Chapter 29 Part 2

The text had barely hit the chat when an exciting announcement rang out: “First blood!”

The team’s skepticism flipped on a dime.

【Peak Summoner 5: Holy shit, sick play, bro!】

【Peak Summoner 2: 6666666】

【Peak Summoner 1: Told you.】

【Peak Summoner 3: Enemy Kate sucks.】

Yun Qi tuned out the noise, doubling back for a Blood Pack. The 200-gold first blood put him atop the gold chart.

Enemy Kate had seven seconds to respawn. Yun Qi timed it perfectly, scooping the full minion wave as she arrived, then beelined for their jungle.

Yun Qi’s own jungler and support were sneaking the red buff. For this rank, his teammates had decent awareness—the mid laner even checked vision at their red buff. With the jungler starting on three buffs, he happily typed in chat.

【Peak Summoner 2: Love these teammates hehe】

【Peak Summoner 2: Fist Lion, fall back. I’ll head over soon】

Two minutes later, the announcer’s voice rang out again.

“Killing Spree!”

Everyone pulled up the battle record panel. The enemy top laner’s icon was grayed out—Fist Lion already had three kills.

And this was only four minutes in!

The voice chat exploded.

“Whoa, dude, you a god-tier sub?”

“Top laner’s a beast!!”

“Top, just hold steady—this one’s in the bag!”

“I’m saved! Finally breaking this losing streak—damn matchmaking!”

“Fist Lion, hop on mic? You there, bro?”

A wise voice chimed in: “Pretty sure he’s got voice off.”

【Peak Summoner 5: Sorry for trash-talking earlier, top. Add you as a friend?】

【Peak Summoner 2: Which studio’s Fist Lion from?】

In Peak Matches, anyone with low proficiency was assumed to be a sub. Amid a sea of provincial standard players, this one was dominating hard. With his teammates hyping him up nonstop, Yun Qi’s Fist Lion became the star of the game. Chat never stopped—every kill got cheers from Peak Summoner 5.

The same guy who’d lectured him at the start had turned into his biggest fanboy, like he’d been on a brutal losing streak and finally found a carry god. Messages poured in nonstop.

【Peak Summoner 5: Bro, I got cash. Paid carry?】

【Peak Summoner 5: What rank you at?】

【Peak Summoner 5: I main top too. 49 stars here, Tiger Head’s four hundred combat power shy of provincial standard. Duo?】

No replies, so the others figured the top laner must be muted.

Yun Qi had shut Kate down so hard she couldn’t leave tower. Good thing Peak Matches blocked enemy chat, or she’d be cursing him out. As it was, he only saw his team’s praise. Peak Summoner 5 wouldn’t shut up, so Yun Qi muted him—the screen cleared right up.

He checked the other lanes. Enemy Kate kept screwing up, going 0-5 and dragging their jungler and support top to help. That left bot lane screwed—their Specter and Tina shoving them back to second tower.

Second tower wouldn’t hold much longer.

Bot pushed high ground smoothly. Yun Qi couldn’t see enemy chat, but their gank squad finally showed on the map, rotating bot to defend.

Ten minutes in, top tower didn’t matter. Yun Qi abandoned it to join mid’s tower push. Kate was still farming top for gold, and enemy mid tower fell to Tina. The five of them grouped mid, forcing a teamfight.

The first big clash kicked off. Yun Qi’s team held a three-thousand-gold econ lead—one extra item across the board. Their jungler popped Tyrant for attack speed and damage buffs. No chance for the enemy. Yun Qi flashed in and dove their ADC—the instant delete snowballed their advantage.

“Fist Lion’s so cool!!!”

“Follow up, follow up!”

“Tina, got flash?”

“Yeah! All in!”

Sixteen seconds later, victory announcements filled the air. Enemy down to one; Yun Qi’s side lost mid and support. Three-v-one was easy, and respawns were long—they went for the nexus crystal.

No clue if the last enemy jungler tilted or DC’d, but he just stood in fountain. Tina one-shot him. The three stormed the nexus, unloading. Crystal shattered in seconds.

Quick and clean win.

This wasn’t 2100-rank play. The other four knew it too—why it felt so easy. They chalked it up to a god-tier sub. Post-game, Yun Qi spotted the friend request notification but ignored it.

On the settle screen, Fist Lion’s proficiency glowed pink.

He glanced at the clock: already half past four.

The battle record panel shone with Fist Lion icons and golden victory text—mood booster. Someone tapped his shoulder. Yun Qi turned to see the guy at the next desk peering at his screen.

