“Wind! Wind! The strongest wind!”
“SR will win! 07, safely farm up!”
“Brother Dao, go for it! You’re the strongest veteran!”
Having suffered a defeat in the opening match and returning to the arena to prepare for the second battle, the SR team’s morale was visibly shaken. Even so, the fans in the audience maintained their fierce enthusiasm, straining their throats as they shouted in support.
Esports players sometimes rely heavily on audience support, and the current SR team was no exception. Hearing the continuous cheers echoing from the stands, every member felt a surge of renewed determination.
Coach Jane offered words of encouragement. “Don’t be discouraged. Let’s play this game properly. Defend the jungle if you can, back off if you can’t, and don’t let the opponents throw you off.”
The ban-pick phase commenced once more.
To reinforce their jungle control, the SR team prioritized the currently formidable top-laner Ji Xiaoman, ensuring that Ye Xuanqing could rotate to assist the jungle after clearing his lane.
Both teams took turns with their bans and picks.
AW selected Li Yuanfang for their development lane and locked in Jin Chan as support during the latter picks.
The commentator let out a disbelieving gasp. “Oh my god, they locked it in! Jin Chan support? Are they planning to make their opponents drop their butcher knives and attain immediate enlightenment on the spot?”
Meanwhile, the SR team opted for their standard team composition, securing Gongsun Li for the development lane and pairing her with Zhuoyue’s signature hero, Jing.
As the support player, Yan Shu received Liu Bang from Coach Jane.
Liu Bang and Jing possessed incredible synergy.
Mid-laner Luo Yan suggested picking Haiyue to suppress the opposing jungler, Yao.
Locking in his hero, Yan Shu glanced up and noticed AW-Changfeng staring directly at him with a scrutinizing gaze.
His heart rate spiking, Yan Shu quickly lowered his head.
The match officially commenced. Zhuoyue’s heart rate was displayed on the screen; compared to previous matches, his reading was noticeably elevated, hovering around 130.
Right from the opening, the enemy Bomb Cat cleared his lane at lightning speed and pushed up aggressively into an advanced position.
Spotting an opening to chip away at their health pool, Yan Shu dashed forward using his second skill, latching onto the enemy mid-laner Shen Mengxi for a heavy trade.
Sensing a golden opportunity to secure a high-profile first blood, Luo Yan followed up immediately with his second skill.
Realizing the enemy mid-laner was on the verge of falling, Yan Shu anticipated an impending flash and feigned continued aggression. Sure enough, Shen Mengxi flashed back into the safety of her defensive turret with a sliver of health remaining.
With the mid-lane holding an advantage, Yan Shu utilized the three-finger camera drag to check on Lin Qi’s Gongsun Li in the bottom lane.
The SR team inherently held a territorial advantage in the lower half of the map during the early-to-mid game, as Gongsun Li enjoyed a favorable matchup against Li Yuanfang.
Commentator A was analyzing the bottom lane situation, arriving at the exact same conclusion Yan Shu had reached.
Commentator B chimed in. “Look, Gongsun Li steps up with her first and second skills to trade damage, and what? Li Yuanfang rolls in with his second skill to pressure Gongsun Li, landing every single hit from his first and second skills!”
Clearly, AW’s marksman possessed immense individual skill. Even in an evenly matched lane, he chose to pressure Lin Qi aggressively, denying him any opportunity to gain an upper hand.
Just as the enemy mid-laner’s vision vanished from the map, Yan Shu hurried downward to intercept potential threats against Lin Qi.
Yet the bot-lane skirmish defused itself without erupting into another full engagement.
Noticing both Zhuoyue and the enemy jungler occupied in the top lane, Yan Shu sensed they would soon rotate toward mid, potentially sparking a skirmish in the river channel.
Around the two-minute mark, Yan Shu rotated directly to mid.
Zhuoyue’s Jing had reached level four, using a fluid combo to ambush the enemy top-laner Xiang Yu as he wandered out from the red buff zone, shredding his health bar down to a single grid in one fluid sequence.
