Poisonous Plot, Beef Noodles

The office was as luxurious and grand as ever. Tao Xuan's fingers rhythmically tapped on the desk, and it seemed like soothing music was playing in his headphones.

"Boss, I've brought Liu Hao," Cui Li said before leaving the office.

"Liu Hao, your recent performances in the competitions have been impressive, and your commercial endorsements have increased significantly," Tao Xuan said slowly. "It seems I can't quite suppress your momentum anymore."

"Is that so? Then the boss can leverage me to earn even more, and I can make some pocket money," Liu Hao replied with a smile.

Tao Xuan was amused by this and gestured for Liu Hao to sit down and chat.

"You know who your next opponent is, right?"

"Yes, Conquering Clouds. Except for Sun Xiang, the rest are easy to handle. Excellent Era can easily defeat them," Liu Hao said casually.

Tao Xuan frowned. "Liu Hao, do you know what I dislike about you? You know everything yet always play dumb."

"Then boss, why not just say what you mean? You know I'm just a small vice-captain of the team and wouldn't dare to guess your intentions. Randomly guessing the superior's thoughts often leads to bad outcomes."

"You are smart! But you use your smartness in the wrong place!" Tao Xuan's forehead veins bulged. "Liu Hao, don't think I don't know what you're planning. Your exceptional performances in the last two matches, winning MVP, indeed surprised me, and you've shown great commercial value. But in my eyes, your commercial value is less than Sun Xiang's. The future captain of the Excellent Era will only be Sun Xiang!"

"Boss, you know I've always been loyal, completing the tasks you set with great success," Liu Hao pretended to be scared. "I've never thought of becoming Excellent Era's captain; being the vice-captain is already enough for me."

Though Tao Xuan nodded in approval, inwardly he sneered. Loyal? How could someone ambitious be loyal? He was a fan of history and knew that the most representative ambitious person was Sima Yi, with eagle eyes and wolfish ambition. Liu Hao was just like Sima Yi.

Nowadays, Liu Hao not only had a stunning appearance and exceptional operational skills but also demonstrated great commercial value. How could he really be content with being a small vice-captain? He was definitely eyeing the captain's position.

However, Excellent Era's foundation was One Autumn Leaf. If Liu Hao also used a Battle Mage, making him the captain wouldn't be out of the question. But unfortunately, Liu Hao's profession was Magic Swordsman, which made him ineligible for the captain's position.

In ancient times, the throne was inherited by the eldest son. If a capable person was chosen over the eldest, the fans would have opinions. Liu Hao was capable but not the eldest.

Liu Hao had long seen through Tao Xuan's thoughts. He worked hard to increase his fame and commercial value to have enough strength to contend with Tao Xuan and talk on equal terms. However, it was impossible to overthrow Tao Xuan with this alone.

Now Tao Xuan was beginning to fear Liu Hao, but he still needed Liu Hao's power. Liu Hao also had to guard against Tao Xuan's dirty tricks while using Tao Xuan's resources to improve his overall strength. They were both using each other and inseparable.

"Excellent Era must lose to Conquering Clouds!" Tao Xuan said coldly, revealing the purpose of this conversation.

"For Jia Shi to lose to Yueyun, Ye Qiu must not play. If he plays, no matter how poorly Jia Shi cooperates, Yueyun will definitely lose!"

Tao Xuan nodded. "I know. So, I'll arrange for Ye Qiu to rest during the team match, and you must hold back!"

Holding back meant letting Sun Xiang win and making way for him... Liu Hao sneered inwardly but still smiled on the surface. "Of course, I'll definitely hold back. But if you arrange for Ye Qiu to rest during the team match, won't the fans have opinions? If Jia Shi loses the match because of your decision to bench Ye Qiu, the fans will probably bombard Jia Shi."

Tao Xuan was stunned. Right, if he benched Ye Qiu and Jia Shi lost to Yueyun, he would become the target of fan outrage, severely affecting Jia Shi's commercial sponsorships. He hadn't thought of this, but Liu Hao reminded him... Tao Xuan looked at Liu Hao with appreciation, thinking Liu Hao was somewhat loyal to him, but not much.

"So what do you suggest? You just said if Ye Qiu plays, Yueyun will definitely lose!" Tao Xuan asked.

"Boss, do you know beef noodles?" Liu Hao asked.

"Beef noodles? Yes, Lanzhou noodles are very tasty. I like them very much," Tao Xuan said. "But what do they have to do with this?"

"Stale beef can cause diarrhea, and if paired with spicy Sichuan flavors, it can lead to severe diarrhea," Liu Hao smiled. "Then, Ye Qiu will have food poisoning and be unable to compete..."

