1. The Final Battle

On August 23, 2027, the final match of the Summer Split gauntlet will begin.

The short-haired girl, who worked as a backstage receptionist, was restless, glancing at the door every now and then, hoping that her job tonight would allow her to catch a glimpse of God A.

A-God is currently the most sought-after player in the LPL. With his unparalleled talent, he has consistently topped the rankings and has been praised by foreign media as "the most talented player in history".

If his four teammates hadn't been so bad, he would have made it to the World Championship long ago, right?

As she was thinking, a commotion arose outside the door.

Ahhh, her idol has arrived!

Alike, also known as A-God.

He has a mixed-race look, his backpack is casually slung across his shoulder, and his height is exceptionally tall. Coupled with his always disdainful attitude, he is incredibly handsome as soon as he appears.

The short-haired girl tried her best to push forward, but before she could even see his face, she was stopped at the door by her staff. "Excuse me, A-God needs to rest. Everyone, please stop."

She was a little discouraged, but then she thought it was normal not to see anything. This was A-God, who was incredibly popular in the entire LPL. It was already pretty good to be able to see even a little bit of the background!

She composed herself and tidied up the messy reception area, not noticing the white sneakers that appeared in her field of vision, and accidentally knocked over the support items she had set up.

The owner of the sneakers also has a superior height, but the kind of superiority is different from that of A-God.

His slender frame made him look non-threatening, and his team uniform was neatly worn, without a single wrinkle, and as clean as new.

As you get closer, you can almost smell the faint scent of soapberry, making it as quiet as a clear stream in the noisy environment of e-sports.

He was engrossed in writing something when he kicked something and realized someone was at his feet. "Excuse me, did I kick you?"

When that face lifted from the notebook, the short-haired girl was completely stunned.

She had never seen a contestant with such a clean and reserved demeanor.

Fair skin, neatly styled short hair.

Like a transparent glass bottle in a shop window, it reveals its most authentic color no matter what it contains.

He put down his pen and reached out to pull her up from the ground.

His team jersey had an inconspicuous mark on it—

KUG_river.

Lin Jiang.

The short-haired girl was stunned for a long time. Suddenly, she realized that the other person was also a professional player, and her eyes lit up: "Are you a professional player too? Do you also play in matches?"

"Me?" The owner of the white shoes smiled.

He put away his notebook and pulled down his hat brim. "I'm not qualified to play."

The short-haired girl paused for a moment, then watched as the contestant strode away and disappeared into the end of the corridor.

It took her a while to come to her senses: "Andy, was that player A-God's teammate? How come I've never seen him before?"

"You don't know him?"

Andy, wearing his work badge, was shocked. "He's River, the mid-laner who won domestic and international championships for two whole years back then."

"In those two years, mentioning his name would make people tremble in both the LOL and other regions. Even LCK fans, who criticize all regions, had to admit his status."

Although the short-haired girl hasn't been in the esports scene for very long, she knows that the LCK fans are so powerful that even Alike doesn't respect them. Just how good must a player be to defeat an LCK team?

"Then why is he like this now?"

"It's a bit of a sad story. Back when River dominated the field, A-God was also a dark horse. But somehow KUG ended up signing A-God."

"At first, River was the starter, but after a loss, A-God came on and made a strong comeback. The team started praising A-God and belittling River, and he gradually became a substitute for more than three years..."

"Three years as a substitute?"

It's important to understand that substitutes in esports are completely different from substitutes in other competitions. This game requires a high degree of teamwork, and unexpected situations are extremely rare, so substitutes almost never get a chance to play.

Three years as a substitute means not playing a game for three years.

Even if he was once the ruler of the league and the god of the Rift, he should be pretty much done for by now, right?

The short-haired girl clutched her pounding heart.

She felt a pang of sadness for some reason, as if the image of his clean, white hands and the brim of his hat pulled low...

What he was trying to hide was actually his pride.

*

The competition proceeded in a lively atmosphere.

KUG had a very good start, with A-God seemingly having a cheat code, winning two consecutive games and taking the match point game.

Just when everyone thought KUG was going to win, A God's performance suddenly plummeted, and he and his teammates lost two games in a row, dragging the game into a fifth and final decisive game.

Online opinion shifted rapidly, turning into a barrage of insults.

Inside the discussion room, the senior management was extremely anxious and worried.

"Do you know what losing the next game means? It means that for the first time since the team was founded, KUG will not be able to go to the World Championship. The team's popularity and reputation will plummet. No one can bear that responsibility!"

"And then there's Alike. The team worked so hard to turn him into a star player worth hundreds of millions, but he fell from grace after losing the next game. The team's god-making plan has been completely wasted! We might all be fired!"

The atmosphere in the discussion room was heavy; the boss's final decision hung like a guillotine over everyone's heads.

Someone in the corner tentatively suggested, "How about... we let the substitute play?"

"If he wins, it's because we made a smart decision; if he loses, the pressure of public opinion will fall on him. As long as Akile doesn't collapse, and we operate well next year, our reputation and public image will gradually recover..."

