Chapter 197 – Carnival (8)

That evening, Cheng Wei lay down and couldn't fall asleep. He felt excited about 'finally learning to kiss' but felt sorrow at the 'person being Tan s.h.i.+tian.' He rolled around in bed and thought for a long time. He didn't fall asleep until 3 o'clock and ended up dreaming about being kissed by Tan s.h.i.+tian…

He woke up and saw Captain Tan's calm face. Cheng Wei was embarra.s.sed to look at him and rushed into the bathroom. The result was that he didn't pay attention and b.u.mped into the gla.s.s.

Tan s.h.i.+tian hurriedly came over and rubbed his forehead, asking softly, "Are you hurt?"

Cheng Wei avoided his gaze. "I'm fine. Cough, let's go for breakfast…"

The two of them went downstairs together and found the other players gathering around the breakfast buffet. The vice-captains of Canglan and Wind Colour were sitting at a table and Cheng Wei didn't hesitate to sit beside Cat G.o.d.

Li Cangyu asked doubtfully, "What happened to your forehead?"

Cheng Wei was too embarra.s.sed to say that he stupidly walked into the gla.s.s door. Fortunately, Tan s.h.i.+tian rescued him. "I didn't pay attention and accidentally hit him."

Li Cangyu nodded and didn't ask anymore questions. "Go get breakfast. We will eat together before going to the venue."

***

Today's Carnival officially started at 10 in the morning and it was a six member team battle as everyone had long guessed.

Yesterday the Frost Team had been helplessly defeated in the arena and the audience was most looking forward to today's team battle.

The Frost Team had the two explosive players, Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng. Together with Cheng Wei's control, Chu Yan's a.s.sistance, Zhang Shaohui's a.s.sa.s.sination and Liu Xiang's healing, this team could directly enter the world compet.i.tion and have a chance of winning when facing the top teams from the US and South Korea.

On the Fire Team's side, they lacked an auxiliary but their output was very stable. Su Guangmo, Yu Pingsheng and Lou Wushuang were the three front row attackers, Yan Ruiwen added negative states and Tan s.h.i.+tian could suppress from a distance. There was also the super-survival G.o.d's milk, Bai Xuan. This team was also top in the world.

Many viewers were excited. [In fact, the Chinese Miracle players have improved quickly in the past two years. Last year's 3v3 victory at the World Carnival won't be the last champions.h.i.+p we win!] [Seeing the great G.o.ds at the domestic Carnival, I think we might be able to get a prize in the World Compet.i.tion!] [The seventh season isn't over yet. It is too early to worry about the World Compet.i.tion!]

The discussion in the live room was very lively. In order to better explain the game to the audience outside the stadium, the league had Yu Bing and Kou Hongyi come to commentate for everyone.

At the Carnival, the host came forward with the microphone and smiled. "Audience members, the last showdown of this year's Carnival is about to begin. I believe that everyone has already guessed today's matchup mode. It is the long expected six person team battle! The lineup of both sides is on the big screen. Who will be the commander of the game? Let's wait for news from the referee's side."

The contestants on both sides had already sat down and submitted their commander to the referee.

The Fire Team was commanded by Su Guangmo and the Frost Team was LI Cangyu.

The temporary captains on both sides acted as commanders, which was expected by many people. It was only the Wind Colour fans who felt it was unfair. They didn't expect Captain Ling to give the command to that cat!

In order to save time, today's team battle was only one game. The map was naturally randomly selected by the system.

Half a minute later, the random map finally appeared on the big screen. It was Yisu City Square.

This map wasn't very difficult. It was an ordinary map with a wide field of view and was fair to any cla.s.s.

The players sitting on the stage saw the map and looked very calm. Once the two sides refreshed at the birth point, Li Cangyu immediately deployed them. "I will stay with Xiao Wei in the middle. Xuefeng will go with Liu Xiang and Vice-Captain Zhang will go with Chu Yan."

The purpose of raising Zhang Shaohui and Ling Xuefeng's economy was very obvious. After all, the resources on the map were limited. Ling Xuefeng could gave a full income with a nanny and Zhang Shaohui could also pick up coins in the early stages.

Li Cangyu and Cheng Wei could only divide the resources of the wild area. Cheng Wei had no opinion on this. After all, this lineup didn't require him to be an output. He only needed to control the field.

