Chapter 126 – Start Being Friends From Today
Next door, Gu Siming was reluctantly saying farewell to Li Xiaojiang. "Xiaojiang, I don't know why Cat G.o.d wants you to live with Zhuo Hang. If you don't want to talk with Zhuo Hang, go next door to find me and Xiao Han to chat."
Li Xiaojiang knew that Gu Siming really cared about him.
Of the other three peers on the team, Zhuo Hang smiled all day and looked sunny but he was actually very arrogant and difficult to get close to. His smile was just a distant politeness. Xiao Han's brain circuits weren't the same as everyone else and his words used were sometimes strange. Only Gu Siming was enthusiastic and sincerely cared about him.
Li Xiaojiang might be a slow child but he wasn't stupid. He could feel the att.i.tude of others towards him.
Li Xiaojiang was a bit sad about being separated from Gu Siming. He couldn't help lowering his head as he said, "I, I know. I will go next door to find, to find you."
Gu Siming hadn't closed his door when packing. Zhuo Hang had just arrived at the door when he heard this conversation. He couldn't help feeling depressed. Did Li Xiaojiang actually hate him that much? What was going on with Gu Siming here?
He endured this feeling and knocked on the door. Gu Siming turned back to open the door and cried out, "Since this is Cat G.o.d's arrangement, I won't say anything more. You shouldn't bully Xiao Li in the future!"
Zhuo Hang, "…"
Then in the eyes of others, he was a big b.a.s.t.a.r.d who would bully Li Xiaojiang?
He looked into the room and happened to meet Li Xiaojiang's wet black eyes. As a result, something like fear filled the latter's eyes and he removed his gaze, immediately shrinking back.
Zhuo Hang who was treated as a bad person, "…"
Gu Siming reluctantly pulled his luggage out and didn't forget to look back to tell him, "Don't bully Xiao Li, understand?"
Zhuo Hang rolled his eyes. "Really long-winded! Go to sleep!"
He drove Gu Siming to the next room and pulled his luggage inside, locking the door.
He looked up and found that Li Xiaojiang was looking down, hands clenched tightly and not speaking. It was like he was prepared to enter combat against an enemy.
Zhuo Hang finally couldn't bear it and stepped forward. "Why are you so afraid of me? I'm not a man-eating beast!"
Li Xiaojiang's face was slightly red as he retorted, "I, I'm not afraid of you. I… I'm a bit nervous."
Nervous? Zhuo Hang was startled and frowned. "Why are you nervous? Am I hard to get along with?"
Li Xiaojiang was silent for a moment before whispering, "I, I thought you hated me…"
Zhuo Hang actually didn't like Li Xiaojiang's slow personality. After all, most of his family were refres.h.i.+ng and resolute. Li Xiaojiang was slow in everything and his words were hesitated. He would take half a minute to say something that other people could say in five seconds and he would also stutter. Zhuo Hang wanted to reach out and straighten his tongue.
However, looking at this pathetic appearance that was like a bullied stray cat, Zhuo Hang felt very awkward. It was as if he had become a big bully!
He coughed with embarra.s.sment as he remembered Cat G.o.d telling him to get along with the other person. Zhuo Hang reached out gently to touch Li Xiaojiang's head and smiled. "I don't hate you. It is just that I'm not familiar with you and there isn't much common language. Don't think too much. We can become familiar with each other later."
Surprisingly, Li Xiaojiang's hair was very soft to touch and his height was just right. It was very easy to pat his head.
Li Xiaojiang heard this and looked up with surprise. "Yes, yes? You don't, you don't hate me?"
His black eyes were clear like gems, making Zhuo Hang feel guilty.
Looking closely, he found that Li Xiaojiang had a very flattering face. His height was relatively small since he was almost 18 years old and was still less than 175cm. He was the shortest one on the Canglan team and his face was also very small as it could be held with one hand. HIs body was thin and there weren't many muscles on his thin arms and legs.
Why did Zhou Hang want to compete with such a weak guy?
Zhuo Hang saw that Li Xiaojiang was still looking at him seriously and moved his line of sight. "Cough, in any case, Cat G.o.d arranged for us to be roommates. Later we should take care of each other."
Li Xiaojiang agreed happily. "Yes, yes!"
In fact, Li Xiaojiang was simple and easy to satisfy.
Becoming a professional player of the Canglan team was already a great fortune for him. He had been stuttering since an early age and often receive a cold reception from others. He had been accustomed to this treatment and didn't find it strange that Zhuo Hang hated him. He didn't think Zhuo Hang was wrong, he just felt a bit sad about being hated.
