Chapter 022: The Internet Café at Full Capacity

“Damn it! Did the bald guy drink gasoline today? Why is it so hot?” Boss Xu Fangfang wiped the sweat from her forehead, puzzled as she spoke to Lin Jia, who was drenched in sweat beside her.

Lin Jia, sweating profusely, replied, “Who knows! Maybe we won’t be bouncing around for much longer.” The few days of intense heat after autumn’s arrival were like a last burst of summer, and the brief walk had left them feeling as if they’d just taken a bath. The boss, panting in discomfort, suggested, “Why don’t we just take a ‘numb’ ride?”

The ‘numb’ was something you’d rarely find in bigger cities, but in this small town, it was still one of the three main transportation options besides buses—alongside taxis and ‘mo’ bikes (private motorcycles operated by locals for extra gas money). In reality, the ‘numb’ was an electric tricycle, rattling noisily as it ran, making your backside feel numb as if perched on a vibrating motor, hence the name.

Lin Jia glanced at the distance, wiped his sweat, and said, “Forget it! We’re only a few minutes away. It’s not worth spending money on a numb for a trip you could piss across! Two bucks could buy us two hours online!”

The boss considered this and fanned herself with her hand, face flushed as she complained, “Damn it! We’re running ourselves ragged just to get online! Next time, let’s just use the internet near our neighborhood.”

“Yeah! I wonder what kind of membership deals the internet cafes near us have. If they’re better, we might as well sign up there!” Lin Jia replied as he walked and sweated, echoing the boss’s thoughts. Ten minutes wasn’t far, and with the pace of youth, they quickly arrived. Bursting into the internet cafe, they were greeted by four cabinet air conditioners blasting cold air, refreshing them instantly—only for a shiver to follow.

Lin Jia shuddered and looked around, discovering every seat was full. He glanced up at the clock on the wall—not even half past eight, and business was already booming. Many young people, like Lin Jia and his friends, stood behind the seasoned players, watching them play Legend, hoping that some would be late-night players who might log off soon.

At that moment, Fourth Brother Xu Hongbin, also dripping with sweat, rushed in and blurted, “Damn! It’s packed!?”

Lin Jia wandered around the cafe, realizing every computer was running Legend. In just two days, this game had conquered the internet cafe, completely dominating the player base. To his surprise, he noticed seven or eight girls also playing Legend—a true phenomenon.

Normally, girls rarely shared the boss’s enthusiasm for gaming, preferring chat, movies, or music. Yet with the arrival of Legend, many girls had begun using it as a chat tool, creating accounts and chatting within the game. Since the game allowed chatting, changing outfits, accessories, and rings, these features mattered more to girls than utility.

After waiting a while, the trio saw no chance of getting a computer. Lin Jia, still unwilling to give up, went to the counter to ask the owner, only to learn that prepaid customers wouldn’t be logging off until eleven—and many had already reserved the early log-off computers by paying ahead.

Disappointed, the three could only stand behind others, watching as they shouted excitedly at their screens. The sounds of shouting and agony from the computers teased their own eagerness. The boss shifted her numb legs and grumbled, “So many people! We’ll be waiting until next year! Should we try another cafe?”

Lin Jia remembered there were seven or eight internet cafes near his residential area, usually with more computers than customers. The neighborhood, with only eighty apartment blocks, was a new development built in the last four or five years by the steel company for its employees. Lin Jia’s parents had been fortunate enough to get a unit because of their long service.

Over the past couple of years, the arrival of the internet age had sparked a boom in the area, with seven or eight cafes springing up like mushrooms. The larger cafes, with over fifty computers, not only charged less than those near the city center, but also had better equipment, bandwidth, service, and environment.

But being in the suburban workers’ district, how many young people there actually liked to go online? To compete for customers, the cafes engaged in a “vicious competition” that was music to clients’ ears—better prices, environment, service, and equipment. Among the town’s internet cafes, these seven or eight were considered the best.

“Let’s go to ours!” Lin Jia voiced his idea, and the boss and Fourth Brother dragged him along. It was only a little after eight, and if they waited any longer, even the neighborhood cafes might be monopolized by Legend players unable to find seats elsewhere.

No sooner had they run out of the cafe than Fourth Brother yelled, “Numb!”—too impatient to walk. He flagged down a numb, and the three squeezed in, their bulky frames stacked like acrobats. With the numb rattling beneath them, the boss, occupying her own seat, shoved Lin Jia, who sat atop Fourth Brother, yelling, “Move over! I’m roasting here!”

Lin Jia, uncomfortably perched, protested, “Don’t push me! I’m about to fall!”

Beneath him, Fourth Brother wailed, “Ouch! You fat pig, you need to lose weight! You’re crushing me!” He hammered the side of the numb, shouting, “Driver! Go faster! We’re in a hurry!”

Thankfully, their ordeal lasted only two minutes. Their destination wasn’t far, and the numb’s “thud, thud, thud” brought them quickly to the neighborhood. The three squeezed out like toothpaste, Fourth Brother tossing two coins to the driver and yelling after his brothers, who had already dashed ahead, “Wait for me! You heartless bastards!”

Lin Jia and the boss didn’t wait; they made straight for the row of the biggest internet cafes by the neighborhood lake, picked the best, and dashed inside. Even before entering, they could hear Legend’s distinctive music blaring from the computers. The occupancy seemed less than ninety percent, and the trio finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to the counter to pay.

After securing three adjacent computers, Lin Jia asked the network manager, “Miss, what are the terms for getting a membership card?”

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(Trouble: It’s New Year’s! I’ve drunk myself nearly poisoned! Gritting my teeth to keep updating! Please encourage me with some votes!)

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