[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 359

The world could have briefly fallen into silence, but with the emergence of a new champion team, cheers erupted from the audience broadcasted live.

“Whoa—!”

SY’s shocking defeat.

And the Red Cup victory by the Chinese team.

Those two facts sent the fans’ spirits plummeting.

“How could they lose this?”

“Just swim over here!”

“Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut! Bug cut!”

“Is OLZ the only one left?”

“Man, they’re so pathetic.”

“They actually lost?”

“Sigh…”

The fans’ sense of loss was so intense that it was almost exaggerated.

Yeah, my team felt the same way.

“Sigh… we lost.”

“SY wasn’t themselves today.”

“Right? Yujin, didn’t you feel something was off? This isn’t the SY we know… sigh… I don’t know. Maybe GRS was just that good?”

Baek Seong-an clicked his tongue.

SY had looked so strong in the third and fourth sets, and with expectations of a reverse sweep, the disappointment hit hard.

“Really disappointing… But we have to accept the results with humility, right?”

“Yes, that’s true. Although we lost, I want to give a big round of applause to SY players for their fierce battle until the end.”

“Absolutely! In the world of competition, there are wins and losses, right?”

The commentators shared their bittersweet thoughts, but I wasn’t sure how comforting that was for the fans.

And SY players too.

“Well… that’s it then.”

The long Red Cup finally came to an end.

It was time for us, as LCKR, to start preparing for next season seriously.

“Other teams might still be on break…”

But for me and my team, we had a goal.

A distant and enormous goal that felt daunting at the moment.

That’s why we were ready to dive into training from now on to prepare for the next season.

“What about the interview? Want to watch it?”

“Um, I don’t want to.”

“Me neither.”

Maybe it was because the Korean team lost, but Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an got up, saying they wouldn’t watch the interview.

Now, it was just me, Seo Yeon-woo, and Kim Ji-hoon left in our seats.

“Are you two going to watch?”

“Not really, there’s nothing else to do.”

“Still, it’s good to see it since they’re the winning team.”

“True that.”

On the screen, GRS players were standing in front of the trophy, greeting fans of Legends of League around the world.

And the interview continued.

[“You went to the fifth set in a fierce match against SY. How do you feel?”]

[“I was really nervous facing SY, the world’s strongest team, but I’m so happy we could defeat them and become the best!”]

[“Got it, and also…”]

Unfortunately, I hardly heard the rest of the interview.

Unknowingly, I realized I was also quite shaken by SY’s defeat.

“But… it’s weird. SY was not themselves today.”

That was true even for the closely contested third and fourth sets.

Today’s SY felt off.

If they were at their usual level, I would have thought they’d win against GRS without question.

“Well… they probably just weren’t in good condition.”

As I half-heartedly watched the interview, that thought crossed my mind.

[“Now, we can’t avoid asking about your next goals. Is GRS also aiming for the Red Cup victory next year?”]

[“Of course! But we still have many mountains to climb. Especially with teams like OLZ still in Korea.”]

[“Oh, you mean the team with Outlaw? That’s quite a hot topic.”]

[“Exactly.”]

The names of OLZ were mentioned so casually by the international interviewer and Nightmare.

Even Seo Yeon-woo, Kim Ji-hoon, and I exchanged surprised looks.

[“Although we couldn’t make it to this Red Cup, OLZ is truly a strong team. I look forward to meeting OLZ in next year’s Red Cup.”]

[“Indeed. Since they’re such a hot topic worldwide, I really hope OLZ comes to next year’s World Championship.”]

We couldn’t hide our discomfort as we watched the interview.

“…That was probably directed at us, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Seems so.”

Who would’ve thought that GRS, the Red Cup champion team, would mention us…

Even though we had scrimmed a few times with GRS, this was totally unexpected.

“Does that mean they acknowledged us?”

Sure enough, the chat was buzzing during GRS’s interview.

“Of course only OLZ.”

“Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw!”

