When Lin Feng had first shown up at her door and claimed to be a Challenger on the Ionia Server, Su Xue did not believe him. She could still recall that evening when Lin Feng joined her on her stream for the very first time. Of course I didn’t believe him back then! Why would I? Who would’ve believed a claim like that from some strange kid who appeared out of nowhere with the Landlady? I thought he was just trying to look cool in front of me! ‘I’m a Challenger on the Ionia Server, Su Xue!’ ‘I’m really good at League of Legends, Su Xue!’ It was too much of a stretch to be true! But since then… well, he was way better at League than I was at the time. I figured he was just good at the game, but I still didn’t believe everything he claimed about his past! But in the weeks and months that followed… Hm. I guess I always knew that there was something mysterious about Lin Feng.

As Su Xue spent more and more time with Lin Feng, she started to pick up on little details that just didn’t make sense, and she started to think there was more to Lin Feng than she knew. But Lin Feng never appeared to be more than the average high school kid most of the time, and Su Xue wasn’t the kind of person who stuck her nose into other people’s business when they didn’t want it. Besides, she was content with her relationship with Lin Feng and didn’t want to jeopardise that. He’d gone from an unwanted roommate to an unwanted nuisance to her little brother, and she cherished her time with him. Even if he did drive her crazy in one way or another every single day. 

On top of all of that, her streaming career was taking off and that took most of her time and energy. So even when she had noticed the small hints that there was something mysterious and strange about Lin Feng, she never bothered asking about it. 

And now, she was kicking herself mentally for being so passive. I can’t pretend there isn’t something strange going on with Lin Feng anymore, and I need to know the truth! It’s odd that he’s this good at League of Legends, there’s no getting around that. His skills are at an absurdly high level, way beyond any normal high school kid. Even his whole ‘I’m a Challenger on the Ionia Server’ thing doesn’t make sense. Now that I think about it, that’s not even that rare. There’s plenty of high schoolers across China who are at Diamond 1, Master, and Challenger rank. There’s thousands of them! But Lin Feng… he’s not just a regular Challenger player.

There’s no way that a normal high schooler who is normally good at League of Legends can play and win through the Finals of Collegiate Cup, and then go on to climb into the Top 5 on the Korean Challenger Ladder in the same day! And let’s not forget that Lin Feng did that by beating Orion, a top Korean professional player, in his last game of the night! That’s not something that a high school kid can do! Even in the LPL, there’s only a few professional players that can pull something like that off. So who exactly is Lin Feng?

Su Xue’s head started spinning as she tried to put together all the facts that she’d learned about Lin Feng during their time together into a picture that made complete sense. She’d completely forgotten about the game she was playing, and didn’t even notice that she was being zoned out of the lane completely. Pings from her teammates went completely ignored, and she was completely unaware of the discussion about forfeiting the game that was taking place in her team’s chat. 

Su Xue’s mind was focused on other parts of Lin Feng’s life right now. There’s also the fact that he knows so many people in the Chinese Esports scene. Even Chu Fang, the Vice President of the Shanghai Esports Association, knew who he was and they have a tight relationship. Oh! OH! He also knows the new Midlaner for Team Rapids! The one that just came back from retirement. AyDeeCee! How does an ordinary high school player get to know people like that? And Lin Feng doesn’t just know them, they’re close to him. All of them know Lin Feng, but not the Lin Feng I know. They have a history with him. 

This wasn’t the first time that Su Xue thought about Lin Feng’s past and wondered about his identity. There were days when she started to feel herself believing his loud claims that he was a former professional player. But then Lin Feng would act like Lin Feng, and she’d laugh at herself for being silly and dismiss the whole thing from her mind. No matter how many times Su Xue thought about it, there was just no way that it was possible. But she thought about it again right now. Maybe he really was a professional player…? Wait! NO! Lin Feng is in his third and final year of high school. If he really was a pro, when did he start playing? When he was in his first year? Or his second year? There’s no way that he’d be this unknown if he was a pro a couple of years ago. Forget me hearing about him, someone in my stream chat would’ve known who he was and the rest of the chat would’ve picked up on that and put it on blast! The only way he could’ve been a pro and be unknown today is if he started playing in middle school, and that’s just not possible. There’s no way. But… what else explains everything about Lin Feng? Was he really a professional player? Was this kid telling me the truth the whole time, and I refused to believe him…? 

As her team’s Nexus exploded, Su Xue was starting to doubt everything that she considered true about Lin Feng. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn’t even notice the Defeat that splashed across her screen.

Su Xue decided the game she had just lost was going to be her last game of the night. It was starting to get late, and she wasn’t in the right headspace to continue playing anyway. Su Xue shared a few parting words with her viewers, bid them a good night and then ended her stream. It turned out to be perfect timing too, because the delivery guy arrived at her door right as she stopped streaming for the night. 

Su Xue got up from her computer and went to the door to grab the food. She took it over to the dining table, where Lin Feng was already waiting, and unpacked it. Then the two of them sat down for their late night snack. Lin Feng started wolfing down his chicken cutlet the instant it was within range of his mouth. 

Su Xue watched him tear apart the cutlet and smiled, but her thoughts remained in chaos. She slowly walked to her seat at the dining table, across from Lin Feng, and sat down. She started nibbling at her food, very slowly. She honestly had no interest in eating. But every few bits of food, she looked up from her plate to quickly glance at Lin Feng, and then looked back down. Lin Feng was too absorbed in his food to notice any of these glances or looks. He didn’t even notice that Su Xue wasn’t eating. Which is something that Su Xue did notice. She gave Lin Feng around 5 minutes to realise something was up and ask her about it, and gave up when it became clear that he wasn’t going to look up from his chicken cutlet long enough to see that she had something she wanted to say to him. Su Xue cleared her throat and asked, “Lin Feng?”

Lin Feng’s attention was still completely on his chicken cutlet, and he didn’t even look up as he replied, “Yeah?”

Su Xue took a few seconds to gather her thoughts and decided to plunge into what was bothering her, “The account you were playing with on the Korean Server, CN•HOOK2. You said someone gave that account to you, right?”

“Yeah,” Lin Feng answered, food in his mouth.

“So I’ve been wondering… well, what I mean is do you mind if I ask… who gave you the account?” Su Xue carefully asked.

“Oh!” Lin Feng finally looked up from his food and replied, “He’s someone I really respect and admire!”

Su Xue took a deep breath and fought the urge to facepalm. Of course he’s someone you really respect and admire! EVERYONE in China respects and admires him! You’re being stupid, Su Xue! What did you expect out of Lin Feng when you asked him such a vague question? You need to get to the point. This is Lin Feng, he’s not going to mind. You just need to ask him a straight question and he’ll answer like a normal person. She composed herself and gathered her courage before asking, “… and that someone. Well… is his name One?”

“Yeah!” Lin Feng replied right away, not hiding anything.

But that answer made Su Xue’s heart stop for a few beats, and she felt a weight settle on her chest. She literally did not know how to react after having all her suspicions confirmed. I knew it! I was right, it really is him! It really is THE One! Oh my god! Everything I read online was completely true. I don’t know what to say. Lin Feng knows One! He was playing on One’s account! Wait… Lin Feng was playing on One’s account… Why would One give Lin Feng his account? Why would he ask Lin Feng to do something so obviously impossible?

“Lin Feng… so, you and One… you two know each other…?” Su Xue asked.

“Of course!” Lin Feng looked at Su Xue, puzzled as to why she needed to ask such a dumb question.

Su Xue’s cheeks flushed red, but she gnashed her teeth and suppressed her nervousness and embarrassment. She finally asked the important question, “So, when you told me you used to be a pro, you weren’t lying?”

Lin Feng opened his mouth and took another big bite of his chicken cutlet, but the piece was still hot. So, he breathed out and replied, “No, I’m not lying. Didn’t I say that before? Just search up the name Maple. I was really popular back then!”

Lin Feng, as always, was completely oblivious to how shocking the information he’d casually thrown at Su Xue was considered. What he’d just said would have made the heads of every old League of Legends fan and player across China explode. It had been a long time since Maple and One held the limelight, and esports were not as popular back then as they were today. But the real gamers all knew the lore, and all of them would’ve killed to be sitting where Su Xue was sitting right now. But none of that factored into Lin Feng’s mind. To him, this was boring and obvious. Something of little consequence or value, like he was telling Su Xue how he’d gotten a C on a test. 

It was so nonchalant that Su Xue had no choice but to nod along and mutter, “Oh! Okay, alright. I’ll just go… and read up about Maple. Got it…”

Su Xue was still too stunned to think clearly. But a few seconds later, the gears in her mind started spinning again. Su Xue’s eyes popped wide open as she finally remembered. Maple… I’ve heard that name before. WAIT! MAPLE!? Su Xue rocked back and forth in her chair and covered her ears with her hands, like a bomb had just gone off in her mind. Her eyes started to roll and the room was spinning. She screamed out, “YOU’RE THE MAPLE!?”

Su Xue had only started playing League of Legends last season; right before Lin Feng showed up at her doorstep. At the time, she didn’t know much about the lore of League Esports. When Lin Feng had first mentioned that he used to be Maple, she didn’t know that name or what it meant. But when she started looking into the name CN•HOOK2, she found an article that also mentioned Maple.

The article was about the greatest players of all time in Chinese esports history. Obviously, One was extensively mentioned in the article, and that was where Su Xue found out that he also used to play on the alternate account CN•HOOK2 while abroad. The writer of the article concluded One’s section by stating that One was a player who defined an entire era in esports history.

Su Xue continued reading the article to learn about the other players who built the foundation of esports in China. That was where she found a section on Maple. The writer spoke about how Maple was the most likely player to lead the future generation of Chinese esports, and how he was One’s successor. Then he went on to list all of Maple’s achievements, none of which were insignificant. The article spoke about how Maple was the number one Midlaner in all of China and the team captain for the only Chinese team that qualified for the Season 1 World Championships. Then it went into detail about how Maple triumphed over many strong European and North American teams at Worlds. There was a paragraph about how Maple managed to utterly defeat Phoenix, who was undefeated until that match. And then the article went on and on about how Maple went toe-to-toe with Rake and took him all the way to Game 5 in the Grand Finals of the Season 1 World Championships. 

According to the writer, Maple was a rising prodigy in League of Legends and one of the best players in the world. It also said that Maple was clearly the only player who could present a clear challenge to Rake, and possibly topple him from his throne.

Su Xue’s mouth popped open and she let out a soundless scream as all of the information about Maple flooded back into her mind. The dining room really did start spinning and she struggled to catch her breath. MAPLE! HE’S THE MAPLE! I thought he was just a pro player… but Maple!? This is Lin Feng… but he’s also Maple! I’m sitting across a table eating chicken cutlet with the best player in China and one of the best players in the entire world! How can this be real? How is he so calm about this? How was I so stupid that I never realized who he was all these months? 

While Su Xue sat there completely stunned speechless by everything she’d just learned, Lin Feng finished the rest of his chicken cutlet. He didn’t even notice that there was something wrong with Su Xue’s mental state. He calmly wiped his mouth and stood up and stretched. Then he yawned and rubbed his face. He was busy rubbing his eyes when he said, “Su Xue, I’m still a little tired from yesterday. I’m gonna go back to bed now. Good night! Thanks for the chicken cutlet! I really needed that. You’re the best!”

Lin Feng turned around and headed upstairs back to his own room, still completely unaware of the effect that his revelation had on Su Xue. 

“H-huh? Bed, oh, uh… Alright.. Sleep tight,” Su Xue muttered. She was still dazed as Lin Feng walked out of the dining room. Su Xue stared at his back with a blank expression on her face. Her mind struggled to process everything she’d just learned about Lin Feng. She simply couldn’t believe that Lin Feng, the boy that she’d come to adore as a little brother, was Maple. Her heart was tearing itself with all the emotions pounding through her. 

After several very long minutes, Su Xue finally got up from the dining table and walked into her bedroom. She fell into her bed and tried to sleep, but she had too much on her mind. She tossed and turned the entire night, sleep completely eluding her.

After falling asleep on the sofa, Lin Feng didn’t stir for the rest of the day. Afternoon turned to evening and evening turned to night, but Lin Feng continued to sleep. Finally, he woke up late into the night from the sound of his stomach grumbling.

Lin Feng rubbed his face and opened his eyes. Before he could wonder why he’d been asleep on the sofa or why he was hugging a cushion, his stomach clenched and growled. Any and all thoughts swirling around in Lin Feng’s mind were completely obliterated by the pangs of hanger. He rubbed his stomach and frowned. I’m hungry. Yup. Definitely hungry. I remember… lunch. In Beijing! Well, it was sort of lunch. I was so tired that I don’t remember what I ate, but I didn’t eat much. Never thought the day would come around when I’d be too tired to eat, but here we are. Lin Feng glanced out the window at the darkness beyond. It was night in Shanghai. I guess I slept through dinner after we got home too…

Lin Feng sat up on the sofa and started to wake himself up fully. He rolled his shoulders, they were still tight and sore. All those games last night really did wear me out mentally and physically. I haven’t felt this drained in years! His stomach growled again, this time louder and with greater intensity. All those games drained my stomach too. I’m starving! I’m so hungry I could eat an entire horse. Not that there are any horses in Shanghai… I wonder if horses taste good? Lin Feng’s stomach rumbled again in protest. Right. Forget horses. You need food right now, Lin Feng. And you know what food would be best right now? Chicken cutlet!

Just the thought of his favorite chicken cutlets was enough to jolt Lin Feng completely awake and jumpstart his digestive system. Yum! Yum! Yum! Yum! Chicken cutlets… Lin Feng started drooling from the images of chicken cutlets floating through his mind. He jumped up from the sofa and stretched out, and walked towards Su Xue’s room. Once he got to her door, he could see the lights in her room streaming out from under the door. Lin Feng opened the door a little bit and poked his head in to see what she was doing. Su Xue was sitting at her computer. That was enough for Lin Feng to start yelling. “Su Xuuuueeeeeeeeee!”

Su Xue was at her computer, streaming. More specifically, she was in the middle of playing a ranked game and completely focused. When Lin Feng started screaming her name, it startled her enough to make her jump in her chair. But she quickly composed herself and turned around to glance at him. “Oh! You’re finally awake?”

Lin Feng pushed the door completely open while nodding. Then, he walked into the room and pulled up a chair next to Su Xue. That put him squarely inside the webcam’s frame and onto the screens of the viewers on the stream. And when the viewers on Su Xue’s stream saw Lin Feng, they erupted with excitement!

