The following day, Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shu slept early and rose early as usual. Ye Shaoyang washed his face and intended to go to the balcony to feed the cat, only to find Chi Shu already squatting there, giving Xiao Bai some food. The morning sunlight filtered through the window, spilling over the Alpha's handsome profile, dyeing Chi Shu's usually serious face with a layer of warmth.
Ye Shaoyang walked over to Chi Shu's side and smiled. "Captain Chi, what made you suddenly decide to help me feed the cat?"
Chi Shu replied, "When I got up just now, I noticed it pacing around the living room. I guessed it was hungry."
Xiao Bai looked up and let out a "Meow," as if answering Chi Shu.
Chi Shu curled the corners of his mouth, stroked its head, and said, "From now on, I'll take care of it with you. I'll be a 'shovel officer' too."
Ye Shaoyang said, "Sure."
Raising a cat with his boyfriend was a happy thing.
Chi Shu didn't inherently like small animals, but he was willing to accept the pet Ye Shaoyang raised and take care of Xiao Bai together with him. This was exactly the understanding and tolerance Ye Shaoyang had mentioned in his interview.
Ye Shaoyang looked at Chi Shu, and his gaze met the other man's. Chi Shu suddenly asked, "You're still calling me Captain Chi?"
"Then what should I call you?" Ye Shaoyang thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "Chi Shu?"
"Mn." Chi Shu smiled faintly. "There's no need to be so formal in private. Just call me by my name."
Since they had confirmed their romantic relationship, calling him 'Captain Chi' every day did seem a bit inappropriate. Ye Shaoyang said frankly, "Then I'll call you Chi Shu in private from now on. You're not that much older than me anyway."
Chi Shu calculated for a moment and said, "I should be older than you by half a year."
Ye Shaoyang said, "Half a year doesn't count."
Chi Shu let out a small laugh, stood up, and said, "Let's go eat breakfast."
The two went to the team cafeteria for breakfast. Their teammates hadn't woken up yet, so they ate and chatted comfortably.
Ye Shaoyang said, "There's still a month until the playoffs. If we bring out the same combinations we used in the regular season, the results probably won't be that great, right?"
Chi Shu: "Mn, I was just thinking of talking to you about this. We still have time, so we can practice something else."
Ye Shaoyang thought carefully. "You've practiced the new hero from the 10-1 season, [Soul Reaper], pretty thoroughly by now, right? That hero will be available on the tournament server by the time the playoffs start."
Each season of Gods' War was divided into 1/2/3 mini-seasons, and each mini-season released a new hero.
[Abyssal Lord] was the new hero for season 9-3. Season 10-1 released [Soul Reaper]. Since heroes on the tournament server were released later than on the online client, the new hero from 10-1 would only login to the tournament server during the playoffs.
The hero [Soul Reaper] summoned the souls of dead heroes to assist in battle. He relied purely on killing to stack buffs; the more he killed, the stronger he became. If you could only kill one or two people in the entire game, this hero's damage output would be useless.
He was a pure 'Wild Core' (Carry Jungler) hero. Currently, the major teams hadn't yet worked out a system to pair with this hero.
Chi Shu said, "This hero's mechanics are very unique. Operation-wise, I'm already very familiar with him, and his early game tempo is fast. However, the lineup composition is difficult to handle. Have you thought of a Mid-laner to pair with him?"
Ye Shaoyang looked thoughtful. "How about [Spirit Butterfly]?"
[Spirit Butterfly] was a very niche Mid-lane hero with very low damage but strong utility.
Chi Shu was stunned for a moment, but quickly understood Ye Shaoyang's train of thought. "A rapid tracking strategy?"
Ye Shaoyang said, "Yes. It's relatively hard to coordinate, but I believe we can coordinate well."
Looking at Ye Shaoyang's confident appearance, Chi Shu gently held his hand and said, "I believe it too."
Ye Shaoyang smiled and held Chi Shu's hand back. "Also, I think we can try more combinations. Let's not limit our thinking to the fixed pairings from the regular season."
Chi Shu asked with interest, "For example?"
Ye Shaoyang leaned into his ear and whispered mysteriously, "Mage Jungle, AD Mid?"
Chi Shu froze for a moment. "Mage Jungle?"
