At seven o 'clock in the evening, the eight teams successfully boarded the plane.
Indonesia's organizing committee wasn't that kind and didn't have that much money. They arranged economy class for all the players.
Lin Yan was confused, but the Saudi Arabian players obviously couldn't accept it.
The poor in this country had a lot of money, while the rich had so much money that they couldn't spend it all. The players that were selected to participate in the Asian Games were mostly rich. They paid for first class when they came to Hong Kong, but now they had to sit in economy class for nearly five hours?
How could they accept this?
They wanted to upgrade their class, but because Jakarta was hosting the Asian Games, many people rushed to Indonesia to watch the games. As a result, there were no extra business class and first class seats on the plane.
The dissatisfied Saudis made the already crowded cabin a little noisy.
Lin Yan asked for a blanket and was about to close his eyes to rest, but reality didn't allow him to do so. He couldn't help but feel upset.
Su Cheng, who was sitting next to him, was playing with the selfie stick she bought online. She had never used it before, so she thought it was quite novel. It was a necessary prop for a war reporter, so she didn't have to hold her phone all the time.
The structure of the selfie stick wasn't complicated, so Su Cheng put it away after playing with it for a while.
She turned her head and saw Lin Yan frowning in his seat. She knew what was going on and took out a pair of Bluetooth headphones from her backpack.
"The soundproofing is pretty good, do you want it?" Su Cheng asked softly.
She bought it to practice her English listening. She didn't expect it to come in handy here.
Lin Yan took the headphones from his girlfriend and waited until the plane took off before he put it on. It blocked out the complaining of the Saudi passengers in the cabin.
"Find the song you want to listen to yourself."
Su Cheng handed her phone over and took out the headphones and a copy of Professor Gu Chaohao's "Mathematical Physics Equations" from her backpack.
This course would only start next spring. She would have to go to the National University of Singapore for an exchange, so she might as well self-study a part of it first.
Lin Yan looked at his girlfriend who was immersed in learning and didn't disturb her. He casually switched to a song and leaned against the window, watching the bustling night view of Hong Kong go further and further away from him.
The skyscraper gradually disappeared into the clouds. Lin Yan drew the curtains, dimmed the lights above his head, and curled up into a ball.
Since the Asian Games training half a month ago, he had been feeling that he had not had enough sleep.
The high-pressure training and competition, as well as the traveling back and forth between so many places in such a short period of time, it was inevitable that they would feel tired.
He slept all the way until the plane landed.
He opened his sleepy eyes and followed the flow of people out of the cabin. What greeted him was the hot and humid air.
Carrying his suitcase, Lin Yan wanted to meet up with the other team members and coaches, but Jin Gong stopped him.
Red Rice and Gouba were standing beside him.
"How about we take a picture of YM?" he asked excitedly. "A picture of the Asian Games!"
When Lin Yan heard this suggestion, he also felt that it was quite meaningful, so he pulled his other teammates back.
Su Cheng volunteered to take the picture.
The five players, Jin Gong, Mongoose, Lin Yan, Jack, Liu Qingsong, and the two coaches, Gouba and Red Rice, were all included in the shot.
Different from the previous club photos, this time they did not wear YM's black and red team uniforms, but instead wore their respective team's training gear.
The orange-red of mainland China, the white of Korea, and the light blue of China's Taipei mixed together, making the picture look extremely colorful and gaudy.
The seven people in the picture gave the classic thumbs up emoji.
"Let's take another selfie." Su Cheng couldn't wait to test the power of the selfie stick. She raised the selfie stick high and took a picture from above, making everyone stand in a circle behind her. "This time everyone can do whatever they want!"
When the masseuse Jin Gong heard this, he finally couldn't hold back his restless palms, wanting to caress Mongoose's slender neck.
Phyllostachys Pubescens already had Observation Haki, and before the Siberian's hands touched his body, he nimbly dodged forward.
"Three, two, one..." Su Cheng counted down.
The moment before his girlfriend pressed the shutter button, Lin Yan made a peace sign with his hands behind Su Cheng's head, looking like rabbit ears.
The picture froze, and the eight people in the selfie were smiling brightly. Jack and Liu Qingsong had their arms around each other's shoulders, and they were making faces at the camera.
The picture was sent to the YM Competition Department's group chat.
Lin Weixiang, who was left alone in the Shanghai base, was very dissatisfied.
My Support Is Coin: [If you win the finals, can you crowdfund me to get a new phone?
Compensate for my broken heart.]
