“See you next week, Captain!”
“Ji Mingzhu! Remember to bring me local specialties when you come back next week, don’t forget!”
Voices of teammates and the coach echoed from behind. Ji Mingzhu slung his bag over his shoulder, waving to them, “Got it.”
On the street outside the club entrance, Ji Qiming stood beside a car, talking on the phone while looking in Ji Mingzhu’s direction.
“Is that the captain’s brother?”
“Yes, I’ve been to his house before; he seems to be a scientist…”
“Do scientists have so much money? That car seems to have been exhibited at a show last year, worth at least a million…”
“Six million,” the coach sighed, “and it’s not for sale to the public; only members have the qualification to purchase.”
“Wow…”
Tang Jing exclaimed, “The captain’s family is so rich, then why become a professional player?”
“He does it for passion; just look at how he trains, never willing to overburden himself.”
Even so, Ji Mingzhu’s achievements on the field were still unattainable for others.
Tang Jing couldn’t help but marvel, “People are really beyond comparison.” Then he asked, “Captain Ji’s brother is quite handsome… but why did his brother come to pick him up? What about their parents?”
The coach looked at Ji Mingzhu’s back and sighed, “They’re dead, died a long time ago. It’s just the two brothers relying on each other. It’s quite pitiful, but his brother treats him really well. When Ji Mingzhu joined our club, didn’t someone come to buy the club’s shares not long after?”
“Yeah,” Tang Jing nodded, “I heard they offered a high price. In just a few days, the club changed ownership… anything wrong?”
“It was his brother who bought it,” the coach whispered, “Exaggerated, right? He’s just worried that Mingzhu will be bullied at the club, so he directly bought the club.”
Tang Jing’s mouth hung open for a while before he said, “Who dares to bully him?”
Ji Mingzhu became the captain as soon as he joined the club because of his incredible talent. Everyone in the club treated him like a god of wealth. Who would be so foolish as to bully him?
That being said, Tang Jing couldn’t help but feel a bit envious as he looked at the figures of Ji Mingzhu and Ji Qiming.
…
“Okay, got it.”
Ji Qiming hung up the phone, then turned his head and saw Ji Mingzhu staring at him suspiciously.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Qiming looked down at himself, “Is there something dirty on my clothes?”
“Why are you dressed like a CEO?” Ji Mingzhu looked at his brother’s meticulously styled hair and well-tailored suit, “Are you in love?”
“Are you feeling itchy again?” Ji Qiming raised an eyebrow.
“Sort of,” Ji Mingzhu scratched his chin, “Who would be so foolish as to fall in love with you?”
Before Ji Qiming could react and hit him, Ji Mingzhu darted into the car.
In the back seat, Ji Mingzhu found someone already seated. It was a young man who looked to be in his twenties, like a recent college graduate, wearing thick black-framed glasses and exuding an air of scholarly demeanor.
“Hello.”
The other person smiled friendly at Ji Mingzhu, with a somewhat shy expression that suggested they weren’t very good at conversation.
“Um… hello,” Ji Mingzhu responded, while various wild guesses popped into his mind.
How could there be a man in his brother’s car? Did he really guess correctly just now, is this… his brother’s… boyfriend?!
Damn.
The car door opened, Ji Qiming got into the driver’s seat, saying, “This is my newly arrived assistant researcher, Qi Ling, who graduated from the Artificial Intelligence Research Division at the University of California. Qi Ling, this is my younger brother, Ji Mingzhu.”
So he’s an assistant… Ji Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Is he coming to our house as a guest?”
He had just led the team to win the regional championship and had a half-month vacation in between. He was looking forward to spending some quality time with Ji Qiming, but Ji Qiming’s next words poured cold water on his excitement. “No, I’ll drop you off first, then we have to go back to the institute. You’ll have to have dinner by yourself tonight.”
“Ah…” Ji Mingzhu’s expression fell a bit disappointedly. He glanced at the back of Ji Qiming’s head and responded after a while, “Okay.”
Ji Mingzhu rarely went out as a child due to health reasons, so his personality was somewhat reclusive. Although he became much more outgoing as he grew older, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable around unfamiliar strangers.
As the car drove onto the elevated bridge toward home, Ji Qiming and Qi Ling conversed, throwing around some professional jargon that Ji Mingzhu couldn’t understand. Something about AI, artificial intelligence networks, neural intelligence matrices… Ji Mingzhu found it a bit boring and couldn’t join in, so he looked out the window at the dusk sunset.
