Chapter 62. Chapter 62. It seems that there are truly no regrets. ...

During the halftime break before the deciding game, the CG lounge was deathly silent.

Coach Zds, with a stern face, was pacing irritably back and forth in the room with his arms crossed.

A moment later, he suddenly looked up and said, "Why didn't you follow the tactic and go up to protect the priest after the enemy's two carries jumped down? Why did you retreat immediately?!"

His response was still silence.

After a long pause, Wind, the team leader, spoke first: "Uh, I can't say it's my fault. I told the priest to retreat first, but he didn't, and as a result, he was instantly killed."

Zds immediately turned his attention to xww: "The commander ordered you to retreat, why didn't you retreat?"

xww pursed her lips tightly and lowered her head without saying a word.

Zds continued, "This match could have ended right away if we had won it, but now the other team has dragged it into a deciding game. It's just a cup tournament, there aren't many points to be gained, and I didn't want to put too much pressure on everyone. But the problem is that the other team is a streamer team. You four are top-tier players from the league, and you can't beat a streamer team. Just think about how bad people will think you are?"

Wind muttered to himself, "Anyway, it's not my problem."

"Never mind, the game is over now." He said. "The next map is Castle, which is a map we are good at. We will definitely win this one. I'm going to the bathroom."

Wind closed the lounge door behind him and let out a long sigh.

The backstage area of ​​the main stadium was spacious, but he felt that the room he had just been in was so cramped that he could hardly breathe.

He shook his head, banishing the jumbled thoughts from his mind.

A team of livestreamers is a team of livestreamers, after all. Could a league team that can make the playoffs really lose to a team of livestreamers? Even the bookmakers probably wouldn't dare to manipulate the market in that direction.

As Wind reached the corner of the restroom, she faintly heard laughter coming from ahead. She stopped in her tracks.

"Hey... Ouch! Go dry yourself!" It was clearly Angel's laughter from the next team. "Why are you always flicking my face like that!"

The other was his familiar old teammate yux: "Seeing you nervous, I wanted to cheer you up."

"You think I'd be happy with my face covered in water?!"

"At least you smiled."

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Then, Angel's voice rang out again: "You don't need to worry too much about me. Whether I win or lose today, I'm already very happy."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I'm really happy to be able to compete with you... I'm extremely happy."

Wind remained standing in the same spot, motionless.

For some reason, he found it rather strange. It was probably the first time he'd seen someone like Yux, who usually had such a serious expression, joking around with his teammates.

He imagined himself: kicked out of the league team, suspended for two months in exchange for contract termination, and now reduced to playing for a streamer's team...

He couldn't be happy no matter what.

"Incomprehensible," Wind thought.

The next second, the door in front of him opened.

“I don’t know how…” Yux walked ahead and saw Wind instinctively take a step back before she could finish speaking.

Then, he looked away as if he had just seen an insignificant person: "...I made you lose."

-

With the halftime break over, the fifth game of the BO5 series, the final chapter of this dramatic and fateful duel, officially began.

Since four matches had already been played, the map for this match was naturally decided early on – [The Castle].

For both sides, this map seems to have some special meaning: Castle is the map that made yux famous, and it is also the map that CG used to reverse the game when they won the world championship.

Similarly, it was the map where they lost the final match of last year's BO5 series.

In the studio at this moment, You Qing's expression was no longer as good as it had been initially, after all, the possibility of losing had already taken shape in his subconscious.

But even now, he still asks, unwavering in his original intention: "Will yux pick the Witch in this match?"

"Uh... this." The commentator next to him explained for what seemed like the umpteenth time, "Personally, I don't think he'll actually pick her. Because the Witch isn't a very strong choice in the current version, there are many better alternatives in the Castle map, and picking the Witch in the deciding game is too risky. Although yux has picked her many times in previous matches, I think... ah?? First pick Witch? Is this a flashy pick or... wait! He locked her in!!!"

One second the comments were mocking, "Is this guy's brain only filled with witches?", the next second the chat box was flooded with countless "???" messages.

[Oops, I accidentally clicked the wrong button? Is this even an option?]

Isn't this a bit too overconfident...? What's the difference between this version of the Witch and the sewer version?

At this moment, everyone on and off the stage silently counted to ten.

If you accidentally selected the wrong profession, you have ten seconds to raise the issue with the referee and have a chance to change your mind.

...Three, two, one.

The time for regret is over.

The witch's potion bottle lay quietly on 2L ANY.Yux's career selection page.

