Chapter 32

【ps: Thanks to my old friend Shuang Zisang for the three 100 rewards~ Thanks to Yi Xiao Jiduochou for the 588 reward~ The content of this chapter is based on my real-life experiences~~】

Tong Yan walked for half an hour, during which he had already reviewed the plot he had written before. Seeing no recommendation, he immediately created a new Word document and started typing. He had to make the most of every second, so he didn't even check his QQ or the book review section.

Song Hu, after a period of lying low, had already trained his group of a hundred or so people to be obedient. The ragtag army was now capable of significant tasks. During this time, he and his men wandered around the star system like thugs, occasionally playing the hero when they saw injustice. By chance, they encountered the army he had served in before. Back then, these people had abandoned him to save their own lives. If it weren't for the black tech left by Song Hu's grandfather, he would have become space debris long ago, and he wouldn't have achieved his current success.

To his former teammates, Song Hu was still just a disposable soldier, but in reality, he had become a powerful warlord with his own territory. He didn't reveal his true strength and smoothly returned to his original unit. This plot twist, in web novel terminology, is called "playing the pig to eat the tiger," a popular writing technique. After that, he worked with the inside to take over the small team, obtaining their weapons and a secret.

Tong Yan had already rehearsed this plot in his mind for a week, so his fingers flew across the keyboard. If it weren't for the noisy and smoky environment of the internet cafe, which somewhat distracted him, he could have written even faster. However, he knew he couldn't change these conditions, so he forced himself to adapt.

While Tong Yan was battling the noise and the smell, the dormitory talk in Room 121 was in full swing. The main topic was, "What is Tong Yan doing?"

Yesterday, although Tong Yan had clearly said he wouldn't be sleeping in the dorm, he refused to say where he was going when asked. He only left them with the question, "Will you help me or not?"

Could they not help him? Tong Yan was indeed a good guy in the class, both academically excellent and generous. Many of their assignments relied on Tong Yan. How could they not help him? Wang Ping even specifically reminded Zheng Jing, "This must not be told to anyone." He was most worried about Zheng Jing's loose lips.

Zheng Jing was actually a good person, just too curious. He always wanted to understand everything and then show off his knowledge to those who didn't. Now, he was very confused, "Do you think Tong Yan is fooling around in the girls' dorm?"

"Pfft, if I could get in, I would have gone long ago," Qi Delong said arrogantly.

"What can you do staying out all night? He's probably just going to the internet cafe," Wang Ping, who was closer to Tong Yan, guessed.

"Internet cafe? Does he play games?" Luo Xiaoxu, who was less noticeable, interjected.

"Have you seen who his desk mate is?" Zheng Jing said, "That's Dong Mian. As the saying goes, 'If you stay close to vermilion, you'll turn red; if you stay close to ink, you'll turn black.' It's too normal for him to get addicted to the internet because of Dong Mian." Zheng Jing and Dong Mian were classmates in junior high, and he knew all about his glorious deeds.

With Dong Mian to take the blame, everyone agreed that Tong Yan must have gone to the internet cafe to play games. While expressing their regret, they all promised not to tell anyone, especially Zheng Jing, who was specifically reminded.

After 12:00, the situation at Spider Internet Cafe improved. Many people had left, and those who remained were there for the all-night session. With fewer people, the smell of smoke and sweat was less intense. Tong Yan felt more relaxed and wrote faster, probably exceeding 2,500 words per hour.

However, writing a novel at night comes with two inevitable problems: hunger and fatigue.

Usually, he would sleep at 11:00, and his body would slow down, making it easy to stay awake until morning. But now, Tong Yan was fully awake, both physically and mentally active, and his stored nutrients were quickly depleted, so he soon felt hungry.

The internet cafe had a small area dedicated to selling food and drinks, including instant noodles and hot water. At 1:00 AM, Tong Yan had asked about the price of a bread roll.

"Five yuan," the cashier said casually. Tong Yan felt a lump in his throat. Such a small piece of bread would cost only two yuan outside, but here it was too expensive!

Tong Yan chose to endure, not the price, but the hunger.

He had been online for over an hour before midnight, plus the 10 yuan for the all-night session (from midnight to 8:00 AM), which added up to about 12 to 13 yuan. If he added the bread, it would be close to 20 yuan. Given the current situation, one trip out might not be enough to write a week's worth of updates, so his monthly internet expenses could easily exceed 100 yuan.

Tong Yan could afford the money, but it was a significant pressure, so he chose to endure the hunger and continue writing, hoping for the manuscript fee to help him resist the hunger.

By 3:00 AM, fatigue set in. Hunger plus fatigue made it almost impossible for Tong Yan to move his fingers, and his typing speed naturally slowed down, with only a few words per minute.

"Boss, a bread roll, the cheapest one," Tong Yan said, paying five yuan. His stomach finally felt better, and the hunger was temporarily relieved, but he was still tired. So, he went to the toilet and splashed cold water on his face. Looking in the mirror, he saw his dark circles, which were already very noticeable, and it was only the first day!

While Tong Yan was lamenting to himself, the toilet stall opened, and a person about his age came out, a cigarette in his mouth. It was one of the two people Tong Yan had startled the night before. He glanced at Tong Yan and greeted him, "Bro, have we met somewhere before?"

This person remembered Tong Yan, and Tong Yan also found him familiar, "Are you from No. 7 High School?"

"Right, right, but I just transferred to No. 1 High School this year," Lin Tao said enthusiastically, surprised to meet a junior high school classmate.

"Oh, I'm a year older than you, and I'm also at No. 1 High School now," Tong Yan didn't deny it, as they were now at the same school and might meet again. He joked, "You guys should be in military training, right? You still have the energy to come to the internet cafe, impressive."

"Senior, we're balancing work and rest," Lin Tao's words revealed that he wasn't alone. He then took out a cigarette pack and tried to be friendly, "Have one? I see you're pretty tired; this stuff can keep you awake."

Tong Yan hesitated but didn't take it, "I don't smoke."

Lin Tao thought Tong Yan was being polite and tried a few more times. Seeing that Tong Yan really didn't smoke, he put the pack away. Tong Yan knew that smoking could help with fatigue and that many writers had a smoking habit, but he cherished his health. The dangers of smoking were known even to a three-year-old, so why would he start such a bad habit? Most importantly, if he got addicted, it would be another significant expense, potentially leading to financial collapse.

Tong Yan didn't intend to develop any friendship at the internet cafe, so he kept a distance from Lin Tao. When Lin Tao asked what game he was playing, Tong Yan just said he was browsing the web.

Lin Tao immediately had a knowing smile, thinking he understood. In their eyes, there were only two reasons to be at an internet cafe at night: playing games or indulging in adult content. Tong Yan didn't know that Lin Tao had already misinterpreted his intentions.

The cold water helped, and Tong Yan felt more alert. He continued typing, and by now, he had written nearly 10,000 words in almost five hours. Completing 20,000 words was challenging, but he still wanted to try.

It was not yet 7:00, and Lin Tao and his classmates had already left, as they had to go to military training. Tong Yan also planned to stop at 7:00. At this point, a plot segment had ended, and he had written about 16,000 words, or five chapters.

After typing the last punctuation mark, Tong Yan stretched his back and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he was shocked to see that the computer screen was black!

"Manager, what's going on?"

"Black screen!"

"System crash!"

Complaints echoed throughout the internet cafe. After a while, the manager said, "There was a power outage just now. Let's try turning it on again."

Tong Yan pressed the power button and waited calmly. He had saved his work immediately after finishing, so he wasn't worried about losing it.

However, when the computer restarted, he was stunned to find that the Word document he had created was gone from the desktop!!!