FOG [e-sports] Chapter 64

Chapter 64:

Because there was ROD’s incident as a precedent, when photos from the clubhouse came out, it basically ignited all the gunpowder barrels of the major forums.

[E-sports players really have it good these days. Look at them party. 】

[Now I understand why they haven’t been able to produce any results for the past years. Before, they could still blame FS for tearing down the team. But take a look at them now. Looks like it’s the players themselves who don’t want to win. 】

[Other teams aside, Yi Zhan just lost their regular season game today and they still went out to party? Looks like, this team’s completely given up, right? 】

[Given this situation, it’s not surprising that the whole division was wiped out by Sacred Sword. 】

[Let’s make an educated quess. Was Sacred Sword strong these past two years because they had Whisper, or was it because of Sacred Sword’s strict management of their players? 】

【Whisper went to party at the clubhouse with the rest of them. What more proof do you need? Shouldn’t we tear off this last bit of semblance? Did you think our division’s strong now just because Whisper came home? 】

[I used to like these teams very much, but now…as long as your guys are happy. 】

[I don’t care about NSN but now seeing that Saint and Free are the same. I’ve been blind.]

[Was I an idiot for believing that e-sport was a temple for monkhood? Yu Sui has had so many female fans since his debut. Did he lie to us when he said that he’s always been single? Angel Sword is well-known for being a family-oriented man. He must have gone after his share of fans. Chen Huo’s been bragging since a long time ago that he’s had no less than ten girlfriends. And Evil? Oh, what can you expect from someone who started out as a live broadcast anchor. You know he knows how to party hard.]

[With this, these players’ girlfriend fans should have already faced the truth, right? 】

[Weren’t you lying to the fans when you said you were training all day? 】

[How can you go out and party without a second thought when you tell your fans every season that you’re going to do your best next season?】

The sprayers on the forums seized the chance and blew the entire thing out of proportion. Their statements grew uglier and uglier. The players’ fans, naturally, wanted to spray back so things became even livelier. s.h.i.+ Luo would get stuck every time he tried to refresh the forums. The posts raining down abuse emerged in an endless stream. There were too many personal attacks, the forum administrators couldn’t delete them fast enough.

After Zhou Huo recovered a bit he started to read the posts as well. He hesitated. Players could be impulsive but he couldn’t. There were times when due to carelessness, players, as public figures, would accidentally step on sh*t. Sometimes it was better to play it cool rather than giving the rumor fresh life; just like last time when that anchor tried to piggyback off Yu Sui’s popularity. Zhou Huo would never be able to clarify the matter head-on and it was too late to hide.

Zhou Huo was usually the best at dealing with these issues. But it could be said that he was the one who caused this issue today. He knew very well that at the moment he wasn’t thinking straight because of his anxiety and so, he was afraid to make any decisions.

Zhou Huo looked at s.h.i.+ Luo and said, embarra.s.sed, “I’ve still got the receipt from that restaurant and it’s got the payment time on it. I can take a photo of it and post it on Weibo to prove that we just ate there and came back immediately after. Afterwards, none of us should post any reply. We shouldn’t make a big fuss about this. Alright?”

s.h.i.+ Luo shook his head, “No.”

Zhou Huo was anxious. Just in time, Yu Sui had just finished his shower and came down.

s.h.i.+ Luo was sitting to the side, smoking a cigarette. He raised his eyes and glanced at Yu Sui. Seeing that he hadn’t blow-dried his hair again, he threw the towel hanging around his shoulders to Yu Sui.

Yu Sui caught it and started to towel off his hair. Old Qiao totally didn’t find anything wrong with that and he explained the situation regarding the clubhouse to Yu Sui.

“These idiots are getting on little s.h.i.+ Shen’s nerves.” Old Qiao handed Zhou Huo’s cell phone to Yu Sui. He was also hesitant, “He wants to pull in Angel Sword and the others. He wants to fight this wave. You… What do you think?”

