Chapter 32
[I originally wanted to praise Xiaoyu for winning first place in racing, but considering Leng Ge's heavy burden, family members, I'm voting for Leng Ge!]
I voted for the rope (?).
[Hey, something's not right with you.]
Do you even understand the true value of being a commander-in-chief?
[It seems like the production team is planning something big?]
The "you" that Grandma Jiang was referring to were naturally Jiang Yijing and Leng Zhi.
Jiang Yijing and Leng Zhi's marriage contract was kept secret from the old lady. In her mind, this newlywed couple should naturally live together in the Jiang residence.
Jiang Yijing, who had just woken up from his sleep, was now fully awake.
At this time, Jiang Mingzhe was obviously still in bed, and according to past experience, Leng Zhi was also not up. The only person in the Jiang residence should be the butler.
He quickly rolled out of bed, hurriedly buttoning up his shirt cuffs while making a phone call to the housekeeper.
Jiang Yijing: "Quickly, please decorate the house as I just left it... Just say I went to the building first and didn't want to wake them."
The butler understood immediately: "It's already being processed, so don't worry."
When he received the call from Grandma Jiang, he had already activated the "emergency plan".
New bedding, pillows, and men's slippers were brought into the master bedroom, which naturally woke up Leng Zhi and Jiang Mingzhe.
After hearing the housekeeper's explanation, Jiang Mingzhe immediately jumped out of bed.
"Great-Grandma is here! Where is she?!"
The butler reassured the young master, "The old lady is still on her way, young master, please wait a little longer."
Jiang Mingzhe didn't hear the words "wait a little longer" at all. All he knew was that his beloved great-grandmother was finally coming!
Hmph, Dad said he would send me to visit my great-grandmother for two days during the summer vacation, but with the summer vacation almost over, there is still no sign of it. Jiang Mingzhe is getting a little anxious. He secretly called his grandmother when Leng Zhi was not around.
On the phone, the adorable grandson kept begging the old lady to come over, which melted Grandma Jiang's heart.
"Okay, okay, Grandma will come in a couple of days!"
Jiang Wenzhuo's favorite is this mischievous great-grandson.
She had only one son, Jiang Yijing's father. Jiang's parents had no ambition for business, so the Jiang family business was passed down to Jiang Yijing and his elder brother and sister-in-law, skipping a generation.
Unfortunately, his elder brother and sister-in-law passed away at a young age, leaving behind only three-year-old Jiang Mingzhe.
The elderly woman, who had seen her son pass away, doted on this child immensely, practically giving him everything he wanted. She rushed over immediately, eager to see how Jiang Yijing would teach her great-grandson.
Leng Zhi watched as his son quickly put on his shoes and socks and rushed downstairs, still a little sleepy-eyed.
After a long while, he slowly recalled who this great-grandmother of the Jiang family was.
In the original book, it was only mentioned briefly as the reason for the two's contractual marriage, but there were indeed a few additional requirements in that contract.
[A reality show about raising children actually separates parents and their kids?]
[I can't wait!]
[Brother Leng has really gone all out!]
He treated Mingzhe to a lavish meal, while he himself ate the cheapest, most nutritious meal.
[He really... I'm crying my eyes out]
[Don't blame Leng Ge, the group was leaderless this afternoon, and Xiao Mingzhe is likely to stir up trouble.]
If you draw the same opponent in this match, you're guaranteed to win in WRC. Analyzing and predicting the opponent's tactics before the match is a crucial part of official competitions; otherwise, you might accidentally reveal some secrets.
However, as a player who is wholeheartedly committed to the right path and eager to become stronger, this rookie team does possess a subtle charm that makes people want to interact with them more.
Hopefully, this small team can last a while and not draw their rivals—but it doesn't matter anyway, WRC's goal is the championship, and LSG's goal is also the championship, so they are destined to be rivals.
The studio lights shone on them, making them appear three-dimensional and radiant.
"Now, the four teams will take turns drawing their respective balls from the draw box."
