Chapter 703 432: Mainframe Defeated

In this modern era, the pace of life is fast, and pressure is everywhere.

Busy work, complex interpersonal relationships, high living costs, and noisy environments make people feel utterly exhausted and anxious.

Faced with these invisible pressures, more and more people choose to immerse themselves in virtual worlds because there, life is colorful and completely different from reality.

Whether it's returning to the farm given by one's grandfather, farming in the mountain valleys and wild fields, fishing, mining, and embracing a simple, rustic countryside life.

Or arriving at the chaotic borderland, riding the Spirit Horse given by the flame girl, facing ancient legends on a passionate and grand battlefield.

The virtual world always provides something hard to find in real life, allowing people a moment of peace and satisfaction.

In this context, internet cafes have come into being, serving as a junction between reality and the virtual, and a place where countless people seek spiritual nourishment.

In an internet cafe located in Xicheng District, a strange smell greets you as soon as you open the door. The air is filled with thick dust, the floor littered with various unattended trash, empty drink bottles, cigarette butts, food wrappers, and scraps of paper are scattered everywhere.

Several fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling flicker on and off, casting a pale glow. The surrounding walls have yellowed due to long-term neglect, and even mottled mold spots have grown in the corners.

Many young people sit in front of computers, staring intently at their screens as their fingers tap rapidly on the keyboards, producing a clattering sound. The floor beside them is piled high with leftover take-out boxes and drink cans.

Occasionally, stray cats silently weave between tables and chairs, stopping to lick the leftover food scraps. The fan on the ceiling creaks as it spins, producing a sharp noise, unable to dispel the warm air.

Compared to those high-end, cozy internet cafes, this one is quite rudimentary; however, the internet fee is correspondingly low, and the clientele mainly consists of young people from poor backgrounds doing daily wage work.

Here, just 20 yuan can get you a whole day, waking to the keyboard and mouse to play games, then sleeping in the chair when tired, far more economical than those hotels charging dozens or even hundreds per night.

The internet cafe owner is currently sitting behind the counter, lazily dozing off. On the table are a few crumpled packs of cigarettes and an old, blackened kettle.

Beside the owner is a young child, who looks about eleven or twelve years old, sitting in front of the owner's private computer, playing a popular competitive online game.

The child's bright eyes fixate on the screen, seemingly fused with the in-game character. His fingers dance on the keyboard, producing crisp tapping sounds as the mouse moves precisely under his control. Every skill is released smoothly, as if these operations have become his instinct.

The game character on the screen agilely navigates between enemies, unleashing a dazzling series of combos as foes fall one after another.

The internet cafe is packed, and other booths frequently erupt in complaints over lost games or shouting during group matches, yet the child's face shows no change in expression. Focused and calm, as if nothing around him mattered, only the battle in the game was real.

At this moment, the owner's snores abruptly stop as he wakes, rubs his face hazily, and turns to look at the child's screen.

This round just finished, and the victory screen appears, along with a rank promotion insignia.

The owner immediately comes over, smiling and patting the child's back: "Well done, Xiaosu Mo, waking up and getting my account promoted."

Su Mo stands with his hands on his hips, looking triumphant: "Your account's rank is too low; I was just randomly killing. Can I play games myself now?"

The owner waves: "Play whatever you want, as we agreed, you help me level up, and I'll let you play for the afternoon. Play whatever you like."

Su Mo hurriedly closes the current window and opens a recently released single-player game.

Su Mo's family isn't too poor to have a computer. It's just that his parents are strict, thinking gaming leads to no future and disrupts study, so they don't allow it normally.

So he can only find excuses to hang out with classmates on weekends, then sneak into this internet cafe.

He is also an old acquaintance with the owner, and every "transaction" is quite simple — I help you level up, you let me play games.

The owner stretches lazily, suddenly noticing someone smoking in front of a computer and reminds: "Hey hey hey, smoke outside if you want to smoke."

The person replies inexplicably: "Yesterday you allowed smoking, why not today?"

The owner points at Su Mo, who is absorbed in his game: "Because there's a kid here."

The customer laughs: "Oh, damn, you let kids come into this internet cafe? Aren't you afraid of inspections?"

The owner lazily says: "I didn't let him on a machine; he's playing on my personal computer. Why can't he? If anyone checks, I'll say he's my nephew."

"Alright, alright, whatever." The customer doesn't argue and goes outside to smoke.

The owner, having woken up and bored, stands behind Su Mo watching him play games.

The owner himself has played this single-player game and is familiar with the plot, quickly noticing what Su Mo is doing.

The owner asks: "Why are you running this side quest? You don't need to do this task to clear the game."

Su Mo replies: "I'm saving the female lead. I read the guides that say if you don't do this side quest, the heroine will die."