After the fifteen-day preliminary matches concluded, a total of twenty-four teams advanced to the elimination rounds. Following three intense days of elimination matches, only sixteen teams remained.
Puxin was eliminated in the preliminary qualifiers, losing in a rather embarrassing manner. However, they didn’t feel ashamed at all. On the contrary, they took advantage of the high level of discussion around them and worked overtime to livestream.
The viewership of their livestream room was noticeably higher than usual, with half of the audience creating new accounts just to criticize them.
Liu Sui and his team grinned at the virtual currency pouring in, while only Lei Ming, after a whole day of livestreaming amid the insults, finally couldn’t endure it and directly unplugged his internet cable amidst the barrage of curses.
There were two forum posts discussing the matter, one filled with sighs and the other with mockery. However, both threads quickly sank because the PCL competition was in full swing, and nobody cared about a fringe player like Lei Ming.
Finally, it came to the ultimate showdown, also lasting fifteen days, a severe test of the players’ physical stamina, endurance, and mental resilience.
Fu Haifeng had already resorted to acupuncture.
Yan Yibing was also exceptionally tired, resting whenever there was a break, lying on the bed with eyes closed, too tired to say a word.
In the first game of the finals, Zero won the chicken dinner, achieving a promising start.
In the next two games, CNG caught up, and the points leaderboard began to change.
AXE and Prince were also neck-to-neck, with the point gap being very close.
Among top-notch professional players, the skill difference wasn’t significant. The outcome of the matches primarily depended on the players’ conditions.
However, as the competition progressed, Zero’s Fu Haifeng, CNG’s Fu Gaizhen, and AXE’s Chen Yan, who was about to retire, experienced a decline in performance due to fatigue. Some flaws also appeared in the operation of their teams.
Yan Yibing stood on the hill of ruins, reloading his weapon while maneuvering. Zero now only had him left, and on the opposite hill, at least the footsteps of three people could be heard.
Yan Yibing’s wrists felt sore and numb, his concentration at its peak. The headphones clung to the position above his temple, dampened by a thin layer of sweat.
In a 1v3 situation, he found himself at a disadvantage. The only saving grace was his current location—it provided decent cover, and if he kept retreating towards the hill, it could shield him from bullets.
However, this advantage wouldn’t last long. As soon as the opponent opened fire and flanked from both sides, his fate would be sealed.
The big screen switched to his perspective, and the male commentator couldn’t help but hold his breath. “Oh, Bing Shen is surrounded by Team Yunfu. Yunfu has heard the footsteps but is hesitating. Oh, Yunfu shouldn’t hesitate now. At this moment, they should open fire from both sides, and Bing Shen will be done for!”
Lemon added, “I guess Yunfu’s field of view is restricted, and they lacked early-game information, making it impossible for them to determine how many people are behind the hill.”
The male commentator shook his head and said, “No, I don’t think so. I believe they already knew it was either Zero or CNG’s lone wolf on the opposite side. But whether it’s Yan Yibing or Yu Yan, they lack the confidence to eliminate opponents without losing a member. That’s why they’re hesitating.”
Lemon commented, “Oh well, even if they lose a member, taking down these two is still a win!”
The male commentator said, “Yunfu’s goal this year is to break into the top six and qualify for the East Asian Championship. They can’t afford to lose points.”
However, Yan Yibing couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
He gritted his teeth, braced against the slope, aimed at the predicted point, and swiftly rushed out, firing a few shots at one of the Yunfu team members.
But at the same time, he also suffered damage.
Yan Yibing glanced at his health bar, not eager to engage further. While maneuvering, he retreated, then rushed out from another corner of the hill, firing a few more shots, finally securing another kill.
Song Tang’s heart leaped to his throat as he muttered, “Captain, they’ve flanked!”
Yan Yibing charged from the side, enduring his injuries, raised his gun, and shot, bringing down another opponent.
Seeing an opponent fall, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and swiftly took cover behind a slope.
At this moment, his helmet and vest were already gone, and his health was down to one-third.
But he didn’t have time to use a medical kit. If it weren’t for the frying pan protecting him earlier, he would have been killed by the last member of Team Yunfu.
His luck was indeed good. Not only did he pick up the frying pan, but he also found a quick-expanding magazine.
With ten extra bullets, it gave him a chance to catch his breath.
Yan Yibing charged out once again, barely eliminating Yunfu with a sliver of health. However, he ran out of ammunition at this moment.
Approaching the final circle, he no longer had enough opportunities to replenish his equipment and was ultimately sniped by Chen Chi from a distance.
Even so, he secured all the available points, leaving behind a template for miraculous solo plays in a one-versus-three situation.
