Chapter 124

NSN smoothly managed to qualify and as it should be, Wawa won the MVP title for the last best of one match. He also easily created a new record for the lowest number of casualties and the highest amount of healing done in a single game since the start of this years World Championships.

Although they qualified as the second team in their group, NSN played extremely well in the last BO1 game against the South Korean team. The statistics were shocking. Before, Wawa appeared as the obvious weak link in the team. Now this weak link suddenly evolved into the MVP. The teams that were already sure to advance to the quarterfinals didnt dare to underestimate NSN. The No. 1 team in Group B even sent a tweet saying that they didnt want to be matched up against NSN during the draw.

With NSN managing to qualify, after two years, the Chinese division once again had two teams to reach the top eight within the same World Championships. After the NSNs last game, Gu Gan went as their captain to the interview. When asked about which team he wanted to face, Gu Gan didnt even hesitate to say that Sacred Sword was the team he wanted to face most in the quarterfinals.

Numerous teams have been fighting it out online for many days. Just the day before the qualifying match of Group C, the Sacred Sword had already been bidding NSN good-bye. The strong smell of gunpowder had already risen to the surface. The probability of being matched against Sacred Sword was too high and Gu Gan didnt bother to pretend. He directly said that he wanted to compare skills against Sacred Sword in the quarterfinals. If his team loses, he will bless Sacred Sword as they enter the semifinals. If he wins, then hell be asking them to kindly take a hike.

Look at how many people Luo Luo has turned rotten. Even Old Gu has started to dish out some fighting words. Puppy sighed as he ate while watching the interview, Hes already this old but hes still not stoic enough.

Whats the f*cking use of being stoic? You just wind up ridiculed and they walk all over your face. Its true; although this years World Championship is the most chaotic but its also the liveliest. This is quality entertainment. Everyones already created this you die, I live kind of atmosphere. Chen Huo was quite satisfied, Not only are we going to f*ck you over, were also going to say it right to your face.

Zhou Huo looked at Gu Gans interview and turned to ask Old Qiao, If they really get matched up against Sacred Sword, how are their chances for winning?

There are so many factors that affect how one performs when theyre on the spot. How can anyone possibly give a precise win probability? Old Qiao looked at the NSNs happiness at qualifying. When they began to talk about this, the smile on his face faded a little. He said helplessly, If I really have to say a win probability. then Sacred Sword definitely has a slightly higher probability of winning.

You also said that theres factors when youre actually playing on the spot. Shi Luo ate a bit and said vaguely, Wawa will definitely perform better and better.

Thats also trueRight now, Wawa is a mini-Angel Sword. Sigh, whats the use of worrying about this? They might not even be matched up against them. We might wind up having a civil war. Zhou Huo said to Yu Sui, Dont set any practice matches for tomorrow. Theyll be doing the draw directly after Group Ds qualifying matches. Youll need to be there to do the draw for our team.

After playing for so many years, Yu Sui was very clear on the process of the World Championships. Yu Sui gave an en of assent. Shi Luo looked up at Zhou Huo and then at Yu Sui and said, Ill go with you.

Zhou Huo looked at Shi Luo and shrugged. Its just a draw. According to the order of their group, the first team from each group will draw one by one a second seed team. It will be done in five minutes at most but youll be waiting up to two hours before then. After a half-hours drive, youll get to the stadium and you wont do anything but wait. After a few minutes of actually doing the draw, youll come back here and thatll be another half an hour Its a waste of a few hours, why would you want to go? Dont you think its troublesome?

Yu Sui also looked at Shi Luo, Shi Luo said, Its not troublesome. Ill go with.

Zhou Huo was at a loss, Why?

Shi Luo swallowed his mouthful of food. He looked hesitant for a moment but did not explain.

Yu Sui lips also ticked up a bit but he too said nothing.

Zhou Huo looked at Yu Sui and couldnt figure it out. Although youll probably run into Sacred Sword when you go to the draw, its not like theyll be able to kidnap you. Youre over 1.8 meters tall. Whats got him worried? Why cant you go by yourself?

Youre thinking too much. Shi Luo isnt afraid that Ill get kidnapped. Yu Sui took two sips of warm water, Hes not used to these foreign social apps and wanted to see what the others were arguing about. I searched it on my phone and showed him

Someone sent a private message of a confession orsomething more than a confession to my accounthe accidentally clicked and saw it. Yu Sui continued to eat leisurely, Do you get it now?

