Superstars of Tomorrow

Panda Novel

Everything seemed to come to a standstill.

Curly Hair carefully glanced up at Fang Zhao.

After having such a scare, he had completely and thoroughly sobered up.

Fang Zhao’s warnings that had been tossed to the back of his mind while gaming finally came back.

His mental state went through several changes from excitement to fright and then to anxiety.

Curly Hair backpedaled his paws as if trying to hide. Then, he whimpered slightly towards Fang Zhao.

Fang Zhao remained seated, staring at Curly Hair while maintaining his silence.

Curly Hair averted his gaze and shrunk his neck back as well. His entire body felt as though it was going to shrink into a ball from guilt.

“I…”

Curly Hair wanted to find an excuse and explain himself.

Fang Zhao got up from the chair and entered the room. Pointing at the wall, he told Curly Hair, “Come, if you have anything to say, tell it to the wall.”

Curly Hair glanced at Fang Zhao, then trudged listlessly to the wall with his tail drooping. However, his little dog eyes still stole sneak peeks over at Fang Zhao to observe his expression and movements.

Fang Zhao didn’t bother with him and carried the lockbox he had prepared over. He opened up the cabinet in Curly Hair’s small room and pulled out the retro handheld console, placing it in the lockbox.

Curly Hair sobbed.

Fang Zhao still ignored him. He unplugged the gaming helmet and peripherals Curly Hair had just been using and placed them all in the case.

Curly Hair whimpered upon seeing this. Tears welled up as he eyed the lockbox unwillingly. He was flustered but didn’t dare speak. He could only whimper as a plea for leniency.

Fang Zhao turned a deaf ear to these cries. He surveyed the open cabinet and raised an eyebrow. Two days ago, Curly Hair had stored his personal terminal in the cabinet. However, it wasn’t there anymore.

Curly Hair watched Fang Zhao nervously.

He watched as Fang Zhao raised his foot, tapped the ground lightly and differentiated the various sounds with his ear.

1

Fang Zhao closed the cabinet and walked over to the corner. He shifted the kennel and pulled away the mat laid there. There was a hole beneath.

The gap was just small enough for Curly Hair’s body to squeeze in.

The inside of the hole was slightly larger, and there was a cylinder-shaped object inside.

It was an explosion-proof barrel.

It was the kind that could withstand an explosion or a mecha stepping on it.

The outside of the barrel seemed aged. Fang Zhao reckoned that this was something Curly Hair had secretly brought back from a shipwreck or isolated islands.

How capable!

Fang Zhao opened the barrel lid and fished out a small silver object. This was Curly Hair’s personal terminal that he licked three times a day to make it even more shiny.

This also had to be confiscated. There would be no Internet access for Curly Hair.

Curly Hair started bawling when he saw his precious personal terminal being put into the lockbo.

He felt wronged.

He didn’t even have a “Battle of the Century” account!

An account needed identity verification. Even alternate accounts required it!

How could a dog like him have identity verification?

With just that bit of wishful thinking, he had “borrowed” Fang Zhao’s game account for a bit.

At first, he was simply curious. He just wanted to experience a little bit and then log out. As for everything that happened after… That wasn’t something that a dog could control.

He felt aggrieved and guilty. As he thought about his precious things that had been confiscated, Curly Hair’s weeping intensified.

However, Fang Zhao didn’t have any intention of consoling Curly Hair and even rolled up his sleeves.

1

“Come here!!”

2

…

At the seaside, Zuo Yu and Yan Biao were chatting while looking through entertainment news.

Zuo Yu: “I have a guess.”

Yan Biao: “Very well, me too.”

They met each other’s gaze and flashed a knowing grin.

They had seen the news all over the Internet. They had also seen the in-game videos. Combining it with the scene they had just witnessed in the house, how could they not guess who was playing as [AliveAfter500Years]?

Who would believe that the crazy point-sweeping demon was a dog?!

Who would believe it if this was leaked?

Who would believe that?!!

“Say, do you think he spoke human language when he was online or…”

“He didn’t say anything in the game. The mic was probably off.”

“Hey, if the mic wasn’t shut and he howled in game, would Boss’s public image change?”

Zuo Yu got excited thinking about such a situation.

“However, it hasn’t reached that stage. In any case, it hasn’t been proven that it was Boss playing. Do you think Boss will deny it?”

