Standing in the train as it started swaying and shaking, I felt like a bottle of champagne. The only difference was that a bottle of champagne would stop getting shaked once it was opened. On the other hand, I had to endure this feeling all the way until I arrived at Xi'an.

As I stood near the window, I could not see anything at all. It was pitch-dark and I wasn't sure what time it was. I was also unsure how long it would take me to arrive in Xi'an. In the midst of this shaking and swaying of the train, I could not help but start to reflect on my life.

It's nightfall already!

"How long can I possibly live like this? After graduation, when I return home, will I be able to continue to lead this kind of life?"

Sky deep in thought as he ponders about his aimless life

We passed by Mianchi station, San Men Xia station, and Huashan station... "We have arrived at Weinan station. For those who wish to get off at this stop, please carry your baggage and get ready to alight from the train." The announcement from the train droned on and on. "How long more will it take to reach Xi'an?" I regretted not asking the ticket officer when I was purchasing the train ticket. 

I stood up and got off the floor. Both of my legs felt a sharp pain but they felt numb at the same time. This almost causing me to fall down again. After seating with my legs crossed for such a long period of time, I felt as though I was neither dead nor alive when I stood up. But it feels even worse when you get stepped on by someone when you are sitting on the floor.

As I looked at the passengers getting off the train, I started sighing. "Sigh, I'll probably be reaching soon. If not I might not be able to hold on any longer." The train doors continued to open and close. When I looked at the dim lights at the platform fading away, I could feel the train start to shake again.

I turned around to look inside the train carriage and realised that there were many empty seats. "Thank goodness!" I was so happy that I couldn't believe my eyes. But how long more would it take to reach Xi'an? Only God knows.

"Hey boy, get up. We have arrived at the stop already."

I summoned my strength to lift my head up. A man in uniform was standing in front of me. "Argh, damn it. Now my arms are totally numb. I don't even know how long I had been sleeping."

I forced myself to stand up and thanked the man for waking me.  Then I grabbed my bag and dashed out of the train door. It was fortunate that the train was terminating at Xi'an. Otherwise I might have landed up in some other city.

When I was walking out of the entrance of the train station, a wave of people started heading towards me. There were so many people standing at the entrance. I glanced at my watch and it was already later than 9 o'clock. Yet there were still so many people around. Xi'an is indeed a huge city!

Not surprising that China has the largest population in the world!

While I was standing near the train station, I took out the piece of paper containing the address of the PC Cafe hosting the competition. I realised that I was too hasty and did not prepare myself for the trip sufficiently. I should have asked my clanmates from Xi'an for directions to the PC Cafe hosting the competition. Eventually, I decided to ask some kind-hearted looking strangers for help.

Xi'an Train station at night

A man with thick eyebrows and huge eyes strolled over. A Xi'an travel bag was strapped around his shoulders.

"Hello. I would like to ask if you know how to get to this place. Do you recognise this place?" I stopped this man who seemed to look like a nice person.

"What? I don't know. this is also my first time here."

"... thanks anyway."

The first person I asked turned out to be from my hometown as well. In the end, I asked a cleaning lady for directions on how to go to that place. "Hop on Bus 11 and transfer to Bus 99 until you reach Xi'an Jiaotong University. Then turn left and walk down two streets to get to Huang Pu Zhuang."

Huang Pu Zhuang was a district near the university which was meant for entertainment, internet surfing, and snacks. It was really an eye-opening experience for me when I entered this place. Never in my life had I seen so many eateries and restaurants open at midnight. Even the PC cafes were all open at this time.

Xi'an Jiaotong University

I walked down the street, looking at the various neon signs. I was trying to find a PC Cafe called "Xue Mei-er." Somehow I managed to walk to the right place. I chanced upon an obscure wooden sign with the words "Xue Mei-er" written on it. The windows were draped with curtains which seemed like a military coat so I was unable to see what was going on inside.

"Can this kind of PC Cafe possibly organise competitions? It seems like a small shop to me." Then I entered the cafe and I was in for a surprise.

I gazed at the distance. It was a hall which was a few hundred square metres huge, like the size of a soccer field. Hundreds of computers were arranged in a linear fashion. Each row of computers were filled with throngs of people. Some were playing CS, some were playing Starcraft, the rest were playing all sorts of other games. Even the air was filled with all sorts of odours. It was the first time I had seen such a huge PC Cafe. I walked behind a group of people as I was curious to see what they were up to.

"See this. His hands are so fast. You just have to be at half his speed and it will be alright."

"What the hell. It's no use even if he is that fast. He is still unable to beat GRRRR."

As I listened to their discussions and looked at the horde of people, I was astounded by that pair of hands. I could only see a pair of white and slender hands dancing across the computer keyboard and mouse. His left hand was repeatedly tapping each key as though it was flying. The right hand was dragging the mouse cursor across the screen so quickly and it appeared to be slicing up the screen. Even my eyes were not really able to keep up with his rapid pace.

"Damn, he's almost as fast as the Korean Pro-gamer I saw in the VOD."

I was still in a state of shock. I stealthily tapped on the shoulders of one of the guys. "Who is this guy?" I asked. "You don't recognise him? He is Black Prince (Hei Tai Zi), Lion Clan's Black Prince." "Black Prince? Lion Clan?" I tried to organise my thoughts but still wasn't able to recall anything. MTY, CQ~2000, DEEP, AG team, these were the teams which I knew. But I wasn't too familiar with Lion and the Black Prince.

Is this the Black Prince, with his slender fingers, and gosu micro?

But this guy was really good. I could feel that he was a formidable foe just by looking at his micro. I was also unsure if he would be taking part in the competition the next day.

"Hey buddy, do you know what time the Starcraft competition will begin?"

"9 o'clock"

Ok... 9 o'clock. I flipped the money in my pockets; there was tens of dollars in there still so I went to eat a bowl of noodles before getting a computer for myself to prepare for the match.

*Disclaimer: None of the pictures are from Sky's blog.

Source: Sky's Blog