On the Fire Team's side, the splitting up was the same as yesterday's arena. The Su Yu combination still didn't split up, Tan and Yan were together while Bai and Zhang went to their allocated area.

Yu Bing saw this scene and couldn't help saying, "Today's game is really a gathering of great G.o.ds. I guess that both sides will play conservatively early on. I just saw that Cheng Wei appeared in Tan s.h.i.+tian's attack range but he didn't act and kept killing the mobs. The other two areas are the same. They want to stably develop first and the first wave of combat will probably be over the ice dragon."

It was as Yu Bing said. Both sides had great G.o.ds and their mentality was relatively stable. They had an att.i.tude of enjoying this game and didn't rush to attack.

Once the first wave of mobs was cleared, the ice dragon refreshed on time.

The turning point of a team battle was generally when the ice dragon refreshed. The team with the advantage could keep it by taking the ice dragon. The disadvantaged team could reverse the situation if they won the ice dragon. If there was an initial draw, winning the team economy boss would lay the foundation for a later victory.

The ice dragon was definitely a resource both sides had to fight over. There was no need for a command as everyone consciously went to the refresh point.

Li Cangyu instructed while walking, "Cheng Wei and Chu Yan, try to control Bai Xuan. Vice-Captain Zhang, detour to the left side and stare at your brother. Xuefeng, you know."

Ling Xuefeng hummed in agreement.

Cheng Wei was curious. "What does he know?"

Zhang Shaohui also asked, "What is it?"

Liu Xiang was really speechless at the worrying IQs of these two people and reminded them, "Don't be distracted. They're coming."

The female captain's gentle voice made everyone calm down. Zhang Shaohui actively lurked to find Lou Wushuang while Cheng Wei and Chu Yan started reading their control skills.

G.o.d's Seal!

Cheng Wei's white magic aimed at Bai Xuan. Bai Xuan's pre-judgement ability was first-cla.s.s. He moved to the side as if he guessed and successfully hid from this control.

Psychic Array, Absolute Zero!

This was Chu Yan's ranged silence array. The large array of the psychic often had a powerful group control effect. Tan s.h.i.+tian and Yan Ruiwen had played remotely against Chu Yan many times. They were far away and naturally unaffected.  However, the few people in the front row as well as Bai Xuan, who just moved a step into the array because he hid from Cheng Wei's skill, were affected.

Kou Hongyi quickly said, "Cheng Wei and Chu Yan cleverly cooperated. Cheng Wei might've wasted his control skill but he successfully pushed Bai Xuan into Chu Yan's skill—oh my G.o.d, why are there so many pets on the field? My eyes are going blind!"

Don't blame Kou Hongyi for yelling. Many spectators were in the same state.

The moment Chu Yan successfully controlled Bai Xuan, Li Cangyu summoned his four water, fire, wind and thunder spirits while Ling Xuefeng summoned his skeleton infantry, black crows, banshee and the demon G.o.d. This image was too beautiful!

The audience became even more gobsmacked when Li Cangyu didn't hesitate to open Cataclysm and Ling Xuefeng didn't hesitate to open Demon G.o.d's Rage…

The result was a loud booming noise. The green light effect of the elves and the red light effect of the demons intertwined and flooded towards the three people controlled in the psychic's array!

Su Guangmo lost 80% blood, Yu Pingsheng lost 70% blood, Bai Xuan lost 80% blood and the invisible Lou Wushuang was also hit…

The two people joined forces and directly disabled the three people on the opposite side!

The audience couldn't calm down for a long time. Cheng Wei's eyes were dull and Zhang Shaohui was also shocked. Then Li Cangyu's voice pulled them back from their thoughts. "What are you doing? Hurry and use your moves!"

Cheng Wei immediately reacted and excitedly opened the white magician's big move, Ice Storm. Zhang Shaohui wasn't far behind and used Fatal Blow on Yu Pingsheng!

[Only Dedication has killed White Fox!]

[Only Dedication has killed Grey Wolf!]

[Shadow has killed Smog of Rain!]

Three people on the Fire Team died in an instant. The audience couldn't believe it…

Su Guangmo helplessly looked at his scene. He thought that Cat G.o.d would play more conservatively today. Who would've thought he would be so fierce?

Su Guangmo directly wrote: [GG!]

