I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"You!" Shen Xi was a little annoyed.

"Teacher Shen, why are you questioning my character again? I was just telling the truth. Look into my sincere eyes if you don't believe me." The boy opened his eyes wide.

"Excuse me, all I saw was the despicable, hypocritical look in his eyes." Shen Xi sneered and walked forward.

"Sigh, stereotypes." The boy followed along.

"Cheng Fei, Cheng Fei, you guys sound like you're from the martial arts world. Are you old friends with him?" Zhou Han, who had been hiding, reappeared, her steps light and quick.

"We're not really friends, just acquaintances. He's the president of the Starry Sky Guild, and he used to be very powerful. As for me, uh, I'm involved with various guilds." The boy nodded to himself.

"It's a pity that now I'm a wanted criminal that all the major guilds want to kill. No wonder they always told me to stay away from those big guilds." Shen Xi sneered.

"Teacher Shen, what do you mean by 'wanted criminal'? They're the ones who can't handle the game. They fought each other to the end while fighting the boss. I was just acting according to circumstances. I'm completely innocent. Thank you." The boy spoke righteously and firmly.

“Exactly, exactly. I think so too. When you play games, if you lose, you should accept it. What kind of hero holds a grudge against you?” Zhou Han nodded repeatedly, getting closer and closer to the boy.

Shen Xi turned around and narrowed her eyes.

The petite girl's pupils contracted, and she subtly shifted her gaze, slowing her pace slightly as she awkwardly continued, "Um, by the way, why is he called Big Whale?"

"Because his ID is 'Crying Whale'," the boy said nonchalantly.

"Wow, that's quite a contrast." Zhou Han nodded.

The Corridor Research Department, along with a team composed of multiple guilds, arrived at their new objective: a runaway mechanical foundry hidden deep within the underground world.

Compared to the previous battle led by Foundation players, this battle, commanded by the Starry Night Guild, was much more organized.

During the battle, Cheng Fei once again had Nagasaki Asuna use [Hymn of the Goddess of Life]. The sweet girl with long pink hair raised her staff high and hummed an unknown tune. Green healing beams meandered and connected everyone. This scene shocked even the veteran players of the Starry Sky Guild.

926. Members of the Foundation

The battle that lasted all morning came to an end. Thanks to Nagasaki Asuna's presence, the players returned with a full load after paying only a small price.

The first floor of the corridor features a sky garden.

"Thank you for your cooperation. My deputy will coordinate the distribution of the spoils, and we will try our best to ensure fairness. That's all for today," the Great Whale announced to everyone.

Scattered applause broke out as a way of thanking the Starry Night Guild for their diligent command.

Zhou Han clapped her hands lightly, blinked her round eyes, and exclaimed, "It feels like this kind of teamwork between guilds is pretty good."

Cheng Fei watched from the sidelines, shaking his head and sighing, "Ideals are certainly good, but unfortunately, reality will betray us sooner or later."

"Why betray us? Wouldn't it be better if everyone just played games happily?" the petite girl asked, puzzled.

"Large guilds like Starry Sky are only interested in the final boss's loot. Working together now is no problem, but they won't hold back when the time comes." The boy smacked his lips, a look of reminiscence on his face.

"That despicable Cheng Feiyu is trying to vouch for himself again," Shen Xi sneered from the side.

"Teacher Shen, what does 'endorsing' mean? As long as the rewards for killing are high enough, players will inevitably kill each other. The Corridor is such a game. If you want to get the limited-edition weapon, I advise you to abandon those kind and cute ideas as soon as possible. Let's start studying our opponents from now on." The boy said seriously.

"Excuse me, I was only emphasizing Cheng Feiyu's despicable nature." Shen Xi tossed her hair, her face full of disdain.

"I get it, it's a sign of unrequited love." The boy suddenly realized.

Shen Xi was stunned for a moment, then frowned slightly and kicked him, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

……

At noon, the Corridor Research Department temporarily went offline.

To save time, Cheng Fei ordered takeout and ate with Shen Xi and Nagasaki Asuna.

"I just ordered this for you two, please enjoy." The young man placed two small portions of glutinous rice balls in front of them.

"Eh, what's this?" Nagasaki Asuna's eyes widened slightly, her previously listless eyes regaining their liveliness.

"Why did you suddenly order this for us?" Shen Xi asked suspiciously.

"Just to reach the minimum order amount." The boy ate his fried noodles nonchalantly.

