Noob Player

"Let's go together later if it's delicious like you said," Uncle Wen smiled at Shen, "I need a friend to drink anyway."

Shen was about to say he did not drink, but an angry lady voice resounded, "What did you say? Drink?"

Uncle Wen's smile stiffened when he heard his wife's voice, "I am talking about the herbal drink, right Shen? I am telling him that herbal drinks are good for the body."

Uncle Wen replied while laughing, also winking his right eye to Shen.

"Heng! You think you can trick me, Old Wen!? Don't ever invite Shen to drink alcohol, he does not drink!" A lady in her mid-forties came out from the kitchen, bringing the aromatic basket in her hand.

She was Auntie Jun, Uncle Wen's wife. Auntie Jun placed the basket on the counter. She then started to take three buns out and placed them on the plate, "As usual, right?"

Auntie Jun placed the plate with three buns on it in front of Shen, "I want one more cabbage bun, please. I am quite hungry," Shen smiled at Auntie Jun.

Wen Bun sold buns with three different fillings, pork, chive, and cabbage. Shen would usually eat each one, but his favorite was the cabbage filling.

Auntie Jun nodded and took one more bun from the basket and put it on the plate, "Here you are! Don't get persuaded by your Uncle Wen, Shen. Alcohol is bad for the body."

Shen nodded in response while Uncle Wen received a chilling gaze from his wife. He let out a small cough and stood up, "Ahem, it seems I drink too much water…"

Uncle Wen then walked toward the toilet, when he passed Shen. He sent a whisper, "Let's go together to the malatang stall later," he winked at Shen and ran to the toilet.

Auntie Jun did not hear her husband whisper as she spoke to Shen, "Careful Shen if you don't want to scald your tongue, it's still hot."

Shen nodded and split the bun into two so it cooled down faster. He savored the bun quickly as he wanted to log into the game. He finished the four buns in five minutes.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Auntie Jun asked as he received a 10 Yuan bill from Shen. Another reason why Wen Bun was famous, it was quite cheap for a bun in Shanghai.

"I have something to do," Shen smiled as he gulped the second cup of soymilk.

"Do you want to join dinner with us? I will cook a lot since Meimei is coming home," Auntie Jun invited Shen for dinner.

Shen had been living in the neighborhood since he was twelve. He moved to Shanghai when he was twelve. So he was growing so close to Auntie Jun's family who had lived longer here.

They had been knowing each other for ten years by now. Auntie Jun also knew his circumstance and took pity on the boy. She often invited the boy over for dinner or lunch. Though most of the time Shen declined the invitation.

"Meimei is coming home?" Shen was surprised for a moment, "Alright then, I will come over for dinner."

Meimei was akin to a big sister to Shen. She was three years older and now she was working in the city. In a while, she would return to visit her parents.

"Good! If you don't come over by six-thirty, I will come over and bring you here!" Auntie Jun grinned at him.

Shen returned with a smile as he waved his hand before he went back to his apartment.

Shen was not Shanghai's native. He came from a small island south of Shanghai, Daishan Island.

He received a sponsor from the government because of his talent. The government paid for his lodging and school, he was also given an allowance since he did not have parents.

The government wanted to put Shen in the orphanage but he refused as he wanted to live alone. He was used to taking care of himself since he had been taking his mother who fell sick when he was ten before finally, his mother died due to sickness two years.

The reason he wanted to be a runner was that he heard he could earn money through the price. He wanted to make money through the prize of the competition for his mother's medical bills.

Alas, his mother left him before he could earn the money. The biggest regret in his life as he could not do anything but watch his mother slowly leave him.

"Hah…" Auntie Jun let out a sigh as she watched Shen's back, "What a pitiful child."

Shen had told everything about his past to Auntie Jun. She even knew her mother's last wish a week before his Mother took the final breathing.

"I want you to be the fastest in the world~!"

Auntie Jun knew that Shen's mother made a wish like that as she was hoping for her child to continue to live with a dream. Becoming a drive for his life rather than living lonely without parents.

Mother's Shen succeeded with her purpose, "But the world is just too cruel. They took his parents, and now they took his only dream."

Mother's Shen fell sick from overworking. She suffered cancer and after two years of battling the disease without a cure, she left him. Six years later, the world took his feet. The child could no longer fulfill his dream to be the fastest in the world. Now he fell into a virtual world because of his obsession to be the fastest in the world.

Auntie Jun was not cruel enough to give a wake-up call to the young man, "If God exists, why would you let such a good kid suffer like this?" Shaking her head, Auntie Jun returned to her shop.

*** ***

Shen was unaware of what Auntie Jun thought of him. As soon as he returned, he went to the bathroom for a quick bath to wash off his sweat.

After that, he immediately got into the gaming pod and logged into the game.

"I am back!" Shen yelled loudly at the sky.

"Let's see… Let's see… What should I do now?" Shen tried to recall the plan he had made last night.

"First, let's avoid the chicken and find a weaker monster. Yes, that's it. Find a weaker monster to hunt. That chicken might be a Boss in the area!"

Since he could not win against the chicken, he would avoid the confrontation against the chicken. He would save the chicken for the last, "People say revenge is best served cold!"

With a fresh thought and a new idea, Shen went out of the village to venture into the unknown area.