Chapter 15: Substitution.

Regarding this chapter, there is a lot of gaming terminology present (translator died a little), and it mainly focuses around one hero Da Ji. If it helps, I’ve linked her the introduction to her abilities here.

Also, it’s the translator’s birthday today so here’s an extra release this Sunday!

Regarding You Liangxing’s habits, Bai Yao believed that her knowledge about them was second to none. However, the name of the game underneath her gaze had never appeared in You Liangxing’s life before, and thus it made her surprised. “Ah Liang, when did you start gaming?”

Bai Yao’s tone was not light at all, and she even asked him in an open and honest manner. At the side, Yao Miaomiao stiffened up. From her appearance, it seemed like she wanted to say something but she was not certain of what to say either, and she could only play witness to Bai Yao exposing the fact that she had cracked into You Liangxing’s phone in less than a second of doing so.

You Liangxing replied: “Yesterday.”

Bai Yao hummed, finding that the answer fell within acceptable parameters. After tilting her head to think about it, she raised her hand to enter King’s Glory.

Yao Miaomiao was stunned. She stared at You Liangxing’s back for awhile to ascertain that You Liangxing had no reaction to her actions, which meant that he did not care about Bai Yao looking through his phone.

Yao Miaomiao lowered her voice and whispered: “Sister Yaoyao, he’s not angry about it?”

Bai Yao said offhandedly: “Angry about what?”

“The… the password.”

Bai Yao snickered, “Of course he’s not angry about it.”

You Miaomiao was extremely surprised: “Is his temper that good?”

Bai Yao: “How could it be? His temper is terrible.”

Yao Miaomiao was at a loss: “Then why…”

Bai Yao revealed a smile, “Obviously it’s because I already knew his password.”

You Miaomiao: “…..”

Full of smiles, Bai Yao continued: “Since we’re already on this topic, he actually knows my password too.”

Her complexion was tight, “But that paper just now…”

Bai Yao waved the paper full of permutations and combinations for passwords, “Silly child,a phone will lock itself after three incorrect attempts, so how could I have tried it two thousand times? It was obviously a lie.”

Yao Miaomiao: “…..”

Bai Yao smiled and said: “You’re just a new assistant; don’t be discouraged just because you were deceived. It’s not your fault; just blame me for my perfect acting.”

Yao Miaomiao: “… Ah, en, oh.”

This day, Yao Miaomiao deeply experienced what the terribleness of being dominated by Bai Yao’s life-like and nonstop acting was like.

Seeing that Yao Miaomiao’s reactions have become duller, Bai Yao’s acting addiction was satisfied and she curled up on the sofa and used the phone to enter the initial interface of the game.

She checked the level. It was only level eight; indeed, it was a new account. When her line of sight fell on his in-game name, her expression distorted, and she let out a particularly distinctive ‘ha’.

Everyone’s Goodness?

What the hell kind of name was that?

Bai Yao tapped on the settings in preparation to change his name, but a name change needed a name changing card, which required her to top up in order to meet the fixed amount of points. Without any hesitation, Bai Yao immediately tapped on the top up page.

If it was someone else, they would have hesitated when there was a need to spend money. However, Bai Yao was different; other than the scripts, she lacked money the least, and she topped up the points until it was VIP8 account. Then, Bai Yao happily deleted the two words ‘Everyone’s Goodness’ until the input box was utterly clean.

Pay-to-win players, they did whatever they wanted.

But what should it be changed to?

Bai Yao thought about it in different directions before her eyes brightened and she quickly typed in a few words.

— Little Angel Liang Liang

Eyaa, it was just ingenious.

Bai Yao was deeply touched by her own talent in coming up with names, and in order to prevent You Liangxing from changing his name secretly, she brought an assortment of heroes. Only when she was certain that there was not enough points remaining, did she open the friends interface.

You Liangxing only had one in-game friend. Bai Yao moved on to the friend requests section, and in just one night alone, there were more than a dozen applications lined up and arranged in columns.

