Chapter 80 "So you mean, you'll take over..."
The group stage has ended with unremarkable results. Apart from YT team in Group C, who suffered a surprising two-game loss and dropped to second place in the group standings, all the stronger teams in the other groups advanced smoothly.
HYG also advanced as the top seed in their group, but this also means that they will face a formidable opponent, YT, in their first match of the quarterfinals.
The team hasn't played in the World Championship for two years, so the last time the two sides met was three years ago. But at that time, HYG was still in its prime, while the opponent had several new players. Therefore, the historical record of the two teams is amazing: HYG 7-0 YT.
However, considering that YT nearly swept CG last year and is the number one seed in the region this year, they are not an easy team to deal with. In some cases, their strength may even be above that of the defending champion OTG.
In other words, HYG encountered one of their toughest opponents almost right in the quarterfinals.
The other two teams in the same half of the bracket were essentially two weak teams drawn together, like playing a match-3 puzzle – whoever won this quarterfinal would practically be guaranteed a spot in the final.
During the eight-day preparation period, Lao Xu began to experience anxiety and insomnia from the very first day.
After the group stage results were announced, social media was immediately filled with mockery of the teams. Some said that the "lucky team" had finally met its match, while others said that HYG would probably be eliminated in the quarterfinals. OTG, of course, didn't miss the opportunity to stir things up and posted a tweet supporting their "good brother" YT. Just three months ago, during the summer split, they were busy mocking their regional rival.
However, while Lao Xu was good at judging people, he was terrible at playing games. Despite his lofty ambitions, he would die as soon as he entered ranked matches. He played diligently for six years, but his highest rank was still Gold.
Unable to offer much help, all he could do was encourage the team members, but he could only feel anxious. Finally, on the third day of anxiety and insomnia, Lao Xu found his way to salvation: metaphysics.
"I consulted a master." After the training match, he patted each of his team members on the shoulder and announced mysteriously, "All four masters said that our chances of winning the championship this year are very high."
While practicing target shooting in the training field, You Xin's hand trembled, and he shot an arrow that hit the target next to him. Rock was busy drinking milk tea. Hearing this, he wanted to speak, but he choked and coughed desperately, pounding his chest.
"So, you've been going around asking fortune tellers these past few days?" Milk turned her chair around and looked at him incredulously.
"I'm telling you this, and you absolutely mustn't disbelieve me," Old Xu said seriously. "The year you won the championship, although I wasn't coaching you guys yet, I still consulted this master. He told me back then that CG was one step behind this year..."
As they were talking, the door to the training room was pushed open, and Nan Zhiyi and Mike, who was carrying a red doll, walked in one after the other.
Mike had obviously overheard their conversation. He shook the doll in his hand and said in a clear and distinct voice, "Sincerity brings results!"
After speaking, he hung the doll on the small blackboard where he usually reviewed the lessons, then put his hands together and solemnly bowed.
Milk leaned closer for a look, then moved away, then leaned closer again, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Isn't that the God of Wealth?"
"It's perfectly normal that he didn't distinguish between them... They're all the same!" Old Xu waved his hand. "Isn't the prize money for the final round still prize money?"
"I have a feeling we're doomed this year," Lemon muttered quietly from the side.
"Uh, everyone," Nan Zhiyi waved the notebook in her hand, "Tomorrow we're going to have a practice match against CG."
You Xin, the only one who hadn't participated in this metaphysical battle, turned around.
"Why is it CG?" he asked.
"They are in charge of sparring this year."
You Xin frowned.
"...Can't we just not talk to them?" he asked.
rock: "Actually, the CG wasn't too bad. Putting everything else aside, just talking about the level of skill..."
Nan Zhiyi shook her head: "That's not the point."
"Do you guys remember that time in the regular season when we encountered CG?"
He and You Xin exchanged a glance, and the latter nodded, continuing, "Back then, they inexplicably found out about our tactics."
Old Xu suddenly snapped out of his fascination with metaphysics: "You mean, if we play a practice match against CG, he might reveal our tactics to others? Even to our opponents?"
Yu Xin: "Based on my understanding of them, it's not impossible."
