Chapter 96: The Anonymous Player with Slippery Feet

An Wenxin never imagined that the first task she would be responsible for after becoming a coach would be cleaning out an inbox.

Because the original management had been almost entirely swept away by Aqing, the external communications for the VG CS Division now fell to the coach.

This position was actually quite relaxed; it mostly involved handling partnership applications for the CS division, such as invitations to host tournaments.

Looking through the inbox, An Wenxin noticed a very formal email amidst the usual pile of nonsensical spam.

【We hope your club will carefully consider our transaction this time — FaZe Management】

The email was written so professionally that An Wenxin suspected it might be a scam, until she read the content.

"Need a sniper? Jiao Yang? Transfer? 100,000 Euro transfer fee? Salary no lower than the main roster?"

After seeing this information, An Wenxin breathed a sigh of relief. Jiao Yang had said his goal was to make money and then retire.

Although she didn't know how much the FaZe main roster members earned, she was certain it wasn't as much as Jiao Yang.

After receiving Lao Yang's sponsorship, Aqing had immediately put Jiao Yang on two salaries; furthermore, he hadn't asked a single cent from any of the players for bonuses.

A club with no shareholders, no financial reports, and an owner who might even be replaced in the future—it really was just pure fun.

Jiao Yang wouldn't look twice at that salary, and Aqing wouldn't even bother to acknowledge FaZe's 100,000 Euros.

Confident, An Wenxin generously forwarded the email to both of them.

Aqing replied directly: "Tell them to get lost."

What a joke. If a tiger doesn't show its might, do they really think he's just a Hello Kitty?

kaze and freeman had been schemed against; their contracts happened to be expiring, so they had no choice but to swallow their pride and accept it.

Now, everyone in the club had extended their contracts at least until the end of 2019. Before he left—

Not a single person was getting away!!!

As for Jiao Yang?

He was still asleep—

The group hadn't eaten for long last night; Jiao Yang had settled the bill as soon as he saw An Wenxin struggling with jet lag.

Seeing it wasn't too late, advent decided to squeeze in some extra training for the ongoing ESL Cologne qualifiers.

The skill levels of the teams in these qualifiers were uneven, ranging from slackers like BTRG to top-tier teams like MVP.

Most importantly, Tyloo was also there.

advent had a reason he couldn't afford to lose. To use Jiao Yang's words of comfort: "If you really can't bear to let go, then crush them, and tell him he made the wrong choice!"

Tomorrow, they would face a Southeast Asian second-tier team, B00T. The pressure wasn't high; they could say they were guaranteed a spot in the winner's bracket final.

So their only real opponents were MVP and Tyloo!

advent opened the data An Wenxin had prepared and began tactical planning and map-running drills.

This practice lasted until two in the morning. Even Jiao Yang, who had caught up on sleep on the plane, was struggling to stay awake.

Under aumaN's strong protest, advent ended the training.

Back at the dormitory, Jiao Yang didn't even turn off the lights before collapsing.

【Major Talent System Initiated】

【Connecting to server—】

"Again?"

This time, Jiao Yang braced himself. That was the one good thing about the dream: there was no physical discomfort.

The familiar computer, the familiar seat, the familiar loading screen. Jiao Yang adjusted his state of mind.

【Connection Successful】

【Map: Nuke】

"Oh? The exact same map. Does that mean it's the same person?"

【Please choose to substitute: apEX, ZywOo】

"Wait! Why did it change? Isn't it b1t, s1mple, and electronic?"

In an instant, Jiao Yang realized something.

apEX and ZywOo were on the same team; s1mple and electronic were on the same team.

So, could it be that b1t would join NaVi in the future and be with s1mple and the others?

Burying this thought to verify later, the current problem was: who to choose?

Last time he chose s1mple, he was immediately thrown into a 1v3 clutch with crossfire.

If he chose ZywOo this time, he couldn't imagine how terrifying it would be.

This was a genius teenager with a potential rating of 99—

After a brief comparison, Jiao Yang chose 【apEX】.

【Substituting apEX】

【Anonymous player connected】

【Begin your slaughter】

The scene changed!

It was a pistol round again, but he wasn't in the Yellow Room; he was on the roof outside the Police Base Third Floor, aiming at the exit.

A teammate appeared behind him. He looked closely—it was ZywOo?!

【3, 2, 1】

"ZywOo, can you hear me?"

This time, Jiao Yang didn't choose to hunt for kills; he started negotiating directly.

After he called out ZywOo's ID, the server didn't disconnect, and ZywOo didn't respond, just kept aiming below the Third Floor.

Footsteps sounded below the Third Floor. Jiao Yang looked—two backs!

Tat-tat~

Two Glock headshots.

