A Young Woman's Heart

"Qian Zhicao, why does that name sound so familiar?" Mo Xueyao was slightly puzzled when she heard Qiu Yi announce the contestant's name.

"Hmm... I think he's one of the better students in the first year of high school? I remember seeing him often on the first-year grades list, probably in the top five." Gao Yuan wasn't quite sure, after all, someone with his grades rarely went to look at the ranking list himself—that would be humiliating!

Moreover, the ranking list of Yukong High School is very complete, meaning that you can find the ranking from first to last place.

Gao Yuan used to be ranked near the bottom of the school, but recently things have improved. He has broken out of the bottom fifty and is now moving closer to the middle of the rankings.

"I think so! Hmm... it should be him. His name is very distinctive, I shouldn't be mistaken." Mo Xueyao asked curiously, "He should be the student with the best results in this competition, right?"

"It can only be said that it is the best one among the top 16, because it seems that Xiaoxue also went to play during the preliminary rounds, right?"

"Huh? Xiaoxue went to play too?" Mo Xueyao looked surprised, but she was even more surprised that Mr. Xue had lost.

The main reason is that in her impression, it seems that as long as Mr. Xue participates, even if he himself says he knows a little about it, he will definitely be better than most people.

But it seems he was eliminated in the first stage of the audition.

"Yes, he was eliminated by Zhou Yong in the first stage of the audition."

"Tsk, I heard they were tortured pretty badly."

"Ah... then that's not surprising." Mo Xueyao nodded, but in her heart she still felt that Mr. Xue was not taking it seriously, otherwise he should have been able to defeat Zhou Yong.

But upon closer reflection, Mr. Xue isn't omnipotent; how could he possibly be at the top in every field?

While I was lost in thought, the competition on stage had already begun.

This is a battle for the championship and runner-up. In fact, having come this far, both sides definitely want to win the final championship.

The runner-up was good, but the one who is most easily remembered is the champion.

The final match includes a ban/pick phase, where each side can ban three characters, for a total of six. Since there aren't many characters in Rainy Sky Brawl to begin with, this ban phase further reduces the number of available characters.

Furthermore, in the final match, only one character can be selected, and it's a single-elimination game where both sides' health is increased tenfold. This means the battle will last longer and, to some extent, will test the player's endurance.

If you need to go to the bathroom halfway through the game and end up losing because of it, you can't blame anyone else...

"It's our last move, Qiu Yi, what characters do you think Qian Zhicao will ban?"

"I think they'll ban a melee character because Qian Zhicao will pick first. Judging from the current situation, if a melee character is banned, there won't be many melee characters left to choose from. In that case, the opponent will probably have to choose a ranged character. Melee characters have a huge advantage when they get close, and they can take away a lot of health with a single combo."

Ye Yu nodded: "Then, let's see which melee hero Qian Zhicao will ban—he actually banned Ye Ran!"

"This is probably the most difficult character to use in the All Rain Sky Brawl, or even the most difficult, because apart from his ultimate, he can only block and set, and cannot perform normal attacks."

"Yes, especially in matches between highly skilled players, this kind of pick-and-roll is rarely effective every time. However... perhaps Zhou Yong can actually do it, after all, Ye Ran's skills were extremely powerful in this battle!"

Qiu Yi suddenly raised his voice: "That's right! Because his ultimate skill is to instantly kill the opponent, which means that no matter how long the health bar is, as long as he accumulates enough energy, there is nowhere to escape!"

"To avoid risks, he nipped that possibility in the bud."

"Zhou Yong seemed a little disappointed; perhaps he really wanted to choose this role!"

Mo Xueyao stared intently at the big screen; even though it was just a character selection screen, it filled her with excitement.

It felt as if I had already entered the game's character, waiting for the next intense battle.

Ultimately, Zhou Yong chose "Wang Qianyu," while Qian Zhicao chose "Guan Peng."

Wang Qianyu is a ranged attacker; every time she performs a normal attack, she throws the flowerpot she's holding.

Wan Jianlei is a mid-range attack character whose normal attack is a badminton racket—about the same length as a sword.

In addition, there are some small skills for long-range attacks, such as using the racket to hit the shuttlecock.

Both of these are unpopular characters—because the most popular ones have been banned.

This is actually the most challenging part for the two of them.

Unless you have specifically practiced these two roles, it all comes down to who can learn and get the hang of it faster.

After the countdown ended on screen, neither side of the characters immediately rushed forward.

"Wan Jianlei" made a serving motion, and then an electrified badminton shuttlecock flew over with a "whoosh," a distance long enough to cross the screen, and it even had a built-in lock-on function.

Although it has a significant amount of lag, as an ultra-long-range skill, it's perfect to use at the start of a match.

Just then, Zhou Yong, who was controlling "Wang Qianyu", squatted down and planted a flower pot on the ground. He saw the badminton shuttlecock streak through the sky like lightning and rush over.

Although he crouched down to defend himself in time, he was still inevitably pushed back half a step.

