Edited by - xiaoAnZheee

After the plane landed in Seoul, the organizers' staff were there ahead of time to pick up the participants. Since there was no mention of Chi Shuo among the members from the China region, the person in charge of the pick-up checked the list and didn't find his name. Chi Shuo voluntarily stepped aside from the group, stating that he would take a taxi by himself.

Ye Shaoyang looked at him with concern and asked, "Can you speak Korean? Is it okay to take a taxi alone?"

Chi Shuo replied, "I've already booked a cab in advance. You go to the hotel with everyone else, and I'll follow later."

Ye Shaoyang whispered, "Then, be careful. After all, this is a foreign country."

Ye Shaoyang was still very concerned about him, worried about him being alone abroad. In fact, this wasn't Chi Shuo's first time in South Korea; he was quite familiar with the place.

On the way to the hotel by taxi, Chi Shuo looked at the tall buildings outside the window, feeling a mix of emotions.

The last time he was in South Korea was six years ago when he was a trainee under Tianhuan, not officially debuted yet. There was an unofficial invitational tournament here with a high prize, and his master asked him to come along to broaden his horizons. It was Chi Shuo's first time traveling abroad, and his master was worried he might get lost, so he kept an eye on him.

Now, as the team captain and alongside his disciple, he accompanied Ye Shaoyang and Xiao Xing to participate in the competition.

Time flew by too fast; he was already 23 years old. The years from 17 to 23, being an esports player, would be the most memorable experience of his life.

Especially now that he had met Ye Shaoyang, he finally understood what it felt like to like someone.

Thinking about how Ye Shaoyang slept soundly leaning on him on the plane, Chi Shuo couldn't help but smirk slightly, feeling much better.

He used to think that when he retired, he would have nothing to do. But now with Shaoyang, after retiring, he could travel the world with him. As long as he had someone he liked by his side, nothing would seem boring.

The taxi soon arrived at the hotel, and the official pick-up car also just arrived. Chi Shuo saw Ye Shaoyang and the others in the hotel lobby following the team leader to check-in, while he went to the other side's front desk to check in.

The two exchanged a glance in the crowd.

Ye Shaoyang smiled at Chi Shuo. Just then, his phone rang. He looked down and saw a message from Chi Shuo: "I'm staying in Building B, 17th floor, room 1703."

Ye Shaoyang replied, "The players and staff from the China region are staying in Building A, 22nd floor. I'm in room 2219."

Building A and Building B were quite far apart.

But being in the same hotel, they could meet anytime.

Chi Shuo said, "I'll go put my luggage away first and then we can chat."

This hotel was the designated cooperative hotel for this year's World Invitational Tournament, with all the players from different countries staying in Building A, and Building B accommodating individual guests.

Chi Shuo went back to his room to put away his luggage. Soon, his phone rang again, and seeing the familiar profile picture of a little white cat made him feel warm: "I'm back in my room. The staff said there's a welcome banquet tonight. How about dinner for you?"

Chi Shuo replied, "Don't worry about me, I'll eat out by myself."

Seeing this reply, Ye Shaoyang couldn't help but think, if Chi Shuo didn't stick with the team, for the next week, he would be staying alone, eating alone... Wouldn't it be better not to leave him alone like this?

However, during international competitions, players were not allowed to leave the team without permission, and Ye Shaoyang couldn't just go out to eat with Chi Shuo like they would during domestic tournaments.

He felt conflicted, considering whether to ask the team leader to request an additional spot for team meals from the organizing committee. Just then, Chi Shuo sent another message—

"All participating teams from various countries have submitted their rosters in advance, and adding people randomly is not allowed. I came abroad voluntarily this time and don't want to cause trouble for the team leader and the chairman. So, I'll arrange everything for eating and lodging by myself. Don't worry, focus on preparing for the competition."

...Did he somehow guess what I was thinking? 

The strange connection between the two of them was hard to explain sometimes. Seeing this message, Ye Shaoyang breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "That's good then. Make sure to eat on time."

"Yeah, I'll order room service at the hotel."

