After Chu Ran reached the top of the national server rankings, many Imperial Mutts were extremely displeased.
In their eyes, Chu Ran was unqualified to become number one on the national server. Rumors and slander came flooding in from every direction.
This was ridiculous. A national server number one could trend?
To be fair, yeah. They made it sound like nobody else had ever been number one on the national server.
This was disgusting. Ran Chu had to buy trending searches to promote himself just for reaching number one on the national server? If you're bad, practice more, okay?
He could reach number one on the national server without Little Dog? He really stepped in dog shit.
At his age, Little Dog had long since been number one on the Korean server. What right did someone like him have to touch porcelain Little Dog?
Let's see which club dared to take him. Go ahead and try, Wei Xiao.jpg.
Bro, you were seriously fierce. You weren't even afraid of Imperial Mutts.
Just put up with Uzi AFKing while showering. Now he was probably going to be unemployed in the future.
He wasn't going to retire over this, was he? I had only just found something entertaining.
Absolutely not! The army resisting Imperial Mutts couldn't lose this brother! Just as the West couldn't lose Jerusalem.
Chu Ran could now be considered completely famous within LPL circles, even though he had no achievements or screen time to speak of.
However, his defiance against Imperial Mutts and Uzi had also drawn the attention of many casual players and Meme Lovers.
At the same time, at EDG Esports Club.
Ming Kai saw the trending topics online and immediately beamed with joy, hurriedly seeking out Abu.
"EDG can't take this Easy. If you really want a top laner who can split-push and carry, why not reactivate Tong Yang? Although he's wasted the past few years, he still has some foundation."
Seeing Ming Kai's excited expression, Abu couldn't help sighing. "Ming Kai, I know you're close with Tong Yang, but there's no need to go this far. Do you think I hadn't considered it? He's abandoned his skills for too long and can't keep up anymore. I've decided on Easy. Anyone who can reach number one on the national server has some ability."
"But he offended Uzi and Imperial Mutts. Bringing him in would be like thinking EDG's life was too long, wouldn't it?"
The recent Flash Assault Poland incident had already left EDG trapped in a siege of public opinion. If they brought Chu Ran in too...
The public opinion would explode.
Hearing this, Abu froze. "Would Imperial Mutts spare EDG if we didn't bring Easy in?"
Ming Kai was instantly left speechless, not knowing what to say.
The conflict between EDG and RNG had already become widely known since the start of the year.
Especially during this year's Summer Finals, EDG had eliminated RNG and kept them from winning the championship—most importantly, they had kept Uzi from winning one. Countless Imperial Mutts held a grudge over it, while EDG Fans and Uzi Haters had launched their own reckoning.
Just as Abu had said, even if Chu Ran didn't come, EDG and RNG were still sworn enemies.
The kind that would probably never reconcile for the rest of their lives.
Unless Uzi joined EDG in the future, but that was obviously impossible. Uzi was RNG's biggest traffic draw, and his contract had him locked down tight.
"Besides, attention brings traffic. Let them curse all they want—clubs need traffic to develop. The boss has already agreed to this, so don't say any more."
Seeing Abu's resolute tone, Ming Kai pursed his lips and said nothing further, only sighing inwardly.
If Tong Yang hadn't abandoned his skills back then, he should have been one of the LPL's top top laners by now.
He should have been.
Just as the internet was boiling over, many Imperial Mutts went to leave comments under the official Weibo accounts of major clubs, declaring that if any of them dared to recruit Chu Ran, their Imperial Mutt bombardment army would wage war.
They would never forgive anyone who insulted Little Dog!
But a moment later, while Chu Ran was revising his resume and preparing a Korean server account...
The latest announcement from the League of Legends officials caused a stir in public opinion.
#In light of the extremely negative impact caused by the Uzi incident, the league officials have issued the following penalties.# #Regarding Player Uzi's AFK incident, regardless of the reason, his account will receive a 72-hour account ban, along with a fine of 50,000 RMB.# #Regarding Player Easy's inappropriate in-game remarks, his account will receive a seven-day chat ban. Player Easy is also warned to regulate his speech in the future and set an example!# #The league will not let off any player who pollutes the gaming environment. Please abide by the Summoner's Rift agreement, report actively, and work together to create a better gaming environment!#
When they saw this announcement, countless Imperial Mutts were dumbfounded.
What the fuck did that mean?
They actually dared to ban their Little Dog's account?
And Chu Ran had only received a seven-day chat ban?
Was this a joke?
Divine Punishment!
For a time, the League of Legends official comment section was completely overrun.
Why? This was unbelievable. They already said his computer was broken. Officials, had you lost your minds?
This was hilarious. Little Dog helped the LPL win two World Championship runner-up finishes, practically the LPL's greatest achievements, and this was how you treated him? You didn't respect the region's decorated veteran at all, huh? Then I won't respect you either. Whoever wanted to watch these matches in the future could go watch them.
