A moment later.
Chu Ge heard a series of loud "bangs" from next door, as if the earth were shaking.
Startled, he pushed aside his keyboard, jumped up, and ran next door. He saw Qiu Wuji riding on the giant bear he'd bought the night before, punching it in the face: "I'll kill you! You tricked me into playing the game!"
Chu Ge: "?" Qiu Wuji turned and saw the real bear approaching, his eyes flashing with ferocity.
Chu Ge retreated, adopting a defensive stance: "It's normal for newbies to get crushed at the beginning."
"Is that being crushed?" Qiu Wuji cried indignantly: "I spend 90% of the game in the fountain! That's bad enough, but I also get called a noob. Who isn't a noob at the beginning? Enemies insult me, and even my teammates insult me, telling me to go back to the book, waaaaah..."
"...Speaking of which, no one in the group is carrying you? I thought four pro players should be eagerly helping you rank up. The world changes too fast, does Qiu Qiu have no one to carry her anymore?"
Qiu Wuji tilted his head back: "How could I possibly assume others..." "Master! Just ask them how to get in and pick heroes, which one is Shadow Fiend, and then we start..."
"You want to play MOBA games without anyone to guide you? What's with all this 'master' stuff..." Chu Ge said, then suddenly realized, "Shadow Fiend? Which noob taught you to pick that?"
"That's what everyone in the group says... They even told me to type a '?' to everyone," Qiu Wuji said. "I don't know why the enemy team went crazy attacking me. The towers were attacking him, but he didn't care, he just wanted to die with me... I didn't even know what happened before I died." Chu Ge remained expressionless.
"What's wrong?" Qiu Wuji jumped up: "Did they sabotage me?! I'll gag them when I get back!"
Chu Ge laughed: "That's why, all those people who claim to love Qiu Qiu are fake. The only one who truly loves Qiu Qiu is Chu Ge."
Qiu Wuji glared at him angrily without saying a word.
I was going to say you didn't teach me either, but then I remembered he was probably forced to write by me, so I can't really blame him... Waaah...
Whatever, it's all his fault anyway. What's the point of playing games? They're not fun at all!
Chu Ge stuck out his finger and poked her puffed-up cheek twice.
Qiu Wuji turned to bite.
Chu Ge pulled his hand back, missing.
Qiu Wuji punched the bear.
"Take it easy, if you hit it too hard, it'll break..."
"Mind your own business~"
Chu Ge felt sorry for the bear and obediently held out his finger: "Just bite me instead..."
Qiu Wuji looked at his finger, then at him, and said disdainfully, "You must be thinking about something lewd."
"You know so much now." Chu Ge laughed and cried at the same time, picking her up along with the bear: "Come on, let the bear teach you how to play games."
"Can you play?" Qiu Wuji asked doubtfully. Watching him sit there typing all day, how could he possibly have time to play games?
"The intervals between finishing each book are when I play games like crazy, day and night," Chu Ge sighed. "Once I'm typing, I can't play. Typing really interferes with playing games..."
Qiu Wuji: "..."
Chu Ge said, "Hey, tell me, isn't my entertainment particularly healthy?"
Qiu Wuji thought for a moment, feeling a little sympathetic: "To be able to describe a shut-in in such a refined and elegant way, you're something else."
"Stop cursing, or you'll offend people like Mengmeng..." Chu Ge sat down at the computer, put Qiu Wuji on his lap, and tried to teach her how to play.
Qiu Wuji felt she couldn't play while holding the teddy bear, and tearfully tossed it onto the bed.
"We should start by playing against the computer AI to get familiar with it..." Chu Ge hugged Qiu Wuji, guiding her small hand to operate the mouse, and began his tutorial: "For beginners, I generally recommend playing heroes like Skeleton King or Dragon Knight—they're tanky and deal damage, and their skills aren't many, making them easy to control... Or Lich or something like that. Basically, just throw out your ultimate in team fights, and occasionally place wards, and you're a decent newbie. We'll talk more after you get more familiar with them..." The novelty made Qiu Wuji forget the awkward situation she was in, and she looked at the hero pool with curiosity: "Oh, I see. So, which hero is the toughest?"
Chu Ge thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Spectre? Bristleback?"
Qiu Wuji perked up at the word "bristleback": "What's Bristleback?"
"A boar whose passive skill reduces a lot of damage, like Golden Bell... uh..."
Qiu Wuji turned to look at him, her eyes full of laughter.
Chu Ge himself laughed out loud. So Bristleback was actually himself.
