Chapter 18. Zhao Zhinian officially replied the following day...
The following day, Zhao Zhinian officially replied to the director, stating that she would focus all her efforts on preparing for the selection of online commentators and offline hosts for the Glory Challenge, and would not consider the opportunity for "Star Trail Battle" for the time being. The director expressed respect and support for her choice, and as always, offered her rosy prospects, encouraging her to achieve results in the Glory project and look forward to a bright future together.
In the days that followed, Zhao Zhinian leveled up in the tenth server, accumulating practical experience, while diligently preparing for the selection process for commentator and host. She not only crammed on Glory knowledge and studied the strategies of various teams, but also kept a close eye on the selection notices. Finally, in August, she received a notification for the preliminary selection of online commentators for the Challenger League. As previously predicted, this year's Challenger League was incredibly popular, especially with the decline of a legendary powerhouse like Team Excellent Era, attracting a huge amount of attention and traffic, resulting in a far higher number of applicants than expected. Therefore, the organizers added a preliminary selection process before the official interviews; due to the large number of applicants, a batch would be eliminated first to reduce the pressure on the subsequent interviews. The detailed rules for the preliminary selection were announced a few days later, requiring participants to submit a commentary video of no more than 20 minutes within a week. The video needed to include a 5-minute introduction of the team and players, and approximately 15 minutes of commentary on a match segment, which could be any match from the history of the Glory League, either an individual match or a team match.
Zhao Zhinian understood that the preliminary selection rules primarily tested the contestants' ability to choose topics and their sensitivity to trending events.
This rule both excited and troubled Zhao Zhinian. She was excited because it offered a high degree of freedom, allowing her to fully showcase her abilities; however, she was troubled because there were so many choices, and selecting a clip that would both highlight her unique characteristics and attract the judges was crucial. Looking at the numerous Honor of Kings competition videos stored on her computer, she struggled to make a decision.
Zhou Zekai had already returned to the Samsara Club. Zhao Zhinian didn't want to bother him too much, so she simply mentioned the new auditions and the difficulty in choosing topics.
After much deliberation, her first choice was the Samsara team's match, which she was familiar with and felt a sense of connection to. Moreover, the marksman was the class she played, so she knew more about it. However, with so many matches available, she struggled to decide which one to choose.
Around 8 PM, as she was agonizing over several potential clips, Zhou Zekai's message popped up: "Is it settled?"
Zhao Zhinian knew he was asking about topics for his commentary videos, and honestly replied, "Not yet. My decision-making indecisiveness is acting up, and I feel like it's already in its late stages."
Zhou Zekai sent a message: "Wait a moment."
She assumed Zhou Zekai's team was busy and didn't want to bother them anymore. However, a few minutes later, Zhao Zhinian's phone rang. Zhou Zekai had actually called her directly. She answered with some surprise, "Hello?"
"Hmm." Zhou Zekai's voice came through, and there seemed to be another voice in the background. Zhou Zekai explained, "Jiang Botao, together."
Zhao Zhinian was taken aback for a moment before realizing that he meant he and Jiang Botao were together and wanted to help her come up with ideas. She was instantly flattered and a little embarrassed: "Ah? No, no, it's too much trouble for Vice Captain Jiang, and wouldn't this be... a bit unfair?"
Before she could finish speaking, she heard Jiang Botao's smiling voice from the other end: "Miss Zhao, good evening. It's alright, no trouble at all. The captain told me about the situation. Choosing the topic for the preliminary selection is indeed crucial; a good choice will yield twice the results. We just returned to the team, and training hasn't officially started yet, so we're free. Giving you some advice is just a small favor."
Zhou Zekai also nodded in agreement.
Zhao Zhinian felt a warmth in her heart, but still felt a little guilty: "But... isn't this a bit unfair to the other participants? My foreign aid is too strong, I just asked a professional player to use cheat codes..." Although she knew that some applicants from esports media would get their own esports reporters to help them revise their articles, she went straight to a professional Glory player.
After she finished speaking, there was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, and then Zhou Zekai said very seriously: "No, like a shot piercing the clouds."
"Huh?" Zhao Zhinian didn't understand.
Jiang Botao instantly understood Zhou Zekai's meaning and explained with a smile, "The captain means that 'One Shot Through the Clouds' is the strongest marksman account card in the league, far surpassing other marksmen in various character stats and silver weapon levels. However, this is also backed by the technical department and the entire club. Making full use of available resources to strive for victory within the rules is itself part of strength. Besides, this is just the preliminary round. We are just your friends and family, offering suggestions and trying our best to help you choose a suitable topic and direction. The subsequent writing of the commentary script, recording, and the final interview still depend on yourself."
Zhou Zekai agreed, saying, "Yes."
These words were reasonable and persuasive, and Zhao Zhinian was successfully convinced. Well, connections and resources are also a reflection of ability, and the ability to integrate resources is equally important, especially since this didn't violate any rules. She stopped hesitating and said gratefully, "Then... thank you both!"
The three didn't hang up and immediately began their discussion. Jiang Botao, with a clear mind, quickly analyzed, "You can choose a recent Samsara match that has high viewership, clear tactical points, and is relatively classic. For example, the team match in the Season 8 finals. It has enough hype, the tactical execution is clear, and we can provide you with the most accurate internal perspective to facilitate your understanding and explanation."
Zhao Zhinian still had some concerns, after all, it was the most recent final, and the hype was bound to be high: "Won't a lot of people choose this one? It's easy to have a clash, which makes it harder to stand out?"
Zhou Zekai's voice came through, carrying a reassuring certainty: "We're here."
