Chapter 84 Under the spotlight and the gaze of millions…
The map for the third game is set on the icon of the "Inside and Outside World".
After the map was selected, the four OTG players exchanged glances. They had won the previous match, so the first pick in this game went to HYG.
Standing behind her teammates, Nan Zhiyi felt that, apart from Lemon, she was probably the most nervous person on the field at that moment.
However, the other two veterans in the team, plus the perpetually calm yux, actually had the mood to joke around.
"First choice: bow and arrow? Is that okay?" Rock, who was first in the pick, asked over the microphone. "Are you confident you won't be a minor god?"
“Yes,” You Xin said.
“He’s confident,” Milk chimed in. “If he weren’t confident, he would be letting down his girlfriend who stayed up all night taking his data.”
Rock: "Damn, bro, is this something I can say?"
milk: "It's nothing, anyway, I don't think he's pretending anymore."
Lemon: "Do you believe this voice message will be all over the place after the match?"
"Please, I'll talk," Nan Zhiyi's helpless voice interrupted, "Have you all forgotten I'm still here?"
Viewers in the live chat during the match couldn't hear the audio, only the footage of the Pick phase. The OTG players looked serious, while the HYG players seemed to be bursting into laughter. The referee standing behind them, who could hear their conversation, tried his best to control his expression, but his lips still twitched in various directions in a hilarious display.
What did you say? Why are you laughing like that?
Let me hear it, let me hear it, let me hear it!
I feel quite relaxed today, and I think I'm on the right track.
They were laughing and joking during the competition, showing absolutely no competitive spirit.
【? Competitive spirit = a long face? Then you must be very competitive when you visit your favorite team's grave^^】
"HYG's lineup... is still the classic long-range and short-range lineup." In the studio, the commentator analyzed, "Yux picked the archer. This position is very demanding on the player's form. When they are in hot, they can hit every shot and make the opponent unable to fight back. When they are in bad form... it's not uncommon for them to shoot their teammates in the butt with an arrow."
"But in the first two matches today, Yux played exceptionally well, and it's clear he wasn't affected at all..."
"Affected?" the second commentator interjected. "Affected in what way?"
Commentator 1: "Of course it's due to the influence of teammates. What do you think I'm talking about?"
Narrator 2: "I thought you were going to say that he was influenced by... the coach."
As they talked, they exchanged a glance, and after a moment of restraint, they couldn't help but burst into quiet laughter.
Beside them, the special guest invited to provide commentary clearly wasn't into esports gossip and was still clueless: "I just saw that they changed the coach for this match? The players should have been prepared for this..."
【？？？？】
Hahahaha
"Child, please sit at the children's table."
After the draft phase ended, the two coaches shook hands in the center of the stage and then turned back to their respective viewing rooms.
With version changes, clashes tend to occur more in the later stages of the game, especially on this map with drastically changing terrain. Therefore, there were no large-scale battles between the two sides in the first 25 minutes of the match.
After a 25-minute period of peaceful development, the kill score was 4-3, with the archer having three kills on him.
"Yux is really hot... In today's finals, instead of showing composure and restraint, he's displayed a more aggressive side." The commentator couldn't help but praise him. "Now it's almost 27 minutes, and we're seeing the terrain starting to change. OTG... oh? OTG seems to have disturbed a vengeful spirit, and now the spirit's aggro is on OTG's main carry... But, um?? But HYG is taking damage from a poisonous creature? Why? Is there some kind of bug?"
In the scene, two of HYG's four characters have their health reduced by one bar. The observer's perspective shows that the two have been damaged by poisonous plants, but there are no poisonous plants growing where they are standing at this moment.
"This is... Void Poison?" Even the commentators were stunned. "Let's see if HYG will call a timeout. This problem seems quite serious... No? Yux, who was just poisoned, has already recovered his health very quickly, and there doesn't seem to be any intention to call a timeout... Oh? The director gave a close-up, indicating that Yux had already purchased an antidote in his backpack at 24 minutes."
"What does this mean? Did he foresee that he would be poisoned?"
“Uh…” Commentator 2 seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking, “Actually, I also encountered this bug when I was playing ranked matches yesterday. It’s that when the terrain changes, if one side is damaged by a vengeful spirit in some special way, it is their opponent who will be poisoned.”
At this point, OTG began behaving strangely again, dealing with a vengeful spirit that didn't require their intervention at all.
Meanwhile, HYG moved quickly, leaping several times and leaving the ground to land on the ruins of a collapsed temple at a higher elevation.
This time, none of the four HYG members showed any signs of poisoning.
"Oh? I feel like HYG seems to know what the other side is doing and that they're already on guard?" the commentator said in surprise.
Commentator 2: "Not only that, I think they have completely mastered the mechanism that triggers this bug... The director just gave an explanation, saying that this poisoning mechanism is not a map bug, but some kind of Easter egg effect."
Narrator 1: "Uh... okay."
The studio fell silent for a brief moment, with only the sounds of various special effects created by the characters in the map remaining.
