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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

✹

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

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

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

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah!” Lin Feng replied.

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

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

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

✹

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

「HEYYY LLILLLL BROOO!!!!」

「Lil bro notice me pls!!!!1」

「Hey!!! How you doin’?」

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

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

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

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

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

「yeah she was pretty okay today」

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

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

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

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

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

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

「just focus on the commentary」

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

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

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

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

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

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

「MAKE ME A SANDWICH!!!!!」

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

「SHIT! SHIT!!!! GUYS HAVEY OU SEEN?」

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

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

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

「EVERYBODY GO LOOK AT THE WORLDS WEBSITE」

「……..wrowrhwr GOD FUCKING DAMMIT WSJFRSFISBF」

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“W-what? I. Uhm.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

✹

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I don’t mind!” Lin Feng interrupted.

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

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

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

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

Ring-ring… Ring-ring… Ring-ring…

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

《Legendary!》

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

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

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

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

✹

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

✹

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Hmpf. That’s what I thought.”

✹

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

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

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

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

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

High School 13 2 – 0 Bright High

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

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

“Mhm.”

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

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

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

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

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

✹

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

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

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

《An enemy has been slain!》

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

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

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

✹

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

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

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

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

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

✹

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back in base. His Jax had a purse full of gold. Lin Feng spent it all before looking around the map. Teleport was off cooldown. He could go anywhere and go for another play. “Ready for battle!” he laughed. His gaze landed on top lane. On the Fiora who was last hitting minions. She was patient, refraining from pushing the lane and only attacking when the minions were on their last breath. But the wave was still pushing out and she was already fighting them next to the ruins of her outer tower.

Lin Feng started smiling. Wide. Bright. Evil. Earlier, when he’d gone through the top side jungle of Bright High to gank the Orianna in mid lane, he’d left a ward at the Red Buff Camp. From there, it was a short trip up to top lane. The Fiora was in the open. He could cut off her path of retreat. Like a fish on the chopping board. At this pace, she’d be worth less than a cannon minion in another few minutes. He pressed down on the F key, his mouse hovering over the ward in the Red Buff Camp.

“Surprise! I’m back,” Lin Feng muttered as his Jax appeared at Bright High’s Red Buff Camp. He then had his Jax move up towards top lane, past the Krugs and into the brush separating top lane from the jungle. The Fiora had no wards in her jungle and no sight of the Jax. So, after killing the last few minions in top lane, she’d started to back. Better be safe than sorry. But she was still too late. Lin Feng’s Jax came running out of the brush and struck her with his lamppost!

W-where! What! How the hell… Why from there? I— There was no time. The Fiora player knew this. His Champion was no match for the Jax. He had to get out. Now! He pressed the Q key and then the F key. His Fiora Lunged towards her inner tower, then flashed a short distance. Anything to get closer to her inner tower. Anything to get away from the Jax!

“Taste my lamppost! Haha!” Lin Feng laughed as he clicked on the Fiora and pressed on his Q key. His Jax Leap Striked onto the Fiora. A transparent mantle appeared over Jax’s head–Counter Strike! The Fiora couldn’t attack him, not that she was trying to. She was trying to get away! But he was on top of her. She had no more mobility skills. He hit her with his lamppost, then used Empower to reset the internal cooldown of auto attacks. His weapon lit up. This attack would deal bonus damage! He followed up with a third auto attack. It was strengthened by the passive of Grandmaster’s Might.

《You have slain an enemy!》

The difference was too big between the two. Levels. Items. Skill. Lin Feng held the advantage in every aspect. The Fiora didn’t stand a chance. Worse even, Lin Feng didn’t even have to go all out. He hadn’t even used the active part of his ultimate! He hadn’t needed to, because the Fiora didn’t attack him and she was too far away from her inner tower. So he never even got in tower range. It was all too easy.

✹

Lin Feng wasn’t the only player on High School 13’s team who was winning his lane. Yang Fan was only Platinum. Bright High’s Orianna was Diamond 2. But that didn’t stop Yang Fan from going even in lane. And after Lin Feng had come for that gank and had killed the Orianna, Yang Fan had used that brief period of solo farm in lane to pull ahead of the Orianna. It was a small advantage, but it turned out to be enough for him. He pushed the advantage and was even starting to win his lane!

Tang Bingyao and Wei Dong were fairing even better in bot lane than Yang Fan was in mid. They’d become a really strong duo, especially over the last couple of days. Their lane was Lucian and Alistar versus Jinx and Blitzcrank. Jinx was as strong as ever, while Lucian had fallen off a bit after the last few patches. But even so, there was nothing in this game suggesting this. If anything, it looked like Jinx was the one who’d been nerfed.

Tang Bingyao and Wei Dong were pushing the minion waves into Bright High’s outer tower. Bright High’s Lee Sin was being kept busy elsewhere on the map, so they didn’t have to worry much about a possible gank. They focused entirely on poking down the Jinx and Blitzcrank. To the point where Blitzcrank’s passive skill activated. Mana Barrier gave him a temporary shield based on his mana when he dropped to low health.

The shield gave the Blitzcrank some confidence. He only had it for a little. This was the time to go in and try a play! It could turn the lane around! He Overdrived into position and then shot out his right arm, trying to grab and hook the Lucian. But Tang Bingyao was prepared. She knew he’d come. That was what Blitzcranks did. She had her Lucian dash to the side, dodging the hook–Relentless Pursuit!

The Blitzcrank had moved forward, away from his tower. The Blitzcrank had used his crowd control skills. The Blitzcrank was out of position. Wei Dong knew this was his moment to shine. He hit down on the D key–Flash! His Alistar flashed forward, reappearing on top of the Blitzcrank. He then raised his bulky, muscular arms up and with the power of his bovine body smashed down on the ground–Pulverize! The Blitzcrank was launched into the air, while the Alistar moved towards Bright High’s tower and then turned around. He dug his hooves in the ground and pushed off, charging forward and ramming his horns into the Blitzcrank, knocking him back–Headbutt!

Tang Bingyao had her Lucian aim his two guns and shoot a bolt of Piercing Light through the Blitzcrank! This activated his passive, Lightslinger. Whenever Lucian used an ability, his next attack would be a double-shot. The Blitzcrank’s Mana Barrier disappeared. His health dropped low. Lucian shot a missile in a star shape, marking the Blitzcrank. He followed up with another double-shot. And then another auto attack.

《An enemy has been slain!》

Lin Feng heard the voice announcer and quickly panned his camera to bot lane. The Jinx was hiding under her tower, while Tang Bingyao’s Lucian stood over the corpse of the Blitzcrank. He smiled and said, “Nice job at bot! Great kill, Tang Tang!”

“Thank Wei Dong. It was his Alistar play. I didn’t do much there,” Tang Bingyao replied.

Lin Feng wouldn’t let Tang Bingyao walk away without accepting the compliment. So he said, “Doesn’t matter! It was some beautiful teamplay! That’s what bot is all about! You guys are doing awesome together and that’s why you’re picking up those kills! Great job to the both of you!”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head, glancing over at Lin Feng. Maybe he has a point? She took a deep breath. Maybe he does. She smiled and nodded, “Mhm!”

✹

Zeng Rui, Support and captain of Shanghai High School’s esports team, was still watching the game between High School 13 and Bright High. There was some interest. Just a smidge. He had to take all his opponents seriously. Most of all those who were performing above and beyond how everyone expected them to. That was why High School 13 was important. One of the weakest teams last year, and this year they made it all the way to the main tournament. That wasn’t the difference of just one player. This could only be if the whole team had become better.

