Part 4
[Manager Li: Gong Xi Fa Cai (Red Envelope).]
Zuo Chi tapped it casually. Out of the 200 yuan red envelope, he grabbed 105.
[Beyond: …Coach Zuo is so lucky.]
[Fugui: Ahhh, I only got 6 yuan! I’m gonna fight the ‘Luck God.’]
[Land: If Coach weren’t lucky, could we draw Group Six?]
A line of “Coach is lucky indeed!” followed below.
After chatting for ten-odd minutes, the cubs hadn’t discussed a group name that everyone was satisfied with.
His mind moved. [How about the group name ‘Summer Won’t Scatter.’]
[Land: More reliable than that ‘First Under Heaven’ one.]
[Fugui: …I agree.]
[Wall: Okay.]
[Beyond: +1.]
[Wu Yang: No objection.]
[Manager Li: Sounds good. If it’s still us in the summer, then the boss will have the money to give us extra bonuses. Starry-eyed.jpg]
Unanimous approval.
[Zuo Chi: OK, then I’ll change the group name. Also, starting from tomorrow, a new task is added every day—study our group stage opponents.]
According to the schedule from last year’s Spring Split, their earliest match should also be on the sixth day of the season, so time was relatively sufficient. The three opponents in their group were: DER, IS, and LTY.
Among them, LTY was a Top-8 team from the Autumn Split with stable results, and they were also their biggest competitor in the group stage.
Although the top two of a group could advance to the knockout stages, there was a rule in the knockouts where Group Firsts avoided each other. Meaning, by getting first in the group, they could face a second-place team from another group in the Round-of-16, reducing the possibility of meeting a top-tier team right at the start of the knockout stages.
The Spring Split schedule was announced during the New Year’s Day holiday.
Zuo Chi originally intended to give the cubs two days off so they could go home to see their parents and family during New Year’s, but the cubs all refused, saying it wouldn’t be too late to go back after finishing the Spring Split.
Their match was on January 9th, against Team LTY. The good news was the match was held in Nancheng, so they didn’t need to fly to another city to prepare.
The Spring Split’s first match was against a Top-8 team. The cubs didn’t say it, but as the date on the calendar in the training room grew closer and closer to January 9th, the time the cubs left the training room at night grew later and later.
Sometimes they didn’t want to go to the cafeteria to eat, so they ordered takeout and ate at their seats. That way, while eating, they could also watch the recordings of training matches and exchange a few words with the teammates beside them.
The day before the match, Zuo Chi took the cubs out for half a day to relax.
On the evening of January 9th, after finishing dinner, they took the car to the Nancheng Esports Center.
Before setting out, Manager Li gave a thousand reminders and a hundred instructions, making the players check their peripherals so they wouldn’t discover they’d left something behind once they reached the venue.
Zuo Chi sat in the back row of the car by the window, supporting his chin with one hand as he watched the scenery outside. The landmarks along the way grew more and more familiar, and soon the grand and spacious architecture of the Esports Center appeared in his field of vision.
The fans coming to see this match had already been queuing outside the venue since early morning, carrying cameras, support lightboards, and banners. Some had even done Hero cosplays from the game.
The three cubs in the team who had never played in the league looked around with great curiosity, their eyes practically wanting to stretch out of the car window.
“Wu Yang, Wu Yang, did you see our team’s fans?”
“Wait, I’ll l-l-ook, h-h-ere, h-h-ere. Those t-t-wo p-p-eople seem to h-h-ave a b-b-anner s-s-aying VEX!”
“Wow!”
“There are even Zhuo-god’s fans over there! Do you see them?”
“Wow!!!”
Beyond: “So many people. When I sat on the sub bench before, I didn’t think there were this many people coming to see matches.”
Wall said with a smile: “The number of spectators for the group stage is still considered small. Once we reach the knockouts, the number of people on-site is truly massive; there’ll be tens of thousands. When the audience cheers, it can practically deafen you.”
