Shi Lin, the Alliance's strongest female sharpshooter, came back after winning the championship.
At the time, her gaming-addicted brother was in a coma after a car accident, so she was forced to take his identity and join an esports team.
The team was packed with handsome guys, but not one of them could play. They'd languished at the bottom of the rankings for years.
But gradually, she realized that her laid-back teammates all seemed to have something to hide.
No. 1, the cold, aloof sniper, routinely flicked his aim so wildly that he nearly shot his teammates in the face. Yet in the dead of night, on a smurf account, he engaged in close-range firefights, earning himself a reputation as a legendary sharpshooter among solo players.
No. 2, the stunning campus heartthrob and assault player, was a professional feeder. But in secret, he boosted accounts for money, hearing "You have received 100,000 yuan" from Alipay every day.
No. 3, the icy, handsome team leader, spent training sessions slacking off and writing code. The message he received most often was, "Boss, the game bug has been fixed."
No. 4, Shi Lin, the flex player, worked very hard to imitate her brother's clumsy play so nobody would suspect a thing.
It was ridiculous that not a single member of the team seemed to want to win a championship.
*
To boost publicity, the Alliance launched a live-streamed variety show called Team Life.
Other teams played practice matches day and night and reviewed footage until dawn.
The EW team got up and went to bed on schedule, logged into the game at set times to feed, and drank goji berry tea while playing a few rounds of match-three games.
Netizen 1: "I've never seen a team as lazy as EW. They'll never win a championship in their lives."
Netizen 2: "A bunch of useless noobs, polluting the esports scene. Why don't you just form a boy band?"
Then they saw the team in an Alliance exhibition match.
No. 1, the sniper, picked up a rifle from the start and landed a blind headshot.
No. 2, the assault player, wiped out the foul-mouthed opposing team in ten seconds.
No. 3, the team leader, precisely called out the position of an enemy hiding in the grass.
No. 4, the flex player, took home the match MVP.
Netizens: ! Is this really the same team of noobs we know?
Everyone's inner thoughts: Uh-oh, we didn't act well this round.
Later, they watched the team slack off while somehow scraping its way into the finals, then hoist the championship trophy.
Netizens were stunned: "A team of couch potatoes can win a championship too?"
[Gender disguise, everyone has a secret identity, experts pretending to be noobs]
[Shooting-style battle royale game, mostly played for jokes, with limited focus on gameplay]
Theme: Let your skills speak for themselves