Duels added variety to the tournament. As the official matches progressed, the situation within the battle groups had become clearer. Battle group B, C, D’s respective leading and runner-up teams had pulled away from the other teams in the group and were guaranteed to go to the next stage. They were Temple of God, Thunder Storm, Mountain Sea, and teams from three other foreign guilds.
Frenzied Sword’s team was unfortunately one of the bottom-placing teams and had no chance to advance. However, being able to enter the official matches had already allowed this newbie team to suddenly explode in popularity. Their team’s success had caused Lone Crane to become ambitious, and he wanted to obtain an even better score.
However, reality was harsh. All the teams that had survived to that stage were strong teams with elite players. Their team’s overall strength was just too low, so no matter how hard he worked, they suffered defeat after defeat.
Lone Crane was shocked, and he realized that his hard work was not going to make the difference. His ambition was also blown to the winds.
But he was still a veteran and was quickly able to reset his mindset. “That’s enough. It’s already not bad that we could get this far and fight with all these top teams.”
With this thought in mind, Lone Crane believed that he would be receiving handsome reward from his gaming club. However, reality gave him a face-slap, yet again.
Rivervale gaming club official announced that they were going to have Frenzied Sword take over the team captain position for the future. Lone Crane immediately lost his standing, and the announcement was even followed by them sending Lone Crane to terminate his contract. He was utterly flabbergasted.
The club’s management were not blind. Frenzied Sword’s performance in this tournament was clear for all to see. He had made it into the top three in the individual category and qualified for the regionals before finally becoming the only Mechanic left within Planet Aquamarine’s top sixteen individual fights contestant. He was even dubbed ‘China’s #1 Mechanical Pugilist’!
A player with such a potential would naturally be taken extra care of by Rivervale. This was only the first tournament, and there were still many more chances in the future. They planned on having Frenzied Sword become the club’s pillar and were in the process of building a team around Frenzied Sword.
On the other hand, Lone Crane, who lacked both results and commitment, was mercilessly kicked out of the club.
Frenzied Sword did not really like Rivervale at first, but now that he knew they wanted to build a team around him, he was ecstatic—this was treatment that not even some star players would get.
Once he obtained good results, his professional gaming career would kick off. Frenzied Sword was already somewhat of a star now, but he was not satisfied and always looked to improve himself to do even better in the future. He was full of determination, and he also made a note to himself to hang on to Han Xiao no matter what. Good things would always follow if he did.
Frenzied Sword’s results for the first tournament was actually already better than in the past. Han Xiao felt emotional as it was like watching his own kid grow up… Um, or more like raising a player.
On the other hand, Electrolux, who had made it into the top sixteen in Han Xiao’s past, could not even make it out of the elimination rounds this time. This was mainly due to Han Xiao’s interference with his early development this time, and it would not even have mattered if Electrolux had grade A potential for his Esper abilities.
In Planet Aquamarine’s tournament, only battle group A’s standings were still unclear.
This was a true death group. There are only a few more rounds of matches left, yet the top five teams were basically even in points. There was no way to tell who would come out on top in the end. Currently, Long Sky held third place.
Chapter 303 - List of Finalists, Advancement of Plans
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the group stage, Long Sky’s momentum was repeatedly stopped by Dynasty and Fried Eggplants with Fish. Having expectations on a team was a double-edged sword; when Long Sky performed poorly, the attention from the media would work against them as they sang the song of pessimism for the chances of Long Sky making it through the group stage.
As an experienced team, Long Sky had a strong resilience to pressure. In the last few matches of group A, the number of viewers again broke the record, but in the match between Long Sky and Dynasty, King Admiral single handedly took down four opponents in the group one on ones and secured first place in the group bracket. Thus, Long Sky fell to fourth place.
Under pessimism and doubts, the last round began, and Long Sky’s opponent was Fried Eggplants with Fish, which was in second place in the bracket. There was a large difference in points, and in order for Long Sky to qualify, they had to completely dominate the match and take as many points as they could. However, Fried Eggplants with Fish was also a powerhouse, and there was no hope that Long Sky could make it out of group stage.
But just when the audience thought that Long Sky was going to be eliminated, Hao Tian and his team pulled off a miracle team fight, which aced the entire enemy team. No mistakes could be found during the one on ones, and they walked over the enemy. The Three Chariots—Dancing Fish Dragon, Perfume Bear, and Sun Eggplant—were dominated by Long Sky without knowing what happened.
On the live stream, the screen was exploding with intensity in every frame. Fans from both teams were on the edge of their seats, as if their hearts were going to burst. Every time there was a turn of events, the audience would scream with excitement and nervousness.
The points of Long Sky skyrocketed, and in an instant, they had the same points with the Fried Eggplants with Fish. The final outcome was determined on the team fight, and Long Sky surpassed their opponent and qualified for the next stage as second place in the group.
“Long Sky pulled a reverse sweep!”
