There was a logistical battle going on in the YM base.
Guo Hao stood in the hallway of the dormitory area and looked at the four rooms on both sides. The team members were packing their luggage in the rooms. "Brazil is in the southern hemisphere. The climate here is very different from ours."
"Everyone be careful. In addition to the team uniform, bring two changes of short-sleeved shirts and shorts," Guo Hao advised.
Lin Weixiang bought a pair of sunglasses and two pairs of beach pants and happily stuffed them into the suitcase. It seemed that he had made up his mind to travel.
"Jack, is there a lot of empty space in your suitcase?
I'll find some stomach medicine and stuff it in here. "Guo Hao knew that Jack was now a glass man. Stomach medicine and allergy medicine were necessities.
Seeing Jack nod, Guo Hao hurried to find the small medicine box.
Su Cheng stood in front of Lin Yan's dormitory door and flipped through the memos on her phone.
"Visa, passport, UnionPay card, wallet, T-shirt, shorts …" As she read, Lin Yan counted the items in the suitcase. "By the way, remember to bring a sweater."
Lin Yan raised his head from the mess and frowned in confusion. "The average temperature in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro is more than 20 degrees. You want me to bring a sweater?"
"You may catch a cold if the climate is not suitable. It will be very uncomfortable if you don't have a sweater to block the wind," Su Cheng said reasonably, then softened her tone. "Just bring it. The suitcase is so big, and it's not lacking in space."
"Okay, okay, okay …" Lin Yan couldn't stand Su Cheng's tone of voice. He moved his arms and rummaged through his wardrobe.
There were many styles of sweaters. He randomly picked a plain white three-leaf clover sweater.
"No, this one looks a bit thick. Change to that one." Su Cheng pointed to a black Paris Aristocrat hoodie in the wardrobe.
"Put it on and let me see."
Lin Yan obediently put the hoodie on the short-sleeved team uniform, then turned around in front of Su Cheng.
"That's much better."
Su Cheng looked at him for a moment and nodded with satisfaction. She grabbed his collar with both hands and pulled Lin Yan out of the hoodie as if he had practiced bone-shrinking skills.
Su Cheng folded it up and put it into the silver suitcase.
"Just come in and sit down. Why are you standing at the door?" Lin Yan put the razor on the table into a box.
Su Cheng frowned. "I won't. You're not the only one in the dormitory. It's not good to enter someone else's room."
"Yo, you know I'm here?"
Phyllostachys Pubescens said sarcastically. He was sitting on the bed and packing his clothes. A team uniform was folded messily by him.
"You can't fold your clothes like that …" Lin Yan saw how clumsy Xiao Tian was. He couldn't help but take the team uniform from him.
He found the three points on the vertical line of the collar, the middle, and the end of the corner of the shirt.
Then he pinched the collar point with one hand and the middle with the other. He folded the collar point and the end of the shirt together. He then shook his hands and folded the exposed sleeves inside.
In just five seconds, the team uniform had turned into a neat square.
Xiao Tian's eyes were starry. "Brother Ran, you're really good at taking care of yourself!"
"Of course," Lin Yan said perfunctorily. "I've been like this since I was a kid."
Phyllostachys Pubescens, who didn't want to work hard, immediately began to flatter Lin Yan. He wanted to encourage Lin Yan to help him fold his clothes.
"You were too fast just now. I didn't see it clearly. Can you show me again?"
Lin Yan's phone rang twice. There was a new message.
"Su Cheng, help me look at my phone," Lin Yan said without looking back. "I'm folding Phyllostachys Pubescens' clothes."
Su Cheng picked up the phone on the table.
Lin Yan had recorded her fingerprints before. Su Cheng's thumb gently tapped on the home button to unlock the phone.
"What's wrong?" Lin Yan, who was folding the clothes, asked her.
"Oh …" Su Cheng handed the phone to him. "It's from your dad."
Lin Yan threw a pair of Xiao Tian's sweatpants into the suitcase and turned to take the phone.
Lin Mingdong sent him a few things to pay attention to when going abroad and a voice message.
