[Rare to see this.]
[He really brought it out??]
[Did anyone notice he's wearing the DM skin? I remember WILD gave it to him.]
[No, I feel like crying.]
[I knew he was hiding a Joseph up his sleeve!]
[Holy… group photo!]
[Don't forget, SUN used to dominate the S1 Joseph leaderboard for many seasons.]
[But casual ranked matches aren't the same level as professional leagues.]
[Exactly, the other side is pro four-stack, how can we win?]
[The only comfort is, luckily it's the Military Factory…]
[This is insane, at least give us a regulator who can draw even, Joseph messing up even once means losing directly!!]
Lu Xiangyang's fingers stroked the screen, Shen Kuangye's words still echoing in his mind.
He instinctively glanced toward the EAR fan section.
Fans with red eyes held up banners that read: "Believe, keep believing!"
Lu Xiangyang calmed his mind and turned back to focus on the screen.
The opposing lineup was: Acrobat, Cowboy, Crying Clown, Lawyer.
When Lu Xiangyang's talent points appeared, the crowd erupted.
He only brought his hidden card and window seal—no saves.
He didn't plan to defend the gates; he wanted a quick, decisive fight!
"Crazy."
Many people commented in awe.
Shen Kuangye silently watched the screen in the preparation room, saying nothing.
Jiguang and Zuiying spoke in unison: "Let's watch the final match of the Call of the Abyss Global Finals, brought to you live by Zuiying and Jiguang!"
Lu Xiangyang chose the sandbag spawn point.
Right at the start, he took a photo and entered the mirror to locate enemies, and luckily found two mirrors immediately.
But the big house Cowboy's mirror he just couldn't find.
He knew the Cowboy had probably pulled his own mirror away.
"SUN's start is excellent, can take a hook—" he began, then suddenly shifted, "There's still the Acrobat mirror ahead! Can SUN see it?"
After hooking the Lawyer's mirror, he went straight toward the Acrobat's mirror. In the last second of the mirror, he landed a hit on the Acrobat.
From the God's-eye view, the Lawyer fell in the small cabin, being healed by the Cowboy.
Everyone watching saw Joseph's POV swivel around for just a few seconds, and the next second, as if with X-ray vision, he instantly teleported to the generator in the small cabin!
"So confident, SUN?"
Joseph strode toward where the Lawyer had fallen; the Cowboy didn't have time to heal and could only whip around, delaying Joseph from hooking.
Lu Xiangyang faked a few times, the Cowboy didn't fall for it, and when he finally lifted the Lawyer, the Cowboy pulled him.
[It's over.]
[I can't watch.]
[Already one and a half generators, no hope.]
[How is four even possible?]
Lu Xiangyang wasn't panicking.
The Cowboy had trouble controlling the survivor; during the skirmish with Joseph at the pallet, he got hit!
The Lawyer fell, and the Cowboy ran away, continuing to pressure Joseph.
Lu Xiangyang lifted the Lawyer again but used a fake move to successfully bait the Cowboy's hook.
Moreover, the small cabin was still above the basement.
After hooking the Lawyer into the basement, Lu Xiangyang immediately went up to take a photo to continue the momentum.
The Cowboy and Crying Clown could no longer save anyone; only the Acrobat could.
At the door, the Acrobat was intercepted by Joseph and took a hit, and Lu Xiangyang's clever positioning blocked her for a second.
As she staggered into the basement, Joseph followed closely; it looked like he wouldn't last, and the Acrobat had no choice but to shoot.
But Joseph just flicked his card lightly and returned to the corner.
"Dodged!! Now SUN just needs to down the Acrobat; the other survivors outside can hardly operate anymore!"
The Acrobat rescued the Lawyer, who struggled to run into the mirror to buy time.
Lu Xiangyang ignored him and went to handle the Acrobat first.
"The Lawyer is far away now; SUN might not even find them later!"
Jiguang clenched his fists, voice full of tension.
The Acrobat was hit while vaulting a window, finally falling mid-field. Lu Xiangyang hooked her mid-field, checked the generators around, and teleported again.
This time, he teleported directly to the generator near the big rock, with the Lawyer fallen at the edge of the map.
The Crying Clown tried to interfere, but Joseph didn't even glance at him, going straight toward where the Lawyer had fallen.
Live chat exploded:
[Is this seriously not X-ray?]
[Too strong… no wonder he's a Mythic God.]
[More like SUN brought Joseph's full potential out.]
[I feel like my Joseph is playable again, I'm trying it after this match!]
[Girl, you can only go top-left to bottom-right, get pallet hit, have survivors doing actions, can't even see one mirror.]
[Who allowed you to be this real?!]
The Crying Clown tried to use a rocket to stun Joseph, but Lu Xiangyang's hand was faster, hooking the Lawyer first. After a rocket stun, he hooked the Lawyer to the big gate ruins' chair.
The generator was still one and a half behind.
The Acrobat and Cowboy were still recovering; generator progress was nearly frozen.
The Crying Clown approached to duel.
