Chapter Twenty-Two: The Failed Quest for the Scriptures

First and foremost, playing support felt suffocating, and the mention of a boyfriend made Yuan Zhong think of Zhang Shun, stirring up a sense of disappointment. She felt she was often too timid, afraid to confess, even to speak, just like that afternoon in the library—beautiful, yet tinged with regret.

Unstingy was on the first floor and immediately snatched the jungler Zhao Yun.

Yuan You Qianjin Chong glanced at the ID of the previous Zhao Yun player and said, “Hey, who was that—Pear-flavored Apple? Fine, Pear, keep your eyes wide open.”

Pear-flavored Apple chose marksman and said, “Let’s see who carries this round!”

“So sassy,” Unreliable picked tank Lu Bu, “Let’s agree first, no infighting, just kill enemies. At the end, we’ll see who has the most kills.”

Unstingy said, “Wouldn’t that be unfair? The marksman will have support following, two against one?”

Unreliable rolled his eyes, thinking, “Are you just looking for trouble?”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong said, “Doesn’t matter, let him have a head start.”

Pear-flavored Apple said, “I can just tell the support not to follow me.”

“No, no, even if you’re Marco Polo, you won’t survive alone. The premise is, we must win this round. Only if we win does the kill count matter; if we lose, you’re all losers, nothing worth bragging about,” said Unreliable.

“Fair point,” both Yuan You Qianjin Chong and Pear-flavored Apple agreed.

The game began. Zhao Yun quickly cleared a jungle camp. To help, Unstingy finished clearing the minion wave and peeked over.

“No need to come, keep an eye on mid lane and the mage. I’ll secure the river spirit first,” Yuan You Qianjin Chong’s Zhao Yun jumped into the bush beside mid lane.

The river spirit spawned, and the enemy jungler Cao Cao appeared as well. Unstingy used Zhou Yu’s skills to try and block him.

Their own support Zhuang Zhou roamed over. Yuan You Qianjin Chong used Smite to secure the river spirit, then jumped onto Cao Cao. Cao Cao was at half health, standing in Zhou Yu’s fire. Yuan You Qianjin Chong felt confident he could kill him.

Zhuang Zhou, their teammate, was quick to follow up. The enemy mage Da Ji also arrived, casting skills, but couldn’t stop Zhao Yun from finishing off Cao Cao. Yuan You Qianjin Chong claimed first blood.

Unstingy hurried to send a string of likes, “666.”

Zhao Yun appeared to move toward another jungle camp, but after entering the brush, he slowly approached the enemy mage Da Ji.

“Use your skills to push Da Ji out a bit,” Yuan You Qianjin Chong directed.

Unstingy rushed forward, missing his skills, so he had to bait Da Ji, creating an opportunity. Zhuang Zhou was clever too, seeing Zhao Yun lurking in the brush, he circled around to ambush from the side.

Yuan You Qianjin Chong was steady-handed, landing his skills precisely, smoothly securing another kill on Da Ji.

“Pear, did you see that?” Unstingy asked.

Pear-flavored Apple replied, “It’s normal for the jungler to get kills early. There’s still plenty of time left.”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong kept farming as he spoke, “You’re right, keep watching.”

After finishing another jungle camp, Zhao Yun hid in the bush near the development lane, eyeing the enemy marksman. Seeing that Aileen and her support were separated, he struck, instantly killing Aileen.

The support countered, and Cao Cao arrived. Zhao Yun turned and ran. Zhuang Zhou stepped forward, blocking a hit.

“Thanks, brother,” Yuan You Qianjin Chong said.

Unstingy called out, “Pear, you left me to die!”

“Nonsense! I drew out Aileen, she was low on health and had to retreat under tower,” Pear-flavored Apple replied. “I know to prioritize the big picture, unlike you, so stingy.”

Unreliable also got a kill and advised, “Focus and play, less infighting. Stingy, you’ve got minions entering your mid tower, go clear them.”