After a long pause, the second commentator spoke in a low voice: "What I'm about to say might be a bit sensational, but I just really have to get it off my chest. HYG is a team from our region, and I believe everyone can understand that when we're doing commentary, we're bound to have some bias towards teams from our own region."
"What I want to say is that, given that both sides clearly know the triggering conditions of this mechanism, HYG chose not to trigger it actively, but instead chose to compete fairly and justly with their opponent. Of course, I'm not saying that OTG was wrong, after all, the official explanation is that it's an Easter egg effect. From this perspective, HYG is showing us not only their technical strength, but also their own definition and pursuit of victory."
Two minutes later, after repeatedly using "Easter eggs" to lower the opponent's health before team fights, only to have them repeatedly thwarted by the opponent, OTG's attempts failed, and they finally chose to engage HYG directly.
In this team fight, yux fired three arrows in a row, hitting the opposing OTG main carry Hust without relying on any external force or luck.
Hust's health was almost depleted in an instant, but in the critical and extremely chaotic team fight, he didn't have time to leave the battlefield to replenish his health.
Finally, a spell from Milk, almost at the maximum range of his skill, completely ended his life.
In this decisive battle in the Otherworld, OTG suffered a crushing defeat.
Because they had wasted too much time on opportunistic tactics, OTG was unable to turn the tide.
"Thirty-seven minutes have passed, and this duel between the two worlds has come to an end. HYG 2-1, securing two match points in the 2025 ROE World Invitational Finals!!" the commentator exclaimed excitedly. "Now, only one more match remains, just one more match, and they will reach the finish line of their arduous journey, personally touching that championship trophy that represents the highest honor and their long-awaited dream!!!"
Despite not being able to hear the Chinese commentary from the stands, the HYG fans watching the game still cheered loudly.
Whether it was their natural inclination to enjoy watching the fun or they simply couldn't resist joining in when they saw others shouting, the OTG fans nearby seemed to be infected by their enthusiasm and started shouting and waving their arms along with them.
During the ten-minute break, Nan Zhiyi felt almost dizzy, her heart was pounding, and she seemed to have no idea what she was doing, as if some kind of self-protective mechanism of her brain was at play.
But in reality, he was still methodically arranging the next game, listening to the staff come in and ask them to come on stage, then briefly pausing to speak before following the players back onto the stage...
According to the rules they agreed upon before the match, he would still be in charge of the drafting and banning (BP) in this match point game.
It wasn't until the random map for this match was displayed on the big screen as "The Castle" that he suddenly came to his senses.
Map of the ancient castle.
The last map of last year's BO5 series, the Castle map, which laid the foundation for OTG's comeback from 0-2 down to win 3-2 and led to CG's crushing defeat.
He lowered his eyes, opened his notebook, adjusted the microphone, and read out his first career choice for the day.
"OTG made a fairly standard pick, or rather, both sides made fairly standard picks in their first three picks."
"For the fourth pick, HYG will make their first choice. Of the four positions currently on the field, Yux hasn't yet made his professional selection... Priest? Blademaster? Actually, both are good choices and fit the current lineup well..."
One second, two seconds.
Time passed, and HYG on the big screen still hadn't made its choice.
The commentator took a deep breath and gave a dry laugh: "Actually, I have a feeling..."
"I want to take the Witch," Youxin requested in the HYG team voice chat. "Is that okay?"
Rock: "Take it, bro. What else is there to say? Just take the Witch Goddess."
Milk: "You actually asked? That's so respectful of us. I thought you would lock it in instantly like last year."
Lemon: "I'm fine."
He went straight to choosing the witch.
Even through headphones, one could faintly hear the deafening cheers coming from the scene.
"My... God." The commentator swallowed hard. "What does this mean? Is it a skin-related scheme? Or a feint?"
Commentator 2: "Yux has made this decision in the deciding game more than once this year, but it has to be said that the Witch, a high-wire profession, is really different in his hands and in other people's hands."
Commentary 1: "But no matter how different it is, the fact that she is weak is still there. Right now, among the main DPS characters, the Witch probably can't even be ranked in T2."
The second commentator sighed, "I think he might be determined to see this tightrope walking through to the very end today!"
The chat in the main live stream room exploded with comments.
Here we go again? Again? ? ?
Wasn't the lesson learned last year enough?
[Oh no, I got overconfident after using the witch in the cutscene, this cutscene is really awful.]
Can CG and OTG be considered the same level?
Why haven't you chosen yet? Didn't you choose instantly last year?
Last year, even Zds couldn't stop him. Let's see if Angel can stop him this year. Why bother increasing his strength when playing swordsman is so reliable?
This team composition isn't very good. Wanting to pick a signature champion is basically trying to fight the opponent, isn't it?
On stage, the three teammates expressed their opinions one after another, but You Xin did not ask Lemon, who was being selected, to lock in his profession.
After a moment, he spoke up: "Xiao Yi?"
