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

The Zixia Team training base, small conference room on the second floor.

Several documents were scattered on the long table, and the ashtray was piled high with cigarette butts. It was already dark outside, making the indoor lights seem particularly glaring.

General Manager Zhao Ming sat in the main seat, his hands crossed under his chin, his brows furrowed. A report lay before him—statistics on the team's performance over the past three months; the win rate curve had been steadily declining with no sign of rebounding.

"Qingxiao has been making quite a stir lately," said Chen Xu, the operations manager sitting opposite him.

"Xuan Niao's words at the council meeting have already spread throughout the industry. I've also seen their training report, and the data is indeed impressive."

Zhao Ming didn't speak, but tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice.

Zhou Mu, the intelligence officer sitting in the corner, flipped through his notebook and added:

"Qingxiao's performance has improved dramatically in the past six months. The A8 clear rate of several core team members has increased by nearly 30%."

"Their recent progress is like they've unlocked some kind of magic weapon. The exact reason is still unclear, but they are definitely researching some new things."

"Thirty percent?" Zhao Ming finally spoke, his voice low and deep. "There are only a handful of teams in China that can consistently reach A8. You're saying they still have thirty percent room for improvement?"

Zhou Mu nodded: "The data doesn't lie. But we haven't found out how they did it yet."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Zhao Ming leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

"Xingyuan has been gone for three years." His voice was tinged with weariness. "In these three years, we've changed three batches of players, changed two coaches, and overturned the tactical system four times."

"And the result? The win rate got lower and lower every year, and the number of fans decreased year by year."

No one responded.

"Qingxiao is watching us closely, and the association is considering replacing him. If we can't find a breakthrough—"

He paused, not finishing his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

Team Zixia may really be losing its right to represent the nation on the battlefield.

Zhao Ming sat up straight and looked at intelligence officer Zhou Mu: "Regardless, we must expand recruitment this year. Have you discovered any noteworthy hidden masters on your end recently?"

To put it simply, this intelligence agent is what is known as a "professional spy," just like a "talent scout" or a "sports scout."

Zhou Mu opened his notebook and pushed up his glasses.

"Let me think... this year, it seems there are a few," he said.

"The first one is called 'Hanjiang,' a malfunctioning bot player with a 71% win rate in A6."

"This player excels at playing steadily and methodically, with a very solid deck construction and excellent control over the rhythm of the ball system. You can find a lot of his game videos online, and his style is very distinctive—unhurried and calm, every move seems to be calculated in advance."

"Have you checked their background?"

"I checked. He's from Jiangnan Province in China, 21 years old, and a university student. He hasn't received any formal vocational training; he's entirely self-taught."

"His A6 record ranks third on the Jiangnan Province folk record list, and he has maintained that position for two months." Zhou Mu paused.

"His playing style is very traditional, and his main strength lies in his extremely precise control over numerical values."

Zhao Ming nodded: "Are there any others?"

"Yes, there's another one called 'Sword Demon' who's also very interesting. He specializes in playing the Crown Prince and has a 73% win rate in A6."

"This guy is best at playing the Sword Forging style—he has a unique understanding of rhythm control, his card draw is very sophisticated, and he can balance defense and forging. He also recently became a small streamer and has tens of thousands of followers."

"What about this person's information?"

"Many of them are publicly known. He's from Blue Whale Province in China, nineteen years old, and has been playing in amateur competitions since graduating from high school."

"His heir is somewhat famous in the industry. Several training institutions have contacted him, but he doesn't seem to have any intention of going." Zhou Mu closed his notebook.

"Neither of these two individuals currently has a professional esports team background, but they meet the requirements, so we can consider contacting them."

Zhao Ming was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "Contact them as soon as possible to communicate your intentions."

Zhou Mu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Um, actually there's another one, but it's a bit eccentric."

"explain."

"It's that one that was all the rage online before—'Black Evening Ceal'."

Zhao Ming's brow twitched slightly.

