After Becoming Enemies with Magical Girls, They Started Chasing Me: Chapter 43

Ling Feng and the others were veteran players, so they naturally did not have to put in much effort.

"Holy crap, is that Chen Kai? Even such an amazing pro player came? This tournament is going to be interesting."

"Damn, it really seems to be him. But that emo hairstyle... it's a little... uh... hard to describe~"

Outside the venue, several young men who had traveled from "thousands of miles away" chatted among themselves.

"Tch, what do you know? Kai God is the captain of Tiandi Team, and he was ranked second in the very first PVP rankings. You bunch of losers really have no idea!"

"Exactly, exactly. Bleh~"

Several female fans who had come because of Chen Kai immediately mocked them after hearing that. One girl even stuck her tongue out at them, leaving the two guys feeling rather stifled.

"What the hell? So what if he's second? First place still belongs to my God Feng!"

"That's right. Ignore them, let's go in. I heard Duskfall will be here too. Let's get ready for a good show!"

"Hehe, he said on stream last night that he'd come. We can bully them again then~"

After saying that, the young man pulled out his newly bought iPhone 13 and opened the Dragon Fang TV streaming platform.

His ID was, impressively, "Duskfall Is My God."

The winter sunlight was no longer scorching or blinding, but had become gentle instead. It fell upon their faces with exceptional softness.

Early in the morning, Ling Feng hurried over by taxi and happened to run into Zhao Ping and the others on the way.

"Let's make this clear first. If we don't win the championship this time... uh... then we don't win it."

"..."

As Zhao Ping spoke, he suddenly sighed, leaving Ling Feng and Yuwen speechless.

What a profound speech—except it said absolutely nothing.

Wasn't that the same as saying nothing at all?

The competition had not even started, and he was already dejected? Where was his ambition? How would he know if he did not give it a try?

"Hmph, we have a god on our team. We'll definitely win~"

Su Xiaoxiao appeared extremely confident, as though victory were already within reach.

"Hey~ Aren't you overestimating me?"

"This is called trust!"

"Alright, participation is what matters. At least we tried our best and won't be left with regrets. Don't worry, I'll always be with you."

Su Yun stood nearby, comforting them attentively like a big sister next door.

Yet her words were like a calming pill, settling in everyone's hearts.

Ling Feng, on the other hand, looked calm on the surface, but he was actually panicking like crazy.

My mindset... I have to stay steady!

Opening Ceremony

When the time came, the host changed to a woman in her twenties and began explaining the process.

Contestants first had to sign in with the staff and receive their competition credentials.

Then they would wait in the rest area. When it was time for their match, the referees would announce their player numbers over the broadcast, and they would find the staff, who would lead them to their assigned stations.

That was the usual process for offline tournaments. The finals had an opening ceremony, much like a track and field event.

Tournament format: city qualifiers in each region -> regional elimination matches -> offline regional semifinals -> grand finals.

Players from other places could directly choose the region they belonged to.

Zhao Ping usually kept up with SK tournaments, and he also had a severe case of social fearlessness. Thus, he was not nervous in the slightest right now. He even wanted to recite a poem before the match to express his passionate indignation.

When the competition roster was announced, the entire venue erupted into cheers again.

Professional players from teams like LD Tiandi, Qingjiu, Hall, and Mingren had all entered, catching many people by surprise.

After all, this Winter Tournament was only considered a mid-to-upper-tier event. Even LD, ranked among the top five, had come to participate. This tournament was sure to be worth watching.

As one game ID after another drifted across the giant screen, many of the nearly ten thousand people present began cheering.

"Ah! Kai God, I'm your fan!"

"I never thought I'd get to see my idol from this close one day. Ah, I'm going to die~"

"Hey, aren't you being way too dramatic?"

In the audience, another girl beside the young woman said this, then raised a light sign bearing Chen Kai's name and began shouting.

"Ah! Kai God is so handsome! Kai God, I want to have your babies!"

The girl holding the sign did not care about her best friend's disdainful gaze.

Beyond that, different cheers rose from every corner of the venue.

"Sister Bao'er, go!! I'll always support you!!"

"Little Black! I choose you! If you lose, livestream yourself eating shit!"

"Whoa, it's Sister Jin and Bearded Bro!"

"Oh, isn't that Big Beauty? She's still so beautiful after not seeing her for a few days."

"Th-that is... Little Mei? And Blonde Girl?!"

One stirring cry after another rose and fell, leaving the female host unable to manage them all. She could only keep shouting for the audience to quiet down.

"Wait... holy crap?! Is that Duskfall Fengxue ID really the god himself?"

"Seriously?? Where, where? Let me see! Hurry up!"

In the audience, a young man shook his companion by the arm, looking even more excited than him.

"It's real. If you don't believe me, look at the roster up there."

"Damn, Duskfall is already regarded as SK's number one player. He's ranked first on the national leaderboard."

