Secret Room Book 4 - Epilogue

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Playing Fish Trapped in Secret Room

Book 4: The Return of the King

Epilogue

The award ceremony was postponed to ten o’clock.  Ai Qing returned
to the SP rest area. She opened a bottle of mineral water and drank
several mouthfuls of water.  All the lights inside the stadium focused
on the stage. The players rest area was half empty since many players
had gone up on stage to receive their awards.

The nerve wracking, tense, and exciting moments had all passed.

She felt a little sore from her arm to her wrist.

Ai Qing stood in the middle of the walkway, looking at Solo on her left
and Gun to her right, and laughed in a low voice.  “Do you guys still
remember the time when we were so poor that we couldn’t even afford
to rent the training room? Bosses.”

Solo laughed and shook his head.  “Not even. We couldn’t even afford
a place to sleep at the poorest of times.”  Gun shrugged. “You still slept
on a bed, I had to sleep on the floor for several months.”

Ai Qing continued to drink.  She enviously watched the players onstage.

Her eyes stayed on the most eye-catching one, Dt.

Based on her calculation, Dt was the one who had the longest professional
career.

So many years had gone by since Dt first became famous after he fought
against Solo on Battle.net.  As she looked at him, Dt, who had put his hat
back on, quickly found where she was standing. When their eyes locked,
Dt happened to be on the big screen.

Gun cleared his throat.

She moved her eyes away and went back to drinking, acting as if nothing
happened, and kept drinking more water……

Xiao Mai excitedly held the name list.  He read through all the honors Dt
had received one by one.  He was just like Gun and Solo, both of whom
had won too many awards to count.  Dt had even exceeded what Gun had
earned: The deadliest player, the most accurate player, the most first bloods
…...and “The MVP of Chinese Regional this year!”  Xiao Mai stopped to give
the audience enough time to cheer.

All the time that would follow from this moment would be theirs.

Ai Qing felt a little bit lost, but was also very touched.

She had strived in this circle since her teenage years.  It was getting better
and better. There were more and more outstanding players.

Counter Strike, StarCraft, WarCraft, DOTA, Dungeon & Fighter, Crossfire,
League of Legend, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm,
World of Tanks……

There had been so many games in so many years.

Experienced by so many generations……

As she was distracted by it all, Solo and Gun stretched out their hands at the
same time and pushed her forward.

Coming to her senses, she looked at them in surprise.

“Gou Gou, Gou Gou, come up here quickly.”  Xiao Mai held the microphone
and walked to the side of the stage.  He smiled at her. “Don’t stand there.
You are the main commentator of the this competition.”

He finished speaking and reached out to Ai Qing to pull her onto the stage.

The MVP trophy was stuffed into her hand.  Xiao Mai lifted his microphone again.
“I believe that all of you here are very familiar with our main commentator for
this year’s national finals, Appledog. She was the main sniper of the top national
CS team ten years ago.  She was the main force of the Chinese Regional Dota
champion team seven years ago. She was the champion of the WCG Asian
Tournament Need for Speed in the same year. Now the manager of SP’s A team……”

Xiao Mai kept talking.

Ai Qing’s signature red face was being shown on the big screen.

Xiaomi couldn’t help laughing offstage.  “Appledog re-appears again.”

All sighed.  “She was the wallpaper on so many people’s computers. That lucky
bastard.  The younger generation can’t be underestimated, really can’t be
underestimated.”

Dt was only a couple of footsteps away from Ai Qing on the stage.

She held the trophy and walked towards Dt.  She didn’t have the sharpness
during the match earlier nor the calmness when she was at the commentator
table.  It was like they were back at the Asian Tournament in ‘07 when they had
that embarrassing moment at the doorway…...Dt lowered his head slightly and
looked at her quietly.

“Stretch out your hand quickly.”  Ai Qing urged him to take it in a small voice as
her face became red all the way up to her ears.

Dt acted obediently to stretch out his hand, but it was to take off his hat instead
and put it onto her head in one smooth move.  Then he accepted the trophy from
her hand.

Their interaction was the climax of the night.

All the suspicions, attacks, and misunderstandings in the past scattered and
disappeared at this very moment.

There were words that didn’t need to be spoken.

An action could clearly clarify that he, Dt, entered this circle all because of her.  
He found the profession he loved because of her, which became his own dream
and his future path.  It didn’t matter how far he could reach or how high he would
fly, she was always the person who started this dream.

Dt, Appledog’s time.

This was my era.

This was your era, too.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I wondered if I was walking through a desert

There was never an ending, whatever dream I was trapped in

Just as I spread my wings, the wind becomes silent

I’m used to scars and wounds, counting them as awards

Fortunately I never look back

Finally I find there really is an oasis

The sweat makes life more meaningful

Only by leaving behind the old plight, did I see a new world

A boundless world only comes after courage

Must use persistence to break the lock of fate

The cold and indifferent people

Thank you all for looking at me dismissively

Rousing me to live vividly without lowering my head in shame

A vast and boundless world after storms

I turn my head away and laugh off the old sorrows

The person who understands me most

Thank you for silently accompanying me

And giving me a good story to tell

I watch the future arriving step by step”

-- -- <A Vast and Boundless World>

With this story

To pay homage to Moon, who I loved once. I will always remember how you
looked at the peak of your career, even though that time had passed.

