Chapter 12: Let's Play Some Challenger Games!

"For example, if the enemy uses Flash, remember the time. Figure out when Flash will be available again. While it's still on cooldown, that's your chance to gank them."

"If the enemy places a ward in a bush, remember the time too. Tell your jungler when it was placed and about when it will disappear."

"If you're playing an enchanter support and you don't know where the enemy is, don't go into the jungle alone to place wards."

Standing behind Lin Wan's chair, Chen Jie shared his experience and tips for playing support.

That night, they played five ranked games.

They won the first three fairly easily, but the last two matches were against players with much higher ranks.

The final game was especially difficult. The enemy team had a very high win rate and played together as a well-coordinated squad. Their pace was so fast that it felt suffocating. Lin Wan's team was forced to react to everything the opponents did. In terms of teamwork, objective control, and choosing the right targets during team fights, they were far behind. As a result, they lost the game in just over twenty minutes.

After the loss, they didn't queue for another game.

Instead, they downloaded the match replay and watched it together, carefully studying how the enemy team played and discussing how they should deal with similar situations in the future.

Grrr...

Half an hour later, everyone was still excitedly discussing the match they had just played, but Lin Wan's stomach growled.

He had been concentrating so hard all night that he got hungry much faster than usual.

Zhuo Feng looked at him, then took Chen Jie out of the room. A short while later, the two of them came back carrying a pile of snacks and bottled water.

"We've been playing for a long time. Everyone must be tired. Have something to eat first," Zhuo Feng said as he put everything on the table.

Lin Wan waited until everyone else had taken something before he picked up a pack of biscuits and a bottle of mineral water.

Then he gently tugged on Zhuo Feng's sleeve and whispered, "How much is it? I'll transfer the money to you later."

Zhuo Feng smiled and looked at Chen Jie.

"Boss Chen, figure out how much all this costs. I'm just a poor college student, so I'll have to pay with next month's living expenses."

Chen Jie froze for a second, then laughed and gave Zhuo Feng a shove.

"Cut it out! Stop making fun of me!"

Zhuo Feng turned to Lin Wan and spread out his hands.

"This whole internet café belongs to him. He's also our coach. If we don't take advantage of him, who else are we supposed to take advantage of?"

"Come on. I'm just managing the place. The real boss is still my dad," Chen Jie explained.

Lin Wan blinked.

The boss?

This internet café was huge, with so many computers. How much money would that be worth?

His little brain started working at full speed. While chewing on a biscuit, he couldn't help calculating how much money he could get if every computer were sold.

"Alright, let's stop here for tonight. If you want to keep playing, go ahead. If you run out of snacks, just get more from the front desk. I stayed up all night yesterday, so I'm exhausted. I'm heading home," Chen Jie said with a yawn before leaving the room.

"Then I'll head back too." Lin Wan also got ready to return to school. It was almost ten o'clock. If he didn't leave soon, the school gates would be closed.

"Okay, let's go." Zhuo Feng stood up to walk back with Lin Wan. He was worried that it was Lin Wan's first time here and that he wouldn't know the way.

The other three decided to keep playing for a while longer since it was Saturday the next day and they didn't have classes.

As they walked out of the internet café, the busy street was lit up with colorful neon lights, but they couldn't stop the cold autumn wind from blowing through.

Lin Wan pulled up his hood and tightened the drawstrings around his neck to keep the cold wind from getting inside his hoodie.

He had just taken one step when he quickly pulled his foot back.

Wait... where am I?

Which way is the school?

He didn't know the way, so he could only turn to look at Zhuo Feng.

"This way." Zhuo Feng nodded toward the street on the other side.

"Oh."

The two of them walked toward the school. Lin Wan stayed half a step behind Zhuo Feng.

Today was the first day they had truly met in person, so neither of them knew what to talk about. They simply walked together in silence.

After thinking for a moment, Zhuo Feng felt that since he had already invited Lin Wan to join the team, he should tell him more about it.

"Chen Jie used to be a member of our team too. After he graduated, he had to manage the internet café, so he left the team."

Lin Wan kept his head down as he walked a few more steps before realizing Zhuo Feng was talking to him.

