Genius Chapter 202: Face Reveals

Chapter 202: Face Reveals

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

In the middle of the meeting venue, four IDs were lit up on the virtual screen, and the words “awaiting confirmation” appeared alongside a three-minute countdown to finalize the time. The main system’s voice echoed throughout the exhibition hall via the sound system.

“Blue Team: player Blossom Never Fades, apple.” 

“Red Team: player A Single Sock, momo.” 

“Players, please confirm via the terminal. Failure to confirm within the time limit will be considered a forfeit.”

As the three-minute confirmation period continued to count down, Blossom Never Fades and A Single Sock quickly confirmed, while the other two leaderboard players were a bit slower to respond. The main system had claimed that the player selection process was random, but judging by the balanced nature of the first match, it seemed that the selected players had relatively similar skill levels. With both apple and momo appearing, it could only mean that the two senior players, the Magical Swordsman and the Summoner, were about to face off.

“Ahhh! Could it really be that they’re not here?”
“No way, I won’t allow momo not to be here.”
“I’m also really curious about apple! Whenever I see him talk in the Sect, he always seems like a very chatty expert.”
“How hard is it to click confirm? Do they have to keep us on edge like this!?”

“Momo, are you going up?” CloudTraveller asked.

ClearWind responded, “Why wouldn’t you? It’s such a good opportunity! The players chosen for the exhibition match all get treasure chest rewards! Plus, the winner gets a challenger outfit—it’s totally worth it! Just go up, get the prize, and come back!”

ScarletFruit said, “…I don’t remember you being this sharp before.”
ClearWind replied, “This is the kind of insight any good scenic viewer should have. You haven’t seen how cool the challenger outfit is.”

Just as Su Mo was hesitating and thinking about refusing, Yu Zhen quietly said to him, “Each match only lasts about 10 minutes at most. If you want to play, just go for it.”

Su Mo replied, “I don’t know if they have a compatible loader here.”

Yu Zhen said, “Don’t worry about that. The main system has a wide sample of loaders for participating players, and it covers most types of loaders… I’ll go with you to check it out.”

The StarNet users were getting anxious. Those present at the venue grew curious, glancing around to see if there were any suspicious candidates heading toward the central area for the exhibition match. Finally, apple confirmed with two minutes left on the countdown, while momo waited until the last 30 seconds to confirm. Once the confirmations were made, both StarNet and the live audience erupted in excitement. This was a showdown between the top player and the best magical swordsman. Even though it was a standard character match, such an offline battle was extremely rare.

The most exciting part was the chance to see the real appearances of the four players who would be participating!

“I swear I’ll drop 10 pounds of fat if momo doesn’t blur their face!”
“I’m so nervous, Archdemon, please don’t censor them!!”
“Usually, people don’t use face blurring, right?”
“It’s time to decide if momo is going to be my dad or my older brother!”
“How old are you, anyway? Calling them your dad seems a bit much!”

While everyone was busy discussing, a few players had already arrived backstage at the exhibition hall. They each selected their loaders and entered the central event area. Yu Zhen, who was somewhat familiar with the staff at the venue, found an E-grade loader with the highest medical rating and handed it to Su Mo. “This one is similar to the one you played with at home last night. It should be fine.”

“And this—wear it,” Yu Zhen said, handing him a black mask.

Su Mo took the mask, put it on, and, holding the loader, said, “Alright, I’m heading up now.”

Yu Zhen replied, “Go ahead, I’ll wait for you here.”

The three players who entered first couldn’t avoid introducing themselves. Both members of the Blue Team were men. Blossom Never Fades was on the heavier side and wore glasses, and his voice was quite pleasant. The other man standing with him didn’t hide his appearance much. Though not particularly striking, he had a very appealing look and dressed fashionably. As soon as he spoke, the StarNet live chat erupted with screams.

“I’m used to Blossom Never Fades by now—I’ve seen him on several face-reveal streams.”
“apple shocked me… he looks like a noble prince!!”
“So good-looking, we’re lucky!”
“Is this how all the leaderboard experts look?”
“What about momo? Where’s my Archdemon!”

On the Red Team, there was only one person. A Single Sock looked every bit like a student, though he was very tall, probably the tallest of them all. When the main system asked him to speak, his voice was shy, in stark contrast to his towering height.