"It is said that he broke Cai Chu's viewer record overnight, and Cai Chu later publicly verified that it was indeed his real skill level. Now the two have become partners, and he often appears in Cai Chu's live broadcasts," Zhou Mu said.

"This player's spectator skills are indeed quite good; his record of being second on the A4 leaderboard remains unbroken. But it's strange—he stopped playing after reaching A6 and didn't try to climb any higher."

"A6? That's already quite high. Any higher and it'll surpass the chef's height."

"I don't know, anyway, they didn't fight anymore. It's not like they couldn't win, but rather that they didn't even try."

Zhou Mu turned a page: "Also, I've noticed that he's been using another pseudonym more often lately, called 'Night Rain'."

"Night Rain?"

"Yes. This account is even more mysterious; it has never been linked to any community, nor has it publicly disclosed any match history. I can't find any data about it."

"—Advanced progress records, win rates, completion times—none of them are listed. It seems they're deliberately hiding them."

Zhao Ming leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

A crown prince, a malfunctioning robot, and a mysterious observer.

Chen Xu raised his head and looked at Zhou Mu: "Those 'Han Jiang' and 'Sword Demon' have publicly available and transparent information, so they're relatively easy to deal with."

"But this 'Black Evening,' there's absolutely no information about him. It's like he just appeared out of nowhere, this 'genius boy' suddenly popped up—isn't that too strange?"

Zhou Mu nodded: "Indeed. Moreover, his strength and reputation don't quite match. Logically speaking, a player who has reached A6 shouldn't only have this much attention. But he seems to be deliberately keeping a low profile."

"However, it seems he's only a spectator; his records for other characters are all stuck at A1, meaning he's practically never played them. Why would our professional team pay so much attention to someone who only plays spectators?"

"Then you're wrong," Zhao Ming interrupted.

"Since he was able to get the spectator to A6, his game understanding must be exceptional. But he only targets the spectator. Don't you find that strange?"

"The situation is urgent and unique. We can't let any potential opportunity slip by, even those who are just spectators. Who knows, they might be capable of using malfunctioning robots?"

"We must continue to track these three people and make contact with them as soon as possible."

Zhou Mu nodded. Zhao Ming continued:

"This is no longer an ordinary situation; it's an extraordinary one, so we must use extraordinary measures!"

"As long as they have potential, regardless of whether they're playing the role of heir apparent, hunter, or observer, as long as they meet the criteria and are strong, we should contact them as soon as possible, without being bound by convention, and boldly accept them!!"

"If Qingxiao really takes the lead in next year's national battle, our Zixia will be completely defeated. It's not a loss on the field, it's a loss before we even enter the arena!"

He stood up, placed his hands on the table, and scanned everyone present with his gaze.

"The central government's 'Sword Forging Plan' is about to begin. A large number of new talents will emerge in the local and national competitions."

"We must also pay attention to and contact those promising talents as soon as possible. Everyone must be fully committed to this year's enrollment expansion task!"

"Meeting adjourned!"

……

Neo Academy, Da Kun's office.

Da Kun leaned back on the sofa, a cigarette between his fingers, and sat in front of him a man in his early thirties—Coach Lu, who was in charge of the daily training of the advanced class.

"Tell me about the students' recent situation." Da Kun exhaled a puff of smoke:

"The selection competition is tomorrow, and I'm still not sure about those three spots."

Coach Wang opened the folder in his hand, his tone relatively relaxed: "Boss, this is the information on our 24th cohort of students over the past two months. Please take a look."

"Overall, the trainees are very serious and have made great progress compared to when they first started training."

Da Kun took the form, glanced at it briefly, and set it aside.

"Sigh, it's pretty much the same every year. I wonder how many promising talents we'll have this year... Could you tell me which students have the most potential?"

Coach Lu nodded and took out another document:

"Among the bosses, there are indeed two who stand out in this batch of trainees."

Du Jiangwei's new work is here! Cola Novels is the first to update it online!