"Are you done talking?" Wen Zheng stared at him, his eyelashes so close they seemed to touch.
“Only little kids throw tantrums when they’re unhappy. It takes adults to know how to control their emotions.” Wen Zheng’s voice was hoarse: “Who do you think you are, that I should bother with you? Adults are just being kind and playing with a kid. You’re not my biological child, and I can throw you away whenever I’m unhappy.”
Wen Zheng leaned close to the man's ear and breathed out a breath: "Like now."
Before he could finish speaking, a blue light swept horizontally, and the man's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he leaned back to dodge a throat-slitting blow.
The heavy thud of leather boots echoed as they pounded on the pile of snacks on the floor. The long-haired man, unarmed, exchanged a few blows with Wen Zheng. In the cramped space between the shelves, it was difficult to move freely, and even the sharpest dagger only managed to inflict some minor wounds on the man.
The shelves were hit with a loud bang and quickly collapsed. Wen Zheng had created an opening, and the man fell for it, using the force of the impact to smash the shelf against the wall.
With incredible composure, the opponent adjusted their posture in mid-air, turned around, stepped onto the wall, and instantly attacked Wen Zheng, meeting the dagger in his hand.
A pair of golden eyes flashed in Wen Zheng's eyes. He was surprised and suspicious, and he used his foot to trip the man to the ground.
Wen Zheng had long since lost all interest in holding back; his mind was filled with rage, and his heart was pounding wildly in his chest.
The man twisted his wrist from an odd angle, attempting to snatch the dagger. Wen Zheng relaxed his grip, pretending to be robbed, and then pulled out a stun gun, pressed it against the man's lower back, and turned it on!
"Ugh!" The man felt a numbness in his waist, and all the strength was instantly drained from his body. He let go.
"What is that?!" The man was so shocked he nearly exploded. "Why can't I move?!"
Wen Zheng, panting, climbed off him and looked down at him: "Because you only have a sliver of blood left, the system has assumed you've lost the ability to move."
"What blood! What operation? I'm not injured!"
The angrier the man got, the more pleased Wen Zheng felt. He clapped his hands as if he had just let out a heavy sigh of relief: "Will you dare to talk like that again next time? If you're not polite, your father will beat you."
"!" The man struggled again. In the system, a character's feelings and health are strictly controlled by their health bar. Without health, the king can only lie on the ground, either being revived by medical items or lying there until he is finished off with a single shot.
Wen Zheng was too lazy to talk to him anymore. He cleared his mind, piled the messed-up shelves aside, and kicked the small mountain of snacks.
He had just sweated, and his T-shirt was soaked, which was uncomfortable. He picked up a piece of chocolate, bit open the wrapper, and put it in his mouth.
Sweet.
Looking at his status bar again, Wen Zheng thought dejectedly, "I didn't get poisoned, did I? How come this person is acting like they took the wrong medicine after eating just one piece of chocolate?"
The man struggled for a while, then gave up and turned to look at Wen Zheng silently.
Wen Zheng didn't finish him off, just left him hanging, which made him very bored.
What does it mean to say 'human beings are full of lies'?
Wen Zheng, with his back to him, suddenly spoke.
The man paused, then quickly realized what he meant, his expression darkening further: "The literal meaning, isn't that right?"
Wen Zheng stood up, walked to his side, and stood still.
His military boots were covered in mud, and his legs, encased in camouflage trousers, showed beautiful muscle lines, like a bow ready to be drawn. Wen Zheng lowered his head slightly, looking down at the masked man lying on the ground with a pair of unfathomable eyes on his default face.
"I don't know how old you are, but you should grow up. The world doesn't revolve around you. Before you care about other people's attitudes and words, pay attention to what they do."
Wen Zheng pointed to himself: "I was impatient, but I helped you. You should thank me before I betray you."
"Help me? With those awful clothes?"
"..."
"I'll still give you a ride on the motorcycle."
"Without me drawing attention, you can't easily take on three people in the woods."
“I didn’t break that car either,” the man said again.
Wen Zheng roared, "Don't mention the Jeep!!!"
The words "Jeep" overlapped with the roar of the newcomers' cars outside. The other side consisted of a dozen or so men, well-equipped with weapons. As soon as Wen Zheng finished speaking, the iron gate of the small supermarket was blasted open by artillery fire.
With the sound of bullets, the last rusty iron door shattered from the frame, and bullets and pieces of iron rained down on the two men.
Without thinking, Wen Zheng reacted instinctively, bending down to shield the man from a heavy blow.
Their eyes met, both unable to hide their astonishment. In less than a second, Wen Zheng's health bar was depleted, turning into a white light.
In the last instant before his vision went black, half of the man's face was revealed by the falling steel bar, firmly reflected in Wen Zheng's eyes.
Wen Zheng opened his eyes.
My heart is pounding.
He stood somewhere in the central town of Area A, where the escape was taking place, surrounded by haystacks, with the warm sunlight shining down.
A settlement page popped up in front of me.
