Chapter 335: Setting Off, All-Star!

Liang Yan boarded the plane, found his seat, glanced sideways, and saw Changzhang.

Changzhang also looked up, and the two stared at each other, stunned for a moment.

Then they both broke into smiles.

Liang Yan looked around and saw many familiar faces: Uzi, Wei Shen, Hirano Aya, and a weary-looking A Guang.

Actually, Meiko's support votes were far higher than Hirano Aya's, but since each team can only have two players selected, EDG discussed it internally and ultimately let A Guang and Changzhang compete in the All-Star.

The support spot went to the runner-up, Hirano Aya. Although Lao Gan Die had a huge flop at Worlds last year, the LPL's strongest players are all Korean imports; now they either have officially left the team or voluntarily withdrawn, leaving only to pick the tallest among the shorties; netizens debated back and forth, but ultimately still voted for the two Lao Gan Die.

Everyone present had at least several hundred thousand Weibo followers; although fans often quarrel online, the players actually have no major conflicts—except for Wei Shen, whose aloof, supremely confident personality makes him an exception; everyone else at least greets each other when they meet.

However, Wei Shen at this time had already suffered a huge setback in S5, had his edges worn down by a reverse arrow, his temperament became much milder, and upon seeing Liang Yan he still nodded.

Liang Yan greeted everyone before sitting down, then chatted and laughed with Changzhang.

Liang Yan was really curious about something; after chatting with Changzhang for a while and getting more familiar, he couldn't help but ask:

"Hey Changzhang, there's something I've always been curious about: during the Worlds quarterfinals when you played against the Tiger team, why didn't you ult when Olaf dove the tower?"

Changzhang flashed a hint of embarrassment, then spread his hands and self‑deprecatingly said:

"What could I do? I just didn't react in time."

The utterly ordinary truth struck Liang Yan as unexpected yet somehow fitting.

Then they talked about some transfer matters; when mentioning EDG's two new members, Changzhang evaluated them thus:

"Zet is kind of a fluke; A Bu and Nofe were chatting and said we needed an AD, asked Nofe if he had any recommendations—nothing top‑tier, just someone to tide us over for the spring split—so Nofe brought Zet over, kind of a half‑buy, half‑gift deal."

"What does 'tide us over' mean?"

"Because Hu Xianzhao will be able to play in the summer split."

Liang Yan then recalled some recent rumors circulating online about the grudge between EDG and IG over two prodigy AD players: IG had originally planned to let their domestically cultivated prodigy marksman Jackeylove, who had been groomed for half a year, debut in the spring split of next year, even having prepared a promotional video and posted it on Weibo, but the plan was scrapped after someone reported that he was under 17, and ultimately Jackeylove did not appear on IG's announced 2017 spring roster.

Netizens were saying that EDG had made the report, because EDG also had a prodigy marksman who couldn't play due to being under 17—namely Hu Xianzhao, whom Changzhang had just mentioned, iboy.

The truth remains unknown, and Liang Yan couldn't possibly ask Changzhang about it in public, so he changed the subject.

"So what are you planning to do for the spring split—just muddle through?"

"Pfft, impossible. Sure, Xia Lu isn't as strong as this year's, but we're not weak either—Li Rui Chan is really something, I'll tell you, and you'll see."

"So from now on you won't do a second‑level grab bottom, but switch to a Second Level Mid Grab?"

"You little brat, trying to pump me for info?"

"No, no, just pure curiosity."

"Speaking of which, I'm also curious—how do you clear the jungle so fast with your Mang Seng? In that group‑stage game against the Tiger team, I tried many times but couldn't slip into the vision blind spot at that timing; I was always a few seconds off—how do you manage it?"

"Want to learn?"

"Tch! You teach me? My Mang Seng was already slaughtering in Han Fu when you weren't even into the game yet."

"Oh, then if we meet in a solo match, how about we do a Mang Seng solo?"

"Can we pick the same champion?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not playing with you."

"Hehe."

"What are you laughing at? I'm not scared—I really can't pick the same champion, can I?"

"I could suggest to Riot that they change the rule."

"Who are you? You think you can just change it?"

Changzhang looked at him with contempt.

Liang Yan then pulled out his phone and showed Changzhang his WeChat friend list.

When he saw those two white‑profile avatars, Changzhang's eyes widened instantly:

"No way?!"

……

Obviously Riot had calculated it in advance when booking the tickets—the plane landed in Barcelona just after six in the evening local time, and after checking into the hotel and allocating rooms, nearly an hour passed, and outside it was completely dark.

Liang Yan packed his luggage, went downstairs to look for food, and in the hotel buffet restaurant met the EU representative team, also there for the All-Star event.

They had probably just arrived as well, sitting there eating dinner when Perkz happened to be saying something to Jankos; his gaze swept past the restaurant entrance, he spotted a figure appearing there, froze for a moment, tossed his fork aside, and sprang over.

The others followed suit, looked up, saw Liang Yan, and their expressions turned somewhat complex.

Mithy ran after Perkz to Liang Yan's front.

"Whoa! Holy shit, are you gonna beat me to death?"

Liang Yan took a punch from Perkz to the chest; the blow was strong, leaving him winded and unable to catch his breath.

"Hmph."

Perkz pretended to be angry, blew on his fist, glanced sideways at Liang Yan, and said:

"That's perfect—let's get rid of a tough rival; all Europeans will thank me."

The twitching corners of his mouth, however, betrayed his true feelings.

Mithy, however, wasn't as pretentious as Perkz; he went up and hugged Liang Yan.

"Long time no see."

"Yeah, long time no see…"

After a few pleasantries, Perkz, feeling shy, eventually went up and hugged Liang Yan, then lightly punched him.

"Haven't eaten yet? Come on, join us."

Liang Yan got his food, greeted the other EU members—sOAZ, Jankos, and Rekkles—sat down beside Perkz, and asked:

"Where's Ka Lao Si?"

Didn't come.

Perkz rolled a forkful of curry pasta into his mouth, speaking vaguely:

He said he was afraid that if he ran into you he couldn't help but beat you up, so he didn't come.

Didn't you have a coach come with you?

Yes, we do.

Liang Yan looked up, Rekkles sitting opposite with a smile.

The two shook hands, then Rekkles said:

Deilor came with us, be careful—we came prepared, and Deilor has studied you extensively.

Deilor is the most famous coach in Europe, having coached FNC since S1, serving FNC for six years; after the summer season ended, he resigned taking responsibility because FNC failed to qualify for the World Championship.

Rekkles had just finished speaking when Jankos let out a hehe laugh.