Chapter 88 – Count It On Your Head
At the entrance, Clemens caught sight of the guy who had dealt with him earlier. With his short legs wobbling, the man was leisurely making his way into the building. Clemens was in a foul mood but refused to show it.
In the huge base, the only one approaching was the adorable pet — a pug, waddling toward him.
It seemed Clemens was afraid of chickens, and he hurriedly jogged over to hide near the security booth.
Meanwhile, Uncle Zhou, sensing from the conversation between the manager and the visitor that the newcomer wasn’t here with good intentions, pretended to be old and near-sighted in the security office. Watching the pug without any worry, he deliberately ignored the foreign friend’s obvious and subtle hints.
Taking advantage of the break during Yang Sa and Du Changcheng’s meeting, Qin Chuan asked for their opinion, then swaggered toward the entrance.
The base’s beloved pug, excited, spread its paws wide, playing a game of hide-and-seek with the new “friend.” The arrival of Manager Qin Chuan was practically a lifesaver.
Just as Clemens was about to enter the base, Qin Chuan, holding the chicken, blocked his path: “Sorry, the team is in training. We’re not accepting visitors.”
“I’m—I’m Yang Sa’s brother,” Clemens repeated, as if afraid Qin Chuan hadn’t heard him clearly.
Qin Chuan nodded. “Family visits are scheduled for Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Please register first,” he said, pulling out the registration book from the security booth and motioning for Clemens to fill it out.
“I’m Yang Sa’s brother. I want to see him.”
Seeing Clemens insist, Qin Chuan softened his tone. “Actually, it’s not completely impossible,” he said. “Yang Sa is now the captain of Xinghai, and he does have visitation privileges. I suggest you give him a call and have him come down personally.”
Clemens still wanted to argue, but suddenly the parrot in Qin Chuan’s arms launched an attack, stretching its neck out to peck at him.
The already disgruntled Clemens was so startled that he quickly raised his arms to shield his face and stumbled back several steps, shouting at Qin Chuan to keep that sharp beak in check.
“Sharp beak?” Qin Chuan stroked the parrot’s shimmering tail feathers and said, “This is a fighting rooster, you know. It’s officially registered. In your terms, it’s got a noble bloodline. If you damage even a single feather, Xinghai’s legal department will sue you.”
Straightening the wrinkles on his clothes to maintain his composure, Clemens forced himself to say, “I’ll be back.”
“Hold on,” Qin Chuan called after the still unwilling Clemens, holding a business card between his fingers. “You might not be able to meet Xinghai’s captain, but would you like to meet Xinghai’s boss?”
…
In a coffee shop next to the airport, office workers surrounded by laptops filled the space. Shao Zhan had deliberately postponed his flight just to meet the foreign visitor who had rushed over to the Xinghai Club earlier.
Unfortunately, this German visitor was less than straightforward, his words always skimming the surface.
Pressed for time, Shao Zhan had no patience for beating around the bush. He directly brought up the project Clemens was in the middle of acquiring.
Clemens froze for a moment but quickly masked the emotions that had flashed across his face.
“You investigated me?”
Shao Zhan neither confirmed nor denied it. “Didn’t you investigate Xinghai before you came to China?”
“So what?” Clemens folded his arms. “My business negotiations and visiting my brother are two separate matters.”
“And if…” Shao Zhan asked him, if the project Clemens was trying to acquire belonged to Baizhan Group, would he have the patience to sit down and talk?
He then pushed another business card across the table. Xinghai was a club under the Baizhan Group, and he was none other than the young heir of the group.
“You—you’re cheating!”
“In business, there’s no such thing as cheating.”
Shao Zhan pretended to get up to leave, which immediately threw Clemens into a panic.
“Please wait,” Clemens said urgently. “Let’s talk about my brother.”
Unfortunately, Shao Zhan had no intention of engaging in small talk.
Just moments ago, he had also secured the operating rights to the chain business Clemens had been targeting.
“You no longer have any bargaining chips to negotiate with me,” Shao Zhan said bluntly.
He warned Clemens not to attempt to contact Yang Sa again — otherwise, every one of Clemens’s business ventures in this country would meet the same fate as today’s.
After confirming the situation with his secretary, Clemens’s face darkened. “You’re far too arrogant.”
Shao Zhan didn’t bother responding. True strength needed no words to support it.
“One more thing,” Shao Zhan added as he was leaving. During his time abroad, he didn’t want anyone connected to the Campbell family reaching out to Yang Sa.
“Anyone,” he emphasized. “Otherwise, I’ll make sure you’re the one who pays for it.”
Clemens didn’t attempt to argue — he knew that this man would absolutely follow through on his words.
Having handled everything he needed to, Shao Zhan rushed off to the airport without wasting a moment.
The Campbell family had always believed in Social Darwinism — survival of the fittest — even when it came to their own children.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how much Yang Sa must have endured growing up in such an environment, how much he had to sacrifice to earn the freedom he now had.
Shao Zhan made a silent vow: every wound, every hardship Yang Sa had suffered, he would reclaim, piece by piece.
He would make sure Yang Sa knew that he was no longer alone — that from now on, no matter what happened, no matter who or what it was, he would always have someone to rely on.
And even without words, Shao Zhan believed Yang Sa would be able to feel it.
Now, they stood in different places, each fighting their battles in their own way.
…
When traveling, the thing you fear most is having your communication devices fail.
Before his flight, Shao Zhan tried to call someone to say goodbye — but no one answered.
After landing, he tried again to call and let them know he’d arrived safely — still, no one picked up.
As a result, Shao Zhan firmly believed his phone must be broken.
He called his secretary and asked them to find a nearby phone repair shop — he said he had a very important call to make.
The secretary, being highly experienced, remained calm.