A gleam of something unreadable flashed in Tao Xuan's eyes. After a long while, he burst into laughter. "Liu Hao, you're really vicious!"

Now Tao Xuan was certain Liu Hao must have a grudge against Ye Qiu to come up with such a malicious plan.

Liu Hao quickly waved his hands. "No, no, it's not my fault. It's Manager Cui who mistakenly ordered the wrong takeout."

Tao Xuan clapped in admiration. At this moment, Cui Li didn't know he was going to take the blame for Liu Hao.

Liu Hao had already planned his escape route. Since Ye Qiu would be genuinely food poisoned and unable to compete, he could pretend to be food poisoned and perform poorly. Of course, Ye Qiu's food poisoning would be real, and his would be fake...

"Good, good, good, we'll do as you say. On the night of the match, Ye Qiu will be unable to compete due to food poisoning, and you will hold back and let Jia Shi lose to Yueyun!"

"Yes!"

…

A week later, on September 19th, the third round of the Glory Professional League regular season officially began. The audience in the live broadcast room first saw Pan Lin and Li Yibo sitting at the commentary table.

"Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Jia Shi vs. Yueyun match. Now we see both teams' players have entered the stage. As expected, our mysterious captain of Jia Shi has not appeared..."

Hearing the commentator, Liu Hao laughed to himself. Even if Ye Qiu wanted to come, he couldn't. That guy was still in the bathroom with diarrhea from the takeout ordered by Cui Li. Who knows if he even brought toilet paper?

The commentators began discussing which team they favored, heating the atmosphere.

Standing in the center of the stage, Liu Hao was flanked by Su Mucheng on his left and Yueyun's captain, Sun Xiang, on his right.

It was Liu Hao's first time meeting Sun Xiang in person, and his appearance momentarily surprised Liu Hao.

Sun Xiang had dazzling blonde hair, stood tall, and had a far-reaching gaze. Noticing Liu Hao's gaze, Sun Xiang merely glanced back, his arrogance evident, as if he were a god looking down on mortals, always with a disdainful smile.

Sun Xiang was indeed very handsome, and with his outstanding skills and the title of Rookie King, it was no wonder Tao Xuan valued him so much. But Liu Hao found this guy annoying for some reason, maybe because villains don't get along well.

From a villain's perspective, a boss wouldn't willingly bow to another villain.

"Liu Hao," Sun Xiang said lightly, with a hint of disdain and arrogance, ready to make a bold statement. But Liu Hao interrupted him, waving his hand, "Be polite, kid. You should call me senior. I debuted in the fifth season, and you just debuted last season."

Sun Xiang was stunned. Kid? Just a rookie? Was he talking about him? Since snatching the Rookie King title from Tang Hao last season, no professional player had dared to call him that.

Sun Xiang wasn't good at controlling his temper and expression. Liu Hao's words made him grit his teeth. "You don't deserve to be called a senior unless you can beat me."

"Oh? Is that so? If I beat you, you'll call me senior? But I remember you lost to Ye Qiu last season in both the arena and team matches and didn't call him senior," Liu Hao taunted. "You're just an unreliable junior."

"Rubbish! I didn't..." Sun Xiang retorted angrily but remembered he did lose to Ye Qiu and didn't call him senior. "I... I wasn't at my best. Ye Qiu used One Autumn Leaf, a god-level account card. If I had top-notch equipment, Ye Qiu wouldn't be my match!"

"Anyone can brag," Liu Hao laughed.

"Today I'll prove myself. I'll defeat Ye Qiu and you!" Sun Xiang declared seriously.

Liu Hao just smiled. Sun Xiang was still young and spoke naively. Defeat Ye Qiu? Not today, as Ye Qiu had diarrhea and couldn't compete.

Soon, the first round of individual matches began. Liu Hao was the first to take the stage.

Liu Hao had requested this himself. Fighting in the arena was exhausting, and he had to feign "weakness," so individual matches were the perfect stage for his act.

The audience and commentators were surprised, and even Yueyun's players didn't expect Liu Hao to compete in the individual match.

Liu Hao had performed

exceptionally in the previous arena match. Why the sudden change in sequence? Did Jia Shi think One Autumn Leaf's presence guaranteed no mistakes?

The match began, and both players entered the game.

Yueyun's player, Chang Lei, was not well-known. In fact, except for Sun Xiang, Yueyun's team consisted of unknown players.

Liu Hao thought this was a sure win. He could feign "weakness," making Yueyun underestimate him. This way, his and Su Mucheng's plan in the arena match would succeed without flaws.

The fiction is available till chapter 136 on my Patreon now! That is till where the fiction is updated by the author.

The fic will be updated on daily basis now.

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