SITS CH35

Chapter 35: Early Matches

Shen Man asked the coach about today’s schedule.

The coach said they had arranged a scrim with a European squad. 3B had reached out wanting to scrim again, but the coach declined.

“Now they are the ones eager to play us,” the coach said. “I feel there’s no need to pile extra pressure on our players.” Unlike ACE’s situation, the roster over at 3B consisted entirely of seasoned veterans who had competed at Worlds before; their mental fortitude was naturally sturdier than that of first-time competitors. In his years of coaching, he had seen far too many players who performed brilliantly during everyday practice, only to choke on the tournament stage from sheer nerves.

Playing 3B offered no real upside whether they won or lost. Losing would burden his players with immense psychological weight, while winning wouldn’t rattle 3B’s mindset in the slightest. Therefore, he had no intention of booking another scrim with them.

Under the tournament format, top-seeded powerhouses would not clash in the opening rounds, preventing weaker teams from coasting into the bracket through sheer bracket luck.

“Fair enough. You’re the coach, you call the shots.” Shen Man had no objections.

With the rain bringing down the temperature, Liu Shishi rubbed his nose, remarking that it was a bit chilly.

Zhao Rui chimed in: “Cold, huh? How about I lock in two games of Yan Cao to turn up your body heat?”

Liu Shishi: “…That won’t be necessary.”

Banter aside, scrims still had to be played with absolute seriousness. With Xu Zhouye on board, ACE seemed to have achieved their complete form; across several days of practice, they barely dropped a game.

Over on the other side, the Play-In stage concluded. When the opening round draw was announced, the team felt little pressure. They were slated against a wildcard team whose overall strength was quite ordinary.

This was the exact reason why securing the HCC’s first seed was paramount. That seed guaranteed they could acclimate to the tournament stage during the opening round, rather than drawing a tournament favorite right out of the gate and getting sent packing on day one.

“The tournament is about to begin, get some good rest tonight.” That evening, the coach held a brief team meeting. He didn’t discuss intricate tactics, focusing instead on soothing everyone’s nerves so they wouldn’t feel overly tense.

You couldn’t fault the coach for being cautious. On their entire roster, only Shen Man had ever stepped onto the World stage; the rest were complete rookies at this level.

Fortunately, everyone’s condition appeared quite promising so far.

“Let’s go! We’re aiming to fly back on a plane!” The coach clapped his hands. It was an esports in-joke, as unforgiving fans always told severely underperforming teams to swim back across the ocean.

Everyone burst into laughter.

The rain lingered for several days, refusing to clear even after their first match concluded.

In that opening BO1, they dismantled the heavily outmatched wildcard team without a hitch. The disparity in individual skill was so vast it felt like bullying school children.

In the second round, they faced a European team, producing another expected victory. It was not until the third round draw was revealed that everyone drew in a sharp breath.

They had drawn 3B.

The moment the matchup was revealed, it wasn’t just the team gasping; domestic fans glued to the live broadcast sucked in a breath of cold air as well.

[What rotten luck! With so many teams in the pool, how did they pull 3B?!]

[Calm down, calm down. Dropping a single game isn’t the end of the world.]

[True. There are still plenty of chances as long as they secure three wins to advance.]

[Looks like our region’s results this year should be solid; both UN and TKR have a great shot at making it out…]

“How are we feeling?” The coach turned to look at the room.

The players exchanged glances, nobody offering a word.

“Shen Man?” The coach looked at Shen Man.

Shen Man hadn’t bothered watching further after seeing the result. Looking down at his phone with an unreadable expression, he heard the coach’s question and said flatly, “An opponent is an opponent. We had to face them sooner or later.”

The logic held firm: if you wanted to reach the summit, you inevitably had to scale the mountains in your way.

3B was merely one mountain among many, nothing uniquely terrifying, at least not in Shen Man’s eyes.

Possessing an unshakeable mindset was truly an indispensable quality for a champion. What the coach admired most about Shen Man was this exact psychological composure, remaining completely unflustered even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

Whether genuinely comforted or simply influenced by Shen Man’s serene composure, the suffocating tension in the room dissipated, and everyone began speaking freely.

Zhao Rui said, “3B might be fierce, but our ACE isn’t a soft persimmon either! If we go toe-to-toe, either we die, or they live!”

Everyone: “…”

With a face full of agony, the coach groaned, “Zhao Rui, since we lack literary flair, let’s speak a little less on ordinary days. Don’t make ACE’s already poor cultural atmosphere even more dismal.”

Zhao Rui praised him: “Coach really is a man of culture. Two idioms packed into a single sentence, impressive!”

