LPL History

Chapter 98: Stormy Los Angeles erupts in flames; Team Ape shakes Zhou Yu's wild words.
Having settled his stance, Zhou Li then turned his attention to PDD and the others.

With the unlocking of the infant form, the overall exploration progress of LPL history has reached 70%.

Feeling Zhou Li's gaze, PDD and the others felt a chill run down their spines.

Zhou Li slowly sat down and asked:
"Do you have any more questions?"

"Nothing."

PDD shook his head like a rattle.

Zhou Li felt helpless when he saw that the others were somewhat resistant to him.

It seems that the complete form was a bit too advanced, leaving a considerable psychological shadow on everyone.

Faced with PDD and others, Zhou Li couldn't find a breakthrough for a while.

After several attempts to get any response from the historical records, they gave up.

Perhaps at this point in time, the group hasn't reached the development stage yet.

Take Xiaoxiao for example. As an ancient player, this guy didn't leave anything behind in his short professional career.

On the contrary, after retiring, he founded Deyunse, which gained popularity for its witty banter.

And PDD, that sly pig, is much smarter than anyone else.

A closer look at his livestreaming career after retirement reveals that PDD has been involved in almost every major upheaval in the livestreaming world.

However, this person always manages to disappear without a trace the moment he sees any movement, thus avoiding the limelight.

In contrast, everyone has witnessed the fate of Lu Benwei, who chose to stand his ground.

In Zhou Li's view, although Sao Zhu and Abu have a huge difference in physique and appearance, they are actually the kind of people who know how to keep a low profile.

They always seem to foresee crises before they arrive, and then quietly reappear in the public eye once the storm has completely subsided.

Seeing that there were no opportunities, Zhou Li prepared to leave. At Zhou Li's prompting, PDD and the others began to take out money from their pockets to raise 800 yuan.

Just then, Zhu Kai, who had finished washing his feet, walked in humming a little tune.

He spotted Zhou Li at a glance, and after a brief moment of surprise, his face immediately lit up with a smile as he took Zhou Li's hand.

"Zhou Li! Lion! The god of mid lane!! What are you doing here!"

PDD smiled as soon as he saw Zhu Kai return.

"Hey! Xiao Zhu! Didn't we ask you to pick up the takeout and give you 800 yuan? Anyway, we didn't order takeout, and Brother Zhou just brought some food, so give the money to Brother Zhou!"

Zhu Kai was stunned for a moment.

When did these bastards give me 800?
I only gave him fifty yuan to buy four hamburgers, didn't I?

I'll have to pay a few bucks out of my own pocket.

Zhou Li smiled at Zhu Kai, pretending not to know him.

"Who is this?"

“Our club’s fans,” Xiaoxiao walked over, reached into Zhu Kai’s pocket, and pulled out a bunch of coupons, “This guy is amazing. He can generate coupons in his pocket. If we ask him to order takeout for us, we can save more than ten yuan every time.”

Zhou Li's eyes lit up.

He took the KFC coupon from Xiaoxiao's hand.

The 16K colored glossy paper smells of ink mixed with the aroma of fried chicken. When you tear it along the dotted line, it makes a crisp "ripping" sound, comparable to the ritual of opening a snack bag.

There was also a pentagonal coupon, which was an exclusive discount coupon for the Tender Beef Five-Square.

The front and back are covered with tiny print, indicating breakfast/lunch/late-night snack time slots, spicy chicken wings for 6 yuan, and Portuguese egg tarts for 3.5 yuan.

Zhou Li remembers that when he was little, he would take out a calculator to calculate different combinations: 2 spicy burgers + 3 pairs of chicken wings + 1 large fries = save 8.5 yuan.

However, if you want to drink Coke, you have to choose the other combo: Spicy Burger + Colonel's Chicken Nuggets + Coke.

In 2012, KFC's coupons were already nearing the end of their lifespan.

I remember when I was a kid, I would go to KFC with a bunch of coupons and cautiously ask the clerk, "Can I use these coupons?"

The store clerk would rummage through a large number of coupons and always manage to find one or two that were out of period or had already expired and return them.

Back then, what was saved wasn't just money, but also the joy of clutching colorful pieces of paper as we walked toward the glass door—as if we had grasped a ticket to a planet of happiness.

