Captain, I Beg You to Give Me an Official Status [E-sports] - Chapter 9

The transfer period opened this Thursday.

The transfer period for the DOC Professional League has always been transparent. Training matches during this time can be livestreamed, allowing the audience to know immediately which clubs are trialing which players. The public listing period for players begins one week after the start of the transfer window. At that time, player transfer fees are made public.

A player’s listing price can influence a club’s decision. Therefore, it is still necessary to wait for the trials in the final two or three days of the transfer period to guess the intentions of each club.

On the first day of the transfer period, Qi Qi was in a very pleasant mood after successfully scheduling two strikers. He came to the kitchen at noon that day humming a tune and instructed the lady preparing the ingredients, “Auntie, make more dishes for this afternoon. Make it a feast. Have some fish or shrimp and things like that.”

Paipai, who was eating breakfast at the dining table, looked back. “Brother Qi, why are you like this? Are you planning to use our food to make them stay?”

Qi Qi happened to walk to the side of the table. “What do you know, kid?” He looked at Paipai and said, “Play well today. Cooperate well with them and listen to your brother.”

Paipai drank all the milk in his glass and licked the corner of his mouth. “I have always been very obedient, okay?”

“Yes, yes, obedient.” Qi Qi walked a circle around the living room and turned to ask, “Where is ZD?”

Paipai turned his head to look but did not see Xu Ziqi. He guessed, “Maybe he is in the gym? Or he is taking a shower. He should be down in a moment.”

Qi Qi immediately prepared to go upstairs, saying, “I have to get him to eat something. I will go call him down.”

Qi Qi went to the gym first. After seeing no one there, he walked to the door of Xu Ziqi’s room. He began to knock on the door. After two knocks, the door was pulled open from the inside.

Xu Ziqi had just finished his shower and was drying his hair with a towel. The bangs on his forehead were all sticking up, making his facial features appear clearer. His eyes were somewhat round and his pupils were deep black, looking as if they were quenched with starlight. After opening the door, he asked, “What is it?”

“Eat breakfast,” Qi Qi said. “Go eat breakfast once you are ready. The training match will start soon and there will be no time left.”

Xu Ziqi had not left any time for himself to eat breakfast. He was a person with very clear time management and had already set aside forty-five minutes for target practice. His hands kept rubbing his semi-wet hair as he said softly, “I will not eat. I am going straight to the training room in a moment.”

“No!” Qi Qi stared at him earnestly. “How can you not eat breakfast? The next meal will not be until around five o’clock. Get down there and eat right now, even if it is just a bite of bread.”

Xu Ziqi stood still.

Qi Qi looked angry and feigned a glare. “Do not ignore your own health. Hurry up. Do not force me to drag you.”

Xu Ziqi let out a soft sigh and walked out of the door helplessly. “You really are used to acting like a father.”

Qi Qi did not argue and followed behind him. “You scared me to death with that stomach ache last time. What if it hurts again? I do not want to send you to the hospital in the middle of the night again.”

“I do not want that either.”

“Then you should eat properly!” Qi Qi said in a low voice. “Do not always make me worry. You are so old now, yet you are less sensible than my daughter.”

Xu Ziqi sat obediently on the sofa, holding a piece of bread spread with strawberry jam. He chewed and swallowed slowly while looking at his phone.

At that moment, the door to the base opened. When the recently departed Qi Qi returned, there was someone beside him.

Sheng Huanian was carrying heavy equipment, wearing a short black jacket and casual trousers. Standing next to Qi Qi, who was barely one hundred and seventy-seven centimeters tall, he looked like a giant.

Qi Qi was all smiles and introduced the place enthusiastically. “Our lounge and training room are on the first floor. The second floor is where the players live. There are many rooms, a gym, and a room for watching movies. The third floor is where the youth trainees and coaches live. There are two meeting rooms and a few vacant livestream rooms. If you need to use them, you can tell me and I will help you set them up.”

