National destiny: Global tower climbing skills have decreased by 10,000 times.

Chapter 129 makes a dazzling debut.

"The lottery results are in!"

"What was the result?" Several team members immediately gathered around.

"Yes—the Hundred-Team!" the team member shouted, clearly disappointed.

Upon hearing this result, everyone was immediately disappointed. Originally, the competition in Fushan Province was controlled by the five major teams led by Xiang Chu, and they, as second-tier teams, had not participated in the competition.

Now that they finally have a chance to perform, they've been told they have to face hundreds of teams, which means they'll be eliminated in the very first match.

"What's the point of competing? Let's just go through the motions and admit defeat," one of the team members said.

"Fukuyama already had few teams, and they even merged the five major teams together, with Xingyuan himself leading the team."

"This provincial competition is just for them. Is there any point in small teams like us even participating?"

"Have you heard? Just recently, the line of people coming to sponsor them stretched all the way outside the gate; the gate was almost bursting at the seams," another person said.

"All that preparation this year was for nothing," one person sighed.

Several people chattered amongst themselves, sighing and groaning. Some threw down their mice and slumped into their chairs.

Liu Huazi remained seated at the table, silent, his Longhua cigarette still in his mouth, occasionally exhaling puffs of thick smoke. He was Xiang Chu's close friend. Back when Xiang Chu was around, these second-rate teams, though unable to participate in major tournaments, could still receive some benefits every year.

Benefits include, but are not limited to, leftovers from sponsors, subsidies from associations, and opportunities for exhibition matches.

In general, the five major teams get the lion's share of the spoils, while the others get the scraps, living a comfortable life.

Now that the five major teams have fallen, Xiang Chu himself has been forced into manual labor. The order has been broken, and Bai Lian is now the only dominant force; they don't even get a share of the spoils.

Liu Huazi never had a good impression of Xingyuan. During the previous "Warrior Development" incident, their team was criticized by netizens for being "conservative" and "discriminatory against certain roles" because they refused to recruit warrior players as usual, which caused them considerable repercussions.

They were only able to return to normal after the authorities intervened and suppressed the protests. He still remembers that this whole thing was caused by Xingyuan's article, which is why he's never had a good impression of him.

Now, another thing has happened: Fushan has undergone a major reshuffle, with Xingyuan becoming the dominant force. His good brother Xiang Chu has fallen from power, and he has begun to feel some disgust towards Xingyuan.

"Captain Liu, what should we do?" a team member asked, coming over to ask.

Liu Huazi didn't answer, but took another puff of his cigarette and shook his head.

He knew this was an opportunity to bring down Xingyuan, but lacking both strength and resources, he could only suppress his anger.

Just then, the manager of the Ghost Team pushed open the door and walked in, a smile on his face, looking confident.

The team members immediately surrounded them: "Manager, is there any way?"

The manager chuckled, "Haha, don't rush, let me take you to see someone first."

"To meet someone?" someone asked, puzzled.

"That's right, he's a big shot."

Not long after, the group arrived at a large restaurant in Fushan.

The private room was warmly lit, and several plates of exquisite cold dishes were already laid out on the round table. Several people were already sitting there when we entered.

Sitting in the head seat was an old man in his sixties, wearing a black Zhongshan suit, with gray hair, and holding two walnuts in his hands.

His name is Yu Deng, the head of e-sports events in Fushan Province. When Xiang Chu was in charge, he was responsible for organizing the events, handling the rules for each competition, and arranging collaborations with television stations.

When Yu Deng saw Liu Huazi and the others enter, he merely raised his eyelids, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said nothing.

The person next to him, who seemed to be his secretary, glanced at Yu Deng's expression and gestured for the group to sit down.

Everyone then found seats and sat down. However, as soon as they were seated, Yu Deng shouted, "That kid surnamed Xu, he's a real scoundrel!"

As he shouted, he slammed the walnuts onto the table with a loud bang, startling everyone.

"The one surnamed Xu" naturally refers to Xing Yuan. Yu Deng continued his angry rant, his expression agitated: "These young people nowadays are really something! They become arrogant and lawless just because they have a little skill! They don't understand any rules at all!"

"Our Fushan Province has maintained its harmony and prosperity for so many years thanks to its established rules, and now he's come along and just merged the five major battle teams!"

"What kind of talk is this? Is there no law anymore? —cough cough cough —"

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, coughing repeatedly. His secretary immediately patted him on the back, brought him some water, and he took a sip.