After all, when Shao Zhan’s father had fallen in love, he had shown almost exactly the same symptoms.
Thus, the secretary coolly suggested he first go to a hospital for a check-up so they could schedule surgery if necessary — and to put all other matters aside for now.
“Heartless,” Shao Zhan muttered as he complained about how unsympathetic his secretary was.
Meanwhile, Yang Sa, with a heart sealed like concrete, was fully focused on the intensive training of the new recruits.
“Isn’t this… isn’t this a little rushed?” Zhao Yan, the captain of Team Two — and a temporary substitute promoted to Team One — rubbed his palms nervously.
He had been selected less than a week ago. His skills and teamwork still weren’t polished — and now he was going to compete?
Even if it was just an online match, he still couldn’t fully grasp the reality of being called up to Team One.
This past week had felt like a living hell.
The gap in ability, the gap in strength, the gap in talent — he realized clearly that these weren’t things he could simply bridge by moving from the second team to the first.
To put it simply, for an ordinary player with average skills, working alongside true geniuses — especially those who were not only gifted but also relentlessly hardworking — was a brutal, almost torturous experience.
“Aiya, Xiaoyan-yan, don’t worry so much,” Fat Tangyuan said, huffing as he gnawed on a pineapple bun, patting his round belly.
“We’re playing online matches. We’re borrowing Team Two’s accounts. No video feed. Nothing to be scared of.”
“But…”
Zhao Yan glanced nervously at his screen — he was using his own account from Team Two.
Tangyuan simply waved it off with an easygoing smile: “Small problem. Don’t worry about it.”
Jiang Ranan, the newest official member of the team, understood exactly how the newcomers felt and quietly handed Zhao Yan a cup of fruit tea to encourage him.
Unfortunately, what Zhao Yan — already so nervous he was about to wet himself — feared most at that moment was being handed a drink.
Yang Sa didn’t say much. Even when the rookie kept making mistakes during the match, he only comforted him, telling him not to get discouraged.
While Zhao Yan observed him, Yang Sa patiently explained how to choose positions, how to move, and how to control his character — practically a personal one-on-one coaching session.
…
Even Fat Tangyuan couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. “I kinda want to die too,” he muttered.
“You shameless fat idi*t!” Manager Qin Chuan, who had been eavesdropping outside, cursed under his breath — then quickly covered his mouth.
Normally, Qin Chuan would personally lead the team through both major and minor tournaments, even online matches, always giving pep talks before games, though the players repeatedly told him it wasn’t necessary.
This time, he really didn’t dare go in — worried he might put extra pressure on the new recruits. Even the coaching staff stayed back with Team Two, just watching the live stream.
“Sweet is the best assault player in the league,” Yang Sa told Zhao Yan.
“Watch his gameplay. Let him explain the tactical awareness you need for the assault role.”
Suddenly crowned with such high praise, Tangyuan immediately felt the weight of responsibility.
Straightening his back, he said, “Come on, little brother, come here, come here — Big Brother Fatty will teach you—”
Before he could even finish his sentence, he was sniped out.
Both of the training room’s synced screens switched to black-and-white spectating mode at the same time.
“No worries, no worries, it’s fine, it’s fine,” Fat Tangyuan mumbled, unsure if he was comforting himself or everyone else.
He quickly pulled the rookie over to spectate Jiang Ranan instead.
“He’s our secondary sniper. Usually he partners up with Zhuang Bai, our flex player. Big Brother here will walk you through his gameplay, okay?”
“I can explain it myself,” Jiang Ranan said calmly — only to get immediately cut off by Fat Tangyuan.
“No, no, no, trust me, this is when you need your Big Brother Fatty.”
Throughout the whole match, Fat Tangyuan’s mouth never stopped running.
He rambled on with a bunch of flashy commentary. Whether there were any real useful takeaways was debatable — but Zhao Yan genuinely admired his attitude.
How could someone, after dragging down the team and blowing their advantage, still stay so cheerful, so positive?
Was it really possible for someone’s skin to be thicker than the ground itself?
As Zhao Yan marveled at the incredible variety of human resilience, he also couldn’t help but reflect miserably on how thoroughly terrible he was.
Five matches in — and every time, he was the first to get eliminated.
His performance was so bad, he didn’t even want to look at the stats — even worse than when he was in Team Two.
And during matches, there was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run.
In the sixth game, he finally managed to survive to the end —
Though his stats were still absolutely tragic, at least he managed to stick it out till the final whistle.
Not only did his teammates not dislike him, but before the start of the seventh round, Tangyuan even took the lead in applauding to celebrate him.
Zhao Yan, who was trying hard to appear calm on the surface, was on the verge of tears inside.
Celebrating such a tiny achievement — he really must be that bad.
Still, he knew his teammates meant well — they just didn’t want him to feel too nervous.
The match wasn’t over yet.
He quickly adjusted his mindset, tossing all those messy emotions aside, and focused completely on the rest of the game.
Maybe because he had played so terribly at the start, by the second half he simply embraced a “whatever happens, happens” attitude — and surprisingly, things started going smoother.
Since they were using Team Two’s accounts for this match, mainly to give the rookies practice, they had avoided using certain techniques that could reveal their strategies.
As a result, their overall performance stayed pretty average — hovering around their usual day-to-day level.
Fat Tangyuan’s takeout arrived just as the match ended.
As usual, he dragged his fellow gluttonous friends from Team One off to go feast together.
Zhao Yan used the excuse of changing clothes to slip away from the group.
Yang Sa had to discuss the evening’s training program with Du Changcheng.
Only Jiang Ranan stayed behind to eat and drink with Fat Tangyuan.
Fat Tangyuan clung to Jiang Ranan’s arm dramatically.
“Ranan, brother, you’re all I have left! Until my leg heals, you’re not allowed to abandon me, okay?”