“He’s so easy to bully!”
“How strong does momo’s aura have to be to boost the Red Team’s presence now?”

As the second exhibition match sparked widespread discussion both online and offline, a boy emerged from the backstage entrance. He walked slowly, following the guide to the center of the stage.

Compared to the tall A Single Sock beside him, the boy’s height was a bit more average, around 1.8 meters (about 5’11”). He was holding a head-mounted loader, and as the camera zoomed in, the audience could see his pale, slender hands. The stage lights shone on his exposed skin, which was fair and almost translucent. The shadow of his cap cast lightly across his face, and even though he wore an unnecessary mask, his outfit was incredibly simple, with a fleece-lined jacket. Yet, the calm and natural confidence he exuded in front of the camera was undeniable.

“!!!”
“Help! He hit my soft spot!”
“…I’m done. All I can think of is the word ‘little brother.’”
“He looks so young!!!”
“No way!? Is this really momo? Not a stand-in?”
“OMG! A pale, delicate university student!!”
“Could he take off the cap and mask?! Main system, do us a favor one more time!”

The main system said, “Hello, momo.”

The boy nodded slightly, “Hello.”

Players who had heard Archdemon’s voice countless times during faction wars immediately associated the voice with the in-game Archdemon. While the game voice was more confident and brighter, in real life, momo’s voice was slightly hoarse. However, when compared, it was still recognizable, and his tone was unmistakably the same.

The online audience was buzzing with excitement, but a small group in Zone 1235 was stunned.

“Wait…” the class monitor stared at the boy in shock, “Isn’t that Su Mo?!”
“It seems like it…”
“He looks a lot like him, and his voice too.”
“I thought Archdemon’s voice sounded familiar when I heard it before.”

Lance turned to where they had just seen Su Mo, where his friends were still standing—but Su Mo was nowhere to be seen. Then, he glanced back at the central stage, at momo.

That hat, that jacket…!!!

Wasn’t it exactly the same as what he was wearing earlier when they saw him?

The class monitor said, “Lance, didn’t you just say you saw Su Mo?”

“…Yeah, I did.” Lance widened his eyes and double-checked, “He’s dressed exactly the same as the person on stage.”

Everyone: “???”
Lance asked, “Did any of you ever ask Su Mo for his ID?”
“No… I was going to, but I got distracted by the game and forgot.”
“I thought you guys had asked.”
“I wanted to ask once, but then Su Mo took sick leave and went to the hospital the next day.”

It wasn’t that Su Mo hadn’t told them—rather, they had never taken the opportunity to ask.

Online, where people could easily change their voice settings, they only felt a sense of familiarity when they heard the voice. They didn’t think much of it. After all, Capital Planet was huge, and there were so many Celestial Horizon players—running into someone with a similar voice wasn’t impossible.

But this was just too unbelievable!!

It wasn’t that they hadn’t given it any thought—it was simply impossible for them to associate the fearsome in-game Archdemon, who dominated the battlefield and was feared by everyone, with the humble and modest academic genius, Su Mo, in real life.

The class monitor asked again, “Hasn’t momo been missing for a month?”
Lance replied, “Yeah… and Su Mo’s been in the hospital for a month too. Didn’t you organize us to visit him at the hospital not long ago? Had a few drinks at lunch, and now you’ve forgotten?”

The class monitor stared at the slender boy, thinking, “How could anyone compare these two?!”

He weakly said, “I think I remember Su Mo saying he plays a Summoner.”
“…And I remember him saying he’s just average at it.”
“Average, my foot!!”
“Being at the top of Celestial Horizon’s leaderboard is considered just ‘average’!?”

Meanwhile, on StarNet, momo’s appearance sent the live chat into overdrive. Who wouldn’t be curious about the top player of Celestial Horizon? The forums had been filled with wild speculation in recent days—some said momo was middle-aged, others guessed he was a student. There were discussions about his height, weight, and everything in between.

But momo had left a generally positive impression on the public. Most people assumed he was a mature man with life experience. Now, seeing him in person, they were completely dumbfounded… This wasn’t a mature man at all. He was clearly just a student—and a young-looking one at that.

Su Mo wasn’t aware of the others’ discussions. After greeting apple, the main system prompted them that they could enter the arena. The official loaders provided were head-mounted, and the venue was equipped with corresponding rest chairs. The official loaders contained official accounts. Once Su Mo sat down and got comfortable, he took off his hat, revealing the half of his face that had been hidden under the brim.

