Pei Ran still didn't last five minutes in this round. He watched the enemy prone down and slurp-slurp loot his crate, unable to help but frown.

'Was this game always this hard?'

He unlocked his phone and scanned his message list. Lin Kang had sent the most messages; they were screenshots of Su Nian gossiping in the group chat.

[Lin Kang: [Chat History] Damn, I always thought this guy was a bit pretentious and troublesome, but it turns out he's also a big mouth.]

[Lin Kang: What on earth did you do to provoke him? Want me to pull you into the group? Don't worry, I'll definitely speak up for you.]

[Lin Kang: If you're too embarrassed, your bro will teach him a lesson for you. We're all friends, it's out of line for him to say stuff like this.]

[Pei Ran: Don't, thank you.]

[Pei Ran: You don't have to send me screenshots. I'll treat you to a meal next time.]

Pei Ran opened the chat history and read it again, his face devoid of emotion.

Actually, what Su Nian said wasn't entirely wrong. He really did look down on him.

Yan Zhun's team invitation arrived. Pei Ran tossed his phone aside and accepted the invite.

"Boss." Yan Zhun's voice was a bit hoarse, as if he had just woken up.

Pei Ran subconsciously responded, "Hm?"

Then he added, "You don't have to call me that..."

Yan Zhun took off his game character's clothes, changing into the same default outfit as Pei Ran.

He thought for a moment, then changed his character's model to female.

"Want me to show you something different today?" Yan Zhun asked.

Pei Ran: "Play what?"

"Duo Queue - Rainforest Map," Yan Zhun said. "I'll take you to get some kills."

Pei Ran's lips twitched into a small smile. Although they had gotten several chicken dinners yesterday, he often ended a round without a single kill.

Even though he was carried to victory, it was still a lot of fun. He replied, "Okay."

He soon understood what Yan Zhun meant by "get some kills."

As soon as they entered the game, Yan Zhun marked a spot on the Training Base.

The Training Base was colloquially known as Pochinki, a place with more death crates than loot. Dropping here meant it was either kill or be killed.

"Jump," Yan Zhun reminded him.

Pei Ran quickly pressed "F," descending according to the parachuting technique Yan Zhun had taught him yesterday.

As he neared the base, Pei Ran glanced behind him and saw a huge swarm of people: "......"

"Land at the Three Warehouses, stick with me."

The moment he landed, Pei Ran's headset was filled with the ceaseless sound of gunfire, reminding him of the symphony concert he had attended a while back.

He frantically picked up a gun. By the time he had loaded it, Yan Zhun had already killed two people.

Pei Ran was about to follow him when he heard a door open behind him. Immediately after, he was knocked down, and the opponent mercilessly finished him off before quickly running away.

This person had run over from a distance; Yan Zhun hadn't seen them while parachuting. He wiped out two squads and asked, "What clothes was the person who killed you wearing?"

Pei Ran was taken aback. "I think... the default clothes. Never mind."

"Spectate and wait for me," Yan Zhun said after looting the crates. "Be right back."

Ten minutes later, Yan Zhun, alone with his gun, had cleared out everyone in the Training Base wearing the default clothes.

When only the last team remained, Yan Zhun knocked down one of them, then turned on his mic and asked, "What clothes is your teammate wearing?"

The person was completely baffled, but he obediently answered, "A black trench coat, the really expensive one. You want it? I can have him take it off for you."

Then, under the other player's fervent gaze, Yan Zhun killed himself with a grenade.

Pei Ran was stunned. "You didn't have to kill yourself with a grenade. I don't mind watching you play."

"If you're not in the game, I'm not playing," Yan Zhun said. "Ready up. Next round."

After parachuting three times in a row, Pei Ran finally got a kill.

"Yan Zhun, I got a kill!" Pei Ran felt his palms burning as he blurted out, "And... I got two!"

He felt embarrassed as soon as he said it—two kills in three rounds. Yan Zhun would be more effective even with a random teammate.

"I saw," Yan Zhun replied naturally. "That's really impressive."

Pei Ran's heart was beating fast; he felt even more nervous now than during an exam.

Having found his rhythm, Pei Ran got another kill. A few minutes later, Pochinki fell silent.

"Yan Zhun," Pei Ran whispered to confirm, "I think there's no one left?"

Yan Zhun was amused by him. "Yeah, you killed them all... You don't have to whisper, only I can hear you."

Pei Ran also felt a bit foolish. He was crouching in a house looting a crate when Yan Zhun suddenly vaulted through the window. After last night, Pei Ran had a conditioned reflex to this action and subconsciously unequipped his gun and dropped it on the floor.

Yan Zhun's game character paused noticeably. A moment later, he said with a hint of laughter, "I just wanted to see if there were any spare scopes in this crate."

Pei Ran: "..."

Pei Ran immediately picked the gun back up. He felt he'd never picked up a gun that fast, not even right after landing.

Yan Zhun: "But I still want to use your gun."

Yan Zhun crouched next to him and dropped his own gun. "I'll stop teasing you... Just give me another chance to get the BUFF."

Pei Ran turned and walked away. "Forget it, I'm not swapping."

Yan Zhun got up and chased him, pursuing him across the entire Training Base. Then, when Pei Ran stopped to pick something up, he used a game emote to kneel down and kowtow before him.

Pei Ran returned the kowtow.

Yan Zhun bowed again.

The two of them bowed like idiots for a good while before Pei Ran finally gave him the gun.

Yan Zhun: "No more bowing? We were just one away."

Pei Ran didn't understand. "One away from what?"

"Nothing."

Yan Zhun turned on auto-run, muted his mic, and lit a cigarette for himself, thinking, 'One more bow and we could have been sent straight to the bridal chamber.'

They played two more rounds. Just as Pei Ran was getting into it, he heard Yan Zhun say, "Let's drop somewhere else this round. It's raining hard on my end, I can't hear footsteps."

Only then did Pei Ran hear the sound of raindrops hitting his window.