The summoner names of teammates weren’t visible during the pick-ban phase, unless they typed in chat. So, the viewers only realized who was on their team when his message appeared in the game chat.

「Mid please. Find my stream by searching Ol’ Black on Huya. Give me my role, and I’ll carry you to the moon~ 」This was the catchphrase of a popular Huya TV League streamer called Ol’ Black. His streams would often have around 50,000 viewers. However, unlike most famous streamers who played in Diamond, Master, and Challenger, he prefered to smurf in low elo and stomp on noobs. Bullying little kids in Silver and Gold, this was what everyone watched Ol’ Black’s stream for.

「no one knows his real rank, but he’s rank 1 smashing n00bs!!!1」
「That’s cuz he’d get zero attention playing people in higher ranks. Lawl.」
「Yeah, but it’s still hella fun to watch him steamroll people in low elo Haha」

The viewers in Su Xue’s chat stirred, going back and forth about what they thought of Ol’ Black.

“Ol’ Black?” Lin Feng scratched his head. “Never heard of him.”

“All you need to know is that he’s a pretty good streamer with a lot of viewers,” Su Xue replied.

Zuo You rubbed her chin, a pensive look on her face. “Oh, right! I’ve watched some of his streams before. Whenever I was really bored. It was pretty entertaining watching him stomp on noobs!” She turned to Lin Feng with a teasing smile. “Haha. You really lucked out this time. Enjoy the free carry.”

“Free carry?” Lin Feng shook his head. He clenched his fist and declared with a confident smile, “I don’t need a carry. I am the carry!”

Zuo You clicked her tongue. “Wow, so confident. Fine, prove it. I’m looking forward to it. Hehe.”

✹

On another stream with 50,000 viewers on Huya TV. “Mhm, what kind of mid laner should I pick for this game? Tell me, guys!” Ol’ Black asked his viewers. He lazily reclined in his chair, picking his teeth with a toothpick.

「mid Garen!」
「show us your Heimer mid!」
「I wanna see you play Xin Zhao!」
「Please show us your Riven plays!」

Ol’ Black chuckled and waved his hands. “Ah, it’s fine. Hehe. Nevermind. I already got someone in mind~” When it came time for him to pick his champion, he sat forward and locked in LeBlanc, the Deceiver.

Mid Leblanc! The tens of thousands of viewers in his chat erupted in excitement. LeBlanc was one of the champions they loved watching Ol’ Black play the most. In these sorts of low elo games, he could use her to toy around with the opponents and decide the game within the first 10 minutes. At the same time, fourth pick also locked in their champion—Lee Sin, the Blind Monk.

“Jungle Lee, huh?” Ol’ Black remarked, continuing to pick at his teeth. “A Lee in this elo, I wonder if he’s actually blind?”[ref]A saying that was popular among Chinese players. Those that could actually play the champion well were called Lee Sin. The rest were simply blind.[/ref] Ol’ Black was playing in high Silver, low Gold. Few if any players could play Lee Sin well in this elo. Ol’ Black quickly laughed. “No problem! Even if our teammates suck, it doesn’t matter. My LeBlanc will carry for sure!”

「Wow! So cooool!」
「Heck yeah! Show us your carry!」
「I want youuuuu!!! Have my babies! <3333」

“Hoh? Seems like we have another streamer in our game,” Ol’ Black mumbled. The Lee Sin had a Huya TV tag beside their summoner name. Another streamer at this rank? The viewers were all surprised. None of them had heard of this Evening Snowfall before!

Ol’ Black rubbed his chin with a pensive look. Then, he smiled and made a casual guess, “Probably a new streamer! The summoner name seems like a girl’s. I wonder if she’s pretty… Well, whatever, doesn’t matter! I’ll let ‘em see how hard I can carry! Hahahaha!”

✹

Back in Su Xue’s stream, the initial hubbub of having a popular streamer in their game died down. The viewers quickly turned their attention to the champion Lin Feng picked.

「Li’l bro, you can play Lee Sin too?」
「Awesome! I love playing Lee!」
「Show us your Lee Sin carry!」

Zuo You stared at Lin Feng and curled her lips. “Kid, you can really play Lee Sin? Not many people can play him well, you know. Just don’t do anything to stupid, wouldn’t wanna be called blind. Hehe.”

“Hey, can you really play Lee? Don’t embarrass me,” Su Xue asked in an anxious tone. Lin Feng mostly played ad-carry on her account. She’d seen him play jungle Jarvan before but never Lee Sin.

“Don’t worry! My Lee Sin is really good!”

「You go li’l bro! We believe in you!」
「Show off your skills!」
「Are you thirsty? Should we tell the maid to get you a drink?」

“Hey! Enough of that, you guys!” Su Xue exclaimed.

✹

They loaded into the game and before long found themselves on Summoner’s Rift. This Gold-rank match was the perfect playground for Ol’ Black with his LeBlanc. Walking down to midlane, he declared full of bravado, “Sit back and watch. I’ll show you guys my god-blanc!”

Lin Feng and his jungle Lee Sin didn’t fall short in confidence either. “We’ve already got this game in the bag!”

“Huh?” Su Xue looked at Lin Feng in surprise.

“How do you already have it won? The game hasn’t even started~” Zuo You asked.

Lin Feng patted his chest. “Because I’m the jungler!”

At 1:55 minutes into the game, the jungle camps spawned. Lin Feng chose to start at red buff, having his top laner help leash for him. He killed it and leveled up. Then, he headed for the enemy jungle.

“Eh?” Ol’ Black remarked in surprise. After forcing the enemy Ahri a step back, he happened to glance at his minimap just as Lin Feng moved down to the enemy blue buff. “Is he planning to counter-jungle?”

✹

“No, I’m not counter-jungling. I’m picking up a free kill,” Lin Feng explained to Su Xue, Zuo You, and the stream viewers with a confident smile. ”The enemy Jarvan probably started red. When he comes to get his blue buff, we just have to wait for him to use up all his skills and then pick up a free kill.”

Su Xue was skeptical, while Zuo You had a pensive look on her face. Even though she didn’t main jungle, she saw these types of early invades often enough. If he succeeded, the payoff was great. She turned her attention to Lin Feng. Is this kid really good enough to counter-jungle? Maybe he’s bullshitting. Well, we’ll see soon enough.

Lin Feng had already crossed the river and silently entered the enemy’s jungle. He placed down a ward over the wall in the blue camp. Then, he waited in the river entrance bush behind the blue camp.

After laying in ambush for only a few seconds, a figure clad in golden armour appeared. The viewers immediately stirred. Jarvan IV was here!

Lin Feng obediently took off his shoes, then sat down at the table with Su Xue and the mystery guest.

“Wash your hands,” Su Xue glared.

Lin Feng hurriedly shot up to his feet to go wash his hands.

The red-headed guest couldn’t help but break out into laughter. “Ah, Xue Xue, is there a need to be so aggressive? You’re practically radiating killing intent.”

“That’s the only way to get this brat to listen. I won’t hover over him like some kind of nice nanny.”

Lin Feng returned from the kitchen. He obediently sat back down at the table and reported, “I washed my hands.”

