Chapter 10: A Torrent of Doubt, the Serpent Lady Takes the Stage!

“Who is this B?”
“Where’s SCOUt…”
“Kind of handsome.”

Chen Yan hadn’t played for a long time, and even when he did, he barely made an impression, so the audience naturally didn’t remember him.

Only the fans in Chen Yan’s livestream chat went wild, flooding the match broadcast with cheers like “Go Yan Dog!” and “Yan Family Army, up!” as soon as Chen Yan took the stage.

“The delivery is already ordered.”
“Today’s definitely going to be a banquet-level match.”

The crowd kept discussing excitedly.

Meanwhile, attention shifted to the commentators’ booth.

The two commentators for today’s match were Guan Zeyuan and Zhi Huan.

Although Guan Zeyuan had only recently started casting, his unique style—calling out champions like dish names—had quickly won him a large following.

Compared to other commentators, Guan Zeyuan’s humorous and witty commentary didn’t shy away from pointing out players’ mistakes.

Zhi Huan, on the other hand, was more subdued, but he had his strengths.

He held the highest rank among all commentators and possessed an exceptional ability to read the game.

Together, they made a complementary duo.

“Hello everyone, welcome to the 2017 Pro League Spring Split match between EDG and OMG. I’m Zeyuan, your commentator for this game.”
“I’m Zhi Huan.”

After the classic opening, Guan Zeyuan gave a brief update on both teams’ current standings.

EDG and OMG were neck and neck in points.

Therefore, the outcome of this match would significantly impact the rankings of both teams.

Next, they analyzed the teams’ win probabilities based on their current form.

As the main commentator, Guan Zeyuan spoke confidently.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on Chen Yan, and he said, “Today, EDG’s mid-laner SCOUt is not playing; instead, Chen Yan is starting.”

“Chen Yan’s ID might be unfamiliar to many. Like ibOy, he is one of the top talents from the youth academy, known as the ‘Twin Stars’ of the youth program.”

“However, his previous few appearances were rather average. Now that he’s back on stage, I’m hoping Chen Yan will show us something different.”

“EDG probably wants to bring in a rookie to shake up the team atmosphere.”

Zhi Huan paused briefly, then continued, “From what I know, EDG’s scrim results haven’t been great lately. So it’s understandable to put a newcomer in at this point.”

Their remarks sent a chill through the fans watching the chat.

Normally, commentators would hype up players, but Chen Yan had nothing impressive to boast about except his youth academy background…

Instantly, the chat exploded in disbelief, unable to understand why SCOUt was benched.

“Has EDG’s management lost their minds?”
“No matter how bad SCOUt’s form is, he’s still better than some Chen Yan.”

“This is hopeless, all just flashy moves.”
“Isn’t Chen Yan just some entertainment streamer? I’ve seen his streams—he yells and screams like a clown.”
“Exactly. Last time he cast an EDG match, he kept bashing SCOUt nonstop. So disgusting.”
“Sigh, EDG is really desperate for views, they don’t care about anything anymore.”

The overwhelming sentiment toward Chen Yan was negative.

His livestream fans wanted to defend him, but seeing so many people attacking, they dared not speak up.

“Yan Family Army’s leaving first. Yan Dog, you’re on your own now.”

…

On the stage, Chen Yan had no idea his stepping in for SCOUt would cause such a stir.

Even if he did, he wouldn’t care.

Insult him? Come to his stream and say it! He actually thrived on some negative attention.

However, the atmosphere within EDG was indeed tense.

Except for NOfe, his teammates barely spoke.

Chen Yan knew that although he had crushed two walnuts with his bare hands to intimidate them earlier, it was only surface-level compliance; deep down, they didn’t accept him.

In esports, ultimately, strength speaks louder than words.

Chen Yan wasn’t too bothered. If his teammates wouldn’t talk, then he would take the lead.

He kept communicating with NOfe.

To NOfe’s surprise, Chen Yan’s understanding of the game and strategic thinking was something he had never considered before. Although untested, NOfe somehow felt it was viable.

This instantly improved NOfe’s impression of Chen Yan, and he stopped being indifferent, beginning to seriously discuss the draft.

“iCOn is not a weak laner, but he’s reckless. OMG’s jungler, WOrld6, could be our breakthrough.”

“We can definitely look for opportunities through mid lane and coordinate with jungle. If mid-jungle takes the initiative, the game becomes much easier for us.”

“For bot lane, it’s best to secure either Ashe or Kalista to control the lane. If we can’t get those two ADCs, then just play peacefully with the enemy bot.”

NOfe had initially thought beating OMG would be difficult, but after discussing with Chen Yan, it suddenly felt quite doable.

Mainly because Chen Yan’s ideas were crystal clear.

From OMG’s playstyle, player weaknesses, lane matchups, rotations, lane assignments, and how to snowball an advantage—all analyzed thoroughly, leaving even the coach humbled.

NOfe grew more excited the more he talked, feeling like he’d found a kindred spirit.

At the same time, the screen flashed brightly.

The draft phase had begun!

Viewers in the livestream instantly perked up.

“Here we go!”

Guan Zeyuan and Zhi Huan also focused intently.

This round, EDG was on the blue side, OMG on the red.

Following Chen Yan and NOfe’s plan, EDG quickly banned LeBlanc, Draven, and Syndra.

OMG banned Rumble, Kalista, and Jhin.

“Banning Kalista but not Ashe.”

Chen Yan thought for a moment, then said, “OMG probably wants us to give Ashe to Zet. Fine, we’ll take her.”

Zet was a player who became a first-class ADC with Ashe but was only second-rate without her.

So even if OMG was prepared, EDG still let Zet pick Ashe first.

Seeing this, OMG’s coach smiled slightly—everything was going according to plan.

iCOn kept shaking his leg, scornfully looking at the screen. “They banned two mid-lane champions, thinking they can restrict me? My champion pool isn’t something they can ban out.”

Meanwhile, OMG picked Tree and Malzahar.

EDG immediately selected Lee Sin and Thresh, and OMG responded by picking Elise.

The first round of bans and picks ended.

Chen Yan noted that Malzahar would likely be support since the mid pick hadn’t appeared yet.

OMG would probably assign the mid lane to iCOn.

As Chen Yan expected, after the second ban round, OMG picked Lulu.

When it was EDG’s turn, mOUSe suggested Shen or Nautilus.

Chen Yan said, “Titan (Nautilus). We need stronger early initiative.”

mOUSe locked in Nautilus.

Only Chen Yan remained without a champion.

He thought for a while and finally decided on Cassiopeia.

His Cassiopeia mastery was maxed out.

Not only iCOn, even Faker wouldn’t have an advantage over him on this champion.

Since this was his comeback debut, Chen Yan didn’t want to mess it up.

“Give me Cassiopeia.”

Cassiopeia locked in. Guan Zeyuan and Zhi Huan exchanged a glance.

“That Cassiopeia pick is a bit aggressive.”
“What does iCOn say? There aren’t any mid champions outside that handle Cassiopeia well.”

Just then, iCOn made his choice—Jayce.

The entire venue was stunned.

The audience erupted in cheers for iCOn.

Only Chen Yan sneered coldly.

Jayce? You’re not worthy!