Chapter 1 People's Expectations

People had expectations for Song Xiao because he was always calm in the face of danger, and because he always had outstanding performances at critical moments.

But what about this time? After being penetrated by Ye Xiu's Lord Grim, Song Xiao was never able to establish a successful defensive rhythm. If the previous defense deliberately gave up space to capture counterattack opportunities, then now, it was purely for resisting the opponent's attack, for defending in order to survive.

But even in this situation, a player who defends well can break through the opponent's offensive and find an opportunity to reverse the situation.

Song Xiao had a good mental fortitude and a high level of defense, so even if he was as embarrassed by the Sanren (unspecialized class) quick attacks as many players in the regular season, everyone always felt that he would definitely not lose like this.

But now it seems that everyone really shouldn't have had such expectations. Song Xiao at this time was no different from other players who were passively beaten. Tao Luosha Ming was struggling left and right, very embarrassed, as for what Song Xiao's mood was at this time, no one could know.

"There's still ten percent of his health left." Pan Lin hadn't given up yet, still hoping for a turnaround at the last moment. But after looking at Lord Grim's health, he felt a little desperate.

Seventy-three percent.

Lord Grim had so much health. Song Xiao, this playoff player, had an unlucky start this time, running into a brick wall right out the gate.

Won't it end like this? Some people were still muttering in their hearts! Especially the Blue Rain team's fans, they had special confidence in Song Xiao, because Song Xiao had never disappointed them at critical moments.

But... everything has a first time, and Song Xiao finally ushered in his first time in the playoffs where he didn't become critical.

Lost.

Seventy percent. This was the final position of Lord Grim's health bar, and Song Xiao's Tao Luosha Ming fell silently.

The audience applauded, of course, for Ye Xiu. The unrestrained slogan of one-versus-five was still being shouted by unrestrained guys.

Song Xiao walked out of the competition seat. The TV broadcast gave him a close-up, and he didn't seem to have any special expression.

"Song Xiao's performance today is a bit disappointing!" Pan Lin sighed.

"Perhaps we had too high expectations for him." Li Yibo said, "Song Xiao's technical level is not the best, but because of his excellent psychological qualities, he can perform above his level in critical times like the playoffs. And other players may be too nervous or too cautious in the tense playoffs, which are both abnormal performances. One side is abnormal, and the other side is performing above their level, so it's not difficult to understand why Song Xiao always shines in the playoffs. But this time his opponent..."

"Saying that Ye Xiu is nervous in the playoffs, doesn't that sound a bit ridiculous?" Li Yibo said.

"Yes." Pan Lin admitted this point.

"So it's normal for him to be suppressed by Ye Xiu. If it were an newcomer from Happy, maybe the result would be very different." Li Yibo said.

"It seems that Blue Rain didn't expect Ye Xiu to be the first to play in the individual competition. Their original intention was probably not to have Song Xiao meet Ye Xiu." Pan Lin also analyzed.

"Well, let's see who Blue Rain's second player is." Li Yibo began to pay attention to the electronic screen. The playoffs are very suspenseful. Unlike the regular season's arena competition, the list and order of the three players from both teams are listed at once, and then the three players directly take the stage. This five-player arena competition in the playoffs is done one by one in order, and no one knows who will be sent next until it's time to play.

Lu Hanwen, Swordsman Liuyun.

Finally, the name of the next player to appear for Blue Rain team was displayed on the big screen.

"Uh, this..." Li Yibo hesitated. Lu Hanwen is still the youngest player in the professional league, but he has already played in the main position for two years, been selected for the All-Stars twice, and in his fourteen-year-old debut season, he took the main responsibility for the team's loss due to a mistake.

Blue Rain's training method for Lu Hanwen is really too unrestrained. Now, no team would throw a rookie onto the field in such a clumsy way and let him fight. Everyone pays attention to a little bit of gradual progress. Seeing Blue Rain's use of Lu Hanwen, many commentators have expressed concern.

Newcomers entering the league need to adapt to the intensity and rhythm of professional matches. There are many talented young players who have strong adaptability, and they immediately shine, and all kinds of praise will pour in.

But rookies often don't know that what they are facing at this time is not the real professional circle. Because of their newcomer status, they are unfamiliar with the professional circle, and the professional circle is also unfamiliar with them. And when they have such outstanding performance and play, the professional circle has also paid attention to them, and major teams will begin to take action against them. At this time, what rookies have to face is the real professional circle, the professional circle that uses all means for victory or defeat.

Countless rookies have been hit hard at this time, and this is the so-called rookie wall. How many of today's top大神 (Dáshen, god-level) players have come through this wall.

They survived, but there are also many talented players who have disappeared after the rookie wall. Excessive blows and excessive pressure are very detrimental to the growth of newcomers.