GG was an abbreviation for 'good game.' It originated from a confrontation between two high level e-sports players many years ago. One of them made his character say this praise before exiting the compet.i.tion. It meant the opponent 'played very well. This game is good.'

Later, the two letters GG had a variety of usages in e-sports. Sometimes, GG was used to directly give up while some seniors used it to praise the younger generation.

Su Guangmo used it as a pun. In addition to appreciating the cooperation between Ling and Cat, there was also the meaning of directly surrendering.

Tan s.h.i.+tian followed by joking on the public channel: [The summoners have released their outbreak. I don't think it is necessary to fight anymore.]

The dead Bai Xuan agreed. [Ling Cat can't be on the same screen. They are simply a biological weapon.]

[Captain Ling and Cat G.o.d have a total of eight pets. It is equivalent to a 6v14 fight!] Cheng Wei excitedly typed.

He finally understood what Li Cangyu meant by 'Xuefeng, you know'. These two people really had a connection. Cataclysm and Demon G.o.d's Rage were difficult skills. Today, under Li Cangyu's delicate layout, they actually opened the big moves at the same time and directly killed the Fire Team.

No one else had this tacit understanding.

At this moment, the mood of many Captain Ling and Cat G.o.d fans were somewhat complicated. Before, they were arguing for several days on the forum about who the best summoner was. Now they saw the horrible scene of both summoners together and couldn't help becoming fans.

[In fact, Cat G.o.d is very handsome!] A Captain Ling fan weakly said. [It isn't easy for him to stick around for so many years. Can we still blacken him?]

[Don't blacken, don't blacken. It is all gone! The two of them have such a good relations.h.i.+p. How can the fans argue?]

[The gorgeous skills of Captain Ling and Cat G.o.d together crashed my computer…]

[They are really strong together. They are both fierce players and their hand speed is over 500APM. The instantaneous output is amazing! It is fortunate they aren't in the same team or the other teams can't last!]

In the commentators' room, Yu Bing saw this scene with a complicated expression.

She originally thought that today's team battle would last for half an hour. The result was that it ended in less than 10 minutes. The Fire Team directly admitted defeat. This might have an element of joking but it was also a great affirmation of the Ling Cat team.

At this point, the two people at the centre of the discussion were extremely calm. They were long accustomed to this cooperation.

Li Cangyu didn't have to think about where Ling Xuefeng would summon his pets and Ling Xuefeng didn't have to worry about interfering with Li Cangyu's rhythm. They just needed to fight according to their own ideas and their skills combined perfectly.

Li Cangyu glanced over at Ling Xuefeng and saw the deep confirmation, appreciation and affection that only Li Cangyu could understand in his eyes.

Li Cangyu couldn't help smiling and patted Ling Xuefeng on the shoulder. "Well done."

Ling Xuefeng leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Today is the first time we have cooperated in public but it is just the beginning."

“I understand."

Li Cangyu remembered their agreement regarding the national team and he naturally understood Ling Xuefeng's words.

One day, they would become the most tacit teammates and head towards the wider world—the World Compet.i.tion!

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Chapter 198 – Temporary Farewell

The two Carnival days allowed the Miracle fans to enjoy a pleasant weekend, especially the fans who came to the venue. In addition to seeing the great G.o.ds gathered, there were some lucky viewers who got a precious signature souvenir.

Once the Carnival ended, the league arranged for media reporters to interview the players. Reporters swarmed the moment Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan appeared. The host was scared by this and stood up to maintain order. "Don't rush. Ask questions one by one!"

A female reporter asked, "Cat G.o.d, you partic.i.p.ated in the Carnival for the first time this year and directly served as temporary captain and commander of the Frost Team. Many people are curious since the captain in previous years is normally Ling Xuefeng. Why did he retreat and let you develop the lineup tactics?"

Li Cangyu answered calmly, "The audience won't feel it is fresh if he is the captain every year. Thus, he let me do it this time."

The reporter asked, "Is your relations.h.i.+p as good as rumoured?"

Li Cangyu smiled and said, "Ling Xuefeng and I aren't good actors. We don't need to pretend to have a good relations.h.i.+p. We are opponents on the field but in private, we are excellent friends."

“How good is it?” A reporter wanted gossip.

Li Cangyu thought, 'It is good enough for me to kiss him casually. Won't you die if I say this?'

