Powerful Investment Chapter 17: Embrace

Chapter 17: Embrace

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

Ji Jin left the MOE team area and went straight backstage. He hadn’t come out just to avoid Lu Yao and Jiao Yue—he actually wanted to talk to Cheng Pian.

When they stepped off the stage earlier, he had noticed a trace of tears in the corner of Cheng Pian’s eyes, and the boy still hadn’t returned to the team since. After all, Cheng Pian was a new player in the league, and his mental endurance might not be as strong as those of them who had been through countless battles. And having chosen to go up against someone like Lu Yao, only to end up with such a performance, it had probably dealt a heavy blow to his confidence.

Sure enough, Ji Jin found Cheng Pian in a quiet corner backstage, secretly wiping away tears.

The seventeen-year-old looked tall but slender, still carrying the youthful awkwardness of a teenager. Even when crying, he still cared about his pride—choosing a secluded spot, facing the wall to secretly shed tears.

Ji Jin’s footsteps were soft, careful not to startle the boy in front of him.

He couldn’t quite remember if he had ever cried like that back then—but probably not. He had been so poor at the time that survival was all he had room for. He never had the time to cry; every moment he could get near a computer, he spent playing.

He remembered his first time playing in a professional tournament—he was the only one in the entire match who didn’t even have a skin.

Although skins didn’t significantly affect game mechanics, Legend Reappearance was still a game—and it needed to make money. Good skins greatly improved the feel of skills. At the pro level, where everyone was at the top of their game, even the slightest advantage could make a difference. That’s why everyone used skins.

Back then, many people believed that if you didn’t have a skin, you clearly weren’t a top-tier player.

Although Cheng Pian was feeling down, his instincts as an Alpha were still sharp—he quickly sensed that Ji Jin was standing behind him.

“God Ji… what are you doing here?” Cheng Pian’s eyes were red, and he had already wiped away all his tears with his sleeve.

For an Alpha, he still looked surprisingly cute when crying, Ji Jin thought to himself.

Just like someone else back then—just as cute.

“I figured you’d be feeling bad after losing, so I came to comfort you.” Ji Jin leaned casually against the wall. Most people would avoid mentioning painful things when trying to comfort someone—but not him. He jumped right in and brought up Cheng Pian’s loss, which sounded more like rubbing salt in the wound than comfort.

Cheng Pian was momentarily stunned, then mumbled a quiet “thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” Ji Jin shook his head, eyes on Cheng Pian. “I haven’t even started yet.”

Cheng Pian blinked, then realized Ji Jin meant he hadn’t started comforting him yet.

“I don’t know what your reasons were, but you were way too impulsive tonight,” Ji Jin said, idly rubbing the hem of his shirt. “You know there’s a skill gap between you and Lu Yao. Challenging him like that wasn’t a smart choice. But if your goal was to learn from him, then that’s fine. Still, you should’ve chosen your best hero to test him.”

“But I…” Cheng Pian began, then trailed off, ashamed. Was too reckless—he couldn’t bring himself to say the rest.

“Yes, you were too reckless.” Ji Jin chuckled. “But you also showed guts. If Lu Yao had let his guard down a bit, you might’ve caught an opportunity to turn things around.”

“Don’t look at how badly you lost—it really came down to just one or two details.”

“Don’t rush. Don’t be impulsive. You can beat him one day.”

“Really…?” Cheng Pian sounded doubtful. He was afraid Ji Jin was only saying that to comfort him.

This was Lu Yao they were talking about—the Lu Yao who, in his rookie year, had pulled IKW out of the slump left behind by Ji Jin’s retirement. The Lu Yao who took them to the finals in his second year, and won the championship in his third.

Cheng Pian had challenged him tonight, yes—but he hadn’t actually believed he could win.

“Of course it’s true,” Ji Jin said softly. “You’ll beat him soon. Winter season’s just around the corner.”

Cheng Pian’s mood brightened all of a sudden. He nodded vigorously, like he was trying to prove something, and then, all at once, threw his arms around Ji Jin—like a big, affectionate puppy seeking comfort.

Ji Jin couldn’t help but laugh, reaching up to ruffle Cheng Pian’s hair like he would do to Ji Xingxing.

“Come on, let’s go back. Everyone’s waiting for you.” Ji Jin patted Cheng Pian’s back, signaling that the hug had gone on long enough.

Cheng Pian hurriedly let go, flustered, and got ready to head back with Ji Jin.

Because of the unexpected hug, Ji Jin’s clothes were a bit rumpled. The cuff of his sleeve had also flipped up, revealing his fair wrist. He casually straightened out his clothes and left backstage with Cheng Pian.

Neither of them noticed the strange “click” that sounded nearby.

When the two returned to the MOE team area, Lu Yao and Jiao Yue had already tactfully left. Ji Xingxing had once again been settled into Zhao Ze’s arms.

