The next day was brilliantly sunny. At the end of August, Shanghai was suffocating under waves of heat. When the business van emblazoned with the OLG logo drove into the venue, the back entrance was already packed with fans holding up light boards.
The moment the door opened, shrieks pierced eardrums.
“Ahhhhhhhh Danger!!”
“God Bai God Bai God Bai God Bai God Bai!!!”
“DDDDD!!!”
“Liu Jianfeng, you have to keep playing, Liu Jianfeng!!!”
Security pulled two yellow barriers apart, separating the frenzied fans from the players.
Yan Xiu followed behind Huarong, the last to get out of the car. He looked up ahead. Bai Wei, Qingbao, and Rose were accepting photos the fans brought themselves, signing a few. But they only managed a handful before rushing urgently towards the glass doors.
“Show! Can you give me your autograph, Show!!!”
Yan Xiu turned back. It was a female fan holding a banner of Bai Wei.
Sister Hua nudged his shoulder. “Go on.”
Yan Xiu walked over. The female fan was a bit reserved. She said, “OLG’s TikTok shop hasn’t listed your merch photocards or postcards yet. I only have these. Can you sign this?” She pulled a stack of Bai Wei postcards from her bag.
Yan Xiu paused briefly, glanced through a few, and picked out a photo of Bai Wei holding the trophy from the Spring Split championship the year before. He signed his name in the corner.
The entire east-facing LED screen wall of the DFL esports venue cycled through this year’s Autumn Split trailer and player personal interviews.
Yan Xiu handed the signed photo back to the fan. Qingbao’s voice echoed from the big screen. “…getting two runner-up finishes shows we have the strength to contend for the championship. The goal for this year’s Autumn Split is naturally just one: OLG aims for the championship!”
~
Tencent had spent big money on this year’s Autumn Split opening ceremony, inviting several celebrities to perform.
The opening ceremony had three segments: celebrity performances, team group draws, and a showmatch.
“What’s everyone want to drink? I’ll order delivery. Two more rap singers have to perform before it’s our turn to go on stage.” Huarong took out her phone and asked the members in the lounge.
Qin Baotian: “I’ll take a Chagee. So sleepy. Give me a Jasmine Green Milk Tea to keep me alive!”
Rose was very agreeable. “Anything’s fine. Just get me whatever.”
“Anything for Danger and Show?”
Bai Wei wore a mask. His voice was slightly muffled. “I’m not drinking anything.”
Yan Xiu: “Same as God Qing for me.”
After Huarong ordered the milk tea, she walked over to Bai Wei and asked with concern, “Did you take your medicine? Hives again? Is it bad?”
For some unknown reason, the young master had broken out in hives again first thing that morning. According to Huarong’s guess, it might’ve been a reaction to the cosmetics during yesterday’s ad shoot. Getting back to the base too late, the makeup removal wasn’t thorough enough, and Bai Wei’s highly allergic constitution was triggered again.
“Took the meds. It’s okay. Not as itchy.” Bai Wei removed his mask. His face didn’t have any problems; it was just a red rash spreading around his neck.
Huarong: “Have Qin Baotian apply some calamine lotion for you. You still have to go on stage for the showmatch later, y’know. The group draw is handled by each team’s captain, so that’s no issue; you don’t need to be there. But for the showmatch, you’re the popularity rank number one from last time; you’re the very first one going up.”
Qingbao immediately rushed over, attentive and eager. “Young Master, Young Master, let me apply the medicine for you~”
Bai Wei was thoroughly grossed out. “Piss off.”
“If you don’t let me apply it, who do you want?”
Bai Wei’s gaze swept over Yan Xiu’s face. Before he could open his mouth, Liu Jianfeng took the lotion. “I’ll do it. Qin Baotian’s a klutz.”
Qingbao didn’t object and sat back down. He indeed wasn’t good at delicate tasks. Last year, before a match, Bai Wei had another allergy flare-up. Qingbao applied the medicine for him, but his hand slipped and smeared it on Bai Wei’s face. The result? Haters screenshotted Bai Wei and insisted Danger hadn’t even wiped his mouth clean before coming on stage to compete.
Remembering this, Qin Baotian grumbled, “Those haters, to bash someone, don’t even need brains. Can’t even get mad at them; their stupidity just makes you laugh.”
