Chapter 96 – Boiling Point (Final Chapter)
Even though he knew that going two against three and acting as bait put him at a complete disadvantage, he still charged out without hesitation.
Even running with all his might, Shao Zhan only managed to take out two of the opposing players.
Jiang Ranan, who had volunteered to fight for the airdrop, engaged in a shootout with the last enemy player and was knocked down before his teammates could reach him. But even as he fell, he bought his team precious time. After Shao Zhan dealt with the final enemy, he jumped in a vehicle and broke out of the encirclement in the opposite direction.
To gather gear, he had endured the damage from the toxic zone while constantly healing. Now, he had to seize every second he could to regroup with his teammates.
Yang Sa received word from Shao Zhan and, along with Fat Tangyuan, each drove a vehicle to rendezvous with him.
Unfortunately, they were ambushed while crossing a bridge. The two quickly abandoned conventional tactics. Fat Tangyuan floored the accelerator, rammed his car forward, and blocked the road, using his own body as a shield to build a fast passage for his teammate.
Yang Sa didn’t hesitate for even a second. He stepped on the gas and blasted through, even when his car tires were shot out. He didn’t stop—instead, he let the car drop and rushed to the nearest vehicle spawn point at top speed, ignoring the hail of bullets behind him and forging ahead.
Finally, at the outer edge of the toxic zone on the NS side, a red Dacia appeared on the horizon. At that moment, both of them ran toward each other with everything they had. But close behind the red Dacia, enemy pursuers were hot on their heels.
The moment they met at the edge of the toxic zone, Shao Zhan and Yang Sa jumped out of their vehicles simultaneously, handing each other a med kit and their most powerful weapon.
While Shao Zhan healed, Yang Sa parked the metal jeep sideways and used the airdrop weapon to warmly “greet” their international friends at the intersection of the vehicles.
Despite being well-equipped, two fists couldn’t fend off a dozen hands. With so many enemies closing in, even Yang Sa was struggling to hold on.
Once Shao Zhan was fully healed, he covered his teammate and took out the enemies flanking them. Though they had earned a brief moment to breathe, the two didn’t linger. They jumped in the car and drove off in the direction Yang Sa had come from.
They would take down the final enemy—but not here. Before the toxic zone shrank to its final point, they had to find a way to seize the upper hand.
In a high-stakes toxic-zone escape, Shao Zhan and Yang Sa worked in perfect sync. With overwhelming strength, they gunned down the enemies flanking them from both sides.
Along the way, they constantly encountered formidable foes, pushing both themselves and their teammates to the limit.
They came across Weiguang. They passed Weiguang.
And finally—
Xinghai fought to the very end!
When the new World Cup champions were announced, the stadium erupted into thunderous applause.
Yang Sa and Shao Zhan clasped each other’s hands and raised them high. In that moment, the whole world boiled over—for Xinghai, and for Chinese esports.
…
After the match, both Xinghai and Weiguang were interviewed. During a break, the Xinghai captain turned to Shao Zhan and said, “That last round—beautifully played.”
Shao Zhan clutched his chest and pretended to be startled. “Don’t say that, you’re scaring me.” Then he addressed the Weiguang players behind him. “Quick, take your captain to the hospital. All that gaming has scrambled his brains. What’s with this ‘friendship first, competition second’ nonsense? Gross.”
“You’re the gross one—faking illness to skip the match, then showing up in the second half to show off. You think that’s cool?”
“It is cool. Super cool,” Shao Zhan replied in a deliberately nasal voice. “We beat our so-called ‘brother team’ and snatched first place right out of their hands. It was so cool.”
“Who the hell said we were your brother team?!”
“That’s me being generous. In the early rounds, I was just trying to train the rookies and give the kids a chance to shine. You should be grateful.”
“And who exactly doesn’t know how to be grateful here…”
Beneath a banner touting the ideals of competitive sportsmanship, the two team captains engaged in a warm, friendly, and—technically—respectful exchange. Meanwhile, their teammates, embarrassed beyond belief, quietly slipped away in perfect silence.
That night, Black , White, and Fat Tangyuan’s good buddy Little Blue all gathered in Paris to celebrate with Team Xinghai.
Max, who had inherited Du Changcheng’s will, unfortunately had to miss the event due to undergoing surgery on a certain body part in Kuala Lumpur.
