TCWSITD – Chapter 1

***

August 23, 2027 — The final match of the Summer Split Regional Qualifiers[mfn]a series of matches to determine final qualification, usually for Worlds[/mfn] was about to begin.

The short-haired girl working as a backstage attendant fidgeted nervously. She glanced repeatedly at the door, hoping tonight’s shift would let her catch a glimpse of God A.

God A is currently the hottest[mfn]炙手可热 (zhì shǒu kě rè) – lit. burn your hand, feel the heat (idiom); a mighty figure no one dares approach[/mfn] player in the LPL. With his unparalleled talent, he has long dominated the rankings at number one, and was once praised by foreign media as ‘the most naturally gifted player in history.’

If only his four teammates weren’t so weak, he probably would’ve won the Worlds a long time ago, right?

As she mused, noise suddenly erupted outside the door.

Ahhh! Her idol was here!

Alike—the one everyone knows as God A.

With his mixed-race features, a backpack slung casually over one shoulder, and a height that made him stand out in any crowd, his mere presence commanded the room. Add to that his perpetually aloof, all-knowing demeanor, and he stole the spotlight the moment he stepped inside.

The short-haired girl pushed forward with great effort, only to be stopped by the accompanying staff before she could even catch a glimpse of his face. “Sorry, God A needs rest. Everyone, please stop here,” one of the staff said firmly.

She felt a bit disheartened but quickly reminded herself that not seeing him was normal. This was God A, after all—the one who had taken the entire LPL by storm. Getting even a glimpse of his silhouette was already quite good.

Regaining her composure, she began tidying up the messy reception area, unaware of the pair of white sneakers that had entered her line of sight. As she moved, she accidentally tripped over the fan support items she had set up.

The owner of the sneakers also had an impressive height, but his presence was different from God A’s.

His slender frame made him seem non-threatening. His team jersey was impeccably neat without a single wrinkle, pristine as if brand new.

Up close, he carried a faint scent of soap[mfn]In raw, it is indicated as 皂角 (zào jiǎo) which is a Chinese honey locust tree/fruit[/mfn]—subtle and clean, like a quiet stream cutting through the chaotic world of esports.

Engrossed in writing something, he only realized someone was at his feet when he accidentally kicked something. “Sorry, did I kick you?”

When he lifted his face from the notebook, the short-haired girl was completely stunned.

She had never seen such a player like this—someone with good temperament and clean aura.

His fair skin and neatly trimmed hair made him resemble a transparent glass bottle on a display shelf. No matter what it held, its truest colors would always shine through.

Setting down his pen, he reached out and helped her up from the floor.

On his jersey, words were written inconspicuously:

KUG_river

Lin Jiang

The girl stared blankly for a long moment, then suddenly realized that this person is also a professional player. Her eyes sparkled as she asked, “Are you a professional player too? Do you compete on stage?”

“Me?” The owner of the white sneakers smiled faintly.

He closed his notebook and lowered the brim of his cap. “I’m not qualified to play.”

The girl was taken aback as the player walked away, disappearing down the corridor.

It took her a while to recover. “Andy-ge, was that player God A’s teammate? Why have I never seen him before?”

“You don’t know who he is?” Andy, wearing his work badge, looked shocked. “He’s river—the mid laner who dominated both domestic and international championships for two straight years back in the day.”

“Back then, just hearing his name was enough to make the entire LoL competitive scene tremble. Even LCK netizens—who trash-talk every region—had to acknowledge his strength.”

Although the girl was relatively new to the esports scene, she knew how rare it was for LCK fans to give respect. Even Alike was not even completely acknowledged by them. For a player to earn their recognition, just how powerful must he be…?

“Then why is he like this now?”

“It’s actually quite sad. Back when river dominated the competitive scene, God A was still a dark horse.[mfn]黑马 (hēi mǎ) – dark horse; fig. unexpected winner[/mfn] Later, I don’t know how and why, but KUG managed to sign God A.”

“At first, river kept his starting position, but after one crucial loss, God A stepped in with a stunning comeback. The team started promoting God A while sidelining river. Eventually, he became a substitute for over three years…”

“Three years as a substitute?”

