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

night!

As the hour and minute hands aligned on the dial, the chimes of the clock echoed through every corner of the LPL preseason qualifier venue in Shanghai.

Ding--

With a crisp ringing of a bell, countless young people in the LPL preseason qualifier venue in Shanghai sprang to their feet.

IG, OMG, LGD...

These teams, once considered strong in the industry, are now craning their necks and staring intently at the huge scoring screen on the main stage with identical expressions.

On the right side of the screen, the scoreboard hangs prominently—

HWG, 3:0!

"Let's congratulate HWG on defeating the formidable DF team and securing our spot in the LPL from Group A with a 3-0 record."

"Yes, congratulations to them."

The congratulations from Doll and Joker came one after the other.

But it seemed to intensify the atmosphere even further.

Yes, triple zero.

The three teams in Group A were crushed one by one by HWG, leaving none alive.

What's even more terrifying is that all three matches ended within twenty minutes.

Crush them!

These two words were the only words that could be thought of by everyone present at that moment.

Is it because the other three teams in Group A are too weak?

No, not at all. In Group A, both Wayi and L_H are teams with the strength to compete for a spot in the LPL.

The teams present were well aware of this, having all arranged practice matches with each other.

"My little sprout—"

In the crowd, PDD subconsciously touched his shiny bald head, rubbing his forehead with his large, fan-like hand. His expression was full of lingering fear. "Luckily, Square Dragon had good luck in the lottery and wasn't grouped with these freaks. If we had accidentally lost the BO1, we would have been in big trouble."

Quite unusually, the other four members of the team nodded in unison, tacitly agreeing with PDD's words.

Even Zita, who had previously been very unconvinced by Lin Shu and wanted to get revenge in Rank, was completely quiet.

The reason is simple: they were beaten into submission.

From his losing streak in ranked games to his mid-lane massacre in the BO1 qualifier, even the most stubborn man knew that there was a certain gap between him and the person on the field.

"Knowing that HWG would be strong with Emperor on the team, I didn't expect them to be this fierce."

"I feel sorry for the guys in Group A for a second."

"It was a complete stomp, and the key player wasn't disgusting at all. There wasn't a single Mejai's Soulstealer or Bloodthirster, and he didn't intentionally avoid pushing towers or spawn camping or anything like that. You couldn't even find any off-field trouble to vent your frustration."

"Uh, are you looking for trouble off the field? Are you sure you want to fight with Emperor, this 1.8-meter-tall hunk?"

"Ahem, just kidding."

"It's a pity WE didn't come."

In the crowd, someone muttered quietly, "It would be really interesting if HWG's opponent in the third match was WE."

One sentence prompted everyone to nod in agreement.

There's no way around it, what HWG showed in the third game was just too outrageous.

If HWG crushed their opponents in the first two games by relying on individual skill, especially their mechanics, then the third game was a complete crushing victory based on their understanding of the game.

Yes, you heard right, it's game understanding.

Emperor's mid-lane Twisted Fate, Tale's top-lane Jax, and SMLZ's bot-lane Caitlyn—a seemingly mismatched lineup—became an extremely terrifying spear in the hands of these freaks.

In ten minutes, there wasn't even a single solo kill in lane.

However, the situation on the field was that HWG destroyed all of DF's outer towers.

The jungle area was completely gleaming, almost as if the game was being played with cards laid bare.

The jungler couldn't catch anyone, and the laners were always outnumbered. In the end, even those of them who were watching from a god's-eye view couldn't figure out how DF ended up with a 10,000 gold deficit and how they were slowly boiled to death.

Wrong!

asphyxia!

Even through a screen, you can feel that terrifying pressure.

Some people once said that WE was the best teamfight team in the Chinese League of Legends esports scene, and that as long as WeiXiao was allowed to develop to the late game, there was no teamfight they couldn't win.

However, when HWG appeared before everyone, this idea was inevitably shaken.

Can WE really beat HWG, led by that freak Emperor?

However, regardless of the outcome, HWG has already secured a spot in the LPL main tournament, and the exact answer will be revealed in a week.

