Sharpening The Knife Doesn’t Delay The Cutting of Vegetables With The Bow[eSports]: Chapter 73

After a night of fermentation, on the second day, major gaming media across the country reported on this incident.

Despite Chen Xingran’s previous achievements, the analysis posts from the European server had some merit. As public opinion surged, players in the domestic server also started threads, bringing out Chen Xingran’s previous live broadcast recordings and analyzing them frame by frame.

Players soon discovered that in the slow-motion replays, many of Chen Xingran’s actions did indeed match what the European analysis post had pointed out—some actions seemed to defy common sense. While not conclusive evidence of cheating, it raised suspicions among many players in the domestic server.

As those analysis posts suggested, to achieve the actions performed by Chen Xingran, such as the “Thunderclap” technique, it would require the assistance of a system correction. Without such assistance, these actions, which violated system logic, would be impossible. Either Chen Xingran was using some unknown bugs or even auxiliary plugins, or he completely abandoned motion correction assistance and played with a 0% motion correction index.

But… was it possible?

A 0% motion correction was a data point that players dared not even imagine. Currently, no professional player could achieve this. As a result, some players in the domestic server turned to the Snake King’s side, launching inquiries at the ZMD club. Some players hoped Chen Xingran could come forward and explain, while others had already filed complaints with the professional league, demanding a thorough investigation.

In this era, professional players using bugs or external assistance in games was a serious accusation. Once proven, the player would be immediately removed from the professional roster, and the affiliated club would also bear responsibility.

The entire gaming community hadn’t seen anything similar for many years. Therefore, when this speculation arose, it instantly attracted countless people’s attention, escalating the situation. Even other regions, such as the North American gaming circle, started paying attention, putting pressure on ZMD.

“Okay, understood. I will handle it. You can come over when the time comes,” Fu Zhou said into the phone.

“What’s going on?” Luo Baibai asked.

“It’s a call from the professional league.”

Fu Zhou hung up the phone and said, “The player’s reaction is significant. Numerous calls have been made to the professional league. The league has formed an investigation team, and they say they will come to our base in the next few days to inquire about the situation.”

Although they say it’s an inquiry, in reality, it involves checking equipment and having Chen Xingran perform some controversial actions in front of the investigation team. Once the professional league confirms Chen Xingran’s innocence, they will jointly release a statement with the game officials, providing an excellent opportunity for clarification.

After all, Snake King’s single like has led to countless speculations, and many foreign players are skeptical of the fairness of the domestic professional league. They wonder if there’s complicity and inadequate supervision. Under public pressure, the domestic professional league needs to give an explanation to numerous players.

“We have nothing to worry about when our conscience is clear,” Luo Baibai said. “But if the investigation results come out and prove that Ran Bao did not engage in any violations, will there be punitive measures against the Snake King?”

“We won’t need to step in then. Domestic players will be able to criticize the Snake King to the point where he won’t dare to show his face,” Fu Zhou said. “Even if the board of directors of All Stars supports the Snake King, facing public opinion pressure, they will have to take action to avoid a significant drop in the club’s stock.”

By then, the Snake King can only sneak back to the European server, and there will be no place for him in the domestic server.

Accusing a professional player of violating regulations, even having suspicions of cheating, is a very serious matter. Even from a legal perspective, a single like doesn’t reach the level of spreading false rumors. However, the players’ eyes are sharp. Everyone can see the kind of rhythm Snake King is bringing. This behavior of being unable to accept defeat and secretly stirring up trouble is clear to players, and anyone would want to step forward and spit on it.

“Xingran, the equipment will be ready soon. Are you prepared?” Fu Zhou asked Chen Xingran.

“Yes.” Chen Xingran took his eyes off the phone and responded.

Yang Yunche was directing the staff next to him, adjusting the equipment in Chen Xingran’s control room. All Stars’ control room is connected to the Asian server. If they want to log in to servers in other regions, professional personnel need to change the connection to avoid potential cross-region latency issues.

“Who are you chatting with?” Luo Baibai asked curiously.

“Lu Mingyu.”

Chen Xingran sighed, “He came to apologize to me. It seems that because of the Snake King’s incident, he had an unpleasant disagreement with the board of directors at All Stars.”

The All Stars board of directors was unwilling to give up the Snake King, whom they had dug at a high price. They still hoped to retain him and, after the public opinion storm passed, let the Snake King participate in matches. This move displeased Lu Mingyu, leading to a dispute with Kou Xing.

“What did he apologize for?” Luo Baibai sighed, “He’s not like our Brother Yun, who can have a say in the board of directors. All Stars is heavily capitalized, and Lu Mingyu is just working for the capital. He has no real influence.”

