The Esports Little Demon King Is a Sweet and Fierce Omega - Chapter 16

Zhou Funian was flipping through this year’s selection trial contestant profiles when he heard Feng Wu suddenly let out a soft laugh.

“Finished the game?” Zhou asked.

“Yeah.” Feng Wu stepped out of the gaming pod, stood up, and poured himself a glass of water.

Zhou Funian asked casually, “What were you laughing at just now?”

Feng Wu smiled again and sat down across from him. “Met a very interesting Omega.”

“Oh. Wait, what?!” Zhou Funian was startled, looking up at him sharply.

An Omega? Interesting?

Was Feng Wu finally feeling a flicker of mortal desire? To show different attitudes toward two separate Omegas within a single day was highly unusual for him.

“Are you… entering your rut?” Zhou Funian asked suspiciously, eyeing him up and down.

Feng Wu gave a light snort. “How many years have you known me?”

“Five years.”

“Have you ever seen me in a rut?”

“Well, no.” Zhou Funian scratched his head.

In all the years he had known Feng Wu, he really hadn’t seen him go through a typical Alpha rut. Once, an Omega teammate on their team had gone into heat, and Feng Wu remained as indifferent as Zhou Funian himself (who was a Beta). His self-control bordered on the terrifying.

However, while he didn’t have ruts, he did occasionally have “Manic Phases.”

During these phases, Feng Wu would uncontrollably leak pheromones. When those high-level pheromones were boiling with mania, even Zhou Funian, as a Beta, would feel an overwhelming sense of oppression. Usually, Feng Wu would return to his residence in the city and lock himself away for about a week until the phase passed.

So, forget others, even Zhou Funian had never seen what a severely manic Feng Wu looked like.

“Alright, instead of studying me, why don’t you study the contestants,” Feng Wu interrupted his wandering thoughts.

Zhou Funian gave up on the mystery and dove back into the sea of data. He had to screen them carefully; they couldn’t waste the time of those who were too talented, but they weren’t running a charity for the unskilled either. They were looking for players who needed FOX as a springboard. Everyone getting what they needed, no strings attached.

Feng Wu closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair. His mind involuntarily drifted back to the match just now.

To be honest, while the teammates FOX recruited in previous years performed well in the trials, very few could actually keep up with his rhythm. But in that game just now, despite having never played with “Tian Jiu” before, the chemistry had been so seamless it was shocking even to him.

He suddenly froze and snapped his eyes open.

The registration for the trials was about to close. Once a registered contestant’s information was recorded, a “Golden Shield” icon would appear next to their in-game ID. Every match these contestants played before the trials officially started would be analyzed by the audience.

This was because the audience participated in pre-match predictions for the champion and the top three.

Just before exiting that game, he had noticed a small shield appearing behind Tian Jiu’s ID. This meant that during the time their game started and ended, the boy’s competition information had been officially logged into the system by the organizers.

In other words, Tian Jiu was actually a contestant in this year’s trials!

Feng Wu reached out and grabbed the pile of profiles Zhou Funian had already finished reviewing. As a top 26 team, they received data directly from the organizers, and every piece of information was laid bare, including game IDs.

After flipping through a few pages, Feng Wu let out a low laugh and pulled one sheet out.

Name: Ji Yin

ID: Tian Jiu

Gender: Omega

*******

When Tian Jiu tried to add “No Killing” again, he found the request was still being automatically declined. He sighed, finally realizing that the person likely had their privacy settings set to “Decline All,” rather than specifically rejecting him.

It seemed they were destined to be apart; they clearly weren’t meant to be friends and play together again. Tian Jiu felt a bit of regret, but only a bit. After all, he was going to be a professional; he would have plenty of synchronized teammates in the future.

He exited the game with a lingering sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Li Zhen asked, noticing his expression.

Tian Jiu shook his head. Old Zhao asked nervously, “Is there a problem with the gear? If you have any feedback, tell me and I’ll fix it.”

“Sigh,” Tian Jiu sighed again. “I just accidentally declined that Assassin’s friend request earlier.”

Li Zhen relaxed. “That Assassin really played well. His movement felt a bit familiar, though.”

“You felt it too?” Old Zhao asked in surprise.

Tian Jiu immediately raised his hand. “I felt it too! His eyes and voice were very familiar. I keep thinking I should know him.”

