LPL History

Chapter 135 A Midsummer Night's Dream: Mingkai Weeps, Twin-Tailed Chess God Zhou Lang's Heart is Broken

UZI, feeling his father's love like a landslide, performed exceptionally well in the fourth game.

After being severely criticized by Zhou Li, the other four members of EDG also corrected their attitude and strictly implemented the four-protect-one strategy.

After a grueling 40-minute battle, OMG inevitably began to falter.

In a team fight around Baron Nashor, UZI's Vayne managed to wipe them out.

"Wow! OMG! They still couldn't win this game! UZI's Vayne was quite similar to Lion's! In that case, EDG can push down OMG's base in one fell swoop!"

"Big Brother has ten seconds left to respawn, but it's obviously too late!"

"Congratulations to W...EDG!! for becoming the first LPL Spring Split champion!!!"

The EDG team members embraced and celebrated after winning the championship.

Lu Benwei and others took extra care of UZI.

To everyone's surprise, Zhou Li, who performed exceptionally well in the first two games, didn't even show his face after EDG won the championship.

Zhou Li did not even appear in the post-match interview or the trophy-lifting ceremony.

In an interview, Lu Benwei praised UZI's outstanding performance highly.

However, the entire EDG team made no mention of Zhou Li.

Immediately, all sorts of rumors began to circulate.

Zhou Li has been isolated by the entire EDG team.

WE Esports Club.

Abu watched as the EDG team finished their interviews, a look of excitement on his face.

As EDG's arch-rival, WE shouldn't be so happy to see their opponent win the championship.

However, Zhou Li did not appear from beginning to end, which seems to confirm that what Zhu Kai had told him was true.

“Everyone in our club hates Zhou Li.”

"What nephew? It's all just rumors. This guy has a terrible temper, so everyone just puts up with him."

"But as time goes on, everyone's patience has its limits, and no one is willing to indulge him anymore."

"That kid does have some skill. The puppy is still growing. Once he helps us win a championship, we'll kick him out."

"What's so excessive about this? Those who do many unrighteous deeds will surely perish."

Since what Zhu Kai said is true...

She would naturally be happy if EDG won the championship.

After all, the honor of EDG winning the championship might become her honor in the future.

Mingkai frowned as he watched the interview footage in the live stream, and subconsciously began to speak:

"EDG went a bit too far. They won the championship because of Zhou Li, but they didn't mention Zhou Li in their celebrations or interviews."

Hearing Mingkai's words, Abu, immersed in happiness, didn't think much of it and simply said:

"He deserves it, hahaha."

Mingkai fell silent.

This was the first time he had a disagreement with Abu.

In fact, how could Mingkai know that Abu and he were not so compatible? It was just that the three old WE members, Ruofeng, Caomei, and Weixiao, had already formed a close bond. If Abu wanted to win people over, he would naturally start with Mingkai. In many cases, he just went along with Mingkai's wishes.

In their joy now, they have clearly forgotten.

In Mingkai's view, regardless of Zhou Li's personality or any conflicts within the team,

But when this person is on the field, he is fighting with all his might for your EDG club.

When judging an esports player, should we not base our judgment on ability and achievements, but instead on personal connections and interpersonal skills?

Does that mean UZI has a better temper than Zhou Li?
Does that mean WE's smiling temper is better than Zhou Li's?
Mingkai felt that the EDG players were clearly unaware of their good fortune.

If he had a strong player like Zhou Li, he could be Zhou Li's son in the jungle.

Moreover, the team atmosphere at EDG is significantly better than that at WE.

WE is adored by many fans, but these fans often fight amongst themselves.

For example, Ruofeng and Weixiao's fans often criticize themselves.

Especially after the All-Star Game.

Before the match started, he said, "I will prove on this stage who is the world's number one jungler," but he was repeatedly crushed by junglers from other regions during the match.

This directly caused Mingkai's reputation among WE fans to plummet.

Now, whenever he loses a game, regardless of whether it's his fault or not, he gets scolded.

But EDG is a different story.

Everyone on their team was being criticized equally.
-
EDG Esports Club.

UZI now feels extremely disconnected.

He felt as if his experiences over the past two days were a dream.

Just a day before, when EDG won the championship, everyone on stage was very enthusiastic about him, praising him as the world's number one ADC.

They even abandoned Zhou Li, leaving him alone backstage to watch them lift the championship trophy.

As a result, a group of people walked into the backstage passage, and the EDG members who had just been surrounding him instantly changed their expressions.

Back in the lounge, Lu Benwei kowtowed twice to Zhou Li on the spot.

He claimed that he was so rebellious that he would eat three pounds of excrement as an apology.

This completely baffled UZI.