[Congratulations to player Z-bkc, your ranking is 57th, and your points are:…………]
Wen Zheng snapped out of his daze, slammed his fist into the haystack, and let out a deafening roar of profanity.
He was a trained soldier, and shielding his teammates from fatal wounds was an ingrained habit. He had saved many people, and had been saved by many people in return.
...But that doesn't mean he's going to save an idiot!
Even if this is a game, it's still hard to accept.
Just thinking about the man's astonished look made him want to raise his hand and punch him into the earth's core before committing suicide out of shame and indignation!
What did that look like just now?
Repay evil with kindness? Dad loves you? A living bodhisattva in this day and age?
Wen Zheng felt a chill run down his spine, not daring to imagine what that person would think of him.
He reached out instinctively to grab the necklace pendant on his chest, but grasped at nothing, only then remembering that he was in "Battle Royale" and didn't have enough points to redeem real-world item models.
Calm down, calm down. Wen Zheng told himself, "What does it matter what this person is thinking, since we'll never see each other again in this lifetime?"
However, even with my eyes closed, the half-face visible beneath the mask still left a powerful impression on my mind.
"…………" Why is this person wasting time pinching his face?! Wen Zheng punched the haystack again in grief and indignation.
If—and I mean if—there is a next time they meet, he will definitely, absolutely, and without fail kill him on the first encounter.
That's the decision.
"Don't get angry~ Getting angry hurts your health~ I won't get angry when others get angry..."
The external liaison rang. Wen Zheng took a few deep breaths, answered without looking at the screen, and said rudely, "Who is it?"
"...Little Z? Haha, I'm the storm brewing."
Wen Zheng was startled, and his rationality returned.
"Shanyu. Is there something you need?"
Shan Yu avoided answering, but said with a smile, "I didn't bother you, did I? I got your phone number from Xiao Yu. I've been waiting for you in the game and I also posted a message on Weibo, but you didn't come online."
Wen Zheng frowned: "So?"
Shan Yu seemed surprised by his lack of formality, and paused before saying, "It's about the Xuanyuan Heavenly Road. I heard you're also in Rongcheng. This matter can't be explained in a short time. How about we go out for a meal?"
Wen Zheng: "...I don't have time."
Shan Yu said, "Haha, you're not giving me any face at all?"
If it were Jin Fanrong in the office who was asking him for face, Wen Zheng would have refused on the spot, but now that things were about to turn sour, Wen Zheng hesitated.
He doesn't dislike Shan Yu.
Wen Zheng likes intelligent people, and Shan Yu happens to be very intelligent. A master puzzle solver in *Survival Space*, ranked number one overall, with a sharp mind, broad knowledge, and extensive understanding. He even knows the Caesar cipher.
"..." Wen Zheng pondered quietly. The person on the other end didn't urge him, wasn't impatient, and didn't complain. This calmed Wen Zheng down and made him feel comfortable.
After a moment, he replied, "I'm fine with eating, but I don't want to talk about the Xuanyuan Heavenly Road."
He crumpled the fabric of his T-shirt at his chest, his tone calm: "I don't believe you didn't notice that he did it on purpose that day. I'm not targeting you, but if you speak up for him again, things might change."
Shan Yu smiled bitterly.
"Isn't this a bit unnecessary? We're all streamers, we need to make a living too. We're adults, can't we discuss things calmly instead of making everyone unhappy?"
Wen Zheng was momentarily distracted and suddenly remembered what he had said when he cursed that idiot.
[Only children throw tantrums when they're unhappy.]
He subtly sensed a similar meaning from Shan Yu's words.
"No." He rubbed his temples. "Is there anything else?"
Shan Yu accurately sensed from his tone that his patience was about to run out, and said kindly, "It's okay, you two should discuss it yourselves. I really still admire you, let's have dinner together next time."
"Okay." Wen Zheng hung up the call.
He thought that although what that idiot said was unpleasant, it wasn't entirely unreasonable. It was indeed frustrating to be impatient but have to endure it.
But what can I do when he can't beat me?
Of course, whatever I say goes.
Whether I endure it or not, and when I endure it, is entirely up to me.
I don't usually care, but when I really want to, why should I give others a way out?
Wen Zheng thought with a hint of pleasure.
***
Xuanyuan Tianlu's eyes were dark and bluish-black.
When he received Wen Zheng's challenge yesterday, he initially mocked the other party's overestimation of his abilities. After all, he was a top streamer on the platform, a master who had reached the King rank in battle royale games, had played various games, and had a streaming family backing him up; he was incredibly successful.
Although he didn't become particularly proficient in any particular game because he played a wide range of games, on the other hand, he could play any game.
How could someone like him possibly lose to a mere novice? The opponent must be insane!
He was completely bewildered after checking out information about Z-bkc.
What is all this nonsense?!
Why bother fighting the boss in "Survival Space"? Why chase after the boss even after it has escaped? Why keep attacking the boss even when it's howling in pain? Why torture the boss with a knife when a simple item could kill it?
What kind of monster is this!
If you have that kind of skill, go play a fighting game...
Xuanyuan Tianlu was completely dazed.