CH 59

The members of the JW team stood awkwardly in their original positions.

The referee and staff reminded You Guanyu to shake hands, but he remained motionless.

Jian Ran, sitting next to You Guanyu, stood up and tried to nudge him. However, he still did not budge, and Jian Ran looked at JW’s team with an apologetic expression.

Yu Hao glanced at You Guanyu.

In esports, winning and losing are normal, and You Guanyu has been a professional player for many years, but his mentality seems to be lacking.

Seeing that You Guanyu did not respond, Yu Hao simply skipped him and shook hands with the players behind CC one by one.

JW’s other players, seeing their captain do the same, followed suit.

When Jiang Min passed behind You Guanyu, he looked at the “Champion” ID printed on the back of his team jersey and was momentarily stunned.

You Guanyu probably desires the championship as much as most people, but sometimes, he uses the wrong methods.

“Sugar God, congratulations.” When Jiang Min shook hands with Jian Ran, Jian Ran muttered with lowered head.

“Yeah, keep it up.”

After saying this, Jiang Min walked away with his teammates.

Jian Ran looked at the figure he admired so much and sighed.

In the future, that person would probably only get farther away.

———

In this match, Jiang Min was interviewed again.

And the interviewer was still Shang Ting.

After preparing herself mentally, Shang put on the most professional smile and said, “Welcome to our post-match interview. Today, our guest is still Tang Shen. Please say hello to everyone, Sugar God!”

Jiang Min, with an expressionless face, responded, “Hello, everyone. I am Sugar God, the second position player from JW.”

Shang Ting asked, “First of all, congratulations to JW on achieving a five-game winning streak. Today, you played against your former team CC. Do you have any special feelings after winning the match?”

Jiang Min took the microphone and said, “Well… there were various reasons for the loss in the first game. Personally, I felt targeted pretty badly, disrupting the team’s rhythm a bit. So, in the second game, I told my teammates to just let me be.”

Shang Ting asked, “Did they just leave you alone then?”

Jiang Min replied, “Not exactly. The team still set up a lot of vision for me, especially Captain Yu and others.”

Shang Ting: “Alright, it’s evident that your teammates take good care of you, Sugar God. Moving on to the next question, your sudden Teleport (TP) play in the second game was quite impressive. What made you decide to do that?”

Jiang Min: “Um… I didn’t really think much about it. The Teleport scroll happened to be off cooldown, so I decided to give it a try.”

Shang Ting: “Sugar God’s spontaneous idea had a good effect indeed. One last question, Sugar God. It’s been a while since you last ranked first on the national server with your main account, and your fans are asking when you’ll climb the ranks again. Any plans?”

Jiang Min: “Ah, about that, sorry. I’m what you might call a ‘tier slave.’ Once I get up there, I don’t want to come down. Unless my rank gets surpassed later on, I won’t use that account.”

Shang Ting awkwardly chuckled.

…Did he just call himself a ‘tier slave’?

Shang Ting: “….Alright, thank you, Sugar God, for accepting our post-match interview. I’m the host, Shang Ting, and we’ll be back shortly.”

———-

On the way back to the base, Yu Hao still sat next to Jiang Min.

“Sugar God, luckily your mindset wasn’t affected. To be honest, I was furious after the first game,” Yu Hao leaned back in his chair, still seemingly unable to calm down.

“Don’t be angry, it’s really nothing,” Jiang Min said calmly. “Being targeted in mid lane is quite normal.”

Hao Qianyi, originally sitting in front, heard Yu Hao and Jiang Min’s conversation. He sat up straight, knelt on his chair, and looked back, saying, “But CC went too far. After all, Sugar God, they’re your former teammates. They didn’t give you any face.”

Jiang Min lowered his gaze. “With Champion there, they won’t show mercy.”

“So, is it true that you and You Guanyu don’t get along?” Wei Yabo also turned around, curious.

Jiang Min was taken aback. Had rumors of their discord spread outside?

After a moment, he said, “No, it’s not like that. We’re not at odds, it’s just… how should I put it? Our energies don’t quite match. He prefers the typical and traditional four-protect-one system, but my style doesn’t really fit, so some friction is normal.”

