LOL: What is a concept player?

Chapter 322 Another earthquake, the Crouching Dragon emerges from the mountain once more!

Chu Ran's Weibo post had barely been published when it instantly caused an uproar throughout the LPL.

The main reason is that Chu Ran hadn't appeared online for several months, and now that the Spring Split regular season is over, many viewers have gradually forgotten about him.

Even new fans who joined in the last few months have no idea who Chu Ran is.

Immediately, they all began to defend their idol, and a barrage of insults appeared in the comment section of Chu Ran's Weibo posts, joining forces with trolls like GSL.

You bastard, you beast, if you don't speak, no one will think you're mute.

[I'm speechless. Who do you think you are to criticize your father? Oh, I checked, a roadside guy who won two championships by luck?]

[I'm laughing so hard. You idiot, are you in such a hurry to get attention again because you haven't been able to play for a while?]

[You beast, how come you're still alive?]

Of course, amidst all the insults, countless Chu Ran fans were also incredibly excited. They were thrilled to finally see Chu Ran back in the LPL, which caused another stir on the Anti-Terrorist Forum and Hupu.

【Chu Shen! Come back soon! IG needs you, LPL can't do without you.】

[Breaking news! Chu Shen is back, and Weibo is launching another group buy!]

[To the person upstairs, stop getting so excited. He hasn't played in months. With his current skill level, who can he possibly beat if he comes back?]

[Indeed, surely no one is still praising Ranchu, right? Do you know why Ranchu switched to jungle this year? It's because of the turret plating item, so Ranchu stopped playing lanes.]

[Then they realized even jungling wasn't working, so they quickly found an excuse to temporarily withdraw from the LPL. What a coward.]

In an instant, Chu Ran's latest Weibo post quickly became a trending topic, prompting various reactions from LPL clubs and players.

Inside the RNG club.

Uzi frantically reported Chu Ran's Weibo posts and some of the comments below, and said in a fit of anger: "No way, how come this beast is still alive? It's been so comfortable not to see him for the past few months, and now he's suddenly popped up again."

"Do you think he's going to return to the LPL?" Xiaohu suddenly asked.

His words immediately made Uzi's pupils shrink, and a sense of fear appeared on his face. Although he said he was not afraid of Chu Ran, he had been thoroughly beaten by Chu Ran over the past few years. It would be a lie to say that he was not afraid.

"So what if he's back? Let's beat him up and ruin his reputation," Ning Mazi said nonchalantly.

Kasra frowned, "Can you not be so confident? We couldn't even beat FPX and Top in the regular season, and we were tied with IG. If he goes back to IG, it's really hard to say what will happen if we RNG run into him."

"What are you afraid of? We don't even know if IG can beat EDG."

As Uzi said, based on the current regular season standings, the Spring Split playoffs will begin in a while, and IG's first opponent will be Chu Ran's former team, EDG.

Upon seeing Chu Ran's sudden Weibo post, Abu panicked and roared loudly in the training room in his extremely shrill voice.

"Oh no, is Xiao Ran going to come back? That shouldn't be the case. It should be at least June."

He knew that Chu Ran had been forced to return to school by a consortium of major capital groups. Unless Chu Ran gave up the degree, but obviously that was impossible, and EDG was also involved in this matter, plus their first opponent in the playoffs was IG.

Abu was genuinely panicked.

It's worth noting that he still harbors hopes for EDG, wishing they could win the Spring Split championship this year and then represent the LPL at MSI again, thereby winning the MSI championship and continuing EDG's glorious legacy.

"That's perfect!" Mala Xiangguo declared confidently. "I'm going to beat Chu Shen! Winning the championship starts with defeating the two-time champion."

Although he and Chu Ran were old teammates, if he really encountered Chu Ran in a match, he would not be merciful and would even go further.

The thought of beating the double champion to the point of being unable to take care of himself is such a fulfilling thing.

"Teacher Guo, you even defeated God Chu. If God Chu really comes back and we lose, then you'd better not turn your phone on for half a month."

Saint Gun looked at the heated discussions on various forums on his phone screen and couldn't help but click his tongue. During this period, EDG fans had been frantically bombarding Chu Ran and IG's various accounts.

They were using the pretext of eliminating traitors.

