Chapter 131
Every rookie appearing on the World Championship roster for the first time receives special attention from the entire event committee.
The three-time champion prodigies of Free, in the year they first entered the World Championship, not only claimed glory but also shattered records, leaving their own indelible mark on the World Championship with their exceptional prowess.
Take Whisper, for instance. In his first year at Worlds, he broke the record for youngest champion. In the finals, he secured three individual match MVPs, making him the youngest champion in World Championship history, the medic with the most MVPs, and was officially praised by the event committee as the most flashy and stunning player in his debut appearance.
Take Chen Huo, another example. In his first World Championship appearance, he also claimed the championship while being officially dubbed the most reckless player by the event committee. He dared to fight, dared to kill. Even with occasional mistakes, he never feared battle—the more chaotic the field became, the better he performed.
Take Puppy, another case. He also won the championship in his first World Championship appearance and was officially named the most composed player of that year. Though young at the time, his performance was exceptionally steady and seasoned, neither impulsive nor impatient.
And then there's this year's Shi Luo.
Although the World Championship has only just passed its halfway point, Evil has already been officially recognized as the most arrogant rookie in World Championship history.
The event committee's data analysts cared nothing about the history between Shi Luo and Holy Sword, nor did they have time to watch his various post-match interviews. They simply analyzed the data and felt this rookie was far too greedy and domineering—whether judging from his aggressive MVP farming during the group stage or his record for longest personal training hours before the quarterfinals (all player gaming time is tracked in official statistics). They deeply felt the ambition and recklessness of this rookie.
The officials merely assumed that Evil was young, came from an esports powerhouse, was entering his first battlefield, had a big ego, and was eager to make a name for himself.
Only a few people within Free's inner circle knew the truth: Shi Luo had never considered any of that.
What God Shi wanted wasn't to make his own victories look beautiful. What he wanted was to make his opponents' losses more miserable.
And Shi Luo's abilities truly matched his ambition.
As the tournament progressed to the quarterfinals, Shi Luo charged forward throughout, delivering stunning performances. Even his three championship teammates couldn't overshadow his radiance, as if he was born specifically for major tournaments.
Quarterfinals, Game 2 of the BO5. The countdown began.
Shi Luo stared at the map countdown and suddenly said in the team voice channel, "Do you think... they're panicking?"
The other three burst out laughing.
"Trust me." Chen Huo stretched his fingers. "Anyone who faces our crazy playstyle will panic."
"I'm a疯子, Yu Sui is a疯子—you two aren't... you two are mad dogs. Tell me, who wouldn't panic seeing a man-eating mad dog?" Puppy slowly adjusted his breathing rhythm. "...Actually, by the end of the last game, they were already trying to find workarounds. Their coaching staff is genuinely stronger than ours... after all, they're the championship coaching staff from last season. They've definitely thought of countermeasures by now. We just don't know how well they can neutralize our strategy. Let's take what they throw at us and counter it. God Yu... it's on you. Try not to make any mistakes on calls this round."
Yu Sui lowered his gaze at his scorched-red palm and calmly asked back, "Are you worried I might make a mistake?"
Puppy seriously thought about it. He really couldn't remember which year it was when Yu Sui last made a mistake.
The group froze for half a second, then laughed. The director hastily switched the camera over. Shi Luo murmured, "Seeing us laugh, are you even more panicked? Are you? Are you..."
The countdown ended.
Free replicated the opening from the last game. The moment the countdown finished, they all charged out simultaneously. The event broadcast crew, having learned from the previous game, directly cut the camera to Free's front four. On the giant screen from the god's-eye view, Free's four looked like hungry wolves.
In this mad dog playstyle, every half-second was precious. Yu Sui didn't waste time giving the two flankers shields. Shi Luo and Chen Huo immediately placed purification dishes at the opening. Holy Sword, having learned their lesson from the last game and worried Free might repeat the previous match, also prepared. They wanted to take down Shi Luo and Chen Huo before Free could, so they also rushed in with all four at once.