"That won't do." Old Xu immediately waved his hand. "I'll go tell them that the training match is canceled."
Nan Zhiyi quickly replied, "No, there's no need... I have a way."
Old Xu looked at him with some confusion.
“We’ll hold our practice match with them as usual tomorrow,” Nan Zhiyi said. “We can, well, how should I put it? Take advantage of them a little.”
-
The following afternoon, despite the time difference, the CG team played five practice matches against HYG, who were located in City C.
Since it is a one-sided assistance to HYG in training, the training rules are entirely determined by HYG.
"We'll only practice short-range maps today," Nan Zhiyi announced before the training match began. "We'll practice the opening, and quit after fifteen minutes."
"Yux, you take the Red Elf. Then Milk, you take the Elementalist or Priestess. Lemon, choose the Cat. Rock, you take the Knight or Celestial Guardian."
“Wait a minute,” Rock couldn’t help but interrupt him, “Hey Yi, I’m not trying to question your professionalism, but our lineup… isn’t it a bit too, uh, a hodgepodge?”
"I'll take the Knight? Isn't that just a circus lineup?"
Nan Zhiyi smiled slightly.
"What if we maintain the advantage for the first 15 minutes?" he said gently. "Do you think the other side will think we're just messing around, or—that we've come up with a completely new understanding of the game?"
Rock was stunned. Then, his mouth opened wider and wider, and finally he exclaimed "Oh!!" in realization.
The match between HYG and YT will take place on the last day of the quarterfinals, while the match between WD and VB, the number one seed from the Americas region, will be held on the first day.
While the team members were training together, the coaching staff, along with Lao Xu, sat around the large screen in the review room.
The first two games ended in a 1-1 tie.
In the third game, the map was randomly assigned to the [Ruins].
"Let's take a look at the lineups of both sides... WD's starting hand is pretty standard, Alchemist, uh, VB's... first pick is Red Elf? What does that mean?" The Chinese commentator's tone gradually became confused as the pick phase began. "Wait, Knight, what a strange class choice! Is this VB's latest research result?"
Old Xu stood with his hands behind his back, staring in disbelief as he read through VB's career options.
"Is this your idea?" He turned to look at Nan Zhiyi, "Poisoning her during a training match???"
—In the training match against CG that day, HYG put on a circus-like performance throughout, but only played for the first fifteen minutes.
The brilliance of this lineup lies in its ability to frequently take the lead in the first fifteen minutes, snowballing a significant economic advantage, especially when the two sides are vastly different in strength.
In the following days, HYG would occasionally use this lineup in scrims with other regions.
Nan Zhiyi nodded.
"It seems everyone has spread the word about my terrible lineup," he said with satisfaction.
Old Xu: "…………"
He suddenly realized how pale and powerless his own path of metaphysics was in the face of the other party's ingenious ideas.
The match between WD and VB ended with VB winning 3-2, and WD being eliminated in the quarterfinals. In the game on the Ruins map, VB's unusual lineup gained a good advantage in the early game, but lost it in the mid-game. In the final battle at 45 minutes, their main carry player turned the tide and won the crucial point for them.
With the victory, the commentators praised the lineup, calling it a brilliant strategy, only lagging a bit in mid-game tempo. They said that if things had gone smoothly, the game should have ended in 22 minutes.
The same lineup appeared again in OTG's match the following day.
This time, OTG, the team that chose to play, ended the game in just 18 minutes.
On the third day of the competition, neither side selected any particularly unusual lineups due to their relatively weak strength.
On the fourth day, the highly anticipated showdown between HYG and YT finally took place.
But the outcome of the match was beyond everyone's expectations.
After losing the first game, HYG rallied to win two consecutive points, easily taking the match point from the number one seed, whom all the home crowd were eagerly hoping would win the championship. And coincidentally, the map for the fourth game was [Ruins].
Nan Zhiyi stood under the spotlight, methodically writing something in her notebook.
To his right, the coach of the YT team was casting a curious glance at him.
