As Ye Shaoyang walked through the VIP entrance, he noticed an LCD screen above the security checkpoint displaying several lines of notices in eye-catching red text—

Spectator Guidelines:

1. All Alphas entering the venue, please courteously spray Alpha pheromone cover.
2. Those with abnormal pheromone readings, please contact medical staff immediately.
3. Please watch the match civilly. Smoking, drinking, loud noise, and fighting are strictly prohibited.

A harmonious esports environment requires everyone’s joint protection.

Just as he finished reading the notices, a female doctor in a white coat suddenly walked over and asked with a smile, “Sir, your pheromone data reading is abnormal with a value of 0. May I ask, have you not differentiated yet?”

Ye Shaoyang nodded. “Yes, I haven’t differentiated yet.”

The female doctor handed him a sealed plastic bag. “Here is the medical team’s contact number. If you feel unwell during the match, you can reach out to us promptly. Inside the bag are common Omega and Alpha pheromone suppressants that can temporarily inhibit pheromones and prevent loss of control during differentiation.”

Ye Shaoyang took the bag and smiled politely at her. “Thank you, Doctor.”

The female doctor gestured to security, signaling them to let him pass.

Ye Shaoyang walked through the security checkpoint with Qin Rui. Seeing no one around, he couldn’t help but curiously ask his brother, “For someone like me who hasn’t differentiated, do we get special protection in public venues?”

He felt like he was about to become an endangered species.

Qin Rui leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Yes, Ge. Because you could differentiate at any time. If preparations aren’t made in advance and you lose control, it could affect the spectators around you.”

Ye Shaoyang pondered this. “A pheromone value of 0 means undifferentiated?”

Qin Rui nodded and explained, “After differentiation, Alpha, Beta, and Omega pheromone data can all be detected by instruments. Normally, below 6.0 is safe. Above 10.0, an Omega may enter heat, and an Alpha may enter rut. Monitoring pheromones in public venues is also to prevent incidents.”

So not differentiating was quite troublesome—all sorts of medications and blocker patches had to be carried around. He hoped he’d differentiate soon. A 50% chance, whether Alpha or Omega, at least give him a result instead of leaving him hanging like this.

Ye Shaoyang took out his phone and quickly noted down the key values Xiao Rui had mentioned. Only then did he put away his phone and the plastic bag, walking into the venue with his brother.

Star City Esports Center was massive. The arena could easily accommodate over 100,000 spectators.

The venue was divided into two floors. The stage was positioned dead center, with seating areas A through F arranged around it like flower petals. The arena had a climate control system. It was August in the south, and the weather outside was brutally hot—the pavement was hot enough to fry an egg. The moment they stepped inside, the air conditioning hit them with a comfortable blast of cold air.

Two glass soundproof booths sat on the left and right sides of the stage. Inside each booth, five gaming chairs and desktop computers were neatly arranged. At the moment, the overhead lights were on, very bright, and many staff members were inside the booths adjusting equipment.

Above each of the A through F sections, projection screens hung in the air. During the match, the large screens would broadcast the game feed in real-time, so spectators sitting far away could also clearly see the match through the screens—very thoughtful.

Ye Shaoyang quickly found his seat based on the seat number on his e-ticket.

He and Xiao Rui’s seats were A3-51 and A3-52, located directly facing the stage—prime viewing spots. Ye Shaoyang and Xiao Rui sat down together.

With still some time before the match started, he idly opened his phone and registered a Weibo account named [Streamer Xiao Bai]. Then he logged into his Whale Live stream room on his phone and wrote in the announcement section: Welcome everyone to follow Streamer Xiao Bai.

Spectators entered one after another.

At 1:30 PM, all spectators had finished entering.

Ye Shaoyang turned to look—an ocean of black, over 100,000 seats actually sold out.

Fans in the back rows held up massive support posters. There were flags with team logos, chibi avatars of players, real-life posters, and cheering slogans. It was as lively as a celebrity concert.

Qin Rui excitedly looked around and whispered, “Ge, it’s my first time watching a match live. There are so many people!”

Ye Shaoyang said calmly, “It’s the playoffs, so there are definitely more people than the regular season. I checked the schedule—today’s winning team will at least make top four. The losing team gets sent to the losers’ bracket.”

Qin Rui was puzzled. “Losers’ bracket?”

Ye Shaoyang explained, “It’s a double-elimination bracket. Teams in the winners’ bracket drop to the losers’ bracket after one loss. Teams in the losers’ bracket are eliminated the moment they lose. Based on regular season standings, the top four enter the winners’ bracket, and the bottom four go to the losers’ bracket.”

Qin Rui suddenly understood. “Then the losers’ bracket doesn’t have much of a chance? They’re all the lower-ranked teams.”

Ye Shaoyang smiled and whispered in his brother’s ear, “Not necessarily. Teams that performed well in the regular season can still flop in the playoffs—there are plenty of examples. Matches depend on on-the-spot performance. The playoffs are elimination format, so the psychological pressure on players is enormous. If their mentality isn’t good, losing one game can easily cause them to collapse.”

