Just finished a match — Ji Yunyu was about to pour Sui Ning a glass of water when he noticed and arched an eyebrow. “Isn’t that Xiao Le?”
Sui Ning blinked. “Who?”
Ji Yunyu: “An OB streamer on Little Shark. He just seemed to spot us playing and asked if he could broadcast it.”
Sui Ning pressed his lips, hesitated. “Let’s not. We don’t need that kind of exposure.”
“Okay, I’ll decline it.”
Ji Yunyu stood there with two cups in one hand and typed with the other: Sorry, partner doesn’t like being broadcast.
Xiao Le’s eyes went wide. “What—?! Domestic!!”
——
Meanwhile, a frustrated Yuim and libap didn’t sit idle: in the post-match screen they filed reports on Fan’en and Fanlei, checking the reason box: “Too strong, severely affects game balance.”
Yuim — still upset at his huge early lead being overturned — angrily added: “Hope they nerf them ASAP.”
A Korean viewer who’d been watching Yuim’s stream clipped that moment and uploaded it.
Instantly the international forums exploded with posts — many hard to tell real from fake — debating who this breakout mid-jungle duo actually were.
[The mid-jungle that demolished Yuim is actually — (posted from KR, auto-translated)]
Curious viewers opened the thread and found the OP’s headline: Earthlings!
Before anyone could flame, a crafty reply popped up: Didn’t you see their play? They moved like two people controlled by one brain — only aliens could do that! kkkk
WTF!
Posts like that multiplied; discussion around Wind and Cloud4 surged.
Unconcerned, Sui Ning and Ji Yunyu kept queuing and played well into the night.
Xiao Le and his viewers were obsessed. They became even more determined once they knew the two were domestic players. Not having permission to stream their accounts, they hunted for high-tier matches and found several.
Wind, Cloud4 vs Korean team Tio’s bot duo — WIN.
Vs EU team Fast — WIN.
Vs EU team JNU’s mid, Latin America’s star player — WIN.
Vs Central Asia’s star player — WIN.
……
“Unreal! Guys, these two are absolutely absurd!” Xiao Le, who’d cast all day, finally gave up: “Lose one game, please. I’ll stop streaming — it’s 1 AM.”
“Are they on drugs? They just keep getting stronger!”
He wiped sweat with a weak chuckle. “I can’t anymore. Someone tell me — after a whole day of watching, can we figure out who they are?”
[Honestly, Cloud4 can only be God Yun.]
[Besides the stylistic shift, other habits really match Yun.]
[Seventeen hours ago, someone said it couldn’t be Yun— crossed the right answer out immediately, huh?]
[But I can’t place Wind — and who among the midlaners is close with Yun like that?]
[Maybe we need the stan moms to dig gossip — who do their beloved husbands/sons usually duo with?]
[From skill alone, I’d call Wind the fifth ‘Phantom God’ — if ABCD four mages are out streaming or in hospital, I’d really believe it.]
[If he’s not cheating, I can only say… a new god descends.]
“Although I think it’s absurd, the famous philosopher-magician Conan once said: eliminate all impossibilities, and whatever remains, no matter how unlikely, must be the truth.”
Xiao Le cleared his throat. “I’m inclined to agree with everyone who says Cloud4 is God Yun. And given PNG’s latest moves, this Wind is highly likely PNG’s new midlaner.”
“Let’s analyze. In terms of skill, Wind was previously handpicked by the God Yue as a successor, hailed as a top-tier ‘big cabbage’. The level of play we just saw from that Fan’en perfectly matches. If I were a team manager, I’d sign him on the spot after that game.”
“Socially, who else could spend a whole day duoing with God Yun besides the new mid? If it were someone else, Chen Chen would’ve gone off already. PNG wouldn’t be casually duoing like this during the off-season—doesn’t add up, right?”
“In short, Wind… those who know, know! I’m not spreading any false info, okay!”
[Reasonable.]
After that one-word reply, PNG fans in the streamroom felt their hearts pounding.
The day’s matches had been so thrilling and exciting; after watching all day, if this really is God Yun and the new mid together, those fans felt their team’s mid-jungle duo was about to hit the pinnacle and lock the new season down.
But…
[Fuck, so after all that we’re back to square one—nobody actually knows who the new mid is!]
[Nationwide wanted: the cabbage—turns out the cabbage is playing on the international server.]
[Damn it PNG, if you don’t release a statement, I’m seriously going to cause a scene!!]
After bawling and screaming with no confirmation, at 1:30 AM a bunch of sleep-deprived, frantic fans swarmed the PNG official Weibo and left comments.