This thought amused Qiu Wuji, who asked enthusiastically, "You're the 'Rockback Pig,' so who am I?"
"You? You play with swords, the Sword Saint, but the Sword Saint is a guy… How about trying Ice Maiden? Fair-skinned and beautiful, with a big bear."
"You even look at bears when playing this?"
"Ahem…"
"So Ice Maiden is Rockback Pig's girlfriend?"
"Good question. I suggest making a CP video and posting it on Bilibili. It'll probably be as popular as Lin Daiyu x Voldemort."
"It's like a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung!"
"Yes, yes, yes." The beautiful flower sat on the cow dung's lap, her body warm, her hair fragrant, her small hands moving the mouse, soft and delicate. Chu Ge didn't know if he was teaching someone how to play a game or flirting; neither of them seemed to be focused on the game itself, more interested in who was a CP than the game itself.
They chatted for a good half hour, without even playing a single game against bots, yet they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Even Qiu Wuji thought this was more fun...
The phone rang abruptly. Qiu Wuji reluctantly let go of the giant pig she was holding, looked down at her phone, and saw: Mengmeng.
"What's wrong, Mengmeng? I'm not going for tea today. I learned something new to play. Hey, do you want to play? Let's play together next time..."
"No, Qiuqiu, something's happened!" Zhu Mengmeng's voice was panicked: "My dad was beaten up today, just took him to the hospital... Waaah, he was beaten so badly, my dad is so old..."
Qiu Wuji: "!!!"
Her voice instantly turned cold and stern: "Who did it?"
"I don't know, waaaah..." Zhu Mengmeng was clearly flustered: "Qiuqiu, you and your boyfriend both have superpowers, please help me, okay?"
The game was just for fun; her friend's father being bullied was a serious matter. Chu Ge immediately let go of Qiu Wuji's arms; both of them felt they should go check on him.
Zhu Mengmeng possesses supernatural abilities. Although Qiu Wuji hadn't pried into her privacy or asked about her specific abilities, judging from the items sold in her shop, her family was well-informed about supernatural abilities or the resurgence of spiritual energy, leading him to deduce that her father was likely also a supernatural being.
A supernatural being inexplicably beaten up and hospitalized is certainly not something that can be resolved simply by sending a cartload of bread people. It's perfectly normal for Zhu Mengmeng to come to him for help.
The two abandoned their game and hurriedly rode their electric scooter to the hospital. Entering the ward Zhu Mengmeng had mentioned, they saw her sitting beside her husband, Cai Zhijian, crying. Upon seeing Qiu Wuji, Zhu Mengmeng immediately stood up and hugged him, crying, "Qiuqiu~" Qiu Wuji patted her comfortingly twice, his sharp eyes sweeping over Cai Zhijian.
Chu Ge had seen this man before with Yueying at the Miracle Nightclub, finding him somewhat extraordinary at the time. Now, he was clearly also on Qiu Wuji's suspicion list.
Cai Zhijian glanced at Qiu Wuji, a look of amazement in his eyes. He clearly hadn't expected Zhu Mengmeng's friend to be so beautiful.
He was still quite cultured, so he didn't show it. He stood up and extended his right hand to Chu Ge: "Mr. Chu, we meet again."
Chu Ge shook his hand and asked, "How is the old man?"
Cai Zhijian replied, "He's in a coma. The doctor said he won't be able to get out of bed for at least half a month. The specific extent of his injuries is still being analyzed."
Chu Ge nodded and went to the bedside to check on the old man.
Upon seeing him, his expression changed.
The old man was unconscious, his aura very weak, but Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji recognized it.
It was the masked man who often played chess with Zhong Yi in the dark room.
Now that the mask was removed, Chu Ge felt an added sense of familiarity. Qiu Wuji, having observed for a while, suddenly said, "I've seen this old man before... We were boating in the park that time, and he was taking photos by the river. Turns out he's Mengmeng's dad! What a small world!" The world was indeed small. Although they hadn't interacted much with the elderly photographer, nor paid much attention to his demeanor, the impression of this refined and cultured photographer was clearly different from the mine owner they had initially imagined. It inexplicably evoked more sympathy.
Besides, he was from the "Dark Room," which suddenly felt like an added layer of kinship.
Why is the Dark Room always targeted...? Chu Ge thought to himself, wondering if he should call Zhong Yi.
Thinking of Zhong Yi, he immediately remembered the person Yan Qianlie had mentioned.
That Du Lianfeng?
Could it be him?