The first one was Zou Shu. He smiled at the camera and then grabbed a ball.
Next up were the representatives from SN and AT, and finally it was Gu Zuo's turn.
The ball is made of silver metal, with a tight snap that hides its contents. When you hold it in your hand, you can feel the unique coldness of metal.
"This draw was fair and impartial. The four cards are printed with the red and blue sides of Group A and Group B respectively. After confirming that everything is correct, please open your cards."
The camera zoomed in, focusing on the lottery balls in the hands of the four people, and the atmosphere became tense.
Zou Shu twisted it with a clever effort, and a small silver pendant immediately fell out.
"Group A, Blue Team".
Gu Zuo's heart skipped a beat. He held his breath and opened his draw.
“…Red team,” he read aloud, “Group B.”
With countless viewers watching in the live stream, the semi-final group list has been freshly released.
The first match is between LSG and SN.
The second match is AT vs WRC.
After Zou Shu returned to the team, he was naturally met with Leng Zhi's merciless ridicule.
"You said I had bad luck, but look what you got back, last year's champion."
Zou Shuyi shrugged: "The semifinals are tough, no matter who we draw, they're all strong teams."
Leng Zhi thought for a moment: "If I had to choose one, the WRC? Their management of the second team is too lax."
"Damn, although that kid from the second team is really annoying, Captain, you're too ruthless. The first team are some of our few acquaintances! I even greeted Gu Zuo during the draw." Zou Shu clicked his tongue.
Tang Wenshi joined their discussion: "Don't underestimate WRC. They have improved a lot in the past two years and are also championship contenders. On the other hand, SN has had one player retire and another transfer after winning the championship last year. The team has undergone too many changes, so it's hard to say what will happen. They have had very good luck with the draws all the way, almost all of them are... teams that are not favored."
"Teacher Tang knows a lot about the WRC?" Leng Zhi skipped SN and went straight to another keyword.
Tang Wenshi: "Not really. It just so happened that their captain and vice-captain trained under me when they were in youth training. That was several years ago, when PX was at its peak, and many talented kids came to the youth training camp."
"Bian Xiangyu and Gu Zuo should be considered the two most talented among that group of kids. Back then, Gu Zuo was playing jungle. Several years have passed in the blink of an eye."
Leng Zhi ignored Tang Wenshi's lament about the passing of time and asked a very practical question: "It's a real pity. If we had faced them, the pre-match analysis would have been much simpler."
Tang Wenshi: "No, after leaving PX, their playstyles changed in order to integrate with their new teams. Especially Gu Zuo, who switched from jungle to support, which must have taken a lot of determination."
He couldn't help but sigh, "It would be really interesting to face them."
Li Chi: "..."
He could only hand the microphone to the last one, who was also the most obedient, Xixi: "Xixi, do you have any closing remarks?"
Xi Xi looked up; he seemed to have been thinking for a long time.
He said in a childish voice, "I'm sorry."
Li Chi was stunned; this was an answer he hadn't expected at all.
He quickly reassured her, "What's wrong, Xixi? Why are you apologizing all of a sudden? You did a great job!"
With Li Chi's reassurance, Xi Xi mustered up his courage and spoke into the camera the words he had left unsaid on the island.
"I'm sorry, Dad told me to say he was my uncle, but he's a bad guy, I shouldn't have lied to everyone."
On the island, the camera pans to Li Chi, where Xi Xi is constantly being comforted by the guests and hasn't been able to finish her sentence. At the hot springs, he keeps thinking about the incident, blaming himself for the kind child's actions—he brought the bad uncle, and the bad uncle even tried to bully Uncle Leng Zhi!
A five-year-old child can't articulate a complete logical chain of thought; he only knows that this uncle is bad, and he shouldn't have lied to everyone that this is the uncle who raised him.
And then there's Dad, Mom... Why did this uncle say that Dad was using him as a tool to make money?
Xixi was lost in memories, and he realized that his father didn't seem to love him at all.
All the "love" he received was because he completed his coursework or performed well in front of the camera.
