[FLOTG] Chapter 23: Clarification

The atmosphere in BattleGod's training room was sombre. Only the crisp sound of tapping keyboards could be heard. As a powerful elite pro team, their daily training was very strict, and even mistakes during training matches would result in additional training.

In a very well-lit seat, a man reclined lazily in a chair, tapping on a keyboard with one hand, a cigarette in the other. His qigong master on the screen was standing right at the back as his teammates battled with the enemy team in front. He only fired off two Qi Blasts from afar before standing still. The man flicked some ash off the end of his cigarette.

The members of BattleGod were long used to his flippant manner of training. Probably no one would believe them if they ever said that the ace of BattleGod was someone who would only train seriously when he was in good mood.

The door suddenly opened, letting in a cold surge of wind. A tall girl stood at the doorway, her gaze piercing straight into Xiao Zhang like icicles.

The training players were instantly tense, hardly daring to breathe. They all kept their eyes locked onto their computers, wishing they could escape into the screen.

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhang acted like he hadn't seen her, shaking his legs and continuing to smoke. He even calmly poured himself a glass of water.

Hu Nana strode over to stand behind him. "Didn't I say that smoking isn't allowed in the training room?"

Only then did Xiao Zhang take off his earphones and smirk irreverently. "Yo, Captain. Sorry, I forgot."

Hu Nana frowned, and reining back her anger, she said, "Come with me."

Xiao Zhang shrugged indifferently. When they were out in the corridor together, Hu Nana fiddled with her phone for a bit and then thrust it before him.

"Did you do this? I thought that you were done after you instigated the fans to insult Ash Wing a while back. I didn't think you were still holding a grudge! Xiao Zhang, why are you so petty? Are you completely unable to tolerate anyone being better than you?"

"Me? Petty?" Xiao Zhang chortled. "Don't you know what you wrote down in the S5 team plan which you submitted to the manager? You want to get rid of me and bring Ash Wing in? Hu Nana, you must be dreaming. Who do you think is holding up the entire team right now?"

"Me! You're all f*cking relying on me!" His angry roar turned the heads of all the players in the training room.

"Without me, would you all have been able to get a spot in the global tournament? Without my live-streams, would the team have so many fans? When you first became captain, who was the one who was shipped as a couple with you to draw in the sponsors{炒CP: This is a marketing strategy in China, where celebrities are shipped together as couples for popularity. The relationships may be real or fake, though oftentimes fake. For more info, check out the article linked in my notes at the end of this chapter.}? And now everything's good, you are done with me and want to kick me out? In your dreams!"

Hu Nana glared back at him, her bearing not at all diminished by the bellows of this man who was much taller than her. She said righteously, "Yes, you have contributed a lot to the team, but look at what you've been doing these last few years? You leave the club frequently without asking for leave, especially this year... how many times have you been to the training room? What's your condition like during training? And as for your live-streams... Hmph, you seem to take your live-streams even more seriously than your training."

Xiao Zhang gave her an incredulous look. "So you want me to train twelve to thirteen hours a day like that bunch of rookies who are still thrashed to shit in official games?"

"Watch your words!" Hu Nana raised her voice, but soon decided that it wasn't worth it to lose her temper over someone like this. "Fine, you're very strong. You're amazing. But to accuse Ash Wing of cheating, are you out of your mind? Aren't you afraid of being flamed to death by his fans?"

"What did I do?" Xiao Zhang exclaimed in surprise, spreading his arms open wide. "Did I say he cheated? The commenters are the ones pushing things. What does it have to do with me? I'm very surprised myself how a simple screenshot praising him ended up causing such a fuss. Ash Wing should really reflect on himself."

"You!" Hu Nana was so angry she couldn't say another word. A beat later, she realised something. "Are you trying to trick Ash Wing into showing himself? You plan to forcefully dox him?"

"Oh, don't make it sound so horrible," said Xiao Zhang, patting her shoulder consolingly, but shadows were gathering in his eyes. "I just want him to understand that I, Xiao Zhang, can make his life a living hell with just a snap of my fingers. Just one word from me and the identity he has been keeping hidden for so long has to be revealed to the public! If he still wants to survive in this industry, he'll need to learn how to play by the rules."

The more Hu Nana heard, the more her heart chilled. She could not understand how Xiao Zhang had become so self-centred. When she had first joined the team, he had even helped her out a lot. Back then, the team was going through a great upheaval in members and was going through the toughest period of transition. Xiao Zhang had been a central pillar holding up their team.

But now, that pillar had changed.

Seeing her disbelief, Xiao Zhang chuckled, and then he suddenly pushed her against the wall and said, in a low voice, "Nana, you've changed too. What I can't stand is the way you defend others against me at every turn."

After that, he sneered and entered the training room.

Hu Nana looked at his back with mixed feelings. At this instant, it became clear to her that BattleGod was on a downward spiral.

********

The Weibo post Song Xue-Yang posted on behalf of Ash Wing was a great reassurance to Ash Wing's fans. Moreover, they were shocked and elated that Ash Wing had declared that he would be turning on his ca-me-ra!

