Chapter 205.1: Traces left from three years ago had been eroded away by the years...
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Although it was their base from three years ago, it had only been abandoned for less than a year.
FTW had only gained complete freedom in terms of funding after winning the domestic championship last year; soaring platform signing fees and high endorsements, combined with the effective operations of the team and supporting policies allowed the present 'castle' to come into being.
The old base wasn't small. After all, it had once belonged to the Team of Gods, and three years hadn't changed the building much.
As Wei Xiao had said, it had been cleaned up very thoroughly. Other than some places that were empty where there used to be ornaments or hanging items, all the remaining furniture was still available, and it wasn't obvious that it had been left empty for a long time.
The entrance led straight to the trophy exhibition hall. All the trophies that the old FTW had won were still on display here, carefully protected with transparent glass covers.
Domestic championships, invitational championships, singles championships, and finally, the weighty global championship.
Yuan Ze's left ear tingled slightly when he saw it.
Three years ago, the craftsman had told him that the championship ring was very heavy and not suited for an ear stud.
Wei Xiao enthusiastically took them to tour through the old base. Old G only realized this after the fact, "Is this the former FTW base?"
Wei Xiao: "Yes."
Gary turned back in horror and looked at his captain.
Yuan Ze's expression was as heavy as water, scaring Big G until the back of his neck tensed up.
There was intent to kill there!!!
Having Yuan Ze live here was like asking him to die!
Old G spoke quickly, "We..."
Yuan Ze interrupted him and asked Wei Xiao, "Have the rooms upstairs been cleaned as well?"
Wei Xiao: "Of course. There are enough rooms even if you all take one room each."
Yuan Ze: "Okay."
After speaking, he went up the steps. He didn't need anyone to lead him; he was also qualified to lead others around to tour this place.
Gary: "???"
He looked back at VIVI, his confusion clear on his face.
Were they really going to live here?
VIVI followed Yuan Ze upstairs and picked a room.
Yuan Ze's mood actually calmed down after he went upstairs.
It was a familiar base, but it also felt unfamiliar.
Any traces left from three years ago had been eroded away by the years, leaving only the trophies on the first floor.
The new FTW had lived here for over two years, and his room had long been assigned to other players.
There were no similarities, and there wasn't anything to look back on.
It was just that his mood kept fluctuating.
After all, this base had held both the most dazzling and the most miserable moments of FTW.
Now, FTW had managed to stride forward, going out to face the new world.
What gave old people like him the right to act so picky?
Wei Xiao might be bratty, and he really did want to get 'revenge' on Old Bandit Yuan, but he knew his limits.
It was already very exciting to bring people to this point, but he'd long made preparations in case Yuan Ze flicked his hands and chose to leave instead.
Unexpectedly, he'd just gone upstairs when he heard Yuan Ze making a phone call.
Yuan Ze's Chinese was very standard, each word pronounced precisely, but his tone was a little evil, "When are you and Old Li coming over?"
He could guess that this was a call to Kim Sung-hyun even without having heard his name mentioned.
It was unknown what Kim Sung-hyun said in reply, but Yuan Ze's thin lips curved and he clearly didn't have any good intentions. "Do you have a place to live?"
Wei Xiao: "............"
He was just as stupid as that silly vegetable back home for being worried about this old bandit!
Yuan Ze was really calling Kim Sung-hyun. The South Korean and North American finals had ended on the same day, but Pro had had a tougher time winning the championship than L&P had. They'd had to fight all the way to the battle of freedom, and had relied on Kim Sung-hyun's gold hunter dominating the whole canyon in order to win.
The new generation in South Korea had risen up rapidly, and several new dark horses had emerged during the winter training camp.
If it hadn't been for the major changes in the global competition system this year, and seed teams had still been allowed to join in on the competition like before, it might have really become a bloody storm!
Kim Sung-hyun's heart was really tired from fighting in the domestic competition, and he hadn't quite recovered. "If you have something to say, then say it. Otherwise, if you don't have any farts to let out, then goodbye!"