Xu Ziqi only looked up once when the door opened. He did not pay much attention and continued to look down at his phone. After hearing this long string of words, he finished the bread in his hand. The moment he stood up, he looked straight ahead and naturally locked eyes with someone.

It was as if he had been pulled in by an unknown force. Perhaps it was because that gaze was too deep and carried too much pressure.

Sheng Huanian stopped beside the sofa. From the moment he entered, his gaze had only landed on this spot. As for what the person beside him said, he seemed not to have heard it clearly.

This eye contact made Xu Ziqi feel uncomfortable. He quickly looked away and said to Qi Qi, “I am finished eating. I am going to the training room first.”

Qi Qi called out to stop Xu Ziqi. “That is perfect. Take him to the training room to set up the equipment. I still have to wait for the other one.”

Xu Ziqi turned his head. “Fine.” His eyes moved to the right and quickly saw those eyes again. He said in a low voice, “Come with me.”

Sheng Huanian followed immediately, walking right by Xu Ziqi’s side.

When they arrived at the training room, the head coach, Lot, was already waiting at his position. He turned his head and then looked up. “You are here?”

Sheng Huanian nodded.

Lot said to Xu Ziqi, “Then take him to Yan Zhe’s spot. Remember to test the equipment after setting it up.”

“Fine.”

Xu Ziqi walked directly to a desk and helped him move the chair out. “You sit here.”

Sheng Huanian stopped there. He looked down and asked, “Where do you sit?”

“Me?” Xu Ziqi raised his hand and pointed casually at the diagonal position. “There.”

Sheng Huanian quickly scanned that desk. It was clean and tidy, with nothing but a computer, equipment, and a cup. He withdrew his gaze and spoke just as Xu Ziqi was about to leave. “Is there anyone at that spot?”

Xu Ziqi turned around. Seeing him pointing at the spot next to his own, he responded, “No.”

“Can I sit there?” Sheng Huanian looked down, making no effort to hide the disdain in his eyes. “This one is dirty.”

Xu Ziqi walked back. He looked down and noticed the desk with several stains. He immediately said, “Fine, then you sit there. This might be from him using it last night without cleaning up. Go sit at that one.”

After seeing Sheng Huanian sit down, Xu Ziqi walked to his own position, opened the side drawer, and took out a pack of wet wipes. He said as he passed by, “Set up your equipment first. Tell me if there are any problems.”

Sheng Huanian nodded. “Okay.”

Setting up the equipment took some time. Sheng Huanian looked up from time to time to watch every move of the person opposite him. He watched him taking out a wet wipe, throwing two pieces of trash into the bin, and picking up a wet wipe again to wipe the dirt off the table.

When Xu Ziqi looked up, Sheng Huanian looked down, appearing to be fully concentrated on installing the equipment.

When he passed by Sheng Huanian again, Xu Ziqi glanced at him and asked with a clear voice and concern, “Have you finished?”

Sheng Huanian’s finger on the keyboard trembled slightly. No one noticed. He quickly said, “Finished.”

Xu Ziqi sat down at his position. He opened the game and reminded him, “Try entering the game.”

“Yes.”

Sheng Huanian opened the game immediately. He suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Xu Ziqi.

After being stared at for a few seconds, Xu Ziqi turned his head and took off his headphones. “What is wrong?”

Sheng Huanian spoke, “I do not have you as a friend yet. You have to invite me later.”

“Oh.” Xu Ziqi looked at the screen and asked in a low voice, “What is the identification? Are you using your main account?”

“Two accounts. Add both of them,” Sheng Huanian said. “One is the main account identification, and the other is 2355, followed by two periods.”

Xu Ziqi had already sent a friend request to the main account. He was curious when he heard the identification of this secondary account, but it was only a little curiosity and he did not ask anything. He found the identification with an avatar of a deer antler. Fearing he might add the wrong person, he turned and asked, “Is it this one?”

