Quadruple split.

Chapter 2364 Those who stayed behind during the long vacation

Real time AM09:30
S City, Red Constellation Club 2F, Restaurant

"Jiujiu!"

Hanmei, who was struggling with the two pieces of fried eggs with coptis root in front of her, widened her eyes and stared blankly at her colleague who looked like a junior high school student but was older than her, and said in surprise: "I'm late!?"

Since there was no one around, there was no need to tiptoe to make the soles of his shoes touch the ground. Kunou smiled and said happily, "Meimei, are you confused? Didn't you work overtime for the entire National Day holiday because of [Confrontation]? Counting the three days of review and reflection, today is the first day of the long holiday for domestic professional players."

"So—"

Hanmei put down her chopsticks and asked Jiuchong in confusion, "It's the first day of the holiday, why are you in the cafeteria? I remember you booked a ticket back home a long time ago, so you should be on the plane by now!"

Jiuzhong took a piece of cold-mixed isatis root with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, and said casually: "I changed my flight to tomorrow night."

"Not that much."

Hanmei pulled the corner of her mouth and said helplessly: "It's just an update. It's not like you can't play games in your hometown. As for directly reducing your vacation by two days? Can't we discuss it online if there is anything?"

Jiuchong drank a mouthful of the deer antler and bitter melon soup, frowned slightly and said, "It's so bitter..."

"Who told you not to run? The old man thought we were all gone. This week's menu is designed to eat our boss to death."

Hanmei glanced at the figure behind the window at the end of the cafeteria with lingering fear, and lowered her voice and said, "How about... Jiujiu, you should eat less. I'll drive you to Xianxia Road to have some Japanese food in the evening. We finally have a day off, so let's not eat too much."

But Jiu Chong shook his head gently, and said with a pale face: "No need, the food made by the old man is good for the body regardless of the taste."

"It must be like this normally, but is there such a possibility..."

Hanmei looked at Jiuchong's bowl of deer antler bitter melon soup with wolfberries with lingering fear, and said dryly: "Although he doesn't say it, the old man who really wants to be a grandfather in his heart has put in all the 'explosive ingredients' when formulating this week's menu?"

Jiuchong's face froze, and he put down the spoon calmly, his voice trembling a little: "Could it be... could it be..."

"Yes, a lot of nourishment."

Hanmei coughed lightly and said with a twitching mouth: "I've taken deer antler and wolfberry so early in the morning. I can't even think about what to eat at night. It's one thing that this thing tastes bad, but aren't you afraid of having a heavy bleeding when you get your period next time?"

Jiuzhong shuddered, and his eyes suddenly became firm: "I'll treat you to Japanese food tonight."

"Okay, please."

Given that the income of top professional gamers is very astonishing, Hanmei naturally would not be polite to her good sister who also received an extra coaching salary. She just half-jokingly complained: "But Jiujiu, it's really a loss for you to stay here quietly. At least apply for two days of overtime. We are offering triple pay for overtime during the National Day holiday."

Jiuzhong smiled as he ate the isatis root in small bites, and said softly, "No need to apply. Even if I actively refuse, the boss will definitely find a way to increase my salary later."

"That's true. Uh, this is the first time I know that Coptis chinensis can be used to scramble eggs..."

Hanmei nodded, then let out a long sigh toward the sky, lowered her head with a sad expression, and ate obediently.

It's not that the deputy captain of the Red Constellation knows the rules very well, but mainly because there are only her and Jiuchong in the huge cafeteria at the moment. Even if they speak in a low voice, it is difficult for the old man behind the window who no one can afford to offend to hear them. Besides, Hanmei is a relative of the old man, so if she really makes the latter unhappy, she will be the one who is in trouble. Jiuchong doesn't like to talk while eating, so the two of them finished their "breakfast" in silence and fled to the public lounge on the third floor like a flash.

And when the two girls pushed the door and walked into the common room which should have been empty, they found that there were people inside, and more than one!
"Hello, Vice Captain, hello, Sister Jiuzhong!"

The tall and handsome young man who was the main force of the Red Constellation Team 2 and whose game name was [Scarlet Prince], immediately stood up and bowed politely to Hanmei and Jiuzhong, which scared the two of them.

"Yo~"

The senior professional player 'Scavenger' who was also playing a supporting role in the Red Constellation Team 2 raised his hand lazily and greeted them. Seeing him sitting in the middle of the sofa with his legs crossed, it was obvious that he had no intention of getting up and exchanging pleasantries with these two nominal 'superiors'.