[Be careful when you go to Brazil. Go with your teammates. If you want to visit the attractions, I recommend Monte Cristo and the Church of the Stairs.]
[I went to these two places when I was on a business trip. The scenery is good.]
Lin Mingdong's tone was much gentler than before.
Lin Yan composed two messages and sent them back.
He originally thought he would get a classic smiley face. Although this expression was more provocative and sarcastic in the eyes of young people, in the eyes of middle-aged and old people, it was a very simple smiling expression with no other meaning.
But he didn't expect Lin Mingdong to send an emoji.
The chubby hamster's cheeks were bulging and made a peace sign.
It was the same series as Lin Yan's emoji before the Spring Finals.
Lin Yan felt that this emoji was a bit out of place with Lin Mingdong's landscape portrait.
He was just about to reply when Lin Mingdong sent a WeChat call.
"Let me help you check your luggage."
Su Cheng was considerate. She let Lin Yan leave the dormitory first. She squatted at the door alone and checked the items in Lin Yan's suitcase.
"Hello?"
Lin Yan ran to the end of the corridor and stood there. He could see the YM sign on the lawn through the window glass.
"After you go to Brazil, don't leave the hotel. It's not safe there at night. If you have to, it's better to travel in pairs," Lin Mingdong reminded him.
Lin Yan knew that Lin Mingdong went on a business trip to Brazil two years ago to talk about the Internet business. Listening to him was the right thing to do.
"Okay, I got it."
Once again, the two of them fell into an awkward silence.
Several trucks drove into the club's gate. Several workers were dragging various cabinets out of the truck. It seemed that the office area on the first floor was going to be renovated while the YM first and second teams were not playing.
"I sent the villa key to your company. Remember to check it." Lin Yan looked at the workers working below and suddenly remembered. "Your room is on the third floor. I didn't put anything in there …"
"I can do it myself," Lin Mingdong said quickly.
Lin Yan originally wanted to say that he could help with the furniture and decoration style, but Lin Mingdong's words directly stopped him.
"… Okay."
Lin Mingdong found another topic. "I heard that this year's international competition will be held in China, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'll be there to watch you play."
Lin Yan moved the soles of his feet awkwardly. "It's not certain if I can make it to the international competition …"
"You definitely can. I believe in you," Lin Mingdong said.
"… Okay, I'll try my best." Lin Yan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Even his voice became softer.
"Are you done packing?"
Guo Hao returned to the corridor again with the small medicine box. He passed by Jin Gong and Doom's room and poked his head in. "Jin Gong, pack two more pairs of pants. You have enough shirts!"
"Jack, put the medicine in the suitcase. I've stuffed the prescription certificate in there for you …"
Su Cheng was putting a shoe box into the suitcase. It was just enough to fill it.
"Put it at the door. When we leave tonight, we'll just take the suitcase with us!"
The group enjoyed dinner at the base, then played two rounds of ranked matches to maintain their familiarity. They left the base at 7: 30 p.m. sharp and took a car to Pudong International Airport.
It was the peak time for planes to stop, and YM's painted car was too conspicuous. As soon as the BMW stopped at the airport, a few spectators who followed LPL gathered.
"Are we leaving for Brazil today?"
"Lin Yan, can you take a picture with me?
I've been your rational fan for ten years. "
"Jack, smile, the kind with a crooked mouth!"
"Jin Gong, can you give me an autograph …"
Xiao Tian saw that his teammates were being welcomed by fans. He looked at the fan who ran towards him and couldn't help but raise his head and lift his chest. This way, when he signed his autograph, his handwriting would look better.
"Little bastard, can you say a few words to disgust me?" The fan held up her phone to record.
Phyllostachys Pubescens was speechless.
"Don't you want an autograph?"
The fan was a cute little girl. She carried a suitcase and looked like she was going on a trip.
It was just that her words were a little hurtful.
"No, your autograph is too ugly. I'll get Ran and Jin Gong to sign it. You'd better be in charge of being sarcastic." The girl stomped her feet lightly. "Everyone has their own duties."
