Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

When the five RXG players returned to the stage, their faces were tense, and none of them uttered a single word until the match began.

"Sigh." Jiang Zhiyu sighed. "It's going to be tough."

Lin Sen glanced at him with a bitter expression, then slumped back on the sofa, groaning, "No—"

Just as Jiang Zhiyu predicted, in this game, the five members of the RXG team played even more haphazardly than in the first game. They had almost no coordination, and their aim was so weak that they couldn't even kill someone by shooting from the side and were directly counter-killed.

The five people didn't look like professional players competing in a professional league; they looked more like fans who were randomly selected to play in an exhibition match. The entertainment value outweighed the number of shots they landed.

"Are they crazy? Possessed by a ghost?"

"Do you even remember that you were a team that won the world championship just over a month ago? And you got completely crushed like that?"

"What makes this newcomer qualified to replace River in the competition? I don't see anything commendable about him."

In the audience, the fans were ashen-faced, completely unable to accept the result.

In the final point of Figure 2, Vax tried to push forward to find his rhythm, but was directly caught out by the opponent's player who had made the default move at the start.

Vax stared blankly at the computer screen in front of him, his ears filled only with a piercing buzzing sound.

This point was lost without any suspense, and RXG thus achieved a glaring result: 0:13.

This was the first match of the new season, and also the first shutout of the new season—a score destined to be etched into the annals of shame in the ZPL league history.

No one could understand how this championship team could become so unfamiliar just because they lost River.

Jiang Zhiyu stood by the railing in the VIP viewing area, watching the five members of the RXG team silently pack up their peripherals and walk off the stage, without saying a word for a long time.

The spectators in the VIP viewing area gradually left, some grumbling under their breath, but most remained silent.

"Let's go." The staff member closed his laptop, checked the time on his phone, and said, "Director Hong is treating us to hot pot tonight. We can make it back in time if we go back now."

Before leaving, Jiang Zhiyu took one last look at the big screen in the main arena, where a replay of the match and post-match statistics were being played. The RXG team's stats were shockingly bad.

The atmosphere in the car was somewhat tense on the way back.

The staff member knew that the trainees present genuinely liked RXG. He glanced at the back seat several times in the rearview mirror, but still couldn't help but say comfortingly, "It's okay, losing once is fine. They might win later."

Lin Sen, with his eyes closed, said indignantly, "I can't even imagine how River would feel watching from the audience. Would he be so angry that he'd make a comeback on the spot?"

As he spoke, he opened his eyes and gradually a look of joy appeared on his face.

"Huh? Right, maybe RXG will bring back River because they lost so badly?"

"Given their current mental state, even a few Rivers can't save them." Jiang Zhiyu pulled the hat Lin Sen gave him over his face, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

"But the response from your viewing this time was really great!" The staff member smiled and scrolled through his phone screen, looking at the online public opinion, and nodded in satisfaction.

Lin Sen leaned over curiously to take a look and happened to see the forum interface displayed on the screen. He slowly read out one of the entries: "While RXG was feeding me a big mouthful, I was attracted by the guys doing the halftime interviews. I wanted to ask if there's a guide for getting into the fandom..."

The staff member waved his phone: "That's not all. Your social media followers have increased by tens of thousands today."

"As expected of the world's number one sporting event..."

For this overseas trip, the production team returned their own cell phones to facilitate communication.

The van bumped along the road, and the sky outside the window gradually darkened. The flickering neon lights shone into the car, and the cabin slowly returned to quiet.

Jiang Zhiyu took off his hat, held it in his hand, and stared at the patterns on the car roof for a while before taking his phone out of his pocket.

He opened the chat software he hadn't used in a long time. The interface loaded for a while before refreshing to show a screen full of greetings from his friends. At the very top was a message from someone named "Jiang Ming" sent yesterday.

Jiang Ming: I went to see your first performance, it was amazing.

[Jiang Ming: Will the show give you a break? Do you want to go home?]

Jiang Ming: Contact your brother anytime if you need anything.

A long time passed before the other party sent the last message.

[Jiang Ming: Get some rest, take your medicine on time, and take good care of yourself. If you're free on your birthday, I'll pick you up to see Mom and Dad.]

Jiang Zhiyu stared at the chat box on the screen, feeling a sharp pain in his heart.

He took a deep breath and replied with only one word: "Okay."

He then exited the chat with Jiang Ming, opened Lin Shi's profile, and hesitantly typed: "What's wrong with them? They're behaving strangely."

Lin Shi's name changed to "typing," but after a long time, the other party did not send any messages.

Jiang Zhiyu didn't receive a reply. He tapped the edge of his phone and typed again: "[Is there an internal problem?]"

This time, Lin Shi finally replied.

[Lin Shi: Soul has recently been poached by another team with a high salary. He really wants to leave, but his contract hasn't expired yet, and it's only the beginning of the season, so the club can't let him go...]

[R: And then?]

[Lin Shi: So his mentality has been very bad lately. He had a big argument with other team members last night, and things are quite tense internally.]

R: ...

[Lin Shi: I have to go now, my press conference is about to start. Remember to take your medicine on time, and if you have any questions, contact Hong Liu.]

Jiang Zhiyu did not reply. After turning off his phone, he turned his head to look out the car window.

As dusk settled outside the car window, the receding nightscape alternated between reality and illusion, and posters related to the ZPL league hung everywhere in this city of towering buildings.

As he passed by a shopping mall, he suddenly saw a promotional video for "Shining Project" playing on a large screen at the entrance, with his own face firmly occupying the center position.

This stands out as an outlier in the propaganda landscape dominated by ZPL.

"The show's popularity has been rising recently, exceeding our previous expectations." The staff member also saw the big screen, and he rested his arm on the edge of the car window, somewhat emotional.

The van continued forward, and as the street scene became increasingly deserted, they arrived at their destination.

Perhaps knowing that the trainees had a day off, there were no fans or paparazzi waiting at the gate to pick them up or drop them off. As they got out of their cars, they could already faintly hear the commotion coming from the first floor of the dormitory building.

Tonight's hot pot party was held in the lobby on the first floor of the dormitory building. There were three rows of tables and chairs in the lobby, and the long tables were filled with various hot pot bases and side dishes. Excited trainees crowded around, and the aroma of hot pot filled the whole room.