Chapter 96
If the hidden attribute of support players is sacrificing themselves to enable their teammates, then the hidden attribute of snipers is being sneaky—expertly playing the game of saying one thing while meaning another.
Puppy gave Yu Sui a perfunctory reminder, then turned around and created a group chat for Free team with the same unimaginative name: "Family that Loves Each Other."
Talk about ambitious—it couldn't be more obvious.
Yet Puppy's only aim was stirring up some harmless chaos within his own team, maybe catching Chen Huo or Old Qiao in an embarrassing moment. But by pure coincidence, NSN's team group chat happened to share this embarrassingly generic name.
Awa was the first to take the bait.
At noon, Shi Luo was called by Yu Sui and sleepily went to brush his teeth and wash his face. After a hasty cleanup, the two ate breakfast in their room.
They'd stayed up late last night, and Shi Luo could barely keep his eyes open. Mechanically, he stuffed bread into his mouth, taking three bites and one sip of milk—actually managing a decent rhythm.
Yu Sui, while eating, was scrolling through his phone. After a moment, he said casually, "Awa's gossiping about you."
Shi Luo didn't quite catch it, still half-asleep. "Huh?"
"Nothing important..." Yu Sui's tone remained steady as he watched his phone. "Never mind."
Shi Luo dismissed it and continued eating. Three minutes later, he'd emptied five pieces of bread, a box of salad, and a bottle of milk. He grabbed his phone to check the time, eyes slightly squinting. "What's the group chat talking about so early in the morning?"
Shi Luo unlocked his phone and checked the group.
【NSN-Awa】: [Shi-ge and Yu-shen came to watch our match yesterday.]
【NSN-Awa】: [I saw the official photos—Free brought only those two.]
【NSN-Awa】: [Seriously, they're such a perfect match. The more I look, the more I'm convinced.]
Shi Luo: "..."
Shi Luo quickly opened the group member list, and at a glance, he pretty much figured out what this group was about. He scrolled back to the chat, and the conversation kept going.
Awa wasn't the only one who'd fallen for it.
【NSN-ROD】: [What's the big deal about watching a match together? Matched for what? Our team's fans always say you and Shi-shen had a thing—is that true?]
【NSN-Awa】: [Of course not, Shi-ge and I are pure brotherhood. But those two clearly have deeper feelings.]
【NSN-Awa】: [Can I compare to Yu-shen? I'm just a tiny passerby in Shi's life. Yu-shen is Shi's white moonlight and red rose.]
Yu Sui hadn't finished eating. He watched the chat while tearing his bread, barely containing his laughter. "...White moonlight, red rose."
Awa continued his reckless commentary in the group. 【NSN-Awa】: [For real, don't you think the way they look at each other is especially beautiful? I've been noticing it for a while.]
The group also had NSN's management and Saint lurking, among others. Shi Luo couldn't afford this embarrassment. He private messaged Awa to shut up, and the group chat instantly went quiet.
"That idiot Awa..." Shi Luo gritted his teeth. "Is he blind? Can't he tell this is a new group?"
Yu Sui didn't seem bothered, continuing to eat with a relaxed expression. "Let him talk—he's not saying anything bad."
Shi Luo packed up his food container and frowned seriously. "Talking so recklessly like this—what if someone figures it out in a few more messages?"
Yu Sui hesitated, thinking internally that no matter how reckless Awa was being, it couldn't match Shi Luo's alt account. In a few days, even that idiot Chen Huo would probably know about your second account.
Yu Sui didn't want to expose him. He looked at Shi Luo and asked, "Are you mad at him?"
"Not really." Shi Luo laughed. "It's nothing serious. I cursed him out and told him to shut up, it's fine... I'm done eating. Heading to the training room."
Yu Sui nodded. Shi Luo grabbed his jacket and left for the training room.
When Shi Luo first sat down at his computer, he habitually warmed up in a custom server. After logging into the game, he saw several messages from Awa waiting for him.
【Awa】: [Kowtowing three times and prostrating nine times, Shi-ge, I'm so sorry! Please don't ignore me! Sorry sorry sorry, QAQ.]
