Ye Lan leaned back in his gaming chair. “Qin Shu has a mouth too. If you’re so curious, why not ask him yourself?”
He wasn’t some gossip.
What right did he have to talk about things the person involved didn’t want to share?
Hitting a soft wall, these people could only return to the livestream of the “Win-Lose Couple.”
Coincidentally, Qin Shu had just finished updating his game and logged in.
“Let’s go.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to warm up?” Ye Lan asked again.
“No need.” Qin Shu replied casually, then entered the game and invited Ye Lan to start a 1v1 duel.
For fairness, both players used the exact same hero.
On Qin Shu’s side, due to the variety show camera, only a blurry view of the controls was visible, while the game interface was fully displayed on Ye Lan’s side. However, since it was a livestream duel, viewers on both sides could still watch the match simultaneously.
【Looking at Brother Shu’s calm and composed demeanor, he must be able to win, right?】
【I think it’s doubtful. I’ve played Glory too, and I just took a glance—Brother Shu’s rank is only Diamond, while the opponent has a top-five national server badge. The skill gap isn’t just a little.】
Meanwhile, viewers in Ye Lan’s livestream were also staring at the screen, but many of them noticed Qin Shu’s ID.
Pluto.
【Why does this name seem familiar?】
【Holy shit, isn’t that the Nether God’s ID?!】
Pluto, the Latin name for Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, also representing the planet Pluto.
During the peak years of Glory, a player with this ID had topped the all-server power rankings for three consecutive years, with almost no losses in solo or team battles, earning a reputation as the ceiling-level genius of Glory.
Almost everyone knew this name. Even the strongest team at the time, Stardust, had extended an invitation to the Nether God, only to be firmly rejected.
Later, the Nether God formed his own team, Divinity, leading them through countless challenges and winning the grand slam of Glory’s international team championships within just two years.
Today, Divinity still exists, but the Nether God has completely retreated behind the scenes, rarely logging in.
In recent years, the esports wave has swept through, with new streamers and star players emerging constantly, but the legend of the Nether God still circulates in the esports community. Many players have learned their techniques by studying his match videos.
However, the Nether God’s aggressive playstyle made it difficult for most to grasp the essence, but those who did saw rapid improvements in their skills.
Ye Lan was one of them.
Known as the Night God, partly because his in-game name was Yelan, but more importantly, many saw him as the successor to the Nether God, even earning him the nickname “Little Nether God” in the community.
Now, the Little Nether God was facing off against the Nether God…
【It must be a coincidence. In Glory, IDs can’t be duplicated within the same server, but different servers don’t have this restriction. After the Nether God became famous, this name became common—duplicates aren’t rare unless he’s in Server One.】
Pluto in Server One, Moon Over the Barred River.
That was the true Nether God.
While the comments section debated the ID, Qin Shu and Ye Lan had already begun their first match.
Living up to his title as the Little Nether God, Ye Lan’s playstyle was aggressive, showcasing his sharp skills from the start. In contrast, Qin Shu’s approach seemed more conservative, even starting by clearing jungle monsters for gold in the early game, only occasionally heading to the middle lane to farm minions.【Player from Server One reporting in. Looks like I don’t need to log on to check if the Nether God is online anymore. With this roundabout playstyle, if he’s the Nether God, I’ll livestream eating shit!】
【Economy is useful, sure, but with our first tower about to fall, he still doesn’t dare to fight head-on. Seems like a newbie afraid of dying.】
As the comments rolled in, Ye Lan suddenly dashed out from the bushes beside Qin Shu. After a flurry of moves, Qin Shu narrowly escaped with only 10% health left, retreating to base to restore HP and mana.
【Damn, that was close! Almost got the kill!】
【Almost feeding right from the start. No way this Qin Shu can win.】
The comment section was overwhelmingly pessimistic about Qin Shu’s chances. Ye Lan himself felt a pang of regret—just a little more, and he could have secured the first kill.
So, in the following moments, his playstyle became even more aggressive. He even abandoned minion waves to chase Qin Shu down, coming close to killing him several times, only for Qin Shu to slip away with a sliver of health.
A full five minutes into the game, Ye Lan had gained no advantage whatsoever, except for his minions taking down the enemy’s first defensive tower.
After Qin Shu returned to base once again to heal, Ye Lan began to sense something was off.
It was too coincidental.
