Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Treachery!
It was pure treachery!
Liu Zilang cursed silently after he hung up the call!
Fortunately, the organizers had specified that the partner could not be a competitive esports player in “the tournament”. As such, he could pull his trump card in the duo tournament.
Of course!
That person was none other than the former Japanese professional esports competitor who was currently on vacation, the super peppy pretty girl and esports mascot…
Misaka Mikoto!
After returning to his hotel, Liu Zilang looked for Misaka Mikoto to discuss the matter.
Duang!
Misaka Mikoto felt like a sack of happiness had fallen from the heavens and had struck her right on the head. She was a little dizzy…
“Shifu! I… I can join an international tournament too?” Her hands were clenched in fists, and her eyes were gleaming with enthusiasm.
“Ahem! It’s technically not an international tournament but an exhibition match…” Liu Zilang said.
“Mmhm! Shifu, don’t worry! I’ll do my best!” Misaka Mikoto clenched her fists.
“It’s fine, no pressure, just play however you like…” Liu Zilang said.
“Mmhm! Shifu, don’t worry! I’ll do my best!” Misaka Mikoto’s fists were still clenched.
“…”
The corners of his mouth twitched as he looked at Misaka Mikoto. She was standing in front of him, full of fighting spirit.
He wondered if the silly disciple of his understood what he was saying… or was it true that people were mere playback machines?
…
The night went by very fast.
At noon the next day, the three teams rode on the bus once again and arrived at Colt Arena in downtown California.
There was no prize money to be awarded to the winners in the charity tournament. However, a $1,000,000 prize would be donated to any charity in the world of the top three teams’ choice, and in their names.
The queue of people that had snaked around the arena eventually entered the hall and quickly filled up the seats.
After a short while, streamers and players from regions and countries all across the world took to the stage!
The live audience burst into cheers and screams. They were the top streamers of the Western world!
For example, there was Ninja, Guru G, Chocotaco, DrDisrespect, and others… and also Evermore, Sexypig, Kim Doo Hwan and others who had been eliminated in the Asian preliminaries. Even a few local actors who were known fans of PUBG has been invited.
With such a star-studded cast on stage, the scene in the arena felt like the biggest and wildest PUBG offline gathering.
Amidst the crowd on stage was Misaka Mikoto. She was in a black hoodie, clutching a backpack that held her computer accessories. She carefully stood in between other people and did not catch anyone’s attention.
She stuck her head out to the left and right. After hearing the cheers come from all around her, she felt giddy with joy!
It has to be said that Misaka Mikoto had been part of a professional team for a while. However, unfortunately, she never made it out of the Asian region…
Well… not even out of Japan…
It was her first time taking part in an international tournament of such a scale.
Her heart was filled with excitement and pride, and she silently cheered for herself.
‘Yes! I won’t let Shifu down this time!’
…
Once the guest players had their turn in the spotlight and had taken to their seats in the competitors’ area, the professional players who were part of the tournament took to the stage.
Of course, the champion of the day before, Liu Zilang, was the highlight.
When the three Hua Xia teams went up the stage in a single file, the arena shook under the audience’s cheers!
In the competitors’ area, the guest players were setting up their computers. They heard the sudden swell of noise and lifted their heads in curiosity.
They saw Liu Zilang and the others on the stage and immediately understood what was going on.
It had only been one night, but even the social media of the West was awash with the news, “Se7en Eliminates SKK, 4AM Crowned Champions”.
Those guest players were perfectly aware of the character called Liu Zilang.
Especially Kim Doo Hwan who was among the crowd. He looked at Liu Zilang with an incomprehensible expression on his face.
Perhaps he had finally understood what Liu Zilang meant by “the gap between two fingers”…
His thoughts returned to the exhibition match.
Kim Doo Hwan gritted his teeth, in his eyes were unyielding determination!
…
On Hua Xia’s commentary platform.
“Good day, everyone!” I’m Su Changming!”
“I’m 117!”
“Hello everyone, I’m your messiah, Ruo Feng!”
After a round of introduction, Su Changming spoke to the camera, “Alright, now that the participants have taken their seats, the Charity Duo tournament of the day is about to begin.”
“That’s right. What an amazing cast of competitors for today’s tournament! There are a lot of familiar and unfamiliar faces present on stage.” Lord Rong turned to look at the screen. “Let’s introduce the pairs for our three Hua Xia teams in today’s Charity Duo tournament.”
“Alright. The two teams for 4AM are Vic and Menhera-chan, along with GodV and Long Shenjue.”
“As for Se7en, we have Guru Qiu and Sloth, along with SSR and their team leader Ah Zhuang.”
“And finally we have IG. Master Ze is paired with Ke Xue, a die-hard fan who’s studying in California. On the other, CuoJue is paired with Lou who has just arrived from Hua Xia. Haha, looks like IG will be bringing their chicks out for dinner tonight.”
“Wait a minute! How’s Master Ze paired up with a female fan? There must be a mistake!”
“Hm… according to insider information, Master Ze was set up by IG.”
“That’s right. IG ran a raffle on their official Weibo account where one lucky winner would be chosen as Master Ze’s partner in the Charity Duo tournament in California. Before today, Master Ze was always told by his club that the winner was a male…”
“Hiss! That’s very cunning of IG! I feel sorry for Master Ze…”
“Hm, so that’s all for the introductions of our teams. As for the teams from other countries, we’ll introduce them one by one as we encounter them in the match.”
“By the way, out of the six teams of the three Hua Xia clubs, which team do you think is the strongest overall?”
“I don’t think much analysis is needed. Sloth might not be familiar to some of the viewers, but he was once known as the “Breaker of Armies” because he was Se7en’s strongest rifler. If we’re talking about overall strength, I think Guru Qiu and Sloth are obviously stronger compared to the other teams.”
“However, we can only say who’s the strongest after the match. I just hope that our Hua Xia teams won’t feel any pressure and will play to the best of their abilities in this tournament!”
“That’s right! Alright, we’ve just received information that the competitors are fully prepared. The match is about to begin!”
Just as the commentators finished speaking, the lights on the stage dimmed. Then, the big screens in the center of the stage gradually lit up.
The rumbling of an airplane engine was heard coming from a distance…
It was the start of a new match!
…