Now, Zhou Li is just lounging on the sofa with his legs crossed, pretending to sleep. Tabe is standing behind him, massaging his shoulders, while Zhu Kai brings him a glass of heart-shaped apothecary.

"What's going on? Am I part of their scheme?"

The puppy was a little slow to realize what was happening.

Regardless, he did defeat OMG and win the first LPL Spring Split championship.

Zhou Li also made a huge sacrifice by letting him play in crucial games.

So even though he felt like he was playing some strange role, it didn't affect UZI's identification with Zhou Li.

Brother Zhou has two words stuck to his forehead: "Good person".

At this moment, Zhou Li was reading the Records of the Grand Historian.

Winning the first LPL Spring Split championship gave him new abilities.

In the year Gui Si of the early Yuan Dynasty, the royal family changed its banner to EDG, and adopted the name "Dao Li," emphasizing skill as etiquette and the way of governing weapons. On the day of the first tournament, the five tigers swept away the enemy like leaves withering, displaying their domineering demeanor. The spectators were all in awe of their combos, which were as swift as the Weaver Girl throwing her shuttle, and their command as precise as Zhuge Liang arranging his troops.

Upon hearing this thunderous news, powerful teams like WE, IG, and OMG began to study day and night. Ruofeng diligently practiced card manipulation, Lingyao refined his Spider Formation, and Zita mastered the Shadow Clone Technique at night, each displaying their unique abilities. As the LPL battle intensified, tactics evolved daily, with many emulating Daoli's "Screen-Cut Sky-Observing Technique" and "4-1 Split Push Method."

By the spring of 2015, various factions had risen up: OMG broke the old system with fast attacks, WE sought a new chapter with strategic maneuvering, and IG relied on their sheer size to dominate. Although they had not yet reached the profound level of understanding of Taoism and propriety, they were already worlds apart from what they had been before.

The historian praised: "The Way and propriety were laid bare, esports was born. It spurred the competition among nations, honed the skills of heroes to rival the best. Skill and principle were intertwined, like Yu the Great carving mountains; the torch was passed down, like Cangjie creating characters. Its achievements will last a thousand years, its virtue will benefit all; the revival of esports begins here!"

[You renamed Royal Never Give Up (RNG) to EDG, established the Daoli esports team, and successfully led them to become the champions of the first domestic professional league. The formidable strength displayed by the Daoli team during the competition greatly inspired other esports clubs and players in China, prompting them to continuously strive for improvement. The overall strength of the LPL steadily increased in this healthy competitive environment. Your contributions are immeasurable. Ability gained: King of Clubs.]

[King of Clubs: Gain advanced club management knowledge, tips from key LPL players, and a 20% increase in club reputation gain speed.]

This is another skill related to running a club.

But Zhou Li soon discovered that this ability was not so simple.

The key lies in the phrase "[Key LPL Player Tips]".

When he looked at the team members again, he saw a notification above each of their heads.

【UZI】has been unlocked.

【white】is unlocked.

[tabe] is now unlocked.

[godlike] Not unlocked.

Shenchao has been keeping a low profile in the team, and I didn't expect that I hadn't triggered his key storyline yet.

It's worth mentioning that the team's jungler, Lucky, didn't have any notification above his head.

This inevitably disappointed Zhou Li.

It seems Lucky doesn't even qualify for a place in history.

He had been hoping to gain abilities like "Catching Nargacuga Hands" from Lucky, but it seems he's going to be disappointed.

The ability that winning the Spring Split championship gave Zhou Li is actually quite useful.

This can help him unlock the Records of the Grand Historian faster.

In fact, compared to last season, the unlocking progress of historical records is significantly slower this season.

The Spring Season is over, and the overall progress of unlocking Historical Records is only 30%.

Not only is the main storyline completely clueless, but there's also no clue about the progress of unlocking subsequent chapters.

Because they had just won the Spring Split championship, the club gave the players a break.

However, these internet-addicted teenagers still chose to stay in the club.

I'm too lazy to go home and listen to my parents nagging.

Lu Benwei is watching a movie with Shenchao.

Zhou Li glanced at it; it was the classic film "Hail the Judge" starring Stephen Chow.

Watching the plot unfold, Lu Benwei couldn't help but ask:
"Hey, Shenchao, why can't Stephen Chow's imperial sword be used to kill Chang Wei?"

Shenchao explained:
"Didn't it say inside that it was the imperial sword of the Ming Dynasty, while Chang Wei was wearing a yellow jacket of the Qing Dynasty? The two are not products of the same era."

Lu Benwei seemed to be deep in thought:
"So, the swords of the Ming Dynasty can only be used to cut down the emperor's yellow jacket?"

