Inside the YM lounge, the camera flashed non-stop.
The players and coaches took pictures with the Silver Dragon Cup.
"Lin Yan, give Su Cheng a call and add her in." Guo Hao let go of the heavy trophy in his arms. "Save us the trouble of having to go back and do some digging."
The video call was quickly connected. Su Cheng appeared in the camera wearing a black T-shirt. Looking at the background, she was probably in the dormitory hallway.
"Let me show you my trophy..." Lin Yan saw that White Crescent was still holding onto the Silver Dragon Cup, so he quickly showed it off to his girlfriend.
Back then, the camera was not focused on the MVP trophy, so Su Cheng did not notice it. Now, she was closely observing the trophy in Lin Yan's hand.
She was silent for a while. "... It's so ugly."
Although Lin Yan agreed with his girlfriend's comment, he did not say it out loud.
"Oh, don't just look at the trophy. The most important thing is how valuable it is!"
He patted the trophy and praised himself. "Do you know how valuable the MVP of the S7LPL Summer Finals is?"
The two chatted for a while before White Crescent reluctantly put down the Silver Dragon Cup and handed it to Lin Yan.
"Chengzi, listen to me." Lin Yan taught her step by step. He first showed Su Cheng the trophy next to him. "The Silver Dragon Cup is right next to me. Make a hugging gesture..."
Su Cheng was intrigued. She put her phone on the edge of the table and took two steps back. Then, she stood at the edge of the camera with her arms open.
Lin Yan put the tablet next to the Silver Dragon Cup. This way, Su Cheng looked like she was hugging the trophy.
Other than the size being a little mismatched, everything else was fine.
"When we go back to Shanghai in two days, I'll let you touch the Silver Dragon Cup with your own hands." Lin Ran turned the camera and looked at his face. He pretended to sigh and said, "But there's one thing you won't be able to enjoy..."
"What?" Su Cheng asked curiously as she leaned against the wall of the dormitory hallway.
"Beijing Roast Duck!"
Jack's loud voice was comparable to stereo surround sound, and it lingered in the lounge. "Sister Su, we're going to eat roast duck, hohoho …"
"Authentic Beijing Roast Duck, you won't be able to eat it in Shanghai!" Jack waved his hand and put his hands on his waist, looking very proud.
"Ha," Su Cheng sneered and looked at the time. It was seven o 'clock in the evening. "I'll talk to you later."
After hanging up the video call, she ran into the dormitory. "Is there anyone who wants to go out for roast duck?
World Trade IPAM, my treat! "
Far away in Beijing, the members of YM had finally finished a summer of hard work. For the next few days, they were free to move about.
With nothing to do, everyone happily went to accept the post-match media interview. It took half an hour before it ended. Jack walked out with the Silver Dragon Cup on his shoulder.
Beijing was in the middle of autumn, but the night air was still a bit hot, just like the mood of the YM members.
Guo Hao turned on the map navigation and took them to Fucheng Road, which was two kilometers away, on foot.
Away from the camera, Liu Qingsong, who pretended to be cold and aloof, and the prophet of social phobia, jumped out. On the way, Lin Weixiang showed everyone what it meant to be exultant — as a substitute, he could get 1.5 million yuan without playing a game. The free money was too delicious.
The restaurant Guo Hao took them to was called a roast duck restaurant, but the layout had a lot of westernized characteristics, and the taste of the dishes was really good.
The boneless duck feet with wasabi were not small, and the texture was crisp and smooth, perfectly blending with the aroma of wasabi and wiping out the pungent spiciness. The sweet and sour Kung Pao shrimp balls were abundant and popular. The main dish was the roast duck, which was crispy but not greasy, completely different from the duck in southern cuisine.
Lin Yan scrolled through his phone while eating the roast duck with a lotus leaf cake.
He was just about to take a picture to show off to Su Cheng, but he didn't expect his girlfriend to take the initiative and send him a few pictures.
It was also roast duck, and even the layout of the restaurant was similar to that of Lin Yan's restaurant.
Before Lin Yan figured out how to reply, Su Cheng sent a message.
[Brat, it's the year 0202. Do you think you can't find a roast duck restaurant in Shanghai?]
Through the phone screen, Lin Yan could feel his girlfriend's resentment.
