Wu Biaoqing, after finally respawning at their base, ran immediately to the city entrance.
Xi Zhe, who had just retreated after his fight with one of SWA’s members ended in a draw, glanced up from his computer at their teammate and shivered.
He knew exactly what kind of trouble Frost had gotten himself into—
After all, there had been a time where Xi Zhe was on the receiving end of that look, and to say it ended badly would be a severe understatement.
He trotted languidly through the kingdom, and it seemed mundane as could be, so the camera didn’t follow Wu Biaoqing as he wandered through—
However, Frost’s playthrough of the match had been particularly thrilling, mainly because he came face to face with different players continuously, and completely by coincidence!
“While Yu Nianzu is incredibly talented when it comes to gameplay, he sure has some bad luck,” Qian Liqiu laughed, “what are the odds you come across every member of the opposing team one after the other?”
“He’s lucky he was able to one-shot kill Wu Biaoqing,” Liang Enlai noted, “it would be very different right now if Wu Biaoqing didn’t have to respawn and make his way back into the abandoned kingdom. It makes me wonder if he’ll try to avoid coming into contact again, or if he’ll face Frost head on.”
Wu Biaoqing, who appeared idle, was actually doing some fierce calculations in his head, as he listened intently to the sound of walking coming in the distance.
He wasn’t the type of person to underestimate his opponents, but most of the time he never had to play seriously, which wasn’t for lack of trying.
Simply put, he was of a much higher skill level then a majority of his opponents, so there was no need for him to go all out.
The only time he truly showcased his full potential was when he played against Bluestar.
However, if someone caught his interest, he was more likely to play with more of his skill, and was even more likely to play well if he was mad—
And that was a fact Yu Nianzu was about to find out.
Bang!
Fans watched as Frost suddenly paused walking and fired all within the same breath, and most were clueless as to what the reason was.
Wu Biaoqing, on the other hand, was surprised.
He had only barely made movement just then, yet Frost had already discovered him, and so suddenly.
It seemed that his hearing ability was at no ordinary level, not to mention the attention to detail and focus he must possess in order to notice such small things.
Just as Wu Biaoqing began to get excited at the prospect of a worthy opponent, another shot rang out.
Bang!
He paused, wondering if his position was compromised, since Frost was already shooting rather close to where he was, crouched behind a wall.
SWA.Frost to LIFE.Isolation — Dying while hiding or dying while facing me, it’s all the same. Hurry up and come out.
Wu Biaoqing frowned.
What kind of message was that, a lame attempt at a provocation?
SWA.Frost to LIFE.Isolation — Only noobs and losers play warrior-thief anyway…
Now that had Wu Biaoqing frowning further, eyebrows creased as he raised one questioningly.
LIFE.Isolation to SWA.Frost — Noobs?
Yu Nianzu wasted no time before replying snarkily.
SWA.Frost to LIFE.Isolation — You’ve already delivered yourself to death’s door, do you need me to kill you again before you learn not to mess with people that are stronger?
His matter-of-fact speech irked Wu Biaoqing.
Even the most hot headed players he’s gone up against never had the hall to blatantly underestimate their opponent, going so far without having actually played against each other.
What a stupid kid.
SWA.Frost to LIFE.Isolation — It’s not like you can do anything
SWA.Frost to LIFE.Isolation — go back to selling rot with that fake gifter of yours you ******* weirdo [System Notice: This message has been partially censored due to foul language]
Wu Biaoqing scoffed, wondering how the organizers let him keep going with a foul mouth like that, saying whatever he wanted without any consequences.
It was clear he didn’t care if he got in trouble, and he was being particularly aggressive since he could simply blame his hand injury if he lost.
Still, the whole thing had him particularly frustrated.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Well, it was a matter of skill anyway—
He was more than happy to teach Frost who the loser would really be.
“Yikes, the infamous poison tongue strikes again,” Wian Liqiu said, chuckling awkwardly in hopes to dispel the discomfort of the audience over the chat messages, “no wonder SWA is one of the only secondary teams to have a supporting member to trade in, in the event something happens with a player on the main line up.”