And if he does something that displeases his father, he will be subjected to endless scolding when he gets home.
[Just supporting a minor celebrity to make money]
Lei Ling's words echoed repeatedly in Xi Xi's mind, and tears were about to fall again.
"Don't cry!"
A clean handkerchief was handed to me, adorned with a few tinkling star badges.
Jiang Mingzhe was getting anxious. He searched all his pockets but couldn't find a clean tissue. The only thing he needed was a handkerchief covered in stars that he kept in his inner pocket.
"Whoosh!"
The stars that the little boy treasured were no longer valued. They were violently pulled off by their young owner, half of them falling into his palm and the other half scattered on the ground.
Jiang Mingzhe didn't even care about the star badges on the ground; he was anxious to wipe away his friend's tears.
"Don't cry, don't cry! You can have all these stars, cheer up!"
Xixi had a handful of stars stuffed into one hand and a handkerchief into the other, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes stopped flowing.
Jiang Mingzhe's actions inspired the other children.
They were wearing new clothes and hadn't prepared any tissues in their pockets, so more jingling star badges were placed in Xixi's hands.
"XiXi! Don't be sad!"
"He's not your uncle, but you still have us, you still have your mom and dad!"
"We're not playing with him!"
[Hahaha, why do young couples have to send each other pictures of what they eat?]
[It's one thing to send them to each other, but to show them to the baby too!]
[Little one: I'm eating very well, I don't need your dog food.]
[Mingzhe is still young, he doesn't understand this, Brother Leng!]
[Leng Zhi: Boss, log in now, let's duo queue]
Mario: Here I am, I've been waiting for you!
[Mario: Is today over already?]
[Leng Zhi: Sorry, I have something to do this afternoon. We'll continue tonight.]
[Mario: Okay, hopefully it'll be ready this week.]
[Leng Zhi: Trust me]
The red team's progress is proceeding steadily.
To accommodate the children, the overall difficulty of the escape room was not high. The parts of the toy car were simplified into different geometric shapes, and their specific locations were also hinted at to the guests through these geometric shapes.
The four small wheels correspond to circles, and there are circular markings near the four small wheels.
Cold treatment was the first to discover this pattern.
This may not be a common design for offline escape rooms. Offline escape rooms often focus more on the atmosphere of horror, which is different from the design of variety shows for children.
But Leng Zhi has a little habit of stimulating his brain before a match.
He would take advantage of the short time he spent waiting to open an escape room game on his tablet that had already been updated with hundreds of levels, and try to escape at lightning speed.
"That's normal. They are indeed two teams with similarities, and both of them have strategies aimed at countering Meng Cheng."
Leng Zhi's words revealed no personal emotions; they were simply statements and analyses.
KW team, the foreign team that stood on the world stage with LSG in the previous life, that was Leng Zhi's last battle before his retirement.
This new team has a similar style to the KW team, and they both like to target Meng Cheng, the Chinese prodigy jungler, during the draft phase.
Unbeknownst to them, they selected the exact same ten heroes as in the last World Championship.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly felt somewhat oppressive.
Luo Hongshuo: "What the captain said is true... but..."
Leng Zhi said calmly, "It's just one loss, what's there to be afraid of? We can win this time."
Zou Shu secretly glanced at Leng Zhi beside him. The latter showed no change and seemed completely unaffected by the coincidence.
He turned his gaze away with relief, focusing his attention back on the screen.
Since the captain is fine, there's nothing to be afraid of.
The game has officially begun.
Team PXM came prepared, having done extensive training and demonstrating excellent tactical execution. They didn't waste a single second and headed straight for Meng Cheng's jungle as planned.
Azure Hunter is a special hero with extremely high strength at level one. In a one-on-one situation, no jungler of the same level can rival him.
Meng Cheng's fast-attack Bloodthirsty Blade Fighting style is already the optimal solution, but if the two sides really clash, Bloodthirsty Blade Fighting will still be at a disadvantage.
