CH 38

Early in the morning, Lin Xiao, who had trouble getting out of bed, was assailed by Xiao Li’s violent knocking on the door. He finally got up slowly, yawning as if he still hadn’t woken up, and just drifted to the training hall.

When they arrived, the room was already full of people and it was practically the first official gathering of old and new members.

Lin Xiao caught a glimpse of Zhang Jin and Feng Sheng standing not far away.

At this time, they just happened to also look his way, and their joking expression suddenly froze when their eyes met.

The people next to them noticed the awkward atmosphere, asked something in a low voice, and then looked up.

Lin Xiao didn’t pay much attention to this. After looking around, he found an empty seat and wanted to catch a few more minutes of sleep. However, he saw some people coming toward him and frowned impatiently. Do you know that disturbing a man’s sleep is like killing their parents, that’s how hateful it is.

“Are you Lin Xiao?” The man in front was tall and thin, looking him up and down as he spoke, “I heard that you are very good?”

“Are you not done yet?” Xiao Li was a little impatient, “Just because you lost twice in a row yesterday, is it worth keeping on like this?”

“Tch, it was just luck.” Feng Sheng said that out of embarrassment but meekly shut up after the man glanced at him.

“May I ask who you are?” In the end, Lin Xiao raised his spirit.

“My name is Qian Bin and I am in charge of Area A. I’m really glad there are new members joining the boot camp and I look forward to chatting with you both in the future.” Saying so, the man politely held out his hand.

Lin Xiao sized him up. In his eyes, he saw no challenge, only a deep hidden emotion.

This man was obviously very confident in his level, but this attitude of eagerness to confront his opponents was not annoying.

Lin Xiao smiled slightly and reached out to shake his hand in a friendly way: “My pleasure.”

Only after that did Qian Bin look at Xiao Li: “Laughing Sky? We fought against each other so many times, but seeing you in person is a little different.”

Xiao Li’s eyelids twitched slightly, and he asked unhappily, “Who are you?”

Qian Bin said, “The black mage Frozen Tears. Do you remember me?”

He was one of the top 10 players on the ladder and also one of the opponents he often fought against. Xiao Li took a closer look at the man in front of him and said somewhat awkwardly: “Frozen Tears? Why are you here? Could it be that the threshold of the Black Rose team is so high that even at your level, you still have to stay in the training camp?”

Qian Bin replied, “My age is no longer suitable for the professional circle. I have a different identity here as an assistant trainer.”

“I almost forgot how old you are.” Xiao Li suddenly thought about something and glanced at him suspiciously, “But can you be a teaching assistant or something? What if your men lose?”

Qian Bin looked at him and smiled, “It’s okay, you’ll know when the time comes.”

Xiao Li wanted to say something else, but at that moment, Liu Jinxuan walked into the training room and looked around. There was an instant silence.

The training camp as a whole was divided into four zones, A, B, C, and D. The daily training of each area was coordinated by a person, and they organized battle rounds between them from time to time to build a good competitive atmosphere. At the same time, it was also an important criterion for the players’ selection.

Some of those in charge were assistant coaches, and others were reserve players. Besides Qian Bin, who was in charge of Area A, and Zou Qiguan, of Area C, the people responsible for Areas B and D were Sun Xiuqian and Li Fei.

Because Zou Qiguan was younger, when he was standing side by side with the other three people, he was particularly conspicuous, which made his ruddy face even hotter.

After the four leaders reviewed the members of each zone, they began daily basic hand speed training. The new members were taken separately to the adjacent conference room and given a booklet with all the details, such as the skills introduction and cooling shorter time of all characters.

Lin Xiao flipped a couple of pages casually, and suddenly his drowsiness vanished as his interest was piqued.

This was good! Although he had browsed some information on the Internet before, it was a bit chaotic, and he never had the patience to sort it out. In this booklet, even the details of the annual version adjustment were clearly written. It was practically tailor-made for his current situation!

On the other hand, when he heard that this thing actually required a written test, Xiao Li suddenly withered. Holding his cheek with one hand, he flipped helplessly through the pages with the other, and seeing Lin Xiao so engrossed, he couldn’t help but say: “What’s so good about this lousy book, do I have to memorize all this? It’s abnormal!”

Lin Xiao glanced at him and said lightly: “Do you know what is the biggest gap between you and the pro players right now?”

Xiao Li shook his head: “I don’t know.”

Lin Xiao smiled: “Theory. A systematic theory for which you have no deep understanding at all. Also, the strategic concept of the battle process.”

Xiao Li was at a loss: “What’s that?”

“For example, your current sparring style is typically hand speed over brain speed.” Seeing that he still didn’t understand, Lin Xiao patiently explained, “In other words, during the fight, rather than analyzing the opponent’s behavior, you respond through instinctive reaction and generate instantaneous bursts of reflexive hand speed. There’s not much anticipation of the opponent’s actions before that.”

Xiao Li nodded in agreement: “That’s true.”

Lin Xiao raised his eyebrows, “So when you meet some routine players, you can be easily overwhelmed.”

Xiao Li suddenly realized: “No wonder I had the feeling of being overpowered by you at that time.”

Lin Xiao shook his head, ruthlessly exposing him: “It’s not entirely correct. Even without anticipation, I can beat you with just my hand speed.”

Xiao Li was silent for a while, then glared at him: “…… Who do you think would win in real PK1?”

“Ahem, well, never mind.” Lin Xiao cleared his throat and turned the conversation to the previous topic, “The e-sports arena does not have that sort of random response as in online games. Before each fight, the opponent has probably developed a multitude of strategies to deal with you. If you want to become an e-sports player, hand speed it’s definitely a norm, but it is not unconditional. It’s more important to adapt and improvise. Before that, it is necessary to accurately understand the attributes and traits of your opponent. This is why many pros may not rank very high on the ladder but will shine in the arena.”

