For the first time in history, High School 13 had qualified for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! They had done it! The impossible was made possible! They were going to fight 15 other teams for the title! High School 13 was now officially one of the best esports high schools in Shanghai! “Everyone has a dream, but what if you can make that dream come true?” It was something Lin Feng liked to say. One of his main motivators! The what if was now answered by Ren Rou, Ouyang, and the others who’d fought for this opportunity ever since setting up the esports team. They were jumping up and down with joy! Cheering and hugging and professing their undying loyalty to Lin Feng.

High School 13 had played their matches. Their next would be in the Round of 16 of the main tournament! They stuck around a little longer to see how their potential opponents played before deciding to go and have some dinner together. A team celebration. The rest of their research would come some other time. They went to a barbeque restaurant that served special Belgium beers. It was one of Ouyang’s favourites, if the amount he talked about it was anything to go by.

After the waitress brought them their beers, in full and big glasses, Ouyang turned to Yang Fan. “Do you really think we can win this thing? Even you?”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and nodded. “Yeah, I really think we can.” He believed this team could do it. They had the talent and the drive. That golden trophy would be theirs! No one could beat them! They would fight and win! Not for the legacy they’d leave behind at High School 13. Not for the teachers, the students or anyone else but themselves. This was their dream! It was their hard work and never giving up mentality that got them here! And it would lead them to the trophy! Their dream would come true!

Ouyang laughed. He shook his head and raised his glass. “Then first place will be ours! Cheers!”

“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”

The players from High School 13’s esports team lost themselves in their joy for qualifying for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. They forgot for a moment they would still have to play in it. All they’d done was pass the qualifiers. This was nothing. A first, tiny step. Tonji Affiliated High was the only strong team they’d faced so far. A team that never took them seriously and was caught off guard more than anything. A second game against them wouldn’t go the same. Then there were other strong teams like last year’s finalists Shanghai International School and Shanghai High School. These teams had the talent to make it far in higher level competitions, even at the National level. This was the kind of opposition High School 13, a team that averaged at Platinum only a few weeks ago, would have to beat to claim the title. It seemed nothing short of impossible.

“Mhm. It’s good that there’s a challenge!” Lin Feng exclaimed, flushed. He raised his empty glass to the air, another empty one on the table, and said, “How boring would life be if it was easy! Right? Let’s fight!”

However, High School 13 wouldn’t be fighting again that night, or the next day. The main tournament wouldn’t start until a week later. This gave the teams some time to research their opponents and prepare for the matches. Higher quality League games were what the organizers were looking for! The only deviation from this structure, and they’d only learned of this from hear-say, were the semi finals and finals. Those would be on the same day. But all of this was good news for High School 13. They were the ones furthest behind. They were the ones who had the most room to improve. And most importantly, they were willing to put in the time to improve! There was no relaxing. No slacking off. No anything but working their asses off and preparing for the next set of games!

Practice! Practice! Battle! And then practice some more! Through exhaustion! Through setbacks! Through anything and everything thrown their way! They would never give up! They would keep fighting! They would keep improving! And when the main tournament of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament finally began, they’d be ready to show all of Shanghai who the best school was! Battling their way through the rounds and lifting up the trophy! Anything less would be a massive disappointment.

✹

The weekend came and went. High School 13’s esports team spent all their free time practicing. Working hard, just to improve enough before the start of the main tournament. After another long day, Lin Feng got home. He took his shoes off and went to wash his hands, peeking his head into the living room to see what was going on. There were two voices. One belonged to Su Xue, but he also recognized the other one. It was Su Xue’s friend who would come over to mooch for food. Mooch for his food! He’d have to eat twice as fast when she came by!

Lin Feng walked inside the room and stopped for a moment. His foot hung in mid air. There was something different about Zuo You. Something a little more fiery. He looked her up and down and then stared at her hair. “Oh, wow! It’s even redder than normal!”

Zuo You chuckled and winked at Lin Feng. “I just had it re-dyed. Liking what you see?”

“Uhh…” Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. “It’s not very different. I mean, it was fine before…”

Zuo You rolled her eyes, annoyed. “Pfft. No point in talking to a kid. Do you even understand why I dye my hair? Let me tell you. I dye it to my mood!” She pointed at her hair and added, “This is my mood today!”

“You’re feeling really lucky and thinking you’re going to win the lottery?” Lin Feng asked.

“No. Idiot. It means I’m pissed off! I’m fuming! I’m raging! I’m fucking angry!” Zuo You yelled.

Lin Feng raised his eyebrows high and nodded, wisely keeping his mouth shut. He knew better than to argue with an angry woman. So he sat down next to Su Xue and put some rice in his bowl while listening to Zuo You vent. It turned out she had every reason to be upset. Life had handed her a couple of bad cards. Back in the day, she used to work for the editing department of a large corporation. She hated it. Destested it. And wanted nothing more than to find another job. Which she had. She got accepted to the marketing department of another company and worked her way up until she was the woman in charge! But just when everything looked up, when she was enjoying her work life, upper management came to her. Their editing department was lacking in manpower and they couldn’t find qualified replacements for the short term. Upper management knew of her past in editing. So they decided to transfer her over. Temporarily. She had no say in the matter.

“Honestly, you have no idea how terrible an editor’s job is!” Zuo You grumbled. “It’s the absolute worst! I wake up and I have to think about it. I want to have lunch, but I can’t. There is work to be done. I want to go to sleep early, but there is a deadline that has to be made. There is no rest. No fun. Nothing except the next project. And I was just having so much fun with the marketing. All I had to do was take a client out for coffee, charm them a little, and everything else would fall into place. It was fun and relaxed. That’s what I want! Not this constant stress!”

Su Xue looked at her friend, worried. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Do about it? What can I do about it? Quit another job again? How’s that going to look on my resumé?” Zuo You asked. She slammed her chopsticks on the table and then wiped away the tears, that weren’t really tears, from her eyes. “I’ll work at this shitty editing department. Work behind my stupid computer all day and night and fight with this stupid fucking video editing software that crashes every ten seconds! I’m going to die from stress before I even hit 30!”

Su Xue didn’t eat. She’d placed her chopsticks down and leaned with her elbows on the table, staring at her friend. “It’ll be okay. You’ll be fine. This is just temporary. I’m sure you’ll get transferred back soon. Just a week or so. They just have to find someone for the position. Right? That can’t be that hard! I’m sure everything will be fine!”

Zuo You curled her lips and looked down at her bowl. Her loud voice turned quiet, even sounding a little weak. “Who knows? Maybe they’ll be so impressed with my skills that they make the transfer permanent. I’m just really good at this video editing. But I hate it. I don’t want to do it. Maybe I should start slacking off… That might help them send me back to the marketing department.”

“You’re actually a good video editor?” Lin Feng asked.

“What do you mean, am I actually good? Of course I’m good! Didn’t you listen? I was a video editor at my last job! They tried everything they could to keep me! I’m that good!” Zuo You grinned. Though she didn’t pat herself on the shoulder, it very much felt like she was from the expression on her face to the tone in her worse. She then put up her index fingers and pointed at Su Xue. “Speaking of which. You’re still dead set on that streaming stuff, right? It won’t ever work if all you do is stream a little. You need more. Have you thought about recording some videos and putting those up? You know, a vlog, commentary, reaction videos, those kinds of things?”

“Huh?” Su Xue blurted out, sitting up straight. “Posting videos? What do you mean?”

“Posting videos is what I mean! Every popular streamer has a video channel! If you want to become like them, you have to get one too! There are people who get really popular just making videos! You don’t even have to stream! All you need is some content and a good video editor. And well, you got me! You can be like that guy Smut Sentinel. He’s been getting crazy popular by making all sorts of funny and sexual jokes while doing commentary. His videos are already averaging in the hundreds of thousands of views!” [mfn]The name of the video content creator “鉴黄师” translates to something like porn viewing master, basically a reference to a specific government censoring position whose sole job is to scour the internet for pornographic content.[/mfn]

Su Xue glared at her friend, sitting back in her chair and far away from Zuo You. “What. Are you saying I should copy him? Make some sexual jokes? Wear a sexy maid costume?”

“Is this even a question?” Zuo You asked, her voice thick with ridicule. “Of course that is what you should do! Tell me. What is better than a guy making sexual jokes? A hot girl making sexual jokes, obviously! Oh. But I don’t mean you should copy him. All I’m saying is that his thing works. There are plenty of other styles that also work. You just have to find what works best for you. And I’m serious here. This could really help your stream.”

Zuo You grabbed up her chopsticks again and looked at her bowl, which still had some rice in it. Then she looked back up at Su Xue and continued, “I’m not telling you to stop streaming. Just make the videos on the side and send them to me. I’ll handle the video editing and special effects. You don’t have to worry about it. If the video tanks, whatever. Lesson learned, right? But if it does well, you’ll get more viewers, more fans. Your stream will become more popular. There are only ups to this plan!”

“That does sound good,” Su Xue admitted. She turned to Lin Feng and asked, “What do you think?”

Lin Feng had just stuffed a big piece of red braised pork into his mouth. He looked up and nodded. “Shounds god rto me.”

Zuo You started smiling. This was her chance. The kid was eating and her friend was interested. She said, “Plus, you won’t have to worry about finding any original source material. You got the kid. He’s pretty damn good at the game. Just have him play and you can commentate on his gameplay! It’s a match made in Heaven!”

“I’m not sure about that. That feels a little dishonest,” Su Xue countered.

“What dishonest?” Zuo You chuckled, shaking her head. “Other commentators do this all the time! They invite a professional player to make the gameplay while they talk. It’s just how these things work. But you got no connections. All you have is Lin Feng. But he should be good too. I saw him play against my friend. He’s good. So that’s good.” She turned to Lin Feng and nodded at him. “What do you think? Think you’re good enough to help Su Xue?”

What Zuo You asked of Lin Feng wasn’t as easy as him playing a few matches on the same Champion. Other video content creators invited famous players in different roles who played different Champions to get different perspectives. This was impossible for Su Xue right now. She could only rely on Lin Feng and his Champion pool. But Lin Feng didn’t seem one bit worried about this. He just laughed and pumped his fist into the air. “No worries! I got this! My Champion pool is really deep! I can play anything!”

Crude! Ugly! Terrible! A bunch of rabid dogs! The crowd could think and say whatever they wanted about High School 13’s performance, but it didn’t change the facts. It was effective. They were winning the game, and convincingly so. Their team composition that looked risky in Champion Select due to their lack of a beefy frontline showcased its strengths and never really got in danger of collapsing! This was reminiscent of Season 2 and 3 in the Ionia server’s solo queue. Players were still finding out what the best team compositions were and tried the strangest concepts in the process. Most didn’t work. Players were flamed, abused, and told to uninstall the game! But every now and then, something special was discovered. Such as compositions that focused solely around comboing ultimate skills, which High School 13 leaned towards in this game. Or compositions where one Champion would split push a different lane while the rest of his team fought back the five on the other team.

