Seeing Pengpeng still remain neither humble nor overbearing even when facing a rookie at this very moment, Xu Yuan couldn't help but feel moved.
Although Xu Yuan hadn't been involved in every step of Pengpeng's growth, he had witnessed that growth with his own eyes.
From the somewhat timid and self-conscious nobody he first met, to now becoming the backbone of the zombie player faction who could face a genius like Rookie without losing composure… Xu Yuan had watched this entire transformation, and he truly felt proud of Pengpeng.
Naturally, Xu Yuan also knew very well that Pengpeng's growth to this point was the result of his constant effort and never once letting himself slack off.
Xu Yuan himself had walked this same kind of path, so he could naturally understand Pengpeng's hard work and sweat.
Thinking this, Xu Yuan looked at Pengpeng and said with a smile, "In the past, we really didn't keep idle people around. As for the future… that's hard to say."
After saying that, his expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Pengpeng with a dissatisfied face. "While I was gone, how come you didn't improve, but actually got worse?"
Hearing Xu Yuan's words, Pengpeng was instantly stunned. Before he could react, he saw Xu Yuan look at Black Blade with a face full of reproach and speak again, "You too."
As soon as Xu Yuan finished speaking, Black Blade and Pengpeng exchanged confused looks, both completely baffled by Xu Yuan's sudden criticism.
Just as they were instinctively about to apologize, they saw Xu Yuan shift his gaze to Grayfist, who looked uneasy and as if sitting on pins and needles, then look back at Black Blade and Pengpeng and say, "You brought someone back and didn't even plan to introduce him? Just because I've met him means everyone else has too?"
As soon as Xu Yuan finished speaking, Rookie immediately showed an auntie-like smile, the kind you get after seeing a real CP become official, and thought to himself, "Oh my god!!!! Looks like the parents have already approved!!!! Next comes facing the judgment of all the aunts and uncles!! Stay strong, ex-husband bro!!"
At this moment, what Xu Yuan said didn't seem to have any problem on the surface, but to Black Blade and Pengpeng, it just felt a bit strange. Just as the two were feeling at a loss, they noticed Steve beside them gripping his fists, trying desperately to hold back his laughter.
Seeing Steve's gloating expression, Black Blade and Pengpeng were just thinking about how to drag him down with them when Xu Yuan's voice came again.
"And you, Steve. He should've been closer to you before, so you should understand him better. Introduce him to everyone."
The moment Xu Yuan finished speaking, Steve, who had been grinning just a second ago, instantly stopped grinning and froze on the spot.
Seeing Steve, Black Blade, and Pengpeng take turns getting called out because of him, Grayfist felt a bit guilty. Just as he was about to speak up himself, Pengpeng looked at Xu Yuan and took the lead with a smile.
"It was the three of us who were careless. Please forgive us."
After saying that, Pengpeng pulled Grayfist to his side, then formally introduced him to everyone. "This is Grayfist. His past isn't important. What matters is that now and in the future, he will be our family."
Pengpeng understood the art of language. Although his introduction of Grayfist was very brief, those few short sentences made Grayfist's eyes well up with tears.
Although after the Trial Land ended, Grayfist had already become close with Black Blade, Steve, and Pengpeng, and the four of them even created a dedicated group chat where they often discussed all kinds of things.
Black Blade, Steve, and Pengpeng had never directly stated that they already considered Grayfist one of their own.
Even though the four of them got along well, Grayfist had always lacked a sense of security.
After all, Grayfist had joined last, and he was also the only one among the four who had never met Entity 303 and the others in person.
When chatting about random things or game-related topics, the four of them could talk very smoothly, but whenever the topic turned to Entity 303 and the others, Grayfist couldn't join in.
Every time that happened, Grayfist felt that he was ultimately still an outsider, not fully integrated with them.
Black Blade, Pengpeng, and Steve could naturally sense Grayfist's unease. After all, at other times, Grayfist was basically like a machine gun, messages going nonstop, but whenever Entity 303 and the others were brought up, he would become unusually quiet.
So after noticing this, the three of them tacitly stopped bringing up Entity 303 and the others as often, in order to take care of Grayfist's feelings.
Grayfist naturally noticed this as well, but the more they tried to accommodate him, the more he felt like they were treating him as an outsider.
Although Grayfist usually acted carefree, his thoughts were actually quite delicate.
In the past, he had planned to act like a boss in the game and had no intention of making friends, so he didn't think too much about it.
But after going through so much, he had already regarded Black Blade, Steve, and Pengpeng as like-minded friends and had given them his sincerity.
Because of this, he felt insecure. He was afraid that his sincerity had been misplaced.
At this moment, Pengpeng's words were like giving Grayfist a pill to steady his heart.
"Now and in the future, he will be our family." This was perhaps the most moving "confession" Grayfist had ever heard in his life.
Thinking this, Grayfist's nose tingled. He steadied himself for a moment, then looked at everyone and awkwardly greeted them.
"Uh… hello everyone… I've long admired your names…"
"Uh… well… you guys are even more awesome in person than online!"
"First time meeting… it's a bit rushed, I didn't bring anything… as for a meeting gift… next time for sure…"
Hearing Grayfist's words, Black Blade, Pengpeng, and Steve all showed pained expressions, almost at the same time turning their faces away and raising a hand to their foreheads.
Seeing this scene, Entity 303 and the others all became interested.
"Hahaha, this kid is pretty interesting, suits my taste."
"The three of you actually have someone this… not quite proper… uh… ahem… pretty good, pretty good. It should be lively from now on."
"Since my king has spoken, we should all have more free time in the future. With fresh blood like this joining, we probably won't be bored anymore."
"…"
Although they didn't really know Grayfist, all of them were quite perceptive. Just one glance was enough to understand his personality.
They actually quite liked someone like Grayfist. Loud, energetic, full of momentum. With him around, the atmosphere would definitely become lively.
Grayfist, who had still been a bit reserved, immediately became familiar with everyone after hearing their words and quickly started chatting with them.
At this moment, seeing all this, Rookie's grin had already stretched to his ears. "Double happiness happiness happiness happiness happiness happiness happiness!!!! Happy!! Happy!!"