DSF Chapter 28

Xiao Nuo was having a late-night snack in the dining hall when he heard that they would have joint practice matches with Zero next Friday. He was so shocked that he almost choked on his peanuts.

He coughed heavily, his face turning red.

“Wait, Captain, I think I need to practice sound positioning for another two hours. My ears have been acting up lately, always having issues.”

Chen Zefeng, with his mouth full of noodles, said in a loud voice, “Believe in yourself. You’re not wrong; it’s the world that’s wrong.”

Ever since he found out that the little wildcat was a cross-dresser, he had taken life in stride.

To hell with women; games were a lifelong spouse.

Mo Bei stood on the side, leaning against the table, blinking. “Why can’t I keep up with your pace? What’s going on? Did we reconcile with Zero?”

After listening to their endless chatter, Han Mo, with an indifferent tone, said, “Just suddenly realized that I used to care too much about face. Some people even shamelessly begged for duo queues. What was I thinking?”

Chen Zefeng, swallowing a mouthful of noodles, curiously asked, “Who? Who wants to duo with whom?”

Coming back to his senses, Han Mo evaluated Chen Zefeng’s bowl and said, “Eat less at this late hour. Otherwise, not only the little wildcat but even the big-faced cat won’t look at you.”

Chen Zefeng pouted in grievance, “I stayed up late, okay? I’m hungry. Captain, don’t poke at my wounds; I just forgot about the little wildcat.”

Xiao Nuo happily said, “Then I’ll inform Yu Shen and we’ll meet on Friday.”

After two years, he finally didn’t have to secretly watch Zero’s practice match recordings.

In the Professional League Players group chat:

Prince-Xiao Nuo (Captain Han Mo’s dedicated spokesperson): “Comrades, we suddenly have nothing to do on Friday, let’s practice together.”

CNG-Yu Yan: “???”

AXE-Chen Chi: “???”

Lie Hu-Fang Shuo: “???”

Zero-Song Tang: “I just found out?”

Zero-Xu Rui: “I just found out too?”

Zero-Fu Haifeng: “We’re all having a massage together. Such a big event suddenly occurred. I’ll go ask the captain.”

Prince-Han Mo: “End.”

Unfortunately, his attempt to stop them was futile. The news that Prince was willing to practice with Zero was already a big sensation in the professional circle. Even players who hadn’t appeared for a long time came over to join in the fun.

CNG-Yu Yan: “Gou Bing, come out and explain to dad, @Zero-Yan Yibing.”

Zero-Yan Yibing: “What does your dad have to explain?”

CNG-Yu Yan: “When did you and Han Mo conspire?”

Zero-Yan Yibing: “If you’re uncultured, don’t come out to embarrass your dad.”

Prince-Han Mo: “It’s nothing, just didn’t want to screen record each other, too troublesome.”

CNG-Yu Yan: “Damn, if you guys stop, how can CNG make a profit as the middleman?”

CNG-Lu Jianghe: “Income plummeted.

AXE-Chen Chi: “Income plummeted +1.”

Lie Hu-Fang Shuo: “Income plummeted +10086.”

In the massage room of Zero, three pairs of eyes looked at Yan Yibing.

Yan Yibing lay on the bed, glanced sideways, his ears slightly red, and muttered, “Why are you all looking at me?”

Xu Rui asked in a low voice, “Captain, did you know about this in advance?”

Yan Yibing admitted, “Yeah, just found out.”

He subconsciously agreed. Perhaps because Han Mo injured his hand for him, making him somewhat touched.

Xu Rui was surprised, “Did Han Mo… did he tell you in advance?”

Yan Yibing pursed his lips, the soft black hair falling in front of his eyes. “Yeah.”

Xu Rui was quite shocked, “You… you removed him from the blacklist?”

Yan Yibing silently acknowledged.

Song Tang frowned, serious, “Captain, did Han Mo apologize to you? If he didn’t apologize, you can’t be soft-hearted.”

Yan Yibing was slightly stunned, “Apologize to me for what?”

How the hell should apologize to Han Mo, and on Song Tang’s side, they wanted Han Mo to apologize to him?

Now he couldn’t understand who owed whom in their relationship.

Song Tang sat up, and clenched his fists, his face looking very unpleasant.

He whispered, “If he doesn’t apologize for that exhibition match incident, I won’t be able to forgive him.”

Exhibition match?

Yan Yibing was momentarily stunned, slightly dazed.

Oh, it’s been a while, but he still remembered.

Zero and Prince didn’t start off with such a strained relationship.

After all, this was a personal grudge between two team members and didn’t involve the entire team.

It all started with the exhibition match that Han Mo participated in when he first joined Prince.

That day happened to be Han Mo’s eighteenth birthday, and Prince’s fans at the competition brought many birthday banners, making a grand spectacle.

The exhibition match had a similar mode to the current one, with solo, duo, and squad matches.

In the duo match, Yan Yibing was paired with the only female team member in the league, Ding Luo, while Han Mo was on a team with Yu Yan.

