Giving away first blood wasn’t great. Anything but. However, that didn’t mean the game was over. KG still had everything in their own two hands. The three casters for the Official Chinese Broadcast knew that as well. They looked around the map, away from the LeBlanc in mid lane, and soon found something else to latch onto. Something was brewing up in top lane. KG’s Jungler was roaming up the river and into the tri-brush directly below SSK’s outer tower. God Roundy let the lane push his way ever so slightly, making sure the Gnar wasn’t any the wiser. Then the Jarvan IV dashed out from the tri-brush and flanked the Gnar. But the Gnar came prepared. He Hopped onto the Jarvan IV and then further towards his outer tower, then flashed the last bit to safety.

“Nice!” Lolo cheered, waving her arms up and down. “God Roundy can now push the lane! The Gnar has to recall back to base and will lose a ton of experience! This is great for KG!”

Stone nodded and smiled. “Mhm, this should give Roundy some time to build up an advantage. But that reaction speed by the Gnar was out of this world. The Jarvan jumped onto him from the fog of war, and he still found the time and accuracy to Hop onto him and then towards his own tower. That’s some real skill there. If he’d missed, he’d have given away a kill to KG.”

“But they got the Flash out. That’s the important thing here,” Qinghe chimed in. He turned back to the screen and watched the Gnar recall back to base, then added, “Plus, if that Gnar teleports back to lane, then that’s two Summoner Spells gone. He can’t go anywhere, while God Roundy can go anywhere on the map and help his team win an important fight. This is looking great for KG!”

The three casters tried their best to spin the story back in KG’s favour. They had to! But that wasn’t how they felt in their heart of hearts. This game wasn’t in KG’s favour. Things weren’t going great. Quite frankly, the game was quickly slipping away from KG’s grasp. In all of League of Legends, there was nothing more terrifying than the best player in the world on his best Champion. But KG had allowed for that to happen. It didn’t even take Rake five minutes to punish them for that mistake. His LeBlanc was something else. She looked like a different Champion entirely when he played her. In his hands, she was a dark cloud looming over the Rift. An absolute nightmare. No KG player who stepped out of the fountain was safe from her. This was Rake’s LeBlanc.

The casters and the fans at home could all see Rake pulling quickly ahead of his lane opponent. And since they could see it, so could Tian Tian. He panned his camera to mid lane every couple of seconds, just to make sure the game wasn’t lost yet. His nerves were making his hand shake, and he missed a last hit because of it. T-this won’t work… LeBlanc got first blood… He knew Rake. They’d played against each other before, all the way back in Season 1. Tian Tian gulped, his eyes wide with fear. He took his hand off the keyboard and placed it on his other hand, trying to stop it from trembling and shaking. N-no. It’s just one kill… He bit down on his teeth and breathed through his mouth. W-we can still do this! I can still do this! I just have to win harder! I-i will carry!

✹

To win or lose a game of League of Legends. Sometimes it took upwards of an hour, or even longer, to find out who would win the game. Other times, it was decided before the 10-minute mark. There were team compositions and specific Champions that allowed for very quick games. Two such examples were Riven and LeBlanc. If either of them got rolling, while the other went down, they could solo carry the game. They could push a lane all the way down to the Nexus, or  teamfight 1v5. It really didn’t matter. Once they got going, they could win the game single-handedly. This game between KG and SSK looked to be heading in that very direction, with the game-deciding fight happening at 6:30 minutes.

It happened at bot lane and started off with a gank by SSK. Rake had teamed up with his Jungler and roamed bot. SSK’s Support and ad-carry were informed over voice chat and eased down on pushing out the lane. The next wave of Blue minions was frozen right outside their own outer tower’s range, and KG’s Jinx was extended far out in the lane. This was an opportunity to get a few last hits where she didn’t have to fight over a kill with her tower. It was a whole lot easier to land the killing blow, especially in the early game, when the tower wasn’t firing off powerful energy shots at the minions. But the Jinx shouldn’t have been tunnel-visioning on the minions. She should’ve noticed that her lane opponents had eased off on the pressure.

SSK’s Support played Alistar. He was a minotaur with strong crowd control skills. One of these skills was Pulverize. He could smash down on the ground so hard that the stone and dirt directly around him would explode outwards, knocking Champions and minions up into the air. There were different ways to get in range to use this skill. He went with Flash. With a mottled burst of light, he disappeared from his spot and then reappeared right on top of the Jinx. He raised his muscular arms and then smashed his fists down into the ground–⁠Pulverise! The Jinx was knocked up into the air!

The timing was perfect. The Jinx was up in the air and couldn’t do anything for a short duration. SSK’s ad-carry, who played Lucian, dashed forward and fired light bullets from his gun. Then he blasted the Jinx with a purifying light–Piercing Light! The Jinx then started falling back to the ground. Another second and she could Flash away towards safety. That was when everyone could see a Tunnel being dug out from the fog of war. A wild Rek’Sai appeared directly underneath the Jinx and knocked her back up into the air by Unburrowing! Rake appeared next, Distorting towards the Jinx and hitting her with the splash damage. Then he Mimic’d Distortion and hit her again, dealing substantially more damage this time. It was so much damage that it directly killed the Jinx.

《You have slain an enemy!》

The players from KG were yelling and screaming into their microphones, trying to do something. Because if they did nothing, they’d be giving SSK a double kill. It was a 4vs1 right now, so a towerdive would be simple. 

“BackBackBACKBACK!” 
“Lulu! TP! Come down now! COME!” 
“I don’t have TP! Fuck! It’s on cooldown! It’s on cooldown!” 
“Thresh! Wait! Stay near your tower! I’m TPing in! We can do this!”

The casters of the Official Chinese Broadcast were just as desperate as KG. They wanted to see their team win! But this fight looked lost, until a pillar of light descended on one of the Blue minions in bot lane. It was like a beacon of hope! That was how Stone saw it, anyways. He cried out, “Riven is teleporting! Gnar’s TP is still on cooldown and God Roundy is Level 6! He can win this fight! KG can still turn this around!”

Tian Tian arrived in bot lane. He pressed down on the R key–Blade of the Exile. A green light wrapped around his Riven’s blade. It was reforged, perfect once more. Then she dashed forward and thrusted her sword up into the air–Ki Burst! A wave of green energy washed over the Lucian, stunning him. His already low base health took a beating. Then the Riven lashed out with the first of three strikes. The second followed after an auto attack, and then almost directly after came the third. The Riven jumped up in the sky and hacked down on the Lucian, knocking him Airborne–Broken Wings! Another auto attack would kill the Lucian, but the Alistar came charging over from the side, Headbutting her away. The Lucian fell back to the ground and Flashed away.

“N-no! You won’t get away!” Tian Tian yelped. He pressed down on the D key and then directly on the R key again–Wind Slash! His Riven had charged up the runic energy contained within her sword and unleashed it all with one final slash. It flew after the Lucian, chased him down, and washed over him. It dealt the damage and killed him.

《You have slain an enemy!》

“It’s the comeback! It’s the comeback!” Lolo cried out, throwing her arms up into the air. And she wasn’t the only one cheering and happy to see God Roundy make the play. Everyone watching the stream shared her sentiment and they started flooding the chat.

「EMPEROR GOD ROUNDY!!!!!!」

「god roundy is the besstt!!11!1 omgomgomgomg」

「GOD ROUNDY HAVE MY BABY!」

「KG IS GONNAAA WIINNN!!!!」

「Down with the Koreans!!! WOOOO GOD ROUNDY!!!!」

「EZ GAME GG GOD ROUNDY MVP!!!!」

Back in the game, KG’s Thresh turned around. God Roundy was here. He had to help his teammate turn this fight around. The Rek’Sai was closest to the tower, so he wound up his chain and sickle and hooked her, then dragged her under the tower–Death Sentence! He followed up with Flay, dragging her even further under the tower. There were no minions, so the outer tower targeted the Rek’Sai and fired off an energy shot at her. All the while, Tian Tian tried to have his Riven move towards the Rek’Sai and Thresh, but was stopped by an Exhaust from the Alistar. A debilitating energy wrapped around her and debuffed all of her stats, including her movement speed!

SSK’s Jungler knew he could be hooked by the Thresh. In fact, he was even counting on it. So when it happened, he didn’t panic and try to Flash away. Instead, he let it happen. He let his Rek’Sai get dragged underneath the outer tower and closer towards the Thresh. Then, when he was almost on top of the Thresh, he pressed down on the E-key–Furious Bite! His Rek’Sai bared her teeth and sank them down into the Thresh, dealing double and True damage. All the while, Rake had been last hitting minions, patiently waiting for an opening. There it was. The Rek’Sai was taking energy shots from the tower and the Thresh’s health was dropping. So he had his LeBlanc step into tower range and pressed down on the Q and then the E key. His LeBlanc raised her staff and fired an orb of malefic energy, followed directly by two illusory chains that flew towards the Thresh and wrapped around him. Then she cast another auto attack.

《Double kill!》

However, SSK had to pay a price for giving Rake the two kills. The Rek’Sai had tanked too many energy shots from KG’s outer tower, which dealt increasingly more damage with every hit. Before she could even start Tunneling away, she died. That made it two for two. This fight that started out so terribly for KG was even again, and it was now all up to Tian Tian to make the impossible happen. He could keep the dream alive!

“Kill the LeBlanc! If he kills the LeBlanc, KG wins! KG can win this!” Qinghe shouted from behind the caster desk. “Come on God Roundy! Do it! Do it! You can do it!” There was no calmness in his voice, or any semblance of professionalism. He looked like a fan on the edge of his seat, cheering for his team to win! Cheering for his favourite player to make the plays! It was exactly how the people at home felt, all ten million of them!

Su Xue was one of the fans sitting at home, cheering for her God Roundy! But she couldn’t sit on the edge of her seat. This moment was too tense! She jumped up and leaned closer to the screen, screaming, “Come on! God Roundy! Do it! Kill the LeBlanc! Kill that stupid bitch!”

Lin Feng sat next to Su Xue. He pushed her aside when she moved in front of the screen, his eyes locked on the Riven. Fatty… He was watching the map. The Jarvan IV wouldn’t arrive in time. It was a 1v2 for Fatty. But he had the cooldowns on his side. The LeBlanc had just used hers and Fatty’s were coming off cooldown again. That meant he held the advantage, for a short few seconds. That’s your chance. Do it! Win!

Two gaming booths stood across the stage from each other. One belonged to KG, the other to SSK. One Toplaner was chewing on his lips and his hands were trembling, while a Midlaner sat still, unmoving except for the quick and accurate movements of his hands. Tian Tian was giving it his all, playing to the best of his ability, while Rake knew how much effort he had to put in to win this. And that was how much energy he poured into this fight. Nothing more and nothing less. He put in exactly enough to win this fight.

Tian Tian gritted his teeth. He knew his cooldowns and he’d seen the LeBlanc just use her skills. He had his Riven lash out, striking the LeBlanc with the first attack from Broken Wings. He followed up with an auto attack and then the second slash from Broken Wings. The LeBlanc auto attacked him, constantly repositioning. But her skills were on cooldown and her health was falling quickly. Tian Tian pressed on the Q key for the third time–Broken Wings! His Riven leaped up into the air, bringing her sword over her head, and then hacked down towards the ground. The blade would smash right into the LeBlanc, knocking her Airborne. Except that it didn’t, because the LeBlanc wasn’t there anymore.

Through the entire fight so far, Rake still hadn’t used his Flash. Until now. His LeBlanc disappeared in a flash of mottled light as the Riven came crashing down on her. She walked up the lane a little, creating an angle between the minions through which she could hit him with her skillshot. LeBlanc only had one real skillshot. Ethereal Chains. She fired them off and they struck the Riven, coiling around her.

Everyone went silent in the arena, until all that could be heard were the ingame sounds blaring from the speakers. Everyone hosting streams, shoutcasting or analyzing the game, went quiet. They sealed their lips and moved to the edge of their seats, watching, waiting. Across the world, from Korea to China and all the way to Europe and North America. Every single League of Legends fan stopped what they were doing and focused on the stream. The second part of Ethereal Chains took a second to activate. It would snare the Riven. Rake had to snare Roundy Round if he wanted to win this fight, and Roundy Round had to get out of range to cancel the snare if he wanted to win. There were only two possible outcomes. A shutdown bounty for Roundy Round or a game winning Rampage for Rake.

Tian Tian desperately tried to get away, to break the link before it could root his Riven in place. But Rake had positioned himself too perfectly. There was nowhere he could run. His Riven got rooted. Red minions started attacking him. A Sigil of Malice struck him. Then another auto attack. He clicked and he pushed the buttons on his keyboard. But he was rooted. His Riven didn’t move until she collapsed dead on the ground. She’d died. He’d lost. The announcer’s voice rang through his headphones.

《You have been slain!》

Shit. Tian Tian let go of his mouse and keyboard. He fell back in his and rubbed his forehead. T-this is really, really bad. He took a long inhalation, pushing out his stomach, then let it all out. Shit. I-it’s over.

Tian Tian had done great in this fight. He helped his bot lane turn a completely lost fight around into a two for three situation. In any other situation, this would’ve been a good result. Not great, but definitely not the end. However, it wasn’t so much that they gave the kills away, but who they gave them away to. SSK hadn’t cared about sacrificing their Rek’Sai, because it meant another kill for Rake. Nor did it matter that the Lucian died. The only important part of this fight was that the LeBlanc picked up a triple kill. She was 4/0/0 barely seven minutes into the game. She was on a Rampage and about to become unstoppable.

Sitting behind the caster desk, deflated, Stone voiced the feelings of the millions of KG fans watching from home. “Shit. This sucks.”

Lin Feng knew that running into Chu Fang was inevitable. The  first of many people from his past that Lin Feng would bump into on this climb back to the top. The first of many that he’d have to confront since he ran away all of those years ago. Just to name some, there were the friends he’d made along the way all those years ago in Season 1. He wanted to see them again, and he liked to think they’d want to see him again too. Then there were his rivals and other players he’d enjoyed playing against, the fans who’d cheered him on and sent him fanmail, and everyone else who was connected in one way or another to the Season 1 run of his team. There were too many to name, but he remembered their faces and names. He was both looking forward to seeing them again and dreading it at the same time.