Ye Shaoyang said, "Everyone knows I play [Abyssal Lord] very well. Actually, the hero [Abyssal Lord] is really suitable for playing as a Jungle Carry. With 3 shadows for position swapping, his movement is flexible. He can travel quickly through the jungle, and if he stacks marks fast enough, his clear speed is top-tier. Are you willing to try it?"
Chi Shu looked at the light in his eyes and smiled slightly. "Okay, let's try it."
Every time Ye Shaoyang mentioned the game, it was like there was light in his eyes. He truly loved this game and had his own understanding of it.
Heroes weren't fixed.
Who said the Mid lane could only be chosen by Mages, and the Jungle could only be Assassins and Warriors?
Mage Jungle, Assassin Mid—as long as the lineup was reasonable, swapping positions wouldn't affect coordination at all.
After all, they understood each other's rhythm very well. Having practiced together for so long, Chi Shu naturally knew how to play the [Abyssal Lord] hero as well.
After the two returned to the dormitory, they logged into the international server. To avoid being recognized, they used name-change cards to change their IDs, deliberately changing them to English names that looked like American players.
They practiced two games on the international server and found that the combination of [Spirit Butterfly] and [Soul Reaper] was much harder than imagined. Fortunately, their game sense was top-tier. After careful analysis and communication, they quickly found the right rhythm.
They went on a five-game winning streak on the international server, catching the opposing random Marksmen and Mids so hard they didn't dare leave their towers.
To prepare for the All-Stars and the World Invitational, the two hadn't played ranked matches for a long time. But their tacit understanding remained, and their Mid-Jungle synergy was incredibly fast. After playing a few hearty games, Ye Shaoyang couldn't help but think: It feels so good to coordinate with Chi Shu. He can always understand my thoughts immediately.
Was it because they had confirmed their romantic relationship? Did they seem to be becoming more telepathic?
The random players on the international server who got crushed by them cried out: "This game is so hard to play!" "Where did these Great Demon Kings come from to smurf on the international server? Soul Reaper + Spirit Butterfly, instantly deleting people with a bunch of ghosts—is this reasonable?"
They played until twelve noon, when Chi Shu whispered, "It's about time for lunch. Shall we go down to the cafeteria? Or should I pack something and bring it back for you?"
Ye Shaoyang said, "Let's go down to eat and take a break."
Chi Shu hummed in agreement, turned off the computer, and went downstairs with Ye Shaoyang.
Halfway through their meal, the other teammates came downstairs as well.
Cheng Xing obediently came up to say hello. "Morning Master, morning Brother Yang."
Qu Jiang and Old Qin also came over. Coach Lin sat next to them with his tray, smiling as he asked, "Is this lunch for you two, or brunch?"
Chi Shu said, "Lunch. We ate breakfast at eight."
Coach Lin lamented, "An early-to-bed, early-to-rise schedule is so nice. I should learn from you guys."
Afternoon was the training time. After lunch, Coach Lin gathered all members of Tianhuan in the training room on the second floor and spoke in a clear voice, "We, Tianhuan, entered the playoffs' Upper Bracket as the second seed of Group S. Everyone should be very clear about our opponent for the next match—it's the third-ranked Team Jingzhe."
During the regular season, Tianhuan's record against Team Jingzhe was 1:2; Tianhuan had won narrowly.
This team's comprehensive strength was very high. Fang Zhengqing and Xie Yuan, two world-class carries, combined with Li Yunmo, a very calm support, formed an 'Iron Triangle' combination. The strength of their Jungler and Top Laner was not weak either.
Ye Shaoyang remembered that at the time, Jingzhe brought out an early-game system with Bounty Warlock, Shadow Warlock, and Cursed Warlock, catching Tianhuan off guard and causing them to lose a game. However, Jingzhe never brought out their signature Poison Team composition.
Would they bring out the Poison Team in the playoffs?
Chi Shu and Fang Zhengqing had no tacit understanding. During the regular season's BP (Ban/Pick), the coaches' "reverse elimination method" had been somewhat useful. But the playoffs were different from the regular season. The Global BP format placed more emphasis on tactical arrangement, and players couldn't use heroes they had used before, which was a huge test of their hero pools.
Moreover, Jingzhe's lineup wasn't decided by Fang Zhengqing, but by Jingzhe's coaching staff. So, the method of letting Chi Shu use reverse elimination might not be reliable.
Coach Lin said, "The playoffs are BO5 (Best of 5) with a Global BP format. As the second seed in the winner's bracket, we have priority side selection. I want to discuss with everyone: should we choose the Blue Side or Red Side for the first game?"
