Considering Feifei’s serious love brain, Xiao Shengjing has privately consulted with Coach Zhang several times. During this training period, all players were required to surrender their phones. The rewards that were supposed to be distributed were temporarily withheld by Coach Zhang until after the season ended, to prevent Feifei from being deceived and left with nothing.
In an effort to rescue Feifei, Lu Shi discreetly shared a video of Wang Baochuan foraging for wild vegetables online with him. After watching it, Feifei exclaimed, “Did you see that? He’s happy even when he’s foraging for wild vegetables.”
Lu Shi: “???”
Lin Lan only now realizes how terrifying the love brain can be. Is foraging for wild vegetables a real-life event in romantic dramas?
Due to the phone surrender, Lin Lan didn’t receive Jiang Xi’s messages on time. Opening the messages, there was a flood of “ding ding ding.”
Jiang Xi is a girl who loves to smile, her eyes crinkling when she laughs. Despite the blow of Grandma’s passing, she quickly bounced back, evident in her effort to smile in every photo.
She shares pictures of the delicious food she eats every day, the scenery she encounters, and narrates her changing moods. Just in one day, she sent over a dozen photos.
One of them is a photo of her holding ice cream, smiling with curved brows, her gaze focused and tender, brimming with affection.
Lin Lan suddenly didn’t know how to respond. If she knew, the person she had liked for many years was no longer there; she would probably feel very sad.
Scrolling further down the messages, Jiang Xi said some things to him. She explained that the past had been clarified with Xie Zilu, and she had been manipulated by someone, currently helping him find the mastermind behind the scenes.
After sharing this, she suddenly messaged: Lin Lan, I suddenly don’t want to leave. I want to see you win the championship.
She also sent: Lin Lan, what if I stay in the country? I want to be with Grandma and with you.
This explicit confession was beyond what Lin Lan could handle. He kept typing and deleting, unsure how to tell this girl that the Lin Lan she liked was long gone.
After hesitating for a long time, Jiang Xi replied again: Haha, I was just kidding! Did I scare you? I know you like Xiao Shengjing. You’ve liked him since school. I should congratulate you on finally being together. I wish you both a long and happy relationship. After sorting out Grandma’s matters and Xie Zilu’s matters, I’ll go back to the United States and focus on my studies.
She added cute emojis to her message.
At a critical moment, the only option was to rely on the team captain to survive.
Lin Lan took a deep breath and replied to Jiang Xi’s message: Thank you, and I wish you success in your studies.
After sending the message, Jiang Xi didn’t send any more photos.
Lin Lan temporarily didn’t have the energy to deal with her. These days, he was busy with training because the highly anticipated semi-finals were finally approaching.
After a full 7 days of rest, the entire DT team was in good spirits, especially Feifei. It seemed like Lin Lan had unlocked his potential, and he found a playing style that suited him best. His performance in the training matches remained quite stable.
Lu Shi was curious about what Lin Lan had said to Feifei.
Lin Lan: “I didn’t say much, just kept boosting his confidence, telling him he played well and should continue that way in the next match.”
Feifei was a particularly insecure person, and with Lin Lan’s constant encouragement, he began to believe in himself. Many playing styles he was hesitant to try before started to be explored under Lin Lan’s encouragement.
“What about that day on stage? What did you say to Feifei? How did he suddenly stabilize his emotions?”
“I told him, ‘If you cry now, the audience might think I’m bullying you. If this spreads, they’ll say we have internal conflicts, and our team will be criticized. He stopped crying immediately.'”
Feifei has always disliked causing trouble for others. Hearing Lin Lan’s words, he immediately held back his tears.
Lu Shi, after hearing this, burst into laughter, saying, “That’s so Feifei.”
But Lin Lan is really cunning. Manipulating others like this.
After a brief break in the training room, everyone enthusiastically checked the equipment for the upcoming match. For such a large-scale competition, they needed to go to the venue beforehand to fine-tune everything—the process was very strict.
After seven days of preparation, the success of their efforts would be determined today. Lin Lan’s goal was to win the championship trophy, and ENG was the first hurdle he had to overcome.
He carefully organized his headphones, paying no attention to the outside noise.
This match was challenging for DT, with low expectations from everyone. Even Coach Zhang didn’t express much hope before the game, telling them to charge forward without any burden. Anyway, Brother Mu was already satisfied with their current performance.
When he learned that DT had won against JIO, he jumped up on the spot, so excited that he accidentally broke his set of purple clay teapots worth two hundred thousand.
As Lin Lan and the others returned to the base, it happened to be the moment when Brother Mu was so angered that he was taken to the hospital. Everyone mistakenly thought he was happy.
