CHAPTER 350: TWO ROUNDS LEFT!

"Good game, everyone!" Master Susanto cheered happily after they all arrived at a restaurant near the hotel to celebrate their great day. "A good win today! Now, the men’s team is in 13th place in the standings, while the women’s team is in 6th place! This is definitely beyond what we expected at the beginning of the tournament!"

The others were all excited, knowing that this was indeed a great day. Everything went perfectly for them all, as if the Chess God himself gave the blessing for the Indonesian team. Hell, even the conservative Master Susanto, who had never said anything about the target, started to dream big, knowing that with two more rounds remaining, they could push further and create history here.

Sheva himself just sat on the corner silently, sipping an apple juice that he brought earlier. While he was genuinely happy for the team, the excitement was not on the same level, since he wasn’t involved too much in this round. If anything, he was so infuriated by Novendra right now, as the man kept throwing sarcastic remarks at him here and there.

"Yes! I finally won! Now, the youngsters will not have any reason to mock me, right?!"

"No, no, no, don’t praise me like that! The youngsters are still lurking behind me, waiting for my downfall!"

"What?! No one is mocking me?! Strange, is he sick or what?!"

While Sheva would never get triggered by this kind of cheap provocation, that didn’t mean he liked to be attacked with so many subtle jabs like this. Of course, he himself didn’t hate the man for this. Hell, the boy also did the same, or maybe slightly worse, when Novendra was so down after losing so many games in a row. He and Laysa had done a lot in the past, so when the table was overturned like this, Sheva was not that mad at all, knowing that karma would hit him like a bitch.

’Wait, the table is not overturned yet!’ He muttered in realization. ’It is just him putting his name back on the same table, but I am still here too! I haven’t lost a single game since the tournament began! He doesn’t have any right to mock me like that!’

"Shev?" Suddenly, Anna’s voice registered through his brain, snapping the boy out of his thought. When he turned around, all the hair on his body stood instantly as a gentle hand touched his palm with full concern. "Are you okay? You have been dozing off for a while. Do you need any medicine?"

"A—Ah! No! Don’t worry about it, Anna!" Sheva answered rapidly before feeling the heat creep into his face. "N—No! I mean, I am okay!" He coughed a little, trying to keep his composure.

"Yeah, Big Sis! We had been watching anime all day earlier, and he had no complaint at all!" Claudia chimed in, staring at Sheva with hostile eyes. "He is a big boy, don’t worry too much about him!" She stuck her tongue on Sheva.

"Ia, are you still being jealous that Sheva snatches your sister from your life?" Laysa asked mischievously.

"Oh, shut up!" This time, the glare switched to the hijab girl next to them. "Don’t think that just because you have a good performance, you can say anything that you want like that!"

"Well, even if my performance is bad, I would still dare to say anything I want! What are you going to do about that?!" Laysa, being the older girl she was, had fallen so low that she started to bicker with a girl five years younger than her.

"YOU!"

The atmosphere at the table was quite festive, with a lot of chatter and laughter echoing across the restaurant. Even some regulars couldn’t help but stare at them, wondering if they were here to celebrate something. Even though the teenagers seemed to bicker with each other, it was just a friendly banter with no heat in it, so the adults didn’t interrupt them, letting them have their fun here.

However, the joyous atmosphere disappeared instantly as all of their phones vibrated simultaneously. They all stared at each other for a moment before finally realizing that it wasn’t just their phone that vibrated right now. Since they all followed the tournament’s website thoroughly, this only meant one thing here.

"The next pairing is out!" Bagas, the flash he was, became the first person to react, accessing the website immediately from his phone. The others also followed his step, operating their respective phone while also holding back their breath. Somehow, they were so tense right here, knowing that after such a great day, a strong opponent would be waiting for them tomorrow.

True enough, once they read the pairing for tomorrow’s game, everyone froze instantly, unable to react for a couple of seconds.

Men’s section: Indonesia VS Germany

Women’s section: Indonesia VS USA

"Holy hell..." Sarah couldn’t help but mutter. "We are going to play against two powerhouse countries in both sections?!" She whispered in disbelief.

However, Medina shook her head immediately. "No, it is not two powerhouse countries."

"Um?!"

"Even though the USA is a strong team in the men’s section, you cannot say the same for the women’s team. At most, they are just the combination of the veterans whose prime has already passed and the surging youngsters who haven’t had a lot of experience in this kind of tournament. Just like Spain, we should be at a similar level here." Irene explained kindly. "The problem, though, is the men’s team..." She glanced at the guys with worried eyes.

This was probably the strongest team that they would face after losing against Poland in the fourth round a few days ago. Even though Germany didn’t have any 2700-rated superstar like Poland with Duda, that didn’t mean they were not an elite team. Hell, with all of their players being above 2600, anyone who thought they were weak needed to be slapped on the face.

The problem wasn’t just coming from the opponent, though. Internally, they had to face a huge question, the elephant in the room that could destroy the team’s harmony in one go. It was a simple question, yet somehow so complicated that no one wanted to start the conversation here.

In the end, being the team’s leader, Master Susanto let out a deep sigh, knowing he had to sacrifice himself here. So, the man just asked shortly, "Who is going to play tomorrow?"