Comment: Release the new mid now, or we’ll report you to JC for illegally detaining the cabbage!
Comment: The State Council’s latest directive—strictly prohibiting merchants from colluding to drive up cabbage prices!!
Comment: Cabbage… I need cabbage…
——
The next day.
A calm day in May.
Two announcements struck directly at the hearts of HPL and PNG fans.
First, War of Glory officials released an emergency balance patch.
War of Glory V: Dear players, based on the latest feedback, our designers have found that the strength of certain heroes is abnormally high. This balance patch has been issued to correct it. Details are as follows—please check the in-game data for specifics.
[Shadowbane – Fanlei]
1. Reduced skill damage; increased cooldowns.
2. Cooldown refund reduced from 45/50% to 25/25%.
[Specter of Shadow – Fan’en]
1. Increased skill cooldowns.
2. Reduced the inherited HP and damage of the Children of Void.
As for the synergy skill [Twin Shadows]:
1. Fan’en and Fanlei must now alternate shadow-swapping; Fan’en can no longer control both.
2. Each swap must now have a 1-second cooldown interval.
Those unaware of the context were completely baffled.
[What’s going on? How long have these brothers been benched, and the moment they show up, they get nerfed?]
[Their pick rate wasn’t even high—why nerf instead of buffing?]
[The individual nerfs are okay, manageable, but this combo change… that’s brutal.]
[Yeah, adding a cooldown interval kills Fan’en’s instant double-swap. But no one even plays them—why the sudden nerf?]
[Well, not no one. Go check the international server… in one day, every top-tier player got wrecked by these brothers.]
[???]
The international servers soon posted the same announcement. The players who had been steamrolled by them rejoiced.
At 6 a.m., Chen Chen saw the notice, nearly blacked out, and after a lightning-fast discussion with the coaching team, he was pounding on Room 203’s door by 7 a.m. sharp. “Quick, quick, quick—big problem!”
The two young men who had stayed up all night woke up in shock, hastily threw on whatever clothes they could find, and rushed to the door.
Opening it was Ji Yunyu.
His shirt was half hanging off, revealing a glimpse of his lean abs, eyes still dazed with sleep. “Ah… huh?”
Sui Ning, bleary-eyed beside him, swayed on his feet and almost collapsed against the boy’s shoulder.
Chen Chen thrust the adjustment notice and the analysis report at them. “No idea what’s going on, but they suddenly nerfed your duo’s strength—take a look!”
Realizing it was serious, Sui Ning forced himself awake and skimmed through.
“…It’s fine.” His voice was still hoarse and sleepy. “Not a big deal.”
Chen Chen blinked. “Really not a big deal?”
“When we played yesterday, the shadow-swap mechanic was a bit overtuned.”
Sui Ning yawned, eyes misty from fatigue. “Adding an interval just puts it back to normal strength.”
Chen Chen frowned. “Still, if we keep practicing this duo, it might be a bit of a disadvantage now.”
“It won’t.” Sui Ning tapped a line on the analysis report. “Fan’en’s Q leaves a path that can go through walls—and Fanlei can follow it. As long as that’s untouched, it’s still strong. A one-second gap is fine—it’s still Tier 1 material.”
Chen Chen exhaled heavily. “Alright. I trust your judgment. I’ll discuss the details with the analysts. We’ll test it again in training matches.”
“Mm.”
After a pause, Chen Chen’s gaze flicked between the two. “…Then go back to sleep.”
Half-asleep, Ji Yunyu perked up at the word “sleep” and started to close the door.
Chen Chen added casually, “Oh, and—change your clothes first. You two are wearing each other’s.”
Sui Ning: …Ah.
Ji Yunyu: …?
The two looked at each other in dawning realization.
——
Xiao Le, who fully understood the meaning of the patch, was pounding his chest in mixed pride and regret. “Damn it! This is the power of our national players! They literally scared the devs into nerfing the heroes overnight!”
Then he switched tone indignantly. “But honestly, in anyone else’s hands, these two would just be trash-tier. It’s our Wind and Cloud who made them shine. They got strong through skill—and you, War of Glory, dare to nerf that?!”
[Damn foreigners kept reporting—unbelievable.]
[Those idiots can’t play and blame balance instead. None of them could ever play Fan’en and Fanlei like that.]
But a few sharp-eyed viewers typed in consolation:
[Honestly, it was kind of too overpowered—no wonder they rushed a fix overnight.]
[They can still play it after the nerf. I believe in them!]
[Glory’s balance has always been pretty solid. Those nerfs look scary, but the actual numbers aren’t that bad.]
