Five days later, the jungler of the second team finally returned, and they held a long-overdue internal team meeting before practice.
“For our last two team training matches today, let Yan Shu play substitute support. Is that okay?” The second-team captain turned to look at the support player, trying to get his agreement.
The support player had just been promoted from the youth training team, held very little presence within the team, and possessed quite average skill.
Even if the support player felt ten thousand objections in his heart, he still had to give the captain face on the surface. He stared down at the floor and muttered, “Fine, I will listen to the captain’s arrangement.”
The other team members were different from the support. Although they had not been at the SR club for long, they had still bounced around various teams. Suddenly asking them to accept a teammate with a match-fixing scandal was simply unacceptable. Esports players might not always care about skill levels, but they certainly cared about the esports spirit.
“I do not agree! I could barely accept the special circumstances the other day. But you want me to completely accept him as a teammate? How is that possible?” The second-team clash-laner was an outspoken and straightforward fellow who could not hide his rebellious attitude.
The newly recovered jungler sat at his seat without a word. He still clearly remembered how, after undergoing minor surgery that day, the moment the anesthesia wore off, he sent a message to his teammates to ask about the match and how surprised he was to learn that the team had secured three consecutive wins.
No matter what, he had to acknowledge Yan Shu’s strength.
Sensing that the jungler was wavering, the second-team captain immediately asked him, “Do you agree?”
“I…” The jungler averted his gaze and hesitated for a moment. “I have no objections. After all, his strength is very high, and he can lead us to progress.”
The second-team captain was extremely satisfied with this answer.
Now only the mid-laner had yet to express his stance. Without waiting for the captain to ask, the mid-laner said blandly, “I do not care.”
“Good, plus me, four people agree. The minority obeys the majority, and I am going to go inform Yan Shu right now.” The second-team captain finalized the decision.
Meanwhile, separated from the second team by just a single window, Yan Shu was taking a short nap. He could see the second-team members next door discussing matters, but the soundproofing of the SR base rooms was so good that he could not hear what they were saying.
It was not until the second-team captain walked over from next door into his training room that he learned he would not have to sit on the bench just yet.
When break time ended that afternoon, Yan Shu joined the second team’s group training.
Even when playing as a support, Yan Shu did not slack off in the slightest. Not to mention vision control and calling out enemy positions, he even studied team-fight timing and how to maximize the survival rate of every teammate.
Especially for the second-team captain, who played the marksman position, having Yan Shu as his support drastically lowered his death rate, significantly boosted his gold income, and allowed him to secure gold marksman honors almost every time.
The second team’s group training matches consisted of five rounds in total. The first three rounds featured the original support, while the last two rounds featured Yan Shu as the substitute.
The contrast in performance before and after was stark. Yan Shu’s various statistics completely crushed those of the original support, and under Yan Shu’s support, the entire team’s strength elevated by a whole tier.
“Our synergy was so good on the first try! Aside from the clash lane not gaining an increased advantage, the small team fights in the mid and bottom lanes were played exceptionally well.” Holding the data sheet, the second-team captain smiled from ear to ear.
He had been calculating in his heart since early on: if he could rely on an overpowered support like Yan Shu to perform brilliantly every single time, wouldn’t he be able to transfer to the first team very soon?
After the training match concluded, the second-team captain surprisingly invited Yan Shu to go eat dinner together. Because the other teammates still held varying degrees of prejudice against Yan Shu, in the end, only the second-team captain and Yan Shu went to eat.
During the meal, Yan Shu learned that the second-team captain’s real name was Er Dui. This surname was extremely rare, and the given name was also quite novel. Moreover, because his gaming ID was SR-Liang Dui, his teammates always called him the second-team captain, making it seem as though he had no other name at all.
“I wasn’t intentionally giving you the cold shoulder earlier… It’s mainly because your identity really has some controversy surrounding it, right?” Er Dui casually hooked his arm around Yan Shu’s shoulders. “Your skill is truly top-tier. I am a person who respects strong strength. From now on, whenever the second team has a match to play, you will definitely be a part of it.”
Yan Shu had not engaged in physical contact with anyone for over four years, and his entire body felt completely unnatural as he tried to figure out how to shake off the second-team captain’s arm. He awkwardly shifted a few times, and when he turned his body slightly, he happened to catch sight of Zhuoyue.
Zhuoyue was holding a food tray, chatting idly with a teammate, and when he turned around, he saw Yan Shu being held by Er Dui. He could not help but frown.
The two of them gazed at each other from afar across three or four dining tables.
Yan Shu immediately pulled back his gaze, not daring to look at Zhuoyue’s face any longer. Because he saw that Zhuoyue’s complexion was very poor, as if he were harboring some sullen anger.
After a few minutes, Yan Shu cautiously glanced toward Zhuoyue’s side again and felt relieved upon discovering that Zhuoyue was eating with a normal expression.
In this manner, Yan Shu and the second-team captain finished their dinner relatively harmoniously.
On the way back to the training room, Er Dui remembered something and slapped his forehead. “Aiya, look at my memory. Since tonight is free-training time, haven’t you received the live-streaming account assigned by the team yet?”
“No, I do not know about that.” Yan Shu felt a bit nervous, terrified of missing any important team evaluation metrics, such as live streaming.
Sensing Yan Shu’s thoughts, Er Dui smiled and shook his head. “Do not be nervous. Live streaming is just a channel to help the team make money. Every month our team has an internal value assessment ranking. If you secure endorsement deals or earn a lot through streaming, the team will give you extra bonuses.”
“Bonuses? Shouldn’t the net income from endorsements go entirely to the endorser?” Yan Shu did not understand.