The boy was still wearing a mask, and his messy bangs, flattened by the hat, along with his clear, bright eyes, were suddenly broadcasted to both the live and online audiences. From the visible facial features, it was clear that the boy’s appearance couldn’t be anything less than attractive—he even had a bit of that “handsome beauty” look.

Everyone stared at the exposed half of his face, stunned for more than a second. It wasn’t just about whether he was handsome or not—just based on his looks alone, how could anyone associate him with the ruthless, death-commanding demon of a strategist they knew in-game?

“…kawaii.”
“Help, how did such a big handsome guy turn into a little brother?”
“Little brothers can be handsome too…”
“Is this real? Based on that face, he should be a gentle support player, right?”

Yu Zhen hadn’t gone far. He stood at the entrance to the central platform from backstage, close enough to see Su Mo, who had now put on the loader and closed his eyes obediently.

After Su Mo entered the interface, something different from usual appeared: a selection of various Sects and their respective professions. Since this was a standard account PK match, players could choose from official preset character templates and use these standardized templates for battle.

Su Mo’s personal account was custom-built to suit his playstyle, but standard accounts were different. They were pre-defined by the main system as balanced, standard-attribute accounts. He instinctively clicked on the Summoner template and noticed that there were two options: one was a physical Summoner, and the other was a spell-based Summoner. Both had distinct specializations, which were completely different from the attributes of Su Mo’s custom account.

“Will momo pick a Summoner?”
“Actually, standard accounts are tricky. You can see from the first match—random accounts don’t feel the same as your own.”
“Leaderboard pros are used to their customized accounts, with unique quest skills and attributes. Now that they’re using these inferior standard accounts, they might not get the same results.”
“You have to adjust your usual playstyle.”

The main screen showed the choices both players were making.

“Hey, these two Summoner templates are different from my brother’s,” ScarletFruit said worriedly. “Will playing Summoner be awkward for him?”
ClearWind replied, “But other professions are even harder to play than Summoner.”
CloudTraveller added, “There’ll probably be some discomfort, but it depends on how quickly they can adapt.”

During the gap in player selections, the discussion in the exploration group had already blown up with hundreds of messages about momo. While apple’s appearance didn’t shock them as much since they had seen glimpses of him before the event, seeing momo left some of the group speechless.

This was such a huge difference from the game!
FireworksAndLanterns: “Not really! Isn’t momo also a teenager?”
OldBanana: “I’m talking about his personality!”
Haitang: “He really does look like a student.”
OutstandingLivestreamerClearWind: “I’ve been saying he’s a student, why don’t you believe me?”
BrokenOracle: “His style doesn’t seem like that of an ordinary student.”
ChatMasterWu: “You all have dirty minds!”
HealsFor25000: “I just met him, and he still has that same vibe when he talks!”
WhatAHugeWatermelon: “You can’t judge a person by their appearance; don’t be fooled by looks.”

Appearance was just one part; a more crucial aspect was that both sides of the match were filled with people from the group: one was momo, and the other was apple. The magical swordsman was inherently unsuitable for PK matches, and in a 2v2 situation, it was hard to secure a good lineup. If the opposing team had double crowd control, it would be a struggle.

Especially now that one of the opponents was momo; with double crowd control, momo and apple would basically be done for.

HealsFor25000: “I have to say, apple is really bold.”
FireworksAndLanterns: “I encouraged him to go up. He hesitated and thought about forfeiting. I told him that forfeiting was too embarrassing, and in the end, he went up.”
Haitang: “It’s not certain they’ll lose; 花开不落 is a livestreamer who plays Array Master. Pairing him with a magical swordsman could offset apple’s weaknesses. As for that Sock, I don’t know him; I’ve never seen him, but he might be strong too.”
WhatAHugeWatermelon: “…Maybe going up would be even more embarrassing.”
ChatMasterWu: “?”
FireworksAndLanterns: “?”
MilkWithBitterMelon: “That actually makes some sense.”

….