A substitute in esports is entirely different from substitutes of other sports. This game requires a strong degree of cooperation. Unexpected situations are extremely rare, leaving substitutes with almost no chance to play.

Three years as a substitute means three years without playing in an official match.

Even if he was once the top player of the league—dubbed as “the god of the canyon”—by now, he had to be practically washed up, right?

The short-haired girl pressed a hand to her pounding chest.

For some reason, she felt a pang of sadness thinking of those clean, pale hands, and the cap he wore, pulled low over his eyes.

Maybe what he was really trying to hide… was his pride.

***

The match proceeded in a heated atmosphere.

At first, KUG’s luck was exceptionally good. God A played like he had a cheat code, taking the carry role for two games in a row and decisively securing the match point.

Just when everyone thought KUG had the victory in the bag, God A’s performance took a sharp downturn. Afterwards, he and his teammates lost two games in a row, dragging the match into the fifth and final do-or-die round.

The online reactions changed instantly, flooding with curses and insults one after another.

In the meeting room, the executives were so anxious they were on the verge of panic.

“Do you know what losing the next game would mean? It would be the first time since KUG’s inception that the team failed to qualify for Worlds. The team’s popularity and reputation will plummet. Who could shoulder that responsibility?!”

“And then there’s Alike. The team worked so hard to build him into a star player worth hundreds of millions. If we lose the next game, he’ll fall from grace, and all our efforts to create a god would be wasted! We might all get fired!”

The atmosphere in the meeting room was suffocating. The boss’s ultimatum hung over their heads like a guillotine.

Someone in the corner suggested timidly, “What if… we let the substitute play?”

“If he wins, it means we made the right call. If he loses, the backlash will land on him. As long as Alike doesn’t fall, we can continue to operate. With careful management next year, our reputation and image will gradually recover.”

This would indeed minimize the damage. Everyone silently agreed, and the decision was finally announced in the break room.

Alike pressed his lips into a thin line. “If even I can’t win, how can he?”

The manager pulled Alike aside and quietly explained the situation. Alike, who had been strongly opposed at first, suddenly calmed down.

Indeed, letting Lin Jiang take the stage would divert much of the backlash onto him—but would Lin Jiang agree?

He endured five-years of this unfair contract. Considering the achievements he earned in the first two-year, he could easily find another team and get by. But if he goes up and loses this match, the backlash could end his entire professional career.

Alike refused to believe that anyone in this world would act against their own interests.

He pressed his lips tightly together as he peered through the frosted glass of the air-conditioned room, looking at that slender figure in the corner.

Lin Jiang listened to the coach’s arrangement without objection. He nodded and then stood up to check his equipment.

Alike’s pupils narrowed.

After all these years, he’d thought he had completely trampled on river. But at this moment, his face burned with shame.

He clenched his fists, then reluctantly relaxed them.

“I was the one who agreed to let him play.”

***

The fifth game of KUG’s bubble match[mfn]a match that determines a team’s placement in a league or a match with high stakes[/mfn] was underway. It would later be remembered as the most brutal game in history.

Both sides fought fiercely for 65 minutes, yet neither managed to claim victory.

On the live broadcast screen, river’s forehead was drenched in sweat. He led his teammates in a desperate defense. Even after losing all three high grounds, he managed to drag the game into the ultra-late-game.

The opposing team’s three high grounds had also been destroyed. Both teams had maxed-out economies. All ten players were equipped with six full items, and their team compositions were evenly matched. At this point, victory hinged entirely on a single, decisive team fight.

Seeing river, who hadn’t played in an official match for three years, still display such a high level of skill, the short-haired girl backstage couldn’t hide her excitement.

She could not imagine what kind of legend river must have been back then to still command such dominance after three years away from the competitive stage.

And all of this against the very same opponent even Alike couldn’t overcome.

Old fans in the barrage[mfn]弹幕 (dàn mù) – “bullet screen”, function which allows viewers to post on-screen comments in real time[/mfn] erupted with emotion—

[I never thought I’d see river play again in my lifetime.]

[Three years! Oh my god, I never imagined I’d see him return like this.]

