CH 44

Onyx Blue16-21 minutes 23.04.2023

After a 15-minute break, contestants from both sides stepped into the spotlight.

The lineup of the Black Rose team was: You Jing’s priest, Dazzling View, Liu Zeshen’s paladin, Choose a Tree to Live in, and Xu Yichen’s gun bomber, One Shot to the Head. Team Apocalypse played with Yan Duzhou’s black mage, Sunken Boat at Twilight, Xing Shihan’s priest, Cold Wind, and, Luo Wei’s demon hunter, Dimensional Hunter.

This long-awaited duel reminded people of the heated discussion about the “conflicting views,” an argument that appeared on the Internet not long ago.

As a player with high explosive power recognized by the domestic league, the force value of Yan Duzhou’s black mage was beyond doubt. However, You Jing, the nation’s number-one healer, did not catch many people’s eyes. Between the two of them, Yan Duzhou mostly played in the individual competition, while You Jing participated in the team competition. Since joining the League, except for the team competition, his other games could be counted on one’s fingers.

No one expected that Yan Duzhou would not participate in the individual competition at the end of the preseason but choose the team competition instead.

Many people speculated whether he was deliberately allowing other players to gain more experience in the individual competition, but more believed that the Apocalypse team, which had already secured the playoffs in advance, may have a new three-man lineup that needed practice. That was why he intentionally chose You Jing’s Black Rose team.

But in any case, such a “battle of two kings” was enough to fuel the expectations of the arena fans.

As the game started, the two sides met head-on at the top of the map, directly bringing the atmosphere in the arena to a climax.

In the beginning, the Black Rose team coordinated their teamwork beautifully and managed to secure an excellent advantage on the field. However, a small mistake made by Liu Zeshen and Xu Yichen in the middle of the match allowed Yan Duzhou to take advantage of the situation and break up the three opponents in one fell swoop, completely separating You Jing’s Dazzling View from the other two team members.

“Hold on, Captain You. I’ll be right there to back you up!” Xu Yichen said on the voice channel, preparing to catch up quickly, but heard You Jing say, “No, you and Liu Zesheng go after Cold Wind.”

Xu Yichen was taken aback: “What about you?”

You Jing said, “Just kill him as soon as possible. I can stall them.”

Stall two people, including Yan Duzhou? I’m afraid it’s something no one dares to believe in. However, Xu Yichen was only silent for a moment and answered without further questions, “Alright!”

After this, One Shot to the Head changed his route, running full speed toward Cold Wind.

Under the double attack of Yan Duzhou’s black mage and Luo Wei’s demon hunter, Dazzling View‘s blood bar fluctuated at a frightening rate. However, when everyone was expecting the other two teammates to come to the rescue, they never showed up. In fact, the camera showed that the other two not only did not come toward Dazzling View but even moved further and further away.

At the commentary table, Xiao Wu couldn’t help but exclaim, “Are the two of the Black Rose team both chasing after Cold Wind? Looks like our Queen is getting ready to dance with two at once!”

Mao Dou was also surprised, “From the current situation, both sides are targeting the healers, but it is obvious that You Jing’s situation is much more dangerous.

Xing Shihan is still playing chase with the opponent, and although Captain You’s strength is well known, after all, now the opponent is Yama, the King of Hell. Will he really be able to hold on?”

Towing away two opponents was indeed a common tactic in team competitions, but one or two teammates were usually around for support, and most were in a power-providing position. Furthermore, in the opposite group was Yan Duzhou, who was at the top of the League.

The sight of the contestants staring intently at the computers conveyed a tense atmosphere even beyond the big screen.

Commentator Xiao Wu let out a sigh, “To make such a bold decision in front of the King of Hell, I can only say that the Black Rose team shows their confidence in You Jing’s personal actions.”

Mao Dou picked up the phrase, “Right now is undoubtedly the most drastic test of the priest‘s operational skills. The show director has already presented the APM1 values, and You Jing’s APM shows that he has reached the highest hand speed among the healer profession in this year’s preseason and is even on an upward trend. Obviously, Yan Duzhou’s effectiveness has put him under great pressure.”

The APM values displayed on the big screen fluctuated in accordance with the actions of the players on the field. Shen Changyu, who was sitting on the players’ bench, couldn’t help but stand up, seeing that the value was gradually increasing. The concern in his eyes grew more intense.

Li Bochuan, the head coach of the team, was sitting not far away, and his face also looked very serious: “It’s too messy.”

The other team members didn’t know what happened, but looking at the expressions on the two of them, they seemed to sense the gravity of the situation.

Twenty-six minutes into the match, Xu Yichen finally killed Cold Wind with the assistance of Liu Zeshen, and then he wasted no time going back as fast as he could.

Under the ferocious attack of the Sunken Boat at Twilight and Dimensional Hunter, the blood bar of Dazzling View almost reached the bottom several times during the chaotic battle.

You Jing’s hand speed exploded a few times, but under the double offensive, his fatigue became more and more pronounced, and an unbearable pain pulsed faintly from his hand as he stared at the screen without showing any emotion.