Immediately afterwards, everyone present watched in disbelief as the Angels team successively deployed the lineups of [Fortress Guardian], [Witch], and [Swordsman].

This is exactly the same as CG's pick in Game 5 of last year's finals!

Soon it was Angel's turn to make her fourth pick. The team's support player hadn't been chosen yet, and someone in the audience was already yelling "Cat!!" However, the live broadcast was delayed compared to the actual match, and Nan Zhiyi had already locked in her pick—

[The Bard].

"Oh? It's not a cat." The commentator was also stunned for a moment by this sudden reversal. "However, Angel Yi is indeed more proficient in this class. In previous matches, he has repeatedly delivered outstanding performances using the Bard."

"Perhaps, is there a possibility?" another commentator said, "that choosing the Bard reflects Angel's new understanding of this lineup?"

"That's possible," the commentator mused. "And quite coincidentally, Wind chose [Priest] in this match... Could it be that Angel's Intent is planning a lesson in how to play Bard against Priest?"

I don't know why, but looking at the Angels' lineup, I suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia.

[Yeah, everyone keeps saying beer is all about swordsmen, but who remembers Meng, the world's number one swordsman in 2019?]

[23CG team fans are already crying.]

Honestly, CG has lost its original spirit. The matches are played terribly, and the new main DPS is completely incapable of carrying a strong team... If you ask me, the true essence of CG lies with the opposing streamer team.

The map loads, and a majestic ancient castle stands in the center of the screen.

The competition has officially begun.

The Castle map has always been the bloodiest of all maps, due to its dense resources and frequent corner encounters, which often rely heavily on the player's individual skills and reaction speed.

Just three minutes later, the two sides clashed in their first encounter. Due to the similar strength of their lineups in the early game, the battle ended in a fierce three-for-three exchange.

Ten minutes in, another two-for-two exchange occurred in the resource group in the lobby, with CG securing the resources thanks to a slight health advantage. At this point, the economic gap had widened to 1500.

"This... it seems like Angels' team isn't having much luck." The commentator tried to remain neutral, but couldn't help but sound worried. "CG's two players only dropped small items, while Angels' two players only dropped large items... it feels like the current situation is very unfavorable for them."

Seventeen minutes later, another skirmish broke out.

First, Meng's swordsman was ambushed in a corner. In that split second, he couldn't use his skill and was controlled in place by the enemy tank's charge.

The secondary carry's loss of position led to the subsequent team fight failure, but the witch accurately threw out the explosive potion at the last moment, predicting the position of the two low-health opponents, turning a one-for-four situation into a three-for-four exchange.

"That was close...that was close!" The commentator no longer bothered to hide his bias. "If the enemy's two carries were still alive at this point, the game might already be over. But now Wind is looking for the enemy's respawn point...Let's look at what just happened...Ah? Angel placed the respawn point in the dungeon! A place where their defense is completely weak!!"

Generally speaking, in the Castle map, everyone will choose to place the respawn point near themselves so that they can easily support their teammates when they respawn.

However, due to Angel's unexpected placement of the respawn point, Wind searched back and forth several times at the location where the team fight had just taken place, but still couldn't find the real location of their respawn point.

The fans in the audience all breathed a sigh of relief.

There's still a chance to fight.

The four members of the Angels' Team were resurrected one after another in the dungeon.

As Song Meng controlled the character on the screen, his heart was filled with emotion at that moment.

He hadn't touched the game for almost a year, and at 25 years old, he was practically the oldest player in the entire region. The moment he failed to use his skill, he suddenly realized... he was really getting old.

No matter how badly the opponent's skills were compared to yours in the past, the passage of time is truly unforgiving.

Besides himself, Nan Zhiyi's instantaneous reaction and operation are also difficult to match the seasoned professional players on the other side. Xiao Yu is young and ambitious, daring to fight, but his on-the-spot awareness and judgment are always a little worse than the other side.

Of the four, only yux was able to completely suppress his opponent.

Just then, Wind, who had been searching for the resurrection point in vain, happened to see the four people coming out of the dungeon and immediately realized where they had hidden the resurrection point.

The pastor froze for a moment.

Then, he did something that no one present expected.

In front of everyone, Wind took out a CG resurrection point from his body and placed it conspicuously on the ground in front of him.

It was quickly taken back.

The next second, he took it out again and put it on the ground.

"Uh, Wind is doing..." the commentator said, puzzled, but then suddenly fell silent when he realized what was happening.

The wind is mocking.

