At some point, it became a routine.
Every night at nine, Ren Xingwan would drive over to pick him up.
The man’s car would park not far from the club, always punctual, sometimes even a bit early, but he never called to hurry him.
However, Jing Mian, who used to be indifferent about time and would return home at a leisurely pace, gradually began to feel a sense of responsibility.
After all, someone was waiting for him to finish work.
Jing Mian would take a quick shower, swiftly put on his clothes, don his down jacket and hat, bid farewell to the club, and hurry outside.
Mr. Ren would lean against the car, his tall and slender figure strikingly handsome even in silhouette, with the dark and lonely street scene behind him.
He seemed to blend into the night.
Every time Jing Mian saw this scene, he would quicken his pace, jogging the last twenty meters to reach Mr. Ren’s side.
This routine continued until the night before their departure to M City.
Jing Mian had no classes that day, so he went to the club. After several hours of training, Xuan Cheng let the team members go home early to rest, as they would set off the next day.
Jing Mian also returned home before dark.
Even earlier than Mr. Ren.
He changed his clothes, put away his shoes, tidied the shoe rack and tea table, charged the robotic vacuum cleaner, and watered the small potted plant by the floor-to-ceiling window.
As dusk approached.
Ren Xingwan still hadn’t returned home.
Jing Mian leaned against the sofa, thought for a moment, and then fetched his notebook.
Habits are a formidable thing.
When Jing Mian was still living alone, whenever he felt lonely, he would instinctively fill the seemingly endless time by live-streaming.
Becoming a streamer wasn’t easy, at least much harder than he had imagined. For instance, when he first started, the camera angle was poor, the lighting was blurry, and he would secretly get nervous, his voice trembling, occasionally rendered speechless by overly enthusiastic comments…
But later, he gradually got used to it.
Although it was hard to be loved in real life, in the world of gaming and live-streaming, Jing Mian always received abundant, unreserved affection from strangers.
This was one of the things that motivated him to wake up every day.
And now, it seemed he had one more motivation.
Mr. Ren.
Jing Mian opened Glory, put on his headphones and mask, adjusted the camera, and started today’s live stream.
Within seconds, comments began to flood the top of the live stream.
【First】
【Look what I stumbled upon?】
【Wow, MianMian is so early today!!】
【He really makes me cry, Sheep is participating in the provincial competition tomorrow, and he’s still live-streaming the day before, I won’t say how dedicated he is】
【MianMian is at Brother’s house again?】
Seeing this, Jing Mian’s brow twitched slightly.
He couldn’t help but recall the first live stream after they started living together, also from his current spot, when he mentioned being at Brother’s house, and Mr. Ren happened to overhear.
On their wedding night, Mr. Ren brought up the old grievance, and Jing Mian ended up calling him “Brother” many times, nearly staying awake the entire night.
So, Jing Mian now felt a bit sensitive about that term.
He lowered his gaze and briefly mentioned that he wouldn’t be grinding maps today, leaving it to chance, and might even team up with randomly matched players.
This immediately set the live stream abuzz.
Many people specifically opened their game accounts, keeping their live streams on to facilitate supervision, waiting for the moment when Jing Mian started matching, so they could also start matching, hoping for a chance to play a game with Sheep.
Jing Mian adjusted his headset and entered the random matchmaking interface.
The advantage of random matchmaking is that it allows for practice, with teammates and opponents changing every game. Compared to the team battles in official competitions, players feel less pressure and focus more on fun.
However, Jing Mian didn’t expect that the first opponent he matched with would be the second-ranked god on the PK leaderboard, Greek, whom he had crossed paths with a few times before!
