Chapter 7 – Trying to poach my fans
Sang Ye is a lone wolf in the game, having queued with random players a few times.
Because random players are generally too inexperienced, which ruins the gaming experience, he was nearly traumatized by solo queueing.
It’s fine if the teammates are mute; at least they give Sang Ye a quiet environment to focus on his performance.
The real nightmare is when the teammate is a “Peppa Pig” who not only plays poorly but also won’t stop talking.
Just last month, Sang Ye encountered such a player—terrible but oblivious, blamed teammates for his death, and after dying, stayed in spectator mode to hurl insults.
Sang Ye simply tossed his mouse aside.
Fine, then. Nobody wins. They cursed at each other until the game ended, reporting one another afterward, taking each other down.
Oddly enough, the livestream audience loved this.
To distract his fake fans from constantly harping about him cross-dressing, Sang Ye was willing to put up with it.
Today’s random teammate was a bit different from the usual. He clearly had a cold, his voice slightly distorted, but he spoke at a steady pace, articulating each word clearly and comfortably—a cultured type. Sang Ye wasn’t worried about any reckless moves.
As for skill level, Sang Ye didn’t have high expectations. He just hoped the teammate would quietly be a “sidekick,” so he immediately told him to lie low.
But within less than a minute of starting the match, Sang Ye felt his face stinging.
They had landed at G-Port—famous for its intense firefights. The simple building layouts made it easy to clear but challenging to survive, and the loot was plentiful enough to support an entire squad, making it a hotspot for skilled players, on par with the airport.
Sang Ye parachuted onto the six-building cluster by the sea, while his teammate didn’t follow, opting to loot the red house instead.
After clearing the first floor, Sang Ye spotted two enemies sneaking into the building where his teammate was.
Sang Ye thought to himself, “Here we go, another dumb teammate, not even calling for backup when the enemies are at his door.”
Just as he was about to jump out the window, he said, “You’ve got someone downstairs. Hide on the second floor…”
Before he could finish, two shotgun blasts erupted from the red house, and two kill notifications instantly popped up in the top-right corner.
[iam31415926 ▄︻┻┳═ ……]
[iam31415926 ▄︻┻┳═ ……]
[iam31415926] was the teammate’s ID.
“Alright,” Sang Ye gritted his teeth, left the window without hesitation, and headed upstairs. “Are you messing with me?”
“What?” Tan Mo asked, quickly looting gear.
“Playing dumb? I told you to lie low at the start, and you actually did it.” Sang Ye barged into the room. “Are you a streamer?”
“I guess…” Tan Mo’s tone was a bit vague. “What about you?”
Sang Ye introduced himself: “I’m from Maoya.”
The youth’s voice was clear and straightforward, as if he had never known how to hide anything.
Just like his admiration for Talk, unhidden, not caring if the whole world knew.
Tan Mo felt a slight warmth in his heart, hesitating for only a moment before softening his voice: “Do you know Tan Mo?”
The earphones went silent all of a sudden, only the sound of shallow breathing remaining.
The quiet made Tan Mo curl his fingers slightly, pausing in place, not even finishing attaching his weapon mods.
In the seaside house, Sang Ye lay prone against the windowsill, aiming his 98K sniper rifle. His eyes were close to the scope, and the crosshairs followed a figure moving below.
At a certain moment, he held his breath and pulled the trigger.
One shot.
Two shots.
[You used the 98K to headshot and kill…]
Sang Ye calmly put away the rifle and picked up the earlier conversation: “Tan Mo?”
His tone was casual, as if calling out to him by name.
Tan Mo continued clicking the mouse, his fingertips burning: “I am…”
“Yeah, I know,” Sang Ye replied without any concern for his teammate’s reaction. He added nonchalantly, “He’s my husband.”
The crisp sound of the mouse clicks suddenly stopped. Tan Mo: “…”
[“Hahahahaha!!! Song is too bold!!! Tan Mo is speechless!!!”]
[“How is he calling him ‘husband’ so naturally??? How many times has he said it behind the scenes?!”]
[“Song probably means WLG. He always calls WLG his husband, but it sounds so fitting here, hahahaha!!!”]
[“I’m laughing so hard I’m choking. If Tan Mo reveals himself now, Song would absolutely explode!!!”]
Even before the game started, many people had rushed into Song’s stream to spill the beans, revealing that his teammate was actually Talk.
Fake fans were so excited they almost broke the stream, flooding the screen with shouts.
Unfortunately, Sang Ye had already turned off the comments and had no idea.
He still asked, “What’s wrong?”
Tan Mo clenched his fist, covering his lips as he lightly coughed, “Nothing.”
Maybe this was for the best.
In that moment, Tan Mo changed his mind.
If he wasn’t [Talk] without the fan filter, how would Song see him?
Sang Ye didn’t notice anything unusual and checked the map.
