TCWSITD – Chapter 51.2

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Chapter 51.2 – The Tryout

Zhang Mingying stayed silent. But his friend recognized Lin Jiang and nearly lost his mind from excitement. He shook his arm frantically. “Hurry up and agree! What are you waiting for?”

Behind them, Old Mao let out an excited shout, “Damn, Lin Jiang, you’re personally stepping in?”

Lin Jiang smiled politely at the rebellious kid in front of him and extended his hand, “Hello, I’m Lin Jiang, OT’s captain. I’d like to officially invite you to a tryout.”

Seeing the sincerity in Lin Jiang’s eyes, Zhang Mingying felt uneasy for the first time.

He knew Lin Jiang and he knew he was skilled, but he didn’t think Lin Jiang was impressive enough that he’d be left in awe. Plus, since he hadn’t passed OT’s tryout, he didn’t think he would have any interaction with Lin Jiang. That’s why he hadn’t bothered greeting him earlier when he saw him upstairs. Who would’ve thought Lin Jiang would hold no grudge and even extend an invitation?

His friend next to him was so anxious he was practically dying from impatience. Frustrated by his wooden reaction, he quickly lifted Zhang Mingying’s hand to shake Lin Jiang’s. “Hello, hello! Zhang Mingying is absolutely willing!”

Lin Jiang led them back upstairs. Old Mao and the others, eager for some entertainment, followed up to watch the show.

Duren was still interviewing other youth trainees when he saw Lin Jiang bring the kid back. He froze for a second. “What’s wrong? Did he forget something?”

“I invited him for another tryout,” Lin Jiang whispered in his ear, “Let’s give him one more chance.”

Duren respected Lin Jiang very much, and quickly nodded, making room. “How do you want to run the tryout? Duo queue with him?”

Lin Jiang shook his head. “No, play 5v5.”

The Zhang Mingying from the solo queue was too unpredictable. He wanted to see the real deal—his true skill in a full professional match.

Upon hearing the “5v5”, Duren instantly looked up, his expression clearly unsettled. This was the highest level of tryout—something only initiated for exceptionally talented players.

Old Mao was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle but was also roped in by Lin Jiang. Brother Brother Jizhi and Brother Yu were also assigned to join.

Shen Ju and the others upstairs were called down as well. Song Zhixu was puzzled, “What’s going on? Such a big deal—and you want us to come down personally?”

When he stepped downstairs and saw a room packed with veterans, he almost slipped on the floor. He dashed over to Old Mao, eyes sparkling like marbles. “Brother Mao, you’re here?”

“I came to see Lin Jiang, but got pulled into this mess.”

Song Zhixu, having been mentored by Old Mao himself, felt a bit shy among all the bigwigs and kept stealing glances at Lin Jiang. “Captain, Brother Mao is here, why didn’t you call me down?”

Lin Jiang teased him, “Wasn’t this waiting for you to come down on your own? I can’t exactly summon you.”

Song Zhixu looked around for a hole to crawl into. “Where’s a hole? I’Il squeeze right in.”

“Hahaha…”

A’Deng and Zhou Wen were the obedient types, greeting everyone properly in turn. But when it was Shen Ju’s turn, he suddenly turned mute.

He stared at Old Mao, and Old Mao stared back—enemies meeting, enemies meeting, both burning with rage.

Old Mao snorted and tugged at Lin Jiang. “Your AD is a toxic flamer. Did you know that?”

Lin Jiang explained earnestly, “He hasn’t flamed anyone in a long time.”

“He also hits people.”

“It’s all just misunderstandings.”

Old Mao: ?

This wasn’t the Lin Jiang he knew!

With so many people present, Lin Jiang couldn’t show too much favoritism. He cleared his throat, “Shen Ju, come apologize to Old Mao.”

The entire room gasped. Not only was Old Mao stunned, but even Brother Jizhi and Brother Yu found it hard to believe. Shen Ju, the Crown Prince, someone even capitalists feared might bite them—would he listen to Lin Jiang?

