茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Chapter 264: Help Me Check Someone

Xiang Kun pretended to go to the bathroom to take a leak, after using the toilet and coming out, he leaned over to Zi Cheng who had just gotten wiped out once again, the crystal demolished, and shook his head, “Let me help you play a round?”

Zi Cheng asked curiously, “Aren’t you going to sleep? Did I disturb you?”

“No, I had enough sleep on the plane today.” Xiang Kun responded, taking over the mobile phone handed to him by Zi Cheng.

Although Xiang Kun hardly played games after starting his career, back in his university days, he was quite good at gaming. When playing each game, he would investigate the game’s class and skill set up, analyze the mechanics of each BOSS, and research strategies and accumulate tips before charging into a dungeon.

Hence most of the time, Xiang Kun was the commander of the team when he played in a group. He could play any role, filling in whatever was missing.

In Zi Cheng’s impression, Xiang Kun’s gaming skills were always a step above his own. When Xiang Kun offered to help him with this round, he immediately agreed and handed over his phone.

Moreover, Zi Cheng was indeed exhausted after a few rounds with Zhang Qian and Yang Jie. His thumb was even swollen from rubbing against the screen.

Taking over the phone, Xiang Kun took off his earphones and switched to speaker mode.

Seemingly, Zhang Qian and the others did not realize that the person playing on Zi Cheng’s account had changed. They queued up for the game and continued discussing the previous match.

“Xiao Jie, you really can’t handle jungling, next time I’ll do it, you play top.” The speaker was Zhang Qian.

“Sister, you play support. Take a tank, like Zhang Fei. How about that?” This was Yang Zhuo.

“Or… I’ll go support.” The softly spoken words came from Yang Zhuo’s girlfriend, Xiao Min.

Yang Jie retorted, clearly irritated, “Your jungling isn’t any better than mine, is it! I had 1 kill and 5 deaths, while you had 2 kills and 9 deaths. If we consider the net contribution, you’re at -7, while I am at -4.”

“As Arthur, a jungle, your deaths should naturally be fewer, and wasn’t the kill you got stolen from me?” Zhang Qian rebutted.

“Enough, enough, do we really need to fight over this?” Yang Zhuo resignedly said, their voices carried into the room as they bickered over the comms.

Just as the four of them were discussing, they suddenly noticed that Zi Cheng’s character had directly and quickly chosen Ah Ke. The summoner skills also chose smite, this was clear indication that he was going to jungle.

“If big bro Liu is going into the jungle, then let’s keep it like in the first round. I’ll rove around as a support, our older sis playing top, Sister Qian Qian as the ranged archer, Xiao Min goes mid. This game we play seriously. Whether we win or lose, we sleep!” Yang Zhuo hurriedly affirmed, choosing Alistar, as he worried that Zhang Qian and Yang Jie might raise some objections.

In truth, Xiang Kun had never played this game, the King of Glory, before. With all the phones he had switched to, he’d never really installed mobile games on them.

However, not having eaten pork doesn’t mean that he’s never seen a pig run.

He’d seen plenty of pigs running!

This game had simply become too popular. When he had been training his sensory information collection and processing skills in coffee shops and other similar places, he’d often seen people playing this game.

Even without intentionally paying attention to the details of this game, his long term and fragmented information collection had helped him to build a basic understanding, giving him a general idea of the game’s mechanics, skills, and tactics.

After all, he’d once played games like LOL and DotA, which were also MOBA games, so the game mode was not unfamiliar to him.

In the brief moments when he’d entered the “Super Sensory State”, he’d unconsciously paid some attention to Zi Cheng’s gameplay, thus establishing a basic “cognitive model” for the game.

This was why he chose the champion Ah Ke. Liu Chuang had just played this champion the most, so he’d collected the most information on it.

Of course, Xiang Kun didn’t feel that taking over this game meant that he could take on five opponents solo, leading Zhang Qian and the others to soaring victory, even though their gaming skill level was not high.

His main objective in helping Zi Cheng play this round was to experiment with how well he could perform supported by the cognitive model established by his fragmented information collection.

On the other hand, they wanted to see if he could predict and judge their in-game actions to some extent, based on his cognitive models of the other four.

