Chapter 17

Sweden, located on the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, is not large in area, covering only 450,000 square kilometers, yet it boasts a coastline stretching 2,181 kilometers. Influenced by the North Atlantic Drift, its winters are not as cold as other regions at the same latitude.

Our destination is precisely Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. This city, known as the "Venice of the North," lies at the confluence of the Baltic Sea and Lake Mälaren. Comprising 14 islands and the two mainland regions of Uppland and Södermanland, it features a network of waterways and picturesque scenery. Combined with its mild climate and strong medieval atmosphere, it has long been a famous European tourist destination.

On the other hand, it is also Europe's renowned "IT Capital." The Kista Science City gathers the R&D centers of almost all high-tech companies in the information and communications fields. One could say it is a beautiful city that is both ancient and brand new.

>>>>>>

Gazing down at the rolling sea of clouds outside the airplane window, with a beauty by my side and flying toward a romantic and beautiful city, my mood was naturally very good.

But unfortunately, the beauty's mood was obviously very bad.

"My dad really seems to have grown old... He actually let you be the team leader!" The altitude of 100,000 feet seemed to have no effect on Xue'er's mood. "Why should I listen to your commands? If I hadn't begged him, you wouldn't even be able to go!"

On the surface, I remained impassive, but inside I was shaken: What? So Director Lei asked me to go not by chance, but because of Xue'er's request? Xue'er chose to travel with me... Does this mean Xue'er actually has feelings for me too?

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but reveal a dreamy smile, squinting my eyes as I looked at Xue'er: "Is that so... Then how should I thank you?"

A rare blush appeared on Xue'er's fair face, but her tone was even more forceful: "What are you grinning about? If I didn't think you were useful, I wouldn't have brought you along!"

"Ah...! You finally realize my excellence?"

Just as Xue'er was about to retort, Ling Tian, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "Sister, if you don't want that snack, give it to me." He pointed to the small snacks distributed per person in front of Lei Xue.

"Take it!... Wait, let me taste a bite first... Hmm... Delicious... Not giving it... Xiao Xiao Linzi, give me your portion too..." Lei Xue was, after all, a girl; her obsession with snacks was indeed astonishing.

As Ling Tian and I sat in silent mutual understanding, Xue'er suddenly clapped her hands: "Right, since Dad can't see us now... Xiao Xiao Linzi, give me your savings card. From now on, I'm the team leader! What's that saying again... Oh... Right, it's called 'When the general is outside, the monarch's orders may be disregarded'!"

What a mess! Just as I frowned, Xue'er immediately placed her gentle little hand on my ear, "What? Do you have an objection?"

The soft, moist touch and the naked threat made half my body go limp. "No objection, no objection! But... can you stop calling me Xiao Xiao Linzi? That name always reminds me of a guy who castrated himself..." (Note 1)

"Then I'll call you Xiao Lin."

"I'm not bald..."

"Xiao Li?"

"I'm definitely not a eunuch..."

Amidst the pleasant bickering, I vaguely felt something was being overlooked, but by now there was no time for deep thought, as the plane was about to land.

>>>>>>

Although it was already late autumn, the wind blowing at the airport carried a soft dampness. We stood like this in the square as the twilight grew heavier, experiencing the fresh feeling of arriving in a foreign land for the first time. Until...

"We're hungry." Ling Tian and I looked at Xue'er with pleading eyes.

"I'm a girl and I haven't even said I'm hungry; you two just hold out for a bit!" The person who had just eaten two people's worth of snacks said cruelly, without realizing it, "There will be a free dinner later."

So, about 20 minutes later, amidst the desperate longing of two people suffering from hunger and cold, the legendary free dinner slowly approached from the distance with a dashing smile.

"Here, it's here!" Two pairs of hungry eyes immediately emitted a bright light, staring at KID, causing his originally dashing smile to become somewhat stiff. Meanwhile, my subconscious action of swallowing saliva obviously triggered some not-so-pleasant memories for KID. As a result, when shaking hands, I found his hand was noticeably cool and slightly sweaty.

"He can't be so poor he can't even afford a dinner..." I wondered silently, because the sensation in my hand told me this guy was obviously nervous.

Holding a cool, wet hand was very uncomfortable, but for the sake of dinner, I still followed Chinese etiquette, gripping his hand very tightly and shaking it several times, while using my most enthusiastic smile to try to show concern for him: "Your hand is very cool; are you sick...?" As I spoke, I even rubbed his hand back slightly with my thumb.

As I rubbed, KID's face twitched several times in succession. Then, as if on fire, he quickly pulled his hand back, looking at me with an expression half fear and half despair, and argued, "I'm in good health!... And I'm also very normal."

Seeing that I made no further moves, KID seemed to sigh in relief and finally announced some good news in a relatively normal tone: "My home is nearby, and dinner is already prepared..."

After a pleasant dinner, came an even more pleasant hot bath, and then we very happily decided to stay at KID's house for this trip to Sweden. KID's parents were very kind and readily went to prepare the rooms. KID's house was a detached two-story small building with plenty of space, so Ling Tian and I occupied a guest room on the second floor, while Xue'er lived in the room opposite us.

When KID's father heard we were here to participate in a competition, he even moved the computer from his own room into ours, saying it was for Ling Tian to practice, while Xue'er would use KID's laptop. Thus, the first night in Sweden began with Ling Tian and Xue'er logging onto Battle. net to play StarCraft 2v2...

