Which way to go is the road?

After Qian Luomei started working at the front desk, Xiang Fei gradually got to know her better and found that she wasn't as aloof as he had imagined. She often chatted and joked with the employees.

Bored, Qian Luomei prepared a prank, waiting for Xiang Fei to take the bait.

As usual, Xiang Fei finished cleaning and went straight to the front desk, where he saw Qian Luomei playing a card game with great seriousness. He didn't disturb her and sat down on the sofa, unaware that Qian Luomei had been secretly glancing at him the whole time.

"Xiang Fei, come here, I need to talk to you about something!"

"What's up?" Xiang Fei didn't move, but looked up and asked.

"It's almost noon. Could you go buy some groceries for me? Here's the list I made. I'll cook lunch for you all!"

"Ah! Sister Mei, please don't trouble yourself. Cooking is not easy, it's all smoke and fire!" Xiang Fei was extremely unwilling to eat her cooking again, but he still didn't move his butt!

"Come over here when I tell you to! Stop dawdling. Don't you think my cooking is terrible? Hurry up and get the list!" Qian Luomei saw that talking and arguing weren't working, so she became stern and harsh.

Seeing Qian Luomei's anxiety, Xiang Fei reluctantly got up and walked over, sitting on the bar stool and looking at the menu Qian Luomei handed him. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong; his bottom was getting colder and colder. He stood up and looked down to find his pants were soaked.

"Who poured the water on the chair?"

"I didn't see anyone pour water, what's wrong?" Qian Luomei feigned surprise as she walked out from behind the bar. Seeing Xiang Fei's wet pants, she tried hard to suppress her laughter: "Hey, Xiang Fei, what are you saying? Did you wet your pants?"

A male and female customer passing by heard this and looked over, making Xiang Fei extremely embarrassed. After thinking about the whole thing for a moment, Xiang Fei immediately understood what had happened. He looked at Qian Luomei, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and didn't know what to say for a moment!

"Sister Mei, you have to pay for my pants! You're such a grown woman, why are you making such childish jokes!"

"Why bother with the pants? They'll dry in a bit! Just stand outside for a while, spread your crotch out, they'll dry faster!" Qian Luomei stopped pretending and just kept laughing.

"No, Sister Mei, come out. I'll go hide behind the bar for a bit. This is so embarrassing!"

Qian Luomei refused to agree and clung to the bar counter. Seeing her shamelessness, Xiang Fei tried to break her knuckles. Qian Luomei wasn't going to be bullied either, so she grabbed a mousepad and started hitting her! The two were locked in a stalemate, attracting the attention of several customers who were in the restroom, who forgot their original purpose!

"What are you doing! What are you doing? Flirting in public, be mindful of your behavior!" Lao You walked in through the revolving door at that moment, followed by his three roommates—Zhang Fang, Du Xinpeng, and Tian Hai, with Dong Lu and Bai Xue also in the group.

"Old You, you've got some nerve! You dare to joke around with the boss? You didn't come to work last night, so you're out of bonuses this month!" As soon as Qian Luomei relaxed, Xiang Fei seized the opportunity and barged into the bar to avoid being embarrassed in front of Dong Lu and Bai Xue!

"I was wrong, Sister Luomei! The department had a welcome party last night, and I couldn't leave! What can I do? I'm so talented! Nowhere can I go without me!"

"I just realized that playing a tree in a play requires a lot of talent. But Lao You, that tree really can't be played without you, it's not thick enough!" Dong Lu said while gesturing, making everyone laugh.

"Old You, you should change your name to Old Tree!" Bai Xue seized the opportunity to deliver another blow. The beauty's words were echoed by the crowd, and they started discussing it amongst themselves.

"What?! I played a mad scientist in there. I only played the tree because I wasn't in that scene; they just gave me a last-minute cameo! Hey, Zhang Fang, even with props and makeup, how could nobody recognize me? How did they know?" Lao You loudly interrupted everyone's heated discussion, trying to defend himself, then suddenly realized, "You guys are something else! You betray your friends for personal gain! Friendship over, I can't play with you guys anymore!"

Zhang Fang seemed to realize that his actions were indeed a bit unethical, so he took the initiative to make amends: "Old You, we didn't mean it. A lot of people said that tree was very unique and the acting was particularly good, so I told them! Who knew it would spread so fast! Forget it, guys, don't get upset. How about I buy you a game card when we play on the new server later?"

