League of Legends: League of Unknowns

Beijing Stamp Corporation’s Office.

“JX, we are going for supper later. Are you staying late again today?” JX’s commentary partner who had two dimples, Xiao Fen, asked.

“Yea. I am still going through some videos. The gameplay is pretty outstanding. I plan to complete editing by tonight.” JX raised his head and an unkempt face emerged behind the monitor.

Xiao Fen couldn’t help but laugh at JX’s messy hair. “Half of your fans who fall in love with your voice would probably run away if they see the real you.”

“Hehe.” JX smiled back and didn’t say anything.

It’s normal to see JX staying in the office for the whole night. He didn’t have much choice due to his never-ending work. He needed to check out replays, live-stream his own game, and edit video by inserting his own commentary…

His body posture clearly displayed his exhaustion but his eyes were beaming with excitement. Those eyes belong to someone who had probably discovered rare gems.

“It’s decided. I am going to use these clips. Such a wonderful play. I think my mouth will be all dried up when I’m done with this.” There was a smile on his face despite the complaint.

He opened Alipay and transferred five hundred yuan to a certain player after he confirmed he was indeed playing in the Korean server. If the views of the video hit a certain target, he was going to pay him more.

His instinct told him that this video would definitely make it to the top 3 in Duowan after release.

Right after he completed the payment, JX’s phone rang. He answered the call with his brows furrowed.

“Hey JX, what is this? I have deliberately asked a player of Challenger rank to play non-stop last week and send you his video. Now you tell me you don’t want them anymore?” The voice on the other end was clearly displeased.

“I discovered better materials from the Korean server. It was too exceptional to pass on,” JX explained.

“Don’t be nuts. You should be the one who knows best about the strength of the Challenger-ranked player that I had hired. How can he be compared to some puny players from the Diamond rank? I understand you wanted clips with more actions but is it really meaningful to release a video of one-sided slaughter?”

“Sun Liang, just wait until the video is out and you will know. This player and his partner played really, really well together,” JX emphasized once more.

“Alright. Let’s set this matter aside first. On another note, I heard that you plan to dig out highlights of Team Skycrown and edit it with your commentary?” Sun Liang interrogated.

“True. Their last match was pretty fun to watch. A lot of my fans have specifically requested for my version of it. After wrapping up my current theme, I am planning to make tournament-related videos. Using that match as an introduction seems to be a good idea…” JX revealed his plan.

“Are you stupid or what? Don’t you know three members from Skycrown have currently been blacklisted by Sky Club? You seeking your own demise if you launch their video at this point. Many online resources would instantly be removed and I guarantee you, your video viewership will be immediately halved, too” Sun Liang warned.

“Oh, I didn’t know that Sky Club and Team Skycrown had such a huge conflict. I will focus on other teams then,” JX yielded.

“That’s my boy. Our manager has instructed continuous defamation on Skycrown even if they manage to get into LPL.” Sun Liang repeated.

JX had been in this industry for a long time. He understood how deep the influence of an E-sports club could go. He didn’t want to get involved with others’ dispute and more importantly, he was not bold enough to offend big shots like Sky Club in China E-sports.

Nonetheless, he felt that it was such a shame for Team Skycrown. The personal skills of all five members were highlight-worthy and really suitable to be used in his next program.

***

“Remember to show the interface that displays your rank when you record your play. This helps to convince others that you are not acting or playing bully,” JX sent a message to Yu Luocheng through QQ.

JX did not doubt Yu Luocheng’s true capability. He could tell that players from both teams were at least Diamond ranked or above.

The problem was some low-tier players always questioned the authenticity of JX’s videos. They would leave all kinds of horrible comments if the solid proof was not presented.

“Okay! But as we have agreed, you have to pixelate my partner’s ID in all your videos,” Yu Luocheng replied.

“No problem. By the way, do you two always play on the Korean server?” JX asked.

“No. Last week was our first.”

“How did you get your account then?”

An account in the Korean server requires identification so it is not easy to get one. JX was curious about their true identity. Judging by their gameplay, they were one of the best in this country but oddly, he had never heard of them.

“It’s a Level 30 account that my partner bought,” Yu Luocheng typed.

“The Diamond account in Korean server is quite expensive,” JX pointed out.

JX would be called out easily whenever he played on the local server. It’s difficult to play the game properly once someone recognizes you. This greatly dampened the quality of his live-game so he wished to play in the Korean server someday. Unfortunately, he didn’t find any available account till now and had no idea how much an ID there exactly costs.

“I have no idea how much it is for a Diamond-ranked ID. These two that we bought should be cheaper,” Yu Luocheng replied.

“Wait… You mean you guys did not get a Diamond-ranked ID?” JX was hit with a sudden realization.

“Nah. The one we bought was just a normal full level ID.”

“The f*ck! Don’t tell me the games that you recorded were actually of Gold and Platinum rank!” JX almost lost control.