The male commentator exclaimed, “Oh, a beautifully executed one-versus-three! Truly worthy of Bing Shen, enduring until now and securing three extra kills.”
Lemon added, “Yes, Bing Shen is truly an indispensable presence for Zero. With him, it’s like having a backbone.”
The male commentator continued, “However, Zero’s dependence on Bing Shen is also worrisome. With Bing Shen pushing so hard, the toll on himself is considerable.”
Lemon expressed concern, “Take care of yourself, Bing Shen.”
Prince secured the chicken dinner in the final match, with Han Mo using a grenade to eliminate Chen Chi from AXE.
The leaderboard changed again, with Prince now occupying the top spot.
In the last match, the Sanhok map was once again played.
Coincidentally, Han Mo found himself trapped in a position almost identical to Yan Yibing’s, and across from him was the fully equipped Lie Hu team.
More perilous than Yan Yibing’s situation in the previous match, Han Mo didn’t even have a level-three helmet.
Even Lemon expressed concern, “Han Shen is in danger this time. If possible, he should avoid combat and secure a good placement.”
The male commentator nodded, “One versus four is rarely seen in the entire league history, and this time it’s in the circle. If Han Shen gets eliminated so early, CNG will overtake them in total points.”
Lemon commented, “Han Shen might choose to avoid fights, but Lie Hu will surely pursue relentlessly.”
Following this, Han Mo raised his gun and rushed out.
Lemon: “…”
Han Mo’s marksmanship was excellent. Armed with a shotgun and an M4, he first gauged the distance of the footsteps. For those farther away, he used the M4 for a headshot, and for those closer, he faced them head-on with the shotgun.
The male commentator was astonished, “Incredible! Our Han Shen is indeed young and wilful. I’ve never seen movement this fast, hardly getting hit by a few shots!”
Being able to accurately shoot while swiftly moving is akin to splitting the brain into two parts, controlling the left and right hands independently, and coordinating seamlessly.
Lemon explained, “To give an analogy, theoretically, Han Shen can write a Chinese essay with his left hand while solving math problems with his right hand, achieving the same level of proficiency as other students. It’s truly an unbelievable operation!”
In the end, Han Mo survived until the last moment, securing a chicken dinner as a solo player, solidifying the first-place position.
This marked Prince’s first championship in PCL events, but it seemed like no one found it surprising.
It was about time for Prince, if not this time, then the next.
This team was young enough and strong enough.
When they first appeared, they had various flaws, driven solely by hot-bloodedness, leading to highly inconsistent performance.
However, two years had passed, and each time they appeared, they would address some of those flaws.
Now, Prince was nearing perfection.
CNG and Zero tied for second place, AXE was in third, and the other teams qualifying for the East Asian Championship were Lie Hu and TZS.
As the competition ended, Han Mo lifted the small golden cup, as indifferent and calm as ever.
Amid the uproar of fans, he took the microphone, his gaze deep and imposing, his thin lips lightly pressed against the cool metal mesh, arrogantly declaring, “This is the new era belonging to Prince!”
“Damn! I’m crying! So exhilarating!”
“Prince! Prince!”
“Han Shen! Han Mo! I love you!”
“First place! First place!”
…
Han Mo raised his arm, lifting the golden cup high. Colorful flowers rained down from the sky, landing on his hand, shoulder, collar, and hair tips.
Dazzling lights illuminated him, and the colorful flowers sparkled, creating a radiant halo. Han Mo’s silhouette left an eternal and indelible mark on the stage.
The old era never dies, but the new era will inevitably arrive.
Yan Yibing watched from backstage as the spot he had stood countless times now belonged to Han Mo.
This didn’t mean that Prince was stronger than Zero; it was just that the intensity of the competition suddenly increased, and his team couldn’t adapt.
He thought he would feel depressed, frustrated, or blame himself.
But strangely, it was quite the opposite.
He felt content.
The silent boy who always followed him, enduring his scoldings, had finally become the beacon of the new era.
Han Mo not recognizing him, hating him, or bullying him didn’t matter.
Because he knew how much he wished for Han Mo to do well.
That night, Zero held a post-match analysis meeting, and even Manager Sun Tianjiao, unprecedentedly, attended as well.
Yan Yibing chewed on Wangwang Xianbei1wangwang xianbei: it’s a type of cracker while looking at the big screen.
His expression was relaxed, legs crossed, nonchalantly bouncing.
The coach didn’t harshly criticize them. In fact, everyone performed quite well this time, especially Yan Yibing, who almost broke his own principles, ruthlessly consuming himself for points.
“Don’t be disheartened. Prince member is all young, with better endurance than us. That won’t necessarily be the case for the PGC Global Championship, but next, you need to work together to win the East Asian Championship.”
