ATIBTF Chapter 78

Many fans, having learned that the JW team would soon head to the global qualifiers in the R country regional tournament, had already been waiting at the airport for a long time.

Unknowingly, the fan culture of sending off and picking up has also seeped into the esports community.

Besides JW, the teams from Z country going to the global qualifiers include GEM and MPP.

Those two teams will depart later, with JW taking an earlier flight.

Since the Spring Championship, the JW team, having won the championship, has gained quite a few more fans.

The scale of this send-off was larger than any previous one, comparable to that of some celebrities.

The crowd finally managed to squeeze into the boarding area and let out a sigh of relief.

“A fan’s enthusiasm can be a bit of a burden too,” Hao Qianyi said, taking a deep breath after finding his seat.

“You used to worry about not having any support,” Wei Yafeng remarked, “and now that there are more people, you’re starting to complain.”

The WOC division of JW, being relatively young in the WPL league, initially had few fans, and there were hardly any people cheering on-site.

But that was in the past; nowadays, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that JW is one of the most popular teams in the league.

“I’m not complaining; I’m just happily troubled,” Hao Qianyi said, continuing his usual banter with him.

For this trip to the R country competition, Manager Shen Qi did not join them. Because Boss Ji was abroad with the Fortune division for a competition, Shen Qi had to stay in the country to handle things from the back.

So, the overall leader of this trip became the team captain, Fan Dadi.

Fan Dadi checked his phone’s memo and suddenly remembered something: “Oh right, the R country is taking this WOC professional league global qualifiers very seriously. I heard that news media will come to report when we, the popular teams, arrive at the airport.”

“Huh? We’re considered a popular team now?” Hao Qianyi said, somewhat unaccustomed.

JW had an average performance at last year’s World Championship and was relatively new, making it a small player in the global WOC teams.

“We’ve won the WPL championship in the major league area, so of course, we’re considered a popular team now,” Wei Yabo said.

“But this is quite a big deal in R country,” Wei Yafeng commented.

In the past, at competitions in other countries, they had never heard of news media coming to pick them up.

“The esports industry in R country has always been average,” said Yu Hao, who had been silent until now. “This time, they’re hosting a popular league and must have put in a lot of effort, so they want to maximize their promotional impact.”

Everyone agreed with the captain’s statement.

After the plane took off, everyone took the opportunity to catch up on sleep.

———–

“Ah, Captain Yu!” Yu Hao was looking at his tablet when a female voice startled him.

Beside him, Jiang Min was nodding off. Yu Hao, worried about waking him, was quite displeased by the unexpected interruption.

He looked up and saw that the voice belonged to someone he knew.

It was Yun Ning, the new WPL female host.

“What a coincidence, Captain Yu, you’re on this flight too?” Yun Ning, dressed casually and almost makeup-free, with her hair in a ponytail, looked like she had just stepped out casually.

Yu Hao gave a slight nod in greeting.

Since they were people he often encountered in the circle, though he was annoyed that the interruption might disturb Jiang Min’s rest, he still tried to be polite.

Yun Ning was the official host for WPL. For large-scale events like the global qualifiers, each region would send corresponding staff to participate throughout the entire event.

Besides Yun Ning, other WPL staff were also on the same flight as JW.

“By the way, I haven’t personally congratulated you on winning the Spring Championship,” Yun Ning said with a sweet smile. “I wish you good results in the R country regional tournament and an early lock-in for the World Championship spot.”

“Thank you,” Yu Hao replied calmly.

Many people were mesmerized upon seeing Yun Ning, not everyone could remain as composed and indifferent as Yu Hao when faced with an actively approaching beauty.

“Well, Captain Yu, since we have such a coincidence, can I add you on WeChat this time?” Yun Ning, who hadn’t managed to add Yu Hao last time, felt a bit regretful.

Yu Hao was one of the few men she had a good impression of, so she was willing to drop her aloof goddess persona to approach him.

However, was Yu Hao really oblivious or already in a relationship? Why was he so indifferent towards her?

But she hadn’t heard of Yu Hao having a girlfriend in the circle.

“Let’s talk about it later. The turbulence indicator light is on, you should return to your seat,” Yu Hao pointed to the light that had lit up above them.

“…Alright,” Yun Ning resignedly walked away.

But no other man had ever shown her as little interest as Yu Hao, which only stirred a hint of competitive spirit in her.

Yu Hao continued to look at his tablet, not noticing that Jiang Min, who should have been asleep, was slowly opening his eyes.

His expression was complex, and Jiang Min seemed to have grasped something about his inner thoughts.

———–

The setup in R country was truly impressive. Along with JW, the LQ team from E country also arrived. As soon as both teams and their staff walked out of customs, they were greeted by a large wave of media waiting for them.

