The bus slowly started, and everyone’s hearts were burning with excitement. Just the thought of bringing the championship trophy home made them so thrilled that they wanted to shout it out to the whole world.
Lin Lan looked at the sea of fans outside. Among them, he spotted a familiar figure in goose yellow. Suddenly, he felt that fame might not be so frightening after all.
Lu Shi, noticing something, ran over to him and said, “It looks like our little yellow sister is in a relationship. I saw her with a guy and they were just walking together.”
Lin Lan looked again, “Where?”
Lu Shi stretched his neck and pointed, “That one in the yellow hoodie, a bit tall. Did you notice they’re wearing matching outfits?”
That figure stood behind Qi Rong, holding up a light sign for her. Lin Lan couldn’t see clearly as the bus wobbled and sped up, but he felt that person looked tall and somewhat familiar.
“I noticed it last time,” Lu Shi said, getting more excited, his small eyes shining with envy. “That guy always sits with her. The camera caught them together. They’re obviously fellow e-sports enthusiasts. I’m so jealous! When will I find a girlfriend who loves e-sports, too? Watching matches together, playing games together—it’s like a dream come true…”
Lin Lan interrupted his fantasy with one sentence, “Wake up. You won’t find one.”
Lu Shi yelled, “Ah, ah!” almost wanting to jump up and cover Lin Lan’s mouth. “I haven’t even started looking, and you already know I won’t find one!”
“What are you guys doing?” Jiang Jin, seeing them having a good time, joined in and sat down beside them. “Hey, Lin Lan, you still haven’t told me how you managed that backdoor maneuver.”
“Oh, that,” Lin Lan recalled it with an air of nonchalance. “IB was in such a hurry to start the match, which meant they had already thought of a counter-strategy. While I was tending to my wound, I thought it through carefully. Their only chance to turn the tables was to forcibly kill me instantly, and my only chance was to use my ultimate to go invincible and then backdoor.”
Lin Lan made it sound so simple, but Jiang Jin felt it wasn’t that easy at all. “Even if you predicted it, could you really execute it in 0.2 seconds?”
Lin Lan: “Yes, I could. My mouse was already on the minimap, ready to teleport behind them. As soon as the pause ended, I just needed to click to teleport and then activate my invincibility. It took about 0.2 seconds.”
In other words, Lin Lan had eliminated the time needed to move the mouse on the map, making it theoretically possible.
Even so, in such a chaotic team fight, especially after a serious incident and while being injured, Lin Lan’s ability to stay calm impressed Jiang Jin.
Jiang Jin curiously asked, “Have you been secretly practicing Ryze? Your combos seemed really smooth.”
Lin Lan wasn’t sure how to answer. Should he say he had practiced or not? In professional matches, Ryze was frequently used as a mid-laner, and the amount of practice behind the scenes was substantial. For him, playing this champion was effortless.
However, in this world, he had hardly played Ryze or even other mages. How should he explain that?
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Lan carefully replied, “Actually, I’ve been practicing secretly with a smurf account every day, hiding in my room.”
Lu Shi: “Huh?”
Jiang Jin: “!” It turns out that only hard work pays off!
They hadn’t been chatting for long when Feifei also joined in, “Lin Lan, can you tell me the difference between playing Ryze as a top laner and as a mid laner?”
Lin Lan began explaining to them unhurriedly.
Everyone listened intently. Even Xu Shengwei, who was sitting in the front row, came over to hear Lin Lan’s insights. The substitutes and trainees who weren’t very familiar with them also eagerly gathered around.
After discussing business with Coach Zhang, Xiao Shengjing turned around and noticed that the front row was empty. Everyone had gathered around Lin Lan, laughing heartily at something.
Lin Lan still liked to sit in the back corner, just as he always had. But now, his teammates were all around him, creating a particularly harmonious scene.
Xiao Shengjing’s previously serious expression softened. He looked down at the documents in his hands and couldn’t help but smile.
Coach Zhang, seeing this rare sight, leaned over and stared at him like he had witnessed a miracle. “Xiao Xiao, did you just smile?”
Xiao Shengjing: “Ahem, no.”
However…
Xiao Shengjing: “Coach Zhang, are you sure about bringing in the new coach so soon? I’m worried they might not be ready for it.”
