Background set in the second loop, joining Yanyu and following the Chu Yunxiu route, but intercepted by Jiang's vice captain.

When Jiang Botao turned his phone to see Yanyu announcing a new recruit on Weibo during the summer break, he couldn't help but complain to Zhou Zekai, the captain of the Reincarnation team, sitting next to him. Just a few days ago, he heard their boss mention that he caught a hint from Yanyu's boss at a cocktail party about the team commercializing, and now they were putting it into practice so efficiently.

Zhou Zekai responded with a brief "mm," not saying much else.

The girl in the promotional Weibo photo didn't resemble the two goddess-level players in the league. Her features carried an inherent coolness, with slightly heavy brows that added a touch of stubbornness, yet her eye color was faint, giving off a subtle hint of tenderness.

Her profession was...

Wait, she was a Berserker?

Jiang Botao considered himself to have a pretty good reputation in the league, probably due to his consistent respect for female players, earning him the title of "women's friend." Naturally, he had a decent friendship with Chu Yunxiu.

With the intention of digging for more information about the newcomer, he pulled up Yanyu's roster and searched for her name.

[WuLang]What's up with your team's newbie?

[FengChengYanYu]Cautious.jpg What are you up to? Don't get any funny ideas about my little sister.

[WuLang]???????

Feeling wronged after being accused without a word, Jiang Botao pondered whether the reason for Chu Yunxiu's protective instincts was that this newcomer looked soft and cute.

Then, in the second match of the new season against Yanyu, he was utterly crushed in the first personal match.

I mean really crushed.

The Berserker on the opposite side, though she had an ethereal appearance, swung her heavy sword without mercy, and her reaction speed was lightning fast. He tried to play some clever tricks and counterattack, but it turned out that her instincts were just as sharp as his.

With a head full of questions, Jiang Botao was sent off the stage, while the Berserker was still at 35% health after finishing her rampage.

During the handshake after the match, she seemed remarkably calm, not at all like a newcomer.

The team match was even more intense, facing off directly against One Shot Piercing Cloud. While her skills might not be top-tier yet, the ferocity of that Berserker was somewhat outrageous. As an experienced expert, Chu Yunxiu wouldn't give them any room to slack off.

With the best sword-wielding elemental magician finally breaking through the common criticism of being soft, she ruthlessly tore apart the defenses of the remaining four members of Reincarnation.

Jiang Botao thought Chu Yunxiu had a screw loose.

This Berserker was clearly an aggressive powerhouse, yet she had been tricked into being seen as a delicate flower by her.

As he contemplated this, he caught a glimpse of the girl named Zhong Qing tugging at her hair styled by the club, which made her look a bit uncomfortable. The sweat at her temples made her side profile glimmer; she turned to Chu Yunxiu with a light smile that was both gentle and obedient, but her eyes held a fierce light, reminiscent of the furious tide she unleashed when intercepting Zhou Zekai.

Oh no, is it too late to go chat with her now?

Unfortunately, he was so accustomed to playing the gentle persona that even when scheming tactics for the team match, Zhou Zekai's performance overshadowed his efforts, leaving him unsure of what to say after introducing himself.

He noticed a slightly indistinct red mole above her brow, which was oddly charming.

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Perhaps the contrast between the cold beauty and the fierce Berserker was just too adorable. Despite having only debuted for three months, she had already made it into the top 24 of the All-Star voting.

Of course, being new in e-sports was a sin. Her inclusion was also closely tied to Yanyu's recent excellent match results.

Chu Yunxiu's mature goddess-like appearance naturally created a distance, but the way Zhong Qing smiled at her was captured in a plethora of images, drawing in fans from Yanyu's decade-long loyal followers and the Chu-Qing CP fans, causing Yanyu's manager to beam with delight.

Jiang Botao glanced at the All-Star event plan in B City, closed the webpage, and no one noticed he had sneakily clicked on the girl's Weibo to save two images.

[YeYuShengFan]Aqing, let's have a PK! I'm telling you, always fighting with an Elementalist isn't suitable for your progress. It's much better to duel with a Sword Saint; it's the sword class that best helps you master the aggressive rhythm of the Berserker. And what was up with your last PK? Did you just hold back your hand speed again? Don't think I didn't notice your hand speed hit over 500 in the last match.

