As a Captain, You Must Be Cold - Chapter 113
After receiving the award, Yu Zhaohan returned to the audience amidst applause. Shi Du also applauded with a smile. Yu Zhaohan was familiar with his boyfriend’s expression, roughly translating to: Indeed, Captain Yu, so aloof, incredibly aloof.
Yu Zhaohan nodded slightly at Shi Du as if saying, “It’s a small stage; no need to praise, dear.”
Cheese was so happy: “At such a memorable moment, the captain didn’t even acknowledge the little brother? Honestly, when the captain looked over just now, I thought he was going to make a live confession.”
“Captain did confess,” Stone countered for his own CP, “He said he had Black Swan wear a wedding dress because his teammates wanted to see—emphasis on teammates!”
Cheese argued, “But we’re teammates too!”
“Can’t you see?” Shi Du said calmly, “The captain just called me ‘husband’.”
Cheese would rather believe that there were ghosts in the world than believe what Timeless said.
Cheese said: “You’re talking nonsense; I didn’t hear anything.”
Shi Du half-joked, “He called me with his eyes.”
Cheese laughed, “Hahaha.”
No matter how hard Stone shipped the CP, he still said: “It’s really impossible.”
Jiang Di thought of the captain’s clingy nature and said solemnly: “It may not be impossible.”
“Your reactions are quite interesting,” Qi Xian pondered, “Do you know something we don’t?”
Jiang Di and Cheese avoided eye contact, cautiously refraining from engaging with each other.
This was a secret, a secret to be guarded with their lives.
After the award ceremony came the draw for the World Cup group stage. Four national teams formed a group, playing round-robin matches within the group, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout stage.
China, the US, and South Korea were traditional powerhouses in esports, firmly holding their positions as top-tier teams globally. In recent years, several European countries had risen unexpectedly, closely trailing these three teams. There were also some countries less focused on esports development, happy to have a starting lineup and coach assembled for the occasion, emphasizing participation in the World Cup
In the final draw, the Chinese team ended up in Group F. The other three teams in Group F were Canada, Japan, and Russia.
[This year seems to be in easy mode, I like this kind of stable happiness]
[Kaoru just declared war on his brother; they’ll face off after the group stage. Can the director let me see the expression of the edgy teenager?]
[With this lineup for the national team, I can’t handle it if we don’t win the championship.]
[By the way, who’s the captain of the national team?]
[Who else could it be? Besides Shine, who else do you think?]
[I concede, then I’ll say. I think Bi An is not bad either, the former captain of IPL, leading the tank at the forefront. He’s quite suitable for command]
Lu Youshan breathed a sigh of relief: “Now we are guaranteed to qualify for the group stage.”
“Canada and Japan have recently produced a lot of decent players.” Shi Du said, “Coach, a warning about the sin of arrogance.”
Lu Youshan: “…”
“Arrogance my ass!” Lu Youshan suddenly got excited, “If the national team can’t even beat these teams, don’t talk about cutting armpit hair live, let me cut any hair live!”
Shi Du chuckled and turned to Yu Zhaohan, saying, “Seems like the coach’s illness is cured.”
“Yes,” Yu Zhaohan, who had just checked the barrage in the livestream room, had complex emotions. “Shi Du, it seems like my captaincy is about to be taken.”
The fans must be joking; Bi An was about to trim hid armpit hair on a live broadcast. How could he be more mature and stable than Shine?
Shi Du: “Huh?”
The annual ceremony opened with the CG of “Bloody Wedding” and ended with a new CG. This CG included two significant changes for the upcoming version, the World Cup version.
The beginning of the CG was on a rainy evening. On the third day after the Bloody Wedding, residents of the wasteland were still reveling in the news of General Thomas and Colonel Edward’s deaths.
The damp air was filled with the scent of cheap alcohol, and rusty mechanical junk hadn’t been cleaned for who knows how many years, piling up on both sides of a narrow path that could barely accommodate one person, emitting a faint stench in the rain.
Indistinct cheers came from the distance. A teenage ninja wearing a demonic mask while carrying an old sword on his back. His hearing was keen; even though the celebrating crowd was far from him, and his ears were filled with the sound of raindrops falling on mechanical garbage, he could still hear what the impoverished people of the wasteland were shouting.
