Chapter 970 - Desperate Times
The fourth round of the match had come an end.
Team Mysterious Fantasy ended up defeating Team Trader in the team competition, winning this round seven to three. The two teams left the stage. Team Mysterious Fantasy’s players seemed in high spirits, though the players of Team Trader didn’t seem too down from their defeat either. As a grassroots team made up of normal players, Team Trader had the best performance among all the grassroots teams. Despite being seen as nothing but canon fodder, they had managed to snatch 10 points in total from two strong teams. After the four matches, the were in the lead with 28 points in a group thought to be a lost cause. An average score of seven per round was already very amazing. Group A’s pro team Jade Dynasty had only managed to gain a total of 29 points after four rounds.
Team Trader had already done the best they could and the audience applauded for them. After Team Trader’s players accepted the liberal applause from the audience, they left the stadium with their heads held high.
Many people had already began to understand what the situation of Group B was like. Many people reveled in Happy’s misfortune, jeering at them. Chen Guo couldn’t spare any energy to be angry. The situation was very worrying.
"We should go, too!" Ye Xiu called out and Happy’s members rose to leave as well. Yet, they managed to bump into Team Mysterious Fantasy on the way out through the participant’s passage.
Despite how this last battle would decide their respective fates, Team Mysterious Fantasy’s players all seemed very relaxed, as if they had this in the bag already. The coach, Zhang Yiwei, looked over and saw three familiar faces from the past. However, these three were both top Gods back then and as for Zhang Yiwei? He might have been a core member of Team Samsara, but the Samsara back then wasn’t the champion team it was now. As a core member, he couldn’t compare to these top Gods.
Yet now, these big shots of the past had been tightly suppressed by him. This was a delightful feeling he had never had before. Zhang Yiwei hadn’t ever though he’d be able to have such an experience in the Challenger League and he looked to be the happiest out of all the Team Mysterious Fantasy players.
"Hey there, you guys!" This guy even greeted them personally.
Happy’s members looked at him, silent.
"It’s the last round! Keep working hard, everyone!" Zhang Yiwei’s words were directed at all of Happy’s members, but his gaze was fixed on the three old Gods.
"If you accidentally get eliminated by Trader, then you would be a disappointment to all this attention you’ve gained!" A member of Team Mysterious Fantasy cut in from behind Zhang Yiwei. In the Challenger League, Happy was definitely the team that gained the most attention, if you didn’t count Excellent Era. Meanwhile, Mysterious Fantasy hadn’t gained any sort of attention ever since they had fallen to the Challenger League, making them a bit jealous. Now, seeing how this popular team was close to being swept miserably out of the competition, the team members of Mysterious Fantasy were no less delighted than their coach, even though it was directed at something different.
"We won’t be eliminated," Ye Xiu replied calmly.
"Haha, as expected of God Ye Qiu, you’re so confident. Have you calculated how many points you have to get in the last round yet?" Zhang Yiwei asked, smiling nicely.
Wei Chen then took a step forwards, staring directly at Zhang Yiwei. "Brat, are you trying to play some dirty trick on us?"
Zhang Yiwei had been a core team member once, having been a part of the Alliance for several years. Wei Chen’s threatening demeanor didn’t scare him at all, and he instead stared right back at Wei Chen. "What on earth are you talking about, Captain Wei?" He used Wei Chen’s old title when referring to him.
"Do you think I can’t tell?" Wei Chen asked.
"So what if you can?" Zhang Yiwei sneered, "I’m only choosing the best result for Mysterious Fantasy. Not only for now, but in the future, too. Your strength is undeniably above that of Trader’s, so it’d be in my best interests if you were squeezed out of the competition."
"Heh, don’t talk as if you’ve already won!" Ye Xiu suddenly said.
"It’s the last round, keep working hard, everyone," Ye Xiu returned what Zhang Yiwei had said before to Mysterious Fantasy verbatim. "If you accidentally get eliminated by Trader, then you would be a disappointment to your ex-pro status!
"Heh," Zhang Yiwei laughed lightly after hearing this. A veteran player like that wasn’t easy to enrage, as expected. "Then let us see what happens!"
"See you at the match."
"See you at the match!"
The two teams returned to the hotel. Though Happy hadn’t at all been at a disadvantage in the clash just now, it was undebatable that the last round of the competition did. Returning to the hotel, none of them could calm down enough to rest and soon enough they found themselves all gathering in the hotel Internet cafe, one by one.
Chen Guo saw their unity in this unspoken gathering, and was quietly excited.
"In the last round, we have to get eight points and wipe the floor with Mysterious Fantasy." Chen Guo didn’t bother to lead in, going straight for the kill and encouraging their morale.
Yet then she heard Mo Fan, who was in the corner, say stoically without even raising his head, "We won’t be able to wipe out Mysterious Fantasy with just eight points."