Coach: “…”

Everyone began laughing.

With that bit of nonsense, the anxiety genuinely faded.

On the morning of their match against 3B, the manager woke up bright and early like an anxious parent seeing their kid off to the college entrance exams. He prepared a hard-boiled egg for each player, declaring that eating an egg meant scoring a perfect hundred points.

Xu Zhouye inspected the fork on the table and remarked, “Manager, we are abroad right now. There are no chopsticks, only forks. Look at this fork paired with an egg, doesn’t it look like a 1-0 scoreline?”

Manager: “…”

He let out a comical shriek: “Xu Zhouye, shut your mouth! I have a heart condition!”

Uproarious laughter filled the dining hall.

Beside them, Shen Man peeled his egg, took a bite, and consoled his teammate: “Alright, look on the bright side. If we lose, we won’t have to eat these dry breakfasts every day.”

Manager: “Shut up! That’s not bright at all! Every single one of you lock in! We must take this down today!”

Jokes aside, Shen Man showed zero hesitation once the match got underway.

His form had been exceptional lately. Less than five minutes into the laning phase, 3B’s bot lane felt the heat.

“ACE is in great shape,” 3B’s Support remarked.

Their Marksman, inner, remained silent.

The Support continued admiringly: “Like this three years ago, still the same three years later… truly formidable.” He had played against ACE three years ago and had experienced SLOW’s terror firsthand; he had not expected that three years on, the man’s brilliance remained entirely untamed.

inner sneered, “No need to praise him that much.”

He was a rising superstar who joined the scene later. Over the past three years, ACE hadn’t even qualified for Worlds, meaning the two had never crossed paths. Both were elite prodigies, and prodigies rarely bent their pride to anyone. He didn’t think SLOW was anything untouchable, though he did hold a higher opinion of ACE’s Jungler.

Marksmen who had experienced Xu Zhouye’s Mad Hound generally felt that way.

Shen Man was indeed in top form. The period of recovery had minimized the impact of his hand injury, and he was someone extraordinarily capable of tolerating physical pain. Drafting a lane-dominant bot lane duo for this BO1, his synergy with Zhao Rui was seamless, claiming an laning advantage without surprise.

Xu Zhouye played brilliantly as well. Knowing Shen Man held lane priority, he relentlessly invaded the opponent’s bot-side jungle. inner couldn’t rotate to assist, but Shen Man and Zhao Rui could. The three of them acted like rowdy bandits plundering someone’s home, snatching this camp and taking that buff, leaving air without so much as a drop of broth.

Deprived of neutral resources, air’s carry potential was completely choked off. He had picked a hyper-scaling late-game Hero, only to be smothered in the cradle due to early jungle invades. While inner looked relaxed at first, his expression grew increasingly grim as the game dragged on. When pushed back to his high ground late game, he couldn’t help asking, “Did SLOW actually hurt his hand?”

air wore a half-smile: “Why, does it not look like it?”

inner stared at his Nexus about to be shattered, saying nothing.

air didn’t press the matter, knowing inner was simply unwilling to concede defeat. For young prodigies, carrying that stubborn pride was natural. Everyone seated on this stage was a chosen talent of the rift; conceding superiority to another player was never the norm, especially against an opposing laner.

Dropping this game came as no real shock to air. It did not jeopardize the tournament run, and it served as a wake-up call for his teammates: ACE was certainly not the pushover squad of last year.

Meanwhile on ACE’s side, after feeling uneasy for so long, the match concluded with surprising smoothness. When victory was secured, the squad was momentarily in disbelief.

Whether because Shen Man’s form was too explosive or 3B hadn’t played all their cards, the game never became an agonizing trench war. ACE closed out this BO1 with dominant stats across the board.

Walking down the stage for post-match handshakes, Zhao Rui remained dazed. Only upon returning to the team bus did he bellow at the top of his lungs: “WE WON! WE WON! WE BEAT 3B!”

Liu Shishi and Xu Xiaochong were ecstatic as well, hugging each other and cheering.

Shen Man looked at Xu Zhouye sitting beside him: “You’re not joining in?”

Xu Zhouye said, “Next time, definitely.”

The manager said, “Alright, settle down. If someone snaps a photo of you, they’ll think you just won the final game of Worlds.” Even with his scolding, his tone was drenched in joy, clearly over the moon.

“Let’s move! Feast tonight!” the manager announced. “Booked a high-end restaurant!”

He had originally worried everyone would be crestfallen if they lost, planning to lift their spirits. He hadn’t anticipated an outright victory.

Time for a well-deserved celebration!

