Xiao Xun smiled and took out his phone. His cousin hadn't called yet, so she must be really angry.
He looked up at the internet cafe manager. "Brother Guan, I have an account here that I've been playing for many years. Do you think you could help me sell it for some money to tide me over?"
The manager frowned. "You're not thinking of selling your 'main account,' are you?"
Xiao Xun nodded. "It's the only valuable thing I have right now. I don't want to sell it online; I'm afraid it's not safe. Do you have any buddies who play this game who could help me sell it? I'll give you a cut if it sells."
The manager looked regretful. "It seems you're really in a tight spot. That account was your treasure; you wouldn't sell it even when people offered a high price. But I have to tell you upfront, online games update too quickly now, and internet cafe business isn't what it used to be. Your account might not fetch much. If the price isn't right, you need to be mentally prepared."
Xiao Xun nodded and sighed. "Yeah! Back in the day, when I went to an internet cafe, I'd play games all night, only drinking mineral water and instant noodles for food. Now, internet cafes have everything from milk tea to fast food. Things change so fast; I can't keep up."
The manager also sighed. "I'm planning to learn auto repair after next month. Being an internet cafe manager isn't a long-term career. I've been a manager for over ten years, and all I know is how to shut down, restart, and change machines." He then chuckled, picked up two cans of energy drinks, and handed one to Xiao Xun. "Have this! My treat."
This time, Xiao Xun didn't refuse and put it directly into his pocket.
After finishing his instant noodles and drinking some of the broth, he sat aside and watched others play. The game they were playing was the same one he usually played, but their skills were questionable, and the camera angle was often in third person.
The person playing glanced at him, saw the injury on his left arm, and didn't say much more.
He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to at this hour.
Unknowingly, dawn broke.
The manager came over and patted his shoulder. "Brother Xiao, I'm off duty."
Xiao Xun stood up. The manager continued, "I've already spoken to the incoming manager. You can sleep soundly. I'll charge you the wholesale price for the instant noodles and everything. As for your account, I'll help you inquire about it. You can also check the prices online when you have time."
"Thanks, Brother Guan!"
"What for? We've known each other for so long. I'm leaving now! I'm getting old and can't stay up all night anymore."
Many people who had paid for overnight stays left early because they couldn't stay awake. A little time was left.
Xiao Xun went to pick a 'machine' to play, mainly to check the market price of his account. He quickly searched and found that Brother Guan hadn't lied. Very few people were buying accounts now, while many were selling them, driving the prices down significantly.
However, the account rental market was exceptionally booming.
But there's no turning back time. He could only check the prices as a reference. After all, he had played with this account for so many years, and selling it at a low price was truly difficult to accept.
After searching for a while, the overnight session time was up.
If this were in the past, many 'great gods' would go out for breakfast and then immediately start the morning session. But times had changed. Very few people opened morning sessions, let alone evening ones.
The regular visitors were mostly factory workers from nearby and people who liked to play offline together. Internet cafes had lost much of their appeal to students.
The entire internet cafe had only the manager and the cleaning lady. Thus, the sofas in the private booths were always empty. Xiao Xun took off his shoes, lay down on his side, and soon fell asleep.
It was not a holiday, so the internet cafe was very quiet during the day.
"Shouldering my bag, I leave home..."
Xiao Xun's phone rang with a 'pleasant' ringtone.
He woke up from his sleep with bloodshot eyes, rubbed his hair, and looked at the incoming call number, which was an unfamiliar local number.
He thought: Could it be that my cousin lost her phone card yesterday and just got a new number today, so she's contacting me immediately?
He impatiently pressed the answer button, and a gentle voice came through. "Sir, have you considered purchasing property in our city? I am Xiao Mei from Zhonghu Real Estate. Please give me..."
Xiao Xun directly hung up and went back to sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, he was woken up by an argument in a half-asleep state.
He rubbed his eyes and stood up, only to see that the person he had watched all night and the manager were arguing.
Yawning, he walked over to listen and found out that the young man playing the game had been taunted by someone from another team in the online game. They had a 'father-son showdown' to a gunfight, and he lost.
In a fit of rage, he threw his headset and smashed his keyboard. The manager naturally had to intervene, so the two began to argue.
Xiao Xun extended his right hand to break up the fight. "Hey, it's just a game you lost! I can help you win it back, but you have to apologize to the manager."
The young man looked at Xiao Xun. "What are you bragging about here? You can only use one hand, and you say you'll help me get revenge."
Xiao Xun smiled. "How about this: you tell the opponent that this round doesn't count and let's play another one. In addition to the 'father-son showdown' bet, let's add fifty prepaid game cards. If you lose, I'll pay for the cards. If he loses, you apologize to the manager. What do you say?"
The young man thought for a moment. "Deal, it's a promise."
Xiao Xun pulled over a chair and sat next to the young man. "You arrange it with him first, then you control the keyboard, and I'll handle the mouse."
The young man nodded. The manager was also watching from behind. He only knew that this young man with an injured left hand was a friend of his master; he didn't know anything else.
Soon, the young man arranged another match with the opponent. Before the match was set, there was a very 'motherly' verbal exchange. The young man's verbal skills were very impressive, making both Xiao Xun and the manager frown.
The opponent was so verbally beaten that he was furious and repeatedly spouted the same sentence like a 'repeating machine.' He had run out of words or was too angry to say anything else.
Finally, the young man joined the game and said, "Since prepaid game cards are involved, it must be best two out of three. We also need people from our respective teams to be witnesses and to broadcast it on the public channel with several loud announcements, mainly to ensure you don't go back on your word."
The young man's fingers tapped on the keyboard. "Okay, five each first, otherwise, people might think your dad can't afford the money."
The first match was on a classic 'shootout' map, thirty to five.
Xiao Xun's hand speed was incredibly fast. During the match, he adjusted the mouse sensitivity and basically headshot anyone he saw.
However, it was certain that the young man's mouth was also very powerful. He verbally abused the opponent so much that the opponent's mouse-holding hand trembled with anger, and his accuracy dropped significantly. Even without Xiao Xun, he probably would have won.
The opponent directly yelled, "What? You can't handle losing, so you're cheating!"
The young man laughed triumphantly, as if all these 'kills' were his. "If you can't beat me, just admit it. Stop blabbering here. Are we still competing or not?"
The opponent was silent for a moment. "We are. Today, I'll show you the prowess of a left-handed gun god."