Chapter 6 ◎ Arrogance Without Borders ◎
On Wednesday, the Trust team members took the bus to the pre-season match venue on time.
Outside the bus, the entrance to the arena was a sea of people.
The team’s operations staff had already released the starting lineup on social media yesterday. Unlike the usual cheers of support, netizens were focused entirely on a new ID: Solve.
[No way, Solve just arrived and he’s starting? Can he really coordinate well?]
[Couldn’t Trust just let the previous mid-laner play? He played so well before.]
[To the person above, Trust’s former mid-laner transferred this season, didn’t you know?]
[Laughing my head off. Does this guy even know what to do before and after a match? Putting him on the bench would be more appropriate.]
…
Song Hong and Shen Chen, afraid of affecting Lin Sumo’s mindset, naturally tried to stop him from looking. But they couldn’t stop Lin Sumo, who lived on the internet, from reading every single discussion.
As soon as they stepped off the team van, they heard the loud shouts of team fans:
“Fighting!!”
“Go Trust!”
“Trust is the best!”
“Good luck on your debut, Solve!”
…
It was Lin Sumo’s first time seeing such a scene in person. Amidst his surprise, he heard a few other voices cutting through.
“Solve just joined the team, what the hell is he doing starting?”
“Brat, hurry up and roll back home!”
“Sub him out!!”
…
Those people were close and their voices were loud, so naturally, the rest of the team heard them too. The team leader turned his head to look at Lin Sumo with concern. “Solve, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Lin Sumo replied.
He felt like he was sinking into a hollow, trying to climb out, only to be smashed down by sentence after sentence, forced to sink deeper until his nose and mouth were covered.
Breathing was difficult.
Yet, he didn’t need to struggle.
Because even in a situation like this, he could survive tenaciously on his own.
Before the team leader could turn his head back, he saw Lin Sumo wave his hand with a look of utter indifference, even shooting a roguish smile at those hecklers.
The team leader swallowed.
If he had to evaluate it… it was arrogance without borders.
Shortly after entering the lounge marked with the Trust logo, the venue staff came in to ask the team leader and captain to confirm the starting lineup.
After confirming Trust’s starters were correct, the staff followed procedure and informed them of the opposing Kuangdao team’s starters.
Shen Chen frowned slightly. “Kuangdao’s mid-laner… seems to have just transferred this season. He’s considered quite strong in their team. Solve might have a hard time this game.”
Lin Sumo’s expression remained normal. “It’s fine.”
Hearing this, Yu Pei smiled. “Little Mo-mo, your first career match is already going to be ‘hard’? Then you should have no problem playing against any team in the future.”
Everyone knew he was trying to lighten the mood, so they laughed along.
Entering the glass soundproof booth, Lin Sumo opened his equipment bag and began installing his peripherals with slight unfamiliarity.
Lin Sumo had intended to figure it out himself, but to his surprise, Pei Yun, who was sitting next to him, glanced over and suddenly stopped what he was doing.
Lin Sumo was fully focused on the pile of gear in his hands, so naturally, he didn’t notice Pei Yun’s movements.
The next second, Pei Yun’s hand descended from above. While Lin Sumo looked on in confusion, Pei Yun connected the USB ports for his mouse and keyboard in two or three moves.
Lin Sumo looked up, stunned.
Pei Yun’s expression didn’t change. Sensing Lin Sumo’s gaze, he didn’t even spare him a glance.
In the audience seating, the commentators were hyping up the atmosphere before the opening. Through the large screen in the center of the stage, everyone could see that the players were ready.
A few seconds later, the match officially began.
Having practiced coordination with his teammates for the past few days, Lin Sumo wasn’t very nervous anymore. He followed the others with a calm expression.
Arriving at the lane, Lin Sumo immediately started clearing the wave. At this moment, the opposing mid-laner also pressed forward. Believing that striking first gains the upper hand while striking later leads to disaster, Lin Sumo threw a skill directly at him.
Professional players naturally knew how to predict movements. As soon as Lin Sumo started his skill animation, the opposing mid-laner dodged to the side, and then… ran directly into the skill Lin Sumo had just cast.
Commentator A: “It looks like Solve knew the opponent would dodge, so he simply aimed his skill at the dodge path.”
Commentator B chimed in: “This should be called… ‘I predicted your prediction.’ That’s very impressive for a rookie.”
The opposing mid-laner, having his health whittled down by Lin Sumo, didn’t dare to step up too far and retreated under the tower to clear minions.
Meanwhile, in the bot lane, Pei Yun suppressed the enemy ADC until they were at a sliver of health. The enemy tried to run, but Pei Yun dove the tower, secured the kill, and took First Blood.
Yu Pei’s voice came through the mic: “First Blood. Good job, Print.”
Pei Yun politely said thanks and didn’t speak again.
The hero Lin Sumo picked this round had high burst damage. As the game reached the mid-to-late stage, this advantage gradually became apparent.
Because he farmed well in the early game, Lin Sumo basically one-shot anyone he caught. Even with three other veteran players and Pei Yun there, it didn’t stop the audience from being captivated by his mechanics.
At the twenty-third minute, the Trust players struck straight at the heart of the enemy base and won the match.
Lin Sumo, with a score of 23-1-8, directly took the MVP of the match and grabbed the title of Gold Medal Mage along the way.
Jiang He swallowed unconsciously. “Before the match, didn’t Little Chen-zi say… Solve would have a hard time this game?”
“Yeah, yeah, so hard,” Yu Pei said. “Solve, how do you feel?”
“I don’t feel much, I just want to say something,” Lin Sumo said faintly.
As expected, Yu Pei asked, “Say what?”
Lin Sumo adjusted his microphone. “I want to ask those people who told me to roll back home before the match…”
“Does your face hurt?”
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