Chapter 396: VIP Lounge
As area A turned into an uproar, Yue Zheng blindly offered another bottle of alcohol. He had given quite a bit of alcohol to the guests here.
Right now he was in the VIP room of Frost River Reality, a favor for him made by someone else that wasn't being put to good use at all.
Human relationships were like so: when lips touch and contact is made through the phone, favors, big and small, are being done. The plan of the luxury room had shattered, causing him to lose his chance to act awesome. He had received his fair share of regret from this and was forced to send his apologies. This was because the people of this circle all had families that weren't inferior to his. They were targets that he needed to seriously curry favor with.
Because of this, he specifically had Fan Qu prepare high-end fruit plates, alcohol, and the like as he humbly paid a visit to the VIP floor. The time he wasted going back and forth tonight had already ground down his arrogance enough.
Here, this circle of people contained both warm people and cold people, and the host was quite close.
Yue Zheng had heard of rumors that spread from people before about the host, Ju Maoxun. He was the president of the Cloud City School of Business' Elite Society. His external appearance was decent, but his temperament was explosive. He had a nickname: the Butcher.
Perhaps because this was his first time meeting Ju Maoxun, Yue Zheng couldn't see how Ju Maoxun could have a temper at all.
Yue Zheng was also able tell that today's lead wasn't Ju Maoxun. Instead, it was a young man with the same last name. He was introduced as Ju Ling, and he was Ju Maoxun's older cousin.
Ju Ling was around thirty years old. He wore a crew cut hairstyle and had a neat appearance. He wasn't talkative and didn't even touch a single drop of alcohol in this venue. The occasional gaze from him revealed no ripples of excitement. Not a hint of emotion could be read from him.
Yue Zheng didn't engage in further conversation with him. He couldn't stay here for long, and he just offered another round of alcohol. He didn't immediately leave, though. He waited outside the door for Fan Qu, wishing to ask him for specific information and clarify the focus of the communication that would follow.
During this time, someone made their way past the corridor, bumping shoulders with Yue Zheng.
Yue Zheng felt that this person was familiar the moment he saw him. He sized the person up, fearful of being uncertain of the person's identity. The person must have felt it, for he turned around to reveal a frown. He appeared a bit unhappy.
Yue Zheng was scared that he had offended this person, so he rushed to bow. He laughed and said, "Young Master Hu San. You're Young Master Hu San of the border herders, right? Last month at the Sky Crystal Biology Cocktail Party..."
This young man interrupted Yue Zheng, "Who are you?"
Yue Zheng took in a deep breath and revealed a smile, "Hello Young Master San. My name is Yue Zheng. My father is Yue Qi of Wuyue Pharmaceuticals."
"Oh, Wuyue Pharmaceuticals. Last year your business had gone quite well." Hu Huaying laughed. He was clearly young, but he brought out a rigid social attitude. He politely shook hands with Yue Zheng. This obviously meant that he didn't want to engage in deeper conversation.
Yue Zheng had just offered a round of alcohol. His arrogance had been grounded away, and he was intoxicated by alcohol. His courage was considerable. He took the initiative to strike up a conversation, "Young Master San must have come here with friends for some fun. I don't know which room, but I'll pay you a visit in the future."
"There's a chance. I'm picking up a friend. I can't stay for long."
The VIP room at the side opened up at this time, and Fan Qu bursted out suddenly and saw the two people outside the door. This gave him a fright, but he grew even more startled when he saw the faces of these two clearly.
"Young Master Hu?"
Hu Huaying saw that Fan Qu was working, so he just gave a grunt. He had no intentions of talking. He simply left.
It was at this moment that Fan Qu noticed Yue Zheng's expression changed slightly. When Hu Huaying turned the corner, he asked, "You and Young Master Hu...."
"We chatted a bit at a cocktail party before." No one would care if this sort of cheap big talk was found out. Yue Zheng naturally embellished his words.
Fan Qu nodded before pointing at the room behind him. He whispered, "If you're going to talk with those guys again, I wouldn't mention Young Master Hu's name."
