Chapter 28: No Seats, Wait First

But today’s gathering of onlookers was different; like an unwritten pact, each person stood precisely and neatly behind a player.

What was going on here?

He glanced at the small blackboard: "Our internet cafe is soaring in popularity lately. When seats are full, please line up with good manners!"

"..." He pointed at the blackboard, his face a portrait of gloom. "Owner, has it really come to the point where we have to queue now?"

Fang Qi smiled faintly. "No choice, too many people."

Well, a queue it was, then! Xi Qi’s expression soured. One couldn't stir up trouble in the internet cafe, so what else was there to do but wait in line?

"Owner, no seats left already?" A young man with a mustache stared blankly the moment he stepped through the door today. Not only was every station occupied, but even the spectating areas behind the chairs were nearly packed to capacity.

The mustachioed youth offered a bitter smile. "Owner, I really think you need to expand the scale of this place."

Fang Qi replied with equal gloom, "I think so too. Even I don't have a place to play anymore."

"Owner, when are you going to add a few more computers?" It wasn't just the mustachioed youth; regulars like Liang Shi were beginning to worry about this issue as well.

Fortunately, despite the crowd, everyone generally followed the rules, keeping the atmosphere quite pleasant and allowing Fang Qi some peace of mind.

"It should be within the next few days."

"That would be fantastic!" Liang Shi looked at the crowd still standing in the internet cafe and felt a headache coming on.

Soon, Xi Qi noticed that the chatter in the cafe differed from the usual discussions, filled with unfamiliar terms like "movie version" and "Alice." He hurriedly asked, "Owner, is there a new game?"

Fang Qi shook his head and smilingly pointed to the second rule on the small blackboard:

2. Two crystals per hour of play; five crystals to activate a "Resident Evil 1" game account; three crystals to purchase "Resident Evil 1: The Movie." Each person is limited to a maximum of six hours of playtime per day.

"This should be clear enough, right?"

"The movie version?" Xi Qi looked at Fang Qi in confusion, his interest piqued. "What kind of new novelty is this?"

"The story in the game takes place on the outskirts of Raccoon City, right?" Fang Qi explained. "The movie version tells the story of what happens inside Raccoon City. However, you can only watch the movie; you can't play it yourself."

"You can only watch the experiences of the protagonist and the others...?" Xi Qi asked skeptically. "What's the fun in that? Wouldn't it be better if I played it myself?"

Xi Qi felt that this movie version sounded rather dull, so he didn't bother to ask further.

Just then, a square-faced youth beside him let out a gasp of surprise. "Song Qingfeng is fighting the giant snake! Heavens! What a massive serpent!"

As their combat skills improved, Song Qingfeng and his group—whose progress had ground to a halt due to the Hunters—finally quickened their pace, systematically clearing out the Hunters they had failed to kill before.

"It seems it won't be long before I clear the game too!" Song Qingfeng felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

On Song Qingfeng's screen, he was currently facing an incredibly colossal serpent. Its gaping maw was wider than a man's shoulders; without a doubt, a single bite could swallow a person whole.

Song Qingfeng on the screen dodged the great snake's attacks with extreme agility, appearing remarkably composed.

"This level of skill is probably unmatched by anyone, right?" a young martial artist marveled.

This martial artist had an unfamiliar face, seemingly a newcomer who had just arrived today.

"Bullshit! The owner defeated the Tyrant without taking a single hit. Look at Song Qingfeng—he just got whipped by the snake's tail! He's clearly no match for the owner." The speaker was Black Bear, a tall martial artist clad in tight black garments, who happened to have witnessed Fang Qi's battle against the Tyrant that day.

"Is the owner really that powerful?" The newcomer expressed his skepticism. Yet looking at Song Qingfeng now, after suffering that initial blow, his every evasion of the giant snake's attacks was timed to perfection, which was truly admirable.

"In my opinion, if things keep going like this, by the time Song Qingfeng fights that Tyrant thing, he might manage a flawless run too!" The speaker was also a novice who had only started playing Resident Evil yesterday. He was quite familiar with Song Qingfeng, evidently a classmate from the same academy. "Brother Song is a genius of the Lingyun Academy, ranking at least in the top five of this year's batch! A game like this probably won't defeat him."

"Exactly, didn't you see how Song Qingfeng killed the Hunters with his knife just now? It's getting easier and easier for him!"

"Oh, look at that woman over there," another Lingyun Academy disciple noted. "That seems to be a senior sister from the Xuan House. Judging by her progress, she's probably about to face the giant snake soon too, isn't she?"

"..." Xi Qi was practically weeping, his heart a mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment. "How has it only been a day, and everyone is already knifing Hunters?"

To think that his own group had only just defeated the first boss!

"Speaking of which... the owner plays this too?" Having gathered this piece of information from the conversation around him, the mustachioed youth asked in surprise.

"Is it strange that I play my own games?" Fang Qi said, amused. "But the shop has been too crowded these past few days, so I only play a bit in the morning or at night when there are fewer people."

Only early mornings and late nights occasionally saw empty seats; at any other time, the house was basically full.

Of course, what he didn't mention was that he also played for a while after closing the shop.

The mustachioed youth said with a touch of reluctance, "Will you really not consider selling the computers?"

Fang Qi smiled faintly and shook his head.