Under such circumstances, Chu Ran and IG fans' anger had already reached its peak. He didn't even dare to think about whether EDG would be an opponent if Chu Ran really returned to LPL.

If we lose
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Saint Gun suddenly shivered, and at that moment, Scout quietly spoke up: "Let him do it! I think the same as Mlxg, we'll only feel a sense of accomplishment if we defeat the full IG team, what do you mean by the strongest super team this year."

Scout snorted coldly. He had a lot of grievances against Chu Ran. If he really had the chance to settle things with Chu Ran, he would definitely not hold back. Besides, his group of "mommy fans" were also looking forward to this day.

Not only them, but also teams and players with some strength, such as FPX and Top, are looking forward to Chu Ran's return.

Just like many people around the world want to defeat Faker, in their LPL, most ambitious people want to defeat Chu Ran to prove themselves. As long as they defeat Chu Ran, their value will definitely skyrocket.

“My goodness! Xiao Tian, ​​he was absolutely right. You really do seem to have depression.”

Upon hearing Doinb's words, Gao Tianliang stared at him with gloomy eyes, remaining silent for a long time before ultimately choosing to ignore him. Fortunately, Liu Qingsong, who was standing nearby, quickly smoothed things over.

"No way, our Brother Tian is just not good with words. This Easy is really infuriating. He hasn't played a match in months, why does he suddenly show up and bark like a dog?"

“Indeed.” Lin Weixiang was also very unhappy, mainly because Chu Ran made LPL aware of his reputation as a “cannon fodder”, even though the matter was originally not very popular.

In addition, Chu Ran caused their training time to double during this period, leaving him with no rest time at all, and this should also be blamed on Chu Ran.

"Will he come back?" Gao Tianliang asked, a rare occurrence for him.

Doinb shook his head and laughed like a monkey, "Damn, who knows? But Xiaotian, if you want to beat him to win the championship, the chances are very small. In the regular season, FPX was first, and IG probably didn't even have the qualifications to meet us."

This is true.

FPX was a huge dark horse in this year's Spring Split, giving the LPL countless surprises.

No one expected that FPX, a seemingly ordinary team, could achieve such results this year. To date, they have attracted many fans.

In the LPL forums, discussions about FPX this year are everywhere, and almost all of them are praising them.

Let's have a rational discussion, without bias or favoritism: Is FPX the strongest team in the LPL this year?

I'm not a fan of any particular team, just a casual observer, but FPX is genuinely strong; their mid-jungle synergy is incredible.

A new dynasty is about to be born – that's FPX!

These endless comments made the entire FPX team a bit complacent. Coupled with their undeniable achievements, they didn't even take Chu Ran's return to the LPL seriously.

At the same time, in the IG club's training room.

Jakeylove and the others looked worried. He frowned and sighed a few times, saying, "Hey guys, what are we going to do in the playoffs? We're not going to get eliminated in the first round, are we? That would be a laughing stock."

"Wenbo, if you take less damage from the turrets, we can win."

Hearing Meiko's words, Jackeylove couldn't help but retort, "No, buddy, I hardly ever tanked towers during the regular season, okay? And don't talk, I didn't use Cleanse to remove the knock-up."

It must be said that Jackeylove's progress has been quite noticeable since Chu Ran set up specific training plans for each of them.

He was originally a rough player, so Chu Ran had Daney frantically improve his fundamentals, such as tanking towers, positioning to catch Qs, or moving forward as much as possible during team fights. Such situations are now rarely seen.

However, this also has a drawback. After Jackeylove became more stable, he lost the same kind of unstoppable drive as before, so he rarely takes the initiative to charge in and create those miracle team fights anymore.

"Haha, Jackey, what are you afraid of? Didn't you say you'd give VIP slots to the chat and let people criticize whatever they want after sending gifts?" Rooike masked his worries with a smile.

The biggest problem their team is facing right now is their jungler. The academy jungler is still a bit lacking. Their rhythm and strategy are completely outmatched by the opponent. If Rooike can't gain an advantage in the mid lane, then they have no chance of winning, which is equivalent to losing a player.

"It's okay, it's okay. With me carrying the team, we can beat EDG."

"Shy, can we really win?" Meiko exclaimed, gazing at the ceiling. "Why isn't Ran back yet? Didn't he promise to lead us to the championship?"

