Superstars of Tomorrow Chapter 117

He Hao did not pay much attention to Fang Zhao's reaction. He knew that many of these people who shared the same name as martyrs were more respectful and worshipped them more; they did not like hearing others badmouth their namesake. Thus, being unhappy with Ke Zimo's words was normal.

"Those are the sort of people they are; don't lower yourself to that level," He Hao consoled.

"Yeah." Fang Zhao smiled a little, but what he was thinking about... he could not mention to He Hao.

Fang Zhao returned home from the office and checked the news. On the entertainment side, almost every entertainment media was reporting about the upcoming practice match between 2S and BOOM e-Sports Club. This was an exhibition match before the official release, and it captured the attention of other players.

Previously, Fiery Bird had released a small map for players to adapt to. Players who entered this map could watch from a bystanders point of view. They could experience the city and view the lifestyle of people from that period and various items that they used. And now Fiery Bird had released a portion of the map similar to the previous one, but the characters inside had all been removed. This map had been specially released for 2S and BOOM e-Sports Club's practice match. After this practice match was over, it would be opened to all players.

In short, 2S and BOOM, two of the strongest clubs, had collaborated with Fiery Bird's Yanzhou division to organize this practice match that benefited all parties.

The news also mentioned the racing motorbike that Fiery Bird had designed, "T-Rex." It was rumored that, in the game, T-Rex would be considered an "uncommon item." Every continent had a set limit of 200 units, and all twelve continents combined would not have more than 2400 units. Although it might seem like a lot, but compared to other items, this was considered scarce. Otherwise they would not have been considered uncommon. When the time came, obtaining one would depend on the person's capabilities, but before that, Fiery Bird would be borrowing 2S and BOOM gaming club's practice match to advertise their T-Rex and excite players.

The practice match was set at 10 a.m. on September 3. Su Hou had come over on the 2nd to borrow the dog and satisfy his craving knowing that Fang Zhao had a 10th generation Fiery Bird game console. Unfortunately, he was still young and had limited access to a lot of games, so he could only watch with envy. Every day, he could only watch videos or highlight clips of games.

When Su Hou left with Curly Hair, Fang Zhao logged onto Fiery Bird's public platform and entered the training mode. Here there were a few choices of heavy-duty motorbikes, but not the T-Rex model that was seen on the news. These motorbikes were surely less powerful, but for training purposes, they were more than enough.

Fang Zhao had not ridden heavy-duty motorbikes in a long time. Normal motorbikes were easy to obtain, but this was his first time using one since he'd been reborn. In the latter stages of his past life, due to the decline of his body functions due to injuries and illnesses, the research team had come up with a new model of vehicles, but Fang Zhao had rarely used them. Waking up in the New Era, these vehicles from the past had already been phased out and could no longer be accessed. Fang Zhao expected himself to be quite unaccustomed to it, but hearing the roar of the engine, a familiar feeling entered his mind and his senses started tingling. It seemed as if his memory had already coordinated with his body to the most suitable level.

Four hours later, Fang Zhao separated from the console, returning back to reality. His stimulated mind gradually became tranquil. Fang Zhao took a drink and walked to the window, admiring the beautiful glow of the city.

He had entered the game in the afternoon; now it was already dark outside, but the city center would never become quiet just because the sun had set. The winds on the top floor were strong and cold. Fang Zhao finished his glass of water, shut the window, and smiled as observed the excited entertainment news.

September 3, 8 a.m.

Lots of people had already opened up Fiery Bird's Yanzhou division's live broadcast in anticipation. Although it was just a practice match, viewership was high. 2S and BOOM e-Sport Club's fans were fervently stirring up the atmosphere, and some people were even betting on the outcome of the match. Fang Zhao noticed that there were slightly more people supporting a 2S win; they probably placed faith in Ke Zimo's many racing trophies.

Fang Zhao realized that, in the virtual projects department's group chat, Zu Wen and the others had still been discussing who would win at 11 p.m. last night. It seemed like they would surely be catching the live broadcast.

As Fang Zhao ate his breakfast, he briefly browsed through the news before he would enter the game and familiarize himself even more.

Today's entertainment headlines were mostly dominated by 2S and BOOM e-Sport Club's practice match. The other three teams of Yanzhou's big five were not going to miss this opportunity to evaluate their rival's skills and ability either. Even if it was only a single practice match, they could still gauge their rivals skill level by observing their proficiency with the equipment. A person who was able to use all sorts of equipment had the ability to survive in a world of chaos. This sentence applied in the real world, and it applied in games as well.

At Big Dipper e-Sport Club headquarters, the main team was all present. This was their internal viewing area, and it was easy for them to hold discussions here, as there were no other people from other gaming events.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Probably 2S. Although that Ke Zimo fellow needs to be taught a lesson, we can't deny that he has skills and is very talented. If not for the fact that he was underage ten years ago, we would probably have crossed swords with him. To become well known in the gaming circles so early, he should be worthy of the high salary 2S are paying him."

"I really hope BOOM wins. If that Ke Zimo brat really wins, he won't even need to wait till tomorrow to start belittling us again."

"It's just riding a bike and he is acting all high and mighty. Even if he can ride well, it doesn't mean that he will have the last laugh. None of the great generals of the founding era were race car drivers."

"... Seems like there was one who was a truck driver, the one from Jizhou."

"Wasn't the Jizhou one a discharged soldier before he became a truck driver?"