Today, Zhuo Hang said he didn't hate Li Xiaojiang. It was just that they weren't familiar with each other. Li Xiaojiang's mood instantly became happy. He opened his suitcase and took out a package of well-preserved duck neck and said, "This, this is for you to eat. Do you like, like it?"
Zhuo Hang didn't like to eat duck neck as a snack. When Li Xiaojiang brought back a whole bunch for the team, he only ate half a packet before giving the rest to Gu Siming.
However, Li Xiaojiang was currently smiling at him and Zhuo Hang couldn't bear to say words of rejection. He reached out and smiled. "Thank you, it is very delicious."
Li Xiaojiang saw him smiling and also smiled happily. "Is it? I, I also think it is very delicious."
Zhuo Hang didn't want to talk to Li Xiaojiang for a bit so he suggested, "You go take a shower first. I will unpack my luggage."
"Yes!" Li Xiaojiang ran to the bathroom to take a shower. Zhuo Hang opened his suitcase and took out the clothes to be worn tomorrow. Then he sat on the bed and played games on his iPad.
Five minutes after he started playing, Li Xiaojiang quickly came out. Zhuo Hang was a bit surprised, "You have finished already?"
Li Xiaojiang's face was red from the steam. He spoke while rubbing his hair with a towel. "Yes, I wash up and shower quickly."
Zhuo Hang smiled and asked, "Aren't you a slow person? How did you suddenly become fast when showering?"
Li Xiaojiang explained seriously, "My body isn't dirty. Just casually was.h.i.+ng is fine since it won't waste water."
Zhuo Hang, "…"
Was this the different living environment that Cat G.o.d was talking about?
When Zhuo Hang was a child, he often filled a bathtub with water and spend half an hour playing with bubbles. Once the bubbles were gone, he had to wash again. The concept of saving water was never mentioned by his parents.
Li Xiaojiang was different. He had been frugal since he was a child and wasn't used to showering for half an hour.
Zhuo Hang thought about it and felt more awkward. He grew up like this since he was a child and never felt there was anything wrong with it. How did he become a sinner when compared with Li Xiaojiang? Even the long was.h.i.+ng time, a problem he had never noticed before, suddenly produced a sense of guilt…
Zhuo Hang was thinking about this when Li Xiaojiang came over in big pyjamas. The hotel pyjamas he was wearing went down to the ankle, making him look like a small white zongzi. (TL: traditional Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves)
As he climbed into his bed, his pyjamas opened a bit and Zhuo Hang saw his underwear.
It was cartoon shorts with a robot cat printed on it.
Zhuo Hang, "…"
'Actually wearing this type of cartoon robot cat shorts, Li Xiaojiang, is your sense of aesthetics eaten by a dog?'
Zhuo Hang was a blunt person and he couldn't help asking, "Why are you still wearing this type of children's underwear? 18 years old is already counted as an adult. Changing to a pure colour is better. I think white suits you."
Li Xiaojiang was startled and looked down at his cartoon underwear, his cheeks slightly red. "I, I didn't bring white… I only brought three pairs to wear…"
Zhuo Hang asked, "What are the other two?"
Li Xiaojiang pointed to the closet. Zhuo Hang opened it and found that there were two clean underwear inside. The pattern and shape made him stunned. They were still cartoon shorts. The various cartoon characters and small size reminded him of what primary school students wore.
Zhuo Hang decided to save Li Xiaojiang's aesthetics, otherwise this guy wouldn't be able to get a wife when he was older.
He turned back and pulled out a packet of new underwear that hadn't been worn yet. He picked a white one and handed it to Li Xiaojiang. "Try to wear this. It has a protective cover over a male's key parts. If you wear loose boxers everyday, don't you feel like it is uncomfortable?"
They were both boys and peers. Thus, Zhuo Hang felt there was nothing wrong discussing this type of problem. In high school, didn't he often gather around with his roommates to look at those type of magazines?
Li Xiaojiang's nature was shy and no one had ever said this to him before. His ears were red as he accepted the s.e.xy white underwear given by Zhuo Hang. Li Xiaojiang felt like he was taking a hot potato.
Zhuo Hang said, "This is a new purchase and I have never worn it. The trademark hasn't been cut. It is definitely more comfortable than your boxers. The white one is for you. Take it and try it."
Li Xiaojiang nodded and silently changed under the blanket.
Zhuo Hang asked, "How is it? Is it comfortable?"
Li Xiaojiang was silent for a moment before stuttering with a red face, "I wore it, it is a bit big, big…"
Zhuo Hang quickly understood. This guy's thing must be small and the underwear was too big for him.
Zhuo Hang looked at Li Xiaojiang's red face and finally reacted. d.a.m.n, why had he used this topic to become familiar with each other? What was wrong with him, talking about underwear?
