Chapter 75: 75

By the time Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo finalized contract negotiations with their streaming platform and returned to Tianhuan's base, it was already December 15th.The battle between the Top 8 of the world championships was set to begin.On the 16th, Jingzhe would face off against Team ATB of the Korean division. Team ATB were the champions of the Korean division that year, and they hadn't lost a single game in the entire group stage of the world championships—they won their way straight through to the Top 8. In the eyes of the world, they were the strongest contender for the world championship throne.On the 17th, Binghun would play against Team FLD from the North American division. Team FLD were the defending champions who'd won the world championship title last year. They were overall the most powerful team from the North American division.Neither Jingzhe nor Binghun seemed to have very bright futures ahead of them.When domestic fans saw the tournament schedule, dark clouds enveloped their heads. Some fans didn't even dare watch the matches, deathly afraid that their favorite team would lose to a foreign team.The year's world championships were being held in Paris, which had a seven hour time difference with China.In Paris, it was 19:00 at night on December 16th. In China, it was already two in the morning.The match between Jingzhe and ATB was set to begin. Coach Lin gathered all of Tianhuan's players in a meeting room to watch the game on a big screen.Qin Yizhu very generously shared his own snacks with everyone—packets of walnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and all sorts of cookies and potato chips littered the conference table. Ye Shaoyang had also brought Xiao Bai with him. Everyone watched the game while playing with the cat.In the round where the Top 8 of the world championships would be cut down to the Top 4, matches were Best-of-5 and played with the cumulative picks and bans structure.After the first two games, Jingzhe and ATB were at 1-1.In the third game, ATB relied on a strange new team comp to achieve victory. In the fourth game, Jingzhe struggled and fought to even out the score once more.And in the final, deciding game, Jingzhe won a certain degree of superiority in early-game. Fang Zhengqing moved down to the bottom lane and worked with Xie Yuan to instakill ATB's marksman. However, in the middle stages of the game, ATB started to endlessly avoid fights and rely on micro-play to snowball an advantage for themselves. From beginning to end, the two teams stayed neck and neck in terms of resources.In a critical team fight, ATB's jungler found an opportunity to circle to the back of Jingzhe's lineup and instakill the marksman Xie Yuan. From there, ATB pushed down the bottom lane and bulldozed their way to Jingzhe's base.Jingzhe defended their base for five minutes, but the incoming swarms of minions were too much. Although Fang Zhengqing and Xie Yuan worked together to fend off three waves of ATB's attack, in the end—ATB still managed to push their way into Jingzhe's base with the buff from the grand dragon.Jingzhe helplessly lost the match.As the base crystal exploded, everyone in Tianhuan's conference room sank into a brief silence.A moment later, Coach Lin sighed and muttered, "The Korean division's micro-play tactics are too powerful. Jingzhe lost very tragically in this last game. They had a bit of an advantage early on. It's just too bad they didn't swiftly end the game earlier."Chi Shuo said, "The Korean division teams are very good at moving their pieces at a micro-level and building an advantage for themselves slowly. Even if their players are killed a few times in early-game, they somehow manage to catch up in gold and experience along the way."These strengths were quite similar to those of the Korean teams Ye Shaoyang had fought in his previous life. His team would sometimes be at a clear advantage in headcount, having killed the enemies several times. But at some point, the Korean teams would somehow stabilize. Every time Ye Shaoyang played against Korean teams, he felt completely wiped out. He would be faced with the tiring sensation of not having anywhere to unleash his powers.When a game dragged out to the very late stages, it became very difficult to defeat Korean teams. Their professionals were frighteningly tough.Jingzhe had actually played very well in that match. Their defeat in the end filled people with a sense of regret. But there was nothing to be done about it. The teams who came to the world championships from other divisions were very powerful. Success in these games also involved a certain amount