FOG [e-sports]

Chapter 35

Shi Luo looked at his chat with Yu Sui. He looked at this sentence “Is your luggage packed?” and his heart felt a bit sour.

All of this time, the two of them have been in an awkward situation. They have not been in touch since they bumped into each other on the live broadcast two days ago. Today, anxiety and close friends have been added into the mixture. The mood between them have turned fragile and they’ve become estranged.

Right now, even Shi Luo himself couldn’t tell how he felt about Yu Sui. His hatred towards him was real, as was his empathy. It was true that he bore a grudge but it was also true that he remembered him fondly.

For him, Yu Sui was a truly special identity.

He had given him his best days but he has also given him his worst days.

Shi Luo actually knew long ago that there was nothing wrong with what Yu Sui did at that time. Given his position, Shi Luo doesn’t think he could have handled it better than Yu Sui did. But up to this day, the shadow of his childhood tormented Shi Luo. No matter who it was, Shi Luo was unable to believe their promise.

Yu Sui would only sign him after they’d passed through the qualifiers successfully. Shi Luo knew Yu Sui’s intention. Yu Sui was providing him with a powerful insurance. However, Shi Luo had always been paranoid. What if they fail to pass the qualifiers?

How could there be anything in the world that was a hundred percent certain? Even if it were Whisper, how could he guarantee that they would be promoted into the first league?

What’s more, it took four people to play this game. What if a problem arises with one of the players? Especially with that NSN trainee that was there as his substitute? He didn’t even know his name. Could someone who hasn’t even played in an intercity match be reliable? Is he there to serve as some sort of mascot?

What would they do if there was some problem with the newcomer and he drags down the entire team with him, causing them to lose the qualifiers? If that happens, who was he supposed to reason with?

Shi Luo couldn’t rest at ease. At first, he had no intention of messaging Yu Sui but the more he thought about it the more he obsessed over it. After absentmindedly playing a couple of games, Shi Luo picked up his phone and sent a message to Yu Sui.

[Evil]: [There’s still time for me to transfer now.]

Shi Luo held his phone tightly. He bit down on his lip as he squinted at his phone.

Yu Sui responded quickly, and Shi Luo’s phone vibrated two seconds later.

[Whisper]: [No need.]

Shi Luo gritted his teeth and typed.

[Evil]: [Nothing is absolute. What if you fail to be promoted?]

When Shi Luo sent the message, he felt that he might have overstepped. He hesitated, and when he was thinking about saying something more, his phone buzzed once again.

[Whisper]: [That’s not possible.]

Shi Luo suffocated. Feeling a bit like not wanting to let him off, he said: [But what if? What if you fail? Are you not even willing to admit that there is a chance of failure? ]

Yu Sui didn’t reply for a long time.

Shi Luo knew that he was being neurotic by getting himself all in a twist over this issue. People who were a little more normal wouldn’t torture themselves like this. Shi Luo took a deep breath and was about to type to say that it was all right when his phone shook again.

[Whisper]: [Alright, I admit, there is a chance of failure. ]

Shi Luo’s heart immediately seized. Without waiting for him to type a reply...

[Whisper]: [If we fail, I’ll have to inconvenience you to ask Zhao Feng for me if IAC still needs a medic.]

Shi Luo stared blankly at Yu Sui’s last message, and after reading it over and over several times, the corners of his lips couldn’t help ticking up.

This guy......

Shi Luo held the phone and was about to reply when there was a message in the group. Shi Luo exited the chat and took a look.

[Puppy]: [I am here to make a short report. I just went to the bathroom and walked by the sofa. I accidentally glanced at someone’s phone and I think I saw something remarkable. ]

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [Whose phone? ]

[Puppy]: [I wanted to pretend that I didn’t see it, but a certain someone’s individual remark was too foul that I felt it needed to be exposed.]

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [Ex-pose! Ex-pose! Ex-pose! What is it?]

Shi Luo looked at the group chat and suddenly had a bad feeling.

[Puppy]: [A certain medic and a certain striker from another team was discussing about us losing in the qualifiers.]

[Coach·Old Qiao]: [We haven’t even started playing yet and they’re already talking about us losing? ]

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [Who is it that dares to shake our morale?]

[Puppy]: [Far more than shaking our morale, this certain medic is asking the striker from another team if should we lose in the qualifiers, if IAC has an opening for a medic.]

It was too late for Shi Luo to regret it. Just what had he been doing just now? What crazy idea had he gotten in his head that he decided to contact Yu Sui!

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [Whisper? ? ? ]

[Puppy]: [We haven’t even begun to play the matches but he’s already contacting other teams. I would appreciate an explanation.]