Sheng Huanian leaned in closer to him, looking at the screen and nodding. “Yes. I will use this one for this afternoon and tonight.”

Xu Ziqi’s hand touched the mouse again. “Fine, added. Please accept it.”

“Yes.”

While the two of them were testing in the game, Paipai and another striker who had come for a trial also sat down in their positions. At this time, there was half an hour left before the training match started at 1:30 PM.

Lot looked up. Seeing that they were all practicing their aim in the game, he spoke, “I have a few words to say.”

Xu Ziqi’s headphones were very soundproof and he did not hear a thing. It was only after Sheng Huanian beside him tapped on his desk that he took the headphones off his head.

Lot spoke quickly, “ZD is the Shot-caller. Just listen to him. If there are any problems, we will communicate during the review after the match. All three of you are in the striker position, so you are probably not familiar with each other?”

Paipai said, “Not very familiar, but we have played together a few times.”

Lot nodded and was not worried. “Then communicate among yourselves. Just play well.”

The striker from Team Ling was also a player receiving much attention during this transfer period. His identification was Yan. Although he had not been on the field for long, he had left many impressive moments. If one had to mention one, it would be in the weekly finals of the third week of this Winter Season. On the map Beiyu Winter Sea, he had taken down three members of Team TK as a lone wolf. Two of the victims were currently right here.

After a brief communication from the coach, the four players returned to the game to practice their aim and wait for the training match to begin.

At 1:30 PM, the official livestream started on time.

The male host spoke enthusiastically, “No one can miss today’s training match! On the right is our trial information. You can see that the Winter Season Most Valuable Player, Duoming, has indeed taken action this transfer period as he said he would. He will be trialing with Team TK for the next three days. Team TK is as generous as ever, trialing Yan at the same time as Duoming. With two top strikers joining, I wonder what kind of sparks they can create in this team!”

[Bullet Chat]: 6666.

[Bullet Chat]: The expectation is fully loaded on the first day of the transfer period!

[Bullet Chat]: TK is really rich, trialing two top strikers at the same time. I cannot imagine how much it would cost if they actually buy them.

[Bullet Chat]: A trial does not mean they have to buy. Trying costs nothing. Can you stop saying such things so early?

[Bullet Chat]: Other teams might not be able to afford them, but TK definitely has the strength.

[Bullet Chat]: TK could spend fifteen million to buy a useless Shot-caller. How hard can it be to give ZD two more gunmen? With three strikers pulling one dog, they should be able to pull him along, right?

[Bullet Chat]: You idiot, are the haters here again? ZD’s Shot-calling does not need your evaluation! When he was winning championships and playing in world tournaments, you were still in your mother’s womb! Pure fool.

The bullet chat was bickering every day. Wherever the player Zhidao was, the doubts about him never disappeared. He did not make it to the grand finals. He had not had good results for nearly two years. He did not get along well with his teammates, and there were constant internal conflicts. These seemed to be carved onto Xu Ziqi, becoming appendages of the identification Zhidao.

Fortunately, Xu Ziqi could not see these malicious comments. At this moment, he had already entered the game room. He leaned back and waited quietly for the game to start.

Sheng Huanian turned his head slightly, carefully staring at Xu Ziqi’s profile. He had eyes like a deer, pale thin lips, and fair skin. He was right there within reach.

Sheng Huanian lost his focus almost instantly. Then, his mind became clouded.

Xu Ziqi noticed the gaze from the side. The moment he looked over, he thought Sheng Huanian’s slightly stunned expression was due to nervousness or worry. He looked at the man and said casually, “Just play normally.”

Coming back to his senses, Sheng Huanian immediately turned his head. He reached his left hand under the desk and rubbed his palm against his trousers. “Yes.”

Sheng Huanian was always confident and rarely nervous. But at this moment, he was somewhat worried. He had to play well. From now on, in every match he played with Xu Ziqi, Sheng Huanian would give his absolute best.