Qi Zui took the document from He Xiaoxuâs hands.
For HOGâs competitions against other teams, all players would have to sign a document to swear that they would not cheat in any form. If any problems were to arise, the player would have to bear all the consequences.
At the bottom right corner of the document, the ink had yet to dry. The firm strokes wrote clearly: Yu Yang.
Qi Zui folded the document bit by bit, âGive me the list of participants.â
He Xiaoxu smiled guiltily. As he moved over to Qi Zuiâs computer to check the name list on the internet, Qi Zui frowned and tutted. He Xiaoxu resigned to his fate. He stood up, moved a couple of steps, and sat down on Bu Nanaâs seat. Switching on the computer and opening the webpage, he muttered under his breath, âWhat a troublesome person⌠has he gone mad from playing professionally? Treats his keyboard like his wife. No one else can touch it.â
Qi Zui ignored him, absentmindedly tapping on his own keyboard.
He Xiaoxu looked at Qi Zui with doubt, âWhat is this sound?â
Qi Zui deadpanned, â What do you mean by what sound?â
âI thought you only used Cherry MX Blue?â He Xiaoxu looked at Qi Zuiâs keyboard, âThat sound just now was⌠Itâs Cherry MX Red?â
Qi Zui nodded his head, He Xiaoxu smiled, âWho was the one who said that last time? That the Cherry MX Red was too soft for your liking?â 1
âCherry MX Red requires less effort.â Qi Zui was impatient, âAre you done talking yet? Whereâs the name list?â
âDone. Done.â He Xiaoxu copied the name list and sent it to Qi Zui. âLook at your Wechat.â
âIAC, Lioness, WolvesâŚâ Qi Zui took out his phone and tapped on Wechat, his face growing darker and darker as he scrolled down the name list. âNON, TGCâŚHa? Knightâs Team One is coming as well? Is Hua Luo bored out of his wits?â
Knight. A well-established gaming club in the country that was not any less superior than HOG. Hua Luo was the leader for their PUBG branch.
He Xiaoxu did not dare to get on Qi Zuiâs bad side and smiled awkwardly. âKnight definitely has no desire for this little bit of monetary award, but they havenât been competing these two months⌠They recently recruited a few new members as well. They have to train.â
Not mentioning the Team Ones he saw earlier on, Qi Zui knew it would be over for Yu Yang when he saw Hua Luo. Qi Zui had played against him for years and clearly knew his standard more than anyone else. Qi Zui kept his phone and went down the stairs.
The first flu of this yearâs winter had swept across Shanghai. The psychological counsellor Xie Chen had, unfortunately, got infected. Not daring to spread this virus to these precious gamers, he came back to the base only after he had fully recovered a week later.
Even so, he was ordered by He Xiaoxu to wear a mask all day long and was refused entry to the third floor for a week.
âCut a long story short.â Seated in the relaxation room, Qi Zui looked at Xie Chen. âThereâs a competition half an hour later, I need to oversee it.â
âIsnât it Team Twoâs competition? That has nothing to do with you.â Xie Chen sat opposite of Qi Zui. Beaming, he laced his hands together and said with anticipation, âGod Qi finally requires my assistance as well?â
Xie Chen was just slightly over the age of thirty. He had a mercurial personality. This caused Qi Zui to, at some point in time, not understand why the battle team had to spend so much money every year just to have such a âthingâ in the team.
Now with his mask on, he actually looked more like a psychological counsellor. Xie Chen said with a serious tone, âRegret now my child, the lord is benevolent.â
âI am in no mood to joke with you right now.â Qi Zui threw his phone aside. âYou know Youth right?â
Xie Chen nodded, âOf course.â
Qi Zui said, âWas it you who told Lai Hua and He Xiaoxu that he was not suitable for Team Two?â\n
âYes.â Upon seeing that Qi Zui was really discussing a serious matter, Xie Chen stopped his joking tone. âI donât recommend it.â
âReason.â
Xie Chen hesitated.
Qi Zui sneered, âYou asked us not to make him part of the team. Not giving a reason?â
Xie Chen had no choice but to say, âBased on my preliminary analysis⌠he seems to have an inclination for anxiety.â
Qi Zui knitted his eyebrows.