"Xiba!"

Just then, Daney couldn't help but curse, "What happened to the Galactic Battleship? It's sunk!"

Before the Spring Split started, they promised to take him to the World Championship, but now they might be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Now they just need to change their jungler to solve the problem.

"It's come to this, let's just keep training. The competition hasn't even started yet." Rooike, as the older brother, offered a few words of forced comfort, though he himself was somewhat annoyed.

Unlike Chu Ran and Meiko, he didn't win so many championships that he was overwhelmed with them.

He's been a professional player for a long time, and has been fighting in the LPL for quite some time, but he hasn't won a championship yet. He felt he was in good form this year, but he's uncertain about next year. He had to consider whether this year was his last chance, and now it's ended like this, which he truly can't accept.

Upon hearing Rooike's words, everyone sighed a few more times and prepared to train, but just then...

Without warning!
A familiar voice suddenly rang out in the training room.

"No, why are you all sighing and complaining?"

In an instant, upon hearing that familiar voice, Meiko and the others all turned to look, and their pupils dilated rapidly, followed by a series of exclamations!

"Fuck! Godfather!"

"Brother Ran!"

"Boss, damn it, you're finally back."

The person who arrived was Chu Ran. Everyone who saw Chu Ran's handsome smiling face was overjoyed. They never expected that Chu Ran would come back at this time.

"There's nothing I can do, you guys are just too bad. Watching your competition while I was writing my thesis made me absolutely furious." Chu Ran sat on the sofa, crossed his legs, and then asked a staff member to make him a cup of tea.

Chu Ran's words left Meiko and the others stunned for a few seconds.

"Ran-ge, the thesis, what thesis?" Meiko asked curiously.

"My graduation thesis, what else could it be?" Chu Ran shrugged. "In order to be able to charge into the professional arena without any worries, I spent several months completing all my credits."

"???"

After Chu Ran finished speaking, the training room suddenly fell into a deathly silence!
Rooike and the others stared at each other in disbelief. Even though they were all internet addicts who hadn't read many books, they still knew what it meant for Chu Ran to complete all his credits in just a few months.

"what?"

"No way, buddy, you're cheating!"

Even though Chu Ran studied philosophy, a very easy major, it was still amazing that he finished it so quickly.

"Wenbo, you've hit the nail on the head. I did turn it on." Chu Ran waved his index finger up and down. "No, I just never turned it off."

After a moment of silence, Rooike was the first to shout in a high-pitched voice, "Holy crap, does that mean we can participate in the playoffs?"

"There should be no surprises."

Chu Ran smiled, his eyes filled with a hint of murderous intent. "It's time to settle accounts with the clubs that were behind this. I haven't been in the LPL lately, and some of the haters have been really angry."

"Holy crap! Ran is awesome!"

"6666!"

In an instant, when they confirmed that Chu Ran would participate in the playoffs, everyone was so excited that they danced with joy, and their previous worried expressions were instantly replaced by happiness.

If a true super team has emerged, then everyone in the LPL should understand how terrifying IG is!

Chu Ran did not announce his return in advance, but instead had the club release an official statement saying that a new member would be joining IG in the first round of the playoffs.

This immediately sparked the interest of countless viewers and became a hot topic of discussion on various LPL forums.

[Huh? Is IG changing their jungler again?]

[That's probably true. IG's poor performance in the regular season is mainly due to their weak jungler.]

[I'm getting bored of laughing. What's the point of changing it? Rooike can beat my junior? Even if you bring Ran Chu, he still can't beat my junior.]

Do you even understand the significance of being ranked number one in average stats during the regular season? That's Scout for you!

[It feels like IG will be just as bad even if they change their jungler; they're destined for a first-round exit in the playoffs. Those advertisers who sponsor IG have nowhere to turn for help. They thought that Ran Chu's investment in IG would bring them huge traffic, but they've lost a fortune.]

Hahaha, this is hilarious! All I can say is, good riddance!

Amidst the overwhelming discussion, the date arrived at April 13th. At IG's home stadium, half an hour before the match was scheduled to begin, the venue, which could hold tens of thousands of people, was already packed to capacity.

Fans holding up signs supporting EDG and IG were shouting and roaring wildly, cheering for their favorite teams.

