Captain, I Beg You to Give Me an Official Status [E-sports] - Chapter 12

On the second day of the transfer period, Sheng Huanian truly moved into the Team TK base, carrying a small suitcase.

Qi Qi personally arranged his room. Watching him set his luggage down, Qi Qi looked satisfied and said, “Why do you not take a rest first? You can come down when it is time for the training match.” Qi Qi was a meticulous person, but he feared he might forget something, so his gaze scanned the room. “Check and see if anything is missing. If you need something, tell me directly and I will arrange it for you.”

Sheng Huanian was not very demanding; as long as it was clean, it was fine. He stood by the door and placed the suitcase in the corner. “I understand. I will tidy up later. I am going to train first.”

“Ah?” Qi Qi checked the time on his phone. “There is still an hour and a half left. You can rest first.”

Sheng Huanian walked out of the room and spoke in a low voice, “I will play a few rounds by myself first. I am used to it.”

Qi Qi suppressed a smile and praised him in his heart. “He is so good. He plays well and is self-disciplined. I have truly found a treasure.” He stepped aside and did not stop him. “Alright, you go ahead then.”

As Sheng Huanian headed downstairs, he asked, “Is it alright to livestream here? I have a requirement for streaming hours.”

Qi Qi replied immediately, “Of course. You can stream from the training room or the third floor. If you want it to be quieter, I can set up the equipment so you can stream from your room.”

Sheng Huanian said, “The training room is fine. I do not want to be a bother.”

“Oh, it is no bother at all.” Qi Qi glanced at him sideways. He had not expected this person, who looked quite rebellious, to be so polite. He seemed very well-bred. “Tell me when you want to stream, and I will help you with the equipment.”

Sheng Huanian nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

After entering the training room, Sheng Huanian immediately started playing solo matches. He wanted to push for the top national rank this month. While waiting for a match, he opened his friend list and saw the identification at the very top.

7. 7. Zhidao. Ranking: 7. Last online: Eight hours ago.

Sheng Huanian stared at that line of text. He knew Xu Ziqi had trained late again, only logging off after 4:00 AM. He sat in his gaming chair with his back straight, yet he looked as if his soul had been pulled out. It was unclear what those hollow eyes saw through that line of text.

It was not until the match was found and he entered the game that Sheng Huanian snapped back to his senses and slowly touched the keyboard and mouse. After one ranked match, the door to the training room was pushed open. Before Sheng Huanian could turn around, he heard a voice from behind. It was like an electric current climbing up his back and rushing to his brain.

“You are here so early?”

Sheng Huanian had his headphones hanging around his neck. He put down the mouse and turned around slowly. The moment he saw Xu Ziqi, he spoke. “Yes.”

Xu Ziqi was wearing comfortable black and white loungewear. Unlike Sheng Huanian, who was staring directly at him, Xu Ziqi walked straight to his seat and sat down. He turned his head and asked, “Did you eat breakfast? Brother Qi asked me to ask you. If you have not eaten, go eat now.”

“I ate.”

“Fine.”

After saying that, Xu Ziqi began to adjust his equipment. When he turned his head again, he saw that Sheng Huanian had not entered the game yet. He hesitated for a second before reaching out to pat the other man’s arm.

Sheng Huanian noticed from his peripheral vision first. He reacted quickly and asked immediately, “What is it?”

Xu Ziqi’s hair was still a bit wet. He looked up into Sheng Huanian’s eyes and asked softly, “Are you not going to trial for other teams later?”

Sheng Huanian recovered from that gaze and shifted his eyes toward the desk. His voice was a bit dry. “No, I do not plan to trial for other teams for the time being.”

“You,” Xu Ziqi silenced himself for a second, but he still wanted to tell him as a piece of kind advice. “If you want a smooth transfer, there is no harm in trying more teams.”

Sheng Huanian did not look up. He adjusted his headphones with one hand. “Yes, I know.”

Xu Ziqi should not say more. Although he and the team felt Duoming was an excellent player, compatibility between teammates might be more important than raw mechanical skill. They had only played for one day, and the team could not give a definitive answer yet. Therefore, he truly did not want to delay the younger man’s career.

During the training matches that afternoon, Sheng Huanian’s performance was still brilliant. Even if the team score was not high, his personal data did not falter, and he still made it onto the damage leaderboard. In the final training match of the evening, Xu Ziqi was picked off while scouting a point alone, leaving him to watch the operations of the other three.

“Pai, move your car.”

Paipai always listened to the Shot-caller. He immediately left the building and sat in the driver’s seat. But once he sat down, he froze. He asked in a low voice, “How do I move it?”

Xu Ziqi was very patient. “Reverse it in a bit, otherwise the people on the mountain can hit you.”