Xiao Tian's defenses were about to be broken by her. His tortoise shell was about to crack.
"Get lost, get lost. Don't disgust me here." He was exasperated.
The girl responded happily and ended the recording in satisfaction. She ran to Lin Yan to ask for a photo.
Fist China, led by Winston, and Tengjing Sports, led by Bobby, arrived at the airport one step ahead.
The number of staff members was beyond imagination. They included almost all of Fist China's employees.
"So many people came?" Lin Yan was a little surprised.
Winston squeezed to Lin Yan's side. "Everyone is taking this MSI very seriously."
"In October, the international competition will be held in China for the first time. Fist China and Tengjing Sports will be in charge of the planning and operation of the entire process, including contacting the local government, approving the venue and hotel arrangements …"
Winston paused for a moment. "The request from the higher-ups is very simple. As long as there are results, everything can be discussed. There's no problem with giving the green light all the way. All media attention and news resources can be given."
"Do you understand now?"
"You're putting us under a lot of pressure." Lin Yan smiled and punched Winston.
He understood what Winston meant. This year's MSI was considered the most valuable international competition before the international competition. YM, who had emerged from the LPL with a crushing momentum, would undoubtedly become a touchstone.
The results would affect the amount of resources given to them for this year's international competition.
"It's fine. Just play normally." Winston carried his suitcase. As the accompanying translator, he would also be heading to Rio de Janeiro with YM. "As long as we don't fall in the top four, it's not a big problem."
"Isn't it easy to enter the finals?
You're looking down on us too much. "Lin Yan had thought that Winston would say something like" If we don't win the championship, we'll swim back to China ". He hadn't expected that the bottom line was just to enter the finals.
"Don't tell me we can lose to the Europeans?" Jack went up and put his arm around Lin Yan's shoulder. "This year, it's G2 who came from Europe, right?"
"Mm, G2-8." Lin Yan smiled.
This joke came from last year's MSI. The European champion, G2, had obtained a result of 2-8 in the MSI. As the champion of the European region, they couldn't even enter the top four and were scolded like a sieve by the European audience.
"That really won't do." Jack shook his head. "They didn't even qualify for the international competition last year."
The group took their boarding passes and prepared to go through the security checkpoint.
Before they left, Su Cheng pulled Lin Yan over and took out his wallet from his pocket, stuffing a large amount of cash into it.
"I've never been to Brazil before, but the internet says that there are a lot of robbers there." She closed the wallet. "If you go out alone, bring 100 reais with you. If you encounter robbers, give this money to them. This way, the robbers won't go back empty-handed and fly into a rage out of humiliation."
"There's 3,000 reais in here. It should be enough for you to spend."
(Little knowledge: 1 reais ≈ 1.21 RMB)
Su Cheng put the wallet back into Lin Yan's pocket, her fingers still in his pocket.
"I'll be back in 20 days. It won't be long." Lin Yan patted her back.
She was so slender and thin that Lin Yan could easily touch Su Cheng's exquisite shoulder blades.
"Aren't you going to revise for your mid-term exams?
You don't have anything else to worry about when I'm not in China. Study hard. "Lin Yan reached out and rubbed Su Cheng's ear.
A blush crept up Su Cheng's neck all the way to her earlobes. It looked bright red, and within the crimson color, there was a jade-like white.
"Send me a message when you arrive in Brazil. We'll contact each other then." Su Cheng took a deep breath to calm her mind and took her fingers out of Lin Yan's pocket.
Lin Ran followed behind his teammate and looked back with every step he took. He watched as Su Cheng disappeared from his field of vision.
The journey was too long. Fist China booked business class for them so that they could lie down and rest.
The group of people almost occupied the entire business class of the flight.
"… Welcome to Brazil's São Paulo Guarueljos International Airport. We will stop in Seoul, San Francisco, and Houston. The flight time is 35 hours and 35 minutes."
The flight attendant's sweet voice spread to the four corners of the cabin.
"This is too long. I'm afraid my waist will break when we land."
