League of Legends: League of Unknowns

“Hey, what are you doing?!” The photographer was taken aback and stared at Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan dragged him to face Xiao Bei and bellowed, “You owe my friend an apology!”

“Apologize for what? You better let me go before I call security!” The photographer’s face turned red as he shouted back.

“Apologize!” Zhou Yan growled again.

His abrupt, coarse holler silenced the crowd. The hundreds of people turned around to look for the source of the commotion.

Security quickly rushed over. “What’s happening? Don’t try to make a scene in front of the hall!”

“I am not making a scene. This man pushed my friend and left unapologetically as if nothing happened. I am just asking him to apologize to my friend!” explained Zhou Yan.

“Anyhow, please loosen your grip first. You are disrupting our work here,” advised the security guard.

“Here’s my working pass. I am an official photographer employed by XXX webpage,” said the photographer in spectacles as he hastily took out his ID and showed it to the guards.

“I don’t give a f*ck! Apologize!” yelled Zhou Yan angrily.

Feeling the piercing gaze from the surrounding crowd, Xiao Bei panicked and said to Zhou Yan, “Bro, let it go. I’m fine.”

“I am an event photographer. I can sue you for gripping my collar so blatantly. Judging from your uniform, I believe you are from Team Skycrown. So what if you are one of the top LPL teams? Does that give you the right to be so aggressive?”

The photographer was equally enraged and upset at how Zhou Yan forcefully dragged him around in public. Earlier, he did not make a sound as he was intimidated by Zhou Yan’s larger build. Now that the attention of the guards and the crowd was on them, he began to speak up.

“Us? Aggressive?” Da Luo was stunned.

“You heard me. Everybody knows that three Team Skycrown members were kicked out by Sky Club due to improper conduct. I even heard that some of you guys once threw punches at foreign players. Players like you are the ones that have tainted our otherwise healthy E-sports culture. Be civilized and don’t act like a gangster. Stop being so full of yourselves just because you’ve won a few games, you cyber café punks!”

This time, the entire Team Skycrown was baffled by the accusations.

‘Being kicked out by Sky Club? Fought with foreign players? Cyber café punks?’ They were shocked listening to the defamation. Suddenly, the fans looked at them repulsively.

“So it’s true after all. I thought those rumors were made up.”

“Don’t you follow the latest E-sports news? Three Team Skycrown members were once under Sky Club but they were kicked out after behaving unprofessionally.”

“I do often hear that E-sports players with a cyber café background are the worst.”

All of a sudden, Team Skycrown became the center of attention. The bystanders chatted feverishly while pointing their fingers at them. The three girls who recognized Team Skycrown earlier subconsciously took a step back.

“Step aside. Please uphold your discipline and professionalism as a player. We will take serious measures if you still refuse to let this guy go,” said the guard solemnly.

“There is no need to make a big fuss out of this. Let’s sort this out peacefully. I think Team Revelation should be held responsible too. We didn’t expect the audience to overreact upon our arrival,” said Bai Feng to the photographer and the guard.

“He must have accidentally bumped into their friend while things were a little chaotic just now. I apologize on behalf of my team for causing the unnecessary misunderstanding.” Bai Feng sounded like a perfect gentleman as he spoke.

Turning to Xiao Bei, he apologized to him, before asking his manager to get him a bottle of water and some bandages. He then once again apologized and comforted the photographer who was clearly satisfied at how things turned out. He smiled politely to Bai Feng and glared at Zhou Yan before he left.

“Your behavior is as bad as your skills. Learn to respect others and stop acting like a hooligan. Otherwise, sooner or later you will be banned by the authorities. When that happens, you won’t even be able to dream of playing another game.”

The photographer walked away after spitting out those harsh words. He entered the hall conceitedly after displaying his pass to security.

“That’s right. Stop tainting the E-sports industry any further. It was the cyber café culture with all its expletives and gang fights that put E-sports in a bad place. Leave LOL alone. It took a huge effort for this game to have come so far,” said a worker in his thirties, reprimanding the team.

Just a moment ago, they were still feeling good about themselves for having three girls and a group of about twenty people chatting with them. The feeling of having fans for the first time was so exciting for Team Skycrown.

