Chapter 94: The Old Merchant Is Back

An absolutely exciting show that was no different from dancing on the edge of disaster!

Lady Stormsword was crushed!

The victorious all-rounded defense!

To know the extent of the Wargod No. 1's defense capabilities, you just had to watch the video. He continued to defend perfectly, even when the Brightmoon 8.0 made its sharpest attack.

There were too many people who were good at attacking. What about those who were good at defending?

The consecutive skills made by Brightmoon 8.0 were considered highly ranked even among the high-end mecha. How, then, was such a perfect defense achieved?

Live viewership among VIP players skyrocketed. It exceeded 2 million, setting yet another new record. However, it was not the usual bout of rampaging attacks, but a defensive one, acting mostly passive during the battle, yet winning upon making the first strike!

Tyrant Su burst into Wang Zheng's room, flailing in excitement. Student Wang was doing sit-ups. It was as if he could train anytime, anywhere.

Yan Xiaosu stared at him for a moment. "Aren't you tired?"

Wang Zheng started. "Tired? What?"

Yan Xiaosu smiled forcibly. Talk was going around that the tough battle must have taken a toll on both players even though it was in a CT environment. Forget about other things, just the accurate defense moves alone used enormous amounts of energy both physically and mentally each time there was a clash. This was definitely something that everyone experienced when they played CT. The more they fought, the more energy-consuming it was. It was not just a physical activity, but a mental one too.

The sort of extreme output and extreme defense made earlier on would have knocked anyone else out. Yet this one behaved as if nothing had ever happened.

"Take it as I didn't say a thing. You wanna go on?" Yan Xiaosu asked.

"Anything."

Yan Xiaosu thought for a bit. "Forget it, there aren't any good opponents at the moment anyway."

Tyrant Su called himself the Dog-headed General. Although Wang Zheng was good at other aspects, he was king when it came to having business acumen.

They settled the bill. The boss hadn't time to give two hoots about them. Every time Skeleton competed, his business would be exceptionally good. The number of consumers who bought drinks were numerous times that of the usual.

The audience savoured the slow-mo playbacks. The wild attacks Lady Stormsword made were once considered the ultimate swordplay by countless players from the Moon. It was theoretically known to be the ultimate set of attacks. No one thought it could have been defended against right upfront.

The whole set of 81 moves and attacks was as smooth as silk. It was not random. There was a strategy to it if you looked at it and analysed closely. Channels that analysed battles were all putting up their own versions of analysis.

The official channel, speculation from forums, masters players... every take on the matter varied.

Chen Xiu and Ailun took charge of Lady Stormsword and Skeleton respectively. It was evident that the layered, progressive attacks were anything but messy.

Chen Xiu broke down and analysed every single move in the consecutive attacks Lady Stormsword made, highlighting the key points in red.

And to be honest, Chen Xiu was shocked when he completed his analysis. The movements in the 81 attacks were just like that of a constellation diagram.

If not for the fact that he studied physics and that he had a knack for remembering everything he'd seen, it was likely that nobody would have ever took notice.

Super Xiu was already pretty well known in the Skeleton Corps. His analysis videos were different from the official ones. He had his own unique way of interpretation. As for Lady Stormsword, everyone thought it was a wild, spontaneous attack. Who would have thought that there were so many theories and reasons behind them? Plus, hardly anyone studied a loser.

But when the constellation diagram was shown, people began to feel differently. Could it be a coincidence?

Do such coincidences exist?

Ailun was in charge of Skeleton's steps. The results made both men drop their jaws.

It was a mirror image of the constellation diagram...

The closely sewn defense looked like an act. But no matter how much training one normally underwent, it was difficult to achieve such a level.

This victory had made an infinite number of Earth players proud. Their excitement would not subside. The Wild King, Rainbow, Qiangsen, and the rest naturally went on to organise their team battles.

Under such circumstances, it didn't matter if they won or lost. They'd be happy either way. Even Chen Xiu and Ailun could not stop themselves from joining in the battle.

Every time there was an important match, the activity of people in the Ares Pact's social circle would sky-rocket.

The social circle was a community of virtual friends. They could make mecha spare parts and trade all sorts of memorabilia.

At this point of technological advancement, it was considerably huge that virtual trading made up 30 percent of the normal market.

The Ares Pact depended on the mecha battle games, but its main profits still came from trading within the social circle and around its perimeters. The game itself mainly garnered users and popularity.

At the same time, the Pact was constantly being renewed. Maintaining the position of a trend-setter had become an indispensable part of the virtual life, and there were those who made a living around the Pact.

In the Earth district, all sorts of Skeleton figurines were in trend. Nobody knew what Skeleton looked like, but caricature figurines designed according to his name were extremely popular.

Just like the throned master players, each one of them had their own sizeable fan club. It was like an industry of its own, no different from TV and movie stars. Take for instance the more renowned, good-looking Prince. He endorsed a number of products, and over 60 percent of the viewers of his live streamed battles were female.