Coach Zhang: “People have to come eventually, so let’s have them start adjusting now. By the way, didn’t Lu Shi mention wanting to transition from substitute to internal staff last time? What do you think?”
Xiao Shengjing glanced at the harmonious and joyful group behind him. He didn’t want to disrupt that. “I think it’s a good idea. Lu Shi has an excellent memory. No matter how early the match was, if he’s seen it, he can immediately recount the process, which is very helpful for data analysis.”
Coach Zhang: “That’s true. That kid does have a good memory. Anyone who shows him our team’s passwords once can count on him remembering them for months, better than we do ourselves… Alright then, I’ll discuss it with Brother Mu.”
Xiao Shengjing nodded, “Okay.”
“Also, there’s one more thing you should pay attention to,” Coach Zhang lowered his voice deliberately, “Feifei’s contract is about to expire. Make sure to keep him. Brother Mu wants the original lineup for the summer tournament.”
Xiao Shengjing thought this would be easy to handle. Feifei had been with DT for three years and had endured difficult times. Now that things were finally looking up, there was no reason for him to leave, right?
Xiao Shengjing: “Okay, I’ll find some time to talk to him.”
The bus took Lin Lan directly to the hospital. Everyone stayed with him until his bandages were done, then they all went back together.
Back at the base, with no training scheduled, everyone felt relaxed. They lazily gathered, discussing either the celebration party or their upcoming break.
“Having a break is great. A month off means I can go back to my hometown.”
“I don’t want a long break. During vacations, we only get basic salary, and going out costs money.”
“You’re silly. The championship prize is 2 million. Isn’t that enough for you?” As soon as Lu Shi finished speaking, he got smacked.
This time it was Feifei who hit him. “Don’t talk nonsense. The bonus distribution hasn’t been decided yet. If Brother Mu hears you, he’ll scold you again.” However, Feifei did have a say in the bonus distribution. “According to the usual model, the league takes 50%, then 20% goes to taxes. Of the remaining amount, 80% goes to the players and 20% to the coaching staff1To those who got confused, let’s do the math T^T: 50% of the 2 million will go to the league. That’s about 1 million left ‘-‘. 20% of 1m will go to taxes. That’s about 800,000 left. 80% of the 800,000 will go to the players and the remaining 20% will go to the coaching staff. That’s about 640,000 for the players and 160,000 for the coaching staff..”
Lu Shi remembered too, “Coach Zhang usually doesn’t take his share and gives it all to us. It’s based on the number of matches played. I’ll probably just get a consolation prize.”
Jiang Jin, who had received bonuses before, was impressed by this distribution method, “Wow, that’s so humane.”
Xu Shengwei curiously asked, “How do other teams distribute?”
Jiang Jin gave an example from his previous team, “Our team only gave 10% to the players, which, when split evenly, was about 2%. And since our bonuses weren’t that high to begin with, it was basically nothing.”
Lin Lan had seen this kind of distribution model before. IB was even harsher, taking 70% not only of the prize money but also of streaming revenue, GG revenue, and championship skin revenue. They claimed that their operational costs were very high and believed that the players’ popularity was due to their marketing efforts, so the players should bear the team’s operational costs.
“So, DT’s distribution is quite player-friendly?”
“Of course! Brother Mu would rather suffer himself than let the players suffer. He often says that players are the soul of the team and shouldn’t be treated unfairly.”
Lin Lan was touched by this. He turned to look at Xiao Shengjing and then at his teammates, falling into deep thought.
“Lin Lan?” someone called out to him, “What are your plans for the break?”
He hadn’t decided yet. “I’ll probably stay with the team.”
“What, stay with the team?”
“That’s so boring. I’m definitely going out to have fun.”
“I need to go home, or my mom will kill me.”
Everyone started excitedly discussing their vacation plans again. Feifei, looking blissful, said he planned to travel with his online boyfriend. He even took several proud and excited photos of the championship trophy to send to him.
By the time they finished chatting, it was already eleven o’clock. Despite their excitement, everyone had to go to bed.
Lin Lan returned to his room, inserted the key into the lock, and twisted it. Suddenly, Xiao Shengjing’s voice came from behind him, “Does your wound still hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Compared to his original world, this was nothing.