This would indeed minimize the losses, and everyone accepted this result. Finally, they went to the lounge to announce it.

Alike pursed his lips and said, "If I can't win, how can he?"

The manager called Alike out and secretly explained the situation to him. Alike, who had initially strongly opposed it, suddenly calmed down.

Indeed, having Lin Jiang attend the meeting would relieve a lot of public pressure for him, but would Lin Jiang agree?

He finally made it to the end of his five-year contract. With his past achievements, he could easily find a team to play for. If he goes up there and loses this game, public opinion will ruin his entire professional career.

Alike doesn't believe that there are people in this world who don't act for themselves.

He pursed his lips and saw a slender figure in the corner through the hazy glass window of the air-conditioned room.

He listened to the coach's instructions without any objection, nodded, and then got up to check his equipment.

Alike pupil contraction.

After all these years, he thought he had completely defeated River, but this moment made his face burn with pain.

He clenched his fist, then had to let it clench.

"I agree to let him go."

*

The fifth game of the KUG bubble tournament is underway, and it's being called the most brutal match in history.

The two sides battled for 65 minutes without a clear winner.

On the live stream screen, sweat poured down River's forehead. He led his team to defend to the death, and even after all three high ground towers were destroyed, he still managed to lead the team into the late game.

The opposing team also lost all three high ground towers, and both sides had an overflow of economy. All ten players were fully equipped with six items, and their lineups were evenly matched. The battle had come down to one last burst of energy and one decisive team fight.

Seeing River, who hadn't played in a game for three years, still display such high professionalism, the short-haired girl backstage couldn't hide her excitement.

She couldn't imagine what kind of legend River had created back then, so that he could still show such dominance even after not playing for three years.

That's a bone that even Alike couldn't crack...

Some longtime fans started to get excited in the comments section.

[I never thought I'd live to see River compete.]

[Three years! My God, I never imagined I'd see him in a scene like this.]

[River is 25 years old, right? He's on par with younger players.]

[Who remembers the two years he dominated the league?]

[I'm so upset, does anyone understand?]

When River became a substitute, some fans still fought for him, but as time went by, even the greatest glory faded away.

While they were expressing their feelings, new fans were also mocking and ridiculing them.

[They can't even win this game? If it were A-God, they would have won long ago.]

[Why are you dragging this out? Who's making the decisions anyway? Shouldn't we have just pushed straight to victory after taking Baron?]

[Does the mid laner lack the ability to end the game?]

[Old cold hands?]

Watching him play is like playing cotton ball fluff; it's just not satisfying.

[KUG is dying slowly.]

[Damn it, we've had such a great advantage, and we've dragged it out until now...]

[What kind of substitutes are these?]

Lin Jiang was drenched in sweat on the field, and he didn't even have time to wipe it away.

The competition has progressed to this point, and it's like walking on a knife's edge; the slightest misstep could lead to utter ruin.

His opponent was stronger than he had imagined, and incredibly resilient. Their playstyle was specifically designed to counter KUG, which is why Alike lost two games in a row.

Lin Jiang boldly chose a late-game hero in this match because he wanted to fight to the death with the opponent.

However, his hands had become rusty after three years of not playing, and despite his best efforts to restrain himself, his opponents still managed to see through his subtle movements.

The opposing jungler, with eyes as sharp as a snake, instantly spotted his weakness and decisively initiated a team fight with his EQ flash combo.

Lin Jiang was eliminated in a flash, and the situation changed rapidly. The 75-minute battle was suddenly overturned in one fell swoop.

The screen went black and white, and Lin Jiang closed his eyes tightly. The overwhelming darkness swallowed him up like a ferocious beast.

That brief second took away more than just the game.

And his entire career.

The overwhelming public opinion flooded the screen.

KUG failed to qualify for the World Championship for the first time in the team's history after coming back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2, and A-God failed to enter the World Championship for the first time...

The supposedly powerful spaceship could easily dominate all the regions, but it fell on its own doorstep before even leaving the stadium. This is an unacceptable and humiliating defeat for all the fans!

They grabbed keyboards and, with the most vicious language and the harshest voices, attempted to criticize Lin Jiang to death.

[Does the mid laner really like feeding so much?]

[I spent over an hour looking at it, and you sent it out in a second!]

[Who is this mid laner? Can we just kick him out of the LPL...?]

[I can't accept this result! A-God has never missed a World Championship! He didn't even play, and we still lost!]

[Is this substitute getting revenge on A-God?]

[Why let a substitute play the final game!?]

The fans at the scene were so agitated that they alerted security.

After losing the match, Lin Jiang got up, packed up his equipment, and left the field with his head down.

Suddenly, a dark shadow slammed down on his head, accompanied by a shout: "Get out of the LPL!"

A flash of white light appeared, and the lights overhead converged on top of him.

Lin Jiang's body slowly collapsed to the ground, accompanied by a sharp ringing in his ears, before he could hear nothing at all...