It was Nasus versus Riven in the top lane! Nasus, the jackal-headed monster who needed time to scale, and Riven. Riven was an early game beast, especially if she got that first kill. That was why the towerdive earlier with her Jungler was so important. And they got that all important kill! The kill that could make the lane! If only the Riven had gotten it. But she hadn’t. The Jarvan IV had. And in the process, they’d given two kills to the Nasus. Now, the Riven found herself up against a Nasus with two kills. A Nasus who’d gotten enough gold to buy items with health and armour. There wasn’t much she could do in this matchup anymore.

The Jarvan IV had gotten the kill on the Nasus. He might’ve lost his double buffs, but he got that important kill. It was enough for him to stay relevant. More importantly, he could go and fight in another lane, a winning lane, and get back into it again. But this wasn’t the case for the Riven. There was nothing she could do but sit in top lane and face off against a Nasus she couldn’t kill anymore, waiting for the game to reach the point where she fell into the pits of futility. She didn’t even dare to step up to the Nasus anymore. His Siphoning Strike was quickly becoming the most powerful skill in the game.

✹

Lin Feng focused on farming his Siphoning Strike. Siphoning Strike was perhaps the most important skill on Nasus. This was not for its power at the start, but for what it could become. Every time Siphoning Strike whacked a monster, minion, or Champion to the next life, its power increased. This stacked indefinitely. Lin Feng was calm and confident, smiling. But Su Xue wasn’t as convinced and had mumbled more than a few complaints. So Lin Feng turned to her and explained, “Don’t worry! Things are only just getting started! Nasus needs at least 300 stacks on his Siphoning Strike! That’s what I’m getting right now. I just push this lane and get stronger, all the way until I destroy the nexus. And if a teamfight breaks out somewhere, then I have my teleport and can jump into the action. I’ll clean house, get more kills and more stacks and then go back to farming in my lane. It’s easy. Really!”

Su Xue shook her head and sighed. “You know, I normally have some confidence in you. And you sure sound believable. If not for the fact I just saw you look up a guide on your phone…”

“Oh, that? Don’t worry about that,” Lin Feng laughed, waving her worries away with his arm. “It’s been a while. I was just making sure I was doing this right. No worries, haha!”

Su Xue looked at Lin Feng and then back at the game. She bit on the inside of her lips. He looks confident, it’s just that… It was just that his actions didn’t match his confidence. So she asked, “A-are you really sure?”

“Ease up a little! Haha! Have I ever let you down? My Nasus is great. I told you already! Just have a little faith in me,” Lin Feng replied. Then he paused for a moment. He nodded to his phone and asked, “Oh, uh, can you maybe open that guide again and tell me what items I should get? I forgot…”

Su Xue was about to fire off a sling of insults, fighting the very real urge of tearing Lin Feng a new asshole. But then she gave up. This kid is hopeless… She shook her head and grumbled a little, quietly enough so that Lin Feng couldn’t hear her, but still grabbed his phone and opened the guide. A deep breath to force away the last of her annoyance and then she said, “First you want to buy…”

Lin Feng soaked up the knowledge Su Xue was instilling by narrating the guide. It didn’t go into too much depth. Just the basics. From what his skills did to which items to buy in which situations. As for how to play specific matchups, there were only general tips. This was to be expected. It was impossible to line out every single possible scenario. This was also a depth of detail Lin Feng didn’t care for. He wasn’t going to play how some guide told him to. He had his own playstyle and would stick to that.

When Lin Feng took his first steps into the professional League of Legends scene back in Season 1, it was under the guidance of One. One told him back then that he was good enough to play any of the five roles in a League of Legends match, but that his particular playstyle was especially suited for mid lane. That, in combination with the team he was joining being in need of a Midlaner, was how the initial decision of becoming a Midlaner was made. As for why he still wanted to play the mid lane now, four years later, that was a lot simpler. Rake. The best Midlaner in the world and his rival. He was going to beat Rake. And to do that, he had to play in the mid lane.

✹

At 5:30 minutes, Lin Feng had pushed the Riven far underneath her tower. He was farming the Red minions that charged at him. Then, he Siphoning Striked another minion to the afterlife. It gave his Nasus the last bit of experience needed to hit Level 6. This was a turning point for Nasus. His ultimate skill made him a true raid boss, granting him health, armour, magic resistance, cooldown reduction, and attack range! Tanking an energy shot from a tower suddenly wasn’t all that daunting anymore. And as if on cue, the Riven decided this was the best time to take a step out from under her tower to last hit two low health minions.

“Oh? Is she stupid?” Lin Feng asked, confused. He pressed down on his R key–Fury of the Sands! A frightening sandstorm brewed around his Nasus and then exploded out around him, grains of sand piercing the Riven and damaging her! The Nasus transformed into an ancient ascended being, doubling in size! He raised his staff and slammed down on the Riven–Siphoning Strike! Then he raised his staff again to call forth a ring of ghastly flames! The Spirit Fire exploded on the ground beneath the Riven’s feet. Her armour dropped! Her magic resist dropped! Her health sunk!

The Riven forgot to use her Ki Burst to stun the Nasus. Instead, she turned around and dashed away–Valor! But Lin Feng wouldn’t just let her get away. He cast Wither on her, turning this woman in the spring of her life into an old lady. She needed her sword as a walking stick as her speed dropped drastically. The Nasus caught up to her and hit her with one auto attack. Then another auto attack. Her health dropped low enough. One more Siphoning Strike and she’d be dead. The Nasus raised his staff and then brought it down, whacking her back to the fountain.

《You have slain an enemy!》

“Oh, man! I love it when the other laner just feeds me a kill!” Lin Feng laughed as he had his Nasus walk out of tower range. After the last energy shot hit him, he still had more than a third of his health remaining. More than enough to feel comfortable.

✹

Zeal heard the kill announcement. It came from top lane again. This Nasus was now 3/1/0. It was starting to become annoying. He moved his camera to the top lane. His eyes twitched. The Riven’s corpse was underneath her own outer tower. She wasn’t even towerdiving. She was being dove by a Nasus. Not even six minutes into the game a Nasus towerdove her! “This is fucking ridiculous! How bad is this Riven?” he cursed.

Ron scratched his hair and said, “Yeah. Very. But this Nasus is going to become really strong like this. We’re going to have to shut him down soon. It doesn’t matter how fed we get. If that Nasus becomes any bigger, there’s nothing we can do. He’ll just throw a Wither on you and chase you down. Look at his stacks! At this speed, he’s going to one hit you…”

Zeal looked at top lane. He couldn’t care for bot lane right now. Bot lane was easy. He barely had to pay attention. But this top lane. His gaze turned cold. CN•Maple, huh? Just you wait… He then turned to Ron and said, “It’s fine. We’re going to ignore top for now. It’s that Riven’s own fault for being an idiot and tower diving so early on. Let’s just get this bot tower down and then move mid.”

There was good reasoning behind Zeal’s decision. The longer the game went on, the more difficult it’d become to stop the Nasus. So they had to end the game early. That meant destroying the enemy Nexus. Or, for a more immediate objective, taking down outer towers. First the one in bot lane, which was easy. They’d just killed the Nami and the Tristana couldn’t do anything to stop them on her own. Then they’d go mid and help their Midlaner take the Blue team’s outer tower down. However, there was one flaw with this plan. It didn’t take the Nasus and Riven into consideration. More specifically, this plan only worked if the Riven could at least hold onto her lane and not give away any further kills. This obviously wasn’t going to happen. She’d just died underneath her own tower!

At 8 minutes, the Riven didn’t even dare to show her face in lane. Lin Feng was working on last hitting the minions to build up the stacks of his Siphoning Strike, while looking at the map, at the wards he’d placed around the vicinity of top lane. Then he turned to Su Xue and explained, “See, the minion wave is pushed up a little. I froze it nicely just outside of their tower range. She can’t come here to farm, so she has to go somewhere else. Now, we know she just backed. So the most likely place she’s going to go to is the Krugs camp right next to her lane.” He sat up straight in his chair and smiled the smile of a bad man. “So let’s go and sit in the brush right next to it and wait for her there. You’ll see. She’ll come.”

Sometimes it felt like Lin Feng had a magic ball that told him the future, because it went exactly as he predicted. The Riven walked into her own jungle, over a ward placed by Lin Feng. She made a beeline for the Krugs and started attacking them. Monsters without intelligence. Her own focus dropped. She just wasn’t expecting the Nasus to be here. But he was.

Lin Feng pressed on the R key–Fury of the Sands! A frightening sandstorm brewed around his Nasus and then exploded out around him, grains of sand piercing the Riven and damaging her! The Nasus transformed into an ancient ascended being, doubling in size! He raised his staff to call forth a ring of ghastly flames! The Spirit Fire exploded on the ground beneath the Riven’s feet. Her armour dropped! Her magic resist dropped! Her health sunk! Then came the soul-shattering whack. A purple fire lit up on the top of Nasus’ staff as he raised it up above his head. Siphoning Strike! Space itself trembled as it came crashing down on the Riven. The spirits wailed in anguish! The mighty blow smashed down on the Riven!

《Killing Spree!》

The announcer’s voice boomed across Summoner’s Rift, informing all 10 players of the Nasus’ feat! A killing spree! The Riven was annoyed, Lin Feng’s teammates were happy, and Zeal. Well, Zeal was red with anger. Steam came off his head. He threw his mouse at the wall next to him and shouted, “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS STUPID BITCH DOING? FUCKING INTER! FUCK!” He grabbed his mouse from the ground and moved it around. It still worked. Then he shook his head and cursed, “Does this fucking bitch wants to lose? What the fuck is wrong with her. All she has to do is not feed and we can carry this. But no, this stupid waste of oxygen feels the fucking need to feed the Nasus. Oh my fucking god, how stupid is she!”

Hydralisk the Terrible! Well, they weren’t terrible. They played in the secondary pro league in Korea. That made them one of the better teams in Korea! But they were performing terribly. For a team like them, their eyes were supposed to be on the entry tickets to the LCK, and not on the relegation spots of the pro league like they were right now. And normally, when a team went through a rough patch, they’d work even harder to turn things around. To battle through the blockade and come out the stronger! But not Hydralink. The players, coaches, analysts, and everyone else who worked in a function for the team had stopped trying. They weren’t going to turn this around. It was easier to just give up.

Zeal and Ron, the Botlaners for Hydralisk, were the perfect example for this. Instead of working on their game in high ELO games. Instead of trying to get that little extra training in, those few extra hours that might see them win their next games. Instead of that, they were fooling around on their smurfs. This was a grave sin for professional players. Most professional teams across the world even forbade their players from smurfing, because it could negatively affect their gameplay when it really mattered. It was to the point where a team’s management watched over their players’ shoulders to make sure they didn’t do it. Except for Hydralisk. Management had given up. Their players could do whatever they felt like.

The morale scale had hit an all time low in Hydralisk. It was to the extent that management didn’t even notice that Zeal and Ron were smurfing in the headquarters. It was to the extent that Zeal and Ron smurfed just to feel better about themselves. To let out their frustration and just win a couple of easy games. There wasn’t any pressure here, nor were there players at this rank who could pose any kind of challenge to them. These were quick and easy games that helped them feel a little better about themselves. And, even though they weren’t in the best of form right now, they were still professional players. Even if they met another smurf, it wasn’t that hard to get the advantage. As was the case in this game.

✹

Old Huang watched Cup Noodles struggle in this Tristana and Nami versus Vayne and Thresh matchup. Cup Noodles’ Tristana was being pushed back and forced to miss out on last hitting minions. Everytime she did try to come forward for a last hit, specifically when it was about last hitting a cannon minion for the extra gold, the Vayne would Tumble and hit her with an Empowered silver bolt, while the Thresh aimed his Death Sentence. Old Huang took a puff of his cigarette, inhaled the smoke, and then blew it out. “Ah! What the fuck is this shit!” he exclaimed. “They’re smurfing together, right? It must be. This is ridiculous! How good are they!”