Zhuo Hang wanted to slap himself and immediately changed the topic. "What time do you usually sleep?"
Li Xiaojiang answered, "11, 11 o'clock."
Zhuo Hang suggested, "There is still one hour left. Do you want to play a game?"
Li Xiaojiang asked, "Miracle?"
"Aren't you tired of playing Miracle every day? I will recommend a mobile game. It is fun and also lets you practice your reaction speed." Zhuo Hang opened his iPad to a shooting game. He sat next to Li Xiaojiang to show him. "The left side is the sight and the right side is the shooting b.u.t.ton. The next b.u.t.ton fills you up with bullets. This is up and down and left and right. Avoid the bullets and kill the opposite side to achieve victory."
Li Xiaojiang made a curious expression and nodded earnestly, "Yes."
Zhuo Hang started a game. There were gunshots and several opponents were consecutively shot in the head. The prompt 'Congratulations, you have pa.s.sed' appeared on the screen. Zhuo Hang handed the iPad to Li Xiaojiang and said, "Come and try."
This was Li Xiaojiang's first time playing on the iPad and he was very excited. He tried to shoot and ended up being shot to death.
“I, I'm not very good at playing.” Li Xiaojiang handed the iPad back to Zhuo Hang with a red face.
Zhuo Hang laughed. "It doesn't matter. Try it a few more times."
"Oh." Li Xiaojiang accepted the iPad again and pressed start.
This game was much better. Li Xiaojiang hid behind obstacles and slowly aimed. Then he got up to shoot and the opponent really fell down. Li Xiaojiang continued to hide behind obstacles and played slowly. After playing for 10 minutes, he finally pa.s.sed.
“I pa.s.sed!" Li Xiaojiang's face filled with joy and his eyes shone.
Zhuo Hang saw this and couldn't help smiling.
If he didn't mind Li Xiaojiang's slowness, this guy was actually good to get along with. His mind was simple and he hadn't seen the big world. If Zhuo Hang was good to him, he would be good back.
He was like a stray cat that was easy to satisfy. Just give him something to eat and he would follow you to death.
The more he saw Li Xiaojiang seriously holding the iPad, the more Zhuo Hang thought that this guy was cute. Why did he hate Li Xiaojiang before? In fact, it was because his sense of pride that made him think Li Xiaojiang would drag him down.
In fact, Li Xiaojiang was a hard-working person.
Zhuo Hang just needed to watch him play this shooting game to know he was serious about everything he did.
When he played this game, he lost and lost. However, Li Xiaojiang focused as he played. Every time he shot, he considered it very carefully, allowing him to achieve a killing blow every time.
He took a longer time then Zhuo Hang but his seriousness was hard to match.
Zhuo Hang finally understood why Cat G.o.d wanted him to live with Li Xiaojiang. Li Xiaojiang had many advantages, especially the patience and seriousness that Zhuo Hang lacked.
An active exchange with Li Xiaojiang was still awkward but Su Guangmo, Tan s.h.i.+tian and Li Cangyu were staring at him. Once he made a mistake, the three G.o.ds would scold him.
Zhuo Hang had to obey Cat G.o.d's arrangement and slowly adapt to the environment of the team.
From now on, he must try to accept Li Xiaojiang's existence.
According to Cat G.o.d, Xie Shurong would play a demonstration game with Li Xiaojiang in the next match. Then the match after that would be Zhuo Hang and Li Xiaojiang again…
Zhuo Hang still had no clue on how to cooperate with Li Xiaojiang but he would calm down and slowly learn. At the very least, he shouldn't be scolded by the three captains in the next match. Even if he lost, he had to play to his own standards and not make it as shameful as the first match.
There was a moment of silence as Zhuo Hang finally understood. He smiled slightly and turned to Li Xiaojiang. "Xiaojiang, there might've been a misunderstanding between us. From today, shall we be friends?"
Li Xiaojiang put down the iPad and looked up at Zhuo Hang, somewhat flattered.
Zhuo Hang saw a small animal's frightened eyes and couldn't help reaching out to touch his head. "Are you still afraid of me? You look so shocked."
Li Xiaojiang said with a red face, "I, I didn't mean that…"
He knew that Zhuo Hang's family was very good and there were several great G.o.ds as relatives. He thought that Zhuo Hang would look down on him. He didn't expect that Zhuo Hang would uncharacteristically volunteer to become friends with him.
Zhuo Hang saw Li Xiaojiang's doubts and reached out to gently hold Li Xiaojiang's hand. "Then it is decided!"