Beyond the last year, just over this last week, High School 13 had become a stronger team. This had Zeng Rui’s full attention right now. More specifically, it was High School 13’s bot lane and then mostly the Support. That Alistar engage, the Flash into Headbutt, was done perfectly. He’d waited for the right moment. Combined his skills accurately. Zeng Rui himself couldn’t have done it any better! But it wasn’t just this one play. There was something more. It was this Alistar’s entire play style that was a step up from only a week ago.

Zeng Rui looked away from the large monitor and towards the players sitting behind their computers. Towards the ad-carry and Support from High School 13. A girl and a guy. Their synergy is getting really good. They’ve improved so much in only a week. Ah, it doesn’t matter. It really didn’t matter. There was nothing for him to worry about. Yes, High School 13’s Botlaners were playing a great game. They were getting better every game it looked like. But they were still a far cry from himself and his ad-carry. There was no way they could get that good anytime soon.

“The others are good. But in the end, the biggest threat is still…” Zeng Rui shook his head, while turning towards High School 13’s Toplaner. His eyelids twitched. He bit on his lips. He didn’t want to say it. Or admit it. But. “…that thundering dumbass playing Jax.”

✹

There was no need for Lin Feng to play too seriously. He was just having fun. His Jax was fed. No one could stop him. He pushed out the minion wave in top lane, all the way towards Bright High’s inner tower. What he’d done so far to the Fiora still wasn’t enough. He’d make sure she wouldn’t get anything! You want the minions? He grinned. Come. I won’t attack you. Promise! He started laughing. “Hehehe.” I won’t attack you. Really. Just get some farm. It’s free! “Hehehe.” He leaned towards his screen, devious. Then his mouth opened into an even bigger grin. Oh oh! Yes! A few more steps! “Hehehe.” Since you’re here already, how about having a taste of my lamppost!

The Fiora stepped forward. Lin Feng had his Jax Leap Strike onto her. He then whacked her with his lamppost. “Oh?” Lin Feng mumbled. “So it’s a bait. Alright.” He shrugged as he watched the Orianna walked out of the jungle, trying to cut his retreat off. But he wasn’t planning on retreating. He was Jax. “Come at me together! Try! See what happens!” He laughed, then pressed on his W key–Empower! His Jax had just hit the Fiora for a second time. The internal cooldown for his auto attack reset. His lamppost lit up. It was the third attack, which activated the passive from his ultimate, Grandmaster’s Might. A super empowered auto attack hit the Fiora. It knocked her to the ground and she couldn’t get back up.

《Dominating!》

That was Jax’s sixth kill. Zero deaths. But if it was up to Bright High, they’d do something about that. The Orianna used her ultimate skill–Command: Shockwave. Her Ball unleashed a shockwave, launching all enemy Champions towards it and dealing damage to them. In this case, that enemy was Jax. Lin Feng activated Counter Strike to mitigate some of the damage, but the crowd control aspect pulled him towards her. Not that he minded. Now he could kill her too. Except for the fact that at that very moment, another player from Bright High showed himself. Safeguarding out from the jungle was Lee Sin!

West Wind sat at the caster’s desk, leaning forward. Just a little closer to the large screen. “This is exciting! It looks like Bright High is putting everything on killing the Jax! They might actually do it here!”

Silent Reed nodded and added, “That Jax is going to have to run. Orianna and Lee Sin together is just too much damage. He’s far ahead, but those two have everything to kill him.”

The two commentators were spot on. When Lin Feng saw the Lee Sin, he dropped his immediate plan of killing Orianna and ran back up the top lane. He stuck close to the jungle wall. The Lee Sin hit him with a Sonic Wave. One he didn’t side step. His finger was on the D key, ready to press down. Ready to Flash. The Lee Sin activated the second half of his Q skill–Resonating Strike! He dashed towards the Jax. Lin Feng pressed down and exclaimed, “It’s not over yet!”

The Jax flashed over the jungle wall. The Lee Sin followed after him. Then he placed a ward back on the other side. The side where the Orianna was. The Orianna who was trying to rush towards him. He Leap Striked over the wall and onto the ward, finding himself right in front of the Orianna. He followed up with an auto attack, then used Empower to reset his auto and attacked again! The next auto attack triggered the bonus damage from Grandmaster’s Might! He swung down his lamppost, knocking the last bit of health out of the Orianna’s health bar.

《Double kill!》

A stunned silence washed over the crowd. Over the shoutcasters. Even over the Orianna player. All he could do was stare at his screen. It was grey. He was dead. That Jax… They’d ganked up on him. A 3vs1! He shouldn’t have gotten a single kill! They should’ve killed him! But here they were. Two deaths. And the Jax was still alive. He stared at his screen, dazed. M-my Orianna…

《First blood!》

There was a stunned silence in the crowd. Everyone had just watched Lin Feng Flash away from the Lee Sin and Fiora. But the game announcer didn’t lie. The next moment, the Jax was suddenly on top of the Fiora’s corpse. Silent Reed shook the people at the venue awake, “Wow! Beautiful! That was amazing! Jax picks up First Blood!”

Su Xue was the first in the crowd to react. She jumped to her feet and threw her fist up in the air. “GO LIN FENG! Hahaha! Nice! First blood!”

Zuo You looked at the large screen above the stage, wide-eyed. “Damn. That play was so sick. Like. Damn.”

However, it wasn’t over yet. Lee Sin was still alive and Jax had almost no health left. The Lee Sin was briefly caught off guard. He’d just spent all his skills and abilities on chasing down the Jax, only to see his own Toplaner dying. Still, there was one consolation. He was now between High School 13’s outer tower and the Jax. The Jax was maybe two attacks from death. This was his chance.

But then, a wild Rek’Sai appeared! She dug a tunnel and Unburrowed right underneath the Lee Sin! He was knocked Airborne. The Jax turned around and slammed down with his lamppost, while the Rek’Sai bit Lee Sin. Her teeth sunk into his skin and tore away his health. Then the Jax’s lamppost lit up. It was empowered. He thwacked the Lee Sin. Killed him.

《Double kill!》

“WOOOO!” West Wind shouted from behind the caster desk. “What a play! Jax did it! The Toplaner for High School 13 picked up the double kill! That was amazing!”

“Tell me about it!” Silent Reed said. She looked at Lin Feng sitting behind his computer. He looked as calm and relaxed as before the game. “That Jax just got a double kill and double buffs. The Fiora is screwed. I bet they’re having some not so fun talks in Bright High’s voice chat. Would be great if we could listen in.”

✹

Lin Feng pressed on the B key, recalling back to base. Then he leaned back in his chair and laughed, “Haha! That’s game. Fiora is useless now! Haha!” His Jax was 2/0/0 with double buffs, while Fiora was 0/1/0. She had the level and gold disadvantage. On top of that, Lin Feng’s Jax gained mana regen and cooldown reduction from the Blue Buff and burn damage from the Red Buff. This was literally a worst case scenario for the Fiora and Bright High.

Shanghai High School was also in the crowd today. They weren’t playing, but one of their rivals in Tonji Affiliated High did. Those games were quick and fast and Zeng Rui learned from them what he wanted to. But instead of going back home, he stuck around for the High School 13 series. He wanted more intel on that Support from last game. The one who was now playing in the top lane. He watched the gank. How the Lee Sin tried to make a play and how the Fiora screwed her team over. Idiot! Fool! You were one attack from dying. Why would you go in? Are you already inting? You knew that Jax still had his Q. He could leap to you whenever he wanted. You were practically asking to get killed…

After cursing the Fiora for being a mindless fool a little while longer, Zeng Rui turned his attention to the Jax. To High School 13’s Toplaner. The reflexes Lin Feng showed. His awareness. These were things no ordinary player had. This play wasn’t something a beginner could pull off. It wasn’t dumb luck, it was skill of the highest level. He gazed at Lin Feng, coldly. Like I thought. He was just messing around in Support. This guy, he’s a really dangerous Toplaner. We should be wary of him.

