As for everyone else.
All one could say was that Esports clubs offered a clean environment, regular schedules, nutritionally balanced meals, a Leninist work system, timely exercise and relaxation, and an income. It was practically the ideal life everyone dreamed of.
Of course, there was another kind of life that came with exactly the same treatment as playing Esports.
Commonly known as: Jail Time.
What mattered most to a player.
The next day, when the V5 group sat in a row before the big screen and watched the TES versus IG Semifinals officially begin, Luo Zhen and the others were completely dumbfounded.
"Coach, do we have to watch this too?"
Based on Luo Zhen's understanding of professional play, shouldn't the coaches, Assistant Coaches, and analysts normally be responsible for watching matches, clipping out the key moments, and then showing them to the players? How had it suddenly become a live group viewing session?
PPGOD was especially quick with his hands. He had even pulled out chips and Ke Le from his room.
"Work and rest should be balanced. Watching live will also help you understand their current form more deeply."
Coach Homme looked very serious. Of course, he knew this approach was somewhat of a waste of time, but they had to waste some time. Ever since their AD had contacted yesterday's opponent, LWX, last night, those two idiots had been feeding each other practice games like they never got tired.
He could still understand Luo Zhen.
As a New AD, facing one-on-one guidance from a veteran like that, he naturally had to give it everything he had. Whatever he could learn, he learned.
That was how teaching worked.
No matter how much a coach said, it was never as direct as having your opponent crush you and point out exactly where your weaknesses lay. LWX could not teach Luo Zhen much about the bigger picture, but he could pick out and correct Luo Zhen's many small mistakes and pointless movements one by one.
Coach Homme did not know why LWX was doing this. Was it just to get revenge on his former teammates through Luo Zhen?
Hmph. Men really could not forget their old teammates.
But even so, you two... did you really have to do it all night?!
When PPGOD knocked on Coach Homme's door that morning and told him Luo Zhen had not returned to his room all night, Coach Homme had thought the guy had gone out to buy a late-night snack and gotten Solo Killed offline by FPX fans. Then he searched the training room.
Good lord.
The fans had not Solo Killed you offline, but the player had nearly sent you off online?
Seeing the thick dark circles beneath Luo Zhen's eyes, Coach Homme felt strangely conflicted.
The so-called live viewing was merely an excuse to make him pause. At least watching a match was not as tiring as studying. If he got sleepy and could rest for a bit, that would be even better.
But Coach Homme soon realized he was wrong.
A crushing 3-0. The Nirvana of the new TES. Against the once-mighty IG, TES showed no mercy whatsoever. Even Zhuo, who was jokingly called the team's weak link, had made no particularly obvious mistakes in this Demacia Cup Semifinals. On the contrary, his performance had actually been quite commendable.
In fact.
In his Previous Life, Zhuo had earned the title Gore Drinker entirely because he had shown no improvement during the Regular Season and seriously dragged down the team's progress. But in the Demacia Cup, Zhuo was more than capable of handling teams without full LPL main rosters. Do not forget that even TES had gone through countless lineup combinations in the S12 Spring Split before fans finally identified the real mole.
And at this point in time, TES's Paper Strength was nearly invincible.
Top laner Qing Tian, the representative of human Gragas. Under two hundred pounds, he was unbeatable; above two hundred pounds, he could at least trade one for one. Just standing on stage, his size alone put immense pressure on opponents. Of course, his Champion Pool was weak, but at least he could engage.
Jungler Gao Tiandi, one of TES's major achievements during the Transfer Period. On the surface, he had directly filled the team's jungle weakness, but in reality, it still depended on how much Gao Tiandi's form had recovered. Against IG, it did not feel like they could force out all of his strength. Of course, at this point, he was a pure Viego Jinchuriki, with a relatively shallow Champion Pool.
Mid laner Knight. Occasionally invincible in Internal Matches, occasionally vocal internationally, the number one domestic mid laner of the New Generation, the ultimate Earthbound Spirit mid laner, with overwhelming lane pressure.
Bottom lane JKL. He did not throw small plays, only huge ones. He did not catch any skills other than Q skills; if he caught anything else, he coughed. Nicknamed the 100% engage ADC or war correspondent JKL, it was said that whenever someone started a fight, JKL could definitely be found at the scene. He also worked part-time as a CJB detector for bottom laners. Unbeatable when stomping weaker teams. In short, he could carry and he could throw.
