High School 13’s esports team was full of energy. It didn’t matter who they had to play against in the qualifiers for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. They would beat everyone who came at them! They would welcome any and every challenge! With this mindset, they practiced the rest of the day until the sun set. They made the plays they were too afraid to make before, and endured Lin Feng’s biting criticism. All that mattered was that they got better, even if that meant getting yelled at by Lin Feng every now and then.

“Alright guys, that’s all for today. Let’s gather around,” Lin Feng said after the esports team had won another game. Once everyone huddled around him, he continued, “I really liked what I saw at the end there. You were all trying. It doesn’t matter that you don’t always succeed. You can’t always succeed. The important thing is that you try. So good job on that! Beyond that, you guys really need to keep working hard. Try and play a game or two tonight and I’ll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight guys!”

Everyone grabbed their stuff and left the NetCow Cafe. Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao waved the others goodbye and then started walking home together. The streets were quiet. Under the soft yellow glow of the street lights, Tang Bingyao hopped around the pavement tiles. She played a little game called ‘evade the cracks’. Her feet would occasionally land on a crack and she would lose her balance, rocking unsteadily before quickly stabilizing herself again.

Lin Feng followed half a step behind Tang Bingyao. He laughed as she hopped around and said, “You kind of look like Kalista, hopping around like that.”

Tang Bingyao spun around and looked up at Lin Feng while walking backwards. “That pep talk you gave today really worked. Everyone was super motivated by it.”

“Of course they were!” Lin Feng chuckled. “I’m really good at giving pep talks too!”

“That last part really made it. ‘You still have me’. It sounded really cool, and you even looked cool! You never look cool!” Tang Bingyao smiled. Then her expression turned serious again. She stopped walking and held her hand up to Lin Feng’s chest to stop him. “So, what about your old teammate? Are you going to help Roundy too?”

High School 13’s esports team had a support pillar in Lin Feng. When they started worrying, he would reassure them. When they started freaking out, he would slap some sense into them. And when they gave up and lost their motivation, he would help remind them why they were doing this. He was always there to help them, not just by being a good player or coach, but also by being a good friend. Tian Tian had none of this in KG. He didn’t have a teammate he could rely on. They were all mentally broken, just like him. And they expected him to be their mental support! He was supposed to be their pillar! But Tian Tian was no pillar. If anything, he needed the mental support more than anyone else in KG!

Lin Feng smiled. For the first time in days, when Fatty was mentioned, he didn’t hide. He balled his fist and looked Tang Bingyao right in the eyes. “Hehe. Don’t worry. I know how I can help him. I finally figured it out!”

✹

Lin Feng turned his key in the lock and opened the front door. He pushed the door open and yelled through the opening, “I’m home!”

“Sheesh! I get it, you’re back! Do you want a medal or something?” Su Xue snapped. She was wearing an apron and oven mitts as she came walking out of the kitchen with a large, piping-hot casserole dish. “Don’t be so noisy! And take your shoes off! We’re not animals!”

Su Xue put the casserole dish down on the dining table, and then wiped the sweat from her forehead. Dinner was ready. The bowls and chopsticks were set on the table, together with a wide variety of food. She had really worked hard on it over the last couple of hours. But it smells delicious! I’ve really outdone myself today! She smiled, proud and happy of her culinary skills. Then she turned to Lin Feng and said, “You’re home early. Everything ok?”

“Yeah! I’m good! Just really hungry!” Lin Feng replied. He brushed past her, throwing his bag on the ground, and sat down at the table. His mouth started salivating as the smell of pork reached his nose. He leaned forward and gave the casserole dish a big sniff. “Hmmm! Smells great!”

“What do you mean, it smells great? Of course it smells great! I made it!” Su Xue said. She was really happy with how this pork dish had come out of the oven. Then she pointed at the kitchen sink and added, “Now go and wash your hands! Then we can eat.”

Lin Feng didn’t need to be told twice. When there was food in the picture, he would do anything. He rushed to the sink and put his hands under the faucet. It could barely be considered washing them. He didn’t even bother drying them off as he ran back to the dining table and let himself fall on his chair, nearly toppling it over. Then he grabbed his bowl and filled it with pork. His stomach was rumbling and his mouth salivating. He grabbed his chopsticks and dug in.

“Hey hey! Don’t only eat the meat! I also made a really nice chicken soup! You have to try it. It took me several hours to make!” Su Xue protested as she watched Lin Feng wolf down the food.

Lin Feng didn’t even look up from his bowl. He shoveled more food into his mouth as he said, “Fanks, yur da besht!”

Su Xue rolled her eyes, then grabbed a napkin and cleaned the bits and pieces of food Lin Feng had spit out on the table. “Stop talking with your mouth full! It’s disgusting!” she complained. “And stop giving all these empty compliments! If you really want to show how thankful you are, stop being such a massive pain in the ass!”

Lin Feng completely ignored her. He filled his now empty bowl with the chicken soup, then put it to his mouth and started slurping. “Ah! Hot hot hot!” he yelped as he quickly put the bowl down. He grabbed his glass of coke and took a swig. “Aahhhh! That’s better. Wow, that was really hot! But it was also really delicious! You really went all out tonight!”

Su Xue grinned and shook her head. Idiot, is what she wanted to say. But she didn’t. He liked her food. She’d been working really hard on it for a good portion of the day and it just felt really satisfying to hear him say that he liked it. “Good! Drink it up! I better not see a single drop go to waste!”

Lin Feng looked up for a moment and said, “I’ll drink it all! And then I’ll eat the rest of the food too! Don’t worry, I’ll eat it all!” Then his full attention went back to the food on the table. He took a bite of pork and then another swig from the chicken soup, though only after blowing on it to cool it down a little.

Mhm, that’s right. Su Xue watched Lin Feng eat for a bit, resting her chin on her hands. Haha! I’ve never met anyone who can eat like that. He really is something else. But at least he does look a bit happier again. I really started worrying after the last few days. She smiled and asked, “Are you feeling a little better now?”

Lin Feng raised his head, a piece of pork hanging from his mouth, and asked, “Ghuh? Wha dju meen?”

Su Xue harrumphed. “What? You think I’m blind? Or do you think you were really good at hiding how absolutely miserable you’ve been looking the past few days? It looked like your pet had died or something. Just that you don’t have a pet, right? Anyway, I didn’t want to bother you. I figured it was best to let you figure this out on your own. But man, you kids these days really make a big deal out of every little thing! What can possibly have happened in your short life that was so bad?”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. He laughed, awkwardly. So that’s why she hasn’t been bothering me the last two days. I should’ve probably noticed it… “Uhm, ah… You see, it’s li–”

“It’s fine. Whatever. You don’t have to tell me,” Su Xue waved her hand and cut him off. Then she looked at him. She really looked at him. He had worried her. She wanted him to be happy and had to really hold herself back these last two days from acting like a concerned mother. “Did you deal with whatever has been on your mind? Are you all good again? There is nothing wrong with you, right? If there’s something I can do…”

Lin Feng nodded, but he still took an extra moment to think before answering her. He looked at her and said, “Yes. I’m all good again!”

✹

Lin Feng went back to his room after dinner to do some homework. The teachers loved to swamp them with extra assignments to keep them busy during the holidays. He opened his book and started reading. It was a dull textbook with 200 pages he had to read before the end of the week. His eyelids felt heavy after the third page, and he couldn’t remember what he had read at all after the fifth. Realizing this wasn’t productive, he put the book aside, and after some thinking, grabbed his laptop. He pulled up his browser and started browsing League of Legends forums. Most posts were about Worlds and the less than stellar performance of the Chinese teams. As could be expected, KG got torn a new asshole, but even Hand of God who ended the first week with two wins and one loss wasn’t spared. The Chinese fans flamed them like it was their civic duty.

「lmao beat fate in msi and lose to them in worlds. just lpl things」
「Like seriously. HoG played like a bunch of fucking monkeys! They deserved to lose! I hope Dust isn’t going to be such a pile of steaming shit like KG and HoG!!!」
「They probably got cocky after winning the mid seasonal invitational tournament but didn’t realize that fate was sandbagging.」

The Chinese League of Legends fans made fun of Hand of God and complained about them, but most didn’t go beyond that. It was completely different for KG. There was no making fun of them, only complaints and harsh insults. But it could still be worse. Tian Tian could attest to that. His “fans” didn’t hold back one bit when it came to him. They’d revoked his status as the Uncrowned Eighth and he certainly wasn’t God Roundy anymore. But more painful than any of that were the insults they threw at him. They called him a waste of human life and much worse.

「number 1 top in the lpl? HA! What a fucking joke!!! and how the fuck does he dare to call himself the uncrowned eighth? he better hopes i don’t find him irl or ill give him more than a piece of my mind!!!1!!」
「fucking useless fatso. if he spent the time he eats practicing, he might actually be half decent」
「kg better see what a fucking waste of space he is! replace him! GET SOMEONE ELSE IN PLACE OF THIS PIECE OF SHIT!!!!!1!1!」
「anyone in london can go kick his ass? ill pay ¥10,000」

Everyone seemed to have conveniently forgotten that Tian Tian never called himself the Uncrowned Eighth. This was a title the fans had given him. It was even worse. Tian Tian had repeatedly said in interviewers he didn’t believe he was good enough to be considered the Uncrowned Eighth. He’d always said there were other players better and more deserving of such a title. But no one cared about that back then, and they certainly didn’t care about it right now.

Lin Feng gripped his mouse, the plastic of it creaking. He bit down on his lips as his eye started twitching. Page after page. Post after post. He read everything. His eyes turned bloodshot. That’s not true! That’s a lie! He closed his browser and lowered his head. I get why they’re upset. But this is completely unfair! Fatty did nothing wrong! He didn’t raise your expectations! He never asked for all this attention! He didn’t betray you. Your own hyped up hopes betrayed you!

This was the internet. A message was easily and anonymously posted. People would often forget that they were talking to or about real people. And that those people had feelings, just like anyone else. It didn’t matter how upset the Chinese fans were. Abusing Fatty like this just wasn’t right. Their feelings of disappointment were of their own doing! Then there were the haters and trolls, adding fuel to the fire. They had no filter and Lin Feng found it hard to read some of the messages they posted.

Lin Feng clenched his fist. His nails sunk into his flesh, but the pain didn’t register in his head. He smashed down on his bed, the soft recoil of the mattress only making him angrier. The Chinese fans were disappointed, he understood that! But that didn’t mean they had the right to write these things about Fatty! Fatty is probably alone and terrified of the world right now. They’ve always talked him up and up and up. Every little thing he did right, they exaggerated a thousand times over! And now he screws up one time and they all come down on him. This just isn’t right! They can’t do this to Fatty! Not after everything he’s done!

However, it didn’t matter what was right and wrong. Tian Tian had stepped into the limelight. He was one of the most, if not the most recognizable Chinese League of Legends player. Strangers were going to have their opinion, and the internet was an easy way to share that opinion with the world. There were millions of fans who counted on him to show up when it really mattered. They watched him with bated breath. But they never considered the pressure they put on him. All they saw was the halo of glory over his head. They were ignorant to the sweat on his face and the deep footprints he left behind.

Back in season 1, after losing in the finals of Worlds, a mentor Lin Feng deeply respected had told him, “A professional player will get criticized more than they get complimented. You better learn how to deal with that as early as possible.” He didn’t understand what these words meant, or even really listened to his mentor. He had already sunk into a spiral of guilt and self-blame. But now that same sentence played in his mind again. It started to make sense. He began to understand what his mentor had tried to tell him. Unfortunately, he had no way of contacting Fatty in London. No way to text him, call him, or send a private message. But he did have someone who could help him with that.

Lin Feng dialed the number of an old mentor who he last spoke to several years ago. He wasn’t even sure the number still belonged to him. The phone was ringing, so at least the number was still in use. It took a few more rings, but then a man picked up. A familiar voice rang out from the other side of the line, “Hmm? Who’s this?”

Lin Feng was quiet as he scratched his hair. He’d found the courage to call this number, but he hadn’t thought of what he would say. This brief moment of hesitation brought the emotions he’d been repressing for the past four years creeping back to the front of his mind. They hit him like a truck. His eyes felt wet and a lump appeared in his throat. He coughed and wiped away the tears with his sleeve. Then he weakly said, “H-hey… it’s me.”

There was no response, just silence. Then, the man started chuckling, a bit bemused. “Oh? Wow, It’s you! Here I thought you’d walked away for good. I never thought you’d call this number again.”

Day 1 of Worlds was disastrous for China! Day 2 was a little bit better thanks to Hand of God. But KG had screwed up again! They were really testing the limits of their fans! There was now a break. Half of the games in Group A and Group B were played. The teams could use the next week to prepare for the second half, or in the case of KG to get their mess sorted out, while the fans turned their attention back to solo queue. They still kept an eye on Worlds, of course. In another two days, Group C and Group D would play their first half of the group stage. Dust was in Group D. This was a new chance for China to shine on the world stage!

One group of fans were the members of High School 13’s esports team. They kept up to date on Worlds, but their attention shifted to something more important. The Shanghai 16 School Tournament. It was approaching fast and they still had so much to do before then. Lin Feng’s Legend Bootcamp turned up to 100. Lin Feng didn’t allow any slacking. If someone repeated a mistake, he would tell them they had one more chance. Then he reminded them how stupid the mistake was, that it belonged in Silver solo queue and not in their team games. And if that didn’t help, he threatened them by saying he would kick them off the team!

“Tang Tang, you played like crap in that teamfight! You’re the ad-carry, not the tank! You don’t jump in first! How many times do I have to tell you this?”
“Wei Dong, you need to get deeper vision into the enemy jungle. Exactly! Just like that pink ward.”
“Chen Ze stop feeding! We can’t keep sending Liu Yue up top to help you. He needs to focus on other lanes too!”
“Stop AFK farming in your jungle Liu Yue! You’re giving away all map pressure in the first 10 minutes of the game! The other team doesn’t even have to worry about warding, you don’t come to gank anyway… YES! THAT MEANS GO GANK!”
“That’s an awful play.”
“What’s wrong with you…”
“Not good enough. Get better.”

The players in the esports team weren’t blind or stupid. They noticed that Lin Feng was being a lot more demanding than usual. Sometimes they felt the urge to say something about it to him. To ask him if all of this was really necessary. But then they saw his face. It was calm and serious. He had no anger, hatred, or joy in telling them off. He was earnestly trying to help them become better players. So they could only turn back around and focus on their game. Since he was putting all this effort in, they would have to at least do the same!

