SITS CH31

Chapter 31: Team 3B

And what surprised him was yet to come…

Relying on the lead established in the early game, they narrowly took that round. After playing one final game, the afternoon’s scrims concluded with a score of 1-3.

When the coach called them into the conference room for VOD review, Duan Yanshu saw Shen Man curled up in his chair, dozing off.

Xu Zhouye naturally picked up a team jersey resting nearby and draped it gently over Shen Man.

Nobody else saw anything out of the ordinary, not even sparing a glance, leaving only Duan Yanshu with eyes wide open in shock.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing his look as if he had seen a ghost, Zhao Rui asked, “Traumatized by UN?”

“N-No, nothing.” Duan Yanshu told himself; he was simply making a fuss over nothing.

Shen Man dozed in the chair for a while, waking up only when evening arrived.

That night, Auntie prepared a lavish feast, explaining that the boss had specifically instructed to upgrade their meals for the month so Shen Man could properly nourish his body.

Shen Man eyed the shimmering, oily chicken soup before him: “Who drinks this stuff in the dead of summer?”

His teammates all laughed.

Shen Man added, “Forget the chicken soup; why isn’t there even a single speck of chili pepper in sight?”

Auntie said, “Boss said eating spicy food isn’t good for wound healing.”

Shen Man said, “Can someone pass word to TKR for me? Hand me a jar of pickled chili peppers, and I’ll jump ship right now.”

Everyone roared with laughter.

After the laughter died down, Xu Zhouye got up. When he returned, he held a small dish of pickled vegetables, setting it before Shen Man: “Give it a taste.”

Holding the spoon with his left hand, Shen Man clumsily scooped up a piece of pickled radish, crunching on it loudly: “Delicious!”

Xu Zhouye said, “There’s fermented bean curd too. Want some?”

Shen Man nodded.

Like a mollified child throwing a tantrum, Shen Man finished his dinner by pouring the chicken soup over his rice and eating it with the pickles.

While everyone else was long accustomed to this, Duan Yanshu noticed that throughout the entire meal, Xu Zhouye was constantly looking after Shen Man, and Shen Man seemed completely used to his presence. Perhaps Shen Man hadn’t even realized it himself, but the way Xu Zhouye interacted with him was terrifyingly intimate…

Duan Yanshu swallowed a mouthful of chicken with great difficulty. You couldn’t blame him for reacting this way; after all, the outside world’s foremost impression of Shen Man was that he was notoriously difficult to get along with.

Even for someone from their own youth academy, dispelling that stereotype was tough.

Shen Man rarely smiled, mostly keeping a frosty face during matches. The most vivid memory Duan Yanshu had was when ACE won the championship: Shen Man, standing dead center hoisting the trophy, hardly looked happy at all. Fans had even turned that photo into a meme with two giant captions beneath: That’s it?

Yet a Shen Man who gave off such an impression was right now obediently eating under Xu Zhouye’s attentive care.

Before coming here, Duan Yanshu wouldn’t have dared imagine such a scene in his wildest dreams.

“Full.” Shen Man poked at his rice with the spoon. “Playing KL at three tomorrow afternoon?”

“Mm,” the coach said. “Their bot lane duo isn’t as oppressive. We can experiment some more. What about you, Shen Man? Resting, or watching them play?”

Shen Man said, “Don’t mind me. I’ll rest on my own when I’m tired.”

“By the way, word came from the police station this afternoon,” the coach said. “They said the legal procedures have officially begun. The social impact of this case is pretty severe, so he’ll probably be locked away for quite a few years.”

Breaking and entering with intent to harm, causing terrible public fallout—the combined charges would ensure he served hard time.

The manager had intended to comfort Shen Man, but saw little joy on Shen Man’s face.

Recalling something, Xu Zhouye knitted his brows and asked, “Was the guy who broke in the same person who followed you the other day?”

Shen Man hadn’t expected him to think of that, shaking his head.

Xu Zhouye: “…”

This truly made it impossible to feel happy.

“I’m completely done with these lunatics.” The manager wore a helpless expression as well.

Someone who broke in could at least be arrested, but for those who insisted on trailing Shen Man without committing an overt crime, there was truly no recourse. No wonder Shen Man hated going outside.

The scrim with KL was a BO3.

KL wasn’t as formidable as UN after all, and after an entire afternoon of drilling, Zhao Rui and Duan Yanshu’s synergy showed solid results.

Xu Zhouye locked in an aggressive Carry Jungler hero, carrying the game with overwhelming momentum. With Shen Man absent, he became the team’s primary shot-caller. His game sense and macro ideas were exceptionally sharp, drawing nods of praise from the coach.