But Lin Feng wasn’t planning on looking for them just yet. There was more than enough time to reconnect with old friends and rekindle old rivalries later on. Right now, he wasn’t Maple. He was a regular player getting back into the game and he didn’t want to lean on his old name to do that. This was a path he wanted to walk on his own two feet. That wouldn’t be easy. He was well aware of that. It would take time to find his old form, to adjust to the changes in the game, and further hone his skills. But he had that time as long as he stayed in anonymity. There was no pressure to perform, there were no teammates that he had to work together with, there was only himself and his dream. The dream of stepping onto the world stage. He wanted nothing more than to make it back there and fight against Rake again. But this time, he would win. For that reason, he chose to wait. He would take one step at a time, keeping himself grounded, and only let the spotlight fall on him when the time was right.

That day wasn’t far away, but it wasn’t today. Right now there were different things on his mind. For starters, he’d just qualified with his team from High School 13 for the semifinals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. This was a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but it meant the world to his school. They’d never made it this far before and would be celebrating through the night if it weren’t for another event taking place halfway across the world. This event did matter in the grand scheme of League of Legends. It was the semifinals match between KG and SSK at the World Championships. Millions of people, both those who played the game and those who just enjoyed watching it or reading about it, tuned in long before the match even started. They were here to listen to the analysts and watch the introductions of both teams. They were only a small fraction of the number of people who would be watching when the series officially started.

✹

Su Xue strapped on her apron and put on her chef’s hat. It was the basic attire for her part time job as Lin Feng’s cook. There wasn’t a whole lot of time today, because the KG versus SSK game was starting soon. So she prepared something quick and easy, though she did start from scratch, and served it. The aromas floating in the air wafted into Lin Feng’s room and the person in question soon followed his nose into the dining room. They enjoyed a quick dinner, which was halfway interrupted by an alarm going off. Su Xue had set it at 10:30 PM, 30 minutes before the start of Worlds.

Su Xue didn’t bother with doing the dishes, nor did she let Lin Feng finish his food. She dragged him along to her room and shoved him down in his chair. Then she turned on her stream and pinged the people in her QQ group chat. This was perhaps the most important match at the League of Legends Season 5 World Championships! It was also an excellent opportunity for her to bring in new viewers! So she had to be on time. She absolutely could not be late. 

Su Xue started her stream 20 minutes before the start of the first game, her regulars started flooding her stream chat and soon enough thousands of people were watching her and Lin Feng. They were all here for their stream shoutcasting on the best of five series between KG and SSK.

「This is going to be siicckkkkkk!! Best of 5! I wanna see it go to game 5 woooooo!!」

「FK GAME 5, 3-0 KG LEEZZ GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!1!!!1!」

「shit tho…. cant belief our shit luck. ssk… rip」

「ah shut up! i’d almost forgotten.. uch. lets just hope for the best」

「FKING DOWNERS! KG DA BEST WOOOOOOO!!!!」

「lmao watch god roundy carry the shit outta this game LOLOLOLOOL!」

Su Xue read through the chat conversation, picking out several lines to read out loud. Then she flashed a smile at the camera and said, “We got our very own li’l bro here with us tonight…” she turned to Lin Feng and asked, “So, what do you think about KG’s chances today?”

Lin Feng rubbed his chin, looking up into the vast nothingness that was Su Xue’s ceiling, thinking. “Hmm…” He let it drag out for a bit longer, but then shook his head with a long sigh. “It’s going to be really hard for KG. Really hard. Nothing is impossible. But, they’re going to have to play the best game of their lives if they want to win this tonight.”

✹

The venue for the Season 5 League of Legends World Championships semi-finals was on the Heysel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium. There was a large arena with a capacity of 15,000. It was full. It was packed. Not just the arena itself, but the area around it too, with the Atomium in the backdrop. The ground was shaking due to fans jumping up and down, watching the large monitors in-and-outside the arena. It was the middle of the day, but it looked like all of Brussels was here. Like everyone had taken the day off to show up and scream their lungs out.

However loud the fans on the Heysel Plateau were, the two teams who’d come in action tonight didn’t hear any of this. They were seated in soundproof booths on the stage. From where they sat, they couldn’t even see each other. Their focus was on their screens, making sure everything was in order before the series started. This was the matchup of a lifetime for KG. This was their chance to make their mark on League of Legends history! Only three games, three wins, stood between them and the Finals. It was the combination of this knowledge and knowing who their opponents were that raised their pre-game jitters to a whole new level. They could barely function, trembling and shaking.

Tian Tian was no exception. His teammates looked towards him, searching for their pillar, but he couldn’t offer them what they needed. Not right now. He was trembling and shaking more violently than any of them. It wasn’t strange that he acted like this. Anyone in his shoes would do the same! After all, he was about to face off against the strongest team in the world! This was an opportunity of a lifetime, but also not really an opportunity. SSK was on a different level entirely. Two teams so close together, yet so far apart. But despite this, despite his every instinct telling him to run and hide, he put his right hand on the mouse and his left on the keyboard. He stared at his screen and muttered through gritted teeth, “I-i’ll win! We’re going to win this! I-i just have to try really hard, and then… Then we can do this! We can!”

There were two gaming booths, with windows all around. The fans could see their players preparing for the games from a distance, but also up close with the facecams on the large screen above the gaming booths. On one side, players were looking around, visibly unwell and searching for anything to latch onto to ease their nerves, while on the other side players were joking and laughing and almost looking bored. To one team this was the game of a century. It was their opportunity to beat the best and become the best! While for the other team it was just another game they had to play. Play and a win would come. They were too good not to win. There was too much talent that combined into flawless teamwork to lose. Talent on each part of the team, but most of all on their Midlaner. Their starplayer was the best player in the world. There was no denying his skill. He really was the best. The other team had a good player, a very, very good player. But that was just it. One team consisted of very good players to form a very good team, while the other was built on the best players in the world to make the best team in the world.

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

Game 1 of the second semifinals of Worlds was finally underway! It was KG on the Blue team versus SSK on the Red team. Both teams had gotten the Champions they wanted. Their signature Champions. When the fans saw God Roundy picking Riven, they cheered so loudly that most of Brussels could hear them. And all throughout China, people were bonking with brooms on their ceilings, yelling for their neighbours to not scream so much. But the screamers couldn’t be blamed. This was God Roundy’s Riven! They all knew what he could do with her. And if he could do that again this game, then they were in for a really good game!

However, the first round of cheers was quickly drowned out by the second wave of cheers. This one was far louder, with windows trembling, breaking, and car alarms going off in the distance. There was only one thing that could get these fans so excited. Rake. He had chosen to play LeBlanc. It was his signature Champion. It was the Champion he almost always played when it wasn’t banned. More terrifyingly, he’d never lost with her in any official game all year. His win-rate was a perfect 100%!

From the comfort of her own bedroom, live commentating on the game, Su Xue lost her shit for a brief moment. She clutched her armrests and screeched, “ShitShitShit! How did we let him have LeBlanc? This is cheating! Cheating!”

Lin Feng moved away and covered his ears in reflex. He bit on his lips, keeping them sealed. This wasn’t great, both Su Xue screaming in his ear and Rake picking LeBlanc. But there was nothing he could do about the latter, except for cheering Tian Tian on. So that was what he did. He clenched his fist and mumbled, “Come on, Fatty! You can do this! I know you can!”

Back in the game, the minions had spawned and were charging down their respective lanes. Tian Tian was up in the top lane with his Riven and had to face off against a Gnar. The minion waves arrived and started fighting, while the Riven and Gnar did the same. They jumped in and out, getting last hits in on minions while also using every opportunity to dish out some poke against each other. And after only a couple of these exchanges, it was clear that Tian Tian was pulling ahead.

At the caster desk for the official Chinese broadcast, Lolo was jumping up and down and pointing at the screen, screaming, “That’s our God Roundy! God Roundy is doing it again! He’s seized the advantage! He’s going to carry the game and bring KG the win! It is possible! It is!”

Stone moved his hands up and down in front, calming the non-existent audience in the room, and said, “That’s great and all, but look at mid lane. KG picked Lulu, a very defensive Champion for mid lane. Their plan is clearly to not lose. Look. Do you see what I’m seeing? Lulu is losing. Rake is outplaying her so hard that a lane that should never be lost is actually losing. This is a masterclass.”

Lulu was a very defensive choice for the mid lane. She had a shield and crowd control in her kit, which she could use to mitigate a lot of the LeBlanc’s damage. Everyone used her these days to stop aggressive Midlaners, and so had KG. It was how they were going to shut Rake down. If Rake never got rolling, he wouldn’t be any good! But Rake didn’t care that it was a Lulu. He knew how to play against her perfectly. So he went about farming minions, baiting out Lulu’s shield and crowd control in the process, and waited for that moment where her skills were on cooldown to jump in and attack. Then he backed out, making sure to hit another auto attack on the way out. He played it so perfectly that not even four minutes into the game, the Lulu was running low on health and was at real risk of dying. She could only sit under her tower and give up on getting last hits, while he could do whatever it was he wanted to do. The lane was his.

At 4:25 minutes, Rake officially declared mid lane his. KG’s Midlaner knew he was safe against the LeBlanc as long as he stuck underneath his tower. His Lulu had a shield that could help him survive any tower dive. However, no plan was perfect, especially when made in a pinch. SSK’s Jungler was a Rek’Sai, a Champion with its own unique set of skills. One of them was Unburrow, which allowed her to knock Champions Airborne, which was a state in which the victim couldn’t use any of their skills. But this wasn’t the Rek’Sai show, this was the Rake show. He positioned his LeBlanc to perfection, moving in such a precise manner that the Lulu didn’t even realize her pathing was being influenced by him. She moved up a little, completely of her own volition it seemed. That was a fatal mistake. The Rek’Sai burrowed a Tunnel and then flashed forward, arriving right underneath the Lulu, where she Unburrowed and knocked her victim up in the air. And of course, Rake was there for the follow up. He had his LeBlanc jump towards the Lulu–Distortion. Then she shot out her Ethereal Chains. They wrapped themselves around the Lulu, binding her in place and leaving her with nowhere to escape. One more auto attack flew from LeBlanc’s staff before she jumped back, away from KG’s outer tower.

《First blood!》

I don’t have time for you. Every word in that sentence stabbed into Liu Zhengjie’s ego, deflating it with yet another cut. His shoulder slumped and he let his head droop backwards and forward a little. He’d just experienced literal verbal whiplash. He didn’t come here to see me? The gears in his mind rumbled and stuttered to life. He started running through everything that just happened, trying to understand the reality of the situation. Chu Fang had shown up, and then had run towards the group. That much was clear to Liu Zhengjie. He saw Chu Fang running towards the group he was standing with. He had turned towards Chu Fang and  started talking. That’s where everything broke down for Liu Zhengjie. Chu Fang had brushed him off without a glance. Chu Feng didn’t run over to talk to me, so… CHU FANG MUST BE HERE TO TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE! Liu Zhengjie’s struggling brain had finally caught up to the moment. Who… Who is he here to see if not for me? That’s when he realized that Chu Fang wasn’t in front of him at all. He looked around, trying to catch up to what had happened while he was lost in his thoughts. Chu Fang was now sitting on a chair, staring in the direction of High School 13’s team while looking mindblown. But they looked just as confused as he was. Except… Him?

“He’s not me! Completely different Lin Feng! It’s a common name! Not me!” Lin Feng cried out, frantic. He grabbed Tang Bingyao by her waist and moved her a little, just enough to turn her into a human shield and kill any vision Chu Feng had on him. If he couldn’t see Chu Fang, then Chu Fang couldn’t see him! Right? Lin Feng shook his head, fervently, and shouted, “You’ve got the wrong person! It’s definitely not me!”

The players from Shanghai International stared at Lin Feng. They couldn’t comprehend what was going on. The group from High School 13 was much the same. Everyone turned to look at Lin Feng, speechless. They knew him as the odd goofball he liked to be. But this was a new low even for him. This was by far his worst attempt at hiding from a situation!

“IT IS YOU!” Chu Fang yelled, excited. Up until now, the signs were there. Everything pointed towards this being Lin Feng. Maple. Ling “Maple’ Feng! The prodigy from back in Season 1! The Wunderkin who all of China’s hopes rested on back then! But he’d also argued all of these signs away in his mind, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. When Lin Feng disappeared… it was hard on all of them. So Chu Fang convinced himself that there were other explanations and reasons that could, potentially, make sense. But after he heard Lin Feng speak, there was no doubt anymore. There was no way he could pretend he didn’t see what his heart already knew! He’d know that voice anywhere and anytime. It was a little bit deeper than he remembered. More mature, tinged with that jaded melancholy that comes from knowing tragedy. But it was still Lin Feng’s voice! He shook his head, smiling, and said, “Stop hiding! I can see you. I know it’s you!”

Under the confused gazes of the people around him, Lin Feng stepped out from behind Tang Bingyao. He walked forward two steps, then looked up at Chu Fang. He looked right into Chu Fang’s eyes while ruffling his hair and laughing awkwardly. “Uhm-uh… Hi! Hey… Long time no see.”

In that awkward, miraculous, and truly confusing moment, there was no Shanghai International or High School 13. Everyone was united in their shock and confusion. All of them stared at this exchange between Lin Feng and Chu Fang, trying to figure out how this was even possible. Trying to figure out what was even happening! Lin Feng’s friends knew that he was really good at League, and they knew that he’d been playing the game since Season 1. They remembered how he kept telling them how he was “a challenger on the Ionia server”. That was a lot more than what Shanghai International’s team knew about Lin Feng. But even with this extra information, they still couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that the Vice President of the Shanghai Esports Association had come running just to talk to Lin Feng! Chu Fang wasn’t even passing by on his way to do something more important! He had specifically run towards them for Lin Feng! No, not even that. Chu Fang had chased after them and arrived completely out of breath. He’d ignored someone as talented as Liu Zhengjie, and then collapsed into a chair while staring at Lin Feng. Then the only person he wanted to talk to was Lin Feng. Ren Rou, Yan Liang, everyone stared at the two, speechless.

