“Your opponent is in good shape, be careful,” Ye Xiu said to Fang Rui, who was preparing to go on stage.

“Better than me?” Fang Rui feigned disdain.

“Heh,” Ye Xiu said.

“What does ‘heh’ mean!” Fang Rui sensed disdain from Ye Xiu's smile.

“You’re our highest-paid player here, please,” Ye Xiu said.

“Bah!” Fang Rui dismissed Ye Xiu's tactic and turned to walk onto the stage.

But in his heart, he wasn’t as carefree as he acted. Ye Xiu was right; he was the highest-paid player in Happy, and by a wide margin. But what had he done in the matches since the playoffs started?

Of course, he had played a role, but a little role didn't warrant the highest salary.

The highest salaries usually went to the core players of each team. Fang Rui knew he wasn’t that for Happy, but even so, he should have moments that determined the outcome of the matches, that would be worthy of the highest salary.

But what was the result?

He only played a minor role in the playoffs. Even Wei Chen, a grandfather-level player in the Glory professional scene, had more eye-catching moments than him. Luo Ji, a college student who hadn’t played much in the regular season, had made game-deciding plays.

And him?

Being worse than Ye Xiu was understandable, but even these old and young guys were better than him. What was going on?

Fang Rui questioned himself, especially after his performance in the decisive match against Tyranny, where he was practically a bystander, making him even more unwilling to accept it. He desperately wanted to make an impact, but in the first round against Samsara, in the individual competition, he was the third to go out and lost to Sun Xiang, who was also the third to go out for Samsara. In the team competition, he continued to be a non-entity, with no impressive moments throughout the match, and was the second Happy player to be eliminated.

What exactly was he doing?

After such performances, at such an important time in the playoffs, Fang Rui felt he should lose his spot. But Happy still sent him out as always, and this trust made him feel even heavier.

He had to change, he should do something!

Fang Rui made up his mind and ran into Su Mucheng, who had just lost and come off stage.

“Be careful, your opponent is in good shape,” Su Mucheng said to him.

“Damn, are you two in cahoots?” Fang Rui exclaimed.

“What?” Su Mucheng paused slightly but quickly realized that someone had said something similar to Fang Rui off stage, and she had already guessed who it was.

“Do we even need to conspire?” Su Mucheng smiled.

Fang Rui was speechless.

Yes, his condition was so bad that he could feel it clearly. Could Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng not see it? The similar words they spoke were reminders and also concerns. Seeing Fang Rui's condition, they both felt the same emotions.

“Relax,” Fang Rui suddenly smiled at Su Mucheng. “I, Fang Rui, am not just a pretty face!”

“Heh,” Su Mucheng smiled.

“What ‘heh’ huh? You’re becoming more and more like him, you know that?” Fang Rui shouted.

“Good luck,” Su Mucheng simply said, not arguing with Fang Rui.

“Boil a cup of water for me, I’ll drink it when I win,” Fang Rui waved his arm, turned, and continued to walk towards the stage.

He entered the player booth, took a deep breath, swiped his account card, and the character loaded.

In the seventh match of the individual competition, Fang Rui from Happy, the fourth to go, faced Du Ming from Samsara, who was also fourth to go.

“Don’t block my path!!” As soon as the match started, Fang Rui shouted powerfully in the chat.

“You’re the one blocking my path!” Du Ming retorted, not wanting to be outdone. Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) rushed out decisively.

“Come on!” Fang Rui shouted. Hailan Liang (Boundless Ocean) casually walked around a couple of times, then crouched behind a stalactite nearby.

The whole audience burst into an uproar.

As expected of Fang Rui, to be able to act so boldly with his mouth and so shamelessly with his actions in front of so many people, that’s something that ordinary people can’t do.

Du Ming's Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) rushed straight in this time, not using the stalactites for concealment like in the previous round, but heading directly to the center of the map. As for Fang Rui's Hailan Liang (Boundless Ocean), he crouched under a stalactite, looking bored, only occasionally typing in the chat, “Is he here yet?”

“Why is he so slow?”

Such a passionate and exciting match became as limp as a frosted eggplant when it encountered Fang Rui's weary demeanor. The Samsara fans in the audience felt like they couldn't even cheer. The tense atmosphere of a professional match was completely ruined by Fang Rui, it felt like watching a PK in an online game arena, so nonsensical.

“I’m here, are you coming?” Du Ming finally replied in the chat after Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) reached the center of the map. It seemed that he was quite aware of Fang Rui’s nature. His tone and actions didn't expect Hailan Liang (Boundless Ocean) to arrive. Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) casually circled the center of the map and continued towards the direction where the Happy character spawned.

“I can’t move, I’m waiting for you at the spawn point!” Fang Rui replied casually.

“You better not move anymore, let’s end this quickly,” Du Ming said as Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) continued to advance. But this time, he didn't let Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) charge straight in, but instead, like when he fought Su Mucheng, he chose to use the stalactites for cover and concealment.

“If you’re in such a hurry, why don’t you just GG?” Fang Rui said.

The audience erupted again. This guy was talking nonsense again. Couldn’t he be more serious and proper in the match? Many viewers didn't like Fang Rui's unserious attitude towards the match. The Samsara crowd booed for the first time, all directed at Fang Rui.

Fang Rui was completely unaware and continued to spout nonsense in the chat. Du Ming's Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) was getting closer and closer to him. But because Fang Rui hadn’t taken any action from the beginning to the end, Du Ming had no way to judge where Hailan Liang (Boundless Ocean) was hiding behind these stalactites.

Du Ming didn't act rashly. As a home team player, he was more familiar with the map. Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) quietly approached a stalactite. He didn't rule out the possibility that Hailan Liang (Boundless Ocean) was hiding right behind it and lunged out with an attacking stance.

No one was there.

The lightsaber Bing Zha (Ice Shard) stabbed empty air. Du Ming wasn't too careless. He walked to the stalactite, and Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) suddenly jumped.

One jump, two jumps, three jumps, four jumps.

With four leaps, Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) finally jumped to the top of the stalactite.

But this stalactite wasn't high enough to give a panoramic view, and the areas that couldn't be seen before were still hidden.

However, Du Ming didn't even let the landed Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) turn his view, but only focused on another stalactite closer to him.

Jump!

Wugou Shuangyue (Hooked Moon Freezes Frost) flew towards the stalactite.

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I really couldn’t hold on any longer, so I updated this small chapter first! Taking a break…