Chapter 31
[Secretary Li: Which security guard's unit was involved in this incident? Is there a report record?]
[Wang Ma: I can't tell you this, the security guard specifically told me this gossip, *covers mouth and laughs.jpg*]
[Secretary Li: ?]
[Wang Ma: I'm just kidding. It's the west gate of the building. Brother Shen is on duty today.]
Secretary Li: Okay, I'll be right there.
The woman took the bamboo chopsticks from Zou Shu, thanked him, and said nothing more. Her emotions remained hidden inside her, with no outlet for them.
Leng Zhi put down his chopsticks and waved his phone: "Have you all finished eating? Shall we go?"
WRC is currently experimenting with a new system, but they are not yet proficient in its application, and unsurprisingly, they lost the training match.
However, it is just a training match after all. The purpose is to spark new ideas and test the system's completeness, which is nothing to be ashamed of.
The two teams chatted for a while, and before they parted, Gu Zuo asked with concern, "Why did you guys think of asking us to practice? There should be quite a few teams at the tournament base for you to choose from."
Leng Zhi briefly described what happened at the restaurant today.
"Why didn't you ask sooner!" Gu Zuo sighed immediately after hearing half of it. "This is a notorious team! Everyone else's trash talk is just for the sake of the show, but they really carry this attitude through to the end. It's the same no matter who it is, let alone you guys!"
The WRC team had participated in the World Invitational Tournament a few years ago, and Gu Zuo immediately recalled those unpleasant experiences.
Leng Zhi: "..."
Oh no! I was so focused on investigating the tactical systems and commonly used heroes of each team that I completely neglected to learn about their personalities in private.
Gu Zuo continued, "If you see these people in the future, remember to take a detour... If they weren't actually quite good, the M country region would have secured a fixed spot every year, and they would have been attacked by everyone on the international websites long ago."
Zou Shu didn't press the matter, but having such an emotionally unstable customer sitting in the shop made him feel uneasy.
Did today's variety show contain something that is absolutely outrageous? I got so angry just watching a live stream.
He took out his phone and went to the forum.
Well, this was completely different from the peaceful scene he shared with his teammates in the morning. Now, all I could see was his condemnation of the production team and the two guests from the Lei family.
Zou Shugang clicked in to take a closer look and noticed out of the corner of his eye that the woman had stopped watching the live stream and started making a phone call.
She seemed to be repeatedly dialing the same number, but the other party initially avoided answering, then the line was busy, and finally the phone was turned off, which made her even more desperate.
Just then, Zou Lin suddenly rushed in from outside, shouting "Brother!" in a flurry.
He wasn't on duty today and was playing games with some friends at Xinxing Internet Cafe when Boss Xu suddenly patted him on the shoulder and asked with concern, "Isn't your brother that celebrity Leng Zhi's good friend? Can he contact Leng Zhi? I just watched the live stream, and it was like a flood, it was terrifying!"
Zou Lin had just finished a game and immediately took off his headphones: "What happened? Did the pro player fall into the water?"
Boss Xu: "..."
He recounted in detail what he had seen and heard in the live stream, glancing at his phone as he spoke: "Wait, there's more... about Xixi..."
Zou Lin didn't hear the rest of the conversation. He cursed the production team and rushed home to find Zou Shu to inquire about the current situation of the "god-like figure." While walking, he also picked up his phone and, even while on the road, joined the fans in their online battles.
"Brother, what's the situation with Leng Zhi? Do you have any news?"
Zou Shu stopped his younger brother, who was about to bump into him: "What news? What's going on with you? I just saw it on the forum too, and he wasn't allowed to bring any communication devices during his live stream today."
Zou Lin was even more anxious than the person involved: "This production team dares to bully the big shot. We are the number one support group. Let's go pick up Brother Leng."
This was just a youthful, impulsive remark. Zou Shu didn't bother with his younger brother at all. He was very calm: "No matter how outrageous the production team is, they will definitely send him and Jiang Mingzhe back safely. Why would they ask you to pick them up? Are you going to pick them up on a small electric scooter?"
What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. The woman, who had been in despair, slowly raised her head after hearing the brothers' conversation.
Her voice was a little hoarse: "Is the Leng Zhi you're talking about the guest on 'Baby Go Forward'?"
The two looked at each other and nodded.
After receiving an affirmative answer, a glimmer of light appeared in her eyes: "Are you friends of the guests? Do you know where the pier is to get to the island? Are you going to the production crew's base now?"