“Why are you home so late?” Su Xue asked with a look of askance.

“Oh, I was playing ranked with a classmate,” Lin Feng explained.

“That girl you wanted to recruit to your team?”

“Yeah.”

“Hoh, this kid is pretty good. Didn’t you say he just transferred the other day? He’s already convinced a girl to play games with him. Quite slick~” the red-headed guest chimed in.

“Who is she?” Lin Feng asked.

“Ah, she’s-”

“I’m Xue Xue’s best friend, Zuo You,” the red-headed guest answered in Su Xue’s stead, beaming a bright smile. “Lin Feng, right? Aren’t you a cutie.”

Lin Feng scratched his head. “Oh, nice to meet you.”

Su Xue knocked on the table. “The introductions are over, right? The food’s getting cold. Come on, eat.”

Lin Feng picked up a bowl and some chopsticks and started gorging himself on all the dishes, while Su Xue and Zuo You continued chatting on the side. They’d already finished eating.

“What were we talking about? Oh, right! Have you found a new job yet?” Zuo You asked.

“Ahem… uh, no, not yet…” Su Xue coughed.

“Still? It’s already been almost two months! How are you planning to pay rent? Do you need me to lend you some money?” Zuo You was dumbfounded.

Su Xue hurriedly shook her head. “No need. No need. I can still scrape by. If things really get bad, I’ll come to you.”

Zuo You vigorously nodded. “Mhmm. Just let me know, I’ll help you out. So, you really haven’t found any work yet? That’s so weird.”

Su Xue hesitated for a moment before meekly explaining, “Actually, I’ve uhh been trying to become a streamer.”

“A streamer!?” Zuo You’s eyes widened in surprise. “My god! Don’t tell me you’re trying to become one of those League gamer girls on Huya? You know, the ones that show more of their ‘face’ cam than their actual gameplay to trick thirsty guys out of their money?”

Lin Feng raised his head from his bowl and curiously stared at Su Xue’s chest. “I don’t think she has the assets to pull that off.”

“Shut up! Eat your food!” Su Xue snapped.

Zuo You burst out in laughter before coming to the help of her best friend, “Hey hey, don’t say such mean things. She might not fill a sweater out very much, but those legs go on for days!” She then turned her attention back to Su Xue. “Really? A streamer?”

Su Xue forced a hollow smile. “Yeah.”

Zuo You was speechless. “I say, aren’t you a little in over your head here? There’s plenty of proper, honest jobs out there, but you want to become a streamer? Even you know how competitive that scene is, and there are so many unwritten rules, not to mention petty drama going on behind the scenes. Do you think someone with your personality is cut out for it? You’re like a lamb trying to mingle with a pack of hungry wolves! You’ll be eaten alive! You’re just wasting your time!” Her voice grew increasingly bitter and resentful.

“Eh, I think it’ll be alright.”

Zuo You grew more frustrated. “Really? It’ll be alright? It’s not like I don’t know how good you are at the game. At best, and I mean at best, you’re a Gold player. Not even as good as me! You can’t attract viewers with your skills, and given your personality, there’s no way you can cut it as a cutesy e-girl. So, tell me, where do you see a future in streaming?”

“You play League too?” Lin Feng asked in surprise.

Zuo You turned to Lin Feng with a bright smile. “Yep. I’m Plat 3! Pretty good, right?” She quickly swung her head back to Su Xue. “Answer me. How do you see yourself making a career out of this?”

“But I really like this game, and I enjoy being a streamer. Don’t worry, I’ll make a lot of money when I become popular.”

“A lot of money? You think it’s that easy? Only a handful of the very best streamers make good money!” Zuo You harshly said. “So what if you like it? Does liking something pay the bills? Does liking something put food on the table?”

“I think it’s good that she has a dream. As long as she tries hard, anything is possible!” Lin Feng butted in.

“Shut up! Eat your food!” Zuo You snapped.

However, Su Xue immediately latched onto Lin Feng’s words like a midlaner at their jungler’s mistakes. “No, wait! He’s right. I think so too. I know I’m not the best player, but I can get better!”

Zuo You rolled her eyes. “Get better? How are you going to get better? Throw a magic die?”

Lin Feng patted his chest. “I can help her!”

Su Xue vigorously nodded. “Right! He can help me!”

“Are you really good at the game? What rank are you?” Zuo You asked, a hint of surprise and doubt in her eyes.

“I’m a Challenger!” Lin Feng proudly declared.

“PFT!” Zuo You burst out into laughter. “Challenger? A kid like you? Who are you trying to fool? Haha!”

✹

After Lin Feng finished dinner, the trio went into Su Xue’s room.

“Didn’t you say you were a Challenger? How about you show some of your skills to big sis over here?” Zuo You teased.

“Hey, what? I’m supposed to be streaming right now!” Su Xue protested. She had already opened the League client and her stream.

“Who would want to watch a Gold rank player like you play? You might actually bore your viewers to death if you aren’t careful.” Zuo You brushed her off.

“No way! My viewers love watching my stream!” Su Xue argued.

At this moment, Su Xue clicked on the ‘Go Live’ button. Several dozen regular viewers entered the stream. Seeing Su Xue on the facecam, they all stirred.

「our luck…… we get the maid」
「why does she keep trying to hog the stream????/ All she’s good for is bringing water!」
「Where’s li’l bro?」
「Get outta way! We wanna watch li’l bro play ranked!」

Su Xue was speechless.

“Hahaha! Maid? What’s that about? Oh my god, Xue Xue, you really do have it hard. Your viewers all came to watch the kid!”

“Not another word! These traitors need to learn about loyalty!”

Lin Feng and Zuo You had both pulled up chairs and sat down beside Su Xue.

「guysguysgusy it’s lil bro!!」
「Play ranked! Play ranked!」
「Get the maid to move aside! Hey, there’s someone else?」
「huh? Who’s that girl? We haven’t seen her before right?」

The viewers took notice of Zuo You and her attractive figure in the corner of the webcam.

「Wowzers! What a pair!」
「DO A FACE REVEAL!!!!!!」

Reading the chat, Zuo You giggled. She inched herself closer to the webcam and greeted, “Hihi, guyyys.”

The chat exploded with dozens of messages flooding in every second!

「Wow, so hot!」
「short-haired girls are the best!」
「sorry Li’l bro, I changed my mind. Let the red-head stream!」

The fickle viewers had all shifted their attention to Zuo You. However, Lin Feng ignored them as he switched seats with Su Xue. Zuo You took a minute to talk to the viewers about how eager she was to see Lin Feng’s supposed ‘Challenger’ level skills. It was obvious that she was only teasing him, and didn’t actually believe that he was that good. At League or anything else…

“Alright, I’ll start queing up,” Lin Feng said, full of fighting spirit.

Lin Feng quickly got matched into a game. Before he even started picking his champion, the chat stirred.

「Hey! Look at the summoner name of the person in third pick!」
「HOLY SHITSTIDDLES!!! IS THIS FOR REAL?」
「Third pick is also a streamer!」

Lin Feng stunned Janna. Tang Bingyao followed up as she continuously chucked spears at Janna while dashing forward.