Li Xiaojiang, "…"
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Chapter 127 – Demonstration Match
Zhuo Hang previously didn't like Li Xiaojiang but there were no grudges between them. The two people were of similar age and the small Li Xiaojiang was no threat. Zhuo Hang's proposal to be friends with him was to ease the relations.h.i.+p between teammates. After all, didn't they have to cooperate in the future?
Cat G.o.d said he would send them to play the third match. Zhuo Hang had to learn something from Xie Shurong tomorrow otherwise he didn't really know how he could cooperate with Li Xiaojiang.
***
The next day, Li Cangyu gathered everyone at the hotel's restaurant and gave a simple explanation of the things they needed to pay attention to.
This afternoon, the Canglan team was arranged for another match. The opponent was a weaker team in the second division and the name was Blades. The team's characteristics were the same as the team name and they were filled with melee players who used the clever type style of play.
For the arena stage, he had decided to send Xie Shurong and Li Xiaojiang. For the team battle, Li Cangyu decided to use the lineup of the previous game—Gu Siming, Xiao Han and A'Shu as the three melee front row while Li Cangyu, Bai Xuan and Old Zhang were the three remotes back row.
Zhuo Hang didn't need to play today. Li Cangyu wanted him to calm down and study hard. Zhuo Hang naturally didn't have any opinions about this.
After the lineup was properly arranged, Li Cangyu asked everyone to go back to take a nap and raise their spirits for this afternoon's match.
***
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, everyone from Canglan rushed to the venue. They entered the players' soundproof room and started to prepare for the next game.
The commentator Chen Weiwei turned back and asked her partner, "Shao Yu, what do you think the score of this match will be?"
Shao Yu speculated, "I think it will be 14:0."
Chen Weiwei pretended to be surprised. "Do you mean this match will be a complete steamroll?"
Shao Yu smiled and said, "If Cat G.o.d personally plays in the team battles, the result will surely be two consecutive victories. If A'Shu or Cat G.o.d appears in the arena, it is easy to win… Moreover, the Blades team is a weak team in the second division. If they meet Cat G.o.d, their hope of winning isn't big."
In fact, Chen Weiwei also thought this. Since watching the last match, she admired Cat G.o.d's personal strength. She always felt it was too much for Cat G.o.d to play in the second division. He should quickly finish the second division to face the most powerful teams in the first division.
It was estimated that many players were psychologically aware that Cat G.o.d was the ultimate boss of the second division.
The two of them chatted casually for a few minutes before the live game finally began.
The list of players appeared on both sides of the big screen at the same time. The Canglan team sent out the combination of a swordsman and a black magician.
Chen Weiwei was surprised. "This time he sent out Ashu and Li Xiaojiang. Li Xiaojiang is fighting twice in a row. It seems that Cat G.o.d attaches great importance to the player Li Xiaojiang!"
Shao Yu nodded in agreement. "Li Xiaojiang is indeed special. His slow style of play is rare in Miracle. Cat G.o.d probably wants to train him well."
Chen Weiwei said, "The Blades team has sent two berserkers. The berserker's attack power is very strong, especially against the fragile magician cla.s.s. The axe will be very painful. It depends on whether Li Xiaojiang can control the rhythm well."
"Then game will start soon. Let's look at the Canglan team's map selection."
***
Li Cangyu the 'Demon Forest' map that he used yesterday because he wanted Zhuo Hang to see how this forest map that benefited Xiao Li should be played.
Zhuo Hang understood the captain's good intentions and immediately raised his head, intently staring at the screen.
The game started and the players simultaneously refreshed at two corners of the map.
Xie Shurong didn't rush forward and stayed by Li Xiaojiang's side like a bodyguard. The two moved together to the centre of the map and saw the other team's berserkers rus.h.i.+ng over.
The Blades team knew that Li Xiaojiang's level was relatively weak. Meanwhile, they had heard of A'Shu and knew that he was one of the Three Musketeers who wasn't lacking compared to his brother Su Guangmo.
The soft persimmon should be picked. Once both sides met, the two berserkers directly rushed at Li Xiaojiang.
Li Xiaojiang was a long-range magician. They just needed to slash him a few times with a berserker's axe and he would die here…
Zhuo Hang's eyes widened nervously.
Then Xie Shurong's actions were eye-catching. The terran swordsman suddenly jumped in front of Li Xiaojiang, his sword in his hand falling down before accurately crossing to the other side. It was the most commonly used control skill of a swordsman, Spirit Lock!
The person hit by Spirit Lock would be fixed in the same place. Li Xiaojiang took this time to retreat behind a big tree and started to cast a black magic spell. The target was the mad warrior controlled by A'Shu.
Death Mantra, h.e.l.l Flames!