There were a lot of less popular team compositions in League of Legends. Sometimes, there’d be a patch where one of them rose to fame. So too the backdooring strategy. It all began after a European team made it work on the highest stage. Suddenly, every League player wanted to try their hand at it and show everyone how good they were. It was the days of Jax pushing down in top lane, never coming to help his team. Or Master Yi running around the map with the movement speed from Ghost and just being a nuisance. Shaco, the Demon Jester, throwing down boxes and spamming the laugh emote to piss his opponents off. To drive them mad!

Beyond all of that. There was something more that could decide team compositions. Pure skill. That was what happened in the North High versus High School 13 game. Lin Feng helped his team pull ahead. They were stronger. And from that moment on, nothing else mattered. They could do whatever they wanted, be however brave they felt like being, and there was nothing that North High could do to stop them. North High lost the game when they let the Twitch get fed. They just couldn’t get close enough to him to stop him. And his ultimate decimated their ranks. It was even fair to say that the game was lost before it even began. Because Lin Feng was on High School 13’s team.

✹

Zeng Rui lost his interest in the game. He didn’t care for the rest of the game, or what would happen from High School 13. He’d been worried about Lin Feng. The stories told to him gave him every reason to! And Lin Feng really did surprise him. That Zyra was playing extremely well. But that was just it. The Zyra did all the playing. There were no other members on the team, not really. The Twitch was decent. But that was it. The others all relied completely on the Zyra to have any kind of impact on the game. Without the Zyra, they would’ve lost to an already weak team. Zeng Rui could only come to one conclusion. High School 13 might win this game, might qualify for the main tournament, but they weren’t contenders for the title. They just weren’t good enough as a team for that.

Zeng Rui snorted while looking at the players from High School 13. The Toplaner was a joke. A terrible player and an even worse team player. The same held true for the Midlaner. Both of them were gatekeepers in Diamond 5, at best. More likely, they were stuck somewhere in Platinum and blamed their teammates for their mediocre skills. Then there was the Jungler. Zeng Rui didn’t even feel like wasting his breath on that guy. A wreck of nerves with zero impact on the game. If that guy ever made it out of Gold, then that was completely on his teammates. He didn’t belong at the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Except for in the bleachers to watch the game, far away from any keyboard or mouse. They’re only winning because of that Zyra and Twitch. Mostly the Zyra. She’s carrying. Not even very great either…

Zeng Rui didn’t just find fault in the individual skill of the players on High School 13’s team, but also in their team synergy. They were like a group in solo queue, with zero coordination starting from the moment they entered Champion Select. Their strategy going into the game was flawed, and quite honestly, terrible. The execution wasn’t much better, with the shot caller saying nothing but “Go in! Go in!” or “Fight fight fight!” These were the tactics of a team in Silver, full aggression with zero thought, and not of a team about to qualify for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament!

“Dumbfuck…” Zeng Rui muttered. His team had won the Shanghai 16 School Tournament last year. He knew what it took to lift that trophy. And High School 13 didn’t have it. He didn’t have to worry about this dark horse. They wouldn’t be competing for the title. Their individual members were subpar and their shotcaller didn’t make up for this either. A good shotcaller helped his team improve their teamwork and synergy. This Zyra did none of that.

In the last edition of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament, the Finals were Shanghai High School versus Shanghai International School. The deciding factor didn’t lie in a difference in the skill of the individual members, though it had to be noted that Shanghai High School had one additional Challenger. But comparing teams based on the average rank of their members was the mark of a fool. Shanghai High School won because of Zeng Rui’s meticulous research and precise commands during the game, and his teammates executing on them flawlessly. All his teammates could be at a lower rank. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the match. His research was what had changed the outcome.

Thinking back to last year and then the possibility of having to face High School 13 this year, Zeng Rui laughed. Ha. They? What a joke. High School 13 were like farmers moving to the big city. They were completely out of place! There was no challenge in beating them! Except. Zeng Rui looked at the ad-carry. She was playing fairly well. They’d have to watch out for her and shut her down early. Then there was that Support. Mr. Dumbfuck.

The Riven who had solo carried his team to a win versus Tonji Affiliated High. That was an achievement. Something to actually watch out for. And also the kind of tactic Zeng Rui detested the most. Teamwork! Strategy! Those were the most important in League of Legends! Not some guy showing off his skills on Riven in the top lane. But it didn’t matter how he felt about it. Lin Feng had shown he could solo carry a game. That was a skill Zeng Rui would have to watch out for. Prepare for. Something he couldn’t look down on. Let’s see what role he plays next game. Maybe I can learn something more from that…

However, Mr. Dumbfuck didn’t play the second game. He actually sat out. Lin Feng got up from his gaming chair after the first game and said to Wei Dong, “The next one is all you!” He patted his friend on the shoulder and added, “I’ve given us the head start, now go and finish it. Don’t let me down!”

Zeng Rui couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Is he stupid? Is he actually stupid? Did his mom drop him? Did he hit his head on the concrete? Lin Feng was the best player from High School 13. By a long shot! They only won the first game because of him! And now he was sitting out. He was leaving the second game to the others on his team. If that game started like the first. If the rest of his team didn’t step up their game. That would be a loss. High School 13 would be in danger of losing their spot in the main tournament! What in the world is he thinking… This makes absolutely no sense!

✹

The first game against North High gave High School 13’s esports team all the confidence they needed. Ouyang especially made all the difference. There were no shakey plays from him. He went in for ganks full of confidence, and this confidence paid off. Everything he tried kept working. There even seemed to be a hint of something called team synergy blossoming in this game! This led to kills in the early game, and by the 10th minute, High School 13 had a lead of 6 to 3 kills. Five minutes later, this gap had increased to 10 to 5 kills.

Wei Dong was no Lin Feng. He didn’t act like he was either. He played to his own strengths and showed that if you put in the hard work, anything was possible. He’d transformed from the unconfident Support who hid behind his own outer tower to the confident Support who engaged for Tang Bingyao to capitalize on. They were becoming a phenomenal bot lane duo!

However, it wasn’t the bot lane synergy that was making the difference in this game. It was Yang Fan in mid lane. He played Twisted Fate, and unlike North High’s Midlaner last game, he did manage to push out the lane. He roamed bot and top and made plays all over the map, making full use of his ultimate–Destiny! His prediction of the future saw High School 13 go 2-0 and win this best of three series.

At 20 minutes, the game went from bad to worse for North High. Tang Bingyao hit Tristana’s power spike. Her damage soared and she had the range where it became impossible for the players from North High to jump on her. She became the killing machine North High couldn’t put a stop to.

Standing amongst the crowd, Shanghai High School’s Jungler said to Zeng Rui, “I guess that’s the game. Look at those guys from North High. They look like they’ve already given up.”

Zeng Rui nodded. He’d lost interest in the last game already. There was only the matter of Lin Feng. He wanted to research this player. But Lin Feng wasn’t playing, so there was no point in him staying here any longer. He turned around and walked away. “Trash facing Trash. Come on, let’s go.”

The game ended at 31 minutes. High School 13 won. The crowd wasn’t as big anymore. Most of them weren’t all that invested in this game. But that didn’t kill the excitement of the players from High School 13! They jumped up from their seats and started cheering and hugging each other! This was a dream come true! Something a lot of them never considered possible! Ouyang, Yang Fan, Ren Rou, and Chen Ze. They were half the team. The long time members of the esports club and the first to have given up. But now they were back. And they were back with a vengeance! High School 13 had officially qualified for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament!

Lin Feng struck his victory pose. The others saw it. They knew what was coming next. Lin Feng laughed and pumped his fist into the air. “Awesome! Next up is first plac–

“Dammit, Lin Feng! You need to stop saying this kind of stuff in front of so many people! It’s not funny! You’re not funny! You’re embarrassing all of us!” Ouyang complained after jumping on Lin Feng and covering his mouth again.

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and smiled. “I don’t know, Ouyang. I think I’m with Lin Feng this time. We’re going to get first. I really believe it. We can do it!”

Tang Bingyao saw the Thornsplitter plants and felt it. That indescribable sensation that settled over her when she saw Lin Feng’s Zyra unleash her ultimate. She knew in that instant that Lin Feng saw an opening, the possibility to win this fight. The chance to get some kills. She wasn’t looking at him, but she knew exactly what Lin Feng looked like at that moment. She could see his calm expression, the intensity pouring out of his eyes, and that imperceptible shift that came over him whenever he tasted blood. She knew his Zyra would go on the offensive now and start attacking instead of flashing away. And she also knew what she had to do. And she started doing it before Lin Feng finished saying, “Now! Go in!” 

The Stranglethorns spread out and the Morgana and Tristana were perfectly lined up. She pressed down on her R key–⁠Rat-Ta-Tat-Ta! The attack range of her Twitch grew. Twitch aimed at the Morgana and then squeezed the trigger. Empowered toxic bolts shot from his crossbow and pierced the Morgana and then the Tristana!

North High’s Jungler saw the health bars on his Botlaners drop. They were already at half health before the fight started. Now they were a few more hits away from death. He placed a ward in the lane and dashed toward it–⁠Safeguard! He followed up with a Sonic Wave. The Blind Monk didn’t know where to jump to. He needed to find a target first. His Sonic Wave was aimed perfectly. It went straight for the Twitch. The Twitch who didn’t have a Flash or any other ability that could help him dodge. But then, just as he was about to be hit by the Sonic Wave, a massive cannonball barreled into him and sent him flying backwards–⁠Buster Shot!

The Tristana sabotaged her own Jungler! Her Flash was on cooldown. She’d, again, used her Rocket Jump to engage. And the Twitch had turned around on her. Her health was too low. There was no way out. She needed to get rid of the Twitch. His toxic bolts would kill her! So she moved forward and fired off her ultimate at him. Anything to knock him away! But by doing that, she killed any hope for her team of killing High School 13’s Botlaners.

Tang Bingyao still had Flash. North High’s ad-carry had acted on fear and he was about to come to regret it. Twitched disappeared with a flash of mottled light before reappearing right back where he was a moment ago, the moment before a giant cannonball slammed into him. The Tristana was there. The Morgana was there. And his ultimate was still active. He fired at them, empowered toxic bolts skewering the two players from North High.

The Morgana ran away. Out of range from the Stranglethorns. Because this ultimate skill from Zyra had a secondary effect. First, the twisted thicket spread out before the thick vines would snap upwards, knocking anyone caught within airborne! She got out just in time. But the same couldn’t be said for the Tristana. She tried to run away, but the range was too large. It was too far. She was thrown up into the air. All the while, Twitch focused her down.

North High’s Jungler refused to give up on his ad-carry. She was still alive. There was still something he could do! Maybe this isn’t lost yet… Let’s do this! His Lee Sin was already on the Twitch. He pressed down on the R key–⁠Dragon’s Rage! The Lee Sin roundhouse kicked the Twitch, launching him back, far away from the Tristana!

However, before the Twitch flew away, Tang Bingyao pressed on her E key–⁠Expunge! Her Twitch wreaked havoc on the poisoned Tristana and Morgana with a blast of his vile diseases! There was no protecting against it. The Morgana found herself with only one auto attack worth of health left, while the Tristana dropped dead to the ground.

