“No one starts out knowing how to do it. You can give it a try—three days from now, the Sword of Dictatorship will be activated. If you miss it, there won’t be another chance.” Grace Harris encouraged excitedly, “Even if you just become a production-type professional player, you don’t need any special skills and can still earn a pretty decent income. At first, there’s only a base salary, but if you do well later, you can get extra bonuses.”

“Alright, I’ll give it a try.” Brian Carter thought for a moment and agreed. Seeing Grace Harris so excited, he didn’t want to refuse—after all, she meant well. Even being a low-level professional player was better than not finding a job at all. He’d heard that professional players could work at night, so it wouldn’t conflict with a daytime job. That way, he could have two jobs. He didn’t want to keep living at Grace Harris’s house, and being a professional player was a good opportunity to try.

“That’s great! My cousin happens to be short-handed. I’ll call him right now.” Grace Harris was delighted when Brian Carter agreed, and as she dialed, she said, “Back then, Uncle Nie was one of the top three experts in all of China. Brian Carter, I believe you can do it too.”

“Let’s hope so.” Brian Carter looked at the scenery speeding past the car window, his thoughts drifting far away. He hadn’t expected to follow in his father’s footsteps. He really wanted to know what it felt like when his father reached third place on the professional rankings, what had happened back then, and why he had to leave in the end.

Yinhai, 16th floor of Xuanggong Building, headquarters of Wind’s Wing Studio.

“Brother, this is the Brian Carter I told you about. What do you think of him?” Grace Harris led Brian Carter into an office with familiarity, introducing him to a young man behind the desk.

The man looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven, dressed in a formal suit. Sitting there, his height was hard to tell, but his features bore some resemblance to Grace Harris. His expression was serious, giving off a capable and steady vibe. He was Grace Harris’s cousin, Edward Harris, the owner of Wind’s Wing Studio. The studio had once ranked among the top twenty in China, and Edward Harris himself was considered a legendary figure.

Edward Harris gave Brian Carter a sharp look, nodded, and said, “So you’re Brian Carter. I’ve heard about you from my uncle. You just arrived in Yinhai today, right?”

“Yes.” Brian Carter nodded calmly.

“Even though you’re here with Grace, if you want to join Wind’s Wing, I need to know a few things about you. I’ll ask you some questions—just answer honestly.”

“Okay, sure,” Brian Carter replied. Edward Harris’s presence exerted a bit of pressure, but after several years in society, he didn’t seem nervous.

“Have you played virtual games before?”

Brian Carter nodded. “I have.”

“Which ones?” Edward Harris pressed.

“Honghuang, Enzes Legend, Faith…”

“What levels did you reach in those?”

“Fifty-seven, fifty-one, one hundred and twenty-one.”

“Those levels are too low.” Edward Harris shook his head. With levels like that, he couldn’t be considered an expert—not even average. “Have you ever trained in support professions?”

“No.” Brian Carter shook his head honestly, thinking this job was probably a lost cause.

Sure enough, Edward Harris shook his head, leaned back in his chair, and said, “It seems you haven’t played virtual games much. Whether you can reach the level of a professional player remains to be seen. Normally, we wouldn’t recruit someone like this.”

Hearing Edward Harris’s words, Brian Carter nodded in understanding. What he said was true—after all, the studio was a profit-driven organization. If new hires couldn’t help them make money, why bring them in?

When Grace Harris heard Edward Harris say this, she immediately became anxious. She quickly poured a cup of tea, brought it to Edward Harris, and pleaded, “Brother, please take him in. Uncle Nie was so good to me back then, and he once reached third place on the professional player rankings in China. Trust me, his son won’t be any worse.” Knowing Brian Carter’s current situation, her kind heart naturally wanted to help him.

“I know that.” Edward Harris looked at Grace Harris helplessly and smiled. “I haven’t finished speaking yet. That was just the usual case. Here’s the deal, Brian Carter: with your current skills, joining the studio as an internal member isn’t possible. As for your potential, that remains to be seen. For now, I’ll arrange for you to be an external member. Each month, you just need to complete the tasks assigned by the studio. We won’t restrict your freedom—do whatever you want with your other time, as long as you finish the tasks. If your level and skills reach the standard, you can become an internal member. If you can’t complete the tasks, you’ll have to leave. The salary is two thousand yuan per month. Usually, after three months, there will be bonus income—sometimes a few hundred, sometimes tens of thousands.”

Brian Carter had been ready to give up, but unexpectedly, Edward Harris decided to keep him on—probably for Grace Harris’s sake. For him, a job with a two-thousand-yuan salary was already quite good. He said, “Thank you.”

Edward Harris said, “You’re welcome. Anyway, external members are dispensable to the studio. Whether you can stay depends on you.”

Words like “dispensable” stung a bit, but that was reality. Unless Brian Carter could prove his value, he wouldn’t be taken seriously.