「its lil broooooooooo!」
「Lil’ Bro Feng! We missed you!」
「welcome baaaaaaaaaaack! You clap that Beijing booty>>>>?」

Lin Feng waved at all the viewers in the chat and gave them a wide smile. Then he turned to face Su Xue and said, “I’m so hungry, Su Xue… please… I need food.”

Su Xue rolled her eyes at him. “Oh? You’re hungry? What a surprise! No shit you’re hungry. What did you think was going to happen when you slept past dinner? I tried to wake you up too! I yelled and told you to come to dinner so many times and you refused to wake up! Now you’re sitting here telling me you’re hungry like it’s something completely unexpected. Obviously, you’re hungry. It’d be weird if you weren’t hungry. What is it that you want me to do about it?” Su Xue held Lin Feng’s eyes with annoyance written across her face. Lin Feng slowly started wilting, withering away to a pitiable state from the hunger that racked his body. Su Xue saw him suffering, and her expression softened along with her voice. “Alright, alright. You’re hungry, but there’s no food in the house right now. I’ll order some takeout for you, how about that?”

Lin Feng nodded slowly while clutching his stomach. Su Xue started to giggle, but quickly tamped it down before he could notice. She had just started a new game and was currently in Champion Select, waiting for the other players to pick their champions, so she had more than enough time. Su Xue grabbed her phone and started ordering food through a delivery app. While she did that, Lin Feng started talking to the viewers on the stream.

Lin Feng had not been seen on stream very frequently these days because of all the games involved in the Collegiate Cup, along with Team Shanghai’s practice sessions and his exams at school. They hadn’t seen him at all over the past few days when he was in Beijing for the Finals of the Collegiate Cup. Now that he was finally back and on stream again, the viewers were ecstatic to have their old friend back. 

「Li’l bro! You finally done with the collegiate cup now?」
「i caught the stream yesterday! You’re the champion! Congratulations!!!」
「6666666666!」
「aweeeeeeeesssssoooome!」
「hahaha! we always knew you were going to win!」
「Nobody can beat our lil bro!」
「u stomped on them so hard!」
「congratttttttssssssssss!」
「WIN FENG! WING FENG! WIN FENGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!」

Lin Feng scratched his head as he read through all the messages. What are these guys talking about? The Collegiate Cup? Oh! Right! That was yesterday! I completely forgot about playing in the Finals and winning! I was so caught up in trying to live up to the promise I made One that I completely forgot about the Collegiate Cup and winning. If I’m being honest here… compared to the games on the Korean server, the Collegiate Cup was a piece of cake. Mmmm… I could eat some cake right now. Cake would be so good!

Su Xue finished ordering the food and put her phone down just in time to see the conversation taking place in her chat. She smirked and smugly said, “Oh? All of you are getting worked up about the fact that Lin Feng won the Collegiate Cup? I guess that’s pretty cool, if you’re impressed by something that small. But you guys don’t know the half of it. If you had any idea what your little bro did after winning the Collegiate Cup, you’d lose your mi—” Su Xue stopped talking mid-sentence and looked at the chat to make sure no one heard what she was almost about to leak. Ohthankgod! They’re all so busy fawning over Lin Feng that none of them paid any attention to what I was about to say! Su Xue exhaled as pure relief washed over her. 

I definitely cannot let that slip again. If anyone found out that Lin Feng was CN•HOOK2… it would blow minds across China! My viewers would get lost in the avalanche of attention that would follow something like this leaking out! 

Since they were just waiting for the food to be delivered, Su Xue decided to continue the ranked game she was now playing. But the viewers on her stream had no interest in her gameplay at all. They were all focused on Lin Feng and talking to him about the Collegiate Cup and what was going on in the League scene. And before long, the conversation turned to CN•HOOK2 and his climb up the Korean Challenger Ladder last night. 

「maaaan, that hook2 is a god!」
「Did you see any his games on stream last night li’l bro?」
「LIN FENG! THERE’S HIGHLIGHTS ON THE FORUMS TOO!」
「I wonder where he came from??? 」
「I can’t believe someone came out of nowhere and went even with Orion!!」
「evenm my ass, he fucking whooped orion’s ass!」
「yeah, those yasuo mechanics were freaking next level!」
「lil bro tell us your thoughts!」
「yeah! whatchu think of him lil bro???」
「who is he lin feng///////?」
「spillll the deeeets!!」

Lin Feng smiled ear to ear as he read the chat. Then he started talking back, “Yeah, I heard! Hook2 is pretty amazing, isn’t he? Pulling win-streaks at the top of Korean Challenger… that’s really something. And yeah! His Yasuo was god-like in his last game against Orion. You guys think my Yasuo is just as good? But Hook2… that guy really is the best, isn’t he?” Lin Feng’s smile somehow managed to grow larger and beam more as he talked to the stream chat about CN•HOOK2. But he never gave anything away. For all intents and purposes, Lin Feng maintained a straight face through the entire conversation, except for a twinkle in his eyes that the webcam couldn’t capture.

Su Xue looked away from her game for a moment and at Lin Feng while he was attempting to pull off the performance of a lifetime for her viewers. She rolled her eyes. This… I don’t even know what to say. How much of a narcissist is this kid? Seriously, how thick is his skin? He’s sitting there complimenting himself without batting an eyelid or showing an ounce of shame! I have no words. None!

Su Xue jumped back into her game, but she continued to think about Lin Feng. I gotta admit that his last game of the night was amazing though. Especially when he went up against Orion alone and won! I got goosebumps when I was watching it alone last night. And when he finally won that last game and climbed into the Top 5… I had tears in my eyes. 

As she thought about everything she felt last night, Su Xue blushed a little from embarrassment. She stole another glance at Lin Feng. If I didn’t know this little shi— if I didn’t know Lin Feng was CN•HOOK2, I’d be right there with stream chat talking about how amazing Hook2 is and telling Lin Feng that I was one of Hook2’s die hard fans after last night…

Still… Mixed emotions ran through Su Xue’s eyes and mind. I know Lin Feng is CN•HOOK2, and I know a lot more about this situation than all of those people online. I talked to him about the CN•HOOK2 account, and he mentioned that it wasn’t his. He told me that someone gave it to him. That made me curious so I started looking into the name… I don’t even know what to think about what I found. Should I ask Lin Feng about it? 

The name CN•HOOK2 initially meant nothing to Su Xue. She knew almost nothing about the Chinese esports scene before she started playing League of Legends, and was still learning about the entire history. League of Legends was the first MOBA that Su Xue had ever played, so she knew next to nothing about the other games and the esports scene surrounding them. But when Lin Feng told her that someone gave him the account, she grew curious and started investigating through the internet. What she found rocked her mind and shattered everything she thought she knew about Lin Feng. Even someone as brand new to esports and competitive gaming as Su Xue had heard of the legendary player One and his accomplishments. It was impossible not to hear of that name in China, not after the unforgettable mark he’d left on the history of global esports. 

CN•HOOK2 belongs to One! And he gave his account to Lin Feng! What does that mean? How does Lin Feng know One? And if One is close enough to Lin Feng to give him an account… how close are they? Su Xue’s thoughts grew chaotic and her gameplay turned sloppy and unfocused. But she didn’t notice. She couldn’t think about the game because there was a single question screaming around in her mind. 

Who exactly is Lin Feng?

 Hey guys! So we’ve done something like this in bits and pieces in the past before with screenshots and text that’s copied over, but we’ve never actually shown you guys what a line-by-line production looks like for a chapter of Rise. There’s been a few reasons for that, but the biggest reason by far is because its actually super-irritatingly-annoyingly difficult to do. In order to make a line level comparison easy to read and distinguish, there’s a lot of sequence level things that have to be left completely intact. It also puts limits on how much we can expand and flesh out a scene, not to mention how we build the imagery. Doing all of that while still putting out a chapter at our quality standard was not even a little fun. But we thought it was important for you guys to actually see how this process works. 

Everything that you see in block quotes is the original translation of the novel. What follows after is what that line looks like after it’s been edited. Just for reference and record purposes, this is a relatively lower effort chapter. That’s half because of the content of the chapter, and half because I needed to edit this in a way that keeps it very constrained to the original. Oh, and because its needless effort for you guys to figure this out, the original translated chapter started at 1269 words and the edited and published version ended at 3074 words. 

This’ll let you guys see what a chapter starts out like and where it ends for an entire chapter of Rise, and give you an idea of what goes into our production process. Once you’re done glancing through it, head on over to the Translator Thoughts for why we did this whole thing. 

-Devshard

Almost as soon as Lin Feng finished playing the last game, he completely passed out.. He didn’t even remember how he ended up in bed, only a vague recollection of someone dragging his body from the chair to bed. They even helped him wash his face and tucked him in.

Afterwards, Lin Feng fell into a deep sleep.

CN•HOOK2’s electrifying climb was a constant drip of adrenaline into most players in China and Korea. But while they obsessed over all of the games and the mystery surrounding CN•HOOK2’s identity, the player behind the account was completely unaware of the waves he’d generated. Lin Feng had passed out as soon as his final game of the night ended. He didn’t even have time to check the Korean ranked ladder to find out where he ended. All he knew was that he’d completed the task that One set out for him, and that was all that mattered. Lin Feng didn’t even remember how he ended up in bed. All he had were foggy, distorted, non-linear memories of someone dragging him from the chair he was in to the bed. He remembered a wet cloth wiping his face, and the sensation of being tucked in. And then after that, he had nothing. He was out like a light, deep asleep, his mind and body completely worn out by the stress of the day.  

The next day, Lin Feng slept all the way until lunch, but he was still groggy at the dining table.

Lin Feng looked completely lifeless. His hands were sluggish as he picked up food with his chopsticks, and he was also chewing slowly too. It was almost as if his every action was in slow motion.

And he continued to sleep well into the next day. Lin Feng’s stupor was only broken at lunch time, when An Xin managed to get him awake enough to drag him to the table to eat. But he was barely there and functioning on autopilot. The Lin Feng from yesterday and the Lin Feng at the table today were two very different people. Today’s Lin Feng was completely lifeless and didn’t even notice the food he was eating. Or that he was eating. That in itself was the most usual thing, because there were very few things that Lin Feng loved more than food. His chopsticks moved in slow motion between the food in front of him and his mouth. And he was clumsy with them. Some of the food fell back into his bowl, but Lin Feng never even noticed. Whatever food did make it into his mouth, he slowly chewed and swallowed without any indication that he’d noticed how it tasted. 

Zhan Hao initially wanted to congratulate Lin Feng on his accomplishments. When he saw how tired Lin Feng was, he was completely dumbstruck. “Y-you doing okay, Lin Feng?”

Zhang Hao had been waiting in a state of constant, unrequited excitement for Lin Feng to finally wake up. He wanted to congratulate his friend and celebrate with him, especially since this was a once in a lifetime event. Zhang Hao had played on the team that had won the Collegiate Cup, and then his teammate had gone up against some of the best League players in Korea that very night and come out on top. The excitement pounding in his veins and the vague ideas of how to properly cherish this moment rendered him nearly incoherent. And he’d been waiting all morning for Lin Feng to wake up and turn all of those vague ideas into reality. But when Lin Feng finally did wake up and came down to lunch, reality turned out to be a splash of ice-cold water on Zhang Hao’s head. What happened to him last night? He doesn’t even look like he’s alive! I said good night to Lin Feng after the Collegiate Cup ended, and now I’m looking at Zombie Feng trying to eat like a human! What does a person have to go through in a single night to turn into… whatever this is?

Zhang Hao tried to get a grip on his shock as he noticed how tired and broken Lin Feng looked that afternoon. All plans of partying had been completely dashed. He didn’t even know what to say, rendered completely speechless by the turn of events and the clash between expectation and reality. When Zhang Has finally did manage to form words, all he could say was, “Lin Feng… Y-you alright there? Are you still alive? Please be alive!”

Zeng Rui glanced up at Lin Feng, then turned his attention back to his bowl as he remarked, “He overworked himself, and now he’s exhausted.”

It was no surprise. Lin Feng had spent the whole afternoon yesterday playing in the Collegiate Cup finals. Then he spent the rest of the day playing 16 ranked games in a row deep into the night. Any other person would’ve probably slept in until the next day.

There was enough concern and distress in Zhang Hao’s voice that it forced Zeng Rui to glance up at Lin Feng. He frowned and shook his head from side to side once before looking back down at his bowl. But before he resumed eating, Zeng Rui flatly stated, “He’s still alive. There’s nothing wrong with him. Lin Feng pushed and overworked himself to an extreme degree, and now he’s completely exhausted. He’ll be fine in a few days.” 

With those words out of the way, Zeng Rui started eating again. But he continued the conversation with himself in his mind. It really isn’t surprising that Lin Feng is exhausted. He spent yesterday playing in the Finals of the Collegiate Cup and then the rest of the night playing ranked game after ranked game against skilled opponents. No. Not just skilled opponents. He played game after game against opponents who constantly grew more cautious and wary of him with every single game. I don’t know why Zhang Hao is so shocked that Lin Feng is tired right now. After something like that, any other person would sleep for a day or two. 

What is surprising is how well he did in that state. I’ve always known that Lin Feng is a monster. But this much of a monster…?

Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng in concern. She carefully offered him her mango juice and said, “Do you want to try drinking this? It’s full of sugar. It should wake you right up.” 

Sadly, even after drinking the whole glass, it had little effect on Lin Feng. He still looked like he could barely keep his eyes open.

Tang Bingyao, on the other hand, continued to watch Lin Feng with concern. She decided to do something to help Lin Feng out, and offered him her mango juice. “Lin Feng… Lin Feng! You want to try some of this? It’s mango juice and it’s got a lot of sugar. It’ll give you energy and wake you right up! Mhm!”

Lin Feng stared at her with dead, unfocused eyes. Unwilling to give up, Tang Bingyao carefully held out her glass to him and moved the straw into his mouth. Lin Feng gulped the whole glass down, and continued to pull on the straw after it was all gone. Unfortunately, the mango juice was not very effective for Lin Feng’s current situation. His eyes continued to droop shut and completely shut as he continued to try to drink from the empty glass. 

An Xin shook her head. “It’s fine. Leave him. We’ll let him get some more rest when we get on the plane. This idiot… he really pushed himself too hard last night.”

