The Esports Little Demon King Is a Sweet and Fierce Omega - Chapter 13

Traveling from the Upper District to the Lower District required entering a lot of tedious information, but since Li Zhen’s car was registered at the city gate, the two of them passed through smoothly. After crossing the bridge that spanned the two districts, they officially entered the Lower District.

The buildings in the Lower District were built taller than the last, yet the space between them was absurdly narrow. The environment was cluttered and chaotic, reminiscent of the shantytowns of the Earth era, with a population density far greater than that of the Upper District. The main street sat just past the gate, lined with shops and buzzing with the noise of the crowd. Even before entering the city, Tian Jiu spotted Old Zhao standing at the gate.

Old Zhao looked to be in his twenties, quite lean, wearing glasses that gave him a scholarly, gentle look. If it weren’t for the red vest printed with “Old Zhao’s Equipment Shop,” Tian Jiu wouldn’t have dared to recognize him.

“Old Zhao is over there,” Tian Jiu pointed out to Li Zhen.

Li Zhen took a look and pulled the car up in front of him. Old Zhao leaned down to peer through the window and recognized Tian Jiu instantly, grinning. “Hey, you came in a car!”

“My friend is driving,” Tian Jiu corrected him.

Friend?!

Li Zhen’s spirit soared. His idol actually called him a friend! He couldn’t stop himself from wanting to laugh, feeling both nervous and excited, yet he reservedly nodded to Old Zhao. Adopting the composed posture of “Tian Jiu’s friend,” he said calmly, “Get in. We’ll head over together.”

“Alright then, I’ll take a ride in this luxury car too.” As soon as Old Zhao spoke, his scholarly image completely collapsed.

“Where is your shop?” Li Zhen asked.

“Go straight, turn right at the third intersection, and you’ll see it. The red sign is very eye-catching.” Old Zhao familiarly stroked the leather seats and remarked, “This car is nice. It must cost a few million, right?”

“I bought it for over two million and modified it myself,” Li Zhen replied.

“Modified it yourself? Impressive.”

Tian Jiu introduced him, “His name is Li Zhen. He studies mecha design and is said to be very capable.”

“Said to be?”

“Erguotou said so,” Tian Jiu answered honestly.

“Who is Erguotou?”

Tian Jiu replied, “That’s my AI brain.”

Li Zhen and Old Zhao both burst out laughing. Old Zhao said, “Then he must be amazing, otherwise your Erguotou wouldn’t know about him.”

“By the way, have you guys had breakfast? If not, I can have my sister pack a couple of portions.”

“We’ve eaten.” Tian Jiu turned back to get down to business. “Old Zhao, can I get a really powerful cannon?”

Old Zhao was surprised. “You want to play as a Cannoneer?”

“Mhm.”

“But cannons are usually very heavy. The heavier they are, the more powerful the shells and the longer the range. If it’s too light, the power will be greatly diminished.”

Tian Jiu said earnestly, “It’s fine. I’m very strong.”

Li Zhen added, “Yes, feel free to add as much weight as you want. He really is very strong.” Strong enough to toss Mecha Zero around with one hand.

Old Zhao found it hard to believe, but since he was being paid, he didn’t argue further. At worst, if Tian Jiu couldn’t handle the heavy artillery, he could always make him a magic wand or something later. Even though Tian Jiu had no pheromones and might not adapt well to Mage classes, Omegas usually played Mages or Healers anyway. It would at least be better than Tian Jiu struggling to hold a weak, tiny cannon.

Old Zhao’s shop wasn’t large, but it was spotless inside. Three walls were covered with large screens; two of them scrolled through ready-made weapons and their parameters, while the third displayed various skins and outfits.

“Brother!” A young girl with short hair, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, ran out from the back room. She looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, reaching only to Tian Jiu’s shoulder, with slightly tanned skin but very bright eyes.

Old Zhao ruffled her hair and introduced her to them. “My sister, Zhao Qingqing. She made all the skins on that wall.” His voice and expression were filled with unabashed pride. Zhao Qingqing politely greeted them, “Hello, brothers.”

“Hello! My name is Tian Jiu.” Tian Jiu smiled, showing two tiger teeth, and reached out to shake her hand.

Zhao Qingqing looked at his hand in surprise, then reached out and shook it. Her eyes grew even brighter. It was the first time anyone had ever shaken her hand; she suddenly felt like an adult! Seeing this, Li Zhen also reached out to shake the girl’s hand, making her incredibly happy.

“I thought about it yesterday,” Old Zhao said as he led them to his workshop. “You have no pheromones and you aren’t a Beta, so your total attributes are 80,000 points lower than others. This isn’t an unsolvable problem.”

