Behind the screen, Nightsong’s eyelids faintly twitched. He felt an indescribable pressure. His senses were screaming danger, but for the first time he doubted them and wondered if he was just being paranoid.

As the seconds passed, Nightsong noticed a clear change. Ever since Draven returned to lane, it was almost as if a new player sat behind the monitor. He was mildly surprised by Draven’s reflexes and mechanics before, but it stopped there. Now, however, he felt a genuine threat. An unadulterated feeling of danger encroached on him!

Nightsong was well aware of how frightening a fed Draven could be. So, he’d leveraged his superior mechanics and game sense to suppress Tang Bingyao in the early laning phase, not giving her any opportunity to harass or engage. The longer the laning phase lasted, the further she’d fall behind and the more frustrated she’d grow as he outscaled her.

Now, though, Nightsong found that he couldn’t pressure this Draven anymore. The enemy came out swinging with a domineering playstyle that made his heart skip a beat, as if he were being assailed by an endless bloodthirst and ferocity! As if death was coming for him!

At this moment, Leona engaged on Lin Feng with Zenith Blade, but he easily knocked her out of the air mid-dash with Stand Aside. He immediately punished her for the misplay with an onslaught of spinning axes.

Lin Feng hacked away at Leona’s health in chunks! Just as it looked like he was about to go all in for the kill, he backed away, the intense killing intent he radiated completely vanishing like a fleeting cloud.

Nightsong’s eyelids twitched more violently. He sensed an incomparable threat. A Draven who only knew how to turn it up to 11 and nothing else was nothing to be afraid of. However, one that was aware of his limits and knew exactly when to back away the moment they accomplished their goal—well, that kind of self-control even moved a top 3 ad-carry like him. He couldn’t help but wonder how many people in the entirety of China could play Draven to this level. But there was no time to think right now.

Shortly after backing away, Draven turned around again and rushed forward without so much as a warning. The frightening killing intent manifested itself again, and the prey was the low-health Leona!

A spinning axe whirled through the air and struck Leona, ringing out with the gutteral sound of metal teeth digging into flesh as blood sprayed out!

Lin Feng had immersed himself fully into the game, his eyes shining feverishly with excitement and bloodlust. He perfectly embodied the spirit of the Glorious Executioner.

“Hit ’em where it hurts.

“Hear that? Death’s knocking.”

Suddenly, a hoarse and malevolent laughter rang out, melding together with the sound of whirling axes flying ruthlessly towards their hapless victim! A cacophony of spinning axes danced in the sky! A tableau of blood splatters dyed the earth!

Blood Rush activated, Draven gained a burst of movement speed! Throw a spinning axe, catch it, move, and throw another spinning axe, catch it, then throw another and catch another! Spinning axes flew wildly in the air, Draven catching each and every one of them without fail in a dizzying and unending cycle. Who knew how fast a player had to move their mouse to keep up with this kind of tempo!

The poor Platinum 1 Leona was completely stupefied. However, she still tried one last gamble by throwing down a Solar Flare at the pursuing Draven. A brilliant golden radiance erupted below his feet.

“Heh! You’ll have to aim your ult better than that!” Lin Feng cackled, overlapping with Draven’s hoarse laughter in the game.

Lin Feng pressed down on his W key, activating Blood Rush[mfn]Every time Draven catches a spinning axe, the cooldown on Blood Rush resets.[/mfn] again. The burst of movement speed allowed him to evade the Solare Fare. Then, he turned back around and continued his pursuit!

Shit, this Leona…! Nightsong knitted his brows. He had his Vayne go up to lend aid, firing silver bolts at the Draven while continuously repositioning himself. Right now, his Condemn was the only thing that could save his support. But it couldn’t just be the knock-back, he needed to send Draven colliding into a wall for the stun effect.

When Nightsong got close enough, he flanked Draven with a Tumble before slamming down on his E key. Vayne pulled out the large crossbow strapped to her back.

In that split-second, Lin Feng had also slammed down on his E key! A pair of whirling axes flew straight toward Vayne.

The two axes knocked the Vayne back to her position just before she tumbled! Then, the giant bolt slammed into Draven. He was knocked back, but the Condemn failed to pin him to a wall. Without the stun, there was no stopping him from killing Leona!

Lin Feng pressed down on his D key. With a flash of light, Draven flashed forward. It was perfectly timed as he happened to catch a spinning axe falling back to the ground, refreshing the cooldown of Blood Rush.

Nothing could stop Draven from mowing down Leona. One spinning axe after another struck her before bouncing back into the air in almost mesmerising fashion.

Sitting right beside Lin Feng, Tang Bingyao’s eyes glinted with a peculiar light as waves of shock continuously battered at her heart. She inexplicably felt goosebumps all over her body, almost as if Draven’s intense bloodlust from the game were leaking out into the real world. She gulped, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

Draven couldn’t be stopped! There was no escaping once he had his sights set on his prey! He and his spinning axes would cut down any obstacle! Slaughter! Slaughter to no end!

One last auto-attack chunked away the remaining sliver of Leona’s health bar.

《You have slain an enemy!》

A shower of golden coins rained down on Draven! This was Draven’s passive, a gold reward for killing the enemy. The adoring cheers of a boisterous crowd could be heard in the background. Domineering and matchless!

“LEAAAAGUE OF DRAAAVEN!”

Lin Feng breathed a sigh of relief, a bright smile stretching across his face. “This is what I’m talking about!”

Seven minutes into the game, the situation at bot lane was relatively calm. There were no signs of any fights breaking out. Both ad-carries appeared content farming minions and scaling. However, Tang Bingyao was slowly being out-CSed. Over these past few minutes, Vayne had seized an eight CS lead on her, and the two were relatively even in health. This was especially surprising since Tang Bingyao’s support had a heal in her kit. Not only had she failed to seize any kind of advantage, but she’d also been forced on the back foot over the last few trades.

“Ugh… this is frustrating.” Tang Bingyao frowned.

“Yeah, this Vayne is really good. She’s much better than you.” Lin Feng nodded.

Generally speaking, if you were a one-trick pony Draven, even if you were only a Diamond 3 or 4 player, you could still gain an advantage on other Diamond 1 or 2 ad-carries. However, that advantage was lost if the difference in skill exceeded an entire tier. An opponent much more skilled than you could easily keep you at bay, nullifying most of the advantages Draven enjoyed and preventing you from scaling. This only got worse the longer it went on.

Lin Feng’s gaze fell on the enemy Vayne. Her summoner name was First Tyrant. He had never heard of this name before. This person had to be smurfing[mfn]Playing on a second account at a lower rank.[/mfn]. He was sure of it. Vayne was a Master or Challenger-rank player, or else they wouldn’t be laning so flawlessly. “A hunter masquerading as a pig to hunt the tiger, huh?” Lin Feng remarked, his eyes shining brightly. His interest was piqued.

✹

Eight minutes into the game, both supports happened to recall back to base at the same time, leaving the two Level 6 ad-carries alone in bot lane. When the minion wave stopped in the middle of the lane, the Vayne headed to the river, looking like she was going to ward.

Tang Bingyao immediately followed her. Sure enough, Vayne placed down a green ward next to the dragon pit. As she was about to head back to lane, Draven flung an axe at her. Tang Bingyao had already prepared two spinning blades in the lane beforehand.

Draven versus Vayne! Round three!

Vayne was quick to respond, activating Final Hour. The Night Hunter shrouded in darkness, then raised her crossbow and fired back at Draven.

Tang Bingyao’s gaze radiated absolute focus. She activated Whirling Death, flinging two massive spinning axes towards Vayne. Too hasty. There was still enough distance between her and the Vayne. She’d given her enemy the time to dodge. And dodge Vayne did.

Even so, a Draven with two spinning axes wasn’t to be trifled with. Vayne’s health plummeted as the two exchanged attacks.

Almost as if under Vayne’s conscious lead, the two ad-carries were getting closer and closer to each other. The flames of battle grew hotter and hotter! As Vayne’s health fell dangerously low, she raised the big crossbow on her back and fired out a giant bolt! At the same time, a flash of light illuminated the river as she disappeared, then reappeared behind Draven! The giant bolt struck Draven in the back, then sent him ruthlessly crashing into the wall. Stunned!

This single moment decided the victor and loser of this duel. Vayne had executed a high level technique and walked out the winner.

Tang Bingyao was caught completely off guard as she stared dumbly at the grey screen. Her hands came to a complete halt, resting on her mouse and keyboard.

