GTRSH Chapter 72

TZ won the match and successfully advanced to the finals ten days later.

Wing would face VI, who won their loser’s bracket match yesterday, in another game to compete for the other spot in the finals.

Their schedule was tight with the finals just three days away. The two teams had already faced off once before, with Wing winning. Fans thought the outcome would be the same, but VI was in excellent form and took Wing down 3-1.

【ah??】

【Wing: ? I’ve become the one being abused.】

【It feels like TZ has completely destroyed Wing’s fighting spirit.】

【Yes, and then VI had just beaten YC, which greatly boosted their confidence.】

【That’s right, our YC is exactly that kind of power bank. TZ and VI both said it was great after using it.】

【So what’s the deal with TZ vs. VI in the finals?】

【Will the Prince really go on a winning streak to win the championship?】

【Holy crap, just thinking about it is awesome!】

After the two teams for the finals were determined, many TZ fans on the forum began to fantasize about the happy scene after winning the championship.

If they really won the championship, from Yu Xinche’s perspective, it would be an incredibly satisfying and exhilarating story.

He’s handsome, academically gifted, and after only six months of playing games, he had easily attracted the attention of a world champion in ranked matches.

His participation in the talent draft further boosted his livestream popularity and with him a target of bidding wars among various clubs.

His story was already quite a wish-fulfillment story troupe up to this point, but this was just the beginning.

In his first competition, he achieved a winning streak all the way to the finals, encountering few setbacks along the way and winning numerous MVP awards, creating a wealth of amazing GIFs.

Off the field, he’s incredibly popular with the public; the audience likes him, his teammates like him, and even He Ci, who’s notoriously picky about support players, openly likes him.

He’ll soon win the HPL championship, and then he’ll go on to the World Championship…

With such an impressive resume, he had achieved them before he was even 19 years old.

“Yu Xinche opened up a series of light novels and read one after another, thinking to himself: This isn’t even that satisfying at all,” said forum users.

The official account also used this meme for marketing and promotion, and many people outside the fandom were attracted by this “overpowered protagonist” storyline and became fans of TZ.

On the other hand, VI’s fans were somewhat out-shined.

Although they were a veteran team with a fan base comparable to TZ, esports often involves boasting when they win and feigning defeat when they lose.

Having failed to defeat TZ in the previous regular season, it’s best to avoid being too arrogant now, just to be on the safe side.

Of course, occasionally some people couldn’t help but start a war with TZ fans. These keyboard warriors probably never imagined that their words would be read aloud by the players and made into an official promotional video.

Before the finals, the organizers would record various videos for promotion, among which the trash talk segment was undoubtedly the most popular with the audience.

Trash talk was filled with sarcastic remarks that don’t use profanity but were designed to taunt and manipulate the opponent’s mentality.

Everyone knew the players would say these things for the sake of the show, so there’s an unspoken rule in the industry: don’t use personal attacks.

No matter how exaggerated the boasting and trash talk between the two sides was before the match, they should not use trash talk to attack the losing side after the match.

In the past two years, some new viewers have become overly concerned and sometimes make a big deal out of this segment, causing the teams to become increasingly restrained in order to protect themselves.

Fortunately, the two teams have a good relationship, and the players were not afraid of criticism, so they came out with full force.

First, He Ci read out two bullet comments:

“【Before today, I would have said the winning chance is 70/30. After all, the Crown Prince has been ridiculously strong lately】”

“【But after VI finished playing against Wing, I think 64 is a good result; VI’s current form isn’t bad either.】”

After reading it, he chuckled and said nonchalantly to the camera, “It doesn’t matter what percentage you think it is, as long as you know the truth: it’s 100/0.”

The camera then cuts to Purple, the enemy AD carry:

“【Both players played wing, VI beat them 3-1 and TZ was sweating profusely after a 3-2 defeat. Isn’t VI much stronger?】”

“【VI won the semifinals last year. Don’t you guys remember how Zidane completely dominated the young master?】”

Purple pondered for a moment: “For the sake of this audience member calling me ‘daddy,’ how about I give everyone another show of utterly crushing Young Master He this year?”

The two contestants went back and forth, exchanging more and more words.

Finally, Blue, VI’s support player, said, “I heard that BREEZE’s peak was right after their debut, but as we all know, after the peak comes the downhill road. I hope BREEZE can go further and more steadily.”

