CH 8

Jiang Min entered the game.

This time, he chose the Temple Knight.

Although the Temple Knight is called a knight, he is different from the typical knight used in the 3rd position; he is not a tanky core.

On the contrary, he leans more towards high burst damage and output, and he himself is a bit squishy, usually playing in the 2nd position.

Rather than calling him a knight, it’s more accurate to say he is more like an assassin.

Facing Jiang Min in a solo battle in the mid lane is the traditional melee mid-laner, Thunderous Sword Saint.

In the WOC map, there is a river running through the middle lane, and in this world, different terrains have different impacts on movement speed. The river will reduce the mobility of heroes.

The two melee mid-laners meet, both standing in the river in the middle lane, testing each other across the creeps.

The early attack power of these two heroes is similar; it all comes down to basic last-hitting skills and reaction speed.

Jiang Min, being a professional player, naturally doesn’t fear laning against regular players; otherwise, where would he put his face as a pro?

The Thunderous Sword Saint is wielding a double-handed sword, raising it to last-hit a creep when the Temple Knight hits him with a stunning beam, locking him in place.

Then the Temple Knight quickly moves forward, landing several hard hits, and incidentally denies some creeps in front of the Thunderous Sword Saint. After that, just as the opponent is about to regain consciousness, the Temple Knight sneakily retreats behind his own creep wave.

The early creeps’ attacks are quite substantial, and no hero can easily bypass them to damage the enemy hero.

The lane advantage is gradually established, and Jiang Min starts feeling confident about the game’s situation.

As long as he doesn’t make mistakes and his teammates don’t feed, there is a good chance of winning.

However, he forgot that he was playing solo queue.

The curse of being targeted by snipers in solo queue is still very effective.

As expected, just a few minutes after gaining the advantage in the mid lane, the enemy heroes in the 3rd and 4th positions gave up on their lanes and came directly to gank him.

Jiang Min quickly dodged the control skill from the 4th position but took significant damage from the 3rd position.

However, he remained calm.

Creating distance and sidestepping the 3rd position’s crowd control skill, he followed up with the Divine Light stun and consecutive strikes, killing the low-health 3rd position who came to support, and then swiftly eliminating the squishy 4th position with his hero’s passive ability’s splash damage.

Although he managed to secure two kills, Jiang Min’s own health was running low, and with the enemy mid-laner still chasing him, he had to retreat under his turret for safety.

At this moment, the enemy mid-laner saw Jiang Min’s low health and became overconfident, deciding to dive under the turret to kill him.

Jiang Min acted on reflex and used “Divine Light Stun” on the enemy mid-laner, stunning them under the turret. Thanks to the high damage of turrets against heroes in the early game, the Thunderous Sword Saint fell under the turret.

“Hmph, thought you were so cocky, but now you’re out of luck!” Jiang Min couldn’t help but say.

【”Hahaha, Sugar is so adorable!”】

【”66666″】

“Little brother Sugar, I’m going to report you with real names! Today, your dad Sugar is playing on your account, right?”】

【”We said it’s little brother Sugar playing, didn’t we? I’m reporting your account for boosting!”】

【”Little brother Sugar, quickly tell your dad Sugar to come out from under the table!”】

The barrage of comments flooded in.

With a 1v3 turnaround, Jiang Min’s mood instantly brightened.

The Temple Knight truly lived up to being the favored hero of this version. Although his ultimate, Temple’s Protection, was initially designed for defensive purposes and to help the team’s 1st position secure resources, his exceptional damage made him the top choice for both competitive matches and ranked games.

If the opponents dared not to ban the Temple Knight during the ban phase, Jiang Min was determined to make them taste the fear of being dominated by the Temple Knight.

Jiang Min was ready to crush this ranked game.

However…

Staring at the familiar “DEFEAT” on the screen, Jiang Min almost couldn’t resist the urge to smash his desk.

“Ah ah ah ah ah~~~ Darn it!” Jiang Min was so frustrated that he even blurted out the catchphrase he learned from a Korean player in the neighboring CC team’s other gaming division.

