"Congratulations to Tianhuan for winning this match 2:0!"
"In today's two games, Tianhuan's Mid-Jungle synergy was dominant as always. In the first game, the Dual Flight combo dived towers to kill, leaving Binghun's marksman with zero space to deal damage; in the second game, the [Bounty Warlock] followed the mid laner [Abyssal Lord], feeding the mid laner at maximum speed and allowing him to carry the rhythm. The effect was also fantastic!"
"Tianhuan's strategy is very clear—they want to fight you in the early game and not drag it out to late-game team fights."
"Team Binghun's late-game team fighting is extremely strong, but they truly couldn't hold on during the early game. It hasn't been easy for this team to get to where they are today, and we look forward to seeing them bring everyone more exciting performances in future matches!"
Inside the soundproof booth, Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo still did not hug.
Ye Shaoyang had now engraved the word "boundaries" into his brain.
Although he often forgot he was an Omega while playing matches, after the match ended, remembering the "Hugging Compilation" edited by the CP super topic, he felt too embarrassed to extend his claws toward Chi Shuo.
He played happily today, but Ye Shaoyang still rationally controlled the urge to hug Chi Shuo.
Chi Shuo didn't mind this. There was no need to be too intimate in public. Some things were enough to be understood in one's heart—although the things they understood weren't the same, they somehow managed to reach a strange consensus.
Chi Shuo stood up and said crisply, "Let's go, shake hands with Binghun."
Tianhuan's five members arrived at Binghun's soundproof booth, and the Binghun players also stood up. Chi Shuo walked up to Chen Qianhua and patted his shoulder comfortingly, saying nothing.
Chen Qianhua smiled and looked at Ye Shaoyang. "Lieyang, you played really well."
Ye Shaoyang replied, "You're also very impressive. Your awareness is incredible."
Chen Qianhua asked politely, "Can I add you as a friend?"
Ye Shaoyang said, "I'd be more than happy to. Golden Thigh Support, let's duo queue sometime?"
Chen Qianhua looked at Chi Shuo. "Send me Lieyang's WeChat later."
Chi Shuo nodded. "Mm."
During matches, players' phones were kept by the team manager.
Chi Shuo was quite surprised that Chen Qianhua actively asked to add a friend. Upon returning backstage, he whispered, "Xiao Chen must admire you quite a bit to actively ask for your friend contact."
Ye Shaoyang smiled and said, "I admire him too. being a captain isn't easy for him."
Chi Shuo: "…"
What is this sudden sense of crisis rising in my heart?
Before he could think much about it, the backstage staff walked over and said, "You two, please prepare for the interview."
Ye Shaoyang said helplessly, "Me again? Can I not go?"
The staff member looked a bit troubled. "The reporters invited you both. Please cooperate."
At this moment, in Xiao Wei's livestream, many people were asking:
[Xiao Wei, go find out what was up with Huowen banning the Dual Flight!]
[Paparazzi Xiao Wei, we're relying on you for the gossip.]
[I recommend a method: bribe the Little White Cat with canned food, maybe Yangyang will tell you.]
Seeing the comments, Xiao Wei laughed and said, "Don't rush, I don't need to ask. The reporters will ask for me during the post-match interview. For today's two games, Lieyang was MVP of game one, and Shuoyue was MVP of game two. I'm guessing the interview desk will invite both of them to increase viewership."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shuoyue and Lieyang appeared at the interview desk.
The female reporter smiled warmly. "Welcome Shuoyue and Lieyang to our interview desk!"
Shoulder to shoulder, the two stood in front of the ad wall and nodded politely toward the press area.
Female reporter: "Congratulations to Tianhuan for winning the match 2:0! Currently, Tianhuan's record in Group S is 2:1, 2:0, 2:0. Three consecutive wins with a net score of 5 points. You've already locked in a spot in the Winner's Bracket ahead of schedule. Do you two have anything you'd like to say?"
Ye Shaoyang picked up the microphone and said candidly, "Of course, we're very happy to make the Winner's Bracket. However, playoffs are different from the regular season. With global BP, it tests the coaching staff's strategies and the players' hero pools even more, and everyone's psychological pressure will be greater. Many teams perform well in the regular season but crash in the playoffs, so we won't get arrogant just because we made the Winner's Bracket. We still need to prepare seriously for every match."