‘It can’t be. Both sides displayed exceptional skills. Could it be that casual players from Korea are already this good?’

“Rest assured. The videos that I provided were all Diamond Ranked games. We reached the Diamond Rank in five days. The videos sent to you were recorded on the sixth and seventh day. Our teammates and opponents should be either one rank above or below Diamond II,” Yu Luocheng clarified.

“Diamond Rank in five days?” JX was stunned.

Korea only had one main server. All Korean players play on this server. Besides, many professional players would train on this server too. The standard of the Korean server was light years ahead of the national server.

How was it possible for them to reach Diamond in just five days? JX had once heard his friend, who was a Diamond I in China server, was stuck at Platinum Rank after playing for two months there.

“I am serious. We could reach even faster if not because my partner can only manage five games per day,” Yu Luocheng said.

“…”

JX was speechless seeing Yu Luocheng’s reply.

Five games per day in a total of five days. In other words, they had only played slightly more than twenty games within that span.

Diamond rank after twenty games. ‘You guys must have won every game so far!’

JX would not believe such bullshit if he had not seen how they slaughtered the Korean players freely. To achieve a twenty-plus win streak in the Korean server was wishful thinking until now.

Of course, JX would be in greater disbelief if he was told that these two were the ones who had successively created the longest win streak (25 and 26, respectively) in China’s server history.

These highlights were very valuable to JX.

‘They are real pros!’ JX realized he must have bumped into two rare talents.

He questioned why such high caliber players were not yet recruited by clubs. ‘Could it be that they are professionals who use this holiday period to earn extra income behind their employer’s back?’

Yet again, JX had watched the gameplay of almost all professional players in this country before. He could not recall any pair that played so tacitly and aggressively.

The professional players are indeed strong. But JX was clearly aware that some top players were still hidden among the casual players waiting to be discovered. If they get to pick their best champion, they could easily defeat those pro-players too.

Perhaps no one would believe but JX knew exactly such a person.

This strong player was initially recruited by Team Revelation and his personal skill was on par to Bai Feng. However, due to the player’s uncooperative behavior, he was sacked by the club.

There was a great deal of such disobedient players in China. They prefer freedom more than fame and sometimes play as much as a professional player would every day. They used their ability to earn income from various internet sources.

These two must belong to the latter group. They had unmatchable skills but were unwilling to be restricted by a club.

‘Hmm. I must tap in with him constantly.’ JX was confident that the new video compilations revolve around these twos would become an instant hit in the gaming forums!

***

Lecheng, Rising Dragon Cyber Café.

For awhile now, whenever Yu Luocheng joined a game, there would be a group of enthusiastic fans gathered around him.

There was a time in the past when internet café were still popular, a lot of café visitors who did not have a seat or enough money to play would have done the same. In his earlier days, Yu Luocheng was also one of those who squatted behind others and watched.

“Hey, who is that guy? Why is the entire Team Scarlet gathered behind him when he starts to play?” On the other side of the café, a few secondary school students raised their heads and looked toward Yu Luocheng.

Team Scarlet was considered popular in most cafés around Lecheng now. Those who frequently visited cyber café would have at least heard of them.

Among the elementary students who played LOL, Team Scarlet was the best team they got to see up close. They were the definition of professionals around here.

However, a strange phenomenon had taken place in the café recently. All players from Team Scarlet were always seen gathered behind a teenager to watch him play like a group of obedient apprentices.

Why was this happening? Why were the top five players of Lecheng so submissive to a young man?

The celebrity effect had resulted in everyone holding a VIP card to crowd behind Yu Luocheng’s seat. It was a rather spectacular group!

“I am going to pee. Huang Yu, please pick my champion for me.” Yu Luocheng stood up from his place.

He turned around and was shocked to see the packed crowd behind him. ‘Hey you guys, at least left a clean path for me to get through. My bladder is about to burst. Don’t you all need to protect your own butts being so close to each other?’

Yu Luocheng rushed to the toilet after he forced himself through the crowd.

After Yu Luocheng disappeared into the bathroom, the people around began to talk.

“The opponents in previous games look unusually weak. He went through most of them without a sweat. I bet those were only Gold or Platinum games,” a tall guy commented.

“Same feeling here. I think the players from the Korean server are not that strong after all. I wonder why we couldn’t defeat Koreans in the previous S competition.” A guy in his school uniform added.

Huang Yu turned around and glared at them after he heard what they said.

‘There’s certainly a lot of twisted minds nowadays. You seriously think this is a Gold or Platinum level game? Have you ever seen such a quick covering speed in those games? Is it possible for an ADC at the lower-tier managed 80 CS in ten minutes? Is it common to see all sorts of ulti-avoiding-Flash in an ordinary game?’

To shut them up, Huang Yu purposely called out Yu Luocheng’s personal LOL info.

Perhaps nobody in the café could read the worm-like words but everyone could definitely recognize the Diamond shield.

A glossy Diamond II! Nobody could have faked that!