The gaming competition was being held on the main stage of the big sports field. More than a week ago, everything had already been organized, cleaned up, and set up here.
Three giant screens composed of multiple smaller screens surrounded the stage in a left-center-right formation. Compared to last week's somewhat crude setup, this week ten computer desks with computers had been arranged on stage. With half an hour still remaining before the competition, about a hundred students had already gathered around the field to watch.
Several members who were probably from the esports club held phones, filming the competition venue and transmitting the footage to a Douyu livestream. This newly registered streamer's room had gained some popularity, with about a hundred students who were too lazy to come downstairs posting comments, making it even more lively than those streaming rooms with hundreds of thousands of viewers.
At 2 PM, the four roommates plus Dong An arrived punctually.
Lin Nan came to the simple backstage area—which was just behind the big screens—feeling somewhat apprehensive, thinking this competition seemed more like a beauty contest.
"Don't be nervous, or you'll lose your thousand yuan."
They stood in a row, waiting for the host to call them on stage. Chen Yao, Dong An, and the others looked completely nonchalant, while only Xiong Da showed some nervousness like Lin Nan.
"One thousand yuan, one thousand yuan!" Lin Nan muttered to himself for encouragement.
It was just playing a game on stage. Watching LPL matches, most players just stood on stage for a moment waiting for the host's introduction, then could return to their computers.
And he was wearing a jacket today, so nothing should be visible.
"Nan Nan! Nan Nan! Nan Nan!"
Lin Nan suddenly heard someone loudly calling his nickname from outside. After a moment, whether driven by the cheering or just joining in the fun, the entire audience started shouting.
"What is this!" He indignantly questioned Chen Yao in front of him.
"From the sound, it seems like Big Dog?"
"..."
Since it was Big Dog, Lin Nan felt too embarrassed to complain. He wasn't very familiar with Big Dog, but he was naturally outgoing, so he felt too awkward to say anything harsh.
The other five-person team arrived ten minutes before the competition started.
Lin Nan glanced at them and was surprised to discover that Li Sisi, who had distributed flyers with him before, was actually among them.
Wasn't she from another school?
Although he'd heard this competition didn't limit participants, Lin Nan really hadn't expected to see someone he knew among the outside help.
Logically speaking, girls were usually somewhat worse at gaming than males, just like in actual professional competitions where you rarely saw any females.
"What rank is that girl?" Lin Nan curiously pointed at Li Sisi and asked.
"Let me see." Chen Yao found the only relatively feminine name from the participant list. "Should be Li Sisi, right? Diamond II ADC."
"That good?"
Without Lin Nan's support, Chen Yao probably couldn't have reached Diamond I, let alone approach Master level.
"Yeah, from the Zaun server." Chen Yao sighed and said to Dong An, "You sit on the far right later, closer to them. If they want to trash talk, fire back. Junhui sits in the second position from the right to support Dong An. I'll sit in the center. If you can't out-flame them, I'll provide support."
Lin Nan's laning ability was a bit weak, and he'd been emotionally unstable lately which could easily affect his performance, so he was simply arranged in the leftmost position, the farthest from those people.
They said everyone from the Zaun server was talented. Lin Nan hadn't believed it before, but seeing Li Sisi's presence, he felt this rumor had some credibility.
The host and commentator on stage had already started warming up the atmosphere, learning from official esports competitions to try to heat up the crowd.
Unfortunately, this host was just a student, and his hosting skills weren't professional. It was even somewhat awkward. Although there were quite a few spectators below, most were chatting among themselves and not listening to what the host on stage was saying.
"Nan Nan! Nan Nan! Nan Nan!" Big Dog was tirelessly shouting in the crowd. Lin Yuan stood beside him holding the black cat Cola, noticing all the surrounding gazes turning toward them, and silently stepped back two paces, pretending not to know Big Dog.
Other spectators probably had no idea who Nan Nan was, but they joined in the mindless cheering anyway, resulting in the entire sports field echoing with "Nan Nan! Nan Nan!" chants.
Lin Nan, preparing to go on stage backstage, turned as green as Piccolo. (TN: Dragon Ball reference.)
"Next, let's welcome both teams! First, My Family's Nan Nan Is So Cute Team! Let's give them a round of applause!"
The audience below erupted in thunderous cheers, with Big Dog's voice particularly prominent.
Holy crap! How does this feel even more embarrassing than wearing that swimsuit!
Lin Nan was stunned by this sudden outburst of cheering. He had never imagined he could have such high popularity at school.
Hearing the host tell them to go on stage, Chen Yao at the front had already started walking toward the stage. Lin Nan quickly followed, keeping his head down and staying behind Chen Yao.
When he went on stage, the audience below erupted in thunderous cheers again.
His face was so flushed he couldn't lift his head, only daring to glance at the audience below with his peripheral vision. He noticed what might have been about a hundred people before had now become at least three to five hundred spectators.
Even the small stools prepared by the organizers weren't enough. Most of the audience just stood directly on the grass field or watched from the outer perimeter.
The stage was very close to the audience. Lin Nan could even see Big Dog's excited expression in the front row, as well as Lin Yuan's somewhat disgusted look.
"Nan Nan! Nan Nan!"
Can you please stop shouting!
Lin Nan's mouth twitched.
"Welcome Team Mantis Shrimp Let's Go! Let's give them a round of applause!"
This time the cheers were obviously much smaller. Lin Nan at least had some popularity on the campus forum and could now be considered the school's somewhat-famous number one trap, but the opposing team were all unknown students.
"Next is player introductions! Lin Nan! Diamond I support player!!"
The organizers—the esports club—had already explained the pre-competition procedures to Lin Nan. He stepped forward with a flushed face, bowed slightly, then quickly stepped back two paces, turning sideways to hide half his body behind Chen Yao's shoulder.
"Nan Nan I love you!" Big Dog shouted again.
This is too embarrassing! Can't you shut up! Damn it!
Lin Nan glared at Big Dog, but since there was some distance between them, Big Dog continued shouting: "Nan Nan is number one in the world!"
A crowd of students, whether they knew Lin Nan or not, went wild with excitement, turning the pre-competition player introductions into what seemed like a celebrity meet-and-greet.
"Chen Yao! Diamond I ADC player!"
"Chen Yao I want to have your babies!" Big Dog was so excited he was practically jumping.
Chen Yao, who had just been watching Lin Nan's embarrassment, never expected the fire to be redirected to himself. His face turned black.
With Big Dog acting as a "shill" in the audience, cheering enthusiastically and making a spectacle, the competition atmosphere was finally heated up. Regardless of whether they actually knew the people being introduced by the host, everyone just cheered and made noise.
Soon, the pre-competition preparations ended with all ten players looking grim, and the universally annoying Big Dog finally shut his mouth, waiting for the next time Lin Nan placed a ward to shout again.