Chapter 73
"Is it a hand injury?" Zou Shu asked with concern.
As the teammate who was closest to Ryoji, he was the first to notice that something was wrong.
Luo Hongshuo also realized: "That's why you made us wait for you to start the group purchase first."
There were only three days between the final and the semi-final, leaving them very little time to adjust.
However, there is also good news to celebrate: the venue for the finals has been decided to be the S City Stadium, which can accommodate 10,000 people.
The thrilling match between LSG and PXM attracted a large number of esports viewers, all eager to see what kind of team could make the semifinals of the qualifiers even more exciting than the playoffs.
Tickets for the LSG vs. HL finals sold out as soon as they went on sale, and the competition was so fierce that Zou Lin and his teammates didn't manage to get any tickets. If it weren't for the team having a few free tickets from the official channels, they wouldn't have had the chance to watch the game live.
Jiang Mingzhe also behaved extremely well during these last two days.
He stopped pestering Leng Zhi to come home and sleep with him, giving Leng Zhi enough time for training.
With Jiang Yijing's tacit approval, Leng Zhi has been leaving early and returning late these past few days, often tiptoeing home at two or three in the morning.
He didn't notice that a little tail had appeared behind him at some point.
As usual, Leng Zhi watched HL team's match videos with everyone and analyzed their tactics.
Around 2 a.m., the other four went home first, leaving only Leng Zhi and Tang Wenshi to continue refining the day's discussions.
By the time the team members gathered at the stadium with tens of thousands of people, apart from a small group of netizens who had seen it online in the middle of the night, no one else knew about it.
Team QE is also one of the dark horses in this qualifier.
Like PXM, they are also a new team backed by big streamers and capital.
The stadium, which can accommodate 10,000 people, was packed to capacity, and the audience was already having a lively discussion as soon as they started queuing to enter.
"I wonder who will be the champion this time."
"That goes without saying, it's LSG of course. They even crushed PXM. QE's members don't seem as strong as PXM."
"You're looking at things too superficially. This team has hired a top-tier coach from abroad, supposedly the top coach in the North American region. He's very good at analysis and always comes up with unexpected strategies to win matches."
"To be precise, it was LSG's captain who kept causing trouble. Although the reason is still unknown, QE is obviously planning to start from there."
"Their method is simple and brutal: they directly replicate the lineup from that match. LSG, do you accept it or not? If you accept it, you will fall into a predicament of poor lineup adaptation, but if you don't accept it, it will be too demoralizing."
"LSG team has real guts, they've locked in the healer! Looks like they're prepared to go all out, hopefully they'll bring us a great match!"
Zou Shu practically had "explain this" written all over his face, so Leng Zhi had no choice but to give a brief account of the series of phone calls Manager Qian had made earlier.
Leng Zhi said indifferently, "It's not really a grudge. If it weren't for the fact that his phone number came from an unknown source, he could be considered persistent. It's just that for me, this person... is really too noisy."
Zou Shu looked away, unfazed.
He'd seen too many cases of poaching players; back when LSG first emerged, everyone on the team received these kinds of unsolicited calls.
As the founder of the team, Leng Zhi seemed like the kind of person who wouldn't run away. He only received hints from one or two companies, while the other four people were receiving different phone calls and text messages every day during that period.
However, considering the captain's hard work day and night, the four of them tacitly kept this from Leng Zhi, and silently declined the offer.
After many teams were turned down, they gradually stopped trying to poach players.
Zou Shu patted Leng Zhi on the shoulder: "Brother, it's okay, there will be more in the future."
Leng Zhi: "..."
Leng Zhi's composure was like a powerful stimulant.
"These are just unorthodox methods. Come on, let them see how the game should be played."
Team QE didn't wait for Cold's mistake.
On the contrary, Leng Zhi was in excellent condition today. He was like a seasoned puppeteer, standing behind the stage pulling the strings, and the healer was the sharpest blade in his hand.
Even though he was playing a support character, he brought immense pressure to the opposing team.
This lineup, which focuses on controlling the development of the enemy and waiting for the late game, miraculously managed to gain some advantages.
Meng Cheng held his breath and intercepted Qingguang Shenglie, who was trying to harvest LSG's jungle in the second round.
"Bloodthirsty Blade Fighter actually wants to solo Azurelight Hunter! This is quite a rare scene. Five minutes ago, Azurelight Hunter was invincible. He is the hero with the highest single-target damage in the early game among all junglers... Has he gone mad?!" The commentator's speech gradually accelerated, and it was not hard to see his shock.
But as it turns out, exceptional skill can make up for the difference in hero skill.
As the berserk fog characteristic of Bloodlust Blade Fighting gradually dissipated, the Azure Light Hunter's health bar also reached its limit.
"As expected, we should use the simplest method: suppress their marksman so much that he can't get up. That's half the battle won."
"Yes, then the key should be focused on Zou Shu, and we also need to pay close attention to Luo Hongshuo's draft picks, as well as the mid lane..."
Even when they were calling a taxi to leave, the two were still talking to each other while looking at the forms on the tablet.
Xinxing Internet Cafe stays open very late. Recently, Boss Xu has watched a lot of cyberpunk-themed movies and TV shows, and has put up a bunch of colorful light signs that look really cool at night.
The soft, reddish-purple light shone on the backs of Leng Zhi and Tang Wenshi, making their simple white T-shirts and shirts appear decadent from a distance.
"Crack!"
The two, engrossed in the game, didn't notice that a sneaky entertainment reporter had been hiding across the street, searching for the right angle before finally snapping several photos of the captain and coach together.
“I’m fine,” Leng Zhi said. “I tried it out, and there’s nothing wrong with my tendons and joints. It’s probably just psychological.”
Zou Shu expressed his understanding: "That's still due to the lineup. That's great, Leng, I'm glad your hand is okay."
"Yes, it's good that your hand is okay!"
“You scared me, but we can fight back.”
Leng Zhi thought he knew his good brothers very well, and he knew they wouldn't blame him. But he didn't expect that what they cared about most at the moment was not whether the next match could proceed smoothly.
The question is whether his hand injury has recurred.
Yu Fu seemed to have read Leng Zhi's thoughts, and he suddenly punched Leng Zhi squarely in the chest.
"What are you thinking about? How could I not worry about you, buddy?"
"We want to stand on the podium, that's true, but no one can be missing from the podium, especially you, the captain, understand?"
Leng Zhi was made to grimace from the punch.
"You... could you be a little gentler? If we get photographed, people will think there's some infighting in our team."
Leng Zhi has always been the one protecting the team, but today he was unexpectedly comforted by these few surprisingly reliable guys. Now, Leng Zhi feels that the pressure he just felt was a joke.
"Let's go, the second game is about to start. We can finish in three more games. Would you say we came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 3-1?"
"Hahaha, Captain, you invented this term, didn't you? I've never seen anyone so immodest!"
"This time we promise to follow Captain Leng's command. Captain Leng, you too, communicate promptly if there are any issues."
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