Fu Haifeng lowered his head, speaking in a deep voice, “It’s my fault. I wasn’t in good shape in the later stages and made several mistakes.”
Xu Rui, agitatedly grabbing his hair, said, “I was too impulsive. Since the qualifiers, the captain was right; I couldn’t stay steady.”
Song Tang added, “Don’t blame yourselves. I made mistakes too. In two matches, I sold out Xu Rui.”
Yan Yibing chuckled, lazily rubbing his shoulders, “Alright, stop fighting to take the blame. Anyone can find a bunch of mistakes. None of us are saints; there’s no need to deny ourselves just because we lost a match.”
Sun Tianjiao also said, “Exactly, our strength speaks for itself. In this competition, year after year, what’s the point if the championship always belongs to the same team.”
The coach waved his hand and said, “It’s been a tiring period. Take a month off, travel, or visit your family; whatever you want, go and rest.”
Xu Rui, Song Tang, and Fu Haifeng left, carrying their peripherals.
Song Tang’s family was in another city, and he had to catch a high-speed train. Fu Haifeng also needed to return to Jiangbei to visit his parents.
Xu Rui had arranged to meet with classmates for dinner at eight, and he was already fifteen minutes late.
As for Yan Yibing, he idled in the meeting room, not moving from his spot.
The big screen continued to play the match videos.
The video reached the segment where Han Mo faced a one-versus-four situation.
Yan Yibing squinted and suddenly said to Sun Tianjiao, “Back then, if it were you, you definitely wouldn’t have let Han Mo go.”
Sun Tianjiao glanced at him, knowing that he didn’t seem as relaxed as he appeared. So, he immediately spoke nonchalantly, “It’s been two years. Who cares about what happened back then? Han Mo is just like that.”
Yan Yibing snorted, “Come on, I know you’re good at judging people. You must have scolded me a lot behind my back for being overly righteous.”
Sun Tianjiao immediately turned serious, “Zuzong, I think Han Mo is good, but in my heart, you are the most important. If you act like that, I’ll definitely have to give up on him. That was my decision in the end.”
Yan Yibing wiped his mouth, took a sip of beer, and asked, “Seriously, do you think I’m making a big deal out of nothing?”
Sun Tianjiao paused, took his beer, and took a big gulp.
He said seriously, “You are not making a big deal out of nothing, but I have the ability to make a big deal into a small one.”
Yan Yibing chuckled, “Alright, I get it.”
Sun Tianjiao sighed, “You are sincere to everyone and want to be fair to everyone, but one person’s power cannot cover everything. So you must not open a company, otherwise, you will have to suffer heavy losses.”
Yan Yibing took a deep breath, used his fingers to wipe his lips, and sighed, “I was wrong about the Lei Ming situation. I should have listened to you.”
Sun Tianjiao’s throat stung from the beer. He cleared his throat, and squeezed the soda can, making a popping sound.
“To be honest, did you insist on keeping Lei Ming because of Liang Hefeng?”
Yan Yibing was lost in thought for a moment, silent.
Sun Tianjiao said, “Do you want to prove to me that even players I don’t think highly of, as long as they are dedicated and work hard, can bring glory to Zero? My ruthless method of clearing out players might cause us to lose potential stars. So, even if Lei Ming’s character is questionable, you still want to give a chance to players like Liang Hefeng. You always feel like you owe him something.”
Yan Yibing lowered his gaze slightly, and chuckled, “Maybe in the past. After all, no matter who this falls on, it’s impossible to have no burden.”
Back then, Yan Yibing was just a companion to Liang Hefeng.
It was Liang Hefeng who received the invitation from Zero, Liang Hefeng who first got in touch with PUBG, and Liang Hefeng who taught the game to Yan Yibing.
Yan Yibing only played the game to relax during his leisure time, coming to Zero to listen in when he had nothing else to do.
In the beginning, Liang Hefeng would play and explain key points to him, analyzing tactics and studying strategies.
Later on, when Yan Yibing got really into it that he even reached the top five in the Korean server.
Liang Hefeng, who understood countless theoretical knowledge, couldn’t beat him anymore.
But at that time, Yan Yibing didn’t take gaming seriously. In his mind, he was contemplating whether to enroll in Tsinghua University or Peking University.
It wasn’t until the team captain at the time asked him, “Do you want to play professionally? Do you want to be an esports player? Do you want to be part of Zero?”
A series of questions left Yan Yibing in a daze.
He did enjoy the game, thought being a professional player was cool, and having a large number of fans sounded wonderful.
But this shouldn’t be his opportunity. Liang Hefeng had worked so hard for this. According to the comprehensive ranking, Liang Hefeng ranked second among all the youth trainees.