Qin Rui nodded seriously. “That makes sense! Ge, you sure know a lot.”

Ye Shaoyang didn’t explain. He had seen too many tears from players eliminated from the winners’ bracket, and cases of teams fighting desperately from the losers’ bracket to stage a comeback.

This was the greatest charm of esports—

Until the Nexus falls, anything is possible.

At 1:45 PM, the lights in the entire venue suddenly dimmed, and a cheer erupted from the audience.

A male and female host walked onto the main stage. The male host was tall, wearing a gray suit. The female host wore a white evening gown and silver stiletto sandals. The handsome man and beautiful woman standing together were very pleasing to the eye.

The male host picked up the microphone and said in a clear voice, “Good afternoon, everyone. I’m host Lin Qi. There are still 15 minutes before the playoffs officially begin. Next, we’ll start with the raffle segment. Please welcome the streamer from Whale Live Platform and our special host for this match—Yao Mu, to conduct the first round of the raffle!”

Ye Shaoyang looked up at the stage, somewhat surprised.

When he had gone to negotiate with Director Liu from Whale Live previously, he had learned about the platform’s streamers. The most popular male streamer was called Xiao Wei, and the female streamer was Yao Mu. Female streamers in the gaming section weren’t common. The reason Yao Mu was so popular, aside from her outstanding looks, was that she was genuinely good at the game.

She specialized in playing support and often queued ranked with her viewers. Some people online flamed her, saying she was carried by her whale donors. But Ye Shaoyang had watched a few recordings of her streams—her support play was quite good. While her mechanics couldn’t compare to pro players, her macro awareness was excellent, and she held national server titles for several support heroes.

This female streamer had a good temper and never argued with haters. Ye Shaoyang had a decent impression of her.

“Good afternoon, everyone.” Yao Mu wore a white gown, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her smile gentle. She took the remote from the male host and pressed it, saying, “This time, the peripheral gift is a limited edition [Forest Envoy] figurine. It’s very worth collecting. I wonder which lucky audience members will receive this fortune?”

The male host said, “For our first round, we’ll randomly select three lucky spectators. The system will randomly draw. Everyone pay attention to your seat numbers—you might be the winner!”

The screen began rapidly scrolling through seat numbers.

Yao Mu smiled and said, “Counting down—3, 2, 1, stop!”

She pressed the pause button.

The large screen froze on three seat numbers: B3-51, C18-39, F60-99.

Qin Rui looked down at his seat number and sighed regretfully, “What a pity, just one letter off, Ge, and you would’ve won.” Ye Shaoyang’s seat number was A3-51, but the winning seat was B3-51.

Ye Shaoyang smiled. “Normal. With over 100,000 spectators in the venue, the odds of winning were already very low.”

As he spoke, someone suddenly walked over from the side.

The man was tall, wearing simple jeans and a black T-shirt, a mask on his face, and a black baseball cap pulled low over his head, making it impossible to see his face clearly.

He quickly walked to row 3 of section A and sat down in seat A3-50 next to Ye Shaoyang.

Ye Shaoyang caught a very special cool fragrance, light and faint, very pleasant.

He turned to look at this late-arriving spectator beside him. The other person also happened to turn and look at him.

Their eyes met, and Ye Shaoyang couldn’t help but freeze—

They were a pair of pitch-black, deep eyes. Calm, steady, unruffled. Paired with a handsome pair of sword-shaped eyebrows. Even though the mask blocked most of his features, just his eyes alone were enough to leave a deep impression.

Ye Shaoyang suddenly met those eyes, froze for a moment, then showed a polite smile. But the other’s gaze remained fixed on him, a hint of a smile seemingly floating in his eyes as he opened his mouth and asked, “Xiao Bai?”

The voice was very pleasant.

Deep and magnetic, a male-god-tier voice that would be recognizable even in the voice acting industry.

Ye Shaoyang reacted, somewhat surprised. “…Boss?”

He had assumed the wealthy boss was a man in his thirties with a successful career, but this person seemed quite young?

Chi Shuo nodded. “Hello.”

Ye Shaoyang immediately politely extended his hand. “Hello, Boss. Your seat is here too?”

Chi Shuo reached out and shook his hand lightly, saying, “Yes. I asked a friend for an extra ticket. It happens to be right next to your seats.”

Team Tianhuan could use the player passage to go to the second-floor backstage viewing area reserved for pro players and reporters. However, Chi Shuo didn’t go with his teammates. He had asked the team manager for an extra ticket and come to the venue as a spectator, so he could sit with Xiao Bai.

He was too popular—if he walked in directly, he’d be surrounded by fans. So he wore a hat and mask, waiting until the spectators had finished entering and the raffle segment had begun before quietly walking into the venue. At this point, only the main stage was lit, while the lights in other areas were off. No one would notice him.

