CH 25

In WOC (World of Combat), buying equipment doesn’t necessarily require the hero to return to base.

Because the map is quite large, returning to base for every equipment purchase would waste a lot of time.

In the game, each player has an exclusive “courier” named the Mailman, which is actually a small bird. The Mailman is responsible for delivering the equipment, accessories, and consumables purchased by players from the fountain shop to the players.

Mailmen can have various skins, including horses, dragons, and various exotic appearances. However, players still prefer to call them “birds.”

It’s worth noting that these birds can be killed by enemy players. When a bird is killed, it takes five minutes to automatically respawn. Therefore, if a player can’t get their equipment in time after their bird is killed, they’ll have to return to base to update their equipment, which can be time-consuming.

Because of this, when sending their birds to deliver equipment, players pay close attention to the route their bird is taking. If it goes off course, players will manually control it to change its path to avoid being killed by the enemy.

Conversely, for enemy players, killing the opponent’s bird is a good way to disrupt their rhythm. It’s a low-risk move, and it also rewards them with gold.

As a result, even though killing birds is considered unsportsmanlike behavior in WOC, players still enjoy doing it.

And now, Jiang Min found himself in an awkward situation where his bird had been killed, and he couldn’t get his equipment.

“Tsk, such unsportsmanlike behavior!” Jiang Min exclaimed.

“Absolutely, unsportsmanlike!” Ha Qianyi agreed.

“Sugar God was just about to make a huge impact; if Elementalist Mage hadn’t been nerfed, he would have been unstoppable a long time ago,” Wei Yabo remarked from behind.

“Ah, but you know, game versions change all the time. Maybe the next version will favor mid laners like Elementalist Mage,” Wei Yafeng added as he held a can of cola.

Bai Yin nodded, “Truly outstanding players don’t fall because of version changes. Sugar God is in great form. I’m looking forward to the next season; with a versatile mid laner like Sugar God, we’ll have more tactical options. Though Xiao Nan is good, he tends to play it safe and lacks some aggressiveness, which doesn’t quite match the team’s style.”

Sugar God, on the other hand, was different. He dared to be aggressive while maintaining a calm head. During team fights, he could provide clear guidance and could easily serve as a vice commander.

JW’s future looked promising.

“That’s right, when was Sugar ever not amazing!” Yu Hao said proudly, as if the praise were directed at him.

Jiang Min silently unwrapped a lollipop and popped it into his mouth. It wasn’t that he was craving a smoke; he had a little-known hobby – a love for sweets. Despite outwardly claiming to dislike “childish stuff,” he secretly enjoyed sweet, sugary flavors.

He had only recently arrived at the JW base and hadn’t had a chance to stock up on his “stash.” Back during his CC days, he had hoarded quite a bit of candy in his room and would often sneakily buy cakes and other sweets to enjoy.

With a lollipop in his mouth, Jiang Min appeared unfazed on the surface, but he was genuinely content inside. Sweet treats like this were undoubtedly the best.

———-

AFK Team’s base.

The name of the AFK team was quite intriguing. AFK, short for “Away From Keyboard,” was originally a term commonly used in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) to indicate that a player was leaving the game and not coming back online.

However, at AFK Team, AFK was understood and promoted as “making opponents so frustrated that they leave the keyboard with their hands up.”

In fact, this season, AFK Team, which was currently ranked first in the league and had won the league championship, had indeed achieved this feat. In a regular season match against the bottom-ranked BBG team, they had driven BBG to such frustration that BBG’s top laner had literally left his keyboard and curled up in despair.

This incident had become one of the season’s highlights.

At this moment, Shu Lou was at the base and received a WeChat message from Jiang Min.

He almost dropped his bubble tea in surprise.

So, the rumors on the internet about the club spending 30 million to acquire Ah Min were true, and it was JW?

Well, JW was indeed capable of paying such a price…

“JW’s new mid laner is indeed Jiang Min.” Shu Lou looked at his mid laner, Flow, who had turned black and white on the screen again because he was killed by Elementalist Mage. Shu Lou patted Flow’s shoulder. “So, you guys getting crushed by his Elementalist Mage isn’t surprising.”

Of course, that was Sugar God’s signature hero, known as the “Modesty Cloth” hero. If Flow could hold his own against a moderately skilled Temple Priest in the laning phase, he was considered quite competent.

Flow felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, Elementalist Mage had been nerfed this season; otherwise, he might have been completely destroyed by Sugar God. After all, he was still streaming, and it would be embarrassing to get wrecked in front of so many viewers.

Wait? Streaming.

“Um, Captain…” Flow hesitated and pointed at the camera. “I’m streaming right now. Is it okay to talk about this? I remember JW… hasn’t officially announced it yet?”

Shu Lou was momentarily stunned.

Oh no! Explosive situation!

Flow watched as his captain visibly deflated, and even the bubble tea couldn’t save him from his sudden dismay. Shu Lou slumped against the wall and sat there drawing circles, clearly disheartened. “Oh no, I’ve let Ah Min down. I couldn’t even keep this secret. I’m such a failure…”

AFK’s team members immediately gathered around to console their captain, who had fallen into a state of despair.