The ink on coated paper will eventually fade, but the trembling of your fingertips when tearing off coupons, the meticulousness when trying to reach the minimum order amount, and the embarrassment when being refused, along with the memories of the millennium, will be forever sealed between the yellowed pages.

"Awesome, Xiao Zhu."

Zhou Li couldn't help but express his sincere admiration.

No wonder Zhu Kai was able to stand out among all the fans and take on the important responsibility of ordering takeout for the club.

Therefore, a person's success is never without reason.

Three hundred and sixty rows will lead to the top prize.

Upon hearing Zhou Li's praise, Zhu Kai could only manage an awkward smile.

One of his friends who hangs out on IG, PDD asked him to take out 800 yuan all at once, wouldn't that be the death of him?
"Brother Liu, where would I get eight hundred yuan? Besides, I already ordered the takeout and had a kid who came for a trial bring it in. Didn't he give it to you guys?"

"What kid trying out?" Kid said. "Who came to try out today? Well, Zhu Kai, you've even cheated us out of our money now!"

Zhu Kai paused for a moment, then subconsciously turned to look at Zhou Li.

I was so focused on Zhou Li's handsome face that I only noticed his attire now.

White tank top, beach shorts, and casual flip-flops.

Isn't this exactly the same outfit as that kid who was just trying out at the gate?

Zhu Kai's heart skipped a beat, and his face turned pale instantly.

What is his purpose in being a fan on Instagram?

It's just that one day, after accumulating enough experience, they want to make a living in the e-sports industry.

But now he has offended the god of League of Legends!
As everyone knows, Zhou Li is most famous not only for his superb gaming skills, but also for his vindictive nature and his penchant for torturing people to the point of death.

This kid's Weibo has become a popular spot for netizens to check in.

Every Monday, we offer incense and prayers at the former narrator's small building.

In the comments section, netizens would post photoshopped pictures of themselves with Xiaolou to show Liu Ming in the front row.

Why did Lu Benwei come to the IG base today?

He just wanted to ask Zhou Li to stop tagging him on Weibo.

Unable to enter the WE base, he could only seize the opportunity to curry favor with Zhou Li at IG.

Every Wednesday, he would ask netizens if the Korean network had been fixed and whether it would be down again.

The image below shows a robot with MadLife's face on it, and the outstretched hook has been photoshopped into a network cable.

Netizens suggested that next time they play against Frost, they should just disable the robot so that MadLife can't hook WE's network cable.

Zhou Li has recently been complaining that he has nothing to post from Thursday to Sunday and is looking for material.

Zhu Kai knew that if he made it onto Thursday's Weibo Daily, he would be out of the e-sports scene.

Zhou Li had already extended his hand to Zhu Kai, with a gentle smile on his face.

"Xiao Zhu, settle the bill, I have to go back."

Xiao Zhu glanced at Zhou Li, then at the IG members who were all busy with their own things, and became awkward.

"Brother, I don't have that much money right now, can I owe you some?"
-
WE Training Room.

Smiling and Curly were having a heated argument while reviewing the situation.

"Just tell me why you want to attack this siege vehicle?"

"If I don't auto-attack, how can we reach level 4 faster than the enemy?!"

"But why did you just kill that siege vehicle with A!"

"Gao Xuecheng, don't think you can bully me just because I'm a nice guy. Tell me, did we win this fight or not?"

"One thing at a time, we won the battle, but I still haven't replenished my artillery."

Ruofeng was getting a headache from the two arguing.

"You two stop arguing. That's enough with the smiling. You've made Curly-haired guy talk for a month straight."

Seeing Ruofeng criticize him, Xiao Wei looked extremely dissatisfied.

"He's just a support, and he thinks he's in the right to take my cannon minion?"

"He didn't do it on purpose, why are you so obsessed with the cannon car? IF went into online dating to relieve stress because you were pressuring him to eat your cannon car every day, and now he's gone."

He smiled and then flew into a rage.

"I, Grass Like the Wind! You can blame me for what happened with IF, but you yourself..."

"Alright, alright," Strawberry stepped forward, trying to act as a peacemaker. "Let bygones be bygones. We're brothers, let's not hurt our relationship."