Janna’s health rapidly plummeted!

Tristana tried to get Annie to back off by firing shots at her, but Lin Feng didn’t bat an eye. Tiny fireballs continuously struck Janna as he helped in dealing damage.

Janna flashed away while simultaneously throwing out a Howling Gale aimed at Kalista.

A giant tornado swept forth. If Tang Bingyao was knocked up by the Howling Gale, the Janna would escape! But with a perfectly timed Flash, she blinked through the tornado!

“Oh, nice!” Lin Feng praised, his eyes lighting up. “Nice reaction!”

With Kalista still hot on her heels, Janna panicked and tried to shake her off with an Exhaust. However, this barely affected Kalista who continued dashing forward with Martial Poise[mfn]Enter a movement command while winding up Kalista’s basic attack or Pierce to lunge a short distance when she launches her attack.[/mfn]. Tristana also used her Heal on Janna. However, she was still affected by Lin Feng’s Ignite, which reduced the efficiency of Heal by 50%.

Janna’s fate was sealed!

After Tang Bingyao landed one more auto-attack, Lin Feng cried out, “She’s low enough! Rend now!”

Tang Bingyao pressed down on her E key.

A visceral stabbing sound rang out as if a soul were being ruthlessly torn apart!

Janna’s health bottomed out.

《First blood!》

“See, I knew you’d be good with Kalista!” Lin Feng said, beaming.

Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao recalled back to base to buy items. Tang Bingyao’s face was all smiles, and she happily nodded. She was really starting to take a liking to Kalista.

“Good! Let’s get a double kill next!” Lin Feng exclaimed.

If a duo like Annie and Kalista were allowed to get a kill advantage in the early game, they would really become unstoppable. That said, this was still a Diamond ranked game. Tristana and Janna started playing safe and didn’t give away any more kills, albeit at the cost of losing out on some minions.

Lin Feng continuously pressured Tristana and Janna with his highly aggressive Annie. Tang Bingyao was even starting to zone them out of approaching the minion wave.

Eventually, Tristana and Janna had to recall back to base after being poked down to low health, lest they fed two more kills. They realized they couldn’t deal with the Kalista-Annie pair any longer and called in back-up from their jungler.

However, Lin Feng had long since predicted this and typed a message in team chat.「Hey hey, Elise, come down for a counter gank at bot!」

Tang Bingyao was already Level 6 when the enemy Lee Sin came rushing out of the river brush for a gank. The Blind Monk landed a Resonating Strike on Annie and closed in with the second part of the skill.

“Ult me! Ult me!” Lin Feng shouted. Not missing a beat, Tang Bingyao pressed down on her R key and pulled Annie out of being surrounded by the three enemy champions. Tristana even wasted her Rocket Jump trying to close in.

Even after failing their gank attempt, the three enemies didn’t back down and continued giving chase. However, Lin Feng had no plans of running. Elise was already coming in for the counter-gank.

“Go in! Turn the fight!” Lin Feng instructed. He quickly moved his mouse and launched Annie back into the fray with the second part of Kalista’s ultimate. The little girl went flying toward the three enemies like a cannonball.

Annie collided into the Tristana and Lee Sin and knocked the two of them up in the air! Then, Lin Feng pressed down on his W key as a wave of fire swept out. The energized rings of smoke surrounding Annie activated as the flames enveloped all three enemies. A beautiful three-man stun!

Tang Bingyao started dealing damage with her auto attacks. As for the jungle Elise, she rappaled into the fight and instantly went on the low health Janna with a Venomous Bite.

Janna was the first to die. The experience from this kill helped Lin Feng reach Level 6. He’d been waiting for this moment, instantly activating Annie’s ultimate—Summon: Tibbers. Annie threw up the little bear in her hand, which transformed into a frightening monster that unleashed its terror on Tristana!

Tristana instantly lost a large chunk of her health. She panic-flashed in an attempt to escape the fight, but Elise also flashed forward in pursuit. With an auto-attack, she slowed Tristana with her red buff, allowing Tang Bingyao to catch up and pick up the kill with a few autos and Rend.

《Double kill!》

The game hadn’t even reached 10 minutes in, yet Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao had already completely blown up the enemy bot lane. Tang Bingyao followed Lin Feng’s advice on what items to build. As she started scaling with items, she became even more untouchable with the help of Lin Feng’s support. This was why the Kalista-Annie bot duo was feared by many. By combining their ultimates, Kalista could launch Annie deep into the enemy team for a multi-man stun. It was basically a sure-fire move to win teamfights. Needless to say, the duo became even more frightening after being fed, annihilating the enemy in teamfights.

✹

At the 20-minute mark, the enemy team unanimously agreed to a surrender vote.

“So? What do you think? I told you I’m a really good support!” Lin Feng happily exclaimed.

Tang Bingyao was still reflecting on the game. “Wow, Kalista is strong.”

“Huh? Yeah, but we’re talking about how good my support is!”

Tang Bingyao nodded. ‘Yeah, I think I should pick her up.”

“Hey, Tang Tang! I don’t think we’re on the same wavelength here.”

Tang Bingyao snapped out of her daze. “Eh? What were you saying?”

Lin Feng no longer bothered. What mattereed was that Tang Bingyao found Kalista fun to play. So, striking while the iron was hot, he asked, “I told you I’m really good at coaching people! So how about joining my team?”

Tang Bingya considered the offer briefly before shaking her head. “No thanks.”

Lin Feng let out a deep sigh, only for his face to light back up again. “It’s fine! I’ll convince you one of these days!”

✹

After playing a couple more games, Lin Feng realized it was getting a bit late. Sis Xue had probably already prepared dinner and was waiting for him. He quickly shot to his feet, bid Tang Bingyao farewell, and ran home. When he arrived back home, he gently opened the door and poked his head inside, carefully looking around to see if Su Xue was still in her bedroom. However, what met him was Su Xue’s expressionless gaze from the dining room.

“Uh oh I’m busted.” Lin Feng blinked before putting on an innocent smile. “Sis Xue, I’m home!”

Su Xue’s face twitched. She looked like she was about to go off on Lin Feng, but she suddenly took a deep breath and held herself back. “Why are you still standing at the door? Come in already!”

Question marks floated up above Lin Feng’s head. Something was different about Su Xue today. She appeared much more restrained. He soon noticed the guest sitting across from her. She looked the same age as Su Xue. Her hair was dyed dark red like the colour of wine, and she wore a sleeveless, beige vest. In spite of the youthful way she presented herself, it couldn’t mask the mature air about her. She leaned her head on her chin and shot him a mysterious smile.

At the constant pestering of Lin Feng, Tang Bingyao finally agreed to duo queue with him. She picked two Diamond accounts she was boosting and gave one to Lin Feng. Like this, she could get two orders out of the way at once.

Even though Tang Bingyao was occasionally a bit naive, she wasn’t stupid. Boosting a Diamond account was fairly difficult. After witnessing Lin Feng’s skills yesterday, she quickly realized he would be of great help to get the harder orders out of the way. As for the easier orders with Gold and Platinum accounts, she could easily complete them with her ad-carry Draven.

