Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 893 Are you nervous?
There is a very unfortunate news to tell you, that is, the 13-year-old Alex, the heir of the Deep Blue Galaxy Overlord, who we have high hopes for, finally fell in the second round of the qualifiers and lost the qualification to win the championship. According to the grapevine, Alex's opponent somehow found out the whole process of the amazing battle on the Rogrim Stadium, so at the beginning of the game, he revealed the true identity of the Deep Blue Galaxy Overlord, causing Alex to be confused and lost the game.

When the defeat of the Deep Blue Galaxy Overlord spread throughout the Grindelwald Plains, player Alex became famous (not in a derogatory sense, but not in a complimentary sense either), to the point that even the Knight Captain Chloe of the Saint's Guard began to consider whether to invite him to join in the great cause. When the people of Sky Island finally learned of the news, they all said: It's all Alice's fault.

Alice, you deserve to die for destroying a little child's dream of having a balloon with such despicable means!

Ai-chan has a different opinion on this: "Isn't it good? Look, he has his own fans. Can other kids do that?"

Ah, what you said makes a lot of sense. We are speechless.

Since that battle, all the boys and girls under the age of sixteen who have mastered a second language in the entire Grindelwald Plain have begun to regard the Deep Blue Galaxy Overlord as their spiritual idol, and support organizations such as the "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Deep Blue Alliance" and "In the Garden Baby Club" have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. Their ability to act and make decisions is outstanding among their peers.

I believe that even if he fails temporarily in the qualifiers, with the company and encouragement of these loyal fans, the Deep Blue Galaxy Overlord will be able to cheer up soon and regain the glory that belongs to him.

Ah, you ask what happened to the other protagonist in the shocking battle, the Crimson End Demon King?

Of course she doesn't have any fans, after all, she is just a loser.

Losers don’t deserve to have a say, which shows that this world is very cruel.

In the month with the most sunshine in the year, the Afini Stadium seemed to be boiling, and everyone felt like they were in a big furnace, with the blazing flames burning the blood in their hearts and lungs. Even Lingge, who was always calm, was inevitably infected by this atmosphere. He subconsciously raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and was shocked to find that the temperature of the sweat was even hotter than his body temperature.

Is this the charm of competitive games? The young man, who had never experienced such a feeling before, couldn't help but think. At this moment, he suddenly remembered something and turned his head to take a look. His eyes happened to fall on Xino's delicate profile. From the smooth forehead covered by the snow-white bangs to the heroic eyebrows set off by the pure and clear wine-red eyes, from the straight nose to the two slightly pursed cherry-colored lips, to the graceful chin... These curves carefully carved by the Creator made the girl look like the brainchild of the ancient Methos artists, exuding a perfect and noble temperament.

Linge and others witnessed her rise with Xino. She was unknown in the beginning, with only friends and classmates cheering for her on the stage. Later, she became famous. The audiences who were impressed by her superb skills and calm mentality began to inquire about the origins of this female player. When they learned that she was not a professional player but just a college student, they all made sounds of amazement and disbelief. Today, September 1856, 9, the stands of Affini Stadium in Forest Park, Cleveland, were packed with 11 people. The deafening cheers echoed over the entire stadium like huge waves, causing the stands to tremble, as if a small earthquake had been triggered.

This is only natural, because on this very field, her good friend Leila is about to face the most important moment of her life.

If you listen carefully, you will find that the audiences, with their faces filled with enthusiasm, excitement and excitement, are shouting the same name at this moment:

The first three matches were played in the "City of Stars" Tambur, the "City of Light" Bisuarea, and the "City of White Wings" Eter, and the last match was arranged in the central city of the tournament - "City of Wind and Flowers" Sumya. In addition to the 30,000 spectators in the audience, there were tens of thousands of people in the whole city who were anxiously waiting for the result of the match, not because it was so exciting or exciting, but because it was the most eye-catching: among all the top eight players, Miss Leila from Sumya National University was the only amateur player, and the other seven all occupied a place on the WT list.