The popularity of various live streaming rooms is also rising rapidly, and Fujii has also keenly seized this wave of traffic. Even before the match, they had already used the slogan "Another Incheon Landing Battle" to promote the game.

This means that the LPL will be recreating the scene from last year's S-series finals today, where it will determine the winner and the loser!

The live stream chat was constantly scrolling, a dense and dazzling display of comments.

【Wait, why hasn't it started yet?!】

Who exactly is IG's new player? Can they pull off a win against a trash team like EDG?

Who are you chickens calling trash? We, EDG, have won two Grand Slams, what kind of championship did your IG have?

[Haha, without Chu Shen, how could EDG possibly achieve a Grand Slam? The moment Chu Shen leaves EDG, you die-hard fans call him a traitor, constantly clamoring for retribution. Without Chu Shen, EDG is just a domestic powerhouse, a terrible quarterfinalist internationally!]

The competition hasn't even started yet, but the tension is already palpable.

Soon, the camera panned to the commentary booth, where several familiar faces quickly came into view for all the viewers.

"Alright, good afternoon to all the viewers here and in the live stream! Welcome to the first day of the 2019 LPL Spring Playoffs. Next up is a best-of-five match between last year's World Championship champion and runner-up!"

"I wonder if EDG will defeat IG again, or if IG will break the curse of never having beaten EDG in a best-of-five series in the past two years. Let's wait and see. This is commentator Zeyuan!"

"I'm commentator Miller!"

"Hello everyone, I'm Uzi."

When Uzi's face appeared on the live stream screen, GSL cheered immediately.

[6666, it has to be Xiaogou, he's going to personally orchestrate IG's first-round exit in this year's playoffs!]

[That feels good. Wasn't Ran Chu arrogant when he invested in IG, even boasting that he would continue to win championships? Now he's being sent away by Uzi himself!]

"We welcome Uzi to be our commentator for today's BO5. So, which team do you think is better today?" Guan Zeyuan got straight to the point, knowing exactly what Uzi was thinking.

Upon hearing this, Uzi's chubby face lit up with excitement, and he immediately laughed and said, "Well, judging from the regular season, the two teams are actually about the same strength, but IG's jungler is obviously a huge weakness, which is why I'm not too optimistic about IG in today's match. And Spicy Hot Pot is an extremely aggressive player."

"It's easy to lose your rhythm and composure when facing him. Overall, I think EDG will win 3-1, or even 3-0 in today's match."

"Oh." Miller exclaimed, "It seems that the puppy doesn't think much of IG. But as far as we know, IG is going to have a new member on the field today. Is it possible that this new member will change the course of today's game?"

"This... is a bit risky." Uzi almost laughed out loud. "Mlxg is a top-tier jungler, and EDG's other lanes are not much worse than IG's. It's unlikely that we can find a better jungler, but we can believe in a miracle."

After he finished speaking, the live stream chat started scrolling rapidly again.

[Hilarious! Teacher DaMi, what are you licking? Is RanChu your dad? So much for IG.]

[IG got swept 3-0 today, or I'll eat a ton of shit!]

Indeed, it doesn't matter who comes to IG.

Seeing these comments, many IG fans were furious, but they didn't know how to refute them. They could only suppress their anger and wait for the start of the match.

A moment later, after the simple opening ceremony, Yu Shuang, wearing a white mini dress, walked onto the stage under the spotlight and amidst the cheers of countless spectators.

After a brief opening speech, they began calling for both teams' players and coaches to come to the stage!

"Let's welcome EDG! Top laner Flandre, jungler Mlxg, mid laner Scout, AD carry Iboy, support Baolan, and coach Clearlove!"

"And IG too! Top laner TheShy, mid laner Rookie, AD carry Jackeylove, support Meiko, and the new player who will be joining the team!"

Yu Shuang's tone suddenly rose, and she paused for a few seconds, instantly drawing the audience's curiosity to its peak.

The next second, Yu Shuang's sweet shout resounded throughout the entire venue!

"Jungler - Easy3!"

At this moment, Chu Ran slowly walked onto the stage under the gaze of countless eyes. The spotlight shone on him, and the director quickly gave him a close-up of his handsome face.

Looking at Chu Ran's smile, the scene and the live broadcast room fell into complete silence. Not a sound was heard, and everyone's brains went blank!
(End of this chapter)