《You have slain an enemy!》

“Awesome! Great work! Let’s get the Morgana next! We can do this!” Lin Feng exclaimed. These were the moments he played the game for! Full of excitement they were! He was happy that the Lee Sin had come for a gank, it made the whole play that much more fun! Besides, it finally lured the Tristana and Morgana away from the safety of their outer tower. He exhausted the Lee Sin to get him off their backs while he chased after the Morgana together with Tang Bingyao.

Tang Bingyao activated Ambush. This skill camouflaged her Twitch for a short duration, granting him bonus movement speed. The Twitch caught up to the Morgana before she could even reach her outer tower. Her health was too low. One final auto attack left Twitch’s crossbow and pierced the Morgana. Her health hit zero. The Twitch picked up another kill.

《Double kill!》

The Lee Sin saw the two players from High School 13 chase after the Morgana and kill her. He knew this was the end. There was nothing he could do to change this fight around anymore. The most he could do was to not give High School 13 a third kill. Two was already too much. So he turned around and ran up the river and then into his own jungle. Far away from any wards from High School 13. Then he started channeling a recall.

There was nothing stopping Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao from taking down the outer tower. They waited for the next minion wave to slam into it and then started attacking it, while Lin Feng also called over Ouyang. They didn’t need Ouyang’s help in taking down the tower. However, after the tower Lin Feng also wanted to take down the Dragon. That was why he needed Ouyang. The Lee Sin had run away, and most likely also backed away, while North High’s Botlaners were both dead. If they were fast, they could take the Dragon uncontested.

North High had come for a gank on bot lane. A 3vs2. This should’ve been their win! Their outer tower! Their Dragon! Instead, High School 13 had turned it around and taken everything for themselves. There was nothing North High could do about it. And to add insult to injury, they heard that same, annoying, frustrating voice from the side of High School 13. “Hahaha! Good job, guys! That was awesome! We really pulled ahead with that fight!”

Standing behind the frustrated members from North High’s esports team was Zeng Rui. He didn’t care for who won the game. Nor the results of a gank. None of these players looked like a threat to him. Except for one. There was one player who kept surprising him. That Zyra. His eyes were glued on her. Impossible! How did he do that? Could he really… Ha– No. He’s just an idiot. Idiots also get lucky. Luck. Zyra’s Rampant Growth could be cast in combination with Deadly Spines or Grasping Roots to summon plants that helped her deal damage and block projectiles. This wasn’t some grand secret. Every half decent League player knew of this aspect of her kit.

Zyra could lay down a Seed with Rampant Growth, then germinate it with Deadly Spines or Grasping Roots. This was her regular skill combo. It could also be executed in reverse order, though that required low latency and fast fingers. But it also gave the opponent less time to react. This was a skill only seen at the higher ranks, or by Zyra one-trick ponies. However, what Lin Feng had done wasn’t that simple. When the Morgana flashed forward with Dark Binding, there wasn’t enough time for even the reverse Zyra method to block it. But he had done just that. There was only one possible explanation. He predicted Morgana’s next move and cast his skill the same moment that Morgana flashed! That was the only explanation that made any sense. Just that it didn’t make any sense! No one was that good!

How… It can’t be. Zeng Rui kept shaking his head. It was hard to accept. He couldn’t accept it! But the facts were laid out right in front of him. They were shoved into his face. There was nothing he could find to deny them. They looked true. Fast reaction speed. Perfect reflexes. Strong mechanics. Top. Mid. Support. A monster in every lane he plays. Who the hell is he…

✹

At 10 minutes, the balance of the game tipped back in High School 13’s favour. After securing the first tower and Dragon, Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao roamed over to mid and started helping Yang Fan pressure the outer tower. This was a worst case scenario for Twisted Fate. His power came from pushing his lane out and then putting pressure on other lanes with his ultimate. When he instead got pressured, his ultimate was useless. He became useless. On top of that, Tang Bingyao’s Twitch was already 3/0/0! She was already strong enough that she could sweep through North High’s entire team with a well placed ultimate.

“Our team comp is really good!” Wei Dong remarked. He had nothing better to do since he was sitting out this game. So he decided to provide some commentary to Liu Yue and Ren Rou. “We don’t really have a bulky frontline, but we don’t need to either. Yang Fan has all the poke in the world with his Ziggs. Then we got Lin Feng and Chen Ze with crowd control that also deals a lot of damage, and Ouyang with his Jarvan to engage. And Jarvan also has his ulty! Our team has so many AoE crowd control skills that it’s easy for Tang Tang to get off a good ultimate and clean up anyone still alive!”

Wei Dong’s analysis was on point. It didn’t even matter that mid and top had fallen behind a little. Yang Fan only had to worry about being annoying by hitting his explosives, while Chen Ze’s Rumble only needed to get his Sorcerers’ Shoes to become a menace. His ultimate would do the rest. And with Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao helping these two, they would get back into the game soon enough and have the items to become even more of a problem for North High.

Ouyang’s anxiety also disappeared. His team was winning and he felt like a God. There was nothing to worry about. He pressed his skills, ran with the rest of the team, and tried his best to get successful flag-toss combos off.  It didn’t even really matter if he missed a combo. Lin Feng was always there with more crowd control. This knowledge gave him all the confidence he needed. His skill shots started hitting more and more often. He actually became an asset to the team.

North High quickly found themselves in a position where the game seemed lost. They were losing everywhere. Their only hope was to drag this game out and hope for a miracle in the ultra late game. Perhaps their Tristana could outperform the Twitch then. It was a steep task, but their only hope. So they hid behind their towers and gave up on the game objectives. They bided their time, pumping the few resources they did get into the Darius for a tanky frontline and the Tristana for her damage items. But High School 13 wasn’t about to let them get back into the game. They were looking to end it. And Lin Feng led the charge.

“GO GO GO! Let’s fight, guys! If we aren’t fighting! We aren’t winning! 

“Ouyang! Don’t think! Just go! Dive straight into their backline! Go ham or go broke! 

“Don’t save your Rumble ult! Just throw it down, Chen Ze! Even if you whiff it, I’ll force them to walk into it!” 

Over the next eight minutes, Lin Feng’s voice continuously rang out in the voice chat. He was the team captain. He was the Challenger on the Ionia server. He was their coach. If he told them to fight, they would fight! If he told them to sacrifice a death for the team, they would offer themselves up! And if he told them to–anything game related, they’d do it for him. So they fought!

The crowd laughed and whispered and joked. High School 13’s team looked like a pack of rabid dogs! There was no grace to their play. It was literally just fight fight fight! Their tactics were crude and simple. But somehow it worked. They came out on top in every teamfight. They never gave away an objective. And slowly but surely, they fought their way towards North High’s base. It looked stupid. It looked like it shouldn’t be working. But it did. It was frighteningly effective. For some reason, it just always worked. North High lost all control over the map and High School 13 was brute forcing their way to victory!

Top lane was a win! Mid lane was a win! Jungle was a win! North High was dominating the map everywhere, except for bot lane. They had a small problem brewing there. Twitch, the Plague Rat. A weak early game Champion, just like Tristana, but a late game hyper-carry. One well timed ultimate from him could decimate his opponents! Rat-Ta-Tat-Ta! Twitch could unleash the full power of his crossbow, shooting bolts over a great distance that pierced all enemies caught in their path! If Twitch went on a rampage, he could turn any fight around. It didn’t matter how far ahead North High got in the other lanes, they had to shut him down before he became too big of a problem!

Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao were playing in-sync. Tang Bingyao focused on farming with her Twitch, while Lin Feng pushed the Botlaners from North High back underneath their outer tower. His Zyra was strong. Her damage was disgusting. She would plant seeds that couldn’t be targeted wherever she wanted using Rampant Growth. They could only be broken by walking over them, and that was something Lin Feng wouldn’t let happen. His fingers were hovering over the Q and E keys, lightly tapping on whichever felt more appropriate in the situation. The first time the Tristana had moved forward to step on a seed, Lin Feng had gone with Grasping Roots. His Zyra sent forth vines through the ground to ensnare the Tristana and also to grow the seeds into Vine Lashers. These were vicious plants that lashed out in melee range to deal damage and apply a slow!

There was still Morgana. She could use her Black Shield to protect the Tristana. The roots couldn’t root and the Vine Lashers couldn’t slow. Nor was their damage enough to break the barrier. It was the perfect counter. However, Morgana had only one Black Shield. It had a long cooldown timer. And Lin Feng was on point with his plays. He baited out the Black Shield on either Morgana or Tristana and then would quickly switch targets. If the Morgana tried to wait and cast her Black Shield a little later, the damage would be done. She had to make that decision. But it never worked out in her favour.

The crowd watching the game could agree on one thing. Bot lane looked like a horror lane. The Tristana and Morgana were pushed underneath their tower, and even there they weren’t safe. Lin Feng targeted them. Harassed them with his skills. The damage kept piling on. And if Tristana or Morgana made a slight misplay, the Twitch would jump in and help the Zyra attack. Their health dropped and they were ready to flip their tables and yell at their counterparts across from them. This wasn’t any fun!

✹

At 8 minutes, Lee Sin roamed towards bot for the second time in the game. He’d timed it just right. High School 13’s wards had worn off. They had no vision of the jungle entrance or up the river. Their Botlaners were pushing into North High’s outer tower, like they had been for the last couple of minutes. The Zyra especially caused the Tristana and Morgana a massive headache. She’d single-handedly harassed them down to below half health. If they got caught by her Grasping Roots, they’d be dead. The Lee Sin had to be fast.

North High’s Support looked at the minimap. He knew their Jungler was coming for a gank. High School 13 looked ill-prepared for it. This was their chance. “Let’s do this. We can still win!”

The ad-carry from North High nodded. His eyes were locked on the Twitch. He wanted revenge. He needed it! “Mhm. You engage first. I’ll follow right behind. Try and lock down Twitch, but if you can’t, go for the Zyra. I don’t care who we kill, just that we kill one of them.” Because after the Tristana got the first kill, her Rocket Jump cooldown would reset. She could chase after the second and pick up the kill. North High’s ad-carry was confident he could do at least that much. His Tristana should be strong enough.

Standing behind the players from North High was still Zeng Rui. He glanced at the minimap. Jarvan IV’s portrait popped up in top lane. Twisted Fate was still in mid. Lee Sin came bot for a gank. There were no other variables coming into play. This would be a 3vs2. The Lee Sin, Morgana, and Tristana were all three Level 6. They had the damage to kill the Zyra and Twitch. They also had the crowd control to lock them down, so that they couldn’t escape or turn the fight around on them. Looks like they’ll finally get something going in bot.

✹

“Watch out! Lin Feng, back!” Yang Fan shouted in voice chat. He was the first on High School 13’s team to notice. As the ingame clock hit 8:35 minutes, Lee Sin’s portrait appeared on the minimap. He came walking down the river into bot lane. Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao were still pushing into North High’s outer tower, harassing the Morgana and Tristana underneath. They had their Zyra and Twitch run back towards High School 13’s side of the lane.

“Ha! Want to run? Fat chance!” North High Support laughed. He had his Morgana move forward, to whichever from Twitch and Zyra was easier to bind.