“[AliveAfter500Years] has a helmet, so nobody can see what he looks like. However, the distinctive pattern of the crazy point-sweeping demon is too obvious. There’s no denying it.”

The two of them were rather worried for Fang Zhao. Such a situation was really quite a headache.

As they were talking, there was an “awoo~” coming from the house.

The two of them tensed up.

They could hear such mournful dog cries despite being so far away. Had the dog beating started?

The conversation halted, and the two of them pricked up their ears and listened.

After a moment, another string of howls sounded.

Awoo Awoo Woo——

Awoo Awoo Woo——

The howls were more shrill this time, and they even followed a rhythm.

“The beating has started,” Yan Biao said with certainty.

“What weapon is Boss using to beat the dog?” Zuo Yu asked.

They recalled how this dog could bite apart a mecha, and how bullets seemed like tickles to it. What sort of weapon could inflict pain on Curly Hair?

Yan Biao pondered and shook his head. “I can’t think of any. Regardless of whatever weapon it is, I reckon it’s a very cruel beating from its wails.”

However, they weren’t sympathetic and even felt a little glad deep down.

The two of them only returned after Fang Zhao sent them a message. Nanfeng had come over to the island. On their way back, they were still trying to stabilize their mental state.

The howling had stopped. When Yan Biao and Zuo Yu returned to the house, they saw Curly Hair sobbing as he faced the wall.

They weren’t sure if they were mistaken, but they thought that the tear stains beneath Curly Hair’s eyes were much larger this time.

Nanfeng’s heart ached seeing Curly Hair crying with so much grief. He rubbed Curly Hair’s head and quietly asked Yan Biao, “Did Boss abuse the dog again?”

Yan Biao: ???

Again?

Dog abuse?

He thought that this sentence didn’t make much sense.

Yan Biao stared at Nanfeng with an indescribable look. In the end, he didn’t say anything.

Nanfeng didn’t bother to keep asking Yan Biao. In his eyes, Yan Biao and Zuo Yu weren’t too bright. They never had answers to his questions and lacked initiative. Only when their boss gave instructions did they go about to accomplish their tasks like wooden blocks.

These bodyguards wouldn’t have many future prospects!

Nanfeng sighed for his two colleagues and dropped the matter. After all, Curly Hair crying and facing the wall happened every once in a while. Curly Hair was merely crying a little harder this time, but it wasn’t a big deal.

Thus, Nanfeng placed the dog aside and hurriedly went to discuss some important matters with Fang Zhao. For example, was Fang Zhao really going to give up music and return to the competitive Esports scene?

This incident had caused a great ruckus online. Now, everyone was waiting for Fang Zhao to declare his position. Nanfeng had also received calls from many people. Even though it was worrying, he also reckoned that Fang Zhao had been too willful in this whole matter. However, he wouldn’t complain about it in front of his boss. Criticizing Fang Zhao was out of the question too.

Thus, Nanfeng first started flattering Fang Zhao with his monster-slaying feats in the game. He simply didn’t notice the sympathetic looks Yan Biao and Zuo Yu were giving him behind his back.

After unleashing this flattery, Nanfeng then expressed his own difficulties. The incident had been too sudden and he hadn’t had time to think about how to handle it. He was in a tough spot since he didn’t know Fang Zhao’s decision.

Fang Zhao replied, “I am not giving up music. Neither do I have any plans to return to the professional Esports scene.”

With this being said, Nanfeng understood.

“Alright, Boss. Then… what about the public’s questions?”

“I’ll handle them.”

It couldn’t be helped. Fang Zhao had no choice but to be the scapegoat.

That dog had actually dared cause such a big disturbance when he wasn’t paying attention!

Fang Zhao turned on a certain esports social media platform. There were “marvelous replays” of what had happened on the front page. They contained various clips of monsters being quickly slain. The main character in each of these videos was the same.

As he watched the “person” in-game stomp through beast lairs as if they were ant hives, Fang Zhao’s thoughts started to wander. This was his own dog!

If Curly Hair had really appeared during the Period of Destruction, would that century-long devastating war have concluded early?

But, when he thought about the complicated circumstances during the Period of Destruction…

The possibility of a Period of Destruction 2.0 seemed more likely.

1