"He is still a driver and can be considered as having a driving background, I guess."

"Speaking of that, the Ke Zimo brat even doubted the martyr Fang Zhao. Luckily, at this time, people are more tolerant of this discussion, and the martyr Fang Zhao does not have any direct descendants. I reckon that if he had any surviving descendants, the brat would have been invited over for tea immediately after the interview."

"If he really had the guts, why did he not talk about Great General Wu Yan, who was even more overexaggerated in history textbooks? He knew that the martyr Fang Zhao did not have any descendants that would come looking for him. He might be arrogant, but he is not stupid. He knows which parties he cannot afford to offend."

Team captain Yi Yuan sighed. "What a pity."

Yi Yuan thought back to the words Ke Zimo had said during the interview. Many people online even joked that Fang Zhao's coffin would not be able to rest underground. Yi Yuan's history was decent, and he deeply worshipped the Yanzhou leaders who had left a deep mark. There was only that unfortunate one who did not have the luck to survive one more year. How would the Wu family have developed then? It was a pity, given the great circumstances that the Wu family descendants had, that they had not been able to grab hold of the chance and instead had internal strife after the founding era. Even if they were now slowly recovering their influence, Yanzhou had no way of hiding the truth. Many Yanzhou governors did not have the Wu family name. This was something that people from other continents would always use to poke fun at Yanzhou, but most of Yanzhou's masses did not mind.

Yi Yuan could only sigh. If he were good enough at racing, he would surely have participated in that practice match, but in reality, he was not good enough, and participating at this juncture would only make himself a laughing stock. It was better for him to honestly analyse the other party's capabilities.

At 9.30 a.m., the live broadcast started, showing the two teams that had already logged in, fans from both sides, and other players that had qualified for the practice match.

That's right, other than the two gaming clubs, 2S and BOOM, Fiery Bird's Yanzhou branch had also released 100 spots. These spots were first released to high-level VIP guests, and the remaining spots were then released one by one to other players.

Yanzhou's five big gaming clubs all had high-level VIP invites, but this time, the other three teams were not taking part. Taking part despite not being good enough was asking for a beating.

In the broadcast, the backdrop was the map that Fiery Bird had released earlier. The starting point was a village outside the city. At that moment, it was already bustling with excitement.

There were a number of black heavy-duty motorbikes on site. Like violent beasts, they were seemingly full of restrained power. Half of the coarse back tire was exposed, and it was like a tyrannosaurus rex that was prepared to start on its hunt. To the people of the New Era, it seemed to harness a primitive and intense power beneath its exterior.

Electronic dance music was playing in the background as the tones of the commentators got more and more animated. They knew how to drum up the interest of fans and players alike. At the side, some VIP players were controlling their throttles and revving their engines. The roaring of the engine and hysterical shrieks from the fans created a noisy atmosphere.

The fans were seemingly in a frenzy, but there was still order. After all, they had also been selected with utmost care.

Due the map being specially designed for the practice match, the road at the start was especially wide. Right at the front were the teams from 2S and BOOM. However, it was not their entire main force. Each club had sent five members to be their representatives. They were clad in their e-sports club's uniform. Behind them were the other players who had decided to take part and had managed to obtain a spot and the usage of T-Rex. The players were in all sorts of their own attire. Some had on their insignias while others were armed to the teeth with all sorts of in-game equipment.

The dynamic electronic dance music came to an abrupt end and the entire site was silent, but it was soon filled by hysterical shrieks and shouts. This signified that the race was about to start.

With a loud explosive sound, the front ten raced off the blocks. The seemingly large and cumbersome heavy-duty motorbikes finally set of without any restraint. The rumbling of the engines unleashed a brutal energy. With a heavy discharge of smoke and large power outputs, the machines were telling people that, although the exterior might seem cumbersome, it was a two-wheeled racing monster!

Behind the ten, the other players followed behind in succession, but their competitive spirits were not as intense. They were just following behind to get a kick. Due to some of them not having enough practice or being too excited to properly control the bikes, they crashed their bikes not long after starting and immediately disconnected. This meant to say that, if this was reality, they would have already lost their lives.

For every crash, the players nearby were all affected and crashed out together. Although those players did not immediately disconnect, the impact of the crash was too brutal and both man and machine suffered damage. In the game, the pain induced was lowered and hence did not have such an intense feeling. Those few people no longer had any desire to continue following and so voluntarily disconnected and went to watch the live broadcast. 

This practice match had a spectator view from all angles. Therefore, those watching the live broadcast could watch from the front, sides, and even top down. The cameras for the broadcast were mainly following the ten people at the front.

The people at the starting line were prepared to go offline to watch the broadcast when they saw a figure suddenly appearing. He was riding a T-Rex, and they immediately knew that he was one of the hundred players that had managed to obtain a spot for the race.

"Hey brother, you are late. They already set off. I'm afraid you have no way of catching up, but just follow behind and enjoy yourself," someone at the starting line said.

The figure riding the black motorbike nodded his head and set off.

The earsplitting roar of the engines echoed all around.

"Who is that?" another player at the starting line asked.

"Looking at his attire, he is neither from 2S or BOOM. I don't see any emblem either, so I have no idea."

"Who cares about him. He's definitely a player who came to join in on the fun. Hurry and disconnect to watch the live broadcast; there is nothing for us to watch here."

"Right right right! The live broadcast is more important. Who cares about the others."

Chapter end