King's Moment

Chapter 3: Team Wave 7

Dongjiang University values greenery, and the campus is filled with all sorts of trees whose names are unfamiliar, casting a lush, verdant shade over everything. The only place where one can truly see the sky is probably the vast, empty sports field.

He Yu went to the student supermarket on the west side of the playground, bought a bottle of soda, and sat on a bench at the entrance to slowly drink it. It was only the first day of school registration, and students were already playing football on the playground, but the tree-lined path between the playground and the student supermarket was even more lively at this time.

Rows of desks lined both sides of the road. During this freshman orientation season, various student clubs at Dongjiang University were already eagerly setting up their recruitment efforts. Some hung colorful banners on trees behind the desks, some displayed eye-catching billboards, some continuously played their club introductions through loudspeakers, and others directly sent people to hand out flyers among passersby.

Zhou Mo sat alone behind a table, watching the various student clubs bustling about, and couldn't help but feel a little envious. His table had no eye-catching sign, and he was practically the only person there. Most passing students were drawn to the larger, more prestigious clubs, and few noticed his table. He didn't want to miss any opportunity, so whenever someone's gaze fell on him, he would immediately put on an expectant smile, stand up, and warmly greet them: "Hey, want to check out Team Wave 7?"

"What?" The student, who had been stopped by Zhou Mo after only glancing at him unintentionally, stared at him in astonishment. He hadn't even heard what Zhou Mo had just said to him.

"The Lang7 team, they play King of Glory, do they know how to play?" Zhou Mo asked patiently.

"Honor of Kings? Isn't the Honor of Kings club over there?" The student looked to the right in confusion and realized that he was right. The Honor of Kings club, protected by life-size standees of the two heroes Xiang Yu and Yu Ji from the game, was indeed over there.

"That's a club, we're just a team. Join us and we'll play casual and ranked matches together, participate in some..."

“But I’ve already joined the King of Glory club,” the student interrupted Zhou Mo.

“That doesn’t conflict with anything; we’re just a relatively stable team,” Zhou Mo said.

“Yes, it’s very consistent; it’s always been a team of only two people.” Suddenly, someone took over Zhou Mo’s words and walked to the student’s side, patting him on the shoulder and speaking with an extremely solemn expression.

"Senior Brother Zhang." The student turned his head and saw the person who had just greeted him at the King of Glory club. It seemed that he was the publicity minister of the King of Glory club.

"Didn't I just introduce it to you? If you want to join a team, there are many in our club. Based on your preferred position and heroes, we will recommend the most suitable team for you to join," Zhang Chenghao said.

“I know, but this senior brother…”

"They only have two people on their team. What are you joining them for? To play Changping Siege?" Zhang Chenghao said, and the students who came with him laughed. Even veteran King of Glory players would find Changping Siege a bit unfamiliar; it's a 3v3 mode in the game. Usually, the main gameplay involves 5v5 matches on the King's Canyon map in ranked and casual games, and the KPL, representing the highest level, is the same. Therefore, Changping Siege can be seen as a relatively informal mode. Zhang Chenghao's words were full of mockery, but Zhou Mo was helpless because Zhang Chenghao was telling the truth; their Lang7 team really did only have two members at the moment.

What happened during the Battle of Changping? Do you know anything about it?

A girl's voice suddenly broke through the crowd. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a beautiful girl striding confidently towards them. Many onlookers' eyes lit up. However, Zhang Chenghao and his companions showed no interest in appreciating the beauty; instead, they looked rather annoyed. But they quickly forced a smile and said, "Who do we have here? It's Brother Gao!"

He pronounced the word "brother" in a drawn-out, melodious way, causing those around him who didn't know the girl to look on with surprise, especially the freshman who stared at her with wide eyes, puzzled.

"Childish," the girl scoffed. Her surname was Gao and her given name was Ge, and because of the homonym, people often intentionally or unintentionally mistook her for "brother." She had experienced these kinds of jokes countless times since childhood. Some friends advised her to change her name, but she dismissed it, saying, "There's nothing wrong with my name. It's those people who make jokes about my name who are impolite and bored. Why should I change it?"

Her friend was speechless. Gao Ge, of course, didn't change her name either, and she never took those kinds of jokes seriously. Right now, she didn't even glance at Zhang Chenghao, but instead looked at the freshman Zhou Mo had been recruiting for so long and said, "Even the Battle of Changping can be fun if you play it seriously. Want to give it a try?"

The freshmen were still reeling from the surprise of being called "Brother Gao" and hadn't quite come to their senses yet. Seeing that Gao Ge was ignoring him, Zhang Chenghao, feeling both ashamed and indignant, interrupted, "You actually took it seriously? The Battle of Changping? Who knows how to play that? Are you trying to train a Changping master?"

“Very well, the question has come back to the previous one: the Battle of Changping, do you know how to do it?” Gao Ge finally looked at Zhang Chenghao.

"What can't I do?" Zhang Chenghao retorted immediately, not to be outdone, but he regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. However, Gao Ge on the other end quickly chimed in, "Then how about a game?"

