"Is TES really not going? What's going on with Brother Infinite Borders?"
"Brother Infinite Borders… are JackeyLove and the others okay? How did those four suddenly get sick? Maybe they haven't been eating well lately."
"The club just doesn't want to spend money. Treat the players better and they'll naturally be healthier."
"I feel like you skipped the first sentence, no? TES's official statement started with: Brother Infinite Borders' visa didn't pass. That's what triggered this chain reaction."
"Hahaha. For LCK, isn't that good news? They're the ones who obstructed the visa—didn't they get what they wanted?"
"Whatever. If TES isn't going to MSI, then I won't watch. Let whoever wants to go, go."
"I knew putting the tournament in Korea would bring a ton of dirty tricks. It was the same in PUBG—how many teams had visas messed with? And they did disgusting stuff during matches too…"
"Used to it. Forgot the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics? Before it was 'grab.' Now the environment doesn't allow that, so they switched to 'steal.'"
"Are they really not going? Then let RNG go?"
"What's the full name of MSI? Mid-Season Invitational. You're the runner-up—what are you doing here?"
Chat in Lin Fan's stream kept sliding by.
Mainly because TES withdrawing was a huge deal.
They were Spring Split champions, and they crushed RNG in finals.
No doubt they became the strongest all-Chinese roster domestically—the ultimate all-Chinese roster.
Almost everyone pinned hopes on them: dominate MSI, win the title.
But ever since the visa incident two days ago, a shadow hung over the whole team.
Everyone except Brother Infinite Borders got approved…
If you say it's targeting, the others all passed.
If you say it's not targeting, it just happened to block the biggest "dad."
Everyone remembered the "black hour."
Playoffs round four, TES vs V5—nobody knows what White Moon was thinking, but he subbed Knight back in.
The team's flow instantly died.
Knight got smashed in lane, and the whole team looked lost. V5 easily took two straight wins.
Then in game three, Brother Infinite Borders got carried back onto the stage—and the team changed completely.
From being beaten up to beating up V5.
So if Brother Infinite Borders can't go, TES can't get results at MSI.
This trip would be pointless.
TES making that decision was surprising—but also logical.
Worth mentioning: the day after the meeting, Knight got shipped off to JDG overnight…
Even though the transfer window hadn't opened yet, the clubs had already reached a letter of intent.
Just now, Knight packed up his things and left the club.
Of course, fans squatting outside saw it.
Photos immediately hit the internet.
People debated, but most assumed TES decided to skip MSI anyway. With some time before Summer Split, the team was just getting a vacation.
Brother Infinite Borders and the others hadn't left because they still wanted to hang out at the base.
Knight leaving early was normal—his recent performance was terrible.
And staying at TES when nobody talked to him? Better to leave. No management restrictions—he could happily "be Cao Cao."
He also wouldn't have to see Brother Infinite Borders every day, the guy who stole his starting spot.
Win-win.
So Knight leaving early made sense.
But when a second set of photos hit the internet—
Knight dragging bags into JDG's club—
then it didn't need explanation. Even without an official announcement, it was clear he planned to fight the hometown boy for JDG's starting mid slot.
That sparked plenty of talk.
But with Brother Infinite Borders in mid, it's true—you, Knight, have no place.
Lin Fan ignored these discussions.
Guo Hao said MSI was still "negotiable," but it wasn't settled yet. Talking about it on stream now would just be copying big streamer behavior.
No need. When it's time, everyone will know.
Better to grind TFT these days. The qualifiers are happening—he's definitely participating.
"Adventure Xayah—no matter how many nerfs, it still has strength. If you really don't know what to play, brainlessly grab attack speed and go Adventure Xayah."
Lin Fan easily took another win, then spoke to the viewers.
"Next game. Before the tournament starts, let me hit first place again. Then I can shout louder. Maybe I really will represent China at TOC 3."
Hearing that, some people got excited—does that mean TES is still going to MSI?
But then their hearts sank at the second half.
TOC 3?
TFT qualifiers?
So MSI is probably still abandoned.
Because qualifiers are held domestically.
There's no way you fly to Busan, play a few games, then immediately fly back for the TFT China qualifiers.
Not realistic. Douyu had already prepared: only one streamer would represent them.
Luckily, the second place finisher was Juanzi—his skill was unquestioned.
Grabbing a slot should be no problem.
As Lin Fan queued again, plenty of esports reporters opened Word to draft their first-wave reports.
The headlines were wild:
"Brother Infinite Borders personally responds: not attending MSI…"
"Brother Infinite Borders prepares for TFT China qualifiers."
"One visa changes a pro's career direction—Brother Infinite Borders to switch to TFT."
Everyone just laughed at these.
If he really wanted to go pro in another game, the biggest candidates were Naraka or PUBG.
TFT? What is that?
There isn't even a pro league—only the TOC circuit.
Still, the prize pool is decent. If you win, you might not be ultra-rich, but you can live comfortably.
That morning, Lin Fan's climbing was smooth.
Two firsts, then two seconds.
He gained 100+ points and reached 1600+ rating.
He was still 200 behind Xun-ge in first place, but at this pace he could probably hit #1 today.
Of course, he wasn't going to stream TFT all day.
He had other things.
For example: the Northern and Southern armies officially clashed.
His alliance got pincered, and Xuzhou "ally" trolls internally—two small cities got flipped.
Next they even wanted to siege Jianye, the Yangzhou provincial capital.
That didn't look like "ally behavior" at all.
Internal and external threats—this challenge wasn't something an S2 newbie alliance leader could handle.