Liu Qingsong said from the side. He didn't know when he snatched Lin Weixiang's sunglasses. He put them on and raised his chin. He looked quite arrogant.
Lin Yan put on his headphones and was ready to have a good sleep.
The plane bumped slightly as it climbed up.
"Wuhu, take off!" Jack looked quite energetic.
Lin Yan didn't have time to pay attention to him. It was almost time for him to rest. The excitement of the upcoming competition and the tiredness intertwined and he fell asleep.
When they arrived in Brazil's São Paulo, it was already May 8. Lin Yan, who had just got off the plane, rubbed his sore and weak waist.
As soon as he got off the ferry with his suitcase, the hot wind wrapped in the sea breeze hit his face.
The development of the city here was much worse than that of Shanghai. Lin Yan walked and patted the Latin youth playing football on the roadside. The lively street life was full of the local culture of Brazil.
He saved all the foreign scenery he was interested in on his phone and shared it with Su Cheng through the Internet.
The hotel arranged by Fist had a pretty good environment. Lin Yan couldn't find any flaws except for the food.
After checking into the hotel for a good night's rest, Lin Yan got up early the next morning rubbing his waist.
[Is Gouzi up?]
Su Cheng just sent a message.
[I just got up. I'm a little dizzy from the jet lag.]
[It's okay. I put some medicine in your suitcase. Remember to take the medicine after breakfast.]
Lin Yan glanced at the time. The time difference between São Paulo and China was 11 hours. At this time, it was just dawn in Brazil. It should be dark in China.
[Did you just finish class?]
He typed and asked.
Su Cheng replied very quickly.
[Yes. I'll go to self-study after breakfast. I'll finish my homework and watch the game videos for a while before going to bed.]
[Hurry up and go eat. I won't disturb you.]
Lin Yan rolled out of bed and ignored Phyllostachys Pubescens, who was still sleeping soundly beside him. He washed up alone and went downstairs for the breakfast buffet.
As soon as he entered the elevator, he ran into two unexpected people.
They were Faker and Peanut.
"Good morning." Little Peanut was more lively. He communicated with Lin Yan in simple English.
Lin Yan had a deep impression of him. It wasn't just because of Little Peanut's delicate face and cute behavior, but also because of his outstanding ability.
In S6, he was like Xiao Tian, a rising star in the jungler position. The contrast between his ferocious playstyle and his cute appearance had attracted a large number of fans.
This year, after the original Tiger team fell apart, he chose to leave like the rest of his teammates.
If SMEB had gathered the three heroes of LPL and the old captain of KT to form the Avengers and use their careers to fight against the behemoth SKT, then Little Peanut had chosen the easiest path.
If he couldn't win, he would join.
Little Peanut had inherited Du Shubao's teachings.
It was indeed an easy and simple path.
Little Peanut's performance in S7's Spring Season had fluctuated. Little Black and Blank had played many of the decisive games in the regular season.
However, this still did not stop them from sweeping KT with a 3: 0 victory in the Spring Season finals and successfully obtaining the ticket to MSI.
"Morning." Lin Yan shook his hand.
Then, he extended his hand to Faker.
Li Xianghe was stunned for a second. Looking at the tall man in front of him, he subconsciously extended his left hand.
However, Lin Yan was not Ren Dong. He had not mastered the Indestructible Grasp skill.
The two of them awkwardly shook hands for a while.
"Are you guys going down for breakfast too?"
"No …" Little Peanut gestured. "Fist's officials want us to shoot a promotional video."
Lin Yan had just nodded when he heard the sound of a message from his phone.
Guo Hao reminded them in the group chat that they had to go to the arena in the afternoon, including rehearsals and pre-match interviews.
"I'll definitely beat you this time," Li Xianghe suddenly said as he stared straight at Lin Yan.
His English was average, and he spoke haltingly, but he had conveyed the general idea.
"I don't think it's possible." Lin Yan shrugged. "The outcome of this year's MSI will probably be the same as last year's World Finals.
"I just hope that you won't cry after the competition. Otherwise, you'll steal all the limelight from us."
