Undefeated - League of Legends - Book 1: Chapter 15

Book 1: The Return of the Lost King

Chapter 15: Fishing Someone Out of the Spawn[1]

......

Graves’ death was bad enough, but when Lin Xu and his team saw baron buff float around their enemies, the color of their face all turned purple, the same color as the baron buff!

They had no time to scold Feng Xiaoqin, they had to defend their base for now.

Like the wind before a storm, when a wave of minions pushed their mid inhibitor turret, the momentum of Yu’s team, Master Yi, Annie, Miss Fortune, Garen, and Blitzcrank, overpowered the four people of the other side.

Blitzcrank was the master of team fighting. There was no reason not to take the enemy’s base now since the enemy had fewer people and baron buff was on their side!

Yu Luocheng used overdrive and bolted directly into the enemy. His target was not Jax, nor Garen, nor Xin Zhao, but that bitchy Kha’Zix!

Yu Luocheng rushed into the crowd, paying no attention to others, and extended his mechanical claw directly at Kha’Zix!

Hooking someone in the face had its difficulties, since most people would move away to avoid it.

But to Yu Luocheng, it wasn’t a big deal!

God's Left Hand - Book 1: Chapter 35

The big screen was live broadcasting the game.  Both of them began to methodically build their base.

They had played against each other before, so they knew more or less the other’s strategies.

“Grunt’s ranking is very high on Battle.net; he’s been in diamond league for quite a long time.  Where he mainly battles with Korean professional Starcraft II players.”  Baona gave a detailed explanation and even began giving background information.  “When most of the Starcraft I players are still waiting to see how the competitive environment for Starcraft II will develop, Grunt was already the only Chinese player among the top six on Battle.net.”

Ai Qing knew Grunt was strong, but didn’t expect him to be this strong.

Then…...what’s Solo’s ranking?

On the stage, Solo’s face was illuminated by the screen.  Compared to Grunt’s powerful presence, Solo always gave the feeling of a calm sea before the storm arrived.

No matter how tumultuous next second would be, the moment before was always calm.

A calm that made others uneasy.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 18: Autumn Tale 4.3

Chapter 18

Autumn Tale 4.3

They hadn’t seen each other for over half a month since that day.

The ‘next time’ that Song Qiyan promised never materialized. It was not because he broke his promise but before he could carry out his next plan, he was assigned another lab experiment by the professor. During this half a month, Song Qiyan had been either in the laboratory or the library the whole day for that experiment. He had no time for any distractions.

As for Xia Liang, after she worked diligently for two weeks to catch up on her voice over projects, it was finally midterm week. For this------Lin Qian’s comment to Xia Liang was------You asked for it.

The original comment was actually: “It’s good enough just to be a normal college student. Who asked you to take two majors plus a minor. You’ll be lucky if you don’t die from exhaustion during sophomore year.”

Xia Liang’s dog-tired days had just begun. She shuffled between the Business School and Psychology department buildings. Once she returned to her apartment at night, she plunged headlong into her books to study and take notes. She also had to find time for recordings after 10 o’clock every night……she was too busy to remember anything else.

On this Saturday, it was rare that Xia Liang did not sleep in. She woke up at 7am and rushed to the school library after she had washed her face in a daze. She weaved through rows of bookshelves and shortly found books she needed.

God's Left Hand - Book 1: Chapter 34

The images on the big screen quickly switched to Starcraft II.  Since it’s an exhibition game with two famous professional players, the male commentator stood next to Solo and started with a brief interview.

“I heard that Blizzard had designed a post with Solo as the subject last year.  So are you really planning to give up Warcraft just for Starcraft?”  Solo put on his earphones and avoided a direct answer.  “Well, this is an imbalanced question.  If WCG had no restrictions on how many single events one can take, Warcraft and Starcraft are both very good.”

As he was speaking, he took out a pair of glasses from the pocket of his sports shorts.

He was slightly nearsighted.  He needed glasses to help him see the computer screen only when he didn’t have a good night’s sleep.  Ai Qing watched his actions and carefully recalled the party at the bar last night.  He didn’t seem to have drunk much and they left for the hotel quite early……she was sidetracked for a moment and missed what the commentator asked next.