"I don't know how to describe it." Li Cangyu touched his nose and cleverly s.h.i.+fted the subject. "Probably… I must try to win against him on the field and then I will ask him to eat fish after the game."

Everyone was amused by Cat G.o.d. The rumour about him expressing kindness through eating fish was true.

Someone stood up and joked, "Cat G.o.d, today you joined hands with Captain Ling. This scene was described as a 'biological weapon' by Vice-Captain Bai. The audience also saw the power of the double summoners at the time. Have you ever thought about later having an opportunity to cooperate with Captain Ling?"

"There will be if we can go to the World Compet.i.tion." His voice was calm and his eyes very confident. Many reporters on the scene excitedly recorded this scene. They were looking forward to the two people cooperating at the World Compet.i.tion.

However, some reporters questioned it. "At the end of the first round of the regular season, Canglan is third from the bottom. Does Cat G.o.d have confidence in reversing the situation in the second round and leading Canglan to the playoffs?"

Li Cangyu didn't hesitate. "Of course. I am best at reversing the situation."

Bai Xuan sat next to him and couldn't help smiling. He picked up the microphone and said, "We didn't perform well in the first round because the experience of the few newcomers was still lacking.  Still, I believe that everyone will try their best to grab points in the second round."

Bai Xuan's nature was gentle but the self-confidence revealed in this sentence made the reporters clap appreciatively. Canglan's performance in the first round wasn't particularly good but there were a few remarkable matches. The key was the growth of the four teenagers. If they could complete their breakthrough as soon as possible then Canglan would have the strength to play in the playoffs.

***

That afternoon, the great G.o.ds went to the airport and returned to the city where their clubs were located.

Tan s.h.i.+tian and Cheng Wei had the earliest flight to Beijing. The two of them checked out first. Cheng Wei looked at Li Cangyu reluctantly and said, "Cat G.o.d, the next time we meet will be the final week of the second round. I will go to Changsha to find you!"

Li Cangyu replied simply, "Okay, I'll be waiting."

The Lou Zhang brothers went to Shenzhen together, Su Yu returned to Kunming, Chu Yan and Liu Xiang also left. Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan had the latest flight times and rested at the hotel. Ling Xuefeng offered to drive them to the airport and Li Cangyu didn't refuse.

On the way to the airport, Bai Xuan was in the car so the two of them didn't do anything out of the ordinary. They just chatted about the game and the league. Once they separated at the security check, Ling Xuefeng stretched out his arms and gently hugged Li Cangyu, saying, "Take care."

Li Cangyu patted him on the shoulders. "I will see you at the playoffs."

Bai Xuan watched them from the side. Li Cangyu was embarra.s.sed and quickly let go of Ling Xuefeng. He gestured goodbye to Ling Xuefeng before walking through the security check with Bai Xuan.

On the plane, Bai Xuan couldn't help asking, "Your relations.h.i.+p with Ling Xuefeng seems to be better than before."

Li Cangyu made an innocent expression. "Is it? How come I didn't know? You are thinking too much."

Bai Xuan smiled and didn't say anything. It was just that his heart was a bit complicated. He knew Li Cangyu for many years and naturally understood Li Cangyu very well. Li Cangyu's personality was straightforward and he hated greasy people. He rarely cuddled with people but recently, he hugged Ling Xuefeng almost every time they met. This was really inconsistent with his past style.

Not to mention, Captain Ling was a famous abstinent male G.o.d. He was very cold to people but when it came to Li Cangyu, he could naturally stretch out his arms and hug Li Cangyu… Bai Xuan didn't believe they were just ordinary friends.

Of course, Li Cangyu didn't say it so Bai Xuan thoughtfully didn't ask. After all, Bai Xuan wasn't interested in invading other people's privacy. Moreover, he believed that Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were responsible captains who wouldn't let the team be affected by personal feelings.

The plane would soon take off and the broadcast repeatedly reminded pa.s.sengers to turn off their phones. Bai Xuan took out his phone to shut it down when a message appeared on the screen. [Have you already boarded? Have a safe journey. I am waiting for you in Changsha. I've washed the fruit that you love to eat. Tree thinking of you O(∩_∩)O]

Bai Xuan was stunned by the last sentence and the smiley face. Li Cangyu saw his weird expression and wondered, "What's wrong?"

“Nothing… it is an advertis.e.m.e.nt SMS." Bai Xuan smiled and pressed the shutdown key on his phone.