The timing was incredibly coincidental, and while Jing Mian was surprised, the fans also erupted in excitement:
【Greek!!!】
【My two favorite streamers are collaborating in a dream scenario!】
【Wasn’t this prearranged?】
【Quick, start a Haunted House game! I want to see MianMian’s Shadow Guard Ash appear. Who’s stronger, the former top god of war or the eternal second-place?】
【Hey, the term “eternal second-place” is a bit ambiguous. Not to mention how long Ash has been retired, Greek has always remained on the PK leaderboard without ever dropping. With all the new modes and gameplay emerging, Ash is a thing of the past. It’s Greek’s era now!】
【Haha, I checked your profile. You’ve been a Greek fan for five years.】
【Although he’s a Greek fan, I actually agree with that commenter. Glory has changed too much. Good stats and data back then don’t necessarily mean he’d still be number one now.】
【Well said!】
【The algorithms change every year. The reason Greek has never surpassed Ash might just be because Ash hasn’t been online, clinging to those pitiful stats.】
【Damn, are all of you Greek fans or new Glory players in elementary school? Do you think all of Ash’s fans are dead???】
【Times have really changed. Ash is being mocked now…】
【Eight-year Ash fan here!!】
…
Perhaps because Jing Mian possessed Ash’s Shadow Guard and coincidentally matched with Greek in a random match, it sparked a heated debate in the chat about who would win if Ash and Greek were to PK again.
While the chat was ablaze with arguments, Glory quickly entered the map interface, forcing Jing Mian to focus. He was surprised that, among tens of thousands of active players, the probability of matching with Greek was extremely low, leaving him somewhat astonished.
On Greek’s side, it seemed he had just started his live stream and was adjusting his microphone.
Soon, Greek’s voice came through the headset:
“Sheep, what a coincidence.”
The last time they crossed paths was at the club, when Jing Mian was also live streaming and randomly matched with Greek.
This time, the situation was the same.
Matching again in such a short time span, the probability of this happening was likely incalculable, almost negligible.
Jing Mian spoke: “Hello.”
Greek seemed to chuckle, his voice sounding cheerful: “We’re familiar with each other now, right? No need to be so formal.”
Jing Mian paused slightly, unsure of what to say.
“Let’s just play this round casually, no pressure,” Greek joked. “Maybe it’d be even better if you went easy on me.”
Jing Mian suddenly felt like he was being set up.
He quickly responded, “No way… You should be the one going easy on me.”
Greek tilted his head slightly, his voice deep and relaxed. “Alright, I’ll go easy on you from now on.”
Jing Mian: “……?”
Greek: “Of course, except during offline competitions.”
…
[Why does it feel like Greek is being so doting towards MianMian?]
[Upstairs, I feel the same way!!!]
[Yeah, Greek isn’t like this in other random matches. He’s usually cold and doesn’t talk much. Sometimes, if the opponent is too noisy, he’ll randomly spend money to mute the entire room without hesitation.]
[Tsk tsk, I can’t help but feel like shipping them.]
[Veteran god × newbie streamer, ahhh my forever favorite trope.]
[Upstairs, if you’re into that, why not ship Ash × Sheep? After all, Sheep’s Shadow Guard is Ash.]
[But Ash has already quit the game…]
[None of these are as good. I strongly recommend searching for Ren Congmian × Sheep. A three-minute video had me completely obsessed…]
[Far upstairs, that’s not a good ship. Anyone who’s played Glory knows that Greek and Li Shengwen are a pair.]
[Right, Li Shengwen isn’t a top PK player, but it’s widely rumored in the Glory community that the two are a couple. Li Shengwen even hinted during a livestream that Greek is really handsome in real life and has great stamina.]
[The forums were exploding with hot posts at the time.]
[But all of that was just Li Shengwen’s side of the story. Greek has never officially confirmed it.]
[Leave my MianMian alone, don’t randomly pair him up.]
…
The game quickly started.
This time, the first map Jing Mian and Greek matched into was Sky City.
Instead of solid ground, they were stepping on clouds, and above the clouds was a city covered in greenery. Although it looked somewhat like ruins, there were plenty of covers, making it suitable for shooting-based levels.
What was noteworthy was that each cloud wasn’t completely solid. To take down an opponent, you could occasionally focus on the cloud beneath their feet, using bullets to shatter it, causing the enemy to fall unexpectedly.
However, the character being controlled would also grab the edge of the cloud in time, and their health bar would drop while waiting for a teammate to rescue them.
Of course, if the rescue wasn’t timely, the player would fall into the abyss.
They were matched into a 4v4 mode.
Although the four around them were teammates and the others were enemies, none of them knew each other. The eight players were complete strangers to one another.