Next to her, Nagasaki Asuna scooped one up and put it in her mouth. As she chewed, she closed her eyes slightly with a happy feeling, as if the gloom of being cheated on (self-description) had been swept away.

Shen Xi caught a glimpse of this scene, seemed to understand something, gritted her teeth in displeasure, and threw down the spoon, "Trash, so it was just to appease your vixen, I don't want to eat anymore."

"Teacher Shen, please don't do this. I ordered red bean paste for you, I'm sure you'll like it." The boy clasped his hands together with a devout expression.

The aloof girl glanced at him, took a deep breath, and picked up the spoon again with a hint of displeasure. "You half-hearted trash."

She parted her pink lips slightly, bit off a small piece of the glutinous rice ball to let the filling flow out, examined it for a moment, then sniffed it with her small, twitching nose to confirm that the boy wasn't lying before reluctantly opening her mouth to eat it.

The boy admired the slight puffing of her cheeks as she tasted it, but was immediately glared at fiercely and turned away, ignoring him.

As they both began to eat, the cold war atmosphere that had started that morning barely dissipated.

"I love you two," the boy said casually, eating his fried noodles as if nothing had happened.

"Huh?" Nagasaki Asuna looked up, blinking blankly at first, then tilting her head and giving a friendly smile. "Yes~"

Shen Xi frowned immediately, looking puzzled. Seeing that the boy was keeping his head down and not explaining, she kicked him hard under the table. When he still didn't react, she could only continue eating the glutinous rice balls with extreme disgust, as if the brown filling contained something disgusting like cockroaches.

The three of them sat quietly at the dining table, seemingly no different from usual.

……

After lunch break, Shen Xi gathered everyone to go back online.

The Corridor Research Department was already used to this high-intensity, militarized game style (Cheng Fei's comment). Only Kato Ai was not quite used to it yet, but the naive girl would secretly be excited whenever she saw a certain boy, so it was fine.

In the afternoon battle, the Corridor Research Department worked together with the Foundation players, and the team ventured deeper into the underground world.

The gloomy girl named Iris reappeared, carrying a giant scythe, and came to Nagasaki Asuna. Her eyes were filled with suppressed eagerness, and her tone was stammering, "Asuna, you, hello, it's been a long time."

"Hello." Nagasaki Asuna, who was in a good mood because she had eaten tangyuan (sweet rice balls) for lunch, gave a polite smile.

"Elise, it's been a long time!" Miriam appeared between the two in a flash.

"Who are you?" The gloomy girl frowned.

"I am Miriam! You actually forgot?" The blonde girl's eyes widened, her anger blazing.

"Someone who doesn't know anything." Elise's expression also turned unfriendly.

"Who are you calling inexplicable? I'm Asuna's best friend!" Miriam's fist hardened.

"You're so annoying."

"You actually said I'm annoying?!"

The two, who had suddenly fallen into an argument, did not notice that Nagasaki Asuna had quietly walked away with her hands behind her back to chat with Zhou Han.

On the other side, Tang Yu brought a petite and delicate-looking female player to Cheng Fei and Shen Xi.

"Let me introduce you. This is Kalior, a senior researcher at the Foundation and a technical expert for Avalanche," the female reporter said seriously.

"Hello, I'm Kalior, the guild master of Winterhold~" The girl had long, pure golden hair and wore a small, exquisite crown. She twirled in front of the two of them, leaned forward with her legs turned inward, and showed a lively and cute smile.

Shen Xi stared at her, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

"Hello, I'm Cheng Fei." The boy next to him nodded seriously.

The Winterhold Guild is the main guild for Foundation members, and according to Tang Yu, many of its members come from Avalanche, and she herself is a member.

"Cheng Fei? Can we date?" A female player named Kalio suddenly rushed up and hugged the boy, looking up at him and blinking.

Shen Xi's pupils contracted as she watched this scene, and a chilling aura, seemingly without any source, quietly spread.

"No, I have a girlfriend." The boy remained calm, while slowly and resolutely pulling the girl player who had suddenly clung to him off him.

"Hmm~ You're not even interested in me? That's strange." Kali observed the boy's expression, tilted her head, and then stepped back.

Shen Xi took a deep breath, her face growing increasingly displeased.

Tang Yu coughed lightly, "Oh right, I forgot to explain, Kalior is a man, so don't misunderstand, this is just his weird hobby."

"A man? How could that be?" Shen Xi's chill faltered, and her brows furrowed in bewilderment.

"So he really does have a beautiful girlfriend. What a jerk." Kali turned to look at the aloof girl, then suddenly gritted his teeth. Because her features were also quite cute, it was hard to dislike her.