I get it. Zhou Huo tut, Someone tipped over the vinegar jar again? Now, hes going to go wherever you go to let the people here in Europe know that you have a boyfriend?

Shi Luo looked at him askance and Zhou Huo decided to shut up. He nodded, Okay, if you dont think its troublesome then you can go. Tomorrow, you two go. Well wait for the result of your draw at the hotel.

After dinner, they played four more practice games. By the time they finished the game review, it was 5 in the morning. Everyone went back to their room to rest. At 2 in the afternoon, as scheduled, Yu Sui and Shi Luo went out to the stadium.

On the way to the stadium, Shi Luo was so sleepy, he could hardly keep his eyes open. In the car, he sat leaning against Yu Sui and couldnt help but doze off. Yu Sui glanced at the driver and taking advantage of the fact that the driver couldnt understand Chinese, he told Shi Luo earnestly, If really cant help but worry, how about you give me a hickey to mark your territory? You can have the driver drive you back to the hotel after you drop me off. Who would I belong to if you die from exhaustion?

Shi Luo opened his eyes a slit and said, face the picture of irritation, I wont die from exhaustion.

Yu Sui smiled, Youve really gotten jealous?

How can the internet celebrities here be so wild? Shi Luo really couldnt understand, What were they thinking sending pictures like that?

Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui, an expression of dissatisfaction on his face, In the past two years there have been a lot of these, right?

Yu Sui laughed. What can he do if someone sends

those

to him? Besides, hes never even looked at them at all.

The expression on Shi Luos face still wasnt good. Yu Sui looked at Shi Luo quietly and suddenly said, Take off your uniform jacket.

Shi Luo couldnt react immediately. He took off his coat, a bit dazed.

Yu Sui took it. He then took off his own jacket and handed it to Shi Luo. He put on the jacket with Evil printed on it.

Fortunately, Shi Luos team uniform was quite loose and it also fit Yu Sui very well.

Yu Sui zipped it up. He lay back against his seat and tried to catch up on sleep.

Shi Luo was taken startled and then he couldnt help the corners of his lips from ticking up.

There was a bit of a traffic jam on the road and arrived at the stadium after nearly an hour. The first two best of one games for Group D has already been played. The league staff member took the two of them to the lounge. Although he lounge wasnt big, fortunately, it did have a live broadcast feed of the matches. The two sat down to watch the game, waiting for the D group to finish before they do the draw.

Before we came here, Wawa sent me a voice message. He says you have to make sure to wash your hands before the draw. Shi Luo is still sleepy. He wasnt very energetic as he watched Group Ds matches. He said quietly, Were the first seed for Group A, youll definitely be the first one to draw. Wawa begs you not to draw NSN.

Recalling Wawas exceedingly silly tone of voice, Shi Luo felt his scalp going numb, Hes really not afraid of anyone anymore. He told me that all be wanted was to not run into us. If they get matched up against Sacred Sword in the quarterfinals and NSN wins, then this year, two teams from our division will be in the semifinals. If they lose, then theyll have experience in dealing with the Sacred Sword after playing a BO5 with them. Their team has already discussed it and they wont be returning to China immediately if they are eliminated. Theyll stay and serve as a sparring team. Even if they die, theyll send us to the finals.

Yu Sui looked down at the phone and frowned slightly.

After NSN qualified for the quarterfinals, NSNs boss was instantly full of confidence. He sent a provocation right at Sacred Swords face, asking if they wanted to make a date in the quarter-finals. Strangely, however, Sacred Sword did not send a response to counterattack this time. In response, as if they hadnt even seen it, half an hour ago, they made an ambiguous tweet, the meaning of which was that the one they wanted to set a date with was someone else, not NSN.

The accompanying picture was even more interesting, it was severed angels wing.

Yu Sui frowned and murmured, I havent seen you in a year and your playing just keeps getting dirtier and dirtier.

Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui, What did you say?

Its nothing. Yu Sui looked at the live screen, Lets watch the game.

Sacred Sword scored an overwhelming victory in the first round of games for Group D. Within their group, the Swedish team has scored two points, Japan had zero points, and the North American team had one point. So far today, Sacred Sword and the Swedish team has scored one point each. Sacred Sword was in the lead and the Swedish team was second.

Barring any unforeseen incidents, this should be the qualifying sequence for Group D.