"Luo Hongshuo, come to the jungle after you cross the lane, you'll probably be in my area."
The healer who was using the cooldown reduction technique had already been waiting in the other half of the jungle.
Sure enough, as soon as Leng Zhi finished speaking, the figure of the Azure Light Saint Hunter appeared in his field of vision.
Leng Zhi, who was hiding in the bushes, was quickly discovered.
Instead of leaving, he unleashed his skills from a distance, whittling down his opponent's health.
The therapist caused very little damage; it took a long time to scrape off a single layer of the skin.
Luo Hongshuo was entangled by the enemy in the middle lane and was unable to come to his aid for the time being.
"It seems that LSG can only let PXM take over this half of the jungle for free. The top laner and mid laner are both tightly entangled by the opponent and cannot get away."
"The Bloodthirsty Blade Fighter is currently in the other half of the jungle, which is too far away. It seems the healer can't hold out until the teammates arrive, so we have to give up this half of the jungle!"
The semi-finals featured two commentators who took turns praising LSG.
The Azure Light Holy Hunter swaggered around and devoured all the core resources in half of the jungle. Just as Luo Hongshuo was about to arrive, it made a quick getaway.
The healer is a late-game teamfight hero, whose only control skill is her un-upgraded ultimate. In this one-on-one harassment phase, she is indeed difficult to play a significant role.
"I don't know why LSG would choose such a late-game support when faced with obvious harassment from the enemy. Are they pinning their hopes on the second half of the game?"
"It's hard to evaluate this tactic. I wonder if PXM will give them a chance to hold out until the second half!"
Inside the players' room, the commentary outside couldn't be heard, but Leng Zhi's thoughts were completely opposite to the commentators'.
This approach can alleviate pre-competition anxiety and activate the areas of the brain responsible for thinking and planning.
Every time Zou Shu saw him playing escape room games and creating afterimages, he would silently close his eyes and say, "Captain, why don't you play jungle? Meng Cheng's hand speed isn't as good as yours. People outside are even calling him the number one jungler with the fastest hand speed."
Meng Cheng rubbed his hands together, eager for a fight: "What does Brother Shu mean? You want a solo match? My jungler has let you down, hasn't he?"
Leng Zhi kept his head down, his hands still frantically tapping the screen, and stretched out his leg to kick each of his two restless teammates: "You two are so talkative, why don't you like to talk when it's time for extra practice?"
Zou Shu grinned and came over: "Hehe, it's nothing, I was just praising you. No need for extra practice."
In one competition after another, the five of them, with the mini-games on Leng Zhi's tablet, went from small internet cafes to the world stage. The only change was that in the last competition, Leng Zhi didn't play his escape room mini-games because of a hand injury.
The tablet containing the games was thoughtfully put away by the vice-captain. No one mentioned his hand injury; they simply folded their hands together and placed them on the captain's shoulder.
"come on."
[What did I get?]
[I feel like I got a big one]
[Hilarious, why is Brother Leng acting like a coward?]
[Hahahahahaha]
[What the heck?!]
[Such a divine draw, the contrast is just too strong!]
"Please sit down."
Jiang Yijing's study is spacious, with a desk and a tea room for receiving guests.
Leng Zhi chose a spot that was neither too close nor too far away to sit down.
President Jiang was very authoritative; his first question was, "Have you been facing any difficulties lately?"
This question stumped Leng Zhi.
What difficulties have I been facing lately? Well, thanks to you, Mr. Jiang! You are my biggest problem. My biggest wish is to divorce you and run away so I don't have to suffer the hell of raising a child anymore. Ideally, you could recommend me to the gaming club so I can become a starting player tomorrow, all in one go.
Unfortunately, I cannot say anything, not even a single word.
Leng Zhi carefully considered his role as both an employee and a stepfather, and said, "It seems that, for the time being, we haven't encountered any difficulties. Jiang Mingzhe has been very well-behaved lately."
A very official response; it definitely won't ruin my public image.
