Wayne Wang was taken aback by Ethan Wu's request. Not because it was difficult—quite the opposite, it was exceptionally easy—but because it was… bizarre!
However, Wayne didn't question Ethan. He knew better than to probe into the motives of powerful figures. After hanging up, he immediately called a dozen of his subordinates, instructing them to gather people.
Over half an hour later.
Outside a cyber café near Lotus Bar, Wayne waited by the roadside with some of his trusted men, frequently checking his watch as they awaited Ethan's arrival.
The blue Lamborghini appeared at the end of the street, soon parking by the curb.
"Did you get everyone?" Ethan asked as he stepped out of the car, heading straight into the café.
"Rest assured, Mr. Wu. They're all skilled gamers," Wayne replied, keeping pace with Ethan.
Ethan entered the café.
It was a large venue with excellent equipment, though nearly empty at the moment. Aside from the dozens of people gathered near the counter, there were no other customers.
Wayne had cleared out the place in advance.
Today, he'd booked the entire venue.
"Mr. Wu!" Over forty people greeted Ethan in unison as he walked in, each bowing respectfully.
"Relax." Ethan raised his hand to signal them, then instructed, "Power up, download the game—Legendary Overlord: Dragon's Domain."
This game was an old classic with a 20-year legacy, similar to Legend from Ethan's previous life, though with some differences in detail but the same core mechanics.
"Hurry it up!" Wayne ordered.
The group quickly took their seats, booting up their computers and starting the download. Most of them were young, around 18 or 19, genuine street punks who'd quit school early and had spent most of their lives in cyber cafés. They might not have much in the way of real-world skills, but their gaming skills were top-notch!
A few older men in their 40s were also part of the group, albeit in smaller numbers. While they lacked the reflexes of the younger crowd, they were veteran players who'd been around since Legendary Overlord's early days.
Ethan sat in the farthest row, taking an entire row to himself as he downloaded the game.
Since it was a private server, the game wasn't pre-installed and needed to be downloaded.
The café's internet was lightning fast, and since the official client was already installed, they only needed the modded files for the private server, which took less than a minute to download.
"Everyone, register and join Server Three, which opened at 5 p.m. two days ago. Use 'Server Overlord' as a prefix for your character names," Ethan instructed loudly.
He registered himself under the name: Server Overlord: Chen!
Wayne, standing behind Ethan, watched him download, register, and log in with swift efficiency, his face growing more puzzled by the second. This was just too strange!
When Ethan had first called, asking to "borrow his people," Wayne had thought it was for something critical. He even felt this was a chance to prove himself.
But he hadn't expected that Ethan would have him gather people—for a gaming session!
And not even a popular modern game, but an old title released twenty years ago. And they weren't even playing on the official server, but a private one!
Wayne himself hadn't played Legendary Overlord; he'd been a model student, not the type to skip school for gaming.
But back then, the game had been wildly popular—so popular that he'd heard about it from classmates. Released at the beginning of the millennium, it had taken all of Asia by storm.
It stayed hot until around 2006, when it finally began to cool off.
Despite its decline, a die-hard fanbase kept it alive, with official servers still running today, albeit without any recent updates.
Was this really something for young people?
Wayne started to question Ethan's age.
As far as he knew, most of the game's remaining fanbase consisted of middle-aged men in their thirties and forties, many of whom were wealthy businessmen or entrepreneurs.
Wayne gazed at Ethan's back, looking more perplexed by the second, with a look that seemed to say, "What a weirdo."
Was he really in his early twenties?
Wait!
Hold on a second!
An idea hit Wayne like a bolt of lightning.
Could this be a test?
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. This unusual request could be Ethan's way of testing his patience, seeing if he could complete such a seemingly trivial task!
Indeed, the ways of powerful men were truly unfathomable.
Ethan's silhouette in Wayne's eyes took on an air of mystery and depth.
"Everyone log in and stay in the newbie zone for now," Ethan instructed, "I'll handle the guild registration first."
He pulled out his phone.
"Mr. Wu, some of the brothers haven't arrived yet, but there should be another thirty or forty on their way," Wayne whispered in Ethan's ear, stepping forward.
"Mm," Ethan replied nonchalantly, glancing at him, "No need to stick around. If you've got things to handle, go ahead."
"Understood." Wayne straightened, gave the café a final scan, and headed for the door. Before leaving, he called out, "Take good care of Mr. Wu today. Whoever performs best will get a 100,000 yuan bonus!"
"You got it, Boss!"
"Will do, Boss!"
The crowd chorused.
Once Wayne left, Ethan began topping up his account, pumping a million yuan into it. He registered the guild and had everyone join, then used the guild perks to buy VIP statuses for all members.
With the VIP status, they could instantly claim corresponding gear sets and items, such as experience potions.
The private server had an extravagant VIP system that went up to VIP level 15!
