Less than two weeks into the new season, Lu Xiangyang had already firmly secured first place again, leaving the second-ranked hunter nearly 20 stars behind.
The atmosphere in his livestream also improved a lot starting from that day.
Mainly because there was a very responsible moderator in the chat.
At this moment, that moderator was also livestreaming himself, lowering his gaze as he seriously played ranked matches.
Chat:
[Who is Sun watching?]
[Do you even need to ask? Obviously Wild.]
[Not gonna lie, I want to watch too, sob… but Wild is too cold. He doesn't turn on his camera, and he even disabled gifts. Being able to hear his voice occasionally is already lucky.]
[Same. At least it's better here with the baby. Feels like Wild appears in Sun's livestream more often than in his own.]
[Right! Even during matchmaking breaks he hands Sun water. And he only responds when Sun talks to him TT]
[If they're not real, then I must be fake.]
[I vote that it's real. Every time Sun gets a four-kill, he always gives Wild the dungeon. And when Wild gets a four-escape, he'll turn back and leave Sun a kill too (only when Wild himself is 1695 points—no innocent teammates sacrificed).]
[Could it just be social courtesy?]
[I don't care, I don't care.]
During a break between ranked matches, Lu Xiangyang glanced at the chat and happened to read those lines.
By the time he realized what he had just read, it was already too late.
Lu Xiangyang only felt his face suddenly heat up.
Although he had only been streaming for a few days, he had already deeply realized how terrifying the people in the livestream were. They could accurately capture every micro-expression he made and analyze it.
Several times, after he felt embarrassed from reading comments like these, he would later see videos posted that night analyzing his reactions.
---
While Shen Kuangye was focusing on spectating, Lu Xiangyang suddenly jumped up from his chair and ran toward the bathroom.
Shen Kuangye thought for a moment before returning his gaze to the screen.
Didn't he just drink water earlier?
Based on his understanding of Lu Xiangyang, he would normally go to the bathroom when the ranked session ended.
But it had only been half an hour since they started.
Shen Kuangye thought, Could he be feeling unwell?
He couldn't help but click his tongue.
Chat:
[Wild finally spoke.]
[Other streamers talk like: blah blah blah. Wild talks like: tsk.]
[If you don't talk soon I'll think someone else is playing for you.]
[Wild please say a few more words, sob sob.]
[I know what to do! Go find Sun!]
Shen Kuangye absentmindedly played a match.
But Lu Xiangyang still hadn't returned.
Instead, the phone on Lu Xiangyang's desk suddenly vibrated.
Match found.
Chat:
[Sun! The car! The car is here! Where did you go, baby?!]
[Streamer return immediately!]
[Oh no, no footsteps. Looks like he'll miss the match.]
[No way… his reputation score!]
[Sun baby come back!!]
In the last 3 seconds, the viewers had already given up hope that Lu Xiangyang would return.
Suddenly, a long, pale, well-defined hand appeared in the camera frame and picked up the phone.
Chat exploded.
[???]
[I don't watch streams that often, but that… doesn't seem like Sun's hand?]
[Doesn't look like it. Sun's hands are smaller, and the skin tone doesn't match.]
Before they could recover from their shock, the screen had already clicked "Confirm."
Then that person skillfully started banning characters.
Chat:
[Feels like Wild. His own stream stopped moving.]
[Just came back from Wild's stream. Yup, it's him.]
[I'm dead from shipping this. Wife's rank points are the most important.]
[Now I'm curious about his hunter skills.]
[His survivor gameplay is definitely good. As for hunter… maybe like vv?]
vv was a professional player in the Identity V league.
His survivor gameplay was always top 10 in ranking, but his hunter gameplay was terrible—at Tier 4 he often got four-escaped.
Later he got so angry that he'd rather roleplay as an ancient scholar in the imitation mode than play hunter ranked during his free time.
But soon, the chat fell silent.
Because Shen Kuangye's hunter gameplay was extremely entertaining.
His chase sequences flowed like water, smooth and clean.
He was even more skillful than Lu Xiangyang, who was ranked first on the hunter leaderboard.
And when dealing with endgames, he handled them far more calmly.
In the end—
He got three kills.
Chat:
[I remember two people on the other team are pros… and he just casually got three kills??]
[666.]
[That's insane. Respect.]
[Suddenly looking forward to the regular season. Feels like this year will be exciting.]
[EAR has existed for over half a year… are we finally escaping last place?]
After finishing the match, Shen Kuangye queued up for ranked again and placed the phone back on Lu Xiangyang's desk.
Just as he was wondering whether he should go check on him—
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lu Xiangyang walking back slowly.
There were still water droplets on his face.
"Hm? Still not matched yet?"
Lu Xiangyang muttered softly,
"That's good. I thought I missed it."
Livestream chat:
[Sun, at least look at the matchmaking time!]
[Silly kid.]
[He doesn't ask, he doesn't know. Once he asks, he's shocked.]
[HAHAHA perfect summary.]
But Lu Xiangyang never noticed any of this.
Because he had already started spectating another hunter's match.
With a serious little expression, he analyzed the gameplay while watching.
Very focused.
When the phone vibrated again indicating a match had been found, Shen Kuangye withdrew his gaze and started playing seriously.
---
The Regular Season Approaches
As the regular season approached, the atmosphere in Team EAR gradually became tense.
Everyone began training seriously.
After daily scrims ended, they would still stay in the training room to practice one-on-one matches.
Every morning around 7 a.m., Shen Kuangye woke up to buy Lu Xiangyang his favorite breakfast.
By the time he returned to the room, Lu Xiangyang had just woken up.
Once breakfast was set on the table, Lu Xiangyang would finish washing up.
After eating, the two would start practicing together.
When ranked matches ended at noon, they continued training.