North High’s ad-carry was in even more of a rush. This was his change to get a kill back! To show everyone watching that he wasn’t the worst player in the game who’d lost a winning matchup! He slammed down his W key–Rocket Jump! His Tristana pointed her cannon to the ground and fired. She arced through the air and landed in front of the Zyra! Then she placed a bomb on the Zyra’s head–Explosive Charge!

The Morgana wouldn’t wait any longer either. She flashed forward and appeared right in front of the Zyra. Then she activated her ultimate–Soul Shackles! Two wings appeared on her back as she released the full force of her Celestial power! Her feet left the ground. She floated and lashed out chains of dark pain on the Zyra. They slowed and dealt some damage. And after a brief delay, would also stun. She followed up by conjuring her dark magic to lock the Zyra down–Dark Binding!

Zeng Rui nodded. “Not bad. That’s the right play.” The Morgana was playing it just like he would, by focusing the Zyra. That was the correct play in this situation. A point blank skillshot was hard to miss. If she’d instead tried to hit the Twitch, that would’ve been asking for problems! But something didn’t feel quite right. It didn’t make sense. He’d been paying close attention to the bot lane and gotten some understanding of how Lin Feng played on his Zyra. This didn’t look like a dead Zyra.

Lin Feng looked at his screen. The Lee Sin was ganking. He was a little out of position. This was his mistake. He should’ve warded. The Morgana flashed towards him. Her Soul Shackles wrapped around his Zyra. And then the Dark Binding appeared. His breathing stayed calm and there was no sweat on his forehead as he moved his mouth and then pressed down on his Q key–Deadly Spines! Thick vines spread through the ground and exploded into spines in between the Zyra and Morgana. There was a seed. It bloomed into a Thorn Spitter plant. The Dark Binding hit the plant and bound it. The Zyra was free.

“W-what? I-it was blocked?” North High’s Support muttered. He stared at his screen. It didn’t make sense. He was right in front of the Morgana. His attack should’ve hit! He should’ve locked the Zyra down! How did he do that? H-how is that even possible? Was he waiting? Did he know? No. There were no wards. I swept for them. Then how?

Everyone in the crowd needed a second to process what happened. Even the players from Shanghai High School were thoroughly impressed, and that included Zeng Rui. This was something else. This was something truly special! Then the silence broke. People started talking. Cheering. Shouting! 

“OH SNAP! Did you see that? Did you? Did you?” 

“WOOOO! That was sick!” 

“How is that possible? That looks like a bug!” 

“He makes it look so easy…” 

“My god… How. Just how.”

Lin Feng wasn’t quite done yet. This was only a little trick. There was nothing impressive about it once you knew how to do it. He pressed down on his E key–Grasping Roots! His Zyra sent forth vines through the ground that ensnared those caught by it. The Morgana was the first, well before she could even think about casting Black Shield. And the Tristana was second. Lin Feng rooted both North High’s Support and ad-carry with one well placed skillshot!

“WOOT WOOT! That’s Lin Feng for you right there!” Liu Yue shouted, high fiving Wei Dong.

“Oh, yeah! Nice! Awesome! Couldn’t have done that any better!” Wei Dong laughed, slapping Liu Yue’s hand as hard as he could.

A loud slap sounded out and Ren Rou shook her head. Boys will be boys… Then she looked back at Lin Feng and said, “Good job! Nice play! Keep it up, guys! You can do it!”

There was one last play left in Lin Feng’s playbook. One final skill that could complete the turn around. He glanced over at Tang Bingyao and said, “Now! Go in!” His fingers glided over the keyboard and he pressed down on the R key–Stranglethorns! His Zyra summoned a twisted thicket. It passed through the Morgana and Tristana, damaging them. The seeds in the thicket then grew enraged, growing into massive Thorn Spitter plants!

“Wow! Did you see that?” 

“Yes. I did. I’m right here…” 

“That was so amazing!” 

“It really was. I don’t think I could’ve done that.” 

“Haha! Definitely not! You suck at this game!”

While gasps rang out from the crowd, merging together with the hushed whispers, Ren Rou cheered together with Wei Dong. Lin Feng had averted the gank! His Zyra stopped any hope of the Lee Sin jumping on them! They could get out scot-free. “Nice! Let’s go! Get out of there!” she shouted, eager to support the team in any way she could.

However, Lin Feng didn’t go back. Nor did Tang Bingyao. They knew what the other was thinking. There was no need for words. But Lin Feng was in one of those moods, full of energy. He shouted, “Tang Tang! Let’s do this! Fight!”

“Mhm.” Tang Bingyao nodded while having her Twitch move forward. Her target was the Tristana. Twitch was in range. He cackled as he fired off a venom laced bolt. Then he stepped to the side. It looked harmless, a simple reposition or an attempt to cancel his attack animation. But then a Sonic Wave flew past where he just stood. The Blind Monk was searching for his target and failed. Tang Bingyao had guessed perfectly what the Lee Sin’s next move would be and dodged it before it even happened! She followed up by pressing down on the W key–Venom Cask! The Twitch hurled a cask of venom that exploded on top of the Tristana and Lee Sin, slowing them and applying a deadly venom.

“Oh, damn! That was sexy!” 

“I know right! She’s playing crazy good!” 

“You’re hot High School 13 ad-carry!” 

“Awkward creep… Just enjoy that awesome play!” 

“My god! She actually predicted he would throw his Q!” 

“What rank is she? She must be Diamond, right? Like, at least!” 

“Sick skills, girl! Now turn this fight around!”

✹

“D-dammit! Fine! You want a fight? I’ll give you one!” North High’s ad-carry had had it up to here! Until here and no further! This matchup should be his! His Tristana was stronger than the Twitch! His Morgana was a really strong Support on the current patch. And that Zyra was completely useless in this meta! There was no excuse. He had to win! He had to! This cocky bitch! How dares she attack me when my Jungler is ganking! I’ll show her! He pressed down on the W key–Rocket Jump!

The Tristana aimed her cannon at the ground and fired, launching herself into the air and towards the Twitch. She landed on top of him and put a bomb on his head–Explosive Charge! Then she fired off an auto attack. The Morgana and Lee Sin were trying to catch up from behind, but the minions in the lane were blocking a direct path.

Behind North High’s ad-carry, Zeng Rui from Shanghai High School shook his head. Fool. This was a mistake only the worst players made. The Devshards. Beginners who had no clue what was going on and had zero feeling for the game. It took a special kind of stupid to jump in when you didn’t know where the opponent’s Jungler was, even more so when you were the ad-carry. Squishy and easy to kill.

Tang Bingyao didn’t run. She let the Tristana jump on her and just kept attacking. This time, she was the bait. Because coming down from the river, shouting in her ears and pinging on bot lane, was none other than Ouyang with his Jarvan IV! “Coming in hot! Time to save the princess!” he shouted. Then he flashed forward, walking until he was almost on top of the Tristana, and then executed his flag-toss combo! He was right on top the Tristana. There was nowhere for her to escape to. He had his Jarvan IV dash through her and knocked her up into the air! He followed up with an auto attack before calling upon the ancient kings of Demacia to shield him from harm and slow the Tristana–Golden Aegis!

F-fucking. Dammit. Argh. Fuck. Shit. North High’s ad-carry was rapid firing insults at himself. He should’ve never jumped in like that. Now he knew! How should I know that Jarvan was right there! He smashed down on his keyboard, trying to Flash away, while he watched his Tristana’s health drop lower and lower. “Black shield! Morg, give me a black shield! Come on! Hurry up already!”

The Morgana caught up. She cast the Black Shield on Tristana, protecting her from all disabling effects with a barrier of starlight. She followed up with a Dark Binding. The dark magic flew through the air, straight for the Jarvan IV. If she could stop him, her ad-carry would still have a chance to survive!

Lin Feng paid close attention to the Morgana. He was well aware of how the Tristana could escape. He was going to counter that. Zyra could plant seeds and she could also have them grow into monstrous plants! Lin Feng had planted a couple of these seeds, preparing for this very moment. Morgana’s Dark Binding flew through the air. He pressed down on his Q key–Deadly Spines! Thick vines spread through the ground and exploded into spines, feeding one of the seeds. The seed grew into a Thorn Spitter plant and rose up right in the path of the Dark Binding. It ate the attack of dark magic and died. But it also blocked the attack from connecting with Ouyang’s Jarvan IV!

“How in the world…” 

“Wow…” 

“Was that…” 

“Yeah, it was… Jesus, that guy is good.”

The crowd couldn’t believe what they were seeing. This play was out of this world! Beyond that, even Zeng Rui was caught off guard! This Zyra went from one high skill play into the next as if it were nothing! Wow. Those reflexes and reaction speed are something to watch out for. 

Ouyang and Tang Bingyao could chase after North High’s ad-carry without a worry in the world. The Tristana was almost dead, the Morgana had no damage and no crowd control skills left, and it’d be suicidal for the Lee Sin to jump in. This was the very definition of an easy kill. They attacked the Tristana a few more times until Tang Bingyao pressed down on her  E key–Contaminate! Twitch blasted the poisoned Tristana with his vile diseases!

《First blood!》

Ouyang could hear his teammates cheering behind him. The “WOOT WOOT!” from Liu Yue was especially resounding. Liu Yue approved of his play! I-i’m doing it! I’m doing it! He started laughing. There was nothing to be afraid of. Nothing to fear. This game was in the bag. He’d carry it with his Jarvan IV! “Oh yeah! Bro, my Jarvan is fucking fantastic! Did you see that gank? Damn, I was so awesome there!”

Zeng Rui snorted. Who is this idiot? He didn’t care one bit for Ouyang’s performance. It was mediocre at best. And the only reason it looked mediocre and not straight terrible was because that Tristana was just as bad as the Jarvan IV. Two terrible players having a little fun. They were having fun, but there wasn’t anything to see for the crowd. Why did that Tristana even Rocket Jump in? How was it not obvious that the Jarvan IV was coming? The Twitch stayed to fight! That was such a dead giveaway… There were so many problems and issues with the Tristana and Jarvan IV’s plays that he didn’t know how to end complaining about them. Until he shifted his attention towards High School 13’s ad-carry. Tang Bingyao. She stayed calm and played well. Impressive.

However, the most impressive player was still Lin Feng. Zeng Rui looked at Lin Feng again. The cocky dumbass… Lin Feng’s mechanics on Zyra were really good. Really good. It wasn’t just one time either. In these first four minutes of the game, he played perfectly. Zeng Rui couldn’t find anything to complain about, at least gameplay wise. Is he really that good? Was it luck? But he’s done it before on Riven and Zed. There is no such thing as coincidence…

✹

The game started great for High School 13. But the few minutes after the first blood went all North High’s way. The first big moment came at 6 minutes. The Twisted Fate had reached Level 6 and learned his ultimate–Destiny! He predicted the fortunes of his foes, revealing them and enabling the use of Gate. A portal he could use to travel to any target location in 1.5 seconds. Chen Ze’s fortune ended first. The Twisted Fate teleported to the top lane and helped his Darius pick up a kill on the Rumble.