At the start of the game, Xiang Kun’s Ah Ke and Yang Zhuo’s Minotaur were taken out by the four game characters who attacked them as a team. Yang Jie, who came over to help, was also defeated.

Consequently, not only was the top half of the jungle cleared, the score became 0-3, and it was a disastrous start.

“Damn, we’ve run into pros again,” Xiao Min lamented in the voice chat.

“Stay steady, we can win this.” Yang Zhuo, who had been acting as the commander, remained silent, just sending a system alert noise.

Despite the poor start, Xiang Kun wasn’t worried.

Only just getting the hang of things, he already understood that merely collecting fragmented information, merely “seeing a pig run,” and building a cognitive model could not immediately make him a pro. He only had about an 80 percent understanding of the skills and passive mechanisms of the ten heroes on the field. His understanding of the damage skills, equipment bonuses, level bonuses, experience data of jungle beasts and minions, etc., showed a certain discrepancy between his cognitive model and reality.

But after the small team fight, his cognitive model was quickly corrected, and he had a basic understanding of the playing habits of the four opposing players who appeared.

With the progress of the game, Xiang Kun’s cognitive model quickly improved. By ten minutes, he could “predict” the movement trend of the enemy’s heroes accurately by the minimap, knowing what they wanted to do and when.

Regarding his own team’s playing style and positions during team fights, such as Zhang Qian and Yang Jie, he also had a very clear judgment and prediction.

All of these were built on the basis of his cognitive models of the four of them. Different personalities had their unique corresponding behaviors when playing games, and these behaviors could also be used in reverse to supplement the usual observational information and improve Xiang Kun’s understanding of their personalities.

Like Zhang Qian, her in-game playstyle is obviously more aggressive and risky, but she can still maintain relatively stable gameplay in crisis situations, indicating good mental quality. However, sometimes she’s too dangerous, such as when tower diving to kill enemies, which often leads to a miscalculation of their health. If the enemy does not die, she’s also done for;

When Yang Jie isn’t fighting, her thoughts are clear and her operations are up to par during normal development. However, once a fight breaks out, she becomes impulsive and irrational, focusing only on chasing down enemies with low health;

Yang Zhuo has good observation skills, understands the game well, and is willing to make sacrifices. He does not focus excessively on his own data, but puts the victory or defeat of the whole game first;

Based on their gaming styles and their actual operation levels, Xiang Kun could anticipate the standing positions of both sides and the reactions of each person after the start of a team fight. He could then quickly formulate a plan, integrating his own finances, damage, and operations, to decide how he should enter the battlefield to have the most significant impact.

From beginning to end, he didn’t say a word, but it was as if everyone was following his arrangement in every team fight, even the movements of the other party seemed to be controlled by him.

So, from the thirteenth minute onward, Xiang Kun and his team, who had been under constant pressure, started to counterattack, and they finally won a thrilling victory in the last team fight. Although they still lagged in total kills after successfully annihilating the enemy team, they managed to destroy the opponent’s crystal and win the game.

After the opponent’s crystal burst, Yang Zhuo’s voice suddenly sounded: “Ah Ke was played by Brother Xiang, wasn’t he?”

Zi Cheng, who was excitedly watching next to Xiang Kun, was taken aback, then deliberately said: “Of course I played it, why would you say it was Xiang Kun?”

“Hehe, if Brother Liu was playing, he would have definitely bragged about his triple kill just now, he wouldn’t have stayed this quiet. And Ah Ke’s style, it’s feels like he has got a full map, knowing everyone’s position, always appearing at the perfect time. It closely matches Brother Xiang’s thinking style. Hehe, those three deaths at the beginning must have been Brother Liu playing, wasn’t it? The gameplay drastically changed at the eight or nine-minute mark, it must have switched to Brother Xiang playing then. As a support player following you around, I had the clearest view!” Yang Zhuo said very confidently and somewhat smugly.

Zi Cheng was stunned, then said both aggrieved and angry: “Hey Xiao Yang, you are really biased! How come the three deaths were me playing, and the triple kill later was by Xiang Kun? It was clearly him playing from start to end!!!”

Then came the surprised voices of Yang Jie and Xiao Min: “Really? Brother Xiang played?”

Zhang Qian said: “Come on, Xiang Kun, play another round!”

