Chapter 3

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The rest of the Titans team members were settled in another training center more than a half hour’s drive away from Yao Sen and the main team. He had only been there for less than two days when he received a cry for help from their manager.

Manager Guo told them that the youth training team’s brats had no appetite due to being unable to see their idol, to the point where they even lacked energy during training. If Yao Sen didn’t hurry to placate them and cheer them on, this herd of youngsters would soon be unable to sleep soundly.

He lamented, “Are they here for their dreams or for you?”

Yao Sen readily accepted his words and answered, “I’m their dream.”

“……”

“Fine, I’ll go take a look with Wang Yuxi tomorrow.”

“Okay okay, I was waiting for you to say that.”

Early the next morning, Yao Sen and Wang Yuxi went over to the base where the youth training team was staying to train them.

As soon as the captain appeared, the sight of him instantly raised the youth training team’s spirits, as if just being watched by their beloved captain could raise the quality of their gameplay. When Yao Sen left, the youth training team uniformly roared “Thank you for your hard work Captain”, as if Yao Sen was some leader who had come down to inspect the countryside.

On their way back to the club, Wang Yuxi held his arm and thought, “Yao Sen, don’t you think our team’s cult mentality is a little excessive? What are we going to do with those kids if you retire in the future?”

Yao Sen: “There’s nothing to be done.”

Wang Yuxi was full of self-confidence. “But we’re still young, aren’t we? I absolutely won’t retire until I find a girlfriend.”

Yao Sen nodded, earnestly pondering over the feasibility of Wang Yuxi’s words.

When the two entered the club’s front door, Yao Sen happened to see a man dressed in a light blue uniform sitting on a sofa to the right of the lounge. At the sound of footsteps, the other party turned and met Yao Sen’s eyes head on.

Yao Sen thought that the man looked somewhat familiar. He’d probably seen him on the internet. It wasn’t until Wang Yuxi approached his ear and whispered “That man is Noah’s Ark’s captain”, that he remembered that he’d seen him when he visited Noah’s Ark’s official website the other day.

Lin Lan, the captain of Noah’s Ark, was in the Asia server’s top 8 solo ranking list. Although Yao Sen had never run into him in a match, he had more or less heard Lin Lan’s name.

Lin Lan was three or four years older than Yao Sen, and his serious expression was somewhat able to intimidate a person at first glance. While Yao Sen was considering how to greet the other person, a figure came down from the second floor.

“Captain.”

The familiar cool voice made Yao Sen unable to resist turning his head. Shao Han walked down and saw that Yao Sen was also there. He nodded towards him then went upstairs with Lin Lan.

In the evening, Yao Sen and everyone from the main team conducted routine training. During a break, they turned to the vending machine near the other training room to buy drinks and incidentally overheard a fit of serious criticism from the training room next door.

It seemed that Noah’s Ark’s main team was also right in the midst of training. Lin Lan stood with his arms folded, a frown on his face and Shao Han at his side. It was obvious that he wasn’t satisfied with Shao Han’s performance. The remaining two team members sat on one side, nervously keeping their mouths shut.

Lin Lan said in a low voice: “Your reaction on your right side is still not quick enough.”

Shao Han: “Sorry Captain, I’m not used to this mouse.”

“Get used to it as soon as possible.” He frowned in answer, then looked back at the other two. “Rest for ten minutes and play another two more rounds.”

Someone suddenly knocked on the window pane next to him, and Shao Han turned his head to find that it was Yao Sen. He didn’t know when Yao Sen started standing outside their training room. Shao Han stood up and walked out, “Is something the matter?”

“Want some water?” Yao Sen handed him the drink in his hand, whispering, “Your captain is so serious.”

Shao Han took the drink and thanked him. He paused before he replied, “But it’s true that I have a problem. I can’t blame the captain.”

“Is he always like this?”

“The captain has always been very strict with us.” Staring at where his own computer was located, Shao Han said slowly, “But all of us can understand. It won’t be long until he retires and won’t be able to play any more. At present, Noah’s Ark still hasn’t produced any particularly good results. His wish is for Noah’s Ark to be able to get one good achievement before he retires.”

Yao Sen paused, then said, “If you think your right side’s reaction isn’t fast enough, you can try to increase your wrist training. I saw that you usually use your upper arm. It might be better to combine the two.”

Shao Han was silent for a while. Just as Yao Sen thought that he might not accept the advice, he said, “I’ll try.”

Give a man an inch, and he’ll take a mile. As Yao Sen watched him, he felt a sudden urge to take that mile: “If you succeed, remember to invite me out to eat.”

Shao Han probably hadn’t anticipated that Yao Sen would be this unsensible, and in his eyes, this was a bit funny. An unexpected soft smile appeared on Shao Han’s handsome face. The slightly raised corner of his mouth was rather charming. “All right.”

Yao Sen’s eyes feasted on the other party, thinking that this person was truly good-looking.

Shao Han: “It’s almost time for me to get back. Thank you for the drink.”

Yao Sen nodded, then bought himself another bottle of water from the vending machine, humming leisurely as he returned to his training room.

Compared with Noah, Titans’s main team’s daily training was definitely more relaxed. Yao Sen pulled out his chair and sat down, then said, “Look how hard Noah’s training. When the time comes, even Noah will be able win against you guys.”

As he played, Wang Yuxi said: “What do you mean ‘even’ Noah? Are you looking down on Noah?”

