Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 672 - 670 Hot Pot
"What's wrong with society these days? I can barely play a game without getting constantly flamed by teammates. Seriously, old values are lost."
Li Ang frowned, placed his phone face down on the table, and continued to idle in his game.
This was a hot pot restaurant.
On a rare weekend, Li Ang and Wang Congshan were out for a hot pot meal.
The latter, citing her diet, insisted on a clear broth.
Left with no choice, Li Ang had to opt for a split pot with both clear and spicy broths as a compromise. He even told the class president a ghost story about the 'double-flavor pot' being akin to a 'yin-yang pot' used in rituals, earning him an eye-roll from Wang Congshan.
These people will go to any lengths to stop out-of-towners from ordering only clear broth. So devious.
While waiting for the server to bring their food, Wang Congshan leaned on the table, stretched out her left arm, and pointed her index finger at Li Ang, who sat opposite her. She wore an expression of utter exhaustion.
"What's wrong? You look so drained."
Li Ang calmly took a sip of orange juice and remarked casually.
"HUUUH..."
Wang Congshan let out a long sigh, slowly straightened up, and sat back. Her eyes were hollow as she murmured incessantly, "Finals... mock exams... first mock... second mock... third mock..."
As one of the top public high schools in Yin City, the academic pressure at Experimental High School was naturally immense. With final exams approaching, students heading into their senior year faced a barrage of mock examinations. They were already burdened with heavy coursework and had to carve out time every day for physical exercise to strengthen their bodies. Now, with exam week upon them, they were grinding through practice papers until they felt nauseous.
"Someone like you will never understand..."
Wang Congshan's eyes gradually regained focus, her gaze shifting to Li Ang with a look of jealous resentment.
This guy either slept all day or hid behind a fortress of books, having eraser battles, reading comics, making small crafts with a penknife, or blowing spit bubbles.
Yet, his grades were rock-solid; she had never seen him panic.
Damn it!
Wang Congshan gnashed her teeth, holding two chopsticks in her mouth like tusks and gnawing on them, resembling an angry wild boar.
"Aced."
The sound of a team wipe emanated from Li Ang's phone.
The five opponents had pushed down the crystal. As the crystal shattered, the match concluded. It was a match where, right from the hero selection phase, one of his own teammates had been spewing colorful language, furiously berating allies for their 'terrible' hero picks.
"Oh, it's over."
Li Ang picked up his phone and pondered for a moment. Then, with a sudden touch of melancholy, he said, "That player has retired. He's no longer seen on the competitive stage.
"My youth has ended. What's the point of keeping this game anymore?
"Let it all fade away with the wind.
"I am but a remnant of a bygone era; the new age has no vessel to carry me."
With that, Li Ang pressed and held the game icon.
Uninstall "Honor of Kings"?
Yes.
What was that?
Across the table, Wang Congshan blinked, hesitating as she was about to speak.
He even messes up uninstalling? Right, *he's* the one who'd pick Great Meteor at level one and use Teleport and Flash just to chip away at tower plating.
Forget it, I'm too busy to play this game now anyway, so it's fine if it's gone.
"DING. Your meal has arrived."
A silver delivery robot rolled up with the hot pot ingredients. The server retrieved stacks of food items from the robot's compartments and placed them on the table.
These delivery robots currently served more to make the restaurant look cool and upscale; they hadn't actually replaced the servers' jobs.
However, it was said that the United States and Europe had begun large-scale application of robot labor across various industries: in-restaurant delivery, external takeaway delivery, taxi drivers, long-haul truck drivers, accountants, insurance salespeople, bank clerks, farmers, construction workers...
According to estimates from some think tanks in the United States, over 50% of global jobs could be perfectly replaced by robot labor, and for 60% of job positions, 30% of their workload could be handled by machines.
Human workers, who tire and retire, were already at a disadvantage compared to machine labor. Even the most creative professions requiring human interaction, like artists and nurses, would face significant impact.
Normally, this painful, frictional process of career transition should take between ten to thirty years to complete. But the pressure from the Battleground Game had accelerated everything.
Businesses needed to cut costs. Factories needed to expand and upgrade production lines. The entire industry needed to transform and upgrade to enhance productivity.
That Prometheus Laboratory Company once again played a special role. They mass-produced various types of robots and promoted robotic production lines. This led to widespread opposition and hostility in Europe and America. People believed Prometheus Laboratory Company had stolen their jobs and wanted to smash the robotic production lines—just as workers in Great Britain had smashed textile machinery two hundred years ago.
However, Prometheus Laboratory Company also issued a statement: the wave of robot workers was not intended to seize all job positions. On the contrary, it would push human workers towards the tertiary sector and create more new types of jobs.
It seemed they weren't wrong. The United States and some European countries embarked on a new round of infrastructure development. This included projects like colossal buildings capable of housing entire city populations and their supporting facilities. It also involved the construction, renovation, and expansion of railways, highways, and industrial and civilian buildings, as well as the upgrading of vehicle and ship production lines.
Civilian ships were launched one after another.
Military shipyards were busily expanding their facilities and recruiting workers.
Contractors across the United States continuously received orders from military bases, and key research laboratories were publishing a vast number of new papers daily.
War. They were preparing for a large-scale war that could erupt at any moment, though the adversary remained, for now, uncertain. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
The hot pot simmered gently, its appetizing aroma filling the air.
Diners in the restaurant chatted idly about frustrating jobs, annoying bosses, and the pressures of life, creating a lively, bustling atmosphere.
Outside, the streets remained busy with traffic.
A ray of the setting sun pierced through a gap in the Steel Jungle, illuminating the window and painting the glass a warm, lazy orange.
"Put the food in, what are you spacing out for?"
Wang Congshan picked up a plate of ingredients and tipped them into the hot pot. Her dipping sauce bowl contained only vinegar, soy sauce, and cilantro—in her words, the "classic combination, a perfect match."
On this point, their tastes were quite similar.
"Ah, right."
Li Ang scratched his head, pulled a small blue ceramic cup from his backpack, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Wang Congshan.
"What's this? Giving me a cup? Are you hinting at tragedy?"
The class president took the cup and glanced inside. It contained some soil and small stones, from which a tiny green succulent plant was growing. It looked like a Rainbow Jade.
"This is..."
"It's for you to take care of," Li Ang said solemnly. "I saw on TV some experts claiming that computer and mobile phone screens produce electromagnetic radiation daily. They also say the signals emitted by 5G base stations are even likely to cause cancer.
"Although a Russian friend of mine says, 'Foreign 5G base stations? Bad! Yin City's 5G base stations? Good!'
"It's still better to take precautions."
"Are you watching an English TV channel or something?"
Wang Congshan squinted, offering a teasing remark. She fiddled with the succulent for a moment, clicked her tongue, and muttered to herself, Wouldn't flowers have been better? while honestly packing her school bag. She carefully wrapped the succulent in tissue paper before placing it in a side pocket of her backpack.
It's rare for Li Ang to give me something. I suppose I'll reluctantly accept it. HMPH.