“Haven’t you heard I’m the protagonist of a wish-fulfillment novel?” The camera turned to Yu Xinche, giving him a close-up.

He casually glanced at the camera and calmly and confidently uttered the second half of his sentence: “As everyone knows, the protagonist will always be at his peak and always have a great time.”

“Okay, cut!” the director shouted.

Yu Xinche climbed off the prop, pinched his slightly stiff face, and let out a sigh of relief.

That’s so cringeworthy! He don’t know who came up with such a vicious line for him. He had to do four takes before he finally got it right.

He wasn’t as confident as he appeared on camera.

In the past, he always felt very confident before major exams. On the one hand, he had put in a lot of effort, and on the other hand, he knew all the knowledge in the books by heart. He knew that there was nothing he didn’t understand on the exam paper.

Although he put in countless days and nights of hard work and made progress little by little till this final, he still hasn’t fully understood the book “He Ci”.

However, playing games and studying for exams were not necessarily the same thing.

Since things have come to this point, there’s no point in dwelling on those things. All he could do was train hard and conditioned himself to the best possible state.

After spending an afternoon recording various promotional videos, the two teams headed to the city where the match was to be held.

This year’s finals and the send-off ceremony for the World Championship were held in another city, and the organizers provided hotel rooms for the team members.

However, when they arrived at the hotel, they found it to be of poor quality, with no soundproofing and bad internet. If they wanted to practice, they would have to go to an internet cafe.

The nearest internet cafe was a ten-minute walk away, which was not very convenient.

After discovering the problem, Xu Le and VI’s manager immediately contacted the person in charge of the competition. The person in charge was a new face and said that he would help to deal with it. However, after waiting for half an afternoon, no effective result was obtained.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, He Ci made two phone calls to book a room at a five-star hotel on the street.

The young master was generous; he even took care of VI’s arrangements and found a large conference room for both teams to train in.

Manager VI intended to say that he would pay back the money later, but He Ci casually said that it was not necessary – it was a family business.

The two teams complained as they carried their luggage, lamenting the numerous issues they’ve gotten since switching sponsors this season.

VI’s Purple, a veteran and outspoken player, couldn’t contain his frustration and posted a status update:

[Uh, you should have said you were short on budget earlier. I’d be willing to pay for the hotel myself for the game.]

VI’s official account, appreciating the sentiment and expressed thanks to He Ci, replying below: “Thank you FIX for booking us a five-star hotel. It’s a timely help, and the young master is very generous.”

This sparked a huge controversy, with fans of both teams temporarily setting aside their personal grudges and launching a united attack on the event organizers.

Under pressure, the organizers released a short, unsubstantial post, which angered the fans even more. However, with the competition about to begin, everyone’s attention shifted to the players.

The venue was well-heated, and everyone took off their down jackets as soon as they entered. The opposing top laner even went on stage wearing only a short-sleeved shirt.

The finals had a rather long opening ceremony. Yu Xinche stood on the stage, looking at the sea of ​​black audience members and the bright light boards with “BREEZE” printed on them. He took three deep breaths before he could barely suppress his nervousness and excitement.

On his way here, he suddenly remembered that after the last Wing match, he forgot to ask He Ci to give him a score.

The game was about to start again, and if Yu Xinche asked He Ci now, he definitely won’t tell the truth, so he could only suppress his curiosity and wait until this match was over.

“TZ didn’t make it to the finals at all last year. This season, after BREEZE took over the support position, the bot lane has been much more proactive. TZ hasn’t lost a single game in the entire Autumn Split so far.”

“On the other side, VI is the champion of last year’s Spring Split. They also changed their support this year, and it took them some time to get used to each other at the beginning of the season, and they lost a few games; in the playoffs, they got stronger and stronger, and their performance in the two games against Wing was completely different.”

“Yes, both teams are in great form. Let’s see who will win the World Championship ticket today.”

“During the draft phase, we saw that TZ replicated the lineup that Wing used against VI a couple of days ago. It did have a good effect back then. Let’s see if VI has a good countermeasure today.”

Yu Xinche and the others watched the previous match. At that time, Wing’s mid and support players chose Song and Zhi. Both heroes’ ultimate skills are area control. Although the damage is not high, they are stable.

After discussing with the coach, the team refined the lineup and reused it.