Jiang Yijing pondered for a while and guessed that Leng Zhi was too proud to mention his difficulties.
He tapped the table lightly with his fingertips: "It's okay, just tell me if you have any difficulties. I'll try my best to help you overcome them. All the conditions are in place, and I'm sure you'll do your job well."
Leng Zhi sneered inwardly.
He'd heard far too many of those boastful claims in the league. As the team captain, he was responsible for liaising with various departments within the club and communicating with league leaders.
While many people enter this industry out of passion, many more who rise to leadership positions do not. These individuals tend to become bureaucratic, constantly talking about solving problems, reducing costs and increasing efficiency, optimizing processes, and aligning granularity...
Unexpectedly, despite his young age and handsome appearance, President Jiang is also a leader who makes empty promises.
Then, Jiang Yijing said, "If you have any financial difficulties, I'll approve another 500,000 yuan for you, plus a 40% increase in your salary. I'll have my secretary send over the new contract tomorrow."
Cold treatment: ?
The little voice in his head started bowing frantically: "I'm sorry, I was too loud just now. You are not a leader who only makes empty promises. You are the shining new star of the Jiang Group and a perfect doer!"
This was like a godsend, providing a much-needed solution to Leng Zhi's immediate crisis—his empty wallet.
After ordering takeout, Leng Zhi only had a pitiful five yuan left in his WeChat account, not even enough for a single internet session.
Five yuan turned into 500,000 in an instant. Although Leng Zhi had won tens of millions in bonuses before, things were different now, and he couldn't help but feel happy.
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang."
Jiang Mingzhe's childish lie failed to fool Youyou. He could only stomp his foot, crawl under the table, and emerge from the opposite side, leaving behind a curt "Hmph! Believe it or not!"
However, his shame and indignation did not last long, as Jiang Mingzhe was soon drawn to the huge bed in front of him.
Although the bed at home is also very large, its height is custom-made for children, so Jiang Mingzhe can lie down easily by simply leaning back.
Classic carved beds are often raised very high, just the height that cubs need to climb with all their might.
Jiang Mingzhe looked up and tugged at the layers of red gauze curtains.
His actions attracted the attention of the other cubs.
"Wow, this looks like a tent."
"Yay, let's get into the tent!"
Jiang Mingzhe became even more energetic. The tent that required climbing was just like the treehouse in the cartoon—although the colors were quite different, who said that a wooden bed wasn't a kind of tree!
He used his hands and feet, and with all his strength, he rolled his little body in with a thud.
Jiang Mingzhe waved his hands, pulling away the curtain covering the wig on his head, and finally saw the scene on the bed.
Beneath the soft cotton quilt lay a bride covered with a red veil, the red cloth of which rose and fell with her breath.
Leng Zhi sensed someone climbing onto the bed.
But he didn't know who it was, and because the curtain wasn't lifted as written in the script, he couldn't find a good opportunity to intimidate them.
The prop designers forgot that the players in the haunted house are a bunch of human babies whose heads only reach an adult's waist. They can only climb onto the bed, not stand by the bed and lift the curtain.
The production team urged through the earpiece: "Hurry! Get up now!"
Leng Zhi also felt that what the production team said made a lot of sense, so he straightened his upper body and suddenly sat up, just like in the rehearsal.
What he didn't notice was that Jiang Mingzhe's restless little hand had quietly touched a corner of the red veil at some point.
Jiang Mingzhe was very curious. He wanted to know if the "big sister" lying on the bed had really fallen asleep by accident, or if she was pretending to be asleep.
Unexpectedly, the "big sister" suddenly sat up, her little hands just grasping the red veil.
"Ahhh!"
Amid Jiang Mingzhe's terrified screams, Leng Zhi's red veil was ripped off.
Jiang Mingzhe knew he had gotten into trouble, and before he could even see clearly, he started apologizing: "I'm sorry... Ah? Dad... Dad?"
He was stunned.
How did the older sister turn into a bad father? Where did the beautiful older sister go?!
Leng Zhi: "..."