He looked at Chi Shuo, signaling with his eyes: You say a few words too?
The corners of Chi Shuo's lips raised slightly, and he said, "Mm, Lieyang is right."
Ye Shaoyang: "…"
Are you the captain or am I the captain? Say a few more words, don't always make me talk!
In the livestream chat, Tianhuan fans were spamming the screen:
[Tianhuan · Diplomat · Lieyang. Does he write a script in advance for every interview?]
[Lieyang has high EQ, he's not nervous at all during interviews.]
[Yangyang blah blah blah said a bunch of stuff. Captain Chi summarizes: Yangyang is right.]
[Captain Chi sure knows how to be lazy, standing there like a prop?]
[Why do I feel like Lieyang is more like the captain? Captain Chi, blink if you've been kidnapped?]
Ye Shaoyang had indeed been a captain for several years, so handling interviews came naturally to him. Since Chi Shuo didn't like to talk, Ye Shaoyang had to say a few more words, otherwise, the dead air would be awkward!
The reporter also noticed that Lieyang was more talkative, so she handed the mic to him and continued asking, "In today's match, the Dual Flight combo you two brought out was eye-opening! This combo was voted by netizens as the most likely to crash, but your coordination was incredibly seamless, without a single crash. Did you two practice this privately for a long time?"
Ye Shaoyang said, "The Dual Flight combo is indeed difficult to coordinate. Captain Chi and I practiced this pair on the international server. We practiced for about a month, right?"
He looked at Chi Shuo, who replied indifferently, "Mm, we have a pair of smurf accounts on the international server."
The reporter had a sudden realization. "So, when Team Huowen played Tianhuan and suddenly banned [Spirit Realm Snowbird], it was because they knew you two were practicing Dual Flight and wanted to prevent you from using it?"
Ye Shaoyang smiled. "Yes. Dual Flight is a very useful combo against positional warfare. The strongest aspect of positional warfare is the ground covered in fire circles and traps. Dual Flight can bypass these traps from the air, flying directly over to delete the opponent's core. It was quite reasonable for Huowen to ban Dual Flight."
Chi Shuo added, "Huowen likely guessed our smurf identities and banned it in advance."
This statement thoroughly ignited the netizens' gossip souls—They have a pair of smurf accounts on the international server? Are these accounts famous enough that Huowen would ban Spirit Realm Snowbird in advance?
Xiao Wei suddenly understood. "No wonder after Xiao Bai signed with Tianhuan last October, he barely streamed for a while. Turns out he was with Captain Chi, smurfing on the international server to crush noobs!"
After the interview ended, various speculations appeared online.
The topic #FlyingWingToWing# was pushed straight onto the daily hot search list.
Netizens who didn't know the truth clicked in thinking some couple was showing off their love, only to discover it was actually a combo in a game?
Netizens changed the name of this combo from "Crash No Fly" to "Flying Wing To Wing." The topic section contained many clips from today's match, showing Shuoyue and Lieyang taking off simultaneously, tower diving, and killing with tacit coordination.
At this time, streamer Kevin had just woken up.
He opened Weibo, saw the hot search, and casually clicked in to take a look—
Why does this feel familiar? Have I seen this kind of Dual Flight somewhere?!
He scratched his head and thought carefully. Suddenly, a ranked match from the international server a long time ago flashed through his mind. There was a pair of players, suspected to be a couple, who used the Dual Flight combo. Their IDs were exactly Sunshine and Moonlight!
Kevin had a habit of saving recordings when he streamed. He immediately logged into his Panda TV stream room, looked through his saved records, and quickly found that match. He opened it to take a closer look—
Good lord! So the pair I bumped into back then was them? It turns out they were Tianhuan's pro players!
Looking at the post-match interview clip again, Captain Chi also publicly stated that they practiced Dual Flight on the international server?
Kevin excitedly posted the video recording on his Weibo:
[The Dual Flight combo I ran into on the international server back then—could it be these two big shots? @TianhuanLieyang, @TianhuanShuoyue. The international server experts were named exactly Sunshine and Moonlight! It can't be such a coincidence, right?]
Kevin was one of the top streamers on Panda TV. He was Chinese-American, currently living in the United States.
Other streamers broadcasted at night, but due to the time difference, he streamed every morning from 8 AM to 12 PM. So, when Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang first duo-queued on their smurfs on the international server, they happened to run into him.