Qi Zui did not quite understand. âAnxiety⌠anxious about what?â
âIt may not be that serious, itâs just a negative thing.â Xie Chen spread his hands. âI am merely a psychological counsellor, I donât have the right to make a diagnosis. But if you make him go for a consult at a hospital, the doctor should diagnose him for something mainly related to anxiety.â Â
âHow did he come to have this illness?â All the different scenes from a year ago flashed through Qi Zuiâs mind non-stop, and he was unable to accept this fact. âIsnât he just a little unsociable? He⌠how can this illness be cured?â
âItâs not necessarily an illness, it might just be a negative⌠forget it, canât make it clear to you.â Xie Chen gave up trying to explain and said helplessly, âHow would I know what reason caused it, and how to cure⌠Leader Qi, as I have already said, I am merely a psychological counsellor, I am not qualifiedâŚâ
âThen whatâs the use of you?â Qi Zui was getting heated up, and asked, âYou should at least know whether itâs serious or not?â
âMy analysis is that itâs not serious, butâŚâ Xie Chen paused, âI still donât recommend it. Iâve heard from Coach Lai that the team wishes to nurture him as a star player, which means he might be representing the club in all sorts of big competitions. You should be more aware than me on this, that in a competition, all problems will be amplified infinitely. If anything happens to him, then⌠you know it.â
âWhen will his problems occur?â The doubt 2 in Qi Zuiâs mind was disappearing bit by bit, and a thought that Qi Zui was unwilling to believe in came to the surface. âWhat happens when problems occur?â
âThis is uncertain, for the case of Youth, usually thereâll be a certain negative situation that triggers him, regarding what will happen⌠what commonly happens are some symptoms relating to the nerves.â Xie Chen explained, âFor example, tightness in the chest, perspiration⌠difficulty in breathing, body shiversâŚâ
Qi Zui recalled the memory in the corridor a year ago, and closed his eyes⌠All of this had happened.
Qi Zui remained silent for a long time, then suddenly banged the table and scolded a vulgarity.
Xie Chen was shocked, âWhat⌠what happened?â
Qi Zuiâs phone buzzed; he took a glance at it⌠seven forty-seven. Yu Yangâs solo competition would begin at eight.
âIâll see you again later.â Qi Zui went out of the room.
It was an online competition. Gamers could simply participate from their own bases. Three people from Team Two and Yu Yang would be participating in the competition in the training room on the first floor. Qi Zui looked through the glass wall for a while. Yu Yang had his back to Qi Zui all the while. Qi Zui did not want to affect Yu Yangâs performance for the competition and hence returned to the third floor.
âWhy are you pulling such a long face?â He Xiaoxu carried drinks up the stairs and dragged a chair to sit beside Qi Zui. âIâll watch together with you.â
Qi Zui didnât say anything. He sat on his seat and clicked on the live streaming channel.
The competition had been ongoing for two days. The day before yesterday had been Squad mode; yesterday was Duo mode; today was Solo mode.
For these two days, HOGâs results in the competition had been average. They had ranked 11th in the Squad mode and 17th in the Duo mode for Yu Yangâs team.
Too many Team Ones were participating in the competition this time. HOG had sent out their Team Two, so it was within their expectations that their rankings would not be good. The three people from Team Two had originally been very excited. He Xiaoxu had told everyone, whoever earned the first place would be able to go up to the third floor that same night. However, after two days of being trashed by all the god tier players, they had all calmed down.\nWhen the gap in standard was too wide, it was impossible to rely on luck or performance.
Impossible is impossible.
âYouth has been practising the Solo mode this whole week. Yesterday, he trained till six in the morning. He at most had only four hours of sleepâŚâ He Xiaoxu felt bad at the thought of it, sighing, âHe is really able to push himself. He already knows itâs clearly impossible.â
Qi Zui silently stared at Yu Yangâs game ID in the live stream with a complicated look. âHe has always been like this.â
It was like that, that year during the Goblet of Fire. In the training room, Yu Yang was always the first one to arrive, and the last one to leave 3.Â
If not for this, he would not have met Qi Zui, who went to the training room because he was suddenly in the mood for a few rounds of the game.
There were a total of five rounds of matches for the Solo competition. The results of the competition were the total scores from all the five rounds. For each round, the scores were made up of two parts: ranking and number of kills.
Each ranking had a specific number of points. First place, or more commonly known as Chicken Dinner, was 500 points. The second place was 395 points, third place was 335 points, and so on. As the rankings lowered, the points were lesser accordingly. For rankings lower than 20th, the points were less than a hundred.
As for the points for the number of kills, that was straightforward. For each match, ten points were awarded for each kill, twenty points for two kills, and so on.
The two components totalled up would be the total score for the player in this competition. The person who placed first for the total score for all the five matches would be the champion for this Solo competition.
The first round had begun. Because of the big fuss that Qi Zui had created a week ago, Yu Yang had become famous even before competing. The live broadcast kept focusing on Yu Yang. Qi Zui narrowed his eyes on Yu Yang. He Xiaoxu was not so clear on the technical aspect of the game. He could not help but ask Qi Zui, âIs the place where Yu Yang landed okay? I have not seen him play in the Solo mode yet. Howâs this round?â
Qi Zui shook his head lightly.
Yu Yang did not pick the wrong location. He had landed in the Ruins. But the location of the new Circle was too horrible this time, it had narrowed at the Quarry. It was totally in the opposite direction. Based on the birdâs eye view of the broadcast, Yu Yang had to pass through at least three people to enter the Circle.