Coca Cola, Salty and Spicy Tofu Pudding, Sweet Rice Dumpling, Sweet Mooncake: [Da Mei, you're quite good at calculating. One of the three teams will win the championship, and you want to get a phone for free?]
Lin Weixiang Is My Big Son: [Go to sleep, there's everything in your dreams.]
My Support Is Coin: [It's impossible to sleep, it's already early in the morning in China, I have to hurry up.]
Lin Yan put away his phone, said goodbye to Jin Gong and the others, and went to meet up with the rest of the team.
While the YM Club staff were taking pictures, the others were not idle either. Ouze, Letme, and Casa, the three RNG players, took pictures with the analyst CH as a souvenir.
After a quarter of an hour, the CHN team finally gathered together again.
Abu stood in front of everyone, and first emphasized the many things to pay attention to.
"Jakarta, temperature 29 ℃ -35 ℃, cloudy to cloudy, the northeast wind level three, air humidity 68%..."
He used his phone to check the local climate. "It's very hot here, don't turn the air conditioner too low when you sleep at night. Otherwise, when you wake up the next morning, the temperature difference between the indoor and outdoor is very big, and it's not good for your health."
"When you leave the airport terminal, there may be some fans outside. Don't accept any drinks or food sent over, and don't eat even if you receive them. Whether it's intentional or not, there may be unknown substances mixed in it that may affect the urine test of the actual competition!"
A few of the team members nodded their heads like chickens pecking at rice.
"One more thing, there may be reporters arresting people to interview along the way. Look at which country's media outlet they are from, and then think about how to answer. If the question is deliberately difficult, you can choose to remain silent."
"The media outlets are from our own side, and most of them ask some superficial questions. Everyone, try to answer as nicely as possible..."
Everyone understood this point.
Even the least famous of the six players, Letme, was much more popular than the average player. It was basic to accept interviews and speak the human language.
Abu glanced at the memo on his phone, and after confirming that he did not miss any key points, he led his team members out of Soekarno Hada International Airport.
Just as he said, there were quite a lot of people outside the airport terminal.
When they saw the CHN League of Legends representative team enter their line of sight, they swarmed forward and surrounded the players.
In contrast, the coaching team members were not very famous, and did not receive much attention. Su Cheng easily broke out of the encirclement.
When she turned around, five microphones were pointed at Lin Yan's face. If it were not for his tall stature, his face would not have been visible — — Shiba Inu and Phyllostachys Pubescens beside him were like this, completely submerged in the sea of people.
"Five won't do, five won't do!"
Lin Yan pulled out a microphone from his mouth, indicating that he could only accept interviews from four media outlets.
Over at Letme's side, only Doradder was interviewing them, but he could not wait to not have too many reporters.
"Two days ago, the team representing China achieved a good result of 10 wins and 1 loss in the Hong Kong qualifiers. In the actual competition this time, is the goal to win all the matches?"
"Why did you set the goal of winning all the matches?"
Lin Yan realized that this was a question from a foreign media outlet, and he did not understand the reporter's thoughts at that moment. "Isn't it enough to win?
Besides, we already lost to Korea in the qualifiers, and we know that our opponents are very strong, so we won't let our guard down in the finals. "
"So they've entered the finals by default?
Then do you mean that the teams representing China and Korea are stronger than the other teams? "
"..." Lin Yan was silent for a while, and then he took the initiative, "What else?"
This sentence made the foreign reporter speechless.
He originally wanted to use this method to make Lin Yan be more humble, and indirectly praise his own team, but he did not expect him to admit it directly.
The reporter did not give up and decided to ask a direct question, "Then, Ran, what do you think of TPE's standard?"
"I can only say that they have a lot of room for improvement."
Lin Yan replied.
The foreign reporter's eyes lit up.
That's a good answer!
He almost wrote in his memo, "The strongest League of Legends player praises the Chinese Taipei team, and asserts that the team will evolve in Jakarta."
Lin Yan ignored him, and after dealing with the other two reporters, he turned to look at the last media outlet.
The logo printed on the microphone made him feel even more familiar.
China Central Television.
There were many people in the team sent by Central Television to Jakarta, mainly to interview athletes in traditional sports such as table tennis, diving, weightlifting, etc. This time, there was also a female reporter with short hair and a strong cameraman assigned to the eSports performance event.
"How does it feel to be here? Is it hot?" The reporter smiled and greeted Lin Yan.
"Yes, it's hotter than Hong Kong and Shenzhen." Lin Yan's attitude was correct.