The workshop was filled with various computers and unnamed instruments, with every small screen displaying complex parts and blueprints. Tian Jiu was in awe.

“I can exploit a loophole. I’ll add magical attributes to your cannon, using magic to substitute for your lack of pheromone attributes. However, your skill mana bar will deplete faster.”

Usually, cannons and cold weapons only have physical attacks because they don’t strictly require pheromones, unlike Mages and Healers. By adding magical attack attributes to the cannon, those points would automatically fall under the pheromone attribute category, making up for the 80,000 points Tian Jiu was missing.

“You’re amazing!” Tian Jiu didn’t hold back his praise. “Truly a master of equipment.”

Old Zhao laughed heartily. “I didn’t come up with this myself. There’s a precedent.”

“What precedent?”

“God Wu,” Old Zhao said. “Feng Wu is just like you; he can’t use pheromones either. Most of his weapons have their magical attack points maxed out.”

Tian Jiu realized, “Oh right, he doesn’t use pheromones either.”

“Have a seat. Tian Jiu, tell me more about the style of cannon you like. I’ll draw up a blueprint for you.”

As Tian Jiu and Li Zhen sat on the sofa, Old Zhao opened his design software.

“I want a super cool cannon,” Tian Jiu said, his eyes shining with anticipation as he described his dream weapon. “I want the kind you can carry on your shoulder, and I want it to have glowing green light strips on it. The more high-tech it looks, the better.”

Following his requirements, Old Zhao quickly sketched a simple design on the panel. “How about this?” he asked, showing it to Tian Jiu.

Tian Jiu nodded happily. “That’s it! Old Zhao, you’re so good at drawing.”

“Of course, look what I do for a living.” Old Zhao adjusted his glasses and smiled. “You two sit and have some water while I refine this.”

“Okay!”

Zhao Qingqing brought them two drinks and then looked at Tian Jiu a bit shyly. “Brother Tian Jiu, can I make you some nice clothes?”

Before Tian Jiu could speak, Old Zhao cut in, “Go ahead. I promised to give him a set.”

Zhao Qingqing’s eyes lit up. “Great! Then Brother Tian Jiu, is there any specific style you want?”

Tian Jiu thought for a moment. “I don’t have anything specific in mind.” He was never picky about clothes as long as they were comfortable, especially since this was just a game skin.

“Then can I make it according to my own taste?” Zhao Qingqing looked even happier.

“Sure!” Tian Jiu nodded.

Li Zhen hesitated to speak, and Tian Jiu turned to look at him. “Do you have something to say?”

“No, no,” Li Zhen said awkwardly. “I just think you’d look good in something a bit cute.”

Zhao Qingqing said excitedly, “I think so too! I already have an idea, I can start right now!”

Tian Jiu was a bit dazed but nodded. “Alright, then sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s no trouble!” Zhao Qingqing dashed out of the workshop and dove into her own room.

Old Zhao explained while he worked, “My sister has no other hobbies except making skins. She’s very talented at it; people often come to her for custom orders, and she helps me out a lot.”

“That’s amazing.” Tian Jiu genuinely felt she was impressive, and Li Zhen felt the same. They had seen the skins on the wall; they were truly beautiful with perfect details, easily rivaling famous designers.

As Old Zhao and Zhao Qingqing got busy, Tian Jiu and Li Zhen had planned to walk around the streets, but because they needed to discuss details throughout the production process, they stayed inside and watched a match replay together.

This time, they watched the championship battle between AS and WIN from last year. The finals were a best-of-five series. Both teams were highly coordinated, and the score stayed neck-and-neck. However, compared to the deep-rooted foundations of WIN, AS was still a bit lacking. In the 2-2 tie-breaker match, no matter how cautious AS was, they lost to WIN in terms of mental fortitude. A positioning error by their Mage caused the entire rhythm to collapse, allowing WIN to storm the Temple and seize the final victory.

“AS has very strict rules. A major mistake on the field will cause the offending player to miss out on the next year’s league.” Li Zhen looked at Tian Jiu and, seeing that he didn’t seem repulsed by the topic, continued, “It’s precisely because of that Mage’s mistake last year that AS is letting Ji Kaile start this year.”

Tian Jiu paused. “Is that also because he’s strong enough?”

“Not entirely,” Li Zhen analyzed rationally. “AS has always liked to deify its players and loves hype. Ji Kaile’s title as the ‘Most Talented Omega’ was something they cooked up for publicity, and then there’s…”

“There’s what?” Tian Jiu asked innocently.

“And his scandal with Luo Yuan, that’s also a tactic AS used to generate buzz.” Actually, even the news about Tian Jiu liking Luo Yuan in the past was a leak from AS’s PR.

