TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 80

Compared to Saber Tiger’s tense, tightrope-like atmosphere, Polaris was much more relaxed. Lin Mingfei led by example, showing complete indifference to fame or recognition.

“I wouldn’t say I invented the close-range triple snipe,” he said slowly. “All these tactics were actually created by the game developers. We’re just like seekers, and I happened to have a bit more time and luck than others, so I could pull off some unique tricks.”

“God, your humble act is so disgusting and fake,” Zhou Yanjun said sincerely.

“If Dylan from Saber Tiger is the ‘Esports Lucky Star,’ then allow me to crown you the ‘Esports Versailles Emperor,’” Shi Ya said, disgust barely contained.

Bo Yu: “…I feel like I joined the wrong team.”

Only Xia Tong cupped his hands to his heart, eyes sparkling: “Wow, Zero, you’re so mature and charming! I’m literally about to worship you!”

[Chat comments:]

Wow… Blink is way too innocent.

Zero, that dog, will say anything to assert authority in front of newbies!

Blink’s pure admiration is so cute hahaha.

The kid’s innocence is heart-wrenching.

Did anyone see that match? Zero took a beating for Blink, and when Blink finally went all out, his eyes were red!

Such a good kid, avenging his big brother!

Wha—what are you guys even talking about? I smell some kind of cult shipping vibe here!

Kinda… ship-worthy! [slurp]

I once swore I’d firmly support the Zero×Timer AA pairing! Don’t even think about swaying me!

But… if AO is ship-worthy, why ship AA…? Isn’t that more wholesome?

To be honest, AO just feels… better.

I really can’t with you fans—if you want holographic esports, fine, but why bring all this gross pairing nonsense into it?

We love it, mind your own business. King’s Tomb your game?

Holographic esports is sacred. I hope all players focus entirely! Don’t sully this intense profession with messy relationship drama!

I hope you KY dogs explode on the spot.

I want to ship CPs and play professionally—what are you gonna do about it?

Anyway, the livestream chaos had nothing to do with the five Polaris members. After a brief break, they resumed their usual arena training. After facing Rainbow once, it was clear that Lin Mingfei’s unusual gear setup was effective, and the weight of lingering doubts was finally lifted.

Once they returned to the arena, they no longer casually encountered professional teams. Lin Mingfei stopped always creating a comfortable output environment for Xia Tong, instead letting him confront the “dark side of the arena.” In other words—Xia Tong started taking real hits.

Even non-professional 5v5 teams at this rank were composed of skilled substitutes or streamers with good game sense. Xia Tong’s tumbles on the ground were nothing short of miserable. After each round, his little nose was bruised grayish-blue. In one instance, he pushed slightly too far forward, and an enemy axe warrior locked onto him. He was pummeled by four players, pinned in a corner for a full minute, and could do nothing but endure crowd control effects.

The results of these training-focused matches were predictable: some wins, some losses. Wins came only because the opponents weren’t aggressive enough in targeting Xia Tong; losses… went without saying.

After the last match, Xia Tong—the little wizard—was not only black-and-blue, but his robe was shredded, the back flaps torn into threads. He had faced a bizarre team with two paladins who relentlessly chased him, even dragging him around the arena. The memory made him shudder, and he cried out on the spot.

“Too scary! Waaaaaaah!” he cried, wiping his tears. “I hate paladins!! I really hate paladins!!!”

Zhou Yanjun: “…Hey, you can’t say that! Not all paladins are—”

“If I were on the enemy team, who would you attack first at the start?!” Xia Tong wailed, tears streaming.

Zhou Yanjun swallowed strategically and pointed at him obediently: “…You.”

“That’s exactly it!” Xia Tong bawled, crying even harder. “I hate paladins! I really hate them! Waaaah!!”

“But—” Zhou Yanjun tried to reason.

“I’m not listening! Not listening!” Xia Tong hugged his head, turned his back, leaving a tattered silhouette behind.