【Awa】: [I'm kowtowing to you, *thunk thunk thunk*.]
Shi Luo hadn't been angry to begin with. Seeing Awa had chased him into the game, he replied.
【Free-Evil】: [Keep kowtowing.]
【NSN-Awa】: [Thunk thunk thunk!! Knocked my head bloody.]
【NSN-Awa】: [QAQ It was the first time I talked behind your back, I'm so sorry, sorry sorry sorry, *thunk thunk thunk*...]
【Free-Evil】: [Enough.]
【NSN-Awa】: [Whew... Relief. I was so scared, terrified you and Yu-shen would really be angry. As long as you two aren't angry, I'm fine, sorry sorry sorry.]
Shi Luo entered the custom server, glanced at the chat window, and replied to Awa: [Did you apologize to him too?]
Awa replied quickly: [Yeah, I apologized on both sides at the same time, but I don't have Yu-shen's friend code. Didn't dare add him, so I apologized in the group. Can you see it?]
Shi Luo picked up his phone to check. In the three-team group chat, Awa had @mentioned Yu Sui with a string of kowtows as an apology. Yu Sui only replied with a single "It's fine."
Yu Sui rarely lost his temper—typical reaction. Shi Luo loaded his bullets. Awa's replies kept coming.
【NSN-Awa】: [Let me kowtow one more time, sorry sorry.]
【NSN-Awa】: [I know I'm asking for a beating, but I really have to ask—are they actually together?]
【NSN-Awa】: [Look at how Yu-shen treats everyone else so coldly. Just about adding friends—when he was with our team for so long, he only had our captain's friend code. Everyone else was just optional. But with you... it's different.]
【NSN-Awa】: [I've been shipping you two for so long.]
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Shi Luo's mouth. He ignored Awa and opened his alt account on Weibo, posting a status before returning to his practice.
With Saint as a formidable practice partner, the day's training match quality was assured. Saint was very principled—before the training session, Sword Angel had posted in the group chat, promising not to scout either team's lineups and only providing practice. He wouldn't leak any information about the other team's tactics.
Yu Sui, Chen Huo, and Puppy had arrived at the training room by then. Puppy glanced at the group chat. "Sword Angel... should be trustworthy, right?"
Chen Huo sat down. "I trust him anyway. Someone who'd fight this hard for his teammates—could he be unreliable?"
"Emotionally, I trust him." Shi Luo was still in the custom server, doing simulation training while talking. "Logically, Saint's been mathematically eliminated this season. We have no competitive conflict, unless they've lost their minds, there's no reason for them to betray us."
"No need to overthink it." Old Qiao turned on his computer and said decisively. "He's helping us train for free, what more is there to consider? Besides, we should be training properly. We're always hiding and holding back—it's practically killing us. If we don't drill our secret techniques, they'll get rusty. Let's train, train, train."
Zhou Huo looked at everyone in confusion, hesitating. "You all... what are you talking about? Why can't I understand."
"We're..." Chen Huo stretched his shoulders, looking relieved. "Judging whether Saint is trustworthy. The verdict is he's trustworthy, so we're preparing to play a few good rounds."
Zhou Huo was bewildered. "You weren't playing properly before?"
"We played properly, but we didn't dare test some strategies against strong teams." Puppy winked at Zhou Huo. "Remember how they said Saint shouldn't reveal too many tactics beforehand? Now it's our turn."
Zhou Huo suddenly understood. He quickly turned off his camera. "Okay okay, you train hard. Remember to keep things confidential—turn off streams, phones, all that. I won't take photos or videos either."
"Got it." Old Qiao started creating the room. "I'll message Sword Angel one more time. He knows the score."
Shi Luo stretched his fingers, exited the custom map, and entered the training match map.
Tomorrow was the semifinals. They couldn't afford to play too long in training—just maintaining their edge was enough. Both sides only played five rounds before wrapping up. After the match, Sword Angel had a voice call with Old Qiao. Old Qiao could immediately delete the in-game data on their end, and Sword Angel guaranteed no one on their side had recorded anything.
Sword Angel's thoroughness put everyone at ease. Old Qiao deleted the game data cleanly. The team disbanded on the spot.
