Chapter 91: Big and Small Kings
Hungry Spirit Blue Knight let out a cold chuckle. “Kid, your social skills… are clearly lacking.”
Flash Delivery Yellow Knight blinked his large eyes and asked with genuine curiosity, “I’m honestly curious. With popularity this bad, how on earth did you ever become the number-one player in your sub-zone?”
Fastest Hand at SF Express looked equally shocked. “Do you really not have a single friend? Do you not even have your own squad?”
The Three Knight Brothers’ sharp questions shattered whatever remained of Young Master Is Jungler’s pride. The boy burst into loud tears. “You’re all grown adults! You’re just bullying a kid!”
He sniffled, sobbing, “I already told you I’m an adult, but you’re all the same. You just like picking on anyone younger than you!”
Watching the boy cry with tears and snot running down his face, Dragon Emerging from the Sea pulled him away with a look of disgust. Frowning, he gave the boy’s backside a light kick. “Stand up straight and stop crying! You’re eighteen years old—a grown man. What kind of person starts blubbering the moment something goes wrong?”
His tone turned harsh and strict, like an army drill sergeant: “A real man bleeds and sweats, but he never sheds tears. If people pushed you around, you’re the number-one player in your zone—couldn’t you fight back? You can’t beat us, but don’t tell me you couldn’t handle them!”
Lin Huai was about to step in and soften the mood, but seeing that the boy was genuinely intimidated, she paused. The teenager choked back his sobs, wiping his wet face with his sleeve.
Suddenly, he dropped to one knee right in front of Dragon Emerging from the Sea. “Brother Long! From now on, you’re my big brother! I’ll follow whatever you say!”
Dragon Emerging from the Sea was taken aback by this sudden street-gang theatrics. Realizing the boy was completely clueless, he yanked him up by the collar, kicked his backside again, and forced him to kneel in front of Lin Huai instead.
“First,” Dragon Emerging from the Sea said in a cold, serious voice, “you need to learn who your actual boss is!”
“Second, remember that if Bone Ash hadn’t shown you mercy, you would have died ten thousand times already. Your life belongs to her now. She can take it whenever she pleases, and if she decides to kill you, I won’t step in to help, nor will I turn against her for your sake.”
He glared down at him. “If you can’t even grasp that much, there is truly no reason to keep you breathing.”
Old Wang from Building Materials, afraid the boy still didn’t understand, stepped forward to explain in simpler terms: “Kid, you’re bowing to the wrong mountain. Do you understand who the big boss and the small boss are?”
He gestured open-palmed toward Lin Huai. “This one right here is your true Big Boss!”
Then he pointed at Dragon Emerging from the Sea. “Brother Long is our squad’s second-in-command—the Small Boss. Got it?”
Finally, he puffed out his chest and pointed at his own nose. “And I’m even more important—I’m Old Wang!”
Looking down at the defiance still lingering in the boy’s eyes, Lin Huai spoke in a cool, level voice: “In terms of pure combat, I’ve beaten you twice, and both times were effortless.”
“In terms of rank, I hold first place on the entire server, hundreds—if not thousands—of spots above you.”
“By any standard, my strength is far beyond yours, yet you still refuse to respect me. Tell me, why is that?”
She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. “It’s because I’m a woman, isn’t it?”
Throughout her life, Lin Huai had faced prejudice because of her gender. In her family’s line of work—a traditional mortuary trade where secrets were passed down only to sons, never daughters—her path had been an uphill battle from the start.
It took only a moment for her to deduce his real thoughts.
The boy did not answer, but his shoulders flinched. He hesitated, then muttered, “Among the top ten powerhouses on the server leaderboard, you’re the only woman. How could anyone look up to you?”
If You’re Bad, Practice More rolled up her sleeves immediately. “Oh, my temper is flaring up! You’re barely eighteen, yet you’re already acting like a patriarchal old fossil? If I don’t beat you until you see stars, you won’t know how painful a lesson can be! You look down on women, do you? Let’s see if a woman’s fist hurts any less than a man’s!”
Cute and Sparkling and Milk Tea Seven Parts Sugar joined in, furious. They pointed at the boy on the ground: “Hit him, Sister Cai! Give him a beating he won’t forget!”
“Knock those biased glasses right off his face!”
Peace and Violence pushed up his spectacles, slipping smoothly into his courtroom debate mode: “You are already eighteen years old, which means you are legally and morally responsible for your words and actions. Insulting our leader with sexist comments is more than enough reason for her to execute you, and the consequences would be entirely your own fault.”
“Furthermore, strength is never determined by gender, and the title of ‘boss’ is not a male privilege.”
His voice grew measured: “It is undeniable that both in our previous society and within this survival game, women often start at a disadvantage. To stand on equal footing with men, they must put in far more effort.”
“This proves that a woman who reaches the top is even more deserving of respect than any male leader. Above all, Bone Ash stands at the very summit of every player on this server. She is stronger than anyone else, and more worthy of admiration than anyone else.”
“Strength is what earns respect, not gender.”
Dragon Emerging from the Sea crouched down, grabbing the young man by his jacket collar, genuine anger flashing in his eyes. He warned in a low growl: “This is your only warning. The Boss hasn’t ordered your death yet, so I’ll let it slide this once. But if I hear another disrespectful word come out of your mouth about her being a woman, I will snap your neck myself!”
Seeing that a single sentence had enraged the entire squad—especially Dragon Emerging from the Sea, whom he both feared and respected like a strict instructor—Young Master Is Jungler panicked. He nodded frantically: “I… I know I messed up! I won’t say it again!”
He shrank back, stammering, “It’s just… those were the things my old brothers always said. They repeated it every day, and after hearing it so much, I just…”
Lin Huai didn’t bother arguing with him. Teenagers his age were easily influenced by the crowd around them. Even if he hadn’t come up with those thoughts on his own, his words proved that he wasn’t cut out to be a member of her core squad.
He was far too weak-willed, easily swayed, and lacked independent judgment. Someone who mindlessly echoed others would quickly become a liability or a tool for enemies.
She reached down, pulled him up to his feet, and patted the dust from his shoulder with a calm expression. “Let’s go find your brothers.”
Since the boy still had his former gang to deal with, Lin Huai led the Elite Squad straight through the town to track them down.
When they finally located them, they found a circle of rowdy young men who looked like street thugs, gathered together drinking, shouting over finger-guessing drinking games, and laughing loudly. Each of them had an attractive woman wrapped in their arms.
Old Wang pointed toward the noisy group with a mocking grin: “See that? Your loyal brothers are busy drinking, feasting, and fooling around with women. Not a single one of them gives a damn about what happened to you.”
