GTRSH Chapter 73

Chapter 73 Hug

“The base is low on health, BERRY is targeting it, can they take it down?”

“Swamp isn’t dead yet, it’s still fighting, still resisting, can it hold on—”

【????】

【Support with a pentakill?!】

【Awesome!】

【I’m so moved to tears.】

【He really wanted to win.】

【Holy crap, I got so excited watching this, my hands were shaking!】

This was an almost unstoppable surge; no one expected it to end this way. The commentator’s voice trembled slightly: “BREEZE, he did it!”

“Unfazed by the danger, he first switched to Steal the Blade and chose the passive skill of Eclipse. Solar Eclipse works in tandem with his teammate’s Lunar Eclipse, allowing him to use FIX’s economy.”

“His operation was also very calm. He took care of the most threatening marksman first, and then picked off the rest one by one. Notice that he only had damage items and stacked attack stats, so he was actually quite fragile. This wave was a dance on the edge of a knife. He dodged all the skills he could, and the damage was maximized.”

“As I said before, if the commentators don’t know how to play a game, the players will teach them.”

“FIX has respawned now, and it feels like there’s not enough time to launch a counter-attack. We can only farm the jungle to catch up on our economy. That last wave was a bit of a do-or-die situation, with a high discount on buying and selling items. Even if BREEZE sells his items now and gives the money back to He Ci, he’ll only have enough for two items.”

TZ also realized this problem.

When equipment is sold, only 70% of the gold coins are returned. He Ci sold it once, and if Yu Xinche sells it again, it’s equivalent to losing half the money.

The opposing team, PURPLE, currently had a four-piece set. Even if He Ci buys back his equipment, he would still be two pieces behind.

After a brief discussion, He Ci said, “You keep it.”

“Hmm.” As his teammates revived one by one, seeing their lit-up avatars and hearing the sounds in his headset, Yu Xinche’s heart finally calmed down.

When the crystal was down to its last sliver of health, he could clearly feel his wrist trembling and his heart pounding. All his senses were amplified, and only his vision blurred and focused; for a moment, he could only see a tiny patch of the screen in the center—the crystal and the enemy.

Excited yet fearful, dodging skills and dealing damage relied entirely on muscle memory.

His daily training paid off at this moment, and he killed his opponents on instinct.

The pentakill announcement felt unfamiliar and unreal, like a dream. It’s something support players might only encounter a few times in their entire gaming career, and even less so in professional matches.

In the voice chat, they were praising and marveling. Yu Xinche took a couple of deep breaths, and after calming down a bit, he threw himself into the next wave of the game.

Their previous economic lead was long gone; Yu Xinche calculated that they were about five thousand gold behind.

Even more fatal was that the team’s best-equipped player was the support, while the marksman, who was the most capable of dealing damage, only has one key item. He Ci’s development has regressed to what it was 15 minutes ago.

As the game dragged on, the heroes took a long time to respawn, so TZ split their forces into two groups and took the opportunity to secure the Baron, destroy the high ground and turrets.

Both teams left their midfield wide open, and while fearing a base breach, cautiously placed wards throughout their respective halves of the map to scout the area.

He Ci cleared all the jungle monsters in his own territory, while VI took advantage of the time when He Ci’s equipment was lagging behind to harass and force team fights.

TZ knew they should avoid fights, but they were on the defensive and couldn’t withstand the opponent flashing in and engaging in a physical team fight.

Even though He Ci was currently the least threatening member of the team, the VI members still used two powerful moves to try and eliminate him first.

There’s no way around it; as long as the ID FIX was ​​still active, it would always be the primary target. After playing professionally for so many years, killing FIX first had become an instinct for other teams.

He Ci did not disappoint their fears. His Lunar Eclipse reaction was extremely fast. He didn’t hesitate to use Flash to activate his ultimate skill to protect himself and ultimately survived the first wave of attacks.

Then switching from defense to offense, dodging skills while taking advantage of any openings to deal damage. Even with inferior equipment, he still managed to reduce the opponent’s health significantly before dying.

To maximize the burst damage during the base defense phase, Yu Xinche, like CONTROL, opted for magic-based equipment.

This time, the opponent had learned from experience and bought defensive gear, which directly halved the effectiveness of TZ’s two spell damage attacks.

This team fight dragged on for a long time, and both sides knew it was a final gamble; whoever won the team fight would take the game.

Fueled by their shared belief, both teams executed incredible plays, leaving them both with very low health in the end.

TZ lost their marksman early in the team fight, and their subsequent damage output was somewhat weak. CONTROL and BURN who was left were chased down by three enemy players.

“Break up, break up.”

The two split up and the opponents went to target the one with higher damage output.

CONTROL, outnumbered and outgunned, quickly died. The instant he died, a teleportation effect lit up near the VI high ground; BURN hadn’t gone home, he’d teleported directly to the other side to try and steal their base!

Holy crap!