Cup Noodles gritted his teeth, frustrated, then said, “Yeah. They’re duoing. Their synergy is too good for it to be a coincidence.” He looked at the two Champions. The Vayne and Thresh that still had a perfect last hit record this game. “Shit! This shit is annoying!” He wanted to teach this Vayne a lesson. This asshole who’d said, “Fuck all Chinese!” That was unforgivable. Cup Noodles wanted to do something about it! It was just, even with his skills as a Master on the Ionia server, he was getting played around with by these two. Whether he liked to admit it or not, they were better.

Before Level 6, Vayne didn’t have a lot of killing power. So Cup Noodles could still trade with his Tristana and get some last hits on minions in. In a normal situation! This wasn’t a normal situation. His Support Nami was a regular Platinum player. One of countless. While that Vayne had a Thresh, a strong Champion, and an incredibly skilled player. There was such a massive difference between both sides that even before Level 6, this lane was dangerous. Case and point was when the Thresh landed a Death Sentence on the Nami, hooking her and dragging her back towards him. If she hadn’t flashed away, that would’ve been first blood.

The Nami didn’t have Flash anymore. For the next few minutes until it got off cooldown, she had to be extra careful. One misstep, and these two smurfs would take advantage of it and kill her. Cup Noodles knew this, so he pinged the Nami back when she tried to walk forward. Just a quick warning. He figured it’d be enough. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t even half a minute since she flashed, but she was already going back in. Moving forward to poke the Vayne. “Uh?” Cup Noodles mumbled. “What’s this guy doing? Shit.” He pinged again, several times in quick succession. He then hit enter and typed a few letters and slammed on the enter key again. Anything to get her to retreat!

Cup Noodles forgot to look at his Tristana. His entire focus was on the Nami. And on the Thresh. The Thresh who reacted to the Nami engage by flashing forward! He disappeared in a flash of light. And then. Then he didn’t reappear on the Nami. Cup Noodles felt his heart drop. His eyes went wide. He looked at his Tristana. There was the Thresh. “Fuck!” he exclaimed. Then he slammed down on his W key–Rocket Jump!

The Tristana aimed her cannon towards the ground and fired. The recoil launched her up into the air, away from the Thresh. The Thresh who whipped his chain and scythe backwards, dragging her back to the ground–Flay! Then he wound up his scythe and flung it at the Tristana. Point blank range. There was no missing this skillshot. The Death Sentence hit. All the while, the Vayne had moved up and past the Tristana, getting the angle for Condemn. She pulled the large crossbow from her back and squeezed the trigger. A large bolt flew out and pierced the Tristana, launching her back and pinning her to a wall. Stunned. She couldn’t move for the next 1.5s. 1.5s in which the Thresh ignited her and the Vayne fired off silver bolts, the third attack causing the silver rings around the Tristana to explode.

《First blood!》

Cup Noodles threw his mouse away and his arms up in the air. His screen was grey. He’d given away first blood. “Fuck!” he cursed. “Shit! I messed up. Dammit!” He slammed down on his desk in frustration. Then he looked back at the screen. A message appeared in all chat. A message from the vayne. Two letters. Cup Noodles lost it. “God fucking dammit! This little piece of shit! I’m going to show him! This little f— Argghhh!”

Zeal (Vayne):「EZ」

✹

Cup Noodles came back to his computer after blowing off some steam by walking around his apartment. He sat down and had his Tristana, who’d respawned in the fountain, walk back towards bot lane. “Old Huang?” he asked. A deep breath. In and then out. “Sorry. It’s going to be hard to hold this lane…”

Old Huang unwrapped a new pack of cigarettes, nodding. “That Thresh has some moves on him. What a dirty son of a bitch. That Condemn was pretty good too… Yeah, this game…”

Cup Noodles smiled, bitter, and said, “Well, isn’t this what you wanted? This should be an interesting game. It’s going to be a long one I guess. We’ll have to rely on top to carry and turn things back arou—”

《An enemy has been slain!》

《An ally has been slain!》

A brief pause followed as the players on both teams moved up to top lane to see what was going on there. Then the announcer’s voice rang out across Summoner’s Rift again.

《Double kill!》

“Ha! Holy crap!” Cup Noodles laughed. He panned his camera to the top lane. There were three Champions underneath Blue team’s outer tower. Nasus, Jarvan IV, and Riven. “Ha. Top traded a double kill for one? Nice!”

Old Huang had been keeping an eye on the whole map. That was his job. He hadn’t seen exactly what happened in top lane, but enough to get the general gist of it. It was a failed towerdive. He laughed and said, “Haha, they really wanted the kill. The Riven and Jarvan IV both towerdove. I don’t know how that Nasus did it, but he got them both. Hahah! That’s brilliant!”

The Nasus was going to lose out on some minions, which meant missed experience and gold. But it’d be the same for the Riven. They were both dead. On top of that, the Nasus got the double kill. A late game Champion picking up a double kill so early was a massive boon. This Nasus was well on his way to becoming a raid boss, with a massive health bar thanks to his ultimate skill and massive damage thanks to Siphoning Strike, a skill where he whacked minions, monsters, and Champions into the next life!

✹

Lin Feng laughed and pumped his fist in the air. “Worth! Haha! I won that trade!” He then spent the gold he earned from the two kills on items at the fountain shop before having his Nasus walk back to lane.

“That really was amazing!” Su Xue exclaimed. “I thought you were dead for sure! It looked completely lost! But you somehow got both of them! Haha!”

When the game started and the minion waves arrived in top lane, Lin Feng had taken the cautious approach. Nasus was a late game Champion. He couldn’t do much against a Champion like Riven, who wanted to snowball in the early game. So he kept to last hitting minions, building up the stacks of his Siphoning Strike skill. But the Riven wouldn’t have any of that. She attacked him every opportunity she got. It was just that many of her skills were area of effect skills. That meant that when she hit him, she also hit the minions around him. It didn’t take long for the minion wave to push into Blue team’s outer tower.

Pushed under his tower, Lin Feng continued his cautious approach. He last hit minions and did nothing more. Until the Jarvan IV appeared from the Jungle. There was a brush connecting the lane to the jungle just below his outer tower. The Jarvan IV walked out from the brush, while the Riven walked into tower range and jumped on the Nasus. Then the Jarvan IV followed up with a flag-toss combo. A skill combo that Lin Feng sidestepped. The knock up failed. Lin Feng could do everything on his Nasus. Normally, that’d be the cue for the Jarvan IV to retreat. But he didn’t. He kept going and the Riven went in after him.

Two tower energy shots were enough to almost kill the Riven. She only had a sliver of health left, but still tried to attack the Nasus. She was committed. The Nasus raised his staff in reply and whacked the Riven back to the fountain–Siphoning Strike! Then he turned to the Jarvan IV who was attacking him with everything he had. The Nasus cast Wither on him. The Jarvan IV grew old in a moment. Walking became more difficult and his pike suddenly felt heavy. He managed to raise it one more time to slam down on the Nasus. It was enough to get the kill. But at his old age, he wasn’t fast enough anymore to walk out of tower range. One last energy shot killed him too.

Lin Feng had picked up two kills. On top of that, the Jarvan IV lost his double buffs. He’d have a much harder time clearing jungle camps and being a presence on the map. For the next few minutes that was, anyways. So Lin Feng was pretty happy. When his Nasus arrived back in lane, he looked over towards Su Xue and smiled. “It’s over. I’ve won the lane!”

The League of Legends fans across the world split into four camps. They were ready for battle, for a showdown of epic proportions! It spanned the entire world! From a farm in rural America to a skyscraper in Beijing, everyone with an internet connection could connect and fight! A battle of word and wit. But more than anything, a battle of the biggest mouth. The average Joe was a footsoldier. Their squad captains were amateur analysts sharing their wisdom and insights. Higher ranks were achieved with internet points, something the famous online names had most of. For that reason alone, they became the strategists, the lieutenants and generals of this war.

This was a healthy rivalry between the four teams who’d made it to the semifinals of the Season 5 League of Legends World Championships. The back and forth arguing between Europe and North America remained like that. They were an ocean apart and just wanted to see their team go through to the Finals. However, there was something a little more dark brewing between China and Korea. They were both Asian regions. Both wanting to be better than the other. And the Koreans were better, right now. They’d won Worlds multiple times and were the favourites to take home the trophy again this year.

Then there was China. They wanted to be the best in the world. Or at least in Asia. But they weren’t, and Korean fans loved to remind them of this fact. Every chance they got, they rubbed it in. It got to the point where many Chinese fans were convinced there was a government program in Korea specifically aimed at annoying Chinese League of Legends fans. Ridiculous, of course, but the mind could wring itself in marvelous twists and turns. This hatred between the two regions had erupted a couple months earlier. After a post on an online Korean forum. This post went in great detail to explain just why Chinese players were so terrible at the game and why Bronze players from Korea were better than the best professional players from the LPL.

The post that instigated the hatred was long. Really long. Many fans didn’t bother reading through the entire translated version. They didn’t have that much free time on hand. But they did read the comments underneath, all of which were translated from Korean to Chinese.

「you call those pros? lmao, I think our bronze players can play better than that」

「kek what’d you expect? trash region, trash players…..」

「Remind me, why is the LPL a major region again?」

「coz rito felt bad for thsoe suckers HAHHAHAHA」

「I WATCHED AN LPL GAMES AND NOW MY EYES ARE BLEEDING HELPP!!!!」

「death >>> being forced to watch those shitty chinese play」

These comments alone were enough to give a good picture of how the Koreans thought of the Chinese players. It gave the Chinese fans all the reasons they needed to hate the Koreans! They wanted nothing more than to force these clowns to eat their own words! To this end, high rank players from China started playing on the Korean server. They terrorized Gold and Platinum as they climbed the ladder, making the games in these ranks a nightmare for the average player. But then they hit Diamond, sometimes even Master, and suddenly found they couldn’t get further. The Korean server was really competitive. It was hard to rise up to the top. There were only a few who managed to make their way into Challenger.

Though all of this happened months ago, the smell of gunpowder was still in the air. It’d ebbed to the background, but never disappeared completely. Now, with KG and SSK facing off against each other at the Worlds semifinals, the flames were reignited! The hatred reached a new boiling point. Online forums were flooded with arguments and hate messages, while players from both regions started playing on the other’s server and proving how easy it was to climb the ladder. This was war!

KG was through to the semifinals. For the first time in four years, it looked like a Chinese team might make it all the way to the finals! The Chinese fans were so excited. They’d danced on the streets! And then they learned their opponent was SSK. KG would have to beat SSK to make it to the finals. The Chinese fans knew how good SSK was, but they also remembered the hateful messages sent by the Koreans. It was something they couldn’t tolerate. They wouldn’t! If they couldn’t win at Worlds, then they would at least win this online war!

✹

Cup Noodles read all-chat. “Fuck all Chinese? Fuck you!” he grumbled. With a shake of his head, he tried to ignore the message, only for a new one to pop up. His eyes twitched and he shouted over voice chat, “Fuck this stupid shit Vayne!”

Old Huang wasn’t as fluent in English. He puffed out some smoke, listening to his friend complain, then asked, “What’d he say anyway?”

“He said fuck all Chinese players and KG is trash!” Cup Noodles barked.

“Wait. What?” Old Huang shot up straight in his chair and looked at the messages. He copy pasted them in his browser and had them translated. They said as his friend claimed. He squinted his eyes and shouted, “That son of a bitch! What a fucking tool!”

“Yeah. That. Hold on,” Cup Noodles said, the sound of his fingers pushing down on his keyboard in the background. 