“But Lu Mingyu is also in a tough spot,” Xiao Nan interjected. “With the board of directors pressing down on him, even though he is the captain of All Stars, he can’t make decisions about team personnel changes. At this rate, by the time the Destiny Cup starts, All Stars might not be able to coordinate well.”

There was a moment of sympathy among the group. With Lu Mingyu’s skill and tactical proficiency, if he could unleash his full potential without restrictions, All Stars’ team strength could improve by several levels. Unfortunately, All Stars’ board of directors consisted of a bunch of old fogies who knew nothing about gaming. They were only focused on making money and converting All Stars’ hard-earned achievements into profit. Occasionally, they acted like outsiders, giving orders to the team and leaving Lu Mingyu feeling quite helpless.

“It’s a pity. Lu Mingyu might as well consider transferring. At least in another team, he could showcase his talents. Staying in All Stars seems like a waste of his abilities.”

“You’re thinking too much. Do you know how high Lu Mingyu’s breach of contract penalty is?” Fu Zhou shook his head. “Lu Mingyu came out of All Stars’ youth training camp. The contract he signed is almost like a life-long commitment. Moreover, I heard that Lu Mingyu has a connection with the previous team captain.”

“The previous team captain?” Luo Baibai perked up at the gossip. “Tell us more!”

“Get lost. Not enthusiastic in training, and you’re here for gossip,” Fu Zhou scolded him with a glare. “I don’t know the details so clearly. It’s all hearsay. Yunche probably knows more than I do. Ask him.”

Luo Baibai and Chen Xingran both turned their gaze to Yang Yunche.

Yang Yunche seemed to ignore their conversation, lowering his eyes without responding to Fu Zhou’s words. However, his expression showed no surprise, indicating that he was aware of some insider information.

“The equipment has been debugged.”

Yang Yunche patted the operation cabin and said to Chen Xingran, “Take a seat and give it a try.”

Seeing that Yang Yunche had no intention of chatting about gossip, Chen Xingran suppressed his curiosity and obediently sat down, opening the game interface.

After the staff changed the connection lines, Chen Xingran’s game interface was already logged into the European server. The system interface’s text had switched to English. Chen Xingran changed the system language to Chinese, then casually started a bot match, played for a few minutes with no latency issues, and then exited the operation cabin.

“How is it?” Luo Baibai asked.

“No issues with latency, everything is normal,” Chen Xingran said. “It’s just that the room names are all in English, and I can’t understand them.”

“Don’t worry about that. Everything has been set up for you. Just open the room when the time comes,” Fu Zhou waved his hand. “If there are no problems, should I call the publicity department?”

Chen Xingran nodded, “Yes.”

“Go for it! Go for it!!” Luo Baibai cheered for Chen Xingran, “You’re the best, Ranbao!”

When they heard Chen Xingran’s words last night and the decision he made, although they knew it was a risky move, none of them tried to stop him.

Perhaps it was the trust among teammates, or maybe they were well aware of Chen Xingran’s true strength. It could also be because they wanted to witness Chen Xingran, with his individual prowess, overturning an entire server. Just the thought of that grand scene, where he faced thousands and went forward alone, was enough to make their blood boil.

Just as Chen Xingran said: Since they don’t acknowledge, then we’ll fight until they do.

Chen Xingran waved at them and took a deep breath. Under the expectant gaze of others, he sat into the operation cabin.

…

After many silent days, Ye Shao’s live broadcast room lit up once again.

Chen Xingran is currently the central figure in the hot topic, caught in the crossfire of discussions. The battle with Snake King instantly made him the idol in the hearts of numerous domestic players. However, the situation changed again with the casual thumbs-up from Snake King, casting doubt on him. In just one day, he consecutively appeared in several top searches.

As a newcomer who had not officially entered the professional gaming scene, gaining such tremendous attention was something many wouldn’t dare to imagine.

Now, the biggest gaming forums and various gaming media have erected towering discussions about him. Players argued endlessly; some said that Chen Xingran had achieved remarkable results and displayed genuine skills along the way. Rumors stop at the wise; speculations about cheating were baseless.

Others believed that within such a short time, Chen Xingran, from being an unknown newcomer, had leaped to become the most talked-about hotshot in the current domestic gaming scene. There must be something undisclosed, and cheating was the most reasonable explanation.

There were also speculations that Chen Xingran had the support of ZMD, a giant in terms of capital. Even if there were various doubts from the outside world, under the powerful PR operation of ZMD’s team, this matter would likely be brushed aside. After all, in today’s era, traffic is equivalent to money, and *black and red are both red.