He read the spells very slowly and could only cast these two skills during the time the opponent was still. Moreover, Death Mantra just increased black magic damage and wasn't considered an attack skill.
However, under the bonus of Death Mantra, the damage caused by h.e.l.l Flames was terrifying!
The thick-skinned berserkers directly lost 20% of their blood!
The control on the berserker ended and he immediately waved his axe towards Li Xiaojiang. This time, Li Xiaojiang didn't retreat and kept still as he cast the next skill.
The reason he didn't retreat was because he had the extremely fast Xie Shurong to protect him!
Xie Shurong opened the move Light and Shadow Rotation, his sword sword blocking the two berserkers from moving forward. Li Xiaojiang slowly cast a skill again. This time it was Shadow Winding.
This skill was a relatively strong group attack skill of a black magician that caused a negative status. Under the effect of Death Mantra, Shadow Winding would cause the opponent to lose 3% of blood per second and this lasted 10 seconds, for a total blood loss of 30%.
The casting time was very long but the advantage was the skill had a relatively wide release range. It wasn't effective if the other side was running away but once it hit, it caused a 30% blood loss, which was equivalent to a final move.
Without a healer to help relieve the negative state, the opposite side's berserkers could only continue to pursue Li Xiaojiang.
The thing that surprised them was that although Li Xiaojiang's movements were slow, Xie Shurong was extremely fast!
The terran swordsman constantly released various skills to interfere with the two berserkers. He didn't use many attack skills but the chaotic sword caused great trouble for them.
The two people couldn't catch up with Li Xiaojiang and were hit by his black magician, reducing their blood volume.
It was hard to catch up. Xie Shurong would use Spirit Lock to control a person while Li Xiaojiang kept using black magic after running far away. The combination of one person protecting and one person dealing damage seemed weak. However, if they cooperated well then the power was terrible!
Zhuo Hang sitting under the stage was shocked until a prompt appeared on the big screen.
[Snail Crawling Slowly has killed I am a Madman!]
The shock in Zhuo Hang's heart was indescribable.
It turned out that Li Xiaojiang could have such a dazzling performance on the field.
The key was that he worked well with Xie Shurong. Xie Shurong protected him and provided him with the perfect environment to deal damage. Li Xiaojiang ran and played. From beginning to the present, his casting had never been interrupted by his opponent.
Li Xiaojiang's disadvantage was his slow speed but his advantage was that every spell dealt huge damage. As long as his skills were smoothly cast, they would deal a terrible injury to the body!
Li Xiaojiang who could cast his skills was simply scary!
Li Cangyu saw Zhuo Hang's expression and knew that this young man had figured it out. He smiled and whispered into Zhuo Hang's ears, "If the person on the field is you, what would you do?"
Zhuo Hang scratched his head with embarra.s.sment. "I… I will cooperate with him in the future."
“It isn't just that." Li Cangyu shook his head and looked seriously at Zhuo Hang. "The protection of a swordsman is actually very limited. A'Shu has to let out a burst of hand speed to protect Xiao Li but a hunter is different."
Zhuo Hang's eyes lit up. "Cat G.o.d means… can a hunter provide a better output environment for a black magician?"
“Yes, a hunter's traps is much better than a swordsman's control and movement interference. The traps are invisible and the other side can't see where you place the traps. They are completely controlled by you and the degree of freedom is high. As long as the trap is stepped on, there will be a slowed effect. There are also special silence and stop traps. As long as you use them well, the opposite side's melee can't get close to Li Xiaojiang." Li Cangyu patiently explained.
Zhuo Hang nodded seriously. "I understand!"
Li Cangyu patted his shoulder with relief. "This is why I had you form a combination with Li Xiaojiang."
Hunters could lay traps all over the place, making the opponents feel fear. He could even place traps around Li Xiaojiang so that the enemies couldn't get close. This way, Li Xiaojiang could stand there with peace of mind and slowly cast his skills, suppressing the other side with black magic.
This was the ingenuity of the combination of hunter and black magician.
If the enemies were two melee, this quick and slow combination would make them want to vomit blood.
Zhuo Hang finally understood the meaning of Cat G.o.d making them pair up.
He thought that Cat G.o.d just paired them together to help grind their personalities. He didn't expect for Cat G.o.d's vision to be so high, actually trying to form an ace combination for Canglan…
He was too superficial compared to Cat G.o.d's foresight. He didn't understand the power of the combination and abandoned Li Xiaojiang…
[Snail Crawling Slowly has killed Invincible!]
On the big screen, Li Xiaojiang once again cast a spell and directly killed the remaining berserker.