Lin Feng’s high intensity training was proving to be very effective. The team members didn’t just see tremendous individual growth, but they were also really starting to come together as a team. This only further motivated them to work harder. Whenever Lin Feng gave them a few minutes between games to think about everything he’d said to them, they would huddle together and discuss it as a team. Then they would go back over the match and watch replays of the important plays and talk about what went right and what went wrong. All the while, Lin Feng sat in a corner of the room, staring down at the ground. They would occasionally look over towards him.

Ouyang leaned forward, gesturing for the other team members to do the same, and whispered, “Hey, do any of you know what’s up with him?” He pointed towards Lin Feng with his head. “Seems like the dude is always in a bad mood these days.”

“Yeah! I know right!” Liu Yue exclaimed. Then his eyes went wide and he put his hand over his mouth. He looked towards Lin Feng from the corners of his eyes, but saw no response. Shit! That was close… He turned back towards the others and nodded. “I feel like he’s been way harder on us. I’m kind of scared to do anything. I don’t want him to yell at me for making a misplay. But when I don’t do anything, he also yells at me! You guys feel that way too?”

The others nodded. Liu Yue had said exactly what they felt. Then Ouyang and Ren Rou turned their heads towards Tang Bingyao. They knew the relationship she had with Lin Feng. The two still claimed it was just a friendship, but it sure looked like something more. Ren Rou nudged Tang Bingyao and asked, “Did he tell you something? Do you know why he’s been acting this way?”

Tang Bingyao did know. Lin Feng had told her. But he had told her in confidence. She wouldn’t share that with others. It wasn’t her place to do that. Lying wasn’t really her thing either, though. She felt conflicted, but decided that being Lin Feng’s friend was more important. She stared down towards the ground and shook her head a little. “No, I don’t know.”

“Maybe he’s going through a bad breakup?” Chen Ze asked.

“You idiot.” Ouyang flicked Chen Ze’s ear. “Are you blind? Bro, have you never noticed how Tang Tang here and Lin Feng are always together? You know…” He gave Chen Ze a wink. “…How they spend a lot of time together, without us? Just the two of them. For fucks sake! They even go home together all the time!” He paused for a moment, then added, “Here, if you still don’t get it, let me show you.” He hugged an imaginary person who was supposedly sitting on his lap and started making out with her, shoving his tongue into her imaginary mouth.

Tang Bingyao looked at Ouyang. She didn’t quite understand what he was doing. He was getting his spit everywhere and looked like an idiot. “Uhh, Are you having a stroke? Should we call an ambulance?”

Ren Rou smacked Ouyang in the back of the head. “Alright! That’s enough nonsense out of you! Let’s get back to something a little more serious.” She started digging in her purse before pulling out a letter. “I received a letter from the 16 School Tournament organizers. It’s about the qualifiers. The groups have been announced.” Her smile turned into a frown when she mentioned the qualifiers. She took a deep breath and said, “Alright, let’s just get this over with. We’re screwed guys. We got screwed over really hard. It’s even worse than last year.”

The Shanghai 16 School Tournament took place every year around the same time as Worlds. It would start sometime next week with the qualification round. In the qualification round, schools were placed in groups of four. If they wanted to move on to the next round, they had to win at least two of their three matches. There were a lot of schools participating, so the better teams usually didn’t have much trouble moving on to the next round. But even if High School 13 could be considered above average, their luck was definitely the worst. If last year’s group wasn’t bad enough, this one was. They were up against Tonji Aff. High, High School 3, and High School 7.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Ouyang screamed. “How the fuck is our luck worse than last year? HOW THE FUCK IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?” All the hard work they’d put in suddenly seemed pointless. Worst case scenarios flashed through his mind. He pulled at his hair and whined, “Why? Why is our luck so bad? Why is it always us? It’s always us! Why? Tell me! Why is our luck so bad! We’re fucked! We might as well give up now and just enjoy Worlds!”

Yang Fan, Chen Ze, and Wei Dong weren’t looking any better than Ouyang. They’d played in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament last year. What happened back then was still fresh in their minds. They knew how strong those opponents were. This year would be worse. The thought alone destroyed all confidence they’d built up training under Lin Feng.

High School 3 was the easiest of the three teams High School 13 would be up against. They failed to qualify for the main tournament and got kicked out in the Top 32 last year. But they got knocked out by a school that made it all the way to the quarterfinals! Who knew how far High School 3 could’ve gone if they’d had a little bit more luck! As for High School 7 and Tonji Aff. High, both of them had made it to the main tournament. High School 7 went out in the first round, while Tonji Aff. High lost in the quarterfinals. They were two of the best schools for esports in Shanghai!

“Tonji Aff. High is a loss. No point in talking about them.” Chen Ze looked at the others. His heartbeat went up as he started hyperventilating. He placed his hands on his stomach and forced deep breaths. Then he continued, “And I doubt we stand much of a chance against High School 7…”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses. He forced a smile and said, “We really have our work cut out for us.”

Everyone fell silent. No one knew what to say. They had worked so hard for a shot at making it to the main tournament, yet now all of that seemed like it’d been for nothing. All their hard work, all the progress they’d made, it was pointless in the face of absolute skill. They weren’t preparing for some random school, they had to prepare for some of the best schools! One of which even made it all the way to the quarterfinals last year! A few weeks of training couldn’t possibly be enough to suddenly beat these schools. They were screwed! All their self-confidence was gone. Their morale sank through the floor.

“Oh, the groups were announced?” a voice broke the silence. Everyone turned their heads towards Lin Feng, who’d been sitting in a corner. He raised his head and stared at them, puzzled. “Huh? What’s wrong with you guys? Did you all eat something funny?”

“You don’t understand,” Chen Ze started. He sighed. “Our luck is dogshit. We have a harder group than last year…”

Wei Dong added, “He’s right, you know? You’ve really helped us and we’ve gotten a lot better, but these guys are way better than us. I can see us winning a game against High School 3, if we’re lucky. But when have we ever been lucky? Look at our group! And well, High School 7 would have to really play poorly if we want to have a shot at beating them. Let’s not even talk about Tonji Aff. High. It’ll just depress me more.”

Lin Feng looked around the room. Everyone was agreeing with Chen Ze and Wei Dong. No one seemed to have any faith in themselves. “What is this?” he asked, confused. “I thought we were going for first place?”

No one replied. Lin Feng looked at everyone, one at a time, but none of them said anything. Instead, they turned their heads away or looked down at the floor. They didn’t want to look him in the eyes. And he didn’t understand why. So he asked, “I thought we agreed on going for first place? You guys didn’t forget, right?”

The group was looking for someone to reply. They didn’t want to be the one to say what they all thought. Lin Feng had been in a poor mood all day and they felt more than a little ashamed right now. Wei Dong was finally the one to speak up, “I– We didn’t think you were serious. We kinda figured you were just trying to motivate us.” And the others nodded to his words.

Lin Feng looked at Wei Dong. He looked him in the eyes and said, “No. I meant every word I said. We’re going to win the trophy.” He then looked at the others, one at a time. They tried to evade his gaze, but he wouldn’t let them. “What have you guys been training for? Why have we all been working so hard if you guys are just going to give up before the tournament even starts? What is this for a shit attitude? A little setback and you just give up? You think just because we don’t have the easiest road to the finals that we’re doomed? We’re going for the win here guys! If we want to win, we have to beat the best teams! It doesn’t matter who they are, we beat them all!” He paused for a moment, frustrated. “Why have I been putting in all this effort if you guys are just going to give up? I should just go home and let you guys figure it out yourselves.”

The group listened to Lin Feng, but it wasn’t until his last sentence that it struck them. He was right! Everyone had put in a lot of effort. They had all worked hard. Lin Feng especially had created a great training schedule that saw even better results! But instead of thanking him by making it to the finals and taking home the trophy, they were ready to give up before the tournament had even started! They were ready to give up because a team that made it to the quarterfinals last year scared them! Lin Feng had every right to be upset! It would’ve been weird if he wasn’t!

“Bro, that’s exactly what I needed to hear. You’re completely and totally 1000% right. We can’t just give up like this!” Ouyang exclaimed.

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses. “I agree. So what if our opponent is stronger than we expected? That only makes it more interesting!”

“Yeah! We’re not giving up!”
“No way in hell! We’re going to kick their asses!”
“We’ll bring home the trophy!”
“WOOT WOOT! High School 13 for the win!”

Lin Feng got the response he was looking for. The confidence was back and the morale was high again. He said, “You guys shouldn’t worry so much about how good you are and how good your opponent is. All those what ifs in your mind are a waste of your time. Just have faith in me and my training and do your best. Besides, even if the opponent is really strong…” His lips curved up, revealing that smile that had disappeared in the past few days. “…You still have me!”

“Fate is pushing down mid lane! Will they finish the game right here?”
“Only two more Nexus towers standing! Gold really has to fight now, or it’ll be too late!”
“They’re going in! They’re going in!”
“WAAAAAAA! DOUBLE KILL! MOON DOUBLE KILL!”
“Oh my lord, it’s an ace! Fate has aced Gold! This is the game! This is the game!”

The last game of Day 1 of the Season 5 Worlds featured Korea’s Fate versus Europe’s Gold. Moon showcased why he was an Emperor in this game. He single-handedly carried his team to a win. No other tower fell, only those in mid lane. He pushed from the early game and just kept on pushing. The rest of his team came to help when they realized what was going on. They were just too strong, completely outclassing Gold. When Gold’s Nexus was destroyed, the players from Fate jumped up from their gaming chairs and started cheering!

Day 1 of Worlds came to an end. Six games were played and everyone had a better idea where their teams ranked in the world. The Korean and European fans had a lot to be happy about. Fate and Legend both secured two wins in their groups. It once again showed how strong a team with one of the Four Emperors was. If their opponent didn’t also have an Emperor, they were next to unstoppable! On the other hand, the Chinese fans had mixed feelings about this first day. They wanted to celebrate HoG’s victory over COG, but the disastrous performance of KG overshadowed it. KG had brought shame to the LPL.

KG had put up a poor performance against Legend, but that was only a poor performance. It wasn’t the end of the world. What was the tipping point for the Chinese fans was the game against the wildcard team. For the first time in five years of Worlds, a Chinese team was forced to drag out a game against a wildcard team until the 40th minute before, mostly due to luck, mounting a comeback and winning the game. KG had set multiple records today. Records for disgracing their region! The Chinese League of Legends community didn’t have a good word to say about KG.

✹

In a private booth in the NetCow Cafe, High School 13’s esports team was sitting in silence. They were all kind of staring at the screen, but not really watching what was going on. The results from Day 1 Worlds were nothing like they’d expected. Their hype was crushed. It was shattered! There was nothing left of their hopes for this year’s Worlds. KG had made sure of that!

“GODDAMNIT!” Ouyang slammed his fist on the table. “This was a fucking disgrace! How could they do this to us? Fuck it! I need to play. Who’s with me? Let’s get some ranked games in to forget about this shit!”

“Damn right,” Liu Yue agreed. “Let’s hop into some duo queue and kick some asses!”

“Sounds good, I’m in,” Yang Fan said, in his anger forgetting to adjust his glasses.

Chen Ze grabbed his things. He barely looked at the others as he was already walking to the door. Then he paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder at the others. “Good luck guys. I need to sleep. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Ren Rou stood up and looked around the private booth. Everyone looked defeated. It was as if they were the ones who had played at Worlds and screwed up, not KG. I should really say something to them. It’s just… She was in no mood to do anything about it. But I really should… Just as she made up her mind and wanted to say something, Wei Dong rolled his gaming chairs behind a computer and started smashing down on the keyboard. She bit on her lips, holding herself back. Everyone was in a terrible mood, herself included. It was best to let them be for now. “Hey guys, I’m also going home. Good luck with your matches.”

“I’m also going,” Lin Feng said. He grabbed his spicy strips, which were mostly left untouched, and left the private booth. Tang Bingyao looked after him from when he grabbed his things and walked out of the door, until the door closed and she couldn’t see him anymore. She thought for a moment, then grabbed her backpack and said to the others, “Goodluck guys. Have a good night. Bye.” Then she ran after Lin Feng.

✹

It was a cold October night. When Lin Feng walked out of the NetCow Cafe, it was already close to midnight. The streets were deserted. Most League fans were playing away their frustration, while others had given up halfway through KG’s second game and were already home and in bed. He walked down the sidewalk with his eyes on the pavement. A chilly breeze hit him in his face. There were a thousand and one thoughts swirling in his mind.

Tang Bingyao opened the door of the NetCow Cafe and looked outside. She spotted Lin Feng walking down the street and ran after him. When she almost caught up to him, she slowed down. She wrapped her hands around the straps of her backpack and matched his speed. Her ponytail swayed in the wind. She didn’t go up to him because she didn’t want to interrupt his thoughts.

Lin Feng was in a world of his own. He barely registered what went on in front of him, nearly missing his turn. When he walked around the corner, he did notice a familiar figure from the corner of his eye. Huh? Was that Tang Tang? He stopped walking and turned around. “Woah! It is you! Where did you come from? Why are you here? Are you following me?”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head. “Following you?” She thought for a moment and then nodded. “Yes, I’m walking you home.”

“Uh, hehe…” Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you. Come, come. Don’t be a stranger. Let’s walk together!”

Tang Bingyao nodded and walked up beside him. Then the two fell into silence again. They walked home together, both lost in their own little world. Tang Bingyao occasionally glanced up at Lin Feng, trying to think of what to say. He really does know Roundy Round. There is no other reason why he would react like that back during the games. That isn’t how a KG fan would react. He didn’t even seem to care about KG, just about Roundy. She opened her mouth a few times, but stopped herself before words could come out. What do I even say? How do I ask him about it? It looks like he’s taking it really hard. I don’t want to make him even more upset. But maybe it’ll help him feel better if he talks about it? She tugged at Lin Feng’s arm and asked, “Lin Feng?” She bit her lips. He looked at her. She had to continue now. “Was Roundy always this nervous? When you were playing with him, I mean.”

“Mhm. He was.” Lin Feng nodded. “You see, Fatty is a coward at heart. He stresses out over nothing and always worries that he’ll screw things up. The pressure that comes with a big event like Worlds is just too much for him. He collapses under it.”

