To Sweep Across Like Wildfire - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Twenty minutes later, the game restarted.

After Shen Qingruo’s explanation, Meng Chi had a basic grasp of the rules. She followed Shen as they jumped from the plane, and once they landed, she no longer wandered aimlessly; instead, she immediately entered buildings to scavenge for equipment. After Shen had adjusted the graphics and frame rate, the screen didn’t make her feel as dizzy. The keybindings had also been reset, making the controls more mobile and fluid than before. However, since Meng Chi had never played a game in her life, she wasn’t fully familiar with the function keys yet, so her movements were always a few beats too slow.

“This place is so poor. I haven’t found a scope in forever. Old Shen, do you have one over there?” Xie Zhen asked.

Shen Qingruo replied, “What for? To use a scope on bots? Don’t kill all the bots; leave some for the kid.”

Xie Zhen: “…Stop slandering me.”

Soon, Xie Zhen encountered a bot. Noticing Meng Chi wasn’t far away, she lured the bot over and said, “Xiao Meng, practice your aim. Don’t worry, it’s a bot; its damage is very low.”

In Game for Peace, every match has a hundred players with solo, duo, or four-player squad modes. Shen Qingruo and the others had chosen the four-player mode. Besides real players, there are also system-assigned “bot” players. These bots are essentially harmless and carry a lot of loot, so players are usually happy to hunt them.

Xie Zhen coached from the side, teaching Meng Chi how to identify a bot. Seeing Meng Chi listen so intently, Xie’s enthusiasm for teaching grew, and she began to relish the joy of mentoring a “newbie.”

Suddenly, the mechanical sound of gunfire echoed nearby. Xie Zhen immediately judged it to be a bot and led Meng Chi to charge in. But just as they got close, the “bot’s” stiff movements suddenly became fluid. A second agile figure flashed nearby. Xie Zhen’s heart sank as she yelled, “Holy crap! This person is faking being a bot! His teammate is closing in, find cover!”

Since the behavior patterns of bots could be summarized, people naturally imitated them to lure and trick real players. Under normal circumstances, Xie Zhen wouldn’t have been so careless; she had likely become too overconfident and let her guard down.

Very quickly, both she and Meng Chi were hit and collapsed to the ground.

“Old Shen, help…”

“Coming, I’m on the floor above you.” Hearing Xie Zhen’s cry, Shen Qingruo rushed to the scene.

“They haven’t finished Xiao Meng and me off because they’re waiting for you to come rescue us. There are at least three people around, be careful!”

As Xie Zhen noted, in combat, after knocking an opponent down, you can choose to finish them off immediately.

Shen Qingruo said, “They’re hesitant right now because they don’t know if there’s one or two of us left. Once they realize I’m alone, they’ll definitely finish you guys off and rush the building. I’m going to engage. You two crawl into the adjacent room. I’m counting down… 1…”

Phew, phew. Several notifications appeared on the screen:

Your teammate I’m Trash Don’t Hit Me knocked down Where Is My Pasta with a Crossbow.

Your teammate I’m Trash Don’t Hit Me eliminated [Where Is My Pasta with a Crossbow.

Seeing the weapon Shen Qingruo was using, Xie Zhen cursed while crawling for cover, “Even at a time like this, you still have to show off!”

Shen Qingruo replied airily, “Couldn’t find a gun. This will have to do.”

Xie Zhen was speechless.

Shen Qingruo shifted positions and said, “This round is in the bag. I found a UZI.”

“Forget it, they have fully-kitted AKMs. If you’d told me you didn’t have a gun earlier, I wouldn’t have bothered hiding—we could’ve just started a new match.”

“Shh, they’re rushing the building.”

Meng Chi looked at Shen Qingruo’s screen. The mini-map showed a chaotic jumble of footsteps. They stormed the floor Shen was on, but a second before they arrived, Shen Qingruo nimbly vaulted out the window and stood on the narrow exterior ledge to hide. She then fired with precision at the enemies. Because the enemies couldn’t pinpoint her location, they fired blindly, and she immediately knocked down and eliminated one of them.

This sequence of events happened in the blink of an eye, happening too fast for most to process. The last remaining enemy retreated while firing and quickly vanished from the building.

“Old Shen, your composure is insane,” Xie Zhen remarked, unable to hide her admiration.

“Good composure comes from superior skill.”

“…Stop acting cool. Hurry up and revive Xiao Meng and me.”

As Meng Chi watched Shen Qingruo’s screen, she saw the character leap down from the second floor. The camera flickered, and a strange corner of clothing was visible near a crumbling wall. Alarm bells went off in Meng Chi’s head as she shouted, “Watch out!”

Almost simultaneously with Meng Chi’s voice, a burst of rapid gunfire rang out. Shen Qingruo dashed to the side, jumping nimbly to dodge bullets, and circled quickly behind the house. She intercepted and eliminated the player who was trying to hide again. With only seconds to spare, she successfully rescued Meng Chi and Xie Zhen.

“Old Shen, you’re too strong! I love playing with you!” Xie Zhen was so excited she nearly hugged and kissed her.

Shen Qingruo, with an unlit cigarette dangling from her lips, let a faint smile play on her face. “It’s nothing. If you see any crossbow bolts, pick up a few for me.”

Xie Zhen: “?” Xie Zhen: “.”

Thanks. I successfully felt the flex.

Even the Spongebob Squarepants outfit Shen Qingruo was wearing seemed to radiate a sense of arrogance.