Zhuo Hang saw this scene and couldn't help hanging his head with shame. He recalled the game where he left Li Xiaojiang alone and couldn't wait for a hole to open up to bury himself in it.
Li Xiaojiang was sitting in the player seats and was flushed with excitement. His fingers shook slightly and he could barely hold the mouse.
He killed two opponents in a row and won! He could actually win!
The young boy's eyes filled with tears as he looked gratefully at Xie Shurong next to him. Xie Shurong said with a smile, "Great, Xiao Li. Continue to play well in the next game."
"Yes!" Li Xiaojiang nodded eagerly, took a deep breath and held his mouse tightly.
The second game was the Blades team's selection but Li Xiaojiang clearly played better than the first game.
He gained some confidence after the first round and Xie Shurong protected him too well. Li Xiaojiang naturally let go of any fear and his black magic accurately hit. Every hit was accompanied by a huge blood loss. The two kill prompts once again appeared on the big screen, the Canglan team winning the two arena rounds!
Li Xiaojiang excitedly returned with Xie Shurong.
Li Cangyu took the lead to come over and gently pat the teenager's head while smiling. "Your performance was amazing!"
Bai Xuan also came over to pat his head. "Our Xiao Li is really powerful!"
This was followed by Uncle Zhang. "Xiao Li, I never thought you would be so strong!"
His hair was messed up by them but Li Xiaojiang was very happy and replied seriously, "Yes, A'Shu was too good."
Xie Shurong rubbed his hair and smiled. "Don't be humble. You are also powerful."
Gu Siming excitedly held Li Xiaojiang's hand. "Too handsome, too handsome! I took a few photos and will send them to you when we get back!"
Xiao Han quietly walked over. "You performed well."
Qin Mo taught him this sentence. It was a phrase that Captain Ling commonly used to praise someone and Qin Mo said that these words had more meaning.
Everyone was praising Li Xiaojiang. Zhuo Hang, who was sitting in the corner, also came forward while touching his nose with embarra.s.sment. "You… you are awesome."
This sentence was very awkward but they were Zhuo Hang's true feelings.
After today's game, he finally discovered that Li Xiaojiang was excellent. He was always serious and worked hard. Every step was carefully calculated and there were few mistakes.
The bad one was Zhuo Hang.
Look, Li Xiaojiang just changed partners and he became so radiant.
In the last match, Zhuo Hang had played worse than rookies in the online game.
Zhuo Hang was well aware that his current level wasn't comparable to Xie Shurong. It was impossible for him to protect Li Xiaojiang and provide him with such a peaceful output environment.
However, Zhuo Hang believed that one day, he would stand by Li Xiaojiang as a teammate and bodyguard, causing Li Xiaojiang to exude the most dazzling brilliance.
The combination of fast and slow proposed by Cat G.o.d would surely become a special killing trick of the Canglan team.
It was possible that in the future, Cat G.o.d would probably send him with Li Xiaojiang when encountering teams with more melee cla.s.ses. He had to live up to  the expectations of Cat G.o.d and his teammates.
Zhuo Hang thought this and finally calmed his emotions. He formed fists and walked in front of Li Xiaojiang. He grinned and reached out a hand. "In the future, I will try to protect you. You can confidently stand behind me and unleash your output."
This was the essence of the fast and slow combination.
Li Xiaojiang was the core and Zhuo Hang had to protect him, not desperately try to be the output.
Li Xiaojiang was stunned. He knew that Zhuo Hang was taking the initiative to show him goodwill. He was somewhat shy but he reached out and shook Zhuo Hang's hand. "Yes, we will do it together!"
Li Cangyu couldn't help grinning at this scene.
After all, they were both young. Grievances came quickly and went quickly. It seemed that the combination of hunter and black magician should be eligible to stand in the league's first division in the near future.
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Chapter 128 – Growth (1)
As Shao Yu predicted, the match between Canglan and Blades was a crus.h.i.+ng game. Canglan won four points from Xie Shurong and Li Xiaojiang's two games winning streak. Then Li Cangyu led the team battle and the six players won two games, making the final score 14:0.
They won 10 points from the previous match with Dream and now 14 points. The total of 24 points made them jump to the top of the leaderboard in an instant.
Chen Weiwei was a bit surprised by the current rankings. "I thought that Canglan wouldn't get to the top of the rankings until at least halfway through the schedule. I didn't expect them to jump straight to the top after playing two matches."
Shao Yu explained, "This is also related to the schedule. Canglan hasn't faced the relatively strong teams in the second division. We have to see if they can keep first place after the next match."
Chen Weiwei agred. "Yes. The next match is against the winner of last year's second division, the Yaohua team. This team has several good players who have the strength to advance to the first division. Captain Wei Hua has played for several years and has a lot of experience. The match is scheduled for two days from now. I welcome all friends in the audience to watch at that time!"
