Chapter 79

The first match was decisively won without suspense. RS’s new lineup didn’t even get a chance to show its potential before being completely decimated.

Only Lang Bai and Yao Cao remained from the old team members. The second team members, hastily trained within a single season, couldn’t possibly have the same synergy as the former team. The entire game fell apart, leaving them in disarray.

It wasn’t just RS’s team members; commentators and analysts were also in shock.

In less than two weeks, Hydralisk seemed like a completely different player. No matter how you looked at it, he appeared to have leveled up in every aspect, but no one could pinpoint exactly how it was done.

Such a level of improvement could only be the result of strategic advancement.

“Easy, really,” one commentator couldn’t help but sigh, “a true treasure of the League.”

“After VIT lost the last match, I heard they’ve been in closed training,” another chimed in with some gossip. “They’ve been very strict, removing all discussions and aggressive topics about Hydralisk. They even faced backlash for a week, right?”

“Saying Yin is autocratic, saying VIT can’t take criticism.”

“Backlash for a week.”

“Yeah, haha.”

Hydralisk was in top form today, blazing through the game. In the second match, VIT had the first pick. Xiao Yin decisively gave up Yin’s BAN position, allowing Hydralisk to pick the Empress first.

Bloodlust Empress was selected on the screen, her giant sword gleaming menacingly, striking fear into anyone who saw it.

The second round started quickly!

RS, still unwilling to give up, focused on targeting the ADC.

They had no choice but to target the ADC; there was nowhere else to go.

They couldn’t target the Mid Lane, couldn’t catch the Jungler, and the Top Laner had no valuable resources or vision.

They had to choose between the ADC and the Mid Lane, and without a doubt, they chose the ADC.

Mid Laner Rong Yi was the biggest trap and the most unbreakable communication point. This season, every team agreed on this.

No one wanted to mess with Rong Yi.

Hydralisk played steadily. In the second match, although Lang Bai specifically targeted him, Hydralisk anticipated each move. His pace was a level faster than RS’s overall strategy. Even during turret dives, he managed to retreat just in time with Grey Cat’s protection, making him virtually uncatchable.

With the whole map in view, VIT’s coordination was like a finely-tuned machine. Whenever the enemy made a move, one team member would call out the position, and the rest would immediately check the vision and confirm the enemy’s movements.

Fake vision, ambushes in bushes, offside traps, blind AOE attacks—all these strategies were like open books in front of VIT.

How could you even fight against that?

This was a level of skill that transcended this era of esports. Perhaps it wasn’t apparent before, but as soon as every team member started keeping up, this team became a precision killing machine, aiming for victory, unwavering.

RS had no chance to fight back. All their strategies against VIT were completely ineffective. With the new team members rotating in, they were even worse off than the old team.

The audience area was already filled with boos.

When Lang Bai’s third attempt to ambush Hydralisk was preemptively countered, turning his trap into being trapped himself, the boos reached their peak.

Everyone could see that RS was falling apart.

The second match was won without any suspense, and even faster than the first.

The overall score ended at 2:0, which also meant that RS was completely out of the running for the championship this season.

The domestic championship title that RS had held for several years was no longer theirs, especially after Rong Yi’s departure.

This was also the first time in several seasons that RS, which had always topped every statistic, had fallen into the abyss.

Unsurprisingly, the internet was in an uproar.

The backlash against RS surged once again, but this time it was no longer filled with praise, admiration, and trust. Instead, it was all about criticism, doubt, and ridicule.

Although VIT had been the most prominent team this year, and CH had risen as well, many people still believed that RS could reclaim the crown.

RS had many fans, and a large audience followed them. This failure was undoubtedly a heavy blow, waking up everyone who still believed in them.

This season, RS’s overall statistics plummeted across the board, deteriorating more with each step.

As everyone reflected on this period, they all simultaneously noticed a pivotal moment.

That moment was Rong Yi’s transfer.

When Rong Yi was criticized, RS never lost a match. When Rong Yi was accused of suppressing his team members, RS never lost a match.

