Chapter Twenty-Eight: So, You’ve Reached Your Rebellious Phase, Have You?

Ablu’s face twitched as he looked at Lin Ruo, who was talking back. He wondered if he had been too lenient in the past, or if this kid had simply hit a rebellious phase. But as the team owner, he decided to reason with him and win him over with virtue. "Why don't you ask the other teammates if they enjoyed playing?"

Fireloli pondered for a moment and inadvertently blurted out the truth: "Actually, it was pretty good. If I didn't take the initiative to fight, that Elise would have completely destroyed my jungle."

Ablu frowned. "Shut up, Zhao Zhiming. Did I ask you?" He turned his gaze. "Scout, you tell me."

Scout, suddenly called upon, sat in the corner, nervously adjusting his glasses, unsure of what to say. The coach had chosen Syndra in the draft, intending for him to be a sacrificial role, using the champion's early-to-mid-game strength to help the team get through the early stages. Instead, the bot lane started fighting at the drop of a hat. He was forced to roam, forced to make plays, and then forced to take kills. In the end, he was even forced to take the MVP.

Although fighting all the time wasn't ideal, he always managed to pick up kills. Plus, there was that godly counter-kill in the mid lane; it would undoubtedly be a top-tier highlight from the first week of the new season.

Scout, who had a great gaming experience, smacked his lips. "I don't know, but at least I got the MVP."

Unable to get a satisfactory answer, Ablu turned to the top laner. Mouse looked innocent. "Don't look at me. I was dying the whole time. Let's just say, my Teleport wasn't used in the top lane even once in the first twenty minutes."

See? That hampered the top lane's growth. Ablu was about to use this as an excuse to reprimand them when Mouse added, "But I was actually quite happy, because the opposing top laner died more than I did. And I heard he’s a rookie. Dying that many times in one game—if I were him, my mental state would have completely collapsed."

Ablu's expression darkened instantly. Just then, a staff member arrived at the door, signaling that the interview was about to begin. The host in charge of this interview was Candice, a rising star in the LPL. Because of the ongoing arguments coming from inside, she hadn't entered yet, choosing to wait outside instead.

Ablu, putting the topic aside for a moment, coughed and calmed down. "Who wants to go do the interview?"

The staff member specified, "Sorry, Manager Ji, but we would like to invite player Lin Ruo for the interview."

The popularity of the "double roam" strategy was through the roof, and with Lin Ruo having won the MVP of the first game, the LPL officials naturally couldn't miss any opportunity to boost their traffic. Hearing this, Lin Ruo looked at Ablu with anticipation, and the latter waved his hand impatiently.

Only after seeing them leave did Ablu reflect on the situation, wondering, "Wait, what is this kid looking forward to? It's just an interview. Look at him; he's more excited than he was playing the match."

Fireloli, who knew exactly what was going on, had already started chuckling to himself. He wondered if the kid was planning to do something huge.

...

Before long, Lin Ruo was standing properly on stage. Most of the audience had left, and the popularity of the official stream had dropped significantly. Who would bother watching a post-match interview unless it was Clearlove, who was known for his legendary trash talk? After all, when it came to LPL sass, Clearlove held nine-tenths of the market share.

"Hello to the summoners at the venue and on the stream. Welcome to the post-match interview segment. Today, we have invited EDG's AD carry, Lin Ruo. In the match against VG, Lin Ruo performed excellently and took the MVP of the first game." Candice handed the microphone over. "Hello, Lin Ruo. Please say hello to everyone."

Lin Ruo waved his hand with a bright smile. "Hello, fellow producers... er, I mean, friends in the audience. I am Lin Ruo, a former RNG AD carry who spent two and a half years in the youth training academy and just joined EDG this summer. I usually like singing, dancing, rapping, and playing basketball, and I like to play... uh, I play every game, I'm not picky."

Hearing the name "RNG," Candice was noticeably stunned. And what kind of bizarre introduction was that? Though it did have a certain rhythm to it. She didn't dwell on it and went straight to the first question. "This is your first LPL match, and you got an MVP on your debut. How would you evaluate your performance?"

Lin Ruo took the microphone and said quite modestly, "Average, I suppose. I didn't really do much; my teammates carried me. I believe the audience has noticed that we played a 'four-protect-one' style today, with four teammates protecting me."

As soon as these words were out, the stream, which had been cooling down, instantly exploded. The trolls crawled out of the woodwork.

[A former RNG player with two and a half years in training... what are you implying, kid?]
[Bold move. Is 'four-protect-one' something you can just play? Get ready to be swarmed.]
[You're clearly saying Uzi isn't good enough.]
[Cringe, he's implying Uzi is a man-child who needs four teammates to protect him to function.]
[Starting a team fight like this? Salute to the warrior.]
[This is just a troll, right? What does this have to do with Uzi? What an unprofessional player.]
[Trying to ride Uzi's coattails, huh? Be careful not to choke on the traffic. Disgusting.]

Candice, feeling a bit shocked, swallowed hard and instinctively wanted to take the microphone back. Lin Ruo moved slightly aside, showing no signs of stopping.

"Don't misunderstand, viewers. This 'four-protect-one' is not *that* 'four-protect-one.' What I meant was that my teammates carried me to victory, not the 'four-protect-one' where Uzi drags four teammates along. I'm a true fan of Uzi, so please don't stir up trouble for him. Uzi performed so well today but still lost the game; that's tragic enough."

After saying this, Lin Ruo handed the microphone back with great satisfaction. But his words bounced back and forth between the haters and the fans, leaving even the most hardcore Uzi supporters unsure if he was an enemy or an ally.

[Wait, did I hear that right? Is he standing up for Uzi?]
[Okay, okay, I get it. He's saying everyone on RNG except Uzi is trash.]
[Isn't that just the truth? Uzi has to play Jhin and protect four people just to carry those teammates.]
[Hahaha, the Uzi fans don't actually think he's standing up for his idol, do they?]
[As a veteran Uzi-hater, I highly suspect he's being sarcastic.]

Candice, pursing her lips, felt a sense of powerless frustration. She had prepared several questions, but now she was afraid to ask any of them, fearing they might lead to another disaster. But the job had to go on. She forced a smile and said, "Then the second question is about EDG's playstyle today. It seems more aggressive and focused on early-game tempo compared to the past. Was this a deliberate plan before the match?"

Lin Ruo nodded. "That's right. We have indeed made significant changes to our tempo and playstyle. Because of our crushing defeat at the World Championship last year, we had to make adjustments to face more strong opponents in the future."

Seeing the interview return to normal, Candice regained some confidence. "Can you elaborate on that?"

Since you asked, Lin Ruo cleared his throat and said solemnly, "Actually, it's just one thing: 'Operations' alone cannot save the LPL. In the future, EDG will gradually transform into a team with a more diversified playstyle."