New Beginning and Future

Chapter 50: Before the First Blow Falls

Summary: In the calm before the storm, decisions are made in whispers and silence speaks louder than action. While the world continues unaware, behind locked doors and low voices, the pieces move, and someone prepares to strike with precision that no one will see coming.

Overprotective: ZGDX
Overprotective/Possessive/territorial: Chessman
Chessman is literally his own warning when it concerns his girl

Notes:

⚠️ Author's Note: Next Chapter has arrived for you lovely people! Things are starting!

Disclaimer: The Muse would like to remind everyone we do not own FIYS nor the beloved characters nor any dialogue from either the show nor the book...the Muse is very sad and not pleased with this continued reminder that they do not own them and never will!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter fifty

The air inside the ZGDX player lounge was dense with that unmistakable weight of impending war. It wasn't fear, or even nerves, it was pressure, the kind that pressed behind the rib-cage and burned in the bloodstream, silent and suffocating and full of expectation.

Everyone in the esports world knew what this match meant.

ZGDX vs YQCB.

The long-awaited clash that had been building since the start of the season, though everyone was still hoping that it will be ZGDX and YQCB in the Championship Finale. The one fans had speculated about, written thousands of prediction threads over, the one that dominated trending tags and press conferences alike. And now, it was here. If ZGX won this match, they would move into the Final Qualifier. Their next opponent? CK, one of the most brutal, unforgiving teams in the league's top three. That was the match that would decide if they moved onto the Championship Finale. However, this match today? Decided if they would move on to even facing CK.

Lose today, and it all ends here.

But ZGDX wasn't planning to lose.

The lounge was dim, illuminated by the soft glow of the screen in the corner cycling through match statistics, and the low, distant thrum of the crowd filtering through the walls and down into the tunnel.

Seated in the corner, Sicheng remained quiet, one leg crossed, elbow resting casually on the armrest, his gaze tracking the movements of his teammates with clinical sharpness. His wrist was braced, but his body was relaxed, dressed in his official uniform with the headset still hanging loosely around his neck. He wasn't going on stage, not yet, but the intensity in his stare made it clear he was in this match regardless. Beside him sat Rui, eyes on his laptop, monitoring comms and last-minute sponsor confirmations.

Yeon leaned casually against the table beside them, arms crossed, speaking softly with Wei, who stood with her clipboard, headset in one hand, phone in the other. She was quiet but alert, that sharp look of legal focus on her face, ready for damage control, publicity fallout, or blood, whichever came first. At the center of it all, the five active players stood together, clustered near the tunnel entrance, the heart of the team, waiting to be called.

Yao stood at the center, dressed in her ZGDX jacket, sleeves pushed to her elbows, headset clipped to her belt, her long hair braided and pinned up in a clean twist. Her dark eyes were sharp, focused, the kind of calm that only came from standing at the edge of chaos and walking into it willingly.

This was her game.

Her lane.

Her match.

And next to her, Yue stood silent, clutching the hem of his sleeve between two fingers, his lips slightly parted, the edges of nervous energy twitching beneath his composed surface. He was good, brilliant, even, but this wasn't just another game. This was YQCB. This was the semifinals. This was everything.