Chapter 124: Fresh Clothes And An Angry Steed!
“One more game, just one more, but this really is the last one. I still have to finish the filming task tomorrow and cooperate with the official team to shoot the pre-match promotional video well.” Li Fan said while clicking prepare.
“No problem!” Pineapple was in an extremely good mood now, and one game would take more than twenty minutes anyway. It was getting late, perfect timing to end the stream.
In the end, the two played two more games. The latter one almost won the game, but they narrowly lost, so neither wanted to end the stream in disgrace. They tacitly started another one.
But the audience in the live stream room burst into laughter.
Because they knew… it was absolutely impossible to play another one!
If they only played one and he ate the mobile phone on the spot.
After finishing this game, Li Fan greeted the audience in the live stream room and directly chose to end the stream.
However, he didn’t return to the dormitory immediately. He leaned back in the chair, took out his mobile phone, and searched for information about the Huya PUBG Bounty Challenge.
As Pineapple said, this was indeed the first online PUBG event in China led by a live streaming platform, aimed at promoting the game and discovering potential streamers and players.
From this, it was clear that just over a month in, a platform was already willing to host a match, showing how highly they thought of this game.
The entry threshold was indeed not high; just a fixed four-person team was needed to sign up and participate in the qualifiers.
The champion bonus was 150,000 RMB, which was already a high amount for a game that had only exploded in popularity for over a month, and the significance outweighed the gains.
As long as this match generated exaggerated hype, there would be a steady stream of matches afterward.
As long as there were matches, the professional circle would develop well.
Just like League of Legends, its popularity was sustained by the domestic league and the World Championship.
Without this complete race system and famous professional players, the annual player churn rate might not be at a level the official side could accept.
Also, once domestic matches produced results, old players who had quit would return, seeking those past memories and reminiscing.
That was the influence of professional matches.
“Huya Bounty Tournament… interesting.” His eyes lit up.
This kind of budding esports event was exactly what he wanted!
This was because of his golden finger’s characteristics; the higher the influence from playing other games, the greater the rewards he gained.
This was also why back then… even knowing the club didn’t want him to participate in the QQ Speed Quarterfinals.
He still chose to go.
If he got benched afterward, there was no way around it; he just didn’t have the bond with EDG.
EDG’s championship was probably still in 2021.
He just didn’t expect that after he returned, EDG didn’t say anything, and the matches continued normally.
It seemed the club now had relatively low demands for him; as long as he could win the matches, it was fine.
Now he had hit a bottleneck; he had learning points, but freedom attributes hadn’t triggered for a long time.
Although his reaction was at 91 and hand speed at 90, both excellent levels, but could anyone refuse to become even better?
Especially thinking of the opponent’s sweaty face—that was the reason for his persistent effort!
“I have to participate… but how to find the other three teammates?”
To be honest, for PUBG, his friends were just a few noobs; he hadn’t added any top masters.
If he wanted to find teammates, did that mean he had to look in the live stream room?
Although the Huya Bounty Challenge was in July, there were still pre-selections before that.
Sign-ups started on May 15th, so the time left for Li Fan… wasn’t much actually.
This was truly a headache.
After finishing these thoughts, he turned off the computer and returned to the dormitory.
During this time, he had gained a lot from playing Street Fighter, accumulating a full 2,000 learning points.
And the effort paid off directly in his champion pool.
First, he spent three whole evenings practicing Syndra’s proficiency to five-star.
Mainly because he matched with good teammates and didn’t encounter any clowns.
Otherwise, the difficulty would have increased several times…
He had pretty much figured out that to quickly raise a hero to five-star took three days, slowly at most nine days.
The champion pool was sufficient, so he could slowly max out proficiencies like this.
So today, he needed to practice a new hero.
His champion pool was still mostly AP heroes.
For physical damage, he had Lucian and Jayce, but neither had strong assassin capabilities.