Then they saw Shen Ju walk over coldly, glance at Lin Jiang, and instantly soften his gaze. “Sorry,” he said.

Old Mao: …

Why did I suddenly feel a little scared?

With the personal grudges resolved, next came the main event of the tryout.

Lin Jiang personally assigned Zhang Mingying as the jungler, Old Mao as the top laner, Brother Yu and Brother Jizhi as the bot lane. On the opposing side, Shen Ju and the other three were joined by a youth trainee who played mid.

The distribution was entirely reasonable, and no one had objections. Old Mao, who hadn’t played with Lin Jiang in ages, rubbed his hands excitedly. “Heh, the last time we played a five-man game was two years ago, right? The jungler back then was Zeng Yuan?”

“Right, right. Lin Jiang was mentoring him and dragged us all into it. We played flex queue all day until we were sick of it.”

Lin Jiang felt nostalgic about those times. The four of them chatted away in voice chat, while Zhang Mingying, unable to blend in, remained silent like a lone wolf.

Both teams entered the game, and Lin Jiang reminded him, “This is your tryout—just play at your own pace.”

Zhang Mingying had no intention of adjusting for anyone anyway. Once the match started, he immersed himself in the game, focusing solely on his own playstyle.

His playstyle was indeed strange—very unique. At first, Lin Jiang struggled to keep up, but after carefully analyzing his approach, he discovered some intriguing aspects.

For example, the more disadvantaged they were, the more aggressively he invaded, seizing opportunities to turn the tide instantly.

Another example—the more critical the teamfight, the more he’d take an unexpected path, catching opponents off guard and striking when they least expected it.

The surprising thing was—he could actually make it work in a professional match.

Even Old Mao, a seasoned veteran, couldn’t help but remark after watching, ““What a strange playstyle… but it really counters pro players.”

Lin Jiang finally understood how his past self had lost to him—it was a style of fighting that had no rules, like a novice throwing wild punches to defeat a master.

In fact, most teams wouldn’t recruit such a player. Even if he made it into the training camp, his chances of getting playtime would be slim because his style defied the fundamentals of professional play. Most people aren’t willing to take that risk.

Lin Jiang carefully recalled how he had performed in WG in his past life. He was steady in the early-game, still didn’t give openings in the mid-game, and when it came to late-game disadvantage, he immediately pulled out that strange playstyle to turn the tables.

Was this the result of Zhang Mingying’s training?

If he joined OT, could Lin Jiang mold him the same way?

Lin Jiang’s thoughts drifted away from the game when Zhang Mingying’s voice suddenly came through his headphones: “You’re too far forward.”

Old Mao laughed, “Lin Jiang, is this kid actually coaching you on how to play?”

Lin Jiang suddenly realized he had indeed stepped half a step too forward, entering the enemy mid-jungler’s kill zone.

Zhang Mingying was truly an odd one. Lin Jiang couldn’t fully figure him out, only sensing an inexplicable perceptiveness about him that allowed him to make split-second judgments on the smallest details.

Lin Jiang wasn’t giving the match his full attention. The enemy mid was scaling steadily, but A’Deng once rotated away from him, his lane fell slightly out of rhythm. Their tempo was slipping.

Top lane was originally in Old Mao’s favor, but a single misplay turned it into a disadvantage. He cursed under his breath, “That bastard Song Zhixu. How did his laning get so strong all of a sudden?”

Bot lane was at a severe disadvantage for Lin Jiang’s team. Although Brother Yu was a professional player, age had caught up with him. Brother Jizhi had been out of the competitive scene for years and his operations were rusty.

The two stayed under their turret, farming cautiously and constantly calling for the jungler. But Zhang Mingying acted as if he were deaf. He only helped the mid lane and spent the rest of his time invading the enemy jungle.

Before long, the bot lane’s outer tower fell. Lin Jiang went down once and found Shen Ju incredibly hard to kill, and Zhou Wen’s protection flawless.