In the fifth game last year, Yux was kicked out of the game because he failed to place the respawn point in time in the same position.

"xx." Xiaoyu cursed almost subconsciously, then quickly stopped herself.

After a long pause, he managed to choke out, "I'm sorry... I was a little too angry! How could this person do this?!"

Even Song Meng, who was usually good-tempered, frowned at this moment: "How rude of him."

"..." Nan Zhiyi was also a little angry at this point, but she was more confused than anything else. "What exactly is he mocking? Wasn't Yux's failure to be revived in time last year due to his own mistakes? Am I mocking myself?"

Meanwhile, yux, who was being mocked, was focused on his game and didn't make a sound.

During the game, unless necessary to convey information, he usually doesn't say a word, only follows his teammates' instructions, and avoids interfering with their decisions.

That's why he had to leave in such a undignified way during that crucial life-or-death situation.

Nan Zhiyi took a deep breath.

An idea suddenly popped into his head.

"Now listen to me, everyone." After quickly organizing her thoughts, Nan Zhiyi began, "We can't go head-to-head with them right now. If we do, they'll just snowball and we'll lose more and more. Wind probably only dares to be so arrogant because he's convinced we can't win this round. But I have an idea now. Yux is going to consume all our resources by himself. We need to raise a super-powerful witch to have the strength to compete with them."

"Yux, are you confident... to take on four at once? We'll all support you."

The witch's growth curve has a steep increase in the mid-to-late game. Sacrificing teammates' economy to feed the witch can bring this improvement to the forefront.

However, they will also lose a lot in return: no room for error, no room for maneuver.

In the next team fight, if the witch dies, they will lose.

This is a risky move, a desperate gamble.

In the time that follows, the pressure on Yux will be immense. He will never be allowed to make a mistake again.

“Okay,” You Xin said.

A single, concise word, no room for further discussion. He unconditionally obeyed all arrangements directed by him.

“…Alright, from now on, swordsmen and guards, what you need to do is try your best to avoid the enemy's damage. Especially you, Little Fish.” Nan Zhiyi’s voice trembled slightly as she tried to keep her tone steady. “You don’t need to block the damage anymore. First, make sure you stay alive and draw the enemy’s attention.”

"Yux, from now on, our protection for you will actually decrease, or rather, it will take a different form, focusing on disrupting the opponent's output. However, their focus will still be on you, and you must rely on your own skills to win against them."

You Xin replied sparingly, as always: "Okay."

"Okay, that's fine." Nan Zhiyi felt her eyes getting slightly moist.

But at this moment, he felt no fear or dread.

Because he genuinely believed that Yux could do it.

Absolutely, definitely can be done.

He wasn't Wind, Zds, or Yux's teammates in CG... He believed in Yux, wholeheartedly. He was the person in the whole world who trusted him the most.

"Oh? It seems Angel Team is planning a change of tactics. They're now focusing all their resources on the Witch... Could it be—" the commentator exaggeratedly drew out his words, "Could it be that in this crucial final, we'll see something like that?"

"We've noticed that none of the Angel Team members are opening the small treasure chests they get; instead, they're keeping them and giving them to Yux... If this continues, the witch will probably be a terrifyingly well-equipped being within twenty-five minutes!!"

Every twenty-five minutes, a crucial dungeon resource point will respawn.

Time ticked by, and the map entered a period of peaceful development. All the spectators held their breath.

As the witch upgraded her final piece of armor, her gear was complete.

24 minutes and 54 seconds.

Six seconds later, accompanied by a rustling, eerie sound effect, the giant egg-carrying spider in the dungeon spawned.

"Both sides are now taking their positions, finding suitable spots... Hmm? Yux seems a bit isolated right now, but at the same time, Xww has fallen into the encirclement of the three members of Angel Team... Yux is making a potion, wait! He's in!!"

Exclamations echoed throughout the arena as the witch walked straight toward the beer's face, her fragile body completely exposed to the opponent's firepower, with no room to hide whatsoever!

Meanwhile, the priest, swordsman, and fortress guard surrounded xww, the highest damage dealer in the CG team, completely distracting him and preventing him from keeping up with his teammates' output!

"The other three members of Angel Team are very fragile right now, extremely fragile, but they can withstand xww's attacks. The Bard has xww under control... Yux is moving, he's moving, he dodged, the elemental beams, the Gladiator's parry control... he dodged them all!!!"

Under the witch's terrifying equipment, many things happen in an instant.

