LSDWTWHA chapter 62

Chapter 61

On the day when the first snow fell, the rematch opened with great fanfare in “Star Wars,” exactly one month after the preliminary round. Except for Su, who had already qualified for the finals, the remaining ninety-nine players all appeared at the competition venue.

This match was completely a test of individual combat skills. Through a series of one-on-one battles, the top ten players emerged.

At the top of the leaderboard in the arena was “No Return,” demonstrating highly professional combat techniques. His ability to predict attacks and craft specific strategies for each opponent allowed him to consistently gain the upper hand in battles. Technically, some of the advanced maneuvers he displayed reached the level of an Imperial Star Fleet pilot, silencing those who claimed he hid behind the scenes, lacking real ability and merely being a keyboard warrior.

“Transform Complexity into Simplicity” performed somewhat disappointingly in the rematch. Compared to fighting against others, she was better at pest control. After losing a round and using her revival opportunity to break out, she barely squeezed into the finals in ninth place.

In addition, three players who had performed mediocrely in the preliminaries shone brightly in the rematch. They were named “Oolong Peach,” “Taro Bubble,” and “Cheese Mango,” and they ranked second, fifth, and eighth in the match.

These three were clearly the “Milk Tea Trio” who had tried to recruit Su in the second round but were rejected.

Just a month ago, their performances had been nothing more than average; they had relied on luck to squeak by into the rematch. But in the rematch, they seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, not only acquiring new starships but also improving their skills dramatically. The trio stormed into the finals, attracting significant attention.

“Oolong Peach” even made a name for herself by defeating “Transform Complexity into Simplicity.”

The audience loved unexpected stories.

The trio’s turnaround naturally drew a lot of attention, especially since they had previously been looked down upon by Su in the preliminaries. This added a trendy underdog flavor to their narrative, immediately generating much buzz.

Following the end of the preliminary round, many people tried various means to get Su to make an offline appearance—live broadcasts, television shows, capitalizing on his popularity—but all were rejected. Seeing the emergence of these three, those who couldn’t find Su immediately shifted their focus onto them, with offers coming in from all directions. The trio welcomed all invitations and quickly capitalized on the heat, rising to fame.

A few days later, even the official live broadcast account of “Star Wars” approached the trio for an interview program.

Su had not watched the rematch and was completely unaware of the trio’s exploits.

Having just passed the third period of medication coverage, it was time to take the mermaid potion again.

However, Su had to delay taking it for a few days. Soon, there would be a traditional gathering of nobles, and everyone who had married merfolk was required to attend with their mermaid partners. Su planned to wait until closer to the date to take the potion, as he couldn’t guarantee that this time his success would result in him maintaining a human appearance.

Since that day of awakening, Su had wanted to find a time to discuss the matter with Qi Hanyi, but she seemed to always avoid the topic. Each time Su started to talk, she would quickly change the subject.

Over time, Su grew frustrated. Meanwhile, Qi Hanyi was busy testing the starship specifically designed for mermaid pilots, and they hadn’t spoken for several days.

With his romantic life in disarray, Su’s combat style in the arena had grown increasingly vicious. Recently, he had sunk several starships, his shark bites leaving the pilots pale as they crawled out of their cockpits, clearly traumatized by Su’s terrifying tactics.

This led to many players conceding before even starting a match with Su, refusing to engage him. On this day, after matching with five players who conceded, Su exited the arena feeling bored, only to find his private message notifications buzzing with activity.

Curious, Su checked the messages, all reminders for him to watch a live stream.

“Do you remember those three who wanted to team up with you in the second round?”

“The ones with names that sound like milk tea.”

Thinking of milk tea, Su vaguely recalled them. Their names were catchy, but they were too weak, radiating an unmistakable scent of prey.

Su did not associate with prey.

Scrolling down the messages, he saw a video link. The title was striking: “Once criticized by Whitefin Shark for being too weak, defeated ‘Transform Complexity into Simplicity’ in the rematch. Oolong Peach: I want to challenge him to a match.”

Challenge whom? Me? Su felt intrigued by the title.

“Oolong Peach” defeated “Transform Complexity into Simplicity”? This surprised Su. He hadn’t watched the rematch, but he recognized “Transform Complexity into Simplicity’s” strength. Her fundamentals were solid, just slightly lacking in adaptability. However, there was no way she should lose to “Oolong Peach.”

“Star Wars” official live streams could be watched directly in the game. Su clicked the link and was transported to the live broadcast hall. In front of him was a giant projection, as if the studio was right there, with a comfortable lounge space featuring a small sofa.

At the side, the viewership count displayed a staggering seven million, and it was continuing to rise.

