The Gateway to a New World

Taking advantage of this moment, Su Yang asked another question in his mind.

—System, these two guys have combat power ratings of D-level 60 and C-level 62. What tier is that?

[Experts, at the level of professional fighters.]

—What? A score in the sixties is considered expert-level? Then what’s my combat power?

Su Yang couldn’t help but ask eagerly.

[B-level 80.]

—Damn! I’m only B-level?! I thought I’d be A or even S-level.

[B-level 80 is already an elite fighter, just shy of A-level.]

—Then A and S must be the pinnacle of human combat ability, right?

—What tier are professional fighters at?

[C to B.]

—What about the chubby guy?

Su Yang glanced at Liu Bo standing beside Meng Wenzhou.

[Liu Bo, combat power: B-level 72.]

—Damn, that high?

—There’s nothing above S-level, right?

[Not yet unlocked.]

—Not yet unlocked? So there’s something even higher than S-level?

[Yes. Once the host reaches S-level, higher tiers will be revealed.]

Su Yang felt like he was asking a million questions. This long-overdue stat system had opened the door to a whole new world for him.

After all, most guys were naturally interested in combat power rankings.

—Oh, one more thing. Will the system display combat power when scanning women in the future?

[Ordinary women will not have this stat displayed.]

—Got it. Last question—how do I improve my combat power?

[Through real combat and training. Combat power is also tied to physique—the higher your physique, the higher your potential combat power.]

—Wait, with my 90 physique, I’m only at 80 combat power?

[Physique and combat power aren’t directly equivalent. For example, while you have 90 physique and 80 combat power, someone with 80+ physique might also reach 80+ combat power. It depends heavily on combat experience and training intensity.]

Su Yang nodded silently. He’d need some quiet time later to fully process everything he’d just learned.

......

Soon, a waiter arrived pushing a cart with four cases of beer.

“Drinks are here~”

The waiter set the cases down beside their table and began uncapping the bottles one by one.

“Should I open them all?”

“All of them.” Zhao Rui, acting like the host of the gathering, leaned back on the sofa and replied casually.

“You got it~”

Three minutes later, the waiter finished uncapping all 48 bottles and left to prepare snacks and fruit.

Everyone poured their drinks, and Su Yang pushed thoughts of combat power aside for now.

He raised his glass with a smile. “To our new friends—first time meeting, let’s all have a drink together.”

“Cheers!”

Over a dozen people lifted their glasses and drank.

The glasses were large, so Lu Yun, Tang Ziyun, Han Xiaoyu, and Xia Keke only managed half.

These four had similar alcohol tolerance and couldn’t handle much. If they drank like the others, they’d be out cold within minutes.

As soon as they set their glasses down, Zhao Rui’s gaze locked onto them.

“Huh? What’s this, ladies? Finish your drinks,” he called out.

Tang Ziyun smiled apologetically. “Sorry, we’re all lightweights. If we drink too fast, we’ll probably pass out soon~”

“That won’t do. We said ‘bottoms up.’ Leaving drinks unfinished is disrespectful to our new friends, don’t you think?” Zhao Rui pressed with a challenging grin.

Hearing this, Su Yang and Meng Wenzhou exchanged glances, both annoyed. Su Yang thought, ‘Who the hell do you think you are, demanding respect?’

If not for Xia Li—who was Zhao Rui’s friend and had been nothing but polite so far—Su Yang would’ve snapped back already.

If Zhao Rui had been alone, Su Yang wouldn’t have held back.

Instead, he smiled and turned to Zhao Rui. “Zhao Rui, right? You’re a few years older, so I’ll call you Brother Zhao. The girls can’t handle their liquor, so how about I drink with you instead?”

Zhao Rui glanced at Su Yang and chuckled. “Heh, sure. Just joking earlier—no offense meant. So, you wanna go one-on-one?”

“Whatever you want. Tonight, I’ll play by your rules.”

“Oh? That confident? Guess you’re a heavyweight, huh?”

Su Yang smirked. “Wouldn’t say that. I can hold my own.”