Seeing the list of several dozen accounts along with their passwords on her phone, Lin Feng inched closer, his eyes wide with surprise. “Wow! Tang Tang, you’re really something!”

Tang Bingyao knitted her brows. She didn’t like it when people addressed her so intimately. However, seeing that Lin Feng paid no heed to her discomfort, she could only pretend like she didn’t hear.

“Do you need money badly? Is that why you’re taking on so many elo boosting jobs?” Lin Feng asked, full of interest.

Tang Bingyao shook her head. “I don’t really need money.”

“Eh? Then why are you elo boosting so many accounts?” Lin Feng asked.

“Because I enjoy the feeling of making money,” Tang Bingyao explained.

Some people liked eating tasty food, others liked playing video games, and there were some that enjoyed travelling. Everyone had their own interests. Lin Feng assumed there were many more people like Tang Bingyao who liked the feeling of making money. So, he accepted her answer without a second thought. Entering the username and password Tang Bingyao provided him, he said, “Let’s start!”

✹

Before long, the two entered champion select. Tang Bingyao was first pick, Lin Feng second. She banned three champions[mfn]In Season 5, first pick in ranked games could ban three champions. Since then, this rule has changed.[/mfn], then called ad-carry and moved her mouse to lock in Draven.

“Wait wait wait!” Lin Feng cried out.

“What?” Tang Bingyao stared at Lin Feng.

“I told you. It gets boring always playing Draven. Play another ad-carry today!” Lin Feng brightly smiled.

“I don’t find it boring,” Tang Bingyao objected.

“But like this, it’ll be difficult for you to improve. Switch up the champions you play. I promise you’ll improve really quickly. Then, you’ll be good enough to boost people to Master and Challenger!”

Tang Bingyao pondered for a moment before nodding. At Lin Feng’s suggestion, she locked in Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance. She then turned to Lin Feng and asked, “What role are you playing?”

“Support!” Lin Feng pounded his chest.

“Won’t it be harder to win if we both go the same lane?” Tang Bingyao asked.

“It’s fine! I’m pretty good at support too!”

✹

After everyone had locked in their champion, they went into the loading screen. On the top half of the screen was the blue team with top Irelia, mid Veigar, jungle Elise, ad-carry Kalista, and support Annie. That was right, Lin Feng had picked support Annie! On the bottom half of the screen was the red team with top Darius, mid Orianna, jungle Lee Sin, ad-carry Tristana, and support Janna.

Kalista was the newest ad-carry champion. She quickly gained traction in the pro scene mainly because of her third skill—Rend. The important part of this skill was its synergy with her basic attack, which involved her throwing spears. These spears would remain lodged in whatever champion or monster she was attacking, and the spear stacks continued to build indefinitely. Then, when the moment was right, Rend could be utilized with E and rip the target apart with damage scaling to the number of spear stacks. The sheer amount of damage from this skill along with the timing made her invaluable. It was a phenomenal combo for everything from pushing lane to stopping the opposing team from getting Dragon or Baron.

Lin Feng picked Annie, a little girl boasting powerful magic damage. In the early game, she mostly relied on her strong long-range poke. Then, when she reached Level 6, her full skill combo became available, unlocking frightening damage and crowd control. Not to mention, Annie and Kalista paired very well together. They could combine their ultimates to execute a devastating combo.

“Time to crush the enemy bot lane!” Lin Feng declared.

“I haven’t really played Kalista much,” Tang Bingyao said. She was clearly out of her comfort zone.

“No worries. Kalista is pretty simple. Just requires a little skill with the mouse. She’s perfect for you. All you have to do is go in when I tell you to.”

✹

At around two minutes, Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao killed the two golems in the stretch of jungle adjacent to their bot lane before arriving at the outer tower. This was a little trick you could pull in bot lane. After gaining the experience from killing the golem camp, you could reach Level 2 before the enemy bot lane and seize priority over the lane. Not to mention Lin Feng was really good at juggling the aggro of the golem camp, minimizing the number of attacks the golems dealt. He and Tang Bingyao barely lost any health while killing the golem camp.

When the two reached bot lane, Lin Feng saw the enemy ad-carry and support were already in lane. Both Tristana and Janna’s health bars were full. “They didn’t do golems. We’ll have the Level 2 advantage,” he said.

“Mhm,” Tang Bingyao acknowledged. She started killing the minions.

Kalista’s passive, Martial Poise, allowed her to make a short dash in a targeted direction in the middle of her auto-attacks. This increased her maneuverability and flexibility. A short dash followed by an auto, this certainly took a while to get used to and required good control with the mouse. However, that was exactly why Lin Feng believed Tang Bingyao was particularly suited for this champion.

Tang Bingyao ended up missing the first two minions in the first wave and accidentally dashed toward the enemy, which resulted in her eating a couple of autos. Her face flushed red with embarrassment.

Lin Feng didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he even comforted her, “Don’t worry. You’ll quickly get the hang of her. We have higher damage than them early game. No need to be afraid.”

Tang Bingyao nodded, her eyes flashing with determination. Disappointed with her own play, she became even more driven to master this champion. Even if she was new to this champion, she could still play it well!

Before long, Tang Bingyao started getting used to Kalista’s gimmick. Her movements became more and more natural. Not to mention, the same playstyle she became accustomed to with Draven started slowly revealing itself in her Kalista gameplay. What was that? Aggression! When she found the opportunity, she directly threw out a spear with her Q, piercing through a low-health minion and hitting the Janna. Then, she hopped forward and auto-attacked Janna twice, hopping back on the second auto-attack. Then with another hop, she easily dodged Janna’s Howling Gale.

“Nice!” Lin Feng praised. At the same time, he didn’t slack off with his Annie either. He took advantage of his superior attack range to continuously poke the enemy. From time to time, he would add a Q to his auto attack poke on Tristana, taking small chunks of her health.

As the last few minions of the first wave were killed, Annie was about to level up. Lin Feng stared at his experience bar, his eyes lighting up. “Alright, get ready to go in!”

“En!” Tang Bingyao acknowledged. She had her Kallista last hit a minion, flicking her mouse forward. She hopped toward Janna, a brilliant light enveloping her as she reached Level 2.

“Go!” Lin Feng cried out as he flashed forward, his champion also having reached Level 2.

Annie materialized in front of Janna, wreathed in a ring of swirling smoke; an indicator that her next skill would stun the target for a short duration.

Lin Feng pressed down on his W key—Incinerate!

A cone of scorching hot flames swept forth and stunned Janna. Then, he followed up with Disintegrate and Ignite, a rotation that melted the Janna’s health! It was a beautiful play! An instant engage at Level 2!

Early the next day, in the back of the classroom, Ouyang slammed a heavy textbook shut. On the cover was the word ‘History’ printed in big bold letters. He let out a grief-stricken wail, “AGGHH! God! Just kill me now!”

Right before the period bell rang, the history teacher, a woman in her 50s who seemingly always had a smile on her face, announced there would be a quiz on Friday. She instructed everyone to study hard over the next few days.

What was a quiz? Nothing more than a fancy word for a test!