And in this version, the only mid lane assassin still holding up was one.
That was Talon.
After the rework, Talon had a unique wall-hop mechanism, strong wave clear with his W skill, extremely strong roaming ability, and a full combo of high burst damage.
The downside was his fragility, extreme reliance on items and levels; if he suffered early setbacks or mistimed engages, he could easily melt upon entering the fight.
It was a very typical double-edged sword…
Picking this hero required a supporting lineup.
Otherwise, if Talon was wasted, the game would be completely lost.
Few people could play it well.
But Li Fan felt he could handle it and catch the opponent off guard.
After all, in studying his champion pool, heroes like these had never appeared.
In this situation, no one would think toward AD assassin.
The reason was simple: the current LeBlanc was still called an assassin but was no longer one, more like a scaling mage.
So when other teams studied him, their evaluation was that he was extremely skilled with traditional mages.
No assassin positioning…
It was time to give them a surprise.
Having decided to practice Talon, Li Fan no longer hesitated. His consciousness sank into the system, selected Talon the Blade’s Shadow, and confirmed starting 【 Endless Training Mode 】.
“Come on, let me see if the matched teammates this time are reliable…”
As long as they weren’t godlike teammates, four-star should be no problem.
Same old rule, check the matched teammates first.
As for opponents, it didn’t matter at all—wasn’t there a saying: not afraid of godlike opponents, but piglike teammates.
His vision went black, the familiar dizziness hit.
Opening his eyes again, he was already at the competition desk.
Top laner Xiao Hu, jungler Wei, AD Gala, support Xiao Ming.
“RNG bond, all set!” Li Fan immediately relaxed in his mind, even wanting to laugh.
This lineup was a dream training team.
Top laner Xiao Hu was twenty times stronger than mid laner Xiao Hu; if he had always played top, he probably wouldn’t have evolved into Haqihu.
With such teammates as a safety net, he could fully focus on practicing Talon’s mechanics, combos, and roaming timings.
“This game, I’m at ease.”
Then something interesting happened: the enemy lineup was top laner Shen Chao, jungler Elise, mid laner Lu Benwei, AD Uzi, support Tabe.
S3 runner-up lineup…
Training, begin!
In the following “endless” training, Li Fan fully immersed himself in honing Talon.
“Xiao Hu, I’m coming yo!”
“Xiao Ming, open the puppy, open him! I’m there!”
“Top lane pushing wave, diving the tower directly!”
With these top-tier teammates cooperating, his every roam often yielded results.
Whether small-scale team fights in the jungle or tower dives on the sides, Li Fan was constantly getting familiar with Talon’s engage timings and damage calculation in different situations.
When Li Fan opened his eyes again, he was back in the EDG dormitory.
It was slightly bright outside, but he felt refreshed, not tired at all, instead filled with the fulfillment of improved skills.
Matching normal teammates was like this—no fatigue, low energy drain, more like the refreshment of waking from a good sleep.
Opening the system, Talon’s proficiency had impressively reached four-star!
“Done!”
One night of high-intensity specialized training, remarkable results.
Four-star proficiency Talon was enough for him to bring to the professional arena and deliver carry-level performance.
After brushing teeth and washing face, he headed straight to the canteen, startled upon entering.
Good grief, not only was Clearlove there, but Meiko, Zet, Mouse were all neatly sitting, eating while excitedly discussing something, eyes shining.
Normally at this time, the canteen had just him, maybe Abu.
“Brother Kai, what’s the situation? Sun rising from the west? Everyone up so early today?” Li Fan carried his food tray, sat next to Clearlove, and asked curiously.
Clearlove swallowed his bun, lowered his voice: “What else? It’s because we’re shooting the finals promo video soon. Everyone’s thinking how to look cool on camera, and… say some trash talk to harshly suppress WE and the others.”
