FOG [e-sports]

Chapter 84:

Shi Luo’s hard to come by heart-warming thoughts were dashed by the fans’ bucket after bucket of cold water.

Shi Luo wasn’t willing to give up just yet. He was so used to fighting against the sprayers that Shi Luo had become very vigilant. He knew very well their ‘masquerading as a fan’ routine and felt that these might very well be haters of his own team.

Shi Luo, caught up in his own conspiracy theory, clicked on the user IDs of the commenters one by one. The illusions he held in his heart were then shattered one after the other.

Some of them were loyal fans who’d been their fans for five or six years, technical fans who specialized in making their game highlights, sister fans who sent out 10,000-yuan gifts in their live broadcasts and steel straight male fans who’ve been following them since their FS days. There were also die-hard fans who’ve stanned him since he made his debut two years ago…

The users who were the fiercest to scold his side account were also the ones who usually sent out posts praising and boasting about him. Each one of their usual posts were each more touching and moving than the other…

Shi Luo held down his anger and swallowed the dirty words that he was about to blurt back into his stomach.

They were all their own team’s fans and some of them were girls. There was no way he could scold them.

Even if they couldn’t hear it anyway.

Even if they really had scolded his side account way too much.

“Patience…” Shi Luo was so angry that his scalp was starting to hurt, “I’m being very patient with all of you. If I really started spraying, none of you would be able to beat me.”

Shi Luo couldn’t bring himself to slaughter their passionate fans. Originally, he wanted to delete all these comments, but when he remembered that these were all sent by his fans, he didn’t have the heart to do it. Shi Luo didn’t read the comments anymore but he still stubbornly made another post.

[I’ve begun rooming with Yu Sui. He actually knows how to change the sheets, fold clothes, and spread quilts. 】

Shi Luo had just posted it when a user named “Love Evil for Life” sent him a comment: [@Free E-sports Club, this person is at it again. Can everyone report him so we could finally get him blocked? ]

Shi Luo looked at the ID of the fan who threatened to have him banned and pinched the space between his brows…

If in the future, him and Yu Sui don’t work out, none of his fans could claim innocence.

Shi Luo logged out of his side account and put away thoughts of his unblessed love.

Shi Luo had just switched back to his main account when Yu Sui came back with takeaway.

It was raining heavily outside, and there were little water droplets on the take-out packaging.

Shi Luo pulled out a small table from under his bed and placed it by the window, Yu Sui put the takeaway on the small table and the two leaned against the bay window and started eating.

Yu Sui looked assessing-ly at Shi Luo as he opened the takeaway bags. “What’s wrong?”

Shi Luo was startled and raised his eyes. “Huh?”

Yu Sui took out the takeaway food boxes and set them down. “You look…like you just got angry.”

Shi Luo opened the takeaway food box, hesitated and then told Yu Sui.

“My fans laughed at me and scolded me… and wanted to report me. One of them even said she wanted to hit me.” Shi Luo bit his chopsticks and held it between his lips, a wooden expression on his face. His words came out a bit muffled. “What scared me was that the fan who said she was going to hit me even made a post yesterday saying that they hoped all of Shi Zai’s wishes would come true. Well, right now I’m wishing she wouldn’t ruin my love life, okay?”

Yu Sui smiled, “What is your side account ID? I’ll go and have a look.”

“No need!” Shi Luo himself had looked over his sappy posts and felt completely embarrassed. How could he possibly let Yu Sui see it. “There’s nothing to see. I’ll delete it all later.”

“What’s to be done then?” Yu Sui slowly stirred his rice porridge, “Or&#k2026; Maybe you should use your main account?”

“Don’t make trouble.” Shi Luo opened the insulation packaging on his milk tea and took a sip. “Wouldn’t that mean we’d be making it public?”

Yu Sui took a sip of his rice porridge and said with a relaxed tone, “Then make it public.”

Shi Luo pursed his lips and took a sip of his milk tea. Hesitantly, he asked, “What do you…what do you mean?”

Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui uneasily, “Pretty soon, it’s going to be the playoffs already. Don’t mess around. I’m serious, you…”

Yu Sui raised his eyes, “I’m what?”

Shi Luo paused. He couldn’t say it clearly, “When you go crazy…you’re actually more ruthless than I am.”

Yu Sui laughed, “Have I gone crazy?”

“Have you never heard of it? It’s the ones who normally don’t like getting angry, the ones that look gentle, that are really scary when they get angry.” Shi Luo was worried, “You’re that kind of person.”

“Moreover.” Shi Luo bit the straw and whispered, “You have more girlfriend fans and madam fans than I do…don’t you feel like losing them would be a waste?”

Yu Sui smiled, “You think I care about that?”

Shi Luo’s heart was warmed. The sullenness in his heart instantly disappeared completely.

Shi Luo picked up his chopsticks and lowered his head to focus on his meal. “Forget it, having a secret relationship is also good.”

