Jiang Siming, who had just bought an 18-yuan beef brisket rice from a night market stall and was planning to head home, noticed a large billboard as he passed by an office area.

It read in big letters: [4AM PUBG Team Recruitment], followed by some recruitment details:

Must be over 18 years old,

Over 2000 hours of game time,

KDA above 4.0,

Average damage over 500,

Asia server rank above 3000, other servers above 4000,

No bad habits, must be obedient, in good health,

Sniping talent preferred.

Monthly salary of 50,000+, with food and accommodation included, tournament bonuses, and seasonal dividends.

Seeing this recruitment notice, Jiang Siming felt a strong itch in his heart.

The conditions were too tempting, a 50,000 monthly salary, with food and accommodation included.

But thinking about it, he realized he didn't meet their standards.

His account had less than a hundred hours of game time, and his score was only 1200 points, not to mention his KDA and average damage.

The gap was too big, and even though he'd been winning a lot recently, his stats hadn't improved much.

He couldn't meet the requirements at all, and joining a team meant daily training with teammates, with no freedom in his schedule, essentially being under the team's command.

Having just escaped the drudgery of a regular job, Jiang Siming wasn't eager to be under anyone's control again, so he took one last look and turned away.

Back home, Jiang Siming finished his beef brisket rice, took a shower, and was about to start gaming when there was a knock on the door.

Opening it, he found his landlady.

"Sister Luo, what's up?" Jiang Siming asked with a frown.

Sister Luo was his landlady, but Jiang Siming didn't like her much; she was too materialistic, stingy, and unkind.

At the sight of Jiang Siming, Sister Luo's eyes nearly popped out, her abalone eyes sizing him up with a rippling smile.

"Little Jiang, I just came to check on you and tell you two things."

"Go ahead, I'm listening," Jiang Siming replied expressionlessly, blocking the door, not intending to let her in.

Sister Luo wasn't offended, and after eyeing Jiang Siming a few more times, she smiled and said, "First, there's a new tenant coming tomorrow, so you might want to tidy up the living room to make a good impression."

This apartment had two bedrooms and a living room, and it was rented out separately. Jiang Siming only rented one room, while the other was previously occupied by an honest couple who moved out last month, leaving it vacant.

"Sister Luo, you can bring tenants, but we agreed not to bring in strange or unclean people."

Jiang Siming spoke bluntly; he didn't want a messy roommate or someone with a dubious profession, like a prostitute, gambler, or gang member. If that happened, he'd move out immediately.

He was quite satisfied with the previous couple; they were clean and nice, except for some inappropriate noises at night.

Sister Luo laughed, "Don't worry, Little Jiang, this time it's a girl, very clean and pretty. I wouldn't let just anyone stay in my place."

"That's good. What's the other thing?"

"The other thing is, your rent is due this month, so whenever you have time, please pay it," Sister Luo said with a greedy grin.

Jiang Siming wasn't angry, but he had no good impression of her.

He'd been living there for over a year, and every month Sister Luo came to collect rent on time, never a moment's delay, charging extra for any late payment.

Once, when he was short on cash, he asked for a couple of days' grace, but she refused, leaving him no choice but to get a credit card to pay the rent.

Just as Jiang Siming was about to get the money, Sister Luo unexpectedly became 'understanding.'

"Actually, Little Jiang, if you're short on cash, it's okay. I can give you a few days."

Before she finished, she added, "I've been having back pain these days. If you give me a massage, I won't charge you extra. How about it?"

The legendary sugar mama's offer? Trying to groom him into a gigolo?

Hearing this, Jiang Siming turned around without a word, went to his room, took out 2000 yuan, slapped it on the living room table, and slammed his door shut.

"Humph, ungrateful!" Sister Luo spat in disappointment, picked up the money, and left, swaying her waist.

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After getting rid of the annoying and disgusting landlady, Jiang Siming sat back at his computer desk, opened PUBG, and continued his solo journey.

Entering the lobby, Jiang Siming noticed many people inviting him.

All were unfamiliar IDs, and thinking they were advertisers, he ignored them, set his account to block invitations, and started a solo match.

Meanwhile, in the Shark livestream chat, SillyGirl, who had resumed streaming, had shed her daytime gloom, putting on a 'smiling' face as she chatted with viewers and played games.

However, every time she died and returned to the lobby, she couldn't help but check if Jiang Siming was online.

"Maybe he's not playing today," SillyGirl thought.

Suppressing her low spirits, she was about to start another game when she saw Jiang Siming's ID light up again.

But shortly after, it went dark, showing he couldn't be invited.

Her bestie noticed and quickly reassured her in a low voice.

"Silly, his ID is well-known on Shark now. Didn't you see the forums? Many people said they want to stand up for you, so there must be lots of strangers inviting him, which is why he set it to block invitations."

Hearing this, SillyGirl felt it made sense and tried to keep her spirits up for the stream.

In the game, Jiang Siming became serious.

Since this game had become the cradle of his dreams and aspirations, he couldn't treat it like any other game.

Although he wasn't planning to join a pro team yet, Jiang Siming still wanted to improve his rank, hoping that higher ranks might yield more fragments.

This time, the map was the small Sanhok map.

Jiang Siming scanned the sky but didn't see any fragments.

He wasn't discouraged and headed towards Bootcamp.

Bootcamp was the most dangerous place on the small map, with over twenty players landing there on average, as bloody as the military base.

Many who landed there ended up boxed or ambushed, so it was nicknamed Bootcamp, where anyone who landed there would feel isolated.

As he pulled his parachute, Jiang Siming realized his parachuting skills were terrible; others had already landed while he was still in the air.

He wanted to land in the biggest building for a gunfight, but those who landed faster had already grabbed the guns, and he'd just be delivering himself to them.

With no choice, he opted to land in a ditch outside the building.

A slow parachute means half the game is lost.

Jiang Siming sighed, thinking he should look up parachuting techniques on Baidu when he had time, or his skills would go to waste.