Chapter 077: The Handsome Young Lady

In 2001, aside from the miraculous rise of the game "Mir," the world still belonged to single-player games. "Diablo II: Lord of Destruction," "Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal," and "Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge" were all released that year, and soon domestic Chinese versions appeared, quickly becoming the mainstay games in internet cafés. Along with "Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness," "StarCraft," "Half-Life: Counter-Strike," and other titles, these games brought a rich computer-versus-player experience to the vast community of internet users.

Though the rise of the internet gradually pushed these games toward either online versions or obscurity, classics remain classics, their brilliance undimmed by the passage of time.

At least for Zhang Tan, he was finding endless joy in playing them.

He was immersed in "Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge." Red Alert was easy to pick up, and for Zhang Tan, any game that could be operated with one hand and didn’t require much mental effort was a good game. Red Alert was effortlessly a good game.

Yuri's Revenge could be played online or in single-player mode.

Li Dong, as soon as he entered the internet café, dove straight into "Mir," leaving Zhang Tan to choose a single-player game.

Single-player mode offered two options: a skirmish mode against the computer, and a new campaign mode with missions to clear. Skirmish, simply put, was a battle between the player and the computer, divided by different nations. Each had a main base; you built your base, mined resources, amassed troops and tanks, and ultimately, whoever developed fastest would win in a decisive clash.

There were three factions and ten countries. The Allied faction included America, Britain, France, Germany, and Korea, each with its unique unit: American Paratroopers, British Snipers, French Grand Cannons, German Tank Destroyers, and Korean Black Eagles. The Soviet faction consisted of the Soviet Union, Cuba, Libya, and Iraq, with their own special units: Soviet Magnet Tanks, Cuban Terrorists, Libyan Demolition Trucks, and Iraqi Radiation Troopers.

Finally, there was the standalone Yuri faction. In-game, Yuri was the chief manager of the Soviet army, a scientist who betrayed them and later established his own Yuri nation, capable of psychic control to turn enemy units into his own. His signature unit was the "Yuri X."

Each country had its strengths, but Zhang Tan preferred playing the Allies, especially America.

The Allies could produce American soldiers, whose special unit, the paratroopers, were delivered continuously by planes.

American soldiers had a defensive stance: holding their position, stacking sandbags around themselves, and becoming formidable in defense, attack, and range—true gatekeepers. If they killed enough enemies to reach level three, they became even more formidable, cutting down foes with ease. Most importantly, American soldiers were cheap—only 200 bucks each.

Choosing America meant a constant supply of free paratroopers.

The hardest part of this game was the early stages; the computer developed incredibly fast, sending troops before the player had built their fourth structure. Thus, with the Allies’ defensive prowess, surviving the early game was easy. Stationing five or six American soldiers at key choke points, adding two heavy anti-air infantry, plus two or three Grizzly tanks as shields, made for perfect defense.

Of course, every unit had its nemesis. The nemesis of the American soldiers was the British sniper.

British snipers were a sort of bug—killing from afar, one shot per target. No matter how many American soldiers guarded the base, they’d die one after another, never even glimpsing the sniper before perishing with a scream.

Once the American soldiers were dead, the home base was left unprotected, and a game-over was inevitable.

To deal with snipers, you either rolled in tanks or relied on attack dogs, but either way, when the snipers came, it meant a whole squad of American soldiers was doomed.

All in all, "Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge" was a simple yet entertaining single-player game.

Zhang Tan played with variety, starting from easy mode, progressing to brutal, switching from America to Britain, then to the Soviets, then to Yuri, trying each in turn. He also toggled the advanced weapon mode, allowing production of massive destructive weapons such as Lightning Storms, Nuclear Strikes, Invincible Shields, Chrono Transports, and so on.

The battle raged into the night; he ordered instant noodles and sausage.

After eating, he continued his campaign.

Skirmishes no longer posed any challenge for Zhang Tan, so he began the new campaign mode.

There were seven missions in the new campaign, from Earth all the way to the Moon. But the campaign progressed slowly, and by the time Zhang Tan was rampaging against Yuri’s forces on the Moon with his rocket troops, dawn had already broken.

Without realizing it, he had spent the entire night playing Yuri’s Revenge.

"Damn, I’ve played for so long… Li Dong, time to go." Zhang Tan stood up and stretched, feeling sticky on his face and head. That was one downside of internet cafés—the heavy radiation made people oily.

Li Dong was still battling in "Mir," not even looking up. "Don’t rush. Let me play a bit longer."

"Alright, you keep playing. I’m heading back for a nap. See you."

...

He hadn’t slept long; by eleven o’clock, Zhang Tan was up again. He needed to go downtown in the afternoon to buy some things. But first, he had to visit the Medical University to treat his sister, Zhang Yan, and her classmates to a meal, as previously arranged.

"Yan, so this is your writer brother?"

In the restaurant’s private room, all three of Zhang Yan’s dorm mates had arrived. The one speaking was Jiang Qinqin, who wore glasses and had a slightly crooked mouth. The other two were Li Cai, with a neat ear-length bob and a sharp, capable look, and Han Jun, petite and less than 1.6 meters tall, with delicate, exquisite features.

Han Jun—a distinctly masculine name. Her parents had hoped for a boy, since both worked for the government and only dared have one child. They’d even chosen the name in advance. When a girl arrived, out of frustration, they didn’t bother thinking up a new name and just called her Han Jun.

Zhang Yan’s three dorm mates were all familiar to Zhang Tan; he’d gotten along well with them in his previous life.

Especially Han Jun, whose beauty was captivating—petite and exquisite, with a shy and delicate demeanor that could stir any man’s heart.

"Yes, this is my brother, Zhang Tan." Of course, Zhang Yan didn’t know that Zhang Tan already knew her roommates, so she introduced them one by one. "Zhang Tan, this is Jiang Qinqin—you can call her Sister Jiang. This is Li Cai, call her Sister Li. And this is Han Jun..."

Zhang Tan quickly chimed in, "I know, Sister Jun."

"Haha, Yan, your brother is really smart—he guessed Jun’s nickname right away. Such a coincidence!" Jiang Qinqin laughed easily, perhaps to mask the slight crookedness of her mouth.

Han Jun blushed and lowered her head, embarrassed both by her masculine name and the nickname "Sister Jun." In the village, girls praised for their looks were often called "Sister Jun" or "This child is really Jun." Her nickname carried a hint of self-praise, even if she truly was beautiful.

"Zhang Tan, don’t be cheeky—just call her Sister Han."

Zhang Yan still wasn’t quite used to Zhang Tan’s bold, easy-going demeanor. She hadn’t interacted much with the reborn Zhang Tan—only met him a few times. Her memories lingered on the timid, cowardly brother who liked to tease her. Even though Zhang Tan had given her money a few times and acted grown-up, Zhang Yan couldn’t adjust immediately.

"Alright." Zhang Tan smiled gently, looking at the three women. "Sister Jiang, Sister Li, Sister Jun—no, Sister Han—and big sister, order whatever you like, dinner’s on me today. Oh, do you drink?"