[FLOTG] Chapter 22: The Best Present

<Falling Sleet> was so stunned that she wasn't able to type properly anymore. [ IIIIII can't beat God Snow! ]

Shen Huai replied calmly. [ I know. ]

<One Leaf Skiff> reminded: [ Captain Song's identity makes it tricky for him to have a private solo, right...? ]

Out of consideration for keeping team tactics confidential, many pro teams had rules forbidding their players from joining competitions on their own or fighting private solos. And even if a pro team did not have explicit rules forbidding it, most pro players wouldn't simply have a PK for fun, because there would always be unscrupulous people ready to make a fuss about it no matter if they won or lost.

Shen Huai knew this, but he was sure <Falling Sleet> was Song Xue-Yang and reckoned that Song Xue-Yang wouldn't dare try to fake a dual-play fight in front of him.

[ Help me teach my apprentice for a bit. ] After saying this, he waited for Song Xue-Yang to confess through a private message.

Song Xue-Yang smiled and said: [ As you wish. ]

In front of his computer, <Endless Maple Moon> rubbed harshly at his eyes. He was blinded, blinded! He must have gone blind! Their fox of a captain who never ever backed down, whose smile alone could cause the newbies in the training camps to shiver in fear, actually said that he would do as someone else wished?

But Shen Huai didn't notice anything strange about this at all. He and Song Xue-Yang had always got along well, and Song Xue-Yang usually tried his best to meet his demands anyway. What surprised him was that Song Xue-Yang would actually agree... could he have something else up his sleeve?

Song Xue-Yang typed with his main account. [ Sleet, you go first. ]

And then he switched over to the laptop and replied with <Falling Sleet>'s account. [ Ok. ]

Hai Xing volunteered to take the laptop. "I'll control <Falling Sleet> for you!"

Song Xue-Yang stopped him. "You were busted by Ash Wing in one day playing a mage. If I give <Falling Sleet> to you, you'll be exposed before the fight even ends. You think Ash Wing is so easy to fool?"

Hai Xing flushed, but was also indignant. "Didn't you end up using Rolling Snipe just because Ash Wing praised you a little?"

Song Xue-Yang: "......"

Well, he had nothing to say to that.

Song Xue-Yang placed one hand on his computer keyboard and the other on the laptop's keyboard, and he launched combat mode on both at the same time.

He first controlled <Shattered Snow> to retreat and maintain distance, and then stood in place boldly. <Falling Sleet> hesitated for a moment and then tentatively aimed and shot at <Shattered Snow>.

A red skill pointer dot appeared on Song Xue-Yang's head. Song Xue-Yang raised his gun and aimed, and then with an overlapping "bang", both snipers guns fired at the same time. <Falling Sleet> lost 20% of HP instantly, but <Shattered Snow> managed to evade <Falling Sleet>'s bullet with a swift Side Roll right after firing!

When a sniper shoots, the high ballistic speed of the bullet makes it almost impossible to dodge. However, Song Xue-Yang had not only evaded his opponent's attack as soon as his bullet left his gun, but had also managed to strike <Falling Sleet> accurately with his own attack. Even though he was facing an opponent much weaker than himself, he clearly wasn't taking things lightly or being careless. Every move he made was precise and just right.

<One Leaf Skiff> almost wanted to kneel down and worship this precise marksmanship!

Shen Huai was stunned. From the moment the two fighters had engaged in combat, he had been incredulous, and this feeling was pushed to the extreme when he saw Song Xue-Yang's crisp operations.

Movements without the slightest delay, shooting at any given chance... this fighting style was definitely Song Xue-Yang's without a doubt. What surprised Shen Huai even more was <Falling Sleet> on the other side. Although her movements were a little slower than usual, her control habits, positioning, and even her usual minor mistakes remained exactly the same!

This PK finally ended with three shots from Song Xue-Yang, which reduced <Falling Sleet>'s HP to 10%. <Falling Sleet> was excitedly exclaiming within the party chat, and Song Xue-Yang was replying leisurely in return, but Shen Huai was completely blind to what they were saying.

He was trying hard to recall the full details of the battle, considering the possibility of Song Xue-Yang playing both accounts at the same time.

Song Xue-Yang had really been going easy on his opponent in the fight, but <Falling Sleet> was a newbie after all, so he could not be faulted for giving her a handicap. Even so, Song Xue-Yang had only slowed down the interval between his attacks — he had not slowed down at all when he had released his flurry of skills accompanying each shot. Shen Huai found it a little hard to believe this could be Song Xue-Yang playing two accounts.

As for whether he had asked someone else to help him operate <Falling Sleet>, although this was a simpler plan to carry out, the risk of exposure was also much higher. Shen Huai was very confident that <Falling Sleet> was being controlled by her original player, and was maybe even playing slightly better than usual.