He answered a little late, "Yeah. You already told me that earlier."

"We've actually competed in the college league once before. We lost to the provincial champions."

So... they finished second?

Lin Wan didn't interrupt. He quietly listened.

"The champions were Tech University. They weren't just the provincial champions, they were also the national college league champions."

"If our team had made it through back then, we probably could have finished with a pretty good ranking at the national tournament too. It's just a shame that only the provincial champions could qualify."

"None of us could accept it. We kept thinking, if we had beaten Tech University, wouldn't we have become the champions instead? After all, we only lost after playing all five games."

"So this year, we want to give it everything we've got. We don't just want to qualify for the National College League. If we can finish in the top three, we'll also qualify for the Global College League."

"But if we do that, we'll have to balance our studies while playing practice matches. It'll be very tiring. If you want to leave the team now, we'll understand and support your decision."

Lin Wan thought for a moment, then walked up beside Zhuo Feng.

"How much was the prize for winning the National College League again?"

"One hundred thousand."

"What about the Global College League?"

"One hundred and fifty thousand."

Uh... that's only fifty thousand more?

Wait! No!

Lin Wan, how could you even think, 'It's only fifty thousand more'? Are you getting carried away?

But Zhuo Feng's next words made his eyes go wide.

"Dollars."

"What?! ∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

"One hundred and fifty thousand US dollars."

"Holy crap!"

"If you want to leave—"

"No, no, no! Even if I die, I'll die during practice matches!"

Zhuo Feng: "......"

Lin Wan's eyes were practically glowing green.

If they won the championship, the prize money would be enough to pay off most of his family's debts.

His breathing became faster. He felt completely fired up.

For the prize money...

Just give it everything you've got!

Should I skip going back to school tonight?

Maybe I should go back to the internet café and keep practicing!

"How about we—"

Before he could finish, Zhuo Feng interrupted him. It seemed he had already guessed what Lin Wan was thinking.

"There's no need to rush. We do need to practice, but we also need to know when to work and when to rest. Tonight, go over everything the coach taught you. The official tournament won't start until next year."

"Okay." Lin Wan nodded. Zhuo Feng was right. Trying to move too fast would only slow him down in the end.

By the time they returned to school, it was already past ten o'clock, and the main gate had been closed.

Lin Wan was a little worried at first, but after seeing Zhuo Feng show his student meal card to the security guard and being allowed in, he was stunned.

You can do that?

Zhuo Feng explained, "College isn't like high school. The rules aren't that strict. As long as you're not acting like some old man asking the guard to open the gate for you, they're usually pretty easygoing."

Lin Wan nodded.

He had learned something new.

After saying goodbye to Zhuo Feng, Lin Wan returned to his dorm room.

The moment he walked in, two pairs of resentful eyes were staring at him.

"Brother Wan, why are you back so late? If you'd been any later, I would've called to ask whether you were even coming back," Sun Mao said, pretending to browse the internet while secretly listening carefully.

Earlier that evening, Zhang Dingding had bought a train ticket to visit his girlfriend. He even posted photos of them eating together in the dorm group chat, making both Sun Mao and Qiu Cheng jealous.

When Lin Wan didn't come back that night either, the two of them thought he had also abandoned the big family of Dorm 205 to chase after love, leaving the two single guys alone in the cold, dark night.

"Our school is holding a League of Legends tournament. My pro player friend formed a team, and they happened to need one more player, so he invited me. We were practicing tonight," Lin Wan explained.

"A tournament? How come I haven't heard anyone talking about it..." Sun Mao took out his phone and started asking about it in the department's large group chat.

Hearing Lin Wan's explanation, Qiu Cheng finally relaxed.

As expected of my good brother. He would never betray us and leave us behind!

He turned his attention back to his Honor of Kings match.

But before he knew it, his screen turned bright red, with only two large words in the center.

Defeat!

What the heck?!

I only got distracted for a moment, and our base was gone?

What were my teammates even doing?!

He had already lost five games in a row that night.

He couldn't take it anymore. He needed someone to carry him.

So he shouted toward Lin Wan, "Brother Wan, let's play a few rounds of Honor of Kings!"

"Huh? My phone might—"