“Let’s queue up for this one! Come on, let’s teach those smug bastards from Science and Technology a lesson.”
Gold Medal Internet Bar was near Xia University, so most of the customers were students. These five strode in to play as a team.
“Miss Ting, these players were on the USTC’s professional team. Do we really have a chance?” Xiaopang, a shorter student in glasses, asked.
“I will not slink away like a coward. We challenged them in a public forum thread, remember?! Our university will lose face if we mess this up, so we have to win this!”
A different young man gave the nervous team member a sharp look, and Xiaoping was afraid to respond.
"Don't worry, I have a secret trump card today. We’ll teach them a lesson!” the leading woman said confidently, leading the others behind her.
“What card? Did you buy off our opponents?”
“Do you really think I’d do something that nasty? I’ve just found an ace who can help our team!”
“I mean, that’s not noble either, right?”
"What did you say?"
"Nothing..."
The Gold Medal Internet Bar was luxuriously decorated, but at noon, it was almost empty. The only occupant was the young man at the reception desk.
"Master Xiaofeng,” the leader called. “I'm here to bring you some customers! We need five consecutive seats!"
Miss Ting, Su Tingting, was a junior in Xia University’s financial department. She was a beauty, a tall girl in trendy clothes that flattered her figure and showed off her youth and energy.
"Welcome."
The receptionist, a young man named Xiaofeng, got up to meet them. He was tall as well, but on the slightly scrawny side. His blue and white uniform was crisp, and he had an ID card pinned to his lapel.
"Master, this street is full of Internet bars, but here I am, bringing you customers. Aren’t I helpful?”
Su Tingting leaned on the reception neck, letting the V-neck show off her cleavage. Her four friends could hear the change in her voice as she did her best to sound charming.
“If you want free drinks, just ask. You don’t have to sweet-talk me,” Xiaofeng told her, rolling his eyes. He poured them some soda as they found seats on the side of the bar equipped for competitive players
"Miss Ting,” the other girl on the team asked, “who’s this? It seems like you two are pretty close."
She had short hair and freckles and was looking at her friend curiously. The three boys, Xiaopang especially, turned to listen to her answer.
Su Tingting laughed.
“I met Master Xiaofeng by chance while I was here surfing the internet? He’s a gaming master. Don’t be shocked when you see him in action!” Su Tingting said with a mysterious grin.
Xiaofeng had returned with a tray. Su Tingting turned her head, pretending she was shy, and thanked him for the drinks.
The man next to Xiaopang, Wang Qiang, looked up.
"Our waiter? At best, he’s a decent network administrator, not a master gamer,” he whispered.
Everyone on the team knew he had a crush on Su Tingting. None of them would be surprised that he’d dislike any guy she flirted with.
His voice was quiet enough that his team didn’t hear, but Xiaofeng, who’s been passing out the drinks, turned to look at him. He smiled, leaving Wang Qiang uncomfortable.
“Wang Qiang, what are you looking at? The game’s about to start. If we lose today because you aren’t paying attention, I won’t show mercy on you,” Su Tingting shouted. He started back blankly. He was normally a quiet, gentle guy, and wasn’t used to raised voices.
"I'm joining now!" Wang Qiang said quickly once he recovered and clicked the icon to log in.
All five of them played on the Xia University team. Before the match started, they exchanged insults with the USTC team.
As they were the only customers and he’d finished his cleaning, Xiaofeng was drawn to watching the game.
It was an internationally popular game, featuring five versus five matches. It had once held global tournaments. There were also multiple national tournaments and it had brought in a fortune for the creators and talented players.
Xiaofeng knew this game well.
Xiaofeng was only a bit older than the students. Su Tingting was shouting and yelling at her computer. Xiaofeng shook his head. It was said Su Tingting was the most beautiful girl in the financial department, but when she competed, she was unhinged.
It clearly stressed out her teammates. She was the center of the team, and half the players had crushes on her, but she was not a gentle leader.
"Bai Xiaopang, do you actually know how to play Jungle? It’s been twenty minutes, and you haven’t gotten us a single buff! You are also slow when you try to gank!" Su Tingting shouted.
Xiaopang was sitting right next to her, but he didn’t speak up, just sighed and kept quiet.