"YT's coach has watched this game many times... I wonder if he has watched HYG's matches in the region? Of course, as coaches, they should have studied them." With the score in the lead, the Chinese commentator joked in a good mood, "If he has watched it, then he should know what it means to say 'This is HYG's decisive game, and standing in front of you is HYG's assistant coach, Angel Yi'."
"YT's coach is a veteran," another commentator chimed in. "He's led his team to the World Invitational multiple times and has faced Mike many times, but this is his first time playing against Angel Yi, so Angel Yi is actually a very unfamiliar opponent for him..."
"He might think that Angel is not like a coach. To be honest, if you didn't tell me he's HYG's coach, I might think he's standing here during halftime and that a guest is going to perform or something."
"This game's pick priority goes to YT, who lost the last game. Let's see if they'll pick... Oh! Red Elf as their first pick, just as expected... Will HYG choose to dismantle it? Alchemist, no dismantling, hmm, HYG's lineup is rather conventional... Why is yux smiling? Is he full of confidence?"
The director gave You Xin a close-up shot from the center of the screen. In the shot, he turned his head and made eye contact with someone off-screen, then smiled very happily.
The game begins.
In the first fifteen minutes, YT held the advantage, but it wasn't as significant as the advantage OTG and VB had in the previous two days of the competition.
On the other hand, HYG's lineup always manages to find ways to counter their opponents.
Twenty minutes later, as if tolling a death knell, HYG, with lightning speed, took advantage of the time difference and their strategic lineup to instantly turn the tide against their opponent.
The next ten minutes were a dull, pointless period—YT's lineup had absolutely no way to turn the tide when they were at a disadvantage, and ultimately they slowly succumbed to defeat in the remaining time.
After the match ended, the half of the stadium reserved for YT fans was completely silent.
In a highly anticipated match, YT, the region's number one seed, was defeated 1-3, and HYG advanced to the semifinals.
Despite winning the match, the team members weren't in high spirits during the post-match group interview, and they entered the room in a sparse manner. If it weren't for wanting to maintain a good public image, they would have preferred to go out for a big meal after the match and then go back to the base to sleep.
"This question of mine... is for the angels."
Nan Zhiyi didn't expect the problem to fall on her. She had been playing on her phone for a while, and You Xin had been sending her all sorts of emojis made from Kenken's headshot in her chat box.
His arm was touched, and he quickly looked up and took the microphone from Lemon next to him: "Hello."
"I'd like to ask, as a newly joined member of the HYG coaching staff, you have no coaching experience other than two cup tournaments. However, your drafting and banning performances on the field are outstanding, even surpassing many coaches with many years of experience... I'd like to ask if this is related to some rumors circulating online, such as the rumor that you participated in the CG team's youth training program about five years ago and were a very successful professional player at the time?"
After the reporter finished asking the question, almost everyone in the audience suddenly either put their hands on the keyboard or raised their phones high.
“Uh…” Nan Zhiyi blinked.
Although he had long been reluctant to bring up this topic, he had already thought that if he really wanted to do something related to professional competitions, then one day this past would be dug up by someone with ulterior motives.
At this point, there's really no need to lie: "There should be some connection, right?"
A low murmur immediately arose from the audience.
"So you really were involved back then?" The reporter was surprised, probably not expecting that this rumor was not unfounded.
Nan Zhiyi gave a flawless smile: "Yes."
Fortunately, the next reporter didn't press the matter further, but instead turned the question back to Yux: "I'd like to ask Yux, during the Pick phase of the last match, you smiled. What were you smiling about at that moment?"
You Xin took the microphone and glanced at the other person thoughtfully.
He didn't answer immediately, but leaned down slightly and asked Nan Zhiyi beside him in a low voice, "Can I say?"
Nan Zhiyi thought for a moment and said, "It should be fine, since we won't need it later."
You Xin: "Oh."
He straightened up and casually said, "That Red Elf lineup was a strategy that Xiaoyi was jokingly using with us in a practice match. I don't know who took it seriously and used it in the main tournament. We all found it hilarious, so we laughed."
The reporter's smile froze slightly: "...?"
-
At the time, no one believed this claim about the connections of a self-proclaimed youth training pro player was true, but looking back now, it couldn't be more true.
