Chapter 32

“Hahaha, wow, VIT’s Support Grey Cat is so funny, he actually got tricked by the Captain!”

On screen, Grey Cat was so embarrassed he covered his face and started avoiding the camera, while the atmosphere in the arena was electric.

The Host had successfully warmed up the crowd, and now all the attention naturally shifted to Xiao Yin, who was the center of focus.

To League fans, Yin is a god; whatever Yin says is what the audience follows.

And now that Yin had brought up Easy, it was like a divine connection!

Netizens were frantically digging up old arena videos of Rong Yi, while Xiao Yin nodded slightly at the camera.

In the shot, his features were calm and steady, with a clear, sharp glint in his eyes.

“July 13th, 20XX, the match between old RS and Team 105.”

Netizens exploded once again, furiously typing exclamation marks.

“Yin-Ge is such a hardcore veteran fan!”

“I get it now! This is the kind of recognition that only the Mid laner VIT has their eye on! He even remembers matches from years ago! If you tell me he’s not a hardcore fan, I wouldn’t believe you.”

“Hands up, I’m a four-year veteran fan of Easy, and I’m shocked… You ask me who he played as a starter Support with, and what the lineup was, I can remember. But if you ask me for the date, I really couldn’t tell you…”

“I understand now, this is just the normal Mid-Jungle relationship. I’m going to every main team’s stream to interrogate their Mid laners and Junglers.”

“Even though I don’t even know what Easy looks like… But the whole VIT team cares about him so much!”

“Grey Cat got tricked so badly, haha, I’m dying of laughter.”

Rong Yi’s early Support videos were quickly dug up.

Netizens, following Xiao Yin’s lead, unearthed the match footage from three years ago.

The timeline was three years ago.

By then, the old RS team had already been restructured twice; professional esports players cycle quickly, and with frequent seasonal changes in the game itself, it wasn’t uncommon for an MVP player who won domestic championships in one season to be replaced by a more outstanding new player in the next season.

Starting a team from scratch, no one wanted everyone to disperse, but this industry is cruel.

In his first year, Rong Yi was the Captain, and by the third year, he shouldered the responsibility of restructuring the disbanded team. He went around looking for new members and, to ensure the team’s overall highest efficiency, he transitioned from Mid laner to Support.

That was his first match as the new Captain of RS and also his first game transitioning from Mid laner to Support.

From Little Key to Silver Hook, Rong Yi was actually an all-around player who could play any position and use any champion.

Later, to fit RS’s operations system, he gradually started playing only team-benefit Supports.

In the video, Rong Yi’s Little Key seemed like the team’s second binding skill, with various extreme maneuvers, preserving and creating infinite opportunities for the team.

“Wow, I’ve finished watching it. Easy was really at his peak for five years; what a genius!”

“His current plays are even more impressive than back then! He was a World Championship-level player five years ago! How long has he been held back… I don’t quite understand, why did RS make him play Support back then? Did he decide that himself?”

“Yin-Ge has a sharp eye.”

Rong Yi quietly stayed in the training room, resting with his eyes closed, unaware of what was happening outside.

A match lasted just half an evening, and everyone following the match had already heard of his ID. Simultaneously, on overseas audience panels, the term “[Easy Yin]” was trending at the top.

Global viewers began to hear that Yin’s team had a very formidable world-class Mid laner.

A regular season match usually ends by the afternoon, but because this match drew high attention, the league organizer added an interview segment, dragging the time out significantly.

Xiao Yin, contrary to his usual reticence and silence with QILIN Team, spoke a lot as the Vice Captain, along with Grey Cat.

VIT didn’t have a competition training team, and even the coach’s speech was delivered by him.

This was quite a rare occurrence, and netizens were all ears.

By 7:30 PM, Xiao Yin left the stage, and the tournament team host began packing up the scripts. The livestream’s popularity remained high, with people coming home from work or school to catch up on the replay.

Everyone was discussing today’s tournament and talking about Rong Yi.

The voting page for the Popular Star was on the homepage of the National Region’s game and league sections. In just one night, the votes had increased by thirty million and were still climbing rapidly.

The league official’s voting process was quite troublesome; it required account verification to vote. This massive influx of casual player fans had completely overwhelmed the data painstakingly put together by RS fans for Xiao Yun, making it impossible for them to catch up.

RS had invested heavily in fan operations and publicity this season, spending a significant amount just on the competition for Rising Star. Now, it seemed like all that investment was in vain.

RS fans were furious.

The more boastful they had been before, the more painful the current backlash.

Rong Yi was completely unaware of all this.

He had taken a break in the training room, knowing the post-match process would be long and it would be a while before he was needed. He decided to take Hydralisk to the lounge to find some snacks and fruit to fill their stomachs.

The lounge in the league building was usually empty, mainly used by commentators for a quick break in the middle of matches. The tables were typically piled with instant noodles and energy bars.

Hydralisk was picky with his food. After eating a few cookies, he said he was going out to buy some snacks. Rong Yi let him go and unwrapped a few energy bars to munch on.

He was exhausted and wasn’t particular about what he ate.

Being a Captain was a consuming job, not because of anything specific but because it was his habit.

His personality was different from the other VIT members. Most of them were newcomers with a mindset cultivated from a young age to be daring and competitive, able to handle losses.

Rong Yi was more reserved and thoughtful. He let Grey Cat and Hydralisk gain experience in real matches against RS, which meant he had to shoulder more risk, responsibility, and the cost of trial and error.

This was his method of training his team.