He stared blankly at the child in front of him, whose head was covered by a large, knotted black wig and whose hand was clutching his own red veil, showing no intention of acknowledging their father-son relationship.
Your father has completely lost face today.
He raised his hand and grabbed Jiang Mingzhe's wig: "What's this for?"
Jiang Mingzhe cried out in pain, "It hurts! It hurts! I'll pick it myself!"
Jiang Yijing asked Jiang Mingzhe the same questions he had at the dinner table, and after Leng Zhi answered them one by one, he nodded in satisfaction.
Leng Zhi relaxed as well. He gently rolled up his sleeves, revealing his fair wrists, and added to his answer to the previous question: "Jiang Mingzhe is indeed a lively child. He always shows a lot of energy in variety show games, so the audience likes him very much..."
Jiang Yijing lowered his eyes, his gaze sweeping lightly over the other person's forearm.
This person is talking nonsense.
Why are you rolling up your sleeves? Is it hot here?
This guy is so fair-skinned.
Meng Cheng sat up straight: "Teacher Tang, did you organize all of this by yourself?!"
Tang Wenshi: "And your team leader Leng and Manager Chen, Xiao Chen found the game video from the internet, and Leng Zhi and I analyzed it separately."
“He insisted on making me do this,” Leng Zhi explained somewhat helplessly, “After all, it’s my first time participating in the World Invitational Tournament, so it’s better to be more careful.”
Teammates: "..."
They recalled their two previous appearances at the World Invitational Tournament, but ultimately remained silent.
However, no matter what, building a database of opponents' playing styles in advance is not a bad thing, it's just that the captain and Coach Tang are working too hard.
The days spent in internet cafes and conference rooms didn't last long. On the third day, the World Championship organizers learned that they had actually settled in ahead of schedule and immediately invited them to move into the tournament base ahead of time.
"I'm so sorry, the tournament base is now officially open and your team can move in ahead of schedule."
The other side added, "Some teams have already signed up, and everyone can arrange practice matches privately. The base has prepared enough training grounds!"
The organizer of the World Championship is the parent company of Diyao, which is very wealthy, and the competition venue built this year is also quite luxurious.
The streamlined building provides ample private space for each team, and in addition, numerous player benefits are offered.
The first thing to do after checking in was, of course, to eat.
To accommodate the different dietary habits of athletes from various countries, the restaurant hired chefs from different countries.
"There are quite a few people in the restaurant. It looks like about a third of the teams have arrived early, just like us."
Zou Shu was eating American fast food. He tore a piece of meat off a fried chicken leg, his cheeks bulging out like a little hamster.
"That's good. We can schedule a few practice matches in advance to keep our form... What about Coach Tang's roster?"
He took out his phone and opened the list that Tang Wenshi had compiled.
The contestants in the restaurant weren't wearing team uniforms, so we could only roughly determine their competition area by their appearance and language. Fortunately, we had this list, which listed the contestants' information.
He made a discovery very quickly.
"The five people in the corner are the DGS team from the United States. The table to their right is the OX team from the same country. They are all on Coach Tang's list."
Manager Chen rubbed his hands together, eager to get started: "I'll go invite them!"
With her overseas study background and fluent English, she handled the majority of the internal and external liaison work on this trip overseas.
Leng Zhi tugged at her sleeve and said, "If they're rude, don't bother them."
Manager Chen's eyes lit up: "Leave it to me!"
However, what Captain Leng said did make sense; in any case, harmony should be the priority. She waited until they finished their meal and were about to leave before going over.
"Hello, we are the LSG team from China. It's nice to meet you!"
The girl smiled, her eyelashes curving upwards, and she was very polite.
A blond man put down his knife and fork and looked her up and down.
"China's LSG... I've never heard of it. Have you heard of it?"
He felt a little hot.
[Hehehe, rubbing my hands together, eager to see!]
[Holy crap!!!]
[Don't move the camera, let me take a closer look!]
[What a twisted production team!]
[Hehe, I like this outfit, take more pictures!]
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