Chapter 238 – Team Reporter

After the first preparatory meeting for the national team, everyone went back to pack their bags. Li Cangyu returned to Changsha with the other members of Canglan and unexpectedly saw two friends at the door of the Dragon Song Club.

They were the original members of the Canglan team, Luo Zilong and Huo Jie, who haven"t been seen in a year. Li Cangyu saw the two men and greeted them with excitement, hugging his two good friends. "Long time no see!"

Bai Xuan also walked over and asked with a smile. "Ah Long, Ah Jie, what are you going here?"

"I heard that you have been selected for the national team, congratulations!" Luo Ziling said as he handed two boxes to them. They were hollow metal ornaments of Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan"s characters in the game. They were also engraved with words. Li Cangyu"s one said "the elf summoner will win" while Bai Xuan"s priest said "World-cla.s.s G.o.d milk!"

Li Cangyu couldn"t help laughing. "You are really considerate."

He asked Old Zhang to bring the players into the club while he and Bai Xuan took his two old friends to a nearby restaurant to chat.

After the disbandment of Canglan, all teammates except for Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan had left the e-sports circle. Luo Zilong had returned to his hometown to become a civil servant, marrying and having a son. Huo Jie went to his father"s food factory to help. They all had an ordinary but peaceful life, no longer needing to worry about playing the game every day.

They could each find their own home. Li Cangyu was naturally very pleased and patted the shoulders of both people. "It seems that you have a good life. I can finally rest a.s.sured."

Luo Zilong rubbed his eyes and whispered, "In fact, we have been reflecting after the disbandment. In the past few years, we dragged down both of you. Perhaps the two of you would"ve already won the championship…"

Bai Xuan smiled. "Should you say this? The team was built by all of us. Our results might not be good in recent years but we all worked together. There is nothing to regret."

Huo Jie protested, "But…"

“If you treat me as a brother, don"t say such things again." Li Cangyu interrupted. "The fact that you are following the compet.i.tion shows that you still really like it. Everyone has a limited ability. A player who hasn"t won a prize isn"t necessarily a bad player. After two days, I will leave for the national team training. I am really happy to see you before the training."

His sincere eyes made the two of them stop talking about it. They chatted about what happened after leaving the e-sports circle.

Their days have indeed become calmer and stable. Every day they would go to work then go home to take care of their wife and children, like many of their peers around them. There might be no special achievements but they didn"t have to worry about losing their job.

It was just that they couldn"t forget the heated blood and excitement of the league and Li Cangyu. It was the most precious thing they buried in the depths of their memories and would never be forgotten.

Today, Li Cangyu was the captain of the Chinese Miracle national team and Bai Xuan was also selected. This could be regarded as a subst.i.tute for the small group"s unfinished dream.

Luo Zilong suddenly grabbed Li Cangyu"s hand and said, "You must refuel for the World Compet.i.tion. We will watch every game. If you enter the finals, I will take my wife and child to the United States to cheer you on!"

Huo Jie also said, "I might not be able to go abroad because I"m too busy lately but I will cheer for you in front of the TV."

Li Cangyu smiled. "Rest a.s.sured. We will try our best."

Li Cangyu"s heart was really warm at receiving the encouragement of old friends.

Perhaps in the eyes of many people, it was just a waste for him to play with the ordinary players in the game. However, for Li Cangyu, it was very meaningful to work with his good brothers for a common goal. He didn"t regret his original choice at all.

***

After returning to the team, Li Cangyu lay in bed and couldn"t fall asleep. He picked up his phone and sent a message to Ling Xuefeng: [Today my old friends and former teammates came to Changsha to find me.]

Ling Xuefeng replied in seconds: [What did they say?]

Li Cangyu: [The congratulated me for becoming captain of the national team and cheered me on.]

Ling Xuefeng: [It seems they are quite loyal. Despite retiring, they paid attention to the compet.i.tions you partic.i.p.ated in.]

