SITS CH66

Chapter 66: Spring Split Champions

When Xu Zhouye said there wouldn’t be a problem, there really wasn’t a problem.

On the day of the match against UN, he first-picked the strongest Jungler in the current patch, Lizardman.

A classic carry-oriented Jungler, the pick required funneling heavy resources to take over the game.

True to the Hero he selected, he successfully carried the match. By comparison, Shen Man seemed somewhat low-profile, though only Zhou Yao and Luo Zhile, who faced them directly in lane, knew just how frustrating it felt.

Xu Zhouye was genuinely terrifying. Even without his signature pocket picks, he exerted overwhelming pressure. UN’s Jungler was completely outmatched, shifting all the burden onto their bot lane; they had to break through Shen Man to generate tempo for UN.

Yet Shen Man and Zhao Rui acted like an airtight iron barrel, trapping Zhou Yao and Luo Zhile inside without allowing them to strike a single spark.

Playing under such suffocating pressure, Zhou Yao’s temper flared instantly, his expression turning grim.

Completely unaffected by his partner’s frustration, Luo Zhile calmly discussed the draft for the next game. Soothed by his steady demeanor, Zhou Yao’s agitation gradually settled down as well.

“We’ll lock in our bot-lane duo early next game,” Luo Zhile said.

Zhou Yao nodded: “Alright.”

In Game 2, UN immediately snatched up a dominant bot-lane combination. That came as no surprise, given that UN’s entire system revolved around their bot lane.

Right from the start of the match, Shen Man sensed trouble. Their own draft had flaws, and with UN securing two powerhouse bot-lane Heroes, the lane pressure would be immense.

Sure enough, the draft’s weaknesses surfaced mid-game. UN’s bot lane dealt astronomical damage; even with ACE’s tank building pure defensive items, he couldn’t withstand the burst. After suffering a clean ace and losing their high ground, ACE dropped the game, tying the series 1-1.

Viewers were thrilled. Seeing UN and ACE trading blows evenly, most expected the series to go the full five games. Unexpectedly, Game 2 turned out to be UN’s peak performance; in Games 3 and 4, UN’s targeted bot lane never managed to get rolling.

Operating in peak form, Xu Zhouye unleashed terrifying dominance on his picks in the next two games. Pinned down by Shen Man and Zhao Rui, Luo Zhile and OI couldn’t rotate to assist their teammates. Suffocated cleanly by ACE’s macro control, UN fell without even a sliver of room to struggle.

Without much drama, ACE locked in the first Grand Finals berth ahead of schedule with a decisive 3-1 victory.

They had lost, and lost rather badly. Despite having already secured qualification for the Masters Cup, both Zhou Yao and Luo Zhile felt heavy-hearted.

UN’s coach patted both of them on the shoulder, reassuring them that the loss wasn’t their fault.

It truly wasn’t their fault. Letting out a bitter laugh, Luo Zhile murmured, “That Xu Zhouye looks so friendly in person. How is he this ferocious in-game?”

People had long joked that in-game Xu Zhouye and real-life Xu Zhouye looked like two entirely different people: warm and agreeable off the Rift, yet showing zero mercy once a match began.

Ferocious to the extreme.

Zhou Yao let out a cold scoff: “I bet his temper isn’t small either. He’s just putting on an act in front of Shen Man.”

Luo Zhile blinked: “Why would he put on an act in front of Shen Man?”

Zhou Yao: “How should I know?”

Luo Zhile: “…”

Across the three wins, Shen Man claimed one MVP award and Xu Zhouye claimed two.

Still, it was far too early to pop champagne at halftime; the Grand Finals still awaited against the winner of the elimination clash between UN and TKR.

Zhao Rui joked excitedly, “If we take the Spring Split trophy this time and then win the Masters Cup, wouldn’t we become the first team in HCC history to achieve a Grand Slam?”

A Grand Slam meant capturing all four major titles: Spring Split, Summer Split, the Masters Cup, and the World Championship.

ACE already held two of them and was charging straight toward the Spring Split crown.

Completing a Grand Slam typically spanned several years, yet ACE genuinely stood a real shot.

“You always have to dream big.” Refusing to throw cold water on their enthusiasm, the coach smiled encouragingly: “What if it actually comes true?”

Indeed, one always had to dream big; what if it actually came true?

Thrilling playoff series unfolded one after another, keeping audiences thoroughly entertained. During Shen Man’s livestream, viewers rained down Super Rockets, asking for his take on the upcoming rematch between TKR and UN, noting things looked dire for TKR and asking if he had any good advice.

Shen Man deadpanned, “There is one strategy. Maybe Qin Yixing should treat them to dinner again.”

Right after saying it, he realized the plan had a flaw, considering Qin Yixing himself was the one who ended up hospitalized for three days after that meal.

The chat erupted into hysterical laughter; everyone knew all about the food poisoning incident.