Cup Noodles (Tristana):「FUK OFF! EAT SHIT!」

Zeal (Vayne):「TRASH!!! I FUK U BOT!!!!!」

Old Huang threw the words in his translation app, glaring at his screen. The words morphed into Chinese. He could read what they said. He grabbed his microphone and said, “Fuck this guy! I don’t care about whatever gameplay footage. Just kick that asshole’s ass! Teach that shit Plat player who’s boss!”

Cup Noodles laughed with righteous fury and then said, “Ha! Don’t worry. I’ll crush this noob! Fucking low elo scrub!”

Just like Cup Noodles and Old Huang, Su Xue was also furious when she read the Vayne’s messages. She shouted at the screen, “What the fuck is wrong with that guy! Didn’t his mother teach him manners? Asspiece!” She then turned to Lin Feng and frowned. The corners of her lips turned down. Then she said, “Dammit. Why did you listen to me? I wish you’d picked LeBlanc or something. You could’ve put up a tent in that idiot’s lane!”

Lin Feng, however, wasn’t at all concerned with the Vayne. His mood was great like usual. He patted his chest and said, “Trust me! I’ll carry this game with my Nasus!”

Su Xue nodded, hesitant. Then she shook her head. It didn’t feel right. It felt very wrong! She turned to Lin Feng and tugged on his arm. “Hey? Are you sure? I’ve never seen you play Nasus. Are you good at him?”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and said, “Well, haha, you see, I’ve played a few games with him? I want to say 10? I don’t remember. Something like that. I think. Maybe less? Ah, it’s been too long.”

“WHAT?” Su Xue shouted, her voice blasting into Lin Feng’s ear, ringing. “Only 10 games?”

Lin Feng rubbed his ear and laughed. “Oh, haha, it’s fine. Don’t worry! I’m really good at Nasus too!”

✹

At 2 minutes, Cup Noodles arrived in lane together with his Support. Tristana and Nami. But before they could even start hitting minions, the Vayne and Thresh moved forward for a quick engage. The Vayne Tumbled and fired off an empowered auto attack, while the Thresh threw out his hook–Death Sentence! It missed. But it did set the tone for the lane. More importantly, it gave Cup Noodles some valuable information. He frowned and said in voice chat, “This Vayne and Thresh. Something’s not right…”

“What are you talking about?” Old Huang asked off the cuff. He was double and triple checking his recording software and hadn’t paid much attention to the game just yet.

Cup Noodles had his Tristana move forward, just far enough to last hit a minion. It was the cue for the Vayne and Thresh. The Vayne switched targets to the Tristana and hit her with an auto attack. Then, before the Tristana could retaliate, she fired off another silver bolt. All the while the Thresh lined up for another Death Sentence, leaving Cup Noodles with no other choice but to back away. To let the last hit slip away from him. And even then, this quick exchange cost him almost a third of his health and he hadn’t dealt any damage to the Vayne!

Cup Noodles started paying attention. His senses were right. Something was off! The way this Vayne and Thresh were playing. How the Vayne was last hitting minions. How the both of them were positioning. There was no Platinum player this good. Cup Noodles said in voice chat, “These two. They aren’t Plat. They’re smurfs. That’s the only explanation. They’re smurfing…”

✹

The lights were still on in the training room of a building in Seoul, South Korea. This was the headquarters of Hydralisk, a secondary pro league team. The night was deep, but there were still two players practicing their skills by playing ranked duo queue. Zeal and Ron. The Botlaners of the team. They were the Vayne and Thresh, the bot lane opponents of Cup Noodles.

Zeal had just won an exchange and pushed the Tristana back under her outer tower. The lane was his! He grinned and said, “Hah! I knew he was a trash player.”

Ron, who was playing Thresh, smiled and said, “We’ve got some luck. Our first game smurfing and we get to stomp some Chinese players! Hehe.”

Their team had given them the day off. But they still felt the itch to play anyways. So they’d decided to log in on their smurfs and have some fun. There was nothing they enjoyed more than a few easy games where they could do what they felt like. A couple of games where they didn’t have to really try to win. This determination to be lazy was rewarded. Their first game wasn’t just going to be easy. It was also giving them the opportunity to play against Chinese players!

Zeal and Ron belonged to a small subset of Korean professional players who considered themselves superior to other regions, and would openly say so. To them, North American and European teams were so bad that they weren’t even qualified to compete in the second Korean league. As for the LPL, those who played in that league weren’t real professional players. They were hillbillies trying to look cool by calling themselves professionals! SSK versus KG would only reaffirm that. As would this ranked game.

“Nasus and Tristana, huh?” Zeal sneered. “I’ll send you two back to where you came from! I’ll have you two cry and beg for yo mamas! Stupid scrubs!”

“You’re too picky,” Lin Feng grumbled. He leaned back in his chair and looked at Su Xue sitting next to him. It wasn’t his fault these games were easy. Plus, just because they were easy, that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything worth recording in them. He’d made some great plays that she could definitely turn into a cool video. If only she could look past the full games and zoom in on the skill he showed.

“No, but if you’re winning so hard every game… the viewers are going to get bored!” Su Xue argued. There had to be tension! It couldn’t just be stomps! He had to fight a little for the win! Now that was exciting to watch. “It’s only fun to watch these videos if it can still go either way. And then you pull on the long end and bring home the win!” She paused and thought for a moment, browsing through her recordings. Then she looked at him and smiled. “I know! How about you let yourself get pressured in the early game. You can let yourself fall behind a little, or something, and then you make a big comeback in the late game! That’d be exciting and fun to watch!”

“Nope! Not gonna work!” Lin Feng refused, wildly shaking his head. “I’m too good! These guys can’t pressure me.”

“Aww, come on! You’re so good, I’m sure you can do it!” Su Xue pleaded. She looked at Lin Feng, putting on her best attempt at making puppy eyes. “Just one game? Please! Games with an underdog making a last second comeback are always more exciting to watch! Will you do it for me? Please! Pretty please?”

“Ahh…” Lin Feng looked at Su Xue and scratched his hair. “I don’t know…”

There was hesitation in his voice. It was all Su Xue heard. An opening. A way in. She jumped on it and directly proposed, “How about this. As long as you do this teeny tiny thing for me, I’ll order two extra chicken cutlets for you later tonight!”

Food made Lin Feng move. His eyes lit up. They started shining. Almost radiating! He sat straight in his chair, leaned a little towards Su Xue, and countered, “Three! I’ll do it for three!”

“Two. Take it or leave it,” Su Xue shot him down. She had his attention. Two would be enough. She knew.

“Okay! Deal!” Lin Feng agreed. He still hadn’t had bargaining lessons from Tang Bingyao. He hadn’t even brought it up to her yet. But he wasn’t thinking about that at all. There was only one thing on his mind. The picture of two chicken cutlets. Juicy. Hot. Delicious.

“Hey, are you going to play, or what?” Su Xue asked.

Lin Feng blinked and looked up at Su Xue. Right. League. Then food. He looked at his League client and clicked through the menu to queue up for another ranked game. Hmm, if we want a comeback victory, I’ll probably have to feed a little. I don’t see any of these guys beating me. Hmm, let’s see.

✹

There was a small town in Northeast China where there were more potholes than asphalt on the streets. The apartment buildings were old and in disrepair. Some sections had even broken down completely. In an apartment where the walls were dark with water damage, Old Huang paced back and forth. He was Smut Sentinel, a rising content creator most known for his commentary videos. But it didn’t matter how well he did, his fans always demanded more. More specifically, they wanted to see better gameplay.

Old Huang had invited Cup Noodles, a good friend of his, to help him out with this problem. However, the videos they’d recorded so far weren’t anything he could use. Either Cup Noodles lost. That one game. Or he stomped his lane and won the game. Zero suspense. It was all too easy for a Master player to win games in Gold and Platinum. But that was just it. Without suspense, there was nothing drawing the viewers to the edge of their seats. He needed something exciting! Something exhilarating! Something that had his fans beg him for more of the same!

The deadline for his next video was fast approaching. Old Huang browsed through all the recorded gameplay. Useless. It’s all useless. He bit his lips, then banged his fist on his desk and shouted into voice chat, “Dammit! Noodles, why can’t you make these games a little more exciting! These stomps are boring. Make them entertaining! If you can’t even do that, then what are you good for?”

“Screw you too!” Cup Noodles shouted, equally frustrated but for all different reasons. He was trying to help his friend, but there wasn’t a single thank you. Only complaints. “What do you want from me? Am I not doing what you asked me to do? Look. Look at this match history! I’ve been carrying in Gold and Platinum games! That’s what you asked for! It’s not my fault you had to put the bar so goddamn high for your stupid videos!”

Old Huang puffed out some smoke and shook his head. Then he took another puff of his cigarette before saying, “Listen. I get that you’re stomping Golds and Plats. That’s normal, right? But no one cares about that. Talk to me again when you can stomp in Diamond. That, or when you can make these stomps in Gold and Plat look more exciting. More fun to watch. Maybe throw a little in the early game and make an epic comeback in the ultra late game. Or do something. Anything to make these games fun to watch. Right now, they’re just boring. I’m falling asleep for fucks sake!”

“I get that! Fuck!” Cup Noodles cursed. He took a few deep breaths, forcing his annoyance down. “But how am I supposed to do that? I’m an ad-carry… If I fall behind, that just means the other ad-carry is going to snowball. Suddenly, we’re reliant on the other lanes, and odds are they’re losing too. Then what? There’s nothing for me to turn around then. It’ll be a loss. I’m no fucking wizard!”

“I don’t care! Just figure it out!” Old Huang shouted, pisssed off.

“Really? Is that how you’re going to be? You know what you’re asking for, right? This is such a specific set up. Like. We have to find a stronger team to play against. But not so much stronger that we lose everywhere. Then we need a mid and top on our team that can help. Then we need them to be in on it. Make sure they don’t go Legendary before the game is 10 minutes in. There are too many fucking variables for it to work,” Cup Noodles ranted. He shook his head, frustrated. Whatever. Let’s see what happens… He entered the queue for another ranked game.

It didn’t take long for the queue to pop. Cup Noodles entered Champion Select. He looked in chat, where it showed the other players on his team who’d joined the game. Four names. One jumped out. He leaned forward a little, double checking. “Uh, hey,” he said. He waited for a reply and then continued, “Look. That guy in third pick. Isn’t that…”

Old Huang could see Cup Noodle’s client through his recording software. He looked at the Champion Select. At the player in third pick. “CN•Maple…” Then it hit. He coughed, violently, the smoke he’d just inhaled burning in his throat. “Fuck! Him again?!”

✹

Lin Feng was in Champion Select. They were going through the ban phase, but he didn’t care much for that. He was scrolling through the list of Champions. Su Xue had promised him two chicken cutlets, so he’d give her what she wanted. But what Champion is good to lose early with… There weren’t many Champions that fit his plan. It had to be one that was weak in the early game but became a monster in the late game. Of the hundreds of Champions, only a few fit this criteria. “Hmm, what to pick. What to pick.” Lin Feng rubbed his chin, scrolling up and down the list of Champions. Then he saw one. “Oh, I know!” He moved his mouse over the portrait and selected the Champion. It was a Toplaner. A jackal-headed man with a large staff that could whack any Champion back to the fountain in the late game! Nasus, the Curator of the Sands!

“Really? Top Nasus…” Su Xue mumbled a little louder than she intended to.

Lin Feng looked over at her and asked, “Isn’t that what you wanted? A late game comeback, right?” He started grinning, stupidly so, and continued, “Nasus is perfect for that! All I have to do is farm up stacks on his Siphoning Strike! Whack minions all game long and let the other team get ahead elsewhere on the map! It doesn’t matter what happens in the game. All I have to do is farm up enough stacks that I can whack them all back to the fountain! It’s an easy 1vs5 in the late game!”

