Chapter Five: A Grassroots Team Called Ember

Gu Bei, seventeen, was a silent ladder prodigy rejected by every academy because a hearing impairment made voice trials difficult. Su Wanqing tested them against a temporary professional squad. Four minutes in, Ember was trapped at its base while chat mocked the “defective team.” “Turn voice off,” Lin Jin said. Wei Feng struck his shield twice to mark a missing assassin. Tang Tang drew a triangle on the minimap for healing range. Gu Bei fired a harmless flare over a wall and revealed an ambush. They could communicate. The professional world simply refused to speak their language. Lin Jin drew an arc in the river with his blade. All four turned at once.