The advantage of the Blue Side lay in picking first and banning first, allowing them to snatch a strong core hero of the current meta.
The Red Side chose second. While seemingly passive, they could pick a pair of combo heroes in slots 1 and 2, and after the opponent finished picking, they could choose the final Counter slot to target the enemy.
On the Blue Side, the Small Dragon pit was closer to their own jungle, giving an advantage in taking the Small Dragon. On the Red Side, the Big Dragon (Baron) was closer to their own jungle, making it easier to contest the Big Dragon in the late game.
Blue Side and Red Side each had their pros and cons. Tianhuan had good results in the regular season and possessed side selection rights, allowing them to decide the pick order for the first game. This point had to be utilized well in conjunction with their tactics.
Coach Lin looked at everyone. "Do you prefer the Blue Side or the Red Side?"
Cheng Xing stole a glance at his master. Qu Jiang and Old Qin cast their gazes toward Ye Shaoyang. Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang looked at each other and spoke simultaneously: "Blue Side."
Coach Lin laughed. "I guessed as much. The Blue Side is better for taking the Small Dragon, and the early game tempo is faster. If you two coordinate your Mid-Jungle synergy, you can drive the rhythm early on, making it relatively easier to win."
Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang nodded at the same time.
Coach Lin said, "Then it's settled. For the match against Jingzhe in the playoffs, we will choose the Blue Side. We'll try our best to take the first game. With the advantage of the first move, the subsequent BP will be easier to manage. The coaching staff is researching specific lineups. There is still a month until the playoffs. For the next few days, you guys should team up for ranked matches to find your touch."
If e-sports players didn't play ranked for a period of time, their reaction time and hand speed might lag behind. This was why they had to maintain daily training. Cheng Xing and Ye Shaoyang had gone to play in the Individual Competition and hadn't practiced ranked for half a month, so Coach Lin wasn't in a rush to have everyone train as a full team yet.
He had Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang duo queue, while Old Qin, Qu Jiang, and Cheng Xing trio queued. They were to go to the international server to practice mechanics and regain their competitive feel first. Once the lineups were confirmed, they would team up as a 5-man squad to play scrims and conduct combat drills against the 2nd team.
Everyone had no objections to the coach's arrangement.
Just as Coach Lin turned to leave, Chi Shu suddenly called out to him, speaking in a low voice, "Coach, can you let Yangyang and me participate in the coaching staff's tactical discussions?"
Coach Lin paused and looked back at Chi Shu.
Chi Shu's expression was calm. "Yangyang has a lot of his own understanding regarding matches. Perhaps he can provide the coaching staff with some new ideas."
Ye Shaoyang chimed in, "Brainstorming together—we want to be of help too."
Coach Lin looked at Chi Shu, then at Ye Shaoyang. Meeting their serious gazes, Coach Lin smiled slightly and nodded decisively. "Of course. You two come with me."
Lin Feng had never been an arbitrary coach. He considered the players' thoughts and feelings, and his temper was exceptionally good. This was the key reason why Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang dared to boldly interfere with the coaching staff's decisions.
The two followed Coach Lin to the conference room.
Tianhuan's coaching staff was very professional. Aside from Head Coach Lin Feng, there was a data analyst, a data compilation specialist, and two assistant coaches responsible for gathering opponent information.
In reality, pro players' understanding of tactics wasn't as professional as the coaching staff's. Sometimes, pro players only knew the heroes they liked to play or were good at, but didn't quite understand which hero combinations made it easier to win. Many lineups on the field were matched by coaches after careful deliberation based on the players' characteristics.
The assistant coach was surprised to see them come over. "Captain Chi and Yangyang came personally?"
Coach Lin smiled and said, "Mn. They have some ideas of their own, so we might as well study them together." He pointed to the chairs nearby. "Sit."
Everyone sat in a circle. The data analyst projected all the playoff players' data onto the screen. They had even collected and summarized the economic curve graphs from every match in the regular season.
Ye Shaoyang looked at the curve graphs with a bit of confusion until the data analyst explained, "From the curve graph, we can see that Jingzhe's support levels up 10 seconds faster than supports from other teams. We carefully extracted Jingzhe's match recordings from the regular season and found that the reason Li Yunmo can reach Level 6 before other supports is that, after protecting Xie Yuan to secure the river crab in the early game, he roams into the jungle to place wards and leeches experience from a few small monsters."