Oh my god, so excited! The mysterious streamer they had been fans of for three years was finally going to show his face. They could stop fantasizing about how their hubby would look based on the assassin on the screen!

The topic of Ash Wing turning on his webcam for his broadcast swiftly crowded out the topic of Ash Wing cheating, dominating the headlines. The fans were all eagerly discussing the upcoming live-stream tomorrow night.

[ I want to screenshot God Wing's face and make it my screensaver! Then I can point at him in future and tell people that he's my husband! Whoop whoop! ]

[ I'm actually going to see what my god looks like in this lifetime! I'm crying tears of joy! Wait... what if it's a big sister? ]

[ LMAO that's like trading fake hubby for a love rival... but I advise you all not to have such high expectations. God Wing is from the skilled camp, so he definitely can't have superstar looks. Everyone, stay calm stay calm. ]

[ No way! I can't - stay - calm! I'm so happy I could fly right now! God Wing's skills will add ten thousand points to his looks, ok! PS: Still secretly hoping Ash Wing is a handsome young man. ]

[ God Wing, slap the faces of those big-mouth gossipers! Our God Wing likes to keep a low profile. Is that a problem? Why do you all want to throw dirt on him? ]

This commotion drew the attention of almost everyone in the esports scene. Everyone crowded into the live-stream channel to get a glimpse of Ash Wing's face. Meanwhile, there were even more curious players who wanted to see if someone could actually perform a combo chain of five skills in 0.7 seconds.

In Maple Moon's training room, a group of people were gathered on chairs before Song Xue-Yang's computer. Fan Jing-Ming sat backwards in his chair, his chin on the headrest; Hai Xing was leaning forwards in his excitement, looking like he was about to charge into the screen at any moment; while only Zhou Ning was sitting properly in his seat.

This should have been training time, but the team didn't even have all its members yet. It was rather boring having the current members play 1v1 or 2v2 arenas every day, so the management decided to just let them relax a little.

Hai Xing had been extraordinarily worked up all day. "If Ash Wing shows his face, won't we be able to search him up and contact him to join the team?"

Zhou Ning said calmly, "Ash Wing managed to hide his identity for so many years, he must have very strict measures in place to protect his personal information and safeguard his privacy. I don't think it'll be that simple."

Fan Jing-Ming's focus wasn't on this at all. He asked, grinning, "Say, don't you all think Ash Wing might be a girl? Look at how obsessed Captain is with Ash Wing. If Ash Wing is a girl, won't our captain fall in love?"

Hai Xing retorted tactlessly, "Do you think if Ash Wing isn't a girl, Captain won't..."

Zhou Ning clamped a hand over Hai Xing's mouth just in time. Belatedly realising what he had been about to do, Hai Xing looked over at Song Xue-Yang, only to see him smiling widely down at his phone, reeking of the sour smell of being in love, seemingly oblivious to what he had almost said.

Who was Captain texting?

Hai Xing questioned with his eyes.

Zhou Ning shook his head, while Fan Jing-Ming winked and pointed at the live-stream channel on the screen.

This answer received unanimous agreement.

At nine o'clock sharp, the screen of the live-stream channel lit up with the familiar desktop. The fans excitedly filled the screen with comments, and after a few seconds pause, the streamer's video feed at the lower left corner lit up as well. A pure black Corsair K95 Platinum mechanical keyboard came into view, but other than that, not even a single hair could be seen!

The fans in the live-stream channel began to complain.

[ Damn, I've taken my pants off and this is all you show me? ]

[ Turn on the camera FOR REAL. We wanna see face! Not keyboard! ]

[ As expected. I knew Ash Wing wouldn't suddenly just decide to show his face... ]

Soon, a clean and slender hand brushed over the keyboard. The fingers were bent slightly, revealing well-defined joints, and the hand looked even smoother and fairer in contrast to the dark black of the keyboard.

The fans who had been criticising Ash Wing only moments ago were instantly howling ecstatically.

[ Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!! Hand-kink people rejoice! Screenshot, screenshot, screenshot! With just these hands, you're already my husband! ]

[ Oh my god! Someone with such beautiful hands can't look too bad! Why don't you show your face? Why?! ]

[ Heavens! This must be a young brother! Who was it that said that Ash Wing was a 27 or 28 year old uncle? You have an uncle with such delicate hands? I was a fool for believing you! ]

Hai Xing was dumbstruck. "Ash Wing is planning to just show his hands?"

Zhou Ning mused it over. "To prove his hand speed and that he didn't cheat, just showing his hands is enough. The fans are all worked up right now, so showing his face could easily incite the fans to dox him. This is the wiser choice."

Fan Jing-Ming whistled. "Don't worry, Ash Wing has a solid background. It's been three years and hardly anything is known about him. Even the live-streaming platform might not know who he is."

Song Xue-Yang was slightly taken aback. His gaze tracked the lovely, slender hand on the lower window of the screen. It was so clean that even the nails were polished and smooth.

