Assassin, Don't Be Too Arrogant [E-sports] - Chapter 5

FG.1, FG.2.

“They’re on me.” Jian Yao immediately shifted into combat mode.

“Both of them?” Wen Zhe frowned slightly. “I’ll hurry over.”

“Okay.” After replying, Jian Yao rolled again to dodge another attack. “I’ll keep them busy and head your way.”

He studied his opponent’s weapon carefully. It looked like a longsword, but who knew what form it might take. No matter—shaking them off was the priority.

Jian Yao tapped his keyboard. As an assassin, he was highly agile. He quickly stunned the opponent and began maneuvering, summoning a clone. The enemy warrior charged toward him, swinging his longsword at the illusion!

Wrong move!

In a flash, the opponent pivoted and closed in, a smug grin spreading across his face as he whispered in Jian Yao’s ear, “Did you really think you could fool me?”

Then he thrust the longsword straight toward Jian Yao’s chest…

What?!

Jian Yao’s eyes widened. Even stunned by shock, his hands never stopped moving across the keyboard. He made his character spin sharply to the side, grabbed the opponent’s wrist, and executed a fierce over-the-shoulder throw, slamming him to the ground.

The enemy tank, completely unprepared for this turn of events, had no time to react before Jian Yao hurled throwing daggers at him. There was no chance to dodge.

His health plummeted straight to 50%.

[Vocal! YAO is just too OP!]

[That reaction speed!]

[The other guy is totally stunned!]

“Not playing with you anymore.” Seizing the moment while both opponents were still disoriented, Jian Yao immediately leaped onto a tree branch and swiftly vanished from sight.

“The enemy assassin is moving toward coordinate 45. Currently known to be armed with throwing daggers; other weapons unknown.”

FG.1 stared at the spot where Jian Yao had disappeared. With the damage he’d dealt, he could have easily landed a fatal blow just now. Why hadn’t he finished him off?

Jian Yao glanced back and sighed in relief when he saw the two on the ground showed no intention of pursuing him. Turning back to his screen, he was met with a dark shadow. Instinctively, he took two steps back, his hand already resting on the weapon at his waist. Looking up, he said, “Wen Zhe…”

Crap. He’d been so focused on what was behind him that he hadn’t checked the minimap. They were practically about to run into each other.

Wen Zhe had tried calling out to Jian Yao over voice chat on his way over, but Jian Yao had been too absorbed in the fight. No matter how many times Wen Zhe called, he hadn’t snapped out of combat mode.

Wen Zhe glanced at the video feed. The young man was completely focused on his screen. Perhaps those two hadn’t posed much of a threat to him after all.

[Ahhhh! YAO just crashed into Wen Zhe’s arms!!]

[Reporting from next door! YAO can totally handle 1v2 with no problem!]

[Exactly, his health bar barely even moved!]

Wen Zhe looked at the barrage of comments. “I called you so many times. Heard you ‘completely dominated’ them?”

“Ah, not exactly.” Jian Yao lowered his head, flexing his fingers. He couldn’t exactly say he just wanted to regroup with Wen Zhe sooner…

Zhong Yuyi checked the map. The Guardian Spirit had circled onto their ice sheet. “On the ice now. That’s tricky.”

Su Ze chimed in, “How are your cold resistance bars? I just took a stroll on the ice, and mine’s already down to half. I’m freezing to death.”

“You two, find some warm clothes first,” Wen Zhe ordered, then turned to Jian Yao. “How much cold resistance do you have left? You were rolling around in the snow earlier. It must be pretty low by now.”

Just as Wen Zhe guessed, his cold resistance bar was indeed running dangerously low. “Only about a third left.”

While listening, Wen Zhe took a treasure chest from his backpack and placed it on the ground. “You open it.”

“Treasure chest?” Jian Yao was momentarily taken aback. While it was true that treasure chests could be stored in backpacks in the game to prevent opponents from opening them, this was his first time seeing it. “For me?”

