Last gathering

: Ren Ying, a web novel reader

In the middle of the night, most of the households had turned off their light, preparing or had already fallen asleep.

Even then, the road didn't become completely dark, as some late-night businesses and businesses mainly operated in the middle of the night like nightclubs, bars, and other drinking places, were full of people having fun.

One of them was Ren Ying and his other group of friends, mainly consisting of Webnovel readers, were having a gathering discussing their hobby of reading.

This was not the first time that the gathering took place, nor would it be the last one for them.

The gathering usually happened at least twice per month and took place in different locations depending on the majority of the votes.

Sometimes, they would gather at a restaurant, eating food normally while engaging in the topic of reading; sometimes, they would spice things up and gather everybody at a drinking place, drinking till they got drunk while yelling at each other about their opinion regarding the novel.

This time, the situation turned out to be no different from every time they gathered at a drinking place.

At first, they would order something to eat paired with beers while talking normally, but as time went on, everybody's face turned red, and unknowingly, their voice got higher and louder, Not that it mattered since people who sat around them were talking in a similar volume, so no one mind it.

While drinking, suddenly, one guy stood up and walked to the bathroom.

Everybody else turned quiet as they looked at him.

"HAHAHAHA, LOOK, THAT KID COULDN'T EVEN WALK STRAIGHT."

"SAY THE GUY WHOSE FACE IS AS RED AS A TOMATO."

"WHO DARE TO BET WITH ME WHETHER HES GOING TO TAKE A PISS OR VOMIT?"

"HUH BETTING? YOU'RE NOT THE PROTAGONIST; I AM THE PROTAGONIST."

"ANYWAYS, HOW GOOD OF A LIFE WOULD BE IF I COULD TRANSMIGRATE TO ANOTHER WORLD?"

"BAHH, YOU'RE NOT GONNA LAST ONE DAY THERE."

"WHY ARE YOU SO QUIET, REN YING? WHY DON'T YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE MC TRAITS?"

"Oh, me? I like a main character who is cautious, has a plan in mind before taking action, and takes calculated risks instead of putting their life on the line, aka plot armor." Just as he wanted to continue sharing his opinion, another fellow interrupted him.

"BORING, BORING, SAY WHO DOESN'T LIKE A PROTAGONIST WHO GOES AROUND SAVING BEAUTIES AND BUILDING A HAREM."

"RIGHT."

"AGREE."

"HAHAHA, AS EXPECTED, WE ARE THE SAME TYPE OF MEN."

Seeing this, Ren Ying didn't continue or argue with them; he could only sigh helplessly and say nothing else.

As we all know, everybody has a different type of opinion, It is hard to say which one is right and which one is wrong; it's complicated to think about it, and would only stress yourself out.

And don't even think about changing their mind, people would only change if they desired to. Ren Ying doesn't plan on changing their mind anyway, as long as you're happy with it, then keep it.

...

As the night got darker, illuminated by the shining blue moon, not only did no one leave, but more people began to occupy more seats surrounding them, almost filling the entire drinking place.

The moon tonight looked particularly beautiful and unique, but few people paid attention to it as most people were already drunk, including the new people who just recently came in.

After all, it was normal to go from one drinking place to another; some had just come out from a restaurant or drinking at home and stuff, and so few people right now could be said to be sobered, excluding Ren Ying.

Having sat there and drinking with his fellow readers for a long time, it was inevitable for him to drink a lot alongside everybody else. Ren Ying would use the excuse of going to smoke from time to time to buy some time for himself before being urged by his fellow to empty his beer cup in one go again.

These people are not to be underestimated; their alcohol endurance was extremely high, If it weren't for him running outside to smoke once in a while, Ren Ying could safely say that he would join the people resting their heads on the table and sleeping right now.

Most people would never allow themselves to get completely drunk like this; even though tomorrow is Sunday, which means no work for them, they wouldn't make it too troublesome for other people, so only a few right now are sleeping peacefully on the table.

Several people already suggested ending their gathering right now, including Ren Ying, but later everyone decided to continue it to another place.

For Ren Ying who was careful, getting too drunk was not an option for him, but today was a bit special because the blue moon was too beautiful, which improved his mood greatly, so he drank much more than normal, making him extremely drunk right now.

Or perhaps it was due to him being drunk that he lowered his guard, but Ren Ying swore that he would never get himself to this point again.

So instead of continuing with the rest of them, Ren Ying chose to bid farewell with the excuse of having something important at home.

…

On his way home, he walked.

Yes, he was walking. Ren Ying's home was quite close to the drinking place; that's why he decided to walk.

Besides, driving while being drunk is illegal, and it could potentially cause an accident that results in death for the parties involved, so walking is the best choice for him.

As for asking other people to give him a ride,? That is not a wise choice since it could burden them. Even if it didn't burden them, Ren Ying still wouldn't bother them since not a single person right now is sober. Who knows whether those fellow friends would drive him directly to meet with Death Reaper? 

While walking toward his home, Ren Ying who was holding a cigarette in his hand, would take a puff and blow it out as he enjoyed the rare scenery of the blue moon.

His surroundings became like that of a city in Atlantic because of the blue light that was reflected from the moon upon Earth, making it quite majestic.

Not only that, as it was late at night, there were barely any vehicles or people present around him, making the neighborhood dead quiet.

Not that it made Ren Ying scared, since his confidence in walking home alone while drunk came directly from the fact that the security here was strict.

There was barely any crime in this neighborhood from the beginning, and now, combined with the strictness of security, the crime rate on the street dropped almost to zero percent.

Ren Ying is a cautious guy; how could he travel alone on foot without being sure of his life?

When he reached halfway there, Ren Ying threw his last cigarette butt into the trash bin, then he took out his phone to check whether his favorite novel had been updated yet or not.

He did all of that without stopping.

While his hands were finding the novel, his mind wandered around.

'If I write a novel, my protagonist would be extremely careful, calculating, and rational, as for plot armor? SCREW THAT.

Plot armor ain't that bad; it's just that the author abused it.'

'Actually, what if I become a protagonist…'

'Huh, is tomorrow Friday or Tuesday..'

Today is Saturday for him.

Because of drinking too much, Ren Ying right now could barely concentrate on his thoughts and walked, If he were to walk past someone, that person would surely smell and know that he drank too much, not to mention looking back and watching Ren Ying as he continues on his way while looking like a zombie with his shaky leg.

Eventually, he arrived at the last crosswalk, before reaching his home.

Just as he crossed half of it.

At his left eye corner, a bright light suddenly appeared out of nowhere stealing his attention from his phone that was emitting a blue light onto his face.

Ren Ying looked up in daze, and upon having eyes contact with the driver, he immediately realized what the light was coming from.

Usually, a vehicle passing by you in the middle of a quiet night would make you feel more safe since you're no longer alone. Unfortunately, this time, Ren Ying did felt something about his safety, but not in a good way.

Since the driver, driving the vehicle right now, was soaked in pure sweats, his face lost its original color and turned light red, Not only that, his eyes right now was wandering everywhere, checking the peaceful city view except the front of his vechicle which was where Ren Ying were standing at.

Ren Ying wanted to jump out of the way, onto a safe place yet his body doesn't listen.

He could only watch helplessly while the vehicle was getting closer to him.

"WHY IS A DRUNK FUCK DRIVING!!!" Were the last words he left behind before losing consciousness.