Yu Sui looking over that ridiculing post that had made those explosive allegations. When he heard that, he looked up at s.h.i.+ Luo and a smile flashed in his eyes.

Ten minutes later, Saint and Yi Zhan were pulled into Zhou Huo’s temporary group chat.

[Saint-Angel Sword]: […I’ve never gone after any fans. ]

[Saint-Illusion]: [F*ck those sh*ts, Our captain’s a family-oriented man. So? What’s so wrong about that? ! ]

[Saint·Manager]: [I have got to say that no one in our team has ever, ever been involved in things like this. Today was purely a coincidence. ]

[Free- Handsome Chen Huo]: [Is there any use reasoning with sprayers? They even dug out sh*t I said five hundred years ago. ]

[Saint-Illusion]: [I’m so angry, my lungs are about to explode! I didn’t even have time to go home for my mother’s 40th birthday last month! Why would I waste my time visiting call girls? ]

[Yi Zhan-Manager]: [We just lost a regular season game. But you win some and you lose some. Our results aren’t good, we must admit. But are our players not supposed to eat anymore just because we have bad results?]

[Coach Qiao]: [It’s okay, it’s okay. We understand. ]

[Yi Zhan-Manager]: [When that post came out, all our players just kept quiet. If you lose a game, it’s just right that you be sprayed. But being sprayed because of this trivial matter is just too f*cking much. ]

[Manager·Zhou]: [Picture]

[Manager·Zhou]: [I’m planning to post a picture of the receipt from our meal just now. That will show everyone the time when we paid. We won’t say anything else after that. Angel Sword, do you still have your receipt? ]

[Saint-Angel Sword]: [We do.]

[Saint·Manager]: [It’s with me. I’ll take a picture of it right away! ]

[Saint·Manager]: [Okay, okay, you post first. I’ll post afterwards. Yi Zhan can just forward our post. Fortunately, I still have the receipt. Perfect ]

[Yi Zhan-Manager]: [Perfect. ]

[Manager·Zhou]: [Perfect. ]

[Free-Evil]: [I disagree. ]

[Manager·Zhou]:……

[Yizhan-Manager]: [Evil? ]

[Saint·Manager]: [No, you…what do you want to do? ]

[Free-Evil]: [I don’t need the official Weibo account. I can post it myself. I don’t need the staff to give me script either. I’ll say whatever I want to say. ]

[Yi Zhan-Manager]: [Uh…There’s no need to come out so strong, right? ]

[Saint·Manager]: [It really is a bit too strong. ]

[Manager·Zhou]: [s.h.i.+ Luo, really, listen to me. There’s no need for that. ]

[Yi Zhan-Manager]: [Yes, yes, no need. Even though, we’re so angry we could kill right now, there’s really no need to cause more trouble for you players. Today we were just unlucky. We can just send out a clarification and it’ll be fine. ]

[Saint·Manager]: [Yes, let us take care of this. You should train and just leave it alone. ]

[Manager·Zhou]: [Once us managers come out and clarify what happened, those who can think straight will naturally understand and of course, they’ll stop spraying. ]

[Free-Evil]: [They’ll stop spraying so we’ll just let it go? We’ll just forget about it?]

[Free-Evil]: [Why is it that every time, as long as they stop spraying, then everything’s fine?]

[Free-Evil]: [Those who insulted us before, why should we just let them off? For what reason? ]

[Saint-Illusion]: [For what reason? ]

[Saint·Manager]: [? ? ? ]

[Saint·Manager]: [Illusion, why are trying to get in on the excitement! ! ! ]

[Saint-Illusion]: [When those people sprayed me last time, they even f*cked my mom over. It’s fine as long as they stop spraying? Will anyone apologize to my mother? ! ]

[Manager·Zhou]: [……]

[Saint·Manager]: [……]

[Saint-Angel Sword]: [I also disagree. ]

[Saint·Manager]: [? ]

[Saint·Manager]: [No, Angel Sword? What’s the matter with you? ]