[SW, that escape room variety show you guys filmed is about to air!]

[SW, are you scared of ghosts?]

Shen Man replied, “Me? I’m terrified of ghosts. Want me to stream a horror game for you guys?”

[The commenter above must be new here, right?]

[Anyone who regularly watches this serial killer knows whether SW is scared of ghosts.]

[He streams horror games without blinking once; the viewers are his designated scream squad.]

[Don’t stream it, don’t stream it! Don’t want to watch that stuff. After watching that hanged ghost last time, I kept feeling someone kicking the back of my head every day.]

His proposal to play a horror game was ruthlessly rejected. Feigning mild regret, Shen Man sighed, “What a shame. I really am scared of those things.”

[Get lost!!]

Post-production editing on the variety show moved slowly, taking over a month just to drop a teaser trailer. The premiere was scheduled for next Sunday, falling right on the day after the Grand Finals.

While ACE awaited the finals, UN and TKR clashed once more in the lower bracket.

Another electrifying best-of-five, another nail-biting 3-2 finish following a nearly identical script; TKR fell once again beneath UN’s blade.

Everyone had assumed TKR would get torn apart online after losing twice to UN, yet because both squads delivered such high-caliber gameplay, Weibo was actually flooded with praise.

[Played so cleanly, that was an absolute thrill to watch.]

[Can’t blame TKR, this year’s UN is genuinely cracked.]

[Just Qin Yixing’s final play alone deserves a spot in this year’s HCC Top 10 Highlights.]

[Maintaining mechanics at that level at Qin Yixing’s age is seriously impressive.]

[How old is Qin Yixing anyway? Isn’t he the same age as Shen Man?]

[Three years older than Shen Man.]

Such was the harsh reality of esports: barely twenty-five years old, yet already spoken of as if standing at twilight’s door.

The outcome of that series settled everything: the Spring Split champion would be decided between UN and ACE.

The Grand Finals were scheduled for Saturday evening at six o’clock, prime time.

ACE hadn’t taken a single day off in nearly half a month, filling every day to the brim with scrim blocks and VOD reviews. As team captain, Shen Man naturally couldn’t skip out, ruthlessly shooting down Xu Zhouye’s requests to spend a night out together no matter how sweetly the kid whined.

“We’ll talk after the finals,” Shen Man said heartlessly. “What’s so unbearable about half a month?”

“How is it half a month?!” Xu Zhouye whined aggrievedly. “It’s been twenty-three whole days!”

Shen Man shot him a sideways glance.

Xu Zhouye muttered, “I’ve been counting every single day on my fingers…”

Shen Man: “Counting on your toes won’t work either. Do you think UN has any pocket picks hidden up their sleeve?”

Xu Zhouye shook his head: “Doesn’t look like it. Their series against TKR was so intense they must have pulled out everything they had.”

Fair enough. TKR was no pushover; failing to go all out meant getting sent packing in an instant.

In truth, both ACE and UN had already locked in their tickets to the Masters Cup; what remained at stake was the Spring Split championship crown.

In literature there is no undisputed first, and in martial arts there is no second; in esports, nobody ever remembered who finished as Spring Split runner-up.

Shen Man asked, “True. What do you think of UN?”

“Not good enough,” Xu Zhouye stated bluntly.

Raising an eyebrow, Shen Man asked, “Not good enough?” He hadn’t expected Xu Zhouye to sound so dismissive.

“Their Jungler is weak,” Xu Zhouye explained. “I watched his solo queue VODs. His Hero pool is way too shallow and his pathing is rigid, not even on Qin Yixing’s level.”

Shen Man: “Then why didn’t Qin Yixing win?”

Xu Zhouye: “Maybe he got food poisoning again.”

Shen Man: “…”

Xu Zhouye’s confidence proved far from empty boasting. Game 1 of Saturday night’s Grand Finals validated every word he had spoken.

UN’s Jungler had his entire pathing read like an open book by Xu Zhouye. Locking in an aggressive early-game bruiser, Xu Zhouye invaded at level three, predicting the enemy Jungler’s exact location down to the brush. Before UN could even react, their Jungler was killed and stripped of all his jungle buffs, plunging them into a catastrophic opening.

They lost Game 1 without putting up any resistance at all.

Zhou Yao sighed heavily after the Nexus fell.

Scratching his head, Luo Zhile showed surprisingly little discouragement: “FEST really is a beast.” Their entire jungle had been completely dismantled.

Zhou Yao muttered, “I don’t want to lose.”

Looking over at him, Luo Zhile smiled: “Me neither.”

Nobody wanted to lose; UN didn’t want to, and ACE certainly didn’t either.

In Game 2, determined to secure a strong bot-lane duo, UN left Xu Zhouye’s Mad Hound open. Xu Zhouye showed zero hesitation; if they dared leave it open, he dared lock it in, sparking thunderous cheers across the arena the moment the champion portrait locked.

