novelODS 050 Do you also have dreams?
050 Do you also have dreams?
Not long after, inside the RISE cafeteria.
Ma Yingdong brandished his spatula with impressive skill, serving dish after dish to the table, bringing a lively atmosphere to the base canteen.
The teammates' eyes lit up as they looked at the brand-new dishes they had never seen before!
Ma Yingdong's cooking skills are quite good. Although he doesn't know how to cook many dishes, he can learn them quite well just by watching a video.
Considering his status as a college student and his almost non-existent monthly salary, he is extremely cost-effective.
He just eats a lot; the amount he eats in a month is probably no less than his salary.
Li Zhixing had actually asked Ma Yingdong before, "Your family isn't poor, so why do you have such culinary skills?"
Ma Yingdong simply replied with two words—
talent.
That's truly impressive.
After all the dishes were served, Ma Yingdong immediately filled everyone's glasses with cola, then raised his glass first: "Come on, let's toast to our first championship in our professional careers!"
He was so enthusiastic that someone who didn't know him might have thought Ma Yingdong was a player on the team.
"Cheers!"
Everyone naturally responded with smiles.
I won the championship and enjoyed a good meal. Today is a satisfying day!
Li Zhixing thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Well, let me just say a few words."
People around turned around, their expressions serious.
The current RISE contestants have complete respect for Li Zhixing.
Even Lee Sang-hyeok was no exception.
Li Zhixing glanced at the five people around him: "You all performed quite well today and won our club's first championship."
"But for us, this is just the beginning. I hope you will not become complacent because of this small championship. There are countless championships waiting for us in the future."
"This road won't be easy, but the end will surely be filled with light. Believe me, the future of esports is far brighter than you can imagine."
Li Zhixing's words came from the bottom of his heart.
In esports, talent alone is never enough to guarantee success.
Sufficient talent is, of course, a necessary prerequisite.
But in addition to that, you also need to work hard, be emotionally stable, and even have enough luck to encounter the right version during your peak period in order to win the final championship.
Lee Ji-haeng was certainly lucky. Not only was he talented, but he also traveled to Mapo Middle School and met Lee Sang-hyeok and Kim Hyuk-kyu, his two right-hand men.
The four teammates were also lucky; in this primitive era, they possessed top-notch talent and encountered the best teachers.
Years later, these players, whose net worth is only 100,000 RMB, may see their value increase to millions or even tens of millions.
The OGN spot they just won will be converted into a league slot worth tens of millions of RMB in the future.
What everyone at RISE needs to do is remain humble and composed, maintain a winning attitude, and move towards that not-so-distant future.
"We'll try our best, bro!"
Let's cheer each other on and win all the championships!
"Get pregnant!"
"..."
After a hearty meal, the simple celebratory banquet quickly came to an end.
While everyone was resting and patting their bellies, Li Zhixing also talked about the schedule for the rest of the day.
"The OGN Winter Playoffs have only just begun, and our Spring Season is still a long way off, we'll have to wait until after the Spring Festival, there's a long gap in between."
Li Zhixing continued, "But that's precisely why we need to further increase the intensity of our training in order to maintain our form on days without matches."
"good!"
Upon hearing this, the other four teammates nodded in agreement.
Actually, Li Zhixing didn't even need to say anything; they would consciously maintain their training on their own.
"The preseason is about to end, the official version of Season 3 will be updated, and ranked matches will be available."
Li Zhixing said, "Before the Spring Season, I have only one requirement: all of you must reach the top five in the entire server. I allow you to duo queue and team up, but I do not allow anyone to fall behind."
Li Zhixing's goal left his teammates speechless with astonishment.
Are all five players sweeping the top five spots?
At the beginning of this season, it is between the winter and spring seasons, and all the top players have no matches to play. This is the time to focus on climbing the ranks, so the ranking matches at that time will definitely be full of top players!
Getting into the top five must be incredibly difficult, right?
Kim Hyuk-kyu and Cho Se-hyung exchanged a glance, their unspoken understanding unspoken.
It seems the two of them will have to duo queue.
Duo queueing is the most reliable way to climb the ranks, and making it into the top five together shouldn't be a problem.
Lee Sang-hyeok, on the other hand, remained calm.
The top five are easy to achieve.
Lee Sang-hyeok's goal has never been just to be in the top five, but to be number one!
Of everyone present, only Ma Yingdong maintained an indifferent attitude, watching with amusement.
He really wanted to see if the R1SE members could actually sweep the top five spots.
At this moment, Li Zhixing turned his gaze and said, "Old Ma, you have to play too. You have to at least reach the King rank."
Ma Yingdong couldn't help but shudder: "Fellow villager, what about my business?"
Ma Yingdong's skill level is actually quite high; he even reached the Diamond rank in the preseason of the new season.
You have to understand, these days there aren't really any masters or grandmasters. Above diamonds are kings, and there are only fifty kings. Diamonds are still quite valuable.
But precisely because of this, the difference between diamonds is enormous.
Some Diamond players are limited to the 50 fixed slots for the King rank, but they are actually ranked 51st in the entire server, with skill levels no different from the King rank.
Some players barely scraped by and exhausted themselves to reach Diamond V, yet their rankings were thousands of points below Diamond 5, earning them the nickname "lower-tier Diamond"...
Ma Yingdong is only a low-tier diamond, not even close to being a king, but at least 54,000.
"Don't worry, I'm not that good at King-level games," Li Zhixing chuckled. "I've learned so much at RISE, it'll definitely be enough for me to reach King-level."
"Uh..." Ma Yingdong scratched his head, "But why do I have to rank up? I'm not a professional player."
"Who said you aren't?" Li Zhixing raised an eyebrow and said, "You're our team's substitute."
OGN is different from NLB. The latter is an amateur league where you can register any five people as long as you have enough points.
However, the former is a top-tier professional league, which requires substitutes.
Li Zhixing couldn't find a suitable substitute in a short time, so he simply pulled his own chef up to make up the numbers.
That's enough; we're not really expecting him to play.
Ma Yingdong was stunned for a moment: "Huh? Me?"
"Didn't you have a dream?" Li Zhixing chuckled. "Don't want to play? Fine, I was planning to duo queue and carry you..."
Li Zhixing said his last sentence in Chinese, and only his fellow villagers could understand its meaning.
Ma Yingdong plays the mid-lane and has a roaming, supportive playstyle. This playstyle relies heavily on understanding the game. He only needs to learn a trick or two from Li Zhixing to easily reach the King rank.
Ma Yingdong nodded vigorously in an instant, "Okay, okay! I'll do it!"