Back in the break room, Tong Yao grabbed her phone and received a gritted-teeth WeChat message from Ai Jia—
【YQCB, A Mao’s Dad: Say your goodbyes to Diana. You won’t be seeing her on the battlefield again.】
Tong Yao held her phone, laughing so hard her hands shook. She sent a few smug stickers back and, with a belly full of mischief, kept her mouth shut instead of reminding him: Do you know there’s another champion called Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox?
…This matter was ultimately revealed twelve minutes later during the Ban & Pick phase, when Tong Yao locked in her pick, announcing it to the entire YQCB team, the casters, and all the spectators.
Caster A: 【Ahri, HAHAHAHAHAHA, oh my god! At this point, nothing Smiling pulls out would surprise me.】
Caster B: 【This champion seems to be favored more by North American players and Korean Operator Team mid laners—we can see that its pick/ban rate in our LPL Summer Split is abysmally low.】
Caster A: 【No choice, Twisted Fate, Leblanc, and Diana are all gone. Since Diana worked so well last game, Ahri really is a decent substitute for her.】
Caster B: 【We can see the YQCB players’ expressions aren’t looking too good right now—how is there still more?! We banned three of your champions already! And now you pull out a new one?! I must be dreaming this finals!】
The live audience burst into laughter.
Old Cat picked Maokai, Old K locked in Elise, Lu Sicheng chose Kog’Maw, while Little Fatty dusted off his long-unused Alistar.
On YQCB’s side, Ai Jia stuck with Ekko, their top laner took Rumble, the jungler went for Rek’Sai, and with their ADC still on Ezreal, the support secured his signature Thresh.
—This game, everyone knew it in their hearts—YQCB had been pushed to the edge of the cliff. Winning this one would still give them a fighting chance; losing would mean the end of their Summer Split journey. They’d have to watch helplessly as CK Team, the Spring Split champions and Summer Split third-place finishers, secured the first seed for S6 based on year-round total points. Meanwhile, a Summer Split runner-up would mean nothing for them, who had barely avoided relegation in the Spring Split. They’d be forced into the relegation tournament, fighting tooth and nail among six teams for that last ticket.
YQCB’s situation was clearly far more desperate.
But on the battlefield, there was no room for so-called "brotherly camaraderie between rival teams."
This match was played with extreme caution. For the first twenty minutes, forget about explosive kills or intense fights—both teams treated each other with polite restraint, barely even crossing the river. This had YQCB’s fans on edge. Whether on forums or live streams, anxious comments were everywhere—
【WTF are they doing dragging it out against ZGDX?!】
【Ahri’s gonna scale again… ugh, did they forget how they lost last game? Still not ganking mid!】
【Speaking of which, Smiling’s CS is insane—not a single minion missed so far. How the hell is she this steady in a finals match?!】
【If Ahri won’t engage, shouldn’t Ekko create his own opportunities—does Ai Jia’s life dictionary even have the word “proactive” in it?!】
…At this moment, the players on the field were naturally unaware of the outside discussions. At the twenty-five-minute mark, during a standoff in the Elemental Dragon area, Little Fatty's Alistar managed to knock up three opponents, allowing Tong Yao to follow up with her ultimate and initiate a small-scale team fight in the dragon pit. After a fierce exchange where both sides unleashed what felt like eight hundred skills—
They simultaneously retreated without a single kill occurring.
Amid the awkward silence where the casters were at a loss for words, the ZGDX team voice chat remained harmonious. Tong Yao cheerfully last-hit minions and optimistically joked, "If I were sitting in the audience right now, I’d probably be making my third trip to the bathroom by now."
Lu Sicheng glanced at her.
After a moment, he remarked, "Weak kidneys?"
Tong Yao wrinkled her nose, while Little Fatty burst out laughing. "Young people need to learn moderation, you know."
Lu Sicheng responded with a serious "Mhm," adding, "Anyway, I haven’t done anything these past few days. You should ask her what she’s been up to."
Done what, my ass! Tong Yao’s cheeks burned as she angrily shouted Lu Sicheng’s full name. "There are so many people listening backstage! Shut up! —Hey, backstage guys, this part better not make it into the match comms. I don’t want to receive dead rats or cockroaches, and there are a lot of underage fans in the esports community!"
Old K: "HAHAHAHAHA!"