A minute later, at 7 minutes, the Twisted Fate returned to mid lane. Ouyang had been waiting in a brush for this. He wanted to help his Midlaner get a kill. Maybe even help Yang Fan win the lane. He jumped on the Twisted Fate with his flag-toss combo! The Twisted Fate flashed away, back to tower safety. His health had dropped low. Ziggs had his Mega Inferno Bomb and Jarvan IV had Cataclysm. Ouyang made the call. He towerdove the Twisted Fate. His Jarvan IV heroically leapt at the target and smashed the Twisted Fate down into the ground so hard that the surrounding area terraformed into an arena. Together with Ziggs’ long range attacks, the Twisted Fate died. But the Jarvan IV was also locked up in his own arena. Underneath North High’s outer tower. He forgot to cancel his ultimate skill in time and died to a last energy shot from the outer tower.

Yang Fan breathed out, deep and hard. “Come on! Ouyang! You should’ve backed away, dude. You know you can cancel your ult, right?”

There was no need for Yang Fan to yell at Ouyang. Ouyang was more than a little upset with himself already. Still, he blurted out, “I was backing away, alright? It’s just that minion that was in the way. And there was a slight delay in canceling my ult. This stupid game! It bugged! Shit!”

Standing behind the players from North High, Zeng Rui couldn’t hide his contempt. The gamescore was two kills for two kills. Four idiotic deaths that could’ve all been evaded. Easily. If he would’ve played, none of this would’ve happened. He would’ve made sure of that! Second rate teams showing off their third rate gameplay… All his interest for High School 13 disappeared. Their bot lane was good, he had to admit. But the rest of their team was dogshit. Terrible. The worst players he’d ever seen play the game. Two strong players wasn’t enough at the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Not to contest for the title, at least. High School 13 wouldn’t be a title contender. He wouldn’t have to prepare for them. It wasn’t worth his time.

“Finally,” Zeng Rui mumbled. Though he’d already decided High School 13 didn’t amount to much, he still stuck around to watch the game. Mostly because he just felt this urge to watch the Support Zyra die. Something about the excited shouts of that Support player had rubbed him the wrong way. At 8 minutes, something big was brewing in bot lane. Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao would have to do some truly spectacular to walk out of this one alive!

This was the final hurdle! All High School 13 had to do was to win this best of three series against North High, and then they’d qualify for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! Two games stood between them and their goal. They’d make sure it never even got to a third and deciding game! Two wins. Fast and clean. A stomp in game one to swing the series in their favour and then ride the momentum through the second game. Easy enough. But their opponents felt the same. North High wouldn’t let High School 13 walk all over them without putting up a fight. They would struggle for every inch! They would take game one and then game two! High School 13 wouldn’t win this series, they would! The players from both teams slowed their breathing as they zoned out everything but the monitor in front of them. Everyone but the players on their team. If they wanted to win, they had to find that competitive mindset and never lose focus!

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao rushed down from the Red team’s fountain into bot lane. They stopped halfway in and ventured into the jungle. Opposite of the Blue buff camp was the Gromp. A lone monster. They waited for it to spawn and then killed it, juggling its aggro so as to take as little damage as possible. The experience from killing it would get them close to Level 2. A small advantage that could see them win the lane! Except for the fact that on the Blue team, North High’s Botlaners had the same idea. They were killing the monster camp closest to their bot lane, the Krugs; durable monsters of stone! This was a tactic often seen in professional play and was being copied more and more in regular games.

The minion waves in bot lane clashed. Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao had their Champions rush to lane to get as much experience as possible. While clicking towards the lane, Lin Feng looked over at Tang Bingyao and grinned. “Seems like they had the same idea. Doesn’t matter. Let’s crush them!” He didn’t care that the champion he decided to go with, Zyra, had fallen out of favour for a lot of players. They couldn’t do what he could! He would carry this game all the same!

“Mhm.” Tang Bingyao nodded. Her focus was on her screen. She was going to give it her all, like she always did. It was just… This stupid two-legged rat is ugly. Not cute at all. We have to end this game quickly. She’d started playing Twitch because Lin Feng told her to. He was the coach and she wouldn’t argue. But that didn’t mean she enjoyed playing Twitch. This stupid rat was one of the Champions she hated the most! I can’t let this drag on.

✹

Zeng Rui from Shanghai High School stood behind North High’s team. His gaze was firmly on their screens. This game had started normally. He looked at the Toplaner’s screen. He was fighting a Rumble with his Darius. Darius was a strong Champion in the current meta and had an advantage over Rumble during the early laning phase. But as long as Rumble followed two simple rules, he could still win. The first was to avoid Decimate, an ability where Darius would heft his axe and swing it around himself. The second was that Rumble needed precise management of his Heat, which was the resource that Rumble used to cast his abilities. If he kept to these two rules, then and only then, would he push the Darius out of lane and get an easy win.

Top lane could be fun to watch, but it wasn’t what Zeng Rui cared most about. That was bot lane. His evalutation of Lin Feng had gone down substantially after Lin Feng’s little outburst, but that didn’t change the facts. This cocky dumbass had played two games and carried hard in both of them. So Zeng Rui would devote some extra attention to the bot lane. He narrowed his eyes and focused on Lin Feng. Still grinning like an idiot… I can’t believe he’s any good… But. There’s that stupid word. But he did carry his team twice now. I should see if there’s anything I can learn from him.

✹

North High had the advantage in the bot lane matchup. Tristana had the attack range advantage over Twitch and could deal significant damage with her Explosive Charge, blowing up a bomb on someone’s head, all the while the Morgana supported her from the rear with a powerful binding tool in Dark Binding. Twitch had no dashes, no jumps, no nothing to dodge these Dark Bindings. And Zyra had little to nothing to protect him, especially in the early game. The lower Twitch’s health became, the harder Tristana and Morgana could push the lane. They could force the Twitch to use his Summoner Spells and force High School 13’s Jungler to come down for support. There really wasn’t any other way this lane should play out. However, none of this happened. To the surprise of even Zeng Rui.

Tang Bingyao focused on farming the minions, while Lin Feng threw auto attacks at the Tristana whenever she tried to last hit a minion. The Tristana wasn’t having a good time. It couldn’t go on like this. She had to do something. So she walked forward a bit to throw an Explosive Charge on the Twitch. That was the wrong thing to do. Tang Bingyao had her Twitch turn around the moment the Tristana started moving. The Twitch threw a Venom Cask over his shoulder, which exploded in the Tristana’s face. It slowed her and inflicted her with Deadly Venom. If this wasn’t bad enough, what Lin Feng did definitely was. He didn’t walk away like the Twitch. Quite the opposite. He had his Zyra move forward and pressed down on the Q key–Deadly Spines! Thick vines spread through the ground and exploded into spines, piercing the Tristana! Her health dropped a lot from this short exchange.

Zeng Rui raised his eyebrows halfway up his forehead and nodded. “Not bad… Not bad at al–”

“Wow! You’re really in the zone today, huh?” Lin Feng exclaimed, loud enough for everyone to hear.

While the rest of the NetCow Cafe looked over at Lin Feng, Tang Bingyao ignored his very existence. She didn’t have time for his nonsense. Not right now. If she wanted to win this game quickly, she had to focus. She was a Draven main. A master at putting pressure in the early game and dominating her lane opponents! Even if this Twitch was nothing like Draven, in every sense of the word, that aggressive playstyle she was so comfortable with still shone through.

✹

“What the hell is this? Why is this Twitch playing so aggressively? Why are we letting her?” North High’s ad-carry complained. “I’m playing Tristana. I should be bullying that stupid rat! Not the other way around! What the fuck!” He pushed forward to try and get a last hit on a minion, only to find his health drop low again! The Zyra. It was the Zyra! His eyelids twitched. “That stupid plantgirl keeps attacking me. She’s fucking mental. Their Support is crazy!”

Whenever he tried to attack the Twitch, there was Zyra. Whenever he tried to last hit a minion, there was Zyra. Whenever he tried to just get a second of freedom, there was Zyra! She was always there, poking his Tristana and being a generally obnoxious piece of shit! He couldn’t take it any longer! And then she hit Level 2. She sent forth her vines through the ground and ensnared his Tristana–Grasping Roots! He felt frantic! Clicking towards his tower and trying everything to get away. The only saving grace was that the Twitch was out of position. He was too far back and couldn’t get to his Tristana in time. That was the only reason he survived. It was too close. That Zyra had played it perfectly. He knew it. If he didn’t do something about his positioning quickly, the same would happen again. And next time, next time he feared the Twitch wouldn’t screw up. Fuck.

✹

Lin Feng glanced at his minimap. Their Jarvan IV was clearing the Red Buff Camp. That meant that Lee Sin was doing the same. The Junglers were on the second Buff Camp in their jungle. Their next step would be to look for a ganking opportunity. Did Lee start on Blue or Red? Lin Feng looked at the information he had, which was restricted to the flow of the lanes. His eyes fell on the Morgana and Tristana in bot lane. They were letting the minion wave push towards their outer tower. It looked sketchy. A little too easy.

At 4:35 minutes into the game, High School 13’s minion wave was pushing towards North High’s outer tower. Tang Bingyao had her Twitch go up for a last hit, extending just a little further than she normally would. There. Lin Feng spotted it immediately. He’d been wary, but now he was sure. A gank. The Morgana was moving forward. He mirrored her actions, walking towards the opponent ad-carry.

The Tristana stood near the river wall. The tri-brush connecting the lane, river, and jungle was just above her. She moved forward a little, just far enough to get in range of the Twitch while also staying back. Then the Lee Sin appeared. He rushed towards the Tristana from the fog of war and shielded her–Safeguard!

Lin Feng pressed down on his E key before the Lee Sin even appeared–Grasping Roots! The Zyra sent forth vines through the ground, heading straight for the Tristana. As Lee Sin rushed to her side, the vines passed through them, ensnaring them both. They were rooted! “Haha! Beautiful! Great job, me!” Lin Feng exclaimed.

Amongst the audience was Zeng Rui. He bit down on his lips, fighting back the intense urge to knock some humility into Lin Feng. This goddamn kid! Stop bragging… That play was great. He’d seen Lee Sin come for the gank. It’d looked perfect. He didn’t see how High School 13 would stop it. But Lin Feng was one step ahead of everyone, and stopped the gank before it could even happen. That was a really high level skill. Zeng Rui had to admit that. But then he had to go and pat himself on the back… Shut up and play!

Shanghai High School! The Champions of last year’s Shanghai 16 School Tournament! And this year wouldn’t be any different! Their lineup was as strong as ever, with two Diamond 1s, two Masters, and a Challenger team captain! His name was Zeng Rui, a name every high schooler in Shanghai had heard of! Beyond that, Tiny Teacup was his Summoner’s Name. This name reverberated through the Ionia server. Famous in the entire region for his outstanding Support skills! He was objective, logical, and meticulous to a fault. At any given time, he kept track of more than two dozen variables! They included ward placement, skills and summoner cooldowns, enemy experience, health, and damage potential! Some even called him mini Autumn, since that was his idol. Or so people said. How much of all this was actually true, no one knew. They only knew Zeng Rui from hearsay. None of them ever had the opportunity to play with or against him. So they made up stories about the guy who was undoubtedly the best player in all of Shanghai’s high school scene!

