ARML CH83

The match ended, and the broadcast cut to the post-match interview desk.

Post-match interviews for regular season matches usually only invite one MVP player, and sometimes a coach. For this interview segment, Ye Shaoyang was undoubtedly invited.

The lights in the interview room were very bright, making Ye Shaoyang’s skin look even fairer. His smooth skin was completely free of the acne common among esports players, and his smile looked even better than in his promotional photos. His ability to withstand the high-definition cameras’ scrutiny instantly excited the lovestruck fans in the stream.

[I declare, I’m a brainless fan of this Omega little brother!]

[Yangyang, are you missing a husband? Although I’m an Omega too, I’m willing to become an Alpha for you~]

[Can the lovestruck army get out of the stream? What’s the point of looking at an esports player’s face? Look at their skills!]

[Is the skill of a pentakill Abyssal Lord not awesome enough?]

[You can be a fan of his skills too!]

The reporter clapped excitedly, “Welcome Tianhuan Lieyang to our interview desk!”

Ye Shaoyang smiled politely at the camera.

Reporter: “As the first Omega Mid-laner in the top professional league, before your formal debut, there were many voices online questioning you. Did you feel a lot of pressure?”

Ye Shaoyang took the microphone: “I didn’t feel any pressure.”

Reporter: “…?”

Ye Shaoyang smiled and said, “Because, before the regular season started, the team was in closed training, and the coach didn’t let us browse Weibo. So, I actually didn’t see exactly how the netizens were cursing me.”

After saying that, he smiled politely at the camera again.

His eyes were very innocent, as if asking: Did someone curse me?

The anti-fans who had cursed him in tens of thousands of comments on Weibo: “???”

Didn’t see it.

That was too heartbreaking!

A group of anti-fans had passionately cursed for ages, putting Tianhuan on the trending searches twice in a row, only for Ye Shaoyang to casually say “didn’t see it”… What a waste of emotion.

The reporter coughed and continued, “Tianhuan’s preseason record was 3 wins and 5 losses, dropping into Group B. Did you guys drop into Group B on purpose?”

This question was rather sharp. If answered poorly, it would be easy to get flamed.

Ye Shaoyang thought for a moment and said seriously, “We didn’t drop groups on purpose, and Tianhuan didn’t throw matches. We seriously prepared for every preseason match. For example, when playing against Jingzhe, we used a strategy of avoiding fights and playing macro, because we couldn’t beat them head-on. We ultimately lost because Captain Fang seized an opportunity to instantly delete our marksman, and the team fight collapsed. In the match against Binghun, we ##￥#￥#@…”

The reporter was dumbfounded.

Netizens in the stream: “???”

Are you fucking giving us a live post-match analysis right now?

Ye Shaoyang blabbered on endlessly, clearly breaking down the reasons for Tianhuan’s losses in every single match.

The reporter was left stunned by his speech. Seeing that he could go on for another ten minutes if not stopped, the reporter hurriedly coughed to interrupt him: “Ahem, it seems Tianhuan indeed prepared diligently! Everyone noticed that Tianhuan’s roster changed significantly this season, with you replacing Qu Jiang in the mid-lane. What was the reasoning behind this decision?”

Ye Shaoyang replied, “Xiao Xing is a rookie, and the marksman role is easily targeted. Qu Jiang is very stable, so the coaching staff’s idea was to have Qu Jiang protect Xiao Xing to prevent the bottom lane from collapsing. I think the coaching staff’s decision was quite professional, and Qu Jiang was also very happy to protect the rookie and stabilize the bottom lane.”

Reporter: “But you’re also a rookie. Was the coach at ease letting you replace Qu Jiang in the mid-lane?”

Ye Shaoyang smiled, “Not at ease at all. Therefore, the coach asked Captain Chi to help me. Afraid that I, a rookie, might not perform well, Captain Chi yielded the Blue Buff to me in both games. It’s been hard on Captain Chi.”

Chi Shuo: “…”

Netizens: “???”

[Is he a master of balancing water bowls?]

[Praising teammates and coaches one by one during an interview?]

[The Omega little brother’s EQ is very high. Put this way, Qu Jiang moving to support is quite acceptable, right?]

[Qu Jiang is indeed very stable. With Qu Jiang covering Xiao Xing, the bottom lane won’t collapse!]

The reporter quickly followed up, “Congratulations to Lieyang for securing a pentakill in the first game, which is also the first pentakill of the S10 season. Securing a pentakill and becoming a god in your debut match, becoming famous in a single battle, do you have anything you want to say to everyone?”

