Realm of Mirrored Words

Under the "Protect the King" mode, each team chooses a player to be the "king". Each player other than the king may be resurrected twice, while the king cannot be resurrected. The first team to kill the opponent's king wins. In order to prevent the opponent's king from hiding and deliberately prolonging the match, the kings carry a proximity buff which strengthens the attack of nearby allies by 10%. In other words, the side without their king present during a battle will be at an absolute disadvantage. By the time his teammates' three lives are all used up, the isolated king will have no chance of staging a comeback. As such, the key focus of "Protect the King" is the team battle. The randomly assigned map loaded. It was Butterfly Valley, with rainy weather. In rainy weather, fire attacks would be weakened by 5% while lightning attacks would be strengthened by 5%. Though 5% may not look like much, it was equivalent to an additional head c...

After confirming their strategy for the team battles, the group began training intensively. It wasn't an easy task to realize and perfect Song Xue-Yang's play-style — it not only required superior skills, but also a high level of coordination among the team members. And so, in the following days, the training room pretty much became hell on earth. "Xing-xing, you're too slow. What are you doing strutting about in front when everyone else has retreated?" "Zhou Jing, your reaction speed in that last team fight was slower by a full 0.5 seconds. In an official game, that might have caused the whole team to waste their skills." "You acted too fast, Shi Yi! You already used your special when Zhou Jing's damage buff hasn't been applied yet. That's half the damage gone!" "Zhou Ning already used up all his skills in that last wave. Why didn't you push forward, Ming?" Even Shen Huai wasn't spared. "You hav...

Everyone else from Maple Moon waited anxiously outside the dressing room. The manager felt like he had waited long enough for a baby to be born by the time the door slowly swung open. The director came out first, pulling Shen Huai along behind her. "How does it look? Good?" The manager's eyes widened, turning as round as the shocked gape of his mouth. How does it look? It was beyond good... It was stunning! Shen Huai's looks were already outstanding to begin with. Any single one of his facial features on the average person's face would be enough to make one stand out from the crowd. As such, even his plain unadorned face was fully capable of wiping out an entire host of male idols, what more now after it had been so meticulously touched up. All of his good points were magnified infinitely... the mere sight of his face left one incapable of seeing anything else. A strange hush fell over the corridor for a full minute. Shen Huai uncharacteristically felt...

More than partway through the meal, Zhou Ning and Song Xue-Yang excused themselves to go to the restroom while Fan Jing-Ming deviously tried to get Shen Huai drunk. Shen Huai found an opportunity to escape, saying he needed to answer nature's call. As he neared the restroom door, he heard Song Xue-Yang's voice coming from inside. "You really don't have to." Shen Huai halted, and somehow just stood there without going in. Zhou Ning sighed softly. "Fox, I really want to thank you. Jing will be 19 next year. If she still couldn't debut, my mum would have... anyway, you know what I'm like. After you helped me out so much, I'd feel uncomfortable if I don't say anything." "I didn't do anything. Shen Huai was the one who chose her, and he didn't know Zhou Jing was your sister beforehand." "...You didn't set it up in advance?" Song Xue-Yang chuckled. "There seems to be some great misunderstanding...

Training ended early that evening, and the manager was already waiting for them with the team car when they went outside. Once inside the car, they chatted happily with each other, glad to have new teammates. Shen Huai was the last one to enter the car. Almost no one caught his movements, only seeing a streaking shadow, and then the car door was being softly closed. Fan Jing-Ming said jokingly, "Shen Huai is an assassin both in and out of the game. You moved so quickly that even I couldn't get a good look." Hai Xing saw how Shen Huai had covered himself up so carefully with his hat and face mask. "It's really not easy to be a star. Having to act like a thief just to go out." Right after he said this, he noticed Zhou Jing rolling her eyes at him from the front row of the car. His hackles were raised instantly. "What are you glaring at me for?!" Zhou Jing said calmly, "I'm just wondering who taught you your metaphors." As so...

When the team manager saw who Shen Huai had selected, his heart dropped. He couldn't help but turn towards Song Xue-Yang, only to see the other still smiling brightly, as if he had foreseen this outcome. The girl who had been named did not react outwardly in any way. Instead, another girl behind her seemed very excited, her eyes filled with envy and joy. That girl was a player of a different game, otherwise she probably wouldn't have been so happy. The other trainees in the room who weren't selected couldn't summon up any bit of happiness at all. They all hung their heads, looking very depressed. Shen Huai did not feel sorry for them. No matter what circles one ran in, the strongest would survive. He had already done his best by giving everyone in the room a level playing field. "What's your name?" He asked the girl. The newcomers in the training camp gaped at him but Shen Huai acted like he did not notice. He had heard too many salacious rumours...