An Xin laughed at what was going on in front of her and shook her head. “It’s fine. Let’s leave him alone for now. We’ll let him get some more rest once we’re on the plane. This idiot… he tried to exceed his own limitations or whatever last night. Ended up pushing himself too hard and now he can’t function anymore. He really just needs to sleep it off.” Then she helped Tang Bingyao pull her glass away from the still sleep-gulping Lin Feng. 

Chu Fag’s gaze fell on Lin Feng, his eyes brimming with admiration. “Still, all that hard work paid off!” He was one of the first people to learn that CN•HOOK2 had entered the top of Korean Challenger last night, ending at Rank 5.

This was a shocking achievement!

It wasn’t something that could be accomplished with hard work alone either. Chu Fang could hardly remember the last time since a Chinese player  had gotten into the top five of Korean Challenger!

The Collegiate Cup Championship, and top five in Korean Challenger. 

Everything had come to a perfect conclusion!

All that was left was to return home!

Over on the other side of the table, Chu Fag look at Lin Feng with complete admiration. He was one of the first few people who had learned that CN•HOOK2 climb through Korean Challenger ended at Rank 5. He reached over to pat Lin Feng on the back and said, “He really did manage to exceed his limitations. All that hard work… It was completely worth it! Did any of you ever imagine that you’d be sitting here with someone who managed to make it into the Top 5 on the Korean server? I don’t know how Lin Feng pulled it off, but he’s finally brought some hope to Chinese League of Legends!” 

Chu Fang continued to look at Lin Feng with a mixture of fondness, admiration, gratitude, astonishment and hope in his eyes. All that hard work… What Lin Feng did last night, that’s not something that could’ve been accomplished with hard work alone. I can’t even count how many players from China, from talented younglings to professional players, have attempted to break through Korea’s ceiling. I can’t recall the last time someone from China managed to do this either! This boy… he managed to win the Collegiate Cup Championship and got ranked 5th out of all the Challenger-level players on the Korean server in a single day! I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect conclusion for all of this. Now we go home as champions!

✹

On the plane, Lin Feng was out like a light the moment he sat down in his seat.

After they finished lunch, everyone from Team Shanghai gathered their belongings and piled into cars to go to the airport. Lin Feng fell asleep the second he got into the taxi and slept all the way to the airport. Then he fell asleep again as they waited to board their plane. And once they had finally gotten onto the plane, Lin Feng fell into a deep sleep the second he was plopped down onto his seat. 

For the rest of Team Shanghai, this was the most stressful trip they’d taken thus far. Getting Lin Feng from the car all the way into the plane required coordination and planning from every member of Team Shanghai, with at least two of them constantly supporting and leading Lin Feng all the way to his seat. Every time Lin Feng fell asleep along the way, it was more and more difficult to wake him up for the next part. But somehow, they’d finally made it onto the plane with Lin Feng, and now they could relax. 

The flight from Beijing to Shanghai was about two and half hours long. When the plane descended on Pudong Airport, it took the efforts of several people to shake Lin Feng awake. Then, with An Xin and Tang Bingyao supporting him, they disembarked from the plane.

The flight from Beijing to Shanghai took two and half hours, and Lin Feng was asleep for all of it. When the plane finally landed at Pudong Airport, Team Shanghai’s brief respite ended. It took almost all of them to shake Lin Feng awake and pull him up from his seat. Then Zeng Rui and Zhang Hao cleared the way ahead while An Xin and Tang Bingyao supported and pulled Lin Feng down the aisle and off the plane. It took significantly longer than any of them had planned, and was accomplished with considerable difficulty. But they eventually did get Lin Feng off the plane and out of the airport.

Outside the airport, the members of the team bid each other farewell and took separate cabs home. Tang Bingyao and Lin Feng were going in the same direction. So, they were also taking the same cab. 

Once they were outside, the members of Team Shanghai decided to go their separate ways and take different cabs to their houses. Except for Tang Bingyao and Lin Feng, who were headed in the same direction and sharing a cab. And getting Lin Feng into a car was the first thing that had to be done before the rest of Team Shanghai could consider going home. 

Before the two  got into the car, An Xin didn’t look reassured as she gazed at the groggy Lin Feng. She turned to Tang Bingyao and said, “Tang Tang, you’ll probably need to drop this idiot off at his home first. If he tries walking home by himself, who knows what trouble he’ll get into.”

Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng, then nodded. “Mhm! Okay!”

Zeng Rui called a car and Zhang Hao helped support and shove Lin Feng into it. Before Tang Bingyao could climb in after Lin Feng, An Xin pulled her aside. She looked worried as she stared at the still groggy Lin Feng. Then she looked at Tang Bingyao and said, “Tang Tang, listen, you’re going to have to drop this comatose idiot off at his house first. If he tries to walk home from your place, we have no idea where he’ll end up or what kind of trouble he’ll stumble into.”  

Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng and then back at An Xin before nodding. “Mhm! Okay!”

Sure enough, Lin Feng also passed out the moment he got into the cab. Tang Bingyao sat by Lin Feng’s side. She glanced at his sleeping and exhausted face and felt her heart aching.  It appeared he had really pushed himself.

Tang Bingyao herself already felt completely exhausted after the finals of the Collegiate Cup. That’s why she immediately collapsed in her bed after taking a shower.  So, she couldn’t imagine how Lin Feng felt playing another 16 games in a row on top of that in Korean Challenger.

Tang Bingyao got into the car next to Lin Feng. In the brief time between him getting into the car and her conversation with An Xin, Lin Feng had completely fallen asleep again. As the car started moving, Tang Bingyao stared at Lin Feng’s face and saw the exhaustion carved into it. She felt a dull ache in her heart. 

“Lin Feng… You really did push yourself, didn’t you? I don’t know how you even did it all. I was completely exhausted after the Finals of the Collegiate Cup. I got back to the hotel, showered, and fell asleep the second my head hit the bed. But you… you stayed up and played game after game on the Korean server. And you won most of those games! How did you do that…?”

Tang Bingyao bit her lips, her eyes flickering with determination. I also need to get stronger… I need to become strong enough to stand by his side and share his burdens!

Lin Feng, still completely asleep, didn’t reply to anything she said. It was unclear if he’d even heard her words. But Tang Bingyao continued to watch him sleep and then bit her lips. Her eyes blazed with determination. I need to get stronger! Mhm! I need to get strong enough to stand next to Lin Feng and share his burdens! Mhm! I’m going to get strong enough that Lin Feng can lean on me when he needs help next time! Mhm!

✹

As the cab sped down  the poorly maintained roads of Shanghai, Lin Feng still remained fast asleep.

The cab bumped and bounced down the poorly maintained roads of Shanghai, and the cabin could not keep out the blaring horns and bustle of the city. But none of that was enough to disturb Lin Feng, who remained fast asleep. Tang Bingyao remained quiet and lost in her own thoughts. 

When the cab arrived at its destination, Tang Bingyao gently shook Lin Feng awake. “Lin Feng, wake up. We’re here. Wake up… wake up…”

Soon enough, the cab pulled up outside Lin Feng’s building. Tang Bingyao tried to gently nudge Lin Feng awake, but it didn’t work. Soon she started shaking him roughly and yelling, “Lin Feng! Wake up! Wake up! We’re here! You gotta wake up…” 

Lin Feng slowly forced his eyes open. He groggily looked at Tang Bingyao and said, “O=oh, we’re here…?” Then he clumsily tried to get out of the car. “Okay, then Tang Tang. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye bye.”

After a tense minute, Lin Feng finally opened his eyes. Slowly. He looked at Tang Bingyao with unfocused eyes and asked, “Wha—? Ooo-oh? We’re home?” Then he looked around and blurry recognition of his surroundings showed up on his face. He slowly nodded, and then tried to get out of the car. But he was clumsy and it took him several tries to open the door. Once he finally got it open, he slumped back in his seat and looked at Tang Bingyao. “Alright… I’ll see you tomorrow Tang Tang. Good night! Bye bye!”

Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng uneasily and said, “How about I walk you to the door?”

But after he said that, Lin Feng closed his eyes for 30 seconds and then tried to lurch out of the cab. Tang Bingyao watched him with evident concern on her face and said, “How about I walk you to the door?” 

Lin Feng shook his head. “Its, it’s fine… It’s just the stairs. I.. can do it!” As soon as he finished speaking, he almost stumbled and tripped on the sidewalk.

Lin Feng shook his head. “Its… it’s fine… there’s just the stairs. I’m… really… good… at… climbing… stairs!” And with those words, Lin Feng fell out of the cab at an awkward angle and tried to stand up. Which made him stumble and tumble onto the sidewalk. 

Tang Bingyao quickly got out of the car and helped support Lin Feng up. She looked at the almost passed out Lin Feng in distress. “I think it’s best If I walk you to the door anyway.” 

Tang Bingyao quickly got out of the car and helped  Lin Feng get up onto his feet. Then she supported him while looking at the sleep-walking Lin Feng with distress in her eyes. “Mhm! I believe that you’re really good at climbing stairs. But I think it’s best if I walk you to the door anyway!”

✹

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! 

Su Xue, who was still in her pyjamas, slipped on her fuzzy slippers and walked out of her room to  get  the door. “You punk! How many times do I have to tell you not to forget your keys!?” Then, she was shocked to see Tang Bingyao struggling to hold Lin Feng up. “Tang Tang? What’s wrong with Lin Feng?”

The doorbell chimed through the apartment that Su Xue and Lin Feng shared. Su Xue was still in her pyjamas and in her room at the time. She quickly slipped into her fuzzy slippers and walked out of her room to open the door. As she walked towards the door, she started yelling at it, “Lin Feng! How many times do I have to tell you not to forget your keys!? Every single time you leave! What are you going to do if I’m not home? Or if I’m not available to open the door! Next time, I swear! I’m not going to open the door and leave you outside! You hear me, Lin Feng! This is the last time!”

Then she opened the door, and her eyes popped open at the sight of Tang Bingyao struggling to hold Lin Feng up. Once he had gotten up the stairs, Lin Feng had decided the floor outside the apartment was close enough to fall asleep again. Su Xue covered her mouth with her hand in shock. Then she looked at Tang Bingyao and asked, “Tang Tang? What happened to Lin Feng?”

“Lin Feng is really exhausted. I was afraid he couldn’t climb the stairs, so I helped him up,” Tang Bingyao explained.

Tang Bingyao was clearly struggling to keep Lin Feng on his feet, but she tried to explain the situation to Su Xue anyway, “Lin.. Feng… He’s really exhausted! Didn’t… Didn’t think he could climb the stairs! Mhm! So I helped him get up here! Mhm!”

He can’t even climb the stairs himself? Su Xue’s expression darkened. That punk, isn’t he being a little overdramatic?

Storm clouds raced across Su Xue’s face as her expression darkened. Now this is over dramatic and extra. This little punk can’t climb the stairs on his own? Since when? But she still moved to Lin Feng’s side to help Tang Bingyao support him. 

Lin Feng finally stirred awake a little. He forced his eyes open and saw the familiar living room. ‘Oh, I’m home. I’m gonna go take a nap first…” Then, he took off his shoes and groggily stumbled into the house.

The two girls shoving and pulling him from side to side managed to rouse Lin Feng enough that he forced his eyes open. He saw his own living room and his sleepy brain processed that as him being home. He muttered, “Oh, I’m home. I’m going to take a little nap now…” Then he kicked off his shoes outside the apartment and stumbled into the house. It was unclear if he noticed that Su Xue and Tang Bingyao were there at all.

“Hey hey! Idiot! That’s the wrong way! You’re going into the kitchen! Seriously, he’s causing trouble the moment he comes back. Tang Tang, thanks for the trouble. You can go home now.”

Su Xue watched him stumble into the house and started yelling, “Hey! Hey! Idiot! You’re going the wrong way! That’s the kitchen! Not your room! You’re going into the kitchen, Lin Feng! This idiot… he hasn’t been home for ten seconds and he’s already causing trouble. What a hassle! Tang Tang, thank you so much for helping get him home! You can go home now, I’ll take care of him.”

After bidding Tang Bingyao farewell, Su Xue closed the door and turned around to see Lin Feng passed out on the living room sofa. He was hugging one of the cushions and muttering in his sleep.

“Seriously, are you really tha tired. Go back to your own room and sleep!” Su Xue said, mildly amused. 

Su Xue took another minute to properly thank Tang Bingyao and say goodbye. Once Tang Bingyao got back into the cab and left for her house, Su Xue closed the door and turned around to see Lin Feng. He had passed out on the sofa in the living room. As Su Xue watched, Lin Feng hugged one of the cushions and muttered in his sleep. She walked over to the sofa and stood over him. “Are you seriously that tired? Lin Feng! Go to your room and sleep!” Su Xue was yelling, but her tone was amused. 

Lin Feng buried his head deeper into the cushion and muttered, “N-no… too tired. It’s fine here. Just let me nap.”

Lin Feng buried his head deeper into the cushion and muttered, “N-no… too tired. It’s fine here. Very comfortable. Just let me small nap, I’ll move later.”

Su Xue sighed. “Why are you so exhausted? Did you not get a good night’s sleep?” 

Su Xue sighed. “Why are you so exhausted? Did you not sleep well last night?” 

“I didn’t. I played 16 games in a row. It was really exhausting,” LinFeng replied. 

“No… no sleep Feng. I played all last night. Game after game. Needed to keep my promise to One. I did it though. Just very exhausting.” Lin Feng replied. 

Su Xue’s eyes went wide. Oh right he did do that! He was playing on that Hook2 account all night! She couldn’t help but stare at Lin Feng fast asleep on the sofa, a little absentminded.  

The same person who had rocked the whole of China last night was now refusing to go back to his own room to sleep like a little kid. 

Su Xue’s eyes went wide. Oh! That’s right! I can’t believe I forgot about that! He was playing on the Hook2 account all night! Now that she remembered, Su Xue stared at Lin Feng fast asleep on the couch, lost in her thoughts. 

This is CN•HOOK2! The player who rocked everyone who is even slightly interested in esports and League of Legends in China! The person who caused waves through Korea! And right now, he’s asleep on the sofa and refusing to go back into his room to sleep like a small child.

Su Xue really couldn’t reconcile the two things together, but then she broke into a faint smile. For all the amazing things he’d done, Lin Feng was still just a kid at the end of the day. “Alright, alright, sleep on the sofa if you want. I’ll go get you a blanket. Don’t want you to catch a cold now.”