Tang Bingyao cupped her hands over her mouth and blew a warm breath into them. Then she placed her hands over her ears, trying to beat the cold night air. She looked back up at Lin Feng and asked, “So did he always tilt this badly? Or did he have it better under control back then?”

“No. He didn’t tilt back then.” Lin Feng shook his head. He turned to Tang Bingyao and smiled, “Back then he had us. When he got stressed, we were there for him. Always. He had real friends who looked out for him.” He grinned as he thought back to Season 1 Worlds.

Lin Feng remembered how stressed out they all were when they arrived in London. They were the only Chinese team at Worlds. They carried the weight of an entire region on their shoulders! The fans at home were expecting big results, but those fans were at home. They weren’t at the event. Many players of the team were traveling outside of China for the first time in their lives. They were in a strange place, where they didn’t know anyone.

The teams from Europe and North America had fans everywhere, recognizing them on the streets and cheering for them in the arena. Lin Feng and his team only had themselves. They could only look to each other for support. Whenever they felt helpless, lost, angry, or frustrated, they would turn to their teammates. Their friends. And they would fight through it together. They would come out of it stronger as they battled their way through the tournament! And when they couldn’t sleep the night before a big game, they would explore the streets of London. Together, as a team. Because they were a team, even when they were hollering in the empty streets like a bunch of idiots. They did everything together as a team.

“WE WILL BE THE CHAMPIONS! NO TIME FOR LOSERS!”
“NO ONE CAN BEAT US! WE WILL BE THE VERY BEST!”
“WE’LL SHOW THOSE EUROPEANS AND AMERICANS WHO THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD IS!”

They would sing and yell and have a good time. Laughter was the best medicine! By venting their worries with their teammates, their worries suddenly didn’t seem all that scary anymore. The burden felt smaller when they shared it with their teammates. Together, there was nothing they couldn’t do! They would charge at any obstacle as a team and crush it together!

However, Fatty had none of that right now. He didn’t have a team. The KG that appeared at Worlds was little more than a group of five individually strong players. Players who didn’t stand up for each other. Players who weren’t there for each other. Players who only worried about doing well themselves. And from the looks of it, the coaching staff was just another unit of individuals.

Lin Feng stopped thinking about the past and halted his step. His stomach felt like it was tied up in knots. He bit his lips as he looked down at the pavement, anxious. Fatty wasn’t just anyone. Fatty was God Roundy! He had achieved so much in his career and was supposed to be the star player on KG’s roster! This brought a ton of unwanted stress with it. Everyone in China expected him to carry every game he played. Their expectations were like shackles to Tian Tian, locking him down. He needed his friends or a support system to break free from this and show everyone how good he was.

“You can always try calling him,” Tang Bingyao said. Everyone had a phone these days. It shouldn’t be much of a problem. “Just hearing your voice should help him a bit, right?”

Lin Feng’s eyes went wide as he froze for a moment. Then he turned to Tang Bingyao and started shaking his head. “No no no! I can’t do that! It’ll only make things worse! He’ll only start stressing more!”

Tang Bingyao looked Lin Feng in the eyes. The frantic look in them revealed how full of shit he was. “You’re lying again, Lin Feng. It doesn’t look good on you.”

“I-i’m not! Really! You have to believe me!” Lin Feng replied.

Tang Bingyao curled her lips. “That didn’t sound convincing one bit.”

✹

It was the second day of the Season 5 League of Legends World Championships. Group A and Group B had their second round of matches. The Chinese teams had to play three games. Hand of God would play two games, the first against Korea’s Fate and the second against Europe’s Gold, while KG would play one game. Their opponent was North America’s Flash.

Hand of God showed a strong performance with one win and one loss, making the Chinese fans proud. They started the day with the loss. Fate was just too strong. They meticulously outplayed HoG in every stage of the game and closed it out in the 32nd minute. There wasn’t much to say about it. HoG showed that they were trying, but it wasn’t enough. The fans could understand this. Fate had an Emperor. This was an acceptable loss. In the second game, however, Hand of God made their fans really happy. They completely destroyed Gold! What Fate did to them in the first game, they did to Gold!

Then there was KG, the team on full tilt. They had clearly not dealt with their problems from the day before. The team was playing like a nervous wreck. Nothing they tried worked. Flash toyed around with them. It was a match that really didn’t belong at Worlds. The players from KG looked completely out of it. They even looked a little bit happy when Flash finished it at 35 minutes into the game. If it went on for any longer, that would only be more suffering for KG.

With this loss, KG’s chances of making it out of the group stage started looking bleak. There were three more games to be played, but it was already almost out of their control. If they wanted to make it through to the next round, they would have to win all their matches from here on out. This was a task that seemed impossible for the current KG. The camera zoomed in on Tian Tian, the supposed star player of the team. His expression said it all. He looked very worried, with beads of sweat on his forehead.

“Damnit! Roundy really fucked this game up…”
“How could he let himself get schooled by a rookie?”
“This didn’t look anything like the God Roundy from the LPL. He looked terrible!”
“I don’t know man, his whole team looked like hot garbage.”
“Maybe they’re jetlagged?”
“Yeah, maybe they flew in late! That’s the only thing that makes sense!”

In a private booth in the NetCow Cafe, the members of High School 13’s esports team were chatting about the KG versus Legend game. They didn’t flame God Roundy like the stream chat was doing, but they also didn’t have anything positive to say about him. He had lost to a rookie. Demon had made God Roundy look like the rookie!

Lin Feng took a deep breath. He listened to his friends discussing Fatty, but he didn’t participate. He didn’t see any point in trying to explain to them how wrong they were. It wouldn’t change anything. All that mattered was that he knew the truth. He understood how unfair all this hatred towards Fatty was. This game wasn’t Fatty’s fault. It was KG’s coach’s fault! Who even drafts such a terrible team comp… The strategy KG used in this game was short-sighted and inflexible! They decided that it was better to play a 4vs5 with a mediocre Tristana than it was to play a 5vs5 with a strong team. There were so many flaws in this plan that he didn’t even know what he disliked most about it.

For KG’s gameplan to work, their Tristana had to get fed. She went to top lane to have an easier time farming minions, and Rek’Sai farmed the jungle camps closest to her to offer help. This was how the early gank started. A gank that failed. Tristana didn’t rocket jump into a power spike, but away to safety. Rek’Sai then gave away a kill to Legend’s Jinx, sealing the lane. The Jinx, who already had the early game advantage over Tristana, was now too strong. So KG decided to send Tristana down to bot lane, where a large minion wave was building up. This was the minion wave Fatty needed for his Gnar to catch back up to the Darius.

The Gnar fell further behind to help the Tristana get ahead. All the minions in bot lane were left for her, while Fatty went up to top lane where he was minion starved. Legend froze the minions near their own outer tower and zoned him out. He could barely get in range to get experience and then got tower-dove a few minutes later. The game went from bad to worse to disastrous for Fatty. He found himself laning against a fed Darius again. His teammates were frantically trying to help Tristana scale. They left him alone. He had to fight Legend off on his own. The Darius and the rest of Legend gladly made use of this. They bullied him and killed him and made him look like he didn’t belong on the professional stage. He was the sacrificial lamb for the Tristana who was completely useless the entire game. She didn’t make a single play.

✹

In a skybox in the Wembley Arena, Nightsong and Hermes were watching the KG versus Legend game. When KG’s Nexus exploded, Nightsong clicked his tongue and threw his hands up in the air. “I’m telling you, Hermes. That’s KG’s problem. They tunnel in way too hard on this ‘protect the ADC’ bullshit. It’d work if I was the ADC, maybe. But Konjac isn’t me, he’s just not good enough for them to focus around him! His Tristana was completely limp-dicked! He got his whole team stroking him off with all this attention, and he still couldn’t scale up! I feel bad for Roundy, dude. They pretty much told him to fuck off. Who even does that? If they didn’t cuck him so hard, that game would’ve been a hell of a lot closer.”

“Yeah, I have no idea what KG’s coaches were thinking.” Hermes nodded. “Their back line was shit and they starved their front line of resources. It’s like KG was setting him up to fail the whole time.”

✹

Lin Feng shared the same view as Nightsong and Hermes on the KG versus Legend game. Don’t they want to win? He understood Fatty. His old friend didn’t handle stress well. So it made no sense to Lin Feng why KG would force a game plan that had this potential outcome. And now, Fatty would collapse under the torrent of abuse that would come his way from the fans. You need to give Fatty some confidence! Not chop his legs off with an axe… What good is this going to do? Think you’ll win now? If Fatty started tilting, then that would affect all of KG for the rest of Worlds. This move was self-sabotage!

Lin Feng remembered how Fatty would hide on the toilet when his nerves got the best of him. He figured it was the same now. The game was lost and everyone was blaming him for it. Odds were that he was balling his eyes out curled up on a toilet. Alone. While his teammates were off doing other things. What Fatty needed right now was a friend. Someone who was there for him so he wouldn’t be alone with his thoughts. His thoughts were a dangerous weapon when he was anxious and helpless.

Lin Feng wanted to scream in anger. He balled his fists until his nails dug deep into the flesh of his palm, but he was oblivious to the pain. I should be there! He bit his lips. If he could, he would buy a plane ticket and fly to London! He had to be there for his friend! But he couldn’t. Many years ago, he’d sworn to always be there for Fatty. But today, he couldn’t be there for him. All he could do was sit in front of a TV at an internet cafe and watch Fatty suffer.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Lin Feng looked at the TV. They were showing how Fatty’s facial expressions changed after every next play that didn’t go his way. The analysts were going over it, searching for anything they could talk about. Lin Feng couldn’t listen to it anymore. He felt a lump in his throat as he pushed his chair a little further back. He looked down at the ground before turning his head away from his friends completely. He put his hand over his face, trying to hide the tears that had welled up in his eyes. WHY! Why am I so useless? Why can’t I be there for my friend? Why… 

✹

The second match of Worlds was in Group B. It was Korea’s Fate versus North America’s COG. It was a boring match. There was no big upset or any other big surprises to speak of. COG was a strong team. Their players played well. But they simply weren’t as good as Fate. Fate had an Emperor Midlaner in Moon. He led his team to a 35-minute win over COG. The game could’ve ended sooner, but COG held on and Fate didn’t brute-force their way into COG’s base. They played the slow and mechanical game.

The third match of Worlds was in Group A again. It was Europe’s Legend versus North America’s Flash. Phoenix hadn’t been as prolific in his first game, mostly due to the choices made by KG. But in this second game, he showed everyone why he was an Emperor. He went 9/0/4 on his Veigar and absolutely decimated Flash. They didn’t stand a chance! The only reason they didn’t surrender was because this was Worlds, and teams didn’t surrender at Worlds.

It was time for the second Chinese team to take to the stage in the fourth game of the day. In Group B it was China’s Hand of God versus North America’s COG! The Chinese fans were a little hesitant to cheer for their team after KG’s performance, but that quickly changed. HoG showed the world from minute 1 why the LPL was a region to be feared! Nightsong got excited with his Jinx! He tore through the enemy team and picked up kills left and right. Hermes couldn’t stay behind either. He traveled across the map with his Twisted Fate’s ultimate skill and helped lead his team to a clean victory.

At 33:45 minutes into the game, HoG destroyed COG’s Nexus. The LPL had won its first game at Worlds! The Chinese fans had held their breath until the last attack hit the nexus. Now they could finally breathe. They started laughing and many took to the internet to post messages on forums and streams.

「HOG IS AMAZING!!!」
「i knew we could count on hermes!」
「I told you guys, didn’t I? Look, here, I posted it before the KG game. KG is useless. They have some “Uncrowned Eighth”… What is an “Uncrowned Eighth” good for? Nothing! You need a KING like Hermes to win at Worlds. KG is shit, long live Hog!!」
「GOD ROUNDY STINKSS!!!!」
「GO HOGGG!!! MAKE US PROUD! WIN WORLDS!!!」
「That was the world champions playing!!!11!1 lezz fucking goooo!!!」
「hahaha maybe kg should look at this game for some inspiration」
「if only kg could play like hog. life would be good」

✹

It was time for the fifth match at Worlds. This was the third match and last match in Group A on day 1. KG would get their chance at redemption after getting stomped in game 1. Their opponent was a wildcard team. No one considered the wildcard teams a threat. Many felt that these wildcard teams were invited to experience Worlds, and not to compete. The members of the caster desk on the official Chinese stream had their own thoughts on this game.

Qinghe leaned on the desk on his elbow, smiling. “This should be a nice game to get some confidence back for KG. What do you two think?”

Stone nodded. “Should be an easy win. They’re up against a wildcard team and they’ve done amazing in the LPL all year. They can do this.”

Lolo smiled at the camera and said, “KG might not have had the best start to Worlds, but there is no way they lose this game! I believe they will show us why they are representing China at Worlds!”

Qinghe stepped up to the TV behind him and said, “Oh, looks like our viewers agree! I’m seeing many supportive messages coming in here.” He read through some of them and then turned back to the camera. “Ok, ok. I think I got the gist of it. KG just had some bad luck in game 1. They got countered by Legend and just lost control. This is a new game. KG and God Roundy will show us how good they are.” He looked at Stone and Lolo and then back at the camera. “It seems we all agree! The game is starting soon, so let’s watch KG win this one!”

However, the game didn’t go anything like the Chinese League of Legends fans or casters expected. It seemed like the game against Legend wasn’t an exception. KG was even struggling against a wildcard team! And not just a little. They kept going in for fights and kept losing them. Every play they tried only saw them falling further behind. It took them 15 minutes to get their first kill on the board. By then, they had already given away 7 kills to the wildcard team! This game wasn’t just going a little bad for KG. They were losing. They were actually losing to a wildcard team!

The three Chinese commentators for the game were struggling to find the words. They wanted to say something positive, but there wasn’t anything positive to say. KG was playing horrendously! Lolo still tried. “Maybe with this kill they can start turning the game around.” But it was weak. KG was 7 kills behind already. The game hadn’t even transitioned into the mid game yet!

“I think KG just has an off-day,” Stone chimed in. “You know, one of those days where nothing you try works. They happen to the best of us! But this game isn’t lost yet. I believe in KG! They’ll win this game for the fans!”

Qinghe nodded, his mouth hanging slightly open. He was actually speechless. It wasn’t often that he saw a team of KG’s caliber completely lose it. He watched the game, half of the time forgetting to entertain his audience. This was so bad, he didn’t know what to say. His quick wits and jokes were gone. He looked helpless.