Two of Jing Mian’s teammates had their mics on, and he heard their exclamations: “Holy crap!! We matched with Greek?”
“Ahhh! Is our teammate that streamer who joined Me.? The one with the ID Sheep, nicknamed MianMian?”
Jing Mian: “…”
He whispered, “MianMian isn’t a nickname…”
“I heard MianMian’s Shadow Guard is Ash! Today is such a lucky day, not only playing with Greek but also getting to see the legendary Ash!!”
…
The first round officially began.
Jing Mian and his three teammates found themselves deep within the space city, surrounded by ruins and remnants of walls, with green vegetation clinging to the stone surfaces, creating a strikingly realistic visual effect.
Jing Mian glanced around, about to explore the familiar route, when he noticed one of his teammates had already charged out with a gun in hand.
“…”
The remaining three exchanged glances.
They had no choice but to follow closely behind.
The appearance of the red door was determined by the number of remaining players, not by the duration of the game. Therefore, before that, the players’ goal was not to quickly find the red door but to focus on eliminating the enemies.
Gunfire echoed from not far away.
The enemies were in the shadows, and soon, the health bar of the teammate who had charged out first began to plummet in the upper left corner. In just two seconds, it was halved.
But he wasn’t killed.
The enemy had shattered the cloud beneath that teammate, who was now clinging to the edge of the cloud. His health bar continued to drop, acting like bait, forcing his teammates to reveal themselves to save him.
Jing Mian had a faint suspicion that this was Greek’s rhythm.
He didn’t recklessly expose himself but chose to circle around, constantly seeking cover. During that time, he headshot an enemy who was about to ambush him, but it wasn’t Greek.
However, the gunfire had also attracted Greek’s attention.
From his position, Sheep had quietly maneuvered behind Greek.
While drawing attention, Jing Mian’s teammate also took the opportunity to run towards the player who was about to fall, attempting to reach out and save him.
In the next moment, Greek, with lightning speed, fired a shot, followed by another, as if aiming precisely at the bullseye. One of Jing Mian’s teammates fell to the ground, while the other slipped off the edge of the cloud and plunged into the abyss.
It was an almost suffocating display of overwhelming strength.
Like a god looking down on ants with disdain.
Greek suddenly laughed, his voice clear and magnetic: “Sheep, are you going to ambush me like last time?”
Jing Mian was startled, watching as only two of his teammates’ health bars remained red: “…No, I won’t.”
Greek’s teammates cheered in excitement.
They pressed their advantage, with one chasing after the remaining enemy besides Jing Mian, while the other two moved to ambush Jing Mian.
Now it was three against two.
Hiding behind cover, Jing Mian switched his submachine gun for a sniper rifle.
He peeked out twice, each time accompanied by the sound of a gunshot.
Soon, the health bars of Greek’s two teammates dropped to zero and half, respectively. It turned out Jing Mian had shattered the cloud beneath one of them, leaving that teammate now hanging and waiting for rescue.
The situation had become two against two.
Thus, Jing Mian’s side had two survivors, while Greek’s side also had two teammates left.
At the same time, Greek’s remaining teammate was hanging beneath the cloud, waiting for Greek to rescue him.
Like bait waiting to be hooked, the situation was quite passive.
The scenario from just moments ago seemed to have reversed itself,
laid out before Greek in the same manner.
Everyone wanted to see how Greek would choose to break through the predicament.
It was expected that Greek would silently move towards his teammate who was about to fall while engaging Jing Mian, reaching out to rescue him.
At least restoring the situation to an even two against two.
However, Greek seemed to have no such intention.
In a flash, Greek suddenly raised his gun and almost instantly headshot the last remaining teammate beside Jing Mian.
Meanwhile, Greek’s teammate could no longer hold on and fell into the abyss.
From this point on, both sides were left with only one person each.
One was Greek, and the other was Sheep.
…
The barrage of comments became somewhat silent.
A few seconds later, they began to pour out continuously:
【Is this what high-level gameplay looks like?】
【Damn, this is so intense!!!】
【As expected of high-level gameplay, even a casual match is this interesting.】
【Greek’s teammate: Thanks, I guess.】
【Greek’s teammate: Damn, you really don’t care about our lives, huh?】
【Hey, what’s Greek trying to do? Why didn’t he save his teammate? Instead, he chose to instantly kill the enemy next to Sheep? Does he want to leave only himself and MianMian?】
【I was thinking the same thing… because it’s really quite obvious.】
Even the spectators could see it.