The premise of which was that there would be no unforeseen incidents.

In the third BO1, the Swedish team scored another point. The other two teams in the group basically had no hope of qualifying.

In the fourth BO1, the North American team scored a point from the Japanese team. This had no effect on the overall situation.

In the fifth BO1, Sacred Sword played against the Japanese team. Not long after the game started, Shi Luos half-closed eyes slowly widened.

Shi Luos expression gradually began to turn cold and he smiled, What is Sacred Sword playing at? Did their players eat sh*t today? What kind of trick is this?

Yu Sui narrowed his eyes and after a while he picked up the phone to unlock it. He pulled up the tweet sent by Sacred Sword and handed it to Shi Luo, Look.

Sacred Swords tweet was in English, there was no need for Yu Sui to translate. Shi Luo understood it.

Sacred Sword seemed to be responding to NSN, but their words were much more roundabout than before. There was no biting sarcasm, no deliberate ambiguity. It even sounded a bit regretful, saying that they may not be able to respond NSNs enthusiasm and be able to make an appointment with NSN as NSN was looking forward to.

The signal in the stadium wasnt very good and it took a while for the accompanying picture to load.

Shi Luo looked at the severed blood-stained wing and his face instantly became frosty.

Frees team logo was a single wing.

Yu Suis eyes dimmed and he whispered softly, They were gunning for us all along.

Come at us then! Shi Luo looked at Sacred Swords unclear tweet and was instantly infuriated by the blood on the wing. Who did they chop off? Are they alluding to you? What do they mean? Are they cursing my team?

Well f*ck his ancestors! If Laozi werent loathe to dirty his professional record, I would have controlled points to run into them the day before yesterday! Am I afraid of him?! Do they think we were happy to have qualified as the first seed? I f*cking want to target them! Shi Luo furiously said, Who are they cursing to bleed? Is there any other meaning behind this?

Before Yu Sui could placate Shi Luo, Yu Suis cell phone suddenly rang. It was Chen Huo calling. Shi Luo immediately pressed the speakerphone. Chen Huos loud voice rang out. Come on! F*ck them for thinking they can stop us at the quarterfinals!

Old Qiaos sneer came out, Whats this? Looks like what we feel so utterly disgusting that we couldnt possible do, they can do easily. This Japanese team is just an Experience Baobao. In the previous round, Sacred Sword pushed them to the ground and trampled all over them. Just after a few days of not seeing each other, now the Japanese team is beating the sh*t out of them? Who do they think theyre kidding? Isnt this brothers acting a bit too fake?

Puppy sneered, Ive gained new insight on them. I only havent seen them for a year and now, no one knows how low theyll go.

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Huo was still trying to calm everyone down. They may not necessarily be controlling points. Its not over yet. Sacred Sword has always been like a cat toying with a mouse when playing against weak teams. Its hard to tell. Cant you stop acting like youre being provoked

Shi Luo sneered, They are like a cat toying with a mouse, but were the mouse.

The game was still going on.

Sacred Sword didnt make their acting too obvious. The average player would only think that Sacred Sword had been a bit too reckless in the early stage of the game. They had been too complacent and the Japanese team seized the advantage. Now they were finding it hard to regain their ground.

While they could fool ordinary players and even the game commentators, they couldnt fool professional players.

Wawa sent Shi Luo a WeChat message: [Shi Ge, are these bast*rds planning to qualify as a second seed team? So they can target the first seed teams?

Shi Luo did not reply.

The fifth round of BO1 ended very quickly. Sacred Sword lost to the Japanese team and lost one point.

The sixth BO1 game was Sacred Sword against the Swedish team.

As the points currently stood, Sacred Sword and the Swedish team both had four points.

The other two teams in Group D have no chance of qualifying. In this sixth game, whoever wins, either Sacred Sword or the Swedish team, would qualify as the first seed team. And whoever lost would be the second seed team.

Zhou Huo didnt believe that Sacred Sword would really control points in order to disgust the other first seed teams. He was still placating everyone; theres no need to be angry. He especially warned Yu Sui and Shi Luo who were at the stadium. He repeatedly tried to calm them down for fearing that they would get into a fight when they run into Sacred Sword later for the draw.

