“Have you ever risked your life for someone in your lifetime?”
“Ah—! Dodged!”
Under the backdrop of intense music, Jiang Jin’s Lulu repeatedly transformed bigger, rescuing the heavily injured Lin Lan from the jaws of the weapon time and time again. This thrilling operation, accompanied by the surge of adrenaline, was included in the top ten extreme moves of the third phase of the spring tournament. Among them was Lin Lan’s scene of “7 seconds to annihilate the opponents.”
Jiang Jin sighed, “It’s been a long time since I made it into the highlights. I remember the last time was when I just debuted. I haven’t pulled off such a dazzling move since then.”
Lin Lan used to frequently make it into the highlights, but it was the first time in this world, unexpectedly as an AD role. He commented, “There will be many more opportunities in the future.”
“Lin Lan, are you also watching this highlights reel?” Lu Shi hurriedly approached, opening the conversation, “There are only ten clips in this highlights reel, and DT made it into two, indicating that we are already candidates for a strong team.”
He was playful and smiling, still fooling around as before. However, Lin Lan didn’t take it seriously at all, “Have you finished your training? Have you mastered the heroes Coach Zhang asked you to practice? After finishing, don’t you think about consolidating a bit? Not self-aware at all.” Saying this, he closed the video, put on his headphones, and immersed himself back into training.
Lu Shi instantly wore a mask of pain. He noticed that ever since Lin Lan got shares, he couldn’t play happily with him anymore.
“Damn it, wasn’t it him who opened the video and laughed so loudly first?”
He inwardly scorned Lin Lan for prioritizing wealth over friendship. Just as he opened the game to start training, Coach Zhang suddenly called him, “Lu Shi, are you free? Go to the youth training camp and pick a few trainees for me.”
Lu Shi looked at the game interface that had just been opened on his computer: ??? With such a large game interface open, how can this be considered as having nothing to do?
“Who should I call?”
“The list is here. Take a look and pick one for each position. Choose the good ones. Later, I’ll organize a 5v5 match.”
DT had recruited a bunch of trainees this time, many of whom Lu Shi couldn’t even name. He deeply felt that this was not an easy task and quickly dragged Lin Lan, who hadn’t entered the game yet.
Originally, Lin Lan didn’t want to go. Besides training, he usually didn’t care about anything else. However, Lu Shi kept pestering him, saying, “You’re a shareholder, you’re a shareholder, you’re a shareholder. It doesn’t matter who else cares.”
Lin Lan was inexplicably brainwashed by him for a moment and ended up following him to the youth training camp.
The youth training camp and the main team were completely separate. Lin Lan had only glanced at it hastily during the first meeting. Except for training matches where they might encounter each other in the game, they had little interaction at other times.
The training environment here was naturally far from comparable to the main team. The main team’s training room was equipped with professional devices, and everyone had professional esports chairs. Except for those who were currently training and the coaches, few others set foot in there. In contrast, the youth training camp was relatively open, with computers densely stacked together, people everywhere, a noisy environment, and voices speaking everywhere.
In such a chaotic environment, finding five decent players was indeed not easy.
“Who’s in charge of the youth training camp?”
“The person in charge is on leave. Coach Zhang asked me to come and find someone.”
Lu Shi looked at the group of young guys with headphones, shouting and struggling in the Summoner’s Rift. He gradually put on a mask of pain, “Do you know any of them? Is there anyone particularly skilled?”
Lin Lan shook his head, “They’re all unfamiliar faces.”
Lu Shi could only grab someone who hadn’t entered the game yet, but the person obviously wasn’t very familiar with Lu Shi. They were asked and seemed a bit bewildered, unable to utter a word for a while.
When Lin Lan walked over, the person instantly recognized him, “Hey, you’re Kiner, right? I really like your games. I watch every match. I didn’t expect to meet you here…”
After a barrage of words, Lin Lan mentioned that he was here to find someone, and the person immediately recommended a bunch of names, taking them along to search.