To memorialize Starcraft, once my favorite game. I will always remember the
heyday of the game, even though it’s already a thing of the past.

-- --The End-- --

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Secret Room Book 4 - Chapter 39

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Playing Fish Trapped in Secret Room

Book 4: The Return of the King

Chapter 39

Everyone could tell that the list of pairs wasn’t part of some strategy.  
It was simply each of their personal preference.

The first group, Gun and Buff appeared in the secret room.

Buff typed a line of characters on screen.  “Thank you.”

Gun understood what he was thanking him for.  He didn’t respond.
The fighting ended in thirteen seconds.  Gun won the first round.

Next, was Inin and Xiaomi.

As the match began.  Inin typed some words immediately.  “Wait for
me for half a minute. I want to type some words.”

Xiaomi was baffled, with little choice he kept switching his long knife
to the short one, then back to the long one.  He was waiting for the kid
who wasn’t fluent in Chinese to finish typing. He didn’t expect to see
what appeared after half a minute.  “I typed so much, but deleted all of it.
Xiaomi, Xiaomi, I missed you so much.”......Xiaomi was simply speechless.
“Can’t you just say that with your mouth.  You trying to win by appealing
to my emotions?”

Inin held his tears and reluctantly switched to his short knife.  He won
the second round in twenty-nine seconds.

Then it was the duel between Taotao and All.

A rookie and a veteran from SP were fighting against each other.  They didn’t
exchange any words, Taotao won the third round in forty-three seconds.

The messages sent while in the secret room was only visible to the duelists.  
No one else could see what they were talking about.

But obviously, Gun, Xiaomi, and All all had different expressions after their
fight.

Solo had a good guess to what had happened.  He pressed the Enter key.
The dark secret room appeared on screen in front of him.

“I grew up watching the videos of your competitions.” One line of white
characters popped out.  “Thank you. Solo.” That was probably…...the
most serious and least arrogant words that Grunt had ever used.

Solo smiled slightly.  He didn’t respond.

Solo won the round in twenty-four seconds.

It was still a draw at the moment.

The last round was Dt against Ai Qing.

Ai Qing took a look at Solo and Gun besides her.  Then her ring finger
hit the Enter key decisively.

This wasn’t her first time entering the secret room.  Her favorite training
mode with SP was the secret room.  But this was actually the first time
she would be playing in the secret room.  She was facing Dt, but she
couldn’t see him. Neither of them could see each other.  They could
only see the opponent through the red dot on their life detector.

One little red dot.

“I will only win this one time.”  Dt wrote into the chat.

Ai Qing couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

Brat, he must have forgotten that he had grabbed away the national
champion from her hand in ‘07.

She squatted and moved close to him.  This wasn’t under the water
so there wasn’t any resistance.  They could move freely and with agility.
Both used their short knives.  Whenever they neared each other, they
both left bleeding. But obviously Dt moved a little bit faster than her.

They would lose 5-10 health for each injury.

Their health bars kept decreasing and their physical strength with it.

The sound of two people panting grew louder.

At last Ai Qing sat down and leaned against the wall, she couldn’t
stand up any more.

The red dot for Dt on the life detector hadn’t moved.

They quietly waited for the remaining three minutes till the game ended.

Close combat usually ended quickly.  It was very rare to last over a minute,
not to mention three minutes.  Ai Qing seemed to know what he was
thinking about. Her hands moved away from the keyboard slowly and took
off the earphones ahead of time.  She looked at her teammates besides
her and stuck out the tip of her tongue: “I lost.”

The countdown ended.

Appledog had only 15 health left and Dt still had 45. Dt won the last round.

The secret room duel ended.

Three wins out of five rounds, Dt’s team won the exhibition game.

Solo stood up first and stretched out his right hand to Dt across from him.

When Dt held his hand, Solo spoke in a low voice.  “Do your best to win
the world championship.”

Dt’s team was a mixture with SP and K&K players. Solo wasn’t talking
about his expectations as a member of SP management to his team.  But
rather he was passing down his wish from 10 years ago.

Regardless of whether it was SP or K&K……

Please bring back one world championship.

Fans of Solo’s team in the past scattered all over the stadium, the ones
that look somewhat older than the other audience members, stood up with
reddish eyes and applauded to pay tribute to their one and only idol team.  
Ten years ago, Solo team’s sudden disbandment was the biggest regret
and injury in the hearts of these fans.

Now, here, it wasn’t the focus of their attention whether Solo’s team won
this exhibition game or not.  They just wanted to see it again with their own
eyes, that these five people…...the image of them sitting together once more.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Secret Room Book 4 - Chapter 38

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Playing Fish Trapped in Secret Room

Book 4: The Return of the King

Chapter 38

Now, they were all on the same deck. Neither team could get away from
the other team to eliminate the npc soldiers.  Neither side could directly
kill three players of the other side either.

