Luo Xin hadn't expected Lin Fan to answer like that.
Warning himself not to become a "feed god"—when you put it that way, it actually sounded pretty interesting.
"Hahaha, our player dine is really quite humorous."
"Well, can't help it. I've made too many feeding plays, otherwise I wouldn't have ended up with an 'eating' ID."
After that, Luo Xin asked a few routine questions. Then she paused and said:
"Actually, as a member of Top Esports, a lot of fans are paying close attention to you.
"So this question is on behalf of the fans. Recently, you seem a bit addicted to Rise of Kingdoms. Does playing that game affect your competitive state?"
Hearing this, Lin Fan frowned slightly, as if it were a difficult question to answer.
"In reality, it doesn't affect my competitive condition. After a full day of training, relaxing a bit in my spare time actually helps with balancing work and rest."
"Many LPL players do this sometimes—it's just that their ways of relaxing are different from mine."
"I prefer staying at the base and playing casual games, especially Rise of Kingdoms. It's good for killing fragmented bits of time.
"When I'm playing matches, I even want them to end earlier so I can have more time to play Rise of Kingdoms and Honor of Kings."
In an instant, the bullet comments exploded, no less intense than when Syndra had been slaughtering everyone earlier.
"If I didn't play Rise of Kingdoms myself, I might've believed you. This game isn't just 24/7 online—you need at least 18 hours a day! Say no more, I hereby dub him the Rise of Kingdoms Guy."
"I feel like dine is hinting at someone—he's talking about you, Seaside Boy."
"Hahaha, I feel the same. And not just one person—what about that 'Piao Man' too?"
"Piao Man already admitted to match-fixing and basically ended his career. No point bringing him up again."
TL: Piao Man is some sorta pro player.
"But Bo fixed matches and still got a second chance? Heard he went to North America to restart his career."
"This Rise of Kingdoms Guy really dares to talk. First he mocks fans for blind flaming, then he drops a wide-range AOE."
"But I really didn't expect a substitute to actually become Top Esports' savior."
Across the major platforms, Top Esports fans were also excited—posting again and again, saying 'we're back.'
Even though the opponent was TT, the month-long losing streak had finally ended.
But at the bottom, a post quietly appeared.
"Actually, you guys might be focusing on the wrong thing. In the past ten-plus days, he really hasn't played much League. Every time I enter his stream, it's either Rise of Kingdoms or Heroes of Newerth. You can see all kinds of weird games, but never League of Legends."
"Damn, now that you mention it, that's true. Playing other games instead of League—so why is he still so good?"
"Didn't the Rise of Kingdoms Guy explain it in the interview? He just plays other games to relax in his spare time."
"Then his 'spare time' is pretty long—game records show one League game per day."
"Are we sure he even plays League at all?"
After posting that, the thread owner attached an image.
It was the famous meme of Lawyer Zhang Wei's professional team pose, with Lin Fan's face photoshopped on, and various classic games in his hands.
QQ Speed, Honor of Kings, Genshin Impact, Heroes of Newerth, PUBG…
And right in the C position was Rise of Kingdoms.
TL: C position is main position.
Naturally, it baited a ton of replies.
People called it a god-tier meme.
The image was quickly downloaded and spammed as a sticker across all kinds of gaming group chats.
For a while, many people became curious about Lin Fan.
Could it really be true, as everyone said—that dine never trains and just plays other games all day?
And Top Esports got carried by such a player? That was way too interesting.
If there was a chance later, they'd definitely check out his stream to see if LPL really had produced a 'Rise of Kingdoms Guy.'
…
Top Esports backstage.
JackeyLove looked at Lin Fan chatting eloquently during the interview and showed a surprised expression.
When did Brother Fan become this good at talking? Not only that, he even dared to maintain eye contact while chatting with a girl—his courage had skyrocketed.
Combined with how hard he carried in the match, it almost felt like he'd turned into a different person.
"Damn, Brother Fan is way too cracked. He solo-killed the opposing mid five or six times. I bet UCal will be lifting his blanket tonight and seeing nothing but Varus," Tian said, still reliving the match even after sitting there for so long.
"Wasn't there also Syndra?"
"You think Syndra's getting into his bed? He can only dream of Varus!"
"Fair enough."
That kind of ball-playing, plus black stockings—no need to even think about it.
Zoom was chatting nonstop with Wayward, though Wayward was clearly distracted.
Duke could only shake his head—if young players didn't study properly now, their spots might not be secure later.
Meanwhile, the chubby youngster Qingtian leaned over.
He was fairly humble when it came to learning from seniors.
It's just that the spring split meta didn't really suit his champion pool, so he needed to put in more work practicing heroes.
If someone was willing to teach him, that would be more than welcome.
Luo Sheng swept his gaze over the backstage lounge.
With the losing streak finally over, everyone's spirits were visibly higher—you could feel the youthful energy just sitting there.
This was a good start. Without the pressure of consecutive losses, they could approach upcoming matches with optimism.
Except for one person.
He was already extremely dejected.
He'd even turned off his phone, with no mood to keep chatting.
His own performance hadn't really been that bad. The main issue was that UCal, in the first game, had been completely cracked, playing LeBlanc like he was on drugs and solo-killing him three times.
In the second game, the coach banned that key champion, and the opponent somehow picked Zed.
In that situation, if he'd been playing, he could've used Syndra to stomp Zed just as hard.
As for the third game, it was even more so—the second game had clearly crushed UCal's momentum. Otherwise, there's no way LeBlanc would've lost to Varus.
Knight then looked toward Luo Sheng. As his prized disciple, surely he wouldn't just be benched, right?
Besides, one or two good performances were pretty random and didn't prove much.
Still, a sense of crisis had formed.
He regretted going out to party all night yesterday.
He felt like he couldn't even sit steadily in his chair now. If his state had been maxed out, UCal would've been easy prey.
Then the savior of Top Esports would've been him…
Over the next few days, he'd train seriously, go nowhere else, and stabilize his form.
Once his condition was back, there was no way this support-turned-mid could threaten him.
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup