Chapter 1 The Thorn

Yang Cong, known as the number one assassin in Glory, was, however, not very popular. When it came to assassins, many people preferred the thrill of instant kills with a decisive strike. But Yang Cong almost never used this skill, leading people to suspect that his Scenery Killer simply didn't have the skill points allocated to it, and was just a hollow shell to scare people.

However, in the All-Star Game that had just ended, Yang Cong's Scenery Killer finally revealed his fangs with a one-hit kill, taking away his opponent. Although it was just a show, Yang Cong at least let everyone know that he didn't completely not know how to use the most exciting skill of an assassin: the decisive strike, She Shen Yi Ji.

The All-Star Weekend was over, and every player returned to their normal competitive state. But in the match against Happy, Yang Cong surprisingly bared his fangs again. She Shen Yi Ji, cleanly taking away An Wenyi's Little Cold Hands.

His move came so suddenly that it was truly unexpected, and not having a healer in a team competition was fatal. Lord Grim's cameo could only save the day at crucial moments, but relying on him to support a five-on-five team battle was absolutely impossible.

Happy could only launch a quick attack, hoping to gain a numerical advantage with a strong offensive. However, 301 was clearly prepared for this kind of situation. After Yang Cong scored a hit, they immediately slowed down the tempo, slowly consuming Happy with a steady rhythm, closely surrounding their own healer. In the end, they devoured Happy in this way.

The battle of attrition lasted for nearly twenty minutes, but all the highlights of this match seemed to be focused on Yang Cong's Scenery Killer's She Shen Yi Ji. This was the brilliance that only an assassin could possess.

At the post-match press conference, Yang Cong was naturally besieged by reporters. Everyone was curious as to why, after more than seven years of persistence, he suddenly changed his style in this battle. Was it because of the performance at the All-Star Game that he received some inspiration?

"Perhaps!" Facing the reporters' questions, Yang Cong smiled and said, "Actually, for me, She Shen Yi Ji, it's not that I don't know how to use it, but that I can't use it!"

"What does that mean?" The reporters were puzzled.

"Because I am the captain of 301," Yang Cong replied simply.

The reporters suddenly understood. The captain was the soul and banner of a team, shouldering the responsibility of leading the entire team at all times. Whether it was to encourage the members with words or to motivate everyone with actions, the captain needed to be present above all else.

And She Shen Yi Ji? This was a lose-lose tactic. After She Shen Yi Ji, an assassin with only a sliver of health left, probably no team would be foolish enough to let such a target go. And Yang Cong, as the captain of 301, needed to stay on the field as much as possible, and couldn't simply explode a target and leave.

She Shen Yi Ji, it's not that he doesn't know how to use it, but that he can't use it.

Because he was the captain, he had more responsibilities and obligations than others. This assassin was destined not to be a lone killer, because he represented not himself first, but an entire team.

Having understood this, the reporters suddenly realized that they might have been overlooking something all along.

Since the fourth season, everyone had been praising Wang Jiexi for silently modifying his playstyle for the sake of the Tiny Herb team, gradually abandoning his more gorgeous, more eye-catching, and more popularity-boosting Magician style. But from that time on, there was a player of the same period as Wang Jiexi, also an All-Star player, also the leader of a team, who, from the very beginning, had also silently given up some things because of his responsibilities.

She Shen Yi Ji, the most dazzling skill belonging to the assassin.

Perhaps compared to Wang Jiexi, Yang Cong had not achieved as much, but the two had the same determination to sacrifice themselves for the team. This sentiment should not be judged by the amount of sacrifice.

Having realized this, the reporters at the scene were greatly moved. But in addition to being moved, they were also a bit curious.

"Then why, in this match, did you suddenly use She Shen Yi Ji?" a reporter asked.

"It was probably the inspiration from the All-Star Game! After the All-Star Game, I realized that now, perhaps I can help the team more in this way. Some burdens should be handed over to others to carry," Yang Cong said with a smile.

The reporters were stunned again.

This... was already preparing to give way to someone more capable!

The players of the third season had indeed reached the late stage of their careers. The number of those still active in the circle was decreasing year by year. But who else like Yang Cong, who had not yet shown any obvious signs of decline, had already begun to voluntarily give way?

What did the All-Star Game show him?

Was it from his position at the very bottom of the rankings that he saw his approaching retirement; or was it from the young players that he saw a more promising future?

No reporter asked any further detailed questions. Because they knew that even if this was out of Yang Cong's own initiative, even if he was responding to everyone with such a smile, it was impossible for his heart not to be sad. This helplessness brought about by the passage of time was cruel, and who would be willing to tear open this scar to find out the truth?