The audience's expectations were fully revealed in their enthusiastic cheers, which hit the edge of the stadium and then bounced back, as if they were echoing from all directions at the same time. Such a fanatical atmosphere was actually a huge pressure for the players on the field - both the highly anticipated Leila and her unanticipated opponent.

The total score is 1:1.

There are definitely more people who want to get this spot than those who want to win the qualifying championship.

The score on the scoreboard on the sidelines was: 14-14.

Especially at this critical moment when any mistake can lead to the loss of the overall situation.

After two months of competition and fierce battles, the qualifiers finally entered the most crucial stage of the quarterfinals. In a sense, the match from eight to four may even be more exciting than the championship match, because the latter only determines a qualifiers champion with little gold content, while the former determines the only four precious places to enter the main competition.

Although she also has a four-school joint cup championship trophy, the WT list does not include campus events in the statistics. Therefore, in the eyes of most viewers, Leila is still an amateur player who stands out from the crowd and stands upright in this glorious arena to compete with powerful opponents for the final place in the main competition. Such a legendary story is always easy to attract people's pursuit, not to mention that Leila herself is a cute girl with a sweet smile, which inevitably reminds people of the great Ms. Mistyan 24 years ago.

……

The serve is in Leila's hands.

Compared to Alice, Xino's friend, Miss Leila's journey to the selection competition was smooth sailing. As the champion of the Four Schools Joint Cup, her strength was unquestionable. The first half of the selection competition was just a formality for her. Even in the second half, when those truly capable amateur players and even well-known professional players joined the competition one after another, she was still able to maintain her mentality and move forward steadily.

At this time, Xinuo was watching the situation on the field without blinking, with such a focused expression that she did not notice the gaze from the side. As the heir of the Whitethorn Flower family, she always sat in a dignified and elegant posture. Even in such a lively and noisy occasion, she still did not forget to maintain her image, with her back straight, her back not touching the back of the chair, and her hands sitting upright on her thighs, forming a sharp contrast with the audience who had already fallen into enthusiasm and excitement. But only by careful observation can you find that the girl's palms are quietly clenched, silently scratching fine wrinkles on the gray-white pants, suggesting that she is not calm at the moment.

Could it be that the miracle will happen again here?
Even if it is impossible to completely replicate Ms. Misty's experience from the first round of the qualifiers to the championship of the main tournament, the fact that she won a place in the main tournament from an unknown player's racket is enough to make people cheer for her.

"Leila! Leila!! Leila!!!"

Whoever wins this goal wins the final spot.

"Are you nervous?" Linger suddenly asked. His voice was too soft and the cheers of the audience were too loud, so Xino seemed not to hear it and took a long time to react. She turned back and gave Linger a faint smile. Her clenched hands had loosened without her knowing when. Warm sweat oozed out of her palms and slowly melted along the delicate lines of her palms. She said calmly and confidently, "I was a little nervous just now, but after hearing what you said, I am not nervous anymore."

"Because..." She turned her gaze back to the court and said softly, "If I'm too nervous, Leila will be nervous too." Linger estimated that the vertical distance from the court to the stands was at least more than 30 meters, so he said, "She's far away from you, I don't think she can see it."

"You are talking about physical distance, Mr. Linger, but the same cannot be said for the distance of the heart."

Xino smiled slightly. She looked calm and at ease when she smiled. She was not saying anything profound. She was just describing her feelings. "Maybe Leila can't see us, but she knows we are here. I, Vincent, Phyllis, George, and the juniors in the ball club are all in the stands looking forward to her performance. If our eyes are filled with trust, it will be a great encouragement to her. But if she is nervous and uneasy about it, it will also make her anxious and even perform poorly. This is what is called telepathy, the connection between hearts, Mr. Ling."

At this point, she winked playfully, as if to show that she was no longer nervous: "As a friend, although I can't fight alongside her, at least I can't hold her back."

Linger stared at her quietly, and after a while he looked away, as if talking to himself, "Actually, I don't really believe in the so-called telepathy."

