Chapter 1: Are You Here to Make a Joke?

"Pity..."

On the live stream, the match between RNG and SKT was being broadcast. Watching Xiaohu leave the stage with a grim face, Qin Hao felt a strong sense of empathy.

Before the match, everyone said the mid-lane gap was the biggest, and Faker would make a fierce move. Who would have thought that SKT's choice of a lane-clearing duo, with a Wheel Mom and a Star Mom, could break RNG's most impressive over-lane system in the spring finals.

The chat comments all said Faker was faking it, that he still dared to watch the line of the LeBlanc even when the chicken had no blue.

The problem was,

Faking was also a kind of operational attitude.

Inspired by this,

Qin Hao looked up at the non-existent blue light screen above his head and thought: I should post another Weibo.

So he took out his phone, took a screenshot of the data panel on the computer screen, opened Weibo, and wrote: I don't play the bottom lane much. Can anyone tell me how strong the Wheel Mom and Star Mom combo is?

Qin Hao was just an unknown substitute mid-laner for RNG.

Like sask, he lived in Xiaohu's shadow, with no chance to play in matches or even to be seen. So after this Weibo post was sent, the comment section remained blank.

He refreshed for a while.

Finally, a familiar ID gave a comment—

"Zuan City is My Home": I don't know if the Wheel Mom and Star Mom are strong, but this B is not fit to be a person? The data doesn't show the damage he does to the team.

Less than half a minute later,

"Zuan City is My Home" continued in his reply: Let Unxin go to the small black room and be your partner. Watch him, don't let him out.

Qin Hao: ...

So I'm a zombie hunter now?

What's wrong with being a substitute?

In the world of esports, it's really cruel for those with average skills. With a thought, a panel appeared.

Host: Qin Hao

Reaction Ability: 76

Operational Ability: 74

Positioning Sense: 69

Simulation Points: 100

[Weibo War God System is bound. It will not detach unless the host dies]

[Simulation points can be obtained through Weibo interactions]

[Simulation points can be used for simulation battles, including single-player, full-game, and classic battle replays. Only past simulations are possible, not future predictions]

[Classic Battle Updated—16 MSI Semifinals, SKT 3:1 RNG (Keyword: Bottom Lane Iron Bucket Formation)]

Five months in the team.

Two to three Weibos every few days, a total of 56 posts!

These 100 simulation points were hard-earned.

Because only interactions with sufficient "discussion effect" would provide simulation points. Ordinary posts were meaningless, attracting neither netizens nor comments.

When he first realized this, Qin Hao felt a sense of defeat, but the feeling of gradually getting stronger was quite nice.

It's not the end of the world.

It's okay.

As long as there's improvement, that's what matters. The worst thing is not knowing if you're improving.

...

May 18th.

Five days had passed since the MSI semifinals.

Qin Hao, as usual, was practicing heroes in solo queue.

After three games, one win and two losses, Qin Hao sighed, thinking that playing mid-lane Lulu wasn't easy to climb the ranks, when a noise came from outside the water dungeon.

"Don't overthink it, the team has its decisions."

"For the next few days, the training room will be used for tryouts. You'll stay in the basement for a while."

The speaker was the second team manager, Icebox.

Seeing Qin Hao looking over, he waved and called out, "Xiao Hao, come give me a hand."

"Okay."

Qin Hao helped lift the computer desk and fetched a basin of water to clean the dust. While he was busy, Unxin kept his head down. He hadn't been eating well or sleeping well these past few days. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt like he was back in the game, facing that hard-to-reach Wheel Mom.

Moreover,

Unxin wasn't stupid.

All the talk about clearing the training room was just an excuse.

This was the water dungeon.

Don't overthink it?

How could he not overthink it?

Soon,

Only Qin Hao and Unxin were left in the water dungeon.

Following the guest-first principle, Qin Hao tugged at Unxin's sleeve and said, "Hey, it's your first time in the basement, right?"

"Fortunately, I'm with you. The guy next door, sask, loves to take off his shoes to play games, it's really dizzying."

Noisy.

Unxin was in a bad mood, and—this guy also plays with his shoes off.

"Want to duo queue?"

After chatting for a while, Qin Hao extended an invitation. Being in the small black room for too long, having someone to keep him company was genuinely nice.

Qin Hao wanted to say more, but saw Unxin sit back down without acknowledging him.

"You don't like duo queuing, huh, haha."

Qin Hao scratched the back of his head, laughed awkwardly, and sat back in the corner.

Ha.

Watching Qin Hao's performance, Unxin sneered.

Pretending to be so enthusiastic.

And asking about the strength of the Wheel Mom? A substitute like you even deserves to mention me?

In the evening,

"Want to go eat?" Qin Hao poked his head out.

"Want me to bring you some food?" Qin Hao continued.

"Are you crazy? Do you think I haven't seen the Weibos you posted? Pretending to care."

Unxin shouted with a black face. After shouting, he felt oddly comfortable.

He hoped this warning would make the guy stop bothering him.

"You followed my Weibo?!" Qin Hao was pleasantly surprised.

He always thought no one in the team cared about him.

Seeing this, Unxin wasn't sure if the guy was really shameless or just didn't understand the atmosphere. After so many schemes, he didn't believe any player could remain innocent.

In fact,

The team was more or less aware of Qin Hao's habit of posting Weibos. Unxin had heard the team leader mention it more than once.

Of course, he didn't follow, but he remembered Qin Hao's Weibo ID "Penicillin (Penicillin)."

The first time he saw it,

He didn't understand how a professional player could be so eager to report to netizens. With only a little over two thousand followers, how many of them were real?

The comment section wasn't lively, what was the point of sharing?

Even if he wanted praise, he had to play in matches first.

