Chapter 3: PK

Kay Lu Qikai V:

[Image]

The person who sparked the controversy is none other than NSN’s captain, Kay.

Sang Ye wasted no time opening the attached picture — a secretly taken photo.

The photographer was standing outside WLG’s lounge, peeking through the slightly ajar door. Inside, Tan Mo was standing sideways, his lips pressed into a straight line, the fabric of his sleeves bunched up around his forearms, and his exposed wrists appeared cold and pale.

Beside his feet were a pill bottle with the label torn off and scattered white pills all over the floor.

At first glance, it certainly looks suspicious, but strictly speaking, this photo doesn’t even qualify as evidence.

The reason it quickly got labeled as “drug use” and exploded on trending topics within minutes is simple: he’s Talk.

Even before his official debut, Tan Mo was already in the spotlight — a physics major from Caltech, a well-known gaming content creator, and a champion in CF’s public tournaments. In his first year, he made it to the Intercontinental Championships while still submitting his graduation thesis. In his second year, he claimed the Global Finals Championship, making him one of the top stars in the entire esports scene.

On top of that, his stunning looks, often described as the real-life embodiment of a male lead in an e-sports novel, kept him in the public eye.

Tan Mo. Drugs. Either topic alone would be explosive.

Marketing accounts quickly jumped on the hype, and the comments were filled with followers blindly echoing the accusations. Before the truth even had a chance to come out, it seemed like the guilty verdict had already been decided.

Sang Ye, feeling off-balance, hurriedly typed out a post. After hitting the publish button, he said to his livestream audience:

“Check out my latest Weibo post, repost, comment, and like it. I’m giving away two hundred more prize packs.”

[“…………”]

The viewers were stunned, momentarily overwhelmed by the streamer’s display of wealth.

…

As the bus pulled into the airport, the entire WLG team was bombarded with messages, only then realizing that Tan Mo had hit the trending searches for drug use.

The bus, which had been somewhat noisy before, instantly became dead silent.

The coach frantically gave the players around him meaningful looks, signaling for them not to discuss the drug use issue publicly.

Xiao Pai flashed an “OK” sign at the coach, then turned around and knelt on his seat: “Tan Shen, did you really take drugs?”

!!!

The coach almost fainted on the spot!

This wasn’t just a lack of tact—Xiao Pai was downright brainless!

Tan Mo’s expression became more reserved. A few seconds later, he turned off his phone and responded with a faint “Hmm.”

The air around them froze.

The players were shocked, confused, and completely at a loss, as if the sky had fallen.

Xiao Pai wobbled slightly, his fingernails digging into the back of his seat, his face pale: “What… what did you take?”

Tan Mo tilted his head, one hand pressing on the back of his neck as he slowly massaged it: “Conan and Ai Haibara¹.”

Everyone: “……….”

Xiao Pai, frustrated, slapped the seat and shouted indignantly, “Shinichi and Ran forever!!!”

The atmosphere inside the bus suddenly relaxed, and the coach took the opportunity to say, “Time to get off, time to get off! Stop talking about it.”

The players didn’t need a reminder to know that the drug use controversy wouldn’t die down anytime soon, and it would probably be best to unplug their internet when they got back.

However, while waiting in the airport lounge, Xiao Pai suddenly exclaimed, “The trending topic dropped, it dropped!”

Everyone was shocked and quickly opened Weibo.

Sure enough, the topic had fallen from first to fifth place.

And the top post on the square had changed—

You Sang Ye:

[Answer this @Kay Lu Qikai: What kind of medication is shown in the photo? Whose medication is it? Did you personally see Talk take drugs? If you have proof, show it. If you have no evidence, but are holding a public trial on Weibo, that’s cyberbullying.

Netizens, think for yourselves: Did “Kay Shen” avoid going through official channels and deliberately choose to release this at night because he’s standing up for esports justice, or is this payback for that headshot in tonight’s final round?]

This account wasn’t a big influencer, but within a short time, it had gained more than 50,000 likes, and its comments and shares were growing at a remarkable rate—an effect no simple bot army could achieve.

But no matter what, it was this Weibo post that got pushed to the top, and as more people shared it, the clueless bystanders began to calm down. The discussions subsided, the topic’s popularity naturally dropped, and now people were starting to question Kay Lu Qikai’s motives.

Xiao Pai scrolled through the [You Sang Ye] account, completely in awe: “He seems to be a newcomer streamer in the PUBG community, and he’s daring enough to directly challenge Lu Qikai. That’s so, so, so bold!”

But in the next second, he frowned: “With Lu Qikai’s petty personality, there’s a good chance he’ll blacklist him in the industry. What should we do about that?”

Tan Mo’s eyelashes drooped lazily, his left hand propping up his face while his right hand casually scrolled through his phone screen, showing no interest and no concern.