Su Xue had trouble reconciling those two separate mental images together. Then she broke into a smile. It really is so easy to forget because of all the amazing things Lin Feng has done and will do… but he’s really just a kid at the end of the day. She smiled again at Lin Feng, a warm nurturing smile. Then she said, “Alright, alright. You can sleep on the sofa if that’s what you want. I’ll go get you a blanket, we wouldn’t want you to catch a cold.”

CN•HOOK2’s electrifying climb was a constant drip of adrenaline into most players in China and Korea. But while they obsessed over all of the games and the mystery surrounding CN•HOOK2’s identity, the player behind the account was completely unaware of the waves he’d generated. Lin Feng had passed out as soon as his final game of the night ended. He didn’t even have time to check the Korean ranked ladder to find out where he ended. All he knew was that he’d completed the task that One set out for him, and that was all that mattered. Lin Feng didn’t even remember how he ended up in bed. All he had were foggy, distorted, non-linear memories of someone dragging him from the chair he was in to the bed. He remembered a wet cloth wiping his face, and the sensation of being tucked in. And then after that, he had nothing. He was out like a light, deep asleep, his mind and body completely worn out by the stress of the day.

And he continued to sleep well into the next day. Lin Feng’s stupor was only broken at lunch time, when An Xin managed to get him awake enough to drag him to the table to eat. But he was barely there and functioning on autopilot. The Lin Feng from yesterday and the Lin Feng at the table today were two very different people. Today’s Lin Feng was completely lifeless and didn’t even notice the food he was eating. Or that he was eating. That in itself was the most unusual thing, because there were very few things that Lin Feng loved more than food. His chopsticks moved in slow motion between the food in front of him and his mouth. And he was clumsy with them. Some of the food fell back into his bowl, but Lin Feng never even noticed. Whatever food did make it into his mouth, he slowly chewed and swallowed without any indication that he’d noticed how it tasted. 

Zhang Hao had been waiting in a state of constant, unrequited excitement for Lin Feng to finally wake up. He wanted to congratulate his friend and celebrate with him, especially since this was a once in a lifetime event. Zhang Hao had played on the team that had won the Collegiate Cup, and then his teammate had gone up against some of the best League players in Korea that very night and come out on top. The excitement pounding in his veins and the vague ideas of how to properly cherish this moment rendered him nearly incoherent. And he’d been waiting all morning for Lin Feng to wake up and turn all of those vague ideas into reality. But when Lin Feng finally did wake up and came down to lunch, reality turned out to be a splash of ice-cold water on Zhang Hao’s head. What happened to him last night? He doesn’t even look like he’s alive! I said good night to Lin Feng after the Collegiate Cup ended, and now I’m looking at Zombie Feng trying to eat like a human! What does a person have to go through in a single night to turn into… whatever this is?

Zhang Hao tried to get a grip on his shock as he noticed how tired and broken Lin Feng looked that afternoon. All plans of partying had been completely dashed. He didn’t even know what to say, rendered completely speechless by the turn of events and the clash between expectation and reality. When Zhang Hao finally did manage to form words, all he could say was, “Lin Feng… Y-you alright there? Are you still alive? Please be alive!”

There was enough concern and distress in Zhang Hao’s voice that it forced Zeng Rui to glance up at Lin Feng. He frowned and shook his head from side to side once before looking back down at his bowl. But before he resumed eating, Zeng Rui flatly stated, “He’s still alive. There’s nothing wrong with him. Lin Feng pushed and overworked himself to an extreme degree, and now he’s completely exhausted. He’ll be fine in a few days.” 

With those words out of the way, Zeng Rui started eating again. But he continued the conversation with himself in his mind. It really isn’t surprising that Lin Feng is exhausted. He spent yesterday playing in the Finals of the Collegiate Cup and then the rest of the night playing ranked game after ranked game against skilled opponents. No. Not just skilled opponents. He played game after game against opponents who constantly grew more cautious and wary of him with every single game. I don’t know why Zhang Hao is so shocked that Lin Feng is tired right now. After something like that, any other person would sleep for a day or two. 

What is surprising is how well he did in that state. I’ve always known that Lin Feng is a monster. But this much of a monster…?

Tang Bingyao, on the other hand, continued to watch Lin Feng with concern. She decided to do something to help Lin Feng out, and offered him her mango juice. “Lin Feng… Lin Feng! You want to try some of this? It’s mango juice and it’s got a lot of sugar. It’ll give you energy and wake you right up! Mhm!”

Lin Feng stared at her with dead, unfocused eyes. Unwilling to give up, Tang Bingyao carefully held out her glass to him and moved the straw into his mouth. Lin Feng gulped the whole glass down, and continued to pull on the straw after it was all gone. Unfortunately, the mango juice was not very effective for Lin Feng’s current situation. His eyes continued to droop shut and completely shut as he continued to try to drink from the empty glass. 

An Xin laughed at what was going on in front of her and shook her head. “It’s fine. Let’s leave him alone for now. We’ll let him get some more rest once we’re on the plane. This idiot… he tried to exceed his own limitations or whatever last night. Ended up pushing himself too hard and now he can’t function anymore. He really just needs to sleep it off.” Then she helped Tang Bingyao pull her glass away from the still sleep-gulping Lin Feng. 

Over on the other side of the table, Chu Fang look at Lin Feng with complete admiration. He was one of the first few people who had learned that CN•HOOK2 climb through Korean Challenger ended at Rank 5. He reached over to pat Lin Feng on the back and said, “He really did manage to exceed his limitations. All that hard work… It was completely worth it! Did any of you ever imagine that you’d be sitting here with someone who managed to make it into the Top 5 on the Korean server? I don’t know how Lin Feng pulled it off, but he’s finally brought some hope to Chinese League of Legends!” 

Chu Fang continued to look at Lin Feng with a mixture of fondness, admiration, gratitude, astonishment and hope in his eyes. All that hard work… What Lin Feng did last night, that’s not something that could’ve been accomplished with hard work alone. I can’t even count how many players from China, from talented younglings to professional players, have attempted to break through Korea’s ceiling. I can’t recall the last time someone from China managed to do this either! This boy… he managed to win the Collegiate Cup Championship and got ranked 5th out of all the Challenger-level players on the Korean server in a single day! I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect conclusion for all of this. Now we go home as champions!

After they finished lunch, everyone from Team Shanghai gathered their belongings and piled into cars to go to the airport. Lin Feng fell asleep the second he got into the taxi and slept all the way to the airport. Then he fell asleep again as they waited to board their plane. And once they had finally gotten onto the plane, Lin Feng fell into a deep sleep the second he was plopped down onto his seat. 

For the rest of Team Shanghai, this was the most stressful trip they’d taken thus far. Getting Lin Feng from the car all the way into the plane required coordination and planning from every member of Team Shanghai, with at least two of them constantly supporting and leading Lin Feng all the way to his seat. Every time Lin Feng fell asleep along the way, it was more and more difficult to wake him up for the next part. But somehow, they’d finally made it onto the plane with Lin Feng, and now they could relax. 

The flight from Beijing to Shanghai took two and half hours, and Lin Feng was asleep for all of it. When the plane finally landed at Pudong Airport, Team Shanghai’s brief respite ended. It took almost all of them to shake Lin Feng awake and pull him up from his seat. Then Zeng Rui and Zhang Hao cleared the way ahead while An Xin and Tang Bingyao supported and pulled Lin Feng down the aisle and off the plane. It took significantly longer than any of them had planned, and was accomplished with considerable difficulty. But they eventually did get Lin Feng off the plane and out of the airport.

Once they were outside, the members of Team Shanghai decided to go their separate ways and take different cabs to their houses. Except for Tang Bingyao and Lin Feng, who were headed in the same direction and sharing a cab. And getting Lin Feng into a car was the first thing that had to be done before the rest of Team Shanghai could consider going home. 

Zeng Rui called a car and Zhang Hao helped support and shove Lin Feng into it. Before Tang Bingyao could climb in after Lin Feng, An Xin pulled her aside. She looked worried as she stared at the still groggy Lin Feng. Then she looked at Tang Bingyao and said, “Tang Tang, listen, you’re going to have to drop this comatose idiot off at his house first. If he tries to walk home from your place, we have no idea where he’ll end up or what kind of trouble he’ll stumble into.”  

Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng and then back at An Xin before nodding. “Mhm! Okay!”

Tang Bingyao got into the car next to Lin Feng. In the brief time between him getting into the car and her conversation with An Xin, Lin Feng had completely fallen asleep again. As the car started moving, Tang Bingyao stared at Lin Feng’s face and saw the exhaustion carved into it. She felt a dull ache in her heart. 

“Lin Feng… You really did push yourself, didn’t you? I don’t know how you even did it all. I was completely exhausted after the Finals of the Collegiate Cup. I got back to the hotel, showered, and fell asleep the second my head hit the bed. But you… you stayed up and played game after game on the Korean server. And you won most of those games! How did you do that…?”

Lin Feng, still completely asleep, didn’t reply to anything she said. It was unclear if he’d even heard her words. But Tang Bingyao continued to watch him sleep and then bit her lips. Her eyes blazed with determination. I need to get stronger! Mhm! I need to get strong enough to stand next to Lin Feng and share his burdens! Mhm! I’m going to get strong enough that Lin Feng can lean on me when he needs help next time! Mhm!

The cab bumped and bounced down the poorly maintained roads of Shanghai, and the cabin could not keep out the blaring horns and bustle of the city. But none of that was enough to disturb Lin Feng, who remained fast asleep. Tang Bingyao remained quiet and lost in her own thoughts. 

Soon enough, the cab pulled up outside Lin Feng’s building. Tang Bingyao tried to gently nudge Lin Feng awake, but it didn’t work. Soon she started shaking him roughly and yelling, “Lin Feng! Wake up! Wake up! We’re here! You gotta wake up…” 

After a tense minute, Lin Feng finally opened his eyes. Slowly. He looked at Tang Bingyao with unfocused eyes and asked, “Wha—? Ooo-oh? We’re home?” Then he looked around and blurry recognition of his surroundings showed up on his face. He slowly nodded, and then tried to get out of the car. But he was clumsy and it took him several tries to open the door. Once he finally got it open, he slumped back in his seat and looked at Tang Bingyao. “Alright… I’ll see you tomorrow Tang Tang. Good night! Bye bye!”

But after he said that, Lin Feng closed his eyes for 30 seconds and then tried to lurch out of the cab. Tang Bingyao watched him with evident concern on her face and said, “How about I walk you to the door?” 

Lin Feng shook his head. “Its… it’s fine… there’s just the stairs. I’m… really… good… at… climbing… stairs!” And with those words, Lin Feng fell out of the cab at an awkward angle and tried to stand up. Which made him stumble and tumble onto the sidewalk. 

Tang Bingyao quickly got out of the car and helped  Lin Feng get up onto his feet. Then she supported him while looking at the sleep-walking Lin Feng with distress in her eyes. “Mhm! I believe that you’re really good at climbing stairs. But I think it’s best if I walk you to the door anyway!”

The doorbell chimed through the apartment that Su Xue and Lin Feng shared. Su Xue was still in her pyjamas and in her room at the time. She quickly slipped into her fuzzy slippers and walked out of her room to open the door. As she walked towards the door, she started yelling at it, “Lin Feng! How many times do I have to tell you not to forget your keys!? Every single time you leave! What are you going to do if I’m not home? Or if I’m not available to open the door! Next time, I swear! I’m not going to open the door and leave you outside! You hear me, Lin Feng! This is the last time!”

Then she opened the door, and her eyes popped open at the sight of Tang Bingyao struggling to hold Lin Feng up. Once he had gotten up the stairs, Lin Feng had decided the floor outside the apartment was close enough to fall asleep again. Su Xue covered her mouth with her hand in shock. Then she looked at Tang Bingyao and asked, “Tang Tang? What happened to Lin Feng?”

Tang Bingyao was clearly struggling to keep Lin Feng on his feet, but she tried to explain the situation to Su Xue anyway, “Lin.. Feng… He’s really exhausted! Didn’t… Didn’t think he could climb the stairs! Mhm! So I helped him get up here! Mhm!”

Storm clouds raced across Su Xue’s face as her expression darkened. Now this is over dramatic and extra. This little punk can’t climb the stairs on his own? Since when? But she still moved to Lin Feng’s side to help Tang Bingyao support him. 

The two girls shoving and pulling him from side to side managed to rouse Lin Feng enough that he forced his eyes open. He saw his own living room and his sleepy brain processed that as him being home. He muttered, “Oh, I’m home. I’m going to take a little nap now…” Then he kicked off his shoes outside the apartment and stumbled into the house. It was unclear if he noticed that Su Xue and Tang Bingyao were there at all.

Su Xue watched him stumble into the house and started yelling, “Hey! Hey! Idiot! You’re going the wrong way! That’s the kitchen! Not your room! You’re going into the kitchen, Lin Feng! This idiot… he hasn’t been home for ten seconds and he’s already causing trouble. What a hassle! Tang Tang, thank you so much for helping get him home! You can go home now, I’ll take care of him.”

Su Xue took another minute to properly thank Tang Bingyao and say goodbye. Once Tang Bingyao got back into the cab and left for her house, Su Xue closed the door and turned around to see Lin Feng. He had passed out on the sofa in the living room. As Su Xue watched, Lin Feng hugged one of the cushions and muttered in his sleep. She walked over to the sofa and stood over him. “Are you seriously that tired? Lin Feng! Go to your room and sleep!” Su Xue was yelling, but her tone was amused. 

Lin Feng buried his head deeper into the cushion and muttered, “N-no… too tired. It’s fine here. Very comfortable. Just let me small nap, I’ll move later.”

Su Xue sighed. “Why are you so exhausted? Did you not sleep well last night?” 

“No… no sleep Feng. I played all last night. Game after game. Needed to keep my promise to One. I did it though. Just very exhausting.” Lin Feng replied. 

Su Xue’s eyes went wide. Oh! That’s right! I can’t believe I forgot about that! He was playing on the Hook2 account all night! Now that she remembered, Su Xue stared at Lin Feng fast asleep on the couch, lost in her thoughts. 

This is CN•HOOK2! The player who rocked everyone who is even slightly interested in esports and League of Legends in China! The person who caused waves through Korea! And right now, he’s asleep on the sofa and refusing to go back into his room to sleep like a small child.

Su Xue had trouble reconciling those two separate mental images together. Then she broke into a smile. It really is so easy to forget because of all the amazing things Lin Feng has done and will do… but he’s really just a kid at the end of the day. She smiled again at Lin Feng, a warm nurturing smile. Then she said, “Alright, alright. You can sleep on the sofa if that’s what you want. I’ll go get you a blanket, we wouldn’t want you to catch a cold.”