“Yeah, Fan Ge, I thought of a few lines, like WE’s bot lane, ready to go to jail? Or fans coming to support WE on site—after today, you’re ours! How’s that? Domineering enough?” Meiko, hearing the exchange, couldn’t help interjecting.
Li Fan nodded, gave a thumbs up: “Exactly, Tian Ye is very spirited! Very spirited!”
“I think my Cho’Gath can do a signature eating move, then say I’ll eat all of WE one bite at a time!”
Li Fan looked at his fired-up teammates, nearly spitting out his porridge.
Good grief, usually heads down grinding hard, but turns out they all had such rich inner worlds, holding back to do bits in the promo video.
Could only say, what kind of captain, that kind of teammates.
At that moment, Abu came in, grabbed a meat bun, and walked over.
“The bus outside is ready, heading to the filming site soon. Everyone perk up, show EDG’s spirit!”
“Don’t worry, we all have plenty of experience, won’t embarrass ourselves.”
“Right, but feels like Fan Ge might be a bit camera-shy, being a newbie and all.” Clearlove teased at this point.
“Then you better prepare, don’t let my trash talk overshadow you!”
……
At 8:30, EDG’s bus departed from the base on time, heading to the official filming location.
Upon arrival, as they got off, waiting staff enthusiastically greeted them.
“EDG everyone, this way please. We’ll head to the makeup room first to prepare.”
Following the staff into the temporary makeup area, the group’s playful banter quieted a bit.
After all, they were all introverted extroverts; they didn’t show it around strangers.
“Oh, the star players are here, quick sit down.” A makeup artist sister who seemed in charge smiled and greeted.
“Teacher, make me look handsome, do a slanted bangs hairstyle, look fiercer.” Clearlove said from his seat.
“No problem, but your base is already good. Making you fierce is harder; handsome is easier.”
Hearing this, Clearlove’s mouth corners slightly lifted.
His looks, honestly, if not for Li Fan, no other player could compare.
“Unreal teacher’s skin base is very good, just some foundation to highlight contours and eye sharpness… a bit younger, less mature—don’t have a girlfriend yet, right?” Makeup took at least half an hour; chatting made it bearable.
So makeup artists were good at finding topics…
“Esports players need what girlfriends? Women only affect operation state, and Fan Ge is only seventeen now, prime rising time.” Abu said.
Li Fan closed his eyes, letting the makeup artist work.
After over half an hour, the makeup artist put down her brush, admired her work, nodded satisfied, then said to Li Fan: “Done, Unreal teacher, open your eyes and see.”
Li Fan slowly opened his eyes, adjusted to the light, and looked at the mirror in front.
Damn! Is this me?
Contours sharpened clearer and more three-dimensional, his already handsome features enhanced by perfect makeup, adding sharpness and refinement.
“Wow!”
“Holy shit!”
“Looking good, Fan Ge!”
Almost simultaneously, suppressed exclamations came from beside.
Mouse and Meiko, who had been teasing each other’s makeup, crowded over, circling Li Fan, eyes full of amazement.
“Fan Ge! Confess honestly, did you secretly tip the makeup artist sister? This effect is insane! Compared to you, our makeup feels like a sloppy job!”
“Pull it, it’s purely the base difference. Can’t paint this effect with a bad base, no way around it.”
“Really no tip, it’s Unreal teacher’s natural conditions too good; a little touch-up gives great results.” The nearby makeup artist smiled back.
Even steady Abu couldn’t help multiple glances, nodded, and said to the team leader beside: “This kid’s image stands out. For future commercial endorsements, he could carry… no, feels like after this promo releases, many will come looking.”
In this chatting time, EDG all finished makeup, uniformly changed into black-red team uniforms. The spirited young guys, after dressing up, looked even more vigorous, team’s momentum right up.
Abu couldn’t help taking out his mobile phone to snap this scene.
Directly uploaded to Weibo.
White horse silver spear like poetry, fresh clothes angry horse youthful times! Finals fighting!
