TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 54

In order to avoid being blacklisted by Lin Mingfei and to get his beloved Cloak of Vigilance, Xia Tong kept his mouth covered with his little hand and didn’t dare to make a sound.

Overall, all the group members felt that they had still come out ahead. First, they got to admire the once legendary King’s Tomb, and second, the dungeon run was quite enjoyable. It went smoothly without any hesitation, and they completed it in about two-thirds of the usual time, all thanks to Lin Mingfei’s years of experience in leading dungeons.

As a result, a few of the brothers, with foresight, opened their own livestreams, showcasing the entire dungeon run from their perspective.

None of them expected that their usually quiet streams would suddenly attract a large audience, many of whom had transferred from the “Fruit Badger’s” channel. That guy was notorious for being a bit of a troublemaker.

[Revealing other people’s gear is one thing, but stealing the whole team?]

[Haha, I knew Zero wasn’t that easy to deal with!]

[Old sneaky man is living up to his name! Can’t let him have any advantage!]

[This guy is scary! But I like him!]

[Oh my god! I can’t believe I’m seeing Z-God leading a raid again in my lifetime! So excited!!!]

[Z-God’s leadership—pain-free speedruns!]

[Waaah, I’m so jealous of this team! I want to raid with Z-God too! But alas, I’m just a wage slave! Only here to watch the stream!]

[Wow, I didn’t know the Sea Demon Valley mobs could jump!]

[There’s actually a shortcut here? First time hearing about it!]

[What? There’s a path there? This guy’s vision is amazing! No wonder he’s a sniper master!]

[No surprise that people with bad sense of direction and bad eyesight take half an hour longer to clear mobs.]

[I’ve learned so much!]

[Hey, what’s this new strategy? No axe warriors tanking?]

[Woah! This balance beam strategy! I’ve learned something new again!]

[This DPS distribution! It’s so precise! But wait, has wizard damage really gotten this high now?]

Most people tuned in to admire Lin Mingfei’s prowess, but soon, they couldn’t help but notice the only wizard in the team.

[What the hell? He’s doing more DPS than Z-God!]

[He’s doing a whole digit more DPS than Three Bro!]

[Wow, go check out the Li Bai Bai stream, you can see [Xia Xiao Tong] from there!]

[He’s casting skills like there’s no global cooldown!]

[Wizards have definitely been buffed in this version! I’m gonna try playing wizard too!]

[He’s not even playing the same class as me! QAQ]

As many King’s Tomb players were watching the stream with excitement, a paladin from the Saber-Tooth Tiger team, Mo Lan, accidentally clicked into one of the unknown player’s streams.

“D! Look! Look!” He quickly poked Dylan. “Zero is leading a raid!”

It was during the Saber-Tooth Tiger Club’s lunch break. The MVP of last season’s league and now one of the highest-paid hunter players in the esports world, Dylan, was sitting on a lounge chair reading a magazine. He turned his head in surprise. “Hmm? Is P-Team running the raid now?”

“No, it’s not their team! It’s a pickup group! Zero’s leading a pickup group!” Mo Lan said, incredulously.

“A pickup group? Seriously?” Dylan was intrigued but skeptical. “Is he really still interested in running pickup groups?”

During the preparation period, professional clubs typically ran dungeons internally for high-level equipment and items, with their own reliable players. Compared to the unpredictable random players in pickup groups, it was much more efficient.

Lin Mingfei is already casual enough to be the commander for a random pickup group??? Does he have that much free time?

Dylan initially didn’t believe it until he glanced at the livestream screen in Mo Lan’s hand. The in-game IDs of the players in the group were all over the place—names like “Bai Jie” and “Li Bai Bai,” all quite cringeworthy, with no one using a Polaris tag. It was definitely a pickup group.

“Hey, I heard that Polaris was trying to set up a practice match recently!” Goblin, the wizard from Saber-Tooth Tiger, walked downstairs with a lollipop in his mouth and tossed one to their healer, YOYO. “Guess what happened?”

“What happened?” YOYO asked.

“They couldn’t get anyone!” Goblin said with schadenfreude. “Their Beta manager spent the whole day running around to more than ten clubs, even visiting teams like Nine-Tailed Bird, haha!”

“Nine-Tailed Bird is such a trash team, they shouldn’t be acting so high and mighty,” YOYO remarked.

“Hey! Their attitude is really high, though! They’re thinking about setting up a match with a top-eight seed,” Goblin said, dramatically flipping onto his back on the sofa and leaning against YOYO with a mysterious expression. “The toad wants to eat swan meat.”

“I feel like Polaris is really in a bad spot,” YOYO said, sighing. “They’ve won multiple consecutive championships before, but now they can’t even get anyone to practice with. How did they fall so low?”

“This is the cruel reality of the pro esports world,” Dylan commented, coolly. “The industry is constantly evolving. If you stand still, you’re falling behind. Don’t feel sorry for them; just use them as an example to remind yourself not to end up like that.”

“I’d say Manager Cai is brilliant with his strategy!” Goblin proudly said. “He kept Ping Shuai, preventing them from gathering a full team. That’s what you call cutting off the source!”