Yux's three damage potions hit Beer precisely, reducing his health to less than 1/5. At the same time, the witch's own health also dropped to 2/3. Then he threw out an explosive potion and took a tiny step to the side—his peripheral vision caught the opponent gladiator's initial attack, the longsword almost grazing the edge of the character's body.

Unharmed.

The only one who can hurt him now is himself.

"Yux's health is dropping drastically, but the enemy team doesn't seem to be able to withstand his explosive damage at all. Xww is trying to move this way... Wind... what is Wind doing?! Wind, what are you doing?!?"

In the heart of the battle, amidst the splashing of explosive potions, instead of stepping forward to shield the damage dealer, the priest... took a step back.

This was almost an instinctive action by Wind, which instantly knocked down Beer, who was already low on health.

[Witch] ANY.Yux has killed [Elemental Mage] CG.Beer!

Beer's collapse triggered a chain reaction, and the remaining CG team members suddenly had only one thought in their minds: escape.

But the cramped space in the dungeon didn't give them many opportunities.

[Witch] ANY.Yux has killed [Gladiator] CG.Bost!

[Witch] ANY.Yux has killed [Priest] CG.Wind!

[Witch] ANY.Yux has killed [Necromancer] CG.Xww!

"Quadra kill! It's in!!!!" In the studio, the commentator was hoarse with excitement. "The entire Angels team placed their hopes on Yux, and Yux, with his near-dominant performance, showed his teammates that they made the right choice in trusting him!!!"

"It's over! The CG resurrection point is in the lobby; Angel's Will will see it as soon as it goes up... It's over!!!"

"Breaking through the crisis to achieve victory, rising from the ashes! Congratulations to Angel Italy for defeating their seemingly insurmountable league opponent 3-2, becoming an absolute dark horse and winning the Champions Cup championship!!!"

Nan Zhiyi jumped up from his seat. He wanted to say something, but his mind went blank. After a long while, he stammered, "Did you...you won?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Song Meng rushed over from the left and grabbed him. Song Meng was carrying a small fish in front of him, and Nan Zhiyi immediately felt as if he had been hit by a truck.

In the chaos, he heard You Xin, who had appeared to his right at some point, reply: "Yes, we won."

Little Fish exclaimed with a tearful voice, "Yux, you're practically a superhero!!!"

"..." Nan Zhiyi was jostled and bumped around for a while. When his brain finally regained its ability to think, he found himself squeezed in You Xin's arms.

“We won,” You Xin told him. “We won a championship together.”

Nan Zhiyi opened his mouth, then noticed that the four people on the CG side were still standing there, and couldn't help but ask, "Do we... still need to go over and shake hands?"

You Xin thought for a second or two: "Let's go anyway. At least we can see their expressions."

The faces of the four CG members were a colorful mix: the sub-C and the tank had ashen faces, xww was deathly pale, and wind's face was flushed red.

None of them probably imagined that they would lose in a cup competition to a broadcaster team that doesn't even qualify for the league.

Some of them had even fantasized about winning this year's championship and washing away all the shame of last year—but now it seems that everything they did has only turned into a complete joke.

Both teams bowed to the audience from the center of the stage, but received different responses: the four members of the Angels team received a long cheer, while on the other side, someone shouted "Retire!" and then the whole audience echoed with shouts of "Retire!! Disband!!"

When she returned to the stage, the host, Xiaoya, was finding it difficult to control her emotions.

She raised the microphone, her eyes filled with tears, and looked at the four people in front of her: "Everyone must have a lot to say to the audience right now..."

Xiaoyu was the first to take the microphone. He wasn't good with words to begin with, and now he hesitated for a long time before finally managing to choke out, "I...I'm really grateful to my teammates, especially our captain, Yi-ge. He brought me to this stage and gave me this opportunity to showcase myself. I...I still feel like I'm dreaming..."

As he spoke, he lowered the microphone to his side, bowed deeply to the audience, and then bowed again to Nan Zhiyi. Encouraging applause and screams erupted from the audience, "Go, Xiaoyu!!!"

The second person to receive the microphone was You Xin. As the absolute focus of today's competition, his remarks were very simple: "Today, the people I want to thank the most are probably Wind, Zds, Stone, and my brother You Qing. These four people are the ones I want to thank the most."

He looked directly into the camera lens, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Thank you all. If it weren't for your efforts in kicking me out of CG, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to see Nan Zhiyi again."

“I can even stand here now and raise a glass with him. Thank you, your bad intentions turned into a good thing. I am really happy now.”