Soon, the microphone turned to Grunt.

Grunt had switched from Starcraft I to Starcraft II.  The commentator mostly asked the reason why he switched.  When the game officially started, the lights completely went dark on the podium.

Undefeated - League of Legends - Book 1: Chapter 14

Book 1: The Return of the Lost King

Chapter 14:  Could He Even Play Anymore!

......

“Ah ! ! !”

Right after Blitzcrank, Miss Fortune finished off Xin Zhao!

DOUBLEKILL!

Miss Fortune got another double kill!

ACE ! ! !

The big English letters appeared one everyone’s screen, so bright and fabulous!

Wiped out!

After this round of team fighting, they had wiped out all five of the enemy team and their own Miss Fortune was still standing and with a sizable pool of health!

The proud queen stood on the messy battleground with rows of bodies under her pointed high heels.  The camera started to rotate, with close-up shots, showing Miss Fortune’s confident, bright smile.

Zhong Xiaoyun stared at the screen and felt his own hands shaking ever so slightly!

8 kills, 0 deaths, and 5 assists!

God's Left Hand - Book 1: Chapter 33

Ai Qing became quiet when she heard the name Gun.

Fortunately, the results of the competition were just being announced.  All’s team won by an overwhelming margin.

This was their first championship in China after they had come back.

All, as the team captain, stood up and led his team to shake hands with their opponents.

Then, he took over the microphone from the commentator.

Everyone quieted down and watched the once conceited teenager on the VS platform.  

He used his hand to smooth over his bald head and started laughing after a moment of silence.  “I won’t dare to be cocky in front of our old captain and first sniper.  Years ago, I and Xiaomi were kind of forced to retire after the three main players of our old team left…...as for the reason for the disbandment of our old team, many fans have blamed Gou Gou.  The fact is that the reason why I came back this time is because what Gou Gou had said to me before.”

His words were very suggestive and stirred some of the audience.

Ai Qing didn’t expect All would mention her.  She intimidatingly shook her iced tea as a warning to not talk nonsense or suffer a blow to the head.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 16 & 17: Autumn Tale 4.1 & 4.2

Chapter 16

Autumn Tale 4.1

When they arrived downstairs at her apartment, Xia Liang lifted the bag of doughnuts in her hand with a cheerful smile. “Thank you, shixiong. The desserts were really yummy.” Then she added, “Uhm, the noodle and wontons were also very delicious.”

Song Qiyan pushed down his cap a bit as usual. “You’re welcome. Go up now.”

“Ok…...” Xia Liang nodded obediently. “Then, next time, it’ll be my treat.” Today it was Song Qiyan who had paid for everything.

Song Qiyan nodded. “Okay.”

“Then…...Bye.” Xia Liang rolled her eye, feeling that there was little left to talk about. So she waved her hand and went upstairs. She saw the man reluctantly turn around when she was at the turn of the staircase.

So…...he was watching her go upstairs?

Xia Liang stood in astonishment before quickly shaking her head to stop her runaway imagination------She didn’t want to speculate what she did not know nor make too much out of nothing. “Live a simple life.” was Xia Liang’s only motto.

God's Left Hand - Book 1: Chapter 32

The men from Solo’s club were intently watching the competition.  When she sat down, the man who sat next to Solo’s empty seat suddenly turned his head and smiled.

Ai Qing whispered,  “Have I missed anything?”

“It’s Cocky All.”  He jokingly made a shooting gesture.  “He shot through six walls and killed an enemy.”

Ai Qing couldn’t help but smile.  “I swear, it’s 80 percent luck.”

“Just luck for penetrating through six walls?”  He exhaled a long breath.  “For those two seconds, God must have stood right behind him.”

God definitely had stood behind him.

Ai Qing thought those words sounded very familiar.  She remembered after a while, that was a favorite phrase that Solo’s club liked to use whenever they were being interviewed.  She didn’t know very much about Solo’s club.  She would go meet him near the club only when she needed to talk to him and sometimes she would meet some of the top players of other events.