“No, I just can’t understand it. I asked them to hold on and not feed, but they just wouldn’t listen!” Jiang Min was frustrated. “Is it so difficult to play safe? Let me farm and carry in the late game! They just need to initiate team fights with crowd control!”

“And what’s up with this 1st position player…” Jiang Min looked at his own 18/6/3 record and felt like crying. He was involved in all 21 kills generated by his team in this match, with 18 kills and 3 assists. He really tried his best.

“No, I have to report him!” Jiang Min clicked on the icon of the 1st position player on the post-match page and opened the reporting page. “If you don’t know how to play the 1st position, don’t ruin others! Don’t you understand this version belongs to the 1st position player? If you don’t take the lead, how can others play properly!”

Jiang Min selected various reasons for the report and furiously typed in the description: “Solo in three lanes, zero damage in team fights. Clearly doesn’t know how to play the 1st position and insists on competing with others, intentionally feeding, wandering around with no purpose…”

He typed up a short essay in a burst of speed.

After venting, Jiang Min clicked on “Submit” and felt satisfied.

【”Hahaha, a little essay~”】

【”The curse of solo queue will never fade away!”】

【”Hahaha, I can’t take it anymore, angry little sugar is so adorable.”】

“Come on, please, don’t call me adorable again.” Jiang Min shrugged, “My lungs are about to explode…”

Feeling a bit thirsty from the frustration, he stood up. “I’ll get a drink. Listen to some songs for a while.”

After saying that, he opened a music app and played random songs, then left the streaming room.

CC’s various training rooms and streaming rooms were all located on the second floor of the club and were close to each other. At the corner of the corridor was a small pantry with a fridge and a microwave.

The fridge contained some regular beverages, and the microwave was used to heat food for team members with irregular schedules.

Jiang Min opened the fridge and randomly picked a bottle of cola. Just as he opened the can, he heard footsteps coming from the corridor.

As he walked out of the pantry, he ran into the 1st position player of CC’s WOC team and the current 2nd position player.

“Oh, isn’t this Sugar?” The 1st position player from the team, named You Guanyu, came from LNC last year and transferred to CC. He and Jiang Min had never really gotten along.

He was a well-known player in the league and was used to playing in a four-protect-one strategy in his previous team.

At that time last year, the meta hadn’t tilted heavily toward the 1st position, so You Guanyu initially struggled in CC. He wasn’t used to the team’s resources being allocated to the mid-laner, and he often made mistakes due to poor teamwork, leading to criticism.

Over time, You Guanyu developed the desire to replace Jiang Min.

The benefits and welfare at CC were excellent, so he didn’t plan to leave. In order to continue playing with a four-protect-one lineup and change the team’s style to fit his playstyle, he had to replace the strong mid-laner in CC.

For someone as confident in his abilities as You Guanyu, CC’s success didn’t depend on Jiang Min. As long as the team could focus on securing his farm in matches, it would be enough.

With this version’s significant emphasis on the 1st position, You Guanyu saw his opportunity. He made some deals with CC’s management.

In the end, he succeeded.

Jiang Min was moved to the 2nd division, and he got a mid-laner who was very skilled in the four-protect-one strategy.

You Guanyu rested his arm on the shoulder of the newly promoted 1st position player in the team and looked at Jiang Min with a mocking tone, “Sugar, how’s life in the 2nd division?”

Jiang Min had noticed the inexplicable hostility from You Guanyu a long time ago. To be honest, he didn’t see any problem with both the 1st and 2nd positions developing simultaneously; after all, they were called “Double C,” right? But in You Guanyu’s concept, it seemed that all positions were meant to give way to the 1st position naturally.

This difference in ideology and playstyle created a fundamental divide between them.

Since he had already been transferred to the second team and was likely to leave CC soon, he decided to get along with his former teammates in a friendly manner during this final period.

“It’s alright,” Jiang Min pretended not to notice You Guanyu’s unfriendly tone.

“Is that so? I’m much more comfortable in the first team now. Xiao Ye is a mid-laner who suits me well,” You Guanyu praised the new mid-laner of the first team.

Xiao Ye was the former mid-laner of the second team, Ye Peilan, and he was a lively and outgoing person.