“True, without a full team, they can’t even qualify to play, let alone schedule a practice match. It’s meaningless,” Mo Lan said. “By the way, what’s up with Ping Shuai?”

“I think Manager Cai talked to him about renewing his contract the other day,” Goblin said with a sly smile. “Most likely to lower the price.”

“Should have done that a long time ago,” Dylan sneered. “He gets paid that much and doesn’t do anything. You can’t just keep feeding him. You don’t raise pigs like that.”

“Well, overall, he’s made a profit these last couple of years with us. Which club can give a wizard at his level such a high salary? After this year, when his contract ends, he can just take the money and retire,” Goblin said, leaning back on the couch and clapping his hands. “Perfect!”

His words made the whole team laugh.

As they laughed, Mo Lan suddenly frowned. “Huh?”

“What’s wrong?” Goblin asked.

“This Xia Xiao Tong… looks so familiar!” Mo Lan tapped his tablet screen in surprise.

“Xia Xiao Tong? Who’s that?” Robin King rushed out of the bathroom, pulling up his pants, eager to speak. “Is that the little monster who trapped the emperor ghost with the binding spell in the White Snow Palace last time? Is he in this group?”

Robin King’s words immediately alerted everyone.

Dylan frowned, leaning closer to Mo Lan’s phone screen. “Is Xia Xiao Tong in this group too?”

“Yes!” Mo Lan pointed to an inconspicuous game ID in the team list, then shifted to the DPS list. “Whoa, look here, D! His damage is number one in the whole team, higher than Zero!”

“Whoa, he must have a special weapon. If I had one too, I could do that much damage!” Goblin sneered from the side.

“But look at his gear score, it’s only a little behind yours, and his gear is still all quest gear!” Mo Lan exclaimed in shock. “This is unbelievable!”

“I noticed that the other day,” Robin King said with a serious face. “He uses binding spells like there’s no global cooldown! He casts them randomly! Is that even a normal reaction speed? I told you he’s definitely hacking, but no one believed me!”

“Such a coincidence? Xia Xiao Tong clears dungeons with Fire, and now with Zero, and he’s a wizard…” YOYO muttered to herself, feeling increasingly uneasy. “Wait, no way… Could he be the new wizard player Polaris recruited?”

“Ha! No way!” Goblin laughed coldly. “Look at this guy, he looks like a chicken. Old Wang could kick him out easily. Esports? Forget about it!”

“Also… Xia Xiao Tong doesn’t seem very smart. If they’re recruiting, they shouldn’t pick a random passerby. They should choose someone smarter and sharper,” Mo Lan analyzed. “Grabbing some random player is too reckless.”

Dylan stroked his chin. “There’s something fishy here…”

For a moment, the entire Saber-Tooth Tiger Club’s living room was filled with murmurs of “emmmm.”

So, they analyzed this unexpected “Xia Xiao Tong” for a long time, but in the end, they came to no conclusions.

Robin King, still frustrated, slapped his thigh. “I don’t care what his relationship with Zero is! I’m sure he’s hacking! Look at the bullet comments—lots of people are suspicious he’s cheating!”

“Then just use the report function,” Dylan said, calmly tapping Mo Lan’s tablet screen. “Let the officials check if he’s hacking.”

---

Xia Tong finally put on the Cloak of Vigilance that Lin Mingfei had crafted for him. This cloak had a stylish design, with a row of British-style buttons on the front, making it fashionable and attractive. Xia Tong looked at his overall character stats, then practiced on a few small monsters and noticed a significant improvement in his DPS.

“I heard you got scared and cried in the White Snow Palace last time, but you did well in Sea Demon Valley today!” Lin Mingfei teased. “I thought you’d get knocked over by that octopus.”

“Well, you have to make progress, right?” Xia Tong scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“You’re already getting pretty skilled at running dungeons. Next time, we can just form a guild raid group. Our efficiency will be even higher,” Lin Mingfei said.

“That’s amazing! Finally, I can join everyone for a dungeon raid!” Xia Tong clapped her hands excitedly.

Lin Mingfei chuckled softly. “Alright, time to log off and eat.”

“Okay!” Xia Tong replied.

The two logged out of the game. As they emerged from their pods, Xia Tong rubbed his stomach, realizing just how hungry he was.

Chatting and laughing, they walked out of the training room. On the stairs, Xia Tong caught the enticing aroma of food wafting upwards. Leaning over the railing, he craned his neck to look downstairs. Sure enough, the dining table was loaded with steaming, delicious dishes. The other three members of Team P, including He Youjin, were already seated with chopsticks in hand.

“Auntie Song is truly a treasure!” Xia Tong exclaimed in high spirits.

“Yeah, if you two don’t get down here soon, Fire’s going to pick off all the meat,” Shi Ya teased, resting her chin on her hand.

“Exactly, any later, and all you’ll be licking are the plates,” Zhou Yanjun said, chewing happily without a hint of guilt.