Lu Xiangyang was extremely focused when playing.
If he hadn't properly reviewed a problem or corrected a mistake, he refused to eat.
He had to figure it out completely first.
---
In the lobby, Book stood up.
"Why hasn't he come out yet? I'll go call him."
Cheng Rang lazily replied,
"You think that'll work?"
Recently they had gotten more familiar with the two newcomers.
Lu Xiangyang looked obedient and well-behaved, but deep down he was very stubborn and serious.
"Then what do we do?" Book scratched his head.
Cheng Rang slightly lifted his chin.
"The person who can solve the problem already went."
Book followed his gaze.
Shen Kuangye finished arranging the dishes, wiped his hands with a napkin, and walked toward the training room.
"Right… almost forgot. Only he can persuade him."
Book said awkwardly.
---
When Shen Kuangye entered the training room, Lu Xiangyang was still reviewing the last scrim match with a deep frown.
It wasn't that the problem was difficult.
It was simply one of Lu Xiangyang's habits.
Shen Kuangye walked over.
"Time to eat."
Lu Xiangyang responded vaguely without looking away from the screen.
"Wait a bit."
"Okay."
Shen Kuangye replied.
Then he pulled over a chair and sat beside him, watching together.
Only then did Lu Xiangyang finally pull his attention away from the screen.
He nudged Shen Kuangye's arm.
"Brother Kuangye, you should go eat first. You don't have to wait for me."
Shen Kuangye answered very simply.
"No."
Lu Xiangyang: "..."
---
Book had bet Cheng Rang whether Shen Kuangye could bring him out within three minutes.
But before two minutes passed—
The two of them already came out.
The same person who had stubbornly refused to eat earlier was now sitting obediently at the table.
"So strange…"
Book muttered.
But he also noticed something else.
Lu Xiangyang ate extremely quickly and rushed back to training after finishing.
Book blinked.
He felt somewhat inspired.
Even the youngest member was working this hard.
What excuse did he have to be lazy?
Li Shu secretly made up his mind to take future matches even more seriously.
After all, Lu Xiangyang was still a newcomer and would definitely feel pressure on stage.
The team even invited several foreign teams to scrim with Lu Xiangyang.
---
During this time, Shen Kuangye also discovered several problems with EAR's survivor team.
The current starting lineup was:
Li Shu
Cheng Rang
Pei Xunan
Jiang Chixin
Cheng Rang played the observer role (OB).
Pei Xunan specialized in rescue.
Jiang Chixin's role was more flexible, able to fill different positions.
Li Shu mainly played support, especially skilled with Entomologist and Priestess.
But when these four played together, their biggest flaw was—
They had no commander.
Their thinking was chaotic, they didn't listen to teammates' information, and their teamwork was basically zero.
Cheng Rang's OB skills were strong, but he wasn't yet as good as he would become years later when Shen Kuangye won the COA championship.
Right now he was too stubborn.
He liked trading high risk for high reward, which wasn't wrong.
But he only believed his own judgment.
Once he got heated during a match, he ignored commands.
If Pei Xunan told him not to do something, he would do it anyway.
As a result, during endgame situations the team became very chaotic, easily giving the hunter opportunities.
Li Shu's support role also couldn't sync with them.
The main reason was again lack of coordination, often wasting support timing and slowing cipher progress.
Jiang Chixin's problem was even clearer.
He got nervous too easily.
In scrims he played fine, but on stage he became extremely tense, often making mistakes or going down quickly.
Once, when filling in as Mercenary, he was knocked down by Geisha in under 30 seconds.
Years later, that clip was still dug up and mocked.
When Shen Kuangye used to face their team, he would target players by ID.
---
But the biggest issue was actually the hunter role.
Even when Lin An performed normally, he could only achieve draws.
Most of the time the survivors had to carry the pressure.
Lin An originally wasn't from EAR but from Team LEAH.
During that time he had his career peak, often getting multiple kills per match.
Back then, whenever he played, opposing survivors had to stay extremely cautious.
But every esports player eventually declines.
Later his condition worsened, the team recruited a new hunter, and he was forced to sit on the bench.
During the transfer period, he was put on sale.
EAR, being a new team lacking a hunter, bought him.
But his form never recovered, and the injury in his hands became worse.
Shen Kuangye guessed Lin An had probably suffered from tenosynovitis long ago.
But for the team…
for the glory of the past…
and for his pride…
He endured it alone without saying anything.
Until now, when he could no longer hide it.
Shen Kuangye understood him very well.
Everyone has something they insist on.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Even Shen Kuangye himself wasn't sure—
After the last COA finals in his previous life, whether he could still endure it.
Whether he could still remain the league's number one hunter.
The choice he made back then wasn't much different from Lin An's.
He knew clearly that his era had also come to an end.
But now…
He touched his healthy wrist, completely free of pain.
And thought silently:
Since I'm here now…
I will definitely lead EAR forward.
---
Shen Kuangye returned from his thoughts, glanced at the time, and patted the bed.
"Eleven o'clock."
Lu Xiangyang still wanted to watch a bit longer and tried to protest.
But remembering how Shen Kuangye had said "If you don't eat, I won't eat either" at noon, he obediently put away his phone.
"Okay…"
Then he suddenly thought of something and looked a little happy.
He said to Shen Kuangye:
"Brother, then I'm going to sleep."
Shen Kuangye hummed in response.
Lu Xiangyang curled up near the edge of the bed.
Tonight he wasn't sleeping with his back facing him.
His eyes were closed, and his jet-black hair, smooth like silk, made his already pale skin appear even fairer.
Shen Kuangye couldn't help but stare for a moment.
He didn't know how much time passed before he snapped out of it.
Then he grabbed the glass of cold water on the table and drank several mouthfuls.