…

Over an hour later, Xie Zhen reluctantly exited the game. “If I weren’t so starving, I’d really want to keep going. My “feel” for the game is great right now; I might actually climb a rank.”

She clicked her tongue, stood up, and stretched. “I know a good BBQ place nearby. Shall we?”

As soon as they reached the East Gate of Changhu Park, the aroma of cumin and charred meat hit them. A few more steps revealed a small BBQ shop. There were only two or three tables inside; most of the seating was outdoors. Even though it was far from peak dinner time, there were already quite a few people there.

The shop seemed to be run by a family. The husband was a man of few words, focused on grilling the skewers. The wife was petite but efficient, weaving through the tables with stainless steel trays in both hands, always smiling and greeting everyone warmly. She even asked Xie Zhen if she had been there before, saying she looked familiar. Their mother, with a full head of silver hair, sat happily to the side massaging her legs and waving a large cattail fan, occasionally getting up to clear tables.

Seeing how busy the shop was, Shen and Xie didn’t wait to be served. They pulled out a folding table themselves, set out the disposable tableware, and grabbed plastic stools. Their movements were practiced and seamless, suggesting they ate BBQ outdoors often.

Meng Chi watched them, stunned, not knowing what to do. Before she could try to help, she was settled into a seat.

“Take a look, what do you want to eat?” Shen Qingruo stuffed the laminated menu directly into her hand.

Unable to refuse, Meng Chi ordered a few items at random. She rarely ever ate BBQ.

Soon, the skewers began to arrive. The meat was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, fragrant and delicious. Meng Chi unintentionally ate quite a lot.

An hour later, the three were stuffed. Xie Zhen had the leftovers packed to take back to the hotel as a midnight snack. Meng Chi thought the food was excellent and ordered a fresh batch to bring back for her roommates.

When she tried to pay the bill, Xie Zhen beat her to it. Xie Zhen said, “You drew that sketch for me and brought me breakfast earlier. This one’s on me. Besides, you’re so much younger than us and a student to boot; there’s no way we’re letting you pay.”

As Meng Chi prepared to argue, she felt a slight warmth on her shoulder. Shen Qingruo placed her hand there, seemingly to stop her from refusing, and smiled at Xie Zhen. “Well, that’s almost embarrassing. President Xie is being far too kind.”

Xie Zhen walked ahead with the takeout boxes. “Don’t be embarrassed. Just transfer me the money for your portion later.”

Shen Qingruo acted as if she hadn’t heard. “Aww, big sister is so generous. Thank you, big sister.”

…

It was getting late. The students were boarding the school buses. Meng Chi rushed onto her bus and handed the BBQ to her roommates. The scent of the skewers wafted through the entire bus, making everyone’s mouths water; almost every student came over to snag a bite.

After checking the headcount and seeing everyone was there, Meng Chi went to the driver and gave the signal. Soon, the bus started moving.

Once she finished her tasks and sat back down, she looked out the window. Shen Qingruo and Xie Zhen were nowhere to be seen; they must have headed back.

She had been too busy to dwell on her feelings, but now that she was idle, a sense of emptiness suddenly flooded her heart. Ten minutes ago, they were eating BBQ. Over an hour ago, they were playing games. And long before that, they were wandering through Changhu Park. Now, although she was surrounded by classmates, she felt lonely.

She inexplicably wanted to go back to this morning—to the moment she first saw Shen Qingruo. Then they could continue boating, playing games, and eating BBQ.

Meng Chi dazed for a while before deciding she needed to find something to do to escape this low mood. She pulled out her tablet to draw. The image of Shen Qingruo playing the game surfaced in her mind, and the melancholy in her eyes dissipated significantly.

…

Around 8:00 PM, Meng Chi uploaded a sketch to her secondary Weibo account and captioned it with a single letter: r.

In the sketch, Shen Qingruo had a cigarette in her mouth, playing a mobile game with a look of pure rebellion, which stood in stark contrast to the Spongebob Squarepants shirt she was wearing.

New comments popped up instantly. A regular follower, “One 70% Sugar Green Milk Tea Thanks,” sent three messages in a row:

“I’m screaming! Ms. R is too charming!” “Ms. R plays games? She looks so cool and cute at the same time. Please step on me!” “AAAHHH I’M DEAD!”

“Milk Tea” seemed to live on Weibo, replying incredibly fast. The provocative comments caught Meng Chi’s attention, so she clicked on the user’s profile and found the gender set to female. Milk Tea’s posts from a few days ago showed a photo of her holding hands with her girlfriend; it was clearly two girls.

So… Meng Chi suddenly understood. In that moment, even though she had never met “Milk Tea,” she felt a sense of closeness to her.

Before she could analyze the details further, other comments flooded in: “Is the Muse named R?” “R: Heh, I’m about to kill you all.” “R: I am a cold-blooded killer.” “R is so cute! Mommy loves you! Mommy gives you all the little hearts!”

Meng Chi momentarily forgot her earlier mood, browsing through the comments and wondering how to reply.

After a while, Meng Chi remembered that all her cigarettes had been confiscated. She opened a shopping app and had just placed an order for “Sea Breeze” brand cigarettes for women. Just as she was about to check out, a WeChat message from rr popped up:

“Back at school?” “Buying cigarettes?” “Do you want to be disciplined?”

Meng Chi nearly dropped her phone.

Could Shen Qingruo really have installed a monitor on her phone?