It was common for supports to disappear in the early game because they needed to set up vision to prevent enemy ambushes. However, Li Yunmo's disappearance wasn't purely for vision; he went to soak up experience to reach Level 6 ahead of time.
Ideally, a support reaching Level 6 meant they could unleash a critical crowd-control Ultimate in the first team fight.
Having one more Ultimate than the opponent could very likely influence the outcome of a team fight.
Ye Shaoyang suddenly realized, "Jingzhe's Jungler is a 'tool man' (utility/supportive jungler). Not only does he yield gold to the Mid-laner and Marksman, but he also yields a portion of the small jungle monsters' experience to the Support?"
Coach Lin nodded. "Exactly. Jingzhe's Iron Triangle consists of Mid, Marksman, and Support. We must pay extra attention to the Support point. Although we beat Jingzhe in the regular season, they will definitely target Tianhuan's Mid and Jungle like crazy in the playoffs. If the opposing Support forces an engagement, it's very likely they'll blow up our Mid and Bot lanes early."
Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang exchanged a glance. "We will pay attention to this."
Coach Lin asked, "Against Jingzhe, Mid-Jungle synergy is still more suitable. Regarding hero selection, do you two have any ideas? Feel free to bring them up."
Chi Shu said, "Many systems used in the regular season cannot be repeated in the playoffs. Jingzhe will definitely think of ways to counter them. This is also why Yangyang and I wanted to discuss things personally with the coaches."
Coach Lin was slightly surprised. "Which systems are you including in the 'cannot use' list?"
Chi Shu said in a low voice, "The Twin Flyers, Black and White, Fighter King & Goddess of Destiny, Charm Demon & Nightmare, Illusionist guerrilla warfare, etc. If we bring these out to play against Jingzhe again, the effectiveness will be greatly discounted."
Ye Shaoyang agreed. "Yes. It's actually not hard to counter these combinations. For example, they could directly Ban protective supports and then pick crowd-control supports to break our rhythm. Or, Fang Zhengqing could seize the initiative and crush our Bot lane before our Mid-Jungle duo can drive the tempo. If the connection between Chi Shu and me is severed, trying to reconnect it will waste a lot of time."
"Mn, using the same strategy the first time can catch the opponent off guard, but bringing it out a second time, the opponent has likely already thought of a countermeasure." Coach Lin paused, then changed the subject. "However, there are only so many Mid and Jungle heroes. If many combinations from the regular season aren't used in the playoffs, you two will have even fewer choices."
Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shu looked at each other. The latter gave him an affirmative look, and Ye Shaoyang smiled and said, "Coach Lin, does the Mid-laner necessarily have to be a Mage?"
Lin Feng froze for a moment. "That… not necessarily. It's just that team fights require both physical damage and magical damage. If the Mid-laner isn't a Mage, and the opponent builds full physical defense items, it will be very hard to fight."
Chi Shu said, "I can take a Mage in the Jungle."
Ye Shaoyang smiled and said, "And then I'll take a physical damage dealer Mid."
Lin Feng: "…"
Chi Shu immediately followed up, "We can also play Dual Jungle."
Ye Shaoyang nodded in agreement. "That's right, Dual Jungle."
Coach Lin: "..."
Are you two trying to ascend to the heavens? Directly overturning the definitions of Jungle and Mid?
Chi Shu summarized, "We hope that when the coaching staff plans the lineup tactics, you won't be limited to existing Mid and Jungle heroes. For example, I can take Yangyang's signature hero [Abyssal Lord] in the Jungle position, and Yangyang can take a physical Assassin and play Mid."
Ye Shaoyang said, "I can also take [Sharpshooter] in the Mid lane."
Coach Lin looked at him with a complicated expression.
Ye Shaoyang promised, "I'm not joking. Before Little Xing went to play the Wild Card region's individual competition, I PK'd with Little Xing and used a lot of Marksmen. I found that some Marksmen can actually go Mid. For example, [Sharpshooter] and [Cannoneer]. These two have ultra-long range, fast wave clear, and longer reach than Mages."
Chi Shu said, "When Yangyang and I practiced privately, we tried it too. Using [Sharpshooter] against long-ranged, high-burst Mages like [World Destroying Mage] or [Kraken of the North Sea] gives a huge advantage during the laning phase."