of luck.Ye Shaoyang sighed in his heart and looked towards Coach Lin. "Team Binghun is the only one left from the Chinese division. Do they have a good chance of winning the championships?"Coach Lin shook his head with a bitter laugh. "Not very good, I think."Cheng Xing quietly asked, "Isn't Binghun very good at team fights?"Coach Lin said, "They're very good when the five of them fight together, but if the enemy doesn't let them group up, what happens then? What happens if they destroy Binghun first?"Chi Shuo also said, "Binghun will advance to the Top 4 at best. For them to keep advancing after that will be very difficult."Ye Shaoyang looked towards the games schedule on the big screen. "If Binghun defeats FLD and enters the Top 4, their next game will be the semifinals. And they'll run into the winner of the Jingzhe/ATB game?"Coach Lin nodded. "ATB, short for Atomic Bomb, is also a team which relies on their mid/jungle duo. Their mid laner Park Wonseok is the number one mid laner in the Korean division. Their jungler Choi Hyuk is somewhat similar to Chi Shuo in terms of play style. When they play at an advantage, they're extremely powerful. When they're at a disadvantage, they calmly and carefully pull themselves together. They're a very comprehensive, well-rounded team."Ye Shaoyang memorized those two names—Park Wonseok and Choi Hyuk, the most powerful mid/jungle duo of the Korean division. If Tianhuan made it to the world championships, this team which had a very similar style to Tianhuan would become one of the hardest bones for them to gnaw through.On the morning of December 17th, news of Jingzhe's defeat spread through the country.Many of Jingzhe's die-hard fans had stayed up late through the night to watch the match. They cried until their eyes were red, then ran over to the team's official Weibo to encourage the players, urging them to keep fighting next season. There were also some anti-fans already dissing them on their Weibo account.The club's account also made a post to thank the players for their hard work, and to say they would continue working hard next season.All eyes from the Chinese division fell upon Team Binghun now. It was easy to imagine how much pressure would be on Chen Qianhua.The night of the 17th.Chen Qianhua was just out for dinner with his teammates when his cell phone suddenly vibrated several times in a row. He'd received a few texts—Xu Zhuo: [Little Chen, good luck. Regardless of whether you win or lose, you'll always be our best support!]Chi Shuo: [Relax your mind and play well. Don't give yourself too much pressure.]Fang Zhengqing: [We haven't met up in a while. Once we're all back in the country, let's have a meal together.]Xie Yuan: [Captain Fang is too lazy to scan a QR code. How about we have Captain Chi pay the bill?]Xu Zhuo: [We really should have Chi Shuo pay. Tianhuan has an omega now, Chi Shuo should invite us all to a celebratory feast!]Chi Shuo: [??]Fang Zhengqing: [Agreed.]Xie Yuan: [Agreed. +1]The corners of Chen Qianhua's lips quirked up into a smile. He answered: [Agreed. +2]These messages had all been sent into a private group chat called [Star City Noobs Concentration Camp], and there were only five people in the group chat. The group had been formed five years ago, and at the time, they really were all noobs.When they met as teenagers, the five of them had all been rookies in training. They'd cluelessly stumbled their way through practices to hone their game sense, and occasionally the five of them would be put onto the same team for a ranked game. Then, it soon because obvious that Chi Shuo and Fang Zhengqing would never be a cohesive mid/jungle duo, that the top laner Xu Zhuo would always fly solo, that the bottom laners Chen Qianhua and Xie Yuan would always die one after another—a sorts of tragic scenes played out.And after they played together, they would all bicker and diss one another.Chi Shuo and Fang Zhengqing were polar opposites in their understanding of the game. It was very difficult for one of them to convince the other of anything.But in the end, even after they were signed to different teams, their group didn't disband.The pure friendships forged in youth continued to this day. Of the five of them, four were captains now. Regardless of who faced off against who in official games, they were still friends after they played.Chi Shuo wrote: [Are you all going home for the new year's break?]Xie Yuan: [Of course we have to go home to pass the new year. Otherwise my dad will break my legs~]Chen Qianhua: [I should be making a trip back to my hometown.]Fang Zhengqing: [+1]Chi Shuo: [Alright. Then I'll treat you guys sometime, we'll decide