Chapter 1033

For the first game of the new season, the organizers hosted an opening event where they invited stars to perform. Many clubs sent representatives for the event.

Coaches would usually just attend such events with a random member of the team as the purpose of showing up was simply to show their appreciation to the organizers. However, as Club HS was up in the first round after drawing lots to determine the order, as well as because Zac was simply so popular in the circle, all the members accompanying their coaches turned out to be the captains of their teams.

All the competitors were resting backstage.

The captains gathered and started a discussion.

“Club HS is so unlucky to be up against Club JQ again right in the first round.”

“I heard Club JQ found a new member to play as support right after Jimy quit, and the support plays so much better than her! They are also ranked pretty high in the local server…”

“Yeah, my team played against them in a training match yesterday.”

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“How did it go?”

“Club JQ has become even stronger.”

“…”

The entire group fell silent, all somewhat worried for Club HS.

Be it Zac, Lionel, or even their retired ex-gunner, all the Club HS members were on good terms with the others. However, Club JQ members were somewhat seen as black sheep among the players.

They often head-hunted people from other teams—and even players from other countries—by offering high remuneration.

They stopped at nothing to win.

When Club HS recruited a female team member, they had also immediately recruited Jimy, all because they were determined not to be outdone. They wanted the top spot in everything and were willing to leech off anybody’s popularity.

To be honest, everyone disliked them.

Unfortunately, during the last season, the wrist injury that Club HS’ ex-gunner previously suffered had returned to plague him, leading to him making a mistake in the finals. He had then been killed by Club JQ’s jungler immediately, resulting in Club HS losing the final round of the team battle and Club JQ emerging as the champion.

There was no room for mistakes in team battles.

Everyone was unhappy with Club JQ, and no one ever considered them worthy of their title as champion.

“What is Club HS going to do??”

“With their new support being a rookie, they’re going to lose for sure… Besides, Chonk, who plays as support, didn’t play very well when he played as a gunner previously either. That was why he switched to a support class instead. When you spend enough time as a support, you’ll end up habitually protecting your teammates. Do you think people like that would play recklessly?”

While they were deep in the discussion, Zac pushed open the door.

They were all friends with one another, after all. Since he was aware that the captains were all here, there was no doubt that Zac would drop by to say hi.

As soon as he entered the room, the other captains all cast him a pitying glance, which baffled Zac a little.

He raised his eyebrows and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Someone immediately asked, “Why didn’t your team recruit a gunner when they were looking for new members?”

“Yeah, if you had recruited a gunner instead, a certain somebody wouldn’t have been able to join, even if she had all the connections in the world. Even your boss understands that an important position like that is no laughing matter…”

“Sigh. Speaking of gunners, someone comes to mind right away.”

“I also thought of someone…”

“Me too…”

“Me…”

“Drop the ‘Me too’. I know who you’re all talking about! We’ve been dominated by her for so many years. Aren’t you guys sick of it yet? You can just say her name—God C!”

“Hahaha! The mention of her name makes me panic.”

“Me too…”

When Cheryl was a child, she often encountered professional players when she reached the highest tier in the rankings. On occasions when her teammates weren’t strong enough, she liked to play against them one-on-one.

A good number of professional players had loved dueling one-on-one with her back then.

Even their coaches had ordered them to play one-on-one with her.

Because!

One-on-one duels with her were no different from grueling training sessions for movement practice!

Even though she was a gunner, she could still avoid all the assassins and dish out a counter-kill!

With the way she moved and her reflexes, even the head coaches found it a shame that she didn’t play as an assassin.

But when they thought about it again, it was true that the gunner made up the core of a team. She would indeed be the strongest if she played as a gunner…

Everyone present was a professional player who had made a name for themselves during the last five to six years, and all of them had experienced the era of God C’s domination in the game. There had even been a rumor among professional players back then:

Players who wanted to be on the starter team must play one-on-one against God C at least 50 times! This was the only way to train one’s mental resilience!

Before anyone realized it, God C had already become an insurmountable obstacle in their hearts.