Faker roughly understood what Lin Yan meant, and his face flushed red in embarrassment.
Footage of him crying after losing last year's finals had been made into various animated pictures and circulated on various LOL forums. The popularity was no less than that of his match with Yue Lun in S3.
In the past six months, Faker had been insulted quite a bit by the Korean audience, and he deeply understood how it felt to be used as a backdrop.
He wanted revenge.
"I'll see you at the arena. I'll let you know how good I am then." Faker raised his chin, trying hard not to let Lin Yan see his red face.
The elevator made a pleasant sound, and they arrived at the buffet floor.
Lin Yan said goodbye to the two of them and left the elevator with his phone.
After breakfast, Lin Yan went back to lie down for a while. He looked at the changes to the version update and the LCK Spring Season finals. He planned to study his opponents for MSI.
In the afternoon, the YM members gathered again and headed to the venue of the competition — the CBLOL studio in São Paulo for interviews and rehearsals.
However, Jack seemed to have slept too much. When he arrived at the venue, his eyes were still drowsy, and his entire body was swollen.
Lin Yan saw that Jack's face was swollen like a pig's head, and he could barely open his eyes. He couldn't help but smile.
"I thought you were beaten up by the Prophet last night."
"F * ck off." Jack rolled his eyes. "I'm just a bit swollen from sleeping too much. I'll be fine in a bit."
Although he would be fine in a bit, the makeup artist felt very awkward. He could only delay Jack's filming and let the other members be interviewed first.
Lin Yan was asked about his thoughts on his opponents for the competition in the competition. He did not say anything arrogant, and only said that YM and SKT's performance in the competition should be better than the other four teams.
This was the truth.
Faker expressed the same thoughts in the interview. Although the other teams were also very strong, the champion was destined to be between SKT and YM.
The video of the interview was released the day before the competition. No one was surprised by it.
After all, the S6 global finals last year were dominated by the LCK and LPL divisions. The champions and runners-up of S6 had successfully won their respective divisions and advanced to MSI. There was no need to talk about their strength.
However, G2's official Twitter account seemed to be very dissatisfied with Lin Yan and Faker's comments.
They started to do their work that night.
G2's mid laner, Perkz, led the team to tear YM and SKT's uniforms into pieces and throw them into the trash can. He repeated their previous attitude of looking down on the European heroes, and then made a public statement.
"Tomorrow, we'll let the clowns in the Asian division know who's the real king."
They even translated this sentence into Chinese and Korean and posted it on Twitter to stir up trouble.
The schedule for the first day of the competition had already been announced. Each of the six teams would play two matches a day, and the group matches would be completed in five days.
G2 would face SKT and YM from the two divisions on the first day.
This time, the powder keg was ignited.
YM and SKT did not like each other, and neither was willing to submit to the other. However, when would G2, the team that dominated the European civil war and could not enter the knockout round of the MSI or S Tournament, be the one to provoke them?
In the hearts of the two teams, G2 was not as good as EDG. Although EDG claimed to be in the top eight every year, they always had a BO5 in the international competition. Were they not better than G2?
The operators of the two teams did not want to be outdone and started to fight back.
SKT's official Twitter replied with a picture. The cartoon character of G2 was holding the white flag of G2-8, and SKT, RNG, CLG, and Lightning Wolves were standing on top of G2 like a mountain.
These four teams were the teams that had qualified for the MSI 2016 group stage. They were the ones who had given G2-8 the nickname.
YM's official Twitter replied with a message.
“？
Looks like you're delusional, but it doesn't matter. We'll cure your illness tomorrow. I hope G2 can last for more than 25 minutes. "
Finally, he posted a picture of his hands clasped together. "I hope you're fine."
[Let's fight, let's fight!]
[G2's butt must be itching. How dare they shout?
Last year's MSI and international competition didn't make them submit, right?]
[Classic pre-match high. Fast forward to the match where they're blocked at the fountain and beaten up!]
No matter what, G2's performance had successfully ignited the strong smell of gunpowder between the teams. The group stage battles were about to begin!