Yuan Ze's temper was really 'good'. He spoke in a coaxing, warm tone, "Big brother's just concerned about where you'll be staying."
Kim Sung-hyun was so disgusted by his tone that goosebumps broke out all over his body. "You don't have to worry about that."
Yuan Ze: "I know I don't have to worry about it. Little Close has taken us in."
Kim Sung-hyun was stunned for a moment when these words came out.
Yuan Ze's words made Wei Xiao, who'd been forced to listen in, want to jump out and beat him up. "I also had no choice. How could I refuse Close's invitation? So..."
Kim Sung-hyun: "So you're living at the FTW base? Old Bandit Yuan, can you be a little less shameless!"
Yuan Ze sighed emotionally. "FTW's base is really big; it's really like a castle. Compared with Pro's base... from a visual inspection, it looks at least five times bigger."
Kim Sung-hyun: "............"
Yuan Ze: "How about coming over to live here together? I'll let Close know for you."
Kim Sung-hyun: "Get lost!"
Yuan Ze: "Come on, us brothers should have a proper reunion."
Kim Sung-hyun: "... Not going."
Yuan Ze: "Alright then, I'll go and tell Close."
Kim Sung-hyun felt awkward and angered at the same time. "I already said I'm not going!"
Yuan Ze: "Yes, yes, I'll arrange it for you right away."
There was a click as Kim Sung-hyun hung up the phone.
Wei Xiao felt that he was still too easy going and soft-hearted. Compared with Old Dog Yuan, he was really too simple and green!
Far away in South Korea, God Kim was still sour.
Li Heran: "What's the matter?"
Kim Sung-hyun's tone wasn't anything good, "Close actually likes that dog Yuan Ze more!" Why did he invite Old Dog Yuan and not him.
After Li Heran learned of the full situation: "......"
It was fortunate that there was nobody else in the training room, because otherwise God Kim's persona would really have collapsed.
Li Heran comforted him. "Close should be returning a favor."
Kim Sung-hyun thought about it. "That's right."
Previously, he'd gone to North America for treatment, and Yuan Ze had looked out for him a bit. It was likely that Close had just uttered a few polite sentences, but a certain shameless person had gone ahead and really moved in.
When he thought about it that way, Kim Sung-hyun still felt dissatisfied and asked Li Heran, "How about we also borrow a place to live at the FTW base?"
Li Heran didn't care. "As you like."
The more Kim Sung-hyun thought about it, the more reasonable he felt it was. "As an elder brother, I should protect my younger brother from that doggy thing!"
Unfortunately, God Kim had forgotten that he was half a year younger than Old Dog Yuan.
After listening in, even the little remnants of guilt that Wei Xiao had felt in his heart evaporated away like smoke.
Sure enough, inhuman means should be used when facing people who acted inhuman.
Just look at him. He'd fallen into a trap, then happily dragged someone else in with him. He was really good at playing around!
When it came to arranging rooms, Old G wondered out loud, "There are so many vacant rooms, so why do I have to squeeze in with VIVI?"
Yuan Ze smiled slightly. "This isn't our base. We should be more circumspect."
Gary thought about it and held back. Their captain was putting up with so much in order for them to be able to live in a place that upset him, so they should really be more understanding. What were they being so picky for? It was already pretty good for them to have a place to live!
Wei Xiao, who knew the truth: "......"
Oh, he was freeing up rooms for Pro, right. Captain Yuan, you're really capable!
Although they were now living at the old base instead of the new base, it was still necessary for them to host a welcome banquet.
Lu Feng was also a bit surprised that Yuan Ze had been willing to stay and live at the base, but Wei Xiao then told him about the sequence of events.
Lu Feng: "......"
Wei Xiao said indignantly, "I underestimated him."
Lu Feng smiled. "Then we'll beat him up in the arena."
Wei Xiao: "Yeah!"
