R.H’s next game will be against Tokyo Sakura, a team ranked third in the Eastern Division and whose strength should not be underestimated. Among the three countries of China, Japan and South Korea, Japan’s E-sports industry was the least developed, with only two seats in the league. While Japan had plenty of otaku who loved gaming, they weren’t particularly into competitive games. This resulted in a severe shortage of E-sports talent, forcing them to bring in a large number of Korean players.

Tokyo Sakura, also known as the Tokyo Cherry Blossom team by their fans was currently a mixed team. Among their four starting players, three were Korean imports and one was a Japanese player. Their coaching staff was also composed entirely of Koreans, which meant that the sole Japanese player had to communicate with others in Korean within the Tokyo team.

To prepare for the match against Sakura, Lu Youshan increased the daily training time by one hour. This extra hour was dedicated to studying the tactical tendencies of Sakura’s coaching staff and the playing habits of their players.

Lu Youshan led the team in reviewing their previous match against Beijing IPL. IPL was also a formidable team, and the two teams had engaged in an intense back-and-forth battle, delivering an exciting match. In the end, Sakura had won 3-2 against IPL.

“IPL’s strategy is obvious,” Lu Youshan said, “They are targeting Kaoru.”

Kaoru is the only Japanese player in the Sakura. He played in the short sniper position for the team. Japanese gamers often referred to him as a “genius of the generation.” It had to be said that Japanese gamers were quite creative when it came to bestowing titles. Even though Yu Zhaohan had worked hard to earn his “Sniper King” title, Kaoru was already being called a “genius” just after a single season, with a naturally passionate manga-like playstyle.

Kaoru had only joined Sakura this season, and his time learning Korean had been relatively short. While simple callouts and target focusing might not be an issue for him, more complex in-game shot calling might require some time, even if his Korean improved.

Language barriers could significantly impact a team’s performance, more so when facing stronger opponents. IPL clearly understood this, which was why they kept targeting Kaoru.

“It must be quite boring to have a mixed player,” Cheese sighed. “If it were a team like Lawman’s with a substantial mix, where players must speak English, it’d be fine. But Sakura, apart from Kaoru and the management, consists entirely of Koreans. Kaoru must feel quite lonely at the base during regular days.”

Stone asked curiously: “Why doesn’t Team Sakura just have an all-Korean player? Then there will be no communication problems.”

“Japanese players definitely don’t want to see a situation where the Tokyo team is all Korean.” Shi Du said, “Despite the pressure from public opinion, and even if there were better short-rifle players available, the management would still keep Kaoru on the team. He might serve as a mascot even if he doesn’t play much.”

“I see,” Stone understood. “So, in the next match, should we target Kaoru like IPL did?”

Yu Zhaohan replied, “IPL targeted Kaoru, but they didn’t win. Kaoru has been targeted quite a lot, and he’s learned how to make the most of his abilities without much support from his teammates. Blindly focusing on him might actually limit our own performance. Perhaps that’s what Sakura’s coach wants us to do.”

Lu Youshan couldn’t wait to express his thoughts: “I agree with Shine. The problem is, if we don’t target Kaoru, he’ll play even more comfortably.”

Qi Xian followed the thoughts of the captain and coach: “Letting a team’s core player play too comfortably isn’t a good thing.”

This was the first time Stone had been involved in preparing for a strong opponent since joining R.H. Rather than considering this from a tactical perspective, it felt like psychological maneuvering. He was quite impressed and asked, “So how should we play against them then?”

“We’ll engage Sakura in 4v4 head-on team fights, without specifically targeting Kaoru and without giving him the opportunity for solo kills,” Lu Youshan outlined his plan and sought Shine’s approval, “You must be thinking the same way, right?”

Yu Zhaohan thought quietly and said nothing.

Playing 4v4 head-on team fights required a tank to initiate fights, and the importance of the tank in controlling the game often exceeded that of the two core players.

Lu Youshan couldn’t proceed without Shine’s agreement, so he pressed, “Shine, what do you think?”

Shi Du glanced at Qi Xian and said lazily: “It’s just a game against Sakura, we don’t need to use specialized tactics. We’ll just use the lineup we’re most familiar with and have the highest win rate. Could we even lose?”

R.H’s signature strategy was the double C strategy with the tanks and supports responsible for creating a conducive environment for the double C to create damage.

Shi Du’s words were like jumping on Lu Youshan’s trigger point. “Don’t be arrogant; do you know that overconfidence is a recipe for failure?” Lu Youshan angrily declared, “In every match, we must find the optimal solution to secure victory. With your attitude, you’ll cry when you lose to a bottom-tier team one day!”

Shi Du clicked his tongue dismissively. “You’re such a fool with low emotional intelligence.”

Lu Youshan slammed the table angrily: “You—”

Cheese couldn’t quite understand the situation. “Hey, hey, why is everyone arguing about this?”

“Alright, alright, calm down, everyone,” Qi Xian playfully intervened, “Even if Kaoru has impressive stats, he’s still ranked behind Timeless. Our little brother has every reason to be proud.”

“Enough,” Yu Zhaohan interjected. When he spoke, everyone fell silent. “That’s it for today. Good work.”

After the review, Qi Xian went back to his room to rest, while the others decided to stay and practice more. Seeing Qi Xian leaving so early, Cheese couldn’t help but comment to Shi Du, “Hey, do you think Xianxian is in love again? Is he going back early just to video call with his girlfriend?”

Shi Du was not interested: “You are the one who shares a room with Brother Xian. You should know better than me.”

Cheese scratched his head: “I’ve been feeling weird lately about Xianxian. Is there something he’s hiding from me?”

Shi Du smiled and said, “Then you have to ask him yourself.”