On the field, Su Mo locked in the physical Summoner without a second thought. After he finished his selection, he noticed his teammate hadn’t chosen yet, so he asked, “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know what to pick; my playstyle is a bit niche, and the standard account doesn’t have the attributes I want,” Sock replied. “I might end up dragging you down.”
Su Mo asked, “What profession can you play? What are you good at?”
“I usually play a niche marksman; I know a bit about mage and healer as well.”
Sock whispered, “What I’m good at… is running away. How about I pick a healer to support you?”
Su Mo replied, “No need; just choose a marksman. It’ll be easier to play something you’re familiar with.”
After saying that, he added, “It’s just for fun; you don’t need to take it too seriously.”
Sock was speechless.

This was just for fun!

Both sides quickly selected their characters. The red team, momo and Sock, chose Summoner and Marksman, while the blue team, 花开不落 and apple, picked Array Master and Magical Swordsman.

Once both sides finished their selections, they immediately entered the scene loading. They soon arrived at the regular competitive arena. The regular arena had no time limits, but for entertainment matches, to control the game duration, they used a single win format, limiting the time to 10 minutes. Neither side brought healing, which would make the match time even shorter.

The selected regular arena map was [Victory Martial Arts Arena], a common training ground found in ancient Chinese architecture. This arena map had no extra obstacles and was basically just a small square. With this type of map and the chosen lineups, the pace would be fast enough to finish the battle in just a few minutes.

Both sides had strong players. Based on 花开不落’s abilities, Sock’s strength should be about the same. The players who loved to watch the action eagerly anticipated their maneuvers but were even more excited to see them stumble.
[The lineups are quite similar; it depends on who messes up.]
[The blue team has a defensive Magical Swordsman and a semi-tank Array Master, while the red team has a physical Summoner and a mobile Marksman. From the lineups, the blue team is tankier, and the red team is more offensive!]
[The red team definitely has higher attack power, but if apple can deal high damage, then it’s anyone’s game.]

Su Mo had a plan in mind, but after entering the arena, he still overestimated the movement speed of the physical Summoner. This movement speed was slower than his previous one, but it was still faster than that of the other spell-based Summoner. Once they entered, the Marksman moved first, and soon both sides met in the square.

The blue team’s attack strategy was straightforward. Upon meeting, both players immediately locked onto the red team’s momo, completely ignoring the Marksman. Apple said in the team channel, “Don’t worry about the Marksman. Let’s set up our defenses and go straight for momo. His physical Summoner is tanky, but his casting speed isn’t as fast as that of a spell-based Summoner; as long as we avoid getting close to him, we should be fine.”

“Be careful; this version of the Magical Swordsman is fragile.”

Seeing the opposing Marksman’s movement, apple felt relieved, saying, “It’s fine; my character is even more fragile.”

His defense was a bit higher, so he could afford to be a little reckless for a short while.

As soon as both sides clashed, apple immediately launched a sword technique at momo. Taking advantage of Array Master’s cover, he attacked momo without hesitation, and both of his sword techniques hit momo perfectly.

[I can’t believe it! Apple got the first strike!]
[Hahaha, I feel like momo is going to mess up!]
[Momo’s character is too bizarre; using such a standard character really puts him at a disadvantage.]
[He won’t just passively take hits until the end, will he?!]
[No way! He just summoned his beasts!]

On the field, the Summoner withstood apple’s two rounds of sword techniques and summoned three beasts. It wasn’t that he wasn’t running away; rather, he was waiting until he had high health to summon the beast with the longest casting time. Sure enough, he summoned the Qingluan, suitable for area combat, and a single-target Xianlu.

After those two long casting times, he finally summoned Solitary Wolf and the Thunder Lion.

Sock asked, “Are you okay? All the firepower is on your side.”

“I’m fine.” Su Mo glanced at the distant Magical Swordsman. “You have a distance advantage; don’t get within their attack range.”

Sock wondered, “So what should I do?”

“Provide cover fire for me.” After Su Mo said this, the Diao landed on him. With the movement speed boost from the summoned beast, he finally regained some familiarity with operating his character. However, the current issue wasn’t about his proficiency with the account. His sudden acceleration startled apple, who quickly repositioned to create distance. But Su Mo wasn’t going to give him that opportunity; he immediately activated a light skill and collided with the Thunder Lion in apple’s direction.

Close-range control!

After Su Mo executed this maneuver, the buff from the Diao was about to expire. “Release!”

The ranged Marksman also released arrows for cover. Seizing the opportunity to close in, Su Mo attacked apple with basic attacks.

