Right after watching the semifinals, the other analysts on the coaching staff were still compiling data while Chen Chen raced against time to arrange scrims between PNG and HTG. HTG’s coach, Tang Yu, immediately understood what he wanted and raised a brow. “So we’re directly recreating UG’s Game 1 comp?”
Chen Chen nodded. “That works.”
Tang Yu then called over HTG’s players and assigned their tasks.
The two teams quickly skipped through the drafting phase. HTG picked UG’s no-marksman composition, while PNG locked in a composition centered around [Soulreaper King] + [Explorer].
Once the picks were finalized, Chen Chen tilted his chin toward his team’s double carries, signaling for them to share their thoughts.
“Holy Light Warrior’s Reflective Wall can’t do anything against Soulreaper King. Bone Soldier Piercing attacks don’t get absorbed,” Sui Ning pondered aloud. “Likewise, Soulreaper King’s positioning in teamfights isn’t fixed. Bombardier isn’t an especially huge threat to him. The only thing we really need to watch out for is their AP assassin.”
“Same here.” Lin Zhaoxu straightened up and added his own evaluation. “Explorer is very mobile.” Compared to short-legged marksmen like Soul-Piercing Spear that stood still and got bombed to death, Explorer was actually a pretty solid choice among marksmen.
Hearing that, Chen Chen lowered his head in thought while taking notes in his notebook. At first glance, it sounded like the Bombardier versus Soulreaper King matchup was roughly even.
But once the scrims actually started, PNG quickly realized something— Even though only a few hero selections had changed, UG’s composition was vastly stronger than SST’s or SDB’s.
The two teams played three consecutive scrims. Aside from the first game, where HTG looked somewhat clumsy due to unfamiliarity, the following two games presented PNG with the exact same problem: Even when they established a sufficient gold lead in mid game, continued controlling waves, and gradually chipped away at outer towers, they still couldn’t actually finish the game.
That was an extremely dangerous sign. Even ignoring differences in proficiency and execution, if your team already had a gold advantage, then naturally the earlier you ended the game, the better. The longer the game dragged on, the more likely unexpected variables would appear.
Once both sides hit full build and the match came down to one decisive teamfight, all it took was a fragile carry getting unlucky and eating three critical strikes in a row for the entire game to instantly flip upside down.
For coaches and players, if they could win through economic pressure, then of course they wouldn’t want victory hinging on luck.
So why was this happening?
The training room stayed silent for quite a while. Everyone sat there frowning deeply in thought.
After considering for a moment, Sui Ning directly pinpointed the issue: “Their composition is very difficult to engage on. Our side looks like a hard-engage Soulreaper King composition, but in reality it’s hard for us to force fights too. As long as Reflective Wall exists, it disrupts the backline. Even if it only makes the backline stop briefly or adjust positioning for a moment, it still pulls apart the formation between front and backline, sometimes even causing slight disconnects.”
“Also, Holy Light Warrior’s ultimate lock-on is a huge threat to squishy carries,” Cheng Su quietly nodded in agreement. “That’s one of the things that troubled me just now too. Every teamfight forced me into a difficult decision.”
Sui Ning pursed his lips and continued: “Without support joining the engage point, and without Shadow of Vengeance, our hard engage just isn’t strong enough. Basically, it depends entirely on Wei Ye and me flashing in to start fights. That makes it very difficult for us to force a decisive teamfight during our advantage window.”
Flash had a three-hundred-second cooldown. And the strongest point of their composition only lasted around five to seven minutes during mid game. There simply weren’t that many opportunities to start fights with Flash ultimates.
And this was all without even considering the fact that HTG had never played this no-marksman composition before. Their proficiency was nowhere near UG’s level.
More frightening still, nobody could guarantee UG wouldn’t optimize the composition even further before finals.
“…Mm.”