The car stopped outside the main gate of the Esports Center. There were barriers all around and security personnel maintaining order to prevent fans from crowding and causing accidents.
When it truly came time to get out of the car and face the fans, the cubs who had been fantasizing about giving autographs to fans just now all grew quiet. Zuo Chi could see a bit of nervousness on their faces.
He made a joke: “Everyone tidy up your uniforms. Don’t get out of the car looking messy and scare away all the fans.”
The cubs laughed for a bit, straightened their collars and hair for each other, and then got out of the car one by one.
The player entrance was divided into two corridors, A and B. They were in corridor A, while the other side was the entrance for LTY.
There were only a few dozen fans gathered on their side, while LTY’s side was already packed to the point of being impassable.
Zuo Chi was originally worried whether the rookies seeing such a large gap in popularity between the two teams would feel a sense of loss, but Fugui and Wu Yang—one being thick-skinned and the other being very easily satisfied—waved at the dozens of fans with great gusto.
Beyond was socially anxious. After greeting the crowd timidly, he hid behind everyone.
“Land, do you want to go over and give an autograph to the fans?” Zuo Chi’s sharp eyes caught a familiar figure in the crowd—the girl who had done their makeup at the draw ceremony before.
Beside the girl was a youth who looked like a high schooler.
Noticing his gaze, the other party waved the two lightboards in her hands quite excitedly.
“VEX, good luck in the match!”
“Coach Zuo, legendary BP! Land, the jungle-king is born!”
The multi-colored lights were quite prominent in the darkening sky.
Ning Luzhao nodded: “Okay.”
He walked over with Ning Luzhao. The girl was very happy: “After my brother saw the words you wrote for him last time, he went to sign up for a youth training camp and successfully passed the test—he can go to training after the New Year. He said he really wanted to come see one of your matches, so I brought him today.”
The girl’s brother had sparkling eyes: “We’re sitting in the first row of the spectator area. VEX will definitely win today!”
[Name: Fu Yang. ID: bright. Position: Support.]
[Purple Entry: Hero Sea (No matter how niche a support hero the coach picks for him—perhaps not just for the support position—he can deliver a satisfactory result. His hero pool is wide and deep, hence called a ‘Hero Sea’).]
[White Entry: Daily Watering (A baby with extremely high emotional value needs; he is very prone to internalizing stress and self-doubt. Frequent praise from the coach and teammates can help him adjust his mindset—otherwise, he will definitely hide under the covers and cry until his mindset explodes).]
[Purple Entry: Confidence is Peak (Let him be confident, and he won’t let you down).]
[Note: The trainee is a minor and cannot play in matches (Adult in 653 days).]
Zuo Chi: “?!”
Not far behind him, Manager Li gave a reminder: “Coach Zuo, Land, we almost have to go catch the styling session, or it’ll be too late in a bit!”
He gave a response and then quickly pulled out his phone: “What’s your WeChat? Let’s add each other!”
As the words fell, not only did the girl and her brother show surprised expressions, but Ning Luzhao on the side also slightly furrowed his brow.
Zuo Chi didn’t have time to explain. Who knew he could encounter such a good prospect here—if he didn’t establish contact early, once the kid went to a training camp and was noticed by other teams, it would be hard to say whether VEX could snatch him later.
Fortunately, the other party was only surprised for a few seconds before quickly scanning the code to add him as a friend.
Returning to the cubs’ side, Manager Li led them in through the player corridor: “Coach Zuo, those fans just now had someone you know?”
“Yeah.”
“Why did you even add them on WeChat? Love at first sight?”
Ning Luzhao, who was walking in front of him, paused his steps. Zuo Chi wasn’t paying attention and almost bumped into the other’s back.
“What love at first sight? I added her brother’s WeChat—that kid just entered a training camp this year. I feel like his talent might be good, and maybe he can come to our team in the future? I just added him as a friend to build a relationship in advance.”
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