Powerful Investment Chapter 10: The All-Star Game

Chapter 10: The All-Star Game

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Lu Yao had a promotional event to attend today. As the captain of the champion team, with increasing sponsorships, there were more promotional demands to meet.

Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise.

The young man in the room sat lazily, leaning back in his chair looking indifferent. His slender, pale fingers—usually so graceful on the keyboard—were now idly tapping on the table.

The tear mole by his eye looked like a small hook, enchanting him.

His God Ji was simply too handsome.

Lu Yao looked up at the conference hall and ended up standing by the door, not leaving. Ke Yu was right behind him and dared not urge Lu Yao to leave.

“Why ‘happy to get second place’?” The reporter was momentarily confused.

Ji Jin was surprised the junior reporter reacted so slowly, paused, then answered in a very strange tone, “MOE and IKW are rivals, so I couldn’t just wish him to win the championship.”

The junior reporter was so shocked by the reply that he sat down blushing.

But a sharp-eyed reporter followed Ji Jin’s gaze back and just happened to see Lu Yao standing at the doorway. Instantly, the reporters seemed energized; some magazine and newspaper reporters who had come with extra personnel went straight to interview Lu Yao at the door.

Those who couldn’t hear clearly only caught Lu Yao saying he looked forward to facing Ji Jin.

When he said this, Lu Yao’s eyes burned brightly, but his gaze remained fixed on Ji Jin.

The remaining reporters exchanged looks. After Ji Jin’s remarks, few dared to ask sensitive questions related to him. He appeared lazy and indifferent, yet his skin was thick to an extreme degree, slippery like an eel, which was frustrating. Also, if anyone claimed he lied, he really hadn’t; every sentence was reasonable.

In the end, Ji Jin won overwhelmingly, and the reporters left dejectedly.

Once the press conference ended, Zhao Ze took charge of clearing the venue and settling with the hotel. The others prepared to take the car back. Ji Xingxing stayed in the car, temporarily looked after by the team assistant. Ji Jin was the last to come out, but before he could leave, an unexpected visitor blocked his way.

He had only wanted to use the restroom but got trapped inside. Ji Jin looked at the person before him, feeling his luck had truly run out.

“Why did little Lu come here?” Ji Jin greeted normally, then instinctively took a step back.

This was a public place; usually, Alphas and Omegas wore pheromone suppressants or bracelets to avoid scent overflow, which was basic courtesy.

So Ji Jin didn’t smell Lu Yao’s pheromones—Lu Yao probably didn’t have any.

But based on previous physical changes, Ji Jin didn’t dare get too close to Lu Yao. Heat cycles were like a sword of Damocles hanging over his head, forcing him to be cautious.

“I wanted to ask about my last question… Have you really thought it over, brother?” Lu Yao smiled softly and stepped forward.

The bathroom door had been locked by Lu Yao, and a “Maintenance” sign was hung outside. The hotel had many restrooms, so normally no one else would come in.

“Brother…” This form of address made Ji Jin’s pupils contract sharply. This was the new name Lu Yao used after becoming closer; when he first joined the team, Lu Yao still cautiously called him senior.

That night three years ago, Lu Yao had called him “brother” repeatedly in a hoarse voice before mercilessly possessing him completely.

Ji Jin could never forget that night.

The memory quickly awakened Ji Jin’s body, but due to the suppressing bracelet, he only felt a slight warmth.

“I know brother isn’t very willing, but the child is innocent and needs better conditions,” Lu Yao continued stepping forward. “And brother’s body… what if something goes wrong during a match?”

“With me, everything can be solved, brother.” Lu Yao’s voice seemed magical, unknowingly making one forget everything else. He reached Ji Jin and Ji Jin didn’t notice in time.

And the truth was… Lu Yao was right. Ji Jin understood the logic. As an Omega, he couldn’t escape the pain of heat cycles.

“I won’t stop you from gaming or competing professionally. On the contrary, I can help stabilize your condition, brother.” Lu Yao stood before Ji Jin and tentatively wrapped him in an embrace.

That moment of pure comfort felt even better than exercising.

He kissed Ji Jin’s forehead gently. “Brother… give yourself a chance.”

The kiss made Ji Jin tremble slightly. The next moment, he broke free, looked up intently at Lu Yao.

The young man’s eyes still shone brightly.

Ji Jin felt himself wavering.

When leaving the restroom, Ji Jin’s legs were weak. From the moment he got into the car for the return trip, he held Ji Xingxing silently, lost in thought.

