Chapter 1485: Saving Trouble
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The Flying Meteor was about to strike Negative Nine Degrees. For a moment, whirling flames covered Qin Muyun’s view. He could only rely on his experience and intuition to make his next move.
But his every action was within Ye Xiu’s predictions. A figure suddenly appeared inside the sea of fire as if he were born from the fire, Lord Grim!
A distance of three steps!
Qin Muyun had chosen to retreat. The distance between Negative Nine Degrees and Lord Grim was three steps.
Qin Muyun had shown a Three Step Gun Fu previously, and it appeared to be a distance that he could maintain. However, Qin Muyun knew why it seemed like that.
His Three Step Gun Fu wasn’t perfect. He didn’t have complete control over moving in and out within three steps. But because of his outstanding positioning, he occasionally found spots where he could perform Gun Fu within three steps. When those moments came, he would choose to step forward and perform a Three Step Gun Fu like he had done previously in his exchange with Lord Grim. After all, the closer the steps, the higher the threat.
When he was no longer able to maintain it, he would move back.
By relying on his positioning skills, Qin Muyun was able to form his own unique form of Gun Fu, which allowed him to keep the threat of Gun Fu up while staying at a comfortable distance.
However, right now, Qin Muyun wasn’t in a position where he could perform Gun Fu at this distance of three steps.
There may have been an opportunity at one point, but the spot that Lord Grim was in destroyed Qin Muyun’s last hopes.
I’ve been seen through!
Qin Muyun knew that his technique and his intent had been seen through. Every step he took was uncomfortable for him. The first strike had hit his vital point.
As expected of the one who’s fought with Captain for ten years and often had the upper hand.
Qin Muyun felt awe. When he had started his journey, Ye Xiu had already retired. However, his existence was a part of Excellent Era’s history and Tyranny’s history – the villain in Tyranny’s story.
Qin Muyun had heard of the stories and had seen Ye Xiu’s accomplishments. He had fought against him in the team compet.i.tions during the regular season. But in this 1v1, he finally experienced for himself just how terrifying Tyranny’s villain was.
Do I still have a chance?
Once Lord Grim closed the distance between them, he tried to fight while retreating. He looked for ways to escape.
The window?
The door?
The corner over there?
There wasn’t much s.p.a.ce in the room. Every exit seemed so close, but close did not mean reachable. Lord Grim blocked him from moving towards those exits. Finally, Negative Nine Degrees was forced into a corner.
Without enough s.p.a.ce, he couldn’t even execute Gun Fu. At this point, Sharpshooters practically had no options left. Qin Muyun realized that he had made a mistake in the beginning. Choosing to fight in this enclosed s.p.a.ce had been a grave mistake.
But if he hadn’t entered the room, if he had waited up on the roof to ambush Lord Grim, he would have been caught by Lord Grim’s sneak attack!
Qin Muyun had already started to review this match, and when he came to this point, he could only stare blankly at his screen.
Throughout this match, Ye Xiu had the initiative every step of the way. It was because Ye Xiu knew that his positioning was outstanding, so he could always make an accurate prediction of where he would move to. When Lord Grim went through the window onto the roof to sneak up on Negative Nine Degrees, he missed. Why? Wasn’t it because Qin Muyun had dropped through the hole in the roof into the room?
Ye Xiu hadn’t covered this option because from a certain perspective, he knew that it wasn’t a smart one. However, Qin Muyun really did choose this unwise option, throwing Ye Xiu’s plans into disarray for a bit.
Qin Muyun felt like he had realized something. When facing against an opponent like Ye Xiu, the optimal option was not always the best option because the opponent knew what that optimal option was…
I lost.
Qin Muyun’s Negative Nine Degrees fell. However, he had taken out 43% of Lord Grim’s health too, so it wasn’t too bad. After careful observation and thought, Li Yibo finally noticed the key points in this match and began speaking confidently about the compet.i.tion of positioning between the two players.
“In the end, the older, the wiser. Ye Xiu is more skilled!” Li Yibo sighed.
“But what about here!” Pan Lin hinted at the broadcast director to show a replay. When Lord Grim broke the rooftop and fell down, he blocked a few shots with his Myriad Manifestations Umbrella. But when he retracted his umbrella, he couldn’t see his opponent. However, he quickly deduced Qin Muyun’s position and found him soon afterwards.”
“Qin Muyun wasn’t in the optimal position, so how did Ye Xiu figure out where he was and then fake an attack?” Pan Lin asked.
“Hahaha,” Li Yibo laughed with delight, “It’s true that Qin Muyun didn’t pick the optimal position, but picking the right spot is dependent on the circ.u.mstances. At that time, not only did Qin Muyun need to pick a spot, he needed to take advantage of Ye Xiu’s blind spots and move while Ye Xiu couldn’t see him.”
