Assassin, Don't Be Too Arrogant [E-sports] - Chapter 1

“Let’s congratulate AFG for winning the championship of the fifth season of ‘The Chaser’ Professional League!”

“Let’s congratulate the FMVP winner—Wen Zhe!”

Jian Yao rolled down the car window. On the electronic screen of the shopping mall, a projection displayed AFG’s three championship photos over the past three years.

He vaguely remembered that after AFG suffered a series of defeats when he was 18, he had never watched another match.

It wasn’t until he was 19 that he reconnected with ‘The Chaser,’ reigniting his passion for the game—all thanks to the spirited young man standing at the center of those championship photos, hailed as a genius player: Wen Zhe.

Jian Yao snapped back to reality at the driver’s reminder. Thanking the driver, he quickly got out of the car and checked the time—

Damn, it was already 19:28. He had thought he’d be home before seven.

The semifinals opening ceremony, which had likely started around 18:30, was already halfway through. This traffic jam was such a headache…

Jian Yao hurried upstairs, opened the door, and sat down at his computer desk. He quickly launched the streaming software and saw a flood of comments scrolling up.

“Sorry I’m late, terrible traffic,” Jian Yao lifted the microphone closer to his mouth, slightly out of breath. “Tonight, I’m rooting for WG.”

[YAO, what’s your prediction for the score?]

“The score?” Jian Yao glanced at the two teams’ flag bearers walking toward the center of the stage and answered without hesitation, “3:0.”

[What if SG wins?]

[Exactly! SG isn’t that bad, right?]

The comments were scrolling too fast, making Jian Yao’s eyes ache. Still a bit dizzy from the car ride, he gently rubbed his temples. “They’re not bad, but their recent form has been terrible.”

[WG isn’t much better either.]

[Pot calling the kettle black.]

WG and SG—two teams recently caught in the storm.

WG was embroiled in controversy after one of its members was exposed for flirting with multiple fans, while SG faced scandal after a player was caught cheating.

Jian Yao chuckled softly, watching the two teams appear on screen without saying another word.

With all 12 players in position, the camera immediately shifted to the commentators’ desk.

“Welcome, everyone, to the semifinals of the eighth season of ‘The Chaser’ Professional League. I’m commentator Mo Wen.”

“And I’m commentator Xiao Xiao.”

“Tonight’s match between WG and SG is packed with highlights. Both teams are evenly matched, and the winner will face AFG in a week to determine the champion of the eighth season of ‘The Chaser’ Professional League.”

“Speaking of AFG, we have to mention their captain, Wen Zhe!”

Jian Yao drifted into thought at the mention of that name.

AFG—the three-time consecutive champion of ‘The Chaser’ Professional League, a team filled with star players, renowned for both skill and looks.

“Everyone, look at the screen the director just switched to!”

Commentator Xiao Xiao’s sudden shout startled Jian Yao back to reality. What appeared before his eyes was an all-too-familiar face…

The man’s features were sharp, his facial lines clean and defined. A small mole rested on the bridge of his tall nose, and when he lowered his gaze, another faint mole could be glimpsed hiding between his eyelids.

Noticing the camera, the man broke into a smile, raising his hand in a slight greeting. The cool aloofness from moments earlier vanished.

Watching the comments skyrocket, Jian Yao cleared his throat. “Don’t go too crazy, guys.”

[YAO, stop pretending! That’s your idol!]

【So with AFG and Wen Zhe’s buffs stacked to the max, I refuse to believe YAO isn’t hyped up.】

【Hahahahahaha, I agree with the comment above!】

Looking at these misled bullet comments, Jian Yao couldn’t refute them at all—he truly did support AFG.

No, it was more like blind support.

“Just watch quietly, will you? So much chatter.”

After saying this, Jian Yao ignored the bullet comments and continued listening as the host asked Wen Zhe a question: “We didn’t expect Captain Wen Zhe to come to the match venue tonight. So, Captain Wen Zhe, what are your thoughts on tonight’s game?”

He stared intently at the screen as Wen Zhe took the microphone from someone nearby, gripping it lightly with his fingertips. The veins on his hand became visible, and under the contrast of his broad palm and slender fingers, the microphone looked particularly delicate.

Unconsciously, Jian Yao’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly…

His cheeks began to flush, and he reached for a glass of ice water, pressing it against his face.

He must be going crazy, acting like this. Thankfully, he was a streamer who didn’t turn on his camera.

“I think both teams will deliver an exciting match tonight,” Wen Zhe began, and the entire venue fell silent as everyone savored his cool, slightly hoarse, and deep voice. “Unfortunately, I have to leave soon and won’t be able to witness the birth of the semifinal champion with everyone. Regardless of which team advances, AFG will give our all in the finals one week from now.”

His voice, transmitted through the microphone, reached Jian Yao’s ears through his headphones, sending a tingling sensation down his spine.

“Alright, thank you for your answer, Wen Zhe. Let’s now hand things over to the pre-match analysis.”

【He speaks so intelligently, unlike me—I have a head but no brains.】

【What did Wen Zhe say? Is there a class representative? My internet lagged just now!】

【That lag couldn’t have come at a worse time. Let YAO summarize it for you.】

“Summarize it? Let me think…” Jian Yao chuckled softly as he pondered. “Simply put, it’s like saying, ‘You all fight for second and third place. I don’t care who faces us in the finals—the championship is ours. Got it?’”