Now he didn't know what decision to make, so he kept DM'ing Lin Fan asking for advice.
But Lin Fan was just a grunt. This stuff was too annoying.
If he wanted to lead alliances, he would've done it in S1.
And he didn't have extra time anyway.
An alliance leader has to be responsible for everyone—but how many people in an alliance actually want to be responsible?
Once you get to Conquest season, alliances change daily. The only thing that doesn't change is the small group.
It's not like before—one alliance walking together every season. Now it's all about the group.
So it's thankless work.
Still, Lin Fan gave two clear paths.
First: if you can't win, surrender is fine—triple partition is no problem.
Mainly because there are too many Wanderer Army players now, plus Xuzhou returning vets stirring tempo.
If there are 400–500 wanderers, even if the conquest side has 1400 people, they can't hold.
After all, the alliance itself only has 380 people…
And 1400 people's coordination is definitely worse than 400 wanderers.
Second: break the treaty and smash Xuzhou.
But Xuzhou was only "sieging"—they hadn't fully committed yet.
Those two small cities were just recruitment.
And with North vs South colliding, breaking the treaty now looks more like a backstab.
So Lin Fan didn't recommend it.
Best is: when the returning vets' side collapses, everyone goes for conquest, then talk to the Northern Army with a good attitude. Triple partition should be fine.
Before going for conquest, it's all about skill books and beating newbies to level up.
Once you go for conquest, Hooligan is weak. Burst damage and chopping is king.
As for Chop King, it needs full top-tier build to have bite.
So he dismantled Hooligan + Chop King and built a Zhao Wudi team.
Then Cao Cao + Ma Chao plus Zhang Liao made a physical DPS team—specialized in killing tanks.
He also filled a Wei Intelligence team.
And a steel-plate "get-hit" wall.
That makes five teams.
As for "going on the wall"… if you're reduced to wall duty, you're basically getting blasted away.
And internal affairs is comfy right now—if you plan to go for conquest, more teams is better.
Don't go with only three teams—that's how you starve.
More teams means merit points fly.
Dudu, even though it's often a background character in Conquest season, is invincible in S2.
"No tiger on the mountain, monkey is king"—that's Dudu.
True merit harvester. With the right treasures, even scarier.
Plus skill books—Lin Fan's Dudu was already level 47.
In another week, he'd be max level.
A full-red level-50 Dudu—once he goes for conquest, it's an engine.
At Baidi City, he slaughtered nonstop. Especially with the Brave family grouped up, Yizhou attacked for two days and still couldn't break in.
It became a giant merit farm.
One volley and three or four garrison squads vanished. Lin Fan grinned all day.
So satisfying.
That's how you play Infinite Borders…
But slaughtering so much, you eventually flip.
He got taught by a Ghost Lu Bu + Chunhua + Zhen Luo team.
He was controlled so hard he couldn't cast a single skill. The opponent's Ghost Lu Bu was like a machine gun, spamming skills nonstop.
His full-red Dudu kill-streak ended right there.
And when someone posted the battle report in alliance chat, his face got even darker.
"Hahahaha, Brother Infinite Borders, keep laughing!"
"See? Your laugh disappeared instantly. I knew you low-rolled."
"Live demonstration of instant face change."
Chat became a sea of laughter.
The hype squad was maxed out.
…
North American Riot headquarters.
A big group sat around a round table, throwing opinions back and forth.
Mainly because TES's conditions made the decision hard.
Sending referees was fine, but letting a team participate online was unprecedented.
They had to be careful.
"I think we should agree. China's viewership is too huge. Without an LPL team, the topic heat will collapse."
"I agree…"
"But doesn't that break format? And how do we handle online network issues? How do we solve the follow-up problems?"
"All of that can be adjusted during matches… the premise is TES must participate."
Everyone talked over each other.
Those supporting TES online participation were the majority—everything was about benefits.
The broader gaming environment was bad too.
For China's playerbase, they had to be careful.
League is basically propped up by half Chinese players.
They had to consider the chain reaction if TES didn't attend.
If it was another region, a team withdrawing is whatever. Nobody would hold a meeting like this.
They even complained: why did Korea obstruct the visa in the first place? This isn't PUBG.
Then they voted by show of hands.
Final tally: 11 yes, 3 no, 1 abstain.
TES online participation plan passed. LCK had no objections.
They also wanted TES to attend.
As for "online from China to the servers"… ping and network FPS wouldn't be as good as LAN.
So it's actually an advantage for LCK.
Honestly, it was the best method:
TES attends, but gets "restricted."
T1's win probability rises from 80% to 90%.
LPL attends, so MSI prestige rises too.
Win-win-win.
When Guo Hao got the notice, he was dizzy.
They actually agreed?
A world tournament where only TES plays online—obviously an outrageous request.
Approval should have been unlikely.
But Riot agreed.
Then MSI has to be played.
They already gave this much face. Staying stiff now would look bad.
Guo Hao thought for a long time…
If you won't follow the usual path, then neither will we.
Online match? Fine. We'll play.
JackeyLove heard the news and cracked his knuckles.
"Damn it—T1, just wait to get beat up!"
So at 8 p.m., Riot's official Twitter/X, LPL's official Weibo, and LCK's official Twitter/X all posted announcements simultaneously.
The content was simple:
Considering TES players' health, they need to recover at base. Officials didn't want to lose high-quality matches, so the format was adjusted.
TES could participate online in this year's MSI.
They became the only one of the eleven teams to participate online.
——
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup