Chapter 13 Jun Moxiao saw who it was and then withdrew…

Lord Grim recognized the newcomer, then put away his Thousand Chance Umbrella and sized up [Piercing Sun]. His skills were impressive, and considering his impressive performance during the boss raid, combined with the information Wei Chen had provided, Ye Xiu's identity was now beyond doubt. His voice held a knowing smile: "Oh? The main character has arrived? Little Zhou?"

Zhou Zekai manipulated Guan Ri, slightly adjusted his position, completely protecting Liu Yue behind him, and simply replied, "Yes, senior." Seeing that Jun Moxiao had already put away his weapon, he randomly adjusted his attack direction, locking onto Baozi Intrusion, who was sneaking around in the corner.

"Tsk tsk, the BOSS's situation has been settled, why are you still so angry? Come on, Zhou, let it go, they're all acquaintances." Ye Xiu saw through Zhou Zekai's intentions and spoke in a relaxed tone, as if the tense atmosphere just now wasn't caused by him.

Zhou Zekai's gun was still pointed at Baozi Invasion. His voice, coming through the microphone, was clear and concise, carrying an undeniable protectiveness: "You, hit her."

Ye Xiu chuckled, making a shrug with his character Lord Grim: "Haha, misunderstanding, pure misunderstanding. At first, I heard that Samsara had a few professional players, and this girl's skills were quite impressive, and she was lurking around here suspiciously. I thought Samsara was hiding some secret weapon, so I wanted to test her skills." He changed the subject, his tone becoming more teasing, "But now, she seems more like a complete newbie. Wow, Zhou, impressive, bringing a girl along when fighting a boss? I never noticed before."

Zhao Zhinian's face instantly turned red. Before Zhou Zekai could speak, she rushed to explain into the microphone, raising her voice several decibels: "No, no! Master Ye Qiu, you've misunderstood! Actually, I'm a war correspondent! What I just said is true. I'm from the tenth server, and I came here specifically to watch your gameplay and learn from you! I'm really your fan!" She didn't want to add this kind of inexplicable "scandal" to Zhou Zekai's reputation in the industry.

Zhou Zekai gave a soft "humph" from the side. He slightly pursed his lips, seemingly dissatisfied with Zhao Zhinian's eagerness to distance herself from the "bringing a girl" relationship and her subsequent claim that she was a fan of Ye Qiu.

Having been in the gaming world for so many years, Ye Xiu had seen it all. He immediately sensed the gossip coming from Zhao Zhinian's eager explanation and Zhou Zekai's subtle reaction. After all, even the ace captain of Samsara was distracted during the BOSS battle, and the girl was clearly a newbie. Her bizarrely brilliant performance just now could only be explained by one thing: Zhou Zekai had taken over the girl's account, and the two of them were obviously together.

Although Ye Xiu couldn't accurately determine the relationship between the two, the fact that they used a couple's ID, Xiao Zhou's protectiveness, and his immediate arrival after defeating the BOSS, while the other party still rushed to deny it and even claimed to be his fan in front of Xiao Zhou... only shows that: the road ahead is long and arduous, and Xiao Zhou still needs to work hard!

Thinking of this, he deliberately dragged out his words, his tone becoming even more teasing: "Oh~ my fan? That's great! Girl, I see you have a lot of potential, good mental fortitude, and you're quite interesting to talk to. How about considering switching to our Happy Guild? We've never had a war correspondent position before. Think about it? The atmosphere here is great. Didn't you and Baozi exchange zodiac signs? Besides, Happy has expert players personally guiding you, guaranteed to teach you everything you need to know, and I guarantee you'll have a bright future!"

"No!" Zhou Zekai refused almost immediately, his voice much faster than usual, resolute, and even carrying a rare sense of urgency and force, as if Zhao Zhinian would be snatched away if he hesitated for even a second.

Zhao Zhinian found it both amusing and endearing to hear the almost spontaneous, possessive refusal from the person beside her. The great god was clearly doing it on purpose; Zhou Zekai was still a bit too inexperienced compared to Ye Qiu. She quickly turned her head, gave Zhou Zekai a reassuring look, and mouthed silently, "He was just kidding."

Then she turned back to the microphone, her tone light and sly, with a hint of protectiveness towards her own fan: "Master, although I truly admire you very, very much—not only are you incredibly skilled, but you're also a master of Glory tactics, and you're incredibly witty and humorous," Zhao Zhinian began with a shower of compliments, "but unfortunately, you see, I'm already a member of Samsara, I have a bit of a 'young bird' complex, and you just tried to kill me! If Zhou Zekai hadn't come to my rescue, I'd be on the resurrection point right now. Just for Zhou Zekai's sake, I can't abandon Samsara! Your actions just now really hurt the tender heart of this little fan, so let's maintain the purest and most beautiful distance between idol and fan."

Ye Xiu chuckled as he heard the other person repeatedly refer to Zhou Zekai. He naturally had no intention of recruiting a complete newcomer, but seeing that the BOSS had been snatched up by Samsara, he became interested and deliberately spoke up to see Zhou Zekai's reaction. Now that the excitement was over, he called to the others to prepare to leave: "Alright, the BOSS is gone, and the excitement is over, let's go."

As Ye Xiu passed by Zhou Zekai's character, he whispered to him, "Little Zhou, you still need to work harder." His voice wasn't loud, but Zhao Zhinian, who was standing nearby, naturally heard him and understood what he meant. Feeling embarrassed by this teasing from an outsider, she could only feign composure and pretend she hadn't heard anything.