“And one more thing,” Jian Yao organized his thoughts, “the above views represent only my personal opinion and have nothing to do with the actual person or the team.”

【As expected of you, YAO. You never disappoint.】

“Thanks for the support. Newcomers who aren’t familiar with the game rules can listen to the pre-match analysis.” After saying this, Jian Yao muted his microphone, let out a sigh of relief, and then unmuted it again.

Chaser—a 3D ultra-free competitive game.

The competitive map consists of four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each occupying one-fourth of the map. In 4v4 matches, players are divided into attackers and defenders. The terrain and map are randomly generated after heroes are selected.

Each season also features a Guardian Spirit. The defending team must work with the Guardian Spirit to defeat the attackers, while the attacking team must first defeat the Guardian Spirit to eliminate the defenders completely. Otherwise, the defenders can revive indefinitely. Because of this, defenders have 70% less health than attackers, and attackers have only one life.

The game features six roles: melee positions—Warrior and Assassin; ranged positions—Mage and Marksman; and support positions—Healer and Tank.

Players can mix and match freely, with no duplicates allowed. Any four out of the six roles can be chosen.

After the pre-match analysis ended, the camera returned to the commentators’ desk, where commentator Mo Wen began, “We can see that the players for the first match are now taking the stage one after another.”

“Yes,” commentator Xiao Xiao continued, “We can see SG’s four players correspond to the following positions: Warrior, Assassin, Mage, and Healer. It looks like they’re going for an aggressive approach. As long as the healer keeps up, with the warrior holding the front line and the assassin active, the overall tempo will be very fast.”

“And the four players WG has fielded correspond to the exact same positions as SG!”

[Wow, it’s rare to see identical lineups, especially with 6 picks for 4 spots.]

“Both teams have pretty aggressive playstyles, so it’s normal for them to pick similar lineups…” Jian Yao glanced at the barrage and replied, “Don’t forget, these two teams often swap members during transfer periods.”

[Then why do you think it’ll be 3:0? Why not boldly predict a full match? What if it goes to the ‘Climax Duel’?]

[I think so too! Battle it out with YAO!]

“Battle? With me?” Jian Yao seemed surprised.

[Yeah, yeah! YAO-gege wouldn’t dare, right? QAQ]

“Fine,” Jian Yao curled his lips, “Let’s bet then. What’s the wager?”

[If YAO loses, show your face!]

[Show your face!!]

Jian Yao looked down and saw everyone seemed to have agreed on making him show his face: “Show my face? You really want to see it?”

As everyone knows, YAO is a streamer who never shows his face. He usually plays The Chaser and watches matches when there are tournaments. He’s famous for his sharp commentary. People used to think, “How sharp can a streamer be?” But by chance, they heard his insights and found them incredibly fair and reasonable.

From initially “following the trend” to watch him commentate on matches, to later being drawn to his performance in The Chaser during tournament breaks, he attracted a huge wave of fans.

To sum it up briefly: This guy can talk the talk and walk the walk—truly impressive inside and out.

Jian Yao continued watching the barrage. The unanimous “We want to see!” made him sigh. “Alright, if SG can take even one point from WG, I’ll show my face.”

“And what about you?” Jian Yao toyed with his glass. “If you lose, what then?”

[Huh? What do you mean ‘us’?]

[Why split hairs now? If we lose, you lose. If you lose, you still lose.]

[Exactly, folks, the main thing is participation.]

“You all…” Jian Yao was momentarily speechless, shaking his head with a hand on his forehead. “I’ve been tricked.”

[Go SG! We’re not asking for a win, just take one point!]

[Through mountains and rivers, always with feeling! Can SG take one point, please!]

Alright, alright, Jian Yao forced a smile. Sure enough, no one cared about him being tricked.

“Both teams are in position. The system has decided WG is the attacking side, and SG is the defending side. Let’s hand the time over to the audience!”

“Unyielding and steadfast! SG, go for it!”

“Foreseeing the future and winning every battle! WG will surely triumph!”

“Great! Let’s return to the match. The randomly selected map this time is Spring Map. Both teams’ members are scattered across various corners, and you can see that the distribution of both teams across the map splits them into pairs at high and low points.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen such a balanced mode.” Jian Yao took a sip of water. “Let’s keep watching. With this kind of distribution, the fight is going to be quite tricky.”

What happened next didn’t go at all as Jian Yao expected.

Tonight, WG seemed like they’d drunk fake liquor, with their coordination severely off…

“Seriously, dude, do you even know what the attacking side is supposed to do? Just keep hitting people? Are the enemy’s guardian spirits just decorations? They keep reviving—can’t you check your own HP?”

Jian Yao grew agitated. As he spoke, the screen flashed—WG’s mage was taken down by SG’s assassin.

“Bro, why is your mage charging straight at their assassin? He’s an assassin, not a glass cannon. You’re the one who looks like a fool here.” Jian Yao facepalmed, wondering how anyone could be so clueless. “Am I watching a professional league match?”

“Stop feeding—” Before Jian Yao could finish, SG’s assassin wiped out all three of WG’s low-health players, securing the first round with a full kill streak.

Jian Yao placed his hand on the mouse, swiftly closed the livestream, and left behind a barrage of question marks flooding the chat.