Chapter 323: Pre-season

Pre-season day.

A group that hadn't left the gaming pool for a long time finally returned to the small TV area.

Mu Sicheng leaned in as soon as he entered the small TV area, staring wide-eyed at the central hall and exclaiming, "What the hell is this?!"

The small TV area, which was originally densely packed with small TVs, sinks into the middle, creating a huge, sunken circular hole, which is filled with seats layer by layer, creating a viewing area similar to the Roman Colosseum, which looks like a deep, flat, round pool when viewed from the edge.

In the middle of the arena, a huge, double-sided screen with countless small TVs hovers in mid-air as spectators enter the arena and take their seats, talking excitedly to each other.

"Oh yeah, God Mu is seeing the small TV area for the first time during the league." Wang Shun tapped his head, "I forgot to tell you that the central lobby changes shape a lot during the league."

Wang Shun pointed to the large pool that Mu Sicheng was looking at in shock: "Some of the smaller TV areas will be turned into viewing pools, the one you're looking at is the biggest one, it's for the mid-season games, we can't go up there."

"The mid-season games are shown live in this largest pool."

"Apart from the biggest pool, there are many other pools of different sizes around." Wang Shun pointed around, "Pre-season games are shown in these viewing pools of varying sizes."

Mu Sicheng frowned: "These pools are just like small TV recommendations, there are good and bad positions and exposure, right? How do we make sure our matches get into the good pools?"

Wang Shun laughed a little: "It's going to involve another thing, called a [gambling pool]."

Mu Sicheng wondered rhetorically, "[The gambling pool]?"

Wang Shun nodded: "The amount of points the audience has accumulated on you over the past year will be quintupled by the system as a base fund into the [betting pool], and of course, so will your opponent's."

"Generally speaking, the larger the gambling base fund you and your opponents have, the larger the [pool] you pool together, the larger the viewing pool you get, the better your position and the more exposure you get."

Mu Sicheng raised an eyebrow and asked, "So, if I want my matches to be played in a highly visible viewing pool and attract more viewers, either I have a high points charge on myself or the team I'm playing against has a high points charge?"

Wang Shun smiled and nodded, "But you don't have to worry about that for now, you're already on the high side of the charging points in the pre-season and the viewing pool you'll get won't be bad."

"And as the tournament goes on, there will be a steady stream of spectators putting points into your [betting pool], and as long as you win along the way, the viewing pool you get will get better and better."

Mu Sicheng hugged his chest and looked at the biggest viewing pool and grunted, "This is where our game will definitely end up anyway!"

"That's what you'll do if you make the playoffs." Wang Shun pushed Mu Sicheng's shoulder forward, "Let's go to the pre-season registration point first to draw the opposing teams."

Wang Shun turned around as he walked away, "Right, we need Du Sanying to draw the team, where is he?"

Bai Liu moves slightly out of the way to reveal Du Sanying, who is shivering behind him and feels on the verge of tears.

Du Sanying tearfully took Bai Liu by the scruff of his neck: "Oooooooooo, where is this place ......"

"A week is up." Bai Liu said faintly, "He doesn't remember anything again."

Wang Shun: "......= ="

Forgotten about that one.

After Wang Shun had been giving Du Sanying a lecture until his mouth was dry, Du Sanying barely understood what this place was and what he had to do now.

Du Sanying was taken to the pre-season registration desk by Bai Liu.

The registration desk was packed, especially next to the queue for the draw, and there weren't many good-looking players eyeing up Bai Liu, a team whose appearance was also full of buzz.

Du Sanying pulled a slip of paper from a large raffle ticket style box with a shaking hand, he glanced down at the name on the slip and then whispered, "[Nomad's House]?"

The faces of those standing guard next to him changed, and Wang Shun's eyes lit up.

[System Alert: (Nomadic House) has forfeited, (Wandering Circus) has won without a fight and has annexed the opponent's gambling pool].

[Please draw for the next team.]

Du Sanying hesitates for a moment and continues to reach in and draw, "[Polaris]?"

[System Alert: (Polaris) has forfeited, (Wandering Circus) has won without a fight and has annexed the opponent's gambling pool].

[Please draw for the next team.]

Du Sanying was silent for a moment and continued to draw: "[Helmsman of the River Styx]?"

[...... has abstained from voting ......]

"[Ram's Horn and Snake's Shadow]?"

[...... has abstained from voting ......]

"[The Charge] ......?"

[...... has abstained from voting ......]

"[Ursa's Minions] ......?"

[...... has abstained from voting ......]

"......"

The eyes of the pre-season team members around them could almost make a hole in Du Sanying, who was still pumping the team, with gritted teeth and shock.

All forfeit teams, is that even reasonable?

Other people's random draws are life and death battles where you have to use all your strength to win a game, but this man is like a scratch-off lottery draw, or the kind with a 100 percent winning rate, swallowing a betting pool when you draw one.