The thickness of Yuan Ze's face was really enough to make city walls feel ashamed; he didn't even feel embarrassed complaining about it during the reception banquet.
"It's such a big base, but you don't have four or five rooms to spare? Do you really have to drive us out to the remote suburbs in the poor countryside?"
Lu Feng was silent.
Yuan Ze continued, "When you were in North America..."
He hadn't finished his words when Wei Xiao sneered. "My captain didn't stay at L&P's base, did he!"
Yuan Ze: "......"
Wei Xiao continued, "If you feel that it's remote, why don't you move to the Peninsula Hotel to the west of the city?"
It was 4000-5000 per night, enough that one globals could bankrupt L&P.
Yuan Ze shut up, and Lu Feng's mouth curved up briefly.
This smile let Yuan Ze understand--no wonder Close was so quiet, he was waiting to be 'defended'!
He didn't need to eat any Japanese food. Just eating dog food was enough!
Since they were living at FTW's base, their previous agreement took effect.
L&P had just gotten over their jet lag when their 'enslavement' began.
They had training matches from 1PM all the way to 12 midnight, and when it was over, Gary was still not done. "Again!"
Yuan Ze yawned. "Like hell!"
Being so excited about being enslaved - was he masochistic!
They were only three days away from the national finals.
FTW really benefited from these two days of training with L&P.
At first, they would only win one game out of every five. Later, it was two out of every five, and then even later, the win rate was even.
Of course, this was also because they were playing training matches. The more training matches they played together, the more the players' attitudes would diverge.
It wasn't that the players' attitudes were incorrect, but that the mentality was different.
The tension and stimulation of a real competition wasn't present during a training match, and when it came to the competition, the results often depended on the players' states.
Being in a good state or a bad state were all key factors in winning the game.
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Chapter 205.2: Antagonistic Lu came online.
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On May 30th, the European championships began. There was no doubting which teams were fighting for first place--Y1 and EVE.
Xiang Liu directly opened up a meeting room, and L&P and FTW's starters went to watch the game together after their training matches. It was a very lively scene.
Yan Jiang and Xie He were old rivals, and these two teams had played against each other countless times.
It wasn't obvious who had the upper hand, and it really depended on how they developed in the game.
Fans in Europe were shouting excitedly, waves of sound rising and falling. The level of excitement they held for the game was akin to watching a football game.
When Y1 appeared on the stage, the camera gave Yan Jiang a fixed shot. This unsmiling man didn't even look at the camera, walking on stage coldly, and sitting down coldly. It was as though he wasn't participating in the finals for their competition zone, but rather playing a game in the training room at their base.
Yuan Ze: "There's really no one who can match God Yan's mentality."
There was more mockery in his tone than respect.
He was once their captain, but was now addressed as God Yan. There were a whole lot of subtle emotions hidden in between the lines.
The EVE Players came out after that.
Europeans were generally tall. EVE's top-laner was 1.9 meters tall, and he looked like a gym coach in the team uniform with his burly figure. Their jungler, support, and marksmen were all over 1.85 meters tall, and their support was a two hundred pound fat brother who looked like a mountain standing beside Xie He.
This sudden drop in height in their formation had initially led to laughter in the arena when they first appeared.
Now...
The venue burst out into explosive cheers as soon as this 1.7 meter Xie He came up onto the stage.
Did height matter? Their God Xie's aura was 2.8 meters tall!
Wei Xiao quite admired Xie He. It was really difficult for a Chinese player to gain such popularity in Europe.
He wouldn't have been able to defeat that deadly prejudice without absolute strength that went against the heavens.
Xie He had to put out far more effort than an ordinary player, using days and nights of hard work and effort in order to garner such amazing cheers.
The BP segment went by quickly, with both coaches standing behind their respective star players.
Yan Jiang and Xie He remained silent the whole time, saying nothing and making people wonder about how they communicated with their team.
