Chapter 343: Official Event

It was the end of December, with just over two weeks left before the 2017 Spring Season opened; all teams had ended their breaks, and the players who had rested for over a month tightened up again, beginning preparations for the new season.

On the 28th.

vg Ji Di, a team training room.

"Go lose! Getting crushed, three minutes to lane three times, go lose on your lungs!"

"What is Qiang Ge babbling about?"

"Please have Jiao Shen, who knows eight languages, translate for him."

"I don't understand Cantonese either."

"Amid the clacking of keyboards, everyone was fighting hard in ranked matches."

Gao Jun suddenly came in from the door, walked to behind Liang Yan. Liang Yan felt someone behind him, turned his head to look, and asked:

"Manager Gao, is something up?"

Gao Jun waved his hand, smiling narrowly, and said:

"No rush, finish this game first."

Indeed, after Liang Yan finished that ranked match and took off his headset, Gao Jun then spoke:

"There's an official event in a couple of days; do you want to attend?"

"What event?"

"Over in Wuxi there's an officially organized China-Korea esports match; they want you to show up to boost the event's popularity."

"So it's that kind of official?"

Liang Yan was somewhat surprised. He had thought it was the Alliance's official event, but didn't expect it to be the official's official; such a competition has little prestige and won't offer much prize money, but appearing at an official event is certainly beneficial.

Liang Yan asked: "Is it to go play an exhibition match or something?"

Gao Jun, however, shook his head:

"No, no, it's not to have you go up and play; the organizers already picked the teams—your skill would be bullying them. It's just to have you show up at the event, say a few words to encourage the juniors, and maybe draw some fans to fill the scene."

Liang Yan understood, feeling he was being asked to act as a popularity‑boosting tool.

"Sure, I have no objection."

"Alright, I'll reply to the boss; go back and pack your luggage—you'll probably need to stay there two or three days."

"Leave today?"

"Yeah, the event opens there tomorrow; you have a high‑speed train at around six, and someone will meet you there—I'll send you the other party's WeChat so you can add them."

Gao Jun said this while sighing, but his face also showed a proud smile:

"Indeed it's a bit rushed; we only just got the notice from the Alliance, thanks for your hard work."

"It's fine."

The Alliance is naturally the ACE Alliance—the Chinese Esports Clubs Alliance, a non‑official organization that can also be said to have a semi‑official nature, wielding great power; in the domestic esports field it is regarded as the highest peak, and its secretary‑general is currently the boss of WE.

Gao Jun quickly left.

Everyone looked at Liang Yan with envy.

"Little Jiao Brother is awesome, hear that, brothers? Even the official event wants our Jiao Shen to show up—S7's first strongest king has too much value!"

"This meme isn't going away, right?"

Liang Yan kicked Fu Lan Duo's chair back, then returned to the dorm to pack his luggage.

……

The event's full name is the Wuxi China‑Korea Esports Competition, jointly hosted by the General Administration of Sport and the Korea Esports Association, held at Wuxi Film Capital, with the online part supported by Mars Yaoyu Media—a company that has previously organized the LPL, whose funding is extremely tangled, tied to the backers of various traditional powerhouse clubs.

The competition features five items: League of Legends, DOTA2, CS: GO, Hearthstone, and Warcraft III, each with big names from the scene invited to show up.

For LoL, it's Liang Yan and Changzhang—Changzhang had already arrived one step ahead of Liang Yan.

For the Warcraft III item, they invited the domestic esports legend Sky.

Overall, the event is led by the official side, with civilian organizations handling the specifics; its main goal is to raise the profile of Wuxi Film Capital and, incidentally, attract some tourists to the Taihu scenic area—uh, the venue is right by Taihu Lake.

Shanghai to Wuxi is under a hundred kilometers; the high‑speed train gets there in half an hour.

"Hello, are you Mr. Liang Yan?"

Liang Yan had just exited the gate when a young woman came up to greet him.

The woman first gave the impression of a TV host: her makeup was refined and natural, her attire neat, her hair neatly tied back, she wore a white suit with skirt and thermal stockings, light‑pink low‑heel shoes on her feet, her hands clasped in front of her abdomen, her body slightly leaned forward when speaking, and her face bore a golden‑ratio smile.

Seeing Liang Yan nod, she extended her hand:

"Hello, I'm Wang Xiao Juan."

"Hello."

Liang Yan naturally shook her hand and smiled:

"No need to be so formal; just call me Xiao Liang."

Wang Xiao Juan waved her hands repeatedly:

"No, no, you are our honored guest; come this way."

The two arrived at the parking lot, got into the car Wang Xiao Juan had driven, and after over half an hour reached their lodging—a three‑star hotel near Wuxi Film Capital.

Wang Xiao Juan accompanied Liang Yan through check‑in and then handed him an itinerary:

"This is your schedule for tomorrow and some important notes; if you have time tonight, jot it down—I'll come pick you up tomorrow around nine in the morning."

"Okay, thanks for the trouble."

"No problem."

Wang Xiao Juan giggled, looking at Liang Yan; her bright eyes held a hint of something indeterminate—scrutiny, curiosity, or something else?

Even Liang Yan couldn't read it; all one could say is that people within the system are indeed hard to fathom.

After chatting a few words, she said goodbye and left.

Liang Yan first went to the room, put down the luggage, then came down to eat, and went back to write the manuscript.

What manuscript?

Of course it's a speech manuscript.

When he picked up the pen, Liang Yan still felt some emotion; he never imagined that, after being reborn as a person, there would still be times when he needed to write a speech manuscript.

……

The next day at 10 a. m., the event officially opened at Wuxi Film Capital.

The venue looked quite ordinary; the two player rooms on stage were completely enclosed by transparent soundproof glass, and the area in front of the stage was tiered seating. Overall, the arrangement was not as good as the LPL's main venue.

However, the venue wasn't big; there were probably a few hundred spectators on site, the place was crowded, yet it looked quite lively. As for how the tickets came about, most were distributed internally, a small portion was opened to the public via an online lottery, and they were free.

Several Wuxi officials came from the upper levels, went on stage to say a few words, then the event guests appeared, took part in live fan interactions and such activities, and half an hour later the competition began.

First came a Hearthstone match, one KOF-style 3v3, and one Bo5.

Liang Yan and Changzi went backstage, sat in the guest lounge, and while watching the Hearthstone match on the wall TV, they chatted.

"Liang Yan, do you play Hearthstone?"

"I know a little."

"Then, do you know any of these players?"

Liang Yan took a closer look and actually recognized one of them: Luge.