Chen Chen furrowed his brows tightly and paced back and forth through the training room, continuously replaying every detail from the games in his mind. His brain was spinning at high speed as he muttered under his breath: “We need stronger engage. If we don’t have Shadow of Vengeance, then we need to speed the entire composition up—rush directly into their faces, or disengage quickly enough not to give them opportunities. Or… maybe we need something that can shut down Holy Light Warrior…”
While the coach racked his brains for answers, the players also opened the champion roster and slowly scanned through one familiar portrait after another, their eyes flickering thoughtfully.
Which hero would become the key to breaking the deadlock?
……
A while later, coaches Tang Yu and Li En entered the training room and joined Chen Chen in brainstorming solutions. Several hours after that, Navic’s Coach Pan Pan arrived as well.
It was already easy to predict that for the next few nights before finals, the training room itself would become everyone’s communal dormitory.
——
November 8th. Two days before the finals.
After posting the latest match results, both PNG’s official account and the HPL league account collectively vanished into silence. No matter how desperately fans refreshed their feeds, there wasn’t a single update.
The fans were losing their minds trying to learn anything about the players. Had they found a way to crack UG’s strategy? Had they practiced new compositions and heroes? How confident were they for finals?
Nothing. Absolutely no news at all.
The diehard fans felt like they’d been split into two halves. One half was so anxious they felt ready to fly to Paris immediately, sneak into the Peninsula Hotel, and eavesdrop outside the training rooms.
The other half felt that the total silence from the official accounts and players was actually a good thing. Right now the entire world’s attention was focused on PNG and UG. If any information leaked out and got analyzed by the opponent, wouldn’t that make them sinners for all eternity?
It was agonizing.
Meanwhile, the Korean region across the strait was the complete opposite. The moment semifinals ended, major media outlets and forums immediately began loudly promoting how unstoppable UG had been in crushing China’s traditional powerhouse Navic on their way into finals—and how they would soon clip the wings of PNG, that fledgling bird, and strike them down right before the championship trophy.
Public opinion on the international internet was surprisingly unified as well. Although PNG had gained quite a lot of fans during this World Championship run, the overwhelming majority still didn’t believe they could win.
[[JP] PNG has played pretty well, sure. But their opponent is UG lol. I really don’t think they have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with UG. The difference in the semifinals was way too obvious.]
[[EN] Navic were regular Worlds contenders too, and they got absolutely crushed! Ever since UG’s elimination in quarterfinals two years ago, they’ve completely transformed. This year they’re clearly aiming for a triple crown… PNG is so unfortunate. They finally make finals, only to run into UG at their absolute peak.]
[[EN] UG’s club has been posting player vlogs these past few days. False, and the others basically never leave the practice room unless absolutely necessary. It’s terrifying.]
[[EN] This doesn’t even feel like playing a match anymore. It feels like they’re fighting for their lives??]
[[JP] Only people who’ve lost before truly understand how painful losing is. UG is completely different from two years ago now. They really are wagering everything on this, like something out of a manga.]
[[EN] UG can already start celebrating! PNG is still too young. Maybe come back in a couple more years.]
[[JP] I really love PNG, what a shame :(]
[[JP] Please do your best, PNG!! We’re sending you all our blessings!]
Compared to the relatively mild reactions from Europe, America, and Japan, the Korean community was an entirely different scene.
The forums were filled with mockery, ridicule, and outright aggressive taunting. Some comments were so filthy that when Chinese netizens reposted and translated them domestically, they had to censor or outright delete large portions.
Yet in the face of all this, PNG’s notorious “keyboard immortal” fans—normally famous for fighting online wars—fell strangely silent.
Not just them, either. The entire HPL fanbase watching Worlds had become unusually quiet.
During this period, the most “radical” thing they had done was leave rose emojis under PNG’s latest official post alongside a simple sentence: “Fighting.”
But deep down, everyone understood. This was only the calm before the storm.
——
The night of November 9th.
