Chapter 464: Brothers, there's a mole!

The organizers are still quite considerate, knowing it would be mealtime, they gave the halftime break a full half hour so players could grab something to fill their stomachs.

The venue is inside the mall, so spectators can also go out to get food; although they can't bring food into the venue, as long as they keep their ticket stub—whether paper or electronic—they can return after eating to continue watching the match.

About half the crowd left, not all to eat, some to use the restroom. The two VG bosses didn't leave; Ding Jun lowered the brim of his baseball cap, sat in the already-lit stands, and whispered to Lu Wenjun.

In the VG locker room, everyone was also eating.

Coach Zhu Xiaolong put down the box of chicken wings in his hand, clapped his hands, and stood up.

"Alright, everyone, don't eat too full."

He said this, walking to a whiteboard, smiling at everyone,

"It's not that I'm worried you'll eat too much and be unable to play; rather, we have a victory banquet later, so leave some room—later we'll eat something better."

The crowd chuckled softly.

Zhu Xiaolong glanced at the whiteboard, where he had already jotted down some ideas before the first match ended; after a moment, confirming there were no major flaws, he checked the time, then turned back to everyone and said:

"We have about twenty minutes left; let's discuss how to play the next game."

"First, I'll share my thoughts for everyone to consider."

"In the next game, on their blue side, barring any surprises, they probably won't get Qing Gang Ying."

"If they can't get Qing Gang Ying, we don't need to play Galio either; Marquis's mid laner can keep hiding his Galio, and if the pressure isn't big we can save it for MSI..."

Zhu Xiaolong's seasonal operational approach was also learned from Liang Yan.

Of course, this is also because VG feels no pressure in the LPL; if there were pressure, discussing seasonal operations would be impossible—we'd have to secure regional results first.

Zhu Xiaolong spoke calmly for a few minutes, offering speculation and concrete suggestions, but none were firm decisions; afterward, he still discussed them with the group.

Several minutes passed, and the players from both sides returned to the stage.

The spectators who had gone out to eat also returned to their seats; the stands, which had been half empty, were now packed tight, with not a single vacant spot.

Seeing the players return to the stage, fans from both sides began shouting again.

VG fans' cries were loud and excited, full of anticipation; WE fans' side, however, seemed somewhat frenzied—though they said they were cheering, it sounded more like a roar.

The air was filled with a dry heat, faintly mixed with the smell of sweat.

On stage, Homme held his own BP notebook, walking at the rear of the team; after the WE players had seated themselves, he took a firm stand behind Xi Ye, his expression very stern.

After Sky finished saying those words, Homme's pressure actually increased.

He felt guilty, thinking he was somewhat letting down the boss who gave him a contract that could be considered top-tier among LPL coaches.

Although rationally Homme knows that WE's 28-minute zero-to-one sweep loss isn't largely his fault—the real reason is the opponent being too strong.

But Homme is a diligent and responsible coach.

Back then he joined WE with ambition and lofty aspirations; although he didn't set any military pledge when signing the contract, promising to lead WE to certain results, Homme had set his personal goal at least to bring WE to the finals.

Even by the midpoint of the regular season, Homme still believed he could achieve that—he felt the Spring Crown stage would definitely belong to WE and VG.

WE last year was already a strong team, merely lacking some systematic training and study of advanced operational concepts.

This year, WE kept last year's original roster, and the players' coordination became even more seamless, completely free of the adjustment issues that other teams often have.

Therefore Homme believes that, as long as he puts them through his training, WE securing a spot in the spring finals is unquestionable. If nothing unexpected happens, they even have a chance to contend for the S7 semifinals; by then, Homme would feel he has lived up to himself.

Yet no one expected that WE would meet VG in the semifinals!

This is undoubtedly the worst possible script.

But Homme has no intention of giving up; for this Bo5 he prepared too long—even if even the boss thought they had no chance, even after losing a game, right up to this moment Homme still hasn't given up.

"Having fun?"

"Not yet!"

"We've only lost one game; there's still hope!"

BP began; WE's blue side banned and picked first, Homme quickly entered the zone, each of his commands clear and decisive.

Under Homme's direction, Kled and Shen were successively sent to WE's first and second ban slots, while WE's final ban slot surprisingly went to Galio.

This move surprised many people!

"Hiss! Not banning Qing Gang Ying but banning Galio?!"

"The Red Rice Coach's ban on people... I can't quite see through it."

"You definitely can't see through it; if you could, the person standing on WE's side right now would be you—do you think you have that ability?"

"I'm not going to argue with you."

On VG's side, Zhu Xiaolong was also a bit surprised.

"What does he mean by this?"

"Could it be that Marquis secretly practiced Galio and got exposed?"

"Brothers, there's a mole!"

"Mole, you wish. Red Rice still has something; they probably guessed it."

"Yeah, I also think they guessed it."

It's not surprising that they guessed it—Galio is originally a mid-lane champion, and VG this season is famous for having a deep champion pool across all five positions; the champions suited for mid lane are played so well even on top lane, so mid lane likely can play them too; this doesn't require deep game understanding, just a simple common-sense logic, so Homme guessing it is no surprise.

Theoretically, since Galio is banned, there's no need to pick Qing Gang Ying; this champion has indeed been nerfed too hard, its early lane is truly weak, and if used for jungling, without Galio's synergy it's not easy to initiate fights; if it's only for his late-game potential, it's still better to pick something like a Male Gun Thousand Pearls for higher cost-effectiveness.

But if we simply give up, it would also raise doubts about our ace player's strength... Zhu Xiaolong, having been around the martial world for years, is still quite smooth; when undecided, he directly asks the players:

"So what do you say, brothers—should we take Qing Gang Ying later or not?"

Liang Yan laughed and said:

"Take it—why not? Reward Luxuanjun with one."

"I protest!"

Fu Lan Duo shouted loudly,

"I want to report to Boss Lu that someone here is taking private revenge under the guise of public duty!"

"Boss Lu is on site, you stand up and shout."

Crowd: "Huh?!"