As a top streamer on Panda TV, he had tens of millions of Weibo followers, many of whom followed the esports scene. Once this video was posted, it immediately caused an uproar:
[Sunshine, Moonlight. Sun-Moon combo. It must be them!]
[They were already coordinating this seamlessly back then?]
[Smurfing on the international server, simply outrageous.]
[In the recording Brother Kevin released, [Spirit Realm Snowbird]'s KDA is 8-0-7, and [Flying Mage]'s is 7-0-8. I dare say with certainty, these are Tianhuan's Mid-Jungle Demon Kings!]
[A recording from last October? They really practiced privately for a long time.]
[No wonder they were so in sync during the match. Chemistry isn't built in a day.]
In the #SunMoonShineTogether# CP super topic, fans were celebrating like it was New Year's!
[Their international server smurfs actually have couple names, ahhh, I'm dead.]
[Kill me to cheer them up?]
[The Sun-Moon CP is truly a walking sugar dispenser; there's sweetness wherever they go.]
[Family, they didn't hug, but they acted like an old married couple during the interview?]
[Yangyang looks at Captain Chi. Then Captain Chi says: Lieyang is right.]
[It really is Old Married Couple Mode~]
Ye Shaoyang returned backstage, and the team manager handed him his phone. Cheng Xing suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Master, Brother Yang, look at Weibo quickly! A streamer named Kevin released a recording of you on the international server. Your secret identities are blown!"
Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo exchanged a glance and opened Weibo simultaneously.
What Kevin released was indeed the recording of when they encountered him in ranked on the international server.
Ye Shaoyang didn't have a deep impression of this streamer. He only remembered that at the time, Chi Shuo recognized the name Kevin, said he was a streamer, and reminded Ye Shaoyang not to type smiley face emoticons to avoid revealing his identity.
Within the pro circle, their identities had long since been exposed.
Today was the official reveal to the public.
Many netizens were surprised that there were people from the China region who could crush noobs on the international server?
The international server was full of experts. For the Sun-Moon combo to carve a bloody path there proved in itself that this duo's strength could rival a large number of international masters.
Tianhuan's fans were overjoyed, leaving comments under Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang's Weibo posts: "Was that pair of experts on the international server really you two? Sun and Moon, it's definitely you, right?"
"Watched the international server recording, you guys are amazing ahhh!"
"Being able to crush noobs on the international server, just say 'awesome' and be done with it."
"Can Tianhuan make it to the World Championship this season?"
"Brother upstairs, be bolder with your thoughts. Tianhuan is going to take the World Championship this season!"
Ye Shaoyang could understand the fans' excitement. Since Season 6, Team Tianhuan had been silent for a full three years. Now that their results were finally improving, and the Mid-Jungle Demon Kings who dominated the international server appeared…
Everyone's expectations skyrocketed. It was normal psychology to hope for a championship.
Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo's goal was also the World Championship.
But they couldn't announce it so early; the external pressure would be too great.
Ye Shaoyang looked at Chi Shuo. "Need to respond?"
Chi Shuo said, "Mm, admit it. There's no need to hide these identities."
So, Ye Shaoyang posted a message on his personal Weibo: "Sunshine on the international server is me, Moonlight is Captain Chi. Last October when I just joined Tianhuan, my hero pool wasn't deep enough. The coach had me practice heroes with Captain Chi and work on our Mid-Jungle coordination. We woke up at 7 AM every day to play ranked on the international server, causing misunderstandings for many peers in the circle. Actually, esports players can also sleep early and wake up early ^_^"
Chi Shuo reposted his Weibo: "Mm, we lived on a healthy schedule together for a while. I heard many teams guessed wrong and assigned us various nationalities? Actually, we're just esports players who sleep early and wake up early."
The coaches of major teams who had guessed wrong back then: "..."
You two really pulled aggro from the entire world!
Back then, Chinese coaches guessed this pair of experts were American, since their active hours were closest to North America. After all, China didn't have esports players who played ranked at 8 AM.
The American side guessed they were European; Europe guessed they were Japanese or Korean; Japan and Korea guessed they were North American.
Everyone guessed around, but no one had a definitive answer.
Who would have thought that this pair of international server experts was right beside them all along?
They were just esports players who slept early and woke up early!