"Hey, why aren't you saying anything? Don't try to hide it — I already recognized you." The girl, thinking Gu Ning was still trying to disguise his identity, shook her light green short hair and patted his arm.
"You are?" Gu Ning genuinely didn't recognize her.
"Oh, let me introduce myself. I'm Lico." Lico extended her fair hand. "Didn't expect to run into the big boss himself. Seems like we're fated to meet!"
Lico? Gu Ning smiled — of course he knew who she was.
"How did you recognize me?" After all, he had completely hidden his information when entering — surely a name alone wouldn't be enough.
"Oh, it's my talent. My eyes are different from others'." Lico explained simply but didn't go into detail.
Gu Ning, of course, didn't pry further. It was taboo to ask specifics about someone's talent.
"Why are you ranked so low in the competition leaderboard this time? Aren't you planning to stay the top dog?" Lico tilted her head and asked, "Or is it really like what Kawakawa Sinon said — that you've fallen off?"
Gu Ning's expression darkened. What does she mean by 'fallen off'? Does this little brat not know how to talk?
"Brat, if you can't speak properly, don't speak at all." Gu Ning shot back at her, then added, "I've been too busy lately. Isn't that why I'm here now?"
He didn't mind chatting with Lico. Although strength was everything in this world, having more allies never hurt — especially with high-ranking players.
When Lico heard him call her a brat, her eyes widened. She hated it when people underestimated her age. Annoyed, she said, "Open your eyes — where do I look young? I'm already 25! I might even be older than you!"
As she spoke, she puffed out her chest, which bounced slightly with the motion.
Gu Ning was stunned. Are all foreign girls this bold? But hearing she was 25 did surprise him — not all foreigners were tall and strong, apparently.
"Alright, my bad. I apologize." Gu Ning didn't want to linger on the topic, especially since Lico really wasn't that young.
Seeing him apologize, Lico let it go and chirped, "Let's add each other as friends! We can trade good stuff in the future. I've tried adding you so many times and you always ignored me!"
She clearly sounded a little bitter by the end.
Gu Ning usually had too many friend requests and cleared them all at once — of course he hadn't noticed hers. But now that she came to him directly, he didn't refuse.
After adding each other, Lico grinned and said, "Haha, finally got all the interesting people on my list. Alright, I won't bother you anymore. I need to go compete too."
She patted Gu Ning and disappeared from her seat — looks like her match had started.
Gu Ning shook his head and resumed searching for matches he was interested in.
And then he really did find one.
It was a match involving Kawakawa Sinon.
The grudge between him and Kawakawa Sinon would never be resolved. Gu Ning didn't even understand why the guy kept targeting him, but that didn't matter anymore.
What mattered was that Gu Ning was completely fed up with him. This had to end — if he let people like Kawakawa Sinon continue unchecked, others would start copying his behavior.
Time to set an example.
Since Kawakawa Sinon was now his target, Gu Ning wasn't going to be careless. Know your enemy and know yourself — only then can you be invincible.
Gu Ning clicked into the match and started watching.
The battlefield was hilly terrain, full of small mounds.
Kawakawa Sinon stood facing a burly man.
Gu Ning observed the two.
Kawakawa Sinon wore black trousers and a long-sleeved white shirt, with a small braid on his head and a dagger in each hand.
The burly man wielded a steel saber and wore full armor — clearly a tanky melee fighter.
As the match began, Kawakawa Sinon charged directly at him.
The big guy, perhaps knowing how dangerous Sinon was, didn't rush in. He stood firm, fully alert.
Sinon reached him quickly and stabbed one dagger toward the man's head, the other at his waist.
The man tilted his head, dodging the first dagger. He ignored the one aimed at his waist and slashed his saber toward Sinon.
Sinon hadn't expected such a reckless counterattack. He bent at the waist and rolled to the side to dodge the slash.
The burly man seized the chance, lunging forward. With Sinon unsteady, he swung again — aiming to strike while the iron was hot.
Sinon had no choice but to keep dodging.
As he retreated again and again, frustration began to show on his face. He hadn't expected to be forced back like this just from one misstep.
He had planned to hide his strength, but now it seemed that wasn't an option.
Of course, he could continue hiding it — but then he'd lose.
Sinon refused to lose to someone like this. If word got out, he'd be a laughingstock.
The burly man saw Sinon was flustered and thought victory was in his grasp. He moved in, saber swinging rapidly. Blades of light flashed from each swing — he was clearly a professional too.
However, this time Sinon showed no panic. His expression was calm, and just as the blade light reached him, he gave a mocking smirk.
Then, he vanished.
The saber strikes landed on empty ground, sending dust flying.
When the dust settled, only several gashes marked the earth — Sinon was nowhere to be seen.
The burly man was shocked and immediately went on high alert.
Just then, Sinon appeared behind him — one dagger stabbing toward his head, the other at his spine.
The man instinctively rolled forward, dodging the attack.
But before he could even get up, Sinon vanished again — then reappeared right in front of him. The man had no time to react before a dagger pierced his head.
Instant kill.
Match over.
Although he'd won, Kawakawa Sinon wasn't pleased. This match had forced him to reveal part of his strength — and future enemies would be on guard.
And just as Sinon suspected, that's exactly what would happen.