GTRSH Chapter 59

The venue in Jiang Cheng is very grand. The competing teams have separate toilets, one on the left and one on the right, for the two teams to use respectively. There was no one on the TZ side.

“You know the joke, the hands of the noobs are sweaty?” In front of the bathroom sink, He Ci looked at Yu Xinche through the mirror. His fingers were flexible and slender, moving freely under the water.

“Yeah.” Yu Xinche stood nearby.

“So when I think I’m too nervous and I wash my hands.”

“Is it useful?” Yu Xinche tilted his head.

“I don’t know.” He Ci smiled, “Because I haven’t been nervous for a long time.”

“……oh.”

“I think it helps.” He Ci said seriously, “There are too many people in the lounge. The more anxious you are, the harder it is to calm down. So I’ll use the excuse of washing my hands to calm myself down.”

He didn’t use the hair dryer next to him, but just took a piece of paper and slowly dried his hands.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.” He Ci pinched Yu Xinche’s shoulder gently and looked into his eyes. “You’ve played well enough.”

After saying this, He Ci left first.

After he left, Yu Xinche turned on the tap. He wasn’t sweating, but his fingers were a little stiff after playing two games. The cool and gentle water on his hands felt very comfortable.

He stared at one spot in a daze for a few seconds, and then his whole body calmed down a lot along with the steady and gentle flow of water.

He lowered his head, scooped up some water and splashed it on his face, and as he closed his eyes, he thought of the scenes in the game again.

No one has God’s perspective. Even if he were given another chance, or even ten chances, he would still walk into that patch of grass and be captured by the ambushing enemy.

This was perhaps what was called “experience”—only by going through it and suffering could one truly understand it.

No one could guarantee they would never make a mistake.

There’s nothing to be afraid of if you get a question wrong. Just put it in your error notebook, learn from it, and make sure you don’t make the same mistake again.

Yu Xinche looked at himself in the mirror and slowly exhaled a deep breath. His tense shoulders relaxed, he rubbed his furrowed brows, and went outside.

He paused as he walked out of the bathroom.

The four teammates were standing in a neat row, playing on their phones.

Hearing the noise, everyone looked at him.

Yu Xinche waved stiffly: “Hi?”

“Can you think more positively?” Xiao Ou approached him to comfort him. “It’s normal to get caught and killed. You’ll get used to it after dying a few times. It’s okay.”

BURN nodded: “Yes, don’t blame yourself, someone always has to be there to see things from the perspective.”

CONTROL: “These are minor issues, relax.”

Are they all here just to comfort me…?

Yu Xinche was startled, then nodded firmly, placing her hands on her cheeks in a subtle flower-flowering gesture: “Yes, yes, I’ve come to terms with it.”

“OK.”

After the three finished speaking, they went into the bathroom with peace of mind.

Watching their retreating figures, Yu Xinche fell into a new round of thought. He asked He Ci:

“Did they know I was inside and didn’t want to disturb me, so they didn’t go in?”

He Ci nodded vigorously twice, mimicking him: “Mhm.”

Yu Xinche leaned back slightly, and said awkwardly, “Why didn’t you remind me?”

“I reminded them, it’s the same,” He Ci said.

He was nonchalant, as if he didn’t see anything wrong with it.

Yu Xinche suspected that he did it on purpose, but he had no evidence.

After this commotion, the last bit of anxiety in his heart disappeared.

When Yu Xinche returned to the stage, he felt like he was truly like that middle-aged lotus emoji, blooming with renewed vigor.

In this game, the opposing team chose the jungler [Volcano] and the mid-lane mage [Song].

Volcano has a high burst damage but is vulnerable to crowd control, while Song has a strong crowd control effect and is a hero who can create frost (commonly known as freezing rain) within a certain range.

In the story, Song is a solitary lake ice rink manager. When she activates her ultimate skill, the temperature plummets, and raindrops fall. The raindrops instantly freeze upon contact with the sub-zero canyon floor. (Note)

Enemy heroes on the ice were constantly losing health due to the cold, and were all forced to put on ice skates, moving at extremely high speeds and sliding towards the center of the ice with great difficulty.

If the volcano unleashes its ultimate attack at the perfect moment in the center of the ice field, the flowing lava can scorch everyone within the area affected by the volcano’s ultimate attack.

Yu Xinche originally wanted to choose Cloud, whose ultimate skill could be used to remove crowd control effects. However, the opposing team wisely banned this hero.