Confident his plan was going to work, Lin Feng sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. This is going to be fun. Let’s see what the rest of the team is going to— eh? He squinted his eyes and looked at the Summoner Name of one of his teammates. “Paomian? Cup Noodles? Where have I heard this name before…”

While Lin Feng was surprised to find a name he recognized on the Korea server, Old Huang and Cup Noodles were also surprised. Just that they were surprised about something completely different. They knew CN•Maple as a Midlaner. One who’d crushed them. So they weren’t expecting to see him pick top lane. Nor were they expecting a Champion like Nasus. This jackal-headed master of the cane wasn’t the flavour of the month.

Cup Noodles suddenly started laughing. He slapped his desk with his palm and said, “Haha! This is perfect! Nasus is the perfect pick! It doesn’t matter how far we fall behind, he can make the comeback happen! Plus, that Maple guy is the real deal. He has the skill to make a comeback happen! This might really work! Haha!”

“Oh, damn! You’re right! This might really work!” Old Huang exclaimed. He puffed a few smoke circles, looking at the screen, and then added, “Yo, Cup. This isn’t a free pass to play like shit. Like, the optics of it are great. But you need to do the carrying. We can’t have this Nasus take all the spotlight. You need to be the hero in this game.”

“Chill! Chill! I’ll be fine,” Cup Noodles assured. “Remember, this is just Plat. I’ll hold my lane, easy! Besides, that Maple guy is on our team this time. We’ve got this!”

✹

Blue versus Red
Top lane: Nasus versus Riven
Jungle: Elise versus Jarvan IV
Mid lane: Xerath versus Yasuo
AD-carry: Tristana versus Vayne
Support: Nami versus Thresh

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

“Woohoo! Let’s go! Let’s do this! Chicken cutlets!” Lin Feng exclaimed, drooling as the last two words left his mouth. He bought his starting items at the fountain shop and then moved towards the top lane. Then, a message appeared in all chat.

Zeal (Vayne):「CN•Maple? 이거 봐… 짱깨 한명 나왔보네」

“Huh? What do you think he’s saying?” Lin Feng asked Su Xue. “Hmm…” He typed a quick response.

CN•Maple (Nasus):「? ? ?」

Zeal (Vayne):「Nasus. Chinese?」

CN•Maple (Nasus):「Yes!」

Zeal (Vayne):「좆같은 중국새끼들, KG는 쓰레기야」

Lin Feng shook his head and rolled his eyes. “What does this guy think? That I magically learned Korean in the last 30 seconds? Or is he expecting me to search what it means…” But he didn’t have to search for it. The Vayne followed up with an English message. It was short and easy to understand.

Zeal(Vayne):「fuck all chinese!!!」

Zeal(Vayne):「kg trash!!!」

KG would carry on no matter what the obstacles were! They refused to give up! When the going gets tough, they would just get tougher! And, win. SSK was strong. Yes. SSK was great. Sure. SSK was a million things and more. But they weren’t invincible! Someone would beat them, eventually. Maybe it really would be KG. All they had to do was to forget all the reasons why they’d lose, ignore all the paths that led to defeat, and focus on that one singularity that could see them win this series! To that end, they received the unconditional support of their peers and fans!

「The LPL stands with you! Good luck KG!」

「We know you can do it! Show everyone how good we are!」

「Fight! Fight! Fight! And never give up!」

「Play the best you can do! Make us proud!」

Between the many short messages of encouragement, there was the odd essay. Most were written by overzealous fans, but there were also a couple of big names in the scene who joined in. One of them was Qinghe, the official LPL caster for Worlds.

Qinghe:「I’ve followed KG’s Worlds journey since the moment they landed in London. I was there the first week, when everything went the wrong way. They looked lost. Not just in the game, but also outside of it. But sometime in that week off, they started looking better. More excited. Confident. Then came the miracle week. What more can I say? It was a true miracle. We all remember that five man Hecarim ultimate. How they beat the Emperor team Legend. And what about that pentakill? They were works of art from a true legend of the game! Our very own God Roundy!

The Quarterfinals were a continuation of that second week. We got to see the best KG all year. More importantly, what I saw in them was hope. A team chasing their dreams. Don’t get me wrong here. Hopes and dreams aren’t enough to beat SSK. That is going to take a miracle. But isn’t that what KG has been doing? Creating miracles? They beat an Emperor team!

The LPL is no stranger in defeating Emperor teams. We all remember what happened at the Mid-Season Invitational. Hand of God defeated Fate. We’ve beaten two Emperor teams now. Isn’t SSK just another Emperor team? Well, no, they’re the Emperor team. But an Emperor team nonetheless.

Maybe, and mind you, I know this is reaching. I know better than most how absurd this challenge is. SSK is the best team in the world for a good reason. But maybe, just maybe, if the cards fall the right way. If KG has the best day of their lives and SSK loses focus for just a bit. Maybe if we all show our support for KG and help them play at a higher level than ever before. Maybe they can create one more miracle. The miracle of defeating SSK!

I realize this is just a dream of mine. We can’t realistically expect for that to happen. So let’s do what we can and hope that they fight the good fight. That they never give up and do our LPL proud! That much alone is enough for me. And I know it’s enough for the KG fans around the world too. So, KG, this is to you. Do your best! You have my full support! I’ll cheer you on from behind the caster’s desk!」

Qinghe had hit the nail on its head. Between all the support everyone was showing KG, his post was a breath of fresh air. He knew how strong SSK was. And how weak KG was in comparison. There was no comparing the two teams. It would take more than just skill to close this gap. But at the same time, he didn’t give up. There was still hope for KG. This resonated with a lot of fans and other professionals in the scene. They left comments and upvoted the post, using their combined power to get this message to the players from KG. The reality of the situation was tough. But it wasn’t hopeless.

✹

The weather wasn’t great on Ka’anapali Beach, Hawaii. The skies were grey and the waters still. It was the precursor to a storm that was gaining strength just over the horizon. Three walked out onto the beach. His bare feet pushed into the sand, the grains wriggling between his toes. He looked up ahead. A little further on the beach stood One, staring out over the ocean. He raised his eyebrows, surprised, then shook his head and walked up to his friend. “Hey. Did you hear? The semis got announced. It’s KG versus SSK.”

One didn’t react. He didn’t even turn to look at Three. His eyes remained firmly locked on the ocean. The sounds of the water, strangely waveless. It sounded calm. In this almost threatening silence rested something ominous. The calm before the storm.

Three shrugged and clicked his tongue. “I kind of hoped to see them go up against Season or Legend. Who knows, they might have pulled a win out of the Rabbit’s Hat. Don’t see them getting anything in this series against SSK though. Looks pretty hopeless if you ask me.”

One didn’t bother answering Three. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out. KG was good. SSK was better. It was as simple as that. He looked over the water and said, “You see this? The moment you landed, the weather went bad. Me and the missus have only had blue skies and sun all day. Every day. Until you came. Now it’s shit.”

“And that is my fault? Is that what you’re getting at?” Three asked, cocking his eyebrow. He then followed One’s gaze. No longer talking, he could hear the distant sound of thunder. Weak, but definitely there. The clouds were growing darker. He shook his head and said, “Huh, guess what they say is true. Bad news comes with bad weather.”

One narrowed his eyes and said, “A storm is coming.”

✹

The next couple of days were nice and comfortable for the members from High School 13’s team. They were one of the first teams to qualify for the quarter finals. There were three more days and six more series to be played. They could watch them, or just chill and do something else altogether. That was, when Lin Feng didn’t leave them with tasks. His training schedule for them was never empty. There was always something more to do. Some different aspects of the game to get better at.

The extra free time Lin Feng had for the next couple of days perfectly lined up with Su Xue’s plan of recording gameplay for her commentary videos. Of course, he’d done enough for her for free. It was time for her to pay up. So he came with a list of demands if he were to help her record gameplay. It went something like, “Ok, I want more food for dinner. More late night snacks. Extra variation. Think mapo tofu, chilli chicken, stir-fried pork, sauerkraut and pork stew, konjac, roast duck, sliced beef offals, pickled cabbage and fish, Sichuan style braised prawn, pan-fried dumplings, fish fillet, stir-fry bamboo shoots, steamed pork with salted vegetables, shredded cabba—”

“Enough! ENOUGH! ALRIGHT! Alright! I’ll do it. I’ll make you more food. Jeez. Are you afraid of going hungry or something?” Su Xue grumbled, hiding her smile. She enjoyed cooking. Making a little bit more wasn’t much of a punishment for her. Plus, she got to learn some new recipes!

That same night, after enjoying dinner together, Lin Feng and Su Xue set up in her bedroom. Su Xue booted up her computer and prepared her recording software, double checked her settings, and made sure she was good to go. As for Lin Feng, he started his VPN and opened the League client. His account was on the Korean server, so that was where they’d be getting the footage from. This was a little something that would help set Su Xue’s video apart from the thousands of others who were trying to make a name for themselves. After all, the Korean server had a higher reputation than the Chinese ones.

To that end, Lin Feng even came up with a name for the video series. “Smurfing in Korea.” But Su Xue wasn’t as enthused about it as he was. She didn’t think it was all that funny. Quite the opposite, really. She got a little angry with him and shouted, “Smurfing my ass! Do you know how good the players on that server are? I’ll be happy if you don’t get your ass kicked! Smurfing idiot—”

Su Xue found the words caught in her mouth. Lin Feng had just logged in. She could see his name. “CN•Maple? A little patriot we got here, huh? Did you really have to add the CN? Oh well, whatever. Hey, click on your profile. Show me what rank you are!”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and clicked on his profile page. “Oh, I just promoted to Platinum.”

“The hell? Didn’t you say you bought a Gold 3 account?” Su Xue cried out, shocked. He’d only bought an account the other day! She shook her head, trying to clear it up, then looked at him and asked, “How? How did you get to Platinum already? It doesn’t make sense.”

“It does! I’m really good at climbing the ladder too!” Lin Feng laughed. Then he balled his fist, showing off that goofy smile of his, and threw his arm in the air. “I’ll get to Challenger in no time!”

Su Xue rolled her eyes and breathed out heavily. “God. Why, always? Forget it. Enough. You think it’s that easy? There are only a couple of LPL pros who managed to do it! It’s really difficult! You’ll see. Anyways, start the game already! Who knows how long it’s going to take us to get one that’s good for a video.”

It did take more than a few games. Just like Su Xue feared. She watched Lin Feng play five games. Each game was more boring than the last. None of them were worth a dime for her videos! She wasn’t even going to bother trying to make them work. The reason for this was simple. Lin Feng. He wasn’t just really good on the Ionia server. He was also really good on the Korean server. Five games. Five one sided stomps by him. Four lasted 20 minutes after the opposing team surrendered. As for the fifth, it ended after only 14 minutes, when the other team gave up. They stopped protecting their lanes and base and let Lin Feng and his team push through mid to win the game.

Su Xue looked at her recordings. She scanned through them, searching for anything of value. There was nothing. She grabbed her hair and said, “Why! Everyone always talks about how the Koreans never give up! A bunch of liars! They gave up after 14 minutes! They stopped trying… Why won’t they play for the late game and try to get a comeback! I just want to see a good game. Please…”

“A comeback is impossible!” Lin Feng laughed. He looked at Su Xue and pounded his chest. “I carry too hard!”

Su Xue put her elbows on the desk and leaned on her palms, rubbing her eyes. “Yes yes yes, you’re amazing at the game. I bow down to your greatness. Great.” She sighed and looked at the five thumbnails on her screen. “A-are these kinds of games even worth anything? It was too easy. Of course they aren’t… What happened to the whole Diamond in China is Silver in Korea? These games don’t look like Diamond to me…”

“HOW!” Su Xue cried out. She had the official web page for the Season 5 World Championships open. It showed the announcement for the semifinals. It showed that KG was going to play against SSK. “H-how can this be? Is our luck so bad…”

The thousands of viewers all saw what Su Xue saw. The web page was open on her stream. The worst case scenario had become reality. SSK was too strong, they all knew that. But if KG managed to make it to the Finals by beating Legend or Season, then. Then. Then they still wouldn’t have won the Finals. But at least they could’ve had the bragging rights! Now, however, they were in for the hardest series in their lives. The viewers flooded the chat.