Yet in spite of having so many requests, he only added one person. That【Monthly Refreshing Breeze】didn’t happen to be a girl right?

Were they acquainted?

“Time to eat.”

You Liangxing’s voice travelled out from the kitchen and Bai Yao made a noise as response. Before she left the game, she paused, and accepted all the friend requests on the pending list without a hitch.

***

Eating a meal made by You Liangxing was a sort of luxury.

Since they rarely met, Bai Yao was extremely serious when it came to basking in the experience. The pair of siblings did not have the habit of talking while they were eating, so the meal was eaten quietly. Once lunch had concluded, Bai Yao pressed You Liangxing down on the sofa before he could prepare to escape.

“What are you running for, I am honestly inviting to spend a happy afternoon with your beautiful sister.”

You Liangxing solemnly replied: “I refuse.”

Bai Yao: “Really, how unfortunate. I initially planned to leave tomorrow morning, but after hearing what you said, my legs suddenly feel heavy. I’ll leave tomorrow night.”

You Liangxing immediately sat down: “I’m not going anywhere.”

Bai Yao laughed, laying down and making herself comfortable on You Liangxing’s lap. Feeling idle and with nothing to do, she picked up You Liangxing’s phone again, and after hesitating between several applications, she finally settled on King’s Glory.

May as well take the advantage of the time to try the game.

Speaking of the game King’s Glory, she seemed to share an affinity with it recently. The company picked up the game live broadcasting promotion on her behalf, and in a few days, she had to practice the game with the website’s live broadcaster.

While the live broadcast had been decided, she only heard of the game; she had never played it before, and she was a complete newbie, through and through.

Other than acting, Bai Yao did not have much interest in anything else. The announcement also intended on having the website’s anchor teach her how to play the game. However, now that she discovered that You Liangxing was playing it as well, her interest towards King’s Glory had increased exponentially.

“I want to play a match, Ah Liang, teach me for a bit.”

Nodding his head helplessly, You Liangxing said: “Okay.”

You Liangxing’s account had already completed the novice’s tutorial, thus he could only explain the instructions in person to proceed. During the entire explanation, he mimicked yesterday’s experience and went through the general operation methods while overlooking his new in-game name which should not see the daylight. When he was done, he concluded with a “That’s it, it’s simple.”

Bai Yao did not quite understand but simply said: “Start a round first.”

“En.”

Just as Bai Tao was preparing to be matchmade, an invitational message popped up on the interface. Someone had invited You Liangxing to rank together.

“I just love running? Who’s that?”

You Liangxing replied: “Dorm mate.”

“Ah, the one called Liao Su?”

Bai Yao was very clear about the situation around You Liangxing and immediately agreed. The two of them were quickly entered the matchmaking instance, and Bai Yao pressed the team speak to receive voice messages. After some rustling, a husky and hearty voice was transmitted over.

“Brother Liang! You’re actually online ah! Hahahahaha how did Little Angel Liang Liang happen! This name of yours, apparently you like this kind of style! Hahaha!”

Liao Su had a lot to say, and once he opened his mouth, his tone seemed suffused with a quality of mockery. Bai Yao immediately lost the will to reply and she turned off her speech, leaving only the listening function open.

Without a response, Liao’s Su large windpipe rang out again, “Brother Liang, really? It’s only the two of us and yet you don’t speak, you’re over the top!” Despite saying this, his voice did not have a trace of anger since he was accustomed to You Liangxing’s behaviour.

“Ai, forget it, forget it. If you don’t want to turn it on, you don’t have to, have you reached home yet? Have you eaten? I just finished eating and logged on to raise my smurf’s rank. Since we are queueing together, the speed will be faster. Hei hei hei, there is always confidence to be had when playing with Brother Liang!”

The resentment he had for You Liangxing’s skill last night had been forgotten cleanly, which was very in line with Liao Su’s personality.

As the matchmaking continued, Bai Yao frowned, asking: “Is he good at the game?”

