Long Ming’s gaze swept across the room. The internet cafe still had a section with traditional computers for people to use.
He had to admit, even though the internet cafe’s decor was terrible, business was booming.
Nearly every station was occupied.
Long Ming glanced at their screens and saw that almost everyone was watching Civilization Paradise livestreams or browsing its forums.
"Xiaopang."
Just then, a voice called out.
Hearing the call, Long Ming turned to look.
"Coming."
Xiaopang, holding a pack of cigarettes, ran over to station 48 with a smile and handed them to a middle-aged man.
After delivering the cigarettes, he noticed a half-eaten cup of instant noodles on the desk and asked with a smile.
"Sir, are you done with these noodles?"
"I’m done. Go ahead and toss it."
"Alright."
Xiaopang picked up the instant noodles and walked away, lowering his head to start eating them as he went.
Long Ming’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight. ’How did he end up in such a sorry state?’
He immediately walked over and blocked Xiaopang’s path.
Startled, Xiaopang stopped and looked up. He froze when he saw Long Ming.
"What are you doing here?"
"I have to ask, Lord Fatty," Long Ming said calmly, "I thought you were doing great for yourself?"
"Well..."
Xiaopang was suddenly overcome with embarrassment.
Long Ming reached out, took the cup of noodles from Xiaopang’s hands, and tossed it into a nearby trash can.
"Hey! I wasn’t finished with that."
"Come on. I’ll buy you a meal."
"Really?"
Xiaopang’s eyes instantly lit up.
"Of course. Are you coming or not?"
Long Ming didn’t feel like wasting words.
"Give me ten minutes. My shift is almost over," Xiaopang replied, his face a mask of pleading.
"Sigh... alright."
Long Ming found an empty stool and sat down to wait patiently.
...
A short while later, Long Ming led Xiaopang into a small clay pot restaurant on the side of the street.
"Two orders of clay pot rice noodles, with extra meat," Long Ming called out to the owner.
"Coming right up," the owner replied instantly.
Just then, Xiaopang looked at Long Ming sheepishly.
"So, uh... did you need me for something?"
"Let’s eat first. We can talk later."
Long Ming could see how starved Xiaopang was. Even the fat on his cheeks had thinned out.
"Okay," Xiaopang replied with a smile.
Soon, the owner brought over two steaming clay pots of rice noodles.
"I’m digging in!"
Xiaopang immediately grabbed his chopsticks, blowing on the hot noodles as he began to eat with desperate urgency.
Watching him, Long Ming’s brow furrowed. "How did you end up like this? Didn’t I transfer you 2,000 Mountain Coins?"
"Ugh, don’t even get me started! You have no idea how unlucky I’ve been."
"Let’s hear it."
"After you gave me that money, I was all set to make a big comeback, but then my wallet and phone got stolen. It took a huge effort just to replace my ID and buy a secondhand phone. By the time I logged back on, I was totally left in the dust. No matter what dungeon I tried to run, I’d get hunted down and killed. It was like being a stray dog that anyone could just walk up and kick!"
"And then?"
"Then I figured I should join an organization, but no guild would take me, and no merchant group wanted me either. And all those battle teams wanted a security deposit up front. Where was I supposed to get that kind of money?" Xiaopang said, pouring out all his grievances.
Just then, Long Ming noticed the black-and-blue bruise around Xiaopang’s left eye and asked, "What happened to your eye?"
"Don’t even ask. A few days ago, I ran into that bastard Zheng Lei. I saw him driving a fancy car, all decked out with some girl on his arm, living the high life. He didn’t look bankrupt at all! It was exactly like you said. I was so pissed, I went to confront him. He ended up beating the crap out of me and threatened to make my life hell. Then I ran into him in the game, and he hunted me down there, too. On top of that, he’s been slandering me in our old merchant group chat, completely ruining my reputation. Now I’m like a rat in the street—everyone hates me," Xiaopang recounted his story through sobs and sniffles.
"That’s going too far."
Long Ming’s expression turned cold. ’He’s clearly afraid Xiaopang will retaliate, so he’s trying to crush him completely.’
*Sob*
Xiaopang was at his breaking point; after all this time, someone was finally listening to him vent.
"Alright, that’s enough. I came looking for you for a reason. Do you want to work for me? I need help acquiring some things," Long Ming cut straight to the point.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Xiaopang nodded enthusiastically.
"I haven’t even told you the pay."
"I don’t care about the pay! How could I not trust you, Brother Long?"
"Base salary of 3,000 Mountain Coins. Bonuses will be calculated separately. Don’t worry, I won’t mistreat you," Long Ming told Xiaopang calmly.
"No problem," Xiaopang agreed at once.
Long Ming took out his phone, transferred 5,000 Mountain Coins to Xiaopang, and then said, "Take this to get you started."
Xiaopang glanced at the transaction notification on his phone, moved. "Brother Long, you’re my savior! From now on, I’m your man!"
"Alright, cut the corny lines. I’m heading home to log on. I’ll see you in Starry City. My ID is Long Ming," Long Ming added.
"No problem. So... are you going to eat that?" Xiaopang nodded, his eyes glued to Long Ming’s untouched bowl of noodles.
"It’s all yours. I’m leaving now."
Long Ming got up, paid the bill, and left.
...
「An hour later.」
Long Ming returned to his rented apartment, went into his bedroom, and put on the VR helmet.
WHOOSH!
Long Ming appeared in Starry City.
A notification popped up on his wristband.
[Player Xiaopang has sent you a friend request. Accept?]
Long Ming accepted the request, sent Xiaopang his coordinates, and waited.
Before long, he saw Xiaopang jogging over eagerly.
"I’m here!" Xiaopang greeted Long Ming with a cheerful grin.
Long Ming nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll lay out what I need you to do."
"No problem. Just tell me what to do, and I guarantee I’ll get it done perfectly for you." Xiaopang puffed out his chest confidently. He might be useless in a fight, but when it came to acquiring things, that was a piece of cake.
"You only have one job. Keep an eye on the ’Potions’ category in the Marketplace and buy up any fast-acting recovery potions listed for under 10,000. And be careful when you’re buying. Don’t make any big, obvious moves. Don’t instantly snatch up the lowest-priced ones; we don’t want to cause market fluctuations and drive the price up," Long Ming explained every last detail to Xiaopang.
"That’s it? Are you out of your mind? Buying potions?" Xiaopang stared at Long Ming, completely baffled.
"Is there a problem?"
"Bro, you have to understand, potions are ridiculously expensive! A single fast-acting healing potion costs about the same as a high-tier blue item. Who would be willing to waste money on that? Only the whales use them. The supply totally outweighs the demand. The longer the game is out, the more worthless this stuff is going to become."
"So, are you going to do it or not?" Long Ming asked, already feeling a headache coming on.
"I’ll do it. Whatever the boss says, I’ll do. Even if the boss is a dumbass," Xiaopang shot back.
"Get lost," Long Ming retorted irritably.
"Hehe."
Xiaopang just chuckled.