《You have been slain!》

Draven lay dead on the riverbed. A solo kill. She stared at her screen in a daze. A trace of seldom-seen shock lingered in her eyes. This Vayne… She was really, really good! Tang Bingyao agreed with Lin Feng’s remark before. This Vayne was strong! It wasn’t until now that she realized just how big the gap between them was. It was far bigger than she had ever imagined!

Recalling the final moments of the fight, Tang Bingyao still felt cold sweat dripping down the back of her neck. This was the first time she’d encountered an opponent who completely outclassed her. She stubbornly bit her lips, her eyes still shining brightly with fighting spirit. She admitted the opponent was far out of her league, but she wouldn’t concede that easily. This wasn’t a matter of pride, but rather a personality trait of hers. Perseverance. Just because the odds were slim, that didn’t mean all was lost! She still wanted to give it a try. As long as she put in more effort…

“Ah, you’re not going to beat him,” Lin Feng’s frank, even rude words rang out in her ear.

Tang Bingyao turned to Lin Feng, staring at him.

Lin Feng awkwardly scratched his head. “You don’t agree?”

Tang Bingyao forcefully nodded. The resoluteness of this petite girl was cute and moving.

Lin Feng shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It’s a fact you’re not her match.”

Tang Bingyao lightly pouted and whispered in an unresigned tone, “I want to try again.”

“You can, but it’s useless. Your biggest strengths are your reaction speed and mechanics, but they both lose out to that Vayne’s. Also, her grasp of timing, map awareness, minion wave control, and everything else are better than yours. Even if you try again, you have no chance of winning.” Lin Feng paused and stared at Tang Bingyao. “Being earnest is a good thing, being stubborn isn’t.”

Tang Bingyao no longer tried to argue. She agreed with Lin Feng’s assessment, but she still felt a trace of unwillingness in her heart.

Suddenly, Lin Feng broke into a chuckle, then inched closer to Tang Bingyao with a mysterious smile. “Want to know what you can do to win?”

Tang Bingyao’s eyes lit up as she vigorously nodded.

Lin Feng patted his chest and confidently declared, “Here, switch places with me. Watch me play for a bit, and you’ll know.”

Tang Bingyao was stunned, but still shook her head.

“What, you don’t believe in me?” Lin Feng asked.

Tang Bingyao hesitated before shaking her head again. “No, that’s not it.”

Lin Feng was bewildered for a moment, then smacked his forehead. “Oh! It’s fine! You’re worried about a teaching fee, a carry fee? Don’t worry! I’ll do it free of charge!”

✹

Lin Feng had Draven rush back to bot lane. He turned to Tang Bingyao, his eyes blazing with spirit. “Watch closely. This lesson I’m giving you is worth ¥1 million!” He then paused for a moment and thought it over. “Hmm, ¥1 million is a bit of an exaggeration, let’s say ¥10,000!”

Tang Bingyao earnestly stared at Lin Feng. A knot tightened in her stomach. Perhaps it was a mistake to put her faith in him.

Lin Feng was already raring to go. His eighth-grader syndrome started flaring as he started narrating an epic scene to immerse himself in the game. “An axe spinning in hand, possessing an ice-cold metallic lustre. The heavy stench of blood permeates the air. A figure standing next to a pile of countless corpses leaps high into the air, his armour glittering brilliantly under the golden rays of the sun. A thunderous cheer rocks the surroundings as a hoarse and malevolent cry rings out.

“WELCOME… TO THE LEAAAGUE OF DRAAAAVEN!”

As Draven arrived at the outer tower, Vayne came walking back to lane as well. The two faced off.

In the gaming house of a certain top LPL team in Shanghai, Nightsong knitted his brows. He didn’t know why, but he just felt his heart skip a beat, as if a faint sense of danger washed over him.

In the NetCow Cafe, Lin Feng’s desire to battle blazed brightly!

“Vayne learned Silver Bolts at Level 2. If she had picked Condemn instead, she would’ve survived,” Lin Feng analyzed.

Vayne had three basic skills. Her first skill was Tumble, which was a short range dash that empowered her next basic attack; the second was Silver Bolts, which dealt bonus true damage on every third consecutive hit on a target; and the third was Condemn, which knocked a target back and stunned them if they collided with terrain.

“She was too careless,” Lin Feng concluded.

“Mhm.” Tang Bingyao nodded. She knew just as well as Lin Feng that against an aggressive champion like Draven, Vayne had an easier time in lane if she learned Condemn at Level 2. This left her an escape tool when the opponent reached Level 3 early or tried to hard engage.

Tang Bingyao pushed out the wave before recalling back to base, where she bought two long swords before rushing back to lane.

“You want to build a Sword of the Occult?” Lin Feng asked in surprise.

“Yeah.” Tang Bingyao nodded.

“Wow, so confident!” Lin Feng gasped in admiration.

The Sword of the Occult was a special item. Its base stats were nothing special. However, for every assist or kill, you would gain one or two stacks respectively, up to a maximum of 20 stacks. Every stack increased attack damage by five. So, the more you killed, the stronger you became.

However, there was one major drawback. You would lose half your stacks after dying. So, building this kind of item was a risky gamble. Only those who were really confident in their skills would dare to. In this case, not only did Tang Bingyao have the confidence in herself, but the item was also quite compatible with Draven.

Lin Feng rubbed his chin. “Hmm. That’s fine too. Vayne seems pretty so-so. Building a Sword of the Occult is a pretty good choice in my opinion.”

Based on the Vayne’s gameplay, Lin Feng estimated they were probably a low Diamond player, which was honestly pretty high up there in terms of rank. However, he rated Tang Bingyao higher.

Ouyang believed Tang Bingyao was only Platinum 1. But the account he looked up didn’t belong to Tang Bingyao. She was just boosting it. Lin Feng didn’t know what Tang Bingyao’s actual rank was. However, he had already seen enough to get a rough gauge of her skill level. Purely in terms of game mechanics, she was probably around Diamond 3, maybe even Diamond 2.

Tang Bingyao’s reaction speed and control with her mouse were impeccable. Combined with a mechanic-heavy champion like Draven, it was a match made in heaven. So, as long as she played Draven, she could easily carry her way from Platinum to Diamond. This match was likely also in the bag.

By the time Tang Bingyao returned to lane, Vayne was already back and farming the minion wave. Seeing the Draven return with two long swords, Nightsong couldn’t help but chuckle. “Looks like I’m being looked down on.”

Nightsong easily guessed what item the Draven was going to build. But he didn’t take offense. He had been a bit absent-minded earlier, which led to him giving away first blood. Now, however, he was planning to play a bit more seriously.

In all of China, only a handful of players could stand up to him when he played seriously. This was quite the arrogant proclamation, but he had the qualifications to back these words up. He was Nightsong, Bleakwinter Nightsong, one of the top three professional ad-carry-players in all of China.

✹

As the battle in bot lane resumed, Lin Feng noticed something off. “Huh?” The Vayne’s movement and playstyle had completely changed! She now played much better, nearly flawlessly!

Tang Bingyao also knitted her brows. “I can’t find any openings.” She had encountered this kind of situation before when she 1v1’d Lin Feng earlier. But that was against a Caitlyn who held an attack range advantage, allowing for much more leeway in positioning. In contrast, Vayne had one of the shortest ranges amongst all ad-carries. So, for Nightsong to pull the same feat as Lin Feng was an incredible achievement.

Lin Feng narrowed his eyes. “This Vayne really upped her game…!”

Tang Bingyao nodded. “It’s like a completely different person is playing.”

Having secured first blood with her Draven, Tang Bingyao still held the advantage in the lane. Slowly, the minion wave started pushing towards the red team’s tower. As they pushed beyond the halfway line, danger reared its head. The enemy Lee Sin came from the river for a gank!

Lee Sin popped out of the river entrance brush and threw a Sonic Wave at Draven. Tang Bingyao was a step too late and got hit.

Lin Feng shook his head. “You misplayed there. You could’ve sidestepped that.”

Activating the second part of Sonic Wave, Lee Sin came flying towards Draven. This time, Tang Bingyao did react quickly. She threw out her spinning axes with Stand Aside and knocked Lee Sin out of the air mid-dash.

Tang Bingyao’s reaction speed and reflexes were outstanding. However, with Stand Aside on cooldown, the enemy Leona seized the opportunity to engage with Zenith Blade. A ray of light shot out of her blade as she flew toward Draven. Then, she struck him with her Shield of Daybreak, stunning him.

Tang Bingyao’s Flash was still on cooldown from the previous kill on Vayne. She had no way of escaping. So, she tried to trade a kill for a kill. But Leona targeted her with Exhaust, neutering her damage. Her health quickly depleted before Vayne landed the final hit.

