Chapter 14: My Haoumaru Has Never Lost

This made Ye Cheng embarrassed, speechless, "Brother, is it really necessary?"

Xiao Hu on the side gloated, "Cheng Ge, you said my mom was crying, but your brother cried too."

Ye Cheng gave him a flick on the forehead, picked up a piece of duck and gave it to him, "Eat yours."

"A Cheng, don't hit Xiao Hu, Brother, I'm excited, I lost control a little." Ye Guowei happily wiped his eyes, drying his tears.

"Brother, you say you, taking you out for a meal gets you this excited; next time I take you driving a sports car and living in a big villa, can you handle it?" Ye Cheng joked.

"Nonsense, sports cars and villas are things we can afford; you should honestly save money to marry a wife, that's better than anything." Ye Guowei admonished affectionately.

Sigh, fine, this older brother of mine, his mindset is absolutely from the same era as our dad.

"Alright, hurry up and eat, the duck cooked by Boss Fat is not bad."

Southerners mostly love duck; find a pond or small river, drive the ducks in, no need to feed them.

Moreover, duck meat is firm, with better texture than chicken.

Around Donghai Shi, they usually eat braised duck, chopping the duck into chunks and braising it with ginger chunks, especially fragrant.

The chef at Boss Fat's place is skilled; the kidney and intestines are also well done, these two are men's favorites, having a few pieces while drinking is quite enjoyable.

Especially the intestines, Ye Cheng's favorite; whether stir-fried dry or spicy, he loves them.

Three people, four dishes; just drinking wouldn't be enough, but adding two bowls of rice is sufficient.

Ye Guowei ate to his heart's content, "Eating out is still the best."

Ye Cheng smiled, "That's right, otherwise how would Boss Fat make a living."

"Alright, I need to go back to work; you and Xiao Hu head back to the village early, don't wander outside."

Seeing Ye Guowei off, Ye Cheng originally wanted to buy something and head back, but Xiao Hu grabbed him and pointed to a dark little door on the street,

"Brother, shall we go play some arcade games?"

In 2002, computer games had risen, especially CS, which was extremely hot, absolutely the king of internet cafes.

But back then internet cafes had just started spreading; an hour cost 2 or even 3 yuan, definitely a big expense.

The arcade Xiao Hu mentioned was much cheaper: one yuan for two tokens, and if you played well you could last a long time.

However, after internet cafes appeared, the arcade declined, and there were far fewer people.

Ye Cheng hadn't played for many years, but hearing Xiao Hu say that made him itch inside—the feeling of left hand on the joystick, right hand on the buttons, eating buns while playing Three Kingdoms and getting scolded by the boss, a distant memory.

"Alright, let's go, play a few rounds." Ye Cheng rubbed his hands and led the way inside.

The familiar electronic sounds, Ao Yougen, A Du and made Ye Cheng feel his blood awaken.

"Brother, they say that mahjong machine is fun and can make money; want to play it?" Xiao Hu pointed pleadingly at the few machines in the corner.

"Earn shit!" Ye Cheng flicked his forehead, "Tell you, I absolutely forbid you from playing this; playing games is fine, but you absolutely must not touch this."

These machines are different from regular arcade games; only one person can play, no need to insert coins, the boss adds credits himself.

Moreover, the most frightening yet most attractive point is that after playing, you can withdraw cash.

When they first appeared, these novel machines with a hint of gambling quickly swept the arcade; countless teenagers rushed in with money, wanting to prove themselves and earn money.

They always thought losing money was due to their lack of skill, but as a reborn person, Ye Cheng understood too well that this machine is just probability theory.

It's not that you can't make money, it's just too little.

Moreover, as long as you keep playing, it's basically impossible to win.

If you encounter a somewhat unscrupulous boss, the win rate is less than fifty percent, and it's easy to get addicted.

Xiao Hu scratched his head with a grieved look, "If we don't play, we don't play; why keep hitting my head?"

"Let's play Samurai Shodown, a match." Ye Cheng suggested.

"Sure, my Haoumaru has never lost." Xiao Hu said proudly.

Fighting games have always been the main attraction of arcades, from the early Street Fighter to now Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters; countless teenagers practiced their big moves in the void, having no choice, real combat is too expensive.

"Sure, I'll choose Tachibana Ukyo."

"Tch, brother, you still picking Tachibana Ukyo? Do you even play well?" Xiao Hu disdainfully selected a long-haired Haoumaru.

Right at the start, Ye Cheng did a jumping slash, followed immediately by an iajutsu that stunned Xiao Hu.

Before Xiao Hu could react, Ye Cheng stepped forward with an apple-slice move plus a combo, directly KO'ing him.

"Holy shit, brother, you're like a different person; you used to be a total noob." Xiao Hu protested, that combo gave him no chance to react.

Ye Cheng smiled silently, that was the original owner; his buddy's Tachibana Ukyo back then was a true killing move.

At the start of the second round, Xiao Hu came out with a tornado move, then followed with a heavy sword aiming for a big hit, but Ye Cheng saw through it, a low slash followed by an iajutsu, knocking him down again unable to get up.

Watching his character fade, Xiao Hu angrily threw in another token, this time choosing Tenbei; he likes this fierce type.

Half an hour later, Xiao Hu snapped, "No, brother, did you take drugs? You're so fierce, I'm not playing, I'm not playing."

"Hahaha, I'm telling you, in this lifetime you wanting to surpass me is basically impossible."

"Tch, you're in good shape today; let's compare again next time."

"Whenever we fight, you always lose; don't worry, let's go, I'll accompany you to buy some stuff and head back."

Ye Cheng took Xiao Hu to the store and bought a quilt and bedsheet, plus a pillow, then a bunch of toiletries.

"Brother, why are you buying these? You already have them."

"Too dirty, I want to change a set."

In his previous life, Ye Cheng wasn't a particularly diligent kid; dirty socks had to sit for days before washing, but this original owner was really filthy.

Ma de, the quilt had many saliva stains; if he had to sleep like that tonight, he couldn't stand it.

Also the towel, it too had turned oily.

Xiao Hu also bought some daily necessities and then rode his bike back to the village.

Back home, after seeing Xiao Hu off, Ye Cheng said, "In a bit, take a shower, change clothes, then come help me clean."

"Huh? Cleaning? Brother, just skip me; I hate doing that the most." Xiao Hu made a bitter melon face.

Nowadays young people are all like this—casual, things strewn about, hygiene just needs to be passable.

But Ye Cheng couldn't; as someone who had been reborn, he really couldn't stand it.