Since he’s part of the industry, he should already be aware of the consequences of his actions. Everyone makes their own choices after weighing the pros and cons.

As outsiders, they didn’t need to worry about it…

Suddenly, his finger froze while scrolling through the comments section.

Soft Candy: [This is so reckless, risking offending a big name in the industry just to support Talk. What if he really did take drugs?]

You Sang Ye replied to @Soft Candy: [I have no intention of offending anyone, unless that person offends my beliefs.]

In the VIP lounge, Sang Xiao Ye sat cross-legged on the single bed, having set a 3 a.m. alarm, ready to sleep.

“Stream’s over.”

[“Wait! Kay deleted his Weibo post!”]

Sang Ye was so tired his eyes wouldn’t stay open, but he still fumbled for his phone, checked it, and sneered, “Kay Shen’s mental fortitude is still a bit weak.”

[“Yeah! Victory to the rich side!”]

[“Impressive, single-handedly changing the course of the situation.”]

[“Please say less! Someday Kay’s fans might flood your stream!”]

Sang Ye pulled his Pikachu sleep mask halfway down and lay back: “Let them come. If they can flood it, I’ll admit defeat.”

His fans immediately jumped on the opportunity: [“If you lose, will you wear a dress?!”]

“I’ll wear a dress then.”

At that moment, another phone vibrated

Sang Ye picked it up and saw a notification for a private message on Weibo.

wlg-Talk: [Thanks for the trust. If you have time, let’s play a game together. momo1998—my Steam account.]

At first glance, Sang Ye looked confused.

But by the second glance, his mind went completely blank, and he sat up in shock, as if revived from the brink of death.

The viewers in the livestream were startled: [“Fu Gui’er, are you okay?!”]

Sang Ye’s breathing quickened, his chest rising and falling as his hands trembled slightly while holding his phone. He tapped on the avatar to check the sender’s profile.

[7.978 million followers, 0 following, 50.01 million likes, comments, and shares.]

[Verified: WLG Esports Club player, 2021 PGI Global Invitational Champion.]

It was that Talk.

“Thud!!!”

Sang Ye fell back onto the bed, clutching his phone, his whole body twisting in excitement.

The audience panicked: [“Quick, call 120! The kid’s having a sudden attack!”]

After finally calming down, Sang Ye held his phone and typed nervously into the message box, deleting and retyping several times. But after much thought, he managed to calm down again.

Talk was probably just being polite, expressing gratitude. As for the “let’s play a game” part, it was likely just a formality.

Plus, esports players are so busy, with their Steam accounts likely flooded with 999+ friend requests. Even if he did have an account, he probably wouldn’t accept.

Sang Ye pursed his lips, condensed his 500-word draft into something shorter, and when he finally hit send, there was only one word left.

You Sang Ye: [Okay.]

It felt as though saying anything more might be a disturbance.

Sang Ye was about to take a screenshot of the chat as a keepsake, but in the next second, a message popped up from the other side.

wlg-Talk: [So, what’s your account?]

At that moment, someone’s breath completely stopped.

A few seconds later.

Sang Ye got up and shut down the livestream.

Only then did the viewers realize that the previously overly arrogant little streamer now had flushed cheeks, sparkling black eyes, and an uncontrollable smile tugging at the corners of his eyes and mouth.

“I’m fine, stream’s over.” Sang Ye leaned close to the camera, reaching out to press the off button. “Goodnight.”

The fans were collectively stunned.

He… he actually said goodnight to me…

Sss—so sweet.

…

Sang Ye was so excited that he accidentally stayed up all night. By the time morning came, he was dead tired.

After getting off the plane and enduring the morning rush hour, it was almost 10 a.m. when he finally returned to his rented apartment and collapsed into bed.

By evening, Sang Ye still hadn’t fully recovered, but he forced himself to get up and logged on at 8 p.m. sharp to start streaming.

So dedicated.

When he opened the livestream, today’s viewership was double that of yesterday, showing that his brief appearance on trending topics had brought in quite a bit of traffic.

Sang Ye had a guild-issued PK task this month, and with the end of the month approaching, he hadn’t participated in a single one. So tonight, he decided to do his first.

A PK is when two streamers connect, perform talents or engage in chat during a set time, and their fans send virtual gifts that are converted into popularity points. The one with the higher score wins.

At first, Sang Ye refused to participate in the PK competitions. He just wanted to play games, not do gimmicks.

But the union said, either participate or pay a 5 million breach-of-contract penalty and leave.

Sang Ye had plenty of money.

But.

Ha.

Give me a break.

Sang Ye decided to tough it out until the contract ended, determined not to let the greedy guild take a single penny from him.

[“It seems like this is Fu Gui’s first time joining a PK. So exciting!”]

[“Everyone, don’t send gifts yet! Wait until the PK starts, only then will they count towards the popularity score.”]