《You have been slain!》

Tang Bingyao’s screen went gray.

“You should’ve backed away earlier. Lee showed up on the minimap before entering that brush,” Lin Feng advised from the side.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tang Bingyao asked in slight annoyance.

“Because you weren’t paying me to?” Lin Feng countered with a bright smile.

Tang Bingyao thought for a moment before agreeing she had this coming.

Lin Feng stared at the Vayne with a pensive look on his face. It looked like Vayne had the kill delivered to her on a silver platter, with Leona and Lee Sin having done most of the work. However, the reality was much more complex, notably with how the minion wave stopped close to the enemy tower.

Over the next few minutes, the situation in bot lane settled down, with neither side getting any more kills. However, Tang Bingyao wasn’t content with simply farming evenly with the Vayne. She was playing Draven, a hyper-aggressive laner who was supposed to be getting kills left and right in the early game! Yet, this Vayne didn’t give her a single opportunity to engage.

Tang Bingyao pursed her lips. Even though she didn’t voice it, she was slowly starting to feel the pressure. Vayne hadn’t started going off yet, but she still felt a weird sense of urgency creeping in on her, like she was gradually losing control. She couldn’t shake off this suffocating feeling. It was the same pressure she felt in her 1v1 against Lin Feng.

Tang Bingyao naturally didn’t have the ¥1 million to pay Lin Feng his answer fee. But a bet was a bet, and so she let Lin Feng sit next to her and watch her play. After queuing up for a match, she turned to him and asked, “Why did it feel like I could never hit you during our 1v1?”

In the match against Class 8, Tang Bingyao had crushed their Caitlyn with her Draven. However, when she faced Lin Feng’s Caitlyn, the outcome was completely different. She’d learned Spinning Axe at level 1 and tried to get in some early harass on him. Draven’s empowered auto-attacks with Spinning Axe dealt a ton of damage. Even if she traded blow for blow with Caitlyn, he’d still come out on top. But, no matter how she tried, she never found an opportunity to attack Lin Feng. If this were only once or twice, she could brush it off as mere coincidence. But from the moment she arrived in lane to when her tower was destroyed, she could count with her fingers the number of times she managed to land a hit on him. More often than not, she would end up taking a hit or two from Caitlyn while out of range to counterattack.

It was almost as if Lin Feng could tell what she was going to do in advance. Tang Bingyao had never encountered this kind of situation before, even against Diamond 1 players. Complete suppression. She had no clue how he did it.

Lin Feng rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression, then replied, “It’s because I’m really good!”

Tang Bingyao was taken aback as a dazed expression surfaced on her face. She was not expecting this kind of answer. However, it wasn’t that Lin Feng wasn’t willing to answer, but rather that it was too troublesome to explain.

There were many variables that decided the outcome of a 1v1 between ad-carries. When merely taking the two champions in consideration, the main goal was to land hits without being hit in return. This was done by catching the enemy out of position or when they were focused on last hitting minions. The best way to find these opportunities was to dive into the opponent’s mind and read their next move. Of course, this explanation only began to scratch the surface, so Lin Feng chose to give the easy answer. “The better player wins.”

Tang Bingyao entered champion select. She no longer questioned Lin Feng, turning her full attention to the game. The third and fourth pick on the enemy team locked in Vayne and Leona as their bottom lane duo. In response, she chose her pocket pick, Draven[mfn]A pocket pick refers to a player’s go-to champion that they play very well.[/mfn].

“Draven again?” Lin Feng exclaimed in surprise. Then, he curiously stared at her. “Why do you like playing him so much?” From his experience, most girls liked to play ad-carries like Caitlyn and Jinx, or even Teemo every now and then. He rarely ever saw girls picking aggressive champions like Draven.

“Because it’s easier to win with him,” Tang Bingyao replied.

Tang Bingyao had a valid point here. A good Draven player could easily solo carry games in low elo.

“Do you not play other champions like Caitlyn or Jinx at all?” Lin Feng asked.

“No. They take too long to scale. So, it’s harder to carry with them.”

“But doesn’t playing the same champion all the time get boring?”

Tang Bingyao shook her head. “Not really. As long as I can get kills, it’s fine. Plus, you climb faster this way.”

“Oh, you like to climb?”

“No. It means I can move onto the next order.”

Huh? Next order? Slowly, the dots started connecting together for Lin Feng. He stared at Tang Bingyao and exclaimed in surprise, “You’re elo boosting?”

Tang Bingyao nodded nonchallantly.　

“Why?” Lin Feng asked in bewilderment.

“Because it pays well,” Tang Bingyao answered matter-of-factly.

Lin Feng recalled the appearance fee, viewer fee, and 1v1 fee. It all made sense now. He couldn’t help but sigh. “Wow, you really do like money.”

✹

When Tang Bingyao’s Draven spawned in the fountain, she bought her starting items and then headed toward bottom lane.

“The enemy ad-carry is a Vayne. It’s a fairly easy match-up for you. You can easily bully her early game,” Lin Feng analyzed.

Tang Bingyao nodded in agreement.

Tang Bingyao’s partner in bottom lane was Nami, the Tidecaller. This mermaid champion was an excellent support, with great sustain and crowd control. With just this, she was already a beloved support of any aggressive ad-carry. But to make it even better, she could also help her ad-carry deal additional damage and slow the enemy.

Two minutes into the game, the minion waves clashed in bottom lane. Tang Bingyao prepped her two spinning axes and started to look for opportunities to harass the enemy bot lane duo.

Lin Feng nodded in approval.

The Vayne appeared to be pretty good. She maintained a safe distance from the Draven and steadily farmed the minions. That said, Vayne’s attack range was simply too short. Every time she went up to last-hit a minion, she would end up eating an auto attack or two from Draven. Even if Vayne tried trading back, Draven would still come out ahead.

After both sides reached Level 2, Tang Bingyao started harassing the Vayne more aggressively, steadily building up a health advantage. Then, when she hit Level 3, she activated Blood Rush and engaged on Vayne.

Leona tried to intercept Draven with Zenith Blade. A solar ray shot out of her sword, straight at her target.

Not showing even a ripple of panic on her face, Tang Bingyao immediately pressed down on the E key on her keyboard.

BANG! Two spinning axes whistled forward and knocked Leona out of her Zenith Blade!

Tang Bingyao chased after the Vayne, continuously moving between her attacks to catch her spinning axes.

Lin Feng’s face lit up the more he watched. “Awesome! You’re really good!”

Vayne was forced to blow her Flash to escape. However, Tang Bingyao followed after her with a Flash of her own and finished off the Vayne with one last auto attack.

“Nice play!” Lin Feng exclaimed in admiration.

Tang Bingyao cheerfully accepted the praise.

✹

In the gaming house of a professional esports team in central Shanghai, a young man stared at his screen in slight shock. It was greyed out. “Wow…” he mumbled.

A teammate sitting next to him couldn’t help but laugh, “Hey, hey. How did a top 3 ad-carry in China get solo-killed by a Platinum 1 scrub? Haha! Imagine if this got posted online Nightsong!”

Nightsong brushed it off with a chuckle. “I got distracted there, and a little careless.” He turned his attention back to the Draven as his lips curved into a smile. “Watch me. I just need to get a little serious.

When the game reached the 20-minute mark, Class 8 unanimously voted to surrender. The complexion of their five players were pale-white, traces of fear still lingering in their eyes. When they had started the surrender vote, Tang Bingyao’s 17-kill Draven was already on the verge of slaughtering her way into the fountain.

A moment later, the aura surrounding the red nexus warped violently before exploding into a flurry of brilliance. A large blue victory screen appeared over the ruins of the enemy nexus.

“We won!” The students from Class 7 broke out into cheers. Tang Bingyao’s four teammates were also all smiles. Ouyang shot up from his seat and basked in the cheers of his classmates as if he were a hero returning home from a glorious victory. “Haha! That was too easy! I didn’t even get a chance to show off my skills, and they already surrendered!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and gave Ouyang the side eye. “Yeah, that’s because you didn’t do anything. We got hard-carried by Tang Bingyao.”

“Hey! How can you say that! I ganked bottom lane a bunch of times! She got so fed partly thanks to me!” Ouyang unhappily countered.

Ren Rou rolled her eyes. “Even if you didn’t go bot, Tang Tang would’ve still easily won her lane.” She turned to Tang Bingyao with a smile. “Right?”