Shen Huai's brain was a jumbled mess. Could it be that <Falling Sleet> really wasn't Song Xue-Yang? Had the ultra-long range sniper shot from Cloudfall Peak and the Rolling Snipe all just been operational flukes?

Shen Huai had the vague feeling that something wasn't quite right, but he really couldn't figure out how all this could be done.

Unbeknownst to him, Hai Xing, who had witnessed this series of operations firsthand, had already been stunned silly. His mouth was gaping so wide it seemed like he was about to swallow the computer monitor.

He had seen how it all went down. Because Song Xue-Yang needed both hands to operate the keyboards on both stations, he had not been able to use a mouse. Thus, his <Shattered Snow> had moved on the same horizontal line from start to end. The reason why the distance between the two fighters had seemed to shift with their movements was entirely due to Song Xue-Yang briefly using the touchpad of the laptop to move <Falling Sleet> back and forth!

Dual-playing was extremely taxing on the reaction ability of a player. Moreover, any inconsistency in operation was highly likely to draw Ash Wing's suspicion. Therefore, Song Xue-Yang had let his <Shattered Snow> attack very slowly, putting almost all of his attention on controlling <Falling Sleet>, only tapping the keyboard with extremely rapid hand speed when he needed <Shattered Snow> to react.

Hai Xing had observed the whole process from the side and naturally managed to see some of the flaws. However, from the perspective of someone not in the know, Song Xue-Yang's slow attack speed and <Falling Sleet>'s chaotic running all had reasonable explanations behind them.

Being struck so clearly with the realisation that Song Xue-Yang's skills were so far above his own, Hai Xing felt his self-esteem take a hard hit. He quietly retreated out of the training room.

Inside the game, everyone else tactfully exited the party. Shen Huai stared at Song Xue-Yang, a heap of questions in his mind that he could not ask.

Song Xue-Yang said: [ Let's move to a quieter location. ]

[ Ok. ]

The two of them teleported to the nearest main city before running out to the outskirts again. This map was very large. Shen Huai trailed behind Song Xue-Yang's sprinting figure, already deciding that he had wrongly blamed Song Xue-Yang.

Song Xue-Yang led him into the Temple of Luoshen dungeon. This was a low-level dungeon with a simple boss, but the map was very pretty.

In a quiet and empty temple stood the elegant and noble statue of Luoshen. This temple built by the ancient elves exuded a mysterious aura. The water surrounding the temple was a deep blue sparkling with the light of the moon and stars, and the stone pillars on both sides of the steps were crawling with blue flowers, granting the main hall of the temple a more solemn air.

The two of them cleared the mobs in the dungeon without saying a word, standing under the magnificent statue of Luoshen, with an endless river of stars over their heads.

Shen Huai received a trade request from Song Xue-Yang. The other wanted to give him five hundred thousand gold coins.

Shen Huai: [ ?? ]

[ The bounty for killing you. ]

[ ...... ]

Only then did Shen Huai notice that the golden yuanbao hanging over his head for the past few days was gone. Song Xue-Yang's earlier shot had not only killed him, but had also been recognised by the system as completing the bounty hunting mission.

[ Change your name? ]

[ Nah. ] Frankly, it was just that Shen Huai wasn't sure yet what to change it to. After tonight, there would definitely be even more eyes on him. If he changed the account's name to "Ash Wing", he would stand out too much. This current female assassin image was a better cover in comparison.

Song Xue-Yang felt that it was better this way as well. This would make it less likely for the other pro teams to come pester Ash Wing once they saw his name.

[ I celebrated my birthday two days agao. Did you see on Weibo? ]

Shen Huai pondered the meaning of his words. [ I saw. Happy birthday. ]

[ And? ]

[ ...... ]

Shen Huai didn't expect Song Xue-Yang to start making things difficult for him as well.

[ I haven't received a birthday present from you yet. ] Song Xue-Yang's character circled Shen Huai twice, looking pitiful.

Now this was truly wrongfully blaming Shen Huai. He was the one who had footed the bill for Song Xue-Yang's birthday celebration that day, but it was true that he had not done anything in the name of "Ash Wing". Since this misunderstanding was all due to his secret identity, Shen Huai really didn't know how to explain.

He said rather awkwardly: [ I don't know what you like. ]

As soon as he said that, he felt his explanation wasn't very good, as there seemed to be only one possible reply to this statement...

―― As long as it's from you, I'll like it.

Shen Huai's interactions with Song Xue-Yang before this had always been limited to the game, and he had been able to cope with it easily over the internet and through a screen. But now, after having met Song Xue-Yang in person, that remaining bit of distance between them had been eliminated. Song Xue-Yang's face appeared unbidden in his mind, and Shen Huai could almost hear the faintly rising lilt of the other's voice.

