KPL’s Strongest Support

When they were done reviewing the game, it was already past one in the morning. The first floor of the base was still brightly lit. Da Qing, Da Ming, and Lu Qi were still playing ranked games to catch up on their live-stream duration.

Closing her filled notebook, Yu Yue let out a satisfied sigh.

During the match against ARE, she did feel very disastrous and irritable, but she always learned something new during the post-match review.

Qi Ge was right; she still had a long way to go before becoming a first-tier support in KPL. Even Qing Guang could not be considered a first-tier support, there was still Jian Jia and Dunguang above him. Those were the targets she should aim for.

One day, she would become KPL’s strongest support. But for now, it was all just wishful thinking.

As soon as she exited the game, Yu Yue saw that her WeChat was bombarded.

[Royal Brother[1]: It’s been a year since you started playing e-sports, how do you feel? If it’s too tiring, just come back home, brother will raise you.]

[Dearest Mother: Yue ah, I haven’t seen you go on stage to play, what don’t you come back to study? As a girl, why do you want to play games?]

[Shu Hui ya[2]: Yue Yue! I saw you on the stage! Qi Ge also spoke well of you! You’re amazing!]

After briefly responding to her brother and mother’s inquiries, Yu Yue started chatting with her best friend:

[Just finished reviewing the training match. What did Qi Ge say about me?]

[Shu Hui ya: well, he praised you. He said that he wanted to play with you and that you’ll definitely become a top support. Didn’t you watch the post-match interview?]

[Qi Ge was watching me closely, he wouldn’t let me watch it. And I’ve been busy lately, so I haven’t had much time to watch other things.]

Yu Yue typed on her phone with her thumbs.

[Let me tell you a secret, I moved to the base for the starting lineup.]

[Shu Hui: Congratulations! Does that mean you’re living with Qi Ge? That’s amazing! I should have gone with you to play e-sports.]

[Yu Yue: Kinda.]

She was too embarrassed to say that she was arranged to live in a small storage room under the stairs.

[Now, I rotate with Senior Lian to play training matches.]

Lian was unwilling to do so and often moved Yu Yue’s gaming chair away. But they needed to rotate, so Yu Yue would still hang around him.

[Shu Hui ya: Qi Ge is super handsome, can you get me an autograph? It would be even better if it’s his selfie! He’s simply a little fairy!]

Hehe, your little fairy gets kicked out of the base by the manager to exercise every morning wearing only boxers.

Yang Shu Hui was Yu Yue’s best friend. Yu Yue could not say if she was really that good of a friend, but in high school, she only had this one friend. Compared to socializing, she preferred to spend her time gaming. After the college entrance exam, she made a bold decision:

To defer her studies and play professionally.

Her parents were against her decision. It was her brother who helped her pack her bags and sent her on a train to City S.

Yang Shi Hui also came to see her off. After learning about the esports circle, Yang Shi Hui fell in love with Lu Qi’s appearance and entrusted Yu Yue with the task of getting Lu Qi’s autographed photo.

Obviously, Yu Yue forgot all about it.

[Shi Hui ya: Nevermind, forget about it. I knew you are simple-minded. I’m going to bed. You can suffer slowly by yourself.]

[I’m going to bed too.]

Ling Chen, who was more health-conscious, had already gone up to sleep a long time ago.

Before she could hit the send button, some pushed open the door of the base. It was Xiao Ruo, who was surprised to see Yu Yue still lingering on the first floor, “Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

“I was reviewing, “ Yu Yue said, abashed.

Actually, the team had a data analyst, but she felt that reviewing immediately after the game would be more effective. This way, she would have a deeper impression.

Xiao Ruo did not doubt her explanation and walked over with a stack of files, “Just nice that you’re still awake. There’s a document here for you, come and take a look.”

Lu Qi, who just ended his live stream, walked over, “What is it?”

“Live stream contract.” Though he was the team’s manager, Xiao Ruo did not put on any air and shrugged his shoulders. “I had a meeting all afternoon.”

“And this was what you guys were meeting about?” Lu Qi snorted disdainfully.

Xiao Ruo gave him a glare and turned to face Yu Yue, speaking in an amicable manner, “It’s going to be the playoffs soon. The management team has decided to rotate the supports, which means your chances of playing will greatly increase. Under these circumstances, exposure is necessary. As the new support, we need to let JK’s fans know about you, right? I heard that you also don’t have a live stream platform, why don’t you stream on Jin Jiang, our collaborative partner? We’ll reserve a spot for you.”

Yu Yue was not unreasonable and asked, “When do I start?”

“As early as tomorrow,” Xiao Ruo said. “It’s already the end of the month, so the salary for this month will be counted based on the live stream duration. Starting next month, you’ll have to complete the live stream duration stipulated in the contract, understood?”

Lu Qi gave her a sympathetic look, “Poor thing, you’re going to have to stay up late to complete the duration like us soon.”

“Who told you not to stream consistently?” Xiao Ruo showed no sympathy for this money tree’s encounter with late-night streaming.

Yu Yue started calculating in her heart. It did not seem like a lot of time if she streamed a little every day. Besides, this was a considerable income!

So, she agreed.

As she was signing the contract, Lu Qi suddenly asked Xiao Ruo who was standing beside him, “Did you submit the list of players for the playoffs?”