Yue Zheng was shocked, "There's bad blood between--"
"It's nothing. Just don't cause another problem to sprout." Fan Qu's words were clearly not the complete truth.
Yue Zheng was a bit disappointed about this. Actually, he would have liked to engage in further conversation with Hu Huaying. The Hu Family was an upper manufacturer. Their primary business was to fulfill custom-orders of raw biological materials for the major pharmaceutical manufacturers. Not only that, they had a close relationship with one of the few level suppliers of Sky Crystal Biology--The Xie Family. This relationship had to be calculated within as well.
If only he could have used the opportunity to get to know him today, that would have been truly ideal....what a pity!
Fan Qu could read most of his thoughts, so he took the initiative to pull him some distance away. He whispered, "Actually, these two circles are not affiliated. Young Master Hu is in the business circle while Young Master Ju is in the military/government circle. There may not be many people with notable families in that room, but each one of them has authority and power. Did you see Ju Ling, or Lieutenant Colonel Ju? He just transferred from the City Defense Force to the Coastal Defense Force. He was even promoted a military rank. He could be said to have boundless prospects!"
"Lieutenant colonel!" Yue Zheng started. Ju Ling had merely reported his name when they were introduced to each other, but he never said his post. But to be at this rank in his early thirties, didn't this mean that he was on a straight path to become General?
"He's a lieutenant colonel, but in any case he didn't arrive here until a bit later. I heard he was attending Chief Liu Ge's banquet. Apparently he heard that Young Master Xun was here, so he came over to check...."
Fan Qu's wristband suddenly vibrated, and his mind went blank when he saw who the contact was. He turned to push the door open, "Young Master Xun. You were looking for me, sir?"
Amidst the puzzlement, Yue Zheng heard the man inside say, "Little Fan, call Yue Zheng back over...."
The tone was firm, and Fan Qu started as he rushed to say, "Zhengster was just chatting with someone outside. He didn't go far."
There was a moment's pause before the man said, "Okay, call him back in."
Yue Zheng had long since heard Ju Maoxun's voice. Towards this sort of behavior, it would be a lie for Yue Zheng to say that he wasn't hesitant. There was also Ju Maoxun's tone. If Yue Zheng hadn't been caught up talking with Hu Huaying outside, he would already be downstairs by now. Ju Maoxun wanted to drag him all the way back. What was he up to?
But this was just the way the world was. People say things differently in front of others versus behind their backs. Plus there was also a difference in status. Thoughtless words and actions were far too normal.
Yue Zheng had encountered similar situations often enough. He soon adjusted his mood, tidied up the equipment and clothing he wore a little, and entered, "Brother Xun, you were looking for me?"
Ju Maoxun stood up laughing. He didn't speak. Instead, the room full of intoxicated drunkards shouted, "Fuck, let's take their challenge. It's those two bastards!"
"Fuck them to death! Crush them to death!"
An aura of enthusiasm had actually gushed up in here in the time he was gone.
What happened? Yue Zheng was a bit stunned.
Ju Maoxun wrapped his arm around Yue Zheng's shoulder in a very intimate manner as they walked just outside a lively area. This was the core zone of the VIP room. There was a 3D projector in the middle, and this place could be used as a strategy room. Surrounding the 3D projector was a circle of maglev cabins. Some had people inside. Some were empty. Though it couldn't compare to area A's hero seats in terms of total scale, the technology here was top of the line. Each place had their own merits.
The bustling of the hero area was being streamed here in real time. Ju Maoxun's explanation wasn't needed at all. Yue Zheng was able to understand the process of events with a few more glances. Even if he wasn't clear on some of the specifics, he was able to understand most of it from looking at the team-chat log.
This was when he felt how truly fucked his luck was.
Xue Lei and Luo Nan were both able to snatch hero seats at the same time? The probability of this happening meant that the luxury room certainly helped aid them in their success. This fucking luck. This fucking luck.... Why the fuck was my luck given to them!?
Yue Zheng immediately had the impulse to flee the room. Unfortunately, he was unable to express such unreasonable actions. He didn't know what his expression was like at the moment, but he knew that it wouldn't be anything good to look at. After all, he got fucked in the ass.