*negative or positive publicity is still publicity

Many people chose to watch and wait, especially since the professional league had already formed an investigation team. Whether he had genuine skills or just a facade, everything would settle in a few days. After all, Chen Xingran didn’t have any professional trophies to his name, and many people didn’t know much about him, so there wasn’t the natural high level of trust that both Lu Mingyu and Yang Yunche enjoyed.

However, no one expected that at this critical moment, Chen Xingran would actually start a live broadcast?

The news immediately set off waves of excitement on major gaming forums, attracting countless players to his channel. Thankfully, Fu Zhou and Starry River Broadcasting had made prior arrangements, preventing his live broadcast room from being overwhelmed instantly.

“What the heck, he’s live streaming?”

“This Snake fan came uninvited. Is this the live stream of the cheater?”

“Starting a live stream at this time, trying to make money while the controversy is hot? Impressive! Truly a powerhouse team. Making money still depends on ZMD.”

“Go, go, go, Ran Ran! I’ve been following you since you started broadcasting. I believe in your skills. Don’t let the haters get to you!”

“Came over from Old Immortal Ta Xue’s live stream. Old Immortal Ta Xue supported you and confronted the haters yesterday. As a result, the live stream was banned hahaha. A million Snow Army members are now homeless.”

“Misbehaving players, please voluntarily leave the professional league. The professional arena doesn’t need cheaters. Please clear the sky for the domestic professional gaming scene!”

“Can the haters roll out? The matter hasn’t been clarified yet, and you’re already dancing around? Aren’t you afraid of being proven wrong?”

“Heh heh, even the Snake King personally liked the thread. Can it be fake? His value is several times higher than this newcomer. Is it necessary to discredit a newcomer?”

“Liked and then unliked, clearly he was privately talked to. I have to say, the domestic gaming scene is really deep. Who is Chen Xingran? So many people are whitewashing him. Are they water army?”

“There are so many analysis posts online, can’t you read them? There must be an issue with his gameplay. Unless you tell me he has 0% motion correction, heh heh, otherwise, it’s not easy to clear his name.”

The barrage in the live stream room continued to flood the screen, densely packed with comments from fans, haters, and onlookers, all taking sides and creating chaos. Some European players were also mixed in, spamming in English. Even without translation, one could imagine the insults and expletives accompanying the exclamation marks.

Facing the numerous disputes in the barrage, Chen Xingran remained calm. Instead of greeting the audience, as usual, he silently logged into the European server using the account provided by Fu Zhou.

Sharp-eyed viewers noticed that the background in the live stream was clearly not from the domestic server. The English titles in the training room hinted that Chen Xingran was not logging into a domestic account.

“What’s going on? Playing on the European server today?”

“This is the European server, right? Can someone explain what’s happening?”

“It is the European server, no doubt. I guess ZMD changed the server route. But what is he doing? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t get it either. Is he logging into the European server to confront the Snake King’s fans?”

“I have a bold guess…”

“It can’t be what I’m thinking, right?”

Without glancing sideways, Chen Xingran logged into the European server account and skillfully opened the room list, creating a Martial Arts mode room.

Just like when the Snake King came to the domestic server, the room threshold was set at the same Asura rank.

Subsequently, under the gaze of countless viewers in the live stream, Chen Xingran modified the room title and attached a string of English.

Many viewers in the live stream could understand English, and within two seconds, the English room name was instantly translated.

“European Server Challenge Room: Come and fight if you don’t agree.”

At the same time, under Fu Zhou’s operation, Chen Xingran’s live stream was broadcasted to the largest overseas live channel. A large number of gifts were sent, and within a few minutes, his live stream soared to the top of the trending list, attracting numerous European server viewers to come and watch.

The viewers in the live stream felt that this move was extremely familiar, only to realize later—

Wasn’t this exactly the same as the operation when the Snake King was in the domestic server?

Except that Chen Xingran’s live stream title was more wild, more extravagant, and more arrogant, with the simple phrase “Come and fight if you don’t agree,” leaving the provocation unmistakable.

In an instant, the player community exploded!

Is he out of his mind??

Chen Xingran squinted his eyes. After adjusting the room settings, he calmly awaited the first challenger.

He didn’t speak, but the stance he took was more direct and straightforward than any language, more concise and clear.

Facing the vast world, breaking through a thousand armies without fear, he calmly awaited the multitude of challenges.

What was his purpose?

——Trampling To Heaven.
*I am not sure about this one. The original phrase is “踏破凌霄”. Individual characters breakdown
踏 – Tread/Step on
破 – broken/break/damage/destroy/split
凌霄 – reach heaven/soar to the sky

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