However, even when combining the shock of everyone else together here, it still wasn’t anywhere near the amount of shock Chu Fang felt. It battered at his heart. It tried to knock him off his socks. He smiled, that dim-witted smile of ecstasy, and forgot where he was. The people around him disappeared for a moment, all he could see was Lin Feng. The supreme League of Legends talent. Then he blinked. More specifically, he forced his eyes shut and told himself, Keep it together. Keep it together. He opened his eyes a moment later and smiled, kindly. That’s when he noticed everyone else was still around, too many of them. He nodded at Lin Feng and said, “Come, let’s find somewhere private to talk.”

The players from Shanghai International watched Lin Feng nod in agreement to THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE SHANGHAI ESPORTS ASSOCIATION. Then they watched Lin Feng and Chu Fang walk away, neither paying any attention to them. Chu Fang didn’t even say anything to Liu Zhengjie! Their biggest talent. The guy on their team who was good enough to go professional. Their teammate who they’d been bragging about, telling everyone how the Shanghai Esports Association was showing great interest in his development. But that reflected spotlight they’d been basking in? It sputtered out and died. Chu Fang had ignored them, hadn’t even spared them a glance. His eyes were locked on Lin Feng from start to finish. They felt their faces turn red, Liu Zhengjie more than the others.

“Awkward! Awkward, Awkward, Awkward.” Ouyang laughed. He looked over towards Liu Zhengjie, whose red hot face of embarrassment was quickly warping to anger, and continued, “Oh well. Karma’s a bitch. Gnarly, radical, on the block I’m magical. See me at your college campus—”

“HAHAHAHAAH-haha! Oh my god!” Liu Yue said, laughing and pointing towards Liu Zhengjie. “I’ve never seen someone get hit by tribulation lightning this hard in any webnovel! Hahaha! Did you guys see that? The Vice President ignored him so hard that his brain broke! Haha! Look at his face! Oh my god, this is my favorite minute of this entire event!”

Liu Zhengjie looked over towards Liu Yue. He glowered. He raged. He, he… He cracked his knuckles and raised his fist. That’s it, you stupid shit! Watch me! There was only one way he knew how to deal with this. His words had failed him, so he could only resort to this. He stepped forward, towards Liu Yue, charging his fist up. His foot stamped the ground, drumming his fury. I’ll kick your sorry ass to the hospital! And then he got stopped. Yan Liang grabbed his raised arm and pulled it down. He turned to look at his Midlaner and friend, confused.

“Come, we’re leaving,” Yan Liang said, sullen. He dragged Liu Zhengjie with him, and the others followed as well. There was nothing left to do here. All their big words, the bravado with which they moved, it was all gone. It was smashed under Chu Fang’s feet. But he wouldn’t leave just like that. That wasn’t his style. He raised his voice just loud enough that the group from High School 13 could hear him, “They’re not worth our time.”

“Oh! OH! What was that about resorting to violence? Feeling all big now, are we?” Ouyang shouted after the departing group, savouring this moment of schadenfreude. Then he turned to his friends and sighed, “Man! That was awesome! Serves them right for being dicks. EVEN THE UNIVERSE IS MY BRO, BITCH!”

Yang Fan smiled at Ouyang, but then adjusted his glasses. He frowned, staring in the direction Lin Feng and Chu Fang left in, and said, “Still, I wonder how Lin Feng knows the Vice President of the Shanghai Esports Association.”

Yang Fan wasn’t the only one who wanted to know this. Every one of them did. Ren Rou turned to Su Xue and asked, “Do you know? You’ve known him the longest out of all of us and you two live together.”

Su Xue shook her head, staring after Lin Feng in a daze. She kept shaking her head until she realized everyone was staring at her. “Uhh…” She blinked a few times and then said, “I don’t know. He’s never told me anything about this before.”

Ouyang directly turned to Tang Bingyao and asked, “What about you? Do you know?”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head, but remained silent. Lin Feng had told her he used to play League of Legends professionally. With that in mind, it wasn’t strange for him to know Chu Fang. It even kind of made sense. But that’s his story to tell. She was his friend. He told her things in confidence, and it was up to her to keep his confidence. So she shook her head and said, “I don’t know either.”

“Welp. Guess we’ll have to ask him when he gets back then!” Liu Yue said.

“Haha, watch me when he gets back,” Ouyang laughed, rubbing his hands together. “I’m going to use my super bro power and wring all the secrets out of him!”

✹

Lin Feng waved goodbye to Chu Fang and said, “Thanks for understanding. I’ll be going. Byebye!” Then he bolted away, running back towards his friends who were waiting for him on the other side of the venue.

Chu Fang stared after Lin Feng, shaking his head. They’d only spoken for 10 minutes, barely enough to catch up. He’d wanted to talk more. There was so much he wanted to talk about with Lin Feng. But he also understood that the kid’s friends were waiting for him and that he couldn’t hold him up too long. It was a short conversation about the important things. Important things… He shook his head and muttered, “You punk. Giving me a headache on your first day back. How could you do that to me after all we’ve been through…” Then he started smiling. He covered his mouth in disbelief and shook his head. He’s back… I never thought… He’s back. He’s finally back! He came back!

As for Lin Feng, he ran back to his friends and caught up with them. He laughed and apologized and thanked them for waiting. Then he started walking towards the exit of the venue—

Ouyang pressed his hand against Lin Feng’s chest and forced him to stop. He looked his friend up and down and then straight in the eyes. In a calm voice that allowed no arguing, he said, “Explain yourself. From one bro to another. Tell me how you know him!”

“Yeah! Tell us!” Liu Yue chimed in.

Ren Rou waited a moment, just long enough for Ouyang and Liu Yue to shut up but not so long that Lin Feng could answer. Then she said, “Tell me what you guys talked about. What did he want from you?”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and said, “Oh, that? Uh, we didn’t really talk about anything specific. We were just catching up.” That was the excuse he was going with. Two old friends catching up. Then he went on telling a story that was loosely based on the truth, about how they’d met at the Chinese regional Finals back in Season 1. Since then they hadn’t seen each other for years, but it’d left a lasting impression. So when Chu Fang saw him today, he just really wanted to catch up. That was what they were chatting about, and that was the story Lin Feng was sticking to, despite him scratching the back of his head and refusing to look up at his friends for more than a quick glance.

Everyone knew Lin Feng was lying. He wasn’t fooling anyone. They’d all seen how Chu Fang reacted after recognizing Lin Feng. There was no way that he’d act like that after seeing a random person he met once several years earlier. That just wasn’t how life worked. But the KG versus SSK game was on and they had to hurry home if they wanted to make it. So they let him get away with it. They could badger the truth out of him another time. There was no hurry. They had at least until the end of the year.

✹

Su Xue and Lin Feng took a cab home after separating from the others. That was also how long Su Xue could keep her mouth shut. When they sat on the backseat of the car, her curiosity got the better of her. She turned to Lin Feng and said, “You weren’t telling the truth. I’m not that oblivious. Tell me the real story!”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Lin Feng asked, innocent as ever.

Su Xue rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Hmph. Quit the act. I’m not that stupid. Whatever, if you don’t want to tell me, don’t tell me. But don’t lie to me. Just say you don’t want to tell me. I don’t care.”

“It’s not that…” Lin Feng scratched his head, awkwardly. He really hadn’t talked much with Chu Fang. For the most part, it was just two old friends catching up. Beyond the pleasantries, he’d also informed Chu Fang about his intentions. His plans for returning to the professional scene and had asked him to keep that quiet. He didn’t want the people he knew from back then finding out he was playing again. Not for any reason in particular, but just because it didn’t feel right to him at the moment. I’m not back yet. He chewed on the inside of his lips as he thought back to their talk, staring out of the front window of the cab. Then he mumbled, barely audible, “I’ll tell you when the time is right.”

Ouyang saw them. The Shanghai International team. He’d stood across from them before, looked at those faces and glared into those eyes. One year ago. It’d been a year since he stood on a stage like this one, looking at them. On any normal day, his motto was simple. You got a problem? Yo, I’ll solve it! But not on that day. That day was the single worst day of his life. And when he saw them again, standing across from him. Standing across from his team. Looking down on him with the same plastic expressions of ridicule from one year ago, that day started playing in his head again. The moments that haunted his nightmares and always stuck around in the back of his mind. 

“Lol! This is too easy man,” Yan Liang laughed loudly into his microphone and to the crowd around him. He sat behind a computer in a small internet cafe, with two players to his left and two to his right. Together, they were the esports team for Shanghai International. “Let’s have a little fun! Haha!”

It was the first round of the qualifiers for the 2014 edition of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Shanghai International was grouped together with High School 13. It was an easy matchup for them. It was a game in which they could play around a little, try different tactics, and maybe just have some fun. And having fun is exactly what they did. The game was about to hit the 20 minute mark, but they were already pushing into High School 13’s base. It was a roflstomp in its truest form. With a little more than a minute before High School 13 could surrender and end this humiliation, the players from Shanghai International reached the Nexus. But instead of destroying the Nexus…

Liu Zhengjie looked towards the players from High School 13, sitting opposite him. He laughed at them and said, loudly enough for everyone in the internet cafe to hear him, “Watch this! HahaHAHAHA!”

If the humiliation of losing a game before 20 minutes wasn’t bad enough, what happened next definitely was. All Ouyang, substitute for High School 13, could do was watch as his team got served the ultimate humiliation. They were Nexus farmed. Shanghai International was so strong, and had enough long range skills, that they had formed a line around the fountain and were killing the players from High School 13, letting their minions finish the game. It was painful, disturbing, and degrading. This was the worst form of sportsmanship. But it didn’t end there. Shanghai International still wasn’t satisfied. High School 13 was below them, and they would let everyone know that.

The game finished. Shanghai International had as good as qualified for the next round, while High School 13 was on the verge of being eliminated from the tournament. But the players from High School 13 were no sore losers. They took a deep breath, pushed past their hatred over what happened in the game, and stood up to shake hands with the players from Shanghai International. It was basic courtesy, a short and simple show of good sportsmanship. That was when it happened.

Liu Zhengjie walked up to them, a bright and wide smile on his lips and derision in his eyes. He made himself big, broadening his shoulders, and said, “I wouldn’t dirty my hand by letting you touch it! If you want to congratulate me, get down on your knees! Hah, fucking pathetic bunch of losers. Go back to your kiddy league. You don’t belong here.”

They were the memories of a year ago. Ouyang’s arms started shaking as they played in his mind again, and then again. He bit down on his teeth, while his brows pointed down towards his nose. The grating sound of his teeth were barely submerged by the low roar coming from the back of his throat. He wanted to go up. He wanted to show them who was boss! He! He… He cracked his knuckles but didn’t move. Ren Rou held her arm out in front of him and Yang Fan, who’d lived through the same humiliation, grabbed him by his shoulder. So he didn’t storm forward, settling for pawing his foot on the ground, menacingly.

Yan Liang read the anger, the hatred, and most importantly the fear. They’re the same as last year. A bunch of kids trying to play with the grown ups. He grinned at his own joke before walking up to Ren Rou. He gave her a one over, checking her whole demeanor out. Then he turned to the others behind her. There were the familiar faces of a year ago, together with a few new faces. He looked back towards Ren Rou and said, “Oh, well look at this! High School 13! What a surprise! What are you guys doing here? Wait… Don’t tell me… Is it true? Did you guys really make it to the semis? Wow! Good job! I have to congratulate you! You did a great job drawing all the easy teams! Are you guys going to celebrate? I can understand. You guys gotta celebrate the small victories since they are all you have, right?”

Su Xue had watched the stare down, thoroughly confused, and now this guy came at them and started insulting them. “Hey. Hey! What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do this? Are you really this pathetic?” she asked.

Ouyang stared past Yan Liang and towards Liu Zhengjie, his chest rapidly going up and down. He said in such a deep voice that it almost didn’t sound like him, “It’s fine. Ignore them. That’s just how they are. A bunch of arrogant assholes.”

Yan Liang’s smile turned to confusion. It looked so honest, so real as he raised his eyebrows and asked, “Us? Arrogant? Nooo…”

Laughter rang out from behind Yan Liang, his teammates grinning and joking and patting each other on the shoulders. Then the Support said towards Yan Liang, but loud enough that it was meant for everyone, “I remember him. He was that substitute kid! He’s so bad at the game that he couldn’t even make it onto this kiddy team! If you ask me, his mother should’ve just gotten an abortion. That would’ve been better for everyone.”

“Hey! Sod off! That’s enough!” Yang Fan shouted, followed by Chen Ze adding, “Check yourselves! Don’t try to be funny. You’re not.”

Yan Liang shrugged and said, “Enough? What do you mean? It’s the truth, right? He’s terrible, even for your shit team. His mother’s probably pretty disappointed she didn’t abort him…” He trailed off towards the end, looking at the different people making up High School 13’s team. “Hmm? Am I wrong? Please, correct me if I’m wrong.”

“You fucker! I’M GONNA WEAR YOUR FACE!” Ouyang had had enough. So what if Yang Fan held him by the arm? He could just pull himself free! So what if Ren Rou held her arm out in front of him? He could push through that! No problem! He shook his arm free and cracked his knuckles, white hot rage on his face. “You come here, you fucker! Watch me!” He stormed forwards, stamping his feet on the ground and moving his arm back, ready to punch.

“OUYANG! NO!” Ren Rou shouted. She grabbed him by his raised arm, pulling him back with all of her weight. “Please! Don’t lower yourself to their level! Don’t do this! Please!”