Plus, he still didn't understand why Ju Maoxun called him back. He could only try asking, "Brother Xun?"
Ju Maoxun still had an arm around Yue Zheng's shoulder as he tilted his head over. This overly-intimate physical content made Yue Zheng rather uncomfortable, causing Yue Zheng's boldness to weaken.
"I heard Fan Qu say that the two who snatched those seats are friends of yours?"
"Uh."
Yue Zheng instinctively felt that things weren't good when he saw Ju Maoxun's expression. He wasn't willing to take the hit for Luo Nan and Xue Lei at all, so he responded very honestly, "I just met them today. They are relatives of my little sister's classmate. They're both from Acumen College."
"Oh, from the same school as Tian Si."
Tian Si? He also knows Tian Si!?
A certain string thrummed in Yue Zheng's heart. He turned to look at Fan Qu, but because of Ju Maoxun's pressuring touch, he was unable to move an inch. Soon that feeling was destroyed before Ju Maoxun's mask-like smile.
"Yes, they invited Tian Si over....they should be quite close."
The moment he added the last few words, Yue Zheng felt as if he heard a demon snicker from the bottom of his heart. The many grievances accumulated in his chest suddenly vented out, replaced with a different kind of breeding thrill, like the sparks underneath ashes of grass.
Ju Maoxun patted him on the shoulder once more and a light flashed in his eyes, "Well I say. These two fellows are blind. They have no skin. The anger they've provoked in this crowd won't be appeased with their deaths. Acumen College is finished if every one of their people is like this."
The true color of the legendary Butcher had begun to appear, and it came without being concealed at all.
Yue Zheng felt emotionally uncomfortable, but he had already loosened his mouth. He wasn't qualified to speak further and could only stare blankly on in silence.
But Ju Maoxun wanted him to continue to express his stance. He acted more intimately because of this, "Zhengster. Give these two little fellows a small lesson. You don't mind, right?"
Yue Zheng almost blurted, "I don't mind," but in the end, he still had a bit of basic self-esteem. His shoulders stiffly shrugged when the words reached his lips. He pretended to casually respond, "Doesn't matter to me, as long as my sister doesn't get too humiliated."
Ju Maoxun laughed heartily as he patted Yue Zheng on the shoulder with great force. Then someone shouted, "Fuck! The system's gone into a cheap state. It's loaded the infinite slaughter environment. This is simply a giant reshuffle!"
Ju Maoxun turned to chide him, "The fuck you scared for? Just have the VIP room running idle for half an hour. We can join in time. Hurry up and drive them away. Let's go to their room and have some fun."
Yue Zheng stood to the side, feeling more and more awkward. Ju Maoxun finally took his hands off of him as he turned to ask Ju Ling, who had been quiet all this time. "Brother, won't you come along for some fun?"
Yue Zheng didn't hear anything. Ju Ling probably just gestured with his hands. Probably in refusal.
Only then did Ju Maoxun face Yue Zheng and say, "It's a lively time. Don't go. There aren't that many people who play Ten Days in the Wilderness here. There are still open maglev cabins. Come and have some good fun."
It wasn't as if Yue Zheng had never played with the maglev cabins in the VIP room before. It wasn't a rare occurrence for him, but it was hard for him to refuse an invitation offered by Ju Maoxun. He hesitated before saying, "My equipment isn't compatible."
"It's fine. Just rescan. Oh, hold on. Little Fan, there's a compatibility mode, right?"
"Yes, yes." Fan Qu didn't go searching for technical staff. He personally came over to calibrate.
By now, Yue Zheng was left in a position where he was unable to say any words of refusal. He said a nasally thanks and entered the maglev cabin under Ju Maoxun's eyes. He sat in the thick and broad seat. It was quite comfortable, but his heart was filled with uncertainty.
What in the world is Ju Maoxun up to?
No matter how much of a bind Yue Zheng was in, there was no shortage of hot topics for area A tonight. Over a thousand people watched and cursed at the scene. Some people even started gambling. All of this took the spot-battle of infinite massacre into a fiery bonfire.
