SITS Ch11

Chapter 11: The UN Matchup

The life of a professional player was actually quite simple—daily training was almost monotonous.

Zhang Chaoyun had also arranged a scrimmage with ACE during his visit. Shen Man had questioned this—not because he didn’t want to play, but because if a team played against a significantly weaker one and suffered a heavy loss, it could crush their morale.

For a professional player, losing morale was a disaster that could affect future matches.

Zhang Chaoyun expressed his understanding of Shen Man’s concerns, then lit a cigarette and calmly said, “Man, we’ve long lost our ambition. Not only that, we’re even about to lose our breath.”

Shen Man: “…”

“Since things have come to this, we might as well find hope in desperation,” Zhang Chaoyun said.

Shen Man: “Hope? In this?”

Zhang Chaoyun said, “Even if we can’t succeed, we have to. Preferably with eightfold success.”

Shen Man: “…” Fine, another crazy one.

Since Zhang Chaoyun said so, they had no choice but to go for it.

The next day, a practice match was arranged.

As Zhang Chaoyun left, Luo Zhimo lingered, as if trying to learn more gaming tricks. Seeing their little marksman so unpromising, Zhang Chaoyun was furious and said, “Look at you! If you admire your idol so much, can’t you last a few more minutes before getting crushed? Prolong your time together, for goodness’ sake!”

Luo Zhimo’s eyes lit up. “Brother Zhang, that makes so much sense!”

Zhang Chaoyun: “…” How can someone turn being scolded into inspiration?

Their team, MIN, being this bad, clearly had reasons.

Zhang Chaoyun looked heartbroken.

Unexpectedly, the next day, Luo Zhimo actually performed better. At least this time, Shen Man didn’t completely dominate him under the tower.

“Seems like he got a bit bolder,” Shen Man commented. “What’s the matter? Did Zhang Chaoyun secretly train him overnight?”

Zhao Rui typed with a laugh: [Zhang Chaoyun, did you go back and lecture your marksman?]

Zhang Chaoyun took a while before replying: [What do you know? This is the power of faith.]

Everyone burst out laughing. Even Xu Zhouye joined in, smiling with his eyes but not showing much true joy. He spoke softly, “Captain, let me try going all out next match.”

Shen Man said, “Sure.”

In the next game, every time Xu Zhouye’s ultimate came off cooldown, the MIN bottom duo ended up dead.

Eventually, Zhang Chaoyun got so worked up that he banged on his keyboard, furiously typing: [Shen Man, what’s wrong with you? Don’t bully the kids!]

Shen Man replied: [How am I bullying kids?]

Zhang Chaoyun: [Look at how many times the kid has died! Forget not getting jungle monsters, he can’t even farm minions. Even his underwear’s been ripped off!]

Shen Man asked: [Luo Zhimo, how old are you?]

Luo Zhimo: [Shen-ge, I just turned nineteen.]

Shen Man: [Oh, Xu Zhouye is only eighteen. That’s not bullying kids; it’s a fair fight.]

Zhang Chaoyun: “…” You’re truly heartless.

Xu Zhouye typed: [Zhang-ge, sorry, I’ll go easier next round.]

Shen Man defended: [It’s fine. They’ve already lost so many matches; they can handle this much.]

Zhang Chaoyun could sense a hint of sarcasm in Xu Zhouye’s words. Thinking about Xu Zhouye’s kind expression, Zhang Chaoyun convinced himself it was just his imagination.

What Zhang Chaoyun didn’t expect was that instead of being discouraged, Luo Zhimo seemed to get more energized. In the final game, he even performed exceptionally, gaining a slight early advantage.

Of course, that advantage didn’t mean much—they still lost.

The BO5 practice match unsurprisingly ended in a 3-0 sweep.

After the match, Shen Man, out of humanitarian concern, offered a few consoling words to Zhang Chaoyun.

Zhang Chaoyun waved it off and said over voice chat that he knew the reality of the situation. “E-sports, you see, talent is just the entry ticket. Hard work alone isn’t enough.”

Shen Man said, “Not necessarily.”

Zhang Chaoyun said, “The scariest thing is when someone more talented than you works harder than you.”

