After the plane arrived in Seoul, the organizers' staff came to pick them up in advance. Since Chi Shuo's name wasn't on the list of personnel traveling together from the China region this time, the pickup personnel checked the numbers against the list. Chi Shuo consciously left the group, indicating he would take a taxi himself.
Ye Shaoyang looked at him worriedly: "Do you speak Korean? Is taking a taxi alone okay?"
Chi Shuo said: "I booked a ride-hailing car in advance. You go to the hotel with everyone; I'll catch up later."
Ye Shaoyang lowered his voice to remind: "Then be careful; after all, this is a foreign country."
Shaoyang was still very concerned about him, worried he might run into trouble alone abroad. In reality, this wasn't Chi Shuo's first time in Korea; he was quite familiar with the place.
On the taxi ride to the hotel, Chi Shuo looked at the skyscrapers outside the window, feeling rather complicated.
The last time he came to Korea was six years ago. At the time, he was a Tianhuan trainee, not officially debuted. There was a non-official invitational tournament here with high prize money. His mentor had him come along to broaden his horizons. That was Chi Shuo's first time abroad. His mentor, worried he might get lost, kept a close eye on him.
Now, it was him, as captain and mentor, accompanying Shaoyang and Xiao Xing to participate in the competition.
Time passed too quickly; he was already 23. These few years as an esports player from 17 to 23 would be the most unforgettable experience of his life.
Especially since he had met Ye Shaoyang and finally understood what it felt like to like someone.
Thinking of how Ye Shaoyang leaned on him and slept without any guard on the plane, Chi Shuo couldn't help but lift the corners of his mouth slightly, his mood improving greatly.
He used to always feel that after retiring, he would have nothing to do. Now, with Shaoyang, after retiring, he could take Shaoyang traveling around the world. As long as he had the person he liked by his side, nothing would feel boring.
The taxi soon arrived at the hotel. The official pickup car also just arrived. Chi Shuo saw Ye Shaoyang and the others following the team leader to check in at the hotel lobby. Chi Shuo went to the front desk on the other side to handle his check-in.
The two made eye contact in the crowd.
Ye Shaoyang smiled at Chi Shuo. Just then, his phone rang. Looking down, he saw a message from Chi Shuo: "I'm staying in Building B, 17th floor, room 1703."
Ye Shaoyang replied: "Players and staff from the China region are uniformly staying in Building A, 22nd floor. I'm in 2219."
Building A and Building B were quite far apart.
But in the same hotel, they could meet anytime.
Chi Shuo said: "I'll go put away my luggage first, settle in, then we can talk."
This hotel was the designated partner hotel for this World Invitational Tournament. Players from all countries stayed in Building A; Building B accommodated individual guests.
Chi Shuo returned to his room to put away his luggage. Soon, his phone rang—the little white cat profile picture felt particularly familiar: "I'm back in my room. The staff said there's a welcome banquet tonight. What about your dinner?"
Chi Shuo said: "Don't worry about me. I'll go eat out myself."
Ye Shaoyang looked at this reply, couldn't help but think: Chi Shuo wasn't traveling with the team; for the next week, he would be staying alone, eating alone… It didn't seem right to just leave him on his own, did it?
However, during competitions abroad, players weren't allowed to leave the team privately. Ye Shaoyang also couldn't go out to eat alone with Chi Shuo like during domestic matches.
He felt somewhat torn, considering whether to ask the chairman to apply to the organizing committee to add an extra team meal spot. Then he saw Chi Shuo send another message:
"Participating teams from each country submitted their lists in advance; people can't be added casually. I came abroad voluntarily this time and don't want to cause trouble for the team leader and chairman. So, I'll arrange my own food and accommodation. Don't worry; focus on preparing for the match."
"…" He seemed to guess what he was thinking? The strange telepathy between them was sometimes really hard to explain. Seeing this message, Ye Shaoyang felt relieved: "Alright then, remember to eat on time."
"Yeah, I'll just order room service at the hotel."
