“I didn't expect you to be quite capable when you get serious…” Bei Ling gave Xiao Tan, who had returned, a praising comment.

“Mm-hm, especially that impulsive act of abandoning advantages and going for a decisive strike, made someone reveal a touched expression.” Feng Bujue grinned, pointing at Bei Ling. “Being cool is more important than winning, that’s the truth.”

“Guild Leader… don’t fabricate nonexistent scenarios, it’s easy to cause misunderstandings.” Bei Ling narrowed her eyes, glancing sideways at Jue-Ge.

“I saw it too, oh.” Si Yu unhesitatingly betrayed her younger cousin…

“Cousin!” Bei Ling's cheeks flushed slightly, and she scolded in a reproachful tone.

Xiao Tan just smiled awkwardly on the side, not joining in. He was a kind person, and usually wouldn't push his luck.

Feng Bujue also knew when to stop, so he immediately changed the subject, “So… now that you've entered the winner's bracket, you shouldn't have any matches for the next two days, barring any accidents. And your continuous overtime is over, so you should be able to take advantage of the holidays to level up, right?”

“Yeah… I hope so too,” Xiao Tan replied, “But… that victory just now doesn't guarantee that I'll make it to the second round, does it? What if my record ranks in the bottom one hundred and twenty of the winner's bracket? Wouldn't I still have to play in the playoffs?”

“Have some confidence in yourself, you have forty-two wins in hand,” Bei Ling encouraged. “There are fifteen hundred people in the winner's bracket, and only 8% of them need to play in the playoffs; you always think too highly of other people's results, but most people only advance after playing all fifty matches, and only a handful of people win more than forty-five matches, so your record is clearly above average.”

“Is… is that so…” Xiao Tan scratched his head in response.

“Of course it is.” Feng Bujue added, “Judging from her tone, she must have already investigated it, presumably after reading a lot of posts on the forum and combining them with the analysis of the qualifying list.” He paused for a moment. “According to this detective's intuition and experience, Little Bone is so concerned about someone, she must be plotting something…”

“Aren't you an artist, a great writer?” Bei Ling interrupted in a very unpleasant tone, “Did you change careers again!”

“Hmph… when necessary, I can become all sorts of people and do all sorts of things.” Feng Bujue replied with a strong chuuni vibe, “My hidden identities are as numerous as hairs on an ox, and just a few hours ago, I saved the Earth from the clutches of the Martians.”

“You just ate some takoyaki after dinner, right…” Xiao Tan knew him best. Clearly, Jue-Ge had used this joke more than once.

“Mm…” Feng Bujue pouted after being exposed, and changed the subject again, “Well… it's not early anymore, let's queue up for a team dungeon. If we want to go further in the Peak Melee, Xiao Tan's Spiritual Arts level urgently needs to be raised.”

“Tch… aren't you pretty concerned about Xiao Tan's matters yourself, yet you always make fun of me… saying nonsense…” Bei Ling muttered softly.

Xiao Tan was closest to her and heard her clearly, so he immediately leaned close to her ear and whispered, “That… it should be, right.”

Bei Ling rolled her eyes at him: “What should be?”

“Hehe…” Xiao Tan smiled, not answering.

“Believe it or not, I'll log off now, drive to your house in fifteen minutes, break down the door, pull you out of the game pod, and then suffocate you with a pillow.” Bei Ling finished the whole sentence in one breath.

“Okay, okay, no, no.” Xiao Tan still let her have her way. “I'm afraid of you, okay…”

…………

At the same time, the game mall.

On the main screen, two commentators had just finished broadcasting a focus battle – [Xiao Wen Cang Tian] vs [Vishnu].

This was a direct dialogue between the sixth and seventh ranked players on the combat power rankings.

In the end, Xiao Wen Cang Tian, known as “Lord Xiao,” successfully defeated the number two figure of the gods, sending Vishnu into the playoffs.

While the audience was still discussing this fierce battle, the live broadcast screen of another match was switched to the main screen.

“Hello, everyone, welcome back.” Commentator A said, “I am commentator Pan Feng.”