Lu Hanwen of Blue Rain, in the eyes of many people, is in such an unfavorable environment, and as expected, after the major teams became familiar with him, his performance and data on the field have declined. However, Lu Hanwen did not sink into depression because of this. He continued to work hard and continue to fight, as if he was still a newcomer to the league. He continued to maintain that fresh vitality.

Declining performance? Mistakes that dragged down the whole team?

Lu Hanwen had experienced it all, and had been sad, but his enthusiasm had never been diminished because of it. He was truly a vibrant teenager, his heart full of sunshine, without a trace of haze.

What Blue Rain used was the most suitable training method for him. He doesn't need protection, he can face all setbacks directly. The harder he falls, the faster he gets up. Stumbling, until he completely runs away.

"What do you think of this game, Director Li?" Pan Lin saw that Li Yibo seemed to have something to say, but held it back.

"Ye Xiu is experienced, Lu Hanwen is full of冲劲 (chòngjìn, drive), it's very interesting." Li Yibo said with a smile.

Pan Lin estimated that what Li Yibo originally wanted to say was probably not this, but it was not good to ask too much in the program, so he briefly introduced Lu Hanwen's situation while seeing the young man get up from the player's seat and walk towards the competition stage.

"This Lu Hanwen also has a big heart!" Pan Lin suddenly said when he saw him meet Song Xiao on the way.

"Yes, compared to technology, psychological quality is more difficult to hone. It's not easy for Lu Hanwen to be so young." Li Yibo said.

"The two players from Blue Rain are communicating on the way now. Is Song Xiao imparting some of the experience he gained in the previous game?" Pan Lin speculated.

"Blue Rain should have had this kind of experience long ago!" Li Yibo said. After all, Blue Rain and Happy have already played against each other twice in the regular season.

"Perhaps there will be some new discoveries?" While Pan Lin was speaking, Song Xiao and Lu Hanwen had separated. Lu Hanwen entered the arena, and Song Xiao returned to Blue Rain's player seat.

"Is it difficult to play?" Huang Shaotian asked him.

"My eyes are blurred." Song Xiao sat down in his seat and closed his eyes.

"Blurred?"

"That Myriad Manifestations Umbrella changes and changes and changes, it doesn't stop for a second, I really can't stand it." Song Xiao said.

The Blue Rain members looked at each other. Their preparation for Happy, Ye Xiu and his Sanren (unspecialized class) were of course the top priority, but they had no preparation at all regarding this point.

"What's going on?" Zheng Xuan, the Blue Rain's Launcher player, sighed. Interfering with vision, their Launcher class can be regarded as the most prominent. Zhang Jiale's Hundred Blossoms style of play, other people may not be able to do it as extreme as him, but it has become a technique that Launcher players will more or less use.

However, Ye Xiu's technique is different from their technique. They just use the light and shadow as cover, but Ye Xiu's is direct visual attack! Making people dizzy, this is simply a flashbang-like effect!

"What did you say to Hanwen?" Yu Wenzhou asked Song Xiao.

"I told him to try to cut more side routes or go around the back, and try not to fight head-on. Fighting head-on is really disgusting, really, you can all try it if you have the chance." Song Xiao said.

Yu Wenzhou didn't ask any more questions and just watched Lu Hanwen enter Blue Rain's competition seat. Then the characters were loaded, and Liuyun and Lord Grim were refreshed into the map.

Lu Hanwen was certainly not someone who liked to go around in circles, and Liuyun cut directly to the middle. What about Ye Xiu? This time, he once again used tactical positioning, and it was not the same as last time. Last time he had Lord Grim go to the left wing, but this time he changed to the right wing.

"Playing dirty again!" Huang Shaotian gritted his teeth, a little nervous. He certainly knew Lu Hanwen's style better than people from other teams. He wasn't very good at dealing with the猥琐流 (wěisuǒ liú, sneaky style), and even if it was generally sneaky, Huang Shaotian felt that it was not an exaggeration to speculate on Ye Xiu's sneakiness to any extent.

"Lu Hanwen cuts straight, Ye Xiu uses tactical positioning." Pan Lin was also introducing the start of the game.

"Ye Xiu looks unhurried! He doesn't seem to be planning to grab a position." Li Yibo said, looking at Lord Grim's moving speed.

"Where is he going to launch a sneak attack from this time?" Pan Lin said. Ye Xiu's tactical positioning is not like the truly thorough sneaky style, where he hits once and hides, advancing when the enemy retreats and harassing when the enemy advances, making people depressed to death. Most of the time, he just uses sneak attacks to grab the first move, and then directly beats people down head-on. But now it's the arena competition, and the arena competition requires as little consumption as possible. In this context, it's not impossible for this guy to be completely sneaky. Everyone won't think that there's any way of playing that Ye Xiu doesn't know. He's the textbook of Glory.

Will he be sneaky?

Everyone watched Lord Grim's unhurried movement, thinking.