Ding Luo’s skills were average, mainly relying on Yan Yibing to carry her.

Yan Yibing wanted her to survive longer, so he went to the ruins on the mountaintop in the early game.

He didn’t expect that Han Mo and Yu Yan wouldn’t team up and also went in that direction.

At that time, the mountaintop ruins didn’t have hidden benefits, were desolate, and quiet, with almost no one landing there.

Being a gentleman, Yan Yibing gave Ding Luo the better gun and took an S1897 shotgun for himself.

This shotgun had a short range, poor accuracy, and lousy damage. It was a rhythm of certain death when facing skilled professional players.

But at that time, Yan Yibing was basically in a “who dares to challenge me” state in the professional circle. So, he took the lead, preparing to take Ding Luo to the nearest wilderness area.

Meanwhile, Han Mo was walking towards the ruins with a SCAR-L assault rifle.

They happened to bump into each other.

Even though Yan Yibing was prepared, the gun was too lousy. He was shot down by Han Mo after about ten consecutive shots.

In the game of PUBG, a character falling down doesn’t mean death.

If a teammate comes to the rescue, the player can be revived.

However, this time is limited. If the health bar reaches zero, it’s game over.

At that moment, the kill notification on the big screen clearly displayed –

【Prince-momo knocked down Zero-ICE with a SCAR-L assault rifle】

Yan Yibing looked at it, sighed for a moment, and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

It really was a narrow road for enemies.

Because of their master-apprentice relationship, the perceptive broadcasting team quickly noticed this as a potential explosive point and switched the camera to them.

Ding Luo wanted to rush out to save Yan Yibing, but he rejected her.

Ding Luo couldn’t beat Han Mo, and there was no need to give him a free kill.

Yan Yibing’s in-game character crawled on the ground, the health bar slowly decreasing.

He simply released the mouse and waited for the game to end.

All Han Mo needed to do was add one more shot, and he would be boxed.

He waited for a moment, but Han Mo didn’t deliver that final shot. Instead, he walked over, holding the gun, and stood quietly in front of Yan Yibing.

Han Mo, looking down from a higher vantage point, gazed at him. It felt as if Yan Yibing was prostrating himself beneath Han Mo, awaiting death.

This sensation was extremely uncomfortable.

So, Yan Yibing moved the mouse again, making his character crawl a few steps in another direction.

This place was impoverished, and the surrounding wilderness areas were likely also poor. Perhaps Han Mo was low on bullets and unwilling to waste them.

He hadn’t thought much about it.

Until Han Mo took a few more steps and positioned himself in front of Yan Yibing.

Yan Yibing finally realized that Han Mo did it on purpose.

Han Mo seemed to be replaying the scene when he kicked out from Zero, kneeling in front of him.

It was just that one was reality, and the other was in the game.

Even so, it can still irritate a person to the point of being unable to breathe.

Just as Yan Yibing was about to be boxed, Han Mo opened the public microphone.

Yan Yibing heard his cold voice firsthand, “Bing Shen, retire.”

The entire arena erupted.

The noisy sounds of the audience reached the backstage preparation room.

The massive soundproof glass couldn’t block the commotion caused by this sentence.

Yan Yibing leaned heavily against the esports chair, a slight smile playing on his lips. As he smiled, his eyes turned red.

He could feel the gradual welling of tears, but pressing his tongue against his teeth, and taking a deep breath, he managed to suppress this surge of emotion.

On the screen, his character had already been boxed.

Han Mo stood in place, dumbfounded, not moving.

After opening the public microphone, players within a certain range could hear.

Ding Luo, of course, also heard it.

Furious, she rushed out, not caring if she could kill Han Mo, lifting her gun and firing wildly.

Han Mo didn’t dodge, as if he didn’t know there was someone there, quickly getting killed next to Yan Yibing.

Song Tang, who was sitting close to Yan Yibing, had died earlier, but he saw the whole thing. He was so angry he wanted to roll up his sleeves and fight Han Mo.

Yan Yibing grabbed him and calmly said, “What are you doing, do you want to commit a foul?”

Song Tang took a few deep breaths, barely holding back his temper, but he slammed the mouse down.

The supervisor quickly came to Yan Yibing’s side.

In a typical competition, when such incidents occurred, either adjustments were made, or penalties were imposed. He had to first ask for Yan Yibing’s stance.

Supervisor: “Bing Shen, what just happened?”

Song Tang couldn’t hold back, pointing in Han Mo’s direction, “What else could happen? This guy…”

Yan Yibing glanced at Song Tang, and Song Tang swallowed the curse.

Yan Yibing smiled gently, and rubbed his sore tendons, “It’s okay, just fooling around.”

“Captain!” Song Tang shouted softly.

Yan Yibing had a calm expression, and a cool tone, seemingly having no reaction to what happened just now.

Supervisor: “People in the listening room said Han Mo asked you to retire.”

