Did The Captain Catch Up With The Coach Today [Esports] Chapter 19

Chapter 19

FHM’s first match of the tournament ended in a complete victory, lasting only 14 minutes.

The opposing team neither surrendered nor fought passively.

They were crushed by FHM in the lanes, and when they encountered Xing Guang in the jungle, they couldn’t win even when fighting with all their might!

Struggling until the very last second, the entire team typed GG.

“The economic gap is too huge; trying to turn the tables is harder than reaching the heavens!” Commentator Ri Xi said. “By the seven-minute mark, Xing Guang’s economy was already double that of the opponent. He can one-shot anyone, and taking on five opponents is more than enough!”

“After all, he got a Penta Kill, and that Penta Kill directly laid the foundation for their victory. As expected of the great Wei Wan! His teammates also played well; they had an advantage in all three lanes. They should be able to make it into the group stage!”

Yue Xia actually thought FHM was guaranteed a spot in the top eight, but she didn’t dare to speak too confidently.

FHM celebrated their first victory and held a quick debriefing before the next match began.

Meanwhile, a complaint post titled [FHM are not human!] appeared on the forum. The poster was clearly the team that had just been thoroughly crushed by FHM.

[Who said banning all Junglers was useful!]

[You can’t ban them all, you simply can’t ban them all!]

[Help, I have developed a psychological trauma from Xing Guang.]

[This team is too brutal! It feels like a high-level smurf account bullying noobs, and we are the noobs…]

[I can only say, they are worthy of being the team that beat KPI. Now I’m actually wondering how they lost to DIE.]

[DIE’s bottom lane is strong, but FHM’s MID and BOT lanes seem a bit unstable? Especially the MID laner, his Fiery Feather and Void Star Scar don’t look like they were played by the same person.]

[We made a mistake, we should have banned Fiery Feather!]

[Also, FHM’s top laner seems to only play Assassins. Would it be better if he picked a Tank for the lane?]

Everyone in the thread actively discussed ways to counter FHM. Teams registered for the qualifiers couldn’t help but click in when they saw “FHM” in the title. They adjusted their strategies based on the advice while silently praying not to encounter FHM on the battlefield.

And sure enough, one team that saw the post unfortunately became FHM’s next opponent. Their first ban slot was decisively given to Fiery Feather!

“As expected,” Wen Shi Yu was not surprised at all.

When opponents realized that targeting Wei Xiao’s priority picks was ineffective, they would definitely look for a breakthrough from FHM’s other members.

The only thing that surprised Wen Shi Yu was that the second opponent had already realized this. FHM seemed to be receiving a bit too much attention.

He had hoped to secretly make it into the top 16 and shock everyone.

Was it because of Wei Xiao?

Or was it because of KPI?

Or perhaps DIE?

Thinking about it, this team had indeed caused quite a stir even before the tournament began.

In this match, the opponent didn’t ban Overlord Blade. Wei Xiao looked up, meeting Wen Shi Yu’s gaze behind him, and asked with his eyes—Can I use it? Can I use it? Can I use it?

Wen Shi Yu reached out and turned his head back. “It’s a good thing your neck is so flexible… Use it if you want. The opponent doesn’t have much crowd control, so you can use it.”

“Haha, you know me!” Wei Xiao slammed the lock button on Overlord Blade. “How did you know I wanted to pick Overlord Blade?”

Wen Shi Yu didn’t answer, but instead asked a question of his own: “Overlord Blade’s strength is average, and the mechanics are also average. Why do you like playing it so much?”

The reason he didn’t play this hero when he was an E-sports Player was not because of the online rumors that Overlord Blade’s attire was too revealing and he was too shy to use it, but purely because he thought it wasn’t effective.

He could play it, and he could carry with Overlord Blade, but he had better options. Why be so fixated on Overlord Blade?

Wei Xiao’s response was: “Because he’s arrogant, domineering, and a 1! If you’re a 1, you use Overlord Blade!”

Wen Shi Yu was speechless.

