CH 4

In the end, the MVP[1] was awarded to Lu Qi.

Facing this conclusion, JK had no objections. After all, Lu Qi had dealt the most damage in both their winning matches, fully deserving of his title as MVP.

All the equipment used in the matches was provided by the KPL officials, hence there was no need to pack up after their games. After a brief celebration, Da Qing, like a big brother, took over Lu Qi’s role as the leader and beckoned to the others, “Captain will be interviewed for the MVP later, so let’s go back to the lounge to clean up and wait for him in the car.”

The team manager, Xiao Ruo[2], gave everyone hugs, saying, “Scared me there, I almost thought the team was going to disband. You guys did a great job! Let’s go! Tonight, I’ll treat you guys to Haidilao[3]!”

“It’s all thanks to the little missy.” Happy that they had won, Da Ming could not help but laugh out loud, “We get along really well!”

“Is that so?” Xiao Ruo thoughtfully stroked his chin as he walked and asked, “How is she compared to Lian?”

Coincidentally, Lu Qi, who was being interviewed, was also asked a similar question: “From the game just now, it could be seen that Captain Lu and the substitute Eden cooperated quite well together, especially at the tyrant’s pit in the first game or the pulling at the base by Eden in the third game. Only Captain Lu was able to follow Miss Eden’s pace. In that case, when compared to starting lineup support Lian, who does Captain Lu prefer?”

The question was so direct even the audience below became nervous.

The hostess was too cruel for asking such a sharp question like this.

Originally, the conflict between the starting lineup and substitutes was already a big issue. Now, it even involved the issue of gender. Yu Yue was the first female professional player on the KPL stage, and today was her first time playing in a match. Her entire performance could be summed up as both good and bad. They could see the efforts she put in, but they could also see that her coordination with her team was not good. Many times, she needed her teammates to take the initiative to adapt to her playstyle.

But how should Lu Qi answer this question? Should he say ‘Lian is better’ or ‘Yu Yue is better?’

No matter his answer, it could be distorted in many ways by others.

Lu Qi pursed his thin lips, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. It was unknown if he was thinking about the answer to the question or was simply dissatisfied with the question itself.

“I’m sure you know that Eden is the first female professional player in this field. There’s a saying that in e-sports, females are not as good as males. You’re her teammate, so I would like to ask for your opinion on her,” the hostess prompted.

She had already kindly refrained from mentioning his black history[4].

Anyone who mingled in the e-sports circle, regardless of whether they were Jk’s fans or not, knew that if there was a ranking list for ‘Pro players who looked down on female gamers,’ Lu Qi would definitely be at the top of that list, even though he had repeatedly emphasized that he did not look down on them, he just hated those that played like noobs.

“She’s good,” the man finally gave his answer after a long silence.

“Good? As in?”

Not only was the hostess stunned by his answer but the audience below was also stunned too. 

Did Lu Qi mean that Yu Yue was better than Lian?

“Though both of them are our team’s support, Lian and Eden are very different. Lian is an experienced player who had gone through several competitive seasons. He holds a lot of experience, has a steady performance, and has great cooperation with the team. On the other hand, though Eden had many impressive moments during her first appearance, she still has many shortcomings, such as being too timid, too nervous, and needing us to keep up with her pace. In other words, she is still a fledgling,” he elaborated.

This objective statement made most of the fans feel relieved. No matter how one interpreted it, it seemed that Yu Yue had more problems, and it looked like Lian’s position in the starting lineup was secure.

In the lounge, Lian, who was the last to leave, heard Lu Qi’s words and let out a pleased smile, “Hmph, it’s just one match. How can she shake my position?”

He closed the door to the lounge and walked toward the garage, missing out on what Lu Qi said next.

“But if I had to choose,” Lu Qi tightened his grip on the mic, raised his head, and gazed at the silent audience below — They were mostly PS’s fans, with only a handful of them holding JK’s signs, but none had the names ‘Yu Yue’ or ‘Eden’ written on their signs. “I would prefer to have Eden as my teammate.”

Hearing this, it was as if Lu Qi dropped a stone into still water. The hostess could no longer pretend to be calmed and asked in surprise, “Why? Isn’t Lian better?”

“Because Eden wants to win.”

Without waiting for the hostess to continue asking, Lu Qi poured out everything he wanted to say, “Skills can be practiced, coordination can be honed, and nervousness can be overcome. Only the desire to win can not be cultivated and replaced.”

“I believe that if given time, Eden will become one of the top supports in KPL one day.”

Saying till here, Lu Qi let out a rare smile. Then, regardless of whether the hostess had any more questions, he put the mic back in place and left in the direction of the lounge, leaving behind a group of bewildered people.

These people then spread their bewilderment online.

[Oh my god! The manly Lu Qi is actually praising a girl so much!!]

[Jealousy aside, how much did Yu Yue pay Lu Qi for him to praise her this much? Seems kinda false.]

[It’s just a relegation match and she’s already a ‘top support’? For those that didn’t know, you guys had already won the Championship and came back.]

