/
After the performance, the game officially started. The first game was between Guangzhou ZC and Busan Cobra.
Busan Cobra was considered a mid-tier team in the Eastern division. With more than half of the regular season completed, Cobra was on the edge of making it to the playoffs. Every game, even every single map, was crucial for them.
In recent matches, both the players and the coach of Cobra had been under a lot of pressure, but today all that seemed to have vanished. They all had smiles on their faces as if they were about to win the championship.
Once Cobra’s starting four players were in position, the camera finally turned to ZC, albeit a bit late. The ZC players, on the other hand, appeared quite downcast, as if they had already accepted defeat before the match even began.
Qi Xian said, “When ZC plays against Cobra, the odds are 95-5 in favor of Cobra. But judging by ZC’s current state, that 5% chance might as well be gone.”
“Don’t say that. Can’t our domestic team at least put up a decent fight in their first match in South Korea?” Cheese wailed. “Can’t they at least get a few points? Sob.”
Yu Zhaohan didn’t have much faith in ZC’s starting lineup, but he had a favorable impression of ZC’s head coach, Alligator. If possible, he’d exchange a small section of Jiang Di’s abs to ensure ZC didn’t get a 3-0 sweep.
The first map was an ancient castle chosen by ZC, and the first two capture points were inside the castle. The castle’s interior was intricate, filled with corridors and blind spots, making it easy to stumble into unexpected encounters. On this map, tactical positioning and strategic awareness often outweighed individual marksmanship.
“If I were them, I’d choose this map too,” Lu Youshan commented, pointing at the screen. “ZC’s marksmanship isn’t something to rely on. They might as well try something unconventional.”
“Alligator’s got some tricks up his sleeve,” Shi Du remarked. “Look at the lineup he’s chosen.”
Alligator had selected an unconventional hero for his team’s center position – a demolition expert. The primary method of damage for the demolition expert was setting traps. Once an enemy triggered a trap, it would set off a concussive mine. While the damage from a single concussive mine could heavily wound a squishy target, a skilled sniper with precise aim could eliminate squishy targets with a single shot. The traps were also not invisible; although not very noticeable on the map, professional players’ eyes were sharp and they could easily spot the demolition expert’s traps.
The demolition expert’s pick rate wasn’t low in lower-tier matches; after all, novice players’ aiming skills were quite random. However, the last time a demolition expert appeared in a professional match was over 400 days ago.
As soon as ZC’s demolition expert was picked, he attracted the most attention. The broadcast camera frequently focused on him, indicating trap placements to the viewers.
“Oh?” Yu Zhaohan activated his skill [Say with Interest], adding an upward inflection to his tone. “Interesting.”
Except that Shi Du almost spit out the Coke he had just drank, the others didn’t think there was anything wrong.
“I don’t understand,” Stone wondered, “Why place traps in those corners?”
“You’ll understand after watching a few more of Cobra’s matches,” Lu Youshan’s eyes gleamed. “Alligator has thoroughly studied Cobra’s players’ movement patterns with this lineup.”
A Cobra assassin triggered a mine thirty seconds into the game, drawing first blood. ZC won the first team fight in a 4v3 situation, and Lu Youshan and Cheese stood up in excitement.
“Nice!” Lu Youshan shouted, saying, “This is how you do it, keep it up!”
The demolition expert’s trap placements were extremely cunning, making full use of the terrain and obstacles, and they were positioned along Cobra’s habitual movement paths. Cobra found themselves in a tough situation, with their formation in disarray. ZC smoothly captured point A, and the capture progress for point B reached 80. If they held on for the remaining 20, they would secure their first point of the season in Korea.
“Is it happening today?” Cheese, who had become half a ZC fan out of sympathy, exclaimed. “Is ZC’s first victory happening today?”
When the capture progress reached 85, there was a broadcasting mishap that suddenly amplified the voices of the live audience in the studio. Yu Zhaohan heard a few sentences in Korean, but he didn’t understand.
Shi Du muttered, “Idiots.”