【Copying homework】

【Wing still has a fighting chance!】

【Tears welling up】

The opposing support, BLUE, chose Yun, a hero whose ultimate ability could remove crowd control effects.

“I knew this hero would be chosen,” CONTROL chuckled.

The coach reminded them, “Don’t use all your skills at the same time during team fights. Don’t waste your control chain. Make sure you communicate before engaging.”

“Okay,” Yu Xinche replied.

Upon entering the game, the two sides exchanged emoticons after meeting. Yu Xinche and BLUE each amicably performed two basic attacks on the air in the central area.

He Ci watched from a distance, preventing anyone from being uncivilized and attacking the support.

PURPLE went even further, making facial expressions and performing Easter egg-like actions, controlling the aurora to draw a colorful heart in front of Yu Xinche.

【??】

【Trying to steal your Support right in front of you, huh?】

Seeing this, He Ci, who was playing Rain, also took a step forward. The female agent swiftly raised her hand and fired two shots at PURPLE, intending to take him out.

【Hahahaha】

【He Ci: **** you, this is my support】

【They have a really good relationship.】

Once the minion wave reached the lane and the game officially began, neither side seemed as relaxed as they had been during the initial interactions. After all, it was the finals, and they both played with some restraint.

The first blood came a few minutes later than usual. The two sides broke out in a team fight in the river to contest the dragon.

Yu Xinche threw a few twigs on the ground, and when the time was right, he immediately activated his ultimate.

The twigs turned into traps, growing and lengthening instantly, entangled the two heroes who had stepped into them.

TZ and his group immediately unleashed their skills and began to gang up on them.

The remaining heroes were slowed down by the vines and branches which made rescue impossible.

If things continue like this, their team would lose two members at the very beginning of the team fight, which was not worth it.

After a moment, BLUE thought for a moment and threw out his ultimate skill, the Cloud that removes crowd control.

The fluffy cloud enveloped the five members of VI, providing immunity to crowd control and damage reduction while also slightly restoring their health.

“Go, go, go!” Taking advantage of the cloud buff on his body, BERRY immediately launched a counterattack.

TZ didn’t get carried away, and fought back while retreating.

The immunity to control effects quickly wore off, and VI retreated without lingering. Unfortunately, it was too late; CONTROL, who had been waiting, flashed into the crowd and unleashed his ultimate.

“Look at me, look at me.”

When Song activated her ultimate skill, the rain froze into ice, forcing the opposing team to put on ice skates and slide towards the center of the ultimate skill.

Seeing this, Cloud wanted to release a shield to protect his teammates, but Yu Xinche was one step ahead of him.

He instantly cast vines and pulled Cloud out of their formation, preventing him from casting the shield.

Although the first kill came quickly, with the enemy BERRY securing First Blood, they paid a heavy price for it; after the team fight, TZ’s two carries had secured three kills.

Afterwards, Yu Xinche and CONTROL replicated the same team fight, and won the first game without much effort.

Congratulations, TZ!

【You copied the homework well!】

【He Ci’s contribution with Rain was also crucial; Wing’s lineup lost that day mainly because they were missing He Ci.】

【@VI, are you going to ban it or not?】

【@VI, you’ve been beaten twice already, if you don’t ban, I’m going to explode】

The order of banning and picking (BP) was different in each game, and VI took the initiative in the second game.

They played a defensive style, banning Song right from the start.

When the dual-control combination failed, the coach switched to another lineup that he had prepared in advance.

In the finals, the more they win, the more aggressive they become, and the more aggressive they become, the easier it is for them to get into a smooth rhythm.

In the second game, both sides made very steady decisions, but TZ had a slight edge over VI in terms of operation.

They won the second game easily as well.

【???????】

【Don’t get shut out, buddy!】

【TZ: You’re even easier to beat than YC】

After a short break, the coach and players returned to the stage. As Yu Xinche approached, he glanced in VI’s direction.

They were all dejected and listless when they stepped down, but now they have all recovered, as if the gray filter covering them had disappeared.

Yu Xinche closed his eyes briefly, sensing that the upcoming match wouldn’t be as easy as the one before.

Of the five opponents in this match, three were not heroes that have been commonly seen recently.

“Awakening of Insects, Magnetic Storm, Sandstorm…” Xiao Ou clicked his tongue in amazement, “They’ve used all their best heroes; they’re determined to leave no regrets.”

