Chapter 516: You think everyone's as talented as you?

Liang Yan was lying in bed, about to fall asleep, when he suddenly heard a soft knocking at the door; his roommate Fu Lan Duo turned over in bed and mumbled, "Who's that?"

Liang Yan got up and walked over, cautiously asking, "Who?"

"Me."

A familiar voice came from outside.

Liang Yan immediately opened the door.

Tang Anna stood outside, looked at him for two seconds before speaking: "Did I disturb you?"

"No."

Liang Yan shook his head, smiled, stepped out, and casually pulled the door shut,

"Luxuanjun is asleep; let's talk outside."

"Okay."

You can't actually go out, but this is a garden‑style hotel; downstairs there is a walkway for guests to stroll.

The moonlight was like water; the two walked side by side, speaking softly in a desultory manner.

"That gift earlier helped a lot; thanks."

"What gift?"

"A USB drive."

"Oh, oh, you're welcome."

"But I didn't tell them; you won't blame me for stealing your credit, will you?"

"What are you talking about? Not mentioning it is the right thing."

"Yeah, I think the same."

Tang Anna today seemed to have dressed up specially; her hair was back in the familiar twin tails, her face wore light makeup, she wore a wine‑red shirt‑style long‑sleeve dress, matching low‑heel shoes, black mid‑length socks wrapped her slender calves, revealing only a small strip of snowy white beneath the knee‑length skirt.

Both were professionals; now they fought for different sides and would soon become rivals, so to avoid suspicion they naturally wouldn't discuss the match in private.

But aside from the match, there really wasn't anything else to talk about.

Fortunately, Liang Yan's social skills were maxed out; he could always find a new topic, keeping the atmosphere from getting awkward.

"Come to think of it, you've become more talkative than before; did you study that on purpose?"

"I've read a bit..."

"What books?"

"... I won't tell you."

Tang Anna gave him a sideways glance, then let out a soft sigh,

"Actually, it's mainly because being a coach requires saying a lot; I've only just realized that coaching isn't just about good tactics—communication with players matters, and you have to consciously manage their emotions; it's really hard..."

"You only just realized? I thought you already knew."

"... You think everyone's as talented as you?"

"You're a genius."

Liang Yan said it offhand, but it was sincere.

Tang Anna, however, lifted her head to look at him, then shook her head, her expression serious:

"No, I'm not."

Liang Yan shrugged, not wanting to dwell on the topic.

"Since coming here I've realized the environment is chaotic; just a reminder—be careful when you go out."

"I don't usually run into that kind of thing..."

Tang Anna knew he was recalling the robbery that happened when he attended the global finals in the U. S. last year; she protested a little, then added:

"Besides, I don't speak Portuguese, so I can't go out alone."

Liang Yan was somewhat surprised upon hearing that.

In his previous life he often traveled abroad for work, but only to developed European and American countries; he'd never been to Brazil, so he wasn't really familiar with the situation here. Hearing Tang Anna say she couldn't go out without knowing Portuguese, he felt surprised.

"That's strange—are there American countries where English isn't widespread?"

"The penetration rate is very low."

"I recall you seem to know Spanish."

"Yeah, but they don't speak Spanish here either."

Liang Yan felt even more surprised; he did have some geographical knowledge:

"Isn't Spanish spoken everywhere in Latin America?"

"Basically, but the official language here is Portuguese; the city's name is a Portuguese phrase—Rio de Janeiro, which actually means 'January River'."

"Do locals not speak Spanish?"

"Maybe a few can guess part of it, but most probably still can't understand what you're saying. English is even worse—you can only rely on translation software."

Liang Yan opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

"This really is a miraculous country; no wonder it's like this, and I also understand why Tang Anna said one can't go out alone."

"Nowadays translation software is far less usable than it will be in the future; for example, translating 'give you a taste of your own medicine' as 'Giveyousomecolortoseesee' is the level of most translation software on the market today."

The two walked and stopped occasionally, sometimes brushing past other hotel guests out for a stroll; sometimes Liang Yan would be recognized, they'd exchange a few words, then each went their own way.

They chatted for a long time about trivial topics, but neither minded, because at moments like this just having atmosphere was enough; no further meaning was needed.

Until they could no longer see any other guests, the vast courtyard held only the chirping of crickets hidden in the fake hill; only then did they return to the hotel lobby and take the elevator upstairs.

After Tang Anna entered her room she gently closed the door, but not tightly; she watched Liang Yan turn and disappear down the hallway corner through the gap, then finally shut the door firmly.

In the following days Liang Yan also saw Lao Zhang and last year's teammates; a big group gathered once, and Perkz, who had grown into the team's steady, reliable big brother, upon seeing him could hardly contain his excitement—he lunged and punched Liang Yan in the chest, nearly knocking him over.

As for Liang Yan and Tang Anna, they basically met every evening, going downstairs for a walk together or sitting in the hotel café for tens of minutes to chat.

Until the MSI main competition opened.

……

Local time, May 10, Rio Olympic Stadium.

Figure: 2017 MSI main competition venue.

This venue, located beneath the Christ the Redeemer statue, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, was built by Brazil for the Olympic Games to be held in Rio this year; now there are still three months until the Olympics, yet the venue has already been completed, so it was a bargain for Riot Games, who got there first, and they directly rented it as the competition venue for the entire main stage of this year's Mid-Season Championship.

At 3 p. m., while it was 2 a. m. domestically, countless lol players stood by their computers, waiting for the opening of a grand event.

The opening ceremony of the 2017 MSI began in sunny Rio City.

Inside the venue, in the spacious backstage exit passage, six teams from around the world gathered. Time came quickly, and under the direction of the on‑site staff in charge, they walked out of the passage one after another, taking their positions, which they had already rehearsed during the run‑through.

VG's members walked out of the backstage and quietly came to the on‑site stands to prepare for the upcoming appearance segment. The venue lights were off, the lighting was dim, but spectators around still recognized them.

Of course, the other teams were the same; their entry positions were also on the stands.

Thus the whole venue gradually became boiling, with various strange roars and howls rising and falling, and the entire arena turned into a huge boiling kettle.