The game lasted 41 minutes. Once the team fights started in the mid game, the match became a mess. Both sides screwed up consistently and gave away their lead. They tried to finish it multiple times, but somehow the other team would miraculously hold on. Neither side had a single tower left standing. But finally, in the 41st minute of the game, KG managed to win a team fight around Baron Nashor. From there, they charged down mid lane and into Red team’s base, where they destroyed the nexus and claimed their first win at Worlds.

No one was cheering. KG had won. But not a single Chinese fan was cheering. This display was embarrassing. KG was supposed to be a top tier team, yet they were struggling to hold their own against a wildcard team! Instead of complimenting KG, the Chinese fans took to the online forums and started flaming. The main point they made was that every single player in KG should have their professional contract ripped apart. They weren’t worthy to represent China!

✹

In the NetCow Cafe, the members of High School 13’s esports team were watching the stream. It was already late at night and they’d started to wonder why they were still watching. KG’s performance was disgraceful. It wasn’t representative of a team who wanted to compete at Worlds.

“They might as well go home. What a fucking terrible game,” Ouyang sighed.

The others nodded. They were tired. This game had killed all their excitement for Worlds. If these were the kind of matches they were going to have to watch, maybe it was better to just not watch them. The only positive note was HoG. HoG had put in a great performance!

Lin Feng didn’t chime in. He understood perfectly well why KG had almost lost against the wildcard team. In fact, he was kind of surprised they pulled out a win in the end. The reason was simple. Fatty and the rest of KG had tilted off the face of the Earth!

Lin Feng was spot on. This really wasn’t good for Tian Tian. After Tian Tian’s Gnar got caught mid hop by Demon’s Darius, there was no more escaping. He tried to run away, but the Darius attacked his crucial artery–Crippling Strike! The Gnar started bleeding. His movement speed dropped. The Darius attacked him with another auto attack, while the Lee Sin projected a discordant wave of sound–Sonic Wave! It hit the Gnar. The Blind Monk knew where his target was and dashed towards the Gnar–Resonating Strike! He followed up with an auto attack, applying the slow from the Red Buff on the Gnar.

Between the Darius and Lee Sin, there was nothing Tian Tian could do to escape with his Gnar. Even if he flashed away, it wouldn’t matter. He was too far away from his own outer tower. They would just run him down and kill him before he could reach it. He had overextended and he would pay for it. The small yordle collapsed dead on the ground.

《First blood!》

The European crowd in the Wembley Arena went wild! Their Legend had secured first blood! Their team was pulling ahead in the first game of Worlds! They chugged their beers, then hugged the friends and strangers around them, jumping up and down while screaming at the top of their lungs, “KING DEMON! KING DEMON! KING DEMON!”

The four large screens above the center stage at the Wembley Arena showed the player cams for KG and zoomed in on Tian Tian. His face was pale. Beads of sweat stood on his forehead and dripped down his face. He looked at his screen, biting his lips to force back the tears. But he fooled no one. Everyone could see his watery eyes.

Qinghe watched this all happen from behind the caster desk for the official Chinese stream. He shook his head, disappointed. “Ah, he misplayed that. He shouldn’t have died there.”

Stone looked at Qinghe and said, “Uh, no? What are you on about? You can’t call that a misplay. There was nothing Tian Tian could’ve done. This was a perfect play from Demon! Did you see how he flash-pulled the Gnar out of his hop? That was brilliant!”

✹

In a private booth in the NetCow Cafe, Lin Feng and the others had also just watched the Gnar die. They’d watched God Roundy give away first blood. This wasn’t what they were hoping to see. This was a worst case scenario! They hoped to see God Roundy show Demon who the better Toplaner was. But now Darius had the bonus gold from first blood. It would be incredibly difficult for God Roundy to get back into this lane.

“NOO! WHY GOD ROUNDY?” Ouyang screamed. “Why would you give away first blood, bro? You totally had this! Why did you have to get cocky and overextend?”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses. “Yeah, that was a misplay. I agree with Qinghe. If he had first flashed away before using Hop, he would’ve survived. He can only blame himself for this one.”

Lin Feng listened to his friends discussing the play, his eyes on the stream that still showed a close up of Fatty. This wasn’t a misplay, Fatty. There was nothing you could’ve done about it. Please don’t let it eat you up! He felt a twang in his heart as the stream forced him to look at the pain in his old friend’s face. This isn’t your fault! You can still win this lane! Trust in yourself! He knew that the Seven Kings and Four Emperors were only a title. There were many other really good players. Demon was one of them. His reflexes were some of the best in the game! There was no way Tian Tian could’ve seen this Flash-engage from the Darius coming. That was why Lin Feng felt it wasn’t his old friend’s fault that he gave away first blood. Everyone in that exact situation would’ve died. Everyone!

The stream went back to the game. It showed an exchange in mid lane. But Lin Feng cared little for this. It was a Lulu versus LeBlanc lane. One would defend and the other attack. Neither could pose much of a threat to the other, granted both sides played it correctly. He looked at the minimap in the bottom right corner of the screen. The Gnar had respawned in the fountain and was walking back to lane. You can do this Fatty! This isn’t lost! The Darius only has a small advantage. You can turn it around! He balled his fist. Show everyone what you’re made of!

✹

At 5:40 minutes into the game, while Tian Tian was trying his best to farm his minions and catch back up to the Darius, his Jungler Rek’Sai went to gank top lane. There’d been a laneswap in this game. The bottom lane duo of both teams were playing in top lane. Tristana and Nami on KG and Jinx and Thresh on Legend. Rek’Sai roamed up the river, unnoticed.

The Rek’Sai burrowed into the ground. Her range of vision decreased but her movement speed increased. She passed over a ward as she moved into top lane. The Jinx and Thresh tried to run away when they saw the Rek’Sai, but they were too late. The Rek’Sai was already in lane. She flashed forward, closing the distance with the Jinx, and unburrowed from the ground, knocking her up!

KG’s bot duo knew Rek’Sai was coming beforehand, so they were ready to follow up. Nami threw down an Aqua Prison on the airborne Jinx. Tristana Rocket Jumped forward and started auto attacking the Jinx. Her damage was still low in the early game, but it was more than enough to get a kill in a three versus one.

Legend’s Thresh flashed away towards his outer tower. He threw his lantern back on top of his ally Jinx–Dark Passage! It gave her a shield and she could click it to be whisked away to the Thresh. The Jinx broke free from the Aqua Prison and touched the lantern. The Tristana simply didn’t deal enough damage to burst her down, so she escaped. Then the Thresh threw out his scythe and hooked the Rek’Sai–Death Sentence!

The Thresh pulled the Rek’Sai into range of Legend’s outer tower. He followed up by flaying her deeper into tower range, while the Jinx threw down three snare grenades on the ground–Flame Chompers! They exploded on the Rek’Sai, rooting her under the outer tower.

The Rek’Sai took an energy shot from the tower and lost three quarters of her health before the stun broke and she could escape. But while she was running down the top lane towards the KG’s side of the map, Legend’s Jungler, Lee Sin, came walking up the river. It was perfect timing. The Rek’Sai had no chance to escape, while the Tristana and Nami were forced to flash away and only barely made it out alive. This game was quickly going from bad to worse for KG. Legend was picking up advantages everywhere!

✹

“NO! How is this possible? This can’t be! We were supposed to win this game! Prophet Stone cursed Legend! This is impossible!” Ouyang cried. “Did the prophet lose his power?”

Liu Yue couldn’t believe it either. “Now we’re losing at top too? What are we going to do? How are we going to win this game? Tell me! How?”

“Damn!” Ren Rou cursed. “We’re already down two kills and the game has barely started! This is terrible! If they don’t watch out, this is going to become a stomp!”

Lin Feng didn’t join the discussion with his friends. He sat a little to the back. Just far enough away that his friends wouldn’t bother him, but not so far away that he looked like he wanted to leave. He watched the stream. There was a large minion wave building up at bot lane. A lot of gold and experience for Fatty. Come on Fatty. That’s a big minion wave! When you get them, you should be back in the lane!

Unfortunately for Tian Tian, he wasn’t allowed to take these minions. He got an order from his team. They would be swapping bot and top lane. He was to immediately recall back to base and go to top lane. The minion wave was running right at him. But an order was an order. He hit the B key as blue circles appeared around his Gnar. After recalling back to the fountain, he walked up to top lane, only to find the minion wave frozen just outside of the Red team’s outer tower. It was a one versus two. He couldn’t even get near the minions, let alone last hit them.

Lin Feng watched all of this happen on the stream. He bit his lips. There were many things he wanted to say about this move by KG. But he didn’t. He kept his mouth shut.

At 7 minutes into the game, the minion wave in top lane started pushing towards KG’s tower. Tian Tian would finally be able to get a few last hits on minions again! But Legend wasn’t about to let this happen. Their Jungler and Midlaner had planned for this. The minions pushed into the tower. The Gnar started attacking the minions. His Rage built up until he transformed into Mega Gnar!

Legend’s Midlaner and Jungler knew where KG had placed wards and snuck around them towards top lane. Into KG’s jungle and into a brush just behind the outer tower. Tian Tian farmed the minions while the bot lane duo he was up against kept their distance. Then his Gnar returned to his normal size. It was the moment Legend had been waiting for. The four players towerdived the Gnar and killed him. It was a worst case scenario. Not only did Tian Tian give away another kill, it was Phoenix’s LeBlanc who picked it up!

If giving away first blood wasn’t bad enough already, now Tian Tian was also feeding the LeBlanc! The Chinese fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing! They instantly took to the stream chat to flame.

「the hell is god roundy doing!?!?!??!?!」
「he’s terrible……….」
「INTING?!?!?!!?」
「Did he forget how to play or something? WTF are these plays???? Can the idiot not ward???」
「uch… I told you guys KG needed a new toplaner. One that’s actually a little good……」
「last pro game for the fatso????」

Ouyang and the others shared the sentiment of the stream chat. God Roundy looked useless on his Gnar! He was behind in levels and kept giving away kills! Lin Feng listened to this, but didn’t say a word. He knew how unfair this was. His friends were completely wrong! All the people watching the stream were also wrong! This wasn’t on Fatty one bit! This was on the whole team! He bit his lips and clenched his fists harder, his nails digging into his skin.

✹

Legend’s bot duo recalled back to base after picking up the kill on Roundy’s Gnar. Then they went to bot lane, switching lanes with the Darius. Two minutes later, at 9 minutes into the game, a fight broke out in bot lane. The Thresh landed a hook on the Tristana. He pulled her back towards him and right into the three snare grenades the Jinx had placed on the ground. The Chompers exploded, rooting Tristana! The Jinx switched to her minigun and started attacking, while the Thresh walked up to the Tristana.

The Tristana player was smashing on his W key. His Flash was on cooldown and his only other escape ability was Rocket Jump. It felt like the root would never break! His Tristana’s health was already down by half! Then the root finally broke. Rocket Jump activated. The Tristana aimed her cannon at the ground and fired!

The Thresh player had kept his Flay for this moment. He pressed on his E key. Thresh swept his chain and knocked the Tristana down to the ground mid-jump. The Jinx followed up with a Zap! A shot with her shock pistol that slowed the Tristana. Then she continued auto attacking before firing off her Super Mega Death Rocket!

《Red team has slain an enemy!》

The Chinese fans were starting to get really anxious. Bot lane didn’t get ganked. This was a clean outplay by Legend! At the professional level, dying to the lane opponent in bot lane was the same as giving away a solo kill! It really shouldn’t happen. The Tristana really shouldn’t have been caught out like this. This game started to look worse and worse.

The three Chinese casters tried to paint a positive picture. They forced smiles on their faces as they discussed how it would be an uphill battle for KG. Their main point of conversation was that the game wasn’t lost yet. There would still be plenty of opportunities to mount a comeback. All KG had to do was play it safe and wait for their chances. The only thing they had to make sure was that they stopped giving away kills to Legend. If they didn’t, they might as well surrender.

Legend took the first dragon after getting the kill on the Tristana. KG was in no position to contest it. They were lacking wards and without Tristana they had no damage. Their entire team was built around the Tristana. They were helpless without her.

KG managed to survive the next few minutes without giving away any more kills, but they were falling further and further behind. Then, at the 14 minute mark, KG gave away another solo kill. It was Tian Tian again. He’d been hiding under his outer tower in top lane. But he wasn’t even safe there. The Darius had built up such a large advantage that he could easily towerdive. Tian Tian was forced to run away, all the way back to his inner tower. That still wasn’t enough. The Darius chased after him and came down on Tian Tian with his axe–Noxian Guillotine! Tian Tian’s Gnar had only a little bit of health remaining, which disappeared after taking several more ticks of bleed damage.

The Chinese fans understood from the start that KG wouldn’t necessarily win the game. Legend was a strong opponent. But that didn’t mean they would accept watching their team make stupid mistakes! They wouldn’t sit quietly when someone as great as God Roundy was giving away solo kills left and right!

「hes lost it. EZ GG」
「I hope they boot roundy from the team after this game!」
「^ that…」
「They would probably have a better chance if they kick Roundy right now and play 4v5」

✹

In the private booth in the NetCow Cafe, a dark cloud rumbled above Lin Feng’s head. He was furious! Angry and frustrated on behalf of his old teammate! These so-called fans were blaming the wrong person! This wasn’t Fatty’s fault! There was nothing he could’ve done! His team had sacrificed him! How is this not obvious to everyone? Are they stupid? And now Fatty was paying the price for it! Judging from the camera pointed at his face, he was having a panic attack and tilting!

Professional League of Legends players rarely tilted. They had been trained to stay calm and collected in high pressure situations even when things weren’t going their way. Even when things were going downright terrible! Because if they let a single setback affect them, it would affect the entire team. It meant the difference between winning and losing a game. But because they were so good at bottling up their emotions during a game, when the bottle did end up breaking, it would be disastrous.

The pressure on the professional players was immense. It sometimes felt like they had to bear the entire weight of the world on their shoulders. This was all the more obvious during the biggest event of the year. Worlds! In this event, KG had to play against a favored title contender in their first game. The pressure on their shoulders was crippling! They were probably completely lost on what to do. And what made it worse was that they’d lost grip on the game within the first 10 minutes!

