Chapter 66: Live Broadcast. (Bottom)

【EMMMMM, if I believe you, I’m possessed.】

【That’s impossible, there’s no way you’re extremely good at it.】

【KK, are you worthy of the game anchors who have made the rivers and mountains of MengMao?】

【Ai, live broadcasting pill.】

The live broadcast room was abuzz with activity as they were collectively running wild with the news of KK playing Zhong Kui. Those who were aware of KK’s Zhong Kui ridiculed him in an exaggerated manner, and the new fans who were not in on the joke fell over one another in their eager rush to Baidu. Piaoluo, who had returned back to his senses soon after KK vocalised his choice, gritted his teeth silently; he did not expect that after claiming the jungling position, Kang Shengzhe would easily scatter the attention he had gained.

However, the anxiety in his heart would not change the outcome as the temperature in the live broadcasting room was the direct opposite of his heart, the fervency emanated by the audience burned hot enough to reach the heavens. Bai Yao seemed to grasp some of the reasons for the fervour as she smiled with crinkled eyes, “Yi, is your Zhong Kui not up to par?”

The joy found in KK’s misfortune was glaringly obvious in her tone; and the longer she dared to display such an expression in front of the camera, the greater the impression was that she and KK were close enough to the point where they could tease each other as friends.

Kang Shengzhe asserted: “I play it very well.”

The smile Bai Yao gave in reply was thick in meaning and the live broadcasting room screamed about their little interaction.

【Hmm, why do I feel like they are a good match all of a sudden?】

【Good-looking people are too terrifying; no matter which angle you look at them from, they look pleasing to both the eye and mind.】

【The big celebrity and her little wolf dog, no, big wolf dog, no, a giant mastiff.】

【Previous commenter, just how big is KK in your heart…?】

As the gossip continued to flash past, the last match quickly started. Since they had decided that making a wave would be their top priority, Bai Yao went to the middle lane with her Di Renjie instead of the bottom lane when the game started.

“I’m not used to fighting in the bottom lane.”

KK replied: “It’s fine, we have the jungler on our team either way.”

Upon mention, Piaoluo, who was the designated jungler, answered in a haste: “En, there’s me.”

Despite having responded in the positive, his heart was unsettled by the sentence that had been directed at him. As he was playing the game, Piaoluo shot a look at Kang Shengzhe, and coincidentally, Kang Shengzhe happened to turn his head in his direction as well, leading to a collision of gazes mid-air.

And without any rhyme or reason, Kang Shengzhe hooked his lips to form a light smile.

The audience who were spectating them only felt that the atmosphere between them was harmonious but the smile being portrayed made Piaoluo frown. It was the look again… the one which had the fucking propensity to unnerve people.

While composing a mild temperament on the surface, Piaoluo manipulated his Sun Wukong to attack the red buff on the lower right-hand corner of the map. Kang Shengzhe’s Zhong Kui was a middle lane mage hero but his lane had been occupied by Bai Yao. In spite of that, he did not replace the marksman by going to the bottom lane. Instead, he wandered around the middle lane and hid in the shrubbery that was between the river and red buff camp.

Bai Yao, who was underneath her tower and clearing minions, made a passing remark: “Why are you hiding there?”

In order to fit into the camera frame, Kang Shengzhe had slumped his body low. Thus, the quality of his voice came out muffled when he spoke: “I’m concentrating my energy to hook people.”

Bai Yao raised an eyebrow, “And where is the person exactly?”

“There’s definitely someone in the middle lane bushes, I know it at a glance.”

Bai Yao gave a striking glance towards the bushes but she could not discern any movements of someone going or exiting it. However, before she even managed to speak, the live broadcasting room had already began its lively barrage of comments.

【Did you see that, the old diver is at top lane.】

【Stop bullshitting and let me see your god hooks.】

【Yi, am I the only one who has started rubbing their hands like a fly?】

【Feeling an inexplicable anticipation.】

【If you have the ability to say that there is someone present, then have to ability to hook them too ah.】

Kang Shengzhe suddenly straightened his body and said: “Watch me, I’m going to hook someone out of there. When I’ve landed a hook, make sure you attack them quickly, I’m giving the first blood to you.”

Bai Yao said, “Do I even need you to say that? Just hook quickly.”

A wave of noise swept through the live broadcasting room.

【Oya, it’s coming it’s coming!】

【Now is the time to show off the ability of your black hole!】

【I’m giving the first blood to you— the sudden air of handsomeness!】

【KK being particularly provocative and overbearing today is bewitching me…】

The barrage of comments continued. Under Bai Yao’s expectant gaze, Kang Shengzhe’s finger slid and released a hook, but Zhong Kui’s hook did not fly towards the direction of the bushes. Feeling strange, Bai Yao asked, “Where are you hooking?”