"Xiao Fei?"

Jiu Chong blinked in surprise and asked curiously, "Why are you here? I remember the boss took you to find Xuanyuan Xian yesterday morning..."

"Cough cough!"

The Scarlet Prince, who always goes by the name 'Yuan Fei', coughed heavily twice, interrupted Jiu Chong's words and said awkwardly: "Well, the boss did take me home yesterday, but I stayed for a day and then took a plane back."

Kunou: “…Huh?”

Hanmei, who also knew the Scarlet Prince inside and out, smacked her lips, walked lazily to the former, raised her hand and rubbed the boy's hair vigorously, and said earnestly: "Listen, kid, when you are my age, you will know that family is more important than worrying about unnecessary things."

The Scarlet Prince looked at Hanmei blankly, and said with an awkward expression: "Um... Vice Captain, what do you mean by worrying about?"

"What else?"

Hanmei rolled her eyes, grabbed a handful of melon seeds from her pocket and started cracking them, saying leisurely, "Of course it's about the large-scale upgrade of the [Realm of Innocence]. I know you've done well in Team 2, and I know you've heard the reason why Broken Wind Bird summoned us to work together, but this is not your turn to think about it, or even your turn to Captain Xinglong, who you admire so much. Everyone has their own expertise. This kind of troublesome matter is something that Jiujiu, the manager and others need to consider."

Scarlet Prince: “…Ah?”

"To put it more clearly, it is——"

Hanmei glanced at the Scarlet Prince calmly, and said in a cold tone: "You are not qualified, you don't have the vision, and you don't have the ability to think about those things, so go home and be with your parents, it makes me upset."

"Well, I think you must have misunderstood, Vice Captain!"

Although he was a bit arrogant, the Scarlet Prince was always respectful and polite in front of his seniors who could convince him. He finally reacted and waved his hand and said, "I came back because my parents are going to visit Guanghan Station. They should be at the launch base now. Although they wanted to take me with them, this trip will take at least half a month, and seven days of vacation is not enough!"

Hanmei: “…Huh?”

"It's not that I can't take a leave, but I have no interest in that kind of visit. And even though I'm the main player of the second team now, if I AFK (Away From Keyboard/literally translated as 'hands off the keyboard', also often used to describe the situation where I can't play the game permanently or for a long time) [Boundary of Innocence] for half a month, I will probably fall behind."

The Crimson Prince smiled awkwardly and explained awkwardly, "So I told my parents that I would go back to see them during the New Year's Day holiday and came back first. It just so happens that Brother Scavenger lives in S City, so I asked him to accompany me for a while, go out for a walk during the day, and do some special training in the game at night. The early bird catches the worm."

"Are you a stupid bird?"

Hanmei, who knew very well that the Scarlet Prince was extremely talented in playing games, said this subconsciously.

"Compared with the seniors in the main team, I'm not really that fast." The Scarlet Prince touched the tip of his nose and replied modestly, but also realistically.

"No, wait a minute!"

Han Mei, who finally understood the whole story, twitched her lips and said dryly, "So what you mean is that because you didn't want to go to space with your parents, you flew back to S City for vacation, and then you asked Comrade Scavenger, who lives here, to be your third companion?"

The scavenger, who was also untidy, strong, and unkempt outside the game, got anxious and shouted, "What the hell is this, a three-companion thing?!"

"Eat, drink and play with me."

Hanmei choked the scavenger back with a casual remark, and then asked thoughtfully: "Why don't you just take Xiaofei to live with you? Anyway, it's a holiday now, and you don't have to punch in for work."

"Because the club lets you stay even when you're on holiday and provides meals... Well, even if providing meals is a minus point, we can still go out to eat, and I don't have to pay for electricity, water, internet, and gas. I don't have to clean the place either. There are free drinks, snacks, and a gym. Even the mosquito coils in the dormitory are replaced by an auntie. It's less than 30 minutes away from the largest shopping mall in S City."

The scavenger counted on his fingers for about a hundred words, then looked up and asked Hanmei, "So why should I go home and live instead of staying in the club like this guy?"

Hanmei: "Fuck, what you said makes a lot of sense!"

"anyway……"

Jiuchong, who had been standing beside Hanmei and listening gently since a while ago, finally spoke with a gentle smile on his face: "Xiaofei, when did you become so close to Brother Shendao?"

"Uh, this is it."

