December 3rd, Glory—See You There!
Bold, vibrant characters, crossed swords, and a winged logo that seemed ready to leap off the page dominated televisions, the internet, and every corner of the city. The relentless promotion had been ongoing for a full month.
"A month? From now until December 3rd, that's exactly six weeks 42 days!" Su Muqiu muttered as he casually closed a pop-up Glory ad on the webpage he'd just opened. This upcoming online game was inescapable, bombarding everyone's vision at every turn.
Click, click, click…
The only response was the rhythmic tapping of a keyboard and mouse light yet steady.
Su Muqiu glanced sideways. On the glowing screen, a blood-soaked battle raged, but the face reflected in it was one of utter nonchalance. Clearly, this task required no effort from the person behind it.
"Did you hear me or not?" Su Muqiu asked again, clearly irritated. This level of focus shouldn't have rendered the other completely oblivious to the world.
"I heard you. Glory my ears are bleeding from it, can't you see?" Ye Xiu replied. Ever since Glory's all-out promotional campaign began, Su Muqiu had brought up the game countless times a day. Who knew how much he was looking forward to it?
"The promo time isn't that long, but with this explosive momentum, it's enough. This game is going to be a big hit," Su Muqiu said confidently.
"Mm," Ye Xiu responded flatly, clearly tired of hearing about it.
"I heard this game doesn't use username and password logins anymore it requires a card," Su Muqiu added.
"Mm."
"You need a special card reader for it."
"Mm."
"The card reader's pretty affordable, though," Su Muqiu continued.
"Mm."
"But the system requirements for computers seem pretty high!" Su Muqiu said.
"What?" Ye Xiu finally reacted, his keyboard and mouse erupting into a flurry of furious clicks. The screen flared with blood, but soon calmed. He turned around, his expression deadly serious. "What kind of specs does it need?"
Su Muqiu didn't answer. He had two computers at home. The better one barely met Glory's minimum requirements, while the other was laughably outdated. Ye Xiu wasn't much of a hardware buff, but he'd been using these machines for months alongside Su Muqiu. No explanation was needed.
"We'll need to upgrade," Ye Xiu said, still serious. He didn't seem as excited about Glory as Su Muqiu, but he clearly didn't want to lose the option to play. Whether a game was good or bad, you had to try it to know.
"Yeah, we do. But money's tight right now…" Su Muqiu admitted.
Ye Xiu, who had been living with the siblings for months, was well aware of their situation. Orphaned with no relatives, the pair relied on Su Muqiu's earnings as a professional gamer. Since Ye Xiu joined, they had an extra player, but scraping by was manageable saving up for two new computers, though, was a stretch. If they had any spare cash, Su Muqiu wouldn't have tolerated his ancient rig for so long.
"Guess we'll have to hit the internet café first," Ye Xiu suggested.
"Yep," Su Muqiu nodded eagerly.
"Looks like you've already scouted one out?" Ye Xiu teased.
"Of course. I've been broke for over a week," Su Muqiu admitted shamelessly.
December 3rd, Midnight.
The launch time for Glory was anything but considerate midnight. For most online gamers, that was typically when they logged off and shut down. Yet, any complaints about the timing were quickly drowned out by the overwhelming enthusiasm of countless players.
Six weeks. Forty-two days. Glory's relentless marketing blitz, paired with tantalizing hints about its gameplay, had whetted every gamer's appetite. Who cared if the servers opened at noon or midnight?
That night, countless players were raring to go.
That night, internet cafés across major cities became the brightest hotspots.
In H City, Jia Shi Internet Café.
Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu had arrived early to secure two computers. As midnight approached, their foresight proved brilliant. The café was packed, with frustrated players grumbling over the lack of available machines. These days, few people like Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu forced to use cafés because their home setups couldn't handle the game were left. Internet cafés had evolved into social hubs, where gaming side by side felt far different from online-only interactions.
As zero hour neared, Jia Shi was at full capacity. Those without a spot had already left in disappointment. The café owner, Tao Xuan, strolled through, thoroughly pleased with the turnout. He'd invested heavily in Glory, upgrading every computer and equipping them with Glory card readers. In the surrounding area, no other café had gone to such lengths. Most were still hesitant. Despite Glory's aggressive promotion and attention-grabbing hype, what if it turned out to be another fleeting fad? Over the years, how many games had promised much and delivered disappointment?
Tao Xuan wouldn't claim to be free of nerves. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he watched the minute hand settle on midnight, stubbed out his cigarette, and rushed to his prepared computer.
He was a gamer himself and intended to experience Glory firsthand.
Midnight!
The lively café fell silent.
Card login? A novelty to most, players fumbled through the process.
Then, everyone sank into deep thought. The first task with a new account: naming their characters…
"Let me, let me!" Su Mucheng dragged a stool between Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu, hopping up excitedly.
"Then go straight to bed after, got it?" Su Muqiu said sternly.
"Got it!" Su Mucheng already had Ye Xiu's keyboard, naming his character. She rarely played games, but this had always been her way of joining Su Muqiu's gaming world. Since Ye Xiu arrived, she'd included him too.
Soon, a name was typed out, as if she'd planned it all along.
"'One Autumn Leaf,'" Ye Xiu read aloud. "Feels like something's off?"
Too late Su Mucheng had hit enter.
"Done!" She pushed the keyboard back to Ye Xiu and moved on to Su Muqiu's character.
"Hurry up," Su Muqiu urged, barely containing his impatience.
Su Mucheng was quick. Three characters popped up instantly.
"'Su Qiu Mu'?" Su Muqiu read, his face darkening. "Hey, can you put in a little more effort? I'm your actual brother!"
The name was just his reversed barely a thought. But as she confirmed it, the system prompt flashed: Name already taken.
"Damn!" Su Muqiu checked the time less than a minute past midnight and a name like that was already claimed. How many people were rushing in?
Su Mucheng's hands were fast. Seeing the rejection, she quickly re-entered a new one.
"'Qiu Mu Su'?" Su Muqiu was speechless. The confirmation went through, and… that was his name now.
"Mm-hmm!" Su Mucheng nodded vigorously, looking thoroughly satisfied.
"Alright, go to bed now!" Su Muqiu shooed her off. It was late, but they lived close, and the siblings knew the area well, so he wasn't worried about her going alone.
"Wait a bit longer," Su Mucheng whined, sensing Su Muqiu wouldn't leave his computer to escort her. She knew he'd cave.
"Just a little while!" As expected, Su Muqiu relented, turning back to his game.
"Hey, Ye Xiu, what class are you picking? After some thought, I'm going with Gunner. Why don't you play Gunner too? Two Gunners should have great synergy," Su Muqiu suggested.
"Let's try a few first!" Ye Xiu replied.