There were plenty of good-looking people, but not many with good-looking hands. And this pair of hands was very lovely, almost instantly bringing to mind the person he had just sent off the other day. That man had had hands as fair and lovely as these, and he hadn't been able to stop himself from stealing a few glances back then.

In the live-stream channel, Ash Wing did not enter the arena but went into the Underground Mine dungeon on his own. This dungeon had a special characteristic. Every so often, a few random spots of lava would emerge from the ground. No matter how much HP you had left, you would die instantly as soon as you stepped on the molten lava. Luckily, there would be an range indicator whenever these lava spots would appear on the map, so it wasn't too difficult to avoid them if you paid attention to positioning.

Hai Xing gave a surprised cry. "Why did Ash Wing enter a dungeon? Isn't he going to the training grounds?"

Song Xue-Yang understood though. "Although the defense value of the wooden dummy in the training grounds can be calibrated, it still won't move after all and cannot be compared to Xiao Zhang. Even if Ash Wing manages to chain five skills in 0.7 seconds there, it won't convince the audience."

The corners of Song Xue-Yang's lips turned up as he said this; he couldn't help but admire Ash Wing's intelligence.

The assassin on the screen deftly dodged the lava spots on the ground, and even as he unleashed his shadow clones, he drew close to the boss and dealt a combo. His fingers pattered at high speed over the keyboard, and since the volume of the game had been deliberately turned down, the live-stream channel was filled with the sound of his key presses.

In the blink of an eye, the assassin on the screen had created five clones. He then swiftly ran around to the back of the boss, and — Reaper's Mark! Assassination! At the same time, a lava pool appeared beneath him. He quickly rolled aside but the dual blades in his hands never stopped... Blood Blade - Pierce - Wild Blade Dance!

The same combo chain he had used against Xiao Zhang that day was reenacted perfectly. The only difference this time was that the boss was still alive, while Xiao Zhang back then had fallen.

As soon as Ash Wing was done with the combo, he immediately went invisible, causing the boss to lose his hatred target. After that, he clicked open the battle statistics interface and scrolled down to the combo activation time frame.

25:10.01 You used skill Reaper's Mark.

25:10.07 You used skill Assassination.

25:10.24 You used skill Blood Blade.

25:10.36 You used skill Pierce.

25:10.42 You used skill Wild Blade Dance.

0.7 seconds!

Dealing damage with five consecutive skills in 0.7 seconds... the hand speed needed was so explosive that it was bordering on unbelievable. There probably weren't many professionals worldwide who could match that, and they had seen this all go down with their own eyes!

They had watched as those hands flew across the keyboard, watched as those strong and slender fingers tapped on every needed key... This video was the most convincing evidence!

The live-stream channel was in a furore — the screen was crammed so full of 666s that the game interface could not be seen clearly.

[ I just knew that God Wing is a true boss!!! ]

[ Who else dares to say God Wing hacks?! Does your face hurt, huh?! God Wing, from today you are my new idol! ]

[ 666666! Where did that angry streamer who said Ash Wing is a cheater go? Come solo against Bro Wing! ]

[ What just happened? Hand-kink ppl, lick those hands up! Those hands are too beautiful! God Wing, are you a hand model? ]

As the crowd excitedly chattered on the screen, those hands began moving again and typed out a string of words which was even more explosive.

—— I won't be streaming for the time being. See you all in the professional leagues next year.

[ Oh my god! What did he say? What did he say?!! God Wing is going to go pro? God Wing is finally going pro?!! ]

[ See you in the pro leagues! Which team are you joining, God Wing? I'll buy tickets in advance! I want to watch it live! ]

[ Oh wow, I've waited for this day for so long! My idol is gonna go pro! I'm finally a proper fan now! Ash Wing FTW! ]

[ So, does this mean I'll be able to see God Wing's real face at the latest in the league games next year? I'm so excited! ]

Hai Xing jumped to his feet in a panic. "Won't everyone know Ash Wing wants to go pro now he has announced it? What if another team gets to him first?"

Fan Jing-Ming was not at all worried. "What are you afraid of? Who do you think can steal someone from our captain's hands?"

The group turned in unison to look at Song Xue-Yang, but the other was focused on his own handphone. On the screen of his phone was Shen Huai's publicly available personal profile. Right then, his fingers were paused over the column listing Shen Huai's birthday — March 14th.

Under the gazes of the rest of the team, Song Xue-Yang suddenly looked up. His joyful eyes skimmed over his teammates one by one, his good mood radiating from his expression.

With a spin of his fingers, his handphone was nimbly slipped into his pocket. "I'll be going out for a few days. You all stay here in the club and train properly."

"Where are you going?" asked Zhou Ning.

Song Xue-Yang's lips curved up. "To go pick up your new teammate."

ryuxenji: As mentioned, here is the article on CP marketing: http://chinamktginsights.com/hot-china-marketing-trend-cp-or-couple-marketing/

Aside from that, sorry my posting has been rather irregular lately. I've been dealing with some things. Rest assured that I won't be dropping the story, though chapters might not be published weekly as I first intended. (/>.<\)

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Next: Chapter 24: An Unexpected Visitor

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