It was like the arrival of some major celebrity. The esports players, who had never experienced such treatment before, were a bit overwhelmed.

But the exaggeration was mostly from the media. The esports atmosphere in R country wasn’t very strong. People seemed to prefer high-quality or uniquely designed single-player games, with fewer people actually playing multiplayer online games like WOC, and even fewer who were passionate about professional esports. Hence, there weren’t many team fans waiting at the airport like there would be in their home country.

Besides the cameras and reporters in the lobby, along with the flashing lights, there weren’t many apparent esports fans around, just curious passersby observing from a distance.

“Let’s go, the car arranged by the event organization is waiting for us in the parking lot,” Fan Dadi urged the team members.

Since it was a public itinerary and a large international event, all JW members, including analysts and coaches, were wearing this season’s representative black and gold team uniforms.

Before departure, the team had just unveiled their summer uniforms.

The summer uniforms didn’t change much from the spring ones, except for being short-sleeved, still featuring the black base and embroidered gold line design from the spring uniforms.

The team members, carrying their backpacks with their essential equipment like keyboards and pushing their suitcases, followed Fan Dadi towards the cars.

The enthusiasm of the R country media was quite overwhelming.

Cameras were pointed at the team members, reporters were reporting in front, and there were even those wanting to conduct direct interviews.

However, JW hadn’t arranged for a translator fluent in R language this time. The team typically only had English translators, and for international events, the event organizers usually assigned specific translators, so the team didn’t need to prepare their own.

Thus, with the language barrier, Fan Dadi used his broken English to communicate and politely declined the interview requests.

The members of the neighboring LQ team were all tall and robust, truly living up to their reputation as a battle nation.

Apart from their wild physique and appearance, LQ team was also known for their aggressive playstyle in previous tournaments.

Except for the Korean PH team, LQ was arguably the strongest team in the R country regional qualifier.

However, they recently suffered a surprising defeat to the newly emerged STN team in the E country league, ending their three-year dominance in the regional scene and only securing second place.

LQ and JW had never faced each other before. The players, unfamiliar with each other, gave each other a distant look before following their respective team leaders.

This was the first time the team members had visited R country. The city’s bustling scene was just as captivating as it appeared in photos and videos, drawing the attention of these young players who rarely traveled abroad. The gamers, usually quick to sleep on the bus, were now curiously gazing out at the unfamiliar world.

“Big D, Big D! Can we tour around T city after the tournament before we leave? It’s a rare opportunity!” Hao Qianyi leaned against the bus window and shouted towards Fan Dadi.

Without Shen Qi present, Fan Dadi was the best person to communicate with the club.

Since it was a rare trip, they shouldn’t just play the matches and leave; at least a little sightseeing would be nice.

“Depends on how you perform,” Fan Dadi replied, lounging in the front seat with his legs crossed. “If you guys flop in the group stages, forget about it and go home to train. If you make it to the top three or even win, I might consider applying for time and funds with the club.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve gone through rigorous training!” Hao Qianyi said confidently. “No problem!”

Yan Junying, sitting next to Fan Dadi, remained silent.

Confidence is good, but the teams in the R country regional qualifier weren’t considered top-tier globally.

The Korean PH team was strong, but compared to the European and North American giants, they were still a level below.

If JW couldn’t beat these teams, their chances at the world championship this year would be slim.

This regional qualifier was essentially a test run.

The results would give a clear indication of how far JW could go in the world championship.

Jiang Min and Yu Hao were sitting at the back of the bus.

Yu Hao noticed that Jiang Min had been silent since they landed and was now staring out the window, completely different from his usual occasional chats with Yu Hao.

Was he still groggy from sleep or was there something on his mind?

“Sugar?”

“Hmm?” Jiang Min turned to look at Yu Hao.

He had been preoccupied with thoughts about Yun Ning throughout the journey.

He admired Yun Ning, but it was only admiration—no other feelings involved.

However, it was obvious to anyone that Yun Ning was actively approaching Yu Hao.

Since Yun Ning started approaching Yu Hao, Jiang Min’s admiration for Yun Ning had vanished, replaced by an inexplicable aversion.

He couldn’t understand why he felt this way about Yun Ning, as Yun Ning hadn’t done anything to offend him.

This question had been troubling him for a long time.

“Are you alright, Sugar?” Yu Hao asked with concern.

Jiang Min looked at him: “I’m fine.”

“Then why do you look so troubled?”

“…. It’s nothing,” Jiang Min replied with a forced smile. “Maybe it’s just that it’s been a while since I participated in an international tournament, so I’m a bit nervous.”

After more than four years in professional esports and participating in numerous international events, feeling nervous was normal, but it shouldn’t be affecting him this noticeably. Saying he was nervous felt like just an excuse.

So why did he dislike Yun Ning?

¹TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”

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  TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”