She spoke with some emotion, and stood up abruptly, startling Zou Lin.
The woman seemed to realize that her words had been rather impolite, so she quickly picked up her wallet and added a self-introduction.
Zou Shu watched in disbelief as she pulled out her ID card and a photo, then found her divorce certificate and old household registration booklet on her phone: "You really are... Lei Xixi's mother?"
With training day after day, the day of the official competition drew closer.
"Captain, it seems the rule this time is that you have to draw lots?" Zou Shu glanced through the instructions for the lottery and his face darkened.
This has become the norm for LSG, after all, the captain's bad luck is deeply ingrained in people's minds.
Leng Zhi said, "It doesn't matter if I draw a team I know, it's all the same."
As expected, Leng Zhi drew a team he "knew" in the first round.
To be precise, they are teams with a history of conflict.
In the first round of the knockout stage, LSG team is on the red side of Group A, and DGS team is on the blue side of Group A.
The moment the draw numbers were announced on the big screen, Leng Zhi and Jin Huang's expressions became equally interesting.
"...What a small world."
"Damn!"
Unfortunately, they were drawn into Group A, which means they will be the first to fire the first shot in this year's World Invitational Tournament.
All the documents she provided bore the same name: Xu Lin.
On the other side of the divorce certificate was Lei Shen, who had already been despised by the public. The photo peeking out from the wallet showed a happy, chubby little boy being held in his mother's arms, which corresponded to Xi Xi and her own face.
Xu Lin nodded, wiping away the tears welling up in her eyes from her utter disorientation: "I'm not going to cause trouble, but my ex-husband isn't answering his phone, and Xixi is in that stranger's hands... I need to go to the scene to see the child."
Zou Shu did indeed know the location of the pier where Leng Zhi landed on the island.
Before going to the island, Leng Zhi snapped a picture of the beach and sent it to the team's small group chat:
[Secretary Li: Wang Ma, don't tell anyone else about these things. This is all for President Jiang's good.]
[Wang Ma: No problem, you can trust me to handle things. I'll let you know if there are any new developments! (Handshake.jpg)]
[Secretary Li: Handshake.jpg]
Although Yu Fu spoke very eloquently, when the two sides actually started fighting, Captain Thunder still showed some signs of fatigue.
Although it was Gong Cheng's first time playing Erlang Zhenjun in a formal competition, his performance was very skillful.
One of them wielded a halberd with a whistling sound, unleashing skills from tricky angles, launching a fierce attack that completely exploited Panzer's weaknesses.
Panzer was on the verge of defeat, and the minion wave was about to be pushed under the tower. He had to choose between his life and the tower.
Tang Wenshi listened to the smug man beside him: "See? Gong Cheng's training wasn't in vain. He'll definitely win this round."
However, at this moment, Erlang Shen suddenly stopped his attack and retreated.
Coach KM clicked his tongue: "Very good. Ghost should be coming to support us at this point. Taking a step back to observe is the right thing to do."
Sure enough, as if to confirm his statement, the commentator switched the large screen from Gong Cheng's view to Meng Cheng's.
Ghost was crouching low, hiding in the bushes of the top lane river, waiting for an opportunity to ambush Panzer.
The opposing team retreated to their tower, but Ghost didn't wait any longer. He gave them vision to leave and then plunged back into the river leading to the mid lane.
"Gong Cheng played jungle for a year before switching to the side lane. He can figure out when these junglers will come to support him even with his toes," the coach added.
Tang Wenshi chuckled and said, "Really? Has he ever played support?"
"...Support?" The coach had a bad feeling.
Where's Froster? I haven't seen him on the minimap for half a minute now.
Jiang Yijing was certain that the air conditioner was too hot. He pressed the remote control and lowered the temperature by a few degrees, casually tossing out a remark.
"Mr. Leng, may I ask you a somewhat personal question?"
He looked up and met Leng Zhi's amber eyes: "I heard that many people in the production team are pursuing you, is that right?"
When Jiang Yijing mentioned "personal issues," Leng Zhi's heart jumped into his throat.
Jiang Yijing decided to reject the employee's application: "Once a day, write it into the new salary increase contract."
Cold treatment: !
What a despicable boss! With just one sentence, he easily seized the lifeline of the workers!
Outside the door, Jiang Mingzhe was pressed against it, straining his little ears to try and hear the conversation inside.
Jiang Mingzhe spoke off the cuff, muttering to himself, "Why is this door so big? I can't hear anything. I'm so angry!"
