The Great Thief

Lu Li hadn’t been participating in the competition, until the third day of his sister’s surgery. Her condition was now stable and he was notified in the morning that he could visit her.

Since the surgery was very successful, her cardiac pacing device had already been removed.

Of course, the tubes and testing equipment still continued to function.

Lu Li wore a protective suit as he carefully approached her. With an isolation shield between them, his voice didn’t sound real, but it was still clear.

”Xin Xin, the doctor said you’ll get better soon.”

Lu Xin’s mouth moved and Lu Li had to get closer to hear her.

”Don’t worry about me. Play your game and earn money.” There weren’t many emotional words; Lu Xin was used to the harshness of reality.

To prevent infection, Lu Li was soon requested to leave the ward.

After Lu Xin’s condition fully stabilized, she would be moved from the isolation ward to the transplant ward before leaving the hospital. During this month, she needed to remain isolated, and even her food had to be sterilized.

If not for the consideration of the patient’s mental state, it would have been best to turn down all visitors.

The three lady landlords watched over Lu Xin behind the glass.

Water Fairy said that she wanted to visit and Lu Li couldn’t turn her down, but he suggested that she visit after a month.

By then, Lu Xin would be in a completely healthy state. All that she would need is continuous treatment for her immune system and the regular check-ups.

To be prepared for all kinds of accidents that may occur, the three best nurses in Jinling looked after Lu Xin. They took different shifts so that there was someone on watch every single moment of the day.

After Lu Xin left the hospital, Lu Li also decided to hire a nurse to accompany her.

At the same time, he would most likely rent a place in Jinling near the hospital. If anything was to go wrong, it could be solved as quickly as possible.

Of course, the expenses weren’t cheap either.

The hospital was located in the wealthy section and Jinling was more urbanized compared to Jiangnan, so all of the living expenses were much higher.

Lu Li took out his gaming helmet and linked it with the internet in the lounge outside the ward. He decided to play Dawn on the couch. Since he was an important customer, the hospital didn’t restrict him.

”It’s impossible without you,” Square Root 3 complained over the phone, venting out his frustrations.

”We’ve only lost two games; what are you worried about? Monkey did well and Mu Qiu did too. Everything is going in a good direction,” Lu Li replied after he went online and continued to level up.

”What do you mean we only lost two matches? If we lose another one, we won’t even be able to make it into the top eight,” Square Root 3 said.

”Alright, I’ll go on next match. There’s another half an hour before that; I should be able to reach level 35.” Lu Li picked up the copper coins that the monsters dropped and looked at his experience bar.

Leveling up at his level was so hard for him.

Besides the fact that a lot of experience was required, he was also affected by what was happening in real life.

Lonesome Flower, who was currently second place, was already level 34 with half of his experience bar filled. There were also a few people who had reached level 34. Sorrowless was now ranked at the twelfth position, and had just reached level 34 this morning.

When a level difference no longer existed and these celebrity players had all gotten used to the game mechanics, Lu Li could excel by working harder.

However, Square Root 3 wasn’t expecting him to attend the match.

”How about you just rest up.”

Any mistake, even a small mistake, would be critical to the match’s outcome. As such, the competitors needed to be intensely focused, but it seemed like Lu Li wasn’t in his best state.

”You’re the one who claimed it was impossible without me,” Lu Li sighed and was quite speechless.

”You can stay as a substitute.” Square Root 3 was rather worried; he subconsciously thought that this was the best decision.

The next match was too important for Ruling Sword. If they lost, they wouldn’t even make it to the top eight.

Square Root 3 couldn’t accept a result like this – the Magic Cup was a medium-sized competition that only some major guilds participated in.

”Sure, I might even be able to act as a surprise.” Lu Li also couldn’t accept the same result. He thought about what his fragile sister had said to him in the morning and was determined to work even harder.

There’s still about an hour until the match starts; be prepared.” The weight on Square Root 3’s chest had been lifted; he felt much easier with Lu Li.

It seemed as if nothing would be a problem as long as Lu Li was there.

”Oh, and who are we up against?” Lu Li asked.

The most unfair part of Magic Cup was that they picked matchups in a random draw. If you were lucky, you might never run into a single strong team at all.

”Majin Temple. They’re pretty strong right now, so don’t look down on them,” Square Root 3 advised.

There were two experienced players in the gaming industry that people often looked down on, one of them being Unforgettable Maple from Majin Temple. He was a cunning player who was capable of leading a guild that mainly consisted of middle-aged, casual players. It was not hard to imagine how smart he actually was.

The other one was Wood Fearing from Gods of Dusk; he was a player who never gave up.

Ruling Sword had fought Majin Temple before in the past, but Lu Li hadn’t participated in that match. However, Unforgettable Maple didn’t think that way. He was certain that Lu Li was sitting in the substitute section, waiting to beat him up when he wasn’t expecting it. As such, he was very careful and restricted himself a lot with his playstyle. The results were imaginable – Moonlight and the others won a strange victory.

This time, they ran into each other on the match ground again.

Unforgettable Maple laughed loudly after he received his draw results.

His team members asked him what he was laughing about, to which he replied, ”Last time I was tricked by them, but this time, I’ll definitely beat them.”

”But we can’t be sure if Lu Li will participate,” his underlings said as they blinked their eyes in confusion.

Unforgettable Maple patted his underlings on the head and laughed, ”There’s nothing to be worried about with Lu Li. From what I see, this is not training their new players. There’s no reason for them to lose so many matches to train new players. There has to be a reason why Lu Li can’t play in the matches. It’s either because he received a chain quest that he can’t leave, or something happened in reality.”

”But boss…” The little underling looked at Unforgettable Maple in admiration, but he was even more confused at this point. ”Lu Li just levelled up.”

”Levelled up?” Unforgettable Maple looked at the level ranking and saw that Lu Li had just reached level 35.

”Is he doing a quest? That’s a lot of experience,” the underling asked.

”Yes, he must be doing a quest. I’m going to destroy that Monkey; how dare he play a Mage class in front of me,” Unforgettable Maple said with a look of determination on his face.