Avatar Online

After lunch, Zhenzhen decided to study properly while Liu Ye and Xu Yue began to discuss their work. No matter if his debt was cleared or not, he would still help her in the game. She was helping him and Zhenzhen so it was only natural. 

In fact, if not for Xu Yue's appearance in his life again, he would probably be killed or kidnapped on his way to work. The least he could do was help her. 

"My, my, it seems like you are famous on the forums," Xu Yue commented as they searched the web for valuable information. "Grind God, the top player on Avatar Online taking all possible records. Is he a god-like player or a beta-tester with advanced knowledge?" 

Xu Yue gave him a doubtful glance while reading another glorifying title. "It seems like many think you have some connections. Is there something I don't know?" 

"I'm just lucky," Liu Ye replied as he pointed at one of the posts. "Apparently another team finished the Ice Queen at the same time as me. I was just a few seconds faster." 

Countless players were sharing their experiences on the Avatar Online official forum as everyone was excited about the future of the game. The top posts had tens of thousands of upvotes as the forum easily became the most visited site of the day. 

"Oh, yeah. The White Knight Guild," Xu Yue nodded as she scanned the post. "I read about them when I researched about other guilds. They seem to be present in every major VR in the past and their main goal is profits. They are usually the main suppliers of high-tier gear on the markets."

She reached the end and laughed, "Hah, it seems like they challenge you to compete against them for the First Clear. They are confident they are the most professional guild on the scene." 

"Let them say what they want. The only competition we have is ourselves," Liu Ye commented unbothered but Xu Yue squinted her eyes. 

"We can't do that. They are trying to leech your popularity to boost their presence. They don't lose anything even if they lose but gain a lot if they manage to win," Xu Yue explained and she didn't hesitate to open a login window. "We have to verify you and start building our Guild as well."

Avatar Online forum was special since every player could only make one account that was linked with their unique console ID. One couldn't impersonate another player unless they somehow stole their console but even then, their account would be quickly flagged. 

"Wait, I forgot that we don't have your console here," Xu Yue muttered after a moment of realization. "Can you give me the keys to your house? I will send our butler to get it for us. Don't worry, he can be trusted." 

Liu Ye hesitated for a moment but still passed the keys to her. They didn't really have anything valuable in their apartment and the Headgear was probably the only electronic worth taking. 

"It's in my room, second to the right after passing the lobby," Liu Ye explained as she grabbed them. 

"Alright, I will tell him to buy another console for Zhenzhen while he is at it," Xu Yue replied and left the room, leaving him alone in the office. He could only return to browsing the forum as he claimed the whole chair. 

He browsed a few guides that people prepared in the hope to gain some followers but he barely liked any. They only focused on the basics that he already knew. It was hard to expect more though after just one day of playing. Given more time, he could maybe discover some play styles that he missed. 

[Luring Threat] 

Liu Ye found a search option and typed his Quest in the bar out of curiosity. When he clicked enter, all the posts disappeared. 

0 search results were found. 

His eyes couldn't help but go wide, surprised no one talked about it. One explanation could be that no one has received the same quest while another was the opposite, no one was willing to share it. He personally wouldn't reveal anything even if they paid him. 

[Grind God] 

107483 search results were found.

He raised his eyebrows again, this time from the number of times he has been mentioned. The top post came from the White Knight while the second top upvoted post surprisingly came from the Flaming King. 

[Grind God is a bitch! He killed me three times.]

The title was already cursing him but Liu Ye expected nothing less. His actions did cause the death of almost everyone on his server and he did kill him multiple times. The death in the Red Zone hurt Flaming King the most, causing the three unlucky players to be salty on the forums. 

Liu Ye read the beginning and Flaming King basically wrote a whole article on why Grind God was a toxic player. He couldn't help but skip all the way to the comments and smiled reading the ongoing roast. 

[Flaming Emperor: I am sorry guys. I forgot to close the door and my kid wrote a cringy post. I will do better next time.]

[NinjaStyle69: Someone is salty they got beaten like kids. If you can't accept defeat then don't play multiplayer. Try Sonic the Hedgehog.]

[ILikeTrains: I like trains. Also, respect for Grind God.]

All top comments were roasting Flaming King and supporting Liu Ye's actions as if it was normal. The game was basically designed to support killing between players so only those who died were complaining. 

"What are you smiling at?"

Liu Ye was so focused on reading that he didn't notice when Xu Yue entered the office. She was walking like a ninja which caught him off guard. 

"Just checking the comments on posts," Liu Ye replied as he saw her lock the door behind her and come over while carrying some paper. "What do you have?" 

Xu Yue pursed her lips and first walked to the bedroom door where Zhenzhen was studying. She checked on her and shut the door ever so slightly to give them more privacy. 

"What are you doing…?" Liu Ye questioned suspiciously. She was smiling as if she had some naughty plan in her mind. 

"Look what I found. I forgot that I noted our IDs and codes when I bought the consoles. We can log in to the forum right away," Xu Yue explained casually as she walked up and placed the paper on the desk.

Liu Ye nodded in approval and tried to stand up to give her the chair back but Xu Yue pushed him down while walking behind him. "Don't. You can stay seated. I will just watch from behind." 

"I know what you plan to do," Liu Ye muttered, seeing her hands dangerously close to his head. "Don't get any weird ideas. Zhenzhen is just next door." 

"What? I'm not doing anything," Xu Yue assured with feigned innocence but still placed her palms on his shoulders. "I was only going to massage your shoulders. They seem stiff." 

It would be a lie if he said her massage didn't feel good so he ignored it, letting her do what wanted. He opened the login window and quickly registered both of them before changing his own password just to be sure. 

Liu Ye then returned back to Flaming King's post and commented on his own. 

[Grind God: Get gud.]

Posted. 

He tried to act cool but Xu Yue burst out laughing, causing him to smirk as well. 

"What? You told me you want to use me to boost your Guild so I'm starting by improving my presence as well," Liu Ye explained, only to receive a soft caress on his face. 

"Why are you explaining yourself? I love it about you," Xu Yue praised as she began gently scratching his head. "You are often acting cool and aloof but you will shoot back if someone points a gun at you." 

It took the comment a few seconds to get noticed and Liu Ye received a bunch of notifications, forcing him to block the sound. He momentarily grew to the top comments and everyone started to follow his account. In just a few minutes, his following broke a thousand. 

It wasn't the only thing that grew as Xu Yue's boldness increased as well. 

"Xu Yue, your hands," Liu Ye warned as she used the situation to lean forward and caress his chest as well. "Don't take a whole hand when someone gives you a finger." 

"You loved it when I did it for you back then," Xu Yue muttered as she rubbed his neck, but she didn't argue, switching her offense. "Anyway, let's move to White Knight Challenge." 

She pulled on the chair ever so slightly and casually sat down on his thigh. He caught her waist, wanting to push her away but she already anticipated it. 

"I agreed to your bet and even wasted my wish on a foot massage. Can't I at least have just this much? It's just a hug," Xu Yue argued. "I won't do anything uncalled for. I know how you will react." 

"…"

He sighed speechlessly and allowed her to sit down. Xu Yue was slowly taking more and more from him and he had no choice but to keep cool. The main reason he didn't want to be with anyone was the possibility of being forced to run away. If the situation became critical, he knew some good ways to simply disappear. 

"Let's establish our Guild," Xu Yue muttered as she paid no attention to his worries and focused on the response. 

[Grind God: The only competition I have is my own guild, Red Dragon. If you want a challenge, clear the Dungeon like me, solo. Good luck.]