As for Zhuo, Brother Zhuo did not like being evaluated, so they skipped him.
Such a complete roster made even Karsa and Rookie frown, let alone Luo Zhen.
"Wait, where's 369? Aren't they playing 369?"
"He's been caught up in Transfer Period drama lately, so... you might have to wait a little longer before seeing him." Coach Homme seemed to imply something, but he did not answer directly.
At this point, saying everyone was yelling at 369 would not have been an exaggeration.
His S12 trajectory could indeed be called the growth route of an Esports novel Protagonist, but in S11, he had genuinely gone mental and repeatedly thrown away his teammates' advantages. Combined with the previously exposed "rebellious" vlog and the Famous Scene of "Is it really that hard to practice one Gnar for an entire season?", 369's situation had become even more difficult.
Seeing that his coach did not seem inclined to elaborate, Luo Zhen simply did not press further.
"By the way, get some proper rest first. You haven't slept all night, and your body will give out before anything else. I'll go over TES and IG's review with you separately after you wake up."
"Alright, then I'll go rest first."
Knowing he could not argue with his coach, Luo Zhen chose to comply. He carefully left the team meeting room, but when he stepped out and tried to return to his dormitory as instructed, his desire seized control of his body before his reason could.
He returned to the entrance of the training room once again. After a brief moment of thought, he opened the door and walked inside.
[Finished watching the match? How did it feel?]
[How did you know I just finished watching it? Did you install cameras in my base?]
[What nonsense. You came online the moment the match ended. Do you think I'm blind? You still have the energy to continue?]
[Yeah, let's continue. He felt really strong, but if it's just him alone, I think I can still battle him.]
[...]
[Young people really are bold. Come on, then. Let me see how much you've actually learned since yesterday.]
On the other side of the screen, LWX typed with a tired yawn, but his hand was not slow at all as he opened another custom game.
He did not know why he was willing to spend so much time training with this New AD. Perhaps he wanted to use Luo Zhen's hand to get revenge? Or perhaps it was simply a passing whim?
But none of that mattered anymore.
After personally experiencing the terrifying talent within the other man, his goal had long since changed.
Now, he only wanted to know—
Just how much potential was still hidden within that rookie on the other side of the screen, potential he had yet to uncover!
The rapid clatter of keyboards continued to ring through the base's training room.
An hour later, somewhere Luo Zhen did not know about, the other four V5 players stood silently outside the training room door. None of them made a sound to disturb him.
At that moment, Coach Homme happened to pass by with a group of Assistant Coaches and analysts.
There was no conversation, no advice, not even an exchange of glances. He simply stood quietly to one side, listening to the irregular keyboard sounds from within the room, remaining silent alongside everyone else.
The atmosphere was oppressive. Fighting spirit wailed.
One of the female analysts felt that this was not right and was about to speak, but the V5 manager stopped her in time.
"Manager?"
The V5 manager shook his head, then looked back toward Coach Homme, who stood nearby. At this time, in this atmosphere, he believed Coach Homme would handle and make good use of the situation before them.
Finally, Coach Homme spoke.
"For a rookie, tomorrow's Demacia Cup may be the first Champion of his life. Of course, it may also be his last. Whether either side ultimately loses or wins, no one dies on the spot, and no one comes back from the dead. Evil does not rise again, and the world is not destroyed. We are not traveling across some grand world. We are merely giving everything we have in this narrow Summoner's Rift so that our crystal will not shatter."
Respect for an opponent had never been reflected in so-called strategy. It was reflected in action—real, tangible action.
V5's weaknesses were their lack of synergy, their form, and their lack of an unstoppable fighting spirit, not their Champion Pool. All of those were things that could be changed in a short time. Coach Homme had merely been waiting for an opportunity.
Now, that opportunity had arrived.
"The Young General younger than you has not slept all night. Of course, I personally do not support this kind of self-torture, but put yourselves in his shoes. He is doing this to Follow Up with your pace as much as possible and avoid becoming a burden to the team."
"Because after playing FPX, he realized his hard work was still nowhere near the point where he could compete with others in talent."
Karsa and the others gradually clenched their fists.
