Tiny Herb's team gathered in the lavish hotel banquet hall, the scent of victory still fresh in the air. Laughter filled the room, and the players were all in high spirits after their hard-fought victory against Excellent Era. Plates of food lined the tables, and the clink of glasses accompanied the team's cheerful chatter. For them, this was a moment of celebration.
Their coach, Bao Rongxing, stood at the head of the table, his expression one of quiet satisfaction. He raised his glass, drawing the attention of the players.
"Well done," he said, his voice low but firm. "Today, we played like champions. You all followed the plan, executed it perfectly, and showed Excellent Era what Tiny Herb is truly capable of. This win is a testament to all of you."
The players exchanged nods and smiles, their confidence boosted by the coach's words. But as the coach continued speaking, the mood in the room subtly shifted.
"However," Bao said, his tone becoming sharper, "don't forget what got you this far. It's not just your skills or your individual playstyles. It's following the plan, my plan, that brought us this victory. If you want to keep winning, you'll need to stick to what I say. No more deviations, no more playing how you think is best."
At that, the team leader, Wang Jiexi, who had been sitting quietly, stood up. His gaze was calm, but there was a firmness to his voice.
"With all due respect, Coach," Wang began, "we've always succeeded by playing to our strengths, using our unique styles to surprise our opponents. That's what makes Tiny Herb powerful. I don't think forcing everyone to play a certain way will work in the long run."
The room fell silent. All eyes turned to Wang Jiexi and Bao Rongxing. The tension was palpable, the lighthearted atmosphere of a few minutes ago all but gone.
The manager of Tiny Herb, sensing the brewing conflict, nodded in agreement with Wang. "Wang Jiexi is right," the manager said carefully. "Tiny Herb's strength lies in its adaptability and the individual brilliance of each player. They need the freedom to express that on the battlefield."
Before the manager could continue, Bao's face darkened. In a flash, he grabbed Wang Jiexi by the collar, pulling him forward roughly. Gasps echoed around the room as the players watched in disbelief. Wang remained calm, his expression unreadable, but the shock was evident on his teammates' faces.
"You think your way is better?" Bao growled, his voice low but filled with menace. "Don't forget who made this team win today. Without me, you would've been crushed by Excellent Era and Blue Rain. I gave you the tools, the strategies. I'm the reason you're standing here, tasting success. So don't get ahead of yourself."
Wang Jiexi didn't respond, his eyes locked with Bao's. The room was tense, and the air felt thick with unease. The other players sat frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
Bao let go of Wang's collar with a sneer, straightening it with a mock sense of care. "As long as you all follow my way," Bao continued, smoothing down his own jacket, "everything will be in our favour. Remember that. There's no room for ego here. Only results matter."
The players, once celebrating moments ago, now sat in stunned silence. The smiles that had lit up their faces were gone, replaced by uneasy expressions. Even the usually stoic Wang Jiexi seemed affected, though he remained composed. Slowly, one by one, the players nodded, agreeing with the coach's words, though the spark in their eyes had dimmed.
The victory had come at a cost. The tension between the players and their new coach had surfaced, and though they complied for now, the underlying conflict was undeniable. The path forward was no longer clear, and as they sat in that quiet, tense room, the weight of their coach's control hung heavy over them.
Bao Rongxing gave one last glance around the room, satisfied with their subdued responses, before turning his attention back to his meal. Tiny Herb had won today, but the unity they once prided themselves on was beginning to crack.
Back at the dorms of the Excellent Era, the atmosphere was heavy. The team had returned after a long, gruelling day at the arena, and though they had secured a win in the first match, something didn't sit right with them. The third round had ended in a way that none of them could explain, and despite their experience, they felt as though something unnatural had happened.
Ye Xiu sat in front of his monitor, replaying the final moments of the match. Next to him, Su Mucheng was doing the same, her sharp eyes scanning every detail. He Ming and Liu Hao leaned over the couch, looking tired but focused, still trying to process the strange events they had witnessed during the final round.
"I swear, there was something wrong," He Ming muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "The way Tiny Herb played, it felt like they knew every move we were about to make. And that final attack… I didn't even see it coming."
Liu Hao nodded in agreement. "It's like we were frozen for a moment, and then—bang. They landed a blow so fast, that none of us could even react. I've never felt so helpless in a match before. We practised with these new characters for weeks. This doesn't add up."
Ye Xiu's eyes remained glued to the screen. He replayed the footage again, focusing on the split second where everything seemed to go wrong. The attack by Tiny Herb's leader, Wang Jiexi, had come out of nowhere, bypassing their defences with a precision that felt almost unnatural. It wasn't just the speed—it was the way the game seemed to glitch, if only for a fraction of a second. No other player, nor the spectators, had noticed it, but Ye Xiu was sure of what he saw.
Su Mucheng sighed, leaning back in her chair. "We've gone through this video at least a dozen times, and there's nothing out of the ordinary on the recording. No glitches, no bugs, no frame skips. It's like the game played perfectly. But... that's not how it felt in the moment."
As they continued analyzing the match, their coach entered the room with a cup of coffee. He noticed their intense expressions and walked over to join them, sensing something was amiss.
"You're all still up?" the coach asked, glancing at the screens. "What's going on?"
Ye Xiu didn't look up. "We're watching the footage from the match. There was something wrong, Coach. A glitch during the final round, just before Tiny Herb made their move."
"A glitch?" The coach raised an eyebrow, sounding sceptical. "I watched the match too. Everything looked normal to me. Are you sure you're not just tired? It's been a long day, and sometimes fatigue can make things seem... off."
At that, Ye Xiu slammed his hand on the desk, his frustration boiling. "Tired? I've been playing Glory for 18 years, Coach. I've seen every kind of bug, every kind of weird glitch the game can throw at us. But this—this wasn't fatigue. I know what I saw."
The room fell silent for a moment, Ye Xiu's words hanging heavy in the air. The rest of the team shifted uneasily in their seats. They trusted Ye Xiu's judgment—after all, he was a legend in the game. If he said something was off, they believed him.
Su Mucheng nodded in agreement, her voice calm but firm. "It wasn't just Ye Xiu. We all felt it. Something happened, and none of us could react. It was like we were... stuck, just for a split second, and then Tiny Herb made that final attack."
The coach sighed and sat down, rubbing his temples. "Even if you're right, we don't have any proof. The recordings don't show anything, and the game servers didn't report any anomalies. We can't go around accusing Tiny Herb without solid evidence. You all need to focus on your next match."
"I'm not accusing anyone," Ye Xiu said, his voice calmer now, though the frustration still lingered. "But something's not right. Whether it's a bug or something else, we need to figure out what happened. If we don't, we'll be caught off guard again."
They continued discussing the match, going over every second of the footage late into the night. The more they talked, the more uneasy they became. Tiny Herb's gameplay had been almost too perfect. It was as if they had rehearsed every possible outcome, every reaction from the Excellent Era, down to the smallest detail.
But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find the answer. The final move from Wang Jiexi—the one that had secured Tiny Herb's victory—was a mystery. Even Ye Xiu, with all his years of experience, couldn't explain it.
As the night wore on, the team eventually began to drift off to bed, though sleep would be hard to come by. In the back of everyone's mind, one thought lingered: something wasn't right, and they needed to figure it out before it was too late.