Zhao Sanpang glanced towards his captain, his expression changing. “Mmh.”
They would have to watch carefully, both the Japanese and Supreme Alliance.
The arrival of the team battle heated up the arena. The originally lazy and languid Hoshino leaned forward to remove his jacket. The next time he looked up, there was a seriousness in his eyes like never before.
Bo Jiu smiled. Her seat was directly across from him. She stuffed a hand into her pants pocket, looking at him with an unconcealed warmth.
Hoshino studied her face, asking gently, “Have you recovered?”
“Mmh, yesterday… mm.” Bo Jiu hadn’t finished her sentence when Lin Feng hurriedly covered her mouth, preventing her from flaunting her love. It was enough for today and this was a serious moment!
Hoshino laughed, finishing her sentence for her, “Yesterday, Qin Mo took care of you?”
Bo Jiu nodded, reaching out to push Lin Feng aside.
Lin Feng stiffened. What was with the situation? How did he know that? Wait a minute, he seemed to have asked if Little Spade had recovered? Was he that concerned about Little Spade? F*ck, if Little Spade were a male, his thoughts would have strayed!
The audience could tell that something was different. Even though they couldn’t hear what they were saying, they seemed like old friends that had reunited. This… Supreme Alliance and the Japanese were competing right? Why did their vice-captains look so close and intimate?
The atmosphere between the captains seemed more normal for the circumstance. Even though they were seated far apart, they could sense the strong animosity and aura that was emanating from both parties.
You Sixin smiled, speaking leisurely, “Your vice-captain seems rather close to mine. Aren’t you worried?”
“She’s already mine, there isn’t a need to be worried.” Qin Mo glanced over indifferently. “If you’re worried, you can make Hoshino yours but that doesn’t seem possible in this lifetime.”
You Sixin stiffened, his eyes narrowing.
The emcee announced for both teams to shake hands. Qin Mo stretched his hand out but due to his majestic aura, he seemed more like a bully.
“To a good game.”
“Definitely, Mr. Qin.”
Both captains weren’t very sincere in their handshake. Their animosity was obvious and the comment section exploded.
“The event manager must have been crazy to arrange for a handshake between the both of them.”
“This is a serious competition. We need to show respect. You Sixin must be thinking ‘Watch out, I’m going to trash you,’ and Qin Mo must be retaliating with, ‘Hehe, bring it on. Do you think I’ll be afraid?!’”
“What should I do? One of them is my husband and the other is my boyfriend. Who should I root for?”
“Almighty Hoshino and Big Spade look so adorable together!”
“Indeed, they are one pair of the most harmonious vice-captains…”
“Wait a minute, hear me out and let me know your thoughts. Didn’t someone claim Almighty Hoshino skipped the single player battle because they looked down on Supreme Alliance? But with how things had played out, perhaps it’s because they wanted to keep their powers for the team battle since both Almighty Qin and Big Spade would be there!”
“…”
“…”
“Isn’t that right?”
“I need some peace and quiet to think about this!”
“What if there is really something between Big Speed and Almighty Hoshino?”
The comment section was flooded with such speculations.
After the handshake with You Sixin, Qin Mo walked towards Bo Jiu and stretched out his arm. His voice was soft yet clear. “Here’s a gift before the match.”
“What is it?” A gift before the match? Was it perhaps candy?
Qin Mo arched his brow. “Reach out your hand.”
Bo Jiu did as she was told but she wasn’t sure what the Almighty was up to. Qin Mo held onto her hand, a smile in his voice. “Me, do you want it?”
Everyone: “…”
Silence filled the air before in the next second, the arena erupted into cheers.
The committee was finalizing the lineup and glanced over when they heard the uproar.
Although it was live broadcast, the intermediary scenes were not flashed onto the network platform. The countless number of reporters wanted to catch the moment but it was too late.
Lin Feng stood at the side with an incredulous expression. He was trying to stop Little Spade from flaunting her relationship and hadn’t expected their captain to throw such a bomb. Such a confession was enough to send the crowd wild.
“Big Spade, accept my Almighty Qin!”
“That smile was insane, I almost ended up with a nosebleed!”
“Me, do you want it? Ah! I’m going crazy!”
Bo Jiu was also going crazy. This was clearly against the rules! They were out in public and she couldn’t just push him against the wall for a kiss.
Her heart was itching with an insatiable desire. Her lips curved upwards uncontrollably.
She was just about to reply when he said, “If you don’t want it, tonight we can talk about how many men you confessed to.”
Bo Jiu replied with utmost seriousness, “After I accept it, there is no refunding.”
“Sure.” Qin Mo smiled.
“Ah!” Bo Jiu exclaimed slowly in a mischievous tone. “I can’t kiss you here. We have a competition later and I can’t do anything bad. Brother Mo, did you do it on purpose?”
Indeed, it was deliberate but it wasn’t to stop her from doing something bad. Forget it, she had always been dense in certain areas.
“Mmh, it was on purpose.” Qin Mo glanced over and helped her with her wrist guard. “Let’s go, I have another gift after the competition.”
“Another one?” Just the first gift itself was enough to keep her happy in this lifetime and there was another one?
The young Little Princess Qin probably hadn’t imagined he would end up giving himself to her when he grew up. Back then, he hadn’t been willing to sell himself regardless of how much she offered. It was really a reversal of fate.
She was still basking in the joy, a teasing smile on her face. She hadn’t realized the deep and meaningful gaze he was looking at her with…
Hoshino took everything in and lowered his lids. He had wanted to make Qin Mo jealous and he managed to achieve his goals. Qin Mo, on the other hand, sure was gutsy, confessing under such circumstances. Wasn’t he afraid of it being called an act when he lost?
