Rebirth is fine, but I get eight hundred dollars right from the start?

Zhu Zhen also clapped for a while, and when the atmosphere eased a bit, he suggested turning over the last cue card and saying:

"One last question... There's no doubt that the title of best in the Rift right now belongs to Emperor. Anything you want to say to yourself? Where's the trophy? Are you wearing your jacket or not?"

I want to tell myself: You're awesome!

Lin Shu picked up the trophy, and the laser-engraved words on the base were revealed in a close-up on the large screen. He glanced down at it and replied seriously, "I will definitely keep the trophy for myself. I'll put it in the training room at the base so that it's the first thing I see when I walk in every day."

"Of course, it's not to show off, but to remind myself that this is something that comes with time and training. If I slack off one day, it will be like a slap in the face against the wall."

Then he unfolded the dark blue stand-up collar jacket he was wearing in his arms, revealing the crown and sword embroidery on the shoulders and the canyon pattern on the back under the light.

He smoothed out the creases in his jacket. "But I don't plan to keep this jacket. Like a trophy, it's a physical proof of honor, but honors rust if you hold them in your hands for too long. I want to bring it to life."

He turned around, glanced around the audience, then fixed his gaze on the camera lens, a smile playing on his lips. "There's a viewer in the live stream who's been here since I only had a few followers, attending every single one, never missing a comment. I won't read out your ID, lest you get searched all over the internet—but I've said before that if I ever acquire something worthwhile, I'll share it with you. This jacket, there's only one in the world, and I'm giving it to you today."

Whoa!!!

The entire audience erupted in cheers, the sound waves like water being suddenly churned, and the live chat was flooded with comments.

Who is it?

[Dude, are you really going to give away this global number one honor?]

Holy crap, this is incredible wealth!

This jacket could easily sell for 100,000 yuan.

[E God, please send me gifts! I've been a fan of your stream for ten years!]

[E God, do you have to spoil me like this!]

I'm so jealous! I'm so jealous! I'm so jealous!

I hate myself for not watching the live stream two years earlier.

[Hey, you longtime fan, come out here! I promise I won't steal your jacket!!]

[Tonight's All-Star Game was the most worthwhile moment ever, bar none.]

【…】

Zhu Zhen, grinning from ear to ear, added in a loud voice, "Come on, director, cut the camera to me—our Emperor will personally pack this gift into the box."

Lin Shu folded his coat again and handed it to a staff member standing nearby.

Faced with the noisy scene, he picked up the microphone again and said one last thing: "Talented people emerge in every generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years."

"I am standing here today, just a small ripple in the long river of League of Legends. The ripples will fall, but the river will never dry up. As long as there are people sitting in front of their computers and opening Summoner's Rift, this game will always have new stories."

As the last note of the awards ceremony faded, the spotlight on the stage slowly receded, like a closed eye.

Lin Shu steadily handed the trophy to the accompanying staff member, turned around and bowed deeply to the audience, then walked down the steps of the side stage at a leisurely pace.

The four large screens behind me switched back to the main visual of the All-Star Game, and the rousing background music was changed to a gentle interlude, as if the thunderous awards ceremony had just been covered up.

But what the lid can't cover is what's overflowing.

The live broadcast signal originated from the control center of the Shanghai Grand Stage and was transmitted to every corner of the world via fiber optics and satellites—YY, Tencent, and iQiyi in China, and Twitch and YouTube overseas, with tens of millions of screens simultaneously displaying the All-Star awards ceremony.

Editors on all social media platforms—live stream chat, Weibo, forums, Tieba, Anti-Japanese War forums, Reddit—were frantically taking screenshots, cutting clips, and creating headlines.

The official team immediately edited Lin Shu's "It's me for now" statement into a 30-second short video, paired it with the background music from the League of Legends login screen, and placed it on the homepage with the title "The Spirit of an 18-Year-Old Boy".

The text-based forums, on the other hand, focused more on discussing the ownership of the gift that represented the individual's highest honor.

What will happen after everything that happened tonight ferments?

Nobody knows.

Because of these things, Lin Shu cannot see them for the time being.

He didn't have time to care.

Because the moment they stepped off the stage, the small TV screen in the preparation area had already switched to the upcoming match schedule.

His ID was prominently displayed, and his opponent was Ambition, the mid laner from the OGN region.

"Emperor! Good luck!"

A staff member handed him a bottle of water. He thanked them, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. The coolness slid down his throat, and the tense muscles in his shoulders and back that had been working during the awards ceremony finally relaxed.

"Do you need to change your clothes?"

"No need, just wear this."

Lin Shu looked at his suit and said with some helplessness.

I already promised Wang Sicong, that king of fun, that I would wear the suit he made for me to the game today, so I can't go back on my word.

……

Another spot in the backcourt.

The area where the official person in charge of Shanghai is located.

Looking at the match schedule on the big screen.

The deputy leader I had dinner with last night was holding a thermos. He unscrewed the lid three times, but in the end, he didn't drink it.

He frowned, staring at the screen, a vertical line forming between his brows. He pursed his lips for a couple of seconds before speaking, his voice low and husky, carrying that subtle, unspoken worry characteristic of those within the system:

"Isn't your competition format a bit unreasonable?"

The head of event operations, standing nearby, turned around, but before he could reply, the deputy continued, "Logically speaking, the solo match should have been completed before the awards ceremony. Even today, awarding the prizes would be a stretch—you award someone the title of 'World's Strongest Challenger in the Chinese Super Server,' and then immediately send them to a solo match, in front of tens of thousands of people and tens of millions of viewers online. What if they lose…?"

"It has a very bad influence."

Everyone present could understand what was being said.

In the context of the system, the word "influence" never refers to face.

Rather, it refers to the real risks of public opinion, the costs of handling public sentiment, and the "lessons learned" that may need to be included in the summary report afterward.

A young man who was just presented as the "world's number one" at the All-Star awards ceremony was personally handed a custom-made trophy and a special jacket by the founder of Riot Games and executives of Tencent. He was trending on the internet with the prefix "Emperor". But before he could even settle in, he was solo killed by a Korean mid laner in a solo match.

Just imagining this scene is enough to send chills down the spines of anyone in the propaganda department.

How do the audience shout?

The call for "Emperor" has turned into "That's it"?

How do I send comments in the live chat?

Will the hard-earned "status" and "prestige" be instantly overshadowed by "unworthy of the name" and "failing to create a god"?

"You can't just look at the traffic figures; he's just an eighteen-year-old comrade..."

(The content of this chapter is so vague that those who understand it will understand.)