Chapter 174: The Goal Is the Championship

Some people even went so far as to list the men Yun Fu had ever interacted with, noting that nearly all of them had spoken up in her defense.

Even the most mysterious head of the Lian family in City S treated her with unusual distinction, not to mention the Gu family, the Su family, and others outside the Lian lineage.

[I seriously want Yun Fu to write a book teaching me how to flirt with men, and how to make so many of them coexist peacefully while all being uniformly nice to her.]
[It seems Yun Fu not only has a pretty face, but she is also exceptionally skilled at reeling in men right to their faces.]
[Tsk, by the time others are twenty, they already have a dozen top-tier men as worshippers under their skirts, while I am still a lifelong solo at twenty!]
[Yet she still insists on playing the aloof and cold card. It’s hilarious. If she were truly that aloof, she shouldn’t have bothered with these men in the first place. If she writes a book on this, I refuse to believe she’s actually that cold!]

Those hurling these insults were mostly female netizens.

They even claimed that during their stint on *Our Journey*, Yun Fu was just putting on an act.

When you hate someone, even the way they breathe is wrong.

Consequently, people began mocking Yun Fu's portrayal of Meng Chuji as trying way too hard and being overly pretentious, calling her fans' blind adulation sickening.

Watching almost the entire internet cyber-bully Yun Fu, Xi Rou'er smiled triumphantly.

Let her be smug, let her steal the spotlight everywhere. Serves her right now—this is what she deserves.

All those honors, rounds of applause, fresh flowers, and flattery were supposed to belong to her alone. Yun Fu was nothing more than a passing flash in the pan.

Everyone knew how heavily KDS weighed in the hearts of young people in China, and everyone knew how crucial this tournament was to the Chinese people. But now, someone was telling them that because of a single woman, they might fall short at the very last hurdle.

Then that woman deserved to die!

Someone even dug up and leaked photos of Yun Fu spending the Spring Festival together with the five members of KDS back in her hometown.

Although the images were quite blurry, it was still clearly discernible that there were six of them.

[What the hell! Are they out of their minds? I thought they were training at the base all through the Lunar New Year, but it turns out they ran off to spend the holidays with a female celebrity?!]
[My sincere devotion was fed to the dogs. A mere woman turned you guys into this pathetic mess, and you expect to play any games?!]
[This woman Yun Fu is out of her mind too. Didn't she know KDS had a tournament coming up? How could she still keep tangling herself up with them!]
[Neither the guys nor the girl are any good! While other countries were busy training, they were off fooling around with a female celebrity. I'm so pissed!]

The internet was flooded with abuse, as vicious as it could possibly get, and even the production crew of *You Are Your Own Best Self* was affected.

However, no one stepped forward to offer a single word in response. Some felt it was proof they had hit the nail on the head, while a small minority believed there was more to the story.

Regardless, the Spring Split arrived amidst this chorus of condemnation.

The five members remained completely unaware of anything happening online. They were escorted directly to the competition venue and forbidden from speaking with fans until the matches began.

At 10:00 AM on March 1st, the triennial *Hero Vanguard* Asian Spring Split officially commenced.

Nearly all young people in China who had the means sat in front of their televisions to watch the live broadcast.

It was at this moment that Yun Fu arrived at the venue.

She emerged directly from backstage, and instantly, a wave of murmurs erupted.

"How shameless can she be? Now that her cover is blown, she isn't even bothering to pretend anymore!"
"Coming straight out from backstage. Heh, my disappointment in KDS is now complete. I don't even want to watch anymore!"
"I went through so much trouble just to get this ticket, only to come here and get pissed off!"
"Just start the damn match and lose already. I've given up all hope."

The competition officially began with eight participating teams, who needed to draw lots to determine their matchups.

KDS drew their seasoned rivals from Country H, causing an immediate uproar.

The players from Country H used heavily accented, bizarre English to taunt them: " Heard you guys were fooling around with a female celebrity, playing so hard. Do you even have the strength left to play games?"

The rest of the opposing team members wore expressions of disgust and triumph.

Only the five members of KDS looked both shocked and bewildered.

In that fraction of a second, only one thought flashed through their minds—*Holy crap! Did our coach's identity get exposed?!*

They turned their heads in unison to look at Yun Fu, meeting her calm and unruffled gaze, before all five quickly looked away.

In perfect synchronicity, they snapped back and declared, "Talk less crap and let the match results speak for themselves!"

In the eyes of these youths burned a fire and confidence capable of scorching everything in their path. They lifted their heads proudly, refusing to let anything weigh them down, and marched with high spirits toward their designated battlefield.

In previous years, China's e-sports teams had suffered bitterly at the hands of Country H, because their opponents excelled at dirty tricks—vile tactics that left others exasperated and helpless.

Yet this time, barely five minutes into the match, KDS seized the dominant position. To everyone's astonishment, they had learned to give as good as they got; when the Country H team played dirty, they hit them right back with the same tactics.

Catching their opponents off guard before they could react, KDS struck with a decisive breakthrough!

The commentator nearly screamed their lungs out. On the giant screen on stage, a flash of light swept across—ten minutes into the match, victory and defeat were already decided.

"Ah! It's KDS! Through an incredible angle and teamwork, KDS has successfully secured the first victory!"

The entire arena erupted in cheers!

They had to play a best-of-five series, where winning three games secured the match. Although celebrating now was a bit premature, clinching a win in just ten minutes was a massive morale boost.

Whether rattled by the impact of the first match or not, Team H completely lost their composure afterward, exposing vulnerabilities everywhere. KDS took merely half an hour to sweep three consecutive games, clinching victory and advancing past the top eight!

Cheers, tears, and screams filled the air as the audience gazed at the five youths on stage with deeply complex emotions.

Meanwhile, those five teenagers simultaneously looked toward a single direction.

Sitting right there was someone who had watched them with steady calmness all along.

The five youths embraced one another. They did not cheer wildly; this was merely advancing to the final four—their ultimate goal was the championship!

Next up, their opponents were a formidable powerhouse hailing from Country D.

Armed with a wealth of tournament experience, this team had already been winning championships back when China's e-sports scene was just in its infancy.

Yet this time, amid the breathless anticipation of the entire arena, it took another half-hour for KDS to secure three straight wins and defeat the Country D team.

This was an unprecedented experience, a scenario they had never even dared to imagine.

The spectators stared blankly at the youths on stage, watching the radiance flickering in their eyes, before erupting into even more fervent cheers.

Having advanced from the top four to the top two, they were already guaranteed at least second place!

Now, just one more win stood between them and a result they had never dared to dream of—the championship!

Those who had previously abandoned all hope now felt a blazing, infernal fire of hope ignite within them. Clasping their hands together, they looked toward the stage with devout reverence.

Defeating two mighty opponents within a single hour was something unthinkable just moments ago. So now, perhaps they could dare to imagine what they once never dared to hope for.

For over twenty years of Chinese e-sports history, they had always been suppressed and beaten down. Could today finally be the day they rewrite history?