But for Ling Feng and Luo Xiyan, time seemed to have frozen, and space stood still.
The two of them left the convention together...
Behind them, only a brilliantly colorful backdrop remained~
Three Consecutive Rings
The next morning, warm sunlight shone through the window onto the head of the bed.
Only when his phone started ringing did Ling Feng reluctantly turn over and grope around in the dark to turn off the alarm.
But he had no intention of getting up. The moment he turned off the alarm, he burrowed straight back under the covers.
About twenty minutes later, the alarm rang again. Even after turning it off this time, Ling Feng still had no intention of getting up and once again hid beneath the blankets.
Finally, when it rang for the third time, Ling Feng reluctantly sat up in bed, rubbed his bleary eyes, and looked dazedly at the time on his phone.
"Mm, just right."
Ling Feng had set three alarms. It was like giving himself a preventive shot in advance—it made him feel much more at ease, less rushed and pressured.
Once, after turning off the third alarm, he had been so sleepy that he closed his eyes intending to sleep for just a few more minutes. By the time he jolted awake from his dream, class had already started over three hours ago!
"Startled awake from the brink of death in a dream—the clown was actually me?!"
He had panicked at first, then five hundred excuses for taking leave flashed through his mind, but not a single damn one was believable.
Teacher: "Why were you late?"
Ling Feng: "Someone dropped a coin."
Teacher: "So you did a good deed and helped them find it?"
Ling Feng: "No, I stepped on the coin and waited until they left before picking it up..."
Anyway, Ling Feng's parents had been called in again afterward, so now, whenever he heard the third alarm, no matter how miserable he felt, he would get up.
"Another sad day~"
Originally, Ling Feng had hoped to make it up to Ling Wanqing during the holiday. Ever since she had come over, he seemingly had not properly spent time with her. He had gotten so busy with his own matters that he forgot, and he could not help feeling a little guilty.
So today, Ling Feng took Ling Wanqing to the esports arena with him. As Ling Xiaoyu had requested, they only needed to be back by dinnertime tonight.
Ling Wanqing was especially excited. Ling Feng was willing to take her out to have fun, and she had never watched an esports match before, so it all felt very novel to her.
Ling Wanqing clung to Ling Feng's arm and looked around everywhere. With the finals approaching, the arena was truly packed today, and the two of them were very eye-catching walking together.
After meeting up with Zhao Ping, Yuwen, Su Yun, Su Xiaoxiao, and Luo Xiyan, they did not talk much. They briefly introduced themselves, then settled into their seats.
Today, Zhao Ping and the others felt mostly excited and thrilled, but they were also somewhat nervous. Success or failure would be decided in one stroke. Whether they would hold the trophy together onstage or stand below the stage silently applauding and offering their blessings would all depend on the final match.
Sitting in the stands, Ling Feng quietly opened his phone. Seeing the extra five hundred yuan in his account, he smiled in satisfaction~
Looks like Xi He hadn't lied to him.
[Hah? Who do you think I am?]
At that moment, the familiar cold mechanical female voice suddenly rang out in his mind, startling Ling Feng so badly that he jolted.
"Hey! Can you give people a warning before showing up in the future? You're going to scare someone to death like this!" Ling Feng grumbled inwardly.
[So, how do you feel, Master? Are you very happy?]
"Yeah, I'm pretty happy. Who wouldn't be happy to get paid?" Ling Feng nodded, asking in return with a speechless expression.
[That's not what I meant.]
"Huh? Then what did you mean..."
Suddenly realizing another meaning, Ling Feng immediately burst into profanity. "Holy shit, it was a trap?! Pfft, pfft, pfft! Happy my ass!"
"Xiaofeng, you're actually a professional player? That's amazing!" Ling Wanqing cried excitedly.
"I'm not."
"Hey, little sister, your brother is way more awesome than a professional player!" Zhao Ping boasted from beside them.
"Really?" Hearing Zhao Ping's words, Ling Wanqing smiled even more excitedly.