“Damn! The semester has barely started, and we’re already getting tested! This is insane!” Ouyang grumbled in grief and indignation.

Yang Fan turned around from his seat and looked at Ouyang sympathetically. Adjusting his glasses, he said, “Last I recall, you’re pretty terrible at history, right? You’ve never passed a test.”

“Never?” Lin Feng’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Uch, don’t remind me. And it’s not like I don’t try! Even when I study hard, I don’t pass!” Ouyang lamented.

“Oh, wow! That’s impressive!” Lin Feng gave Ouyang a thumbs up.

“All history is, is memorization memorization memorization! There’s no skill to it at all! It’s even more monotonous than playing top Garen! Fuck! It’s not my fault I’m not good at memorizing things! I can try all I want, but it won’t help!” Ouyang raged.

Yang Fan shot Ouyang the old stink-eye. “You sure you’re actually trying and not just goofing off? Memorizing a few bits of history is way easier than math or chemistry.”

Lin Feng nodded in agreement. Someone once claimed that studying and playing League of Legends were one and the same. Memorization in any subject was just like playing Nasus in the top lane, with the minions being bits of knowledge. If you saw a minion, you just had to hit it with your Siphoning Strike. Kill one, gain a stack, kill another, gain another stack, and so on. Like this you could slowly stack up your ‘knowledge’ until your Siphoning Strike dealt over 1,000 damage! Then, when the test came around, it was like playing Tryndamere. You first tackle the easy problems, building up your rage meter, then start getting critical hits left and right as you go through the harder questions. Finally, when you face an extremely difficult question, you activate your ultimate skill for five seconds of invincibility and turn the tables around!

“So, Ouyang, you should pretend like you’re playing Nasus,” Lin Feng suggested. “Memorizing a fact is like killing a minion with your Q[mfn]Siphoning Strike[/mfn]. After you get enough stacks, your damage will go up and any test you tackle will be a piece of cake.”

Ouyang rolled his eyes. “Wow, when you put it like that, I still have zero confidence! Have you seen me CS? 60 CS by 10 minutes is basically my record[mfn]The rule of thumb is to get approximately 10 CS per minute, or 100 by minute 10.[/mfn]!”

Yang Fan sighed. “Just ignore him. He’s a lost cause.”

✹

As the three continued chatting throughout the day, it didn’t take long for the subject to return to League of Legends.

“There’s nothing exciting happening lately anyway. We’ll just have to wait for Worlds to start.” Ouyang sighed. “Three more weeks. It feels like forever.”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses, and comforted, “Just be patient. When October rolls around, we’ll have lots to do. Apart from Worlds, we also have the club fair.”

Ouyang’s face lit up. “Oh, you’re right! The club fair is soon! We can use that to recruit some new blood to our club. Damn! I can’t wait! Hopefully we can convince some cute girls to join!”

“What club fair? What club?”

Yang Fan turned to Lin Feng and explained, “Our school holds a club fair every fall, where all the different clubs set up their own booths. Ouyang and I are part of the school’s esports club.”

“Not just ordinary members! We’re part of the committee!” Ouyang puffed up his chest. “We joined back when the club was founded in our first year. We’re the founding members!”

Yang Fan gave Lin Feng a rough explanation of the club. “We founded the club two years ago with several other students. Basically, our club works together with clubs from other schools in Shanghai to organize tournaments. It’s being very well received. We even organize simple matches, build up some rivalries, you know. The works. And the best part of it all is that as long as we don’t let it get out of hand, the school administration turns a blind eye to us.”

“The most exciting event coming up is the Shanghai 16-School Tournament,” Ouyang said with a face full of excitement.

“When we took part in it last year, we got knocked out in the first round,” Yang Fan quickly added, pouring cold water over Ouyang’s excitement.

Ouyang choked as embarrassment washed over his face. He coughed, “Ahem, well, that’s because we were careless. We didn’t prepare enough and underestimated our opponents. This time, we won’t make the same mistake!” He then clenched his fist as if making a solemn vow. “We’ll reclaim our honour this year for sure!”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of time to prepare. The tournament is still a month and a half away.” Yang Fan adjusted his glasses. “I just hope we can get some good new players this year, or else we’ll end up repeating the debacle of last year.”

“Me, me, me! Let me join!” Lin Feng enthusiastically raised his hand.

“You sure are gung-ho, huh?” Ouyang remarked. He didn’t take Lin Feng seriously, instead shifting the topic to something else. His expression brightened as he said, “Well, even if we don’t wait for the club fair to roll around, we already have good players to pick from!”

“Who?” Lin Feng and Yang Fan asked in unison.

Ouyang chuckled, then pointed at the front of the class. “Tang Bingyao of course!”

Yang Fan nodded in agreement. “Right. Her ad-carry was really good. She really did lift the whole team on her shoulders yesterday.”

“What about me? What about me? I’m good too!” Lin Feng said.

Ouyang nodded confidently. “Uh huh. With her joining us, we have a real chance of winning! Hell, maybe we can even reach the top 8! Or the top 4!”

“I can join too!” Lin Feng said.

“Will she agree though? Didn’t you have to pay her ¥80 just to convince her to play yesterday?” Yang Fan asked with a hint of worry.

Lin Feng still wasn’t willing to give up. “I’ll do it for free! I won’t charge anything!”

Ouyang chuckled. “It’s fine, it’s fine. We can just pay her an appearance fee again! If we can get into the top 4, the prize money is enough to make it worth it! Oh right, Lin Feng, did you say something? I wasn’t listening.”

✹

As the final bell rang, Lin Feng bolted from his seat and ran toward the NetCow Cafe across the street. He waited at the door for Tang Bingyao, who walked in not much later. “Hey!” he greeted. Then, he told her about the tournament and started airing his grievances to her.

“A tournament between 16 schools?” Tang Bingyao furrowed her brows. After deeply considering it, she shook her head. “Not interested.”

“I knew it! I told them you probably wouldn’t be interested!” Lin Feng slapped his thigh. “Hah. I told them I’d do it for free, but Ouyang and Yang Fan just ignored me!”

Tang Bingyao considered for a moment, then suggested, “Play a ranked game for them. Just show them how good you are.”

“Wow! Why didn’t I think of that?” Lin Feng exclaimed. His expression lit up. “I heard there’s a prize for those in the top 4. Looks like I can make myself some pocket money this time!”

“Prize?” Tang Bingyao asked. Her eyes started shining. “How much?”

Lin Feng was stunned. He quickly changed the subject, as though he’d let some big secret slip, “Oh! Uhhh, it’s nothing! Start the queue! Start the queue!”

“Are you trying to change the subject?” Tang Bingyao stared at Lin Feng earnestly.

“Gah! Ahaha, am I that obvious?” Lin Feng chuckled.

“Very.” Tang Bingyao nodded.

Lin Feng pretended he didn’t hear her. He clenched his fist with a pumped up expression. “Hey hey, I’m online! Add me as a friend, and we’ll duo queue!”

The maid relinquished the streamer seat, and the li’l bro took over the stream. After plopping down in front of the computer, Lin Feng noticed Su Xue’s champion was Ezreal. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “You play Ez?”

