Chapter 48

[Yeah, I almost got tricked by that kid.]

[This is hilarious! Of all people to mess with, Lei Ling had to pick on Leng Ge. He's just asking for trouble.]

[The Jiang family doesn't need all this trouble to enter the e-sports industry; it's just a matter of a word from President Jiang.]

[A clown's statement]

"Let's pick position one first and go straight for the standard lineup," Bian Xiangyu said. "It's rare that Gongsun Shangxiang is available, is Jing Cheng okay?"

Jing Cheng swallowed hard, his voice slightly hoarse: "I'm fine."

Before the match, they had already analyzed that LSG's Lancer's best marksman hero should be Gongsun Shangxiang.

This hero, whose operation difficulty ranks first among marksmen, is also a favorite of various teams in professional competitions. As long as it is released from the ban list, it will most likely be picked.

Jingcheng's Gongsun Shangxiang was developed entirely under pressure, and now the hopes of the entire team are on his shoulders, so it's inevitable that he's a little nervous.

Bian Xiangyu said calmly, "Don't panic, I'll play along with you this time."

For the second hero slot, lock in – the Long Spear Cavalry!

"WRC has brought out the classic double free agent combination! Gongsun Shangxiang plus a long spear cavalry, their mid-game will be very strong."

"Speaking of which, this top and bottom lane combination, although they are a bit far apart, is actually the number one in the win rate rankings for duo combinations, and it is also one of the best lineups calculated by the League's AI."

Since the competition was held in the city, LSG extended its hospitality by inviting the WRC team to a celebration banquet that evening.

Gu Zuo curled his lip: "Who wants to eat a victory celebration with them..."

Bian Xiangyu put his arm around the shoulders of his two teammates: "Ji Ping, Jing Cheng, let's go together?"

Gu Zuo subconsciously lifted his foot:

"Hey! Captain, why would you want to go to this kind of social event! Their captain is so arrogant!"

"Don't walk so fast! Wait for me! I want to eat too!"

Bian Xiangyu freed one hand and flipped his wrist to put it on the back of his support's neck: "I'm just going to mooch a meal since you're here."

Gu Zuo resigned himself to his fate: "You tricked me again... Fine, I'll have a meal with you guys."

Leng Zhi still didn't report his itinerary to Jiang Yijing this time—because Jiang Yijing had come along too.

Teams that had previously played against LSG also watched the video.

KM's coach silently closed the video: "Hmm... at least it's not a coaching gap, but it seems like our players aren't at that level either."

PX team... although they have disbanded, they will still keep up with the latest developments in the competition.

Working as a game companion required working day and night, so Shen Yingcai switched to a factory job every two months. His roommate, knowing he liked playing the game "Di Yao," forwarded him a message late at night: "This new team is amazing! Aren't you a top marksman in the national server? You should try joining a team!"

Shen Yingcai: "...Go to hell."

It's like they're rubbing salt in the wound. He didn't dare tell his roommate that he was a former professional player with a bad reputation who had been blacklisted by the entire league.

Just as Leng Zhi was about to call Jiang Mingzhe to stop, Jiang Mingzhe suddenly stopped in front of the reef and called out from afar, "Dad, come quick!"

It turned out to be a supply pack.

The bag, with the program's tag on it, was firmly wedged between three rocks; you wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely.

The contents inside were even more so: two bottles of fresh water, a metal box, two thermal blankets, and a flint.

A sign on the tap water reads: "Packaged tap water, must be boiled before drinking."

This is the most common supply pack, mainly containing water. The production team's design concept is simpler: they want the guests to find enough drinking water, but they don't want them to drink it right away—that would ruin the show.

There must be a process of finding firewood and boiling it.

However, for Leng Zhi, this is a different use.

"Jiang Mingzhe, would you like to have seafood hot pot?"

"think!"

"Let's go find some firewood first."

The two, one big and one small, hit it off immediately and turned to walk towards the lush forest behind them.

"Wait!" Li Chi caught up from behind.

"Don't go yet!" he shouted. "There's still something in the supply pack. You've triggered a hidden quest."

"You mean that mini camera?"

Leng Zhi noticed the camera, but he assumed it was equipment left behind by the film crew.

"Yes, I happen to be here, so I will read out your hidden mission."

"You need to choose where to place this camera. Once selected, the camera will remain in that fixed location. If other guests enter the camera's field of view, you will receive an extra star. For each additional group, you will receive an extra star."