“Alright, alright, what time do you think it is already?” Chen Chen shut off the training room lights and herded the players out like a mother duck chasing ducklings, glancing at his watch. “It’s almost ten. Time to sleep!”
The five players: …?
Coach, do you hear yourself right now?
Lin Zhaoxu, naturally the quickest with his mouth, immediately protested: “Coach, what kind of nonsense are you saying? Since we got here, when have we ever slept before ten?”
“You little brat, today’s different!” Chen Chen glared and instinctively raised a hand, ready to smack Lin Zhaoxu upside the head.
But in the very next second, he remembered PNG only had one marksman. Damaging the guy’s brain before finals probably wasn’t ideal. So he resentfully lowered his hand again.
Clearing his throat, he said: “Enough. You’ve already crammed all the last-minute praying-to-Buddha you can. Tomorrow’s match starts at noon. You can’t exactly wake up at 11:59 and stroll onto stage, can you? Everyone go rest early tonight and save your energy!”
Lin Zhaoxu still wanted to argue, but Chen Chen instantly cut him off with a threat: “I’m doing room inspections tonight. Anyone I catch still awake is getting dragged outside to run laps. Good opportunity to exercise.”
The moment those words came out, everyone who’d been itching to argue immediately shut up. Wei Ye dramatically saluted Chen Chen. “Yes, sir! Mission guaranteed complete! Going to sleep immediately!”
“Heh.” Chen Chen sneered. “Hopefully. Don’t let me catch you staying up watching videos. And don’t think you can get lucky either—I already know your account. Setting your status to offline won’t help. Also don’t bother deleting friends. Deleting friends just means you’re guilty.”
Wei Ye, who had literally been planning to delete everyone off his friend list to avoid inspection: …fuck.
Chen Chen turned with a frown, his sharp gaze sweeping over each player from head to toe like an X-ray scanner. Everyone he looked at subconsciously straightened their backs and puffed out their chests, putting on their best “I’m obedient and well-behaved” expression.
Sui Ning: …
He subconsciously copied the same innocent, well-behaved look as his teammates.
After a moment, Chen Chen nodded. “Alright. Go back. Tomorrow’s a hard battle, so sleep early tonight.”
It wasn’t that Chen Chen didn’t want to squeeze out every last bit of practice time before finals. But the finals schedule was absurdly “human”—12 PM.
As the competing team, they needed to arrive at the venue by at least eleven, maybe even ten-thirty. Under normal circumstances a few days ago, at that exact same hour, these guys probably still wouldn’t even have gone to bed yet.
If they didn’t properly rest after maintaining this demonic schedule for so long, who knew what zombie-like state they’d be in tomorrow during the match?
Chen Chen sighed. The final BO5 of the year deserved to be faced in the best possible condition.
“Go on, go on.” He waved them away and watched as Sui Ning and the others each returned to their rooms. Only after confirming every door had closed did he finally turn around and head back into the training room himself.
——
“I can’t sleep.”
Cool air continuously flowed from the air conditioner. With the lights off, the room was pitch-black.
Wrapped in his blanket, Ji Yunyu stared straight at the ceiling.
“……”
No one answered. Ji Yunyu pouted, then suddenly rolled over closer to Sui Ning and leaned near his neck, dragging out his voice in a spoiled tone: “I can’t sleeeeep—”
“……” Sui Ning closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them helplessly, lifting his gaze to meet Ji Yunyu’s damp puppy-like eyes. “Then what are you going to do?”
Ji Yunyu froze for a moment too. After a long pause, he shook his head slowly and rested his chin against the hollow of Sui Ning’s neck, drawing warmth and strength from him as he spoke softly: “I don’t know either.”
It was difficult for him to describe exactly how he felt right now. In just over ten hours, he would stand on the stage he had dreamed about ever since the very first day of youth training camp.
Confusion. Aimlessness. Excitement. And a strange feeling of not knowing what to do with himself.
Sui Ning rubbed his fluffy hair gently, completely understanding how he felt.
