While Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao were spending time together, Heng Fang and his wife were shopping.
“This is the busiest commercial complex in the city. Is it that deserted these days?” Heng Fang and his wife shopped and looked up at the human traffic on each floor of the mall. “Those that sell gold and jewelry feel like they have more salespeople than customers.”
His wife looked around as well. “Ever since the virtual world’s launch, fewer and fewer people come out at night. Most people enter the virtual world after work.”
Heng Fang nodded gently. “Right, the goods sold these days are all through livestreams in the virtual world. In the virtual world, you can try on any clothes you want. You can find any kind of clothes! Shopping is convenient and not tiring. Shopping in reality… takes time, and there’s very little to see.”
“Look over there.” His wife pointed at a few areas in the mall that had been covered and sealed. “Those closed down; many of the tenants have canceled their rentals. The virtual world has only been open for a month or so, yet it has such a huge impact… From the looks of it, there will be fewer merchants left in the mall in half a year.”
“If this continues, the malls will have to close,” Heng Fang said.
“It doesn’t matter even if they’re closed. You can order takeout for meals. Those are all first-rate chain restaurants, and the chefs are all top professional robots,” his wife said. “Some forms of entertainment are much cheaper in the virtual world.”
“Cherish the mall in front of you. It will become a memory in the future.” Heng Fang sighed with emotion.
This was the current era. Some online companies had suffered a setback, and now, physical stores were suffering a setback. Those selling goods also switched to the virtual world. The cost of selling goods there was lower with a larger customer base.
…
“Why are you eating so slowly? It’s been half an hour! You haven’t finished eating!” Liu Chongyuan—who was as muscular as a bear—roared at his three daughters. “When I was your age, I wolfed down my food and finished it in a short time. You talk so much while eating. Don’t you know not to talk while eating?”
The three daughters lowered their heads and ate slowly.
“You—isn’t it just a piece of meat? Can you finish it in one bite? This piece of meat has been in your bowl for ten minutes. How many times have you chewed on it? You haven’t even finished half of it?” Liu Chongyuan stared at his eldest daughter.
“The flesh is a little tough,” the eldest daughter whispered.
“And you—take a look. Look at how many rice grains are on your table! Is there a hole in your mouth? Clean it up yourself!” Liu Chongyuan roared.
“Okay.” The second daughter got some tissue and wiped the table.
“One piece of tissue will do. Can you not be so wasteful?” Liu Chongyuan was so angry that his veins were twitching. He turned to stare at his third daughter. “You, don’t laugh! You eat the slowest.”
“Dad, I’m a little dizzy.” His third daughter held her head. “Perhaps I had a heat stroke from my exercise today.”
“You’ve already practiced the evolutionary method, so how can you suffer from heatstroke? Can you change the reason for lying? Show me your hand!” Liu Chongyuan picked up the ferule beside him.
“Mom!” his third daughter immediately shouted.
Her mother was watching the news a distance away. She was very calm and said casually, “Don’t call me. Your father is the one who’s taking care of your meals today. I’m not going to do anything!”
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Liu Chongyuan held his third daughter’s palm with one hand and slapped her with the other. “Let’s see you lie again!”
Eight minutes later.
“Let’s go to the virtual world!” The three daughters immediately went to their rooms.
Liu Chongyuan then collapsed into the living room.
“It’s too tiring. Watching them eat a meal is more tiring than fighting ten matches.” Liu Chongyuan sat there.
“Calm down. It’ll be better when they get older,” his wife comforted.
“Why did we give birth to three? Just one gives me a headache. Three… How are they a father’s beloved? They’re three mountains.” Liu Chongyuan sighed.
His wife said helplessly, “How would I know? Why would I know I would have triplets?”
“Also, we have to start house hunting,” Liu Chongyuan said. “Let’s quickly change to a bigger house. With the three girls chattering all the time, it gives me a headache. We should also buy a better butler robot to help take care of the children.”
His wife immediately became expectant. “You got the money?”
“Soon. I’ll receive the prize money the moment the competition ends.” Liu Chongyuan thought of the prize money and said happily, “It’s at least ten million. If I make it into the finals, the prize money will be even higher! This is the most I’ve ever earned. I was really carried by Old Xu this time. I won without doing anything!”
“You have to work hard too. Don’t be a burden,” his wife said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll work hard too,” Liu Chongyuan said.
“Are you confident in the semi-finals today?” his wife asked.
“About that…” Liu Chongyuan felt a headache. “Senior Lei Yunfang is still a little terrifying.”
…
“You can do three-digit addition and subtraction, but you get two-digit addition and subtraction wrong?” Yang Qingshuo looked at his son. “Yang Tao, what’s wrong with you?! How can you get ’18 plus 3′ wrong? It’s a question that you could solve during kindergarten!”
“My eyes were playing tricks on me.” Yang Tao lowered his head.
“Do a hundred questions of two-digit addition and subtraction. You are not allowed to enter the virtual world unless you finish them,” Yang Qingshuo said.
“Okay.” Yang Tao hugged his father and leaned against him. “Dad, don’t be angry. I’ll do it seriously.”
Yang Qingshuo gently stroked his son’s head.
“Shuo, I heard you shouting from my room. You have to be patient when teaching children.” Mrs. Yang walked out.
