As dinner time approached, everyone began placing their orders.
The Westbrook quartet and Rainier ordered a large pizza, two servings of soup dumplings, and five bottles of Americano coffee. Their intent was clear: a quick meal followed by a battle that would last until dawn.
McBride and Old Marlin each ordered a bowl of Lanzhou Beef Noodles. The steaming hot broth and noodles were perfect for them; as older men, they couldn't handle staying up all night and planned to head home to rest once it got late.
Others tried various items they had never tasted before. For a time, the net cafe was filled with the mouth-watering aroma of food. Little Tess collected the money while Raymond bustled about in the kitchen and ran up and down the stairs, busier than ever.
Though the prices were a bit high, the quality of the food amazed everyone. First was the Pizza Hut pizza. It reminded people of "Pork Pies" or "Pumpkin Pies," but compared to those simple fillings, the pizza's rich combination of meat and vegetables, paired with the overflowing aroma of melted cheese, made the hearty men of the shop crave slice after slice.
Then there was the Big Mac. While the Chef's Association's standard textbook included a "Bear Meat Burger," it required "Bear Flank" from high-level bears in Winterspring, the Plaguelands, or Felwood. Not only was that ingredient difficult for most chefs to acquire, but it also tasted mediocre at best.
In Azeroth, due to the importance of agriculture, the Chef's Association didn't teach recipes using beef. Aside from rare jerky sold by "Smokywood Pastures" or at the "Darkmoon Faire," no one had tasted real beef—let alone the two whole beef patties sandwiched between three layers of bread in a Big Mac.
As for the Ramen, aside from Chen and Li Li, no one had even heard of such wonderfully shaped and delicious food.
"Ah!"
As everyone ate in the lounge, a sharp cry rang out. They turned to see Sandal, who had been too impatient and bitten into a Xiao Long Bao, only to have the scalding hot soup spray everywhere.
Jakk'on and his group sat around a small circular table in the lounge. These five were among the six leaders of the Stormwind Warlock Guild. Facing the gazes of the crowd, she glared at Sandal, looking as if she wanted to summon a Succubus right then and there to drag him outside for a duel.
Meanwhile, Old Marlin was busy studying Dragon Shouts and magic in Skyrim, while Dughan, having finished his own dry rations, was being tossed into the air by a Diablos in Monster Hunter, questioning his life choices.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the morning of the third day.
Using the registration and unlock fees he had collected, Wayne took 500 gold from his 707 gold reserve to purchase two more sets of equipment, bringing the total to 40 stations in the main hall. Coincidentally, just as the stations were set up, the Argent Dawn officer Purhart appeared with a colleague named "Hasana."
Wayne and Tess both recognized Purhart, as she had accompanied Lord Tyrosus before. But this Hasana... even Little Tess found her strange. She was over 1.8 meters tall, towering over most women, and wore her hair in unusual "dreadlocks." She was clad from head to toe in black leather armor; aside from her hands, even her neck was covered. Underneath this unique outfit was a pair of dull, stiff eyes and an upper body that seemed too rigid to bend.
Tess told Raymond to watch the counter while she reported to Wayne. Wayne asked her to go receive them as a way to probe their identity.
Purhart checked the price list and requested a deluxe double box. Tess smiled and informed them that they were still within the grand opening free-trial period. On the way to the private box, Tess tried to strike up a conversation with Hasana, but the woman only gave stiff nods and smiles, never saying a word. Purhart handled all the responses.
Tess had no choice but to return to Wayne's private partition. "Boss, I can't get her to talk..."
Wayne laughed. "It's fine. Go get some rest."
He thought to himself: Even your King-Father couldn't hide from the system when he came here incognito, let alone this person.
One look at that black leather armor and Wayne knew exactly what was going on. Though rare in this world—especially on the Alliance side—it was common knowledge to any World of Warcraft player from his original world. It was an item many kept in their bags at all times: Savory Deviate Delight.
The raw material, "Deviate Fish," only came from the Barrens on the continent of Kalimdor. As one of the few naturally hallucinogenic foods, simple cooking turned it into a magical dish that could reliably transform the consumer into a human female (or a pirate/ninja).
Indeed, once the two entered the box and confirmed no one was outside, Hasana finally spoke.
"Heavens, this is exhausting..." she said, clearly drained from the rigid physical masquerade.
Though her voice was soft, it was picked up by the microphone on Wayne's glasses. It was a raspy, ancient voice—if she were truly human, she would have to be at least a hundred years old.
Purhart comforted her. "This is a mission. The Boss has always believed the crisis we face can only be dealt with if the Alliance and Horde work together. Besides, no one is disturbing us now."
Hasana grumbled, "You're the one not being disturbed. I have to eat one of these stinky, strange fish every hour."
Under Purhart's guidance, Hasana put on the VR headset. They entered Heroes of Might and Magic III and started a tutorial map. On the first day, while Purhart was busy collecting resources, a pop-up appeared before Hasana:
[Would you like to display your original appearance in-game?]
Without thinking, Hasana pressed [Yes].
[Appearance switched to original form. Keep changes?]
Instantly, a blue-skinned female Troll appeared in the game world. Purhart saw this and hurriedly asked what happened; the cafe had screens, and if someone walked by, their cover would be blown. Hasana quickly clicked [No], "transforming" back into a human woman.
Wayne saw everything and thought: You better stay hidden... if you're exposed, this won't be just an online game of Street Fighter anymore.
Two minutes later, regardless of whether they had dark circles from two nights of gaming, were surviving on strong coffee, or were well-rested and energetic, every player received a notification on their game interface:
"The drawing for the First World Fighting Championship is about to begin. Every participant, please set a codename in the following registration pop-up and confirm the character you will use for this tournament."