When Su Zimai was a child, she often quarreled with Gu Wenyu. The two would frequently argue over video games.
Gu Qiye would sit in the middle to mediate, pressing one hand on Su Zimai’s forehead and the other on Gu Wenyu’s nape, fearing they would start a tussle like two stubborn calves or smash their gaming controllers.
"Myriad Floating Cherry Blossoms Slash!" The exaggerated announcement pulled Gu Zhuo Case’s thoughts back to reality.
Looking up at the TV screen, Su Zimai’s "Sakurabu" unleashed its ultimate move, a flurry of falling cherry blossoms radiating lethal beauty. The overlapping blades brought "Embers" and "Swallowing Silver" on the screen to their knees.
Their health points hit zero simultaneously, followed promptly by the large words "Game Over."
"Impressive, isn’t it? First time playing and I’ve already whipped you guys." Su Zimai smirked.
Gu Wenyu didn’t acknowledge her, merely pointed at the defeated Swallowing Silver on the screen, clutching his stomach in laughter: "Look, Swallowing Silver’s defeat pose is way too realistic!"
Gu Qiye smiled at the two of them.
Su Zimai noticed Gu Zhuo Case behind her from the corner of her eye, got up from the sofa, and pulled him over to sit.
"Dad, you should play too! This can handle up to four fighters, and luckily, big bro bought a few more controllers." Su Zimai said, pushing a controller into Gu Zhuo Case’s hand.
Gu Zhuo Case extinguished his cigarette, placing it in the empty ashtray, then awkwardly took the controller: "I don’t know how to play."
"No worries, no one knows how to play; it’s a new game." Gu Wenyu said, "If this pig Su Zimai can beat us, it obviously points to a problem."
In the end, Gu Qiye and Su Zimai teamed up, while Gu Wenyu and Gu Zhuo Case paired, heading into the character selection screen.
Gu Qiye chose America’s iconic Mutant "Captain Eagle," a Mutant with a superpower of unfolding giant wings and shooting feather-like bullets, a fan favorite in the United States.
Su Zimai continued to choose "Sakurabu," seemingly still guilty about watching her die at the hands of the White Crow Travel Brigade at the auction.
Gu Wenyu muttered about being a "Swallowing Silver die-hard fan for eternity" and chose Swallowing Silver again, even dashing back to his room to change into a "Swallowing Silver fan edition T-shirt" before returning to the sofa, claiming it boosted combat power.
Gu Zhuo Case stared at the screen motionlessly for a long time, finally choosing "Blue Arc."
Gu Qiye was startled slightly, glanced at his dad’s profile, and then silently focused back on the game.
"Time to die, you electric rat!" Once in the game, Su Zimai had "Sakurabu" chase Gu Zhuo Case’s "Blue Arc."
She quickly realized she misspoke, hurriedly covering her mouth and glancing at his older brother. Thankfully, Gu Qiye was engrossed in the game and didn’t hear her unintended nickname.
Before she could react, Swallowing Silver on the screen had already crushed the metal plates in its hands, creating a metal cage to pulverize her Sakurabu into a blood mist before throwing back its head in laughter.
Gu Wenyu, seeing this, pointed at the screen’s Swallowing Silver, laughed until he almost convulsed, only to be ambushed by Gu Qiye’s "Captain Eagle," dying on the spot under a barrage of feathers.
In the end, only Gu Qiye and Gu Zhuo Case’s characters were left in a one-on-one.
"Captain Eagle" hovered in the air, arms crossed, gazing down at Blue Arc on the ground.
"Blue Arc" twitched left and right, jumping up and down in place like a malfunctioning robot, starkly contrasting with the majestic "Captain Eagle" in the sky.
Finally, amid Gu Wenyu’s complaints of "Dad, can you even do it? Even the AI plays better than you," Gu Zhuo Case’s "Blue Arc" ended in miserable defeat.
Su Zimai and Gu Qiye clapped their hands, turning their heads proudly to look at the two.
Gu Zhuo Case looked down at the controller, murmuring: "The difficulty’s a bit high."
Gu Wenyu, selecting a character with his controller, assured his teammate: "No problem, next time I’ll suggest to the designers to add your favorite tough guy, Ghost Bell, in the game. A character like Ghost Bell is bound to be a stats monster, can’t be weak."
Gu Zhuo Case nodded and once again selected "Blue Arc" with the controller.
Su Zimai teased: "Ha, these days games are about political correctness, how could there be a criminal character?"
"Might be possible as a villain in story mode," Gu Qiye smiled slightly.
"Let’s go again, I refuse to believe this." Gu Wenyu tugged at his Swallowing Silver fan T-shirt, filled with fighting spirit.
Eventually, the night’s fighting games ended with Su Zimai dominating, while Gu Wenyu complained, "What a bore, making my Swallowing Silver so weak, trash game," as he noisily returned to his room, ignoring Su Zimai’s taunts behind him.
He closed his bedroom door, lay on his bed, and closed his eyes.
The plane Xia Pingzhou was on had already landed, and the people from the White Crow Travel Brigade had long been waiting in Bergen, Norway.