on a time and place later.]Chi Shuo's hometown was Star City, and the hometowns of the other four were all located within a five-hour drive of Star City.Star City had the biggest esports rookie training camp in the south of the country. Many youths from surrounding cities would come to Star City with hopes of playing esports. They would undergo their tests and training there. Chi Shuo and the other four would have a small reunion every year, and this time it was Chi Shuo's turn to treat.Chi Shuo closed the chat window and entered the conference room to watch the next game.The fight between Binghun and FLD was exceptionally fierce. Starting from the very first game, every single round lasted for more than forty minutes. Several consecutive edge-of-your-seat games tested not only the mental fortitude of the players, but their bladders and physical strength as well.What shocked international reporters was that Binghun, this team without a single celebrity player, managed to repeatedly fend off the attacks of the championship-winning Team FLD from North America. And in a key fight during the deciding game, they instantaneously turned things around and seized victory!Binghun advanced to the Top 4!Chinese fans had watched the game with their hearts in their throats. Finally, those hearts could settle back into their respective chests.Team Binghun had nearly been eliminated from the major leagues last season. This season, they overcame all obstacles in their way to become the domestic champions of the Chinese division. As the number one team in China, they earned their right to fight in the world championships—that was already the highest glory they'd ever achieved in the history of their club.When the team made it to the world championships, many people had rushed to Team Binghun's Weibo to leave their comments.[Regardless of whether or not you can win the trophy, Binghun played incredibly well this season!][A team that was almost disbanded last year can't have had an easy time climbing to this spot. Respect to Captain Chen!]Everyone had been surprised that Binghun made it to the world championships at all.On December 20th, Binghun played against the Korean team ATB in the semi-finals. They were eliminated in a 3-1 defeat. Chinese netizens had long since braced themselves for this eventuality. Not many people went out to curse Binghun. Most people applauded their team spirit. This team had climbed from the brink of elimination to the world championships stage, after all. It really hadn't been easy for them.Jingzhe was flamed quite fiercely, though.The runner-ups in last year's world championships had been eliminated in the Top 8.However, Fang Zhengqing was beyond lazy. Forget about responding to comments from anti-fans. He couldn't even be bothered to get on Weibo in the first place.His Weibo account had become a deserted wasteland a long time ago.The curtains officially fell on the S9 world championships on December 25th. The world champions were Team ATB from the Korean division.A team from the Korean division had taken the championship crown. That meant next year, the Korean division would have the right to send three teams to the world championships.The Chinese division's achievements of the year were quite dreary. Jingzhe took fifth place while Binghun took fourth. They didn't bring home any trophies or medals. To the domestic fans who eagerly followed esports news, this was undoubtedly a heavy blow.Many negative comments surfaced online—[The pros from the Chinese division really are bold at home but cowards on the world stage. They turn into babies as soon as they go to worlds!][You guys just be good and keep wailing on each other in domestic games. Don't go to worlds just to make your daddies lose face.][Laughing my ass off. How are Fang Zhengqing's fans going to excuse this? If it weren't for his mistakes as their commander, could Jingzhe have lost?][How do you noobs feel after being destroyed by international pros?][Watching your games really makes me laugh. I should've watched a Bronze-ranked match instead.][God Park from ATB is a real world-class mid laner. Captain Fang, Zhouzhou, whatever. These guys all need to scram!]Ye Shaoyang saw these comments and couldn't help but think back to his past life. After losing the finals of the world championships, he had been sent up the trending topics list by all the vitriol from his anti-fans—all the spiteful comments in this world were just like the hateful abuse that had been hurled around in Ye Shaoyang's last world.As expected, every world had its trolls.Ye Shaoyang put down his cell phone and carried Xiao Bai out onto the balcony.Last night, the