[That interval thing—I asked my brother (he’s top 100 on the national server and a hardcore Wind fan). He said it’s fine. It affects them a bit, but not enough to stop God Wind from showing off.]
Xiao Le sighed repeatedly on stream. “Yeah, I get it. Glory never tweaks things for no reason. But my feelings are so complicated right now, brothers—do you get me? Our country just produced a god-tier duo, absolute monsters, and the moment they start tearing up the ladder, the devs literally change the code overnight to tone them down.”
“It’s like… on one hand, their skill is unquestionable. They’re so strong they made the designers panic—that’s satisfying as hell. Our national jungle–mid duo completely obliterated the international server, in what, a single day?”
“But it’s also just—ugh! I don’t even know how to describe it!”
[I get you. That complicated feeling.]
[It’s like bouncing between “we’re so strong you need the devs to rewrite code to stop us” and “why the hell are you nerfing my boys.”]
[Sigh, hopefully they have more in their arsenal. If they’re pros, they shouldn’t just rely on one combo, right?]
[+1 upstairs. I’m scared that was their one trick.]
The chat collectively groaned in sympathy.
Meanwhile, PNG fans who saw the announcement nearly fainted.
Fuck—of all heroes to change, they had to tweak the ones (supposedly) our PNG boys were practicing? Glory, what the hell are you doing?!
Do you not know it’s May, huh?!
Cursing and ranting, they flooded Glory’s official Weibo with tens of thousands of angry comments. When they finally ran out of steam, they regrouped and stormed PNG’s official page.
Comment: Please, just say something! You won’t show us our precious Cabbage, and now you won’t even let us defend him when he’s being bullied?!
Comment: My hands are shaking. I’m praying this isn’t our new duo comp that got nerfed. Please don’t let this hit our main team!
Comment: Cabbage needs sunlight—just like Inner Mongolia can’t lose Tongliao! Let our Cabbage bask in the sun already!!
By noon, the PNG official account finally stirred—like a dead fish flipping over—and sluggishly posted an update.
PNG_EsportsClub V: #CabbageNeedsSunlight Ours probably doesn’t—it’s made of rainbow diamonds, after all. Doesn’t need sunlight to shine~!
Attached image: A “Rainbow Diamond Cabbage” with a pair of big, watery cartoon eyes and a caption underneath— “Trying to break my defense, huh?”
Fans: …??????
[WTF is this again?! Can you stop teasing us already?!]
[Wait… wait a second…]
[That almost blinding rainbow-diamond shine… that cocky little caption…]
[…I can only think of one person—but maybe I’m overthinking it…]
[Help. The guy on the international server is called Wind… Wind…]
Someone finally cracked.
[What is this, a riddle session?! Stop being the Riddler and get out of Gotham already!!]
Some fans who were starting to piece things together replied with trembling hands, hearts pounding.
[…I don’t dare say it. I don’t want my baby to get hate.]
[+1. I think we’re all thinking of the same person, but if it’s not him and we’re wrong, the solo stans will eat him alive…]
[AAAA help! I’m losing it!! If it’s true—if it’s really him and my main team—I’m going to run ten laps out of pure joy!!]
[I’ve been following him since the Three-Tailed Fox days. This whole storyline is insane—I never imagined it’d turn out like this.]
[Same here! I’ve been a fan since the “Four Heroes vs. Bronze Age” era. Always thought he was so hardworking and talented. Finally—finally, the clouds part and the moon shines through!]
[I stayed up till 3 a.m. watching them play, and I thought—if he doesn’t make it this time, I’ll stop believing in the word ‘hard work.’]
[Skill matters too. I’ll never forget him pulling 4000+ MMR from rank 2 to rank 1—he was my first Aeria mentor.]
[Yeah. He’s got both attitude and ability. Totally stan-worthy.]
[Stan-worthy? Please. I’m his loyal dog!!]
[LMAO—now I remember that iconic “1 Master, 4 Dogs” moment.]
[I’m dying. Joker, come get your people—the Riddler’s taken over your fandom.]
[Please, guys, I’m begging—who is it?! Give us something solid! I’m going insane here!]
After much hesitation, a fan finally posted a picture.
[Just Photoshopped this—keep it quiet.]
[No mass sharing. If any clickbait accounts repost this, I’ll end them.]
[Shhh——]
[Brothers, listen to the wind.]
Attached image: a side-by-side comparison of a “Diamond Walnut” and a “Diamond Cabbage.” Same rainbow glow. Same intelligent sparkle in their eyes. Same cocky little taunt.
The only difference: beneath the Diamond Walnut, one name was written—
Fenglan.
----------
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