When CN•HOOK2 fought his way into the Top 5 on the Korean Challenger Ladder, it caused an uproar in the Chinese League of Legends community. But that uproar wasn’t limited to just China. It also sent waves of shock that reverberated through Korea’s League of Legends scene. 

The fact that a Chinese player made it all the way to the Top 5 on the Korean server was only mildly newsworthy. And that was only because it had not happened in a very, very long time. But CN•HOOK2 legendary climb through the night had so many things happening that compounded that single accomplishment into something greater. It wasn’t just that a Chinese player made it to the Top 5 on the Korean server, it was that a Chinese player played so many games in the Challenger queue in one night and pulled off multiple multi-game win streaks. And then to top it all off, CN•HOOK2’s final game of the night and climb was against the 3rd best Midlaner in all of Korea, Orion. Then, in that game, CN•HOOK2 had defeated Orion. 

All in all, the events of that night forced the League fans in Korea to collectively gasp. It was all they could talk about since it happened. And yet, despite all the discussion, there were still many of them who found all the rumors of what transpired that night difficult to believe. Most of their scepticism revolved around the fact that a nobody from China managed to beat one of the best Midlaners in the OGN. As far as they were concerned, that was impossible. And since that was impossible, there was no way the rest of the rumors could be true. 

But all the rumblings from the sceptics were quickly quashed. Recordings and clips of CN•HOOK2’s games found their way to the Korean League forums, completely crushing any theories about the falsehood of the climb. But the most important clip was that of the game-defining 1v1 that happened between CN•HOOK2’s Yasuo and Orion’s Zed at Level 6. That clip managed to render all of the sceptical voices speechless. 

That single short clip was watched and rewatched thousands of times. Most people could not get over the epic nature of the duel between Yasuo and Zed. Comments repeatedly spoke of how it looked more like the climax of a martial arts movie than a gameplay clip! The sheer amount of skill displayed by both Midlaners was nothing short of mind-blowing either! For everyone watching the clip, that single duel was just as exciting as an exchange in the OGN Summer Finals. 

And at the end of that intense duel, it was CN•HOOK2’s Yasuo who defeated Orion’s Zed. There was no way that anyone in the Korean League sphere could refute that fact, and it shocked them damn near senseless. The idea of a Chinese player, one they’d never even heard of before, defeating Orion in terms of pure skill was one that never even crossed their minds until now. Orion was a King, and no one had heard of CN•HOOK2. And so, there was a single question that echoed through the Korean League Community. That question happened to be the same one that was being asked in China. Who exactly was the mysterious CN•HOOK2, and what was he planning to do next? 

And in due course, the news of CN•HOOK2’s climb and spectacular match against Orion made it all the way to the Warriors’ Gaming House in Seoul, Korea. Orion’s teammates read through all the discussion online and watched the clips that were floating around the forums with a little bit more interest than everyone else. One of their own had been involved, and had a first-hand experience playing against the mysterious CN•HOOK2. So they gathered as much information as they could online and talked amongst themselves for a while before finally walking over to Orion’s room to ask him about the game and CN•HOOK2. 

The first wave of questions revolved around the game itself and that Orion had lost. Orion’s teammates were concerned that something was going on with one of their star players, or if the defeat caused him to lose confidence in himself. Both outcomes were not good for the team as a whole. But Orion remained calm and steady in the face of those questions, which reassured his teammates. In fact, he was so composed that it was clear that being defeated in CN•HOOK2 had no effect on him at all. And since their concerns about Orion were squared away, the rest of the Warriors team started asking him about CN•HOOK2. That’s when Orion’s breezy nonchalance broke and he turned much more serious. 

Orion stood up and addressed his teammates, “Alright. Here’s my read on CN•HOOK2 from playing him. He’s really good, that much should already be obvious to you guys. As far as I can tell, he’s unquestionably a top level player in terms of both pure skill and mechanics. As far as his play style goes… he’s aggressive. Super aggressive, to the point where it’s oppressive. I found myself being pushed down by the amount of pressure from him. But…” Orion paused to gather his thoughts. What he wanted to say next wasn’t based on anything concrete he’d analysed or could state based on evidence. It was a feeling, something pure and simple in his bones. He looked his teammates in the eyes and continued, “Don’t ask me how or why, but… I don’t think he’s one of the Midlaners we know of in the LPL. I don’t think he’s even in the LPL!”

Over in the Fate Gaming House, Moon had gone through all the clips posted online and independently arrived at the same conclusion as Orion. Now, Moon was an Emperor. It was not an exaggeration to state that his perception and insight into the game, as well as his ability to read other players, was at the highest degree possible in Korea. And it was this insight that Moon used to analyse CN•HOOK2, despite not playing against him in a game during the climb. Moon had managed to pick up quite a few clues about CN•HOOK2 between the steam of the final game and the clips floating around online. And now, he was turning those insights over in his mind to see if he could figure out the bigger picture.

Let’s think about this… CN•HOOK2. I watched how he played against Orion, and his game was unique. First thing to note is that he’s from China, which means LPL. Except…the play style isn’t one that’s used by any of the current LPL Midlaners. Or any of the former ones that I’ve played against or seen footage from before. That means the only conclusion here is that CN•HOOK2 isn’t a professional player. He’s not in the LPL. If I’m not wrong about Orion, he’s figured that much out too. 

CN•HOOK2 isn’t in the LPL and he’s currently not a professional player. That… that’s a problem.

The second Moon pierced through some of the mystery surround CN•HOOK2, seeds of caution bloomed in his heart and his thoughts zoomed towards the big picture and the World stage. 

CN•HOOK2’s play style is something we haven’t seen before, and it’s one that poses a real threat to the current meta in the professional scene in a global sense. It’s got the potential to really shake things up… maybe even completely end Korean dominance. That is a problem!

These days, the entire professional esports industry around League of Legends had embraced a sort of global meta. The various regions all practised a particular style of game play, and the World stage was built around countering the region-specific play style. The Koreans embraced a style that was best described as controlled aggression. North America and Europe leaned into a much more conservative game that was heavily dependent on scaling and reaching end-game builds. China had originally started out with an aggressive style of play. But over the last few years, they’d pivoted to a more conservative and defensive style of play. One that dulled the original aggression considerably, and imitated the NA and EU flow.

This shift towards conservative, low risk gameplay was what led to the current dominance of the Korean region in League of Legends. It was absurdly easy for the Korean teams to deal with that overarching strategy, and they’d perfected the counter-plays during the previous seasons. It was this global meta that CN•HOOK2 had the potential to disrupt, as far as Moon saw things. And that was what dominated his thoughts. 

This all comes down to China. The current set of teams at the top of the LPL all abandoned an aggressive play style that could topple any of the Korean teams for whatever reason. If I had to guess, it’s because they gave up hope that someone could beat Rake and decided to focus more on profits for now. Not the most far-sighted plan, but one that’s been working towards Korea’s benefit.

But if more players like CN•HOOK2 start popping up… that’s going to be a problem. The LPL is going to become significantly more difficult to deal with. No. That’s wrong. They’re going to become exponentially more difficult to beat…

Right now, I haven’t even played against CN•HOOK2 in a game, but I already know that I don’t want to go up against him. Or another player like him. The silver lining here is where all of this started. At least CN•HOOK2 isn’t a professional player, which means there’s currently no chance of running into him in a game that matters. Nor is there any chance of his play style changing the current meta. But it is something that I need to keep an eye on. 

And there’s still one more question that needs to be figured out in all of this.  How it is even possible for someone like CN•HOOK2 to exist in this era of esports? Someone that good, yet completely unknown? This wasn’t a slowly gathering storm. There were no warning signs on the horizon. There was no CN•HOOK2… until he suddenly showed up. Who exactly is CN•HOOK2 and where did he come from?

The identity of CN•HOOK2 was the question at the heart of it all. For all his thoughts, Moon ended up joining the scores of people in the League of Legends community across Korea in China as he pondered the answer to that question. Unlike China, where a few knew the identity of CN•HOOK2, there was no one in Korea who could penetrate that mystery. With one notable exception.

And that single notable exception was currently sitting in the training room at the SSK Gaming House. It was late into the night, but there was still one man seated in front of a computer, alone in that training room. There was no tension in his shoulders or anxiety in his eyes. He wasn’t in the training room late at night because he needed to be there. He was there because he wanted to be there, and he radiated a calm confidence. Every cell and pore in his body oozed the supreme surety that came with being at the very peak. 

His demeanour was the natural state of the strong, the aura that came with being an apex predator. He needed no acknowledgment from anyone else to tell him that he was at the very peak, nor did he need to bleat his achievements out in order to be recognized. The relaxed arrogance that permeated every fiber of his being was one that was both earned and universally acknowledged as correct. 

This man, who sat alone in that training room, wore a metaphorically grand cape woven with awards, accolades, and accomplishments. He was hailed as the unquestionably best Midlaner in the entire world, known far and wide as the team captain of SSK, and revered as the God Emperor of the Four Emperors. 

He stood at the very apex of global esports as the conqueror who carved the bloody path to the current era of Korean dominance in Esports. And his name was Han ‘Rake’ Seho.

Right now, Rake was at a computer in the training room. His face was completely expressionless, an impenetrable fortress that betrayed none of his thoughts. The only thing that offered some clue as to what was going on in his mind was the video playing on the screen in front of him. A replay of a game from the Korean Challenger queue. More specifically, a replay of the game between CN•HOOK2 and Orion. 

This was not a game that held any real significance. It wasn’t a match between two professional teams at the top of any league, it had no bearing on the World Championships, and ultimately affected nothing beyond some silly regional rivalry. There was nothing in this game that should have been of value or interest to Han ‘Rake’ Seho. Doing something like this was a complete waste of time for him, especially considering the level he’d reached in League of Legends. On any other day, Rake would have played a ranked game of his own or gone to bed early instead of watching such a trivial game. And yet, Han Seho watched the game between CN•HOOK2 and Orion from start to finish.

This game stood out to Rake’s eyes for a simple reason. CN•HOOK2. It was a name rang with familiarity, and dredged up a memory from deep inside Rake’s mind. CN•HOOK2 was a handle that his mentor, and the first player who wore the mantle of Rake, Lee Dojae had spoken to him about. 

And now, because of that conversation, Rake knew who was playing behind CN•HOOK2. Another legend from the same era as Lee Dojae. Rake was curious about this player from a time before him, simply because this rival of his mentor had managed to attain even greater status and acclaim in global esports than he currently had.

But Rake wasn’t interested in what the legend behind CN•HOOK2 achieved in the previous era of esports. His interest was in seeing how a titan of that era played today. More than that, Rake wanted to measure himself against the top of the previous generation. So he clicked on the replay and watched with razor sharp eyes, taking in everything about the player behind CN•HOOK2.

And as he watched, his reason for watching changed. Something about the way that CN•HOOK2 played felt familiar to Rake. In his mind, he could see himself remembering counter-moves to CN•HOOK2’s Yasuo, like he’d played against CN•HOOK2 before. Somewhere deep in his mind, Rake knew that he’d seen this player before and that he’d played against him. 

By the time the game ended, Rake knew that the identity of CN•HOOK2 was not his mentor’s rival from a previous age. But his soul continued to scream out that he knew CN•HOOK2. Rake dug deep into his memories, through years and thousands of games, trying to find the answer that his heart told him was there. 

Then, all of a sudden and with no warning at all, Rake’s eyes widened! The normally tranquil waters of his emotions rippled with surprise. It’s him… ?

A few stars still twinkled bright in the night sky above Beijing, cutting through all of the lights and smog that cast a haze over the city. And on this night, they flickered over the skyscraper that housed the Chinese Esports Association. It was a monumental edifice, one that towered over the rest of the buildings in the area. A testament to the growth and newfound importance of Esports. But most of the building was dark. All of the staff that worked there had gone home for the night, so there was no light shining through any of the windows. Except for the very top floor. Light could still be seen through the windows of the office of the President.

Inside the office was Lin Songshi. The President of the Chinese Esports Association. He was still at his desk, looking through planning documents and proposals. He typed out a few final notes before saving the document. Then he picked up his pen to jot down a few quick notes. Once he was done, Lin Songshi put the pen down and slowly massaged his temples with his fingertips. The stress and weight of his responsibilities was evident on his shoulders. And the exhaustion was clearly visible on his face.

Lin Songshi was no stranger to the necessity of the long late nights in the office. In the last few years, it had turned into the norm rather than a rare occurrence. The authority and glory that came with the mantle of President of the Chinese Esports Associate also came with a heavy burden. Over the last two years, Chinese Esports burst to prominence and mainstream awareness and it continued to expand rapidly. Lin Songshi had no complaints about the momentum esports was building up, nor did he think the growth was something to be sad about. But it meant that he absolutely could not become complacent or start relaxing. His current mission and purpose was to make sure that any issues that popped up while the brand new esports industry continued to expand and mature were dealt with in a swift and thorough fashion. Lin Songshi dedicated his entire being to making sure that the foundation of Chinese Esports was solid, rather than being chained down and anchored by poor management and the resultant chronic issues. Even a single mistake could have repercussions down the line and send the whole thing tumbling down like a house of cards, and that was an outcome that Lin Songshi would not tolerate.

With that thought in his head, Lin Songshi got up from his seat and slowly walked over to the window. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked out at the twinkling city beyond, fighting back against the inky blackness of the night, with a stone face. One line of thought circling around in his mind over and over again. Not enough!

Lin Songshi was one of the first people in China who saw the potential involved in esports, and a pioneer in setting up the industry. He’d spent most of his life until now building the Chinese esports scene to where it was today, and built up an entire generation of players and organisations. But it still was not enough. In actuality, it was very far from being enough. 

There was a single dream, a hope, that captivated Lin Songshi and many others in the Chinese esports industry. This dream was the light that everyone involved in Chinese esports collectively ran towards. That hope was that the LPL would some day surpass North America, Europe, and even Korea to become the most respected and flourishing region in all of esports in the world! But this was a distant dream, and one that was not easily accomplished. Even after nurturing an entire generation and years of hard work, the LPL was still a minor player in the international scene.  

As he stood at that window, Lin Songshi tried to figure out what needed to be done to keep the LPL moving toward the grand dream. What do we need right now? Another generation of players? A group who can stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before them and reach for even greater heights? Or another player who can represent two generations at the same time? Someone who can rally the old guard and then push past them to show the new generation everything that could be possible?   