The viewers couldn't see the video; they could only hear Jiang Mingzhe's barely audible breaths and mutterings as he held his breath next to the recording equipment.
The Jiang residence was built with superior materials, and the door to the study was also well soundproofed. Jiang Xiaozei listened for a long time but only managed to make out a few indistinct words.
"What does true love mean? What are the dads talking about?"
He scratched his head, looking unfamiliar with the word.
Is this something delicious? I want to try it too!
Why can't I hear what they said after that? The door is so bad!
The comments section wasn't satisfied with the content; while it was a little sweet, it wasn't exciting at all!
Are you saying everyone's glued to the live stream just to hear this?! Give us something a little more risqué, something everyone's happy to see. Even the wealthy are human, right?!
Jiang Mingzhe pressed his entire body against the door and finally heard a few more keywords.
"Big Daddy said... once a day, but Cold Daddy said once every two days? Hmm, didn't Big Daddy say once a day again?"
The live stream chat went wild.
Mr. Leng is truly capable; with just one word, he transformed the little devil into an obedient child—if we ignore the fact that Mr. Leng's clumsy hands brushed the child until he grimaced.
He's a master at brushing mechanical keyboards, but brushing a child's teeth is a real challenge for him.
So the scene of fatherly love and filial piety only lasted until the second before Leng Zhi put the toothbrush into Jiang Mingzhe's mouth.
Jiang Mingzhe: "Waaaaah!"
Leng Zhi: "..."
He had no choice but to try a different approach: return the toothbrush to Jiang Mingzhe and personally demonstrate and instruct him.
Jiang Yijing stood outside the door, gazing into the distance, lost in thought.
The butler was also standing next to President Jiang, and the photography equipment that had been handed to Jiang Mingzhe had been returned to him. He was now looking at this heartwarming scene.
"President Jiang, Mingzhe really likes Mr. Leng."
"Um."
The commentary switched back to Gong Cheng's first-person perspective. After the crisis was over, Erlang Zhenjun naturally wanted to take advantage of the new wave of minions to force Thunder Captain to fight him. In this way, he could take down LSG's top lane tower and open up the situation for KM.
"Zheng—"
A dreamlike blue-purple magic circle suddenly rose from the ground, transforming into a vine cage on Erlang Shen's body.
That's the Treant's ultimate attack!
Froster quietly moved to the top lane at some point, and the moment Erlang Zhenjun charged at the tower, the support skill was instantly activated, firmly controlling the enemy.
Panzer's skill was activated at the same time, and the Thunder Boatman's tsunami-like skill effect soared into the air, along with the thousand-pound anchor smashing down on Erlang Zhenjun's battle halberd.
He executed the combo moves that he had practiced hundreds of times with effortless grace.
"boom--"
"This support player ran all the way to provide support!?" Coach KM couldn't sit still anymore. What happened to the real man's 1v1? How come there's someone sneaking up on us!
[This scene looks so familiar, haha!]
[Who remembers yesterday's abalone and sea cucumber?]
[Mingzhe, promise me you won't challenge yourself.]
[Ma Dong what? Ma what plum?]
[This is a bit too much for the kids, haha]
[Hahahaha, the props team must have done this on purpose!]
[The logical connections between the preceding and following sentences are nonsensical and misleading.]
[Who could possibly remember all of this all at once!]
"Meng Cheng," Leng Zhi called out abruptly.
Meng Cheng couldn't help but shrink back. Although his maneuver was impressive, this strategy shouldn't have been played this way; it was a completely impulsive choice.
However, the expected accountability did not materialize; instead, the captain's voice, brimming with barely concealed laughter, came through the microphone.
The captain said, "Well played."
The captain then said, "Now's the time to take over his jungle. Luo Hongshuo will come with us."
If Meng Cheng had a tail, it would probably be wagging its tail in the sky by now.
After being praised by the captain, he became even more energetic and plunged into the enemy's jungle to feast.
The death of the opposing Azure Hunter was crucial, directly giving both sides an economic advantage in the early game.
Professional players won't let go of this slight advantage; they can seize every opportunity to snowball their advantage until they dominate the game.
QE's psychological tactics failed to work, and they also failed to bring out the strengths of their lineup, so they were destined to lose this game.
During halftime, Leng Zhi caught a glimpse of the opposing team's backstage area, where the coach, who was known as the top coach, was blushing and arguing with his players like a machine gun.
He wasn't interested in these kinds of players, so he glanced at them and looked away.
"Let's get ready for the next round and teach that foreign kid a lesson."