“Oh, okay.” He started to operate the vehicle but found it difficult to move, or perhaps he did not fully understand Xu Ziqi’s meaning. “Like this? Is this right?”

Xu Ziqi guided him again. “Tuck the front wheels back in. Adjust the direction and then reverse. Do not leave it exposed by the railing.”

Paipai was still a bit confused. Just as he was about to try again, a person ran out of the building.

Sheng Huanian said in a deep voice, “I will reverse it. You go inside.”

Paipai hurriedly got out of the car. As the road killer of the team, there was always a strange bond between him and vehicles. He flipped cars often during matches and lacked experience. He was not as meticulous as Xu Ziqi when it came to parking details.

Sheng Huanian sat in the driver’s seat. He understood what Xu Ziqi meant and quickly adjusted the car’s position. He asked softly, “Is this right?”

Xu Ziqi nodded. “Yes, just like that. It will be easier for you to move the car later.”

Sheng Huanian said in a low voice, “Yes. If the next circle moves out, are we going to crash a compound?”

Xu Ziqi was looking at the mini-map. There were more than thirty seconds before the circle refreshed. He said with certainty, “If it shifts East or South, we have no choice but to crash a point. There are not many spots left inside. Find someone to fight.”

Sheng Huanian responded, “Okay.”

The next circle refreshed with a hard South shift. The three members of Team TK had to find a point to crash into. They would fight whoever they encountered; there was no other way. Xu Ziqi had already told them which point to crash, so the moment the circle refreshed, they started the cars.

Paipai shouted in the microphone, “Go, go, go! Just blow them up!”

Three people and two cars successfully landed at a building complex, where they crashed into another three-man team. As the attackers, they were at a disadvantage. Paipai had just entered the building when a grenade took away more than half of his health. Before he could report any information, a fire spread under his feet, burning him down before he had a chance to fire his gun.

Paipai could only watch his teammates’ operations in silence. The defenders were Team UI. Their players were well-prepared for the aggressive moves of other teams after the circle shift. Their formation was excellent, they had plenty of utility items, and they even had a player hidden behind cover outside the building.

The livestream camera did not even catch Paipai or Yan being knocked down. A few seconds later, the camera finally stabilized. In a cloud of smoke, Sheng Huanian’s shotgun failed to hit its target, and he was killed by an opponent also holding a DBS.

Xu Ziqi had been watching Sheng Huanian’s perspective. After he fell, Xu Ziqi said softly, “What a pity.”

Everyone’s voice chat was still connected. Sheng Huanian’s deep voice was particularly prominent, and he seemed very self-reproachful. “My bad. I lost the fight.”

Xu Ziqi took off his headphones after hearing this and looked at him. “It is fine. You played well enough.”

He was not a machine; how could he win every one-versus-one fight? Xu Ziqi thought this, but when he looked up, he still saw deep self-reproach on the rookie’s face. It was as if he truly believed it was his own fault that the round was lost.

After Yan left the TK base, Lot and the three remaining players had a brief review. Team TK might be a bit different from other teams. Although Lot was the head coach, a large part of the post-match review was led by the Shot-caller. This method was actually decided upon by Xu Ziqi and Lot together. During regular reviews, Xu Ziqi, as the Shot-caller, would speak more. If there were incorrect or controversial points, Lot would then speak up.

Since it was the last round, Xu Ziqi spoke while the footage was still being prepared. “The last round was my problem. I was hit while scouting early on. If we had a full squad, we could have played the edge of the circle at that final position.”

Lot spoke quickly, “Your position was reckless. You cannot drive straight to the front without seeing a car. You only had a level one helmet; two shots can take you down.”

Xu Ziqi nodded. “Yes, it will not happen again.”

Lot recalled the last round and thought of their poor armor and terrible weapons. He said in a low voice, “Our drop point at the Old City is poor and remote. Your equipment is bad, so it is hard to play when the circle shifts are extreme.”

Xu Ziqi felt helpless thinking about it. “There is no other way. It is lucky to even find an M4 at that location.”

Sheng Huanian, who was sitting next to Xu Ziqi, had been quiet for a long time. At this moment, he turned his head and saw the person beside him lost in thought. He suddenly asked, “Then why not change it?”

Lot reacted first. “Change what? The drop point?”

Sheng Huanian nodded. “Yes.”

Xu Ziqi turned his head, locked eyes with him, and asked softly, “Do you mean a contest?”

Sheng Huanian stared at his face with absolute certainty in his eyes. “Yes. If you want a good position, you have to contest it. The Old City map is not at the center. Without good equipment and utility items in the late game, it is just hard to play.”

Xu Ziqi was also looking at him, somewhat stunned, as if he had been struck by these firm words. He turned back and said quickly, “We contested last season, but the win rate was not high. It was too damaging, so we stopped contesting later on.”

