Even when Zhou Kanqing stumbled along Duan Wenzhen's side through the contestant passage, he still hadn't recovered from the shock of what he saw.
He stared at the person in front of him with wide eyes in disbelief, as if he had never known him before. But when he thought about it carefully, he felt that this was really something he could do.
But…
"You announced this at this time, aren't you afraid that it will affect Lanlan..." Zhou Kanqing said awkwardly: "Besides, what will those people write about you after you said that? Say that you and the two people who can be Lanlan's father are competing for... a man?"
Zhou Kanqing shuddered when he thought of that scene.
"After what happened just now, could it get any worse? Do I care what they write about me?" Duan Wenzheng glanced at him and said, "Besides, why should we let him know?"
"..." Zhou Kanqing was about to say something else speechlessly, but then he saw Xue Lan and the other two waiting for them not far away, and quickly shut up.
Xue Lan originally had a concerned look on his face, but for some reason, when he glanced at Duan Wen Zheng, he suddenly turned his head away unnaturally.
At such a moment, his small movement made Zhou Kanqing's back tremble.
The words "Lanlan, did you just find out that you were flirting?" were stuck in my throat and I didn't know whether I should say it or not.
But he still held it back. After all, if Xue Lan didn't know, he would bring up such a thing at this time... Zhou Kanqing thought of this with a complicated expression and tried to downplay his presence.
Seeing that both of them looked unwell, Lu You asked, "Are you okay?"
Zhou Kanqing didn't know why Xue Lan was like this, but Duan Wenzheng, the instigator of everything, knew.
Seeing Xue Lan looking away unnaturally, Duan Wenzheng walked over to the few people in a good mood.
"fine."
Duan Wen Zheng responded casually, and Zhou Kanqing beside him could only purse his lips in silence.
Xue Lan was slightly relieved: "I'm sorry for causing trouble to everyone."
"It's nothing." Zhou Kanqingsheng looked away helplessly. They were fine, but after the finals were over... Xue Lan would be in trouble.
"I have something... I want to discuss with you all in advance."
Xue Lan's voice made everyone's eyes focus on him again.
"For the match with TXT, I have a new idea—"
…
After everyone whispered, they walked towards the competition venue at the urging of the referee.
Xue Lan walked in front, looking inside the door that was pushed open by the referee.
In the familiar competition venue, the transparent soundproof wall had been blocked with black cloth. He turned around and saw several teammates looking around pretending to know nothing.
Xue Lan walked into the competition venue.
He walked over to the carefully hung black cloth that was covering the view. This time the cloth was hung very finely, and it was obvious that the person who had hung it had laid it out and checked it very carefully, as if fearing that any corner would be left exposed to the outside world.
"I never thought I could stay in LGW. You are all so outstanding, I am always afraid that I will drag you down."
His fingertips gently stroked the black curtain: "I'm very grateful that you never gave up on me."
"What are you talking about! How could we abandon our teammates!" Zhou Kanqing put away the keyboard bag and called Xue Lan to come over to install the peripherals.
"but… "
"I can't keep hiding behind you. I can't keep covering my ears and eyes."
Xue Lan paused in his fingertips movement, his eyes fell on the black cloth in front of him, and his vision was tinged with warmth.
"I remember Brother Yan said that adjusting one's mentality is a basic quality for e-sports players. No matter what happens, as long as he enters the arena, he must return to his best form for the game."
Xue Lan's expression made Wen Yan look slightly sad.
“But I’m lucky.”
"I am never alone because you are always there."
“So, even if there is no one left in the audience, even if everyone is cheering for our opponents... I will still go all out with you to finish the game.”
Zhou Kanqing subconsciously wanted to grab him, but was stopped by the two people beside him.
He looked in surprise at Duan Wenzhen and Wen Yan who were blocking him on the left and right, but ultimately did not move.
After Xue Lan finished speaking, he firmly covered the black curtain with his fingertips again and firmly pulled it open again.
He was very grateful to his teammates for convincing the organizers to cancel the match before the match, just to put up these curtains that could block everything out. But people can't just keep hiding their eyes, and at this moment, whether behind the curtain is the empty and lonely half of the LGW team's field or the accusations and anger... he will finish the game seriously.
The light from the stadium scattered into the competition room through the gap in the curtain. Xue Lan, who had made all the mental preparations, still stood there in a daze after the curtain was opened.
He thought that maybe the audience seats of LGW would be empty, and he was also prepared for the audience to get emotional and even hold up signs asking him to get out of LGW...
But neither is true.
After the curtain was drawn, what gradually came into view was a stadium that was even more bustling and exciting than ever before.
They seemed to have discovered that the originally tightly cordoned-off competition area had an open corner and a person standing behind a curtain. In the packed stadium, everyone raised their light signs as if they were afraid that Xue Lan couldn't see them.
The tiny lights like stars gradually gathered together and turned into a dazzling galaxy.
At this moment, Xue Lan, who thought he was mentally prepared, still couldn't suppress the inexplicable heat in his heart.
He had clearly prepared for the worst, but why...
The people behind him were the first to recover from the shock. Although the number of people who left the previous games was not as large as the initial game, empty seats and twos and threes holding up signs against exist could be seen in every game.
They arranged everything before the audience entered the venue, and then went to accept media interviews. But none of them expected that the stadium, which had lost popularity in the previous few games, would be full again at this moment.