After ending the conversation, Ye Shaoyang took a shower in the bathroom, hung his clothes in the closet, and by the time he finished, it was dinner time. Team leader Liu Xiao sent a notice for everyone to gather at the elevator lobby to go eat together.

The welcome banquet tonight was crowded with people. There were 32 individual players, 16 pairs in the doubles tournament, and another 32 individuals including team leaders and official commentators from various regions, all of whom occupied an entire floor reserved by the organizing committee.

The banquet was quite lavish, but Ye Shaoyang wasn't very interested in the various shapes of kimchi on the table. Since he wasn't hungry anyway, he just had a little bit. He couldn't understand the speeches in a mix of English and Korean from the host, so he didn't pay much attention, knowing that any information related to the competition would be communicated by the team leader in their group chat.

After dinner, a blond guy suddenly approached their table to greet them, giving Zhou Jiawen a warm hug. Ye Shaoyang looked up and met the guy's blue eyes.

The other person had a pair of beautiful blue eyes and curly golden hair, like a prince from a comic book. Zhou Jiawen smiled and introduced, "This is Mitchell." Then, he turned to Mitchell and said, "And this is 'Lieyang' you can't stop thinking about."

Ye Shaoyang: "..."

He hadn't expected Mitchell to be quite cute, a sunny handsome guy.

Ye Shaoyang stood up and politely greeted him, "Hello."

Mitchell looked at him curiously and said in broken Chinese, "You, are you... Omega?"

Ye Shaoyang mimicked his tone and replied, "You are Alpha?"

Mitchell widened his eyes, "I am originally an Alpha."

Ye Shaoyang said, "I am originally an Omega too."

Zhou Jiawen sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Let me translate for you. Mitchell means that you are an Omega player, but you play so fiercely in the games, he didn't expect that."

Ye Shaoyang nodded with a smile, "I understand what he roughly means. Tell him that in this individual tournament, I'll be even fiercer than when we played practice matches together. If he happens to encounter me, he shouldn't go easy on me."

Zhou Jiawen translated in English on the side.

Mitchell's eyes almost popped out, "I will definitely beat you this time!"

Ye Shaoyang raised an eyebrow, "Alright, I look forward to you beating me."

Mitchell left angrily, and Yao Mu laughed on the side, "Did he come all the way here just to challenge Lieyang?"

Zhou Jiawen muttered under his breath, "This guy holds grudges especially well. I solo-killed him several times on the international server before, and he always wanted revenge, challenging me to matches every day. Eventually, after we ended up with a fifty-fifty win record, he stopped. I guess you could say we got to know each other through fighting."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Although he has a hot temper, he's not malicious. His mind is just filled with games, quite a straightforward person. Well, in Chinese, you could say he's straightforward, a bit lacking in brains, right?"

Cheng Xing blurted out, "Isn't that quite similar to Reporter Zhao?"

After speaking, he realized as a newcomer he shouldn't talk too much and immediately blushed and lowered his head.

Zhou Jiawen said, "Fan Xing is right, his style does resemble Reporter Zhao’s. So, he always plays the mid-laner like a warrior, diving in close combat with opponents. His favorite champions are assassins and melee mages, especially his main, [Sun Mage]. But... he got solo-killed by Lieyang with his main champion, and he still remembers it to this day."

Ye Shaoyang cleared his throat, "Well, that's also because he underestimated me at the time."

Just as they were talking, two people passed by, and many players surrounded them to chat. These two seemed to radiate a natural aura of stardom, and their looks were also exceptional.

Zhou Jiawen lowered his voice, "Choi Hyuk and Park Wonseok."

Ye Shaoyang understood and turned to glance at them a few more times. They were currently the most popular mid- jungle duo in Korea, also praised by the Korean media as the world's best jungle-mid synergy... Their reputation was exaggerated.

Both newcomers were under 20 years old, the prime age for esports players. They won the world championship last year and were understandably a bit proud. Ye Shaoyang saw several lesser-known players greet them, but they barely responded and quickly left the scene.

Xie Weiyu muttered softly, "They're really arrogant."

