Qiao Mu Private High School

The crowd erupts as the results of the Killer Sequence Forfeit Pairs Match are announced.

The duals are the dominant event of the Killer Sequence, and at a time like this when they've just lost the singles and need the crowd support the most, they forfeit one more of their regular dominant events.

This is a very surprising choice.

This means that Killer Sequence has lost two games in a row to Wandering Circus, a rookie guild.

There were whispers in the audience, and Mu Sicheng, who was sitting on a wooden bench and preparing to play, was confused: "What, I don't have to play in the pairs match anymore?"

Bai Liu rolled up his collar to straighten the bandages on his wrists, and hmmm'd flatly, "Straight to the regimental match."

"Chairman." Looking at Bai Liu's lighthearted face, Wang Shun couldn't help but add, "Although Spades, the ace of the Killer Sequence, isn't in this match, and the core tactician, Against the Gods, has been seriously injured, it seems like we have a better chance of winning on the surface."

"But I personally think." Wang Shun hesitates to speak up, "They still have a better chance of winning than we do."

Bai Liu swept his eyes over, "Do you have any new data to tell me?"

Wang Shun scratched his face and smiled bitterly, "It can't be considered new data, it's just that I've been analyzing all the major star teams, especially their performance in group matches, so I still have a better understanding of their win/loss ratio in group matches."

"They're missing Spades, and it may seem like they're losing a big player, but it's not."

Wang Shun taps on the system panel, "Spades has always been a stray player in group matches, and has never worked well with the other four, as I'm sure you're all aware, Spades trains alone a lot of the time when he's in the game pool."

"At this time, the one who is paired with the other four people in the Killer Sequence for training is actually another person who is a member of the Killer Sequence's reserve team called [Zhou Gong]."

Wang Shun clicked on the panel, and a photo popped up of a young boy with a pretty face and a bit of pimples on his forehead.

"It doesn't look too big, why is it called [Zhou Gong]?" Mu Sicheng couldn't help but spit out.

"It's rumored to be related to skills." Wang Shun looked at Bai Liu with complicated eyes, "The gossip I've heard says that in the early playoffs, Spades and the team hadn't been working well together, and that Against the Gods had made preparations to put [Zhou Gong] directly on as a regular pairing for the group matches."

"Because he fits in so well with the other four."

"But in the end, finally, Spades kept up, so it didn't change." Wang Shun takes a deep breath, "But that speaks volumes."

"This shows that in the eyes of Against the Gods, a tactician, [Zhou Gong] is even more useful than Spades in a group match."

Bai Liu scanned the photo, "I think that's the player who replaced Spades in that tournament, is there any other news about him?"

"No, he appears very rarely in the tournament, so there's no immunity medal." Wang Shun shook his head, "I didn't get any other information about him either, the only thing I know is that he seems to have an unusual relationship with Liao Ke, another member of the Slayer Sequence."

Bai Liu asked rhetorically, "Unusual means?"

Wang Shun said, "[Zhou Gong] and Liao Ke seem to be players of the same skill line, and he called Liao Ke his teacher."

"So that means that this Counter God is going to play two control position players?" Liu Jiayi frowned, "He's going to play long range offense and defense?"

"Right." Tang Er hit as if he remembered something, he looked serious as he came to Bai Liu's ear and asked softly, "Did you get Spades' soul in the scene just now, so can you use his panel?"

"Not quite getting it completely." Bai Liu taps on his system panel, he looks at the soul bill data on it with downcast eyes, "I won't be able to use his panel until he fully realizes who he is."

The soul bill of the last person on his system panel shows a closed-eyed Taville, lying with his hands on his chest in a white baptismal font, holding the coin that hangs over his heart.

--That's the coin Bai Liu gave him.

Killer Sequence Party.

The Reverse God patted the shoulder of this boy with pimples on his face, looking calm and collected, "Zhou Gong, Bai Liu will be in your hands for the next match."

Zhou Gong took a deep breath as he lifted his head, a determination in his gaze, "Don't worry and leave it to me, Captain!"

"I've been preparing for today against Bai Liu for a long, long time under my teacher's tutelage!"

Liao Ke nodded as well, and he looked to the Reverse God with complicated eyes, "We've been preparing for this for ten years."

"Won't lose, Captain."

The host raises his hand down toward the center and passionately shouts, "Will both teams please come to the ring!"

"Let's go." The Adversary lifted his uniform jacket and wore it with one hand, his gaze clear and determined, "To meet my greatest opponent."

"Go." Bai Liu stood up, he pulled his gloves tighter and lifted his eyes, nothing on his face, his tone calm, "Going to meet my best friend."

"This is a fight to the death, and the loser's league career will stop here!" The host raised his left hand high and slammed it down, "Let's look forward to whether it's this year's big dark horse, the Wandering Circus, who will be on a continuous high, or our strongest duo, the Killer Sequence, who will continue to maintain their championship's splendor!"

"Will both tacticians please come forward and shake hands!"

Bai Liu and Against the Gods walked up the steps, and they approached each other step by step, with flat and natural expressions on their faces, as if this wasn't a crucial final match, but an ordinary game they played every day in their daily lives.

The Adversary looked at Bai Liu, he smiled a little and held out his hand, "Still playing games with you here ah."

Bai Liu glanced down at the Reverse God's outstretched hand as he hmmm'd and extended it as well, speaking abruptly, "We've been playing all sorts of messed up games for almost ten years now, haven't we?"

The Adversary was stunned for a moment, he smiled knowingly and hmmmed back, "Almost ten years."

The two men's hands were interlocked in what should have been a tense, touch-and-go atmosphere, but there was too much familiarity and understanding between the two men for them to be wary of each other or tighten up.

--it's like being instinctively convinced that the other person won't hurt them, so it's just a game.

"You're a prophet." Bai Liu raised his eyes as he asked abruptly, "And have you read the final ending of the game between me and you?"

The Reverse God was quiet for a long, long time as he looked down at the hands he and Bai Liu were holding and answered very softly, "No."

Bai Liu asked, "Why?"

"Because of fear." The Adversary looked up with a smile as he scratched his face and sighed as if it was a bit difficult to say, "I'm a very timid person, and when I'm afraid of that future, I don't try to predict it."

Bai Liu continued calmly, "What is your fear in the future? Fear that I'll win, fear that I won't die as you hoped?"

"Don't make me sound so cold." The Reverse God looked at Bai Liu, he smiled soothingly, but as if he was about to shed a tear in the next second his eyes filled with a layer of light, "I've watched over you growing up for ten years, and I know that in your heart, I'm your best friend."

"But you're also my last friend."

Bai Liu's breath hitched.

The Reverse God stepped forward and embraced Bai Liu's shoulder with a hard one-handed hug, he closed his eyes and whispered in Bai Liu's ear:

"I fear both game endings in the future at the same time."

"I'm as afraid of you losing as I am of me losing."

The host shouted, "The game, officially begins!"

"Please have both teams log into the game."

Counter God and Bai Liu loosened their clasped hands, they turned around and left without a care in the world, turning their backs on each other and walking further and further away, neither of them looking back, their eyes flatly walking towards their own battle teams.

--Toward a [future] of their own.

[...... is loading the game ......]

[System alert: Both players logged into the game "Qiao Mu Private High School"]

[(Killer Sequence) vs. (Wandering Circus), a five-player team competition game, officially begins].