These days, the captain and vice-captain weren't present. A certain Shu must be particularly arrogant. Bai Xuan imagined Xie Shurong as the child king leading the four little guys to act in a lawless manner…

However, the thing that made Bai Xuan feel complicated was that Xie Shurong seemed serious about him? Almost a month had pa.s.sed of the six months contract. If it was just for fun then Xie Shurong's enthusiasm should've died down but he hadn't given up. Every day, the SMS and phone calls continued, making Bai Xuan's head swell up.

The dazed Bai Xuan fell asleep and woke up when the plane landed at Huanghua Airport in Changsha. The two people grabbed their luggage and left the airport. The special car from the Dragon Song Club was waiting outside. Bai Xuan wanted to talk to the driver when the door opened and a young and handsome face appeared. He smiled at Bai Xuan, "The two great G.o.ds are back?"

Perhaps it was because the afternoon sun was too hot but Xie Shurong's smile was brilliant. Combined with the suit, he felt like a male lead in an idol drama.

Li Cangyu asked, "Why are you wearing a suit to pick us up on such a hot day? People who don't know you will think you are here to pick up your boss."

Xie Shurong smiled and looked at Bai Xuan. "Vice-Captain Bai, does my suit look good? I bought it myself."

Bai Xuan glanced at the light grey suit. "…Cough, it's okay."

He was tall and upright and really did look handsome in this suit. His childish personality wasn't consistent with a suit but his body and face could fool people. As he stood in front of the car, he attracted the attention of many pa.s.sersby.

Bai Xuan raised his suitcase to place it in the trunk. Xie Shurong immediately helped him. "I will do it."

He didn't care about Li Cangyu's luggage and the captain had to say, "What about mine?"

Xie Shurong turned back to help the captain as well, making Li Cangyu pat him on the shoulder with satisfaction. "Ah Shu has really grown up. You actually know to come to the airport to pick us up."

Li Cangyu got on the car and Xie Shurong asked with a smile, "Do you know why I came to the airport to pick you up?"

Bai Xuan joked, "Do you want to show a good performance in front of the captain and vice-captain?"

Xie Shurong shook his head and whispered in Bai Xuan's ears.  "It is because I miss you and I want to see you first."

Bai Xuan's ears turned red at Xie Shurong's deep gaze and he immediately looked away. Didn't this guy have any shame? He said such a strange thing in public. What if Cat G.o.d heard him?

Bai Xuan ignored Xie Shurong's infatuated eyes and sat in the back seat with a red face. Xie Shurong followed him in.

Li Cangyu asked, "The two of us haven't been present. What have the four little ones been doing?"

Xie Shurong answered, "Don't worry Captain, I have been watching them. Apart from watching the live broadcast of the Carnival, they have been training very seriously."

Li Cangyu nodded with satisfaction. As Ling Xuefeng proposed before, he was ready to hand the captain's position to Xie Shurong for a period of time after retiring. Ah Shu was currently only 21 years old and his state hadn't declined yet. It was fine for him to play a few more years. Once Ah Shu wanted to retire, he would hand over the team to Xiao Han so that the newcomers wouldn't feel too much stress.

During the Carnival, Li Cangyu had handed management of the team over to Ah Shu. Ah Shu had taken the four newcomers to watch the games and gave an explanation. Xie Shurong didn't seem like his usual frivolous self at that time and was quite reliable.

The trio chatted casually and quickly arrived at the Dragon Song Club. The four teenagers saw that the captain had come back and like kittens seeing their father, they pounced on Li Cangyu.

Li Cangyu was in a great mood. He rubbed their heads and said, "I bought you gifts. They are posters that contain the signatures of all the great G.o.ds present at the Carnival and you can add them to your collection."

"Great!" “Cat G.o.d is awesome!” "Captain, thank you!"

Gu Siming almost jumped with joy, Li Xiaojiang stared with wide eyes, Xiao Han showed a strong curiosity and Zhuo Hang looked at Su Guangmo and Tan s.h.i.+tian's signatures with a complicated expression. Ah Shu and Old Zhang also got gifts and were quite excited. A poster signed by 12 great G.o.ds definitely couldn't be bought from the market.

The gifts were delivered and Li Cangyu called everyone out for dinner. The team happily went to a restaurant for dinner, which was the last time they had to relax before the start of the regular season's second round.

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