You Liangxing thought about it: “Passable.”

Since he was passable, she forgave him for the time being. Following You Liangxing’s explanation, she used her left hand for directions and right hand for skills. The game issued a “Welcome to King’s Glory”, and all the heroes jumped out.

In this game, she chose novice hero Da Ji who was easy to play, powerful in the later stages and equipped with a set of skills that could easily take down fragile mage heroes.

The mage always played in the middle lane. Seeing that You Liangxing picked a mage, Liao Su picked a marksman confidently. As he was manipulating the short-legged Luban to walk down bottom lane, a sound suddenly landed in his ears.

— First Blood!!

The enemy side took first blood.

Liao Su pursed his lips, wanting to curse at the junk bronze in his heart. However, when he raised his eyes, his brain blue-screened.

What???

The person who contributed to the first blood turned out to be You Liangxing?

More importantly, he wasn’t killed by an enemy hero, he was shot to death by a tower!

Bewildered, Liao Su looked at the mini map. The middle lane was devoid of enemies and the enemy jungler had not exited their to catch anyone. Yet, even under the circumstances where no one was hitting him, he had been shot to death by the tower.

Liao Su hurriedly said: “Brother Liang, how are you lagging! Ze ze ze, is your connection worse than the school campus’s network!”

In the time that took him to say the sentence, Da Ji respawned. Watching her exit the fountain smoothly, he finally set his heart down. However, in a few seconds, the middle lane sounded with another notification of loss.

— An ally has been slain!

Liao Su looked over blankly. The enemy hero Zhen Ji was pacing around with full health, while the ally Da Ji was already a corpse.

“??? Brother Liang?? Are you lagging that badly?”

You Liangxing was not lagging and there were no issues with his connection. The problem was Bai Yao’s manoeuvring.

In truth, it was not that Bai Yao was stupid or foolish. Her reaction was in line with a new seedling who hadn’t experienced the novice tutorial. You Liangxing was a misnomer; generally speaking, Bai Yao’s situation was normal.

Blankly, Bai Yao asked: “Why am I dead again?”

You Liangxing: “Zhen Ji was hitting you and yet you stood still.”

“And before that?”

“The tower was shooting you, you need to let the minions go up first.”

Bai Yao nodded and controlled Da Ji to go for a third round. She did not know how to position herself; once she reached the middle lane, even with the tower’s assistance, she was killed by the opponent.

“How did she managed to come under the tower to attack me, doesn’t our tower shoot her?”

You Liangxing: “It shoots.”

“Then how did I die?”

“Her attack speed was faster than the tower’s.”

The death notification blared one after another throughout the entire game. When the game ended, Bai Yao had gifted a total of fifteen heads. Usually, when new seedlings died, they would retreat but Bai Yao became braver, rushing forward with a straight back despite dying and dying again.

In the end, even with a 10 to 22 kill score causing an opposing headwind, they managed to win thanks to Liao Su.

During the game, it could be said that Liao Su’s mood had its ups and downs, from when he thought it was a connection issue to later, where he witnessed Da Ji offering up her head countless number of times. Liao Su’s tone changed.

“Brother Liang, did you get hacked! Stop messing around, even though you give me a lot of pressure when you play too well, you give me a lot of stress when you play so badly!”

The other party did not speak but after two seconds, they sent a message.

— You talk less nonsense.

It was pretty similar to what You Liangxing would have said.

Liao Su laughed for two notes, a little confused. “Are you going for another?”

— Playing.

She had to play. After dying so miserably, it was not possible to end like this.

Once the game started, the novice Bai Yao went to the top lane, but she still chose the hero Da Ji.

Seeing that You Liangxing picked the hero so decisively and within the first second, Liao Su’s misgivings halved. The feeling that You Liangxing was merely testing the waters in the previous game arose suddenly, and now he was ready to carry the match.

But reality was extremely cruel; by the end of the match, Da Ji’s score was 1-8-3, she died eight times, assisted thrice and kill only one person.