If it had only happened once, escaping with a sliver of health could have been luck.
But for it to happen every time, there was only one explanation…
The precise score control of a top student!
Just then, a golden notification flashed across the screen—both side towers on Ye Lan’s team had been destroyed simultaneously!
Ye Lan’s pupils contracted.
He had fallen into a trap!
Qin Shu’s seemingly roundabout playstyle had actually allowed him to farm minion waves from all three lanes and jungle camps single-handedly. In just five minutes, he had not only taken down two towers but also cleared the entire jungle.
Despite being alone, he had coordinated like an entire team!
In contrast, Ye Lan had stubbornly stuck to a 1v1 mindset, either defending only the mid lane or chasing after Qin Shu when lured by his low health, missing his own best opportunities to farm.
Given the current situation, the only thing he could do was charge recklessly down the mid lane, hoping to quickly push through to the enemy base.
Realizing this, Ye Lan seized the moment while Qin Shu headed to the top lane and accelerated his assault on the mid lane. To his surprise, Qin Shu, who should have been long gone, suddenly burst out from the nearby bushes. A full combo of Skills later, Ye Lan was dead.
He hadn’t even had a chance to fight back.
During the respawn timer, Qin Shu had already pushed through with the minion wave, destroying Ye Lan’s first mid lane tower and clearing all the jungle camps in Ye Lan’s territory.
Rapid farming had given Qin Shu far superior Equipment and damage output compared to Ye Lan. With pressure on all three lanes, no matter which lane Ye Lan tried to defend, the other two were left vulnerable.
The outcome was clear.
“I lost.” Ye Lan put down his phone, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
“Giving up before the very end?” Qin Shu’s hero stopped moving as well. He looked up, his gaze piercing through the strands of hair falling over his forehead. “Is this how timid you are in tournaments too?”
“Who’s timid?!” Ye Lan snapped his eyes open, instinctively retorting.
But meeting Qin Shu’s eyes and seeing his mocking expression, he was reminded of the match they had just played.
He had lost.
But…
“That was just a coincidence. I didn’t expect you to use the other two lanes.”
“You didn’t expect it, but that doesn’t mean my strategy was flawed. In tournaments, your opponents won’t agree in advance which lanes you can or can’t use. As long as it’s within the rules, it’s no excuse for your own mistakes.”Qin Shu leaned back, still looking lazy and relaxed, but the words that came out of his mouth were anything but polite.
Ye Lan clenched his fists.
“Again!”
“Happy to oblige.”
In the second round, to prevent Qin Shu from using the same trick again, Ye Lan no longer chased him down to kill him. Instead, he shuttled back and forth between the three lanes, pushing minion waves.
After he pushed down the first defensive towers on Qin Shu’s two flanks, his mind finally settled.
The battle situation was eerily similar to the first round, but the advantage and disadvantage had completely reversed.
But before Ye Lan could rejoice, he belatedly realized that while he had wasted all his time running between the three lanes, the economy in his own jungle had already been completely devoured by Qin Shu.
By the time he needed it, his resources had already been emptied.
The middle lane’s first tower fell abruptly.
Ye Lan rushed to defend, but due to his economic disadvantage, he was instantly killed.
Revive, charge.
Die again.
By the time he died for the third time, Qin Shu had already brought his troops to the gates with lightning speed.
And the minions he had sent to the flanks had only destroyed the second of the three towers.
“Your flanks were just bait!” Ye Lan finally realized.
This round, Qin Shu had deliberately sacrificed his flanks!
“Tactics are never about copying blindly. You must understand the ‘why’ to truly grasp the ‘how.'”
Qin Shu’s voice was lazy, but his hands moved swiftly. Leading his minions, he dismantled Ye Lan’s base in a few moves.
The entire match lasted six minutes.
“Again!”
Ye Lan slammed the table fiercely, unwilling to accept defeat.
But Qin Shu casually tossed his phone aside and lifted his eyelids.
“Best of three. You’ve already lost.”
“It’s not over until the very end!” Ye Lan gritted his teeth.
Qin Shu raised an eyebrow slightly.
These were the exact words he had asked Ye Lan earlier.
While there was no need to continue from a win-loss perspective, in terms of morale, it truly wasn’t over until the very end.
“Fine, one last round,” Qin Shu picked up his phone. “If you can kill me even once, I’ll consider it your win.”