Chapter 22

Su Peng and the other two people came out of the dedicated elevator on the seventh floor, used their access cards to leave the studio, and then took a regular elevator to the ground floor, exiting the Tianpeng Property Building.

"Phew... It's only been a week, but I already feel a sense of unreality about the real world. Looking at the people on the street, I have an urge to strike up a conversation and ask if they have any quests," Sun Shijia said to Su Peng and Ji Ming, looking at the men and women walking on the street.

"That's normal. With that realistic game environment and over eight hours of daily playtime, I also have trouble distinguishing reality from illusion," Su Peng smiled and said to Sun Shijia.

"Maybe, the other side is more real," Ji Ming suddenly said. Su Peng and Sun Shijia both felt a deep resonance, and for a moment, no one spoke.

"Alright, it's a day off today. Where do you plan to go?" Su Peng, noticing the awkward atmosphere, broke the silence and asked the two.

"I, I plan to meet up with some classmates, have a meal, and then spend the afternoon at the anime and game arcade," Sun Shijia said shyly.

"Hehe, are you going to see your girlfriend?" Su Peng laughed, and Sun Shijia, embarrassed, scratched his head and chuckled.

"Today is the anniversary of a relative's death. I need to visit the cemetery and clean the grave, and then I'll head back to the company later," Ji Ming said.

Su Peng nodded, tactfully not asking any more questions.

"Brother Su, what about you?" Sun Shijia asked Su Peng. Just as Su Peng was about to say he had nothing to do, his phone rang.

Su Peng picked up the phone, glanced at the number, frowned slightly, and answered. He heard a middle-aged man's voice on the other end: "Su Peng? Where have you been this week? Every time I called, your phone was out of service."

"Uncle Three, I've been working at a company. They have strict management and a phone signal block. Today is my day off, and I just left the company," Su Peng said. Indeed, he hadn't received any calls this week, and his signal had been zero the whole time.

"Alright, you haven't forgotten what day it is today, right? It's your grandfather's birthday. There's a family banquet at noon. You can wander around normally, but you must come today. Come now," the voice on the phone said, sounding somewhat dissatisfied.

Hearing this, Su Peng felt a twinge of discomfort. He said softly, "My grandfather? He probably only remembers I exist on this day of the year."

There was a moment of silence on the other end before the voice continued, "We don't fully understand the old man's thoughts, but you must be there today. You are the eldest grandson. It wouldn't be right if you didn't come."

Su Peng took a deep breath, as if trying to dispel the slight unease in his heart, and said, "Alright, I'm in the city center. I'll be there soon."

"Okay." The voice on the other end responded, said to be careful, and hung up.

Su Peng put away his phone. The company hadn't confiscated their phones but had given them another one. He shrugged and said to Sun Shijia and Ji Ming, "You heard most of it. I have some things to do today and won't be back to the company until late at night."

"Um... Alright, Brother Su, Brother Ji, my classmate just texted me to hurry. I'll go first!" Sun Shijia said to Su Peng and Ji Ming. They nodded, and Sun Shijia bid them farewell, called a taxi, and soon disappeared from their sight.

"Being simple is truly a blessing..." Ji Ming muttered to himself, watching the taxi carrying Sun Shijia drive away.

"Hehe, like you're any more complicated," Su Peng chuckled. Ji Ming shook his head and said, "Do you believe Shi Qianjun's explanations?"

"Same as you," Su Peng shrugged. Ji Ming couldn't help but laugh and said, "The truth will come out eventually, but don't get killed in the game before you figure it out."

"Same to you," Su Peng said. Ji Ming nodded and said, "Alright, let's work together... and see what this game is all about!"

"Um... but now, I need to leave early," Su Peng said, said goodbye to Ji Ming, and called a taxi. Su Peng left the place.

"Where to?" the taxi driver asked Su Peng.

Su Peng gave an address, and the taxi driver whistled, saying, "The place you're going to is quite impressive. There are armed soldiers guarding the entrance. Why are you taking a taxi there? You should at least take a military-licensed Mercedes!"

Su Peng smiled but didn't respond. The taxi driver didn't say anything more, stepped on the gas, and the taxi started moving toward the destination.

The taxi drove for nearly an hour and a half before arriving at the address Su Peng had given. This place was near the western suburbs of Zhonghai City. The area was surrounded by fences, with a villa complex inside, all three-story villas. At the entrance of the area, there was a guard post with four soldiers in green military uniforms, carrying semi-automatic rifles, standing guard.