As the strongest club in China, SP recruited many top players and had became a peculiar legend in the esports circle.  Since it’s a legend, there were many hearsays about the club and it’s hard to get a true picture of it.

Every year, those SP top players would receive invitations from various tournaments around the world.  WCG was one of them.

The top SP players would use alternate ids to play on the three largest platforms, Battle.net, VS, and CGA, therefore, anyone could have the chance to play against real top players who were hiding behind the screen.

“Exploring the Mysteries of SP”, “SP Secrets”, “Talk About SP’s Affairs”......any post with a title like these would become the hottest post on a forum.

Undefeated - League of Legends - Book 1: Chapter 13

Book 1: The Return of the Lost King

Chapter 13: Why Does it Feel Like I’m Fighting a Boss?

......

“Zhao Kesong, go kill Graves! ! !”

Wang Qin yelled disapprovingly.

Zhao Kesong didn’t even know what to do in a team fight.  After Wang Qin yelled at him, he then noticed that Graves, with low health, was hiding in a corner.

He hastily rushed forward and planned to use his ult on Graves.  Right at that moment, a long spear stuck out from behind Graves!

First came a spark, then a flurry of strikes!

Xin Zhao rushed over the moment he had revived, just in time to stop Zhao Kesong’s Garen from killing Graves!

Zhao Kesong didn’t have much health left as he was kited around by Graves as Xin Zhao continued to strike him, he wouldn’t survive for too long.

Yu Luocheng now finally understood why his own class lost so badly last week as he witnessed how Zhao Kesong’s Garen got killed……

The skill level of his classmates wasn’t comparable to room 3!

Master Yi got killed instantly, Garen lasted only a little longer, and both of them died before inflicting any damage to the enemy……

At this time, only Yu Luocheng’s Blitzcrank and Zhong Xiaoyun’s Miss Fortune were left on the battleground.  The good news was that the enemy’s Garen had also died.

The enemy had three champions left; Kha’Zix with half health, Graves with little bit health, and Xin Zhao with almost full health.

It didn’t look good for Yu Luocheng’s team!

God's Left Hand - Book 1: Chapter 31

“Solo’s team was composed of the ‘ten inconceivables’ in the Chinese CS circle.  The two star players, Solo and Gun, were ranked in the top ten in the world for two consecutive years.  Certainly, there’s Gou Gou master of the quickscope and no scope……”  The male commentator didn’t stop when the video was over. Influenced by the excitement of the audience, he began recounting glorious achievements of the number 1 team in China.  “The 2nd most consistent player, the 4th best player to draw first-blood in a game, the 2nd best at map control, the 4th best player for pistol-only matches, and nominated three times for MVP.”

“And, all of these were world rankings.”  The female commentator added with a smile.

The loud cheers seemed to bring some warmth to the CS world which was in a deep freeze.

The number one esport game, Warcraft, supported over thirty thousand professional and semi-professional players.

As for CS, there were only a handful players who could survive on their salary.  Every major CS competition was made possible mostly by the love for the game by veteran CS players.

Because everyone believed that even though the winter was long, there would come a day when the snow melted.

The opening successfully roused the passions of the audience.

The matches for the quarterfinals showed up on the big screen. The first round of the final competition had officially begun.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 15: Autumn Tale 3.3

Chapter 15

Autumn Tale 3.3

As a foodie, Xia Liang firmly believed that the greatest happiness in the world was eating good food.

But, as a foodie, she had been miserable the whole last year in the US. Even though Chinatown was not too far from school, she still had to eat most of her meals at the school cafeteria. Besides she and Lin Qian weren’t the best cooks, therefore most of the time they just ate so they wouldn’t go hungry.

What’s more was that her taste buds had been spoiled from all the gourmet foods she had eaten with her mother every night in Shanghai during those three months she was home for the summer.

Then today, Xia Liang was with her favorite voice and ate the most authentic noodle soup and wontons she had ever eaten since she had come to the US. She was overflowing with happiness. Just as she thought nothing could be better than now, she arrived at an exquisite pastry shop with Song Qiyan.

