TSA Chapter 63

Seeing Ran Qi and Han Xiao talking, Zhang Shuo suddenly felt like he understood everything!

No wonder Ran Qi had claimed to have no interest in the competition, yet still traveled all the way to Central City. Not only that, but he deliberately avoided leaving with the school’s spectator team, instead spending his own money to secretly buy a spaceship ticket. He was obviously here to see Han Xiao!

And Han Xiao—what kind of taste did he have to take a liking to someone like Ran Qi? Someone who, aside from a pretty face, was a complete good-for-nothing! And now, just to help Ran Qi, he had deliberately targeted Zhang Shuo, humiliating him like this!

Watching the two of them laugh and chat, Zhang Shuo found it more and more unbearable. He couldn’t swallow his anger any longer and strode up to them, gritting his teeth. “Ran Qi! Are you happy now? Satisfied now?!”

Ran Qi looked at Zhang Shuo in confusion, clearly not understanding what he meant.

“Don’t play dumb with me! I’m telling you, I see right through your schemes! Yeah, I lost today, but even so, I lost to Han Xiao—it has nothing to do with you! The score between us will be settled in the game!” Zhang Shuo sneered. “My War God is already level 30, and I’ll be able to change class soon! Just give me five days, and I’ll hit level 45! When the time comes, don’t accuse me of bullying you in a PK match!” After his outburst, Zhang Shuo turned and stormed off without looking back.

Ran Qi: “……”

“What was that about? He lost to our boss—what does that have to do with Brother Ran?” Soul Chaser, who had just finished his own match and was coming over to meet up with Han Xiao, looked utterly confused. “And did he just say he’s going to PK Brother Ran in the game? With his measly level 30 War God?”

“That guy’s brain is broken,” Gu Le scoffed, rolling his eyes. He then gave a brief explanation of the past conflict between Ran Qi and Zhang Shuo, including their previous challenge.

“This guy must be an idiot, right?” Soul Chaser said in disbelief. “Brother Ran is already level 40. If he grinds an experience dungeon tonight and keeps farming that cycle quest in the wild, he can hit 45 in less than two days. Who’s bullying who here?”

“Forget about him! Let’s think about what to eat tonight!” Gu Le dismissed Zhang Shuo without a second thought.

“Right, right! That braised pork we had yesterday was amazing—I want more! And that chicken was so tender! And that hotpot—oh, it was incredible! I could totally eat another—” Soul Chaser got so excited talking about food that his throat moved involuntarily.

Ran Qi sighed and cut him off, “Yesterday was a special occasion since it was our first meal together, so we ate well. If we eat like that again today, you guys will run out of Physical Exchange Coupons…”

“No worries! I’ll write a strategy guide for the Black and White World Challenge Dungeon later, and when we run the Abyss Dungeon tomorrow, I’ll do a livestream. That should be enough,” Sword at Fleeting Time said casually, as if spending big on food was completely worth it.

“Yeah, we have plenty of coupons!” No Happiness chimed in.

“We made it to the next round today—we deserve a feast to celebrate!” Plume Ink added righteously.

Ran Qi: “……”

He really didn’t see what was so difficult about today’s win… They won effortlessly, didn’t they?!

But in the end, he relented. “Fine, fine, we’ll have hotpot again tonight.”

Sliced ingredients stretched further, making it more cost-effective. He could also buy some rice and flour to make filling staple foods, minimizing coupon use while still ensuring everyone ate well.

Since they had bone broth yesterday, Ran Qi decided to make a fish hotpot tonight. He would redeem a big, fat fish, use the head and bones to simmer a rich fish broth, and then add thinly sliced fish fillets once the base was ready.

He planned to buy more vegetables since they looked more plentiful when sliced, while slightly reducing the amount of meat. To make up for it, he would prepare plenty of filling staple foods so no one would notice the cut in meat portions.

For the main dish, he settled on stuffed pancakes. They had eaten them in the game, but never in real life, so it would be a new experience. Plus, they would go well with the soup—both hearty and delicious.

Once Ran Qi finalized the menu, Han Xiao’s team immediately started purchasing the ingredients, arranging for Octopus Express to deliver them to Ran Qi’s hotel room.

With their matches over for the day, the group strolled back leisurely. Gu Le and Soul Chaser excitedly discussed food, while Plume Ink and Sword at Fleeting Time talked about dungeon strategies. Jiangnan and the others gathered to discuss tomorrow’s matches. Without realizing it, Han Xiao and Ran Qi naturally walked side by side.

Out of nowhere, Han Xiao suddenly asked, “What’s Zhang Shuo’s in-game ID?”

“I don’t know…” Ran Qi answered honestly.

Han Xiao: “?”

“He didn’t say before storming off.” Ran Qi scratched the back of his head. “I didn’t tell him mine either—I was worried he’d come after me early. Anyway, I’ll deal with him when I hit level 45.”

“Let me know when you find out,” Han Xiao said.

“Mm…”

“I’ll collect some magic scrolls for you,” Han Xiao added. “You’re a Priest, so you’ll be at a disadvantage against a Warrior in a PK match.”

“No need, no need! I already have plenty of magic scrolls…” Ran Qi said a little sheepishly. “I was wary of him too.”

“Then take some time to upgrade your gear,” Night Owl said seriously, sounding like a concerned father worried about his kid getting into a fight. “If you’re short on materials, let me know.”

