Chapter 78

At that moment, the door to the backstage live room was pushed open. A front desk staff member came in to find each team’s captain to draw the BP lots and discuss pre-match interviews.

The sound of the door opening interrupted the conversation. Rong Yi, having finished getting water, walked back to the team.

The staff member approached and asked quietly, “Who will Captain Rong send for the pre-match interview?”

The pre-match interview was a new highlight added to the Finals. Traditionally, the captain would be the one to appear on screen. However, for VIT, it was obvious that they didn’t dare let Rong Yi go up.

“Yin-Ge appeared during the semifinals,” the staff member hinted, “and everyone is now…”

The staff member subtly implied, “There’s also some anticipation for the new players on the team.”

“Hydralisk?”

Rong Yi didn’t give them time to react. He accurately guessed what they had in mind. “He’s not going up. Don’t you know what kind of comments he might face now?”

The staff member was momentarily speechless.

They mainly wanted a topic of conversation. Currently, Hydralisk was a hot topic in VIT. If Hydralisk could come out for the pre-match interview and perhaps have some intense reactions, it would undoubtedly add another highlight to the match.

Whether such pre-match interviews would affect the player’s mindset, who cared? After all, they were in professional esports, and they should learn to handle pressure.

The staff member felt a bit embarrassed. “Well, we were just trying to inquire…”

“Thank you.”

Rong Yi naturally placed his hand on Hydralisk’s shoulder, adopting a completely protective stance. “Our player is not going.”

On the other side, RS had finished their makeup, and the manager led the team to the stage for the interview.

The players didn’t look happy, but they had to go.

All the veteran players of RS glanced at Rong Yi, seeing him protect Hydralisk by his side. It was such a glaring sight.

He used to protect them like this.

“May I ask, for today’s match, which should also be the final showdown of this season between RS and VIT, do you have anything to say?”

Lang Bai took the microphone.

“VIT is a very strong team.”

“Easy is a very skilled player and captain.”

“It’s just that we all believe that some people in VIT still lack growth. We will seize this opportunity in this match.”

This was the first time RS publicly said something positive about VIT. However, the competitive undertone in their words couldn’t be more obvious.

Xiao Yin was the spokesperson for VIT.

On stage, Xiao Yin was always a man of few words. He just nodded and smiled slightly.

“Welcome, and we look forward to an exciting match.”

The match began.

RS showed no mercy. They first banned Yin, then banned Empress, targeting Hydralisk right from the start.

Hydralisk sat in the match room, flexing his fingers, calmly preparing himself.

Rong Yi said, “Stay steady.”

Xiao Yin glanced at Hydralisk. He knew him well: “Don’t get cocky.”

Hydralisk smiled and silently clenched his fist.

How could he not be cocky?

Endless training, all for this unprepared battle against their opponents.

The opponents thought they were prepared, thought they could break through him as usual. But now, he would prove that he was not the weak link of the team.

That’s how a confident ADC plays—the more confident, the better the performance.

Even with Empress banned, he had other champions.

He could also be the team’s rock and their key to victory.

As the match began, Rong Yi watched the screen changes and asked, “How do you want to play this?”

The opponents had three new members, new roles, and a new combination, making them unpredictable and hard to analyze.

But judging by their synergy, they would definitely target the bottom lane.

Hydralisk watched the screen.

Everything was just like in the training room, and yet nothing was like in the training room.

In the training room, he played with a completely blind perspective, mimicking Yin’s ultimate effect—the “blind” buff shadowing him constantly.

In the first game, the opponent’s three members’ economy synchronized perfectly.

Hydralisk almost instantly called out, “Their Jungler and Support are joining the Mid Lane minion wave.”

Rong Yi nodded, his face calm as water, with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

“Shall we flank?” Xiao Yin’s voice came through the mic. “Awaiting Captain Rong’s orders.”

Rong Yi said, “Flank.”

Their early-game lineup was advantageous.

Hydralisk was already lying in wait on the path where the enemy would rotate, even burning a speed boost to get there. Grey Cat nearly had to use Flash to keep up with him.