Old Cat: "What’s so funny? I can’t handle Rumble anymore. Get up here and help me! If I can’t tank, who’s gonna shield you during team fights?"
At the thirty-minute mark, a team fight broke out in the mid lane. Maokai rooted the enemy Mid Laner, and before he could escape with his ultimate, ZGDX focused him down. The exaggerated first blood finally occurred at the thirty-minute mark. YQCB had no choice but to retreat, and ZGDX didn’t pursue, instead taking the opportunity to secure the first Elemental Earth Drake.
The kill score stood at 1:0, with ZGDX holding a meager 800-gold lead—a negligible advantage at this stage of the game.
By the thirty-five-minute mark, YQCB grew impatient with the stalemate and adopted a split-push strategy. Four members grouped to pressure mid, catching and killing Tong Yao, while Rumble took down ZGDX’s bottom lane tier-two turret alone.
At thirty-six minutes, Rumble teleported mid, and YQCB grouped as five to start Baron. Old K hovered near the pit. As Baron’s health dwindled, Little Fatty flashed over the wall and knocked up all five enemies, while Old K dashed into the pit and smited—
Baron stolen!
ZGDX’s counterattack began—
The audience watched calmly, commenting: "Who knows if it’s because LPL is weak or the match is just too thrilling? Back and forth, it’s like a turn-based game now."
Forty minutes: Push turrets.
Forty-five minutes: Push turrets, push turrets, kill, push turrets.
Fifty minutes: Push turrets, push turrets, clear outer turrets, chip at the High Ground turrets—oh, someone died! Retreat, stabilize, hold on—
Sixty minutes.
Tong Yao: "Ding-ding-ding-ding! Time update: The match has now reached the sixty-minute mark. Congratulations, this game has officially become the legendary 'bladder-testing' marathon… Let’s interview our injured captain, Lu Sicheng: Captain, does your hand hurt?"
Lu Sicheng: "It’s bearable. But if we lose this after dragging it out this long and have to play another game, I might lose my temper."
As he spoke, he finally ambushed the enemy Jungler from a bush. Leaping out and catching them off guard, he swiftly eliminated them!
Everyone: "......"Tong Yao: "Translation: The captain says if we don't win this game, everyone dies."
Lu Sicheng: "Stop yapping. Their jungler's dead, let's take Baron."
At 62 minutes and 11 seconds, Chessman ambushed YQCB's jungler X Bang in the bushes, taking him out with a full combo. With YQCB down one player and missing their jungler, ZGDX initiated Baron and successfully secured it, then pushed down both top and bottom High Ground turrets plus the bottom lane Nexus.
At 65 minutes, ZGDX attempted to push the top lane Nexus but was counter-engaged by YQCB who used a minion wave to initiate on their AD carry, resulting in an Ace.
At 65 minutes and 30 seconds, YQCB pushed onto ZGDX's High Ground, taking down all three lane turrets, destroying the mid lane Nexus, and breaking through the Inhibitor Turrets.
At 66 minutes and 30 seconds, ZGDX's AD carry and Mid Laner respawned. Knowing exactly how they'd gotten this comeback opportunity, YQCB didn't linger and immediately retreated.
Now ZGDX's exposed Nexus was all that remained in vision. Losing even a single player at this point could mean losing the entire match—
Once again, ZGDX was backed into a corner.
Their only option was to fight with their backs against the wall.
70 minutes in.
After clearing another wave, Tong Yao tossed her mouse aside to quickly stretch her wrists before grabbing it again: "I can't do this anymore. Even if it's the deciding game, even with the S6 ticket on the line, even with visions of an all-expenses-paid international trip dancing before my eyes—I'm so tired."
Little Fatty groaned: "Honestly same. Damn, I can count the number of 65+ minute games in my entire career on one hand... At this point, whoever wins won't be because of skill, but sheer willpower."
Old Cat: "No no no, don't slack off now. Hang in there. Ten more minutes and we're done. Just think—if we lose we'll have to play another game and I might actually lose my mind—Let's clear this wave and push. Do or die, all in. Fatty, sing us something to calm our nerves. One, two, three, go!"
Little Fatty: "Come on~ have fun~ we've got all the time in the world~"
Tong Yao: "???"