【Home Home Home!】

【!!!!】

【This is too exciting, I can’t take it!】

VI and his two companions knew it was too late to defend, so they gritted their teeth, activated their speed boost, and charged toward TZ’s crystal.

“BURN has already landed. To protect the minion wave, he just tanked the damage and charged in to destroy it! His health is low, but luckily he has a Guardian Angel so he can get back up and continue!”

“VI has arrived here as well. Both of TZ’s front towers have been revived, and taking them down is even more extensive. However, VI has three people demolishing them, so the speed will be faster. It’s really hard to say which side will be demolished first.”

The live stream was split in two. On one side, VI’s top, mid, and support players, all low on health, took turns tanking the tower and relentlessly trying to destroy TZ’s crystal without minions. On the other side, BURN, with two minions at half health, was also trying his best to destroy it.

Minions reduced the crystal’s defense, which was why Burn risked his life to protect the minion wave.

Just as Yu Xinche was about to breathe a sigh of relief as the enemy crystal’s health was dropping even faster, the turret behind BURN respawned!

“Damn it!” Xiao Ou cursed angrily.

The two minions, as programmed, turned and headed towards the turret. Without the minion wave buff, BURN’s attack efficiency was greatly reduced, and the situation became unpredictable once again.

【?!!!!】

【Those with heart conditions should definitely not watch the game】

【My heart was about to jump out of my chest!】

Since the game screen couldn’t be switched, Yu Xinche chose to watch Burn’s perspective.

The enemy crystal’s health is almost depleted; just one more attack, and that’ll be the final blow—

BURN’s character had already raised his hand when suddenly the game camera uncontrollably pulled back to his own base.

The TZ crystal exploded first.

The word “Failure” appeared in large letters on the screen, and the referee reminded them through their earpieces that they could now remove their headphones and leave the field in an orderly manner.

The result came somewhat suddenly, and Yu Xinche remained seated, momentarily unable to accept it.

Everyone gave it their all, and hope was within reach time and time again, but in the end…

They failed.

A few cameras were filming them from all around. He pursed his lips and blinked twice quickly.

After an unknown amount of time, his earphones were gently removed.

“We’re leaving,” He Ci said.

Yu Xinche didn’t look at him, sniffed, and started tidying up the peripherals. The lights above their heads had already dimmed, the celebration ceremony began, and the audience below the stage chanted VI’s name.

As he left the stage with his keyboard and mouse, he couldn’t help but look back.

He saw celebratory fireworks bursting from both sides of the stage, and the five members of VI, surrounded by the crowd, went to the center of the stage.

A shower of champions rained down from above, silver sequins fluttering down, creating a dreamlike and dazzling spectacle in the shimmering lights.

The scene before his eyes seemed to be in slow motion. Yu Xinche had never imagined such a sight before, and only now did he realize how beautiful the champion’s rain was.

His eyes welled up with tears, and he couldn’t hold them back, lowering his head and letting a single tear fall.

Seeing him cry, the cameraman carried his camera and walked towards him.

Yu Xinche didn’t want to be photographed, so he quickly turned his head away. Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision. With his head down, he couldn’t see where he was going.

Seeing this, He Ci went over to the cameraman to help him block, and then put his arm around his shoulder to lead him off the stage.

“Careful.”

After descending a few steps, the cameramen finally gave up and returned to the stage. He Ci released Yu Xinche, ruffled his hair reassuringly, and then leaned in closer to speak.

Yu Xinche’s mood had improved a little by then, and when they looked at each other, he saw that He Ci’s eyes were also red.

“I’m fine,” he said.

“Okay.” He Ci didn’t say anything more and walked back to the lounge with him.

The atmosphere in the lounge was heavy, with only Xu Le speaking. The two found seats and sat down in silence.

The exhaustion from playing five games finally overwhelmed him at this moment, and perhaps the pain in his heart outweighed it all.

Yu Xinche felt a headache, sore hands, and a dry throat. He was almost too weak to hold back his tears.

However, there would be a post-match interview next.

The victors enjoy the praise and glory of everyone, while the losers were not even allowed to leave in dejection. They have to endure the pain and heartache to answer why they lost and face the judgment of others.

Yu Xinche found it outrageous, but that’s how the game rules have always been. During his previous winning streak, he only experienced the joy and fulfillment of playing professionally, but only today, at this moment, did he truly understand its cruelty.

After a short rest, they arrived at a special interview room, where there was still a coffee table. They sat down one by one behind the table.

The first few questions were fairly standard, and it was clear that the media was also holding back, as their tone of voice was softer than before.

Yu Xinche temporarily put aside his sadness the moment he entered the room and answered questions cooperatively.

When it came to the fifth game, his pentakill was inevitably mentioned.

“I’d like to ask BREEZE, how did you come up with the idea of ​​buying the Stealth of Power to change your equipment?”

“…” Yu Xinche wondered if his brain had gone blank. He felt that this question was meaningless. He had thought of it, and in order to win, he had thought of every possible way, and finally found this way out.