This sequence of actions was incredibly smooth, and the physical Summoner immediately found his rhythm.

The Magical Swordsman’s movement speed was slow and relied entirely on the Array Master’s speed array to move quickly. However, the Summoner didn’t give him any opportunities. Once he closed in, he executed a series of interruptions in coordination with his summoned beasts.

Apple exclaimed, “Wow! Does his reaction really need to be this fast?”

[This familiar close-range operation…]
[You can’t find another Summoner in all of Celestial Horizon who plays this aggressively.]
[With a puppy-like face, he plays like a wolf dog. blush]
[Who else could this be if not momo!? This is definitely him!]

The Summoner’s style of play was extraordinarily fierce, instantly putting pressure on both the Magical Swordsman and the Array Master. Seeing this, the Array Master, 花开不落, quickly set up several layers of defensive arrays for apple and added a speed array to help him escape. But the Summoner was too close behind, leaving the Array Master no choice but to initiate control to catch the Summoner.

His Fear Array had just been deployed when the Summoner swiftly dodged out of the range of the ground-based Fear Array, and a Light Staff struck apple.

Seeing this, he exclaimed, “What the heck, does he have eyes on the back of his head? How did he predict his position?!”

Apple replied, “Keep controlling him; I’ll lead him into the array.”

The Array Master’s control effectively served as natural cover for the Magical Swordsman, especially in this environment, where multiple arrays nearly blocked the Summoner’s agile movements. The Array Master was skilled; knowing that strong control was ineffective, he utilized the control array to force movement.

Su Mo found himself at a disadvantage. At that moment, arrows from behind came rushing in; they veered slightly as they landed, but this ranged attack still temporarily pressured the Array Master’s positioning, causing the array to fall short, allowing Su Mo to escape through the gap in the array.

“Marksman is playing well,” Su Mo remarked, “but he could aim a bit more accurately.”

The Sock replied, “I can’t play well with the accuracy of a Marksman… That’s why I’ve always played with niche Marksmen, the kind that just skims by and does area damage…”

He felt it was tough to play. “The Array Master is protecting the Magical Swordsman, so it’s difficult for us to close in. Should we try attacking from a distance?”

“Attacking from a distance won’t work,” Su Mo said simply. “They have a ranged character as well; fighting at range would just give the Magical Swordsman free rein. With a Magical Swordsman like apple, if he isn’t harassed, he’ll only get fiercer.”

Upon hearing this, the Sock, filled with anticipation, asked, “So how should we attack? Is there a strategy?”

“Strategy?” Su Mo chuckled, “There isn’t one; just lock onto apple and attack.”

The Sock asked stupidly, “Is it that simple?”

Su Mo replied, “It’s that simple; just don’t hold back your skills. The more aggressive you are, the better.”

After saying that, he added, “However, when you use your skills, you can position yourself a little further back.”

“Okay, no problem,” the Sock said.

The players watching were also eagerly anticipating the strategy. From the current situation, both the Marksman and the Magical Swordsman were ranged, while the Array Master and the Summoner were mid-range… On the surface, it seemed that the strength of both teams was comparable, but in reality, the blue team had gained the advantage at the start.

[Why do I feel like the red team might lose, yet I’m still so excited?!]

[The Marksman keeps misfiring skills; it looks like he got a class he isn’t suited for.]

[The blue team has a higher chance of winning; momo is at half health, and apple still has 60%.]

“Who could possibly win this?” ClearWind remarked, glancing at the screen. “It’s really hard to tell; his skills aren’t bad.”

kawaii nodded, “The Array Master knows how to play; the array is a bit off, but apple is being well protected.”

“Apple has good positioning awareness and knows to stay close to the Array Master,” HealsFor25000 noted. “At the moment, it seems like the blue team has a greater chance of winning.”

However, CloudTraveller said, “Not necessarily; look at the Marksman’s position.”

Having escaped the control, apple found himself in a better position to output without the Summoner’s harassment. But this comfortable environment quickly vanished because the agile Marksman on the opposing side suddenly began outputting damage while standing still, and each time he locked onto apple’s position to attack.

The agile Marksman was incredibly flexible, with this flexibility primarily evident in his ability to output damage while moving. However, this Marksman not only failed to move while attacking but instead took advantage of his distance to output damage while standing still. The Marksman had the longest range in all of Celestial Horizon, giving him ample time to reposition. Once he started harassing, it became quite unbearable for apple.

