[Esports] Team Leader Xie, your mid laner is causing trouble again.

This statement immediately caused a huge uproar both at the scene and online.

The barrage of comments and social media posts exploded simultaneously, with the comment section growing at a visible speed.

[Lychee? Omega? ? ?]

[He only has a face that looks like an Omega, but no other Omega is as savage as him.]

【No, then why create an Alpha persona?】

I don't think they've ever admitted to being an Alpha, have they? Some people are just making things up themselves and then blaming others?

[Now that's it, how is RAK going to win? An Omega mid laner, they'll be crushed in one push.]

[Heh, on behalf of all Omegas, I curse you stereotypical old fogies! What's wrong with Omegas playing esports?]

[Exactly, some incompetent Alphas are only fit to hide behind the screen and bark weakly like dogs.]

Wait a minute, isn't this a case of gender discrimination by DaShan? Shouldn't the league impose a suspension?

Even the two commentators lost their professionalism for a moment, staring at each other blankly for a few seconds.

They never expected that a fun pre-match voice chat activity, originally intended to liven up the atmosphere, would become such a hot topic.

Moreover, the matches are always broadcast live, so there's no chance for editing.

The commentator, Ke Ke, was the first to regain his composure and cleared his throat:

"As a game commentator, I have always insisted on one thing: focusing on the competition and not paying too much attention to the players' personal privacy."

"An athlete's second gender should not be used as a criterion for evaluating their career."

Pepsi immediately and sensibly cooperated, not giving netizens a chance to stir up trouble:

"That's right, the biggest highlight of this match is the comparison of the strengths of these two teams."

"Next, let's analyze each player's preferred heroes and playstyle, starting with VD's rookie bottom lane..."

The two commentators worked together to steer the conversation toward the match, but the director clearly didn't want that.

The camera, positioned for a close-up shot, was steadily aimed at Li Zhi.

The camera slowly pans down from his profile, past his slightly pursed lips, and then seemingly lingers on the black choker around his neck.

The neck ring was almost entirely covered by the collar of the team uniform, with only a small edge showing, making it virtually invisible unless you looked closely.

But under the magnification of the high-definition lens, even the exposed brand logo is clearly visible.

Omega-specific pheromone-suppressing neckband.

The camera lingered for a long time, so long that it made people feel uncomfortable.

[Now I saw it too, it was hidden under the team jacket. If Lychee's neckband hadn't been from the same brand as mine, I wouldn't have realized it.]

[Oh my god, I saw that black thing during Lychee's livestream yesterday too. I thought it was a turtleneck sweater, but it turns out it's an Omega neck ring?]

[The League's photography team is disgusting; they took close-up shots of an Omega's neck. They should get off the stage immediately.]

[In response to the comment above, stepping down is impossible. The alliance of capital loves producing these kinds of sensational stories; their shady practices have been going on for a long time.]

Can't we just focus on the game? They're here to compete in esports, not to be spectated like monkeys.

Song Bo couldn't care less about scrolling through comments now. He jumped up from his seat as if his backside was on fire and called the base's public relations department to control comments and delete posts.

Li Zhi looked up at the camera that had been filming her for over a minute.

His beautiful eyes and brows were filled with suppressed irritation; his brows were slightly furrowed, and the corners of his mouth turned down in an unpleasant arc.

He had never played in WPL, but he knew that it wasn't normal for the camera to focus on him for such a long time before a match.

Just as she opened her mouth to say something, the game interface switched, and the ban/pick phase officially began.

The camera then left, switching to a panoramic view.

Li Zhi felt a lump in her throat and drew her attention back to the screen.

Liang Shoucheng's voice came through the earpiece: "Check what they ban. Help Star pick Cangshi first, then we'll play a roaming strategy."

Cangshi is the only support hero with three dashes, making him extremely strong at roaming.

When combined with a jungler to invade the enemy jungle, it is almost impossible to counter, making it one of the highest priority picks in the current version.

Jiang Xingle chuckled, his tone relaxed: "The national server's Cangshi has made a dazzling debut, but if I were on the opposing team, I would ban the captain's Xiao first."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao's image went dark in the ban list, and VD banned him.

Liang Shoucheng: "Xiao is not suitable for the current version of the league, so let's just ban him. We'll give River something else later."

However, VD used all four of their next ban slots on Xie Jichuan.

With only one ban slot remaining, they banned a marksman skilled at survival, attempting to dismantle RAK's strategy.

Xie Jichuan chuckled lightly, his tone calm and unperturbed, simply finding it amusing:

"So you're that afraid of me?"

Liang Shoucheng's tone became serious, and his speaking speed increased significantly compared to usual:

"All the jungle carries that are adapted to the current version have been banned. Why don't we play Night Hunter and Azure Stone together this game? You build a semi-tank build, control the tempo, and let the damage dealers take over."

Xie Jichuan nodded: "Okay, let Viod build damage, I'll build tank."

Ling Wang's voice carried a hint of hesitation: "You want me to play the damage dealer role in the very first game?"

After all, considering the team as a whole, he is a true newcomer.

He was bought by RAK right after winning the Rookie Cup, and has never played a formal 5v5 match.

Xie Jichuan's voice was calm and steady, possessing a reassuring quality.

"We've played in practice matches before, so just stay calm and play normally."

Ling Wang replied earnestly, "Okay, I'll do my best, Captain."

Liang Shoucheng quickly made a decision: "Then Viod will take Chuanyun, and Lychee will take Yeling."

Chuan Yun is one of the strongest late-game marksmen in the current version. Once his equipment is complete, his output is explosive, but he requires extremely high self-preservation ability from the player and the protection ability from his teammates.

Li Zhi responded and locked onto Ye Ling's profile picture.

Cheng Yi chose a conventional tanky top laner, a front-line tank who can withstand damage and initiate team fights—a standard blue-collar playstyle.

With the lineup finalized, Liang Shoucheng glanced at the hero choices of the five players one last time. After confirming that there were no obvious flaws, he said "Good luck" and then took off his headphones and walked off the stage.

The game begins.

Li Zhi's Night Breeze walked forward, stepping on the minion wave in the middle lane.

The opposing mid laner is a newly signed player for VD, and he chose a conservative wave-clearing mage, clearly indicating that they didn't want to engage in early-game conflicts with him.

However, Li Zhi's consistent principle is that if you take on a damage-dealing role, you must deliver a good performance.

The instant Ye Ling reached level two, she timed her move perfectly to last-hit the enemy mage, and with a Shadow Blade Thrust, she pierced through the minion wave and landed precisely on the enemy hero's face.

The opposing team clearly didn't expect such an aggressive play in the early game. They were stunned for a moment before remembering to use Flash, but by then, Ye Ling's second skill had already taken away a third of their health.

Jiang Xingle's voice came through the earphones, tinged with laughter: "Oh, Lychee's so fierce?"

Li Zhi smiled, "I'm waiting to win MVP."

Ye Ling stepped onto the opposite retreat path and steadily pinned down the position of the river channel.