「DAMN! WTF IS THIS LUCK??? WE’RE AGAINST SSK IN THE SEMIS!?!??!?!」

「WHY THE HELL DID IT HAVE TO BE SSK!??!?!?………」

「FML EZ GG. kg is done for. it was fun while it lasted…..」

「……… RIPERINO」

Lin Feng was unusually quiet. The readers were screaming in chat, Su Xue was practically crying on his shoulder, but he just sat there, dazed. He stared at the screen. At the match schedule. KG versus SSK. He read it, over and over again. The words didn’t change. KG was still KG and SSK didn’t suddenly become Legend. This really couldn’t be any worse. Looks like this is it, Fatty. Come on! It’ll be difficult, but you can’t give up! You have to fight!

✹

It wasn’t just the viewers of Su Xue’s stream, all KG fans in the world learned of their misfortune. After Hand of God’s exit from the tournament, all Chinese League fans had rallied behind KG. And now they were going to get through those difficult times again. The same team that had beaten HoG. The best team in the world. No one believed KG stood a chance. It was hopeless. They gave up on Worlds this year and started looking towards next season. Next year.

“Why couldn’t it have been Legend or Season?” 
“Why did it have to be SSK?” 
“All we wanted was a Finals!” 
“What is this luck…”
“Why is it always us? We never get lucky…”
“We’re fucked.”

Beyond the sadness and feelings of injustice, the KG fans worried about KG. About the players in the team. Everyone remembered Week 1 of Worlds. They all knew what’d happened. To some extent, at least. The pressure had gotten to the players from KG. Performing on the world stage proved to be too difficult. It took them a full week to get to a point where they could show everyone how good they really were. And they were. They even beat Legend! Now, however, they were up against last year’s winners and favourites to take the title again this year. There was no week between the first and second match. They had to perform from the get-go. The pressure and stress that came with this knowledge had to be suffocating!

KG had a chance of beating SSK. There was a best of five series. None of the games were played. If SSK had an off day. If everything KG did worked in their favour. If a lot of ifs came together, then KG actually could make it through to the Finals. But one condition for this was that KG was in top mental and physical state. They couldn’t let the pressure get to them. They couldn’t collapse under it. They had to fight through and show everyone their best selves. And to this end, the KG fans wanted to help. So they did the only thing they knew how to. Make posts online to speak out their support! 

“GO KG! YOU GOT THIS!” 
“YOU GUYS CAN DO THIS! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!” 
“SHOW EVERYONE HOW GOOD YOU GUYS ARE!” 
“KG IS THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD!” 
“KG GOING TO TAKE THIS SERIES 3-0!”

✹

Lin Feng got up from his chair and excused himself to the viewers and Su Xue. He was worried about his friend, and that got priority over having fun on stream. So he walked out of the room and grabbed his phone. Tian Tian’s number was in the favourites list. He called his friend and put the phone to his ear. Three rings and then it connected.

“L-lin Feng, y-you found out?” Tian Tian muttered, his teeth chattering. His breathing was mismatched, half sniffling. “W-we just found out ourselves. SSK. W-we’re going to face SSK in the semis…”

Week 1 of Worlds was a mess for Tian Tian. He’d been a nervous wreck, stuck in his own mind and unable to perform. It wasn’t until Lin Feng and Three spoke to him and showed him their confidence, that he found his true self. That old rhythm that made him one of the most talented players in the world. It was why he was picked up in Season 1 by a professional team and why now, in the fifth season, he still played at the highest level. He was a really good player when he pushed through the obstacles he placed in his own mind.

Week 2 of Worlds was a dream come true for Tian Tian. He played some of the best League in his entire career. He was lauded as a King. Even an Emperor. A five man Hecarim ultimate. A pentakill. These were feats that rarely ever happened on the world stage. But when he played at his best, this was exactly what he could do. God Roundy. There was a very good reason why his fans had dubbed him this.

However, there was only so much Tian Tian could do on his own. He couldn’t keep carrying his team on his back. Even against Legend, it was him who did all the work. His teammates only did the bare minimum. It was draining. Exhausting. By the end of that game, he’d felt close to collapsing. But he’d pulled through. Made the impossible possible, for just one game. But that was Legend and this was SSK. There was a stark difference between the two. Legend was good. Great. One of the best teams in the world. But SSK was SSK. They were the best team in the world. With the best Midlaner in the world.

Some mountains were too high to climb. Some obstacles too big to break through. Some waters too deep to explore. When Tian Tian learned he had to face SSK next, he fell back against a wall and slid down to the ground until his buttocks hit the floor. He just sat there, staring at the wall on the other side. They were in the semifinals. The likelihood of drawing SSK was really big. But until the announcement, there was still the chance they would draw another team. He could still make excuses in his head. To keep himself from losing it. Not anymore. He had to play against SSK. He had to beat them if he wanted to make it to the finals.

Lin Feng knew this. It was why he was so worried about Fatty. It was why he’d left the stream to call his friend. But against all his expectations, while he was still thinking of what to say, Fatty continued talking. “I-i was in a team meeting just now… E-everyone was pretty down. No one really wanted to talk. B-but we decided we want to win. It doesn’t matter that we’re up against SSK or what our odds are. We want to win. S-so we’ll give it our best and try our hardest!”

“Mhm,” Lin Feng answered, smiling. It looked like he’d worried too much. Fatty had taken the first step himself this time. The pressure hadn’t left him disabled in a bathroom stall. He was talking and there was a fire in his voice.

Tian Tian breathed in, long and deep, and then let it all out. A weight off his shoulders. He continued, “T-the others from the LPL are out. We’re all that’s left. E-everyone is counting on us. We have to do this. I-it doesn’t matter how strong SSK is. We want to fight. We want to win. We’re not giving up until the last second. E-even if it’s impossible, we can’t give up.”

“Mhm,” Lin Feng replied again, letting Fatty talk. Expecting more of the same. But it wasn’t more of the same. Fatty showed a side of him that had been in hiding for a long time. A side of him he’d been denying existed.

Tian Tian rhythmically hit the ground with his fist and said, “B-but… I don’t want to just fight. Not give up. Whatever. I don’t want to lose… I-i don’t like this mindset. I want to win!” He caught his fist in the middle of the beat. The words he’d spoken only now went through his mind. He’d said he wanted to win. To beat the invincibles. “U-uh… I mean. Uhh. I-i know SSK is too strong. We can’t beat them. The gap is just too big. E-even in top lane, I’m not sure I can win. B-but… I want to win. I just want to win. J-just one game and I’m happy. I-i don’t want to lose. Not again. I-it doesn’t matter how small the chance is. I-i want to win a game.”

A silence fell over the line. Neither side spoke. Lin Feng was still listening to his friend, while Tian Tian realized something. He’d been talking. He alone. Lin Feng hadn’t said a word. “U-uh…” His face felt warm. He bit the inside of his lips and then asked, “H-hey, you’re not laughing at me, right? I know we lost to that guy in Season 1. E-even with you. S-so this must sound stupid. It’s just that. M-maybe…”

“No,” Lin Feng said. “I’m not laughing at you.” He clenched his phone and took a deep breath. Then he started smiling. A big, happy, goofy grin surfaced on his face. “You’re amazing, Fatty! At least, I think so! SSK isn’t invincible! You can beat them! Just do it! I believe in you!”

✹

After their exit from Worlds in the quarterfinals, the players from Hand of God had taken the first flight back home. Their headquarters were in Shanghai, which was where they were right now. Nightsong and Hermes were chilling behind their laptops when they heard the news. Or rather, Hermes read it and then told Nightsong. Nightsong looked up at his friend for a good moment before sighing. “Man. KG got screwed in every hole.”

Hermes nodded and said, “Yeah. It’s plain bad luck. Against Season or Legend, who knows, they might’ve done something special. But against SSK? Fat chance.”

The two friends had just played against SSK. And lost. They knew how strong this team was. KG really didn’t stand much of a chance. But they also knew KG! Nightsong grinned and said, “KG won’t give up. That’s not who they are! Roundy won’t let them! He’ll keep them going hard until the last second!”

Hermes smiled, hesitant, but still said, “Yeah. I think so too.”

Of course KG would keep fighting. It was an unspoken rule in League of Legends. Professional teams didn’t give up. They kept fighting until the last second of the last game. For the LPL teams, if one team got knocked out, their fans would switch to the others still remaining, cheering them on. Anything they could do for the region! Nightsong and Hermes were only stating the obvious. Empty words in their truest form. KG would keep fighting. To underline this, they published a post on their official Weibo account a few minutes after midnight in China.

We’ll fight until the bitter end, not just for KG, but for the entire LPL! Godspeed!

The quarterfinals for the League of Legends World Championships were over. Four teams had qualified for the semifinals! They were flying to Brussels, Belgium, for the next stage of the tournament. The Summoner’s Cup was almost within reach, but their opponents were also getting stronger. Of the four teams left, three of them had an Emperor on their roster. And the fourth team might not have an Emperor, but they did have the Uncrowned Eighth!

Coming from Europe, fighting on their homeground for the title of World Champions and the Summoner’s Cup. Fighting for the glory of their region! It was Legend! Led by the Emperor Phoenix!

Coming from North America, fighting for relevance! Fighting for honour! Fighting for a win! It was the Korean Killers from Season! Led by the best Support in the world. Emperor Autumn!

Coming from Korea, defending their world title and going for a record third win in a row! Defending their title of best team in the world! It was SSK! Led by the best player in the world. Emperor Rake!

Coming from China, fighting against all odds! Chasing their dreams and the hopes of a region! David holding his own between the Goliaths! It was KG! Led by a God! The one, the only, Uncrowned Eighth Roundy Round!

On Monday, while Lin Feng and his school esports team were busy with the Shanghai 16 School Tournament, League of Legends fans all across the world were in heated discussion about the possible draws for the semifinals. There were three Emperor teams. And the fourth was KG. A team that had beaten Legend in the group stage. That meant there were basically four Emperor worthy teams. There was no easy win. Except that SSK was the impossible opponent. The one no one wanted to play against. SSK was untouchable. Rake was too strong.

Legend had a strong Midlaner in Phoenix who could carry the team on his shoulders, while Season had Autumn, a Support who could make his entire team play several times better than they usually could. His awareness. His ability to place the best wards and call the right fights were second to none. Both were terrifying teams to play against. But both had their own weaknesses that could be exploited. KG had shown that by beating Legend in the group stage. This bit of information was all that the KG fans needed to hold onto. Cling onto. And hope, pray, beg for their team to draw against one of these two for the semifinals.

However, life wasn’t fair. Riot Games published the semi finals matchups. They were what KG fans feared the most. The one thing they’d been collectively ignoring all day in the hope it wouldn’t become true. But it had. Any hopes of KG making it through to the finals were dead. Dreams collapsed. The disastrous news was that KG had to face off against SSK!

League of Legends World Championships Semi Finals:
Legend versus Season
KG versus SSK

✹

A few hours earlier, Lin Feng and Su Xue arrived back home. It was already late and neither had had dinner yet, due to the awful timing of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. So Su Xue put on her apron and turned on some music. She started humming to the sound while chopping vegetables and preparing dinner. All the while, Lin Feng bolted to his bedroom to work on his ‘anything but cooking’ homework.