In the audience at this moment, there were team fans holding up LGW, technical fans shaking "Exist hold on", and fans from other teams who came from afar to watch the game, also cheering for Xue Lan. Even audiences of different skin colors and languages, feeling this atmosphere, also took out light signs with the name "Exist" on them to cheer.
"You see, this is how the e-sports arena works."
Several teammates walked over to Xue Lan and pulled down the curtains completely.
"Even if someone leaves, someone will come back." Wen Yan put the black cloth aside and continued, "As long as you keep going, someone will see your efforts. Although we chose this path ourselves and are responsible for our own lives, you will understand when you stand on the field... What you shoulder is not only your dream, but also the hope that all of them have placed on you."
Zhou Kanqing also felt his blood boiling: "Someone will see it, someone will join us in bringing "Dawn of Doom" back to our country!"
At this moment, several people in a certain area of LGW suddenly held up a banner that was more than ten people long, which was very conspicuous even in the entire viewing area.
Xue Lan unconsciously cast his gaze towards the banner—
resetexist Go for it! The CP I'm obsessed with is real! ! !
"… "
An unnatural blush appeared on the face of the young man who was full of fighting spirit a second ago. Zhou Kanqing, who was standing by, felt extremely guilty when he saw this and wanted to pull the curtain in front of him back up.
The referee behind them patiently reminded everyone that they could start preparing for the game.
At this moment, Duan Wenzhen said nothing.
He walked over to Xue Lan and looked with him at the sea of people cheering for them.
He reached out and rubbed the top of Xue Lan's head.
"Let's go."
Xue Lan looked into his eyes and nodded firmly.
The competition officially begins.
This best-of-five match was extremely tense. LGW won the first game with momentum, but TXT finally realized the crisis in the second game. Halfway through the match, after three games, LGW still led TXT by one game with a 2:1 advantage.
Each of the next one or two games is likely to be the key to winning the game.
The fourth game officially began, and the commentator was already speculating whether the two sides would end up in a temporary 2:2 tie in the fourth game, and whether the winner would be decided in the fifth game.
Under the excited predictions of the international and domestic commentators, the emotions of the people watching the game, whether on site or in the live broadcast, became nervous at the same time.
Xue Lan subconsciously glanced at his teammates beside him, and at their affirmative looks, he returned his gaze to the game interface.
He pressed the ready button firmly.
Soon after, when the live broadcast showed the moment of this choice, the commentator rubbed his eyes vigorously and shouted in disbelief -
"Shield chip?!"
***
"Shield chip! LGW's player exist actually chose the shield chip!?"
Everyone confirmed again and again without any prior agreement, and then they believed that they were not mistaken. Xue Lan was indeed carrying the shield skill!
"this… "
"Exist is too arrogant." The foreign commentator said madly.
"Was he stimulated by the TXT team during the pre-match interview?" Although this was a question, the tone was full of certainty.
The audience also fell into a state of panic with a lot of gossip because of the commentator's comments.
"Why choose shield?"
"Don't panic, don't panic. There are still two games left. Maybe you accidentally clicked the wrong one..."
"Oh my god! How could I make a mistake at such a critical moment!"
The fat man, who wanted to calm everyone's emotions, stood there for a long time, scratching his head and not knowing what to do.
…
"What should we do? Doesn't Lanlan have one less stealth skill than the others?"
There was a lot of discussion behind him, and Su Yiyu, who was sitting in the audience, couldn't help but get nervous.
"You also think exist is the wrong choice?" Shen Rong at the side smiled in an ambiguous way and said, "What do you think is the biggest advantage of exist?"
Su Yiyu didn't know how to answer for a moment and just stood there in a daze.
Meng Weiran, who was silent on the side, suddenly said: "It is the control of micro data."
Su Yi Yu seemed to understand, and his mind unconsciously recalled Xue Lan's precise control of the position of the mine circle in the previous games.
Shen Rong nodded approvingly: "The reason why we think the shield skill is 'useless' is because its duration is too short. If a wrong prediction leads to premature activation of the shield, it may dissipate before the enemy's bullets can actually deal damage. The weakening of the shield itself is not that big. If we can really control the time accurately..."
The fat man felt that what they said made a lot of sense, and immediately shouted to the people behind him with full health: "It doesn't matter! We have to believe in Lanlan! As long as he chooses, he must be sure! !"
Gradually, everyone regained their confidence and waved their light signs with renewed excitement.
While several people were talking, Shen Rong's eyes were fixed on a person who was walking towards a row with his head lowered, looking for a seat.
The man stopped at the center of the first row, looked at another person sitting firmly between three empty seats in a row, frowned and asked the person behind him: "Which seat?"
The person he asked looked down at the seat information and pointed: "That one."
I saw that the place he was pointing to was the seat next to the person sitting between three empty seats.
"?" The man turned his head with a bad look on his face: "Didn't I ask you to buy a triple seat?"
"… This is the only place left." The accompanying person wiped his sweat and said, "I know you don't like such messy places, but you can sit here. In this way, no one else will disturb you except him..."
He didn't finish his words because he was glared at by the other party and was forced to hold them back.
"Isn't that person...?!" Su Yiyu also saw the man approaching with his hat lowered, and vaguely felt like he had seen him somewhere before... He looked at the man and finally sat down in the empty seat next to him. He suddenly came to his senses and said dumbly:
"Lanlan's...father-in-law?!"