"This little girl is so cute. Want a hug from your big sister?" Su Xiaoxiao asked with a mischievous grin.
"Huh? You look about the same age as me, and I'll be a senior in high school next year. I'm not little," Ling Wanqing said blankly.
"This..."
Before the semifinals began, Su Yun and the others did not look nervous at all. Instead, they were chatting and laughing. Was this the calm that came from being too nervous?
Ling Feng did not think much of it. At that moment, he only felt a warm touch in his palm. Luo Xiyan tugged at his hand and gave him a meaningful look, carrying a trace of encouragement and expectation, before giving him a thumbs-up.
Well then, after seeing that, Zhao Ping, Yuwen, Su Xiaoxiao, and the others all looked at Ling Feng with disbelief. Only Su Yun calmly revealed a faint smile, took a sip of mineral water, and looked as though everything had gone exactly as she expected.
Ling Wanqing did not know why, but she suddenly felt a little sour inside.
"No, no, I should be happy for my brother." Ling Wanqing forcibly comforted herself.
By then, the match seemed about to begin, and the players grew even more excited...
A Heart as Still as Water
Amid the contestants' laughter, the fierce "slaughter" came to an end, and they moved on to a new battlefield.
A white curtain slowly rose, and the SK Chronicles of Time and Space Winter Tournament playoff semifinals began upon it.
The members of the final four teams greeted one another. As one of the top three teams in the country, LD Team had naturally fought their way here as well.
Chen Kai happened to be standing in the same row as Ling Feng and the others. Though he still had that ridiculous hairstyle, his face was indeed quite handsome. He then looked at Ling Feng confidently and said.
"Hehe, rookie—no, you can't really be called a rookie anymore. Anyway, let's settle this under our hands later!"
Hearing this ridiculously styled handsome guy talking to him, Ling Feng could not be bothered to respond. He merely gave a friendly smile and nod.
Seeing Ling Feng looking utterly uninterested, Chen Kai felt somewhat stifled. He was at least a professional player who had reached second place on the PVP rankings!
But he was indeed a top professional player, and within moments, he had returned to being his confident number-one self.
"Little brother, you may have some skill, but I'm strong too. Just you wait!"
"..."
"Handsome boy—no, I should call you Duskfall now. Go easy on your big sister later, okay?"
A female player from a professional team beside him smiled sweetly at Ling Feng. Though it sounded like a joke, Ling Feng did not see it that way.
Was this a pre-match provocation?
Although several other players exchanged "greetings," the stands were the liveliest place.
This time, they were directly divided into two sides onstage for a live PK, and everyone's enthusiasm soared even higher.
Ling Wanqing sat beside Luo Xiyan. The girl excitedly shouted things like cheering them on, and when Su Xiaoxiao noticed, she waved at her as well.
Luo Xiyan, meanwhile, simply sat quietly. A lock of long pink hair rested on her shoulder, and her clear, beautiful eyes held a pure tranquility. The natural expression on her delicate, pretty face made people feel inexplicably at ease.
"Go, Duskfall! You have to crush those bastards!"
"Who are you calling bastards?!"
"That's just the truth. The great god will definitely take first place!"
"Tch, Kai God will win for sure!"
"Go, Sister Bao'er! I'll always support you!"
At that moment, similar words echoed from different places. After all, everyone hoped the idol in their hearts would take first place.
Students passing by, whether they were SK players or not, stopped in their tracks for this exciting "slaughter."
The professional players' maneuvers differed from the rawness of the contestants next door. Every advance and retreat drew blood; every movement and tactic was carefully calculated. The spectacular match captured everyone's attention.
The two "battlefields" complemented each other. The combination of online and offline play, the contrast between PC and mobile games, and the intersection of professional and mobile tournament arenas made the event even more varied and exciting.
On the giant screen, a tense battlefield was clearly displayed before the audience, using New City Academy's white walls as its canvas.
Every character movement and every skill release no longer existed only in the players' eyes. The people waiting outside for the match also watched their fierce battle closely, invisibly adding pressure to the players.
