Chapter 1: Elimination. Do You Have Any Expectations for the New Coach?
“What the hell was that play? Do you even care about the fans?!”
“Replace the jungler! Replace the jungler! Replace the jungler!”
“Rebuild VEX! Rebuild VEX!”
Inside the Nancheng Esports Center, the ten-thousand-seat stadium was packed to capacity. Support lightboards and banners of various colors converged into a rising tide of waves.
Under the snowy-white spotlights, the five players of Team VEX, who had just finished their match, were on stage bowing to the audience. However, they were not met with cheers and applause. Instead, the angry voices of the fans nearly drowned out the volume of the commentators’ microphones.
“In the recently concluded Arena Professional League Autumn Champions Cup group stage match between VEX and ZAP, VEX lost to ZAP with a score of 0:3. This confirms their elimination, and they will not be proceeding further in the tournament.”
“We can hear that the VEX fans on-site are very passionate… supporting their favorite team in their own way.”
Zuo Chi sat in the last row of the spectator area. Although this seat was far from the players’ bench and the big screen, it offered a wide field of vision. He could see many VEX fans in the front rows throwing down their support boards and leaving the venue in a fit of rage after the clean sweep. The “greetings” being shouted were anything but pleasant.
On the big screen, the camera slowly panned across the five players on stage, finally lingering on the face of VEX’s jungler, Land.
Commentator: “Land is a young player who just started as a starter at the beginning of this year. He performed exceptionally well when he first debuted, contributing many highlight-reel moments… In a moment, we will also invite Land to represent VEX for a post-match interview.”
“Highlight-reel? More like a funeral-reel! He was the one feeding throughout the entire match today! He fed at the dragon pit, he fed in the jungle, he fed during ganks, and he fed during teamfights!”
“Even if ZAP is a championship team and the skill gap is large, it shouldn’t be to the point where every round is played like a bot match. This loss is just too ugly!”
“VEX, replace the jungler! Replace him! Why keep a jungler like this? He played okay when he first started, but now he’s getting worse and worse. In three games, he must have given up over ten kills!”
Perhaps due to having just finished the match, the boy on the screen looked somewhat pale. His thin lips were slightly chapped and almost devoid of color. As the accusations from the audience grew louder, the boy’s expression didn’t change. A pair of deep grey phoenix eyes gazed at the camera blankly, revealing a hint of silent defiance.
According to the tournament procedure, the losing side must leave the stage immediately after bowing, leaving the floor for the winners to celebrate.
The VEX players quickly shouldered their peripheral bags and turned to walk into the long, narrow corridor leading to the backstage, disappearing from the audience’s sight.
Zuo Chi exhaled softly, picked up his WeChat call that had been ringing for a few seconds, stood up, and followed the exiting fans toward the main gates of the esports stadium.
“Hello? Coach Zuo, you watched the VEX match live. How was it? I saw the trending searches; VEX’s jungler, Land, is getting blasted for that ‘funeral-reel’ play where he charged solo into five enemies during the dragon fight.”
Zuo Chi walked to a quiet corner. “I feel like Land’s play wasn’t actually the problem.”
“You also think the jungler needs to be replaced—wait, what? What did you say? The signal here is a bit spotty…”
Zuo Chi repeated himself, then added: “VEX’s draft in that round couldn’t drag it to the late game. The carry had already completed their core items by that dragon fight. If they didn’t go for a ‘do or die’ play and just gave the dragon to ZAP, they would have only lasted another ten minutes at most. VEX would have lost regardless.”
It was late autumn, and the night wind at ten o’clock was somewhat piercing.
Zuo Chi zipped up his jacket and quickened his pace into the subway entrance.
“Land found a very good flank position. If VEX’s support or midlaner hadn’t hesitated and had initiated the fight directly, Land’s entry should have been able to shut down ZAP’s carry.”
“There’s only a short clip on the trending search. I’ll have to watch the full replay of the match…” the person on the other end muttered. “So, according to you, VEX’s terrible results these past few seasons are a matter of team coordination?”
“What the specific issue is, only the players themselves and VEX’s coach would know.”
“Haven’t you signed a contract with VEX to coach for the new season? Now that VEX is eliminated, they’ll probably contact you immediately.”
Zuo Chi chuckled softly, looking up at the unfamiliar station names in the subway.
Counting the time, today marked exactly three months since he had transmigrated into this world.
