Chapter 125
Before the annual FOG World Championship began each year, the game developers would launch a prediction betting event within the game client to boost player engagement. Players could use in-game currency to bet on the team they believed would win the championship. After the tournament concluded, lucky players who had correctly predicted the winning team would receive corresponding in-game currency based on the odds.
This in-game event had started as soon as each major region's qualifying teams were confirmed for this year's World Championship. The total betting amounts for each team, to some extent, represented their championship favorites ranking.
The data rankings within the game client had gradually stabilized over a week ago. Currently, the championship favorites ranking was:
First Place: European Holy Sword team.
Second Place: Chinese Free team.
Since the establishment of the FOG league, it was the first time the teams ranked first and second as championship favorites had encountered each other in the quarterfinals.
The moment Yu Sui drew the签, it meant one of this year's top two championship favorites would inevitably fall in the quarterfinals.
It would either be Free or Holy Sword.
Since the founding of the Holy Sword club, their worst performance at Worlds had never gone beyond the semifinals.
The Free club had only been established this year, so there was no historical record to trace. If calculated based on Yu Sui's individual achievements, his worst Worlds performance was runner-up.
Based on these numbers, both teams' historical records were incredibly impressive.
And after this quarterfinal elimination match concluded, the losing side would not only have to pack their bags and head home in a miserable state, but would also be forced to刷 a record for the worst performance in Worlds history—
A first-round quarterfinal exit at Worlds.
Before Worlds began, everyone had anticipated that Free and Holy Sword, these fate-tied teams, might cross paths and finally settle the answer to that inconclusive practice match from earlier in the season.
But no one had expected the two teams to meet so early.
In the venue's lounge, the staff member who had reminded Yu Sui to go draw the签 was still present.
According to regulations, when a player was not accompanied by their team's accompanying staff, the tournament's staff members were required to act as translators and to assist and care for the solo player.
The staff member watched Yu Sui draw the Holy Sword match签, face filled with shock, jaw practically dropping to the floor.
The two championship favorites were going to face each other? This was way too early!
Amidst the staff member's shock and worry for Yu Sui, they felt a pang of regret for him. He'd been so lucky before, smoothly securing the precious first-place qualifying spot. The first-seeded team had quite the advantage in the quarterfinals—they could've drawn just about anyone from the second-seed pool and still had a good chance of advancing. Who would've thought Holy Sword would be there?
At this point, the other first-seeded teams were probably all breathing sighs of relief. That man-eating fish in the second-seed pool, that worst possible draw, had been taken by Yu Sui.
After his brief shock, the staff member shook their head and turned to look at Shi Luo, wanting to soften their tone and comfort this young player who had just turned eighteen and was experiencing his first Worlds. They wanted to tell him not to be afraid, not to feel too much pressure.
But the moment they saw the expression on Shi Luo's face, the poor staff member couldn't get a single comforting word out.
Shi Luo stared at the word "Holy Sword" on the synchronized broadcast screen, pupils dilating, the corner of his lips curving upward bit by bit. The fingertips of his right hand resting on his knee were trembling slightly from excitement.
Shi Luo lowered his head and laughed, then couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The staff member: "..."
The staff member's heart was screaming internally. Was this rookie actually... laughing?!
Were rookies these days really this arrogant?! The rookie player was about to送 heads to the current championship favorite first place team, and this was something to be this happy about?!
Whether it was because he had personally witnessed Yu Sui being hospitalized for gastric bleeding, Shi Luo had an unusual aversion and vigilance toward anything related to bloodstains.
Especially when these things were捆绑 together with Yu Sui.
So when he saw that推特 post from Holy Sword featuring their logo with a bloodied single wing, Shi Luo had been so furious he could barely see straight. He'd wanted to actually walk out of the lounge and tear into the livestream room to shred these people.
Whether Holy Sword had done it intentionally or not, Shi Luo was being paranoid, but he firmly believed they were cursing Yu Sui, provoking him from afar.
Shi Luo had never been able to tolerate even the slightest bit of bullying. This matter absolutely required an explanation. Coincidentally, Holy Sword had played the match-fixing game to恶心 the other first-seed teams, which hit the nail right on Shi Luo's head.