“I see…” Pan Lin understood.
“Under these conditions, Qin Muyun’s position is, in fact, optimal,” Li Yibo said
“But if Ye Xiu had figured out Qin Muyun’s position, why didn’t he drop down and directly attack him? Why bother faking an attack?”
“Because Qin Muyun really had picked a very good spot! Look, if Lord Grim landed on the ground first, he wouldn’t have been in a good position to launch an attack. In fact, Negative Nine Degrees would have had more s.p.a.ce. By faking an attack, he was able to move to a better position to attack,” Li Yibo explained.
“Oh.” Pan Lin felt enlightened and felt even more appreciation for Li Yibo. He had been won over by his a.n.a.lysis.
“In other words, the purpose of Ye Xiu’s feint was to paralyze the opponent and to move to a better position,” Pan Lin concluded.
“That’s right,” Li Yibo nodded. He felt proud that he had seen through the issue.
“What an amazing fight,” Pan Lin sighed.
“Qin Muyun was beaten by Ye Xiu at his own game. I hope it won’t affect him later.” That was what Li Yibo said, but it was evidently a way of phrasing what he wanted to say in a nicer way. In reality, he was pointing out that Ye Xiu beating Qin Muyun would be a blow to Tyranny’s morale.
“But despite Ye Xiu having the upper hand, Qin Muyun was still able to take down 43% of Lord Grim’s health. Qin Muyun performed quite well,” Pan Lin said.
“Yes, especially in the latter half of the fight, where he was backed into a corner. Sharpshooters have a very difficult time fighting in those conditions,” Li Yibo said.
“Let’s see who Tyranny will send up next,” Pan Lin said.
By this time, Qin Muyun had left the player booth. The camera had zoomed in onto him for some time. Li Yibo had seen his expressionless face and had said the words “I hope it won’t affect him later” as a response. The two commentators found a few praiseworthy moments for him before discussing the next matchup.
But in the eyes of the experts, the discussion of the match wasn’t finished yet.
“43% seems a bit much,” Huang Shaotian messaged Yu Wenzhou. Ye Xiu had the clear upper hand. Using nearly half his health to take down the opponent was a bit excessive.
“His opponent didn’t make it easy! Qin Muyun’s positioning is truly outstanding,” Yu Wenzhou replied. When the two experts chatted with each other, they didn’t need to explain every detail like the commentators. They just needed to touch upon the main point.
“If he gave himself more s.p.a.ce and put more pressure on him, he could have reduced the damage he took.” Huang Shaotian replied.
“But it’s more risky, and it would have increased the amount of inputs he would have needed to make,” Yu Wenzhou said.
“So he’s trying to save his energy!” Huang Shaotian said.
“That’s why we tried to wear him down,” Yu Wenzhou said.
“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d,” Huang Shaotian cursed. They had drawn up a strategy, targeting what Ye Xiu had been worried about, but Ye Xiu was able to neutralize it. When Huang Shaotian thought back, he felt even more helpless. On the other hand, Ye Xiu’s simple and crude setups for Blue Rain all hit their target.
For example, take Blue Rain’s Mister Clutch, Song Xiao. His playoffs run was truly depressing. He had gained fame from his plays in the playoffs. It was as if the playoffs was his home. But his performance in Blue Rain’s two rounds against Happy? In the team compet.i.tion, as the sixth player, he was often the Mister Clutch that helped Blue Rain open up the field, yet before he could even do anything, the match had already been decided.
Mister Clutch wasn’t on the field at the crucial moments. How could he be clutch if he wasn’t there? Happy had crudely placed Song Xiao on the back burner.
“Let’s see who Tyranny will send up next.” It wasn’t clear if it was because Yu Wenzhou had also recalled their loss against Happy, but he now switched topics.
The big screen displayed Tyranny’s next player.
Zhang Jiale, Spitfire, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms.
The crowd booed.
Zhang Jiale had returned to the scene, abandoning Hundred Blossoms and joining Tyranny. Hundred Blossoms viewed him as a traitor. The fans of other teams, including Tyranny, looked down on his conduct. The current Zhang Jiale was nowhere near as popular as before. There were always people who would criticize his moral character, and Happy’s home stadium was no exception. As soon as Zhang Jiale appeared, boos and curses were immediately thrown his way.
Zhang Jiale was used to it. It had been two years. He could even face Hundred Blossoms calmly now. None of those boos or criticisms counted as anything.
Two years.
Zhang Jiale was counting his days. He knew that, for people like him, every day that pa.s.sed was one less day. If they failed this year, what about next year? Did they have a next year?
But none of them could have expected that the one blocking their way would be Ye Xiu. As he walked onto the stage, Zhang Jiale couldn’t help but recall those glorious years when the two had once battled.