Xia Liang widened her eyes as she stared at the elegant desserts inside the showcase and absent-mindedly turned to Song Qiyan.

“Are…… Are we going in?”

Song Qiyan looked at her strangely. It obviously meant “What else.”

God's Left Hand - Book 1: Chapter 30

After the sponsor finished his speech, the competition officially began.

But surprisingly, the big screen was blank, without even a list of names for matches.

“As I had said earlier, today’s competition will be the most remarkable one in this half year.”  The male commentator stood up, suddenly placing one hand in his pocket and slowly strolled to the front of the stage.  “Whose signature move is this?”

The audience yelled Solo.

He moved in this manner every time he walked up to receive awards or walked into the competition arena.

Ai Qing looked at him.

Solo faintly smiled but didn’t look back at her.  “The camera is on you.”

Ai Qing, startled, immediately turned around to look.  It was a close-up of Solo and her on the big screen……

The commentator curved up his index finger and pushed upward the frame of his glasses.  “How about this one?”

One particular area in the audience, where about 30 some girls shouted in unison as if they had rehearsed before.  “Grunt~”

Undefeated - League of Legends - Book 1: Chapter 12

Book 1: The Rise of the Lost King

Chapter 12: When Garen Hits Master Yi!

.....

With one kill in hand, Yu Luocheng marched the others to bot’s inner turret and smashed the turret with one go.

After the turret had fallen, the other four enemies didn’t plan to let Wang Qin and his teammates leave.  Their Garen used “Decisive Strike” and courageously rushed towards Miss Fortune, the closest champion!

They even dared to initiate a team fight when they were down a person! !

Alright then, there’s an old saying for situations like this, damn!

As a support, it’s Yu Luocheng’s duty to protect the ADC.  Since Garen was rushing Miss Fortune, Yu Luocheng had to use his iron fist to take care of him! !

With one move, Yu Luocheng’s Blitzcrank stood in front of Miss Fortune and used his “Power Fist”!

Something interesting happened.  The enemy’s Garen got scared and turned around to retreat the moment he saw the robot.

Yu Luocheng was stunned and watched Garen back away.

Garen rushed forward with such impetus, but after he saw Blitzcrank, he tucked his tail and ran.  Was this really Garen?

God's Left Hand - Book 1: Chapter 29

“This kid’s not bad.”  Xiaomi walked over as well.  “It’s hard to meet someone who dares to look down upon Solo.  Cocky All, he doesn’t think you’re good enough for him.”

“I'm doing him a favor.”  All deeply felt the blow to his pride.  “We were playing with a keyboard and mouse when he had just begun writing his ABCs.  Starcraft II’s only been out for a year, most top players are still waiting to see how the scene will change and haven’t switched events yet.  Otherwise, he wouldn’t even have a chance.”

Xiaomi shrugged.  “It’s true.  He hasn’t played any match abroad and doesn’t know how strong the Western teams are, especially the Scandinavians.”

The three commentators on the stage all laughed.  Soon, one of them took over the microphone and announced,  “I guarantee, today’s match will be the most worthwhile one in this half year.  Everyone, don’t take a sip of water, don’t leave the arena; it will be an absolute loss if you miss just one second of it.”

His words and the challenge caused everyone to focus their attention upon these two camps.

On one side, it’s the god-like Solo and members of his old famous CS team.

On the other side, it’s the king of newcomers who had grown with a lightning speed, Grunt and…...his two unknown friends.

Tea of Summer - Chapter 13 & 14: Autumn Tale 3.1 & 3.2

Chapter 13

Autumn Tale 3.1

“Shixiong, where are we going?”  Xia Liang, who had been in a daze so far, and finally spoke after she had already gotten into his car.  She turned her head to look at Song Qiyan.  Then she found that his face from the side was…...flawless.

“I won’t kidnap you.” He said, “You will know when we get there.”

Other people would have said those words jokingly.  But he was exceptionally serious when he spoke.  Even his eyes were inexplicably calm as he looked forward, as if he had just stated a fact.

Xia Liang suppressed her curiosity and said “Oh”.

What to do.  She truly felt that Bei Yan Da Da…...Song Shixiong, huh, was too adorkable.