"Want to play a round? You guys in Lang7 only have three people, and you want to play a round?" Zhang Chenghao chuckled somewhat guiltily.

“That’s easy. There are so many people here. Just find someone for us, and they’ll beat you in no time,” Gao Ge said.

"Just pick anyone?" Zhang Chenghao was taken aback, and the students around him who knew the game were in an uproar. While Honor of Kings was popular, the world was vast, and the majority of people didn't even know how to play it. Not to mention the wide skill range among players, from Bronze to King to professional level. Just pick anyone? The chances of finding someone who would drag the team down were far greater than finding a good helper. Anyone who knew the game knew that this was basically no different from two against three.

“Yes, just pick anyone, anyone will do,” Gao Ge said again with certainty.

"Hey..." This time it wasn't just anyone, but Gao Ge's companion Zhou Mo, who couldn't help but call out to her after snapping out of her daze, looking completely confused. Gao Ge looked at Zhou Mo, her eyes filled with stubbornness and a hint of helplessness, but her tone was unusually relaxed: "Being able to take on three is much easier than taking on five, right?"

Zhou Mo was taken aback, but she understood Gao Ge's intention from those words.

Gao Ge and he were also members of the King of Glory club when they first entered the school. As a game club that was mostly composed of boys, girls were always very popular, especially a pretty girl like Gao Ge. No one even had any demands on her in the game. But no one expected that before they could even make demands on Gao Ge, she would be the one to look down on them first.

Gao Ge's passion for gaming far exceeded their expectations. Most people treated games merely as entertainment, but Gao Ge had ambitions; she saw them as ideals and goals. She couldn't tolerate her teammates' casual attitude towards the game, and they couldn't accept her demanding standards. Eventually, almost no one in the club wanted to play with her, so Gao Ge simply left the club and formed her own team, Lang7. After two years, she only had Zhou Mo as a teammate. Gathering five people each semester for the school's King of Glory League was extremely difficult. Gao Ge's reputation had spread far and wide; players in the school's King of Glory circle avoided her like the plague.

Currently, challenging Zhang Chenghao is the only option left in this awkward situation. They can't force others to agree with their gaming philosophy, so they can only try to impress them in other ways. For example, skill! Although Zhang Chenghao started playing King of Glory much later than them, only after entering Dongjiang University, he has consistently reached the King rank in solo queue over the past two years, and his team, Dynasty, has achieved remarkable results in the campus league. If Gao Ge and Zhou Mo can really defeat Zhang Chenghao and his Dynasty team with just a random player, it would undoubtedly be a very eye-catching and impressive demonstration of their skill. Perhaps this freshman would be willing to join their Lang7 team and give it a try.

Having figured this out, Zhou Mo no longer hesitated and stood firmly by Gao Ge's side, just as he had been a loyal member of Wave 7 for the past two years.

Zhang Chenghao had already turned to his companions and instructed them: "Call Zhou Mutong and Xu Kaihuai over."

Since Gao Ge had put it that way, Zhang Chenghao had no choice but to accept the challenge. Zhou Mutong and Xu Kaihuai were both key members of his Dynasty team. Regardless, strength comes first, so Zhang Chenghao decided to field his strongest lineup and go all out. As for Lang7…

"Will you choose or should I?" Zhang Chenghao asked knowingly. Gao Ge had already told him to find anyone he wanted, and she was always a woman of her word; there was no way she would suddenly change her mind.

"You come here," Gao Ge said as expected.

Zhang Chenghao glanced around, wishing he could choose a tree for Gao Ge. Although he had called over the two strongest players from his team, he was still somewhat apprehensive. He had a psychological aversion to Gao Ge. They were both third-year students; when they first entered the school, he was a complete newbie in the King of Glory scene. After joining the club, he was relentlessly beaten by Gao Ge as an opponent; as a teammate, he was relentlessly criticized. His bronze-level heart was deeply wounded. Now he was a skilled King of Glory player, but despite his resentment and verbal grievances, he still had to admit that Gao Ge's skill was undeniable. Add to that the equally strong Zhou Mo, and with another skilled player on the team, in a three-on-three situation, Zhang Chenghao wasn't entirely confident.

Therefore, it's best to find someone who doesn't know how.

Zhang Chenghao had already planned this out, but the people around him who were likely to stay and watch the spectacle were probably interested in Honor of Kings. These people were probably skilled players. In that case…

Zhang Chenghao glanced around, then had an idea. He said, "Most of the people here are people I know. I'm afraid you'll accuse me of choosing an undercover agent to frame you." As he spoke, his gaze swept out of the crowd and he spotted a boy sitting on a bench outside the student supermarket, drinking a soda. The boy seemed completely oblivious to the commotion around him, which suited him perfectly.

"That boy!" he pointed.

Everyone looked in the direction Zhang Chenghao was pointing. Gao Ge was taken aback for a moment, then gave him a very cute smile, raised his hand and patted Zhang Chenghao's shoulder affectionately, saying, "You have great taste!"