***
They returned to the hotel and Li Cangyu gathered everyone to briefly summarize today's match and give special praise to Li Xiaojiang.
Xiao Li's hair was messy from being patted by everyone, his cheeks were red and his eyes were extraordinarily bright. Li Cangyu really liked this slow young boy and couldn't help rubbing his head even more.
Li Cangyu finished the summary and went on to arrange the lineup against the Yaohua team.
As Chen Weiwei said, the next opponent were similar to the teams ranked at the bottom of the first division, making them the most difficult opponent at the current stage.
However, Li Cangyu wasn't worried at all.
He wasn't even afraid of the world boss so how could he be afraid of the small boss?
He had mentioned a long time ago that the arena would be played by Zhuo Hang and Li Xiaojiang. This was to let Zhuo Hang try the style of play that he learnt from Xie Shurong. For the team battle, Li Cangyu continued to follow the lineup of the previous two matches. This was mainly because Zhuo Hang and Li Xiaojiang's states weren't stable enough and they currently couldn't integrate into the team battle.
In any case, there was still a long schedule remaining. He didn't need to hurry and could slowly hone the teenagers.
***
The Canglan team took a day off before having to face their most powerful opponent, the Yaohua team.
The seats were full for today's match. Many spectators were holding a fluorescent Yaohua cheering sign. It was obvious that this team's popularity in the second division was quite high. Captain Wei Hua and Vice-Captain Yao Shuan were very good players.
The simple preparations ended and the match officially began.
For the first arena stage, the information of the players for both sides appeared on the big screen.
The Canglan team really did send the combination of Zhuo Hang's hunter and Li Xiaojiang's black magician.
The combination sent by the Yaohua team made many audience members scream excitedly. Black magician Captain Wei Hua, ID: Glittering Flower, and the beast berserker Vice-Captain Yao Shuan, ID: Escape Without a Trace.
The leaders of the team joined forces to fight the arena, showing how much importance they attached to the Canglan team.
This combination of berserker and black magician was very similar to the Xie Shurong and Li Xiaojiang combination. The berserker would control and protect while the black magician was the main output.
If a combination with similar tactical ideas met on the field, victory could only be determined with pure strength.
Li Cangyu looked at the list and whispered into Li Xiaojiang's ears, "Don't worry. Just play as usual and believe in yourself."
Li Xiaojiang nodded and went to the contestant area with Zhuo Hang.
During the map selection, Li Cangyu didn't hesitate to submit the long-selected map—Demon's Forest.
Many viewers saw this familiar image and were speechless. Some netizens were also grumpy. [Can't Cat G.o.d change the map?]
[Three consecutive Demon Forest!]
[Is Cat G.o.d's true love the Demon Forest?]
Shao Yu understood it as, "Cat G.o.d keeps choosing Demon's Forest to let the Zhao and Li combination to practice the forest terrain until they are fully proficient in the forest terrain."
Chen Weiwei suddenly realized. “No wonder! The Demon Forest map is really the most cla.s.sic and representative forest map. Cat G.o.d is using this map for training?"
Once it came to this, the map finished loading and the players of both teams refreshed in two corners of the forest.
This time Zhuo Hang didn't rush forward. Instead, he waited for Li Xiaojiang and they walking forward together, each maintaining a certain distance from the other.
The two people walked through the dense forest. Once they were near the centre, Zhuo Hang placed two traps in front so that the berserker would have to step on them if he wanted to hit Li Xiaojiang.
Soon, the contestants on both sides met in the middle of the map.
The opposite side's berserker didn't rush at Xiaojiang. Zhuo Hang wasn't in a hurry as he quickly moved in front of Li Xiaojiang. He was an elf and the speed of his actions was fast. Combined with his hand speed, the level of his random walking was high, making him look like an invisible wind running around.
Moreover, when he ran quickly like this, it was difficult  for the opponent to judge where he placed the traps.
Since the hunter's skills were known as traps, they were naturally invisible to the opponents. Any place where Zhuo Hang ran had the potential to contain traps, giving people great psychological pressure.
In fact, Zhuo Hang didn't place too many traps. He just moved quickly so that the other side couldn't control him. Yaohua's captain Wei Hua was an experienced player. He looked at Zhuo Hang's remaining blue and a.n.a.lyzed that only two trap skills were used. He no longer hesitated as he ordered, "You go after the hunter. I will deal with the black magician."
This arrangement was clearly the best approach. The berserker would get close to the hunter while the captain played against the slow black magician. This was very favourable towards the Yaohua team.