Yan Xiu asked, “What stupidity?”
“Let me tell you, it’s something a human literally couldn’t come up with…” Qin Baotian perked up and started explaining to him in detail.
Once all the singers had performed, it was time for each team to go on stage one after another and just stand there. Everyone on the Autumn Split roster had to go up.
The host’s voice resounded through the venue. Each time a team’s name was called, the players stepped forward onto the stage.
“…Next, let’s welcome the Spring Split champions, Nanjing BOX!”
“Shenzhen Wolves!”
“Beijing ROC!”
“…Finally, Shanghai OLG!”
The cheers were deafening.
Yan Xiu went on stage. The moment the spotlight hit, he couldn’t see a thing. After the substitute players stepped down, he looked back. The three starting members of each team stood on the stage. After BOX returned the Spring Split trophy to the elevated platform rising in the center of the venue, the host declared with fervent passion—
“The 2029 DFL Autumn Split, officially begins!!!”
~
OLG’s captain was Rose, Liu Jianfeng. He was a veteran at the group draw. Casually reaching into the box, he pulled out Group C.
The DFL had 18 teams, divided into six groups of three.
In the Regular Season Points Stage, every group had to play each other once. With six teams entering the map per DFL match, this meant a total of 15 matches.
Three matches per week for five weeks. Rankings were calculated based on points from each match placement. The top six teams by points would advance to the finals.
The group draw fully concluded. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and patted the returning Liu Jianfeng on the shoulder. “As expected of Old Liu, our little lucky charm. This draw is great! Chaoge and VE in our group are very reassuring.”
Liu Jianfeng laughed. “I’m starting to think I’m hacking. My hand’s this steady every time.”
Jack gloated. “That Group B is really screwed. The Wolves and ROC ended up in the same group. You didn’t see WildSearch’s face on stage after the draw—it went completely black. Their group’s third team is Weibo, and they’re not bad either. This season, one of the Wolves or ROC might not even make it to the finals. That’s one less championship contender right off the bat.”
After the group draw, it was time for the All-Star Showmatch.
Based on the TikTok popularity vote after the Spring Split, the top six players each led a team, plus a streamer and a celebrity, forming a three-person squad. They’d play two matches: one Aerospace, one Bakesh.
Bai Wei was number one in popularity. Qin Baotian was exactly sixth. Each would captain their own team.
The showmatch had nothing to do with Yan Xiu’s group. Huarong took him and Rose back to the base first. By the time they got into the car, the trash-talk segment before the showmatch had just ended.
Bai Wei’s luck was decent. He was paired with a skilled streamer and a rapper who actually knew how to play Delta Force pretty well. Qin Baotian was supremely unlucky, stuck with an entertainment streamer and a completely clueless idol.
Rose glanced at Yan Xiu’s phone. He was watching the showmatch live.
Rose said, “If you want any autographs, you can have those two get them for you.”
Yan Xiu looked at him. “Autographs?”
Rose nodded. “My wife is a huge fan of the idol on Qin Baotian’s team. Heard he was coming to compete, told me she absolutely had to get his autograph. If there’s any streamer or celebrity you like, you can ask. Even if Qin Baotian couldn’t get it, Little Bai definitely could.” He paused, then added, “Except for the female streamer on WildSearch’s team. You can’t get her autograph. Even Little Bai can’t go ask for that one.”
Yan Xiu looked. The streamer on ROC captain WildSearch’s team was an entertainment streamer named Qixi, famous for her videos trolling Stinger players. Puzzled, he asked, “Does this streamer not allow autographs?”
At this, Huarong in the front seat also laughed.
Rose: “Of course not.” He gave a mysterious look. Yan Xiu was baffled. Rose stopped being cryptic. “It’s a romantic issue.”
“Huh?” Yan Xiu was shocked.
Romantic issue.
Those four words slammed into Yan Xiu’s head. He suddenly remembered what he’d said in the manager’s office to CatClaw before.
…A romantic issue?
Yan Xiu asked, “This streamer had a romantic… issue… with God D?”
Rose answered without thinking, “How could it be with Little Bai? No matter who it was, it would never be him. It’s with Qin Baotian, hahaha…”
Huarong also couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “That’s Qin Baotian’s ex-girlfriend.”
Yan Xiu: “…?” He’d accidentally eaten some gossip.