Jiang Mingzhe immediately pulled the mini camera out of the bag: "Then it can have four stars!"

"Yes... but that requires the location to be chosen well enough so that every group of guests can come."

Leng Zhi seemed to be thinking: "This doesn't need to be put down immediately. There can be some time to choose a point, right?"

After receiving Li Chi's affirmative reply, he calmly put away the bag and camera: "No rush, let's talk about it after we finish eating."

WRC studied it repeatedly, and even on the flight back to G City, they were still discussing their directions for improvement.

As for the opponents they encounter further ahead, such as the H University e-sports club, they would rather kneel down and watch the pros play games.

"Waaaaah, how did I end up running into a top-tier team in a city tournament?!"

From the perspective of the LSG members, life after becoming playoff champions hasn't really changed much.

"Please come in." The voice inside was as clear and melodious as ever.

"I've come to report on the team's situation." Leng Zhi closed the door a crack.

Upon seeing that it was Leng Zhi who arrived, Jiang Yijing's originally icy face immediately softened with warmth.

He stood up and walked forward: "No need to report, you are fully responsible for these matters... whatever you say goes."

"By the way, the new security system has been updated, and the rings at the base need a firmware upgrade. I've sent someone to do it." He reached out familiarly, wanting to remove the ring for Leng Zhi.

The teammates also felt wronged: "No, that was the only way to fight that team fight, but I felt like we were short on damage..."

The side laner nodded: "I was just a little short of gold at the time, so I could have made another defensive item."

Shen Yingcai waved his hand: "You all go to the analysis room and take a look. I'm going to have a smoke."

At the entrance to the training room, he ran into Leng Zhi, who had also just come out.

Leng Zhi overheard this, and after the others from PX left, he gave Shen Yingcai a meaningful look.

“You’ve been grabbing at the economy, which is a big problem,” he said.

Shen Yingcai stubbed out his cigarette, somewhat displeased: "I didn't, don't talk nonsense."

Leng Zhi lowered his eyes: "This isn't about assigning blame. Economic distribution is a very common issue, especially when a dual-core lineup is chosen. It's important to distinguish between primary and secondary roles..."

In the past, receiving post-match analysis from Leng Zhi was something every team dreamed of, but Shen Yingcai clearly didn't value his friendly advice.

He suddenly frowned and interrupted him directly: "Captain Leng, please forgive me, but don't talk about stealing the economy in the post-match analysis. I don't like hearing that."

Leng Zhi watched Shen Yingcai walk away in silence, without saying a word.

Zou Shu, who had heard everything clearly, was puzzled: "I think Captain Leng is right. This is indeed their team's biggest problem right now. Such insightful guidance can't be bought anywhere else, this kid."

“I guess he wants to transfer and win MVP,” Yu Fu suddenly said.

He guessed right.

This is indeed the reason why Shen Yingcai is so reluctant to discuss the issue of seizing economic opportunities.

He thought he had hidden his true intentions well enough; if he could conceal them in the training matches, he could do the same in the qualifying matches.

Shen Yingcai has lost hope for the PX team; he hopes to find a good new team during the transfer window.

Teams have very complex criteria for selecting players during the transfer period, but in general, it boils down to two words.

strength.

Shen Yingcai can only hope to win more MVP awards in the upcoming matches to increase his market value.

Unfortunately, this season, the coach has implemented a different game plan than he had anticipated.

"Shen Yingcai, why don't you try playing a utility jungler this season?"

In short, Shen Yingcai felt a chill run down his spine.

Utility jungler, as the name suggests, is a playstyle that does not showcase individual skill but aims to contribute to the team, provide early-game strength, and pave the way for teammates' highlights.

Zou Shu exclaimed, "Ah! That makes sense. I remember we encountered a player like that in the playoffs two years ago. Where did he go after that?"

"No teams invited him, and he eventually retired."

Leng Zhi's voice was very soft, but Shen Yingcai, who had already walked away, did not hear these conversations.

His gaze fell on Leng Zhi's slightly parted lips, and at that moment he only wanted to shut those mouths that were about to utter the word "divorce".

His anger was unleashed in that sudden kiss, as if he wanted to confirm something between their lips and teeth.

The other person didn't seem to have expected this sudden kiss either, and only after his teeth were pried open did he tentatively give him a little response.

Jiang Yijing seemed to hear the sound of his rationality snapping.

