Chen Gu was studying "Endless Realm." The game was highly playable. Although it revolved around war, it didn't force everyone to constantly battle. If you had other talents, you could take on other roles, like logistics, public relations, or transportation.
Upon entering the game, each player would receive an initial "private army" of 3,000 soldiers, usually of a single military branch.
This private army could suffer casualties in battle but could also earn promotions with increased battle experience.
If players wanted more soldiers or to develop a more comprehensive array of troop types, they could, of course, achieve this slowly through warfare. But... wasn't it tempting to just pay for an instant, massive upgrade?
Who could resist spending money to advance quickly instead of slowly leveling up on their own?
And "Endless Realm" had a special battlefield that was its biggest feature: the Endless Starfield.
When Chen Gu discovered the existence of the Endless Starfield, his heart tightened slightly. Isn't this the Endless Realm itself?
Just then, the small horn icon in the lower-left corner started jumping again, persistent. Chen Gu opened it. Another "friend request," this time from a player named [Adorning War Paint in the Mirror].
So annoying. Chen Gu casually declined and continued studying the game.
The adversaries in the Endless Starfield were various entities from the Endless Realm: Morphfiends, Anomalies, Sinspawn, and Evil Gods. Their abilities and danger levels were ranked from low to high.
Only players could enter the Endless Starfield; their private armies couldn't join the battles there. "Endless Realm" held an annual server-wide account ranking, and battle results from the Endless Starfield contributed a whopping 65% to this ranking!
The game operators are encouraging all players to participate in the Endless Starfield battles as much as possible, Chen Gu speculated. Why is that? To nurture and select individuals with potential as Professionals?
The little horn icon popped up again, this time with even more vigor, practically bouncing with enthusiasm.
Chen Gu opened it. Another series of over twenty requests from [Adorning War Paint in the Mirror].
Get lost!
Chen Gu rejected them without hesitation. He had almost finished researching the Endless Starfield and wanted to check it out, but discovered his player level was still too low!
Aren't I an honored player? Why so many restrictions? This game... these mechanics are so unreasonable!
Chen Gu muttered a complaint and delved into the "Endless Realm" leveling system. He then realized the battle between him and Zhao Zhenhuai had been categorized as a practice challenge, which awarded no experience points. [Idol Actor] was still a pitiful, level-zero newbie.
The rank required to enter the Endless Starfield was "Sergeant."
...
Bai Xianya was fuming. Rejected again?!
The total number of rejections she had faced in her entire life didn't add up to today's count. She was a girl with a secret technique: a slight pout of her lips and a widening of her big, innocent eyes were usually enough to make anyone incapable of refusing her.
But [Idol Actor] wasn't giving her any chance to even show her face, let alone use her technique.
Absurd!
Bai Yunpeng chuckled. "Our little princess's charm isn't working, huh? Here, give me the account. For this kind of thing, it's all about the execution."
Bai Xianya, still fuming, handed her account to her uncle. As Bai Yunpeng began to work his magic, her eyelids twitched, and she reached out to snatch the account back. "Uncle, you can't do this! My lifelong reputation..."
In an instant, Bai Yunpeng had changed her game name to [Idol Actor's Number One Fangirl]!
Bai Xianya wanted to delete her account on the spot. What kind of awful name is this? So embarrassing!
Bai Yunpeng glared at her. "Just watch, it'll definitely go through. Back in the day, I used to conquer 'Endless Realm' with moves like this. Thanks to my super skills, I befriended many different types of female players..."
"Hello, Auntie..."
Bai Yunpeng hastily returned the account. "Here, take it, take it! Always tattling. Later, I'll tell your dad I know several fine young men who are perfect matches for you. I'll arrange four blind dates for you every weekend!"
"I—I'll go cry to Grandpa!"
Bai Yunpeng was completely out of options. When Bai Xianya got her account back, she saw her uncle had already sent seven or eight friend requests with messages like:
"Boss, please approve! I won't be clingy."
"Sweet-voiced, gentle little fangirl here, please open the door."
"I'll join your battles, chat, help you rank up, and even give shoulder and leg massages—full service!"
"Thirty hot private pics in exchange for approval..."
Bai Xianya looked like she was about to explode. She glared fiercely at her uncle. Bai Yunpeng gave a sheepish smile. "It's sure to work..."
Before he could finish, a series of DINGS sounded from the game as all the friend requests were rejected with a single click!
"Ahem..." Bai Yunpeng was puzzled. This doesn't make sense. Could [Idol Actor] be gay?
...
Chen Gu rejected them all with a single click, sneering. A "little fangirl," huh? More like some gross old dude. Such a low-level trick.
Then Chen Gu entered a battlefield. The system automatically matched him with an opponent: a sergeant named [Silentwood]. Private army of 9,000, well-structured troop deployment, and excellent equipment—Emperor Chen could tell at a glance this was a pay-to-win player.
As soon as their armies entered the battlefield, Chen Gu realized his chat system had exploded.
Lines of flashing text scrolled rapidly across the battlefield sky. Before one sentence could fade, the next was already surging forth:
"It's really [Idol Actor]! Oh my god, oh my god, I'm gonna die! Honey, come look, I'm battling [Idol Actor]!"
"Hahaha, I'm recording this battle! I can brag about this fight for the rest of my life!"
"Idol, please go easy on me, okay? I spent a ton of Starshields to reach Sergeant..."
"Can I be your disciple? I want to learn strategic command from you!"
"Name your price!"
"Ahhh, I don't mean any disrespect, please don't misunderstand! I'm just too excited..."
"Master, can we be friends?"
"I can introduce you to pretty girls! If you're not into those, I know plenty of cute guys too. And if you don't mind an old timer like me, well, I'm also available... *blush*..."
Chen Gu didn't respond. He marshaled his troops and, in just two minutes, used the "Pillar Shatters" tactic to eliminate the enemy commander and secure victory.
Before exiting the battlefield, [Silentwood] yelled one last time, "Such awesome tactics! Such brutal moves! I love it, I love it!"
Chen Gu glanced at his rank. The battle concluded, experience was tallied, and sure enough, he had been promoted to Lance Corporal.
The little horn icon in the bottom-left corner was still bouncing persistently. Chen Gu was genuinely annoyed now, ready to blacklist the guy.
But when he opened it, the friend request was from [Silentwood]. This guy seemed a bit flaky, but his message was dead serious: "Master, add me as a friend. I've got connections; we can make money together in the game."
Chen Gu was a proud man, with a billion to his name, but being a Professional was resource-intensive; he couldn't just sit back and deplete his fortune. So, he chose to accept.
Sure enough, right after that friend request, there was another.
[Adorning War Paint in the Mirror]—the name had been changed back.
Bai Xianya made one last attempt, though without much hope, simply messaging, "Please approve. I have important matters to discuss."
After being thoroughly pranked by her own uncle, Bai Xianya was ready to delete her account and start over.