“Hah, anyway, winning today is good,” Hao Qianyi sighed in relief. “Otherwise, it would feel like losing face for Sugar God.”

“Huh?”

Why would it be losing his face? Jiang Min couldn’t understand.

“We care,” Wei Yafeng added. “Since you joined JW, you’re a member of JW, our good brother. We can’t let our good brother be mistreated, can we?”

Jiang Min didn’t say anything, but he was deeply moved.

Ever since the old teammates from the previous generation of CC left, he hadn’t felt the warmth of a team for a long time.

The atmosphere in CC had been strange since You Guanyu arrived. Except for Jian Ran, everyone seemed to be getting more and more distant from him.

He had been somewhat anxious when JW bought him away initially.

But now, it seemed he was very fortunate to have joined such a good team.

“Speaking of which, it seems like the incident where You Guanyu refused to shake hands has become a hot topic.” Wei Yabo flipped through his phone and said.

“Huh? Let me see!” Hao Qianyi immediately took out his phone, not minding poking his nose into other people’s business.

Jiang Min didn’t need to look; he knew the internet must be filled with criticism.

If inappropriate behavior was displayed after winning a match, it would at most be ridiculed.

But if it was after losing a match and still not paying attention to one’s behavior, then prepare to be blasted.

Having been in this circle for so long, he understood the online gamers’ mentality quite well.

In esports, being a noob is the original sin.

Sure enough, on Weibo, the trending topic was “CC Team’s Position 1 Champion Refuses Handshake”.

Clicking into it, the most popular post was a picture of JW’s players waiting to shake hands while You Guanyu didn’t even bother to stand up or make eye contact.

The post was made by a prominent figure in the esports circle, and the caption read: “A certain player, please respect the spirit of competition. Losing a match is not scary; losing face is.”

The trending topic was filled with criticisms and attacks against You Guanyu.

Many netizens also speculated that there must have been some conflict between Jiang Min and You Guanyu, which led to Jiang Min being aggressively targeted in matches after leaving the team.

After all, many people knew that You Guanyu was in charge of CC’s strategy.

Some even started conspiracy theories, saying that Jiang Min’s transfer to CC’s second team was also related to You Guanyu.

For a moment, Weibo was filled with various speculations and accusations.

Just then, a post suddenly appeared on Weibo and skyrocketed to the trending topics.

It was a revelation from an insider in the esports industry.

“Rumor has it that the owner of CC is involved in gambling transactions. Is CC involved in illicit activities?”

Weibo exploded once again.

Yu Hao frowned when he saw this post. “What’s going on with this news?”

He had learned from an esports manager by chance that the owner of CC, Lin Hong, had once been involved in the gambling industry, making a lot of money from it. At that time, Lin even used this as a threat to force the manager to sell Jiang Min.

But this news was definitely not leaked by him.

Jiang Min also noticed the post. “…”

“No matter if this news is true or false, with this much attention, the league will definitely intervene and investigate,” Shen Qi, who had been silent all along, said.

Indeed, regardless of whether the revelation from the insider in the esports industry was true or not, with so many people paying attention to this topic, the league must provide an explanation to everyone.

“It seems like CC won’t have an easy time,” Team Leader Fan Dadi chimed in.

Jiang Min fell silent for a moment.

After all, CC was his old team where he had spent four years, and he didn’t really want to see CC get into trouble.

He wouldn’t be surprised if the owner, Lin Hong, was involved in gambling. Lin Hong didn’t seem like a reputable person.

But Jiang Min couldn’t believe it if it involved the players.

Even if You Guanyu targeted him again, Jiang Min still fundamentally believed that his former teammates, who were wholeheartedly aiming for the championship, wouldn’t risk his professional career by resorting to such actions.

“Let’s wait for the investigation results. If the rumors are true, CC might be suspended,” Shen Qi said.

Jiang Min: “…”

It was only now that he remembered how Jian Ran seemed like she had something to say to him before the match started.

Should he find an opportunity to talk to Jian Ran?

———–

The JW team’s car continued on its way.