“Mother— Brother Liang!!!”

Liao Su was rendered speechless. Even though the standard at this rank was not considered high, he did not have the strength to hold up so many people. Disorderly attacks could not kill the master and the three teammates that they were matchmade with were subpar. And to make matters worse, You Liangxing kept gifting the enemies kills. All in all, it was equivalent to playing one against nine, and twenty minutes were wasted away like this.

The gaming process was extremely harsh to the taste.

“I get it, you are deliberately torturing me!! Brother Liang, I’m wrong, please play properly QAQ!”

The game interface was still quiet, and the only reply Liao Su received was another game invite.

Liao Su accepted with a complex mood. After one match, You Liangxing’s results were 1-7-2.

After the second match, 1-7-5.

After the third match, 0-8-1.

It was not the worst, it only worsened!

Although every game ended in a victory, it relied on Liao Su to attain it. The gold division was but a step away, and You Liangxing’s play style was akin to a planted agent, since he kept giving the enemies benefits.

While playing, Liao Su was utterly silent. In his heart, he felt that You Liangxing’s period had arrived, and he was being pitted against explosively!

They had been playing for close two hours. Looking at the time, he said: “Still playing?”

You Liangxing gave a rare response, typing: “Last match.”

One last match before the slow and long torture session ended. Liao Su raised his spirits, “Fine fine fine, let’s start!”

The fact that he no longer wanted to play was very obvious. Bai Yao pouted: “Well.”

She turned her head, asking: “Ah Liang, am I especially garbage at this game?”

You Liangxing paused, saying lightly: “No.”

If he said yes, that would be the truth. And even though he said no, Bai Yao still gave him a sidelong glance, and she savoured the answer before revealing a thick smile. “I’ve realised that you have always been a gentlemen to girls ever since you were a child. Even if you were annoyed, you would patiently listen until the person finished speaking.” Bai Yao stopped for a moment before she could not resist pouncing on You Liangxing.

“You really are a little angel! Why do I like you so much!!”

The game started as per usual. But just as Bai Yao chose her hero, someone suddenly typed: — I want Da Ji.

Bai Yao did not reply but the person continued typing: — The person called something Liang, give me Da Ji.

If You Liangxing was the one playing, perhaps he would make some allowances and swap to another hero, However, Bai Yao was different, she would never allow it and she proceeded to lock it in. The player who wanted her hero made no movements for a while before they chose another mage called Wang Zhaojun.

The atmosphere was a little awkward but Bai Yao did not care. She commanded Da Ji to walk to the middle lane, footsteps light-hearted. She hadn’t even taken a few steps when Wang Zhaojun, who was heading in the same direction, kept sending her signals.

— Start Retreating!

— Start Retreating!

With the intention of stealing the middle lane.

The two mages consumed each other’s resources, and mutually restrained their developments. One person had to leave but Bai Yao ignored the pings, continuing to clear the minions. After Wang Zhaojun sent five to six more pings while Bai Yao remained unresponsive, Wang Zhaojun swayed from left to right before she went through the jungle and headed to the top lane.

Bai Yao raised the corners of her mouth and hummed. You Liangxing slanted his head to look over, involuntarily showing a helpless expression.

The enemy had yet to show in the middle lane, and Da Ji started to land one strike after another on the defensive tower on the screen. Suddenly, Liao Su started swearing.

“Fuck!” The game prompt followed.

— First Blood!

The one who died was the allied hero Hou Yi. Liao Su, who had carried the entire match for five games straight… gave up first blood to the enemy.

Before Bai Yao could ask, Liao Su began to speak loudly: “Fuck! Why does the last match have to be like this! I actually met a group of people who can play, and they even supported each other and grouped up against me!”

With the line serving as an opener, it was not even ten seconds before the top lane’s Bai Qi and Wang Zhaojun were both killed. Liao Su was not back in bottom lane for long before the enemy ganged up against him and claimed another kill.