“The sun shines on the soil.” —Wasteland under the sun.
The young ninja didn’t stop there. He was looking for his target in an endless sea of mechanical garbage.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the rain curtain was blocking the teenage ninja’s eyesight, reducing visibility.
—New mechanism: [Weather]. In the new version, a weather system will be added to the map. Sunny days, rainy days, cloudy days, and even smoggy days may occur. From now on, there will be a new, uncontrollable factor in the Destination arena.
—A sniper rifle with a hit rate of 80% will be greatly reduced in an environment with low visibility. At the same time, the probability of a skilled assassin being exposed in the glaring sun will skyrocket.
[Hmm…with the planning like this, is there any profound meaning behind it?]
[Personal opinion, because the current dominance of double-C in competitions is too strong. Even robust double-C can handle two versus four. We must lift a hand for tank and support.]
[Double-C can no longer rely on a single favorite hero to dominate. This is forcing the expansion of their hero pool.]
[Freeman Shine: Am I supposed to be afraid of you?]
[I think it’s fun; in the future, we can see more flexible and varied tactics on the field.]
[Hilarious, the neighboring tower pushing game prays to the dragon for good luck before the match. In the future, we playing sniper also need to pray not to encounter smoggy weather.]
[Cloud Player: The weather has nothing to do with me; I just find the ninja so cool.]
[Cool he is, but he’s too short; he’s not even as tall as Black Swan yet. (lol)]
[Estimating that without high heels, Black Swan should be about the same.]
The teenage ninja walked sleeplessly for three days in this wasteland and finally reached his destination. He took out the map and checked it one last time.
It was here, no mistake.
The teenage ninja stepped into the ocean of mechanical junk, arriving at a “small hill.” He reached behind and slowly unsheathed his sword.
Heavy raindrops fell on the sword, reflecting the eerie mask on the youth’s face. A shadow of the sword flashed quickly, accompanied by two dazzling flashes. The small hill made of mechanical garbage disintegrated in the blink of an eye, turning into sharp fragments.
Only the most robust materials could survive under the ninja’s sword.
At the center of the collapsing hill was a red circular button. The teenage ninja knelt on one knee, staring at the button under the mask for a long time before finally reaching out.
The mountain trembled again as soon as the button was pressed, and there was a buzzing sound of parts running. Amidst the crumbling, a robot stood up among the ruins.
At first glance, it was just an ordinary robot. Covered in rust, its original appearance was long gone.
The boy and the machine stared at each other through the rain curtain. Suddenly, a slight distortion appeared in the space, and the robot emitted circles of faint blue light.
After the light dissipated, another youth appeared opposite the ninja.
Dressed in Japanese black clothing, a demonic mask, and holding a sharp sword – identical to the teenage ninja.
“Hello, young one. I am ai39 from the Supreme Institute of Science.” The robot spoke in the voice of the teenage ninja. “Thank you for awakening me.”
—New hero [ai39], ultimate skill [Clone], can transform into any hero on the field, becoming a clone of that hero and enjoying all of that hero’s abilities for one minute.
[I seem to understand. For example, if the team lacks healing, become a healing teammate; if no one is holding the line in the middle, become a tank?]
[666, the planners know how to play!]
[Planner: Do you think just practicing C heroes well is enough? No, you also need to practice tanks and supports!]
[Exciting, when will the new version be updated? I can’t stay in this version for even a second.]
The introduction of ai39 heralded the era of Freeman.
Shi Du quietly held Yu Zhaohan’s hand: “Do you like it?”
“I like it.” Yu Zhaohan tightly held his boyfriend’s hand, the deliberately calm voice unable to hide his excitement. “I feel like I might have a second favorite hero.”
As soon as the ceremony ended, Yu Zhaohan didn’t want to wait any longer. He grabbed Shi Du and headed towards the restroom, but someone was faster than him.
Tide caught up with them from behind. “Captain Yu!”
Except for the runner-up brought back by Lawman, Tide was not nominated for any awards this year. With so many teams in the league, it was impossible for every team member to attend the annual ceremony. For example, only Gunner and Tide came to the annual event.
Yu Zhaohan had to stop: “What’s the matter?”