“Forget that! Hurry up and go to sleep! Are we still going to the scenic spot tomorrow? As we agreed, if you can’t wake up, just stay in the hotel by yourselves, we won’t wait for you!” Saying this, Xiang Kun handed the phone back to Zi Cheng.

He knew if he continued to play, his cognitive model would quickly improve, and he’d get better and better at the game. But the experiment through the game was already completed, there was no need to play any further.

Inside a vast self-built villa in Tongshi Town, Liu Feibao was sitting in his study, wearing a silk nightgown and gold-rimmed glasses, flipping through some information he had asked to be looked up in the afternoon.

After his car rear-ended someone on the road in the afternoon, there was a bit of unpleasantness.

Although Boss Qi, his distinguished guest, had given him a “stern warning,” not to seek revenge, he just couldn’t help his curiosity. He secretly instructed his employees to investigate it.

Of course, he specifically cautioned them not to do anything or allow themselves to be discovered.

The “warning” from Boss Qi was still very intimidating. If he managed to anger Boss Qi and their collaboration fell through, it would probably ruin his whole year.

However, in Tongshi Town, it was not too hard to secretly investigate a few out-of-towners. It was even easier since they knew the plate number of their two vehicles.

After having dinner with Boss Qi, he received some information. But he spent the whole night accompanying Boss Qi, so he didn’t have time to check it. It wasn’t until he saw Boss Qi off and returned home that he finally checked the messages in his study by himself.

Liu Feibao’s men used their links with the hotel to determine the location of the two vehicles, then utilized the hotel’s system to locate the information of the eight new guests.

Liu Feibao’s men even photographed the registration information of the eight guests displayed on the hotel’s monitor. Using their ID cards, they managed to find the guests’ employment information and some of their direct relatives’ information, compiling them into a document.

Upon seeing the list of titles behind Zhang Qian’s name and the relationships among her company’s shareholders, Liu Feibao squinted slightly, his expression tinged with tense undertones.

“She is Zhang Hongpu’s granddaughter? That explains it…” Liu Feibao nodded thoughtfully. Despite Boss Qi is also a wealthy and powerful figure, one he needed to respect, he is no match for Zhang Hongpu or the Zhang family. It’s only natural for Boss Qi to be wary of the Zhangs.

However, Liu Feibao’s eyes quickly moved down the document and landed on the title next to Liu Chuang’s name. He noticed Liu Chuang’s company and his father’s name.

He owns a chain of supermarkets? Another tycoon?

Liu Feibao felt more tense. How could these two super-rich second generations come to play in Tongshi Town, driving a Sagitar and a Corolla?

Moving further down, although Yang Zhen Er’s family background is not as extraordinary as Zhang Qian’s and Liu Chuang’s, her father could still put enough pressure on him.

Though he boasted loudly about how influential he was in Tongshi Town, he acknowledged that his influence only extends to average people. Against these individuals, he risked getting crushed. Even Boss Qi would struggle against these three families combined, let alone him.

Nothing special stood out in the details of the others. His employees had found the two individuals who hadn’t checked into the hotel: You Meng and Liang Yulong, locals of Tongshi Town who had opened a restaurant on the new pedestrian street.

Even if Boss Qi hadn’t reminded him, Liu Feibao wouldn’t dare imagine seeking revenge. In the end, it was only a minor issue, and he had already paid over two thousand as amends. If there weren’t any further interactions between them, it would be over.

He closed the document, preparing to go to bed, but just as he put down his tablet, something seemed odd to Liu Feibao.

He sat down again, swiped open his tablet, pulled up the document, and, with furrowed brows, stared at the eight ID photos.

Indeed, Boss Qi Haoguo did not have the capacity to offend the Zhang family. He fell short in terms of wealth, power and influence.

When Boss Qi voluntarily boarded their vehicle, Zhang Qian had just walked over from the Sagitar parked upfront. She hadn’t spoken a single word to Boss Qi, and she might not even have gotten a good look at him.

Based on what he knew about Boss Qi, his character was generally rash. He wasn’t one to get frightened just from recognizing a lady from the Zhang family.

Yes, Boss Qi was clearly “scared.”

The more Liu Feibao thought about it, the more strange it felt. The Zhang family was influential, but not influential enough to scare Qi Haoguo like that. No matter if it was Zhang Hongpu’s granddaughter or Zhang Hongpu himself, the great businessman, there was no way Qi Haoguo should have reacted that badly.

