E-Sports Boss Wants To Post Messages With New Players Every Day Chapter 52

Chapter 51

The New Year holiday was over, and the day for the team to reconvene was fast approaching.

As the team at the top of the points leaderboard, TWG only had two matches left to play: the semi-finals and the finals. Barring any major blunders, stepping onto the podium was a certainty.

However, their true goal was the championship title.

The game version update was scheduled for two days later, leaving little training time for the various teams. Although TWG had a relatively generous schedule, no one felt they had too much time. After a few enjoyable days at the hot spring resort, Xu Ziyan and Xie Wei returned to the team.

Bai Chen and Shen Xiao had returned a day earlier than them, and Yu Guangzhou had rushed back right after the New Year. The five of them had dinner together at the villa, where Yu Guangzhou formally announced that normal training would resume starting the next day.

“Ugh,” Shen Xiao complained quietly. “Is esports even meant for humans? We only get two breaks a year, and they’re so short. They really don’t want us to live.”

Yu Guangzhou glanced at him and said, “KW only gave five days for the New Year break, and WOF started training the day before yesterday.”

Without comparison, there is no difference. Shen Xiao said, “I suddenly feel balanced.”

Seeing that Shen Xiao had stopped talking nonsense, Yu Guangzhou felt a little better. He picked up some food with his chopsticks and said casually, “A new substitute is joining the team tomorrow. All of you keep an eye on him.”

A substitute?

As soon as the words left his mouth, three out of the four pairs of eyes at the table turned toward Xie Wei.

Bai Chen said, “What was bound to happen has finally arrived.”

Shen Xiao said, “Ah, Captain Xie, don’t overthink it. Even the most formidable person will eventually retire. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of the team.”

Xu Ziyan looked worried and hesitated, but said nothing.

Xie Wei was almost amused to anger. “You’re thinking of sending me off a little too soon, aren’t you?”

Yu Guangzhou cleared his throat. “Ahem, the substitute player is not a Sniper, he’s an Assault Player.”

“You all know this person. It’s Yuan from the second team.”

Shen Xiao was stunned upon hearing this. He calculated the ages of everyone present and, leveraging his one-year advantage, confidently turned to Bai Chen and said, “Ah, Chen, don’t overthink it. Even the most formidable person will eventually retire…”

Bai Chen gave him a cold look. “You should worry more about yourself. You’re the one with the most unstable stats in the league this season.”

Shen Xiao choked up and looked back at Yu Guangzhou. “No way? Is it really me? I’m still young! I just made it into the top ten on the Assault Player leaderboard two days ago! The team can’t kick me out just because I’m willing to sacrifice my KDA for the team!”

Yu Guangzhou was exasperated. “It’s just a backup plan. Yuan has been performing well recently. Plus, after the playoffs, we have to go abroad for the Mid-Season Invitational. Bringing an extra person means one more visa, just in case someone gets sick or suffers from acclimatization issues, and we don’t have to force them to play while ill.”

Shen Xiao reluctantly accepted this explanation. He suddenly thought of something and said, “Speaking of Assault Players, WOF’s side…”

He stopped mid-sentence, smiled, and changed the subject. “YNG seems to have started training early too. We aren’t the last team to return to the base, are we?”

The mention of WOF just now seemed like a small slip of the tongue.

Xu Ziyan said, “Yeah, when KK messaged me a few days ago, he was already playing scrims with his team.”

Shen Xiao said, “So diligent.” He then nudged Bai Chen. “Learn something from your brother.”

Bai Chen ignored him.

After dinner, Xu Ziyan returned to his room, opened his computer, logged into the game, and checked the Ladder Ranking.

Seamy had risen to fifth place, while Yuan was ranked eighth.

To be fair, the strength of the Assault Players on TWG’s second team, while not weak, couldn’t be described as very strong. They could certainly secure a Main Roster Player position on some smaller teams, but next to TWG’s Seamy and Chen, they seemed somewhat lacking.

However, Xu Ziyan carefully reviewed Yuan’s recent matches and was surprised to find that his stats had improved significantly compared to before. Not only that, but Yuan Shaofeng’s Ranked Matches had barely stopped since the off-season until this afternoon; he had been aggressively climbing the ranks.

The intensity was so high that Xu Ziyan, who had spent the past few days eating, playing, and sleeping, felt a little ashamed of himself.

Back when they were on the second team, Xu Ziyan and Yuan Shaofeng had a good relationship. Xu Ziyan had no intention of getting involved in the complicated love triangle between him, Bai Ke, and Bai Chen, but purely as a friend and teammate, Xu Ziyan welcomed him.

Just as he was wondering whether to send Yuan Shaofeng a message to greet him in advance, he received a new message on Line.

Seamy: Hey hey hey, streaming together tomorrow? Last two hours, then we’re done.

Xu Ziyan replied: Sure.

He then suddenly recalled Shen Xiao’s hesitant look at the dinner table and, after a moment of hesitation, typed a message.

Ice: By the way, what were you saying about WOF’s Assault Player?

Seamy: It’s nothing major.

Seamy: Uh, how should I put it? Their other Assault Player named Jin, for some reason, has been causing trouble lately. There were signs during the pre-season, and after the pre-season ended, he started demanding a raise, even threatening to throw matches if he didn’t get it.

There was actually such an oddball.

Ice: …? Isn’t he afraid of violating his contract?

