Chapter 41: Beat Him Up—In the Game
Beyond had gone to the youth training camp when he was seventeen. On the first day of the entrance assessment, he took first place in that year’s cohort. Even the veterans who had trained in the camp for a year were no match for him in a solo duel.
The coaches of the training camp naturally treated him as a key talent to be cultivated.
Although he wasn’t very good at socializing and spoke very little when training with other trainees, because of his strong mechanics and good awareness, almost any trainee who teamed up with him could win their scrims. Consequently, everyone liked to team up with him.
The Haishi Youth Training Camp had an unwritten rule: usually, the top three trainees of each cohort had a chance to be picked by Team WIN, entering WIN’s second team directly or even starting for the main roster.
Going from a training camp to a top-four team was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—a meteoric rise. No trainee wanted to miss this opportunity. Moreover, that particular cohort coincided with a transition period for Team WIN’s marksman position; the veteran player was about to retire, and the new marksman had not yet been finalized.
Competition for the marksman position became exceptionally fierce.
It was during that time that he met Ma Song. It was during a lunch break when the other boy proactively approached him to ask about a certain hero’s combo and even played a few solo rounds with him.
They played a total of five solo rounds, all of which Beyond won. However, Ma Song didn’t show any disappointment or anger. He thanked Beyond with a smile and said they could spar and exchange ideas often during lunch breaks in the future.
After more than a month like this, he and Ma Song quickly became familiar. Ma Song would bring him snacks from time to time, share his own review notes, and immediately share any game techniques he discovered.
Beyond felt that he had made a very good friend.
After nearly six months at the Haishi Youth Training Camp, the head coach announced some news: Team WIN was coming to the camp to pick players. A large-scale competition would be organized, and every trainee would have a chance, especially those playing the marksman position.
The coach specifically called out Beyond and Ma Song’s names because the two of them had practically swept the top two spots for the marksman position in all the camp’s competitions over the past six months. He encouraged them to give it their all and strive for a starting spot in WIN.
Consequently, in the period before the WIN coaches came to pick players, Beyond only slept five or six hours a day. The coffee cups he went through could have circled the Haishi Youth Training Camp.
The camp coaches all said his skill level had improved by another notch. As long as he performed with his usual strength when WIN came to scout, combined with his outstanding stats over the past six months, being selected by WIN was practically a sure thing.
In a training camp, it was no secret who was strong or who ranked high. Sometimes, when Beyond went to the pantry to get water, he would hear other trainees discussing him.
“Is that the best marksman in our cohort?”
“Yeah, I’ve played against him. He’s extremely hard to dive, and his output is huge. He’s taken first place in the camp countless times.”
“No wonder the coaches say he’s the most likely to be bought by Team WIN.”
“WIN usually picks two or three people. There are two spots left; who do you think it’ll be?”
“Any other position is possible, I guess… Ma Song probably won’t be chosen.”
“Why?”
“Ma Song is also a marksman. What does Team WIN need two marksmen for? Even if they buy him, it’ll just be as a sub…”
Beyond filled his water while feeling a bit upset for his friend. However, the little marksman looked too well-behaved; even when he glared at people, they usually couldn’t tell, thinking instead that the kid’s large eyes were very cute.
The two trainees discussing him left after greeting him, continuing their analysis of who WIN would take.
Such talk was everywhere in the camp because being scouted by WIN was a major event for the trainees. Whether they were gossips or not, everyone couldn’t help but chat about their thoughts.
Beyond was a bit worried that Ma Song would be sad if he heard these words. Fortunately, the other boy remained the same as always, eating with him, bringing him snacks, and reviewing footage and training together.
He had also asked Ma Song about his future plans. Ma Song said that in esports, strength spoke for itself. Whichever team took an interest in his strength was where he would go; he believed that no matter which team he went to, he could make a name for himself. He even comforted Beyond in return, telling him not to listen to those rumors and to give it his all when the WIN coaches arrived.
Beyond breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn’t know if it was because he was training too hard during that period, but sometimes after playing for several hours straight, his wrist would ache. It was the kind of ache that emanated from the bone, making his fingers feel a bit sluggish.
He told the camp coach, who said it might be tenosynovitis. Many professional players had this issue. It wasn’t very serious in the early stages; just some spray and rest would fix it.
There was only so much time in a day. More rest meant less training time, and the day for WIN to pick players was drawing closer.
During lunch break, Ma Song came to find him for training as usual. Seeing him using the medicinal spray, Ma Song asked if his hand was uncomfortable, and Beyond told him the truth.
“No wonder your training hours have decreased so much lately.” Ma Song asked about his symptoms in detail. “Actually, all of us playing professionally have some hand injuries; it’s not as serious as you think. I came to the camp a few months earlier than you, and I’ve had times when my hand hurt and felt uncomfortable.”
Ma Song told him it was likely because his training volume had surged since coming to the camp, and combined with the mental pressure and lack of rest lately, his hand hadn’t adapted.
