Chapter 14

Rong Yi’s performance today was unexpectedly outstanding.

During the break, even those who had never seen him before couldn’t help but glance his way.

Rong Yi closed his eyes slightly, tilted his head a bit, and pressed his fingertips to his lips, contemplating the next game’s BP strategy.

While everyone around him relaxed, walked around, got water, and chatted, Rong Yi remained undisturbed, still in his arena state of mind.

On the CH side, they requested an extended break and a substitution. The referee called both team leaders together to confirm the situation.

Xiao Yin and Lu Feng exchanged glances.

Lu Feng nodded and smiled at him. “Yin-Ge, long time no see. We’re letting our little substitute play this round. Opportunities to spar with a world champion are rare.”

Xiao Yin replied, “Do as you wish. Our lineup will remain the same.”

Lu Feng laughed and gave him a friendly punch. “You guys are strong, but that’s a bit arrogant, don’t you think?”

Both of them laughed.

Lu Feng was also a veteran in the league and had a good relationship with Xiao Yin.

Back when Xiao Yin was still in youth training in the country, everyone wanted to be close to him. Xiao Yin had a calm demeanor and top-tier skills, making him a fan favorite in half of the league, including Lu Feng.

Despite Xiao Yin’s great popularity and connections, he was not good at maintaining them, probably because there were too many people trying to get close to him, making it hard to tell who was genuine. Lu Feng, however, remained a true technical friend. They would even play a couple of games together during the New Year.

After chatting for a few minutes, someone from the league organizer came to find Xiao Yin to confirm some details.

Xiao Yin’s voice was quiet but clear enough for Lu Feng to hear: “Yes, we do not accept offline interviews. No one except the referee is allowed in the gaming room.”

He stood there with a cold, imposing presence that demanded obedience.

Lu Feng glanced into the adjacent gaming room. The VIT kids were a bit rowdy. Hydralisk was stretching with Grey Cat, while the most composed, Wu Daogu, was balancing two empty paper cups on the back of his hand.

Only one slender figure remained sunk in a gaming chair, his skin so pale that his joints appeared slightly red.

“He still doesn’t want to face the camera?”

Lu Feng knew about Rong Yi.

It can be said that every player aiming to be a shotcaller knows Rong Yi. However, in the past five years, although they were all in the same circle, there were almost no opportunities to interact with Rong Yi.

What could be known were only the legends.

The legend of leading two championship teams over five years, only to be abandoned by his team members afterward.

“He likes it that way, let him be,” Xiao Yin said indifferently, as if he didn’t think the matter was worth discussing.

Lu Feng suddenly became interested. He raised his head, his eyes rolling upward slightly in thought. “Come to think of it… did you—did you guys ever play together?”

Xiao Yin’s gaze crossed the partition and rested on that slender, pale figure.

“No.”

“When I met him, I was still in youth training, and he was already the captain of the first world championship team.”

In those days, they were young and full of ambition.

When the old RS team members went on stage to receive their awards, he was backstage receiving everyone’s congratulations and hugs. His peach blossom eyes were calm and collected, with a smile and sharpness evident in his eyes.

Many people liked other members of the RS team later on, saying RS’s Lang Bai was domineering, Xiao Yun was cute… and so on. However, over these years, as a youth training member of a rival team, Xiao Yin had always watched that figure in the training room who never stepped out.

The bullet screen in the tournament live stream was soaring, and all the major video channels were already in action.

The first scrim of the fall split garnered such high attention; indeed, it was the first time in recent years.

This buzz had been building since VIT announced their starter lineup last night, and it completely exploded during the just-concluded first half of the game.

Online, someone had already posted a video of Rong Yi’s six extreme last-hitting escapes in the first game.

Captioned: [RS Mid Laner Debut!]

“A new mid laner for RS?”

“RS’s captain switched to VIT’s mid laner after contract termination! Who would have thought he’s Easy! Is he really the same person???”

“Is this the breakpoint support from RS???”

RS team fans were silent, collectively speechless.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the sea in A City, the weather was not good.

RS had long since resumed their training, but the late summer rainy season made the already humid air even more sticky and oppressive. The afternoon was the quietest time, as the dead silence after a nap had not yet passed.

Lang Bai glanced at his messages and clicked his tongue. He didn’t say what it was about, but Xiao Yun, on the other end, suddenly blurted out, “The Captain went to VIT, Xiao Yin’s team. It was announced last night. Did you guys see it?”

“Nope.”

“Oh.”

The atmosphere in the training room remained heavy.

Not seeing it was actually normal. RS’s training schedule was packed, and when Rong Yi was around, the team members hardly paid attention to outside affairs.

But to say they were completely unaware was debatable. After all, the news had been spreading like wildfire in the circle.

“Is this just the new team coordination? Easy and Yin are playing like blood brothers.”

