Chapter 60: The Pink-Haired Guardian

A sharp, venomous voice pierced her ears.

Chu Yuyao’s hand, gripping the mouse, instinctively tightened.

Without even turning, she knew precisely who had arrived.

Zhang Li entered, flanked by two hangers-on, her arms crossed over her chest, a sneering mockery etched across her face.

“What’s this, no money for food, so you’ve come to the internet cafe just to smell instant noodles?”

“Lily, don’t say that. Perhaps she’s just experiencing life!”

“Hahahaha!”

The grating peals of laughter caused several young men engrossed in their games nearby to furrow their brows and glance over.

Chu Yuyao buried her head even deeper, wishing she could dig a hole and vanish into it at once.

“Hey, I’m talking to you. Are you mute?”

One of Zhang Li’s cronies impatiently reached out, shoving the back of Chu Yuyao’s head with considerable force.

With a dull thud, Chu Yuyao’s forehead struck directly against the keyboard.

Though pain flared through her, she dared not utter a single word.

“How boring, she’s like a silent gourd.” Zhang Li pursed her lips, then suddenly, as if discovering a new continent, she added, “Oh, still playing ‘Battle of the Oracles’? With your pathetic, poor appearance, can you even afford skins?”

Just at that moment.

“Damn it.”

A voice, thick with irritation, emanated from the adjacent seat.

Hua Mu’ai snatched off her headphones, slamming them onto the table.

On the screen, her character, which had just achieved a magnificent solo kill, turned to a grayscale image after being hit by the opposing jungler’s skill, a direct consequence of the sudden disturbance.

“You’re deafeningly loud. Are you flies trying to bully people?”

She turned her head, her violet eyes brimming with displeasure.

Zhang Li and her companions paused, taken aback, only then noticing a small, pink-haired figure seated nearby.

“Oh, look at this elementary schooler, sneaking out to surf the net behind mommy’s back?”

Zhang Li scrutinized Hua Mu’ai from head to toe.

Seeing her diminutive stature and the hoodie she wore, Zhang Li’s arrogance immediately swelled again.

“Have your feathers fully grown yet? Little sister, this isn’t the place for you. Hurry home to mommy for some milk!”

“Hahahaha!” The cronies echoed, roaring with laughter.

The expression on Hua Mu’ai’s face instantly turned glacial.

Zhang Li, however, remained oblivious to the impending danger, having completely lost interest in this ‘elementary schooler.’

Her attention pivoted back to Chu Yuyao.

She seized Chu Yuyao’s collar, hauling her up from her seat, and snarled menacingly.

“Don’t you dare play dead for me! You got away in the cafeteria today, but now, hand over all your money!”

“I… I don’t have any money…” Chu Yuyao stammered, trembling uncontrollably.

“No money?” Zhang Li sneered, raising her hand to deliver a slap. “I think you’re just asking for a beating!”

Yet, her wrist was struck mid-air by the headphones that had come flying.

Zhang Li cried out in pain, clutching her hand, and glared at Hua Mu’ai with a mix of shock and fury.

“You little brat, how dare you lay a hand on me?!”

Hua Mu’ai had already risen from her seat.

Though her height only reached Zhang Li’s chest, she tilted her head back and spoke.

“This young lady despises bullying dogs the most.”

Hua Mu’ai’s face was devoid of expression, and her voice was languid, yet her violet eyes radiated a chilling coldness that sent shivers down the spine.

“Furthermore,” she paused, a mischievous, impish smile playing on her lips, “this young lady also detests being called an ‘elementary schooler’ by others.”

Zhang Li, a mixture of shock and rage contorting her features, raised her fist, poised to strike Hua Mu’ai’s face.

Hua Mu’ai sidestepped the blow, then delivered a sharp elbow strike directly to her opponent’s abdomen.

“Argh!”

Zhang Li screamed in agony, doubling over and clutching her stomach, completely incapacitated.

