The Start of the Eighth Season

Liu Hao woke up confused and got out of bed. Sunlight streamed through the blinds into the room. The light blue quilt covered his body, and the surroundings felt unfamiliar. This wasn't his room; based on the decor, it looked more like a girl's room.

"You're awake?" Chen Guo walked into the room with a cup of hot water. She was wearing casual home clothes and casually placed the steaming cup on the bedside table.

"Where am I?" Liu Hao was bewildered. His clothes were still on, so he didn't suspect anything had happened between him and Chen Guo. But why was he here?

"Isn't it obvious? This is my room!" Chen Guo spread her hands. "Last night, I wanted to send you back to the Excellent Era Club, but Ye Xiu said he didn't have the key to your room. He suggested taking you to a hotel, but you fell asleep, and we couldn't check-in. So, I brought you to my place."

"Your place? So, this is the Happy Internet Cafe?"

"Yes, on the second floor. I currently live here alone. You slept in my room, and I slept in my friend's room," Chen Guo nodded.

Liu Hao sat up, feeling parched. He picked up the cup and took a sip of water, almost burning his tongue.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Blow on it first; it's just been heated," Chen Guo laughed. "There's a disposable toothbrush in the bathroom for you. Freshen up a bit. Your hair is a mess, like a bird's nest."

Liu Hao stared at her with bewildered eyes. It seemed Chen Guo had taken him in because he was drunk.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. We're friends!"

...

Liu Hao got up, washed, and dried his hair. He felt it was rude to leave right after staying the night, so he decided to stay and play "Glory" with Chen Guo at the Internet cafe for the day.

After the party last night, Chen Guo became a popular figure in the Excellent Era Dynasty. She was a beautiful and wealthy lady who could afford a Ferrari and played "Glory" quite well. Chen Yehui speculated that Chen Guo might be Liu Hao's girlfriend and gave her a complete set of orange equipment, including two orange weapons—one to use and one to keep in her backpack for show. Chen Guo gladly accepted. Chen Yehui even appointed her as the leader of the Excellent Era Dynasty's seventh team, but Chen Guo declined, claiming her skills were mediocre. Finally, Chen Yehui made her the captain of the first team of the seventh group, appointing Tang Rou as her vice-captain.

After spending the day playing "Glory" with Chen Guo, Liu Hao became quite familiar with her. They often joked with each other. The Internet cafe staff saw them as more than friends but not quite lovers.

By evening, Liu Hao bid farewell to Chen Guo, donned a mask, and walked back to the Excellent Era Club.

Two months later...

The seventh season had ended, and the eighth season was about to begin.

Tiny Herb once again defeated Hundred Blossoms in the finals of the seventh season, winning the championship of the Glory Professional League. Wang Jiexi received the FMVP (Finals Most Valuable Player) award for his outstanding team performance.

Additionally, the Glory Committee, based on audience votes, awarded honours to the top players of the seventh season. Sun Xiang received the Best Rookie Award, surpassing Tang Hao in votes, which thrilled Tao Xuan. He praised Sun Xiang as a talented individual comparable to Zhou Zekai, even summoning Liu Hao to remind him to follow the plan in the upcoming eighth season—to continue isolating Ye Qiu and pave the way for Sun Xiang's transfer to Jia Shi.

The end of the seventh season playoffs brought joy to some and disappointment to others. Tiny Herb claimed the championship, while Baihua ended up as runners-up for the third time, earning Zhang Jiale the nickname "Third Place Zhang." A few days later, Zhang Jiale unexpectedly announced his retirement on Weibo, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm a bit tired."

That night, the Hundred Blossoms Club abruptly announced the retirement of their captain, Zhang Jiale, in a flowery farewell essay detailing his contributions to the team.

No one expected Zhang Jiale, who fought like a god in the finals, to retire suddenly. Hundred Blossoms fans were outraged, flooding the club's official blog with angry comments. Zhang Jiale even trended on social media due to the backlash.