As veterans, they really had not set a good example. While their rookie AD had trained all night just to avoid becoming the team's weak link, what had they been doing?
Nothing.
They had merely maintained the training volume from before the break, thinking that as long as they recovered their pre-break form, they might still be able to challenge TES tomorrow.
Under such perfectly natural assumptions, they had actually lost the most important thing for a professional player:
Reverence for victory and defeat.
"Take it as an excuse to change yourselves. It is never too late to mend the fold after the sheep are lost. Readjust your form now, and we still have a chance to defeat a stronger opponent. Of course, if that is not enough for you, then do it for Xiao Zhen over these past two days."
"Grant victory to those who revere victory and defeat."
Our future selves.
On December 16, practically at the very end of 2021, the Demacia Cup Grand Finals would finally be held at Magic City's Hongqiao Tiandi Performing Arts Center. By now, the match's popularity far exceeded that of the previous Elimination Rounds and Semifinals. Whenever a tournament reached its final decisive battle, its attention was often astonishing.
Old IG represented by Deyunse, old RNG represented by Zz1tai, and even many video UP Masters, Streamers, and commentators who made a living through League of Legends all focused their attention on today's match.
Naturally, the hype was plentiful as well.
Karsa had just left TES, only to immediately face TES again. Rookie versus Knight in mid had always been a top-tier mid lane matchup fans eagerly anticipated. With two of the Incheon 3C now gathered, the discussion was through the roof.
Yes, that included bottom lane too.
For most Amusement Seekers, as long as Luo Zhen could still make an impact when facing JKL, he would have completely passed the league's CJB law and officially become a potential AD.
As for beating JKL?
Sorry, they had never even considered it, because anyone could tell it was impossible.
They're here, they're here!
Avengers versus Hidden Leaf Village—now this was the excitement they wanted!
Fan Zhuo versus God's Whip, so it's War of the Two Cities in support, huh?
Coach Homme versus Bai Seyueya. This draft is probably going to be a complete feast for one side.
Before the war began, public opinion had already marched ahead.
For the only Amusement Seeker event of the winter break, countless spectators had long fixed their eyes on the Demacia Cup finals livestream. Not only online—the local audience had snapped up all the offline tickets long ago.
At that moment, Luo Zhen stepped off the bus with slightly bleary eyes.
Although he had mostly caught up on sleep after resting for a night, the aftereffects of staying up all night still lingered. He felt like he had not quite come back to himself, but it did not matter much. The moment he set foot onto the battlefield again and heard the cheers occasionally erupting from within the venue, a surge of hot-blooded excitement slowly rose within him.
That was one advantage of playing professionally: the audience's cheers could provide immediate Dopamine feedback.
Unlike ordinary office workers.
Ordinary office workers might work for more than a decade and, if unlucky, receive no feedback whatsoever. What did they have instead? Five insurances and one housing fund.
Right.
The five insurances against hair loss, being single, getting sick, getting fired, and constantly working overtime.
And a heart that dedicated itself like gold.
"Feels like my fighting spirit is rising. How's everyone feeling?"
"Ah, kind of sleepy."
"Seconded."
"I suggest that next time, Xiao Zhen, you should stick to a normal schedule. Your yawns are seriously too contagious." As he spoke, Karsa could not stop himself from yawning again.
If they were talking about sleep duration, everyone had actually rested enough.
But this thing seemed contagious. Ever since Luo Zhen yawned on the bus, they had begun yawning one after another. Now they all looked like they had not woken up yet.
"Come on, it was just one yawn. Don't make me sound like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."
"What are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?"
"Oh, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are Liu Yong, Dey, Bear Grylls, and Luobo Tou. Then there's also the man closest to Satan. They're all my idols, but I only dare watch them. I absolutely don't dare imitate them."
The V5 members: ...
Coach Homme took in the group's state. Though he knew it was somewhat related to yesterday's excessive training, as a coach, he still had to speak when it was time to speak.
"Look at the state of your bodies. After the Demacia Cup, I'm definitely arranging morning runs for you all. Fix your mental state."
"Alright, morning runs!!!" x6
"You need to maintain relatively healthy schedules."
"Alright, relatively healthy schedules!!!" x6
"You need to start practicing some moderation with women."
Before you continue