[YunShanWuZhao]You played like an assassin instead of a sword class.

[YeYuShengFan]????????

[WuLang]It's rare to see a silent Huang Shaotian?

Jiang Botao couldn't help but reply.

Speaking of which, he was somewhat envious of Huang Shaotian; at least he could chat with anyone without feeling awkward. Jiang Botao was not the type to be overly aggressive, nor did he see any issues with his lukewarm, backhanded personality. Now, he felt a bit restless. He opened Zhong Qing's private message.

[WuLang]For the seating at this All-Star event, Yanyu is next to Reincarnation. Is there any local delicacies from S City you want? Last time, we discussed some map blind spots, and I wanted to thank you.

[YunShanWuZhao]Eh? Jiang Vice Captain, no need to be so polite.

[WuLang]It's not politeness; it's more like bribery since I might have some questions I want to bother you with later.

[YunShanWuZhao]How about pear syrup candy?

[WuLang]Ok.

Jiang Botao silently noted that the girl liked sweet things, unaware that Zhong Qing had already saved a file on him.

For a game strategy evaluator, time could not be wasted; it was best to build rapport early on and then decide which ending to pursue midway through.

On Zhong Qing's panel, there were five people with a favorability rating over 40: Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng, Chu Yunxiu, Huang Shaotian, and Jiang Botao.

Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng had high favorability ratings because she chose to follow Ye Xiu for a while to learn Glory, which was how she managed to join Yanyu only eight months after entering the game.

As for Jiang Botao… Zhong Qing found it strange that his favorability rating was so high.

Looking at the evaluation forum, no one had yet unlocked his ending, indicating that he was someone who appeared easy to get along with but was not so easy to build emotional connections with in reality.

Not understanding why her favorability towards Jiang Botao was rising, Zhong Qing decided to try and strategize him.

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Though she claimed she would strategize, she clearly didn't intend to take any special actions.

Until the opening of the All-Stars, her chat record with WuLang was still stuck at just "ok."

Taking advantage of the stage being filled with the first match of the new talent challenge, Jiang Botao stealthily slipped a bag of pear syrup candy over to Zhong Qing. Luckily, Chu Yunxiu was focused on the stage and didn't notice his actions, or else he would have been accused of having ulterior motives.

Seeing the little sister sneak a piece of candy into her mouth with a hint of a smile, Jiang Botao couldn't help but slightly raise the corners of his mouth.

Sitting next to Jiang Botao, Zhou Zekai began to doubt whether he had brought a fake vice-captain out with him.

Should he tell the manager he suspected the vice-captain was trying to date, and his target was Yanyu's super newcomer? The public relations department should prepare early. Or should he lay the groundwork with Chu Yunxiu to avoid her wanting to beat up the vice-captain? But usually, these matters were handled by Jiang Botao himself. He was just quietly observing, ensuring he wasn't creating any major news.

He could only sigh helplessly.

After all, he didn't know how to appropriately convey either plan.

"Who are you planning to challenge?"

"Wang队," Zhong Qing answered decisively. Jiang Botao noticed that when she was seriously focused on something, her blinks seemed a bit slow, not at all the cool exterior, but rather a bit naïve.

This was clearly someone capable of playing clever tactics and was an excellent individual player, yet to him, she appeared incredibly cute.

He didn't think of himself as someone who judged by looks, but perhaps his brain had been damaged by the sister's heavy sword.

"He did very well with the evasion tactics in the last team match, but I didn't get comfortable playing against him."

Thus, the Berserker swung her heavy sword head-on against the Magic Scholar who wanted to play a flanking strategy.

A fast and swift offense forced the opponent to bring out the magician's tactics to counter, resulting in her loss.

After losing, the girl didn't seem upset; instead, she smiled because she found the match enjoyable, and after exchanging compliments with the host team's captain, she lightly returned to her seat five minutes later.

Jiang Botao felt like punching someone.

But when he saw the little sister pop another piece of pear syrup candy into her mouth