Also one of the hottest, most popular players, Wang Zheng's videos' views were hitting the roof, and they could make it into the top ten. But he did not pose a threat to masters like the Prince; it was just that he attracted a great deal of attention. The Prince and his fellow master players had numerous years of experience. It took them countless classic battles to get them where they were. Little Skeleton was just a newbie no matter how you looked at him. His toughest opponent was no more than a diamond class.

But because of the titles, the best of the best would not make a move on a whim. A small pebble could create big ripples. There was not much glory to winning, but losing the game also meant losing face, so most of them only watched.

Back on campus, An Mei was waiting for Yan Xiaosu. She did not care to be courteous in front of Wang Zheng. "I say, Wang Zheng, you can't just take my Xiaosu away so often! Go get yourself a girlfriend, quickly!"

Wang Zheng laughed. "Alright, alright! I'll make it a point to report to you in the future, Sister-in-Law."

"Meimei, Boss and I were discussing important stuff. Money-making stuff!"

"Tsk. What important things could the two of you be up to? You must've been out partying."

An Mei rolled her eyes at Xiaosu. It was deniable that the present An Mei was wildly attractive. She gave off a youthful and womanly air from head to toe. She was beautiful. People often said that women in happy relationships were the most attractive, and this was absolutely the case. She barely wore any makeup recently, but her great condition made her unstoppable.

Yan Xiaosu did not have a handsome face, but he was a dutiful boyfriend. He had a great personality, was generous, and was considerably popular at school.

Wang Zheng had had a taste of An Mei's shrewdness, so he quickly bade goodbye. "OK, I will leave you to yourselves now."

He did appear lonely, but in reality, Wang Zheng did not feel devastated like most other people would. He thought it to be weird. He had a great fighting spirit. Perhaps it was fair to say that in some aspects, he was just as special as Aina.

Lin Huiyun's Angelic concert was about to arrive, so Beijing was crowded like never before.

The whole area surrounding the concert venue was jampacked. Barely anyone could pass through anywhere. As the perfect representative of the younger generation's idols, Lin Huiyin was unparalleled when it came to satisfying young people's desire for innocence. Moreover, celebrities from the Aslan Kingdom attracted tons of fans wherever they went.

Students from Ares College, Beijing University, and other top schools were infinitely passionate. Campuses barely had such youthful energy.

Everyone from Dormitory 007 were out, except for Wang Zheng. It was needless to talk about to the girls. It was totally like a festival.

All media live streamed this particular concert. On the streets, screens on the skyscrapers were all streaming live footage from the concert. The whole city was singing in celebration. There were also many who came from other cities in the Solar System. Even though interstellar commuting was convenient, it was still very costly. But that did not stop enthusiastic fans.

The latest single. "Not Afraid." gave everyone a pleasant surprise. Even judges who were usually picky had given nods of approval. They thought that apart from her pretty face, Lin Huiyin had a beautiful voice that had great flexibility and potential. Her musical intelligence. especially, was extremely high.

There was another highlight for this concert. That is, Lin Huiyin had an inspiration on her way to Earth. She had written a new piece, and she was going to perform it for the first time ever in her concert.

This was really encouraging for her Earth fans. Nobody could have imagined that Lin Huiyin valued her Earth show so much. Even though she was popular there, the market was rather small. Such an important event would usually take place in Aslan. It could only be said that Lin Huiyin indeed meant it when she proclaimed her fancy of Earth.

Backstage, the humongous crew was busy operating organizedly. The Earth fans' enthusiasm was way beyond the crew's imagination. Sometimes, trying out new things would reap a bountiful harvest.

Lin Huiyin, together with everyone else, was very excited. Music brought her joy, and it was her favorite thing to do.

While everybody was busy partying, Wang Zheng came to the bookshop.

More accurately, he came to the pancake stall opposite the bookshop.

An odd thing to do, but Wang Zheng came without giving any second thoughts.

At the stall, an old man was gulping his pancakes. The stall owners, an elderly couple, were very hospitable.

"Old Merchant, you're back! You plan on staying long?"

Old Merchant chuckled, shaking his head. "I've got some things to do. I'm old now, so I've got to make good use of every single second."

"Ah. Well, Wang Zheng has done you proud! He's a student at Ares now. Your many years of guidance did not go to waste!"

The couple were honest people. They had insisted on standing by the traditional skills passed down from the older generations, but fewer people knew how to tell the good stuff apart. They made beancurd in the mornings and pancakes during other times. The couple was not wealthy, but were very happy with their lives.

Wang Zheng spotted that familiar silhouette from afar. He couldn't help but feel agitated. His parents had not been there for him since young, so Old Merchant was his only family.

Seeing Wang Zheng appear out of nowhere, Old Merchant laughed. "You lad! Still so childish at your age!"

Wang Zheng ruggedly took a seat, staring at Old Merchant without saying a word.

Old Merchant stroke his beard and struck a pretty impressive pose. "Well? You've guessed who I am? Don't idolise me and don't feel touched!"

Wang Zheng rolled his eyes and put his hand out. "Smelly old man. Pay up!"

Old Merchant was stumped. His shocked reaction was immediately followed by a tight hug from Wang Zheng.

"Welcome back, old man!"