"Then let's take a group photo and go directly to the bus for the interview. There's air conditioning in the bus."
The reporter looked back at the cameraman, who was sweating profusely, and felt that it was a bit difficult to stay here and record.
The other five team members also got rid of the media and met up with the coaching team.
"Lin Yan, you stand in the middle, hold the flag in the middle..."
The cameraman returned to the bus and took out the flag that he had prepared and instructed them to stand in position.
The flag was large enough to cover the lower body of all six players, and the coaching team stood on the side, surrounding the team members like stars surrounding the moon.
With a crisp sound and a flash effect, all the members of the Chinese League of Legends team took their first group photo in Jakarta, a foreign country.
After boarding the bus and turning on the air conditioning, Lin Yan felt comfortable all over and exuded a pleasant aura.
He really couldn't get used to the weather in Indonesia. The weather in Shanghai and Shenzhen was humid enough, but it was nothing compared to Jakarta.
As soon as he got off the plane, he felt that his pores were blocked by a wet towel. The equatorial low pressure made it difficult for him to breathe, and he almost shouted, "I can't breathe."
With the help of the air conditioner, he finally came back to life.
The reporter from Central Television pointed the microphone at Lin Yan.
The higher-ups had told them that he was the key person to interview.
After all, whether it was personal strength or influence, Lin Yan was ahead of the other players, so he naturally received a lot of attention.
"Earlier today, Chairman Huo Yingdong held the group stage drawing ceremony." The reporter's voice was neither fast nor slow, and her words were clear, "Lin Yan, what do you think of the group situation?"
She knew that the CHN team was still flying in the sky when the lots were drawn, so they probably didn't know the results. Therefore, she took out her tablet and showed it to Lin Yan.
When the other team members on the bus heard the reporter's question, they also took out their phones and searched for the news.
Lin Ran saw that his family's bright red had been assigned to Group A.
The same group included Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam.
The four teams in group B were Korea, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the host country, Indonesia.
Lin Yan had reason to suspect that the organizers had done something behind the scenes.
Group A could be said to be the group of death.
Chinese Taipei and Vietnam weren't weak, and they even had the ability to compete for medals. However, according to the competition rules, each group could only have two teams.
In other words, Group A was destined to unleash a wave of bloody and intense slaughter.
In comparison, group B was simply a retirement camp.
Korea outshined the others, and there was no doubt that they would qualify. The remaining three were all noobs.
This was the most advantageous group for the host country, Indonesia.
As long as they got rid of the other two noobs, they could enter the semifinals.
"This group …" Lin Yan pondered for two seconds before replying, "I think it's okay, it's completely acceptable."
He continued to explain, "Even though our opponents in the group are Vietnam and China Taipei, we are confident that we can take first place in the group. As long as we enter the semifinals, we will face the second place in group B. This is a path to the finals."
To put it simply, the group stage was a bit difficult, but as long as they could kill their way through, they could enter the finals.
The reporter signaled that she understood and continued with the second question, "This is also the first time that e-sports, as a new sport, has entered the Asian Games. Can you share your thoughts and thoughts?"
Lin Yan sat up straight, "As a professional e-sports player, I am honored to be able to participate in the Asian Games, which is the largest comprehensive sports event in Asia. At the same time, I am looking forward to it. This is a small step for League of Legends, but a big step for e-sports."
He spoke with great emotion. Lin Yan had prepared this question before he left the Shenzhen Sports Team. At this moment, he just had to give the answer that he already knew by heart.
The short-haired female reporter pursed her lips and smiled, nodding with satisfaction.
She wasn't stupid, and she naturally knew that Lin Yan's answer was a bit of a performance.
However, after traveling extensively for so many years, he had seen a lot of things like this. He could only say that he understood everything.
After asking two more questions, the female reporter passed the microphone to the other players.
The team members were all serious. The Shiba Inu no longer crossed its legs, but placed its two paws on its knees obediently. It was as serious as when it was a child in class.
Lin Yan looked at the posture of this group of people as a bystander, and he couldn't help but laugh. He curled up next to Su Cheng and whispered to her, enjoying the local scenery along the way.
The bus drove all the way to the center of Jakarta, where there were tall buildings and filled with a modern atmosphere. It was the financial and political center of the entire city.
Although Jakarta was not friendly to the Chinese, objectively speaking, Jakarta deserved the title of the largest city in Southeast Asia.
The bus finally drove slowly into the Asian Games Village.