"Yeah. It looks like Duskfall wants to lead a team into the professional scene. His personal strength is at the top, but who knows how good his teammates are? If he has to carry four people by himself, I think it'll still be pretty risky."

"Whatever. I'm supporting the god anyway!"

Once the two of them noticed it, more people naturally did too, and the venue instantly broke into another wave of discussion.

"Is that Duskfall Fengxue ID for real? Didn't they say Duskfall had retired?"

"Heh, you don't know? I recently heard in the community that he's streaming on Dragon Fang TV. I definitely have to follow him later!"

With all this, Ling Feng had no idea that his popularity had risen another notch. Even the professional players had noticed him.

Fortunately, the early matches were all offline games broadcast to the audience on the big screen. Otherwise, Ling Feng might not have been able to keep himself together.

What even was all this?

Couldn't they just lie at home and watch on their phones? Why did they have to come in person?

Most of the people who came today were die-hard fans. The most people would come on the final day for the semifinals and grand finals, when the real players would appear on camera and be split into two sides for PK.

And now, every esports player standing onstage shone brightly.

Even a simple team introduction from a few more famous professional players could trigger waves of discussion and applause.

Ling Feng had been jointly nominated as captain by the others, so he had no choice but to go onstage as well.

Yuwen was obviously the tactical core of the team. Wasn't it a little strange to make him, a main player, the captain?

Fortunately, Ling Feng controlled his emotions well.

"Wow, who's that handsome guy? Why haven't I seen him before?"

"Is he a streamer? Or a rookie pro?"

"So handsome. I really want to take this little cabbage home~"

A girl in the audience said shyly, and several other girls seemed to feel the same way.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft! You lovestruck fool! He looks like he's still in high school. What are you even thinking?"

"Can't I take him back to my dorm and raise him first?"

"..."

"How about a bet? One dollar says this is another cannon fodder."

"Damn, can you be any more shameless?"

"Sure. How about ten dollars?"

"Fuck!"

On the other side, several boys also grumbled about it.

Esports Legend

In life, everyone had moments when their hearts pounded and they felt extremely nervous.

Generally speaking, anyone giving a speech onstage for the first time would definitely feel somewhat uneasy and nervous.

However, Ling Feng had been called out by name several times during middle school assemblies and made to go onstage to read self-criticism letters, so he did not feel much now.

What he cared about most was the excitement and joy of Su Xiaoxiao, Zhao Ping, and the others below the stage. Since he did not know whether he would have another chance to stand on an esports stage in the future, he had to seize the final victory!

"Hello, everyone. We're just newcomers here to compete, and although we don't have much experience, please allow me to say this: everyone here is... uh... a big shot!"

Ling Feng's words left many people present completely baffled. What was this guy even saying?

Although it was merely a dull, routine segment, they still had to go through the motions.

Chen Kai stood onstage in a flashy cosplay pose. He had already looked down on these people, and after hearing Ling Feng call himself a newcomer, Chen Kai paid even less attention to him.

The other players seemed much the same. Most of them had come for fame, and they did not care about the tens of thousands in prize money at all.

Once they had fame, they would have many more opportunities. Plenty of platforms would invite them to endorse products, stream, and promote businesses. Wouldn't money come pouring in then? Why would they care about this little amount?

Though this had already strayed from the true meaning of competition, it was also the most genuine side of human nature.

Thinking back to the passion and hot-blooded excitement of gaming in internet cafés, wasn't enjoying esports itself everyone's original dream?

After Ling Feng finished speaking, just as the female referee was about to invite the next person to continue, she finally noticed that strangely familiar ID.

"Then... thank you to Captain Duskfall Fengxue for your speech."

The moment the female referee finished speaking in a daze, the entire venue fell silent.

For a time, every audience member below the stage stared at Ling Feng in disbelief, as though they had seen some legendary figure.

And it truly was an esports legend within the SK community. Ling Feng did not know that his past feat of dominating the PVP rankings without spending money on equipment had once stirred up a massive uproar in the community.

He had unknowingly crushed professional players in the Peak 1v1 Ranked Ladder, leaving SK's professional league completely at a loss. Ling Feng himself had remained utterly unaware afterward.

The professional players he had crushed suspected him of using cheats and reported him together, only for all the data to come back normal. It was absurd.

Yet no one had expected that behind all of it was simply a teenager with no money to spend, who had set his sights on the ranking rewards.

It was outrageously ridiculous!!

If any professional player had known this day would come, they would have found Ling Feng and asked to spend a fortune on him!

Then that humiliating disgrace of the S1 season would never have happened!

"Duskfall Fengxue? Could that handsome guy be Duskfall? My god! Ah, I'm going to die~"

"Hey, enough already!" "I just didn't expect Duskfall, who had forged an SK legend, to be so young."

"He's adorable, isn't he? Duskfall is so handsome. Just looking at him makes you feel as if he's the protagonist of a novel~"