Chapter 6

If Pei Yun Chang and Bian Yan are the best marksmen among these youth trainees, then Pan Shi is undoubtedly the top player in the side lane. Not only did he single-handedly take down the opponent’s white-haired player, but he also lured in the enemy jungler for a two-on-one, securing a double kill and dominating the confrontation lane. He definitely has the confidence to challenge Pei Yun Chang to a duel.

“Switch lanes?”

“No.” Bian Yan refused decisively.

Pan Shi, with low health, returned to base, glancing at Bian Yan a few more times.

“Alright~”

The bottom lane’s first tower was being attacked by Pei Yun Chang, forcing Bian Yan to hide in the red zone to farm resources. Pei Yun Chang, leveraging his economic advantage, seized the opportunity to launch a combo, forcing the enemy marksman and support to retreat into the bushes to farm mid-lane resources.

Pei Yun Chang pressed deep, signaling his team to gather, while Bian Yan, after clearing the mid-lane, looked for a chance to defend the tower. A team fight was on the verge of breaking out.

“Pei, my ultimate and flash are ready,” reported the red-haired support, “I can initiate anytime.”

“No rush, keep an eye on Pan Shi’s position.” Pei Yun Chang continuously opened the control panel to monitor everyone’s economy.

Before they could react, Pan Shi suddenly activated his ultimate and charged out from the river, pinning the enemy mid and support against the wall with a hammer!

“Your daddy’s here!”

Pan Shi seized the opportunity perfectly, arrogantly shouting, “Curse Star, come and deal damage!”

Bian Yan, who had been biding his time, was waiting for this moment! Curse Star rolled in, stacking his passive to deal full damage, instantly evaporating the enemy mid and support.

“Awesome!” Pan Shi shouted loudly.

Although Pei Yun Chang wasn’t controlled by Pan Shi, he still lost a lot of health in the chaotic fight. Even though their top laner and jungler came to support, Bian Yan deliberately blocked Pei Yun Chang’s path, leaving the rest to Pan Shi.

Enemies meet on a narrow path, and a fight is inevitable.

Marksmen have high damage but low health, and a real fight only takes a few seconds to determine the winner. Although Pei Yun Chang had a higher economy, Bian Yan still had a flash in hand that he hadn’t used. He seized the moment to flash and reposition, dodging Light’s skill, and in an instant, Pei Yun Chang was taken down by Bian Yan’s attack.

“Solo kill! Awesome!”

The two marksmen moved so fast that Bian Yan’s purple-haired support couldn’t even shield him before Pei Yun Chang was gone. At this point, the economy of both marksmen was equal.

The game reached the ten-minute mark, and the Storm Dominator respawned, a resource both sides had to contest. Both teams pressed into the Dragon Pit.

The red-haired support initiated the fight, with Pei Yun Chang following closely, using burst damage to break through the enemy mid-lane, turning the situation into a five-on-four.

“Damn, sorry guys, I got caught,” the yellow-haired mid-laner opened the control panel in frustration, informing his teammates, “Pei’s frenzy is ready, be careful of getting focused!”

After killing the mage, Pei Yun Chang moved to the side to recover, “Find the enemy’s damage dealers.”

Pan Shi wanted to cut the carry, but the enemy side laner, who had been frustrated the whole game, finally developed and, with his thick health bar, chased and harassed him, preventing Pan Shi from finding an opportunity.

The situation was chaotic, and Bian Yan had to abandon the dragon and join the fight—

Coincidentally, the two marksmen started dueling again.

The enemy mid-laner sneaked over to deal damage, but before his skills could hit Bian Yan, Pan Shi flashed in and controlled him.

“Come!” Pan Shi shouted.

Bian Yan reacted quickly, immediately turning to abandon Pei Yun Chang, and with a burst of shots, took down the enemy mage, the top laner who came to mediate, and the clueless jungler delivering himself.

The two coordinated perfectly, and the situation reversed instantly!

Pei Yun Chang and his support were powerless to turn the tide, retreating into the bushes to find another opportunity. But Bian Yan and Pan Shi weren’t about to let him escape so easily and chased after him!