“Spark is seen so often in matches it feels like he’s the actual starting member,” sighed Liang Enlai, “I thought Frost was the benchwarmer when I first started learning about LOW professional teams, until my friend informed me otherwise.”
This got a wave of laughter from the audience, successfully easing the tension.
“Yu Nianzu certainly lives up to his nickname,” the host hummed, “but his involvement in SWA is vital to the team’s current success, so I understand why they keep him despite the amount of times he’s been forcibly switched out due to foul language. His strategic mind and personal skill make for a great combination, yet he almost seems more well suited for a coaching position.”
The co-host shuddered, “…somehow, I don’t want to imagine what it would be like having him as a coach.”
Meanwhile, Wu Biaoqing had already sunk into the building he’d been crouching behind, successfully evading Frost’s attacks.
By the time Yu Nianzu realized Wu Biaoqing was no longer near the position he was searching for, he was already long gone inside the building, climbing the stairs and making his way to the top.
Rooftop headshots were not uncommon in the abandoned kingdom, but it was generally more well-suited for assassins, who had a better accuracy rate for sniping.
However, what Wu Biaoqing was going for wasn’t just a simple one hit kill to end the story—
No, he was going to do it with flair, to make sure Frost knew better the next time he underestimated someone.
Waiting until Frost began moving, he purposefully threw a grenade at the building opposite to the one Frost was heading to, successfully catching his attention.
While to Wu Biaoqing, it was a deliberate and purposeful move, it would look more like an accident or misthrow to Frost, leading him to falsely believe Wu Biaoqing was closer to that building, when he was actually closer to the one Frost had been heading to.
Thinking Wu Biaoqing had compromised his position due to such a mistake, Frost immediately started shooting, turning and running toward where the grenade had exploded, buying his opponent enough time to sneak into that original building.
As he raided it and made his way upstairs, he came across one of his favorite items, something that would be perfect for the kill he was going for—
A broadcast flair.
In LOW, broadcast flairs were generally frowned upon, as people only ever used such a randomly spawned item to make confessions.
The broadcast flair was basically a giant I’m here, come kill me sign, just with a personalized message that would be displayed in the air like a firework.
What Wu Biaoqing was planning to do with it, however…
Frost, upon realizing he wasn’t over there, decided as Wu Biaoqing expected to fall back and near the building he’d been on his way to previously.
Thus, Wu Biaoqing hid behind the stairs, giving himself just enough visibility to watch as Frost walked about.
His opponent entered the building, and upon realizing someone had already been there, kept his guard up, aiming his gun as he crept through the large floor.
Some viewers expected Wu Biaoqing to attack the moment he came near the stairs, but he didn’t, instead waiting until Frost was upstairs to type in the chat.
LIFE.Isolation to SWA.Frost — Very few people get the chance to kill me yet all you’ve been is ungrateful. Why whine about me showing myself if you won’t even look properly? （；゜０゜）
SWA.Frost to LIFE.Isolation — quit messing around, are you going to fight me or not?
Wu Biaoqing laughed.
LIFE.Isolation to SWA.Frost — come and get me ♪(´ε｀ )
Frost bounded down the stairs, shooting as much as possible, and Wu Biaoqing rolled his eyes, moving quietly and quickly out of his hiding spot while still keeping out of Frost’s line of sight.
LIFE.Isolation to SWA.Frost — Consider yourself lucky that dad’s here to teach you some life lessons. The first is patience!
As he said that, the audience who had been watching from Frost’s perspective watched a notification pop up on his screen.
[System Notice: Player has been shooting without a hit for too long, cooldown enabled. Please try accessing your weapons again in 15 seconds.]
Knowing Frost could no longer access his weapons, Wu Biaoqing revealed himself.
LIFE.Isolation to SWA.Frost — The second lesson is the most important, and that’s respect.
He drew closer, shooting and missing on purpose just to taunt Frost, still slightly out of range for Frost to punch him.
LIFE.Isolation to SWA.Frost — So remember to be respectful son, daddy is taking you to greet your ancestors!]
He drew down a grenade and booked it out of the building, just barely making it out while Frost had been too distracted by losing his weapon access ability to move in time.
