Chapter 20

“VIT is the most exhilarating team to watch in the professional league! They play aggressively and decisively. It’s incredible—I’ve never seen commentators struggle to keep up with the action in the arena!”

“Easy’s mid laner performance was absolutely stunning, it gave me chills.”

“Their coordination is impeccable!”

Group B’s best-of-three match, where VIT won the first game in just five and a half minutes.

The second game lasted only twenty minutes!

MIX was beaten with the fastest clean sweep on record.

But it didn’t end there. Just three days later, another Level B team faced the same brutal treatment.

VIT didn’t completely reveal their tactics, but they were certainly confident.

In both national and global leagues, 99% of teams rely on their coach’s BP strategy and lineup suppression to play tactical games. Only VIT consistently employs unconventional lineup systems, leaving people guessing with their every move.

What remains unchanged is their sharp and innovative style.

This is the advantage of AI competition training, where route analysis often leads to unconventional strategies and plans to find the quickest path to victory.

Xiao Yin was in charge of testing and analyzing, while Rong Yi used his experience and instincts to replicate and upgrade these strategies.

Their cooperation was flawless.

The third match, the final of the Group B first round, was against a team named TET.

With the League’s new home-and-away system, TET had the home advantage this round, so the entire VIT team had to travel to another city for the match.

B City, located on the coast, had a humid atmosphere and bustling streets.

On the plane, Grey Cat leaned over and asked, “Captain, any tips about this team?”

Although the two recent scrims ended in complete domination, these young players had become familiar with some of the standard domestic systems.

In the league, the difference between certain lineup combinations in Group S and Group B lies only in their effective utilization and the players’ execution. Grey Cat and the others are smart kids and quickly learn to draw inferences.

Rong Yi flipped through TET’s latest starter roster.

Soon, he spotted a familiar name.

“TET.Cang Cui. Their captain.”

Rong Yi thought for a moment. “This team isn’t weak. If they hadn’t run into us this season, they might have been the champions of Group B.”

Xiao Yin, sitting to his left, turned his head and asked, “Why do you say that?”

“Cang Cui won the Finals MVP as a mid laner three years ago. He was very popular back then. Before joining TET, he was in RS’s youth training program. We trained together, so he’s an old hand in the League.”

“From what I know, they’ve strengthened their coach team this season and revamped their entire system. Their chances of advancing are quite high. Fans are really looking forward to this match.”

Rong Yi said, suddenly remembering something as he took out his phone. “Let me see what he’s been up to lately. Maybe we can grab a meal together if he’s free.”

Xiao Yin also turned his head, quietly watching.

Rong Yi didn’t mind him looking and opened his social media app, clicking into his friend circle.

TET.Cang Cui’s posts were visible to him, but the last update was from New Year’s, a simple holiday greeting. Aside from that, there was nothing, just a grayscale profile picture.

Rong Yi’s phone was still an old one, with chat records from several years ago still intact.

Scrolling up, he saw messages from two or three years ago.

“Ah Yi, I’m leaving. Going to play for TET.”

“At the new base! They take our phones here, remember to stay in touch!”

After that, there were no more messages. Cang Cui won the Finals MVP.

Rong Yi became a starter. Although they were in the same circle, esports players were extremely busy and under a lot of pressure, so many friendships slowly turned into mere acquaintanceships.

After they landed, Rong Yi casually sent a white goose emoji to Cang Cui, a friendly gesture for an old friend. However, Cang Cui didn’t reply, probably busy preparing for tomorrow’s match.

Rong Yi didn’t mind. As he put his phone back in his pocket, Xiao Yin suddenly asked, “You keep chat records from years ago?”

Rong Yi instinctively answered, “Yeah, I’ve never changed my phone or deleted chat records… except once.”

Except for the time Xiao Yin deleted them.

So, he didn’t keep their chat history.

Rong Yi glanced at Xiao Yin, who had his head down, and quietly said, “Give me your phone.”

Rong Yi was puzzled but obediently handed his phone over.

He watched as Xiao Yin used his account to lift the viewing restrictions and special attention settings on his friend circle.

Then Xiao Yin took out his own phone and began sending him messages right in front of him.

Rong Yi: “?”

He watched as Xiao Yin typed and sent messages rapidly.

Being a pro player, Xiao Yin’s typing speed was incredibly fast, and the messages kept vibrating continuously.

[Yin]: “Are you the RS captain from today?”

[Yin]: “What do you need from me?”