Tang Bingyao nodded. “Mhm, he didn’t need to come gank bot lane.”

“Gghhh!” Ouyang nearly choked. He then scratched his head in embarrassment. “Come on, Tang Tang. You didn’t have to say it so bluntly…”

With this easy win, the students from Class 7 were in high spirits. Watching the students from Class 8 leave the internet cafe in dejection, Ren Rou suggested, “How about we celebrate? There’s a barbecue stand around the corner!”

This friendly match against Class 8 was just an excuse to hang out after class. The fact that they won was a bonus. So, even though most of the students had already eaten dinner, of course they would still go celebrate.

While everyone else was cheering, the MVP of this competition shook her head. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll stay here a little longer.”

“How can you not come? You’re the reason we’re celebrating in the first place! It won’t be the same without you!” Ren Rou persuaded.

But Tang Bingyao adamantly declined. “No need. Just pay me my appearance fee.”

This was the second time Tang Bingyao mentioned something about an appearance fee. Ren Rou instantly turned to Ouyang, practically shooting daggers at him. “Tell me! Just what is this about?”

Ouyang immediately broke out in a cold sweat as he gave a hollow chuckle. “Ahaha… Rou Rou, no need to glare at me like that, I might start thinking you have the hots for me. H-haahaha…. Listen, I’ll explain it to you later. Yeah, for sure, later!”

The students from Class 7 gradually left the internet cafe, still in hot discussion about the match. Ouyang’s voice reached over all as he proudly stated how his ganks were the reason Tang Bingyao dominated her lane, and the game.

Meanwhile, Tang Bingyao stayed behind, as did Lin Feng. This was because his interest in the barbeque couldn’t compare to his interest in this girl. He watched her sit back down in front of her computer. It looked like she planned to continue playing. So, he plopped down in the chair next to her and enthusiastically greeted, “Hi! You were really good!”

Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng, slightly confused, before saying, “Oh, you’re the new transfer student.” Finding his eyes locked onto her, she stared back at him and asked, “Can I help you with something?”

“Are you going to play another game? Ranked?”

“Yes.” Tang Bingyao nodded.

“Can I watch?” Lin Feng asked, his voice bubbling over with excitement.

Tang Bingyao shook her head. “No. I don’t like it when people watch me play.”

“But, just now…” Lin Feng frowned.

“That’s because I was being paid,” Tang Bingyao patiently explained.

“Oh! So if I pay you a viewing fee, does that mean I can watch you play ranked?”

Tang Bingyao thought for a moment before sticking up two fingers. “¥20.”

“¥20…?” Lin Feng rummaged through his pockets, but he only pulled out a ¥5 note and a few ¥1 coins. He frowned. “I forgot to bring money with me…”

Tang Bingyao nodded. Then, she stared at Lin Feng, patiently waiting for him to leave.

However, Lin Feng’s butt showed no signs of moving. He suddenly thought of something and happily suggested, “How about we 1v1? If I win, you let me watch!”

Tang Bingyao wrinkled her brows. “¥40 fee.”

“If I lose, I’ll pay you ¥40. If I win, you’ll let me watch. How does that sound?”

Tang Bingyao frowned. “But you don’t have ¥40.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t lose!” Lin Feng pounded his chest.

Tang Bingyao kindly reminded him, “I’m really good at this game.”

Lin Feng laughed. “I am too!”

✹

After some more back and forth, the two came to an agreement. They created a lobby and both picked an ad-carry. Tang Bingyao played on the blue team. She chose Draven again, while Lin Feng went with Caitlyn.

According to the standard rules of a 1v1, the winner was the player who got first blood, reached 100 creep score first, or destroyed the enemy’s tower. Lin Feng fulfilled the third condition seven minutes into the game. He achieved his victory through slow and methodical pushing.

“I won!” Lin Feng exclaimed in delight as the enemy’s tower collapsed into a pile of rubble.

Tang Bingyao stared at the ruined tower in a daze. She rubbed her eyes, not sure she could believe them. It felt like the match ended before it had even started.

“Hey, hey! I won the bet! That means I can watch you play, right?” Lin Feng happily exclaimed.

Tang Bingyao snapped out of her daze. She stared at Lin Feng, looking him up and down. “You’re really good,” she finally said.

“Of course I am! Didn’t I tell you?” Lin Feng proudly harrumphed.

“No, you’re really good. Like, way better than I am.” Tang Bingyao shook her head. “Since you’re already so good, why do you want to watch me play?”

This was a reasonable question. Lin Feng rubbed his chin for a bit, then replied with a smile, “That’ll cost you an answer fee!”

“Answer fee…?” Tang Bingyao asked in a daze. “How much?”

Lin Feng stuck out one finger with a solemn expression. “¥1 million!”

Draven! The spectators stared at Tang Bingyao in shock. The Glorious Executioner was a frightening champion that relied on his two spinning axes to slaughter his enemies. Among all the ad-carries in League of Legends, he was the most aggressive and bloodthirsty.

The students from Class 8 also looked at Tang Bingyao like they’d seen a ghost. Did this girl have what it took to play such a domineering champion?

Lin Feng felt a deep admiration for Tang Bingyao. After all, Draven required a lot of skill to play. He wasn’t like an ordinary ad-carry where all you needed to do was auto attack. Most of his damage came from his first skill, Spinning Axe, which greatly empowered his auto attacks. The spinning axes would bounce off any enemies it hit before falling back to the ground. The player needed to catch the spinning axes to continue the activation of the skill.

A skilled Draven player could easily catch all their spinning axes, empowering their every auto attack. This meant his damage output could potentially be more than double that of any other ad-carry! In other words, by the time an enemy got you down to half health, you would’ve already killed them! However, those that could play Draven well were few and far between. Lin Feng curiously gazed at Tang Bingyao. He wanted to find out just how skilled this earnest-looking girl was at Draven.

The five players from Class 8 instantly stirred when they saw the Draven locked in. As they loaded into the game, one of them couldn’t help but sneer, “Draven? Is this a joke? Does she think she’s some kind of pro?”

The ad-carry from Class 8 confidently chuckled. “Well, I guess it’s up to me to put her in her place.” He had picked Caitlyn, who had one of the longest attack ranges among all the ad-carries. This allowed her to easily bully her opponents in the early laning phase.

The spectators from Class 8 started heckling.

“Maybe she meant to go support but forgot to trade? Go easy on her, haha!”

“Yeah. Don’t wanna make her cry.”

“Show her we’re true gentlemen, guys!”

Over on the side of Class 7, Ren Rou frowned. She glared at the guys from Class 8. “So what if she’s a girl? Are you saying that girls can’t play ad-carry? That all we’re good for is support? Who made that rule? Just watch! Tang Bingyao is going to wipe the floor with your bot lane!”

The guys from Class 8 erupted into boisterous laughter. No matter how they looked at it, they couldn’t take Ren Rou’s words seriously. As far as they knew, girls weren’t particularly good at League. Most stuck to the support role, and even then, they chose easy-to-play champions and relied on their ad-carries to win them the game. So how was this possibly a fair matchup? A random girl versus their class legend, a platinum 3 ad-carry on the Ionia server!

Infuriated, Ren Rou gnashed her teeth. She lowered her head next to Tang Bingyao’s ear and whispered, “You can do it! I believe in you! Make those boys from Class 8 eat their words!”

Tang Bingyao wasn’t even the least bit bothered. She looked at Ren Rou and gave her a nod, completely focused and serious. “Okay, I’ll do my best.”

✹

How formidable was a girl who approached everything she faced with such intensity? Tang Bingyao reminded Lin Feng of another female League of Legends player, someone he knew from way back in Season 1. Under today’s ranking system, she would’ve been at least Diamond 3.

That girl, she was determined, always focused on the bigger goal, and a very tolerant personality. Whenever she ended up in a game with toxic teammates or people who tilted easily and then tried to tilt the others, she would always proactively mediate. She always managed to help turn her team back into a team, and then turned a losing game around.

There was only one instance that Lin Feng could remember where a teammate managed to push her over the edge. This particular teammate, they were feeding more than anyone else on the team but still blamed everyone else on the team for losing the game. This continued on and on. Then it finally got to the point where the girl had enough. This teammate was going off on another teammate yet again, and she decided it was time to tell him to shut up. “I know you think you’re helping. But if you really want to help us win this game, leave. Just leave. The four of us can win this without you.” The toxic player ended up leaving the game, which proved to be a blessing for the team. The girl’s intensity blazed as she shifted her focus to winning. That’s when she popped off with her LeBlanc, caught the enemy team’s backline off-guard multiple times and hard-carried her team to a victory. This girl taught Lin Feng a valuable lesson. He would never underestimate a female player again, nor would he look down on them.