Seeing that he couldn’t last any longer with only 126 blood units left, One Shot to the Head‘s beam bomb interrupted the Sunken Boat‘s chanting, while Choose a Tree‘s taunt hit Dimensional Hunter.

The 3V2 situation has officially formed, and the thrilling suspense has become a foregone conclusion.

In the end, the Black Rose team scored two points in the team competition in a thrilling fashion.

After the end of the game, players from both sides paid respect to each other.

Yan Duzhou shook hands with You Jing, glanced at his left hand with a slightly complicated look, and said, “Is it really necessary to go this far?”

After the tension in his mind completely relaxed, there was an unbearable numbing pain in his hand, and hearing the question, You Jing raised his head to meet the other party’s gaze and smiled faintly, “It is necessary.”

Yan Duzhou was silent for a moment and said, “I’ll wait for you in the playoffs.”

As the two players came off the field, after a moment of silence, the room burst into thunderous applause. This was not only for the winning Black Rose team but also for the defeated Apocalypse and for every e-sports competitor who put on such an awesome show for everyone.

The winning trio returned to the players’ bench, and instead of receiving the expected joy and celebration, they felt a distinctively heavy atmosphere.

“Show me your hand.” Coach Li Bochuan came over with a gloomy expression.

You Jing frowned, and the moment his left hand was held, he was visibly shocked by the severe tingling pain he felt. Although he tried his best to bear it, every light touch was like a knife cutting into his bones, and his face slightly lost color.

When Li Bochuan saw it, his tone sank: “Let’s go to the team lounge.”

As if realizing something, everyone’s eyes turned to You Jing’s hand hanging by his side, and a look of understanding appeared on their faces.

…

At the end of the team game, the Black Rose team took the lead at 4:1 with two more points.

The fierce fight brought the emotions of the audience to a climax. They all stood up, shouting the titles ‘King of Hell‘ and ‘Queen.’ The echoes floated over the arena for a long time, making everyone’s blood boil.

On the big screen, captures from the captivating previous battle were replayed one by one, and the comments induced by the atmosphere in the arena were full of passion.

“Since the start of this year’s season, one of the most discussed topics was probably that the old strong team, Black Rose, has started to show a declining trend. But the exciting game just now was enough to convince us that as formerly kings, Black Rose still deserves to be one of the top teams.”

“Yes, facing a strong team like the Apocalypse team, the Black Rose clearly demonstrated their strength. Although there have been a lot of twists and turns in the game, the final victory speaks for itself. Both sides showed a lot of power, and it was indeed an exciting game!”

“Especially in the last marvelous match, You Jing fully displayed his superb skills to show us what a real god-level priest means! Facing Yama‘s strong suppression, he was able to withstand Luo Wei’s double-pincer attack at the same time. The course of events of the battle was indeed a classic textbook example of the priestly profession!”

“Hahaha, so, with the Queen in charge, even if the King of Hell dominates the formation, it will be difficult to find an opportunity to take advantage of?”

“But can you say that the Black Rose team is currently the strongest in the team competitions? After all, they had a narrow victory by a slight margin. I wonder what arrangements will make Team Apocalypse in the next tag team competition? I can not wait!”

…

The enthusiastic comments set off the atmosphere in the venue, but amidst the fiery enthusiasm, Lin Xiao lost his usual relaxed expression when he watched the game replay on the big screen.

It was a great game, but something didn’t feel right. The performances of Xu Yichen and Liu Zeshen were remarkable, but in terms of the overall rhythm, the MVP of the audience undoubtedly belonged to You Jing. However, precisely because of how important the supporting role was throughout, in a way, such a pace seemed a little cruel to the player, not to mention that the man had a hand injury.

At this point, the overall statistics of the APM value have come out. As a healer, You Jing’s value was undoubtedly already close to its peak. The medium-term high was reached in the second half with a short period of decline. Then it reached its highest point and was maintained for a long time. I am afraid this was the result of forcing himself to endure.

Although he really didn’t want to see this result, he had to face the situation that there was something wrong with this man’s hand.

Lin Xiao sighed silently and said in his heart, “The war strategy is truly ruthless! They’re already on track for the playoffs, why are they still so harsh? Old Yan is really…”

Xiao Li noticed that he was lost in thought and poked him: “Hey, the battle team won, why do you look unhappy?”

Lin Xiao glanced at him without replying and got up from his seat, “It’s nothing. I’m going to the bathroom.”

…

After the game was over, there was another 15-minute break before the start of the next set of matches. The players from both sides left the arena and the players’ bench and returned to their respective lounges to make final adjustments.

In contrast to the lively scenes outside, the Black Rose team lounge seemed extremely cold.

In the general silence, Li Bochuan looked at You Jing and said in a low tone: “Whether you agree or not, we must forfeit the next match.”

Shen Changyu was silently filling out the waiver application form, and his expression was not very good.

You Jing sat on the lounge chair next to him, his coat half draped over his shoulders, and his bangs covering his face. The others couldn’t see his expression, only heard his faintly monotone voice: “You know what it means to give up these five points.”