Lu Shi realized that despite talking for a while, he wasn’t as effective as Lin Lan’s mere presence.
The closest to them was a blond guy who played in the top lane. He seemed quite shy and became particularly nervous when told to join the training match.
Next were the mid-lane, jungle, and support positions. However, they couldn’t find anyone for the last AD position. After searching around, they finally spotted him sitting in the farthest corner. He was wearing a black tank top, looked exceptionally thin, appeared quite young, and seemed alert. He wasn’t very sociable, playing solo without uttering a word from start to finish, focusing entirely on his screen.
The person called out to him, “Hey, Xu Shengwei.”
He completely ignored it. The person helplessly informed Lin Lan, “That’s just how he is. He doesn’t like to talk to people much.”
It wasn’t until he finished a team fight in the game that he asked, “What do you want?”
“Xu Shengwei, the main team wants you to come over and play in a training match.”
Xu Shengwei remained calm upon hearing about the training match. Despite his young age, he seemed quite composed. “I got it. I’ll go after finishing this game.”
After saying that, he glanced at the people behind him. Initially, there was no reaction, but when he saw Lin Lan, he suddenly stood up with a “whoosh.”
He took off his headphones, tall and thin, wearing a black tank top. He looked somewhat sharp, but in front of Lin Lan, he instantly transformed into a timid chick, “Hello, senior.”
Lin Lan was startled by his sudden change. Seeing that he was close to death, Lin Lan pointed to his screen, “How about you finish this game first?”
Xu Shengwei quickly put his headphones back on and sat down in a fluster.
In this game, he was playing as Vayne, and the young man’s reaction speed was indeed extraordinary. His mechanics and positioning were very impressive, but there was a rawness to it. Every move carried a sense of inexperience, making it easy for opponents to predict his next steps. Regardless of how skilled his mechanics were, he could only face difficulties against more experienced players.
Moreover, after Lin Lan arrived, Xu Shengwei seemed much more nervous. Trying too hard to showcase himself, he misplayed his Flash, resulting in a disastrous team fight.
Lin Lan shook his head repeatedly.
Too reckless, who plays games so recklessly?
He remembered encountering a similarly reckless AD trainee in the original world. Relying on his fast reflexes, the trainee tried to challenge the authority of a mid-lane player.
Lin Lan wasn’t merciful back then. He stylishly dominated the opponent, attempting to show the immense gap between mid-lane and AD. However, the opponent was as stubborn as a mule, insisting on challenging him despite dying repeatedly, and his gameplay improved with each attempt.
At that time, Lin Lan even had a feeling that if he let his guard down, he might actually lose to him.
Unfortunately, the trainee Lin Lan encountered in the original world only stayed in IB for a few months before leaving. Lin Lan never bothered to find out where he went.
In his resurrected state, Xu Shengwei didn’t compromise. He held onto his determination, adamant about reclaiming his place.
From his awkward maneuvers, it was evident that he had improved compared to the previous engagement. However, some economic disadvantages couldn’t be compensated for by minor improvements. Once again, he fell.
Fallen, yet rising again.
Risen, only to fall once more.
He stubbornly grew in this unique manner.
This distinctive playstyle triggered a sense of familiarity in Lin Lan. He looked closely at Xu Shengwei’s ID, displaying “xsv.” Dusty memories suddenly recovered a bit.
Hey, could Xu Shengwei be that stubborn guy from back then?
How did he end up becoming a trainee at DT? Was he struggling so much?
In Lin Lan’s impression, Xu Shengwei, even if not outstanding, had the capability to compete in LDL. With a bit more effort, playing in LPL would be entirely feasible. Perhaps in IB, he could only be a trainee, but in DT, he certainly had more than just trainee-level skills. Lin Lan couldn’t understand how Xu Shengwei ended up in such a situation.
He quietly asked the person beside him, “How did he join DT? His skills should be more than that of just a trainee.”