While ACE savored the sweet fruit of victory, Zhao Rui suddenly cried out looking at his phone: “Wait, for real?!”

“What now? Making a fuss over nothing,” the manager muttered.

“TKR lost,” Zhao Rui said with wide eyes.

Everyone froze upon hearing this.

During the draw, they had seen the team TKR was matched against: the third seed from the same Asian region as 3B, a squad whose strength seemed thoroughly unremarkable. Given TKR’s current form, everyone assumed they would comfortably take the match, yet they had actually dropped it…

Opening their phones, everyone confirmed the news.

“Didn’t see that coming,” the manager shook his head. “Truly, until the very last second, nobody knows the outcome.”

Esports was like this: upsets were common, and they were the very drama fans loved most.

Who didn’t want to see a seemingly frail underdog conquer the mountain peak?

“Still, it’s just one loss,” Zhao Rui said. “Just surprised. What’s the deal with this GC team, actually knocking TKR flat?”

GC, full name Golden Crown, was a newly founded organization this year, entering Worlds as the third seed from the Asian region.

Setting their skill aside, the team’s public reputation was notorious. Barely a month after their founding, a bullying scandal broke out, alleging that their team captain routinely cursed out and verbally abused his teammates. Yet the captain faced no disciplinary action, adamantly denying he had ever spoken those words, and since the newcomer couldn’t produce concrete evidence, the matter was swept under the rug.

Despite the controversy, their competitive results weren’t heavily derailed. Dropping only four matches domestically, they secured their World Championship berth as the third seed.

Nobody expected their firepower to be potent enough to topple TKR.

All of this was intel the coach had gathered. Reading through the dossier, he knitted his brows in distaste, holding a poor impression of this squad.

Listening to the briefing, everyone fell quiet, until Zhao Rui murmured faintly: “In other people’s eyes, our captain isn’t viewed as a team bully too, is he?”

Shen Man: “…”

Zhao Rui added: “Even bullied Xu Zhouye to tears…”

Xu Zhouye: “…”

Both were rendered entirely speechless.

“Enough. TKR likely underestimated their opponent. See that? A textbook cautionary tale,” the coach lectured them. “Never underestimate a single opponent.”

The players nodded in agreement.

Following these preliminary rounds came the Knockout Stage.

The Knockout Stage was a best-of-five format. Teams that advanced with a 3-0 record would face teams that qualified at 3-2, with remaining squads paired off until the champions were crowned.

This format ensured that top-tier titans would not eliminate one another early, preserving the competitive spectacle of the tournament.

Over the next few days, the team did not slack off. The coach studied match VODs to dissect opponents’ drafts and macro tendencies, while the players drilled scrims to maintain mechanical sharpness and team synergy.

Although TKR fell to GC, they swept their remaining two matches, advancing to the Knockout Stage with a 3-1 record.

In total, three domestic teams qualified for the Knockout bracket: ACE, UN, and TKR. Aside from ACE’s clean sweep, the other two had each dropped a match, meaning domestic civil wars in the bracket were highly likely.

At eight in the evening, the much-anticipated Knockout draw took place.

Shen Man cradled a bucket of popcorn, sitting in his customary corner to watch the broadcast.

Zhao Rui reached into the popcorn bucket for a generous handful, tossing it into his mouth and chewing noisily: “As long as UN and TKR don’t draw each other, we’re golden!”

The second those words left his mouth, the host on screen smilingly drew two balls and unfurled the slips of paper inside: one read UN, the other read TKR.

Everyone: “…”

The coach buried his face in his hands: “Zhao Rui, I beg of you, please stop talking.”

Zhao Rui silently mimed zipping his lips shut.

Now they were in for it: TKR and UN had to duke it out in a domestic civil war. The good news was that one domestic team was guaranteed a semifinal berth; the bad news was that one domestic team was definitely going home.

“Here it comes!” Amidst their sighs, the host opened a ball revealing ACE’s name. Liu Shishi shouted, “It’s our turn!”

The moment of truth arrived. Everyone held their breath, fixing their eyes on the screen without daring to make a sound.

The host took his time, leisurely cracking open the second ball. Spotting the name on the slip, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief: “Thank goodness…”

The second seed from Europe.

“A solid draw,” the coach smiled, pleased. “Still, what did we just say earlier? Never underestimate any opponent! Even against Europe’s second seed, that holds true! Have you not seen enough upsets? Everyone here at Worlds is an elite among elites. If you don’t want to swim home, treat every single game with absolute focus!”

The players chorused their agreement.

Shen Man popped a piece of popcorn into his mouth and handed the bucket to Zhao Rui: “Heading to bed.”

