CH 17

The two players from the OVO team also recognized Yu Hao’s ID.

Yu Hao was using his main account, which he had just changed to “Do you want to play? I’m the 4th position.” After all, this was a high-level game, and many people had the habit of checking their teammates and opponents’ profiles to confirm if they were reliable or to gauge the opponent’s skill level. Cen Yu was no exception.

Upon seeing the familiar profile picture and game records, Cen Yu knew that this was JW’s captain, Yu Hao. They had encountered each other many times in ranked matches before.

Jiang Min’s ID, on the other hand, was “Do you want to play? I’m the 2nd position, very stable.” This was his little-known main account.

From these IDs, it was clear that these two were playing together. Plus, their teammate information page showed both of them in the same team, confirming that they were duo-queuing.

Jade God frowned. “Who is this ‘Do you want to play? I’m the 2nd position, very stable’? I’ve never seen Yu Hao play with him before.”

OVO had not only faced CC multiple times but had also crossed paths with JW several times. As a 4th position player himself, Jade God had a good understanding of JW’s young captain’s awareness and playstyle. They were friends who often communicated privately.

OVO’s 1st position player, Ren Yaobing, known by his ID “Ice,” was just as his name suggested—cold, both in personality and words. He was a man of few words.

“I don’t know,” Ice replied, uninterested in his opponents. For him, ranked matches were simply for practicing coordination with his captain and occasionally pushing his ranking.

Taking advantage of the ban-pick phase, Jade God clicked into “Do you want to play? I’m the 2nd position, very stable” to browse. He couldn’t help but whistle, “Wow, this guy has an impressive record. Based on the heroes picked in ranked matches, it seems like he’s a mid-laner.”

It was almost entirely filled with green “victories,” with only a few red “defeats.” It was undoubtedly an envy-worthy record.

Ice remained indifferent, only considering which hero he should pick.

“Ranked 28th, that’s quite high… Could this be someone’s smurf? But I don’t remember anyone in the league having an ID like this…,” Jade God became interested in this unfamiliar ID, stroking his chin as he pondered.

Jade God had a great reputation in the WPL league and had a wide circle of friends. Aside from Jiang Min, who was usually distant and hard to approach, he was friendly with many professional players.

“I’ve played with him before,” Ice suddenly said.

Cen Yu was taken aback and quickly asked, “Hmm? Really? Do you know whose smurf it is, or is it a new player?”

At their level of play, it was common to run into each other in ranked matches, and encountering other professional players was normal. Sometimes, you’d face an opponent in one game and then have them as a teammate in the next. High-level games were relatively scarce, so such encounters happened frequently in matchmaking.

Ice remained expressionless, his eyes fixed on the screen, and he didn’t even turn his head. “I don’t know, I’ve run into him a few times in late-night games, but we didn’t communicate much.”

Cen Yu was aware of how hardworking their 1st position player was. Maintaining good farming and last-hitting skills as a 1st position player was crucial. Therefore, Ice often practiced in ranked games late into the night.

Professional players didn’t achieve their results by chance; it came through relentless training day and night. Even for naturally talented players, outstanding performance on the competitive stage required consistent hard work.

“Wow, is he from the hermit sect?” Cen Yu asked, his interest piqued. If this player wasn’t a current professional player but was queuing with Yu Hao, it meant that he was likely JW’s new mid-laner, following Xiao Nan’s retirement. As a senior in the league, Cen Yu felt obliged to “welcome” him properly.

“Whose smurf is this mid-laner from the other side?” Cen Yu typed in the public chat.

Yu Hao reminded Jiang Min, “The 1st and 4th positions on the other side are from the OVO team, and this is Jade God typing.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Min responded with a simple period (.), indicating that he didn’t know Jade God very well. Their interactions were limited to a few words in ranked games.

Furthermore, JW’s manager, Shen Qi, was determined to win the “Holding Your Breath Competition” in this transfer window, so JW hadn’t officially announced Jiang Min’s transfer. Shen Qi had also requested Jiang Min and the other players not to leak any information about his transfer, ensuring that he could experience the feeling of winning the competition without prior notice.

Yu Hao found Shen Qi’s enthusiasm for this peculiar competition somewhat ridiculous, but out of kindness towards his manager, he had agreed to keep Jiang Min’s transfer a secret until the official announcement.

“Is it someone I know?” Jade God’s curiosity was growing.

Yu Hao replied, “It’s our new mid-laner. Jade God, go easy on him.”

Yu Hao’s words were polite but carried a hint of pride. In the WOC Chinese server, he hadn’t seen any mid-laner who could outperform Jiang Min. The mid-laner on the other side was confirmed by the ID to be an ordinary player with average records. How could he possibly match up to their “Sugar”?

Since they were duo-queuing with Sugar, it was a guarantee that the mid-lane would be well-protected, making it hard for the opposing 4th position, Jade God, to make a difference.

“New mid-laner?” Jade God’s curiosity grew even stronger. “I’ve never seen this ID before. Is he a rookie?”

“You guess :)” Yu Hao replied with an emoji.

Cen Yu (Jade God), known as the “Sea King of the League,” ruled a sea much larger than Jiang Min’s fishpond. He went easy on other players, liked to call them “dear,” and jokingly referred to himself as a scoundrel.

Now, even he didn’t know who was behind the ID “Do you want to play? I’m the 2nd position, very stable,” so it was likely a new player.

“He seems quite aloof. It’s okay; I’ll make him rage with my play,” Jade God decided to test JW’s new mid-laner and sent a signal that he would challenge him.

With a friendly welcoming attitude, he wanted to convey the message: “Welcome to WPL!”

“Hahaha, Sugar, Jade God says he’s going to make you rage!” Yu Hao laughed so hard he was on the verge of tears.

It was well-known that Sugar was one of the most difficult mid-laners to catch. It was tough to gank him in professional matches, and it was even harder in ranked games without the coordination of other teammates. Yu Hao was looking forward to seeing if Jade God would admit defeat.

“Then let him try,” Jiang Min responded with a slight finger movement and focused on the game.

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