Yu Yang did not have the birdâs eye view. In the game, he could only rely on footsteps, bush sounds, the enemyâs exposed body 4, and his own familiarity with the terrain to determine the path to take to enter the Circle. Yu Yang had been careful enough. He drove to the Lumber Mill 5, preparing the enter the Circle after the people from the Airport did. Unexpectedly, Knightâs Hua Luo had stayed hidden and not left Town M6, waiting to kill the people who entered the Circle last. Yu Yang did not position himself well and got killed by Hua Luo.
In the Solo mode, there were no teammates. No one could revive you, once you were knocked out, you would be out of the game. Yu Yangâs ranking came out. 27th.
âOh no! 7 Itâs done for!â He Xiaoxu clicked his tongue in pity. âLet me calculate⌠He killed five people, but his ranking is too low! 80 points for ranking, 50 points for the number of kills, a total of 130 points only! Itâs over, itâs over, itâs over.â
The results were calculated based on the total score for all five rounds of the game. Yu Yang lost too much in the first round, it was basically impossible to catch up later.
Furthermore⌠this was the first round.
âIs this kid still mentally stable?â He Xiaoxu was regretting a little, âThe next four rounds would be difficult right⌠this blow???âŚâ
Qi Zui looked at the screen quietly, not saying a word.
Ten minutes later, the first round ended. Knightâs Hua Luo placed first as expected. He killed seven people in this round; he had 570 points in total.
One match had already separated Yu Yang by 440 points.
The second match had begun.
Yu Yang seemed not to be affected much. He chose the place of landing more carefully this time. He avoided the crowd, found a boat and went to Town Z8. This time the new Circle was at the School. It wasnât too difficult on him. Yu Yang played steadily with kills, and successfully went into the final Circle. In the end, he killed twelve people; ranked 7th; 325 points in total.
The third match, Yu Yang killed ten people; ranked 3rd; 435 points in total.\n\nâHe looks young. When I first saw him, I thought he was underage. I paid special attention and even asked if he needed his parents to understand the situation. In the case of differing opinions in the future, it would be difficult to settle⌠But he said thereâs no need.â
âAfter that, I came to know⌠His father had passed away when he was at a very young age.â
âHe had followed his mother when his mother remarried. His stepfatherâs details⌠are rather disgraceful.â
âHis stepfather had been detained a few times for stirring up trouble after being drunk. He also seems to have⌠an inclination of family violence.â
In the live broadcast, a total of six people had chosen to land at the Airport.
Qi Zui looked at He Xiaoxu.
âDonât spread it.â He Xiaoxu said with a low voice. âNo one probably cared for Yu Yang since he was twelve.â
âTwelve?â Qi Zui looked at He Xiaoxu with disbelief, âWhat can he do at twelve?â
âMany things⌠Classes in the morning. He should at least be able to stay in school right? At night⌠look after the computers at an Internet cafe, or help the cafe owner sell some cards. Thereâs bound to be a place for him.â He Xiaoxu smiled bitterly, âDonât talk about the protection laws for the underaged. Young master, you think everyone is like you?â
With a bang, Yu Yang settled the last person in the Airport. Applying bandages and making sure his condition was optimum, he came out of the Airport with five kills.
Qi Zui felt like he was hit by ten sniper rifles in the chest. It was so heavy he could not speak.
The fourth round of competition had ended. Yu Yang killed six people; ranked second; 455 points in total.
He Xiaoxu had a thought, he opened the statistics page⌠It was a no show, Yu Yangâs total points ranked 5th.
âI wanted to tell you the other day, thereâs no need to worry about him collapsing mentally and thus affecting future training. He Xiaoxu spread his hands. âWell, Iâll be honest, as compared to all you spoiled kids, I prefer this kind of gamer.â
âA child who grew up in a swamp, letâs not talk about giving him a rope and pulling him up, even if you keep throwing stones at him, stepping on his shoulders and kicking him down, as long as thereâs a chanceâŚâ The fifth round of competition had begun, He Xiaoxu closed the statistics page, âHe will be able to climb out from the mud, little by little.â
Qi Zuiâs eyes trembled slightly. He got up and went down the stairs.
The fifth round of competition had begun.
In the training room on the first floor, Yu Yang turned off the statistics page of the competition⌠His total score currently was 300 points apart from the first place, Knightâs Hua Luo.
The commentator had said earlier on, if nothing unexpected happens, the champion of this solo competition would be Hua Luo.
After four rounds, Yu Yang could feel, that person was really good.
But he could feel Hua Luo was not as good as Qi Zui.
As long as he is not better than Qi ZuiâŚ
Yu Yang put on his headphones, took a deep breath, and jumped off the plane.
As long as he is not better than Qi Zui, Yu Yang feels that he can still press on.
From young till now, as long as thereâs an opportunity, he has never let it go.