Two days later, the regular season resumed. Excellent Era's opponent this time was the Seaside team, which was mid-ranked in the league and not particularly strong. The only well-known player on their team was Zhao Yang, currently the top Qi Master in the game, with the ID "Boundless Sea."
"Boundless Sea" is also the account card that Fang Rui uses later in the book.
Due to Liu Hao issuing the "Sniping Ye Qiu" training task a few days ago, his relationship with Su Mucheng had become very strained. Su Mucheng hadn't spoken to Liu Hao for days. To Su Mucheng, Ye Qiu was like her beloved collector's edition Barbie doll, and Liu Hao had broken the doll's arm without her permission. Naturally, the doll's owner wasn't happy.
Of course, Liu Hao wasn't about to cancel the task just because Su Mucheng was upset. Excellent Era's goal was a three-peat championship, and Liu Hao didn't want any mistakes, so he had to prepare in advance.
Su Mucheng's contract would expire at the end of the ninth season, after which she would inevitably leave Excellent Era to follow Ye Qiu. By then, Su Mucheng would no longer be a teammate but an opponent.
There was no need for Liu Hao to overly consider the feelings of someone destined to defect to the enemy, but for now, Su Mucheng was still a trusted ally.
"Still mad?" Liu Hao leaned close to Su Mucheng's face.
Su Mucheng snorted coldly and turned her head away.
Liu Hao had an idea. "Let me tell you a joke. If you laugh, then don't be mad anymore."
Su Mucheng ignored Liu Hao, covering her ears with her hands to indicate, "Don't tell it; I won't listen."
Liu Hao knew that simply covering her ears wouldn't block out sound, so he continued anyway:
"A doctor asked a patient how they got a fracture. The patient said, 'I felt sand in my shoe, so I leaned against a utility pole to shake it out.' The doctor was puzzled, 'How could shaking out your shoe against a utility pole cause a fracture?'"
Su Mucheng didn't react, still covering her ears, but she was already subconsciously wondering why the patient had a fracture. Surely the pole didn't fall and hit the patient?
Liu Hao paused, then continued, "The patient said, 'Someone passing by thought I was being electrocuted, so they picked up a stick and hit me twice!'"
Su Mucheng managed not to laugh out loud, but the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.
"Go ahead and laugh. If you don't, you'll make me feel awkward." Liu Hao scratched his head.
"That joke wasn't funny at all, and I didn't laugh," Su Mucheng said calmly.
"Yeah, it wasn't hilarious. Because anyone who laughs at that has a pretty low sense of humour," Liu Hao said. "But this is the first thing you've said to me since that night."
"Don't make it sound so ambiguous like I'm your girlfriend, and you're trying to cheer me up on purpose," Su Mucheng retorted.
Liu Hao chuckled, "We're obviously not a couple, but we are partners and comrades. We train together every day. You can't stay mad forever, or it'll affect our teamwork during matches. We both need to take a step back. See, I'm already backing down."
"Unless you cancel the plan to snipe Lord Grim, I won't forgive you," Su Mucheng said.
Liu Hao spread his hands. "Canceling the plan is impossible. We need experience in countering a Rogue."
"…"
Liu Hao sighed. "I remember you listened to Ye Qiu a lot. Your esports spirit is just as impeccable as his."
Hearing Liu Hao's straightforward praise, Su Mucheng wasn't sure what he was getting at. "What are you trying to say?"
"Sniping Ye Qiu is a training task approved by the team, and you're still a player for Excellent Era. You have to follow the training plan strictly. That's something Captain Ye Qiu used to say all the time, and I got punished a lot because of it."
Su Mucheng was speechless. Was Liu Hao actually using Ye Qiu's own words to force her into sniping him? And the worst part was, she couldn't argue against it.
"I know you're close with Ye Qiu, but you're still an Excellent Era player right now, and your ultimate goal has to be winning the match," Liu Hao said with a smile. "Ye Qiu led Excellent Era to seven consecutive losses before. We were at the bottom of the standings."
Su Mucheng frowned. "Ye Qiu did his best. The seven losses weren't his fault."
"Of course, I didn't say he was slacking, but you can't deny those seven losses. They happened, and that's a fact," Liu Hao said.
Upon hearing "seven consecutive losses," Sun Xiang lowered his head in embarrassment, remaining silent.
Su Mucheng sighed helplessly. "I understand what you're saying. I'll still follow your commands during the match and be your partner."
Liu Hao clapped his hands. "It's good that Chief Su can separate personal matters from business. During the match, we need to put aside our grievances. Excellent Era is far behind in points, and if we want to make the playoffs, we can't afford to miss any points."
…
That night's match ended quickly. After Sun Xiang decided to make Liu Hao the primary shot-caller for Excellent Era, the team became like an unstoppable war machine, crushing the Seaside team.
Excellent Era won another 10:0 victory, and Liu Hao was once again the MVP. Sun Xiang's performance in the team match was second only to Liu Hao's.
This left Tao Xuan unsure whether to laugh or cry. The good news was that Excellent Era had won, and it was a crushing victory that restored their momentum, sweeping away the gloom of the seven consecutive losses...
But the bad news was that the player he had painstakingly recruited and planned to promote heavily, Sun Xiang, didn't get the MVP.
However, seeing the fans' enthusiastic cheers for Excellent Era, Tao Xuan decided to ignore the situation for now and not interfere with the team.
After all, if he angered Liu Hao, who knows what crazy things he might do? Tao Xuan finally fully believed Ye Qiu's words: Liu Hao was an uncontrollable ticking time bomb!
The next evening, at Excellent Era's training room.
"Shen Jian, give me a status report on the mission to snipe Lord Grim," Liu Hao asked.
Shen Jian approached with a folder, looking embarrassed. "Brother Hao… We've executed the training plan six times, three solo kills, and three team hunts…"
"And the results?" Liu Hao frowned, sensing something wasn't right.
"In the solo kill missions..." Shen Jian paused,
"Sun Xiang, 0 kills,two2 deaths, one escape."
"Shen Jian, 0 kills, three deaths."
"He Ming, 0 kills, three deaths."
"Wang Ze, 0 kills, three deaths."
"Guo Yang, 0 kills, three deaths."
Liu Hao's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He thought to himself, "You guys are way too pathetic. You're all professional players, yet none of you could escape? Even the rookie king Sun Xiang got killed by Ye Qiu twice?"
Seeing Liu Hao's disgusted expression, Shen Jian quickly added, "Boss, you can't blame us. The highest level in the Tenth Server is only around level 20. We don't have many skills, but Lord Grim can use 24 different skills!"
Liu Hao nodded. That made sense. In that light, Sun Xiang's ability to escape from the rogue Lord Grim was impressive.
"And what about the team hunts?" Liu Hao asked.
"There were six of us: me, Sun Xiang, He Ming, Wang Ze, Guo Yang, and Zhang Jiaxing. We attempted three team hunts, but not once did we manage to kill Lord Grim. Instead, we got wiped out by him once," Shen Jian sighed. "Boss, I'm not trying to make excuses, but that rogue is just too strong. His skills are dazzling, and he can even take on three opponents at once!"
"Six of you got wiped out by one?" Liu Hao frowned.
Shen Jian quickly shook his head, "No, no. Ye Qiu had a Battle Mage, a Brawler, and a Swordsman with him. Especially that Swordsman—he was unbelievably fierce. It was because of that Swordsman that we got wiped out."
"The Battle Mage is Tang Rou; the Brawler is Steamed Bun Invasion..." Liu Hao muttered to himself, "But who is that Swordsman?"
(End of Chapter)