IRAJAS Chapter 135

After defeating HAH, DT successfully advanced to the semifinals of the World Championship.

Joining them in the semifinal seats are the first seed from Korea, YK, the second seed from LPL, ENG, and the first seed from Europe, TO.

With two out of the four teams being from LPL, this unprecedented glory sent the entire domestic esports community into a frenzy.

[Wow, is this for real?]

[LPL is so strong this year!]

[Could we actually bring home the championship?]

[This year might just be an internal showdown!]

[Oh no, it seems like an internal showdown is actually possible!]

[Go ENG! Let’s aim for an internal showdown!]

During that time, no matter where you mentioned DT and ENG, all you heard were praises, and the detractors of these two teams vanished overnight.

Occasionally, some anchors who couldn’t stand the two teams would make a couple of sarcastic remarks. However, their live streams would be reported and shut down directly. Especially in the case of Wu Tianqi’s channel, due to excessive reports, his channel was frozen by the authorities. Currently, he’s in a state where he has no team to support, no platform to stream on, and he has to compensate a large sum of money for spreading rumors and defaming Lin Lan. Even through the internet, one can imagine how miserable his future life will be.

But he deserves it.

He who aims too high, his life hangs by a thread. Did he really think his skills could match Lin Lan’s?

During the preparation period, DT and ENG continued to practice with each other. Even with the consent of the clubs, the coaches on both sides opened up a tactical sharing system. They both hoped that this year’s championship trophy would stay in the LPL.

It’s said that the idea of sharing tactics was proposed by DT’s boss himself, who has a strong sense of patriotism and desperately wants the LPL to win the championship. When ENG was worrying about facing YK, they readily agreed to the idea upon receiving it.

With both sides sharing tactics, collaborating, and winning together, that’s the way to go further!

The grandeur of these two teams has also earned strong praise from domestic fans. In the current national situation, any personal interests become insignificant. This is the true meaning of esports!

Amidst the storm of tactical sharing, numerous domestic teams responded by spontaneously forming three teams to act as practice partners, joining this war without the smoke of gunpowder. In recognition of this behavior, the authorities specially issued a related announcement, mentioning these teams by name, as well as DT and ENG who are shining abroad.

It’s worth mentioning that in this vast and sweeping tactical collaboration, IB is the only team that has not participated at all. They even refuse to forward the official messages, choosing to post some irrelevant content instead. So everyone went to their official account to tease them: [Are they this sour? Not even a response?]

After teasing the official account, they started teasing IB’s boss.

IB’s boss usually works fast in the online office. But during this time, they’ve been as quiet as a mouse, which made everyone burst into laughter.

The four days of preparation time quickly came to an end, and both teams were about to embark on their journey to the semifinals.

The showdown between ENG and YK was scheduled for the first day, and the entire DT team was already in front of the screens, ready to watch this semifinal.

“Do you think ENG can win?”

“It’s hard to say. ENG has made significant progress recently, but it feels like YK is still too strong.”

Lu Shi sighed, “If ENG can’t beat YK, then we might also…”

Before he could finish his sentence, everyone around him rushed over and covered his mouth, “Lu Shi, have you forgotten that your mouth has been mic’d? Don’t say anything random!”

“Damn, almost forgot. Quickly get some tape to cover my mouth!”

Even in such a tense atmosphere, everyone still laughed hysterically. It seemed like DT had this kind of resilience, able to adapt quickly even if the sky were to fall.

Lin Lan also chuckled along. But then, he thought of the outcome of this match in the original world. Suddenly, he couldn’t laugh anymore.

In the original world, this year was the strongest year for ENG and also for YK.

The grouping that year was similar to now, with both teams meeting in the semifinals. That time, ENG was completely suppressed by YK and lost the match 3-1…

Lin Lan inexplicably felt nervous, his eyes glued to the screen. Watching Qi Mo under the director’s camera, his body is as tense as when he was in a match.

Qi Mo is Lin Lan’s most admired and favorite mid-lane player. It’s not just his skills, but also his character and values that Lin Lan appreciates. So, within the entire LPL, Qi Mo is the only player Lin Lan trusts to turn enemies into friends. During this World Championship, Lin Lan exchanged insights with Qi Mo more than once, and their discussions often revolved around YK’s mid-laner, Kuien.

Kuien is a gifted player, favored by the gods.

His talent is the best Lin Lan has ever seen, almost godlike.

Whether it’s reaction speed, dynamic vision, or his top-level understanding of esports, he surpasses other players by far, even Lin Lan himself.