“In the fight of powerhouses, Fried Eggplants with Fish was destroyed!”
“Long Sky promoted to the next stage by the width of a hair”
“Fried Eggplants with Fish was defeated with humiliation! Is this the end of a powerhouse?”
“Competitions for group A have come to an end. Dynasty and Long Sky move on to the quarterfinals!”
Long Sky’s unbelievable comeback exploded in the forums. Fans of Long Sky were crying in tears as if it was a new year, and the tragic atmosphere and tone of the media quickly turned around; only words of compliments were seen on the news, no matter how badly they had performed previously.
Dynasty, Long Sky, and Fried Eggplants with Fish all held a press conference after the match. The reporters first congratulated the winning teams, and the representatives of the two teams appreciated the congratulations. Both teams replied to the questions with cliché formalities, thanking the fans and those who supported them along the way.
In the final session of the press conference, the reporter gave the microphone to Fried Eggplants with Fish and asked, “Would you like to share anything after your defeat?”
The representative for Fried Eggplants with Fish froze and said, “We performed poorly in the last match, and we did not meet our expectations. During the match, we made a lot of mistakes, and we could have done better. Long Sky is a strong opponent, and everyone witnessed how…”
This reply had been prepared before the press interview. They first started with acknowledging their mistakes and tried to learn from it, then they went ahead and apologized to the fans. This response was a standard procedure if one lost a game, so the reporter could only stay quiet, and he did not even bother writing any notes.
Suddenly, the team leader, Sun Eggplant, stood up. Even though he was known as the last of the Three Chariots, he was the leader of the three people.
Sun Eggplant interrupted the response and grabbed the microphone from the representative. He faced the confused reporters and stared at Long Sky. “I don’t want to say these fluffy words like ‘we tried our best
’. We lost, and that’s an undeniable fact, but I can’t let it go. I will win the title back next time. Hao Tian, since we’ve both entered the quarterfinals in the individual bracket, if you see me, prepare to die.”
Hao Tian did not back down. “The result won’t change no matter how many times you challenge me.”
Both of them started at each other, and neither backed down.
Such exchanges were the ones that were exciting to write about. The reporters smiled and quickly recorded it.
Dynasty, who was on the side, glanced at the two. It was ironic that the first seed team was just a side character.
Second Prince clenched his fists and said, “The reporters are ignoring us now. I might as well go challenge…”
King Admiral was struggling to keep his eyes open as if he was sleeping. He slapped Second Prince on the back of his head and said, “Don’t find trouble.”
Second Prince pushed away his hand and replied with annoyance, “Stop hitting me, you freak. Why are you bitching about me joining the challenge?”
“B*stard, you are not even in the semifinals!” King Admiral’s poke through the heart of Second Prince.
Second Prince’s face turned red, and he stared at King Admiral with anger, as if he was going to kick him in crouch.
Second Prince felt that he was being mocked. King Admiral had not only advanced into the next stage in individual bracket, but he was also first seed and had the most points. He had been invited to the All Stars, while Second Prince had been eliminated. That was why Second Prince was upset.
At the same time, Temple of God also had their own press conference. They were lucky as they had been allocated into a group without much competition. They had also been invited to the All Stars games.
Li Ge claimed that they would bring trophy and pride to the country as they headed to the international competition.
Temple of God claimed that they were the strongest and that they were the dragon’s head of powerhouses. Li Ge walked on the path of China’s representative team. Even though he was ranked second of China’s players, the King Admiral was always timid and low-key with a casual appearance. On the other hand, Li Ge was handsome and strong, and they had the same popularity with tons of fans.
There was a significant number of females within Li Ge’s fanbase, while most of the fans for King Admiral were adult men. The fight between there fanbases was also interesting, and it was usually one of the biggest shows in the scene. As long as Li Ge and King Admiral fought against each other, this would be the extra show that would for sure show up.
The teams who had qualified for playoffs all had their press conferences, and all sorts of statements were made by the teams. Some were extremely confident that they would win the finals, while some were humbler and more reserved. These scenes sure showed the variety of stories that one could see in the professional scene.
And now, the schedule for finals was announced.
“Top eight of group bracket: Five Chinese teams—Dynasty, Long Sky, Thunder Storm, Thunder Storm, Mystic Nine. Three foreign teams—Son of Wind, Beast, Golden Orange.
“Top 16 of individual bracket: King Admiral, Sun Eggplant, Hao Tian, Li Ge, Frenzied Sword, Rainy Kim…”
Seeing the list, Han Xiao laughed as if it was harvest season.
Hehe, quite a lot of them are also players that were famous in my previous world.Han Xiao smiled. The other reason he had followed the professional scene was that it was a venue for him to pick out skillful players.
Anyone who got into the Planet Aquamarine competitive scene was a talent. In some nicer words, Han Xiao was preparing to bring natural talents to explore the galaxy. And this time, he would not only bring a few people—he would bring an entire fleet of players as his assistants.
