Chapter 47: Cherishing and Hardship

After the handshake, everyone headed to the center of the stage to bow.

Ye Bo had just walked into the player tunnel when he was immediately intercepted by the tournament official guarding the door.

"Player Ye, you have a post-match interview!"

"Ah, me again?"

Ye Bo felt a bit surprised.

For two consecutive best-of-three series, the officials had specifically requested him for an interview; they really seemed to value him.

Noticing Ye Bo’s astonishment, Jie Jie naturally took the keyboard and mouse from Ye Bo’s hands and said with a smile, "Buddy, you’re on a 4-game MVP streak; you’re almost catching up to Scout!"

"Plus, you’ve been playing so flashily these past two matches, the chat must be going wild. The officials definitely want to interview you to stir up some hype~"

Although the MVP candidates hadn't been announced yet, there was clearly no suspense.

Everyone now understood the criteria those voters used to select the MVP; it was basically just looking at the stats.

Speaking of which.

Don't look at how many games EDG lost in the Spring Split; although Scout wasn't as miserable as Flandre, he had definitely been crushed by every top-tier mid laner at least once. After all, even a mid laner like Doinb, who wasn't known for his laning prowess, could suppress him.

But the point is, even so—

Scout still managed to rank 16th out of 23 players in {Damage Share}.

He successfully secured 14, ranking first in {Total MVP Count across all positions}!

One can only say it was all high-value.

The reason was simple: those voters only looked at KDA records.

After all, he played long-range mages like Azir, Corki, Orianna, and Ryze, which were hard to kill to begin with. By relying on the team to farm into the mid-to-late game and then taking over, it was very easy to put up an extremely luxurious KDA.

And if you only look at the stats, anyone seeing an Azir or Orianna sitting at 6-0 or 8-0 would think, "Wow, he's carrying so hard, he deserves it!"

Many people don't understand the significance of {Damage Share} when evaluating a hard-carry position.

However, Ye Bo’s performance and stats in this match clearly left nothing to be debated.

On his way to the backstage area, Ye Bo saw his own stats on the screens along the path.

8/0/11 KDA, 88% kill participation, +4888.84 gold lead in lane, and 38.4% team damage share.

If it weren't for Ye Bo playing it safe to secure the win and intentionally giving kills to Aphelios and Vladimir later on, his stats would have been even more luxurious!

Even so, whether looking at the record or key data like damage share, this Akshan performance was clearly worthy of being called a "hard carry"!

Yu Shuang walked toward Ye Bo with a beaming smile; due to the high slit in her dress, she had to take slow steps onto the interview stage.

"Alright, welcome EDG's mid laner Ye to our interview."

"For our first question, let's ask player Ye how you are feeling after securing your fourth consecutive MVP?"

Yu Shuang was a bit nervous, worried that the other party might resort to "nonsense literature" again.

Fortunately, last time was only because Ye Bo had gotten carried away and had to emergency-brake, which led to the awkwardness.

This time, it was quite normal.

"I'm definitely very happy!" Ye Bo said sincerely. "I'm very grateful for the trust from my teammates and the coaching staff. It’s because they were willing to believe in me, allow me to fully showcase my abilities, and cooperate with me."

"If not for their help and sacrifices, I definitely wouldn't have been able to get the MVP!"

Ye Bo’s words weren't just for show; they truly came from the heart.

In his view, this [Hidden Challenge] he had triggered required using such an unpopular hero as Akshan; if he were in a team with a more high-pressure coaching staff, they certainly wouldn't have agreed.

Not to mention letting Jie Jie specifically pick Trundle to support him.

Of course, in reality, this was all earned through his performance in the first three games and his own strength.

But Ye Bo didn't think that way.

He felt this was trust!

Yu Shuang wore a relieved smile and continued to the next question: "Then, player Ye, in the second game you picked the Rogue Sentinel. This hero is very, very unpopular, yet you used it so well! It seems you must have put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes. Is this your secret weapon?"

Hearing this question.

The honest Ye Bo felt a tiny bit guilty.

Although he was "spending his own gold," Ye Bo had indeed not practiced Akshan before.

Come to think of it, "Old Deng Bo's" Akshan only had [Level 5] proficiency, still a ways off from level six, and far from being a signature hero.

It was just that Akshan was unpopular, and the hero had so many "mechanics" that even at level five proficiency, there were many techniques that could leave people stunned.

But the good news was that the key team fight where Ye Bo used the [E-Hextech Delay Flash] mechanic to win triggered the "Extreme Operation" reward.

And the reason he was able to meet the conditions was that, in fact, that mechanic wasn't meant to be used that way.

So it was as if Ye Bo had "developed" it into a novel way himself, and it had indeed produced completely unexpected results.

