The Esports Little Demon King Is a Sweet and Fierce Omega - Chapter 17

A beam of pure white light descended from an unknown source, enveloping Tian Jiu.

Looking around, Tian Jiu realized that on the stage of the selection trials, he was completely immersed in the competitive environment. Unlike a typical game, he could no longer see the stands or the audience. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the shocked expressions of the Ji family in person, though fortunately, there were still match replays.

At this moment, the spectator seats of the First Gymnasium were densely packed. Everyone was staring at the 3D virtual large screen used for the broadcast.

A small Omega appeared on the screen, wearing a fuzzy red panda onesie with a fluffy, soft tail swaying behind him. His silver-white hair made him look like a little forest sprite, and two white triangular ears stood atop his head, twitching slightly as he turned his head.

However, the first thing that captured everyone’s attention was his face. That white, soft, and exquisite face left everyone stunned. Especially those clear, clean, light-colored pupils; when he looked toward the camera, every Alpha in the stadium gasped except for Feng Wu.

Feng Wu sat in the best position facing the virtual screen. Upon seeing Tian Jiu’s face, he merely raised an eyebrow in a reserved manner, his fingertips tapping lightly on the armrest.

Sitting around him were the owners of major teams and other investors; all big names. The nouveau riche were not permitted to sit with them. In the row behind him sat the starting players and coaches of the top twenty-six teams.

As fate would have it, sitting directly behind Feng Wu were Luo Yuan and Ji Kaile.

“Xiao Yin?” Luo Yuan blurted out in surprise.

Ji Kaile was even more shocked, his voice nearly cracking. “Didn’t he fail to reach the Platinum rank?!”

The excuse Tian Jiu had used to trick Luo Yuan had actually been taken seriously by them. How could this be!

Ji Kaile was filled with suspicion. He had heard of this “Tian Jiu”; the player was quite skilled, and his coach had even mentioned that if Tian Jiu performed steadily in the trials, they would sign him to the team. But he never imagined that Tian Jiu was actually Ji Yin!

Fei Erfeng laughed heartily. “It seems everyone is just as shocked as I was when I first found out!”

“But as you can see, our ‘Bearded Cannoneer’ is actually a cute little Omega. Please give this adorable little O your warmest applause, shall we?”

Tian Jiu’s face was a massive advantage. Almost every Alpha in the arena was instantly captivated, cheering and clapping wildly for him. Feng Wu curled his lips and also raised his hands to applaud. The owners sitting around him looked over, their faces filled with varying degrees of shock.

“That’s not right.” Ji Kaile shook his head. He tugged at Luo Yuan’s sleeve and whispered in his ear, “How could Ji Yin possibly lift such a heavy cannon?”

“And he’s never played the game before. How could he play so well and become a top-seeded contestant?”

Luo Yuan struggled to pull his gaze away from Tian Jiu’s face. “What do you mean?”

“Did he… find someone to play for him?”

When Ji Kaile said this, his expression and tone were tense, even somewhat worried, as if he were genuinely afraid that Tian Jiu’s use of a ghostwriter might be exposed. Luo Yuan was also startled by this and quickly hushed him, telling him to be quiet.

Using a ghostwriter or a “pilot” was something that was fine as long as no one found out, but once discovered, one would be permanently disqualified from professional gaming. Although he also felt that Tian Jiu didn’t seem like the “Bearded Cannoneer,” at this point, even if Tian Jiu had used a pilot, he couldn’t say it.

Luo Yuan turned back to the screen. Tian Jiu’s introduction time had ended, and the screen now displayed the ninth-ranked contestant, Okishima Kazutoshi. For some reason, Luo Yuan felt a sense of loss, and the image of that little red panda lingered in his mind.

Ji Kaile stared at his profile, taking in all of his expressions. After working hard for so many years, how could he allow himself to lose to Tian Jiu? He clenched his fists, lowering his head to hide the jealousy and hatred in his eyes. He would not allow everything he had fought so hard for to be easily snatched away by Tian Jiu!

He didn’t believe Tian Jiu could actually play. Even if Tian Jiu could lift that cannon, it didn’t matter; if even a small mistake occurred today, he could leak the information that Tian Jiu had used a pilot previously. Ruining someone’s reputation was as easy as saying a single sentence.

******

Tian Jiu could not see the audience or hear Fei Erfeng’s voice. He simply watched the white pillar of light finish covering him before moving to a location two streets away. Presumably, Okishima Kazutoshi was there.

“Tian Jiu?” a clear, pleasant male voice sounded.

Tian Jiu turned around and saw a man dressed in full olive-drab workwear walking toward him. This face was very familiar to Tian Jiu. It was the top-ranked Shadow, the “creditor” whose twin guns he had partially crushed.

Shadow circled Tian Jiu once before standing still in front of him, staring with a half-smile. Tian Jiu felt a bit guilty under his gaze. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” Shadow snorted. “I’ve been looking for you for so long. I didn’t realize you were wandering right under my nose under a different skin.”

Oh no, I’ve really been recognized!

Tian Jiu looked at him innocently, playing dumb in a cute way. “What are you talking about? When were you looking for me?”

“Still acting.” Shadow stood with his arms crossed, looking down at him. “I went to the Imperial Hospital and found that ward. I know you were the one staying there.”

Following that in-game ID, he had discovered that the Omega posing as a Beta was Tian Jiu. But at that time, the scandal between Tian Jiu and the Ji family was causing a storm in the city. As a member of AS who saw Ji Kaile every day, it wasn’t a good time to get involved with Tian Jiu. He had also felt a touch of compassion, thinking it wasn’t easy for a little Omega to live on his own after leaving home, so he withdrew the bounty and stopped bothering him.

But he hadn’t expected to meet Tian Jiu here. He had recognized him the moment the light hit him, and now he had come over out of curiosity or interest to say hello.