✹

Bright High had lost the top lane. The Fiora did come back. She tried. She really did. But there was nothing she could do to pull the lane back in her favour. Lin Feng wouldn’t give her the chance to. Whenever she approached a minion, he had his Jax Leap Strike on her and gave her a thwack with his lamppost. A simple combo that dealt a third of the Fiora’s health as damage. It didn’t matter if the Fiora used Riposte. She was immobile while it was active. Lin Feng just waited it out, standing right next to her. And then slammed an empowered lamppost in her face. All she could do was Lunge away and hide under her outer tower.

Lin Feng pushed hard into Bright High’s outer tower in top lane. The Fiora was barely safe hiding underneath it. Realistically, she wasn’t. Not if there came a gank. So Lee Sin is around, or coming. Lin Feng was fully prepared for this. He’d instructed Liu Yue to come to top lane and be ready for a countergank.

It took too long. The Lee Sin didn’t show himself and Liu Yue was just hiding in the tri brush right beneath the outer tower. The Fiora had almost no health. All Lin Feng and Liu Yue had to do was juggle the tower aggro, so as to not give away a kill. That wasn’t going to be hard either. The Rek’Sai dug a tunnel from the fog of war and Unburrowed right beneath the Fiora, knocking her Airborne. Lin Feng followed up with his Jax, jumping on her and thwacking her to death with an Empowered strike of his lamppost.

《You have slain an enemy!》

The Rek’Sai backed away immediately after delivering the knock up. She got out of tower aggro in the exact moment after Lin Feng dealt the killing blow. This meant that the aggro wouldn’t shift to Lin Feng’s Jax. They both got out alive after picking up the kill. To add insult to injury, the Lee Sin walked through top lane to the outer tower. He showed himself as the Fiora died, then turned around and ran away. High School 13 had picked up a kill and wasted the Lee Sin’s time! It was another win-win!

Behind the caster desk, West Wind and Silent Reed were watching the large screen. High School 13’s Toplaner and Jungler were taking top tower after picking up a kill, while the Lee Sin was hovering in the back. Just walking back and forth, looking for a way in but not finding one. West Wind shook his head and said, “Is that Fiora really Diamond 2? It doesn’t look like it to me. And that Lee Sin. What is he doing there?” He grabbed his notepad and flipped through the information on Bright High. His finger traced what was written down about the Toplaner. “Diamond 2, yeah. That’s what they claim he is…”

West Wind’s analysis wasn’t quite fair. Anyone would struggle against a double buff and double kill Jax. He was a walking calamity. The Fiora player was angry. Infuriated! Enraged! He wanted to grab his monitor and throw it into the crowd! From the moment he walked into lane, he was at a disadvantage. The Jax had started on the Raptor Camp. He hadn’t. It only got worse. The Jax snowballed. And now all he could do was sit under his tower and hope the Jax would show him some mercy.

Lin Feng was merciful. Or rather, he understood there wasn’t much more he could take from the Fiora. She was out of the game. It would take more than a little farm for her to get back into it. He could pressure her, and that would surely help his team push for a win, but there was something better he could do. There was a mid lane that was in full swing. He would go there and throw his weight around!

✹

At 5:40 minutes, Lin Feng pushed the minion wave in top lane towards Bright High’s inner tower. Then he had his Jax move down to the mid lane through the jungle. Past the Krugs. The Red Buff Camp. The Raptor Camp. There he stopped. The Raptor Camp was separated from the midlane by a wall of trees. Lin Feng had his Jax attack the raptors twice, charging up for the passive proc from his ultimate–Grandmaster’s Might! A powerful third auto attack!

Yang Fan in mid lane knew Lin Feng was coming, thanks to a combination of constant pings and instructions over voice chat. He had his Syndra push the minion wave towards Bright High’s outer tower, doing everything to make it obvious a gank was coming. Bright High’s Orianna picked up on it. She ran back to her outer tower. Back to safety. But Yang Fan kept pushing, staying near the bottom half of the lane. Instinctively, the Orianna moved to the other side. The top side. Towards the wall of trees connecting mid lane to the Raptor Camp.

The people in the crowd, other contestants, analysts, fans, everyone wanted to look away. The Jax was sitting there in the Raptor Camp, waiting. He already had his Counter Strike active. This was going to be a dive. This wasn’t going to be pretty for Bright High. Some people turned their heads away, while others moved their hands to their forehead, blocking their vision of the screen. What was about to happen was a tragedy.

Lin Feng grinned. The Orianna was in range. He moved his mouse over her and then pressed on the Q key–Leap Strike! His Jax jumped over the wall of trees and onto the Orianna! He followed up by activating the second half of Counter Strike, stunning the Orianna! Then he Empowered his lamppost. It lit up as the Jax swung it down onto the Orianna.

The stun was short and the Orianna broke free before the Jax could do anything more. She flashed away. Away towards her tower, slightly back into lane. Towards Yang Fan’s Syndra. That was the wrong move. The Syndra placed a Dark Sphere on the ground, dealing magic damage to the Orianna. Then, she pushed the Dark Sphere back, doing the same to the Orianna and stunned her–Scatter the Weak!

The Orianna was served on a golden platter to Lin Feng’s Jax. Yang Fan’s Syndra had pushed her right back to him. Lin Feng didn’t hesitate. He hit her with two auto attacks. Then. Empower was back off cooldown. The passive from his ultimate would proc on his next attack. A combination of terrifying damage! The lamppost lit up. The Jax raised it over his shoulder. He swung it like a bat, hitting a homerun.

《Rampage!》

The cheers of the crowd rang out in the background. The shoutcasters were screaming his name. And Lin Feng smiled and nodded. Perfect. That Flash let me cancel tower aggro for a moment. Really nice of her. His Jax was now 4/0/0. It was hard to see anyone manage to stop him this game. He looked over at Yang Fan and gave him a thumbs up. Then he grabbed his microphone and placed it close to his mouth. “I’m really good at Jax too! Hehe.”

Summoner’s Rift. A duel between two of the strongest duelists in the game. Jax and Fiora. Lin Feng got the early level advantage. He pushed the Fiora out of lane. And the Fiora let it happen. She went back a little, waiting for another minion to die. Then she would also be Level 2. The advantage would be gone. A moment, and then the minion died. Everything was back to even. The Fiora dashed back in.

“Let me at ‘em!” Lin Feng shouted from behind his computer, jumpscaring Liu Yue sitting next to him. But he didn’t notice. Nor would he care. His entire focus was on the game, emulating his Jax only heightening his senses. The Fiora dashed towards him, so he Leap Striked at her! Then he pressed the E key–Counter Strike! His Jax spun his lamppost in the air, a transparent mantle enveloping him. He now dodged every basic attack, all the while auto attacking the Fiora.

Counter Strike was a crowd control skill. So the Fiora used Riposte! She leaned back, brandishing her Rapier, and took aim. But Lin Feng knew it was coming. He’d been waiting for it. He had his Jax walk out of the direction the Fiora was aiming in and then waited out the 0.75s duration of Riposte. The counter by the Fiora failed. Now it was his time to shine.! He moved in on the Fiora again and activated the second part of Counter Strike.

The Fiora Lunged away. A last ditch effort. But she was too late. The lamppost hit her in the face. She was stunned. All she managed to do was create a little distance. To make it a little more difficult for the Jax to kill her straight away.