As the taxi approached the guard post, the electronic barrier came down, blocking the way. A soldier came out of the guard post, saluted the taxi, and said, "Hello, external vehicles are not allowed to enter. Are you here to visit someone or are you a resident?"

Su Peng nodded and gave a name. The soldier's eyes changed, showing more respect, and he used more formal language, asking Su Peng to wait a moment, then went into the guard post to make a call.

Su Peng waited in the taxi for a few minutes. Less than ten minutes later, a green Land Rover SUV came out from inside. Su Peng saw the license plate, paid the taxi fare, and walked past the guard post.

The Land Rover honked twice, and the door opened. Inside, Su Peng saw a boy of about sixteen or seventeen.

"Brother Peng!" The boy, wearing a military vest, called out enthusiastically to Su Peng. Su Peng smiled and said, "How did you drive out? Do you have a driver's license?"

"Haha, who would check the driver's license for a military-licensed car!" the boy laughed and said, "Brother Peng, get in quickly. Most of our generation is here except for a few from the fourth branch."

"Okay," Su Peng nodded and jumped into the Land Rover.

Su Peng sat in the car and started chatting with the boy, who was his cousin, Su Weiwei, from his second uncle's family.

While chatting with Su Weiwei, Su Peng's mind wandered.

Su Peng's background, by current standards, would be considered that of a third-generation official.

However, his situation was somewhat special. For various reasons, he had never enjoyed the so-called Nth-generation treatment and had always been self-reliant.

Su Peng's grandfather was a standard second-generation red, the son of a prominent general from the founding period.

Su Peng's grandfather directly inherited his father's legacy, joining the army at the age of fourteen and serving in the military from before the founding of the country. He eventually became the commander of the Zhonghai Military Region and later qualified to join the Central Military Commission. During this time, he married the daughter of a prominent political family.

Su Peng's father was the eldest son of this commander.

Su Peng's father generally followed the family's wishes and joined the military as the old man intended, but there was one thing he refused to comply with.

It was his romantic arrangement.

The old man had arranged a marriage for Su Peng's father, to the daughter of another political family, as a political alliance to strengthen the ties and influence between the two families. However, just before the wedding, Su Peng's father fled, taking a long sick leave from the military and going into hiding.

It is said that the old man was so angry that he almost went mad and even planned to send a special forces unit to capture Su Peng's father, but Su Peng's father managed to evade capture for five years. When he finally reappeared before the old man, he had already married Su Peng's mother and was holding a three-year-old Su Peng, bringing his grandson to meet the old man.

This undoubtedly challenged the old man's authority. The old man did not treat Su Peng's mother, who came from a common family, with much respect, but Su Peng's father did not care and lived his own life, only occasionally visiting the old man on his birthday or during family gatherings.

If that was all, it would have been fine... but Su Peng's father, while taking Su Peng to visit the old man when Su Peng was eleven, was involved in a car accident, sustaining head injuries and becoming a vegetative state.

This was also the car accident that caused the tissue mutation in Su Peng's brain.

The old man was deeply affected by this. He had invested a lot of hope in Su Peng's father, but this unexpected event made him stubbornly believe that Su Peng's mother was a curse, and he began to dislike Su Peng as well.

Therefore, while the other children in the Su family were given early career paths, Su Peng, as the eldest grandson, was largely ignored by the old man and left to develop on his own.

In a sense, the Su family had never given Su Peng any help.

Because of these reasons, most of the Su family, except for the old man and a few others, felt a mix of pity and regret toward Su Peng. Su Peng did not like their attitude and had little contact with his uncles and aunts.

However, the younger generation of the Su family, like Su Peng and Su Weiwei, got along quite well, despite seeing each other only a few times a year.

While Su Peng was lost in thought, the Land Rover arrived at a courtyard.

The courtyard resembled a siheyuan but had only three sides, each with two- or three-story buildings. The fourth side was built along a body of water, covering a large area.

This was the old man's residence in Zhonghai.

The car stopped at the entrance to the courtyard, and Su Weiwei and Su Peng got out and walked in. They directly entered the tallest three-story building.

As soon as they entered, they saw a group of children playing.

One of them, a bright-eyed boy of about eight or nine, saw Su Peng and Su Weiwei come in, his eyes lit up, and he walked over to say...

(End of page, advertisement starts)

(End of page, advertisement ends)