"Yes! I remember that lineup was Gongsun Shangxiang, Long Spear Warrior, and Crossing River Carp Fairy, with two control heroes in the mid and jungle that don't rely on gold. WRC pulled out two of them in one game, so it seems they're determined to win this game."

It has to be said that people's luck is different.

Yu Fu is known as the mascot by fans in the LSG team—not because he's weak, but literally because he's incredibly lucky.

According to incomplete official statistics, his critical strike rate in matches is on average several percentage points higher than the actual critical strike rate set by the hero character. He often gains a slight advantage in crucial team fights because of this difference in damage.

Zou Shu watched as Leng Zhi climbed out of the Cayenne's driver's seat. The latter casually took off a pair of sunglasses and quietly parked his electric scooter in the charging shed.

They're both here for job interviews, but why is it that some people drive luxury cars while others are speeding along on electric scooters until the battery is almost dead?

If Yu Fu hadn't been so generous and paid her such a high salary, she would have had to think twice about whether she should run away.

The manager had just seen off a group of contestants and finished recording the data when he looked up and saw the door being pushed open again.

She forced a professional smile: "Hello, please report for duty here."

Two handsome young men arrived, the one on the left being particularly eye-catching, with delicate features and fair skin, clearly a potential money-making machine.

The manager felt a little regretful, but unfortunately the boss had specified those three people, so she could only politely advise them to leave, no matter how promising they were.

Leng Zhi's hands are the same as his hands in his previous life, and he is often praised for being naturally suited for e-sports or musical instruments.

The slender hand wrote four words on the sign-in book.

In stark contrast to the discussions in the comments section, Leng Zhi seemed completely unconcerned until he lit a fire on the shore and the water in the iron box began to bubble. Only then did he take any further action.

This place is far from the reefs where the waves crash, so there's no need to worry about getting wet. As a result, the sand is scorching hot from the midday sun.

Leng Zhi used a twig to dig a small hole in the sand behind him, buried the camera in it, and then gently smoothed it out, leaving only half of the lens exposed, which was indeed very inconspicuous.

The comment praising the clam chowder so enthusiastically is from Zou Shu.

Although Leng Zhi wasn't there today, the three of them still managed to get together.

“Even if Leng is busy, the three of us can’t neglect training!” Yu Fu said with certainty.

"Support!" "See you in the training room!"

As a result, the three of them spent the entire morning huddled around the computer in front of Zou Shu, and the training room was filled with their laughter from time to time.

Zou Shu complained, "He's just bragging. If I hadn't explained the clam chowder making process to him yesterday, he would have brought that kid a bowl of mud soup today."

Luo Hongshuo looked sympathetic: "Is Captain Leng really taking care of the kids for seven days straight like this? That's too much work."

Yu Fu directly showed Luo Hongshuo his phone's favorites: "This one is so mild. Ever since I watched Zou Shufa's video of the red wedding dress yesterday, I've been looking at the related recommendations until 2 a.m.

He swore, "I dare say, the amount of dirt and videos that Leng has accumulated over the three years of esports playing with us doesn't even come close to what we've seen in just this week."

Luo Hongshuo glanced at him sideways: "You should use this time to train properly."

Not to be outdone, Yu Fu shoved the phone screen in his face: "Stop bragging, here, take a look or not!"

There was a three-second silence.

Luo Hongshuo: "Look!"

The live stream broadcast showed Yun Jingcheng and Xiaoyu. Although Li Chi had a large umbrella, the rain on the island was blowing in the sea breeze, and raindrops hit people from all directions. Soon, Xiaoyu's trouser legs were also wet and stuck to his chubby legs, looking pitiful.

Yun Jingcheng gritted his teeth. Although he was a reliable and dependable little white flower on the show, it was hard not to worry when he saw his dear Xiaoyu like this.

He tucked Xiaoyu, who was in his arms, into Li Chi's free right arm and then slipped out of the umbrella.

"Uncle, where are you going!" Xiaoyu stretched out her little arm, trying to grab him, puzzled.

Yun Jingcheng didn't go far. He took out a knife, cut several large banana leaves, stacked them together, and returned to the umbrella.

The knife guard that Xiaoyu had set up was dismantled, and colorful ribbons tightly bound the banana leaves together, covering Xiaoyu's waist and legs to create a small sheltered space from the rain.

The little one was sheltered in a triangle formation between two adults and a banana leaf, finally keeping him temporarily out of the rain.

In the team's official variety show, he always came out on top in segments with strong random probability factors, such as lottery scratching challenges and number guessing games.