0L (Original Poster)
Do you all remember? Back then, some people said that Sister Youyi had gone crazy and was imagining things.
[picture]
(Text version for saving data): A friend who used to be a trainee for a professional esports team said that Angel and Yux have known each other for a long time. Angel played in the youth training camp and had a very good relationship with Yux, to the point of being inseparable. Moreover, it is said that the two did not meet in the youth training camp, but came to the youth training camp together, so they must have known each other before they came. In short, the bond between these two may be even stronger than we imagine!
1L
So that interview? He admitted it??? He really did play in the youth academy before, right in CG?
Holy crap
2L
I'm getting increasingly curious about why the two of them became complete estranged afterward.
Did they really date and then break up?
3L
I have a plan. I feel that Lao Xu knows the truth. Has anyone tried to subtly inquire about it on his Weibo?
4L
Honestly, Angel's draft pick was truly ingenious; Xu really struck gold with that.
5L
That interview... Thank goodness it wasn't asked on stage, otherwise I was really afraid the YouTube fans would rush up on stage and beat them up, they were so annoying...
6L
That interview was probably a joke.
7L
It doesn't seem like it. Yux isn't the type to joke around, but Milk's words might be a joke.
To be honest, spreading bad lineups in scrims is a terrible idea; whoever came up with that crooked idea is incredibly immoral.
8L
Angel's plan started by eliminating WD, then had OTG and YT teams thoroughly research his circus lineup, only to reveal later that it was all a joke—a single scheme that harmed three wise men.
...
18L
Didn't that "connection expert" have a second part to her revelations? Post it here too!
The trainee told her that Yux and Angel Yi had a falling out later on because Yux went to the selection competition but Angel Yi didn't.
19L
...Uh... What does this mean?
20L
Does this mean that Angel didn't participate in the later competitions because of Yux? Did the two not get along, so she chose Yux as her only option?
21L
This is something these two people wouldn't do, right? Don't believe everything you hear.
22L
Even if it were true, they would have made up a long time ago.
Now we're colleagues.
23L
Being colleagues could just be an act; didn't those two put on a show for months before, fooling a huge group of fans who shipped them as a couple?
Angel Yi is a very respectable person; she doesn't show her dislike for anyone openly. Her falling out with the former Lord Qiu took a long time before it was revealed online.
24L
Yux saw the comments above on the forum and got so angry that she hid in Angel's house and cried.
25L
You've already called Xiaoyi out in public, what more do you want from this man?
26L
Looking at it this way, the information revealed by this "connection expert" seems quite true.
...
"Can't these people online focus a little more on the game?" Old Xu angrily pulled at his already thinning hair. "All they do is believe anything they hear, they're so overly concerned about other people's lives!!"
The quarterfinals and semifinals were played almost simultaneously. HYG easily defeated their semifinal opponent from the same half of the bracket, securing their ticket to the finals. Meanwhile, OTG also eliminated three other teams, advancing to the finals once again as the defending champions.
While the team was preparing for the finals, marketing accounts outside were also adept at stirring up trouble: following the release of the interview, someone reposted a forum post, sparking a heated discussion about what exactly happened between HYG's assistant coach and main carry player back then.
Everyone is curious about why Angel left the youth training program, and why, despite being so close to Yux back then (according to rumors), she pretended to be a complete stranger to him for so many years.
"Hey, Brother Xu, can I do a live stream tonight?" Milk raised his hand and asked, clearly not listening to Lao Xu.
Old Xu was furious: "Why are you livestreaming?!"
"Just trying to rack up some time. I'm going to play ranked games tonight, so I'll just stream on mute. Even if I don't stream, people will still watch my streams," milk said matter-of-factly. "I just feel like I'm missing out. Everyone else can stream, so why can't I use it to rack up time?"
After listening, Rock slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That makes sense! I'll do that tonight too!!"
Old Xu: "…………"
The final result was that all four members of the team started live streaming that very night.
