章 67: c67
ALL-ROUND MID LANER Chapter 67
The finals match had lasted for four hours. By the time it concluded, it was already eleven at night. The team coordinator Tang Can had everyone get back into their team car, but the car didn't go straight back to the HQ. Instead, the car stopped outside one of the capital's most well-known seafood buffets.
Lin Feng smiled and said, "Everyone's been working pretty hard lately. Tonight we'll be rewarding you all with a late-night meal!"
A wave of impassioned cheers rippled through the car. The players filed out of the car one after another, then made their way into a room that had been reserved in advance. Unexpectedly, they saw two familiar faces there.
Qu Jiang instantly ran up, overjoyed. "Old Nie, A-Ning!"
Old Nie gave him a big hug. "Tang Can-jie called us over. We'll be mooching some food off you guys tonight, haha!"
Song Yu'ning said, "We came back to watch the finals tonight and figured it would be the perfect time to meet up with everyone. It's been a while."
Chi Shuo walked up and greeted the two of them. Old Nie smiled merrily and said, "Captain Chi, won't you introduce your team's new member?"
Chi Shuo turned back and looked at Ye Shaoyang, who stood next to him. He introduced, "This is the streamer Xiao Bai, Ye Shaoyang."
Old Nie extended a hand. "Hello!"
Ye Shaoyang shook hands and greeted the two of them. They were already friends on WeChat, but it was their first time meeting in person. These two were quite friendly towards Ye Shaoyang. They'd even sent him tens of thousands of yuan in gifts through Xiao Bai's streaming room.
After the two of them retired from Tianhuan, Old Nie stayed in the capital. He'd decided to change careers and become a gaming streamer. A-Ning said his plan was to go home and open a small business that specialized in selling gaming peripherals. Their lives in retirement were pretty full of flavor.
Coach Lin took in the sight of all these happy players. He smiled as he entered the room and said, "S9 is already over, but there's no need for anyone to think too much tonight. Just focus on relaxing tonight, and eat to your heart's content. It's the coach's treat!"
Everyone swiftly ran off to serve themselves some food. Ye Shaoyang returned with a heaping plate of seafood. He put on a pair of gloves and started to peel shrimp while he asked, "Jingzhe and Binghun will be going to compete in the world championships next, right?"
Coach Lin nodded. "Mm. The first and second place teams from the domestic division go to the world championships every year."
Ye Shaoyang curiously asked, "Does every division send two teams?"
"Each division is a different size, so they have varying numbers of slots as well," Coach Lin explained. "China, North America, Europe, Korea, and Southeast Asia—these divisions have more teams and players, so they have a fixed two spots every year. The division who wins the previous world championship tournament will be given an extra spot. Africa, Latin America—these divisions have fewer teams, so they have one fixed spot per year.
"That adds up to a total of thirteen teams. The remaining three spots at the world championships are filled by teams from the Wildcard division."
At that point, Chi Shuo quietly added, "Wildcard games begin every year in November. The tournament isn't divided by regional divisions. Any professional team in the league, from any division, can pay to participate in the tournament and fight for a spot at the world championships. The competition is very fierce."
Tianhuan could have participated in the Wildcard tournament, but Old Nie and A-Ning had just retired and the team hadn't finished syncing up with their new players yet. There was no need for them to pay to go to the Wildcard tournament and take a beating. So, they had decided to give up on that chance this year.
Old Nie interrupted, "Last year's world champions were Team FLD from the North American division, right? This year, North America can send three teams to the world championships."
Qu Jiang smiled and said, "Team FLD is from Florida. They weren't very well-known before. I heard they were the dark horse of the North American division last year. They beat down all the top picks for the championship winner."
Qin Yizhu said ruefully, "Some dark horses will pop up from various divisions every year. And those popular teams that seem like obvious winners will often crash and burn and not even make it to the world championships!"
