When an Alpha is Marked by One of His Own Kind

Chapter 37

"Let's dive into the second round! DG suffered a defeat in the first round. Will we see them make some adjustments to their team comp for the next game? We can see that the two sides are now... mm, mhm, looks like they're going with just about the same bans as last time-"
"DG's bans are pretty good, they're targeted at sealing off BLX's bottom lane options. At the same time, BLX is once more blocking Wolf Cub from his favored champion Renekton. We can see from the previous round that BLX is treating Wolf Cub as the weakest link. In this upcoming round, BLX probably won't back down from the chance to target him again. We'll have to see how DG responds."

The commentators' voices rang out through the stadium, and the stands filled up with wave after wave of ear-splitting cheers for Team DG.

Although they were the underdogs at the moment, their fans were still filled to the brim with faith. Team DG had experienced the intense pressure of the world championships, after all. DG's players were all strong, mentally and emotionally, and being at a disadvantage would only cause them to fight more fiercely. They would never cower and stall in place.

"DG! Go for it! DG! You got this!"

The fervent cheers traveled to every corner of the stadium, but each competitor who sat at their station on stage was exceptionally relaxed. The cameras swept over their faces, capturing calm expressions that showed almost no trace of solemnity.

A few minutes earlier-

Old Wo was caressing his precious thermos, as per usual. Qian Bao complained that the air conditioning wasn't working hard enough on their side of the stadium. After just one round, she was already drenched in sweat. She grabbed some tissues and wiped her neck, urging the others to hurry up and finish their next games fast so that she could head back to HQ and take a shower.

Shen Qiao and Lu Zhe, sitting on one side of their formation, were both relaxing in their chairs. The smile at the corners of Lu Zhe's lips was stronger than it had been a while ago, as though he was in a pretty good mood.

He followed up on his earlier question and asked, "Have you decided where you'd like to eat later?"

Shen Qiao lazily leaned back in his chair. His posture was extremely relaxed, but his gaze was fixed on the screen. Once the picks and bans phase began, he slowly answered, "We'll talk about it once we win. If we lose, we'll only be fit to eat cafeteria food at the HQ-you wanna choose your champion first?"

Lu Zhe's smile reached his eyes now. He didn't press Shen Qiao for an answer.

Behind them, Coach Fang put on his headset and flipped through the notebook in his hands. Once he heard their conversation taper off, he chimed in, "Lu Zhe, you take the first pick. Gragas, Lee Sin, or someone else?"

It was only then that Lu Zhe said, "Lee Sin."

Where he fell short was where he would pick himself back up again.

He felt he simply hadn't played well enough in their last match. It wasn't a problem with their team composition.

Practically as soon as Lu Zhe spoke, Shen Qiao found his chosen champion on the selection screen and locked it in, without waiting to hear a word of approval from their coach.

BLX watched them make that choice, then instantly locked in the duo of Xayah and Rakan for themselves.

The commentator narrated these actions as soon as they happened. "Alright, Xayah and Rakan are in play. For their bottom lane, DG will take... they've taken Kai'Sa! Kai'Sa makes a pretty good pair with Thresh, as well as various other supports. BLX may need to consider using their next ban to limit DG's support choices."