Yan Liang chuckled, watching as Ren Rou and Yang Fan pulled Ouyang back and calmed him down. He waited, feasting on the spectacle, then said, “What? Can’t win with words, so you resort to violence? Eh, what am I saying? That sounds about right for people like you. I really can’t believe you made it to the semifinals. Did you bribe someone to get here? Or were you just that lucky? Whatever, it doesn’t matter. We’ll make sure to put on a nice spectacle and give you another taste of our specialty: Fountain Farming!”

The reply came almost instantaneous. A snort full of derision followed by the question, “Oh, really?”

Yan Liang turned to someone at the back of the group, behind the three he knew best. It was a man with messy, curly hair. He looked calm, unconcerned even. Yan Liang narrowed his eyes into two thin slits and asked, “What did you say?”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. Is he deaf? He looked Yan Liang in the eyes and replied, “Oh. Really. Question mark.” He then shook his head and grinned. “You really think you’re going to beat us? Let me help you out of that fairytale. We’re not losing. You will. I will personally see to it that we crush you.”

“Crush us?” Yan Liang fell open wide, surprised. Then he started laughing and turned back to his teammates. “Did you hear him? Hah. He thinks he’ll crush us! This is the best joke I’ve heard this whole year! Oh my…” He wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to shake the laughter off, only for a second burst to come out. This time he waited a full minute, trying to compose himself. But when he looked up again, up towards Lin Feng, he started all over again. He just started laughing and kept laughing. “Ow! My stomach. Ah!”

Then the smile disappeared. The laughter stopped. Yan Liang stopped wiping the tears of joy from his eyes and stopped slapping his knees in happiness. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Lin Feng and said in a voice as cold as ice, “Trash. That is what you are. That is what your team is. You belong in a landfill. The fact you want to play us is insult enough. These words you’re saying? Don’t. It’s not funny. It’s pathetic. Concede and go home. Let the big boys play.”

Liu Zhengjie walked up to Yan Liang and put his arm around his shoulder. “You see that kid?” He pointed towards Lin Feng and continued, “He’s that Riven that beat Tonji Affiliated High. It was a good game I’ve heard. But…” He looked at Lin Feng and shook his head. “But it sounds like that was just some excited kids talking big. He didn’t look anything special to me. Seems like Tonji just has a shit lineup this year. Or we got that much better. Probably a combination of the two.”

Lin Feng smiled. He moved his head ever so slightly in ridicule. “Liu Zhengjie, is it? You’re the ad-carry. I watched you play and I have to say, you’re pretty good…” He paused for a moment, his smile turning into a big, foolish grin, then added, “But our ad-carry is better.”

“Huh? What?” Tang Bingyao blurted. The entire situation was a little much for her to follow. There was too much new information and she got lost halfway along the way. She looked up towards Lin Feng, who was smiling at her. He looked his usual self.

“You’re better than he is. Isn’t that right, Tang Tang?” The words struck her so hard that she felt a little woozy. Better than him? She looked from Lin Feng over at Liu Zhengjie, the guy she’d just watched play. An ad-carry who was at the top of his game. It was hard to spot any faults in his game. Hmm. She tilted her head and compared his game to her own. She rocker her head over to the other side, then nodded. “Hmm, I think so. Yeah. I need to practice a bit more, but I’ll be better than him.”

Lin Feng pounded his chest and said, “Don’t worry about practice! You don’t need any practice to beat him. I’m saying you’re better than him right now! And if I say so, it is so!”

Liu Zhengjie stared at the two from High School 13. They were now arguing back and forth, but their words weren’t registering in his ears. His ears were ringing, the same few words resounding in his head over and over again. From shock and surprise to anger. He glowered and shouted, “What kind of bullshit are you spouting! Her? She? That stupid girl, better than me? Just because you say so? Fuck off. Idiot.”

The other players from Shanghai International had heard enough. They all walked up to Yan Liang, leaning over his shoulder and pushing chairs away to get closer. The Support was the first to speak. “Do you even know who you’re talking about? I guess not. Let me tell you. Liu Zhengjie here is so good that a coach from the LSPL came specially to check him out last year. Only Liu Zhengjie and one other person were scouted. You want to tell us that she, a girl, is better than him? Hah. What a joke.”

The Toplaner was  the next to voice his dissatisfaction with Lin Feng. “Right! Have you heard of the Shanghai Esports Association? Sure you have, they’re the organizers of this tournament. Those guys, yeah? They’re keeping an eye on Liu Zhengjie here and even told him he’s going to become a great professional player one day. You still want to tell me you believe she’s better than him?”

“ENOUGH! THAT’S IT!” Ren Rou shouted. Shanghai International had finally done it. They could try and bully Ouyang all they wanted, he probably had some coming anyways. They could say all the trashy things they wanted to say about High School 13. It hurt to hear it, but she wasn’t going to bother fighting them over it. But this. This was one step too far. They would not touch Tang Bingyao. Not under her watch. “You think we’re that easy to bully, huh? Well let m—”

“W-wait! Hey, you kids! Hold up!”

The voice came from behind High School 13, so the guys from Shanghai International saw the newcomer first. Yan Liang took a step back, halting the aggression and surprising Ren Rou into backing off as well. Then he put a large smile on his face and said, “Hello, sir! Are you here for us? We’re happy to help the Vice President of the Shanghai Esports Association with anything he wants! Just say the word!”

Liu Zhengjie didn’t call out to Chu Fang like Yan Liang had. But he did start smiling, and in his mind rightly so. This was his moment to shine. He stood up straight and checked to make sure there were no stains on his clothes. Then he carefully did his hair. This was his moment to show these people from High School 13 just how good he was. Everything had to be perfect. He took a deep breath and on the exhalation took a step forward. This would show the doubters how truly talented he was. So talented that Chu Fang came running for him. That’ll show them. Hmm. I wonder what he wants. Is there another pro team interested in me?

The people from High School 13 turned around to see why the guys from Shanghai International had backed off so suddenly. Lin Feng also turned around and met the gaze of Chu Fang. The very same Chu Fang he’d met back in Season 1. His eyes went wide. CrapCrapCrap. He looked around for a place to hide. Searched for it! But right now of all times he couldn’t find anything to hide behind. CrapCrapCrap. He turned to Tang Bingyao, who was quite a bit shorter than him and jumped behind her. She was the closest to him. He huddled down, making himself as small as he possibly could.

Liu Zhengjie nodded towards Chu Fang and said, “Hello, Vice President. It’s an honour to see you here. Were you looking for m—”

“Sorry. I don’t have time for you right now. Could you please move out of the way,” Chu Fang cut him off.

Liu Zhengjie stood in place, stunned. He didn’t know what to do. The words were still processing in his mind. I don’t have time for you. He understood what the words meant, individually. But that full sentence didn’t make any sense to him. So he just stood there, rooted to the floor, not sure of what to do.

Chu Fang didn’t have time for this. There was something far more pressing on his mind than sparing some random high schooler’s feelings, even if that random high schooler was quite the talent. He looked past Liu Zhengjie towards the group from High School 13. There he saw Lin Feng, hiding behind some girl. It… It… He tried to stay composed. He wanted to keep it together. But his throat parched up and he felt something wet at the corners of his eyes. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, shaking his head in disbelief, smiling. After all these years of searching. After all these years of hoping to find just one person half as talented as Maple. After everything he’d gone through. Right here. Right now. Right in front of him was that familiar face. He let himself fall down in the chair next to him and covered his mouth with his hand. He took a couple of deep breaths, then said, “Lin Feng? Lin Feng. Hey.”

It was 20 minutes into the second game of the Quarterfinals for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Though it was never really a game to begin with. Shanghai International was playing with such ferocity, with such complete domination, that no one even knew who their opponents were. This was Shanghai International’s party, and only they mattered here today. The main event of this party, the headliners, were the Midlaner and ad-carry. Yan Liang played on his Fisherman Fizz and fished up kills across the map. The unidentified opponents were helplessly speared by his magnificent harpoon, while he only found his own fishy self on the sushi mat one time, bringing his score to 6/1/3. The other life of the party was Liu Zhengjie. He had his Striker Lucian dribble his ball through the lane and nutmeg his no name opponents, killing them after the fact with his two big guns. His score was a perfect 5/0/5.

The players from Tonji Affiliated High watched the game breathlessly. Shanghai International was steamrolling over their opponents! The first game was an easy win, and now in the second they were 5,000 gold in the lead, not far from closing the series out. To those watching who also happened to read the Xianxia webnovels, they knew what was happening. Shanghai International had become the favored disciple in the best sect in a tournament for cultivation resources! They were tyrants on the rift! Everyone who appeared before them had to bow down! Their opponents had to kowtow and kiss the floor, begging to be spared from too humiliating of a defeat!

“Damn. They stronk. Like… Damn.”

“But it’s still the same playstyle. They always push and force openings out of nothing.”

“Yeah, it might be the same playstyle, but it’s also completely different. Are you watching the game? Do you see how good they are? It looks almost perfect. I haven’t seen a slip up yet…”

It wasn’t just Tonji Affiliated High who were worried. Shanghai High School, the strongest team from last year and favourites to take the trophy home again this year, was also paying careful attention to this game. Most of their players were a little worried. Shanghai International looked strong, much stronger than last year. And last year it was already a very close game. They all turned to Zeng Rui to see how their team captain was holding up. He was their pillar and their leader. His calm rubbed off on them whenever they started to worry, and it did now too. His expression was empty and his breathing was even. There wasn’t anything that betrayed his true feelings, except for his lack of blinking. He wasn’t going to miss even a  millisecond of this game!

A short trip around the crowd was long enough for Shanghai International to end the game and win the series. They destroyed the Nexus and secured their spot in the Semifinals! They were only a single step away from the Finals, where they could finally fight for redemption after last year’s humiliating defeat! But though their minds were already drifting to the Finals, to scenes of defeating Shanghai High School and claiming the trophy, they’d first have to beat the dark horse. The team that was a misbegotten clusterfuck of both phenomenal and downright terrible players. High School 13.

As for the players from High School 13, the usual seven were sweating profusely and shifting around in their chairs, while one was leaning back, chilling. Su Xue sat behind this anomaly and tugged at his elbow. “Hey, Lin Feng? You have to play against those guys next, right? They look really strong…”

“Mhm, yeah. They’re strong. They played really good!” Lin Feng agreed, smiling. He enjoyed a real challenge, and beating Shanghai International looked like it might actually be a challenge. They were a strong team, though individually nowhere near his level. He was a lot better than them, but the same couldn’t be said about his teammates. Even Tang Bingyao, the next best player on the team after him, would be hard-pressed to achieve anything besides maybe going even against Liu Zhengjie. And at the end of the day, there was only so much carrying he could do. He couldn’t be everywhere all the time, and Shanghai International were the first team they’d face who could really abuse that.

Until now, Lin Feng’s go-to tactic to carry his team was by playing a strong Champion and let the game get to a stage where he could solo carry. Shanghai International wasn’t a team that would wait around for that to happen. They picked strong early game Champions and pushed and pushed. And then they pushed some more. They never let up the pressure. From start to finish, they pushed and forced plays. They would never give an opponent enough time to get strong enough to solo carry. Their games simply didn’t last that long. So Lin Feng had to think of something else. He had to come up with a different approach for this game, because if Shanghai International was allowed to push, then his team would lose. It was that simple.

Lin Feng looked over to Chen Ze. He’d lose. He then turned to Yang Fan. Same here. He shook his head as his gaze fell on Tang Bingyao. Even Tang Tang won’t win… He had to think of something, because if they went in like how they usually did, this would be the end of the road for them. If he played in top lane, mid and bot would lose. If he played in mid lane, top and bot would lose. It was a question of what the better option here was. He was a mid main, but the meta of the game was called League of Toplane for a reason these days. Neither option looked much better than the other. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I have to find a way to win this. It doesn’t matter that it’s hard. It’s good! I actually have to try. But I have to try. I really have to try and think of something to make this work. Suddenly, he started smiling. First it was a weak grin, but then it turned to his usual goofy smile. His lips spread wide and they looked like they were almost touching his ears. His eyes lit up with light, almost as if they were shining. His entire face screamed joy! He clenched his fist and threw it up in the air, shouting, “Ha! The greater the challenge, the greater the reward! Let’s do this! We’re going to win! Woo!”

✹

Chu Fang felt his heart beating hard and fast, crashing into his ribs and trying to get out. Faster. Faster! His hands trembled. He traced his finger over the name. That name. Him. He couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t possible. It was a name he’d often thought of, wistfully. A time when China competed for the world title. The wonderkid. I-is it… He shook his head once, then slapped himself across the cheeks twice. Lin. Feng. Challenger. That was all the information the piece of paper held. Nothing more. But it told him everything he needed to know. It… It…

The member of staff who’d brought Chu Fang the document stared down at his boss, dazed. His boss was nicknamed Mister Unshakeable. He was always calm. It didn’t matter what got thrown at him or what he had to deal with, it never brought him off his piece. With calm determination, he waltzed over everything thrown at him, smiling along the way. That same person was now sprawled on the floor, desperately tugging a piece of paper, almost crying. “U-uh, boss?” the member of staff asked, careful. But there was no reaction. His boss was staring at the paper, tracing a name, holding it to his cheek and cradling it. “Alright then,” the member of staff mumbled, raising his brows. He bit on the inside of his lips, his foot already off the ground. He hesitated for a moment, but then turned around and walked away.

Chu Fang didn’t see the look in his employee’s eyes, nor would he care if he had seen it. There was only a singular thought on his mind. Lin Feng. It… It… He traced his fingers over the piece of paper again. It really said it. Lin Feng. Challenger. He moved to the wall over to the side and leaned up against it, then wiped his face. He put his hand over his mouth and blew out all the air from his lungs, full of disbelief. H-how… How is this possible? H-he left…

Lin Feng had left the scene four years ago, at the end of season 1. He was a 15 year old kid back then. Now, four years later, he was 19. He’d grown up into a young adult who was attending his final year of high school. Chu Fang counted it out on his fingers. The name. The rank. That joyful look on this Lin Feng’s face when he walked up on stage. The age. There were too many coincidences for them to be coincidences. “N-no. This can’t be real,” Chu Fang mumbled, more frantic with every repetition. “T-this can’t be… it can’t be real!”