Rong Yi was surrounded by various rumors and attacked by countless fans, but as long as he was there, RS never lost a match.

But after he left, RS began to lose. And they lost to the team Rong Yi was now part of.

The root of all problems was that RS had lost Rong Yi.

By now, everyone saw this clearly, and no one could deny it.

Countless people began to wonder.

“How could any team let Easy go?”

“And Easy wasn’t just finishing a contract; he terminated it. The relationship between Easy and RS had been nothing short of hostile these past few years.”

“Insiders, can you shed some light on this? Wasn’t Easy suspended for a while? And didn’t both the team members and their fans seem quite happy about it?”

“How well did they play during that time?”

Piece by piece, even those who were unaware of the behind-the-scenes details began to see the truth.

With Rong Yi gone, the team fell apart—this was a fact.

Hydralisk became the breakthrough point in the last match, and after two weeks of special training, he became the spearhead in this match—this was also a fact.

RS’s Team Manager was losing his mind backstage.

They had spent a fortune on new players and top-tier coaches. The money invested could have covered the revenue from several ads.

The main issue was that Rong Yi and Xiao Yin were targeting them. This season, they had already lost a lot of advertising revenue and sponsors. Their previous strategies were no longer viable, so they had to forcefully promote new players and implement rotation tactics.

In the past, they didn’t realize that much of their benefits came from being champions.

Winning the domestic championship had been easy, and fan traffic came effortlessly, leading them to believe that high rankings in esports tournaments were easily attainable.

They thought they could monopolize players, coaches, and championships.

But now, VIT, and even the newly emerging CH, were showing them: this path was blocked.

“Third place!” The Team Manager raged, throwing things around. “What the hell! Third place! How can you even show your faces with third place!”

The match ended, and both teams rose from their training rooms and made their way to the stage through the backstage area.

The RS Manager was utterly losing his composure in front of everyone. The veteran players of RS remained silent, while the new team members were visibly anxious.

Just as the Manager was about to slam the clipboard in his hand to the ground, a firm hand stopped him.

Xiao Yin’s expression was indifferent. “Sir, that’s enough.”

“You should go outside and ask how many teams and pro players would be thrilled to have third place.”

“You have the best resources in the domestic league, the best young talents, and you’ve wasted the futures of countless youth training players and ruined the careers of many esports pro players.”

“Getting third place is no reason to take it out on your team members.” Xiao Yin glanced at the few trembling new RS team members, and only after ensuring the Manager wouldn’t explode did he let go, wiping his hands with a tissue.

Xiao Yin and Rong Yi felt no animosity towards these new RS players; in fact, they found it somewhat regrettable.

They were all very talented, but unfortunately, they ended up in such a team.

In this circle, unlike some veterans who feared new talent and refused to acknowledge their abilities, Xiao Yin and Rong Yi were distressed by the poor treatment of newcomers.

Veterans should support the new blood without any ulterior motives.

But who would notice the newcomers who faded into silence over time, who cared about their futures?

The faces of all RS members turned pale.

Xiao Yin and the others paid them no further attention, striding towards the stage to accept the cameras’ flashes and the audience’s thunderous applause.

Only Hydralisk paused, staying by Rong Yi’s side.

“Captain, I’ll stay with you.”

Rong Yi tilted his head. “You just made a great comeback; don’t you want to go out and show off a bit?”

Hydralisk lowered his head, embarrassed.

“I think it’s better to stay with the Captain.”

“You brought me up; if you don’t go out to accept the flowers and applause, then neither will I.”

“That’s challenging.”

Below the stage, Lu Feng watched the people on it.

“This year’s championship is tough for us. We underestimated Easy and VIT.”

“In just two weeks, they’ve adapted and adjusted. Whether our strategies can withstand them now is hard to say.”

Lu Feng discussed quietly with his team members, mostly filled with melancholy.

“We’re outmatched.”

“I’m not trying to undermine our confidence, but this year’s championship is most likely theirs.”