Shenchao thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"Pretty much. The yellow jacket is just a piece of cloth, but it can be covered if you wear Ming Dynasty armor. Only Ming Dynasty armor can cover it."

Zhou Li, who was lost in thought, suddenly paused.

He stood up and rushed to Shenchao's side, asking:
"What did you say?"

Shen Chao was stunned.

"I said the yellow jacket is just a piece of cloth..."

"Not this sentence, the next one!"

"I said only Ming armor will do."

"Only bright armor will suffice..."

Zhou Li murmured.

Suddenly, a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

"Only Mingkai can do it! Yes, only Mingkai can do it!!"

He suddenly found a solution to the problem!

If holding a void funeral for Abu's sister is part of the main storyline of Season 2, then...

So the main storyline of S3 must be Mingkai's desperate struggle!

Although he was aware of the problem before, he had been dealing with it in a slow and unhurried manner.

Moreover, the main reason he did this was because, under his intervention, the situation between EDG and WE had become extremely tense.

Zhou Li was very worried that the situation between the two teams would cause a large-scale deviation in the timeline.

For example, Mingkai might not leave WE, or Abu might form a new team with Mingkai and Ai Dezhu.

No matter what happens, it will be detrimental to the so-called "saving LPL" mission.

Therefore, the Zhou rites were merely trying to minimize historical deviations. A mutually destructive outcome was inevitable.

However, upon closer reflection, the last time such a desperate situation occurred was at the end of 2013, while Mingkai officially joined EDG in February of 14.

This event, which severely impacted the early ecosystem of the LPL, spanned from 13 to 14.

From a time perspective, it's too late.

"So perhaps I can try to make the 'fight to the death' scenario happen sooner rather than later... Anyway, all the preliminary preparations have already been made..."

Zhou Li called Zhu Kai over and said:

"Xiao Zhu, how was your chat with Abu?"

Zhu Kai said with a smile:

“We chat every day, and we’re in the middle of a heated discussion. We’re both cursing you out every day.”

Zhou Li nodded.

"Keep the chat history safe, it will be used as evidence in court."

He stood up, thought for a moment, and then asked:
What has Mingkai been up to lately?

Killing Abu is clearly far from enough.

Zhou Li knew that Mingkai and Abu had a very good relationship now.

Upon hearing Zhou Li's words, Zhu Kai chuckled and said:

"Brother Zhou, as you instructed, I've been keeping an eye on his online girlfriend, and I've finally discovered the problem."

Zhou Li immediately became interested.

"Expand and tell me."

As Zhou Li's right-hand man, Zhu Kai not only managed the kitchen but also oversaw the melon shed.

"Mingkai's online girlfriend is just using someone else's stolen photos. I've found the real person in those photos; she's actually studying in Europe, not in Malaysia as Mingkai's girlfriend claimed." (*)

I've saved the chat history. I was planning to tell you about this, but I've been busy with the Spring Split, so I've put it off for now.

Zhou Li nodded and said with a smile:

"Well done, post this content on Anti-Japanese Bar and Weibo."

A lewd smile appeared on Zhu Kai's face.

"That's too cruel, Brother Zhou. Mingkai's heart must be broken."

Zhou Li glared at Zhu Kai.

"I'm trying to save him. Am I just going to stand by and watch him get deceived by that online girl?"

“That’s true,” Zhu Kai thought for a moment. It’s better to expose this sooner rather than later when Mingkai is deceived and becomes a victim. “Brother Zhou, you’re the greatest.”

Zhu Kai quickly organized the materials and posted them on the Anti-Japanese War forum and Weibo.

The post immediately attracted a large number of netizens to watch and gossip.

However, Mingkai, the person involved, did not respond until that night.

"Brother Zhou, Mingkai doesn't seem to care."

"What's the rush? I have to confront my girlfriend eventually."

The next day, Mingkai still made no move.

"Brother Zhou, should we hire some online trolls to generate buzz?"

"Damn it, does the club's money not matter? They even hire online trolls for this kind of mess. Online trolls should be used for positive things! Let's wait and see."

On the third day, the fermentation became increasingly intense over time.

More and more netizens started to go to Mingkai and the woman's Weibo accounts to make fun of and question them.

Finally, unable to withstand the pressure any longer, Mingkai stepped forward as a man.

"Brother Zhou! Mingkai posted on the Anti-Japanese War Bar!!"

Upon hearing Zhu Kai's words, Zhou Li quickly took out his phone.

As soon as I logged onto the Anti-Japanese War forum, I saw the post made by the factory manager.

And the post title is "Hello everyone, I am clearlove," which makes it very easy to find.

However, Zhou Li, as a junior moderator of the Anti-Japanese War forum, still thoughtfully pinned and featured Mingkai's post.