However, the more he thought about, the more he started believing it. This Lin Feng was the same Lin Feng who competed at the Season 1 World Championships. This Lin Feng was the same Lin Feng who beat Phoenix and led his team to the Finals. This Lin Feng was the Lin Feng who went toe-to-toe with Rake in a tense series that lasted five games. It was the first and last time in League of Legends’ history that Rake was pushed to his limits. There was no one else who came so close to beating him. Chu Fang said with his lips shaking but his voice firm, “This. Is. Maple! It really is him!”

Chu Fang bit on his lips, smiling. A smile that covered his face, with tears of joy running down his cheeks. “It has to be him!” His mouth was making all kinds of strange movements. He didn’t know what to do with it. “It really is him! It is!” he shouted, looking like he’d completely lost it. But he didn’t care. He pushed himself onto his feet, his knees shaking with excitement. “I need to make sure. I need to see him. If it really is him… It is him, I know it!” He rushed out from the backstage area and looked around the arena, searching for that face, mumbling, “Where did he go…”

✹

High School 13 had made it to the semifinals. The games for the day had come to an end. By all right, they should be celebrating their victory. Chuck a few beers and congratulate themselves on a job well done. They’d gone further in this tournament than ever before! But they didn’t care about any of that. They only cared about the trophy, and the team standing in their way towards it. That team, right now, was Shanghai International.

The whole team was down. They could barely raise their heads, their hope having sunk down into their boots. Their hope was initially, after winning their quarterfinals, rather high. But that all changed when they watched Shanghai International play. It didn’t matter how much Lin Feng had taught them, they were still a far shot from being Shanghai International’s opponents. There was a distinct difference in individual skill and team synergy. A difference that Lin Feng couldn’t bridge for them. They knew he was good, but there was a limit to what one person could do. Even if that person was Lin Feng.

Ouyang looked around at his friends. The same he’d watched win the games, while he sat out. This isn’t right. His gaze was steady. He knew his job. “Ha! What’s with all the long faces, my awesome super-bros? It isn’t like we gotta play against Shanghai High School! Now that would be bad… I know! Come, sing with me!” He cleared his throat and started singing, very loudly, “Always look on the bright side of life… tu-du, tududududu. Always look on the light side of life… tu-du tududududu!”

Yang Fan grinned and shook his head. “Idiot.” Then he adjusted his glasses and said, “You’re right. We do need to look on the bright side. I guess it was about time we faced them again. Remember what they did to us last year? Let’s give them some payback for that!”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head and asked, “You guys played them last year too? What happened?”

“Yeah, you see…” Ren Rou started, then trailed off. They were walking towards the exit of the venue. But to get there, they had to walk between the rows of chairs packed closely together. Straight up ahead, there was another team walking in the opposite direction. Both sides stopped, just standing there, staring at each other. Ren Rou tried to put on a brave front, pushing her chest forward, but her shaking arm revealed how she really felt. Scared and angry. Furious for what these assholes had done to her and her team last year! And terrified the same would happen again this year.

The headquarters of the Shanghai Esportions Association was located in a high-rise in downtown Shanghai. On the top floor, looking out over the city, was the president’s office. Fang Hao sat behind his desk, leaning back in his chair. He held his mobile phone beside his mouth, Chu Fang’s voice coming from the little speaker. It wasn’t a serious call. Chu Fang was the perfect protege. He worked himself to the bone, searching for the next big star to be born. Fang Hao walked over to the window and looked down at the streets below. A sea of car lights, barely visible below the lights coming from the office buildings around.

Fang Hao stared at the nightscape of the city, Chu Fang’s voice still coming from his phone. He took a deep breath, air filling his lungs as he raised his shoulders. Then he let it all out. The air, the memories from four years ago and everything since then. It’d been an uphill battle, and it still was. He was the man who helped China step to fame in the esports world through DotA. China became the dominant region. They were the best. And even after their first generation of talents decided to retire, a new one, the next one was ready to take over the scepter. His work in all of this was exemplary. So much so that he was appointed the position to oversee Chinese interests in the new massive online battle arena game League of Legends. He was asked to work his magic again, but this time without direct supervision.

There were doubters who thought League of Legends would never become anything big, but he ignored them and pushed through. He pushed and he pushed to prove everyone that he was suited for the job. Sponsors, manpower, and equipment were just some of the obstacles. From nothing, absolutely nothing, he built up the Chinese League of Legends scene to what it was today. From working for weeks to land a small time sponsor, to now where the biggest sponsors in the world came to him for a deal. From barely being able to organize a small LAN-event, to holding multiple events on several different levels throughout the year. All of that was his hard work.

It wasn’t just him. Fang Hao was blessed with employees who believed in his vision and players that were just as passionate about building up the scene as he was. Through their love of the game, they infected the Chinese people with the League of Legends bug. Most memorable of these players were the five who made it all the way to Worlds in Season 1. The true heroes of the scene. Their result saw a direct and sharp rise in the game’s popularity. The five who flew to London to represent the LPL. The team that made it all the way to the Finals.

Chu Fang sighed and shook his head, smiling. “That day when I heard we qualified for Worlds. I still think back to it so often. That was the happiest day in my life. They were something special.”

Fang Hao chuckled and said, “Mhm. We worked so hard and then those kids thanked us by actually making it to Worlds. It was all going great until those guys from the Global Esports Association came knocking…”

Maple the wonderkid. One of, if not the best player in the world at that point. He was only 15 years old, a year too young to compete. An exception was made for him to play in the LPL. This was then communicated with the Global Esports Association, who had no qualms with it. Maple was allowed to play in the LPL. But when it came time for the kid to play at Worlds, suddenly the Global Esports Association had something to say about it. Fang Hao still remembered how angry he got. He never really got mad. But that day, in the office of people who could have his job, he lost himself and raised his voice high enough that people in the office building across the street could hear him.

“I’m the Vice President of the Chinese Esports Association! We’ve had this conversation before when we wanted Maple to play in the LPL. Back then you had no issues? But now? Now it’s an issue? Your stupid organization suddenly feels threatened? Are you afraid our wonderkid will knock out whatever team you’re cheering for?

“I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION! I DEMAND THAT YOU LET HIM PLAY!”

“We’re not going anywhere until you say he can play. WE’RE STAYING RIGHT HERE!”

Fang Hao grinned as he thought back to those days. His yelling hadn’t done them any good, but in the end, the wonderkid was allowed to play. Their team made it all the way to the Finals. They did absolutely fantastic. He was so proud of them and had been eager to see where they would end up. It was unfortunate that the future he hoped to see them have didn’t play out like that. The lost Finals were a harder blow to the team than he or anyone could’ve expected. The wonderkid quit, and the rest of the team split up after. Of the five, only two still played the game, and only one was still on an LPL team. God Roundy was the only one of that team full of talent who was still on the top of his game.

God Roundy was a top talent. He was a beast in top lane back then and still to this day. No one could deny that, and Fang Hao wouldn’t either. But despite that, Tian Tian was nowhere near the best player on the team. There were at least two players better than him. One of them was the ad-carry, the clear number two on the team. As for the best player on the team. That was Maple, the wonderkid, the best player in the world. The 15 years old kid was so ridiculously good at the game that every time Fang Hao watched him play, he had to take a step back and make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. And ever since, he compared every talented new Chinese star to Maple, only to find himself somewhat disappointed.

Chu Fang broke the silence, breaking the memories, and said, “If those guys were still playing, we’d have won Worlds at least twice by now. They were good.”

“We wouldn’t just have won Worlds. We’d have two Emperors,” Fang Hao laughed. Then he went quiet as those final scenes played through his mind again. He recalled how Maple walked away. The kid was gone before he’d even noticed it. Maple was the best player to have ever come out of China. He was an Emperor. There was no one who could deny that. But he’d quit the game. He was gone, and so he wasn’t an Emperor. He was an almost forgotten name…

Fang Hao shook his head clear of those memories. They were tales of four years ago. Today, there was another story building up. KG could write history by defeating SSK! That deserved his attention. He slapped himself across the cheeks, just to wake himself out of his thoughts, and asked, “Is that final game almost done? Everyone at the venue is probably itching to go home and watch KG versus SSK. We should finish well before then, right?”

Chu Fang quickly replied, “Yeah. First series is done. High School 13 made it to the semis. Shanghai International is now playing, but that shouldn’t take too long. They’re clearly the better team.”

“Oh? Shanghai International? They were the runner-up last year, right? They were pretty alright from what I remember. Uhm. What was the second team? High School 13 you said? Are they a new team? I don’t remember hearing about them before.”

✹

Game 1 was a stomp. Shanghai International waltzed all over their opponents and finished the game in a short 25 minutes. They’d picked strong early game champions and brute forced their way into the opponent’s base. The second game didn’t seem like it’d be any different. In the first 10 minutes of the game, Shanghai International built up an advantage that was difficult to come back from. Too difficult by all standards.

Below the stage, the players from High School 13 were watching the games. Tense. Nervous. Sweat dripping down their faces and their hands clam. Last year, Shanghai International looked strong. But because they weren’t good enough of a team yet, they had no idea just how good Shanghai International was. Now, however, they did have a clue. They spotted the big and small techniques and tactics Shanghai International forced to push for the advantage. This Shanghai International was far better than they expected.

“C-can we really win?” Liu Yue muttered, dazed.

His question was met with silence. Chen Ze and Wei Dong stared at the screen, terrified. Yang Fan kept adjusting his glasses, looking, searching, but not finding anything. And then there was Ouyang. The man with quick wit. The myth who always knew what to say. The legend who brought up morale just by being in the room! He sat there, silent.

Lin Feng was laser focused on the games. He heard the question, but didn’t turn to look at his teammates. The game was more important. He had to spot the small things, the errors that Shanghai International made that he could take advantage of. “They’re strong, but…” he said, half to himself and half to his teammates. His eyes were on the large screen, never shifting away. Every small play, he wanted to see it. Then he smiled. He’d seen what he needed to see. His hand almost automatically clenched into a fist and was flying up in the air. He jumped from his chair and shouted, “We’re still going to win!”

✹

Chu Fang put his phone away and was about to find his seat to watch the last few minutes of the Shanghai International game, when a staff member walked up to him. They handed him a document and said, “Here’s the information on all the teams in the quarterfinals. It also has something on High School 13.”

Chu Fang accepted the documents and nodded. “Thanks for the trouble.” Then he started flipping through the pages until he found the information they had on High School 13. He skimmed what was written down. School information, club president, team membe— His eyes went wide as the document slipped through his fingers and fell on the floor. He trembled on his knees, his hands shaking violently. “T-this… T-this…” He stared at the document on the ground, then dropped to his knees and grabbed it up. His finger traced over the information from High School 13 again, directly towards the names of the players on the team. Towards that one particular name. His mouth fell open. He closed it, only for it to fall open again. “H-how?”

It was 5:53 PM. Seven more minutes until the start of the Quarterfinals for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! High School 13 versus West High. Two strong teams clashing in a series that could go either way! The long hand of time marched closer and closer to 6:00 PM. 10 players had gathered below the stage, five on either side. On the far left, there was High School 13. On the far right was West High. Staring at each other, tension palpable between them. All around them were tournament staff, giving them last minute instructions and waiting to give them the official go-head to get up on stage. Waiting. Staring. Coiled. Then one opened his hand and waved it towards the stage. The ‘go’ sign, the green light.

Lin Feng was about to step forward, when someone pulled on his arm. He turned around to find Su Xue. She smiled at him and said, “Make me proud! If you do, I’ll cook anything you want tonight!”

There were a few ways to light a fire in Lin Feng’s heart. But all of them paled before the inferno that could be lit in his stomach. Through food. His eyes beamed at the thought of food and he replied, “Awesome! You can make me stir-fried eggplants, squash so—”

“Shut it! Win this matchup first. Then you can come and claim your prize,” Su Xue said, interrupting his food fantasy. Then she gave him a quick hug and ruffled his hair. “Go, kid. You can do it.”

Lin Feng let the hug overwhelm him, the familiar scent of Su Xue bringing peace. He broke free from the hug and laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll win this game. It’s no biggie.” Then he turned back to the stage, his friends already walking up the steps, and walked up. His confidence was as big as ever. There was not a single worry on his face, a stark difference from the other nine players competing. They couldn’t smile, or look at the crowd, sweat dripping down their faces. They stared at their computer screens, barely breathing, as they waited for the competition to kick off.

Below the stage there was a special seating arrangement for the other six teams still in the competition. They were all present, including the players from Tonji Affiliated High. They were one of the teams who’d played against High School 13. They knew like no one else how strong this team was. But at the same time, that was weeks ago by now. Perhaps they’d just had an offday that day. Their Midlaner thought so, at least. He turned to his teammates and said, “West High was pretty decent last year from what I remember. What do you guys think? A win for them?”

The Toplaner stared at his teammate, eyes wide open. “Wait. You’re serious?” he asked after a moment of silence. He shook his head and mumbled, “Do you not remember that game? I don’t care how good West High is, they don’t have that Lin Feng guy. Holy shit was that dude good. I’ve never played against anyone better…”

The other three teammates nodded. They remembered. They wouldn’t ever forget that Riven. That wasn’t just a good game. That wasn’t luck. That was pure skill. More skill than their entire team combined. It didn’t matter how terrible that Lin Feng’s teammates were. When you were that good, solo carrying a game at this level was an easy thing to do. Besides, they’d played against West High before. Just last year, they were the ones who’d eliminated West High in the quarterfinals. West High was a good team, they had to admit that. But West High was just that. Good. Not great. Not perfect. Not Legendary like Lin Feng.

Tonji Affiliated wasn’t the only team talking about the match. Shanghai High School, the reigning champions, were also in discussion about this series. It was another round, and still the same and confident Lin Feng. They’d seen this before. It felt somewhat like deja vu. And if it was, then High School 13 would tear West High a new one and move on to the semis. From out in the first round of the qualifiers to the semifinals, though between then and now they’d almost completely revamped their team. A superb move.