But other than the Ji family and Li Zhen’s group, he didn’t really know anyone.

“Forget it,” Tian Jiu waved it off. “Let’s talk about my new weapon.”

“You got it.”

Tian Jiu shared his thoughts on the handling and the areas that needed adjustment. Old Zhao left Hallworth to make the physical modifications. Since the initial data had already been imported for Tian Jiu, subsequent physical changes didn’t require a re-sync; Old Zhao just had to go back and forth between the dimensions.

Tian Jiu played several more rounds to test the weapon, and by the time the sky turned dark, he was completely satisfied. The three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Qingqing ordered a table full of takeout, and after a delicious meal, Tian Jiu and Li Zhen returned to the Upper District.

Li Zhen dropped Tian Jiu off. Before leaving, he called out to him, “I noticed your awareness is excellent. In the games we played today, your performance wasn’t inferior to a pro’s.”

Even when his teammates were dead weight, Tian Jiu could carry the game alone, leaving Li Zhen and Old Zhao dumbfounded.

“I believe you’ll definitely get a great result. Good luck!”

Tian Jiu grinned, showing his tiger teeth. “Thank you!”

“I’m going to pull an all-nighter to fix Zero. Remember to come to the hall tomorrow for sparring,” Li Zhen said, looking as if he’d been injected with chicken blood for the sake of his idol’s career.

Li Zhen had mentioned this several times already. Tian Jiu stopped trying to persuade him to sleep early and instead said, “I have to start my ranked matches tomorrow. I’ll come practice on the day after.”

Li Zhen knew the boy was just trying to get him to sleep. The 1.9-meter hulk was instantly moved. “Alright, then you should rest early too.”

“Okay, goodnight.”

*******

The selection trials were scheduled for October 1st, starting at 10:00 AM. On the day of the competition, it seemed the entire world was discussing the Fengshen trials.

By 8:00 AM, the contestants arrived at the venue prepared by the organizers, the Upper District’s Third Gymnasium. The gym was massive, housing a thousand top-tier holographic pods. Upon arrival, the contestants drew random machine numbers, entered their pods, and logged into Hallworth.

The betting pool had been open for a long time. Next to the leaderboard in Hallworth, a new large screen had been set up, displaying the IDs and nicknames of the ten contestants with the highest betting odds.

Ranked first was undoubtedly Shadow from the AS youth team. The next four or five spots were also occupied by trainees from major teams. The variety only started at the seventh spot.

Seventh place was a freshman from Imperial University, a male Omega named Meng Ruoruo. His specialty was the Frost Mage. It was said that for every hundred skills he cast, he might miss once; his accuracy was terrifying. When playing ranked, many people intentionally avoided him.

Eighth place was also an Imperial University freshman, an Alpha named Zhuang Ke. He specialized in the Assassin class and was currently in a relationship with Meng Ruoruo. The two of them had ranked from Bronze to Platinum in a single day and reached Master in another two days without a single loss, gaining massive fame.

Ninth place was a contestant from the Lower District named Okishima Kazutoshi, an Alpha sniper. It was said he moved from a satellite city to the Lower District. After changing his residency, he signed up for the trials. He had a following of fellow residents from the satellite cities and, being an A+ Alpha, was quite famous.

Tenth place was the person everyone called the “Bearded Cannoneer”, Tian Jiu.

In the past few days, Tian Jiu had become famous thanks to the cannon on his shoulder and his thick beard. More importantly, his playstyle was mature and steady. He had reached Master rank through solo queue in four days and had pulled off seven spectacular “reverse sweeps.”

Logically, based on his strength, his rank should have been higher. However, because his identity card listed his gender as Beta and he never used pheromones during games, everyone assumed he was a Beta. In Fengshen, players without pheromones were considered naturally flawed, so fewer people bet on his victory. But compared to the hundreds of contestants who didn’t make the board at all, Tian Jiu’s name was already well-known.

Li Zhen and Old Zhao stood on either side of Tian Jiu, looking at the leaderboard and marvelling.

“Idol, you really did ‘fight’ your way onto the board.”

Li Zhen had previously told Tian Jiu that the top ten players in betting odds received a bonus after the competition. Tian Jiu’s eyes had lit up, and he vowed to make the top ten. Because so few people made the list as a Beta, Li Zhen, while wanting to believe in him, felt it was unlikely. Furthermore, the other nine favorites were already famous before the trials and used their real identities, making them more trusted by the audience.

