NOVEL WEB Chapter 421: What Rank?
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[Current level: Legend (85/500)]
The air in the lobby was thick with tension as the Shizi Dogs sat in
a tight circle, waiting for the rankings to be released.
There were other teams around them, some glancing toward their way.
"I don't know why those guys are nervous. They obviously made it in," one muttered as they looked at the Dogs.
Still, the Shizi Dogs wanted to know their ranking in the entire roster. Aside from that, they also hoped that the Giants wouldn't be able to get into the top 16.
Yuze leaned back on the sofa, rubbing the back of his neck, still feeling the remnants of the game. Coach Muchen stood beside him, arms crossed, also appearing anxious.
The wall-mounted screen flickered to life, displaying a colorful graphic that made the Dogs' hearts race. The noise in the lobby fell to a hush as everyone focused on the screen. A few players whispered among themselves, but the moment the final standings appeared, silence fell like a heavy curtain.
Fifth. The Shizi Dogs had come in fifth.
"What the heck? Fifth?" Andy blurted out, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Fifth," Kai muttered, feeling excited. He had wanted them to enter the top five, and they actually did! That, along with his upgrades, made him feel like he was on top of the moon.
The ranking went as follows: the Juren Champions were still in first place like they always were. The Ying Eagles came second, while the Yin Yang Knights managed to pull third. Behind them, with a close gap, were the Huolan Guardians, and standing on fifth was the Shizi Dogs. The Longyu Dragons ended up eighth because of their loss to the Dogs, but it was still a good rank.
Aside from that, the Keystone Giants weren't in the ranking at all!
The group was silent for a moment, then the celebration began. Yuze's stoic demeanor broke as he cracked a smile, and suddenly, everyone was on their feet.
"Fifth place!" Jet shouted, lifting his arms in victory.
Yuze couldn't help but chuckle. They had fought hard for that ranking, and despite the disappointment, pride swelled in his chest. "We did it, guys! We actually made it!" he yelled, the joy in his voice echoing off the walls.
Back home, the news spread quickly. Grandma Bingbing, squinting at the small screen of her new phone, let out a joyous laugh that rang out like church bells on a Sunday morning. "Fifth place! My grandson's team made it!" she exclaimed, waving down her neighbor, Mrs. Park, who was trying to plant tulips in her garden. "Come help me with this phone!
I need to tell everyone!"
Meanwhile, in a bustling restaurant across town, Bao and the second-string team were celebrating over steaming bowls of noodles. They cheered, raising their glasses, reveling in the joy of their team's ranking. "I knew we'd pull through!" Bao said. He clapped Allen on the back so hard that he nearly knocked the bowl out of his hands.
"Careful, man! I almost lost my noodles!" Allen said, clicking his tongue.
"Who cares about noodles?" Bao shot back, grinning. "We can finally watch them in the top 16!"
Across the city, the Angs sat in a public park, looking at their phones with wide eyes. "Let's go to Beijing once our boss reaches the finals!"
The bald group of friends enthusiastically nodded.
And far away, Officer Huang sipped on a glass, nodding to himself as the news played on the local news. "They managed to do it," he murmured, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Back in the lobby, the celebrations continued as the Shizi Dogs reveled in their achievement.
"This calls for another celebration!" Muchen exclaimed, not worrying about his money anymore. "Let's go get some ice cream. My treat."
The team cheered even louder as they began to gather their things and prepared to head out.
"Who is our first opponent?" Kai asked, already concerned about the next game.
"The International Archers," Lina answered.
Kai nodded to himself. Although the International Archers were good, he thought that it wouldn't compare to the game they had with the Dragons.
The next round was going to employ the single elimination process, so they had to win to be able to advance to the round of eights.
As they continued their way to the ice cream shop, they came across another team—the Huolan Guardians.
Kai saw the way Fang looked at Lina with a fond smile, causing him to frown.
"It's you again," he even said.
Lina smiled shyly and nodded. "Yeah, hi. We haven't seen each other since the games started."
Fang nodded. "Yeah, we just saw the rankings."
Meanwhile, some of the Guardians shot them looks of disdain, clearly not impressed with the Dogs' ranking.
Jackson even smirked and said loudly, "Congratulations on fifth place! How does it feel to be the best of the worst?"
Yuze immediately frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Fang shot a glare at Jackson, causing the latter to shake his head. Meanwhile, Henry took the initiative to apologize as the team's captain.
"Sorry about that," he said. "We're just happy about our rank. He didn't mean it in a bad way."
Yuze pursed his lips. It definitely didn't seem like that. However, since he didn't want to make a big deal out of it, he merely nodded.
"Anyway, congratulations," Henry said, taking Yuze's hand.
Kai couldn't help but quietly scoff as he watched one of the people who used to bully him act so friendly in front of Yuze.
"In case you guys win the next game, then we're finally going to face off," he continued.
Kai's breath got caught in the back of his throat. He knew it was inevitable, but he also didn't expect it to come this soon.
Fang remained silent at the side; however, for a moment, his eyes locked with Kai's. It seemed as if a fire had ignited between the two.
However, the fire was quickly extinguished when he saw a familiar figure standing at the very back of the Guardians.
Kai couldn't help but frown.
Rui?