However, one thing was definitely true. Zeng Rui was a really good Support. Playing only this role, he’d fought his way up the ranked ladder all the way to the top 10 players in the Ionia server. When he played solo queue, he always queued up with and against famous and professional players. This was a one of a kind form of experience. No one here doubted that he’d eventually make his breakthrough into the professional scene.

The Jungler from Shanghai High School followed Zeng Rui’s gaze and looked at Lin Feng and Ouyang who were creating quite the spectacle. “I think those idiots are from High School 13.”

“High School 13?” The Toplaner scratched his chin, thinking hard where he’d heard the name before. “Oh! You mean tho–”

“Those are the guys that won all three of their games in the first round of the qualifiers. They topped their group by beating Tonji Affiliated High. High School 3 and 7 weren’t their match either,” Zeng Rui finished the sentence for his Toplaner. Then he nodded towards his Jungler. “I see. Understood.”

The Jungler laughed, resisting the urge to give himself a pat on the shoulder, and said, “As expected of the boss! You even bothered to research that crappy team! That’s some real dedication right there!”

“Crappy team?” Zeng Rui shook his head. “No. A team that beat Tonji Affiliated High does not qualify as crappy. They’re someone we need to pay some extra attention to.” His voice was steady and calm as if none of this bothered him. Just another point on his checklist. And that much was true. He wasn’t someone to lose his head to pride or arrogance. The objective truth was the only thing he cared about. His team was the best team here. That was a simple fact. But in the same breath, High School 13 was a team they had to pay attention to. It didn’t matter that High School 13 was one of the worst performing teams last year. This year. This edition of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was all that mattered right now.

“Anyone who clings onto yesterday and refuses to look at today is a fool,” Zeng Rui stated. This was his catchphrase. A few words of wisdom he shared with anyone who’d listen to him. He looked over in the direction of High School 13 again, rubbing his temples in contemplation. “Hmm. They’re in the first group. Their opponent is North High. We’ll go and look at their game.”

✹

The clock ticked away until it struck 1:30 PM. The organizers announced the matches and on which isle of computers each match would take place. There was a short scuffle as the 40 players who were playing and everyone else who was looking to spectate a particular game found their way to the isles. High School 13 was among them. They raced to the computers they’d be playing on and sat down behind their monitors, changing the height of their seats and looking over their computer settings. Their lineup was somewhat of a surprise. At the last minute, Lin Feng had decided to swap with Wei Dong. Ouyang was struggling really hard to keep it together, and by playing as Support he could offer Ouyang the mental support he needed while not drastically changing the game plan.

Lin Feng looked over at Ouyang, who looked back at him, and patted his chest. “Don’t worry! You got me! We’ll win this! Easy!”

“B-but you’re just playing Support…” Ouyang muttered, terrified his possible mistakes would cost his team the game.

“Relax! I got this! I’m really good at Support too!” Lin Feng laughed. He then noticed a small crowd forming behind them from the corners of his eyes. Just a few at first, but as he turned to look at them, more and more arrived. “Hoh? Looks like we’ve got a pretty big audience again today!”

The people in the crowd weren’t here because this was such an exciting match. High School 13’s opponent was North High, a school who hadn’t made it to the main tournament last year. And after their performance this year in the first qualifiers, no one really believed these guys could make it through. High School 13, however, was a completely different story. They were this year’s dark horse. The underdogs who’d popped up out of nowhere, beating one of the favourites for the title! Everyone wanted to know what this team was all about.

Chen Ze looked at the crowd until his eyes locked on a group of five. His eyes went round. He knew them! They were the players from Shanghai High School! He turned to Lin Feng and said, “Hey, Lin Feng? You see those guys over there? They’re the team from Shanghai High School…”

Yang Fan followed Chen Ze’s gaze and locked onto last year’s Champions. He started nodding and forgot to stop. Rocking back and forth with his head, he said, “Are they here to watch us play? We really did draw a lot of attention last week.”

“The Shanghai High School? Those guys you keep talking about? The big Champions from last year?” Lin Feng asked, looking over at the five players the rest of the team was already looking towards.

Yang Fan was still nodding, but at least remembered to adjust his glasses. “Yeah. You see that guy in the middle? That’s their captain, Zeng Rui. He reached the top 10 Challengers in the Ionia server. There’s some rumours an LSPL team tried to recruit him, but he rejected them. He didn’t even let them make an offer.”

Ouyang’s mouth fell open. He stared at Zeng Rui and said, “D-damn! Really? Now that’s a Challenger! It’d be so cool to play with someone like him. So cool…”

“Hey! I’m also a Challenger! We’re playing together!” Lin Feng protested.

Ouyang laughed. The stress left his body for a moment and he just laughed. “Ha! I meant a real Challenger. Not whatever you are. Get an account to Challenger first, then we can talk.”

“Eh, I guess you’re right,” Lin Feng agreed. He couldn’t keep leaning on his old rank. It meant nothing anymore. He’d have to get a new account and get it up to Challenger! As for Shanghai High School watching their game, he wasn’t too bothered. He waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry about those guys. We’re taking first place this year! When we fight that little Challenger Support, we’ll crush him just like we crushed everyone else! Isn’t that right, Tang Tang?”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head. She looked Lin Feng in the eyes. They looked confident, to her at least. Then she nodded, “Mhm!”

Ouyang looked at Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao before turning back to his screen. The nerves that had left for a second came rushing back. His teeth started chattering. He bit down, trying to stop them. Then a shiver went through his whole body. His stomach felt funny and he just couldn’t sit still. “Dammit! H-how are you guys so confident? We still gotta win this game first!”

✹

North High versus High School 13
Top Lane: Darius versus Rumble
Jungle: Lee Sin versus Jarvan IV
Mid Lane: Twisted Fate versus Ziggs
AD-carry: Tristana versus Twitch
Support: Morgana versus Zyra

North High and High School 13 approached this game completely differently. On the side of North High, there was a Twisted Fate in the mid lane, who could use his ultimate to reveal everything in the fog of war in a large circle around him and teleport to any location within this circle. When combined with the Jungler, this could create for some terrifying ganks in the early game! As for the late game, the extra information of where the other team was could prove vital. Then there was High School 13 who chose a group of Champions with powerful area of effect ultimates. If North High huddled up too closely together, they’d get blown up before a fight could even start!

The players from Shanghai High School had walked around the isle of computers and were now watching over the shoulder of the players from North High. From here, they could somewhat make out the faces from the players from High School 13. The Jungler tapped on Zeng Rui’s shoulder and whispered, “Boss, that support for High School 13 played mid and top in the previous two games. Looks like he keeps changing up his position.”

Zeng Rui nodded. He looked at the members from High School 13 one at a time, trying to extract as much information from their expressions as possible. Lin Feng sat at the end of the line. He was the last person Zeng Rui observed. “Mhm. He played Zed in mid and Riven in top. He dealt the most damage to Champions in both games. His engages were good, his teamfights were good. He successfully plowed through the enemy backline.” Zeng Rui paused for a moment, trying to piece the information together. “So he also plays Support? I wonder if he’s an all-rounder. Hmm… Interesting. Definitely interesting.”

“Oh, oh! Let’s do our best, guys! Watch me carry this game!”

Zeng Rui was physically repulsed. He watched Lin Feng make his announcement. Heard him make the announcement so loudly that even people outside on the streets could hear him. So he really thinks he’s going to carry his team, eh? Then he noticed the other players from High School 13, saw them trying to hide behind their screens. His right eye twitched in response to the visceral cringe of the situation and he said, “Scratch that. He’s just a cocky shit. And a thundering dumbass.”

ANNOUNCEMENT: 

Yesterday on the Rise Discord Server, several readers decided to overthrow us. I, Devshard, decided it was best to surrender instead of subjecting everyone to a bloody coup. We passed the torch of Rise to them and allowed them to translate and edit chapter 115. Which led to what you will read below! 

Two teams, one secret ingredient of the Rise Chinese Raws. You, the Readers, will decide who wins on this poorly thrown together episode of Master Chefs: Translation Wars!

 Team Uprising was led by Lead Translator & Overseer of the Democratic Republic of the Rise Discord Server Piggy#8092. He was aided by several volunteer editors. Some of whom took this joke far too seriously. (At one point, they started talking about how bad Dev’s edits were)

Team Rise was, as always, led by LittleShanks. 

(Our version of the chapter will be posted two hours later – Shanks, Sietse, and Devshard)

ENJOY! 

——————————————————-

After the six games of day 2 had been completed, the final matches for Groups C and D were finally over, and the rankings were set in stone.

Today, the majority of the Chinese fans had received terrible news: Team Dust from the Chinese LPL had been eliminated from Group D.

In the group stage, Dust not only lost two games to SSK, the reigning champions from last year’s Worlds, they also failed to score a single win against Korea’s Warriors.

The only teams to make it out of Group D were the two teams from Korea’s LCK. Dust was unfortunately the first Chinese team to be eliminated.

Although this was not an unexpected outcome, a foul mood settled over the Chinese fans. It had seemed like a hopeless situation from the beginning. Dust was simply too unlucky this year; after being thrown into Group D with all of the powerhouse teams, their chances were too slim. As a result, the Chinese fans had already mentally prepared themselves to lose, making the experience less bitter. At least there was some comfort in the success of the other Chinese teams.

After the second round matches of Groups C and D, the group stage had come to an end and the eight best teams would advance to the quarterfinals!

First place in Group A was Europe’s Legend!

First place in Group B was Korea’s Fate!

First place in Group C was North America’s Season!

First place in Group D was Korea’s SSK!

Second place in Group A was China’s KG!

Second place in Group B was China’s HoG!

Second place in Group C was Taiwan’s Assassins!

Second place in Group D was Korea’s Warriors!

All the Chinese fans could see just how skewed the top eight were. Taiwan, North America and Europe each had only one team that qualified. China had two, and Korea had three teams making it out of groups, to the surprise of no one.

In reality, the performance of the Chinese teams could be considered very good so far for this year’s championship. Of course, this was still only the quarterfinals. Everyone understood that the toughest battles started in the matches after the quarterfinals, where only the best of the best played against each other. No team could get this far relying on sheer luck.

On the third day, the teams eliminated in the group stage would return home, while those who advanced would fly to the next stop of Worlds, Paris!

　　✹

At the same time, for those in the High School 13, the second round of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament had arrived. This was where things would start to get tougher for Lin Feng and his team. By passing the final elimination round, High School 13 would qualify to be part of the top 16! The location of the final round of the preliminaries was already set. It would take place in the NetCow Internet Cafe located in downtown Shanghai.

Since the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was a high school competition, the organizers had to take the student’s studies into consideration and end the first two rounds as quickly as possible. The 32 teams would be split into four groups of eight teams each, who would then play each other. At the end of the day, the top four teams from each group would advance to the final 16.

High School 13 stood together in the internet cafe, preparing themselves for the game.

“They say that after entering the final stretch, the venue will become more professional,” said Yang Fan, adjusting his glasses.

Ren Rou stood to the side nodding and added, “Starting from the first matches for the final 16, there will be special guest commentators who will be responsible for the interpretation and analysis of the games.”

Liu Yue’s eyes lit up, “That’s so cool! Do you think any famous League of Legends commentators will be there? Do you think I can get an autograph? Ouyang, what do you think?”