The Lawyer got off the chair, but before the Crying Clown could stun Joseph with a rocket, Joseph sidestepped and downed the Lawyer!
The Crying Clown was still half-health, so he had to retreat.
The Lawyer was hooked; Lu Xiangyang checked the surrounding generators and entered the mirror, heading toward the sandbag.
The Crying Clown was just interacting with the Cowboy; over voice chat he said: "I feel like this place is dangerous."
Cowboy: "Impossible to be assassinated, we're not even near the mirror—"
Before he could finish, the heartbeat suddenly lit up.
Both saw Joseph had somehow appeared beside them.
The Cowboy hadn't even released his grip before being downed by Joseph.
The Crying Clown tried to escape, but with no nearby pallets, he could only retreat using a rocket.
The Cowboy was hooked; the Acrobat had no choice but to put down their generator and ask the Crying Clown to rescue via mic.
Her generator was in the small cabin; getting there would take time.
Joseph held his cards, advancing toward the cabin, pressuring the Acrobat to rescue.
He once again accurately located the Acrobat.
The Acrobat just reached mid-field; the chance to save someone was fifty-fifty. She took a hit, tried to speed to the sandbag chair, possibly still having a small chance.
But facing Lu Xiangyang?
So far, only Shen Kuangye could out-duel him.
With the Acrobat falling off the pallet, this round was officially declared a victory.
The fans went wild, watching the Cowboy fly, the Acrobat hooked.
The half-health Crying Clown in the sandbag corner could no longer struggle.
Joseph took another photo.
The Crying Clown still had a spinning wheel, hoping to save the Acrobat.
But Lu Xiangyang used the same fake move to trick it out; before he could touch the chair, he was downed mercilessly.
"Four hooks!! Let's congratulate EAR for winning the Call of the Abyss Global Championship again after taking the Fall Season Championship!!!!"
Jiguang and Zuiying had red eyes and hoarse voices.
Jiguang couldn't help sighing: "Not easy at all, EAR."
The cheering was deafening; the arena lit up, and Li Shu, Xing Kuang, and the others with red eyes rushed to hug Lu Xiangyang tightly.
At the championship declaration, everyone choked up and couldn't speak. Li Shu even had a snot bubble, making crying fans suddenly laugh.
He sobbed incomprehensibly, wiping tears with his sleeve, handing the mic to someone else.
The female host asked Lu Xiangyang: "SUN, your teleports were so decisive just now, why were you so confident the Lawyer would fall there?"
Lu Xiangyang's gaze instinctively flicked to Shen Kuangye: "Because I always trust my own judgment."
Those two teleports were also risky bets, but luckily they paid off.
Golden confetti rained from above; Shen Kuangye tilted his head, looking at the red-eyed Lu Xiangyang with gentle eyes.
At the moment they lifted the trophy together, Lu Xiangyang took his hand first, raising the trophy.
Only then did Shen Kuangye realize his palms were soaked.
Amid the golden confetti, scenes of winning championships from his previous life and this one overlapped.
But this time, he had a lover and friends.
He was no longer alone.
——
On Championship Night, Shen Kuangye and Lu Xiangyang sat at the front signing autographs.
After signing one, Shen Kuangye heard a somewhat familiar voice: "WILD, I've liked you for a long time. Can you sign for me?"
A female COS reporter said excitedly.
Shen Kuangye was stunned.
He instantly recognized her as the fan from the last time he won the Abyss championship in his previous life.
But now she seemed younger, more innocent.
She added, "I finally got your ticket, I thought I couldn't make it this time."
In his previous life, he met her in the fourth year of the Abyss.
This time around, everything was different.
Shen Kuangye carefully signed her autograph, saying sincerely: "Thank you for accompanying me this past year."
Afterwards, they went to celebrate. Shen Kuangye's consciousness was already blurred.
He had drunk a lot without realizing it.
He only remembered Li Shu crying as he spoke, Xing Kuang and Yishui also losing composure, Cheng Rang and Pei Xunan ignoring their sicknesses and drinking, and Lu Xiangyang… Lu Xiangyang seemed already drunk, leaning drowsily on his shoulder.
Finally back at the hotel, it was nearly 3 a.m.
Shen Kuangye held Lu Xiangyang back to the hotel. As soon as the door closed, Lu Xiangyang placed both hands on either side of him, cheeks flushed, eyes glossy.
Buzzed from alcohol, Lu Xiangyang stammered: "We… won the championship."
Shen Kuangye's right hand stroked his face, eyes slowly turning dangerous: "Mm."
Lu Xiangyang leaned closer, those peach blossom eyes looking at him: "Captain, let's… date?"
Shen Kuangye's Adam's apple moved.
Back then, he had said that just to temporarily calm Lu Xiangyang.
But now, he could no longer deceive himself. Lu Xiangyang still liked him after half a year, and he still liked Lu Xiangyang.
He finally dared to admit it... he liked Lu Xiangyang, very much.
Lu Xiangyang didn't get a reply and persisted, "Brother, let's… mmph."
Before he could finish, Shen Kuangye abandoned all restraint, despairing, and cupped his face, kissing him.