To Sweep Across Like Wildfire - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Meng Chi thought for a moment. How could that be? This isn’t a spy movie.

It was likely that Shen Qingruo was intentionally bluffing to bait her.

She let out a soft breath and replied calmly: “No.”

Right after hitting send, she realized she hadn’t answered the first question. Logically, one should reply to messages in order. Meng Chi immediately wanted to retract it, but then she thought that retracting a message would make her look even more guilty. She could only bite the bullet and add another sentence: “I’ve reached school.”

Looking over her sent messages, they were quite ambiguous—did she mean she had just arrived, or had she been there?

Meng Chi stared at the chat box, hesitating for a moment, then exited the app. Forget it, let it be.

Five seconds later, she opened the chat with “rr” again, only to find no reply.

What was rr doing?

Meng Chi felt she was acting strangely. Usually, when she chatted with others on WeChat, she was straightforward; she rarely felt this conflicted or spent so much time weighing her words.

She forced herself to stop looking at the chat box. After all, if rr messaged her, there would be a notification.

After reading today’s financial news, she browsed Weibo aimlessly for a bit, then tapped on Peacekeeper Elite. Hearing the opening sound effect of the game, she realized she hadn’t turned the volume down.

After returning to the hotel from Changhu Park, she had read a few pages of a book before showering and lying down. Now, sitting up in bed, she reached for her earphones on the nightstand. Just as she was about to put them on, she was met with the intense stares of her roommates.

Lao San (The Third), who shared a bunk and was closest to her, caught a glimpse of her screen and said in shock, “When did you download Peacekeeper Elite?”

“Didn’t you say just two days ago that you don’t play games?” Xiao Er (The Second) looked equally surprised.

“Yeah,” Lao Da (The Eldest) chimed in.

Their expressions were more shocked than accusatory. Having lived in the same dorm for two years, Meng Chi had never played any games—not even universal hits like Candy Crush or Snake. They had thought Meng Chi was destined to never cross paths with the world of gaming, serving as the last peaceful boat on the turbulent ocean of the internet.

The “lone boat” paused for a second and said calmly, “I just downloaded it. Want to play together?”

Lao San said in a daze, “What did I just hear?”

Xiao Er was equally stunned. “Meng Chi is asking us to play a game.”

Lao Da said, “No wonder famous writers say if you live long enough, you’ll see everything.”

Lao San turned toward Meng Chi, looking confused as if she hadn’t fully processed the information. “You get on the game first. Wait for me, I need to find my earphones.”

Xiao Er said, “You guys start first. I still have some details to fix on my draft.”

Lao Da folded her hands over her heart in a “peace and love” gesture. “I uninstalled the game two days ago. You guys go ahead. I’ve realized that Candy Crush suits me better.”

Lao San had just logged in when she heard Meng Chi ask in a somewhat practiced tone, “Do you want to do Duos or Squads?”

This still feels so surreal!

A moment later, Lao San said Squads was better because it was more lively. She asked Meng Chi to wait a bit longer while she claimed some points to change her outfit.

Meng Chi casually scrolled through her game friends list. Seeing the greyed-out offline icons of Shen Qingruo and Xie Zhen, she suddenly thought of inviting them. She immediately opened the WeChat chat with rr: I’m playing Peacekeeper Elite with my roommates. We’re going to do a squad and need two more. Do you and Sister Xie have time?

Since Shen Qingruo had thrown that sharp question earlier, she hadn’t sent any new messages. She was likely busy.

This message also seemed to sink into the ocean without a ripple.

A moment later, just as she was about to hit “Start,” a WeChat message popped up.

rr sent a screenshot of her chat with Xie Zhen.

Earlier, when Shen Qingruo saw Meng Chi’s invite, she had screenshotted it and sent it to Xie Zhen. Xie Zhen said she was still busy but would play next time. She also sent a “face with tears of joy” emoji, saying: Tell Xiao Meng to just call me Xie Zhen. “Sister Xie” makes me feel like a neighborhood committee director—the kind with a red armchair band catching people for littering.

rr messaged: “Your Sister Xie doesn’t have time.”

rr: However, I do have some time.

rr: If you call me ‘Good Sister,’ I’ll get online.

This person was always trying to tease her.

Meng Chi paused, then typed the word “Sister” and sent it.

“Missing the ‘Good’ part,” rr persisted. “What’s the point of text? You should at least send a voice message.”

Meng Chi sent a string of ellipses, ignoring the request, and typed another text.

Meng Chi’s WeChat nickname was simply her name.

Chi: Didn’t you hear enough that night?

Shen Qingruo instantly recalled that night—Meng Chi pinning her to the bed doing this and that, biting her ear, and whispering “Sister” in her ear.

No matter how thick-skinned she was, her face couldn’t help but heat up.

A moment later, Meng Chi received a message from Shen Qingruo: “Meng Chi, you’re something else. I’m getting on.”

Shen Qingruo rarely called her by her full name, but she could tell the other woman wasn’t angry.

Those words seemed to carry Shen Qingruo’s seductive tone, whispering in her ear.

As the cool air from the AC brushed past her cheek, her mind momentarily drifted.

Quickly collecting her thoughts, she told Lao San that the friend she invited was online and they could play.