It didn’t take long for the spices and meat and vegetables to come together in a hot pan, that delicious smell of food wafting through the apartment. Lin Feng was busy with his homework when the scent permeated into his room. He perked up and looked over his shoulder. The door was closed, but he could do something about that. He opened the door and peeked around the corner. Su Xue was setting the table. He forgot about the homework he was doing and rushed into the dining room, where he dropped down on his chair. Chopsticks in hand, he waited for her to sit down and give the ok.

Lin Feng attacked the food, striking it with his chopsticks and then chewing it to pieces before swallowing it down. Su Xue watched him with rapt attention, eating a little too. Nowhere near as much as Lin Feng, though. He’s really something else when food is on the table… She took another small bite and chewed on it for longer than necessary, watching Lin Feng. When she finally swallowed it down, she said, “Hey. Lin Feng. That childhood friend you were talking about. Is she real? Do you really call her Bunbun? Like, to her face?”

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah!” Lin Feng replied.

“What a…” Su Xue hesitated for a moment. Bunbun. It was a strange name. “What a cute nickname.” She fell silent for a bit, while Lin Feng worked hard on devouring all the food. Then, as curiosity got the better of her, she asked, “Where is she now? Are you two really so close? Why don’t I ever see you calling her then?”

“Oh, that’s because she’s also busy with school!” Lin Feng replied. “And, uhm, well, she’s still back in Hangzhou. That’s where I was too last year. I’ve only been here for a little while now. But yeah, it’d be nice to talk with her a bit more!” He grabbed his bowl of soup and started slurping it down. When it was empty, he put it back down and looked up at Su Xue. With pieces of food stuck to his lips and a wide smile, he asked, “Why are you so interested in her anyway?”

“W-what? Can’t I be a little curious about my little brother’s life?” Su Xue asked, curling her lips. She turned her head away from Lin Feng and looked out the window. The light from a lamppost shone in the distance. Why do I care? Is it because of how he talked about her? He seemed to really care about he— Her eyes went round. They shot open so wide that it almost looked like her eyeballs would roll out. Her mouth fell open a little. No. NO! I’m not jealous! You’re not jealous, Su Xue! It’s not true! She shook her head, flustered. No way! It can’t be! She’s just a little kid! Why would I be jealous about a little kid? I’m not jealous!

✹

Lin Feng got up from the dining table to finish his homework, while Su Xue did some quick cleaning before returning to her bedroom and turning her stream on. Viewers flooded in the stream and then the chat. They laughed and joked with Su Xue, while she was playing a game. It was going decent. Well enough that her team was winning, but not so good that the game was over. Then, one of her teammates got caught out. The rest of the team rushed over to help. This was going to be important. If she won this teamfight, she’d win the game. If her team lost it, they’d be back to square one. It was then that Lin Feng decided it was the best time to walk into her room and sit down next to her. Her viewers noticed and lost all interest in the gameplay.

「HEYYY LLILLLL BROOO!!!!」

「Lil bro notice me pls!!!!1」

「Hey!!! How you doin’?」

Lin Feng waved and smiled at the camera. “Hey guys! Good to see you all! How’s everyone tonight?”

“Ugh!” Su Xue grunted. She glared from the corners of her eyes and grumbled, “Quit yapping! Can’t you guys wait until the game is over? I’m trying to focus here!”

Lin Feng laughed, only barely managing to cover his mouth in time to keep the sounds indoor. Then he zipped his mouth shut, winking towards the camera, and waited for Su Xue to finish her game. She won the teamfight. So it didn’t take long. Her team stormed down the mid lane and destroyed the nexus. So Lin Feng could finally unzip his mouth. He breathed in and out, as though he’d been starved of oxygen for days, and then said, “Haha! Woow! You played pretty well this game, huh?”

“Of course I did! Look at my score! 6/2/11! My Lucian is really good now! Here, see? I even deal the second most damage to champions! I can beat anyone below Diamond now!” Su Xue said, smugly.

For an odd change of pace, the viewers agreed with Su Xue. Her gameplay had impressed them, though the bar wasn’t very high with the level she started out at. Still, they took the time to type out a couple of compliments.

「yeah she was pretty okay today」

「She’s been improving steadily. I’m proud of her.」

「kek. she hasn’t fed for a while now…. pretty impressive when you compare it with a few weeks ago」

「The new and improved maid. MAID V2.0! What upgrades will version 3 have?」

Su Xue knew her viewers weren’t nice to her often. But they could be! All she had was to condition them to be nice to her! An easy way to do that was to reward them when they were nice to her! A real life Pavlov experiment! They’d just been nice to her, so she’d give them something special. She looked at the camera, smiling, and said, “Since you guys are so nice tonight, I’ll let you all in on a little something. I’ve seen the commentating videos, including the ones you guys linked me! And I like it. So I got a video editor to help with the production and Lin Feng here to help me with the gameplay. With my commentary, I think this can become something really fun!” She looked at the chat, her smiling growing wider. They’re going to be nice to me. Just wait, hehe!— Oh, right! She turned back to the camera and said, “Of course, I’m also trying hard to become a better player. When I’m good enough, I’ll commentate on my own gameplay!”

A healthy combination of caution and excitement flooded into the chat as the viewers shared their opinions on this grand reveal!

「no worries, just have lin feng do the gameplay. his games are more fun to watch anywayzz….」

「just focus on the commentary」

「I like this idea! It’ll help you get more popular! You can count on my support!」

「make sure to tell us when you’re uploading it, welll make it trend for you」

“Awesome!” Su Xue exclaimed. She grinned and continued, “I knew I could count on you guys! It’s really great having a bunch of diehard fans!” That was the wrong thing to say. All her hard work went down the drain. She was right back where she started a few minutes ago.

「diehard fans? LOLLL did you guys hear that???? hahaha」

「forrealllsss hahahhahahah!!! she thinks were here for her!!」

「hahaha this maid is hilarious. like she doesnt know were here for lil bro!」

「MAKE ME A SANDWICH!!!!!」

“Oh come on!” Su Xue said, exasperated. “Would it kill you guys to let me enjoy this moment a little? I’m not asking for much here. Just a few seconds would be enough…”

「SHIT! SHIT!!!! GUYS HAVEY OU SEEN?」

While Su Xue and her viewers were having another one of their arguments about her place in the stream, they were rudely interrupted by one message. Then a second one. And a third. This was the tsunami. The flood of messages that warned of something terrible. About some disastrous news!

「FUUUUCK! FUUCK! WHAT THE HELL!??!?!??」

「xue xue, have you seen the news yet?」

「EVERYBODY GO LOOK AT THE WORLDS WEBSITE」

「……..wrowrhwr GOD FUCKING DAMMIT WSJFRSFISBF」

Su Xue looked at the chat, bewildered. “Uh? What’s happened? Worlds? What?”

“Isn’t it a rest day?” Lin Feng asked. “Quarters finished yesterday.”

“Yeah. Semis are in a week. I’m not sure if the matchups are even announced ye–” Her mouth froze. It stopped forming words, shapes, anything, as she flicked her mouse to open up her internet browser. She started typing in the search bar, while asking her stream chat, “Wait! Did they announce semis already?”

Liu Yue looked at the two women. Then he looked over at Ouyang, next to him and jumping on Lin Feng, shouting and pointing at the two girls. Liu Yue’s face turned red. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. A whole lot faster than normal. He looked down at the ground as chills ran up and down his body. He took a step back, shaking. He tried to look up, tried to look at the two gorgeous women. Are they looking at me? Gotta check. One quick glance. Quick like a cat! LET’S GO! He took a quick glance at them, just to make sure they didn’t notice him noticing them. Beads of sweat materialized on his forehead. The scent of his armpits suddenly arrived at his nose. He wanted to make sure it wasn’t too bad, but that would be too weird. W-what should I say? Do I say hi? Is that normal? Will they think I’m a creep? I should just say something, right? But what if they think I’m stupid? Maybe they’ll laugh at me. I should just say hi. I think? Maybe. What are the others… He glanced around. At Ouyang being his normal dude-bro self, right up in Lin Feng’s face. At Yang Fan standing off on the side, casually and analytically leering at the two women. He was especially interested in the redhead. At Chen Ze and Wei Dong who looked like identical twins. Staring and drooling and nearly falling over each other, excited to be in the presence of these two women.

Ren Rou glared at the boys. Disgusting pigs! They’re all the same! These guys saw new lands, unexplored horizons and lost their minds in the thrill of discovery! Even though they didn’t have a shot in seven hells at getting anywhere near these two ladies. They still lost their minds! Why are they always like this? Swines! She’d had enough of it and put her fist to her mouth, scraped her throat, and coughed, “Ahuh-hem!”

Rudely interrupted from his argument with Lin Feng, Ouyang turned to Ren Rou. There was true righteous anger and thundering fury blazing in his eyes. And then it died. Shit. He knew that look. He knew what was coming next if he didn’t stop. He nodded and looked around at his friends. They had round eyes and red faces, stammering and babbling random small talk.

“A-ah, weather. Good. Yes.” 
“H-haha. Uh. Daydream. We’re just daydreaming!” 
“Uhhh, yes! Daydreaming! Me too!” 

“W-what? I. Uhm.”

Zuo You walked up to Lin Feng and put her arm around his neck. She looked at his classmates and said to him, “Hahaha! Lin Feng, your classmates are funny! Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Oh, right! I forgot!” Lin Feng exclaimed. He turned to his classmates and said, “This is Zuo You and this is Su Xue. Su Xue is my roommate.” He then looked at Zuo You and started pointing at his classmates. “Ouyang. Yang Fan. Ren Rou. Chen Ze. Wei Dong. Liu Yue. Tang Bingyao.”

A simple introduction. It didn’t seem like much, but it broke the ice. The guys stopped staring and started talking. Su Xue was a streamer and they had a lot of questions for her. From how she was enjoying streaming to who her personal white knights were. Every stream had them, Ouyang argued. Then there was Zuo You. She had that same fiery temperament as Ren Rou. The two were drawn to each other and started chatting. The hostility and anger Ren Rou felt, mostly because of how the boys had reacted to the two women, dissipated. It helped that Zuo You was as much of a League fanatic as her, so they quickly forgot about everything else.

Su Xue was talking with the boys. She promised to add them as friends on her League account, and maybe even play a few games with them. These were her little brother’s friends and she was going to show her best self to them! It was a side of Su Xue that Lin Feng had never seen at home before. But her charm worked. The boys started to feel a lot more comfortable talking with her. They started thinking of her as their big sister and began talking more freely. Until Tang Bingyao walked forward. They went quiet and looked at her. She waved her hand and said to Su Xue, “Hello, nice to meet you.”

Su Xue looked over at Tang Bingyao. She looked her up and down. Left and right. Then she smiled and said, “You must be Tang Tang, right? Lin Feng talks about you all the time!”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head and asked, “Why would he talk about me?

Zuo You was still chatting with Ren Rou when she heard the question. She hadn’t been listening in. Hadn’t heard anything of that conversation up until this point. But this question caught her attention so hard that she forgot about everything else and turned around to Tang Bingyao. She interjected, “Of course he talks about you all the time! He likes you! You’re his girlfriend, right? Mhm-hm, not bad. Not bad at all. So, are you two official yet?”

“Official? No. We aren’t dating,” Tang Bingyao denied.

Lin Feng put his hand on Tang Bingyao’s shoulder and nodded. “Yeah! We aren’t dating. We’re the best of bros!”

The physical contact didn’t bother Tang Bingyao. She nodded, agreeing with his words. Until it hit her. He called her a bro. That wasn’t quite right. She looked at him and said, “I’m a girl. We can’t be bros.”

“Oh, that’s fine! Girls can be bros too!” Lin Feng said.

Tang Bingyao scrunched up her nose. She looked at Lin Feng and shook her head. “I don’t like it. It sounds wrong.”

“Eh, who cares?” Lin Feng waved his hand. Then he scratched his chin and said, “Okay. I got it! How about we go with Master and Disciple?”