Lao Tan asked him, “What’s wrong?”
Shi Du was quite disgusted, “Some audience members are shouting about the trap locations.”
Everyone had expressions like they had just swallowed a fly.
Stone angrily said, “How can the audience do that?! Isn’t anyone managing this?”
Qi Xian’s eyes were wide open, “It’s okay, the players can’t hear the live sound in the studio.”
“Not necessarily,” Shidu said. “As long as they slightly lower their headphones, they can hear.”
Jiang Di stated, “That’s a violation. The referees are standing right behind them, so they wouldn’t dare.”
As the capture progress reached 95, Cheese dashed around the living room wrapped in a blanket, “It’s the New Year! ZC fans are celebrating the New Year!”
“Cobra still has time to respawn,” Shi Du said, “I advise you not to get too cocky.”
At the critical moment, all four Cobra members regrouped, led by their support using an ultimate ability to bring the entire team back onto the battlefield. Yu Zhaohan’s attention was on ZC’s long-range sniper. When he saw the sniper’s shots at the bulky tank only hit once out of three, he frowned slightly and remarked, “ZC wants to win too badly, they’re rushing too much, and their execution has become distorted.”
Shi Du leaned back on the sofa: “It’s useless.”
In this team fight, ZC was wiped out. Cobra successfully respawned and secured target point B. ZC initiated several consecutive team fights but failed to reclaim the target point. Their coordination became increasingly chaotic, and after losing point B, they hadn’t even touched the edges of point C.
Cheese put on a mask of distress. “It’s over. ZC’s first victory won’t happen today.”
The first round ended, and Cobra led 1-0 temporarily.
The map that seemed within reach for victory was now out of grasp. The morale of all ZC members collapsed once again. Even though Alligator appeared composed during the halftime break and quickly devised tactics for the next round in the limited minutes, it was still too late.
In the second round, Cobra captured two target points in a row, bringing the score to 2-0.
In the third round, Cobra had the upper hand against ZC. They could have easily secured the win, but they chose to engage in some unconventional tactics.
After winning a team fight, instead of capturing the target point, Cobra blocked ZC at their respawn point entrance, preventing them from leaving. For a full three minutes, Cobra secured twelve kills, yet the capture progress for the target point remained at 0.
This wasn’t a game of elimination; it was a game of capturing points. As long as the target point wasn’t captured, the match would never end.
Even the commentators with high emotional intelligence couldn’t bear to watch Cobra’s behavior. “Shouldn’t the referees at least issue a warning for this?”
“Maybe the referees ‘didn’t see’ it,” another commentator’s voice trembled, “We saw ZC’s head coach Alligator protesting, but the referees still ‘didn’t see’ it.”
Jiang Di’s face was darker than ever before.
“This is way too low and ridiculous. They’re definitely going to be criticized by netizens,” Lao Tan couldn’t comprehend. “No matter how they explain it afterward, they can’t wash this away. Why bother?”
Cheese cursed in disgust. “I might even throw up my dinner tonight!”
Shi Du said, “If you really throw up, don’t eat my cooking next time.”
“Timeless, what’s your deal? Weren’t you the best at cursing before?” Cheese was so frustrated that his face turned rounder. “I was even thinking of asking you to write a book and teach Jiang Di, that big-mouthed idiot. Why aren’t you cursing now?”
ShiDu raised an eyebrow flirtatiously. “I only curse people.”
It seemed like Shi Du couldn’t be bothered to curse. Yu Zhaohan felt somewhat disappointed; he was actually looking forward to his handsome younger brother throwing out a few profanities for him.
Shi Du glanced at his phone, and it showed that the outdoor temperature was 35 degrees Celsius.
“The captain’s words are so cool!” Cheese’s head was hot, “Old Tan, when are we playing against Cobra?”
“Next Saturday,” Yu Zhaohan’s gaze turned heavy. “That’s when Cobra will die.”
Shi Du closed his eyes, silently brainwashing himself.
