The atmosphere in the War God Team’s training room was gloomy, with only the crisp sound of keyboard tapping breaking the silence. As a powerful and prestigious team, their daily training was extremely rigorous, and even mistakes during practice matches would result in extra training.
In a well-lit spot, a man lazily leaned back in his chair, one hand tapping the keyboard, the other holding a cigarette. The Qi Master on the screen stood at the back, while his teammates were already engaging the enemy head-on. He merely fired two Qi Cannons from a distance, then paused to flick the ash from his cigarette.
The members of the War God Team were long accustomed to his half-hearted training style. It might be hard to believe, but their team’s core ace was someone who only trained seriously when he was in a good mood.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and a cold wind rushed in. A tall girl stood at the entrance, her gaze as sharp as ice, piercing through Xiao Zhang.
The training members immediately dared not breathe loudly, each one staring intently at their screens, wishing they could dive into them.
Xiao Zhang acted as if he hadn’t noticed, shaking his leg and smoking, calmly pouring himself a glass of water.
Hu Nana strode over to him, “I told you no smoking in the training room, didn’t I?”
Only then did Xiao Zhang take off his headphones, flashing a roguish smile, “Oh, sorry, Captain, I forgot.”
Hu Nana furrowed her brows, suppressing her anger, “Come with me.”
Xiao Zhang shrugged indifferently, and the two of them went out into the hallway. Hu Nana quickly dialed on her phone and shoved it in front of him.
“Is this your doing? I thought the last time you incited fans to insult Cang Yu was over, but you’re still at it! Xiao Zhang, how can you be so narrow-minded? Can’t you stand anyone being a bit better than you?”
“Narrow-minded?” Xiao Zhang laughed, “Do you even know what you wrote in the S5 team plan you handed to the manager? Replace me, bring in Cang Yu? Hu Nana, you’re dreaming. Who do you think is holding up the team right now?”
“Me! It’s all on me!”
His roar made the team members in the training room turn their heads.
“Without me, could you have gotten a spot in the global tournament? Without me streaming to boost the team’s popularity, would we have so many fans? When you first became captain, who was it that paired with you to get sponsorships? And now, you look down on me, want to kick me out just like that, dream on!”
Hu Nana’s eyes widened, her aura not diminished by the taller man’s outburst. She spoke righteously.
“You’ve contributed to the team, but what have you done these years? Leaving the base frequently without notice, especially this year, how many times have you been to the training room? What state are you in during training? Streaming to boost popularity, huh, probably more serious than your training.”
Xiao Zhang glanced at her amusingly, “Do you want me to train like those rookies who practice twelve or thirteen hours a day and still get beaten like dogs in official matches?”
“Watch your words!” Hu Nana raised her voice but quickly realized it wasn’t worth getting angry with someone like him, “Fine, you’re strong, you’re amazing, but accusing Cang Yu of cheating, do you have any brains? Aren’t you afraid of being drowned in fans’ spit?”
“What did I do?” Xiao Zhang spread his hands in surprise, “Did I say he cheated? The commenters are arguing on their own, what’s it got to do with me? I’m also surprised how praising him with a screenshot got me into trouble, Cang Yu should reflect on his own character.”
“You!” Hu Nana was so angry she couldn’t speak, then suddenly thought of something, “Are you trying to lure Cang Yu out? Planning to dox him?”
“Don’t make it sound so scary,” Xiao Zhang patted her shoulder reassuringly, but his gaze turned dark, “I just want him to understand that with a flick of my finger, I can make his life chaotic. If I say a word, his long-hidden identity will be exposed! If he wants to stay in the circle, he better play by the rules.”
The more Hu Nana listened, the more alarmed she became. She couldn’t understand how Xiao Zhang had become so extreme and self-centered. When she first joined the team, he had been very supportive. Back then, the team was undergoing major changes, and it was a difficult transition period. Xiao Zhang had single-handedly held up the team.
But now, that support had changed.
Seeing her disbelief, Xiao Zhang chuckled, suddenly pushing her against the wall, lowering his voice, “Nana, you’ve changed too. What I can’t stand is you defending others and targeting me.”
With that, he sneered and returned to the training room.
Hu Nana watched his back with mixed feelings. At this moment, she realized clearly that the War God Team was on a downhill path.