Three months ago, suffering from insomnia, he opened an esports novel on a certain web novel site to kill time. After reading a few chapters, he was so triggered by the protagonist—who dominated the scene purely through talent without any training—that he took to the comment section in a passion.
He roared at the author: “Do you even know what esports is?!”
Then, his vision went black, and when he woke up again, he had transmigrated into this world.
The most popular game in this world was a 5v5 MOBA called Arena.
The person he had transmigrated into had the same name and a similar appearance, and even his university major was related to esports. The only difference was that in his previous life, he was unemployed upon graduation, but in this world, he had already signed a contract with VEX to coach the new season.
Fortunately, the game mechanics of Arena were not much different from the games he was skilled at in his previous life. After doing several months of homework in his rented room, he had gained a decent understanding of the Arena Professional League and VEX’s situation.
The person he was currently talking to was Fang Tong, a friend he met while streaming games. Fang Tong was a minor manager at an entertainment company with its own streaming platform, and he had signed several game streamers.
The subway arrived at the station. Zuo Chi found an empty seat and sat down, the heater of the air conditioner dispelling the chill around him.
“Tonight I need to review VEX’s matches from today. I probably won’t have time to play ranked with you.”
Fang Tong: “That’s fine, I can solo queue… But are you really not going to reconsider signing with my company as a full-time streamer? Look, you’ve been streaming for less than three months and you already have over ten thousand fans. It’s clear you’re a natural for streaming. We can discuss salary and gift splits—”
“I’ve considered being a streamer… but after thinking seriously for a few days, I still want to be a coach.”
“Tsk!” Fang Tong sounded a bit regretful but was still unwilling to give up. “You really plan to go to VEX as a coach?”
Zuo Chi could probably guess what the other meant.
VEX’s performance had been sluggish for the past year. They were basically eliminated in the group stages every season, ranking at the bottom among the 32 league teams.
Moreover, there were rumors that VEX’s upper management was plagued by internal strife. After players who performed well were squeezed out, many of the players brought in were “nepotism hires” just idling their days away.
By slacking off, their results naturally grew worse and worse.
“There’s no other way… If ZAP invited me to be their coach right now, I’d immediately buy a ticket to Haicheng without a second’s hesitation,” Zuo Chi joked. “The problem is, a championship team doesn’t want me.”
One was a bottom-tier team that was both bad and poor, and the other was a rookie coach with no seniority or honors. It was a perfect match.
Fang Tong laughed and cursed: “Fine, fine, I can’t persuade you. But even if you become a coach, you can still stream! When the time comes, you still have to sign with me! Coach Zuo, when you strike it rich, don’t forget—”
“No problem. If I continue streaming, I’ll definitely look for you.”
Hanging up the phone, Zuo Chi put on his headphones and opened the streaming platform to search for the replay of the match between VEX and ZAP.
The first video that popped up in the search results was Land’s interview. It had been posted for only ten minutes but already had tens of thousands of views.
The young jungler stood before the camera, his black-and-red team uniform half-unzipped. His light grey hair was likely damp with sweat, the tips of his hair clinging to his skin, making his pupils appear very deep.
The host in charge of the interview first introduced Land and then asked: “It’s a pity that VEX didn’t win today… Land, do you have any thoughts on the team’s performance today?”
Several bullet chats floated across the top of the video.
[What thoughts could he have? He’s just pure trash.]
[You can’t entirely blame the players; VEX’s coach ran away before this… The BP today was just the manager making a mess.]
[Land fans, stop trying to white-wash him. He played like trash today. 1-5 in one game, 2-8 in another. No coach’s BP can save those kinds of stats!]
Perhaps because he had just finished the match, Land’s voice carried a hint of hoarseness: “I didn’t play well. I’ll go back and practice more.”
[If you really think you didn’t play well, then move yourself to the sub bench.]
[One ‘I didn’t play well’ and that’s it? Fans spent hundreds on tickets and thousands on hotels and travel just to see you play such an ugly game?]
The host asked a few more questions about in-game performance and decision-making. Likely anticipating the storm this interview would cause, the last question was a bit more gentle.
“After the Autumn season ends, it will be the transfer period. Land, can you give us a hint about any roster changes for VEX? For example, a new coach?”
“I haven’t met the new coach yet.”
“Then, any expectations for the new coach?”
Land went silent for a moment. “I hope the new coach… can lead us to win a championship.”
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