But there’s no need to say that. After taking the microphone, he paused for a moment: “It just occurred to me. There’s Solar Eclipse on the other side and Lunar Eclipse on our side, so we can steal it.”

“Okay, sure. I was wondering what you were thinking when you were fighting five opponents at once?”

“…” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Want to win.”

“Yeah, I understand. It was BREEZE’s first time in the finals, and after his pentakill, everyone on the forums was saying how cool that play was. What were your thoughts when you saw BURN pushing down the Nexus?”

Yu Xinche blinked, and the image of BURN frantically clicking on the crystal involuntarily flashed through his mind.

He felt like crying again.

His eyes welled up with tears, and he forced back his emotions as he picked up the microphone to answer the question: “Brother B worked very hard… It’s not just Brother B and me, everyone, everyone also worked very hard, we…”

He became increasingly distressed as he spoke, and just as he was about to lose his temper, He Ci accidentally knocked the microphone out of his hand.

Yu Xinche heard the noise and looked down to see that it had fallen at He Ci’s feet. He looked up at He Ci, who was also looking at him with a gentle expression: “BREEZE, can you pick it up for me?”

Yu Xinche bent down to pick it up, and He Ci handed him a tissue. He took it and quickly wiped away his tears under the cover of the table. When he reappeared in front of the camera, his expression had returned to normal.

The interview went smoothly afterward, and the team members returned to the hotel after it concluded.

Xu Le ordered food in advance and had it delivered to the meeting room used for training.

Eating could sometimes be a way to vent, and the other four members of TZ weren’t facing defeat for the first time. Even if their hearts were bleeding, they could hide it well and even eat more than usual.

Xiao Ou ate faster and faster, occasionally wiping his eyes. The others sighed or cursed, each finding their own outlet for their emotions.

Yu Xinche only went in to grab a carton of yogurt before leaving to return to his room.

Xu Le was still a little worried, so he asked He Ci to go and check on him.

“No rush.” ​​He Ci drank a bowl of porridge expressionlessly. He couldn’t actually eat much. His chest felt tight and congested, and every time he tried to speak, he could only sigh heavily.

But health was important, and he wanted to give Yu Xinche some space alone, so he forced himself to eat for a while, and when he felt it was about time, he got up and went out.

TZ was not short of money, but to prevent any accidents, they always share a room with one other person when traveling for competitions.

He Ci knocked on the door twice as a formality, then swiped his room card and went inside.

The five-star hotel had a great view from its high floors. Under the blue-purple night sky, Yu Xinche was lying on the carpet next to the viewing window, lost in thought. He stood up when he saw him come in.

He Ci placed the cake and fruit platter she had picked up from the restaurant on the table and called to him, “Come and have some.”

“I’m not hungry,” Yu Xinche said. His eyes were still a little red, but his face and collar were clean and there were no tear stains, so he probably hadn’t cried again.

“It’s sweet.” He Ci unwrapped the cake; it was chocolate flavored. “Black Forest cake, want to try it? This place is really good at making this.”

Yu Xinche looked conflicted and came over a few seconds later.

He Ci gave up his seat and stood to the side. He knew that Yu Xinche still didn’t want to eat, but was just too embarrassed to refuse again.

Yu Xinche sat down and took a bite of the cake.

“It’s a bit bitter.”

“There’s also fruit. Or we can go to the restaurant together; they have lots of food there.”

“No need.” Yu Xinche took a fork and ate some fruit, mostly oranges.

He turned back to eat the cake halfway through his meal, while He Ci remained leaning against the edge of the table without saying a word, waiting for him to finish.

After finally finishing his meal, Yu Xinche looked up to wipe his mouth with a tissue and realized that he had cried again.

He Ci was also upset about losing the game, but seeing him like this made him feel like his heart was being squeezed and crushed. He felt guilty and heartbroken.

There were only the two of them in the room. He wanted to say a few words of comfort, but for a moment he didn’t know what to say.

Should I say “It’s okay,” “Don’t be sad,” or “You’ve done a great job, let’s keep going”?

It’s all in vain; any words of comfort seem pale and powerless in the face of failure.

Moreover, he couldn’t even say “it’s okay” when he lost his match, so naturally he can’t use those words to comfort others.

It might be better to let him cry without restraint.

He Ci was silent for a moment, then walked up to him, looked down at him, and said, “You must be very sad.”

Yu Xinche was still sitting when he heard this, so he looked up.

The moment their eyes met, He Ci’s eyebrows furrowed again, and he couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.

“Come here, let me give you a hug.” He Ci sighed softly and pulled him closer to him. “A hug will make you feel better.”

Yu Xinche was stunned for a moment, then leaned his head against He Ci.

Almost instantly, He Ci felt a damp touch on the fabric around his waist and abdomen. Yu Xinche first cried silently, then his sobs turned into rapid, urgent whimpers.

When He Ci touched the top of his head, Yu Xinche reached out and hugged him. The usually composed man finally broke down in tears, holding him tightly.

 

t/n: Nooo!! baby fish don’t cryyy!! (╥﹏╥)

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