He didn't fight back, but wisely chose to betray his teammate.
[It's Jack who said that. What does it have to do with me, Lin Yan?
If you want to find a Big Head Shiba Inu.]
1,200 kilometers away, Su Cheng saw Lin Yan's message and fiercely took a bite of the lotus leaf cake with duck meat.
She just remembered that when she was dating Lin Yan, Jack sneaked out to be a third wheel. She didn't think much of it at that time, but now she was angry.
[When I go back to Shanghai, I will let Shiba Inu know why the flowers are so red.] She typed word by word.
Lin Yan smiled and put away his phone.
"If you want to watch the game tomorrow, you can go to my room and get the front row tickets." Guo Hao picked up a piece of duck skin and dipped it in white sugar. "If you don't want to watch the game, you can walk around Beijing. Just let me know in advance."
"Brother Ran, are you going to Wukesong tomorrow?" Jack's cheeks were bulging, and his words were a bit unclear.
After entering the restaurant, he couldn't stop eating. He couldn't eat seafood like Kung Pao Shrimp Balls, so he stared at the beef and roast duck on the table.
"I don't think so." Lin Yan shook his head. "I don't have much time. I'm going to visit the Forbidden City tomorrow."
"Then count me in!" Mongoose raised his hand excitedly.
...
The next evening.
"I can't take it anymore …" Garlic Tortoise was sweating profusely. Sweat had wet his bangs and drooped on his forehead, making him look particularly listless. "Rest for a while, rest for a while."
Lin Yan, who was tall and straight, was holding a bottle of ice mineral water. He looked back at Xiao Tian with disdain. "You're too weak. It's still too early for you to finish walking around."
"I don't have any energy..." Xiao Tian couldn't take it anymore. He squatted on the ground and poured water into his mouth.
Lin Yan waited for him with his hands on his waist. "Back then, I told you to exercise more. You didn't listen to me when I asked you to run in the morning."
"You get up at six or seven in the morning. Is this the work and rest routine of esports players?"
Little Tian complained as he panted heavily. If yesterday's hot and dry wind made him feel complacent, then today it had become a burden.
After walking for half a day, he only felt that his mouth was dry, and his throat was on fire.
"If you don't run in the morning, you can run at night. Lin Weixiang is much better than you in this aspect." Lin Yan glanced at him.
At the end of July this year, YM organized a physical examination for all members. At the time, the fat Lin Weixiang and Liu Qingsong were warned by the doctor to be at high risk.
After that, his good friend tore open his wound and took the lead in dieting and controlling sugar to lose weight. Lin Weixiang didn't want to fall behind, so he also tried to control his weight through dieting.
However, this method didn't have much effect on him. Brainlessly, he set his sights on Lin Yan, who woke up early every morning to exercise.
However, Lin Weixiang, who was used to sleeping during the day and going out at night, was excited in the early hours of the morning. Getting up early to run was a bit difficult for the fat tiger. He chose to rest for an hour after dinner every day, then change into sportswear and jog around YM's base for five kilometers.
It had to be said that the results were outstanding. In a little over a month, Lin Weixiang had lost five kilograms. Now, his weight was close to that of Jack, who was ten centimeters shorter than him. His body was much healthier than before.
"Let's go find a restaurant to eat." Lin Yan saw that the sky was getting dark, so he pulled Tortoise out.
Jimu Kung, Liu Qingsong, and White Crescent were visiting the National Museum, which was just across the street from the old palace. So, Zhang Heng decided to drag the three of them along. The five of them walked north along Beiheyan Street, then turned west and entered Qi He Lou Street.
Lin Yan searched for half a day on the Internet last night, and found a small shop called Yong Sheng Zhai in this alley. It was said that the snack food made by the door nail meat patties was the best.
It was lunchtime, and the shop was overcrowded. The few of them could only stand outside and chat.
"Are you Ran?" A boy wearing glasses saw the five members of YM standing on the street and rushed up excitedly.
"Take a picture with me. My girlfriend likes you a lot …" He took out his phone and asked naively.
Lin Yan wasn't surprised. After shaking hands with the boy, they stood together for a picture. "Your girlfriend likes me. What about you?"
He asked casually.
"I like Lin Weixiang," the boy answered. "But he's not here today. What a shame."