“Let’s play normally. They’re definitely going to make a big push, so let’s stick to our own rhythm and not let them lead us by the nose,” the coach instructed. “The two in-game leaders should pay close attention.”

“OK.”

“OK”.

Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who were.

【Waaah, can’t we win a game?】

【Always trust BERRY’s Magnetic Storm!!】

In this game, BERRY played the jungle carry hero, Magnetic Storm.

Picking a jungle carry in a crucial game carries a lot of pressure. If you win, the whole team benefits; if you lose, it’s because the jungler didn’t get the rhythm right.

TZ was also very experienced, always helping to defend their own jungle area and taking precautions during team fights.

Unfortunately, PURPE also found his rhythm. TZ managed to contain BERRY, but he stepped up again, ultimately allowing VI to win a game and give them a chance to catch their breath.

The fourth game against VI was still a do-or-die situation. Perhaps it was the experience of surviving a close call that made people calmer. In this game, the roles were reversed, and TZ became the impatient one.

Fortunately, both He Ci and BURN were good at stabilizing the situation and have managed to turn the tide of the early game through strategic maneuvering.

However, they lost too many defensive towers and their lineup lacked room for error. The five of them struggled for a long time but still couldn’t defend the crystal.

The score was now 2-2.

TZ had lost two points in a row and was now on the verge of elimination. The pressure on them was undoubtedly much greater than that on VI, who had won two games in a row.

Coach Fang wasn’t good at expressing his feelings; he was using a whiteboard to go over the points that needed special attention with the team members. The players listened half-heartedly, and after a while, Xu Le came out and said a few words of encouragement.

These are all old sayings. After a season with TZ, Yu Xinche has figured out Xu Le’s style, and he understood what Xu Le would say.

He Ci sat on the same sofa as him, and he moved closer, and the two whispered to each other with their heads close together.

“How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know, I’m both nervous and not nervous. But I don’t think I’m as nervous as I was in the last match,” Yu Xinche said honestly.

He Ci smiled and said, “It means you’ve grown again.”

As He Ci spoke, he flexed his wrists and fingers. Yu Xinche remained silent, staring quietly at his hands. After a long while, he finally spoke: “Do you think we can win?”

Hearing this, He Ci stopped what he was doing and turned to look at him. After a few seconds of eye contact, He Ci said, “I don’t know. But I’ll try my best to win before the crystal explodes.”

Yu Xinche stared at him for a long time without saying a word.

He had watched many of the past competitions where He Ci had faced adversity, and he had indeed always been able to step up and shoulder the responsibility for the team.

He Ci’s words just now were unremarkable, but his calm eyes were filled with a desire for victory.

“I will too,” Yu Xinche said firmly. “I will do everything I can to win before the crystal explodes.”

The ban and pick phase was already rife with tension from the start of the final game. VI banned Rain, Frost, and Tide, and then banned Wind and Canyon in the bottom lane in the next round.

TZ wasn’t afraid either. Seeing that the opponent had chosen Solar Eclipse first, He Ci immediately locked in the Lunar Eclipse, breaking their solar-moon pairing.

Yu Xinche was given the counter-pick position in this game, and he picked Swamp based on the lineup.

The enemy team doesn’t have a way to remove crowd control, while they can both tank damage and control the enemy. In the late game, they could even get a damage item. It’s a very suitable choice.

The opposing team consists of Aurora and Eclipse. Aurora was a hero with mobility and damage, making her more agile than Eclipse, although her attack range was shorter.

After entering the game, He Ci and Yu Xinche used their hero advantages to continuously steal health from the enemy’s bottom lane, and then called Xiao Ou to help gank.

The health depleted at the start became a huge advantage at this moment, and He Ci successfully got a double kill without any casualties on his side, and he didn’t even have to use Flash.

【6】

【Okay, okay!】

Once TZ gains an advantage, they excelled at snowballing it, and by the time Baron spawns, they already have a several thousand gold lead.

After killing BERRY and the support, TZ and the others went to the dragon pit to fight the dragon.

“Without VI’s top, jungle, and support, the rest of the team are too scared to engage. And TZ is playing so fast, it’s almost over.”

“Huh, what does PURPLE what to do? Watch his position, he’s moving towards the dragon pit. Aurora has a dash and a flash, can he steal it?”

Yu Xinche placed a ward in the dragon pit, and the moment he saw the Aurora on the other side, the whole team stopped fighting and even sent two people to kill them.