Lin Songshi considered the potential paths forward and his options, and searched for an answer in the dark horizon beyond the city. And then in the middle of this, he stopped himself and the look in his eyes changed. All of this aside, it isn’t like I’m not satisfied with the LPL’s current growth. It is beyond questioning that the LPL is on the right track. What we need right now, more than anything else, is for both the old generation of established players and the new emerging generation of players to work together to cement their place in esports! But that task… it goes without saying that the heavy lifting is going to fall on the next generation. 

As he thought about the next generation, Lin Songshi closed his eyes and lowered his head. Then, he slowly raised his head again and opened his eyes again to stare out the window. At the bustling city out in front of him. Then he raised his head up to look at the few stars twinkling in the sky, while his eyes flickered with a complicated expression. Thinking about the next generation pushed his thoughts back from the future to the present, to the development that rocked and exhilarated the entire Chinese esports industry. 

A player by the name of CN•HOOK2 had appeared to challenge the Korean server, and triumphed over them in what could only be described as a meteoric rise. CN•HOOK2 played through the night to make esports history. Right now, thousands of people online were trying to discover the identity of the player behind the handle of CN•HOOK2. From casual players to professional organisations to streamers and internet news outlets. Everyone wanted to figure out who CN•HOOK2 was, and several parties were absurdly motivated to be the first to find out. But up until now, no one had been able to come up with anything conclusive. It was all conjecture and theorycrafting. 

But Lin Songshi was not one of them. He happened to be one of the select few in all of China who knew the truth behind CN•HOOK2. 

After standing in front of the window for a long time, Lin Songshi finally decided what he wanted to do. He pulled out his phone and made a call. To a number he had not dialled in years. After a few rings, the call connected. 

The voice of a young man boomed from the phone, “Old Man Lin? What’s the call out of the blue? It’s 3AM for you, ain’t it? Why are you still awake? Is everything alright?”

Lin Songshi remained composed as he heard the voice on the other end of the line. He also completely ignored all of the questions and calmly asked, “That Hook2 account. It belongs to you. Am I wrong about that, One?”

There was silence on the other side as One froze up for a second. Then an awkward cough to break the tension. One finally replied shortly after, “Oh, yeah. Right on the money. Can’t pull one over on you, Old Man Lin.”

Lin Songshi nodded to himself and continued, “So the person playing on that account tonight was Lin Feng?”

One coughed again, “Yeah.”

Lin Songshi considered what to say next for a few seconds before asking, “Did you put him up to this?”

There was no hesitation from One as he replied, “Correct.” 

After that, the call faded into a tense silence for a long minute. Finally, Lin Songshi took a deep breath and asked, “Lin Feng deciding to come back, was that also your doing?” 

Once again, there was no hesitation in One’s reply, “Nope. I had nothing to do with that. I didn’t even know about it until he told me. Coming back was his choice. It was entirely his own.”

There was silence on the call again as Lin Songshi considered what he wanted to say. A moment later, he opened his mouth again and said, “I don’t want him to return.”

One paused for the first time since he picked up the call from Lin Songshi. Then he smiled. “Oh? You don’t want him back? Are you telling me this as the President of the Chinese Esports Association? Or are you saying you don’t want Lin Feng back in the game as his Uncle?”

Lin Songshi had no reply. This was the question currently raging in his mind. As the President of the Chinese Esports Association, he knew the accomplishments and potential of the legendary player Maple. He knew, better than almost anyone, how deep the well of Lin Feng’s potential was. As someone tasked with nurturing and paving the future of Chinese Esports, he had no reason to get in the way of Lin Feng’s return. In fact, it would solve the problem he’d been grappling with all night. If Lin Feng were to come back, despite being retired for years, it would give the scene the new blood it so desperately needed. More importantly, Lin Feng could be a bridge between the old generation and the new one. 

Lin Songshi was rock solid in his judgement that Lin Feng would become one of the key pillars of the next generation. Lin Feng’s achievements as CN•HOOK2 tonight, which had shocked players across Asia, was proof enough that he had it in him. 

One remained respectfully quiet as Lin Songshi pieced his thoughts together. But after a while, One rubbed his chin and spoke up, “It’s a real conundrum, ain’t it? As the President of the Chinese Esports Association, you know that an outstanding player like Lin Feng is exactly what the LPL needs to face this coming era. But as his Uncle, you probably want to see him focus on school. You want him to study hard for the college entrance exams, get into a good university so he can get a job, and then live a quiet and stable life. You don’t want him caught up in this dream that trapped so many other people. A dream that all of them have failed to grasp. But the real question is how you’re going to reconcile those two hats you wear, and which path you’re going to nudge Lin Feng down.”

When Lin Songshi remained quiet, One chuckled and continued, “From society’s point of view, a career in esports is hardly respectable. But when has that ever stopped any pro player from chasing their dream? The stage, the glory… to them, it’s all worth it. Ain’t that right?”

Lin Songshi’s fingers squeezed his phone. Eventually, he broke his silence with a bitter chuckle and said, “Yes. You’re right. This dilemma, it’s a tough nut to crack. You don’t know how much trouble it was four years ago, when I convinced Lin Feng’s parents to let him play. Or all the pain after that… It’s going to be a lot worse this time, One. Everyone still remembers what happened four years ago, and they’re going to be worried it’ll happen again. Now you’re telling me I have to convince Lin Feng’s parents again?”

One laughed. “Well, that’s family. What can you do? But Lin Feng is very different now. He’s not the same person that he was four years ago. Right now, he just needs time. Trust me, he’ll get even stronger. Didn’t you hear all the buzz about his climb up the Korean ladder tonight?”

Lin Songshi nodded. “I did. He even managed to beat Orion in his last game.”

“Exactly! That kid… he managed to surprise me with that. He’s progressing and growing faster than I predicted,” One replied. “As long as he keeps this up, it won’t be long before he can really succeed me.” 

Lin Songshi had a thought expression on his face. “He still has one huge obstacle in front of him, doesn’t he?”

One calmly laughed. “He does, but that works out for us. As long as Lin Feng has a powerful rival as a goal, it’ll motivate him to get better even faster. Push him further and further and draw out all of his potential. Besides, that kid over in Korea has probably already caught onto the fact that there’s thunder on the horizon.”

While Orion contemplated a future where he would face CN•HOOK2 as an LPL player and steeled himself to redeem the loss, all of the League enthusiasts and fans across China were more concerned with the short term. For them, all that mattered was that CN•HOOK2 had won! Everything else faded for them as they lost themselves in the joy of the moment. This entire night had been tense. So tense that all of them were afraid to hope. But CN•HOOK2 had persevered despite their doubts, and he’d made their wildest dream come true. That was all that they were thinking about. 

As soon as the Red Team’s Nexus was destroyed, all of the viewers on Lightless Heart’s stream rushed over to the Korean Challenger ladder page and started refreshing. They wanted to see the rankings the second it updated. And then it happened. They all saw it in the last minute before the ranked ladder reset. CN•HOOK2 was firmly and definitively in the Top 5.

In an interesting twist of fate, it was Orion who was originally at Rank 4. His loss in the last game made his rank drop. So not only was CN•HOOK2 in the Top 5, he managed to leapfrog over Orion into Rank 4! It was, quite literally, better than what all of the over a million viewers on Lightless’ hoped would happen. And they were ecstatic about it. 

「66666666666666666!」
「He’s number 4! Number 4!」
「The manman, HOOK2 ACTUALLY DID IT!」
「what a goooooooood! Hahaha!」
「internet brethren, pinch me! Tell me i’m not dreaming!」

Even Lightless Heart got caught up in the moment and excitement. He threw his fist up into the air and exclaimed, “HE DID IT GUYS!” As far as Lightless Heart went, this was more than about a number on a list. When this night started, he already held a deep respect for CN•HOOK2. But that respect was based on what he’d heard about the player behind CN•HOOK2 during a time when he wasn’t part of the professional scene. Watching CN•HOOK2 play and persevere through the night solidified Lightless Heart’s respect. Not only that, the admiration that Lightless Heart felt for CN•HOOK2 grew by several layers! 

“Fuck! He actually did it! That motherfucker actually pulled it off!” Read XIII cried out, unable to control the shock in his heart. He continued, “How many games has he even played tonight? WAIT-A-MINUTE! Didn’t he just get done playing in the Collegiate Cup Finals today? How? How, Fatty, HOW?! On top of all of that… he even managed to spank that son of a bitch Orion around! How can he be this much of a god already?!”

Tian Tian smiled at Read XIII’s reaction. “I told you! I knew that Lin Feng was going to win the whole time! But this isn’t even close to his peak. Lin Feng’s got a long road to travel before he’s really back.”

Read XIII crushed. “God damn! That wasn’t even his best? When he actually gets back to 100%, we’re all gonna be fucked. He’s gonna make us all look like soyboy cucks!”

Tian Tian’s eyes sparkled. He declared the truth he’d nurtured in his heart for a long time now to both Read XIII and the world, “Lin Feng is the strongest Midlaner in the world!”

Aurous was on the same wavelength as Read XIII over in the Team Rapids’ Gaming House. He looked at Shi Hang and frowned. “Maple’s already on Orion’s. When he comes back to the LPL… is there anyone who can stand in his way? No wonder Qiu Yijie lost to him. That kid isn’t human! If he gets any better than this, he’s going to be on the same plane as Moon, Phoenix, and Autumn!”

Shi Hang’s lips curved into a smile. “I’m not so sure about that. We’ll only really know once he steps up onto that stage and plays against them in a tournament setting. That said…” He turned his attention to the chat going crazy on the stream and his smiled widened, “He’s definitely become the main character and the hero of China’s whole League scene tonight.

Shi Hang called it perfectly. The name CN•HOOK2 was pretty much everywhere for the rest of the night and a few days afterwards. The epic climb up the Korean Challenger ladder and the final push in a single night turned into a legend that people continued talking about for a very long time. 

It was inevitable. CN•HOOK2 climbed up what was possibly the world’s most competitive ladder with a phenomenal, almost unbelievable, win rate. And on top of that, he’d gone up against and defeated a King in his final game! There was nothing else people wanted to talk about. CN•HOOK2 had actually achieved the dreamiest of fantasy runs that every League player nurtured deep in their hearts. 

Setting aside the nigh impossible achievement, the mystery surrounding CN•HOOK2 was another thing that propelled the discussion forward. No one knew who he was, or what he was planning to do. People across the forums speculated about how CN•HOOK2 was a brand new professional player making an entrance into the scene. Others believed that he was trying to prove his qualifications to enter the LPL with this climb on the Korean server. And there was another camp that accepted CN•HOOK2’s entry into the LPL as a foregone conclusion, and speculated about how there was now another potential King besides Daybreak Hermes. 

But it was all speculation. None of them had any answers. 

Fan Yuan, one of the three vice-presidents of the Beijing Esports Association, was sitting in a bar somewhere in the Chaoyang District of Beijing. He nursed the drink in his hand with a gloomy expression on his face. It was odd that someone connected to the Esports scene was sad on this particular night, when the rest of China was celebrating. But Fan Yuan was not caught up in the excitement, or even a little bit cheerful. Instead, he was ruminating on the loss that the team he put together, Team Beijing, suffered earlier in the afternoon. Not only had his team lost in the Finals of the Collegiate Cup, they were defeated 3-0 in a clean sweep by Team Shanghai. 

It was a complete and utter humiliation. Both for the team and for Fan Yuan personally. As he sat at the bar and thought about the smug look on Chu Fang’s face in the afternoon, the anger in his heart burned. Or it was actual heart burn. Fan Yuan suffered from acidity, and he hadn’t eaten much today. He hadn’t had much of an appetite. First because his team was playing in the Finals. And then because his team had lost in the Finals. 

Fan Yuan grimaced at the person sitting across from him. Zhou Weihe, another one of the vice-presidents of the Beijing Esports Association. Zhou Weihe couldn’t offer his colleague much besides sympathy and company. But he understood exactly how Fan Yuan was feeling right now. Zhou Weihe knew about the tension between Fan Yuan and Chu Fang. He was even one of the few people who knew the initial source of the conflict between the two. It was trivial, not even worth mentioning. But that tiny spark grew larger and larger over time, until it turned into the full-blown battle of today.

This little competition between the three branches of the Chinese Esports Association during the Collegiate Cup… this was supposed to be Fan Yuan’s chance at getting back and Chu Fang. With a healthy slap on top of that. But Fan Yuan was the one that got taught a lesson instead. Poor guy must be writhing in humiliation, Zhou Weihe thought and sighed.

What made it worse was that Fan Yuan had bragged to Chu Fang about how much better Team Beijing was before the Finals. And then Team Beijing suffered an embarrassing and utter defeat. 

Fan Yuan took another swig of his drink and slammed his glass down on the table. He looked up at Zhou Weihe with flushed cheeks and said, “Hey, we’ve been friends for a long time, right? Can you tell me why I’ve got such shitty luck!? I finally got a chance to show off in front of Chu Fang, to prove that I was better than him… I definitely had a team that was Collegiate Cup Champion material! But we still ended up losing so badly! Where did Chu Fang get those players! Why the hell was Team Shanghai so strong!?” 

Zhou Weihe remained silent. He recalled his conversation with Lin Songshi and the shocking truth that he had learned.

After a while, Zhou Weihe‘s eyes flickered. He opened his mouth, “Fan Yuan, the loss today… Well. You losing… there was nothing surprising about that. ”

Fan Yuan eyes popped open wide. Then they turned red. “What!? Now you’re going to make fun of me too!?” 

Zhou Weihe shook his head. “Listen to me. Team Beijing was good enough to win the championship. You’re not wrong about that. But Team Shanghai was definitely much better than Team Beijing. If there weren’t any confounding variables, Team Beijing would’ve won for sure. But Team Shanghai was absolutely the stronger team!”

Fan Yuan coldly chuckled. “Stronger? What? Are you talking about their Midlaner? Yeah, I won’t deny that. I never thought some nobody would actually be able to beat Yu Ping.” His voice contained a hint of self-mockery. Even though he said this, he still couldn’t believe that Lin Feng had carried his team to victory purely. He couldn’t believe that Lin Feng was that skilled. After all, if that were true, it meant Team Beijing never stood a chance in the first place.

Zhou Weihe shook his head. “You’re wrong. That Lin Feng isn’t a nobody. He’s much better than you could’ve ever imagined, and you probably already know of him and about him. You just don’t know that you know it yet.” 