"Lin Weixiang still has fans?"
Xiao Tian felt that he had been attacked by a bunch of brainless people today. First, Lin Yan praised him for jogging to train his body. Then, there was the question of who his fans were.
"He's ugly, fat, and weak …" Xiao Tian was good at attacking his teammates.
"Today's the last match of the LCK bubble tournament. Do you guys want to watch it?"
Liu Qingsong couldn't stand it anymore and quickly changed the topic. He wiped the sweat on his forehead and said, "KT against Samsung."
"Is Samsung's version still good?"
Lin Yan had been studying Ouze and RNG for the past half a month, and didn't watch much of the videos of the other regions.
"It's okay. Their jungler is very adapted to the herbivorous rhythm. Plus, Crown's strength has been declining this season. The team's focus has been shifting to the bottom half of the bracket. Coincidentally, they encountered the Censer version, and their strength rose to another level," White Crescent said casually.
"But they still can't beat KT, right?" Liu Qingsong frowned. "They're the three heroes of the LPL."
"I think so too." Lin Yan was more optimistic about KT. "How can Samsung win?"
This year, Deft, Fat General, and Mata had returned to China to play. In addition to the top laner of the S6 World Finals, Smeb, the world's number one Blind Monk, and the old captain Score, who had sent four teammates flying with one kick, they were a pure Galactic battleship on paper. They were not inferior to SKT.
If this team couldn't enter S7, it would be a big problem.
Jin Gong had the opposite opinion. He felt that Samsung would win. After all, the Siberian was also a trainee of Samsung's team. It was normal for him to be loyal to his old team.
While the few of them were discussing, they finally found an empty seat.
"Let's order first," Lin Yan said. "Jin Gong, you can sit here … Is there anything you don't eat?"
"As long as there's meat. I want to eat meat!" Ji Mu was hungry after a day of shopping.
Lin Yan nodded in satisfaction. This was the good thing about not bringing Shiba Inu out for a meal. They could order whatever they wanted.
After waiting for fifteen minutes, the five of them sat on the sofa and looked at the plate of meat patties in front of them. Outside the Forbidden City walls, this beef patty was only five yuan.
The patty was small and delicate, slightly smaller than the palm of one's hand. It was golden and crispy, and looked very appetizing.
Jin Gong was starving. He reached out with his chopsticks, picked up a piece, and took a big bite.
"Hiss …" He grimaced, his eyes red and sparkling. The juices in the patty splashed onto his strong forearm.
He was obviously scalded.
"You can't eat it like that," Lin Yan had just picked up a piece of mixed food when he saw Jin Gong's expression. He quickly said, "You can't eat it like that."
He demonstrated to the Siberian. He used his chopsticks to gently pry open the patty's skin, and then poked the other chopstick into the patty in the space between the patty's skin and the meat filling.
Lin Ran swung his chopsticks in a circle and separated the top of the crust from the bottom. It looked like he had lifted the top of the meat patty, and the meat filling and juices barged into his line of sight. "This way, the soup won't be able to spurt out."
"Brother Ran, you can do this?"
Garlic Tortoise did the same thing and lifted the lid off Meatloaf's head. As he poked Meatloaf's head, he hummed an adapted song. "Lift up your head, let me see your face …"
When Lin Yan saw that Jin Gong had also learned how to do this, he was relieved. He poured some vinegar on the patty to relieve the grease, and took a bite.
The golden patty was soaked with oil, and when he bit into it, he tasted a bit of beef and green onions. The beef in the meat filling was very textured, and it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Now that the Internet was flourishing, as long as the restaurant's review base was high enough, it was worth a try.
Lin Yan felt that this trip was worth it, and he was going to buy two more patties back to the hotel for supper.
At this time, Liu Qingsong, who was eating while watching the competition live on his phone, suddenly exclaimed, "What the f * ck, what the hell is this?"
"What's wrong?" Jin Gong's Mandarin was not that good to begin with, and it sounded even weirder when his mouth was scalded by the soup.
He turned his head to look at the torn wound on his phone screen. "F * ck!"
His vulgar words were spoken with perfect articulation.
"KT let go of Callista!"
White Crescent was energized when he heard this. He turned his head to take a look at KT's coach. How many brainless pills did he eat to be able to come up with this kind of BP?