Tian Jiu scratched his face awkwardly, his triangular ears flickering. Shadow’s gaze was drawn to those ears, and his Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.

“I really didn’t do it on purpose,” Tian Jiu stopped pretending. “And it’s been so long, don’t be so petty.”

Shadow was amused. “Fine. I can stop holding a grudge, but you have to let me touch your ears.”

Tian Jiu froze. “You pervert.”

“…I mean the ears on top of your head, not your actual ears.”

Tian Jiu frowned. “Even more of a pervert.”

Shadow: “…Then pay me back for the equipment repair.”

“Game rules state that equipment losses are the player’s own responsibility.” Tian Jiu pouted. Did this guy think he was completely ignorant? He wasn’t that easy to fool. Tian Jiu’s triangular ears twitched spiritedly again.

Shadow’s palm felt a bit itchy. “Just once, and we’ll call it even. We also won’t target you during the match, how about that?”

A hidden rule of the selection trials was that when well-trained and coordinated youth teams like Shadow’s participated as a group, they would first compete against other youth teams rather than immediately ganging up on independent players. Unless necessary, a youth team attacking an independent player would be mocked by other teams for a lifetime. Independent players like Tian Jiu usually spent the early phase “turtling,” and if they fought, it was against other independents.

“You wouldn’t have attacked me first anyway,” Tian Jiu whispered.

Shadow actually laughed out loud this time. “Why are you so hard to trick? How about this, let’s make a deal.”

“Let me touch the ears on your head, and I’ll give you a permanent pistol, how about that?”

“Really?” Tian Jiu’s eyes lit up.

“Really.”

“Give me the gun first.”

Shadow had no choice but to take a pistol from his inventory and toss it to Tian Jiu. “Satisfied?” While not as high-grade as his twin guns, it wasn’t a common item either. Tian Jiu was pleased. He tucked the pistol into his inventory and smiled at Shadow. “Alright then, I’ll let you touch them once.”

Shadow wiped his hands and reached toward the top of Tian Jiu’s head with a bit of nervousness. The soft fur brushed against his palm, and Shadow felt a wave of comfort. Why hadn’t he realized he was such a “fluff-con” before? He squeezed the lifelike little ear gently; it was soft and incredibly cute.

Swoosh!

A white beam of light enveloped them, and Shadow appeared on the large screen with a look of pure bliss.

The crowd: “?”

Shadow was momentarily dazed before abruptly pulling his hand back. He forced a calm smile, but his ears turned bright red.

Tian Jiu chirped, “Oh, your ears are so red.”

Shadow: “…” The smile on the corner of his mouth stiffened, and he didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until the light disappeared from his body.

The familiar mechanical female voice announced: “Fifteen minutes remain until the match starts. Please choose your initial hiding locations.”

Before the start, contestants needed to find a hiding spot. At nine o’clock, the match would officially begin.

“I’m going. I hope you survive until we meet again.” Shadow passed by Tian Jiu, ruffling the triangular ears one more time before quickly fleeing the “crime scene.”

Tian Jiu pouted. This guy was indeed a bit of a pervert; he should stay away in the future.

******

Everyone started moving, and Tian Jiu didn’t waste time. He turned into a small alley with a clear goal, moving carefully through the ruins and broken walls to avoid others. Finally, he arrived at an unfinished building.

He climbed to the third floor, hid on the balcony of a room, and closed the balcony door. Not surprisingly, he found a bottle of nutrient solution there, which could be used to restore health.

Generally, when people played the game, they focused on large supply points because they contained many nutrients and even equipment drops that increased temporary attributes (though the latter had a low probability). However, large supply points were also battlegrounds for youth teams. Fighting alone, Tian Jiu naturally wanted to avoid them. Since he started practicing solo mode, he had been looking for small supply points that were guaranteed to drop nutrients.

The balcony of Room 302 in this unfinished building was a secret base he had discovered. Furthermore, the location was very tricky: it was far from the department stores, schools, and Internet cafes where large supplies frequently spawned, and it was rarely chosen by the “gas circle” at the start. The gas circle was designed to force players to finish the match quickly rather than hiding indefinitely. This building only had a 1-in-30 chance of being selected in the first round of the gas circle, making it an excellent hiding spot.

Ten minutes passed. The youth team members of various teams had met at their agreed-upon locations and found temporary hiding spots. Independent players also hid away. Everything was ready.

On the large screen, the camera cut to the scenes where the contestants were located one by one. When the camera swept to Tian Jiu, he was squatting on the ground, a tiny bundle that really did look like a red panda.

In front of him sat the familiar large cannon. While the weapon hadn’t looked too large when used by the “Bearded Buff Alpha,” it now looked absurdly oversized for the tiny Tian Jiu.

“Can those little shoulders really carry such a big cannon?”

“Why is such a cute little O trying to be a professional? He should just marry a big Alpha and be pampered to the heavens.”

“I bet he’s not even here to go pro; he’s just doing it for the hype to become a streamer. Why else would he dress like that?”

“Oh, stop being so salty. He’s just cute; he looks good in anything.”

Opinions were divided in the audience, but Feng Wu remained calm, Tian Jiu’s silhouette reflected in his deep eyes.

Tian Jiu patted the cannon, giving it a silent pep talk: Go for it, Cannon! We’re going to take the championship and then find Feng Wu on a bed of auspicious clouds!

After the pep talk, Tian Jiu plopped down on the ground, leaned against the cannon, and closed his eyes. It looked like he intended to take a nap.

The crowd: “…” This routine looked somewhat familiar.

Countless gazes shifted toward Feng Wu, consciously or otherwise. Feng Wu looked at the “red panda” preparing to sleep with great interest, a smile spreading in his eyes.

Interesting.

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