Little Fox had gone out.
Aww~~ Just a short moment later, Little Fox came bouncing back!
Guang Yu found an empty corner in the Anime Expo Hall to drop her invisibility. This time, she didn’t even need to hide her tail or ears. She could dash back energetically, full of excitement, to play the arcade games!
With no need for invisibility and no worries holding her back, Guang Yu loved this freewheeling sensation, like the wind itself!
However, at the entrance to the Arcade Hall, the wind-like Guang Yu was promptly stopped by the staff.
“Hey…! Little sister, hold on a sec!”
“What’s going on?!”
“Uh, well, we don’t allow minors inside.”
Minors?
First off, she wasn’t a minor.
Second, she wasn’t human.
Neither of those prohibitions applied to her at all!
“Hiss… so many rules. Tell you what—I’ll give you a game coin, and you let me in. Great deal, right?”
“…I don’t think so, little sister. You gotta understand—if the boss catches us letting a minor in, we’re toast.”
Overt bribery, huh! And the bribe was a whopping single game coin!
Ye Zhibai, who was sitting in front of the arcade machine, slapped her forehead at the sight.
She should have seen this coming.
Little Qiu had just been stopped for the same reason. But unlike Guang Yu, Little Qiu had her ID to prove her rock-solid age.
After a quick word with Su Yuqiu, Ye Zhibai stood up and headed to the door to bail Guang Yu out.
Little Qiu hurriedly spread her tiny arms wide. One loli, claiming three spots!
Ye Zhibai adjusted her mask, walked to the entrance, and grabbed Guang Yu’s arm—the one about to offer the game coin bribe. She explained to the staff member.
“Let her in. I’m her guardian.”
Seeing the staffer still hesitant, the ever-clever Guang Yu jumped in right away. She latched onto Ye Zhibai’s arm and played along with childish glee in her milky voice.
“Ah…! It’s big sis! Sis, I came to play with you!”
“……”
No need for that tactic. Every time she heard this tens-of-thousands-year-old relic call her “sis,” Ye Zhibai got goosebumps all over.
The staffer, witnessing this, didn’t press the issue. Arcade rules allowed it if a guardian was present.
And so, Guang Yu saved the game coin in her pocket and strode fearlessly into the Arcade Hall alongside Ye Zhibai.
If social anxiety sufferers were introverts, Guang Yu was the ultimate social butterfly.
Ye Zhibai led her back to the arcade cabinet. Su Loli immediately hopped off the bench. She gave Guang Yu—a girl not much taller than herself—a subtle once-over, then forced a stiff smile and offered a polite greeting.
“Y-you… hello? I’m your sister’s friend? Wh-what’s your name?”
“Pfft… no need to stand on ceremony, Little One! I’m Guang Yu! Hello, hello!”
“？!”
She’d been called “Little One” by Yezi’s distant cousin!
Uh… and Guang Yu? What a weird name. A nickname?
Ye Zhibai subtly kicked Guang Yu’s butt from behind, a reminder that she was supposed to be an elementary school kid right now. No calling high schoolers “Little One” so brazenly!
Even Su Yuqiu, the classic loli, couldn’t help but sigh inwardly that Yezi’s distant cousin was genuinely adorable. Every gesture brimmed with lively charm.
Her puffy princess skirt was exquisitely made, complete with a special opening for the tail. Made specially for Comic-Con?
That big tail of hers spun like a feather duster, whipping around 360 degrees with no blind spots!
Awestruck by the advanced technology, Su Yuqiu scooted a bit closer to Ye Zhibai and whispered to her.
“Yezi, your distant cousin is so brave—cosplaying at such a young age. Ahem… also, if you get the chance, could you ask about the link for that tail and those ears? What powers them… they look so real, and the craftsmanship is insanely detailed.”
“You probably can’t buy it. It’s a local specialty from her family.”
“Local specialty…?!”
Little Qiu, just give up. It wasn’t a trick—this thing really couldn’t be bought.
With the trio assembled at last, they could finally form a team in front of the three-joystick arcade machine.
Guang Yu was itching to start. She vaulted onto the bench with both hands and, mimicking Little Qiu’s moves, selected her character.
Oh ho… the character designs weren’t all that cute, but they sure were badass! Especially when the one she picked—Zhang Yide—belted out that booming “Brother!”