Kang Shengzhe’s voice sounded equally confused. “I hooked it.”

Her bafflement spread to her expression: “Ah?”

As their conversation progressed rapidly, the hook that the blue Zhong Kui shot out retracted back in game, and concurrently, the red figure of the red buff monster was yanked towards Zhong Kui’s side. Piaoluo’s pupils shrank as he witnessed the red buff that he had been auto attacking to half health suddenly disappear from his sight, leaving only an empty encampment.

A second of bewilderment.

Then, the entire live broadcasting room exploded and flooded the screen with exclamation marks.

【WTF!!! Seriously, WTF is this XDD !!!!】

k3010;You can even play like this??? Insufferable, truly insufferable!!!!k3011;

It was no wonder Bai Yao did not see the hook flying towards the direction of the bushes because Kang Shengzhe’s hook was basically going towards the opposite direction!

Not only was it the opposite, it even hooked onto the red buff monster that Piaoluo was about to finish!

The lonely red monster was helpless as it took two steps forward outside of its encampment, before it obediently returned back to its home. By the time it reached its original position, the red buff monster had already recovered all its health.

Bai Yao burst into a fit of giggles, shoulders shaking as her complexion started flushing from her hearty laughter. “You’re amazing!! Oh my god you’re really epic!”

The high tides in the live broadcasting room did not ebb.

【EXM???? How the hell did you manage to hook in the opposite direction?!!】

【Confess, did you do it purpose!! Choking on laughter!】

【No no no no no, it really wasn’t rare for him to pull such a stunt, you have to believe me as an old fan who has spectated all three rounds of KK playing Zhong Kui.】

【Red buff: who am I, where am I? Weren’t you going to hit me? So am I going to die or not?】

【HAHAHAHHAHA I’m going to laugh myself into an epilepsy!!!】

Piaoluo’s tightened complexion returned back to its original state in a blink of an eye. Before he could speak, Kang Shengzhe raised his head, revealing a blank expression, a blankness that was induced from making a mistake that even novice-levelled players would not commit.

In addition to his realistic expression, Kang Shengzhe’s previous black history made the entire live broadcasting room believe that he had not done it intentionally. Piaoluo let out a bark of laughter and tried to keep his tone as warm as possible: “Your hook was very accurate.”

He might sound like he was joking as he spoke, but his hands dealt a heavy hand towards the replenished red buff.

Piaoluo’s reaction was dull but no one noticed it because they were too busy ridiculing the sight of Kang Shengzhe slapping his own face and flipping his own car in less than a second.

【Hello, is this the first blood you were speaking of?】

【Does your face hurt? Face Slapped K is passionate and online.】

Kang Shengzhe continued to keep a straight face and he did not join in the laughter for once, adamantly refusing to believe what had just happened. “No, this is not the real me.”

【Haa? Silly child, this is the real you!】

【Please face up to your own Zhong Kui, thank you.】

【Onlooking the scene where a person is losing himself.】

Kang Shengzhe wavered slightly before he promptly decided to pretend that nothing had transpired. He walked into the middle lane’s brushes on his own and the enemy hero hiding in it suddenly stiffened and rushed out to return back to the safety of their tower.

Having verified that there was someone in the bushes, Kang Shengzhe regained some confidence. “I told you there was someone in the bushes.”

【Yeah, but you also said you were going to hook them!】

【You even said you were going to give Yaoyao first blood!】

【You also said that you paid respects to a master and told us to believe you!】

Drifting away from the comments, Kang Shengzhe turned around and went to Bai Yao’s Di Renjie’s side. Under the pair’s cooperation while they fought in the middle lane, the progression in the middle lane went extremely smoothly. Hence, despite camping at the middle lane twice, the jungler Piaoluo did not have the opportunity to catch anyone.

It was worth mentioning that after his first failed attempt at a hook, Kang Shengzhe did not release another hook even though they were well into the middle stages of the game. Rather than touching his second ability to reel others in, he chose to use his first ability which granted a movement speed increase to hit the other opponents.

The live broadcast room was incredibly noisy.