“A team recognized by the Red Cup champion, wow!”

“Really looking forward to OLZ now.”

“How good must they be for the Red Cup champion to talk about them like that?”

“Seriously.”

“OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ! OLZ!”

The way they were praised made my face flush with embarrassment.

“Being positively assessed is nice, but… this feels a bit much.”

At this rate, if we can’t win the Red Cup next year, we might as well become public enemies.

“…But we have to try anyway.”

In some ways, it could be seen as a good thing.

Primarily, our goal had always been to win the Red Cup; and with expectations like these, our team members might get even more fired up.

“I’ll endure until next year…”

“Outlaw will carry us.”

“SY is done for, huh?”

“They won’t be escaping the second tier for a year…”

“I only trust Outlaw.”

As the chaotic chat continued to scroll upwards, the day of the Red Cup finals came to a close.

*

After all the interviews concluded, the Red Cup finals wrapped up in a grand success.

Upon returning to the dormitory, GRS held a huge team party with all players and staff.

Red Cup Champions.

Finally, they had grasped the Red Cup trophy as the first Chinese team.

“To two-time Red Cup champions!”

The atmosphere of GRS was absolutely lively.

But amidst all that excitement, Li Zhi-Xuan couldn’t shake off a certain uneasiness.

“Both Rainbow and SY were different from usual.”

Li Zhi-Xuan understood well.

He knew how this country viewed competition and understood the value of fair play.

He knew it all too well.

“Coach Jang Seok-Hwan.”

“Hmm? Oh.”

“SY seemed different than usual. What do you think?”

“Um, really? I guess it felt that way.”

Coach Jang Seok-Hwan appeared slightly drunk.

I mean, a team coming all the way to a foreign country and achieving the Red Cup victory is indeed a remarkable feat.

It’d be weird if you weren’t happy about that.

“Coach Jang Seok-Hwan, do you have any suspicions?”

“Suspicions? About what?”

“That someone might have pulled some strings on SY.”

“What?!”

Coach Jang Seok-Hwan shouted, causing everyone around to suddenly stare at the two of them.

“Quiet! Quiet!”

In a panic, Li Zhi-Xuan hurriedly covered Coach Jang’s mouth and dragged him away from the crowd.

“What on earth are you talking about? Who pulled strings on SY?”

“The SY players weren’t at their best. Rainbow too, and GuineaPig as well.”

“Condition management is part of skill. They probably just couldn’t adapt to overseas conditions.”

“If that were the case, they wouldn’t have performed well in the semifinals or earlier matches. But it was definitely different this time…”

Coach Jang Seok-Hwan’s expression became serious.

He realized what Li Zhi-Xuan was implying.

“…But if that’s the case, it’s already in the past. If something happened to SY, it’s their responsibility, not ours. Or am I wrong?”

“…That’s not fair.”

“Fair? The world of competition is ruthless. The professional world is even more so. Every single thing in this is a competition. Even if what you say is true, that would strictly be a loss for SY and it’s not our concern.”

His words made sense.

Even if external interference caused SY players’ conditions to be off, preventing that is the responsibility of the management.

It’s not something the opposing team, GRS, needs to worry about.

“But…”

“I know what you’re trying to say. You’re thinking that there might have been interference from your home country?”

“…Yes.”

In the world of sports, it isn’t rare for nations to engage in foul play.

Especially if it’s a country like China.

Li Zhi-Xuan was very much aware of that fact, which is why he was worried.

“In that case, we should avoid getting involved even more. Acting clumsily might lead… not just to you, but our entire team could face severe consequences.”

“Ah…”

With Coach Jang Seok-Hwan’s chilling warning, Li Zhi-Xuan bit his lips.

The Red Cup finals were over.

They had finally achieved the long-desired victory.

Yet somehow, Li Zhi-Xuan couldn’t shake the feeling that he hadn’t truly earned the championship.

“…This isn’t right.”

Li Zhi-Xuan’s expression held deep concern.

For a very long time.