Captain, I Beg You to Give Me an Official Status [E-sports] - Chapter 14

The tension between members of Team TK was no secret. Therefore, when XMode, who was trialing for Team Seven, unloaded several rounds into Zhidao’s loot box, it could not be dismissed as mere playfulness.

Xu Ziqi understood this perfectly. He did not care, however. Listening to the deafening gunfire, he switched his spectator perspective with an expressionless face.

On the computer screen, the masked character picked up his signature weapon, the DBS, and vaulted out of a window. He seemed to have already locked onto his target. He operated without hesitation, moving alone into the building where the fight had just erupted.

Xu Ziqi’s loot box was at the turn of the second floor stairs. Sheng Huanian had already slipped into a room on the first floor, listening to the dual sets of footsteps coming from above.

“Two above you,” Xu Ziqi reminded him.

Whether in terms of numbers or positioning, Sheng Huanian held no advantage.

Xu Ziqi rarely micromanaged teammates during such maneuvers. He simply said in a low voice, “Paipai and the others cannot make it over. You are on your own.”

On the other side, Paipai and Yan were facing a two versus two situation. Meanwhile, the footsteps near Sheng Huanian were chaotic, a deliberate move by the opponents to confuse him.

Sheng Huanian did not say a word. With a stony face, he ran to the base of the stairs and cooked his only grenade. Seeing that he was about to make a play, Xu Ziqi shut his mouth. He did not want to distract him and watched the operation in silence.

The two opponents held the advantage, testing the waters back and forth near the stairs. They threw a grenade and a Molotov cocktail, but they did not even graze the hem of Sheng Huanian’s clothes.

Sheng Huanian gripped and released the grenade repeatedly until a clean voice came through the headset, echoing his own thoughts.

“In the small room on the left.”

Xu Ziqi had figured it out, and so had Sheng Huanian. Reacting instantly, Sheng Huanian stepped out the door and tossed the grenade through the window from outside the house with pinpoint accuracy.

[Wing. Duoming knocked out Seven. Huanyu with a grenade.]

Only one opponent remained, XMode.

Sheng Huanian gave him no opening. Clutching his DBS, he charged up the stairs. Despite fighting from a lower elevation, he landed a headshot with a single blast, knocking the man, who had been standing just a second ago, to the ground.

Xu Ziqi took in the fluid movement and exquisite marksmanship. From the bottom of his heart, he praised, “Impressive.”

The moment the praise left his lips, the masked character dropped his gun on the floor. He raised his clenched fists and began punching the helpless, downed player over and over again.

The livestream chat went wild.

“Question, which one is more insulting?”

“Is Duoming getting revenge for Zhidao? Damn, I am shipping it. This is not a crack ship; it is full of fanservice!”

“You dare shoot my teammate’s box, watch me punch you to death! That play by Duoming was too cool; he won a one versus two.”

It was only when Sheng Huanian raised his fist for the third time that Xu Ziqi reacted. He immediately tried to stop him. “Hey, do not punch him.”

Sheng Huanian did not stop. Two consecutive punches later, he had beaten the man on the ground into a loot box with his bare hands.

[Wing. Duoming finished TK. XMode with a punch.]

This notification rarely appeared in professional matches or training scrims. Usually, whenever it did, the forums would immediately explode with criticism.

Xu Ziqi turned his head, his expression somewhat serious. Just as he was about to speak, the sound of gunfire echoed in his headset again.

On the screen, the masked character picked up his gun again after the punch finish and fired five consecutive shots into the loot box.

Only after emptying the magazine did Sheng Huanian stow his weapon with satisfaction and crouch down to loot the gear. He did not go to help because Paipai and Yan had already dealt with the other two opponents.

In this hot drop skirmish, TK traded one for four. It was a highly profitable exchange.

However, for the rest of the match, Xu Ziqi remained mostly silent.

In the livestream, the commentator had been trying to smooth things over for Sheng Huanian for quite a while. Yet, the chat was still flooded with people stirring up drama, showing no intention of letting the topic go.