“Mom, help me take care of Tao Tao. I’m going to the virtual world first. The semi-finals will begin tonight, so I need more practice.” Yang Qingshuo got up.
“Go on, go on,” Mrs. Yang said with a smile.
…
In a personal space, in the martial arts arena.
On the battlefield, more than 100 cavalrymen charged at Wang Yi.
With just a bow, Wang Yi strafed arrow after arrow. The arrows were extremely fast, and the cavalrymen collapsed one after another.
The last cavalryman was killed by an arrow when he was five to six meters away from Wang Yi.
I’ve practiced archery until it’s instinct, but I still haven’t broken through to Lv. 3, Wang Yi thought. I followed the methodology of ‘Lv. 5 Archery’ the country gave me and still can’t break through. Why is it so difficult to break through to Lv. 3?
Wang Yi had long reached Lv. 2 99% in all aspects and had been stuck at a bottleneck for more than half a month.
I won’t be of any use in this match unless I break through to Lv. 3. Wang Yi continued practicing her archery. Continue practicing.
******
Late at night, China’s official livestream channel in the virtual world was extremely lively. A massive number of people kept pouring into the livestream, and the number of viewers in the livestream reached 600 million—it kept rising.
In the past few days, all kinds of media outlets had been reporting on the Firestarter Cup. This was the biggest news in China in the past few days. People were naturally attracted, and the later battles became more intense and drew in bigger crowds.
Xu Jingming and Li Miaomiao arrived in the stands together and saw their parents.
“Old Xu!” Liu Chongyuan shouted from afar with his three daughters.
“Old Xu, why are you so late?” Heng Fang and Yang Qingshuo walked over.
“You guys are early. The competition only starts at midnight; there’s still 20 minutes.” Xu Jingming smiled. “Sister Yi isn’t here yet? That means I’m not the slowest.”
A group of people gathered together.
“Jingming, I’m about to assemble with the team. Follow me and greet your elders,” Xu Hong greeted.
“Coming.” Xu Jingming immediately went over.
“Let’s go.”
The two of them tapped lightly and were teleported to Liu Hai in the stands.
Liu Hai stood there, surrounded by Dai Tongda, Tian Yiqu, and Qiu Yong. Beside him were some of his relatives. Dai Xiaoqing was also among them.
At this moment, Zhou Fan appeared with his son, Zhou Yi.
“Come and greet your seniors.” Xu Hong walked over with his son.
“Master.”
“Master.”
Dai Tongda smiled when Xu Jingming greeted him and Liu Hai. “Strictly speaking, Jingming only has three masters after all these years—me, his father, and Captain! Now that all three masters are on our team… Jingming, if you attack us in the finals, you’ll be committing treachery against your masters!”
“Listen to what you’re saying—” Zhou Fan walked over and smiled. “Xu Jingming doesn’t even need to attack you; his teammates can deal with you. The only one who needs Xu Jingming’s attention is Captain.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing him defeat me.” Liu Hai looked at Xu Jingming.
“There’s still a huge gap between Master and me,” Xu Jingming said. “Moreover, the biggest obstacle we’re facing now is Senior Lei Yunfang. Our team is under a lot of pressure in the semi-finals that are about to begin, and we don’t have the slightest confidence in overcoming this hurdle.”
Everyone in Liu Hai’s Elderly Team nodded when they heard that.
“Lei Yunfang is very impressive.” Liu Hai nodded. “With his movement technique, it’s very difficult for you to surround and attack him or do a one-on-one battle… This semi-final match will be very dangerous for you. In short, don’t think too much and do your best.”
“You’ll only know who’s stronger after fighting,” Xu Hong said.
Xu Jingming nodded.
“Xu Jingming.” Zhou Yi walked over and shook his hand.
“Zhou Yi.” Xu Jingming extended his hand.
“I saw the battle between you and Fang Yu—you completely suppressed Fang Yu and defeated him. I’m very impressed,” Zhou Yi said. “I lost to him.”
Xu Jingming said, “He wore heavy armor, so that gives him an advantage against you.”
“If I were to encounter you, you would still be able to charge in front of me with your two shields and kill me with a single strike.” Zhou Yi shook his head. “I’m indeed weaker than the two of you. My archery isn’t good enough; otherwise, Fang Yu wouldn’t be able to block my arrows. My movement technique also isn’t fast enough. If I were fast enough, he wouldn’t be able to get close to me.”
“Let’s work hard together,” Xu Jingming said.
Zhou Yi gave Xu Jingming a deep look, nodded, and left.
Xu Jingming walked over to Dai Xiaoqing.
“Senior Brother.” Dai Xiaoqing smiled.
“Feeling stressed?” Xu Jingming looked at the girl.
“Immensely.” Dai Xiaoqing wore a bitter expression. “My father and the other seniors are all scheming and cunning like foxes. The most terrifying person is Senior Liu Hai; he’s the world champion. Our entire team is thinking of throwing bodies at him—every single one of us counts.”
“All the best,” Xu Jingming encouraged.
Dai Xiaoqing looked at the system notification and immediately said, “I have to assemble with the team. I’m about to go on stage.”
“Go on.” Xu Jingming nodded.
…
After walking around and meeting some friends, Xu Jingming returned to his team. It was almost midnight, and the highly anticipated Firestarter Cup’s semi-finals finally began.