August 14, 2016.
The semifinals for Group B concluded with YQCB defeating Red Arrow 3-0, securing their spot in the Summer Split finals—that afternoon, the atmosphere at the neighboring team’s base was practically festive. While walking her cat in the yard, Tong Yao witnessed the moment the match ended. The owner of the neighboring team stood at the gate with a thick stack of red envelopes in hand, handing them out one by one as the players stepped off the bus. The envelopes were so thick that Tong Yao nearly questioned her life choices.
"Both teams made it to the finals, so why do they get red envelopes while we don’t even get a decent meal?" Tong Yao hugged her cat, standing by the window and glaring at the man sprawled on the sofa playing with his phone.
The man on the sofa replied without looking up, "Which is rarer: a student who ranked second in the midterms now fighting to secure first or second place in the finals, or a student who was nearly at the bottom and at risk of repeating the grade now also fighting for first or second?"
Tong Yao lowered her head and scrolled through the Forum, noticing how overwhelmingly supportive the public was toward YQCB—their popularity was unmatched, inspiring both envy and admiration.
"..." She glanced again at the neighboring team captain’s red envelope, which, by rough estimation, contained at least three to four thousand yuan. With a deadpan expression, she muttered, "Our boss has no esports dream."
The man on the sofa said, "I am the boss."
Tong Yao: "..."
She hurled the ten-plus-pound cat onto the man’s stomach, eliciting a pained hiss as his body curled up in reflex—Da Bing landed steadily, kneaded his belly a few times, then plopped down squarely on his flat abdomen.
...
August 15, 2016.
The third-place decider between CK Team and Red Arrow, both fallen into the losers’ bracket, unfolded over seven grueling hours. Every match stretched to the full fifty-minute limit, culminating in CK Team pulling off an unbelievable reverse sweep in the final game despite a 10,000-gold deficit, securing victory and claiming the Summer Split third-place title.
With this, CK Team officially became ZGDX Team’s biggest fans: since YQCB’s Spring Split performance had been relegation-level, their championship points were negligible. Thus, if ZGDX qualified for the S6 World Championship as the Summer Split champions, CK Team would simultaneously secure the other S6 slot by virtue of having the highest annual cumulative points.
The night CK Team clinched third place, hordes of their fans flooded ZGDX’s official Weibo, loudly cheering them on—the scene was utter chaos...
And spectacular.
Netizens joked: "Two tigers never share one mountain—CK and ZGDX fans have never coexisted so harmoniously. Truly, the sight of ‘one big happy family, shamelessly begging for that S6 ticket’ is a marvel to behold."
...
The 2016 LPL Summer Split finals were scheduled for August 26, to be held at a stadium in Hangzhou.
During the eleven-day break, the two neighboring clubs—separated only by a fence—embarked on closed-door training. The secrecy was so intense that both sides treated each other like spies. Not only had the usually inseparable owners stopped hanging out and drinking together for days, even Da Bing was grounded, forbidden from excessive interaction with Ai Jia’s cat, A Mao, next door."They can even paint the Summoner's Rift map on Mao's back?" Tong Yao was utterly speechless. "Might as well build a concrete wall in the middle—make it thick enough to prevent eavesdropping."
Xiao Rui: "If there were three months between matches instead of just eleven days, you'd see that wall."
Tong Yao: "You've been neighbors for so long, and only now you realize this?"
Xiao Rui: "They were just a relegation team before—why bother with them? But now it's different. I have a feeling we'll face them not only in the Summer Split finals but maybe even at the S6 World Championship."
Tong Yao: "Getting ahead of yourself. Let's put this on the wall: 'ZGDX Team manager declares this year's S6 World Championship will be an all-Chinese regional final, Korean teams not worth mentioning.'"
Little Fatty: "Nice. Report to the PR department tomorrow."
Xiao Rui: "You don't understand—this is a man's sixth sense."
Xiao Rui rubbed his head, utterly convinced by his own words, feeling the premonition so strongly that he turned to arrange for a mason to build that wall.
...
August 23, 2016. ZGDX Team departed for Hangzhou.
...
August 26, 2016. Hangzhou, venue of the 2016 LPL Summer Split finals.
As night fell, the stadium gradually filled with spectators. Every one of the tens of thousands of seats was occupied—a sea of dark figures, illuminated only by the glowing cheering banners in their hands, the team bracelets on their wrists, and the light signs they held up.
Like fireflies in the darkness.
Standing far backstage, Tong Yao couldn't make out any individual faces in that massive crowd.