Seeing the news, Liu Hao felt a pang of sadness. Zhang Jiale hadn't done anything wrong. He gave his all but was criticised for failing to defeat the stronger Tiny Herb.

Indeed, e-sports are harsh—praised when you win, criticised when you lose. Even top players can't escape this reality.

During these two months, Liu Hao was extremely busy. He couldn't even accept Chen Guo's date invitation. Riding on his rising popularity, Tao Xuan organised a press conference to announce Liu Hao as the vice-captain of the Excellent Era team.

This announcement was sudden, and many Excellent Era fans couldn't accept Liu Hao as the vice-captain. They preferred Su Mucheng for the role. The press conference sparked a wave of criticism, with fans shouting that Liu Hao wasn't worthy.

Liu Hao anticipated this reaction and played a video at the press conference. It was a clip from a 3v3 solo match against Tyranny, showing Liu Hao's character, Total Darkness, killing Desert Dust in a solo fight. Despite their health disparities, Total Darkness used only 35% of his health to take down Desert Dust's 45%. This silenced many critics who doubted Liu Hao's capabilities.

No one expected Liu Hao to take down JExcellent Era's rival, Han Wenqing! Tao Xuan hadn't anticipated Liu Hao's showcasing this video, praising him for his foresight.

To further solidify Liu Hao's position, Tao Xuan secretly used Ye Qiu's account to post supportive comments on Weibo, endorsing Liu Hao as the vice-captain and detailing the benefits. He also cleared up rumours about Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng being a couple.

Seeing their beloved Ye Qiu support Liu Hao, Excellent Era's fans gradually accepted the decision.

Although Ye Qiu was unhappy about Tao Xuan using his account without permission, he looked the other way and changed his password that night.

The press conference's impact overshadowed the playoffs, making Liu Hao a hot topic. Tao Xuan followed Zhou Zekai's promotional strategy, frequently posting Liu Hao's latest photos, workout videos, and training clips on the official website.

Viewers were captivated by Liu Hao's effortless mouse control, calm analysis, and confident smile. They were amazed, saying he seemed like an e-sports hero from a girl's novel, not just the man who defeated Han Wenqing.

Excellent Era's female fans were particularly taken by Liu Hao's fitness videos, showing him working out and dripping with sweat. When he displayed his six-pack abs on camera, they were instantly mesmerised.

Although Liu Hao's looks were comparable to Zhou Zekai's, Zhou Zekai didn't have six-pack abs, giving Liu Hao an edge.

Riding Liu Hao's popularity, Tao Xuan arranged numerous commercial activities for him, receiving countless sponsorships and collaborations, earning a fortune. Liu Hao, though only receiving 8% of the total, made a significant amount. He spent almost all his earnings on a 3-million-yuan Porsche Panamera Turbo. With his excellent driving skills, he needed a sports car to match.

Besides his rising fame, Liu Hao's skills in "Glory" improved significantly. He played solo matches with his teammates at night, defeating all except Ye Qiu. Unfortunately, the system rewards were mostly mundane items like insulated cups and luxury pens. The only noteworthy reward was a legendary pen-spinning technique that increased his finger dexterity, raising his speed limit to 500. Other rewards were mainly boosts to his physical and appearance attributes.

(End of Chapter)

P.S. So, I have been seriously sick for the past 8-9 days and have not been able to post regularly. Also, Webnovel took down my latest translation project like a retard (upon some Weiner's report), So I am planning to move my books to QQ, Royalroad, and Scribblehub. Do let me know your suggestions regarding this matter, though. Even though I am not fully healed right now, I still desire to keep my dear readers happy, so I will be uploading five chapters on Webnovel and % chapters on Patreon altogether. I hope you guys enjoy and pray for my health, and you may also subscribe to my dry ahh Patreon to pay for medical bills (sly smile).

P.S. Chapters 62-66 are up on my Patreon. Do support me there. winks

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