“Uh… you look familiar. Aren’t you that SK…”

“I’m Yun Qi,” he introduced himself. “Just transferred in.”

The guy nodded. “Thought I had you wrong. Didn’t you play support? But I saw Fist Lion the whole time.”

“Switched positions,” Yun Qi said.

The other blinked in confusion. “Support to top laner?”

Yun Qi responded, “Yeah.”

The other person shrank back inside.

He didn’t say anything more.

After playing a few more rounds, Yun Qi felt thirsty. He hadn’t brought a cup with him, so he walked over to the water dispenser and rummaged for a disposable one. Just then, Chen Wen wandered up. “How’s it going?”

Yun Qi looked up at him. “Not bad.”

Chen Wen noticed his empty hands and position by the dispenser. “No cup?”

Yun Qi tugged open the cabinet below. “Haven’t bought one yet. Looks like they’re out of disposables too.”

Chen Wen whipped his head around and bellowed into the room, “Xuan Ming, you lot using the disposable cups as ashtrays again? Damn it, how many times do I have to tell you? Next time I catch you, it’s a fine!”

The cluster of guys looked over in bewilderment. “Nah, Brother Wen. You should be asking if Leopard and his crew are using them as urinals again!”

“Hahaha…”

“I’ll rip your damn mouth off.” Chen Wen’s burly frame made even his shouts intimidating. The guys threw up their hands in surrender, mumbling promises not to do it again, and he finally backed off.

Watching the scene, Yun Qi was thrown back to the days when senior delinquents had cornered him. He’d never been able to fit into this kind of rough-and-tumble environment, always instinctively repelled by these coarse guys. He could never forget the nightmare of being locked in the gym by a group of them.

Oblivious to Yun Qi’s history, Chen Wen kept bantering with the trial trainees, checking on their training progress. He added viciously, “You mouth off about Leopard all day. You like how they painted the walls pink for you? Trash-talking’s worthless. If you’ve got the guts, crush them in this week’s PKs. Make them dress in drag—then you’re real men.”

“You got it, Brother Wen. We’ve already coordinated.”

“Teaming up with Yao Fan and his guys, huh?” Chen Wen sniped. “They’re off to the fourth floor already. What big shot’s leg do you think you’re hugging?”

Left on the sidelines, Yun Qi started to slip away. Chen Wen circled back then. “Disposable cups, right? I’ll have the front desk send some up.”

“No need,” Yun Qi said. “I’ll grab them myself.”

Chen Wen nodded. “Fair enough.”

Yun Qi left the training room.

The guys who’d just been chewed out craned their necks to watch, butts sticking out as they called after him. “Brother Wen, is that E God’s relative or something?”

Chen Wen took Yun Qi’s seat and scanned his match history before muttering, “Nah.”

The guys strained to eavesdrop. “Who said? Brother Jin dropped him off yesterday, and he never even shows up here.”

“Yeah, and he’s not bunking with us. I saw E God take him to C Block yesterday. Aren’t those one-bedrooms reserved for second team? How’s a newbie landing one right away?”

“Don’t gossip,” Chen Wen grumbled, frowning. “Buncha tough guys chirping like birds.”

“We’re just curious,” they grumbled, slumping back into their seats. “I’ve been grinding here three months and haven’t exchanged two words with E God. This guy’s a show-stealer.”

“Looks like he’s from SK, right? Pretty as a girl—fair skin, delicate, all dewy-eyed.”

“Tch.” Chen Wen shot them a death glare. “One more peep outta you, and I’ll lay you out. Try me.”

Cowed by Chen Wen’s iron-fisted authority, the training room finally fell quiet again.

Yun Qi headed downstairs. The front desk was staffed by two young women. Places like SK Base rarely saw outsiders, so the reception area was mostly for boosting the players’ morale. The whole building reeked of rough, single-guy funk, but the pretty receptionists lent a touch of fresh air.

Just having them there was a mood-lifter.

Yun Qi approached the desk. “Hi, do you have any disposable cups?”

The women glanced over. One stared a little harder and said, “Qiluo? What are you doing here?”

Recognized, Yun Qi explained calmly, “I transferred teams. I’ll be training here from now on.”

“Oh.” She gazed at him with envy. “You’re so pretty.”

Being called “pretty” by a girl gave Yun Qi mixed feelings—he wasn’t sure whether to take it as a compliment. Sensing his awkwardness, she hurried to clarify. “Sorry, I’m not great with words. I always see you online and thought it was filters making you look so fair and clean. You’re even better looking in person. And your face is tiny.”