Apple had no choice but to keep his distance to avoid his skills. But as he tried to create that distance, momo, who was positioned on the outskirts of the array, immediately seized the opportunity. He once again utilized the speed boost from the pet to close in and engage apple up close.

Seeing this, the Array Master quickly came to apple’s aid, but as soon as his array was deployed, momo opted to dodge it and moved away from apple.

He exclaimed, “He dodged so quickly; isn’t he supposed to be getting close to you?”

Apple replied, “Dodging is the right move; give me some output…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was struck squarely by an arrow from the Marksman. “What the heck?!”

The red team’s Marksman, the Sock, maintained the furthest position possible. He consistently kept a distance that allowed him to hit apple while ensuring that apple couldn’t retaliate. When the Array Master pressured momo to retreat, the Sock continued to use his skills against apple, but those skills were executed without any coordination or combo—he simply threw out whatever skills he felt like, attacking randomly and chaotically.

Just as apple stepped out of momo’s range, he was immediately bombarded by a rain of arrows. The most critical part was that the opposing Marksman seemed to have an uncanny ability to predict apple’s movements; no matter how carefully apple calculated the distance to avoid the arrows, he always ended up stepping into the range of the barrage, as if the Marksman had anticipated his actions and was able to land his skills precisely on him.

[This Marksman was way too accurate; why hadn’t I heard of him before!?]
[There were too many Marksmen called Socks.]
[…I feel like the Marksman was just randomly using skills.]
[As a mobile Marksman myself, watching this Marksman’s performance made my head ache.]
[It seems like he predicted apple’s predictions.]
[No, I feel like he was just randomly misusing his skills, and apple just happened to step into them.]
[?]

Apple quickly realized where the problem lay: this was a standard account. Without any healing, they only had their own skills to rely on; they didn’t have any pet skills or other abilities to bail them out. This meant that if their health ran out, it would be game over.

Momo wasn’t as aggressive as he had been at the start, allowing apple a chance to breathe and retreat. However, it seemed like the opposing team had coordinated their efforts; as soon as he stepped back, he was met with a barrage of skills from the Marksman. The key issue was that the opposing Marksman’s skills were particularly erratic and chaotic, forcing apple to make wide evasive movements to avoid the attacks.

Moreover, the duration of the Array Master’s control array was limited. With each evasive maneuver, either the array would expire, or apple would be pushed out of its range, and he would look up to see the Summoner not far from him.

He was getting hit whether he advanced or retreated.

Apple said, “Let’s take out the Marksman first; this is too uncomfortable.”
Hua Kaibuliao was about to go after the Marksman, but after taking just two steps, the distant Marksman seemed to notice something and took off running.
Hua Kaibuliao exclaimed, “…It’s hard to chase him; he’s a mobile type and runs too fast.”
Apple was speechless.
[Things were starting to get uncomfortable.]
[Help, this feeling of being caught between attacks and unable to use skills.]
[The mage profession was starting to tremble.]
[I felt my fists clench for apple.]
[A mage without an output environment… this is too brutal.]
[No matter how strong the array master skill was, it couldn’t compare to being flanked by opponents…]

A Marksman who was quick on his feet and a Summoner who knew how to seize the moment.
The former didn’t need to cast skills at all, while the latter excelled in physical close combat. The magical swordsman’s physical defense was already weak, and now he was being worn down by the two professions, making him lose his temper.
Apple had thought he would rise up, but instead found himself being tossed around like a ball by the two opponents. The key was that he had to dodge; otherwise, he would take damage from the two powerful DPS on the other side. After a few minutes, he not only failed to experience the thrill of dealing damage but was instead almost driven to the brink of a mental breakdown by the opposing team’s balanced rhythm of play.

The skills from the opponents were used with a particular rhythm; when Momo attacked, the Marksman held back. When the Marksman did attack, Momo was nearby, dodging arrays while regenerating mana. During the skill’s downtime, Apple’s health slowly dropped, like being scraped away bit by bit.

His teammate was a support type, able to help control and assist him, but he was only semi-tank. The damage dealt was only half, which posed no threat to those two, and since the other side wasn’t targeting the Array Master, only he ended up taking the hits.