The Prodigal Explorer, Ezreal, was the handsome favored son[mfn]Editor note: Husbando alert, for those of you into that sort of thing.[/mfn] of Riot. In the past, whenever Riot patched the game, balance changes to items, masteries, and stats would often revolve around him. An example of this was the Blue Ezreal build[mfn]The Blue Ezreal build refers to Ezreal stacking multiple blue coloured items that provided mana. This build synergized especially well with Ezreal’s kit.[/mfn], which remained in the meta for a long time.

That said, Ezreal lost a bit of his flare recently. He’d gotten harder to play, and only the more skilled players could make him shine. Everyone else would just misuse his skills, like Mystic Shot, and end up making the champion look clunky. They just couldn’t pull off the graceful playstyle that Ezreal was known for.

“I wanted to try out a new champion… I thought it’d help me attract new viewers to my stream,” Su Xue explained, meekly playing with her fingers. She knew that she wasn’t good enough to experiment with new champions in ranked games.

Lin Feng checked her KDA—1/2/2.  “Oh, at least you’re not feeding like you want to end world hunger. This is so much better than the last game. Remember your 0/3/2 Vayne?” He then focused on the game, adrenaline still pounding in his veins from facing off against that pro Vayne player. This was the perfect opportunity to get back in form!

Now that Lin Feng had decided to go all out in this game, victory was a forgone conclusion. Any and all suspense in the game ended as he tore through the enemy team, decimating both their front and back lines. It was a complete massacre.

✹

《You have slain an enemy!》

《Double kill!》

《Dominating!》

Lin Feng crushed the Ashe, then used his ultimate’s insanely long range to snipe at the nearly dead Lissandra in top lane. This was just the beginning. When the first teamfight broke out, he walked in to pick up a triple kill. He executed every enemy champion that came near him, hard-carrying the game.

Su Xue was astonished, awestruck, amazed, and all the other words that she couldn’t come up with right now, even though she’d seen Lin Feng play before. She knew he was good. But this was an entirely different dimension of good. She never even imagined he could carry a game this easily with any random ad-carry! Su Xue was jealous, she knew she was jealous. How was she supposed to compete with someone like this? She was beautiful, sure. But even that couldn’t compete with Lin Feng’s skill.

The viewers repeatedly exclaimed in admiration, entranced by his plays. They showered Lin Feng with praise.

「Your EZ is sooo good!」
「so much better than the maid!!!」
「lil bro is so handsome just like ez!l!」

“Hey! I’m sitting right here! Don’t act like I’m not here!” Su Xue snapped. But the viewers ignored her completely. Instead, with the game as good as over, they shifted the topic.

「Worlds is starting soon, right?」
「3 more weeks!!!! so exciting! 」
「China will win this year! We got all the good koreans.」
「Yuck… I just wanna see an all Chinese team win. It sucks having to rely on imports」
「whadda ya think, lil bro?」

Lin Feng checked chat while recalling back to base. “Oh, you guys want me to talk about Worlds?”

「Yeah!」
「tell us what you think!」
「Tell us!」

Su Xue chimed in, “Yeah, aren’t you always bragging about how you’re a Challenger? Share your esteemed opinion with us. Do you think China has a chance of winning Worlds this year?”

Lin Feng scratched his head. “Uh… sure, I guess…? But, I’m a bit thirsty.” He cast a meaningful glance at Su Xue.

“Eh?” Su Xu’s eyes went wide before her expression darkened. “Don’t push your luck! Once was already too much! Now you want to order me around like your maid!?”

Of course, Su Xue’s viewers were quick to side with Lin Feng.

「Shoo, maid. go get the drinks!!!!!」
「lil bro has spoken!!!!!11」
「Don’t make us mass unfollow!」

Y-you rotten, heartless bastards! Su Xue cursed under her breath while reluctantly getting up to get Lin Feng his glass of water.

Lin Feng continued reading the stream chat. The viewers were sharing their opinions on this year’s League of Legends world championship. 16 top teams from across the world would come together and face off against each other to determine the best in the world. Three LPL[mfn]LPL (League of Legends Pro League) is the top competitive pro league in China.[/mfn] teams had qualified. They were Hand of God, Dust and KG.

「im placing my bets on hog this year」
「Dust is pretty good too. Don’t forget they have Mote!! He won last year with SSK!」
「KG is the only all Chinese team, I want them to win.」

Lin Feng was super interested in the conversation chat was having and followed along. But like all conversations on the internet, it turned into people fighting and insulting each other. Then they decided to let him be the final arbiter, his opinion settling the debate.. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm… if I had to guess? I’d say HoG probably has the best chance out of the three.”

「See! I told you HoG was best!」
「Go HoG! Make bacon out of the other teams!」
「HOG! HOG! HOG!!」

The HoG fans in the chat started cheering. And they had every reason to. Their team won the LPL Summer Playoffs! On top of that, HoG had also claimed victory over Fate, one of the top teams in Korea’s OGN[mfn]OGN is the top league competition in Korea[/mfn], in the international Mid-Season Invitational. But Hand of God wasn’t a heavy favorite just because of their victories. The individual players on the team each contributed to the intensity of their fans. HoG had imported two strong Korean players. But the real draw was their God-tier midlaner, Daybreak Hermes. The fans all called him the Star Emperor[mfn]The characters “辰星” in Chinese is the name for the Roman god Mercury. There isn’t really a distinction between stars, moons, and planets in Chinese, they’re all heavenly bodies. The Star Emperor nickname comes from the “star (星)” character in the Mercury/Hermes (辰星) part of his name. It was tough for me to work this into the translation. So, I’ll just leave the footnote here for you guys.[/mfn], and he was recognized as the absolute top, number 1, midlane player in China. In a strange twist, his nickname of Star Emperor had nothing to do with the Four Emperors. Hermes wasn’t one of them. The nickname was given to him to acknowledge that he was the only Chinese player among the so-called Seven Kings.

“Mhm… Even though winning the Invitational can’t compare to winning Worlds, it’s still an international tournament,” Su Xue chimed in after coming back with the water.

Lin Feng habitually scratched his hair, then lifted his head with a bright smile. “But you know, I’d still like to see KG win the most!”

KG came third in the LPL Summer Playoffs, and had claimed China’s final spot for Worlds. Their entire line-up consisted of Chinese players. The team had zero imports. This was reason enough for a lot of Chinese fans to support them. However, there were even more fans who felt KG simply wasn’t good enough. At least, not on the world stage. They couldn’t even come out on top domestically.

The KG fans in the chat immediately erupted with indignation.

「What!??! You don’t think we can compete with HoG or Dust?」
「What’s wrong with wanting to see an all Chinese team win????? We don’t need any imports!」
「who says your imports will be any good? we’ve seen them fail before, maybe they will again at worlds!」
「KG can go head to head with them! We have God Roundy! He made it to Worlds all the way back in Season 1, and he’s still crushing all other top laners!!! 」

The ‘God Roundy’ the viewers were referring to was a top laner called Roundy Round. He was a very much beloved player. But that was mostly because he had played in the professional scene since season 1. Still, his skills couldn’t be looked down on. Over the years, he’d remained at the top and many players in China felt he was more than good enough to claim a spot in the Seven Kings. Until then, he was the Uncrowned Eighth.