"Well……"

"But after you said that, I actually believe it a little bit."

"Hahaha."

……

Are you nervous?
At the same time, Leila on the field was also asking herself the same question, and then she shook her head and denied the question. She felt that she was in a very good state now, and she had never been so good before, because so many people were watching her, and among them were her relatives, classmates, partners, and old friends who had not seen her for a long time. The gazes from those people were a kind of encouragement, which allowed the girl to show the greatest courage no matter what kind of difficulties she faced.

At least, the right to serve is still in my hands. Can this be said to be the control of my destiny?

Leila gently squeezed the wind flower ball in her hand. Such a small ball had such a heavy weight, which was even hotter than the beating heart in her chest. At the same time, she stared at her opponent on the other half of the court. He held the racket with both hands, ready to go, and looked calm and composed, but Leila could even clearly see the tension in his eyes and the sweat on his neck that he had not had time to wipe off, which was shining in the most dazzling September sun.

He is a respectable opponent. Whether in terms of skills or mentality, he is worthy of the title of a professional player. For him, this place in the main competition should be very important, right? After all, the Yamit Cup Championship is the highest stage that every professional player dreams of. But for me, isn't it the same? It is like the sun, like flowers, like a beautiful dream. If the dream needs to start from here, then she will never make any concessions.

Now let’s prove who is more qualified to step onto that stage.

The girl exhaled lightly, and then her eyes suddenly became firm. She threw the wind flower ball in her hand upwards, and under the gaze of many people, this small ball carrying the weight of dreams drew a beautiful arc, flew towards the net, flew over the heads of the two people, and flew towards the blue sky... The white tail feathers fluttered, as if a flower really bloomed in the wind.

The wind whistled, passing through her eyebrows and hair. She could no longer see anything else in her eyes except the wind flower ball bathed in the golden sunlight.

Get down on your knees!

Push off the ground!

jump!

The beautiful girl leaped high like an egret spreading its wings ready to fly, her legs in the air, her back arched, like a longbow or a crescent moon, drawing an elegant, soft and powerful arc. Her body had been stretched to the extreme, and in the eyes of the audience, she almost merged with the wind and the sky, light and free. The long time she stayed in the air beyond imagination brought a pure visual enjoyment, and everyone's eyes began to follow her high-raised racket. Even her opponent was stunned for a moment and forgot to pay attention to the movement of the ball.

Although this moment of distraction was only a very brief moment, it was a fatal mistake in such a high-level competition. The girl in the air had found a perfect hitting point at this moment, so she swung the racket down without hesitation. The power was then pumped from the heart to the forearm and then to the wrist. The moment the racket touched the ball, everyone heard a whistle that was not loud but clear enough -

boom!
A straight parabola crossed the sky of the court. The girl was so confident in this ball that she didn't even try to make it more tricky in angle or route. It was a combination of pure power and speed. The flight trajectory from top to bottom exceeded the limit that the naked eye could capture. It fell like a meteor and fiercely hit the inside of the half-court service area. It bounced back quickly and hit the net at the edge of the court. It still had some strength left and even spun on the net for a few seconds before rolling to the ground helplessly.

The girl's opponent was still standing in her receiving area, her whole body frozen in place. She subconsciously stretched out her racket, but she couldn't see the speed and route of the ball at all. She only felt a gust of wind brushing past her ears, and the next moment she heard the crisp sound of the ball hitting the wire net behind her.

Perhaps only the shallow ball mark left in the serving area can prove what just happened.

The heart stopped beating, the breathing completely disappeared, the whole world was so quiet, even the cheers of the audience disappeared. Both the girl and her opponent were only paying attention to the same sound at this moment, which was -

"Beep!!!"

The referee blew the whistle, and the sharp sound pierced the sky: "The serve is valid, Leila scored a point, the score of this small game is 15-14, Leila wins!"

"The total score is two to one, so the winner of this game is——"

"Contestant Leila Rachel!!!"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)