At the end of June, the grueling month-long Korean bootcamp finally concluded. The most significant progress was made by Xiaoban. From being dominated and beaten down to holding his own in matches, Xiaoban’s improvement in the second half of the camp, under the relentless pressure of Wave and Shen Jianian, was nothing short of miraculous.

They even returned home earlier than expected, diving straight back into routine training without a moment to rest. This was all in preparation for the upcoming platform invitational tournament.

The tournament was organized by the streaming platform owned by Du Qifeng. Despite this being the inaugural event, nearly all professional teams from the LPL and LSPL leagues were invited, reflecting the platform’s immense financial power. To align with the summer and playoff schedules, the first round mainly featured teams that failed to advance — including GI.

Since Zhou Lingxing started dating one of his teammates, his entire demeanor had changed, even becoming less ruthless during matches. Wave complained to Lao Yu about this shift. “Ling-ge’s not in the right state lately. Why does it feel like he’s being *gentle* to his opponents?”

Lao Yu, placing an order on a food delivery app, slowly entered the queue for their next game. “Do you have some misunderstanding about Ling-ge? You think ‘gentle’ is a word that can describe him?”

Wave nodded thoughtfully, realizing he might have overthought it. Meanwhile, Xiaoban shook his head with an enigmatic smile, as if silently quoting, *”They laugh at me for being crazy; I laugh at them for not seeing the truth.”*

Suddenly, Shen Jianian entered the room, flipping through emails on his phone while walking. Without missing a beat, he announced, “The schedule for the invitational is out.”

This instantly grabbed everyone’s attention, including Su Heng and Zhou Lingxing, who were in the middle of a duo queue match. Shen Jianian posted the freshly released schedule on the bulletin board in the living room before turning to face the others.

“Besides SLZ, the rest of our opponents are all LSPL teams. What are your thoughts on the lineup?”

Hearing that the opponents were from LSPL, Xiaoban eagerly raised his hand. “Let me play! Let me play!”

Wave glanced at him sideways. “You can play, but don’t lose a single match. If we can’t even beat these teams in the first round, what’s the point of continuing?”

Xiaoban immediately faltered. “Actually, maybe Miss Jie should play… I’m just a substitute.”

Shen Jianian made the final decision: “Su Heng will lead for this tournament, and Xiaoban will be on standby.”

Without slowing down, Su Heng secured another kill and replied with a quick “Got it.” But in her mind, she was thinking about her upcoming follow-up with Dr. Zhou Boxiu.

Since reducing her cognitive load and starting medication, she had only experienced one episode. She wondered if the doctor would be satisfied with the progress.

Zhou Lingxing noticed her distraction and gave her a light kick under the table. “Focus.”

Su Heng paused, pursed her lips, and quickly resumed her gameplay.

*Tch, nothing gets past him,* she thought.

Fans had mixed reactions to GI’s participation in the invitational. Some were excited to see them play again before the next season, while others mocked them for having to start from the first round despite being such a well-established team.

The most unique responses came from Su Heng’s fans:

– *“Finally, Sleeping is back in action! I’m crying tears of joy!”*
– *“Although I hope you play, I have to ask — will you or Xiaoban be playing this time?”*
– *“Will you take off the mask this time?”*
– *“Don’t get your hopes up. She said on stream yesterday that she won’t be taking it off.”*
– *“Are you playing again? Are you planning to carry or drag down the team?”*
– *“GI’s chances don’t look good for this invitational.”*

Interestingly, there were more comments under Su Heng’s personal Weibo account than on the official GI page. Despite her limited playtime, she had attracted a significant following, which caught the attention of the company’s executives.

However, this created a headache for Shen Jianian, who spent a good part of his day explaining Su Heng’s condition to the board. Fortunately, the shareholders didn’t care too much about these details; all they cared about was whether GI could generate profits and secure more sponsorships.

After hanging up on yet another call from upper management, Shen Jianian’s thoughts deepened. Although he had never asked Su Heng why she wore a mask during matches, he had a feeling there was more to it.

At first, fans were intrigued by the mystery of what lay behind the mask, but over time, curiosity could turn into resentment.

He removed his glasses and wiped them with the corner of his shirt, thinking that it might be time to have a conversation with her.

—

In their first match of the invitational, GI was set to face QB, the top-ranked LSPL team, just one step away from qualifying for the LPL.

The strategy from QB was clear from the start: they wanted to drag the game into the late stages against GI, which is why they picked Lulu right off the bat.

**Daimao**: “QB picking Lulu?! That seems a bit reckless—don’t forget LING is known for his aggressive playstyle…”

While Daimao was analyzing the situation for several minutes, both teams entered the loading screen. The lineups were:

– **GI**: Gnar, Rek’Sai, Orianna, Kog’Maw, and Alistar
– **QB**: Maokai, Gragas, Lulu, Vayne, and Braum

The game began.

Zhou Lingxing spoke calmly, “Swap lanes. Wave and Old Fish, head to top.”

Daimao noticed the movement of GI’s bot lane.