The Weibo post by Song Xueyang undoubtedly reassured Cang Yu’s fans, and to their surprise, Cang Yu announced he would turn on his camera!
Oh my god, so exciting! The mysterious streamer they’ve followed for three years is finally going to show his face. They no longer have to fantasize about the assassin’s appearance on the screen!
The topic of Cang Yu turning on his camera quickly overshadowed the cheating accusations, dominating the headlines, and fans eagerly discussed the upcoming live stream.
“I’m going to screenshot Yu Shen’s face and make it my screensaver! Then I can point to him and tell others he’s my husband, aww!”
“Seeing my idol’s face in my lifetime, I’m so happy I could cry! Wait… what if it’s a girl?”
“2333, fake husband, real rival series, but I advise everyone not to have high expectations. Yu Shen is all about skill, we can’t expect him to look like a celebrity, just keep a normal mindset.”
“No way! I can’t keep a normal mindset! I’m so happy I could fly, Yu Shen’s skills have already added ten thousand points to his looks! PS: But secretly hoping Cang Yu is a handsome guy.”
“Yu Shen, show those trash-talking kings what you’re made of. Our Yu Shen has always been low-key, did he provoke you? Why are you throwing dirt on him?”
This drama caught the attention of everyone in the e-sports circle, with people flocking to the live stream to catch a glimpse of Cang Yu’s true face. Meanwhile, more curious players wanted to see if someone could really perform a 5-skill combo in 0.7 seconds.
In the Maple Moon training room, a group of people gathered around Song Xueyang’s computer with small stools. Fan Jingming sat backward on a chair, his chin resting on the backrest, while Xu Xing leaned forward excitedly, looking like he was about to dive into the screen. Only Zhou Ning sat properly.
This time was supposed to be for training, but since the team wasn’t fully assembled, playing solo or duo matches every day was getting boring, so they decided to relax a bit.
Haixing was excited all day, “If Cang Yu shows his face, can we find out his information and recruit him?”
Zhou Ning calmly replied, “Cang Yu has kept his identity hidden for years, his personal information is well-protected, I don’t think it’s that simple.”
Fan Jingming wasn’t focused on that, grinning, “Do you think Cang Yu might be a girl? If Cang Yu is a girl, will our captain fall in love?”
Haixing mercilessly teased, “As if the captain wouldn’t if Cang Yu isn’t a girl…”
Zhou Ning quickly covered his mouth, and Haixing belatedly looked at Song Xueyang, who was smiling at his phone, exuding the aura of someone in love, seemingly not hearing what was said.
Who is the captain messaging?
Haixing asked with his eyes.
Zhou Ning shook his head, and Fan Jingming blinked, pointing at the live stream on the computer screen.
This answer was unanimously agreed upon by everyone.
At exactly nine o’clock, the familiar computer desktop appeared on the live stream, and fans excitedly flooded the chat. After a few seconds, the lower-left corner of the streamer area suddenly lit up, revealing a pure black Corsair K95 Platinum mechanical keyboard, and nothing else!
The fans in the live stream expressed their dissatisfaction in the chat.
“What the hell, I took my pants off for this?”
“Real camera on, we want to see the face, not the keyboard!”
“As expected, I knew Cang Yu wouldn’t suddenly decide to show his face…”
Soon, a long, clean hand rested on the keyboard, the five fingers slightly bent, revealing distinct knuckles, looking even more fair and smooth against the black keyboard.
The fans who were just criticizing Cang Yu for being a tease suddenly howled like wolves.
“Ahhh!! Hand fetishists rejoice! Must screenshot, screenshot, screenshot! Just for these hands, you’re already my husband!”
“Oh my god! With hands this pretty, the person can’t be bad-looking! Why not show the face, why not show the face!”
“My god! This is definitely a guy! Who told me Cang Yu was a twenty-seven or eight-year-old uncle? Does your uncle have hands this tender? I really believed your nonsense!”
Haixing was dumbfounded, “Cang Yu only plans to show his hands?”
Zhou Ning thought for a moment, “To prove his hand speed isn’t cheating, showing his hands is enough. Right now, with fans arguing fiercely, showing his face could easily lead to doxxing by excited fans. This is the wise move.”
Fan Jingming whistled, “Don’t worry, Cang Yu has a big background. In three years, no one has heard a thing about him, probably even the streaming platform doesn’t know his identity.”