“WOOOOO!” Silent Reed exclaimed from behind the caster’s desk. She turned to West Wind and said, “They’re really going at it in top lane!”

West Wind nodded and said, “Yeah, that Jax is playing it really well. The Fiora isn’t half bad either. These are some high Diamond level plays!” He looked back at the screen, which was still focused on top lane. It was the only lane with anything interesting happening. “But look at their health bars. Jax got out on top here.”

✹

The invincible Jax! Grandmaster at Arms! He was one of Lin Feng’s favourite Toplaners. One of few. There was also Riven, which he’d played in the qualifiers of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Then there was Olaf. A simple man who knew how to throw an axe and run across the map! Technically there was one more Champion Lin Feng enjoyed playing. Though this Champion didn’t really count. He could barely be considered a Champion. It was the spin to win legend. The master of nothing and joy of all! GAREN! A man and his sword, running across the Rift, being little more than a tanky nuisance.

Jax was a simple Champion. His skills were straightforward and there was nothing really special about him. That was, for the average player. But to become a good Jax player. Truly good. That wasn’t so simple. It took a lot of skill and experience to make use of all the tricks. Of all the little things that made Jax such a powerful Champion.

To truly understand the power of a Jax, getting to know his skills and how they worked together was the first step. Take his passive. Relentless Assault granted bonus attack speed every hit up to eight stacks. At eight stacks, which wasn’t hard to get to, Jax could attack three times in the time his opponent could only get two auto attacks off. Well. That was, assuming he didn’t use any of his skills. Empower. A skill that reset his auto attacks and empowered them and had an incredibly short cooldown. That brought him to four attacks when his opponent could only attack him twice.

But wait, there was more! There was Leap Strike! Leap Strike and Empower could be used together. The power of the two skills were stackable! This gave rise to an easy Jax trick. Activate Empower, then Leap Strike in and auto attack once before running away again. It didn’t sound like much, but the damage was surprisingly high! So high that the lane opponent would have to respect it and play around it.

But wait, there was more! Before hitting Level 6, Jax was just a Champion. Not a Grandmaster quite yet. At Level 6, he was promoted. The Grandmaster’s Might! It was an ultimate skill that passively empowered his every third basic attack. This could also be combined with Leap Strike and Empower! His damage would go through the roof! It was almost ridiculous! And if he activated it, he gained bonus armor and magic resistance. That was why he was invincible!

But wait, there was more! Jax also had Counter Strike. While dealing all this damage, he could dodge every attack sent his way! If he wasn’t permanently locked down, there was almost nothing that could stop him! He was a real menace of the rift!

Crude and simple to the layman, but a Champion that had far more potential than many players realized. This was just one reason why Lin Feng greatly enjoyed playing Jax. It also helped that with Leap Strike, Jax had some real mobility. So even when things weren’t going great for him, it was still relatively easy to get away.

As for why Lin Feng enjoyed playing Olaf, that was a little of the same. But then also a lot not. While Jax had a lot of small tricks that could make a great difference, Olaf was just a man with an axe. Lin Feng liked the playstyle. No thinking, just running. Throw an axe. Run towards the axe. Pick up the axe. Throw the axe. Run towards the axe. Pick up the axe. Rinse and repeat. Olaf was special in that way.

✹

Su Xue sat on the edge of her chair, biting on her nails. Her eyes were on the large screen above the stage. It was still focused on top lane. The Jax and Fiora were going at it, using their skills to grab any kind of advantage. Their health bars dropped and it looked like it could go either way. To Su Xue, it even looked like it was going the Fiora’s way. The Jax’s health was too low. One mistake. One tiny mistake and Lin Feng would give the lane away to the Fiora. His promise of carrying the game looked far away.

Su Xue tugged on Zuo You’s arm, her eyes never leaving the large screen above the stage, and said in a voice fraught with worry, “H-hey, h-hey… Don’t you think he’s being too aggressive? His health is so low… I-if he’s not careful, that Fiora will kill him!”

Zuo You pulled her arm free and shook her head. “Well, pulling my arm off won’t help him…” She looked at her friend and smiled, friendly. “Jax doesn’t have much health left, right? But look at the Fiora! She is as good as dead! All Lin Feng needs to do is hit her a few more times!”

On the large screen, the two women saw how Lin Feng leaped onto the Fiora and hit her with an auto attack. The Fiora wouldn’t have any of it. She dashed at the Jax and struck out with her rapier–Lunge! She followed up with an auto attack. But her health was too low. She didn’t deal enough damage. If she stayed any longer, the Jax would kill her, and not the other way around. So she flashed away, retreating under her outer tower.

“Nice!” Su Xue cheered, jumping up from her chair. Then she slumped back down. “Damn.” She shook her head and looked at Zuo You. “Look at that Fiora’s health. That could’ve been first blood! All Lin Feng needed was Level 3. If he’d had his W[mfn]Empower[/mfn], he would’ve gotten the kill…”

✹

Lin Feng wasn’t at all concerned about the Fiora or his own health bar. He didn’t try to chase after her when she flashed away and instead chose to go back to the minion wave and continue last hitting them. That was where the money was at. Kill or no kill, this situation was a win for Lin Feng. He got some time to free farm experience and gold while the Fiora had to hide underneath her tower or even recall back to base. It didn’t take him long to use this advantage to hit Level 3 first.

West Wind turned to Silent Reed at the caster desk and said, “This Jax, man, he’s got a good head on his shoulders. Many players would’ve gotten greedy there and flashed in for the kill. But that Fiora still had Riposte. So killing her was impossible. He would’ve given away a kill instead. Good call to focus on the minions instead.”

Silent Reed smiled, a development happening on the large screen. She said, “You know. Both of them are at low health. If only a Jungler were to show up… Hey! Look! Two Junglers are making their ways up top! Hehe!”

West Wind looked back at the large screen, at the Rek’Sai and Lee Sin rushing top. The Lee Sin was almost there. The Rek’Sai was still a ways away. “Uh oh! Jax is in danger! Can he make it out of this alive? Let’s see!”

In the crowd, Su Xue couldn’t control her nerves anymore. She pinched hard in Zuo You’s arm and shouted, “No no NO! Lin Feng! Oh no! He has no ward! He doesn’t know! We have to tell him he’s in trouble! We have to! Lin Feng, watch out!”

“Ai!” Zuo You yelped, grabbing Su Xue’s hand and pulling it off her arm. Then she turned back to the game, for the first time showing some concern towards Lin Feng. She bit on her lips and then cursed, “This stupid kid! How dumb is he? All he needed to do was place one ward! Now that Fiora is going to turn on him and get the kill…”

✹

Lin Feng was farming his minions, oblivious to the approaching danger. Until Liu Yue shouted into the voice chat, “LIN FENG! WATCH OUT! The Lee is coming for you! I’m right behind him! But he’s got a bit on me!” Lin Feng glanced down at the map and noticed the fog of war blocking his vision. Oh. Right. I forgot. Oh well, doesn’t matter. Haha…

The Lee Sin ran into top lane from the river entrance. He placed a ward in front of him and dashed towards it–Safeguard! Then he threw out a Sonic Wave, searching for a target to dash towards. But Jax wasn’t that easily killed. Lin Feng Flashed the Sonic Wave, as the discordant wave of sound struck a minion behind him. It was all the Lee Sin needed. Another gap closer towards the Jax. He activated the second half of his skill–Resonant Strike–and dashed towards the minion. He arrived right next to the Jax. All the while, the Fiora left the safety of her tower and charged back into lane.