{LIFE.Isolation was killed by SWA.Frost. 10 second cooldown enabled.}
As the loud crackling of the explosion erupted in his headphones, Wu Biaoqing smiled and threw out the broadcast flair.
{LIFE.Isolation has sent the following message using item Broadcast Flair:
Happy ancestor reunion~
With love, resident noob warrior-thief}
The message, displayed in the game for all to see, caused an uproar among viewers at the competition and netizens alike, and it was quickly clipped, gaining incredible attention.
That day, Wu Biaoqing successfully gained the title as one of the very few people who could fight back against Frost’s poisonous tongue.
—
Without any surprise, LIFE won the round and successfully secured their spot in the final.
For the first time, LIFE was the team at the top—
It was equal parts exhilarating and nerve wracking, but for the members of life, they wanted nothing more than to get some rest.
“Fuck, that match was brutal,” Men Wu sighed, using Chang Hui as a seat and being promptly pushed off, falling onto the tile floor with a loud bang.
“Oh my god, you need to see his face!” Chang Hui, who had saved himself from the grim fate of being lounged on by his teammate, grinned as he shoved his phone toward Wu Biaoqing, who took it with an uninterested hum.
On his phone was a weibo post depicting Yu Nianzu, who was red from anger and absolutely fuming.
Wu Biaoqing shrugged, “he got what he deserved.”
“Serves him right!” Huffed Xi Zhe, “I’ve never heard of a gamer who talks like that. It’s absolutely unprofessional.”
“Well, smack talk and gossip were never ruled out for this competition,” Men Wu sighed, “looks like they know what to add next year.”
“Mn,” Wu Biaoqing sir pressed a laugh, asking instead, “should I get food for everyone?”
All four unanimously agreed, with their manager unceremoniously declaring that the meal of the day had to be light so they were in top shape for the final.
Despite the obvious disagreement from the LIFE members, no one dared to challenge the words to the almighty manager Yan Shufen, and thus Wu Biaoqing was tasked with the job of finding food that would suffice.
As he made his way out, wondering what food options were near the competition venue, he missed a step and slipped against the slightly damp tile.
Luckily, before his handsome face suffered damage in the form of an accidental faceplant, he was caught and pulled back by someone, his back hitting someone with a firm, slim chest.
Clearly, whoever helped him was slightly taller, yet his shoulders were less broad, and his waist was thinner, someone who must work out just enough to be considered healthy, but not overly so.
He considered the observation as the scent of rose, orange, and lavender enveloped him, and he noticed belatedly it seemed to be coming from the cologne of his savior.
He stumbled back slightly, before regaining his footing and cleared a distance between them.
The words, “Thank you,” had already fallen from his lips as he turned and registered who it was he’d bumped into—
“Oh!” He gasped, and the handsome stranger from before smiled back at him.
Well, he wasn’t really a stranger at that point, was he?
“Are you alright?” Asked the other man softly, and a sense of dejavu hit Wu Biaoqing, making him wonder if he’d heard the handsome man’s voice from somewhere else.
“…Mn,” he responded after a moment, snapping himself out of his daze, “for some reason, you’re always showing up right when I need you to.”
The handsome man blushed slightly, before he burst into laughter, which made Wu Biaoqing blush as well due to the embarrassment.
“Well, thank goodness I’m here to help,” he grinned.
“Ah, I hope I’m not keeping you from something!” Wu Biaoqing realized worriedly, stepping more towards the side, “I’m sorry about that.”
The other man waved his hand dismissively, “nothing important.”
He paused for a moment, before adding with a wink, “unless you count catching falling gamers as doing something important.”
Wu Biaoqing adverted his gaze, awkwardly switching the topic, “I don’t think I ever got your name?”
Zheng Shun paused for a moment, hesitating, before replying, “uhm… they call me Jiang here. Jiang Shun.”
“Like the CEO?” Wu Biaoqing suddenly realized.
Zheng Shun scratched the back of his neck with a slanted smile, mumbling embarrassedly, “yeah… no need to worry about that. I promise no one will start any gossip.”
Wu Biaoqing shrugged, “I’m not worried about that.”
They stood in silence for a beat, before he continued.