Before I could even stand up, the second shuttlecock flew up again.

This trick may seem like a shady tactic, but it's actually quite effective.

As a ranged character, but with an attack range that is not as long as his, he is greatly disadvantaged in this respect.

Melee characters have many long-distance dashes, while ranged characters often don't have any, or only have one.

"Crack!" The flowerpot in Wang Qianyu's hand was thrown out and collided with the badminton shuttlecock in the air, exploding into a dazzling firework.

He used this method to interrupt the incoming shuttlecocks as he moved forward.

They quickly entered each other's view – meaning that now both sides can see each other.

However, Qian Zhicao's ability to reach the finals suggests that his attack methods are not so simple.

This attack was a trap.

Because just as "Wang Qianyu" stepped into this scene, a thunderbolt struck from the sky, leaving no room for escape.

It pierced right through her body, causing her to freeze briefly.

Wang Qianyu immediately launched a counterattack, but the attack was dodged. Then, due to the character's mechanics, Wan Jian Lei instantly appeared behind her.

A badminton racket was swung directly at her head.

The continuous stiffness made it difficult for him to fight back, and Zhou Yong finally managed to control his character and dart behind the opponent.

However, with his back to Wang Qianyu, Wan Jianlei suddenly bent down and punched her from behind, catching her off guard and making her freeze.

This is how "Ten Thousand Swords Thunder" deals with an enemy attacking its back.

Caught off guard, Zhou Yong staggered as he was struck. Immediately afterward, Wan Jianlei, who was capable of mid-range attacks, rushed up. At this distance, Wang Qianyu, who was capable of long-range attacks, could not exert her full strength. Although she retaliated, her attacks were almost ineffective. Most importantly, she could not interrupt his offensive. Her health bar dropped rapidly, like a broken water meter.

Just then, Zhou Yong unleashed a crucial skill, freezing the entire scene in time.

Then, an English multiple-choice question popped up on the Money Grass game screen.

There are four options to choose from. If you cannot answer the question within ten seconds, you will lose health points.

If the answer is correct, then it's as if nothing happened.

Many other students use this trick when playing "Wang Qianyu" because most boys who like games have average grades. They may be able to solve the problems, but they generally can't react within ten seconds.

But who is the other party?

Among the first-year high school students, those who rank in the top five in total score, even if English is their weak point, will definitely not be too bad.

In just three seconds, the correct answer was selected, and the game continued.

"Wang Qianyu" was suddenly hurled into the air by a thunder sword summoned by "Wan Jian Lei". The latter character then jumped high into the air and followed up with a series of cool combos.

With a 'whoosh' of swords being swung, Wang Qianyu fell heavily to the ground.

Because he summoned the Thunder Sword, the opponent used up all the energy he had just accumulated. But it doesn't matter. Judging from the situation, it seems that he can defeat Zhou Yong without using his ultimate move.

The game was paused again, and an English multiple-choice question popped up on Zhou Yong's screen. This was a hidden skill; answering correctly would restore health.

However, Zhou Yong's answer was wrong.

This immediately drew laughter from the students below.

Because this is simply shooting yourself in the foot!

But then Zhou Yong swiped twice more in a row, and the game remained paused.

Unfortunately, he didn't answer correctly even once, and the audience below laughed so hard they almost drowned out the game's sound.

"Damn it, what's Zhou Yong doing? His English isn't good, how could he possibly pick the right answer so quickly!" Gao Yuan slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair, looking utterly disappointed.

"Perhaps it's a gamble?" Mo Xueyao asked, frowning.

"If this keeps up, I'll run out of health even without anyone hitting me!"

"No, no... wait!" Mo Xueyao suddenly opened her eyes wide, as if she had thought of something.

During the one-minute pause, the other person answered the questions three times, and Zhou Yong also answered them three times. The other person answered all the questions correctly, while he answered them all incorrectly.

This skill has already reached its limit in a short time, and unless the battle continues, there's no point in using these two skills again.

The pause ended just like that.

Mo Xueyao suddenly shouted excitedly, "Opportunity—!"

That's right, it's an opportunity.

The one-minute pause inevitably made the opponent relax a bit, and their hot streak subsided a little. After all, having your rhythm disrupted can be very uncomfortable.

Zhou Yong seized the opportunity and charged forward.

Just a moment ago, he was completely defenseless, but now he can perfectly execute a whole combo.

"Zhou Yong launched a counterattack, but he only has one-tenth of his health left. Does he really have that chance?"

"Wait, have we all forgotten? Wang Qianyu's health is calculated as a numerical value; the more health she loses, the higher her damage will be!"

"What? That means—"

"Next, one set to go—!!"

The students, finally realizing what was happening, suddenly shouted.

This is probably a form of admiration; most people, even if they knew it was possible, wouldn't dare to be so confident in their abilities...

"The winner is Zhou Yong!!"

"Sigh, being invincible is too lonely..." Gao Yuan sighed, arms crossed.

"You didn't win, so what are you so smug about?" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes at him.

……

Chapter 238 Some Past Events