Hearing this, Ye Shaoyang smiled and said, “I was just thinking of thanking you in person. Whether it’s the gifts in the stream room or today’s tickets, you’ve spent too much on me.”

Chi Shuo said in a low voice, “You’re welcome.”

He carefully looked at the person before him.

The other party was also wearing a mask. A pair of clear, gentle eyes. When he smiled, it was as if there was light in his eyes—cheerful and generous, not the slightest bit reserved or nervous.

—Frank, confident. Exactly the same feeling Xiao Bai gave him during streams.

A faint scent of Alpha pheromone cover spray drifted into his nose, though the smell was very light.

So, Xiao Bai was an Alpha?

As this thought flashed through Chi Shuo’s mind, he heard the host’s voice from the stage. The second round of the raffle was beginning. He took out an exquisite gift box from behind him and handed it to Ye Shaoyang. “For you. A meeting gift.”

Ye Shaoyang didn’t dare take it for a moment. “What is this?”

Chi Shuo said, “Game peripherals. Limited edition Goddess series bookmarks, already out of print. I bought a few extra sets back then. You like playing mid lane, right? Perfect for you to collect.”

Ye Shaoyang felt embarrassed to accept it. The boss had tipped him many gifts, given him tickets, and now brought him peripherals as a meeting gift. He didn’t know why this boss favored him so much. He had never shown his face during streams, so it couldn’t be that the boss liked his cat, right? Or was it that his gaming skill had impressed the boss?

Seeing his hesitation, Chi Shuo said indifferently, “Take it. Game peripherals aren’t anything valuable. The key lies in their commemorative meaning. There are six mid-lane heroes inside; you can slowly practice them in the future.”

Hearing him say this, Ye Shaoyang accepted the box frankly. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony. Thank you, Boss.”

A game peripheral gift wasn’t like expensive luxury goods—it was indeed acceptable to take. Not accepting it would instead make things awkward between them. He could just give the boss a gift in return later.

Ye Shaoyang looked down. The surface of the blue box had a gold-embossed game logo. Opening it, six metal bookmarks were neatly arranged inside, emitting a soft luster under the lights. The bookmarks were made 1:1 based on the images of six goddesses from the game. The metal bookmarks were as thin as cicada wings, with colorful three-dimensional carved patterns on the surface—very exquisite.

Below the bookmarks, six hero names were engraved in relief—

Frost Goddess · Shirley; Blaze Goddess · Nicole; Storm Goddess · Vivian; Thunder Goddess · Blanche; Ocean Goddess · Hades; Goddess of Destiny · Angelia.

Of these six heroes, Ye Shaoyang hadn’t had time to practice them yet, but he knew they were all very popular mid-lane mages in the game. The commemorative gift the boss gave him indeed held great meaning.

Ye Shaoyang’s fingertips lightly brushed over the surface of the bookmarks. The metal texture was slightly cool and very smooth to the touch. This specially made metal bookmark wouldn’t fade even after many years of preservation. He really liked this set of peripherals and couldn’t help saying, “The bookmarks are beautiful. Unfortunately, of these six heroes, I only know how to play [Frost Goddess].”

Chi Shuo looked at him, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. “These six mage heroes correspond to six different team compositions. I believe with your comprehension, you’ll learn them quickly.”

Ye Shaoyang accepted the other’s praise frankly and smiled as he looked at him. “Since the Boss thinks so highly of me, then next, I’ll just take the national server titles for all six of these heroes.”

Six heroes’ national server titles, just like that?

To others, this sounded like wild boasting.

But Chi Shuo knew it wasn’t.

He really liked Xiao Bai’s confidence.

Confidence was an essential quality for becoming a professional player.

Moreover, Xiao Bai had the strength to take national server titles; he wasn’t just talking big.

The corner of Chi Shuo’s lips curved up slightly. He looked at Xiao Bai and said, “After you took the national server title for [Abyssal Lord], the official client recommended your item build. I tried your set these past few days, and the controls are indeed very smooth.”

Ye Shaoyang said modestly, “I just figured it out on my own. This hero’s playstyle is very flexible, and his reset收割 ability is strong. There should be more build paths and strategies that can be slowly researched.”

Chi Shuo nodded. “Mn. [Abyssal Lord] has only been released on the online client so far and hasn’t officially entered the tournament server. The official side might also adjust the new hero’s numbers.”

Ye Shaoyang joked, “Please don’t nerf him into the ground with one patch. I worked so hard to get that national server title.”

Chi Shuo said in a low voice, “They won’t. At most it’ll be minor numerical tweaks. As long as the skill mechanics don’t change, this hero’s reset ability is still T0-tier.”

Qin Rui: “…………”

Who was he, where was he, and should he say something??

Qin Rui pricked up his ears listening to his brother and the boss chat.

It was strange. These two had met for the first time today, yet they completely lacked the feeling of strangers. Talking about in-game heroes, they had so many common topics, like old friends who had known each other for a very long time.

Qin Rui couldn’t interject at all.

He could only sit up straight and silently direct his gaze toward the main stage.