Chapter 21: The God-Tier Mid Laner!

Ye Bo, his face beaming with joy, pulled himself out of the peculiar perspective.

He had discovered the true utility of the "Gold Medal Reviewer." Simply put, this feature amplified his sensory perception, allowing him to enter a state of total immersion during a match. This enabled him to personally experience and perceive details that the vast majority of people would likely overlook or fail to notice.

Furthermore, Ye Bo could sense a sudden "accumulation" in his understanding of the game. It was a clear improvement, and it wasn't limited to just the mid-lane role! Perhaps... this was the "legacy" left behind by the old Ye Bo?

Of course, entering this state required the consumption of "Counterattack Points." However, there was an important tip at the end: "Reviewing matches in which the host participated: Free!"

"Not bad, not bad, good stuff!" Ye Bo thought. The mere ability to analyze his own games without cost was already a massive aid to his improvement. Everyone who watches their own replays discovers countless flaws and points for criticism that they simply cannot see while caught up in the heat of the moment. This is precisely why even high-ranked streamers and professional players are seen making obvious mistakes and blunders.

Suddenly, the dormitory door rattled. A bespectacled young man, who looked quite refined at first glance, pushed the door open. Their eyes met.

"Flandre! So glad to meet you! I'm Ye Bo!" Ye Bo waved at him in a carefree manner.

"Oh, hello. Li Xuanjun," Li Xuanjun immediately greeted him back in a friendly way.

"You came at the perfect time! Actually, I have something I need your help with!" Ye Bo, clutching a small notebook, walked right up to him, ignoring the look of surprise and confusion on the other's face. He then launched into a rapid-fire explanation.

"Here's the thing. I just watched the training match video Clearlove gave me—the second game you played yesterday where you went top lane with Gwen. I have a small question, and I want to trouble you to verify if I’m seeing this correctly!"

"Look here. Your ward was on cooldown, so you let the wave push in—that part is fine. But I'm not sure if you noticed at the time: the enemy Jax only hit level eight after killing the last minion. A normal top laner with equal experience should have hit level eight just as the second melee minion of this wave died. Therefore, it’s easy to deduce that Sejuani must have been behind you, hiding in the second brush just as the minions arrived, so she could split the experience from that wave."

"There was no voice chat in the recording, but I suspect you didn't call out this detail, which led to our bot lane getting bluffed by the enemy bot lane pretending they had a jungler nearby. It scared off our jungler, and we lost the chance to tower dive..."

Li Xuanjun was actually somewhat socially anxious. Fortunately, most newcomers were quiet, and many young gamers were quite shy, so interacting with them was usually stress-free. But just before coming back, Clearlove had specifically warned him that this guy was also socially anxious!

However... Li Xuanjun absolutely did not expect that, upon their very first meeting, this guy would start "nitpicking" him right off the bat!

But as Li Xuanjun listened to the relentless stream of information, his expression became increasingly serious and attentive. By the end, he even wore a look of genuine shock.

"You're right... I really did overlook that. We top laners usually have a keen sense of level-up timing before level six, but it tends to fade after that due to all the other distractions."

"But you’re correct. I could have compared it with my own experience bar. Since I had a 0-0-0 record and had TP'd back to lane, this should have been discoverable..."

"Right, right. And there’s also this roaming play in the mid lane..."

Ye Bo went over all the information he had recorded in his notebook during his first review. The more Li Xuanjun heard, the more shocked he became.

Their takeout-loving coach, Zhu Kai, had gone to RNG this year. EDG’s head coach was Maokai, who was a veteran in the LPL. Every training match was followed by a mandatory review—that was the point of these sessions—including the one Ye Bo had just watched.

The problem was, at least half of the points Ye Bo had just brought up were things they hadn't even mentioned during their formal review! Training match videos were strictly confidential, meaning Ye Bo could only have seen it just now. This was truly terrifying.

Ye Bo’s original intent was just to have someone verify his analysis, to see if the conclusions he drew while in that special state were correct. But Li Xuanjun didn't see it that way; he made no effort to hide his surprise and praise.

"You're good, brother. Seriously good!"

"Since you’ve laid all this out, why don't you present it again during our training match this afternoon?"

"No problem!"

Clearly, Clearlove’s warning was entirely accurate. A newcomer joins the team, meets a veteran for the first time, and immediately starts pointing out the veteran's mistakes! If this were someone narrow-minded, they might have gotten angry and thought the kid was being incredibly "socially inept."