Song Xueyang was slightly stunned, his gaze following the long, beautiful hand on the screen, clean and polished even down to the nails.
There are many good-looking people, but not many with beautiful hands. However, these hands were indeed very pretty, almost instantly reminding him of someone he had just sent off a few days ago. That person’s hands were also so fair and beautiful, he couldn’t help but look at them several times.
In the live stream, Cang Yu didn’t enter the arena but went into the dungeon, the Underground Mine. This dungeon had a feature where lava would randomly appear on the ground at intervals, and stepping on it would result in instant death, regardless of health. Fortunately, the ground where the lava appeared had a range indicator, so careful positioning wasn’t particularly difficult.
Haixing made a sound of surprise, “Why did Cang Yu enter a dungeon? Isn’t he going to the training ground?”
Song Xueyang understood, “The training ground’s dummies, although adjustable in attack and defense values, don’t move, and can’t compare to Xiao Zhang. Even if he achieves a 0.7-second 5-skill release, it won’t convince everyone.”
Song Xueyang said this with a slight smile, unable to help but admire Cang Yu’s cleverness.
On the screen, the assassin skillfully dodged the lava on the ground, activated Shadow Clone, and approached the boss with a combo. His fingers moved rapidly, the deliberately lowered game volume filling the live stream with the sound of his keyboard tapping.
The assassin on the screen quickly split into five clones, then swiftly maneuvered behind the boss, Death Mark! Assassinate! Lava appeared on the ground simultaneously, and he rolled quickly, his dual blades never stopping, Blood Blade, Heart Stab, Blade Dance!
He perfectly recreated the combo from the match against Xiao Zhang, the only difference being that the boss was still alive, while Xiao Zhang had already fallen.
After finishing the combo, he immediately went invisible and retreated, causing the boss to lose aggro, then opened the combat statistics interface, scrolling down to the time of the combo release.
25:10.01 You used the skill Death Mark
25:10.07 You used the skill Assassinate
25:10.24 You used the skill Blood Blade
25:10.36 You used the skill Heart Stab
25:10.42 You used the skill Blade Dance
0.7 seconds!
In 0.7 seconds, he dealt damage with five skills, the burst hand speed was astonishing to the point of being terrifying, probably unmatched by many professional players worldwide, and all of this was witnessed by them!
They watched as that hand danced across the keyboard, as those long, powerful fingers pressed each key, a scene more convincing than any evidence!
The live stream exploded, the screen filled with 666, making the game interface barely visible.
“I knew Yu Shen was a true master, ahhh!!!”
“Who dares say Yu Shen cheats! Does your face hurt! From today, Yu Shen, you’re my new male god!”
“66666! Where’s that jealous streamer who accused Cang Yu of cheating? Come and duel with Brother Yu!”
“What happened? Hand fetishists licking hands the whole time! These hands are too beautiful! Yu Shen, are you a hand model?”
As everyone excitedly spammed the chat, that hand moved again, typing a more explosive message on the live stream screen.
—I won’t be streaming for now, see you at the professional league next year.
“What the hell! What did he say?! Yu Shen is going pro? Yu Shen is finally debuting!”
“See you at the professional league! Which team is Yu Shen joining? I’m getting tickets in advance! I want to see it live!”
“Oh my god, I’ve waited for this day until I cried! My male god is going pro! I’m finally a fan with a title! Cang Yu, victory!”
“So, does this mean I’ll see Yu Shen’s true face at the latest by next year’s professional league? I’m so excited!”
Haixing jumped up anxiously, “Doesn’t this mean everyone knows Cang Yu is going pro? What if other teams get to him first?”
Fan Jingming wasn’t worried at all, “What’s there to fear? Who can poach someone from our captain?”
The group simultaneously looked at Song Xueyang, who was seriously staring at his phone, the screen showing Shen Huai’s official profile, his finger paused on the birthdate—March 14th.
Under everyone’s gaze, Song Xueyang suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with joy as they swept over his teammates, his good mood evident.
He twirled his finger, deftly slipping the phone into his pocket, “I’m going away for a few days, you all train well at the club.”
“What are you going to do?” Zhou Ning asked.
Song Xueyang smirked, “To pick up your new teammate.”