The match between JW and CC was the first of the afternoon, and after playing the full BO3 series, it wasn’t even 5 PM yet.

It was still early, and everyone was thinking that after returning to the base for a review, they could also use the opportunity to stream for quite a while.

However, the further they went, the more Hao Qianyi felt that something was amiss.

“Qi Ge, this isn’t the way back to the base, is it?” Hao Qianyi stuck his head out, asking manager Shen Qi who was sitting at the front.

“No, it’s not,” Shen Qi replied casually.

Hao Qianyi felt a strong sense of unease rising in his heart. “…May I ask, where are we going?”

“To attend an event,” Shen Qi said.

The faces of all the team members showed astonishment.

Esports clubs had many sponsors, and it was normal to attend events hosted by big sponsors during breaks between matches.

But Shen Qi’s action of not informing them beforehand and directly taking them away was surprising to them.

“What? An event?” Wei Yabo thought he misheard.

They had just finished a match, so why would they not return to the base and instead go to some event?

Moreover, wasn’t it the manager’s job to inform them beforehand?

Shen Qi: “It’s an event hosted by one of our sponsors. The announcement was posted a while ago.”

Yu Hao crossed his arms. “It seems like we don’t know anything.”

Shen Qi glanced at Yu Hao. He couldn’t afford to offend the boss’s cousin, so he used the most considerate tone possible and said, “I didn’t want to tell you earlier because I was afraid you wouldn’t go if you knew in advance. After all, it’s an event hosted by one of our main sponsors, the ones who provide the computers for our base. They’re a big company! They’re generous, so give them face, okay?”

Yu Hao remained silent.

It was just an event. As long as he was with Jiang Min, he didn’t care where they went.

However, Hao Qianyi persisted, “But, Qi Ge! What if, I mean what if, we lose this match? Won’t going to the event make us look bad?”

Shen Qi shrugged. “If we lose, then just play dead. After playing professionally for so long, you should be used to getting criticized, right?”

Hao Qianyi felt like he was about to vomit blood.

Getting criticized was something you never got used to!

———-

The JW team members were brought by Shen Qi to the venue.

This was a trade fair set up inside the S City Exhibition Hall.

Although it was almost dinner time and it should have been close to the end, there was still a sea of people around the main stage.

Arriving here, the players who were immersed in the spring season games suddenly remembered that it was the annual S City Gaming Expo.

“Oh my, I was still thinking about whether there would be any major single-player game releases this year, as well as new gaming consoles. How could I forget that the gaming expo is happening soon!” Hao Qianyi suddenly realized when he arrived at the venue, “After the event ends, I want to check out the other booths!”

Gaming addicts often had no other hobbies besides games.

The twin brothers never missed an opportunity to mock Hao Qianyi. They leaned on each other’s shoulders, and Wei Yabo, the golden-haired one, said, “I’m just saying, Little Mouse, with our busy training schedule during the day and ranked games at night, where do you find the time to play other games?”

Hao Qianyi protested, “I bought them to play later during the off-season! Is that not allowed?”

Wei Yafeng, the silver-haired one, chimed in, “I hate to burst your bubble, but I think this place will close after the event ends.”

Hao Qianyi instantly felt dejected. “Then… then I’ll come sneakily when we don’t have matches the day after tomorrow!”

The team leader, Fan Dadi, had keen ears and immediately approached. “Little Mouse, I heard you’re planning to leave the team and act alone?”

Hao Qianyi felt awkward under Fan Dadi’s stare and chuckled nervously.

During the season, players needed to report if they wanted to leave the base. For the protection and training of the players, they were generally not allowed to leave the base alone during the season unless it was during the off-season.

When the JW players reached the stage, they ran into a group of familiar faces.

The OVO team.

“Hey there, friends from JW, what a coincidence!” OVO captain Cen Yu greeted first.

Yu Hao: “…”

Hao Qianyi’s face twisted in disdain. “How come we run into you guys here too!”

OVO’s number three, the chubby Hotpot, jumped in. “It’s because our clubs are both sponsored by the same sponsor!”

Z Luo, a computer equipment manufacturer, was an international brand known for sponsoring major esports events and teams.