The key turned gently, and with a click, the lock opened. Xiao Shengjing spoke again, “If you don’t have anywhere to go during the break, you can come to my place.”
Lin Lan’s hand froze on the door handle. “Huh?”
“I live alone. There are many rooms, and it’s not far. You can come back anytime you want,” Xiao Shengjing added, looking straight at him, his expression slightly tense with the worry of being refused.
Lin Lan listened and found he couldn’t think of a good reason to refuse. He opened the door and, after a moment’s thought, decided, “No need.”
Xiao Shengjing wasn’t surprised and calmly continued, “There’s a computer at home, a gaming console, and a full set of VR equipment.”
Hearing this, Lin Lan promptly agreed, “Alright.”
Who could resist the allure of a full VR setup…
Xiao Shengjing stepped forward and patted his hair. Seeing his soft profile, he felt a warmth in his heart and suddenly wanted to give him a goodnight kiss.
As he bent down, Lin Lan sensed the unusual look in his eyes and instinctively stepped back, “Captain, restrain yourself.”
Xiao Shengjing coughed, glanced around to ensure no one was watching, and then smiled sheepishly. His smile was gentle, like a quiet mountain lotus on his usually calm face, and his tone softened, “Your wound shouldn’t get wet. Don’t stay up late, get some sleep.”
After speaking, he ruffled Lin Lan’s hair again, this time deeply enough for his fingers to touch the scalp. Lin Lan nodded hastily and went inside. He closed the door, feeling his ears burning slightly.
He had told Xiao Shengjing that they couldn’t reveal their relationship to the outside world, so there was minimal physical contact within the team. Their relationship was as pure as it could be.
So when Xiao Shengjing ruffled his hair just now, with the cool fingertips touching his scalp, Lin Lan felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
Lin Lan climbed onto his bed and quickly pulled out his phone. Before he could send a message, a message came through from the other side: What do you want for breakfast? I’ll buy it for you.
Lin Lan typed back: Soy milk and fried dough sticks.
Xiao Shengjing: You have a wound on your face. You can’t eat fried foods.
Lin Lan: Then, a sauce-flavored buns?
Xiao Shengjing: You can’t eat soy sauce either, it will darken the wound.
Lin Lan: Uh, then what can I eat?
Xiao Shengjing: I’ll bring you milk and a sandwich.
Lin Lan reluctantly agreed: Fine.
The typing indicator showed “Xiao Shengjing is typing,” and then “ding ding,” Lin Lan received another message.
Xie Zilu: The show is about to start, coming?
There was a location attached to the message. Lin Lan opened it and saw it was that abandoned factory.
At that moment, Lin Lan thought about a lot of things. Xie Zilu had said before that the day he won the championship was a good day, and he would settle some grudges on this day. But Lin Lan didn’t know what he was referring to.
But Jiang Xi also said, never to get involved in that matter, otherwise, Xie Zilu would become a mad dog biting indiscriminately.
Lin Lan didn’t plan to reply to the message. Just as he switched out, he received a voice message from Xie Zilu: “Ha, Lin Lan, you definitely can’t guess what I found out. I didn’t expect there to be a pleasant surprise. Do you know why the light above your head fell today? Come here, I’ll tell you. Don’t be late, or you won’t see anything.”
The light above his head, why did it fall? The same thing happened in both worlds. What is the connection between them?
Lin Lan sensed that things were getting out of control and quickly typed to ask him: Who is it related to?
Xie Zilu only said: Come here and I’ll tell you.
Lin Lan sent another message, but he didn’t reply. Lin Lan directly connected a video call, but it was immediately hung up on the other end.
Lin Lan couldn’t help but curse at him: Are you sick? Why did you stop talking halfway?
Xie Zilu laughed and replied with a voice message: “Don’t be so frustrated. If I tell you, there won’t be any surprise. Come here, it will definitely give you a shock.”
There were some other sounds mixed in the voice message. Lin Lan amplified it and heard the howling wind, the sound of a steel rod dragging on the ground, and a very faint crying sound.
Lin Lan listened to it over and over again, but he was still not sure who it was, only knowing that it sounded very weak.
He sent a message to Jiang Xi: Who is Xie Zilu with now? What does he want to do?
Jiang Xi didn’t reply to him. Lin Lan directly called her, but no one answered for a long time. He called again, and someone hung up. He continued to call, and it was immediately hung up again.