[That’s not what you said in rank games /doge]

[Hahaha, but Lu Ge really wants to win. It’s as if he never win before, every time he pushes the enemy’s base, he’s even more diligent that Da Ming in destroying the nexus.]

This kind of person evaluating Yu Yue as wanting to win, should be the highest praise one could get from him, right?

The garage was in the basement.

Lu Qi had just walked out of the elevator door when he saw a girl standing alone at the side.

“What are you doing? Or did you finally realize that you played too impulsively in that last match and you’re now inconsolable because you might end up on the ‘Exploding Mic’[5], and you now want to commit suicide by feeding the mosquitoes in the garage?”

“I was waiting for you… Wait, no! Hey, how did I forget about the Exploding Mic?” Yu Yue started to worry, “Was I that bad? It can’t be, it’s my first time playing and I didn’t perform well. Don’t tell me that I’ll become famous through Exploding Mic?”

Lu Qi smiled and strode forward with his long legs in the direction of JK’s car, allowing his noisy and slow teammate to catch up from behind.

“Hey! What do you mean by committing suicide by feeding the mosquitoes?”

“Just now, the manager quietly asked Da Qing and Da Ming if they wanted to switch the players for the playoffs. I’m prepping you in case you get asked too.”

“Captain, wait for me!”

“By the way, did the hostess say anything bad about me? I haven’t had a chance to check my phone yet.”

There were only two seats left in the car. After climbing into the car, Yu Yue could only sit next to her Tyrannosaurus captain. As soon as she sat down, she was greeted with a knock on her head, “You’re so noisy.”

Yu Yue: ……

QAQ.

Lu Qi pulled his team jacket over his face, “No one said anything bad about you.  No matter what, we’re all teammates, when outside, I’ll still give you face.”

“That last wave, it’s only because those PS players were foolish enough to just stand there and let you pull them.” Lian gave a cold sneer, “You didn’t do any damage, what are you being so proud of?”

Lu Qi’s voice came from under his jacket, cold as ice, “I’m going to take a nap. Lower the air con temperature and wake me up when we arrive. For the rest of the time, just assume that your captain is dead.”

Xiao Ruo: “Dead captain, how about we go to Haidilao?”

“Whatever.”

“Aren’t you dead?”

Lu Qi: “……”

After a while, Ling Chen, who was sitting at the front, reached back and stretched his hands toward Lu QI’s nose, “Reporting to the manager, the captain is really dead this time.”

“I don’t think you’ll ever get to touch the blue buff in the future,” Da Qing laughed.

Ling Chen was unrepentant, “I never had a chance to begin with.”

Lowly jungler, giving away blue buffs in real-time.

Da Ming: “It can’t be helped, the current meta relies heavily on the mage and marksman in the late game, so all the team’s gold would be given to the mid or bot laner. All the other team’s junglers also eat dirt[6], only CHERRY uses a jungler as the core[7].”

The strategy to use the jungler as the core in the current meta was prone to failure. Hence, most teams do not use it, but CHERRY had no one but the jungler that they can use, so they had to use the jungler as the core.

“CHERRY only has Lian Yan who was relatively strong. “LingChen paused, admitting somewhat helplessly, “He’s stronger than me, a talented jungler. In due time, he would grow to become a formidable opponent.”

The captain, who had said that he was sleeping, hummed, “At least you have some self-awareness. But, teams that cannot adapt to the current meta would be eventually eliminated. If they don’t make any changes after the playoffs, they would not have a future.”

The team manager, Xiao Ruo, also agreed, “Yes, that’s right. Honor of Kings has always been a team’s game. One person can’t carry the team for long. Our team right now is great! Everyone is strong, including the substitutes. Now, Missy is our hero who got us through the relegation match. Let’s go and treat our hero to a meal.”

“Should we nail her team uniform in the base for the future generation of JK to admire?” Lu Qi’s annoying voice came from under his jacket again.

Yu Yue pushed him back down, “Go to sleep!”

In any case, Yu Yue had indeed helped the team win the relegation match, which was equivalent to a hero who had secured half the kingdom, easily gaining the respect of all the starting lineups, except for Lian.

Lian still treated her with indifference.

It was understandable, after all, to some extent, Yu Yue and he were competitors.

Before, Lian thought that no matter what, the starting lineup position would always be his.

Now, he was not so sure anymore.

Although Lu Qi seemed to be standing on his side, the fans on Tieba were all calling for Yu Yue to play as the support in the playoffs. For all the matches.

Wasn’t that the same as benching him, the starting lineup player?

A strong sense of crisis rose from the depths of Lian’s heart, like bubbles in a swap, prompting him to step forward quickly, blocking in front of Xiao Ruo and grabbing his clothes, “Let me play in the playoffs.”

Unknown if Xiao Ruo did it on purpose or not, he avoided Lian’s gaze and said, “We’ll talk about it later. The management team would have a discussion on this.”

“……”

Lian had a strong premonition that he was done for.

References