Lao San asked expectantly, “Is he/she good?”

Meng Chi: “I think she’s very good.”

A moment later, Shen Qingruo’s game icon lit up, and Meng Chi pulled her into the squad.

Lao San looked hopefully at the new teammate. She was wearing the default clothes provided by the system, her rank was lower than hers, and her name was “I’m Noob Don’t Hit Me.”

This… didn’t look like a pro.

She then reconsidered. Meng Chi had used the qualifier “I think” when saying the person was good. Since Meng Chi was a beginner, she probably thought everyone was a pro.

“Forget it, I have no inspiration. I’ll fix the drawing tomorrow. Have you guys started yet?” Xiao Er cut in.

“No, we’re one short. Get in the car.”

“On it.” Xiao Er logged in immediately. She had been immersed in her drawing and hadn’t heard the conversation. Seeing a stranger in the squad, she paused. “Is this a girl? Whose friend is this?”

Seeing the new friend wasn’t speaking, Lao San assumed she was shy. “Lao Si’s friend.”

They occasionally called Meng Chi “Lao Si” (The Fourth).

“Is she good?” Xiao Er asked the same thing.

After entering the game, Meng Chi clicked to follow Number 4 (“I’m Noob Don’t Hit Me”) for the parachute jump. She confirmed, “She’s very good.”

Xiao Er glanced at Number 4’s name and felt the same suspicion as Lao San. Really?

Upon entering the game, players wait in the lobby for a bit before boarding the plane and choosing a landing spot. Once close to the marker, they parachute down. Parachuting is controlled by the player; experienced players fly faster and land sooner to grab gear first.

You can jump alone or follow a teammate.

While waiting for the plane, static came from Number 4’s mic. Soon, she spoke: “Number 2 and 3, follow me. I’m pretty good.”

Number 3: “…”

They both thought the same thing: Number 4 had a very nice, mature “big sister” voice, but her words sounded a bit like a cocky kid.

Lao San wanted to play safely to rank up, so she suggested going to a remote part of the map. The others agreed.

Unexpectedly, luck was not on their side. Two other squads had the same idea and they ran right into each other.

“Hurry and find guns.” While looting, Shen Qingruo kept an eye on her teammates. Seeing Number 3 hiding in a building without moving, she urged them.

“We’re dead meat.” Lao San nervously gripped her only piece of gear—a frying pan. “There’s a squad downstairs that isn’t leaving. They just threw a grenade into our building.”

“They’re coming up! They’re coming up!” Xiao Er looked at the frantic footsteps on the mini-map and felt a wave of despair, thinking they were about to head back to the lobby.

At that moment, the sound of a Molotov cocktail being thrown came from downstairs. Shen Qingruo vaulted in through a window from the other side, gun in hand, and immediately downed one enemy. Her reassuring voice came through the mic: “They’re distracted. Quick, find a south-facing window and jump out. Hide in the buildings to the south; the loot there hasn’t been touched.”

Xiao Er and Lao San jumped out to loot. Just as Number 4 said, the southern area wasn’t just untouched; it was stacked. Once Lao San found her favorite M416, she felt much more secure.

The screen flashed notifications in rapid succession:

Your teammate [I’m Noob Don’t Hit Me] downed [I Am Immortal] with a Molotov cocktail.

Your teammate [I’m Noob Don’t Hit Me] downed [King of Erangel] with a Molotov cocktail.

Your teammate [I’m Noob Don’t Hit Me] eliminated [Who Dares Hit Daddy] with a UZI.

In a blur of notifications lasting about thirty seconds, Number 4 wiped out the entire squad.

Lao San couldn’t help but exclaim, “That was incredible!”

She took back her earlier doubts. So what if she wore default clothes? So what if she looked like a bot? A pro is a pro!

Accidentally opening the “All” voice chat, she heard the wiped squad shouting:

“Hey you on the other side, can you hear me? Come out and 1v1 me if you’ve got the guts!”

She thought Number 4 would ignore them. Just as she was about to close the mic, Number 4’s voice drifted out lazily:

“I can’t. I’m a noob.”

The other side: “…”

Infuriating! That was a total taunt!

Over an hour later, they had “eaten chicken” (won) three times in a row. Lao San and Xiao Er were grinning from ear to ear, acting like support troops behind Number 4. They kept asking if the pro needed this gun or that attachment. The “straight girl flirtation” was lethal. Unlike Meng Chi, who found it hard to speak up, they cheered wildly whenever Number 4 got a kill: “Sister is so cool,” “Sister is amazing,” “Ahhh, I want to be a soul under Sister’s gun.”

Lao Da, who was watching from the side, couldn’t take it anymore. She put down her quiet Candy Crush and said, “What are you two doing? Acting out a script for a cult leader and her brown-nosing followers?”

She leaned over to look at Xiao Er’s screen and was quickly drawn in, even joining the ranks of the flatterers. She started shyly, saying things like “Number 4’s shot was so accurate” or “Number 4’s movement is so fluid,” but later she was also saying, “Ahhh, Sister, that shot went straight to my heart!”

Meng Chi: “…”

She felt lonely. Because she was too normal, she was the odd one out.