Wei Xiao realized he had accidentally exposed his inner thoughts after speaking, but it wasn’t a big deal. This ‘1’ was not that ‘1,’ just like saying someone is ‘A’ doesn’t mean their gender is Alpha.

So, after saying that, he calmly added: “There are always some ideals that rank higher than others. Champion or showing off? Only children choose one. I choose both!”

“Fine, go show off then.” Wen Shi Yu’s tone was dismissive, yet tinged with a smile.

That’s good. When he first started playing E-sports, he wasn’t entirely focused on the championship either, but now… if he couldn’t overcome the resentment deep in his heart, he wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy the happiness the game brought.

With Fiery Feather banned, Zhou Miao Miao didn’t even need to look at the opponent’s composition. He closed his eyes and locked in Witch Nightmare, then secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the reassurance of having guessed the exam question correctly.

The opponent’s strategy of using the mid-lane as a breakthrough point was ultimately thwarted.

As a poke-type Mage, Witch Nightmare, although lacking mobility and survivability, was not easily denied lane priority.

Moreover, the opponent banning Fiery Feather right away exposed their intention to target the mid-lane too early and too obviously. How could Wei Xiao allow them to succeed?

He estimated the time was right and hid in the brush near the mid-lane.

Sure enough, before long, the enemy Jungler appeared in the mid-lane, attempting to coordinate with their own MID laner for a gank.

Facing the enemy Jungler charging at him, Zhou Miao Miao countered with a control skill, then used Heal to tank the enemy MID laner’s damage.

Wei Xiao seized the opportunity, using “Overlord Charge” to slam into the faces of the enemy Jungler and MID laner, immediately following up with Overlord Blade’s signature skill—

One-Shot Slash!

The enemy Jungler died.

[System Notification] Overlord Blade has secured First Blood!

Zhou Miao Miao smoothly maneuvered to dodge the enemy MID laner’s pursuit, used a skill to follow up with damage, and then decisively retreated, leaving the rest to Wei Xiao.

Wei Xiao did not disappoint. He chased the MID laner, who was out of skills, and slashed him twice, easily securing the second kill!

[System Notification] Overlord Blade, Double Kill!

The opponent wanted to target FHM’s MID laner, but their own MID laner died first.

With kills and gold, Wei Xiao’s Overlord Blade’s damage snowballed higher and higher.

From seizing the opportunity for a surprise attack and instant kill, to drawing his blade to instantly kill those in need, and finally, to blind, chaotic slaughter.

Wei Xiao enjoyed the killing spree, and the audience watching the match also enjoyed the show!

[Holy crap, this Overlord Blade is amazing!]

[I can’t even imagine how much fun he’s having!]

[I must be playing a fake Overlord Blade!]

[This is how Overlord Blade is. When you think he relies on stats, he uses stats to show you what weak, pitiful, and helpless is. When you think he relies on mechanics, he gives you a performance of stat crushing!]

[Disadvantaged Overlord Blade: Congratulations, you have one less teammate. Advantaged Overlord Blade: No skill, just pure killing intent!]

At this time, the TPL official stream was commentating on a match involving a top 16 team. Halfway through the commentary, the director felt there was no suspense and switched the camera to the match with the highest current popularity.

Then, the two commentators and the audience in the live stream saw this scene—Wei Xiao’s Overlord Blade was slaughtering the enemy team right in front of their base!

Every enemy hero that emerged was instantly killed. He one-shot everyone; even Tanks couldn’t withstand more than one blow from him!

After killing the heroes, he followed the minion wave into the tower and delivered a final slash to the enemy base!

The enemy base was destroyed, and FHM won!

The two commentators were dumbfounded and only reacted after the director switched the camera away.

“FHM wins another match,” Ri Xi said.

“Another crushing victory,” Yue Xia said.

“Wait! How many kills did he have?” Ri Xi suddenly realized he might have seen an incredible number just now.

“How many kills?” Yue Xia was too busy marveling at Overlord Blade’s dominance to pay attention.

But among the many people in the live stream, someone noticed.

[32-0-10.]