“And it’s only been a few days. He switched from support to mid laner, and the official announcement put him in the first spot. VIT is really giving him top billing.”

“Easy’s mid lane is so fierce. I had no idea!”

Someone turned on the speaker, and the commentator’s voice filled the room. The match had already entered the second half of the BO3.

“The MVP of the last game goes to VIT’s Li! Also known to us as Easy!”

“They say the youth training camps on the NA Server are known for their aggressive playstyle, and VIT definitely has that vibe. In this game, Li also took the first blood directly…”

They had already won the first game, and in the second game, the opponents switched in a substitute, creating more exploitable weaknesses.

Even though it was just a scrim, both sides played seriously and cautiously, intentionally extending the game time to familiarize themselves with various in-game scenarios.

In the end, there weren’t many kills on either side, and VIT took a decisive victory without suspense.

The match ended, and both teams wrapped up in a friendly atmosphere.

After the match, Rong Yi got up and went back to the lounge, bending down to get some water.

This was his habit. In the past at RS, he was usually the one waiting for the post-match procedures to finish.

He couldn’t face the camera, but having the team members appear on screen was beneficial for their personal development and commercial activities.

There was nothing to criticize about it. In fact, Rong Yi knew that because of his habit, RS was always one person short in major events, which was somewhat unfair to his teammates.

Rong Yi took a cup of water and sat down, planning to do some post match analysis on his own. However, the lounge door was suddenly pushed open amidst a lively commotion.

Hydralisk burst in, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, still excitedly discussing the recent brilliant play with Grey Cat. “Damn! I shouldn’t have left! If I had stayed, I could’ve gotten a double kill on their jungler!”

Wu Daogu followed behind, dragging Lu Feng along to ask about the strategy of ganking the top lane in domestic play.

Hearing the noise, Rong Yi turned his chair around and saw that none of them had gone for the group photo but had come straight over instead.

Grey Cat hollered, “Hey! Hey! To enter our Captain’s lounge, you need to hand over your phones! Yes! Scan them! We have a lot of team secrets here!!”

People were blocked outside, and Rong Yi didn’t understand what was happening until he saw Xiao Yin leading a CH team member towards the door.

Xiao Yin ignored Grey Cat’s antics, but the polite team member was genuinely embarrassed and didn’t dare to step further inside.

“What’s going on?” Rong Yi sensed that the commotion might be about him.

With his hands in his pockets, Xiao Yin looked relaxed but indifferent. “There’s someone from CH who wants your autograph. Can he come in?”

Rong Yi was momentarily stunned, then nodded in agreement. “Sure, please come in.”

Contrary to his public image, Rong Yi was quite popular among professional players. Part of this was due to his mystique, but a large portion was because of his skills.

When he was with RS, he was the ideal support for countless carries.

There were probably thousands of carries who wanted his contact information.

Rong Yi was accustomed to this kind of situation. Sometimes, even young supports from youth training camps would come to ask for his autograph.

Seeing him nod, Grey Cat seriously let the person in and even collected their phone.

The visitor was Silver Wing, a substitute support from CH, who still looked very young, probably just an adult.

Silver Wing cautiously approached, glanced around at everyone, and finally fixed his gaze on Rong Yi. In that instant, his face turned red and, within seconds, flushed like a little tomato.

“Can I go outside and post an update?” Silver Wing asked.

“Sure.”

After Rong Yi signed the autograph, he smiled at Silver Wing with squinted eyes. Silver Wing immediately bowed with his notebook in hand, then nervously walked out, his steps shaky.

Xiao Yin, standing by with his arms crossed, watched the scene and then led Silver Wing back to the CH side.

Silver Wing, too shy to speak to Rong Yi, found his voice with Xiao Yin instead. “I never dreamed E-God would look this good.”

It wasn’t really a conversation, more like an exclamation.

In a daze, Silver Wing returned to the lounge, pulled out his phone, and shakily posted on Weibo with a photo of Easy’s autograph.

Rong Yi’s handwriting was steady and strong, the words “Rong Yi Easy” written in a flamboyant, powerful style.

@CH.SilverWing: “I got the autograph of the world’s most handsome person!! Fanboying success!”

CH was also a major team in the country, with many fans, so this post quickly gained attention.

Soon, league fans witnessed an unusual phenomenon.

A large number of support players from within the league came to comment, including those usually elusive and low-key supports, all suddenly making an appearance.

There were even a few ADCs with ulterior motives.

“Damn!! Make a copy for me!!”

“What? You met Easy in person?”

“I’m not jealous at all, really. When will I ever get to meet a world-class support like Captain Rong…”

“How good-looking is he? I’ve never seen him! Captain Rong never appears on camera and is super low-key. It’s hard to even see him at live matches!”

Silver Wing specifically retweeted this, using a dreamy tone: “World’s most handsome.”

The retweet count quickly surpassed ten thousand.