Chapter 2222: The Love and Hate of the Rankings
This train wasn't just crowded in the car Xu Huo was in; the other cars weren't much better either. Because of the large number of people, more players had come to the dining car to get some air, and strangers and acquaintances alike were all squeezed together at the tables.
When Xu Huo walked in, he saw those cannibal players huddled together. Each of them had only a symbolic dessert placed in front of them. They were using an item, so the people around them couldn't hear their conversation.
"Mind if I join you?" Xu Huo walked straight over and sat down.
The cannibal players' expressions soured, but they didn't drive him away. The female player among them said sarcastically, "You're already sitting down, at least you bothered to say something. So polite."
Xu Huo browsed the projection menu without looking up. "If I were impolite, I'd have invited you all to another table."
The female player's face darkened. The other cannibal players at the table held her back, and in the end, she swallowed her anger.
During the meal, Xu Huo overheard people from his car talking about a match. It was a life-or-death battle, initiated by the second-ranked player on the B-level joint wormhole point leaderboard against the first-ranked player.
Within a single wormhole point, there were leaderboards for each district. Below that, all districts under that wormhole point had a joint leaderboard. Going up another level, there were leaderboards between wormhole points of the same rank, which could rank up to fifty thousand people. Anyone who could make it onto a wormhole point's joint leaderboard was almost certainly an elite among elites, the top-tier existence among players. So the higher the ranking, the more attention they attracted. Moreover, many of them had already achieved a certain level of fame; just mentioning their game nicknames might be enough for someone to recognize them.
The two parties in this life-or-death battle both came from B-level wormhole points and held the first and second spots on the B-level wormhole point joint leaderboard. Both were A-rank players, and their strength placed them in the elite echelon of the entire game.
"Usually, when someone reaches this level, they cherish their lives. Why would they participate in a life-or-death battle?" a player asked in confusion. "First and second on the wormhole point joint leaderboard—that's incredibly prestigious. They should be the most likely candidates to become super players. Why fight to the death?"
"You wouldn't understand," said the player who was actively promoting the life-or-death battle in the dining car. "That's the pursuit of the strong."
"Bullshit pursuit of the strong," another player snorted. "It's because those two have a grudge!"
This remark attracted even more people, and someone quickly asked what the grudge was.
"This life-or-death battle was initiated by the second-ranked player, 'Loves Minmin the Most.' From his nickname, you can tell he's a lovesick fool," the player said with an expression that screamed "I've got the juicy details," his words very captivating. "Rumor has it he had a childhood sweetheart. He's been pursuing her since they were kids, but unfortunately, she declared she would only consider him if he became the number one on the player leaderboard."
"'Loves Minmin the Most' has good talent. Logically, becoming number one on some leaderboard shouldn't be difficult for him. But fate can be a twisted thing. 'Cold Blade, Cold Arrow, Cold Heart,' who came from the same district as him, was his equal. The two originally formed a friendship in the game, but the moment the leaderboard came out, that friendship was on shaky ground."
"That happened once, but then, whether it was the district leaderboard, the wormhole point leaderboard, or even the current wormhole point joint leaderboard, 'Cold Blade, Cold Arrow, Cold Heart' always kept 'Loves Minmin the Most' in second place. He couldn't win over his crush and ended up as the eternal runner-up. Forget about friendship—it's a miracle they haven't beaten each other's brains out."
"But smart people aren't that shallow. Of course, they wouldn't fight over just a leaderboard. 'Loves Minmin the Most' accepted his losses gracefully, but he worked like crazy to improve his strength, determined to take the first place spot."
"Speaking of which, the friend who became a player alongside 'Loves Minmin the Most' has a kid about to start university, while he's still single. He must be anxious. So, he swallowed his pride and went to ask his childhood sweetheart if she could cut him some slack." This player narrated as if he had witnessed the failed confession firsthand. "But his childhood sweetheart was as firm as a rock. She gave him the same old line: no first place, no deal."
"Isn't his childhood sweetheart just messing with him!" a player said indignantly. "This woman is really something. If she doesn't like him, just say so. Why string him along!"
Many others felt the same way. You can't force feelings. Although 'Loves Minmin the Most' was a bit persistent, setting a goal for him was just giving him a sliver of hope, wasn't it?
"Don't rush, I'm not done yet. The best part is coming." The boastful player continued, "You have to say, 'Loves Minmin the Most' and his childhood sweetheart are both persistent people. They've been at this for decades with no result. Then, six months ago, I heard 'Loves Minmin the Most' went into a particularly dangerous place to comprehend super evolution. He barely survived for three months, and when he came out, he found out his childhood sweetheart and his lifelong rival were together!"
The dining car responded with a chorus of gasps, as if on cue.
"'Loves Minmin the Most' couldn't take that. He stormed over to their place and found out his rival was even pregnant..."
"Wait, wait, wait!" someone quickly interrupted him. "Was it the rival who was pregnant, or the childhood sweetheart?"
The player grinned slyly. "The rival was pregnant."
"So 'Cold Blade, Cold Arrow, Cold Heart' is a woman, and 'Minmin' should be a man?" Many players weren't from the B-level wormhole point and hadn't paid attention to that leaderboard. "Is 'Loves Minmin the Most' also a woman?"
"So it's two women fighting over one man. That's boring."
"I told you, don't rush. The best part is still coming." The boastful player hemmed and hawed, teasing the crowd before revealing the answer. "'Cold Blade, Cold Arrow, Cold Heart' is definitely a woman, and 'Minmin' is definitely a man. But 'Loves Minmin the Most' is a real, genuine man!"
The crowd fell silent.
While the game had seen all kinds of pairings, the mainstream was still between men and women.
"This kind of soap opera plot, you might as well say 'Loves Minmin the Most' willingly got pregnant for love," a player complained. "His childhood sweetheart already has a kid with someone else. What's he still fussing about?"
"As they say, the more you hold back, the angrier you get. Blinded by love, 'Loves Minmin the Most' went back and investigated, only to find out his childhood sweetheart and his rival had been together for a long time. To stop him from openly harassing her partner, 'Cold Blade, Cold Arrow, Cold Heart' really went to a lot of trouble." The boastful player said, "According to incomplete statistics, she used methods including but not limited to bribing 'Loves Minmin the Most's' teammates to hold him back, selling fake guides through various channels, and spreading false information to lure him into difficult-to-clear instances, all to secure her number one spot."
Everyone in the car gave a thumbs up: What a colossal waste of time! (Chapter End)