"Alright, now let's welcome EAR's survivors to the stage: XN, XIU, BOOK, and WILD!"
The audience was seated not far from the players' podium. When Ella's hunter took the stage, they had been holding back their voices slightly. But when EAR appeared, many couldn't help but cheer loudly.
Compared to other clubs, EAR's players were noticeably more attractive, Cheng Rang and Pei Xunan were prime examples.
EAR had previously been called a "flower vase team" because of their poor performance despite good looks.
So when the announcement that Shen Kuangye and Lu Xiangyang were joining EAR came out, many mocked it, wondering if the team had just recruited two more good-looking but useless players.
However, those critics were quickly proven wrong. In just one month, these two new additions helped EAR climb from last place to ninth.
Shen Kuangye's performance in the league wasn't flashy, but it was extremely stable.
Lu Xiangyang, as a rookie in the league, achieving this level was already impressive.
They hadn't been very lucky either—right from the start, they drew matches against strong teams. The fact that they could still fight back meant their improvement was significant.
The camera first focused on Pei Xunan in the first seat at the players' podium.
Pei Xunan had a rugged look. At that moment, he was adjusting his headset while talking to Cheng Rang. Noticing the camera on him, he waved.
Cheers came from the stands.
When the camera shifted to Shen Kuangye, the audience's cheers grew even louder.
Commentator Aurora introduced: "Now we have WILD, whose main roles are the Prisoner and Antique Dealer. Even as a rookie, his stats are impressive. Huh? He seems very happy today. Those who've watched his matches know WILD usually looks pretty cold, but today he's smiling. Is he confident about the match or hiding a trick up his sleeve?"
Commentator Zuoying chimed in: "I feel the same."
Shen Kuangye adjusted his equipment while thinking about what Lu Xiangyang had just told him, and his movements became lighter and more agile.
When it came time for the ban/pick phase, Shen Kuangye noticed the opposing hunter's banned picks and instinctively glanced at Cheng Rang, then saw Li Shu and Pei Xunan watching him too.
Cheng Rang stared expressionlessly at the opposing hunter, while Ella's hunter—Kong Bai—smiled at him.
He had banned the Batter and Explorer first—the two roles Cheng Rang excelled at.
It was blatant provocation.
Cheng Rang pulled his gaze away with a cold expression.
From the first round, looking at the opponent's banned picks, they knew the hunter would be the Opera. EAR chose the Arms Factory map.
Zuoying: "Oh? Arms Factory? Choosing a small map like this for the first round—what's EAR planning?"
Aurora guessed: "I'd say they'll pick the Savage and the Bartender—Adventurer??"
After the first two picks, not just the commentators, but the audience gasped.
EAR had chosen the Adventurer in the very first round!
The Adventurer is a weak control character, barely making it into Tier 3 on the survivor strength rankings. With the recent nerf reducing the time to decode pages, this character was almost useless.
Their remaining picks were the Savage, Painter, and Bartender.
"EAR went with the Adventurer in the first round?"
Zuoying's voice carried disbelief: "The Adventurer could be the key to the team's strategy this round. If the hunter catches the Adventurer early, it'll be hard to recover. But if not, the Adventurer can bring huge benefits later—he can decode and hide, right?"
Aurora nodded: "Exactly. Now let's see if Ella's hunter Kong Bai chooses the Opera or Ivy."
A few seconds later, the screen showed the Opera.
Aurora analyzed: "The Opera has a fast attack speed and strong grass-clearing ability. The Adventurer's first mission this round is to avoid being the hunter's first catch."
Once the picks were confirmed, everyone saw that Shen Kuangye would be playing the Adventurer.
At this point, in the live IVL broadcast:
[Waaah my Adventurer is actually on the stage!]
[Feels like a game—first round Adventurer? What were they thinking? If they get caught early, the hunter will be under serious pressure.]
[Pretending like other roles can't get caught fast.]
[I don't care! First doubt, then more doubts.]
Everyone was ready; their talents displayed, it was clear this round would be a "do-or-die" Adventurer strategy.
"Do-or-die Adventurer? EAR must be very confident in their tactics! Now, let's enter the match. This round: Ella's hunter vs. EAR's survivors, with live commentary by Zuoying and Aurora."
As expected, the Opera immediately charged toward the Adventurer's spawn.
Shen Kuangye pulled points immediately, but the distance was too close to escape, so he had to crouch and hide.
