Chapter 31: Watching Movies with Ansel

Chapter 2: Watching Movies with Ansel

"The Champs-Élysées Grand Hotel at 365 Golden Peony Street is legendary in Lungmen. From the rural outskirts of Kowloon to the city center, everyone knows its name. Even our Chief Wei often visits to host guests. The owner, Mr. Du Mingyue, is a famously kind-hearted philanthropist. Every major institution in Lungmen has received his funding, and he donates two million Lungmen dollars to the Lungmen Guard Department every year."

Zhou Jinru listened from the back, finding it quite interesting. He had a solid grasp of what two million Lungmen dollars meant; it was roughly the price of a piano in Swire's household.

His grandfather had done much the same back in the day. Upon retiring due to old age, he had involved himself in donations, charities, and foundations. By scattering heaps of cash, he was held in high regard by those who benefited, and the once-imposing, silver-haired old man had gradually appeared more benevolent.

It was a pity about that old man; if he were still alive, Zhou Jinru’s life would have been much easier.

He pondered this for a moment before snapping back to reality, erasing those images from his mind, though the corners of his mouth still curled upward involuntarily.

Within his vision, his Sanity dropped by 10 points. He sensed nothing—no joy, nothing at all.

The night was deep. Several cars sped along the empty roads. Even Lungmen, known as the city that never sleeps, grew desolate in winter; there were hardly any pedestrians, and even the night buses were rare.

"Factories and craft workshops are concentrated in the outer ring. The city planning implemented a few years ago worked quite well. The city center has schools, hospitals, malls, movie theaters, gourmet streets—everything a metropolis should have. All the factories were moved to the outer ring. I personally think Chief Wei’s decision was excellent; first, it avoids pollution throughout the city, and second, it saves workers the time and energy of commuting long distances every day."

"So, the damage caused by Reunion over a year ago has all been repaired?"

Zhou Jinru was somewhat surprised. Reunion had used FrostNova and Skullshatterer Misha to drag Rhodes Island out into the field, then launched a massive assault on Lungmen, the closest city to Chernobog. They had successfully breached the city center, but were subsequently driven out by a counterattack from Rhodes Island forces arriving on the battlefield in coordination with the Lungmen Guard Department. While the conflict was short, the resulting damage and casualties had been immense.

Liang Chao looked stunned. "Mr. A-Guang, what are you talking about? Reunion never attacked Lungmen. They only caused some disturbances in the outer ring. Our Chief of the Guard went in alone, easily defeated a few of their cadres, and forced them to retreat. Only a few civilians died."

"Ah, is that so? I must have heard wrong."

Zhou Jinru deflected, bowing his head quickly. Where Liang Chao could not see, his expression shifted to one of uncontrollable shock!

What?! How could this be?!

Lungmen was not raided by Reunion? That meant the "Lungmen City" annihilation mission he knew from before he quit the game never happened!

Everything had shifted once again. Where exactly did it start? The butterfly’s wings had fluttered, changing all the history he knew.

First, the destruction of Siesta, then Red not meeting Executor, Misha the Skullshatterer still being alive, and now, the Lungmen city annihilation never occurring...

It was chaos. A total mess.

By the time the car stopped in front of the Champs-Élysées Grand Hotel and a well-dressed waiter respectfully led them to their prepared room, Zhou Jinru still hadn't shaken off these thoughts.

He set Popukar down, urging her and Red to brush their teeth and wash up before resting. Once that was done, he sat alone on the toilet in the bathroom, picking up a magazine left nearby. On the cover was a poster of the popular Lungmen idol singer Sora. The blonde, twin-tailed girl held a microphone, her left hand performing a strange gesture. He suddenly laughed; it was Nico’s classic move. If he wasn't mistaken, he was the one who had taught her that.

He thought to himself, it was fortunate that operators in the game didn't just leave Rhodes Island. If they behaved like him—running off the moment they were pulled from the gacha—there would be no logic to it at all.

Despite it being past midnight, he found he couldn't sleep. After tucking the two children in, he left the door ajar and walked into the living room. He squatted in front of the TV, browsing through the discs left by the player. They were all titles he hadn't seen before. The way movies were made in this world differed from his homeland; after all, with the aid of Originium Arts, some special effects looked quite spectacular.

He picked a disc at random and inserted it into the player. He was a natural when it came to entertainment; a few pokes and prods were all it took to figure out how it worked.

Half-reclining on the sofa, he watched as a few large characters appeared on the screen: *Lungmen Police Story*.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

A faint tapping came from the door. Zhou Jinru set down the remote and walked over. Looking through the peephole, he saw Ansel pressed against the door, acting furtively. He turned the handle and asked curiously, "Ansel, what's wrong?"

Ansel, carrying a bag, glanced left and right like a thief. Seeing the door open, he slipped inside and whispered in a panic, "Doctor, it’s bad! Something serious has happened!"

"Shh, keep it down. Red and Popukar are sleeping. And call me A-Guang when we're out. What exactly happened?"

Zhou Jinru almost reached out to cover Ansel's mouth, but fortunately, the other realized it too and lowered his voice. "Oh, right, A-Guang. I discovered that Lungmen police officer named Liang Chao isn't a good person!"

That guy?

Zhou Jinru had no particular impression of him. He turned toward the sofa, asking as he walked, "What did you find that’s got you so tense? Is he planning to blow up the hotel?"

"No, A-Guang! I noticed he kept staring at me. And just now, he tried to invite me to the midnight showing at the Broadway cinema. I said I didn't want to go, but he wouldn't leave. He asked if I was hungry and suggested we grab a late-night snack together. How could I eat a late-night snack with a stranger? Besides, late-night snacks aren't good for one's health. I only eat them because of my racial traits—you know that, A-Guang, you’re the one who understands me."

"Yes, you're right. I do understand you. It's a racial trait, an instinct—late-night snacks are purely instinct."

Zhou Jinru nodded along. He often snuck into the infirmary in the middle of the night to share late-night snacks with Ansel, chatting about the gossip among the operators: how many dumbbells were under Gavial's bed, what blood type Closure preferred for her spicy blood-curd stew, whether Amiya actually liked eating carrots, and how Spot sometimes hid philosophy books inside his manga collection...

By now, they were quite the taciturn comrades-in-arms, comrades in the same trench, two grasshoppers on the same string.

Ansel sat on the sofa, dumping the food out of his bag, and said solemnly, "Do you think he noticed the snacks I brought and wanted to ask for some, but was too embarrassed to say so? I heard Lungmen people have huge appetites, and I even heard they eat people—though I don't really believe that, it’s probably just a rumor. But how could I share my late-night snack with a stranger?"

Zhou Jinru sighed, sitting down beside Ansel. He opened a bag of potato chips and watched the movie plot unfold on the TV.

He popped a fried-chicken-flavored chip into his mouth and was startled to see a line of characters pop up above his head:

*Level up! Current level is Lv2!*

You actually have to watch movies to level up?!