Er Dui raised his middle finger and shook it to indicate no. “Endorsements do have to allocate net income to the endorser according to the contract, but our team’s current situation is a bit different.”
Yan Shu grew even more confused.
“Our team is poor! We lack money!” Er Dui directly stated the crucial issue, grabbing the fabric of his team uniform. “Look at this. The uniform I am wearing is still the version from the year before last. Our team hasn’t released a new style of uniform in two years! If Zhuoyue didn’t still have some endorsement deals, what matches would we even play? We’d probably be out on the streets collecting scrap.”
“Is it that difficult?” Yan Shu recalled his time back at the TW team, where not only did he receive endless endorsement offers, but his other teammates also shot plenty of commercials and variety shows, and they had never worried about money.
“Are you going to start streaming tonight? I’ll duo queue with you in the hundred-star tier. Play whatever role you like to build up some popularity. With your skill, you can definitely attract many fans.” The second-team captain firmly believed Yan Shu was prime material for live streaming.
“I…” Yan Shu was somewhat afraid of live streaming; he dreaded facing any kind of camera.
“Don’t carry any psychological burden. You don’t need to show your face, just turn on the mic. No one will know you are Yan Shu, you will just be SR-Moon.” Er Dui continuously boosted Yan Shu’s confidence.
Yan Shu remained hesitant. “I… can I really do it?”
Regardless of whether Yan Shu could or not, the highly efficient Er Dui directly provided Yan Shu with a live-streaming account that very night and dragged him into a joint stream.
Sitting in the second-team streaming room, Er Dui expertly turned on the camera and microphone. Naturally, the camera pointed only at him.
As soon as the stream began, the second team’s captain busily greeted the camera. “Hello everyone, it’s been a long time. Training has been busy lately. To make it up to you today, I’ve brought along a newcomer with overpowered skills to duo queue with me.”
Yan Shu sat upright in front of the computer, not daring to move a muscle.
Finding that Yan Shu wasn’t picking up the conversation at all, the second-team captain poked Yan Shu’s arm out of the camera’s view, signaling with his eyes for him to speak.
“Hello, everyone. I am SR-Moon.” Because he was too nervous, Yan Shu’s voice sounded somewhat soft.
The sparse chat barrage suddenly doubled in volume the moment Yan Shu spoke.
[Ahhhhh, this voice! I’m dead! I was just hesitating whether to watch Feng Shen’s stream or someone else’s.]
[Feng Shen? Isn’t Feng Shen the captain of the SR first team? Let’s check out how strong their second team is for Feng Shen’s sake! I’m living in this stream today.]
[Help, I feel like the newcomer’s voice is even more bewitching than Zhuoyue’s. Feng Shen’s streaming popularity is in danger!]
[Is the newcomer a little brother? Little brother, show big sister if your skills are hard enough.]
[What? Hard where?]
[Hey up there, watch your language! How did the speed of this car accelerate so suddenly?]
Gazing at the overwhelming chat barrage, Er Dui was dumbfounded. This was the liveliest the chat had ever been since he started streaming.
As the rank match began, Er Dui continuously reminded Yan Shu in secret to speak more.
“I cannot do it,” Yan Shu whispered in refusal.
The microphone in the streaming room was extremely sensitive, picking up even the tiniest sounds.
The speed at which the chat messages scrolled accelerated once again.
[What can’t you do?]
[Ah, I’m dying for this voice.]
[Hahahaha, why did the little brother say he can’t do it right as the match started?]
[Goodness, this “I can’t do it” delivered with a breathy tone, I just passed out. My imagination is running wild, family members!]
[I really want to see what the little brother looks like! Second-team captain, show us the newcomer, don’t hide him away!]
[Exactly, good things should be shared. Good-looking guys too, bring him out for us sisters to claim as a husband.]
[What if he’s a wife instead?]
[Judging by this voice, that’s not impossible either.]
Seeing that the chat was about to spin out of control, the second-team captain flatly rejected the face-reveal request. “No way, the newcomer is shy.”
Fortunately, the match had started, and many people gradually shifted their attention toward the gameplay and tactical awareness.
In this match, Yan Shu secured his most proficient clash-laner role, playing Lu Bu.
Following his usual habit, Yan Shu checked the economy panel first. Seeing that the opposing clash-laner had purchased an iron sword for their first item, he turned around and bought a cloth armor.
“First blood!”
In less than two minutes from the start, Yan Shu directly claimed first blood against the enemy’s Ma Chao.
After securing the kill, Yan Shu did not stay idle. He ran over to the enemy’s red-buff zone to observe the jungler’s movements and discovered that the enemy monkey jungler had started at the red buff.
“Second-team captain, the monkey started red and is coming to gank bottom lane. Watch out.”
Er Dui dragged his camera view across the mini-map to confirm the vision. “Got it.”
[Goodness, Moon’s voice is truly soul-captivating!]
[Second-team captain, show us what the little brother looks like! Give us a camera view, please!]
[Slightly pan the camera to the left just a little bit, let us sisters take a look.]
“No way. You guys aren’t even willing to give our Moon a little bit of encouragement, so why should I show you?” Er Dui meant to prompt the chat into sending gifts.
The moment those words dropped, the live-stream screen became flooded with various gift animation effects. The chat uniformly scrolled with messages reading “Encouraged, show us Moon!”, scrolling at an extremely fast pace.
[Quickly, show him to us!]
[An entertainment主播 next door even said that if the money goal is met they’d cross-dress, why are you being so stingy just showing a face over here?]
“Money goal is met, cross-dress?” The second-team captain repeated those words from the chat.