“…”

The livestream chat didn’t mock their losses. Instead, it was filled with sympathetic ellipses:

Sssshhh… so tragic, I literally can’t even, anyone watching this has to say it’s tragic.

I don’t even dare to take my wizard account to the arena anymore qaq.

This game is really unfair to wizards!

Not unfair to wizards—it’s just bad teammates. Who’s gonna chase Fire and Island? Who could even get Zero?

If I had to pick between Timer and Blink, I’d definitely pick the low-health, seemingly dumb one.

What did Blink do wrong? Omega players naturally have lower HP than average!

Omega on the pro scene still has a long way to go…

It’s not about being dumb-looking, it’s that he can’t escape.

Having watched both Gourd Team and Rainbow Team, I can confidently say Blink really can’t escape—he’s an emotionless output machine!

His “Reverse Soul Infinite Combo” charges like it’s free!!

Thinking about it… Blink actually looks pitiful, hahahaha. Why does everyone feel he deserves to get beaten?

Dragged around the arena by two black panthers of similar size—wow, that’s a world wonder!

Black panthers can’t drag me, but Omega is light and soft, can’t deny that.

I know exactly how that feels qaq—I was dragged by a paladin mount before! My butt hurt so badly!

So funny hahahahaha!

Xia Tong whimpered for a long time. His pitiful yet funny appearance left Lin Mingfei both amused and exasperated. He took Xia Tong to repair his gear and reassured him. Polaris’s training session ended for the day, and they logged off for food.

After exiting the “cocoon,” Xia Tong silently walked at the front, radiating black resentment. The other four held back their laughter and followed slowly, not daring to console him.

After a few steps, He Youjin caught up, hands out, exasperated: “Congrats. We’ve been reported again.”

He Youjin’s words were true, but this report was different from the previous “cheating” one.

“Polaris used a bug in the game’s equipment slots to put other-attribute items in the shoe slot, boosting stats, negatively affecting other players’ arena experience, and indirectly exploiting other players’ interests. We now collectively call on the developers to fix this bug and restore a fair and just environment for all holographic game players…” Bo Yu read the post word-for-word, while the other three leaned back in unison, expressions cold and indifferent.

“Ha! That’s it?”

“Zero exploited the bug through skill. Haha, why should it be ‘fixed’?”

“Bet a cucumber this was Rainbow’s stupid doing.”

Xia Tong thoughtfully chewed on his spoon for a moment, then asked earnestly:

“I think their behavior is kind of silly,” he said seriously. “Right now, except for the Saber Tiger team, no other teams are making good progress on clearing the Galoran Ruins, right? So if they can’t get the new gear from the raid, they’d have to come up with another plan. Our team basically volunteered ourselves as guinea pigs, and we found a way to set up gear without having to clear the raid, saving them a lot of effort. They should be happy about that! But instead, they report us—how does that benefit them at all?”

“What do you mean by ‘hurt the enemy a thousand, lose eight hundred yourself’? This is a living example,” He Youjin said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “Look, even Xia Xiaotong can figure this out, but the Rainbow team apparently can’t.”

“They’re probably doing this to rally other teams to collectively petition the game developers, ideally dragging in some mindless fans too, and then use ‘strength in numbers’ to pressure the devs…” Shi Ya commented lightly. “Hmm, can’t deny it’s a bit clever.”

“Don’t you think you’re taking this a little too lightly?” He Youjin said. “What if other teams are swayed and join this brainless movement? They can easily assemble a 25-person raid group regardless, but you guys are completely screwed!”

“I actually think other teams won’t be as irrational as Rainbow,” Lin Mingfei said with complete indifference. “They wouldn’t leave a big threat like Saber Tiger alone and instead come after us.”

“What if they do? I said what if!” He Youjin pressed.

“Let’s put it this way,” Lin Mingfei said. “Even if they collectively lost their minds—” He raised a meaningful eyebrow and smiled faintly. “Old He, you still don’t understand the Wangling game development team very well.”

Feel free to buy me a coffee/show your support on ko-fi! Thank you ❤