Commentator B continued, “I am commentator Hua Xiong.”

Pan Feng said, “That duel just now was truly magnificent and left us wanting more.”

Hua Xiong said, “However, tonight's broadcast has not yet ended, and there are still many players whose matches have not been decided. Now, please gather your emotions and join us in cutting into another ongoing battle.”

These two game administrators did not appear on the screen, and players could only hear their voices.

At this time, the scene on the main screen of the mall had switched to the scenario map.

The match footage was naturally taken by the system, usually from a high overhead angle, with the camera occasionally zooming in and out, and even shaking; the lighting effects were also simulated real-life shots, with strong light, darkness, sand, water splashes, and so on, all affecting the broadcast screen.

In terms of sound, it was three hundred and sixty degrees surround sound, and there would never be any rustling sound from the microphone. If the two sides of the battle had a dialogue, as long as they spoke loudly and clearly, it would be broadcast, of course, whispers or low mumbles could not be recorded.

“In the first round, the only players ranked in the top twenty on the combat power rankings who encountered each other were Xiao Wen Cang Tian and Vishnu just now, it seems these two were out of luck.” Hua Xiong continued from his previous words, “Other high-ranking players have successively won, and the one who is still fighting is… contestant [Meng Jing Chan].”

Pan Feng added, “For contestant Meng Jing Chan, I believe the majority of players are not unfamiliar with him. He is one of the ‘Drunken Life, Dream Death’ four experts of ‘Order,’ a star-level player among professional gamers.” He paused, “And his opponent, may not be so familiar to everyone. Let me give a brief introduction… This contestant [Long Ao Min], belongs to the ‘Blade’ guild; his level is the same as contestant Meng Jing Chan, both are level thirty-seven; and his title is… [Berserk Shield].”

Hua Xiong continued, “Like everyone else, we have only just seen the scene of the match. Judging from the current situation on the scene, it seems that contestant Meng Jing Chan has the upper hand and is suppressing contestant Long Ao Min with fierce attacks.” His tone changed slightly, “It seems that this match has also entered its final stages, as expected of the side with a higher combat power rating…”

Pan Feng suddenly interrupted his partner, “Wait! Ladies and gentlemen, please look! Contestant Long Ao Min's body is suddenly enveloped in golden battle qi, he has begun to counterattack! Is he going to give up defense and fight to the death?”

Hua Xiong also said, “Contestant Meng Jing Chan has also launched a powerful skill to suppress him, just looking at the special effects, you can tell that this move is extraordinary, this is undoubtedly a killing blow! Oh! The attack is actually ineffective! Contestant Long Ao Min has reached a very advantageous position!”

These two spoke extremely fast, but the two players in the picture fought even faster.

The clanging sounds were a concerto of sword and shield.

The booming and rushing sounds were a chorus of speed and strength.

Inside the scenario, Brother Long, whose body was covered in golden light, had rushed in front of Meng Jing Chan. At this moment, the latter, whose stamina value had already reached zero, had become a lamb to the slaughter.

Perhaps to others, it seemed that Meng Jing Chan had been suppressing Long Ao Min, but in reality, Meng Jing Chan was the one on the defensive. The reason why he launched continuous attacks was because he had no other choice.

From the beginning of the scenario until now, Meng Jing Chan had failed to break Long Ao Min's defense system. When his stamina was running out, Brother Long activated his title ability, launching a decisive counterattack in one fell swoop with unstoppable momentum.

“Hehe… I didn't expect to lose here…” Seeing that the situation was over, Meng Jing Chan simply sat down on the ground and muttered with a bitter smile.

Long Ao Min was a magnanimous person, he would not deliberately embarrass his opponent: “Your quick sword met my slow shield, it can only be said that you were unlucky. Anyway, with your ability, the playoffs should not be able to stop you, right…”

“Who knows…” Meng Jing Chan laughed, “Don't look at me like this, our studio also has some requirements for my record… Heh… the pressure will be great next.”

“Then good luck to you.” Long Ao Min said, swinging the final blow.

Meng Jing Chan shrugged, “Same to you…”