Lin Feng knew Fatty better than most others. He recognized the signs of his old friend panicking. His old friend’s mental fortitude was pretty poor to begin with and he now looked to be at a complete loss. There were no teammates who came to help him and he was left alone in lane against a Darius who could kill him whenever he liked. This is bad. This is really, really bad. If things don’t change soon, KG will lose. Come on, Fatty! You can do it! Tell your teammates to give you a hand! I still believe in you!

✹

KG stopped communicating. The players were upset and needed something or someone to blame. They went quiet on the voice chat and were busier with trying to get some last hit on minions, rather than worrying about stopping Legend from pushing into their base. Top lane was the first to fall. 19 minutes into the game, Legend broke into KG’s base and destroyed the inhibitor. Then they methodically moved to mid lane and finally bot lane. 23 minutes into the game, the third inhibitor fell. With super minions spawning in all three lanes, Legend held the overwhelming advantage. It took two more minutes to close it out. It was a stomp.

The European crowd in the Wembley Arena jumped up from their seats and screamed in joy! Their Legend had won! Europe had won the first game of Worlds! They hugged the people around them and yelled, “LEGEND! LEGEND! LEGEND!” Legend had done them proud! And they looked really strong! Maybe they could really make it all the way to the finals!

In stark contrast to the joy from the European fans, the Chinese were unable to accept this loss. They were angry. Furious! This wasn’t how this game was supposed to go! Prophet Stone had spoken! KG should’ve won this game! This was their game to lose!

「WTF!?!?!?! did they think they were just scrimming for fun or something?!?!?」
「KG IS TRASH」
「god roundy my ass, he played like a fat turd on the road!」
「uncrowned eighth? give me a break….」
「LOL kg is fucking terrible! so what that they’re all chinese?!?!?!」

Tang Bingyao read the messages in the stream chat. All of them were insults, and more than half were aimed at Tian Tian. His Gnar had started the loss. Whatever happened after that didn’t matter. The game was lost after first blood in the eyes of most fans. She then tilted her head and glanced at Lin Feng, worried. He was biting his lips and his face was pale. She whispered, “Are you okay?”

Lin Feng took a deep breath. He forced his eyes away from the screen and to the ground. Then he took another deep breath. He closed his eyes and let his heart calm down. His lips formed a smile. He forced out the familiar him, the him his friends knew and loved, and then looked up at Tang Bingyao. “Don’t worry. I’m fine. Just a little annoyed is all.” If KG’s loss were really Fatty’s fault, he would’ve been frustrated that his old friend played a shitty game. That would’ve been it. But this loss wasn’t Fatty’s fault. This loss was on KG! Their problems started with their team comp and showed through in the rest of the game! Fatty might’ve died a few times more than the others, but this loss was absolutely not his fault!

“It’s KG on the Blue team and Legend on the Red team! We start Worlds this year with a top game between Europe and China! I’m Qinghe, your host! And with me I got Stone and Lolo! We’ll be your commentators! But that’s enough about us. Let’s dive right into Champion Select! KG is first to ban a champion!”

“Yes! Let’s dive into it already!” Ouyang shouted back at the TV.

On the large TV screen in the private booth rented by Ouyang at the NetCow Cafe, the Worlds stream showed the Champion Select for KG versus Legend. There was a live video feed of three people standing behind the caster desk on the bottom half of the screen. Qinghe stood on the far left of the table, with a TV behind him, while Lolo and Stone stood a bit further down the table. They were the two special guests.

Everyone who’d watched the LPL at any time over the last few years knew who Qinghe was. He was the caster of the LPL! He had more experience casting competitive games than any other casters! He knew how to share his knowledge of the game and get the fans excited! And the fans loved him for it. They loved his quick wits and sense of humour. There was never a dull moment when he was on the caster desk!

The second caster on the desk was Stone. He played League of Legends professionally back in Season 1. After leaving the professional scene at the end of Season 1, he started making guest appearances on the caster desk. The fans had welcomed him with open arms. He gave them insightful analyses and explained the thought processes of professional players in an easy-to-understand manner. But this wasn’t why people wanted to see him on the desk. They wanted to see him on the desk for his unbelievable ability to deliver the caster curse! The Chinese fans called it honeyed words. Whenever he said something nice about a player or team, disaster would strike them!

The most famous case of his caster’s curse was way back in Season 3. Stone was commentating on a match in the LPL. He complimented the Blue team for the advantage they’d gotten in the early game. Not even half a minute later, a team fight broke out. The Blue team lost this fight and with that the gold lead they’d built up over the first 20 minutes of the game. Then he praised the Red team for mounting a phenomenal comeback. It wasn’t even 10 seconds later that they gave away an uncontested Baron Nashor, the most powerful monster on Summoner’s Rift. With the buff gained from killing Baron Nashor, the Blue team took control over the game again. In the next team fight, Blue team’s Vayne popped off and got a triple kill. Stone was a little hesitant but still gave a compliment. The caster’s curse struck again. Vayne was wandering through his own Jungle a minute later and got caught out by two players from the Red team and died.

This still wasn’t the end. By the time Red team won, the caster curse had struck another four times for a total of seven times! Seven times in one game! This was still a record today! As a direct result of this game, Chinese fans had nicknamed Stone “Prophet Stone”.

The third caster for the official Chinese stream of Worlds was Lolo. She was a vivacious young woman who enjoyed playing League of Legends in her free time. She also dabbled a little with streaming on Huya, mostly League of Legends games. She was most known for her occasional guest appearances as a shoutcaster during the LPL, just like Stone. But there was a pronounced difference in what they brought to the commentary. Stone was there to provide insights, game play predictions, and reasoning behind player decisions. Lola brought a more bubbly enthusiasm to the commentary. She didn’t have the deep game knowledge that Stone did, but she more than made up for that with the entertainment factor she added to the shoutcasting. It also didn’t hurt that she had fantastic knockers and a preference for skin-tight low cut dresses. Beyond the lighthearted moments she added to the commentary, she appealed to a very specific demographic of League of Legends fans.

While KG and Legend were taking their time deciding which Champions to ban, Qinghe steered the conversation on the caster desk to the upcoming game. “We’ve already talked a lot about the different groups this year at Worlds, and who we believe will make it through to the next round. But we haven’t really talked much about the individual games yet.” He turned to Stone and nodded at him, smiling. “Let’s take a look at the game in front of us right now, shall we? It’ll start in only a couple more minutes. What do you think, Stone? Who’ll win this game? Which team gets your vote?”

Prophet Stone grinned and took the bait. “Well, when I’m looking at the lineups of both teams, I have to say that Legend looks really strong this year. I think they will win this first game! Hehe.”

“Oh, did you hear that guys?” Lolo giggled at the camera, hiding her mouth behind her hand. “Prophet Stone has spoken! We can all relax now, KG is clearly winning this one.”

Qinghe started laughing, loud enough that it almost sounded fake. “Hahaha! Hahaha! You’re so right! Isn’t she guys? Lolo understands! Prophet Stone has spoken! We can rest easy! This game is KG’s to lose now!” He stepped aside and gestured at the TV screen behind him. Then he looked into the camera and said, “Let’s take a look at what some of you guys have to say about Prophet Stone’s prediction for game 1!”

「HAHAHA my man stone is at it again」
「Everyone, take cover! T-minus 30 seconds until the curse strikes!」
「CARRY KG TO A WIN OH LORD PROPHET!!!!」
「prophet stone carrying since season 2!!」

These were the reactions the three casters were looking for. They knew the fans would eat up a simple joke like this. Besides, they didn’t want to give the fans false hope by saying they believed KG would win this game. Legend was a stronger team than KG. There was no way around this truth. They should have what it takes to win this game. It was to the point where even the three casters were hoping for a little bit of black magic from Prophet Stone. It would be a great start to Worlds if KG could pull a big upset in the first game and beat Legend!

✹

In a private booth in the NetCow Cafe, Lin Feng and the others were engrossed in the stream. The ban phase had come to an end. The top tier meta champions in the current patch, like Mordekaiser and Gangplank, were banned. KG and Legend started choosing the champions they wanted to play. Most were standard picks. It was only the picks in Midlane that really stood out. Legend’s Phoenix had decided to go with LeBlanc, and in response to that, KG’s Flintlock chose Lulu. Lulu was originally a Support champion. But in the last few patches, she had turned into a realistic pick for mid lane to counter assassins like LeBlanc.

“I think Lulu is a smart pick. Don’t you guys agree?” Qinghe said. He looked at the other two casters and waited for them to nod. Then he continued, “Phoenix is a really good player. You don’t want him to go Legendary on his LeBlanc. It was smart thinking from KG to go with the safe pick.”

Stone looked at Qinghe and said, “KG doesn’t really have a choice here, do they? Phoenix is so good, you just have to be extra careful. The game would be over if he gets rolling on his LeBlanc. All Flintstock can do is play it safe.”

“WOOT WOOT!” Ouyang cheered at the TV. He jumped up and down as he ran little circles around the others. “The prophet is doing it again! KG has won! Easy game! Let’s skip it and go straight to the second game!” He suddenly stopped running around and laughing for a second, then added, “Let’s not skip it. I wanna see KG crush Legend! Haha!”

Liu Yue shot up from his seat and joined Ouyang, “WOOT WOOT! Keep complimenting them Prophet Stone! We believe in you!”

Lin Feng shook his head a little as he watched the others go crazy over Prophet Stone. If a caster curse really were a thing, KG wouldn’t need to pick Lulu. They could pick anything and have some fun… He looked at the two top lane champions. That lane deserved more attention. Demon had picked a top tier meta champion in Darius, while Fatty had locked in Gnar. Gnar versus Darius… Hmmm, I guess it’s doable. But it’ll be hard… He looked at the rest of the lineup, searching for something that would help KG bring this game home. Huh? Something looked off. There was something wrong with Blue team’s lineup. Gnar, Lulu, Rek’Sai, Tristana, and Nami… What are they doing? Where is their damage? Only Tristana can deal damage. But she’s a late game carry. What are they planning to do until then? Pray that Legend won’t kick their asses? Who drafted this team comp?

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

The first game of the League of Legends Season 5 World Championships was officially underway! The 10 champions spawned in their fountains. Both teams decided to do a lane swap. This meant that the Toplaners would play in bot lane and the bot lane duo would go up to top lane. Wards were placed all across the river, with a few just inside the other team’s jungle for some extra vision. When the Jungle minions spawned, the Toplaners both took the camp closest to their lane before recalling back to base, while the Junglers started on the Blue or Red Buff with the help of their Supports.

The game ended up in a standard laning phase. In the bottom lane, both Gnar and Darius arrived before the first minion wave died. They got a couple of last hits and were relatively even. Gnar had a slight advantage at Level 1 because of the range advantage of his auto attacks. Tian Tian quickly made use of this and started showing why people called him God Roundy. His positioning and ability to force Darius to miss minions was perfect. Darius tried to counter this by winding up and swinging his axe in a wide circle–Decimate! But Tian Tian sidestepped it and started throwing more auto attacks at the Darius.

KG wasn’t falling behind at the start of the game. Their lanes looked to be doing ok, and Tian Tian looked especially good. The Chinese fans watching the official broadcast felt their hearts racing. Perhaps KG stood a chance! They quickly took to the chat to share their hopes with the other fans.

「GOD ROUNDY FOR THE WINNN!!!!!」
「gnar >>>> darius」
「66666666!」
「i love you roundy!!1!!1」
「We can win this game! China number 1!!!!」
「OMG this is soooo cool!!!!!」

Tian Tian started pushing the minion wave towards Red team’s outer tower. The ward he’d placed at the start of the game timed out. His vision of the river above his lane disappeared. But there were still a few minions to kill, so he stuck around.

Legend’s Jungler was Lee Sin. He’d spotted Roundy Round place a ward down in the river near bot lane at the start of the game. He knew exactly when it would time out. So he adjusted his jungle route to it. The moment the ward disappeared, he walked down the river to bot lane.

“Oh no! God Roundy you need to back! You’re going too deep!” Lolo cried out from the caster desk.

Qinghe was the calm voice of reason. He said, “We don’t have to worry. Gnar has a hop and Flash. It’ll be really difficult for Legend if they want to pick an early game kill on him. They’d better focus their time and energy on another lane.”

Lee Sin appeared from the river in bot lane. Darius used this opportunity to walk out from under his tower and towards the Gnar. Tian Tian saw this happen and quickly had his Gnar hop away–Hop! But the Darius was prepared for this. He flashed forward, then swept the Gnar out of his Hop mid-air before hooking and pulling him back–Apprehend!

The European fans in the Wembley Arena went wild with joy! This was a brilliant play from Demon! He’d perfectly predicted how Tian Tian would play and found a counter to it! There was nothing Tian Tian could do! He still had his Flash, but there was also the Lee Sin coming for him. Everyone knew what was going to happen. Be it the fans cheering in the arena, or the Chinese fans feeling their hearts drop at home, everyone knew that the Gnar would die. Even Lin Feng knew. He slowly shook his head. This isn’t good.

Tang Bingyao looked over her shoulder at Lin Feng. While everyone else in their group was discussing the Worlds schedule for Day 1, he sat back. The excitement from a moment before had left his face. He was slowly shaking his head while looking at the screen. She walked over and sat down next to him, then tapped on his shoulder. “Lin Feng?” She waited for a second but Lin Feng didn’t seem to notice her. She tapped on his shoulder again and asked, “Was Roundy really your teammate?”

Lin Feng nodded, his eyes locked on the TV.

Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng. She wanted to ask, Are you ok? Something definitely seemed off. She wanted to be a good friend, but he was barely listening and she didn’t know what to do. After hesitating for a little bit longer, she whispered just loud enough that only he could hear her, “I read online that Legend has a really good Toplaner.”

Lin Feng nodded again. He heard her talk, but he was in no mood to respond to her right now. His eyes were still locked on the TV. On the logo of KG. He thought of Fatty and his matchup in top lane in game 1.

Legend had switched Toplaners after Season 4 Worlds. Their old one just wasn’t up to the task anymore and they’d found a very talented rookie. Demon. He started playing League of Legends in Season 4 and joined the pro scene in the off-season before Season 5. During the next EU LCS spring split, he surprised fans and analysts alike with his strong performance. Game after game. He never faltered. The summer split was much of the same. He dominated in top lane. Many European fans were swept up by the hype surrounding him, saying that he belonged in the Seven Kings.