Because they would always revive after death, players were an extremely useful tools. Even though they were a bit weak, but there would be room for improvement in the new version. Even though robots could be used as gunpowder, one still needed money to make them.
Players were free!
Han Xiao was planning to start a family by taking the younger talents. He already had a plan.
To create his own base!
In Version 1.0, players did not have a way to step into the galaxy, but if Han Xiao could provide the transportation, even the professional players would be shocked. Han Xiao had quite a lot of missions to complete, but there would not be much if he spread out the workload. This would limit the number of players that he could nurture. However, if the players were able to travel into the galaxy and be exposed to the opportunities around the universe, there would be endless missions, and it would definitely be attractive to players. This way, Han Xiao could bypass the threshold of missions that Han Xiao could take.
The players would be at an advantage if they were first to start their adventure in the galaxy. No one would not be jealous of the opportunity. At the same time, Han Xiao could again restate his presence and make headlines again.
The chosen players would slowly become closer to Han Xiao voluntarily and create a sense of acknowledgement. Han Xiao already had a blueprint for his plan.
The number of players that he could take still depended on the situation.
Inside his secret base, Han Xiao got up from his sofa, reached the armory, and entered the password.
The golden wall folded and opened up. A transparent pillar was in the room, and it was filled with gel and liquid. Inside the pillar was a brand-new Amphiptere suit.
“It’s time to go.”
Han Xiao pressed the button, and the gel was washed out of the pillar. The surface of the Amphiptere mechanical suit gave a cold shine under the light.
Chapter 304 - The Visitor from Above
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the night sky, far away from Planet Aquamarine, a few wormholes were opening and closing while leaking rays of rainbow and lighting up the dark universe into a colorful playground. These lights focused together and scattered away, as if it was a thin layer of silk drifting through space and mesmerized anyone who saw the view.
Around the center of the shattered wormhole was a large space station floating in space, and the shape was like three buildings stacked on each other horizontally. On the side and on the top of the space stations were different towers, some of which were the signal tower, some were space stabilizer, and others were weaponry and garages for convoys.
The bottom of the space station was a large metallic sphere, and a dark blue light surrounded the circle as if it was the path of orbit. This was the space station’s reactor, engine, and gravitation stabilizer.
The space station had a very complex and detailed structure, and it advanced and futuristic. The ‘windows’ of the buildings were space decks for spacecrafts to dock. One would have no perception of the space station without looking at the map. Each one of the decks could accommodate a spaceship that was a few hundred meters long. The space station had tens of thousands of decks, and it looked at an artificial mountain range.
It was Zuric Hub, the transit station of the Garton Galaxy.
The wormholes floating around the station were the different pathways to different civilizations in the Kerbal Stellar. Using an immense amount of resources in exchange for help from the advanced civilization, a stable stellar gate had been built, which allowed people to travel across different areas and solar systems in the Kerbal Stellar quickly and efficiently.
The space station took in thousands of spaceships every second, as if it was a beehive. A small spaceship covered in yellow and white flew into a space deck. The spaceship shook as it entered to gravitational area, and it headed into the garage after a few minutes.
The garage was filled with blue and white. The original materials for the garage were a combination of special metallic bonds and macromolecule materials. After a few seconds, the garage sounded with a women’s digital voice.
“Identity authorized. Permit granted to dock. Welcome, Capt
ain Kerlodd, space investigator 741 of Godora.
Whoosh.
The door to the aircraft opened, and a man walked down as a platform extended onto the ground.
He was a male Godoran with light-golden skin. His hair was white and had seven braids on the back of his head. There were bolden spheres that were tied on the end of the braids. He had similar facial features to a human, but there was more space between the parts of the face. The body structure was also identical to that of human—one brain, two hands, two lands, and a schlong. There was nothing extra such as a tail or an additional limb. He was two meters tall, which was the average height of Godoran.
Kerlodd, who worked for the Godoran Space Investigation Department, was the captain of an investigation team. Even though his title was captain, he did not have any men under his command. He only had a Godora standardized suitcase, equipment, and the Observer, which was a small sized spaceship. The spaceship was thirty meters long, and it could only hold one passenger.
Kerlodd was the one who had been sent to investigated the ‘Inhumans’ on Planet Aquamarine.
“Oh wow, a pure-blood Godoran. It’s rare to see such an elite species.”
As the gate of the garage opened, a man wearing the work suit for the space station laughed. He had the same appearance as Kerlodd, but he was much shorter, and his skin was not as gold. This was half-breed Godoran, where one of his parents was another species.
“Huh, an inferior breed.” Kerlodd glanced at the worker and looked down at him. Godorans had extreme pride in remaining pure-blooded and denounces mixed breeds. It was part of their culture that they should discriminate against those who are not pure-blooded Godorans. That was why he called the worker ‘inferior breed’.
The man did not bother and said, “Just register. How long will you park here, and where will you be heading to?”
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