Chapter 65: Mindset Control

At the exact moment the first match between NXG and BLQG came to an end, internet cafes and individual users across the country who opened the League of Legends client to grind a few games in Summoner's Rift were astonished to find the homepage plastered with news about the professional league and featuring NXG.

The top-pinned recommendation slots were dominated by blood-red headlines!

#The 2013 League of Legends Professional League Preseason Kicks Off Today!#
#The Opening Match Schedule is Out, Featuring the Undefeated Qualifier Team NXG.#
#Audience Members Expose Photos, NXG's Team Van Captures Countless Gazes.#
#Team Vans, Head Coaches, Uniforms, Plus Sponsorships: How Many More Surprises Does NXG Have in Store?#
#The Opening Match of the LPL Pro League Ends in Absolute Destruction, NXG Maintains Their Terrifying Tactical Style!#
#NXG—The LPL's Very Own M5?#

What on earth is this?

In an internet cafe in Modu, a young man getting ready to queue up stared at his screen, his pupils dilating in shock. Trembling, he took a screenshot of the grid recommendation on the client homepage, posted it to a group chat with the caption: "The client has been hijacked!"

"The professional league has already started?"

Many players in the group who didn't pay close attention to professional esports news reacted immediately, with several choosing to postpone their queuing ambitions and clicking directly into the official tournament livestream.

As soon as they arrived, they were dumbfounded.

"What the hell, a kill differential of over twenty? Is this a professional match?"

The promotional resources finalized by the LPL operations team prior to the match began to spread across the internet at lightning speed.

Perhaps one second, players were scrolling past news that the pro league was starting today, and the next second, it was replaced by news that NXG had defeated BLQG by a landslide to claim their first victory in the LPL preseason.

Naturally, the various press releases had been prepared in advance, including even an upset shock version for BLQG just in case any unexpected twists occurred during the matches.

As it turned out, Jiang Ming and his NXG did not let the LPL league operations team down.

A landslide victory, a crushing rout between professional teams, supplemented by NXG's fluid teamfight coordination in the final clash—a performance full of esports artistry—made LPL's promotional efforts effortless.

Not to mention those players who had already been consistently following the development of their home region's professional league.

Just minutes after the purple side nexus exploded, the online discussions instantly ignited as if set ablaze.

[666!]
[I used to think NXG only lorded over the qualifiers because there were no tigers in the mountains, but I didn't expect them to still be this fierce now that they've officially entered the preseason.]
[It feels like they have no weaknesses; top laner Norsha straight-up slaughtered the enemy Kennen.]
[To be fair, if I were Kennen in that solo queue match, I would've alt-f4'd long ago. The top lane just cured him of his internet addiction.]
[ (Funny face) It hasn't even been twenty minutes, you can't surrender yet. Besides, maybe NXG didn't want to push too fast and leave the opponents some dignity.]
[The jungler Jarvan's situation was about the same; the Lee Sin was constantly in his jungle. I feel like he'll be afraid of someone hiding under his covers when he goes to sleep tonight.]
[BLQG's Twisted Fate is so trash. He wanted to copy WE, but got his legs broken before he could even take flight.]
[Haha, why aren't you mentioning the bot lane Caitlyn? They're both Challengers, and his teammates even funneled so many resources into him, yet he got down-farmed by over thirty CS and his damage output was garbage.]
[They drafted an ultimate-heavy wombo-combo composition, but from start to finish they only fought one 5v5 teamfight. BLQG is truly brain-dead.]
[No way, why do I feel like BLQG wanted to fight but couldn't, constantly being led around by the nose?]
[True, true. I felt like those guys in NXG were constantly moving, especially after the turrets went down. You never saw a single lane just standing around blankly.]
[How do they do it? They're always running. The moment a dragon respawns, their team inexplicably regroups, and their farm doesn't even take a hit.]
[It's called wave management or something. JM mentioned it once during his stream.]
[Here it comes again. Has NXG ever beaten any strong teams? PE? Just wait until they enter the main tournament and watch how my WE handles them.]
[WE has stomped NXG multiple times in scrims.]
[Anti-WE fans get out of here, WE fans roll away!]
[Can anyone with big credentials tell me if NXG has any more matches today?]
[Yes, yes, yes. The preseason plays out an entire group in a single day. NXG will play the winner of the second and third matches.]
...

"Good job!"

At the back of the stage, Jiang Ming stood at the doorway to welcome his victorious heroes returning in triumph.
"Hehe, Ming-ge, our performance in the first game wasn't bad, right?"
Entering the room, Song Yuan pulled up a plastic chair and sat down, asking Jiang Ming with a grinning smile.
"Very good. You established an advantage in the lane, had no major mistakes during the rotation phase, perfectly suppressed Kennen's scaling, and your target selection for disruption in that final teamfight was exceptionally astute."
"What about me? What about me?"
Hearing the boss offer such unreserved praise to the top laner, Xu Jing, whose personality was a bit showy, grew somewhat impatient.
His Varus had posted a flawless 6-0-4 record, and his damage output was definitely not much lower than the Renekton's.
"Ahem, Lao Xu, your fourth item..."
"My fourth item?"
Feeling his support tugging at the corner of his clothes, Xu Jing suddenly realized what was happening, and the expression on his face instantly collapsed.
"That... that... Ming-ge, let me sophistry—no, explain! For the fourth item, considering Janna was on the opposing team and our damage was severely lacking, I bought a B.F. Sword first. That's why I didn't consider buying a Giant's Belt to build Warmog's..."
"Your reasoning makes sense, but what if you lacked the health pool provided by Warmog's Armor, and Janna failed to protect you in time, causing you to get instantly deleted in a teamfight?"
At the start of Season 3, the peak era of the Warmog's League had already passed, yet this inexpensive item that provided a massive health pool had become the best defensive choice for ADCs.
"I've always emphasized to you all, what is the core philosophy of our NXG team?" Jiang Ming didn't directly criticize him; instead, he posed a question in return.
Xu Jing lowered his head in embarrassment. "Build damage when behind, build defense when ahead!" "Until the Nexus explodes, everything remains unknown!"
"As long as you remember. We can discuss the specifics when we get back and train."
Jiang Ming waved his hand; he disliked intentionally criticizing people right after the team secured a victory. Not only was it ineffective, but it could easily disrupt the players' mental state.
"As for the rest of the reviews, you guys can log into the forums yourselves right now and see what the audience is saying."
Lin Jingyi understood tacitly, took the players' phones out of her bag, and handed them out one by one.
Before long, the room was quickly drowned out by the irrepressible discussions of the young men of NXG.
"Hehe, hehe, Prehistoric Giant Crocodile, I like it."
"As expected, my Flash-tornado hitting three people is just handsome. The audience has an eye for talent; behold the God of Supports."
"Haha Stone, look at what this guy replied, asking if you have a personal grudge against Kennen and came to cure his internet addiction in a pro match."
"Pfft, the purple side Twisted Fate lost his legs, couldn't even out-roam a Orianna. Strong-zi, you're practically about to become divine."
"Over there, flashy ADC, someone is praising your playstyle as fierce."
Jiang Ming quietly watched the young men's discussion. When material conditions could not yet be satisfied, a certain degree of emotional validation could continue to provide them with internal drive.
Of course, actively arranging for the players to read the post-match commentary was also a little trick of his to train everyone's mental fortitude.