This sentence made Li Cangyu"s mood improve. [Yes, in fact, several of them are very good people. Their level wasn"t high enough for the compet.i.tion. This is a matter of talent and there is no way to force it.]

He was pleased that Ling Xuefeng could understand his feelings towards these friends instead of questioning him.

A few years of wind and rain had pa.s.sed. Now he won the championship and was serving as the captain of the national team, as well as having a strong partner like Ling Xuefeng to a.s.sist him. He believed that on the stage of the World Compet.i.tion, the Chinese team would definitely give the opponents a surprise!

Ling Xuefeng knew this person couldn"t sleep. He turned on the voice chat and whispered, "If you can"t sleep, do you want to a.n.a.lyze the characteristics of players from various countries?"

Li Cangyu was instantly spirited. "Good!"

Ling Xuefeng told him, "Let"s start with the American team…"

The two people started to talk until around midnight. Then Ling Xuefeng hung up to let Li Cangyu sleep.

***

The next morning, a special visitor came to the Dragon Song Club. It was a female reporter with her hair in a ponytail. The simple white dress made her look fresh and capable. She introduced herself, "h.e.l.lo Cat G.o.d, I am Zhao Yue, the reporter for the national team. This is the photographer Zhou Yang."

Li Cangyu looked at her doubtfully because he felt this reporter was a bit familiar.

Bai Xuan whispered to him as a reminder, "In every post-match interview, her questions are very straightforward and sharp."

Li Cangyu suddenly realized and smiled at her. "Miss Zhao came to our Dragon Song Club. Is it an official interview task from the league?"

Zhao Yue explained simply, "I need an exclusive interview with the captain of the national team. This was a task the league arranged."

Li Cangyu nodded. "Please come this way."

He took the two people to the office of the Dragon Song Club. The photographer held his camera and Zhao Yue asked him, "Cat G.o.d, do you want to change your clothes?"

Li Cangyu looked at his simple t-shirt. "Do I need to change it? This should be fine."

Cat G.o.d wasn"t the same as Captain Ling and didn"t like to wear formal clothes. Since he wanted to be free, Zhao Yue didn"t hesitate and turned on her recorder pen to start the interview. "You have won the championship and five of your players are selected for the national team. Cat G.o.d is a really good captain. Were there any strategies when training your team?"

"I developed a personal training program for each person"s characteristics and weaknesses. The four newcomers had different training tasks every day and this arrangement had a better effect."

Zhao Yue then asked, "Will you continue this method of training in the national team?"

Li Cangyu smiled and shook his head. "The national team is different. The foundation of Canglan"s four newcomers wasn"t good and some of them encountered a bottleneck. I needed to think of a method to help them break through that bottleneck. The national team players are different. Everyone is top-notch and there is no need to strengthen their personal standards. Teamwork is more important for the national team."

Zhao Yue wondered, "Is it because everyone comes from different teams?"

"That"s right." Li Cangyu explained, "Every team has a different style and the great G.o.ds of different teams will have to adapt to each other. That"s why the national team will go to a secret training camp, helping everyone became one as soon as possible."

"With so many great G.o.ds together, there is bound to be a difference in opinion. What will you do then?"

Li Cangyu answered, "I will use their opinions as a reference but the final plan is decided by me and Ling Xuefeng. Otherwise, won"t the national team be a mess?"

Zhao Yue nodded in agreement. "In the domestic league, every team has distinctive features, such as Ghost Spirits" a.s.sa.s.sination tactics or Time"s kiting. However, the national team only has two or three of each cla.s.s. Is the national team going to abandon the original tactics like a.s.sa.s.sination and kiting?"

This question was the key point. In order to consider the overall lineup, the national team was balanced when choosing players. The result was that some extreme tactics couldn"t be achieved.

Li Cangyu thought about it before replying. "I have discussed it with Xuefeng and received the approval of the chairman. Apart from us, the national team will have four mobile commanders, namely Tan s.h.i.tian, Lou Wushuang, Su Guangmo and Chu Yan. Captain Tan will be mainly responsible for the kite flow tactics, Captain Lou will be in charge of the a.s.sa.s.sin based lineup, the melee violent play will be handed over to Captain Su and Chu Yan will deal with the European illusionists. I can"t command every game with Xuefeng. These great G.o.ds will be in charge when necessary."