Tang Bingyao nodded. “Mhm. I’m fine with that.”

The others around the two had gone quiet. They looked at Tang Bingyao and Lin Feng having an honest argument. A stupid argument. It was simultaneously silly and cute. No one knew what to say. So they just stood there watching. Waiting. Hoping for it to end soon. Then Zuo You broke the silence. “Damn! I take back all my doubts. You two are made for each other! I’ve never seen a more perfect couple!”

✹

Lin Feng and the others didn’t stay at the venue where the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was held for much longer. It was already late and they had school the next morning. They could celebrate after winning the entire tournament. For tonight, they decided to cut it short and go back home. While saying their goodbyes, Su Xue and Zuo You promised the team that they’d come and cheer them on all the way to the Finals. They’d be there when High School 13 would lift the trophy! If they got that far. And if they did, Su Xue even promised them a dinner celebration.

The others from the esports team went back with the subway, while Lin Feng joined Su Xue and Zuo You. They took a cab back to their place. In the car, Zuo You asked, “You’re pretty close with those classmates of yours, huh? That Ren Rou girl is really nice. I really like her!” She paused for a moment, a wicked grin spreading on her face. She winked at him, a little over the top. “Hey, hey. Are you really not dating Tang Tang? I think you two would make such a cute couple!”

Su Xue nodded. “You two really did look great together. And she’s really cute and adorable and pretty. Are you sure you aren’t interested in her?”

Lin Feng shook his head and smiled. “Nah, nah! It’s like I said, I’m her master! The best of bros!”

“The best of bros my ass!” Zuo You said, rolling her eyes. Speaking of bros… She looked at Lin Feng. Scrutinized him. Then asked, “Right. That friend of yours. Ouyang or whatever. He said something about a pretty childhood friend? Was what he said true?”

“Haha, yeah! He was talking about Bunbun!” Lin Feng laughed.

Zuo You opened her eyes wide and nodded. “Ha. You’re insatiable. I should’ve known when I saw you eat. But wow! How many women do you want before you’re happy? Is Tang Tang not enough? Do you really need this Bunbun too? Oh! And don’t forget about Su Xue!”

“Hey! What the fuck!” Su Xue exclaimed. “Why would you include me there? I’m his big sister! Big. Sister! Nothing more!” She then turned to Lin Feng, ignoring her friend, and asked, “So you really have a cute childhood friend? Tell me about her!”

“Yeah! Bunbun is a really good friend! She was the one who introduced me to League of Legends and taught me how to play!” Lin Feng nodded. Then he grinned. “But now I’m way better than her! Hehe. I can easily kick her ass!”

Zuo You rolled her eyes and said, “No one cares about that.” She knew Lin Feng was good. They all knew Lin Feng was really good at the game. One of the best in all of China, most likely. If he wasn’t at the level of a professional player, he wouldn’t be far off. That was how highly they thought of his skills. So there wasn’t a doubt in their minds that he could beat some random player who happened to have introduced him to the game. But pressing him on the matter wouldn’t get her anything. She knew him better than that by now. So she turned to Su Xue and switched the topic. “Hey, remember the video thing I suggested the other day? Did you have a chance to think about it yet?”

Su Xue smiled and said, “I did! I did! I’m planning on giving it a shot! It’s just been a little difficult to figure out how to record the gameplay and find a good way of doing commentary. My own style. I’ve been studying other commentators for a few days now, but it looks really difficult. Anyways, I think it’s possible. As long as Lin Feng is down to make the gameplay for me to recor–”

“I don’t mind!” Lin Feng interrupted.

Zuo You nodded. “Sounds good. I think it’s a great idea. Just hurry up and get things rolling. I’ve got some spare time right now, but who knows how long that’ll last. Get that first video recorded and send it my way. I’ll do all the editing and post-processing!”

“No worries. We’ll have the video done in no time. Right, Lin Feng?” Su Xue said, turning to Lin Feng. Then she thought about it for a moment before asking, “That’s fine, right? Like, we can make a video in the next day or two? If you aren’t busy with anything…”

Lin Feng smiled and said, “Nope! I’m good! We can do it!”

However, not everything was good. Something terrible was happening! It was so bad that it didn’t just affect Su Xue and Lin Feng, but the entire Chinese League of Legends community! They were all caught off guard by the news. No one saw it coming. But when it did, it hit like a truck. It smashed into them and left them numb. Then the pain set in. They started screaming in righteous indignation. This wasn’t fair! This was the absolute worst!

Ring-ring… Ring-ring… Ring-ring…

Chu Fang grabbed his phone and checked who was calling him. It was the owner of an organization with business ties to the Shanghai Esports Association. The thought of finding out what the name of High School 13’s Toplaner slid to the back of his mind. He left his spot backstage and walked to somewhere a little more private, so that he could take the call and not be interrupted by the crowd of 500 cheering for that Toplaner. That Toplaner who he was sure he’d see more of. If not today, then in the quarterfinals. For there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that High School 13 would beat Bright High and move on to the next round. And as if to confirm this thought, a single word blasted from the speakers.

《Legendary!》

The game wasn’t fun, not for the players from Bright High. It was their worst nightmare. The Jax was toying with them. He hunted them down across the Rift, slamming them back to the fountain with his lamppost. And there was nothing they could do about it. At 20 minutes, he grew to the invincible status. If they tried to fight him, even get near him, he’d kill them. Anyone squishy would fall to him. But since they hadn’t had the opportunity to buy some defensive items, all five of them were squishy.

Bright High tried to hunt him down. Again. Another 3vs1. Another failure. Lin Feng turned tail and ran. But he didn’t run for safety, he just ran around the map, waiting for them to make a mistake. Waiting for one of those chasing him to split away from the others. Then he jumped on the straggler. Killed them. And then went back to running around the map. It was painful to watch.

The players from Bright High were growing increasingly frustrated. Another Leap Strike. Another death. Jax again jumping from the only un-warded brush within sight. Annoyed. Angry. Furious. They couldn’t take it anymore! Not for another second! 

“GOD FUCKING SHIT JAX! FUCK THIS GUY!” 
“SCREW HIM AND HIS FAMILY!” 
“AGAIN? THIS STUPID SON OF A BITCH!” 
“I WANNA FUCKING KILL THAT STUPID SHITHEAD!”
“AARRGGHHHHHH WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT? HOW IS HE EVERYWHERE? EVERYWHERE!”

✹

Silent Reed shook her head and sighed. “This doesn’t look good for Bright High. They can’t do anything against this Jax. It’s really hard to watch. I think we all know how frustrating these kinds of games are when you’re on the losing team.”

“No kidding. He’s unkillable,” West Wind chuckled. “It doesn’t matter how many people go after him, they won’t kill him. He’ll just get away, while the rest of his teams punishes you. There’s no winning this. He’ll get to their nexus and end the game. A fed Jax is such a headache.” He paused for a moment to look up at the large screen. “Mhm. Looks like this game is about done. Bright High has basically given up resisting.”

Bright High hadn’t exactly given up. They were giving it their all. They were fighting for farm. For objectives. For kills. For anything and everything they could. But High School 13 was too far ahead. In every aspect of the game, they held the upper hand. Four of their players were pushing together in mid lane, while Lin Feng ran around the map, doing whatever he felt like doing. He could. No one could stop him.

Su Xue had forgotten all about her earlier nerves. Now, she was cheering for every play Lin Feng made. Everything he did ended with a kill or objective. It looked so easy when he did it. So simple and smooth that it made others wonder if it was even difficult what he was doing. She jumped up and cheered for him, only to be pulled back down by Zuo You. Sometimes even before she could jump up or cry out, Zuo You would move to stop her. And perhaps that was for the best, for what Su Xue wanted to shout through the venue the most was, “HEY HEY! SEE THAT JAX? YEAH? THAT’S MY LITTLE BROTHER!”

Weapons and spells slammed down onto Bright High’s nexus, the red energy within looking to break free. Its durability went down. Bright High tried to stop it, but the players from High School 13 would take a break from destroying the nexus to killing them whenever they tried to do something. In this fashion, the last bit of durability depleted. The nexus exploded and the red energy escaped. It was a victory for High School 13! They were up 1-0 in this best of three series!

High School 13 had to win one more game to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! Everyone expected that Jax to pick another Champion that excelled at fighting and picking up kills. They even wanted to see that Jax put on another display! But they weren’t going to get that chance. High School 13 changed their roster for the second game. Lin Feng made place for Chen Ze.

Right after the information was passed on to the staff members, it was sent through to Silent Reed behind the caster’s desk. She forgot for a moment that her microphone was on. That everyone could hear her. She said, “Hoh? What? The Jax player is sitting out?” Realizing everyone had heard her confusion, she smiled and added, “We have a change in High School 13’s lineup! They’re switching Toplaners! The Jax is sitting out in the next game and someone else is taking his place!”

Somewhere in the crowd, Zeng Rui looked over his shoulder towards the caster’s desk and shook his head. Big whoppin’ surprise… Not. He knew this could happen. In fact, he was even expecting it. This thundering dumbass did the same in the last round… He needs to have his brain checked out. Zeng Rui looked at Lin Feng, who was walking down the stage with a spring in his step. He couldn’t spot the slightest trace of worry. Or anything of the kind. Overconfidence? It has to be. Does he think this game doesn’t matter or something? Lose one and then carry the next? Zeng Rui jutted his jaw forward and glowered. “Do you think you’re some superhero? Come swooping in to save the day when your team needs you again?”

✹

“Eh? Why are you here?” Su Xue asked Lin Feng when he walked up to them. “Your game is almost starting. Was that caster girl right? Are you really sitting out? Why?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m sitting out.” Lin Feng nodded and sat down next to Su Xue. After the game had ended, he’d noticed the chair freed up, so he made the quick decision to come sit with his roommate. He looked at her, and Zuo You sitting on the other side of her, and said, “It’s fine. Our team is strong enough. They don’t need me to beat that Bright High team. Besides, it’ll be good for them to win a game without me.”

“If you say so.” Su Xue shook her head, but then grinned. She ruffled his hair and said, “You were fantastic last game! It’s good that you didn’t embarrass me!”

“I know, right? My Jax is amazing!” Lin Feng laughed, brightly.

Zuo You listened to the two, feeling the intense urge to disappear. She placed her hand over her face and scrunched back, biting on the inside of her lip. Then. She’d had enough. “Seriously! Come on! What is it with you two? One making a fool of himself up on stage, and the other in the crowd! I don’t want to be the third wheel in this relationship!” She breathed in, deep and long. Then blew it all out and turned her attention back on the stage. On the players from High School 13. On the ad-carry. She looked at the girl and— “Hey! Lin Feng? That girl playing ad-carry on your team, is she your girlfriend?”

Lin Feng looked over at Zuo You, bewildered, and asked, “Huh? What girlfriend?”

Zuo You gave him the stink eye and said, “Playing dumb? You know, the “not my girlfriend” girlfriend. That classmate you can’t shut up about. Or. Wait. Are you two still together? Or did she break up with you? Is that it? Well, don’t worry about it. That’s just what kids your age do. They race through relationships. A new one every week, sometimes even twice a day. It’s just part of being a teenager. But damn. She’s actually kind of cute. Almost as cute as Su Xue here was when she was still young.”

Su Xue’s eyes bugged out. She was used to getting this kind of abuse from her viewers while streaming, but not from her best friend! “Hey! When I was still young? What’s wrong with you! I’m still young! Screw you!”

Zuo You grinned, revealing her teeth. “Hohoho! Look at the little miss insulted here! Desperate to compare herself to a high school girl! Haha! Look at this, Lin Feng, these are her true colours. She’s a jealous one.”