Zhao Yun was too low, so Yuan You Qianjin Chong recalled to base, healed, then dove back into the jungle, clearing a camp and starting to attack the dragon.

“Da Ji’s coming,” Unstingy warned.

Unreliable said, “Qianjin, keep going for the dragon. I’ll teleport to support.”

Pear-flavored Apple added, “I’m coming too.”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong said, “Marksman, be careful, I saw Cao Cao reveal himself in the brush near you.”

While they talked, Cao Cao unleashed his skills, teaming up with Aileen and their support to fight Zhuang Zhou and Marco Polo.

Yuan You Qianjin Chong said, “Hold on, I’m almost done here.”

The dragon’s health dropped low; Da Ji tried to steal, but Lu Bu appeared, both using Smite to secure the dragon. Then the team fight began—Lu Bu jumped in with his ultimate, Zhao Yun followed closely, Marco Polo’s agility shined as he unleashed a volley of bullets, taking down Aileen and Cao Cao.

Yuan You Qianjin Chong jumped away, then as his skills refreshed, turned back to finish Da Ji, securing another kill. Seeing Marco Polo had left the enemy support low, he stabbed forward and took the last drop of health.

“Thanks!” Yuan You Qianjin Chong said.

“Hmph, you’re good at stealing kills.”

Unreliable said, “There’s still a chance, brother, I’m rooting for you.”

The early game went smoothly. Soon, the system kept announcing: Zhao Yun killed Da Ji, Zhao Yun killed Cao Cao, Zhao Yun killed Aileen...

Before ten minutes had passed, they were pressing the enemy’s high ground.

Unreliable was delighted, “Haha, you’re all amazing, I get to win effortlessly again.”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong said, “This round is comfortable for you. Their team fights are weak, no one’s bothering you. Keep pushing, break their high ground.”

A beefy Lu Bu was terrifying, tanking upfront, and with Zhuang Zhou disrupting team fights, Marco Polo could safely unleash his ultimate. Yuan You Qianjin Chong carefully timed his entry, ensuring he finished off low-health enemies.

By seventeen minutes, Zhao Yun had eleven kills, three more than Marco Polo.

Yuan You Qianjin Chong said, “This round is almost over. Though the kill count is a bit less than expected, at least we won.”

“Let’s have another team fight, don’t hit the tower yet,” Pear-flavored Apple said.

“Are you kidding? This is a tower-pushing game,” Unreliable had Lu Bu smack the tower hard, seeing Zhao Yun and Marco Polo standing idle, he yelled, “Hit the tower, you two idiots!”

“You blockhead!” Yuan You Qianjin Chong and Unstingy said in unison.

Pear-flavored Apple laughed, “I sympathize with you, Unreliable.”

“Thanks, then please help hit the tower,” Unreliable’s voice was full of grievance. Wanting to win a game, how could it be so frustrating!

“But I don’t want to end it so soon. Let’s wait for them to revive, see if we can get three more kills.”

Seriously! Unreliable accidentally had Lu Bu tank the tower to death.

The enemy revived and launched a counterattack. With one less tank, Zhao Yun and Marco Polo rushed forward for kills, only to be wiped out by the enemy team.

“Heaven and earth, have mercy,” Unreliable was nearly in tears, “Isn’t steady happiness sweet?”

Unstingy said, “Don’t wail, if you’d listened to my master and didn’t hit the tower, you wouldn’t have died.”

“You, you, you—thirteen points!” Unreliable started mumbling, “If we lose this game, what’s the point of having more kills!”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong asked Unstingy, “What’s up with Unreliable? So pessimistic? At most they’ll push to second tower, how could we lose?”

Unstingy said, “Master, you don’t know. Before teaming up with you, he had over a dozen losses in a row.”

Pear-flavored Apple said, “That bad?”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong said, “That terrible?”

“You’re exaggerating, Qianjin! I’m not that bad!” Unreliable shouted. “It’s a system issue. I won too much before, so now my matched teammates are weak and the opponents strong.”