RS’s team members, except for him, didn’t have substitutes, and they were trained this way by him.

Lang Bai and Yao Cao were players he had recruited from the youth training camp. They were rookies who had never played in a formal match.

The information and details on the actual arena were far beyond what they could normally access. Rong Yi bore the pressure, leading them as starters, taking them to national tournaments, and enduring countless online abuses and fan criticisms, guiding them step by step to stand on their own.

He never really expected any reward because he believed it was the Captain’s duty.

However, just a simple “thank you” or “good job, Captain” would make him very happy.

Rong Yi was waiting for Hydralisk to come back with the snacks. As he waited, sleepiness overcame him, and he ended up dozing off on the edge of the sofa, holding his phone.

Some passing staff recognized him but didn’t disturb him. They just turned off the surrounding lights, leaving only a small one on.

Perhaps his mind was too active, and in his dream, Rong Yi played through an entire match, complete with detailed operations.

Except, the dream took him back several years to his first time playing as a starting Support.

In his first year, he led RS to win the World Championship. By the end of the second year, the team underwent its first reorganization, and it was then that he met Xiao Yin.

Three months later, Xiao Yin broke up with him, just as the team had finally come together.

He didn’t have any time to spare for his emotions during that period. His only impression of that time was exhaustion matches and training filled his days, and getting five hours of sleep was a miracle.

As for Xiao Yin, he didn’t have any particular feelings.

Rong Yi always lived freely, not dwelling on memories. But he remembered that day, before going on stage, Xiao Yin’s long-dimmed avatar appeared.

He wanted to ask, how was he doing in the NA Region? Was he tired? Was the pressure just as great? Was he not getting along with his teammates?

Did he want someone to talk to?

Actually, Rong Yi wanted someone to talk to.

By then, Yin-God was already making a name for himself on the World Championship stage. The domestic RO team had disbanded, and Xiao Yin had left no trace in the domestic esports scene.

At that moment, Rong Yi realized that he had become a straight line. The people he once intersected with, or those who once paralleled his path, were drifting further away from him.

After finishing his interview, Xiao Yin returned to the training room with Grey Cat and Wu Daogu, only to find that Rong Yi and Hydralisk were not there. Xiao Yin dialed Rong Yi’s number.

Grey Cat and Wu Daogu exchanged glances. Then Grey Cat said, “No answer? I think the Captain usually keeps his phone on silent, so he probably didn’t hear it.”

Xiao Yin then called Hydralisk, but there was still no answer—Hydralisk was currently navigating through a crowd, speaking choppy Mandarin to a street vendor lady, trying to get five orders of spicy soup skewers.

“Where did they go?” Wu Daogu frowned. “They wouldn’t have gone back without telling us, would they? The Captain would have informed us.”

“You guys head back first. I’ll look for them,” Xiao Yin said after a moment of thought. “They might be nearby buying food. I’ll ask around.”

Grey Cat offered, “I’ll go with you to find the Captain.”

Grey Cat’s voice was hesitant. He had just found out that Rong Yi had lied to him earlier, but instead of being angry, he felt a mix of embarrassment and respect.

He knew that Rong Yi was trying to boost his confidence.

Xiao Yin glanced at them. “Don’t you have a streaming session tonight? If you don’t get back soon, you’ll breach your contract for the month.”

Every VIT member had signed a streaming agreement that required a certain number of hours each month. Their training schedule was intense, so it was hard to keep track of streaming time, especially with the second round of the regular season underway. They had to squeeze in time wherever they could.

They had gained popularity today by winning a match, making it a perfect time for streaming.

Grey Cat and Wu Daogu exchanged another look and then suggested, “Why don’t we stream while looking for the Captain? We’re free anyway, and it could be like showing our daily team life.”

Xiao Yin thought for a moment and didn’t object. He started to speak but was interrupted by Grey Cat: “We promise not to scare the Captain! We won’t film him, just our surroundings!”

Wu Daogu also raised his hand to swear.

The live streaming platforms were very advanced now, with automatic blurring for outdoor streams. They figured it would be fine.

Xiao Yin reminded them, “It’s not that he can’t be on camera, he has camera phobia. Don’t point the camera at him.”

“Got it!” Grey Cat stuck his tongue out playfully, challenging him. “I noticed a long time ago. The Captain even puts stickers over his phone cameras. Do you really need to remind us?”

Xiao Yin shrugged.

The three split up into two groups.

Wu Daogu and Grey Cat headed out, initially planning to look for Hydralisk and Rong Yi. After searching for a while without success, they gave up and started checking out the night market stalls, hoping to bring back something for Rong Yi.

Grey Cat had his streaming camera on as he wandered the streets, even looking for a gift for Rong Yi.

At that moment, the viewers who had finished watching the match were feeling a bit empty.

VIT was a new team, and this was their first match in Group A, so there were no previous matches to catch up on. Although there were replays available for Group B, they weren’t as entertaining and didn’t showcase VIT’s individual styles and highlights.

Right then, VIT’s Support, Grey Cat, suddenly started a live stream.

This young player had just turned eighteen this year and was still shy about looking at the camera during interviews. For his stream, he mostly pointed the camera at the ground, with a title that obediently read, “Looking for our missing Captain with Yin-Ge and Gu-Ge, and buying a gift for the Captain.”

Of course, the viewers flocked to the stream!

This was prime content featuring VIT and Easy!

Meanwhile, Wu Daogu also started a low-key stream titled, “Searching for the missing Captain.”

The viewers were still not entirely sure what was going on, but they flooded into the live stream rooms.