**Daimao**: “Kog’Maw and Alistar are moving… They’re swapping lanes. A smart choice—Kog’Maw really struggles against Vayne in the early and mid-game.”

The laning phase started, and both side lanes seemed stable thanks to GI’s lane swap.

However, the mid lane turned into a brawl.

Orianna and Lulu traded blows until both were left with half HP. With the minion waves arriving, neither had the chance to recall, forcing them to continue their duel.

Su Heng glanced at the mid lane skirmish and said softly, “Wait for me to hit level 3.”

But Zhou Lingxing immediately responded, “No need. Go help bot at level 3.”

With the lane swap, Sun He was left 1v2 in top lane, putting him under early pressure. Luckily, he was playing Gnar, and managed to farm most of the minions without falling too far behind.

Su Heng didn’t argue. She silently cleared her jungle and made her way toward the bottom lane.

As she reached the tri-brush, she briefly spotted Gragas working on the river crab.

She glanced at Sun He’s position—he was safely under the turret, with most of the wave intact. There was enough time.

With a flick of her mouse, Rek’Sai started moving toward the dragon river.

In spectator mode, Daimao quickly noticed Su Heng’s intention.

**Daimao**: “If I’m not mistaken, Sleeping is about to make a move.”

**Miya**: “Huh? What’s she planning?”

Daimao rolled his eyes internally. “Gragas was spotted taking the crab, and now Rek’Sai is heading that way.”

**Miya**: “But Gragas still has two-thirds of his health! The crab doesn’t deal damage—how could Sleeping kill him?”

**Daimao**: “Exactly. Now, think about it: if Sleeping ganks him, what will Gragas do? Continue taking the crab or fight Rek’Sai?”

Without waiting for Miya’s reply, Daimao continued, “If he keeps fighting for the crab, he’ll have to tank Rek’Sai’s damage—either he dies or gets severely hurt. If he fights back, he probably won’t win against Sleeping.”

**Miya**: “Couldn’t Gragas just leave?”

Daimao chuckled. “If he leaves, all that work on the crab will be wasted, and Sleeping gets it for free.”

Miya finally caught on, but she didn’t want to admit Sleeping’s brilliance, so she fell silent.

Suddenly, Daimao got excited. “Rek’Sai is here! Gragas isn’t leaving or fighting back—he’s still trying to take the crab!”

**Daimao**: “Rek’Sai lands a Q on Gragas and knocks him up with E! Gragas STILL doesn’t want to leave—he’s focused on the crab!”

**Daimao**: “Both the crab and Gragas are losing health at the same pace! If Gragas doesn’t give up, this will get ugly fast…”

**Daimao**: “The crab is down to a fifth of its HP! Gragas uses Smite!”

**Daimao**: “QB’s jungler panicked… Sleeping followed up with another Smite! She secured the crab!”

**Daimao**: “Gragas tries to escape with E, but… wait—when did Rek’Sai tunnel there? Rek’Sai catches up!”

**Daimao**: “Red buff slows Gragas! Rek’Sai keeps auto-attacking, and now they’re nearing the mid lane!”

**Daimao**: “Lulu tries to come help, but Orianna lands a perfect slow and delays her!”

**Daimao**: “Gragas is almost dead! Rek’Sai lands another Q—First Blood!!”

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Daimao couldn’t contain his excitement. “That was such a precise play by Sleeping! Every skill was perfectly executed. QB definitely took a major hit there.”

Miya stood there, stunned, unable to say a word.

Though her gaming skills were average, she could still sense a few things. For example, the woman who had been in the same Silver rank as her two months ago was now on a completely different level. Sleeping’s rapid growth was beyond anything she could comprehend. If there had been a tenfold difference between them before, now the gap was as vast as heaven and earth.

People are strange like that. When someone isn’t too far ahead of you, you might feel envy, jealousy, or even hostility. But when the gap becomes insurmountable, hostility feels pointless.

At this moment, Miya recognized the gap between them and found herself letting go of the grudges she had held. After all, they no longer belonged to the same world. Losing to a professional player wasn’t anything to be ashamed of.

The match continued. After securing the first kill, Su Heng immediately returned to base to refresh her gear. Before leaving, she sneaked a glance at Zhou Lingxing’s expression. Even though he hadn’t issued any specific instructions, there was no guarantee he could cover everything in the game. If she had waited even a second longer earlier, the outcome could have changed.

Seeing that Zhou’s expression remained calm, Su Heng finally relaxed. She didn’t want to endure another penalty of extended streaming hours.

Dai Mao was still immersed in the intense battle, muttering to himself, “That said… LING’s synergy with his teammates was spot on. Sleeping’s only been with the team for two months, and their coordination is already this good?”

Miya chuckled. “LING’s mechanics are already exceptional. With skills like that, he can sync with anyone.”

Dai Mao sighed quietly at Miya’s unreserved admiration. “This level of fanboying might actually cause some backlash for LING.”

As if in response to their conversation, just as Miya finished her praise, the enemy Orianna hit level five. She cast a shield on herself, flashed to a tricky position, and unleashed her combo on Lulu.