[Free-Handsome Chen Huo]: [I’m going to listen to s.h.i.+ Luo this time. ]

[Free-Puppy]: [I’m also going to listen to s.h.i.+ Luo this time. ]

[Free- Handsome Chen Huo]: [Laozi has pa.s.sed through all sorts of winds and waves. Before, I wasn’t willing to invite any trouble because of Yu Sui’s matters. But now, what do I have to be afraid of? ]

[Free-Puppy]: [+1, we don’t cause troubles but that doesn’t mean us Laozi’s are afraid of getting into trouble. ]

[Manager·Zhou]: [……]

[Manager·Zhou]: [Whisper, say something! ! ! ]

[Free-Whisper]: [? ]

[Free-Whisper]: [I always listen to s.h.i.+ Luo. ]

[Manager·Zhou]: [You…]

[Yizhan·Manager]: [Yu Sui, you guys, please stop this. ]

[Saint·Manager]: [What’s gotten into all of you today? Don’t mess with us! ! ! Zhou Huo, control your players! Don’t take our players with you into this craziness! ]

[Manager·Zhou]: [If I could control them, there wouldn’t be this group chat…]

[Free-Evil]: [I almost got affected by the rhythm these sprayers made in the forums this morning. I have no intention of getting carried away by these sprayers. ]

[Free-Evil]: [I should never have been affected by these people. I can bear with it so I will. If I can’t bear with it then I’m trash. There is nothing to hide and there is nothing to fear. ]

At the Free base, only Yu Sui and s.h.i.+ Luo were at the first floor. Yu Sui smiled at what s.h.i.+ Luo said in the group chat, “So you’ve finally straightened out your thoughts? Starting to prepare for when we go public in the future?”

s.h.i.+ Luo was still typing, after sending the last one, he grabbed a fistful of his now dry hair and whispered, “More than that.”

s.h.i.+ Luo glanced at Yu Sui, then paused and said softly, “These past few days, I felt like I had to be cautious in my words and actions otherwise I might drag you down by accident and just when you’ve finally cleared your name. I couldn’t let people blacken you again because of me.”

Yu Sui’s heart was warmed when he heard this. He looked at s.h.i.+ Luo, eyes all gentle, “What about now?”

“Now I’ve figured it out.” s.h.i.+ Luo locked his phone, “I shouldn’t underestimate myself, let alone you.”

“As long as I compete seriously, I’ll have a clear conscience. What’s there to be scared of? If they spray me then I’ll just spray back.”

“Players can’t date? They can’t go out to eat? Who decided that?”

“ROD handled it cautiously. He only asked the team manager to explain for him. He handled it gently enough but did the sprayers spare him?”

“I shouldn’t have forgotten who I am just because I’m now in a relations.h.i.+p.” s.h.i.+ Luo looked at Yu Sui, and said with a cold look on his face, “Spraying your teammates costs 10,000 yuan so I’m going to make every yuan count. I’m this kind of person. .”

“I don’t accept compromises and I refuse to be bullied.”

Yu Sui looked at s.h.i.+ Luo squatting on the sofa, and for a moment it seemed like he saw s.h.i.+ Luo as he was when he was still a wild anchor.

Always with a cold face, looking as though he were telling everyone that he wasn’t to be pushed around.

Covered with thorns, he was always guard against everyone. But once you get close, you’ll discover how many cute little moves this kid has in private.

It was this kind of s.h.i.+ Luo that has, for a long time now, made Yu Sui so fascinated that he simply couldn’t look away.

Seeing that Yu Sui didn’t speak, s.h.i.+ Luo hesitated, “You…”

“Of course I feel the same way you do.” Yu Sui sneered, “Otherwise, they would have called us a team of evil people for nothing.”

Five minutes later, s.h.i.+ Luo was the first to post on his Weibo.

