The long blades of grass rose up high around Seoâs Tristana, hiding her from view. She raised her cannon, aimed it at Kalistaâs back and squeezed the trigger. The cannonball shot from the muzzle and slammed into Lin Fengâs Kalista! It was a critical hit! She took a step forward and fired again! Another cannonball slammed into Lin Fengâs Kalista!
âKALISTA IS DEAD! SEOâS GONNA KILL HER!â Zephyr screamed into his microphone. âTWO MORE HITS! OR A CRIT!â
Su Xueâs eyes were wide open in horror. NoNoNo! Her jaw trembled as she stuttered into her microphone, âY-y-you got this, Lin Feng!â
Lin Feng breathed out calmly. Heâd kept an eye on Seoâs Tristana the entire fight. He saw it when she killed Jarvan IV and also when she killed Zhang Haoâs Rumble. He knew, though the fog of war hid it from view, that she was most likely going to try and get to him through the tri-brush. More than anything, he believed in his skills and in his teammates. He had his Kalista hurl a spear at Tristana and then used her passive to lunge towards the tri-brush. During that brief mid-dash moment, he pinged on Tristana to alert Tang Bingyao.
Tang Bingyao felt her entire body go stiff when she heard the ping and saw Seoâs Tristana. Sheâd been so focused on killing the Thresh that she hadnât thought to look behind her. But then instinct took over. She flicked her mouse towards Seoâs Tristana, whoâd walked out from the tri-brush, and cast Winterâs Bite. Her Braum propelled ice from his shield! It struck Tristana, slowing her and applying the first stack of Concussive Blows.
Seo snarled at his monitor, furiously clicking his keys. His Tristana fired another cannonball at Lin Fengâs Kalista. CritCritCrit! COME ON, WHY DONâT YOU FUCKING CRIT!? He wanted to throw his mouse through the glass panels of the soundproof booth, but kept himself from doing that. A crit wouldâve killed Kalista. Now he needed to hit her one more time. KILL THE STUPID BEGGAR! He clicked on Kalista. His Tristana raised her cannon again.
Lin Feng licked his lips as he had his Kalista fire another auto attack. Her passive skillâMartial Poseâadded a lunge to each auto attack. He used that to disappear into the tri-brush. It killed the line of sight with Seoâs Tristana and it canceled Tristanaâs auto attack. He then threw an empowered spear with Pierce to apply the third stack of Concussive Blows, and followed up with another auto attack! It applied the fourth stack of Concussive Blows and stunned Seoâs Tristana!
âOh my god⌠Oh my god!â Su Xue said. She began laughing her worries and nerves away and continued, âHe did it! He got her! He really got her!â
Zephyr looked at Su Xue and smiled. Damn, sheâs got some great energy! He then looked at the audience and listened to them. They were up on their feet, screaming out their joy. They need some direction. Let me give it to them! A la Su Xue! He laughed and shouted into his microphone, âWHO DO WE WANT?â
âWIN FENG!â
âWIN FENG!â
âWIN FENG!â
âWIN FENG!â
âWIN FENG!â
âWIN FENG!â
âWIN FENG!â
Zephyr felt the chills run up and down his spine when the audio from the stadium exploded into his headset. He grinned and added, âWHEN DO WE WANT HIM?â
âNOW!â
âNOW!â
âNOW!â
âNOW!â
âNOW!â
âNOW!â
Lin Fengâs Kalista was revealed to Seoâs Tristana when he attacked her from the brush. The moment the stun wore off, Tristana could kill her. But Lin Feng wasnât planning to let that happen. He counted down the time he had until the stun wore off and then the time it would take to load a cannonball and fire. Right before Seoâs Tristana could kill him, he activated Rend. His Kalista pulled on the telekinetic links with the spears lodged inside Tristana and pulled them free.