“It means that of a total of 20 points possible in the last two rounds, we need at least 18 points or more to make the playoffs.” Liu Zeshen’s gaze fell on the waiver request form on the table, and he heaved a long sigh, “While I have to admit the situation at hand is really bad for us, I think it’s necessary to make a clear statement – this time I’m in favor of Coach Lee’s proposal.”

Xu Yichen, who had been silent all this time, said, “That’s right.”

Xu Yiming had a resentful look since he learned about the injured hand, and at this time, he completely broke out: “I also agree with Coach Lee’s proposal. And I’m really angry now, Vice Captain Shen, you knew about his hand injury, but why did you keep it from us? Do we really look that unreliable?! Captain You, you work hard for the team, and so do we! Now I’m really, really mad! Really mad!!”

Qin Lei silently nodded beside him, expressing his agreement.

“Sorry, I don’t want the team to be eliminated for personal reasons.” You Jing looked up at his teammates in the room with dull eyes, “I can still participate in the competition and I’m definitely not going to hold the team back.”

Xu Yiming finally exploded completely: “Excuse me? Hold the team back? This is not the point, okay!? It’s not like if you quit the game we’re 100% out! There are two more rounds to go, when the time comes, everyone will do their best! Captain You, the team is everyone’s, not yours alone, OK?”

“That’s right, the team belongs to everyone.” A laughing voice sounded from outside, immediately attracting everyone’s attention. As he felt the attention falling on him from all directions, Lin Xiao walked in, sweeping his gaze around and saying: “I have something to say to Captain You, can I borrow him for a little while?”

Liu Zeshen frowned and subconsciously looked at the tired Shen Changyu beside him but saw that the latter’s expression seemed relieved seeing Lin Xiao. Just as Xu Yiming was about to say something, Shen Changyu had already spoken: “We don’t mind, please go ahead.”

“Thank you.” Lin Xiao patted him on the shoulder and walked straight to You Jing, “Then, Captain You, can you come over to talk?”

You Jing glanced at him with no intention of getting up: “This is not a place for you to come, get out. We have a meeting now.”

“I’m already here, there’s no point in just going back.” Lin Xiao directly met his slightly displeased gaze and reached out to grab the right hand of the man in front of him. Increasing his strength, he no longer considered You Jing’s mood and was about to take him by force under the gaze of the others.

You Jing wanted to break free, but when he started to raise his left hand, he frowned due to the severe pain. Afraid of aggravating the wound, he had to let go of the strength in his hand completely.

The others reacted, trying to stop them, but Shen Changyu blocked them. Although they didn’t understand what was going on, they could only watch in a daze how their captain was “kidnapped.”

At the end of the corridor, after the other man had finally let go of his hand, You Jing took a step back and looked at Lin Xiao with a gloomy expression, “What the hell do you want?”

No one was passing around there, and the surroundings were quiet, all the hustle and bustle completely cut off in the distance.

Lin Xiao leaned his slender body against the wall and his peripheral vision swept over You Jing’s profile and stopped on his dangling left hand. He put a cigarette in his mouth, rubbed his messy hair helplessly, and muttered: “What can I say, you’re good at everything, but you’re too stubborn. However, e-sports is not a one-man game, really, there is no need to carry everything on your shoulders…”

You Jing’s gaze fell on the distant lights at the end of the corridor, and he said with a touch of impatience: “It’s not something you need to worry about.”

“What, you’re allowed to worry about it, but no one else is?” Lin Xiao glanced at him and smiled, “Actually, Vice Captain Shen has his own considerations, even if he forfeited the match, the situation is not as bad as you think. Anyway, as long as we win the next 20 points, we can easily qualify.”

As long as you win 20 points? It sounded as if it was easy to get such a big score from the following two teams.

You Jing finally rested his eyes on Lin Xiao and said in his monotone voice, “This makes no sense.”

“I know it sounds like talking from the sidelines at no cost and is not convincing to you at all.” Lin Xiao raised his brows and said slowly, “But then again, if we can make sure the team makes the playoffs, can we agree with forfeiting the current game?”

You Jing looked at him quietly without saying anything.

Under such gaze, Lin Xiao’s smile gradually widened. He took a few steps forward until he was in front of You Jing, looking at him intently, and the cigarette in the corner of his mouth rose and fell rhythmically with his words: “You don’t have to trust me, but even if you don’t, then—do you trust Old Ghost?”

You Jing froze imperceptibly, and a deep emotion surged in his eyes. Looking at the playful appearance of the man in front of him, it was much more difficult to distinguish the coldness on his face: “What do you mean?”

Lin Xiao chuckled: “Ah, literally.”

The author has something to say: Lin Xiao: Then do you trust Old Ghost?

You Jing: Trust what?

Lin Xiao: I believe I will be heartbroken. ^_^~

You Jing: If your heart hurts, come to my room at night.

Actions per minute, abbreviated to APM is a term used in video games, particularly in real-time strategy and fighting games which refers to the total number of actions that a player can perform in a minute.