Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

After the rankings were announced, hashtags such as #Be a River# and #Jiang Zhiyu 200 Million# trended on major social media platforms.

Unsurprisingly, the internet once again saw a surge in interest in Jiang Zhiyu, with all topics and posts about him receiving astonishing views and interactions.

The live broadcast in the studio ended, and Jiang Zhiyu had only taken two steps when a staff member suddenly called out to him: "Jiang Zhiyu."

"What's wrong?"

"There's a variety show recording this afternoon that requires us to leave the camp. You can ask the dorm manager for your phone number. We'll meet downstairs at the dorm at 2 PM."

"Okay, I understand."

Since the top four trainees in the rankings participated in the recording, Lin Sen and Mi Lan went with him to the dormitory manager to get their phones back.

The first thing Jiang Zhiyu did after getting his phone was to send a message to Lin Shi.

[Rr: How is it?]

[Lin Shi: ? Huh?]

[Rr: Have you found any temporary teammates?]

[Lin Shi: How come you have a cell phone? Did you hide it too?]

【Rr: ……】

[Rr: After the rankings are announced, we'll have a break. We'll be leaving the camp later for recording.]

[Lin Shi: Oh!]

[Lin Shi: I haven't found one yet, nothing suitable has come up.]

【Rr: (Personal Business Card)】

[Rr: Ask him.]

[Lin Shi: What's this?]

[Rr: Ji Huai, now in XSG's second team, very accurate.]

Jiang Zhiyu and Ji Huai met on a rainy night.

That night, the rain was pouring down.

Jiang Zhiyu had just finished his evening self-study session when he was caught in a sudden downpour and ran to take shelter under the eaves of a roadside shop.

The night sky was dark and gloomy, and a torrential downpour was pouring down.

He looked up at the rain, which seemed unlikely to stop anytime soon, and pulled his phone out of his coat pocket: "Hey?"

"Where are you?" The voice on the other end of the phone was muffled and had a strong nasal tone.

"It's raining. I'll take shelter from the rain for a while and come find you later."

With a cold and tissue stuffed in his nose, Jing Chi mumbled, "Then drive carefully. I'll play a few more solo games, and you can carry me up the ranks when you get back."

The two families bought a house near the school to make commuting easier for their children on school days.

They attend the same school and are in the same class. They usually go to and from school together, but today Jingchi is sick and has taken leave, so Jiang Zhiyu, who was traveling alone, is stranded in the rain.

Jiang Zhiyu hung up the phone and stood quietly under the eaves for a long time, but the rain showed no signs of letting up.

He looked around and saw an open door behind him leading to a brightly lit internet cafe.

The internet cafe owner was a pot-bellied, bald middle-aged man with an unfriendly expression and a menacing look.

Jiang Zhiyu tugged at the bag strap and glanced at it twice, then turned his head back to look at the street, no longer glancing at it.

"Oh, kid!"

A rough male voice suddenly came from behind him. Jiang Zhiyu looked toward the source of the voice in confusion and found that it was the internet cafe owner who looked like he was not to be trifled with.

He thought the owner thought he was blocking the way to the internet cafe entrance, so under the owner's gaze, he carefully moved his feet outward little by little.

The internet cafe owner, who was staring straight at him, grinned憨厚ly and pointed to the sofa in the reception area: "Just got out of school? You can come in and take shelter from the rain. There are chairs over there. Sit down and rest for a while."

Jiang Zhiyu hesitated for a moment, then looked at the huge "Minors Prohibited" sign on the gate and couldn't help but say, "I'm not an adult yet."

The internet cafe owner was taken aback, then burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. Under Jiang Zhiyu's questioning gaze, he suppressed a laugh and said, "It's just sitting here, it's nothing."

So, when Jiang Zhiyu sat on the sofa at the front desk, he nervously stuffed his schoolbag, which symbolized his student status, behind him.

The large screen at the front desk is playing this year's ZPL World Championship video. The foreign team on screen has just won a game and is getting up to take off their headphones.

A customer who came to the counter to buy instant noodles, a cigarette dangling from his lips, mumbled, "What about our region's matches? Are they over yet?"

The internet cafe owner sighed: "It's all over now. The airport in picture three is probably almost back in China by now."

As they were talking, a group of people suddenly gathered around one of the outermost machines.

"Holy crap! That's accurate?"

"Did it hit the head? I didn't even see it!"

"Wow, this kid's amazing! Is he even an adult yet?"