Then Zhou Weihe leaned over and told Fan Yuan everything that he’d learned about Lin Feng. He told Fan Yuan exactly who Lin Feng was. Once he finished, a stunned silence fell over the table.

Fan Yuan was in a daze, his eyes flickering with disbelief as if he’d seen a ghost. “He, he’s… t-that kid… Oh my god…”

Zhou Weihe looked around the table, then quickly put his finger over his lips. He said with a serious expression, “This stays between us. The President doesn’t want any of this getting out.”

Fan Yuan immediately shut his mouth. At the same time, he felt a cold sweat run down his spine. He understood completely now. There was nothing odd about the fact that Team Beijing lost. Fan Yuan knew that against Lin Feng, Team Beijing never had a shot at winning.

Literally no one watching could have ever imagined that a single game in the solo queue could be this intense. Or nerve-wracking. But they all sat at the edge of their seats with spasms of unease following every heartbeat as they watched CN•HOOK2 try to bait out the Red Team from their base by rushing Baron. And when they saw the Red Team rushing out of their base, hooked on CN•HOOK2 gambit, the uneasy beating of their hearts turned into palpitations. 

The tension was thick. For the viewers. For the players in the game. Everyone involved across geographic and digital boundaries, united by this one moment in this one game, held their breaths. Time itself slowed down, with every frame and every second dragging on for an eternity. 

24 minutes and 30 seconds on the game timer, with 7 minutes and 30 seconds until the deadline for the Korean ladder. Blue Team’s relentless assault on Baron Nashor was starting to work. The monster’s health had fallen below 30%, and it looked as if they would succeed in taking it down. Meanwhile, the Red Team was rushing through the top half of their jungle in a desperate attempt to reach the Baron Pit before the monster fell. 

24 minutes and 40 seconds on the game timer, with 7 minutes and 20 seconds until the deadline for the Korean ladder. Red Team’s Champions had made it all the way to the River, and they were closing in on the Baron Pit. Both Red and Blue Team were locked in a desperate race against each other and time. The Blue Team’s attacks continued to whittle away at what little remained of Baron Nashor’s health. But the real question was if Red Team would get to the Baron Pit in time to stop Blue Team from bringing the Baron down.  

24 minutes and 45 seconds on the game timer, with 7 minutes and 15 seconds until the deadline for the Korean ladder. Red Team’s Gragas led the charge towards the Baron Pit. When he got close enough, he sent a barrel rolling forward to the Baron Pit. When it got close enough to Blue Team, he exploded it with another cast of Barrel Roll. Janna was right behind Gragas, and she followed up on the barrel with a Howling Gale! The rest of the Red Team was grouped up behind and around Janna. 

When Gragas’ barrel rolled into their vision, all five members of Blue Team immediately ceased their assault on Baron Nashor. They managed to back away right before the barrel exploded, avoiding all damage from it. Then they split apart and Janna’s Howling Gale passed through the gaps in their ranks. 

Sejuani charged out of the Baron Pit first with Arctic Assault and Flashed mid-charge. When she came out of the Flash, she was right in the middle of the Red Team!  She collided with three of their Champions and knocked them up into the air! 

Yasuo followed Sejuani out of the Baron Pit, and immediately dashed over to Gragas with Sweeping Blade. As he landed, his blade pierced into Gragas with a Steel Tempest! Winds coiled and roiled along the length of the blade as this second Steel Tempest landed on Gragas. The first stack of Steel Tempest was built up right before Red Team arrived at the Baron Pit, when Yasuo used the skill on Baron Nashor.

Gragas attempted to retaliate and hold Yasuo and Sejuani back. But before he could, he was hooked by a Death Sentence from Thresh. The Red Team was now completely exposed!

Yasuo rushed past the hooked Gragas and right into the heart of the Red Team. But just as he got there, he was enveloped in mottled yellow light as he Flashed forward right into the Red Team’s backline. When he arrived, he dashed to Jinx with Sweeping Blade. But mid-dash, Yasuo used Steel Tempest. The dash turned into a whirl of steel and wind, one that sent a point blank whirlwind at both Jinx and Janna. The whirlwind made contact and knocked both Champions up into the air!

Now that Janna and Jinx were up in the air, Yasuo could unleash his ultimate—Last Breath! He blinked over to the knocked up champions as they hurtled through the air and unleashed a flurry of slashes on both of them! Then he knocked them back down to the ground with a final downward slash, and landed gracefully beside them. A quick succession of auto attacks sliced through both Jinx and Janna’s throats. The wandering samurai took a brief second to appreciate the mournful flute-like noise as the last of the wind in their lungs escaped through the cuts he had made. 

《Double Kill!》

As the Announcer’s voice rang out, Yasuo’s moment of quiet contemplation ended. He readied his blade once more and dashed at Gragas with a Sweeping Blade. A quick combination of slashes and thrusts granted Gragas a quick and merciful death. 

《Triple Kill!》

Now that Gragas was down, Yasuo’s blade hungered for the blood of Zed. He looked for the ninja that had become his rival for much of the game, and found him far away. When the battle started, Zed immediately rushed Blue Team’s backline and went for Tristana with single-minded determination. It was obvious that Tristana escaping his claws earlier had enraged him. Zed Flashed right into Tristana and unleashed a lightning fast combination of all his skills, followed by an Ignite. It was more than the poor squishy Tristana could handle, and she blasted off into the afterlife. 

Yasuo and Zed glared at each other, across the battlefield littered with bodies and attacks flying back and forth that the river had become. But Yasuo had already cut down three of the Red Team’s Champions, while Zed had only managed to take out Tristana from the Blue Team. Zed understood that he was hopelessly outnumbered, and that he had no hope of winning this team fight. With one last look filled with pure murder at Yasuo, Zed disappeared into the Red Team’s Jungle. 

Yasuo hesitated for a brief moment as he decided if he would chase Zed into the jungle or not. And then Lulu intervened by casting Wide Growth on him. Yasuo grew in size and gained bonus health. That snapped Yasuo out of any thoughts of a reckless chase, and he turned his attention to the final enemy Champion from the Red Team left on the field. Rumble. 

All the fury Yasuo felt about Zed slipping through his fingers was unleashed on the hapless Rumble. He did not last long before slipping into the sweet embrace of death. 

《Quadra Kill!》

CN•HOOK2’s gambit had completely paid off! This team fight at the Baron Pit was an overwhelming victory for the Blue Team at 4-1. But far more important, the Red Team’s base was now exposed. Zed alone could not defend the entire base. 

The Blue Team abandoned their attempt to bring Baron Nashor down and immediately pushed down the Mid lane into Red Team’s base. They destroyed both the Inhibitor Tower and the Inhibitor in the Mid lane, which let super minions spawn in that lane. Defending would now become significantly harder for the Red Team. Then the Blue Team ran over to the Top lane and destroyed the Inhibitor tower in that lane!

27 minutes on the game timer, with 5 minutes left until the deadline for the Korean ladder. After destroying the Inhibitor Tower in the Top Lane, the Blue Team rolled back down to the Baron Pit in a serious attempt to bring Baron Nashor down. This time they were successful. With the Baron Buff secured, the Blue Team decided to make one final push into the Red Team’s base. 

Enough time had elapsed for all of the Red Team’s Champions to respawn, and another team fight broke out. This one went along the same lines as the team fight in the Baron Pit. Except the Blue Team managed to take out all five Champions on the Red Team in a 5-1 trade. 

《ACE!》

28 minutes on the game timer, with 4 minutes left until the deadline for the Korean ladder. Led by Yasuo, the Champions from Blue Team had destroyed the Red Team’s Inhibitor in the Top lane. Waves of minions led by a super minion were now streaming into the Red Team’s base from two lanes! The Blue Team had then managed to take out two of the Red Team’s Nexus Towers!

29 minutes on the game timer, with 3 minutes left until the deadline for the Korean ladder. The Blue Team destroyed the Red Team’s Nexus! 

VICTORY!

Lin Feng looked at the time as the victory crest floated up on his screen. Three minutes left! I did it! I finished the game in time! I kept my promise to One, and that’s all that matters right now…

Lin Feng didn’t need to check the Korean Challenger ladder to know that he’d accomplished the goal that he’d set out for tonight. Besides, he couldn’t even if he wanted to make sure. The second the game ended, all of Lin Feng’s strength and energy vanished completely. He slumped back in his chair, exhausted and utterly spent. But his face was locked into a satisfied smirk as his eyes closed. 

Before An Xin could even start to congratulate him on his victory, Lin Feng passed out in his seat. She looked at him with a gentle smile and pride in her eyes. Then she got up and walked over to him. An Xin ruffled his hair and softly spoke into his ear, “Good job. Now sleep. You deserve to rest. You worked hard, Lin Feng. You don’t know this, but One is going to be happy and proud when he hears about this. I’m happy too. I haven’t seen you like this in a long time…”

Seoul, Korea. The Warriors Gaming House. Orion’s head hung low as the red Defeat crest hung over his screen. As he contemplated the loss, his expression was inscrutable. 

I… lost. Obviously, it’s impossible for anyone to win every game in solo queue at the Challenger level. Especially on the Korean server. But… I completely lost when it came to the 1v1 in the Mid lane. CN•HOOK2 completely outplayed and defeated me.

Orion took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. By the time it ended, he was calm. Orion was a King and one of the top Korean players. A single loss in a solo queue game was not enough to make him tear his hair out and throw a fit. It stung, that was for sure. But it wasn’t enough to shake his confidence. 

With a cooler head, Orion replayed the previous game in his head and paused on pivotal moments as he studied CN•HOOK2. Hm… this could be a problem. CN•HOOK2 probably isn’t an LPL player right now because I’ve never seen or heard of anyone that plays like him. But he’s definitely got more than enough skill to match up with China’s best Midlaners right now. He’s also raw and unpolished… definitely not a professional player. Yet.

CN•HOOK2. I’ll remember him. If he enters the professional scene, then the OGN is going to have a truly formidable opponent to contend with. I lost today. But I know that I’m going to see him on a real stage one day. When that day comes, I’m going to be ready! I’m not going to hold back at all! CN•HOOK2 I’m going to take this win back from you when it matters more!

This wasn’t just empty bluster in an attempt to console himself. The truth was that Orion had not gone all out in this game. As a King, one who was ranked just below Moon and Rake, Orion was a significantly more dangerous opponent than he had let on during this game.

17 minutes on the game timer. The Dragon Pit. 

Both the Red and Blue teams gathered there for a team fight, feeling each other out. The tension was palpable. But neither team found an opening to engage. It turned into another deadlock, with both teams attempting to bait each other into breaking formation. 

Then, all of a sudden, it started. Blue Team’s Thresh found an opening. A blind spot behind the wall of the Dragon Pit that placed him within attack range of Jinx. Thresh made the decision to go for it and initiated the fight with a Death Sentence. His chain and sickle whirled through the air and wrapped around Jinx! But instead of pulling Jinx to him, Thresh used the skill again to pull himself towards Jinx and Janna. And when he landed in front of them, he knocked the bottom lane duo for the Red Team up with Flay! 

Yasuo was ready and waiting. The second that Jinx and Janna got knocked up by Thresh’s Flay, he blinked over to them with his ultimate—Last Breath! Then he unleashed a flurry of slashes on both Jinx and Janna before sending them flying back down to the ground with a mighty downward slash of his katana. And Lulu and Sejuani waited right below where Jinx and Janna were plummeting to the ground to receive them. They were soon joined by Thresh, who arrived just as Yasuo landed.  

Four Champions from Blue Team—Thresh, Yasuo, Sejuani, and Lulu—ganged up on the helpless Jinx and Janna. The combined and focused damage quickly killed Jinx first, and Janna followed her into death soon after.

While this was happening, Orion sent his Zed deep into the Blue Team’s backline to try and kill their AD-Carry, Tristana. Which is why Tristana could not join the assault against Jinx and Janna. She was too busy trying to escape from Zed. Once the other four Champions from Blue Team finished with Janna and Jinx, they started chasing after Zed in an attempt to rescue their comrade Tristana.

But before they got far, Gragas popped out of the brush in the river and barrelled straight into Thresh with a Body Slam. He followed up with an Explosive Cask and shredded what was left of Thresh’s health. The surprise ambush resulted in the death of Thresh. But the other three Champions from Blue Team pounced on Gragas and tore him to shreds. They achieved vengeance for Thresh. 

Still. Gragas, the Jungler from the Red Team, had accomplished what he set out to do. He delayed the rest of Blue Team long enough for Zed to continue pursuing Tristana. Unfortunately, the sacrificial play did not work out. Tristana managed to escape from Zed using a combination of her skills, Flash, and Heal. Zed found himself empty-handed and wallowing in impotent rage in the Mid lane.

At the end of it all, the team fight at the Dragon Pit boiled down to a 3-1 trade between the two teams. Thresh had valiantly lost his life, but his sacrifice allowed the Blue Team to take out Jinx, Janna and Gragas. Which also made it possible for the Blue Team to easily kill the now uncontested Dragon and secure the buff for themselves. The balance of the game had shifted. The scales were starting to tip towards the Blue Team.

The Warriors’ Gaming House in Seoul, Korea. Orion’s forehead dripped with cold sweat. He watched Tristana run to safety, well past the point where his Zed could reach her. Then he glanced over at Yasuo, clenching his mouse so tightly that the plastic creaked. This is a problem! That stupid Tristana slipped through my fingers. When the next fight rolls around, she’s probably going to get Quicksilver Sash from the shop. God dammit! Once she gets that item, we can’t lock her down with any crowd control skills. There’s also buffs and protection from her Support, Lulu, to deal with. Shit! Shit! Shit! Diving the backline and taking out Tristana is going to be significantly more difficult now. Fuck!  

Then there’s that Yasuo to worry about. Hook2. He’s getting fed hard and becoming a nightmare during team fights. This situation is spinning way out of control! All this because I was stupid enough to get tilted and lose my chill after that duel with Yasuo. 

With that thought, Orion’s mind replayed the memory of that fight. When it got to the point where Yasuo outplayed him, Orion felt a chill running down his spine. Be honest here, Orion! You underestimated this Hook2, whoever he is. You can tell yourself that it’s not your fault for underestimating him. You can tell yourself that you didn’t think there was anyone in China beyond Daybreak Hermes who could compete with you in terms of skill and mechanics. You can tell yourself that the whole thing was so far outside of what you expected that you can’t be blamed for it. But none of that matters. You let your guard down and underestimated your opponent, and you lost. That’s on you! 