Ye Shaoyang continued to smile, “I was able to get a pentakill because my teammates coordinated well. Xiao Xing baited out the opponent’s key skills, Old Qin and Qu Jiang’s seamless crowd control chain gave me the opportunity to enter, and Captain Chi pursued and controlled the opponents to yield the kills to me. Thank you to my teammates, thank you to the coach, thank you everyone. The pentakill is just the beginning, I will continue to work hard in the future.”

Netizens: “…” True · Master of Balancing Water Bowls · Ye Shaoyang.

[Why do I feel like the reporter sent him the questions in advance and he secretly wrote a script?]

[This answer really has the style of an official spokesperson.]

[Tianhuan · Ministry of Foreign Affairs · Lieyang]

[Hahaha, I think the Omega little brother answering questions so earnestly is quite cute!]

[Is he really a rookie? He’s way too calm answering questions!]

The reporter originally thought a rookie would have stage fright during an interview and be too nervous to answer questions. Instead, Ye Shaoyang was acting like he was holding a press conference, answering questions like a mature and seasoned captain?

The reporter said, “Thank you Lieyang for accepting our interview!”

Warm applause erupted from the audience. Ye Shaoyang bowed to the interview desk and turned to leave. Having been a captain for so many years, you want to trap him during an interview? Thanks, but you’re overthinking it.

At the same time, at the Beimu team base.

After watching the post-match interview, Zhao Xin’an’s expression became increasingly complex. He scratched his hair and murmured, “This person’s voice sounds a bit familiar. And his way of speaking, why is it so much like the streamer Xiao Bai?”

Beimu’s coach added, “His Abyssal Lord playstyle also resembles Xiao Bai!”

While the two were still discussing, Zhao Xinping had already pulled up a recording. She turned on the laptop speakers—it was the recording of the streamer Xiao Bai’s Kings tier promotion match where he encountered Brother Yu, the one where Xiao Bai had used voice chat to shotcall.

A familiar clear voice echoed from the speakers. “Group up mid to defend a wave.”

“Marksman and support go push the bottom lane wave. Once you reach the river, pop your acceleration and recall.”

Zhao Xinping turned her head and asked, “Do the voices sound similar?”

Zhao Xin’an was dumbfounded, “It’s not just similar, it’s exactly the same!”

Beimu’s coach’s expression also cracked, “Holy crap! Could Ye Shaoyang be the streamer Xiao Bai? He didn’t sign with a tier-two team, he signed with Tianhuan? And he’s playing the starting mid-lane?!”

Zhao Xin’an: “…………”

Back at the scene of the S9 finals, everyone had seen the rookie Xiao Ye that Chi Shuo brought along. But at that time, Ye Shaoyang sat obediently next to Chi Shuo, smiling at everyone without saying a word. At most, he said “Hello, Captain Zhao” to Zhao Xinping. So, Zhao Xin’an hadn’t noticed if his voice matched Xiao Bai’s.

But during today’s post-match interview, Ye Shaoyang’s barrage of “press spokesperson” answers sounded exactly the same as the voice in the recording.

Furthermore, the streamer Xiao Bai had once obtained the National Rank One for [Abyssal Lord]!

Combining his voice and his [Abyssal Lord] playstyle, this person was undoubtedly the streamer Xiao Bai!

Zhao Xin’an’s face turned green and white. Why on earth did he brainlessly send that recording to the group back then? And shout about it everywhere? Only to have Tianhuan intercept and snatch away a treasure of a player!

Zhao Xinping said calmly, “Our initial judgment was wrong. Not only is the streamer Xiao Bai great at playing games, but he also doesn’t drop the ball in official matches. The pentakill [Abyssal Lord] in the first game is the best proof.”

Beimu’s coach let out a long sigh. —Truly regretting it now! Why didn’t they act earlier and sign Xiao Bai? Instead, he was snatched away by Tianhuan.

Although Tianhuan had dropped into Group B this season, judging from the match just now, the entire team’s condition was much better than last season.

Even without Chi Shuo’s jungle-core playstyle, relying solely on the mid-laner to drive the tempo was enough to completely crush NTG, who had just come up from the secondary league. In the late game, once Tianhuan started playing mid-jungle synergy, let alone Group A and B, they would have the strength to fight even against Group S teams.

Zhao Xin’an looked extremely frustrated, “Fuck, I want to go knife Chi Shuo!”

Zhao Xinping said mildly, “You’re blaming Tianhuan for intercepting him here, but don’t forget, Xiao Bai’s condition back then was to play the starting mid-lane. Tianhuan gave him enough trust, while we didn’t. So, it’s not that Tianhuan snatched Xiao Bai from our hands, but rather, Xiao Bai chose the team that was better for him.”

The Alpha older sister was this calm no matter the situation.