Single-minded intensity, that’s what made the girl special and more than just a skilled player. Everyone focused while playing the game, it was an essential part of playing. But most people, even skilled players, had bursts of focus. Not that girl, though. The same thing was true of Tang Bingyao, which is what reminded Lin Feng of the other girl. She gave every single action and minute of gameplay her full attention.

✹

Lin Feng watched Tang Bingyao with rapt attention as she bought her starting items and left the fountain. He rubbed his chin. Hmm. I kinda feel bad for Class 8’s bot lane.

His analysis soon proved correct. Before the game even reached the three-minute mark, the game announcer’s voice rang out.

《First blood!》

Tang Bingyao prepped two spinning axes on the first minion wave. Then, as soon as she hit Level 2, she activated Blood Rush[mfn]Draven gains increased Movement Speed and Attack Speed. The Movement Speed bonus decreases rapidly over its duration. Catching a Spinning Axe will refresh the cooldown of Blood Rush.[/mfn] and went in on the Caitlyn. As soon as her first spinning axe hit the enemy and bounced into the air, she pressed down on her Q key, allowing her to briefly juggle three spinning axes at once as she melted away the Caitlyn’s health.

The students from Class 8 were stupefied.

Ren Rou was the first to break the silence as she erupted in cheers. “Oh my god! Tang Tang, that was amazing!”

Lin Feng nodded. Ah, I hate to admit it, but that is ¥80 well spent. He’d been paying close attention to Tang Bingyao’s gameplay. At Level 1, she didn’t bother trying to trade. However, as soon as she hit Level 2, she went in on the Caitlyn. From catching every single spinning axe to making full use of the movement speed and attack speed boost from Blood Rush, she played it perfectly. And she made short work of the Caitlyn.

While the students from Class 7 erupted into cheers, Tang Bingyao didn’t so much as smile. Her focus was wholly on the game.

The ad-carry from Class 8 gnashed his teeth. “I made a small misplay! It won’t happen again!” A promise he would break within minutes.

The game was barely five minutes old when Draven led her team to another kill on the enemy ad-carry as well as the support.

《An enemy has been slain!》

《Double kill!》

The guys from Class 8 shut their mouths. Their ad-carry’s face was flushed red with anger and embarrassment.

None of this affected Tang Bingyao as she was completely focused on the game. Her gaze remained unwavering, almost as if she’d completely tuned out everything going on around her. She continued controlling her Draven to carry out a slaughter in bot lane.

At the eight-minute mark, Draven’s KDA was 6/0/2! Even the students from Class 7 were dumbstruck, pinching their arms in doubt. Who could’ve thought the normally calm and quiet bookworm was such an amazing Draven!?

At the 12-minute mark, Draven picked up a quadra kill! None of the enemy champions could stand in his way. Even their tanky top lane Darius melted away in a few auto attacks.

At the 15-minute mark, Draven’s slaughter path still showed no signs of slowing down. Tang Bingyao had picked up 14 kills in total! The spectators were speechless, their mouths hanging down. Class 8’s bottom lane had completely collapsed.

The more Lin Feng watched, the more his expression lit up. Rubbing his chin, he made a decision, a wonderful and the only logical decision! Ah, I really want to play with you! Just this once, I’ll forgive you for snatching away my chance to play!

As Ouyang and Lin Feng returned to their desks, Yang Fan turned around and asked, “So, did she agree?”

Ouyang patted his chest with a smug smile on his face. “Of course! I worked my charms on her, and she agreed immediately! Easy peasy! We have our ad-carry!” Then, his expression quickly crumpled. “Ah, but she wants ¥80. How about we submit it as a class expense?”

Yang Fan was speechless. “¥80? We need to pay her? You’ve got to be kidding. Isn’t that a little ridiculous? This is a group activity! She shouldn’t be asking to be paid.”

Ouyang waved his hand. “Eh, it’s just a little bit of money. It’s our fault for failing to find someone else. Plus, she’s an amazing ad-carry! I saw her play with my own eyes! We pay her that ¥80 and she crushes Class 8. How is that not worth it? I say it’s worth every penny. Isn’t that right, Lin Feng?”

But Ouyang didn’t get the reply he was waiting for. Instead, Lin Feng kept his lips tightly sealed.

“Hm? What’s with you?” Ouyang asked, bewildered.

“I told you I’d be your ad-carry, and for free. I’m good. Whatever, pay her her appearance fee,” Lin Feng grumbled.

Ouyang was left speechless. He couldn’t believe Lin Feng was still going on about this. He patted Lin Feng on the shoulder and consoled, “Hey man. Even if I said you could play, it really wouldn’t be up to me. This match is super important. We can’t afford to send out just anyone. Tang Bingyao is Platinum 1! With her in the team, we will easily beat Class 8!”

“But I’m a Challenger,” Lin Feng argued.

Ouyang half-heartedly nodded. “Fine, sure, you’re a Challenger. Why would you care about a kiddy league match like this? Listen, there’ll be plenty of games. I’ll get you into one, I promise. How does that sound?”

Lin Feng stared at Ouyang, not at all convinced. “Word?”

Ouyang pounded his chest. “My word is as good as gold!”

“Okay. I get to play the next match!” Lin Feng happily agreed, gullible as ever.

Yang Fan interjected, “Hey, Ouyang. Let me confirm with you again. Tang Bingyao really is Platinum 1, right? I don’t want to see her suddenly go zero for two. You know, I won’t let you live it down if that happens.”

Ouyang showed a mysterious smile. “Don’t worry. Seeing is believing. You’ll see how good she is tonight!”

Lin Feng started grumbling again, “Oh, so you give her the chance to show off her skills, but not me…! I see how it is.”

✹

The rest of his first school day quickly passed by. After the final period bell rang, Lin Feng grabbed his bag, bid his friends farewell, and cheerfully returned home. He didn’t have homework, so other than the League match tonight, he was free. After taking out his key and unlocking the door, he shouted inside, “Su Xue, I’m home!”

An annoyed voice rang out from Su Xue’s room. “Alright, alright! I got it! No need to yell! I’m still streaming here!”

A few moments later, as Lin Feng was taking off his shoes, he heard Su Xue pound her desk. “Hey, hey, hey! Whose fucking viewers are you? Move aside maid? You want to watch the lil bro play? Fuck you! I’m your host, not him!”

Five minutes later, Su Xue walked out of her bedroom, steam coming from her nose and ears. “You went to class today?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“How was it? Did you make any new friends?”

“Yeah, I did. It was good. I even got invited to a friendly League match tonight at the internet cafe across from the school. It’s my new class versus the class next door! I’ll be going there after dinner.”

Su Xue raised an eyebrow in interest. “A friendly match? Are you playing?”

Lin Feng shook his head with a sullen expression. “No. They won’t let me play. I told them I’m a Challenger, but they won’t believe me.”

Su Xue couldn’t stifle her laughter. “Hahaha. Of course they won’t believe you if you say you’re a Challenger! But dang, even high schoolers like you are playing League of Legends. The game is getting more and more popular. Looks like I made the right choice in becoming a streamer…”

Lin Feng rubbed his stomach. “Su Xue, I’m hungry.”

Having her fantasies of her future career ignored, Su Xue unhappily glanced at Lin Feng. “Hungry already? Fine, go watch some TV or something. I’ll start making dinner in a bit.”

“Can you make the stir-fried eggplants you made last night again?” Lin Feng asked.

“Hmph! You’re full of requests, aren’t you? Hehe! At least you now know I’m a great cook, right? Gotcha, stir-fried eggplants. But first, go wash your hands.”

✹

Half an hour later, a smorgasbord of dishes was set on the table. Lin Feng couldn’t stop himself from drooling. “Hoh… wow! C-can I start? I’m going to start!”

Lin Feng started gorging himself, shoving food in his mouth like a starved beast. Su Xue couldn’t help but be annoyed and amused at the same time. “Hey hey! The food isn’t going anywhere. Aren’t you afraid you’re going to eat your own tongue? Oi, don’t focus on one dish! Drink the soup too! Don’t eat so fast! I’m not going to call the ambulance for you if you choke, you fool!”

Some 10 minutes later, Lin Feng rubbed his stomach in satisfaction. “Whew… that was good. Thanks.” He then checked his phone and immediately stood up. “Shit! The game starts in 20 minutes! I’m going!”

Su Xue also got up. “Hey! What are you so anxious about? You’re not even playing… Go brush your teeth first!”