[Wait, how much?]

[Is that a score a human can achieve?]

[I’m starting to forget what numbers mean…]

[I am watching a professional league, right?]

[Although it’s the qualifiers, I remember the minimum requirement to participate is Elder Tier?]

Below Overlord Tier is Elder Tier. The Hero League qualifiers allow ordinary players to sign up, but everyone in the participating teams must have reached Elder Tier. This is also the minimum standard for recruitment by major E-sports Clubs.

In other words, the team that FHM was mercilessly crushing all had a rank of at least Elder Tier, yet FHM achieved an outrageous kill ratio of 52:8 against them.

[It’s as terrifying as smurfing against Bronze players…]

[Hiss—I can’t wait to see FHM play in the top eight.]

[Could it be that even WI won’t be FHM’s match?]

The qualifiers lasted a full five days, with each team playing one to two matches daily.

FHM played a total of eight matches, winning all of them by a large margin.

In the eight matches, Zhou Miao Miao picked Witch Nightmare seven times. He didn’t have any flashy plays, but he didn’t drag his team down either, consistently providing poke damage.

Wei Xiao was initially worried about what would happen if the opponent banned Witch Nightmare, but the opponents preferred to drown in his unfathomable hero pool rather than take two steps into Zhou Miao Miao’s shallow waters.

That made sense. Who would think that such a strong team had a MID laner who could only truly shine on one hero?

If they banned Witch Nightmare but failed to suppress Zhou Miao Miao, it would be a wasted ban slot.

After the eight matches, FHM successfully advanced to the top 16, officially stepping onto the league stage.

That evening, the entire FHM team gathered at a restaurant near the internet cafe to celebrate.

Eating, chatting, and getting excited, Wei Xiao held his phone in one hand and hooked his other arm around Wen Shi Yu’s neck, snapping a selfie.

In the photo, Wen Shi Yu looked slightly bewildered, while Wei Xiao was smiling brighter than the Sun.

Afterward, Wei Xiao realized his action might have been inappropriate. He refined the photo, sent it to Wen Shi Yu, and apologized.

To Be Continued: Sorry, I was too excited then. Did I scare you?

Wen Shi Yu opened the photo, expressionlessly long-pressed to save it, and then typed a reply.

Time Waits for No One: Why would you think I’d be scared?

To Be Continued: Because I hooked you and took a picture without your permission.

Time Waits for No One: Do you do this to others too?

To Be Continued: How could I! I always maintain boundaries!

This was the truth.

Wei Xiao kept the attraction he felt toward the same sex strictly separate from friendship. He would try his best to avoid excessive physical contact with friends he valued; otherwise, he wouldn’t have suddenly moved out after getting along well with his roommates.

But during dinner, somehow…

Time Waits for No One: I genuinely dislike being touched by people.

Seeing this message, Wei Xiao sighed.

As expected.

Wei Xiao had noticed when he pulled Wen Shi Yu into his arms on the stairs that Wen Shi Yu was very wary of being touched by others. Later, when they went for a walk in the park, he also noticed that Wen Shi Yu disliked going out, disliked crowded places, and preferred quiet over excitement.

Not everything said about Wen Shi Yu online was true, but Wen Shi Yu was indeed an introvert.

However, just as Wei Xiao was about to offer a serious apology again, Wen Shi Yu sent the next message—

Time Waits for No One: But I don’t dislike being touched by you.

Wei Xiao’s typing hand paused. He widened his eyes in disbelief, and his heart rate uncontrollably accelerated.

Wait? Was that what he thought it meant?

Time Waits for No One: Don’t overthink it. Go to bed early. Tomorrow is not a day off.

To Be Continued: Oh.

Time Waits for No One: Good night.

To Be Continued: Good night.

Wei Xiao typed out “Good night,” then leaned back and fell straight onto his bed.

Then, he rolled back and forth on the bed like a rolling pin.

Ahhh, he doesn’t dislike being touched by me!

Ahhh, what does he mean!

He wanted to ask but didn’t dare! He couldn’t sleep!