Chapter 65: They Appear Again!

Following the direction of Gao He’s finger, Xiao Yu caught sight of Yang Hao and Zhu Ziyuan’s group of four. Remembering what Gao He had just said, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

“The person you mentioned earlier, you meant Senior Yang Hao, right?”

Xiao Yu was unaware of any Yang Haoran; if he wasn’t mistaken, Gao He had been referring to Yang Hao.

“Senior Yang Hao?”

Hearing Xiao Yu’s words, Gao He was taken aback.

Yang Haoran?

Yang Hao?

With both names appearing in his mind at once, Gao He seemed to realize something, and his expression instantly turned quite unpleasant.

It was clear now that he’d been duped. There had never been a kingpin of Causeway Bay, so where would a Yang Haoran come from? Did they think they were filming a movie?

It was only because he’d heard others constantly referring to “Brother Haoran” that Gao He made the mistake. More importantly, the name Yang Haoran left an indelible impression on him. Thinking back to that final match, that single decisive blow, and that unforgettable announcement—“Causeway Bay’s kingpin, Yang Haoran”—Gao He could only grit his teeth in resentment.

So the so-called Yang Haoran was actually Yang Hao, and he’d naively assumed Yang Haoran was real.

Taking a deep breath, Gao He glanced at the still-present Xiao Yu and asked in a low voice, “Brother Xiao, what’s Yang Hao’s background? Is there really such a figure in our school?”

Beyond that incident in the internet café, Gao He’s knowledge of Yang Hao was nearly nonexistent. As one of the main organizers of the chicken dinner tournament and a fellow member of the eSports club, Xiao Yu should know something about him. Gao He trusted he’d share a bit.

Xiao Yu looked at Gao He with a hint of curiosity. Though he didn’t know why Gao He was so interested in Yang Hao, he replied, “It’s no surprise you don’t know Senior Yang Hao. He’d already graduated by the time you joined. But you should know Senior Zhu Ziyuan, right? Yang Hao is the external expert brought in by Senior Zhu.”

With that brief explanation, Xiao Yu didn’t elaborate further, as the match was about to begin and he had plenty to do.

Prompted by Xiao Yu, Gao He only now noticed Zhu Ziyuan beside Yang Hao. Compared to the already graduated Yang Hao, Zhu Ziyuan, who was still pursuing his doctorate, was much more familiar to him.

“Gao, what’s wrong?”

Sensing Gao He’s odd demeanor, a teammate nudged him.

“Remember the person I mentioned before?” Gao He asked in a cold, serious tone.

“You mean those guys?”

Putting Gao He’s words together with his earlier conversation with Xiao Yu, his teammates quickly pieced things together.

“What a small world,” snorted a young man with black-rimmed glasses by Gao He’s side, glancing toward Yang Hao’s group. “We’ll help you settle this score.”

“Don’t underestimate them—they’re not simple,” Gao He’s heart warmed at his teammate’s words, but he shook his head slightly, warning against overconfidence.

He’d faced Yang Hao before. Though he hadn’t learned much, he knew Yang Hao was no pushover. Underestimating your opponent before a match was a fatal error.

Even if he wasn’t entirely convinced by Yang Hao, he had to admit the man was formidable.

However, they had entered this competition with their eyes on the championship. How could they not have some pride?

As soon as Gao He’s words dampened their spirits, someone protested.

“What’s there to be afraid of? With our lineup, this should be a walk in the park.”

“From what I know, the favorites to win don’t even include them. No need to fear.”

“Exactly. No one even knows where they came from—let’s not worry ourselves over nothing.”

“With our strength, even if we’re not the best, a top ten finish is a given, right?”

From their words, Gao He could tell his teammates didn’t take Yang Hao’s team seriously. He felt a bit helpless.

It wasn’t that he feared Yang Hao, but the sudden reappearance of this group left him feeling uneasy.

At that moment—

Xiao Yu entered the broadcast control room, looking at Old Jiang, who was busy at the console, and asked, “How’s it going?”

“No problem,” Old Jiang nodded blandly.

“Old Jiang, just a heads-up—keep an eye on that team and give them more screen time. You might be in for a surprise,” Xiao Yu said, having spotted Yang Hao’s group among the many camera feeds.

Old Jiang, who led the broadcast team, was taken aback by this request.

He hadn’t expected Xiao Yu to come over just for this.

Before the match began, they’d already made a rough assessment of each team’s strength. While not perfect, their evaluations were close enough. From previous qualifiers, they knew which teams were the strongest and planned to focus on those for the live broadcast in the main auditorium, giving them more screen time at key moments.

Otherwise, with over twenty teams fighting in different places at the same time, how could they choose what to show live? It simply wasn’t feasible to give every skirmish airtime, and the broadcast directors would be driven mad.

“Xiao Yu, what’s so special about this team that you’re so interested?” Old Jiang asked, clearly curious.

“Take a closer look and you’ll see why,” Xiao Yu replied with a sly smile, keeping him in suspense.

Old Jiang was puzzled. He already had the list of teams to focus on, and this group wasn’t on it.

“Wait, it’s them?”

A moment later, after zooming in on Yang Hao’s team and recognizing the four, Old Jiang couldn’t hide his shock.

“They’re here too?” He turned eagerly to Xiao Yu, voicing his concern.

“Surprised?” Xiao Yu laughed. “I just happened to run into them at the door. There were still a few spots left for the fifth qualifier, so I asked Senior Yang Hao and brought them in.”

Xiao Yu’s face was beaming, as if he’d just accomplished something major.

“I bet if those kids knew it was because of you that these four joined the match, they’d hate you for it,” Old Jiang said with a bitter smile.

Others might not understand Yang Hao’s team’s strength, but Old Jiang, who’d played against them before, knew all too well.

Recalling the beating he’d once endured at their hands, Old Jiang felt nothing but bitterness. PUBG might be a new game, but given the terrifying skills of these four, there was no way they’d perform badly.

For a moment, Old Jiang felt like mourning for the other teams who’d signed up for this qualifying round.

“If you’re not as good as someone, can you really blame anyone else?” Xiao Yu replied, unconcerned.

He knew that, to win the campus PUBG tournament prize, many teams had brought in outside ringers. If they still couldn’t beat Yang Hao’s group, the fault lay with their own lack of skill.

“Should we tell Zhou Chen and the others?” Old Jiang asked after a brief silence.

Xiao Yu hesitated, then chuckled. “Let’s wait and see their reactions.”

Seeing Xiao Yu’s anticipation, Old Jiang could only shake his head.

His gaze returned to the screen, where Yang Hao’s four awaited the start of the game, and Old Jiang sighed inwardly.

They had returned!