ăQuadra Kill!ă
After getting the double kill and finding Kalistaâs back open, Seo had started to picture himself as the starplayer of this match. He was going to get the penta kill, he was going to secure this win, and he was going to win Team Guangzhou this series! His teammates would laud him. Every single woman inside this stadium would fawn over him. Most importantly, Tang Bingyao and An Xin would drop to their knees before him. And he would turn them down! He would show them exactly how little they meant to him! But all of that ground to a halt when he saw his screen turn grey. His dreams came crashing down around him and were replaced with hundreds of identical faces. They laughed at him and told him that no one was going to remember his face. LIN FEEEEEEENG! IâM GOING TO FUCKING MURDER YOU!
Across the stage in Team Shanghaiâs soundproof booth, Lin Feng shouted over the teamâs voice chat, âGimme the penta! I want the penta! Give it to me!â
An Xin glanced at him, smiled and said, âOf course weâll help you. Thatâs only good manners.â She already had her Morgana chasing after Team Guangzhouâs Thresh and when she found the angle, she cast a Dark Binding. The dark crimson orb flew through the air and struck Thresh, rooting him to the ground.
Tang Bingyao nodded and said, âMhm! Iâll help!â She then had her Braum dash in front of Lin Fengâs Kalista with Stand Behind Me, functionally disabling all of Threshâs crowd control skills that could impede Lin Fengâs Kalista.
Lin Feng grinned brightly as he had his Kalista hurl spears and lunge after Thresh. The chase went past the Gromp Camp, the Blue Buff Camp and down the Jungle path leading to Team Guangzhouâs base. But before Team Guangzhouâs Thresh could get to the safety his base provided, a final spear pierced his back and claimed his life.
ăPentakill!ă
âHe did it! He did it! He did it!â Su Xue rambled into her microphone. But no one paid much attention to her; they were too busy cheering. Up on their feet, even those at home, they were jumping and dancing and screaming until their lungs gave out! Lin Feng hadnât just given them a pentakill, he hadnât just given them a good series, heâd given them a great series and two pentakills!
ă6666666ă
ăWIIIIIN FEEEENNNGGGGGGG!!!!!ă
ăLIL BRO HARD CARRY! WHERE HIS WATER? GO RUN MAID XUE!ă
ăI feel a tear in my eye. What beauty this man produces! Heâs everything and more! Talking about more⌠Want to see more of him? Want to see the legend play in the comfort of his own home? Want to know what heâs up to in solo queue? Tune in to EveningSnowfall and watch him make an appearance! Heâll force her to buy him food and get him water! Sheâs the maid and heâs her boss! *wink wink*ă
ăPEEENNNTTTTAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!1ă
ăHOLY SHIT THEY REKT GUANGZHOU!!!!!ă
ăGET FUCKED GOALIE AND SEO! GET ABSOLUTELY FUCKED IN THE ASS!ă
ăhow is he that goodâŚ.??????? How the fuck did he survive that? Tristana shoulda had himâŚ..ă
ăCOZ HES LIL BRO! HE CAN DO WHAT NO ONE ELSE CAN DO! HES SUPER LIL BRO!!!!!ă
ăShit dude⌠I got a little hard for that pentaâŚă
âHeâs done it again,â Shi Hang said, laughing. He shook his head and added, âJust like the old days. He goes off and does something ridiculous and somehow makes it work. Gets a damn penta as ad-carry⌠Crazy kid!â
âNo kiddingâŚâ Team Rapidsâ Jungle muttered. He watched the livestream, incredulous, and asked, âThat Kalista is the one who beat you, yeah?â
âYeah,â Shi Hang replied. âDonât think Iâve ever won against him.â
Team Rapidsâ Jungler looked at Shi Hang, waiting for an explanation that wasnât coming. He finally asked, âHow much do you know about him? Do you know where he came from? Who he is? He canât be new to the scene, right? Heâs too good⌠Any LPL team would be happy to pick him up!â
Shi Hang grinned and said, âSecrets are meant to be kept. Sorry bud.â He then zipped his mouth close and swallowed the key.