At the caster desk, Caster 1 marveled, “It’s been ages since we saw FEST’s Mad Hound.”

“Indeed, just like SLOW’s Belinda,” Caster 2 chimed in. “Neither of them ever makes it past bans.”

Naturally not. With Xu Zhouye’s Mad Hound sitting at an undefeated 100% win rate, nobody dared let it through.

Seeing the enemy draft, ACE’s coach had briefly wondered if Mad Hound might face a tough matchup, yet catching the look in Xu Zhouye’s eyes, he decided to roll the dice.

He had zero reason to doubt Xu Zhouye’s Mad Hound.

Xu Zhouye didn’t disappoint, proving once more through sheer carnage why he was the undisputed embodiment of the Hidden Hound.

UN’s seemingly airtight composition was shredded to ribbons; even Zhou Yao’s peel couldn’t keep Luo Zhile alive.

Luo Zhile looked like a paper mouse toyed with lazily between the paws of a massive predator; the instant the claws extended, his fragile health bar was torn apart without a shred of counterplay.

The Grand Finals match was turned abruptly into a one-sided pubstomp.

Both casters and spectators watched in stunned silence.

“This is getting a bit absurd,” Caster 1 remarked. “Living up to the gold standard of a 100% win-rate Mad Hound.”

“Everyone else plays a Maltese; he plays a Tibetan Mastiff,” Caster 2 couldn’t help praising. “Completely one-sided…”

“Exactly,” Caster 1 agreed. “There’s zero suspense left in this game.”

Far beyond lacking suspense, it was an utter steamroll, leaving UN wishing the game would end quickly so they could reset for the next match.

Sometimes competitive games went like that; when a snowball became insurmountable, ending swiftly preserved mental stamina for the games ahead.

During the ten-minute halftime break, Shen Man twisted open a water bottle and took a sip.

Seated beside him, Liu Shishi asked, “Xu Zhouye, are you in a bad mood today?”

Xu Zhouye blinked: “What makes you ask that?”

Liu Shishi said, “You look like you’re playing in a massive rush.”

He really was in a massive rush. Having held back for an entire month leading up to these finals, Xu Zhouye was brimming with pent-up frustration, yet dared not voice a single complaint for fear of earning a stern lecture from his captain.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhouye cast a mournful, aggrieved glance at Shen Man. Pretending not to notice his stare, Shen Man continued sipping his water unhurriedly.

Xu Zhouye forced a bright smile: “No such thing.”

Liu Shishi nodded: “Oh, guess I was just overthinking it…”

Overthinking it? Not even slightly.

In Game 3, gritting his teeth, Xu Zhouye locked in Leaping Girl, an assassin notorious for diving straight onto Marksmen and affectionately dubbed by players as a “turd-stirrer.” Once ahead, she could leap straight into the enemy backline and wreak havoc, leaving opponents helpless.

“He plays Leaping Girl too?!” Even UN’s coach was caught off guard by the pick. Although Leaping Girl was viable on the current patch, they had reached the Grand Finals without seeing Xu Zhouye touch her once. UN’s coach turned to his analysts: “How good is his Leaping Girl?”

Nobody answered, because nobody had a clue.

Only ACE’s coach wore the triumphant smile of finally unleashing a hidden trump card.

“When on earth did you get this cracked on her?” Zhao Rui knew full well how lethal Xu Zhouye’s Leaping Girl was; to keep the strategy hidden, they hadn’t even dared pull her out in scrims.

“During every lonely night,” Xu Zhouye replied, sounding as mournful as a grieving widow.

Zhao Rui: “?”

Xu Zhouye chuckled: “Just kidding.” In reality, whenever Shen Man ignored him during solo queue, he had poured his frustration into grinding Leaping Girl for over a month, pushing an alt account into the top 100 on Server 1 without getting a single taste of meat, sighing miserably every morning.

Zhao Rui remarked, “Didn’t realize you had such a dry sense of humor.”

Xu Zhouye thought to himself: The real punchline is coming tonight.

Fueled by pure romantic deprivation, his Leaping Girl proved extraordinary, helping Liu Shishi secure a double kill just five minutes into the match.

Caught completely flat-footed by Xu Zhouye’s pocket pick, all five members of UN wore grim, furrowed expressions.

This was match point in the best-of-five. Even though their Masters Cup ticket was already punched, nobody wanted to suffer an embarrassing sweep; losing 3-2 versus getting swept 3-0 carried vastly different weight.

Unfortunately, some outcomes couldn’t be changed by sheer willpower alone.

Xu Zhouye’s Leaping Girl countered Marksmen cleanly, mirroring Mad Hound’s ruthless diving style.