Lin Feng’s Jax reappeared. The Lee Sin was too far away. The Fiora was even further away. He could get out! Until a flash of light appeared. Then the Lee Sin arrived right next to him. The Lee Sin raised his arm and slammed it down on the ground–Crippling Strike! Behind him, the Fiora Lunged forward, trying to close the gap again. This was his chance! He pressed on his Q key. His Jax Leap Striked on the Fiora!

“THE TURN AROUND!” West Wind cried out behind the caster desk. “He’s going to get the kill! He’s going to do it! WOOOO!”

Lin Feng pressed down on his W key–Empower! His Jax’s lamppost lit up. Its next attack would deal frightening damage. Its next attack would kill the Fiora. If it landed. He moved his arms back, his hands tightly wrapped around the weapon, and then swung his thick and sturdy lamppost down. Down onto the Fiora.

Tap tap… “Hello? Excuse me?” The host was the most expensive low budget one. But he did grab the crowd’s attention. Everyone stared at him as a wave of silence washed over the venue, with only the sounds of shoppers in the background. “What an exciting two games! Tonji Affiliated High beat High School 4 in their best of three series with a score of two wins to zero losses! They’re through to the semifinals. I’m excited to see how far they’ll make it.” He gauged the response from the crowd, cautiously optimistic. A deep breath to calm the nerves. He blew out. Into the microphone. The sound amplified and blasted through the speakers, followed by a loud beep. Now he did have everyone’s full attention, and annoyance. “S-sorry! Uh, next up! Next up is the series between Bright High and High School 13! Two teams with great qualifiers! Let’s give them a warm welcome!”

The crowd started cheering as the two teams walked up on stage. So too Su Xue. Her eyes were laser focused on High School 13’s team. She spotted Lin Feng and jumped to her feet. Waving her hands above her she yelled, “Lin Feng! Over here! I’m over here! Do your best! You can do it!”

498 pairs of eyes turned to Su Xue. There were more than a few guys in the crowd. Most everyone here was a guy. They looked at Su Xue. They stared at her and started smiling. There was a twinkle in their eyes as they forgot the stage and the teams playing. And that was the wrong thing to do. Zuo You thought so, at least. She glared at every guy ogling Su Xue and herself and locked in on the most disturbing. The most lecherous. The biggest perverts. 

“What are you looking at!” 

“Never seen a pretty girl before?” 

“Is this the first time getting out of your mom’s basement?” 

“You wanna keep those eyes? Doesn’t look like it!” 

“You disgusting shit!”

Zuo You got her message across. The guys that got called out shriveled back into their seats, their faces burning a deep red. A girl had talked to them! An actual girl had talked to them! Zuo You shook her head, a shiver running up her body. “Yuck!” She then leaned towards Su Xue and whispered into her friend’s ear, “Hey hey, could you please not do that again? Did you see those disgusting guys looking at us? Yuck!”

“Huh? Why do you care? We’re here to cheer Lin Feng on. Why shouldn’t I cheer for him?” Su Xue asked, bewildered. She didn’t even notice the gazes, not like Zuo You had. Her eyes were on the stage, on Lin Feng and his teammates walking up to their computers. She clenched her fist and pumped the air. “Lin Feng! Lin Feng! You can do it! Show them how good you are!”

The subject of Su Xue’s attention, Lin Feng, turned around and looked up into the crowd. It wasn’t hard to find Su Xue. Everyone was looking at her. His face lit up and he said to his teammates, “Oh, she’s here! Look, over there!” He then gave Su Xue a thumbs up and shouted, “Don’t worry! I’ve got this game in the bag!”

Zuo You lowered her head and grabbed her hair, shaking. “My god. Are you sure you two aren’t family? Maybe one of those separated at birth cases?”

✹

Some staff members for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament had gathered below the stage to watch the games. Their job was to get everything ready for the game, not to watch over the matches. Right now, they could kick back for a bit. Until the game ended. The girl in the crowd cheering and the boy on stage replying to her. They saw it happen and started laughing amongst each other. 

“Oh wow, that kid sure is confident, haha!” 

“He is the man of steel, nerves! Hahahaha!” 

“That kid is pretty full of himself. I wonder if he’s got any skill…” 

“Way more fun if he sucks! Hehe. He’ll just disappear in shame then. Can you imagine?”

Chu Fang looked at the members of his staff around him and smiled. The preparations were all going well, and his subordinates were having fun. More importantly, the contestants were also having fun. It was great to see kids at this age have that unbridled confidence in themselves. A rare quality. He looked at the young man on High School 13’s team. Huh? He scrunched up his face and looked again. This time a little more closely. Where do I know him from? He looks so familiar. He even sounds… His face shook. His whole body shook. His eyes went wide and he was now staring at the young player. “No way…” he muttered. “This can’t be. I must be seeing things. Why would he… No. Probably just sounds and looks and acts and does everything the same… Right?”

✹

The Shanghai 16 School Tournament had its very own commentator desk, similar to the official Chinese broadcast for Worlds. The Shanghai Esports Association had invited two guest commentators to cast the games. Both of them had achieved some online fame and as a result were regularly invited for semi-professional tournaments like this one. They sat behind their commentator desk, watching the venue and the games.

West Wind was a somewhat famous streamer. Someone who could really put on a show. He noticed the commotion in the crowd—it was hard to miss—and laughed, “Haha! What a lucky kid! He seems to be the, hmm… player for High School 13! What do you think, Silent Reed? Love interest or big sister?”

Silent Reed was the second guest commentator. She worked for the Breaking Esports media company and sometimes dabbled in casting competitive games. A real busy bee. She looked at the woman in the crowd and then winked at West Wind. “I don’t know, West. She’s a looker though. Whoever gets to date her is one lucky guy!”

“That player looks real confident too.” West Wind looked towards the players from High School 13. Towards Lin Feng. Then he looked over his notes before turning back to Silent Reed. “Looks like his name is Lin Feng. I think? Don’t hold me to that! But, haha, he does not look one bit worried. Did you just see him give her the thumbs up? What a hero! I’m already loving him! Haha! I want to see him play!”

“This might become a really interesting series!” Silent Reed said, excited. She pointed down at her notepad and continued, “High School 13 somehow beat Tonji in the qualifiers! We just saw how good Tonji is. That’s kind of hard to imagine, right? But it really says so. Right here!” She paused a moment for dramatic effect. Then she introduced the other team. “Then we got Bright High. They made it all the way to the Round of 16 last year and were strong again in the qualifiers this year! We might have a real match on our hands here!”

“Wow! Really?” West Wind exclaimed. “From the sound of it, these are two very strong teams! I’m excited to see what this series will bring us!”

The two commentators turned to the stage and fell silent, taking a moment to observe both teams. The players from High School 13 and Bright High had already taken their places behind the computers. Everything was set. The large screen above the stage lit up and showed Champion Select. West Wind was the first of the two to pull his gaze away from the stage and back to his work. “Well, it looks like we’re in Champion Select already. This game is about to get underway. I hope everyone here is as excited as I am to see who’s going to win this!”

✹

Lin Feng sat back in his chair and looked at his teammates sitting next to him. An all too familiar sight. He cracked his knuckles and said, “Do your best, guys. Don’t worry about the rest. I’ll carry this game from top lane.” He then let his teammates choose the Champions they wanted to play, rather than telling them what to do.

High School 13 versus Bright High
Top lane: Jax versus Fiora
Jungle: Rek’Sai versus Lee Sin
Mid lane: Syndra versus Orianna
AD-carry: Lucian versus Jinx
Support: Alistar versus Blitzcrank

West Wind looked at the large screen above the stage. At the Champion portraits in the loading screen. He clicked his tongue and said, “Jax versus Fiora, huh? That should be a fun battle to watch. I’m predicting non stop action up in top lane!”