As he spoke, Liu Yue turned towards Ouyang, but was shocked to find that his face had gone blue and his lips were even trembling a little. He couldn’t help but be surprised, “Ouyang, are you ok?”

Ouyang was wavering just like a wavin’ flag, and then he shot back, still shaking, “I-i-it’s nothing, leave me alone.”

Ren Rou couldn’t help but laugh, “What is this guy doing? Knowing he’s going to play a game today and he’s so nervous… how lame!”

Ouyang strongly objected, “I am not!”

Ren Rou curled her lips, “You think I can’t tell what you’re thinking? Aren’t you just afraid that you’re going to feed later?”

After being exposed, Ouyang flushed and hesitated for a long time before finally answering, “Damn it, I’m playing in a competition like this for the first time. It’s normal to be a little nervous.”

He couldn’t help but look at Lin Feng, and ask in a rare weak tone, “Lin Feng, do you really want me to play today?”

Lin Feng was in high spirits, so when he heard Ouyang, he simply waved him off and answered with a grin, “Of course! Ouyang, you trained so much with the team just for this opportunity. If you don’t get on the Rift, then what’s the point of all that training?”

Ouyang replied, still hesitant, “But…”

Ren Rou interrupted suddenly, “What buts? What good are they? You’re a big boy now, don’t make excuses. If Lin Feng tells you to play, then play! I can’t stand someone who has no confidence!”

Liu Yue, who was standing next to him, gave him a punch and said, “Fight on, Ouyang! Don’t believe in yourself, believe in the me who believes in you! You can do it!”

Wei Dong smiled and said, “Right, right. Ouyang has to work hard, today it’s up to you.”

Listening to the excitement and encouragement from his friends, Ouyang gritted his teeth and shouted:

“I CAN DO IT! Isn’t it just playing a game? What’s the big deal? You guys should just sit back and watch me carry!”

　　✹

Since High School 13 had advanced to the top 32, they would be playing their first match today. They had arrived early at the venue at 1:00. It was now 1:20 and the game would be starting in 10 minutes.

Looking around, Tang Bingyao narrowed her eyes. “It looks like there’s a lot of people watching us.”

Hearing Tang Bingyao, Yang Fan looked around, eyes wide open, “Wow, it’s really true.”

Everyone subconsciously turned their heads after hearing that and noticed that many of the other players were looking at their team. After being discovered, most of them hurriedly withdrew their gazes, but there were still many people pointing at them and whispering to each other.

“Why are they looking at us?” asked Lin Feng curiously.

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses again and laughed. “Probably because of how good our record was in the last round of elimination.”

The team’s top laner, Chen Ze, nodded. “Of course, we defeated High School 7 and Tonji Affiliated High after all. The more the other teams find out about our performance, the more they’ll pay attention to our team.”

Chen Ze was right. After entering the top 32 matches, the teams participating in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament had begun to gather information on their competitors. However, of the various teams, the most eye-catching was High School 13.

A noob team full of trash that had lost in the first round of knockouts last time… Had not only managed to go beyond the first round, but they had even managed to win all three games? And against schools like High School 7 and Tonji Affiliated High?

Other achievements notwithstanding, just beating Tonji Affiliated High was already an amazing accomplishment. By defeating them, the virtually unknown High School 13 had beaten a previous semifinalist team! It was a major upset!

It was precisely because of their sudden success that the other top 32 teams were casting strange glances at the members of High School 13. They had already begun to reevaluate this new contender as a threat they had to take seriously.

“Oh, so that’s why?” Lin Feng realized.

Suddenly, he laughed boisterously and turned to his teammates. “Hahaha, this is great. We can win this tournament easily! The trophy is ours!”

His teammates jumped on him in an attempt to muzzle him. They had to! This dunce would make them the target of every other team otherwise!

“Oy dipshit, don’t you know how to whisper? Don’t be so loud!”

“Yeah, are you trying to make them hate us?”

“It’ll be over if the other teams hear you!”

Unfortunately, his bold statement had already reached the nearby teams.

As players of another team were discussing something in low voices nearby, a boy with a plain face and calm expression frowned upon hearing laughter, tilting his head to look where it had come from.

After looking around, his gaze landed on Lin Feng, whose mouth was covered by his teammates around him. Furrowing his brows, an incredulous expression came over the face of Zeng Rui, the team captain and support for Shanghai High School.

“Who is that idiot?”

“Another win for SSK sees them to 6 wins and 0 losses! Did anyone expect anything else?” 

“What a beautiful win by Season! That secures them the group!” 

“WOOO! Assassins! What was that! How! They did it! They’re through to the next round!” 

“Damn! The warriors from Warriors are REAL! They are the warriors that built this town! They hacked’n’slashed their way into the Quarterfinals!”

The second week of League of Legends World Championships had come to an end. All 12 matches were played and the results proved to be a heavy blow to the thousands of Chinese fans watching. They’d had high hopes for Dust, the LPL’s second seed. That small flame of hope raged into an inferno after KG’s last game a few days ago, where they had without a doubt, undoubtedly, unquestionably made the impossible possible. And then all of those hopes and dreams came crashing down. Dust didn’t perform like their fans would’ve liked to see. They were obliterated by the two Korean teams they got matched up against. It was hard to watch. Dust never really found their footing or had a chance to get their rhythm in any of their games. The Korean teams that Dust was up against, those were the strongest in the world right now. But to the Chinese fans watching, knowing that the difference was this big made them all the more hopeful for a David-vs-Goliath situation. Everyone wanted to see the underdog win. But that didn’t happen.

The Chinese fans had been prepared for this outcome from the very beginning. They knew Dust had pulled the short straw during the group stage draw. But it was never fun to see your team go out like this. Their only consolation was that two of their teams managed to qualify for the quarterfinals; KG and Hand of God. This was an impressive accomplishment. The only region and league with more teams in the quarterfinals was Korea’s LCK.

First place in Group A were the Legend from Europe!
First place in Group B was Korea’s Team Fate!
First place in Group C was Season out of North America!
First place in Group D were last year’s champions, Team SSK from Korea!

Second place in Group A was China’s KG!
Second place in Group B was HoG from China!
Second place in Group C were the Assassins from Taiwan!
Second place in Group D were Korea’s Warriors!

The group stage at Worlds was fun, but the teams here weren’t playing for the hardware or glory just yet. They were just qualifying to play for it. The knockout stage was where it all happened. The main course of the World Championships! The Chinese fans were ecstatic that they had two teams, two possibilities, two beacons of hope shouldering their pride! Fighting for the Summoner’s Cup! Their teams had survived London. The weather, the food, and their matches! Now the time had come to fly a little further south, to the beautiful city of Paris! That was where the knockout stage would be held.

✹

While the World Championships of League of Legends came to the business end of things, High School 13 had their own game to worry about. They’d made it through the first qualification round and now had to play in the second qualifiers. There were now 32 teams remaining and competing for the 16 spots in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. The second round of qualifiers would be held in the downtown Shanghai branch of the NetCow Cafe, which was where they gathered up today. In this internet cafe, the teams would be matched up against one other team. If they won, they would qualify and advance to the main tournament. If they lost, then their journey would end. They could go home early and watch the rest from their couches and through the haze of their tears.

The Shanghai 16 School Tournament was still a school event at the end of the day. So, in an effort to waste as little of the students’ time as possible, the organizers planned to have four matches going on simultaneously. This way they could keep the event organized and move things along, without too much waiting time for any one team. The goal was to finalize the teams playing in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament by the end of the night. Because if it took any longer, if they kept the students waiting for a second day, then that could take away from the time the students could spend on studying or preparing for exams. A failed exam could ruin a life! None of the organizers wanted to have that on their conscience.

The High School 13 esports team arrived at the NetCow Cafe just after 1 PM. The games would start in 30 minutes. They were one of the first eight teams to play. Lin Feng had them huddle up so he could rehash the strategies, tactics, and plays they’d be armed with for today’s games. He also had some last-minute advice and encouragement. Once that was done with, all of them relaxed and started shooting the shit while waiting for the event to kick off. 

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses as he looked at the others around him. “I heard some rumors, quiet whispers from sources I consider authoritative upon the subject, that this year the main event will take place in a real high quality venue. Based on my analysis of the growth of Lea—”

“Yep! Yep! I heard that too!” Ren Rou interjected excitedly and shouted. “They also invited professional shoutcasters!”

“Forreals?” Liu Yue asked. It took him a few seconds to process the news completely. Then his eyes went wide as he realized the implications. He grabbed Ren Rou by her shoulders. He looked into her eyes intensely and said, “THIS IS SO AWESOME! Do you know who? Are they the really famous ones? Is it Qinghe? Maybe I can get his autograph!” He let go of Ren Rou and turned to Ouyang. “Hey, buddy! BUDDY! HOMESLICE! You vibin’ with me here? You thinking what I’m thinking? You feelin’ my wavelength? What do you think? WOOT WO-ooo…?” Lie Yue’s excitement died the second he actually looked at Ouyang. The guy didn’t seem like himself. Or all that excited. Quite the opposite. Ouyang was staring off in the distance and his lips were trembling. This was not the Ouyang they had come to know and love. Their Ouyang would’ve hit the roof at the slightest bit of hype. This wasn’t small hype. But he just stood there quiet. Liu Yue put a hand around Ouyang’s shoulders and asked, “Eh? Buddy? Everything ok over there?”

Ouyang waved his hand and forced a smile. “N-no. I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’m good. All good. Yeah…”

Ren Rou grinned. Then she looked at him and laughed. “Don’t worry about that idiot. He’s just nervous because he found out that he’s playing today. He’s just a big old chicken! Pok! Pok pok pok! Should we check his pants for eggs? It might make him uncomfortable when he tries to sit on them!”

“N-no! No! Liar! T-that’s not true!” Ouyang denied.

Ren Rou stopped smiling and said, “Oh, shut up! You think I don’t know you? We’ve been in class together for years! We’ve been in this esports team together for years! I know you better than your mom does! And right now, you’re absolutely petrified that you’re going to play bad and embarrass yourself.”

Ouyang made some strange expressions. No one knew what he was trying to do. Or say. All they saw was his face becoming progressively more red. Then he shouted, “Dammit! Yes! I’m scared! It’s normal to get nervous before a big game, alright! Everyone’s got a pre-game ritual! Lotsa big athletes do it to get calm right before a game! I just didn’t get a chance to do mine today! That’s all! Okay! Stop riding a brother so hard!” He turned to Lin Feng and muttered, “A-am I really going to play today?”

“Of course you are!” Lin Feng replied, excited and full of energy. “You’ve been training with the rest of us all this time! If you don’t get to play at least one game, then what was the point of all that? There wouldn’t have been one! This is your moment to shine, baby! Go out there and show everyone how good you’ve become! Let ‘em know that nobody puts baby in the corner!”

“B-but–”

“Hmph!” Ren Rou cut him off. “No buts! You’re a grown ass man! Start acting like one! Why are you being this little whiny bitch about it? If Lin Feng says you play, YOU PLAY! Damn, there’s nothing I hate more than a guy without a backbone.”

Liu Yue slapped his friend on the back. “Do your best! I’ll be rooting for you!”