Before coming to the water dungeon, Unxin and the team leader thought this was a person with too much desire to express himself, perhaps too eager for attention, always emphasizing his identity as RNG's substitute mid-laner.

After a short silence,

Qin Hao brought sask over.

"See, I didn't lie to you."

"Damn, you really didn't lie to me. Now we're in the same boat."

"I told you I wouldn't lie to you."

Hearing this,

Unxin's face turned black.

Can you talk like that?

Even if it's true, you shouldn't say it out loud, let alone be so happy about it!

At this age, Unxin's self-esteem was at its peak, so he turned off his computer and left the water dungeon.

"He's doing what? Angry?" sask didn't care, "We're in the water dungeon, he should just relax. Why torture himself?"

Qin Hao nodded, "I feel the same."

"By the way, did you wash your feet yesterday?" Qin Hao asked.

sask seriously said, "Do you believe me if I say they don't smell?"

"Uh."

The next second, Qin Hao replied, "I don't believe you."

sask: ...

...

After a few days in the water dungeon, Unxin, though uncomfortable, learned to adapt. Every day was monotonous, playing whatever games he wanted, with no one to bother him.

Even when he played in the starting lineup, he sometimes found training matches boring.

But compared to now, the past had hope.

Next to him,

With the sound of keyboard clicks, Qin Hao was playing solo queue, again with Lulu.

Unxin found this guy really strange.

Isn't playing solo queue every day tiring?

He had observed for three days.

At least 15 ranked games every day, always playing one or two heroes, more obsessive than the Obsession Brother. Unxin didn't think he could do it.

Without the motivation of playing in matches,

What was driving him to practice so hard?

The more he did this, the more Unxin became frustrated.

Why not just give up?

Why?

But Qin Hao's expression was incredibly focused, accurately predicting the enemy's skill combos, adjusting his position, and suddenly flashing to sheepify, interrupting the Emperor's drift entrance, a smile finally appearing on his face.

Phew.

It was worth it to spend 100 simulation points simulating 10 Lulu vs. Emperor matches last night. Qin Hao felt he could now better predict the Emperor's moves.

Seeing this,

Unxin suppressed his inner amazement.

One solo queue match wasn't much, but from afternoon to evening, he knew Qin Hao was deliberately practicing interruptions. Watching more often, he felt Qin Hao's timing was improving.

Like this wave, the game was already at 37 minutes.

After the front line took damage and retreated, the enemy slowly pressed, with a Braum and a Croc entering to draw attention. Qin Hao's team's jungler, Prince, was dead, and the AD, Jinx, was almost finished, but he could still hold back, saving the sheepify for the Emperor who wanted to seal the deal.

In just a few seconds, Unxin read that this team fight had to focus on the Emperor. Otherwise, it would just be a mutually acceptable outcome.

Because Qin Hao's side lacked damage, the most feared thing about their lineup wasn't the backline being breached, but the imbalance in damage points.

Sure enough,

In such a late game, the Emperor entered and was killed, Lulu protected the low-health Jinx, and despite losing the jungler first, they managed a 2-for-4 trade and pushed the high ground.

"Awesome."

"Hey, did you see that? Damn, I was so cool, interrupting the Emperor, slowing the Croc, turning the tide..."

The more he bragged, the more ridiculous it became.

One solo queue match, could it really be described as turning the tide? Who cares?

Does anyone cheer for you?

Unxin was indifferent.

Qin Hao was about to say something like "My Lulu is invincible," when the water dungeon door was pushed open with a "bang."

"Meeting, we have something to tell you."

...

Before gathering the second team and all the first team substitutes, the meeting room had already discussed the matter.

MSI failure.

White Star decided to bring in Uzi. Everyone knew that after the one-minute BO5 incident, Uzi wasn't happy at QG, and with QG being acquired mid-season and the original management stepping down, more than one person suggested buying Uzi to challenge for the World Championship.

Who wouldn't be excited at the thought of Uzi and Mata as a bottom lane duo? The only consideration was the money and whether it was worth it.

Fortunately,

Unxin's poor performance left RNG in despair. Even without using his signature heroes, Bang's basic lane-clearing and team-fighting were enough to stop RNG.

This disparity prompted the deal.

With Uzi, the second team was no longer needed. With so many substitutes on the first team, they needed a place to receive them. After consulting with the coaches, they decided to let Letme, Unxin, and others lead the second team, with the original second team members all entering the transfer market.

"Penicillin and sask, we can only keep one, no need for competition."

"Who should we keep?"

The newly appointed Manager Three, who had no ties to anyone, was particularly calm about letting people go.

The translator helped convey the message, and Coach Fly recalled the two's performances, thinking Penicillin was more worth cultivating. Not for any particular reason, just because Penicillin was younger, turning 18 next month.

Before Fly could speak, the team leader expressed his disgust: "Penicillin must go."

He felt such a player was uncontrollable.

Young?

So what if he's young?

If there's friction within the team, and this guy starts a Weibo drama like Doinb, has anyone thought about how to handle it?

RNG doesn't need a player who loves to post on Weibo.

Isn't the QG incident enough of a warning?

A potential troublemaker like this, keeping him for a few months was already enough, and he didn't show any special "gaming talent."

"Why?"

Fly was puzzled.

From a coach's perspective, youth was the biggest asset.

"Why?"

The team leader exaggerated: "Likes to point fingers, but has no skills. Do you know what he posted after we lost to SKT? He asked about the strength of the Wheel Mom and Star Mom combo? A player who has no chance to play in matches and just uses the RNG tag to gain attention, I don't think there's any need to keep him."

"Then just tell him. Let's part ways amicably."

Manager Three spoke.

Just a second team starter, no big deal.

(End of Chapter)