Ye Shaoyang chuckled lightly, "Well, they were the world champions last year, after all."

Xie Weiyu said, "It's a pity that your team couldn't participate this year. Otherwise, with you two as the mid-jungle duo, we wouldn't necessarily fear them. Who knows who the real number one is."

Just then, Cheng Xing suddenly whispered, "Yang ge, Yang ge, isn't that blonde beauty over there Vanessa from the European region? There aren't many female players, and she happens to be at the European region's table."

Ye Shaoyang followed Cheng Xing's gaze and met her light brown eyes.

Vanessa was not shy either. She smiled openly at Ye Shaoyang and even winked at him. Ye Shaoyang looked away and said, "You're quite interested in Miss A, huh?"

Cheng Xing replied, "She's just really pretty."

Zhou Jiawen joked, "Does Xiao Xing have a crush on Miss A?"

Cheng Xing hurriedly waved his hands, "No, I still prefer the soft and cute Omega girls!"

Zhou Jiawen couldn't help but laugh, "How old are you again? By the way, have you undergone differentiation?"

Cheng Xing's face turned red, "I-I've already differentiated into an Alpha!"

Ye Shaoyang had never really thought about Cheng Xing's status as an Alpha. In his eyes, Cheng Xing was just a kid who hadn't grown up yet. But in the ABO world, Cheng Xing had indeed undergone differentiation, marking adulthood. He could be labeled as an Alpha.

Of course, he could also be with a Miss A?

After all, marriages in this world were very liberal. As long as both parties were human, as long as they didn't engage in interspecies relationships, they could register for marriage.

Ye Shaoyang increasingly felt that seeing any type of couple here wouldn't be surprising anymore.

He lowered his head and picked up his phone, sending a message to Chi Shuo, "Have you eaten?"

Chi Shuo replied, "Yeah. The group information is out."

He sent Ye Shaoyang a screenshot.

Ye Shaoyang had been busy eating and recognizing players, so he hadn't checked the league's official website.

But Chi Shuo had been staying in the dormitory. He ordered room service from the hotel and refreshed the official website while eating in the dormitory, sending the group list to Ye Shaoyang as soon as possible.

In this individual tournament, the top 32 were divided into eight groups A to H, with four players in each group. The top two from each group would advance to the round of 16, and the knockout stage would begin from the round of 16, eventually determining the top four and the champion.

Ye Shaoyang was in Group C, and the players in his group were from Japan, South Korea, and North America.

Cheng Xing was in Group H, and the players in her group surprisingly included Mitchell and Vanessa?

Ye Shaoyang frowned for a moment. "Xiao Xing's luck isn't too good. How did he run into these two?"

Chi Shuo replied, "It's okay. It's a rare opportunity to spar with world-class players. Regardless of winning or losing, the key is to play well in every match. Xiao Xing didn't expect to win any prizes this time going abroad, and he knows that himself."

Ye Shaoyang thought for a moment and agreed, "You're right. After all, only the top four can win prizes, and Xiao Xing's strength isn't enough to reach the top four. Drawing strong opponents in the group stage is actually a good thing for him."

Chi Shuo added, "I've already looked up information on the people in your group: one warrior, two junglers. Finish your meal and call me when you're back in your room. Let's practice some simulated matches tonight."

The fact that he waited by the computer to check the information first-hand was surprising. Ye Shaoyang had never heard of these players. To understand foreign players, one needed to visit the official websites of other countries to search for data and information, and then translate them online. It was evident that Chi Shuo had put in a lot of effort to gather information on these three players.

Ye Shaoyang felt a warm sensation in his heart and typed, "Thank you for your hard work."

Chi Shuo replied, "It's nothing. I can play most warriors and assassins, so I can help you practice in advance and find the most suitable gameplay and build options."

Ye Shaoyang responded, "Yeah, the competition is tomorrow afternoon. Could you please help me practice tonight and tomorrow morning? Let's brainstorm some strategies together. When we return to the country, I'll treat you to a big meal ^_^"

Chi Shuo replied straightforwardly, "No problem."