Recently, a wave of newly registered burner accounts flooded the DYX platform.
The department responsible for moderation worked overtime and even escalated the issue to upper management, asking how it should be handled.
After a meeting, the final decision from above was simple—hold position. Anything that violated the rules would still be deleted as usual, but otherwise, no special action.
After all, everyone knew that Friday was the highly anticipated public scrimmage between ZWG and BZ.
ZWG was a former championship team, so its popularity had always been sky-high.
As for BZ, the team that had dominated trending searches lately, they had already drawn massive attention from netizens.
Last time on Weibo, those translated “classic statements” from the Yin Family legal team were still being circulated privately among users even now.
Seriously.
With lawyer letters being sent like that, who would still dare to make baseless accusations?
Most ordinary people might never deal with a lawyer letter in their entire lives. Trading a moment of online mouthiness for that kind of outcome—anyone with a brain wouldn’t do it.
Not to mention, updates on the so-called “hundred-person takedown list” still popped up on that Weibo account from time to time.
Because of all this, netizens gradually discovered something interesting.
【Guys, I’ve been watching Zhuo Fan’s livestream for a few days, and I think… I might be a fan now, QUQ. He barely talks, but he’s seriously skilled. And when viewers make slightly unreasonable requests, he actually agrees. What kind of god-tier streamer is this, QUQ?】
【Honestly, same. Zhuo Fan is pretty likable. His sniping is insane—I’ve been watching his tutorial clips lately. His game sense is strong too. But he seems kind of shy? He even gets teased by his own viewers and ends up too flustered to talk. I really don’t get how rumors spread about him flirting with other people’s girlfriends. He really doesn’t seem like a playboy at all.】
【Agreed. This guy flirting with girls? Looks more like he’s the one getting relentlessly flirted with by his viewers.】
【I kinda get now why the legal team dared to say what they did. Zhuo Fan probably really didn’t do anything wrong. Seems like someone deliberately stirred things up and led an online harassment campaign. Thinking about it, forcing someone who’s clearly not that kind of person into that image is actually terrifying.】
【Moral of the story: use your brain when you’re online. Don’t eat drama without evidence. One day, you might end up becoming someone else’s knife.】
With the instigators gone and fewer irrational voices, level-headed netizens quickly saw through the situation and more or less pieced together the truth.
Zhuo Fan’s livestream soon attracted a wave of new followers. Touched by the support, he trained even harder.
“Brother Zhuo, I can’t do this anymore—I seriously can’t!”
Tang Chen wailed dramatically. After finishing a match, he tossed his phone aside and collapsed limply onto the desk.
“I’m done for, Brother Zhuo. Let me rest for ten minutes! Just ten minutes!”
Zhuo Fan glanced at his stats with mild dissatisfaction, reviewing the match while casting an expectant look toward Zhang Taining.
“Then… you want to go another round?”
Zhang Taining tugged at his hair, feeling his scalp ache.
Why had he ever defended Zhuo Fan in the first place? This guy was basically an emotionless machine whose sole purpose was squeezing his teammates dry.
A demon king.
But…
A real man can’t say he can’t.
Zhang Taining secretly rubbed his sore thumb and snorted.
“Fine. Bring it on. Who’s scared of you?”
Zhuo Fan felt a flicker of joy and was just about to start another match when Tang Chen suddenly appeared behind him and locked him in a chokehold.
“Robbery! You’re surrounded! Drop your phone if you know what’s good for you! We demand ten minutes of rest!”
Zhuo Fan froze.
He’d never joked around like this with teammates back when he was on ZWG, so for a moment he genuinely didn’t know how to react.
“Zhang Taining!”
Tang Chen shouted. Zhang Taining glanced over lazily.
“What?”
Tang Chen grinned mischievously.
“Hurry up, Robber Number Two! You’re in this with me now. Come help me carry this guy away—we must fight for our right to rest!”
“If you want to rest, rest yourself. I’m not tired.”
The person who claimed not to be tired walked over anyway, grabbed Zhuo Fan by the legs, and together with Tang Chen lifted him up.
“Hey—hey—hey!”
Zhuo Fan startled and tried to struggle.
Tang Chen yelled, “Give it up! Struggling is useless! Be sensible and submit!”
“But—”
Zhuo Fan hesitated.
Zhang Taining narrowed his eyes.
“No buts. We’ve played so many matches cooperating with you—now it’s your turn to cooperate with us. Right now, you’re a hostage. Got it?”
“Huh?”
Zhuo Fan looked utterly lost as the two “robbers” hauled him off to the base’s refreshment bar.
They tore open a few bags of chips and grabbed several bottles of soda. Tang Chen slid one over.
“Here. Eat something and recharge.”
Zhuo Fan took it instinctively and looked up at him.
“So… you kidnapped me just to bring me here?”
“Tch. Mainly to force you to rest, okay?”
Zhang Taining casually iced his sore thumb with the cold soda, mocking him at the same time.
“Honestly, no wonder you got dragged online back at ZWG. You didn’t fit in at all. All you did was practice nonstop, never communicated with teammates. Of course people were going to target you.”
