Chapter 60.1

Xue Lan looked at Wen Yan once more, his heart racing once again for the umpteenth time.

But Wen Yan’s focus didn’t linger on him. His fingers on the bottle moved at a deliberate pace. Just as Xue Lan’s heart was on the verge of leaping out of his chest, Wen Yan spoke again.

“Your absence in the solo match this time was a result of considering your chip level and skills. Your personal abilities are equally outstanding.”

Even though Wen Yan’s words brought a sense of relief to Xue Lan, his cheeks involuntarily flushed with color.

Xue Lan naturally didn’t mind such matters. Besides, in his perspective, the solo match was for the spotlight on the protagonist gong and shou. He was well aware of his role as cannon fodder. Simply being able to support them by their side was enough to bring him happiness.

Luckily, Zhou Kanqing promptly changed the subject. He asked, “A-Yan, won’t you comfort me? You don’t even play a solo match with me.”

“That won’t be easy,” Duan Wenzheng, who was still playing at one side, chimed in. “Since you play poorly.”

“…” A crack came from the keyboard in Zhou Kanqing’s hands. “Serves you right to be locked out yesterday! Laozi* plays poorly? I dare you. Come play solo!”

*T/N: Laozi（老子) is a term of address referring to oneself in a somewhat boastful or self-assured manner, translating roughly to “I, your father” or “this old man.”

As Zhou Kanqing brought up yesterday’s incident, Xue Lan couldn’t help but conjure up an image in his mind: Duan Wenzheng’s figure, in the late, desolate night, knocking on Wen Yan’s door, pretending to be fierce while demanding the door to be opened. Xue Lan found it pitiful and amusing all at the same time.

As his lips began to curve with amusement at the mental picture, yesterday’s events flooded back into his mind — the moment when Duan Wenzheng had stood before his room.

Fortunately, the game commenced at that moment. Xue Lan felt a surge of relief as he immersed himself in the ranked match, disregarding everything else.

In the current game of Dawn of the Apocalypse, medic players were scarce. Consequently, the game developers improved the medic class in this new version.

Thus, in the team’s composition, the prevailing strategy among professional teams was the ‘four-protect-one.’ This approach mandated an assaulter to guard the medic from a slightly rear position, ensuring their safety.

Having recently joined the team, Xue Lan’s foremost objective in the match was to ensure the medic’s safety, prioritizing their protection above all else.

Consequently, once the group match concluded, Xue Lan’s individual training time essentially entailed playing ranked matches with Qi Siyu.

Xue Lan and Qi Siyu, having been good teammates in the training camp, now proved to be a compatible and compelling duo.

After the conclusion of their individual training, Duan Wenzheng set off to organize his belongings for the room switch. Meanwhile, after wrapping up their intense ranked match, Qi Siyu and Xue Lan reviewed their scores. “Let’s go for another two rounds. Two more victories, and my duo queue standing should break into the top thirty.”

Qi Siyu’s standing within the national team rankings soared to the coveted top ten. However, the terrain of medic solos posed an intricate challenge, uncharted in his gaming journey prior to joining the team, thereby limiting his rank to a less prominent position.

Xue Lan, eager for multiple rounds of the survival match, briefly hesitated, before finally nodding and nonchalantly exiting the survival match.

But Wen Yan suddenly said, “Kanqing, you go and play the duo queue with Qi Siyu.”

Bewildered, Zhou Kanqing removed his headset. “Ah? I’m playing the individual match.”

“Go practice with Qi Siyu.”

“Why am I practicing with him…” Zhou Kanqing blurted out, then abruptly remembered that Qi Siyu was also in the game. Speaking deliberately, he continued, “We’re both assault assailants. Even if we aim for a four-protect-one strategy, it’s futi…”

“So being an assailant means you don’t need to play with him?”

“…” Zhou Kanqing shut his mouth. Only then did he open the duo match and queued with Qi Siyu.

At the sight of this, Xue Lan geared up for the survival match again. But just as he opened the layout, a group invitation popped up.

The person who sent the invitation was LGW-Wind.

Xue Lan’s gaze glided across his display monitor, catching sight of Wen Yan nearby. Wen Yan was intensely focused on the screen before him, completely unaware of Xue Lan’s observation.

Xue Lan lingered in hesitation for quite some time until he received a private message from Wen Yan.

LGW-Wind: I want to see how much you’ve improved.

So, was he… reviewing his practice?!

Xue Lan clicked to accept the invite, acknowledging the review with caution.

Wen Yan’s prowess had forever served as the bedrock of combat within the Dawn of the Apocalypse realm. With both players adept in the damage-dealing role, they smoothly clinched victory in two matches.

Conversely, on Zhou Kanqing and Qi Siyu’s side, somehow… within the span of their two matches, they lost five matches in a row.

“Why the heck does playing with you attract so many dimwits?” Zhou Kanqing questioned his life and hugged his head.

“I wonder that as well.” Qi Siyu gazed at his woeful score following the string of consecutive losses, sinking into profound despair. “Lanlan, where are you? Save me quickly. I don’t want to play with him anymore.”

Xue Lan looked at Qi Siyu, then glanced at Wen Yan, feeling sorry. “Then, why don’t you invite me?”

Xue Lan had just wrapped up his own game, anyway. In haste, Qi Siyu opened the group invite interface with nimble movements. Zhou Kanqing gaped. “Qi Siyu, what are you implying?! Am I undeserving? Do I play poorly?”

Qi Siyu was rendered speechless as he gazed upon the team page. “…”

Observing Qi Siyu freeze, Zhou Kanqing leaned over to glance at his computer. After a moment, a mischievous cackle escaped him. “Ha ha ha ha ha, you dropped so many ranks that you can’t match with Exist!!!”

“…” Qi Siyu found himself pondering life’s perplexities and rose from his seat. “My head hurts. I’m going to sleep!!”

He meticulously organized the computer before leaving the training room, cradling his head in his hands. Observing the time, Zhou Kanqing tidied up as well, trailing behind to rest.

After this brief episode, Xue Lan and Wen Yan delved into their third-group ranked match.

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