“Gross. You ran all morning only to eat it all back by noon. What’s the point of your so-called diet?” Lin Mingfei snorted. He grabbed Xia Tong by the arm, guiding the little Omega to a seat closer to the meat dishes. Then, he took a freshly washed pair of chopsticks from Auntie Song and handed them to Xia Tong.

“You two were raiding so long you didn’t even come to eat. Now you’re blaming me?” Zhou Yanjun grumbled.

“Yeah, raiding without inviting your teammates? Someone might think you’re planning to start your own team,” Shi Ya said, raising an eyebrow with a half-smile.

Lin Mingfei coughed awkwardly, then explained, “We were in a hurry to start the raid, so we didn’t call you.”

“I was the top DPS in the raid! And I got new gear!” Xia Tong couldn’t help but share his excitement.

“Impressive,” Shi Ya said with a soft laugh.

“If only you were this good in the arena!” Zhou Yanjun teased.

“I will be, definitely!” Xia Tong declared confidently.

The group chatted and ate in a lively atmosphere, but the mood was interrupted when He Youjin’s phone vibrated. Frowning slightly, he stepped away from the table to take the call.

Hearing the accusatory voice on the other end, He Youjin blurted out in disbelief, “Hacks? What hacks? That’s impossible!” He forced himself to calm down and spoke in a polite, measured tone. “None of our members use hacks. If you don’t believe me, you can check the account’s operation data. A simple report doesn’t prove anything. You know players love to file baseless complaints.”

The person on the other end said something more, and He Youjin’s expression grew grim. Suppressing a sigh, he replied, “Alright,” and hung up.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Mingfei, seated at the table, noticed He Youjin’s unease and asked.

Taking a deep breath, He Youjin tamped down his frustration before speaking. “The game officials received an anonymous report accusing Xia Xiaotong’s account of using hacks.”

“What?” Xia Tong froze mid-bite, looking confused. “What’s hacking…?”

Rolling his eyes, He Youjin replied, “Seeing how clueless you are, it’s obvious you wouldn’t know how to hack. They’ve already checked the account data and didn’t find anything suspicious for now.”

“Then what’s the issue?” Shi Ya frowned and turned to Lin Mingfei. “Sounds like someone got jealous because you two raided too well and decided to stir up trouble.”

Lin Mingfei didn’t respond, his brows furrowing in thought.

“The bigger issue,” He Youjin continued, “is that the account’s IP address matches the one registered to our team. You know how sensitive officials are about professional teams. That’s why they called to ask if we know Xia Tong.”

Lin Mingfei pinched the bridge of his nose. “What’s their decision?”

“They want to send someone over to inspect our pods on-site,” He Youjin said, his tone resigned. “To ensure we’re not using external hacks.”

“Ridiculous!” Zhou Yanjun slammed the table in anger. “Why should we let them inspect us over an unfounded, anonymous report?”

“Exactly!” Even Bo Yu, usually reserved, couldn’t hold back. “This is like being accused of shoplifting and then being forced to strip for a search. It’s humiliating!”

Zhou Yanjun clenched his fists tightly. “Captain, we can’t let them do this. It’s unacceptable!”

He Youjin looked at Lin Mingfei, awaiting his decision. “Zero, what do you say?”

Lin Mingfei’s voice was calm. “When are they arriving?”

“Lin Mingfei!” Zhou Yanjun shouted in protest.

“Shut up,” Lin Mingfei snapped, silencing him. Turning to He Youjin, he said, “Let’s go meet them at the door.”

He Youjin sighed deeply but nodded. “Alright.”

The two got up and left the table.

Xia Tong, still sitting, nibbled on the hamburger steak Lin Mingfei had given him, but the food had lost its flavor. He chewed mechanically, his delicate eyebrows drooping with dejection.

Shi Ya, noticing the little Omega biting his chopsticks in a daze, moved closer and patted him gently on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s not a big deal,” he said reassuringly. “Eat up, fill your stomach.”

“But…” Xia Tong’s voice was small and uncertain. “Did I do something wrong again? Was it wrong to deal so much DPS earlier?”

“No, it’s not your fault.” Shi Ya smiled and handed him a bowl of soup. “Someone got jealous of your DPS and accused you of using hacks to achieve it.”

“I didn’t hack!” Xia Tong said, panicking.

“We know you didn’t. That’s why Zero and the manager are sorting it out for you.” Shi Ya chuckled softly.

“Did I cause trouble for Zero and the manager?” Xia Tong asked sadly. “Maybe I should explain it myself.”

“No need,” Shi Ya said. “Every great player has been envied or falsely accused before they rise to prominence. It’s normal and not a big deal. Zero is the team captain, and Old He is the team manager—handling situations like this is part of their job. You’re a member of the team. We stick together. No need to feel guilty.”

“Will this affect our ability to compete?” Xia Tong asked worriedly. “Will the game staff ban us from participating because of a bad reputation?”

“You didn’t cheat, so what are you afraid of?” Shi Ya replied lazily. “In my opinion, the ones who’ll end up at a disadvantage after this little visit might not be who you’d expect.”

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