The group of people sitting on the outside dared not speak when they saw this scene.

After things calmed down a bit, Yu Deng spoke again, but his tone had become somewhat somber: "Sigh, Xiao Xiang is still the best. She's sensible and knows the rules."

"Now that they're all gone, only you two can keep me company and talk to me."

After a while, the waiter brought out a plate of freshly steamed fish, steaming hot.

Liu Huazi glanced at the manager beside him, then immediately stood up and moved the plate of fish to Yu Deng's front, with the fish head facing him.

The manager immediately stood up, refilled Yu Deng's glass, and lowered his voice, "Mr. Yu, we understand what you mean. We'll do whatever you say!"

Old Yu smiled, picked up his chopsticks, and slowly took a bite of fish head meat.

"Hmph, let the feast begin."

Time flies, and a month has passed. It's the day of the first round of the provincial competition.

Inside the Fushan Provincial Gymnasium, the venue was much larger than expected. The central stage was brightly lit, and two huge electronic screens were suspended on both sides of the stage, displaying the competition footage and data in real time.

The audience seats were almost full, packed with people, some holding up support signs, others wearing clothes with their team's logo.

go T-shirt.

Five computer desks were set up on each side of the stage. The left side was the Ghost Team's seat, and the right side was the Hundred-Link Team's seat.

-

On the stage backdrop, the words "Fushan Provincial E-sports League - Round 1" were printed in large gold letters, and the lights shone on the wall, making it flash brightly.

The television cameras and reporters' cameras were set up in the front row, their large and small heads aimed at the host in the center of the stage.

The host, a young man in a white suit, beamed with joy as he held the microphone, his voice loud and passionate: "Dear viewers, welcome to the Fushan Provincial Esports League Finals!"

"This is a live broadcast brought to you by Fushan TV's e-sports channel!"

As he spoke, a burst of enthusiastic cheers and shouts erupted from the audience, accompanied by waves of applause.

"Today is the preliminary round of our Fushan Provincial Tournament, featuring the veteran Fushan team 'Ghost Team' and the newly promoted team 'Hundred Links Esports'!"

The host first walked towards the Ghost Team and gave a brief introduction: "Ghost Team, a veteran powerhouse in Fushan Province, with rich experience."

"The team leader, nicknamed Liu Huazi, has been involved in the e-sports scene in Fushan Province for many years and is a seasoned veteran of malfunctioning robots."

A few scattered applause broke out from the audience.

The host held the microphone to Liu Huazi's mouth and asked, "Captain Liu, it's been a long time since you've been back on the field. Is there anything you'd like to say to the audience?"

Seeing this, Liu Huazi quickly spat out the Longhua tea in his mouth, smiled at the camera, and said, "I don't have much to say. I hope my teammates will do their best."

The applause rang out again, but quickly subsided.

Then, the host turned to the other side of the stage, his voice suddenly rising: "Next, let's welcome the Bailian Esports Team, sponsored by Tengyue Auto!"

As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted, and many people even stood up. Some whistled, while others held up signs that read "King of the Dragon Kingdom".

The host approached Xingyuan, held the microphone to his lips, and asked in a low voice, "Captain Xingyuan, as a legendary player from China, what are your thoughts on leading Bailian Esports back to the professional arena?"

Facing cameras of all sizes, Xingyuan remained calm and composed. The moment he picked up the microphone, he blurted out, "First of all, thank you to Tengyue Automotive Group for their strong support, and thank you to all our partners at Bailian Esports for their trust—"

"Thanks to Huiguang Peripherals for their support, thanks to MasterTeshi Energy Drink for their powerful assistance, thanks to Fengyun Apparel, and thanks to Datou Cultural & Creative ————"

As he spoke, the camera panned across the seats of Bailian, where Chu Liang, Lu Zhen, and Zuo Shi stood in front of their computer desks, waving to the camera.

Their team uniforms were covered with the logos of various sponsors, and their mice, mousepads, monitors, gaming chairs, and even the drinks and trinkets on their tables all bore prominent brand logos.

Xingyuan rattled off a long list of names, taking a full twenty seconds, and then emphasized again: "Thank you so much to Mr. Cheng of Tengyue Auto for their generous sponsorship. Without your support, the Hundred-Team wouldn't be standing here today!"

After saying all that in one breath, Xingyuan felt like he was about to choke.