The Crimson Prince, who had always been annoyed with the scavengers' habitual absences and laziness in training due to their seniority, scratched his cheek and said awkwardly, "It's just to clear up some misunderstandings, um, misunderstandings."

"Let me translate it."

The Scavenger grinned and said cheerfully, "After the game, this kid thought I had some truth in what I said, but he also thought I was just bragging, so he insisted on fighting me. After being beaten up by me, he became obedient."

The Crimson Prince nodded with a wry smile, but he didn't feel ashamed. After all, he was beaten to death by the Scavenger without any injury, so to say "bloody slaughter" was actually an understatement.

In addition, after he returned home, he asked his father who was very familiar with the [Red Constellation] about the "Scavenger". After learning some old information, this immature new generation professional player wanted to slap himself to death, so that his attitude after seeing him again was like a different person.

Of course, he knew that Jiuchong and Hanmei, the two active veterans, must know that the 'Scavenger' was a legendary master who had apparently retired, but since no one had mentioned this matter, he naturally would not be stupid enough to 'help' others to poke the window paper.

"I see."

Jiuchong pulled Hanmei to sit on the sofa opposite them, nodded slightly, and said with a smile: "You two have worked hard."

At the other party's signal, the Crimson Prince sat back down next to the Scavenger and shook his head like a rattle, repeatedly saying, "No, no, it should be the seniors who are working hard."

"Take a break. You keep repeating the same old things over and over again."

The scavenger waved his hand in disdain, and then after the Scarlet Prince shut up obediently, he raised his eyebrows at Jiuchong and Hanmei and said, "So, were you two kept here? Or were you stupid enough to stay and work overtime on your own initiative?"

"I live in the neighborhood next door, and I come here to inspect the site during the day."

Hanmei chuckled, then raised her finger and pointed at Jiuchong: "She is really stupid."

Jiuzhong did not refute, but just asked the scavenger calmly: "What impact do you think today's upgrade will have?"

“At first glance, it seems to give ordinary players the opportunity to participate in the mission, but in fact, it is legitimizing the advantages of our clubs and studios in the name of the ‘brigade’. It is better to say that this looks more like a form of support. After all, the ‘brigade’, a feature that appeared in the last upgrade, has never had much presence.”

The scavenger casually opened a can of beer, took two sips and continued, "But you have to be careful, this will also encourage other players to set up irregular but potentially very troublesome online organizations. Guilds like the [Bath of Fire] would be weird in a normal game, but in the [Realm of Innocence]... Heh, just look at the [Guilt Debate] and you'll know. The time when ordinary players let us bully them is over."

Jiuzhong nodded slightly and said seriously, "It's similar to what I thought. I feel that this upgrade will be the beginning of a mainstream trend for players to join or establish various organizations. In addition, it's not easy to be a lone ranger... For us, it's an opportunity, but also a challenge."

"Also, consider hiring a part-time worker."

The scavenger put down the beer can, raised his hand and pointed it at Kunou, and said with a smile: "This game cannot rely on 'gaming talents' alone. I think it's time to recruit some design students to do tailoring, civil engineering students to build houses, and chemistry students to play alchemy."

“We are already recruiting, but the results are not very good.”

Hanmei sighed and said helplessly: "We don't want those with poor skills, and those with high skills don't look down on part-time jobs. Even if they are willing to come, the same money is almost enough to hire two high-level NPCs. It's difficult."

The scavenger chuckled and gave a thumbs-up in a gloating manner: "Come on!"

"Dear piglet, kiss the sole of my boot, stop thinking and leave everything to me, your master."

The next moment, along with Xueyin's sweet and innocent voice, Hanmei's cell phone began to flash at a high frequency.

"Shit, I forgot to mute myself during the holidays..."

Sensing the subtle looks from the two men, Han Mei immediately cursed in a low voice, then quickly picked up the phone -

"Hello? Yeah, yes, I'm here, Jiujiu is here too. Hey, I knew there must be a meeting. What? Not an internal meeting? There are other meetings? Are you guys all working overtime to get three times the salary from their boss? Okay, okay, got it. Jiujiu and I will be there in a while."

"Tsk tsk, goodbye, both of you."

"Hmph, do you two want to come along? I'm sure the manager won't mind."

"Forget it. It's useless for this kid to go. As for me, I have other things to do."

"what's up?"

"pray."

"Pray for what?"

"I pray that the title the system gives me after I go online tonight won't be too ostentatious~"

Chapter 2355: The End

(End of this chapter)