Xiao Li completely surrendered under this tirade: “Okay, okay, you’re right! I agree, it’s not enough!”

Lin Xiao smiled with satisfaction, “So, being a professional gamer is not as easy as you think.”

The whole morning was spent in the conference hall like this, and all the while, Lin Xiao took note of the other people’s activity.

With the two of them, this batch who entered the boot camp had a total of twelve people, and except for a few lazier ones dozing off here and there, most of them were extremely serious.

Looking at those faces full of hope for the future, he pursed his lips, somewhat listless.

He remembered that when he previously joined the team, there was also such a group of highly motivated people. However, with the trials and tribulations that came later, gradually, they began to drop out one after another, and few could persevere till the end. After all, behind the professional stage, which looks extra glamorous and glorious to outsiders, there is a lot of boring and repetitive practice day after day. There is also unseen sweat squandering and an uncertain future that is still unpredictable no matter how hard you work.

In the process, many people gradually feel disheartened and exhaust their fighting spirit. After many days and nights, they will forget their original intention, and in the end, only a few people will be left. And even among the few people left, only a fraction might have the opportunity to enter the league in the end. As for those who would absolutely shine on this stage, those were even fewer.

Following a dream doesn’t necessarily mean success, and working hard doesn’t mean you will achieve something. That is the harsh reality of e-sports.

…

After a morning of studying, at noon, all training camp members went to the Black Soul Club restaurant for lunch.

Lin Xiao looked around, and seeing no trace of the Black Rose Club people, he sent a message to Shen Changyu: “You don’t have a lunch break?”

After a while, he received a reply from Shen Changyu, “We are now finalizing the battle strategy.”

Lin Xiao looked at the date and remembered that the match against the Apocalypse team was two days away, so he didn’t bother him with another message.

After replying to Lin Xiao’s text message, Shen Changyu took a deep breath, looked at the person sitting in front of him, and tried to calm his tone: “Again, the deployment of this battle strategy is complete from start to finish, why can’t it be accepted?”

The atmosphere in the closed-door conference room was a bit tense. You Jing half leaned on the chair, his bright eyes lightly glanced at the planner scattered on the table, and he tapped the table lightly with his fingers, saying: “Vice Captain Shen, you know who our opponent is. Do you really think you can beat the Apocalypse team like this?”

Shen Changyu frowned, “If we can’t win, we can’t win. We will do our best to get as many points as possible.”

“You know where we stand in the ranking right now,” You Jing said, looking up at him. “If we don’t get more than seven points in this match, we might not even qualify for the playoffs. So, it’s not that we can’t win at all, but rather that we can’t lose.”

He casually took the players list, picked up the pen, and modified it with a stroke: “You, Xu Yiming, and Qin Lei will play in the individual competition. Liu Zeshen, Xu Yichen, and I will play in the team competition. The team will keep its old composition. As for the specific battle strategy originally formulated, it will be implemented accordingly.”

Shen Changyu stared with a darkened gaze at You Jing’s hand holding the pen, and then he said: “If you can’t lose the game against the Apocalypse team, what about your hand, can it take it?”

He had purposely dismissed the others to keep the problem with You Jing’s hand hidden, but at this moment, seeing the careless attitude of the man in front of him, he suddenly felt like calling everyone and simply revealing this issue.

Hearing these words, You Jing stopped writing.

He calmly looked up at Shen Changyu, his tone as indifferent as his eyes: “I know my own hands.”

Shen Changyu slapped the table and stood up: “You really think that no one will know if you hide the examination report! Captain You, there must be a limit to your stubbornness!”

You Jing frowned and said nothing, but his eyes darkened.

Under his cold gaze, Shen Changyu’s rising anger was silenced again, but still, he felt upset in his heart. “I’ve already asked your attending physician, so there’s no need for you to keep lying to me. I admit, the last time we played against the Nine Heavens team, I didn’t think thoroughly about it. That had already put a heavy strain on your left hand, so this time, it is absolutely impossible to let you mess around again.”

“Are you done?” Exposed in such a direct way, You Jing’s eyes only flashed slightly. Calmly, he finished modifying the document and pushed it toward him. “If you’re done, go and revise everything according to this list, and have Manager Li send it to the competition committee in the afternoon.”

When Shen Changyu saw that he didn’t take him seriously at all, he got angry: “Can’t you think about yourself for once?”

“I can’t.” You Jing replied flatly and crossed his fingers before him, smiling faintly. “Because I am the captain.”

Shen Changyu felt a pressure in his chest and opened his mouth, but could not say anything for a while.

Because I am the captain.

A long time ago, there was someone else who told him that.

You Jing slowly stood up and casually gathered the documents on the desk into one place. He gracefully stopped in front of Shen Changyu, looked directly into his eyes, and said: “I’m the captain, and I have to make sure the team can make the playoffs before I can think about myself again. If it were you, Vice Captain Shen, would you be willing to let the team stop here because of your personal matters?”

He was as calm and cool as ever, without any extra emotion on his gentle and handsome face, but when their eyes met, the tone of the voice, clear and flawless, was like an undeniable command that could not be disregarded.

Shen Changyu was silent for a while, struggling with himself, and finally, he compromised with mixed feelings: “If there is anything wrong at any time, I will ask for the game to end immediately.”

The author has something to say: The boot camp activity has officially begun, and the competition is approaching. ^ _ ^ ~

1) “PK,” or player-killer, is most commonly used nowadays in computer games as players are out to “kill” or defeat enemies.

2) Battles (referred to as PK or ‘player knock-out’ in China) are essentially real-time competitions between streamers, where the winner is decided by the viewers: whichever streamer earns more diamonds during the battle is declared the winner.