All they know now is that a real tiger has entered the LPL... and even the entire esports scene.

……

As soon as the door to the backstage dressing room was opened, cheers erupted.

"Wuhu! 3-0, time to leave work early!"

Zhang Hai grabbed White Crescent's shoulder, and the two of them bounced in arm in arm, looking like two huskies just released from their cages.

"The third game was the best!" Zhang Hai grinned, his eyes almost disappearing with laughter. "I didn't have to use my brain at all, just followed my master's instructions. Winning without lifting a finger felt fucking amazing!"

"Sure," Li Nan followed leisurely behind, still clutching a half-empty bottle of water, and added with a half-smile, "Since you're so relaxed, cutting your salary in half wouldn't be unreasonable, would it?"

"No way!" Zhang Hai instantly bristled, his white crescent-shaped brow unfurrowing as he turned around and solemnly patted his chest. "Those few thousand yuan every month are our hard-earned money, not a penny less! Right, you old thief?"

Sima, the old scoundrel who was called out, was leaning against the wall silently drinking water. Hearing this, he looked up, gave a silly twitch of his lips, and said, "I think it doesn't matter how we fight... as long as we can win."

"Look, look, what does it mean to be aware?" Li Nan deliberately pinched his throat, his tone rising in a sarcastic tone. "This is what you call awareness! Unlike someone who's always yelling in voice chat, 'Brother Nan, come to top lane! Brother Nan, save me!' like a complaining woman—doesn't he know that League of Legends has limited resources and can't possibly cater to every position?"

"What are you saying?" Zhang Hai shrugged and retorted confidently, "If we're short of resources, we'll just rob the other side! If we don't have enough to go around, we'll just eat what the other side has. It's that simple."

"Also, don't make things up. When did we start calling you Brother Nan?"

"Fine, I never called for it." Li Nan raised an eyebrow and added without any politeness, "If you're so capable, go solo kill him yourself. If you're so capable, don't make me ward your top lane."

"No, no, no—" Zhang Hai darted forward, grinning as he put his arm around Li Nan's shoulder, his tone softening instantly, his demeanor changing completely: "Talking about this between brothers is so hurtful, right, Brother Nan?"

Watching his two friends, Ueno and Lin Shu, engage in a back-and-forth banter like they were performing a comedy routine, Lin Shu leaned back in his chair, a slight smile playing on his lips, and didn't say anything to stop them.

He looked down, took out his phone, scrolled to the contact list, and dialed the name "Zou Lin".

beep--

It rang once and was then answered.

"Hey—boss!!!"

Zou Lin's energetic voice came from the other end of the phone, with a long, drawn-out tone; you could feel her joy even through the screen.

"Are all the ingredients ready?" Lin Shu asked.

"Hehe, of course I'm ready!" Zou Lin grinned like a cat that had just stolen some cream. "I've been watching the whole match, just waiting to cheer for our club's official entry into the LPL!"

"That's fine then," Lin Shu glanced at the clock on the wall and silently calculated the distance in his mind. "It will take us about two hours to drive back. You can start eating right on time."

"no problem!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Shu stood up, clapped his hands, and drew the attention of the few people who were still fooling around.

"Alright guys, pack up and get ready to get in the car and head back to base."

He paused, his smile barely concealed. "The club has already prepared a lamb hot pot; we can start eating as soon as we land."

"Wuhu!"

"Long live lamb hot pot!"

Zhang Hai was the first to jump up, raising his hands above his head.

"Speaking of which... why isn't there beef hot pot?" White Crescent scratched her head and muttered under her breath, "Can I give it a bad review?"

"As long as there's food, that's enough. Why all the fuss?" Li Nan slapped him on the back.

Actually, everyone knows the truth.

Although the club has successfully advanced to the LPL, its current financial situation is still tight, and the advancement bonus and championship reward are just pie in the sky for now.

But the proper celebrations must not be omitted.

Even if you don't have the money to buy your own ingredients, you can still have a lively lamb hot pot meal at the base and enjoy it all night long.

As for why it's not beef hot pot?

Don't ask.

The question is a taboo in esports.