I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

My reaction speed is higher than everyone else's, I can calculate their movements faster than others, and I can understand their actions faster than others. No matter what methods others use, if I can't defeat that meaningless code, then I will do my best to surpass those who can.

No matter it is a high-end configuration or a worthless broken computer, as long as it can run smoothly, the character in my hand will not be beaten by the opponent.

The leaping characters, the constantly released skills...the interaction of various information, every competition makes me feel extremely fulfilled, and I even forget the existence of time.

Although I type slowly, I'm perfectly able to remember the key positions when I'm operating. I have to admit, the human body is truly strange... well, whatever. All I pursue is pure victory. While there are many players who hold ideologies that contradict this, that has nothing to do with me.

So whenever I come across theories like "This is how you play games," I silently curse those people for being idiotic. They're just the kind of people who think everyone is right, with no fixed criteria of their own. They must be incredibly boring in real life.

...I'm not particularly likable in real life either. But what does it matter? I don't like anyone in real life anyway. The women around me hold no appeal at all, even though this is the time when love blossoms... If possible, please let me fall in love with a game.

"Wow...are you up all night again?"

"Yeah." Whenever I dragged my tired body to the classroom before six o'clock, my deskmate sitting next to me would always greet me symbolically.

"What about the battle results?" he asked with great interest.

"I only lost two games tonight..." He paused, "I should be able to reach Diamond I soon."

"You really work hard." He couldn't help but sigh.

"...It's just that the direction of the effort is different."

They scrambled for their classroom textbooks, while I pored over a two-year-old, incredibly popular game. Perhaps it was the mechanics, or perhaps it was the promise of absolutely no cheats... Anyway, I was completely addicted, so much so that even my dreams often depicted me playing games in internet cafes.

...Parents? Ah, my parents are very concerned about my grades, but due to work, no one is home at night. As for exams and the like... if you cram at the last minute, you can still get decent grades. According to my parents, even if I can't get into a top-tier university, I can at least get into a second- or third-tier university.

As for what happens after I finish my studies? Who knows.

How will playing games now help me later in life? ...These aren't questions a high school student like me should be pondering. Compared to their outlandish relationships and even the occasional prostitution of their bodies, my actions, simply wasting my youth in a hypocritical way, are quite healthy and normal.

People who only focus on appearances, who judge right and wrong based on results... No matter how much I tell them about the benefits of gaming, they always argue that a student's primary task is to learn. But I'm learning, too—learning how to last-hit, clear waves, control lanes, and farm junglers. I even have to memorize monster spawn times and predict opponent movements, calculate summoner spell timings, and even make real-time decisions about which moves to perform. These are no easier than learning formulas or vocabulary.

We're just putting our efforts in different directions, so why should one side be able to dictate to the other? Is it just because learning is mainstream? Or is it society's approval? Tsk, I don't care about that.

All I want is victory and honor, even if it seems fake to others. But even if it's something that exists in reality, what future can I have if I can't grasp it myself? At least I can still have those so-called fake realities.

No need of persuasion, I have already decided to be a useless person who can do nothing for society.

【Meet】 Long time no see, but you are still calm

The reason for my unusually ample living expenses was that I replaced breakfast with dreams every morning. Not only was the school's teaching quality excellent, but the food in the cafeteria was also quite good. With free refills of rice, I could eat a very full meal for less than ten yuan... which was quite satisfying for someone like me with a small appetite.

The only thing I found uncomfortable about school was not being able to lie down to sleep. I occasionally attended classes that interested me, but simply skipped classes I wasn't interested in, like math and English. Since I sat in the back, no one really bothered me except when the dean came around. I could even watch some tutorial videos on my phone.

Evening self-study often lasts until 9 p.m., and most high school students return home exhausted and rested. But since I've been resting and recuperating, I don't have to worry about that at all; my brain is actually incredibly active during this time.

After rewarding myself with a snack, I walked into the internet cafe near the school. Generally speaking, such places would not refuse high school students to enter unless someone reported them.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time. Why are you here so late?" A classmate who plays the same game as me greeted me.

"I'm not like you guys who can skip classes every day. I don't know why the teacher is watching me so closely." It was as if I was told by my parents that no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't be allowed to.

"Are you going to get points today too?"

"Of course." The only benefit of interacting with him was that I could get rid of him and help me grab a seat. Although the popularity of the internet cafe was not very high at night, the business of the internet cafe would become extremely hot during the school's free time.