Zhou Huo regretted it so much. He wished he could fly to the stadium right now. He said again and again, Just calm down, I really think Sacred Sword was just toying with everyone last round. They dont actually intend to lose their first seed spot. Shi Luo, especially you. Youre not there to get into a fist fight. And its not just punching. You cant curse at them in front of the camera. This might even be their entire strategy. If you get into a fight with them now, you do know youre going to get suspended, right? We dont even have a substitute, if you get suspended, were really gonna be in trouble. Shi Luo? Shi Luo? Did you hear that?!

Shi Luo only had that picture of the blood-stained wing in his heart. His face seemed frozen. He said coldly, I know.

Zhou Huo said gently, But really, I think were just overthinking this. Theyre professional players too and they should have professional ethics. Theyre not going to go that far. They wouldnt fake

Zhou Huo got his face slapped before he got to finish. At the beginning of the sixth game, Sacred Swords striker seemed to go blind. He made a careless move and the Swedish team got first blood.

Yu Suis expression was the same as before, but his eyes darkened. He said lightly, En, theyre definitely not faking it.

Zhou Huo was dumbstruck.

Sacred Sword didnt want to be bothered about being penalized for playing passively. Apart from that careless move at the start, the players made sure to be very skillful in giving away their heads. From time to time, they would even launch a wave of counterattack. The situation on the field seemed very tense. They seemed like they very much wanted to win but these kind of moves to Yu Sui and the others eyes was no different from them streaking through the map.

Before the end of the game, Yu Sui had already got up and moved his wrist about.

Zhou Huo had already hung up his call with Yu Sui. He changed to doing a video call with Shi Luo. Trembling with fear, he watched Yu Sui and Shi Luo. Do-do I need to recite to you guys the competition rules and regulations?

Shi Luo said coldly, I can recite it forwards and backwards. I dont need you to do it. Thanks.

Zhou Huo swallowed, shivering, Dont break the rules, please.

The last game for Group D ended. Sacred Sword suffered an upset and lost to the Swedish team. They qualified as the second seed team for their group.

Yu Sui picked up his mobile phone and refreshed the page.

Sacred Sword had sent another tweet. They @ the first seed teams of Groups A, B and C and posted a greeting along with a smiley.

Chen Huo was also looking through twitter in the hotel. Upon seeing this, he blew his top. He said furiously, What the hell does this mean?! Youre telling me this isnt a provocation?!

Shi Luos phone kept vibrating, Wawa madly sending him question marks.

All of NSNs members have already steeled themselves to meet death and they were going to breakthrough and go for the goal. This years favorite to win the World Championships, Sacred Sword, was now a second seed team like NSN. There was now no chance of them meeting in the quarterfinals.

There was a knock on the door of the lounge and the staff member came to remind Yu Sui that it was time for the draw.

Yu Sui got up and looked at Shi Luo.

Yu Sui suddenly smiled.

Ive always had bad luck Yu Sui muttered to himself, raising his hand, I must have used up all my luck in this lifetime to have been able to make off with you. Baobei-er, give me a kiss and share a bit of your luck.

Shi Luo looked quietly at Yu Sui and asked, What kind of luck do you want? Among the second seed teams, who do you want to be matched with?

Yu Sui said lightly, Sacred Sword.

Shi Luo lowered his head and gently kissed Yu Suis hand, Dont come back with NSN.

Yu Sui left the lounge.

He ran into Gu Gan in the corridor. Gu Gan was a bit dazed. He was struck dumb with astonishment, Sacred Sword, they

Without any evidence, dont say it. Yu Sui reminded him, his voice cold, We havent run into trouble yet so go looking for trouble for us in advance.

It was also against the rules to slander other teams. Gu Gan understood. He nodded and stopped talking.

When he entered the field, the Captain of Sacred Sword, Yu Suis teammate last year, smiled at Yu Sui and asked in German: Are you scared?

Yu Sui didnt say anything. He didnt even give the other a glance. The draw began and the four first seeded teams were randomly divided into the two halves. The host of the draw ceremony reminded the first seeded qualifying team in Group A, Yu Sui that he can start.

Yu Sui stroked the back of his hand that Shi Luo had kissed. He quickly took one of the four balls and handed it to the host.

The host opened the ball for they used for the draw

Sacred Sword.

Yu Sui looked back at the Captain of Sacred Sword, his lips moved slightly.

He only mouthed the words. There was no sound but Sacred Swords captain saw it and the smile on his face went stiff.

Yu Sui had also spoken in German. He asked him as well: Are, you, scared?