Ye Shaoyang listened to them chat. He couldn't help but think back to the world championships of his past life.
The League of Legends world championships typically came down to a faceoff between Chinese teams and Korean teams. Other teams were just there to twiddle their thumbs. However, the world championships in this new world weren't quite the same—the divisions from North America, Eruope, Korea, and so on were all very well-developed. The world championship cup had even been taken by the North American division last year. It was obvious that the North American division as a whole was very powerful.
The Chinese division was chock full of experts, and the international league was like a pack of wolves waiting to pounce.
Fulfilling his dreams of attaining the world championship cup would be much more difficult than Ye Shaoyang could imagine. However, only a challenge would provide motivation. If he could easily reach his goal without trying, there wouldn't be much of a point.
Lin Feng saw that Ye Shaoyang had his head lowered in thought. He smiled faintly and said, "Shaoyang, don't put too much pressure on yourself. It'll be your first time playing in tournament games. Next season, let's just set a small goal for ourselves first—let's get into the playoffs. We'll take it slow, step by step."
Ye Shaoyang was silent.
First tiem playing? No, I've already played for four years. I've even played in the finals of the world championships.
Of course, Ye Shaoyang didn't dare tell anyone this secret. In everyone's eyes, he was still a 'newbie' who needed a lot of care and concern.
Ye Shaoyang smiled and nodded. "Okay, coach. We'll start with little goals."
Everyone ate their fill, then returned to their base to head back to their respective rooms for sleep.
There was no training scheduled for the next day. Coach Lin gathered everyone in a conference room for a detailed review of the S9 finals, to analyze the faceoff between Binghun and Jingzhe and to learn from those games.
Everyone listened attentively.
After concluding their review of the finals match, Coach Lin said, "This match shows us the importance of team fights. When you single out every member of Binghun as an individual, they aren't necessarily the most skilled players in the league. But the five of them have formed a strong chain together. Their whole team has a deep level of tacit understanding with one another. That was the key which allowed them to take the championship title."
Coach Lin paused there and swept his gaze across the room. "In our recent days of training, the coaching team has identified some issues in our Tianhuan. Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang's rhythm is a bit out of sync with the top and bottom lanes. Especially with Cheng Xing on the bottom lane. In team fights, you struggle to keep up with their pace."
Cheng Xing instantly hung his head.
Coach Lin continued, "Next, we still need to practice other team comps. For example, a double carry comp which allows Cheng Xing to take up the responsibility of playing DPS as well. We also need to practice mid/jungle duo comps that are skewed towards making either the jungler or the mid laner the core of the team. We need to get used to all sorts of comps. That way, we'll be able to use a broader wealth of strategies next season."
Chi Shuo nodded firmly. "No problem. We'll listen to the coaching team's plans."
Coach Lin continued, "I've scheduled a practice game against North America's Team FNO for us on November 20th. Everyone, prepare well. When it comes to a practice game, it doesn't matter if we win or lose. The most important thing is using this game to identify our problems."
Everyone nodded to express their understanding.
After the meeting, Cheng Xing followed everyone out with his head still hanging low. Ye Shaoyang saw his distressed expression and couldn't help but smile as he patted the kid on the shoulder. "Being called out by the coach feels bad?"
A red-faced Cheng Xing quietly whispered, "Have I been holding you guys back this whole time?"
Ye Shaoyang warmly reassured, "Our team falling out of sync doesn't necessarily mean you're holding anyone back. It could be that Chi Shuo and I are too quick. Actually, if a team wants to work well together, every single person has to find a suitable rhythm and speed. Too fast, too slow—it's all bad."
Cheng Xing froze for a second, lifting his head to look up at Ye Shaoyang. He hadn't imagined Yang-ge would actually comfort him.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself," Ye Shaoyang said. "I'll make adjustments with Chi Shuo as well. We still have time to slowly get used to one another."
Cheng Xing silently let out a breath of relief. He grinned and nodded, "Mm, I'll do my best to keep up!"
