Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 614 - 612: Contempt
Surrounded by queuers in bizarre outfits, Li Ang, dressed as a pickled cucumber in a white lab coat, blended in without standing out at all.
Players in the square couldn't harm each other. They could only physically interact by mutual consent, which meant Li Ang's Mystery Delver skill was unusable here.
"Hmm... such a long queue, just like one outside a celebrity milk tea shop."
Li Ang looked around and couldn't help nodding. "So many people in line and still maintaining order. Is this what they call the blooming land of kindness? I'm loving it."
"What blooming land of kindness?"
The player in front turned around, jerked his chin to the side, and said, "See those NPCs over there?"
"Hm?"
Li Ang looked in the indicated direction and saw some towering figures over two meters tall, wielding weapons, with muscular and intimidating beastly heads, prowling the Game Square.
As Li Ang's gaze settled on them, a line of semi-transparent text appeared in front of him, labeling them [Square Guard].
"These NPCs have just been spawned, and you can choose to passively display all NPC names in the System settings."
The player ahead of Li Ang calmly explained, "The Square Guards are responsible for maintaining order in different areas of the square. They'll intervene when players disrupt the peace or behave excessively. For instance, a moment ago, some guy who didn't believe the rules tried to attack a Square Guard. The NPC struck back, instantly leaving him critically injured and forcing a logout. I reckon a second or third attack on an NPC would get you killed outright. That's why everyone's so orderly."
"Oh, I see."
Li Ang nodded, glancing at the speaker. Standing before him was a remarkably handsome guy with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a straight nose, dressed in red and black leather armor. A delicate blue Whale Badge hung on his chest, an ancient Rustic Longsword was tied to his waist, he wore boots, and a scarlet scarf, like flowing blood, was wrapped around his neck. Based on looks alone, this handsome guy could easily stand at the center of a large game expo and steal the show, instantly attracting countless screaming fans wanting pictures.
There was just one unfortunate detail—he was bald.
To be precise, his shiny head was bare in the middle. However, on each side grew thin, wispy strands of hair. These were tied together at the ends, creating a ring that floated above his head and swayed gently with any breeze. This design didn't just fail to improve his semi-bald hairstyle—reminiscent of a middle-aged entrepreneur from the city outskirts—it made the overall look even more unfortunate. It practically begged passersby to tug at the ring of hair on his head.
"You're... looking at my hairstyle, aren't you?"
The balding handsome guy seemed to notice Li Ang's gaze, his eyes sharpening as he spoke in a deep voice, "Actually, I'm completely bald. Those black things on my head are just decorations, understand? This really isn't a middle-aged man's Mediterranean balding pattern..."
"Yo, Mediterranean, you're here!"
A frivolous call came from a distance. A young man dressed in a loose Flash cosplay outfit waved and ran over. He ran at nearly a 45-degree angle to the ground with his arms trailing behind him, a very peculiar running pose.
"I told you, I'm not Mediterranean!" The balding handsome guy's forehead throbbed with veins as he hissed at the newcomer. "And we're in public, can you at least try to maintain some dignity? Stop running in such a ridiculous way!"
"Okay, Mediterranean. No problem, Mediterranean."
The Flash youth sprang in front of him, nodded, and spoke coolly, "Hey, this running pose isn't ridiculous at all, okay? You don't know, but running like this can significantly increase running speed. At top speed, I could even run on water! It fits perfectly with my Flash identity."
"What Flash? That's clearly the Naruto Run from 'Naruto,' okay?" The balding handsome guy's eye twitched. "You think I haven't watched anime?"
Following the youth dressed as Flash, two others arrived: a Batman draped in a cape, and a Sea King riding a seahorse. Their chests, like the balding handsome guy's, sported a blue Whale Badge.
Hmm... The one cosplaying as Sea King, with a red Mechanical eyeball in his left eye socket, was none other than Li Ang's old acquaintance, Black Trojan.
"Yo, Trojan."
Li Ang took the initiative to greet him. Black Trojan was taken aback and searched his memory for any familiar players who might fit the behavioral pattern of "wearing a pickled cucumber costume with a white lab coat." After hesitating for a moment, he said uncertainly in a low voice, "Are you... Li Rising?"
"You two know each other?" Flash's gaze wandered between them. It took him a moment to process, then he exclaimed, "Eh? You're that Li... "
"Keep it down!" The balding handsome guy quickly chopped Flash on the ribs, reminding him not to shout.
"Ahem." Realizing his slip, Flash clutched his side and rubbed it, then waved apologetically with a friendly smile. "Sorry, I got a bit excited. You must be Brother Li, right? Trojan has mentioned you to us. He said you're knowledgeable and broad-minded, that you take unconventional paths and are quite talented."
Li Ang chuckled and waved his hand modestly. "Not at all, it's just my friends hyping me up. I would never admit to being a genius."
He actually promoted himself from talented to genius! This guy is so arrogant! This thought flashed through the minds of Black Trojan and his three companions simultaneously, but they maintained their composure and exchanged pleasantries with Li Ang.
These four were all members of the Whale Song Organization. The bald, handsome man in antique-style leather armor was nicknamed Sunset Gold Smelter. The somewhat over-the-top youth dressed as Flash was called Geleluo Star. The seemingly quiet and reserved young man was named Sure Win. And with the remaining Black Trojan, elements from their names combined to form the group designation 'Gold, Longsword, Sure Win, Trojan.'
"Did you four design your names like that?" Li Ang asked, forcing himself to ignore the dissonant name 'Sure Win'. "Sounds quite domineering."
Black Trojan awkwardly waved his hand. "Ahem, you flatter us, Brother Li."
In fact, among these four, only Sunset Gold Smelter (the balding handsome guy) and Geleluo Star (the over-the-top youth as Flash) were childhood friends who grew up together. The other two became friends only after joining the Whale Song Organization and being assigned to the same group. The way their names combined was purely coincidental.
"Since we all know each other now, let's add each other as friends." Geleluo Star enthusiastically sent a friend request to Li Ang, speaking with easy familiarity. "Don't be fooled by our group name, 'Gold, Longsword, Sure Win, Trojan.' Actually, we were all just diligent, office-working, weakling programmers before this. Aside from Gold Smelter, none of us can really fight."
"Why do you say you can't fight with such a proud tone?" Sunset Gold Smelter couldn't help but retort. "Also, don't lump me in with you, you Python-only weakling."
"What's so weak about Python?" Geleluo Star glared. "Python is simple yet profound, understated yet magnificently brilliant! It's like hearing thunder in the silence. It's simply the world's most perfect language!"
"Is someone actually praising Python? Surely not, surely not? Don't disgust me," Black Trojan said with a look of distaste. "That thing is really not up to snuff. Real men use Java."
"C++ is number one in the world," Sure Win, who had been silent all along, said with a straight face. "It's unpretentious and practical, like James Bond's PPK. Hold it in your hand, and you can reach the realm of the Land Keyboard Fairy." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
"And C++ is worthy of a keyboard?" Sunset Gold Smelter shook his head, rolled his eyes, and said, "That's hilarious."
The four programmer players suddenly started arguing over programming languages. The air filled with sarcastic remarks and colorful expletives; disdain and linguistic prejudice flowed freely. It made one sigh at the familiar scene: "No outsiders present? Perfect, let the programming language flame wars commence!"