———-

JW’s official Weibo post was buzzing with activity.

【”Rumor has it that your new mid laner is Sugar God?”】

【”Since you’ve signed such a big name, why not announce it officially and make your fans happy!”】

【”Welcome, Sugar God, to JW!”】

【”Finally, some news about Sugar! We’ve been waiting for this.”】

【”I was worried you wouldn’t find a suitable mid laner after South retired. But if it’s Sugar God, then everything’s fine.”】

【”Fight hard in the next season!”】

JW’s official Weibo admin, Ah Xin, was sweating bullets. How had this news leaked? The manager had specifically instructed them to keep it confidential!

She had been at home, applying a face mask and watching JJ’s live stream event while feeling proud that their Sugar God was indeed amazing. But then, the official Weibo account was bombarded with comments, and it scared her so much that her face mask slipped off.

Before Ah Xin could report the situation to the manager, JW’s manager, Shen Qi, called her.

“Ah Xin, what’s going on with the official Weibo?” Ah Xin answered the call and heard Shen Qi’s displeased tone.

Ah Xin was trembling. “Manager, I swear, it wasn’t me who leaked it!”

Everyone knew that Ah Xin had a big mouth at the base, so Shen Qi had called her first to check if the news had leaked from her.

“…It really wasn’t you?”

“It wasn’t me, I swear! You can ask QQ; she can vouch for me!” Ah Xin was on the verge of tears.

“Alright.” Shen Qi wasn’t the type to berate his subordinates without evidence. He decided to trust Ah Xin temporarily. “So, who leaked the news?”

Although JW had a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere overall, its management system was still quite strict. Leaking information like this shouldn’t have happened.

“Uh, Manager, I think I know,” Ah Xin said as she checked the comments under the official Weibo post.

Some curious netizens, who didn’t know any better, had left comments asking where the news had come from. “Helpful netizens” had then mentioned that it came from OVO’s mid laner, Flow, during his livestream.

OVO’s captain, Sugar God’s former teammate, Shu Lou, had casually confirmed it.

Shen Qi was about to call OVO’s manager to inquire about the situation when OVO’s manager proactively called him.

Managers of WPL league teams were familiar with each other. After all, they were part of the same league, and there were only 12 teams in the premier league. Everyone had each other’s phone numbers, so it wasn’t unusual to contact one another.

OVO’s manager, on the other end, was smiling and apologetic. “Hey there, buddy, I’m really sorry. Our OVO team didn’t know Flow was livestreaming, and he happened to notice the playstyle of your new mid laner’s Elementalist Mage during the livestream. So, he asked Sugar God, and it slipped out accidentally. It wasn’t intentional, I promise. Really, it wasn’t intentional, buddy!”

What could Shen Qi say at this point? The manager of the other team had already apologized, and given Shu Lou’s usual absent-minded and gloomy style, it was unlikely he would voluntarily leak such information. It seemed to be a genuine accident.

Shen Manager could only put on a magnanimous facade and say, “What’s the big deal? It’s not something important.”

But deep down, he was bleeding. The season had just ended not long ago, and for JW, it was already over with the “Holding Back Competition” just beginning. They hadn’t even had a chance to smell the exhaust fumes of the championship car.

Shen Qi, defeated.

On Jiang Min’s side, leveraging the advantage of the mid lane Elemental Mage in the second game had also influenced the bottom lane. Even with a player like Yao Ling, their first position managed to break free from the shackles and started farming. In the end, Wan Guo’s team won 2-0 against Ying Ge’s team, securing victory in this special JJ Live event friendly match.

The audience expressed their disappointment that it ended too quickly.

Since Jiang Min didn’t start streaming, fans who knew about JW’s new mid laner couldn’t express their excitement. Instead, they invaded the livestreams of other participants.

Among them, Wan Guo’s livestream, the captain of the team Jiang Min was in, was the liveliest.

【”Wan Lao Shi, you can tell Sugar God to stop pretending. He’s been exposed.”】

【”Hahaha, Sugar God’s disguise is so simple and cute, just using the first letter of his own ID, ‘L’?”】

【”Please ask Wan Lao Shi to tell Sugar Sugar that Mama loves him! From today, I’m a JW fan!”】

【”Sugar God is awesome!”】

Wan Guo was initially puzzled.

Sugar God? Lollipop?

Didn’t Lollipop disappear from the scene after leaving CC?

What were these viewers talking about?

He suddenly remembered their team’s mid laner.

Wait?

JW.L was Sugar God?

Wait?

This little guy, Bai Yin, actually managed to bring Sugar God?

He quickly sent a message to Bai Yin.

“You, you guys’ new mid laner is Sugar God! Why keep it a secret? And now it’s out!”

Bai Yin, who was standing behind Jiang Min, saw the message and was bewildered. “Huh? Why did he say it’s out?”

Author’s Note: Hahaha, the JW team didn’t do it on purpose.

1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”