Lin Meng had never played games with Yu Mo before.
After joining Kars, she was a substitute, while Yu Mo was a starter, always integrating with his formal teammates, training and competing, while she could only watch quietly among the trainees.
She tried hard to keep up with Yu Mo's pace, wanting to walk alongside him. Even if they couldn't be side by side, she wanted to touch his shadow.
But the fact was that she struggled while Yu Mo pushed even harder, both running frantically on the path of competition.
So it's true that in esports there's no love, only winning and whether or not you can win the championship.
One day, Lin Meng finally got a chance to prove herself, but it came at the cost of Yu Mo's substitution. Her glory was short-lived, and she missed Yu Mo by such a close distance.
It's really ironic.
Sitting between Yu Mo and PANDA, Lin Meng was in the center of five people, with Lao Mai on the other side and Lu Luo on the outside.
This seating arrangement was decided after Yu Mo and Xiao Xingheng discussed it. Initially, Lin Meng felt very resistant because she didn't want to disrupt the team's communication structure, and she wasn't sure if Yu Mo sitting beside her would affect her performance.
At the end of the day, she was a physically and mentally healthy young maiden, not some saintly figure! What if she lacked self-control—
Of course, Lin Meng wouldn't say these reasons out loud. After all, she was known for her aloof and icy queen persona. Therefore, she rolled her eyes and said, "I want to sit on the outside, PANDA, let's switch."
PANDA nodded obediently, "Alright."
Yu Mo interjected, "No switching."
Lin Meng: "?"
Lin Meng: "I play as a support for the orphans."
Yu Mo: "How come you are proud of being an orphan's support?"
Lin Meng: "..."
Wait a minute, aren't you asking me to help your E-team play a friendly match? Why is your attitude still so arrogant!"
Lin Meng glared fiercely at Yu Mo, trying to use a fierce look to teach him to mind his attitude, but Yu Mo, on the other hand, completely ignored it, very coldly maintaining his role as their instructor: "Just sit here and follow my orders later."
Lin Meng patiently argued: "I play pretty well when I have the freedom to express myself-"
Yu Mo said: "You can play even better if you follow my orders."
Lin Meng instantly became angry: "Can't I just be an orphan's support?"
"No," Yu Mo glanced at her and said calmly: "You can't be an orphan with me around."
Lin Meng was suddenly stunned.
She stared at Yu Mo, trying hard not to dwell on his hidden meaning.
"You..." her voice trembled imperceptibly, "Are you really..."
Seeing these two about to start a quarrel over a seating issue, Lin Meng was just too stubborn, facing Yu Mo even more fiercely than a teenager in puberty. The rest of the E-team had never seen such a situation and were completely confused.
"The star god used to sit next to the captain when playing support," Old Mai said quietly.
"But I'm not the star god," Lin Meng said.
"But you are the healer," Xiao Xingheng patiently persuaded her, "The healer is crucial and must support the entire team. Silence is the commander, so it's more convenient for you to sit next to the commander and cooperate."
Lin Meng crossed her arms and remained silent, looking sulky like a puffed-up pufferfish.
Yu Mo stared at how his little stubborn had grown up for a while, then suddenly started laughing.
"Don't you want me to see what you look like when you're playing?" Yu Mo raised an eyebrow, with a hint of mischievous defiance in his tone, "Or do you have some quirks when you're playing, afraid of me seeing them?"
Lin Meng: "..."
Ah Lu: "Yeah, when Panda duo played, he liked to pick his feet, so the captain wouldn't let Panda sit beside him!"
Panda: "You jerk, can you show me some face in front of the lady?!"
Lin Meng: "..."
She looked at Yu Mo, her breathing becoming more and more rapid.
Yu Mo propped his chin lazily, gazing back, and then, as though it wasn't enough, he reached out and flicked Lin Meng's head: "It's okay, the captain doesn't mind your quirks. Whatever weird habits you have, the captain doesn't mind."
"You are the one with weird habits!" Lin Meng finally blurted out in anger, "Do you even have the energy to watch me play?"
"My peripheral vision is very sensitive," Yu Mo bent two fingers and poked his own eyes, then gestured to Lin Meng, smiling slightly, "Don't underestimate a man who plays as a sniper."
Lin Meng was instantly speechless.
Is this guy a compulsive flirt who will die if he doesn't make a suggestive comment?
She licked her lips, covered her burning ears with her hand, gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, I'll sit. I'm not afraid of you. Remember to engrave my heroic figure into your mind during my battle!"
-After a difficult seating process, setting up peripheral devices, and adjusting the key settings, the broadcaster turned on the recording and audio equipment, and Lin Meng also restrained her behavior.
She put on the headset, isolating herself from the outside world, feeling as if she had been thrown into a closed small space, and only her breathing and heartbeat were infinitely amplified.
How do I play as a support...?
Her heart rate increased uncontrollably, soaring all the way to a suffocating sensation, and she forced herself to take a few deep breaths, involuntarily looking at the man sitting on her right.
Yu Mo was concentrating on logging into the game, completely unaware of her furtive glances.
From this angle, she could only see the man's profile, outlined by black hair, a seemingly abstract and realistic profile.
It had to be said that Yu Mo wearing a headset was really handsome.
Lin Meng couldn't help but look at him a few more times, then turned to look at the man's hand on the keyboard.
Long and somewhat feminine fingers, but they were agile and strong, with keyboard strokes that were both graceful and powerful.
This man really was an e-sports player.
What kind of person deserves an e-sports player?
A strong one!
Yes, only the strong deserve it.