After a while, Ji Mingzhu’s eyes felt a bit sore, so he lowered his head and took out his phone to watch some videos.
“The ‘Warfall’ professional league is about to start, looking at three dark horse clubs in China that have the potential to enter the world championship…”
“Our station reports that an asteroid is expected to arrive in three days, landing in the suburbs of City C. It has only been five days since the last asteroid landing. We hope that all citizens will take precautionary measures…”
“Eight major research institutes in the country have hired high-paid foreign top researchers, half of whom are well-known biologists. Perhaps this is related to a breakthrough in some technology…”
Another asteroid?
Upon seeing the second news, Ji Mingzhu was momentarily stunned.
In the past two years, the frequency of meteorite falls had become increasingly frequent. Originally, it occurred once every six months, but the frequency gradually increased to every three to four months, then to once a month… and now, small meteorite landings occurred every few days.
Initially, there were many online jokes about the possible end of the world, causing prices of various life essentials to skyrocket. However, it quickly subsided. Although the frequency of meteorite landings had increased, it did not have a significant impact on people’s lives. Experts explained that the space debris accidentally collided, causing it to be attracted by the gravity of Blue Star. Although many people found this explanation hard to believe, over time, fewer and fewer people paid attention to it.
He saw Qi Ling beside him receive a text message, Qi Ling glanced at his phone and after reading it said to Ji Qiming, “Professor Ji, the research institute has asked us to hurry over. It seems… there’s some new development.”
Perhaps because Ji Mingzhu was present, Qi Ling’s tone was somewhat cryptic, but it sounded serious, as if something had happened.
“Got it, I’ll drop Mingzhu off first, then we’ll head over immediately,” Ji Qiming responded as he drove.
So busy…
Ji Qiming’s job was not easy. Although Ji Mingzhu wasn’t sure what specific research Ji Qiming was engaged in, he could guess that Ji Qiming’s position was probably high. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so wealthy. After all, not many researchers could afford a villa, a luxury car, and flaunt their wealth.
It was the same when he was younger. Ji Qiming spent very little time at home, and he was accompanied by two AI robots. However, it had been a long time since then, and Ji Mingzhu’s impression of those two AI robots had faded. He only remembered that he had a very close relationship with them.
After dropping Ji Mingzhu off at home, Ji Qiming gave a few instructions and then hurriedly drove off with Qi Ling to the research institute.
Watching the shadow of the car fading away, Ji Mingzhu shrugged and decided to find a place to eat on his own.
However, what was Ji Qiming so busy with during this time?… Could it have something to do with the increasingly frequent meteorite falls?
…
“Norman IV bomber! Final ultimate kill! The outcome is decided!”
“Let’s congratulate… Ji Mingzhu!!”
“Unbelievable reflexes and maneuvers, a well-deserved world champion! Ji Mingzhu continues his undefeated myth, successfully winning the championship in the World Championship!”
On the stage of the World Championship, Ji Mingzhu defeated the top professional player Francis of “Warfall” in an overwhelming manner and won the championship.
Cheers echoed throughout, with major live streaming platforms and TV stations broadcasting, and streets and alleys erupting in excited cheers, countless eyes focused on the young face.
Coming from a non-traditional professional player background, yet possessing terrifying gaming talent, Ji Mingzhu directly snatched the world championship crown just as he debuted, seemingly even doing so effortlessly… Moreover, he is still young, with a future that seems limitless.
After attending the victory banquet with the club’s coach and teammates, Ji Mingzhu came out of the hotel, and it was already dusk.
Today was a rare occurrence of fiery clouds, with the towering skyscrapers reflecting a circle of flame-like red. Looking up, it seemed like a scene from a movie depicting the end of the world, quite a breathtaking sight.
Ji Qiming’s car was parked at the entrance.
He said he couldn’t make it to attend, but ended up coming anyway.
Ji Mingzhu was elated, walking to the car, but the one who got out of the driver’s seat was not Ji Qiming, but Qi Ling.
“Qi Ling, why are you here to pick me up?” Ji Mingzhu leaned over to look into the car, “Where’s my brother?”
As Ji Qiming’s assistant, Qi Ling often came to the house to find Ji Qiming after that. The two often chatted until late at night, and the next morning when Ji Mingzhu got up to wash, he could still see Ji Qiming gesturing at a pile of data on the computer with stubble on his face.
After coming here several times, Ji Mingzhu and Qi Ling became somewhat familiar with each other, not as restrained as before.
Qi Ling pushed his glasses up, “Professor Ji is still at the research institute, so he asked me to come and pick you up.”