Jiang Botao laughed and said, "That's right. Even if there are many candidates, we are the most familiar with that match. Our depth of understanding of that match is your unique advantage."
The topic was quickly decided. With remote guidance from two professional players, Zhao Zhinian quickly clarified her thoughts, focusing on analyzing the tactical execution points and several key operations of the Samsara team. Jiang Botao also enthusiastically helped her summarize the backgrounds and characteristics of the Samsara team members.
The next day, she sent the completed first draft to a small group chat that had been created on the spot, asking the two people to review it.
Both offered suggestions for minor revisions, which Zhao Zhinian thanked, absorbed, and made corresponding improvements based on her own understanding. After the revisions, Zhao Zhinian was very satisfied with her draft. Looking at the section speculating on Blue Rain's tactics, she jokingly posted in the group chat: "Haha, if I knew a little more of Blue Rain's 'insider information' back then, this draft would be absolutely unbeatable!"
She had only meant to make a casual joke after finally finishing the manuscript and relaxing, but Zhou Zekai actually replied seriously, "Okay."
Zhao Zhinian: "???"
A few minutes later, Zhou Zekai shared two screenshots of the chat in the group.
One of the messages was sent to Yu Wenzhou. It contained a speculative description of Blue Rain's tactical intentions from Zhao Zhinian's commentary, followed by the question: "Is this your tactical intention?"
Yu Wenzhou's reply was as gentle and sharp as ever: "It basically matches our tactical intentions. However, the judgment here should be based on the misinterpretation of our tactics from the perspective of the cycle. In fact, what we are considering is..." Yu Wenzhou marked one of the fire switching analyses and gave an interpretation from Blue Rain's perspective.
The other one was sent to Huang Shaotian. The content was simpler, directly a passage from Zhao Zhinian's draft describing how Soksar was taken down by Samsara's focused fire in the finals, followed by Zhou Zekai's probing question: "What were you thinking at the time?"
Huang Shaotian's reply was a long string of voice-to-text messages. After all, his first reaction was that Zhou Zekai, this taciturn guy, was mocking him right in the face: "Damn it, Zhou Zekai, are you ever going to stop? The off-season is almost over and you're still using the finals to mock me?! Are you a sore loser?! You've never won before! We, Blue Rain, were champions in Season 6, okay! If you're so capable, come to the arena to PK! PK PK PK, dare you! What was I thinking at the time? I was thinking... (omitting 300 words of rant and the Sword Saint's inner thoughts, as well as a recap of the situation at the time) Wait! Why are you suddenly asking this? Are you going to write a recap report? Wait, how long has it been? Are you Samsara still doing recaps?"
Zhao Zhinian stared at the two screenshots, dumbfounded. She could hardly believe that Zhou Zekai had actually gone directly to ask Lan Yu, and had actually gotten the top-secret "insider information"!
She quickly typed: "I was just joking! Why did you actually ask?! That's too..."
Zhou Zekai replied quickly, his tone seemingly quite matter-of-fact: "It's nothing."
Jiang Botao also chimed in, posting a laughing-crying emoji: "As expected of Xiao Zhou's efficiency, haha, this article is truly unbeatable now!"
Looking at her phone, Zhao Zhinian was both touched and amused. The slight embarrassment in her heart was eventually overwhelmed by immense surprise and warmth. She took a deep breath and replied, "Absolutely invincible! Thank you so much! And... thank you to Captain Yu and Young Master Huang in Guangzhou!" After all, as the loser, being confronted by the champion captain of the finals with such a direct and challenging question, and then receiving explanations, truly showed their magnanimity and helpfulness.
Meanwhile, Huang Shaotian continued to bombard Zhou Zekai with questions. Zhou Zekai, unable to cope with the harassment, could only offer the explanation: "Commentary for the Challenge Match."
Huang Shaotian was even more furious after hearing this, sending several voice messages in quick succession: "Challenge Tournament commentary? You're going to commentate? Have you guys gone mad after winning the championship? Making someone like you, who barely says a word, commentate? Even I, the Sword Saint, who's so talkative, didn't go! What did the League think of? Do they have masochistic tendencies? What's the difference between making you commentate and being on silent mode? Silent mode saves money! Speaking of which, why don't you let me commentate? With my innate talent for language, I could definitely deliver a brilliant and witty commentary, instantly understanding the players' intentions and providing a vivid and engaging explanation for the audience..."
Huang Shaotian turned to Yu Wenzhou and launched into a tirade about the absurd news that "Zhou Zekai is actually going to do commentary." Yu Wenzhou, combining several pieces of information, thought for a moment and analyzed the situation, explaining to Huang Shaotian, "Given Zhou's personality and the fact that the new season is about to start, he definitely won't be commentating on the Challenger Series. He's probably asking on behalf of a very important friend. It's not easy for someone as taciturn as him to ask for foreign help." Yu Wenzhou then enthusiastically provided a brief summary of Blue Rain's tactical intentions in the finals, finding the whole thing quite amusing. He never imagined he'd be guiding Challenger Series commentary. And he certainly didn't expect that soon he'd be helping a Challenger Series team in Hangzhou analyze their opponents.
With this exclusive interpretation, blending the "insider's perspective" of Reincarnation with "first-hand insider intelligence" from Blue Rain, Zhao Zhinian's commentary video undoubtedly stood out in the preliminary selection, successfully advancing to the formal interview. She knew that this initial victory was inseparable from the "extraordinary" support of those top experts. However, for the subsequent interview in Beijing, her "cheat code" had expired, and she could only rely on her own efforts. Zhou Zekai's words, "We're here," representing profound support, and his silent yet efficient action, made the stirring in her heart even clearer.
A note from the author:
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