[Yin]: “I’m free today.”

[Yin]: “Free.”

…

[Yin]: “I’m free, don’t go by yourself, wait for me to pick you up.”

[Yin]: “Does it still hurt? I’ll be gentler next time.”

[Yin]: “What about this time? Does it still hurt?”

[Yin]: “Where should I pick you up? The aquarium again?”

…

Rong Yi’s face grew redder with each message.

When he was dating Xiao Yin, their conversations were usually short. Xiao Yin was a man of few words, often only exchanging a few sentences daily. Rong Yi, on the other hand, frequently sent emojis and shared random fun stuff.

As Xiao Yin sent these messages, memories from those times came flooding back.

Xiao Yin stopped sending messages just before their breakup, leaving it there.

Truly, a top student with an excellent memory.

Xiao Yin turned off his phone: “I remember every message.”

Rong Yi felt his face grow warm. He averted his gaze to look out the window. The night outside was dark, and when he glanced back, he saw Xiao Yin’s reflection in the glass, staring at him.

“I always feel like you’re avoiding me,” Xiao Yin said softly, his voice so low that Rong Yi almost thought he misheard.

When Rong Yi turned to look, he saw Xiao Yin leaning back against the car headrest, head slightly tilted, exposing his attractive Adam’s apple, eyes closed as if resting.

The next day, the match proceeded as scheduled.

TET, being the most promising team to advance, was indeed different from their previous opponents. The matches were no longer one-sided massacres; their lineup and tactics were more organized.

TET’s top laner followed Xiao Yin closely, their mid and support suppressed the bot lane, and their jungler continuously attempted to limit Rong Yi, achieving somewhat better results compared to other teams.

Though they couldn’t completely suppress them.

Cang Cui was also an old rival of Rong Yi. They came from the same youth training camp, and even before becoming a starter, Cang Cui played as a mid laner. Compared to many others, he knew Rong Yi quite well and excelled at restricting him, holding him back as much as possible.

“Yi-God is really being suppressed this game,” Hydralisk remarked as he comfortably farmed under Rong Yi’s shotcalling. “Anyone free to help Yi-God?”

Grey Cat replied, “I think you’re pretty free yourself. How about you go and draw some fire?”

Hydralisk immediately apologized, sliding to his knees, “My bad.”

Wu Daogu chimed in, “Currently in a 1v2, don’t cue me.”

Xiao Yin asked quietly, “Should I come?”

“No need.” Despite being pressured, Rong Yi’s voice remained calm and steady, “I can handle it.”

Xiao Yin didn’t say another word and instead focused on farming in the jungle, managing to secure crucial objectives under the pressure of a four-man gank.

This was their synergy: they could help each other but also stand back-to-back, each carrying the burden of the battle.

As the two of them coordinated, Cang Cui gradually found himself outmatched. He couldn’t handle a 1v2 situation, and the pace of the game slowed. Rong Yi held the mid lane like an impenetrable fortress, allowing their bot lane to push all the way through.

When the match ended, TET’s team members collectively sighed. Their captain, Cang Cui, placed his hands on the keyboard and sent his final message in the game chat.

“Good game.”

“Yi-God is really tough to play against.”

With this victory, VIT achieved an undefeated, unblemished record in Group B, securing their ticket to Group A in the first round without any suspense.

Hearing the referee announce the end, Rong Yi also breathed a sigh of relief, flexing his slender, pale fingers.

Although it was just Group B, Rong Yi was used to considering all possible risks, making it hard to fully relax. The tight schedule over the past few days had indeed worn him out.

However, he was very happy with the outcome of the match.

Since this Group B tournament determined advancement, one of the commentators on-site was Lin Yi.

Lin Yi and Cang Cui were good friends, so Rong Yi planned to invite them both for a meal.

“Captain’s going on a date, huh? What about us?” Hydralisk pouted, “QAQ.”

Grey Cat joined in, “QAQ.”

Wu Daogu coughed, “We understand. We’ll behave and not cause any trouble for the captain.”

Rong Yi was getting used to this lively group, “I’ll bring back barbecue and raw marinated dishes. Everyone’s free until tomorrow.”

“Yay!” Grey Cat and Hydralisk cheered while hugging, and they pulled Wu Daogu into planning a hotpot and theme park outing for the next day.

Xiao Yin, meanwhile, was discussing data with the operations team, his head down. Without looking up, he asked, “Not coming back tonight?”