Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
It's… over?
Zhang Jiale's hands still remained on his keyboard and mouse. In fact, five minutes had past since his Dazzling Hundred Blossoms fell.
The first to fall from Team Tyranny was Lin Jingyan's Dark Thunder, then it was Dazzling Hundred Blossoms. He hovered in midair as a ghost as he continued to watch as Team Samsara pursued his team relentlessly.
Qin Muyun's Negative Nine Degrees fell.
Zhang Xinjie's Immovable Rock fell.
Only Han Wenqing's Desert Dust and Bai Yanfei's Rota were left. The two didn't give up and used up all their strength to take away Wu Qi's Cruel Silence from Samsara. The three then fell down together.
Glory!
Like in the online arena, this word also appeared after the end of the team competition. However, the glory didn't belong to him because he had lost again…...
How many times have I lost?
Zhang Jiale was unwilling to think about it.
He had given up everything. He had endured criticism from his fans and the torture in his heart.
Just once. Just once is enough.
He kept telling himself that. However, he was once again one step away. He just needed that one step, that one win. He had won countless times in his career. Why did he always fall here?
Zhang Jiale couldn't believe it. He didn't know what to do, and even forgot what he should be doing at this moment. It was until someone started knocking from outside the player booths did he suddenly snap out of it.
Han Wenqing, Tyranny's core who didn't know the word cower.
Zhang Xinjie, the Master Tactician who never made a mistake.
There was also Lin Jingyan, who was let go of by his team and found himself a new place in Tyranny. He was also an old player who started in the second season like him.
Also, Qin Muyun and Bai Yanfei…...
All of his teammates were standing outside. Everyone looked pained after losing the match. They all tried their best to hide it, but he could see through it. Lin Jingyan even managed to squeeze out a smile. It was probably the most unsightly smile Zhang Jiale had ever seen in his life.
"What a shame..." Lin Jingyan even managed to speak. Even though he was upset, everyone in Tyranny knew that Zhang Jiale was suffering more than any one of them.
This was because he carried such a heavy burden yet still fell at this same step again.
Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie had at least won the championships once.
As for Lin Jingyan, it was the first time he had fought in the finals. He felt that he had already gained a lot by coming this far. Although he felt very regretful for their final loss, at least his mental burden wasn't as great as Zhang Jiale's.
Only Zhang Jiale…...
"I..." Zhang Jiale wanted to speak, but stopped.
"Don't tell me you're going to retire again?" Lin Jingyan spoke.
"That's no good."
"It's still too early for that."
"Right, we still have opportunities."
"Next season is going to arrive in the blink of an eye."
"Yeah, it already feels like it's tomorrow."
"I can't wait for it."
"I..." Zhang Jiale opened his mouth to speak again. Everyone shut their mouths and looked at him.
"I wanted to say that I'm fine." Zhang Jiale said.
Everyone looked at one another. When the match had finished, everyone apart from Zhang Jiale had walked out from the player booths and showed no signs of activity. At that moment, they even predicted the worst situation that could happen. It wasn't until Zhang Jiale walked out did everyone feel a bit relieved. Everyone started to comfort him, but he said he was fine.
It's true, I'm fine. Zhang Jiale looked around him. It seemed as if everyone in the stadium was watching him as well. But he was fine. Even though he had carried a heavy burden, it all came from his own choice. Sun Zheping told him to clean up all those distracting thoughts in his mind. Zhang Jiale tried to do that, but he realised that he couldn't do so. Perhaps, only people like Sun Zheping were capable of doing that, right? In the end, Zhang Jiale wrapped up all those distracting thoughts and carried it on his shoulder. This was his method; he wasn't able to give up, but neither would he be weak. He would carry those things clearly on his back! As for now, he merely had another package to carry on his shoulders.
"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you guys. Are you guys alright?" Zhang Jiale even managed to ask everyone in return.
Everyone looked at one another once again.
"Since everyone's fine, let's go." Han Wenqing waved and turned around with no hesitation. The six members of Tyranny walked down the stadium with their heads held high. Applause started to ring in the stadium. Even though the fans felt disappointed in the loss, they had seen how the team performed. From beginning to end, they didn't see the team weaken or see them give up. They continued to fight and struggle. Their performance was worthy of the applause, so they didn't need to feel ashamed for their loss.
The applause grew louder, and the six from Tyranny motioned towards the audience by waving their hands. Despite losing in the match, they wouldn't fall. No matter what burden they carried, that wouldn't ever happen.
The audience was clapping, so the workers on site put down whatever they were doing to clap as well. Even members of Samsara, who won the championships, stood on the side and clapped. It was not for themselves, but for Tyranny. Despite losing the match, they won respect from every single person.