The user with the ID "Minglian," also known as the factory manager, posted a statement on the Anti-Pressure Bar.

I just got back and saw these revelations. As the person involved, I can assure you that they are true.

Actually, I already knew about these things some time ago, so to be precise, it wasn't that I was scammed, but rather that I was dumped after using them.

We are two people who have no relationship now, so I beg everyone not to continue to pay attention to her, disturb her, or hurt her. She has her own life, and I don't want her to be affected. This is the last bit of love I can give her.

Let's part amicably, like in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," let bygones be bygones. (*)

As Zhou Li watched Mingkai's speech, a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Mingkai is so affectionate, what a Midsummer Night's Dream! What a responsible and devoted simp! Even after being deceived, he still defends the woman. I cried. What about you, Xiao Zhu?"

Zhu Kai took a clove of garlic out of his pocket and touched it.

"I cried too, Brother Zhou."

"How the hell can you pull garlic out of your pocket?"

"It's a cook's basic courtesy."

Zhou Li was clearly in a good mood and said:

“Starting today, you will wait outside the WE club. As soon as you see Mingkai come out alone, call me immediately.”

He took out a hundred yuan from his pocket and stuffed it into Zhu Kai's hand.

"Brother Zhou, why do you need money for such a small thing?"

"This is the money for your tent."

Seeing Zhu Kai leave, Zhou Li felt that things were finally starting to look promising and was in a great mood.

Actually, I'm not afraid of anything else when doing things, but I'm afraid of being clueless and without any ideas, just bumping around like a headless fly.

Now that he has a clear idea of ​​what to do and has found his direction for the future, Zhou Li is full of energy.

This was the first time the EDG team had seen Zhou Li so vividly.

After all, most of the time, Zhou Li only seemed energetic when he was cursing; otherwise, he was quite lazy.

As the club's owner, Zhou Li also began to care about his players.

"Hey puppy, have you started dating anyone lately?"

"No."

"That's good, just remember to watch out for Aomimi."

UZI was taken aback: "What is Aomimi?"

Zhou Li ignored him.

"Lu Benwei, have you been swearing these past two days?"

Tabe helped Lu Benwei answer the question.

"Brother Zhou, you should ask him if he swore in those two minutes."

"That's good, keep it up, but remember that while you can be foul-mouthed yourself, don't incite others to swear."

Lu Benwei looked somewhat bewildered, while Zhou Li had already turned his gaze to Tabe.

"Tabe, is the mouth and brain nerves connected yet?"

Tabe blushed and stammered.

"If all else fails, get a CT scan of your brain. Or you should just buy some more 'shut up' patches."

"Lucky, watch some borderline videos more often."

"I was referring to a woman."

"Remember what I said, and everyone will have a bright future."

Shen Chao, who was sitting in the corner, spoke up:

"Brother Zhou, what about me?"

Zhou Li looked at Shen Chao and thought for a moment.

"How about we play a game of Connect Four?"

Zhou Li only mentioned it casually, but unexpectedly the Records of the Grand Historian responded.

"Xiao Zhu! Xiao Zhu, get me a game of Gomoku!"

"Brother Zhou, didn't Xiao Zhu go out?"

Zhou Li immediately became anxious.

"Quick, Chris, go buy me a set of Gomoku (Five in a Row). I want to play Go with Shenchao!"

Soon, Chris sat down, panting, with the Go set in his arms.

Zhou Li immediately pulled Shen Chao over and set up the Go board.

Then a black piece landed in the middle.

"Come on, Shenchao, let's play chess!!"

Shenchao was completely bewildered by Zhou Li's series of actions.

He glanced at Zhou Li.

It was just a game of Gomoku, but the excitement, agitation, and even distorted emotions flashing in the opponent's eyes were almost overflowing.

"What does Brother Zhou mean by this?"

Shenchao picked up the white pieces, and couldn't help but speculate in his mind.

There is only one black piece on the chessboard.

But at this moment, it seemed to exude endless mystery.

It was as if wherever he landed was wrong.

An invisible, immense pressure made Shenchao feel breathless.

After a long while, he sighed and put the white chess piece back into the chess box.

"I lost."

The EDG players watching looked on in astonishment.

Lu Benwei couldn't help but complain:
"Wow! Bro, why did you surrender when you were at full health?"

The next moment, the Records of the Grand Historian turned the page.

Zhou Li became excited instantly. Shen Chao, as a "god" in chess, was indeed something special.

His famous meme is "surrendering at full health".

Imagine this: in a perfectly even match, forcing the opponent to throw 20 straight – isn't that an incredible skill?!

Zhou Li looked directly at the Ability section.

[Gained Ability: Twin Tails.]

"??????????"

(End of this chapter)