“Hey, but what about Qingmo now that you’re here? Weren’t you two…”

“Your cups.” The other woman stood and handed Yun Qi a pack, cutting her off—probably realizing her friend was rambling. “Anything else you need?”

Yun Qi turned to her. She had a gentle, intellectual look about her, with a steadier demeanor. Her interruption had been perfectly timed. He shook his head. “Thanks, that’s all.”

The two nodded, and Yun Qi left with the cups.

Back in the training room, Yun Qi pulled out a water cup and stuffed the others into the cabinet beneath the water dispenser. He sorted them neatly by layer before standing to fill his own.

Other team members were sitting nearby by the dispenser, but Yun Qi didn’t notice the attention from the players beside him. As he bent over slightly, a strip of pale, smooth skin at his waist came into view. As the center of attention for a rookie, even among a bunch of guys, no one could resist the draw of such a good-looking teammate. He remained completely oblivious to the intense stares locked onto his waist.

“What are you looking at?”

Yun Qi turned at the voice and saw the guy next to him duck his head in a panic. “None of your damn business,” the guy muttered, sparking a round of bickering with those around him. Yun Qi paid it no mind and walked off with his cup.

When he got back to his seat, he saw that the game interface had changed from how he’d left it. Someone chimed in that Chen Wen had stopped by to check.

“Brother Wen even asked if that was you playing.”

“He said you did pretty well. I think so too, actually. I’ve been watching you for a while—you’re solid. Keep it up, and once your score’s high enough in a bit, you can jump into PK matches. You know about that, right?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Yun Qi settled back into his seat.

He took a sip of water but didn’t queue up a new game right away. Instead, he eyed the flashing WeChat icon. When he tapped it open, there were messages from Doesn’t Eat Grass, along with three attached pictures.

The images were all about the challenge tournament.

They also included fan comments, vicious ones at that. It turned out SK had gotten absolutely demolished in the challenge tournament.

【Outrageous. Is SK really this trash? Getting crushed in the challenge tournament??】

【LOL, avenged my Qi Qi—nice play. Wasn’t it because of Qi Qi they didn’t win the championship? Qi Qi’s gone now, and even with Danwan they’re still getting wrecked.】

【This gets into the grand finals? Facing KRO? No way it’s legit unless someone bought the results.】

【Whoa, Qingmo Emperor stans multiplying? This trash challenge tournament performance—don’t tell me it’s ’cause the fans’ skills are too OP.】

【Sucked dry by the fans.】

【Talk about kicking ’em while they’re down. You won’t call out Qiluo for slamming his old team and airing his boyfriend’s dirty laundry? Hilarious going after Qingmo instead.】

【Don’t spout crap. Watch Qiluo’s video or what? What’s Qingmo got to do with him? Screwing their own fans, sexually harassing teammates, forcing Qiluo to pander—and you defend that? Qiluo’s spot on: next one’s you getting yeeted out the window.】

【Upstairs has no clue. Fans wanna get yeeted.】

【Don’t say SK’s finished!! Y’all know Chole and KRO are from the same club, right? Both are beasts!】

Yun Qi scrolled through every scorching fan comment in the three pictures before typing back.

【What does this mean?】

【Doesn’t Eat Grass: SK got targeted by Chole.】

【Silk Scarf: ?】

【Doesn’t Eat Grass: Whole industry knows about this match. You know Yi Yang? He straight-up said at this challenge tournament he’s gonna wreck SK. So yeah, SK’s beatdown this time was Chole doing it on purpose.】

Yun Qi was still lost in the fog.

【Doesn’t Eat Grass: Here’s the deal: Yi Yang’s KRO’s sub. Got booted to Chole this year. He said to reclaim his spot on the official sub bench, he has to wreck SK—that’s the stipulation. So folks are speculating KRO’s bosses are gunning for SK deliberately. Otherwise, what’s the connection between him subbing back and crushing SK?】

Yun Qi stared at the string of messages, trying to untangle the web of connections. Every word felt like a brain-twister to him. Back when he was with SK, he’d never heard a whisper of bad blood with KRO.

What did Yi Yang mean about having to wreck SK to return as a sub? What grudge did the two esports teams even have?

Just then, Doesn’t Eat Grass fired over a new picture.

【Doesn’t Eat Grass: Screenshot of Yi Yang’s pre-match trash talk.】

Yun Qi zoomed in on the face and recognition hit him like a jolt—he knew that guy.

【Silk Scarf: I think… I’ve seen him.】

【Doesn’t Eat Grass: Where?】

Yes, he recognized him.

He was certain he’d seen this young guy from the photo.

【Silk Scarf: In… a room.】

A room where he’d signed with Yu Jin.