Chapter 140 "Hi, Old Ye!"

The person who took the initiative to greet Team Happy wasn't anyone else, but Jia Shi's boss, Tao Xuan. He called out while quickly approaching. His tone and actions were full of warmth and enthusiasm. For a moment, Chen Guo was in a daze, wondering if she had recognized the wrong person.

Ye Xiu smiled and raised his hand in greeting.

"You guys came pretty early," Tao Xuan said with a smile.

"You too," Ye Xiu replied.

Tao Xuan's gaze swept over each member of Team Happy. He was also a veteran in the scene. He could recognize Wei Chen and Sun Zheping with a little effort. However, as the boss of a powerhouse team, he didn't need to bother making small talk with two washed-up players. So, he treated them like ordinary players, nodding as a greeting to the entire team.

"I really didn't expect that your team is quite interesting. Happy, right? I didn't see it before, turns out our neighbors are full of hidden talents!" Tao Xuan said, smiling at his team members behind him. Since the boss was laughing, the others naturally chimed in to warm up the atmosphere. Immediately, the Jia Shi team members began to chuckle.

After making a joke, Tao Xuan didn't wait for a response from Happy's side, and instead fixed his gaze on one person on the team.

Tang Rou.

The only person on Team Happy who piqued Tao Xuan's interest was Tang Rou. However, Jia Shi already had Sun Xiang, a trump card in the Battle Mage position, so Tao Xuan didn't have any intention of replacing him. He just felt even more pity than other teams interested in Tang Rou when he saw such a talented player in a team like Happy.

"Miss Tang, it's a pleasure to meet you," Tao Xuan said, ignoring everyone else and directly greeting Tang Rou.

With her background, Tang Rou had experienced a lot and could handle any situation. She responded to Tao Xuan's greeting appropriately, and then heard him say, "Miss Tang, talents like you must not be buried. After this match, if you're interested, you can contact me at any time. This is my business card."

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Chen Guo, who was next to her, immediately flared up. Tao Xuan's words were full of arrogance, openly trying to poach their players and implying that Happy was bound to be eliminated?

"Nothing much," Tao Xuan said with a smile, his tone carefree. Because at this moment, Tang Rou had already taken the business card from his hand, nodded, and said, "Thank you."

"Then I won't chat anymore. See you at the match tonight," Tao Xuan said, then called out to the Jia Shi team members and left. The team members followed their boss, each not looking to the sides. Only Su Mucheng lagged behind, staying to talk to Ye Xiu and Chen Guo as if no one else was around. Tao Xuan, of course, knew what was happening, but after glancing back, he didn't say anything and left with his team.

"That guy is so infuriating. Why aren't you guys reacting at all?" Chen Guo looked around. Usually, Ye Xiu and Wei Chen were good at provoking people. Why were they so quiet this time?

"I think it's not easy for such a big boss to personally come and spout trash talk like that, so we should give him the space to perform," Wei Chen said seriously.

"Oh? Who is that guy?" At this moment, An Wenyi and Luo Ji asked curiously. Tao Xuan thought he was someone important, but he forgot that he was too important, and ordinary people wouldn't have the chance to meet or recognize him. It was really thoughtful of him to come here to spout trash talk, but unfortunately, some people on Happy didn't even know who he was, judging from his gesture of giving Tang Rou his business card.

"A talent scout?" If An Wenyi and Luo Ji were to guess directly, they would probably get this answer.

Chen Guo couldn't stay angry anymore. She pulled Su Mucheng aside and chatted about everything, like a typical busybody. However, with the big match just around the corner, she didn't mention a single word about Glory. Obviously, Chen Guo wanted to avoid this sensitive topic. No matter how clear Su Mucheng's stance was, they were opponents in this match. They could say they would face it with a professional attitude, but how would they truly feel inside? Therefore, Chen Guo thought it was better not to talk about it.

After entering the stadium, both teams had their own dedicated receptionists. Su Mucheng still had to return to Jia Shi's side. The two teams were then taken to their respective rest areas. The match venue had already been set up, and both teams had two hours to adapt to the environment.

"Team Jia Shi said that they can let everyone adapt to the venue first," the receptionist then conveyed a message.

"Oh, thank them for me," Ye Xiu nodded.