Yet she could clearly see the banners held high—flashing "Go ZGDX," flashing "Chessman," flashing "Smiling," along with large smiley emoticons... Ahead of her stood the soundproofed competition booth that would be used for the Summer Split finals. Through the glass, she couldn't clearly hear what the audience was chanting or what the commentators were saying—just muffled shouts calling out player IDs and team names.
It was a strange feeling.
Just half a year ago, she had been one of them—sitting far away in those stands, craning her neck to gaze at the empty competition stage, eagerly watching the player tunnel entrance, waiting with bated breath for her favorite team and players to emerge.
But now...
Tong Yao withdrew her gaze and turned around. Behind her, staff members hurried about, shouting: "Starting soon, is everyone ready?" "Are all players present?" "Substitutes need to be ready too—how many times do we have to go over this?" "Are the capes distributed? Players put them on—the finals opening ceremony is about to begin!"Amid the chaos, Tong Yao keenly caught the keyword "cape" and twitched the corner of her lips. She looked down at the black cape draped over her elbow. In her other hand, she held a fox-shaped mask—exquisitely crafted, small and delicate, with red eye sockets, a curved red mouth, and a forehead mark at the center of the brows. As she stared at these two items with resistance, the cape was suddenly snatched away. The tall man standing behind her shook out the cape and draped it over her shoulders. "The staff are so busy they're about to jump off a building. Can’t you just put this on without making a fuss?"
She looked up at the expressionless man behind her, who was lowering his head to fasten the cape for her—wearing an identical one. A fox mask hung diagonally on his forehead, covering half his face, though the style and size were different from Tong Yao’s.
Tong Yao: "..."
She lowered her gaze to the hands adjusting the cape ties right in front of her. "I just don’t get why the Summer Split opening ceremony has to make players walk out like Death Eaters on a midnight village raid..."
Lu Sicheng raised his head helplessly and glanced at her, then took the mask from her hand to inspect it before directly placing it over her face—
Tong Yao’s muffled voice came from behind the mask: "So edgy."
Lu Sicheng pressed his lips together. "Shut up."
Tong Yao stood on her tiptoes and reached up to touch the mask on Lu Sicheng’s face—the intricate design covered half of his features, and his tall nose bridge, accentuated by the mask’s edge, looked almost unreal. "...Did you really never get plastic surgery when you played professionally in Korea? Let me pinch this nose—so high, tsk tsk, jealous... Your mask looks better. Why does mine cover my whole face?"
The hand wandering over his was abruptly caught. The corner of his lips curled slightly as his other hand reached over to lift Tong Yao’s mask slightly, revealing her chin. Just as he lowered his head to say something, they heard a staff member shout from behind, "Get ready! It’s starting!"
Then, with a loud "bang," fireworks exploded in the sky, bursting into a dazzling array of colors against the night.
["Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2016 League of Legends Pro League Summer Split Finals! I’m your commentator for today, A! Tonight, by the West Lake, we will witness the Summer Split Finals and the birth of the first team to represent our region in the World Championship!"]
Amid the commentator’s voice, the sixteen players from both teams—including substitutes—walked onto the stage, cloaked in capes and wearing uniquely styled masks. The two teams lined up in formation, with the Summer Split Finals Championship trophy standing proudly at the center.
Once inside the soundproof glass booths, the cheers from the audience suddenly became vivid, roaring like thunder. Waving glow sticks and cheering banners, the hopeful gazes beneath them...
["ZGDX, Pang!"]
["ZGDX, Chessman!"]
["ZGDX, K!"]
...
As the commentator called each player’s name, they removed their masks, stepped forward, and bowed—
["ZGDX, Smiling!"]When called by that name, her heart suddenly stopped in her chest. Raising a slightly sweaty hand from nervousness, she tremblingly removed the mask from her face—forcing composure, yet an involuntary smile crept onto her lips—as her heart began pounding powerfully once more. She stepped forward, mask now off—
Amid countless gazes filled with goodwill, she accepted the applause and blessings.
Tong Yao’s mind was blank. Watching the crowd cheer and roar for her, she thought—this must be one of the most beautiful moments of her life. Something to cherish so dearly, she’d take it with her to the grave.
As everyone smiled, fireworks blooming overhead cast shimmering reflections onto the Championship trophy before them, as if painting it with radiant hues—amid the deafening cheers of millions of fans, their eyes held only that trophy.
This was the night belonging to two teams—ZGDX Team and YQCB.
The night of the final battle.
OpenNovel