㈤ gaming company

@❀┊jiang shao fei ᵒ Walking besides Jake, Baekhyun trailed his gaze towards where the former pointed, quirking his lips in response as his companion copied the character's pose. Jake's liveliness almost made Baekhyun regret bringing him to the company; heck, Baekhyun even doubted he was in the right mind accepting the other's request to hang out again. The staff appeared in no time and explained the rules of the game while Baekhyun listened intently. Finally, the controllers were handed over to the mismatched pair. Baekhyun clucked his tongue at Jake's cheekiness. "If you're not willing to pay close attention to the explanation, prepare to die," he commented dryly.

He scrolled through the character selection, viewing their powers and taking in their stats. Ice, telekinesis, flight, water, healing, light... "Everyone has a guiding light in their life, Baekhyun," his father said one night, as the family sat after dinner. "This could be one's purpose; their mission in life; what they fight for, or it could be their salvation: something --- someone --- who shaped them; who set them on the path they are on today." His mother clasped her hands together, face contorted into one of grief. "Your brother was our light. B-before t-that-" Her hands shook visibly. Baekhyun's eyes rounded at the trembles. He looked to his father for an explanation, yet got none. Confused, he reached over the table and placed a tiny hand upon his mother's, only to be rejected by her drawing back. His father placed a comforting hand around her shoulder. She in a sharp breath, composing herself. "And now, let him be your light, Baekhyun-ah. Avenge him, Baekhyun-ah! Hunt down those vermin! Every single last one; those furry devils!" Her brown orbs melted holes in him.

"The game has started! Good luck!" The staff announced as the game's music played, Jake's and his chosen characters appearing on screen.

Baekhyun pressed the buttons on his controller. His gaze flitted across the screen as the characters travelled the city, occasionally coming across NPCs and in-game villains. Baekhyun stabbed at the buttons hastily in attempts to level up his power of light manipulation, paying no attention to his companion beside him and tuning out the random cheers from the staff. Baekhyun was absorbed in the game; he didn't expect to have this much fun with another --- it reminded him of the bowling match he had with the unnamed alpha. He narrowed his eyes as they were pulled into yet another match. Baekhyun adapted his character's moves to Jake's, both working cohesively to defeat the villains and increase their stats.

Time passed by quickly, and the game ended. Both Jake's and his character were elected the co-mayors of the city. Baekhyun thumped the other's back in delight.

@人┊byun baekhyun ʰ Jake walked around and took a look around the building. The buildings in Hangshui were indeed different, they are so brightly lit, so classy, they are tall, and indeed very heavy on technology. It's really different from back at Yunmeng. If only, they are taught more about technology things, he might be able to think of ways to put them into the pack training. He looked at Baekhyun with a huge smile when the other shared that he didn't have any idea about this game. That's perfect! They will be starting on the same starting line. "Oh! This is really cool! Look at this Baekhyun!" he let out a bright smile and immediately pulled the other to the huge display screen, showing the trailer of the game.

"Woah! Look at the powers! The characters are really cute and beautiful! Oh oh! Do I look like her?" he chuckles as he pointed to the huge character board at the side, following the little pose that the character was standing. He was walking around and looking around until he heard the voices of the staff.

"Hello There! Thank you for coming on board to our game trial! Our CEO, Lan Yibo is not available today and his lover is out too, so we are here to guide you along with the game! This game is an RPG game, is a new format that we are trying, as you can see the characters, each of them have their own powers and your aim is to master the powers and fight to protect your city!"

The staff continued to explain the basic set-up, showing how to master, activate and also battle. However, his words were slowly drifted out as Jake continued to think about the name, Lan Yibo. Lan Yibo Lan Yibo... that name... His eyes widen and immediately frown. Lan Yibo! The second in command for Gusu Lan! His mate was Lan Zhan, previously a caretaker in Yunmeng Jiang. ! He needs to quickly finish the game trial, he can't stay here much longer, what if the two of them are back and recognise him as the general for Yunmeng Jiang? That is a huge nono!

"Are you guys ready for the game? The trial will take a maximum of 1.5 hours!"

His eyes widen and immediately covered his shock with a playful chuckle. "It sounds really confusing for me... But I'm sure this nice gentleman, Baekhyun, here will guide me!" he chuckles and grins playfully.

@❀┊jiang shao fei ᵒ () bruh assume that the older brother said "tag! you're it!" to baek ajkskskak can't believe i missed that line

@❀┊jiang shao fei ᵒ Baekhyun shook his head in response to the other's question, not having played before the games released by the company. He was suddenly pulled back to his younger days, back to one of the few moments when he had interacted with his fellow neighbourhood children. He had had to slink out of his house when they were preoccupied. He and four others, among which were two siblings, played tag in the open field that day. It was one of their favourite games, for it cost no money and let them temporarily escape their lives. Baekhyun ran as fast as his tiny legs could take him --- away from his parents' unyielding temper, away from their harsh training, away from the inexorable punishment they had threatened him with had he went outside again instead of training. He felt a light shove against his shoulder. Baekhyun stopped and turned around, pouting when he saw his catcher. "But you're not it!" he argued. The catcher beamed and ruffled his hair. "Doesn't matter, she's my little sister, and I'll aid her in any way I can!" He then ran the opposite direction, catching his sister's hand and pulling her away from the new "it", Baekhyun. He kicked the ground helplessly, feeling desperately envious of the little girl at that moment. If only he had his older brother around to help him as well. Except the little girl and one other boy, Baekhyun was shorter than the rest. He couldn't run fast too; the girl had her older brother protecting her, and the boy was a speed runner. Baekhyun would certainly be the last catcher.

Jake's pull snapped Baekhyun out of his memory. He didn't know why he had suddenly recalled that particular event, but he supposed that was what older brothers did: spoil their younger siblings, even at the cost of themselves losing. However, Baekhyun wouldn't need to give Jake a handicap, seeing that neither of them knew what they were in for. He followed Jake deeper into the building. "I cannot do so. I only knew that this is a gaming company and that they have a test area open to the public when I received their flyer." Their footsteps echoed off the shiny marble floors. Baekhyun scanned his surroundings. "Perhaps someone will come to guide us."

@人┊byun baekhyun ʰ () Thank you~!! ^^ Awww!!

Going to Hangshui was a really scary experience for Shao Fei. He didn't expect Hangshui to be so close to Gusu and that he has to go past Gusu before going to Hangshui. Being the general of Yunmeng, the leaders in Gusu Lan might recognise him but seems like Baekhyun is really familiar with the area that they were far away from Gusu Lan, there is no one who is able to recognise him when he is in the Jake outfit. Baekhyun has been really nice to him, he constantly will be talking to the other, making friends with them. He was surprised when Baekhyun suggested stopping a hotel to refreshen up.

His eyes widen when he looked up at the building. Jia Shi does have some high buildings but not like this. It feels like he is stepping into a brand new world. He turned to look at Baekhyun with a huge smile, "I have not tried their game before! What about you? You got to say no, so we can have a fair competition! But if you know the game, you got to give me a handicap!" he let out a soft laugh before pulling Baekhyun into Ayusoft.

"Tell me more about this game and the company!"

@❀┊jiang shao fei ᵒ (( time skip + magical teleportation?? :D ))

Baekhyun stood outside the gaming company with Jake. The pair had took a day and then a couple more travelling through Gusu Lan. From his multiple traverses, Baekhyun had noted a path quite away from the Lan wolves, and they had little interaction with the population --- a good thing for them both. The night before arrival, Baekhyun and Jake had stopped over at a small hotel. Just to refresh themselves. He looked over at his companion. "Ready to go in?" he asked.