“Oh right, KG’s top laner is really strong!” Lin Feng enthusiastically agreed. Back in Season 1, the player everyone now knew as God Roundy was a close friend he affectionately called “Fatty”. The so-called Uncrowned Eighth was his old classmate and teammate!

At the end of the day, Lin Feng had still won the game, so Tang Bingyao didn’t pursue the topic any further. Plus, one thing was clear. If she had continued playing, even with the enemy mid-laner disconnecting, she still wouldn’t have necessarily won the game. The enemy ad-carry was so good that she would’ve most likely been crushed before the game even reached the 20-minute mark. And yet, somehow Lin Feng had gone toe-to-toe with that Vayne. She couldn’t help but look at him differently.

Lin Feng noticed Tang Bingyao’s gaze and chuckled. “So? What do you think? Didn’t I tell you I was really good!?”

Tang Bingyao nodded.

Lin Feng mysteriously smiled. “Want to become just as good as me?”

Tang Bingyao’s eyes lit up. She vigorously nodded. If she could become better, she could make even more money elo boosting! Suddenly, her gaze turned wary. This all seemed a little too easy. Perhaps this new transfer student was plotting something!

“Don’t worry. I won’t ask for money.” Lin Feng shook his head. After which he quickly added, “As long as you join my team! If we’re teammates, I’ll always have time for you!”

“You have a team?” Tang Bingyao asked incredulously.

“Oh, uh… I technically don’t right now…” Lin Feng scratched his head. Then, he pounded his chest and said with a confident smile, “But I will! So, wanna join?”

Tang Bingyao directly shook her head. “No thanks.”

“W-what, why?” Lin Feng asked in surprise.

“Not interested.”

“Hmm… pro players make a lot of money. Winning the LPL nets you half a million, and winning Worlds gets you one million.” Lin Feng rubbed his chin as he tried a different approach. “That’s in United States Dollars, of course.”

$1,000,000!

Tang Bingyao’s heart shook. But she still shook her head. “I’m not good enough to be a pro.” She was well aware of her skill. A Draven one-trick pony. It was already hard enough for her to climb to Diamond 2. The gap between her and actual professionals was too large. Sure, money made her move. But that didn’t mean she would chase after some impossible dream.

Lin Feng pounded his chest. “No worries. I can make you a pro! You’re really talented. Your reflexes and reaction speed are already close to a pro’s! I don’t even think most Masters and Challengers can compare to you!”

Though she enjoyed the praise, Tang Bingyao still shook her head.

Lin Feng bitterly smiled. “Still no? You don’t think I can turn you into a pro?”

Tang Bingyao nodded. “Correct, I don’t.”

“Tell me. How good do you think I am? That Vayne last game was probably a pro! But I went even with her!” Lin Feng persuaded.

“You just told me you couldn’t beat them,” Tang Bingyao reminded.

Lin Feng scratched his head with a wry smile. “You’re right, but that’s because I’m rusty. Plus, I’m not even an ad-carry main!”

However, despite Lin Feng’s attempts to persuade her, Tang Bingyao was still steadfast in her refusal. Lin Feng could only give up. He rubbed his chin. “Right! Do you usually come here to do your elo boosting?”

“Yeah.” Tang Bingyao nodded, though she wasn’t sure why Lin Feng was asking.

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up. “You know that’s not very efficient, right? You know, playing by yourself. How about I tag along and duo-queue with you? Free of charge of course.” His plan was very simple. As long as he could play the game with her, he could work on persuading her. The future was long. With enough perseverance, you could break down the sturdiest of walls.

“So you can slowly convince me to join your team?” Tang Bingyao asked.

“Drats! Am I that obvious?” Lin Feng suddenly smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “You’re right! That’s exactly the plan.”

“You can try, but you won’t convince me.” Tang Bingyao shook her head.

“Don’t worry. I won’t give up so easily!” Lin Feng replied.

✹

Su Xue opened the door for a somewhat downcast Lin Feng. She soon learned why, a burst of laughter escaping her lips. “You really thought you could convince your classmate to form a professional team with you? Hahaha! You have to be out of your mind to think she’d agree! That’s so funny! Hahaha!”

“What do you mean?” Lin Feng asked as he took off his shoes.

“Please, let’s not even get into whether or not she believes you. This is only your first day at your new school. She barely even knows you! How do you expect her to agree?”

“That’s why I said the future is long! I’ll try my best to convince her!” Lin Feng clenched his fist.

Su Xue cast Lin Feng the side-eye. “Are you listening to yourself? Just you and a girl from your class, and you want to make a professional League team? If it were that easy, China would be full of League pros.”

Lin Feng scratched his head. “It’s not that hard to become a pro. I used to play professionally.”

Su Xue snorted. “First a Challenger. Now an ex-pro? How old are you, 18? So, you were a pro in middle school? How come I’ve never heard of you before? And if you really were a pro, why would you still be wasting your time with high school? Not even a three-year-old would believe your nonsense.”

Reminiscing about the past, Lin Feng closed his mouth. It wasn’t worth arguing about. Suddenly, he thought of something else and asked, “Hey, why did you take so long to open the door?”

Su Xue rolled her eyes. “I was in the middle of streaming. I backed to base as soon as I heard the doorbell ring. Anyway, whose fault is it for forgetting their keys in the first place?”

“Ah, yeah. My bad. I’ll remember next time.” Lin Feng nodded. “Since you’re still in a game, shouldn’t you be getting back to it?”

Su Xue’s eyes jolted wide open. “Shit! I’m screwed! I’m screwed! I wasted too much time listening to your nonsense! Who knows how much CS I lost? Arrghh, those stupid viewers are going to flame the crap out of me!” She bolted back to her room.

✹

After putting his things away, Lin Feng walked into Su Xue’s bedroom which had long since transformed into a streaming studio. As soon as he stepped through the door, he heard Su Xue apologizing to her viewers. “My bad, my bad guys. I had to open the door for the landlady’s nephew and lost track of time…”

The barrage of complaints came to an abrupt halt. The viewers stopped flaming as Su Xue had successfully shifted their attention to another topic.

「Eh? lil bro is back?」
「where where where?」
「we demand lil bro! show yourselve lil brooO!!」

Lin Feng happened to appear in the corner of the facecam at this moment and waved at the viewers. “Oh, hi guys.”

The viewers boiled over in excitement.

「oh shit! lil bro is back!」
「you’re finally back! Tell the maid to move aside! We’ve had to watch her terrible plays all evening!」
「shes sooo bad………. if i wasn’t stickin here for you, i wouldve jumped out the window」
「oh oh oh! I can finally see the light! You’re a glimmer of hope in this terrible night!」

The viewers acted as if they were seeing a long lost relative again, lamenting his absence the whole time. Then, they begged him to play.

「Get on get on! We wanna see you play!」
「have the washboard maid step aside already!」

“Hey, hey, hey! I was playing just fine a moment ago! Why are you shooing me away as soon as this kid shows up?”