"When can you take me with you~" "When you are one level lower than me."

"Don't say that, you can also open a new account." "Opening a new account requires starting from scratch with heroes and runes. I don't want to waste my time on that."

"But isn't it nice to beat weak players? It should be easy for you to beat those newbies."

"It's because it's easy that I don't want to do it."

Never fight a weasel. Fighting someone of lower skill level will not benefit you, whether you win or lose, and may even cause your skill to decline.

"I really don't understand you..." He just chatted with me for a few words and then focused his attention on his game again.

"..." Haha, let alone him, I actually don't understand my own thoughts at all. Anyway, at this stage, I just need games.

If I can't quit this crappy game called life, at least I can still have my own character in the virtual world.

"..."

"Hmm?" Someone suddenly sat down next to me. I paid a little attention and saw that they were also young, but of a different gender than me, a girl with brown hair.

There are so many seats around, why does he have to sit next to me... I hope he is not a troublesome guy.

"..."

After a fierce battle lasting for forty minutes, victory finally fell into my hands. Now I only need two wins to advance from the second level to the first level.

"You had a good time." The girl sitting next to me suddenly spoke to me.

"...It's okay." I'll be modest for a moment..

"Actually, I'm playing too, if that's okay..."

Ah, in this case, I'm supposed to help her win without any effort, right? While this viewpoint might seem disrespectful to women... But, girls probably aren't that interested in this kind of game. Even if they do play it, it's probably just because it's popular, so they're just following the trend... Their skills aren't really up to par.

"this..."

"Can you play a solo with me?"

I was thinking about how to refuse, and was slightly shocked by this sudden remark.

"...Ah?" I still suspected that I had heard it wrong.

"I'm not challenging you for nothing. If you can win two games in a row, it will be considered an official victory."

"..." What on earth is this kind of super expansion... "Why do I have to fight you in a one-on-one duel? Besides, this kind of team game... just having experience in laning alone is a bit..."

"If you win, I will obey any of your requests." She suddenly interrupted my polite refusal with this sentence.

“..Even if you say so…”

Damn it, my eyes unconsciously began to examine her figure. Honestly, that kind of body, still in its developmental stages... Wait, is she still in middle school? But, there was something strangely familiar about it.

"You're not popular with girls anyway, are you? You don't like dressing up and you don't care about your appearance at all."

"Oh wow, you're so bold! Well, since you're determined to provoke me, then come on!"

My pride was inexplicably hurt, so I finally spent my gaming time on a boring one-on-one duel. And my opponent was a middle school girl who I thought was completely incompetent.

"..." After I win, I will make you say loudly in front of everyone, I'm sorry, Brother Sheji.

"Huh, too naive..."

After a brief consumption in the early stage, when the level reached level three, relying on the high burst of the assassin and the two displacements within the flash, I killed the character she controlled effortlessly.

“..Oh, not bad.”

"There's one more game left, and you're about to apologize for what you said." Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was extremely excited inside.

"Don't be impatient~"

.........

Relying on multiple displacements to move freely among the soldiers, and the ronin setting of controlling the wind, with no mana consumption limit and a passive that doubles the critical strike, this hero is simply designed for technical players.

This was not discussed beforehand, but after the selection, both sides found out that the heroes were the same.

"Oh wow, what a coincidence." She couldn't help but sigh.

"...Hehe." Soon she couldn't sigh anymore.

However, just as I was thinking this, I suddenly noticed something wrong during the laning phase.

As if anticipating my movements, she accurately predicted where I was going and landed her skills, even after I'd changed direction multiple times. And whether she was charging forward or retreating as I prepared to counterattack, she seemed to be even quicker than I was, a stark difference from the first time. And in all the games I've played, I've never had anyone give me this kind of pressure.

"...What's going on..."

Did she deliberately lose to me the first time? Was she demanding two consecutive wins so she could familiarize herself with my playstyles? Including where I tend to release skills, my preferred retreat direction, my chances of making a mistake at low health, and so on. Could she possibly have gathered so much information in just the short time of the first round?

"You're just imagining nonsense~"

"...!" Just as I was hesitating, I was suddenly knocked away by her powerful whirlwind slash.

"SoleYageiToen——!!"

Accompanied by the iconic lines and igniting sound effects, the remaining health was reduced to zero when the skill ended and landed.

"..." I lost. On the other hand, I only reduced the opponent's health by one third.