Such talent makes him almost unmatched in all esports games. By chance, he started playing LOL and rose to fame in one battle.

In his three-year career, he participated in the World Championship twice and won two championships. If it weren’t for Lin Lan’s sudden rise later on, and if he hadn’t aged, he would have continued his esports legend and become the top player.

However, nobody is perfect.

Lin Lan had private contact with Kuien in the past.

God opened the window to his gaming talent but closed the door to his communication skills.

In private, Kuien is not good at communicating with others. He immerses himself in his own world, only having brief exchanges with familiar teammates. He resists contact with the outside world and rarely participates in interviews.

To keep Kuien, YK rebuilt the entire team around him three times. This time, they finally created their most ideal form, reaching the highest peak in the history of LOL.

Before the start of the tournament, Lin Lan and Qi Mo had discussed this.

Qi Mo lit a cigarette, rare for him. As he smoked, he suddenly chuckled and said, “Some people are really unlucky. Just when they should be achieving their best results, they encounter someone like Kuien.”

He was referring to himself. Throughout Qi Mo’s career, he had achieved all the glory he could, except for one thing—a world championship.

In both worlds, he always encountered Kuien and always ended up losing to him.

Lin Lan stared at the cigarette between Qi Mo’s fingers and suddenly felt a pang in his heart, feeling uncomfortable. “Do you also think YK is unbeatable?”

Qi Mo shook his head, unwilling but forced to admit, “Lin Lan, only people can be defeated, gods cannot.”

That sentence had a profound impact on Lin Lan. Even now, he still remembers the pain it brought him when Qi Mo said those words.

No matter how much effort he put into growing, gods were unbeatable.

Lin Lan had never defeated a god. He was just fortunate to have been born at the right time, missing the peak of Qi Mo and also missing the peak of Kuien.

On the big screen, the two sides were engaged in intense combat. ENG’s entire team played beautifully, growing rapidly without any flaws.

But YK seemed to be in a league of their own, always one step ahead, constantly understanding their opponent’s motives and launching one astonishing counterattack after another.

When the score reached 1:2, and ENG found themselves at a disadvantage again in the fourth game, Lin Lan suddenly felt a suffocating pain in his chest. He stood up abruptly. “I need some fresh air.”

Will ENG be eliminated?

Is YK truly unbeatable?

Lin Lan had always believed himself to be the top player in esports, but now he was starting to doubt.

The intersection of two timelines, meeting Qi Mo and Kuien at their peaks, was this some kind of test?

A test of the achievements he had obtained, whether they were real or not…

The wind on the balcony made Lin Lan feel a bit disoriented. As his thoughts continued to sink, he suddenly heard his teammates’ exclamations behind him, “Lin Lan, look! ENG is turning the tide!”

Lin Lan turned abruptly, his heart skipping a beat.

He rushed back to the lounge and caught the replay on the screen.

In a situation where everything seemed to be against them, Qi Mo abandoned his usual conservative style and, on the brink of losing the game, made a miraculous comeback with an unexpected flanking maneuver!

In the camera’s lens, Qi Mo’s expression was as sharp as a blade, sweat dripping down his cheeks. Even through the screen, it was clear how intense his gameplay had been.

He had surpassed his limits, creating another possibility.

This possibility opened a gap in Lin Lan’s suppressed heart…

At this point, the game had already been going on for 30 minutes, with respawn times exceeding 50 seconds. Qi Mo, accompanied by the lone AD, pushed up to the high ground, engaging in a battle with death every second.

Lin Lan was more nervous than when he played himself, wishing he could dive into the game to help them push towers. At the critical moment, YK’s jungler respawned, but Qi Mo remained calm. He baited out the opponent’s crucial abilities with a clever maneuver, flashed to reset his basic attack, and finished off the crystal with the last bit of health.

Game victory! Victory!

ENG equalized the score, dragging YK into the deciding game!

At the moment of victory, Qi Mo finally relaxed his tense expression, revealing a rare smile.

Lin Lan could feel that Qi Mo had broken through something in the previous game, entering a whole new realm, which was also the height that Lin Lan wanted to achieve.

So, isn’t it true that gods cannot be defeated?

At least Qi Mo broke the curse of 3:1, dragging the game into the deciding match.

The stone that had been weighing on Lin Lan’s heart finally fell, replaced by a kind of vibrant blood surging.

As the game entered a brief break, it also brought this semifinal to an unprecedented climax.

If ENG really won, the final would probably be an LPL showdown, such heat causing domestic esports fans to lose their direction, a scene that was simply unimaginable!

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