He had looked up Shen Man’s alternate account ID. Even during his illness, Shen Man had never stopped practicing in private. For a player as popular as Shen Man, the temptations and distractions he faced were well-known. Yet Shen Man had fully embodied the phrase, “Remain true to your original aspiration.”

Shen Man didn’t refute this.

Zhang Chaoyun said, “Alright, let’s not dwell on it. Time to review the match.”

Shen Man’s team didn’t review the match. With such a one-sided result, there wasn’t much to analyze. If MIN didn’t experience some kind of miracle this season, they were done for.

Xu Zhouye laughed heartily nearby. Shen Man asked him what he was laughing at. He replied, eyes curved, “I’m feeling grateful.”

Shen Man: “Grateful for what?”

Xu Zhouye said, “Grateful I have the talent to stand before you.”

Shen Man was momentarily stunned.

Seeing his confusion, Xu Zhouye didn’t explain further. He just stared at Shen Man intently, his gaze burning.

Shen Man didn’t understand, but Xu Zhouye did. Some things simply couldn’t be achieved through hard work. Countless times, he had felt lucky that heaven had granted him an opportunity.

—

As summer grew hotter, Shen Man’s cough finally improved the day before their match against UN.

The manager finally relaxed, no longer fearing that their star player might collapse at any moment. He constantly reminded the team cook to prepare nourishing meals to help Shen Man recover.

Shen Man complained about the bland food. “Where’s my chili?”

“You still want chili?” The manager was on the verge of tears. “Oh, my dear Shen Man, if you start coughing again, I won’t know what to do with you.”

Shen Man said, “Your tone is getting more and more disgusting.”

The manager replied, “Sure, sure. Only your ‘Xiao Ye’ isn’t disgusting.”

Shen Man: “Xiao Ye?”

The coach laughed. “You didn’t know? Your fans gave Xu Zhouye a new nickname. They say Zhao Rui has fallen out of favor, and Xu Zhouye is your new favorite.”

Shen Man was silent for three seconds before protesting, “I need to clarify this rumor.”

The coach said, “I’ll listen to your excuses.”

Shen Man said, “I’ve never favored Zhao Rui.”

Zhao Rui, eating pineapple nearby, slammed the table: “Shen Man! That’s not what you said when we were lying on the same bed!”

Xu Zhouye: “You shared a bed?”

Shen Man: “When did that happen?”

Zhao Rui: “That time I got drunk…”

The manager looked at Zhao Rui sympathetically. “You mean last summer? The person next to you wasn’t Shen Man; it was Xu Xiaochong.” Xu Xiaochong, their mid-laner, weighed as much as his height, and the manager constantly worried about his health.

Zhao Rui: “…”

The rumor was cleared up, and everyone except Zhao Rui was happy.

The manager’s comment sparked some curiosity in Shen Man. Normally, he didn’t spend much time on Weibo or browsing the internet, mostly using it to watch single-player games or pet videos for stress relief. 

He pulled out his phone, logged into the Weibo account he hadn’t touched in ages, and after a few swipes, his brows furrowed.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Zhouye came over, curious.

Shen Man quickly pressed the power button to black out the screen. “Nothing.”

Xu Zhouye didn’t catch a glimpse of anything. He cast a doubtful glance at Shen Man and noticed his face had suddenly turned red. Shen Man’s fair complexion made the blush all the more conspicuous, but his expression remained characteristically calm and indifferent.

“Really nothing?” Xu Zhouye asked suspiciously.

“Mm.” Shen Man gave a neutral response.

“Alright then.” Xu Zhouye didn’t press further.

Meanwhile, Zhao Rui, who had never enjoyed Shen Man’s favor, sat there eating pineapple and gave them a skeptical look. “What are you two sneaking around for?”

“None of your business,” Shen Man said coldly.

Zhao Rui retorted angrily, “Why are you so nice to him but so mean to me?”

Shen Man replied, “Who do you think peeled that pineapple you’re eating?”

Zhao Rui: “…”

It was Xu Zhouye who peeled it, though it was meant for Shen Man. However, Xu Zhouye didn’t know Shen Man was allergic to pineapple, so it ended up benefiting Zhao Rui.

“Alright, alright,” the manager interjected. “A-Rui, men are like this. They love the new and forget the old. You’ll get used to it.”