“Xiao Ye, say hello to Sugar,” You Guanyu showcased the new mid-laner of the first team to Jiang Min, as if he were making a demonstration.

“Hi, S-sugar,” Xiao Ye seemed unusually hesitant, avoiding direct eye contact with Jiang Min, “I-I really admire you.”

In fact, there were quite a few young mid-laners in the WPL league in Z Country who admired Jiang Min.

Jiang Min replied with a faint acknowledgment.

You Guanyu noticed that something was off; he expected Xiao Ye to be more confident and challenging, not this submissive attitude.

“Never mind, Xiao Ye, let’s go. We have a scrim with OVO later. It’s hard to get them to schedule a practice match, and we shouldn’t waste time with the second team’s mid-laner here. They can only scrim with some mediocre teams,” You Guanyu emphasized the term “mediocre.”

It was clear that he was referring to the second team, which was a gatekeeper in the second-tier league but still had a considerable gap in strength compared to the first-tier teams. And now, Jiang Min, who was in the second team, wasn’t worthy of speaking on the same level as them.

Xiao Ye didn’t look pleased with his words.

After all, he had also played in the second team for two years, and You Guanyu’s evaluation of his former team was undoubtedly uncomfortable for him.

However, You Guanyu was a senior player and currently held power in the first team. Xiao Ye couldn’t afford to offend him, even though he felt sorry for Jiang Min. His own future was more important.

Jiang Min watched as the two of them entered the first team’s training room.

He looked up and finished his cold cola in one gulp, crushed the can, and threw it into the trash bin.

You Guanyu got what he considered to be the perfect team setup. Let’s see what results he can achieve. Jiang Min hoped not to disappoint him too much.

Weak opponents weren’t worth his serious attention.

Ji Xiu Yan and CC’s owner, Lin Hongzheng, signed an intention contract.

The general content was that CC would resell Jiang Min to JW Club for a price of 30 million yuan. After the formal transfer contract was confirmed by the legal department, they would sign the official contract.

Ji Xiu Yan elegantly signed his name on the contract and then realized an important issue.

“By the way, Boss Lin,” he directly asked, “don’t we need the player’s consent to sign an intention contract? Isn’t the transfer supposed to be decided through negotiation with the player?”

Shouldn’t the transfer be decided jointly by the club and the player?

But Lin Hongzheng had signed the intention contract with them without Jiang Min’s knowledge.

“It’s fine. I don’t think I need the player’s consent to sell him.” Lin Hongzheng said with a domineering attitude, as if he wasn’t the one who said they needed the player’s consent to sign the contract.

“The players under my banner, can’t I sell them as I please? It doesn’t matter who they get along with, as long as I can get money. Is there anyone I can’t sell? Oh, by the way, when it comes to salary and such, you can negotiate with him yourself. I won’t get involved.”

“…” Ji Xiu Yan and Yu Hao were speechless.

With such a boss, CC’s future was truly unknown.

Ji Xiu Yan and Yu Hao bid farewell to Lin Hongzheng, who wore a smile on his face, and he sent them all the way out of the CC base.

The two of them got into Ji Xiu Yan’s double-color Maybach, which seemed to shout, “My master is very rich.”

“Speaking of which, you came to see Sugar, right? You’re leaving without even seeing him?” Ji Xiu Yan asked.

“Yeah,” Yu Hao took off his cap, “It’s a bit regrettable. But I don’t want him to be associated with other teams behind the scenes. With you as the JW owner, we better not meet him in an unofficial setting. After all, we’ve already signed the intention contract, and he’ll be mine sooner or later.”

Ji Xiu Yan sneered, “Right, it’s my fault that you didn’t see Sugar today? You came here just to talk about the contract with me out of the blue and make me bleed with a fixed price?”

Yu Hao didn’t answer him; instead, he took out his phone and saw a push notification from the livestreaming platform sent to him over an hour ago.

Yu Hao immediately clicked on it.

Originally excited about signing the intention contract to buy Jiang Min, his excitement quickly dampened the moment he entered the live streaming room.

Because he could clearly hear that the person in the live streaming room was about to hire an in-game companion again.

1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”