Still, the friends sent him a flood of food photos, hoping he could feel their sincere concern—and deep, profound love.
While Fat Tangyuan was switching between apps to rant to Max about how their friends were liking posts on Facebook but ignoring his, he noticed something odd: Star Sea’s old friend and esports streamer, Old Pineapple, had posted three consecutive Weibo updates all tagged in Kuala Lumpur.
He couldn’t help but marvel, “Old Pineapple, that sly old fox, really pulled something off.”
As it turned out, Max was unexpectedly naive in certain matters. After Yang Sa said a few teasing words, Max confessed everything and even pulled his friend aside, saying, “Why don’t we make it official together?”
“We?”
“Yeah,” Max said earnestly. “Me and Brother Pineapple, you and Captain Shao.”
“You’re crazy. I’m still an active pro,” Yang Sa scolded him. “Focus on recovering and stop daydreaming about nonsense. Watch out or you’ll burst a vein.”
Max’s Chinese wasn’t great, so he assumed Yang Sa was showing genuine concern. He happily hung up and even bragged about it to his boyfriend, who was staying with him at the hospital.
“Babe,” said Old Pineapple, giving him a kiss, half laughing and half crying, “that wasn’t exactly a loving message.”
“What do you mean?” Max asked.
And so began a Chinese lesson… punctuated by passionate kisses.
…
The post-tournament euphoria washed away much of the lingering exhaustion.
After landing, Shao Zhan had Qin Chuan lead the team back to the base to rest, while he personally drove Yang Sa to visit his grandfather and pay respects to the elders.
By the time they arrived, it was already very late—Grandpa was fast asleep.
Shao Zhan told the housekeeper who answered the door, “Well, can’t help that. Let’s just count it as a visit, then.” With zero guilt, he detoured and kidnapped Yang Sa straight into their shared little world of two.
“You planned this all along, didn’t you?” Yang Sa asked, sitting stubbornly in the passenger seat, refusing to get out.
Shao Zhan leaned over, trying to kiss him, but Yang Sa pushed him away. “Are you insane? We’re on the street.”
“Then come home with me,” Shao Zhan said shamelessly, dragging him out. Yang Sa, half resisting and half yielding, followed along.
Seeing the person beside him blushing all the way to the tips of his ears, Shao Zhan suddenly asked, “So, do you want to shower first, or should I go first?”
“What—what are you even talking about?” Yang Sa glanced around nervously, like a student sneaking out from evening study to play online games. He looked like he wanted to stuff a sock in Shao Zhan’s mouth.
“How about… we shower together?” Shao Zhan said with a cheeky grin, tugging Yang Sa toward their home.
The door with slightly stiff blinds creaked open. In the darkness, two fevered bodies held each other tightly.
Their breaths tangled, warm air burning across their skin, sending high-frequency tremors through their nerves.
“Wait—wait a second,” Yang Sa pushed Shao Zhan away in the dark. “Do you remember what I told you the first time?”
Shao Zhan caught his finger between his teeth, nibbling it gently. “The one I wanted… has always been you,” he whispered beside Yang Sa’s ear, kisses falling in between each word. “Only you…”
Overwhelmed by that deep, intense love, Yang Sa flipped him over and pressed his lover beneath him—
…
For a couple so deeply in love, even the longest holidays never feel long enough.
Woken up by a phone call from Qin Chuan, the young master was clearly annoyed. As he was thinking up excuses to fire him, Qin Chuan practically burst through the phone: “Brother! Where’s my captain?! What did you do with my captain?!”
There had been a promotional event scheduled at the airport after the tournament. Everything was in place, but when the time came, the new captain was completely unreachable.
“The media’s here, everything’s set—we’re in crisis mode here! I’m begging you, have mercy, let him go!”
Shao Zhan switched ears and said lazily, “Let me make it official—he’s mine now. From now on, don’t schedule anything without my approval.”
Qin Chuan howled from the other end of the line, “Is that really okay? Do you think that’s okay?!”
“What’s not okay…” Shao Zhan murmured, leaning his forehead against his lover’s. His next words were lost in the warmth of their kiss.
Meanwhile, Qin Chuan was still yelling his lungs out on the other end—
“Brother, the manager has a life too! Supporting characters have lives too, okay?!”
-The End-