Shi Luo's killing intent and excitement were far too obvious. The staff member's face was filled with disbelief. What was going on with this year's Worlds? Had everyone gone completely insane? Even facing Holy Sword in the quarterfinals, even Free didn't have more than fifty percent win rate—what was there to be happy about?
The staff member was still worried that this young man might have been severely traumatized. They spoke softly in Chinese, "The draw is what it is. Anything can happen. It's just bad luck, there's nothing to be done about it."
Shi Luo's eyes were red as he stared fixedly at the broadcast screen: "Yes. A one-in-three chance. We finally got it."
The staff member struggled to confirm, "You... are you really happy? Do you actually have confidence in your quarterfinal match?"
The rookie Evil, whose professional ID had been written into the Worlds roster for the first time this year, pointed at the Holy Sword team emblem on the broadcast screen and said, "See that team over there? They're dead."
The staff member: "..."
The draw continued. In the left bracket, the first matchup Free vs. Holy Sword was confirmed. The next matchup, North America vs. Korea, was also confirmed.
In the right bracket, the Swedish team that had just qualified from Group D was set to face NSN. The final matchup had another North American team facing the wildcard region's Norwegian team.
The staff member kept gasping. Anyone with eyes could see that this year's quarterfinal draw had an extremely uneven distribution of strong teams. In the left bracket, there were two incredibly powerful first-seed teams, plus Holy Sword the man-eating fish that had somehow slipped into the second-seed pool, and a formidable Korean team. The left bracket was practically a graveyard for strong teams.
The staff member was a fan of the North American team in the left bracket. They couldn't help but mutter in English about how unbalanced the two brackets were this year, and how much easier it would be for teams in the right bracket to advance.
"If you think it's unfair, go complain to Holy Sword." The draw had concluded. Shi Luo stood up and said flatly, "I've never seen anyone play dirty enough to disrupt the entire competition's advancement balance."
"Of course, it might be because I'm completely inexperienced. I've rarely seen this level of stupidity."
Shi Luo put on his jacket and went to find Yu Sui. The draw had finished, and the captains of the eight qualifying teams had exited the livestream room one by one. Shi Luo high-fived Gu Qian, who was still fuming about it.
"It's fine." Shi Luo looked at the Holy Sword captain not far away. "I thought we'd have to rely on you guys to send them home. Now it's better—we'll handle it ourselves."
Yu Sui exited the livestream room. Shi Luo's and his eyes met. No more words were needed.
Yu Sui and Shi Luo returned to the hotel together. Everyone, including the accompanying staff, was in Zhou Huo's room for a meeting. The two of them headed over there. Before they even entered the room, they could hear Chen Huo's booming voice.
"Match-fixing! They fixed the draw!" Chen Huo held the quarterfinal matchup sheet that Old Qiao had been writing on and drawing on. There wasn't a trace of fear on his face. "Fix your mother! Are they that desperate for attention?! They wanted to恶心 the other first-seed teams, wanted to send someone home in the quarterfinals—and they messed with us, grandpa?! Is this even fun anymore?!"
Yu Sui and Shi Luo entered the room. Chen Huo looked at Yu Sui and smiled. "Well, that was your first time getting lucky with a draw."
Puppy leaned against the sofa, smiling lazily. "Exciting."
Unlike the players, the other staff members in the room had less excitement on their faces and more concerns.
Just minutes ago, the Holy Sword manager's private account had posted a推特:
【Whisper, please accept this little gift from me.】
Old Qiao held his phone, the anger on his face still evident. "We're not overthinking this. They did it on purpose. Bold of them. We didn't even go looking for trouble with them, and they actually had the nerve to provoke us? Who's in the wrong here? Who's the one who wronged whom? Do they really think they're in the right?!"