After ending the conversation, Ye Shaoyang went to the bathroom for a quick shower, hung his clothes in the closet. By the time he finished tidying up, it was dinner time. Team leader Liu Xiao sent a notice for everyone to gather at the elevator entrance to go eat together.
Tonight's welcome banquet was crowded. There were 32 people for the individual matches, 16 pairs×2 for the duo matches also 32 people, plus team leaders, official commentators, etc., from each region—the entire floor was booked by the tournament committee.
The banquet was quite sumptuous, but Ye Shaoyang wasn't very interested in the various shapes of kimchi on the table. Anyway, he wasn't hungry; he ate a bit casually. The host's speech mixed with English and Korean was also incomprehensible, so he didn't listen carefully. Any competition-related information would be posted in the group by the team leader.
After dinner, suddenly a blond guy ran over to their area to say hello, even giving Zhou Jiawen a warm hug. Ye Shaoyang looked up at him, meeting the boy's blue eyes.
The other had a pair of very beautiful blue eyes, curly blond hair, like a little prince from a manga. Zhou Jiawen smiled and introduced: "This is Mitchell." Then, looking at Mitchell: "This is the Lieyang you can't forget."
Ye Shaoyang: "…"
Never expected Mitchell to be quite cute-looking, a sunny little handsome guy.
Ye Shaoyang stood up politely to greet him: "Hello."
Mitchell looked at him curiously, saying in awkward Chinese: "You, actually, Omega?"
Ye Shaoyang mimicked his tone: "You're actually an Alpha?"
Mitchell widened his eyes: "I am originally Alpha."
Ye Shaoyang said: "I am also originally Omega."
Zhou Jiawen helplessly rubbed his forehead: "Let me translate. Mitchell means, you're an Omega player, yet play so fiercely in matches; he completely didn't expect it."
Ye Shaoyang smiled and nodded: "I get his general meaning. Tell him, in this individual match, I'll be even fiercer than during our practice match. If we happen to meet, he shouldn't go easy on me."
Zhou Jiawen translated beside him.
Mitchell's eyes almost popped out: "I will definitely beat you this time!"
Ye Shaoyang raised an eyebrow: "Okay, then I look forward to you beating me."
Mitchell left indignantly. Yao Mu laughed beside them: "Did he come all this way to challenge Yangyang?"
Ye Shaoyang said: "Probably still holds a grudge from being solo killed by me in that practice match."
Zhou Jiawen whispered: "That guy holds grudges particularly hard. I solo killed him a few times in the international server before; he insisted on killing me back, constantly challenging me. Only after our match record reached about fifty-fifty did he stop. You could say we became friends through rivalry."
Zhou Jiawen paused, adding: "Although he has a hot temper, he's not scheming; he only has games in his mind—quite a simple person. Hmm, in Chinese, you'd say straightforward, maybe a bit lacking in common sense?"
Cheng Xing blurted out: "Isn't that quite like Reporter Zhao?"
After speaking, he realized he, a newcomer, shouldn't talk too much, and immediately blushed, lowering his head.
Zhou Jiawen said: "Xiao Xing is right. His style really is like Reporter Zhao. So, he always plays mid-laner like a fighter, going face-to-face to trade blows. His favorites are assassin mages and close-combat mages; his signature hero is [Sun Disc Mage]. But… his signature hero got solo killed by Lieyang, and he's remembered Lieyang ever since."
Ye Shaoyang lightly coughed: "That was also because he underestimated me too much at the time."
As they spoke, two people passed by nearby. Many players around went up to chat with them. These two players seemed to have a star aura about them as soon as they appeared; both were also very good-looking.
Zhou Jiawen lowered his voice: "Choi Hyeok and Park Won-seok."
Ye Shaoyang understood, glanced back at them a few more times. Currently, Korea's most popular mid-jungle duo, also praised by Korean media as the world's best jungler, mid-laner, world's best mid-jungle synergy… exaggerated to the heavens.
The two newcomers were currently under 20, the prime age for esports players. They won the world championship last year, so some arrogance was inevitable. Ye Shaoyang saw a few less famous players go greet them; these two didn't pay much attention, quickly leaving the venue.
Xie Weiyu softly commented: "Really quite arrogant."