From the god’s-eye view, RS’s unexpected maneuver had their three players quickly devouring the mid-lane minion wave, preparing to converge on the bottom lane.

On the game map, the mid-lane minion wave reaches faster than the bottom lane by four seconds, giving RS enough time to rotate.

But it seemed as though VIT had a god’s-eye view as well. They predicted RS’s movements with precision. Xiao Yin flew into the red zone, seemingly to scout, forcing Lang Bai back under his tower.

Rong Yi followed suit. The opposing mid laner hesitated, unsure if a fight would break out and didn’t retreat. What was supposed to be a three-man pincer was disrupted, causing two of the three to pull back.

Yao Cao was left to take a safe position under the tower to farm the minion wave, but it wasn’t a big deal the minion wave had just arrived, and no one lost any farm.

What Yao Cao didn’t expect was that during the supposed safe period, Hydralisk didn’t stay in a secure spot to wait for vision. Instead, he ambushed the exact path Yao Cao would take!

As Yao Cao stepped into the brush, Hydralisk unleashed a fully charged skill combo in an instant, hitting him with everything. Grey Cat, wielding the Memory Key, timed his skills perfectly, executing a devastating combo that instantly took down Yao Cao!

The system announced: First Blood.

The system announced: Destructive Power.

The training room fell silent, but everyone, including Xiao Yin, couldn’t help but smile slightly.

This kid, Hydralisk, was indeed aggressive.

His growth had led him to prove himself eagerly, showcasing his sharpness to the world, unstoppable.

This was exactly what they expected from the ADC position.

This position was meant to shine brightly.

“Keep going, little snake.”

Rong Yi’s voice was steady as he said, “Play to your heart’s content.”

The first blood happened twenty seconds into the game, and the second kill occurred at forty-five seconds.

After Yao Cao’s death, the Support hurriedly rerouted to control the lane.

The enemy’s Support provided vision for Lang Bai, who wisely abandoned his jungle monsters and moved towards the mid lane.

“It might be a fake vision,” Hydralisk quickly deduced. Before he could elaborate, Rong Yi took initiative, diving under the enemy mid lane tower to confirm it for him.

With confirmation, Hydralisk didn’t hesitate. He entered the jungle and came face-to-face with Lang Bai, who had just finished setting up the fake vision!

The jungle monsters’ aggro was still on Lang Bai. With his first blood buff, Hydralisk was like a god of slaughter, taking down Lang Bai with ease.

Rong Yi joined the fray, sticking close to protect him, escorting Hydralisk back to the bottom lane right under the enemy mid laner’s nose.

Meanwhile, Grey Cat had been holding the minion wave for eight seconds, ensuring not a single resource was wasted for Hydralisk.

Every member of VIT wore a satisfied grin.

What does it mean to kill with satisfaction?

This is what it means to kill with satisfaction!

Everyone was shocked to see that within just one match, VIT’s ADC, Hydralisk, had grown at an astonishing rate.

No one knew how this transformation was achieved.

In the last match, Hydralisk had made numerous highlight-worthy mistakes, but in this game, he suddenly stopped making those errors. He had matured, as if he were a completely different person.

No one could stop him now.

Today, the entire VIT team intentionally indulged Hydralisk, coordinating with him.

Theoretically, the optimal tactic against their lineup wasn’t to focus on the ADC core. But since Hydralisk had already broken the game open, they fully committed to an ADC-centric strategy.

Hydralisk tore through the opposition, dealing explosive damage. At the ten-minute mark, his personal score was already 2000 gold above the average. With Grey Cat and Rong Yi’s seamless protection, the enemy fled on sight.

New tactics, new strategies—none could withstand the sheer force of his damage.

This was the result of Rong Yi’s special training.

The team members he nurtured hand-in-hand from defeats, the players he and Xiao Yin personally selected.

Now, everyone could clearly see.

The depth of VIT’s members was unfathomable.

Rong Yi’s training methods commanded absolute respect.