Chapter 258 – Compet.i.tion Grouping
After the prize presentation, Li Cangyu accepted the interviews of domestic media reporters. Apart from the tactics, the thing they were most curious about was his decision to pick the demon summoner commemorative model figure. Such souvenirs were unique in the world and the craftsmanship was exquisite. It also had the gold-plated seal of the Carnival on the base.
"Cat G.o.d, did you choose the demon summoner to give to Captain Ling?" A reporter asked directly.
"Yes." Li Cangyu said earnestly. "He won me a model figure last year and I always wanted to return the gift."
"Did Captain Ling give you the elf summoner model figure?" The gossip soul of the reporters was instantly ignited.
The bombsh.e.l.l that Cat G.o.d took the initiative to release made everyone stunned. The reason why Captain Ling selected the elf summoner at last year"s Carnival was to give to Cat G.o.d?
"At that time, my team had just disbanded and I was visiting another country with Bai Xuan. The Canglan team hadn"t been formally built yet. Ling Xuefeng gave me the model figure to encourage me." Li Cangyu said with a smile. "Thus, I chose the demon summoner to return to him."
The reporters, "…"
How did it feel like an exchange of tokens?
Many domestic audience members were moved by the deep "friendship" of the two men. [The feelings between Ling Cat are really great] [As a Cat G.o.d fan and Captain Ling black fan, I don"t want to say anything at this time!] [Running to a world event to win prizes for the other party, this is simple a good friend of China!]
Although some people suspected that the feelings between the two people weren"t very ordinary, Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were very honest. They admitted there was a deep "friendship" between the two people and both of them seemed too upright. Everyone was embarra.s.sed to say anything.
***
Li Cangyu returned to the dormitory and gave the exquisite demon summoner to Ling Xuefeng. He took the model, placed it to the side and pulled Li Cangyu into his arms, whispering, "Thank you."
"Why are you so polite?"
Ling Xuefeng"s lips curved and he gently kissed the other person"s forehead. "Today"s tactical layout is really wonderful but there is a problem. You exposed your strength and the players from other countries will do detailed research on you. It will be hard to win the same way in the next game."
Li Cangyu didn"t care about this and replied with great confidence, "It doesn"t matter. As long as I go out, my play style will definitely be exposed. There are so many games in the group stage and the level of players in each country is clear."
His words weren"t wrong. Before the World Compet.i.tion officially started, the commanders of other countries would definitely download the league videos from the Internet to study the strength and characteristics of players in the national team. The Internet had developed to this point and it was simple to watch the Chinese Miracle League games. As long as they watched a few videos, they would know Li Cangyu"s style.
It didn"t matter if he exposed his personal strength. Even if everyone in the world knew how Li Cangyu played, there weren"t many people who could guess his tactical ideas!
Ling Xuefeng saw his self-confidence and couldn"t help agreeing. "You"re right. We aren"t afraid of exposure because we have actual strength."
"Yes, I hope that tomorrow"s group drawing will be better." Li Cangyu sat down next to him, opened the laptop and logged into the US Miracle League"s official website.
He scrolled down a bit and saw the eye-catching Miracle First World Compet.i.tion propaganda poster. The 16 partic.i.p.ating countries were listed. They were: the US, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Sweden, China, j.a.pan, South Korea, Russia, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Mexico.
The time until the official compet.i.tion project opened wasn"t long. The popularity of the game in Africa wasn"t high and most of the countries partic.i.p.ating in this World Compet.i.tion came from the Americas, Europe and Asia. Their e-sports events were relatively mature and there were many e-sports professional players.
However, when it came to traditional e-sports powers, the United States, South Korea and China won the most awards in the world.
Li Cangyu"s gaze quickly swept over the list of flags and he said, "It is best to not draw the same group as the United States and South Korea."
Ling Xuefeng told him, "Our luck shouldn"t be so bad? Still, both of them have the strength to enter the finals. If we all draw the same group, it will become the real group of death."
Li Cangyu immediately made a zipper gesture. "Don"t have a crow"s mouth. I"m afraid that the Dragon Song boss" stench would be transmitted. Cough… will you go to draw it tomorrow?"
***
Liu Chuan, the owner of the Dragon Song Club who was always known for his "smelly luck", suddenly sneezed at the hotel. "Achoo! Is someone talking about me behind my back?"