Shen Kuangye hid near two pallets by the small cabin. The Opera kept clearing grass nearby.
The commentators were excited: "Can you find him, Kong Bai? The Adventurer is right under your nose!"
The Opera only needed to swing at the grass in front to reveal the Adventurer, but didn't. Instead, she went elsewhere.
Shen Kuangye's move was bolder—while the Opera was searching, he stealthily walked to another area, staying hidden. Due to her perspective, the Opera didn't notice.
Even more thrilling, just after he moved, she returned to the spot he had just been.
Aurora: "WILD, that's bold! If the Opera had seen you earlier, you'd have been caught instantly! Now, the machines outside are being decoded rapidly. Shouldn't she give up and manage the machines first?"
At this point, two cipher machines were already fully decoded, all survivors unharmed, no items used.
The Opera seemed to think the same. She went to mid-map, where the Savage was working on the central machine. She whistled to mount the pig, then returned to the small cabin.
Zuoying: "Still looking for the Adventurer?"
The Opera's actions said yes. She cleared grass more aggressively, but still couldn't find him.
In the live chat:
[??? Isn't he a bro? Still looking?]
[Four machines unharmed!]
[I was wrong to doubt EAR—the Adventurer pick was perfect.]
[Ah! Right under her nose yet she missed! So frustrating! Is this some Zen mode? Couldn't she just find someone else? Why give points to EAR??]
[WILD hid perfectly—a total stealth play.]
[Even brushing the grass could have given him away.]
[Hahaha imagining WILD's cold, handsome face playing such a cute role is hilarious.]
The Opera had already cleared four machines and finally gave up, going after the Painter instead. But the Painter was ready—even with a Blink, she couldn't eliminate him instantly.
After knocking down the Painter, the last cipher machine lit up. The Painter executed a last-second sprint toward the exit.
At the gate were the Adventurer and Savage. The Savage was opening the gate. When the Opera went to intercept, the Savage whistled, mounted the pig, and ran. She had to return to the Painter.
Considering the Savage was still active, she tried to hook him to the central chair, but the Savage pushed her toward the gate. Even worse, the Painter executed a triple rescue.
In no time, everyone rushed to the gate. The Opera teleported there too—but it was too late. The Painter had the painting, teleported, and couldn't stop the three survivors escaping.
"OMG! Four survivors escaped!! EAR takes a 5:0 lead in the first round!"
The commentators were shocked.
Kong Bai became the first hunter in IVL history to fail to catch the Adventurer on four machines. His expression backstage was extremely sour.
"What happened? They escaped four?!"
Back in the prep room, everyone questioned him.
"Underestimated them," Kong Bai grumbled, rubbing his hair. "Next round, I'll catch all four. These newbies winning one round—so what?"
---
As soon as they returned to the prep room, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
"I was ready for him to chase me the whole round, but he spent all that time looking for the Adventurer! Hahaha."
Li Shu laughed: "Did you notice his expression when he left the stage? Like he could kill someone. Who made him ban Cheng Rang? Serves him right."
Cheng Rang didn't say anything, just smirked coldly.
"Xiangyang's been helping us train the Adventurer all these days, practicing hiding and coordination after being found," Pei Xunan said with a smile.
"Just won one round and they're this happy?"
Ella's players leaned on the prep room door, mocking.
Shen Kuangye glanced at them calmly.
"What do you mean?"
Lu Xiangyang frowned and stepped forward, but Shen Kuangye pulled him back.
"What? Some hunters couldn't find the Adventurer on four machines?"
Li Shu touched his ear: "What? You mean that hunter is from Ella?"
He said sarcastically: "How could Ella lose to EAR? Aren't they supposed to be the IVL's number one team?"
Hearing this, Ella's team turned pale.
"Isn't that right? Banning the Explorer and Batter made him useless, sending a rookie to play hunter and still getting three escapes? What arrogance!"
They couldn't imagine being four-run in the first round, feeling extremely embarrassed and frustrated.
Their team had no shortage of substitutes, many had a rebellious streak, and they all rolled up their sleeves, ready to confront EAR.
But the next second, two people appeared.
Pei Xunan and Shen Kuangye stood up, expressionless, staring at them.
Pei Xunan, muscular from regular workouts, fixed a sharp gaze at all of Ella.
Shen Kuangye, tall and composed, rotated his wrist slowly and looked at them.
No anger, just calm.
So calm it was almost like looking at a group of corpses.
"Didn't catch that."
He spoke steadily: "Say it again."