“Did the other guy not start it by shooting the box first? What is wrong with giving it back?”

“They hot drop without a word, then punch finish and shoot the box? As expected, everyone trialing for TK is the same kind of person. No manners!”

“Who cares about Duoming’s manners? The question is, did he win? He won a one versus two, and you are blaming him for a punch finish? If you lose, just deal with it. Besides, who was the one without manners first?”

The commentator, watching the endless arguing in the chat, did not dare to say much. His voice lowered significantly. “Let us move on and watch the game. TK’s position makes it hard for them to enter the circle this time.”

The positions of the three remaining TK members were completely pushed out when the safe zone for the fourth circle appeared. They chose to wait for an opportunity at the edge of the circle, but they did not expect a team to sneak up behind them.

Paipai was ambushed and went down instantly. “Damn it, there is a team even slower than us?”

Xu Ziqi still said nothing, watching his two remaining teammates operate at the foot of the mountain. Outnumbered, Sheng Huanian did not even get a chance to fire his shotgun this time before being downed by a long range cover shooter.

Yan put down his mouse. “Pity. I did not expect another team back there.”

Soon, Sheng Huanian also took off his headset and moved his hands away from the equipment.

Xu Ziqi spoke almost instantly, turning to look at Sheng Huanian. “Why did you punch finish him?”

Sheng Huanian turned his head. Not a shred of regret or any other emotion showed on his face. He remained as calm as ever, his lips parting slightly. “Paying him back.”

“You,” Xu Ziqi’s eyes widened as he asked, “did your coach never tell you that you cannot punch finish?”

Sheng Huanian answered honestly, “He did.”

Xu Ziqi was at a loss for words, looking at him with utter incomprehension.

Sheng Huanian spoke again. “I forgot just now.”

Xu Ziqi did not know what to say.

Paipai, sitting opposite them, spoke up. “I did not know at first and punch finished someone once. I got scolded by the coach back then. I did not dare go on the forums for days. Apparently, everyone was flaming me and demanding an apology.”

Yan knew about that incident. Noticing the serious expressions of the two across from him, he tried to lighten the mood. “Actually, I used to punch finish people quite often. It is not a big deal. The guy he punched is not some high clout player anyway. Who cares? Besides, the other side provoked us first. If anyone is going to be blamed, it should not be us.”

Sheng Huanian looked completely indifferent to the conversation. Since he chose to punch and shoot the box, the other party deserved to take it.

What goes around, comes around.

Xu Ziqi stopped looking at him and said in a low voice, “I could have paid him back, but you punching him makes it a different matter entirely.” He turned his head. “The forums are probably already attacking you.”

Sheng Huanian turned and stared into his eyes. “Whatever. I do not care about that. Let them flame me.”

Xu Ziqi took a deep breath, looked away, and stood up to leave the training room.

Lot, who had watched the whole thing, finally spoke to Sheng Huanian. “You are a rookie. If you play like this, this incident will follow you for the rest of your life.”

Sheng Huanian sat in his seat. He did not look regretful, but he kept his head down, thinking about something. He spoke in a low voice. “It does not matter. I won. How I play is up to me.”

Lot shook his head slightly, thinking that this rookie was the most sharp edged player he had ever met.

Oh, wait.

Actually, the second most.

In the year Lot first met Xu Ziqi, the terms “high spirited” and “fearless” could not even begin to describe the young man’s unstoppable edge at the time.

In truth, several years ago, punch finishes and box shooting were not uncommon in professional matches. Young men were hot blooded, and it was normal to want to express their excitement in their own way after winning. But later, for some unknown reason and at some unknown point, such behavior began to be viewed as provocation and a lack of respect for opponents. Therefore, gradually, these two behaviors disappeared from the scene.

In all his years as a professional, Xu Ziqi had never engaged in such behavior. This was not the first time someone had shot his loot box, but regardless of whether he had the chance to fight back later, he never once shot an opponent’s box.

It was not that he was quietly enduring it; he simply disliked the behavior and remembered how a teammate of his had once been flamed until they lost emotional control over it.