This news will definitely make many fans excited.

The Chinese team was star-studded. If Ling Xuefeng and Li Cangyu took full control of the command, there would be people who were dissatisfied. For example, a tactical arrangement based on a.s.sa.s.sination was something that Lou Wushuang was best at. Li Cangyu wouldn"t hold exclusive power would would hand it over to the other G.o.ds when needed. This practice was very good.

Zhao Yue asked the last question. "Cat G.o.d, recently there are many e-sports websites that use the word "late" to describe you. Your success came too late and you won your first trophy at the end of your career. What do you want to say about this?"

Li Cangyu smiled and said, "I might"ve gotten the trophy a bit late but there is nothing to regret. These years of experience made me never afraid of losing. It was the countless failures that enriched my experience and tactics. There are disadvantages and advantages. There is no need to feel sorry for me."

These words were very calm and atmospheric. This man worked hard for so many years but didn"t sell his hardships to the fans to seek sympathy. It was enough to see his strength.

As long as he chose a path, he would firmly walk on it, every step very practical. He didn"t regret it, even if he walked seven years on the tip of sharp knife

Seven years, this might be "late" but Li Cangyu didn"t have any complaints.

Such a person was the captain of the national team. Zhao Yue suddenly had full confidence in the journey of the national team!

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Chapter 239 – National Team Training

Zhao Yue"s exclusive interview was published on the website, causing Li Cangyu"s popularity to skyrocket. His number of fans rose by more than 100,000 in just one day.

There were many messages to cheer him on and also many saying "Cat G.o.d is married to me." Li Cangyu"s personal charm was finally accepted and recognized. Compared with the doubts that came from all sides when he just returned to Miracle, the number of fans supporting him thoroughly crushed the sunspots.

However, others deliberately found things to criticize. [The national team doesn"t have a knight, hehe. The front row is weak and will definitely be blown away!]

[South Korea has the angel summoner and the US has Jack. Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng will surely cry after being abused!]

[Captain Tan, your small body is going to lose. Isn"t the beautiful archer of the j.a.panese team better than you?]

[Qin Mo, Zhuo Hang and Xiao Han can go to the National Compet.i.tion? Is there no one else in our country?]

[The crybaby Zhu Qingyue actually made it onto the national team. Don"t cry at the World Compet.i.tion and give the national team shame!]

……

These doubts were ignore. No matter how perfect a player was, there would always be people who didn"t like them. If the professional players argued with them every day, their brains would bleed from anger.

Three days pa.s.sed very quickly. Everyone gathered at the hotel near Kunming Airport. Once they all arrived, Chairman Nan finally appeared with the vehicle to drive them to the secret base.

It was a bus with more than 30 seats and was very s.p.a.cious.

Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng tacitly sat on the last row. They looked at each other and secretly held hands. No one discovered that they were holding hands and expressing their feelings for each other.

Bai Xuan originally wanted to sit with Xiao Han. As a result, Xie Shurong grabbed the seat next to Bai Xuan and grinned. "Vice-Captain Bai, I haven"t seen you for a long time."

"…" Bai Xuan looked out the window and wore his earplugs.

Most of the other players were sitting together with people they knew. Some sit alone on two seat and slept.

Perhaps they were too tired from the flight but the bus was quiet the whole way. After two hours, the bus finally stopped. A sleeping person woke up and looked out the window. Then his jaw dropped with surprise.

Beautiful scenery, singing birds and a calm atmosphere!

Cheng Wei excitedly stood up and accidentally hit the seat in front of him. He groaned from the pain and Tan s.h.i.tian rubbed his forehead, asking in a soft voice, "Are you hurt? Why were you in such a hurry?"

“There"s no pain, no pain." Cheng Wei waved his hand and actively spoke, "Chairman, what is this place?"

