Chapter 7

Jiang Suliu was pretending not to hear, but nearly lost his composure upon hearing that.

He replied tactfully, “Do you want to play a game? I’m decent at games.”

Yue Yin was doubtful. “Really? Brother Shen also said he was great, even boosted some classmates’ ranks, but he’s just a trashy gold player.”

Brother Shen retorted indignantly, “I’m a noble platinum player!”

Jiang Suliu tried not to laugh, “My rank is a bit higher.”

Yue Yin immediately responded, “Then help me rank up by playing a couple of rounds.”

As it turned out, Jiang Suliu had been way too modest.

His skills were far beyond “decent”—they were downright exceptional. Last season, he achieved the highest rank, scored over a dozen kills per game, and consistently carried his team.

For days, Yue Yin had been playing and either getting banned or getting flamed. This was the first time she’d experienced the feeling of being carried by a pro.

She scored an impressive 4.1 each match, essentially serving as an easy target for the opposing team, yet she kept ranking up.

Brother Shen watched from the sidelines, almost drooling with envy.

Despite Yue Yin being the weakest link, she never hesitated to give her two cents.

“Jiang Suliu, why didn’t you help me?”

“How is this guy so bad? He’s practically in my face and still missed.”

“Let me see who’s feeding the most… oh, it’s me. Never mind.”

After watching this for a while, Brother Shen couldn’t take it anymore.

He spoke gravely, “Yue Yin, you’re useless and yet you love to criticize others.”

He imitated a cutesy voice, fluttering his shoulders, “All you do is scold Brother Jiang Suliu, unlike me—I just feel sorry for him having to carry us.”

Yue Yin turned to look at him, shocked: … Green tea!

Jiang Suliu, on the other hand, just smiled patiently. “It’s okay, it’s my duty.”

Yue Yin had such a captivating presence that even her bossy demeanor came across as endearing.

After all, she was his goddess.

…

Jiang Suliu played with the siblings all afternoon before quietly slipping away. Before he left, he even gifted Yue Yin’s account with all the hero skins and emblems.

Brother Shen was so envious he practically writhed on the ground, screaming in frustration.

Finally, he got up and asked secretively, “Sis, is he your boyfriend?”

Yue Yin rolled her eyes, “You wish. He’s just my unlucky worshipper… my follower.” How could a goddess have a boyfriend? They’re all just her devoted followers.

Brother Shen was baffled, “What does that mean?”

“Playing games with me, buying skins, treating me to snacks, buying me comics, giving me money, helping me trash-talk online—these are all things he should do.”

“Oh, so he’s a simp,” Brother Shen realized.

Yue Yin shrugged indifferently, “Pretty much.” After all, he’s just there to serve her every whim.

Brother Shen suddenly added, “By the way, Mom and Big Sis are coming back.”

The news caught Yue Yin off guard.

She had gotten used to bickering with Brother Shen and teasing the meddling house staff; she’d almost forgotten there were other people in the family.

“Well, let them come back,” she replied nonchalantly.

At most, life would get a little more exciting.

Meanwhile, Jiang Suliu had no idea he’d been labeled a simp.

As he sat in the back of his driver’s car, looking out the window and idly fiddling with his phone, his mind drifted back to the intense gaming session with Yue Yin.

The game interface still lingered on his screen, and images of Yue Yin furrowing her brows, fully absorbed in the game, flashed through his mind.

At that moment, he couldn’t help but believe Yue Yin truly was a goddess.

It was strange. Perhaps it was due to Yue Yin’s unique nature, but the astonishment from last night and his earlier doubts this morning had vanished.

Now, his heart was steady, and he even felt a little amused.

If a middle-school gamer like Yue Yin could be a goddess, then the random guy who messaged him yesterday claiming to be Qin Shi Huang wasn’t out of the question either.

At least ‘Qin Shi Huang’ had a network of connections. Just five bucks and he’d allegedly mobilize the Terracotta Warriors to invade a neighboring country—sounded more believable than Yue Yin.

