Blue Star, San Francisco.
In the bustling office, a man with a cigarette in his mouth glanced at the ti on his watch and casually tossed his half-finished coffee into the trash can.
He whistled and looked at his coworker still engrossed in work, gently patting him on the shoulder:
"Hey, Tony, got any plans for the weekend? I recently bought a new fishing rod, want to go try it out by the lake tomorrow?"
Tony, a young man in his thirties, tall and thin with a ssy mop of dark brown curls, always carried a lancholic aura thanks to his perpetual late-night dark circles and his father’s high-bridged nose.
Hearing his old friend’s offer, he saved his unfinished work and softly closed his laptop, shaking his head:
"Nah, Hand, I’ve already got plans for this weekend."
"You’ve got plans? Is there a new virtual ga release again?"
Hand raised an eyebrow, pinching his cigarette into the ashtray, curious.
"More or less, have you heard of ’Elf Kingdom’?"
Tony asked with a hint of anticipation.
"’Elf Kingdom’? Sounds familiar... Damn, why does it sound like so antique from bygone days? I must have had too much whiskey last night!"
Hand shook his head.
"No, Hand, you must have heard of it. It was that virtual ga that blew up on YouTube last year."
Tony continued.
"Blew up on YouTube? Hmm... now that you ntion it, it does sound familiar. Which company was it? Hmm... I think it might have been from Europe?"
Hand relit a cigarette, lazily asking as he did.
"No, it’s Tianchao."
Tony shook his head.
"Ti... Tianchao? Damn, since when did Tianchao have virtual gas that caught your eye?"
Hand widened his eyes, nearly dropping his cigarette.
But quickly catching on, he stood up from his seat in realization:
"Oh, my God, I rember now! It’s the ga video those students studying abroad in Tianchao posted on YouTube last year! The one with a ’Lord of the Rings’ feel!"
"Exactly, that’s the one."
Tony laughed.
"Oh? But... I thought the ga was only open in Tianchao?"
Hand frowned.
"That was before, the international server opened at the beginning of the year, but slots have been limited, and few have managed to get in."
Tony explained.
Hand gave his friend a surprised look and chuckled:
"So you’ve managed to snag a slot now?"
"Of course! This weekend I’m starting my adventure in the beautiful ’Elf Kingdom!’ You have no idea, I’ve been looking forward to this day for over two years!"
Tony said with a bit of pride.
"You, once you find a fun ga, you’re glued to your ho... I really don’t know how Jennifer puts up with you."
Hand shook his head, saying.
However, after hearing this, Tony’s expression dimd, and he sighed softly:
"Don’t ntion her."
"What happened? You broke up again?"
Hand was taken aback.
Tony shrugged, confirming as much.
Hand:...
"Damn! Tony, you should cut back on the gas if you want to keep having girlfriends..."
Hand blew a smoke ring, shaking his head gently.
"How do you know it’s because of the ga?"
Tony looked surprised.
But what greeted him was rely his friend’s dismissive eye-roll:
"Co on, Tony, it’s obviously because all your previous girlfriends broke up with you over gas!"
"No, Hand, you’re being biased! Honestly, I’ve co to realize, what’s more interesting than gas? As long as I have ’Elf Kingdom,’ I’m willing to go without a girlfriend till the day I die!"
"You... you’re hopeless."
"No, you don’t get it, this is called fun, this is called life!"
The two chatted away while packing up to leave work.
"Can’t do tomorrow, how about hitting the bar for a couple of drinks tonight?"
Hand asked again.
"Sorry, Hand, I need to study up on ’Elf Kingdom’s’ history tonight, it’s said that knowing the ga’s history is important, so I need to prepare."
Tony shook his head.
"Fine... guess I’ll have to catch you next ti, hope you can peel yourself away from the ga before fishing season closes."
Hand sighed, saying.
"Depends on if I’m having fun or not."
Tony chuckled.
"Bullshit!"
Hand laughed and cursed, then climbed into his car.
"Later, have a great weekend, brother."
He said to his friend.
"You too, brother."
Tony waved.
After bidding farewell, Hand started his engine and drove off.
anwhile, Tony watched him leave, then hopped on his motorcycle, and sped off in another direction...
Unlike his friend who lived in the suburbs, Tony’s rented apartnt wasn’t too far from his workplace.
In less than forty minutes, he was ho, grabbing dinner on the way.
Skillfully taking the unfinished milk from the fridge and finishing it off with his takeaway sandwich in no ti, he eagerly dived into the imrsion pod.
Checking the ti, with a few hours to go before his slot activated, he didn’t hesitate to log on to the ’Elf Kingdom’s’ English version website and thoroughly review the ga’s recorded history...
They called it history, but in the ga, it was only nine years.
Among these, the first eight and the ninth were distinctly separated into two eras, or rather, two versions.
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