The Boss Behind The Game
Chapter 89: An Manman

During the battle with the Steel Hammer’s navy, the players had lost about a hundred warships of the guild level and hundreds of Specter Warships.

The players had experienced the power of the Sea King Navy through this battle, and had also realized that they had a long way to go before they were able to confront the Sea King Navy.

However, the price of the materials in the auction house had increased again due to the naval war. Consequently, many players could not afford to purchase the spiritual materials they needed.

At this instant, a post caught everyone’s attention.

“Are you looking for spiritual materials? Come and log at North Rocks. The Tree Demons here all contain spiritual materials.”

Two videos were attached to the post.

In the first video, several players were fighting a Tree Demon, and they managed to kill the Tree Demon owing to their perfect teamwork. The dead Tree Demon left behind a branch that was glowing in emerald green.

At the bottom of the video was a screenshot of the item’s attributes.

[Tree Demon Wood (Level 2 spiritual material)]: The body essence of the Tree Demon can be used for many purposes, such as healing and alchemy.

In the second video, a few players were summoning a private Specter Ship, and placed the Tree Demon Wood next to it.

The Specter Ship was seen slowly drawing in the Tree Demon Wood before a chewing sound echoed within the ship. The experience bar that was floating above the deck of the Specter ship in the video began to glide forward.

At the end of the video, the player who posted the video made a comment.

“Aren’t you all looking for spiritual materials? There are so many Tree Demons and spiritual materials at the North Rocks. What are you waiting for? Young men who want to make boats, grab your axe and chop down the trees!”

The technical post had created a commotion among the players. The post was followed by positive comments from players, complimenting the original author.

This time, the players turned their target toward North Rocks before the start of the naval war. Many players put in a strenuous effort to cut the trees and upgrade their ships.

……

That day, Lu Wu was feeding Bei Li when he received an unexpected phone call.

Aside from messages that were demanding a payment option, Lu Wu would usually not receive any calls on his phone. He was a little surprised when his phone rang at this time.

After he took out his phone from his pocket, a woman’s picture appeared on the phone screen. The name ‘An Manman’ was displayed.

At the sight of the name, the image of a cheerful teenage girl came to Lu Wu’s mind.

An Manman and Lu Wu were neighbors in childhood and their families shared a close relationship. Therefore, they had been good friends since they were young.

However, An Manman’s family was offered an opportunity and they moved out of Indigo City when Lu Wu was in primary school.

Coincidentally, An Manman and Lu Wu ended up in the same university again before they discovered their past friendship during an off-game meetup.

Lu Wu and An Manman were polar opposites, but they made a pair of good friends. An Manman was also one of the very few friends of Lu Wu.

“Hey, Dog Daddy! Are you asleep yet? Let’s have some fun if you’re still awake!” a clear and sweet female voice sounded from the other side of the phone.

“What fun can we possibly have? It’s midnight already,” Lu Wu was flustered.

“Brother, I’m finally here in Indigo City, and I called you as soon as I got off the plane. I’m going to punch you if this is how you’re going to speak to me!” An Manman lowered her volume on purpose as if she was threatening him.

“Where are you? I’ll come and pick you up,” Lu Wu glanced at his watch. Although he was bewildered, he agreed to meet up with her.

Lu Wu did not have many friends, but he cherished every one of them. When he found out that An Manman was in Indigo City, he decided to catch up with her.

“I’m right in front of the cinema next to the airport. Hurry up. I’m really hungry and waiting for you to treat me to a great meal!” An Manman laughed on the other end.

“It’ll take me more than two hours to get there. It’s better for you to occupy yourself with something else first.”

“Okay! I’ll wait for you!”

After he hung up the call, Lu Wu looked at Bei Li, who was glaring at him. He felt a sudden menacing aura.

“I want to come, too!” Bei Li said as she stared at Lu Wu.

“I’m going to pick up a friend. We’re not going to a theme park…” Lu Wu explained.

“I’ll protect you from danger!”

Upon hearing her words, Lu Wu turned expressionless.

