Chapter 472: Challenge Match |
The white mist dissipated, and everything in the spectator pool became clear again.
>[System Notification: Player Spades has actively withdrawn from the game…]
>[System Notification: Player Bai Liu has won the single-player match, gaining 1 point.]
>[“Evil God Festival: Houseboat” game has ended. Congratulations to Wandering Circus for winning the single-player match.]
The audience was so quiet that a needle could be heard dropping.
The host on the crane platform took a deep breath. Looking at the stunned faces of all the spectators below, his hands trembled as he shouted at the top of his lungs: “Bai Liu has won the match!!”
“He has broken Spades’ undefeated myth!! He has become the first player to defeat Spades in a single-player match!”
Sitting on a wooden bench, Wang Shun looked at the surging data on the system panel in a state of mental daze. For a moment, he even thought he had misread the units of measurement.
The points in the betting pool were increasing at four hundred times the speed they were at the start of the match; they nearly doubled in the blink of an eye. The popularity of the other members of Wandering Circus was like sitting on a rocket, surging toward the upper right of the data panel at a sharp angle.
Tang Erda’s rank jumped to 67.
Mu Shicheng broke directly into the top fifty, at rank 48.
Mu Ke’s rank rose to 77.
As for Bai Liu… Wang Shun opened Bai Liu’s popularity statistics panel with trembling hands. He repeatedly confirmed the final ranking data three times before slumping onto the bench. Wang Shun braced his hands against the edge of the bench to keep himself from sliding off due to weakness, and he let out a long, hollow breath of turbid air.
Bai Liu’s final rank was 6th. He had entered the top ten in popularity and was now an absolute star player.
In a single match, by pulling himself up to become a star player, he drove up the popularity of the entire team, allowing everyone to successfully obtain a Death-Exemption Gold Medal before the team competition. This was exactly as Bai Liu had predicted.
This was simply… simply…
“Bai Liu!!”
The spectators in the front rows, who had been silent, suddenly stood up after seeing the match results. Regardless of whether they were happy or sad, they were all flushed with excitement, veins bulging on their necks. They pumped their arms and roared, their eyes fixed on—and their mouths screaming—the name of the final winner of this brilliant match:
“Bai Liu—!!”
“Bai Liu!!!”
Infected by this atmosphere, the spectators in the back also stood up one after another, joining the loud cheers. Soon, only one sound remained in the entire spectator pool: the sound of shouting Bai Liu’s name. Daniel stood with both feet on the railing, raising his arms and laughing as he shouted Bai Liu’s name with the others. Eventually, even the host on the crane began to shout along.
“This is a miracle!!” the host’s voice turned hoarse from shouting. “This is a brand-new myth! A newcomer participating in the league for the first time has broken Spades’ undefeated record in single-player matches!”
“Let us offer this brave newcomer our most sincere blessings—our points, applause, and cheers!”
Applause rang out continuously in the viewing pool. Some people kept screaming Bai Liu’s name, taking off their clothes and waving them in circles or throwing them into the center of the pool. Electronic fireworks began to sparkle inside the viewing area; normally, there was no such segment, as electronic fireworks were usually purchased by the audience to express their love for a player.
And usually, the player should respond and interact.
The typical way to interact was to pick up a few pieces of clothing thrown in, sign them, and throw them back. In the past, star players would go through this process after a brilliant match; it was considered a competition tradition.
Wang Shun stepped forward and leaned into Bai Liu’s ear to explain. Bai Liu nodded to show his understanding, then turned to cast a faint glance at the audience.
Under Bai Liu’s gaze, the audience’s shouting instantly became more intense. Clothes and flowers were thrown onto the stage without interruption. Tang Erda noticed people were even throwing underwear, bras, and socks; with a stern expression, he covered Liu Jiayi’s eyes.
Liu Jiayi, who had already seen it: “…”
Wang Shun felt both awkward and excited: “There is also a way where you take off your own clothes, sign them, and throw them back. Some star players do this, and the audience’s response is even more intense, and the points wagered will be even higher.”
Liu Jiayi, whose eyes were covered, spoke calmly: “The Queen of Hearts likes to do that. Last time she took off her high heels and stockings, signed them, and threw them down. The rate of point increase was two to three times faster than before.”
Tang Erda silently released Liu Jiayi’s eyes.
Mu Shicheng said “f*ck” speechlessly: “Isn’t that just selling one’s sex appeal?”
“That effect is better, so let’s choose that one.” Bai Liu rested his index finger against his chin thoughtfully. “It’s rare for my sex appeal to be worth this much.”
Mu Shicheng: “…”
Damn, he forgot that this person would do anything for money!
The other three men beside him paused. Their gazes swept over Bai Liu from top to bottom with subtle scrutiny. Bai Liu was wearing nothing but a soaked white shirt, a pair of dripping suit pants, standard black leather shoes, and white socks.
Tang Erda paused and gave a forced, calm suggestion: “There’s no need to force it. The current point growth is already very fast.”
“You don’t have much to take off,” Liu Jiayi pointed out bluntly. “They only buy it if it’s close-fitting clothing. If you want to take things off, you can only take off your under—”
Mu Ke calmly covered Liu Jiayi’s mouth: “I personally feel that normal interaction is fine.”