“The younger generation is truly to be feared,” the coach said. “I can hardly imagine what heights he’ll reach after playing for two more years.”

Shen Man said, “What other heights? Slapping all his seniors dead on the beach, of course.”

The coach shot him a glance.

Shen Man raised his bandaged hand: “One’s already dead.”

The manager scolded him laughingly.

Taking two out of three, ACE won the scrim against KL.

After a day of practice, Duan Yanshu’s coordination with Zhao Rui had grown noticeably smoother. Unlike Shen Man’s bloodthirsty, suffocating style, his approach was much gentler, complementing Xu Zhouye’s jungle-carry system quite well. As long as they didn’t run into a lane-dominant bot lane like UN’s, they had a fighting chance.

Watching them finish, Shen Man skipped the subsequent review meeting and headed to the medical room to get his bandages changed.

Coming out, he happened to bump into Duan Yanshu heading back to the dormitory.

“Shen-ge, I’m heading out!” Duan Yanshu greeted him obediently.

“Mm, go ahead,” Shen Man said. “Scrims tomorrow afternoon too?”

“Yes, coach said we have them all week,” Duan Yanshu said. “Shen-ge, is your hand okay?”

“I’m fine,” Shen Man said. “Get some rest early.”

Duan Yanshu nodded.

The coach had been trying to schedule matches with foreign teams, but just as the dates were finalized, Shen Man suffered this sudden injury.

Still, since the appointments were already set, it wasn’t appropriate to reschedule; they had no choice but to bite the bullet and play.

Thus, the following afternoon, Duan Yanshu learned the news that he was going to play against BBB.

BBB was an Asian server team, full name Bumblebee, simply known as 3B.

This team boasted a storied history, founded during the very first season of Heart of the Wasteland. Factoring in last year, they had hoisted the World Championship trophy three times—truly an apex royalty among powerhouses.

Their roster was stacked with superstar players, most famous among them being their Jungler, air, and their Marksman, inner.

“You managed to schedule BBB?” Everyone was thoroughly stunned upon hearing the news, because Asian server teams were notoriously difficult to book, let alone a top-tier powerhouse like BBB. After all, playing scrims carried the risk of leaking strategies and true strength, so teams were exceptionally cautious.

Zhao Rui asked suspiciously, “We didn’t get scammed, did we?”

“Stop talking out of your ass,” the manager snapped indignantly. “How could we get scammed? The reply came straight from their official email!”

Xu Zhouye said, “They actually agreed?”

The manager chuckled smugly: “Just gave it a casual shot, who knew they’d actually accept.”

Having said that, he glanced toward Shen Man beside him.

Shen Man had his phone resting on the table, tapping away at a tile-matching game with a single finger on his left hand. Xu Zhouye watched with rapt fascination beside him, giving off the unmistakable vibe of a dynamic idiot duo.

Manager: “Cough, cough.“

Shen Man didn’t even look up: “Spit it out.”

“It’s just that…” the manager hesitated, “that…”

Shen Man said, “Hm?”

The manager licked his lips: “Let’s just tell them you’re the one playing. Otherwise, I’m afraid they won’t want to scrim with us.”

An announcer voice shouted “Unbelievable!” as colorful little animals burst into a firework of points. Shen Man said, “Manager, have you ever considered branching into a new industry in the future?”

The manager asked, “Branching into what?”

Shen Man said, “Pyramid schemes.”

Manager: “?”

Signing Xu Zhouye at rock-bottom wages was already considered the pinnacle of their manager’s swindling career, but who knew he could sweet-talk BBB into becoming their sparring partners? Shen Man genuinely had to admire him.

“Can you even hide something like this?” Shen Man glanced at Duan Yanshu.

The manager said, “Well… we can tell them after we finish playing…”

Shen Man: “…Forget it, can’t count on you. I’ll talk to them myself.”

The manager was shocked: “You have BBB’s contact info?”

Shen Man hummed: “I know air.”

Manager: “Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

Shen Man said, “I didn’t know you booked them.”

That very night, he sent an email to air, briefly explaining their situation and asking if they still wanted to proceed. If not, they could cancel.

air replied quickly, stating they had already heard about Shen Man’s hand injury and asked how his recovery was going.

Shen Man replied that it was manageable.

air replied that in that case, there was no need to cancel; they were very intrigued by ACE’s new Jungler, FEST, as well.

Reading the email, the corners of Shen Man’s mouth curved slightly as he sent back four words: You’ve got good taste.

The scrim proceeded as scheduled, though the atmosphere within ACE was somewhat tense.