Shi Luo and Chen Huo, two flankers placing purification dishes without shields, were essentially two targets. If this were against any other team, with both sides rushing in, it would be three-on-one. Holy Sword's two flankers and one sniper taking on the enemy's only combat-ready sniper gave them excellent odds.
But Free wasn't an ordinary team.
Whisper, Free's medic, could be a medic, but he could also be a flanker.
Everyone on Free could fight.
"Two-point-five seconds." Shi Luo stared fixedly at the purification dish placement countdown. "One-point-five seconds..."
Holy Sword, desperate to seize the opening advantage and racing against the clock, also didn't give their players shields. In close-quarters combat, Yu Sui didn't hesitate for a moment. He pulled out his long dagger and positioned himself in front of his two flankers, dodged Holy Sword sniper's shot with a feint, kicked away the flanking Holy Sword player going for his head, and slashed his dagger across the other flanker's face!
Puppy landed a sniper shot on the flanker Yu Sui had slashed, securing first blood. Yu Sui was simultaneously hit, left with barely a sliver of health. During Puppy's reload, he couldn't provide suppression anymore. Puppy timely warned, "Pull back now or you're dead."
Yu Sui spoke rapidly, "Going for one more, then I'll sell myself."
The decision came in a split second. Yu Sui tanked three opponents, quickly repositioned and dodged another shot. Just before Holy Sword sniper could reload, he circled behind and landed a slash. Holy Sword medic had already hastily applied a photon shield. Yu Sui couldn't perform a clutch one-for-one with his hands tied, so he simply circled back in front of the half-health Chen Huo and bought him the final second. The next moment—
The next moment, Yu Sui was hit simultaneously by Holy Sword sniper and flanker and respawned.
But by then, Shi Luo and Chen Huo had successfully placed one, two, three, four, five, six purification dishes at the map center—placing Holy Sword in despair. With the sizzling sound of purification dishes, one layer of the map was gradually clearing, greatly facilitating Shi Luo and Chen Huo's gameplay. With the large area cleared, Holy Sword's front line had no choice but to retreat. Shi Luo and Chen Huo seized the momentum and took down another Holy Sword flanker.
Opening exchange: one-for-two. Compared to the last game, the advantage was slightly smaller, but Free still successfully seized a large portion of the map.
"No need to wait for me. No shields—keep pushing." Yu Sui was still waiting for respawn countdown. "What are you waiting for? We don't have a medic anyway."
Chen Huo gritted his teeth. "Fine, you're the boss..."
Holy Sword thought the opening team fight was over. Holy Sword medic was treating two teammates behind cover. Shi Luo and the injured Chen Huo burst from cover once more and charged forward.
Puppy provided suppression for the two from behind cover with blind shots. Shi Luo charged at the front, finding gaps to place more purification dishes.
Although Holy Sword lost a significant advantage again this game, they at least killed Yu Sui, thinking they could slightly slow Free's attack rhythm. They never imagined Shi Luo and Chen Huo would continue charging without any protection whatsoever. The remaining Holy Sword flanker, somewhat flustered, peeked out cover to fire back. But once again, he was a beat too slow. During the respawning window, Shi Luo ruthlessly placed two more purification dishes!
"What kind of playstyle is this from Free?" The commentator had never seen a match with such a fast pace. The commentator was in a frenzy. "If they were just crazy in the last game, this one they're playing like they don't value their lives at all. It seems they don't care about personnel losses this game. They push forward even when dying. Shi Luo and Chen Huo got another kill—Chen Huo is down... Whisper respawned, Evil keeps pushing forward. This... still pushing?!"
Why wouldn't they push?