The first safe zone had spawned in the eastern part of the map, while they were on the southernmost edge. They had three minutes to reach the zone before the blue circle closed in.
“Let’s move,” Sang Ye vaulted out the window and headed downstairs. “I’ll go find a car.”
Tan Mo met him in the open field and naturally asked, “You’re driving?”
But Sang Ye insisted, “You drive.”
“There’s at least one squad between the outer three warehouses and the containers. We won’t pass through without getting blocked,” Tan Mo calmly analyzed, settling into the commander’s seat. “You drive, I’ll handle taking out enemies.”
Sang Ye caught the underlying meaning and stopped in his tracks. “So after that, I suppose I’ll have to cover you with suppressing fire too?”
Tan Mo responded without hesitation, “I’m better suited for assault.”
“Oh, really? So you want me to play support for you?” Sang Ye let out a cold, disdainful laugh. “Unless you’re Talk.”
Tan Mo instantly released his hand from the controls, narrowing his eyes slightly.
In the game, both character avatars stood motionless, locked in a standoff.
The audience was glued to their screens.
Here it was—two team captains facing off!
Since his debut, Talk had always been the core of WLG’s team, the one who received the best resources while teammates took care of the dirty work. He’d never played the support role for anyone before.
Meanwhile, even though Sang Ye was a new streamer, his usual cocky, defiant attitude showed he wasn’t one to follow orders easily. He respected no one.
It seemed that unless Talk revealed his true identity right here, this car wasn’t going anywhere!
The tension stretched for half a minute.
Finally, one of them moved, running towards the nearby jeep and hopping into the driver’s seat.
“Get in,” Tan Mo’s voice was calm but carried an air of command.
Sang Ye remained where he was, repeatedly switching between his rifle and sniper, staying silent.
He was clearly playing hard to get.
Tan Mo bit his lip and, with a resigned sigh, gave in:
“I’ll be your driver, and I’ll cover you.”
“Deal?”
“That’s more like it,” Sang Ye snorted softly, jumping into the car without hesitation. He couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, “I already said I’d carry you, but you still want to argue and give me orders, huh? Do you want me to help you win or not? Know your place!”
His words carried the pride of a young boy, with a hint of playful stubbornness.
Tan Mo licked the corner of his lips and couldn’t hold back a smile. “Yes, my captain.”
The chat exploded within 0.1 seconds.
[“Help!!”]
[“This is murder!!”]
[“Tan Shen is too sweet!!”]
Sang Ye just thought the man’s English was perfectly pronounced, and combined with his deep, magnetic voice, it was almost too alluring.
Unfortunately, as someone who barely passed his English exams, he only caught “yes” and “my.”
“What did you say?” Sang Ye asked, his face showing a look of resigned indifference. “My what? Are you secretly insulting me?”
“How could I?” Tan Mo chuckled softly. “I meant, my little friend.”
[“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”]
…
It was well known that WLG’s captain, Talk, had never been able to form a convincing couple dynamic with anyone in the scene—male or female—despite having a godly face.
But just now, the viewers had actually caught a whiff of romantic tension.
While everyone was still in shock over Talk’s rare display of affection, they looked at the pairing of this devastatingly handsome man and the stunningly beautiful boy with fresh eyes.
As the game continued, the two players worked in perfect sync, smoothly making it into the safe zone.
Both were skilled, and once they started coordinating, everything felt surprisingly easy.
Sang Ye hadn’t played this freely in a long time. For the first time, he was experiencing the fun of duo queueing.
Just as he finished reloading his M762, he rounded a corner and came face-to-face with an enemy. He fired two shots, taking them down instantly.
A second enemy quickly moved in to cover, but Sang Ye didn’t even lift his head. From behind him, a crisp, decisive gunshot rang out. A single 98K bullet whizzed past Sang Ye’s shoulder, piercing clean through the enemy’s level two helmet.
It was the teammates who were ambushing behind the outer wall of the hundred-meter-wide opening.
No need to shoot again, two boxes automatically appeared in front of him.
Sang Ye squatted down to lick the loot, and he was happy to lick it, and his mood became better: “You are very good.”
If Sang Ye said it was good, then it was really good. After all, he dared to say that even a professional player like Lu Qikai was bad in front of millions of people, which shows that not many people can get his recognition.
As a burst of footsteps approached, the teammates squatted beside him: “Awesome? How good? Compared with Tan Mo?”
“That’s definitely not comparable.” Sang Ye did not hesitate, and then changed the subject, strangely, “I said why do you always mention Talk, are you picking on him?”
Tan Mo’s hand was a little slow to reload, and he didn’t deny: “A little.”
Sang Ye looked at him: “What’s wrong?”
When the deep voice spoke again, it sounded a bit lazy.
“He stole my wife fans… they only compliment him, not me.”
The chat exploded with a collective [“Aww!!!”] as everyone virtually ‘died.’