Moreover, Qi Haoguo was quite drunk at the time, which would have made him more impetuous and reckless, rather than instantly terrified.

Thinking back to Boss Qi’s behavior in the car, Liu Feibao couldn’t help but think about three words: saw a ghost.

Yes, Boss Qi didn’t appear to be intimidated by individuals he couldn’t afford to provoke or irritated due to embarrassment. He seemed more like he had seen something terrifying and was scared out of his wits.

What could have possibly terrified him at the scene?

That heir of the supermarket chain did have a physical scuffle with them and was the first to rush out and insult Boss Qi, but there’s no reason Boss Qi would have been scared by him.

Where did all these changes begin?

When the tall bald man wearing glasses came over?

Yes, that was it. After he came over and pushed us away, Boss Qi became silent behind us.

Then he directly got into the car and huddled in the seat, his face showing a desire to escape immediately.

Did that bald man pose any problem?

As Liu Feibao looked through the information on the man named Xiang Kun on his tablet, he hardly recognized him from the ID photo. It was only by process of elimination that he identified the other individuals first and then took a closer look at the photo before he could barely discern a resemblance.

His ancestral home was Citong City. Excluding You Meng and Liang Yulong, who were locals, he was the only person from the same province among the eight who checked in at the hotel.

His family and work situation were also very ordinary, and he works in an IT company? If it weren’t for this information, I would have thought he was a fitness coach or something.

This guy was indeed strong. Even his driver, who was tall and bulky, couldn’t stand up to him. He was simply swept aside.

But it would not make sense to say that Qi Haoguo was frightened by this bald man.

Could this bald man possibly be some sort of Flood Beast? Or has some hidden identity?

In the afternoon, when he asked this bald man for a private repair fee of three thousand, he was quite irritated and resolved to recoup his dignity. But now, after Boss Qi’s warning and seeing the backgrounds of Zhang Qian, Liu Chuang, and others, he didn’t have any sign of anger, or any intention to fight back. All he had was curiosity, extreme curiosity.

What exactly had frightened Qi Haoguo into such a state?

Looking at the document on the tablet that recorded the cities where those eight people ordinarily resided, Liu Feibao took out his phone, spent some time locating a number, and dialed it.

Not long after, the call connected, and an enthusiastic voice came from the other end: “Brother Liu! Finally, you remembered your little brother!”

“Ha ha, Brother Qin, I hope I didn’t disturb your rest by calling you late?” Liu Feibao replied with a smile.

“Eh! How can this be called late? As you know, I run a bar, and for me, this time is like early dusk! Brother Liu, are you planning to come over for a visit?”

“Once I finish up things here, I’ll probably come to bother you!”

“Ha ha, I’ll be expecting your arrival, Brother Liu!”

“By the way, I called you today because there is something I need your help with.” Liu Feibao spoke and gave the name of a residential community, then asked, “Is this community near your place?”

“Uh… it’s not too far away.”

“I want to look up someone. If you have time, could you possibly find someone to help me investigate? I can only find some rudimentary information here, which I don’t find very reliable.”

“Brother Liu… who do you want to investigate?” The voice on the other end seemed somewhat hesitant.

Liu Feibao provided a specific communication address: “The name is Xiang Kun, a bald guy wearing glasses. He appears tall and sturdy and seems to be a white-collar worker in an IT company, doing technical work. But I think this guy might have some other background. If you have the resources to investigate, could you please look into it for me? But remember, it must be someone reliable; we can’t risk getting found out by him.”

There was silence on the other end. After waiting for a while, and giving an additional excuse, Liu Feibao added, “Don’t worry, I’m not planning to cause any trouble for him. I’m just curious. This man recently came to our town, and my niece has taken a liking to him. She has her heart set on marrying him but something about this bald guy doesn’t sit right with me, so I want to check him out. If you can help me out with this, I’ll come over for a drink. You know how I am when it comes to conducting my affairs.”

He didn’t directly promise any reward, but he knew that Qin Dong understood his intentions.

However, there was still no response from the other end. After waiting for nearly half a minute, just when he thought the call had been disconnected and was about to voice out, a response finally came from the other end: “Brother Liu, did you… offend that bald guy?”