Cheese leaned closer to Shi Du and whispered, “Let me tell you, I’ve woken up twice in the middle of the night to find that Xian Xian wasn’t in his bed. I stayed awake waiting for him, and it took him almost an hour to come back. When I asked him where he had been, he said he was sleepwalking. Hmph, trying to fool me. Little brother, tell me, what mischievous things could he be up to for a whole hour?”

Shi Du and Yu Zhaohan looked at each other in tacit understanding. Yu Zhaohan said coolly: “Xu Lanzhi.”

Cheese flinched, “Here!”

“Are you here to train, or are you here to gossip? If you don’t want to practice, go upstairs and sleep, but don’t disturb your teammates,” Yu Zhaohan scolded.

Cheese meekly returned to his training. He practiced for an additional hour before his tired eyes couldn’t take it any longer. He asked, “Stone, want to go upstairs and sleep?”

Stone had just finished a game. “Sure.”

Jiang Di immediately stood up. “I’ll go with you guys.”

The three of them headed upstairs together. Cheese and Stone walked ahead, chatting amiably, when suddenly a voice came from behind, “What do you guys think of Timeless?”

Cheese and Stone both froze. Jiang Youshan rarely initiated conversations with them, and now he wanted to discuss another teammate. This was certainly unexpected.

“Xiao Jiang,” Cheese probed, “Are you sleepwalking?”

Jiang Di: “No.”

Cheese didn’t understand what he mean but still offered his opinion, “Well, Timeless is handsome. He’s good-looking and skilled at gaming. Although he can be sharp-tongued at times, even when he’s being sarcastic, he’s still… good-looking. Damn, I’m starting to get jealous.”

Stone added, “He’s also a great cook.”

Jiang Di said in a deep voice: “It’s not good enough.”

Cheese’s eyes widened: “What do you mean, not good enough? Just being good-looking is enough to charm 99% of the people. How do you expect us mere mortals to compete?!”

Jiang Di: “The person he wants to match is not a mere mortal.”

“Then who— a heavenly being?”

Jiang Di said “Hmm.”

“T-Timeless is still good enough for a heavenly being!”

Jiang Di: “Our captain is also a heavenly being.”

Cheese and Stone were stunned again. When they heard the word “captain,” their attitudes instantly shifted to nagging mother-in-laws.

“Oh dear, that’s not good enough indeed,” Cheese criticized. “If he’s meant for the captain, Timeless has the looks, but he’s not mature enough, and has no resonance with the captain in soul.”

Stone agreed, “Timeless doesn’t even have a driver’s license. If they date, the captain will have to do all the driving, and he’ll be exhausted.”

“Mainly because our captain is too mature and responsible… Let’s put it this way, if Timeless were two years older, I could reluctantly accept it,” Cheese concluded.

Shi Du sneezed three times in a row in the training room and wondered: “Who’s gossiping about me at this hour?”

Yu Zhaohan remarked, “It might be someone thinking about you.”

Shi Du chuckled, “I’m thinking about you too.”

Yu Zhaohan found that a bit odd, “Why did you say ‘too’? I’m not thinking about you.”

“Oh, okay.”

“I’m thinking about Qi Xian,” Yu Zhaohan said with concern. “Going to see the physiotherapist so late at night, he must be in a lot of pain. As the captain, I didn’t even know…”

Shi Du comforted him, “Qi Xian isn’t like Cheese. He has a brain, and if he intentionally kept it from you, then he didn’t want you to know. Qi Xian is an adult; he has things he wants to do, and you don’t need to worry too much.”

Yu Zhaohan looked at Shi Du and complained, “You’re even defending him.”

Shi Du smiled, “I just feel like I can understand him.”

“—What do you understand me about?” Qi Xian’s smiling voice came from the door, “I knew the captain was still in the training room at this time.”

Yu Zhaohan watched Qi Xian walk into the training room calmly, his expression unfazed.

One of the advantages of having a perpetually indifferent demeanor was that he didn’t need to compose himself even during unexpected encounters.

Shi Du greeted Qi Xian in a natural tone: “Aren’t you asleep yet?”

“I couldn’t sleep because of Cheese’s pestering.” Qi Xian sat down in his seat and asked with a smile: “Captain, can I play as the C in the match against Sakura?”

“Of course,” Yu Zhaohan responded after a moment’s pause, firmly. “As long as you’re in top performance.”

Qi Xian smiled and said: “I will maintain my performance. Thank you, Captain.”

“How will you maintain your performance?” Yu Zhaohan’s voice was slightly cold, “Practice extra behind my back?”

There was a hint of helplessness in Qi Xian’s smile: “Oh dear, Captain found out. But don’t worry, Captain. I’ll keep it up until the end of the season. If things get tough, I’ll even play a closed circuit match.”

Yu Zhaohan frowned, “I’m not looking for just one season; I want the rest of your professional career.”

Qi Xian continued to smile, “But Captain, I’m willing to close my career for the sake of this one season’s championship.”

Shi Du asked bluntly: “Are you going to retire next year?”

“I would like to play for a few more years, but unfortunately…” Qi Xian’s hand slowly covered his mouse, feeling the familiar and reassuring grip, “This is really my last year. Captain, don’t let me have any regrets.”

After Qi Xian left, Yu Zhaohan was still sitting in a daze.

Shi Du crouched down in front of Yu Zhaohan, his hands cupping his face. “Yuyu? Are you okay?”

Yu Zhaohan rubbed Shi Du’s palm: “Not really. But I’m used to it. Everyone left one by one: Wan Feng, Xu, Wings…” Yu Zhaohan’s voice gradually became quieter, “Shine has already got used to it.”