Jax wasn’t what he’d been a few patches ago, but he was still a very strong Champion. A true dueling master! But Fiora was the Queen of Dueling and held a reputation for being invincible in the late game. An unstoppable force meets an immovable object! It could go either way. Or neither. It all came down to skill. Fiora had Riposte which allowed her to block all crowd control and even stun any Champion trying to stun or root or bind or do anything to her! Then there was Jax with his Counter Strike. He would swing his lamppost above his head, dodging all attacks. Anyone in range when he stopped would be knocked into a stun. A game of cat and mouse, Jax and Fiora both being the cat and the mouse, depending on the situation.

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

High School 13 and Bright High loaded into the game. Nine players didn’t feel the need for any fancy tricks. They wanted to play their best game. The best way they knew how. But Lin Feng had something a little different in mind. Instead of going top lane, he went to the Raptros Camp in his bottom side jungle. A long distance away from top lane. The jungle monsters spawned and he started attacking the wraiths. All the while, the Fiora was in top lane, waiting for the minions to arrive.

At the caster desk, West Wind nodded, impressed. “This Jax knows a trick. Nice. He’ll clear the Raptors Camp, recall back to base to buy health potions and then teleport up to top lane. It’ll give him a slight experience advantage that should see him hit Level 2 first.”

“Yeah! Nice play by the Jax,” Silent Reed agreed. “Those health potions especially will be so important. It just means he can play a little more aggressive. He has more health! If he plays this right, he can pull quite the advantage from this trick.”

That was exactly what happened. Lin Feng cleared the Raptors Camp, then recalled back to base. He bought a few health potions and then teleported to one of his minions already in top lane. He was only one minion away from hitting Level 2. So when he appeared in the middle of a pack of low health minions, his next move was obvious. One auto attack. A big smile on Lin Feng’s face. “Let’s go! Fight me Fiora! Fight me!”

“COME ON! HURRY UP! WE’RE RUNNING! LATE!”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry! We still got a few more minutes until it’s 6. We can still make it…”

“That’s it. Lin Feng, get your ass over here. Someone grab him! If he stops in front of one more shop, so help me God!”

Ren Rou led High School 13’s esports team up the seat and out of the subway station. She glanced behind her, checking everyone was there and keeping an eye on Lin Feng. Ouyang had grabbed his friend by the arm and was dragging him along. The electronics mall, where the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was being held, was only a small distance from the subway station, though Lin Feng made it look a lot further. It was almost 6 PM when they finally arrived at the entrance.

“Finally! Thank God! Alright. Are we all here? Lin Feng, obviously. Liu Yue, Chen Ze, Wei Dong, stinky Ouyang, Yang Fan, Tang Tang. Ok, good. Looks like we’re all good to go! Let’s go check in!”

Ren Rou pushed her way through the crowd of people, shoving everyone aside with force. People turned around, confused, called out to her for being rude but she didn’t care. Another two minutes and they’d be officially late. Worst of all. It was all Ouyang’s fault. This was all on Ouyang. If everything had gone according to plan, they would’ve been here half an hour ago. Now, because of Ouyang, they were almost missing the event! She cursed and shouted, “Shitty! Stinky! Stupid Ouyang! It’s all your fault! Why do you have to be such an idiot? Now we all have to run because of you! You stupid. Stinking. Piece of… Argh! You made us almost come late!”

Ouyang pushed through the crowd and walked up next to Ren Rou. He lightly tapped her shoulder and awkwardly smiled. “Come on, Rou Rou. Don’t be mad. Didn’t we make it? Look, we’re here. Haha.”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Ren Rou erupted. She stared at him. Glared at him. “What if we didn’t make it in time? What if the subway had a few minutes delay? Huh? Then what? Would you have taken responsibility?”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and shook his head. He grabbed Ouyang by the arm and pulled him over. “But damn dude, it really was your fault this time. You knew we had to go here today. How could you let something like that happen?”

Ouyang was the reason they were late. By more than half an hour. The original plan was to go to the venue at 4:30 PM, right after the dismissal bell. They would’ve been at the electronics mall by 5:10 PM. Now it was almost 6 PM. Their last class was English. Ouyang had turned in his homework at the start of the class, as was usual. During the class, the teacher went over it while the students were working on an assignment. It went well at first. But then the irritated sounds of a pen crossing things out sounded out through the classroom. Once. Twice. It kept going on for several minutes. Then the teacher had had enough. She looked up over the rim of her glasses and said, sternly, “Ouyang! What is this? You made this at home. You have the internet. Students to ask questions to. You could’ve sent me an email. How can you possibly have every single question wrong?”

Ouyang had tried to explain himself. A poor excuse about how he didn’t really understand the questions and how English was a really difficult subject, hiding the fact he’d copied Lin Feng’s homework. Well, he’d tried anyway. Just that what he copied wasn’t the homework for today, but for last week. The teacher spotted it. She breathed in and then out. In, and out. Letting her annoyance with the worst student in class settle down. Then she looked at him and said, “You’re staying after class. We’re going to have a chat about this.”

Chen Ze walked a few steps behind Ouyang and Yang Fan. He shook his head as he listened in on the conversation between the two. “Man. How do you fail at copying answers? That’s a new low. Even for you.”

Lin Feng laughed, carefree as ever. “It’s fine guys! Haha. It was kind of funny, right? And we made it! We’re here and we still got at least 60 seconds to spare!”

Wei Dong nodded, hesitantly. “I’m just happy we’re in the second group. We’d have been screwed if we had to play in the first round.”

“Quit your yapping! We still have to check in! Let’s gooo!” Ren Rou urged.

✹

When High School 13’s esports team finally entered the venue, the first two teams were already up on stage. The big screen above them was still dark, so they weren’t in Champion Select yet. Most likely, they were sticking in their own keyboards and doing last minute checks on their microphones and settings. A large crowd had gathered, many of whom were shoppers just passing by.

The large screen above the stage lit up. The League of Legends logo played on the screen, followed by the full bracket for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Then the screen zoomed in to the top left of the bracket. It zoomed in on the first match of the Round of 16. One team was a familiar name to the players from High School 13’s esports team.

Tonji Affiliated High versus High School 4

Liu Yue grabbed Lin Feng by the shoulder and pointed at the screen. “Hey, look guys! Tonji is playing in the first match!”

Yang Fan looked up at the screen. “Hmm.” He adjusted his glasses and then said, “If I’m not mistaken, High School 4 made it to this stage of the competition last year too. But Tonji is the better team. From what I heard, High School 4 hasn’t gotten any better. This should be an easy win for Tonji. Seems like they’ll be through to the quarters.”

“Haha! Who cares about Tonji anyways? We kicked their asses black and blue!” Ouyang laughed.

Ren Rou got back from checking in. She was just in time to hear Ouyang laugh about Tonji Affiliated High. Wasn’t that ad-carry from Tonji… She turned to the stage, where the players from Tonji Affiliated High were getting ready for Champion Select. Yeah. Hehe. That’s him. She nudged Tang Bingyao and teased, “Hey, Tang Tang. Look, it’s that ad-carry from Tonji. You should go up and say hi to him.”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head, looking from Ren Rou to the ad-carry from Tonji. Then she shook her head and said, “No thanks, not interested.”

Wei Dong snorted and laughed. “Go do it! Haha! He’ll run away again and lose Tonji the game. Hahahah! She really got him good last time! Hahaha!”

