Chapter 827: Year-End Grand Show

In the EDG training area, Meiko's seat was next to the curtain; hearing laughter, he lifted the curtain and asked the person sitting next door, Lai Te Mi: 'What are you laughing at, you're so happy.'

Lai Te Mi is an honest person; he lied with difficulty: 'Nothing, VG shared some happy things.'

'Oh… Liushiyu just said who wants to destroy LPL unity?'

You guys!

Lai Te Mi complained in his heart, but said 'no, no' on the surface.

Meiko looked puzzled, suddenly thought of something, then sighed.

……

Starting from the second day after arriving in Wu Han, EDG scrimmed against VG and RNG for less than three days, after which they stopped playing against the two teams from their own region.

The decision was naturally made by A Bu. That day his exact words were:

'No, no, playing like this with you will shatter our confidence; we won't play, we won't play, you guys go ahead, we'll look for other teams…'

Soon, LPL head Jinyibo learned that EDG wanted to quit the group and train alone; he immediately went to talk to A Bu, earnestly advising that VG such a strong team is a rare opponent, although losing often does affect morale, but this can be overcome; we should still learn from stronger teams, and so on……

But A Bu also had something to say.

He told Jinyibo his inner thoughts: 'Boss Jin, I think that for a team, especially in such a world championship, confidence is more important than anything else, and should even be placed first in importance……

'Moreover, I'm not afraid to speak the truth; VG's methods are not necessarily all correct.'

'Besides, haven't we already played against them for three days? We've roughly figured out what we should absorb from VG in these three days; the rest is just practice.'

'Practicing with anyone is still practice; there's no need to keep scriming against VG and have our confidence knocked down, right? Don't you agree this makes sense?'

Jinyibo also had no recourse.

Meiko naturally protested strongly as well, but likewise couldn't change A Bu's mind.

Therefore, during this period, LPL's internal training camp basically had RNG and VG playing, while EDG was essentially in a state of having quit the group, always practicing against external teams.

Liang Yan said nothing.

VG's time is very precious; other teams have to pay for extra practice, so EDG not wanting to scrim against VG is great.

……

After a day of training, Zhu Xiaolong returned to his room, and before bed he habitually checked his phone, discovering that his Weibo post had actually gone viral, even being pushed to the top of the hot search by netizens.

#Draft of the 'Comeback' written on the tactical notebook#

Zhu Xiaolong felt happy inside, feeling that he had, to some extent, helped Liang Yan.

Online, the little sparks (a nickname given by Liang Yan's personal fans) raised their eyebrows, began to go after those trolls who had spread rumors that Liang Yan's lyrics were written by someone else.

For a time, another storm of blood and fury erupted across the Chinese-language internet.

But the reason trolls are trolls is that, aside from those paid shills deliberately stirring up trouble, it's because they're brainless and obstinate; thus some people still stubbornly claim that Zhu Xiaolong's 'draft' is also fake. You wouldn't say, but even such nonsensical remarks actually manage to get thousands of likes on Weibo.

As a result, the next day, VG's official account posted a Weibo:

【The internet is not a lawless place; spreading rumors feels great, but I hope you've also prepared to bear the consequences.】

【'Case Filing Notice'. jpg】

These people finally began to panic.

The LPL official account simultaneously reposted VG's Weibo, and at the same time issued an announcement declaring an investigation into streamers and bloggers who profit from black traffic; those with solid evidence will be severely punished without mercy.

Streamers and bloggers who gained fame by smearing well-known players began to tremble, and finally could no longer stay stubborn; one by one they suddenly knelt and apologized, and some even actually knelt before the camera begging for mercy. But this crackdown's intensity is completely different from before; for those 'typical offenders,' pretending to be a grandson won't help anymore.

Liang Yan was surprised by the club and league's joint crackdown action; Lu Wenjun had never mentioned this to him, and he didn't know about the operation any earlier than the netizens.

The teammates were the same.

At noon, while eating in the cafeteria and discussing this, Fu Lan Duo spoke with certainty: 'This intensity, tsk tsk, one can tell it's definitely not just our Boss Lu and the league acting; there's definitely a higher will behind it……'

Said with nose and eyes, i. e., very convincingly.

Gangzi commented: 'I can only say it seems; this year's S tournament is being held here, just look at the publicity intensity and you know the significance is absolutely not ordinary; at this critical juncture, still daring to stir up wind and rain—if you don't die, who will……'

The substitute Gao Tianliang sat opposite Liang Yan, gulping down porridge with a gurgling sound; occasionally he would lift his head and sneak a glance at the extremely composed big shot, his admiration and worship flowing endlessly.

This is truly a figure who can move heaven and earth.

Can I also become such a person in the future?

……

Online, smoke of war spreads; the battlefield's flames have also been ignited.

September 23, the S7 World Championship playoffs opened at the Wu Han Sports Center.

The opening match kicked off in Group A, with LCK's first seed SSG facing Lyon from the LLN (Latin America North) region.

This match, focusing the gaze of countless people worldwide, the year's ultimate showdown, finally slowly opened its curtain.

……

Liang Yan didn't watch the playoffs livestream; nobody in VG watched either, but he learned the result of the day's match from the discussion of the neighboring RNG members.

As most people expected, the opening match had no surprises; the disparity in strength between the two sides was simply too great—although SSG is not a particularly aggressive team, because the opponent was too weak, it was like a lion fighting a rabbit, and the opening match still became a complete one-sided slaughter.

Of course, no one felt surprised about this. This was exactly the expected result, and it will also be a microcosm of the entire playoffs' subsequent schedule; the strength of wildcard region teams and that of major region teams are simply not on the same level.

How could there be a dark horse every year?

Even if it's the wildcard region champion, facing a major region's third seed, there is no chance of victory; even if that major region is the weakest among the five major regions……

The vast majority of people think this way.

And the results of the first and second days of the playoffs also confirm this view. Within two days, the first round matches in groups A and B ended. The GMB team from the LCL (CIS) region became the first team eliminated from the S7 World Championship playoffs; the DW team from the OPL (Oceania) region followed closely, becoming the first team eliminated from group B.

These two teams will have no chance to advance to the second round knockout stage of the playoffs; like distant new stars, they merely flashed a twinkle of light twice before completely fading away, coming in a hurry and leaving in a hurry, ending their brief two-day world championship journey.

Nobody paid attention to their coming and going.

Global netizens said thus: 【The matches in the CD group over the next two days are probably about the same】

However, if there were no surprises, then surprises occurred.