Yu Hao glared at Shen Qi. “Qi Ge, why didn’t you say that this event was going to be with people from OVO?”

Shen Qi wiped his sweat. Yu Hao’s gaze was really scary.

“Well, it’s still the sponsor’s event, so just go along with it,” Shen Qi said, fidgeting with his round body, resembling Hotpot.

To prevent the manager from embarrassing himself further by acting cute, Yu Hao decided to let it go for now. After all, JW’s prestigious image in front of others needed to be maintained.

“Captain Yu, I just found out that this event seems to be an exhibition match between our two teams. How about we add a winner’s reward?” Cen Yu suggested.

“Sure!” Yu Hao was about to refuse, but unexpectedly, Hao Qianyi agreed immediately.

Come to think of it, they still hadn’t used the OVO meal vouchers they won last time.

Yu Hao sent a death glare at Hao Qianyi.

Hao Qianyi shrunk behind Jiang Min.

He could see clearly now; Sugar God was the best shield when facing Yu Hao’s wrath.

Needless to say, what Cen Yu wanted as the winner’s reward was still Jiang Min’s friend slot.

Jiang Min felt embarrassed. He couldn’t understand why a friend slot was being elevated to this level.

On JW’s side, the demand was put forward by Yu Hao. If OVO lost, Cen Yu would have to give up on claiming Jiang Min’s friend slot.

Both sides agreed to the deal.

More and more people gathered around the stage as the event officially began.

In a position slightly back from the stage, just like at a match venue, two sets of computers were set up, each with five units, all the latest models from Z Luo. However, unlike at a match venue, there were no soundproof booths here.

The background featured a huge screen used to broadcast the gameplay.

In the center of the stage, a male and a female host were already in place.

The female host wore a beautiful pink dress, with delicate makeup, and spoke with a sweet voice, “Welcome everyone to our Z Luo event. We’ve already had several exciting segments like lucky draws and gift giveaways, and now it’s time for the moment everyone’s been waiting for!”

The male host, dressed sharply in a suit with meticulously groomed hair, added, “Yes, I believe everyone has been waiting here for a while just to see them. So without further ado, let’s welcome our guests onto the stage!”

The starting players from JW and OVO stepped onto the stage one by one.

The stark contrast between JW’s black-gold jerseys and OVO’s white jerseys was striking.

The ten players from both teams, each with their unique style, stood in a row in the center of the stage, with the two hosts standing at either end.

Cheers and applause erupted from the audience below.

Although many people had been touring the exhibition all day and were exhausted, they still showed great enthusiasm for this culminating event of the day’s expo.

Both JW and OVO were top-ranking teams in the WPL league, and it was rare to see them in person. Naturally, the audience was excited.

In addition to the live event, this activity was also being broadcast live on the signing platform JJ.

“JW! JW! JW!”

“Go OVO!”

“Yushen, I love you!”

“Little Mouse’s mom wants to kiss you!”

“Sugar, look at me!”

The continuous cheers from the audience below and the players’ efforts to maintain their composure on stage continued.

Most of the audience members were showering the players with exaggerated compliments, as they were used to seeing during live broadcasts.

However, the opportunity to interact with fans and audiences up close like this was rare, happening only a few times a year at most. As a result, the players felt somewhat uncomfortable and could only try to appear calm.

Suddenly, a voice erupted from the crowd, “Interested in joining the gym and getting fit?!”

“Haha!” Hao Qianyi couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.

His laughter broke the ice, causing even the host and others on stage to have a hard time holding back.

The male host chimed in, “This friend here is quite creative. The event hasn’t officially started yet, and he’s already laid the foundation for some joy.”

The female host smiled, “Yes, indeed. So, following international conventions, let’s have the team members introduce themselves.”

The players from JW and OVO passed the microphone from left to right, each giving a brief self-introduction.

Both sides were obligated to do so, and apart from saying “I’m player X from JW (OVO) team,” there wasn’t much else to say.

Therefore, despite there being ten people, the introductions only took about two minutes.

The male and female hosts seemed to have hosted many events involving professional players and were not surprised by the players’ performances.

