The Crown Prince Ascends the Entertainment Throne - Chapter 15

The first message was explosive. Following it, “Money-Burning Temper” raged for a full five pages of chat history, including insults like “You sneaky, petty person who only knows how to use despicable tricks,” “Have the guts to dump your hacks and fight me head-on,” and “You are a piece of excrement ruining the game’s ecosystem, you heartless parasite.”

It was not until he threatened to hack Xiang Xu’s account that he finally received a three-word reply from “Not Saving Oneself”:

“Little newbie.”

Consequently, “Money-Burning Temper” spewed another three pages of abuse.

These witty, rapid-fire insults entertained Xiang Xu. He did not know what a “keyboard warrior” was, but he recognized that anyone capable of such non-repetitive cursing was truly gifted.

After three more pages, “Money-Burning Temper” threatened to hack the account again and finally received another reply. This time, it was slightly longer.

“SVIP99 customer, is the report result out yet? (Deathly smile)”

Silence lasted for 40 minutes on the other end.

“Why stop scolding? Did customer service determine I was not using hacks, and now your fragile little heart is shattered?”

The silence continued. Xiang Xu checked the customer service interface and found a notification regarding the report against the user ID “Not Saving Oneself.”

The result, naturally, was that no hacks were used. The notification had already been marked as “viewed.” Xiang Xu could easily imagine the look on “Money-Burning Temper’s” face upon seeing the result.

Xiang Xu clicked to the next page, and the screen-full of text from “Not Saving Oneself” made his eyes blur.

“Judging by your gear setup and your technique, you do not even know how to play this game! What is the point of dumping so much money if you have zero game sense? Take your boots, for example: the 20-year summer limited-edition ‘Scarlet Crow Swift Boots.’ Do you realize these add movement speed, not defense like other boots? Do you realize how disastrous it is to add movement speed to your dog-shit techniques? And look at your 21-year Lantern Festival limited-edition ‘Purple Gold Battle Soul Robe’: do you have any idea how bad the E-skill post-swing animation is? A normal player would at least jump or auto-attack to cancel it. Plus…”

Xiang Xu flipped through three pages before reaching the end of the paragraph: “In short, because you do not study the game mechanics, you cannot beat someone who has mastered them. It is fair, is it not?”

Between the lines, Xiang Xu could clearly read how frustrated “his” previous self was with this “Big Brother” player’s attitude, as well as an obsession with the game that bordered on the deranged.

Xiang Xu… just how many games did you play?

However, such a detailed tutorial served as free coaching for “Money-Burning Temper.” Perhaps this text—professional enough to be published as a guide—would reduce the hostility. Maybe they would start discussing gameplay strategy from here on out.

Thinking this, Xiang Xu turned the page with anticipation.

“Too many words. Too lazy to read.”

This one sentence rendered both Xiang Xu and “Not Saving Oneself” speechless.

“I spend money to show off. Also, spending a little money makes me stronger than others and saves me time, so why would I not spend it?”

Xiang Xu’s silence was deafening. He felt as though he had been hit by an attack that dealt little physical damage but immense psychological humiliation.

“But you do have a point… How about this? I have come up with a brilliant idea. I will spend money to buy your time, and you use your time to make money. Simply put, you rank for me, but you have to use the gear setup I provide. Since you have spent so much time studying this game, a small matter like mismatched gear should not be too hard for you, right?”

Xiang Xu could almost see the triumphant smirk on the guy’s face as he typed that.

Then, “Money-Burning Temper” sent over seven or eight red-tier cash-shop items, each worth over a thousand, as if money were nothing.

He had been gifted cash-shop items, yet he had not found them. Xiang Xu immediately switched back to his account and searched frantically. Finally, on the last page of the warehouse, he found the items glimmering with the scent of money.

They were covered in dust on the very last page of the warehouse, not even in the empty backpack or equipped on the character. It was clear how much the original owner despised them.

The chat history that followed was mostly “Money-Burning Temper” badgering him (with the temptation of money) until “Not Saving Oneself” reluctantly (or perhaps coyly) agreed.

Their conversation should have ended there. But since Xiang Xu lost contact half a month ago, “Money-Burning Temper” had sent several more messages, mostly scolding him for “going missing” or “breaking his word,” and threatening to hack his account. Yet, despite the threats, the account remained active to this day.

Fine then.

Xiang Xu roughly understood why, even after being ghosted for so long, the guy still insisted on him ranking for him. Someone with such a fiery temper was likely stubborn. Hiring him to rank was, in some ways, like hiring a slave to work. The hateful part was that being short on money was indeed Xiang Xu’s greatest weakness.

It was not impossible to be yelled at while being showered in money.

The dignified Crown Prince of the Yin Dynasty was now forced to dejectedly study the gear setup provided by “Money-Burning Temper” and practice his techniques over and over.

After practicing countless times, Xiang Xu wanted to lift the keyboard and smash it to pieces, but he remembered that this gadget also cost money, so he held back.

A six-figure gear setup yielding dog-shit performance—useless except for the flashy visuals. And this person insisted he use it. Was he crazy?

Xiang Xu could feel the anger and resentment the original owner felt every time he stuffed those items into the warehouse.

So, he imagined the boss was “Money-Burning Temper” himself and threw himself into the 41st dungeon run with indignation.

