Chapter 14 – Bronze Shi Cha
Wu Heze looked at Lu Lecheng’s rank in surprise and said, “Little Lu is already Diamond III?”
Zhou Caizhe, upon hearing this, opened up Lu Lecheng’s profile and said enviously, “I’ve been stuck at Platinum for two months and still can’t make it to Diamond.”
“I’ve been stuck at Gold I every year, can’t even get to Platinum.”
Wu Heze sighed as he spoke, his fingers itching to reach into his pocket, but came up empty. Since he hadn’t brought any cigarettes with him for the variety show, he had to resist his habit of smoking whenever he plays games.
Lu Lecheng beamed at the praise but still put on a modest act. “I still need to learn from Brother Lin Ran. I bet he’s already a King-ranked player.”
At that, everyone turned to check Lin Ran’s rank.
But to everyone’s shock, Lin Ran was only in Diamond. Although slightly higher than Lu Lecheng—Diamond I—he hadn’t even reached Master.
In Pinnacle, the game they were playing, ranks reset every season. There were eight main tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, and Supreme King.
Each tier was further divided into five divisions, from V (lowest) to I (highest).
Among casual players, getting to Diamond was considered quite skilled. Of course, esports streamers and professional players usually ranked higher—at Master, Grandmaster, or even Supreme King.
Everyone had assumed that Lin Ran, if not a Supreme King, would at least be Master or Grandmaster. No one expected him to be only in the Diamond tier.
Wu Heze’s compliment caught in his throat. After a brief choke, he changed course: “He must’ve been really busy lately and didn’t have time to climb the ranks. Everyone knows if you don’t play for a while, your rank drops.”
It was a quick explanation for the livestream audience regarding Lin Ran’s rank.
After all, as a former champion who had only retired a year ago, that rank was unexpectedly low.
But Lin Ran didn’t agree with the excuse Wu Heze made on his behalf. He moved his mouse to adjust some in-game settings and said with a smile, “Diamond is fine for me. You know what they say—‘A diamond is forever.’”
Everyone: “……”
Zhong Jiarong happened to return from getting lemon tea just then. He hadn’t heard the earlier conversation and only caught Lin Ran’s diamond line.
He asked in confusion, “Diamond? Lin Ran, are you buying a diamond? Planning to propose or something?”
Everyone was stunned.
How did the topic suddenly shift to a marriage proposal?
If that line were taken out of context and spread online, tomorrow’s trending topic would be: Lin Ran is getting married—he’s already bought the ring!
Lin Ran smiled and replied to Zhong Jiarong, “I don’t even have a partner yet—can’t propose without one.”
While everyone was focused elsewhere, he sneaked a glance at Shi Cha, who was staring intently at the screen.
It had just been Zhong Jiarong going off on a tangent, so the group quickly moved on to other topics.
Only Shi Cha couldn’t stop thinking: Lin Ran actually remembered the slogan from a diamond ring commercial—does he really have someone special?
Just as he was lost in thought, someone suddenly spoke up.
“Huh? Why is Shi Cha only Bronze V?”
He snapped back to attention, just in time to hear Wu Heze trying to smooth things over. “No worries, it’s just a casual match.”
“Shi Cha, you’re playing jungle, right? If you’re not good at it, just play it safe. Don’t go feeding the other team and letting them snowball.”
This time, Shi Cha heard it clearly—it was Lu Lecheng speaking.
Lu Lecheng was trying to offer some beginner advice, after all. As a Diamond III player, he was in the same tier as Lin Ran.
Wu Heze and Zhou Caizhe didn’t think there was anything wrong with giving guidance like that to a newbie.
Shi Cha pressed his lips together and stayed quiet. There wasn’t much point in saying anything now.
But Lin Ran spoke lightly, “It’s fine. Just hold down the bottom lane, don’t worry about the rest.”
Everyone assumed he meant that with him on the team, he’d help cover for Shi Cha.
Once the five of them entered the room, they began matchmaking against another five-player team.
While they waited, Zhou Caizhe suddenly said, “Oh right—matchmaking uses the highest hidden MMR in the team to find opponents. What I mean is…”
He paused. The others all turned their heads to look at him.
“Ran-shen’s rank might only be Diamond I, but his hidden MMR must be really high, right? Are we about to go up against a pro team?”
His comment reminded everyone that their team had a wide rank spread. If matchmaking really used the highest MMR, weren’t they basically signing up for hell mode?
Would this casual game turn into a one-sided stomp, with the other team having all the fun while they got completely destroyed?
Trying to lighten the mood, Wu Heze waved his hand dramatically.
“That’s not gonna happen. How many pro teams do you think are out there five-stacking in matchmaking? They’re not that bored. If they do queue as five, it’s usually for scrims. Even if they’re streaming for fun, they’d be playing ranked. What’s the point of stomping noobs like us in a casual match?”
Zhou Caizhe nodded. “That… actually kind of makes sense.”
Whether it made sense or not, they had already queued in.
The group took their respective lanes, and while they were waiting for the minions to spawn, the opposing team suddenly spammed a line each in the map chat.
[DD-Lulu]: Good evening, Ran-shen!
[DD-Fatty]: Good evening, Ran-shen!
[DD-Haowen]: Good evening, Ran-shen!
[DD-Qingfeng]: Good evening, Ran-shen!
[DD-Tangmei]: Good evening, Ran-shen!
[DD-Haowen]: Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m laning against Ran-shen today. Please go easy on me! QAQ
Seeing the messages flood in, Wu Heze smacked his mouth with his hand.
“Why did I have to jinx it!”
They hadn’t been matched with pro players—but they had been matched with a full squad of streamers! And not just any streamers, but some of the most popular esports streamers on the DD live-streaming platform.
All of these players were live, and since Lin Ran and Shi Cha were also streaming as part of the variety show, viewers were jumping between streams and had already revealed their identities in the enemy streamers’ chats.
Thankfully, the stream had a built-in delay, so there was no risk of stream-sniping or live map reporting.
Zhou Caizhe, seeing a whole team of streamers on the other side, felt a bit nervous but didn’t show it. He even joked, “Wow, our luck couldn’t get any worse.”
At the same time, he sent a message in the chat:
[zhou]: QAQ, brothers on the other side, please have mercy on us.
To his surprise, someone replied:
[DD-Lulu]: Zhezhe, I love that new drama you’re in! I’m your biggest fangirl!
Zhou Caizhe’s heart lifted a little—Maybe he won’t kill me too badly since he’s a fan?
But right after, the enemy top laner dropped a follow-up:
[DD-Lulu]: But on the battlefield… you’re still the enemy. Zhezhe, I won’t go easy on you! ♥
Zhou Caizhe nearly coughed up blood.
Shi Cha stared at the chat and tried to resist the urge—but failed. His fingers started flying over the keyboard.
[YanyanIsTheCutest]: Weren’t you all just begging Ran-shen to go easy on you? You’d better watch out—we’re not going to go easy on you!
Shi Cha’s online persona had awakened.
In just ten seconds, Shi Cha sent five taunting messages in a row.
Both the five players on the opposing team and the three teammates on his own side were stunned.
Was this really the same Shi Cha who never talked?
When Lin Ran saw the messages, he couldn’t help but smile, the corners of his mouth lifting.
As soon as Shi Cha stopped spamming, Lin Ran added one of his own:
[Cha Buduo]: We won’t be showing any mercy!
Everyone else: “…”
Ran-shen… aside from you, the rest of us don’t even have the right to say that, do we?
Seeing the surprised looks the three of them gave him, Lin Ran blinked innocently and said nothing.
“???”
I never said ‘we’ included the three of you, did I?