Chapter 210.1: An excuse to hug right out in the open!

The national finals were different from other competitions. As the grand finale for the entire competition zone, the game organizers naturally hoped that the teams could play out the most wonderful games that they were capable of, so there was a short backstage rest after each match.

The players got up and left the stage, returning to their backstage lounge from two separate directions.

The commentators were still going over the game just now. Both FTW, who’d won the match, and TPT, who’d lost the match by a narrow margin, had shown absolute strength.

“TPT’s system of four protecting one always has strong firepower. Eurostar exerted his strength in the mid and late stages and forced FTW to trade two people for his life.”

“FTW chose the right time. It’s hard to say what the result would be if they’d continued letting it drag on.”

The game was already over, so the commentators didn’t have to be so stiff. They spoke more freely, their comments were more accurate, and the audience also listened very carefully.

The camera panned over the audience slowly, stopping on the row with the Team of Gods.

It was a fleeting scene, but the audience in the live broadcast room had seen it clearly.

Yan Jiang, Xie He, Kim Sung-hyun, and Yuan Ze were all silent, as though the game in the canyon hadn’t ended, and they were still watching.

The haters immediately began to flame, “Shocked, aren’t you! Shocked by our local competition zone!”

“Wake up, traitors, FTW’s still awesome without you garbage!”

“I really don’t know what they’re doing here. Are they just here for self-humiliation? What Team of Gods was this? Be a bit less shameless, traitors!”

The scrolling comments swept by quickly. The room moderators had to carefully go through the comments from these haters in order to delete them in a timely manner. Meanwhile, there were more rational fans sighing––

“Although God Yan’s face was expressionless, although God Xie was frowning slightly, although God Kim’s expression was cold, and although Scum Man Yuan’s peach blossom eyes were downcast, I feel that they were actually happy.”

“Glad that their Lulu has a new partner?”

“What do you mean, new partner? It’s that he finally has a partner!”

“Holy shit, what’s the matter with you, previous poster? Why do your words hold so much…”

“Don’t you guys have any awareness of how our great demon king’s life has been over the past three years? Why should I hold back? Start crying with me!”

“As a career fan, I’m feeling a little arrogant. Fellow brothers, I want to see FTW get a 3:0 championship!”

“Not only are you arrogant, you’re also dreaming. Are you treating our TPT like they’re vegetarian!”

“If it was the FTW from the past, TPT might still have had the strength to fight back. But to be honest, no one can stop FTW in their current state!”

“When was the last time there was a 3:0 for the finals…”

“The Team of Gods three years ago!”

“F*ck!”

“I’m sorry, I’m feeling crazy too. I want to witness the birth of a new Team of Gods!”

In the backstage lounge, FTW was in high spirits.

Tang Chen was waiting for them at the entrance. When he saw Little Ning coming, he gave him a big hug. “Beautiful!”

Little Ning’s hands had been trembling from when he stepped off stage until now. “Brother Tang…” He was whimpering.

Brother Tang was really a very busy person at the moment. Seeing that Yue Wenle was approaching, he released Little Ning and went to hug him, too. “Badass!”

Granny gray, who was hovering between crying and not: “……”

Yue Wenle was in a daze. “Oh.”

He was obviously out of power. He looked like he needed some potato chips to continue on living.

Brother Cai didn’t want this hug of love and tried to avoid it. Unfortunately, Comrade Tang was too broad and blocked the entrance, stopping him with an arm and giving him a hug.

Brother Tang: “Cool!”

Bai Cai: “……” He was about to get strangled to death!

Wei Xiao and Lu Feng came at the end. Brother Tang wanted to hug Wei Xiao.

Wei Xiao turned back and pounced on Lu Feng, poking his head out to say, “Brother Tang, me and the captain will just hug each other. There’s no need to bother you with it!”

Lu Feng: “……”

Wei Xiao ignored it. This was an excuse to hug right out in the open! He’d be missing out for nothing if he didn’t hug!

Chen Feng was responsible for pouring cold water over them, “You’ve only won a small match, yet you’re acting like you’ve already won the national championship?”

Great.