Xiang Yu had only just hit level four himself, unleashing an ultimate that suppressed the entire SR team’s health pools.
Arriving precisely in the center of the mid-lane, Yan Shu closed the distance with a dash to secure the fleeing Xiang Yu.
“First Blood!”
Having surrendered first blood in the previous game, Yan Shu redeemed himself here by drawing first blood against the opposition.
“Captain is amazing!” Lin Qi roared across the voice channel.
Zhuoyue’s lips curved upward slightly as he relaxed and headed toward the red buff jungle. The moment he reached the three little jungle pigs, however, the enemy jungler flanked from behind, dropping an ultimate followed by heavy damage from the opposing marksman to instantly take Zhuoyue down.
The arena stands erupted in shrill screams.
Commentator A gasped in shock. “What! When did the enemy jungler sneak from the river all the way into the SR team’s red buff zone?”
Commentator B couldn’t help admiring AW’s marksman. “A former top-five marksman who, after taking a brief break, remains as daring and aggressive as ever.”
Losing a jungler before the four-minute mark dealt a severe blow to the team’s overall tempo.
Fortunately, after respawning, mid-laner Luo Yan surrendered a wave of minion waves to help him recover.
“Clear your lane and head to the blue zone, we can fight this. Brother Dao, use your teleport,” Luo Yan offered, sacrificing half his minion economy because he desperately wanted the enemy blue buff.
Having been caught out by AW’s jungler and marksman moments earlier, Zhuoyue was equally eager to turn the tables, deciding the plan was viable. “We can fight. Ghost Blade, go in first to establish vision and initiate.”
Hearing the directive, Yan Shu felt the timing was completely wrong for a skirmish. “Captain, now is not the right time to engage.”
“Into the jungle,” Zhuoyue commanded, outright ignoring Yan Shu’s caution.
Ye Xuanqing entered the blue zone first, prompting the enemy squad to converge rapidly.
Lin Qi called out from the bottom lane. “Captain, Li Yuanfang is heading over.”
“Fight, I’m right behind you,” Zhuoyue initiated the engage signal.
War broke out instantly inside the blue buff zone. Ye Xuanqing entered the fray, secured the enemy blue buff, and traded his life by absorbing heavy damage to take down the enemy support, Jin Chan.
Upon arrival, Li Yuanfang unleashed his ultimate right inside the blue zone. Overwhelmed by the incoming damage, Ye Xuanqing fell under Li Yuanfang’s barrage.
“07, come in, we can take them.” Zhuoyue dove into the team fight with his ultimate, attempting a cleanup, but his damage fell short, securing only the enemy mid-laner before side-stepping out of the engagement.
Meanwhile, Lin Qi focused purely on self-preservation, outputting damage safely from the backline.
The sheer damage output from the opposition proved insurmountable. Even though Yan Shu used his ultimate to shield Zhuoyue, it had minimal impact.
Zhuoyue’s Jing absorbed an excessive amount of Li Yuanfang’s damage, making his survival nothing short of miraculous.
Just as Yan Shu breathed a sigh of relief for Zhuoyue, the enemy jungler Yao swept in with low health to pick off the backline Gongsun Li, immediately pivoting to hunt down Yan Shu.
Luo Yan still held his ultimate, pulling Yao into his dimensional barrier at maximum range.
“We can kill him,” Yan Shu confirmed, knowing the trapped Yao had nowhere to run.
By the end of the skirmish, both sides had suffered roughly equal losses.
Even so, AW’s marksman maintained a terrifying economy lead.
A sinking feeling pooled in Yan Shu’s chest. That opposing marksman would inevitably become an unmanageable catastrophe.
As the match ticked forward, skirmishes around the jungle quieted down, allowing AW’s marksman to step fully into the spotlight.
Following the objective dragon secure past the ten-minute mark, Li Yuanfang sat comfortably in the backline, dismantling anyone in his path with absolute, unstoppable dominance.
“Focus the marksman first.” Issuing the command, Zhuoyue dashed forward, pursuing Li Yuanfang relentlessly.