“Noah isn’t really as strong as we are.” To the side, Bai Yue said, “If there are no mishaps in the domestic competition, we’ll definitely run into Noah.”

“Boss,” Song Mingzhe had a tall and lofty stature and a powerful, deep and resounding voice, and he usually called Yao Sen “boss”. Every time he stood next to Yao Sen, the image would make onlookers think that Yao Sen was a young master with a personal bodyguard. “Is it true that our main team won’t participate in the domestic competition?”

“Yes, leave the quota to the youth training team.”

Wang Yuxi: “What do we do if they run into Noah? Won’t they be completely crushed? “

“Getting crushed is getting crushed.” Yao Sen said indifferently, “Originally, the purpose is not for them to win, but to go through this process and gain experience from it.”

Wang Yuxi: “Then, have you ever been through this process?”

With the least bit of shame, Yao Sen answered, “No.”

“Anyway guys, actually,” Bai Yue said, “Noah’s style is quite hard to deal with. Their team as a whole attaches great importance to defence, but they’re also good at emphasising tactics for attrition wars. Their opponents are basically played to death.”

Wang Yuxi asked, “Aren’t you familiar with the left-handed guy named Shao in their team? Is there any info you can tell us about him? “

Hearing Shao Han being mentioned, Yao Sen pricked up his ears.

“Shao Han is truly hard to deal with,” Bai Yue replied. “Although he looks cold, his stableness makes his enemies go cold. He’s good at slipping away, his hit rate is high, and he’s good at collecting heads for Noah. Moreover, he’s left-handed, and sometimes his movements are unpredictable. It’s possible that his left side’s hit rate isn’t lower than Yao Sen’s. When he and I were in the same youth training team before, there’s a reason why people called him the left-handed killer. I think going to Noah is a waste of his talents.”

Yao Sen asked, “Then why’d he go to Noah?”

“I don’t know. I remember that when I received an invite from Titans, he also received an invite from Cobra. Cobra was Asia’s third runner-up last year. Even though they’re not as good as us, their level is still a little higher than Noah. But Shao Han declined and never mentioned why.”

“Why didn’t Titans invite him?”

“How would I know that? In those days, Titans wasn’t as famous as it is now.”

Wang Yuxi looked up Shao Han’s Weibo and sighed twice after skimming through his profile for a while. “Look at how many fans this little guy has. His solo rank is obviously not as high as mine? Is this just handsome guy privilege?”

Bai Yue: “Shut it. Nowadays, esports fame also depends on your face.”

Song Mingzhe, as Yao Sen’s loyal boaster, said staunchly, “His fans are definitely not as many as the boss’s.”

Wang Yuxi said disdainfully, “Come on, Lao-Song, if you can just go a day without talking, no one will think that you’re Yao Sen’s fanboy. Ey, Yao Sen, you’re also among his followers, when did you follow him?”

“A few days back.”

Wang Yuxi sighed, slumping back in his chair. “It’d be great if I can have at least half the number of Yao Sen’s female fans.”

Bai Yue ruthlessly exposed Wang Yuxi’s drawback, “Then you’ll also have to be half as handsome as Yao Sen first.”

Wang Yuxi rolled his eyes.

These past two days, Yao Sen always found the time to watch Shao Han’s livestream. Shao Han’s livestream was a technical stream, meaning that he normally didn’t talk about anything other than seriously explaining his gameplay in layman’s terms.

Shao Han’s livestream schedule was mostly at night, before he went to bed. Yao Sen made a new account for himself and sent him gifts while watching, even going so far as to accidentally climb up to the top of the sponsors ranking.

Yao Sen felt that Shao Han’s voice made one feel especially comfortable when hearing it, as cool and charming as a glass of sparkling iced lemonade. If Shao Han retired in the future and became an ASMR anchor, Yao Sen would absolutely be the first to show support.

Yao Sen generally went to bed a bit earlier than other people, but in truth, his sleep quality was not that good; he frequently suffered from insomnia. That night though, after listening to Shao Han’s voice, he fell asleep faster than usual.

–

The domestic competition registration results came out. In addition to a few established teams, there were many new teams this year. After gaining targets, the youth team’s training was also intensified, and the members’ mental states were tense. They all hoped to make good use of the month before the game.

Yao Sen also appropriately extended his training time. Although he wouldn’t be participating in the domestic competition, the intensity of their training had to be maintained until the WCAD world finals. The Asia Championship was merely an appetizer for him, and the main course was next year.

When doing individual training, Yao Sen usually used his side account. That day, he once again logged on to his side account, Five Elements Lack Wood, then searched for Shao Han’s main account’s ID and sent a friend request. It wasn’t long before Shao Han accepted.

Yao Sen entered a few solo queues by himself. Suddenly, his phone notified him, “The anchor you follow is now live.” The only anchor he followed was Shao Han, so he clicked on Shao Han’s livestream room.

Shao Han said that he planned to randomly find a good friend to duo queue with today. The corner of Yao Sen’s mouth hooked up, and he directly sent Shao Han an invite to duo queue with his side account.

[System: Five Elements Lack Wood has invited you to a duo queue.]

Shao Han looked at the team invite that popped up on the corner of the screen and fell into a moment of silence.

☆ ☆ ☆

⟵ Chapter 2 | TOC | Chapter 4 ⟶

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