This Lee Sang-hyeok is very strong, but he lacks self-awareness.

The following afternoon, Abu summoned everyone to the base's conference room.

This meeting had a particularly different atmosphere.

Although Abu's face showed signs of fatigue, the ambition in his eyes was almost overflowing.

"Everyone, please sit down."

Abu tapped on the whiteboard, which displayed a gold poster with a crossed swords emblem.

"Before I head to São Paulo, I need to inform you of something. This is the latest tournament announcement from Riot Games: the Intercontinental Invitational."

"The Asia region event will be held in Taiwan in June."

Abu's voice carried significant weight in the quiet room.

"The rules are simple: the top four teams from each region's Spring Split will form a relay team to compete across regions. This means we not only have to win for EDG, but also for the LPL."

As soon as Abu finished speaking, Meiko couldn't help but whistle:

"Holy crap, this format is awesome. Does that mean we'll have to fight alongside Uzi and the others?"

"It's not just about fighting side by side, it's about sharing life and death."

"These inter-regional competitions, to put it bluntly, can be elevated to the level of competition between nations."

"Therefore, this MSI trip is even more important."

Abu said seriously.

"We are the only team representing the LPL at this MSI, and we will also be the LPL's number one seed at the Rift Rivals."

"If our momentum is broken in Brazil, then when we face SKT, KT, and SSG from LCK at the Rift Rivals in June, our LPL will have already lost half of its momentum."

Abu turned to look at Faker and Scout, his tone softening slightly, but the words remained sharp:

"Ruechan, Sanghyeok, you are Koreans. Your professional careers, and your possible next destination, will likely be LCK teams. I know you'll feel a lot more pressure playing against LCK teams, but I want you to know that as long as you're with EDG, you're fighting for EDG and for the LPL. You must do your best this time!"

Scout nodded vigorously.

"Manager, I will protect everything for EDG!"

Faker nodded slightly but did not answer. He stared at the logo on the whiteboard, his fingers unconsciously rubbing against the seam of his pants.

He wouldn't say he completely disregards these LCK teams, but rather that he's not afraid of them.

Why are you not afraid?

Because they've all been utterly crushed!

As for returning to LCK in the future, that's even more impossible. He gets cold sweats easily when he goes to LPL. If he actually puts on an SKT jersey, he'd probably scare himself to death.

The factory manager, unusually, chimed in: "Of course, Abu. Since we're the number one seed, we have to show some of the spirit of a number one seed. You even booked business class tickets for us. It would be really unacceptable if we got thrashed and returned disappointed."

Abu was amused by the factory manager's words and waved his hand dismissively:

"Alright, stop flattering me. The plane ticket was approved by Boss Zhu with a stroke of his pen."

"But let me make this clear: if you really get crushed, you'll be in for a world of hurt when you get back."

That night, sitting in his room, Lin Xiu recalled memories of 2017 from the original timeline.

The 2017 São Paulo MSI should have been WE's stage.

That was the best era for Leg Bro 957 and Dragon Son Condi, who showed the fighting spirit that LPL had long missed in that year.

However, the final outcome was not perfect.

WE performed brilliantly in the group stage, even defeating SKT, but were eliminated by G2 in the semifinals with great resilience.

The finals will still be SKT's stage, the twilight of Faker's dominance in this game, and the last glory of the SKT dynasty.

"Back then, Faker was still that incredibly arrogant man who only had victory in his eyes."

Lin Xiu muttered to himself,

"The humble and composed Brother Li who later climbed back to the top was much more likable."

He recalled that year's Intercontinental Cup, when LPL defeated LCK in a head-on confrontation for the first time.

Originally, everyone was pessimistic about LPL, thinking that they were just going to feed LCK kills, and there were even differing opinions on whether they could even defeat the provincial team.

As a result, although the process of defeating the provincial team was bumpy, in the final against LCK, EDG, RNG, WE, and OMG united as one.

By employing the strategy of "Tian Ji's horse racing" (a Chinese idiom referring to a famous Chinese strategist known for his skillful use of horse racing), they miraculously defeated LCK, greatly boosting the morale of all LPL fans.

For a period of time, it even eased the tensions between fans of several LPL teams that were previously at odds with each other.

That feeling of pride that "it's okay if I lose, my brothers will back me up" is the purest thing Lin Xiu yearns for most in his career.

"Now that I've already taken WE's place, the script for MSI needs to be rewritten this time."

Lin Xiu clenched his fist.

In the following days, the EDG base became the liveliest place in the entire LPL.

To assist EDG in their preparations, the entire RNG team moved to a nearby hotel and would appear at EDG's training room every afternoon for matches.

The bot lane duel between Uzi and Zet has become the biggest highlight of the past few days.

Lin Xiu often saw the fat man shouting at the screen with a flushed face after performing an extremely skillful maneuver.

Meanwhile, Faker, standing to the side, was like an extremely serious student, even taking notes on Uzi's movement habits when he was in red-temperature mode.

"When he's at full health, his positioning and skill projectiles will veer to the left," Faker said to Lin Xiu, pointing to his notes.

Looking at the crooked Chinese and Korean writing on the notebook, Lin Xiu couldn't help but give Faker a thumbs up in his heart.

On the night of their departure, a light drizzle fell in Shanghai.

Huge business buses were parked at the entrance of the base.

Boss Zhu personally came to see them off and gave each contestant an extremely generous red envelope.

"When you go to Brazil, be careful and, more importantly, win an award."

Boss Zhu's words were concise and to the point.

Lin Xiu, carrying a heavy suitcase, stood by the car door, looking at the base building that held countless dreams of his, and a strong sense of pride suddenly welled up in his heart.

He is no longer the keyboard warrior who could only watch live streams and type on the keyboard in the original world; he is a participant in this era and a rewriter of this worldline.

"Brother Li, get in the car." Lin Xiu turned and called out to Faker, who was staring blankly at the drizzle.

Faker snapped out of his daze and adjusted his glasses. He looked at the red envelope in his hand, then at the dazzling lights of Shanghai in the distance. The confusion in his eyes was finally completely replaced by burning fighting spirit.

The bus started and slowly drove away from the base amidst flashing lights and cheers from fans.

The plane took off from the runway at Pudong Airport.

Inside the business class cabin, Lin Xiu leaned back in the spacious seat, feeling the changes in air pressure.

He looked out the porthole at the city below, silently counting the names he would encounter in São Paulo: Perkz, Bjergsen, Trick, and Peanut.

"This time, it should be different."