This was the most even match ever played since the tournament began.

Someone died, followed by another person on the opposing team.  It was
always one life for another life.

There was still some crossfire, but nobody else died from these fights.

Dt alone suppressed Gun and Ai Qing’s coordinated attack.

Solo’s all-encompassing defense didn’t give Taotao and Grunt any openings.

The cruise ship began to sink.

Water gradually rose up to the deck and a timer began to count down.

“Are we going to open the secret room?”  Xiao Mai stared at the large
screen closely.

At the last moment, Gun finally moved closer, slashing Taotao’s neck with
his knife, spraying blood onto the big screen.

The screen froze.

Game over.

It was a draw.

“Everyone!”  Xiao Mai stood up out of excitement.  “What about <Secret Room
Storm> are people most excited for?  It’s the duel in the secret room. Since the
tournament began, it’s been rare to see a team open the secret room.  It’s a
pleasant surprise to see them enter in our show match! How does it look for
top players to take turns fighting one on one duels?  You’re all getting your
money’s worth watching today’s match! Totally worth it!”

There were no tactics and no coordination.

It was a pure one on one duel between the strongest teams from two different
eras.

……

Ai Qing took off her earphones.  The bangs around her forehead were a little
damp.  She peeked through the crevice between computers to looked at Dt
who just now had mercilessly pushed her into the swimming pool.  The soft
hair at his forehead was a little messy and covered most of his eyes. But he
still noticed her, so he raised his eyes and looked straight at her.

Ai Qing rolled her eyes and mouthed: brat.

Dt was a little embarrassed.  He moved his eyes away slowly, but he couldn’t
help raising the corners of his mouth gradually.

Five minutes later, the host released the news. The organizer had decided to
disregard the competition rule again.  This time the secret room duel would
be determined by Dt’s team to pick the qianbei they wanted to challenge,
rather than by random drawing.

The referee walked over and gave five pieces of paper and pens to Dt’s team.

Very quickly, Dt’s team made their selection, which were shortly displayed
on the big screen.

Solo vs Grunt,  Gun vs Buff, Taotao vs All, Inin vs Xiaomi……

And the last pair was Dt vs Appledog.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Secret Room Book 4 - Chapter 37

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

Playing Fish Trapped in Secret Room

Book 4: The Return of the King

Chapter 37

In the light blue water, red blood began to spread.

Dt had just been shot.

The moment he shot Xiaomi, a bullet had gone through his leg.

He had lost the ability to move quickly, he had to end the fight quickly by
killing Solo team’s field control-- --Appledog to have a chance.

Ai Qing pulled out the short knife.

Her heart was pounding.  She didn’t expect after ten years, when she
came
back to this arena, that she would have to fight Dt in close combat.  This
was different from being a commentator. She silently opened full keyboard
mode.

The water resistance slowed them down by about 40% movement speed.  
The only way for her to fight was in close combat.

Without hesitation, she approached him

She couldn’t hear the cheer of the audience through her soundproof
headphones.

Another death notification appeared.

……

One more death notification appeared.

……

She didn’t know who those two were.

The crowd was cheering, “Gun god! Gun god!”  Gun was once the
strongest fighter, he had gotten rid of Buff without any effort, but All had
been shot by Taotao.

The moment Ai Qing and Dt had physical body contact, she switched her
short knife to the long one and hammered down on his injured leg with the
back of the blade.  Dt knelt down and escaped from her strike. He kicked
the swimming pool wall and, with the help of the force, held her waist and
pushed her down. He shoved her to the bottom of the swimming pool.

He raised the short knife in his hand and Ai Qing broke off her own long
knife.

He twisted to the right and piercing her arm with his knife.  In the same
moment, the broken long knife in her left hand had lodged into his left leg.

……

Red blood gushed forth.

The spreading blood reddened their vision.

Since she was playing a woman, she had less physical strength than him.  
He had a gunshot injury, so his strength was weakened. They were
equally matched, it was impossible to determine the end result within
the short one minute.

Time was passing.

One pair of legs suppressed another pair legs.  A body wrestled with the
other body.

53, 54, 55 seconds…...

Ai Qing was getting desperate.  Were they both going to drown?

Two people jumped into the water at the same time.  Gun took Ai Qing’s
right arm and Grunt pulled Dt’s left arm, then the two pairs swam in
different directions.

60, 61, 62 seconds…...

Gun threw Ai Qing out of the water to land on the side of swimming pool.

Taotao, at the other side of the pool, fired a shot; the bullet hit the tile
behind Ai Qing.  At the same time, a red dot appeared right between Taotao’s
two eyebrows. Dt who had just climbed out of the pool kicked Taotao aside.  
The would be fatal bullet flew through the air and hit the cabin glass right
behind Taotao…...

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.