Checking the economy panel, Yan Shu noticed Li Yuanfang had already completed his life-steal blade. “Don’t chase, Li Yuanfang has built-in sustain.”
Blinded by tunnel vision and fixated entirely on hunting the enemy carry, Zhuoyue chased Li Yuanfang deep into the jungle corridors.
Commentator A’s commentary sped up in an urgent pitch. “The enemy Li Yuanfang is locked down by Jing! He fails to create distance with his mobility, pinned directly against the jungle wall. He’s down to his last scrap of health! Immortality! Li Yuanfang’s Immortality blade procs! Combined with his lifesteal, his health bar surges right back up!”
Commentator B marveled in awe. “Is this the mark of a veteran? To survive right under Wind’s nose?”
With the SR team’s jungler dropping first, the opposing side bulldozed down their crystal shortly after.
The synergy between the enemy marksman and jungler was flawless, leaving SR with virtually zero room to fight back.
Another loss.
This defeat brought AW’s match score even with SR’s, forcing an afternoon tiebreaker for the qualifier finals.
Experiencing back-to-back defeats dragged SR’s team atmosphere down to an unprecedented low.
Even the resident mood-maker Lin Qi fell silent. As a rookie facing a formidable opponent in his lane, his confidence had nearly evaporated entirely.
Luo Yan posted strong stats this match, and his frustration over the loss manifested as stubborn refusal to accept defeat, desperately hunting for someone to shoulder the blame.
Scanning the room, he avoided blaming Lin Qi’s marksman struggles and instead turned his crosshairs straight onto Yan Shu. “Yan Shu, I’m genuinely curious. Why do you always act like a contrarian during critical moments? Did you take bribes from the opposing side again to throw the match and sabotage us? You can’t even peel for the carries.”
“What are you talking about?” Yan Shu found the accusation absurd. While the match loss stemmed from multiple factors, his support play was certainly not the weak link.
Raising a hand, Zhuoyue cut off the argument. “Go eat, everyone calm down. This afternoon we run the jungle-core strategy through me again. Secure the jungle, and we win. Their jungler is nothing special, so don’t lose heart.”
Hearing that Zhuoyue intended to run jungle-core yet again, Yan Shu felt deep misgivings. The opposition clearly understood SR’s strategy and had prepared specific countermeasures.
The optimal breakthrough point right now should be supporting Ye Xuanqing to open up the top lane.
With numerous thoughts churning in his mind, Yan Shu resolved to discuss tactics with Zhuoyue after the meal.
Post-lunch, Yan Shu noticed Luo Yan, Lin Qi, and Zhuoyue heading toward the fire escape for a smoke break, prompting him to trail behind to catch Zhuoyue for a quick discussion.
Yan Shu waited just around the corner, separated by a single wall.
The stairwell remained quiet, allowing every word spoken inside to carry over clearly. Though eavesdropping wasn’t his intention, timing simply placed him nearby as he waited for Zhuoyue to emerge.
A lighter flicked open with a sharp click.
Luo Yan exhaled a cloud of smoke and spoke up. “Captain, Xu Ya is arriving this afternoon and he’s fully recovered, so you should hurry up and kick that match-fixing dog out. Haven’t you noticed that whenever he’s around, we collapse during crucial moments?”
Zhuoyue remained silent.
“Captain, I used to think Yan Shu’s support was decent, but once we squared off against AW, he stopped peeling for me. After hearing Sanhu say all those things, it feels really off,” Lin Qi lowered his voice, cupping a hand over his mouth. “Captain, what if he really did take bribes from AW?”
Zhuoyue still offered no response, quietly finishing his cigarette before crushing the butt out under his shoe and turning toward the exit. The moment he stepped out, he caught a shadow darting away around the corner of the adjacent wall.
The silhouette belonged to Yan Shu. Hearing his own teammates express distrust pierced straight through him.
Listening to them declare they had no faith in him left Yan Shu’s heart utterly frozen.
History felt as though it were repeating itself.