【I have never seen such a Zhong Kui before.】

【This is probably the first Zhong Kui in the King’s Canyon who completely gave up on hooking.】

【Who said that KK doesn’t have some ac-points in his heart? He obviously has a lot of it.】

【KK, you shouldn’t be like this, you should be daring and use your hook, or else we’ll be seeing ghosts.】

【Yeah, yeah! You shouldn’t be afraid of hooking, at most, you’ll be subject to our laughter.】

【Zhong Kui: you have been expelled from the clan, thank you.】

Neither Bai Yao, Kang Shengzhe nor Piaoluo could read the comments being fired in the live broadcasting room but Bai Yao could roughly guess how the fans were feeling, especially when they were entering the late stages of the game soon. She could not resist saying: “You should try hooking once or twice, since we are sitting in the bushes, you should launch a surprise attack on them.”

Kang Shengzhe did not express an opinion. Together with Bai Yao, they were camping in the brushes that was behind the blue buff in the enemy jungle. The blue buff had yet to be taken and it was a good opportunity to carry out a sneak attack when they came to redeem the blue buff.

As Bai Yao and Kang Shengzhe continued to lie in wait, Piaoluo, who was still thoughtful in spite of the fact that his timing had been disrupted by the resetting red buff and the lack of kills, came over to steal the blue buff. “Do you want this blue?”

Bai Yao said, “No need.”

Kang Shengzhe also shook his head and Piaoluo instantaneously started attacking the blue buff. He was halfway through when the enemy heroes noticed that someone was stealing their blue and several players swarmed into the jungle swiftly.

As the crowd arrived, Bai Yao immediately said: “KK! Hook them quickly! Just randomly hook one, hooking any of them will do.”

Kang Shengzhe hummed and released a hook. The hook passed through the wall and directly grabbed onto the blue monster that Piaoluo had been working on which was a hit away from death and reeled it to his side.

Blankly, the blue monster shuffled left and right before he walked back into his encampment by himself, health replenished once more.

Piaoluo, who had been preparing to harvest the blue buff and take down a triple kill: “……”

Bai Yao, who had been prepared to hit someone: “……”

An incomparably familiar sight, an incomparably familiar scenario re-enacting itself –

Bai Yao and the audience stilled for a moment before bursting into a chorus of laughter at the same time. The ensuing barrage covered the skies: 【Mother— how could you!!! Do you have a vendetta against the buffs!!】

【Piaoluo is feeling the phrase ‘mmp’ but he isn’t certain whether it is appropriate to say it out loud.】

【Since hooking anyone is fine, I choose to hook your father!】

【OMFG I can’t do this anymore, I’m going to laugh myself to death hahahahahahaha】

Seeing that Piaoluo was agape without uttering a sound, Kang Shengzhe’s face scrunched together as he whispered, “Mother, I slipped, I slipped.”

He was blessed with good looks and an equally nice-sounding voice to begin with; adding on the infrequent panic that he was now displaying, Kang Shengzhe immediately garnered a lot of attention and laughter.

【Stop slipping! Say these words out loud: trust me!!】

【Thanking KK for providing me with a month’s worth of laughter.】

Having missed all his hooks thus far, the fans in the live broadcast room were laughing ceaselessly. As a natural consequence, Piaoluo was given a smidgen of attention since he had his efforts wasted after he had his buffs taken away twice. However, it was a touch and go; the attention was still riveted on Kang Shengzhe’s person in a vice-like grip.

【This anchor is too cute.】

【My KK shouldn’t be to be this cute.】

Piaoluo nodded perfunctorily and he no longer stayed in the jungle. Without his blue and the proper development of his economy, he would have some difficulty going against three on his lonesome. He barely escaped with his life after being surrounded and chased by three opponents, whereas the bush sitting Bai Yao and Kang Shengzhe had the terrain advantage and slipped away quickly.

The first half of the game ended like this; the entire match had a headwind in their favour. Although neither Bai Yao, Kang Shengzhe nor Piaoluo had results that could be considered as outstanding, together with their other two teammates who were playing well, they swiftly encroached the towers fringing the enemy’s base and began a team fight.

Under their sieging, the enemy heroes all kept their lives but they huddled underneath their towers, refusing to step out. Despite two waves of minions coming and going, there was no further progress made in the game.

At an impasse, the straight-faced Kang Shengzhe suddenly shrugged his shoulders and said: “Looks like it’s up to me to carry the entire team.”

He seemed to have forgotten the two hooks he had failed prior to this. When he spoke, he was brimming with seriousness and it was as if he already had a card up his sleeve. Bai Yao trembled as a riot of giggles burst forth, “If you have the ability, go for it.”

Kang Shengzhe did not reply but his demeanour spoke volumes of his determination. At the side, Piaoluo’s eyebrows jumped and he suddenly felt his head hurting. And as if he had premediated it, Kang Shengzhe released a hook in the next second and managed to hook onto a person, dragging them out of the range of the defensive tower.