Zhao Rui said, “Goodnight, Captain! See you tomorrow.”

Xu Zhouye stood up as well: “Heading back too.”

Autumn in a foreign country carried a distinct flavor. Fallen leaves scattered across the streets, the air crisp and cold, carrying a faint hint of early snow when drawn into the nostrils.

The sky hung overcast, drizzling steadily.

Since arriving, the rain had barely paused, yet Shen Man did not dislike it.

A few potted plants sat on the hotel balcony, their foliage yellowed and withered. Shen Man reclined in the rattan chair by the window, watching the streetlights below. Through the dim amber glow, raindrops drifted down, with occasional pedestrians hurrying past.

The room lights weren’t fully on, illuminated only by a single floor lamp, leaving the space pleasantly dim.

Holding his phone, Shen Man drowsily watched tournament match VODs, the caster’s impassioned voice narrating another thrilling teamfight. The audio suddenly lowered, jolting Shen Man awake to find Xu Zhouye standing beside him.

Bent slightly with his side profile facing him, Xu Zhouye was carefully turning down the phone’s volume. Shen Man hadn’t noticed before, but Xu Zhouye’s side profile was remarkably attractive: clean and smooth lines, from brow bone to nose bridge down to his jawline, looking strikingly…

Reaching out involuntarily, by the time Shen Man realized what he was doing, his fingertip had already landed lightly upon the straight tip of Xu Zhouye’s nose.

Xu Zhouye blinked in surprise, turning his head to look at Shen Man.

Shen Man retracted his hand as if scalded.

“I thought you fell asleep,” Xu Zhouye’s voice was soft, carrying the crisp lightness unique to youth. “Did I wake you?”

Shen Man’s eyes widened slightly: “No…”

This rare startled expression amused Xu Zhouye. His eyes curved into crescents, his smile warm and brilliant like a blazing sun: “Felt nice to touch?”

Shen Man: “…” Now he was completely awake.

Finding him adorable beyond measure, the amusement in Xu Zhouye’s voice deepened: “Ge? Still not awake?”

Shen Man was awake, but felt he might as well have stayed asleep. Curled in the chair with Xu Zhouye standing right before him, he couldn’t even find an angle to change the subject. The distance between them was dangerously close; it felt as though if Xu Zhouye lowered his head just an inch, their faces would touch.

Shen Man’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, letting out a faint hum: “Mm.”

“Worried you’d catch a cold,” fortunately, Xu Zhouye did not tease him further, speaking gently, “If you’re sleepy, go wash up and sleep in bed.”

Shen Man agreed.

He moved to stand up, but his foot, curled underneath him for too long, gave way to a sharp prickle of numbness. He stumbled forward, tumbling unguarded straight into Xu Zhouye’s embrace, caught completely in his arms.

Shen Man stiffened slightly, feeling Xu Zhouye’s arm firmly encircling his waist. With their chests pressed tightly together, he could distinctly feel the steady thump of Xu Zhouye’s heartbeat.

“Ge,” Xu Zhouye murmured softly. His arm around Shen Man did not loosen; instead, it tightened slightly.

Shen Man’s waist was very slender, so lean that a single arm could encompass it easily.

Xu Zhouye caught a rare flicker of fluster in Shen Man’s eyes, those night-dark pupils finally colored with emotion.

Like a long, perpetual night where clouds parted, revealing a scattering of brilliant stars.

Snapping back to his senses, Shen Man raised his hands to push Xu Zhouye away, but Xu Zhouye released him a step ahead, saying softly, “Ge, be careful, don’t fall.”

Shen Man mumbled, “Okay, thanks.”

Once released, he didn’t look at Xu Zhouye. Ignoring his numb leg, he limped awkwardly into the bathroom.

Watching his slightly disheveled retreat, Xu Zhouye couldn’t help smiling.

Inside the bathroom, Shen Man splashed cold water onto his face with force. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he exhaled a long breath.

By nature, he had never dated anyone in all these years.

This face of his had brought not only awe and adoration, but also endless trouble, making him instinctively resist physical contact with others. Yet today, just moments ago, held in Xu Zhouye’s embrace, he realized with a start that he did not dislike Xu Zhouye’s touch or proximity.

When Xu Zhouye’s hand rested on his waist, no feeling of revulsion stirred within him.

In its place was an unfamiliar fluster. Shen Man stared at his reflection: his face wet with droplets, the tips of his hair damp, stripped of his usual defensive prickliness, looking bewildered and at a loss.

To him, Xu Zhouye was special. In this fleeting moment, Shen Man abruptly realized this fatal truth.