"Why wouldn't they think they're right?" Unlike Old Qiao, Zhou Huo could better understand the thinking of the higher-ups in a purely commercial club like Holy Sword. "From Holy Sword owner's perspective, right when the last season ended... my club had just won the championship. They originally planned to spend more money and keep these players老老实实 playing for them to win more championships. But even though they increased the signing fees for the new season, used both carrots and sticks, their team's medical staff member still left. And they took two important players with them, returning to their declining region. The three of them even rebuilt a team together and actually made it to Worlds... Of course they couldn't swallow this insult."
Zhou Huo looked at Yu Sui. "Didn't you say before that the Holy Sword manager threatened you when you left?"
Yu Sui actually wasn't the least bit surprised by Holy Sword's move. He nodded. "He said... if I went back to my own region, I would never win another championship."
"I know how vindictive they are, but at the time I left, what he said was still extremely unpleasant." Yu Sui looked at the matchup sheet Old Qiao had written, then smiled at Zhou Huo. "This is my own trouble. The lesson from my old team has arrived. I accept it."
Zhou Huo had been meticulously taking care of everyone on the team for the past year. It was rare for a manager to be so dedicated. Yu Sui never said it out loud, but he was grateful. Now, being potentially affected by old grudges from within the team, leading to the entire team's performance suffering, crashing out in the quarterfinals—for Zhou Huo, that would actually be unfair.
Unlike these players, Zhou Huo had no connection to Holy Sword whatsoever. If he hadn't come to be Free's manager, Zhou Huo and Holy Sword would've been like 井水不犯河水.
Old Qiao looked at Zhou Huo, understanding dawning on him, and felt a twinge of apology in his eyes. "It's... there's no helping it. The grudge was established long ago. Even if we lose, we can't blame Yu Sui..."
Shi Luo's eyes flickered slightly. He interjected, "I'm part of this too. I was the one who directly provoked Holy Sword a few days ago."
Zhou Huo looked at the group and froze for a moment, then broke into a laugh. "Are you all under the impression that we're blaming you for causing trouble? What are you thinking?!"
Zhou Huo was exasperated. He looked at the accompanying camera crew who had also squeezed into the room, adjusted his tie, and suddenly said, "Open the lens. Film a segment for me. I'm going to explain something to everyone now. It'll come in handy later anyway."
The cameraman startled, then quickly nodded. He deftly turned on the camera, the lens focusing on Zhou Huo.
"Since we've joined the same club, as the manager, whether it's your past entanglements or current grudges, whether they're good or bad, they're all my responsibility. I have to take on these burdens. I have to share them with you. That's what being a manager means."
Zhou Huo, who still didn't understand how this game worked and was usually so fussy and particular, now had a fierce look on his face. The killing intent on him was identical to that of these villains on the team.
Zhou Huo scanned everyone in the room. He was speaking to the players, but also to the other staff members. "The worst outcome is just losing, right? The worst outcome is just crashing out in the quarterfinals and getting flamed by internet trolls, right? Go ahead and play without worry. Whether it's public relations or controlling the hate, I've got it covered. If we win, that's the honor of our entire team. That's something you fought for shot by shot. That's something you earned over almost an entire season with basically no days off, pushing your physical limits, pulling all-nighters, and practicing shot after shot after shot."
"Going all out, practicing, competing—that's your job. Handling the aftermath when you lose—that's my job, and the job of all our club's backroom staff. Everyone does their part."
"You don't嫌弃 us for constantly蹭 the applause when you win your matches, so we don't have the right to嫌弃 you for your off-field troubles." Zhou Huo looked calmly at everyone in the room. "For as long as I'm your manager, I will take responsibility for everything you do. I'm paid to do this. So please, players, stop adding unnecessary psychological burdens and feeling sorry for me."
"Being targeted by the defending World Championship winner club at Worlds, being forcibly elevated to this position by our club that's been around for less than a year, giving us the privilege of handling公关 at this level—I'm thrilled about it."
Zhou Huo looked finally at Yu Sui, his eyes shining. "In the country, on the day of the group stage draw, you told me that personally eliminating a strong team felt amazing. That kind of exhilaration was enough to抵消 all the exhaustion and pain. I haven't experienced that. None of our staff have experienced it. So players..."
"Please show us what that actually feels like."