Unexpectedly, Tian Jiu had taken an unusual path and captured everyone’s attention due to his overwhelming power and sense of mystery.

Old Zhao chuckled. “Actually, some people noticed that I made your cannon. They’ve been trying to sniff around for your info, but I haven’t breathed a word.”

“I haven’t said anything either. Every time you went to the hall to practice, you used the special passage. I also set the zone for Zero to privacy mode, so no one noticed you,” Li Zhen said, seeking credit. “I can’t wait to see the expressions on those people who bullied you in a bit.”

Tian Jiu stroked his beard, acting profound. “Stay low-key, stay low-key.”

Tian Jiu hadn’t intended to hide his identity at first, but Luo Yuan had come looking for him twice, insisting on making him a weapon and being his sparring partner. Annoyed, Tian Jiu told him he couldn’t hit Platinum and wasn’t competing, which finally got rid of the man. To avoid Luo Yuan causing trouble in Hallworth, he kept the identity of “Tian Jiu” hidden as well, not expecting that the mystery would make him even more famous.

But since things had reached this point, Tian Jiu also really wanted to see the expressions on Luo Yuan and the Ji family. It was said they all had tickets to watch on-site.

“I remember they introduce the popular contestants individually, right?” Tian Jiu asked.

“Yes.”

“That’s great then,” Tian Jiu said with a bit of mischief. “I hope the camera catches the Ji family at that moment.”

Old Zhao and Li Zhen burst out laughing.

At exactly 8:30 AM, colorful fireworks exploded over Hallworth. People in the streets began to cheer.

“Hi, my dear residents of Hallworth! I am your favorite host—Feifei, Fei Erfeng!”

A cheerful, high-pitched male voice echoed throughout the capital, though the person was nowhere to be seen.

Fei Erfeng said excitedly, “Thank you for the support, giving me the honor of being the commentator for the Fengshen trials once again! Now, please welcome our contestants to the arena!”

Amidst massive cheers and applause, beams of orange-red light descended from the sky, enveloping every participant. Tian Jiu was also covered by one. He looked up in wonder, but couldn’t see where the light was coming from.

“OK, all 363 contestants are in place!” Fei Erfeng shouted. “The arena for the selection trials is now officially open!”

As soon as the words fell, the prosperous streets of Hallworth began to “collapse,” and the ground shook. Tian Jiu was startled, but the other residents cheered.

“It looks like a Ruined City map this time,” Li Zhen realized.

The trials were a solo mode, and the scenery changed. Sometimes it was a forest, a desert, or a city. This time, it was a Ruined City. Tian Jiu understood and watched the changes around him calmly. He had played every solo map at least a hundred times; he knew every scene and supply point like the back of his hand.

The skyscrapers and aerial tracks crashed down. Knowing it was just data, he still instinctively wanted to dodge the falling rubble, but the others seemed used to it; nobody moved.

Half a minute later, the entire capital had turned into a wasteland, the sky a foggy gray. Li Zhen and Old Zhao immediately cheered him on.

“Good luck, idol! Get that championship!”

“Good luck, brother! I’ll be waiting to celebrate with you!”

“Mhm!” Tian Jiu nodded heavily. He saw their silhouettes blur and then disappear.

Because the trials required all of Hallworth’s data, other players were forced out and could only watch on Star-Net. However, there would be a virtual large-screen broadcast inside the gym, followed by post-match interviews and an awards ceremony. Only the titled nobles of the Upper District, team owners and players, and the wealthy who paid a fortune for tickets had access to the stadium.

Inside the arena, the ruined capital was empty, with only a few scattered people—all contestants.

As Tian Jiu watched, he suddenly felt his perspective getting lower. He looked down and realized his body was shrinking!

After returning to his original body, he found that his clothes had changed into the furry red panda onesie. He touched his belly; the fuzzy texture was excellent. Zhao Qingqing had truly put her heart into it.

He looked around and saw that all the contestants had undergone some level of physical change.

Fei Erfeng’s voice returned: “Alright! Following tradition, let’s first meet this year’s top-seeded contestants!”

“Welcome our tenth-ranked participant. The ‘Bearded Cannoneer’ from Imperial University, Omega Tian Jiu!”

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