An award ceremony was held on the stage for Samsara. Like last year, the team collected the trophy and didn't really celebrate. However, they were the second team to win the championships twice in a row after Excellent Era, so they might just create a new dynasty. This was a fact no one would ignore.
In the press conference after the match, Team Tyranny went first. All six members that appeared in the team match sat on stage. They gazed at the reporters below them and realised that every one of them seemed to look more solemn than them.
"Can we start?" In the end, it was the team captain, Han Wenqing, who asked first.
"Uh, it was a very regretful loss. Do you have anything to say?" A reporter seized the opportunity to ask.
"It was regretful indeed, but there's no other way because there can only be one champion." Han Wenqing spoke.
"What are your thoughts on how each team performed?" Someone asked. By losing the competition with a clear gap in the scores, Tyranny's performance needed to be deeply looked into. However, their situation was different from their first match. By the time the finals had reached this point, everyone had thought about the problem of Tyranny's players running out of stamina. The reporters were clear about this, otherwise, the team wouldn't receive such applause from losing, and their questions wouldn't be so courteous.
"Both sides worked very hard. I think no matter who won, both teams would have been worthy of the title." Han Wenqing said.
"As for the coming year, does Tyranny or the players of Tyranny have any plans or intentions?" The reporter asked. Here, the reporter purposefully emphasised "the players of Tyranny". All the reporters peeked intentionally or unintentionally towards Zhang Jiale. It was like how all the players of Tyranny cared about him when they lost. The reporters knew that Zhang Jiale would be the one who was impacted the most by this loss.
"The same as always." In the end, Han Wenqing replied in such a brief manner.
However, the reporters cared too much about this matter, and no longer cared if they were being cruel. One of them finally named specifically in his question. "I would like to ask for Zhang Jiale's personal opinion, would you like to say something?"
"Me?" Zhang Jiale looked at the reporters below when he was named. He even gave a laugh as he said, "Aren't I already used to this?"
The reporters were startled.
This was a self deprecating joke, but no one was able to laugh.
Did he make this kind of joke because he had lost heart?
However, then they heard Zhang Jiale continue to speak. "As for the future, it's what our captain said: the same as always."
"Mm, nicely summarised. The same as always." Lin Jingyan nodded.
The reporters originally wanted to ask Lin Jingyan as well, but when he showed the same attitude, they fully understood. Even though this was a painful loss, it wouldn't be able to strike down any of them. In the upcoming matches, they would still see these unyielding old generals continue to struggle and strive for the glory that they had been pursuing for all these years.
The reporters had nothing left to ask about the finals The other members in Tyranny weren't old players that were about to retire. Taking Zhang Xinjie for example, he was part of the Golden Generation and was still at the peak of his career. This was why everyone's sorrowful emotions weren't targeted as deeply towards them.
"Uh, next season, Ye Xiu and his Team Happy will be in the Alliance. With how the league is usually arranged, it's very likely for them to be matched with Tyranny in the first round. Do you have anything to say to him? You guys are old acquaintances after all!" The reporters started to ask questions outside of the topic.
Everyone in Happy was watching the broadcast. They were all in sync as they looked towards Ye Xiu. Ye Xiu drank his tea calmly.
"Too bad... I would definitely be made fun of by that guy." Zhang Jiale muttered.
"Ah? What do you mean?" A reporter asked immediately, but Zhang Jiale chose to stay quiet.
"I hope he can focus on the matches, so he won't bring trouble to everyone online." Lin Jingyan said.
"Hm, what do you mean by that?" The reporter immediately asked again, but Lin Jingyan also chose to stay quiet.
Everyone looked at Han Wenqing.
"Beat him. The same as always." Han Wenqing said.
The same as always again. The problem is that you haven't beaten him that many times in the past! Isn't saying "the same as always" a bit inappropriate? The reporters criticised silently. Most of the information they got from Han Wenqing would include this motto.
In the end, all the reporters looked hopefully towards Zhang Xinjie, hoping to get some hot topics out of him.
"Time's up." Zhang Xinjie looked at the time. "We should finish!"
"Ah ah ah... Vice-captain Zhang, could you talk a bit more about Ye Xiu?" The reporters wailed with grief. Unfortunately, the time was up, and Zhang Xinjie cared more about the time than Ye Xiu. Team Tyranny's players got up one by one and left the press conference.
