Chapter 10 Sudden Illness

"Damn!" Upon resurrection, Li Xin uttered this with a hint of regret. After readjusting to his mechanical eye, he directed the Flying Tigers toward the diagonal of the central courtyard.

Failure was nothing to lament; what truly mattered was the chance to spar with a master.

Meanwhile, in a warm and cozy room, Clear Radiance Like Snow was slightly surprised. Releasing the keyboard with her left hand, she gently stroked her high, proud nose, her clear eyes shifting as she pondered.

In the instant she killed her opponent, she seemed to see the robust Flying Tiger soldier staring wide-eyed, his gaze strangely intense.

How could that be?

Wasn't he merely a character formed by game data? If he was just a game avatar, how could his eyes resemble those of a living person? What baffled her even more was that his gaze wasn’t filled with terror or shock at death, but rather tinged with regret and a dash of surprise.

As she considered this, the opposing Flying Tigers had already respawned and rejoined the fray. Clear Radiance Like Snow shook her head and smiled wryly, "I must have seen it wrong."

Drawing a deep breath, she focused her mind entirely.

...

"This time, I won't let you!" Li Xin chuckled, his left hand swiftly combining keystrokes as the Flying Tigers agilely darted left and right. It was a favored attack style among professional gamers—drag-shooting.

Bang—bang bang—

Headshot!

Li Xin took his revenge, though still somewhat dissatisfied. The "King of Games" lost a great deal of HP upon death, but recovered it only slowly after a kill. Over several days of practice, he'd roughly worked out a formula: death loss to kill recovery was about two to one. Of course, this wasn’t absolute; most of the time, it depended on the small score of each kill.

"At this rate, I’ll need to land headshots six times in a row to re-enter the state of virtual illusion." He smiled lightly, the curve of his lips carrying a hint of spring breeze and gentle ease. Yet his slightly plump cheeks and somewhat sickly gaze greatly diminished his appearance.

Clear Radiance Like Snow was indeed formidable. In the diagonal AK headshot duel, aside from the initial 6:0 beating, she never allowed her opponent to kill her three times in succession. Rapid changes in shooting style, swift lateral movements within a small range, and precise headshot lines—these were her winning tactics.

Unconsciously, the score had reached 25:14. Though still far behind, Clear Radiance Like Snow grew ever more spirited, her smile deepening.

"Goodness, so fierce! No matter what, I must recruit you into the club."

"If we add this wild card to our roster, we’ll surely break through and reach the provincial tournament in the upcoming autumn league."

Guiding the Avenger to the courtyard, she was about to fire when she suddenly paused.

Across the way, Yiran's Flying Tigers inexplicably stood motionless. Even when she shifted side to side, there was no reaction. Normally, a bullet would have come flying by now.

A pink chat message: What's wrong?

No reply.

Clear Radiance Like Snow’s heart tightened; could something have happened? She quickly dismissed the thought—perhaps he was on the phone or getting a drink.

Better wait and see.

One minute, two, three...

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and with only a third of the fifteen-minute match time left, Clear Radiance Like Snow grew truly anxious. Yet, she was helpless; they had never spoken even once, not even exchanged basic personal information.

What should she do?

Clasping her fingers tightly, she could only silently pray her opponent was alright.

...

Rapid footsteps sounded, and apprentice Zhang He quickly went to greet the newcomer—a waitress from the neighboring Yuxin Restaurant, Jiang Ke’er.

"Ke’er, what’s wrong? Why the rush?" Zhang He greeted her with a smile. The two were close in age, so there was little distance between them.

After sprinting dozens of meters, Jiang Ke’er was slightly out of breath, her pink cheeks flushed and her smooth forehead dotted with beads of sweat, sparkling under the gentle morning sunlight.

Zhang He found himself momentarily entranced.

Jiang Ke’er stuck out her tongue and finally asked, "Zhang He, where’s your boss?"

"Oh, you mean Boss Li? He should be in the back room playing games at this hour. Why are you in such a hurry—what’s up?"

"Playing games? Hmph, he’s run up several days' worth of meals on credit. It’s time to settle the bill," Jiang Ke’er gritted her teeth and strode inside.

Zhang He smiled wryly and shook his head, thinking, "Boss isn’t short on money—why bother with credit?" Turning toward the medicine cabinet to count the various herbs, he was startled by a sudden scream from the backyard.

All five people in Mingran Apothecary felt a jolt and rushed inside, dropping whatever they were doing.

They found Boss Li Xin collapsed and curled on the ground, his muscles rigid, a smear of milky foam at the corner of his mouth. His eyes were so helpless, so pitiful, so full of sorrow.

Jiang Ke’er struggled to lift Li Xin, but her petite frame was powerless against his 178 cm, 160-pound bulk. Panic flushed her face deep red, but it was futile.

"Boss!"

The others shouted and hurried to his side. Three doctors checked him carefully, while Zhang He and Li Yao frantically dialed the emergency number.

"Could it be Parkinson’s syndrome?" Doctor Chu said gravely.

"Damn! How could Boss develop such a strange illness at his age?"

"Incurable, truly incurable..."

All three doctors' faces were somber. They were practitioners of traditional medicine, so contending with such Western ailments was particularly challenging.

Helpless, they did their best to alleviate his condition. Soon, the emergency ambulance arrived, racing Li Xin to the hospital. After a busy morning, his condition was stabilized, and Li Xin gradually regained consciousness.

"Doctor, what’s wrong with me? Though my illness is already in the mid-stage, I’ve been taking my medication regularly. By rights, it shouldn’t have escalated so abruptly—I couldn’t even control my consciousness," Li Xin asked the attending physician.

"Well..." The doctor looked puzzled. "We couldn’t find a specific cause. The instruments only show that your brain waves are extremely active, your thoughts highly concentrated. I'm not certain if there’s a connection. Better stay in the hospital for a few days and observe."

"Alright..." Li Xin nodded helplessly.

Once settled, the shop still needed to operate, so Doctor Chu and the others left with Li Yao. Zhang He, being a man, stayed behind to care for Li Xin.

Thinking of the upcoming National Day—and the prospect of spending it in a colorless hospital ward—Li Xin found it hard to accept. It completely disrupted his travel plans. While Zhang He busied himself with daily necessities, Li Xin lay in bed, deep in thought.

"In the past two days of gaming, I could last up to two hours before feeling tired. Today was barely five minutes—how could I suddenly fall ill?"

"Active brain waves—surely just a side effect of the game. It shouldn’t impact my health much. Let me recall carefully, see if there were any other symptoms."

He buried himself in memories, replaying every moment of his duel with Clear Radiance Like Snow. From the initial string of kills to their back-and-forth, nothing seemed unusual.

Suddenly!

A massive wave surged through Li Xin’s mind, leaving him stunned. He remembered!

Yes! That must be it!