Zhao Xin’an didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “…Sister, please stop talking. The more you talk, the angrier I get!”

Beimu’s coach sighed, “There’s no point in stressing over this now. Sean, who we signed, is the ace mid-laner from the European region, and he’s integrating well with the team. When we actually meet on the battlefield, are we Beimu really afraid of Tianhuan?”

Zhao Xinping nodded decisively, “Yes. So, never mind how other teams are doing, let’s just focus on doing our own best first.”

Zhao Xin’an took a deep breath—although that was the logic, he still couldn’t accept it! The treasure he was the first to discover was dug away by someone else. Who the hell could be happy about that?

He could only force himself not to think about it anymore; otherwise, his chest would feel even more stifled!

Jingzhe Base.

After watching the interview, Coach Chen did the same thing as Beimu. He quickly dug out the recording Zhao Xin’an had sent to the group from his computer, fast-forwarded to the part where Xiao Bai was shotcalling, and as he listened, Coach Chen’s expression also crumbled, “He’s Xiao Bai? Is he?!”

Fang Zhengqing said, “The voice sounds very similar, and the style is similar too.”

Coach Chen: “So, the team Xiao Bai said he already signed with, he actually signed with Tianhuan?!”

Fang Zhengqing rubbed his temples, “Tianhuan’s coaching staff is bold enough, letting a rookie replace Qu Jiang in the mid-lane. If he is the streamer Xiao Bai, it actually makes sense. After all, Xiao Bai’s mid-lane play is indeed quite good.”

Otherwise, how could Tianhuan let a completely inexperienced Omega player play the mid-lane? Although the streamer Xiao Bai had no experience, he had 8 national server badges! That proved his strength to a certain extent.

Coach Chen looked thoughtfully at Tianhuan’s roster. He pointed to the promotional photo, “Tianhuan-Shuoyue, Tianhuan-Lieyang, does that remind you of anything? That Sunshine and Moonlight mid-jungle duo on the international server, could it be these two!”

Fang Zhengqing raised an eyebrow, “Chi Shuo’s ID is Shuoyue. If he were on an alt account, how could he possibly use such an obvious name as Moonlight? Main accounts Shuoyue and Lieyang, alt accounts Moonlight and Sunshine—is he afraid people won’t recognize them?”

Coach Chen was originally quite certain, but with Fang Zhengqing saying that, he began to doubt again, “…That seems true too? A cautious person like Chi Shuo, since he hid Ye Shaoyang’s mid-lane position until this season to announce, he definitely wouldn’t use such an obvious ID when playing on an alt account.”

Fang Zhengqing nodded, “En. Besides, Chi Shuo doesn’t play Black Wolf, and it’s impossible for him to wake up at 7 AM.”

Coach Chen sighed in relief, “It seems that mid-jungle duo on the international server is from another region.”

The two once again convinced each other.

That Ye Shaoyang was the streamer Xiao Bai was pretty much deduced by the teams that had previously paid attention to Xiao Bai, since their voices were too similar, and Abyssal Lord was Xiao Bai’s signature hero.

But who exactly Sunshine and Moonlight on the international server were remained a mystery to this day.

After the interview, Ye Shaoyang arrived at the lounge and picked up his down jacket, “Are we going back to the hotel?”

Coach Lin smiled, “Not going back yet. We’re all going out for hotpot; the coach is treating!”

Eating hotpot during the snowy winter, that was simply wonderful. In a cheerful mood, Ye Shaoyang followed his teammates to the hotpot restaurant Sister Tang Can had booked in advance, and everyone happily started cooking beef together.

While eating, his phone suddenly popped up with several messages in a row.

Fang Zhengqing: “Xiao Bai = Ye Shaoyang = Tianhuan Lieyang?”

Zhao Xin’an: “Holy crap! You signed with Tianhuan? And you’re an Omega!!”

Coach Chen: “Xiao Bai ah, our Jingzhe also showed enough sincerity back then. It seems it still wasn’t as great as Tianhuan’s sincerity? I really appreciate you. Oh well, if we can’t be teammates, see you on the battlefield in the future.”

Ye Shaoyang sent the three of them his signature smiley face symbol in reply. ^_^

His cover was blown!

The moment he brought out [Abyssal Lord], he never intended to keep Xiao Bai’s secret identity. After all, the club was about to officially announce the players on Weibo soon, and it wouldn’t be good if he was the only one without a Weibo account. His streaming collaboration with Whale Platform was also about to start; announcing his identity was just a matter of time. Later, he would just have Tianhuan’s official Weibo tag his main Weibo account.

The opposing coach for the next match was probably going to have a headache. Xiao Bai has 8 national server badges; which one should they ban?