Ethan didn't buy the highest tier for everyone, as it wasn't necessary; they'd level up incrementally.
After gifting everyone VIP status, Ethan made a quick call to Isabella.
"I'm in a meeting," she answered curtly.
"I need a million," Ethan requested directly.
"What for?"
"Operational expenses."
"…Alright."
She agreed and hung up without asking what he intended to spend such a large sum on.
Their relationship had developed into something very peculiar—not exactly close, yet strangely so. Isabella seemed to have an implicit trust in Ethan, at least when it came to money.
She wasn't worried about him tricking her out of cash.
After all, given the immense help Ethan had offered Tyler Li yesterday, even a billion wouldn't have been unreasonable compensation.
Four hours later, past noon.
Ethan's guild had already become the number-one guild on the server, crushing the former top guild, Dragon's Descent, underfoot. The cost? Over eight million yuan spent on the private server!
He'd bought VIP 15 status for everyone in the café at a cost of 100,000 yuan each.
With VIP perks, every member had the best weapons and armor available, allowing them to raid the top-tier dungeons and farm rare rings, boots, belts, and amulets.
Since it wasn't his own money but Isabella's, Ethan didn't hold back.
In theory, they wouldn't have needed so much. But Ethan had engaged in a back-and-forth spending war with the leader of Dragon's Descent, with each of them continually increasing their spending!
The café was now packed with over eighty players, all grinding in the same old game's private server. The air was filled with triumphant cries of "Got him!" and "Got a drop!" as the room thickened with cigarette smoke.
The hum of constant chatter never ceased.
Ethan allowed it.
After all, in gaming, emotions mattered. Some of these guys were heavy smokers who couldn't focus without a cigarette. Plus, cooperation was key in the game, and they needed to talk to play well.
Ethan didn't set many rules, only emphasizing one: no profanity in-game. They could taunt the enemy, sure, but they had to keep it clean.
It turned out they were quite adept at taunting, typing their jabs at lightning speed.
As lunchtime approached, someone ordered takeout, and a few guys handed out the meals to each table.
"Mr. Wu, here's your lunch," a young man with an earring cautiously placed Ethan's meal on the table.
"Thanks," Ethan nodded, briefly glancing at him before refocusing on the screen.
It was almost time.
The entire server had been cleared of free-roaming players. Other small guilds had been killed off and quit the game, leaving only Ethan's Server Overlord guild and Dragon's Descent.
On this server, a siege battle opened every three days, marking the pinnacle of competition. Victory would grant the title of Legendary Overlord and bestow exclusive gear for the guild master.
While the siege battle could be triggered early for a fee, defeating the ultimate boss wasn't guaranteed.
The ultimate boss was secondary; in a pay-to-win private server, the main threat was other players. Without taking out the rival guilds, you'd never make it to the boss.
Ethan clicked a few buttons and announced to the entire server:
"Attention players, the guild master of Server Overlord, [Server Overlord: Chen], has initiated the main castle siege battle. Please be prepared. The battle will commence in 30 minutes!"
"Finish your lunch! We start the siege in half an hour," Ethan called out.
Thirty minutes later.
Everyone went red-name status!
The siege had begun!
The Server Overlord and Dragon's Descent guilds clashed in a ferocious fight on the main castle grounds, the battle intense and unrelenting, with players constantly dying, reviving, and rejoining the fray.
"Get him!"
"He dropped his weapon!"
"Hand it over! I just lost my gear."
"Quick! Push forward!"
The café erupted in excitement, the young players fully immersed in the battle.
After half an hour of bloodshed, there was still no decisive winner.
But Server Overlord held the advantage, as its core members outnumbered the competition.
Suddenly, Ethan typed into the global chat, "I'm done here. I've got urgent business to attend to. Let's call it quits—everyone, drop your gear and log out."
"Ditch your gear, log off," he called out in the café.
The players were momentarily stunned, but they quickly complied.
The castle grounds were instantly littered with high-level gear, covering the ground in glittering piles.
The Dragon's Descent members still in the game were dumbfounded. The sudden retreat left them at a complete loss.
One second they'd been locked in a fierce battle, and the next, their opponents had vanished.
The abrupt end left them feeling like the game had lost all its meaning.
"Hey, what gives, buddy?"
"Don't go, come on, we haven't settled this yet!"
"I've dropped a million on this game, and you must've spent, what, eight or nine hundred thousand? We finally found a worthy opponent, and now you're bailing?"
Ethan received three private messages in quick succession.
All from the same person.
He glanced at the user ID and gave a faint smile.
His in-game name was Dragon Unrepentant, the leader of Dragon's Descent. In real life, he was a scruffy, middle-aged man—the pampered youngest son of a wealthy family and a bona fide super-rich second-generation heir.
He had another identity.
He was none other than the financial backer of the famous actress… Mandy Tao.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]