The person whispered to him, “His skills are quite good. Originally, in IB, they promised to let him join the second team, but when it came to signing the contract, he refused. He offended the higher-ups at IB badly, and they directly blacklisted him in the industry. Heard he struggled a lot afterward, and was even planning to go back to his hometown. The plane ticket was booked, but halfway through, he saw DT recruiting trainees. Suddenly, it was like his brain got unplugged; he insisted on joining…”
Lin Lan had never seen such a stubborn person.
Wasn’t this self-destructive?
But now Lin Lan was certain. Xu Shengwei was indeed the stubborn guy he encountered before.
So, after leaving IB, he got blacklisted, no wonder he never saw him again.
Thinking about IB’s higher-ups and their contracts, Lin Lan felt a sigh coming on. Perhaps Xu Shengwei’s decision was the right one; otherwise, he might have faced endless exploitation and obscurity.
After all, IB was the deity of freezing talents. Lin Lan knew of two talents that had been frozen by them, one was in the top lane, and the other was in the jungle. Thanks to the fortunes of this world, because Lin Lan and Xiao Shengjing didn’t join IB, the talented jungle player they had frozen in the original world was now their starting player, a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
It’s a pity about the top laner they froze.
In this life, it’s essentially ruined.
His thoughts were brought back to the present. Without a doubt, Xu Shengwei lost this game. With his reckless playstyle, it was difficult not to lose. Moreover, if Lin Lan remembered correctly, Xu Shengwei was playing in high-tier Diamond games.
To confirm his suspicions, Lin Lan took the opponent’s mouse and clicked to view his profile.
Sure enough, Xu Shengwei was currently at Grandmaster 200 points. Lin Lan had been playing fiercely these days, and his main account had just crossed 400 points in the Grandmaster tier. This was also in the case of the duo queueing with Jiang Jin.
The season had just begun, and he had already reached the Grandmaster tier by solo queueing?
Lin Lan began to doubt his own skills a bit.
Seeing Lin Lan checking his profile, Xu Shengwei became somewhat nervous. His hands, placed on the table, clenched nervously, and his lips were dry.
After checking his information, Lin Lan casually flipped through Xu Shengwei’s match history. Without exception, he had a high number of kills and deaths in each game. Moreover, he was quite diligent; he could play several pages of matches in a single day.
Lin Lan sighed casually, “Quite diligent.”
Xu Shengwei nervously licked his lips again. He wasn’t good at socializing and wanted to respond to Lin Lan’s words, but he really didn’t know how to answer. He could only stare at his computer, unblinking.
Lu Shi also leaned over to take a look, “Wow, already in Grandmaster so quickly? Impressive! By the way, how old are you this year?”
Someone behind Xu Shengwei saw him acting like a mute and anxiously kicked his chair, “The senior is asking you a question, why aren’t you answering?”
Being kicked, Xu Shengwei reluctantly uttered, “17.”
“Only 17! No wonder you look so young. You’re already in the Grandmaster tier at 17. When I was 17, I couldn’t even get into the youth training camp.”
Xu Shengwei didn’t know how to respond, so he just nodded.
Lu Shi, usually a sociable person, could only awkwardly scratch his head when facing Xu Shengwei. The conversation just couldn’t seem to flow that day.
After Lin Lan finished checking Xu Shengwei’s records, he had a good idea in his mind. “Let’s go, to the main team.”
Back in the main team training room, Coach Zhang was already preparing for the upcoming training matches. This time, the training match arrangement was quite special. Substitutes and trainees would be mixed up randomly with the main team members to play three rounds. During the matches, they needed to fulfill the coach’s assigned indicators and tasks. Additionally, data analysts would evaluate their performances. Rumor had it that there would be a mysterious grand prize at the end.
This type of training match served three purposes: to liven up the atmosphere, foster harmony among the players, and assess the potential of the substitutes and trainees.
