Chapter 1542: Chapter 959: The Path of Transcendence (VIII): Time Flies Like an Arrow
The image of characters in the game, after interacting for a long time, really can affect one’s impression of each other.
Tony always thought that the image of his guild leader would be that of a cute, baby-faced girl, looking very young, but he didn’t expect to see a beautiful, elegant lady at the goddess level.
"It’s been nine years... I still remember clearly the first time I saw you. I was quite surprised to find out that the cute little girl who was our guild leader was a middle schooler... Now you’ve even outgrown Dongdong."
Meng Zhihan exclaimed wistfully.
Then, she was deliberately elbowed by Dongdong who turned black-faced instantly.
"Ouch! Why are you poking me?"
Meng Zhihan protested unhappily.
"Who told you to bring up height again?"
Dongdong huffed angrily.
"Eh? Haven’t you always said it doesn’t matter? If I remember correctly, your husband likes..."
Meng Zhihan acted surprised but was soon silenced with Dongdong tiptoeing to cover her mouth.
Dongdong’s face was red up to her ears.
Little Xian Miao watching from the side was greatly amused:
"Sister Han Han, Sister Dongdong, you really have a great relationship!"
"Shoo, who has a good relationship with this guy?"
Dongdong pouted her lips.
But her eyes were full of laughter.
It was Tony, standing in front of the group, who didn’t know what to say.
But maybe it was because they were getting older, Dongdong and Meng Zhihan only joked for a bit before stopping.
Their eyes quickly focused on Tony.
"Mr. Tony, do you work in Tianchao?"
"Mr. Tony, what do you do for a living?"
"Mr. Tony, you seem much more mature and stable than in the game. May I ask your age?"
"Mr. Tony, are you married?"
"Mr. Tony, do you like the goddess doll given at this event?"
"..."
Tony was bewildered by their barrage of questions.
He felt that... players from Tianchao were unexpectedly direct, to the extent that if the same questions came from others, he might even find it a bit offensive.
However, this is Tianchao, and they were all Tianchao players. After interacting with these foreign players for a long time, Tony somewhat got used to their way of speaking.
He realized this was just their way of showing enthusiasm.
So he smiled and answered their curiosities:
"Yes, I’ve been working in the Imperial Capital for the past few years."
"I work in the internet industry, more precisely, in the field of deep self-play and evolution of virtual networks."
"Unlike you all, I’m already a forty-year-old uncle."
"Married? Um... actually, I’m opposed to marriage, I have a girlfriend, or maybe I should say ex-girlfriend now?"
"The goddess doll? I really like it! If possible, I’d like to have a few more to give to my daughter..."
"She’s already five years old and is being taken care of by my mother."
As Tony walked and talked with them, he gradually learned some things about their guild leader.
Little Xian Miao’s real name is Chen Guoguo, 23 years old, just started graduate school this year, also at Jinghua University, making her Dongdong’s junior.
She’s a top student as well...
"Just lucky, if Sister Gugu hadn’t tutored me in the game back then, I wouldn’t have gotten into Jinghua, and would’ve directly chosen to study abroad. To be honest, my family didn’t plan for me to take the college entrance exam, but I insisted on taking it."
Little Xian Miao said.
"Sister Gugu... Haven’t been in touch for a long time, how is she now? Is she still at the Tianchao Science Research Institute?"
Meng Zhihan asked.
Little Xian Miao sighed:
"She’s quite busy, couldn’t make it this time. I heard she’s being assessed for the senior researcher position."
"Awesome... I’m not even an associate professor yet, and she’s about to become a senior researcher."
Dongdong couldn’t help but curse, full of envy.
"You’re a top student, she’s a genius."
Meng Zhihan said.
Gugu Bird? Professor?
Tony was stunned.
At that moment, he suddenly felt the players in "Elf Kingdom" were truly full of hidden talents...
Tony didn’t chat with them for too long.
After taking the elevator to his floor, he bid them goodbye.
Entering his hotel room, he collapsed onto the soft bed, feeling very relaxed.
Tianchen Hotel is indeed a famous five-star hotel. The environment is great, even among the hotels Tony previously stayed at of the same grade, it stood out as excellent.
The floor-to-ceiling windows provide a wonderful view, letting one see the beautiful European-style garden outside the hotel. Occasionally, you can see squirrels running across the lawn, and further in the distance, there seems to be some deer being fed by several tourists.
There’s nothing much scheduled for tonight, except that some long-time player friends with close personal relationships are gathering.
But Tony, being unfamiliar with the area, didn’t really have such close old friends.
He planned to rest well.
Having long relied on in-game sleep instead of real-life sleep, he hadn’t had a proper natural sleep in a while.
This night, he did not log into the game.
Early the next morning, Tony was woken up by a call, and he checked the time. He had slept so well that it was almost eight o’clock.
Stretching, he got up, washed up, and then went downstairs to the buffet for breakfast.
The restaurant was large and crowded. With a private booking these days, it seemed almost all players from "Elf Kingdom" were present.
Tony even saw Dongdong and others, who were sitting together with a few female players, chatting and laughing. They greeted Tony when they saw him.
Tony hesitated for a moment, didn’t join them, and simply smiled in response.