This was the wife he wanted to kiss. The wife he chose. He definitely couldn’t find him cheesy. Nowadays, it’s not easy to find a wife who’s both beautiful and good at gaming. If his wife was cheesy, it must be his fault. He didn’t dissuade him properly; it had nothing to do with him.
Shi Du opened his eyes and smiled, “That’s right, that’s when they will die.”
During the post-match interview, the interviewed player was Cobra’s captain. The interview was conducted in Korean, and only Shi Du in R.H knew Korean.
Lu Youshan asked Shi Du, “What’s he saying?”
“He’s talking about how their performance wasn’t good during their home matches in China before because they couldn’t get used to Chinese food. Now that they’re back in Korea, they’re back on track,” Shidu snorted. “He also mentioned that they anticipated a 3-0 victory today. He called ZC’s tactics in the first round a bit ‘dirty,’ but said that unconventional methods can never overcome true strength. Well, Cobra did win based on their strength, but winning so ‘low’ was beyond my expectations.”
Jiang Di said, “Didn’t they ask him why Cobra didn’t capture the points and just blocked the respawn door?”
After listening to the full interview segment, Shi Du replied, “No.”
Jiang Di clenched his fists.
Yu Zhaohan sent Shidu a WeChat message ten minutes before the next match, asking him to meet in the kitchen for a private discussion.
They arrived in the kitchen, one after the other. “Shi Du, why didn’t you curse at Cobra?” Yu Zhaohan asked after Shid Du closed the door.
“There’s nothing to curse.” Shi Du took Yu Zhaohan’s coffee cup and rinsed it under the faucet, “Cobra didn’t curse anyone; they’re just being disgusting. Instead of cursing them, it’s better to gross them out in return.”
Yu Zhaohan took a deep breath: “But I want to curse, I can’t hold it back.”
Shi Du smiled: “Do you know how to curse? Do you want me to teach you?”
Yu Zhaohan said, “Are you doubting me?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Shi Du scratched his nose, raising his hand. “I just thought, if you’re going to use words like ‘idiot,’ ‘moron,’ ‘fool,’ then you might as well not bother.”
Yu Zhaohan sneered, “Are you a stupid handsome guy? How could I curse like that?”
Shi Du became intrigued. “Then how do you want to curse?”
Yu Zhaohan cautioned him, “If I curse, don’t tell my mom.”
Shi Du smiled. “Don’t worry.”
With Shi Du’s guarantee, Yu Zhaohan no longer hesitated.
“These losers, a bunch of garbage, no professionalism at all.” Yu Zhao said coldly, “If they want to be trashed, they should’ve said so earlier. I will kill these idiots once I see them, I
 I
”
Yu Zhaohan’s voice suddenly grew smaller. He always felt like his mother would appear in front of him the next second, gently telling him not to use foul language.
Shi Du suppressed his laughter. “I?”
Yu Zhaohan lowered his head and said softly, “I’ll fuck their ancestor.”
Shi Du: “.”
Yu Zhaohan waited for a while but didn’t receive any comment from Shi Du about his cursing. He started to feel a bit anxious.
Apart from his mother’s prohibition, another reason he didn’t use foul language was that it didn’t match his appearance and demeanor. Once he used profanity, his looks would certainly take a hit.
He didn’t want Shi Du to think he wasn’t good-looking.
Yu Zhaohan couldn’t help taking a peek at Shi Du. Shi Du looked at him motionlessly, seemingly shocked.
“It’s not really their actual ancestors. I just made them up as ancestors on the professional gaming stage,” Yu Zhaohan weakly explained, “When I meet their actual ancestors, I’ll definitely greet them politely.”
Shi Du burst into laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” Yu Zhaohan asked worriedly, “Is it not good-looking when I curse?”
“How is that possible?” Shi Du can curse even more forcefully. For example, in the sentence ‘I’ll kill these idiots every time I see them,’ you can add ‘their mothers’ after ‘I,’ it will make your curse sound even more imposing.”
Yu Zhaohan belatedly said “oh”, thinking that the imperial concubine’s taste was really unique.