âš
Chu Fang from Team Shanghai cheered with everyone else, proud of his team. He then looked at Coach Yin from Team Guangzhou and laughed. Look at you! You look like a sack of shit! Always with that big mouth bragging about your latest victories. What are you going to brag about now? How you got these useless shits from Korea because you couldnât be bothered to put in the effort to find and nurture Chinese talents which, by the way, is in your job description? Serves you right! I hope they get rid of you. He looked away from Coach Yin and back at the large LCD screen, smiling.
After Team Shanghai won the teamfight, they went straight to the mid lane where super minions were attacking the two Nexus towers. Lin Fengâs Kalista, Tang Bingyaoâs Braum and An Xinâs Morgana helped the super minions in taking down the two towers before Team Guangzhou could respawn. When they moved on to the Nexus, Twisted Fate spawned on the fountain. He charged at them and tried to stop them, which he succeeded at. The three from Team Shanghai turned their attention to him and killed him. Then they focused back on the Nexus and destroyed it before anyone else could respawn. The blue energy broke free from the nexus and morphed into the victory screen.
VICTORY!
Su Xue lost any semblance of impartiality that she still had. She tightly clutched the microphone and screamed, âWE WOOOOOON! WE WOOOOOOOOON! TEAM SHANGHAI CLEAN SWEEPS TEAM GUANGZHOU AND ADVANCES TO THE QUARTERFINALS!â She turned to look at Zephyr, lost in joy, and added, âLIN FENG DID IT! HE WON!â
âš
Zeng Rui relaxed in his gaming chair and breathed out the tension from his shoulders. He smiled and said, âGood job! Good job! Yes!â
âThat was great!â Lin Feng cheered, laughing. He turned his head to look at Zeng Rui and added, âSee? I told you so! Iâm a great ad-carry!â
An Xin rolled her eyes and said, âIdiot. It was a team effort.â She then smiled and added, âGreat work, everyone!â
âI donât know, BunBunâŚâ Zhang Hao replied. He was grinning from ear to ear as he added, âLin Feng did get two pentas. Two pentas! When have you ever gotten two pentas like that? Shit, I really wanna see those guys from Team Guangzhou tilt! Can you imagine what they must look like right now?â
Tang Bingyao looked across the stage into Team Guangzhouâs soundproof booth, where mice and keyboards were flying around and people were just short from fighting each other. She smiled and said, âMhm! Look!â
The five players from Team Shanghai huddled around the far end of the soundproof booth which was the closest to Team Guangzhouâs soundproof booth across the stage. They stood there, watching Team Guangzhou lose it. And when it finally looked like things were cooling down a bit, Coach Yin walked in and everything started from scratch again.
Zhang Hao laughed and said, âGuess weâre not shaking hands?â
âCome,â Zeng Rui finally said. âLetâs go and see Chu Fang.â He then opened the door to the soundproof booth and held it open for the others. Together, as a team, they walked to the front of the stage and bowed to the tens of thousands of fans at the stadium and the hundreds of thousands of fans watching from home. They then walked down the stage and into the player seating area, where they received congratulatory words from several teams before finding their own seats.
Chu Fang smiled brightly and said, âGood work out there! Iâm really proud of you all!â He then nodded at Team Guangzhouâs soundproof booth, from which the players and Coach Yin emerged, and continued, âYou guys shouldâve seen Coach Yinâs reaction when Lin Feng got that second penta. It was the best thing ever! I think I saw the exact moment a part of him died!â
Zhang Hao laughed and replied, âHe did look pretty mad! Oh, look! Look! Theyâre coming down! Theyâre coming down! Hey! HEY! TEAM GUANGZHOU! WELL PLAYED BUDS! GREAT GAMES! STRONG WORK!â
Coach Yin glanced at Zhang Hao and then mumbled something over his shoulders. The players from Team Guangzhou all turned their heads away from Team Shanghai and hurried after Coach Yin in the direction of the stadiumâs exit.