He spoke with a somewhat obvious southern accent, soft and gentle, leaving a deep impression, “By the way, congratulations on winning the championship. I watched the game, you were amazing.”
“Thank you.” Ji Mingzhu was somewhat proud of the praise, “It’s not a big deal, I didn’t feel any suspense.”
One brother immersed in scientific research, the other becoming a professional player, both reaching the pinnacle in their respective fields.
As the car headed towards home, Ji Mingzhu and Qi Ling chatted casually.
“Is there anything important happening at the research institute recently? It seems like my brother hasn’t been home for a long time.”
“Yes, there are a few things.” Qi Ling drove and said, “But they should… be resolved soon. There’s water in the back seat, you can have some if you’re thirsty.”
“Thank you.” Ji Mingzhu picked up the water from the back seat and took a sip.
“Oh, by the way,” Qi Ling paused, then asked, “Mingzhu, do you think ‘Warfall is fun to play?”
“It’s fun,” Ji Mingzhu twisted open the cap, “It’s highly interactive and realistic, but there are too few strong opponents, winning all the time can be quite boring…”
“If you had the chance to pilot a mech for real, how would you feel?”
“A real mech?” Ji Mingzhu was taken aback, “Of course, that would be great. No matter how realistic a game is, it can’t compare to the thrill of actually piloting one. But I guess technology hasn’t advanced to that point yet, mechs and such, it doesn’t sound like something that could exist in reality.”
“You never know.” Qi Ling smiled, “Who’s to say? Maybe you’ll wake up the next day and have a mech to pilot. If… I mean, if one day, the world was going to be destroyed, would you be willing to save it?”
“I didn’t expect you to be so chuuni…” Ji Mingzhu joked, “If it really came to that, I probably wouldn’t be the one chosen anyway.”
Qi Ling’s phone kept ringing without stopping, and Ji Mingzhu couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going to answer your phone?”
“It’s nothing important,” Qi Ling said.
The red clouds in the sky burned the sky crimson, like a fire that was about to burn down the world, brewing wisps of smoke.
“I’m a little sleepy,” Ji Mingzhu stretched lazily in the back seat, “The game took a toll… I’ll take a nap, wake me up when we get home.”
Qi Ling smiled and said, “Sure.”
“See you next week, Captain!”
“Ji Mingzhu! Remember to bring me local specialties when you come back next week, don’t forget!”
Voices of teammates and the coach echoed from behind. Ji Mingzhu slung his bag over his shoulder, waving to them, “Got it.”
On the street outside the club entrance, Ji Qiming stood beside a car, talking on the phone while looking in Ji Mingzhu’s direction.
“Is that the captain’s brother?”
“Yes, I’ve been to his house before; he seems to be a scientist…”
“Do scientists have so much money? That car seems to have been exhibited at a show last year, worth at least a million…”
“Six million,” the coach sighed, “and it’s not for sale to the public; only members have the qualification to purchase.”
“Wow…”
Tang Jing exclaimed, “The captain’s family is so rich, then why become a professional player?”
“He does it for passion; just look at how he trains, never willing to overburden himself.”
Even so, Ji Mingzhu’s achievements on the field were still unattainable for others.
Tang Jing couldn’t help but marvel, “People are really beyond comparison.” Then he asked, “Captain Ji’s brother is quite handsome… but why did his brother come to pick him up? What about their parents?”
The coach looked at Ji Mingzhu’s back and sighed, “They’re dead, died a long time ago. It’s just the two brothers relying on each other. It’s quite pitiful, but his brother treats him really well. When Ji Mingzhu joined our club, didn’t someone come to buy the club’s shares not long after?”
“Yeah,” Tang Jing nodded, “I heard they offered a high price. In just a few days, the club changed ownership… anything wrong?”
“It was his brother who bought it,” the coach whispered, “Exaggerated, right? He’s just worried that Mingzhu will be bullied at the club, so he directly bought the club.”
Tang Jing’s mouth hung open for a while before he said, “Who dares to bully him?”
Ji Mingzhu became the captain as soon as he joined the club because of his incredible talent. Everyone in the club treated him like a god of wealth. Who would be so foolish as to bully him?
That being said, Tang Jing couldn’t help but feel a bit envious as he looked at the figures of Ji Mingzhu and Ji Qiming.
…
“Okay, got it.”
Ji Qiming hung up the phone, then turned his head and saw Ji Mingzhu staring at him suspiciously.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Qiming looked down at himself, “Is there something dirty on my clothes?”