It was soon proven that moments like that would be over in a flash. The audience immediately turned on them after the quarrel. The feeling of being looked down on and compared to the wildly popular Team Revelation was deeply demoralizing.

When had they ever been a team of gangsters?

When were any of them ever kicked out of Sky Club?

When did the Internet start to be filled with baseless rumours used to smear Team Skycrown’s name?

‘Sky Club is being unreasonable! How dare they fake all those accusations?! Why didn’t anybody bother to do a basic fact-check before buying into what the cunning conglomerate was selling?!’

Team Skycrown was crushed to see the crowd cast them aside while instead chanting for Team Revelation as they marched into the hall. They were especially dejected to see that the three girls from earlier were also tailing Bai Feng and trying to get his signature. On top of all those mixed feelings, they were most bothered by the way Sky Club had twisted the truth.

***

After a while, Yu Luocheng instructed his team. “Let’s go in.”

“I’ve had enough,” said Da Luo calmly. Yet, his eyebrows flickered with a sense of suppressed fury.

They had never suffered such humiliation before. These people knew nothing about the mistreatment they experienced when they were representing China at the international scene.

They raised their country’s name while most of the other E-sports teams from China were being embarrassed by foreign players then. How many f*cking teams in LPL had ever achieved such a feat? How dare these people label their past as ‘tainting E-sports’?

‘Where are those who know the truth? Are they all dead? Why doesn’t anybody come forth and say something when we were being unfairly accused?’

“Me too.” Zhou Yan tightened his fist.

He was not angered by the photographer’s arrogance. Rather, he was infuriated by how the photographer had distorted facts.

First of all, they left Sky Club voluntarily instead of being kicked out. Second, they did fight with foreign players before but it was not for no reason. No one knew how immoral and disrespectful those foreigners were.

As for being cyber café punks…

True, they did come from such a background. Maybe they did lack the general courtesy people had become accustomed to. But that didn’t mean that a photographer in a suit with a pricey camera could act all high and mighty!

‘Son of a bitch!’

“Me three.” Lin Dong was unusually calm too. “Even if it means prison, I am going to hack and crash all media related to Sky Club. A group of f*cking dogs!”

Yu Luocheng had a long face as well.

He had given Sky Club everything they asked for. The trophies? Returned. The prize money? Not a single cent left. He was willing to give up everything in exchange for an ordinary life. He never expected them to go so far as to spread false rumours about them on the Internet.

The instance in which they defeated the foreign teams was theirs and the country’s most glorious moment in E-sports history. ‘Are they going to take that away from me as well?”

Watching the photographer walk away, Yu Luocheng laughed bitterly.

The fact is, the real problem with the national E-sports circle was never about the players. It was the greedy E-sports organizations who had mercilessly oppressed true enthusiasts of the game that had led E-sports in this country to a dead end.

Money was no longer the only thing Team Skycrown fought for now. They were playing for justice. They needed to clear their names and most importantly, show Sky Club what they were capable of.

“I’m sick of putting up with this. Let’s torment them in the game. Lin Dong, I forbid you from taking any illegal action. Just focus on your mid-solo!” ordered Yu Luocheng.

“Of course we’re going to take the game seriously, but to ask us to just swallow such humiliation…” objected Da Luo.

Da Luo was easily aggravated. If it weren’t for Li Meiqi and Jian Feng holding him back, he would have long since punched that horrible photographer right in the face.

“Your punch will be righteous only when you have proven yourself in the game. Besides, I memorized that guy’s name and affiliation when he flashed his ID just now,” said Yu Luocheng.

Skycrown may be the main culprit behind this mess but the photographer was equally guilty. He clearly tried to defame Team Skycrown in front of the crowd!

They vowed not to forget the humiliation they faced today!

***

Yu Luocheng had told himself numerous times to behave. Unfortunately, some people just have to challenge your limits.

‘Liang Gui from Giant Horn Multimedia, I will remember you forever. I wonder whether you are one of Sky Club’s dogs. What a horrible scum. I’m going to beat the hell out of you when I get the chance. As for Sky Club, defame us as much as you want. Let’s see how loud you can bark after we defeat you in the game!’

Once they bring their A-game, people would certainly recognize their talent and turn to their side. The truth would definitely be revealed one day. That’s when Team Skycrown would retaliate and Yu Luocheng wanted his team to be prepared when that time comes!