Back when the scandal first broke four years ago, TW’s vice-captain had worn that exact same grim, distrustful expression. And now…
Yan Shu broke into a run before his pace slowed down, gasping for air against the corridor wall as his breathing seized up.
He slowly slid down to a squat, curling his frame into a tight, isolated ball in the empty hallway.
Ever since the stress response trigger locked in, Yan Shu’s condition had deteriorated drastically. While some color had briefly returned to his cheeks earlier, the panic attack drained his skin into an unnaturally pale, ghastly hue.
Prior to the afternoon finals starting, Xu Ya had yet to arrive due to traffic delays, leaving Yan Shu as the starting support for the first team once again.
Luo Yan shook his head with open disgust, speaking in a sarcastic tone as if the outcome were preordained. “Feels like another disaster is about to unfold.”
“Luo Yan, cut the gloomy talk before the match,” Coach Jane reprimanded sternly.
Shrugging indifferently as though nothing happened, Luo Yan followed behind Zhuoyue onto the stage.
With the previous game lost, the SR team had surrendered their comfortable cushion leading into the GPL ticket, forcing them to fight through a grueling best-of-three series.
Failing to secure this final round meant missing out on the GPL entirely. Given their status as a newly rebuilt roster, playing without competitive opportunities practically guaranteed the team would shatter apart at the seams.
During the ban-pick phase, Zhuoyue prioritized the jungle role. “I’m locking in Luna this game. Our jungle will not be invaded again.”
“Captain, let the support come help Brother Dao first so he can guard the jungle. I can handle pressure alone in my lane, don’t worry about me,” Lin Qi selected Yu Ji for his marksman pick, facing no real pressure in the laning matchup against Sun Shangxiang.
After brief deliberation, Zhuoyue deemed the approach viable. “Play it safe.”
“Don’t worry, Captain. I’m not scared of some Yunding veteran, I’m all about the new waves pushing the old ones,” Lin Qi rambled, using forced lightheartedness to mask his nerves.
Encouraged by Lin Qi’s antics, the team atmosphere improved significantly, shedding both the morning’s gloom and the crushing despair of the past two losses.
SR desperately needed to claw back a victory here to halt their spiraling morale.
However, the AW team systematically harassed Zhuoyue throughout the game. While they weren’t fully committing to deep jungle invasions, Luna suffered heavily in the early game from the disruption, leaving her vulnerable to total territory loss at the slightest misstep.
While the jungle faced constant pressure, AW’s marksman flourished in the development lane with teammate assistance. Relying on sheer mechanical prowess, he tumbled forward aggressively for point-blank trades, giving Lin Qi zero breathing room.
With fires breaking out across both the jungle and development lanes, Zhuoyue stubbornly insisted on defending his jungle camps alone.
“Don’t let them dictate the pace. Development lane, hold your ground and stop falling behind in deficits. Luo Yan, secure vision control at the jungle entrance and work with Ye Xuanqing to drive them away. We are defending my jungle.” Zhuoyue’s orders were absolute.
Yan Shu remained entirely detached ever since stepping onto the stage, lagging a beat behind on his developmental tempo and failing to rotate toward the jungle in time.
Lacking his support’s assistance and operating without proper vision from Luo Yan, Zhuoyue’s jungle collapsed entirely. Meanwhile, Ye Xuanqing struggled against his counterpart in the top lane, leaving them trapped in a double-front failure.
The match ended in another defeat.
Walking off the stage, doubt finally crept into Zhuoyue’s mind.
Regardless of how one looked at it, Yan Shu’s skill level today was miles away from his usual baseline.
“Captain, isn’t Yan Shu deliberately throwing this match?” Completely useless throughout the entire game, Luo Yan immediately seized the opportunity to shift the blame onto Yan Shu.
Zhuoyue directed his gaze toward Yan Shu, lingering on him for a long moment before finally noticing the unnatural pallor of Yan Shu’s face, and it wasn’t merely from the stage lighting. Zhuoyue had already noticed earlier on stage just how excessively white Yan Shu’s complexion looked.