Chapter Eighty-Three: Meeting My Online Friend in Real Life

When he saw the message, Mad Blade’s eyebrows shot up, and excitement flickered across his face. He furtively glanced around the office, then turned to Lin Xingyun and Lu Shanyou. “Captain Lin, Captain Lu, um… something’s come up at home. I’ll need to take care of it. You two go on without me.”

Lin Xingyun and Lu Shanyou exchanged a look. In truth, ever since they learned that Gu Sha had no intention of attending the meeting, their enthusiasm had waned. Mad Blade’s excuse gave them the perfect opportunity to adjourn. Both made a few brief remarks, and the meeting promptly ended.

As soon as it was over, Mad Blade wasted no time hurrying toward the hotel where Gu Sha was staying.

The crowd streamed out, with Lin Xingyun and Lu Shanyou trailing at the rear.

“This Mad Blade seems like quite the Gu Sha fanboy,” Lin Xingyun remarked.

Lu Shanyou chuckled softly. “There are plenty of Gu Sha admirers in the Transcendent World these days. And isn’t that thanks to your own Capital Bastion? At the federal conference, you all argued so fiercely that Gu Sha was named the First in the Sequence.”

Lin Xingyun replied, “That decision was made after much deliberation. In times like these, ‘First in the Sequence’ isn’t just a title—it’s a symbol. Now that the apocalypse has come, Longzhou has the strongest surviving power overall. The First Sequence represents the strength of each continent, and we had to claim it.

“As for why Gu Sha, the main reason is that, so far, his strength is unmatched. More importantly, during the fall of City C’s bastion, he single-handedly saved nearly a million lives. He deserves that honor.”

Lu Shanyou eyed Lin Xingyun thoughtfully. “From the way you speak, it sounds as if you’re not entirely convinced.”

“It’s not that,” Lin Xingyun said. “It’s just that, as they say, there are no firsts in literature, nor seconds in martial arts. The title of First Sequence isn’t easily earned. If the intercontinental federal routes were restored, I’m sure many would challenge Gu Sha. If he lost, it would disgrace all of Longzhou.”

“So, you want to challenge him yourself?” Lu Shanyou asked.

Lin Xingyun answered, “He’s taken the wrong path. He chose to be a lone wolf. Even with great talent, he lacks foundation and backing. Without support, he’ll soon fall behind others, and someone from another continent will take the title from him. Better that one of us does it first, rather than losing face at the federal level.”

Lu Shanyou laughed. “And you think you can hold onto it?”

“Unless you think you can?”

“I believe I can,” Lu Shanyou replied.

Lin Xingyun regarded her. “Out of the ninety-nine in the global Sequence, fewer than twenty are women. That’s rare enough, but the top spot? That won’t be yours.”

“Then let’s wait and see,” Lu Shanyou said.

...

Outside a hotel tower, Mad Blade strode into the elevator, accompanied by a young man with dyed yellow hair.

The yellow-haired youth was visibly excited. “Brother Blade, do you really know the Reaper?”

“Of course I do,” Mad Blade thumped his chest with pride. “Who am I? The strongest in S City. If it weren’t for federal policies, I’d be in the Sequence myself. The Reaper’s amazing, but he seeks out top experts like me.”

The youth gazed at him with awe. “He approached you first?”

“Absolutely,” Mad Blade replied. “We met on the forums. At first, I didn’t even bother replying to him, but he’d heard of me—he’s a fan. He tagged me in the group chat, praised me, and said he wanted to team up. Once I agreed, he rushed to S City overnight!”

The young man was all admiration. “Brother Blade, you’re incredible!”

Mad Blade appeared nonchalant, but inwardly he was immensely satisfied.

He recalled how he’d gotten acquainted with Gu Sha. Yes, that’s right—the Reaper was the first to tag him and say something nice. True, that ‘nice’ might have had other connotations, but praise is praise! Later, even though he’d been too intimidated to speak, it was accurate to say he’d ignored Gu Sha. And Gu Sha did tag him again—it was interest in his post, but you could say it was a request to team up. It was also Gu Sha who initiated the friend request. Sure, Mad Blade was too much of a coward to accept, but the Reaper had made the effort! So what if he embellished a bit? This story was worth bragging about for a lifetime.

...

Under his sidekick’s worshipful gaze, Mad Blade straightened his back and knocked lightly at Gu Sha’s door.

“It’s open. Come in,” came a calm voice from inside.

Mad Blade’s heart seized with nervousness. He took a deep breath, rehearsing what to say. How not to offend the Reaper? How to be extra polite?

But at that moment, the yellow-haired youth simply shoved the door open—hard. The door slammed against the wall with a bang.

The noise nearly made Mad Blade’s heart leap out of his chest.

He shot the youth a glare and whispered, “What are you doing? That’s so rude!”

The youth grinned. “Brother Blade, the Reaper admires you so much—he wouldn’t care about something like that.”

“Damn it…” Mad Blade muttered.

The next instant, the youth shouted into the room, “Reaper! Reaper! My boss Mad Blade is here! We don’t need to take off our shoes, right? My boss doesn’t like to—”

“Damn it…” Mad Blade slapped a hand over the youth’s mouth, mortified beyond words. He wished he could smack himself. That’s what you get for exaggerating!

“Are you an idiot?” he hissed.

He hadn’t finished when a young man appeared at the door, dressed all in black athletic wear. He looked very young, but his presence was suffocating; his eyes were cold, and even without saying a word, he made their hearts pound with unease.

“R-Reaper!” Mad Blade stammered, forcing a nervous smile.

Gu Sha glanced at the two, and the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly.

He couldn’t help it—their pose was almost comical. Mad Blade was hugging the youth from behind, hand clamped over his mouth, while the youth leaned into him, the two of them looking bizarrely intimate.

Gu Sha said slowly, “I asked you to meet me in person, not for anything… else.”

Mad Blade hastily released the youth and grinned. “Misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. He’s my sidekick—I brought him to keep watch outside.”

The yellow-haired youth beamed. “Reaper, sir! Just call me Yellow. I’m a huge fan. And since you’re a fan of my boss, that makes us family, right?”

Mad Blade groaned inwardly.

(End of chapter)