So, as a second choice, he opted for the solar Eclipse, which offers both control and protection, and could also safeguard his teammates.

“Pay attention to the enemy mid and jungle players’ movements this game, and report their positions promptly. These two are likely to roam together,” the coach instructed at the end.

CONTROL and Xiao Ou responded.

CONTROL picked Meteor, whose ultimate is also an area effect ability, allowing him to go toe-to-toe with Song.

Throughout the game, he kept a close watch on the enemy mid and jungle, preventing them from gaining an advantage. Consequently, they didn’t gain much of an edge either, and their economy remained very close.

The tense situation continued until the 20th minute of the game. Both sides’ Carry had completed their equipment.

When Yu Xinche and He Ci were clearing the lane, three enemy teleportation effects suddenly lit up around them, and a pine tree suddenly appeared in the bush.

“Holy crap! There are so many people.” Xiao Ou immediately rushed towards his teammates’ location.

BURN hasn’t respawned yet, and the other two haven’t teleported, so they can’t arrive this quickly.

He Ci abandoned the last minion and decisively turned back: “Let’s retreat, we won’t fight.”

Yu Xinche was a little ahead of him and closer to the teleportation point. Upon seeing this, he quickly retreated as well.

With the three people behind him about to land, Song couldn’t possibly give up such a good hunting opportunity and relentlessly pursued them.

Yu Xinche was only one step away from Song, and he retreated while assessing the possibility of being caught up.

For Song, the opportunity was fleeting. Without hesitation, he flashed forward and threw a small skill at Eclipse. As long as it hit, Yu Xinche would definitely be caught.

If the enemy is busy killing him, He Ci should be able to escape, but…

Yu Xinche made a decision, lightly tapping the Flash button to dodge the skill.

Before he could even catch his breath, a figure flashed through his vision. Almost simultaneously, He Ci turned around and used his movement skill to arrive at the position he had just flashed to.

【????】

【????????】

【Who accidentally mis-clicked?!】

Everyone was stunned, and the commentator even paused for half a second in front of the camera, which was quite rare.

“No—” Xiao Ou exclaimed in surprise, “Uh, uh, I’m coming right away, I’m coming right away.”

In a flash, Yu Xinche realized what was happening.

He always wanted to sacrifice himself before, and this time He Ci thought he was going to give up on escaping. Not wanting to betray his teammate, He Ci teleported back and chose to fight alongside him in this team fight.

But this time, I ran away.

This was really…

While sighing, Yu Xinche didn’t stop what he was doing, turning around as he put a shield on He Ci.

Lunar Eclipse’s ultimate skill provided enough protection for him to dodge the first round of ice rink control.

The moment the protection ended, Yu Xinche finally arrived and activated his ultimate skill, placing Lunar Eclipse under his solar halo.

The control of the ice rink will last for a while. After using up both of their protective abilities, they had no choice but to move towards the center of the ice rink, where they were quickly burned to death by the volcano.

Fortunately, his two teammates, both at full strength, arrived by then.

He Ci said, “We can fight, we can kill them all.”

The opposing team had already been reduced to half health by He Ci’s Lunar Eclipse. CONTROL unleashed a meteor shower, slowing them down.

Xiao Ou followed up with damage, and then BURN revived and arrived.

After a fierce battle, the team fight ended in a 3-for-5 exchange, with TZ gaining a small advantage.

Xiao Ou and CONTROL took advantage of the opportunity to kill Baron, and then took advantage of the time when the opponent did not have teleport to find an opportunity to kill their bottom lane.

WING’s lead widened, and despite holding steady for twenty minutes, they ultimately succumbed to defeat. Their momentum crumbled, and TZ secured the victory.

【How could they win like that?!】

【Awesome】

【Entirely based on personal ability】

【I’m kowtowing [footnote]Kowtowing: Kneeling and prostrate.[/footnote] to FIX, no joke】

【Still kowtowing? He’ll be fine if he doesn’t push his way forward.】

【He couldn’t have won so quickly without giving away points, hilarious!】

【No, that was really funny. What exactly happened? Was there a communication breakdown?】

【Support selling out AD carry, I have a feeling this is going to be a famous moment】

The winner needed to shake hands. After Yu Xinche got up, he wanted to say something to He Ci, but after calling his name, he didn’t know where to start.

He Ci waited for two seconds, and seeing that he didn’t speak, he said in a low voice, “Let’s shake hands first.”