Lin Feng stared at the screen. Fatty should be better than Demon. Fatty was the Uncrowned Eighth and Demon was still just a rookie! But Lin Feng wasn’t all that convinced. He shook his head and said, “Demon is really good. Pretty much as good as Fatty.”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head, surprised. She’d finally gotten Lin Feng to talk. But she didn’t expect him to say this. It didn’t sound like he was all too confident in Fatty. She prodded, “Who do you think is better? Do you think Roundy will win this game?”

The lineup of KG and Legend appeared on the large TV. Lin Feng looked at it, ruffling his messy, curly hair. He didn’t immediately answer Tang Bingyao’s question. A picture of Fatty appeared on the screen with his biggest achievements next to it. He took a deep breath and said, “That’s all on Fatty. If he stays calm, this will be his game. He’s really good when he’s calm. But if his nerves are getting to him again… I’m not sure he’ll stand a chance if that happens.”

✹

It was almost 2 PM in London. The League of Legends fans had found their seats in the Wembley Arena. All 12,500 seats were sold out, and it looked like more people had managed to sneak in. Above the stage in the middle of the arena were four large screens on which the crowd could see all the action live. The lights in the arena dimmed. There were thousands of lightsticks that started flashing in the crowd. The music stopped playing. Then the four large screens lit up.

3

2

1

A video started playing on the large screens. It showed the highlights of the 16 different teams that would be participating in the tournament. Famous casters hyped up the different plays! The fans started cheering and whistling! The opening ceremony of the Season 5 League of Legends World Championships had started!

The video ended several minutes later as a single ray of light shone down on the center of the arena. It shone down on a pedestal on which the trophy the players would be fighting for stood. The Summoner’s Cup! Then the game announcer’s voice sounded throughout the arena, “Please welcome the teams for the 2015 League of Legends World Championships! Representing Korea and the LCK, Warrior!”

The 16 teams were introduced, one by one. When their name was called out, the team members and their coach stepped onto the stage and waved at the fans, who cheered and whistled in excitement. The crowd went really wild whenever a European team walked up on the stage. Many of them were from Europe and they made sure everyone knew this! Some fans in the crowd started a wave that went round and round the arena. This went on until there were only two more teams to be announced. Legend and KG. The European fans started screaming for their heroes from Legend, while the few Chinese fans in the audience tried to let their voices also be heard. But they were drowned out.

“Go KG!”
“LLEEEGGGGEEEENNNNDDDDDDDDDDD! PPHOOEENIIXXXX!”

“God Roundy, you’re the best!”
“DEMON! DEMON! DEMON! DEMON!”

The Chinese fans were pissed off that their voices were drowned out by the much larger European crowd. They wanted to show support for their team! But there were not enough of them to make any kind of impact. All they could do was hope and pray that KG would shut these European fans up by beating Legend! Preferably by winning a perfect game! If KG could keep all their towers and give away not a single kill, now that would shut these Europeans up!

✹

In the backstage area of the Wembley Arena. A KG staff member pushed the door open to the bathroom. He was completely out of breath as he checked the stalls one at a time. They were empty, until he got to the one at the very end. This one was locked. He knocked on the door and shouted, “Hey! Are you done yet? You need to come out! The match is starting soon! It’s our turn to go up on stage! You need to come out now! Come with me! Please!”

The staff member didn’t have the time nor patience to deal with this player from his team right now. He knocked on the stall again. “Please Roundy! You need to come! We have to go!”

A weak voice came from the other side of the door. “A-alright. Give m-me a m-m-minute. J-just let m-me finish up.”

“Fine.” The staff member shook his head, exasperated. He didn’t know what to do. “Just hurry up please! Everyone is waiting for you! I’ll be right outside.” He then turned around and walked out of the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom stall, Tian Tian sat on the toilet with his hands over his head. He pulled on his hair and bit on his lips. There were tears in his eyes and his heart was beating rapidly in his throat. He could barely breathe. His first match at Worlds was against Legend! He would have to step up to the plate from the start! There was no easing into it! If he fucked up. If he didn’t win. If he made a single misplay. He would be screwing over his entire team!

He would be up against Demon! Everyone was talking about how good this rookie was. How this kid, because he was barely more than that, would soon rank among the Seven Kings! Tian Tian didn’t stop to think about his own skill. All he knew was that his opponent was strong. Really strong. That meant that the odds of him fucking up increased exponentially! He forgot to breathe. The world around him started spinning and turned dark.

A memory from last year started playing in his mind. It was the same back then as it was now. His nerves had gotten the better of him and he’d locked himself up in a bathroom. Back then, an old friend and mentor who he deeply respected came to find him. When his mentor saw the state he was in, they became pissed and started shouting at him, “Grow the fuck up Fatty! This bullshit has gone on for long enough! It’s the same shit every time you have to play in a tournament! You always have your stupid fucking breakdowns! Get your act together man! You’re such a good player! If it wasn’t for these stupid breakdowns, you probably would be an Emperor by now! God! You’re wasting away here in this disgusting bathroom! Can’t you smell the shit?”

Tian Tian had endured the scolding from this retired professional player. He hadn’t said a word. This was a respected mentor who only had the best in mind for him. He knew that. He also knew that he could play really well when he wasn’t stressed out like this. That he was a really good player. But it didn’t matter how he tried to convince himself of this, his subconscious wouldn’t hear it. It didn’t listen to reason, only to fear.

Tian Tian opened his eyes again. He was still in the bathroom stall. Alone. He swallowed his saliva and felt the urge to start eating something. Anything. His stomach agreed, rumbling in response. “M-maybe I s-should go get s-some-something to eat.” He shook his head and pulled on his hair. “T-this g-g-game is lost anyway. W-we can’t win. They. T-they’re w-way too strong.”

Legend didn’t just have a strong Toplaner. They had a strong team. Their Midlaner was something else. He was one of the best players in the entire game! Phoenix. He’d seen Phoenix in action first-hand during Season 1 Worlds. Back then, Lin Feng only barely managed to outplay him. It was almost a loss! And the Midlaner on his current team’s roster was nowhere near as good as Lin Feng was. His Midlaner didn’t stand a chance against Phoenix!

Lin Feng! Lin Feng! Tian Tian smiled for the first time that day. His nerves had completely settled down, if only for a moment. He pictured his old friend in his mind, the one that was always there for him and stood by him. Lin Feng would know exactly what to say right now! He’d probably walk over and tell me I could do it, tell me to focus on the game and just do my best. Because that’s all that matters. The Lin Feng that existed in Tian Tian’s mind, that Lin Feng always knew what to do. That Lin Feng was rock solid and never scared. He’d be right here next to me, with a giant smile on his face. Probably talking about how much more satisfying our win would be against a strong team. How everyone would know how awesome we are if we kicked ass in both games! The Lin Feng in Tian Tian’s mind calmed him down, completely wiped away all the nerves and anxiety. But that Lin Feng only existed in his mind, and wasn’t playing next to him. Once Tian Tian realized that, the anxiety flooded right back in. He started trembling again and mumbled, “I-if you w-were here, e-everything would be f-fine… O-only you can beat t-that guy…”

✹

In the NetCow Cafe in China, Lin Feng and his group were watching the opening ceremony of Worlds. The sound of the event blasted through the TV speakers. It was as if they were in the Wembley Arena, cheering with the 12,500 fans there! Ouyang even started waving his arms around as if he had a lightstick in his hand. Liu Yue joined in, and Ren Rou rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide the smirk on her face.

After the last two teams were introduced, it was time for the first game of Worlds. The players from KG and Legend sat down behind the monitors on the stage. The casters announced their names and listed their prior achievements before starting to analyze both teams. They laid out the differences and gave their opinions on the current state of both teams. Finally, they gave their predictions.

However, none of the people in the stream cared for whatever it was that the casters were talking about. They were far too excited to sit still and listen to what the analysts had to say. Rather, they were jumping up and down behind their monitors or TVs and were typing chat memes or other random messages that had absolutely nothing to do with what the casters were talking about.

Inside the private booth in the NetCow Cafe, Liu Yue suddenly cried out, “Look! LOOK! That’s God Roundy! It’s really him! That’s God Roundy! Oh my god! We’re gonna see God Roundy play!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses. “Calm down. I can see him too. I might have bad eyesight, but I’m not blind. How could anyone miss him? Look how big he is. He’s filling the entire shot.”

Ouyang inched closer to the TV. The others moved their heads to look around him, but he kept inching closer to the screen until his nose was almost touching it. “Hmm, that’s odd,” he started. “Is it just me or does he look kinda bad? He doesn’t look like himself. Do you guys also see it?”

“We might. If you moved your big head away from the screen,” Ren Rou replied.

Ouyang hurried back but didn’t forget to point with his finger at Roundy Round’s face. “Look! See what I’m saying? He really looks out of it.”

“You’re right. He does look bad.”
“Did he not get enough sleep or something?”
“He does look kinda pale…”

“Do you guys think it’s nerves?” Ouyang asked. Then he shook his head. “No, no. That can’t be it. It must be something else. What do you guys think?”

“Haha! God Roundy doesn’t feel stress! He is God Roundy! Not stresses-too-much Roundy.”
“He’s played at Worlds so many times already. How could he be nervous?”
“You must be joking, right? He’s been to Worlds four times now. He knows the pressure. The others from KG might be feeling a bit nervous, but God Roundy? I don’t believe it!”

Tang Bingyao didn’t say anything. She turned around to look at Lin Feng, worried.

Lin Feng looked at the TV screen. At the familiar figure on it. Fatty… He knew what was wrong with his old friend. He recognized it the moment Fatty stepped into the shot. It was impossible to miss. Fatty, you had another breakdown, didn’t you? He clenched his fist and bit on his teeth. Come on, Fatty! I believe in you! Show everyone how good you really are!

The 16 best League of Legends teams in the world had gathered in London. The venue was booked and the tickets sold out. Everything was set for the biggest tournament of the year. The League of Legends World Championships! Players were fighting their nerves while fans were standing in line to make it onto the venue in time. The commentators were spinning up their pre-show, their voices blasting through speakers all across the world. Fans got into heated arguments on different forums, streams, and gaming websites. Random strangers from around the world would step up to support their point, while others would argue against it. The excitement spread across the world! This was esports! This was the highest level of competition in League of Legends! This was the Season 5 World Championships of League of Legends!

A cold October wind blew through the air. The sun wasn’t up yet but the birds were already chirping. People walked down the streets of the esports capital of China–Shanghai! They had their phones in their hands and their eyes on their screens. Sometimes they would walk into someone, but no one cared. The moment was finally there! The day everyone had been waiting for! Only a few more hours and then the most anticipated event of the entire year would start! The League of Legends World Championships! Everyone was counting down the minutes to the opening ceremony! And preparing to watch it with their friends!

The internet cafes in Shanghai were packed. Large parties had booked entire halls far in advance. But there were still more fans trying to get in. They all wanted to watch the games together. It got so bad that the managers of the internet cafes were forced to place bouncers at the door and let no one else in. There was no extra space for more fans. But that didn’t stop the fans from trying. They were too excited to notice! The managers had their phones ringing constantly. They were frantically trying to convince people to stay away because they were too full with advanced bookings.

“We’re fully booked! There is no more room! We’re very sorry but I have to ask you to please not come!”

“Yes! There really is no more space here! Please listen to me! We’re full! Go look elsewhere!”

“Please, sir, believe me! The private booths are full! All of them! Yes! Even the special ones!”

“I’m not lying! Why would I be lying? Please go and search for another place to watch Worlds! You might have some luck in the suburbs!”

While the managers were pulling their hair out in stress, the owners of the internet cafes were counting their money, laughing. Business was booming! They wished Worlds would last for an entire year! They would make so much money that they wouldn’t have to work another day in their lives!

The reason that so many League of Legends fans wanted to watch Worlds at an internet cafe was the same as why football fans would go to their local bars to watch the game. There was no excitement in sitting at home and watching the TV from the comfort of your couch. There was a certain kind of atmosphere that was needed to really bring these games to life. One of joy and laughter. One where, after loosening the lips with a few beers, friends and strangers would sing and laugh together. Where they would fall into each other’s arms to celebrate a triple kill and scream at the TV if their team gave one away! Sports games had sports bars, and esports games had internet cafes. And those internet cafes were where the League of Legends fans all over Shanghai gathered together to watch Worlds.

✹

The students from High School 13 had booked the NetCow Cafe well in advance. The internet cafe was completely full. There were bouncers at the door, turning away those who were late to the party. The guests had gathered around a large screen in the hall and were watching highlights from last year’s Worlds. In the back, there were several private booths. In one of these were the eight members of Lin Feng’s Legends Bootcamp. The seven trainees had gathered around their coach and looked at him.

Lin Feng looked back at them, one by one. They were all silent, hiding their hands behind their backs. “Ok, guys. This is important. I trust everyone did their part. But let me ask just to make sure. Do we have everything?”

“Yep!”
“I got it, yes.”
“I brought a lot. Hehe!”
“Mhm.”

Ouyang couldn’t look at the serious expressions anymore. He started laughing and revealed what he was hiding behind his back. A bag of potato chips. “I bought 10 bags of chips! I got the others in my bag. You can all have one and I’ll have three!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses, smiling. “I bought two bars of chocolates and some fruit gummies. I thought that would be a more appropriate amount.” He looked over at Ouyang who was already digging into the first bag of chips.

Liu Yue raised his hands above his head to show everyone what he had bought. He looked at the others for a response. When that response didn’t come, he said, “Look! three bags of jerky! It’s the big kind! They’re really good! You guys will love them!”

Chen Ze and Wei Dong nodded at Liu Yue, then looked at each other. They’d gone shopping together and bought a bunch of snacks. A lot of everything, including more of the same jerky Liu Yue had bought. They started talking at the same time.
“We got jerky, mel–”
“We bought melon seeds and walnuts! Oh and some jerky!”

Everyone was excited about their own snacks. But when Ren Rou stepped forward, they fell silent. They forgot for a moment about their own things and looked at her. She smiled back at them and placed a large box down on the floor in the middle of the room. She then looked up at the others and said, “Instant noodles! I figured you guys would get plenty of snacks but nothing a little more filling. So if anyone gets hungry later tonight, you can have some of these beef noodles! Just add some water and you’re good to go!”

Everyone looked at Tang Bingyao. She still hadn’t said what snacks she had brought for the party. They thought she waited to be last because she had something big, something that would blow their minds. She started raising her hand up, and anticipation filled their eyes. And then it changed to shock as she raised up a small bag and said, “I brought some dried seaweed.”

