Chapter 64: For the Game Console!
At night, the dorm room was dark, with only a little light coming in through the gap under the door.
“It’s here, it’s here!”
An Han kicked the door open and walked in carrying a box of beer.
“Junjie! Take out the table and chairs! It’s dinner time!”
“Is the barbecue here yet? I’m starving! And who turned off the lights again? It’s so dark I can’t see anything!”
Chen Junjie lifted his head from his computer and complained, “Why do you talk so much? You’re so noisy.”
Long Xing followed behind An Han into the dorm. He casually turned on the lights and set another box of beer on the floor.
“An Han seems to be in a pretty good mood.”
“Of course I am!”
It’s rare to meet a normal person!
Not like these guys… the moment they see a pretty boy, their favorability score goes up. Do they have problems with their orientation or what?
After putting down the beer, An Han quickly ran to the corner to get the folding table, then looked toward the lower bunk.
“Wang Sheng, hurry up and get up to eat.”
“Okay.”
By the time he set up the table and chairs and took out the barbecue and beer, Wang Sheng had already gotten out of bed.
“Here, drink,” Long Xing said, handing a bottle of beer to Wang Sheng.
Wang Sheng shook his head and focused on eating.
A group of men, there’s no problem a round of drinking can’t solve. If one round doesn’t do it, then two rounds will.
But the problem now was that Wang Sheng refused to drink at all. He never liked alcohol in the first place.
“Fine, don’t drink,” Long Xing muttered, setting the bottle in front of himself. He clinked his glass with Chen Junjie and complained, “If something’s bothering you, just say it. Drinking a bit will help you feel better.”
The three of them really wanted to help Wang Sheng with whatever was troubling him, but none of them were good at this kind of thing. In the end, they just stared at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
The atmosphere became uncomfortable until Long Xing finally broke it.
“Drink! Why are you all staring blankly?”
“Oh right, Xiao Han, drink less.”
“My alcohol tolerance is better than yours!” An Han said again, hugging the beer bottle and drinking straight from it, only to accidentally choke on it, coughing until his eyes watered.
After a few rounds of drinks and food, An Han’s face was already red. His eyes looked a little hazy, and he leaned on the table with one hand supporting his cheek, staring at the others.
Chen Junjie couldn’t handle alcohol well, and was now hanging off Long Xing’s shoulder, talking nonsense, while Long Xing listened helplessly.
Under the influence of the mood, Wang Sheng had also started drinking. After only one bottle, his face was as red as a monkey’s butt.
“Hey, Wang Sheng! Talk a bit,” An Han suddenly said, resting his chin on his hand as he looked over. “It’s nothing embarrassing. But if it’s something very private, then you don’t have to say.”
Wang Sheng hesitated, and Long Xing joined in.
“Yeah, if it’s something you really can’t say, then forget it. Just say what you can say. It’s better than keeping everything inside.”
An Han nodded quickly, completely agreeing with Long Xing.
“There’s actually nothing much… you guys keep asking…” Wang Sheng let out a soft sigh. “I was supposed to go for the tryout during National Day, right? So I went home first.”
“My family was pretty supportive at first, but then my dad suddenly got seriously sick…”
He paused, covered his face with his hand, then lowered his head and continued slowly.
“My mom talked to me. She said they could support me before, but now that my dad is ill and our family has no income, I have to grow up… She wants me to find a more stable job in the future. Even if I can’t pay for Dad’s treatment, at least I should be able to support myself…”
“I don’t even have a real future in pro gaming. The money I earn from games is all from boosting other people’s accounts.”
An Han nodded in understanding. “Yeah, you really have to face reality.”
The topic became heavy, and it was like once Wang Sheng opened his mouth, he couldn’t stop.
“I started gaming when I was fourteen. I became number one in the national server at sixteen. Back then, I didn’t go pro because I was too young and my parents were worried. But now that I’m older, my skills are already falling behind…”
Wang Sheng sighed. “I just want to play in one proper match. Even if I’m only a spectator, just to feel the atmosphere once would make me happy.”
[Task 1: Gather five strong teammates for him and enter a world-class tournament! Reward: Favor of Capital]
[Task 2: A simple internet café tournament works too? Reward: Limited Edition Crocodile-skin PS5]
[Choice 3: Forget it. A man only grows after his dream breaks. Reward: Random Attribute Points]
An Han glanced at the system popping up to join the drama. His eyes lit up. Just moments ago, he had been worrying about how to comfort Wang Sheng, now he suddenly had a direction.
He patted Wang Sheng’s shoulder and asked, “Then… how about we go play in an internet café tournament?”
As for world-class tournaments, those weren’t things you could enter with just five people.
But internet café tournaments? Much easier. Just gather five people and find a nearby tournament. At most it would be a little troublesome.
“Internet café tournament?” Wang Sheng looked up, confused.
“Yeah! Internet café tournaments have almost no requirements. I’ll help you find a few teammates. How about we play one match together?”
Long Xing curled his lips.
“Yeah right. No one plays CSGO in this country. What tournament? Even if there is one, where are you going to find four more people?”
“Isn’t President Wang Yu also a CSGO player? He’s pretty good too. If we include Wang Sheng, that’s only three more people needed.”
Wang Sheng nodded. “I know Wang Yu. He plays really well.”
An Han counted the people he knew. “There’s also someone in Dongming’s dorm who plays CSGO.”
“That guy is terrible.”
“It’s fine! We just need to fill the team!”
Wang Sheng suddenly looked more interested. “I have an online friend who lives in this city. I can ask him to come join.”
“Then we just need one last person. How about posting online to find someone?” An Han suggested. “If that doesn’t work, Brother Long and Junjie, you two can learn the basics for now?”
“Why should we embarrass ourselves!?” Chen Junjie rejected instantly. “And besides, none of the people you mentioned have even agreed yet!”
“That’s easy, Brother Long, you go find Wang Yu. You” —he pointed at Chen Junjie— “go talk to the guy next door. And Wang Sheng will contact his online friend.”
“What about you?”
“Me?” An Han looked shocked. “I’m the one coming up with the plan! Isn’t that the hardest job?”
[Wang Sheng’s favorability +10]
(Still only sixty. Not high.)
An Han continued pretending to be innocent. “I’m helping Wang Sheng find a tournament, right? My job is the hardest!”
Chen Junjie snorted. “You just throw out the problem and let us solve it. Impressive.”
Well what did you expect!? I did bring up the problem! That’s better than you!
Just as they were talking, Wang Sheng suddenly dropped his head onto the table with a loud thud.
An Han jumped in shock. “Hey! No no no no!”
“He’s asleep!”
“Oh… scared me… Is his alcohol tolerance really this bad?”
Long Xing then spoke worriedly. “How about you talk to Wang Yu instead? I’m not good at it.”
“What happened?”
“I have a bit of bad blood with the president. I don’t really want to ask him for help…”
“Oh… okay then.”
An Han was helpless. He wanted to act pitiful and beg Wang Yu himself, but he was afraid the guy’s favorability would suddenly shoot through the roof again.
In the end, he could only smile bitterly and nod. “Fine… but then you have to do something too.”
“I’ll go look for tournaments.”
“Good!”
This mission was going to be tough!
For the first time, An Han was full of motivation to complete a system task, this was for Wang Sheng’s dream!
The PS5 was just a… bonus.