“Do any of you know how to play as a team? Right there, it was four on three in our favor, and we lost. Why?”
Su Tingting’s chest was heaving in anger.
"Tingting, we can't defeat them. We need to give up. Their Mid used to play professionally. His DPS is way too high!” Wang Qiang had taken of his glasses and looked absolutely hopeless.
The second phase was about to start, and Su Tingting’s team was at a disadvantage. Despite her accusations, Su Tingting had the worst record. Wang Qiang was deliberately handing her kills, but she still had half the kills of any other player. Meanwhile, the other teams main DPS was amazing. They’d racked up almost half the game’s kills.
Xiaofeng shook his head and stopped watching the game. He already knew how it would play out.
"What the fuck are you talking about?! If we can’t defeat them, we’ll be the shame of Chenghai City!” Su Tingting shouted.
There were two universities in Chenghai City. Xia University and USTC had been fighting for years. This wasn’t their first e-sports battle.
"But our base has been destroyed,” Xiaopang said helplessly. “We have no chance of coming back from this.”
"Who said we don't have the chance?" Su Tingting smiled and turned to shout at Xiaofeng, who was back at the reception desk. "I’ve asked a master to help me, don't you remember? Master Xiaofeng, come and help me!"
"What's the matter?"
Xiaofeng looked over, but Su Tingting ran over to him, grabbed him, and pushed him in her seat.
"Master, please help me! Help us to win the game!"
Su Tingting put the mouse in his hand, but Xiaofeng shook his head.
"That’s not appropriate. This is a college league. Can’t you find somebody qualified to help you?"
He wanted to get up, but Su Tingting was holding him in the seat. She was pressed against him, soft and warm.
"It's too late to think!” Su Tingting said anxiously. “Please start playing! They’re going to start next round on the upper ground!”
"OK, I can play a round for you. But you can't call me master any longer. It sounds weird."
Xiaofeng shook his head and looked at the computer screen.
"No problem! If you can help me win this game, I can do anything for you!" Su Tingting blurted without thinking.
The boys on her team looked shock. One of them nearly chucked a mouse at her, and all of them shot Xiaofeng vicious looks.
"Alleria is one of the most difficult heroes to operate. Do you really know how to play?" Wang Qiang stared at Xiaofeng with suspicion and did not hide the hostility in his eyes.
"A little bit," Xiaofeng said vaguely, still smiling.
"A little? Tingting, why do you choose him? He can't help us, I’m not sure he knows how to play this game at all!"
The young man with a sharp face also glared at Xiaofeng.
“Focus on your own game!” Su Tingting ordered. “They’re about to attack.”
They were already at a disadvantage, and they still didn’t bother to coordinate with each other.
Sure enough, the USTC team seized the opportunity to attack.
"Fuck!"
Getting distracted during a match was the most novice, and dangerous, mistake. The USTC took down four of their players in almost instantly. Only Xiaofeng had been spared, and that was only because he was away from the team learning Alleria’s moveset.
"We lost."
Xiaopang and the freckled girl put down their headphones, and Wang Qiang and the sharp young man turned to glare at Xiaofeng.
"What the fuck?! Do you know how to play games or not? We were being slaughtered and you just sat there!”
"Tingting, who is he? Thanks to him, we lost!"
Even Su Tingting looked pissed. The team was dead and the opponent was almost at their base, which meant they were about to lose.
“Master- I mean, brother! Don’t cheat me like this!”
"Don't worry, we haven't lost yet."
Xiaofeng's hands flew over the keyboard. He looked less like he was typing and more like he was playing the piano. He was calm as looked Su Tingting’s choice of hero.
This hero was not actually named Alleria. Its real name is famous. As the most difficult hero to operate, it wasn’t popular on the tournament scene, so it became the trademark of a player called Alleria. When the player reached the world-level finals, the character’s actual name was forgotten. Now it was usually referred to by the handle of the legendary player it represented, Alleria.
"Haven't lost yet? Are you fucking idiot? Don't play, just get out! I don’t want to look at you!" Wang Qiang yelled, but when Xiaofeng moved, they all went silent.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say ‘Alleria moved’.
It flew into the ranks of the USTC team like a cool breeze.