Xia Liang looked around  after they had parked car.  There were many restaurants there and since it was around noon, there was a large volume of people.  She followed Song Qiyan as he turned into a small restaurant at the corner.  She surprisingly found that the sign was in Chinese? Oh, maybe it was Japanese?

Because the sign had only one character------“Noodles”.

Xia Liang blinked.  It was very simple and straightforward.

God's Left Hand - Book 1: Chapter 28

Ai Qing remembered Grunt’s exhibition game before.

“He’s a dangerous type of player, hard to control, but very rare. I heard that he hasn’t signed on with any club. Why don’t you win him over?”

“I’m waiting for him to lose.  He has to fall down completely and climb back up again, then there will be room for further development.”  Solo glanced over at the audience.  “Ai Jing’s here?”

Ai Qing turned her head.

In the distance, there were Dt, 97, and Ai Jing sitting in the audience.

She sat at contestants’ area.  Most of the players had already entered the competition arena and only a few still sat in this area.  Solo and her were standing out.

97 saw her right away and pulled Dt’s arm with astonishment.  She couldn’t tell what’s Dt’s expression since his cap was low on his face and they sat quite a distance away.  It was Ai Jing who was excitedly waving at her and dialed her number right there.

“I didn’t see Grunt this morning.  Have you seen him?  Is he in the contestant area?”

Ai Qing didn’t expect her sister’s first sentence would be about Grunt.  She replied without knowing whether to laugh or feel annoyed, “No, he hasn’t given up the game again?”

“No, he won’t.”  Ai Jing helplessly said, “He sees Solo as his ultimate opponent.  He won’t give up any game to compete with Solo…...Ai, I saw him.”

Ai Jing hung up quickly and looked towards the entrance.

Undefeated - League of Legends - Book 1: Chapter 11

Book 1: The Return of the Lost King

Chapter 11: Annie, Master Yi, Crush Him!

......

Bot was basically under control now.  Graves and Garen didn’t even dare to come out to get last hits. They couldn’t get any experience nor gold, they were now three levels under their own.

How miserable could they be!

Lin Xu had learned his lesson; he had given up bot since they were in such a disadvantageous position and went to top to get some kills.

Well, he did have some skill.  With the cooperation of the two at top, Lin Xu got three kills.  Two from top plus one from Wang Qin’s Annie, their top was in a much better position all of sudden.

Yu Luocheng and Zhong Xiaoyun had gained a huge advantage after all the trouble, but now mid and top were collapsing.

After earning three kills, Kha’Zix could jump or fire its spikes or slash with its claw just once to get a kill!

Yu Luocheng clicked the tab key to see the game’s scoreboard.

Kha’Zix had five kills, the same as Miss Fortune, but Kha’Zix had 30 more last hits than her.

In terms of equipment, Lin Xu’s Kha’Zix was somewhat better off than Miss Fortune.

“DOUBLEKILL! ! !”

God's Left Hand - Book 1: Chapter 27

Since she didn’t have ticket, she ended up arriving at the competition site with Solo.w

Best It was a CS special event. Most of the audience were hardcore fans. When Ai Qing and Solo arrived at the lobby of the convention, where they found All who raised his arm high in the air the moment he saw them. “Solo, Gou Gou, here, here.”

People who were in line waiting to get in all turned around to look when they heard the shouting. There were many radio station reporters who felt that they might have found a hot topic to report on. The younger generation certainly only knew Solo; they thought they were witnessing an affair and fixed their eyes on Ai Qing. Those who were older were surprised that members of the first CS team years ago were all here and the leading man and lady of the famous affair were here too……

Solo had a VIP name tag.

She could get away from all the attention and walk with them into the convention room ahead of the people waiting outside.

Solo’s seat was in the first row. She didn’t have a ticket and naturally didn’t have her own seat. She had no choice but to sit with him in the contestants’ area.

The first three rows were all professional players and some commentators.

Solo had left for a while, a young lady jumped over and holding Ai Qing’s arm. “Gou Gou, you’re back?!”

She shook her head and didn’t recognize the face.