"What? You're asking for a game card? Do you think I'm that easy to bribe? What kind of person do you take me for?" Everyone stared at Lao You in astonishment, as if he were a stranger, and the atmosphere froze.

"At least two!" Old You exclaimed indignantly, seeing the astonished expressions on everyone's faces. "What? Is my reputation not worth two game cards?"

"Worth it! Worth it!" Everyone burst into laughter again, with some people constantly punching the fickle Lao You. Lao You, on the other hand, was quite pleased with himself, ignoring the tickling punches. Thinking about getting two game cards, he was overjoyed and his lips curled up into an unprecedented smile.

"What game do you play? When did the new server come out?" Qian Luomei seemed to have become interested in this as well.

"Westward Journey Online 2, a turn-based online game, launched a new server at 10 AM sharp this morning. Dong Lu isn't playing, so the five of us plan to form a team and try our luck on the new server!"

"Count me in. I've got nothing better to do anyway. Let me tell you, I only play control-type male characters. You can choose the other characters!" Qian Luomei said these words without any room for argument.

"Sister Luo Mei, you're such a beautiful woman, why are you playing around with men! Besides, I've already decided on the male role, don't try to take it from me!" Zhang Fang cautiously voiced his objection as if he were facing a female demon, only to be met with a storm of condemnation.

"Who says beautiful women can't play around with men? Just because you've decided on them doesn't mean they're yours. Why should you?" Qian Luomei's unquestionable decision was met with opposition, and she wasn't about to let it go.

"Don't you have any manly spirit? Can't you give way to the ladies when playing a game? Which character isn't just for fun?" How could Dong Lu not speak up for her sister Luo Mei at this moment?

"Exactly! You're a man in real life, so why are you playing a man in the game? I'm giving you a chance to experience the benefits of being a woman!" Bai Xue winked playfully and giggled as she finished speaking.

"Can I refuse this benefit?" Zhang Fang felt aggrieved and somewhat unwilling to accept being suppressed by three beautiful women for no reason.

"No way!" the three beauties said in unison.

"Okay, I'll give up this role. I'll play a male immortal, and he'll be a guy!" Zhang Fang's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and he gave everyone a smug look.

"No way, I've got the male immortal character!" Tian Hai, who had been silent until now, couldn't help but speak up as his character was about to be snatched away: "I know you like playing with men, I didn't fight you for it, so don't try to fight me for it either!"

"Needless to say, the male demon is definitely reserved too!" Zhang Fang glanced around, saw Du Xinpeng nodding with a smile, and then lowered his head in frustration!

Just as everyone was gloating over their successful scheme, Zhang Fang suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Wait a minute, including Sister Luo Mei, there are six of us in total. A team can only have a maximum of five people, so we can't have one person left out!"

"That is a problem. Games aren't fun if you don't play with friends! Playing alone is definitely not good. Can we form another team?" Lao You seriously considered this question.

"Xiang Fei, Dong Lu, you two play too. If either of you is busy, someone else can run two or three instances. Our computers can handle it!" Qian Luomei was really going all out to play the game well, even dragging her employees into it. Before the two could answer, she thought for a moment and decided to go all the way: "Lao You, go and call Xiangzi and Wang Haoming down!"

"Sister Luo Mei, your boss really treats employees well, even leading the way in playing games. Maybe I should come work for you too!" Zhang Fang said with a grin.

"Young master, please spare your older sister! If your bureau chief father finds out you're working at my internet cafe, how am I supposed to do business? Focus on your studies, have fun, why are you working in college! Even if you want to work, go somewhere else, I won't take you here!"

Zhang Fang shook his head helplessly: "Fine! I can choose not to work for you, but I absolutely refuse to take the man's role in the second team!"

"Fine, here you go. You're acting crazy over a game. Nobody on this team is going to take it from you!" Dong Lu shoved Zhang Fang dismissively, then turned to Qian Luomei with a troubled expression: "Sister Luomei, you know I'm not good at games, and I don't like them! I'll play with you guys, but don't think I'm bad!"

"It's okay, just create a character with your account. You can learn it slowly. If you don't have time, I'll play for you!" After saying this, Qian Luomei waved her hand and refused Xiang Fei, who was approaching her and about to speak, saying, "Forget about you. A grown man can't even learn how to play a game? Figure it out yourself. I won't help you!" Xiang Fei swallowed hard and swallowed his words.

As they were talking, Xiangzi and Wang Haoming came downstairs. They were both very excited to hear that they were going to play games together. You could even see a strange green light in Wang Haoming's eyes.