Song Xue-Yang knew that Ash Wing was easily embarrassed and normally wouldn't put him in a tough spot. However, today, for some reason, maybe because he hadn't talked to the other in a while and had missed him, Song Xue-Yang just felt like teasing him. [ If I can meet you, that would be the greatest birthday gift ever. ]

Shen Huai was touched deeply in the tenderest part of his heart by these words.

In the three years they had known each other, Song Xue-Yang had always maintained a friendly distance, never violating his privacy nor probing into his personal affairs. Meanwhile, Shen Huai himself wanted to avoid any trouble, and so he had never mentioned anything about his real life, never even giving Song Xue-Yang a way to contact him outside of the game. It really wasn't at all like what a sincere friend would do.

Shen Huai's hands on his keyboard were a little stiff, and every time his fingers bumped into a key, he would jerk back as if scalded. He mulled over his words, unsure how he should express them.

The night was silent, and the shadows cast by the trees were eerie. The babbling of the foreign tongue of the ancient elves could be heard from time to time.

Song Xue-Yang knew Ash Wing wasn't very good at speaking his mind. At first, when he had first met him, he had thought that Ash Wing was cold and aloof, but after knowing him for a while, he understood that Ash Wing was actually a very mild-tempered person who just wasn't good at expressing himself.

He graciously changed the topic. [ When is your birthday? ]

Shen Huai breathed a sigh of relief and replied unthinkingly. [ March 14. ]

Their conversation on the topic ended there however, as they both received a private message from Guan He. ―― [ Check Xiao Zhang's Weibo. ]

Shen Huai's eyes darkened. Xiao Zhang was the ace of the pro team BattleGod, who played a very skilful qigong master. In terms of both skill and operation, Xiao Zhang was undoubtedly among the best of the pro players, but he seemed to have some grudge with Shen Huai due to the previous live-stream. Thus, Shen Huai didn't have a good impression of him.

Xiao Zhang's Weibo post consisted of only the word "awesome" and an image below it.

The image was a screenshot of the battle stats panel in "City of Despair"...

15:31.15 Ash Wing used skill Reaper's Mark on you.

15:31.27 Ash Wing used skill Assassination on you.

15:31.34 Ash Wing used skill Blood Blade on you.

15:31.46 Ash Wing used skill Pierce on you.

15:31.57 Ash Wing used skill Wild Blade Dance on you.

This was a screenshot of the backend stats from his previous duel with Xiao Zhang. Though the image itself didn't seem to be highlighting anything, the comments below were completely lopsided. It was clearly a hired 'water army'{On the Internet in China, an Internet Water Army is a group of Internet ghostwriters paid to post online comments with particular content. Also known as 'paid posters'. (Source: Wikipedia)} causing trouble.

[ 5 skills in 0.7 seconds? Do you all know why no one can learn how to play like Ash Wing? Because. He. Uses. A. Hack! ]

[ 6666 I was wondering why he never shows his face or speaks. He's probably afraid that his expression would be too relaxed and people would be able to tell at a glance that he was cheating, right? ]

[ Ash Wing. Cheater. Trash. ]

[ Is the bar for streamers so low these days? Just randomly use a hack and draw in the fans? Ash Wing, do you know that it's illegal to profit with cheats? ]

The topic #Ash Wing cheats# was already trending by now. One gaming streamer in particular was making a lot of noise, having posted five Weibo posts bitterly denouncing how Ash Wing's cheating was negatively impacting the live-streaming ecosystem. Who knew what benefits Xiao Zhang had promised him?

Shen Huai frowned as he scrolled, and then a new post appeared as the screen refreshed. This one was by Song Xue-Yang.

<(V)Maple Moon-Shattered Snow>: True strength fears no rumours.

These few words were like a balm on his soul. Shen Huai looked at the phrase and his heart suddenly calmed down.

All this time, he had always been criticised by others, called "trash", "flower vase", or said to be "riding his daddy's coat-tails". Shen Huai had long become inured to such criticism. This was the first time someone had acknowledged his strength, siding with him without reservation even though he had never streamed with his webcam on before.

True strength.

His calm eyes suddenly lit up with a different luster.

With a decision in mind, he sent a private message to Song Xue-Yang in the game. [ Send out a live-stream announcement for me. Tomorrow at 9pm, I'll turn on my webcam. ]

Song Xue-Yang's fingers jolted. He stared dumbly at those words.

In the three years he had known Ash Wing, of course he had tried countless times to envision Ash Wing's appearance and had pondered over the reason why the other would not turn on their webcam. And now, all of this would be revealed tomorrow.

Song Xue-Yang suppressed his joy to reply. [ Looks like I'm about to receive the best birthday present. ]

Shen Huai flushed red, feeling oddly embarrassed.

---

Previous: Chapter 21: Misunderstanding
Next: Chapter 23: Clarification

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