"Having said that, let's take a look at when he used Vital Strike," Ye Xiu said, then navigated through the video again.
"Using Vital Strike or any life-exchanging skill comes with a huge risk, so everything must be calculated accordingly," he began, then paused the video when Tang Rou launched a heat-seeking missile.
"As you can see, after taking damage from the heat-seeking missile, he loses a chunk of HP. Compared to Tang Rou's full HP, there's a chance that his remaining life wouldn't be enough to instantly kill Chasing Haze after using Vital Strike, based on my calculation. There should've been about 3% HP left for Chasing Haze and 0.03% for No Name."
"So you're saying Little Tang could've defeated him? Then how come it didn't go according to your calculations?" Chen Guo asked.
Regardless of his HP—even if it was higher than Chasing Haze's—taking damage from a launcher's skills, which had the highest DPS, should've dealt a ton. She found it odd that the math didn't align. Was it a bug? She had no idea.
Ye Xiu only offered a polite smile. "The answer to that lies here." He zoomed in on the weapon again.
Seeing the silver weapon, Chen Guo's eyes filled with envy, though only for a moment. "So what's in there?" she asked.
"It's the weapon's effect. He probably has a passive ability where using Double Stab adds an extra stab or increases damage—possibly critical—and the first stab in a Double Stab triggers a bleed effect instead of after both strikes," Ye Xiu explained.
"So you're saying it becomes double bleed and triple stab? Normally, bleed triggers after successfully performing Double Stab, but if his weapon could trigger bleed after a single stab during Double Stab, then when he continues with the second stab, the bleed effect would stack twice. Can bleed even stack? And what about a critical strike?" Chen Guo asked, dumbfounded, pinching her chin.
"Close, but not quite," Ye Xiu said. "That was just an analogy. Truth be told, it seems like his Double Stab produces both bleed and critical effects."
"Really!?" Chen Guo's eyes widened in disbelief. "But how is that possible? Could his APM really reach that level of speed?" Double Stab should leave traces, but here he only used a single stab.
Ye Xiu shook his head. "No, it's related to his weapon. It probably has a special effect where using Vital Strike triggers an additional hidden effect—something similar to Double Stab—causing extra damage, bleed, and critical."
His analysis was correct. Ron's weapon was called the Wasp Injector Knife. It had a hidden effect linked to a skill: after performing Vital Strike, it triggered an explosion inside the target's body—specifically, a CO₂ canister burst. It produced both instant damage and bleeding—a combination of Double Stab, bleed, and crit—dealing massive HP loss without extra risk.
If Ye Xiu had realized this, he would've been terrified.
Not fully understanding the details of their conversation, Tang Rou merely glanced at Ron's weapon and muttered, "So it's like that..." It seemed her opponent had been toying with her all along.
They chatted a bit more until it was time for Tang Rou's shift. She logged into the server but couldn't stop thinking about her earlier match. Honestly, she used to think Glory was easy—that's why she never played, no matter how often Chen Guo invited her. But after encountering two experts, she started to doubt herself.
Meanwhile, Ron was in the Heavenly Domain, the most dangerous area in Glory. The EXP and item drops there were high, and players were often killed purely for fun. It was basically a war zone—kill or be killed, and no one would complain. The strong ruled there.
Ron used the same account but only with standard equipment—no silver gear in sight. Showing off would've been a death sentence. He had stored his silver items safely before sorting his inventory. Then he logged out and pulled a different account card—this time from the tenth server, the same one where Lord Grim resided.
Normally, players like him wouldn't bother starting over since the Heavenly Domain was the ultimate goal. However, he had just received an email from a client—a job request. The task was simple: eliminate a certain player. Seeing the target's name, Ron accepted.
He'd been doing this for a long time—working as a mercenary or player-for-hire. He took on all kinds of jobs: assassinating guild leaders, stealing boss kills, retrieving items, and more.
Today was just another ordinary day for him. Killing someone on the tenth server was no big deal. He had already received half the payment and would get the rest after completing the job. All he needed was proof.
Growl.
Hearing his stomach rumble, Ron decided to take a break. "I haven't eaten lunch yet... maybe I'll check what they have outside the café," he muttered and logged out again.
Ron descended the stairs to the reception desk, planning to pay his bill before heading out. Spotting a familiar face in a daze, he tapped the counter rhythmically to get her attention.
"Are you okay?"
She was momentarily startled but quickly regained her composure.
"Oh, it's you. Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Do you need anything?" Tang Rou asked with a polite smile.
"Is it about your loss in Glory?" he asked flatly.
"Yeah," Tang Rou nodded.
"I see." Ron didn't pry further and changed the topic. "By the way, I'm planning to log off and pay my bill. Also, I left my ID earlier."
"I see... Let me check for you," Tang Rou said. She wasn't surprised—many customers forgot their IDs. It was common. Searching through the box where they kept them, she asked, "By the way, what's your name?"
"It's Tang Ron," he said.
Hearing the familiar name, Tang Rou froze, her hand trembling slightly.
Was it a coincidence? she thought. Still, just to be sure, she asked again, "Did you say your name is Tang Ron?"
"Yes, I'm Tang Ron," he repeated.
"I see..." Tang Rou calmed herself. If this person was truly her younger brother, then she had so many questions. Why had he disappeared so suddenly? Why hadn't he ever tried to see her? Although she was a minute older, she had always felt like the younger one chasing after him. She lived to catch up to his brilliance. When he vanished, it felt like she lost her purpose.
So what happened? Why now? Why did fate bring them together here? Her mother always said he visited occasionally but refused to take photos or meet her. Tang Rou felt abandoned—hated even—by her own brother. She didn't know if it was true, but it had been almost a decade since they last met. She thought those feelings had faded, yet now they resurfaced.
Standing before him now, she felt lost and overwhelmed.
After searching, she finally found his ID—Tang Ron. It definitely looked like her brother. Their faces were almost identical. Without a doubt, it was him.
Her emotions tangled inside her. She didn't know if she'd see him again, and it felt too soon to confront everything. She had countless questions but no idea where to start. Taking a breath, she simply asked, "Are you coming back?"
"Yeah... I'm just going to eat lunch," Ron said.
"I see... By the way, my nickname's Xiao Tang—Little Tang. Nice to meet you, Tang Ron," she said, offering a handshake.
Ron smiled and accepted her hand. "I'm Tang Ron. You can just call me Ron. Nice to meet you too, Little Tang."
Being called Little Tang by her younger brother made Tang Rou feel both joy and embarrassment. Still, she smiled and said, "See you later then, Ron."
"Okay, see you later," Tang Ron said, taking his ID and waving goodbye.
Tang Rou watched her younger brother walk away. She had so many questions, but there was no need to rush. She memorized his address, planning to secretly check on his living conditions. She wanted to know why he had disappeared back then. But there was time—he was within her reach now, and he wouldn't be able to escape.
"I'm glad... I work in this café," Tang Rou murmured, giggling softly—something uncharacteristic of her. Meanwhile, completely unaware of the hidden danger, Tang Ron was happily enjoying his meal at a nearby restaurant.