During the equipment debugging, teammates’ voices were often linked together, requiring mutual communication to ensure there were no issues. Feifei, feeling bored, casually mentioned the incident, and everyone laughed without any reservations.
The referee reminded them in the voice chat, “Don’t chat casually. Is the debugging done? OK?”
Everyone replied with an OK, but they couldn’t help but continue laughing.
For DT, it seemed like reaching this point was already enough, and even if they lost, there was no burden.
After the debugging, the players awaited the instructions to start the match.
Surprisingly, the barrage on the screen was peaceful. DT’s fans believed that reaching this stage exceeded expectations, and even if they lost, it was okay. Meeting ENG in the playoffs was already an honor.
ENG’s fans thought that this match had no suspense from the beginning. DT was fourth, and ENG was first—the gap was too significant, and the outcome wouldn’t be surprising.
Both sides settled down peacefully, creating a serene atmosphere that left onlookers a bit puzzled, thinking they had entered the wrong set.
It’s essential to know that ENG’s fans, like IB’s fans, are notorious for their ability to criticize. Any team associated with them is invariably showered with relentless criticism, making a joke in the esports community that goes, “In the world of critics, there are millions; half belong to ENG, and half to IB”. This alone reflects how terrifying it can be.
Therefore, such a peaceful barrage is genuinely rare.
In this serene scene, an untimely barrage suddenly appeared: “Aren’t you afraid ENG might upset?”
The user was a distinguished VIP, their font bold and red, visible to the entire audience in the live stream.
This set off a storm, with ENG’s fans rushing to their keyboards, criticizing DT inside and out, calling them worthless and delusional. DT’s fans, bewildered, naturally fought back.
After a round of heated exchanges, everyone realized just how formidable ENG’s fan base could be. Describing them as a massive force is not an exaggeration.
DT’s fans were drowned in the crowd, and whatever they posted would instantly disappear. The screen was filled with ENG’s fans creating chaos, making it quite uncomfortable for DT’s supporters.
Never have we seen fans as dominant as ENG’s!
The most infuriating thing is not being able to win and still facing criticism!
In their anger, DT fans came up with a brilliant move—spamming the words “upset” all over the screen.
These two words were seen as unforgivable crimes in the eyes of ENG’s fans. Whether it struck a nerve with them or not, it triggered an even more severe backlash.
But that’s not the worst part. The most infuriating aspect was that, to appease ENG’s fans, the administrators actually added the phrase “upset” to the blocked words list. When sent, the words all turned into asterisks, leaving no place for them to vent their frustration.
DT’s fans were instantly defeated!
They had never been crushed so harshly in their entire lives!
ENG’s fans, feeling victorious, were smug. Right at this moment, ENG cleanly won the first round, further fueling their arrogance.
Initially, DT’s fans didn’t really care about winning or losing, but witnessing the craziness of ENG’s fans, they now wished to see DT crush them!
They held their breath and shouted in the barrage: [DT, win for me!]
[Win, and I’ll be your fan for a lifetime!]
[I’ll be your fan for ten lifetimes!]
[If you win, I’ll do a 360-degree somersault using dish soap and chili oil to wash my hair! My roommate Wang Hao said he’d do it too!]
[Damn, that’s hardcore.]
After losing the first round, Lin Lan’s expression became more serious.
ENG had consistently refused to play practice matches against DT, rejecting their invitations even during the seven days before the match, citing “fear of revealing tactics” as their reason.
Hence, this was the first match between DT and ENG.
From this game, it was evident that ENG was indeed a tough nut to crack, exceptionally challenging. Despite having watched many videos and analyzed tactics, the overwhelming pressure during the actual match was still palpable.
Jiang Jin shared his feelings about facing them: “They are very dominant online. I dare not roam; once I leave, Xu Shengwei will be in deep trouble for sure.”
Xu Shengwei also felt this level of pressure for the first time and honestly replied, “I can’t beat their AD carry.”
ENG’s AD carry was indeed formidable. Having been in China for three years after coming from Korea, his strength remained consistently stable every year, seemingly never experiencing a decline. He was rightfully the champion AD carry, an experienced and exceptionally skilled player that newcomers like Xu Shengwei couldn’t handle.
However, Lin Lan knew they had a fatal weakness.
With his hands crossed on the table, he informed his teammates, “Their support doesn’t roam, only stays in the lanes. Jiang Jin, you have the upper hand in this area.”
The weakness of ENG lies in their support. At this point in time, they were not considered a top-tier team. In the original world, their peak strength was only achieved when Jiang Jin joined them.