Pei Yun Chang’s micro-management was meticulous, dodging damage while maintaining distance, turning the confrontation into a chase from the Dragon Pit to the bottom lane. Using his support’s meat shield, he managed to shoot down the enemy support and jungler.

With only three players left on the field, the situation turned into a one-on-two.

Pei Yun Chang had bought a lifesteal sword, and after some maneuvering, he was back to full health. Logically, they shouldn’t continue the chase. But letting him go would make the next team fight against a fully equipped, full-health Light even more challenging.

Pan Shi, eager for a solo kill, naturally didn’t want to give up. Bian Yan, for some reason, also didn’t give up.

The result was that the two, due to their recklessness, ended up feeding Pei Yun Chang a double kill on the bottom lane high ground.

The remaining players were stunned by Pei Yun Chang’s kill announcement.

“No way, bro, you were low health in a two-on-four, and you killed four?!”

“Pei, you’re amazing!!”

With this quadra kill, Pei Yun Chang’s economy officially led the entire game.

He could shoot anyone.

This mistake was too costly.

Bian Yan’s side was quickly pushed to the Crystal.

Pan Shi, pushing a lane far away, was chased by three enemies, but he managed to take one down in a one-on-three.

“Considering getting a prosthetic?” Pei Yun Chang’s mocking voice came through.

“Too much of a feeder, guys, and he still managed to trade one?” The red-haired support chimed in while shielding Pei Yun Chang.

“That guy’s damage calculation is too precise…” A teammate scratched his head, embarrassed.

“But we have Pei…”

Despite that, as long as they dealt with Pan Shi, the enemy wouldn’t have any major control skills, and they would basically win the team fight.

Bian Yan defended the Crystal to the end, dodging countless skills and dealing full damage, but could only watch as his teammates fell one by one.

With the announcement of Bian Yan killing Pei Yun Chang, their Crystal officially exploded!

They lost.

Bian Yan’s mind replayed the entire game like a movie, feeling a bit down.

Pei Yun Chang was strong, stronger than him.

This was the one thing Bian Yan least wanted to admit but had to.

On the results screen, Pei Yun Chang scored 14.7, while Pan Shi and Bian Yan scored 14.1 and 14.3, respectively. Even if they compared like this, Pan Shi still lost, not to mention the winning side gets an extra 0.5 points.

Xu Ke: “Finished? Can you calm down now?”

The rules were his idea, and he was the one who chose the players.

Pan Shi was indignant but powerless.

On the other side.

Pei Yun Chang took off his headphones, startled by Pan Shi suddenly getting in his face, and subtly stepped aside.

The red-haired support stepped in, pulling Pan Shi away, “Hey, if you can’t win, you can’t win. Are you going to fight in the base now?”

Pan Shi was extremely frustrated but still shouted at Pei Yun Chang behind him, “I lost, I’m sorry!”

Bian Yan watched Pan Shi rush out, thinking the big guy was going to punch Pei Yun Chang, but unexpectedly, he apologized.

Everyone present was quite stunned.

“That’s it?”

Pei Yun Chang’s cold voice broke the awkward silence.

“…Big brother.” Pan Shi’s voice was as small as a mosquito’s.

Pei Yun Chang smiled politely, clearly pleased with the address, but didn’t push it further, heading out to the restroom.

“Ew~” The red-haired support, enjoying the drama, teased, “Pan Shi, I still miss your spirited self from back in the day.”

Pan Shi glared at the red-haired support, unable to save face, and left first, leaving the room much emptier.

“Hey, dude, how old are you, and what’s your name?” The red-haired support, naturally sociable, walked over and put an arm around Bian Yan’s neck.

“Bian Yan, sixteen, ID is Nova,” Bian Yan introduced himself, “And you?”

“You’re so young, did you sneak out?” The red-haired support laughed, reaching out to pinch Bian Yan’s face, which he dodged.

The red-haired support coughed, “I’m Lu Chang Kong, seventeen and a half, ID is Chang Kong. I’m older, so call me bro.”