Greek seemed to be clearing the field.
It appeared he wanted to leave Jing Mian alone, eliminating all the troublesome bystanders, turning the game into one with only the two of them.
Sheep’s character hid behind cover, reloading his bullets.
Jing Mian suddenly regretted streaming today.
After all, the provincial tournament was just around the corner, and his team would inevitably face Greek’s team sooner or later. Winning or losing wasn’t the main concern, but if the skill gap was too wide, it would still damage the team’s morale and dignity.
Jing Mian sighed inwardly.
But soon, Jing Mian no longer had the luxury of being distracted.
The system issued a prompt—【”Red Gate” has appeared. Please proceed to the safe zone quickly!】
At this point in the battle, whoever eliminated the other first would win.
But if either side reached the Red Gate first, they would also be considered the winner.
Jing Mian still wanted to avoid a direct confrontation with Greek, so he cautiously moved forward, using cover along the way.
When facing Greek, it was necessary to adjust his strategy. For example, Jing Mian usually liked to collect various guns, but now he preferred to travel light, which would help him escape more easily.
At the same time, he discarded extra guns and randomly left them behind debris, creating a false escape route for Greek.
Soon, Greek discovered Jing Mian’s trail.
Greek didn’t seem in a hurry to act, as if he found it quite amusing. Looking at the false trail left by Sheep, he chuckled softly, “Named Sheep, but you’re more like a little fox.”
Greek followed leisurely for a while, but suddenly, he looked up sharply, his gun aiming in that instant!
It was the direction of the Red Gate!
As it turned out, Sheep had already quietly moved close to the Red Gate, just a cloud’s distance away, even evading Greek’s notice. Jing Mian hadn’t exposed himself to danger; instead, he had used a rock covered in greenery as cover.
A glint of excitement appeared in Greek’s eyes, as if he was pleasantly surprised.
In that moment, he also aimed—
Bang!
Sheep’s figure fell and disappeared.
【Holy crap】
【…Did Greek win?】
【But I didn’t even see what happened.】
【Not only did I not see the move, but I also feel like Greek wasn’t even aiming at MianMian…】
【Upstairs, it turns out it wasn’t my imagination. I didn’t see a knockdown or a headshot either.】
Greek put down his gun and slowly walked up to the red door.
He lowered his head, watching Sheep’s character cling to the edge of the cloud, and beyond that edge was the red door.
Sheep looked up, his health bar slowly draining. Jing Mian spoke: “You shattered the cloud in front of the red door.”
Greek replied, “Yes.”
Sheep looked up and said, “This way, you can’t get out either.”
Greek lowered his gaze and said softly, “Yes.”
“But if I help you up, you can get out.”
Sheep seemed to be thinking, hesitating as he said, “…Are you giving the victory to me?”
“No,” Greek said in a deep voice. “I’m giving it to you.”
……
Sheep’s character was helped up by Greek.
Jing Mian was somewhat puzzled.
So… were they just having a friendly match?
As they waited for the rescue progress bar to fill, Greek spoke slowly, “You’re participating in the provincial competition tomorrow, right?”
Jing Mian pondered for a moment, “Yes.”
“I’ll also be heading to M City tomorrow.”
The man’s voice was pleasant. Although he didn’t show his face often during livestreams, every time he did, it would inevitably make it to the trending posts on Glory’s forums. After all, the man was not only good-looking among the veteran gods but also had exceptional skills. It was hard not to stir up some heat.
Greek’s voice was clear and bright, “Looking forward to meeting you, Sheep.”
Jing Mian closed his notebook.
He poured himself a glass of water, rubbed his sore and tired eyes, and stretched. Jing Mian glanced sideways; the light coming through the floor-to-ceiling window was growing dimmer, casting a warm glow over the sofa and the tea table.
The evening was nearing its end, and the clock had turned to five.
It seemed Mr. Ren was busy today and hadn’t returned home yet.