“Uhm… Jiang Shun… is there- is there any way I can thank you some time? Not just for now, but for everything. You’ve helped me so many times, I want to express my gratitude— and maybe we can, uh, see each other again? If you’d like,” his voice trailed off, going quieter as he spoke, before he suddenly exclaimed, “oh, but I’m not saying it just because I learned you’re the CEO of Shark Smiles! I just thought you were cu- cool!”
The CEO somehow managed to make it through the entire time he talked without laughing, but inevitably burst out in giggles.
“I know,” he smiled warmly, asking knowingly, “I will gladly take you up on that offer. Do you have time after the final match today?”
“I’m meeting up with someone dear to me,” Wu Biaoqing explained offhandedly, not noticing the way so-called Jiang Shun’s breath hitched at the remark, “so we’ll have to find another time, sorry.”
After taking a breath to compose himself, Zheng Shun stuttered out, “that’s alright. I’ll meet you before you leave and we can talk about the details briefly then.”
As he said so, his phone buzzed, and he apologized quickly, explaining he needed to take the call.
Wu Biaoqing watched him walk away with a smile on his face, thinking CEO Jiang was quite a wonderful person.
As Wu Biaoqing finally went to get food as promised, Chang Hui got up and stretched.
“I’ll be out for a bit,” he said, waving as he walked out into the hallway.
As he passed by the bathrooms, he noticed the wet floor and a few footprints.
“Weird,” he mumbled, so caught up in glancing at the tile, he didn’t notice the person rapidly walking toward him from behind until they rammed straight into him.
“Shit,” he cursed as he stumbled forward, turning around to snap at the stranger, “watch where you’re going!”
The person who had impolitely tried to plow through him on his pursuit down the hallway simply frowned, shooting him a look of disgust.
“Who are you?” He scoffed, “hurry up and clean up the mess or get out of my way.”
“What the fuck,” Chang Hui gasped, “why don’t you hurry up and stop being a stuck up prick?!”
The stranger rolled his eyes, “if you would stop standing there blocking the hallway, maybe I would.”
Chang Hui angrily stomped a few feet to the side, gesturing animatedly to the now clear space, “there. Anything else you want, your highness?”
The other man shot him a leveled gaze, clearly unimpressed with his sarcasm, “next time, stand to the side or keep walking.”
“Motherfu…” Chang Hui muttered, mustering the sliver of patience he had left, “who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?”
The stranger quirked a brow as his sunglasses slipped down his nose ever so slightly, looking as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Who am I?” He echoed, “I’m Jiang Wei. CEO Jiang, thank you. Remember it.”
Chang Hui watched the retreating figure, and huffed as he made his way into the bathroom to run his hand under cold water.
By the time he made it back to the waiting room, Wu Biaoqing had already brought food, and waved at him cheerfully.
Chang Hui met his happy gaze with an annoyed one of his own.
“Fuck, the people who run this place are the worst,” he sighed, plopping down on top of Men Wu as retrabution for the previous attempt at making himself a human sized seat, “so fucking pretentious.”
“Hm,” Wu Biaoqing tilted his head in confusion, “everyone is pretty nice though?”
“Yeah, most people are,” he sighed, “but this one dude was a total asshole. CEO Jiang or whatever? I don’t care who he is, but he was a total dick.”
Wu Biaoqing frowned, “I think CEO Jiang is sweet. Are you sure you didn’t do something stupid again?”
Chang Hui rolled his eyes, already watching Wu Biaoqing’s food like a hawk for a chance to steal, “Whatever. He was annoying as hell.”
Wu Biaoqing rolled his eyes, successfully blocking Chang Hui’s attempts at food theft, and the all laughed as he scoffed, “you’re one to talk.”
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The author has something to say
Hello again everyone! Apologies for the late chapter, my schedule has been super hectic this week. Oh the joys of family reunions… (´；ω；｀)
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That’s pretty much it! Both Chang Hui and Wu Biaoqing’s birthdays are coming up soon… hopefully I’ll be able to do something special for them hehe. Happy holidays to anyone celebrating thanksgiving this week! I’ll see you in the next chapter dears~
Thanks for the chapter (I have nothing interesting to say lmfao)
Thank you for the support!! (≧∇≦)