Just as the argument was about to subside, Abu walked in from outside.

"What happened to IF? Does someone have a problem with the club's punishment?"

He glanced at everyone, his gaze immediately locking onto Mingkai.

"Mingkai, who are you chatting with?! You're having an online romance too?!"

Mingkai blushed, quickly closed the chat window, and said, "No."

"I'm warning you," Abu said, hands on his hips, his face stern, "Brother Zhou hates nothing more than people engaging in online dating, and so do I!" "You're still young, and now that you're famous, you have no idea how many people online want to harm you! You think you're having an online romance, but the person you're actually having an online romance with might not even be a woman!"

Ruofeng suddenly lowered his voice and said:

"Speaking of this, do you guys remember that queen who was really popular in the gaming companion circle before, what was her name again...? That night, the night I broke my hand, I was in the training room..."

"What the hell is that dog barking about in the middle of the night?"

Zhou Li kicked open the training room door with a bang.

The WE team fell silent instantly.

"Brother Zhou is back?"

"Dad, you're back."

Abu spotted the person following Zhou Li immediately, and his eyes sharpened instantly.

Zhou Li has never brought any other men to the club.

"Who is this?"

"Oh, let me introduce you all," Zhou Li stepped forward, revealing Zhu Kai behind him, "This is Xiao Zhu, he will be our club's deliveryman from now on. If you want to eat anything, just place your order with him and you'll get a 10% discount."

Buying a little Zhu from IG for 800 yuan is actually quite a good deal for Zhou Li.

This is a long-term investment.

WE doesn't have its own cafeteria right now, and relies on ordering takeout for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

With Xiao Zhu's amazing food delivery coupons, we'll be able to recoup our costs quickly.

He usually gets a 20-30% discount on food delivery coupons, and by giving club members a 10% discount, he can make at least a 10% profit.

Assuming there are seven people in the club, and the average daily food allowance per person is fifty yuan, then the total food allowance for seven people would be three hundred and fifty yuan.

Zhou Li can earn thirty-five yuan.

Some might say that with an investment of 800 yuan and a daily profit of 35 yuan, it would take at least two months to break even. While the payback period is acceptable, the profit is simply too low to justify the investment.

This statement is indeed correct.

But if you add an IOU for 800 yuan, then everything will be perfect.

Keep in mind that Zhou Li's current salary is only 10,000 yuan a month.

Smile earns only 5,000 a month, while newcomers like Mingkai and Curly earn even less, just over 2,000.

Zhu Kai was suddenly brought back to WE from IG by Zhou Li, and he was obviously still a little dazed.

However, he also knew that his future prospects at WE were definitely broader than at IG, so he naturally didn't feel dissatisfied. On the contrary, he felt like a pie had fallen from the sky onto his head.

My impression of Zhou rituals has changed.

Who said Brother Zhou is petty and narrow-minded?
He is clearly a person of great righteousness!

"Hello everyone, I'm Zhu Kai, you can just call me Xiao Zhu."

Abu walked up and extended his hand.

"Hello Xiao Zhu, I'm Abu, the manager of Team WE."

Zhou Li saw a line of words appear above Abu's head.

[This guy, Xiao Zhu, just a food deliveryman, got personally brought to WE by Brother Zhou? There's definitely something fishy going on here. I need to investigate.]

Then another line of text appeared.

[Could it be that Brother Zhou has some grudge against me? Did he bring Xiao Zhu here to replace me, or to give me a warning?]

Zhou Li couldn't bear to watch any longer.

Given Abu's methods, Xiao Zhu will probably be in for a rough time.

However, Zhou Li did not intend to get involved in these matters.

This is the demeanor a mature emperor should possess.

Zhou Li sat down in his seat.

"Xuecheng, control your temper. Don't always put pressure on others because of a cannon. Even Curly, such an honest and kind person, has broken down because of your pressure."

He had heard the argument between the group outside the door very clearly.

He was only gone from the club for a short while, and these bastards started making a scene.

No wonder Big Nose couldn't control these people back then, leading to the later "fight to the death, we'll leave tonight" incident.