"What?" Chen Guo paused in shock and the others all turned their head to look. They had never thought it would be Mo Fan to respond first.
"Yes, that’s right. If it’s just eight points, Mysterious Fantasy would get two points and tie with Trader at 28 in total. However, they had won seven to three in their match again Trader, so then it would be Trader that’s eliminated, according to the rules." Ye Xiu said before glancing over at Mo Fan. "I wouldn’t have thought you cared."
Mo Fan didn’t respond.
"Do you want to play this round?" Ye Xiu asked.
"I can." Mo Fan’s answer wasn’t "I do," but "I can."
Everyone stared at Mo Fan. They might not have interacted with him much, but they had lived together for a quite some time and everyone was used to having this emotionless, silent guy in the training room. Mo Fan wasn’t exactly their friend, but he was still a part of their team, that’s what everyone thought. As for Mo Fan’s skill in Glory, everyone acknowledged it. Even though he might have not been able to integrate himself into the team at first, he had become part of the system after teamwork training in the new dungeons and training against the pro players. However, his personality meant that he would never really be a team player and Ye Xiu wouldn’t force him on that front.
Being a team player had nothing to do with having a place in a team. So long as their tactics were reasonable and they were able to carry them out well, a non-team player could also be a very important part of a team.
Tactics were also something that depended on people. Mature teams already had a tactical system they were used to, so finding players that suited their set of tactics was a big benefit for them. However, Happy was a new team so they didn’t have their own set of tactics. This was why they needed to build up their own set of tactics according to the individuals where everyone could work efficiently.
Hearing Mo Fan’s response, Ye Xiu smiled and nodded and then looked towards Luo Ji. "In the last round, we need to make sure we win by as large of a lead as possible, so I’m afraid you won’t be able to play for now."
"I understand." Luo Ji nodded, though he was still a little dejected. In these critical moments, he was unable to contribute to the team. It didn’t feel good.
"Continue to work hard!" Ye Xiu said. The reality of Luo Ji’s skill wasn’t any sort of taboo for Happy, so Ye Xiu could easily announce his arrangements at times like this without needing to make any excuses.
Then, Ye Xiu’s gaze turned to Sun Zheping. "Are you alright with taking part in this round?"
"If I don’t take part now, why am I even here?" Sun Zheping replied.
Ye Xiu smiled. Sun Zheping wasn’t Happy’s future, so Ye Xiu would usually give him less chances to take part although those matches probably wouldn’t be any trouble for Sun Zheping. However, if he didn’t have Sun Zheping take part in these critical moments, then there would be no point to his presence.
"Are you alright with participating in both the individual and team competitions?" Ye Xiu asked. He wasn’t very clear on Sun Zheping’s injury.
"I’ll have no problem dealing with these characters," Sun Zheping responded.
"Ok, then you can take on the first individual competition!" Ye Xiu said. Being the first to participate would allow him to have more time to rest before the Team Competition.
"Then the second person had better prepare earlier. The match will probably end quickly," Sun Zheping said.
Ye Xiu didn’t say anything about his underestimating of their opponents. This was his pride and freedom. A veteran like him wouldn’t make the rookie mistake of truly underestimating their opponents.
"Mo Fan, you’ll be second," Ye Xiu decided.
Mo Fan nodded.
As for the third… Ye Xiu was a little hesitant. He had narrowed it down to two choices, Wei Chen and Wu Chen. Wei Chen had expended a lot of energy against Team Trader that day and had yet to fully recover; Ye Xiu could tell he wasn’t in top form. As for Wu Chen, he had good skills. His form had been preserved quite well after coming to Happy, but the character he was using, Dawn Rifle, didn’t have very good equipment. Compared to the fortifications done to the other characters, Dawn Rifle wasn’t a character that Happy put importance on. After all, Wu Chen didn’t come to Happy to continue being a pro player.
"The third competition is very crucial. So it seems like this is something only I can shoulder." That was when Wei Chen shamelessly recommended himself.
Ye Xiu smiled and accepted this arrangement.
"Group arena, Steamed Bun, Little Tang, me."
Steamed Bun and Tang Rou nodded, seeming to have guessed that they would be in this arrangement.
"And lastly, the team competition." Ye Xiu looked over the gathered
"No healer? That’s crazy!" Even Sun Zheping was shocked at the team competition arrangements.
"You sure this will work?" Chen Guo was even more worried now.
Ye Xiu looked towards An Wenyi. "We’ll be using as fast of a pace as possible in the team competition, so the current you might not be able to keep up."
"Ok," An Wenyi nodded calmly. He could accept any arrangement, so long as there was logic behind it.
"We have two days. Let’s practice this formation as much as possible!" Ye Xiu finally said.