Actually, those who were familiar with them already knew that there wasn't any need for them to say anything. One of them was a support king, and the other was a mage king, and their line-ups were completely dependent on their teammates and their enemies.
They were able to play out explosive results no matter what the coaches gave them; this was the strength that belonged to the Team of Gods.
They weren't all-rounder kings who could play all professions, but they were all-rounder kings within their own positions.
Rather than having broad but unrefined ability, it was better to strive for excellence!
Xie He displayed the strength of a real mage king in the first match, performing so well that he made Ning Zhehan and VIVI fall into a daze.
Every position in Glory was important. As long as they wanted to perform, as long as they had the strength, it was possible to fly up.
Xie He's linkage across the whole map made people's blood boil from watching it.
After clearing out a wave of lane soldiers, he went to the top lane to provide support, forcing Y1's top-laner to be seriously injured even if he didn't die. He launched another assault when he returned to the mid-laner, forcing Y1's mid-laner to retreat. When he sensed that there was movement in the jungle zone, he calculated their vision accurately and slipped away, long gone even before Y1 had made their move.
However, the bottom lane... he didn't go there because Yan Jiang was there.
Reasonably speaking, they should gank the marksman until they had no way to develop in the early stages, but Xie He understood Yan Jiang too well. He'd remained in the bottom lane just to lure him over.
As soon as EVE's focus shifted there, the group fighting machine Yan Jiang would be able to beat them back into seclusion.
This confrontation between old opponents was really brilliant.
The laymen were just watching the excitement, but those who were insiders really saw much more.
FTW's large conference room was so quiet that even the sound of a pin dropping would be able to be heard.
No one spoke, and they wished they didn't even have to blink, afraid to miss out on a single glorious moment.
EVE won the first game thanks to Xie He's multi-directional assault.
Don't judge based on how Y1 had lost; everyone understood in their hearts that Yan Jiang warmed up slowly. Or, it could be said that the whole of Y1 was slow to warm up.
They didn't have a 'high impact' player like Xie He on their team, and it took time for them to get into the right state.
When they encountered weak teams, they would basically be ready halfway through the first match. But when they were up against their old counterpart EVE, Xie He, who deeply understood their situation, would never give them the time they needed to 'wake up'.
Winning one match was better than nothing. Whoever took that lightly would be stupid.
The atmosphere in the entire canyon was different for the second match.
Xie He was still attacking everywhere, but his success rate had already dropped sharply.
The state of the four people in Y1 had already been mobilized. During the middle and later period, as Yan Jiang teamed up with any of the players in any position, EVE began to find themselves in a tight spot.
Wei Xiao whispered to Brother Cai, "Do you see that?"
Brother Cai was seeing too much, and his vision was dazzled!
Wei Xiao reminded him, "Vision!"
Bai Cai nodded. "It's very tricky."
Wei Xiao: "There's a lot to learn from. We'll go over the replay later."
Bai Cai said seriously, "Yes!"
Regardless of whether it was Eve or Y1.
Although they each had their own pillars, the other four players from each team were also strong players in their own right.
Ordinary players might not even be able to keep up with Xie He's support. Let alone achieving a good effect, accidentally sending Xie He off to his death would be a standard occurrence.
The vision Yan Jiang provided was tricky and precise, but if Y1's four people didn't have enough game awareness, they may not notice it at all and miss out on those fleeting opportunities.
There was no doubt that both teams were teams that had already trained up to a certain extent and had a lot of experience under their belts.
Yan Jiang and Xie He's so-called exceptional playing was labelled as such because they drove their team's rhythm, like a strong stabilizing force or a wind vane that could provide enough information to help their teammates.
Y1 won the second match.
The third match was more frenetic. The ten players who'd now fully warmed up performed well across the whole game, giving the fans the ultimate viewing experience. Their hearts trembled from the players' operations, and there was endless shouting echoing in their ears.
Y1 was at full power. Their top-laner, mid-laner, jungler, and marksman all showed wonderful operations, the type that could be cut out and put in the yearly collection of top plays.