“What did you say to Z?” You Sixin glanced over.
Hoshino tugged his wrist guard. “I was showing concern for her health. Do you think Qin Mo’s memory has recovered?”
“I can’t tell.” You Sixin laughed. “What he said today doesn’t seem very fitting of him, hey.”
Hoshino arched a brow. “What is it?”
“Don’t go easy on them.” You Sixin’s eyes deepened.
Hoshino laughed lightly. “I have been waiting for this match for a very long time, just as you have. A match against Z will be interesting but I never had the chance before. Alright, we have to start.”
A second later, with a loud swoosh, the lineup was finalized.
The emcee held up his microphone. “The 2018 Esports Asian Cup final officially begins!”
The starting sound effect boomed through the speakers and the cameras turned downwards.
The audience was glued to the screens as they watched the players take their seats.
Qin Mo sat in the middle. The captain was always in the middle during a team battle, for greater ease of instructing. Coco, Bo Jiu, Yun Hu, and Lin Feng sat in a row, positioning their long fingers onto the keyboard at the same moment.
The crisp tapping sound on the keyboard echoed the walls. In order to prevent even a second of dullness, the shoutcaster started his commentary. “The most exciting moment is here; I was scrolling through the comments online and saw one that caught my eye. It claimed that Hoshino didn’t participate in the single player match because of Spade Z. Do you think it’s true?”
“That’s hard to say since their interactions seem quite familiar. Besides this is the first time I’ve seen You Sixin and Hoshino team up in a competition that isn’t of international status.”
Mei Lin held up her microphone and expressed her own views. “I’m guessing the shoutcasters are swayed by the atmosphere in the arena. There is an obvious disparity in the strength of both teams, it isn’t even worth comparing. You Sixin and Hoshino might be competing at the same time but it’s purely because of their respect towards the game and their humbleness. Since it is the last game, it is necessary to end with a bang. We’ll be showing the livestream, and of course it would be mainly on the Japanese’s progress.”
Under normal circumstances, we would believe whatever information that we’re fed. Hence, the overseas fans were convinced the shoutcasters weren’t professional. Thus, they were rooting for the Japanese. Although Supreme Alliance wasn’t bad, You Sixin and Hoshino were teaming up – but somehow, the opponents didn’t seem aware of what this meant
They might have won the double but that didn’t put them in the same league as You Sixin and the others. The overseas comments started to pile up. Most of them were criticizing Supreme Alliance.
They finally had the chance to bring them down. The keyboard warriors leapt out and went to work. They had a common trait, which was to pretend to be kind and big hearted, accepting all misgivings, convinced that they were being reasonable.
“I have watched Supreme Alliance compete. It isn’t much. They are just putting on a show. I didn’t dare to voice out my opinions before but they should really learn from the foreign reporters. Anyways, I don’t like Supreme Alliance and I can’t stand to watch their matches.”
“Me too. In the best, my Almighty plagiarized a small text, which isn’t a grave offence but they insisted on supporting the original author. Such a noisy bunch, they deserve to be mocked by the foreign reporter.”
“The two above sure are interesting. Are the foreign reporters all correct? Besides, opposing plagiarism isn’t being noisy, they have a conscience that you don’t have. Of course, I wouldn’t expect you guys to understand what a conscience means.”
“Hehe, another fan speaking out for Supreme Alliance. They were just mocked and yet, you still choose to live in your bubble. That’s why the foreigners don’t think much of Supreme Alliance. Stop being an embarrassment.”
Right at this moment, a world class director posted video footage online. It was only a short clip, about a minute long. “I heard that this one is competing today. I’m sending the movie promotional video of the ultimate computer master of my heart.”
The world class director was highly influential as he wasn’t just famous within his country but the entire continent. The video was viewed repeatedly.
A silver-haired youngster appeared with a black jacket and a big black face mask covering half her face. Her fingers moved so quickly it was dazzling and she tilted her eyes up casually. Once she had conquered a system, she removed one side of the mask and toyed with a silver lighter with her fingertips. A gradual smile was spreading across her handsome face.
A string of words appeared at the bottom of the screen: Protecting the light at the deepest end of the darkness. I am Z.
In that instant, the entire network was about to explode. Perhaps in China, there weren’t many people who knew the meaning of the movie but abroad, many fans knew who the director had used as inspiration for his movie.
Z, the mysterious Hacker King. It was a different field but anyone who knew about code knew who she was. Right at this moment, the actor playing Z was in Supreme Alliance!
The foreign netizens went crazy. No, it wasn’t just them. Anyone that caught news had started to do a search on ways to watch the competition. There were increasing comments from foreigner viewers. They were a slap to the people who claimed Supreme Alliance wasn’t well liked by foreigners.
“I’m here for Z!”
“Is my male Almighty called Spade Z? That’s so cute and oriental.”
“Hey, Bro, I’m an old fan. For your information, Z is a female.”
“What?!”
“That’s right.”
“Oh no! Cool!”
“Don’t they have enough resources? Why aren’t they showing them?”
“What about the media in China?”
The internet exploded. There were too many people interested in Supreme Alliance’s upcoming competition. The person in charge immediately made an overseas call to Mei Lin. “From now on, focus more on Supreme Alliance.”
“Why?” Mei Lin thought it was a ridiculous suggestion. “Sir, you should know how many people are waiting to watch the Japanese compete. I don’t see the point in focusing on Supreme Alliance, a relatively new team.”
“Mei Lin, I know you like the Japanese a lot. Me too. But many times, we are standing in the middle. Even if there is a deviation, it cannot be too extreme. If I take the time difference into account, the finals should have started. Report well…”