[Coach·Old Qiao]: [... Yu Sui, is it really you? ]

Shi Luo gritted his teeth and was anxious and was about to explain for Yu Sui when Yu Sui replied to the group.

[Whisper]: [It was me.]

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [Do you even have a shred of conscience left?]

[Whisper]: [When did I ever have any conscience? This isn’t my first time selling a team.]

[Coach·Old Qiao]: [...]

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [...I can’t refute that.]

[Puppy]: [That’s what I like about my Yu Shen. He’s not afraid to blacken himself.]

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [But I still can’t accept it. The game hasn’t even been played yet. Why are you already privately looking for a way out? @Evil, is there still an opening for a striker in IAC? ]

[Puppy]: [That’s right. Why do it secretly? If we really fail the qualifiers, who wouldn’t want to go to IAC? @Evil, do you have an opening for a sniper in IAC? ]

[Coach·Old Qiao]: [Can you all please act a little normally? ? ? ]

[Coach·Old Qiao]: [...Forget it, we’re all adults, and there’s no need for me to block my own way out. @Evil, do you have an opening for a coach in IAC? ]

Shi Luo: “...”

Shi Luo massaged his temples. They’d been separated for so long that he’d forgotten what a bunch of sh*ts they all were. And to think he actually believed they’d gotten angry.

[Manager·Zhou]: [? ? ? ]

[Manager·Zhou]: [What’s going on here? ! I just went to make a phone call, why have you all suddenly started looking for a new home? ! ! ! ]

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [Zhou Zhou is really pitiful. Only you can’t contact Zhao Feng and ask him if IAC still needs a manager. ]

[Puppy]: [Yeah. I’ve heard of twin-star medic teams, but I’ve never heard of a twin-star manager team. ]

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [I feel sorry for our manager. Maybe we should send him a wave of #WeFeelSorryforZhouZhou.”

[Handsome Chen Huo]: [We feel sorry for Zhou Zhou]

[Puppy]: [We feel sorry for Zhou Zhou]

[Coach·Old Qiao]: [We feel sorry for Zhou Zhou]

Shi Luo couldn’t bear to watch it anymore. He put the phone aside and continued to play the game. He was made the subject of their teasing for a long time, and Shi Luo’s uneasiness slightly eased.

Until the day when the qualifiers officially began.

Including the two teams that failed the relegation tournament, FS and Windflash, this time around there were eight secondary league teams participating in the qualifiers. The format was a single-loop best-of-one system. All teams would play against each other once. Each win was equal to one point. In the end, the two teams with the highest points will be promoted to the first league.

Eight teams playing in a single-loop system would result to 28 games. Each team would play seven matches.

The qualifiers was scheduled for only one day. In order to save time, the first sixteen small games were divided into four timeslots in the morning, and the next twelve games will be played in the afternoon. Afterwards, the results will be decided.

Shi Luo miscalculated his style and only realized how stupid he was on the day of the qualifiers.

Shi Luo also knew that he mustn’t be recognized. The day of the qualifiers, he donned on some casual clothes that weren’t eye-catching. He also wore a mask and sunglasses as well as a baseball cap that was a little bit big to hide his conspicuous silvery hair.

Shi Luo thought that he had already hidden himself well enough. When he arrived in the stadium wearing this get up, he hadn’t even passed the security check yet when the staff at the stadium glanced at him and asked, “Evil, why are you here?”

Shi Luo: “...”

Wawa, who was equally heavily decked out, took off his sunglasses and asked warily, “You recognized who he is?”

The staff was also vigilant, “Wawa, are you doing some sort of program that you mustn’t be recognized? But... as long they’re you’re fan, catching sight of you is like catching sight of someone streaking. You can’t hide your figure and silhouette. They’ll know who it is with just a glance.”

Shi Luo gave up and took off his sunglasses and mask. Surrendering to his fate, he said, “Take us through the staff passages and find a location on the camera station that the fans won’t notice.”

The staff nodded sympathetically and handed him an employee pass. “You should have just contacted us earlier. Did you still have to buy your tickets?”

Shi Luo didn’t want to admit it and said vaguely, “Sorry for the trouble.”

The staff took Shi Luo and Wawa to the camera room. After contact the broadcasting staff, Shi Luo and Wawa were found a spot on the second floor that was a blind spot from the fans’ perspective. The staff warned them that when it came time to change the venue to next door, they must contact the staff first. Under no condition, should they go downstairs, where they could be seen by the fans. After that they were given some cola and a tub of popcorn.

Shi Luo finally had his spot and sat down with Wawa to wait for the players to enter.