【You have passed Round 1】

【Loading Round 2 — Reward: Halftime 5s】

?

That simple?

Is this the kind of situation apEX faces? How could they lose?

And what does "halftime" mean? Can that even be considered a reward?

【Round 2 loaded】

The scene shifted to the Outside.

Jiao Yang had a Desert Eagle with no armor. Except for ZywOo, the other teammates' IDs were blurred.

This reinforced his theory that b1t would join NaVi. It was a pity he hadn't lasted until Round 2 last time.

【3, 2, 1】

Just as Jiao Yang was aiming carefully, a strange voice suddenly came through: "Who are you?"

It was standard English, completely different from the last person. The voice didn't sound like a tough guy at all.

Jiao Yang hesitated whether to answer directly; it might cause the dream server to disconnect.

At that moment, a CT pulled out from the Main Door.

Boom, boom, boom~

【You have been killed by the proxy player】

Unlike what he expected, death didn't mean the end. Jiao Yang's perspective switched to ZywOo.

Detailed clearing of angles, stable movement control, flexible positioning.

None of that was there. All there was, was ZywOo risking his life to pick up the Desert Eagle "apEX" had dropped.

The opponent holding the angle killed ZywOo, who only had a Glock and no armor.

A teammate actually managed to kill one with the Desert Eagle, but it was useless.

【3, 2, 1】

Jiao Yang decided to try.

Last time, the server disconnected the moment the other person called out their ID.

What about this time?

"I'm Ori. Who are you?"

"Ori? Sorry, I don't intend to tell you who I am."

Tsk, not playing by the rules?

But the server didn't disconnect, which meant calling out his ID was fine.

Just like the last round, the CT pulled out from the Main Door.

【You have been killed by the proxy player】

A Desert Eagle with no armor is hard to use! He couldn't command his teammates. His only chance was to repeat this hundreds of times until he memorized every player's position.

Even then, the anonymous player would have the same memory. As long as their skill wasn't too bad, they could still win easily with the weapon advantage.

Seeing the other side wasn't talking, Jiao Yang stopped caring and started practicing his aim.

The Desert Eagle had one advantage: as long as your reaction was fast, one headshot would eliminate the disadvantage.

After dying over twenty times, Jiao Yang could reliably click the first enemy outside the Main Door. The problem was the support from the Big Warehouse was too fast. Once they had his position, a pre-fire was almost guaranteed to kill him; even if he fired the Desert Eagle, it wasn't stable. 【100】 He figured he could only bet that his Desert Eagle pre-fire was faster than the opponent's Galil in the Big Warehouse. 【101】 Sigh, how many times do I have to die? 【102】 【You have been killed by the proxy player】 【103】 【3, 2, 1】 【104】 This time, the anonymous player finally continued: "I don't think I've ever met anyone named Ori." 【105】 "How can one escape this 'Inception'?" 【106】 Jiao Yang dealt with the enemy outside the Main Door and turned to fire continuously at the Big Warehouse. His luck wasn't great; he didn't get a lucky kill. 【107】 Realizing that passing this round would take too much time, Jiao Yang sighed: "I don't know. But you could try telling me your ID." 【108】 "Is 'ID the totem'? Looks like you gave me a fake ID!" 【109】 Is this guy sick? So paranoid? 【110】 "It's 2019 on my side." 【111】 Jiao Yang changed the subject. Surely the other side wouldn't think reporting the year was an invasion of privacy? 【112】 Sure enough, the other side thought for a moment, perhaps realizing that progressing required a degree of trust, and followed up with information: "This dream is truly absurd. On my side, it's—" 【113】 【Server disconnected】

I guess I can only bet that my Desert Eagle pre-fire is faster than the Famas at the Big Warehouse.

Hey, how many times do you want me to die?

【You have been killed by the proxy player】

【3, 2, 1】

This time, the anonymous player on the other side finally continued speaking: "I don't think I've ever met anyone named Ori."

"How can I escape this 'Inception'?"

Jiao Yang finished off the enemy outside the Main Door, turned around, and fired continuously toward the outside of the Big Warehouse; his luck wasn't great, and he didn't get a random kill.

After determining that it would take too much time to get through this round, Jiao Yang sighed: "I don't know, but you could try telling me your ID."

"'ID is Totem'? Looks like you gave me a fake ID!"

Is this guy sick? Being all suspicious?

"It's 2019 on my end."

Jiao Yang changed the subject; surely the other side wouldn't think reporting the year was an invasion of privacy, right?

Sure enough, the other side thought for a moment, perhaps also feeling that moving forward required a certain level of trust from the other party, and followed up by reporting information: "This dream is really absurd, it's ———— on my end."

【Server disconnected】