Zhao Deyu was extremely delighted. He went to Guan Youlong's luxury yacht to raise his glass and drink heartily.
Half an hour later.
Zhao Deyu was too drunk to wake up.
He was stuffed into a sack, thrown into the sea to feed the fish.
...
Inside the internet addiction reform school.
Chu Fu naturally accepted Li Weizheng's invitation to return to Linjiang City.
Li Weizheng couldn't stop grinning.
What surprised everyone was that these internet-addicted youths sent for reform had at least B-grade talents, but they had quickly fallen behind in levels due to their gaming addiction, leading their parents to send them to the reform center.
Now they've fallen behind in levels, and some are in an even worse state—the servers they played on had villages wiped out by beast tides.
For players on such servers, when their village is destroyed and they log in again, they appear in a ruined wasteland.
Not only that, but the area has likely become a gathering spot for monsters and bosses.
They would need a lot of luck to escape.
The chances of dying are high.
If that happens, creating a new character means their talent dies.
Fortunately, the national team discovered that after server merges, villages are connected, so they can go to those areas to clear out bosses and help these people keep their accounts.
Of course, this also depends on the city.
"I don't want to go back. Can I follow Queen Sister? Even if my A-grade talent dies, it'll become B-grade, and I can still join an e-sports university."
"After I became a druid in the game, I became really popular with small animals in real life. I found a dog, but my grandfather, who lives with me, thought it smelled bad and barked too much, so he killed it, cooked the meat, and wanted me to eat it."
"He's too cruel. I can't believe he did that. I don't want to go back!"
"I argued with my grandpa, and my dad hit me, saying I was unfilial and that it was because of my gaming addiction that they sent me to this school."
"I hate them."
The chubby boy's face trembled with fat. Judging by his solid, plump build, it was obvious he was doted on at home.
But when family conflicts like this erupted, it was a clash of values.
He couldn't accept his grandparents' generation being so bloody and brutal.
He even blamed himself for the stray dog's death—if he hadn't brought it home, it wouldn't have been killed.
His druid heart was wounded.
That's why he didn't want to go back.
Chu Fu comforted him: "Every talent is extremely important, especially when that talent can be brought into reality.
Don't give up on yourself.
Besides, you can turn into an eagle, a leopard, or a bear, so you have a good chance of escaping from monster groups.
There's no need to delete your account and start over. But if you want to come to Linjiang City, come!"
In the end, after everyone's persuasion,
the druid player Feng Leyuan still chose Linjiang City.
There were two others from Linjiang City.
He Huiqi, a psychokineticist,
and the girl who had given Chu Fu a pair of slippers, Jiang Yunuo.
Jiang Yunuo had been sent there by her stepmother under the excuse of gaming addiction.
Both planned to temporarily go to the e-sports university, where they could use dormitories for free and receive stipends that covered cafeteria costs.
"I want to follow the Queen too!"
"Queen, can you give me your phone number? I'll add you later! I'll repay you someday!"
"Maybe we should create a group chat!"
Among the discussions of the twelve youths, they finally set up a group chat.
Called: [Anti-Internet Addiction Academy Escape Group.]
These youths had their phones confiscated, so they couldn't join now.
They would have to wait until they got back to add Chu Fu.
On Chu Fu's side, her phone was also being bombarded. Huang Jiaojiao, Shen Chi, Xie Lin, and Li Zhenzhen had also formed a group chat.
[Thorn Founders (5/5)]
[Plantman]: I'll be back soon.
[Proud One]: Are you coming back by helicopter? Where are you landing? I'll pick you up.
[Wheelchair Person]: I'm coming too.
[Corpse Stitcher]: Pick me up too, please!
[Suture Saint]: Me, me, me, me! Take me, I beg you!
"Officer Li, my friends are very worried about me and want to pick me up at the landing site. Can I tell them the landing address?"
Li Weizheng's eyes lit up instantly.
Chu Fu was a plantman; she didn't have friends who cared about her.
They must be her teammates from the game.
Since Chu Fu could get experience cards, she must have gotten many first kills, so these friends were naturally from the first-kill team.
"What talents do your friends have?"
"You'd better ask them yourself!"
"Fine, fine. Our landing address is the Linjiang City branch of the Original E-Sports Science Academy. They can come."
...
Original E-Sports Science Academy, Linjiang City branch.
The helicopter landed on the tarmac.
In the distance, a group of people craned their necks anxiously.
As Chu Fu got off the helicopter, she quickly waved at them in the distance.
This was everyone's first meeting in person.
Even in the game, they had only interacted for three or four days.
But there was no sense of unfamiliarity.
Huang Jiaojiao, with short hair and dressed in sporty streetwear, looked robust.
Shen Chi, sitting in a wheelchair.
Xie Lin, wearing sunglasses and leaning on a blind cane.
Li Zhenzhen, with long black hair and thick bottle-bottom glasses.
"Jiao Jiao! Wheelchair Brother! Sword Saint Brother! Sister Suture!"
"Plant Girl!" Shen Chi said, a smile tugging at his lips, his eyes warm and gentle.
"Wow, Plant Girl, you've put on weight! Excellent! Much better than in the game, where you were skinny as a stick," Li Zhenzhen said.
"Quick, show me! Can you actually bring your abilities to reality?" shouted Huang Jiaojiao.
"Alright! I only have three minutes left on my experience card!"
Chu Fu immediately activated a mutated dandelion, even speeding up its maturation to produce a hot-air balloon dandelion.
At the internet addiction reform school, Chu Fu hadn't completed the maturation step because it wasted magic points, and the mutated dandelion seeds were too big to grip easily.
Now, there was no such concern.
She pulled down a hot-air balloon, plucked the seeds, and handed one to each person, making sure to place one in Xie Lin's hand.
In real life, Xie Lin couldn't see.
So he had stayed quiet.
Because he didn't know what Chu Fu looked like now; he could only hear her voice.
As he took the seed, his fingers seemed to briefly brush against a cool, soft touch.
Xie Lin smiled, rubbing the dandelion seed.
"It's the same size as in the game!" he said.
"Exactly, Sword Saint Brother. You'll get your chance too!"
Everyone chatted and laughed. Chu Feng and the two soldiers carrying the stretcher behind him watched Chu Fu anxiously.
"Alright, lie down on the stretcher first. If you have anything to say later, you can say it in the game!"
Chu Fu's experience card didn't have much time left.
She would become a plantman again.
This made everyone's smiles disappear, their expressions turning somber.
"My brother's right. We'll talk in the game."
Chu Fu lay down, ready to be locked back in the small dark room.
[System Notification: Your experience card has expired.]
In an instant, Chu Fu felt some force being drawn out from inside her.