“What do you guys think? I think this’ll be an easy win for High School 13. Right?”

“Yeah, probably. Did you see him hug that girl and talk about food? It’s just like last time. He doesn’t seem worried at all. And why would he be? We all saw him play. He’s fucking fantastic! Then they still have that ad-carry. She’s pretty decent too. Together they can easily carry any deadweight to the semis.”

“Who would’ve thought that fielding an almost completely new team can have such big results! Remember their team from last year? It was hot dogshit! And now they’re on their way to the semifinals. It’s unreal.”

Zeng Rui sat calmly, aloof. He heard his teammates talk but didn’t engage in conversation with them. Their logic was flawed. Who cares if High School 13 wins? He looked at the players from High School 13. Some of them look nervous. Good. Except for him. The thundering dumbass. Enjoy your five minutes in the spotlight while it lasts. Idiot.

The organizers of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament had revealed the brackets to the eight teams in the quarterfinals. Everyone knew who they had to play in this round, as well as their potential opponents in the next round. For High School 13, that potential opponent in the next round was Shanghai International. Zeng Rui smiled, an almost palpable coldness spreading from him. He knew how strong Shanghai International was. His team was the only team who’d beaten them! In the Finals! It was a hard fought victory for his team. Even he felt a cold shiver run up and down his body when he thought of them. We almost lost. They were good.

They’ll never bridge the gap. It’s the core that’s flawed… Zeng Rui glanced over towards the players from Shanghai International. They were different from High School 13. Shanghai International’s entire team was phenomenal compared to High School 13, which only had a good Toplaner and a decent ad-carry. Good players all around who’d played so much together that their synergy was on a whole ‘nother level. And to top that all off, beyond their good players and great synergy, they had a Midlaner and ad-carry who were more than good. They were GRRREEEAAAT! Genuinely top tier among all high school players!

It wasn’t just Zeng Rui who saw it like this. The players from Shanghai International felt the same. It was first voiced by their Jungler, who mumbled, “High School 13… They sound… Those idiots from last year? Didn’t we stomp all over them? They were terrible… How did they make it this far?”

The Support laughed, loud and freely, grabbing his stomach and arching his back just to give it a bit more power. Then he said, “I know, right? I couldn’t believe it either when I saw it. Maybe they cheated? Or did they just get the luckiest draw ever? It’s a disgrace for this tournament that a team like them got this far already.”

Yan Liang, Master Midlaner and team captain of Shanghai International, waved his hand, cutting off the conversation. “Enough of that, guys. Who cares about last year? Fact is, they’re still in it this year. We might meet them in the semis. Who knows, maybe they’ve actually become a strong team.” He paused, ever so briefly, then broke out laughing. “Oof, I could barely keep a straight face through that. Hahahah! Can you imagine? Those losers actually becoming good? Hahaha! What a joke!” He wiped the tears of joy from his eyes and tried to take a deep breath, only to burst out laughing again.

The Support patted Yan Liang on the shoulder, still laughing. He said, his short breaths keeping him out of breath, “Haha! You almost had me! Haha! Remember? Remember how they went after Liu Zhengjie’s Trist? Haha! My god, they were so pathetic!” He was out of breath, completely. He fought hard to get some more oxygen in his lungs before he continued, “That last fight where they ran out of their founts and gave a triple kill away. Oh boy. It’s all coming back to me now! Haha! Shit shit! And right before the end. Liu Zhengjie here was dancing and taunting them! Hahaha!”

Liu Zhengjie, Master ad-carry, reclined back, balancing his chair on the two hind legs. He shook his head and smiled, “Not my fault. They were asking for it. All I did was give it to them. But man. They were garbo. Like. Really garbo. Shame we didn’t let that game dragon a little longer. I would’ve gotten a penta. Would’ve been the easiest penta of my life.”

The Toplaner looked over at Liu Zhengjie and teased, “Hey, don’t go jinxing yourself now. Find some wood and knock it off! You see that pretty girl up there?” He pointed at Tang Bingyao who sat up on stage behind her computer. “She’s their new ad-carry. Smokin’ hot and crazy good. Who knows, maybe she’ll slap your ass if you don’t watch out. Unless that’s what you’re into, hehe.”

Liu Zhengjie shrugged his shoulders and said, “Eh, if it’s a girl, I’ll have to go easy on her. Gotta act like the gentleman I am, y’know?” He then turned his attention away from High School 13. He just didn’t care about them. A weak team last year, a weak team this year. They could replace all the players they wanted. That wasn’t going to change the simple fact that a bad team was a bad team. And he was good. Very, very good. So good that a coach from an LSPL team had approached him and asked if he was interested in playing for them. That was how good he was. In the entire Shanghai high school League of Legends scene there was only him and Zeng Rui who’d been offered a spot in an LSPL team.

Zeng Rui! Liu Zhengjie turned to look over at his rival in a different role. They played different roles, but also in the same lane. And that lane, in last year’s finals, had gone to Zeng Rui. Zeng Rui had won that lane and he had lost. His parents, his friends, that coach from the LSPL team, all of them had seen him lose to another high schooler. This was a disgrace! Just thinking about it made him angry. How he couldn’t pressure like he usually did. I hate him. Hate him. Hate! But this year. When we meet in the Finals. Watch me. I’ll make you feel what I felt. And worse. You’re going to get your ass kicked so hard… That. That… He’d completely forgotten about High School 13. He didn’t care about the semifinals. His team was too strong. The Finals were just about guaranteed to feature Shanghai International.

✹

High School 13 took another step forward on their historic run in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! The games ended without much fanfare. Lin Feng played. It was too easy. There was never the question if High School 13 would win, only when. Was it going to be sub 20 minutes, or were they forced to fight for their wins. Spoiler. They weren’t. It was easy and fast and only an hour later, the series came to an end. High School 13 went 2-0 and took the series. They moved on to the semifinals!

The players from High School 13 walked down the stage, smiling, cheering, laughing. Below the stage a large gathering of esports club members were waiting for them. Their friends and fellow League enthusiasts. They cheered and laughed and lifted Ouyang up on their shoulders. Ouyang who hadn’t played a game but was shouting like he’d carried the whole team. “WE DID IT! SEMIFINALS, HERE WE COME! HIDE YO KIDS, HIDE YO WIVES! WE WRECKIN EVERYBODY OUT HERE!”

Lin Feng laughed with his teammates and accepted the hugs and bro-fists from his fellow club members, until he noticed Su Xue standing just a bit behind the esports club members. He walked up to her and showed her his bright, goofy grin.

“Good job, kid!” Su Xue laughed, ruffling his hair. “You did great. I’m proud of you!”

“Of course I didn’t let you down! I told you. I’m really good at the game!” Lin Feng said.

“You little fool. Is it so hard just to say thanks? Why do you always have to be so full of yourself?” Su Xue teased, laughing. Then she looked at him and asked, “I guess you’re done for the day? Or are you planning to watch the other game?”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. “Oh, yeah, I was planning to watch the second match. We’ll be facing the winner from that match in the next round.”

✹

While the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was moving on to the second quarter-finals series, Chu Fang was backstage, taking a phone call. The person who’d called him was his direct superior, Fang Hao, the President of the Shanghai Esports Association. He was informing Fang Hao on the going-ons at the tournament. Between all the buzz and people pulling him to every which direction, he took the time to inform Fang Hao. Not because Fang Hao was his boss, but because Fang Hao was also his mentor. Someone he deeply respected.

“Everything is running smoothly. The first match was won by High School 13. It’s all looking good. I think that’s about it,” Chu Fang reported.

Fang Hao said, “No need to be so stiff, son. I believe in you. That’s why I left you in charge. You don’t have to double check everything with me. You can do this. You really can.”

Chu Fang smiled and replied, “You’re too nice to me. Honestly, I’m not good at taking charge. It’s just, difficult. I much preferred it back in the day when I followed you around and helped you.” 

It was silent on the line for a minute, before Fang Hao sighed. “You’re talking about the Season 1 Worlds? Time flies by. You’d almost forget it. But that was already four years ago.”

Su Xue was dealing with problems of her own for the past two days. Ughh… this is so bad, why can’t I do this! I didn’t think it would be this hard! She’d just finished recording her voice over for the recent Nasus game Lin Feng had played and recorded for her. But her commentary, it just wasn’t as good as she thought it would be. The quality of the whole production was far less than what she wanted it to be, at least compared to the average standard of other popular gameplay videos. It just didn’t feel right. And her commentary, it was boring. Uninteresting and dull. She knew it wasn’t good enough, she didn’t even need to show it to other people and ask for feedback to confirm that.

But what if…? Hm… no that’s no good. Su Xue’s plan was to take a more comedic approach with her commentary. She couldn’t really provide interesting insights that would engage the people watching her videos. But she could make them laugh! She thought it over more, tried to come up with jokes and witty banter. But the natural charm and wit that came so easily to her while streaming, it was completely gone. The few jokes and bon mots that she’d come up with and recorded fell completely flat now that she was watching the video. If she couldn’t even make herself laugh, how would she make other people laugh? 

You know what? This isn’t that bad. Cause it’s  all in my head, I think about it over and over again, I keep picturing it over again. And that’s driving me crazy! I’m being too hard on myself for no reason! I’m funny! My jokes are funny!  It’s probably all in my head. I’m being too hard on myself! I’m funny. My jokes are funny! I’ll show it to Lin Feng. See what he thinks!  Su Xue went to get Lin Feng from his room, then sat him down in front of her computer and made him watch the video.

Ten minutes later, Lin Feng finished watching the video. He turned to Su Xue and said, “Wow! That… it was something. Hm. Um… I don’t know how else to say this but it was really bad. The best thing I can say in this situation is that I think you’d set a record for dislikes if you made your viewers watch this.”

“What? Record for dislikes? Y-you…” Su Xue gasped out the words before falling speechless. She genuinely had no words, no thoughts, nothing. Lin Feng had used brutal oblivious honesty on her, and it was super effective! I-i showed him it, and he… he roasted me for it! WHAT A LITTLE SHIT! Her mind slowly started working again as rage overwrote her embarrassment and cringe. Her face flushed red and she lunged at Lin Feng, intending bloody murder. 

But Lin Feng had quick reflexes and mechanical skill. He ducked around her just before she reached him and ran towards the door. Then he stopped and turned around to look back at her. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but quickly changed his mind when he saw Su Xue charging at him. He ran out the door and around the house, trying to find some safety.  

Su Xue returned to her room after she burned off some energy and stress chasing Lin Feng around the house. She sat down at her desk and stared at her monitor and the video, still breathing heavy from all the running. She stared at the video, thinking and frowning. Well, that was a nice breather, but now I gotta get back to this again… What am I going to do with this video? If I upload this the way it is right now, no one will want to watch it… Am I actually going to need to do something as cheesy as falling back on dirty jokes here…?

She started smoothing out and adjusting her shirt when another thought occurred to her. Maybe I coul- WAIT! WHAT? NO! Su Xue smacked herself in the face and shook her head. She was flustered and stressed, worried that no one would like her videos. That turned into the catalyst for some dangerous thoughts and a terrible pivot in her content creation strategy. The ideas floating around in her mind right now, they were genuinely dangerous and scandalous. I won’t do it! I’m better than that!

Su Xue cleared her head and tried to think up what to do for the video for a little bit longer. Then she came to a decision. She’d put the Nasus video aside for now. There was no point trying to force something that just wasn’t coming to her right now and recording another subpar voice over. The best thing to do right now was for her to play some ranked games and record her own footage. Since it was going to be her game that she was playing, she didn’t think there would be any issues with putting emotion into the commentary when she recorded it. It was an experiment worth trying!

Of course, Su Xue wasn’t delusional. She knew that her gameplay wouldn’t be good enough for a video. She wasn’t at that point yet. So she asked Lin Feng to help by duoing with her in bot lane. Like always, Lin Feng agreed to her request without any hesitation. He patted his chest and smiled. “Sure, no problem! I’ll be your support! Let’s do it!” 

✹

《Triple kill!》

《Aced!》

“FUCKFUCKFUCK! That fucking Yasuo! What is his problem!!? If he didn’t steal those two kills, I would’ve got a penta! That FUCKER stole my penta!” Su Xue raged after winning a teamfight.

They were playing in ranked queue on the Korean server with a Gold account. Su Xue was playing the ad-carry Lucian and Lin Feng was supporting her with Thresh. The two of them did really well in the early game, with Lin Feng making a lot of flashy engagements and helping her pick up kills. She’d scaled and become really strong in the mid game. Enough to dominate during most of the teamfights, including the one right now where she had almost gotten a pentakill.

“AGGGGH! MY PENTAAAA!” Su Xue slammed down on her desk. “If I’d gotten that pentakill, it would’ve made this video perfect!”

Su Xue glared at the Yasuo on her team. The one that had stolen her pentakill out from under her nose. Her eyes narrowed as she read the summoner tag. “This Devshard guy was 0/5 before this fight too! He was completely useless the whole game. But right when I’m about to get a pentakill, that’s when he shows up to screw me out of it and finally get some kills. Lin Feng, help me report his ass when we get out of this game!”

“Sure!” Lin Feng smiled.

However, after finishing the game and because it was a win, Su Xue was in a good mood and completely forgot about reporting the Yasuo. She made sure her Lucian game had been saved properly and smiled. “Let’s call it a day then. We’ll play a few more tomorrow. If we can’t find any better games, we’ll go with this one.” 

Then, Su Xue suddenly thought of something and turned to Lin Feng. “Hey, aren’t you playing in your quarterfinals tomorrow?”

Lin Feng nodded. “Yep.”

“Okay! Got it! I’ll come tomorrow to cheer you on!” Su Xue cheerfully said.

“Awesome!” Lin Feng said. Then, he patted his chest and declared, “Just watch. We’ll definitely advance to the semis tomorrow!”