Chi Shuo watched all this unfold with complex feelings in his heart.
Shaoyang was actually helping him raise his apprentice?
After they all reached the training room, Chi Shuo took a seat next to Ye Shaoyang and quietly said, "Cheng Xing's talent is pretty good, he just lacks experience in big games. He often gets impatient and reckless in games. He charges in when he isn't supposed to, and gives away his head. Or he isn't decisive enough when he's supposed to charge in."
"He's still young, after all," Ye Shaoyang said. "If you want him to turn into a coolheaded, mature player immediately, that's asking too much of him. We need to give him some time to grow up, right?"
Chi Shuo nodded. "Mm. We'll focus more on the bottom lane in future practices. Let's give Qu Jiang and Cheng Xing time to catch up to our pace."
"Okay," Ye Shaoyang said. "Let's have Cheng Xing try a few late-game marksmen."
In the ensuing practice game, Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang did their best to slow their mid/jungle tempo. They repeatedly focused on ganking in the bottom lane, to enable their bottom laners' development. Cheng Xing also did his best to improve his game awareness. He followed everyone's lead in getting kills, counter-jungling, pushing towers…
Training continued smoothly.
Very quickly, the next week arrived.
One night, Tang Can-jie went out of her way to track down Ye Shaoyang to privately tell him, "Tomorrow, Director Xue from the league's official disciplinary committee will be personally coming to Tianhuan for an inspection. Shaoyang, you get ready in advance."
After Ye Shaoyang returned to his dorm, he asked Chi Shuo, "What do the disciplinary committee members usually look for? I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing. It'll be troublesome if it interferes with my team membership."
Chi Shuo thought back to the inspection that had been done on him when he first joined the team. He said, "The disciplinary committee oversees the behavior of players, as well as how teams treat their players, to prevent clubs from putting too much pressure on their players. If there's anything about Tianhuan you aren't satisfied with, you can tell them."
He paused for a moment, then added, "But you're an omega player, so they may ask you some personal questions. For example, do you have any intentions of dating an alpha? Are your pheromones stable, or will they interfere with games? Have any of the team's alphas been harassing you? Stuff like that."
Ye Shaoyang thoughtfully stroked his chin.
That meant that the disciplinary committee was still mostly concerned with players' lifestyles and professional conduct. If the team was putting undue pressure on him, or if alphas from the team were harassing him, he could report his problems to the committee.
Ye Shaoyang tore off the patch at the nape of his neck and turned towards Chi Shuo to ask, "Then will the fact that you marked me have any effect on their inspection?"
Chi Shuo was silent.
Ye Shaoyang carefully rubbed at his nape and said, "It's been a month, so I can't feel the physical signs of the mark anymore. It probably won't be visible, right? If the league misunderstands and thinks Chi Shuo is bullying an omega player as the captain of the team, then neither of us will be left in a good position."
Chi Shuo's ears started to burn. He looked away from Ye Shaoyang's nape and quietly said, "It's already been more than a month. The visible mark on your glands has faded a long time ago. You can't see anything now. But… if they do a detailed test, they'll still be able to detect the pheromones I left in your body."
Ye Shaoyang worriedly asked, "Will they do a detailed test? You left pheromones in my body?"
This conversation seemed to be getting more and more out of hand.
With his ears burning hotter, Chi Shuo said, "They probably won't. Even if you'd been marked by an alpha before, that's your private life. Everyone has privacy rights that are protected by law. If you don't report it of your own volition, if you don't say I took advantage of you and marked you, then they won't hassle me about it."
Ye Shaoyang couldn't help but laugh out loud. "How could I report it? I was the one who took the initiative to ask you for a mark back then, and it was the only solution to a dire situation." He paused for a second, then looked towards Chi Shuo. "Don't worry. If they really ask about this, I'll say I've had a suppressant shot. They can't drag me to the hospital to get it checked out."