Tide was about to speak but inadvertently saw Yu Zhaohan’s hand grabbing Shi Du’s wrist. He froze for a moment before saying, “Congratulations, Captain Yu. The FP skin is beautiful.”
Yu Zhaohan responded politely: “Thank you.”
After saying this, Yu Zhaohan was about to leave, but Shi Du casually said, “Don’t be in a hurry, Captain. Tide must have something else to say.”
Tide took a deep breath and said, “I know the national team already has you and Archer as the long-range players, but I… I still want to try. I want to participate in the national team’s tryouts.”
“Sure,” Yu Zhaohan said succinctly as he hurried to the bathroom, “Come on.”
Yu Zhaohan and Shi Du came to the bathroom and got into the innermost compartment one after another. Yu Zhaohan could finally speak freely.
Yu Zhaohan and Shi Du went to the restroom, entering the innermost stall one after the other. Yu Zhaohan could finally speak freely.
“Shi Du, what do you think of the skin I designed?” Yu Zhaohan eagerly asked, “Is it creative, powerful, and beautiful? And that new hero, isn’t it tailor-made for me?”
Shi Du patted Yu Zhaohan’s shoulder, made him sit on the toilet lid, and teased him, “The skin is generally creative, impressive and beautiful.”
Yu Zhaohan was indeed dissatisfied with his answer: “Why is it only ‘generally creative’?”
Shi Du pretended to think. “Because you had nothing to say to me when you received the award?”
Yu Zhaohan said a little guiltily: “I’m sorry, but I had to pretend to be aloof at that time.”
He wanted to say it then, after exchanging eyes with Shi Du, but in the end he still felt that pretending was more important.
“I can tell.” Shi Du helped Yu Zhaohan take off his shoes. “How did you come up with the idea of having your favorite hero wear a wedding dress?”
Yu Zhaohan explained, “Because I can’t wear a wedding dress, so I thought of having my favorite hero wear it for me.”
“Why can’t you wear a wedding dress?” Shi Du tried to play it cool. “If you want to wear one, I’ll bring you anytime.”
“I’m gay, not a cross-dressing enthusiast. I just like to see pretty little dresses.” Yu Zhaohan paused and added, “And I haven’t reached the legal marriage age, so I can’t wear a wedding dress.”
Shi Du laughed. “So age is the key.”
Yu Zhaohan asked back, “Isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Shi Du pulled up the socks slipping down Yu Zhaohan’s feet, “of course.”
The two of them were doing something “not to be seen” in the stall, unaware that their two teammates had witnessed everything.
Cheese looked at the closed compartment door and said in horror: “Xianxian, the captain and little brother entered the same compartment.”
Qi Xian smiled and said, “Yes.”
Cheese swallowed in the toilet: “Do you think they’ll do anything inside?”
Qi Xian asked, “What did you think of?”
Cheese thought there was nothing to hide in front of his brother. He lowered his voice and told the truth: “I thought of erotic novels.”
“You also read that kind of novel?” Qi Xian said happily, “You have grown up, Cheese.”
“That’s not the point!” Cheese choked, “The point is that they are actually in the toilet!”
Qi Xian guessed: “Maybe they really couldn’t hold it.”
“It can’t be in the toilet, the environment is so bad! He’s such a cool and beautiful captain, how can he tolerate this—It’s all Timeless’ fault!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the compartment opened unexpectedly.
Cheese’s eyes widened suddenly, and he watched the captain and his brother walk out as if nothing had happened.
Qi Xian’s eyes also widened- this was the first time he opened his eyes wide out of surprise.
Yu Zhaohan wondered in his heart, not knowing what was going on with their strange expressions. “What are you doing here?”
Cheese came back to his senses and shook his head frantically: “N-nothing… Just passing by, we were just passing by!”
Yu Zhaohan and Shi Du exchanged a glance. Shi Du added, “We have a celebration banquet tonight arranged by Old Tan. Don’t eat too much now.”
Cheese nodded blankly twice and watched Yu Zhaohan and Shi Du leave. He was bewildered, “Captain and his brother went in for only a minute. What does this mean?”
“I don’t understand.” Qi Xian shook his head and spread his hands: “This is the second time I can’t understand their pattern of being together.”