Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

Nie Yan looked around the room. 300 people stood in rank and file. Though they wore different clothing, they still looked quite imposing.

“Who’s in charge here?” Nie Yan asked, sweeping his eyes over his brothers.

Everyone turned their gaze to Painted Muslin. She was dressed in a casual white blouse and black skirt, like a mature beauty.

“Guo Huai told me to take care of the daily affaires here,” Painted Muslin said with a reserved smile.

“Mhmm, good. I’m just here to take a look around. I probably won’t get a chance to visit often. I’ll leave everything here to you,” Nie Yan said. Azure Windchime was founded by Painted Muslin in the first place. This was plenty of proof of her leadership ability. He had no objections.

“Big Sis Muslin,” Xie Yao greeted.

“Yao Yao, you came too?” Painted Muslin said with a bright smile, as she grabbed Xie Yao’s hand.

The sight of these two beauties happily chatting with each other caught the attention of everyone in the room.

“Boss, I’ll show you around,” Undying Scoundrel said. “Here, we are in the main hall. Up ahead…”

Nie Yan and Xie Yao followed behind Undying Scoundrel. He showed them around the villa, which was quite spacious. The center was a large hall where everyone could freely gather. As for the other sections of the villa, there were dozens of rooms. Even though the layout was a bit strange, it was still plenty impressive. One could only guess how Guo Huai managed to find this place. Not only did it fit all 300 players, the top ranked ones among them even had their own private rooms.

Nie Yan checked out the facilities. Most of the members were using game helmets. They clearly couldn’t afford a game capsule. However, the game helmets they were using were all high-end models, which were more than good enough. 

Guo Huai, Painted Muslin, and the others had worked together in establishing the War God’s doctrine. This was the set of rules the members had to follow, in exchange for which they received fixed salaries that were linked to their performance and contribution.

Since there were quite a few people in the villa, even though it looked like there was an effort to organize things, everything was still a bit chaotic. However, this was forgivable since it was still in the early stages.

“Boss, what do you think? I know, it’s a bit messy right now. But we’ve already hired cleaners for today. Everything will be neat and tidy by this afternoon,” Undying Scoundrel said. His position here was only second to that of Painted Muslin. He was in charge of managing various affairs.

“Not bad.” Nie Yan nodded with a faint smile.

War God was finally off the ground. It wouldn’t be long now before they became the number one gaming organization in all of China.

Ordinary gaming organizations were mostly made up of bottom of the ladder runts. They often did the low skilled work such as gold farming and selling to the highest bidder. Their various production and combat classes only made up about a tenth of their manpower. Not to mention even the combat classes could barely scrape by. Only the true expert level players were paid a decent sum.

There were far more players than open spots in gaming organizations. So, many could only work as freelancers, forever uncertain when their next paycheck would arrive.

Nie Yan planned to use War God to gather the real elites and create a truly powerful gaming organization.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao chatted with the people in the gaming house.

Many members were incredibly excited just to be able to interact with Nie Yan.

DING DONG! The doorbell rang. One person went over to open the door.

“Uncle Mistaken Smile is here!”

“Mistaken Smile!”

A commotion broke out near the front door. Mistaken Smile had quickly earned a lot of fame since entering Asskickers United. Seeing him, all the members started stirring.

“Oh? You’re here too?” Mistaken Smile’s gaze fell on Nie Yan. The two smiled at each other.

“Just here to take a look around.”

Mistaken Smile looked around with a kind smile on his face before saying, “This place is pretty lively. I’m planning to join War God too.”

“You’re more than welcome.” Nie Yan chuckled.

With the addition of Nie Yan, Xie Yao, and Mistaken Smile to the other 300, this could definitely be considered a brouhaha. Since everyone was a member of Asskickers United, they all got along well. Even though there were some minor conflicts here and there, with Painted Muslin and Undying Scoundrel overseeing things, everything was smoothed over easily.

After hanging out for a while, the people who were still students scattered and went to school. Only Mistaken Smile and the older members remained behind. 

Nie Yan and Xie Yao bid farewell to Mistaken Smile. Afterwards, the two joined up with Painted Muslin, Undying Scoundrel, Lustboy, and 50 others, as they went to school.

This was quite a large group. When they stepped foot on campus, they attracted the attention of all the surrounding students.

“Look, aren’t they all from Azure Windchime. What are they planning to do?”

“No idea. You don’t think someone pissed them off, do you?” No one could stop such a large group of people.

“Look, look! That’s the boss of Azure Windchime, Nirvana Flame.”

Everyone pointed and stared at Nie Yan. He had undoubtedly become the center of attention. With his reputation as Nirvana Flame, it would be hard not to be noticed.