“If you know that, stop playing ranked. Just lose a couple matches in normal mode,” Pear-flavored Apple said.

Yuan You Qianjin Chong said, “How silly.”

Unreliable was utterly exasperated.

“Alright, alright, let’s fight. Lu Bu jumps out, Fish moves forward, I’ll stab their marksman, Marco Polo show off your skills,” Yuan You Qianjin Chong said.

Both teams engaged rapidly. Lu Bu split the battlefield, Zhao Yun instantly took out the marksman, Zhuang Zhou’s mass cleanse kept Zhao Yun alive on a sliver, dodging Da Ji’s kill. Yuan You Qianjin Chong was meticulous, jumping diagonally to dodge skills, leaving the fight safely. Marco Polo unleashed a full ultimate, wiping out three enemies; the last was killed by Lu Bu’s Sky Splitter.

The enemy team was wiped out. It looked fast, but was exceptionally brilliant.

“Beautiful!” Unreliable grew excited, “Attack, attack!”

Zhao Yun left the fountain, halfway across, the enemy crystal had already been destroyed.

“I’m turning this segment into a video—a perfect team fight!” Unreliable rubbed his hands. “Almost professional level.”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong set down his phone, massaging his fingers, “You’re exaggerating again.”

Pear-flavored Apple checked the final stats, “I still lost.”

“It’s just one kill, no big deal,” Yuan You Qianjin Chong said.

After a few seconds of silence, Pear-flavored Apple said, “Your Zhao Yun is better than mine.”

Used to banter and rivalry in game, Yuan You Qianjin Chong felt a bit embarrassed hearing this, “You played well too, I was just joking before.”

“You two have become friends through fighting, both my fans. Why not be friends?” Unreliable said.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a fan,” Yuan You Qianjin Chong yawned. “It’s late, I need to rest, my hands are sore.” With that, she exited the room.

Unstingy followed and asked, “Is it your hands?”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong said, “It’s fine, just a bit sore. Played too long today, I wonder how Unreliable manages daily?”

“Just gets used to it,” Unstingy replied.

“And those pro players, do they ever get sick of it?”

“Probably, but as long as you’re okay. Go rest.”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong thought for a moment and suddenly asked, “Unstingy, what do guys usually talk about?”

Unstingy paused, clearly not understanding the question.

“I mean, for example, when you play games with Unreliable, do you chat? What do you talk about?”

“I used to play with him. Mostly he complained about my poor gameplay, always directing me.”

“Anything besides game stuff?” Yuan You Qianjin Chong was persistent.

“Hmm, let me think.” Unstingy tried to recall if he’d ever really chatted with Unreliable. They really couldn’t find common ground! “We often kill the conversation.”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong felt a bit disappointed. She wanted to learn from him, see what guys usually talked about.

“You asking for a reason?” Unstingy said. “Tell me, maybe I can give you some advice.”

The truth was, she didn’t know how to talk to her crush. But how could she tell Unstingy that? Yuan You Qianjin Chong simply said, “Nothing, I was just curious.”

Unstingy replied, “Oh, actually I’m not good at chatting either. When gaming, we just talk about the game. Otherwise, if there’s something to say, we say it; if not, we stay silent.”

Yuan You Qianjin Chong said, “Really? You don’t sound like someone who can’t talk in game.”

“In game, it’s rare to meet a master,” Unstingy said. “By the way, I noticed you like playing support, so I’ll practice marksman next time.”

Qi Leyu thought Yuan You Qianjin Chong avoided marksman because he liked using marksman himself, so she left it for him.

Yuan Zhong didn’t catch the meaning in Unstingy’s words—she didn’t care what he played, so she said, “Alright, next time I’ll teach you. Marksman isn’t hard.”

Qi Leyu heard Yuan You Qianjin Chong speaking while yawning, so he didn’t say more. The two exchanged goodnights and logged off separately.