「Shush! The maid doesn’t get a say in this!」

Su Xue sat in her chair, speechless.

Lin Feng scratched his head, then cautiously looked at Su Xue. “Uhhh… So, what do I do?”

Su Xue threw her hands up in the air in defeat. “Fine! Get on!” Then, she got up while grumbling, “Stupid flaky viewers, just who’s supposed to be the streamer here.”

In the gaming house of a certain LPL team, Nightsong’s eyes narrowed as he watched the enemy Draven on his screen. A faint ember flickered in his eyes. The aura around him changed. He sat up a bit on his seat and straightened his lower back. Now, he was really taking the game seriously.

A bead of sweat dripped down from Nightsong’s brow. He was feeling the pressure from this Draven, a type of threat that could only come from a worthy opponent. Another pro…? His eyes flashed with a peculiar light. This Draven clearly wasn’t some ordinary Platinum player. They were at the very least at the top of Diamond 1, maybe even a Master or Challenger. He didn’t expect to match up against this kind of opponent while casually messing around on his smurf. His lips faintly curved upward. This game had suddenly become interesting.

Despite not knowing the true identity of the other side and the fact this was only a Platinum game, both Nightsong and Lin Feng decided to give it their all. They would hold nothing back!

At about 10 minutes into the game, a team fight broke out near the dragon pit. Lin Feng had his Draven enter the fight late when the enemy team’s focus was on his jungler. Spinning axes danced through the air as he continuously threw and caught them. He exploded with damage.

Moments later, a silhouette shrouded in darkness appeared from behind. Vayne snuck into the back line with Final Hour and targeted Draven with Condemn, catching him completely off guard. A thick, large bolt rocketed toward him!

The Glorious Executioner was sent crashing into the dragon pit wall, stunned.

Got him! Nightsong’s lips curved into a smile.

Draven lost one of his spinning axes, which was a huge blow to his damage output. But when Lin Feng broke free from the stun, he still continued to deal considerable damage.

In the end, both ad-carries picked up double kills. Be it in terms of teamfight contribution or level and items, they were equally matched.

✹

This stalemate between the Glorious Executioner and Night Hunter continued. One side was the epitome of domineering, wildly slaughtering anything in his path. The other was ghostly, dancing around the edge of the battlefield, and always striking at the most opportune moment.

“Hear that? Death’s knocking!” Draven cackled sinisterly.

“Let us hunt those who have fallen to darkness,” Vayne proclaimed solemnly.

A heated clash between executioner and hunter!

Tang Bingyao earnestly observed Lin Feng playing, shock flickering in her eyes from time to time. The skills displayed by these two ad-carries were awe-inspiring!

Lin Feng’s eyes shone brighter and brighter, growing increasingly fervent the more he played! A strong opponent, one that stood at the apex! He originally believed the Vayne was a Master or Challenger-tier player. But now? Now he was certain their skills reached the level of a professional!

Honestly speaking, Lin Feng had to admit his skills as an ad-carry fell short to the opponent’s. It was just that a champion like Draven was crude but effective. As long as he continued catching axes and dealing damage, there really wasn’t much more skill required. This was why he could go toe-to-toe with the Vayne.

As the game continued, Lin Feng discovered multiple problems with his own play. After all, this was the first time in what felt like forever that he faced off against an opponent of this level. His lack of practice led to him making many small mistakes. For example, in the previous teamfight, he didn’t guard against Vayne sneaking up on him with her ultimate skill. He also forgot to buy vision wards[mfn]They reveal invisible targets.[/mfn] twice to counter her stealth.

“Agh, I could’ve played that better!” Lin Feng harshly criticized himself. But this didn’t dampen his blazing fighting spirit one bit. He’d been away for too long. It was exactly this kind of strong opponent that he needed to play against to hone his senses back to their peak. To force himself to pull out all the stops to win. And even if he couldn’t win, it was fine. The most important thing was the journey, the rare opportunity to go up against an opponent of this level!

Nightsong’s fighting spirit was also set ablaze. He finally had a rough gauge of the Draven’s skill level. Their reaction speed and mechanics were top-notch, but they were lacking a bit in awareness and game sense. They made minor mistakes in teamfights that seasoned veterans would never make. But none of these things affected the threat he felt from this opponent.

His opponent was playing a smart game. They knew they couldn’t beat his Vayne when he was playing seriously. So, they played to Draven’s strength, sweeping through his weaker teammates with a domineering style and killing their way to absolute victory.

What an amusing guy. Nightsong smiled, his heart racing with eagerness. No matter what, victory would belong to him!

As both teams were prepared for a long and bitter struggle, the game announcer’s voice rang out through Summoner’s Rift.

《A summoner has disconnected.》

Nighsong was dumbstruck. Lin Feng also went wide-eyed.

The mid-laner of the red team had disconnected, and judging from his short apology in all-chat, he wouldn’t be back any time soon.

「shit, sorry guys, girlfriend’s gone crazy. that time of the month again. imma get off to calm her down. I think my kitchen might be on fire too…」

Everyone was speechless.

「Wtf…?.」
「rip」
「ggez」

Nightsong nearly choked to death. T-t-his? R-really? I was just getting into it!

Lin Feng was in a daze for a long time before snapping back to his senses, looking as if someone had run over his puppy. “Aw man… what luck.” He was happily playing, brimming with excitement from head to toe, only for this to happen.

The four players from the red team lost the will to fight. After all, the two players carrying on their team were the ad-carry and mid-laner. With one gone, the balance broke, giving way for a one-sided slaughter.

A 4v5 was still winnable in Silver and Gold. However, as you climbed higher up the ladder, it became increasingly difficult to pull this off. In a scenario where you lost an important carry, it was simply hopeless. So, the red team started a surrender vote, to which even Nightsong reluctantly agreed.

“Ah, what a shame,” Lin Feng sighed. But he quickly returned to his usual cheerful self. “It was still really fun! You don’t get to play against someone that strong that often. Man, that was exciting!” He then turned to Tang Bingyao with a delighted smile. “See, I told you I could win!”

Tang Bingyao wrinkled her brows. “You didn’t win against the Vayne though.”

True, winning the game and winning against the Vayne were two different things. Lin Feng awkwardly scratched his head. “Ah, yeah. Hahaha. That Vayne was too good. I can’t beat her either.” Even though he admitted he was worse, he was still all-smiles.

“So, you’re saying you just wanted to scratch and itch and didn’t actually plan on teaching me anything?”

“Eh? Guess I’m busted.” Lin Feng chuckled awkwardly. “It’s fine though! Right? I still helped you win the game! I also didn’t charge you a carry fee! Consider it even!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hit ’em where it hurts.

“Hear that? Death’s knocking.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

《You have slain an enemy!》

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

“LEAAAAGUE OF DRAAAVEN!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

✹

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

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

Draven versus Vayne! Round three!

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

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

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

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

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

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

《You have been slain!》

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

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

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

Tang Bingyao turned to Lin Feng, staring at him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tang Bingyao was stunned, but still shook her head.

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

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

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

✹

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

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

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

“WELCOME… TO THE LEAAAGUE OF DRAAAAVEN!”

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

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

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