After a night of practice, Xiang Xu finally managed to control the account with some proficiency.

He had ranked on this account so many times, and in order to climb the rankings with that god-awful gear, he had practiced on this account more than his own. Adapting to it was not as difficult as he feared; it was all in the tragic muscle memory of Xiang Xu’s body.

Of course, the relaxed “human-machine integration” state Xiang Xu had trained on his own account also played a crucial role.

And so, it was just a district ranking. By morning, Xiang Xu had climbed into the promotion zone. Imagining the money sliding into his pocket, he logged out, feeling content.

Today, Old Xu had guests, so Xiang Xu stayed home to complete his daily vocal exercises, physical training, and then picked up his newly bought picture book.

Perhaps it was a rare moment of leisure after a busy time, but his thoughts drifted away from the story, and the image of meeting Zhao Yan yesterday occupied his mind once again.

In the Yin Dynasty, Xiang Ji was his Royal Sister; here, she was his sister. In the Yin Dynasty, Zhao Yan was the young prince who was his friend; here, he was his friend too.

Same name, almost the same appearance.

The more he thought about it, the less likely it was a mere coincidence.

And the writing of the Yin Dynasty.

Xiang Xu picked up the green dictionary and stared at the words “Ancient Chinese” on the cover for a long time.

If the writing of the Yin Dynasty was considered “ancient” here, then was this world perhaps the future of the Yin Dynasty?

Had he traveled to the future, and were his sister, Zhao Yan, and even himself all reincarnated?

It was not as if Xiang Xu had not thought of this before; the more advanced architecture and highly efficient machinery had all sparked such thoughts.

However, Zhao Yan’s appearance finally confirmed the conclusion.

Was it not space he had crossed, but time?

Although the hope of returning seemed to grow slimmer, he was glad that his understanding of his situation had become clearer.

If they had all reincarnated, could there be other souls from the past like him occupying current bodies, or perhaps people who had awakened memories of their previous lives?

Just as he was thinking this, the computer gave a beep-beep-beep alert, and the screen lit up.

The money must have arrived.

Xiang Xu was overjoyed. He had already asked Old Xu what this “virtual currency” meant. Although his phone was broken and unusable, Old Xu had promised to help him convert it into cash.

Old Xu really was a good man.

As Xiang Xu drifted toward the computer, barely ten seconds later, the computer began to beep incessantly, as if someone were frantically banging on a door.

“Big Brother, save your own life!”

The message from “Daily Abuse Is Good for the Soul” caught his eye. Xiang Xu blinked, stunned, then scrolled up rapidly.

It turned out that after “Money-Burning Temper” logged into his account and saw that Xiang Xu had left him stuck at the 12th rank, he flew into a rage. He ranted that he hated the number 12, claimed it was definitely on purpose, and demanded his assistant contact Xiang Xu immediately to push the rank higher, or he would blow up his account.

After extracting this information from the chat history filled with screams and shouts, Xiang Xu froze for a second, and then his anger flared up.

How was he supposed to know he hated that number? This guy was either crazy or looking for trouble! Or maybe he did not want to pay and was using this absurd excuse!

The thought that the other party might not want to pay fueled Xiang Xu’s rage.

With astonishing speed, he opened his game, ready to face off against “Money-Burning Temper,” only to find that the guy had already cursed him for three whole pages, with the count still rising.

What the hell? He put in all this time and energy, only to be cursed like a grandson!

Xiang Xu was so angry he was about to retort when several cash-transfer pings interrupted his mood.

The assistant had seen him go online and, guessing what was about to happen, immediately sent six red packets worth 100 each to placate him.

This move was incredibly effective. Xiang Xu’s anger dissipated by more than half; after all, he knew the other party was not trying to stiff him. Once the money was paid, everything else was negotiable.

“Big Brother, please do not be angry, do not be angry. Do not take our boss to heart. It is true he does not like the number 12; I forgot to tell you.”

“But mostly, he is just in a bad mood today and annoyed by everything. It just so happens that you hit that rank…”

Xiang Xu would have let it go after receiving the money, but the previous chat logs flickered in his mind. He sensed a hint of humor in the impulsive nature of “Money-Burning Temper.” That touch of humor made him ask, almost instinctively:

“-So, who offended him?”

“Sigh, not really. It is just that the boss has been turned away by someone twice in a row, and he thinks the person is intentionally avoiding him, so he is furious.”

“To be fair, it is nothing really. I would say it is just a coincidence that they have been closed for maintenance for two days; how would he know he was going there?”

“I cannot say for sure what the boss is thinking. He always feels others are giving him attitude, but it is actually him who is being temperamental.”

The assistant had clearly been holding this in for a long time, so he spilled everything to Xiang Xu. After venting, he realized the gravity of what he said.

“Big Brother, please, never tell our boss what I told you.”

Xiang Xu was already laughing uncontrollably.

As expected of “Money-Burning Temper.” He could get so worked up over something as trivial as bad luck. This guy probably cursed the heavens if he saw rain while heading out.

Imagining the man’s frustrated look, Xiang Xu’s mood improved significantly.

“-Rest assured, I will not betray you. I am going to apologize to your boss now.”

As he typed the word “apologize,” a thoughtful glimmer flashed in Xiang Xu’s eyes.

Wait, what did he have to apologize for, exactly?