Even though he had already stood at the top several times across two lifetimes, the words “Global Finals Grand Final” still made his heartbeat quicken. Earlier, Sui Ning hadn’t actually fallen asleep even with his eyes closed—he had simply been trying to empty out the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
If even he was like this, let alone Ji Yunyu.
After thinking for a moment, Sui Ning turned over in the darkness and wrapped his arms around Ji Yunyu, burying himself fully in the other’s embrace.
While Ji Yunyu was still stunned by this rare closeness, Sui Ning let out a soft smile, leaned in, and his warm breath brushed past him before a light, gentle kiss landed at the corner of Ji Yunyu’s lips.
Ji Yunyu’s eyes widened in shock, instantly bright and almost glowing green, his entire body stiff as stone. His hands lifted and lowered several times, unsure what to do.
…Wait, was there going to be a benefit tonight?? No way, there was still a match tomorrow?!
Then Sui Ning smiled faintly, sat up, and patted his arm. “Let’s go.”
Ji Yunyu froze. “…? Go where?”
“Didn’t you say you couldn’t sleep?” Sui Ning was already getting dressed. Hearing this, he raised a brow. “To the training room. Play a few ranked games.”
That’s right—how do you deal with pre-match anxiety? Play ranked.
Just play a few more games, and you won’t feel nervous anymore. Because you’ll be too busy to be nervous.
Ji Yunyu: …I fucking knew it.
The one who got kissed was still lying in bed grinding his teeth, while the one who initiated it had already changed into casual clothes and was ready to leave.
At that moment, Ji Yunyu truly had to admit Sui Ning’s terrifying execution ability—but what could he do? He could only silently keep this debt in mind, take a deep breath, and get dressed as well.
He pulled on his clothes while grinding his teeth, yanking the blanket aside like he was dragging a corpse off the battlefield.
……
The moment they opened the door and stepped out, they coincidentally ran into Meng Xiyue, who was walking in the hallway in team uniform.
“Not a coincidence,” Meng Xiyue said at a glance, already seeing through them. He raised a brow. “And I’m not out for a walk either.”
He shifted his gaze to Sui Ning, a faint smile appearing on his lips. “I came to find you.”
At that, Ji Yunyu’s nonexistent dog ears immediately stood up in alert.
“Me?” Sui Ning repeated cautiously. “What is it?”
“Something to talk about. Can we speak alone?”
Ji Yunyu’s gaze sharpened instantly. Meng Xiyue found it amusing, deliberately ignoring him as he drawled: “Something between mid laners.”
The implication was obvious: junglers don’t need to be involved.
Ji Yunyu: …
He physically twitched and immediately grabbed onto the back of Sui Ning’s shirt.
Sui Ning: …Meng Xiyue, why are you provoking him?
“Alright,” Sui Ning said calmly, peeling Ji Yunyu’s hand off his clothes and patting him reassuringly. “Yunyu, go wait for me in the training room first.”
Having regained attention, Ji Yunyu immediately perked up again. “Mm.”
“Let’s change places,” Meng Xiyue said with a smile. “There’s a small balcony on this floor. Want to go get some air?”
“I’m fine with anything.”
——
The “small balcony” Meng Xiyue referred to was anything but small. Stepping onto the wooden floor, Sui Ning glanced around. The open-air terrace was large enough to fit four or five caf tables with umbrellas, with space left for people to walk comfortably.
However, since this floor was reserved by the official tournament organizers, there were no other guests at night.
Even though he had said he had something to talk about, Meng Xiyue remained silent for a long while.
He casually chose a bench, sat down, then tilted his head and gestured for Sui Ning to sit as well.
“….” Sui Ning said nothing and sat down beside him.
Unlike the training room window view that faced the Eiffel Tower and the bustling city skyline, this side of the terrace faced the old district.
Under the night sky, the quiet old city of Paris shimmered with scattered lights, stretching out like a soft ribbon of glowing gold.