Before leaving, Baozi Invasion didn't forget to call out to Zhao Zhinian, "Goodbye, beautiful lady! Let's chat about astrology again next time!"

Watching the retreating figures of Happy and the others, Zhao Zhinian breathed a long sigh of relief. She felt as if she had fought a tough battle. These Glory Gods, who were almost demonically intelligent, were still too difficult to deal with. Her Glory skill level and relationship with Zhou Zekai were seen through in an instant. She couldn't help but recall the evaluation of Glory fans on God Ye Qiu: one of the four tactical masters and the head of the four "hearts". He truly deserved the title.

She turned her head to look at Zhou Zekai beside her, about to say something, but suddenly met his eyes.

Zhou Zekai pursed his lips slightly, his beautiful eyes, sharp and calm on the field that drew screams from countless fans, now veiled with a faint, barely perceptible layer of grievance, staring unblinkingly at her. He was tall, but now he seemed to shrink slightly; the indomitable, protective aura he displayed in the game vanished, replaced by a strange obedience and disappointment.

Zhao Zhinian suddenly recalled the penguin sculptures that fans of the game "Reincarnation" had made of Zhou Zekai. It had to be said, outside of the battlefield of Glory, there was indeed a resemblance. In her mind, Zhao Zhinian imagined a large, fluffy, and somewhat dull penguin living in the icy wilderness. Normally, it might stand tall and walk with a steady gait, but now it stood there blankly, head slightly bowed, its round, dark eyes looking at you with wetness. Not good with words, it seemed a little clumsy, a little lost, and a little… pitiful.

"You just said... you're a fan of Ye Qiu." Zhou Zekai muttered softly, the slight awkwardness in his tone more like a penguin that hadn't gotten its own little fish, whimpering in dissatisfaction, pitifully waiting to be comforted, instantly softening Zhao Zhinian's heart like a clear spring.

She couldn't help but smile, leaned closer, lowered her voice, and coaxed softly, "Who doesn't admire the great Ye Qiu when playing Glory? I was just exaggerating a bit to avoid unnecessary conflict."

Zhou Zekai felt this wasn't enough to appease her, and stared into Zhao Zhinian's eyes: "What about me?"

Zhao Zhinian's heart skipped a beat, and she silently thought to herself: Beauty is a curse! Even at such close range, Zhou Zekai's face was still too unfair, and he was also very good at "playing the victim," looking all wronged.

Looking at his slightly pursed lips and those eyes that carried a hint of emotion, Zhao Zhinian saw no trace of the gun king who could pierce through the clouds and sweep away thousands of enemies on the field. He was clearly a child who hadn't received any candy, asking about everything: What about me?

She composed herself, her gaze falling on Zhou Zekai's still somewhat tense face. Her voice softened, carrying an intimacy she herself was unaware of: "You are naturally not among the ordinary professional players; you are on a different list."

These words seemed to possess a magical power, instantly dispelling the subtle low pressure emanating from Zhou Zekai. His eyelashes trembled, and he glanced at her discreetly before quickly turning back to his screen. However, the corners of his slightly pursed lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly, and a faint blush quietly spread across his ears.

He didn't speak, he just stood there operating [Sun Piercer], his back view exuding a sense of satisfaction.

Just then, Jiang Botao's cheerful voice came through the earpiece, breaking the brief moment of ambiguity: "Ahem, um... the BOSS materials have been inventoried. Xiao Zhou, Miss Zhao, is everything... alright on your end?"

He had come with Zhou Zekai's character, but wisely gave Zhou Zekai the chance to be the hero and rescue the damsel in distress, while he went to command the other players from the Samsara Guild. After everything was settled, he came to find the two of them, and accidentally overheard the whole "good show." He only approached them after they finished talking, though he couldn't hide the smile in his voice.

Zhou Zekai hummed in agreement.

Seeing that they were being seen by outsiders again, Zhao Zhinian's face, which had just cooled down, flushed slightly. She quickly replied, "It's alright, Deputy Captain Jiang, thank you for your hard work." After all, without Jiang Botao supporting them alone, Zhou Zekai couldn't possibly be distracted to rescue her.

"Not at all," Jiang Botao laughed. "Thanks to you for providing the location of Happy's group, we avoided a lot of risks."

Zhao Zhinian was once again impressed by Jiang Botao's emotional intelligence. There might have been some risk aversion involved, but "thanks to her" was just flattering her. They had specifically sent people to rescue her, yet his words made her seem incredibly important. She wasn't that thick-skinned, so she quickly changed the subject: "Um... now that the BOSS is defeated, what do we do next?"

Zhou Zekai looked at her and suggested, "Shall I show you around the Realm of Gods?"

“Okay!” Zhao Zhinian nodded immediately.

Jiang Botao sensibly made up an excuse, saying he would help with guild affairs and would contact them again if there was any news about the BOSS.

Zhou Zekai led her through a maple forest. The earlier hustle and bustle seemed like an illusion; the only sound around them was the footsteps from the game. Zhao Zhinian looked at the always silent yet incredibly reliable figure ahead, and she suddenly remembered Ye Qiu's last teasing remark.

Should we keep trying?

Watching Zhou Zekai's retreating figure, she thought: Actually... it seems I don't need to try too hard. Just let things take their natural course.

A note from the author:

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Thanks to Yihe for throwing a landmine! [Thumbs up]