Seamy: Afraid of what? He’s not match-fixing, and he hasn’t broken any rules. He’ll just insist that he played poorly because he’s bad, and no one can do anything about him.

Xu Ziyan was shocked.

Ice: Isn’t he just messing with his own career?

Seamy: Career, my foot. This guy is almost retired anyway. He never had much achievement or popularity to begin with. He’s probably jealous of Secret and wants to seize the opportunity to make a quick buck. Damn it, who does he think he is? This useless guy has been clinging to Secret’s coattails throughout the matches, occasionally dragging him down. He should be grateful to even have a Main Roster Player spot on WOF, and yet he has the nerve to resort to threats.

Seamy: WOF would be better off signing me than paying a huge price for him.

Xu Ziyan couldn’t help but smile wryly. He asked: How do you know all this?

Shen Xiao replied matter-of-factly: Secret told me himself.

Xu Ziyan paused, then chuckled.

That idiot Shen Xiao, doesn’t he realize that Li Huanbin isn’t the type to be loose-lipped and spread his team’s business around? It was highly likely that Secret was trying to use this opportunity to gain sympathy and lure Shen Xiao to WOF.

He checked Seamy’s Ladder Ranking history and found that in dozens of recent Ranked Matches, Secret’s shadow was present without exception, and in matches where Secret was present, Shen Xiao was the MVP nine times out of ten.

Xu Ziyan teased: After a few days apart, God Xiao is getting cozy with his former “enemy” just for points.

Seamy: Don’t talk nonsense. He’s just a tool. I’ll block him after I’m done using him.

But you were just so righteously indignant on his behalf.

Xu Ziyan didn’t expose him and sent him a thumbs-up emoji.

The next morning, Yu Guangzhou led Yuan Shaofeng into the A-Team training room.

Xu Ziyan had just finished a Ranked Match. Hearing the sound, he looked up.

It had only been half a month since they last met, but Yuan Shaofeng had changed a lot in that short time. His slightly long hair had been shaved into a buzz cut. Without the fine bangs covering his forehead, a vertical scar on the outer corner of his left eyebrow was revealed, adding a touch of intensity to his demeanor.

Yuan Shaofeng was already tall. Now, wearing the team uniform and standing silently behind Yu Guangzhou, he looked much more composed.

Perhaps considering that Xu Ziyan and Yuan Shaofeng knew each other, Yu Guangzhou arranged their stations close together.

After settling down, Yuan Shaofeng turned to Xu Ziyan and smiled. “Ice, long time no see.”

“Not exactly a long time no see,” Xu Ziyan said. “What happened to your hair?”

Yuan Shaofeng touched the top of his head. “Consider it a change of pace.”

Xu Ziyan was puzzled and tilted his head slightly.

Yuan Shaofeng shrugged and lowered his voice, speaking at a volume only they could hear. “The day KK left the team, I confessed to him.”

Xu Ziyan’s pupils contracted, his face full of surprise. When Bai Ke came to the Xie family for the New Year, he hadn’t noticed any signs of this.

“And, as expected, I got dumped.” Yuan Shaofeng actually knew whether Bai Ke liked him or not, but he had held back for too long. Seeing that Bai Ke was about to leave TWG, coupled with the influence of alcohol, he lost his head and confessed.

Needless to say, Bai Ke rejected him outright, not even offering a few lighthearted words to ease the tension, cutting him off decisively without leaving any room for hope.

Xu Ziyan wanted to comfort him, but anything he said felt inappropriate. Before he could rack his brain for the right words, Yuan Shaofeng said, “But I’ve also figured things out.”

“Because I like him, I should work harder to improve myself, instead of just being a second-team member coasting in the Secondary League.” Yuan Shaofeng said, “KK is already the Main Roster Player Sniper for YNG’s A-Team. I should move forward too.”

No wonder Yuan Shaofeng’s Ranked Match count had skyrocketed and his progress had been rapid since that day. It turned out his mindset had changed; he had channeled his heartbreak into strength.

Xu Ziyan said, “At least this had a positive impact on you.”

Yuan Shaofeng nodded. “You could look at it that way. Want to Duo Queue later?”

Xu Ziyan said, “Not today, I promised Seamy…” As he spoke, he turned his head, only to meet Shen Xiao’s slightly scrutinizing gaze.

Shen Xiao narrowed his eyes. “You two seem to have a very good relationship.”

Xu Ziyan said, “…It’s decent.”

Shen Xiao said, “I get it, I get it. The old teammate is here. It’s time to abandon me.”

A question mark popped up above Xu Ziyan’s head.

“Shen Xiao.” Xie Wei took off one side of his headset and reminded him coolly, “Are you looking for extra training?”

Upon hearing the words “extra training,” Shen Xiao immediately wilted and sheepishly returned to his station.

Xu Ziyan smiled faintly, not taking it to heart.

He had fully expected that Yuan Shaofeng, upon joining the team, would take Bai Chen’s position—the role of standing in the front row to absorb damage and protect the backline. After all, whether it was during his time on the second team or his personal playstyle, that role suited him better.

However, to his surprise, in the subsequent scrims, the player Yu Guangzhou had Yuan Shaofeng replace was not Bai Chen, but Shen Xiao.

“Seamy is too impatient and easily exploited,” Yu Guangzhou wrote a couple of notes in his data logbook. “Yuan, you go up and try. Pay attention to when to advance and retreat.”