~
“Back then, she chased me. Dumping me was also her. How can a woman be so heartless? Yesterday at the showmatch, we ran into each other backstage. She didn’t even glance at me. Heartbreaker! A pure heartbreaker! Are all women like this? Wuwuwuwu…”
After returning from the showmatch, Qin Baotian had been crying all day—dry howls, no tears.
Jack entered the first team’s training room. “Stop yelling. The other party’s already dated two new people. And you’re still here with ‘heartbreaker.’ Enough. In a bit, scrims. Rose plays the first four matches. Show plays the last two.”
Yan Xiu had just finished eating and opened a solo Aerospace match to warm up. Hearing this, his back straightened a little.
Bai Wei’s eyes swept towards the person sitting diagonally opposite. The 24-inch monitor blocked half the person’s body. Only part of a lean, handsome face was visible.
Today was the match day for Groups A and B. The other twelve teams without matches were divided into two lobbies, each having six scrim matches. OLG was in the T1 scrim lobby, alongside strong teams like BOX and ACG.
In the first four matches, OLG extracted successfully once. In the third match, they secured the MandelBrick, successfully decrypted it, becoming the only squad to decrypt a brick, and unlocked Match Point.
A DFL match had six games in total. The first two were normal game modes—players fought to eliminate opponents and extract, with final rankings based on total value extracted. The last four matches added the “MandelBrick” mode. A MandelBrick would spawn in a fixed area of the map. All teams could head there to grab it.
Once a squad grabbed the brick, if enemies were nearby, danger stars appeared. The closer the enemy, the more stars, up to a maximum of three. Simultaneously, all squads on the map could see the real-time position of the brick-holding squad and pursue them.
The brick-holding squad needed to reach a designated area to decrypt the MandelBrick. After placing the MandelBrick at the Decryption Station, players had to defend the spot on-site for four minutes, protecting the brick from being stolen by other squads, for the mission to succeed.
If the brick was stolen, decryption failed. If all three squad members died, decryption also failed.
The last four matches were all MandelBrick mode. A squad successfully decrypting a brick once unlocked Match Point. If they then decrypted another brick, they won immediately. If after six matches, no squad decrypted two bricks, rankings were determined by the total value each squad acquired.
The squads that had decrypted bricks were ranked first, ordered by the total value of the resources and equipment they extracted.
Then the squads that hadn’t decrypted bricks were ranked in order.
Currently, OLG had successfully decrypted one brick.
In the fourth match, Team A grabbed the MandelBrick. While defending the Decryption Station, they were wiped by BOX. BOX took the brick. But while BOX was decrypting, they were in turn wiped by OLG. In the end, no squad successfully decrypted the brick.
Yan Xiu logged into the tournament server account Jack provided and entered the scrim lobby.
[Nanjing BOX-Lemon: Qin Baotian, your horse is dead your horse is dead your horse is dead your horse is dead!]
[Shanghai OLG-Qingbao: Understand the power of my M7? Can’t win so you curse. Your horse is dead your horse is dead your horse is dead!]
[ACG-Vorse: Is God D going into the CEO Office next game? I’m waiting for you on the bed in the CEO Office’s little room, hehe @Shanghai OLG-Danger [Stinger shy sticker]]
[Shanghai OLG-Danger: Did your athlete’s foot spread to your brain?]
[MOKA-Bumblebee: My Trading Hall bugged out, can’t buy gun attachments. What’s up, OB?]
Entering the match, the lobby chat finally went quiet.
Over KOOK, Qingbao was still ranting at Lemon. “His aim went flying into the sky and he still dares to talk trash.”
Bai Wei said in a low voice, “Shut up.”
Qingbao stopped talking.
T1 Scrims, Match 5. Game start.
Deployment countdown ended. OLG spawned at West Gate.
Entering the game, Yan Xiu first popped a painkiller. This was his first proper scrim match. His eyes were glued intensely to the screen, a slight sweat beading on his forehead.
“Don’t open the West Gate card. We blitz the dormitory. Mai Xiaowen, envelop from the right. Show, follow me.”
A light, slightly hoarse voice rang out.
Suddenly, Yan Xiu’s heart steadied a few degrees. His grip on the mouse stabilized.
He gave an “mm” and followed Bai Wei.
