In the gym at the Shadow Team clubhouse, a treadmill was set to speed 6. MM Dou was walking slowly while resting his hand on it, watching the live stream. He was so engrossed in the show that he even reduced the treadmill speed by two notches to clear his vision from the distractions of walking.
On his phone screen was the livestream of his "enemy," Team Polaris. The five-member Polaris team's performance in the arena was completely different from their usual cheerful demeanor. Like a bulldozer, they swept through the opposing team in a flurry, ending the round. After they emerged, the smallest and most ferocious wizard, who had fought the most fiercely in the battle, changed his outfit from a long, white blazer to a silver and black leather outfit. In a split second, the handsome young groom, who seemed about to enter a holy wedding hall, transformed into a mysterious and impressive young man, drawing a flood of compliments from the comment section.
[Ahhhhhhh my crematorium!!]
[I finally got to see Milky Eyes transform into a cool little guy in my lifetime!!]
[This outfit is so cool and awesome!!! My mom fan has gone bad again!!!]
[Blink's figure is a little too thin, oooooooooooo, let me lick it! !]
[With so many prostitutes, why are you the only one who goes online!!!]
I love this sentence so much I’m tired of saying it!!
......
MMdou picked up the phone from the front rack of the treadmill, pressed the lock screen button with her thumb, and pressed the volume button with her other hand at the same time. With a "click", the screenshot was completed.
After taking the screenshot, it automatically jumps to the album overview interface, which is full of live broadcast screenshots. It is a neat page with no end in sight. Moreover, the screenshots have a common feature - the C position in the center of the picture is always the most fancy and eye-catching little wizard.
MMdou turned the phone screen back to the live broadcast room with an expressionless face, and saw that the five-member Polaris team ignored the fans' appeals and public opinion and resolutely lined up in the arena.
Sometimes, MMdou finds the Polaris team strange and peculiar, so self-absorbed and yet so out of place among so many other pro teams. They seem impervious to the glitz and glamour of profit, like a man gathering firewood in the dead of winter, focused on one thing: charging forward with undivided attention.
So it’s natural that Polaris is strong, MMdou shook her head and laughed.
He had to admit that he admired the Polaris team and Zero, and at the same time... he was also "impressed" by the little wizard on their team.
MMdou thought he was a little bit sick. After saying goodbye to Xia Tong's pub that day, he had been dreaming about that crying little Omega for two consecutive days.
Poor and cute.
MMdou inadvertently thought of his ex-girlfriend.
His ex-girlfriend is also an Omega. She was once his teammate in the Royal Tomb. The two met during a dungeon exploration and fell in love at first sight. After that, he dreamed of the nurse who nursed him in the team for two consecutive nights.
——This seems to be some kind of sign.
MM Dou curled her lips.
He was in a daze when the glass door of the gym was pushed open and a man walked straight towards him.
"Brother Meng, what are you doing? Why are you staying here alone for so long?"
The other person's tone was brisk, accompanied by laughter, but inexplicably contained a hint of flattery and ingratiation.
MMdou was slightly startled, and quickly pressed the screen of her mobile phone down and placed it on the treadmill. She also increased the running speed to double digits and started jogging.
"Move? Move?" He distracted himself while running, trying to make himself look less guilty. "What's wrong, Ping? What's wrong?"
The man standing next to the treadmill had a long, thin face. He forced a smile and rubbed his hands in a slightly fawning manner. "Nothing much. I just saw Brother Meng here and came to say hello."
"It's not convenient for me to run now, so I can't talk. It's okay if nothing happens." MM Dou looked straight ahead, raised her head slightly, and ran more seriously.
Ping Shuai was a little embarrassed. He raised his hand to touch his face, turned around, took two steps, but seemed unwilling to give up and turned back.
"Brother Meng," he said, "I think I should have the chance to go to the championship with you this time, right?" He paused, a hint of pleading in his tone, "I really want to go. I haven't been to a live event in a long time..."
MMdou seemed not to have expected him to say this. She glanced at him sideways, a little surprised.
"Don't think too much. If nothing unexpected happens, Manager Du should take you there." MM Dou said, "After all, you are my substitute."
These words were like a reassuring pill, rolling smoothly down his throat into his stomach. The light in Ping Shuai's eyes lit up bit by bit. He was so excited that his hands were shaking. He bowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you, Brother Meng, thank you, Brother Meng, you are such a good person!!"