Cheng Fei, who had been fine just now, suddenly shivered. "Wait, if I remember correctly, the gender of the character in the Corridor is linked to the player, right?"

“Of course it’s bound to regular players, but I wrote a plugin that allows you to customize your character. How about it, want one?” Kali’s lips curled into a smile as he lowered his voice.

Despite her still-cute appearance, Cheng Fei could still detect a hint of lewdness in her (or rather, his) smile—a lewdness that only men would show when exchanging resources.

The boy suddenly understood why she looked like a cute blonde little girl.

"No need, thank you." The boy showed a polite but indifferent expression and moved closer to Shen Xi.

Cario ignored the strange looks from the two men, crossed his arms and became serious, "Actually, I came to you to find out some things."

"What is it?" Cheng Fei and Shen Xi exchanged a glance.

"What's going on with that healer in your guild?" Her gaze turned serious.

……

After some time, the team arrived at the designated combat location, with the objective of destroying a facility and engaging in firefight with the small, out-of-control machines protecting it.

While Nagasaki Asuna used her abilities as usual, Cheng Fei and Shen Xi provided fire support for the battlefield.

"The people who were caught in the avalanche have come knocking on our door. What are we going to do now?" The aloof girl sneered, with a hint of schadenfreude.

"The corridor belongs to the great Protoss Queen. They've just usurped it. What can they do if I make up a reason?" the boy said without a hint of guilt.

The explanation he gave for Nagasaki Asuna was that she inexplicably acquired this special skill during the smuggling process, but judging from her thoughtful expression, it was probably just a perfunctory response.

"That shameless Cheng Feiyu," Shen Xi said with disdain.

While the two were chatting, something unexpected happened on the battlefield ahead.

The ethereal being, covered in fragments of equipment, descended once more, launching indiscriminate attacks on players and out-of-control machines.

"Teacher Shen, Brother Youying is here again." Cheng Fei exclaimed in surprise.

“I can see it.” Shen Xi narrowed her eyes slightly, then thought for a moment, and asked in confusion, “How do you know the gender of the Shadow?”

"Uh, I just think it's pretty strong, so I call it 'brother'."

"So it's just another case of opportunism." Shen Xi ignored him.

After the shadow appeared, Elise, the strongest player among the Foundation players, once again stepped forward to fight. In the fierce clash between the two, the surrounding players all retreated.

Cheng Fei observed the battle between the two sides and couldn't help but frown. "Teacher Shen, Brother Youying's skills seem to be getting more and more profound."

"Skill?" the girl asked suspiciously.

"That means I've become stronger than before," the boy said seriously.

The ethereal beings on the battlefield kept pulling out different types of weapons to fight, clearly possessing items similar to those in a player's inventory, and moving faster than when they last appeared. It was evident that Elise's fight had become increasingly difficult.

"Do you want to go up and deal with it?" Shen Xi thought for a moment.

“No, it always runs very fast, and wouldn’t it be embarrassing if the people from the Foundation recognized me?” The boy shook his head.

"What will it become if this continues?" Shen Xi frowned.

"Who knows? Maybe Teacher Shen should give up on the limited weapon. I have a feeling that this time conquering the large portal will be very dangerous. It would be bad if we were all wiped out inside."

"Heh, Cheng Feiyu, you cowardly rat. You back down at the slightest sign of trouble." The girl sneered.

"Oh, Teacher Shen, I was just being cautious."

The battle between Shadow and Elise lasted for a long time, until one moment, the gloomy girl wielding a giant scythe became increasingly frenzied in the fierce battle, her speed of swinging the scythe suddenly increased, and she pressed closer and closer to her opponent.

Suddenly, Shadow switched equipment and fled the scene at lightning speed.

Even after the powerful enemy left, Elise did not stop fighting. She rushed into the out-of-control machinery to continue fighting. If you look closely, you will see that the girl's eyes are bloodshot and her pupils are as narrow as pinpoints, like a maddened beast.

This situation continued until the last out-of-control machine was wiped out. The gloomy girl then collapsed to her knees, panting, her eyes wide open in a daze. Foundation players came forward and helped her away.

……

In the evening, the games in the Corridor Research Department ended.

Cheng Fei, Shen Xi, and Nagasaki Asuna went to a familiar dim sum restaurant on Guang'an Street for dinner.

The owner was used to the boy's recent behavior and winked at him while taking his order.

Under the watchful eyes of the two people beside her, Nagasaki Asuna was chatting on WeChat.