League of Legends: League of Unknowns

“It seems that Team Skycrown has switched back to their original ADC—Xiao Bei. Their powerful coach must be watching over them from backstage. The last match against Team Revelation was really pleasing, let’s see what kind of surprise Team Skycrown will give us this time in their match against Team Dusk,” said the commentator.

It was obvious that there were fewer people in the audience for this match between Team Skycrown and Team Dusk. This was a testament to Team Revelation’s popularity as a veteran team.

However, you could tell that because of the previous game, the supporters of Team Skycrown were not any less than Team Dusk’s.

Having appeared in the last LPL, it stands to reason that Team Dusk’s popularity should still be far above that of the new Team Skycrown. But who knew that Team Skycrown would capture the hearts of so many people with just one match? This made the members of Team Dusk envious.

“What the f*ck, I don’t understand how Team Skycrown can beat Team Revelation three to zero! It’s like they accepted a bribe to purposely lose the match or something!” said Xi Yang, Team Dusk’s ADC who was clearly unhappy.

Xi Yang’s role was bottom lane and having faced Team Revelation a few times, he knew first-hand how strong Bai Feng was. Being able to hold your own at the bottom lane and not get crushed by him was considered a great achievement.

He couldn’t believe that Team Skycrown could possibly be even better at playing bottom lane, to the point that they had managed to beat the great Bai Feng.

Thinking about it further, he wondered if they were trying to deliberately build hype for this talented new team by letting Team Revelation purposely lose to them.

There was nothing one wouldn’t do in order to be famous in the field of e-sports.

“Team Skycrown’s coach is undeniably good, but luckily he’s not playing in this round,” said Mu Se, the captain of Team Dusk.

***

Of course, there were some people in the audience who lamented the change in Team Skycrown’s lineup. Their rise in the match against Team Revelation had been nothing short of amazing.

With his Graves who showed no fear against Bai Feng and his Ashe who could control the entire map, Yu Luocheng’s ADC had really surprised a lot of people.

But why wasn’t he playing this round?

“Our information shows that Team Skycrown’s coach only played once and their original players are the five currently on stage. They’d probably have more chemistry in their coordination,” explained the commentator.

At this point, Xiao Bei had already put on his headphones.

His mind was a bit chaotic due to Yu Luocheng’s situation. If his father’s illness was so serious that he was waiting for a donor in the hospital, this might be the final straw that pushed Yu Luocheng into a dead end.

It was likely that Yu Luocheng would never touch professional e-sports again…

He clearly loved the stage and enjoyed the game on this battlefield.

The usual him always looked indifferent, but something changed when he sat on the stage. His black eyes would sharpen like an eagle, making him look focused, proud, and confident!

When he played, he was completely different from the easy-going Yu Luocheng that just lazed around.

The cruelest part of it all was that someone beloved to him was the one stopping him from pursuing his passion. Could he really walk away from it all and let everything go without a care?

***

“Let us have a look, Team Skycrown’s Xiao Bei’s pick is very decisive. He has picked The Night Hunter Vayne, even though his opponent is Caitlyn. It doesn’t seem like a very wise decision.”

***

“Bottom lane is going quite stable, but this isn’t good news for Caitlyn. A level six Vayne can easily beat Caitlyn. If you wait for Vayne to initiate, Caitlyn even more wouldn’t be able to… oh, I just said that and Xiao Bei has already launched an aggressive assault! Xi Yang from Team Dusk was careless in his movement and has now been pinned to the wall! Will he Flash?”

“Vayne has dodged her EQ combo, this is bad news. She still isn’t going to Flash… ah, Flashing now is a bit too late. As expected Vayne was able to land that last hit with her arrow and Caitlyn is down for the count.”

“What a beautiful solo kill there, in a situation where both Supports were not present. We have seen Xiao Bei’s smooth control of Vayne, and Xi Yang was clearly overconfident and sloppy in that play. How can you commit this kind of rookie mistake in the LPL?”

***

“Vayne has already built Blade of The Ruined King, it’s going to be hard to farm equally at the bottom lane now!”

Just as the commentator’s voice faded, two champions emerged from the tribush!

Mid and Jungler, together with Bot, surrounded the bottom lane to secure a kill?

“Push the turret, there’s no time,” said Xiao Bei, glancing at the map and seeing Zhou Yan rushing over to help.

Zhou Yan also had the same thought, their opponent had seized the loophole in their vision and went for the bottom lane. It was obvious they were intending to kill two birds with one stone by taking both the bottom lane and the Dragon.

Zhou Yan was still a distance away from the bottom lane, and even if he managed to reach the bottom lane in time, he wouldn’t be able to do much. Making the decision, he abandoned the bottom lane and instead opted to push the middle lane with Lin Dong!

As the first turret went down easily, the pair didn’t hesitate and continued to push the second turret!

For Team Skycrown, taking a turret was more important than a kill because it related to vision and map control. The last match against Team Revelation had helped them fully understand the importance of controlling vision. No matter how strong a team was, they would still roll over and die if their vision was taken.

“Vayne ulted and went invisible, Flashing in the opposite direction and running!”

“There’s the life steal from the Blade of the Ruined King… oh my, will he be able to escape like this?”

“Just a bit more, oh my god, Vayne actually managed to escape! She’s running towards the middle lane from the river!”