Lin Feng halted his steps and turned around. “You really are a nag, aren’t you?”

Su Xue was dumbstruck for a moment before her temper immediately flared. “The hell! You little shit! Calling me a nag? If it wasn’t for your aunt telling me to take care of you, I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about you! You think I want to hover over you like some old maid? Fine! I don’t care anymore! Scram, y—”

Lin Feng waved goodbye. “Oh, alright. Then I’ll be going! Bye!”

Su Xue unhappily stomped to the kitchen, empty plates in hand. “Thankless brat! Cook him a nice meal, and this is what I get! Hmph! Next time, I’ll just feed him some rice gruel! Who wants to nanny someone else’s kid anyw…” Still grumbling as she walked back to the dining table, her eyes fell on a certain item. She grabbed it and rushed out the door after Lin Feng. “Hey, little fool! You forgot your keys—Fuck! I really have become your nanny!”

✹

Lin Feng arrived at the NetCow Cafe a minute after the match with Class 8 was scheduled to start. A large group of high schoolers were gathered around several computers. Lin Feng recognized some of them as his new classmates. Brushing past them, he could finally see the 10 representatives from both classes. They had rented two rows of five computers that were opposite each other. Over on Class 7’s side, Yang Fan and Ouyang were both getting ready to go into the match. Next to them sat the thief who’d snatched away his opportunity to play in this game.

“Freaking ¥80 appearance fee! I said I’d do it for free, and they still won’t let me play!” Lin Feng prattled on like a broken record.

Ouyang happened to overhear this voice and turned around. “Lin Feng, you’re here! Damn, I told you it was 7 o’clock, and you’re still late! You were almost gonna miss seeing me carry with my jungle!”

An angry female voice rang out from the crowd. “Hey, Ouyang! Focus on the damn game! We’re already in champion select!”

Catching Ren Rou’s sharp glare, Ouyang gulped and immediately turned back to face the monitor. Ren Rou then glanced at Lin Feng and instructed, “We can’t let anyone get distracted during the match. So, hush.”

“O-oh, alright.” Lin Feng obediently nodded.

Ren Rou looked at Tang Bingyao and spoke with incomparable intimacy, “Tang Bingyao, you can do it! I get to see you carrying with your ad-carry first-hand today!”

Tang Bingyao earnestly nodded. “Mhm! I won’t let the ¥80 go to waste!”

“Huh? What ¥80?” Ren Rou blurted out.

Tang Bingyao glanced over at Ouyang, who immediately broke into nervous laughter. “Ahahaha… Rou Rou, I-i’ll explain it to you later. Right right right! We should focus on the match!”

The banning phase came to an end. One by one, the 10 representatives started picking their champions. Ren Rou, Lin Feng, and the other students turned their full attention to the game.

Lin Feng looked over at Tang Bingyao. At the very least, she appeared to be taking this match seriously. Though given his first impression of her, that came as no surprise. He wondered what champion she was going to play. She was third in pick order.

A moment later, Lin Feng received his answer. Tang Bingyao moved her mouse over a champion and the corresponding champion icon appeared next to her summoner. Then, she locked him in. Draven, The Glorious Executioner!

color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);

Yang Fan snapped back to his senses. He stared at Ouyang in disbelief. “Hey, hey, Ouyang. I didn’t mishear just now, did I? Did you really say Tang Bingyao?”

Ren Rou also quickly regained her wits, her eyes narrowing into a sharp glare. “Ouyang, what are you trying to pull here?”

Lin Feng curiously interrupted, “Who’s Tang Bingyao? And what game?” But he was completely ignored.

“N-n-nothing! I’m not pulling anything! Rou Rou, think about it. Even if I had a thousand more guts, I wouldn’t dare! I’m serious!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and asked with a frown, “Does she even play League of Legends?”

Ouyang vigorously nodded. “Yeah! She’s an ad-carry main, and she’s really good! I’m not lying!”

Ren Rou’s eyes were filled with skepticism. “Really? How is it that I’ve never heard of her playing League? How did you find this out?”

“Hehe. You guys are really looking down on me here. Don’t forget, I’m the great Ouyang Decai!” Ouyang flashed a smug smile. “Anyway, when I went to the internet cafe a few days ago, I ran into her. She was playing a game of League. So, I watched her play for a bit, and you won’t believe this. She was hard carrying that match with her Jinx, getting triple kills and quadra kills everywhere! Before I knew it, the enemy nexus exploded!” Ouyang looked at everyone and paused for dramatic suspense. “I ended writing down her summoner name. Guess what rank she was.”

Ren Rou stared at Ouyang with an expressionless face. “Cut the theatrics, or do you want me to force it out of you?”

Ouyang shrunk back in fear. He obediently replied, “She’s Platinum 1 in the Ionia server!”

Yang Fan sucked in a breath of cold air. Ren Rou’s eyes went wide, disbelief plastered over her face. “You’re serious? If I find out you’re lying…!”

Ouyang pounded his chest. “I swear I’m speaking the truth. If I’m lying, may I never find a wife in this life!”

“Hmph! As if you ever could find one…” Ren Rou snorted. However, she finally started believing Ouyang. It would be a huge jackpot if they could add a Platinum 1 ad-carry to their roster. But she couldn’t help but worry. “Knowing Tang Bingyao’s personality… are you sure she’ll agree to join us?”

Ouyang pounded his chest again. “Leave it to me, Rou Rou! I’ll get it done!”

Ren Rou stared at Ouyang before reluctantly nodding. “Alright, I’ll leave it to you. Don’t screw this up! The game is tonight! If you manage to convince her to join, I’ll count it as a contribution to the class.”

✹

After Ren Rou left, Lin Feng finally found an opportunity to interject, “So, what were you guys talking about? What game?”

“Oh right! I suppose you don’t know!” Ouyang realized. “We’re having a friendly match with the class next door tonight. At the NetCow Cafe across the street.” Ouyang clenched his fist. “The honour of our class is at stake here! We have to win!”

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up. “Can I join?” Anything League related made his blood pump.

“Uh, you…?” Ouyang looked Lin Feng up and down with a skeptical gaze. “What rank are you?”

Lin Feng patted his chest with a proud look. “I’m pretty much a Challenger in the Ionia server!” If his elo back in season 1 were to be converted to a ranking today, he would be placed in Challenger, and at the very top of the leaderboards to boot. So, even though it sounded like he was bragging, he actually spoke the truth.

Ouyang immediately burst out laughing. “Haha! You really are bad at bullshitting, man. If you’re Challenger, then I’m a pro!”

Yang Fan also bursted out into laughter. “You really need to work on your bragging skills. Even if you told us you were diamond, we wouldn’t believe you.”

Lin Feng furrowed his brows. “I’m serious. I really am! If you guys don’t believe me, just let me play a round tonight, and I’ll show you.”

“Ahhh! You crafty kid! I see what game you’re playing at. Nice try.” Ouyang patted Lin Feng’s shoulder with a look of appreciation. Then, his expression turned serious. “However, this match is just too important. We can’t afford to fool around! We have to play our five best players!”

Yang Fan glanced at Ouyang. “Correct. We can’t afford to fool around. Now, back to the main topic, are you sure we can rely on Tang Bingyao?”

Ouyang’s expression soured. “Hey, I already said she was reliable. You still don’t believe me? Oh, right! Lin Feng, next break we’ll go find Tang Bingyao. We’re going to convince her to join the team.”

Lin Feng scratched his head. “Eh…? Why do you need me?”

“Enough with the whys, just come! This is about our class’ honour!” Ouyang replied.

✹

Second period was English. A dull 45 minutes later, the bell rang announcing the start of a 25-minute break. The students of Class 7 scattered into their own cliques and started chatting, some of them walking out into the hallway.

Ouyang grabbed Lin Feng by his arm and dragged him along to the front of the class. Only girls sat in this row, and aside from one lone girl, they’d all left for the ladies’ room. This lone girl sat right next to the wall, earnestly studying her English textbook.

Ouyang walked up to her with a bright smile. “Tang Bingyao, are you studying? You’re so hardworking!”

The girl raised her head and looked up at Ouyang and Lin Feng. “Do you two need something?”

Lin Feng looked at Tang Bingyao. Be it her looks or figure, she was no doubt very pretty. Her hair was neatly tied in a ponytail with her bangs flowing down in front of her forehead. But most striking of all was the unique air about her. At a glance, you could tell she approached life in earnest.

