Rise

It took the players and the owner from the third team a minute to figure it out. But they eventually did, and collectively frowned. They were annoyed now. Especially because they had more than enough reason to back the pride they had in their strength. They were from the Sacred Star Cafe, and their triumphs on the first day of the Battle Bonanza placed them at the head of the pack. They fought hard and proved that they unquestionably belonged at the top. This was the sixth internet cafe that Sacred Star Cafe had come to challenge today. In the last five challenges, Sacred Star Cafe’s team had won four. They only had one loss to their name. And now they were being looked down upon by a high schooler!

The entire team exchanged looks that said the same thing. That they would not stand for this humiliation! “We were even being nice, offering to let them eat their dinner first… Fine, if that’s how they want it, let’s start! What do you say, Boss?” one of the players muttered.

Sacred Star Cafe’s owner turned to his players and said, “Don’t hold back. I want you to go all out right from the start!” His lips curved into a cruel smile as he added, “They want to eat dinner soon, right? So let’s be nice and help ‘em get this over with quickly!”

While Sacred Star team’s made up their minds to pummel the NetCow Cafe, Lin Feng and the others were also talking strategy for the upcoming match. It was also oddly similar to the one that the Sacred Star team just had.

“Yeah! Let’s get this over with quickly!” Lin Feng exclaimed as he pumped his fist into the air.

“Mhm!” Tang bingyao nodded.

It was clear that both teams wanted to finish the match quickly. But they wanted a quick finish for very different reasons. Sacred Star wanted to teach a lesson and soothe their damaged pride, while NetCow Cafe simply wanted to finish quickly so they could eat dinners while it was still hot. This match was one where two truly profound ideologies clashed against each other to determine an answer to a question that has plagued humanity.

“Sounds good to me! Alrighty then. If we’re going to do this, then we need to play seriously…” An Xin smiled gently after she spoke. But there was a frightening pressure and caged ferocity behind her words. In the previous matches they played today, the NetCow Cafe team had not been playing seriously at all. They swapped roles and played odd team compositions. Partially to make the matches more fair, and partially for their own development and practice. But that was done for now. Playing seriously meant that they would be running real team compositions and everyone would be back in their regular role. That meant that Lin Feng would be back on Mid.

In other words, the fate of Sacred Star Cafe was sealed.