Chi Shuo faintly let out a breath of relief. "That would be for the best."
The next morning, the disciplinary committee came to Tianhuan for an inspection.
The leader of the group was a beta jiejie who looked very kind and gentle. Her name was Xue Ling, and she was around thirty years old. She was apparently one of the vice chairs of the league, and the head of the disciplinary committee. Zhao Xin'an's streaming room had been suspended on her orders.
She was extremely warm towards Ye Shaoyang. "Little Ye, you're one of the rare omega players in our league, so the head of the league has asked me to personally come meet you."
Ye Shaoyang politely said, "I'm grateful for the league's concern."
Xue Ling gently asked, "Have you been at all inconvenienced by your living arrangements at Tianhuan? Have you been getting along well with your teammates, particularly the alphas? Has anyone been bullying you?"
As expected, Chi Shuo had correctly guessed what they were here to investigate.
Ye Shaoyang's gaze was very open and honest. He calmly answered, "The club has been treating me pretty well. They've given me my own room. Every day after training, I go back to my private room to sleep. I have very little personal interaction with the alpha players on the team. Everyone here has a relationship of purely being teammates, and we're quite friendly to one another."
Xue Ling smiled and said, "You don't need to be afraid. If you've been wronged in any way, you can boldly tell us. The league supervises every single player. You don't have anything to worry about."
Ye Shaoyang's smile was radiantly bright. "Wronged? No, no. Team Tianhuan is like my family, we're all brothers here. Maybe because my personality is too much like that of an alpha, they don't treat me like an omega at all."
Xue Ling fell silent.
This omega was really very bold!
The doctor who'd come with the disciplinary committee gave Ye Shaoyang a basic pheromone value check. The conclusion was that his pheromones were very stable. There was no chance of him going into heat anytime in the near future.
Immediately afterwards, the disciplinary committee team went to visit Ye Shaoyang's rooms, where they saw a very cute little kitty cat. Xue Ling patted the kitty's head and noted that this bedroom had its own private bathroom. It really was a place where Ye Shaoyang could live without being disturbed by anyone else.
But Xue Ling had to curiously ask, "Who's the roommate who lives across the hall from you?"
Ye Shaoyang plainly said, "That would be Captain Chi. You guys don't worry, Captain Chi's head is filled with nothing but thoughts of the game. He doesn't see me as an omega at all. If I make any mistakes in training, he still scolds me without holding back in the slightest."
Elsewhere, Chi Shuo's head filled up with question marks.
Xue Ling smiled and said, "Captain Chi, huh? That's good."
This alpha captain had made a name for himself as a very serious and upstanding person, after all. Would Chi Shuo harass an omega player? Not a chance.
The disciplinary committee went on to ask whether or not the team had been making salary payments on time, whether or not they were putting unreasonable demands on the players, and so on. Then they got in their car and drove away.
Ye Shaoyang walked them out.
Once Ye Shaoyang returned to the training room, Chi Shuo lowered his voice and asked, "How did it go?"
"It was nothing much," Ye Shaoyang said. "They just asked me a few questions and took a look at my room. I told them that Tianhuan is my home, we're all brothers here. That Director Xue had a bit of a weird look on her face."
Chi Shuo was silent.
The weird one is you.
What was this talk about a family of brothers? Ye Shaoyang really didn't have any self-awareness as an omega.
But the league should be able to relax now. Ye Shaoyang was such a bold omega, after all. Could he be bullied? Absolutely not. If anyone dared bully him, Ye Shaoyang would probably leave them looking for their teeth on the ground.
Just as expected, not long after the disciplinary committee came in for their inspection, the league sent over their official approval—the contract between Tianhuan and Ye Shaoyang had been formalized without any issues.
The professional Gods War database of players had a new entry, an omega player named Ye Shaoyang.
And his official ID: Tianhuan-Lieyang.
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