Ling Tian's seven workers and a crystal! Then double barracks! Triple barracks! Quadruple barracks!... A sea of Zealots quickly marched out of the base. Lei Xue's Terran forces were not to be outdone: eight workers and a supply depot, followed by double barracks transitioning to quadruple barracks, with even more Marines following behind the Zealots. Under the combined attack from near and far, the opponent's Zerg defense line developed a gap, and they soon helplessly gg'd. His ally fared even worse; although Dark Templars had emerged, they were useless against the overwhelming forces. With a few flashes of the radar, the Protoss base was instantly flattened...

"Yeah! Won again!" The excited Xue'er and the expressionless Ling Tian formed a sharp contrast, while I, hiding behind and pretending to sleep, could quite understand Ling Tian's mood. The so-called "tactics" Xue'er was dragging Ling Tian to practice were actually just both sides spamming units. Except for needing fast hands and correct build orders, there was almost no technical skill involved; at most, one had to pay attention to the timing of merging armies. No wonder Ling Tian found it boring; in fact, even I, hiding behind and peeking, was almost falling asleep.

"Come on, let's play another round!" Xue'er was tireless in this. When Ling Tian heard this, he was almost crying. Just at that moment, KID pushed the door and walked in.

"Don't you know how to knock? So rude!" Xue'er gave KID no good look. "Quick, Ling Tian, another round!"

KID ignored Xue'er's scolding and instead sat behind the two with great interest, watching them play. Opponents online were mostly temporary partners; how could they withstand these two freaks' unit spamming? Thus, history repeated itself.

After the opponent's last building was destroyed, KID finally couldn't hold back and spoke: "Garimto once had a unit-spam game with one crystal and ten barracks. From the mid-game onwards, for twenty minutes, the population remained at 200, every barracks produced units at full capacity, and every mine had countless workers. And Foru once had an experience of sending out units from forty-five barracks; unfortunately, most barracks were idle, and he was eventually pushed out by Nada, never able to surpass Garimto..." (Note 2) KID spoke seriously for a long time. "Ling, tell me, can you surpass him?"

"No, and even if I could, it would be meaningless." Ling Tian was very frank. "That's just a performance."

"KID! Don't dictate my tactics!" Xue'er didn't like hearing this. "Do you know what 'one force overcomes ten skills' means? This is the most effective way to play."

"Maybe it's very effective, but it doesn't help much in improving individual skill." KID spread his hands with great grace.

"You...!" Xue'er looked like she was about to explode.

"KID!" Ling Tian suddenly asked, "Why do you use Terran?"

"Why?" KID scratched his head. "Terran has good defense, few weaknesses, excels at airborne harassment, and its ultimate technology is powerful. In short, I use it because it works well."

"Then what do you think of the Protoss I use?"

"Fierce, noble, mysterious... In short, it's also very powerful." KID's words obviously lacked sincerity.

"In the 2000 Game finals, Grrr's crowning battle made the world realize that StarCraft version 1.07 wasn't just the Zerg's world; the Protoss's mixed army composition was the strongest. In the 2001 Coca-Cola Cup, the weakening of the Protoss in version 1.08 caused Intotherain to stop at the top 8, ending the Protoss era. Ironically, the match in which Rain was eliminated was called the 'Blessing Match'..." Suddenly saying so much at once, Ling Tian's face flushed slightly, obviously agitated in his heart.

"In the 2001 Sky League, Garimto finally found a way to counter the Terran's mechanization, and that year he successfully won the OGN championship. But this was merely the Protoss's final glory... Since then, even throughout the entire year of 2002, Protoss players were rarely seen in the top 8 of various tournaments. In the Nate League, even the top 16 contained only two Protoss players..." Ling Tian's voice gradually lowered. "In the deepest darkness, the gods have died..."

"No wonder you're a P-user; you remember the data very well..." KID couldn't help but praise.

"No, I used to be a very loyal Zerg player." Ling Tian's answer was unexpected to KID. "But this loyalty only lasted until the 2003 WCG."

"That year's WCG was called the Feast of the Gods, not just because the Protoss ultimately won the championship. More than half of the top 16, five of the top 8, and finally the champion and runner-up all used Protoss. Especially in the quarterfinals, the PvP match between Lucifei and Grrr was hailed as a classic, leaving a deep impression on me."

"But what truly changed me was the semifinal match against =LOST=Lucifei. In that battle, I felt that no matter how I played, I could never be his opponent. This directly led to my doubt about the Zerg and my defeat by Nal_Ra, settling for fourth place... So I chose to switch to the Protoss, because the Protoss's ferocity had left too deep an impression on me, and I always felt that as long as I kept using Protoss, sooner or later I would encounter that demon again... At that time, I would challenge him anew!"

"What a huge determination... Alright, after this competition, let's have a 1v1 match again!" KID was also somewhat fired up by what Ling Tian said. "Actually, I also hope to have a chance to fight that demon..."

As the topic shifted, Xue'er was completely forgotten by the two, so no one noticed the crystal-clear light in Xue'er's eyes... And another forgotten person, buried under the quilt, could not calm down for a long time. He was also asking himself: "Why did you choose the Protoss?"

The answer was chilling: "Because the Protoss sounds cooler..."

>>>>>>

Note 1: Xiao Xiao Linzi refers to Lin Pingzhi from 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'; I won't elaborate on the specific plot... As for Xiao Lin... *sweat*, the popularity of 'Dragon Ball' should be about the same as 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'...

Note 2: That unit-spam game used an even distribution between top and bottom, with infinite...

16977.16977 New mini-games update daily; fun mini-games await your discovery!