capital had seen a heavy bout of snowfall. It was the first snow of the winter season that year. When Ye Shaoyang got up in the morning, feathery snowflakes had still been falling outside the window. The nearby buildings had all been covered in thick layers of snow already.Not a single person was walking outside on the roads of the neighborhood. The snowy scene was completely undisturbed.The whole world was wrapped up in silver, encased in pure white.Ye Shaoyang gazed out at the unbroken field of white. His heart calmed very quickly.This year, the Chinese division's teams weren't able to fulfill anyone's expectations. Things didn't look like they would be easy next season either. Ye Shaoyang wanted to take the world championship title very badly, but as for whether or not he would be able to achieve that goal—it still depended on a bit of luck.The state of a game could change a thousand times in a second. Even the strongest teams could crash and burn… every player could only play their best and leave each season with no regrets.Ye Shaoyang smiled as he stroked the head of the kitten in his arms.Xiao Bai curiously peered outside at the slowly falling snowflakes, even stretching out one paw to wave it through the air. But the silly thing didn't catch anything, though it still stubbornly continued to swipe at the air…That was what Chi Shuo saw when he stepped out from his own room.Ye Shaoyang was holding the cat, watching the snow by the window. On his face, he wore a small, relaxed smile.His profile was especially good-looking. A handsome young man holding an adorable cat looked like a picture perfect moment.Chi Shuo instantly averted his gaze.Ye Shaoyang heard the sound of footsteps. He looked back and smiled as he said, "Good morning, Captain Chi."Chi Shuo coughed lightly. "You're up this early?"Ye Shaoyang said, "I was bored when I got up, so I browsed around on Weibo and saw all those people dissing China's professional players for being noobs. They even said that the gods of the Chinese division all turn into cowards as soon as they leave the country."Chi Shuo was silent.The vast majority of players would get riled up when they saw such comments. Cheng Xing had been so pissed last night that his eyes had gone red. He'd nearly dropped all pretenses and gone online to diss those trolls right back. Ye Shaoyang, however, seemed to be completely unaffected.Chi Shuo said, "If Tianhuan loses one day, you might be insulted too."Ye Shaoyang calmly said, "It doesn't matter. It's no skin off my back if they want to insult me. I'll know in my heart that I haven't done anything wrong. Moving forward with a clear conscience is enough. There's no need to give those anti-fans any attention."A clear conscience.Chi Shuo had endured many years of controversy. Every time he played, some people would talk about how he'd peaked in his debut season. People would say that he only knew how to go downhill, and that he was just eating up the team's funds. They would say if only Tianhuan had their previous captain Ming Sheng, everything would be better. They would say Chi Shuo was just dragging Tianhuan down farther and farther…But Chi Shuo had already done everything he was supposed to do.He also had a clear conscience."You have a point. There's no need to give them any attention." Chi Shuo smiled faintly and walked up to Ye Shaoyang's side. He looked out the window and said, "S9 is well and truly over now. In the past few seasons, the Chinese division has sometimes produced these undesirable results of not taking home any prizes. But I believe… S10 will be different."Ye Shaoyang smiled and nodded. "Mm. S10 will be a new beginning."Chi Shuo looked towards the person next to him. He couldn't keep out the warmth that filled up his eyes. "Chinese New Year is on January 7th this year. I've heard that the league has asked all major teams to give their players a week off, from the 6th to the 13th. Will you go back to Star City to pass the new year?"Ye Shaoyang froze for a second.The parents of the original owner of this life had already passed away, and Ye Shaoyang didn't have many close friends or relatives in this world. The only people he'd been in contact with were his older cousin Qin Yue and his younger cousin Qin Rui. Besides his home in Star City, Ye Shaoyang had nowhere else to go.Ye Shaoyang lowered his head and stroked Xiao Bai's head. "Mm. I'll make a trip back there.""I'll help you book the tickets," Chi Shuo said. "Let's go back together?"Ye Shaoyang nodded. "Okay." Author's Notes:S9 is fully over now~Just a few more chapters, and then the next season will begin!

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