Ye Bo raised the microphone: "Well, it's not really hard work, just normal practice. I think there are still many areas where my Akshan needs improvement."

But hearing this answer, the audience only felt that Ye Bo was being humble.

Even though he played so well in these two games—one could even say he "played out of his mind"—he still said there was much room for improvement.

Mainly, you could tell from his expression and tone that it seemed to be the truth.

Many passersby couldn't help but develop a good impression of him.

Someone who is already this amazing but still seeks breakthroughs and improvement is the only kind of person who deserves to win!

Yu Shuang followed up on this, smiling as she threw out the next question: "Player Ye is very humble. Actually, I've seen it before; it's said that even when you were in the LDL training camp, you were thinking about training even while 'dreaming.' When player Jie Jie was interviewed last time, he also said you are really hardworking and dedicated."

"This spirit is worth learning from, so I'd like to ask on behalf of our audience: how do you overcome the pressure, monotony, and hardships of training?"

When Ye Bo heard this question, he noticeably frowned.

Almost without thinking, he picked up the microphone and answered with a thought he had held for a long time.

"I think there is definitely pressure, but actually, there is pressure in doing anything."

"To be honest, I felt quite a bit of pressure when I was in school taking math classes."

At this point, Ye Bo helplessly spread his hands, making Yu Shuang unable to help but cover her mouth and laugh.

But immediately after, upon hearing what Ye Bo said next, she couldn't laugh anymore.

"As for the monotony and hardships, well, in my personal opinion, these things shouldn't belong to a professional player."

"We professional players just need to play the game well; this is our job. Compared to many, many other types of work, playing games really isn't that hard."

"At the very least, this is something we like doing, isn't it?"

This passage was something Ye Bo had thought of a year ago when the system's "Liver Loading" appeared.

If not for the twist of fate, he might be like the "Old Deng Bo" in the records, wasting ten years in the passage of time, only to leave with a heart full of regrets.

Therefore, regarding the thirty-hour-a-day training ground experience, Ye Bo truly never felt any so-called hardship.

In fact, he looked forward to the cooldown resetting every day.

Ye Bo cherished this opportunity, especially after reading the "Old Deng Diary."

The tidal wave of chat in the livestream seemed to vanish for a brief moment.

The LPL has newcomers every year, and the world has never lacked geniuses.

But it seems there has never been a newcomer like this person, who can deliver explosive, perfect performances on stage while having such a positive mindset off-stage.

In contrast, many professional players earn wealth at a young age, so many become arrogant and find it hard to calm down and truly figure out what they should be doing most.

The main thing was that everyone could feel the sincerity in Ye Bo's words.

It was clearly not drafted; it was just what he had been thinking in his head, spoken as casually as a conversation.

At this moment, many people had a much deeper impression of this player with the ID "Ye."

Yu Shuang paused for a moment before regaining her smile: "Alright, then for our last question: EDG's match results were a bit bumpy in the first half of the year and the beginning of the second half, but since the last match, you have ushered in a two-game winning streak. What are your expectations for the subsequent matches?"

"This one? We definitely hope to keep winning!" Ye Bo returned to his smiling, optimistic self and answered naturally.

"The first half of the year was just a technical adjustment. From now on, we will definitely keep winning!"

Having experienced these two best-of-threes, Ye Bo had the confidence to say this.

He believed more and more that he could achieve that challenge!

"So arrogant, Ye Wen!" Sika in the livestream started shaking his big head again: "He really managed to pull off the act!"

"Can't you act arrogant after a four-game MVP streak?" Sun Yalong pretended to be a contrarian: "If it were me with this four-game MVP streak, I'd be on stage promising the championship already!"

"Hehe~ then the question is, Brother Sun, how many MVPs did you get in your career?"

"Hehe, we didn't have MVP ratings back then, oh~"

[First humble then arrogant, suppressing before elevating—this is the master's operation. He's even operating during the interview!]

[No problem with talking trash if you have the strength~ Humble to yourself, arrogant to the enemy; this is the best state for esports!]

[Worthy of being from EDG, inheriting the legacy of the Ancestor Seven. In esports, we have to be arrogant; we have to be like the Ancestor Seven and treat all opponents like idiots, and that's it!]

[No, beating Doinb and Angel, the two most 'coasting' top-tier mid laners, plus charging up against a middle-aged zombie—don't tell me he really thinks he's something now!]

[Master Ye is interesting. I asked him who the worst mid laner he's faced is, and he told me not to stir up drama for Doinb~]

[Just checked the EDG schedule, the real king of laning is coming up, just wait!]

2k+3k, ha~

Launching this Sunday the 3rd, starting to stockpile chapters 0.0

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(End of chapter)