“The Array Master knows how to play, but it’s too limiting,” Kawaii said, rubbing his head as he watched. “In this kind of situation, the best approach is to control one person throughout. Momo is hard to control, but the Marksman is quite weak. If the Array Master plays well, he could continuously control the Marksman.”

CloudTraveller added, “They made a mistake by not targeting the Marksman at the start; they let a ranged turret escape while pulling so much distance.”

ScarletFruit remarked, “Why not? I think the Marksman is playing really well; he’s exceptionally good at escaping.”

HealsFor25000 agreed, “That’s true; the Array Master tried to chase twice and was slipped away both times.”

ZenSlasher said, “I have a bit of an impression of that ‘Socks,’ I encountered him on the battlefield before. He seems to be an acceleration Marksman.” She continued, “The damage he dealt wasn’t high, and his skills were often off-target, but he was particularly good at running. Even when I was at full capacity, I couldn’t keep up with him.”

Everyone was speechless. No wonder.

ClearWind expressed respect, saying, “Apple didn’t die in vain!” In the end, Apple couldn’t hold out for long. He managed to bring Momo’s health down to 30%, but he himself was soon finished as well. Not long after he died, the Array Master also couldn’t last much longer. Both of them ended up lying on the ground; the game lasted 5 minutes, and the red team emerged victorious.

The players from both sides disconnected from the loader and left their seats, while Su Mo left the loader in place, knowing that staff would come to collect it later.

During the handshake segment, Apple saw Momo, who looked slightly shorter than him and seemed harmless, and his slightly outstretched hand trembled a bit.

Su Mo calmly shook his hand and said, “See you at the party tonight.”

Apple replied, “…See you tonight.”

Su Mo smiled at him, then turned to put on his hat, obscuring his clear eyes.

After the match, there was a brief award ceremony. Apple glanced at the terminal and saw a series of schadenfreude emojis in the group chat.

• FireworksAndLanterns: Apple was so miserable!

• ChatMasterWu: Don’t be too confident in life.

• WhatAHugeWatermelon: So embarrassing; don’t tell anyone we’re in the same group.

• MilkMixWithBitterMelon: Everyone outside knows he’s from our group.

Apple was speechless. This group was so hyped! Why didn’t they go out there?

[Is that it!?]
[Five minutes for a casual match is way too short!]
[I feel like it ended just as it was starting.]
[I’m no longer satisfied with just watching; can we have voice chat in casual matches too!?]
[It felt like Apple inexplicably died feeling frustrated.]
[So fierce, yet his eyes are so gentle; I’m dead.]
[Ah, Momo, please take off the hat and the mask, okay!?]
[If I try to compete with UnchainedWanderer for someone, will I get beaten up?]
[After seeing Momo in person, it’s hard to imagine that this person made a whole group of mages jump off a mountain.]

Su Mo received a commemorative summoner badge. Those who won could choose two, so he chose an Array Master badge as well. The award ceremony lasted just two minutes, and the other rewards would be sent to their accounts later. He put the badge into his pocket and quickly walked toward the backstage corridor.
In the distance, he saw a familiar figure.

Yu Zhen didn’t leave; he was waiting for him over there.

The viewers who were waiting for the live-streamed meet-up saw the hat-wearing archdemon receive his rewards, turn without looking back, and walk away. After just a few steps, he suddenly quickened his pace.

Momo walked up to the figure at the entrance of the corridor and handed him the badge he had just received.

The slightly taller man took off Momo’s hat and helped him smooth his hair. As they walked, Momo suddenly pulled down his mask and, while the man wasn’t paying attention, gave him a kiss on the cheek. The next second, they both disappeared from the camera’s view.

Not far behind them, Apple was taken aback: ?

The crowd of explorers exclaimed: !

ScarletFruit shouted, “Fuck!”

ClearWind gasped, “Oh no!”

[What the hell!!! Was that UnchainedWanderer in the corner just now?!]

[Did that action just now mean a kiss?!!]

[I saw it, I saw it!] [That height difference!! I’m satisfied as a fan of the two!] [Main brain!!!! Do I need those pants? Can you zoom in on the camera so I can take a look!]

The camera zoomed in on the list displayed in the middle of the screen, and the main brain’s voice rang out mercilessly, “The list for the third round of the casual match has been released; both players, please confirm on the terminal.”