Li Xiaohui stormed into Phoenix Power E-Sports with a group of black-clad underlings in tow, her presence radiating intimidation.
The first-floor lobby of the internet café was already in chaos.
"What the hell? Did the computers get hacked?!"
"What’s going on? Is my game account stolen?"
"My QQ account is already at Sun level—don’t tell me it’s gone!"
"What kind of shady place is this? I just topped up my balance!"
"........."
The customers, who had been happily surfing the web, were now panicking as their screens suddenly turned blue.
In this era, account theft was rampant—whether it was gaming accounts or QQ numbers, nothing was safe.
Back then, accounts still held real value. A QQ account leveled up to Sun status could sometimes sell for over a hundred yuan.
Unlike later years, when no one even wanted them for free and QQ’s popularity dwindled.
Since real-name verification wasn’t mandatory yet, losing an account often meant you were out of luck—recovery was a nightmare.
Many internet cafés even openly sold QQ accounts, especially those with Sun-level status or short, desirable numbers, some priced at thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan. It was that insane.
The sudden mass blue-screen crash had the café’s technicians and admins scrambling, sweating bullets as they frantically rebooted the systems. Though they managed to restore the screens quickly, the damage was already done—panic had spread.
Some nervous customers were already packing up to leave, swearing they’d never return. On their way out, they hurled insults like, "This place is unsafe—total scam!"
Their suspicions weren’t unfounded.
Account theft was common, and with so many cafés dealing in shady account sales, it was easy to point fingers at the establishment.
Before, they’d only had suspicions—but now, with Phoenix Power E-Sports hit by a mass blue-screen incident, it felt like proof.
What they didn’t know was that most café owners wouldn’t risk pulling such a dirty trick. If a virus wrecked their machines, the losses would far outweigh any gains.
By the time Li Xiaohui entered, the front desk was already surrounded by a crowd of over a dozen people. A few flashily dressed, rough-looking young men were the loudest.
"Look! My game launcher got force-closed! The antivirus says there’s a keylogger stealing my inputs—my account’s worth tens of thousands, and I was logged in here!"
"My QQ account with two Sun levels is gone! Pay me back!"
"Your café’s machines are infected—you planted malware to steal accounts, didn’t you?"
"Compensate us! Pay up!"
"........"
The café staff and admins were desperately trying to explain, but with troublemakers egging everyone on, the situation was spiraling out of control. They could only watch helplessly.
The moment Li Xiaohui stepped inside and saw the chaos, fury exploded in her chest.
She was already carrying the weight of a high-stakes bet—how dare these idiots cause trouble at a time like this?
Did they have a death wish?!
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
"One more word out of any of you, and I swear, you’ll regret it!"
The crowd, mid-argument with the staff, fell silent at the sudden roar, all heads turning toward the source.
One of the loudmouths—a guy with bleached blond hair who’d been demanding compensation—glanced at her and scoffed. "Who the hell’s this little girl yelling at—"
Before he could finish, a black-clad underling seized his arm, twisting it until he yelped.
"Ah! Ah! It hurts—I’m sorry! I won’t yell again!"
The underling finally released him.
The customers who’d been red-faced and shouting at the staff now turned pale as ghosts, some even trembling.
"Isn’t… isn’t that the Ten Thousand Dragons gang?"
"Looks like their colors, yeah."
"Why are they here?"
"No idea. Did someone piss off one of their bosses?"
"Wait, you didn’t know? Phoenix Power E-Sports is Ten Thousand Dragons’ turf. That girl leading them—she’s some big-shot enforcer, goes by Sister Hui or something."
"???"
"Are you kidding me? Why didn’t you say so earlier?!"
"I thought you knew! I was about to praise your bravery for daring to mess with Ten Thousand Dragons and demand money from them…"
"You absolute—"
The loudest troublemakers, about to curse back, froze as Li Xiaohui strode toward them. They instantly clammed up, shrinking back.
Especially the two other punks—one with red hair, the other green—who were now sweating bullets.
They’d just been doing someone a favor—they never expected to cross Ten Thousand Dragons.
Ignoring them for now, Li Xiaohui turned to the dozens of customers in the lobby and barked:
"Who here accused Phoenix Power E-Sports of planting malware to steal accounts? Step forward. Show me your proof."
Silence.
No one dared speak up now.
"And who called this place a scam?"
"Who threatened to wreck our business?"
"EVERYONE WHO OPENED THEIR MOUTHS—STEP OUT NOW!"
With each question, she took another step forward. The customers ducked their heads lower, some wishing they could vanish into the floor.
No one wanted to be the example made of them.
The café staff, watching the once-rowdy troublemakers now trembling like scared rabbits, couldn’t help but smirk, standing a little taller.
Having powerful backing really made all the difference.
Without it, they’d have had to swallow every insult hurled at them.
Seeing no one respond, Li Xiaohui zeroed in on the blond punk.
"You. I heard you screaming the loudest. You said your account was worth tens of thousands? Where’s your proof? Show me!"
"I… I…" He stammered, unable to form a sentence.
"What’s wrong? No evidence?"
"Or did you plant the virus yourself? Trying to frame us?"
"LOOK ME IN THE EYES AND ANSWER!"
Cornered, the blond punk finally snapped.
"You think just because Ten Thousand Dragons has numbers, you can bully people? Everyone saw the blue screens—your machines messed up, and right after, our accounts got stolen! Isn’t that proof enough?"
"Listen up, everyone! Their café’s rigged, our accounts are gone, and now they’re turning it around on us! Who’d dare come to a shady place like this again?!"
At that moment, the red-haired and green-haired guys beside him immediately chimed in.
"Blondie's right! My Two Suns-tier Goose account—I spent two whole years leveling it up—just vanished after that blue screen crash. The proof is undeniable! Sure, the Dragon Union is powerful, but you still have to be reasonable, don’t you?!"
"Exactly! Just because your internet café is backed by the Dragon Union, does that mean you can do whatever you want? Who’d dare come here to game if this is how you treat people?"
"And why should we be the ones providing evidence when it’s your café’s problem? Since when do victims have to prove their own innocence?"
"Yeah, if you’re so confident, show us proof that it wasn’t your fault..."
"............."
