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With six rounds left in Season 10, the battle between the top eight suddenly became harsher. Originally, everyone had thought that 301’s strength had allowed them to replace Wind Howl for good, and the top eight would be set like that. But out of nowhere, Wind Howl had suddenly resorted to the harsh method of fighting person-to-person, and they sang boldly and loudly as they marched through their team battles.

After defeating Blue Rain in Round 26, Wind Howl consecutively defeated 301, Misty Rain, Void, and Hundred Blossoms.

Weaklings?

It looked like that designation was no longer accurate. But this new strategy of Wind Howl’s had only appeared in the past few rounds. As to whether they could actually maintain this, everyone still held doubt.

At the end of Round 32, the commentator and honored guest expressed sympathy toward the match schedule that Hundred Blossoms was about to face. But when everyone thought about it, they realized that Wind Howl’s upcoming match schedule wasn’t easy either.

Wind Howl’s opponents in the final six rounds were Thunderclap, Royal Style, Heavenly Swords, Parade, Happy, and Tiny Herb.

Among the six teams, three were in the top eight. Those wouldn’t be easy fights.

But the most demonic match schedule still had to be 301’s. Their final six opponents were Miracle, Samsara, Tiny Herb, Blue Rain, Seaside, and Happy.

This match schedule was enough to make one suffocate. Wind Howl only had to fight three of the top eight, but 301? They were basically fighting the top four.

And between these two match schedules, there were two teams in common: Tiny Herb, and Happy.

Tiny Herb was currently in fourth place with 224 points, a twenty point difference from Wind Howl and 301. Their lead was relatively stable. But the situation wasn’t as relaxed for Happy. They currently had 212 points, only eight points ahead of those two teams. If they slipped up during their confrontations with these two, then they could be dragged right down. Behind that, Hundred Blossoms was still eying the top spots, and if they performed well, one good counterattack could directly kick Happy out of the top eight.

Happy’s opponents in the last six rounds, aside from their direct competitors Wind Howl and 301, included Void, Lightly, Bright Green, and Thunderclap.

These opponents weren’t weak either, especially Thunderclap, another team currently trapped in the mudhole. Currently, Thunderclap had slightly fewer points than Happy, only 211, and in the final six rounds they would be facing Wind Howl, Misty Rain, Happy, Hundred Blossoms, Samsara, Miracle…

Another brutal match schedule.

After analyzing the match schedules of the last six rounds, everyone was dumbfounded. Of the five teams currently embroiled in a battle for a spot in the playoffs – Happy, Thunderclap, Wind Howl, 301, and Hundred Blossoms – not a single one had an easy schedule, and there were multiple matches where they would be going head-to-head. Among the five teams, no one dared to predict right now which team would be kicked out of the top eight.

After Round 32, Happy’s Boss Chen found herself so anxious that she couldn’t fall asleep.

Originally, she’d thought that Happy already had a safe spot in the playoffs, but now at the end things had become so difficult and intense. Happy had actually played quite well in the past few rounds. After they’d begun to send up Luo Ji and Wei Chen, they might lose one or two points here and there, but wins of 8 and 9 points were still very pretty! Their one loss was their away game against Misty Rain, who’d beaten them 9-1. In an instant, the teams behind them had closed the distance. Perhaps it was true, that the other teams’ recent performances had simply been too excellent, too strong.

In Round 33, Happy played their away game against Void.

Void was currently 28 points behind the top eight. Normally, they probably would’ve given up on the playoffs just like Misty Rain. But as of now, the current struggle for the top eight was a mudhole. Maybe there’d be a few teams that completely collapsed?

Void didn’t want to give up. But their upcoming match schedule was also worthy of tears. For the final six rounds of the season, they still had to play Happy, Hundred Blossoms, Radiant, Royal Style, Blue Rain, and Tyranny…

But Void’s dedicated fans had drafted an especially beautiful blueprint. According to the fans’ plan, Void would use their home-field advantage to take care of their direct competitors Happy and Hundred Blossoms. Then, they would get the points they could off of Radiant and Royal Style. By then, four rounds would be over and the leaderboard situation would be clearer. Even though Void would have to face Blue Rain and Tyranny, these two teams had stable spots in the playoffs, and they might even be resting up in preparation for the playoffs. Void might have an easier time getting points off of these two teams.

This so-called “Void’s Plan of Counterattack” post instantly became very popular. Some mocked it, but others voiced their support. After all, the analysis in the post wasn’t without basis. Void’s match schedule looked demonic, but the latter four matches might not be too bad to play. The same was true in general: if a team met one of the top four teams at the end of the season, it might not be a brutal match. It wasn’t that the top four teams were going easy necessarily, it was simply logical to let their main players get a chance to rest after a full season of difficult matches and then use their full potential in the playoffs.

So, Rounds 33 and 34 became crucial. Void’s dedicated fans had already pointed out the path for them, they couldn’t fall here, could they? The team players were also chanting their slogans. These next two home games, they had to win, in order to see the dawn of entering the playoffs.