Yu Sui slowly ate his rice porridge. While Shi Luo wasn’t paying attention, he picked up his phone, opened Weibo and did a search.

Shi Luo had actually exposed enough information that Yu Sui was able to find Shi Luo’s side account. Yu Sui took a look, copied the URL and saved it on his phone. He then put his phone aside.

After eating the takeaway, the other people in the base got up one after another. Yu Sui didn’t do anything to avoid suspicion. He stayed in Shi Luo’s room until Old Qiao knocked on his door at around five o’clock in the afternoon.

Today’s regular season match was Saint vs. Shi Luo’s old club IAC.

It was Saint’s match so they needed to watch it. Instead of waiting later to do a game review, it was better to watch the live broadcast. Anyway, afternoon training had been cancelled. If they weren’t going to train, they might as well do a game review.

Zhou Huo was eager to find Yu Sui to ask him about his progress with Shi Luo. And so, he went to the training room ahead of time. As though he understood it like they did, he had his glasses and held a notebook and a pen to watch the game.

The team members arrived in the training room one after another, and the game started shortly after.

After Shi Luo’s transfer, IAC’s combat power dropped by a lot this season. They could no longer be regarded as one of the top tier teams in the league.

But Saint gave IAC ample respect. They faced IAC like they were playing for the World Championship finals. IAC’s current combat style was a stable layout across the board. Saint obviously developed a strategy for them. They played even more steadily and cautiously than IAC. In the first round, Saint played steadily and struck hard. They chose to play slowly rather than reveal any flaws to IAC. The round lasted almost fifty minutes.

If they didn’t know better, they would have thought that Saint was playing a knockout round of the World Championship.

“Saint…” Puppy smiled, “What’s going on with Saint recently? Do they need to be so dedicated to their work?”

Old Qiao’s brows were furrowed the entire time. “I always feel that they…”

Yu Sui watched quietly without speaking.

The two commentators of the game were still analyzing the importance of Saint’s cautious layout. The discussion was endless. Zhou Huo’s understanding of the game was only based on the commentators. Listening to what had been said, he said, “Didn’t the commentators explain it? This strategy is correct.”

Except for Zhou Huo, all the others offers no comment.

Professional players might not be able to express themselves as well as professional commentators, but their insight into the game was definitely more thorough. Shi Luo frowned. “It’s not that Saint doesn’t know how to play a fast offensive game. From the start, they were already suppressing IAC’s frontline. This game was over a long time ago. Insisting on using the slowest way…their chance of winning is higher, but they let the game drag on for too long.”

Chen Huo rubbed his neck. “Others just want to fight and get off stage, but they… Now it’s like they shelled out money to go sightseeing; they want to see everything.”

Yu Sui looked at the screen and suddenly turned to Shi Luo. “The striker on their team…Amaze, they call him Old A, right? Do you know how old he is this year?”

Before Yu Sui went to Europe two years ago, Amaze was still Saint’s backup striker. He hadn’t played two years ago. No one in the team had played against him before except for Shi Luo.

“Old A…” Shi Luo furrowed his brows. “If I remember correctly, he became a starter a year ago. I didn’t know that Saint had him before then. Then when he became a starter, I heard the guys at my old team say that he’s actually been in the league for a long time. But as to his specific age…I don’t know.”

“I know.” Old Qiao said, “He and Angel Sword became Saint’s youth trainees at the same time. Angel Sword is 23 this year and he’s two years older than Angel Sword.”

“Twenty-five.” Yu Sui paused for a moment and said in a low voice, “He just became a starter last year. He must be the ‘Heaven rewards the diligent’ kind of player. He must definitely train a lot…”

Shi Luo’s eyes moved slightly. He was getting an idea as to Yu Sui was driving at.

Old Qiao was startled and couldn’t help but straighten up. “You mean… He’s going to retire?”

“I’m not sure.” Yu Sui said lightly, leaning back on his chair, “In general, within the league, snipers retire latest, followed by medics and on average, the strikers retire the earliest. It’s because the reaction speed needed to play this job is too high. We’re not even taking into account injuries and sprains. Most players at this age are suffering from work-related injuries. If he is really…”

Yu Sui shook his head slightly. “I hope not.”

The training room was quiet for a moment.

Others knew very well that Yu Sui’s conjecture was the most reasonable and it explained best Saint’s current situation.

Old Qiao hesitated and said, “Now that you mention it… I seem to have an impression that I heard someone say that Old A has a problem with his right shoulder…”

Saint was obviously trying its best to play each and every game to its fullest. One match played was one match less. And so, they didn’t overlook even the weak teams. They wanted to play for as long as they could. Obviously, they could reserve their tactics and strength for the playoffs and the World Championships after that, but they chose not to…like they couldn’t wait.

The most logical explanation was that someone was injured and would need to retire; then they really couldn’t wait.