After just a few words, everyone—the host on stage, the audience below the stage, and the viewers in front of their screens—was stunned.

Holy crap, what did I just hear?

【ah? ? ? ? 】

Suddenly I understand what it means to have a lot to say in a few words...

So, the CG team members were involved in the contract dispute back then?

[Brother? You Qing??? Is that guy in commentary booth 208 his brother??? The CG boss???]

What do you mean by "a chance to see Nan Zhiyi again"? "See her again"? What does that even mean? Seriously, buddy, explain yourself clearly!

However, You Xin did not give everyone time to digest the huge amount of information. He casually moved the microphone away and handed it to Song Meng next to him.

Song Menggang took the microphone and put it to his lips: "I..."

Before he finished speaking, a frenzied cheer erupted from the audience.

Song Meng had no choice but to move the microphone away a little, smile at everyone, wave around, and then speak again: "I am really happy to stand here and see everyone today."

At that moment, one of the male fans in the audience screamed at the top of his lungs, "Brother Meng, I beg you, please come back!!!" This immediately triggered another round of screams, mixed with the audience's giggles.

Song Meng laughed along with him, and after he finished laughing, he continued, "I didn't plan to bring up the past today since we're winning the championship together, but I haven't found an opportunity to say it... Milk, I saw you sitting in the audience."

He called out Milk's name, and at that moment the director also turned the camera on Milk, who was originally wearing a mask and sitting furtively in the last row.

milk: "…………"

He appeared to be about to give Song Meng the middle finger, but was caught on camera and quickly changed his gesture to a thumbs-up.

Song Meng laughed and said, "There's something I need to clarify for you... During that spring tournament in 2023, I wasn't so scared of beating you that I wet my pants! I just fell asleep and accidentally spilled milk tea on my pants!!"

The audience was stunned for a second, then burst into laughter.

"Um... there's more." Song Meng laughed so hard that tears welled up in his eyes. "I left in such a hurry that I didn't have time to say goodbye properly because I couldn't face myself at the time... For a long time, I couldn't even open the ROE client. I would feel nauseous and tremble whenever I touched the keyboard. All I could think about were the scenes of losing the game."

"But recently, competing with everyone, I feel like I've returned to the beginning, back to when I had nothing. No fame, no burden, no pressure to win or lose. It's true that you're happiest when you have nothing. I'm very grateful to Xiaoyi for taking in this old man, and to my teammates, Yux, Xiaoyu, thank you for accompanying me on this wonderful journey."

"Regarding the talk of my return, I want to say that my age and skill level no longer allow me to compete at the league's intensity," Song Meng said, pausing for a moment. "Actually, I know that everyone who supports me has regrets, regrets that I couldn't win the highest championship. For a long time, I was trapped in these emotions myself... But now, having resolved my inner conflict, I actually hope that everyone can move forward and look ahead. Although the past wasn't perfect, it's still a precious memory, isn't it?"

Xiao Ya, standing next to him, had already started wiping away tears. Everyone knew that she was one of Song Meng's earliest fans, and had been silently supporting him even before he became famous.

She held the microphone to her lips, her voice choked with emotion, and said, "Let's cheer for Meng one last time!"

"Three, two, one—"

"come on!!!!"

Standing on the stage, Song Meng looked at the audience cheering for him below and at the sea of ​​lights swaying with his name on them, and for a moment he was somewhat dazed.

Everything goes back to the very beginning, back to 2019, back to the day he first appeared on the field, back to when many retired veterans were still dominating the league.

That was his glorious era.

The microphone was eventually handed to Nan Zhiyi.

As the team captain, he should have given a concluding speech to summarize the victory.

But at this moment, a thousand words were stuck in his heart, pressing down on him like a thousand pounds. When it came time to speak, only four simple words remained: "Thank you... thank you everyone."

"Thank you everyone for your continued support and companionship," Nan Zhiyi continued. "I also thank my teammates for being there for me through these two months of such a difficult competition."

As he spoke, his gaze suddenly lowered: "Actually, I've always had a wish. This wish has never been fulfilled, so I've always had this little regret in my heart."

"My wish is... to truly compete on the same stage with Yux and win a championship."

"Now I feel," Nan Zhiyi said with a smile, a hint of tears glistening in his eyes, as he faced the camera. "It seems like I really have no regrets."

-----------------------

Author's note: I'm taking the day off tomorrow due to an urgent matter. Thank you all for your understanding. [Please!]