“Don’t take it too hard,” Sang Ye let out a breath, showing understanding. “Who doesn’t like Talk?”
Tan Mo slightly curled his lips but stopped teasing him. After looting the supplies, he stood up and said, “Let’s go, time to cross the bridge.”
After finishing their loot in Y City, the two continued heading toward the center of the circle.
As they approached the bridgehead, the steel frame of the jeep suddenly erupted with sharp pinging sounds. Flames flashed from the dark windows of a nearby building.
Tan Mo didn’t react and kept his foot on the gas, speeding through the hail of bullets.
They assumed it was just some team fooling around. But they hadn’t driven far when the roar of a pickup truck’s engine rumbled behind them.
The next second, a bullet shattered the glass, grazing Sang Ye’s arm and dropping a bit of his health.
That’s when they realized the earlier shots weren’t random — the enemy had a plan.
“Messing with me?” Sang Ye’s voice was laced with mockery as he coldly drew his gun.
In the game, he was always the one chasing others. No one had ever dared to pull a stunt behind his back.
Tan Mo spotted a tree on the roadside, pulled a sharp turn, and drifted to a stop.
Both players leapt out of the car, using it as cover.
The opposing team braked as well, three players charging toward them, guns at the ready.
Sang Ye and Tan Mo stood up simultaneously, strafing to opposite sides to shoot.
To their surprise, all three opponents turned their guns on Sang Ye, unleashing a barrage of bullets so thick even a god descending from heaven couldn’t escape.
Sang Ye fell with low health beside the car’s tire.
The system notification popped up:
[nsn_Lulu knocked down songsongsong with an AKM.]
Seeing the ID, Sang Ye cursed, “D*mn!” Immediately realizing what had happened.
The opposing team turned out to be professional players from NSN Esports.
Last week, Sang Ye had humiliated NSN’s captain, Lu Qikai. Today, they crossed paths again, and these guys didn’t even bother to hide their grudge. They were relentlessly chasing him down, as if they had “revenge” plastered across their foreheads.
No wonder their attacks were so targeted.
When Sang Ye was knocked down, Tan Mo took advantage of the chaos to eliminate one enemy. He reloaded his gun, pressed himself against the back of the car, and took a quick glance at the person curled up at his feet.
Cowering like a trembling cat.
Tan Mo couldn’t help but smile—he had never seen the young man so quiet and pitiful.
Meanwhile, on NSN’s team channel:
The knocked-down attacker cursed loudly, “D*mn it! Who the hell just headshotted me?!”
Lulu glanced at the kill feed, seeing the ID [iam31415926.]
A random player—no one familiar.
The sniper hesitated. “Should we revive him first?”
But Lulu was on fire, “Push, push, push! That hacker is down, his teammate is just dead weight. The two of us can’t take on one guy?”
“Exactly!” The attacker was still fuming, “Do you think we’re up against Talk? What are you afraid of? Hurry up and finish them so you can revive me.”
In the game, there’s a revive mechanic: once a player is downed, their teammate can hold the “F” key for ten seconds to revive them and bring them back into the fight.
But with the battle this intense, neither side had time to revive anyone. One wrong move and they’d be dead.
The two remaining NSN players pressed their attack, flanking the jeep from both sides.
Tan Mo timed his movement perfectly, turning around without using the scope. He aimed quickly to the left and, in a flash, downed another enemy with several rapid sniper shots.
Lulu tried to lock on and shoot, but missed entirely.
Tan Mo swiftly darted in front of the car, stepping onto the hood. From there, he fired two clean shotgun blasts down onto the head of the final enemy. Out of ammo, he tossed the gun aside.
Wiped out.
All enemies eliminated.
In NSN’s team channel, no one spoke. It seemed they were all stunned by what had just happened.
Sang Ye looked up at the man standing on the car and couldn’t help but wonder.
So far, the only pro player he had ever beaten was Lu Qikai.
But this guy? He practically took down an entire team of professionals on his own.
His skill was terrifying.
The last time Sang Ye saw someone pull off a successful 1v3 like that was during the Spring Championship, when Talk did it.
Suddenly, Sang Ye felt curious about this man’s identity.
Where on earth did this streamer come from?
At that moment, Tan Mo hopped off the car and leisurely began healing himself.
Sang Ye was still curled up at his feet—after being knocked down in the game, the player’s character stays in that position.
But after waiting for a few seconds, Sang Ye couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, “Can you revive me first?”
“Sure,” Tan Mo said as he finished injecting a medkit, then applied another one, his eyes lowered. “But you need to tell me one thing.”
Sang Ye’s voice was cold: “What?”
Tan Mo tossed the syringe aside, crouched down, and with a slight smile, faced Sang Ye, who was kneeling on the ground.
“Who’s better, me or Talk?”
“…”
Caught off guard, Sang Ye choked on his words.