In truth, this was ACE’s first time entering the World Championship stage since their roster overhaul. The only ones with Worlds experience were Shen Man and Zhao Rui; for Liu Shishi, Xu Xiaochong, and Xu Zhouye, it was their very first time.

BBB’s legendary name was known to everyone who played Heart of the Wasteland. Their back-to-back championships during their peak had marked the darkest era for the HCC region.

Although their legendary player Clarias had since retired and their dominance waned somewhat, their foundational pedigree remained intact. Last year, they even produced a prodigy Marksman, successfully claiming their third trophy.

Facing a powerhouse of this caliber, anyone would feel psychological pressure.

The match was set for the afternoon on the domestic CN server. This was considered a concession from BBB; playing on the Chinese server meant surrendering a significant ping advantage.

“I’m so nervous.” Facing BBB for the very first time and seeing the IDs on the other side, Duan Yanshu couldn’t stop swallowing dryly: “Help me, I’m truly so nervous.”

“Don’t be nervous,” Shen Man stood behind him, crossing his arms. “It’s just taking a beating. Just relax.”

Duan Yanshu: “…Shen-ge, you’re so humorous.”

“Humorous?” Shen Man said. “I’m being completely serious.”

Duan Yanshu: “Huh?”

Shen Man truly wasn’t joking. Anyone who had watched highlight reels of BBB’s Marksman, inner, knew the guy was an absolute monster. He had already foreseen that this kid Duan Yanshu was destined to take a brutal thrashing.

As it turned out, the experience of a veteran was spot-on. Less than twenty minutes in, Duan Yanshu wasn’t nervous anymore—what did a corpse lying flat on the ground have to be nervous about?

Zhao Rui said, “Duan Yanshu, I have to criticize your play there.”

Duan Yanshu said, “Go ahead and criticize me, Zhao-ge.”

Zhao Rui said, “Next time, could you not die so fast?”

Duan Yanshu felt aggrieved: “But Zhao-ge, you died even faster than I did.”

Zhao Rui’s corpse lay right next to Duan Yanshu’s. After a moment of silence, he admitted that made sense.

Their bottom lane was shredded to pieces by inner despite his high ping, but the mid lane managed to establish tempo under Xu Zhouye’s lead, trailing by only two kills overall.

Xu Zhouye wasn’t nervous in the slightest, delivering a dazzling performance.

Judging solely by jungle tempo, he genuinely traded blows back and forth with air—if one ignored the utterly collapsed bot lane.

“I don’t even know how to play the game anymore.” Finishing Game 1, Duan Yanshu was on the verge of tears, eyes red-rimmed and brimming with moisture: “Never been bullied this hard in my life.”

Zhao Rui patted his shoulder: “Why are you crying already? It’s only Game 1, how about holding it in until Game 3 to cry?”

Duan Yanshu choked out: “Can’t hold it in…”

Shen Man said nothing, handing him a tissue from behind.

Duan Yanshu sobbed sorrowfully.

Shen Man took the opportunity to glance at Xu Zhouye.

Catching Shen Man’s gaze, Xu Zhouye said helplessly: “…Thanks, but I don’t need one.”

Shen Man laughed.

Xu Zhouye and Duan Yanshu were roughly the same age, so how were their personalities so radically different? It made him rather curious about what Xu Zhouye would look like crying. Then again, after being slaughtered by a jungle creep in Week 1 and getting torn to shreds by online netizens, the kid hadn’t shed a single tear; it seemed the chances of witnessing Xu Zhouye cry were slim to none.

Game 2.

The bot lane duo had no idea how to approach the game anymore. Undeterred, Zhao Rui suggested, “How about we run another ‘Yan Cao as green silk’…”

Duan Yanshu cut him off immediately, stating they should definitely not do that. Why did he feel like BBB just wanted him to lose, but Zhao Rui wanted him dead?

Zhao Rui: “Aiya, what kind of talk is that!”

Getting beaten to tears was practically par for the course for pro players; on tournament stages, it was common to see players weeping as they exited their booths.

However, getting beaten to tears in a scrim was indeed a rarity.

Under the accusatory glares of his teammates, Zhao Rui painfully abandoned his dogshit Yan Cao, picking an aggressive hard-engage utility Support instead.

Xu Zhouye was the fifth pick. After evaluating the enemy composition, he locked in Mad Hound.

Perhaps ACE’s crushing defeat in Game 1 had bred contempt in 3B, because their draft for Game 2 was rather questionable—their entire lineup was squishy, giving off the distinct impression that they had started fooling around.

