Chapter 31 - Professional Confrontation
“Your reaction time is impressive,” Ning Xuan remarked once Taishi Xiu and the others had departed.
“Indeed.”
“I've noticed you're not too familiar with this game.”
“It's true, I'm quick to react, but I'm not well-acquainted with some of the maps,” Ye Hao acknowledged with a nod.
“The map for tomorrow's game will be chosen at random. Make sure you take some time to get to know these maps later.”
“Will do.”
“The wager between the Vermillion Bird Team and the Nine-Headed Snake Team is a million dollars. If you can lead our Vermillion Bird Team to victory over the Nine-Headed Snake Team, I'll personally award you a bonus of 400,000 dollars.”
Ye Hao was taken aback.
He thought to himself, “Taishi Xiu isn't playing fair!”
“I'll give it everything I've got for that 400,000 dollars.” Ye Hao found himself warming up to Ning Xuan more and more.
“You have the quickest reaction time I've ever seen. I'm confident you'll clinch the win against the Nine-Headed Snake Team tomorrow,” Ning Xuan said with a nod of assurance.
What Ning Xuan didn't realize was that Ye Hao hadn't even tapped into his full potential. If he really pushed himself, his speed could increase by three or fourfold.
After Ning Xuan had briefed Ye Hao on a few key points to remember, she summoned Taishi Xiu.
Once Ning Xuan had given them their instructions, she allowed Taishi Xiu to take Ye Hao back to his room. There, Taishi Xiu clapped Ye Hao on the shoulder with enthusiasm. “I knew I was right about you.”
“But I was wrong about you,” Ye Hao retorted with a wry twist of his mouth.
“What do you mean?”
“I finally understand why you agreed so readily when I asked for a 100,000 dollars reward.”
At this, Taishi Xiu instantly realized that Ye Hao was aware of the million dollars bet.
Rubbing his hands together, Taishi Xiu explained, “I'm not being tightfisted, I just have a gambling debt that's due soon.”
“Gambling debt?”
“I racked it up playing baccarat in M City.”
“M City?” A surge of excitement washed over Ye Hao.
He had completely overlooked this detail!
With his X-ray vision, he was bound to win at gambling!
This thought sparked an immediate urge in Ye Hao to head straight to M City.
“Let's put that aside for now. We need to get a good look at the CF maps,” said Taishi Xiu, deftly booting up his laptop.
“Your laptop boots up in just eight seconds?” Ye Hao exclaimed in amazement.
“It's equipped with a solid-state drive for rapid startup. SSD technology isn't widely adopted yet,” Taishi Xiu boasted with pride.
Ye Hao nodded in understanding.
For professional gamers like Taishi Xiu, a high-performance computer can sometimes be the deciding factor in a match.
“Here are the 108 maps for CF. Let me know if there's any map you're not familiar with,” Taishi Xiu said as he quickly clicked around, bringing up a map on the screen.
Ye Hao nodded again and took Taishi Xiu's place at the computer.
He scrutinized each map with great attention to detail.
But Ye Hao was flipping through the maps at an astonishing speed.
“Why are you going through them so fast?” Taishi Xiu asked from behind, eager to get a better look at the maps.
“If you're bored, just stand aside,” Ye Hao said with a sideways glance at Taishi Xiu.
Seeing Taishi Xiu quiet down, Ye Hao continued to review the maps displayed on the computer.
Half an hour later, Ye Hao had gone through all 108 maps. He then turned to Taishi Xiu and inquired, “Is there anything specific I should watch out for during the competition?”
“Have you already gone through all the maps?”
“I've pretty much seen them all,” Ye Hao confirmed.
“Are you certain?”
“Don't be so dramatic,” Ye Hao dismissed.
“Fine. I'll go over some tips for the competition,” Taishi Xiu conceded.
As Taishi Xiu spoke, Ye Hao realized there weren't really any rules in the competition.
As long as he could take down his opponents, any strategy was fair game.
“That's all obvious stuff,” Ye Hao commented.
Taishi Xiu burst into laughter, “I'm off to grab some barbecue skewers. You keep studying those maps.” Heading for the door, he paused and added, “If you get hungry, order something. The hotel's food is pretty good.”
Once Taishi Xiu had left, Ye Hao played a couple of rounds of CF, then shut down the computer. After a quick bathroom break, he knocked on Guo Xiu's door.
“Hao, how's it going?” Guo Xiu asked with concern.
“All good,” Ye Hao replied with a smile. “Mom, are you hungry?”
“I'm really starting to feel hungry now.”
“There's a menu from this hotel on the table. Mom, order whatever you'd like,” Ye Hao said as he passed the menu to Guo Xiu.
“I've heard the food here is quite pricey.”
“Mom, Taishi Xiu has deep pockets. Please, don't hold back on his account.”
“Okay then. I'll have the edible bird's nest with snow clams, stewed bass, red lychees, and a brown crab.”
Ye Hao was at a loss for words.
He thought to himself, “My mother sure isn't shy! I bet Taishi Xiu's going to weep when the check comes.”
“Why don't you pick out a couple of dishes too?” Guo Xiu offered the menu to Ye Hao.
Ye Hao browsed the menu and selected two of the more affordably priced items.
After tasting the food once it arrived, Ye Hao had to admit that Taishi Xiu hadn't exaggerated. The cuisine was exceptional, albeit exorbitantly priced.
Upon spotting the members of the Nine-Headed Snake Team, Ye Hao felt a wave of revulsion. They were from J Country.
“Captain Ning, I see no point in having a match today,” a young man in a samurai robe remarked in broken Mandarin.
“You're jumping the gun with that statement,” Ning Xuan replied icily.
The young man was taken aback.
Then, turning to Ye Hao, he said, “Captain Ning, I see you've recruited some help.”
“We're just swapping in a team member for the time being.”
The Japanese youth couldn't possibly take Ning Xuan's words at face value, but he thought to himself, “No matter how strong their new player is, it won't make a difference.”
“If you're eager to compete, then let's get on with it. Enough talk,” Ning Xuan said with a dismissive wave of her hand, “Please, have a seat.”
Huang Shouren was visibly irked when Ye Hao took a seat next to Ning Xuan.
“Move to a different seat,” Huang Shouren commanded sternly.
“Maybe if you focused more on the competition, you wouldn't be facing such a crushing defeat,” Ye Hao said coolly, casting a sidelong glance at Huang Shouren.
It was clear to Ye Hao that Huang Shouren harbored feelings for Ning Xuan.
“Do you really want to give people a reason to mock us right now?” Taishi Xiu whispered from the sidelines.
Huang Shouren's mouth opened, but no words came out.
He felt incredibly frustrated.
The CF competition consisted of 13 rounds, with the highest scorer emerging victorious.
The referee quickly went over the rules and then signaled for the match to start.
Once Ye Hao accessed the game interface, he grabbed a submachine gun and made a beeline for the enemy's base.
“What's happening?”
“Who's the moron?”
“He's from the Vermillion Bird Team.”
“Has the Vermillion Bird Team member gone dumb from losing too often?”
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