[Esports] From Madness to the Peak

A five-player game: the mid and jungle coordinate, the bottom lane is a couple, and some poor soul gets left alone on top to take the pressure.

That would be bad enough, but his mid-lane teammate is the GOAT of the industry. That makes Li Shuoran, who's been his teammate for ten years, look even more like a fraud.

They won every accolade together! It's not like he's the only veteran who's stayed at the top for ten years! Is it just because the GOAT is a mid-lane aristocrat and crazy Da Shuo is a solo-lane top? How can they even take away Da Shuo's World Championship FMVP? He was the one who carried them on his back that year!

Hidden in the GOAT's shadow, Li Shuoran was constantly questioned by outsiders. In his third year as a pro, after winning his second World Championship, the jungler couldn't take the immense pressure anymore and prepared to quit.

Before leaving, he asked Li Shuoran a question:

"We've already won two World Championships and three league titles, and we still have to shoulder all this pressure. What does winning more even mean?"

That question hit hard and shattered Li Shuoran's competitive spirit.

Right, he laughed. I've won enough championships and earned enough money. What does winning more even mean?

That one laugh turned him into a washed-up player. In his fourth year as a pro, after half a year of spiraling, the coach finally had enough and sent him to manage the water cooler.

That was also the year Team 0°C officially began its campaign to save the washed-up players. At S4, 0°C failed to qualify for Worlds, and the whole team's reputation plummeted.

Especially top laner Li Shuoran. Team 0°C's Aiolos went from Wind God to Wind Boy, then to Wind the Ultimate Fraud. A top laner's career is short to begin with, and twenty-year-old Li Shuoran was already considered old. Having been demoted from the starting lineup to the bench, he was now the subject of retirement rumors.

At the time, the team was beset by problems inside and out, the players were overwhelmed, and the coach had his own troubles. Just then, Wind the Ultimate Fraud, who had spent half a year managing the water cooler, finally had an epiphany. It went down in history as the Water Cooler Enlightenment.

After being diagnosed with a mental disorder, he finally let go.

The coach was yelling, the manager was shouting, and his teammates were hollering. In the corner, Wind the Ultimate Fraud hugged the water cooler and laughed hysterically.

That laugh carried him all the way to S11, taking him from Wind the Ultimate Fraud back to the Wind God.

[Reading Guide]

1. The story takes place in a fictional modern setting and has no connection to the real world.

2. The competition format is inspired by real ones, and the game is similar to a MOBA.

3. The heroes, skills, equipment, and other specific game details are mostly made up. Don't compare them to real MOBAs or you'll find bugs everywhere.

4. At its heart, this is a comedic esports novel full of dark jokes. The gaming content is limited, so even readers who know nothing about games can enjoy it.

5. It contains a lot of tasteless jokes involving livestreams and forums. The fictional esports scene is similar to the real one, and the players don't get much sympathy from the public. The comments and banter from random people are very harsh, so don't read if that bothers you.

6. Please turn on the author's notes, and pay attention (seriously, pay attention). Some tasteless jokes, livestream comments, forum posts, and dark humor are in the author's notes. If you like this kind of humor, you must turn them on.

Theme: ~