At the mention of God C, everyone became pumped up, and they started chatting about how she had trounced them so badly back then. Toward the end, someone said, “That’s why we all thought that your whale of a boss would definitely invite God C to join Club HS after your ex-gunner retired!”

After all, Chester had built up Club HS’ reputation as a filthy rich team with real money!

Zac: “…”

He kept quiet and said nothing.

Well, the kid would have to introduce herself when she went on stage later anyway. When that happened, she would most definitely astound these guys.

Heh, were they looking down on the kid?

“That’s impossible.”

One of the captains said, “Think about it, God C was already dominating the game ten years ago, so she must already be past the ideal age for a professional player. Her reflexes must have already declined.”

The others nodded at once. “That’s true. The optimal age for a player is between 16 and 24 years old. Zac can probably play until he’s 26, but for people like us, things will probably start going downhill from as early as 22!”

Zac was currently 23 years old, but he was still in his prime.

“Forget it, the list has already been finalized anyway. Let’s not trigger him with talk of God C anymore. That said, you now have a little princess instead of God C in your team, Zac. You guys won’t end up trying to protect a support class like her during the competition, will you?”

“Wasn’t there a saying that goes something like… ‘You can lose the game, but you mustn’t let the princess die’?”

“Actually, that would work, too. You guys can afford to lose a few matches here and there anyway. By the time you guys lose enough matches, I’m sure your boss would also have understood. He’ll definitely find a replacement then. I reckon the little princess will probably go home once she’s had her fill with playing too…”

“But this doesn’t change the fact that we’re here to watch you get thrashed by your opponent in the match today, hahaha!”

Now that all of them were joking around, the things they said also changed.

The corners of Zac’s lips curled into a smile, and he patted the shoulder of the person closest to him. “That may not necessarily happen, though.”

“What?”

However, Zac decided to leave them on a cliffhanger. He said, “Open your eyes wide and watch the match carefully.”

After speaking, he stood up and said, “Alright, I’m off. It’s the kid’s first time participating in the competition, so I’m afraid she may be nervous.”

Everyone: “…”

His tone was so indulgent.

Those who didn’t know any better would have thought he was talking about his girlfriend instead!

All of them exchanged looks with one another. After Zac left, they thought about it and asked, “Has Zac been corrupted by money?”

“It’s possible…”

“Hahaha! Well, that makes sense. Families related to the Hunts must also be very powerful. That girl probably has quite an impressive background. Zac eventually has to inherit his family’s property, so it’s about time he starts planning for the future…”

“No wonder Zac agreed to let the little princess into the team…”

“Sigh. I feel like the spirit of the game would change once even Zac bows down to money.”

“…”

Everyone fell silent.

Gaming competitions were becoming increasingly commercialized.

However, these captains hadn’t been focused on making money back when they started playing; rather, all they had on their minds was winning the game.

Among them, Zac upheld his moral boundaries the most. Should he of all people also decide to compromise, they didn’t know if they could persevere in the game for much longer…

Just as a gloomy atmosphere took over the room, the performance on stage ended. The competition was finally starting!

The host began to introduce the participants.

One by one, Club HS members went on stage.

Suddenly, someone noticed something amiss. “Look, why does that team seem kinda off?”

Teams generally lined up according to their roles in the game. Mages fought in the middle lane, so they would also stand in the middle… So, why was that pretty girl standing in the second place from the left?

That position wasn’t for support classes!

Everyone panicked. “Is the new member not a support class?”

“Going by the position, she’s definitely a gunner!”

“Good lord, the little princess wants to be a gunner… Well, if you think about it, that makes sense. What’s the fun in playing as a support class? Rich players love looking for good players to protect them while they play as gunners anyway. In such cases, those players even have to give them their kills!”

Just as everyone became gloomier and gloomier, one of the captains suddenly exclaimed, “F*ck! Look!”

“At what?”

“Look at her game ID!”

Cheryl’s game ID had appeared above her head: HS – C.