So even though he doesn't serve as captain or vice-captain, he's always sent to the pre-match draw—the captain can't be sent, since the captain's luck is worlds apart from Yu Fu's.

Therefore, it became easier to accept that he dressed up as a rich second-generation.

The original owner was a spoiled young master who spent his days indulging in pleasure, causing his self-made rich father a lot of headaches.

This performance accident should actually be attributed to the props department.

To save time, the props team commissioned a popular offline escape room studio to design the room. The owner was flattered by the invitation and immediately authorized the production team with several of his best designs. Because they only had two days to set up the room, the props team opted to directly use one of the owner's provided props.

Therefore, this combination lock has been used many times—it has been touched and found to have been touched.

Duoduo saw these marks and curiously pressed them all.

The little girl was really lucky; she won on her first try with a 1 in 24 chance.

"Master?" Zou Shu scoffed. What internet cafe master? Could anyone be better than him?

He steadied his gaze, just as the camera zoomed in on Leng Zhi.

In the scene, after something was mentioned earlier, Leng Zhi tapped Jiang Mingzhe on the head and uttered four words: "If you're bad, practice more."

Zou Shu: "...?" These four words sound all too familiar.

This guy not only looks a bit like the captain, but his accent also sounds so familiar.

Zou Shu fell into deep thought.

Could it be that I've been missing the captain too much lately?

Apart from that one game, Leng Zhi had completed countless escape room games in the games he played before, making him quite adept at this type of puzzle-oriented escape room.

The round storage locker opens, and the wheels increase by 1.

A round bathtub, lift the lid, and the wheel will increase by 1.

A sideboard filled with round ornaments; open the drawer, and you'll find a wheel (+1).

...

The little ones followed Leng Zhi back and forth, and soon they had collected all four wheels and the motor.

Only the car body remains to be found.

They were almost finished collecting the parts to assemble the toy car when they finally realized that Xiaoxiao's gift was actually just assembling the "junk" they had collected.

Lei Ling originally wanted to cultivate the persona of an escape room expert, but he didn't expect that his accumulated experience in terrifying escape rooms would be completely useless here. He painfully scratched the hair on his head.

Damn it, getting on variety shows is harder than I imagined! Even after this escape room is over, I still need to be paired with Xixi to get screen time. It's too much of a stretch for this washed-up internet celebrity to rely on his own abilities.

As Zou Shu watched the live stream of the team leader easily defeating the escape room team leader, he felt a mix of emotions.

Secretary Li held her breath when she saw the explosive content sent by Aunt Wang.

He secretly raised his eyebrows from the pile of documents and glanced at his boss.

Jiang Yijing was processing official documents when he suddenly caught a glimpse of his secretary's hesitant expression.

Just last night, President Jiang went to talk to Mr. Leng about his private life. How come he already has suitors knocking on his door today?

"Old Shen, don't make a fuss about this visitor. I'll handle it. If he comes again, just contact me. Don't tell Wang Ma first."

After instructing the security guards, Secretary Li relayed the same words to Aunt Wang:

Wang Ma turned off her phone screen and drove her electric scooter with great speed.

She didn't tell anyone else; she only shared the news with five of her cleaning colleagues.

Old Man Yu beat his chest in frustration, regretting that in his youth he had focused on expanding his business and hadn't paid enough attention to his youngest son's studies. He could only console himself that at least his son wouldn't lose money investing in him, so he could just keep supporting him.

When his youngest son suddenly changed his tune and said he wanted to start his own business, Old Man Yu didn't see anything wrong with it. On the contrary, he was very pleased and held his wife's hand with tears in his eyes: "Our third son has grown up. He is still our child after all, and he knows how to work hard!"

When Yu Fu clarified that the industry he wanted to invest in was e-sports, he nodded in agreement.

"Sure, this is a very promising new industry, but a considerable amount of capital has already entered the market. Which area are you planning to invest in? Team endorsements, live streaming platforms, or the organization of major tournaments?"

"What! You want to form your own team? And fight it out yourself!"

Old Man Yu's vision went black. His unreliable son was indeed still unreliable!

He said helplessly, "Fine, if you want to do it, then do it. I'll give you some start-up capital first, just don't lose it all."

Yu Fu was very confident. He was confident in his own abilities and also in his luck in finding teammates.

"Dad, don't worry about this project, it'll definitely make money. After I hire people, you can give me your feedback!"