As per Coach Zhang’s instructions, Lin Lan and Jiang Jin couldn’t be on the same team, Xiao Shengjing and Feifei couldn’t be on the same team, and as both Lin Lan and Xiao Shengjing were captains, they couldn’t be on the same team either.
Since Wu Tianqi wasn’t participating, it meant Lin Lan had to be on the same team as Feifei, and Xiao Shengjing could only be on the same team as Jiang Jin. The remaining six positions had to be selected from five substitute members and five trainees.
The top lane was undoubtedly one each for Lin Lan and Xiao Shengjing. Xiao Shengjing chose Lu Shi, and Lin Lan picked the blond kid from the youth training camp.
Next, Xiao Shengjing chose a trainee for the mid-lane and a substitute for the AD position.
When it was Lin Lan’s turn, he knew that no matter who he picked for the jungle position, it wouldn’t be enough to surpass Xiao Shengjing. So, he opted for the most stable substitute jungler.
As for the support position,
While Lin Lan was surveying, Xu Shengwei had been watching him all along. However, he knew Lin Lan couldn’t choose him, so he didn’t have much expectation.
Later, Lin Lan waved at him, “Xu Shengwei, come over.”
The selected Xu Shengwei was stunned for a long time, but he obediently went over. The first thing he said to Lin Lan was, “I don’t know how to play support.”
His teammates were angered by this response. This was the chance chosen by Lin Lan; whether he could play or not, he should seize the opportunity. It was certain that he could learn a lot, and at the very least, it was a chance for Lin Lan to get to know him.
However, Xu Shengwei, this inexperienced person, insisted on cutting off his own future.
Lin Lan was amused by this response, looking at Xu Shengwei, “Not willing to support me?”
After a long pause, Xu Shengwei finally said, “No, I’m afraid I’ll drag you down.”
Lin Lan had already decided and didn’t consider changing, “Before I played AD, I also played support.”
This Xu Shengwei knew. Not only did he know, but he was also a loyal fan of Lin Lan. He watched every game, including the ones where Lin Lan played support.
When he heard that DT was recruiting trainees, he didn’t care about losing face and joined in without hesitation.
He originally thought it would be a while before he could see Lin Lan. But unexpectedly, Lin Lan personally came to the youth training camp to find him.
This should be the closest he had been to his idol, completely unprepared. So, when Lin Lan looked at his match records, he was more nervous than ever.
Now, his idol had named him to play support, and he was afraid of dragging the team down. Because when he played support, he was also quite reckless, often getting scolded by teammates for setting the wrong tone…
Both sides were ready to enter the game room, and it was evident that the selected players were very excited, interacting frequently with Lin Lan.
On the other hand, Xu Shengwei, who was closest to Lin Lan, remained silent like a gourd. He couldn’t utter a word for a long time. Whatever Lin Lan asked him to pick, he picked, and regardless of what was said, he could only respond with a simple “Yeah.” It felt like Lin Lan was forcing him to play the game.
Even his teammate Feifei couldn’t hold back a muffled laugh, teasing Lin Lan, “He’s used to playing AD, and you’re making him play support. How’s that going to work?”
Lin Lan remained calm, “AD players often start from playing support.”
He wasn’t making this up; many AD players indeed began their journey as supports. Teams also required their AD players to regularly play the support role. Understanding the support perspective helped AD players coordinate better in their roles.
However, Xu Shengwei’s playstyle was too individualistic, completely ignoring the significance of the support’s playstyle, which had lost the meaning of a duo lane. So, no matter how well he played, in the eyes of the team, he was not meeting the standards.
Lin Lan wanted him to play more support, to smooth out his recklessness and rough edges.
As both sides went online, Jiang Jin, being very familiar with Lin Lan’s playstyle, did his best to disturb him, causing significant trouble for Lin Lan.
Xu Shengwei wanted to help, but his cooperation was lacking. Each time Lin Lan had already escaped danger, Xu Shengwei remembered to block for him, which was as good as not blocking at all.
Lin Lan didn’t mind. He instructed Xu Shengwei, “Pay attention to my positioning.”
