The kings Avater

Finally, they stopped running. The forest around them pulsed with eerie silence, thick canopies filtering in shards of moonlight. Their chests heaved as they glanced behind—no sign of the Eixel.

"Phew! That was a close call," Skull said between breaths. "Thanks to someone," he added with a glance at Cyberdiva.

Ye Qiu let out a light sigh and typed:

"Sorry..."

7thsense9 turned to Midnight, who was staring at the flickering map in silence. "What now? We can't go back in there. That thing's probably still lurking, and we're running out of time."

Midnight didn't respond immediately. His character just stood, motionless—thinking.

Ye Qiu frowned as he leaned closer to his screen. Seriously?

He was shocked anyone needed to think at this point. The next step was obvious. He was starting to wonder if they were genuinely this clueless or just pretending for dramatic effect.

Frustration quietly built inside him.

He didn't want to lead. He didn't want to care.

But being stuck in a team like this—with amateurs who needed a moment of silence to process basic strategy—was grating.

Being with the Dragons, everything felt seamless, sharp, and calculated. Commands were executed before they were fully spoken. Everyone anticipated, reacted, adapted.

But this team?

This team made chaos feel like a plan.

And yet, Ye Qiu thought with a twitch of irony, this is kinda what I signed up for.

He glanced at the mission timer ticking in red at the bottom of the screen.

00:16:42

Only 36 minutes left. Time was bleeding fast.

The others didn't seem phased. In fact, no one even brought it up.

That's when it hit him—the major gap between elite teams and average ones.

To them, this wasn't life-or-death.

They'd just log out if they are threatened.

If the timer hit zero before a mission was cleared, the system registered your avatar as "dead." You'd be forcefully Eliminated from the game.

It was the digital equivalent of walking out on your battlefield—and it carried a stain.

Real teams would rather crawl to the finish than let the timer take them out.

But these guys? They'd probably crack jokes while their avatars exploded.

Ye Qiu exhaled slowly and dragged a hand down his face.

How the hell did I end up here again?

He looked back at Cyberdiva's still form on screen, her character slightly slouched like she'd just woken up. A low chuckle escaped him.

Maybe this wasn't about finishing the mission after all.

Maybe it was about surviving the madness of the squad.

Either way, he knew one thing for sure—

he wasn't going to let that timer hit zero.

Not if he could help it.

Ye Qiu sighed, already exhausted by this team of misfits.

"Follow me, guys. I think I know what to do," he typed with a flick of irritation.

"You think...?" Stormchaser began, but Ye Qiu had already started moving, cutting off the question entirely. His sudden motion left the group stunned.

PhantomX was the first to snap out of it and follow.

Midnight sighed. "C'mon guys," he muttered, and the rest trailed behind obediently.

CyberDiva led them deeper into the thick woods—past twisted trees and vines that seemed to close in around them. The deeper they went, the darker it got, until the sunlight barely touched the forest floor. No one spoke; the silence was thick, uneasy.

Suddenly, CyberDiva stopped dead in her tracks.

The rest halted as well, blinking in confusion.

"Wait here," Ye Qiu typed.

Before anyone could respond, he darted to the side and scaled a massive tree with alarming speed. It was the tallest tree in the game—Ye Qiu recognized it by the wide glowing leaves and the rare bark texture. His avatar moved so quickly it was almost surreal. In seconds, he was perched at the center of the tree, standing confidently on the thickest branch like a shadowed predator.

From up there, he scanned the horizon.

Then he saw it.

A cave—hidden between rocks, glowing faintly red—clearly a secret dungeon entrance. Not on the map. Not meant to be found easily.

Ye Qiu jumped.

The others jerked in shock as CyberDiva suddenly landed back among them like she'd never left.

"What the hell are you on about?" 7thsense9 blurted. "Do you even know where you're taking us?"

"Just trust me on this," Ye Qiu typed calmly. "That way, we'll get outta here ASAP."

"There we go again with the texting," Skull groaned. "You realize I'm not even here with my glasses? My grandma just borrowed it."

"You share glasses with your grandma?" Stormchaser asked.

"Sometimes, yeah," Skull replied nonchalantly, then turned to CyberDiva again.

"So what are we gonna do about that, Cyb?" he asked.

"Sorry to hear. The others can fill you in," Ye Qiu typed.

Skull scoffed.

PhantomX stepped closer, "Something's off" He said eyeing CyberDiva suspiciously.

"Why do I feel like... you're a different person?" he muttered. "You feel different. You say sorry a lot. You suddenly got skills outta nowhere. And now you're texting more than talking?"

The others glanced at each other. A few nods followed.

"He's right," Midnight said, voice low. "Thats weird," He taught for a moment. He continued. "In order to avoid any misunderstanding... use your mic and Let's hear your voice."

Ye Qiu froze for a half second. His fingers hovered over the keys.

A flicker of panic.

Then he composed himself.

'This is Chan Guo we're talking about,' he thought. 'The loudest, nosiest, most intrusive woman alive. If she suddenly goes mute, they'll definitely suspect something.'

He taught for a moment 'how to decline, Chan Guo way__a way no one would suspect...'

And then typed:

"Believe whatever keeps your brain warm at night, sweetie. Or better yet, zip it and just follow me—unless you enjoy logging out like a lost rookie."

Silence fell.

A thick, awkward kind of silence. Ye Qiu couldn't help but chuckle at what he wrote, almost as if Chan Guo possessed him for a moment

"Off" Midnight muttered. "Okey, danm."

Skull tilted his head. "For a moment, I swear I thought you really were Everstay."

Ye Qiu's fingers paused.

"What? Why would you think that?" he asked, casual on the surface—panicked underneath.

"Didn't you just say earlier you were going full-on Everstay mode?" Skull replied. "Then boom—you start acting like a total pro."

He laughed lightly.

"Honestly, I wouldn't even doubt it if you somehow found Everstay."

Ye Qiu blinked, heart pounding slightly.

'Seriously?'

Skull grinned. "Cuz knowing your crazy fan-ass, you'd totally go on a bounty hunt to track down the guy... and what's worse? You'd actually succeed." He said making Ye Qiu realize he was really on a bounty hunt… and his hunter was just sitting right beside him.