-Yu Mo did not fail to notice the burning gaze from the girl, but during the match, he would become even more focused. He logged into the game first, then looked back at Lin Meng.
He had originally wanted to give anxious Lin Meng some comforting hints, but Lin Meng didn't give him the chance. The girl suddenly nodded resolutely, without even making eye contact with Yu Mo, and quickly turned her head.
Yu Mo's gaze missed, feeling a little baffled, and he didn't know what kind of emotional journey Lin Meng had just experienced. He only saw Lin Meng logging into an unknown BOD account, then relaxing in her chair.
But it was actually good that Lin Meng didn't feel any pressure. Yu Mo didn't dwell on it any longer, and at that moment, the host finished introducing both teams, and as the coach, Xiao Xingheng went out to shake hands with the coach of the Saint Laurent team.
The match began.
"Friendship first, competition second." Yu Mo smiled and locked in his role, intertwining his fingers and beginning to limber up.
Lin Meng snorted disdainfully through her nose, expressing her contempt to the fullest.
Yu Mo glanced sideways. "What's this? Any objections to the captain's words, Montage team members?"
On the other side, Pan Da nearly sprayed snot when he burst out laughing.
Lin Meng seemed to have temporarily developed a toleration for Yu Mo's teasing, slowly responding as a quartermaster, "...No objections, the captain is right in everything he said."
Lao Mai involuntarily shrank his neck after finishing locking in his profession. "...Is it just my imagination? Why do I feel like they have more to say than what they are actually saying?"
A Lu said, "It's not your imagination."
Pan Da added, "Yeah, it's not your imagination."
At this point, both teams had finalized their professional configurations, and after the map overlay was completed, Lao Mai, as the legendary vanguard captain, took the lead and ventured out into the vast and desolate wilderness, opening up a relatively safe field of vision for his teammates in the border jungle.
Lin Meng asked, "I have a question: will this stupid match be edited for soundbites?"
Yu Mo's voice sounded like he was laughing, "Montage team member, are you just realizing this now? Isn't it a bit too late?"
Through gritted teeth, Lin Meng threatened, "Instructor, if you call my full name again, I will probably—"
Yu Mo interrupted, "You won't be able to heal me, will you?" He made a clicking sound and shook his head. "Then I am truly pitiful. Having the most powerful output but can't even get a single heal as a support." As he spoke, he unexpectedly took a shot and sniped the sniper of Saint Laurent.
There was a burst of cheers from the audience.
Lin Meng was flushed with embarrassment by his teasing, but at this moment, she had to admit that Yu Mo's marksmanship was truly extraordinary. Under Yu Mo's gaze, the sniper of Saint Laurent was practically exposed, and had to retreat to the rear under Pan Da's suppression.
Saint Laurent's team's tactic was to have the sniper assist the artillery in reaping, but if the sniper couldn't deal damage, the artillery, Timi, wouldn't be able to do much. Their strengths couldn't be brought to bear, and Team E quickly gained the upper hand, aggressively pushing forward and crushing the enemy's formation in their territory.
Professional players were indeed different from ordinary players. Their maneuvers and positioning were unmatched, and the E team, which had won championships in the past, had an extremely harmonious cooperation, knowing how to share the damage and avoid it. As a support, Lin Meng didn't feel much pressure. The pace was extremely slow and she calmly provided healing and shields. She didn't need to think much; she felt like she was truly being carried along.
Thirteen minutes into the match, Pan Da made the first mistake.
It was probably a miscalculation in the number of bombs during a bombardment round. When Yu Mo told him to clear the trench on the other side, he stopped halfway through, giving the enemy an opportunity to land several shots on him.
Pan Da's health dropped instantly.
Lin Meng felt a familiar sense of urgency, which she actually liked. Her brain was working at a high speed, and her muscles were tense, responding precisely.
Lin Meng's calculations were just right. The E team didn't need to retreat, just needed to wait out a brief cooldown period. She could take one shot from the sniper of Saint Laurent and still have her shield for Pan Da to block another round. This time was enough for Pan Da to fully replenish his health and launch a counterattack with artillery. Even though all her abilities were on cooldown, the opponent didn't have a chance to attack for the time being.
Thinking quickly, she ran towards Pan Da.
Just as she was about to give Pan Da a strong tonic, he suddenly and without warning retreated.
The artillery ran towards cover without hesitation, quickly increasing the distance between them and Lin Meng, beyond the range of Lin Meng's items.
Lin Meng's heart skipped a beat, her scalp tightening. She didn't have time to think about the reason behind it. Hesitating at this time was akin to waiting for death. She insisted on running towards Pan Da, enduring a continuous bombardment from Saint Laurent's vanguard along the way. She managed to get close to Pan Da and used a mass healing spray to raise both their health bars, thus averting a tragedy where they would have both been taken down by Timi.
Although she temporarily saved herself and Pan Da, the mass healing item had a long cooldown, and for the next few minutes, the entire team had to avoid encounters with Timi.
Lin Meng's palms were sweaty. She knew this was just the beginning.
As expected, in the last fifteen minutes, a series of similar mistakes occurred, ultimately leading to an outbreak of a team fight in the canyon. Timi racked up four kills, and only Yu Mo from Team E barely escaped, but he was eventually pinned down by the enemy's sniper right at the team's home base.
They lost.
Lin Meng removed her headset and saw Pan Da exhale deeply, rubbing his head slightly agitatedly. No one in Team E said anything, and they gradually stood up from their gaming chairs and left the soundproof glass room.
Suddenly, Yu Mo reached out and covered her ears.
Yu Mo remarked, "I tried to make you win, yet you just wanted to sleep me."
Lin Meng replied, "I'll let you have a game."