Yang Cong's statement had already revealed a lot.

Team 301 was going to change their tactical core. Yang Cong's assassin retreated to the side, and because of this, from now on he could compete in a more free way. Perhaps from this round on, the fangs of Scenery Killer's one-hit kill would set off a storm in the league?

No one would ignore that this was the number one assassin in Glory! In the twilight years of his career, he voluntarily gave up his core position, and from then on, he would embark on the true path of an assassin.

So, after Yang Cong steps down, who will be the new core that 301 will establish?

The reporters were also curious about this question, but 301 did not give an answer at this press conference. Judging from the current team composition of 301, Li Yihui, who came from Tiny Herb in the past exchange transfer, although he had faded away from the All-Star halo after leaving Tiny Herb, was still a very strong player after all. In addition, swordsman player Gao Jie's strength had been steadily increasing in recent years. These two seemed to have the potential to become the new core of Team 301.

But two days later, on Monday of the new week, someone discovered at the league's contract registration office that Team 301 had just completed a signing. It was not a transfer signing, but a free signing.

Bai Shu, a name that no one knew at all, entered Team 301 silently and quietly. Then, from the public information of the league, it could be seen that the person named Bai Shu had taken over the role left by Xu Bin, the former 301 player, the knight Tidal.

Who is Bai Shu?

Countless people were eager to know the answer, but the professional league entered a week-long break at this time. The Spring Festival this year came a bit early. January 22nd would be New Year's Eve, and now it was only two days away. The major teams had already entered the holiday season from the beginning of this week, that is, the professional league was still updating the personnel changes of each team in the transfer window. The players of the major teams had all gone home to celebrate the New Year.

Happy was also much quieter all of a sudden. Even Wei Chen and Fang Rui, those scoundrels without a bottom line, were solemnly and dutifully preparing New Year's goods and reporting home on this day. In the blink of an eye, only three people were left in Happy's training room.

"It's the three of us again!" Chen Guo looked at Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng, and sighed with emotion. She didn't feel lonely at all because there were fewer people. Having the two of them by her side was the liveliest she had been since her father passed away.

"Yeah, it's us again," Ye Xiu said.

"Is your brother coming again this year?" Chen Guo asked.

"Probably not!" Ye Xiu said.

"Aren't you going home to take a look either?" Chen Guo asked.

"We'll see, we'll see." On this question, Ye Xiu was rarely without his usual calm and easy-going manner.

"Then, we should also prepare some New Year's goods!" Chen Guo then stopped asking any further questions.

"Going shopping again?" Ye Xiu asked.

"Are you scared?" The two women glanced at him sideways.

"My legs are trembling," Ye Xiu said with a wry smile.

"That's really hard work," the two said, with no intention of letting him off the hook.

The three of them were then ready to go out. But after coming out of the training room, Ye Xiu saw that the door of the technical department was ajar, and there seemed to be sounds coming from inside.

Ye Xiu looked at Su Mucheng and Chen Guo with suspicion, and the two immediately noticed the strangeness here. The three of them went forward, and Ye Xiu pushed open the door to see Guan Rongfei sitting in front of the computer, operating something with a focused expression, his lips constantly moving, as if he was muttering something to himself.

"What's going on?" Chen Guo barged in, ruthlessly putting her watch in front of Guan Rongfei's eyes. "Isn't your train at nine o'clock! What time is it now?"

Guan Rongfei frowned in disgust the moment Chen Guo's wrist blocked his view, and averted his gaze. Hearing Chen Guo's scolding, he glanced at it casually: "Is it 9:40? I missed it."

"What are you doing!" Chen Guo shouted. Anyone who didn't know would really not be able to tell who had missed the train.

"Making equipment," Guan Rongfei's answer was particularly simple, so simple that Chen Guo was completely speechless. Of course, she knew that Guan Rongfei had probably suddenly started working on something, and then became focused and forgetful. But what gave her a headache was that this guy was always so forgetful, forgetting everything except work, and delaying everything else like crazy.

"You're not going home?" Chen Guo asked.

"Don't rush." Guan Rongfei held up a finger and pointed it.

Chen Guo immediately thought that this guy had found something crucial, and quickly waited aside without daring to breathe loudly.

Then, Guan Rongfei continued to work forgetfully, and the people next to him seemed to have been forgotten by him.

"What exactly are you doing?" Ye Xiu walked over.

"Look, this..." As soon as Ye Xiu came up, Guan Rongfei immediately became a bit excited, and gushed to Ye Xiu.

"Oh, is that so, let me see." Ye Xiu said, and then another computer was turned on.

Chen Guo was dumbfounded. What about preparing New Year's goods?