ACE without Shen Man truly carried zero pressure—such was air’s assessment. He, or rather all of 3B, only had an impression of Shen Man. What stood out first was that strikingly gorgeous face, and even more memorable than his face were his terrifyingly precise mechanics and positioning.

If the competitive scene were to vote on a player who looked most like they were running scripts, Shen Man would win without contest.

Unfortunately, Shen Man couldn’t play today, and the substitute Marksman was far below his caliber.

“Pretty boring,” inner felt uninspired as well. The enemy Marksman’s skill was too low, and his synergy with the Support was poor; the intensity was as low as playing against bots. “Can’t practice anything against their bot lane.”

“Since we agreed, let’s finish the games,” air said.

Then let’s end it quickly, inner thought. Playing an ACE with this roster was guaranteed to be a 3-0 sweep.

At the start, that was what they all believed—until the game reached Mad Hound’s first level six power spike.

Standing under his tower, an alert indicating Mad Hound’s proximity suddenly flashed above inner’s head. He sensed danger, but before he could react, a monstrous, raging beast pounced squarely onto his face. A flashy chain of combos followed by a single basic attack tore him to shreds like a scrap of tattered cloth.

The next second, inner found himself back in the warm fountain.

inner: “…” Glancing at his team’s squishy composition, an ominous premonition suddenly washed over him.

Shen Man had witnessed firsthand how ferocious Xu Zhouye’s Mad Hound was; this hero in his hands versus anyone else’s were two completely different entities. Despite using the exact same pathing and clear order, his jungle-clearing efficiency was simply higher.

Maneuvering his hero, Xu Zhouye communicated calmly with his teammates.

“zoop, rotate over and camp their Marksman with me in the second bush,” Xu Zhouye said coldly. “Send him back one more time, and his game is over.”

Zhao Rui rotated down, and sure enough, he and Xu Zhouye ambushed inner in the second bush as he returned to lane after reviving. Although Xu Zhouye’s ultimate wasn’t ready, inner couldn’t escape after being crowd-controlled by Zhao Rui, taken down in an instant by Xu Zhouye’s burst. As his screen turned black and white once more, inner sat stunned in silence for a long time.

air, on the other hand, chuckled: “Looks like things are getting dicey.”

inner said, “This is that fest?”

air said, “Yeah. Did you watch the match VODs I sent you?”

inner didn’t respond.

“Didn’t watch, did you?” air said. “I suggest you take a look. ACE achieving their results this year is inextricably tied to fest.”

inner curled his lip, still not taking air’s words entirely to heart.

air said no more.

“Liu-ge, air is heading your way,” Xu Zhouye said, having killed inner twice while still predicting the opposing Jungler’s pathing. “Be careful on your own.”

Duan Yanshu stole a glance at Xu Zhouye from the side.

Although ACE had performed brilliantly this season, his impression of Xu Zhouye was limited to the smiling kid receiving trophies on stage. Yet Xu Zhouye during matches seemed completely different from his daily demeanor, commanding an inexplicable aura of dread that made people involuntarily follow his tempo.

Xu Zhouye asked, “Can we gank their Mage?”

Xu Xiaochong said, “No Flash, free kill.”

Thus, that terrifying Mad Hound materialized beside Xu Xiaochong, securing another kill without even needing his ultimate.

Mad Hound was a textbook snowballing hero: the more kills he secured, the better his items, becoming utterly unstoppable by the mid-game, deleting anyone in sight with a single combo. It just so happened that 3B lacked hard-engage supports and beefy frontliners this game. Xu Zhouye roamed as if in an uninhabited realm, taking down squishies with a single swipe. In less than twenty minutes, he had assassinated the enemy Marksman four times.

Even a god couldn’t farm under these conditions. inner fell massively behind in items, getting chased down and beaten by Zhao Rui and Duan Yanshu.

Grinding his teeth, inner fumed: “air, are you going to manage bot lane or what?”

Seeing his expression, air couldn’t help laughing: “I’d love to, but I can’t.”

This kid fest truly had something; this scrim wasn’t played in vain.

Xu Zhouye knew to strike where it hurt most, ruthlessly camping 3B’s bot lane. He merrily slaughtered inner six times until inner completely lost his temper, standing on his high ground refusing to walk out, typing in [All] chat: [gg]. (Good game—normally used to compliment opponents, but sometimes used sarcastically).

Xu Zhouye replied: [thanks].

Game 2 concluded with a kill score of 12-3. 3B’s side let out a sigh of relief, while the battered inner spat out curses through gritted teeth, swearing that during official matches, there was no way in hell he would ever leave Xu Zhouye’s Mad Hound unbanned.