The logic was simple. [Sharpshooter] was a hero with extremely long attack range, longer than a Mage. He could squat under the tower and snipe with cold shots. The opposing Mage would have very low physical defense in the early game; taking two sniper shots would force them to recall.
When [Sharpshooter] went Bot lane to duel the enemy Marksman, the opposing support could help block bullets. But in the Mid lane, without support help, a long-ranged Marksman 1v1 against a squishy Mage could establish dominance in the lane.
Chi Shu said, "Of course, [Sharpshooter] doesn't have the ability to instantly delete people; he is a sustained damage hero. Pairing him with a burst-damage Jungler would be very effective. Once Yangyang snipes someone to low health, I can go over and harvest the kill. This counts as another form of Mid-Jungle synergy."
Coach Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What on earth are you two practicing in private?"
Ye Shaoyang said, "Just taking all the heroes in the game and mixing them up for fun. During the individual competition, when Chi Shu was my sparring partner, he even used quite a few Warrior heroes. Also, for the new hero from season 10-1, [Soul Reaper], Chi Shu has practiced him very thoroughly. I thought of a matching Mid-laner, [Spirit Butterfly], to play full-map tracking. Coach can consider this as well."
Coach Lin was silent for a moment, then finally nodded. "I understand what you mean. You want to break conventions in the playoffs and try more lineup combinations?"
The two nodded simultaneously.
Coach Lin said, "That carries a lot of risk."
Chi Shu: "I know. While playing it safe guarantees some odds of winning, we want to seek a breakthrough even more."
Ye Shaoyang added, "We will work hard on our coordination and absolutely won't drop the ball."
The Coaches: "…"
These two are singing the same tune in perfect harmony. They planned this in advance, didn't they?
Coach Lin started to laugh. "Alright, I believe in you two. After all, you are world champions in the individual competition. A powerful alliance of two world champions really shouldn't be too limited!"
The assistant coach said with a beaming smile, "A strong-strong alliance can indeed seek breakthroughs! If we keep using old routines, the effectiveness will be greatly reduced. You are right; we should look at the long term. After all, our Tianhuan now has two world champions. We have enough backbone!"
The members of the coaching staff looked at each other, revealing excited expressions one after another.
In the past, Tianhuan was restricted everywhere. Every time they thought of tactical lineups before a match, the coaching staff would stress until they were bald. Let Chi Shu play a Wild Core? No, he'd get targeted, right? Let Chi Shu play a utility jungler? Could the Marksman shoulder the burden of damage output?
This season, after Ye Shaoyang joined, Tianhuan's lineups had many variables. The coaching staff dared to bring out more lineups and dared to let Chi Shu play a Wild Core and fight head-on.
Now, Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang personally guaranteed—
Rest assured and be bold in broadening your thinking. Make more new attempts. We absolutely won't drop the ball!
This sentence was equivalent to: Whatever hero you give me, I can play it well.
If other players made such wild boasts, the coach would question if they were being too arrogant. But with the guarantee of two world champions, was there any need for doubt?
For the coaching staff, the two's promise was undoubtedly a shot of adrenaline!
This was great.
The coaches could fully unleash their imagination and find some even more powerful lineup combinations.
This was the confidence and backbone of dual world champions!
Coach Lin looked at Chi Shu. "Are you sure you can bring the new hero [Soul Reaper] onto the competition stage?"
Chi Shu nodded decisively. "No problem."
Coach Lin then looked at Ye Shaoyang. "Are you sure the two Marksmen heroes, [Sharpshooter] and [Cannoneer], can go Mid lane?"
Ye Shaoyang was brimming with confidence. "Yes!"
Coach Lin smiled and said, "Good. The coaching staff will research carefully and put together some reasonable 5-man lineups. You guys go back and train hard. I believe you can create miracles!"
Coming out of the conference room, Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang looked at each other and raised the corners of their mouths simultaneously.
It was great that the coaches were willing to accept their suggestions.
This game was 5v5 after all, not 2v2. They couldn't just do whatever they wanted willfully.
Adjustments to Mid and Jungle hero selections meant that Old Qin, Qu Jiang, and Cheng Xing's heroes also had to keep up with their rhythm. How exactly to match the lineup was something the coaching staff needed to consider.
Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shu had merely told the coaches of the infinite possibilities.
S10's Tianhuan was already different.
We have two world champions. We have the backbone, and also the confidence, to seek a breakthrough!