He had no choice but to return to mid lane. Soon, the second bot lane turret fell. Lin Jiang went down again, but still couldn’t secure a kill on Shen Ju, letting them escape unscathed.

After repeated failures, Old Mao couldn’t help but suspect, “Lin Jiang, are you throwing[mfn]in gaming slang, means intentionally underperforming or holding back.[/mfn]?”

Lin Jiang snapped back to focus. The third time, he picked an extremely tricky spot and camped for nearly 20 seconds before Shen Ju and Zhou Wen finally appeared.

Zhou Wen was very cautious. Before even entering the bushes, he activated his sweeper and immediately detected Lin Jiang. He quickly controlled him and bought Shen Ju time to escape.

But Shen Ju had no intention of running. Instead, he unleashed his ultimate, determined to clash head-on with Lin Jiang.

This time, Lin Jiang didn’t hold back. This time, Lin Jiang wasn’t holding back. He narrowly dodged Shen Ju’s key ability and struck back. Shen Ju reacted just as swiftly, Flashing away to break Lin Jiang’s vision, and bought himself enough time for two decisive strikes.

Those two strikes made Lin Jiang lose the upper hand. But Lin Jiang was still Lin Jiang. He used his ultimate to create distance, then doubled back, landing a blind hit right on Shen Ju’s weak spot.

Shen Ju’s health was now critical, just one hit away from death. At the critical moment, Zhou Wen shielded him again. Refusing to back down, Shen Ju poured everything into his attacks, turning the tables and taking Lin Jiang down.

The now-dead Lin Jiang actually let out a laugh. “Our bot lane is playing really well.”

Brother Yu & Brother Jizhi: ?

Excuse me, we were your bot lane right now, okay!

There wasn’t much left to say about the rest of the match—the tempo was completely controlled by Shen Ju and Zhou Wen.

Song Zhixu also stepped up, and A’Deng secured enough dragons to push straight for Lin Jiang’s mid lane high ground.

Back when they used to compete alongside Lin Jiang, they always wanted him to win. Now that they were facing him, those guys were downright thrilled, dead set on making him lose.

After a devastating team fight, the mid lane high ground crumbled. Lin Jiang silently checked Zhang Mingying’s position.

What’s going through his head right now? Still planning to flash in and delete Shen Ju?

His damage isn’t even—

Lin Jiang stopped mid-thought.

Because he suddenly realized Zhang Mingying did have enough damage—as long as he avoided Zhou Wen’s crowd control and caught Shen Ju alone, his burst was more than enough to take him down.

But would Shen Ju give him the chance? This wasn’t the old Shen Ju —this was the upgraded 2.0 version, tougher than ever to kill.

Like a phantom, Zhang Mingying tracked Shen Ju’s movements, while Shen Ju remained oblivious, lingering to clear the three wolves camp before leaving.

The moment Zhou Wen stepped away, Zhang Mingying caught his mistake.

He struck the instant Shen Ju’s skills were on cooldown. Both had enough damage to kill the other, but Shen Ju’s skills were still down and that was exactly the opening Zhang Mingying exploited.

The two of them fought a duel on the spot. In the end, Shen Ju’s skill cooldown was slower by 0.5 seconds, and he regrettably collapsed under Zhang Mingying’s blade.

The moment Shen Ju died, Old Mao burst into booming laughter, “Hahaha! We’re turning it around! This is the comeback!”

[{All} Song Zhixu: 6[mfn]Internet slang praising a good play.[/mfn].]

[{All} A’Deng: Oh wow.]

[{All} Zhou Wen: GG[mfn]”Good Game”, common gaming term signaling game over or defeat.[/mfn].]

[{All} Shen Ju: …]

As Lin Jiang pushed down the tower, a chill ran down his spine. He knew Zhang Mingying’s bold play wasn’t just luck—it was a calculated move fueled by true confidence.