During a team fight, being hooked was equivalent to having a death sentence, even if it was the enemy’s frontline tank heroes. Once they came under the simultaneous attack of five people, living longer than two seconds was an impossible task, and the announcement of an enemy being slain rang throughout the game, causing the entire live broadcast room to choke.

No one could have thought that KK, who had been dubbed the ‘Zhong Kui Black Hole’ would really hook onto someone when he promised he would do so!

【What is this??? An abrupt change in the blackening???】

【Can he really play him??】

【What is this, what is this, are we filming a TV series or something?】

A smile broke out on Bai Yao’s visage. “Oh, one more, hook again.”

Kang Shengzhe snorted softly and released another hook. The hook went directly into the tower range and grabbed hold the dancing enemy Diao Chen before pulling her back out.

The live broadcast room was in a mess.

【Holy shit!】

Let alone the audience, even Bai Yao did not expect that he would succeed. She froze momentarily, staring at Kang Shengzhe. As if he felt her gaze, Kang Shengzhe put on a serious expression, “I already told you I paid respects to a master.” Concurrently, Kang Shengzhe looked at the camera and raised an eyebrow with the intention to tease, “Did you see that, this is the real me, how about it, is it handsome?”

He said the words with extreme deliberation, and his intended recipient was unknown. The words he used were very exaggerated and the tone he used was provocative which caused a cacophony of shrieks.

【AHHHHHHHHH handsome handsome, very handsome!!】

【You are handsome, but to a point! To a point! If you have the ability, prove it and continue hooking!】

【KK actually hit two consecutive hooks, I think the sky is going to rain red.】

Bai Yao sneered at Kang Shengzhe’s coquettish antics, “Hook again, if you manage to land the next one, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Bai Yao was serious in her proposition and it made the live broadcast room jeer.

【A meal with Bai Yao…. Holy, I’m not envious at all.】

【KK, are you a man or not, if you’re a man, land that hook!】

Initially, there were five players huddled underneath the tower and their positions were packed together. However, now that two people have been hooked out, their formation had loosened and each and every one of them were exceedingly cautious. Disregarding KK’s reputation of being a Zhong Kui black hole, even players who were exceptionally skilled at the hero could not guarantee that they would land a hook every single time.

Bai Yao looked at Kang Shengzhe with much interest, and Kang Shengzhe did not show any hesitation as he hovered around the tower before abruptly casting a hook.

This one hook had millions of netizen fixing their eyes upon it; everyone’s gaze was unconsciously locked onto Zhong Kui, watching as the dull blue hook stretch towards the tower, extending to its maximum reach before it latched onto the marksman who just so happened to walk into range and pulling them out.

And the only plausible explanation was that he had made an accurate prediction.

Instantaneously, the live broadcast room was caught in an unbridled frenzy.

【My mother!!! Three consecutive hooks!! Is this really KK????】

【Impossible, the curse of the blackhole Zhong Kui has been broken; this can’t be!!!】

【I just want to say, how are you a fucking anchor? You’re clearly a fucking actor!】

【With this sort of reversal, the suffering Piaoluo has nothing to say.】

The live broadcast room was bustling with noise and excitement, and the game ushered in a harmonious scene as well. After hooking three consecutive people, Kang Shengzhe had made great achievements in the team fight and the opponent’s defensive tower was subsequently destroyed. Soon after, the crystal nexus was shattered as well, and the attainment of a victory in the concluding match of the live broadcast made for a perfect ending.

When the game ended, Kang Shengzhe’s Zhong Kui had a score of 7-2-7, Bai Yao’s Di Renjie went 5-1-5 while the jungler Piaoluo went 3-2-7. Although Kang Shengzhe was not playing jungle, he was still the MVP who carried the entire team.

Even though numerous ridicules were made at his expense during the broadcast, praises fell incessantly into his ears as well.

【Yes, yes indeed, this anchor is good.】

【I feel like this little brother KK is about to be on fire.】

【The game anchor of King’s Glory who can holds both handles of skills and looks!】

【Hahahaha what the hell do you mean by ‘both handles’! Shouldn’t it be gang leader?】

Having used all the scheduled time, Bai Yao acted decisively and placed down her phone to bade farewell to the camera. Concurrently, she managed to receive the donations of the bankrollers on site as she dutifully promoted MengMao TV once more.

“Everyone, if you like watching game broadcasts, please visit MengMao TV more in the future. Being able to watch game anchors flip over is pretty interesting too.”

