Academy of Arts, Great Hall.

“This is our school’s signature architecture, which is the largest gathering area. It is usually used for large-scale events, and students from other schools will also rent it.”

Bu Yi led Lin Jie around the school campus like a qualified tour guide as she introduced him to every building, scenery, as well as gossips, such as some guy had dumped a car of roses somewhere in a fit of rage when he had gotten rejected by the prettiest girl in school, or some girl had been rescued from the water after she had wanted to break up and jumped in the water in the heat of the moment, and many more.

Girls possessed an innate talent of gossiping, and Lin Jie listened on with great interest and occasionally gave a comment or two of his own. Time passed by quickly during their exploration, and they were at the great hall at 21:00.

The hall was decorated lavishly, and the ceiling was filled with pink balloons. The ambiance was warm and cozy beneath the cast soft pink glow. Many boys and girls in their best formal attire were having enjoyable chats over some red wine. There was a huge stage in the middle of the hall, and ‘Happy Birthday Little Princess’ was written with special ink, carrying the aroma of sakura and milk.

Lin Jie was astonished. “Could it be that this ball is a birthday celebration for the little princess?”

“That’s right. She is the daughter of the principal, as well as my close friend. She is an adorable kid,” replied Bu Yi.

“Kid?”

“Yes, don’t question her age. it will trigger her.”

It was a large-scale gathering, so nobody there was too familiar with one another. Hence, Lin Jie did not feel too out of place and would often help Bu Yi by leaving a good impression on the girls and their partners that came to talk to them. Although Lin Jie always acted like a coarse rascal when he was with Zheng Ziliang, he still knew how to portray himself well in public and not losing Bu Yi’s face.

Boom—

There was a large sound from the stage as a huge balloon exploded in mid-air. A girl clad in a pink fairy costume hung from a wire as she gradually descended. She cheered enthusiastically, “Thank you for coming to my party, HOHO! Happy Birthday to me!”

“Happy Birthday!”

“Happy Birthday!”

The girl was around 1.4m tall with some baby fats on her chubby and fair cheeks—her features made her look like a child. No wonder Bu Yi told him not to question her age. Lin Jie would have treated her as a kid if he hadn’t known that this was her 20th birthday.

“Sister Ying! Hoho, you are here! This is great. I thought that you weren’t coming.” The little princess unstrapped the wires and dove to hug Bu Yi. She nudged her head excitedly before getting on her tippy toes and gave Bu Yi a kiss. She then turned to Lin Jie and smiled. “Hi there, you must be Sister Ying’s boyfriend.”

“Hello, Happy Birthday.” Lin Jie handed over the huge pink bear that they had prepared.

“It looks amazing. Thank you. Oh right, I will be going elsewhere with Grandpa, later on, you guys have fun, okay?” The girl giggled as a sweet smile hung from her face.

Following that, many students and teachers passed her their gifts, which all had a hefty price tag.

However, when the little girl accepted and set aside the various rings, necklaces, membership cards, etc., she was constantly hugging the pink bear that Lin Jie had only spent a couple hundred bucks on.

Soon, she left the hall, and the ball had officially begun.

Everyone had a dance partner, as those without would not have attended the event.

“Lin Jie, do you know how to dance?” asked Bu Yi cautiously.

“Is the yangko dance counted?” asked Lin Jie.

“Uh… I don’t think so. Come, let me teach you…” Bu Yi was about to teach how to dance to this hothead when a discordant voice sounded.

“Ms. Li Ying, may I have this dance with you?”

The man was Zhang Junyi. He wore a formal white suit as his velvety hair fell on his shoulders. He held out his right hand like a real gentleman as he asked Bu Yi.

“I am sorry, can’t you see that I already have a dance partner?” Bu Yi’s brows furrowed with displeasure.

“Mate, you don’t seem like you know how to dance. I suggest for you not to be a burden to our pretty girl. Let both of us put on a great show for everyone here.” Zhang Junyi turned and spoke to Lin Jie.

It was an insulting move to steal someone’s dance partner! Apparently, Zhan Junyi was trying to fix Lin Jie’s wagon, and he was well-prepared. Since Lin Jie had dared to call himself Codename Lone Wolf, the upcoming insults and contempt would be his own fault!

“Hey, Zhang Junyi, that’s really rude! He is my dance partner.” Bu Yi was exasperated as she replied, vexed, “How is this doing any good for you? Do you think that’s an honorable act?”

Soon enough, their commotion attracted others, and several students began to inch closer.

Some teachers also walked towards them as it was crucial to prevent any unexpected troubles. However, they grew helpless when they saw the one that was creating the commotion. Zhang Junyi was infamous in school, and his father was the school’s director. It was hard for people to put their noses into this business.

Zhang Junyi took a glance around and sneered. “This guy here claimed that he is Codename Lone Wolf, the leader of the City of Light. I cannot stand his boasting and bragging! We have PK facilities here, how about we have a fight right now?”

“You are nonsensical!” Bu Yi clenched her fist as she pulled on Lin Jie’s sleeve. “We will not stoop to your level, let’s go!”