“People who say that are usually hiding their skills. How do you wanna play? Finger-guessing or something else?”

“Finger games—‘Fifteen-Twenty’ or whatever you prefer.”

Zhao Rui grinned. “Different regions have different rules for drinking games. Let’s stick with the standard ‘Fifteen-Twenty.’”

“Sure.”

Su Yang nodded with a calm smile, thinking, ‘Just you wait—I’ll drink you under the table tonight.’

As the two prepared to start, Meng Wenzhou subtly signaled Liu Bo.

Catching the hint, Liu Bo quickly interrupted.

“Hey, hold up. Why just you two? Let’s all play together! Except for these four ladies, everyone else should join.”

Zhao Rui slowly turned to Liu Bo and smirked. “Relax, buddy. Let me and Brother Su have a few rounds first. There’s plenty of time—no rush.”

Liu Bo waved his hand dismissively. “Nah, Brother Zhao. I can’t stand watching people drink without me.”

Zhao Rui’s expression darkened slightly at that.

After a brief silence, Xia Li finally spoke up with a smile. “A-Rui, let’s all play together.”

Seeing Xia Li intervene, Zhao Rui’s eyes flashed before he burst into laughter. “Hahaha, my bad. Alright, everyone, let’s go! Brother Su, we’ll have our one-on-one later.”

Su Yang leaned back on the sofa, eyes fixed on Zhao Rui. “Sounds good.”

Meng Wenzhou gave Su Yang a barely perceptible glance, and Su Yang nodded subtly in return.

The group—minus Lu Yun and the other three women—refilled their glasses.

Su Yang’s side had four people, while Zhao Rui’s had five.

Liu Bo turned to Gu Qingqing, who had been quiet so far. “Can you drink, miss?”

Gu Qingqing smiled faintly. “I can handle some.”

“Great.”

Once they finished speaking, Zhao Rui looked at Kong Fang.

Kong Fang immediately pulled out a pack of Tianye cigarettes from his bag, opened it, and handed one to Zhao Rui.

Crossing his legs, Zhao Rui took the cigarette and grinned. “So, how should we nine play?”

Meng Wenzhou replied coolly, “Split into teams. Us four against your five.”

“Oh? Won’t that be unfair with us having an extra person?”

Pan Ning scoffed at the remark, but the music and chatter in the bar drowned it out.

Meng Wenzhou smiled. “No problem. If we’re short, we’ll just take an extra turn as a ‘shadow player.’”

“But if you lose, there are only four of you to drink.”

Tang Ziyun, who had been observing, chimed in. “What if the four of us girls count as one?”

“No way. One is one—how can four count as one?” Zhao Rui waved his hand dismissively.

Tang Ziyun glanced at Su Yang and the others with a helpless smile.

Su Yang naturally understood that Tang Ziyun wanted to help them drink a little. He grinned at her and said, "Don’t worry about it, Xiao Tang. You four don’t have to join in—you won’t be drinking much anyway."

After switching seats, Lu Yun also settled beside Su Yang. Now, Pan Ning was seated in the innermost spot, with Su Yang next to her, and Lu Yun and Tang Ziyun flanking Su Yang on the other side.

Leaning closer to Su Yang, Lu Yun whispered, "Take it easy with the drinks, Su Yang."

"Relax, I can hold my liquor just fine. If he even manages to make my face flush, I’ll write my name backward," Su Yang replied confidently.

Lu Yun trusted Su Yang completely. Since he’d said so, she let her worries fade.

"There’s only four of us, so we’ll drink as four," Meng Wenzhou declared.

"Fine, fine. But let’s be clear—no backing out later. I’m a straightforward guy, and I can’t stand people who cheat at drinking," Zhao Rui said with a laugh, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.

"Idiot."

Pan Ning couldn’t help herself—rarely did she swear, but the word slipped out.

Her voice was low, though, and only Su Yang, sitting beside her, caught it.

Meng Wenzhou gave Zhao Rui a cool look and said, "Enough talk. Let’s get started."