While the others were laughing about the Shyboi who’d ran away after Tang Bingyao asked him a very innocent question, something that’d looked equally absurd and hilarious, Lin Feng’s phone started buzzing. He took it out and saw it was a message from Su Xue.

Su Xue:「Heyyyyy」

Lin Feng:「Yo! What’s up?」

Su Xue:「You there yet? We’re sitting in the stands to the far end.」

Lin Feng:「We just got here! I think Ren Rou checked us in. Are there still empty seats? I’ll come find you.」

Su Xue:「No. It’s full. People are standing around and all. Don’t bother. Doubt you’d even get through the crowd. You’re playing in the next game, right? Focus on that with your friends! We’ll be cheering you on when you go up on stage!」

Lin Feng:「Thanks! We’ll win this game! I’ll make it awesome!」

“Yo, Lin Feng. Lin Feng!” Liu Yue said, trying to get his friend’s attention. When Lin Feng looked up from his phone, Liu Yue asked, “Who were you texting just now? Tang Tang is right here.”

Ouyang felt his Ouyang Senses tingle. He ran up to Lin Feng and threw his arm around him. Then he leaned in close and looked at Lin Feng’s phone, getting a glimpse before Lin Feng put it away. “Su Xue! It said Su Xue! I saw it! Wait. Wasn’t that the girl you’re living with?” Ouyang’s eyes went wide and round. Su Xue. After Lin Feng had told him about the stream, he’d looked her up. Su Xue. He started smiling and said, “I checked her out on Huya the other day! She’s hot as hell! You’re actually living with her! Nggh! It’s so unfair! You lucky son of a bitch!”

The other guys, all four of them, nodded. Su Xue was hot. They’d seen it with their own eyes. This was the wrong thing to do. They could feel the hair on their backs stand on end. A terrifying gaze landed on them. Ren Rou. The club Prez. She looked at them, one at a time, and curled her lips in disgust. “Ughh. You guys make me want to puke! Simping over girl streamers… You guys have a fucking problem! What’s stopping you from interacting with a real girl in the real world? We have Tang Tang right here! She’s miles better than any of those stupid internet thots! I swear. If Tang Tang tried streaming, she’d become the most famous one out there! EASY!”

Ouyang chuckled. He considered himself somewhat of an expert on the subject. He licked his finger and slicked his hair. “Don’t be so sure about that, Rou Rou. These female streamers are a genre of their own. That Su Xue, right? She’s hella hot, but only a small streamer in the genre. There are others many times more popular. It takes real hard work and dedication!” He then turned to Tang Bingyao and continued, “I don’t want to tell you that you can’t. But it’s really hard. I’m not sure you have what it takes. You could still stream of course! You’re really good at the game! I’m sure many people would come and watch just to see your high ELO gameplays!”

Ren Rou looked at Ouyang, increasingly incredulous at his words. “What the fuck is wrong with you? GROSS! ALL YOU BOYS DO IS WATCH THOSE STREAMERS WITH YOUR HANDS DOWN YOUR PANTS! STUPID PERVERTS!”

Tang Bingyao looked at Ouyang and Ren Rou who were screaming at each other, their faces almost touching, the spit firing off from their lips. Then Ren Rou had had enough. She moved her arm back, flattened her hand, and then struck Ouyang in the face. His scream silenced the entire venue for a moment. But Tang Bingyao wasn’t really paying attention to this. Streamers made money. She liked money. So she figured that streaming might be something for her. She looked down at her chest. Maybe if I use a push up bra? She shook her head. It wouldn’t be enough to compete with those kinds of streamers. Hmm. I can’t do that for now. Maybe later. I’d have to rely on my game skills first.

✹

The Round of 16 of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament would be played over four days. Two rounds were played on each day. The format was a best of three series. Just like the previous round. Tonji Affiliated High was well accustomed to this format. They knew the importance of winning the first game and getting off to a good start. They claimed the win, fast and easy, then moved into the second game. Momentum was really important. They went into the second game with the focus and conviction that they could win, and within 10 minutes they’d pulled open such a big lead that it was hard not to win it.

Chu Fang leaned forward in his chair and watched the game with great attention. These were the most important moments of his career. If he found a talent, his year was made. If he didn’t. Well, then not so much. He nodded, slowly, then mumbled, “As expected. Tonji have a great team. Two Masters is enough for them to win this match. But it’s not enough. It’s just not enough…”

It was incredibly difficult to find the diamond in the rough amongst these high schoolers. But there was always one. There had to be! It was just that the students were in high school for several years, so the teams didn’t change all that much from one year to the next. Tonji Affiliated High was almost a copy from last year, as was High School 4. Chu Fang couldn’t just look at the ranked ladder for talent either. That was just one aspect of skill, and if someone truly talented showed themselves there, they’d be recruited before he’d ever find them.

Chu Fang’s demands for talents were really steep too. Challengers. That was what he was looking for. Preferably those who ranked in the Top 30 consistently. Even better if they did that on the Ionia server! On top of that. They also needed to be great team players. If they couldn’t lead a team, they weren’t worth his time. Then there was pressure. Someone who broke under pressure was no good. Not worth his time. Like this, the list of potential candidates dropped until there was almost no one left. There really was almost no one who caught his eye. So far, there were only Zeng Rui, the Support for Shanghai High School, and the ad-carry for Shanghai International.

It used to be so different… There used to be actual talent. Chu Fang shook his head as he thought back to the past. He entered the League of Legends scene in Season 1. He was just a regular staff member at the Shanghai Esports Association. For the most part, he was assisting the old vice president, Fang Hao, who was promoted to President a while back. They’d even gone to London together to watch Worlds. That was the last time he saw so many true talents together. If only we could get another year like that…

In Season 1, there wasn’t just the Korean kid. Rake, the God Emperor, actually had someone who could go toe-to-toe with him back then. A 15 years old from China. That kid was good. Real good. I bet he’s still just as good… “Ahh, such a waste.” Chu Fang sighed. That kid had disappeared. No one knew where he was now. They really needed to find someone with his level of talent.

The crowd cheered in the background. It sounded dull, but was loud enough to pull Chu Fang out of his thoughts. He looked up at the large screen. Tonji Affiliated High had won the second game and qualified for the quarterfinals. As was expected. He grabbed his clipboard and looked at the next matchup. “Bright High versus High School 13… Bright High made it to the Round of 16 last year. They should be alright. Oh! High School 13! Aren’t they the guys who beat Tonji in the first round of the qualifiers?” He looked up at the stage. The host grabbed a microphone. Maybe?

It was 5:45 PM on Monday. 15 minutes until the Shanghai 16 School Tournament started. The players were getting ready for their games, the organizers were taking care of the last-minute tasks, and the fans were getting more and more hyped as they packed into the Mall. Chu Fang had arranged for 500 seats, but there was still more space. Most of the seats were occupied, while there were more people walking by and stopping to look at what was going on. Among the crowd were two familiar faces.

“Come on! Come on!” Su Xue shouted, dragging Zuo You along with her. She searched around the arena for a place to sit. “There! There’s empty seats over there! Come!”

“Hey! Su Xue! Stop! You’re going too fast! What are we rushing for? Don’t we have another 15 minutes? I’m on high heels here! Lemme walk!” Zuo You shouted after her friend, who was already pushing through another group of people. She shook her head and grumbled, loud enough that only she could hear herself, “Why in the world did I let her drag me all the way out here for some stupid high school tournament? What’s so fun about this? Stupid high schoolers.”