Wawa looked left and right, “What’s the name of Yu Shen’s new team?”

Shi Luo whispered: “Free.”

When the members of Team Free entered the stadium, Shi Luo stopped breathing for a couple of seconds.

The new team’s uniform was black. Only the left sleeve had a single white wing printed from the shoulder all the way down to the wrist. It was simple and clean.

“Wow, your new uniform looks good.” Wawa jostled Shi Luo, “Look! Look! Look!”

Shi Luo was afraid of Wawa’s poisonous milk and hurriedly said, “It’s not necessarily my new team yet! They have to advance first! Advance first!”

Shi Luo didn’t have the mental capacity to pay attention to anything else and stared nervously at the match.

As it turns out, he was worried for nothing.

In the first sixteen games, they had to play four games. They played four games and won four games. It was an effortless crushing of their enemies. The difference between the opponent and their strength was too great and they weren’t able to display their true strenght. Shi Luo gradually emerged from his concentrated watching to a dull and insipid watching. There were three games left in the afternoon. As long as they didn’t lose all of them, it was to be expected that they’d be promoted.

Now that nothing wrong could happen, Shi Luo finally calmed down. While they were changing venues, he looked distractedly at the instant scores and frowned slightly.

Team Windflash, who was thrashing all the other teams in the qualifiers, was playing pretty well today.

Aside from their game against Free, which they lost, they won all three of their other games that morning.

In contrast, FS also played four games that morning, but only won two games.

Only two teams can be promoted. Yu Sui has already secured his spot but FS was still in trouble.

Shi Luo buckled down his hat and got up to look around the stadium, but didn’t see Ji Yanhan.

Shi Luo leaned against the corridor’s railing, chewing on his popcorn expressionlessly. There was a certain uneasiness in his heart.

The afternoon games started. Two of the first three games were Free’s games. They ended the game steadily and quickly. At this point, Team Free has won six games and gathered six points. They were now assured of being promoted.

Shi Luo should have been relieved, but he looked at the schedule and the uneasiness he felt worsened.

Yu Sui’s last game was against FS.

Shi Luo secretly prayed for FS to be directly knocked out and not let them hang on the edge of the cliff.

For players, to hang on the edge of the cliff meant to hang between being able to qualify or not qualify for the next round.

Under a points ranking system, it was often not one’s own game, but someone else’s that determined whether one can or cannot qualify.

Shi Luo has played professionally for two years. Whether it was the last few playoff spots or the cliff for the World Competition , the absolutely most annoying thing was playing against the team that could get on the last bus at the last minute. Every time he encountered such a team, winning was wrong, losing was also wrong.

The season before last, Team NSN had been in poor condition. During the initial stages of the regular season, they were in a slump. They lost a game for every one they won. Their condition was constantly fluctuating. And in the middle of the season, they began to lose a few games in a row. By the tailend of the regular season, NSN was ranked eighth, in the very last spot that could enter the playoffs. They only had half a foot into the playoffs. If the next few games went all wrong, they would miss the playoffs and become a relegation team.

The absolute worst thing was, at that time, IAC’s, where Shi Luo was playing, last regular season match was against Ten Thousand Mountains, who was ranked ninth in the regular season. If IAC accidentally lost to Ten Thousand Mountains, then Ten Thousand Mountains would advance to eighth place. NSN would naturally drop to ninth, which meant that they not only wouldn’t be able to enter the playoffs but would also need to play in the relegation tournament.

NSN had taken good care of Shi Luo at the time, and Shi Luo’s relationship with NSN’s players had always been good. Although, it wasn’t without selfish motives. However, this kind of game didn’t rely solely on himself. He’d also lost to Ten Thousand Mountains before. That week, the pressure on Shi Luo had doubled. He was worried that he could make a mistake and lose to Ten Thousand Mountains, personally sending his old team, NSN, to the relegation tournament.

Fortunately, NSN did their best and improved on their own. The following three regular season games they won 2-0. Their ranking jumped to sixth place so they managed to secure their spot in the playoffs. Their game against Ten Thousand Mountains can no longer affect their standing and Shi Luo was able to play that game without any worries.

Shi Luo looked at the instant team points and became more and more disturbed.

At the end of the 26th game, Shi Luo got a splitting headache from watching the game.

Team Windflash had finished all of their games and was now ranked second with five points.

Team FS had finished six games and was in third with four points. They had officially reached the edge of the cliff.

FS once again drove themselves into the same corner they had during the relegation tournament. If they can win in their last game, they can still play overtime against Windflash. They had a chance to stake their all once again. If they lose, then... ...Nothing.

Their opponents for the last game was Yu Sui’s Free.