Zhao Rui: “…” Manager, are you jumping on this too?

“Meeting tonight,” the coach interrupted. “We’re playing UN tomorrow, so get your heads in the game.”

The UN team was strong, currently second in the standings.

On match day, the arena was packed, and the tickets were sold out. Fans were eager to see the clash between UN and ACE.

During the BP phase, UN surprised everyone by banning Mechanical Bird and Wind God instead of three marksmen as usual.

“Hm? That’s odd,” Zhao Rui commented. “Why ban those two?”

“They must’ve seen Xu Zhouye’s main account match history,” Shen Man said.

Xu Zhouye’s account showed several pages of matches with Wind God and Mechanical Bird, all with impressive stats. It clearly looked like he’d been practicing these heroes intensively. Given his past mediocre performances as a utility jungler, UN likely assumed his hero pool was limited.

Of course, they still gave Shen Man the respect he deserved. Their final ban went to Shen Man’s signature hero, Water Maiden Belinda.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not enough bans to go around, huh?” Zhao Rui teased while locking in a strong late-game marksman for Shen Man.

Before Xu Zhouye joined, the team’s opponents would often allocate at least three bans for Shen Man. But with Xu Zhouye now on board, they had to reserve some bans for his specialty heroes, easing the pressure on Shen Man.

“What are you playing?” the coach asked Xu Zhouye.

Xu Zhouye thought for a moment, then turned to glance at Shen Man. His voice was warm as he replied, “Anything works.”

“Play a carry jungler,” Shen Man said calmly. “If it doesn’t work, we’ll adjust for the second game.”

“Got it,” Xu Zhouye responded. His mouse hovered over a hero before locking it in.

As soon as he made his choice, the audience erupted.

“Fest actually picked Twin Stars! It’s been ages since we’ve seen this hero on stage,” one commentator exclaimed.

The other commentator nodded. “Let’s see how Fest performs this match.”

With the appearance of Twin Stars, the live stream chat exploded.

[Can this hero even be played in matches anymore?]

[Wow, such a sunny smile, but Fest picks such a dark and twisted hero?]

[Y’all don’t know Fest got to the top of the server with Mad Dog?]

[What kind of cheerful person plays Mad Dog well?!]

Twin Stars, or Stellar Twins, is infamous for its gloomy mechanics. The hero controls two entities at once, giving it unparalleled jungle-clearing efficiency. Only one of the entities is real, and destroying the illusion doesn’t kill the hero. Instead, it curses the attacker with a debuff called Phantom, causing them to take massive additional damage when hit by the real body.

Like Mad Dog, Twin Stars is fragile and weak in the early game, requiring excellent macro awareness to excel.

The coach nodded approvingly at the pick. “Good choice.” Internally, they all knew Xu Zhouye’s hero pool was incredibly deep. His smurf accounts frequently featured unconventional picks, and he had mentioned Twin Stars during a private one-on-one review.

Shen Man, however, didn’t know about this. “You can play Twin Stars?”

Xu Zhouye humbly replied, “Just a little.”

Twenty minutes later, everyone, from the audience to the commentators, was blown away by Xu Zhouye’s “just a little.”

UN’s top laner, a chubby guy with glasses who looked quite honest, played a heavy tank warrior. After using his ultimate to kill one of Xu Zhouye’s illusions, he hadn’t even had time to celebrate before the real body emerged from the bushes and slit his throat. His massive frame crashed to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Over the communication, UN’s captain OI heard his teammate’s tearful voice: “Captain, what’s real? Tell me what’s real!”

OI: “…” That ultimate didn’t just kill an illusion; it shattered his teammate’s psyche.

The first commentator couldn’t hide their grimace. “Fest is playing Twin Stars like a pro.”

The second commentator agreed, “Yeah, really well…”

The camera cut to Xu Zhouye, whose bright smile lit up the screen.

[That smile gives me chills.]

[His sunny grin contrasts way too much with his dark gameplay.]

[Where did ACE even find this treasure?]

[Imagine pulling back your blanket at night and seeing twins.]

[This game is over.]

It was indeed over. Xu Zhouye, still smiling, removed his headset and claimed victory in the first match.