“Why are you dressed like a CEO?” Ji Mingzhu looked at his brother’s meticulously styled hair and well-tailored suit, “Are you in love?”
“Are you feeling itchy again?” Ji Qiming raised an eyebrow.
“Sort of,” Ji Mingzhu scratched his chin, “Who would be so foolish as to fall in love with you?”
Before Ji Qiming could react and hit him, Ji Mingzhu darted into the car.
In the back seat, Ji Mingzhu found someone already seated. It was a young man who looked to be in his twenties, like a recent college graduate, wearing thick black-framed glasses and exuding an air of scholarly demeanor.
“Hello.”
The other person smiled friendly at Ji Mingzhu, with a somewhat shy expression that suggested they weren’t very good at conversation.
“Um… hello,” Ji Mingzhu responded, while various wild guesses popped into his mind.
How could there be a man in his brother’s car? Did he really guess correctly just now, is this… his brother’s… boyfriend?!
Damn.
The car door opened, Ji Qiming got into the driver’s seat, saying, “This is my newly arrived assistant researcher, Qi Ling, who graduated from the Artificial Intelligence Research Division at the University of California. Qi Ling, this is my younger brother, Ji Mingzhu.”
So he’s an assistant… Ji Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Is he coming to our house as a guest?”
He had just led the team to win the regional championship and had a half-month vacation in between. He was looking forward to spending some quality time with Ji Qiming, but Ji Qiming’s next words poured cold water on his excitement. “No, I’ll drop you off first, then we have to go back to the institute. You’ll have to have dinner by yourself tonight.”
“Ah…” Ji Mingzhu’s expression fell a bit disappointedly. He glanced at the back of Ji Qiming’s head and responded after a while, “Okay.”
Ji Mingzhu rarely went out as a child due to health reasons, so his personality was somewhat reclusive. Although he became much more outgoing as he grew older, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable around unfamiliar strangers.
As the car drove onto the elevated bridge toward home, Ji Qiming and Qi Ling conversed, throwing around some professional jargon that Ji Mingzhu couldn’t understand. Something about AI, artificial intelligence networks, neural intelligence matrices… Ji Mingzhu found it a bit boring and couldn’t join in, so he looked out the window at the dusk sunset.
After a while, Ji Mingzhu’s eyes felt a bit sore, so he lowered his head and took out his phone to watch some videos.
“The ‘Warfall’ professional league is about to start, looking at three dark horse clubs in China that have the potential to enter the world championship…”
“Our station reports that an asteroid is expected to arrive in three days, landing in the suburbs of City C. It has only been five days since the last asteroid landing. We hope that all citizens will take precautionary measures…”
“Eight major research institutes in the country have hired high-paid foreign top researchers, half of whom are well-known biologists. Perhaps this is related to a breakthrough in some technology…”
Another asteroid?
Upon seeing the second news, Ji Mingzhu was momentarily stunned.
In the past two years, the frequency of meteorite falls had become increasingly frequent. Originally, it occurred once every six months, but the frequency gradually increased to every three to four months, then to once a month… and now, small meteorite landings occurred every few days.
Initially, there were many online jokes about the possible end of the world, causing prices of various life essentials to skyrocket. However, it quickly subsided. Although the frequency of meteorite landings had increased, it did not have a significant impact on people’s lives. Experts explained that the space debris accidentally collided, causing it to be attracted by the gravity of Blue Star. Although many people found this explanation hard to believe, over time, fewer and fewer people paid attention to it.
He saw Qi Ling beside him receive a text message, Qi Ling glanced at his phone and after reading it said to Ji Qiming, “Professor Ji, the research institute has asked us to hurry over. It seems… there’s some new development.”
Perhaps because Ji Mingzhu was present, Qi Ling’s tone was somewhat cryptic, but it sounded serious, as if something had happened.
“Got it, I’ll drop Mingzhu off first, then we’ll head over immediately,” Ji Qiming responded as he drove.
So busy…
Ji Qiming’s job was not easy. Although Ji Mingzhu wasn’t sure what specific research Ji Qiming was engaged in, he could guess that Ji Qiming’s position was probably high. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so wealthy. After all, not many researchers could afford a villa, a luxury car, and flaunt their wealth.
It was the same when he was younger. Ji Qiming spent very little time at home, and he was accompanied by two AI robots. However, it had been a long time since then, and Ji Mingzhu’s impression of those two AI robots had faded. He only remembered that he had a very close relationship with them.
After dropping Ji Mingzhu off at home, Ji Qiming gave a few instructions and then hurriedly drove off with Qi Ling to the research institute.