"I'm just being honest. We definitely need to bring in substitutes just in case." MMdou said, "We're all doing this for the team and to win the game."
"Yes, we must win the game, we will definitely win!" Ping Shuai said: "I will definitely cherish this opportunity, Brother Meng!!"
MM Dou ignored him and concentrated on running. Ping Shuai's lips drooped and he left the gym rubbing his hands.
Outside the gym, he gradually relaxed his body. That kind of fake and flattering attitude in front of people was really tiring. It was like this when he was in Sabretooth Tiger, and it was still like this now in Shadow. As a substitute, he had to do things according to the starter's mood.
At this time, he saw Shadow Team's manager Du Yong walking towards the door with a briefcase.
When Ping Shuai saw Du Yong, his eyes were dark and a mixture of complex emotions kept rising in his heart.
He had once been the starting wizard player for the legendary team Polaris, and Du Yong was the team manager. At the time, they were considered the closest of colleagues and partners, having gone through the team's lows together and enjoyed the glory of the team's peak period. As a qualified businessman, Du Yong had once worshipped these five powerful professional players like deities, and he had also looked down upon the team manager with his eyes drooping.
I never expected that things would change.
After Polaris disbanded, they all went their separate ways. He was living a life of luxury in the Sabretooth Tiger team, but he didn't expect that the club manager who had vowed that he would never get involved in the e-sports industry again would come back with a licking face, and even became the manager of the runner-up team. It must be said that a cunning rabbit has three burrows, and all cunning people are businessmen.
Later, Ping Shuai was driven out of Sabretooth Tiger. When he was at his wit's end, he received an olive branch from Du Yong.
"The Shadow Team's substitute wizard has terminated his contract for personal reasons, so we have a vacant position. Are you coming, Ping?"
He could hardly believe his eyes at that time. It was as if a dying person suddenly got a sip of nectar, which brought his soul back from the underworld.
"Why, why did you do this?" He still couldn't believe it and asked Du Yong in shock.
Du Yong touched his nose and said, "What if I hadn't sold Polaris? None of this would have happened. I'm also to blame for your current situation. Just consider it a favor I'm repaying you. From now on, no one owes anyone anything."
Just like that, Ping Shuai was once again on the bench.
Going from a reserve on the championship team to a reserve on the runner-up team was a huge disappointment for Ping Shuai, but he'd learned his lesson this time, realizing that bullying in one's own team doesn't end well. Furthermore, Du Yong, a perfectly qualified businessman, treated MM Dou the same way he treated him at Polaris. It's reasonable to assume that if he tried to steal MM Dou's support and failed, Du Yong would expel him from the Shadow Team without any regard for their past friendship. The old favors and face wouldn't protect him forever.
Ping Shuai had it all figured out this time. Shadow Team was different from Sabretooth. Sabretooth had clearly signed him for some shady agenda, deliberately benching him. But on Shadow Team, Du Yong wouldn't deliberately suppress him. As long as he performed well enough, he'd have a chance to rise again. In short, Shadow Team could only do well if he, as a substitute, did well. If he wasn't content to be a substitute for a runner-up team, then he could make that runner-up team a champion.
Ping Shuai felt that he was the King Goujian of Yue who endured humiliation and slept on firewood to taste gall. After doing so much psychological preparation for himself, when facing Du Yong, the more obvious the frustration in his heart was, the more humble he appeared on the surface.
"Brother Yong." He took the initiative to move forward and asked, "How are the preparations for going to City M going?"
The Royal Tomb Competition is held in City M.
"Oh, almost done." Du Yong smiled, seeing through Ping Shuai's thoughts, but he didn't say much. He just raised his hand and patted Ping Shuai on the shoulder: "You don't have anything else to do right now anyway. Pack your luggage and help me collect their ID information so I can buy tickets."
The implication was clear. Ping Shuai hadn't expected Du Yong to be so easy to talk to. He was so excited that he temporarily suppressed the awkwardness in his heart and hugged Du Yong tightly: "Brother Yong, as expected, our relationship is the best! I knew you wouldn't give up on me!"
"We're all here for Shadow's future, so why are we being so polite?" Du Yong said with a laugh, "We'll encounter many powerful enemies when we get to City M, like Sabretooth, Rainbow, Polaris, and so on..."
Ping Shuai's expression froze slightly.
"They're all tough nuts to crack. Maybe we'll need your help later." Du Yong changed the subject and, as if nothing had happened, pushed Ping Shuai away with a smile. "Okay, I'll be busy now. See you later."