Ji Xingxing was extremely unhappy with this arrangement. With a pouty face, he lay across Zhao Ze’s lap, poking at his dinosaur toy in protest. As soon as he saw Ji Jin return, he brightened up like a little squirrel and bounced toward him.

“Baby missed Daddy!” Ji Xingxing clung to Ji Jin’s leg with a pitiful expression, as if someone had bullied him.

Ji Jin scooped him up and planted a noisy kiss on his cheek. Only then did little Xingxing nod in satisfaction.

By then, the first day of the All-Star games had ended, with just the final day left. Everyone began packing up their belongings to leave, with Zhao Ze in charge of counting heads.

“Why are we missing one? Who hasn’t come back yet?” Zhao Ze did a headcount and noticed someone was missing.

“It’s Alex—he went to the restroom just now and hasn’t come back yet,” a young player called out, then pointed toward a small door at the back. “He’s back now!”

Zhao Ze counted again to confirm, and only then did he lead the team out to return to the hotel.

The next night was the All-Star solo matches and the group match.

The solo match allowed the top three All-Star players to pick their opponents for a one-on-one. Since the team match was happening later, they got right down to business at the start. The host invited Ji Jin, Lu Yao, and Naisi onto the stage to choose their opponents.

The first to choose was, of course, Ji Jin. He glanced at Lu Yao beside him, then at the barrage of comments on the large screen. In a soft voice, he said, “I pick Gentleman from IKW.”

In that instant, the entire stadium fell silent—then exploded into chaos. The fans’ screams nearly blew the roof off.

Even from the stage, the shouts and curses from fans arguing could be heard.

“You’ve got some nerve challenging Brick! Do you even have any shame?”

“So what? They’re all pro players—why can’t he challenge him? Are you saying Brick can’t beat God Ji?”

More vulgar insults erupted from both sides, wave after wave.

The esports community had always been difficult, and when God Ji’s fans clashed with Lu Yao’s die-hard supporters, it was a guaranteed bloodbath.

Despite the chaos below, the two on stage remained composed. Only Naisi looked baffled, glancing at Ji Jin as if he couldn’t understand why he suddenly wanted to challenge Lu Yao.

He was one of the few in the industry who had a good relationship with Ji Jin. In friendly matches like these, most people would just pick someone they were close with and take it easy.

But those two? They were actually about to start a fight in a show match.

Before the crowd had finished booing, the host nervously stepped in: “According to the rules of the solo showcase, players chosen for the solo spotlight cannot be challenged. God Ji, besides Brick and Naisi, you can challenge anyone—but those two are off-limits.”

The host spoke very cautiously, as if worried about angering the fans or offending the two gaming giants. Truthfully, this rule hadn’t originally existed, but as soon as the league president, Xu Jinyi, saw that Ji Jin and Lu Yao were in the top three, he immediately added it.

Otherwise, what should’ve been a cheerful All-Star event could’ve turned into a public flame war.

Ji Jin raised an eyebrow and instinctively glanced at Lu Yao.

If that was the case… didn’t it mean their bet couldn’t be carried out?

Lu Yao also looked over at Ji Jin right away, his eyes full of grievance—soft and pitiful like a small, adorable animal. Ji Jin felt his heart skip a beat just seeing it.

“Then I’ll challenge… Queen from IKW,” Ji Jin said with a shrug, his expression one of helpless resignation. He casually called out Yu Huanhuan.

Yu Huanhuan, being called out, trembled as she stepped onto the stage with a look of utter despair. She was a support, for crying out loud! A support! Could God Ji have the decency to challenge someone else?

Of course, she didn’t dare say that out loud. All she could do was silently enter the match room and pick a mage she was more comfortable with—one that was easier to survive on.

What she didn’t expect was for God Ji to also pick a utility support!

A utility support, by definition, didn’t need much gold to be effective.

Ji Jin chose a functional support hero—each of the four abilities had minor control effects, but the damage was low.

Yu Huanhuan was overjoyed, thinking she finally had a shot. Just as she prepared to charge forward and go toe-to-toe with Ji Jin, she got juggled, poked, and shoved straight under the enemy turret.

Yu Huanhuan: ????

And then—

[First Blood!]

[Rampage!]

[Killing Spree!]

…

In just seven minutes, Yu Huanhuan was utterly defeated.

The livestream comment feed outside the match room exploded once again.

 

Author’s Note:

Lu Yao: My happiness is gone forever. I can’t fight God Ji, and I can’t make him spend my rut period with me QAQ

God Ji: First I have to comfort the kid, now I have to coax the big one, and I even have to offer myself to comfort the kid’s dad. Being an omega is so hard.

Ji Xingxing: Waaah Daddy you finally came back! I don’t want to be with weird uncles anymore!

 

 

 

 

 

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