In the studio, the host was seated, while the split screen showed footage of the day Su had confronted the trio.

Su saw himself on screen, coldly saying in a shark doll costume, “I will never share points with you. Because in my eyes, you are far weaker than I am.”

Then followed a heated argument between the two sides, with “Transform Complexity into Simplicity” suddenly chiming in, “Who teams up to find weaker players? Is this targeted poverty alleviation?”

Next, the footage shifted to the rematch. “Oolong Peach,” piloting her starship, had an even matchup with “Transform Complexity into Simplicity,” ultimately defeating her.

Is this “Oolong Peach”? Su watched with excitement, narrowing his eyes. Oolong Peach’s aggressive combat style was completely about offense, abandoning defense, and she kept “Transform Complexity into Simplicity” under pressure throughout the match, leaving her no chance to hide.

For many viewers, this underdog triumphing over a stronger opponent brought great enjoyment, and they flooded the comments with mockery of “Transform Complexity into Simplicity” for being defeated by someone they had previously looked down on. Others teased that given the trio’s rapid improvement, they could eagerly anticipate “Whitefin Shark” being humiliated in the finals.

However, because “Whitefin Shark” had performed exceptionally in the preliminaries, he had also garnered a large fanbase. When they saw “Whitefin Shark” being disparaged, they quickly defended him, stating that he had only played for a month prior to the preliminaries and that he was far more talented than the three.

They insisted that even if “No Return,” who was ranked first in the rematch, lost, “Whitefin Shark” could never be defeated.

But with “Whitefin Shark’s” fans being so loud, many other supporters felt discontent.

Though “Whitefin Shark” killed the queen bug, he had not killed the four male bugs but used strategy to eliminate the queen. After the initial amazement faded, some jealous of Su began to promote the narrative that “Su’s victory in the preliminaries was just due to luck and opportunism,” leading many confused viewers to believe it.

Su paid little attention to the arguments in the comments; he was more concerned about how “Oolong Peach” had made such a sudden change in style and how she had beaten “Transform Complexity into Simplicity.” He even sent a private message to “Transform Complexity into Simplicity”: “Did you lose a match in the rematch?”

Transform Complexity into Simplicity: “……”

Transform Complexity into Simplicity: “The match was days ago. Did you just find out?”

Su casually sent her a connection: “Watching this.”

He then asked, “Couldn’t you defeat her?”

Transform Complexity into Simplicity: “Though I don’t want to admit it, they really became strong. They’ve changed their starships, and their fighting style is completely different from before. If I didn’t know that ‘Star Wars’ strictly limits one account per player, I’d think they had switched accounts.”

Switched accounts? Su recalled the battle footage he had just seen. Indeed, the lackluster approach in the preliminaries was like being an NPC, while in the rematch, they fought aggressively and passionately. Not to mention their technical improvement was incredibly meaningful; just their combat style felt like an entirely different personality had emerged.

Accompanied by lively background music, the three guests walked onto the live stream cheerfully and began introducing themselves.

All three were real-life players. “Oolong Peach” was a bespectacled boy who looked elegant and refined. “Taro Bubble” was a tall girl with short hair, brimming with fiery straightforwardness, while “Cheese Mango” was petite and cute, blushing whenever she spoke.

This matched Su’s impression of the trio back then.

The host made light conversation with the guests, asking some more personal questions to strengthen the bond between them. From the dialogue, Su learned that all three were quite young, around eighteen or nineteen, just finishing high school and facing college entrance exams. They participated in the competition because they had always loved starships and hoped to gain a chance to attend the Imperial Military Academy.

As the conversation shifted toward the competition, the host stated that they would take questions from the comments, randomly selecting information to direct to the trio.

After a countdown, the host received the first question drawn by the production team and read it aloud to the audience: “I want to ask the three of you why there has been such a significant change in your combat style. It feels like your real-life energy doesn’t seem to match.”

Finishing the question, the host chuckled, “Indeed, our director’s team watched your preliminary match recordings. At that time, you three piloted starships with varying styles, working well together, but your tactics were quite gentle, and your skill level was notably different than now. Everyone is curious as to how you underwent such a transformation in just a month, or what trigger made such a change happen?”

Handing the microphone to the trio, “Oolong Peach” shrank back slightly, while Taro Bubble actively took the mic. She said, “Actually, that trigger was something everyone knows: we were rejected by others who thought our skills were too weak. From that moment on, we made up our minds to work hard and grow stronger so that no one would look down on us again.”

This sentiment resonated completely with the audience’s appetite for excitement, with a flurry of comments honoring “Whitefin Shark,” knowing full well that the person “Oolong Peach” referred to was “Whitefin Shark.”