Old Cat: "Come on~ fall in love~ we've got plenty of delusions~"
Old K: "Come on~ wander free~ we've got endless directions~"
Lu Sicheng: "Come on~ make a scene~ we've got boundless scenery~"
Tong Yao: "………………………………"
Tong Yao had never known ZGDX's battle anthem was this kind of song, nor had she ever imagined she'd be charging into the enemy team amidst her teammates' sultry rendition of what sounded like some erotic folk tune...
Lu Sicheng: "AD, AD, focus the—fuck me, why didn't anyone say their AD had Heal?"
Little Fatty: "If we don't engage now Ai Jia's Zhonya's will be back up. Mid Laner with Zhonya's is scarier than Heal... Look, Pope's low, jungler's low, Cheng Ge clean up AAAAAAAAH!"
Tong Yao threw her mouse: "I'm dead."
Little Fatty also tossed his mouse aside: "Me too. We're done for, pack it up boys, get ready for the next game—"Amid Little Fatty's muttering, Lu Sicheng successfully took down the enemy AD carry and Jungler. The opposing team now only had their Support, Mid Laner, and Top Laner left—all in poor condition. The Mid Laner Ekko, who had been playing cautiously in the back, had slightly more health, while the Top Laner had already used his Guardian Angel once.
Lu Sicheng: "Old Cat, Old K, fall back, fall back—buy some time... We might not be able to end this in one push."
Right after saying that, Lu Sicheng died.
Only Old K and Old Cat were left struggling against the enemy. But things took a turn for the worse when a massive enemy minion wave pushed forward, forcing the Top Laner and Jungler duo to retreat further...
Tong Yao, watching their Inhibitor Turrets fall and their Nexus left exposed with her respawn timer still at over forty seconds, was frantic: "I propose we sing 'March of the Volunteers' as our battle anthem next time. Even playing Tournament Quotes wouldn’t be as embarrassing... I think this loss has a lot to do with the awful song you guys were singing. Who started it? Own up to the blame!"
By the time Tong Yao finished speaking, everyone had already mentally prepared for the next match. Old Cat and Old K were being pushed back relentlessly by the enemy Mid Laner. Fortunately, Old Cat’s tankiness and minion wave management allowed them to hold on until, dozens of seconds later, they were forced all the way back to their High Ground by the enemy Mid Laner, Top Laner, Support trio, and a swarm of super minions—
Tong Yao’s respawn timer was now at fifteen seconds.
The casters were shouting, "Is this the end?" "Is this really the end?" ZGDX’s minion wave pushed out from the High Ground, and Ai Jia and Rong Rong moved forward to clear it.
Tong Yao’s respawn timer: ten seconds.
After clearing the minions, Ai Jia and Rong Rong advanced toward the Nexus. Old K recklessly dove into the enemy trio, locking down Ai Jia, who retaliated and killed Old K—leaving himself with only a fifth of his health.
Tong Yao’s respawn timer: five seconds.
Caster A: "Looks like this is the end."
Caster B: "YQCB is pushing the Nexus—but wait, no no no! Smiling is about to respawn!!!"
As YQCB took the ZGDX Nexus down to half health, Tong Yao respawned.
She charged out of the base, using her EQ combo to instantly delete Ai Jia, then followed up with WR and Ignite to kill Rong Rong, leaving only Liang Sheng to be pummeled—when the big screen displayed "Triple Kill" next to Tong Yao’s Ahri icon, YQCB was Aced!
The entire audience rose to their feet, roaring. The casters leaped from their seats!
Old Cat and Tong Yao cleared the minion wave, with the Nexus now at less than 100 HP—
A new minion wave pushed out, and Lu Sicheng respawned!
They cleared just enough minions to prevent the Nexus from falling, leaving the rest to Old Cat. Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng, side by side, charged toward YQCB’s base without looking back—
Caster A: "A reverse sweep! AAAAAAAAAH REVERSE SWEEP!!!!"
Caster B: "Can they end it? Can they?! Smiling and Chessman have already reached the enemy High Ground together—ah, the divine duo of esports! Huang Rong and Guo Jing! Diaochan and Lü Bu!"