Xu Shengwei began focusing on Lin Lan’s movements, and after watching for a while, he started to understand subconsciously what Lin Lan intended to do, gradually catching up with the coordination.
He was growing, albeit slowly.
However, Jiang Jin wasn’t patient enough to wait for his growth. He directly initiated a level 3 engage. Fortunately, Lin Lan reacted quickly, flashing to dodge the hook and counterattacking.
Unfortunately, Xu Shengwei’s control went awry, missing an opportunity to secure a kill. Instead, he exposed Lin Lan to danger, and Jiang Jin used Ignite to finish off Lin Lan, intentionally showing an emote to interact with him.
Lin Lan didn’t mind and continued coaching Xu Shengwei, “Did you notice my positioning? Remember to keep up in the next engagement.”
Xu Shengwei responded with a simple “yes.” Despite his few words, he remembered everything Lin Lan said.
In the second wave of engagements, the situation was the same, but Xu Shengwei seemed to have a sudden realization. He flashed to block a fatal blow for Lin Lan, providing him with an excellent window for output.
Lin Lan swiftly capitalized on it, securing a double kill.
After eliminating the opponents, he also flashed an emote to Jiang Jin.
“Xu Shengwei, you’re improving rapidly.”
He praised Xu Shengwei genuinely. His progress was indeed impressive. In many instances during matches, communication in the bot lane was often conveyed broadly, and fine-tuning details required synergy between the duo.
Lin Lan and Jiang Jin had such synergy. A slight adjustment in positioning, and Jiang Jin immediately understood what Lin Lan intended to do. Between them, there was no need for unnecessary words.
However, what Xu Shengwei lacked was attention to his teammates. He needed to learn to focus his attention on his teammates to better coordinate with them.
In the subsequent waves of skirmishes, Lin Lan consistently had the upper hand, and Xu Shengwei’s progress was impressively fast, with his coordination improving as well.
The jungle, naturally, was dominated by Xiao Shengjing. He had been disrupting Lin Lan’s development, causing significant trouble for him.
Fortunately, Lin Lan was a skilled player. In the top lane, Lu Shi would teleport to the bottom lane whenever possible. Every time he spotted Lin Lan, he became especially excited, going all out to try and kill him. However, he ended up being outplayed by Lin Lan each time.
Each time he died at Lin Lan’s hands, Lu Shi would complain on the global channel: “Lin Lan, can’t you let me get a kill?”
Lin Lan responded bluntly: “Plenty want to kill me, who do you think you are?”
This infuriated Lu Shi, and he marched down to the bottom lane to take revenge on Lin Lan. However, in doing so, he inevitably lost his top turret and ended up giving away a kill.
Both teams unexpectedly maintained a balanced economy. Jiang Jin couldn’t help but mockingly suggest that Lu Shi was Lin Lan’s spy on their side. The two teams fiercely battled, and in the end, Lin Lan secured victory with a slight advantage after a prolonged skirmish.
After losing the game, Xiao Shengjing smiled helplessly. In this match, he did try his best. But Lu Shi was too theatrical, and there was no damage output from the top and mid lanes. It was impossible to compete with Lin Lan, who was a damage-dealing machine.
Jiang Jin sighed, “Lin Lan’s output is too high. My efforts to contain him were in vain.”
Lu Shi exclaimed, “In the next game, I want to be on the same team as Lin Lan.”
Jiang Jin added, “Me too.”
Coach Zhang, happily trying to pacify everyone, announced, “The rules for the second game are the same as the previous one. The core members of the main team remain unchanged, but other positions must be changed.”
This also meant that Xu Shengwei couldn’t be on the same team as Lin Lan anymore. He felt a bit reluctant and glanced at Lin Lan. He realized that the short learning session had ended so quickly.
As both sides selected their players, Lin Lan could only choose Lu Shi. The jungle position was filled by someone else. As for the support position…
“Xu Shengwei.”