The host smiled at the comments, “It seems everyone is quite familiar with this situation. ‘Whitefin Shark’s’ decision at the time sparked much controversy. Some agree with him, while others think he was too blunt and unkind in his refusal. He shouldn’t have called someone out in front of so many people. Apparently, our three contestants possess formidable inner strength; they were not affected by those words but rather became even more motivated, and their skills advanced astonishingly.”

“Alright, let’s take a second question from the comments.”

“Why did you choose an offensive starship, and how did you significantly improve your skills in just a month?”

After reading the comment, the host teased, “Seems we have a viewer eager to learn from your experience! It’s true; everyone is very curious about how you three managed such rapid improvement in such a short time. Do you have any tips to share?”

The one to answer was still Taro Bubble: “Actually, during this period, we encountered a teacher in the game. Based on our individual talents, he felt that offensive starships would better leverage our strengths compared to the ships we used before. After a month of intensive training with him, he confirmed our talents, and it seems we had just not been on the right path before. With the teacher’s guidance, we really made great progress.”

“Of course, we can’t disclose too much about our experiences because the teacher’s identity and what he taught us must remain confidential.”

“It seems your teaching is closely guarded! Given the performance of the three in the rematch, this teacher is likely quite remarkable.” The host pretended to be envious, “Speaking of which, who wouldn’t want a guide to help them master their craft? Still, it’s likely that you three had outstanding talents beforehand, which caught the teacher’s eye.”

Afterwards, the host drew several more questions, but they were mostly trivial, such as why it was always “Taro Bubble” answering, how long the three had known each other, and what connection they had with starships.

There were some training-related questions as well: Was training difficult? How many hours a day did you practice?

And some provocative ones: Who do you most want to defeat? How do you think your current abilities compare to “Whitefin Shark”? If you win against “Whitefin Shark” in the finals, what do you want to say to him?

Basically, Taro Bubble did the majority of the answering while the other two only chimed in occasionally.

Bored, Su was yawning and almost ready to fall asleep. A few times he considered exiting the live stream but found that out of every ten questions in the comments, at least five were related to him, making him curiously listen in unknowingly as the show approached its conclusion.

Seeing the time was nearly up, the host prepared to draw the final question from the comments.

“What do you three think about the rumors concerning ‘Whitefin Shark’s’ identity?”

Facing such a sensitive topic, the host showed no tension whatsoever; instead, he exuded a sense of relish for the drama, chuckling, “Recently, a netizen uncovered that ‘Whitefin Shark’s’ login identity originates from Freedom Island, but upon further investigation, it turns out this identity does not exist and is merely a fictional one. There are now many speculations about ‘Whitefin Shark.’ As opponents who have interacted with him, what are your views on this matter?”

As usual, Taro Bubble took the microphone. She looked at the camera and slightly raised her chin, “I don’t know if ‘Whitefin Shark’ and the forces behind him are watching this show, but I’ll say it plainly. ‘Whitefin Shark’ definitely cannot be an ordinary player!”

This remark stirred a wave of excitement in the comments, with many praising Taro Bubble for her bluntness and fearlessness.

Encouraged, Taro Bubble continued passionately into the microphone: “Whether or not he is a mermaid, I cannot say, but I can certainly assert that he must have some connection to the military. I asked our teacher, and he said that dual-form starships are still in development. Anyone who understands this design, even to have completed a dual-form S-class starship in the game, would surely be a premier designer at a design institute. For someone to enlist such a person to craft a bespoke dual-form starship for him in the game, ‘Whitefin Shark’ undoubtedly has deep military connections.”

“Additionally, many praise ‘Whitefin Shark’ for his outstanding performance in the final round of preliminaries, yet we all know that was a military training visualization. Despite everyone else not even considering the possibility of going after the queen bug, ‘Whitefin Shark’ took on the task alone, as if he had foreknowledge. I don’t know if ‘Whitefin Shark’ had advance information or had seen that visualization beforehand or even trained within it. But if so, that would be extremely unfair to other players.”

What she said was ambiguous yet seemed to hold some evidence. Fairness in competition is a sensitive topic in the audience’s minds, and her bold proclamation, despite lacking foundation, instantly stoked emotions, putting Su in a precarious position.

That day, numerous eye-catching headlines emerged online, such as “Whitefin Shark Suspected of Cheating,” “Taro Bubble Strikes Whitefin Shark Military Background Deep,” “Whitefin Shark Likely to be Championship Favorite,” etc.

Angered netizens surged into the military’s official website, demanding a thorough investigation into “Whitefin Shark’s” identity and a clear answer.