Ye Shaoyang lightly smiled: "They are last year's world champions, after all."
Xie Weiyu said: "It's a pity Captain Chi isn't participating this season. Otherwise, with your mid-jungle synergy, you might not fear them. Who's truly world's best is still uncertain."
Just then, Cheng Xing suddenly whispered: "Brother Yang, Brother Yang, that blond beauty over there, is that Vanessa from the European region? There aren't many female players; she happens to be at the European region's table."
Ye Shaoyang followed Xiao Xing's gaze and met her light brown eyes.
Vanessa wasn't shy either; she generously smiled at Ye Shaoyang, even throwing a wink. Ye Shaoyang looked away: "Female Alpha big sister, you're quite attentive towards her?"
Cheng Xing said: "She's just quite pretty."
Zhou Jiawen joked: "Xiao Xing likes female Alphas?"
Cheng Xing hurriedly waved his hands: "No, I still like soft, cute, adorable little Omega beauties!"
Zhou Jiawen couldn't help laughing: "How old are you? Oh right, have you presented your secondary gender yet?"
Cheng Xing's face flushed bright red: "I, I already presented as an Alpha long ago!"
Ye Shaoyang actually never realized Cheng Xing was an Alpha. In his eyes, this was just a kid who hadn't grown up. But in the ABO world, Cheng Xing indeed had already presented, marking adulthood.
He could mark an Omega.
Of course, he could also be with a female Alpha?
Anyway, marriage in this world was very free. As long as you were human, the other was also human, and not engaging in cross-species romance, the two could register to marry.
Ye Shaoyang increasingly felt that here, seeing any type of couple wouldn't be strange.
Ye Shaoyang lowered his head, picked up his phone, and sent Chi Shuo a message: "Have you eaten?"
Chi Shuo: "Yeah. Grouping information is out."
He sent Ye Shaoyang a screenshot.
Ye Shaoyang had been busy eating, recognizing players earlier, and didn't notice the league's official website.
But Chi Shuo stayed in his room the whole time. He ordered room service, ate in his room while refreshing the official website, and sent the grouping list to Ye Shaoyang at the first opportunity.
For this individual match, the top 32 were divided into 8 groups: A through H, with 4 players per group. The top two from each group advanced to the top 16. Starting from the top 16 to top 8, it became an elimination bracket, all the way to determine the top four and champion.
Ye Shaoyang was placed in Group C. The players in the same group, from what he saw, were from Japan, Korea, and North America, respectively.
Cheng Xing was placed in Group H. The players in his group were clearly written as Mitchell and Vanessa?
Ye Shaoyang was stunned for a moment, frowning: "Xiao Xing's luck isn't great; how did he run into these two?"
Chi Shuo said: "It's okay. Sparring with world-class players is a rare opportunity. Regardless of win or loss, just play each match well. Xiao Xing coming abroad this time wasn't expecting to win awards anyway; he knows that himself."
Ye Shaoyang thought about it and agreed: "That's true. Anyway, you need to reach the top four to get an award. With Xiao Xing's strength, he wouldn't make it to the top four. Being grouped with strong players in the group stage is good for him."
Chi Shuo said: "I've already found information on the players in your group: one fighter, two junglers. Call me after you eat and return to your room. We'll run some practice matches tonight."
He actually stayed in front of the computer, checking information as soon as it came out? Ye Shaoyang hadn't heard of these players at all. To understand players from foreign regions, one needed to find data and information on foreign official websites, plus online translation. Chi Shuo clearly spent considerable effort to get these three players' information.
Ye Shaoyang's heart warmed slightly, typing: "You worked hard."
Chi Shuo said: "It's what I should do. I can play most fighters and assassins. I can practice with you in advance, find the most suitable match rhythm and item build strategies."
Ye Shaoyang said: "Mm, match time is tomorrow afternoon. Tonight and tomorrow morning, I'll trouble Captain Chi to be my practice partner once more. Let's work together to find match strategies. When we return to China, I'll treat you to a big meal ^_^"
Chi Shuo replied straightforwardly: "No problem."