Lin Feng didn’t notice the shock or surprise in the room. He was just happy to see everyone had brought more than enough snacks to last them through the night. “Haha! You guys are awesome! Those are all great snacks! That jerky is some of the best, right Liu Yue? Oh, and I love dried seaweed! It has that nice crunch to it! Oh, oh! And nothing beats some chocolate after noodles!”

Ren Rou looked at Lin Feng, but didn’t share his joyful mood. She waited for a few more seconds, but he showed no signs of revealing what snacks he’d brought. It started to look like he hadn’t brought anything! His hands were empty and as far as she knew he hadn’t brought a bag with him either. What is he trying? Does he think we owe him this because he is coaching the team? “Lin Feng,” she said in a stern voice. “Did you forget something?”

Lin Feng looked at Ren Rou. She looked upset. Maybe even mad! He chuckled. She was too obvious. He knew exactly what she wanted. “Don’t worry Ren Rou! I didn’t forget. I didn’t forget!” He grabbed a plastic bag from the floor. “Look! I bought 30 packs of spicy strips!”

No one knew what to say. Seven pairs of eyes stared at Lin Feng, speechless. Until Ren Rou finally blurted out, “Spicy strips?”

Ouyang took a step back from Lin Feng. He stopped himself from eating the potato chip in his hand. “Uhh, I think it’s four bags for me and none for Lin Feng. Spicy strips? Bro… What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng with the same disgust in her eyes as the others. She nodded at Ouyang and said, “Something’s definitely wrong with him. He’s not getting any of my dried seaweed either.”

“Anyway!” Ouyang said, shifting everyone’s attention away from the plastic bag in Lin Feng’s hands. He waved his hands around him and said, “Do you guys hear that? Like half of Shanghai is here tonight! Isn’t that great? This shit is the best! Beats watching at home by a fucking long shot! Am I right or what? It’s just like a sports bar! But better! Because this is esports!” He was so excited that he forgot to breathe. A few moments and deep breaths later, he added, “You guys should thank me. Did you see that long ass line at the door? That would’ve been us if I hadn’t booked this room! Imagine! We would’ve been standing out there in the cold and miss the game if it wasn’t for my big brain thinking!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses. “Hehe. Those guys are screwed. Everyone here has come to watch Worlds. We’re not leaving until after the last game has finished. I guess they can stand out there and watch the games on their phones.” He stopped to think about his last comment and then added, “That must be even worse than watching at home.”

Everyone agreed with Yang Fan. Standing out in the cold to watch the games on a small screen sounded terrible. They continued talking about it as they sat down and lounged back. There were still two hours before the opening ceremony would start. But when the conversation died down, everyone just kind of sat, awkwardly looking at each other. They saw each other almost every day. There really wasn’t much left to talk about. Lin Feng noticed the silence and looked over at the row of five computers. There should be plenty of time to play a game or two. He jumped up to his feet and said, “Since we got some time to kill anyway, how about we get some practice in? Come, let’s play a few games!”

No one spoke up. There was no need to. Lin Feng was the coach. If he said they would play a game, they would play a game. When it came to League of Legends, they did exactly what Lin Feng told them to do. He was their coach. His word was law. So they sat up straight in their chairs and moved to sit behind the monitors. The sound of five computers booting up sounded out.

After the first day of Lin Feng’s Legends Bootcamp, the team members quickly got used to his training methods. They learned on the first day that it was best not to argue with him and instead put their energy into taking in all the information he gave them. Then they would spend the rest of the night applying these tips to their game, improving both their individual and teamplay skills. This wasn’t easy. No matter how easy Lin Feng made it sound, it took them a lot of effort. But they were already seeing the results of their hard work. For example, the bot lane duo of Tang Bingyao and Wei Doing finally started to show some synergy. Tang Bingyao learned to slow down a bit, while Wei Dong stopped hiding behind his tower and started actively supporting Tang Bingyao. They were actually starting to play really well together.

There were also some surprises. Ouyang was probably the biggest one. He was the backup Jungler of the esports club team. When Lin Feng’s Legends Bootcamp began, he was a middle-of-the-pack Gold. He had decent mechanics, but was absolutely terrible at the two most important things a Jungler needed to do: pathing and ganking. He would often wander around his empty jungle, searching for something to do but not really doing anything. Then he would recall back to base and waste another 30 seconds. As for his ganks. They were so poorly timed that it would’ve been better if he didn’t gank at all. He almost never helped the lane he showed up in. Either he came too late and his teammates were already dead, or he popped up right when the other bot lane duo had recalled back to base. But after only a few days of training under Lin Feng, he’d started improving on these aspects of the game. His pathing became more efficient and his ganks actually led to kills! He started winning his games in solo queue, and after the latest five game win streak, he was even in his promotional series for Platinum!

“I swear, you guys. I’m a fucking genius!” Ouyang laughed. He opened his League client and jabbed his finger at the screen. “See? Didn’t I tell you guys? I’m in my Platinum promo series! I didn’t even get boosted! I did this all on my own! I’m the fucking best Jungler ever!”

Ren Rou shook her head. He is hopeless… She listened to him brag for another second before cutting in, “You know it’s all because of Lin Feng, right? If he didn’t help you, you’d probably be down in Silver by now.”

“HEY! What was that? Silver? I’m no Silver scrub! You are! Haha!” No one could kill Ouyang’s mood right now. But that didn’t mean he’d lost all touch with reality. He knew Ren Rou had a point, to a certain extent. “Fine. True. He did help a little. His tips were good. But I did the rest all by myself! I put in the work and now I’m amazing! I can beat any Gold scrub! They are all a bunch of noobs! Isn’t that right, Lin Feng? I did it all by myself, right? You just helped me with a few tips!”

“No.” Lin Feng shook his head. “You were terrible. Really, really bad. Those improvements you made were all on me.”

✹

The esports club team played three ranked games. They won two games and lost one. The loss came in the only game where Liu Yue let Ouyang give Jungle a try. But even that loss couldn’t kill Ouyang’s good mood. He started making up all kinds of excuses about why the loss wasn’t his fault, until his eyes landed on the clock. It was 8:45 PM. There were only 15 minutes left till the start of the opening ceremony of Worlds! His eyes went round as he just about threw his body around to look at Lin Feng. “Yo! Coach Lin Feng! Bro! Look at the time! We can’t play more! Worlds is starting!”

Lin Feng looked at the time. “Oh, I guess you’re right. Alright, let’s go watch Worlds!”

Aside from the five computers on which they’d been playing the ranked games, there was also a large smart TV to watch streams or videos on. Ren Rou turned the TV on and opened up Huya, where she found the official broadcast of Worlds. There were already many people watching the stream. On the right side of the screen, there was a chat that was blowing up with discussion about the matches of the day.

There were six games that would be played on the first day of Worlds. Three in Group A and three in Group B. Hand of God was the Chinese team in Group B and they would play one match. KG was a little bit less lucky. They had to play two games on the first day. If that wasn’t bad enough already, their first game was against the top team from Europe–Legend! Legend was a really strong team and it’d be tough for KG to get a win over them.

Ouyang stared at the screen, speechless. He shook his head and slapped himself. Just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Then he said, “Wow, I can’t believe this… KG is so crazy unlucky! They have to play two games today? Why two? That’s so unfair! Now they can’t focus on pounding Legend’s ass! Why is this even allowed? What the fuck!”

Chen Ze agreed with Ouyang. “KG really is unlucky. They have to play against the strongest team in the group for their first game. Then they gotta reset and be ready for another game right after that. It ain’t right! They’re under a ton of artificial pressure because of the organizers made a stupid decision!”

Everyone agreed with Ouyang and Chen Ze. Legend was a contender for the title. They could make it all the way to the finals and they had a real shot at the trophy! Their Midlaner was Phoenix, one of the Four Emperors! KG should be given the opportunity to put all their focus on preparing for this game. It was ridiculous that they had to split their attention between two games!

Lin Feng didn’t join the discussion. He watched the screen. His eyes were on the team logo of KG. Fatty, you can do this man. I know you’re probably really nervous right now. Probably having a panic attack too. Believe in yourself! You can do this! You’re a really good Toplaner and you have a good team. Please don’t have a nervous breakdown!

“An old friend in KG?” Tang Bingyao tilted her head, bewildered. Her ponytail swung back and forth as she stopped walking and stared at Lin Feng. “Who?”

“Roundy Round! Fatty and I were teammates!” Lin Feng replied.

Tang Bingyao’s eyes went wide. Shock and disbelief were battling it out on her face. Roundy Round? The God Roundy was his teammate? The Uncrowned Eighth? The best Toplaner in China? Is he showing off again, or is he telling the truth here…

Lin Feng chuckled. “What? Don’t believe me?”

Tang Bingyao shook her head, but then hesitated. Maybe… She nodded. Slowly. He’s told the truth about everything until now. If he says he knows Roundy, he must know God Roundy. Right? She wanted to believe Lin Feng, but it was hard. This wasn’t just some random professional player, this was Roundy Round!

“Uhh, is that a yes or a no? You’re making kind of a funny face there,” Lin Feng asked.

Tang Bingyao looked up at Lin Feng. “Tell me the truth! Were you really a professional player?”

“Yes!” Lin Feng pounded his chest. “I was a pro back in Season 1! Really! I was really good at League of Legends! Like Emperor good!”

If it were anyone else saying this, Tang Bingyao would’ve thought they were bullshitting. She’d either make a sarcastic reply or ignore it. What Lin Feng claimed was damn near impossible to believe. But she’d been playing with him for a while now. She’d seen what he could do. On the rare occasion when he went all out, he was unstoppable. His plays were flawless. Then again, they never played at the highest ELO. Mostly in Diamond. But to hard-carry so easily in Diamond. He really could’ve been a pro… Wait. No, that can’t be right. She started walking again and said, “You’re lying. You were only in middle school back in Season 1. How could you play professionally if you weren’t even 16 yet?”

Tang Bingyao remembered a rule that had existed since the dawn of the competitive scene in League of Legends. Anyone who wanted to compete, either domestically or internationally, had to be at least 16. Lin Feng laughed at her question but didn’t reply. Tang Bingyao looked at him and continued to press, “Really? I almost believed you!”

Lin Feng stopped laughing. He looked straight at Tang Bingyao and said, “The rules weren’t enforced all that hard back then. I was too young. But I was also really good! They made an exception for me!”

Lin Feng didn’t tell her the whole story. He was too young back in Season 1 and they had made an exception that let him play. That was only part of the truth. His age had become a huge issue. His team had almost given up hope. Lin Feng started to think he wasn’t going to be allowed to play with his team. The problem wasn’t Riot Games. The competitive scene for League of Legends during Season 1 was tiny and there really weren’t many rules. But the World Championships were regulated by the World Esports Association. Their rules were written in stone. Those guys really wouldn’t listen. He sighed. If it weren’t for the Chinese Esports Association having his back, if it weren’t for the Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Esports Association personally getting involved, if it weren’t for several other important figures speaking out on his behalf.

Especially if those final words hadn’t been spoken. The words that decided everything. If it had gone any other way. He would have had to go home without playing a single game. He would’ve had to bend under their rules and accept that he was too young. He would’ve needed to wait another year and hope that the opportunity to play at the World Championships would come again.

Tang Bingyao looked over her shoulder at Lin Feng, who was standing there lost in thought. She waited for a moment, hesitating, then she asked, “You keep talking about your pro team. Why not invite Roundy Round to join you?”

“Uhh… That is bec– Uhm…” Lin Feng didn’t know what to say.

“Let me ask you something else,” Tang Bingyao said after a brief moment. “Why did you quit back then?”

This was a question that Lin Feng was more than prepared to answer. It was an answer he’d given many times. He replied, “Oh, that’s because of school. I had to study for the entrance exam for high school.” His reply was calm, measured, with no hesitation or stammering.

Tang Bingyao looked at him. She said nothing for a few long seconds. Lin Feng looked right back at her. Then she broke the stand off by asking, “Ok. So why not invite Roundy Round to join your team then?”

“You really are full of questions today, huh? Unfortunately…” Lin Feng ran ahead, up to the next intersection. He waited for Tang Bingyao to catch back up and continued, “Unfortunately, you have to turn here to go home, right? I really want to answer your question, but I have to walk straight here. And look! The light is turning green. No more time! See ya tomorrow!” Lin Feng bolted down the street without waiting for her to say anything or looking back.

“Uh, bye?” Tang Bingyao waved weakly at Lin Feng’s back. That was strange… She stared down the street, watching Lin Feng run home, for a long minute. Then she turned and started walking home. He’s never acted like this before. The Lin Feng she knew never backed down. He wasn’t scared of anything. How many times had he told her that striving for the impossible was the only thing worth doing? Hiding things and running away, that was completely out of character for him. But she understood.

He didn’t want to answer the question. Actually, he didn’t want to answer both questions. Tang Bingyao wasn’t stupid. She knew his answer about studying for the high school entrance exam was just a cover. She stopped walking and stood there, thinking. Then she adjusted her book bag and continued walking home.

If Lin Feng didn’t want to tell her why he stopped playing after Season 1 or what happened between him and God Roundy right now, that was fine. She wouldn’t push. He’d tell her when he was ready.

Lin Feng kept running down the street until he felt like he’d gotten far enough away. He turned around and looked to see if Tang Bingyao was still there. She wasn’t. She’d already turned around the corner and was on her way home. Lin Feng decided he could stop running. He stood there, in the stillness of that empty street. He stood there, breathing heavily. His head slowly dropped down until he was staring at the pavement. He stood there staring at the pavement for a long time.

Dusk fell. The red glow of the setting sun washed over Lin Feng’s body. He stood alone on that empty street, watching his shadow grow long. He stared at his shadow in silence.

He’d run away from Tang Bingyao, run away from her questions, because he didn’t know how to answer them. Trying to answer meant thinking back to what happened back then. He’d need to bring up memories he buried deep in his mind under a tight heavy lid. He didn’t want to think about what happened back then. Didn’t want to think about why he’d ran away from everyone back then. So the only thing he could do was run away from Tang Bingyao today.

The reason he’d cut contact with his former teammates was because he didn’t know how to face them. How he could face them after what he did. He still remembered the disappointment on their faces. The sadness in their eyes. And it was all because of him. He was the reason. He was the reason their team came second in Season 1 Worlds. It was his mistake that led to their loss in the 5th and final game of the tournament. The champion trophy was up for the taking, but he screwed up. It was his fault, and his alone.