"I feel like I don't want to leave Jiuhua anymore." He forced a bitter, gloomy smile. "Could you reveal if there will be a 'Resident Evil 2' later on?"

Fang Qi replied, "Of course there will be."

"When?!" Upon hearing Fang Qi's words, Liang Shi, Xi Qi, and everyone else crowded around.

Fang Qi pointed toward the ceiling above. "Ask Him."

"...Ask the heavens?" Liang Shi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

...

Among those standing in the back to watch, Song Qingfeng had originally drawn the largest crowd. But as the peak hour for logging off approached, everyone went to pick a good spot to queue, leaving almost no one behind Song Qingfeng.

"Song Qingfeng and his group are about to log off, right?" Xi Qi's arrival at this hour was largely intended to wait for Song Qingfeng and the others to finish. He pointed at them and looked toward Fang Qi. "Owner, how much time do they have left?"

Fang Qi glanced at the time. "One minute."

"Damn it! Would it kill you not to ask?" Lin Shao instantly flew into a frenzy upon hearing that his time was up.

"Don't want to log off?" Xi Qi grinned from ear to ear. "How about I take back what I just said?"

"Get lost!" Lin Shao's face darkened, and before long, he stepped down from his seat. Xi Qi and his companions laughed heartily and quickly took over the vacant stations, as if terrified someone else might snatch them away.

Turning back, Xi Qi smiled at the departing Song Qingfeng and the others. "Goodbye now!"

"Scram, scram, scram!"

Xi Qi had brought at least a dozen people with him. Of course, half of them were merely curious to see just how magical this shop really was and had no intention of playing yet, so they all crowded behind Xi Qi and his friends.

The moment Xi Qi and his group logged on, they could not wait to boot up the game, showing off to the youths behind them as if listing family treasures. "See this? The thing in my hand is called a pistol. Its power is roughly equivalent to a martial arts technique of the Martial Master realm. One shot can pierce right through a human skull, and most importantly, it's incredibly fast..."

"We're already using Magnums, yet he has the nerve to flaunt a 'Samurai Edge' pistol..." Lin Shao hadn't left yet, and hearing Xi Qi's words, he muttered under his breath.

Xi Qi nearly spat a mouthful of blood onto the screen. With a dark expression, he snapped, "Haven't you guys logged off? Why haven't you left yet?"

Xu Luo chuckled. "Just because we logged off doesn't mean we're banned from watching, right? The owner didn't make a rule against spectating."

Xi Qi's face turned completely sullen. "Fine, fine, fine! Look at how capable you all think you are! I refuse to believe you weren't exactly like this when you first started playing!"

"There seem to be so many people here..." Lan Yan followed Nalan Mingxue into this unassuming little shop and found herself slightly shocked.

Most importantly, when they entered the door, there was not a single person to receive them! The customers were gathered in clusters, doing heaven knows what, while the owner was casually chatting with someone. Yet strangely, the place did not feel chaotic at all.

It was simply bursting with popularity.

Nalan Mingxue's expression remained calm as her gaze fell upon the small blackboard by the door.

"An interesting place."

"Don't you find it strange?" Lan Yan found it entirely incomprehensible, her eyes following Nalan Mingxue's to the text on the blackboard.

Even just giving it a try cost several spirit crystals. To dare write "Play if you want, leave if you don't" with such extortionate pricing?!

What was even more absurd was that so many people were still flocking to it like ducks to water?!

"Look, aren't those disciples from the Lingyun Academy?" Lan Yan's eyes widened, filled with disbelief. "Could this be the kind of place they've been discussing all this time?"

How could this small shop possibly possess such capability? Aside from some sort of bewitching, heretical arts, she truly could not think of any other explanation.

Yet the establishment was orderly and pristine, revealing absolutely nothing of the sinister or the uncanny.

Her lip curled with a touch of disdain. "A petty shop like this is utterly devoid of class."

Fang Qi, naturally, had also noticed someone entering.

Walking at the forefront was a tall woman clad in white.

Though the woman was exceedingly beautiful, the instinctively radiating chill about her person made it somewhat difficult for anyone to draw near.

From the very first moment he laid eyes on this woman, a sensation took hold of him: her status was by no means ordinary.

Yet the impression she gave Fang Qi was entirely different from that of Song Qingfeng and the others.

Perhaps it was akin to the distinction between the bright moon and the stars.

Upon stepping through the door, her initial gaze did not fixate on any single spot; instead, she swept the entirety of the shop into her view at a single glance, including Song Qingfeng and his companions who were acting amiably toward Fang Qi, Xi Qi who was seriously engrossed in her game, and Fang Qi himself, lounging peacefully on his grand armchair.

"This woman... is no simple character," the mustache-twirling youth murmured in a low voice. "I fear she comes with ill intent."

Fang Qi shrugged, letting out a faint, amused laugh. "In my shop, aside from myself, the owner, there is usually only one kind of person."

"Playing games? Or watching movies?" Fang Qi appeared remarkably calm. "My apologies, there are no vacant seats left."

"If you wish to give it a try, you may wait a moment."

Lan Yan’s expression darkened slightly; she had never before encountered an owner of this sort.

Furthermore, with prices so exorbitant, it actually turned out to be—playing games?

And he was making them wait?!

Making members of the Nalan family wait?!

.