Once he saw that the berserker Escape Without a Trace was heading towards him, Zhuo Hang immediately unleashed a burst of hand speed and placed three trap around him—the Silence Trap, the Stop Trap and the Death Trap!
Zhuo Hang's tree traps trick made the audience feel like there was a flower in front of them. Three different trap arrays appeared on the ground in the big screen, looking very beautiful.
The berserker stepped into the first Silence trap and was in a state where he couldn't use any skills. Due to the inertia, he couldn't stop in time and stepped forward into the Stop Trap and Death Trap!
Yes, Zhuo Hang placed the Stop Trap and Death Trap in one place!
The Stop Trap froze the berserker and the Death Trap caused a huge amount of damage, causing the berserker's blood volume to instantly fall by one-third!
Chen Weiwei couldn't help feeling excited. "Zhuo Hang, this contestant has become really impressive after three days! The first match made me thing he was very good. This match… he feels like a master?"
Shao Yu smiled, "Perhaps today is his normal level? There aren't many people who can use a hunter's chain traps well. If the position is wrong, the angle is biased or if the opponent doesn't enter the trap then it is equivalent to wasting skills. Zhuo Hang's pre-judgment of the positions is very accurate and all three traps. .h.i.t!"
Chen Weiwei said, "Vice-Captain Yao might be a bit careless. After all, Zhuo Hang didn't perform well in the first match."
She guessed correctly. Yao Shuan, the vice-captain of Yaohua, was really careless. He thought that Zhuo Hang's level wasn't good enough and wasn't afraid. The result was that he stepped into the chain traps. His blood volume fell by one-third but it was too late to regret it.
At this time, Li Xiaojiang already aimed his spell at the location of Zhuo Hang's death trap.
Not two seconds after the Death Trap activated, Li Xiaojiang's spell followed closely—h.e.l.l Flames!
The red flames from the demon world rose and swallowed the opponent like a fire snake. This move made the berserker's blood drop by another 20%. He fell to half blood in just the opening!
The first attempt to cooperate was excellent. Zhuo Hanga and Li Xiaojiang felt a bit happy.
However, they weren't happy for long. The other black magician used Dark Fear to control Zhuo Hang.
This control made even Li Cangyu feel appreciation. Zhuo Hang moved very quickly, making people feel dazzled. It was difficult for the average person to judge his location and use a non-targeted skill to accurately control him.
Yet Wei Hua managed it. He was an old player and guessed Zhuo Hang's next move based on his experience in many compet.i.tions. Then he controlled Zhuo Hang with the black magician's fear magic.
A feared player was unable to release any skills, just like a silenced player.
Zhuo Hang couldn't place any traps and Wei Hua immediately chased Li Xiaojiang.
Li Xiaojiang found it difficult to cope with such a situation. Both of them were black magicians but the opponent's speed was faster than his. His skills were repeatedly interrupted, making it easy to be suppressed by the opponent.
It didn't take long for Li Xiaojiang's blood to fall to 50%.
Besides, the berserker affected by the control traps could finally move. He immediately waved the giant axe in his hand and used Mountain Chop on Zhuo Hang.
The giant axe caused a long and deep crack in the ground. Zhuo Hang not only lost a lot of blood but was also stunned by the strong attack power.
This was the berserker's strongest control skill. It was a straight-line attack that could split apart the ground while also stunning the opponent.
Zhuo Hang was continuously controlled by two people and had no room to act. His heart was in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Li Xiaojiang was chased by the opposite side's black magician and his blood was decreasing. Zhuo Hang felt guilty and wished to enter the computer to pinch the other two people to death.
Once the control effect ended, Zhuo Hang immediately rushed forward like mad and placed traps all around him.
The berserker stepped onto the traps and fell to residual blood. However, bad news popped up on the screen.
[Glittering Flower has killed Snail Crawling Slowly!]
Li Xiaojiang died, leaving Zhuo Hang to 1v1 with the black magician. Zhuo Hang had little blood left while the black magician still had 80% blood. The black magician kited and slowly killed Zhuo Hang.
The first round was a defeat. Zhuo Hang took off his headset with a depressed expression, his face very ugly.
Li Xiaojiang came over and quietly comforted him,. "Don't, don't worry. There is still the next round."
Zhuo Hang looked into Li Xiaojiang's clear eyes and his heart inexplicably calmed down.
The small snail was so calm that he couldn't be irritated!
Zhuo Hang took a deep breath and stabilized his emotions. Then he smiled and reached out. Like Cat G.o.d, he gently patted Li Xiaojiang's head and said, "In the next game, stand behind me. I won't let the black magician hit you."
Li Xiaojiang nodded. "Come on!"
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