Zhou Yan and Lin Dong who were pushing the second turret also looked at the bottom lane, their eyes wide when they saw the beautiful maneuver Xiao Bei pulled off to escape.

Lin Dong and Zhou Yan exclaimed simultaneously, “Beautiful!”

Hurriedly demolishing the second turret, the three of them coordinated for Vayne to life steal back two thirds of her health, and then they headed towards the Dragon Pit.

Team Dusk had dived the turret to force a kill, throwing every single skill shot in their arsenal and only managing to kill a Support who didn’t even use his Flash. They barely took the turret and Vayne had managed to escape their hands!

What’s more, they obviously didn’t dare to go for the Dragon right now as their opponent’s Mid and Jungler still had their ulti and skills. Gathering at the Dragon Pit right now would be like serving up their heads on a silver platter.

After considering everything, it was still Team Skycrown who came out ahead from that fight with two middle lane turrets taken.

***

While Team Skycrown and Team Dusk were having their battle, Yu Luocheng was still sitting at his father’s bedside in the hospital.

“Brother, there’s someone looking for you,” said Yu Yu softly, her words piercing through the haze in his mind.

Yu Luocheng nodded, standing up to walk out of the room. He took a glance around and noticed Li Meiqi who was wearing a jacket.

“I’m here to visit you and your father,” said Li Meiqi.

“Okay. He’s sleeping right now, so let’s not go in and disturb him. We can talk outside,” replied Yu Luocheng.

Walking to the side, Li Meiqi asked, “Do you need my help?”

Yu Luocheng shook his head.

Money wasn’t the issue right now, it was the fact that his father needed a liver donor. As long as there wasn’t one, the hospital would be unable to carry out the surgery.

All they could do now was to wait, and even Yu Luocheng didn’t know for how long they needed to wait…

It was all up to fate.

If Yu Jing was destined to live such a short life, then maybe this hospital would be where he drew his last breath. If he was destined to live a long, healthy life, then a donor would somehow appear…

“They’ve already beaten Team Dusk, and their next game is against Team Sky,” said Li Meiqi, after a long silence.

Team Sky, the enemy that Team Skycrown had to defeat no matter what. They were the ones who had taken away everything Yu Luocheng had worked hard for.

Everyone hoped that Yu Luocheng could be present at this match. Even if he wasn’t playing with them, they hoped that he could be backstage, watching proudly as they trashed Team Sky.

Only then would Team Skycrown feel like they had not let him down after all the hard work and effort he poured into them.

It wouldn’t be the same if Yu Luocheng couldn’t be there when they faced their ultimate nemesis.

***

Looking at the downcast Yu Luocheng, Li Meiqi’s heart clenched painfully. The troubled look in his eyes spoke volumes about how he was feeling. It was obvious that his heart had been in turmoil over the past few days.

A woman’s voice echoed from the side, “Are you Cheng’s classmate?”

“Auntie, how are you?” asked Li Meiqi.

With just one glance, she could tell that the woman was Yu Luocheng’s mother. They had the same eyes.

“I heard what you said earlier…” said Li Yun.

Flustered, Li Meiqi quickly tried to explain, saying, “I didn’t mean it that way! I just feel that since it’s something he’s passionate about, there’s no reason…”

Li Yun smiled slightly, indicating that she didn’t mind Li Meiqi bringing up the game this time.

“Yu Jing was supposed to have his surgery in Shanghai this time, but he just couldn’t cross that line. When he got angry, he aggravated his illness…”

“Auntie, why does Uncle try to stop Yu Luocheng from playing games?” asked Li Meiqi, slightly hesitant.

“About that…”

Li Yun glanced at the chair beside her, silently suggesting that Li Meiqi should have a seat. Li Meiqi really didn’t understand what the problem was. It was just e-sports, it wasn’t as though Yu Luocheng was doing anything harmful.

“Yu Jing wasn’t always as rigid as he is now… to be honest, he could have been a university student who embraced new cultures and technology…” said Li Yun.

“University student?” repeated Li Meiqi, slightly surprised.

Li Yun looked to be over fifty years old now and Yu Jing was even older. He would have been a university student back in the 80’s or 90’s. At that time, being a university student was really something to be proud of. Back then, people who got into universities were like dragons who had reached the skies!

It was not possible, Li Meiqi could tell that Yu Luocheng’s household was not that wealthy. If Yu Jing had been a university student, then their family would be extremely wealthy right now!

“He was just lacking three points in the examination,” said Li Yun in reply to the confusion on Li Meiqi’s face.

“That’s such a pity. During that time period, passing the university entrance exam was an incredible privilege that even surpassed being an official,” said Li Meiqi.

In fact, Li Meiqi’s parents had been university students back then. They always talked about how hard it was for them to get in, and they also told her about how prestigious being a university student was.

Knowing this, Li Meiqi completely understood how Yu Luocheng’s father had only been three points away from completely overturning his family’s poverty. This was undoubtedly the regret of a lifetime for him.

Li Yun continued, “Indeed, if he didn’t miss one of the subjects…”

Miss a subject? Li Meiqi was taken back.

Yu Luocheng’s father had actually missed a subject when taking the entrance examination? He missed a subject and yet only lacked three points to get in?!

At that time, universities were not divided into divisions because there were only so many key institutions. If you passed the test, you could get into any of them!

If he had only been short by three points after missing one paper, how terrifyingly high were Yu Luocheng’s father’s scores for his other papers?