Tang Chen crunched on chips, nodding along.
“Huh? But esports players are supposed to train seriously, right…?”
Before Zhuo Fan could finish, Tang Chen shoved a few chips into his mouth.
Zhuo Fan had no choice but to bite down. The gesture felt both unfamiliar and strangely intimate.
“Sure, train seriously—but resting seriously and communicating seriously with teammates matters too,” Tang Chen said. “You’re playing team matches, not solo. What’s the point of doing everything alone? You have to coordinate with teammates!”
Tang Chen finished one bag of chips and reached for another—only to see Zhang Taining snatch it first.
“Hey! That’s the last bag of wasabi flavor! Who dares—put down the hostage!”
Tang Chen pounced dramatically.
Zhang Taining dodged easily.
“Not a demon—it’s your Grandpa Zhang. These chips are Zhang property now. Give it up.”
“What?!”
Tang Chen stared in disbelief… at the chips in his hand.
“Impossible! I don’t believe it! If I call it ‘Zhang Chips,’ will it answer me?”
“Pfft—”
While the two were locked in their standoff, Zhuo Fan, holding another bag of wasabi chips, suddenly laughed.
“I just realized—you two actually have pretty good chemistry.”
All those ridiculous lines had lined up perfectly, and now this.
“Is something wrong with your eyes?!” Tang Chen said in shock.
“Is your brain flooded?” Zhang Taining sneered.
The moment the words left their mouths, they glared at each other.
Why are you copying me?!
“See?”
Zhuo Fan spread his hands.
Tang Chen snorted and suddenly lunged.
“How dare you spread rumors about teammates! Die!”
Zhang Taining strolled over and smoothly plucked the last bag of wasabi chips from Zhuo Fan’s restrained hands.
Tang Chen really was a kid. Unlike him—a mature adult—he naturally needed both bags of wasabi chips.
…Wait.
Where did the chips go?
Tang Chen was busy “torturing” Zhuo Fan when he finally noticed the chips were gone. His heart skipped a beat as he spotted Zhang Taining sneaking away.
“Stop! Leave the hostage behind!”
He roared. Zhang Taining paused—then ran even faster.
No way he was sticking around!
Zhuo Fan watched the chaos for a while before suddenly bowing his head and laughing, his shoulders shaking.
After a long moment, he lifted the half-finished soda and took a big gulp.
It wasn’t as cold anymore, but the refreshing feeling remained.
Zhuo Fan smiled.
It had been a long time since he’d truly felt the happiness of soda.
Choosing to keep competing back then really had been the right decision.
The match against ZWG was set for Friday.
On BZ’s side, the lineup for the team scrim was basically confirmed: Zhang Taining, Tang Chen, Zhuo Fan, and a hard-entry fragger.
As for the solo match, Tang Chen and Zhang Taining couldn’t agree, so they drew lots. Tang Chen won the spot.
“Hehehehe—you’ll have to wait till next time~”
Tang Chen nearly kissed the slip of paper.
Great draw!
Zhang Taining glared at him, snorted, and walked away.
There’d be another chance next time. Let Tang Chen enjoy himself for now.
But almost immediately after Zhang Taining left, Tang Chen chased after him.
Zhang Taining looked confused.
“You want me to be your practice partner?”
Had Tang Chen drunk too much soda?
“Yeah,” Tang Chen said confidently. “You’re the second-best gunfighter on the team after me. Who else would I look for?”
Besides, teammates were free to use.
“Who’s second-best?! I’m the best! The best! Don’t you know how to talk when you’re asking for favors?”
Zhang Taining rolled his eyes hard.
Tang Chen chuckled.
“Best is impossible. If you’re not convinced, let’s fight it out!”
Zhang Taining stood up.
“Bring it on! I’ll beat you until you know how to write the word ‘submit’!”
Tang Chen stuck out his tongue.
“Not sure who’ll submit yet! I already know how to write it—if you don’t, I can teach you!”
“Heh—tui!”
This guy was shameless beyond belief.
Zhang Taining’s eyes nearly rolled out of his head.
“Hey! You’re swearing!”
Tang Chen looked ready to report him.
Gotcha!
Zhang Taining: ???
“That counts as swearing? Which word was dirty, exactly? You teach language arts?”
“You teach language arts! Teachers don’t teach swearing, okay? No culture is scary!”
They bickered until both were fired up, then opened their livestreams.
They’d duel in front of their fans.
The loser would unconditionally accompany the winner in training for an entire month.
Fans on both sides: …wait, what?
This was exactly the kind of content they loved.
Perfect as a pre-match entertainment event before facing ZWG!
Other teams caught wind and joined in too—four or five accounts even came in under ZWG’s team tag.
When Xie Liu heard the news, he clutched his chest.
Did these brats not know how to hide their strength before a match?
The match was on Friday, and they were dueling now?
He was foolish. Truly foolish.
He’d known the sponsor was generous—but he hadn’t expected the players to be this good at causing trouble.
He touched his head stubbornly.
So… hair really does disappear, right?