He didn't know what kind of trouble his words would bring, but at least he had made a strong statement.

Yu Fu quickly recruited team managers, but the initial capital was not enough to cover the high transfer fees required to poach established players, so he issued a recruitment notice for esports players.

Because the salary offered was among the best in the industry, many players applied, and the team manager arranged to interview them one by one starting from the second day.

Yu Fu arrived at the interview location early and sat inside waiting for the interviewees to come in one by one.

Tang Wenshi, sitting on the coach's bench, pressed his temples.

"There's no need for AI calculations. If both sides choose their strongest heroes, of course the win rate will be higher... However, if you manage to secure the first or second floor, you'll inevitably face the risk of being countered by the next player."

As soon as he finished speaking, Leng Zhi, as if on the same wavelength as his coach, locked his gaze on the carp crossing the river.

"Pick instead of ban! It seems LSG is not going to completely give up such a perfect combination as Guojiang Lixian and Gongsun Shangxiang."

"If I remember correctly, Froster used this hero in the match against KM, and his synergy with Lancer was almost like that of the same person."

The third and fourth were two other lucky audience members, and then came Shaoqi's account—this was already a pretty good result for the guests, since the audience members didn't have the "hands-on-brain" restriction.

Leng Zhi didn't look down; his gaze fell on the first-place winner's portrait.

The profile pictures and IDs of the top three will be enlarged and displayed at the front, with the number one being particularly hard to miss.

This is a selfie taken with a phone, showing a head with green hair grinning happily at the camera.

This clump of green hair looks familiar.

Leng Zhi examined him for a while and recognized him as one of the young people he had met at the internet cafe yesterday morning.

It has to be said that the green-haired guy's flamboyant style was more impressive than his pink-haired and yellow-haired companions, to the point that even after just one meeting, Leng Zhi remembered his face.

Yesterday's memories were incredibly vivid in his mind; Leng Zhi even recalled what the other young men called this green-haired guy: Brother Zou.

A faint thread was connecting things in Leng Zhi's mind.

Before Leng Zhi could figure anything out, the host's enthusiastic voice interrupted him.

"Great! It seems our lucky audience is full of experts; even the duo of Leng Zhi and Jiang Mingzhe were defeated!"

"Now we'll draw the lucky audience members for the next round. In five minutes, we'll begin the next round of the game. There will be a total of three games tonight. Audience members are encouraged to sign up. Everyone has a chance, and maybe the next lucky audience member will be you!"

In the next two rounds of the game, Zou Shu was no longer so lucky and didn't draw the lucky audience member in the second round.

He stayed by the computer until all three rounds of selection were over, then silently got up and left the internet cafe.

Zou Lin shouted from behind him, "Don't go, bro! I'll find someone to play a five-player match with us!"

Zou Shu wasn't in the mood to pay attention to him, and just casually promised, "I'll definitely do it next time," before hurrying back upstairs at the small restaurant to wait for the live broadcast to announce his mysterious gift.

Unfortunately, the mysterious gift was provided not by the program team, but by the official DiYao organization.

Zou Shu looked at the messages his younger brother had sent him on his phone, but couldn't manage a smile.

The hero selection between the two sides was like a war without gunpowder. I would choose the one you wanted first, and then you would fight for my ultimate intention... In the end, the result of this tug-of-war was presented on the big screen with an exaggerated composition.

LSG ultimately did not choose a mid-core lineup.

Instead, they selected a well-rounded lineup that was the complete opposite of their usual style.

A mid-core hero, the Wind Weaver.

A free agent marksman, a Western cowboy.

A semi-tank-type flank fighter, Imperial Cavalry.

And a purely utility-focused support jungler, Bear Sprite.

This is slightly different from the common two-core or single-core lineups.

The commentator's voice became somewhat dry when they selected the Illusionary Wind.

"Looks like they're sticking with the mid-core strategy? The hero Phantom Weaver... should be able to play a mid-core role too, right?"

"No way, this hero has been released recently, and I've never heard of anyone using him as a mid-carry. Let's see what they pick next."

Narrator: "..."

Haha, before today, not only was no one using Illusionary Wind to target the mid-lane, no one was even targeting the mid-lane!

It seems my buddy hasn't learned his lesson from being slapped in the face today.

[Hilarious, everyone posting means no one posted at all]

Now we'll see how effective the hidden quests are.

[Speaking of which, it seems like Lei Ling hasn't even started this mission yet.]