Nan Zhiyi took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
He glanced down at his notebook; on the last line of the last page was a small witch icon.
There are only fifteen seconds left in the pick time.
Nan Zhiyi raised her eyes.
"Do I have the final say at this point?" He smiled and said, "You choose. I trust you."
"If I lose... it's on me."
Upon hearing this, Lemon turned around and glanced at him in surprise, but her hands had already made a move.
With a "ding".
The audience was silent for a second, then erupted in cheers.
The commentators in the main live stream all gasped in unison: "It's locked! They've really chosen it!"
"It looks like this was a choice made after being instructed by the coach... These two are incredibly bold!!!"
The witch is not a very popular pick in this version, and she can almost only be used on the Castle map.
Her current advantage period is also very extreme: either in the first five minutes of the game, or it takes until after 45 minutes to truly take effect.
Although the version is generally geared towards the late game, the Castle map features many skirmishes and a fast pace, with the outcome of the game typically decided in about 25 minutes.
In other words, HYG has only one option: to help their main carry player establish a decisive advantage in the first five minutes and then crush their opponents for the rest of the game.
Nan Zhiyi returned to the spectator room. He opened the door, and everyone inside looked at him with mixed expressions.
Old Xu's lips trembled slightly: "You...you really chose this for him?"
Head coach Mike seemed a little calmer: "It's not a big deal. It's not the final game. There's still one more round."
Nan Zhiyi raised his eyebrows slightly. He smiled and said, "Why do you all look like you're about to lose this round?"
He had barely finished speaking when the analyst in front of him suddenly jumped up from his seat, pointed at the screen, and yelled, "Ah!!!"
Everyone turned around at once.
[Witch] HYG.Yux has killed [Soul Eater] OTG.Hust!
[Witch] HYG.Yux has killed [Elemental Mage] OTG.Moon!
Old Xu's eyes widened, and his mouth formed an "O" shape. Mike next to him suddenly jumped up like a telephone pole, quickly spitting out a swear word in his native language.
At this very moment, the start time of the match is quietly displayed at the top of the screen: 1 minute and 7 seconds.
At that moment, even the cheers from the OTG fans at the scene hadn't ended yet.
The deafening cheers abruptly ceased after the kill notification was displayed on the big screen.
At 1 minute and 7 seconds, with the help of his teammates, yux killed OTG's two carries.
His own health only dropped to 70%. And a large portion of that damage came from his class's skills.
Nan Zhiyi stood in front of the two of them, smiling and spreading her hands, revealing an expression that said, "What did I just say?"
At 3 minutes and 1 second, HYG pressed their advantage and took down OTG's commander once again.
At 5 minutes and 14 seconds, the two sides met again in the lobby, and the witch, who had established an absolute advantage, easily killed Hust, who was in her lane.
At 10 minutes and 23 seconds, neutral resources refreshed, and OTG was no longer able to contest them.
Everyone in the HYG spectator room had stood up. Mike was patting Nan Zhiyi's shoulder hard, but he didn't feel any pain at all.
He could almost hear the wind whispering in his ears; everything in the world was fading away. He was here, staring at the screen in front of him, at the only person on the screen.
At 16 minutes, HYG destroyed OTG's respawn point, leaving three opponents still alive.
At 53 seconds, the player in charge was killed.
At 56 seconds, the secondary carry player was killed.
Two minutes later, Hust, whose teammates were all dead and who was only putting up a last-ditch effort, was found by Yux in the attic, who mercilessly smashed a bottle of explosive potion over his head.
The image freezes. Time seems to stand still at this moment.
The match is over.
Nan Zhiyi felt as if she was being dragged out of the spectator room by Mike and Lao Xu, one on each side.
When he realized where he was, he found himself in a chaotic mess right in the center of the stage.
A flurry of gold and black ribbons rained down from above, the organizers having thoughtfully chosen the color scheme of the HYG team uniform. Five, six, seven, or eight hands were simultaneously grabbing at his clothes, making him dizzy and disoriented.
Until someone reached out and forcefully pushed through the crowd, pulling him out of the throng.
Nan Zhiyi composed herself and suddenly realized that You Xin was right in front of her.
They were separated from the celebrating crowd and ended up at the back of the stage.
You Xin held one of his wrists, and the other hand seemed to be placed behind his waist. She stared at him intently, moved her lips, and seemed to want to say something.
Nan Zhiyi's heart was pounding. Someone was talking to him next to him, but he couldn't hear clearly amidst the roaring noise.
The gold and black ribbons shattered into dazzling specks of light, and the warmth of You Xin's palm seared him, the sensation strangely and incomparably clear amidst the surrounding clamor.
Suddenly, he couldn't care about anything else.
Nan Zhiyi stepped forward, cupped You Xin's face in her hands, and kissed his lips in the center of the camera and the gaze of millions.
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Author's Note: If I don't sell, I don't sell at all; but when I do, it's amazing.
There will be another update before midnight, so please check back later!
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