League of Legends: League of Unknowns

“Team Scarlet have found themselves an extraordinary Support player. The other members were already strong enough to begin with—looks like no one will be able to stop them from taking the crown at the Dragon Rising,” a nameless expert declared.

“Never mind the Dragon Rising, they’re definitely going all the way to the top of Lecheng!” Kitten exclaimed.

“Speaking too soon, perhaps. Dawn, EZ, Aviator… those are all strong teams, and they’ve been training for much longer.”

“I already can’t wait for the Lecheng finals! It’s gonna be insane! And with thirty thousand bucks up for grabs, winning the whole thing is really gonna pay off!”

There were actually some other matches taking place after Team Scarlet vs. Team Pride, but after having seen a clash between titans, there was little interest in watching the rest of the small fry go at it.

However, in the fourth group of contestants, there was the surprising appearance of a 2-1-2 ¹ formation in a competitive game. This piqued everyone’s interest, and they flocked over to watch the game. When it turned out to be a bunch of middle-school students, there began a vigorous exercise in veiled mockery, sarcastic jabs, and disingenuous insinuations of every sort.

As for Yu Luocheng, he left as soon as his game ended, ushered out by a throng of his fellow students.

Commander Qin ordered the rest of Team Scarlet to resume their training, and they glumly complied.

It was just one victory in the qualifier rounds—a victory that had been firmly predicted in advance—there was nothing to be smug about. Commander Qin was the sort of leader who emphasized diligence and discipline.

Of course, Yu Luocheng was a special exception.

“Not bad, Yin Qin. Where’d you find a Support player of that caliber?” Tang Nan, owner of the Dragon Rising Net Café, inquired with a chuckle.

“A friend from long ago. We’ve had some good times together.” A smile touched Yin Qin’s normally severe expression.

“Eh, where’d he run off to? Team Scarlet has to keep training, right? Doesn’t he need to practice, too?” Tang Nan craned his neck to look around, and spotted Yu Luocheng leaving with some other students.

Yin Qin smiled wryly. “I’ll let Kim handle it for now. Things aren’t so simple, with this kid.”

“How so?” Tang Nan asked curiously. He seemed to be just some kid fresh out of high school… what sort of complications could he present to Commander Qin?

“Don’t you remember, a few years back, when someone from Lecheng caught the eye of Coach Lei? And then he was brought into Flash Entertainment?”

“Rings a bell, rings a bell… I seem to recall it was a kid of fourteen or fifteen…” Tang Nan replied.

Yin Qin turned his gaze in Yu Luocheng’s direction.

Tang Nan followed his gaze, although Yu Luocheng was already no longer in view. Realization struck him, and he blurted out, “Holy crap, that was the kid?”

“Yup, that was him.”

“Yin Qin, this… this is too much! You put a former international-level pro-gamer into your team?” Tang Nan gaped at him in shock.

International tournaments were a long sight from cyber café competitions. They were broadcast live on TV, prestigious events where one faced off against the best gamers of other countries. All participants represented the very best of the best, the cream of the crop!

Yin Qin continued, “He’s back to being a student now. He’s quit the pro-gaming scene. It was only an unusual circumstance that brought him into my team.”

“Student? Load of crock. He’s a world-class player, he should have no problem bringing in the dough!” Tang Nan sputtered.

“Being a pro-gamer isn’t as clear-cut as you think,” Yin said. “He’s still young. If he really gambles everything on this right now, who can guarantee he’ll be able to make a living from it for the rest of his life? You could say that pro-gaming depends on youthfulness even more than prostitution does. Once you’re past twenty-five, no one will want you anymore.

“Why not study, get into a good school, find a decent job… With pro-gaming, you can earn a bit of money and fame through tournaments, but if one day you can’t find yourself a sponsor or a team, you’ll be left with nothing.”

Yin Qin spoke from long experience. Previously, he’d been a drifter with no real job, wandering from one place to another, doing whatever it took just to scrape by every day.

Now that he was an older man, Yin Qin looked back on his younger self and thought that he’d been a damned fool. Never picking up any real skills, only knowing how to play games, whiling away his days in cyber cafés. The sweatshop he’d assembled was barely holding together. His stake in the cyber café business, in view of the failing state of the industry, was worth crackers. The stress was mounting each day.

Tang Nan fell silent on the matter. As the owner of a cyber café, he had a steady income himself, but he didn’t know that much about professional gaming.

“Well, now that he’s in your team, your odds of getting first place are looking pretty good!” Tang Nan quipped.

“I have no doubts about his abilities. The problem is the rest of the team. Dawn, EZ, Aviator… they formed a team and began training as soon as they caught wind of this tournament—nothing like our Team Scarlet, one foot out the door and still putting our shoes on, those four guys still with so much room left to grow.

“This isn’t DotA,” Yin Qin said, “You can’t carry an entire game on the shoulders of one extraordinary player. It’s hard to say anything from here.”

“Hey, now… Don’t be such a wet blanket.” Tang Nan patted Yin Qin cheerfully on the shoulder.

***

Outside the Dragon Rising Cyber Café, Yu Luocheng was finally able to shake off Wang Qin, Zhong Xiaoyun, and the others after great effort.

They’d all gone raving mad, just short of falling on their knees before him in worship. It was just a game, there was no need to behave like he knew the secret of life, the universe, and everything.

Wang Qin, Zhong Xiaoyun, Sun Yang, et al. seemed convinced that skill at LoL would get them the ladies. After all, wasn’t their goddess Yang Qianqian completely stuck onto Yu Luocheng now? Wasn’t it because he looked super-cool when playing LoL?

So Wang Qin and his bunch of scrubs had made up their minds to hone their skills over the holidays, so that they could sweep the girls off their feet when they went on to university!

Picking up chicks with your skill at League of Legends ¹ …

Yu Luocheng thought they were off their rockers. Well, perhaps if you were good at using Shen.

Going by statistics, out of ten ‘League of Legends’ players, one might be a girl. If you liked gaming, and hoped your girl might share your hobby with you, know that you’d be bringing her within reach of as many as eight other players. This was before any questions as to whether that girl was a tomboy, goddess, know-it-all, or whatever other types you might care to list…

“I’ll walk you home.” Yu Luocheng turned and offered Yang Qianqian a winning smile.

Yang Qianqian shook her head. “I’m going back with Fang Xiaomei.”

“Fang Xiaomei? She’s long gone.” Yu Luocheng pointed towards the street corner, where the petite beauty had knowingly taken her leave of them.

“She shouldn’t be wandering around on her own,” Yang Qianqian muttered.

“Zhong Xiaoyun’s with her.”

Yang Qianqian turned to look, and sure enough, there was Zhong Xiaoyun, creeping dubiously after Fang Xiaomei.

Fang Xiaomei was an athlete. Don’t be fooled by her modest frame—when she got riled up, she was the equal of several men. If Zhong Xiaoyun fancied himself a bit of stalking, that was his own risk to take. If he got caught by Fang Xiaomei, he could always start over from the beginning—that is to say, if Fang Xiaomei suspected that he was up to anything fishy, he would soon be waiting to respawn at the Fountain.

What’s that you say: you’re not familiar with the art of stalking?

Stalking is an exciting game of cat-and-mouse, a supreme test of wit and skill, beloved by those who enjoyed a good chase. Attractive gamer girls are welcome to give it a try—it’s a lot of fun!

There are all kinds of scenarios and instances that you might find deeply memorable. There could be a sort of ‘tough on the outside, soft on the inside’ romantic play going on, truly moving stuff. Be sure to bring your own tissues.