"Okay, I will pass it on," the receptionist politely left. The Happy team wandered around in the spacious rest area, and even Wei Chen was filled with emotion. Back when he was still in the league, even professional teams didn't have such good match conditions. Stadium? What a joke. Back then, there was no need for such high capacity. Just find a conference center that could hold a few hundred or a thousand people to host a match. But now, in less than ten years, it had developed to the point where many teams had their own dedicated match centers. The development speed of Glory's professionalization could only be described as rapid.

"Not bad, not bad, really not bad!" Wei Chen touched this and looked at that, touring around. After he finished, he became energetic and waved his hand. "Come, let me see what the current match equipment is like."

The Happy team walked out of their rest area, passed through the player tunnel, and quickly entered the stadium.

From the audience seats, it wasn't much different from the previous match venues, since they all had similar capacities. However, the decoration of the match stage was very different. The players' preparation areas were uniformly located on the south side, while the match stages were arranged on the east and west sides. The central part of the field was a large open space where the holographic projection would be displayed. After almost a season of testing, the broadcasting techniques for holographic projection had become quite mature. All viewers who came to the venue would definitely have a different experience than watching at home, and not just in terms of the lively atmosphere. Because of this reform, the attendance rate for all matches this season had skyrocketed, and the league and various teams had benefited greatly. This method would be further improved and promoted.

After Team Happy circled around their preparation area, they headed to the match stage. For the players, the empty holographic projection area in the middle wasn't important at all, because they couldn't see it during the match. The match stage was their real battlefield.

Each side of the match stage had six match seats, clearly designed for the team competition with the highest number of players. The computer hardware conditions for all match seats were exactly the same, as stipulated by the league. As for the equipment mainly used by the players, such as the mouse and keyboard, players could bring their own, and there were convenient ports on the match seats. However, the equipment would be inspected before the match to see if it complied with league regulations. If a player forgot to bring their equipment, there was no need to panic. The league wouldn't be so harsh as to cancel their match qualification. They could borrow from a teammate, or the venue would provide standard spare equipment.

The match venue had been opened for the players to warm up and adapt. The necessary checks and adjustments had already been completed. This time, the Challenger League finals were organized to a very high standard, just like a regular professional league match.

The Happy team then entered the match seats, turned on the equipment, and tried it out. Even Chen Guo excitedly experienced what it felt like to compete as a professional player. When she came out of the match seat, she saw Wei Chen standing on the field alone, staring blankly at the entire stadium.

Chen Guo didn't bother him, and like Wei Chen, she looked around the stadium. This veteran who had retired for many years had never thought about returning to this familiar battlefield, but one day he was truly standing here. What would he be feeling at this moment?

Chen Guo turned her head and looked at Wei Chen again, only to see that Ye Xiu was already standing with him, each smoking a cigarette. The ashes flew so much that they could be seen in the air.

Chen Guo was speechless at these two. Couldn't they leave a little space for others to be moved?

Although Wei Chen hadn't experienced this kind of situation before, the old soldier showed great adaptability. He didn't drill around every match seat like the young ones. After all this, two hours had passed, and the Jia Shi players began to walk out of the player tunnel.

In fact, the warm-up for adapting to the venue didn't conflict between the two teams. The two-hour time limit wasn't really a strict limit. It wouldn't be a violation to stay half an hour longer. However, before the final match, all the equipment would be sealed for a final check, and the players had to leave at that time.

So, Jia Shi's saying that Happy could adapt to the venue first was completely unnecessary politeness and another display of their arrogance as a powerhouse team.

Only the Jia Shi players came to adapt and warm up. Tao Xuan didn't follow them again. Seeing the Happy team still here, the Jia Shi players didn't show any reaction either. They just circled around the preparation area and then went to their match area. It wasn't until they saw the Happy team preparing to leave that someone from Jia Shi suddenly called out, "Hey."

The Happy team stopped, and then they saw Sun Xiang, who they had ridiculed countless times but was still stubbornly standing.

"Since the offline matches, I've gotten five kills in every match," Sun Xiang said, shaking his palm towards them. "Tonight won't be an exception."

"This kid is hopeless," Chen Guo said helplessly. Even she was indifferent to Sun Xiang's provocation. It was conceivable how many times Sun Xiang's "wolf is coming" joke had been made without the wolf actually appearing.

Without paying attention, the Happy team left the match venue.

At 8 p.m., the Challenger League finals would officially begin.