Ran Qi felt a weird mix of embarrassment and amusement. Scratching his head, he obediently replied, “The tiger boss we fought this morning dropped pelts that I can use to make a new armor set.”

“That’s good, then.”

After saying this, the two of them fell silent again. The conversation seemed to have died just like that, leaving Ran Qi feeling inexplicably anxious, but he didn’t know what to say. He really wanted to ask why Han Xiao suddenly changed his usual fighting style today and beat Zhang Shuo so badly—was it because of him?

But he was also afraid that he was overthinking it, and asking would just make him look foolish.

“Level up as quickly as you can,” Han Xiao suddenly lowered his voice and said, “It’ll be good for you.”

Ran Qi was stunned and looked at Han Xiao in surprise, only to see Han Xiao stride forward with his long legs, quickly walking over to where Plume Ink and the others were. Clearly, he had no intention of continuing the conversation.

Could it be that Han Xiao also discovered the game’s hidden secrets?

Before they started exchanging for ingredients, Han Xiao and the others had been hoarding their Physical Exchange Coupons, so they probably hadn’t noticed the mysterious element within the food.

So why did Han Xiao remind him to level up? And what exactly was the benefit he was talking about? Was it the same as what he knew, or was there something more?

Thinking back to how Han Xiao had been grinding levels like a madman since entering the game, Ran Qi felt like he might have figured something out…

But there was no use thinking about it now. Since he couldn’t come up with an answer, he decided to just stop worrying about it. Anyway, following Han Xiao and the others, leveling up was like riding a rocket—when his level got high enough, he’d naturally understand.

When they returned to the hotel, the Octopus Express delivery was already waiting. Several large boxes filled with food had arrived. Ran Qi unpacked everything and carried it all into the kitchen.

As usual, Han Xiao went into the kitchen to help. After yesterday’s teamwork, their coordination had improved even more. Han Xiao’s vegetable washing and chopping skills had become incredibly smooth, almost like flowing water, significantly improving their cooking efficiency. Before long, the aroma of food filled the kitchen.

******

Zhang Shuo returned to his dorm still full of unvented anger. Dragging his lackeys along, he headed to the training ground and fought several intense matches before he finally started to feel a little better.

The underlings, who had been beaten badly, didn’t dare voice their complaints. One of them cautiously spoke up, “Brother Shuo, don’t be upset. You still got the best results in our school. In terms of strength, Han Xiao is definitely the number one in this competition. Losing to him isn’t really embarrassing…”

“Shut up!” Zhang Shuo’s barely suppressed rage instantly reignited, and he roared in fury, “What do you know?! Han Xiao is Ran Qi’s lover! He deliberately rigged the match to humiliate me!”

“What?!” The lackey was first in disbelief, then quickly became indignant. “That pretty-faced Ran Qi is too shameless! To think he’d stoop to such tricks! Absolutely despicable!”

“Yeah, yeah! Han Xiao must be blind to fall for such a useless waste of space!”

Listening to their scornful remarks about the two, Zhang Shuo finally felt some of his anger dissipate.

With a cold snort, he said, “Come on! Let’s head to Star Gaming Lounge! I’m grinding dungeons all night—I have to level up as fast as possible. When the time comes, I’ll make Ran Qi pay! However he embarrassed me today, I’ll return it tenfold!”

Even though their school’s competitors had all been eliminated from the tournament, they couldn’t just pack up and slink back in shame. The teachers had told them to rest tonight, and they would gather tomorrow at noon to return to school.

“No problem, Brother Shuo!” One of the lackeys eagerly said, “The closest Star Gaming Lounge to us—I checked it out yesterday. The place is big, and there are plenty of machines.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

“But, Brother Shuo… we haven’t eaten yet,” another lackey hesitantly reminded him.

The dorm provided meal packages, but they only consisted of nutrient solutions. Since it wasn’t mealtime yet, their rations hadn’t been delivered, and they were getting hungry.

“The Star Gaming Lounge must sell food. I’ll buy some for you guys when we get there,” Zhang Shuo snapped impatiently.

He had money to burn, so he didn’t care about such a small expense.

“Thanks, Brother Shuo!”

They walked quickly and soon arrived at the entrance of the Star Gaming Lounge, where they immediately noticed a queue in front of the nutrient solution vending machine.

“Why the hell is there a line just to buy nutrient solution?” Zhang Shuo frowned in irritation.

“Seems like they released a new flavor or something. Yesterday, when I was here, there was already a line. Must be really good.”

“A new flavor?” Zhang Shuo’s eyelid twitched inexplicably. He immediately transferred 2,000 star coins to his lackey’s account. “Go buy five of them.”

“Got it!” The lackey quickly ran over, queued up for a while, and returned with five nutrient solutions.

Zhang Shuo grabbed one, took a sip, and found it to be sweet and sour—definitely a good taste.

“Not bad.” He immediately sent a message to his father about this, then strode into the Star Gaming Lounge with his lackeys.

Tonight, he would grind at full power. He would make sure Ran Qi learned his lesson—to know which people were untouchable!

Zhang Shuo was filled with resentment and determination. But if he knew that the threats he had just made were already completely forgotten by Ran Qi, that Ran Qi wasn’t panicking or feeling uneasy at all, but was instead enjoying a delicious feast… he might have just died from sheer anger.