Brother Tang gave them support, and Chen Feng cooled down the atmosphere. This made the small tails of the little ones in the team droop right back down.

Chen Feng would adjust his tone according to their state.

He could encourage them if they were downcast, and pressure them if their egos were inflated. This kind of psychological assistance was part of his job as a coach.

They’d played well in the first match and won beautifully, but there were still many problems. Chen Feng picked out the key points and had them calm down for the next hard fight.

“The entire China competition zone knows that TPT is a team that warms up slowly. Losing the first game is a common occurrence for them, so don’t take it lightly…”

The FTW lounge was lively and bustling, while TPT’s side was unusually quiet.

After sitting down on the sofa, Eurostar picked up a bottle of mineral water and drank down several gulps of water in one go.

He always liked to laugh and mess around and had a lively personality, but there was no smile on his face right now. The dimples that could often be seen had disappeared.

They’d lost the first match.

They often lost at the start of a game, but the atmosphere had never been as tense as it was now.

What they’d lost wasn’t just the first match, but their invincible system of four protecting one.

TPT was very serious about this national final. When it came to their opponent, FTW, they’d also shown absolute respect.

There was no need to test the waters, no need to grope around. They didn’t want to lose a single kill or a single match. They’d put in all their effort into this fight, and yet as a result…

They’d lost.

Eurostar felt a little flustered in his heart.

This was a major drawback to the four protecting one system.

Four of the players had put the hope of the entire team on one person, trying to create space for him to develop and giving him all the farm he could get.

Eurostar had lived up to expectations, playing strongly in the middle and late stages and had almost led their team to victory, but…

He’d been killed.

The advantage that they’d built up with so much difficulty had collapsed in an instant.

Guilt, remorse.

Eurostar couldn’t help hating himself. He still wasn’t strong enough, and he was still a long way off. Otherwise…

Zhuang Ruishi patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s just the first game.”

Eurostar bowed his head, his short hair covering his eyes as he stared at the mineral water in his hand. “Mm.”

Wei Ji spoke up too, “We’ve already played really well. That’s the peak level top-jungler combo in China.”

At the end of the day, Du Yi was a veteran player with a steady mentality. He joked, “Only the top in China? They’re the top in the world, okay? Those two are even stronger than Yuan Ze and Gary.”

The atmosphere in TPT’s lounge eased up as soon as those words came out.

Eurostar’s mood relaxed slightly, as well. His frown loosened and he looked at Fu Li out of the corner of his eyes.

Fu Li had his gaze lowered, his index finger against his chin. He was obviously thinking and hadn’t noticed their conversation.

Eurostar’s gaze darkened again.

The coach touched on some points from the match just now, his tone gentle and soft as if he was afraid of over-stimulating them.

When Fu Li finished thinking and looked up, their coach immediately shut up.

Everyone’s gazes moved to him. Fu Li said, “We can’t let go of the early stages. When fighting against FTW, we have to grasp the rhythm in the early stages.”

Zhuang Ruishi: “Mess with Ning Zhehan?”

Fu Li nodded and said, “Stone, keep your eyes on the top lane. Brother Du will follow me, and Star Cub, you take the storm hunter.”

Eurostar was stunned.

Fu Li didn’t look at him, but he raised his hand and pressed it lightly against the top of his hair. His tone was very light, “Protect yourself well.”

Eurostar’s Adam’s apple shifted as he responded seriously, “Yes!”

After the break ended, Fu Li got up. “Let’s go.”

This would be a tough fight.

After a whole season of tempering, FTW was undergoing rapid growth at every minute, every second.

It was very difficult to win against a team that was so full of potential.

But they were the only ones who could do it!

At the beginning of the second match, Wei Xiao could keenly sense that there was something going on even during the BP session with TPT. “Are they going to snatch up the immortal warlock?”

Chen Feng naturally sensed it as well. “Pay attention to the mid-lane.”

Ning Zhehan sat up straight and comforted himself, “I’m not scared of him!”

Wei Xiao laughed. “That’s right, our God Ning isn’t afraid of anyone!”

God Ning wasn’t able to keep the corners of his mouth from curving up.