[“I heard someone from WLG is also joining a PK tonight. Wonder who it’ll be.”]

Sang Ye’s heart skipped a beat, his fingers curling slightly as he pressed [random match.]

He watched the hourglass spin, round and round, without knowing exactly what he was secretly hoping for.

A livestream room connected. The screen went black for a moment, and when it lit up again, sitting in front of the camera was a man of medium build, wearing black-rimmed glasses.

[“Ahhhhhh! It’s Kay!”]

[“Fu Gui just made the trending list yesterday for mocking Kay. Are they really gonna PK against each other?”]

[“Let them tear each other apart! Make it loud!”]

Sang Ye’s heart suddenly became calm.

Looking at Lu Qikai’s face, he even felt like sighing.

Lu Qikai only realized the person he was matched with was the streamer who had subtly mocked him on last night’s trending list after being reminded by his chat.

His expression instantly became inscrutable. He didn’t point it out directly, but his tone carried no hint of politeness as he asked, pretending not to know: “Which region are you from?”

Sang Ye picked up his phone, lowering his lashes: “PUBG region.”

“PUBG region? Then why haven’t I heard of you?” Lu Qikai eyed the young man, his gaze filled with disdain. “I know all the good streamers from that region.”

The implication was that Sang Ye wasn’t skilled enough to catch his attention.

Without looking up, Sang Ye replied: “Maybe the ones you know aren’t good enough.”

One sentence, and the chat exploded.

Lu Qikai’s expression changed, but realizing he was live, he quickly covered it with a mocking laugh: “Well, since we’re here, what should we PK?”

“Let’s solo in-game.” Sang Ye kept it brief. “Dare you?”

The chat went wild again.

Are you crazy?!

Challenging a professional player to a one-on-one!!!

Sang Ye’s fans showed concern:

[“Fu Gui, if you can’t do it, just back out.”]

Meanwhile, Lu Qikai’s chatroom erupted into mocking:

[“Beating you would be a breeze.”]

Lu Qikai pretended to be conflicted, furrowing his brow: “It’s not like I can’t solo, but what do you expect? If I win, it’s ungracious for a pro to beat an amateur. If I don’t win…”

“Why are you overthinking it?” Sang Ye finally looked up, his tone puzzled. “With your pathetic aiming skills, you really think you can beat me?”

“Pfft!!!”

As soon as Tan Mo entered the training room, he saw Xiao Pai sitting at the computer, drinking lemon cola

The team manager, Yu Haotian, followed behind, frowning: “Look at you! You’ve become such a mess without training matches, and now you’re watching livestreams?”

Xiao Pai wiped the keyboard with a tissue, his eyes gleaming with excitement: “Lu Qikai got matched up with a new streamer, and this newbie is quite the arrogant one. Not only did he openly mock Lu Qikai’s skills, but he also subtly criticized Lu Qikai’s social circle, which made Lu Qikai so angry his face was distorted.”

“Really?” Yu Haotian was intrigued and leaned in. “Let me see.”

Tan Mo, still feeling the chill from outside, glanced at the screen as he passed by Xiao Pai.

The screen showed two livestreams side by side. On the left was Lu Qikai, looking visibly upset, while on the right, the other person was looking down at their phone, with only a pale top of their head visible.

Tan Mo picked up a document from the desk: “I’ll leave first.”

“Aren’t you going to watch?” Xiao Pai asked quickly. “By the way, this newbie is the one who appeared at the match yesterday, the one who faced off against you.”

“You can watch it,” Tan Mo replied, sounding slightly hoarse from what seemed like a cold. “I’m tired. I’m going to get some rest.”

Knowing that Tan Mo had been answering questions from the event organizers all day, Xiao Pai didn’t insist: “Oh, okay. You’ve worked hard. Rest early.”

At that moment, Sang Ye in the livestream set his phone aside and looked up.

Tan Mo glanced over by chance and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

On the screen, the young man took up half of the view, with striking creamy white hair and pale skin, which made the image slightly overexposed. His hair covered his eyelids, giving him a languid expression and an exceptionally recognizable beautiful face.

He interlaced his fingers, stretching them forward: “Stop the chatter. Let’s get started.”

His voice was clear, with a slight youthful rasp.

The fingers closer to the camera were long and slender, with beautifully pink-tinted fingertips.

Xiao Pai noticed that the person who was supposed to leave hadn’t moved and turned around: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Tan Mo threw the document back onto the desk and pulled up a nearby e-sports chair to sit down.

“Tell me, how did he mock Lu Qikai?”

“…………”

Author has something to say:

Xiao Pai: Are you not tired now?

Note :

Tan Mo is responding humorously to the question about drug use by referencing these two characters, who are connected to a fictional drug in the Detective Conan universe. It’s a playful deflection instead of a serious admission. ↩︎

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