Chapter 9: In the Days Without Games

I collapsed heavily onto the soft bed in the dormitory, secretly rejoicing: survived another day!

For the past few days, as a Chinese teacher, my workload was not heavy, but these eccentric students were really the death of me. They didn't violate discipline, but in their spare time, they were always finding ways to get "intimate" with me. They all acted as if they were very familiar with me, mocking me in a coordinated way, which made me so angry I was fuming. I could only comfort myself: they are the flowers of the motherland, and I am the diligent gardener. Even if a gardener gets pricked by the flowers they grow, it’s happiness even if it hurts...

But what I found unbearable was: that girl Lei Xue didn't work in the teaching office and kept running to my class. Actually, I would welcome that, but when she came, she took the lead in mocking me, and those students acted as if they trusted her so much, so my level of suffering multiplied geometrically. Xue'er, oh Xue'er, can't you see my affectionately lingering gaze? Even if you don't like me, you don't have to hate me this much... Wuwu, my pure feelings~~

I could only silently say to her in my heart: If you are that tearful archer, I am that white bird determined not to dodge anymore... Let the storm come more violently...

However, compared to the torture others inflicted on me during the day, the inner struggle I faced every afternoon was even more agonizing. On one side was a large amount of spare time that left me with nothing to do, and on the other was the fatal attraction of games... I never dared to enter the school's computer hall, for fear that the accumulated resentment I had toward the students, especially that Ling Tian, would erupt, making me disregard everything to fix him in the game... I didn't even dare to return to the dormitory, because a devil would whisper in my ear: No one will know if you play, just play... I could only pass the time by working desperately, which unexpectedly won the favor of Director Lei. Several times in front of others, she praised me, "There aren't many young people who work this hard now... He doesn't touch games, that's why he can be so focused..." (n words omitted below)

Occasionally I wanted to go to the teaching office to see Lei Xue, but her sharp little mouth made me shrink back. It was easy to handle in front of students, but if she mocked me in front of colleagues, where would I put my face? Only when I lay on the bed every night could I get some real rest...

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It was another fresh morning. I was walking to the classroom in high spirits when a student from my class came toward me. I was just about to pretend not to see him and walk around, but he nodded at me. "Old Li!" Then he passed by.

I was shocked, then happy. "The student finally knows how to respect me... But there's no need to call me 'Old Li' so seriously... I'm only 22 years old..." In the blink of an eye, I arrived at the class, and I realized where this "Old Li" came from...

A poem was written on the blackboard, and the students below were reciting it in unison: "Old Li, Old Li, stands forever, Dragon Knight body, Hydralisk appearance, works hard, never bathes, sucks up to people, gains quite a bit, words are tasteless, definitely no brain..." My head immediately felt dizzy.

"Shut up." I finally said a sentence, having regained my calm. The composed demeanor I had when I was a veteran of many battles returned to me. If my teammates saw my expression now, they would definitely realize: this was exactly the same expression I had when facing provocateurs while playing games. "Duty student!"

The students didn't expect that I, who was usually timid and submissive, could have such a majestic moment, and they were a bit at a loss.

"Here..." A little girl stood up with her head down.

"Erase the blackboard!" She hurriedly and obediently wiped the blackboard clean.

"I know you don't like me as a teacher. I'm too rigid, too serious, don't mess around with you, and don't play games with you. However, no matter what you do, there is nothing wrong with working hard! I don't think my hard work is worth mocking, just as I don't think I should be looked down upon by you for not playing games. You all play every day, but who has made a name for themselves? Who has won a place in a major competition..." Heh heh, didn't expect I could be so eloquent...

Hearing this, the students caused a little commotion, all consciously or unconsciously looking at Ling Tian. Ling Tian indeed stood up. "Teacher, not everything can be done well just by working hard. I practice StarCraft attentively every day, yet I lost to a half-hearted guy in the competition... The competition and challenges in games, outsiders will never understand!..."

"He won fourth place in the WCG StarCraft competition!" a student said proudly to me.

I was just about to sneer and say what fourth place was, but I suddenly remembered that I was not the game expert Li Lin now, but just an ordinary teacher. I suppressed my surging desire and still said calmly: "Since you like games so much, for today's essay, you can write about your understanding of games. If you can't, submitting a game battle report is also fine... But the language must be fluent and the text must be coherent..."

The students' reaction was even more enthusiastic than I imagined, asking me in a jumble of voices.

"Teacher, can we write about StarCraft too?"

"Teacher, can we really submit a battle report?"

After I gave them affirmative answers one by one, the students calmed down and began to write at their desks. I let out a sigh of relief and thought about going to the hallway for some air. When I turned my head, I found Xue'er standing at the door, looking at all this thoughtfully...

After work that afternoon, I did the opposite of my usual routine and didn't go to the office to work overtime, but instead picked up the essays I collected at noon and returned to the dormitory.