“Generally, you need to take off three items.” Wang Shun coughed into his fist. Looking at Bai Liu in front of him, he felt a sense of unease, not knowing where to put his eyes. “…Let’s just forget it, Guild Leader.”
“Hmm, three items…” Bai Liu paused for a moment and walked toward the spectator stands, an ‘official’ business-like smile appearing on his face. “Three items are still manageable.”
As he spoke, he reached back and pulled off his hair tie. His soaked long hair instantly fell over his shoulders. Bai Liu looked up with a smile and tossed the hair tie toward the audience.
“Oh oh oh!!” The audience immediately swarmed forward, screaming, “Bai Liu, I love you! Throw it over here!!”
Bai Liu lowered his eyelashes, pulled at his tie with one hand, bit open the cap of the marker pen Wang Shun handed him, bowed his head to sign his name on the tie, rolled it into a bundle, and tossed it lightly toward the front row.
“Ah!!!! Mine! Mine! I caught it!”
The spectators were so excited they were practically deforming.
Mu Shicheng’s eyes nearly popped out; he was greatly shocked.
This person is way too skilled at taking off clothes! Does he have no sense of shame?!
Bai Liu reached two fingers into his collar, gripped a bandage, tore it off, and threw it into the audience. Then, with a calm expression, he turned around, completely ignoring the frenzied crowd behind him, returning like a player who had just finished a game mission.
“It’s done.” Bai Liu glanced sideways at Wang Shun. “Now everyone has a Death-Exemption Gold Medal, right?”
Wang Shun was also stunned and nodded blankly: “Guild Leader, you are 6th.”
“6th?!” Mu Shicheng cried out in horror. He pointed at Bai Liu. “This guy is already 6th? Is he on a rocket?”
“It’s not far from being on a rocket,” Wang Shun said, between laughter and tears. “All of your popularities have entered the top one hundred. Besides that, the popularity of the top-tier players has also been affected and changed after this match.”
“Spades’ popularity saw a significant decline, falling from 1st to 2nd.”
“In other words, the original 2nd became 1st?” Mu Ke frowned and asked. “I remember the original 2nd in popularity was…”
Wang Shun smiled bitterly. He stepped aside and looked toward the man in Killer Sequence who was smiling as he watched from across the way, his gaze helpless. “Yes. The current number one in popularity is The Judge Who Defies God, the number one tactician in the game.”
“He is the primary focus of our upcoming team competition.”
After a brief frenzy, the spectator pool calmed down under the host’s hysterical appeals. The host roared at the top of his voice: “Now, please have the tacticians from both sides come forward to shake hands, as a warm-up for the next doubles match, and to provide the list of participants for the next match.”
Bai Liu was currently being wrapped in bandages by his teammates. Hearing this, he raised a hand to stop them, stood up, and walked forward with an expressionless face.
Judge took off the coat on his shoulders. He looked at Bai Liu and walked toward him step by step.
The two met in the middle of the big screen.
Judge extended his hand first, a smile on his face as he asked sincerely, “How is the injury?”
“I wanted to ask you that same question.” Bai Liu’s gaze swept over Judge’s right shoulder, his tone indifferent. “If you can’t hold on, just admit defeat directly.”
“I don’t mind.”
Judge scratched his head and laughed twice. “Is this trash talk?”
“No.” Bai Liu’s tone was flat as he reached out and shook Judge’s hand. “Just a sincere suggestion.”
“Spades has already left the field. Given his state, he probably won’t be able to play in a match for a short while. Although doubles matches are your advantage, letting Bai Yi and Bai Jiamu exhaust themselves in a doubles match with us will cost you two Death-Exemption Gold Medals regardless of the outcome. That way, your team competition will have three gaps.”
“Plus you, a heavily injured tactician, for me, that’s a total of four gaps.”
Bai Liu lifted his eyelids. “In the team competition, you don’t have much of an advantage against us; one could even say you’re at a disadvantage.”
The smile on Judge’s face faded slightly. He sighed and said helplessly, “Yes, you’re right.”
“Bai Liu, I really can’t afford to be distracted for a moment when facing you.”
“Then are you going to give up?” Bai Liu looked directly at Judge.
Judge looked at Bai Liu with a deep gaze. He slowly let out a breath: “I think you know the answer.”
Saying this, he slowly raised his hand.
The host noticed Judge’s movement and curiously opened the spatial barrier for communication between the two tacticians: “Excuse me, player Judge, do you have anything to say to the public?”
“Yes.” Judge looked up and laughed, looking a bit embarrassed. “It’s like this, host. Killer Sequence won’t be sending players for the doubles match. We forfeit the doubles match.”
“We’ll proceed directly to the team competition.”
—
*(T/N: Is it just me or does anyone else feel like the competitions just feel… pointless now? Considering everything else, I really just can’t bring myself to care too much about whether they win or lose these games. Of course I understand the games are a medium through which Bai Liu can become strong enough to defeat Bai Six and free Tawil from Bai Six’s influence, but still.
Also… I’m mad at Lu Yizhan. I can’t articulate why I’m mad at him. I just am.
The next arc starts next chapter. There’s still so much of this story left and idk if my nerves can take it.)*