Gradually, some of the lights dimmed. The old city was falling asleep. Pale moonlight slipped through tree shadows and gently spilled across the streets.
The restless thoughts in Sui Ning’s mind suddenly calmed. He even felt a little regretful that he hadn’t brought Ji Yunyu here to see this view.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Meng Xiyue asked softly with a smile.
Sui Ning nodded. “Yes.”
Then he turned to look at the person beside him. It was the first time he had carefully observed Meng Xiyue’s profile up close. The night breeze lifted a strand of hair at his temple, brushing across his cheek like silk falling onto white jade.
He, too, was quietly taking in the night view. His expression was as always—gentle, composed, and faintly smiling. Perfect to the point of seeming unreal, like someone who never tired and never needed comfort.
Sui Ning realized that no matter when or where he met Meng Xiyue, he was always meticulous—never allowing any trace of vulnerability to show.
Just like now. Navic had just lost in a way that left countless domestic fans in tears, yet no emotion could be read on his face.
After a moment of silence, Sui Ning asked: “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Meng Xiyue didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stood up and walked to the railing of the terrace. Sui Ning followed subconsciously.
After a long pause, Meng Xiyue finally looked up at the night sky and spoke softly: “Xiao Jin (Nv_Fiw) has potential. He just needs more guidance. I don’t know how long I can keep waiting for him. The same goes for other teams—Feng Yi is one year younger than me, and they’re all developing new players. In this new generation, apart from you, there’s only Xu Zhiyi left. He even got scolded by mmgod yesterday.”
As if recalling the scene of the veteran mid-laner grabbing the rookie by the ear and scolding him, Meng Xiyue suddenly let out a soft laugh.
Su Ning listened, still confused. He had vaguely heard of these things before, but why bring them up at a time like this…?
Halfway through speaking, Meng Xiyue abruptly stopped. He lowered his head slightly, the smile fading from his face, as if making a final confirmation before an important decision.
Su Ning waited quietly.
“The wind’s picking up. Are you cold?”
Meng Xiyue asked out of nowhere.
Su Ning froze.
Before Su Ning could shake his head, Meng Xiyue lowered his gaze and slowly took off his team jacket.
The gilded NATUS VINCERE lettering fluttered in the wind, reflecting in Su Ning’s eyes.
His pupils contracted. He looked up in shock, as if realizing what was about to happen—
Meng Xiyue calmly draped the jacket over Su Ning’s shoulders.
The light fabric settled on him, and in that instant it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Su Ning suddenly found it hard to breathe. His lips parted several times, but no words came out.
In this life, because of the former mid-laner’s disgraceful history, the handover between old and new mid-laners had been extremely perfunctory.
But in his previous life, he had come up through the academy system. On the day he was promoted to the starting roster, his own mentor had also draped his jacket over his shoulders like this and said: the future is yours now.
“……”
Meng Xiyue curved his lips slightly. “Good luck in the finals.”
He looked at Su Ning for a long moment, as if searching for the shadow of his past self in him—somewhat nostalgic, yet finally at peace. In the end, he let out a soft laugh, turned away without hesitation, and waved casually as he left, leaving Su Ning standing there alone, unable to recover for a long time.
……
After a long while, Su Ning slipped his left hand into the jacket and found a laurel blossom inside.
——
November 9th, 11:00 PM.
The PNG official account posted an update, wishing all fans goodnight and saying see you tomorrow.
Fans who had been tossing and turning in worry saw the post and didn’t know how to react for a moment. After thinking for a long time, one of them slowly typed out a comment.
[PNG_GoGoGoV]: Good evening, PNG. I’ve thought about it carefully. There are two important moments in a person’s life: one is birth, the other is realizing why you were born. At this final eve of the finals, the outside world has already written UG’s script for a three-peat. If you are already inside someone else’s story, then please become your own hero. Good night.
Comments: Good night.
Comments: Good night.
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