“Good I’m looking forward to it! I’ll be waiting for the day you bring hom that trophy! Su Xue laughed. Then she suddenly paused as her expression sank. “Right, semis. KG is playing SSK tomorrow too. If KG can win, that’d be great.” The words were hopeful, but her tone was anything but. In fact, it was just her, but most Chinese fans were feeling the same way about tomorrow’s match. It was obvious why. The opponent was SSK. The Mountain that towered over the whole League of Legends competitive scene. They were the team that all other teams looked up to and could never hope to beat.

✹

“Play your best Fatty! That’s all that matters!” Lin Feng said. He’d decided to give Fatty a phone call before bed. 

“Mhm! Mhm! I will do my best! You can trust in me, Lin Feng!” Tian Tian nodded, forcefully, a bright smile on his face. Tomorrow was KG’s toughest match yet, but there wasn’t a speck of fear or anxiety on his face. Instead, his small eyes shone with a sharp and dangerous light. “Even if we’re up against SSK, we’ll do our best! At the very least, we’ll take a game or two off of them!” 

Lin Feng made a fist bump under his covers. “Haha! That’s what I like to hear, Fatty! I’ll be watching and cheering you on tomorrow! Beat them! I believe in you!” He had full faith in Fatty. Even if the opponent was SSK. Even if the opponent was Rake. No one could reign eternally. No one was invincible forever in the world of esports. As long as the people below were still climbing up, as long as they still desired to reach for the throne, there would come a day when even the greatest Emperor would fall.

“Right! Don’t you have a game tomorrow, too?” Tian Tian asked. He’d recalled Lin Feng talking about the Shanghai 16 School Tournament the other day.

Lin Feng nodded. “Yep, that’s why we both have to try together! I’ll win first. Then I’ll wait for the good news from you!”

Tian Tian’s eyes blazed with competitive spirit. He blew hot air out of his nose and nodded. “Yeah!”

✹

The next day at 5:30 PM in the evening, High School 13’s team rushed over to the electronics mall in Pudong, the venue for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. The matches were starting at six. When they arrived at the venue, they discovered that many of their schoolmates were already there. They came up and excitedly greeted the team members.

“Do your best Yang Fan! Show them the power of us four eyes!”

“Go Lin Feng! Carry the game!”

“We’re waiting to see you beat West High! We even bought glowsticks and neon signs to cheer you guys on!”

“GO TANG TANG! WE LOVE YOU! DESTROY THEM AT BOT LIKE YOU DESTROYED US!”

High School 13’s team members were also smiling at the warm welcome as they walked past their fellow schoolmates.

“Come on, let’s register first. We’re playing in the first group,” Ren Rou reminded.

When High School 13’s team arrived backstage, they bumped into the players from Tonji Affiliated High. The two teams were already acquainted by. So, they politely greeted one another. Tonji Affiliated High’s ad-carry walked up to Tang Bingyao. His face was all red as he fidgeted around for a while before eventually getting out a few words.

“G-good luck in your match today. L-lets both d-do our best!” Then he hurriedly retreated back to his team.

Tang Bingyao stared at the young man in bewilderment. She tilted her head. “Huh? Why does he keep running away?”

Standing nearby, Ouyang, Chen Ze, Liu Yue, and the others burst out laughing.

✹

5:45 PM. The backstage area of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Chu Fang, the Vice President of the Shanghai Esports Association accepted a clipboard from a staff member. It contained the registration form for the teams playing today. He faintly nodded. “All eight teams are here?”

The staff member nodded. “Yes sir. Shanghai International was the last to arrive. They’ve already finished signing in. We’ll be playing two best of three games today. Since we’re starting at six, we should finish easily before 11. That’ll be good since everyone is rushing to get back home in time to watch Worlds.”

“Good. Looks like everything’s in order.” Then he looked down at the schedule for today. “Two brackets are playing today. High School 13 vs. West High and Shanghai International vs. Shanghai High 6.”

“Yep that’s right! It looks like Shanghai International is guaranteed to advance to the semis in the second bracket. After all, they were last year’s runner-up. As for the second bracket, High School 13 is a dark horse, but West High is still pretty strong,” the staff member interjected. 

“Mhm. Yeah. West High was a quarterfinalist last year too. I know.” Chu Fang nodded. “But I still think High School 13 is going to win this match.”

The staff member laughed. “That’s only cause you’re always hoping for fresh blood. That’s fine too, though. High School 13 is a pretty strong team. I remember their ad-carry and top both being really amazing”

“Oh, right!” Chu Fang recalled something and turned to the staff member. “Hey, do me a favour and help get me the info for High School 13 in a bit.” He’d been meaning to find out the name of that top laner for High School 13 before. But he was interrupted by an important business call and ended up forgetting. Now that he remembered, he’d finally get his answer to why that young man was so familiar. By this point, he wasn’t imagining things. There was a strong voice at the back of his head telling him that he should already know who this young man was!

There was a belief, a bit of conventional wisdom, a line of thought among long-time fans of the competitive scene for League of Legends. It was simple. Europe beats Korea! North America beats Europe! Korea beats North America! Exactly like Rock-Paper-Scissors. This was the ‘rule’ created by truly small brain analysis that occasionally held true but also had a million and one exceptions. The idiot logic was built up after watching what seemed like a recurring pattern over the years. The European teams managed to do well against the Korean teams, most of the time. Then the North American teams managed to do well against the European teams, most of the time. Finally, the Korean teams dominated the North American teams, most of the time.   

Why this pattern sprang into existence and managed to hold true most of the time, no one could really say. The best theory was that it was from the difference in regional playerbases. The European teams played against each other, and played in a way that tripped up the Koreans. Same thing for the North American teams against the European teams. But at the very end, the Koreans always managed to dominate. But again, there were a million and one exceptions to this sort of thing. Not that most of the fans watching competitive LoL cared about that nuance. For them, the 80 IQ EU > KR; NA > EU; KR > NA equation was enough. Truthfully, the mental gymnastics required for that algorithm might’ve taxed the mental acuity of 40% of the fanbase. 

For the upcoming semi-finals matchup between Legend and Season in the World Championships, this small brain analysis was enough for most fans to confidently and assuredly state that Season held the upper hand. Because LoL Rock-Paper-Scissors-ROFL-LMAO-LOL logic was irrefutable. Of course, there were also those who took simplicity to another level. An almost -200 IQ level. Including a certain dude-bro in Senior Class 7 whose blood and mouth ran far faster than his brain.

“ListenListenListen! Forget about League Rock-Paper-Scissors! All you need to know, my brother, is that Autumn is the second ranked Emperor. Phoenix is the third ranked Emperor! Do I need to make this any clearer? Number 2 is better than Number 3! You smelling the smarts here? Autumn is one rank higher, so Season is going to win this semi-finals matchup! It’s going to be as smooth as I am with the ladies,” Ouyang declared. 

Yang Fang turned around in his seat and stared at Ouyang over his horn-rimmed spectacles. Then he shook his head. “Ouyang. There are several things wrong with everything you just said. Let’s start with the first one. I’m not an expert on the subject per se, but based on observations you are not smooth with women. Now that we’re done with that, let’s talk about the rest of this. Do you really think the analysis and predictions for a game between two of the top teams in the world with some of the best players is as simple as that? Do you really think it’s as simple as some arbitrary ranking that states that the second best player in the world has an edge over the third best player in the world, so Season is going to win? If it were that simple, there would be no esports, no World Championships, none of this. The only logical conclusion here is that you’re just as bad with predictions as you are with women.”

Ouyang progressively frowned and grimaced as Yang Fang talked. Then he glared at Yang Fang for a long minute. “Oh? Oh! Well, ya know what? How about you spin up that egghead and try? Come on, fog up those glasses. Have a brain blast! Riddle me what you got. Show me how streets ahead you are! I’d like to see you try. Even the professional analysts and strategists at Worlds can’t predict who’ll win! Everyone gets it, Yang Fan.  Legend and Season are among the foremost teams in the world. There’s a lot of things to think about. But getting bogged down in the deets, what’s the point? Think about it! There’s always a trap, and worrying about the trap is pointless. You say trap and I say no, you say tomato and I’ll say potato. We’ll never get an answer until someone checks under the hood. Ain’t no point in thinking. Or overthinking. Might as well go full small brain genius. Because when everyone else thinks smart, you might as well think dumb! Ain’t nothing wrong with being 40 IQ when everyone else is just guessing anyway. I got just as much a chance of being right as anyone else.” 

“This… what? Traps? Hood? Potat…” Yang Fan wanted to say something, wanted to argue back. But the words died in his mind before they got to his tongue. He was speechless. Ouyang had become… Nicholas Cage! So random and pointless that he transcended conventional standards and thought to create a new point that no one ever really thought of. The biggest shock of all was that Ouyang’s words made complete sense. Did Ouyang independently arrive at Occam’s Razor… in reference to League of Legends?!

Lin Feng had been watching the exchange quietly from his seat the whole time. But Ouyang’s moment of insane clarity and Yang Fang’s reaction to it was too much for him to handle. He broke down laughing and gave Ouyang a thumbs up. “Ouyang’s right. Nothing wrong with keeping things simple. I don’t blame him. Both teams are really strong, so it’s hard to predict who’ll come out at top. There really is no point in overcomplicating things!”

Ouyang jumped out of his chair and fell to his knees, arms raised to the sky in supplication, once he heard Lin Feng say he was right. Then he cried out, “YES! PRAISE THE TRUE SAVIOR VAN WILDER! In! Yo! Face! Yang Fan! I thought your faith was strong but you needed proof. Well here it is! Even Bro Feng over there agrees with me! Only the truest of bros can see the genius in other bros!” Then he sat back down with a smug smile on his face, basking in the moment where he’d one-upped Yang Fan. 

“Fine, fine, stop making so much noise. Your analysis was fantastic, you truly are the more intelligent one. Far smarter than I. Real-real big brain,” Yang Fan said as he motioned to Ouyang to calm down. Then he looked over to Lin Feng and curiously asked, “What are your thoughts on this? Who do you think is mostly likely to win this one, Season or Legend?”

“Hmm… Me?” Lin Feng thoughtfully rubbed his chin. He had an answer in his mind. Or he thought he had one anyway. He mulled it over again and then scratched his head. His analysis wasn’t as simple as Ouyang’s, but he didn’t know if he could explain it right. And it would take too long anyway. “Oh, I guess Season probably has the higher chance of winning.”

Legend and Season. Two of the best teams in the entire world. Both teams also had an Emperor as one of their players. Two players who stood at the top of the world, facing off against each other. They were the strongest representatives from their respective regions. This semi-final matchup, everything was about nuance. One misclick, one minor incorrect decision, one champion stepping just a hair too close or being a smidge too far away. That was the difference between victory and defeat here. Lin Feng just didn’t feel comfortable making a clear judgement about who would win this game after being away from the competitive scene for so long. This game was at an entirely different level of play. Even the players on both of the teams playing couldn’t confidently state they had a 100% chance of making it through the semifinals. The only person qualified to make a statement with such certainty was someone who stood above them. Perhaps.

✹

The city of Brussels in Belgium. The Sun rose on the day of the semi-finals. Thousands of fans, spectators, enthusiasts, literally anyone who was even remotely interested in League of Legends and nearby had all gathered together to watch this epic semi-finals match between Legend and Season. The arena was completely packed! There was not a single empty seat in the whole place. Stage lights flashed around wildly and Silver Scrapes boomed out from the speakers, hyping an already hyped crowd up to the level beyond that of a Super Saiyajin! 

In the VIP viewing area above the ground level with the crowd, the members of Team SSK calmly looked down at the stage below. They were breezy, not a line of tension visible on their faces. Maybe it was magic, or maybe it was Maybelline. But they were aloof, untouched and unblemished by the hype and excitement and tension in the air. Pure indifference to the competitive semi-finals matchup that was about to take place, unconcerned about who would win. It simple did not matter to them.

One of the coaches for Team SSK turned to the unassuming 22-year-old Korean lad sitting next to him. He smiled and asked, “Hey Se-Ho. Who do you think will win?”

Se-Ho. Han Se-Ho, that was his full name. But this Midlaner was far better known by another name. His summoner tag. The handle of the world’s best Midlaner and the God Emperor among the Four Emperors. Rake. 

Rake turned to his coach and said, “Season will win. It’ll be 3-1. Or 3-2.” His reply was calm, collected, and precise. It had an eerie mechanical quality to it, the absolute confidence of a machine that had calculated everything and come to the only possible conclusion. There was no hedging. No explanation. No justification. His analysis and judgement were absolute. Then he looked back down at the stage. The first semi-final game between Legend and Season was starting.

✹

The first game of the series went on for 45 minutes. Legend managed to drag it out to the late game phase. This was where they were the strongest and the most comfortable. Then when the stage was set, they went in for one last crucial teamfight. Phoenix started the engage with his Orianna and his ad-carry Tristana followed up and took out the rest of Team Season’s Champions. Then they pushed down mid lane together and took out Season’s Nexus. Legend grasped the first victory of the semi-finals matchup and an early lead.

The second game, Season came out the gate swinging hard with a new team composition that was strong in the early game. They dominated during the first 15 minutes. Then they pushed that advantage out further, continuing to snowball hard and keeping Legend on the defensive. Season trampled over Legend’s Nexus and ended things at the 30 minute mark. With this game, Season had evened things up and tied the matchup score at 1-to-1. 

The third game was a truly unfortunate one for Legend. They lost the game during Champion Select, where they had allowed Autumn from Team Season to pick one of his main Support Champions. Tahm Kench. Autumn showcased why he was an Emperor in that game, chaining godlike plays together into unholy combos, saving his teammates at the very last second with Devour, and manipulating the flow of the game. Team Legend was off-kilter the whole time, and Autumn’s Tahm Kench was always there to catch them off-guard when they were most unbalanced to engage with his ultimate. The game was over before Champions had set foot on the rift. Team Season pulled ahead with this win, making the score 2-to-1. They were now a single game away from taking the whole series.