"So it's one to one? Do you want more?"

"..." Honestly, I was a little scared of this girl. Even though I had no concrete evidence, my intuition told me that I couldn't possibly beat her at the moment. "I... I still have qualifying matches to play, so I won't waste my time on you."

"..ran away?"

"No way!" Why is this guy so unpleasant? He's exactly like a girl I know.

"Hahaha, after all this time, you still haven't changed." She was amused for some reason and said this to me.

"Eh?" After such a long time... Wait a minute, "You, could it be..."

"You still haven't recognized me after all this time? Well, never mind, I'm getting prettier and prettier. Right, bro~"

"...ah."

I remembered. I'd always thought she was quite troublesome, but I also admired the potential hidden in her little head... My sister, while cute and sweet to others, was a completely indescribable creature to me.

That’s right, that feeling was not an illusion, but because she was here in person.

"Are you... Ye Jin?"

"Yes, it's me." She seemed very happy to see that I recognized her. "Brother, you are enjoying the game. I am really glad to see you."

"I can't laugh when you say that."

...

People often believe that whether something is done well or poorly depends on the amount of time invested. They often mistakenly believe that those with excellent grades devote all their time to studying, while those with poor grades simply don't study at all. However, if the world were truly that simple, then there would be no need for all kinds of knowledge.

So I believe that the world's development is not driven by the seven billion people in the world, but by a small number of geniuses. As for why I came to this conclusion, it probably happened when I was a child.

Here I have to mention the little girl who is still in her infancy. Although she has not yet developed the habit of hurting others with hurtful words, she can already see more than I do.

While I was staring at "Olympus" on the TV screen and lamenting the unnecessary act of Icarus flying towards the sun, she shed tears.

"Is it really that touching?" I asked back, feeling strange.

"...I'm just sad."

"...Um?"

"Why should those who try to touch the sun be laughed at?"

Along with the others, Wan Hu was also ridiculed. The guy who tied gunpowder to a chair and tried to land on the moon but ended up getting blown up... In the eyes of modern people, their actions were completely stupid and impossible.

"..Because their ideas are unrealistic...right?" I responded in this way according to other people's thoughts. In my opinion at that time, Ye Jin was still young.

"...That's because now everyone knows how to fly into the sky and touch the sun. But no one knew it back then."

"..."

"It's been so long since we first tried to fly." Her tone seemed full of helplessness. "What did those people who laughed at them do?"

"..."

In this world, most people achieve nothing, but there are many who hope to stand out.

“So, it’s really great that there are geniuses in the world.”

She sighed and gently rested her head on my arm.

If the world were filled with people who lived day by day, hustling for a living, it would be utterly dull. Without transcendent geniuses, there wouldn't be all the entertainment we have today... Before I knew it, I was beginning to share the same sentiment.

"It's great that there are geniuses in the world."

I don't harbor any jealousy or envy, nor do I expect myself to surpass the ordinary. All I need is to know that those people will explore the so-called possibilities on behalf of all of humanity. It's precisely because of these geniuses that I can accept my mediocrity with peace of mind. It doesn't matter if I'm mediocre, or even a little useless, right? After all, as long as there are geniuses in this world, things will continue to get better.

I can't live up to my family's expectations, because geniuses are never expected to achieve anything. They're solitary yet earnest, their ideas often met with disapproval, yet they're praised when they materialize. Whenever I try to do something, someone stops me, telling me, "That's not the path of success." Isn't that right? So what? If there really were a path to success, wouldn't there be no distinction between success and failure? If there were only success, wouldn't that be boring? Why do children understand things that adults don't?

"Because adults are just children who have grown up."

“..Ah, is that so?”

"That's right, that's right. When people grow up, no one will tell them whether something is right or wrong, so they will judge it based on their own opinions. Then they will impose these ideas on their children. So you don't have to listen to everything the elders say. Because everyone makes mistakes, so if you only listen to others, you will always make mistakes."

Are mistakes in life inevitable? Then at least let me bear the consequences of my own actions, rather than following someone else's advice and going astray. I should regret my own actions, not sow seeds of hatred in others.

In short, the reason why I chose my favorite game was largely due to Ye Jin's words. Anyway, I can't make the world turn, and I don't have any talent, so why can't I choose what I like?

"But, Ye Jin, why are you here?"

I decided not to dwell on the past for now. What concerned me more was why she had suddenly appeared, having not been in touch with me for so long since junior high school.