Chen Feng flicked the back of Wei Xiao’s head. “Settle down.”

Wei Xiao deliberately cried out in pain, like it was really painful.

The camera showed their interactions, and the fans saw a happy and joking FTW. They all started guessing, “There’s no prize, but I’m guessing that God Q said something to make the brutal Queen Chen bonk him on the head?”

“What else could he be saying? He must be flirting blindly.”

“Flirting with who? With who? I’m betting my kneecaps that it’s the great demon king!”

“I’m taking those kneecaps, upstairs. It’s obviously not the great demon king. Just take a look at our iceberg Lulu, he’s clearly jealous.”

“Let me just interject for a moment, Close has a perennial poker face. How can you guys interpret so many emotions from it?”

“Take a micro-expression management class, and you’ll be satisfied with the sugar you get to eat.”

“What micro-expression management? It’s just taking knives as sugar, okay!”

“Don’t digress from the main topic. Let’s keep guessing. I’m betting that it’s Brother Cai. The Jungler King dotes on his little wife, this is great!”

“In that case, I’m going to bet on Old Chips.”

“I bet on Little Ningning!”

“Sigh, being a Quiet fan is great. He’s good with everyone.”

So what was the result of this contest?

Glory’s Mic Explosion King sent out an official scrolling comment, “The results will be announced after the game.”

So, there was a screen filled with 666 in the scrolling comments.

TPT had first pick in the second match. As Wei Xiao had predicted, they locked in the immortal warlock within seconds.

When it was FTW’s turn to choose, they could choose two heroes after TPT’s first pick.

What would they choose?

Chen Feng pondered it over, “If Fu Li is using the immortal warlock, then Eurostar will probably take the storm hunter. Do we want to lock it in directly?”

If Fu Li wanted to fight in the mid-lane, then it wouldn’t be a pure four protecting one system. Eurostar would need a talent that could protect itself, so the storm hunter was his best bet.

If FTW took the storm hunter first, then Eurostar would have other options, but they wouldn’t be as comfortable as the storm hunter.

However…

Wei Xiao asked, “Old Yue, do you want to use the storm hunter?”

Yue Wenle: “…… Anything’s fine.”

This pause couldn’t be hidden from Wei Xiao and Chen Feng.

Chen Feng: “Take the berserker thief first, then.”

Wei Xiao: “Alright.”

The storm hunter was left up for grabs. TPT wasn’t polite and took it right away.

The commentators looked at the line-ups and evaluated, “The two teams are both planning to fight over the early stages.”

The berserker thief, berserker warrior, and spirit mage on one side, with the immortal warlock, storm hunter, and hidden thief on the other side. They were all talents that were strong in the early stages.

“FTW took a double berserker combination. TPT’s a bit at a disadvantage in this round.”

“They have no other way. They have to make a choice if they want to take the immortal warlock and storm hunter together.”

“Let’s see if FTW’s double berserker will win or if TPT’s double flying combo can pull even!”

Both the immortal warlock and the storm hunter could ‘fly’, so they were often jokingly called the double flying combo.

After entering the game, TPT made their intention very obvious. Du Yi followed Fu Li in the mid-lane, and it was clear they didn’t want Ning Zhehan to have an easy time of it right from the start.

Both the immortal warlock and the spirit mage were assassin mage talents. They could rise to the heavens and drill through the earth when they were played well, but they had to sacrifice some of their long distance ranged damage and their ability to control their lanes.

The immortal warlock was a bit weaker before it reached level six, but it was also difficult for the spirit mage to do well because most of its attacks were close combat attacks. He would be killed by the other side if he even started thinking about leaving the safety of his tower to clear his lane.

This was especially the case with Du Yi by Fu Li’s side. He would sometimes toss out a bubble tune and turn Little Ning into a little nothing.

Seeing that the mid-lane was having difficulty, Brother Cai said, “I’ll go with Little Ning.”

Yue Wenle was playing a gun launcher in this match. It was a marksman hero that could compete with the storm hunter; both sides had some flexibility, and it was fully possible for them to play 1v1.

Wei Xiao hesitated but ultimately still agreed, “Okay.”