May Easton pursed her red lips: "We're doing fine. I've reached level 7, and Emily is level 6. Actually, you don't need to call her 'Miss.' Emily isn't stuck-up at all. Just call her Emily..."

　　Emily Lincoln glared at me: "No way, he's not allowed to call me Emily!"

　　I said quietly, "Got it, I won't. Miss..."

　　May Easton looked at me, then at Emily Lincoln, and seemed to realize something. She covered her mouth and giggled: "Uh... looks like there's definitely some story between you two, otherwise you wouldn't be like this... Ah, Emily, don't hit me, I won't say anything more..."

　　With these two stunning girls making a scene, a few guys eating in the distance were so stunned that their noodles fell out of their mouths.

　　Not long after, a few stir-fried dishes arrived. I didn't get too carried away, just ate the dishes in front of me, and then had three bowls of rice. Emily Lincoln looked a bit surprised, her expression was priceless—she must have thought, how could someone who eats so much still be only level 1? Clearly just someone who eats but doesn't do anything!

　　...

　　At 10 p.m., the phone rang. It was Nathan Lincoln's number—

　　"Xiao Li, how was your day? Emily didn't give you too much trouble, did she?" Nathan Lincoln asked.

　　I shook my head: "No way, Miss treats me pretty well. Don't worry, Mr. Lincoln!"

　　Nathan Lincoln chuckled: "Mm, Emily actually has a gentle personality, but... she's always been very resistant to me assigning bodyguards for her personal protection. The previous bodyguards all quit because they couldn't handle her. I hope you can stick with it—it's a tough job..."

　　I smiled slightly: "It's really nothing, just eating with Miss and playing games. I can handle it."

　　Nathan Lincoln laughed heartily: "That's good. By the way, how's your gaming skill? What was your previous ranking on the game battle net?"

　　I said, "Over three millionth place."

　　"Oh, so you're pretty bad then..."

　　Me: "..."

　　...

　　After hanging up, Glasses Bro logged off to cook some noodles, waving his arms and legs: "Li, how is it? This game with 97% realism is awesome, right? I'm already level 4, pretty strong, huh? What level are you?"

　　I replied expressionlessly, "Level 1. What do you want..."

　　"Haha, level 1?? Damn, how many times did you get killed by monsters to still be level 1?"

　　I said calmly, "Can't help it, level 1 is level 1. I'm a Wandering Healer, no attack power..."

　　"Wandering Healer, that's a support class, right? Even if you can't kill monsters, you can heal yourself, so you shouldn't have been killed back to level 1, right? Li, you're really something else. But don't worry, with me around, I'll help you level up. I'll make sure you become one of the top experts in Destiny!"

　　"If you ever stop bragging, you'll die, won't you!"

　　"Haha!"

　　...

　　That night, I played the game for another hour or so, continuing to search for the feeling of sword intent in the game, but still made no progress. I wasn't anxious, though—it's just a game, no rush to break through. Then, I logged off before midnight to sleep. This was the schedule Emily Lincoln set for me.

　　The next morning, I got up at 7 sharp, went to buy breakfast, and delivered it to Emily Lincoln and May Easton. Unfortunately, I couldn't go upstairs. The dorm supervisor aunt yelled at me fiercely: "Hey kid, if you want to go up to the girls' dorm, you have to get past me first!"

　　I left, feeling a bit dejected, and also noticed there were two young security guards in the supervisor's office. Judging by their movements, they knew some martial arts. Hmm, definitely arranged by Nathan Lincoln. For his daughter, the old man set up more secret guards besides me.

　　Back in the dorm, I continued to practice swordsmanship.

　　In the blink of an eye, the whole morning passed. I even repaired my iron sword once, but still made no breakthrough in the game. However, I could feel that I was about to break through—the surging feeling at the edge of the valley was getting stronger!

　　...

　　At noon, in the cafeteria, I ate with Emily Lincoln and May Easton.

　　"It's been 24 hours..." May Easton smiled. "I heard most players have already left the newbie village, and the highest level is already 12."

　　Emily Lincoln twirled her hair as she ate, grinning: "I'm level 11 too!"

　　May Easton: "If I train for another two hours this afternoon, I'll reach level 11. Ugh, I'm a Spirit Mage, but my leveling speed can't keep up with an Assassin. Emily, you're giving me so much pressure..."

　　Emily Lincoln smiled with pursed lips, pointed at me, and said, "It's fine, that guy over there can give you some comfort... David Thompson, what level are you? Uh, what's your ranking on the whole server?"

　　I hesitated for a moment: "Level 1, ranked exactly 1,000,000th on the whole server..."

　　Emily Lincoln's beautiful face seemed to turn to stone. She stared at me blankly: "There are only about a million people in the first open beta... You, you, you... You're really the shame of 'Destiny'..."

　　I was speechless: "Damn..."

　　May Easton giggled: "It's okay, when I have some free time, I'll help you level up..."

　　I nodded: "Thanks, Easton, you're way more considerate than our Miss..."

　　Emily Lincoln shot me a glance, hiding a murderous intent: "Oh? Say that again..."

　　I gripped my chopsticks tightly: "Eat up, the sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back to level up..."

　　...

　　1 p.m., Grass Dog Village.

　　"Clang!"