Old Xu was no longer in the mood to ask You Xin why he was doing a live stream when there were no requirements. He waved his hand and gave the other party instructions listlessly: "If you want to explain those rumors online, then act like you and Xiao Yi are good buddies in front of the camera, but watch the boundaries! Don't cause any big news for me! ... If you don't want to explain, just pretend you didn't see it."
You Xin did take half of what he said to heart, and it wasn't until the live broadcast was almost over that night and the other three teammates were no longer in the training room that he lowered his head and sent a message to Nan Zhiyi.
[yux: Want to come to the training room?]
The other party replied almost instantly.
[Xiaoyi: What's wrong?]
[yux: I want to clarify]
[Xiaoyi Xiaoyi: ...?]
Although it was unclear why, Nan Zhiyi appeared in You Xin's live stream camera two or three minutes later.
He glanced at the screen, where a bar of comments was scrolling so fast he could barely read it: "Are you still streaming?"
As he spoke, he subtly took a small step to the side.
You Xin nodded: "Mm."
He pulled up a chair for Nan Zhiyi: "Please sit down."
Nan Zhiyi: "Do you want me to give you live coaching in ranked matches?"
"No. It's just that someone said my good relationship with you is just for show." You Xin stared at a comment on the screen with a blank expression and read it aloud.
He turned his head and looked up at Nan Zhiyi: "Really? You're so nice to me and care about me every day, but it's all just an act?"
"..." Nan Zhiyi wanted to laugh, but tried to hold it back in front of the camera. "What? I thought something was wrong."
He sat down, then pulled his chair closer, and said earnestly to the camera, "We're at a crucial stage of the finals right now. Everyone should focus on the game itself and not on... well, unfounded rumors. Yux and I are on good terms. My withdrawal from the youth training program was my own fault, it had nothing to do with him. If you see anyone spreading rumors, please report them or contact HYG's legal department for assistance..."
Before Nan Zhiyi could finish speaking, she suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder.
You Xin rested her head on his shoulder naturally, right in front of countless people in the live stream.
The gestures were intimate, but the tone was cool: "I advise some people to pay more attention to their own lives and stop being envious of others' lives."
Nan Zhiyi: "..."
Although Yu Xin used to claim she wanted to "play the gay card" with him and often stuck close to him in front of the camera, he never seemed to get used to it, neither then nor now.
A faint heat rose behind her ear, and Nan Zhiyi knew her cheeks would turn bright red within a minute. A little flustered, she said, "Um, anyway... don't listen to any of those rumors online... cheers for HYG in the finals..."
He raised his wrist and glanced at it, not even noticing that he wasn't wearing a watch at all: "It's getting late, the contestants need to rest. Goodnight everyone! See you on the finals!"
After saying that, he cut off the live stream without saying another word, and only breathed a sigh of relief when the screen went completely black.
Nan Zhiyi gently nudged the person leaning on her shoulder, who was pretending to be affectionate, and gestured for him to get up: "Um, I turned off the camera."
He whispered again, "What are you doing? Suddenly."
You Xin leaned silently on his shoulder, her face clearly showing her displeasure.
After a long while, she slowly moved her head away from him, but then suddenly leaned in and kissed his slightly red earlobe: "So you mean, all your time from now on belongs to me?"
Nan Zhiyi felt a tickle as he grabbed her wrist, and she involuntarily shrank back a little: "Are you angry? Just because those people online said I hate you?"
You Xin frowned slightly: "Hmm."
Nan Zhiyi sighed inwardly: "You're such a grown-up, can't you show some of the respect you usually have for others..."
Before he could finish speaking, the door to the training room was suddenly pushed open.
The two paused for a moment, then slowly separated. Nan Zhiyi turned around and saw Milk standing in the doorway.
"What's wrong? Did you forget something?" he asked.
"No, I just went to the bathroom, and the live stream is still running." Milk rubbed her hair, her face full of joy at having just done a short time as a substitute streamer. "I'll go rest after the stream... Why are you two looking at me like that all of a sudden? What's wrong? I just did that, just to get some time, you know what I mean, it's not that serious."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Since Xiaoyi didn't have any matches, the focus was mainly on strategy (the match details won't be written in too much detail).
Also, I'll update before midnight tonight; currently paying off debts.
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