I first opened Ling Tian’s essay. The article didn't write about how he won fourth place in the WCG, but revealed the desolation and loneliness of having no one to rival him in school. Without suitable opponents, it’s very hard to improve once you reach a certain level... Only then did I realize how lucky I was to have a group of brothers like Xu Ge and Old Gun...

I continued to flip through the essays and battle reports. That long-lost feeling of being moved gradually filled every nerve ending again. The repression during class made the restlessness in my heart gradually impossible to control...

Finally, I turned on the computer with trembling hands and sat in front of the computer I hadn't touched for 8 days and 16 hours. I kept telling myself: Once! Just this once!... But when I entered the school’s local area network, I had forgotten everything else.

Students of Mingqing Academy log into the network using their own student IDs. As a hacker, I easily found Ling Tian’s location: he was playing StarCraft with someone.

I modified my attributes, changed to the status of an observer, and entered the game, quietly watching this 1-on-1 match.

Actually, Ling Tian had faced me before, in the semi-finals of the last WCG. At that time, I had just eliminated the world-ranked number one, Grrr, and was in high spirits. After easily winning against him, I turned and left, not seeing his dumbfounded look after the defeat. It is said that was the first defeat he suffered in an official competition. He could only blame his bad luck for running into me.

Watching carefully this time, Ling Tian’s strength was indeed not bad. His opponent was not weak, fully utilizing resources to build a large number of troops, and the defense of the main base was as solid as a rock; he seemed to be a steady player. Ling Tian was using a small number of Dragoons to probe and attack, and retreated immediately after encountering the opponent’s main force. The opponent did not let him go, and the Terran mechanized troops immediately pursued. Ling Tian’s "Dragoon Dance" (Note 1) was masterful, and he finally succeeded in leading the opponent into a narrow mountain road. Immediately, the High Templars' Psionic Storms on the high ground on both sides bloomed among the mechanized troops, and then Ling Tian’s main force covered from behind. Although the bait Dragoons were instantly wiped out, the Terran main force just disappeared like that... The opponent helplessly typed "gg" and exited...

It seems Ling Tian belongs to a style that likes to take risks. But if that Terran had scouted, not entered the mountain road, and directly rushed toward Ling Tian’s ambushing main force or even the main base, Ling Tian’s tactics would have become a mistake of dispersing his own troops... It seems he is still too green compared to me... I thought triumphantly.

To warm up, I played two games with others. Then I directly issued a challenge to Ling Tian. The map was still the familiar Lost Temple. I randomly got Zerg and quickly opened with a double-base build, preparing to mass Hydralisks. The opponent, Ling Tian, still chose Protoss.

After a few contacts, my Hydralisk sea began to take shape. At this moment, a skirmish suddenly occurred near the central temple. Ling Tian’s troops were far weaker than mine, and he retreated immediately upon contact. I triumphantly selected all my troops and was about to pursue with full force when the scene from the first match suddenly flashed before my eyes. A bystander sees more than the player; now that I was in the game, I almost repeated that person’s mistake...

But fortunately, I saw his match. Now, it was time for me to use this opportunity... Heh heh, kid, the accumulated resentment of many days, I’m going to settle it all today!

I still pursued with my whole army, but when I reached the entrance of the mountain road, I suddenly turned my whole army around and headed straight for Ling Tian’s main ambush point. All the Hydralisks were ready for battle, but... there was nothing! His main force wasn't here! Then what was his purpose in luring me? Cold sweat immediately broke out on my back. Sure enough, a large number of Protoss Zealots and Dragoons surged out from my sub-base. My workers were instantly submerged. If the entrance to the main base was breached again, I would be finished! I hurriedly added three or four defense towers, and at the same time, used the Overlord’s transport ability that had just been upgraded to air-drop my main force, which hadn't had time to return, into Ling Tian’s main base. I operated desperately; I hadn't felt this kind of going all-out for a long time... Soon, the Zerg’s excellent production capacity was displayed. Although Ling Tian managed to break into my main base, due to the entanglement of the defense towers, my new batch of warriors was produced again. The Protoss’s individual combat ability is indeed very strong, but under the Zerg’s wave after wave of people’s war, the invaders were finally wiped out. I gathered the remaining troops at home and headed straight for Ling Tian’s main base. With the inside-outside cooperation of the air-dropped troops, Ling Tian’s defense line soon had a gap...

Ling Tian finally gave up, but he didn't politely type "gg," but typed another sentence: "who are you?" I was shocked and suddenly remembered my identity, so I hurriedly exited the game. Just at this moment, my dormitory door opened, and a girl with crystal-clear eyes walked in with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Lei Xue!?

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Note 1: Dragoon Dance is a famous micro-management technique for Dragoons. Simply put, it uses the Dragoon’s characteristic of not needing to turn to attack while moving.

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