Chapter 2 The Second Match

The second round was away for Happy, and they had already flown to City G, where Blue Rain was located, a day early. They rested overnight to recover from the fatigue of the trip. The next morning, they warmed up and loosened their hands in the temporary training room arranged for the visiting team. In the afternoon, there were no unified arrangements; everyone found their own way to relax and adjust their state. They gathered together to familiarize themselves with the arena, and then prepared to welcome the evening's match.

After lunch, everyone went back to their rooms for a short nap. Wei Chen, with a cigarette in his mouth, stood by the window of his hotel room, staring blankly outside.

"It's not your second time here, and it's not your second time staying here. What are you brooding about?" Ye Xiu said from the side. As with the way they shared rooms at Shanglin Garden, he and Wei Chen were in the same room.

"Last time I came, I don't think I went to see the team," Wei Chen said.

"Want to go see them?" Ye Xiu asked. He knew that when Wei Chen said "team" at this moment, he was referring to the Blue Rain team.

"I didn't really want to, but after playing the last round, I suddenly wanted to a little," Wei Chen said.

"I understand," Ye Xiu nodded.

"You understand?" Wei Chen turned back in surprise.

"You played very well in the last round, so you want to go show off in front of those guys," Ye Xiu said with a look of "I know you."

"Get lost!" Wei Chen said unhappily.

"If you want to go, just go. What's there to hesitate about? It's not a big deal," Ye Xiu said, ignoring him and burying his head, preparing to take an afternoon nap and rest well. Wei Chen stood by the window, hesitated for a long time, and finally, as if making a firm decision, took a hard puff of the last bit of his cigarette, put it out, and went out.

Ye Xiu simply slept all afternoon, and when he woke up, Chen Guo was calling everyone to go to the arena to familiarize themselves with the venue. Wei Chen had already returned at this time, acting as if nothing had happened. Did he go? Ye Xiu didn't ask, and he didn't say anything either. After Happy's members gathered, they left the hotel together and went to Blue Rain's arena, the Xiaochuan Stadium.

The last time they came, it was still a bit unfamiliar, but this was their second trip. Led by the staff, the Happy team entered the arena. All the facilities needed for the match were ready. All Happy did was walk around, take a look, and imagine the atmosphere. They always did this during the regular season, so everyone was familiar with it. As for whether it was useful or not, no one could say for sure, but since everyone did it, it certainly wouldn't hurt.

"You're here!" Just as the Happy team was wandering around the court, they suddenly heard someone greet them. They turned back together and saw Blue Rain's captain, Yu Wenzhou. Alone, he stood quietly to the side, watching the entire Happy team. The greeting didn't sound like it came from an opponent, but more like a host greeting guests at the door.

"Yes, we're here," Ye Xiu responded from Happy's side.

"Prepare well," Yu Wenzhou nodded and said, then left without disturbing Happy any further, minding his own business.

"What's he doing?" Chen Guo asked Ye Xiu. The home team's players usually wouldn't go out of their way to familiarize themselves with the venue. Of course, some players had some special habits, but Yu Wenzhou didn't seem to have any peculiar habits that had been exposed.

"Who knows? Just wandering around!" Ye Xiu watched Yu Wenzhou leave.

The next time they saw the current Blue Rain captain was before the match that evening. The two teams were lined up in the player tunnel, waiting to enter.

"Do your best."

"Good luck."

The two team captains, standing at the front of their respective teams, encouraged each other, and the atmosphere seemed quite harmonious. Then, both sides entered, uniformly and without anything special. It was just that Blue Rain had lost a round earlier, and today's match was one they had to win no matter what. From the moment the players entered, the Blue Rain home fans completely erupted.

To cheer for the team today, Blue Rain also had special arrangements. Guild Leader Chun Yi Lao specially organized manpower and assigned everyone to every area of the stadium by region. These trusted loyalists would act as locomotives, driving the atmosphere of the entire stadium.

Chun Yi Lao himself was sitting in the east stands, directly opposite the west stands.

The west stands were the visiting team's fan section designated by Blue Rain, and the east stands were for Blue Rain's hardcore fans. Here, they could engage in a face-to-face, tit-for-tat contest with the visiting team's fans.

The opening eruption of the Blue Rain fan group was met by a defiant show from the Happy team in the west stands. Although it was impossible to gain the upper hand due to the numerical disadvantage, they were determined to let the other side know they were there. Happy's postseason follow-team fan group was personally organized by Wu Chen of the guild. At this time, he was also in the west stands, surrounded by the core members of the Happy guild: Qian Cheng, Ma Hou Pao, Tian Qi, and Yue Zhong Mian. Everyone was well-prepared and well-equipped. Eye-catching, noise-making gadgets were readily available, and they quickly launched a counterattack against the home fans' commotion.

"Wow, the two teams' fans are already going head-to-head before the players even enter! It seems that today's match will be exceptionally exciting and fierce!" said Pan Lin, the TV commentator, feeling the atmosphere on the scene.

"Blue Rain has no way out now, and they will definitely do their best in this match," Li Yibo said.