Whether driven by pent-up frustration or sheer focus, his playstyle looked even more ferocious than usual. Playing on the Lava Map, he camped the bot lane heavily, forcing multiple early skirmishes over the Fire Pit buff. What had been an evenly matched bot lane tilted sharply with Xu Zhouye’s intervention; UN came out behind in every exchange, handing over every Fire Pit buff before twenty minutes to ACE.

The Fire Pit buff amplified damage output. Already boasting terrifying burst, Leaping Girl became a nightmare that made Luo Zhile’s teeth ache at first sight. Mid-game, the instant Luo Zhile’s toes brushed the edge of a river bush, Leaping Girl descended from the shadows right in front of OI, dashing in a crisp equilateral triangle before finishing with a Q strike. Caught dead-center in the triangle, Luo Zhile’s health bar detonated instantly, leaving a sliver of HP.

Reacting with lightning speed, Luo Zhile tried to flash away, only to get locked down by a ranged crowd-control ability before he could cast his dash. He could only watch helplessly as Xu Zhouye strolled calmly up to him and delivered a casual basic attack: a 433 critical strike.

Instant deletion.

The entire execution lasted under three seconds.

Watching his Marksman vanish into thin air right beside him, OI cursed aloud, muttering that Xu Zhouye was a fucking monster.

Covering his face with one hand, Luo Zhile let out a long sigh, wondering silently just how many Heroes they needed to ban against Xu Zhouye. Whenever OI locked in an aggressive Support, Xu Zhouye answered with a diving assassin, turning the match into a race to see who deleted the enemy carry first. Unfortunately, fragile Marksmen bore the brunt of every blow.

At least Shen Man had a fearless Zhao Rui body-blocking for him, whereas Luo Zhile had to rely purely on sheer luck to survive.

“It’s alright,” Luo Zhile consoled OI. “We can still play.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the kill feed announced their Mid Laner’s death, slain by ACE.slow.

My apologies, he realized grimly, Xu Zhouye wasn’t the only monster on that team; there was still Shen Man.

How on earth were they supposed to play against this? Unplayable; completely unplayable.

Despite stalling desperately toward the late game, UN failed to turn the tide.

Accompanied by the harsh chime of defeat and the massive fracture spreading across the Nexus on screen, Luo Zhile couldn’t stop the rims of his eyes from turning red. Blinking rapidly, he tried to hold back the tears welling up… and failed.

Wiping his eyes firmly with the back of his hand, Luo Zhile forced a strained smile as ACE walked over for post-match handshakes.

Clasping Luo Zhile’s hand, Shen Man spoke softly: “Well played.”

Receiving praise from the senior he admired most melted away a fraction of the bitterness in his chest. Luo Zhile managed a genuine smile: “Thank you.”

Giving a slight nod, Shen Man walked past.

Meanwhile, Xu Zhouye looked utterly ecstatic, practically walking on air.

Hoisting the trophy triumphantly, ACE claimed the Spring Split Championship.

Crowned Finals MVP, Xu Zhouye stepped forward for the stage interview, where the host asked if winning the championship felt thrilling.

Beaming like the midday sun, Xu Zhouye cheered: “Yes, super happy!”

The host smiled: “Could you tell us what winning this championship means to you?”

Looking expectantly at Xu Zhouye, the host hoped for an inspiring, passionate speech.

Instead, the grin on Xu Zhouye’s face grew even brighter as he declared: “It means I finally get a day off tomorrow!”

Host: “…”

Audience: “…”

Following a beat of stunned silence, thunderous laughter erupted across the entire arena.

Caught between laughter and exasperation, the host instantly recognized the relatable exhaustion of a salaried worker clocking in every day: “How long has it been since your last day off?”

“Haven’t had a single break since playoffs started,” Xu Zhouye replied earnestly. “Thirty-six whole days.”

Laughter rippled through the crowd once more.

Thinking to himself that the kid really had been counting down the days on his fingers, the host asked: “So what are you planning to do on your day off?”

Xu Zhouye smiled: “Do something I really love doing.”

Host: “…” Wonderful. That basically answered nothing at all.

After a few more questions, Xu Zhouye was finally released from the stage.

With the championship trophy secured, everyone rode back in high spirits.

The coach suggested that since their variety show episode was airing tomorrow, they should all gather for a big meal and watch the broadcast together to unwind.

Before Xu Zhouye could utter a sound, Shen Man agreed immediately.

“Ge,” Xu Zhouye whined quietly beside him, looking noticeably displeased. “We’re finally on break…”

Shen Man murmured: “What’s the rush? Our break definitely lasts more than one day.”

Thickening his skin, Xu Zhouye leaned in: “Then let’s go stay at my place for the rest of the break.”

Shen Man: “Deal.”

Never expecting Shen Man to agree so effortlessly, Xu Zhouye lit up instantly with pure joy.

Thirty-plus days of strict vegetarian abstinence were finally coming to an end.