"What? This is the boss's son."

The people at the front desk looked in the direction of the voice, and the boss saw that the person surrounded was his son. He straightened his back and said with some pride, "Hey! My son Xiao Huai has received an invitation to youth training. It's only a matter of time before he wins the championship for our region."

The customer put down a banknote, picked up the instant noodles, and patted the owner on the shoulder: "Keep it up, bro."

The boss pursed his lips, suspecting the other person thought he was joking. Just as he was about to retort, he caught a glimpse of a figure disappearing from the sofa at the reception desk, leaving only a backpack standing upright.

"Huh?" He looked around curiously for a moment, then spotted Jiang Zhiyu on the outskirts of the bustling crowd.

At this moment, Jiang Zhiyu stood on the outermost edge, his eyes sparkling as he watched the boy in the middle calmly maneuver.

On the computer screen, the boy's character was facing a 1v1 situation at point A on the map. The urgent C4 detonation warning sound made people panic, but he remained calm as he held the mouse.

He first pre-aimed at the bomb site to clear it out, then walked to the C4 bomb, pressed the defuse button and immediately released it, giving the enemy the illusion that he was defusing the bomb.

The map was quiet; there was no sound except for the detonation notification.

He calmly glanced at the direction of the large opening (A) for a few seconds, then turned to the small opening (A).

Suddenly, a figure shot out from the A-shaped opening and fired in that direction. The character on the screen was almost instantly hit and started losing health rapidly.

Fortunately, the enemy was a pure positional player, which gave him room to counterattack.

He moved his arm dramatically, pulling the gun almost at a 90-degree angle, aiming it at the enemy's head as if it were automatically glued to him.

boom--

JH uses an AK to headshot and kill enemy Player4.

"Me?"

"ah??"

The onlookers couldn't help but gasp in amazement, all shocked by the boy's marksmanship.

But the boy ignored him. He pursed his lips, immediately cut the knife, quickly walked back to the C4 bag, and pressed the unpacking button.

In the game's background music, the detonation notification sound became increasingly urgent.

Is there enough time? This question was on everyone's mind.

finally--

The defending side wins.

At the top of the screen, after unpacking, the remaining time displayed is only 0.05 seconds.

"Holy crap!"

"0.05?? That's too extreme!"

"That accuracy is enough to play professionally, right?"

The noisy crowd did not attract the boy's attention, nor did it catch Jiang Zhiyu's eye.

Jiang Zhiyu stared at the restarted game on the computer screen, his eyes filled with excitement and fighting spirit.

He stood there, and didn't leave even after the crowd dispersed.

Due to the uneven skill levels of his teammates, the boy struggled throughout the game and only managed a hard-fought victory with a score of 13:11 after a long time.

He stretched and turned around, only to meet Jiang Zhiyu's gaze behind him.

The boy froze, then leaned back abruptly: "Jiang... Jiang Zhiyu? What are you doing here?"

Jiang Zhiyu's burning gaze faltered, and he asked in surprise, "You know me?"

The boy stammered, "Yes, we know each other. We're from the same school..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiyu's eyes lit up even more, and he immediately took out his phone and handed it to him: "Let's add each other's contact information, and hang out together next time."

"Okay..." The boy carefully entered his number, and couldn't help but look up at the boy in front of him with his delicate and noble features, and then continued, "My name is Ji Huai."

"Okay! I'm Jiang Zhiyu!" Jiang Zhiyu smiled brightly, his canine teeth even faintly visible.

They chatted briefly before Jiang Zhiyu belatedly realized that it was a bit late.

He looked outside and realized that the rain had stopped sometime earlier.

"I'll be going now! We'll keep in touch by phone!"

Jiang Zhiyu waved his phone at Ji Huaiyang, walked back to the sofa at the front desk, and picked up his bag.

He then waved to the receptionist and said, "Thank you, Uncle. I'll be going now."

The internet cafe owner looked up, gave a sheepish smile, and said, "Be careful on the road."

Stepping out of the brightly lit internet cafe, Jiang Zhiyu looked around and noticed that because the heavy rain had just stopped, there were very few pedestrians on the street, making this usually bustling area unusually quiet.

The night air was filled with an unsettling atmosphere, carrying a heavy sense of oppression.

Jiang Zhiyu frowned, instinctively sensing that something was wrong.

He tightened the bag strap, reached into his jacket pocket, and gripped the extendable knife inside.

Then, he embarked on that familiar road home.