Shi Luo had been playing professionally for two years and had seen the edge of the cliff too many times. There was even once that he’d been driven over the edge by the leg by a water monster. He didn’t mind, but this didn’t apply for everyone.

Shi Luo didn’t dare to think about it. If in a while, Yu Sui’s team won that last match, it was going to be hell.

But setting that aside for now, the most important thing right now was...

“What about Yu Shen themselves?” Wawa whispered, “In the end, maybe they’d want to lend a hand to FS? After all...”

Shi Luo pursed his lips and said nothing.

Wawa whispered, “They’re not handing out points per se. They’ll just be giving FS a final chance, giving them a final chance to have a rematch against Windflash. There were a few games where FS played really well. They don’t necessarily have no hope of beating Yu Shen and the others. If they relax a little bit then FS might be able to play the rematch.”

“In the end, whether its Windflash or FS who gets promoted would depend on FS’ skills.”

“A few years ago, before the World Championships changed the rules, groupings were done based on your division. A lot of teams would relax their play against teams from the same division.” Wawa whispered, “Everyone knew this so now the league has changed its system. It no longer allows teams from the same division to meet in the group stage of the World Championship. This was to prevent teams from involving personal considerations. This kind of thing...the league can understand.”

Wawa looked at Shi Luo, “Do you think...they’ll...for old times’ sake?”

Shi Luo recalled the group chat from a few days ago and shook his head uncertainly.

Everyone, Shi Luo included, didn’t want to see FS demoted to the secondary league.

“Quietly.” Shi Luo whispered, “Follow me to the waiting room backstage.”

Under the protection of the staff, Shi Luo and Wawa used the staff passages and arrived at Team Free’s door.

They had yet to enter the door, when they already heard the distinct and constrained voices.

Wawa was speechless. “It really is...just as I said.”

In the waiting room, Zhou Huo looked at everyone in confusion, “We’re as good as promoted. What’s with your glum faces? If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought we lost all our games and are being sent off.”

Old Qiao got up, turned off the cameras and microphones in the waiting room, and said glumly, “Now, we can speak at ease.”

Puppy lay flat on the sofa. Without any expression on his face, he said, “Fine. I admit it, I’m soft-hearted.”

Chen Huo let out a deep sigh.

Puppy said helplessly, “Ok, if you really don’t have the heart to do it then raise your hand. I have no objections.”

“I can’t accept it but I also don’t have the heart to do it.” Chen Huo sat on the gaming chair and stretched his legs, muttering, “Forget it... I’ll listen to you guys.”

Old Qiao gave a ‘pah’ and holding back his disgust said, “We’ll do it this way then. We’ll consider this the last thing we do for them out of friendship. Yu Sui?”

Yu Sui had his headphones on as he looked at his phone. Puppy had to give him a push against his shoulder before he took off his headphones, “What is it?”

Puppy was helpless, “FS is at the edge of the cliff for the next game. In any case, whether we win or lose, won’t affect our promotion into the first league. Do you want to...”

Yu Sui put away the headphones, put on his uniform and asked, “Want to what?”

Puppy’s lips moved. His next words weren’t easy to say. “You...everyone already understood. Do you want me to spell it out? Don’t tell me you don’t understand what I want to say here.”

Yu Sui nodded. “I understand.”

Yu Sui said indifferently, “We’ve been playing for an entire day, and we’ve worked hard for six games. Everyone’s tired. I can understand. To be honest, I’m not in very good shape right now either. The last game was a little difficult.”

Old Qiao gave a sigh of relief and was about to follow up Yu Sui’s words. He was going to say that they should look for a good reason in advance when Yu Sui coldly said,

“There’s still half an hour before we need to play. If you’re hungry go get something to eat, if you’re thirsty, get something to drink. If you’re getting sleepy, drink some coffee. Do I have to teach you how to adjust your condition?” Yu Sui got up and looked at everyone in the waiting room. “I understand what everyone’s thinking, but I’m sorry. When I play a game, I do my best. I’m not going to allow myself to make any mistakes and I’m not going to allow anyone else in the team to make any mistakes either.”

“Winning or losing the next game won’t affect our promotion. I know that.”

“Our opponent is FS and they’re at the edge of the cliff. I know that too.”

For a while, everyone was speechless. Then, Old Qiao hesitantly said, “If not for old affections, if we crush their chance for a rematch, the sprayers online, towards you, they’ll probably...”

Yu Sui looked at OId Qiao and asked calmly, “Am I still afraid of being sprayed?”

In the next round, Team Free crushed the FS team and quickly won the game. The three in Team Free personally sent off their youth and were formally promoted to the first league with Team Windflash.