Chapter 1079: Happy, Champions?Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
After Team Tyranny, the reporters interviewed Team Samsara. Defending their championship title was obviously an incredible achievement. As soon as Team Samsara went up on stage, they were met with fervent congratulations from the crowd. But after contrasting this excitement with the disappointment from Tyranny's old generals, some of the crowd felt sad, especially the old reporters that had followed Glory for so many years. Han Wenqing, Lin Jingyan, Zhang Jiale. Their work always revolved around these few players. How could they not have a bit of emotional investment into them?
The clash between the new and old was difficult to avoid. The joy and elation flowing from Samsara's side made it seem like it was the coming of a new era for both Glory and the news scene. As for them? Would they be like the old generals of the pro scene and gradually fade away?
Definitely not! Everything must continue on like in the past.
The old reporters suddenly felt a wave of empathy surging inside them. Immediately afterwards, the incisive questions flew towards Samsara.
"First of all, congratulations Team Samsara for defending your title. What I want to ask is whether or not the war of attrition employed to win the third match was chosen because you saw that the old Team Tyranny players lacked the stamina and energy to maintain their peak conditions?"
"Yes." Zhou Zekai said.
"In the second match, we realized that Team Tyranny didn't seem to be too good at long wars of attrition. This is why we decided to employ this type of strategy in the third match." Jiang Botao immediately added. For touchy subjects like this, who knew how the reporters would spin these types of one-word answers from Zhou Zekai.
Not good at long wars of attrition…... Jiang Botao summed it up with what seemed to be a good explanation, but the crucial question about Team Tyranny's stamina issues was dodged. How could the reporters let him get by so easily?
"Then why do you think Tyranny isn't good at long wars of attrition?" A reporter asked despite already knowing the answer. He had already made his decision. If Samsara dared to act stupid answering this question, he wouldn't let these shams go no matter what.
"Uh, during this period of one month, Tyranny played nine intense matches for the playoffs. This must have been very exhausting. Their stamina issues in the later stages were the key to our Samsara's victory."
In the end, Samsara gave a clear reply to this question.
"Oh, then let's say if Tyranny had only played four matches before the finals like Samsara and had enough time to fully recover, would that have made any impact on the results?"
"The match would have definitely been more difficult." Jiang Botao replied.
"Then, do you think Samsara would have still won the finals?" This reporter's questions were becoming more and more harsh. He was practically implying that Samsara had won with an unfair advantage.
"Competition is filled with countless variables. This is why we keep playing on stage. If you could accurately deduce the outcome of a match, then what's the point in competing? From an objective perspective, I'm not able to answer your question. However, from Samsara's position, I believe that Samsara would have won no matter who our opponents had been!"
Jiang Botao's reply was powerful and resonating. This reporter was clearly unable to counter it because he also knew that there was no such thing as having an unfair advantage. Every element was a part of a victory. If not, when a powerhouse beat teams due to having better players and better characters, wouldn't that also be considered as having an unfair advantage?
"Captain Zhou, is that what you think too?" Unable to make a counter argument, the reporter immediately switched targets. He also knew that once he switched to Zhou Zekai, this interview topic would stop here.
"Yes." Zhou Zekai's reply didn't disappoint him.
"I have no other questions." This reporter immediately followed.
Afterwards, there were no more questions with malicious intentions. Once the unoriginal questions like what are your thoughts on the victory, the reporters once again switched topics and gave a similar question to what they asked Tyranny: "Next season, Ye Xiu and his Team Happy will be in the pro scene. What are Samsara's thoughts about them? Do you think Happy can succeed?"
When everyone in Happy heard the first part of the question, they were almost about to look at Ye Xiu to see his reaction. But in the end, the reporter asked about Team Happy as a whole. This was different from Tyranny. The reporter had considered that Samsara was a part of a different generation than Ye Xiu. Samsara wasn't like Tyranny, who had players that had old relationships with him. As a result, the reporter didn't concentrate on Ye Xiu.
"That depends on how you define successful." Jiang Botao said.
"It seems like they intend on becoming the champions." The reporter said with uncertainty.
Pfft!!!
This time, quite a few people at the scene laughed. Samsara's players were sitting on stage and knew that the camera was on them, so they were able to maintain their composure. However, expressions of astonishment could clearly be seen on all of them. The reporters weren't like them. After laughing, no one waited for Samsara to reply. The reporters crowded around that poor reporter: "Where'd you hear that from?" The press conference erupted into an uproar.
"I heard a player from Heavenly Swords inadvertently leak it!!" When that reporter saw how everyone wanted to gnaw at him, he immediately confessed.
"How could someone from Heavenly Swords know?" Someone asked.
"After the Challenger League finals, Happy stayed over at City B. They have a good relationship with Heavenly Swords and are constantly in touch with one another." That reporter immediately replied.