Su Xue fingers flew as if they had a life of their own. Flew towards Zuo You and stabbed into her side. The side of her stomach, an especially sensitive area. One that often received laughter when tickled. She yelled, “Who are you calling jealous? Huh? HUH? Tell me! Who’s the jealous one! 

“Hahaha! Ow! Mercy, mercy! It’s my bad! I was just joking around! Haha! You’re so mad! Doesn’t that mean I’m ri— Ow! Hahah! Okay! My bad my bad! I’m sorry!”

“Hmpf. That’s what I thought.”

✹

The second game between High School 13 and Bright High started. Lin Feng watched it from the stands together with Su Xue and Zuo You, though he was for the most part preoccupied with chatting with the two girls. There wasn’t anything for him to worry about in the game. His team played fantastically. Even without him, they were great. It was what they’d been practicing for all this time! Chen Ze was no Lin Feng, but he played a very strong top lane and was even the player who made the first big play in the game. The play that tilted Bright High over the edge.

Bright High was pushing hard in bot lane. Tang Bingyao and Wei Dong were forced underneath their outer tower. But not before Wei Dong had placed a ward in the brush a little further in lane. A brush that wasn’t warded by Bright High. Chen Ze teleported to it with his Irelia. A 3vs2. His Irelia had a stun and Tang Bingyao’s Tristana had a jump. The lane was too long. Bright High couldn’t get away in time. Tang Bingyao picked up the double kill on her Tristana.

From those first two kills, the game snowballed in High School 13’s favour. They built up a gold difference that only grew larger. Up to 4,000 gold by the 15 minute mark and up to 6,000 gold another five minutes later. Most of that gold difference was between the ad-carries. Tang Bingyao was playing one of her best games. She got rewarded for it with a quadra kill that she picked up at a fight over the Dragon. It was such a beautiful play by her that the entire crowd went silent for a moment, before erupting into cheers!

The caster’s desk was helping with this. Silent Reed shoutcasted, “You go girl! Represent all female players! We’re also really good at the game!”

Bright High was still mad after the first game. They stepped with the wrong foot in this second game, and they were punished for it. From the start of the game, they were pushed back. They lost objectives. They gave away kills. It started slowly, but soon happened everywhere. There was nothing they could do to stop it anymore. After 32 minutes, their nexus exploded as did their dreams of making it to the next round in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament

High School 13 2 – 0 Bright High

Lin Feng ran down the stands and joined up with Ouyang and Ren Rou as they jumped up on stage to celebrate the win with the rest of the team. From out in the first round of the qualifiers last year to making it now to the quarterfinals! This was immense! This was huge! Ouyang jumped on Yang Fan and screamed, “WOOOOOOOO! WE WON! WE’RE GOING TO THE QUARTERS!”

Liu Yue hugged the two guys, with Wei Dong and Chen Ze doing the same. Lin Feng laughed and jumped into the hug circle, with only the two girls shaking their heads from the side. Ugh, boys. They grinned at each other and Ren Rou said, “Great work, Tang Tang! You really carried that game! That was amazing!”

“Mhm.”

Su Xue and Zuo You walked up on stage. They laughed while watching the guys hugging each other. The guys were still jumping around. They looked like a bunch of fools! But they didn’t care. They were just happy! Until Ouyang noticed the two women. His Ouyang Senses had warned him. “Wait!” he shouted, pushing himself free from the others. He turned to look at Su Xue and Zuo You. “Su Xue and…” He scrutinized the girl next to Su Xue. An unfamiliar face. He turned to Lin Feng, then pointed his thumb at Zuo You and asked, “Who’s she? Don’t tell me. Don’t tell me. Lin Feng. You bastard! Leave some for the rest of us!”

“HEY! Talk! Start talking!” a voice boomed into West Wind and Silent Reed’s earpieces. They were hired to do a job, and that job wasn’t to sit in a daze and keep their mouths shut. It was to talk. To never close their mouths. To lead the people in the venue and at home through the games! That was the job of a shoutcaster!

“Uh oh, right,” Silent Reed mumbled. She shook her head and looked back at the large screen above the stage, thinking back to that Jax play. He flashed away. Then jumped back. Didn’t he… The dots connected and she started talking into her microphone again, “Didn’t the Jax do the same thing for his first blood? Remember how he flashed away and then Leap Striked back onto the Fiora?”

West Wind looked to his side, towards Silent Reed, surprised. “Huh. Hmm. You’re right. It does look kind of similar. I mean, last time it was in the middle of the lane and this time it was over a jungle wall, so it’s not exactly the same. But yeah, you’re right. A different place but the play itself is almost identical. That Lee keeps getting played, hehe.”

The people in the crowd turned towards the commentators. Those two were right! They had seen this play before! This Jax had done the Lee Sin dirty once at the start of the game. And now, a few minutes later, he did the Lee Sin dirty again! There was no being nice, considerate, or anything of the kind. This Jax was just toying around with the Lee Sin, making him look a fool! And he was the fool, especially the second time. He should’ve learned his lesson the first time around.

✹

The Lee Sin player from Bright High couldn’t take it anymore. God fucking fuck fuck shit fucking shit! He mashed down on his mouse, full of power, as if he were trying to kill it. Smother it! God fucking fuck fuck fuck fuck! He raised his other hand up above his keyboard, a little higher than usual, and slammed down. Down on the D. His Lee Sin flashed over the wall and after the Jax. You little piece of… This was the last time the Jax would do him dirty! He was going to put an end to this right now! The Jax was almost dead. One roundhouse kick to the face would seal the deal. I’ma kill you, you fucking shitstain!

However, Lin Feng still had his teammates. More specifically, a Jungler and Midlaner. Liu Yue and Yang Fan had started walking towards top lane the moment it became clear what was going to happen up there. Now, with the Fiora and Orianna already dead, they finally arrived. Not too late. Not too early. But precisely when they were needed. 

Yang Fan had his Syndra conjure a Dark Sphere under the Lee Sin, dealing magic damage to him. Then he activated Scatter the Weak. The Syndra knocked the Lee Sin and Dark Sphere backwards. The Dark Sphere hit the Lee Sin again, activating the secondary ability of Scatter the Weak. That was to stun any Champion hit by the Dark Sphere. Then, timed to perfection, the Rek’Sai dug a tunnel and Unburrowed underneath the Lee Sin. This time, the Lee was knocked up, but the result was the same. The Lee Sin was immobilized. He couldn’t do anything as the Syndra cast her ultimate–⁠Unleashed Power! She bombarded him with her Dark Spheres, claiming the kill. All the while, Lin Feng had his Jax stand off to the side, taunting the Lee Sin for failing to kill him.

《An enemy has been slain!》

“Awww, man!” Lin Feng whined. The Lee Sin was dead. His Jax got an assist. He was now 7/0/1. “Just one more kill. All I needed was that one kill, and I would’ve been Legendary…”

Yang Fan rolled his eyes, then adjusted his glasses. “Really? You’ve already got so many kills. You just picked up two in a 1vs3! How are you still not happy? Ah, forget it. Just don’t go doing anything stupid. We don’t want to give them the bounty on your head.”

Lin Feng laughed, uncaring. “Don’t worry about me. They can’t catch me. I’m really good at saving my own hide too!”

✹

High School 13 versus Bright High. The game wasn’t over yet. Not officially, at least. But there wasn’t much hope left for Bright High. Yang Fan was doing well in mid lane on his Syndra, despite his opponent being Diamond 2. As for bot lane, Tang Bingyao was 1,500 gold ahead of the Jinx. This was half an item worth of gold. A difference that was noticeable in fights. As if it were a 6vs5. In this particular game, it was even worse. Top lane. Lin Feng’s lane. The disparity up there was so big that it was hard to say anything positive about the Fiora. It looked like she wasn’t intentionally feeding yet. But that was about it.

The other teams competing in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament who’d come to observe these games started at the large screen. They followed the game. Followed every move High School 13 made. Made mental notes. Anything and everything they noticed. High School 13 was good. Really good. If they wanted to beat them, they’d have to really try. Play their best. So it was important to find potential weaknesses right now. Then, if they were unfortunate enough to end up having to play against High School 13, at least they knew where to start forming a plan from.

In this game against Bright High, High School 13 looked like a genuine contender for the title. They were the dark horse of this edition. It was so impressive that even the players from Shanghai High School started whispering amongst each other, worried. They’d watched High School 13 a week ago. But the High School 13 this week looked like a different team. They were so much better, it almost felt like they were dreaming. Against this team, they might actually have to try!

One of the few players who wasn’t affected by this showcase of power from High School 13 was Zeng Rui. He sneered when he heard the whispers from his teammates. Fools. Fair. High School 13 was stronger than he expected. Better than anyone initially anticipated. But just because they were better, that didn’t mean they were good. Their Botlaners were half decent and their Toplaner was good. But other than that, they were a weak team. They might luck their way to the semifinals, but they’d never make it to the finals.

Zeng Rui shook his head. There really wasn’t anything to worry about. Might as well get matched up against them. We just have to put a little more effort shutting that thundering dumbass down. The rest is easy. High School 13 wasn’t strong enough. The only team that scared him was Shanghai International. Last year’s runners up. They had a strong team, rivaling his own. Hmm… He glanced in his notebook at the information he’d written down on High School 13. Seems like Shanghai International knocked them out last year. Maybe they got particularly unlucky in their qualifiers. Who knows…

✹

Chu Fang was watching the match, which wasn’t particularly interesting. The winner was obvious, to everyone. High School 13. He looked at the 10 high schoolers fighting it out. At the other high schoolers from other teams watching the games. That used to be me… He thought back to his early days. His introduction to the massive online battle arena genre. He started in DotA and when League of Legends released, made the switch. Since then, he’d played this game. Though, over the last several years, he’d noticed his reflexes and mechanics falling off. His old rank was near the top of the ladder in high Diamond. But these days, he’d be lucky if he didn’t drop down to Platinum.

However, even when he played DotA, he never belonged to the very best. He was very good, but not good enough to make it professionally. If those players, the ones who dominated the DotA scene back in their days, had made the switch to League of Legends. If they were willing to step out of retirement and reignite their competitive spirits. Chu Fang shook his head. They’d be Kings and Emperors. No one could stop them. They’d dominate the scene. Such a pity…

Chu Fang knew his own skills, or lack thereof, and had made his peace with it. But that didn’t stop his love for esports. He just had to find a different way to be involved. And he had. His current job put him right in the middle of the scene and he absolutely loved it. When he looked at these young kids playing to the best of their ability right now, it felt like he was looking at a younger version of himself. His dreams of making the big leagues. His dreams of competing for the highest titles and awards. His thirst and desire to win in the Finals of the World Championships and every game before and after it!

The world kept revolving. The faces on and around the stage would change. With the developments in technology, the game would keep evolving. But there was one constant. One thing that would never change. Something Chu Fang recognized in himself and his peers back when he still played. And something he recognized in the players he was watching right now. It was the competitive spirit. The never give up mentality. To always keep fighting no matter how impossible the odds!

Chu Fang shook his head, shaking off the memories of old, and focused back on the game. On two players in particular. They were the only two of the 10 players who had some semblance of talent. He might not be the player he once was, but he’d learned how to spot talent. These two definitely had it. That special spark about them. The flair in their game. It stood out to him like a bright light, blinding him.

He watched the Lucian. A female ad-carry. It was rare, but not unheard of. She was playing incredibly well. But she also still had a long way to go. Then there was the Jax. That Jax was different. He didn’t just have talent. He was playing above and beyond everyone else. The outplays in top lane, and even that kill in mid lane, they were the one in a million plays for most people. A stroke of luck that happened once in their careers. They’d jump up to their feet and forget about everything else. But not this Jax. He made the first play and laughed, calm. Relaxed. Then he went in with the same conviction and only made better plays. There was never a shred of uncertainty. Chu Fang smiled. This Jax had real talent. “Right,” he said to himself. “What’s his name?”