Chapter 34: The Daily Training Routine at NXG!

"That’s enough. If I keep streaming like this, I might hold up, but the viewers in my chat are going to be driven insane."

Even when deliberately targeted, Jiang Ming’s overwhelming skill meant he still won far more than he lost. However, realizing that these constant "throw-fests" were ruining his broadcast quality, he quickly stopped queuing for ranked matches.

His chat was already boiling with rage.

[Are you kidding me? Does Tencent not care about this? It’s obvious they’re targeting JM. Why is it okay for randoms to bully a pro player?]

[Paid throwers, AFKers... I’ve reported every single one of them with the DY prefix.]

[Keep targeting him! Go ahead! JM is already nearly two hundred LP ahead of second place; what good does all this do you?]

[JM is the GOAT. His mental game is truly incredible.]

[Brother Ming, why not just do a teaching stream? We shouldn't have to put up with this garbage.]

[Every game is a stress test. A four-versus-six is considered a good scenario. Only JM has the patience for this; if it were me, I would have greeted their entire family tree by now.]

Seeing the comments defending him, Jiang Ming gave a cool, carefree smile. "Angry? Why would I be angry? Their targeting didn't succeed, and we still climbed the ladder. Don’t you think it’s funny that after all their efforts, I’m still firmly holding onto the number one spot? Their impotent rage is quite amusing."

"Besides, everyone has a responsibility to maintain the game environment. We should play our own game; there’s no point in reasoning with people who have been deprived of their mother’s love since childhood."

"They aren't even worth listening to!"

[Hahaha, 'not worth listening to,' that's a good one.]

[In games, I love seeing the enemy try everything to target me, only to watch them seethe in impotent rage when I win anyway.]

He left it at that.

Jiang Ming didn't dwell on the issue further. Instead, following the requests of his audience, he began a segment where he joined voice chats to offer climbing advice to his fans. After all, playing competitive matches all night could make for a dull stream.

He knew all too well that cleaning up the Chinese server’s environment wasn't something that could be fixed overnight. Currently, his voice carried little weight; even if he reported it, the higher-ups likely wouldn't care.

Still, if the opportunity arose, he would definitely do something about the state of the ranked ladder. As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. If he didn't have the ability, he’d let it go, but once he reached a stage where he could influence the esports scene, he would certainly take action. At the very least, the current situation—where all the top-tier players fled to the Korean server to grind rank—shouldn't exist.

Moreover, while he had a strong mental game, that didn't mean he felt no anger at being openly sabotaged by people from a rival platform. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late. Just you wait.

***

2:00 AM.

Returning to the queue, Jiang Ming’s form grew increasingly scorching. Even with his teammates dragging him down, he managed to pull off a pentakill with LeBlanc in the dragon pit, turning the tide to win the final "end-of-stream" match he had promised his viewers.

Jiang Ming held up his last bag of meat-floss crackers to the camera.

"Use your brain to play the game, and climbing is easy."

"Everyone, that’s all for today’s stream."

"Thanks to all you die-hards for staying up with me. Same time tomorrow..." He suddenly lowered his voice, leaning into the microphone as if sharing a top-secret revelation. "I’ll show you the ultimate secret weapon for climbing in this patch. You won't want to miss it."

"Also, the LPL is about to start. The NXG Weibo account is now live, so please give us a follow."

"See you then!"

***

Inside the NXG basement training room.

"Whoo! We won again!"

"Awesome, Stone! You and Brother Ming actually took down WE."

"Heh heh heh, 'took down' is an understatement. It was a total stomp."

"Beating those throwers at the end felt great too!"

Having finished the ranked session with their boss, Shi Zhenyu logged out of the game as his teammates crowded around him with exaggerated expressions.

"Stone, give us a testimonial. How did it feel to go on a rampage with Brother Ming?" Xu Jing asked, his long eyebrows twitching.

Pang Ran, who was closest to him, teased, "Stone was responsible for the 'rampage,' and Brother Ming was doing the 'killing'."

"Heh, pretty much. When I play with Brother Ming, I just have to follow his calls. I can put all my energy into my mechanics," Shi Zhenyu laughed.

Wu Zhiqiang, the mid-laner, sounded aggrieved. "Are you saying that when you duo with me, you can't focus on your mechanics?"

"Hey, why spill the truth like that? Qiangzi, you don't actually think you're better than the boss, do you?"

"Brother Ming hasn't stopped teaching you how to coordinate mid-jungle, yet look at how you're playing."

"That’s too far! I challenge you to a duel!"

"A mid-laner challenging a support to a duel? You’ve got some nerve."

"..."

***

"Alright, alright, stop messing around and get back to training," Song Yuan interrupted their banter. "After you finish your training tasks, there’s still rank to play."

"Our ranks from last season aren't high enough. We need to play a lot of games to promote to Challenger. Don't let it get to the point where we promote to the LPL, but someone is still stuck in Diamond..."

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.

Promoting to Challenger was a task Jiang Ming had set for all the players yesterday. Xu Jing scratched his head; his rank was the lowest of them all. If he wanted to reach Challenger without compromising his basic training, he couldn't afford to slack off.

"Let's go, let's go. Old Pang, hurry up and duo."

"Heh, Stone is mine today," top-laner Song Yuan laughed. "Qiangzi, good luck. They say solo queue is the best way to train an individual player's ability."

It was no wonder Song Yuan was grinning so broadly; having been a lonely solo-queuer in the past, he never expected to receive the team leader’s tactical favor, getting the jungle "dad" to duo with him.

Wu Zhiqiang’s face darkened, and he raised both middle fingers at him. "Don't laugh too soon. If you still can't play Jayce by the end of this week, you’ll be the one crying."

After exchanging a few more jabs, the mid-laner had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept his long march toward Challenger in solo queue.

"Duo? Have you guys even finished today’s training tasks?"

"There’s a penalty for not reaching Challenger, but do you really think you’ll get off scot-free if you don't finish the team’s training assignments?"

"Hiss! Thanks, Support-dad, for saving my life. I suddenly remembered I’ve still got a ton of basic drills left."

"Quick, quick! We can play rank tonight."

The five members of NXG cherished their professional jobs, and not just because they could play games and get paid. They had been at NXG for a while now, and any of them could clearly feel their own progress—a type of specialized training they had never heard of anywhere else. Therefore, even if they occasionally grumbled about the training tasks Jiang Ming assigned, they never cut corners in their execution.

Having finished a game and feeling thirsty, Shi Zhenyu stood up to grab a soda. He looked at the basement wall, where a sign hung displaying their NXG training schedule.

#Daily Training Schedule#