“What he says!” Wei Dong added. “Just play your best! We’re all waiting to see you carry this game! You can do it!”

“F-fine! Ok. I get it. I’ll do it!” Ouyang gnashed his teeth and then stamped his feet. “Uch. Ok. I sit down. I play my game. And we’re all good, yes? No big deal. I can do this! Yes! Watch me carry you guys with my amazing plays!”

As if waiting for Ouyang to find his confidence just so she could crumple it again, Tang Bingyao suddenly spoke up, “Hmm. Seems like everyone is watching us. I wonder what that’s about.”

Yang Fang turned his head around, as if in slow motion. All eyes were on him and the people around him. Everywhere he looked, more eyes were looking back at him. He turned back around and adjusted his glasses before saying, “Seems so.”

Lin Feng followed the gazes of the others around him and found more than a hundred people all looking at them. All the different teams had their eyes trained on them. Those strangers were whispering amongst each other, pointing at them. Lin Feng looked at the others, confused, and asked, “What are they staring at us for?”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and grinned. “They’re probably scared after they heard how we won all three games in the first round of the qualifier. Most of them probably watched us play.”

Wei Dong nodded. “Mhm. We defeated High School 7 and Tonji Affiliated High. There were so many people watching us play, especially in the last game. It’d be strange if they didn’t recognize us.”

The Shanghai 16 School Tournament was very important. It was a ticket into the pro scene! So every team had done their research before coming here today. Everyone in the NetCow Cafe had seen High School 13’s game versus Tonji Affiliated High. Most had watched it live, while the few who hadn’t had watched replays. A team that couldn’t even make it through the first round of the qualifiers last year suddenly beat some of the best teams in the entire tournament. This was an explosive piece of news! High School 13 was the dark horse they had to watch out for! They couldn’t let a false sense of security fall over them. High School 13 was the real deal! They were nothing like the team they were last year! This year, they were title contenders!

“Oh, I see!” Lin Feng exclaimed. “HAHAHA! That’s great! Isn’t it? We’re going for the trophy anyway! Hah–Mgmph! Mmphh!”

Ouyang had jumped at Lin Feng from behind and wrapped his hands around his friend’s mouth. Then he whispered into Lin Feng’s ears, “You idiot! Can you not be so loud!”

Liu Yue added, “Yeah! Are you trying to make them hate us? This is how you do that!”

Ren Rou kicked Lin Feng in the shin. “You idiot! If they heard us, we’re finished! They’ll put their energy into kicking us out of the tournament!”

However, Lin Feng hadn’t kept his calm. He’d screamed loud enough that everyone in the NetCow Cafe had heard him. Among them was a nearby team from Shanghai High School. Their team captain and Support, Zeng Rui, turned around to look at Lin Feng. To look at the fool who now had a teammate hugging him from behind. He turned back to his own teammates and asked, “Who’s that idiot?”

How are they? Are they doing well? What happened to them? Lin Feng found himself thinking about his old teammates a lot these days. He’d lay awake in bed at night, wondering about them. But just like he had with Tian Tian, he’d been the one to cut contact and ghost them. He had no idea what they were up to through his choices, his actions. In his calls with Tian Tian, they laughed and joked and talked about Worlds. He went along with it. They were good moments. But what he really wanted was to ask about his old teammates. Tian Tian would have the answers for him. However, it was a lot more difficult to ask this question than he’d expected. The words were on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to say them. He wanted to know how they were doing! But every time he opened his mouth to ask the question, the words refused to come out. He was afraid of what Tian Tian might say if he brought the topic up.

I ignored their calls. That was all me. Lin Feng wanted to talk to his old teammates again, if only to hear their voices one more time. He wanted to know that they were doing alright! But he didn’t know how to get back in touch, how he could face them again. Even over a phone call. Even the simple question of, “How are you?” felt like a monumental task. Back in Season 1, when they were on the same team, he counted on them to have his back and they counted on him to have their back. And then he walked away. He left them behind and didn’t even look back. Through their shouts. Through their frantic and worried calls. Through everything they tried to find out what was going on with him, he left. He broke the one sacred rule. He didn’t have their back.

I betrayed them… Lin Feng hated himself for it. He wanted to kick himself, curse in the mirror, or steal that one Delorean from that crazy kid and old man. Instead of sharing the cup of sorrow and letting his friends support him, like he would’ve for them, he ran away. Away from them and away from his problems. He bit his lips and looked down at the ground. I betrayed them… He’d tried to justify his actions. To come with an argument for why what he’d done was the right thing. But the harsh reality was that there was no argument. No justification. Nothing that could support his actions. He’d broken The Bro Code. He’d done the one thing no one should ever do. He’d turned his back on his friends and those who cared about him. I betrayed them.

Why… Why? Lin Feng knew that what he’d done was selfish. He was the most selfish person to ever walk this Earth! Yet when he reconnected with Tian Tian, when they heard each others’ voices for the first time in four years, Tian Tian wasn’t mad at him. Tian Tian was just happy to hear his voice again. Why didn’t he call me out? Why wasn’t he angry? Lin Feng didn’t know how to react to the fact that Tian Tian wasn’t mad at him. The guilt in his heart only grew stronger and so did the intense self-loathing. He was just holding back. He’s probably afraid I’ll run away again if he says something. He knew it! What he’d done was unforgivable! Tian Tian had to be mad at him! Lin Feng genuinely believed he deserved to get yelled at, ripped a new asshole. From one bro to the other. It needed to be said! He’d feel so much better! But the question was if it would make Tian Tian feel better. He didn’t know if it would. It didn’t seem like it. From what he’d noticed so far, Tian Tian was just happy to have his old friend back.

Lin Feng breathed in, deep and long, and then let it all out. He forced a smile and looked back up at his computer screen. His hands, that were below the desk, balled into two fists. It’s time I stop being such a whiny baby! I made my choice! I have to face the consequences. Whatever they are. Next time I call with Fatty, I’ll ask him about the others. I will! I WILL!

「wtf is wrong with lil bro?????????」

「He looks hella outa it man」　

「DID THE MAID POISON HIM??!??!」

「hey lil bro you ok bud? you look kinda pale? maybe lay down a bit?」　

「YO MAID go take care of lil bro!!!!」

「I’d also feel sick after eating so much… Did you guys see the pile of food he worked away???」

Su Xue turned to look at Lin Feng. His face was pale and he looked like he’d just puked. She placed her hand over his forehead and asked, “Are you ok? Is something wrong? Don’t tell me you caught a fever. I told you to put warmer clothes on! It’s getting cold at night. You have to be more careful with your health!”

「Go to bed, lil bro! You’ll feel better in the morning!」

「It’s already the middle of the night, man! We get it. Just get some sleep.」

「don’t worry about us… we’ll survive another evening with the maid…. if we have to」

「I’m already putting cheese in my ears for protection!!!!」

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and then smiled at the camera. “Oh, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me! I was just lost in thought for a bit there. Thanks for the concern, but I’m really fine!”

Su Xue flicked Lin Feng’s ear. “Oi! That’s all? You had me worried here for nothing! Why would you do that to me?” Then she ruffled his hair and turned back to the chat. Her eyes narrowed. They locked down on a specific kind of comment. There were many in the chat that thought they were being funny. “Where is the cheese in the ears guy? Step out! Show yourself! Let me ban you out of this channel! My voice is angelic! Screw you all!”

「Cheese in the ears? Who said that? I didn’t hear anything about that. Did you guys?」

「no no, me neither…. Maybe she’s seeing things again!」

「hey look! the next match is starting!!!! IT”S DUST!!! LEZZ GOOOOO」

「Ohhhhh h its duusstttttt!!!! GO DUST! GO DUST! WINN!!!!」

The previous three games of the day were exciting, to an extent. But none of them had really grabbed the attention of the viewers. They were all games between other regions. This next game, on the other hand, featured Dust! The third team from the LPL after Hand of God and KG! It wasn’t going great for Dust. They were in a group with two Korean teams and had ended Week 1, as could be expected, with one win and two losses. They were on the brink of being knocked out. The only way to stay in it was to beat at least one of the Korean teams. They had to! For their fans! And then the viewers saw who Dust was up against in the first game. All hope was gone. This game was lost. Dust could never win against SSK. No one could.

✹

All across the world, Chinese fans gave up. There were even those who turned the stream off and went about finishing their homework or focusing on their job. Anything was better than watching Dust getting their ass handed to them by SSK. There were a lot of strong teams and most of them could face off against each other for a match that could, in theory, go either way. But there were exceptions. SSK was one of them. With a King and the number one player in the world, they were a force no one could beat. All hope was lost if you had to play against them. It didn’t matter how people tried to spin it. Dust would lose. There wasn’t a single doubt in their minds.

SSK had it all. The number one player in the world. There wasn’t anyone who could even get close to shaking his position, not even the other three Emperors! Then there was the King. Another phenomenal player. The other three players that rounded out the team couldn’t be looked down on either. They were all at the top of their game and played together with absolute perfect synergy. Leading this group of freaks was a famous veteran coach and a strong team of analysts. They were the perfect team.

Lin Feng saw the matchup and directly said, “Dust is going to lose this match.” There was no hesitation in his voice, no second to think about it. He didn’t even consider Dust winning the game. It was too ridiculous an idea, even in his mind.

The game played out as anyone would’ve expected. Lin Feng gave some good analytical insight, but there was no need to build up the hype. There was no hype to this game. SSK played a clean game. At 25 minutes, they’d destroyed two inhibitors and gotten a 9,000 gold advantage. This was something no one could come back from. In the last three minutes of the game, SSK just had a little fun. They ran around the map, looking to pick up kills and even going so far as to camp Dust on their fountain, letting the Nexus survive for a few extra seconds.

Rake was the MVP of the game. His Xerath ended the game with a score of 11/0/6. He’d made full use of the long range of Xerath to shoot down the players from Dust even when they were hiding underneath their own towers. No one was safe from him. It was a display of absolute domination! The strength of the Emperor!

「… hows anyone supposed to beat him」

「this was fucking hopeless……」

「dust got crushed and left in the dust」

「OOFF that was hard to watch」

「Let’s give Dust a big F, guys!」

Su Xue knew, just like the others, that Dust was going to lose. But there was a big difference between losing and whatever this game was. Dust got stomped so hard that she wasn’t angry with them. She just felt bad for them. “Jeez! That Xerath was way too good. Right, guys?”

Lin Feng didn’t say a word. He’d reverted to his quiet self, staring at the screen, staring at that one name. Rake. He’s stronger. The Rake that Lin Feng had just watched was so much better than the one he remembered from Season 1 that there really was no comparing the two. If he were to face off against this Rake, he’d lose miserably. It wouldn’t even be a game. He dug his nails into his palm and bit down hard on his lips. It was hard to admit. He really didn’t want to admit it. But it was also the truth. He was the second-fiddle. There was no beating this guy, not right now at least.

I have to become strong! I have to fight! Lin Feng stopped worrying and instead redirected that emotion into motivation. Rake was strong. But he was also really good at the game! He just lacked training. Rake had four years on him on that front. So he had to work hard and catch up. His breathing calmed down. I will. He came to the decision he should’ve come to a long, long time ago.