However, the top and middle laners didn’t coordinate well and were both a bit anxious, resulting in poor skill combos and PURPLE falling into the dragon pit.

His timing was too perfect. The dragon’s health was already low, and his mid-lane teammates, who were one step behind PURPLE, risked their lives to hold off TZ’s mid and top laners, forcing their way into the dragon pit to fight the dragon.

“Kill first, kill first.”

“If we take down the dragon… then we’ll kill them.”

As the jungler, Xiao Ou often offered suggestions during team fights, and when opinions differed, he quickly responded by listening to the commander’s orders. TZ had the advantage in numbers, and after a chaotic two-second fight, they killed both of them.

On the other side, PURPLE was also very tenacious, and before dying, he forcibly teleported next to the dragon and released his last damaging skill.

“I got it!”

“Wow, this double C! They’re practically risking their lives to steal the dragon.”

“The dragon they snatched might be a response to our courage. Now VI can stall for another ten minutes.”

The battlefield is ever-changing. VI’s strength was already considerable, and now their morale was high. They used the Baron buff to keep pushing forward, and the economies of both sides gradually returned to the same level.

Another team fight broke out. The enemy top laner YAN caught TZ in a blind spot, flashed and used his ultimate to knock up four TZ members! Yu Xinche reacted quickly and threw out a mud shard, and He Ci also immediately used Purify and Flash to instantly remove the control and create distance.

However, YAN’s attack was so brilliant that the opponent immediately followed up with damage, resulting in a 0-for-4 exchange for TZ.

Yu Xinche, who had the highest health bar, managed to escape with a sliver of health and quickly found a place to return to the city.

“Ah, the fastest FIX would be able to respawn is for another 20 seconds, and VI can probably push to the crystal in about ten seconds. Is there still a chance…?”

“I feel like VI is about to make a big splash.”

【It’s over】

【Congratulations in advance to VI!】

VI’s five players gathered in the middle lane and had already pushed to the middle lane high ground.

The team voice chat was silent; Yu Xinche stood helplessly in the fountain.

He really hope there’s some way to buy time or give him a chance to turn the tide.

He can withstand being hit for seven or eight seconds, but VI would definitely bypass him to destroy the base…

Is it possible to turn the tide…?

He raised his hand and wiped his eyes.

He really don’t want it to end like this. He’s not dead yet, so maybe there’s still a chance.

He mechanically switched screens repeatedly, watching the other side’s progress, the economy panel, and the equipment panel.

He didn’t know how many times he had caught sight of the solar eclipse when a sudden inspiration struck him.

“Stealing the knife”.

“What?” a teammate asked.

He had no time to explain and opened the equipment panel.

He didn’t have enough money, so he sold three cheap pieces of equipment to finally buy a thief’s knife.

His wrists were shaking as he did this. As he got closer to VI, he said while operating the Stealing Knife’s stealing attribute, “He Ci, lend me money.”

“Buying now.” The moment Yu Xinche said the word “stealing knife,” He Ci understood.

The support economy was low; even if you sell all your equipment, you still couldn’t get enough damage-dealing items.

But what if we could passively steal the solar eclipse’s skill…

When the sun and moon shine together, he could use his own skills.

Buying and selling equipment at a discount could result in significant losses, and the team might not be able to hold on in subsequent team fights…

But at this point, there was no time to worry about that.

He Ci only considered it for a little over a second before quickly selling four major items to give Yu Xinche three damage-dealing items in return.

The high ground tower explodes, and VI immediately pushes the crystal.

Yu Xinche timed his charge perfectly, stacking a high amount of spell damage with control, and charged forward without hesitation.

The five members of VI paid no attention to him, focusing only on the crystal.

No one expected that a swamp could deal so much damage. PURPLE didn’t even bother to dodge, and only realized something was wrong when Yu Xinche took away a third of his health with one of his skills.

“Holy crap, help!”

VI had no other choice but to kill Swamp first.

Yu Xinche only had eyes for the crystal and the five enemies. He didn’t know how long he had lasted, nor how many seconds his teammates had left to respawn.

Positioning, using skills, basic attacks, killing the AD, dodging skills…

His crystal’s health bar and his health kept decreasing until they were almost out of sight, and then his field of vision finally cleared.

There were no enemies left.

A game announcement pops up.

TZ.BREEZE achieved a pentakill!

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