Jian Yao heard Wen Zhe chuckle softly, his own face flushing slightly. What was he thinking, saying something like that?

“Otherwise, why would I keep it in my backpack?” Seeing Jian Yao hesitate, Wen Zhe added, “Alright, to be honest, I wanted you to open it for me. My luck is not to be trusted.”

“But I don’t have much hope for my luck either…”

[Who opened the first gold in the dungeon?]

[Forget the first gold in the dungeon—let the game tally it up. I want to see how many golds this guy has missed.]

[Don’t even mention it. I feel like an idiot; only spending real money gets me anything.]

[Don’t get discouraged, upstairs. Who isn’t in the same boat?]

Jian Yao glanced at the barrage of “debunking” comments, crouched in front of the treasure chest, and said, “Alright, I’ll open it.”

He clicked the “Open” option, and a golden light flashed—

[Congratulations to player Jyao for opening the hidden treasure chest: Snow Mink Fur Coat x4! Suitable outerwear will be automatically sent to each player’s backpack based on their in-game appearance. Please check your inventory~]

[?????]

[How are we supposed to play now??]

The entire FG team: Is this cheating??

“Thanks to YAO for delivering warmth in the cold~~” Su Ze happily opened his backpack and equipped the coat. “With a mink coat in hand, I rule the world!”

Zhong Yuyi also laughed. “This kind of luck puts us ahead from the start!”

“See, I knew you should be the one to open it,” Wen Zhe said as he slipped the coat over his character. In the game, his character followed a medieval aesthetic, dressed in a burgundy formal suit with a cane at his side. The system-distributed mink fur matched perfectly, and once he put it on, Jian Yao couldn’t help but stare.

How should he describe it?

A rose with thorns in a storm?

No, a name surfaced in his mind—Moriarty.

“What’s wrong? Hurry up and put the coat on.”

Wen Zhe snapped his fingers lightly, snapping Jian Yao out of his daze. He quickly equipped the coat.

Feeling a bit odd, he switched to third-person view and rotated 360 degrees to examine his character. His character also had a medieval style, but it looked completely different from Wen Zhe’s once the coat was on—so much more youthful, and he didn’t like it.

“We’re all ready. Let’s gather at the Guardian Spirit!” Su Ze’s voice pulled Jian Yao back to reality. He switched back to first-person view and followed Wen Zhe toward the Guardian Spirit.

Faintly, a sound reached his left ear, but before he could listen closely, Wen Zhe tackled him to the ground. “Watch out!”

Reflexively, the two quickly maneuvered their characters to stand up. Snow from the trees fell around them, blurring their vision, and they could only barely dodge skills as they approached.

The enemy seemed to stop revealing their position due to the obscured view, giving the two a chance to slip away.

The closer they got to the Guardian Spirit, the more dangerous it became. Jian Yao patted his cheeks, quickly removed the wireless earpiece connected to the video call from his right ear, and put on the headset hanging behind his ear. The sounds in the game instantly became crystal clear.

“Sorry, I got distracted earlier,” Jian Yao said, feeling heavy-hearted as he looked at Wen Zhe’s less-than-full health bar.

He couldn’t cause more trouble for Wen Zhe…

“It’s fine. Look at the health I lost—it’s enough to cost them several lives in compensation,” Wen Zhe said, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at Jian Yao.

Jian Yao was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. “You’re right.”

Seeing the initially troubled little face finally break into a smile, Wen Zhe inexplicably felt a sense of relief.

“Then I’ll leave the rest to you. Not a single kill can be missed,” Wen Zhe said with a smile.

“No problem. I’ll have to apologize to Yu Yi first, because I’m definitely taking all the kills.”

“Hahahahaha,” Zhong Yuyi replied. “No problem.”

Su Ze chimed in again, “YAO, be careful. This guy is really good at stealing kills.”

“Shut up,” Zhong Yuyi said, taking his hand off the keyboard to ruffle Su Ze’s hair. “Focus on your game.”