Sheng Huanian sensed Xu Ziqi’s dissatisfaction with his actions. While he sat there thinking, the forums had already reached a boiling point.

Half the people were flaming XMode for his provocation, while the other half said that Duoming, as a rookie, lacked respect for his seniors. They claimed that punch finishing and box shooting showed a complete lack of character.

Lot had not left yet. He walked over to Sheng Huanian’s side and looked down at him. “TK does not allow punch finishing or box shooting other players. Pay attention in the future and do not do it again.”

Sheng Huanian nodded, saying nothing.

Half an hour later, Sheng Huanian, sitting on the living room sofa, heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Xu Ziqi’s back.

Xu Ziqi was walking toward the training room, his gaze never wavering.

After hearing the sound of the door closing, Sheng Huanian’s grip on his phone tightened. He looked down to re-watch the match replay.

Inside the training room, Lot and Xu Ziqi sat facing each other.

“Do you think he has too much of a temper?”

Xu Ziqi said plainly, “It is normal to have a temper. I never thought he was soft.”

Lot nodded. “I actually like his temper. The key is that his aim is solid and he follows orders well enough. There is really nothing to complain about.”

“Follows orders?” Xu Ziqi recalled the scene. “He did not listen at all when I told him not to punch.”

Lot laughed. “It would be strange if he did listen. Regardless, he was getting revenge for you. Do not stay so cold toward him. I have already talked to him; it will not happen again. He is a rookie; it is normal to make mistakes.”

Xu Ziqi was not exactly angry. He kept his head down and said, “I am just worried that this temper of his.”

Lot reached out to pat Xu Ziqi’s shoulder, his tone light. “Oh, come on. You are not dating him; why do you care about his temper? As long as he does not do it again and plays well in matches, that is enough. Why worry so much?”

Xu Ziqi looked up, his expression relaxing slightly. He smiled. “Are you decided on him then?”

Lot said, “Is there any reason not to be? Are you not satisfied as well?”

“Yeah, he is fine. Then let us not book any other entry fraggers for the last few days. Let him play with that flex player.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lot said as he stood up. “I just wonder how high a price ING will set for him.”

Xu Ziqi stood up as well. “At least three million as a base. I still remember those moves ING pulled.”

Lot nodded. “I remember too. But it is fine; as long as it is not an astronomical price, we can afford it.”

Xu Ziqi pushed open the training room door and was about to walk out when Lot grabbed his arm. Lot let go, the door closed again, and he asked, “What is it?”

Lot stared at him, asking with concern, “Did you have an argument?”

Xu Ziqi understood instantly. He smiled slightly and said, “Your observational skills are not bad.”

Lot looked at him for a moment longer before tugging his arm. “You have a sense of proportion, so I am not worried about you. Just handle your private life well.”

Xu Ziqi pushed the door open and said quickly, “Do not worry, it will not have any impact.”

When he said that, he did not expect that during the evening training matches, his phone would ring incessantly with incoming messages.

Xu Ziqi could not stand it anymore. At the start of the second match, he turned his phone off directly.

Noticing this, Sheng Huanian’s expression turned remarkably foul. He cursed many times in his head, texting, texting, endlessly texting, so annoying.

When the evening training matches ended, Xu Ziqi took off his headset. He was about to speak when Qiqi, who had been pacing anxiously for several minutes, pulled him out of the training room.

Xu Ziqi looked bewildered. “What is wrong?”

Qiqi’s expression was strange. He said helplessly, “Your partner is here. They are at the base entrance.”

Xu Ziqi’s expression changed instantly. His brow tightened, and he lowered his voice. “When did they arrive?”

“While you were playing the last match. I got a call from security and went out to check, and then,” Qiqi looked up at Xu Ziqi, not knowing how to handle the situation. He leaned in and whispered, “go take a look. I do not know what is going on between you two, but just handle it. Call me if you need help.”

Xu Ziqi sighed heavily. Without even grabbing his phone or putting on a jacket, he strode straight out the base door.