Leng Zhi's healer performed exceptionally well in the last round, consistently applying his blessing aura to his teammates at opportune moments and skillfully avoiding the opponent's attacks.
After their captain resolved his inner conflict, the opponent's petty tricks only angered his teammates, making the victory in this game completely different from the commentators' initial expectations.
The commentary team was sweating profusely at this moment.
"LSG's method of breaking the deadlock is very special. They chose to crush the opponent with sheer strength. Haha, how luxurious!"
"It seems their captain is completely out of form now. I'm looking forward to their next performance. Do we still have any hope of a comeback for QE?"
There is no hope.
LSG provided the answer to this question with an even more overwhelming victory.
Another shutout in the final!
In the next two matches, QE's performance worsened, and they lost three games in a row.
LSG fans are roaring wildly, their red and black team flags fluttering in the warm winter sun.
"Champions! We are the champions!"
The QE fans in the audience were starting to lose their composure.
Most of them are fans of the streamer behind QE, and by extension, they like the team.
Or perhaps they're curious about the top coach that QE team brought in from abroad, and enjoy watching these unexpected victories.
But none of that matters anymore. Starting tonight, most of them will have a brand new team – the team that achieved a clean sweep in the qualifiers, LSG.
After tonight, they will be forever etched in the annals of the league.
[Good things come from cold, bad things come from cold]
[Sisi has already gone to find a second one, while some adults are still lying there.]
[Hahaha, great commanding presence!]
[How could anyone let their child do chores while they slack off!]
Look at the mess next door! Those adults aren't even as motivated as the kids.
[The rules of this show seem somewhat biased against Leng Ge.]
Leng Zhi chuckled, then opened the mini-game and played it again.
102 points.
If he were to go all out to score points in this mini-game, he would certainly achieve more than this. Leng Zhi was well-versed in the art of thrift—controlling the score a little less would allow Jiang Mingzhe to listen to him for a while longer.
Jiang Mingzhe's steps quickened, and he hugged Leng Zhi, giving him a kiss on the neck: "Daddy is still the best!"
The child's soft little face pressed against him, and even Leng Zhi's heart warmed a little.
"Stop messing around." He pretended to be stern and pulled Jiang Mingzhe off him.
In order to take care of Jiang Mingzhe, he couldn't always go to internet cafes or the team's training grounds; he had to have a computer at home.
Leng Zhi chose a small guest room in the villa.
There are many empty rooms like this in the villa. Just add a table and a computer, and you can have a quiet training space.
Jiang Mingzhe followed Leng Zhi eagerly, watching him pack the parts from countless boxes into a small computer case and connect it to a monitor and peripherals.
"Dad, why are your computers scattered around?"
In Jiang Mingzhe's memory, a computer should be the kind that his father moved into his study as a whole, or one that could be folded up and put into a schoolbag. He had never seen a computer assembled.
“It saves money,” Leng Zhi said. “Learn from this; if you can do it yourself, you can save a lot of money.”
Having come from an internet cafe esports team, Leng Zhi was also quite skilled in computer repair and assembly. Therefore, instead of buying an expensive complete machine, he chose more suitable parts and assembled it himself.
He also explained the structure of a computer to Jiang Mingzhe, who was completely confused and ran away before he finished assembling it: "I don't want to listen, computers aren't fun, waaaah!"
As for Jiang Yijing, Leng Zhi didn't plan to inform him about the purchase of the computer—it was money coming from his own private coffers.
Besides that, he read the contract again, and there was really no explicit provision in it that he could not do other work in his "spare time".
Since there's a loophole, let's exploit it!
Tonight's dinner was also a takeout order from Zou's Little Restaurant.
Leng Zhi was very generous, and Zou's mother took the initiative to take care of Zou Shu's meal preparation: "So you're preparing takeout for that variety show duo? Mom will do it! That kid is so cute, I'll cook for him myself, I guarantee it will be healthy and delicious!"
She really put her heart into it; the meals she delivered were all healthy and balanced, with little oil and salt, just like the local dishes served in restaurants.
Before going to sleep, Jiang Mingzhe habitually patrols his cyber territory.
"Ouch! I've been overtaken again!"
It seemed like the student named Mengde did it on purpose, keeping the score at 103.
Jiang Mingzhe had run out of attempts today. The housekeeper wasted one, so he secretly tried again. Combined with the one time he had with Leng Zhi in the afternoon, he had used up his three daily game attempts.
He scratched his head in frustration, only able to anxiously think, "I must surpass him tomorrow!"