It sounded strange as it was incredibly difficult to describe things like ‘air’ and ‘temperament’ with words. But this was the feeling Lin Feng got from Tang Bingyao. She had a very unique and earnest air about her. In everything she did, from reading her textbook to talking with Ouyang, she appeared earnest. He couldn’t help but have a good impression of her.

Ouyang chuckled. “You see, it’s like this. Tonight, we’re going to play a game of League against Class 8. But we’re still missing an ad-carry. You’re a very good ad-carry, so I was hoping that you might be interested.”

Tang Bingyao thought seriously before shaking her head. “No, I’m not interested.”

Ouyang’s smile froze, which he quickly replaced with a sincere and meaningful expression. “Tang Bingyao, our class’ honour is at stake here! I saw you play League the other day at the internet cafe! You’re a Platinum 1 ad-carry on the Ionia server! With you, we will crush those guys from Class 8!”

Tang Bingyao shook her head again and flatly refused, “I’m really not interested.”

Lin Feng poked Ouyang in the side. “Hey, hey. I’m interested. How about you let me play?”

Ouyang shot Lin Feng a sharp glance. “Shush you! Stop messing things up!”

With a shake of his head, Lin Feng reluctantly closed his mouth.

Ouyang turned back to Tang Bingyao and gritted his teeth. “We’ll pay you ¥50 if you play with us!”

Tang Bingyao raised an eyebrow in surprise. She then started seriously considering the offer before finally shaking her head. She stuck out both her hands and raised eight fingers. “¥80.”

It felt like a knife slowly carving his heart out to Ouyang. He gnashed his teeth to bite away the pain. “Fine.”

Tang Bingyao cheerfully nodded. “Just tell me the time and place.”

Huh? ¥50? ¥80? Question marks filled Lin Feng’s head. However, even a dimwit like him quickly figured out what was going on. He immediately shouted in protest, “You’re paying her? Hey! I’ll play for free! Let me play!”

“I gotta say, Four Emperors and Seven Kings really does have a nice ring to it,” Ouyang excitedly droned on. “It’s perfect too since the guys in the Seven Kings are actually noticeably worse than the Four Emperors.”

“Just the name Four Emperors screams hella cool!” Ouyang clicked his tongue. “If I could become one of them, then I’d be drowning in female fans. Haha! How awesome would that be!?”

“That’s right!” Lin Feng sat up straight, his face lighting up with a brilliant smile. “If you want to achieve your dreams, you have to keep working hard for it! So what if you fail? You just have to keep getting back up! Even if it’s something as crazy as becoming the best in the world, you won’t know unless you try!”

Ouyang was caught off-guard by Lin Feng’s outburst, but his words struck a chord. “Damn, bro! Are you reading my mind? I was thinking the exact same thing!”

Lin Feng shook his fist, trembling with excitement. “Life without a dream is no better than not living at all!”

Startled, Ouyang shot Lin Feng a meaningful look and reminded him, “Hey hey hey! Keep it down! We’re still in class!”

“O-oh, right! My bad, my bad…”

The two sneakily looked over at the front of the classroom. The teacher’s back was still facing them as he wrote on the blackboard. He didn’t appear to take notice of their little outburst. Only then did they continue quietly chatting.

Ouyang said with a hint of disappointment, “Out of the Four Emperors and Seven Kings, only one of them is Chinese. That really is a bit of a letdown.” But excitement quickly returned to his face a moment later. “But it’s fine! Worlds is only a few weeks away, and the three Chinese teams are all super strong! We’ll definitely get another king! Or emperor!”

Lin Feng clenched his fist. “Right! Go China!”

“Go China!” Ouyang shook his fist.

The two idiots looked like they were about to swear an oath.

A male student a row in front of them had caught a few of their words. He turned around and asked, “Are you two talking about Worlds?”

Lin Feng stared at the male student. He had a fairly handsome face with frameless glasses that hung over the ridge of his sharp nose. He gave off a gentle and refined air that left a good impression.

“Hehe, yeah. Were we that loud?” Ouyang chuckled. He turned to Lin Feng and introduced, “This is Yang Fan. He also plays league.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lin Feng greeted.

“Lin Feng, right? Nice to meet you too.” Yang Fan politely nodded before turning his attention back to Ouyang. He pushed his glasses up with a frown and said, “Ouyang, you know, I don’t agree with what you said just now. I read a post on Tieba of people giving their analysis. Our LPL teams are too focused on the domestic scene. Simply speaking, their vision is too narrow. They’re not bothering to research the metas and tactics of the top teams in other regions. If they don’t prepare better, our chances at winning Worlds aren’t going to look so good.”

“Hey, why do you have to be so negative? Worlds hasn’t even started yet, but you’re already being pessimistic.” Ouyang knitted his brows.

Yang Fan habitually adjusted his glasses, then shook his head and explained, “I’m just giving my objective analysis.”

“Fine, whatever. You’re the most rational, most objective.” Ouyang rolled his eyes. “In any case, I have full faith that we’ll take the cup home this year! Right, Lin Feng?”

“Exactly!” Lin Feng passionately exclaimed.

Yang Fan helplessly shook his head. “You two are really like peas in a pod.”

✹

The period bell rang, signalling the end of math class. The stern-faced math teacher concluded the lesson as he picked up his textbook and teaching materials before leaving the classroom. From the start of class until the end, the three students in the back had missed everything. While the teacher was busy explaining formulas on the blackboard, they were busy discussing Worlds and their shared love for League of Legends. Both Ouyang and Yang Fan played on the Ionia server, where the former was a Gold 3 jungle main and the latter a Platinum 5 mid main. After 45 minutes of non-stop chatter, Lin Feng had struck up a friendship with both of them. They were his first friends at his new school.

“Wow, you’re pretty good,” Lin Feng sighed in admiration.

Ouyang shot Yang Fan an envious look, then exclaimed in an angry tone, “Hmph, what’s so amazing about Platinum? If it weren’t for the fact I’ve been getting crappy teammates lately, I’d be Platinum too!”

Yang Fan gave Ouyang the side eye. “But excuses don’t change anything, right? You’re still Gold 3.”

“You smug son of a bitch!”

Just as the two were about to go at it, a pleasant voice rang out, “Ouyang Decai!”

Ouyang jolted up from his seat in surprise. He raised his head in a flurry to a cute female student aggressively walking up to his desk with her hands on her hips. He immediately put on a flattering smile. “U-uhh… Rou Rou, w-what’s up? Hahaha…”

“Hmph! Who said you can call me that? You think we’re that close?” The girl swept her gaze over to Lin Feng. Her face lit up and she greeted with a smile, “Oh, if it isn’t the new transfer student! Lin Feng, right? I’m Ren Rou, the class president. Welcome to Class 7.”

Lin Feng nodded repeatedly. “Nice to meet you, Ren Rou.”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses, then quietly whispered, “Her name really doesn’t fit her temper…”

Indeed. Though her name contained “Soft (柔)”, her chilli-pepper like personality was anything but soft.

“Dare to say that again!” Ren Rou shot a death glare at Yang Fan.

“Hehehe… N-nothing. You’re the prettiest and most gentle.” Yang Fan raised his hands in surrender.

“Hmph! That’s more like it!” Ren Rou recalled her original reason for coming here and shifted her attention back to Ouyang. “We’re facing off against Class 8 tonight. Did you do what I asked you to? Do we have a team?”

“Ehh…?” Ouyang blanked.

“You’re our jungler, Yang Fan is our top laner, Wu Hai is our mid, and Sun Ming is our support. We’re missing an ad-carry. I told you a few days ago to help me find one! Did you forget?” Ren Rou reminded, looking like she was about to eat Ouyang alive.

“No no no. Rou Rou, you’re wrong… Don’t worry, I’ve already found the perfect person!”

Ren Rou withdrew her anger, but continued gazing at Ouyang with a wooden expression. “So, who is it?”

Ouyang cleared his throat, mustering up his courage, and declared, “It’s Tang Bingyao!”

Tang Bingyao? Ren Rou was stunned. Yang Fan also put on a puzzled expression. Lin Feng, who was the most lost in this conversation, scratched his head in bewilderment. Who’s that…? It sounds like a girl’s name. Also, what’s this about facing off against Class 8 tonight?

A bet was a bet. Su Xue begrudgingly headed to the kitchen and started busying herself. Even though she was an enchanting beauty, she was quite high spec in other areas too. Her skills with a knife were superb. As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, the air around her changed completely, transforming into something akin to the beloved big sister next door.

Of course, the most beloved thing for Lin Feng was the savory, steaming-hot dishes Su Xue brought over to the table half an hour later. There were braised eggplants, stir fried chicken, squash soup, and tomato and scrambled eggs just to name a few.