As long as he powered through this period, it would naturally get better.
“Many trainees in the previous cohort went through this. Look at me, I play for a long time every day now, and my hand is fine.”
“So I can still train like before?” Beyond asked.
“Of course. But if it hurts after just a few hours now, when the WIN coaches come, the competition that day will involve many matches. They might even have trials for several days in a row. Your hand…”
“Is there any way to adapt faster?”
Ma Song lowered his voice, his tone a bit hesitant: “There is a way, but you’ll have to suffer a bit.”
The method the other boy told him was to tie a heavy weight to his wrist and increase his training time for a day. That way, in less than a week, his wrist would completely adapt to the camp’s training intensity. Furthermore, after removing the weight, the wrist would be even more flexible, and his mechanics would improve another level.
That same day, following Ma Song’s advice, Beyond tied a small sandbag to his wrist and trained with a wrist guard holding it in place.
The closer it got to the scouting day, the more frequently Ma Song came to train with him. The lights in the training room often didn’t go out until dawn.
Initially, the sandbags seemed to work. Although the pain was unbearable after long training sessions, his wrist did indeed feel much lighter after taking the sandbags off.
His wrist gave out on the morning of the day before WIN was scheduled to arrive. He went to participate in a scrim as usual. He performed well in the first game, feeling only a slight soreness in his wrist, but by the third game, that soreness turned into a piercing pain.
It felt as if an awl was being driven into his bone. He endured it for ten minutes, cold sweat drenching his forehead, until he truly couldn’t operate anymore and requested a pause.
The camp doctor’s expression was very grim after examining him, and he sternly told Beyond to go to the hospital for an X-ray and check-up immediately.
He missed the opportunity when Team WIN came to the camp the next day.
Because after the X-ray, the doctor had him admitted for observation. He said the physical exam Beyond took when entering the camp already showed slight issues with his wrist, yet he hadn’t taken his daily training seriously. If he didn’t rest properly for a while, let alone playing professionally, his daily life might be affected.
Beyond stayed in the hospital in a daze for three days. Three days later, the camp coach came to see him and told him the WIN scouting had ended. They had picked three trainees; one of them was Ma Song, who had signed a starter’s contract.
The coach consoled him for a long time before helping him with the discharge procedures.
He set off back to the Haishi Youth Training Camp with a large bag of medicine and pain-relieving bandages. On the way back, he asked the coach to stop by a supermarket to buy some hotpot ingredients.
Although he missed WIN because of his hand injury, it was still good that Ma Song could go. He still remembered Ma Song saying they would have hotpot to celebrate once they were picked by a team.
He couldn’t blame anyone else for his injury. Others were fine with tenosynovitis; only his hand had an issue. Perhaps, as the coach said, his luck was just bad.
When he arrived back at the camp, it was still training time. He took the hotpot ingredients back to the dorm first, intending to start the pot so that Ma Song could eat as soon as he returned from training.
Sitting by the table waiting for the water to boil, he prepared two bowls of dipping sauce. He vaguely heard footsteps in the hallway, as if someone was walking toward the dorm.
“Hello, Mom? The scouting for Team WIN just ended today. I was selected! I even signed a starter’s contract—I’ll be playing as the starting marksman directly!”
It was Ma Song’s voice. Beyond stood up to open the dorm door.
“Speaking of which, I’m lucky… Beyond went to the hospital a few days ago. He couldn’t play because of his hand injury, otherwise, he might have been the one to enter WIN.”
“Oh, everyone else is training at this hour. I’m going to the WIN base soon, so I had to come back to the dorm to pack—Beyond is still in the hospital. I’m just telling you, no one else is listening.”
“Why did Beyond suddenly get a hand injury and get hospitalized? Who told him to train ten hours a day despite having tenosynovitis? He was crazy about going to WIN. He brought it on himself. Who can he blame for his bad luck and his injury flaring up?”
“Mom, just you wait. I’ll definitely save tickets for you and Dad for my first match with WIN. You two sit right in the front and watch me make a name for myself—”
The dorm door opened. The moment Ma Song saw him, his face changed instantly. He quickly hung up the phone, forced a smile, and asked: “…Beyond, you, you’re out of the hospital? How’s your hand? Is it better?”
Zuo Chi’s fists tightened.
After finishing the story of the training camp, Beyond fell silent for a good while: “Coach Zuo… after saying it out loud, I seem to feel much better…”
In just a few days, the two trainees had entered completely different lives.
One went to start for a top-four team, having the chance to chase the league championship.
The other stayed in the training camp, his hand injury fluctuating, waiting for a nebulous next opportunity.
If it were a promise between two people to meet at the summit, it might have been an inspiring story.
But with Beyond, it was entirely a story about a poor kid encountering an ungrateful “white-eyed wolf.”
To change the tone of this story, Zuo Chi could only think of one solution.
Give that ungrateful wolf a beating—not a physical one, but one in the game.
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