The reporter also finished her interview for the day and introduced the basic situation of the Asian Games Village to the players.
The village covered a small area, with a total of seven dormitory buildings. Except for the building where the staff lived, the other six buildings could accommodate 14000 athletes. The living and service facilities were also quite good. It could be described as a small sparrow with all the essentials.
"The China National Team has held a flag-raising ceremony in the Asian Games Village. You can look out the window and see the national flag on the flagpole." Then the reporter motioned for them to turn their attention to the front. "See this building in front of you? This is where you will be staying for the next few days."
Lin Yan jumped out of the bus, took out his suitcase, and looked up and down at the brightly lit dormitory building in front of him.
"I can only send you here. Our team leader is at the door. Just follow her!" The female reporter waved goodbye to them.
The CCTV reporters did not live in the Asian Games Village. They rented two floors of a hotel outside, and the treatment was quite good.
Lin Yan watched the bus drive away. He turned his head and saw a middle-aged woman coming out of the dormitory building.
"Hello, I'm from the Information Center of the General Administration of Sport of China …" The woman shook hands with the twelve people in turn. "Because there is a qualifier in Hong Kong, you are the last group of players to live in the Asian Games Village."
The international players of Battle Royale and Kings of Glory flew from Shenzhen to Jakarta two days ago and checked in early.
Because there were many teams participating in League of Legends, the competition was longer, so it took a lot of time.
"I will be responsible for all of your post-match work. You can call me Ms. Yang."
She was swift and decisive and went straight to the point. "The first floor of the dormitory building is the activity center. You can apply for a phone card, exchange money, and buy necessities here."
"You will live on the third floor." She pressed the two elevator buttons and took out a stack of room cards from her bag. "Two of you will live in a room. Eleven men and one woman. There are seven rooms in total. After you have a reasonable plan, tell me the name list."
Everyone pushed their suitcases into the two elevators and smoothly reached the third floor.
Ms. Yang swiped a room card and let the players see the layout inside.
Lin Yan poked his head to take a look. It was similar to the dormitory of the sports team, but because the Asian Games Village was recently built, the furniture and floor looked relatively new.
"The cafeteria is on the edge of the Asian Games Village. There is a conspicuous sign …" Ms. Yang paused. "Wait a moment."
She went to her room on the same floor and came back with two large bags a moment later.
"There are a total of six players and one head coach. Seven sets of award receiving uniforms and the shoes are also the same. I have reserved the sizes according to the data reported by the Shenzhen Sports Team. There shouldn't be any problems." Ms. Yang distributed the sets of clothes in the bags.
"When you get up tomorrow morning, change into this set of clothes and participate in the competition." She raised her hand and glanced at her watch. "Tomorrow morning at seven o 'clock sharp, everyone will gather in the lobby downstairs. Can you do that?"
Everyone nodded.
Since the start of the training in Shenzhen, they had been changing their work and rest habits. Now, it was not so difficult for the players to get up early.
"That's good. There will be a lot of things to do tomorrow. There is still the opening ceremony to be done." Ms. Yang did not talk much nonsense. She finished her work and was about to leave. "Rest early."
"Hurry, what does the award receiving uniform look like?" Jack was impatient and reached out his paw to open the packaging.
Lin Ran had easily found his own way of doing things.
This was different from the orange training uniform they received from the sports team. This one was obviously much more formal.
There were a total of two shirts. The white short-sleeved base, and the red and white outerwear.
Apart from the Olympic rings and the national flag on the chest, the most eye-catching part of the outerwear was the Great Wall pattern that snaked all the way up from the right waist. It was tall and three-dimensional and looked easy to recognize.
The lower body was navy blue sweatpants and a pair of red running shoes, which were still sponsored by Anta.
"Okay, okay, go to sleep after you get your clothes!" Abu urged.
It was almost midnight in Jakarta. In order not to delay the opening ceremony tomorrow, everyone left early.
Lin Yan hung up all his clothes, took a shower, and raised the temperature of the air conditioner to 26 degrees Celsius. Only then did he wrap himself in a thin quilt and fall asleep.
At 6: 30 the next morning, Lin Yan woke up on time. After washing up with Phyllostachys Pubescens, he changed into the award receiving uniform.
"Wow …" Su Cheng let out an exaggerated exclamation. When she saw him, her fingers didn't stop clicking the shutter button. She took a 360 ° photo of her boyfriend without any blind spots on her phone.
She couldn't be blamed for being infatuated. This award receiving uniform was indeed stunning on Lin Yan.
