Chapter 2: Direct Promotion to the Official Tournament?

"This time in the preliminary match, it seems like the 'Surrendering Thoughts' team lost points again. Tsk, tsk, I guess when the official match starts, their team is going to get crushed!"

"But that player number seven, I think his name is Wang Changsheng, wasn't bad at all. He was the hunter who stayed hidden until the end, and he even passed messages to the good guys. It's just a pity his teammates were too inexperienced—they didn’t catch on to their roles, and the werewolves found and eliminated him."

"Yeah, otherwise they might have had a chance to win."

"Who cares about the preliminary team players? They can’t be that strong, right? The 'Gun Dragon' team is still so fierce as ever. Not only did they score points, but they also showed their team’s momentum! I think 'Surrendering Thoughts' is in trouble now. Ever since their ace left, they can’t even make it to the national finals."

After leaving the secret room with the gaming pods, Wang Changsheng overheard many such comments.

He was now inside a massive arena.

The secret room was located right at the heart of this venue.

As he made his way toward the lounge, he could hear the murmurs and judgments from the crowd.

It had to be said, the body he now inhabited had been very fond of the Werewolf game and was quite skilled. By the time Wang Changsheng arrived, the game had just ended.

His performance was commendable, earning him considerable goodwill from onlookers.

"Changsheng! Why are you just getting here?"

As soon as Wang Changsheng stepped into the lounge, a curly-haired guy suddenly rushed out and grabbed his arm.

"Huh? What’s wrong?" Wang Changsheng was momentarily taken aback.

The curly-haired fellow wore glasses and had some freckles on his face.

From memory, Wang Changsheng recognized him as a friend of the previous owner of this body, someone who ran errands for the team.

"It’s Sister Huang. She wants you to play in the main team match this time!" Curly-haired guy delivered the news.

It was clear he regarded Wang Changsheng as a good brother; his smile was genuine, though there was a hint of worry beneath it.

"What? Me?" Wang Changsheng was truly stunned this time.

The main team’s players had all passed rigorous selection and were elites through and through.

The main match was about to start, so why would Sister Huang suddenly want him to participate?

Her full name was Huang Manmiao.

She was the core figure of the 'Surrendering Thoughts' team, a three-time world champion esports beauty, and renowned as the enchanting yet ruthless witch coach of their team.

She was the soul of the entire team.

Wang Changsheng didn’t think Curly-haired guy was joking, but how could Huang Manmiao have noticed him?

He had always thought that to become an official main team member, he’d have to go through assessments.

Yet now Huang Manmiao was simply putting him in!

Wang Changsheng found it hard to comprehend.

He looked at Curly-haired guy, silent, waiting for an explanation.

"Sigh, remember Wei Gou? He actually jumped ship at this critical moment! That left a vacancy in the main team. You played pretty well in the preliminaries, so Sister Huang plans to have you fill in for now," Curly-haired guy explained.

"Wei Gou jumped ship?" Wang Changsheng raised an eyebrow. "Before the match even started? That must have cost a fortune in penalties."

"It didn’t matter; 'Gun Dragon' covered all the penalties. I don’t know what Wei Gou’s thinking—he was pretty bad, yet someone still snatched him up," Curly-haired guy sneered.

Wang Changsheng pondered briefly, then said, "Looks like 'Gun Dragon' intends to finish us off this round."

'Gun Dragon' was the team ranked just above theirs.

If they wanted to advance to the national finals, they’d have to squeeze out Wang Changsheng’s team.

Now that the rival had launched an aggressive move, it was clearly meant to crush them in one stroke.

The backup players were just backups for a reason—they could only step in if a main player had an accident.

Their skill was naturally far below that of the main team.

'Gun Dragon' had poached the only player from their team who hadn’t yet played.

Huang Manmiao had no choice but to pick someone from the backup team to fill the spot.

Otherwise, with insufficient players, they wouldn’t even be able to participate in the match!

Even picking someone from the backup, who had never competed against main team players before, would most likely result in point deductions during the game.

"Yeah, they’re really sneaky!"

Curly-haired guy shook his head, then added, "But this is your chance, Changsheng! You always wanted to join the main team, right? Now that the ace is gone and Wei Gou—though bad—is mid-tier, there’s no one else in the backup who can step up except you! You’ve got to seize this chance!"

"I understand," Wang Changsheng nodded, realizing Curly-haired guy genuinely cared. "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to help our team secure points this time!"

"Hey, that’s the spirit! That’s how it’s done—no matter what, just get in there and fight! Now hurry up and get ready; you’re about to go on."

Since Wang Changsheng had just learned this news, he barely had time to prepare before being ushered back into the same corridor he had just come from.

The matches moved swiftly.

The live broadcast resumed.

The secret room sat at the center of the arena, surrounded by massive screens.

Everyone in the venue could watch the game from every angle through these giant screens.

At this moment, Xiao Ming, the commentator, stared in surprise at the sudden change in the team roster displayed on the screen.

"What? 'Surrendering Thoughts' team is making a last-minute player substitution? This is unbelievable! They sent out Changsheng, who performed well in the preliminaries. Could this be their new strategy?"

As Xiao Ming finished speaking, the entire arena seemed to erupt.

Voices rose in an uproar.

"Changsheng? The number seven from the preliminaries? He did play well, but isn’t he from the backup team? Why would 'Surrendering Thoughts' send him to the main match?"

"This is probably their last game, right? Sending a substitute? What’s 'Surrendering Thoughts' thinking? Are they crazy? Are they just handing the national finals spot to 'Gun Dragon'?"

"Who knows? Whatever, hey, isn’t that Changsheng? A new face on the 'Surrendering Thoughts' team. Surprisingly handsome too!"

"Hmph, handsome or not, he’s probably being set up as the scapegoat. After this match ends, his career is likely over."

The murmurs grew louder inside the arena.

In the team room, Huang Manmiao clenched her teeth.

"Damn it, if the rules didn’t forbid coaches from playing, I’d go in myself!"

Tall and curvaceous, with radiant skin and silky hair, she stood before the screen, her face full of frustration and anger.