Suddenly, Lin Lan seemed to understand something, and his heart felt cold.
He clenched his phone tightly and opened the voice message again. At the end of it, he indeed clearly heard a girl’s voice, which sounded very much like Jiang Xi’s voice.
Lin Lan struggled to send a message to Xie Zilu: Is today’s light related to her?
There was no reply from the other side, and Lin Lan fell into a vast darkness and fear. He felt that things had completely gotten out of control, and the truth might be more terrifying than any result he had guessed.
Lin Lan immediately got up, put on his coat, and prepared to go out.
The phone “beeped”, it was a message from Xiao Shengjing: Why aren’t you replying, are you asleep?
Lin Lan thought about whether to tell Xiao Shengjing, but he wasn’t sure what Xie Zilu, that mad dog, would do, and didn’t want to involve him.
Lin Lan: Hmm, I’m sleepy.
Xiao Shengjing: Okay, see you tomorrow.
Lin Lan quietly opened the door and closed it again.
Most of the staff had already left, and the corridor was pitch black, only the response light would be on. Lin Lan tightened his coat, wrapped himself tightly, stepped on the halo, and disappeared into the darkness.
On the other side, in the abandoned factory.
Jiang Xi was tied to a pillar, her princess dress was very dirty. She didn’t know where her shoes had fallen off, her mouth was taped, her hair was messy, and her moist eyes were wide open in fear.
“Whoosh——whoosh——”, Xie Zilu dragged the steel rod towards her. He slightly lifted his chin and his eyes were as cold as if he wanted to eat people, “I was almost deceived by you. You told me that the video was not sent by you and that you were also used by others. You framed it on Tai Zhen. He likes you, so he helped you carry the blame. I found someone to break his three ribs but he didn’t tell the truth…”
Jiang Xi was trembling all over. She looked at the person in front of her in fear, her tears kept rolling down like broken beads. She kept shaking her head as if to explain something.
Xie Zilu looked at her with cold eyes. This was the first time he had been played so thoroughly, “But I can’t figure out why he did this. On the contrary, it’s you. Only you have the motive to do this. I spent two million to restore all the videos of that year and found someone to model and restore the scene of that day. Only you in the whole school had the chance to record that video!”
As he said this, he threw the evidence harshly onto Jiang Xi’s face.
Jiang Xi’s face was hit with a red mark, and she cried even harder. The photos and technical analysis that fell at her feet all pointed to her.
When Xie Zilu intercepted the recording that year, he had checked it. Everything showed that the picture was sent out by Jiang Xi’s best girlfriend, it was a done deal.
So, Xie Zilu used extreme measures to ban her and those who played well with her and knew about the incident, forcing them to hide and go abroad.
Jiang Xi, who came back, was afraid of Xie Zilu’s revenge, so she went to Tai Zhen to cry. Tai Zhen liked her, so he was willing to help her bear the consequences.
But she never expected that Xie Zilu, this madman, would use such extreme measures to find the truth…
Jiang Xi was so scared that she was trembling all over. She just wanted to retaliate against Xie Zilu that year. Retaliation for his words made her a laughingstock. A little carelessness made her unable to pick up a paintbrush for the rest of her life and let her live in her home where her status was already low, even worse than a dog…
She looked up at Xie Zilu, her eyes were full of fear and hatred, and she still gritted her teeth when she thought of it.
Under his power that year, she lost what she loved most, and he just said lightly: “The painting is not good-looking. If you can’t paint, you can’t paint.” This made her a laughingstock in the whole school.
Even when she returned home, she had to endure the humiliation from her father: “You just can’t paint. It doesn’t affect your other things. Since Young Master Xie has apologized, you don’t care about it anymore. It shows that our Jiang family’s education is not good. Besides, your painting is not good-looking. So what if you can’t paint.”
The painting is not good, don’t paint anymore in the future.
Sometimes Jiang Xi really wanted to question them: Do you understand painting? If you don’t, why can you evaluate? Why can you decide a person’s life?
Her nails dug into her flesh, causing it to bleed.
Jiang Xi’s stubborn look once again angered Xie Zilu.
He “whooshed”, tore off the tape on her mouth, and slapped her face hard, “Jiang Xi, what else are you not convinced of?”