“He…” Zhou Huo couldn’t understand. “It’s only a few months. They could find a way. Temporarily, they could use some aggressive treatment. They could hire a team doctor to follow them around. If he has to lie down to get to the World Championships, then he’ll lie down.”

“If he could get there by lying down, of course he would. Who doesn’t want to go to the World Championships?” Old Qiao said quietly, “But what if he can’t make it? And…”

Old Qiao asked in reply, “How do you know that he hasn’t already been using aggressive treatment in order to drag things out until now?”

Old Qiao slowly said, “I used to be treated conservatively first, and then switched to aggressive treatment and then retired after half a year. After starting the aggressive treatment, I couldn’t see when it would end. I didn’t know until when I could hold on. I could only make the most of every moment.”

The second game was about to begin. Zhou Huo looked at Saint and still felt it was a waste. “Actually… there is still another way. The regular season isn’t over yet. Just like when you guys let Shi Luo play before the playoffs that year; they could hurry up and buy a strong substitute striker. They could let the newcomer play for Old A for the rest of the regular season games. That way, there’ll still be hope later on. If Old A can’t make it, then they can let the newcomer come up. ”

Puppy said, “If we’ve thought of it, then Saint must have also thought of it. But they didn’t do it and chose to maintain their current lineup. If you look at how they are…team morale is high. They’re not being forced to do this. This must be what they decided as a team. ”

Old Qiao sighed, “Injury, it’s f*cking…the most disgusting thing.”

Shi Luo has only been playing professionally for two years. His teammates now and his teammates before were all young and in good condition. It could be said that he was the one who was least able to empathize with the situation of having to retire because of injury.

Shi Luo wanted to search to see just how many years Old A had been playing. He rummaged in his jacket pocket and realized that he’d forgotten his mobile phone in the dorm.

Shi Luo got up and went to the dorm to get his mobile phone.

“Why?” Zhou Huo still felt like it was a pity, “If they insist on playing like this, the entire team might not be able to make it to the World Championships. They should hurry up and buy a new player so that when Old A can’t hold on anymore they have a ready substitute. What could Angel Sword be thinking…”

“What’s he thinking?” Puppy shrugged. “He’s thinking he doesn’t want Old A to be subbed out.”

Zhou Huo smiled helplessly. “He’s injured. It’s no one’s fault. What’s it matter if he gets subbed once or twice?”

“Not so.” Old Qiao stared fixedly at Old A. “He’s been on Saint’s bench for 6 to 7 years already. He’s probably so used to it that he’s sick of it.”

Zhou Huo was at a loss for words.

Old Qiao said, “If I were Angel Sword, I also wouldn’t agree to let him be subbed out. If he can play for a few more days, then I will accompany him to play for a few more days… He’s been with me for so many years before, can I not accompany him for a few months now? ”

Chen Huo let out a sigh. “If this were to happen to my teammate…I wouldn’t want a newcomer either.”

Puppy nodded. “In any case, I’m in good health. If I lose once, there’ll be a next time.”

Zhou Huo looked at them with a surprised expression and laughed. “What happened to being a team of villains? Why are you all suddenly expressing your love for your teammates?”

“Don’t be disgusting.” Chen Huo said, disgusted. “Who’d love these bastards?…but your degree of familiarity is different for different people.”

Shi Luo headed back to the training room as soon as he got his phone from his room. He’d forgotten to close the door to the training room. Before he could enter the room, he heard Zhou Huo say, “If you think about it, it is understandable…Though you’d normally tease and make fun of each other, when it comes for someone to retire, you become reluctant to part with them. You can never be completely rational about it. After all, you’ve been teammates for so many years…”

Zhou Huo sighed in a low voice, “You can’t really say anything when matters cross with feelings. And feelings formed for this many years…”

Shi Luo stopped in his tracks.

Shi Luo instinctively felt that… It was hard to stick himself in when they were discussing this topic.

Except for himself, everyone else were “teammates for so many years.”

“It doesn’t have to be that many years either.” Chen Huo said wearily, “If that brat Shi Luo suddenly breaks his hand tomorrow, I would rather him play with one arm than let a substitute stand in for him.”

Shi Luo outside the door was startled.

“We’ll carry him if we have to…” Puppy slowly said. “He’s been targeted by the sprayers for so long because he doesn’t have any World Championship experience… If he hadn’t been tossed about because of all the sh*t that went down two years ago, he should have f*cking made it to the World Championships already. Sigh, we really shouldn’t dwell on this…”

Yu Sui said indifferently, “On Shi Luo’s behalf, I would like to thank you for all the poisoned milk. Now, his hand will never eve be broken in this life.”

Old Qiao smiled, “Then, we’re going to have to work extra hard. This year, we must rush to the World Championship to get Evil there.”

Shi Luo was leaning outside the door. A moment later, he lowered his head and smiled.

After so long keeping himself free from forming relationships with others, for the first time, Shi Luo has his feet planted on solid ground, he felt he had a place to stay that was his own domain.