Everyone was stunned. Coach Zhang quickly intervened, “We can’t choose like this; the positions of the players must change.”
“I know,” unexpectedly, Lin Lan said, “I’ll support him.”
As soon as this statement came out, the whole arena fell silent.
Especially Xu Shengwei, his eyes were filled with astonishment as he looked at Lin Lan.
The idol wants to… support him?
The third-ranked AD… Lin Lan wants to support him?
Coach Zhang, not expecting such a move, thought about it and realized it wasn’t against the rules. Moreover, it added an interesting twist to the game. He chuckled and agreed, “Sure, but not in the next game.”
For the first time, Jiang Jin envied Xu Shengwei so much, staring at Lin Lan eagerly, “You’ve never supported me.”
Lin Lan assured him, “Next time. I’ll support you next time.”
This made Jiang Jin feel more balanced.
The game started, and Lin Lan could feel that Xu Shengwei was even more nervous than before. His young face was strained, looking as tense as an elderly person. Gripping the mouse tightly, he remained fixated, not resembling a vibrant young individual at all.
“Relax, pay attention to my positioning, and follow my rhythm this time.”
Xu Shengwei’s playstyle was unique, always doing things his own way without caring whether the support could keep up. Previously, he would never agree to follow the support’s lead. However, now that it was Lin Lan, his beloved idol, he miraculously agreed willingly. He even feared he might not keep up with Lin Lan’s actions, becoming more focused.
Once in the lane, he automatically wanted to engage. Each time, Lin Lan promptly restrained him, saying, “Follow my rhythm.”
Xu Shengwei had to endure, constantly restraining himself. He didn’t know when he could start playing, just staring at Lin Lan’s movements intently.
After watching for a while, he seemed to gain a bit of insight into the dynamics of the bottom lane. Involuntarily, he began to coordinate with Lin Lan’s positioning.
When Lin Lan signaled that they could engage, he almost immediately followed suit. The two of them tacitly chose to assault the enemy AD. Even though Jiang Jin sacrificed himself to protect the AD, the opponent’s AD had poor positioning. Xu Shengwei played flawlessly, resulting in the opponent’s AD dying tragically at Xu Shengwei’s hands.
Drawing first blood, after killing the opponent, the icons simultaneously lit up above both players’ heads. For the first time, Xu Shengwei felt the importance of coordination.
He became bolder as the game progressed, and their coordination improved. Jiang Jin, on the public screen, typed: “Stop killing, our AD is self-isolating because of you.”
Jiang Jin, low on health, continuously triggered the white flag icon, signaling them not to chase.
But Lin Lan was heartless; he took advantage of the situation, hooked Jiang Jin, and killed him.
As Jiang Jin fell, he pitifully displayed the Ah Meme1I dunno which one HAHAHAHHA lol crying icon.
Suddenly, Xu Shengwei laughed. His laughter, like that of a naive teenager, revealed a pair of sharp canine teeth.
At first glance, Lin Lan didn’t see it clearly, so he took a second look.
Xu Shengwei immediately stopped laughing. As he realized others were around, he quickly suppressed his smile, tensing his face.
Thinking he might have been mistaken, Lin Lan continued instructing him non-stop, “Your positioning was a bit aggressive just now. Didn’t you notice you were deviating from my position? Be more cautious in the next engagement.”
Xu Shengwei nodded with a muffled “Hmm.”
He might be quiet, but he always strives to respond to instructions.
When in the top lane with Xiao Shengjing, Lu Shi acted like an actor – quite mediocre. However, when he joined Lin Lan’s side, it was as if he had taken chicken blood, unexpectedly gaining an advantage and infuriating Jiang Jin.
The second game was another close victory for Lin Lan’s side. Xu Shengwei’s damage output was commendable, but at times, he was too aggressive, requiring Lin Lan to rein him in promptly. Overall, he performed exceptionally well.
Coach Zhang observed him with a satisfied nod.
Xu Shengwei, truly promising.
