Much of Ji Shileng’s sleepiness vanished. His instincts told him something was definitely suspicious.
He thought it over. Su Ke had been with him constantly lately, and there did not seem to be anyone around who could have become a secret romantic prospect.
“You little brat. Did you hire someone to boost your account?”
Su Ke blinked. That was not exactly wrong.
“Yep. Found myself an absolute god-tier booster”
Ji Shileng fell silent.
He had known it.
“You’re dismissed. Nothing more for you here”
Since graduating from Imperial No. 1 High School, his gaming time had dropped sharply. Simply completing his daily tasks had been an achievement.
Later, he had handed the account over to Su Ke altogether.
Apart from occasional guild battles, prize draws, and spending sprees, he had barely logged in.
Su Ke acknowledged him, then stubbornly opened the game again.
He pulled up his list and glanced at the profile of the friend pinned at the top before turning to Ji Shileng.
“Shi, want to rediscover your passion for the arena and fight alongside me?”
The character named Shileng stood against a vast backdrop of stars, his white hair flowing freely.
Ji Shileng stared for a few seconds before remembering to answer.
“We can take our time playing once we’re home. We have plenty of time anyway”
“Huh?” Su Ke asked. “Aren’t you supposed to pack up and head to Z06 once we get back?”
“No. I’m not planning to go”
Ji Shileng beckoned the little robot over to pour him a glass of water.
The clear glass reflected his tired eyes.
Su Ke remained astonished for a while, then scratched his head.
“Not going is good too. Who’s representing the studio, then? Me?”
He did not mind going. It was just that no one had told him beforehand.
Holding the glass in both hands, Ji Shileng shook his head. After taking a sip to soothe his throat, he said, “The technical consultant will go. Neither of us is going”
He had considered sending Su Ke to Z06 as Joker Studio’s representative.
But given Su Ke’s temper, with Ji Shileng absent and Ji Shifeng busy, there would probably be no one available to keep an eye on him.
Worried that he might offend someone and face deliberate difficulties from other nations, Ji Shileng had ultimately decided that sending the consultant with a professional team would be safer.
The consultant spoke mournfully.
“Of course. Who else could be this unlucky? Unloved by both parents and exploited by the boss”
“Don’t want your year-end bonus?”
The consultant demonstrated his remarkable adaptability at once.
“I’m sorry, Boss. I was rambling, talking nonsense, and operating without a brain. Please don’t hold it against me”
He could not lose his year-end bonus!
Ji Shileng was speechless.
“Do a good job. You won’t be shortchanged on your pay”
The consultant clenched a fist, his whole being ablaze with determination.
“Rest assured, Boss. I’ll work hard”
After a moment’s thought, he added, “If you need a god-tier booster, I can take your account to Dugu”
The season was almost over. With Ji Shileng’s long-neglected mechanics, reaching Dugu in such a short time would be difficult.
If he wanted a booster, he might as well hire the consultant and let him earn a little more of his boss’s money.
Logging in, Ji Shileng opened his profile. The word “Bronze” appeared beneath the arena section.
“There are only two or three days left. We’ll talk about it next season”
“Focus on the military competition first”
He opened Su Ke’s profile from his friends list. Seeing 4,995 points in the Dugu tier and a 92 percent win rate left him speechless for a moment.
“Your booster got you that win rate. Maybe you should stop touching the account”
Su Ke refused. Defeat only made him more determined.
Sending his opponent another challenge, he declared, “No way. I’ve run into that JianliShiFangLeng again. I’m taking back the victory that belongs to me”
Ji Shileng entered spectator mode and told the consultant, “If he loses this one too, you can start advertising your services”
The consultant got up from the sofa and crouched beside Su Ke to watch.
Who would pass up a chance to make money?
“Let me check the opponent’s skills first. Honestly, it’s always the same few people in Dugu. This is the first time I’ve heard that username”
Less than two minutes later, a large “Defeat” appeared on Su Ke’s screen.
Having watched the entire match, Ji Shileng felt the loss was thoroughly deserved. His opponent had dominated him from start to finish.
Though Ji Shileng’s mechanics had grown rusty after so long away from the arena, his game sense remained intact.
The consultant’s eyes lit up.
“That guy’s got some real skill. He’s a strong opponent”
Before he had finished speaking, Su Ke stubbornly sent another challenge.
The opponent declined, then sent Su Ke a friend request instead. The accompanying message read: Stop being stubborn. If you’re bad, practice more.
Su Ke’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot. He accepted the request furiously.
Grinding his teeth, he prepared to keep sending challenges without giving up.
But a second later, the opponent removed him from their friends list.
The consultant spared the studio’s second boss no dignity whatsoever and burst out laughing.
Between laughs, he shared the story with the Ji brothers.
“I’m dying! That guy’s so cocky. Just told him, ‘If you’re bad, practice more’”
“Then deleted Young Mr. Su the moment the request was accepted”
Ji Shifeng glanced at the sulking Su Ke.
“It’s a game. Winning and losing are normal. If you really can’t accept it, call in reinforcements”
He placed particular emphasis on “reinforcements.”
Su Ke blinked very slowly, his frustration easing considerably.
Ji Shileng raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest entering his eyes.
“This is actually good. At least it’s saved Su Ke’s win rate”
If he stopped playing, he would stop losing. His win rate would stop dropping.
“His original booster would probably have a heart attack seeing this”
After all that effort climbing from Bronze to Dugu with a win rate above 90 percent, Su Ke had sent it plummeting in mere minutes.
Su Ke cast a guilty glance at Ji Shifeng, only to be caught looking.
Ji Shifeng closed his book and said with perfect seriousness, “The booster might be delighted. The win rate drops, and another order comes in”
“That’s true too”
Everything had two sides.
Determined to rekindle his love for the game, Ji Shileng decided to recruit more talent for his guild.
First, he rejected a string of friend requests. Then he opened the search bar, looked up JianliShiFangLeng, and sent a request.
The response came faster than expected. It was accepted almost immediately.
He had to admit that seeing the username made his eyes sting.
Only for a fleeting instant. When he looked up again, his eyes were calm.
During the interstellar military competition, Path to Stardom planned to replace its major events with guild battles spanning every server across the interstellar world.
Even if something went wrong with guild battles, it was unlikely to become too serious. At least there would be no event data for the other side to steal in advance.
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