@Free-Evil: [I haven’t gone whoring nor have I slept with anyone. And in the future, if I do sleep with anyone, it’s none of anyone’s business. Anyone still wants to spray then come here in person and say it to my face. Why don’t we see who sprays better? Anyone who doesn’t dare spray in person, then you can shove it up yours! I won’t indulge your bad habits.]

Zhou Huo saw that he couldn’t dissuade them so he simply rushed to post an official statement on their blog and attached the receipts of their meal at the clubhouse as proof.

As soon as the evidence came out, the momentum instantly fell.

There would always be a lot of normal players who’d be carried away by the sprayers’ rhythm. Once they saw that this might have been a real misunderstanding, they calmed down and secretly deleted their replies on the forums. Comments that could be deleted, they deleted; for comments that couldn’t be deleted, the posters made vague, wishy-washy apologies.

The receipts were convincing enough as evidence, not to mention that the party at the clubhouse was not yet over. The Internet celebrity who posted the photos of Yu Sui, s.h.i.+ Luo and the others on Weibo was still posting selfies. In the end she had just b.u.mped into them on her way to a party for internet celebrities. It was clear once you think about it.

The sprayers’s claims were now exposed to be groundless. They no longer seized on the matter of the players going to the clubhouse, instead they turned their muzzles on s.h.i.+ Luo.

[What’s with your tone? Is that something a public figure should be saying? 】

[Awesome, it’s not enough that you spray in your live broadcasts. Now, you’re even spraying here. 】

[You’ve got some temper for someone who hasn’t got any results to show. 】

[I don’t know what makes you think you can say things like that when you’ve never even played in a World Champions.h.i.+p. 】

But before the sprayers could organize their firepower against s.h.i.+ Luo, Angel Sword, who had partic.i.p.ated in the World Champions.h.i.+ps, immediately posted.

＠Saint-Angel Sword: [I didn’t sleep with, pursue or flirt with any fans. I also don’t want to indulge these bad habits. I testify for all the members of the three teams. No one has done anything to discredit the professional ethics of the e-sports industry. Having a good temper is for when dealing with normal people, not for sprayers.]

Illusion also posted on Weibo: [So, now, is anyone ready to apologize for the last time you made those false accusations against me? Sprayers? ]

With their posts on Weibo, let alone other people, even their own fans were stunned.

Usually when there was some sort of rhythm online, they’d count themselves lucky if it died down quickly. If they had evidence to clarify the matter, then their base was exuding green smoke. What was with the situation now? After calming down and explaining clearly, were the players still allowed to spray back? !

Can they be that cool? Aren’t they all afraid of being labeled as having a bad att.i.tude?

Of course, after the rest of Free’s players posted on their Weibo, no one cared about the bad att.i.tude of the previous players, because the ones with the worst att.i.tudes always appear at the end.

＠Free-Puppy: So, it turns out that players who’ve played in the World Champions.h.i.+p can have a bad att.i.tude? Okay, then all those who sprayed me in the past are all SBs.

@Free-Chen Huo: What does the player who’s played in the World Champions.h.i.+p and won the World Champions.h.i.+p trophy say? Sprayers? How does a ‘f*ck you’ over the air sound like?

＠Free-Whisper: Do you all have an addiction to having your faces slapped?

Zhou Huo was originally so scared he couldn’t do anything. After all, this was was his first time managing this kind of team where none of the players were afraid of courting death. Now that what’s done was done, they’ve all posted on their Weibo pages, Zhou Huo simply followed along and directly targeted the team who used this incident to fish in troubled waters and made a vain attempt to mess with the mentality of the players of another region — Sacred Sword.

@Free E-sports Club: @Sacred Sword, just how scared of our teams is your team, that you have to go against the time difference everyday just to concern yourselves with what our players eat and drink?

As soon as Zhou Huo posted on Weibo, Saint and Yi Zhan immediately re-posted it. NSN was late to the party but re-posted it as well. In less than half an hour, Sacred Sword quickly deleted their previous tweet mocking the Chinese players for going to the clubhouse.