Ji Xingxing knew daddy worked hard to earn milk money, so he stayed quiet in his father’s arms. But because he hadn’t had milk for a while, Ji Xingxing stared at Ji Jin’s chest for a long time, dazed.

That afternoon, an article titled “God Ji Returns, IKW’s Lu Yao Declares War on Former ‘Enemy’” was published.

Both parties told their teammates the word “enemy” was seriously inaccurate. However, God Ji’s fans, Lu Yao’s fans, and IKW fans fought in the forums.

It even affected the recently started All-Star Game voting.

*

Although Naisi had specially come to find Ji Jin to hang out, because he had just joined MOE and urgently needed to get with the team, MOE kept postponing his time off.

Naisi originally came to City B for tourism but eventually switched careers to become Ji Xingxing’s personal nanny. Holding hands with Zhao Ze, they both stepped onto the crooked path of raising a child—and there was no turning back.

It wasn’t until the brief holiday ended that Naisi reluctantly left City B.

The main reason was the once-a-year—

All-Star Game voting.

*

The All-Star Game was an entertainment match held between the Spring and Autumn seasons, mainly meant to fill the summer break and consolidate the game’s fanbase.

Voting started after the Spring season ended. All active players could enter the voting pool. The top ten voted players became the stars of the year and could participate in the All-Star Game.

In previous years, although voting competition was fierce, everyone crazily campaigned everywhere. Even people outside the circle knew that every year during this time, esports players would go wild for over a week.

But this year was different. A player surnamed Ji, who had retired for three years, suddenly appeared in the voting pool and immediately stirred up a storm.

*

First were Ji Jin’s loyal fans, who were extremely happy and started voting without hesitation. Not only did they vote themselves, but they also got friends and family to vote.

All-Star voting was real-name verified, and each person could only vote once a day. Ji Jin’s fan forums were full of cheering words. “You vote, I vote, tomorrow God Ji will debut.” “If you don’t vote and I don’t vote, God Ji will lose his swagger.”

Next came the MOE team fans. Last year, the team had several standout performances, and the legendary God Ji was sure to add even more glory. Also, because most of the team were newcomers who hadn’t won awards, if they didn’t vote for Ji Jin, MOE would end up with no star players.

However, just these two groups of fans alone wouldn’t have caused a storm. The scariest factor was Ji Jin’s reputation in the esports community.

The CYW team was a veteran team with strong ability, but every professional league season with Ji Jin present, it ended in a narrow defeat in the finals. Even after Ji Jin retired, CYW was pushed to third place by LPF several times.

Since then, CYW fans hated Ji Jin with a deep, unrelenting blood feud. While Ji Jin was still competing professionally, some crazed fans even bought out LED screens on the Pearl Tower and Pearl Park Ferris wheel in City B, continuously playing videos declaring IKW would lose and CYW would win.

Even worse, after CYW lost one night, the Legend Reappearance forum saw over ten thousand posts of the two teams’ fans verbally abusing each other, leading moderators to ban over a thousand IDs.

There were five or six other teams with fans who hated Ji Jin like this.

Finally, there were the IKW and Lu Yao fans. These two fan groups overlapped heavily. Ji Jin’s retirement had hurt them, and he had conflicts with their loyal and never-give-up current captain. Now, Ji Jin’s ID in the voting pool was MOE . KING, which felt like a betrayal to the fans who swore to make sure Ji Jin would not get into the All-Star Game.

They even cooperated with their mortal enemies, CYW fans, to suppress Ji Jin’s votes. This led to a popular meme—

“If you don’t vote for Ji Jin, we are brothers from different fathers and mothers.jpg”

But despite their words, the online comments said one thing while their actions said otherwise.

 

When voting ended, Ji Jin’s name was high and mighty at the top of the All-Star voting leaderboard.

No matter how hard second-place Lu Yao tried, he couldn’t catch up.

On the night the results were announced, forum players all exclaimed they felt like they died on the spot.

 

Author’s Note:

Xiao Lu: God Ji is so handsome, radiant! I’m your fanboy, I want to sleep with you!

Xiao Lu’s fans: No way!!! Kiddo, you can’t! No no no, I don’t care, you two are mortal enemies!

God Ji’s haters: “If you don’t vote for Ji Jin, we are brothers from different fathers and mothers.jpg”

All-Star player rankings: Saying no with the mouth, but the body is very honest.

 

 

 

 

 

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