[river’s 25 years old now, right? And he’s still as sharp as any of the younger players.]

[Who still remembers those two years when he ruled the league?]

[I want to cry to death, does anyone else understand?]

Back when river became a substitute, there were fans who fought fiercely for him. But as time passed, even the brightest glories faded into the wind.

As they felt moved, the new fans on the other side responded with biting sarcasm and ridicule.

[Still can’t win the game? If it were God A, it would have ended early.]

[Why are they dragging their feet? Who’s making the calls? Should’ve ended after securing Baron.]

[Doesn’t the mid laner know how to carry and end the game?]

[Old cold hands?][mfn]老寒手 (lǎo hán shǒu) – someone with shaky or nervous hands, usually meaning losing their touch or nerves under pressure[/mfn]

[Watching him play is like fluffing cotton[mfn]弹棉花 (tán miánhuā) – describe something that feels slow, clumsy, or awkward, often implying a lack of smoothness or skill[/mfn]—so awkward and uncomfortable.]

[KUG is dying a slow death.]

[Damn it, such a great advantage dragged out until now…]

[What kind of substitute player is this?]

On stage, Lin Jiang was drenched in sweat; he didn’t dare waste a single second wiping it away.

At this stage of the match, it was like walking a knife’s edge[mfn]刀尖上行走 (dāojiān shàng xíngzǒu) – similar to English phrase “walking a tightrope”; an extremely dangerous or high-stakes situation[/mfn]—the slightest misstep meant utter defeat.

The opponents were even stronger than he’d anticipated—incredibly resilient, with a playstyle that perfectly countered KUG. This was the reason Alike was defeated twice in a row.

Lin Jiang had boldly picked a late-game champion, betting everything on an all-or-nothing showdown.

But after three years away from competition, his mechanics had grown rusty. Despite his best efforts, the opponent still saw through the subtle flaws in his play.

The opposing jungler, eyes sharp as a snake’s, instantly spotted his weakness and decisively initiated a team fight with an EQ-Flash combo.

Lin Jiang was killed within seconds. The situation changed in an instant, and the grueling 75-minute game suddenly ended in a single, decisive push.

The grayscale screen flickered. Lin Jiang tightly shut his eyes as the overwhelming darkness—like a vicious beast—engulfed him in an instant.

In that fleeting second, it wasn’t just the game he lost.

It was his entire career.

The live broadcast screen drowned in an overwhelming flood of public opinion.

Chasing the third-place team[mfn]让二追三 (ràng èr zhuī sān) – lit. let the second chase the third; similar to the English expression “the battle for third”[/mfn], KUG failed to qualify for Worlds for the first time since the team’s formation. This also marked God A’s first absence from the World Championship tournament.

What was supposed to be a cosmic battleship[mfn]宇宙战舰 (yǔ zhòuzhàn jiàn) – something extremely powerful that was expected to dominate; much like a “juggernaut” in English[/mfn] dominating all regions ended up sinking right at their own doorstep—never even leaving the harbor. For all the fans, this was an unimaginable humiliation beyond belief!

They grabbed their keyboards, unleashing venomous words and piercing voices, trying to crucify Lin Jiang alive—

[So mid lane just loves to feed[mfn]送 (sòng) – to intentionally (or unintentionally) dying to the enemy, thereby giving them an advantage[/mfn], huh ???]

[I fucking watched for over an hour, and you threw it away in one second!]

[Who is this mid laner? Can we just kick him out of the LPL already…?]

[I can’t accept this result! God A has never missed Worlds before! He didn’t even get to play—and he already lost!]

[Is this substitute taking revenge on God A?]

[WHY LET A SUBSTITUTE PLAY! THE DECIDING! GAME!]

The fans’ emotional outburst on-site alerted security.

After losing the match, Lin Jiang stood up, packed his equipment, and walked out with his head hung low.

Suddenly, a shadow flew toward his head, accompanied by a shout: “Get the hell out of LPL!”

A flash of white light suddenly appeared, and the lights above converged on his head.

Lin Jiang’s body slowly fell to the ground, accompanied by a sharp ringing in his ears, and then he couldn’t hear anything anymore…

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