This guy’s mechanics actually matched his boldness…

After the match, Old Mao and the others prepared to leave. Lin Jiang saw them off, promising to treat them to a meal next time.

Brother Yu waved it off. “Don’t worry about us. Old Mao here just loves yapping about food. Look at his blood sugar! He should be drinking porridge, not stuffing his face.”

“A’Yu, you’re really something. I invited you out to have fun, not to roast me.”

“Enough already. Keep this up, and I’m ditching you guys.”

“Who even wants to play with you…”

The three of them laughed and joked as they left, knowing Lin Jiang was busy. Waving as they went, they called back, “Go back quickly, go review your match.”

“We’ll cheer for Worlds too, okay?”

Lin Jiang felt a surge of emotion and waved back at them. Once the trio had fully left, his thoughts turned to Zhang Mingying, prompting him to hurry back.

When he returned, he happened to run into Zhang Mingying packing his things. Lin Jiang immediately approached him. “Don’t pack up, just stay.”

Zhang Mingying still slung his backpack over his shoulder, awkwardly saying, Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. I’ll wait for your call. It seems like you guys haven’t made a decision yet.”

Lin Jiang glanced inside. Fang Luxing and the others were indeed discussing, with opinions all over the place. With Li Qian absent, no one was able to make the final call.

Worried that letting Zhang Mingying leave would mean he’d inevitably be recruited by WG, Lin Jiang made a snap decision. “Wait for me, don’t leave yet, I’ll go talk to them.”

He went to the meeting room and discussed with Duren, finally understanding the root of Duren’s hesitation.

First, Zhang Mingying was indeed older, and he wasn’t applying as a trainee but as a full-fledged team member. If he didn’t get a chance to secure a starting position within three months, he’d leave.

Second, Duren had looked into his reputation in the industry and found that he had been to almost every team, staying less than three months before terminating his contract and leaving. Every person in charge evaluated him as having a “problematic mindset.”

In short, Zhang Mingying’s reputation in the esports circle was tarnished. Unless absolutely necessary, Duren wasn’t keen on keeping him around.

“I don’t think it matters if we keep him—he’ll want to leave anyway. No point wasting everyone’s time and ending up with bad feelings, right?”

But Lin Jiang remembered. Back then, Zhang Mingying had stayed with WG for a long time. At that time, WG couldn’t even make it to Worlds, yet he persisted until he led WG to a miraculous comeback.

There had to be some turning point that made him stay. There had to be a way to tame him.

Lin Jiang insisted, “I think we should keep him. Even if he wants a starting position, that’s fine. His jungle style is the exact opposite of A Deng’s, which actually benefits our tactical setup for Worlds.”

When it came to the jungler role, Lin Jiang held both veto power and the final say. If he wanted Zhang Mingying to stay, then he would stay.

Duren immediately changed his tune. “You make a good point. I’ll go talk to him again.”

Song Zhixu burst out laughing. “Old Du, really… he flips faster than turning a page. Just now he was saying it was absolutely impossible…”

“But captain, do you really think that guy’s worth it?”

“His playstyle feels so weird to me. Is it just luck?”

Lin Jiang shook his head, “I don’t think it’s luck.”

“Wow, then he’s pretty impressive.”

“Honestly, that solo kill on Shen Ju was insanely cool. Captain, you didn’t see it but Shen Ju’s face turned completely dark…”

Before he could finish, Shen Ju smacked him on the head. Couldn’t he stop bringing up such an embarrassing incident in front of Lin Jiang?

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strawberrypoptl: I have no excuse 😭😭 I’m sorry my work is taking up too much of my time. I haven’t even managed to finish translating one chapter since November started all because of it. Thankfully I have stockpile of chapters otherwise this may be put on hold. Currently, I have up to Chapter 63 ready for upload. That leaves 9 chapters of the main story yet to finish editing. There might be a one or two week break before I upload the side stories but let’s see the schedule after the main story was completed.

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