Yuan Ze tsked.
Lu Feng watched quietly.
Although neither of them said anything, varying degrees of heat could be seen in their eyes.
Wei Xiao and Yan Jiang had teamed up together briefly, and he could vaguely sense a bit of it.
As teammates, God Yan was really a rare existence who could provide support with no sense of dissonance. He could predict his enemies as well as his teammates, and there was no need to say too much. He made things happen smoothly and was really worthy of being a treasure in the Glory circle.
But saying such a thing didn't belittle the level of Y1's players. Instead, it added another degree of recognition.
Those who were worthy of God Yan were doomed to never be crappy or inexperienced.
Y1 won the third match.
Yan Jiang and Xie He didn't appear for the trash talk segment that took place during the half-time break.
Y1's mid-laner came out to say his piece, and EVE's jungler came up to antagonize him back.
The subtitle translations were very matter-of-fact which made them inexplicably funny.
In the fourth match, EVE started playing an even more extreme play style.
EVE had always been an absolute mid-laner core team, but that intensified even further now. All of their farm piled up on Xie He, and Xie He moved around with four players supporting him everywhere.
They would either avoid fighting, or stir things up in a big way.
This game took a full 40 minutes, and the last group fight was won after Xie He's six beams of magic stabbed Y1's marksman to death from the furthest possible distance!
2:2, an even score!
They finally reached the battle of freedom.
Everyone who'd come to the scene felt that they'd really gotten their money's worth with the ticket price. The fans stood up excitedly, looking forward to seeing today's winner.
Y1 had been the champion for last year's global finals, but EVE had been the European champion.
This year, would it be EVE successfully defending their title, or would Y1 win the crown?
It would all depend on this last battle.
Wei Xiao spoke up suddenly, "How about making a bet on it."
Yuan Ze was always up for it. "What's the bet."
Wei Xiao: "Let's first talk about our thoughts first. What kind of bet can we make if we think the same way?"
Yuan Ze: "You speak first. I'm sure my thoughts will be different from yours."
Wei Xiao: "Then aren't you definitely going to lose?"
Yuan Ze: "If I lose to you, I'm..." Willing.
Lu Feng: "Y1." He directly interrupted Scum Man Yuan's coquettish words.
Wei Xiao immediately looked at Lu Feng and smiled sweetly. "The captain and I have a heart to heart connection!"
Yuan Ze: "......" He suddenly didn't want to bet anymore!
Wei Xiao looked at him again. "How about it? Are you rooting for EVE?"
Yuan Ze: "......"
Lu Feng's eyelids lifted up slightly. "Don't talk big if you can't afford to lose."
This smell of vinegar was strong enough to reach the skies!
Yuan Ze's tone was grumpy, "EVE!" Even if he felt that Old Xie's win wasn't very certain for this round.
Wei Xiao confirmed it. "We're betting on Y1, and Captain Yuan is betting on EVE. Everyone can stand witness."
Gary wanted to speak but hesitated.
Yuan Ze stared at him, and Silly Big G shut up.
Yuan Ze: "What's the bet?"
Wei Xiao naturally had something planned. "How about Captain Yuan making an appointment for a training match with TPT for us if we win?"
Yuan Ze: "......"
Stinky brat, you really make the best use of everything!
To some extent, L&P was very similar to FTW. They both had big daddies in their top lane, were both jungler cores, and even VIVI was similar to Little Ning.
It wasn't convenient for FTW to go and ask TPT, but L&P could, and TPT wouldn't refuse them.
Yuan Ze agreed.
Wei Xiao: "Alright, let's watch the game!"
Yuan Ze's head was covered with question marks. "You're not going to ask me?"
Antagonistic Lu came online, "No need, you'll definitely lose."
Yuan Ze: "........................"
These stinky brats, they've really grown hard wings!
The author has something to say:
Vinegar Lulu, online antagonizing people.
The captain looks on with a dangerous gaze.