He pressed on, “Boss, just take me to run the dungeon, I promise I’ll behave.”

Ethan Grant said, “Alright.”

He hadn’t planned to play this as a single-player game on an official server anyway; he’d wanted to find someone to team up with for dungeons.

But now, with such a newbie in tow and not knowing if the other would cause trouble, he decided to run it himself first, just to be safe and not drag others down.

But there was one question he needed to clarify.

He asked, “Are you over ten years old?”

Chris Foster replied, “Yes.”

Ethan Grant asked, “How old?”

Chris Foster answered without hesitation, “Sixteen.”

Ethan Grant nodded; the voice matched the age.

But this was a system voice, and with the internet between them, who knew if the person on the other end was human or a dog? It could even be some creepy uncle deliberately choosing a young boy’s voice.

He said, “If I find out you’re lying to me, you’re done for.”

Chris Foster chuckled and replied, “Mm.”

Ethan Grant sent a team invite and led him toward a nearby dungeon.

The small town’s buildings were black and white, the ground paved with gray cobblestones, and the streets and central square were planted with swathes of icy blue plants. It didn’t look gloomy at all—on the contrary, it was stunningly beautiful.

The dungeon was inside the grand hall at the town center. Talking to the NPC inside would teleport you in.

Chris Foster followed him across the square, a bit surprised when he saw he wasn’t calling for more people. “Boss, just the two of us?”

Ethan Grant said, “Yeah.”

Chris Foster put on a convincing act, “Is… is that really going to work?”

Ethan Grant replied, “It’ll work.”

In his bleak closed beta days, he’d soloed this dungeon before.

It was kind of sad, really—after playing for so long, this was only his second time teaming up for a dungeon, and both times were with the same class. Looking at the Dark Nethermaster beside him, memories of the last dungeon flashed through his mind, and he casually added, “Don’t worry, Daddy will carry you.”

Chris Foster couldn’t help but laugh, playing along, “Alright, boss, go for it! I’ll be your hype man.”

The fans just snickered.

This level 15 dungeon was one of the hardest among all low-level five-man dungeons. If you didn’t have real skills, you’d never make it through. Don’t brag too much or you’ll end up eating your words—let’s see who’s carrying whom in a bit.

“Acting like a newbie” wasn’t about pretending the whole time; you act clueless at first, then show off your skills later. The fun part was seeing how bystanders’ attitudes and reactions changed.

They were all rubbing their hands in anticipation, waiting for their idol to get put in his place.

Ethan Grant heard him cheer “6” and immediately thought of that guy, wondering why he had to play Dark Nethermaster of all things.

He asked, “Warlord and Swordmaster are both good for beginners. Why are you playing this class?”

“Because it’s awesome,” Chris Foster said. “And I’m a fan of Captain Fang—he plays Dark Nethermaster.”

Since he rarely streamed, he decided to add a bit of entertainment, and said with a smile, “Boss, do you watch the competitions? Do you know Captain Fang? He’s won tons of championships—not only is he skilled, he’s also the best-looking. Oh, and he really spoils his fans. Totally worth stanning him.”

The chat went silent for a moment, then exploded.

“Hahahahaha!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.”

“You sound just like us when we’re recommending him to our friends.”

“Say it again—he spoils his fans?”

“He disappears for half a year at a time, never shows his face on stream, and you call that spoiling fans?”

“God, when are you going to release a guide for the full-immersion mode? We’re waiting!”

Ethan Grant didn’t have much of a reaction to all this, and even took the initiative to ask, “What’s he like as a person?”

Chris Foster replied, “He’s really great.”

He recalled the fans’ comments and casually picked a few, like “elegant and noble, gentle and polite, neither arrogant nor impatient”—basically, a saint.

Ethan Grant stared at him for a couple of seconds, then couldn’t help himself: “You’re blind for someone so young.”

Chris Foster: “……”

The fans: “……”

Chris Foster asked, “Boss, do you know him?”

Ethan Grant said, “No.”

It was just that last time in the dungeon, he could tell that guy was really skilled. Remembering all the questions he’d been asked the first time they met, he suspected it might be Chris Foster himself, but he’d never confirmed it.

Chris Foster put on a pitiful, childish voice, “Then why do you say I’m blind?”

Ethan Grant said, “You’ve got too much of a fan filter.”

Chris Foster said, “He’s just that perfect in my heart.”

Ethan Grant said, “As long as you’re happy.”

As he spoke, he remembered something. “I’ve seen his statue. There are two letters, JX, after his ID—does that stand for Jingxing?”

Chris Foster said, “Yeah.”

Ethan Grant asked, “The phrase ‘lofty as a mountain, dignified in conduct’—why is it pronounced ‘Jingxing’?”

Actually, he’d wanted to ask the first time he saw it, but since he’d claimed to be a fan then, it didn’t seem appropriate. Later, he forgot about it, and only remembered today after meeting a real fan.

Chris Foster had been asked this many times before, and replied, “Because his family thought ‘xing’ sounded nice, so they always called him that. Just think of it as taking the first and third characters from ‘Jingxing xingzhi.’”

Ethan Grant responded with an “Oh,” satisfied.

The two of them entered the grand hall to find the NPC and entered the dungeon.