Jiang Suliu thought about it and sent the guy five bucks, with the note: “Mobilize the Terracotta Warriors now.”

On the other end, the scammer chuckled at his phone.

“Wow, someone actually fell for it?” he muttered.

He quickly typed out a reply, “Hey, man, I’ve got connections, but five bucks can only get you one warrior. C’mon, throw in five hundred, and I’ll see what I can do.”

A second later, he received five hundred.

The scammer almost fell out of his chair, shouting for his roommate, “Check this out! I found a real sucker!”

His roommate looked on, wide-eyed, “You’re scamming him, right?”

The scammer didn’t bother replying, “You don’t get it. I’m just helping him learn a lesson! It’s a noble act!”

Eyes gleaming, he typed furiously, “Hey, patriot, add another grand, and I’ll send you 99 warriors. How’s that sound?”

He had it all planned out.

If the guy sent more, he’d block him and delete his account. After all, it’s not like anyone would care about a small scam spread over several provinces.

But if the guy didn’t send more, he’d just insult him and call him a fool.

Either way, he’d come out on top.

Just then, his phone pinged again, this time with a notification: “Alipay Payment Received: $50,000.”

The message from the other side read, “If I don’t see results by tomorrow, I’m reporting you for fraud. With that amount, you’re looking at three years minimum.”

The scammer’s hair stood on end as he stared at his phone.

“…Are you nuts?!”

“I was wrong! I didn’t expect you’d actually send it! Look, I’m returning it right now! I only used a random code…”

Jiang Suliu took a screenshot, sent it to his mother’s secretary, and asked her to report it and handle the rest. With that, he set his phone aside.

Nothing wrong with giving a petty scammer a lesson, no one should deceive such a trusting, simple soul like him.

After dealing with the fake ‘Qin Shi Huang,’ Jiang Suliu looked back out the window, lost in thought about the strange dream from the night before.

Since childhood, he’d always known he was different.

Outwardly polite, but inside he was detached and indifferent. Life had been too smooth, and he struggled to feel passion for anything his peers loved.

He disliked animals, hated people invading his space, and found caring words tedious.

And ever since he was three, he’d been haunted by a recurring dream.

In the dream, he was surrounded by an endless sea, dark and suffocating, enveloping him in a stifling embrace.

An eerie girl sang to him:

“Come join me.

Come dance in the depths of the sea.

Sleep forever with me in the night.

Our love will be eternal.”

…

The dream’s dark ocean was oppressive, and the girl strange and terrifying. Yet Jiang Suliu felt no fear. In that murky water, he felt a strange sense of peace, as if returning to his mother’s arms.

He’d tried therapy, his parents brought in spiritualists, the world’s best psychiatrists consulted.

But maybe, as he grew older, he simply outgrew his belief in gods.

In any case, the dreams had stopped haunting him.

Until last night, after the bizarre supernatural experience he stumbled into. He thought he’d be too anxious to sleep, but instead, he drifted off quickly.

And once more, he found himself in the grey sea.

The girl’s familiar silhouette drifted, and the familiar singing began.

But this time, it wasn’t just the girl’s voice; it was like a chorus of many voices—men, women, children, people of all races and languages mixed together.

Under normal circumstances, Jiang Suliu wouldn’t have understood their words.

But in the depths of that grey sea, he could understand them clearly—

“Come, join us.

Enter our bodies.

Become one with us!

Offer your head to our lord, abandon your life, and boldly sacrifice your pure and sincere soul!!!”

The voices shouted in frenzy and despair, and Jiang Suliu, trembling with excitement, looked all around in the endless sea.

Finally, the frenzy fell silent.

The girl’s voice came from everywhere, her eyes cold, her tone soft, “The will of a god cannot be defied.”

In the loop of this dream, the strange girl finally turned her gaze upon him, and for the first time, after years of wondering, Jiang Suliu saw her face.

It was Yue Yin.