Bian Yan looked him up and down, his gaze landing on his bright hair color.

“Alright, Red Hair.”

Lu Chang Kong waved his hand, clearly used to the nickname, “Hey, you’re only sixteen, so you’re the youngest among us. But you played really well, that one move where you dashed in and attacked me scared me stiff.”

“Sacred Domain doesn’t allow sleep.”

Lu Chang Kong: …

“Hey! Why are you marksmen always so sharp-tongued?!”

“Am I?” Bian Yan chuckled.

Lu Chang Kong crossed his legs and sat down, “Hey, do you want to know why those two were arguing?” His eyes burned with gossip, nodding towards the door.

“Please, tell me.”

Bian Yan pulled up a chair for himself.

“That big guy is called Peng Shi, ID Pan Shi, plays the side lane, seventeen years old, very strong. The manager specifically paid a high price to buy him from another team’s youth training camp.”

Lu Chang Kong pointed in the direction Pan Shi left, covering his mouth and speaking softly, “Apparently, it’s to groom the next starting player.”

Bian Yan recalled Pan Shi’s performance today, “He does have a reason to be proud.”

“Eh~” Lu Chang Kong shook his finger, “But he’s still far from Pei.”

“Is he also being groomed as the next starting player?” Bian Yan’s tone shifted slightly.

“Not just that.” Lu Chang Kong lowered his voice, “He didn’t have much fame in the esports circle before. Two months ago, the big boss directly parachuted him into the youth training camp. Other teams don’t even know we have this guy. Most importantly, he was exempt from the youth training assessment.”

“Many people were initially unconvinced by him, but after training for a while, they realized Pei was indeed amazing, so they accepted it. But Pan Shi couldn’t stand this exempt-from-assessment insider and kept being sarcastic.”

“Plus, Pei has a very close relationship with the big boss. Today, he was late for training because he was on the phone with the big boss, and Pan Shi exploded.”

Bian Yan caught the key information, “You mentioned an assessment, what assessment?”

“The year-end youth training assessment, didn’t anyone tell you?” Lu Chang Kong sat up with a start, “We’ve been here for almost a year, we have to graduate, right? After the year-end assessment, the top few among us will be kept in the second team as substitutes.”

“If we’re lucky and someone in the first team retires, and the position matches, we can directly become a starting player.”

“What about the rest?”

“They get a certificate and are sent off. With WIN’s youth training certificate, it’s easy to break into the streaming world, right? Not all youth trainees can play esports.” Lu Chang Kong patted his shoulder, “But we’re not in the same batch of youth trainees, so don’t feel too pressured.”

Bian Yan’s heart sank.

This wasn’t just about the youth training assessment.

“How old is Pei Yun Chang?” Bian Yan asked directly.

“Two months older than me, he’ll be eighteen at the end of this year.” Lu Chang Kong seemed to realize something, “Once he’s an adult, he can play in professional matches, and he’s exempt from the assessment, not to mention…”

Not to mention that WIN’s starting marksman, Ji Feng, is about to retire.

If nothing unexpected happens, in half a year, the newly adult Pei Yun Chang will definitely take the starting position.

“…”

Lu Chang Kong thought of something and fell silent for a moment, then quietly added, “I was going to ask you, you play so well, especially as a marksman, why did you come to our team?”

—Ji Feng is about to retire.

—We’re looking for a new genius to succeed Ji Feng.

Shen Chuan’s words were still fresh in his mind.

They didn’t lie to Bian Yan, but they did hide one crucial piece of information—

The existence of Pei Yun Chang.

Two geniuses competing for one position, survival of the fittest, ensuring the highest level for the entire team?

A useful tactic, a harsh reality.

“But don’t be too discouraged, there’s still half a year left~”

Lu Chang Kong patted Bian Yan’s shoulder, comforting him, “And you’re only sixteen, even if Pei takes the starting position in half a year, who knows who’ll be stronger when you come of age.”

Even if he went to another team and became a starter, he would still face Pei Yun Chang.

Strength is the hard truth.

There’s still time.