Caster A: "They’re tearing through the Inhibitor Turrets at lightning speed!! Ah, Pope has respawned—useless, Cheng Ge’s Heal is up! Pope is dead!!! A fifty-HP reverse sweep!!!!!!!! A classic from three years ago, reborn!!! Today!!!! Tonight!!! Right now!!!"From resurrection, charging out of the fountain, securing a triple kill, to advancing side by side with Lu Sicheng towards the enemy High Ground, destroying YQCB's Inhibitor Turrets and attacking the Nexus, killing Pope, continuing to attack the Nexus—throughout it all, Tong Yao didn't utter a single word. She only felt her heart pounding wildly, adrenaline exploding, her vision narrowing until there was nothing left but the enemy's red Nexus—
She even felt like she might have forgotten to breathe.
At that moment, for some reason, a fragment of memory surfaced in her mind—an interview from when she had just started her professional career. The reporter had asked her: "Tong Yao, as the first female pro player in the LPL, why did you choose the ID 'Smiling'?"
...She remembered her answer at the time had been:
["Because my favorite pro player is WE.WeiXiao—Gao Xucheng, 'The King,' the undisputed world's best AD carry, the one who said, 'Don't give me money, I want to play professionally.' He's someone worthy of respect from everyone in esports. I know that not winning the World Championship in Season 2 was the biggest regret of his career, and later, The King never made it back to the S-series finals before retiring... So I hope that one day, I can carry the name 'Smiling' back to the world stage."]
—One day, in the name of "Smiling."
—Return to the world stage!
Her hand moved mechanically, clicking the mouse.
Her eyes were fixed on the Nexus' health bar as it dwindled bit by bit. She couldn't hear a single word her teammates were saying. Only when the Nexus' health hit zero and the explosion animation played on screen did her mind go blank with a deafening "buzz"—
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Little Fatty shove his keyboard aside, leap up, and sprint over to Old Cat, lifting him into the air.
Old K, grinning from ear to ear, tore off his headphones and spread his arms, joining the affectionate embrace of the top and support duo.
Someone pulled off her headphones. Someone yanked her up from her chair—hugging her, kissing her—a scorching kiss landing on her cheek, then her lips.
She was pulled into someone's arms, then bundled into a group hug with her beloved teammates—
The door of the soundproof booth burst open as Ming Shen, Lu Yue, Xiao Rui, and the coaches rushed in, their faces alight with unrestrained joy. At the same time, the roar of the stadium crowd outside flooded in, chanting "ZGDX" with a frenzy that seemed to tear through the silent night sky...
Caster B: ["The Summer Split champions—China Telecom Team!!! The entire audience is on their feet—let's give them the loudest applause—"]
Caster A: ["Congratulations to China Telecom Team! The first team to secure a spot representing the LPL at this year's World Championship!"]
Caster B: ["On behalf of all twelve LPL teams, go and make up for the regrets of all these years—bring back the glory that belongs to us! The LPL will never bow to the world again!!!"]
Surrounded by her teammates, she was led to the trophy placed at the center of the stage. Confetti rained down from above, settling on her head and shoulders... Only when her hands touched the slightly cool silver trophy did Tong Yao snap out of her daze—
She raised the trophy.
Then she felt her feet leave the ground as someone lifted her from behind...
Just like the scene in The Lion King where Rafiki holds up the newborn Simba.The stage lights were blinding. She squinted slightly and looked up, seeing not only the sea of dark figures but also the glint of light reflecting off the trophy. Lowering her gaze, she met a pair of deep brown eyes brimming with laughter...
—A smile finally bloomed across her face.
She tossed the trophy to Little Fatty, then cupped the man's smiling face in her hands. As he gently lowered her, she leaned down and pressed a trembling kiss to his lips, warm tears spilling from the corners of her burning eyes.
She had done it.
...
On August 26, 2016, ZGDX Team defeated YQCB with a 3-1 score to claim the championship of the LPL Summer Split Finals, thereby becoming the first team to secure the No. 1 seed representing the LPL region in the S6 World Championship.
On the stage, the young men raising the trophy together with radiant smiles shone so brightly. They had faced doubts, shouldered overwhelming responsibilities, and even wavered in uncertainty with tears in their eyes—yet in the end, they stood tall and firm under the weight of countless hopeful gazes...
Finally, they sparkled.
This was an end, but also a new beginning—
Not far ahead, right there, they vowed to tear off, discard, and crush the hat of doubt and mockery placed upon the LPL region's head!
The dreamlike summit of the world!
Toward such a place—
Please, continue.
Set sail and embark.
OpenNovel