"Everyone, get back to work. We don't have any tasks coming up, so let's focus entirely on preparing for the S2 World Championship! By the way, Abu, have you finished collecting the team information I asked you to gather?"

The 2012 League of Legends World Championship will be held in Los Angeles, USA in October.

Although this year's World Championship is called S2, in fact, the S1 tournament was just an experimental event organized by Riot Games, with a small number of participating teams. In terms of the quality of the event, it was even inferior to many third-party tournaments.

But this time, Riot Games wants to completely establish its official status in League of Legends esports.

It's worth noting that the prize money for the Season 1 World Championship was only $100,000. But this time, the prize money for the Season 2 World Championship has skyrocketed to a whopping $1 million!

The S2 World Championship brought together top teams from all regions around the world.

M5, WE, TPA, and TSM are the seeded teams from the European, Chinese, Southeast Asian, and North American regions, respectively, and have directly advanced to the quarterfinals.

The remaining 8 teams were divided into two groups, A and B, for a single round-robin BO1 points tournament. The top two teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinals, the quarterfinals and semifinals were BO3, and the finals were BO5.

Abu pulled out a stack of documents and began to speak:

"By the way, TSM's mid laner, Gorilla, is provoking you on foreign websites, Zhou. Should you respond?"

Zhou Li was stunned for a moment. He remembered that TSM was eliminated in the quarterfinals of this World Championship.
-
Ugly Country.

Chicago.

TSM Esports Club Base.

"Yay! Try my damage, kid! Whose card are you underestimating, hahaha!!"

The sudden roar startled Dyrus, the top laner who was eating a banana, so much that he almost choked to death.

He turned to look at their captain and owner, mid laner Reginald.

This man, nicknamed "Captain Gorilla" because of his striking resemblance to a gorilla, was excitedly slapping the table after winning a ranked match.

Dyrus didn't dare say anything more and continued eating his banana.

Looking at the exploding enemy base, Reginald asked Chaox, the AD carry player he was duo-queuing with:

"So, how do my cards compare to that Lion?"

Chaox said with a smile:

"I feel he's still a bit stronger."

Reginald glared defiantly, "We all use a blue card to kill instantly, what's the difference?"

Chaox shrugged helplessly: "Unless you can master his Zhou-style Triangle Kill, I think he's better than you."

Reginald was instantly annoyed.

"That maneuver is beyond human capability. His success was purely due to luck."

He then looked at the jungler, TheOddOne.

"You play Lee Sin every day, have you mastered it yet?"

TheOddOne looked a little embarrassed and shrugged, "No."

"See? No! It's not my problem at all. I admit that Lion looks very skilled, but I don't think I'm worse than him. As for you, do you think you have a chance against WE's bot lane?"

Upon hearing Reginald's words, Chaox scratched his head.

"Ah... that's really hard to say."

"Be confident, you're the number one AD in North America!"

TSM demonstrated dominant strength in North America this year, maintaining an extremely high win rate throughout the regular season and winning the MLG Spring Championship in June. They then won the ROG Invitational with a perfect record of three wins and defeated their competitors 2-0 in the S2 North American Finals to become the number one seed in the North American region.

TSM's dual cores are mid laner Reginald and AD carry ChaoX.

Captain Gorilla's Twisted Fate is known for his aggressive builds, often securing solo kills in lane and consistently dominating opponents in the early game when synergizing with the jungler.

ChaoX is hailed as the best AD carry in North America and a CS machine, with an average CS lead of 20+ over his opponents.

There used to be a saying that ChaoX defined AD in the world of LOL, while WeiXiao revolutionized the definition of AD by adding a C.

This is both a compliment to the smile and a commendation for ChaoX.

Reginald picked up his phone and logged into his social media account.

[North America is the strongest! We will defeat the Korean teams and crush the Chinese teams. Lion, the world's best mid laner? He just hasn't met me yet. TSM will be the champions of the S2 World Championship!!]
-
Taiwan.

Wanwan Province.

TPA Esports Club Base.

Mid-laner Toyz is idly scrolling through Twitter.

Then I saw the update Reginald just posted.

"Wow, guys, did you see Captain Gorilla's post? This guy's comments are really sarcastic."

(End of this chapter)