"That's a lot of people," Li Fen noted.

  Li Hua scanned the battlefield on the screen. "Yeah. Must be about five hundred on each side."

  "Why are some of them wearing a red dress?"

  "I...I am not sure, Jie," said a slightly bewildered Li Hua. "Maybe it's some kind of challenge."

  "You mean like a bet?"

  "No, Jie. I meant a social media challenge."

  "Why would people challenge anybody to wear a dress inside a game?"

  "It's what the kids do these days. Not everything they do makes sense." Then the CLO decided to use her elder sister's rare moment of ignorance to tease her. "You need to know these things, Jie. You have got to keep up with the kids. Or you will quickly become an old lady yelling at clouds."

  "Don't get smart with me, girl," Li Fen chided her younger sister. "You are no better than me. If I am yelling at clouds, you will be on the lawn chair right next to mine complaining about the weather."

  "Not a chance, Jie. I read up on this stuff. I am all caught up with youth culture."

  "Oh really? So you know what DPS means?"

  "DPS? How do you even know that word?"

  Li Fen pointed at the chat on the screen. "Xiao-Jing's chat keeps saying it."

  "Well, it's quite simple, really. It's Damage...Personnel Service. Yeah that's right."

  "That sounds like you just made it up."

  "No. DPS is what Xiao-Wei and Mei Lin are, right? They are the main damage dealers. They are Personnel for the team."

  "And Service?"

  "They are serving the team leader," Li Hua said confidently.

  Li Fen chuckled. "You are lucky that I have no interest in checking what DPS really means. Now pull up a chair and sit down. You pacing back and forth is kind of distracting."

  Meanwhile, things were going well at the Iridium Gates. As soon as the party entered the area, they were surrounded by about 30 members of the Cult of Ying, all wielding weapons and armor of the best quality. The massive battle went on in the background while the group, along with their bodyguards, traversed the battlefield as inconspicuously as possible. Once in a while a straggler or two, or a small party from the main battle, managed to bump into our heroes. But they were quickly cut down by the Cult of Ying with precision. Everything was going well until a gnome in a red dress managed to get in and ran straight at Li Jing. The succubus panicked and used her spell to summon her two demons. The demons made quick work of the gnome, but they did not stop at that. They ran straight at the center of the battlefield, engaging combatants from both sides.

  "Run. Don't turn back. Don't engage. Just run," An Jing screamed.

  Everyone, including the Cult of Ying, started running towards the Gates. But the damage was already done. Players from both factions quickly killed the two demons, and now their attention was fully fixated on the party that had summoned those demons. The entire war zone shifted priorities from fighting each other to hunting down this rogue troupe that had tried to kill both sides.

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  The first wave of players soon crashed into the members of the Cult of Ying. The guild members fought bravely and quickly killed anyone trying to reach the main party. The strike team managed to kill the few that got through. The entire party kept moving forward, but the enemies were endless. The members of the Cult of Ying fought bravely and heroically, but their potions started running out. Their magic points started depleting at an alarming rate. The protection from their shields was no longer enough as they were being attacked from all sides. As soon as the tanks started falling, the rest of the Cult was in serious trouble. The healers were hunted down, and the mages were torn apart. But the rest still continued to fight while moving towards the Gates. An Jing switched from her shield to a massive greatsword, and fought as her character was meant to fight, brutally cutting her enemies down in a frenzy of madness. Li Wei and Mei Lin perfectly supported their leader, killing anyone who came close to the core group. Li Na took out the ones whom An Jing missed and were about to threaten the barbarian. Li Jing's resummoned demons proved invaluable in holding the line. Even An Mei, despite her panic, did her job and continued to heal An Jing perfectly, letting the team leader get in as many kills as she could.

  Despite all the heroic effort, the party seemed to be utterly doomed. There were simply too many people. Half of the Cult of Ying was already dead. An Jing was now suffering wounds quicker than An Mei or her own health regeneration could heal them. Li Wei and Mei Lin were also on the defensive.

  "It's over, isn't it?" Li Fen asked.

  "Looks that way, Jie," Li Hua said. "I can't see how they can come back from this."

  "Look, there are more of those red dresses." Li Fen pointed at the corner of the screen.

  "They are carrying war clubs and butcher's knives. What a strange group?"

  "There are more of them coming. A lot more. Who the hell are these?"

  "Jie, look, they are attacking both factions."

  "I noticed this earlier, but I thought I was mistaken. The ones in the red dress from before were also attacking both sides."

  "There are so many of them now."

  Both factions now turned their attention away from the Cult of Ying to the red dressed ones.

  "What's going on?" Li Wei asked.

  "I...I am not sure," An Jing said.

  "I think this is..." Li Jing began, but she was cut off by An Jing's command to prepare for a fight when a group of red clad players managed to close in on the main group.

  "We have no reason to fight. We just want to get to the gates," An Jing said. "But if a fight is what you want, it's what you'll get."

  The red ones ignored her and, in unison, shouted, "GODDESS, WE ARE HERE. WE CAME LIKE YOU TOLD US TO." Most of them were women, with a few men here and there, and they all started dancing.

  Li Fen and Li Hua looked at each other like two mothers united in their disapproval. An Mei and Li Wei, who were playing side by side in Li Wei's home office, broke out in laughter. And Li Na, who was in her office at the headquarters, started at the screen with a mixture of horror and relief.

  "Oh my god, you guys came," Li Jing squealed in delight. "I was wondering when you guys would show up."

  "Jie, these are your..."

  "Yeah. My fans," Li Jing said. "I had asked them to come meet me in game. They are late, but they came at the perfect time."

  The leader of the red ones pleaded, "Goddess, please get to the gates. We'll hold off the other players."

  "Yes, yes, we need to leave quickly. Thanks for the help, guys. Come, everyone, let's get moving," An Jing said quickly taking back control of the situation.

  "Just a second. You guys come here. Let me throw some glitter on you," Li Jing said to her fans.

  The small group came forward and kneeled in front of the succubus, like knights before their queen, who then proceeded to throw glitter on top of them.

  Soft weeping could be heard from some of the microphones. And then an emotional red leader said, "Thank you, Goddess. Coming here was worth it."

  "Thank the others for me, okay?" Li Jing told her fans. "I love you all. Take care."

  While the sea of Li Jing's fans and the small remaining Cult of Ying took the fight to the two factions, the core team ran to the Iridium Gates and, without further incident, managed to cross it with everyone's lives still intact.