Wu Zewen seriously replied, "It must be Cat G.o.d talking about you. He is afraid your smelly hands will affect the national team"s draw."
Liu Chuan made a wronged expression. "My hands might stink but I am lucky. Every time I meet a big boss, I can eventually win." Then he changed his mind. "Still, it is better not to draw the US team in the group stage…"
They weren"t afraid of the US team but the Chinese team were playing abroad. The climate was different and the terrain was unfamiliar. They needed to adapt to the new stage. If they might a boss directly in the group stage, they might not play to their actual level and be eliminated.
Liu Chuan"s thoughts were also Chairman Nan Jiangang"s biggest worries. The draw to decide the groups would be done tomorrow and his worries were endless. He couldn"t help whispering to the captain, "Have you decided who will go tomorrow to draw the lottery?"
Li Cangyu pointed to the man next to him, "Xuefeng will do it."
Nan Jiangang nodded calmly and smiled. "It doesn"t matter, don"t feel pressure. No matter which opponents we get, we must fight seriously."
Ling Xuefeng"s expression was serious. "Rest a.s.sured Chairman, the strength of the national team is higher than you think. There is no need to be afraid even if we draw a boss. We will be ready."
Ling Xuefeng"s words pulled the chairman"s heart back up from his stomach!
***
Once the chairman left, Gu Siming typed in the Canglan group chat. [Cat G.o.d, we have just arrived with the boss in New York. Good luck when drawing lots tomorrow!]
Li Cangyu smiled and asked: [All of you have come?]
Li Xiaojiang typed: [Yes.]
Zhang Jueming: [We"re all here! I am staying with Xiao Gu and Xiao Li in a triple room. We wanted to see you but were afraid it would affect your training. We will go straight to the venue to cheer for everyone.]
Li Cangyu: [It doesn"t matter. Once the drawing of lots is over, you can come to the Miracle Village.]
Gu Siming was excited: [Really? Great!]
Li Xiaojiang was also very happy. This was his first trip abroad and there was a big difference from China. The streets were filled with foreigners speaking fluent English. He couldn"t understand English and stuttered in Chinese. He could only be a small follower behind XIao Gu and Old Zhang.
For today"s Carnival, he came to the venue with Liu Chuan and saw the three G.o.ds killing the American team. He suddenly felt his blood boiling.
Being able to see the game abroad was a dream for Li Xiaojiang!
Li Cangyu arranged a time to meet with his teammates and then went offline to sleep. He needed to go to the drawing tomorrow at 8 a.m. to decide the grouping for the World Compet.i.tion. He needed to maintain a good mental state.
***
At 8 o"clock the next morning, Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng headed to the conference centre of the Miracle World Compet.i.tion.
This meeting only invited the captains and vice-captains of the 16 partic.i.p.ating countries. The main purpose was to issue the rules and information manuals of the World Compet.i.tion, as well as decide the groupings for the group stage.
Apart from the US team"s Winfrey, who they saw yesterday, everyone else was a stranger.
Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were wearing the Chinese team"s uniform and were tall and handsome. They looked very attractive walking together. It was just that the temperament of these two people were different. LIng Xuefeng was serious, mature and steady. There was a type of cold abstinence about him. Li Cangyu was more casual and the smile on his face was very sunny. However, his performance in the 3v3 event yesterday made many people feel cold.
This cat couldn"t be provoked!
Li Cangyu sat next to Winfrey with a smile and greeted her. "h.e.l.lo."
Winfrey also smiled at him with great grace and introduced him to someone. "This is Noah, the captain of the US team."
Li Cangyu wasn"t good at English but he could understand 70~80% of the basic daily conversation. Today"s meeting only invited the captains and vice-captains of the national teams so he quickly judged that the blond man in front of him was the very famous black magician in the Miracle circle.
"It"s nice to meet you." Noah took the initiative to shake hands with Li Cangyu.
This man was very young, approximately 20 years old. He looked very gentle and his smile was gentlemanly. His blond hair was slightly long and his eyes were as deep as the mysterious sea. His manners were impeccable.
Whether it was the value of his face or his elegance, everything was perfect.
This man really wasn"t simple. After the American team lost face to Li Cangyu yesterday, he could still say h.e.l.lo to his opponent gracefully, compared to Winfrey. He was able to hold it in and not expose his emotions at all.