Lot stared at the rookie for a few seconds, slapped his thigh with his right hand, and decided quickly, “Then let us contest tomorrow. To be honest, with this lineup, it would be a waste not to contest a drop point.”

Xu Ziqi looked at Lot and asked softly, “Are you sure? Still the Small Ancient Building?”

Lot nodded. “Yes, that point is rich and the position is good.”

No player wants to start several levels lower than others because of a lack of resources. A large reason why Team TK did not qualify for the grand finals last season was that they scored too few points on the Magic City map. They often lost members during rotations in the early game and died suddenly in a team fight, rarely reaching the final circle.

Poor guns, no utility items, and constantly chasing the safe zone. In the past, these scenes made fans feel heartbroken. Contesting a drop point was the best and only choice for Team TK on this map. However, the low win rate in the early Winter Season made it impossible for them to contest later.

Now that the personnel had changed, Lot decided to let them start contesting again. Although it was only the transfer period and not official, it could be used to better observe the close-range coordination of these players.

After the review, Sheng Huanian started a livestream in the training room with the help of Qi Qi. Usually, he rarely looked at the bullet chat, but today he was in a good mood and watched the rapidly scrolling comments.

[Bullet Chat]: Hmm? Is this the TK training room?

“Yes, at TK.”

[Bullet Chat]: What is going on? It is so late and you are still at TK? Are you not going back?

“The base is far from here, so I am staying here during these few days of trials.”

[Bullet Chat]: Oh, I see. Where are you trialing after this? Is tomorrow not your last day at TK?

Sheng Huanian saw many comments asking about his future plans. He replied in a low voice, “The trials after this depend on the situation, but I will be at TK for a short period.”

[Bullet Chat]: Holy crap! Is this not an open declaration? Do you really want to go to TK that much? Did they not say 5Stars also scheduled a trial? Are you not even considering Stars?

Sheng Huanian had indeed rejected the trial invitation sent by the manager of Team 5Stars this evening. However, he did not say it directly. He spoke, “I have my own arrangements.”

After replying to that comment, Sheng Huanian entered the game and stopped looking at the chat assistant. For tomorrow’s drop contest, he opened a private room alone to familiarize himself with the map using a room card he purchased. He was running through the map by himself.

About fifteen minutes later, a delivery bag suddenly appeared on his desk. Sheng Huanian’s gaze moved quickly from the bag. The moment he looked up, he met a pair of moist eyes. Xu Ziqi had just finished his shower. Droplets of water dripped down his hair, landing exactly on Sheng Huanian’s wrist. It seemed to make a crisp sound, though it was not the wrist that was hit.

Xu Ziqi did not notice the droplet at all. As Sheng Huanian looked up at him, he spoke calmly, “Eat something.”

Sheng Huanian had not reacted yet, but Xu Ziqi saw his livestream assistant. “Are you livestreaming?”

“Yes.”

Xu Ziqi sat back in his seat and started the game. He glanced at the computer screen again. “Are you running through the map?”

Sheng Huanian turned his head back stiffly. “Yes.”

Xu Ziqi nodded and did not ask more. “Fine.”

“You,” Sheng Huanian asked, “What do you plan to play?”

“I will play ranked for a while and see if there are any faction matches later.”

Sheng Huanian looked at the screen, completely unaware of what the bullet chat had become.

[Bullet Chat]: Holy crap! I saw my baby. Can he please start a livestream?

[Bullet Chat]: ZD, start a livestream! You have not streamed for two days!

[Bullet Chat]: ZD is here too. This is so nice, even bringing you delivery food.

[Bullet Chat]: Wow! I am shipping it! The first sugar of my niche ship is worth celebrating!

[Bullet Chat]: This is not the first sugar. They have many moments, okay? Come to the Super Topic to ship them!

[Bullet Chat]: It looks like they get along well. I feel ZD actually has a good temper. I just do not know why he has conflicts with so many people. It is strange.

There were many comments, and Sheng Huanian’s heart was in a mess. After a few seconds of silence, before Xu Ziqi’s ranked match started, Sheng Huanian turned to look at him and asked, “Do you want to play duos?”

Xu Ziqi glanced at him and quickly responded, “Sure, let us play duos then.”

The bullet chat erupted again. His heart did the same. However, less than five minutes after the ranked match began, Xu Ziqi’s phone rang. Sheng Huanian saw the caller identification before Xu Ziqi did. At that moment, he truly wished Xu Ziqi would not see the lit-up phone screen. Or, he could just smash the phone to pieces.

Three seconds later, Xu Ziqi answered the call. He knew Sheng Huanian was livestreaming, so he immediately stood up and walked out of the training room. In the game, the masked man stood beside a figure who was standing still, guarding him and waiting for him to return.