NOVEL NEXT Chapter 231: Trolls Attack?!
"Say, what?!" Sheva widened his eyes in shock, staring at his best friend in disbelief. Not just him, but Anna also had the same expression, while Medina looked so gloomy on the other side of the table. "We are attacked by trolls?!" He blinked his eyes repeatedly, still trying to comprehend the information that Bagas had just shared with him.
It was after the fourth round was over, and just like the usual, they gathered together at a small Vietnamese restaurant close to the hotel for dinner and some sort of a post-match meeting. Usually, it would be filled with conversation about their games earlier, with Bagas interrupting once or twice to give insight into what the viewers were talking about. However, this time was different, as Bagas said with a solemn tone that some of the Internet trolls started to attack them.
"Yeah, that is exactly what I said." Bagas sighed helplessly. "I recommend that you not open social media too much for the next few days, at least until the tournament is over. They are pretty brutal in the chat room of my live broadcast, so God knows how crazy they are going to be in your personal account."
If anything, Sheva's frown got deeper at that statement. "I don't get it. I mean, I get a good result, 3.5 points out of 4 games. Both Sister Medina and Anna are also trailing behind with 2.5 points, and none of us plays so badly that it warrants the hate here. Why would we get attacked out of nowhere like this?" This was also the same question that both ladies had.
"It is not because of the result, but more like who you lost against." Bagas sighed once again; his face showed clearly how exhausted he was. "You know that Yu Yangyi is just the third-best player in his country, right?"
"Yeah… And what?" This time, it was Medina who answered that. The woman was in a bad mood, and everyone was afraid that she would explode here. "Yes, he is 'JUST' the third-best player in his country, but that is because his country is a fricking superpower! China has Ding Liren, who will go to the world championship next year, and the super genius Wei Yi, so it is normal for Yu Yangyi to be the third! Are they really complaining about this? Are they serious?!"
It was fortunate that Medina didn't curse, or the restaurant would be filled with so many bad words lingering in the air. Still, her concern was valid here. Even though they—Sheva, especially—had done well in the last couple of months, in the end, their level was still far below the top ones in the world, so it was ridiculous to bash them over the defeat against the 24th best player in the world like this. Unfortunately, people on the Internet weren't known for having a brain, so no matter what everyone says, haters and trolls like this would always appear the moment someone fell like this.
"Don't worry, just stay away from social media for at least the rest of the tournament. You can even make an excuse about having to focus or something like that. Just ignore those trolls, trust me about this." Bagas tried to reassure them. "I tell you what, the Internet always has a very short memory. They would forget about this matter soon, especially if you managed to bounce back later."
"Unfortunately, I have bad news here." Sheva suddenly spoke, gaining everyone's attention. His expression was grim, giving them all a bad feeling about it. He played with his phone for a while, and before anyone could ask, the boy finally gave it to them. "Just look at who I got paired with for the next round."
They all stared at each other for a moment, knowing whatever Sheva showed here would not be good for them. Nevertheless, they all were too curious for their own good, so Medina took the phone from Sheva's hand while the other two surrounded her immediately.
"Oh, for fuck's sake! Him again?!" Bagas cursed instantly when he read the content there, his face turning ugly. "What the fuck is this tournament?! The pairing is so fucking rigged!" The other two weren't that much better, as they also wanted to curse out loud. Yeah, just as they all expected, it seemed that Yu Yangyi was bound to be the nightmare for the Indonesian players here.
Yu Yangyi (2720) – (2309) Adrian Sheva
"Yeah, this is ridiculous." Even Anna, who was always the calmest person in the room, shook her head in exasperation, couldn't believe the ridiculous situation here. "Three times in a row? Are we so unlucky, or is there something shady happening here?"
Even though Anna wanted to trust the organizer so badly, this was indeed a little bit ridiculous. After all, if it was once or twice, they could just brush it off as a coincidence. But three times? And it is continuous? It was as if the organizer was trying to target them here. They couldn't even think clearly, forgetting that the pairing was randomized through a computer. The idea that the pairing was rigged had already been planted inside their minds, and now, whatever anyone said about it, they would be skeptical about this matter.
"This really gives me a headache…" Sheva rubbed his forehead tiredly. "If I lost tomorrow, the troll's attack would be more intense, right? But it is not easy to get a positive result against Yu Yangyi. Hell, if it is as easy as those trolls said, we would've all become the best players in the world…"
For a moment, a suffocating silence fell on the table, with all of them having quite a grim thought inside their mind. Bagas could be seen tapping the table with his finger repeatedly, and in the end, he was the one who broke the silence first.
"Okay, let's try not to overthink it." The boy spoke. "Shev, just give us your best, and try not to think about those fucking internet trolls. The Internet is my territory, so just leave everything to me. I promise you all that this problem will be gone tomorrow. Just go all out, and I will also do my part. Don't worry, I've got your back here."