Ye Fei sat in the audience, watching him recite his lines in one breath. He couldn't help but want to laugh, but he managed to hold it back.

The host took the microphone and began to introduce the competition rules: "This competition uses a points system, with four points for both team and individual events."

"This round is a team speedrun competition. The team that completes the course gets one point; the team that completes the course and is faster than the opponent gets another point; if one team completes the course and the other does not, they get two points."

The same principle applies to individual competitions, but it is not emphasized here.

"Now that the rules have been briefly explained, please have both players take their positions!"

Colorful smoke billowed from both sides of the stage, the lights suddenly brightened, and rousing background music filled the air. A thunderous roar erupted from the audience, and the entire stadium seemed to be ablaze.

On the large screen, the character selection screens for both sides lit up simultaneously. As usual, Xingyuan directly selected the malfunctioning robot.

Lu Zhen chose the armored warrior, while Chu Liang and Zuo Shi both chose the crown prince – these were roles they were best at, and it was all pre-arranged.

On the Ghost Team's side, the lineup is a combination of "three malfunctioning robots and one warrior," full of traditional charm.

The commentator's voice immediately came over the loudspeaker: "Alright, it seems the lineups for both sides are set! Let's take a look at the situation on both sides."

"For the 100-pull team, they've chosen an unconventional setup—the malfunctioning Star Abyss robot is undoubtedly the core. Could it be that the Dragon Kingdom's mech king is making a comeback?"

"But the Elder, the Sword Demon, and General Zuo have chosen a combination of a warrior and a crown prince, which is rare in team competitions —"

While the commentators were still analyzing the game, the players had already entered the game.

Ye Fei sat in the audience, eating a hot dog and watching the big screen intently.

Meanwhile, in a city in China, in a brand new small apartment.

The TV was on, and the screen was showing the provincial competition live on Fushan TV's sports channel.

Lin Xi sat on the floor in front of the sofa, holding a bowl of instant noodles in her hand, her eyes fixed on the TV.

He would watch the provincial tournaments in previous years, but he always felt that Tu was not interesting. His playing style was too conservative, his routines were too fixed, and he even felt that Tu was acting. After watching a few games, he found Tu boring.

But this year is different; he heard that Xingyuan's team, Bailian, is going to participate in the competition.

Xingyuan, known as the "King of Robots in the Dragon Kingdom," is one of the malfunctioning robot contestants whom Lin Xi has admired since childhood.

I haven't seen him in any official matches for several years since I heard he retired.

When Xingyuan appeared on the television screen, Lin Xi jumped up, raised his fork, and shouted, "Dragon Kingdom's Machine King!"

Lin Jianguo, who was sleeping in the room, was suddenly startled awake. He got up, looked at the man, and went back to sleep.

In another place, in a city in China, there was a local restaurant with a warm yellow sign.

It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was bustling with activity. Today's customers were unusually numerous; almost every table was looking up at the large television hanging on the wall.

The TV was showing a live broadcast of the provincial e-sports competition on Fushan TV.

At a table against the wall sat several shirtless old men, with a plate of kebabs and a few bottles of beer on the table, chatting and drinking with great interest.

"I recognize this 'Star Smoke'!"

When the old man at the head of the group saw the contestants enter the stage, he immediately slapped his thigh, his face turning bright red.

"That's the guy who makes braised chicken! I've seen him in many matches, he's amazing!"

Several elderly men nearby listened to his explanation and nodded as if they understood but not quite.

A young man at the next table nearly spat out his food when he heard him shout. He turned to the old man and said, "Sir, you must be mistaken. I remember the butcher serving 'white-cut chicken,' right?"

The old man paused for a moment, his face suddenly flushing slightly, but after a quick thought, he immediately retorted, "Oh, right, right! I misspoke!"

"It's poached chicken, poached chicken! He's incredibly good at poached chicken, unmatched in China—"

The old man became increasingly excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly. Several other old men nodded in agreement with Tu. Only one old man muttered under his breath, "How come I remember Tu ordering 'chicken stew'?"

The young man next to him listened to him, then lay on the table laughing uncontrollably, his arms shaking with laughter.

On the television, the commentator's voice rang out again: "Alright, the match has begun!"

"Lesson of Hogu, Neo! Let's see what the three options offer?"

In the restaurant, everyone's eyes instantly focused on the screen. The camera switched to the game screen, and the familiar giant whale slowly appeared.

And, below are the three starting options.