“This is Anning." Chairman Nan smiled. "It is a city near Kunming and we are staying at a hot springs resort. The alliance has specifically booked 12 suites for the national team as well as a conference room as a temporary training base. For the next half-month, everyone will be training here. If you are tired then you can soak in the hot springs. Every room has a large bathtub which can be used freely."

"Great!"

"A hot springs hotel!"

“Chairman, you are really willing to spend money!"

"We can soak in the hot springs tonight!"

There was a burst of exclamations in the bus.

The league used its hard-earned capital this time. The hot springs" room rate for one night was quite high, not to mention the three meals a day. The price of the meeting room also wasn"t cheap. Obviously, this was an allocation of funds from the sponsorship funds that Chairman Nan approved. Many brands were rushing to sponsor them for the World Compet.i.tion and the national team could afford to spend the money.

Of course, before the World Compet.i.tion, it was understandable to pull out some players to endorse certain products.

"I want to soak in the hot springs. I haven"t been to a hot springs yet!" Cheng Wei excitedly turned around and grabbed his luggage. Then the chairman added, "Don"t worry, I ordered double rooms in the name of the league. Considering the fact that there are three females from Red Fox, the team reporter Zhao Yue will stay with one of them.  You can rest a.s.sured that the reporter will only do some interviews when everyone is idle and shoot tidbits of you training. The fans will be pleased and it won"t affect your training."

"The remaining 19 players plus the photographer are 20 people. The captain can arrange how the rooms are allocated."

"Okay." Li Cangyu nodded and took out a pen and paper. "Everyone can freely choose if they want to stay with someone. If there are no special requirements then I will a.s.sign it casually."

Zhang Shaohui didn"t hesitate to raise his hand. "I will live with my brother."

"No problem." Li Cangyu wrote it down on the paper. "Is there anyone else?"

Xie Shurong pointed to the person sleeping next to him. "I will live with Vice-Captain Bai."

Bai Xuan was wearing earplugs to sleep and didn"t hear what everyone was saying. Thus, he ended up in Xie Shurong"s territory.

“I will stay with Xiao Zhu." Chu Yan had to live with his crybaby apprentice Zhu Qingyue. Similarly, Yan Ruiwen and Guo Xuan of Wind Colour and Su Guangmo and Yu Pingsheng of Flying Feathers were fixed partners.

There were three people selected from time. Cheng Wei raised his hand to say he would live with Lu Xiao. The result was that Tan s.h.i.tian grabbed his hand and said, "I will live with Xiao Cheng."

Cheng Wei protested. "No, I will stay with Lu Xiao!"

Lu Xiao stared at his captain with a conflicted expression. Tan s.h.i.tian said, "Lu Xiao recently bought a SLR camera and wants to stay with the photographer to discuss techniques for taking photos. Don"t mess around."

The smart Lu Xiao immediately nodded. "Yes, that"s right. The SLR camera is very complicated and I was looking for a professional to learn from." Then he ran to sit with the photographer Zhou Yang.

Cheng Wei had no choice but to stay in Tan s.h.i.tian"s room.

Xiao Han should"ve stayed with Zhuo Hang from the same team but Qin Mo successfully persuaded him on the grounds of "I will teach you Chinese." Thus, the two little princes became harmonious friends and roommates.

The remaining Zhuo Hang stayed with Jiang Xu of the Cheetah team. Both of them were hunters and could exchange ideas with each other.

……

After a.s.signing the rooms, Cheng Wei suddenly had a thought. "Eh? Cat G.o.d, who are you living with?"

Everyone looked at him like he was a fool. "Who taught you maths? Can"t you count? The only one left is Captain Ling. Who else would Cat G.o.d be living with?"

People expressed sympathy for Cheng Wei"s IQ.

The silent Ling Xuefeng opened his mouth. "He is living with me."

The sentence was calm and cold but Cheng Wei inexplicably got a chill down his spine. He suddenly felt that Captain Ling was claiming ownership?

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