The moment Yu Sui respawned, he immediately restored his own health, rushed to the cover where Shi Luo had temporarily retreated, and topped off Shi Luo's health. In the middle, he didn't even give Puppy, the backline, a single shield. The instant he filled Shi Luo's health bar, he charged out alongside Shi Luo. The only one left guarding the poison line front line was a medic. Yu Sui needed only seconds to take down a medic. During that time, Shi Luo cleared poison freely, while also accurately determining the enemy sniper's position and reporting it to Puppy. Puppy fired two consecutive shots. Though he didn't secure the kill, during that window the enemy sniper couldn't effectively interfere with Shi Luo and Yu Sui.
Yu Siu finished off the enemy medic. Meanwhile, Holy Sword's first flanker who had died also rejoined the front line. The flanker, knowing he couldn't withstand Yu Sui and Shi Luo, could only temporarily hide behind cover waiting for teammates to respawn.
The Holy Sword sniper, who had been sniping continuously, suddenly stopped firing. Holy Sword had essentially given up. The only two players remaining surrendered the entire map, letting Shi Luo clear freely.
Puppy timely reminded, "I've lost the enemy sniper's position. I'm not sure where he went."
Chen Huo, who had respawned, frowned. "They're waiting for full team respawn. They want a fair four-on-four."
Shi Luo coldly laughed. "Who the hell is having a fair competition with them?!"
"After placing this one, stop clearing. Don't be greedy." Yu Sui, like a machine that knew no pain or fear, directly charged toward Holy Sword flanker at cover. "As long as someone on our side is alive, we keep fighting."
Holy Sword flanker never imagined he'd have a medic charge at him.
The other Holy Sword flanker respawned and rushed to the front line, barely managing to take down the injured Shi Luo. He took Yu Sui's slash, dropping to half health, then secured Shi Luo's kill. But before he could catch his breath—Chen Huo had respawned!!
The blood-soaked Yu Sui circled behind, applied shield and healed in one fluid motion, leaving himself no gap whatsoever. The instant he was full health, he charged out again alongside Chen Huo.
At this point, Holy Sword had only one flanker without a shield and one flanker who was injured and shield-less.
The outcome of this two-on-two was self-evident.
The commentator couldn't keep up with Free's operations at all and had started babbling nonsense. Without needing the commentator's detailed explanation, from the god's-eye view, the audience could deeply feel Holy Sword's utter helplessness.
They couldn't win fights, couldn't stop the push.
And wouldn't give them a single moment to breathe.
Even though every Holy Sword player was a top-tier competitor, they simply couldn't face Free head-on in such an intense rhythm. If they didn't want to be dragged along by Free's pace, they could only watch as the enemy swept through, and just like the last game, Free dragged them out in seventeen minutes.
Holy Sword actually had their own countermeasures this game. They wanted to outpace Free, and their firepower was clearly aimed at Chen Huo, who was more prone to mistakes in fights. But it didn't work well. Yu Sui's reaction speed was even faster than theirs. If last game Free had two players being used like workhorses, this game Free had three.
This time adding Yu Sui himself.
Free's casualty rate this game was much higher than the last, but the attack speed didn't diminish in the slightest.
In Free's soundproof room, the front three players' keyboards clattered furiously as they charged forward like madmen.
"Actually, you could ease up a little." This game was significantly harder than the last. The Chinese region's commentator's heart raced with anxiety; he just wanted to secure the match steadily. "When the number of survivors equals or falls below the enemy's, maybe slow down a bit? Our advantage is already huge. You really don't need to push this hard. If the enemy catches you in a team wipe... it's still... still a bit dangerous."
In Free's soundproof room, Yu Sui spoke rapidly, "Shi Luo, come directly when you respawn. No shields. I should be dead by then. You push directly. Tank until I respawn again. This time it's one-on-two. Any problems?"
Shi Luo's hands trembled slightly. He shook his head. "No problem."
Chen Huo bared his teeth. "That confident?"
The respawn countdown ended. Shi Luo charged out again. "If I'm not confident... how could I have been that arrogant before the match?"
Before the match, he said he wouldn't lose any game before the World Championship finals. That meant he wouldn't lose a single game.
In the end, Free took down Holy Sword in twenty-three minutes and smoothly secured match point.