Leng Zhi felt something was off.
One time was a coincidence, but both times it was only one point more. Could it be that this kid named Mengde is deliberately trying to challenge Jiang Mingzhe?
He shook his head and couldn't help but sigh, "Kids these days really know how to have fun."
"We'll win it back tomorrow. Go to sleep."
[Brother Leng is already having a hard time taking care of four kids, and now he also has to direct four vehicles.]
[Cold Bro: Heartbroken]
[Hahahahahaha]
[Oh! Youyou has a good chance! Hopefully, she won't overtake us here!]
[The little girl drives so smoothly, it's like silk! Anyone know?]
[Haha, it's obvious he gave it to his dad because he didn't like it!]
[How disgusting!]
[Reiji was used as a gift dumping ground]
Leng Zhi silently took the remote control: "That variety show isn't very good. Jiang Mingzhe probably wants to watch Animal World."
Sure enough, Jiang Mingzhe heard the ears of the animal world twitch.
"Great! Let's watch Animal World!"
Ever since returning from the zoo that day, he has been fascinated by these wild creatures of different shapes and sizes, and he always begs the adults to buy more related children's books.
Jiang Wenzhuo was both amused and exasperated: "Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. I'll watch the variety shows later."
Leng Zhi: "..." This is a dark history forever.
Jiang Wenzhuo is very knowledgeable and has a good understanding of the American animals featured in the documentary. While watching, he tells extra scientific anecdotes.
Jiang Mingzhe listened intently, and even Leng Zhi was somewhat immersed in the warm atmosphere.
He recalled his childhood in the orphanage, where there was no high-definition large-screen TV like this. The director would look at books and, like Jiang Wenzhuo, let his imagination run wild, drawing up beautiful blueprints of imagination for the children.
The morning passed by in the blink of an eye.
Because of the old lady's arrival, the housekeeper arranged for a temporary cook to prepare the meal. Jiang Wenzhuo went to the mountains to worship Buddha and ate vegetarian food, but she did not make any requests regarding the others.
She used serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat and put it into her great-grandson's adorable children's plate: "You need to eat more so you can grow tall."
After that, it was lunchtime. Jiang Wenzhuo went to the guest room, and Jiang Mingzhe also returned to his room, leaving Leng Zhi alone in the living room.
He doesn't plan to take a lunch break.
Judging from Jiang Wenzhuo's attitude, he will probably be with him from morning till night today, which will greatly reduce the training time.
Leng Zhi projected the videotape of his teammates' practice match from this morning onto the screen.
As is customary, the team members had already completed the recap and sent him a recap report.
Leng Zhi wasn't going to drag it out any longer. He had a corresponding training plan every day, and he needed to take advantage of this opportunity to quickly review the training match replays.
However, H University's e-sports club was really weak, and Leng Zhi couldn't help but frown after watching for a while.
He didn't expect Mario to be so unreliable, actually using his own account. His terrible skills were clearly Mario playing himself.
Fortunately, his teammates were not affected by this weakness and still delivered excellent tactical arrangements and plays.
He gently dragged the progress bar, completely focused.
"Zou Shu, take another look at the 7:08 mark. The entry timing was too early."
"Meng Cheng and Luo Hongshuo, 15 minutes and 13 seconds, you guys shouldn't have initiated this team fight. Although the opponent isn't strong, choosing a more stable tower-pushing strategy would have increased your chances of winning."
...
One analytical voice message after another was sent to the team group chat, and Leng Zhi was completely unaware of the passage of time.
"Did you change the support player in the second game? That's like a professional level. But Zou Shu, there's a problem with your coordination with him... It's not your problem, it's his problem."
Upon hearing this, Zou Shu nodded vigorously: "I knew it! That support player couldn't even match our captain's skill with one hand, it's definitely not my fault!"
Leng Zhi was ruthless: "Don't be complacent. You had plenty of problems when you were working with me. We'll have extra training tomorrow."
Zou Shu: !!!
The voice from the phone drowned out the surrounding noise, and Leng Zhi was completely unaware that Jiang Wenzhuo had woken up early and was watching him from afar on the second-floor stairs.
[Leng Zhi: A gift from my son]
[Cold Treatment: [image.jpg]]
[Leng Zhi: What a good kid!]
Jiang Yijing: Good boy.
Jiang Yijing: I haven't received it.
[Jiang Yijing: Remember what we agreed on yesterday? Call me when you have time.]
Jiang Yijing: Once a day, no bargaining.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com