The next day, Free predictably swept the semifinal against Yizhan team 3-0, advancing to the finals.
After the match, Zhou Huo carefully didn't let anyone eat outside. His team was too prone to bad luck in public places—Zhou Huo had learned too many lessons. Despite complaints from Zhou Huo and Puppy, he firmly brought the four players back to the base, promising to properly reward everyone after the World Finals.
"Just a few more days until the finals. Hold out. After we finish the finals, you can go wild all you want."
Worried that outside food might be stale or off, Zhou Huo wouldn't even let them order takeout. Back at the base, Zhou Huo thoroughly soothed his players. "Hold on. I heard NSN stopped ordering takeout once they entered playoffs. We can hold out too. Don't slip up at the critical moment. I told the housekeeper to cook more of your usual favorites. Everyone hold on, okay?"
Chen Huo was dying for some BBQ. After being refused, he punched the sofa a few times, howled like a wolf, and went upstairs with regret. The others sprawled in the living room waiting for dinner.
Everyone was used to it. Ever since entering playoffs, Zhou Huo had been on edge about everything. If there were water droplets on the floor, he'd worry which player might slip and hurt their leg. As the semifinals and finals drew closer, their psychologically fragile Team Manager Zhou was becoming more neurotic. While waiting for dinner, he kept muttering to himself about daily details, terrified that some carelessness might cause the team to stumble.
"Calm down." Old Qiao couldn't stand Zhou Huo's pathetic display. "Ever won before?"
Zhou Huo gave Old Qiao a complicated look, then admitted with difficulty, "Honestly? Never. I've never taken a team this far in playoffs, let alone to Worlds."
Old Qiao suddenly felt superior. He patted Zhou Huo's shoulder. "Take it easy. You'll get used to it. Play on your phone, browse the internet, don't jump at every little thing."
Zhou Huo was very purposeful even when playing on his phone. He'd set special notifications for everyone on NSN—from the manager to the coach to all the players. As he was scrolling through, he stopped short. "NSN's sniper ROD just posted on Weibo."
Shi Luo looked up. "What did he post?"
"He's showing off a ring." Zhou Huo looked closer and smiled. "Talk about knowing how to make a statement? He said if they win the finals, he'll propose. Once they reach the legal age, they'll get married. If they lose, he'll just give the ring, proposal on hold—can't propose without winning the match first."
Old Qiao laughed. "So the ring's going to be given no matter what? Doesn't even matter if the other person agrees... there's no arguing with that logic. He and his childhood sweetheart really are sweet."
Zhou Huo clicked his tongue. "His girlfriend reblogged and said she was crying. Man... give him a like. Model e-sports boyfriend."
Shi Luo spaced out for a moment. He still remembered months ago, when ROD got torn apart online for celebrating his boyfriend's birthday. Back then, plenty of people said that couple was probably finished. But their relationship only got stronger. The team made it to the finals, ROD held steady under that overwhelming pressure, and now he's openly showing off his love, even talking about proposing.
...That's really nice.
Shi Luo lowered his head and continued his single-player game.
Shi Luo was playing Tetris on the hardest difficulty and fastest speed mode. His fingers were incredibly fast—he barely made any mistakes. After quickly beating his previous record, just as he was about to start another round, his phone buzzed.
【Whisper】: [Shi-shen, jealous?]
Yu Sui was sitting not far away. Between them was only Old Qiao.
Shi Luo's lips curved slightly. After a moment, he decided to just be honest: [A little.]
Shi Luo's phone buzzed again almost immediately.
【Whisper】: [Jealous of the ring, or jealous of the proposal?]
Shi Luo hesitated. He actually wasn't sure what he was jealous of. He wasn't jealous of someone receiving gifts. And it wasn't really about the proposal either.
Before Shi Luo could reply, Yu Sui sent another message: [No need to say it. I know.]
Shi Luo froze. He hadn't even figured it out himself, and Yu Sui already knew? How did he know? Know what?
Shi Luo's phone buzzed again.
【Whisper】: [Focus on winning the finals. Whatever others have, you'll get.]
【Whisper】: [I can give you that.]