The LPL was completely rotten. The officials were going to destroy China's esports.
Yeah, yeah. People like Ran Chu who insulted Little Dog didn't get banned, but you banned skins with pinpoint accuracy. Now AFKing when something happened got you banned too? Why didn't the officials just die?
Imperial Mutts were really fucking good at whitewashing!
Of course. Their master showered every day. If you were his fan, you'd wash too.
What a delight. The whole world celebrated. Imperial Mutts, hurry up and die already! You bragged every day about the World's Number One ADC—what the hell were you bragging about?
This really gave Imperial Mutts what they wanted. Your account was gone, except it was God's account that was gone!
Imperial Mutts were all stewing in anger. If I were an Imperial Mutt, my defense would be broken.
It was already broken. Go look at Easy's Weibo—there were tons of people cursing him. The main thing was that this guy had set it so you had to follow him before commenting. It made me laugh my ass off.
My roommate was an Imperial Mutt. He wrote several hundred words, clicked send, and found out he had to follow first. This guy was seriously something.
Putting everything else aside, the LPL had produced another genius.
Upon seeing the announcement, Chu Ran's eyes immediately lit up.
Sure enough, justice lived in the hearts of the people.
Watching Imperial Mutts rage helplessly in the Weibo Comment Section, the corner of the mouth of Chu Ran curled upward.
"The more you rage and jump around, the happier I get. I hope it can be like this every day."
If this many Imperial Mutts cursed him every day, Chu Ran felt he could max out his attributes very soon.
Joy had fallen from the sky. Naturally, he had to make a Weibo post to celebrate. It would be a waste not to ride such massive traffic.
He opened the Weibo editor and immediately began typing.
Easy's Weibo:
Fair! Correct! Right on the mark!
I support and uphold the officials' decision. From now on, I will strictly abide by Summoner's Rift rules, strive to be an exemplary young man, and protect Summoner's Rift together. Do not let it be occupied by the so-called Void God!
Lastly, I want to say one more thing.
May all League players cast off cold air in the future and strive forward. No matter how adverse the situation, do not give up on yourselves. When you encounter AFKing while showering or behavior that damages the gaming environment, those who can speak should speak, and those who can contribute should contribute. Give off whatever heat you have, whatever light you have. Like fireflies, you can illuminate the entire Rift. There is no need to wait for a torchbearer.
If there is no torchbearer in the future, then I will be the Rift's only light!
As soon as Chu Ran posted this Weibo, countless Netizens burst into thunderous laughter. The comment section was instantly overrun, receiving several hundred replies within barely ten minutes.
Bro, you shouldn't play professionally. You should write novels!
I'm jealous of your talent!
Could you really be a genius?
The bookstore had no books, so I smashed it. Understand?
I'll send you the fucking light!
You wrote all this just to show off that you could write? To me, it was complete nonsense, even inferior to an elementary school essay.
To be fair, yeah. Even my eight-year-old cousin had better writing than Ran Chu.
As a Chinese language major, this passage made my scalp tingling from embarrassment, Wei Xiao.jpg.
This was absurd. Mr. Lu Xun's writing couldn't compare to an elementary school student's.
This was ridiculous. A Chinese language and literature major hadn't read Lu Xun.
Anyone who had completed nine years of compulsory education should know the original quote was written by Mr. Lu Xun, right?
This exposed the fact that most Imperial Mutts were compulsory-education dropouts.
At the same time, the EDG operations staff member who was preparing to call Chu Ran saw the Weibo post and could barely hold herself together.
She couldn't help falling into thought as well. If this guy really joined EDG, wouldn't there be endless entertainment every day?
Shaking her head, she immediately called Chu Ran.
"Hello, this is EDG Esports Club. Are you Chu Ran?"
When he heard that, Chu Ran was completely stunned. He hurriedly nodded. "Yes."
"Do you have time to come to the club for a tryout tomorrow?"
"Yes, yes."
"Alright. I'll add your contact information shortly, and the address will be sent to you afterward."
Shortly afterward, Chu Ran saw the address sent by the EDG operations staff.
XX Lingshi Road, SH City.
One of the Lingshi Road Trio?
Chu Ran pursed his lips. He hadn't expected EDG to be the first team to offer him a tryout after he reached number one on the national server.
Although EDG was difficult to judge in later years, to be fair, there probably wasn't a single club with a good reputation in later years.
But this was the end of 2016. Honestly speaking, when it came to formal youth training and treatment, only EDG and Team WE were probably doing the best in the LPL at present.
"Forget it. There's no need to think so much. If I establish my value at EDG, I'll naturally have more choices."
Chu Ran looked at the 5,641.45 in his balance. He seemed to have very few reasons to refuse.
The next day.
Chu Ran decisively shouldered his pack.
Before you continue