At that time, Zero’s advertisement stated that they would select two players to focus on training, followed by a line saying it depended on the actual situation.
If he joined, wouldn’t he take up half of the spots, leaving no hope for Liang Hefeng?
Yan Yibing asked, “If I join, can my buddy join too?”
Zero’s team captain didn’t want to deceive him and straightforwardly said, “No.”
Yan Yibing immediately refused, “Then, I won’t come. I want to go back and prepare for the college entrance examination.”
His attitude was very firm. Even though he might have regrets, he couldn’t affect Liang Hefeng’s future.
At that time, Sun Tianjiao was still an assistant manager at Zero, having recently joined the team.
Hearing that the player the team wanted didn’t want to come, he volunteered to persuade Yan Yibing.
Yan Yibing still remembered Sun Tianjiao’s calm and composed appearance back then.
Sun Tianjiao was especially certain, “You will definitely stay. You can’t imagine how much value you will bring here right now.”
Yan Yibing sneered, “Sorry, unless my buddy stays too, I won’t stay. If I take someone else’s place, what kind of person will I become?”
Sun Tianjiao wasn’t in a hurry at all. He leisurely played with the contract, flipping through it page by page in front of Yan Yibing.
He smiled shrewdly, “To tell you the truth, even if you don’t stay, we won’t want Liang Hefeng, let alone the first-ranked Wang Chang.”
Yan Yibing was shocked, “Didn’t you agree to take two?”
Sun Tianjiao calmly said, “After seeing a talent like you, how could we accept anyone else? Once we think that a player like you might be poached by other teams, we can’t even sleep in peace.”
Yan Yibing’s face turned slightly cold, and he stood up to leave.
Sun Tianjiao spoke faster, grabbing his arm, “If you stay, you can definitely help your friend. If you leave, he’ll be left like this.”
Later, because Sun Tianjiao successfully signed Yan Yibing, his professional career went smoothly, and he quickly became Zero’s manager.
Spending time together day and night, Yan Yibing also knew that Sun Tianjiao wasn’t that heartless. He was a very qualified manager.
Liang Hefeng distanced himself from Yan Yibing, driven by his pride. He joined another team, but his performance wasn’t good. After two years, he was signed by Puxin.
This incident has always been a knot in Yan Yibing’s heart. So, when he encountered someone like Lei Ming in a similar situation, he felt sympathy. Han Mo was like him, and Lei Ming was like Liang Hefeng.
Players like Han Mo, no matter which team they were poached by, would be their biggest threat.
Han Mo would inevitably reach the pinnacle sooner or later. What about Lei Ming? Could there be a different outcome for him?
His last trace of innocence was wasted on Lei Ming.
But he could only feel sympathy for Lei Ming. His true feelings were reserved for Han Mo.
Now…
Yan Yibing said lightly, “Now I don’t feel like I owe him. Being bad in esports is the original sin. Besides, if this affects me, fine, but him… He shouldn’t drag innocent people into this.”
When Liang Hefeng’s mother scratched Han Mo’s hand, Yan Yibing felt like he had used up his last bit of debt.
That was the hand of a professional player, Han Mo’s hand.
Sun Tianjiao grumbled, “So, in the spirit of friendship first, competition second, give a congratulatory message to Han Mo.”
Yan Yibing thought of his recent good relationship with Han Mo, and naturally had that awareness, so he said, “No need for your reminder. I already did.”
Sun Tianjiao raised an eyebrow, “Pretty fast. You didn’t use Weibo, right? That would be too grand. Our fans would be angry. Just say it privately.”
Yan Yibing raised an almond-shaped eye, casually saying, “Of course, I understand. I just posted it in the friend circle.”
Sun Tianjiao, “Alright, did you post on Moments?”
Yan Yibing, “No, I replied under his Moments post.”
Sun Tianjiao frowned, “Han Mo didn’t post on Moments. He’s such a cold and low-profile person.”
Yan Yibing said, “He posted something half a month ago.”
Sun Tianjiao turned his face, stunned for a moment, then took out his phone and checked, “Where is it?”
Yan Yibing, impatient, also took out his phone, “Here!”
Sun Tianjiao looked at Yan Yibing’s phone, then at his own, and exclaimed, “Damn it! I don’t have it!”
Yan Yibing nonchalantly said, “Maybe he has a restricted group. Song Tang and the others don’t have it either.”
The corner of Sun Tianjiao’s mouth twitched, “He has a group? Can you see anyone else’s likes and replies on this besides yours?”
Author’s Message:
【Han Mo: Be careful with your hands.】
【Yan Yibing replies to Han Mo: Congratulations on winning the championship!】
Thank you for reading! 
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