Su Xue walked by some people, their gazes catching her attention. She looked away, but trailed a finger through her hair. Zuo You followed a step behind, fire just about blazing from her eyes. Fire as hot as her hair was red. Her eyebrows were permanently arched down to the center. But that didn’t stop the gazes. She saw them everywhere. They were everywhere. She tried shooing them away, cursing them, but the hint was not received. One guy she passed even left his arm hanging behind him, just a little out of place. She slapped it away and shouted, “Hey! Get off of me!” Then grumbled, “Fucking perverts.”

The seats Su Xue had her eyes on were almost on the other side of the hall. The two girls pushed through the crowd to get to them. A sea mostly made up of guys. There were more than a few guys in the hall who purposely slowed down or sped up, just to be within an uncomfortable proximity of the two women. They leered and sniffed, hoping to catch a whiff of the fading notes of perfume. They were creepy. They were disgusting. More than anything, they were disturbing and made the girls feel uncomfortable. All Su Xue and Zuo You wanted to do was go to a tournament and cheer for their friend. They didn’t come here to get harassed by strangers. By these creeps. But that was exactly what was happening. Hands touched constantly brushed across areas that shouldn’t be touched. No one seemed to take the hints Zuo You almost screamed through the hall. 

“Hey, fuck off! What are you squeezing in for?” 

“You want me to break your hand and nose? 

“You take one step closer, and I’m reporting you to the police!” 

“I’m not afraid to use these 7 inch stilettos. Come, try me. Let me stamp a hole in your foot!”

“Zuo You, Zuo You!” Su Xue stopped and looked at her friend, whose face was as red as her hair. “Is this really necessary? Let’s not make a scene. People are already staring at us. I just want to watch the games.”

“Hmpf! Why do you think they’re staring at us? These creeps need to stop it. This is sexual harassment! You should stand up for yourself a little more, Su Xue! You can’t let these guys just take advantage of you. If they try to touch you, you kick them in the balls! If they try anything funny, you hit them in the face and scream for the police!”

Su Xue shook her head and smiled. “Ah, come on. It’s not that bad! And you do look really good today! Your makeup compliments your outfit perfectly! And your hair, damn! And I love your heels! You have to tell me where you bought them!”

Zuo You curled her lips and said, “Oh shut it! I know you’re just trying to distract me! Any other time and I would’ve been happy. But right now? Absolutely not! I dress the way I dress because it makes me feel good. Because I want to be fashionable and pretty! For me! Not for the fantasies of these lonely fuckers! Besides… You know most of them aren’t even looking at me, right? They’re all looking at you. I’m the reason why they haven’t jumped on you yet…”

“What? No way! Look at me! I put on a big sweater and–”

“Quit playing stupid. You want a compliment?” Zuo You looked at her friend and waited for a brief moment before continuing, “Fine! You look good no matter what you wear, ok? A stupid sweater isn’t going to hide how beautiful you are. There, happy? Or do you want more? I can go on if you want…”

“Aww, that’s so nice of you!” Su Xue grinned and winked towards her friend. “Anyways, I’m here for Lin Feng. He and I are practically family, you know! If I look like a slob, what are his friends supposed to think of him? So I had to put a little extra effort in today!”

“Talking about that kid,” Zuo You said. Then she paused as she took a moment to look around the mall. “Where is he? We came all the way here for him and he doesn’t even have the common courtesy to come and say hi? Such an ungrateful little bastard!”

“Oh! I don’t think he’s here yet!” Su Xue said, still pushing her way towards the empty seats. “He’s coming by train together with his classmates. But they’re playing in the second round, so I think he’ll get here in a bit.”

“Second round?” Zuo You muttered. She squinted her eyes and asked, “So we’re going to watch random high schoolers in the first round?” The dots connected. She wasn’t happy. Profanities flowed from her lips, sounding frighteningly familiar to her. But they were already here. Might as well try and enjoy it. Stupid brat… They got to their chairs and sat down. She leaned back and clicked her tongue. “Who’d thought some high school League tourney would be this big? League is getting really popular lately.”

Su Xue nodded. “Why do you think I started streaming? It’s getting bigger everywhere! And these high school competitions are getting bigger every year. They’re even nearing the university level competitions! You know, I was reading an article the other day online. Apparently, the average rank of all semifinalists of this event last year was Diamond 1!”

“What? Are you serious?” Zuo You asked, stunned. Then she shook her head and said, “Damn. These zoomers… They’re really leaving us millennials behind. It’s all just because they started at an earlier age! How can we compete with that? Go back in time? Haha. Ha… Oh. Hey. If the average rank last year was Diamond 1, then what about this year? Will Lin Feng be ok, you think?”

“He sounded pretty confident. Told there was nothing for me to worry about,” Su Xue replied. Then she smiled and did the Lin Feng special. She clenched her fist and threw it in the air. “I believe in him!”

Zuo You shook her head, hopelessly. “You two have been hanging out together far too much. He’s starting to rub off on you…”

Su Xue grabbed her hand and put it back to her side, then asked, “Uh, really? You think so?”

✹

It was 5:50 PM. There were 10 more minutes until the start of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. In the backstage area, a member of staff ran up on Chu Fang and said, “Boss, we’re pretty much all set.”

Chu Fang nodded. “Thanks for the hard work. Can you tell me how many teams have checked in?”

“Nine. The two teams playing in the first round have checked in. They’re just waiting and are ready to go up on stage at any time. You just say the word,” the staff member reported. He then handed over a clipboard to Chu Fang. It was the bracket. Who would play who at what point in the tournament.

Chu Fang looked over the clipboard. There were three teams this year, just like last year, who looked clearly stronger than the rest. Tonji Affiliated High, Shanghai International, and Shanghai High School. They were placed in different sides of the bracket, so that they wouldn’t meet before the semifinals, or even finals. This was a little trick they had planned to make sure the most exciting matches were played in the semi finals and finals. There was nothing worse for a tournament organizer than seeing a title favourite go out in the Round of 16. The title contenders generally had a lot of fans and were much more likely to make the impressive plays. These were the teams they wanted to see it make all the way.

The staff member interrupted as Chu Fang was still looking through the brackets, “As you can see, we’re set for the same semis as last year.”

Chu Fang breathed in through his mouth and then let it all out. He was less than happy about this development. The top teams from last year were still mostly intact. This year they were expected to do the same, fight for the trophy. They were by far the strongest teams. And in that lay the problem. It wasn’t that they were strong that was the problem, Chu Fang was happy about that. The thing that worried him was that there were no new contenders. There was no other team who seemed ready for the challenge. It was just going to be another win for one of these big three  teams, and he wouldn’t get his hands on any real talent. This tournament was to scout talent and it didn’t look like he’d find any this year. None that he hadn’t found last year already, at least.

Take Zeng Rui. The Support for Shanghai High School was a real talent. Someone who could make it to the top of the professional scene and fight on the world stage. That was the kind of talent he wanted to find! They were people the Shanghai Esports Association wanted to invest in. But why can’t there be more? He sighed. Finding one was great and all. But it was hardly enough to pump flesh blood into the LPL. It was far from enough to create some real competition at the top. Why are we even going through all the effort for the 16 School Tournament and the Varsity Tournament if we’re not finding any talents? It feels like a waste of time.

Chu Fang shook his head empty. These thoughts were useless. I have to focus on what I do have power over. He looked over at the staff member, who still stood there waiting, and asked, “Any dark horses? Any team that looked a little better? Anything that might suggest some level of talent?”

“Hmm…” The staff member took the clipboard back from Chu Fang and scanned through the list of names. Then he read one of them. High School 13! “Oh! There actually is! I almost forgot. There was this team that got knocked out in the first preliminaries round last year, but they qualified for the main tournament this year. Even beat Tonji along the way. They could be interesting.”