✹

When Lin Feng got home, Su Xue had already cooked dinner. He sat down and quietly filled his bowl. His usual smile was nowhere to be found. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating in silence. His shoulders hunched over the table as he buried his face into the bowl.

Su Xue sat across from Lin Feng. She looked at him, worried. “Hey, is everything ok? You don’t look so good. Is there something wrong with the food? I can make you something else if you want.”

Lin Feng shook his head and had another bite.

“Then why are you so quiet?” Su Xue asked. “Did the teacher yell at you? Or did you get in a fight with your friends? Oh! I know.” She grinned, “Trouble in paradise?”

Lin Feng didn’t reply to any of it. He kept shaking his head while eating his food.

Su Xue was starting to get really worried. This wasn’t the Lin Feng she knew! Something was wrong! She got up from her seat and rushed over to his side. Then she placed her hand over his forehead and checked his temperature. “Hey now. You’re not getting a fever, are you? I told you to put some warmer clothes on! It’s not summer anymore. You should listen to me.”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Lin Feng pushed Su Xue away, then focused back on his bowl.

“Are you sure? Okay. Alright then, that’s good.” Su Xue looked visibly relieved. Then she got annoyed. You’re fine but acting like this? Yeah right! You’re not right! Something’s up! She ruffled his hair and said, “Then why are you so quiet? Tell me! Your aunt made me promise to take care of you, you know! You’re scaring me here!”

Su Xue sat back down. It didn’t look like Lin Feng was going to give her an answer. She didn’t know what to do. There wasn’t really anything she could do. She looked him in the eyes, anxiously, and said, “Then what’s the matter? Please tell me. I’ve never seen you like this before.”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. “It’s fine, really. Please don’t worry about it.”

“Okay. Fine. Suit yourself. Forget it. Whatever.” Su Xue shook her head. “You kids these days are so melodramatic. I’m done worrying about you.” She frowned. But annoyance was quickly replaced with excitement. “Oh! Worlds starts tomorrow! I was thinking that maybe I could open my stream and watch the game with the viewers. Maybe give some commentary, you know? Do you wanna join? I’m sure those degenerates would love that!”

Lin Feng looked up from his bowl. Really looked up. He blurted out. “You are going to give commentary on the games?”

“What is it? Say it!” Su Xue glared at Lin Feng. “You think I can’t do it? Is that it? How hard can it be? Just say a few words. Anyone can do it!”

“No, no! Not at all. Not at all! I think you’d be great!” Lin Feng replied. He was about to say something more, but stopped himself at the last moment. Then he said, “Oh, but I can’t join tomorrow. I promised my friends I’d watch the games with them at the internet cafe.”

“Oh, I see.” Su Xue nodded and smiled, “But it’s not me you should explain this to. The viewers are expecting you! If you’re going to let them down, you’ll have to tell them yourself. Oh, I know! Come, I’ll open the stream right now and you can tell them!”

“Eh?” Lin Feng didn’t know what to say. But he wasn’t given the opportunity either. Su Xue dragged him into her bedroom and pushed him down on her gaming chair. Then she booted up her computer and opened HuyaTV.

Su Xue stood next to Lin Feng, making sure he didn’t try to escape, while she waited for more people to join her stream. Only after more than a thousand had joined did she explain to them that Lin Feng could unfortunately not join them to watch the first day of Worlds together.

「lilll broooo do you not want us anymooore 」
「How can you just abandon us like this?!?!?!??!??!?!?」
「You heartless traitor! why would i even come to this stream if your not here?????????」
「are you really leaving us with the maid?? what have we ever done wrong to you to deserve this!?!?!?!」
「I WOULD RATHER DIE THAN WATCH WORLDS WITH HER」
「don’t hold me back! I’ll go kill myself right now」

Su Xue was speechless. She needed a moment to process what the chat had just said. She was hurt by their words for a split second. Then she figured out that they were just screwing with her, trying to rile her up. It was part of the streaming experience, so she decided to indulge them by yelling, “WHO WAS THAT? Who said they’d rather kill themselves than watch Worlds with me? You’re all a bunch of drama llamas! You should feel lucky that I’m even willing to watch it with you degens! Pfft!”

“I’m really sorry guys. I’d like to watch Worlds with you guys, but I already promised my friends I’d watch it with them,” Lin Feng apologized. He scratched his head while wearing a troubled expression on his face.

Su Xue found the perfect opportunity to get the viewers back on her side. She flashed a bright smile at the camera and said, “See? See? You can only trust me! I’m the best! He dumps you guys to go hang out with his friends. Right, what friends! He’s ditching you all for a girl! Go on, flame him! Give him your worst!”

The chat didn’t start flaming Lin Feng, save for a white knight or two. Everyone else stopped typing. The chat went silent for a couple of seconds. Then, the messages started flooding in.

「What?」
「lil bro’s going to hang out with a girl?」
「you wanna go spend some time with your girl?」
「he just wants to hang with his girl???」
「Yoo mate! Dont worry, HOS BEFORE BROS!!!!」
「lil bro dont worry about us」
「GO GET LAID MY MAN.!!」
「we can survive one night with the maid. Just for you! tell her i said hi!!!!」
「GO GET HER TIGERRRRRRR RAAWWRRRRRRRR」

Su Xue couldn’t believe what she was seeing in the chat! Her jaw literally dropped for a few seconds. Then she snapped her mouth closed and pursed her lips. She looked straight into the webcam and said, “Huh? How? What? No. NO! What the hell guys? What the fuck is this? When did you guys decide to grow hearts? Fucking ingrates! You should be flaming him! Go flame him!”

Su Xue’s eyes were glued to the screen. She’d tuned Lin Feng out. Whatever he said was unimportant compared to what was going on on her screen. The promotional video was showing one of the Chinese teams! That was all that mattered to her right now. Lin Feng’s job was to listen to her, not give his own opinion. So she completely missed him calling God Roundy “Fatty”, or saying that pinching his cheeks was great. God Roundy was on the screen and he had her complete attention!

Tian Tian was on the screen and being interviewed. He looked like a nervous wreck in the promotional video. His eyes were on his shoes and his face was red. The interviewer fired off questions at him, but he had trouble answering them. It started with the first, which was supposed to be a simple self-introduction. “H-hi, I’m Tian Tian, uh… KG’s Toplaner. Uhh, p-peop– F-fans c-c-call me Rou– Ah, i-it doesn’t m-matter. Fatty, yes… Fatty is m-my name.”

“Hahaha! What was that?” Su Xue spit out her food laughing. She covered her mouth with her hands and swallowed. Then she continued, “Awww! He’s soooo cute! I expected something else from China’s number one top laner. Not such a cutey! Aww, he’s so shy! Look at him! Look at him! I could just eat him up!”

Lin Feng rubbed his nose and smiled. “Yeah, Fatty’s a bit of a coward. Always has been.”

The interviewer was unfazed by Tian Tian’s clear discomfort and pressed him with more difficult questions. “Tian Tian, what are your thoughts on the groups draw? Do you think KG has a shot at making it through the group stage?”

Tian Tian fidgeted with his fingers and bit his lips. “Mhm, y-yea… I t-think our g-g-group is… is d-doable.”

Su Xue shook her head, shocked. “Think our group is doable? He doesn’t sound convinced at all! Does he know something we don’t? Why does it sound like he’s already given up?”

The interviewer was looking for a different kind of answer. Something a little bit more spicy. More provocative. But it was really difficult to get anything out of Tian Tian. She decided to change her tactic. “You’re up against North America’s Flash in Group A. They qualified third in their region, but they do have a King on their roster. Their Toplaner Chris! You’re considered the best Toplaner in China. Your fans even call you the Uncrowned Eighth! How do you think you’ll do against him? Will you show everyone that you’re better than King Chris?”

The camera zoomed in closer on Tian Tian’s face. They could see the beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead. The camera zoomed in even closer. Now his head took up to the entire screen. They could see his upper lip starting to quiver. Tian Tian started blinking. A lot. He swayed back and forth as he stammered out an answer, “U-uhhh… I d-don’t know. B-b-b-but I’ll try my best to win.” He looked like he was about to pass out.

“Oh come on! What was that? Try your best? Can’t you be a little more confident!” Su Xue exclaimed, exasperated. She stared at the screen and started complaining to Tian Tian as though she believed he could hear her, “What is wrong with you? Worlds hasn’t even started yet Roundy! Get your shit together! Everyone calls you the Uncrowned Eighth! Even the interviewer did! You’re basically one of the Seven Kings anyway! Show some confidence! You’re just as good as them! Don’t be scared! Come on! You can do it!” She pumped her fist in the air. She had copied Lin Feng’s signature move subconsciously.

The promotional video moved on to the next team in Group A. It was Flash from North America. This was clearly done by the editors to insert some drama. After a short intro illustrating Flash’s recent achievements, the interview segment began. A young man stepped into frame. He crossed his arms over his chest, confident and comfortable. The camera zoomed in on his face. He had a pale skin, freckles on his nose and curly, red hair. A caption appeared on the bottom of the screen.

Chris, Toplaner of Flash

The camera zoomed out to also include the interviewer in the shot. The interview started with several boring questions about how he and his team were preparing for Worlds. Then the topic shifted to Chris’ rivals. “I spoke to Roundy Round from KG before you. He said that he’ll try his best to beat you! As the number one Toplaner in North America and one of the Seven Kings, what do you think of this challenge?”

Chris chuckled. “He said that? Alright, I welcome the challenge. I’ve known him since all the way back in Season 1. We’re both veterans of the game. We even played against each other in Worlds. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. But. I’ve been watching some of his games lately in the LPL and I have to say that he really looks out of it. He didn’t impress me at all. If he wants to go toe-to-toe with me in top lane, he’ll have to find his old groove back. Right now he’s just not good enough. I really hope I’m wrong. But if I’m not, this is going to be a very boring game. Easy win.”

“What a prick!” Su Xue cursed, slamming her hand down on the table. “This asshole is way too full of himself! How dare he say Roundy has fallen off? Roundy is amazing! Fuck me! What’s so amazing about being in the Seven Kings anyway? Roundy is way better than him! And who even talks trash like that in an interview? He’s pathetic!”

“I know right!” Lin Feng exclaimed. “I can’t stand him either!” He went quiet while Su Xue droned on in the background. His eyes narrowed and focused on the screen. I remember you. They’d played against each other during the Season 1 World Championships. He hated the guy. A real asshole. One of the most toxic, two-faced players he’d ever met. But Chris was also a really good player. One of the best in the world back in the day. Ninth to be precise. For comparison, Fatty only came in thirteenth. There’d been a clear difference in skill between the two.

Lin Feng couldn’t help but smile. Individual skill alone wasn’t enough to make it on the highest stage. Their match during the Season 1 Worlds was the perfect example. Fatty had trouble against Chris in lane, but that was only for the first few minutes. Their jungler arrived and helped Fatty pick up a kill on Chris. That was all the help Fatty needed to lock down his lane while the rest of his team pulled ahead. Then when the team fights broke out in the midgame, it quickly devolved into a one-sided beating. Chris and his team never stood a chance. Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. I wonder if he’s still mad about that game… Maybe that’s why he’s being such an ass towards Fatty.

While Lin Feng was lost in his thoughts, the promotional video moved on. Team after team was interviewed until the video approached the end. The hype music amped up, and the SSK logo appeared on the screen. The last team to be featured was the best team in the world and the current World Champions—SSK! Their roster consisted of three world-class professional players, a King and the Emperor! They were the team to beat!

Lin Feng focused back on the promotional video. The highlights of SSK’s season flashed by, after which the interviews started. He watched that familiar figure walking into the spotlight. So calm. So confident. His eyes trembled. He balled his fists and ground his teeth. You.

The interviewer walked forward to welcome Rake with a big smile. She didn’t fire off questions right away like she’d done with the others. No. She waited for Rake to get comfortable and give her the OK. He was the best player in the world, and for that reason alone deserved her respect. She triple-checked that he was ready and only then started the interview. Her first question was different from the questions she’d asked the other players. “Rake, you’ve already won Worlds twice. No one has ever won it three times. What do you think your chances are?”

The camera switched to Rake. He looked calm and comfortable, like he always did. His expression didn’t change. He didn’t have to think about the question and replied in Korean. Subtitles appeared at the bottom of the screen so that the people watching could understand what he was saying. “I won Worlds in Season 1. I won Worlds in Season 4. I will win Worlds again this year.” This was Rake through and through. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he would win the Season 5 World Championships.

For the first time during the promotional video, Su Xue failed to come up with a witty remark. She was in complete awe of Rake’s confidence. She sighed. “Ahhh, the God of Midlane. I don’t care how cocky he sounds, it just fits him so well.” She looked over at Lin Feng and tapped on his hand. “Hey, didn’t you say you want to become the best player in the world? That’s the guy you’re gonna have to beat!”

Lin Feng’s eyes were locked on the screen. He stared at Rake while giving a slight nod. “I know.”

✹

The next two days flew by. It was Friday afternoon. The students in High School 13 sat restless in their classrooms. They weren’t paying any attention to the teachers. Their eyes were on the clock, waiting for the final bell to ring. Tomorrow was National Day! The start of a week long break and the start of Worlds! They could stay up late to watch the games and wouldn’t have to worry about getting up early the next day for school!

The dismissal bell rang. Students from every year rushed for the door, shoving each other aside to get out first. The floors shook and the excited shouts drummed through the hallways. Club activities were canceled today, so Ouyang and Yang Fan joined the mayhem and were gone before Lin Feng even noticed it. He looked around, confused, and found that only Tang Bingyao was still at her desk. They were the only two left in class.

“Hey, wanna walk home together?” Lin Feng asked.

Tang Bingyao was still reading a textbook. She looked up at Lin Feng, thought for a moment and then nodded.

The halls were already empty when Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao walked out of the classroom. They walked down the stairway and off school property. The two walked in silence on the sidewalk until Tang Bingyao turned to Lin Feng and asked in a rare show of curiosity, “What team are you rooting for at Worlds?”

“KG!” Lin Feng replied without hesitation.

“Why them?” Tang Bingyao asked, tilting her head slightly.

Lin Feng scratched his hair and smiled. “Would you believe me if I told you an old friend of mine is in KG?”