Lin Yan wiped his fingers, took out his phone, and opened the competition's live broadcast room.
With his understanding as a professional player, he understood the BP in less than ten seconds.
Because the LCK playoffs started very early, the version was fixed at 7.15, which was one version earlier than 7.16 of the LPL playoffs.
In this version, there was a very strong jungler who was still dominating the LCK stage — the Soaring Warrior Zach.
Coincidentally, Sect Leader Zach was very strong, and he was not inferior to the man from IG who brought AJ.
After Samsung had chosen the blue side, KT was faced with a difficult choice. Skateboard Shoes, Zach, Galio, Rock Sparrow, and other strong crowned heroes. Being in the red side, it was difficult for them to cover all aspects of BP. They needed to make a choice.
Coach KT's brain might have been filled with water because he had boasted that if LCK lost, they would swim back to their homeland. He actually felt that these heroes had a higher priority than Calista when it came to the Intercontinental League.
He would rather ban Snake Lady from Crown than release Callista.
The moment KT released the Skateboarders, Samsung's head coach Edgar was dumbfounded.
He didn't think that there would be such a naive coach in his own league. Without thinking, he ordered Cuvee to lock the Skateboarders.
Although the coach's brain wasn't very good, it didn't affect the strength of KT's players. In the first round, they used the Skateboarders against Chi Di, and they still tenaciously dragged the game to 60 minutes.
After four Dragon's, both sides took down a total of 17 defense towers before KT finally lost.
After this fierce battle, YM's five players also cleaned out the meat pies on their plates. Lin Yan paid the bill, packed two boxes of meat pies, and hurriedly took a taxi back to the hotel with his teammates.
The outcome of the last LCK bubble match was out of everyone's expectations.
After losing the first round, KT's coach didn't believe it and released the Skateboarders again.
Edgar was ecstatic. At the end of the first round, he thought that the opposing coach had bought spinach. However, when the second round's BP was shown, he knew that the opposing coach definitely hadn't bought spinach.
If he could buy spinach, then his table manners would be too ugly and he would definitely be investigated by the Alliance.
After all, everyone knew to ban the Skateboarders. Only KT's coach didn't know.
Edgar didn't mind being a wall for the opposing coach and continued to lock the Skateboarders.
This round, KT's players all felt that something was wrong. Mr. Dai and Big Quail Mata weren't very lucky this round. They were destroyed by the strong bottom lane combination of Chi Di, Callista, and Wind Lady.
KT only lasted for 33 minutes before losing again. The three heroes of LPL, who wanted to return home to shine, finally fell into a panic. They were already one foot on the edge of the cliff after falling behind 0: 2.
If they lost another round, they wouldn't be able to participate in the global finals.
Smeb was unwilling. He didn't expect things to turn out this way. He originally thought that he could try to take revenge on SKT by joining KT and forming a team with four other reliable teammates.
The Spring Season went smoothly. Even though they didn't defeat their nemesis, Li Xianghe, they were still the runner-up. They were also the only team in LCK that won all their matches.
However, after returning home, things changed. ROX's old teammates, the Xuanming Elders, made a comeback after a hibernation in the Spring Season. They even found three new teammates, Khan, Cuzz, and BDD.
The Dragon Ball team, whose core was the mid laner, set off a wave of attacks in LCK this summer. Their top laner, Khan, was unstoppable. Their top laner, Jess, bullied the weak top laners. They even destroyed SKT in the finals, putting up the most exaggerated top laner performance in the history of LCK finals.
The sudden appearance of a strong opponent squeezed out the first seed of LCK. SKT, the runner-up of the Summer Season, used the points reward from winning the Spring Season and successfully became the second seed of LCK with the highest points in the entire year.
KT could only participate in the bubble match with Samsung and the other teams. Even though they had the highest points, they only needed to play this last match. If they beat Samsung, they would be able to enter the global finals as the third seed.
However, Samsung, who had been dormant for the entire Spring Season, woke up like a tiger in the Autumn Season and forced their Galactic Battleship into a desperate situation.
Smeb was depressed. At that time, he didn't join SKT because he couldn't win. Instead, he chose another path to fight. However, reality was cruel.