Du Sanying, overwhelmed by the stares around him, glanced back at Bai Liu, who smiled and gestured for him to continue smoking.

"[Butcher]?" Du Sanying drew once more and looked up.

The people around the room watched Du Sanying with rapt attention, waiting with bated breath for the system to answer.

[System Alert: (Butcher) is actively preparing for the game, please ask the Wandering Circus to proceed to game pool 17].

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief - at last it wasn't the abandoned Team Quan Wood.

"I, I, I won't fight, I forfeit!!!" A terrified voice came from the side, "I'm not fighting Mu Sicheng!"

Mu Sicheng gave a little yelp at the sound of his name and looked over with a fierce look in his eyes, only to be startled when he saw the other man's face.

"Woooooooooo Mu Sicheng beat me in the game, I couldn't beat him!" The man said as he ran off bawling, "And he stripped my trousers off for the monster!!!"

"I don't want my trousers pulled off by him again!"

[System Alert: (Butcher) has forfeited, (Wandering Circus) has won without a fight and annexed the opponent's gambling pool]

All: "......"

What the hell is going on here!

Bai Liu slowly moved his gaze to Mu Sicheng's face: "You still have this hobby?"

Mu Sicheng was furious: "Can you blame me for this? I'm the one who robbed him, and he didn't rob me by backstabbing me, so what's wrong with me bullying him a bit! I didn't really kill him!"

Liu Jiayi mocked, "Only a fool like you would do something so boring."

Mu Sicheng rages: "The result is good anyway!"

Du Sanying continued to smoke as he slowly and suspiciously said, "[Witch Saggo] ......?"

A man choked up next to her and stepped forward, "I'm the tactician for [Witch Segal] and I'm abstaining as well."

"We at Team Quan were both saved by the witch and are all fans of Liu Jiayi and would never do anything that would hurt her!"

The man looked at Liu Jiayi with affection: "Little witch, win with our share!"

Then ran away crying.

[System Alert: (Witch Segal) has forfeited, (Wandering Circus) has won without a fight and has annexed the opponent's betting pool]

Liu Jiayi: "......"

Mu Sicheng hugs his chest and trails off with a long, squinty-eyed look at Liu Jiayi: "Only an idiot like me would do something so boring?"

Liu Jiayi's face was expressionless: "What are you talking about, I'm blind and can't hear you."

Du Sanying apprehensively went on to draw another one, "Team [Silver Rose]?"

Tang Erda, who heard the name, was stunned.

Someone stepped out of the group and he looked at Tang Erda and smiled bitterly, "I didn't expect to see you again in this way, Mr Hunter."

"It looks like I don't have a second option other than to abstain."

The man stepped forward and shook Tang Erda's hand, patting him on the shoulder with a sigh, "You keep up the good work and take care."

Tang Erda paused for a moment and returned the grip, "Sorry."

Wang Shun explained to Bai Liu, "[Silver Rose] is the league team that previously employed Mr Tang Erda, and after leaving Captain Tang the ranking has fallen off and has been playing in pre-season for the past two years."

"It's a team that relies purely on Captain Tang, so to speak."

Du Sanying continued to draw at Bai Liu's gesture, "Team [Puppet Legacy]?"

A man walked slowly through the crowd to Bai Liu and Muke and suddenly smiled, "Long time no see, Muke, Bai Liu."

Muke paused: " Fang Ke ?"

Fang Ke scratched the back of his head, "You have a really good memory, you remember me."

Mu Sicheng narrows his eyes, "Hiss - I feel like this guy looks familiar, but I can't remember where I met him ......"

Wang Shun sighed with mixed feelings, "I didn't expect to meet Fang Ke here."

"He was the last of Zhang Gui's group of golems to survive before he died, the same group as Liu Huai Li Gou." Wang Shun sighs, "After Zhang Gui's death, he left the King's Guild, not realising it was his own team that had formed to compete in the league."

Mu Sicheng drifted off, "Oh I remember, Bai Liu left him alive during the bursting last train."

Fang Ke looked at Bai Liu and Muke with mixed feelings and finally smiled in relief, " After Liu Huai's death, I was the only puppet left of Zhang Gui who was still alive, I joined the other guilds and became their tactician."

"Still, it seems that I don't have the life to be someone's tactician."

Fang Ke raises his hand, "System, I abstain."

[System Alert: (Puppet Legacy) has forfeited, (Wandering Circus) has won without a fight and has annexed the opponent's gambling pool]

Before he left, Fang Ke looked back at Muke: "Win with Liu Huai's share."

Muke gave an umph, "I will."

Fang Ke looked at Bai Liu again and smiled, "I think you will too."

"You've got a very good manipulator this time."

Fang Ke leaves with a wave of his hand.

Du Sanying was still carefully smoking as the stares from the onlookers nearby ranged from disbelief and disbelief at first to envy and jealousy and then to hatred.

But it has developed to the point where everyone's eyes have gone numb.

What's the point of comparing races, hurry up and destroy.