"But Happy only won by a narrow margin in the last game. Blue Rain doesn't need to feel too much pressure, right?" Pan Lin said.

"If we're just talking about not having pressure, then that should be the goal at any time. But if we're saying that because Happy only won by a narrow margin, they should relax their vigilance and not be nervous enough, then that kind of mentality would be terrible. I believe Blue Rain shouldn't do that. Whether it's a narrow victory or a big victory, Blue Rain's situation is exactly the same," Li Yibo said.

"You're right. Now, both teams' players have returned to their respective competition seats, and the match is about to begin soon. In the individual competition, Happy will probably send Ye Xiu out first again, right? So, in the home court, who is Blue Rain going to send to deal with Ye Xiu? The gain or loss of this first point is crucial to morale!" Pan Lin said.

"But we must also be careful. Perhaps Happy won't send Ye Xiu out first this round. If that's the case, Blue Rain's targeted deployment may fall through, and they may end up ruining their own rhythm," Li Yibo said.

"So what should Blue Rain do?" Pan Lin said.

"There's no way to completely overcome this. It depends on how they choose. This… is the pressure brought by top players!" Li Yibo said.

"Okay, let's wait and see if Happy will continue to have Ye Xiu go first, and what kind of response Blue Rain will make. There are still five minutes before the match officially starts," Pan Lin said.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. The referee came to greet them, and the two teams began to send out their players.

"Ye Xiu, it's Ye Xiu indeed!" Pan Lin shouted. On Happy's side, Ye Xiu had already stood up.

"Blue Rain? Who will Blue Rain send to respond?" Pan Lin looked at Blue Rain's side, but there was no answer for a long time, until the name was displayed on the electronic screen.

Happy, Ye Xiu, Lord Grim.

Blue Rain, Yu Wenzhou, Swoksaar.

The broadcast seemed to be interrupted suddenly, entering a five-second silent state.

Pan Lin opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time. The entire scene was silent when the name was displayed on the electronic screen.

"Yu... Yu Wenzhou?" Pan Lin tried hard to confirm the words on the electronic screen again. Then, looking at Blue Rain's player area, Yu Wenzhou was already walking towards the arena.

Yes, it was Yu Wenzhou.

In fact, when Ye Xiu stood up, Yu Wenzhou on Blue Rain's side had already stood up. When Pan Lin looked at this side through the camera, he had already seen it, but... he never thought that the Yu Wenzhou who stood up was the player Blue Rain was going to send out. He subconsciously thought that this was getting up to give way, or that the captain was going to give some instructions to the player who was about to play, but he never thought that Yu Wenzhou himself was going to play.

Yu Wenzhou... was going to fight one-on-one?

After losing his voice for five seconds, then stuttering Yu Wenzhou's name, and then losing his voice for another five seconds, Pan Lin finally came back to his senses and shouted in disbelief.

"Yu Wenzhou, it's actually Yu Wenzhou. Yu Wenzhou is the first player to play in the individual competition for the Blue Rain team, facing Happy's Ye Xiu? Director Li!" Pan Lin heavily summoned Li Yibo at the end, meaning, "This is such a big deal, hurry up and say something!"

"This is indeed a very surprising arrangement," Li Yibo tried his best to appear calm. He wouldn't be as passionate as Pan Lin all the time. He wanted to show his higher level of insight!

"Yu Wenzhou, in my memory... I can't remember the last time I saw him play a one-on-one match," Li Yibo said.

"His sudden appearance today should be aimed at Happy's arrangement of sending Ye Xiu out first, right?" Pan Lin said.

"I think so..."

"Did Yu Wenzhou find any tricks to deal with the unspecialized Lord Grim?" Pan Lin said.

"This... there shouldn't be any tricks, right?" Li Yibo said.

"Then what is his intention?" Pan Lin said.

Li Yibo couldn't answer, really couldn't answer. Yu Wenzhou, who hadn't played a one-on-one match on an official stage for who knows how long, was actually going to challenge Ye Xiu today, challenging the one-on-one king of this season, the unspecialized Lord Grim that made countless players' heads hurt...

Everyone hadn't yet recovered from this fact. Both sides' characters had finished loading, and the match had officially begun.

"The match begins, the match begins now. Happy's Ye Xiu against Blue Rain's Yu Wenzhou. This is a duel that appears in the individual competition. I don't think I need to describe how unusual this duel is, right?" Pan Lin shouted.

"Hey!"

At this time, the two people who entered the match also began to talk in the channel. The first to send a message was Ye Xiu.

"You guys are too bold, aren't you!" Ye Xiu said.

"Just trying it out," Yu Wenzhou said.

"If you win, where will you put the faces of so many people in the pro scene? Will you take the title of one-on-one king this season in the end?" Ye Xiu said.

"Don't dismiss that possibility," Yu Wenzhou said.

"What's your APM now? Can it reach 200?" Ye Xiu said.

"So-so," Yu Wenzhou replied.

===========================

It was quite cool in the morning, but when noon came, oh my god!