“Sister Li!”

The two cronies nearby shrieked and rushed forward to assist.

Hua Mu’ai didn’t even spare them a glance.

She sidestepped one assailant’s grasping hand, then, in the same fluid motion, seized the other’s rushing wrist.

With a twist of her waist, she executed a swift and clean over-the-shoulder throw, slamming the person directly onto a nearby empty chair.

“Clang!”

That girl, too, was instantly rendered incapable of fighting.

The remaining crony was utterly terrified, her legs giving out as she collapsed onto the floor.

“B-Big sister, I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry!” The girl cried, snot and tears streaming down her face, as if Hua Mu’ai were the villain herself.

Hua Mu’ai frowned in disgust, kicking her away with one foot.

“Scram.”

As if granted a great pardon, the girl scrambled to her feet, helped the still-wailing Zhang Li and her accomplice up, and fled without a backward glance.

Onlookers all stared at the seemingly harmless pink-haired girl, their eyes wide as if they were witnessing a monster.

‘This pink-haired girl was astonishingly formidable.’

After settling the damages with the internet cafe manager, Hua Mu’ai returned to her computer.

Her promotion match was already lost.

Her mood had plummeted further.

With a belly full of unvented frustration, she turned her head, only to see Chu Yuyao still standing dumbfounded beside her.

“What are you staring at?”

Hua Mu’ai snapped, clearly annoyed.

“You, too, should apologize to this young lady!”

“Huh?” Chu Yuyao gazed at her, bewildered.

Hua Mu’ai pointed at her darkened computer screen, simmering with indignation.

“Because of you, this young lady’s promotion match was lost! Tell me, how are you going to account for this?”

“Then… I could help you win it back?”

Chu Yuyao’s voice was so faint that Hua Mu’ai thought she must have misheard.

“What did you say?”

“I… I said, I can help you… get your rank back…” Chu Yuyao, summoning her courage, repeated herself.

Hua Mu’ai let out a snort of laughter.

She scrutinized Chu Yuyao from head to toe, her gaze like one observing an ignorant child.

“Help this young lady win? You?”

Observing Chu Yuyao’s frail appearance, Hua Mu’ai instantly dismissed her as a master player.

“Can you even do it? What’s your rank, to dare utter such boasts?”

The ranking system in ‘Battle of the Oracles’ was clearly delineated, progressing from lowest to highest: Valiant Bronze, Unyielding Silver, Glorious Gold, Resplendent Platinum, Brilliant Diamond, Transcendent Master, World-Defying Grandmaster, and at the very pinnacle of the pyramid, the Apex King, a title limited to only three hundred players per server.

Hua Mu’ai herself was stuck in Silver rank, neither advancing nor regressing, playing purely for entertainment.

‘How formidable could this silent gourd be? At best, she’s probably just Gold rank, right?’

“I… I am a Transcendent Master.”

Chu Yuyao raised her voice ever so slightly.

The smile on Hua Mu’ai’s face instantly froze.

‘She must be messing with me!’

‘Her? A Master?’

‘Impossible. This girl looked nothing like a master player!’

A flicker of indignation stirred within Hua Mu’ai.

She found it somewhat difficult to accept that this young one was so much better at gaming than herself.

‘As a senior more than ten years her elder, this was simply too embarrassing.’

‘Right! It must be a rural server!’

‘It had to be one of those ‘ghost servers’ with pitifully few players, where anyone could casually climb to Master rank!’

Her mind somewhat appeased, Hua Mu’ai casually inquired, “Which server?”

“Aiolia…”

“Oh, that hardly holds any weight… wait?”

Hua Mu’ai instinctively replied, but halfway through her sentence, she abruptly caught herself.

‘Aiolia!’

That was ‘Battle of the Oracles”s undisputed top server in the national client, renowned for having the most players, the highest skill level, and the fiercest competition.

To reach Master rank on that server was an undeniable symbol of both skill and honor!