Lin Feng, on the other hand, had far less on his mind. As his team’s advantage snowballed, he grew calmer and any distracting thoughts in his mind faded. He was completely focused on the game in front of him, and the way he played as Yasuo grew even more stable. With his newfound Zen state of mind, Lin Feng left no openings that his opponents could exploit. 

We’re ahead right now. But it’s not an overwhelming advantage and this is Korean Challenger. At this level of play, a turn-around is always possible. Especially considering I’m playing against Orion. He’s more than good enough to turn this whole game around from a small mistake. But time is running out… 

Wait! No! Yes. I’m running out of time. But that’s no reason to starting taking unnecessary risks and playing sloppy. Finishing the game quickly is important. But winning this game is necessary! 

With that thought, Lin Feng’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. I’m going to keep this going until victory is mine! 

Lightless Heart looked at his camera and spoke to all the people watching, “This has been one of the highest intensity games I’ve seen in a while! So much has happened and so quickly. It’s a lot to take in, so let’s do a quick recap of the state of the game right now! Just the highlights so you guys all have the same big picture overview that the players do. So at 19 minutes, the entire Blue Team grouped together and ran it down Mid lane. They took out the Red Team’s Outer Tower and then continued to push until the Inner Tower fell too. Then they split up.”

“Two minutes later, that’s 21 minutes on the game clock, Blue Team managed to take out the Red Inner Tower in the Top lane. At this point in the game, Red Team was pushed back onto a defensive footing. Blue Team managed to expose the inhibitors in both Top and Mid lanes. If either of those inhibitors falls, then Red Team is in some serious trouble.” 

“But Blue Team didn’t push forward to take one of those inhibitors. Instead, they fell back and went over to the Dragon Pit. Since Red Team was scrambling to make sure the Blue minion waves didn’t take out one of their inhibitors, it was basically uncontested. Blue Team managed to secure another Dragon at 23 minutes!” 

“ALL IN ALL, OUR HERO HOOK2 AND HIS TEAM HAVE A GIGANTIC LEAD!” Lightless screamed at the over-a-million viewers on his stream. “Right now! Well. Right now, Hook2 has pretty much won his last game of the night and secured his place in history. But…”

“He doesn’t have a lot of time left,” Shi Hang said, glancing at Aurous. They were still in the Team Rapids Gaming House, watching the stream. 

Aurous frowned and nodded in agreement. He pointed at his watch and said, “10 minutes. He’s gotta end the game in 10 minutes or he won’t make it. The ranked ladder will reset. If Orion or anyone else on the Red Team tries to drag this game out beyond 10 minutes, all of this will be for nothing. Even if he wins, it won’t count. ”

Shi Hang’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. “I know it. You know it. He definitely knows it. I’m sure he’s thinking about it right now, trying to figure out how to make use of every second he has left! If I know Lin Feng at all, then everything comes down to this next teamfight!”

23 minutes since the start of the game. Red Team started to pivot to a defensive strategy. They’d given up on maintaining control over most of their jungle and started setting up a perimeter of defensive wards around their base.

“Really? You didn’t think I’d notice that you’re stalling for time?” Lin Feng muttered as he narrowed his eyes. His gaze flickered with cold intensity for half a second as he ran through the options in his mind. Then he came to a decision and burst into action. He pinged on the pit where Baron Nashor had spawned. This location was similar to the Dragon Pit, but on the other side of the map towards Top lane. There, the powerful Baron Nashor waited for Champions to challenge and defeat him. 

As soon as he sent the ping, Lin Feng muttered, “Fine! You don’t want to come out? Well, I’ll just force you out!” 

Over in Taiwan, Read XIII had just gotten up and left to make some instant noodles. He was back five minutes later, just as Lin Feng dropped a ping on the Baron. Read XIII dropped his noodles and grabbed his headset. “WHAT THE FUCK?! Why is he trying to force Baron this early? This is beyond crazy aggressive! He’s baiting himself and his entire time into a pincer attack! They’ll be stuck with the Baron at their backs and Orion in front of them! What the fuck is he thinking, Fatty?”

“It’s the only choice!” Tian Tian replied in the QQ voice call. “If he doesn’t want to let the game drag out, the best way to force them out is by making a play for Baron! Orion’s team can’t just let them take Baron uncontested, because it’s game over if they do. They’re going to have to come out of their base and try to stop Lin Feng’s team. Which is what he wants. He’s trying to win the game with the next team fight!”

Read XIII was doubtful. “Red Team switched over to Scrying Orbs. They can see him. Which means… If Maple doesn’t actually start Baron, there’s no way they’ll come out. If this game drags out for another few minutes, it won’t count!”

Tian Tian remained unfazed. “It’s fine! Trust Lin Feng! He already knows all of this and he’s got a plan! I know he does!”

Red Team’s Jinx dropped a Scrying Orb down on the Baron Pit at 24 minutes. The Orb revealed all the Champions from the Blue Team. Locked in battle with Baron Nashor.

Orion’s eyelids twitched, a slight chill running through his spine. Well, I’ll be damned! Looks like Hook2 is way more decisive than I realized. Why do I keep underestimating him? Stupid! But now he’s left us with no choice at all. Even if he’s just baiting us, we have to go down and try to stop them. But this ain’t a risk-free gamble that he’s making, trying to force Baron this early! Hook2 thinks he’s Kaiji or something. It’s a stupid gamble to try and end the game faster! But this gamble’s going to cost you, Hook2! I’m going to use this opportunity to completely turn this game around!

Lin Feng’s plan was simple. He knew that pretending to start Baron wouldn’t work. The Red Team wouldn’t go for a bait that obvious. He also decided that the whole pageantry of the Baron objective was pointless. Setting up vision and clearing out wards wasted too much time, and that was the one thing he didn’t have enough of right now. Besides, there was no point in doing that. He already knew where all the Red Team Champions were, and he was doing this to bring them to him. So he wasn’t really concerned about a surprise ambush happening. Which meant there was only one real option here.

Lin Feng decided he would just go for it and start Baron for real. He sent his Yasuo right at the giant worm-like monster and started slashing into it. The rest of the Blue Team followed him. Because they were forcing this fight earlier in the game than it was meant to be done, they weren’t doing significant chunks of damage to Baron Nashor. It was slow going. But they also had Lulu’s protection and Sejuani tanking, so they also weren’t taking too much damage. 

With this approach, Baron Nashor’s health steadily declined. But Lin Feng didn’t actually care if they took down Baron or not. That wasn’t even remotely his concern. His focus was on the minimap on the bottom right corner of his screen. The Red Team’s Champions had popped up on one of his wards, and they were rushing towards the Baron Pit!

An Xin, who had been quietly watching the entire game, finally opened her mouth and softly said, “This is the last fight, right Lin Feng? Are you ready?” 

Lin Feng took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. This is going to be the last fight.”

An Xin was more than aware that Lin Feng only answered the first part of her question. But she said nothing and continued to watch quietly. 

《An enemy has been slain!》

The announcer’s voice rang out, confirming that CN•HOOK2’s Yasuo had killed Orion’s Zed. But all of the viewers on Lightless Heart’s stream remained frozen in shock. Over a million people simply could not believe or understand what they had just seen. Everything that happened over the last three seconds in this duel between two Mid lane gods happened so quickly that no one could process the series of actions that had taken place. 

The fight had blown all of their minds. And it was important to remember that most of these viewers had seen many LPL games recently. Including the amazing clash between Hermes and AyDeeCee that had happened just earlier this afternoon. But none of those games could hold a candle to what they had just witnessed. This was a dance of move and counter-move, of action and reaction, all while standing on a razor’s edge. This was what a 1v1 between two Midlaners looked like at the highest level!

Slowly, almost tentatively at first, the chat on Lightless Heart’s stream stirred to life. The viewers registered their shock, admiration, confusion, and excitement over the fight. Then the flood gates broke and the chat roared to life. The people on the League of Legends forums, on the other hand, wasted no time putting up clips of the fight. There were already posts detailing the actions and decision-making that Orion and CN•HOOK2 went through during the whole thing. Long posts detailing analysis and comparisons to previous fights were already starting to go up. 

Lightless’ eyes were still wide open with undisguised shock and admiration. My god! I know I was looking forward to seeing what Hook2 could pull out in this fight… but… oh my god! I never thought his Yasuo would be this good! Or that he’d pull… whatever that was against Orion! 

“What. A. God!” Hermes exclaimed. He sucked in a cold breath of air. “I’ll tell you this, Nightsong. If I was playing Yasuo against Orion’s Zed there, it would not have gone that way at all. I would not have been able to kill Zed. Hook2 stomped all over Orion with nothing but pure mechanics! Now we know that Hook2 can go toe-to-toe with a King! That’s a confirmed fact now.”

“God  damn… did that really just happen…?” Aurous stared at the computer screen in complete shock. No words could describe the emotional storm raging through him right now. After a while, he finally calmed down. But he still couldn’t hide the tremor in his voice. Or the conflicting emotions in his heart. “Maple… he’s already this strong. When he returns to pro play, even Hermes will fold like a cheap deck of cards!”

Shi Hang smiled, “I don’t know about all that. It’s more that Lin Feng’s been pushed and backed into a corner harder than anything he’s dealt with in the last few years. He’s turned into a berserker. Actually! He’s turned into Tryndamere! Everything is being pulled out of him right now and he’s unstoppable for a short time. But he can’t keep this up consistently. Orion really does have terrible timing. Challenging Maple tonight, at the very end of the line. Idiot was basically begging to get his ass kicked!”

In Asssassins’ gaming house in Taiwan, Read XIII finally recovered from his shock. “Fucking hell! I knew it! Maple really is a freak!” he exclaimed, his entire body trembling with excitement. “Fuck fuck fuck! How the fuck is he so good! He’s been gone for 4 years. Then as soon as he comes back, he plays an insane number of games in a row in Korean Challenger and tops that off by shitting on a King! What is that about!? That’s not something a retired player should be able to do! Fuck! He’s getting way too good way too quickly!”

Tian Tian had a big wide grind on his face. He answered, “I TOLD YOU! No one can beat Lin Feng!”

Tian Tian was the only one who always believed in Lin Feng and was confident that he would come out on top. Even when everyone else doubted his chances in this game and lost hope. Tian Tian’s belief in Lin Feng didn’t stem from the fact that they were former teammates. No. It came from an unshakeable truth deep within Tian Tian’s heart that Lin Feng was always the strongest. In the face of that firm belief, nothing else mattered. Certainly not Orion. Or the Four Emperors. Or even Rake himself. Tian Tian knew that by the end of it all, Lin Feng would come out on top!

Back inside the hotel room in Beijing, Lin Feng decided to push out the minion wave after taking Zed down. His Yasuo took out two red minions with auto attacks, and then the next blue minion wave arrived. He watched as his minions pushed out all the way to the Red Outer Tower in the Mid lane, and then pulled his Yasuo back to the Blue Outer Tower. Then Lin Feng started to recall back to base. He only allowed himself to relax when his Yasuo was finally back in the safety of the Blue base, and exhaled a long pent up breath. 

An Xin smiled and gently put her hand on Lin Feng’s shoulders soothingly, “That was a great fight. You were amazing, Lin Feng!”

The praise meant the world to Lin Feng, and his face lit up with a tired smile. “It was something else. Fighting Orion was not easy, at all. He’s probably the strongest player I’ve gone up against since starting to come back. I had to go all out and then pull out something extra! If I made the tiniest mistake or I was just a touch too slow… I would’ve been killed. But I won, An Xin! I won!” 

An Xin smiled and patted his shoulder twice. Lin Feng finally relaxed enough to hear his own thoughts. I won! That’s all that matters here. Not just that fight, either. I’ve pretty much won this game. Lin Feng looked at Zed’s corpse in the Mid lane. From here on out, Orion isn’t a threat. Now it’s time to focus up and win this thing!

14 minutes from the start of the game, both Yasuo and Zed were back in the Mid lane and poking at each other. Orion was playing much more cautiously and all of his earlier confidence was gone. Gragas, the Red Team’s Jungler, decided to roam into the Mid lane for a gank. He hid in the bottom-side river brush until the right moment, and then Flashed forward and dashed into Yasuo with a Body Slam. The combo knocked Yasuo up into the air. But Gragas wasn’t done yet. He threw an Explosive Cask at the knocked up Yasuo and sent him flying back!

Orion was playing more carefully now, but that didn’t mean that he had completely given up. He sent his Zed in to follow up on Gragas’ attack, and Orion decided not to hold back at all. Zed went in with his ultimate—Death Mark! Four crimson Living Shadows converged onto Yasuo and left an ominous red mark over his head.

The situation looked dire for Yasuo. But he created some distance by dashing to a red minion behind him with a Sweeping Blade. But this was a tactical retreat, not a frantic one. Yasuo pulled back to create an opening. And Blue Team’s Sejuani and Thresh rushed into that opening when they arrived in the Mid lane seconds later. They were counter ganking!

Sejuani charged into Zed with an Arctic Assault and knocked him up into the air! Yasuo seized the opportunity presented by the knock up to unleash his ultimate—Last Breath! He blinked over to Zed who was still flying up into the air and unleashed a rapid flurry of attacks with his katana. And then finished the combo with a final downward slash that slammed Zed back to the ground. 

Before Zed could get back up, Thresh was already there and waiting with a Death Sentence. His chain and sickle wrapped around Zed to lock the battered ninja down and stun him. Yasuo gracefully landed down near Zed and immediately slashed out with an auto attack. Then he pierced Zed with a Steel Tempest that seamlessly comboed into an auto attack. Next came another Steel Tempest that critically injured the already wounded Zed. That was more damage than Zed could handle, and he fell lifelessly to the ground.

While Yasuo and Thresh teamed up to sever Zed’s connection to the mortal plane, Sejuani had not been idle. She’d been keeping Gragas busy and away from Zed. And once Zed died, Sejuani locked Gragas down with a Glacial Prison. Then Thresh, Yasuo, and Sejuani combined forces to beat Gragas to death. The final blow was delivered by Yasuo’s katana, giving him the kill.

《Double kill!》

The chat on Lightless’ stream erupted into waves of cheering, interspersed with comments about how Yasuo had finally become fed, how Orion had been killed twice in a row, and how CN•HOOK2’s victory was on the horizon. 

Over in Seoul, Moon was sitting in Fate’s Gaming House and watching Orion’s game dispassionately. Eventually, he sighed, shook his head and looked away. The outcome of this game was more than clear to his eyes. Orion’s tilted…