“Hey, Xiao Yi! A gentleman uses words, not hands!”

Even as Su Ze protested, Zhong Yuyi didn’t stop.

“Hey, hey! There’s an enemy!”

Zhong Yuyi reflexively pulled his hand back and made his character jump and roll. When he looked up, there was no one around except him and Su Ze.

Realizing he’d been tricked, he turned to the person beside him with a forced smile. “Su Ze!”

“Stop fooling around, you two,” Wen Zhe sighed helplessly, stepping in to end the commotion.

Su Ze (cheerful version) / Zhong Yuyi (through gritted teeth): “Yes, Captain!”

Jian Yao’s eyes shone with longing. This was the kind of dynamic he really liked.

It was also the first time, after being used to going it alone, that he wanted to blend into this kind of atmosphere.

The four of them finally gathered at the Guardian Spirit. Just as they were completing the Guardian Spirit mission, eight large words appeared on their screens—

[Defenders have surrendered. Game over.]

[What’s going on?]

[The guide we were about to get just flew away?]

[They actually surrendered?!]

Not just the live chat, but the four of them were also stunned.

“What’s going on?” Jian Yao and Su Ze blurted out simultaneously.

“Strange, so strange!” Su Ze continued. “Strange people, strange map, what’s going on?!”

Zhong Yuyi: “Since they surrendered, and it’s about time anyway, I support the Captain organizing a late-night snack.”

Su Ze: “Agreed!”

“Alright,” Wen Zhe had just clicked to disband the team when a sound from his phone came through his headphones.

“I can’t believe it. Can’t they have some esports spirit? How could they just surrender? We didn’t even get to enjoy the game properly,” Jian Yao ranted as he looked at his main screen. “Lost the bet on the match, and now we can’t even finish a game properly. Damn it!”

He frantically rubbed his head, a bomb seemingly exploding on top of it. “So frustrating. What a day.”

[Hahahahahaha.]

[Don’t be mad, baby.]

[It’s been rough.]

“What are you laughing at? Do you have to mock others’ misfortunes to make yourselves happy now?” He turned and grabbed his water cup, taking several big gulps.

Thud—

The phone leaning against the cup fell onto the table.

His eyes darted over, and the water caught in his throat, making him choke for a moment…

The two of them just stared at each other through the video call, wide-eyed.

“You…” Wen Zhe was about to speak when the screen went black.

[Video call ended]

Jian Yao glanced at the live chat, which was filled with “hahahaha,” and promptly ended the stream as well. “Ending the stream, ending the stream.”

“It’s over! My reputation is ruined…” Jian Yao slumped into his gaming chair, his cheeks flushed. “How am I supposed to face him…”

Jian Yao reached for his phone, his gaze lingering on the chat interface between him and Wen Zhe.

He had hung up without any warning. The other person must be really angry…

No, he had to apologize. Jian Yao slapped his own cheeks. Why was he being so hesitant?!

He sat up straight, took a deep breath, typed out the words in the chat box, and hit send.

[Jie Yao: Sorry.]

After the video call was disconnected, Wen Zhe fell into thought.

Seeing this message, he immediately called Jian Yao.

“Where do you live? I’m coming to grab some late-night snacks with you. Did you forget what Su Ze said after the game? I was just about to video call you when someone heartlessly hung up.”

Jian Yao thought for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed since he was the one at fault first. He answered Wen Zhe’s question: “I live near Qinghe Road… Wait…”

He suddenly realized: “Why would you want to come find me to eat together? How did you know we’re close by?”

Wen Zhe laughed: “The power of the internet.”

Only then did Jian Yao remember that he had posted this on a platform not long ago—

“My home is only 4.2 kilometers away from AFG’s club. I hope to visit the club someday.”

“Ah, I remember now…”

“Then send me your location. Time waits for no one. I’m hanging up.”

Wen Zhe gave Jian Yao no chance to argue. After sending the address, Jian Yao stared blankly at the ceiling—

Is this a meetup?!