Yan Yibing raised an eyebrow, and nodded slightly, “Ah, it’s time for me to retire, I’m getting older.”

The supervisor, with a meaningful tone, said, “If you want to pursue this, the behavior just now can be…”

Even if it wasn’t as severe as a ban, there would be internal notifications, criticisms, and fines within the league.

Yan Yibing casually remarked, “Don’t make a fuss. The match hasn’t ended yet. I’ll go to the bathroom first.”

He took off his headphones from around his neck, stood up, walked around the supervisor with his hands in his pockets, slightly lowered his head, and headed straight for the restroom.

The supervisor was helpless. If the parties involved didn’t pursue the matter, there wasn’t much they could do.

It seemed that Yan Yibing deliberately let Han Mo off the hook.

Song Tang called after him from behind, but he didn’t respond.

In the restroom, he found it empty, with only him inside.

Other players were either playing or watching the match. Sunlight streamed through the window, dazzlingly bright.

As gamers who spent years in an environment devoid of sunlight, their eyes had become particularly sensitive, and they couldn’t tolerate this kind of exposure.

Yan Yibing walked to the sink, turned on the tap, and rinsed his hands with cold water repeatedly.

The icy water washed away the warmth from his palms, carrying away the lingering sweat.

He took a deep breath, raised his hands, and pressed them against his eyelids, rubbing forcefully.

It wasn’t the first time he had experienced the pain, but it was still so difficult to endure.

After the exhibition match, there were player interviews.

Han Mo was nowhere to be found, and it was Xiao Nuo who stepped forward to explain.

Xiao Nuo had a smiling face, but beads of sweat adorned his forehead.

“Hahaha, our captain just has a sharp tongue, and can’t talk well. He doesn’t have a bad relationship with Bing Shen; it’s just a joke.”

“What retirement? You know, our players like to talk trash sometimes. Sometimes we don’t gauge the boundaries well, it goes a bit too far. We’ll apologize to Bing Shen backstage.”

“Yeah, yeah, everyone, don’t overinterpret. Our captain and Zero parted ways peacefully back then because Zero couldn’t handle so many people. It’s been a long time, and he still brings it up. It’s not because Bing Shen suppressed him.”

“What? Bing Shen won’t pursue it?”

But backstage, when Prince wanted to apologize to Zero, he found that Zero had already left with all its members.

Since then, during practices where Zero was present, Prince wouldn’t show up, and the practice matches arranged by Prince wouldn’t include Zero.

Yan Yibing was a chatterbox, often speaking in the league group chat. However, Han Mo had never said a word in that group.

At that time, Yan Yibing didn’t know that on the night of the exhibition match, Han Mo had gone to the Zero club alone.

He didn’t go in but stood by the riverbank behind the club, silently watching the lights in Yan Yibing’s room.

The lemon-yellow light seeped through the curtains, tinting a small piece of air. In the mist, the curtains moved slightly, covering even more tightly.

Magic City’s winter was not warm, it was wet and chilly. There is wet snow on the ground that has just melted.

Han Mo exhaled, and the misty white fog dissipated, quickly disappearing.

He stared at the room that had once been freely accessible. His vision became somewhat blurred.

His throat was hoarse, and he couldn’t utter a single word.

The water stains at the corners of his eyes were blown away by the wind, feeling as if they would freeze.

The slightly longer hairtips pierced his eyelids, making him involuntarily shed more tears.

His teeth chattered, and he tasted the metallic flavor of blood.

A year ago, he absolutely couldn’t have imagined that his eighteenth birthday would be spent like this.

In his imagination, he must still be at the Zero, becoming Yan Yibing’s teammate.

He was willing to assist Yan Yibing in reaching unprecedented heights, just as he had written on his application form when he first entered the youth training camp.

That day, perhaps Yan Yibing would change his stern tone, warmly wish him a happy birthday, share a piece of cake with him, or even take a bite of the cake he fed him.

Maybe he would invite him to sit in his room, squint his almond eyes, leisurely asking him how to fold the pile of cleaned shirts on the table.

Eighteen years old, he wasn’t a child anymore.

Yan Yibing might pat his head, warning him to control himself, not to let love affairs affect training.

Of course, he wouldn’t, because he…

None of these would happen.

Reality didn’t unfold as he had imagined.

His phone kept ringing, people from the club were looking for him, and fans were mentioning him on Weibo. Today was a very special day, but he had no mood to celebrate.

In the end, Han Mo simply turned off his phone.

He stood in the cold wind, looking at Yan Yibing’s window all night.

His limbs were almost numb from the cold, but he didn’t care.

He just understood one thing.

Bullying Yan Yibing wouldn’t bring him any joy.

It hurt so much that he was about to go crazy.

---

Author’s Message:

-Han Shen, don’t you think the way you ‘bully’ is wrong?

Han Mo: So, later on, I became shameless.

Yan Yibing: …I want it!

---

Thank you for reading! 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day 🍀

If you like reading my translations, do consider supporting me with ko-fi🌼