He knew about Bei Li’s power. Apart from doing research and eating, Bei Li was a poor warrior. He could not say for sure who was going to protect who later.

“Stay here and wait for my return!” Lu Wu comforted the irritated Bei Li before he left the house.

Lu Wu had to grab a taxi since he owned no vehicle.

He quickly hopped in a taxi. The driver was quiet as music was playing on the radio, reminding him of many nostalgic moments.

In fact, An Manman did not invent the name Dog Daddy without a good reason.

They went to the same kindergarten. During that time, an incident left a lasting impression on An Manman.

And that incident haunted Lu Wu for the rest of his life.

When they were in kindergarten, the teachers were teaching them to avoid any physical contact between opposite genders. They were told that they would get pregnant if a boy kissed a girl.

At that time, Lu Wu believed the teacher unreservedly.

One day, Lu Wu accidentally kissed a pregnant dog in the kindergarten while he was playing with it. The next day, the female dog delivered a puppy.

Witnessed by An Manman, Lu Wu vowed to the female dog and the puppy, “As long as I have food, you will never be hungry! I swear on my life!”

The vow had become one of Lu Wu’s biggest jokes to An Manman. It was also the most embarrassing event that he would always try to forget but couldn’t.

Two hours later, Lu Wu arrived at the cinema before he gave An Manman a call.

“Manman, I’m here. Where are you?”

“Dog Daddy, give me another ten minutes. The movie’s reaching its climax!” the uncaring An Manman said. Meanwhile, Lu Wu could hear the noises from a fight in the movie over the phone.

Lu Wu was frustrated as it had taken him two hours to reach here. Yet, An Manman was watching a movie.

However, since An Manman had come all the way to Indigo City, he decided to keep this grudge for later.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, the audience began to exit the cinema as the movie had ended.

A tall woman, who was wearing a beautiful smile, waved at Lu Wu as she held a bucket of popcorn in her left hand.

Greeted by a familiar face, Lu Wu smiled and walked up to her.

“It’s been a long time since we last met, Dog Daddy. It seems like you haven’t changed much,” An Manman grinned ear to ear as she looked at Lu Wu.

“You’ve grown prettier but unfortunately your personality hasn’t changed,” Lu Wu replied with a saracastic smile.

A wave of familiarity washed over them causing the estrangement that grew from their prolonged separation to gradually fade away.

Knowing that An Manman had not had her dinner, Lu Wu searched for a nearby eatery.

However, it was already three in the morning. Other than the cinema, all the shops were already closed. They had no choice but to find a restaurant as they walked around the city.

They laughed heartily as they recalled the funny incidents that happened in the past. They enjoyed this moment greatly.

“Oh yes… what movie did you watch just now?”

An Manman tossed some popcorn into her mouth. She replied as she chewed on the popcorn, “The Avengers. It was released not long ago, and it’s pretty popular. But, I wasn’t moved by it because I couldn’t really grasp the movie.”

“Perhaps it’s because you haven’t watched the other Marvel movies. That’s why you can’t grasp the movie,” Lu Wu chuckled.

“Perhaps. But, I have a question. If the villains are so powerful, why didn’t Superman and Batman join the Avengers during the fight?”

Lu Wu was dumbstruck.

He read An Manman’s face and realized that she was not joking. Therefore, he had to explain.

“They are movies from different companies. One is Marvel and the other one is DC.”

“The job to save the earth depends on which company they work for? Can’t they work together?” An Manman was surprised, too.

Lu Wu was tired of explaining. He was talking about reality, and An Manman clearly thought that he was talking about the forces in the movie.

Nevertheless, Lu Wu explained the relationship between Marvel and DC in detail, and An Manman finally understood the situation.

They continued walking like this, and their journey was filled with laughter.

In the end, they couldn’t even find a food stall, so they decided to skip the meal.

Initially, Lu Wu intended to let her crash at his place as there was still an empty room available.

However, An Manman told him that she had an important appointment tomorrow. Disappointed, Lu Wu did not persist.

After sending An Manman back to the hotel where she had reserved a room, the weary Lu Wu headed home.