In the blink of an eye, time passed and the Royal Tomb Championship kicked off with great fanfare.
Sixteen teams arrived in City M one after another, and their respective "cocoons" were also airlifted to the competition venue, making for a grand event.
The exhibition hall at the competition site is more than twice as large as the Expo Center in City C. The futuristic architectural design can reflect the royal tomb logo in different forms at different angles, which is very cool.
Fans packed the venue like a huge crowd, cheering like a tsunami, and multiple media outlets simultaneously broadcast the game live, pushing the atmosphere of the game to the extreme.
Unlike the group qualifiers, the number of teams in this Royal Tomb Championship has been condensed to sixteen. Under this size restriction, the official wisely shifted the focus of entertainment from the pure game win-loss rate to the performance and interaction of the teams and players.
So they simply followed the lead of major film and television festivals and organized a red carpet-like segment, letting the contestants from the sixteen teams walk through one by one, giving them plenty of close-ups and having the host introduce them.
This segment was very novel and attracted the attention of a large number of fans online. So before the official red carpet walk began, there were already a lot of discussion threads online about topics such as "Whose team has the best looks", "Whose team has the most tasteful uniforms", "Whose team looks the most impressive on the red carpet", etc., which were not inferior to some TV and film festivals.
Then, a post appeared out of nowhere, like a mudslide.
[I don’t know about other things, but one thing I can be sure of is that the average height of the Polaris team is definitely the lowest among all the teams. I won’t go into details about the reason, you know it :)]
The style of this post is very inconsistent with other floors. No one is arguing or even refuting. Everyone is either laughing or sighing.
[Is it true? Even this P fan can't refute it at this moment, light a cigarette.jpg.]
[Luzhu is obviously a hermaphrodite.]
[Aren't you afraid that Blink's soul-reversing combo will swell up your chubby face?]
[Why did you mention someone's name directly? Blink, don't you have any dignity?]
[Hahahahahaha, God Z? Even someone almost 1.9 meters tall can't bring him back to average! It's too difficult.]
[Remember to put my son in the front for the group photo tomorrow. Or, you can just hold him up. Mom doesn't want to miss him.]
[Lifting it up? That's too much! ! ! ]
【What the hell is this lifting up!!!】
[Haha ...
......
People online are very happy, but the person sitting in the club and browsing his phone is confused.
"Xia Xiaotong, I put two steam eye masks for you in the interlayer, together with your pheromone sustained-release tablets, and an umbrella, which I stuffed into your backpack--" Lin Mingfei helped Xia Tong recheck the luggage she was going to take with her tomorrow, and stuffed a few necessary daily necessities into the suitcase. Then she walked out of Xia Tong's room and leaned on the railing in the corridor to look down.
As a result, the little Omega sitting on the sofa downstairs turned a deaf ear to what he said, just clenched his fist and punched the sofa twice, looking angrily.
Lin Mingfei: “?”
He paused and asked tentatively, "Xia Xiaotong? Do you have any opinions about me?"
"Bad guy!" Xia Tong said angrily.
Lin Mingfei: “.”
Alpha swallowed his saliva, and his mind quickly began to reflect. After a moment, he said tentatively: "That... the umbrella I'm talking about is not that umbrella. It's a real umbrella for rainy days. Don't think too much. I don't plan to-"
"What basis do they have to say that I lowered the average height of Polaris?" Xia Tong became more and more angry. She kicked off her slippers and stepped onto the sofa, waving her arms fiercely: "I will grow taller, okay? I definitely will!"
Lin Mingfei: “?”
ALpha was bewildered for a moment before realizing he was overthinking.
He even explained it seriously for a long time, it was really embarrassing.
"Zero!!" Xia Tong suddenly shouted his name loudly, raised her head, and looked at him seriously and solemnly.
Lin Mingfei: “Hmm?”
"I want to secretly grow taller!! And then surprise everyone!" Xia Tong stretched her delicate little neck and said, "There's nothing you can do!!"
Lin Mingfei: “???”
What's going on? Does this little thing treat him as a think tank or a treasure box for Doraemon? Why does it always come to him for solutions to all kinds of strange problems?
He only stopped for a moment, and Xia Tong ran all the way upstairs from downstairs in a rage. Then the koala transformed, jumped up, and wrapped Lin Mingfei with all four limbs.
Anyone who is a little taller can't complete such a difficult movement...
Lin Mingfei was a little intoxicated.
