Chapter 813: Well Done

After much back-and-forth, the Riot big boss finally persuaded Lu Wenjun to post an official statement, just to give the angry North American and LCK fans an explanation.

VG's official blog read as follows:

【Recently, we have noticed many discussions about our club online. Since many people's discussions have deviated from the basic facts, our club issues the following statement:】

【VG has long maintained friendly exchanges with G2 and CNB, and they have enjoyed pleasant mutual visits. In fact, they have a deep foundation of friendship.】

【This time, G2 and CNB came to China to participate in the S7 World Championship. Having friends come from afar, VG, as the host, extended a modest hospitality by inviting the two teams to stay at its base. This is reasonable and normal interaction between teams, and it fully complies with Riot's relevant regulations.】

【League of Legends is the most globalized esports project. We have always believed that global teams should maintain normal communication and sparring; closing doors and building cars in isolation is not conducive to the industry's healthy development.】

【The outcome of the World Championship will ultimately be decided on the battlefield by strength. We sincerely suggest that all participating teams focus their energy on their own preparations, rather than excessively monitoring others' moves.】

【Thank you to all who care about VG, and we wish this edition of the World Championship complete success.】

【VG Esports Club】

Domestic netizens, upon seeing this so-called statement, burst out laughing; the comment section exploded immediately, and many well-known figures also rushed to leave comments.

@Commentator Ze Yuan: 【Let me translate this for everyone: Is it just that they can't bear to lose?】

@RNG Esports Club: 【Learned!】

@Jinyibo: 【... Well done!】

@Commentator Miller: 【"We sincerely suggest that all xxx focus their energy on their own xx, rather than excessively monitoring others' xx." The writer's level is high; it has a diplomatic tone. I suggest other teams seriously study this.】

Other netizens:

【Awesome!】

【Good good good!】

【In the realm of being sarcastic, VG claims to be second, with no one daring to claim first.】

【Just three words 'can't bear to lose,' but VG turned it into a two-hundred-word official document. The person who wrote this is so good at fluff; writing official blogs for VG is a waste of talent—they should debut as a big writer!】

Moreover, after the Mid-Season Invitational, VG also opened an official account on Twitter, translated the same blog post into English, and posted it on the official Twitter.

As a result, because of a machine-translated sentence in the article, countless people in the comment section went off-topic.

【Closesthedoortobuildacar……hhhhhhhh】

【The machine-translation flavor is too strong, but for some reason it looks fully aggressive hahaha】

【One meter wah ka nai】

【Let's translate this for foreigners: 'Closing the door to build a cart' is an idiom, meaning…… meaning…… is…… closing the door to build a cart, huh.】

Then there were also countless European and Brazilian netizens leaving messages of support.

【This time I support VG; who said teams can't visit each other?】

【Even Riot can't find fault; some regions are just sour.】

【I'd love to see NA and LCK crack under pressure, hahaha】

The reactions of North American and LCK netizens are quite different.

Regarding this sarcastic statement, North American netizens mainly felt hurt, and they cursed more directly, wishing they could pick up an AK and shoot down all three teams' members.

LCK netizens' resentment is much stronger.

In the S6 semifinals, Liang Yan kicked and shattered SKT's dream of a triple crown; in the final, he crushed Xiao Huasheng into a social withdrawal. Although Koreans also went online frantically blaming their own team for lack of competitiveness, deep down they kept score. Now that G2 and CNB have moved into VG's base, the three teams eat and live together, sharing information—this is naturally extremely disadvantageous for LCK. Originally they hoped to use Riot's pressure to stop this, but now Riot has said nothing at all; instead, VG hypocritically issued a statement while actually stirring up trouble behind the scenes, causing Korean netizens to explode in anger. Some say this violates competitive ethics; others sarcastically accuse LPL of buying off the region.

All they do is spray the three teams, causing far fewer people to actually work for Riot.

Riot is naturally dissatisfied with VG's statement, but seeing that VG accidentally succeeded in diverting the fire, they stayed silent and continued to play dead.

In short, global public opinion became more heated because of VG's statement; overseas, support and criticism for VG are roughly half each, but if we count Chinese netizens' discussions, the pro side absolutely has an overwhelming advantage.

Meanwhile, while global netizens were buzzing with discussion, a guy quietly slipped out of the base with his girlfriend.

"……Turn left ahead, then right at the traffic light."

Liang Yan sat in the passenger seat, occasionally speaking up to point the way.

"This broken car……"

Tang Anna complained angrily.

Although she has a driver's license, she rarely drives, and her driving skills are not proficient.

Moreover, the car is an old manual-transmission relic borrowed from Wang Liangyi, said to be secondhand, but who knows how many owners it's had; it drives with clanking noises, the gas and brake pedals are extremely stiff, making it terribly hard to drive. Tang Anna gripped the steering wheel nervously the whole way, constantly on edge, to the point she was about to develop road rage.

Fortunately, it was already late at night; although Shanghai is a bustling metropolis, its urban atmosphere differs somewhat from other big cities, as ordinary people don't have much nightlife, so there were few cars on the road.

"Calm down, take it slow, it's fine." Liang Yan smiled and comforted her, occasionally turning to glance at Tang Anna; his gaze was as gentle and warm as a February breeze.

Unfortunately, Tang Anna's entire attention was on the steering wheel in her hands and the gas/brake pedals under her feet, leaving her no chance to look at Liang Yan.

"Why don't you drive yourself?" she said, huffing.

"I already said, I don't have a driver's license."

"Hmph..."

Tang Anna let out a soft hum; being alone with Liang Yan, she unconsciously revealed some girlishness, which contrasted sharply with her usual demeanor in front of the G2 group.

"I don't have time for that." Liang Yan said, laughing calmly, "The LPL schedule is far more packed than Europe's; from the start of the year to the end, there's been no break."

Actually, there's no need to explain; Liang Yan usually isn't this talkative, but today he's said a bit too much.

Tang Anna tilted her head and glanced at him.

"Where exactly are we going, and how much longer will it take?"

Liang Yan only said, "Soon, soon."

Finally, they arrived at the entrance of a residential complex parking lot, and Liang Yan let Tang Anna drive in.

The guardhouse light was still on; inside, a burly-looking guard stood straight. Tang Anna looked up at the residential buildings, then glanced out the windows at the surroundings, and exclaimed in surprise, "Is this Lujiazui? My dad once wanted to buy a place around here, but the prices were too high, so he didn't. Who lives here?"

Liang Yan smiled but said nothing.

When the barrier rose, the smart parking system announced a temporary license plate; it didn't automatically open the gate. The guard inside glanced at this broken car, then at the two people sitting up front, his expression shifted slightly, but he ultimately let them through.

Tang Anna drove the car in, full of doubts.