Jiang Jin checked his data network and remarked, “I thought it was because the AD carry was too dominant, forcing him to stay and protect. It turns out he doesn’t roam, so they can only play in the lanes.”
Lin Lan’s reminder sparked a new idea in Jiang Jin’s mind. Suddenly, he took out a pen and began sketching, saying, “I do have a new strategy in mind.”
He quickly outlined the tactical direction in a few waves, “I’ve been studying a strategy recently. We use Time Master to roam, increase the jungle’s experience by providing time differences, and focus on strong ganks in the mid-lane in the early game… like this. Then in the mid-game, we can do this… and later on, like this…”
Lin Lan’s eyes lit up – here it comes! Jiang Jin’s Time Master strategy is finally going to be utilized!
As soon as he finished, Feifei expressed his confusion, “Isn’t this the strategy Lin Lan used before? It looks similar…”
Jiang Jin looked puzzled, “Huh?”
Lin Lan quickly cleared his throat twice, “It’s different. Jiang Jin, please continue.”
He was indeed borrowing the strategy. The true developer of this tactic was Jiang Jin, who mastered this hero to unparalleled heights that no one could reach, becoming a legend in matches.
Everyone earnestly discussed tactical arrangements with Jiang Jin, and no one raised objections.
A new team had the advantage that whenever someone proposed an idea, everyone actively participated in the discussion.
In contrast, in mature teams, each player has their fixed mindset and personal domain, making it challenging to accommodate each other’s ideas.
In the original world, Lin Lan had also contemplated changing this situation but found it difficult and unrewarding. Gradually, he developed a tendency to focus solely on his own playstyle. It was only after joining DT that he gradually began to integrate his ideas with his teammates.
The discussion continued amidst tension, and the second round of the match quickly began.
ENG’s fans filled the barrage with mockery, infuriating DT’s fans to the point where their hearts, lungs, and spleens all seemed to ache. Unable to win and facing both anger and insults, they became even more frustrated.
What kind of monsters are these?
It’s like dealing with locusts, just devouring whoever they catch.
As both sides entered the champion selection phase, following tradition, ENG consecutively banned three popular heroes, mainly targeting Lin Lan. Unexpectedly, DT countered by banning three support heroes.
“Banning so many supports?” ENG’s jungler couldn’t comprehend, taunting, “Sometimes I really don’t know what these new teams are thinking.”
The mid-laner, Qi Mo, stared at the screen seriously, pondering why they were banning champions in this manner, sensing a slightly ominous feeling.
In this version, there weren’t many viable support options. After these bans, ENG picked a very dominant champion for the lane: Nami.
It’s well-known that Nami is just a soft support, but when paired with Lucian in the lane, it becomes incredibly dominant. Essentially, as soon as the opponents show up in the lane, they can swiftly send them away.
The commentator exclaimed, “ENG’s bot lane remains so dominant. How will DT respond?”
DT didn’t hesitate and quickly locked in a champion.
Chronokeeper – Zilean.
Lin Lan had played this champion in the support role before, achieving excellent results. Moreover, in this version, Zilean was still a viable pick.
Zilean’s ultimate ability is a resurrection, which is undoubtedly a deadly blow against burst champions like Lucian and Nami.
ENG fell for it; they were tricked by DT!
After the commentator analyzed why DT made this pick, the barrage instantly erupted. DT fans felt triumphant, while ENG fans in the barrage relentlessly insulted DT, considering them a desperate and struggling clown!
They refused to accept the fact that DT was dominating ENG in the draft phase. In their minds, DT and ENG were not on the same level, so why bother playing tricks?
Just as they finished insulting, DT’s final pick unexpectedly locked in a mid-lane champion: LeBlanc.
This is a pure mid-lane assassin, not suitable for the top lane. Moreover, it doesn’t seem to be Feifei’s style. In other words, Lin Lan is about to employ the lane swap tactic again with Feifei!
With this move, DT’s lineup suddenly became much stronger than the opponent’s!
And Lin Lan is exceptionally skilled at playing assassins! The last time they employed the lane swap tactic was against JIO, a game that many people still remember!
DT fans instantly erupted with excitement!
They felt that Lin Lan would help them vent their frustration!
As the players exchanged champions, Feifei got Ornn, and Lin Lan got LeBlanc, confirming that they were indeed going for the lane-swap tactic.
The commentators exclaimed, “DT’s lane swap tactic is really brilliant, and their adaptability in the mid and top lanes is very strong. This tactic suits them very well.”
ENG fans were unwilling to accept this reality and began a new round of insults.
In their eyes, DT is practically “moonwalking” or attempting to deceive at the moon landing!