"Zero!!!" The little Omega bared his intimidating little teeth and stared at him.
"Here I am, here I am!" Lin Mingfei couldn't resist his cuteness and smiled.
"Please~help~me~!" Xia Tong pleaded in a drawn-out voice.
"Okay, okay, please help me." Lin Mingfei said hurriedly, "Isn't it just growing taller? It's very easy. Come here, I'll tell you a secret recipe." He hooked his finger at Xia Tong.
Xia Tong immediately put her ear close to it.
Alpha slowly opened his mouth, and suddenly, unexpectedly, bit his white earlobe.
Xia Tong seemed to be scalded. She cried out softly, "Ah!" and subconsciously wanted to hide.
"If you hide from me, I won't tell you the secret recipe." Lin Mingfei held him up and laughed softly.
Xia Tong's body stiffened slightly, then she immediately stopped moving and sent it back obediently.
So the Alpha played with his cute little ears for a while, biting and kissing them, and then whispered a few words in his ear.
Xia Tong slowly widened her eyes.
The next day, the red carpet show for the Royal Tomb Competition was held on schedule.
The players from each team were all groomed by stylists in advance. Those with acne had powder applied to them, and those who hadn't washed their hair had their hair styled on the spot. Then they arrived outside the venue one after another according to the pre-arranged order, walked along the long red velvet carpet to the huge display board, froze, and took photos.
Most of these internet-addicted teenagers are just internet-addicted teenagers. Suddenly, they were forced to be idols one by one, and they became embarrassed. They seemed quite unskilled when posing for photos, and some even started to tremble with their hands and feet when walking on the red carpet.
In contrast, the five members of the Polaris team, led by Lin Mingfei, walked leisurely, with their own posture and style.
After the freeze, they calmly shifted their angles, focusing on the surrounding media cameras and raising their hands to signal. The host was stunned and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Our Polaris team seems to be no stranger to this kind of occasion. They looked like superstars walking the red carpet. Do you have any training?"
Lin Mingfei chuckled and said nothing. Shi Ya also kept smiling. By the way, she squeezed out a sentence from between her teeth: "How can I not be skilled? It's all because of He Youjin's face-to-face shooting..."
Xia Tong stood on the far right of the team, his hands behind his back. His expression today was particularly smug, and soon the audience watching the live broadcast noticed the highlight.
[??? What happened? Why did Blink grow so much taller today?]
[Is he taller? Is he taller?! I thought I was hallucinating!]
[He's grown taller! The little guy used to only reach Fire's chest, but now he's taller than Fire's shoulders!]
[This is the first time I've seen Polaris' formations, and the Wi-Fi signal doesn't look like full bars. I'm really not used to it!!!]
[It's over. I feel like BLink is taller than me now. I can no longer call him a dwarf. QAQ!]
[Most of the joy in life suddenly disappeared. Light a cigarette.jpg.]
......
As soon as the last group photo session was over, Xia Tong excitedly hid in a deserted place and started browsing his phone. He saw a large number of comments online about him "growing taller" and couldn't help but feel happy.
Then he felt his heels starting to swell.
The little Omega sighed, looked around, and quietly walked to the rest area at the corner of the venue.
There were several rows of circular public benches. Xia Tong walked over and sat down, took off her sports shoes, and started to unload things.
One, two, three...
Height-increasing insoles, six in total.
After Xia Tong finished unpacking one shoe on his left foot, he started unpacking the shoe on his right foot. Then he finally freed both feet, slumped in the chair, breathed a sigh of relief, and stretched his limbs.
Growing taller does come at a price, but it’s worth it!
He was in a daze for a while, and suddenly he heard footsteps approaching.
Xia Tong was startled and hurriedly stuffed the two piles of height-increasing insoles at his side into his sneakers. Then he quickly put on his shoes and stood up with the help of a chair. "Ouch!" He didn't know if it was because he stood up too quickly or what, but he stumbled and almost fell.
A familiar voice came from behind.
"BLink?"
"I'm not Blink, you got the wrong person!!"
Xia Tong didn't even bother to see who it was, fearing that her "height-increasing secret" would be exposed. She yelled, "Here's something to hide?" and ran away without looking back, leaving MM Dou walking to the place where he had just sat with a confused look on his face.
"Am I that scary?" MM Dou murmured to herself slightly sadly, then lowered her head and asked in surprise, "What is this?"
He bent down and picked up a speck of squishy rubber from under the chair.
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