining branch of Nine City Games, refused to see me and Lu Xiaobei.

"I'm only speaking from my perspective."

Chen Dongqing said, "Firstly, it's possible that Lu Ping'an simply doesn't value the cooperation with you. After all, he might think that Feiyang Internet Cafe is just a small chain of internet cafes, and even the flagship store only has a few hundred people using it at most. In contrast, World of Warcraft is a game that is open to the whole society, so he doesn't value you at all."

He continued, "The second possibility is that the game is about to be launched, and Lu Ping'an may be really busy and not have time to meet with you. You can judge for yourself. I think the first possibility is more likely. Ding Han, if you really want to cooperate with them, you have to show your strength and impress them with your strength. After all, cooperation is a matter of equality. If you can't show your value, they will naturally not take this matter to heart."

"Understood, thanks for reminding me."

I smiled and ended my conversation with Chen Dongqing.

……

Afterwards, sitting on the network administrator's machine, he typed in code rapidly, using his master-level programming and communication and network knowledge to directly hack into the network of the Huaining branch of Nine City Games. Sure enough, according to their internal work schedule, there was no meeting in the morning, and Lu Ping'an was also in his office.

I frowned, then accessed their security system, entered my fingerprint into their employee database, and then confirmed the building information and Lu Ping'an's office number.

Then, he looked up at Chen Xiaoman and said, "Sister Xiaoman, print out the detailed operating reports of our Feiyang Internet Cafe flagship stores for the past month and give them to me. Use A4 paper, not too big."

"Ding Han, what do you need this for?"

"It's useful, don't ask."

"Okay, I'll go retrieve the data right away."

After watching Chen Xiaoman leave, I sat down again and started making tables. I also collected data on WHL's influence from various media and online sources, and incorporated some data from media and live stream clips.

And so, they were busy until noon.

"Ding Han".

Lu Xiaobei walked in from outside, carrying our lunchboxes. He stood behind me, glanced at me, and said, "What have you been up to all morning?"

"Detailed data on WHL's social impact."

I smiled slightly: "I plan to go to Nine City Games again to see Lu Ping'an."

"Oh? When are we going?"

"You don't need to go this time."

I took a deep breath: "I've decided to infiltrate the branch of Nine City Games and go directly to see Lu Ping'an, giving him no chance to refuse me."

"..."

Lu Xiaobei pursed her lips and looked at me with admiration: "As expected of you, I knew you were capable of doing something like this just by listening to it."

This doesn't sound like a compliment.

I grabbed a boxed lunch and started eating with gusto.

afternoon.

After hailing a taxi, I headed to 9City Games again.

This time, I didn't go through the front door, but went straight into the parking lot and entered the building through the back door. The two security guards frowned and looked over without saying a word, while I strode over and had my fingerprint verified.

"drop!"

"Employee No. 0154, verification successful!"

To be honest, having good programming skills is definitely an advantage!

I entered the elevator and went straight to the sixth floor without any hindrance. I was dressed in an Armani suit and leather shoes, and no one stopped me. So I went straight to the manager's office where Lu Pingan was.

The door wasn't locked, and it opened with a click.

"Who... who are you?"

Behind the desk sat a young man wearing an employee ID card, looking at me with disbelief. After confirming several times, he said, "You don't seem to be from our company?"

"Indeed not."

I pulled a folder from my pocket and slammed it onto Lu Ping'an's desk. Then, I sat down on the sofa with an air of authority, raised an eyebrow at Lu Ping'an, and said:

"I am Ding Han, the operations manager of Feiyang Chain Internet Cafe. I tried to see Manager Lu this morning, but he was too busy. I think it was because I wasn't prepared enough. So I went back and compiled the internet cafe's operating report and the social impact data of our WHL event at Huaining University. They are all here. Could you please take a moment to look at them, Manager Lu?"

"..."

Lu Pingan frowned, wavering between anger and cowardice.

He was just a lean young man who looked a bit unhealthy, while I was different. With 1000+ strength, 560+ agility, and 380+ spirit, I looked like a strong and energetic young man. If we were to have a one-on-one fight in the office, he would be no match for me.

So, Lu Pingan started looking at the data.

I continued, "Manager Lu, the WHL event hosted by our Feiyang Internet Cafe has generated a lot of buzz. It once topped the trending searches in Huaining City, and we also have a deep partnership with the HGL gaming channel. In addition, our opening match was even featured on Huaining TV's evening news, which has had a very positive social impact and a significant positive influence on promoting the development of esports."

"Ah."

Lu Pingan nodded: "I have indeed heard about the WHL league."

"Manager Lu, I know your company is very strong and capable of standing on its own, but I think that even a hero needs three helpers. Besides, public opinion is still not very friendly towards competitive games and online games. Many people think that these are all monsters. So even if WOW is really a groundbreaking and excellent game, I think we should not ignore the objective factor of social influence."

"Um……"

Lu Pingan raised his hand: "Ding Han, don't speak yet, let me finish reading the report first."

"it is good!"

I stopped talking and just waited.

After nearly ten minutes, Lu Pingan finally looked up from the report and said, "After reading the report, to be honest, I am very interested. However, I have a question: how did you get into our company building? You know, our security system is quite strict."

I smiled and said, "To be honest, I hacked into your company's system and added my fingerprint to get in."

"..."

Lu Ping'an looked surprised, then slowly stood up and smiled, "Then let's wish each other success in our cooperation. Also, remember to delete your illegal fingerprints so that you can come in through the main door properly next time, okay?"

(End of this chapter)