Liao Su’s voice was getting louder: “Ah damn it! This match is actually disgusting!”

Not long after, the kill score was 2 to 9. The opponent kept up their pressure, and their team’s development was extremely slow. Mid-game, the enemy suddenly typed: — It’s been six minutes, just fucking throw.

Their tone was impatient and extremely arrogant.

Liao Su only had to glance at it before a fire lit up within him, the crackling of the flames growing hotter. Seeing that there was no response from them, the opponent typed more: — Is there any meaning to wasting time?

Liao Su was so angry that he laughed and replied: — Speak only after you have won, who doesn’t know how to be a braggart.

The enemy quickly replied: — a bunch of noobs.

After being provoked by the opponents, it didn’t matter who it was, no one could take it lying down. Surrendering was no longer possible. Liao Su increased the speed of his development where his economy was concerned, and each and every one of his teammates started playing seriously. However, the opponents’ strategy was to attack with numbers, and the situation could not be reversed. In fact, the enemies even harvested a few more kills.

When the pressure reached its peak, the opponent typed again: — Nothing left to say? Hehe, just throw, yeah?

The odds were against them but Bai Yao’s Da Ji continued to die one time after another, and the middle lane’s towers were destroyed the fastest. Very quickly, the enemies pushed towards their base.

It could not be said that Bai Yao played poorly. To be frank, compared to the previous matches, this was Bai Yao’s best and most serious gameplay.

However, seriousness was not equivalent to strength; when Da Ji died again at the enemy’s hand, the allies’ mood also reached the breaking point. The resentment that the Wang Zhaojun previously accumulated finally erupted at that moment.

[Ally Wang Zhaojun]: — Da Ji can you stop giving them kills!! Does your gifting ever stop!!

[Ally Wang Zhaojun]: — Playing so badly and yet you have the cheek to steal the hero!! Even stealing middle lane!!

[Ally Wang Zhaojun]: — When I’m playing games, I’m most afraid of meeting a pitted idiot like you!! May as well throw and be done with it!!

Although her performance had been poor in the past few hours, Bai Yao had never encountered a situation where a teammate would start flaming her. With the enemies badmouthing them and their team facing an internal strife, Bai Yao stopped playing the game and gritted her teeth.

She had been seriously playing….

Bai Yao lowered her head, stilled, and then shoved the phone into You Liangxing’s hands, frowning, “Substitution!”

The author has something to say:

I… should briefly explain, ha~

Regarding the older sister’s choice of hero, it wasn’t that she had to steal it and occupy it. From her perspective, she had just come in contact with the game, and after playing Da Ji for a few consecutive rounds, Da Ji is the only hero she knows how to play. Thus, when she refused to make an allowance, it bears no relation to her moral character. And everyone has played games before; just because someone wants a hero/character doesn’t necessarily mean she has to relent.

Additionally, on the topic of mages going to middle lane, it follows the same logic; just because she refused to switch her lanes doesn’t mean that she’s in the wrong. It really doesn’t bring her moral character in question. [TL adds: in fact, Wang Zhaojun picking another mage role and going to the middle lane despite knowing there was a mage on the team is the one who’s in the wrong here.)

+++

Regarding the older sister gifting kills: She didn’t do it on purpose; she was seriously playing, and it’s not because she doesn’t have brains either. It was just that she had never went through the novice tutorial, and she didn’t have the slightest game awareness.

Plus, she happened to be using her little brother’s account to play, and because of the friendship that they (Liao Su & Liang Liang) have, mutually beating each other up/deriding would never anger one another. With that as their standard, playing a game like this really wouldn’t affect them much.

(TL further adds: While Liang Liang’s account is new, he is already in the silver division which means people still have some level of skill, so a complete novice really has to be forgiven for her blunders~ The learning curve for games like King’s Glory is actually pretty steep.)

Hope everyone can read the novel in a relaxed manner, and not harp about the wrong details because it’ll affect your reading experience, yeah…

T/N: Hope it was helpful!