With this many people watching, there was bound to be a considerable sum of people with sharp eyes. In the final loading phase of the environment, many people saw the anomaly out of the list of names.
"Oh fuck. Some people from the VIP area are in the mix."
"I was saying how the hell there could be over thirty of them. So it turns out a bunch of local tyrants make up the number. These means that five, six....seven spots will be squeezed out?"
"Twenty or so is enough too. Come on. Come and all get annihilated!"
"The VIPs can pilot fantasy types. Those are boss versions!"
"Sweep away the trash. Kill the boss!"
By now, who still cared about what the final result would be? Just giving them a good show was fine!
Who had once been the lucky fellows that were the targets of envy had become targets of amusement in the focal gazes of many. No matter the positives and negatives, it was all as sweet as syrup. This was the era of attention. The era of entertainment.
As one of the focal points, Luo Nan surprisingly felt the wonderful sensation of vanity. Perhaps his heart resonated with the emotions of the masses in this subtle mob mentality.
As Luo Nan explored the subtleties of his emotions, he laughed and simply changed hero characters.
He didn't spend much time at a loss for who to choose. He chose the same hero he used against Zhang Yingying when he first met her back at Ship Lanshan. He chose the trump card of the earth's military, the firepower hero Heiya. In their current environment, choosing a heavily armed hero was certainly not the best choice, but this was one of the only characters that Luo Nan could be described as being proficient with.
A few seconds passed, and the muscular high-ranking officer was already transferred. He arrived the cracked red earth of the Wilderness carrying the robotic dog Nubi.
This place had already become a public battlefield.
Xue Lei had been transferred to an area seven kilometers away. He was rushing over to convene.
They were enemies of the world on this day and were certainly everyone's target of fire. If they were to separate even further, it was high likelihood that they would get crushed to the ground by the other players.
Xue Lei's reactions couldn't be described as slow, but it wasn't enough to prevail over the magic power of luck. The distance between the two was extremely far. To convene quickly was a task of paramount difficulty.
The scanning results of the Fire-Eye platform drew the image of someone piercing across the plains for interception. The murderous intent was strong, and the player even broadcasted some words in the public channel:
"Purify the environment! Clean up the trash!"
"First finish cleaning up the trash before you talk."
Uh, this was the naive group.
There was a portion of people who spoke not a word. They lurked, cautious and vigilant. This was the economic group. They didn't want to trade at a loss.
But most players just fired shots after shots upon entering the battlefield, going on killing sprees. This was the casual group. If someone were to question them of their objective in joining the game, they would most certainly troll back.
"I'm having a great time fucking around!"
Yeah, things were quite complicated. Tired yet?
Luo Nan never had a fixed plan in mind nor had he thought of winning or losing. Ever since they were matched with the game environment and the battlefield of slaughter began, sanshou boxing training had ended. He just came to pass the time.
His consciousness merged into the character of Heiya, and he walked forward carrying Nubi along. However, he was a bit far from the center of the battlefield. The speed of the heavily-armed firepower expert was extremely lacking. It was unknown how long it would take for him to bring an enemy into the range of his fire coverage, especially with every character moving around at fast speed.
Within their circle of friends, Mo Peng and the others hated not being able to personally participate. They expressed themselves with ten times more vigor than Luo Nan, their group shouting loudly.
"Taunt! Taunt!"
"Huh?"
"Give Nubi instructions using voice control...."
Luo Nan did as was told, and he saw the tall and massive robotic dog, which carried two cases of ammunition, growl as it ran ahead. It turned, stuck up one of its robotic legs, and then.... sprayed piss everywhere.
Of course, the liquid that came gushing out was certainly a special chemical reagent. According to the preset system, a reaction occurred with the red earth, causing a bright yellow smoke to spawn and rush into the sky to become a twisted and sloppy dog face.
Heiya, this hero character, also followed established procedures. He swiveled over the thick barrel of his gun to point at the sky, and he loudly proclaimed,
"Targets! Go back home to the trash can where you belong!"