This was the typical gentle and graceful outward appearance, while the insides were deep and filled with pits.
Such a captain was the most terrible existence in the American team.
Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng glanced at each other, exchanging a tacit understanding. The most famous American was the blood kin summoner, Jack Josh. Still, Jack was like a tyrannosaurus and his style was quite violent. Captain Noah was part of a different team and their styles were also the opposite.
Noah"s reputation might not be as high as Jack but Li Cangyu knew this smiling blond man would be the most powerful resistance for the Chinese team.
***
The meeting soon started. The person who presided over it was the chairman of the American Miracle League. The meeting was in English but it was equipped with simultaneous translation. The words were translated into Chinese and came through Li Cangyu"s headphones.
The meeting announced the detailed compet.i.tion mode, the rules for the points, the rules for the players, etc. Then they issued corresponding information manuals.
This was followed by the intense lot drawing. As the US was the host, Noah was the first to pick. He pulled out an envelope from the box and showed it to the media reporters—Group A!
The other countries prayed silently in their hearts, "Don"t pick Group A."
This was followed by the Chinese team. Ling Xuefeng picked and the result was—Group B!
Then the South Korean team drew Group C!
This result made the media reporters from the three countries very excited and they immediately wrote a press release. The teams that had the highest chances of winning the championship were divided into different groups. This was definitely the best result.
However, the other weaker countries were somewhat depressed. No matter which group they drew, a boss would be blocking the road and the chance of qualifying would become much more difficult.
Soon, the drawing results were over and the league"s official website released the grouping.
Group A: United States, j.a.pan, Canada, Netherlands.
Group B: China, Australia, Spain, Italy.
Group C: Korea, Sweden, Mexico, Portugal.
Group D: Britain, France, Germany, Russia.
The World Compet.i.tion would officially start on October 3rd. There were only three days left to rest and adjust.
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Chapter 259 – Strange Invitation
It was lunchtime when Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng returned to the Miracle Village. They saw Xiao Gu and the other members of Canglan at the door. Gu Siming saw Li Cangyu and rushed over to hug him. "Cat G.o.d, I haven"t seen you in a long time!"
"…Your idol is here." Li Cangyu pointed towards Ling Xuefeng. Gu Siming let go of him and looked over at Captain Ling with a smile. "I have already received Captain Ling"s signature."
Ling Xuefeng had nothing to say to the black fan who "I like you and want to kill you." He nodded calmly at Gu Siming.
On the other side, Zhang Jueming"s face was excited. "This Miracle Village is really interesting! There are so many Miracle sculptures, the street lamps are in the shape of a staff and various characters from Miracle are painted on the ground."
Li Cangyu told him, "The World Miracle League is very attentive to this World Compet.i.tion. Once you go to the dining room, you will see Miracle images on top of the lunch boxes."
Li Xiaojiang"s eyes were wide as he looked around. He seemed full of curiosity about everything here. The group arrived at the dining room and saw a few Chinese team members eating. Everyone moved to greet each other.
Zhuo Hang saw a small snail following behind everyone else and immediately ran over in an excited manner, firmly hugging Li Xiaojiang. "You came! You should"ve told me in advance. I would"ve gone to pick you up."
Li Xiaojiang"s face was red as he stuttered, "I, I was afraid to disturb, disturb your training…"
Zhuo Hang rubbed his head. "No way! We don"t train 24 hours a day. We are idle at night."
Li Xiaojiang made an "oh" sound. They hadn"t seen each other for a long time and Zhuo Hang seemed to be taller. Li Xiaojiang was also a bit happy at being able to see his teammate.
Bai Xuan, Ah Shu, Qin Mo and Xiao Han also came over. They gathered at the long table to eat and Bai Xuan asked with a smile, "Which hotel are you staying in? Are you used to it?"
Xiao Gu replied positively, "The boss booked us a hotel close to the compet.i.tion venue. We can go to watch every match at the venue!"
Li Cangyu thought for a moment and suddenly said, "Old Zhang, can you do me a favour?"
Zhang Jueming readily replied, "Captain, if you have something then tell me, there is no need to be polite."
Li Cangyu said, "In three days, the World Compet.i.tion will begin. I will be training with Xuefeng at the Miracle Village and it is impossible to watch every match. We will be focusing on the opponents of Group B. Since you are going to watch the game, can you summarize the key players and tactical features of the other teams?"