And it was precisely that invisible pressure that pushed the players into producing even more brilliant plays.
The semifinal opponents were clearly much stronger than those from the earlier rounds, and Zhao Ping and the others felt greater pressure. Fortunately, after Yuwen analyzed the technical habits of each team's players before the match and prepared tactical strategies in advance, they still played with relative ease.
Ling Feng could still handle the enemy's two main damage-dealing mages alone, while the two young women on the other side had their brows tightly furrowed, sweat covering their foreheads. Fortunately, their side promptly sent over a support player to help, barely stabilizing the situation.
"Damn, isn't Duskfall way too brutal? He can use sword skills this well too?"
"Did the great god hide his strength before?"
Meanwhile, the female players' fans continued cheering them on.
"Go, Bao'er!"
"Go, Blonde Girl! Bearded Uncle!!"
Calm and Peaceful?
Finally, when one of the enemy team's female players made a mistake, Ling Feng and the others seized the opportunity and secured the win.
Though the match had ended, even if the other side had not made that mistake, losing was only a matter of time. Their HP was basically at the bottom; grazing them with any skill would have nearly taken them out.
Ling Feng sighed expressionlessly, then turned his head aside as though he did not care.
"Come on, it was just one match. Why are all of you sweating so much?"
Seeing them all panting heavily, Ling Feng did not even know how to mock them. Technology City had three main lanes. As long as they paid attention to coordination, once they gained an advantage, they could simply wear down the enemy's health and win.
But Zhao Ping and the others were not formally trained professional players. Facing these professionally trained players was indeed a bit much for them, though winning now was still pretty ridiculous.
"Hey, didn't we win anyway?" Su Xiaoxiao exhaled and smiled as she gave a thumbs-up.
She had also felt like she was out of breath just now. Even though she had only been sitting and controlling the keyboard, she had worked up quite a sweat.
Su Xiaoxiao did not think she was someone with poor physical fitness. She could dance onstage for an entire day, or go without food or water for three days and three nights while still brimming with energy. She was practically inhuman.
When they first signed up for the competition, if Su Xiaoxiao had not brought her ID to prove she was already an adult, the staff would not even have let her register.
Zhao Ping and Yuwen were about the same, and even Su Yun was a little unsettled. But after meeting Ling Feng's gaze, she immediately composed herself and calmly smoothed the hair at her temple.
"Uh..."
In any case, a few simple words could not express the joy in their hearts. They had fought their way through every obstacle, and it was practically as enjoyable as using cheats, leaving the audience utterly dumbfounded.
"Holy shit? Damn it, Duskfall really is the number-one PVP player!"
"The great god's controls are so baffling. Didn't they say this game's difficulty was the highest in history? Watching Duskfall play, I thought the person in the game was actually him. His awareness is way too strong."
"And it's not just that. Duskfall's teammates are strong too. Their individual skills may not be particularly solid, but their coordination is flawless. Some of their skill chains are impossible to break. Are they really rookies?"
"Those girls are so pretty too. Do you think they might be the great god's... hehe... He wouldn't even let lolis go~"
"Pfft, what are you thinking? They should just be classmates."
Several young men leaning against the railings around the venue watched the victory emblem displayed on the giant screen and discussed it endlessly.
The stands had long since erupted into thunderous cheers. The two teams' players shook hands amicably, and the next match was about to begin.
But getting this close to professional players truly made Zhao Ping and Yuwen incredibly nervous.
When a bearded uncle from the other side saw the two beautiful women, Su Xiaoxiao and Su Yun, he also friendly extended his hand and did not forget to offer his business card.
Yuwen naturally felt a little annoyed upon seeing this, but it was not the first or second time. Who could blame him for having such a beautiful girlfriend?
As for Su Yun, she could not even be bothered to glance at the bearded uncle, making her seem a little tsundere. Su Xiaoxiao ignored him too, but several girls on the other side kept flirting with Ling Feng and greeting him, which made her very angry.
The great god isn't yours! Stop trying to get close to him!
Before you continue