The discussion, commentary, and analysis from all sides worried Chen Guo, especially after she saw that Happy’s training plans didn’t undergo any special adjustment. She almost wanted to say, at such a crucial time, shouldn’t they let Wei Chen and Luo Ji take a break? After all, entering the playoffs in the first place should be the priority!

But judging from the rhythm of recent practices, Ye Xiu wasn’t planning on changing the original arrangement.

Should she say something to him?

Chen Guo hesitated, because to express this at this point of time would be expressing her lack of faith toward those two. It was the reality that this old player and this new player were weaker in strength, but to prepare them for this crucial moment and then not use them, wouldn’t that upset them? Did Ye Xiu anticipate this, and that was why he couldn’t say anything?

If those two could take the initiative to bring this up, that would be ideal. Chen Guo had no hope for someone as shameless as Wei Chen, but Luo Ji wasn’t Wei Chen. Luo Ji understood his own level very clearly, as well as the current situation. In the meeting before Round 33, when Ye Xiu scheduled him to go onstage as normal, Luo Ji actually brought up this point, wondering if it would be more suitable to make an adjustment.

What understanding! Chen Guo was moved. For the sake of the team, he didn’t care about his individual gains or losses. What a good kid. Compared to him, Wei Chen was really an infuriating guy.

But to Chen Guo’s surprise, Ye Xiu rejected Luo Ji’s suggestion altogether.

“The current situation is critical, but the playoffs will only be even more so. If you hide from this now, then what will you do in the playoffs?” said Ye Xiu.

“Um…” Chen Guo wanted to say “we should at least ensure that we make playoffs first,” but after opening her mouth, she restrained herself in the end. All this time, she had only listened from the side during these strategy meetings. Sometimes she would ask a question if something was unclear, but she never voiced an idea or suggestion. She knew exactly what level she was at, and she didn’t want to become an idiotic backseat driver. This time, Chen Guo felt that this had nothing to do with strategy, it was just an attitude, and she had the right to say something. But just when the words were on her lips – she didn’t know why, perhaps from habit or something else – she automatically swallowed them back.

But it seemed like Ye Xiu knew what she wanted to say. He turned his head to glance at her, and said, “Our goal is to win the championships! We need the courage to face any situation. You too, Luo Ji, this kind of match is training for you. After this round, be ready to play in the team battle.”

“This is just a small stage. Relax, relax!” Wei Chen said, with the confident air of a veteran.

Chen Guo was speechless. But at least now she knew that Wei Chen wasn’t truly shameless at this crucial time. He understood what choices Happy should make at this point. His and Luo Ji’s going onstage now wasn’t the typical training that teams would arrange for their rookies. This was all so that they could be useful in the playoffs. That was why Happy hadn’t sent them up from the very start for matches that would only waste their time. Happy sent them up now so they could have value on the field. Because they were about to face the playoffs, they needed the courage and belief to take responsibility.

“I understand.” Luo Ji was as anxious as ever, but he understood the rationale. Anxiety? Nervousness? Pressure? It was alright that he felt all this, because sending him onstage now was so that he could get used to this sort of anxiety, nervousness, and pressure. There were still six rounds left. He should value these chances. How could he retreat?

“Send me onstage!” Luo Ji mustered his determination, but his voice still trembled. He was truly terrified, terrified that he would lose one or two or even more points, and ultimately prevent Happy from entering the top eight. But he already demonstrated the determination to face difficulties head on. He would overcome all of this.

“Good,” Ye Xiu nodded. “Then the plan is as it was before. Work hard, strive for this victory. Let’s end Void’s plan of counterattack right here.”

“Ha…” Laughter in the meeting room. Evidently, they all had seen that recently trending post. The team that theoretically had the least chance of entering the top eight actually became the most attention-grabbing. It had to be said that people were miracle chasers. They wanted to see the seemingly-impossible become reality, that is, miracles.

After the meeting ended, everyone split up to gather their belongings. In the afternoon, they would be flying to City X. Ye Xiu watched everyone leave one by one, but he himself headed toward Happy’s R&D department.

Guan Rongfei, along with the other R&D workers Happy had found, were all working frantically.

Pseudo-Silver equipment!

This was what Ye Xiu and the others ultimately decided to call their planned Level 80 Orange equipment. After all, any equipment that came out of the equipment editor would have its name in Silver. But because its stats were purposely weaker and closer to those of Orange equipment of the same level, everyone decided to call them “Pseudo-Silver.”

Happy didn’t have enough resources to create more Level 75 Silver equipment. Now, they were prepared to bolster their strength with Pseudo-Silver equipment. But Pseudo-Silver couldn’t just be created on a whim either. The direct jump from Level 70 to Level 80 was possible in Guan Rongfei’s research through accumulating materials. The Myriad Manifestations Umbrella itself required a large amount of materials, but other equipment didn’t. So, right now, they had to figure out how to change the blueprints so they could add more materials without ruining the stats of the equipment and ultimately push them to Level 80. This was one of the hardest parts in investigating Pseudo-Silver equipment. It was proven that this was possible, so Happy was currently working on creating as many Pseudo-Silver equipment as they could.