Nie Yan had long since become the number one celebrity in the Top Military Academy. Since he was also a member of Heavenly Kings, his influence on campus grounds couldn’t be underestimated.

Qin Han, Liu Rui, and all of Nie Yan’s other old enemies stared at him with eyes full of hatred and envy. However, they didn’t dare to provoke him. His position in the Top Military Academy was unshakeable. The students who were previously recruited by the Monet Financial Group quickly realized there was no future for them there. They used all sorts of methods to jump ship to Asskickers United.

Every day Asskickers United seemed to welcome more elites from the Top Military Academy. This only served to further cement Nie Yan’s position. The students who had a crush on Xie Yao also gave up on their pursuit of her, as they realized they couldn’t possibly compete with Nie Yan. One brazen fellow didn’t get the hint, fully convinced he was one of Xie Yao’s suitors and even declaring he would kill Nie Yan. In the end, some people ganged up on him after school and he didn’t dare to show his face again.

Nie Yan made use of his connections in the Top Military Academy to learn more about Liu Tianshi. However, it didn’t help much. Other than finding out he was a grad student who rarely attended classes, no one knew anything about him. His background was a complete mystery.

Nie Yan felt all the more convinced that Liu Tianshi wasn’t a simple man. After all, not just anyone could hide their background to such an extent in the Top Military Academy.

Recalling how unconcerned Liu Tianshi was after killing Tang Yao in the previous timeline, Nie Yan felt a trace of worry. This fellow was definitely a ticking time bomb. Even though the law was swift and harsh, there were few people who could ignore it. For Nie Yan, no matter what he did, he could only strictly abide by the rules. On the other hand, Liu Tianshi could break them any time he wanted to.

After receiving the reports from those below him, Nie Yan clenched his fists. No matter what, he couldn’t allow Liu Tianshi to harm him or his family. There was also Xie Yao, the way that bastard looked at her really rubbed him the wrong way.

Nie Yan gave Bayonet a call.「How are Wang Duo and the others doing?」

「Decently. Since they’ve managed to last this long, they’re a step above trash,」Bayonet replied.

Even though Bayonet’s words were laced with sarcasm, he still acknowledged Wang Duo and the others’ efforts. Their growth was quite clear. This would prove to be a great boon for Nie Yan. Mo Yuntian was the most influential person he knew. To be able to carry out an important task for him would definitely solidify their relationship.

Nie Yan’s present glory was nothing more than floating clouds. Those envious gazes of the other students did not invoke the slightest hint of excitement in his heart.

Nie Yan spent the morning in class. At noon, Tang Yao gave him a call.

「Nie Yan, Wei Kai wants to meet you,」Tang Yao said. These days, Tang Yao and Wei Kai had been interacting quite often. However, Wei Kai still hadn’t met with Nie Yan again in person.

「Wei Kai?」Nie Yan thought for a moment. After giving Wei Kai the cold shoulder for so long, it was about time they met up again. This was someone who would definitely prove useful in the future.「Have him come over and meet me. I want him to come alone.」

「Alright, where do you want to set up the meeting?」

「All Light Bar, 4 PM. Book room 88. Make sure nothing leaks out. Don’t let anyone else know,」Nie Yan said. Even though he was going to meet with Wei Kai, he still wanted to maintain a certain distance. The two of them were walking very different roads.

「No problem. I’ll arrange everything.」

「You and Wei Kai have been talking quite often these days. What’s your opinion of him?」Nie Yan asked. His understanding of Wei Kai was still fairly shallow.

「That punk is really cruel and vicious, and resourceful too. Plus, he’s loyal to his own and treats them quite well. So, a lot of people look up to him. I guess that could count as one of his better points. He can be used, but you’ll have to be careful,」Tang Yao assessed.

「I see.」Nie Yan nodded. Wei Kai was definitely a viper. If he wasn’t handled properly, he could end up biting the handle.

At 3 PM, Nie Yan gave a call to Painted Muslin and Undying Scoundrel and asked them to escort Xie Yao home and keep her company until he came back. Next, he called up Bayonet and asked him to protect her. Only then did he feel at ease heading to the All Light Bar.

All Light Bar, located in one of the most bustling districts in the heart of the city. This place was known for its night scene. When evening arrived, there would be crowds of people walking the streets here.

Nie Yan’s Thrawn zoomed through the city. He parked his car in the underground parking lot, then went up to the All Light Bar.

The All Light Bar was filled with dazzling neon lights. The frantic and high tempo music was a catalyst for people to release their wild side.

In the previous timeline, Nie Yan visited these kinds of places regularly. But later on, after he got his act together, he stopped going altogether. He didn’t know why, but right now he found it hard to adapt to this kind of noisy environment.

Nevertheless, this kind of establishment where people from all walks of life gathered was the perfect place to meet Wei Kai. No one would notice them.