Seeing that Lulu was left with just a sliver of health, Zhou Lingxing immediately ignited her and followed up with an auto-attack. Lulu had no chance to fight back and fell in a pool of blood.

This time, the crowd’s cheers were even louder than when Su Heng took down the Gragas.

On the big screen, both teams reached level six. QB quickly adapted by swapping Vayne and Braum from the bottom lane to the top lane to switch with Maokai.

Seeing the sudden shift, Wave sneered. “Oh, they see their mid and jungle collapsing, so they want to come after us?” He signaled to Old Fish to go on the offensive. “They’ve got their plans, but we’ve got ours.”

Old Fish took the hint. As soon as Vayne and Braum stepped out from under their tower, Alistar charged in with an EQ combo, knocking both into the air.

Although they didn’t secure any kills yet, the crowd whistled in admiration for the precision of the play.

Wave immediately followed up with his W, targeting Vayne and unleashing his ultimate. After locking them down, he spat sludge at them to slow their escape and used ignite.

Vayne panicked and flashed to create distance, but she didn’t expect Braum to fall behind, unable to raise his shield in time. This gave Wave the perfect opportunity.

Kog’Maw flashed after Vayne and finished her off with a single auto-attack, securing the kill.

Seeing his ADC fall, Braum quickly retreated.

Barely 10 minutes into the game, QB’s bottom and mid lanes were crushed, and even the top side was showing signs of collapse. With GI’s mid-game comp, the outcome seemed set.

Even Dai Mao couldn’t help but clap in admiration. “Two ignites! GI brought two ignites! They’re playing super aggressively. The gold gap is already huge. After this, Wave and Old Fish will probably rotate back to the bottom lane, secure a wave and a turret for even more gold, and force QB to give up the next dragon. It’s going to be really tough for QB to withstand GI’s momentum now.”

Just as he finished speaking, Gnar returned to the top lane with full rage, transforming on the spot. At the same time, Rek’Sai burrowed out from the brush and flashed to knock Maokai into the air without hesitation.

Sun immediately followed up, slamming Maokai into the wall to stun him. The two unleashed a flurry of attacks, and before long, Maokai fell.

At this point, QB’s three lanes were all in ruins.

They had no power to fight back.
The fans were in an uproar, with cheers echoing non-stop.
Previously, when GI faced FHL or NB, the difference wasn’t as obvious.
But now, facing a top-tier league team, the gap between them was starkly apparent.
GI was truly formidable.
They weren’t flashy or ostentatious, but every move they made seemed to have been honed through countless trials.
There were no fancy tricks, but their solid fundamentals were unmistakable.

The 15th minute arrived.
The first team fight was about to erupt.
Under QB’s tiered defense tower, Lao Yu seized the opportunity and, taking advantage of Maokai’s absence, landed a flawless EQ combo that knocked up two enemies.
At the same moment, the Rek’Sai player followed with a flash-E, disrupting Braum and stopping him from unleashing his ultimate.
Just as Gragas was about to release his explosive cast, Sun landed a strike that pinned him to the wall.
GI had forcefully initiated the fight against QB!

Before Daimao could even marvel at GI’s precision, Zhou Lingxing’s Orianna unleashed her ultimate on the group of enemies already knocked up.
With Maokai finally arriving, the ult hit all five opponents!
Wave, in an optimal position, dished out non-stop damage from the backline.

Almost inevitably, QB was wiped out in a clean ace.
When the “ACE” banner appeared on the big screen, the crowd could no longer hold back their excitement, responding with deafening cheers for GI’s flawless execution.

Even Daimao couldn’t help but stand up and shout, “LING hit *all five* of QB with his ult! *All of them!*”
Miya, equally excited, blushed with enthusiasm. “Did you see that?! This is why he’s called the God LING! He *deserves* that title!”

QB seemed utterly lost after that, playing in a daze for the rest of the match.
Finally, at the 28th minute, GI secured the win.

Daimao gave the closing commentary:
“This was a perfect victory—one that GI truly deserved. This match makes it clear that the gap between LPL and LSPL teams is undeniable.”

Miya adjusted herself and added with a smile, “Yes, and now let’s take a look at today’s MVP—it’s LING.”

Daimao shrugged, “Actually, that early jungle gank by Sleeping was really impressive, but LING’s five-man ult was just too good. Let’s not forget—those were professional players. I never imagined I’d see a play like that in an official match.”

The MVP of the match had already made his way to the interview area.
The host smiled and congratulated him, “Congratulations to GI on their first win, and to the God LING for being named MVP.”

Zhou Lingxing glanced at the host with a slight nod. “Thanks.”

The host, slightly embarrassed but maintaining a polite smile, continued, “What’s your take on today’s opponents?”

“They played pretty well,” Zhou Lingxing replied seriously. “Just a bit unlucky.”

It was unfortunate for them to encounter GI in their first game.

The host assumed he was referring to QB’s bad luck during the match and didn’t read too much into it. She followed up with, “How do you think GI performed today?”

Zhou Lingxing thought for a moment before answering slowly, “We did alright. It was mainly Sleeping who set the pace for us.”