Li Zhen carefully watched Tian Jiu’s expression. Everyone knew Tian Jiu used to be Luo Yuan’s “simp.” Although Tian Jiu had embarrassed Luo Yuan yesterday, it didn’t mean he had stopped liking him, so Li Zhen was very cautious.

However, Tian Jiu had no reaction after hearing this, only asking in confusion, “But why bother with hype? Isn’t playing professionally about strength alone?”

Seeing that he truly wasn’t sad, Li Zhen relaxed and explained, “Because every year before the league starts, the major teams look for sponsorships and the betting pools open.” Tian Jiu knew this; to make huge profits, the tycoons of the Upper District set up game predictions, betting on the winners and MVPs of every match.

“But what does that have to do with hype?”

Li Zhen explained patiently, “Because the amount of sponsorship a team gets is linked to the betting odds. The higher a player’s heat and fame, the more people bet on them once the pool opens, and the more sponsorship the team receives.”

“Oh.” Tian Jiu only half-understood, but it didn’t matter as it had nothing to do with him.

“The betting pool for this year’s trials has already opened too. Popular players like Shadow have the highest betting rates right now.” Li Zhen lamented, “Top prospects like them will likely start in their second year after the trials. Their starting point is much higher than ordinary players.”

“By the way, Tian Jiu, have you decided which team to join?”

Without a second thought, Tian Jiu said, “I have! I want to be on Feng Wu’s team.”

Li Zhen: “…”

Old Zhao looked back at him with an indescribable expression and said helplessly, “Don’t go looking for trouble, brother. Didn’t I tell you before? Those who join FOX never have a good ending.”

“But Feng Wu is so amazing, I don’t want to be his opponent.” After saying this, Tian Jiu gave a shy smile and whispered, “And he’s so handsome. I like him.”

Great, another little Omega dazed by Feng Wu!

Li Zhen and Old Zhao were heartbroken. Old Zhao was a bit better, thinking it wasn’t up to Tian Jiu anyway maybe Feng Wu would prefer stronger teammates. Li Zhen, however, firmly believed Tian Jiu could get a great result, so he tried to persuade him earnestly, “You might even be able to join WIN! An old-school team is reliable. In FOX, you wouldn’t even have job security. Why not reconsider?”

“No way,” Tian Jiu shook his head. “I’ve considered it very carefully.” Besides, he had seen the real Feng Wu today, and the man had even recognized his natural talent; they were practically kindred spirits! Plus, Feng Wu’s story sounded so pitiful; he must be in desperate need of powerful teammates. That was why Tian Jiu wouldn’t consider any other team.

Li Zhen sighed deeply. “Fine. I’ll support you no matter what.”

Old Zhao looked back at him with a strange expression, thinking to himself, Why does this guy look so much like a brainless fanboy?

The morning passed quickly. All four people in the shop were busy. Li Zhen spent the whole time educating Tian Jiu about Fengshen, only to realize that Tian Jiu truly only had a partial understanding. But thinking about how poorly he lived in the Ji family and how he hadn’t even entered Hallworth, everything felt justified. Yet this thought made him feel even more for Tian Jiu’s past hardships. It was good that he had moved out.

At noon, Zhao Qingqing knocked on the door to call everyone for lunch. “I made three dishes and a soup! It’s a feast, brothers, come eat!”

“Good job, Qingqing.” Old Zhao laughed and said to them, “Let’s eat first. After that, I’ll put in some extra effort and should have the equipment finished by two o’clock.”

Zhao Qingqing added hurriedly, “I can finish the clothes too!”

“Thank you both for your hard work.” Tian Jiu smiled brightly, his tiger teeth very noticeable.

Old Zhao’s estimate was actually a bit conservative. Just after one o’clock in the afternoon, the heavy cannon custom-made for Tian Jiu was finished. A virtual 3D projection displayed the cannon’s structure and functions from all angles. It also showed its unique attribute values—a cannon with 80,000 points in magical attack was truly one of a kind.

And it was exactly as Tian Jiu had imagined, with glowing green light strips running along the body. It was full of futuristic style and looked super cool.

“I didn’t know exactly how strong you are, so I made this one ten kilograms. You can try it in a match later. If you find it too heavy, I can lighten it for you, but if the weight decreases, the projectile power and range will drop too. There’s no way around that.”

No matter how wild Old Zhao’s imagination was, he never could have guessed that Tian Jiu could dismantle Mecha Zero with one hand. So when Tian Jiu and Li Zhen said he was “strong,” Old Zhao simply took it to mean “stronger than the average Omega.”

Tian Jiu couldn’t wait to try it. “Then let’s start right now!”

“Alright.”

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