This was for future considerations. In the current group stage, the Chinese team had only three opponents: Australia, Spain and Italy. They had to concentrate on dealing with these three countries. For the time being, they didn"t have time to watch the matches of other teams. Zhang Jueming"s tactical awareness was quite good. He was going to watch the other matches anyway. Now he could take notes so that Li Cangyu had something to work on in the later periods.
Zhang Jueming understood this and instantly agreed. "No problem!"
Xiao Gu said, "I will also help watch. My tactical level isn"t high but I have some experience in the front row!"
Li Xiaojiang blushed and also said, "I-I will also help to record."
Li Cangyu patted the shoulders of the two teenagers with relief. "Very good. While watching the matches and recording, you can learn from the world"s masters, which is good for both of you."
The two teenagers nodded seriously.
Xiao Han asked, "Master, our first opponent is Australia? What are their standards?"
Li Cangyu habitually ignored Xiao Han"s grammar mistakes and said, "It should be among the bottom of the countries. After all, the country is small and the population is limited. There isn"t a high number of e-sports players…"
Bai Xuan added, "As fair as I know, the 22 players sent by Australia are the top four players from the different teams. No domestic trials were held and it wasn"t as troublesome as us."
Everyone listened attentively.
In the Chinese Miracle league, masters were as numerous as clouds. There were eight giants in the first division and a large number of reserve troops in the second division. The overall strength of their e-sports was indeed incomparable to the small countries.
However, a small country that chose more than 20 people to join the World Compet.i.tion wouldn"t be the champions. The key was the partic.i.p.ation! They just wanted to express their love of e-sports. This courage was worthy of respect.
Li Cangyu didn"t look down on the Australian team, regardless of whether their actual strength was weak or strong.
"That"s right." Li Cangyu suddenly remembered one thing. He took a stack of doc.u.ments from his briefcase and handed it to Bai Xuan and Xie Shurong. "Ah Shu played in the United States for several years. Bai Xuan, your major is English. The two of you are idle in the afternoon. Can you translate the information booklet sent by the league and carefully translate it to avoid any mistakes."
It was enough to sense Li Cangyu"s careful nature. The rules of the compet.i.tion must be translated, verbatim, sentence by sentence. Otherwise, there was a chance some players wouldn"t understand the rules and would commit a foul.
***
The afternoon was a rare free time. Zhuo Hang took Xiaojiang, Xiao Gu and Old Zhang around the Miracle Village. Xiao Han was learning grammar from Qin Mo while Bai Xuan and Xie Shurong carefully checked the rules handbook.
Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were surfing the Internet in their dormitory when they heard a knock on the door. They thought members of the national team were coming to find them. As a result, they were shocked when they opened the door.
A man and a woman was standing at the door. The boy had long hair braided in the back and seemed a bit decadent. The woman had handsome short hair and bright eyes.
"h.e.l.lo." The female spoke in slightly less fluent English. "I am Kim Yoonhee, the vice-captain of the South Korean team. This is my brother Kim Changmin. We would like to invite the Chinese team to play a friendly match this afternoon to become more familiar with the World Compet.i.tion mode."
She showed a very polite att.i.tude but Li Cangyu smiled without talking. It was because he only half-understood and was feeling really anxious!
The English level of the Koreans obviously wasn"t the same.
Fortunately, Ling Xuefeng was of a high standard. He could understand the English and whispered in Li Cangyu"s ears, "The South Korean team came because they want to play a friendly match."
Li Cangyu thought about it. "Let"s accept. In any case, there is nothing to do in the afternoon."
Ling Xuefeng replied in English, "Okay, set the time and the number of people."
Kim Yoonhee said, "The death racing mode. We have built a room in the server. It is room 11 and the pa.s.sword is 89510. The time is 3 o"clock in the afternoon."
It looked like this two people came prepared. LI Cangyu could understand this sentence and nodded. "No problem."
The brother and sister turned to leave. Li Cangyu glanced at Ling Xuefeng and asked, "Is it really just a friendly match?"
Ling Xuefeng told him, "Your appearance in the 3v3 event yesterday surprised many people. I estimate that they are trying to test the waters to look at the actual strength of the Chinese team."
Li Cangyu thought about it. "Then should we continue?"
Ling Xuefeng nodded. "Call a few juniors to go. Let us look at the strength of the Korean team."
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