The Retired Player Returns to the Top

Lu Zi’ang, a former world champion, falls from the top after one fatal misplay. Kicked off the first team, he drifts through the second-tier leagues until even they no longer want him. He dies one late night in an internet cafe, with cold instant noodles in front of him and a recording of the match that ruined his reputation five years ago on the screen. Every comment says, “A miserable old age awaits.”

When he opens his eyes again, he’s nineteen, sitting on the bench in a second-tier league match, drenched in cold sweat. A cold System notification appears in his mind: [Regret Collection System bound.] [Host has completed “Awakening”: Regret +1.] [Current reward available for exchange: Peak Reaction Speed (duration: one match), cost: 10 Regret.]

He starts playing in silence. In the first match, he suppresses the opposing jungler from start to finish with moves beyond the limits of human reaction. The comments are all question marks. In the second, he predicts every one of the opponent’s ganks with near-telepathic awareness and earns MVP without dying once. In the third, he leads his team to the longest winning streak in second-tier league history, and people start saying his name again.

Managers from all the major teams begin reaching out to him in private. Even his old team, the one that abandoned him in his previous life, sends someone. Lu Zi’ang agrees to nothing. He only glances at Su Xiaoxiao sitting in the corner, the one person who never gave up on him when he was at his lowest in his previous life. She is quietly holding a stack of new data analysis reports, waiting for him.

“Xiaoxiao, this time we’re not going to the second-tier league. We’re going to Worlds.”