After Little Peanut Durant joined SKT, he successfully entered the global finals with the team. The Xuanming Elders, who had gone through thick and thin together, also won the Summer Season with their new teammates.
All three of his teammates were able to enter S7. Everyone had a bright future.
But what about him?
The clown was himself?
When the third round of BP began, Lin Yan had already returned to his hotel room. Xiao Tian took off his team uniform and ran to the bathroom. Lin Yan simply sat on the chair and continued watching the bubble match.
After helping his team lose two rounds in a row, KT coach finally came to his senses and realized the seriousness of Callista's situation. However, they were in the blue team this round.
Coach Edgar of Samsung naturally wouldn't make such a foolish mistake. He decisively banned the use of skateboarding shoes. Both teams used their regular lineups to fight to the death.
In the end, KT, whose mentality was on the verge of collapse, lost to Samsung and was eliminated 0-3. SSG successfully obtained the last ticket to the global finals.
SMEB's tears streamed down the arena. A year ago, he would never have thought that he wouldn't be able to enter the global finals. As he grew older, he couldn't accept another year of wasted time.
There wasn't much time left for him to take revenge on SKT. In his professional career, would he really have the chance to defeat Smeb of Red?
SKT was like a nightmare that had become his obsession.
The most frustrating thing in life was not being able to let go of one's emotions.
SMEB smiled bitterly as he packed up his peripherals. He planned to use the holidays to adjust himself.
"KT lost?" Mongoose walked out of the bathroom while drying his hair.
Lin Yan nodded and sighed. "Sigh … I can't say if it's a good thing or a bad thing."
To him, LCK had lost a strong opponent internally. However, how could a Samsung team that had fought its way out of the Korean region be easy to deal with?
"OMG lost today as well." Xiao Tian sat on the chair with his legs crossed. "The remaining three teams, IG, EDG, and WE, are fighting for the last spot."
Teng Jing had finally learned their lesson from last year's best-of-10 match. They had specially rented Wukesong Stadium for an extra day and played a best-of-5 match each day. This was to ensure that the players could maintain their condition without crippling them in high-intensity matches.
In Lin Yan's eyes, OMG's loss was nothing out of the ordinary. Among the four teams, they were the weakest. Old Thief Sima and Icon's double C combination was not bad among the average teams in the league. However, when it came to fighting against strong opponents in the bubble tournament, their strength was still lacking.
"Who do you think will get the last ticket?"
Xiao Tian, who had just finished showering, felt the heat on his body gradually dissipate. However, he felt a little cold again. He picked up the remote control and raised the temperature of the air conditioner.
"EDG," Lin Yan replied without raising his head. He was chatting with Su Cheng. She had just finished her military training and was moving out of the dormitory to Tongji Beiyuan. "I understand."
"I think so too." Mongoose nodded, agreeing with Lin Yan's words.
Sure enough, on the second day of the bubble tournament, EDG defeated IG with a score of 3: 2 in five games, cutting off Hanyi's last hope of leading his team into S7.
Hanyi was the last to stand at the entrance of the players' passageway. He stood with his hands on his hips, expressionless as he watched EDG destroy IG's base on the big screen.
He did not choose to return to the team's lounge to face this defeat. This was because the five YM players he had led last year were sitting in the lounge.
This group of players had originally come to cheer him on. However, Hanyi could not face this defeat calmly. He did not even want to return to the lounge to face his old team members.
He knew in his heart that everything could not go back to the way it was.
The good old Broiler lay on the table with tears streaming down his face.
He felt that he was extremely unlucky.
In 2014, he was the OGN Summer Champion. However, due to the points limit, he did not make it into the S4 global finals. This was a rare occurrence.
After that, he realized that the LPL players were very weak in the Korean server. He felt that going to a foreign country was a shortcut to his dream of becoming a global champion.
He worked hard with Kakao for a year to make it into S5. However, he was immediately eliminated and did not even make it into the top eight.
Broiler now wanted to enter another international tournament and achieve good results. However, he was always two steps behind.
Why am I so unlucky?
The poor Broiler could only watch EDG leave the stage.
On the last day of the tournament, EDG would face the Red and White Army, WE.
The winner would advance to the global finals. The loser would lose everything.
The cruelest battle was about to begin!