Lin Feng widened his eyes. “Wow, amazing!”

Su Xue proudly harrumphed. “Of course. I told you I was a Challenger cook!”

Lin Feng nodded vigorously as his hands greedily reached out to the bowl with squash soup.

After eating about half the rice, Su Xue placed down her bowl. Resting her palm under her chin, she stared in amusement at Lin Feng wolfing down her food with gusto. “Tasty, right?”

“Ryesh, bery tashty!” Lin Feng answered with his mouth full of food.

“How about you take your time and enjoy it? The food isn’t going anywhere.” Su Xue couldn’t help but break into a smile. “Hey, can I ask you something. How did you get so good at League? How long have you been playing?”

Lin Feng swallowed a mouthful of rice before replying, “Oh, I started playing way back in season one, but I took a break from it for around three years. I only recently started getting back into it again.”

“Oh, wow. You started playing in season one? You must’ve been in middle school back then, right?” Su Xue exclaimed in shock. “No wonder you’re so good. You’re a veteran!” She paused for a moment, then looked to Lin Feng with keen interest. “Hey, tell me. What do you think of my play?”

“Nothing special,” Lin Feng replied without a second thought.

“H-hey, hey, hey! You don’t need to be that blunt, alright!?” Su Xue exclaimed. Then, she slumped back down dejectedly. “But you’re right… I’m just a Gold player.”

After a moment of silence, Su Xue looked up at Lin Feng and asked curiously, “Then what rank are you? Don’t tell me you’re really a Challenger?”

Lin Feng shook his head before calmly replying, “No, I’ve never actually reached Challenger. But that’s because back when I played, Challenger didn’t exist. If I were to convert my elo back in season one to the current system, I’d be Challenger.”

“Sure, keep bragging.” Su Xue turned her lips, not really believing him.

Lin Feng scratched his head. “Really, I’m serious here. Not bragging.”

Su Xue sighed. “Damn, if I had the skills of a Challenger, how great would that be? I’d easily sweep away all those famous female streamers!”

“So, you want to become a full time streamer?”

Su Xue nodded before letting out a deep sigh. “Yeah, but things aren’t looking so hot right now. It’s going to be difficult.”

“That’s no problem. It’s good that you have a dream. As long as you persevere, you’ll succeed,” Lin Feng said.

Su Xue couldn’t help but giggle. “Thank you. Hey, what about you then, mister oh so great Challenger? With how good you are, are you planning to become a pro?”

Su Xue said this more as a joke than an honest question. There were already so many famous and godly players out there. Those who truly had what it took to become a pro could be counted on her fingers. So, it wasn’t strange she never considered that Lin Feng actually had such grand and lofty ambitions.

“Mhm. Yeah. I want to become a pro.” Lin Feng nodded seriously. Then, he clenched his fist and solemnly vowed, “I want to become the number one player in the world!”

Su Xue gasped. “Jeez! Don’t you think that’s a bit out there?”

Lin Feng lowered his head back to the bowl and shovelled some more food into his mouth. He then raised his head back up again and said, “I don’t think so. Any pro should strive to be the best, or else what’s the difference between them and anyone else?”

✹

The next day, the 9th of September, the first day of the new school year. Lin Feng had already woken up and gotten dressed while Su Xue was still fast asleep in her room. He grabbed his bag and headed off to Shanghai High School 13. He wanted to get there a little early and get the lay of the land before he started, since he was a transfer student.

Once Lin Feng arrived at the school, he wandered around until he finally found the office of the Head Teacher. It took him a little bit longer than he’d expected. The Head Teacher gave Lin Feng a small orientation and then guided him to the classroom he’d be spending the next year in before handing him off to the homeroom teacher for Senior Class 7. The homeroom teacher beckoned Lin Feng inside the classroom and asked him to briefly introduce himself to his new classmates. This was met with a smattering of politely welcoming applause.

“Right. Lin Feng, is it? Welcome. Hm. A bit late to swap around seats again. How about you just find an empty seat and sit…” The homeroom teacher scanned the room quickly and pointed at the corner desk in the fourth row, at the back of the classroom, “… that one should be good.” The only other student in that row was a guy who had the desk next to the empty one the teacher was pointing at. Lin Feng nodded, walked over to his desk with his bag in hand, and sat down.

Before long, the first lesson of the day began, which happened to be mathematics, and the students of Class 7 returned to their regular drowsy selves. What was the most boring subject in high school? More than two thirds of students wouldn’t hesitate to cast their ballot for mathematics.

Lin Feng earnestly paid attention in the beginning, but he quickly noticed his neighbour one desk over secretly fiddling around with something. He curiously glanced over. His deskmate was secretly looking at his iPhone, browsing some kind of webpage. It looked like a Baidu page about the season 5 world championship for League of Legends.

Oh, right. Worlds is soon. Lin Feng had read the announcement from Riot Games before falling asleep last night. It would officially begin on National Day, the 1st of October, exactly 22 days from today. All of the professional League of Legends players from around the world would gather to compete in the most hyped esports tournament of the year. First, they’d play through the best of a double round-robin group stage. The top two teams from each group would advance to the single elimination knockout bracket until it culminated in a thrilling final round between the top two teams, where a new world champion would be crowned. The whole thing was a grand spectacle, one that set hearts on fire and pounding with excitement.

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up, but then he quickly realized something as a trace of regret surfaced on his face. Even that was fleeting as his expression returned to normal.

At this moment, the deskmate sensed someone’s gaze on him. Startled, he quickly shoved his phone into his desk and whipped his head around.

Lin Feng cracked a friendly smile. “Ah, hello!”

“Oh! It’s you! I thought you were the teacher… Damn, you nearly scared the piss out of me!” The student breathed a sigh of relief, a trace of fear still lingering on his face. He took his phone back out, but held it carefully low so the teacher wouldn’t notice it. He cast a side glance at Lin Feng. “Hey dude. What’s your name?”

“Lin Feng.”

“Hehehe. Right right right! I remember now. Lin Feng, I’m Ouyang Decai. Just call me Ouyang.”

“Oh wow. Your family must really want you make it big and get rich…”[mfn]Ouyang’s first name Decai (得财) means obtaining riches. So, Lin Feng references that.[/mfn] Lin Feng quietly exclaimed.

Ouyang helplessly curled his lips and sighed. “It can’t be helped. What more can you expect from parents obsessed with running their business? I’m just thanking the heavens they didn’t name me Ouyang Moneybags…”

Lin Feng chuckled at his amusing deskmate. He then switched the topic back to before and asked, “What were you looking at? Something about worlds?”

“Yeah!” Ouyang’s eyes lit up. “You also play League? Only a few more weeks until Worlds! Exciting, right? Best of all, it starts on National Day, so we have no school! I’m definitely going to stay up all night to watch it! I was just looking at this post on Tieba. It was talking about the line-up. Supposedly, it’s the best yet! The three teams that qualified in the LPL are amazing! But I heard the teams from the other regions are also really strong!”

His excitement reaching a crescendo, Ouyang added, “Oh right, you know about the Four Emperors and Seven Kings, right? Nine out of eleven of them will be in Worlds this year!”

Lin Feng scratched his head. “Errm… Yeah, I’ve heard a bit.”

The Four Emperors and Seven Kings, better known as the “Yonko” and “Shichibukai”, was a reference taken straight out of the popular Japanese series “One Piece”. Specifically in this context, it referred to the 11 best professional League of Legends players in the world. They were voted on by the fans for their fame and skill. Of course, this ranking wasn’t official, but a community endeavor.

Among the Seven Kings, there were two players from Europe, two from Korea, one from North America, one from Taiwan, and one from China. As for the Four Emperors, who ranked above the Seven Kings, two were from Korea, one from North America, one from Europe, and… none from China.

This kind of naming sense reeked of eighth-grader syndrome, but Lin Feng didn’t mind. In fact, he was quite fond of it. Back in season 1, there was a similar ranking in the global esports circle, though it went by a different name and had different players on it; most of the players of today had yet to touch the game back then.

On the old list, there were 10 professional players that were lauded as standing at the very apex. However, there was one title that stood far above the rest and left the deepest impression on everyone. Sovereign. The Sovereign of the League of Legends competitive scene.

Recalling these memories from what felt like a lifetime ago, Lin Feng lowered his head, allowing his messy bangs to drape over his eyes and cover his face. In the past, he’d been infinitely close to obtaining that supreme honor. However, he faltered at the very last step