“……”
Fine, not completely uncute. Just hit different.
This time, the game proceeded smoothly.
Three Kingdoms Rampage was a classic: three players fighting monsters and clearing stages together, inserting game coins to revive upon death.
The trio of Liu, Guan, and Zhang cleaved through foes like a hot knife through butter, unstoppable…
Mere first stage! On the mere first stage, they’d already burned through fifty coins!
Little Qiu stared at the game coins vanishing rapidly from the tray. She glanced left at the faintly frowning Yezi, then right at Guang Yu, who was dying of laughter even as her character bit the dust (aka laughing all the way to the afterlife).
Su Yuqiu—who hadn’t lost a single life yet—completely lost her cool!
“Yezi?! Didn’t you say you were a gaming pro before? Show some real skill! This first stage—look at it! We just need to step on that array together to clear it. You two, quit squabbling in there!”
“Cough… my bad, my bad.”
Sorry, she had mistaken Guang Yu’s character for a wild mob on the map.
Who could help it? The game’s designers had added player-versus-player attacks, and Guang Yu’s pick looked just like a villain!
Guang Yu’s mindset was even simpler— if an enemy attacked, strike back. That was it!
Even as the two duked it out, each thinking the other overpowered, to the true gaming queen Little Qiu, they were just noobs squabbling.
Nine out of ten skills whiffed, and the last one they couldn’t even land properly. Talented, really!
But even noobs squabbling could lead to deaths, which explained the rapid evaporation of dozens of game coins.
Under Su Yuqiu’s mediation, the game pressed on. Guang Yu and Ye Zhibai finally grasped that they weren’t wild mobs but teammates.
Any real progress downward relied almost entirely on Little Qiu’s killer controls.
She was carrying them!
Yet both Ye Zhibai and Little Qiu made a discovery as the game wore on.
Guang Yu’s controls were getting smoother and smoother.
By nearly the tenth stage, the pressure of clearing felt noticeably lighter. Not because the mobs were weaker, but because Guang Yu had powered up—and Little Zhibai was barely not dragging the team down anymore.
Su Yuqiu could afford to analyze the battlefield more, and she tossed out a compliment along the way.
“Hey… Little Guang Yu, you’ve got some real gaming talent. You didn’t even know the rules earlier, and now, just a bit later, you’re soloing stage bosses.”
“Of course!” Guang Yu’s fox tail started wagging again. She thumped her little chest proudly and brimmed with confidence. “I’m a genius… prodigy! A mere game like this is no sweat!”
“A mere game…! No, no, Little Guang Yu, I’ve been playing this one for ages. The later stages are brutal—totally different difficulty from the start. From stage twenty on, the death rate skyrockets. Better not get careless.”
“Mm! I won’t get careless. I’ll go all out!”
“That’s the spirit!”
“Hee… Even going all out, this game feels way simpler than I thought. Once you get the hang of the controls, it’s suddenly like wide seas and open skies… wide seas whatsit, oh right—suddenly wide seas blank! Who knows, maybe I can clear it without dying once!”
Ye Zhibai’s clumsy fingers paused on the joystick.
Because she suddenly sensed a wave of killing intent wafting from Little Qiu!
She turned her head and saw Little Qiu with her head slightly bowed. Her small hands trembled on the joystick, her cherry-pink bangs half-veiling her big eyes— a stark contrast to her earlier innocent vibe.
Right now, she was brimming with battle intent!
“Simple…? Oh? Simple, huh… Mm-hmm…”
Guang Yu was still cheerfully opening treasure chests, blissfully unaware of the brewing storm!
Then came Little Qiu’s invitation to battle—her voice low and simmering with unnamed fire.
“Little Guang Yu… the next stages switch to scoring mode. Wanna compete and see whose stage scores are higher? Not to brag, but this game… I’ve been grinding it at the arcade next to my house since I was little. For real… the stages ahead? Without years of hardcore practice and experience, you’ll get one-shot by wild mobs easy.”
That was right—the real fight started now. No more messing around!
“I see, scoring…! Awesome! Sounds super fun! Little Zhibai, Little Zhibai, you join the scoring too. I’m gonna take first!”
“Hiss…!”
Guang Yu!
Read the room first and rein in that mouth of yours!!