The tape left a red mark when it was torn off, clearly visible on Jiang Xi’s face. She was very scared, but she still looked up at Xie Zilu with hatred, “You made me unable to paint, unable to go to the university I like, and you want to solve it with a few light apologies? Xie Zilu, you can be high above and not care about the life and death of others, can’t I retaliate against you?”
Xie Zilu looked at her and suddenly laughed. His laughter was very terrifying, echoing in the abandoned factory, “You have guts, you really have guts.” He laughed and laughed, and suddenly without warning, he backhanded Jiang Xi a slap.
A five-finger print appeared instantly on Jiang Xi’s fair face. She wanted to cry, but she didn’t dare to. She could only hold back and keep sobbing, “Then, then what do you want to do?”
Xie Zilu’s face was tense, lifting Jiang Xi’s chin with a steel rod. He seemed somewhat unable to control his emotions, breathing rapidly. “What do I want to do? I damn well want to kill you! You should be grateful that the video was intercepted back then, or your whole family would be dead by now! I’ll blow up the school and make all of you die together! All of you will go to hell together!!!”
He forcefully smashed the steel rod on the ground, frightening Jiang Xi into screaming.
She had no idea that Xie Zilu’s reaction to that incident would be so intense. Initially, she just wanted to retaliate against him, to embarrass him, never imagining that the video would drive Xie Zilu into madness…
Xie Zilu threw away the steel rod, sitting back on the shelf, gulping down a large mouthful of liquor. His eyes were sober yet filled with madness as he looked at Jiang Xi.
He seemed to have made a decision, notifying her in a cold voice, “I don’t want to bear the responsibility of manslaughter. You use these hands to atone for what happened back then. Afterward, I will compensate you with money, a lot of money. Your father shouldn’t have any objections.”
Jiang Xi screamed loudly after hearing this, “You lunatic! Get away from me! Leave me alone! Don’t come near me, don’t touch my hands. I beg you, don’t come near me…!”
Xie Zilu ignored her screams, having her tied up, not leaving anyone behind, determined to personally resolve this matter.
He put down the bottle, a rash appearing on his neck. He scratched at it vigorously, picking up a sharp knife from the ground, walking towards her with a calm yet forceful tone. “You will pay the price for that incident, Jiang Xi. Not only did you record that video, but you also showed it to others. In my eyes, you’re truly not worth sparing.”
Jiang Xi truly felt despair. She regretted it deeply. She truly didn’t know the severity of that video. She cried out, “I didn’t show it to anyone else, I really didn’t. I just asked them to help me send it out. It was a compressed file, they didn’t see the content, I swear!”
Xie Zilu nodded, indicating he understood. “Alright, then I’ll just chop off one of your hands. It was the right hand that clicked the send button, wasn’t it?”
Jiang Xi cried in utter despair, struggling desperately. Her hands were bleeding from the effort, yet she couldn’t break free. She cried out in desperation, “Xie Zilu, I really know I was wrong. I won’t tell anyone about that… Please spare me…”
Xie Zilu: “You’ve already sent the video to Tai Zhen.”
“I…” Jiang Xi didn’t know how to explain. She did tell Tai Zhen, but it was actually at Tai Zhen’s urging that the video was sent out. “He, he told me to compress the video, saying it would pass the review easily. He promised not to tell anyone, to keep it confidential, not to let others know…”
Xie Zilu chuckled strangely, his eyes red after drinking. Regardless of everything, his madness resembled that of a desperado. “He not only watched it, he also saved a backup to threaten me. Otherwise, why do you think I broke three of his ribs? Jiang Xi, do you have a single truthful word in your mouth?”
Tears hung on Jiang Xi’s face, she was somewhat bewildered.
When did Tai Zhen save a backup of the compressed video right under her nose?
Seeing her dumbfounded, Xie Zilu slowly lowered the knife in his hand, issuing his final ultimatum to her like a high-ranking figure. “Here’s the deal, I’ll give you two choices: either I chop off one of your hands, or you find Tai Zhen’s video backup and hand it over to me.”
Jiang Xi definitely chose the latter, but she really didn’t know how to find it. Just as she was desperately crying, she suddenly saw a familiar figure.
She shouted loudly, “Lin Lan! Save me!”
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