The female host continued, “Alright, now that we’ve finally seen the players from JW and OVO up close, I believe it’s also rare for the players to have such a close interaction with fans and friends. Do you have anything you’d like to say to the fans?”

The microphone was passed to OVO’s captain, Cen Yu.

Yu Shen flashed his standard smile from his live streams and said, “Thank you for your support. Welcome everyone to the JJ live stream room 2020~”

Taking advantage of the event to advertise his own live stream room was nothing out of the ordinary.

The female host’s pupils twitched, but she maintained her composure on the surface and passed the microphone to JW’s captain, Yu Hao.

Yu Hao said, “Z Luo’s peripherals and computers are quite reliable. Please show your support.”

Since they were here to promote, they had to give some face to the sponsors.

However, Yu Hao’s hardcore advertisement style was awkward for the audience present.

The female host’s mouth twitched. This advertisement was a bit too much!

She tried to maintain her smile and said, “Haha, Yu Hao, that’s a good advertisement. Will everyone buy into Yu Hao’s recommendation?”

The audience below laughed and joked, “Buy, buy, buy! If Yu Hao says to support, we’ll buy!”

“Alright, with everyone’s enthusiasm, let’s officially move on to the event segment,” the male host said. “Today’s event invites players from both JW and OVO teams. We’ll arrange for the players to have a BO1 exhibition match.”

Female Host: “That’s right. Since it’s an exhibition match, the focus is on entertainment, so we’ve set some rules different from normal matches.”

Male Host takes out cue cards: “Firstly, the players from both sides will determine their positions through a draw.”

A protocol lady, dressed in matching colors with Z Luo, brings a small draw box.

The male host takes it and says, “Inside this draw box are five balls numbered from 1 to 5. Players will draw a number, and that will correspond to their position in the upcoming exhibition match.”

Exhibition matches prioritize an active atmosphere and entertainment, so the organizers always come up with some unique gameplay for each match.

For JW and OVO, playing in a mode where they switch positions isn’t too surprising.

After all, during ranked matches, they often negotiate substitute positions or changes. Professional players are generally versatile in different positions besides their specialties.

However, the next rule leaves them dumbfounded.

Female Host: “Not only will the positions be uncertain, but we’ll also use the random selection mode from WOC to choose our heroes in the game!”

Hao Qianyi isn’t composed anymore: “But what if the randomly chosen hero doesn’t suit the position I drew?”

The female host shrugged, with a mischievous tone: “Well, that’s the beauty of the show, isn’t it?”

In JJ’s official livestream room for the gaming expo, the barrage of comments fills the screen:

【Haha, interesting! Not only is the position uncertain, but even the heroes are random!】

【Expecting to see a lot of car crashes on the scene!】

【All major content creators, get ready to record! The excitement is about to begin!】

Shocked by the exhibition match rules but obedient to the sponsor’s wishes, the players obediently began to draw lots.

OVO drew first, with the final result being that Yushen, originally in the 4th position, drew the 1st position, while Fat Hot Pot, originally in the 3rd position, drew the 5th position. The other three players also drew positions different from their original ones.

JW drew next, with Wei Yabo, one of the twin brothers, drawing the 3rd position, Wei Yafeng drawing the 1st position, and Hao Qianyi drawing the 2nd position. Jiang Min was in the 5th position, and Yu Hao, with extraordinary luck, drew his preferred 4th position.

To make the exhibition match more interesting, the female host proposed swapping positions between Yu Hao and Jiang Min, which they agreed to. After all, with OVO’s positions all scrambled, and some of JW’s players in their original positions, it would seem unfair.

As a result, Jiang Min took on the 4th position, while Yu Hao took the 5th position.

“Alright, now that the players have decided on their positions, let’s invite them to take their seats!” Both hosts gestured a “please” simultaneously.

Author’s note: I’ve decided to be diligent like a durian!

By the way, I’ve decided to update the Soul Artist series on Weibo irregularly, mainly depicting various heroes from WOC. Hahaha, welcome everyone!

1TL: YSIAD “Hi! how’s everyone doing?, I’m currently busy with school works (I hate school so much) so pls expect slow updates. Happy reading everyone!

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