Chapter 69: Prejudice Is a Mountain

His daughter had always played games and never attended any cram schools, yet her grades were excellent. She wasn’t the top of her class, but she was certainly among the top group, and in the entire grade, she was within the first tier as well. That was already quite impressive.

Yi Shou sighed with admiration. “It seems you’re quite skilled at raising your daughter.”

The boss shook his head, replying, “I wouldn’t say I’m particularly skilled. At most, I just carve out some time and patiently guide her.”

Patience…

That was a crucial factor, and the boss knew well that educating a child required patience. Nowadays, though, parents—at least those exposed online—clearly lacked it. Yi Shou wasn’t sure about those he encountered in person, but what he saw on the internet confirmed an absence of patience.

In this impatient society, the parents themselves had become impatient, and so they demanded their children be the same. They didn’t focus on the long-term, nor did they tailor their approach to their child’s strengths. Even if their child’s talent in football was unmatched and their academic aptitude was poor, they still insisted the child study diligently.

Yi Shou remarked, “Honestly, if it weren’t for you, I’d have developed a bias against many parents nowadays.”

The boss let out a long sigh. “That’s normal. Prejudice is like a mountain. All I can do is help a few people become the Foolish Old Man who moves the mountain, but that’s the extent of what I can manage. I hope for a world without prejudice, but I know it’s impossible. After all, we are human…”

Yi Shou nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true.”

He was about to say more when a customer arrived, prompting the boss to leave straightaway.

With the boss gone, Yi Shou couldn’t continue the conversation, but he enjoyed a bit of quiet. Alone, he slowly ate his meal. Just as he was finishing, the boss’s daughter—Xiao Xue—and the boy who always accompanied her appeared.

Yi Shou glanced at the boy, and after eating his last bite without hurry, he went to settle the bill and leave. The whole process was swift and smooth, without a hint of hesitation.

“Hey, Brother Wang, wait a moment,” the boss called out as Yi Shou was about to leave, taking a spare moment from his busy schedule. After all, Yi Shou had been eating there for some time, so the boss knew his name.

Yi Shou stopped, turned his head, and asked, “Is something the matter?”

The boss quickly pulled his daughter over, faced Yi Shou, and said with a smile, “Here’s the thing: you mentioned you play ‘Digital Source World,’ right? My daughter plays it too. If possible, I hope you could look after her in the game.”

Xiao Xue looked at Yi Shou, her eyes shining. “Oh, you play ‘Digital Source World’ as well? What’s your in-game name? I’ll add you as a friend!”

“My name in the game is Yi Shou. But I wouldn’t recommend logging in right now. If you really want to play, I suggest you check the game section on the Digital Beast Company’s official site first.” After saying this, Yi Shou nodded to the three of them and took his leave.

“Digital Source World” had just reopened at two o’clock this afternoon, and not long after, there was a sneak attack incident. Xiao Xue was likely still at school during that time, so Yi Shou assumed she was unaware. He wanted to warn her, lest she naively logged in, stepped out of the safe zone, and got wiped out.

The game’s death mechanics hadn’t changed; if you died, your account would be wasted.

“Oh, got it,” Xiao Xue replied, but by then Yi Shou had already turned to leave and didn’t see her nod. Still, her ears seemed to twitch slightly, as if she’d heard him.

Back in his room, Yi Shou glanced at his exercise equipment, ignored it, and went to the sofa, opening his laptop to check recent developments.

He looked over the forums several times but found no new discussions or trends, just the same content as before.

Sitting quietly on the sofa, he gazed at the laptop, contemplated for a moment, then shut it and began his workout. This time, he had no intention of logging into the game. Things had been too intense lately; it was best to avoid those people’s active hours as much as possible. Yi Shou planned to adjust his routine.

Daytime was out of the question. Given their activity frequency, logging in then would make him an easy target for another ambush. If possible, he wanted to shift his playtime to late night.

Of course, there were still players online in the early hours. For example, their server re-opened at two in the afternoon, but on the other side of the world, it was already two in the morning. When Yi Shou was ambushed, people over there were being ambushed too. Even as people posted about it, others elsewhere did the same. Clearly, night owls were never scarce, and this trait didn’t change with geography.

Still, as the night wore on, most would eventually go to sleep, reducing the number of encounters and the likelihood of being ambushed. Most importantly, Yi Shou had deduced that the ambush probably happened because he cleared a dungeon for the first time.

If he quietly ran dungeons, didn’t chase records, and wasn’t doing a first clear, who would know he was in a dungeon? As for whether anyone knew he was online—aside from friends, no one really had that ability. Yi Shou’s friend list was empty.

Yes, from the very beginning, he’d never added any friends. Since there was no mandatory requirement, he hadn’t bothered. Even with Flower Sprite Beast, whom he’d teamed up with twice and met three times, he hadn’t added her as a friend.

This decision had made him a transparent figure. As long as he avoided the ambushers’ attention, he was unlikely to be discovered. So, Yi Shou had no plans to log in for now.