An incalculable number of European fans watched the matchup at the edge of their seats. Nails were chewed off, breaths were held. The earth of the continent was bathed in the flop sweat of nervous gamers and fans. They couldn’t couldn’t help it. The combination of excitement and energy drinks had revved their hearts. They prayed to Gods Ancient and new alike. Some even lit incense offerings to PewDiePie. They wanted to do whatever they could to help Legend endure the pressure and mount a comeback. But their prayers went unanswered. Even PewDiePie could not change the outcome of the fourth game in the series. Legend had lost. Team Season destroyed their Nexus.

The LCD screens in the arena all showed ‘VICTORY!’ over the ruined chunks and dying embers of Team Legend’s Nexus. A hush fell over the entire stadium, almost as if everyone in the crowd had simultaneously decided to let the moment sink in. Then the quiet and stillness was broken by applause. Quiet at first, slow. Then it gained strength, rolling through the crowd, growing in volume, before finally erupting into deafening cheers. Even the European fans cheered and clapped through their disappointment. Legend had lost, but they’d also played an amazing series! Team Season had also played brilliantly. And they were there to witness it all live!

The North American fans in the crowd were especially excited. They were waving their batons and cheering their hearts out. Season had won. They had defeated Legend 3-1! Their region was advancing to the finals!

Up on the stage, over on Team Season’s side, Autumn remained seated in front of his deck. He leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes, taking a moment to rest. A moment to reset mental after focusing hard in four straight games. But his face was calm. No trace of excitement, no joy, nothing. It didn’t look like this win meant anything to him at all, like he’d been expecting to win the whole time.

Over on Legend’s side, the mood was somber and heavy. Phoenix balled his fists and let his chin fall to his chest. Then it snapped up suddenly. His eyes narrowed as he considered something that he’d only just thought of at that moment. Concentration and focus back in full force. Then he sighed and shook his head.

✹

“THAT WAS INTENSE! We haven’t seen a series this tense and exciting in a while. It was a toss up to say who would make it through, both teams were fantastic. But it’s Team Season at the end of it all who’ll be going onto the Finals!” Stone announced on the official Chinese commentator desk for Worlds.

Beside Stone, Qinghe nodded.  “Indeed. Season played extremely well in these past three games. Legend also played well, especially Phoenix in the midlane. But in the end, in terms of tactics and game plan, he wasn’t a match for Autumn.”

Stone chuckled. “That’s very true! Well, this calls for a celebration! We have to congratulate Team Season for advancing to the Finals!”

Qinghe also beamed a smile before riffing back, “Right! Reaching the Finals of the World Championships is THE DREAM of every professional team. Team Season climbed all the way to the top and is now only a single step away from the Summoner’s Cup!”

Stone nodded. “The only thing left to do is wait for tomorrow, when we’ll find out who Team Season will be up against in the Finals for the League of Legends World Championships! I don’t know about you Qinghe, but I’m more than a little nervous about tomorrow. We’ll be here the whole time, letting you know what’s happening when it happens!”

The two commentators paused right after this, letting the hype dwindle. The millions of Chinese fans watching the live broadcast of Worlds also settled down. The excitement from the matchup between Season and Legend completely washed away and replaced by apprehension. Because they were reminded that tomorrow was coming. The games today were fun. Satisfying to watch. But now the games were over and the anxiety that had hidden in the dark corners of their minds had come roaring out. Tomorrow. When their very own Team KG would play against Team SSK in the last matchup of the Semi-finals. 

Just like a few weeks ago, High School 13 played on the same day as KG! However, that was where the similarities ended. This time, the games wouldn’t be played simultaneously. There would be no Lin Feng and Tian Tian finding the same wavelength, wreaking havoc on the opponents with their Rivens. Due to the time zone difference, KG wouldn’t play until it was 11 PM in China. High School 13 would’ve finished their quarterfinals series by then. If they hurried home, they could even catch the start of the KG versus SSK series. But many people weren’t going to hurry. They’d choose to watch one or the other. And the KG versus SSK series was a lot more interesting and exciting than some high school tournament.

Ouyang had gathered up with the other members of the esports club main team. All eight of them were here, watching Ouyang as he threw his hands up in the air and wailed, “Why! Why can’t we play a day later? Or earlier! I want everyone to come cheer us on! They have to come for us! I want to show off how good I’ve become!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and looked at Ouyang for a long, never-ending second. Then he sighed and shook his head. “So that’s what you were getting worked up about. The attention.”

“No shit!” Ouyang snorted. He pushed his chest up and clenched his fist. “Last year we had nothing to be proud of. That spy really screwed us over. We could’ve made it to the main tournament if it wasn’t for him, and then. Then…” He looked past Yang Fan, standing opposite of him, and at the wall behind. He stared at it, then shook his head. “We had nothing to brag about last year. But this year? This year is different. We made it to the quarters. The quarters! Yang Fan, we’re in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! Don’t you think it’d be really cool if the other club members come and watch us play? Watch us win? Maybe we can even get the whole school to come! All the cute girls will see how cool I am! Can you imagine?”

Ren Rou looked over at Ouyang. She shook her head and scrunched her nose. This little piece… She breathed in, long and deep, gathering all her frustrations. Then she breathed out. He’s right. It would be cool. She sighed and shook her head again before saying, “Hahh… I hate this. Why do you have to say something that makes sense? But you’re right. It would be cool to have the other students come and cheer us on. This is a pretty big deal for the club. I suppose we could make some flyers and hand them out, or maybe just tell everyone we know about it. Some word of mouth can do miracles. It might even help to build up the popularity of the club.”

Last year we didn’t even tell Mr. Zhou. Ren Rou smiled. Mr. Zhou was in charge of club activities. He could help them get the word around school. She looked at the others until she reached Lin Feng. Here she paused. She looked at their new teammate, her new friend. It’s all thanks to him. She nodded towards him and then said, “Let’s ask the club members to come and watch us Wednesday. I’ll make an announcement for it, and it’d be great if you guys could build some hype up as well. If we make it to the semis, I’ll inform Mr. Zhou. He can help us get the whole school to come and cheer for us! It’d be awesome if they’re there, cheering us on when we win the tournament and lift up the trophy!”

Making it to the Finals. Having the whole school cheer them on. Beating Shanghai High School or Shanghai International or whichever team they’d be up against in the Finals. And then lifting that trophy. Realizing their dream. Making history for their school. Their minds went wild. It actually sounded plausible! They were almost there! Only a few more steps! Perhaps they could really do this! Maybe! Maybe! Maybe Lin Feng was there to curb their enthusiasm. He put up his finger and said, “Hey, guys… Uhm. It sounds good and all. Just. We aren’t even in the semis yet. We have to keep working really hard to get there. You guys can’t start celebrating now. Celebrate when we’ve won.”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and nodded. “Lin Feng is right. We need to focus on our next match. There is nothing beyond that if we don’t win.”

Liu Yue bit on the inside of his lips, holding his tongue. He glanced over towards Ouyang, fighting back the urge. But Ouyang wasn’t saying it. Ouyang was staying quiet. So he jumped onto the table in the middle, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, “WE CAN DO THIS! THE TROPHY IS OURS! HERE WE COME!”

✹

High School 13’s esports team had been so invested that it’d taken away all attention from the rest of the esports club. But it was still that. A club. They had a large number of members, students who loved to share their love for League of Legends. The club wasn’t just about the main team. It was about creating a community for like-minded individuals to enjoy playing the game they loved together. Now, Ren Rou had a good excuse to put some of the bigger plans on the backburner. The Shanghai 16 School Tournament was the most important thing on her schedule right now. But that didn’t mean she could forget all about the club. Smaller and recurring events would still take place. So, with the exception of Lin Feng who had better things to do with his time, the other players of the main team joined the other club members in playing friendly 5v5s, or giving pointers to people in 1v1s.

Tang Bingyao was of the same mindset as Lin Feng. It wasn’t worth her time to teach these random club members. She hadn’t joined this club to be friendly with them. The only reason she joined was because there was a prize for winning the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Besides that, she’d rather spend her time working on ELO boosting orders than spending time with the club members. However, unlike Lin Feng, she didn’t make herself scarce fast enough. She stuck around just long enough to grab Ren Rou’s attention. The club president walked up to her and grabbed her by the arm. “Come, Tang Tang! You can’t leave now! You’re our poster girl! You see all these first years here? They’re all here for you!”

Tang Bingyao, she was the fairest of them all! To the first years, anyways. Tang Bingyao was the prettiest girl in the club by popular vote. On top of that, she was also the best ad-carry of the club! This was enough for these League enthusiasts to fall in love with her. So when they got a chance to learn from their Princess, they swarmed around her, their pubescent bodies raging with hormones.

“You’re so pretty! Add me on League!”
“I love you! Please go on a date with me!”
“Your Draven is so good. Can you help me with my Draven?”
“Can you add me on League, please? I wanna play a game with you.”
“Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow? My mom is cooking meatloaf!”
“I’m a Support main! Want to duo queue? Just add me on League and we’ll play!”

The guys of the main team stood together off to the side. Basically no one came up to them. Chen Ze shook his head and said, “What’s wrong with these kids? Were we this thirsty too?”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and looked over at the club members pushing and shoving just to get closer to Tang Bingyao. He shook his head, stunned. As did Wei Dong. He added, “I don’t think we were…”

Ouyang clicked his tongue and chuckled, amused. “These idiots, hehe. There are so many girls at this school. They could’ve picked any of them. Worst case, they would’ve been let down easy. But they just had to pick Tang Tang. Haha! Do you guys remember that guy from Tonji? How she just destroyed him? Haha, that shit was hilarious.”

The guys turned to Tang Bingyao and watched her deal with a first year student. He was badgering her with questions, only some of them loosely connected to League of Legends. All he wanted was her attention, and she latched onto it. She frowned and asked, “Did you come here for some advice, or because you like me? Is that why you’re trying to flirt with me? What’s next? Are you going to ask me out on a date?”

“W-what? I-i…” The first year shut up completely. He stared at her, wide eyed. He liked her. A lot. But as much as he wanted to ask her out on a date, he wasn’t ready to be asked about it so bluntly. He was still working up the courage to pop the question! It was too much for him. The plan that he’d worked out in his mind collapsed. He didn’t know what to do anymore. More guys were pushing around him, trying to get Tang Bingyao’s attention. He let them push into him, force him back, as his face went red. Then he turned around and bolted away out of the classroom.

Liu Yue shook his head and said, “Tsk tsk. He ran faster than that Tonji guy. That must be a new record. He’s got a long way to go before he’s ready to flirt with Tang Tang.”

After the first ran away, the less brazen also slowly backed off. They turned to the other players of the main team, or started chatting amongst themselves. Anything was better than having to answer that question from the girl of their dreams! However, several guys remained. They smiled their most handsome smile and flexed their muscles. They did their hair and winked at her. The first worked up the courage and stepped up to Tang Bingyao. He didn’t spin around it, but straight up asked her, “Hey, I think you’re really pretty. Would you like to go out for dinner with me Thursday?”

“No. I don’t like you.” Tang Bingyao didn’t even need to think about it. The words came from her mouth the moment the guy finished asking her out. She’d barely looked at him. But she’d seen enough to know he wasn’t the kind of guy she liked. But that didn’t dissuade the others. Another one came up to her and professed his love. She looked at him, annoyed, and said, “No. I don’t like you either.” Then came a third. Another group of guys were standing around her. There seemed to be no end to it. None of them got the hint. She shook her head and looked around at the guys. “Alright. Let’s do it this way. I’ll consider going on a date with any of you, if, and only if, you can beat me in a 1v1.”

Tang Bingyao, the number one ad-carry of the esports club, would take on any challenger in a 1v1! Better yet, she’d go out on a date with anyone who could beat her! At least, that was how the first years understood it. The blood rushed to their heads as they pushed over each other again, trying to be the first to challenge her. She was the fair maiden in search of a man worthy of her! And they would prove their worth in battle! Because they were the heroes of their own stories! They would dominate her and show them why they were her perfect partner! Dreams of beating her played in their minds. Taking her out for dinner. Falling in love. Having babies together, and maybe even getting married! They planned out an entire life together before the 1v1 even started. And then it was over. There wasn’t a single match that lasted more than a few minutes. Tang Bingyao won all of them. She beat all 19 challengers.

Tang Bingyao looked around the room. The 1v1 Love Confessions, as Ouyang had started to call them, had come to an end. There were no more challengers. Those who’d played against her were now huddled around different computers, waiting for their turn to play, to practice. Because maybe, just maybe, if they kept practicing long enough, they could get good enough to beat her. They’d do anything for a date with their fair maiden! But that wasn’t of any help to Tang Bingyao. She was using these matches as practice, and now there was no one left to practice with. She asked, a little helplessly, “Is there anyone else? No one?”

Ren Rou had joined the guys in watching Tang Bingyao fighting off all challengers, and then seeing them actually get to practice their skills. They weren’t thirsty teenagers anymore. Well, they were. But they were also League of Legends players trying to get better at the game! She laughed and said, “Isn’t this great? Everyone is working so hard!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses. He looked over at Ren Rou and said, “It’s great that they’re practicing and all. But, there is a small problem. At this rate, half the club is going to become ad-carry mains. Maybe we should have Tang Bingyao play Jungle for a while.”

✹

The next two days came and went. The Round of 16 of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament came to an end. The eight teams for the quarterfinals were announced. Amongst them were, as was to be expected, the big three. The three strongest teams in Shanghai. Tonji Affiliated High, Shanghai High School, and Shanghai International! Fortunately, High School 13 wouldn’t play against any of them in the next round. Their opponents were still strong—West High, a team that made it all the way to the quarterfinals last year. Their team this year looked stronger than last year, but they were clearly a step below the real powerhouses. In other words, for the first time ever, High School 13 had some luck in the draw.

The players from High School 13’s esports team practiced hard in preparation for the next round all throughout the week and weekend. Even that Monday, they spent most of their day practicing for the series on Wednesday. But on Tuesday, their minds were somewhere else entirely. That was because this was the day that the first semifinals match of Worlds was! A clash of titans! Europe versus North America! Legend versus Season! Two Emperor teams were going to fight it out for a place in the Finals of the Season 5 League of Legends World Championships!