Chapter 485: Just having hands is enough

Post-match interview stage.

Fu Lan Duo and Sima Laozei stood side by side, beside them was Aunt Yu Shuang wearing a sequined tight long dress—oh no, now she should be called Miss Yu Shuang.

When they first came up, it was originally Sima Laozei standing beside Yu Shuang, but perhaps the hair gel Yu Shuang used to fix her hairstyle was too strong, so Sima Laozei quickly asked to switch sides with Fu Lan Duo; Fu Lan Duo wasn't that sensitive, in fact he rather liked standing beside Yu Shuang, huh.

The interview begins.

Yu Shuang, who had once been tormented by Sima Laozei, upon learning before going on stage that Sima Laozei would be among the interviewees, had already prepared herself mentally, and while designing the questions, she also tried to minimize those directed at Sima Laozei.

This first question was also directed first at Fu Lan Duo.

"After you finish this match, the semifinals are completely over, and it's confirmed you'll face EDG on April 29. So I want to ask Sheng Qiang Ge, what are your expectations for that Bo5 that symbolizes the peak of the whole spring season?"

"Well, I hope the finals come soon—I can't wait to lift the trophy."

"Wow, that's really confident! … And what about Sima Laozei, the player?"

"No need."

"Huh... uh, ah? Wh... what's not necessary?"

"I think the finals aren't necessary; it's a waste of money to rent a venue—just hand us the trophy directly."

With a boom, the whole venue shook.

The audience erupted, some laughing, some shouting wildly, "Ma Ge is awesome!"

In the backstage lounge, the VG crew were also fired up, shouting, "Ma Ge is mighty!"

Meanwhile, the EDG crew had returned to their base, but many were still watching the interview livestream, including EDG's leader A Bu.

Although A Bu had gradually stepped back to the second line and no longer frequently interfered in EDG's first-team training mishaps, his spot in the training room remained reserved. Now, A Bu sat in his place, with the screen before him showing the official LPL livestream.

When Sima Laozei finished saying that, a clamor rose from behind, but nobody was truly angry—just teasing and joking.

But A Bu really laughed in anger.

"What a joke—saying the finals aren't needed, then we wouldn't need any matches at all; just give the trophy to whoever looks strong, brainless."

When A Bu asked VG for training match slots, he was all smiles, but in private he scolded people without hesitation.

Changzhang heard this and pursed his lips.

He and Sima Laozei were close friends; although they served different masters and fought for their own sides, Changzhang wouldn't do something like eating someone's hot pot on the surface while badmouthing their friend behind their back.

Only Meiko responded to A Bu with a line:

"I remember Sima Laozei wasn't like this before—did he become this arrogant after going to VG and clinging to Jiao Shen's thigh?"

A Bu said nothing, just gave a cold chuckle.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward; the honest A Guang glanced this way and that:

"It's just trash talk, no need to take it seriously, brothers."

Nobody spoke; each had their own thoughts.

Actually, the odds of beating VG in the finals are slim, and everyone knows that deep down; Sima Laozei merely stated a fact, piercing the paper-thin hope in EDG's hearts, which is why A Bu became angry out of embarrassment.

Of course, only someone like Sima Laozei, an interview assassin who ignores any rules, could say such a thing; others either wouldn't dare or would say it without the right feel.

Moreover, to be fair, this remark isn't short; it feels like the longest thing Sima Laozei has said in any interview since this spring season began.

On the stage, Yu Shuang stared dumbfounded for a moment, then felt grateful: "Right, Ma Ge! Exactly! Interviews should be like this!"

She then asked Fu Lan Duo to evaluate the Condi Mang Seng kick in the first game, comparing it to Liang Yan's kick in the S6 semifinal against SKT, and how the operational difficulty differs.

That question was just for laypeople.

Sima Laozei's mouth twitched on the spot, revealing a faint, almost imperceptible cold smile.

Fu Lan Duo also felt it was hard to keep a straight face—what level would one have to be to ask such a question? Even setting aside the pressure they faced back then, which is already worlds apart, just talking about operational difficulty, the two are not on the same level at all.

And who was Liang Yan aiming at back then?

Yu Shuang asking such a question truly made a laughingstock of herself.

In the livestream chat, it instantly filled with question marks.

However, Fu Lan Duo really couldn't bear to let such a lovely miss step off the stage.

"Um, is there even a need to compare this stuff? Isn't it just 'if you have hands, you can do it'?"

This was certainly a joke—no one would take it seriously—but it successfully shifted the tone, rescuing Yu Shuang from the audience's barrage. This "four-two move a thousand jin" technique was used to perfection; even Liang Yan couldn't help but give Fu Lan Duo a thumbs-up.

Yu Shuang continued with her questions, summoning courage to directly ask Sima Laozei:

"As everyone knows, VG is a team with extremely strong offense—this isn't just everyone's impression of your team; it's also reflected in your team data. So I'm curious: I want to ask Sima Laozei, why did you pick a near one-core, four-protection formation in the second game?"

"That was a punishment for Luxuanjun."

"……What?"

"Four-protection-one means dumping all resources onto one person—giving Luxuanjun a weak Qing Ying to let him hang alone in the top lane is his punishment."

"……Why, why?"

"……"

Sima Laozei pretended not to hear.

His bluntness doesn't mean he's stupid. Why? Because Jiao Shen wants revenge on Luxuanjun. But could he say that here? Sima Laozei doesn't want to become the next target of revenge.

Yu Shuang was waiting for Sima Laozei's answer.

The audience below was causing a commotion.

Yet Sima Laozei calmly held the microphone, stood there, stared straight ahead, and kept his mouth shut.

The air on stage was about to split open.

Yu Shuang realized things were going badly, gripped the microphone handle, and felt her palms start to sweat.

In the end, it was Fu Lan Duo who broke the deadlock:

"Ma Ge was joking; we actually picked this in the second game because four-protection-one is relatively simple—although we haven't practiced it, we felt it would indeed be easy against WE's lineup, so after a quick discussion we just chose it."

"You haven't practiced it?"

"Well, because it's indeed simple—basically, you just need to have hands……"

"Alright, this time even RNG got broken through."

"You're awesome, you're badass, you won—whatever you say is right!"

"The four-protect-one tactic is indeed simple."

"But if you want to win a match using four-protect-one, it's the hardest."

"It's simple because there's only that one way to play; but it's hard because it demands the highest level of basic operational skills from the whole team."