Chapter 26: Bye’s Determination
With the Spring Split approaching, every team was nervously preparing for battle, training overtime. The competition was unusually fierce, even showing a phenomenon of “involution” (intense internal competition). Long hours of high-intensity training made every member feel exhausted; seeing the game interface gave them a “splitting headache.” However, in such an environment, Chi Jing consistently maintained a good competitive state.
In a match against DOD, Chi Jing performed outstandingly, successfully suppressing the opponent for three consecutive games and winning the MVP honor three times. Qi Feng looked at Chi Jing’s figure successfully stealing boars time and again, and couldn’t help falling into deep thought: Mage assassin… what terrifying economy-farming ability.
Throughout the night’s matches, Chi Jing maintained an excellent competitive state. Especially during the laning phase in Mid, his performance was steady, never once collapsing. This stable performance reassured the entire team and simultaneously made opponents look at him with new respect.
The coach gave high praise to Chi Jing’s current playstyle. He believed Chi Jing’s playstyle had become more composed, no longer as impulsive and risky as when he first joined the team. The current Chi Jing knew better how to use his skills reasonably, and when to attack or defend. In addition, he learned to support teammates in time, helping other lanes gain advantages, which greatly improved the team’s collaboration ability.
In comparison, the fledgling Chi Jing who feared nothing had gradually grown into an experienced and powerful player. His progress was reflected not only in the technical aspect but also in mentality and tactical awareness. Such changes undoubtedly brought more confidence and hope to the team, and everyone looked forward to him continuing to maintain this state, leading the team to higher peaks.
Of course, he himself didn’t know how much reassurance and trust his skills brought to his teammates. If he knew, he would probably flip his hair and say, “As expected of me.”
After playing all night, when the clock pointer reached 2 AM, the coach told them to go back to sleep. Several of them were already exhausted. Only Qi Feng and Chi Jing maintained their state consistently, their mentality even steadier. Sending Chi Jing away, the head coach didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly: “Are your hands sore?”
The dark circles under Qi Feng’s eyes highlighted his fatigue. He actually slept well these days, but always had nightmares. Plus, the training volume was too large; he practiced even more than the others for fear of his form slipping.
“Not tired, Coach.” Qi Feng shook his head and said.
“Really not tired? Don’t force yourself!” The head coach looked at him with some concern.
Qi Feng smiled, revealing a set of white teeth: “Don’t worry, Coach, I can still persist.”
The head coach nodded and patted his shoulder: “Good job, but pay attention to rest too. Don’t break your body.”
Qi Feng glanced at the head coach, nodded, and turned to leave. After returning to the dormitory, he simply washed up and went to bed. Although his body was exhausted, his mood was exceptionally comfortable because he knew his efforts hadn’t been in vain. Whether it was actively treating his hand injury or extra training, none of it was wasted.
“At least the form is maintained now, isn’t it?”
This sentence appeared in Qi Feng’s mind the second before he lost consciousness lying on the bed.
After the coach came out of the conference room, his gaze inadvertently swept across the training room and found that only Yuan Jibai was still solo queuing. Curious, he approached to take a look, only to see that Yuan Jibai had actually chosen a lane-dominant hero. Taking advantage of Yuan Jibai wearing headphones and focusing on the game without noticing the surrounding movement, the coach stood there quietly watching the screen.
In his early years, Yuan Jibai didn’t actually play engage tanks often. On the contrary, he preferred those heroes who could show infinite advantage in laning. However, as time passed, his role selection in competitions gradually leaned towards tanks, and he was rarely seen using those laning heroes anymore.
A trace of emotion surged in the coach’s heart. After all these years, Yuan Jibai seemed to have been fixed in a certain role, no longer having the opportunity to display the laning skills he once excelled at. Perhaps this was also a kind of helplessness and unwillingness for him. After all, every player hopes to develop comprehensively and show their multifaceted abilities.
The coach sighed silently. He knew that as a pro player, sometimes one needs to compromise according to the team’s tactical needs, but he also hoped Yuan Jibai could maintain his original intention and not forget the laning heroes he once loved. Perhaps, one day in the future, he would have the chance to show his laning strength again, letting people re-recognize that Yuan Jibai full of passion and talent.
The coach watched his training silently until he finished a game. He stepped forward, gently took off his headphones, and patted his shoulder tenderly.
“Little Bai, feeling too much pressure?”
A trace of fatigue revealed itself in Yuan Jibai’s eyes, but he shook his head and forced a smile.
“It’s fine, just wanted to practice a bit more.”
The coach nodded, then asked a question that surprised Yuan Jibai.
“Do you want to use laning heroes in the competition again to bring out the feeling of back then?”
Yuan Jibai froze for a moment, then looked up to meet the coach’s eyes. After thinking for a while, he replied:
“The clash lane this season isn’t very suitable for using laning heroes. If I insist on choosing laning heroes, it might cause the whole situation to collapse.”
The coach laughed heartily and said: “You have times when you’re afraid too? If you really want to play laning heroes, then from now on, stop focusing only on practicing anti-pressure (tank) heroes. You can appropriately pick up the heroes you were good at in the past. This way, I can formulate a tactic based on your characteristics, letting you rediscover the feeling of the first match of your professional career. And we can scare the opponents too.
“When they play against us, they will definitely think: Isn’t ‘bye’ an anti-pressure player? Why did he bring out a laning hero? Catch them off guard!”
Yuan Jibai’s eye rims turned slightly red, tears swirling as if they would fall at any moment. He had reached the age where he could retire. In fact, generally speaking, he should have retired one or two years ago. However, fortunately, he had been maintaining his wrists diligently. Although his mechanical ability had declined
and his hand speed wasn’t as agile as before, he could still suppress opponents and launch effective attacks. Moreover, the team boss had no intention of replacing the Top Laner, which made him feel very grateful. His original intention was already to go all out to play well this year, then retire gloriously.
The coach’s words ignited passion for this year’s competition in him. He hadn’t slaughtered all sides on the field for a long time. Having played anti-pressure (weak side) for so long, it seemed everyone had forgotten how he made his name back then.
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