“No worries.” Lin Jie patted Bu Yi’s shoulder and took a step forward with a smile. “He is clamorous, the more you hide, the more he will wag his tongue about! Alright, let’s have a quick fight and hype this place up.”

After saying that, Lin Jie approached the PK facilities in big strides. It seemed like it was a common sight for PK to occur in this Great Hall due to dignity and honor. There were even portable helmets and projectors here. It appeared that the Academy of Arts was pretty similar to his school in the sense that it was common to compete by PK-ing in The New Age.

Zhang Junyi’s heart dropped when he felt Lin Jie’s confidence.

‘Could he really be Codename Lone Wolf? Or is he one of Lone Wolf’s confidants? Based on Li Ying’s secluded life and her lack of social skills, their relationship must be something more! Plus, it’s rumored that Bu Yi is on very good terms with Codename Lone Wolf, could it be…’

“Hang on!” Zhang Junyi wanted to back out, but it was too late! He toughened up and said, “I hear that Lone Wolf’s commanding power is his strongest suit, and he will be in control of the situation in spite of any unexpected changes. How about we have a team battle? We will pick four people from the crowd and PK with our teams?”

Lin Jie laughed. “Got it!”

“Ding Chuan, Zhou Hai, Xi Maoguo, Zhang Hongwei, come and join me!” Zhang Junyi announced immediately, and many boos resounded throughout the crowd. These four fellows were his good buddies and were all equipped with great items!

On the other hand, the people that Lin Jie picked out were all noobs! They were only at Level 40. This wasn’t because Lin Jie was unlucky. Instead, not many dared to offend the notorious Zhang Junyi, so they chose to avoid the fight. Zhang Junyi chose the remaining ones on purpose.

“Let’s begin.” Lin Jie was not affected by it.

‘Activating the PK machine, scanning data…’

A war-godly figure began forming in a vast boundless desert! The man was covered in pitch-black armor, crimson cape, wolf helmet, and held the Broken Blade—it was Codename Lone Wolf in blood and flesh!

The PK machine was able to retrieve data from The New Age server for players to battle. However, since it was only a copy of the data, it would not affect the in-game stats.

“Lone Wolf…”

“He is Lone Wolf!”

“My idol, can I get your autograph later?”

“What autograph? Can I join your team?”

The crowd went mad as cheers and exclamations for Codename Lone Wolf resounded throughout the hall.

“F*ck!” Zhang Junyi’s face darkened, but he regained his composure soon. His teammates were all experts, while his opponents were four noobs. Did he really think that he was a legend that could carry four burdens? However, just to be safe, he shouted across, “Leader Lone Wolf, I have heard so much about you, but do you dare to take on the greatest challenge?”

Lin Jie smiled gently. “What do you mean?”

“The two of us will not attack. Instead, we will put our commanding abilities to the test. How about that?”

“How about I just stand here and let you attack?” Lin Jie laughed.

Zhang Junyi chuckled shamefully and failed to give a response as he did go overboard with that request.

However, Lin Jie added, “On second thought, that’s pretty interesting. Okay, let’s do that.”

“Hahaha, great!” Zhang Junyi was elated, and he began scanning the various players.

Zhang Junyi’s game ID was Passing by Her, and he was a Possession Summoner. Just like what its name suggested, he was capable of summoning monsters that would combine with him during battle.

Two of his teammates were Summoners, one a Priest, and the other a Paladin, all Level 50. With a mixture of Gold and Dark Gold equipment, they looked pretty powerful.

On the other hand, Lin Jie’s team was made up of 2 Bandits and 2 Weapon Specialists. They were around Level 40 and had Silver equipment. The comparison was stark, making them look exceptionally weak.

The gap between their abilities was huge!

If Lin Jie could join in the battle, he could have won with his power. However, now that he could only command, instead of battling, how would it be possible? Of course, Zhang Junyi wasn’t that shameless yet, and he said that the commanders could attack mid-battle through methods such as Buff provision, Pet Summoning, and so on.

This drew even more snickers from the crowd as Zhang Junyi was already a Summoner—the battle wouldn’t involve him anyway!

Nonetheless, the inequitable battle was set to begin.

Everyone couldn’t wait to see if the legendary Codename Lone Wolf was really that powerful.

Lin Jie only had a simple thought running through his brain—to help Bu Yi get rid of these pests!

“Battle, start!”

The system’s announcement was cool and detached, and once the voice sounded, Zhang Junyi summoned several floundering monsters and shouted, “Go!”

“Brothers, go forth,” instructed Lin Jie.

“Leader Lone Wolf… we….” His teammates’ complexion turned pale as they were aware they had been selected to be cannon fodder. They said helplessly, “Sorry, we are probably going to bring shame to you.”

“He will be the one that’s losing his face. Listen to me, three on the left, one on the right, go!” Lin Jie’s anger grew when he saw their lack of confidence. “Are you guys going to move? I barely say anything when the others beg for me to command, are you guys going to disgrace me?”