The slim-fit version set off his figure even more well-proportioned and tall.
"Isn't this better than the Conquest of the World Competition every year?" Xiao Tian was also very satisfied with his outfit today. He didn't forget to ridicule him.
"What are you saying?" Jack patted him on the shoulder. "It's hard to find an outfit uglier than the Conquest, okay?"
"I doubt it. I can do it even if you want me to!" He boasted shamelessly.
Mrs. Yang also walked out of the room in the award receiving uniform.
The moment she appeared, the atmosphere in the hallway became a lot more serious.
"Let's eat breakfast first. A team will pick us up at 7: 30 sharp."
The group of people arrived at the Asian Games Village cafeteria.
Looking at the signs on the window, the restaurant offered all kinds of dishes. From East Asian Chinese food, sushi and seaweed wrapped rice, to South Asian curry paste and pancakes, to Indonesia's local specialties, it could be said that it had everything.
However, breakfast wasn't as sumptuous. Lin Yan took two small meat buns and a cup of warm milk to fill his stomach.
There was a competition in the morning, so the team couldn't eat to their heart's content. They had to wait until the evening.
They got on the bus at 7: 30 and arrived at the competition venue at 8: 00 – Makah Square.
Just as Lin Ran was about to enter the stadium with his teammates, he was stopped by an Indonesian media outlet that ran very quickly.
The reporter opened his mouth with a string of gibberish that couldn't be understood.
Fortunately, there was a Chinese translator next to him.
It was another familiar question.
They wanted him to respond to the Indonesian team's opinion on League of Legends.
Lin Yan was puzzled. From yesterday's Taiwanese team to today's Indonesian team, why did they keep asking him about his opinion of them?
If it was Taiwanese team, it would be easier to understand. After all, they were old rivals and had many old acquaintances on the team.
But why would an Indonesian like you ask such a question?
Do you care so much about other people's opinions?
Do you think I'm going to say bad things about you on your home turf?
Don't you have to say a few nice words?
Lin Yan didn't know how to answer.
Finally, he had a brainwave and came up with an idea.
"… I hope to play against the host team in the semifinals."
After hearing the translation, the reporter was extremely excited.
What does that mean?
Isn't this a hint that Indonesia can make it out of the group stage?
He laughed foolishly.
Lin Yan smiled when he saw the reporter's expression.
Since the second place in Group B wasn't going to be South Korea, it didn't matter who the remaining three teams played.
The two people who didn't speak the same language had reached a subtle consensus.
Satisfied, the Indonesian reporter let him leave.
Lin Yan followed his teammates into the venue.
As usual, the first segment was makeup.
However, the Indonesian makeup artist was a little rough and made his face stiff.
After the makeup was done, Mrs. Yang suddenly found him. "Lin Yan, you'll be the flag bearer on stage later …"
"Huh?" Lin Yan was in disbelief.
He thought that after the opening ceremony, the competition would be over. He didn't expect there to be such a segment.
"After all, it's an individual performance event. It's normal for athletes to enter the venue as representatives," Mrs. Yang explained.
Mrs. Yang explained and taught him step by step, "Pay attention to walking in a straight line. The way you hold the pole with both hands is like this …"
Lin Yan, who received this task, was very excited. He simulated it twice seriously. After Mrs. Yang confirmed that there were no mistakes, he sat in the lounge to calm himself down.
He wasn't even in the mood to watch the fancy Java dance performance at the opening ceremony.
The other five teammates stared at him with envy and jealousy.
What kind of experience would it be to hold the national flag and represent all of China's e-sports athletes?
He could go to Zhihu to get a drink.
Lin Yan felt that time had never passed so quickly.
In the blink of an eye, he was brought to the designated spot to wait.
The athletes' entrance ceremony had already begun.
Lee Sang-hyuk, who represented Korea, entered the venue. Like Lin Yan, he had an indescribable excitement on his face.
Not long after, he heard a woman's voice echoing in Makassar Square!
"… The People's Speech of China!"
Lin Yan took a deep breath. He held the flagpole tightly with both hands and walked slowly towards the stage at an angle to the ground!
Jakarta at the end of August was still hot and humid. It devoured the remnants of the night breeze.
The flying dust and rising heat mixed with the humid tropical air. The sunlight shone into the venue and sprinkled on the red flag in Lin Yan's hand.
It was August 26th, 2018, 9: 07 AM in the East Seventh District.
China's e-sports took its first step into the Asian Games.
Hello, Jakarta.