âHey! Whatâs this? Are they really going to act like they didnât hear me?â Zhang Hao asked, stunned. He then snorted and shouted, âWhatâs wrong? Did you leave your big dicks on the nightstand this morning? I thought you guys had some balls! Guess you were wimps after allâŚâ He shook his head and loudly said to his teammates, âI thought they were supposed to be good⌠What a letdown.â
It was the last bit that made Coach Yin pause. He turned his head to glare at Zhang Hao and said, âYou little pieââ He took a deep, long breath, trying to contain his humiliation-turned-fury, and continued, âDonât push me. You wonât like what happens.â
Zeng Rui smiled and asked, âKind of how you donât like what happened after Seo pushed Tang Tang, right?â
âCall it karma,â An Xin chimed in.
Coach Yin wanted to scream! He wanted to yell at them that heâd make sure they would never get the support from the Chinese Esports Association again! He almost did, but then Lin Feng opened his mouth and said, âKorea really has a ton of amazing players. Youâre not wrong there.â
âUh?â Coach Yin blurted out. His anger relaxed a little, part of it replaced with confusion. He wanted to ask what Lin Feng meant, when Lin Feng continued to explain himself, âBut that doesnât mean you can just take some random players from Korea and expect to win. The Chinese competitive scene hasnât fallen that low. How about the next time you go to Korea to find players, you scout out some actually talented players, rather than opening the Challenger ladder and throwing darts?â
Coach Yin looked at Lin Feng, but rather than argue he turned around and shouted at the interpreter, âDONâT TRANSLATE THAT!â He then grabbed Seo and Goalie by their arms and pulled them away, adding, âCome, weâre going. Now! Come! GoGoGO!â
Chu Fang bit hard on his teeth to force back the laughter. He then turned to Lin Feng and the others and said, âCome. We should go too. Nothing goodâs gonna come when Seo and Goalie hear what Lin Feng just said.â
âš
Su Xue ran out of the Tianhe Stadium and straight at Lin Feng who was waiting for her with the others. She laughed and hugged him and said, âYou were great! That was such an amazing series! Those two pentas! I thought for sure you were dead at the end there with the Tristana but then you cut vision by going into that brush and just⌠just⌠Aaaaaaaaaah! You were great!â
Lin Feng grinned and replied, âYeah, I know right! I am great!â He ignored the glares and stares from his teammates and continued, âBut Iâm also really hungry. And we canât possibly not celebrate this win! So lookâŚâ he pulled out his phone and opened the restaurant ranking list heâd compiled with Tian Tian. â⌠I say we go to this one. Itâs Korean Barbecue! Get it? Korean Barbecue! Because we just roasted two Koreans! You know, Goaââ
âYeah yeah, we know,â An Xin interrupted. She shook her head, smiling, and said, âAlright, letâs go. Lead the way.â
Lin Feng walked out in front of the rest and showed them where to go. After heâd orientated himself, he looked over his shoulder at Su Xue and asked, âHow was the casting anyway?â
Su Xue smiled and replied, âIt was great! I had so much fun and I wasnât nervous at all! I even tried to be impartial, though that didnât really work out⌠Team Guangzhou is just such a toxic team! Itâs really hard to cheer for them. But I tried!â
An Xin winked at Su Xue and said, âWith the way you interact with your viewers and how you cast when Lin Feng is playing a game I never doubted your casting ability for a second! You didnât have any reason to be nervous! Youâre really good at this kind of stuff!â
âWhat BunBun says! I said that too! Before, remember? I told you itâd be easy for you!â Lin Feng exclaimed. He then paused, nearly causing Zeng Rui to walk up against him, and asked, âHey, XueXue? Did you remember to brag about me like I asked you to?â
âWhat was there to brag about? You got two pentas!â Su Xue countered. She laughed and added, âI tried to be impartial⌠But I think that at some point I mightâve gotten carried away a bit and become slightly partial towards you guys. Though⌠It wasnât too much either I donât think. Zephyr said I did great too!â
Tang Bingyao nodded and said, âMhm! Thatâs because youâre good at this. Like BunBun said.â
Su Xue was beaming with joy, glowing even. She suddenly raised her finger and said, âThat reminds me. Remember how I said Iâm casting two games? The second one is right after lunch! I think⌠Maybe it was the second one? I need to check the schedule again⌠But yeah! Iâm casting another game today!â