Having already reached the other person’s seat, it would be disrespectful for them to continue speaking. Yu Xinche nodded and temporarily put the question aside.

After shaking hands, he followed his teammates back to their seats and stood with them in front of the camera for a while, mentally rehearsing his prepared remarks. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw He Ci turn to leave, so he pushed back his chair and left as well.

After walking a few steps, he realized that He Ci hadn’t followed. He waited for a while at the corner backstage until his teammates arrived, and then He Ci finally came later.

He Ci’s game automatically enters power-saving mode after each match, something Yu Xinche is used to. But for some reason, he seemed unusually gentle today, as patient as usual, completely lacking the dejected and world-weary feeling he usually has after a match.

He hesitated, wanting to tell He Ci that if he was angry or wanted to complain, he could just say so. His gentleness made people feel strange.

But He Ci’s words were indeed calm and composed, and he was rationally analyzing the situation with him. At this time, it would be a bit pretentious for Yu Xinche to say these words, as if he were being unreasonable.

“I wanted to stay in that wave, but then I remembered you guys said we could try running away first, so I left,” Yu Xinche explained. “Next time, I’ll let you know in advance.”

“There wasn’t enough time to say all this, I understand. I don’t talk much when I’m in a raid.”

He Ci, carrying the peripherals in both arms, walked beside him and said calmly, “Actually, there’s nothing seriously wrong. It’s just that we’ve been having some issues with the details lately, and they’ve been magnified today. It’s normal; once the problem is clear, it’s easier to fix.”

“WING is indeed very impressive. I feel we need to do a thorough review.”

“Okay, let’s eat first today.”

As they spoke, the two arrived at the lounge. Xu Le’s gaze lingered on them for a while as they entered, and He Ci smiled helplessly, signaling him to be quiet.

Xu Le nodded subtly and went to talk to the others.

He Ci found a place to put down his and Yu Xinche’s keyboard and mouse peripherals before sitting down on the sofa.

After sitting down, he looked down and rubbed his wrist, unable to hold back his laughter.

After playing professionally for five years, this is the first time I’ve brought home two sets of peripherals.

After shaking hands, he returned to his seat as usual to tidy up his keyboard and mouse. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yu Xinche standing and tidying up as well, but he didn’t expect that he was just spacing out.

He had already packed up and was ready to leave when he noticed that the keyboard with the BREEZE logo on the next table was still glowing.

It seems he really got a blow today. He Ci sighed softly and kept it for him.

Then he saw Yu Xinche waiting for him. He Ci had teasing words on the tip of his tongue, but unexpectedly, Yu Xinche started reviewing the situation very seriously.

Since he took He Ci so seriously, he went along with the analysis.

However, seeing how eloquent he was, He Ci couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Just like what Brother Jiu and the others said a couple of days ago, although he looks calm and composed, he’s actually just a kid who’s just come of age.

They ate out again that night. They had originally booked a Western restaurant, but Xu Le felt that Yu Xinche might be in a bad mood that night, so they changed it to a Chinese restaurant.

Everyone sat at the table, chatting animatedly. Every now and then, someone would mention Yu Xinche, which lifted his spirits.

Yu Xinche didn’t drink alcohol that night, but being cooped up in the private room for too long can make you feel dizzy, so he quietly dozed off for a while on the way back to the base.

He sat by the window, and He Ci, worried that he might catch a cold, reached out and closed the car window.

Just as he was about to withdraw his hand after closing the window, Yu Xinche opened his eyes.

“Did I wake you up?”

“I wasn’t asleep, so I just closed my eyes and rested for a bit.”

“Okay, you can rest now.”

“He Ci.” Yu Xinche sat up straighter and brought up the match again, “I just recalled that team fight. If we had fought together, we might not have died. If we had retreated together, we should have been able to win when Xiao Ou and the others arrived and launched a counterattack.”

“Mm.” He Ci nodded.

“So our awareness and thinking are not the main problem. The main issue is the lack of coordination in our operations and the need for improvement in our tactical execution.”

“Yes. The reason I wanted you to come to TZ is because I felt our playstyles were a good match. You’ve been learning more and more lately, and your playstyle is changing, so you need to readjust with me.”

“Is there any way to speed up the break-in process?” Yu Xinche leaned closer and asked him.

He Ci sized him up for a moment: “Why are you keeping me in suspense? Just tell me.”

“Looking at our teammates in the mid lane,” Yu Xinche leaned closer, “what do you think about living together?”

 

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