Chapter 2: That Man Has Returned, Shocking the Entire Internet

"The two platforms are basically one family now."

Gao Wen answered while driving. "Douyin can stream League of Legends now, which has dealt a significant blow to traditional streaming platforms."

"I see..."

Su Xing felt a bit emotional. When he left this circle, Huya and Douyu were still fighting tooth and nail. In the blink of an eye, streamers from both sides could play together.

"Let's talk about this event."

Su Xing collected his thoughts and said slowly, "Although I don't quite understand why you'd want a washed-up small-timer like me to participate, getting paid to do a job is my principle. What kind of role do you need me to play this time?"

"Play?"

Gao Wen was slightly stunned and shook her head. "For those viewers looking for entertainment, the fact that you can participate in the Legend Cup yourself is enough."

"Huh?"

Su Xing was surprised and asked, "I have no popularity, no honors, and no scandals. How come it sounds like I'm famous?"

"You didn't know?"

Gao Wen looked stunned. "When this season just started, you were trending for several days."

"This..."

Su Xing shook his head. "I really didn't know. I basically didn't look at Weibo or Douyin while I was in the mountains these past few years."

"This season, Riot officially decided to cancel the Mythic Equipment System. The day they announced it, your name hung on the Weibo trending list for several days."

Gao Wen explained patiently, "People online were saying you were right to blast them back then."

Su Xing:... At the end of 2020, when Riot announced the launch of the Mythic system, he felt that this kind of change would accelerate the depletion of the game's lifespan. As a professional player, he keenly sensed that with Mythic items, the gap between players of different levels would further shrink.

Although adapting to the version was a professional player's job, Su Xing felt that in the face of the Mythic Equipment System, individual skill seemed to become worthless.

In previous competitions, everyone competed on individual skill and hero pool, but after the Mythic Equipment System, there was no so-called "game" in the laning phase. It was just about farming until you got your Mythic item and then fighting for resources.

He couldn't enjoy a shred of fun in competitions under this environment. As a rookie, he didn't have the ability to change it, nor was he willing to adapt to this environment, so he made an extremely bold decision.

He wrote a ten-thousand-word essay on Weibo blasting Riot's official designers for not doing their jobs, and then, taking advantage of his contract expiring, he simply announced his retirement.

"Admitting mistakes and correcting them is never too late."

Su Xing gave his own evaluation after a moment of silence. At the same time, the live stream on his tablet showed Ning, Uzi, and other so-called captains selecting the members they wanted.

The whole process looked a bit like those variety shows he had seen before. This Legend Cup, composed of retired players, really seemed full of gimmicks.

The barrage in the live stream was also very interesting. What Su Xing found regrettable was that those old rivals on the field were unwilling to pick him as a teammate.

"Su Xing? Holy crap, the missing person has returned!?"

"Huya is truly awesome, they actually dug him out. I wonder what this guy's level is now."

"Awesome, that man has returned!"

"Don't understand, let me ask: who is Su Xing?"

"Let's put it this way: this guy blasted Rookie, Scout, and even Knight—who was basically from the same era—in the mid lane during his first season in the LPL. If it weren't for his teammates being subpar, he probably could have gone to the World Championship that year."

"He was the LPL Rookie of the Year in his first year. This guy's mid lane was insanely strong; he even broke the LPL solo kill record at the time."

"He was the first pro player to dare to blast Riot on Weibo. He felt that the appearance of the Mythic Equipment System was destroying League of Legends, and facts proved he was right..."

"He announced his retirement right after scolding them. I heard Tencent pressured him. Don't know if it's true." "Pressure my ass. He felt that the games after the Mythic items were meaningless, so he chose to retire."

"It really is meaningless. Ranked is like this too. Heroes that can't build Goredrinker or Divine Sunderer don't deserve to appear in the game."

"Laughing to death, if Riot had done anything right, they should have deleted Mythic items a long time ago!"

"What has this guy been doing? It's been over three years, how come there's not even a shadow of him, and I haven't seen him stream?"

"Who knows? Maybe he doesn't even play games anymore..."

"That's going too far. If he doesn't even play games, isn't dragging him out to participate in the Old Man Cup just for laughs?"

"It's like saying Snake Brother knows how to play League of Legends. Isn't he just being dragged in to make up the numbers?"

"To be fair, Snake Brother says he's a Master in the Korean server..."

"Master my ass. Tieba dug it up; his account was bought."

"The barrage is more interesting than the show."

After a rough glance at the dense barrage in the live stream, Su Xing reached a conclusion. He was so busy watching the barrage that he didn't even notice what others were saying in the show.

"Looks like no one wants you, this 'One-cost Card'."

Gao Wen, sitting in the front driving, raised the corners of her mouth. "Following this trend, you'll probably end up on Uzi's team."

"Huh, I'm on Uzi's team?"

Su Xing was a bit surprised. Sure enough, a moment later, Guan Zeyuan announced on the show that the last player in the pool, Su Xing, would automatically be assigned to Uzi's team as the mid laner.

Through the live stream, one could see Uzi smiling somewhat reluctantly. It was understandable; surely no one wanted their mid lane teammate to be someone who hadn't touched the game in years.

"Looks like I guessed right."

Gao Wen said calmly, "The main purpose of holding the Legend Cup this time is to attract traffic while supporting some retired pro players. Some people in Huya's upper management hope that Ning and Theshy will win, so that the topic-worthiness can be maximized."

"Indeed, I can see that."

Su Xing nodded. He could see that Huya was determined to eat up the traffic from the IG (Incheon) players this time.

Otherwise, why would Ning and Bao Lan both be captains while Theshy wasn't? Besides, Ning had the first choice of teammates, and he chose Theshy directly.

"But there are also people who want Uzi to win, after all, he and Theshy are the two biggest traffic magnets in the LPL."

Gao Wen smiled. "This is also an opportunity for you."

"Opportunity?"

Su Xing laughed dumbly. "I'm long past the age of being competitive. Champion or not, it doesn't matter. This time, since you guys at Huya are paying to help those kids in the mountains, I don't mind being a supporting clown."

"You really have changed."

Hearing this, Gao Wen felt a little saddened. It was hard to imagine that the Su Xing of today had once proudly said a few years ago that he would replace Lee Sang-hyeok and become the world's strongest legendary mid laner.

"Time is a butcher's knife."

Su Xing looked at the scenery receding outside the car window and smiled. "This is pretty good too."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3 =====