FOG [电竞]

Chapter 4

“… Evil?” 

Upon entering the soundproof glass room, the four IAC players took their seats. While testing out his microphone, the sniper of the team asked, somewhat ill at ease, “Are you alright?”

Within the team’s voice chat, Shi Luo said dispiritedly, “I’m fine.”

The three teammates all turned to look at Shi Luo. He didn’t look the least bit “fine”.

Shi Luo seemed like a completely different man since he saw Yu Sui in the corridor. His complexion was ashen and his expression had completely changed. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice the slight tremble of his hands. 

Just now, his teammates noticed that it took Shi Luo a few tries before he was able to install his keyboard because his hands had been shaking. He had jammed it in so forcefully that the medic seated beside him was afraid he’d wreck the USB interface.

The difference between the Shi Luo now and how he usually is was too big.

The sniper tried to ease the tension before the match. Unfortunately, this person wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and he brought up the pot that didn't boil. “Just – just now, that was really Whisper! Wow, he’s changed a lot! I’m half a fan of his but I didn’t recognize him at all. Shi Ge has really good eyes. ”

The medic stared at the sniper with a terrified look and tried to salvage the situation. “… Of course, Shi Luo had been teammates with Whisper in the past. He’d definitely be more familiar with him that others.”

The sniper nodded: “Yes, yes, after all, it’s team camaraderie.”

Originally, Shi Luo had on a tense expression. But hearing his teammates trying to sound him out inconspicuously only to make it worse, Shi Luo couldn’t help but give a self-deprecating laugh. Seeing him now, the others must think that he’d gone mad.

They had just been teammates, they just hadn’t seen each other for two years and it was just a reunion. That’s all.

Professional players transferred clubs, divisions and regions all the time. Separating, reuniting; these were routine occurrences. Even today’s opponent, NSN was Shi Luo’s old team. Seeing former teammates on the field was nothing out of the ordinary. 

So what was he losing his cool for?

Shi Luo finally managed to adjust his peripherals. He opened the gaming client and opened his account. After logging on to the competition server, there was still about ten minutes before the official match. The players were all warming up and Shi Luo also shot a full cartridge of bullets. His play was complete garbage; an absolute eye-sore.

When there was a lot of fluctuations in one’s mood, the hands might become cold and stiff from insufficient blood supply. It was a psychological problem, there was nothing that could be done. Shi Luo was already trying to control himself.

Shi Luo let go of the keyboard and he gently rubbed his stiff hands. He took a deep breath and exhaled. This won’t do. 

Shi Luo looked at the screen. It had been quiet for a while. He whispered into the mic, “He and I, we weren’t just teammates.”

His teammates were shocked when they heard Shi Luo’s voice from their headphones. They didn’t know where Shi Luo was going with this. The medic replied dully: “Uh … Manager Zhao told us before that Whisper was the one who took you to play pro.”

Shi Luo said, “Not just that.”

His teammates looked at each other in dismay. The referee monitoring the IAC voice chat also tilted his head and glanced at Shi Luo. No one understood what was happening with Shi Luo. Shi Luo had always talked very little, and he was always tight-lipped about Whisper. What has gotten into him today?