Watching the shadow of the car fading away, Ji Mingzhu shrugged and decided to find a place to eat on his own.
However, what was Ji Qiming so busy with during this time?… Could it have something to do with the increasingly frequent meteorite falls?
…
“Norman IV bomber! Final ultimate kill! The outcome is decided!”
“Let’s congratulate… Ji Mingzhu!!”
“Unbelievable reflexes and maneuvers, a well-deserved world champion! Ji Mingzhu continues his undefeated myth, successfully winning the championship in the World Championship!”
On the stage of the World Championship, Ji Mingzhu defeated the top professional player Francis of “Warfall” in an overwhelming manner and won the championship.
Cheers echoed throughout, with major live streaming platforms and TV stations broadcasting, and streets and alleys erupting in excited cheers, countless eyes focused on the young face.
Coming from a non-traditional professional player background, yet possessing terrifying gaming talent, Ji Mingzhu directly snatched the world championship crown just as he debuted, seemingly even doing so effortlessly… Moreover, he is still young, with a future that seems limitless.
After attending the victory banquet with the club’s coach and teammates, Ji Mingzhu came out of the hotel, and it was already dusk.
Today was a rare occurrence of fiery clouds, with the towering skyscrapers reflecting a circle of flame-like red. Looking up, it seemed like a scene from a movie depicting the end of the world, quite a breathtaking sight.
Ji Qiming’s car was parked at the entrance.
He said he couldn’t make it to attend, but ended up coming anyway.
Ji Mingzhu was elated, walking to the car, but the one who got out of the driver’s seat was not Ji Qiming, but Qi Ling.
“Qi Ling, why are you here to pick me up?” Ji Mingzhu leaned over to look into the car, “Where’s my brother?”
As Ji Qiming’s assistant, Qi Ling often came to the house to find Ji Qiming after that. The two often chatted until late at night, and the next morning when Ji Mingzhu got up to wash, he could still see Ji Qiming gesturing at a pile of data on the computer with stubble on his face.
After coming here several times, Ji Mingzhu and Qi Ling became somewhat familiar with each other, not as restrained as before.
Qi Ling pushed his glasses up, “Professor Ji is still at the research institute, so he asked me to come and pick you up.”
He spoke with a somewhat obvious southern accent, soft and gentle, leaving a deep impression, “By the way, congratulations on winning the championship. I watched the game, you were amazing.”
“Thank you.” Ji Mingzhu was somewhat proud of the praise, “It’s not a big deal, I didn’t feel any suspense.”
One brother immersed in scientific research, the other becoming a professional player, both reaching the pinnacle in their respective fields.
As the car headed towards home, Ji Mingzhu and Qi Ling chatted casually.
“Is there anything important happening at the research institute recently? It seems like my brother hasn’t been home for a long time.”
“Yes, there are a few things.” Qi Ling drove and said, “But they should… be resolved soon. There’s water in the back seat, you can have some if you’re thirsty.”
“Thank you.” Ji Mingzhu picked up the water from the back seat and took a sip.
“Oh, by the way,” Qi Ling paused, then asked, “Mingzhu, do you think ‘Warfall is fun to play?”
“It’s fun,” Ji Mingzhu twisted open the cap, “It’s highly interactive and realistic, but there are too few strong opponents, winning all the time can be quite boring…”
“If you had the chance to pilot a mech for real, how would you feel?”
“A real mech?” Ji Mingzhu was taken aback, “Of course, that would be great. No matter how realistic a game is, it can’t compare to the thrill of actually piloting one. But I guess technology hasn’t advanced to that point yet, mechs and such, it doesn’t sound like something that could exist in reality.”
“You never know.” Qi Ling smiled, “Who’s to say? Maybe you’ll wake up the next day and have a mech to pilot. If… I mean, if one day, the world was going to be destroyed, would you be willing to save it?”
“I didn’t expect you to be so chuuni…” Ji Mingzhu joked, “If it really came to that, I probably wouldn’t be the one chosen anyway.”
Qi Ling’s phone kept ringing without stopping, and Ji Mingzhu couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going to answer your phone?”
“It’s nothing important,” Qi Ling said.
The red clouds in the sky burned the sky crimson, like a fire that was about to burn down the world, brewing wisps of smoke.
“I’m a little sleepy,” Ji Mingzhu stretched lazily in the back seat, “The game took a toll… I’ll take a nap, wake me up when we get home.”
Qi Ling smiled and said, “Sure.”