Xiao Ruo: “I just submitted it. Do I need your reminder? Just don’t forget that you have to draw the lots the day after tomorrow.”

Yu Yue handed the signed contract back to Xiao Ruo.

Xiao Ruo checked it and let out a satisfied smile, “Tomorrow, the official list of players from each team will be released, don’t forget to forward it. Yu Yue, do you got it?”

After Xiao Ruo left, Yu Yue asked Lu Qi who was next to her, “I know I have to forward it, but why did he need to specially remind me?”

Lu Qi shrugged, “Who knows? Maybe he thinks that you’re particularly silly?”

Yu Yue grabbed the pillow on the sofa with the word ‘Time’ on it and threw it towards her captain.

The latter, taking advantage of his natural height and long legs, reached out and caught the pillow mid-air. Smirking, he said, “Don’t worry about it. The list will be released tomorrow, and everything will be clear.”

“I feel like you guys are plotting something against me, but I have no evidence,” Yu Yue guessed, cautious.

This time, the team captain did not reply to her, heading upstairs to take a shower, leaving behind a “Duo with me tomorrow night.”

The next day, the live streaming equipment was moved into the cramped base. Only then did JK find out that their cute support, Eden, was joining their live streaming team. Immediately, the three senior players looked at Yu Yue with pity, “Oh this young lady, what a tragedy! This live streaming is like the abyss of suffering!”

At this time, Lian was also live streaming. Hearing the sound of the equipment getting installed, he said disdainfully to his audience, “Yes, that annoying person is also going to start live streaming.”

“Where? In the spirit of mutual love between supports, of course, it’s beside me.”

“Jin Jiang platform.”

“Room number? Ghost knows[3]. Don’t ask me. Admin, suspend these accounts. Fans who care about other players, what do I need your half-heartedness for?” 

As more and more viewers asked about Yu Yue, Lian became frustrated and ended the live stream within a second. Before he left, he glared angrily at Yu Yue and Qing Guang, who were discussing supporting knowledge on the sofa, “This kind of simple knowledge on vision and you still need someone to teach you, I think you should quit being a pro player.”

“Oh?” Qing Guang replied unhappily, “Don’t interrupt others when they’re speaking. Not knowing this basic etiquette, what kind of person are you?”

“You!” Lian had probably never met such a domineering guest like Qing Guang and could not find the right words to rebuke him. He could only storm off in anger.

Qing Guang waved his hand in front of Yu Yue’s eyes, “Focus. No need to bother with what he said. Anyways, vision is really one of the support’s most important responsibilities. A good support can provide a huge advantage to the team just by having a good vision. There are so many bushes in the King’s Gorge, not every bush needed to be checked, just focus on the bushes that may threaten the survival of the team’s carry. For example, the bushes behind the red buff.”

Qing Guang circled a spot on the map with a pencil, “Every year, the number of carries who died in these bushes is enough to go around the world three and a half times. These bushes must be checked before the carry goes in. In our match, you guys were ambushed by us here. You can’t ignore your mistakes. Maybe you panicked, but you can’t afford to panic in a professional game. You need to pay attention next time. Similarly, this is also a strategic spot, when you have the chance, you can try to ambush your enemy here……”

At six o’clock in the evening, Qing Guang had dinner at JK’s base. He was lying on the sofa to rest when he found that JK’s official Weibo had posted an update.

[JK Esports Club: #Forward##2019 KPL Playoffs JK team’s lineup#

We’ll be rotating the supports in the playoffs, selecting the most suitable support for the respective matches. We hope that @JK-Eden’s performance will remain stable and that she will remain calm on the stage~]

In this lineup, Lian was still the starting support, and Eden, who had shone in the relegation match, was still a substitute.

But, there was only one substitute.

Eden.

The other substitute positions were all empty.

In other words, the top laner, jungler, mid laner, and bot laner were all starting players. Only the support’s position had two players.

After the relegation match, Tieba once again exploded into a frenzy.

[I have to say that I find this acceptable. Why not make Eden the starting player instead of pulling this disgusting move?]

[Don’t ask, if you do, it’s that she’s encrusted in diamonds; she’s precious and everyone in the world has to make way for her.]

[I’ll be fair. Eden did make some impressive plays in the relegation match, but I don’t think that she’s strong enough to rotate with Lian. Did Lian become low or is JK just trying to promote female players?]

[A joke. Heh.]

 [I’m an insider. Quietly spilling tea: This is the result of a compromise between the coach and team manager after a fight. Qi Ge’s idea was not to let Lian play and send Eden up, but the lineup submitted at the start of the season did not allow for changes mid season.]

[Qi Ge! Qi Ge, come back to your senses! Don’t let female players play support! Did you forget about that cowardly Sun Bin in that second game?]

[Isn’t JK’s team manager overreaching his control….. What does a management guy know about the competitive scene? Will he shoulder the responsibility if they lose?]

[It’s said that after the relegation match, some investors withdrew. But the team’s main investor hasn’t left yet. It’s said that they were so happy, they even renovated JK’s new base after that successful match.]

……

[Quick, look! Their official Weibo updated again! They opened a live streaming room for Eden: Room 4191276 on Jin Jiang platform!]

References

References↑1In case anyone is wondering, this is Yu Yus’s elder brother↑2particle equivalent to 啊 after a vowel, expressing surprise or doubt↑3Same meaning as who knows?