"Is what that person said reliable? Or was it just a joke?" As soon as someone heard it was a private exchange, he didn't believe it.
"I don't know either!" That reporter said bitterly. He had just overheard it while passing by. He couldn't confirm it either, so he didn't know if it was the truth or a joke.
"It was probably a joke. It has to be." The reporters gradually calmed down.
"What are Samsara's thoughts on this?" A reporter suddenly remembered who the main characters were and promptly threw the question over to Samsara.
Jiang Botao stared blankly. He felt like if he had to answer, he would probably say that he felt like it was a joke. Even though Happy beat Excellent Era, miracles couldn't keep happening over and over again, no? Happy's strength was still rather limited. Saying that Happy wanted to win the championships was too much. But if he actually said that it was a joke, it would be hard to avoid people from thinking that Samsara held contempt for Happy. But if he said that it was probably the truth, then.... it would be hard to avoid people from thinking that he was just saying fake words!
This is a difficult question to answer!
Jiang Botao, who had been very adept at answering questions the entire time, was actually stumped. After a long while, he finally replied: "It doesn't matter what Happy's goal is. Samsara will always try our hardest and beat our opponents."
The question was dodged with an ambiguous answer. However, the question had been a joke itself, so the reporter let it go. Soon afterwards, the press conference for Samsara concluded. After the crowd dispersed, quite a few reporters became reinvigorated and started opening up their address books to confirm what exactly had been said.
The broadcast for the finals had ended. Everyone in Happy was still stunned from the commotion from that question. Not long afterwards, Chen Guo's cell phone rang. Chen Guo took out her cell phone. The call was from Lou Guanning. After picking it up, Chen Guo was able to get a profound understanding of how terrifying reporters could be. Didn't the press conference just end? The reporters interested in this question had already found ways to ask Heavenly Swords. One of those reporters had found a way to directly contact Heavenly Sword's boss, Lou Guanning. As a result, Lou Guanning quickly called Chen Guo, asking how he should answer.
"How should he answer?" Chen Guo asked Ye Xiu.
"Of course I was serious." Ye Xiu said.
"He was serious." Chen Guo replied to Lou Guanning.
"Haha, how fun!" Lou Guanning seemed to be looking forward to the exposure and hung up the phone with a laugh.
"You're not staying low-profile at all!" Chen Guo held her cell phone and sighed. Starting from when the Challenger League first started, Happy had been quite high-profile. As soon as they began, they came out saying that they would topple Excellent Era and received quite a bit of ridicule for it. Now that they had actually done it, who knew where those haters went. But now, Chen Guo knew that when news came out with Happy's statement that their goal was to win the championships, these haters would probably come out again. The confidence from those haters would probably be even higher, no?
"It doesn't matter." Ye Xiu said nonchalantly, "In any case, no matter what happens, we have to strive for victory."
"For this goal, everyone is going to need to work even harder!!" Chen Guo encouraged the team.
"Of course!" Steamed Bun replied excitedly. Tang Rou smiled, showing her ambitiousness. The one who couldn't stay calm was the one who was usually the calmest, Qiao Yifan.
Become the champions? Their next goal was actually going to be the top of Glory. Qiao Yifan felt like he was going dizzy. But when he saw his teammates, he knew that they weren't joking. Happy was going to be rushing for the championship title? This was all going too quickly!
"Okay, it's getting late. Everyone should get ready to go to bed!" Chen Guo looked at the time and called out. Happy had a fairly strict work and rest schedule now. No one would be allowed to live a disorderly lifestyle like before. The memory of Ye Xiu sleeping for a very long time due to exhaustion was something still fresh in her mind. Next up, they would be preparing for the Pro League. Everyone in Happy needed to be in their best state the entire time. A disciplined sleep schedule was essential.
The next day, the various esports media put the finals as the lead story.
Samsara defends their title. A tragic conclusion for Tyranny. But between these two teams, another team had squeezed its way in.
Happy, Champions???
The title of the story added in three question marks. The article itself was filled with incredulity. You could say that maybe Happy didn't understand their situation. But Happy had Ye Xiu; how could he not have a good grasp of his team? You could say that he was being serious... maybe after Happy beat Excellent Era, even Ye Xiu was so excited that he couldn't tell east from west anymore?
The mainstream media reports were already polite about it. But in other places, articles with titles like "This Century's Biggest Joke" quickly popped up. The various teams also soon received inquiries from the media asking about their thoughts on this matter, making all the teams feel gloomy. During this period of time, how many questions relating to Happy had they answered? What's up with this team!