But Li Xuanjun wasn't that petty. On the contrary, as a veteran, he understood the significance of this all too well and instantly looked at this new trainee mid-laner with a fresh perspective. Combined with Ye Bo's easy-going personality, the two quickly hit it off.

"It’s a shame you aren't a streamer with that gift of gab," Flandre joked once they were more comfortable with each other.

"I was a streamer before, but I’ve always wanted to go pro. As for streaming, when I'm old and can't play anymore, I can do that every day," Ye Bo replied naturally.

"Have you decided on your ID yet?"

"Not yet. Coach Abu told me to let him know by lunch, but I'm too lazy to think about it. I'll just use my name. What do you think of 'BO'?"

"Perfect, it’ll clash with my favorite fire extinguisher brand!"

Li Xuanjun gave a weird, thoughtful look. "No, that ID is already taken by another player, and... you should probably pick something else."

"I see. Then how about 'YE'?"

"I think the ID isn't that important. Even the flashiest ID is useless if you don't play well; nobody will remember it. As long as you play well, even the most ordinary ID will be remembered... Flandre, don't you agree?"

Ye Bo said this with a hint of middle-schooler-style intensity. Li Xuanjun, who was already getting used to Ye Bo's personality, just assumed the kid’s "chuunibyou" fire was burning bright again. He laughed and echoed, "No argument there! Look at how many people can remember how to spell my ID? They all just call me by my nickname anyway."

However, what Li Xuanjun didn't know was that Ye Bo was thinking of a line he had seen while reviewing his memories in the system: "...as a result, not even the audience can remember your ID."

This sentence remained fresh in Ye Bo's mind. Because even the system hadn't mentioned what the "old Ye Bo's" player ID actually was. It meant that even the damn system didn't care!

So Ye Bo figured it out. Even if he racked his brain and spent a ton of time and energy coming up with a flashy ID, if he didn't play well, he’d just become fodder for internet memes. Ye Bo felt that as a professional player, he should do it the way a professional player should: "Make everyone remember my ID!"

***

In the afternoon, just before the training match, at Li Xuanjun's suggestion, Ye Bo once again presented his review notes in front of everyone.

Clearly, almost everyone present had the same reaction as Flandre! Except for Scout, who had been singled out for a poor roaming decision and felt that being "lectured" by a rookie was incredibly embarrassing. Of course, since it was indeed his mistake, he couldn't say anything.

As for the rest of the EDG team, they had a favorable impression of this lively newcomer, especially jiejie, the jungler, who was close in age and quickly struck up a conversation with him.

Even better, in the training matches that followed, Ye Bo's performance was absolutely brilliant! Since their opponents didn't know the lineup had changed, Ye Bo easily picked his signature champions and carried two consecutive training matches!

Abu, standing in the back, had already begun to smile. Seeing Ye Bo’s unexpected analytical ability and his budding shot-calling skills made him feel like he had found a treasure. It also solidified his resolve: even if this player hit a slump on the big stage, he was certain he would still be a highly valuable mid-laner! He decided that even if the player couldn't complete the challenge, he would give him as many opportunities as possible.

That evening, the [EDG Esports Club] posted an announcement:

[After friendly negotiations, we are pleased to announce that free agent Ye Bo (ID: YE) has officially joined the team as our mid-laner. We look forward to seeing YE grow rapidly within the team and become an indispensable new force for the league...]

As soon as the post went live, the comment section exploded.

"Holy cow! Impressive! The 'Auntie Brother' actually made it to the LPL? And it's EDG of all teams!!"

"The streamer really went to play pro and make a name for himself, huh?"

"That ID is sick... 'Ye'!"

"It's just 'Ye,' though some think it's 'Night,' which fits his assassin playstyle."

"No worries, as long as he performs, he's a top-tier mid. If he flops, don't blame the haters for calling him 'Armpit' mid!"

"What a pity, why join EDG? With the 'Steal Saint' in his way, what chance does he have to play? What a waste of such a good prospect..."

Given Ye Bo's lingering popularity, the comment section was surprisingly harmonious. Aside from exclamations, expectations, and regrets, there were rarely any negative voices. After all, EDG had brought up rookies before, and other teams often brought talented prospects to the main roster to learn and gain experience, so the announcement itself wasn't particularly strange.

However, on Friday night at 8:00 PM, when the official EDG Weibo account began pre-match hype for the following day's battle against their rival LNG, and officially published the starting roster...

In an instant, everything blew up!