As she said the two words ‘flip over’, she gave Kang Shengzhe a meaningful look and everyone in the audience laughed soundlessly in tacit agreement. However, Kang Shengzhe seemed oblivious to the fact that the words were directed towards himself as he continued to put on a lazy appearance.

“The broadcast ends here everyone, goodbye.”

Kang Shengzhe said, “Goodbye.”

Beside him, Piaoluo chimed in softly, “Goodbye.”

His voice was not loud but no one seemed to care. The staff signalled with their hands that the broadcast camera had already been shut off and their work had ended. Thus, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

From below the stage, Wang Lu rushed towards Kang Shengzhe’s side, voice teeming with glee. “KK, your performance was excellent just now; the news regarding your performance in the live broadcast is bursting through the seams and everyone is talking about this. This time around, you’re definitely exploding.”

Kang Shengzhe could not see the barrage of comments during the live broadcast but Wang Lu had been paying attention to it the entire time. His visage was delirious with delight and he did not bother lowering his voice either and it was quite apparent that he wanted Piaoluo to overhear it.

Sure enough, Piaoluo had yet to make a move but his face was already green.

Probably due to the fact that there were still people around, Piaoluo could not be too obvious about his intentions. Thus, in an angle where few could witness it, he twisted his head to give Kang Shengzhe a warm smile and said: “You played really well in the latter half.”

Kang Shengzhe did not speak and Piaoluo continued to speak: “It almost gave me the impression that you played poorly on purpose in the early stages.”

Having dropped such a casual sentence, the coldness buried within it was as cold as one’s imagination. Kang Shengzhe gazed at him, lips hooking up. Then, he uttered, “So what if it was?”

The response startled Piaoluo because he did not expect Kang Shengzhe to be so blunt about it. “What did you say?”

With an undue amount of patience, Kang Shengzhe repeated himself, “I said, so what if it was?”

Piaoluo huffed lowly and the gaze he returned Kang Shengzhe had an indecipherable darkness obscuring it. A short while later, he withdrew his expression and walked away without looking back.

There was no need to probe the situation; in the ensuing silence, it was evident that Kang Shengzhe had ripped the fabricated peace between them cleanly.

Yes, a debt was incurred.

And it had to be repaid.

With a long face, Piaoluo walked off. Wang Lu let out a cold snort but his expression showed that his anger had been assuaged. After a moment, he expressed his confusion, “KK, when you pulled that stunt just now, weren’t you afraid of Piaoluo suddenly turning hostile? What if he caused a scene and made the atmosphere awkward?”

Without lifting his head from his phone, Kang Shengzhe calmly stated, “No matter what I pulled during the broadcast, Piaoluo would never show his anger because the image he created of himself for public consumption is that of a gentle and soft person. Even if he was bursting from anger, he can only keep his grievances to himself because he can’t drop his façade.”

It was rare for Kang Shengzhe to say so much. Wang Lu listened with forbearance and felt that everything he said was very reasonable. After taking a moment to absorb his words, his face abruptly turned blue. “After putting yourself in a collision course with that sentence of yours, what are you going to do if he hires someone to beat you up again?”

Kang Shengzhe’s expression remained completely unchanged and there was no anxiety in sight. “He won’t.”

Wang Lu asked: “Why not?”

Kang Shengzhe replied, “Because the company won’t allow it.”

Wang Lu was stunned and his frame of mind changed a lot in that instance, as did the gaze he used on Kang Shengzhe. He was right; the company chose not to care before this because the choice between KK and Piaoluo was not made, but once the live broadcast had concluded, the individual who had greater value between the two was obvious at a glance.

In the future, the wind direction would inevitably blow towards KK. And as the company’s money shaking tree, no one was allowed to lay a hand on a single hair on Kang Shengzhe’s head.

Wang Lu revealed a smile and his mind seemed to have seen enlightenment. “Initially, I thought that you stepped back to guarantee that you would attain your five million contract; never would I have expected that you would conjure such a ploy in a short period of time. How were you so certain that you would be popular today?”

Kang Shengzhe said: “I wasn’t certain.”

Wang Lu was at a loss. “Ah? Then you…”

Kang Shengzhe sighed softly. “I wasn’t certain as to whether I will become popular, but I knew that Piaoluo definitely couldn’t.”

Wang Lu no longer wanted to pursue the matter. Kang Shengzhe, however, showed some understanding and sympathised, and he added two more lines voluntarily: “Anchors, when broadcasting games, have always been the focal point of the audience, but during the first match of the day, he actually chose to push the role of the jungler to me.”

“A game anchor who doesn’t use his results to speak— it would be a wonder if he could even become popular.”

The author has something to say: Liang Liang will be online next chapter.