Next, Qian Luomei announced a decision that made everyone cheer: internet cafe employees could use the computers for free when there were no available machines, but this couldn't interfere with customers' use. Other team members would receive a 20% discount when using the computers, basically just covering costs. Then, everyone assigned game characters and excitedly began their gaming adventures on the computers.

Xiang Fei remained seated in front of the computer at the front desk. This computer had better specs anyway, so playing games shouldn't be a problem, and it wouldn't interfere with his work. Xiang Fei knew absolutely nothing about online games; he didn't even know how to register an account or create a character. But exploring the unknown was in every young person's nature.

Xiang Fei quickly applied for an account and created a character by searching online and figuring it out himself.

The little character on your computer follows the mouse, sometimes moving slowly, sometimes running, just like a puppet you control. But it levels up, its attributes increase, it gains cool magical skills, and it has pets that are either cute or fierce... As your character levels up, you'll have a larger area to roam, more game content, and more online friends.

Achieving goals step by step and growing stronger little by little gives players an indescribable sense of accomplishment. Gradually, people develop a sense of identification with the game character on the computer, and the game character becomes "me".

"Hey! You're already playing? You're pretty quick at it!" Dong Lu appeared behind Xiang Fei without anyone noticing.

"Of course! Look at me, I've already left the starting village and come to Chang'an! I'm level 10 already. How about you, Dong Lu?"

"What level? The new server hasn't even opened yet, we haven't even started playing. Bai Xue just registered an account for me! You're having a blast playing on the old server! But it's no use, we'll have to create a new character and start all over again on the new server!"

"Ugh, I have to start all over again? I finally got to level 10!"

"It wasn't a wasted trip; at least you know how to get into the game now! It's almost 10 o'clock, remember to enter the new server, it's called 'Yin Shang Ancient Capital,' and be there promptly at 10 o'clock, otherwise you might not be able to get in! Every time a new server opens, the servers are overloaded!"

"Miss Dong, it seems you know more than I do! You've never played this before, so how do you know so much!"

"Never eaten pork, but haven't you seen pigs run? Alright, you'd better get ready. They were worried you wouldn't know how to play and might log into the wrong server, so they specifically sent me over to tell you. I should go now! Let's go!"

"Hey, Dong Lu, is Bai Xue in Team One or Team Two?" Xiang Fei asked casually.

"Team One, the team that includes me and Sister Luo Mei. She's a total game addict, she practically wants to be glued to the game!" Dong Lu said, then realized something was off and asked warily, "What are you trying to do?"

"It's nothing, I was just asking!"

"It's fine as long as it's nothing. Even if it were something, it wouldn't be anything. There are plenty of guys chasing after Xiaoxue; you're not even in the running! One hug and you're already having all sorts of fantasies?"

"No, I was just asking to see who our second team members are. Don't make wild guesses!" Xiang Fei said, but a blush crept onto his face.

Dong Lu stopped talking, smiled, patted Xiang Fei twice, and turned to walk towards the internet area. She alternated between walking and running, revealing a section of her smooth calves between her capri pants and white sneakers.

At 10:00 AM sharp, the internet cafe became quite noisy. It turned out that there were more than just these two teams waiting to enter the new server. Everyone was shouting, yelling, laughing, and cursing because they couldn't get into the game, couldn't find teammates, and were struggling with character names!

Whether it's a real-life card game or an online game on a computer, only when you take it seriously and develop a sense of identification with it will you care about the various gains and losses in the game, and feel sad, angry, or happy about them.

As an observer, you can ignore, despise, or even scorn those passionate internet addicts in front of their computers, and be indifferent to the games, their items, storylines, dungeons, and pets. But once you start playing, and experience the fun of the game through in-depth understanding, you will start to care about the gains and losses. When more people care, a virtual world is formed.

The game features various interactions and exchanges, leading to friendships or enmities. It's common to see friends hunting down enemies, sometimes escalating into large-scale brawls and factional conflicts – a truly thrilling spectacle! These conflicts further motivate players to level up and become stronger. Demand creates a market, leading to the trading of in-game items. This trading gave rise to virtual currency. However, earning virtual currency is too slow, and the game has its share of wealthy players, resulting in the exchange of real money for virtual currency.

Exchanging RMB for game currency might seem unbelievable to many. But RMB isn't anything special; it's just that it's accepted by over a billion people, so it can be used to buy things—it's simply currency exchange.