Chapter 5: Becoming Friends with Q5!

Once Zhao Yingyue got home, she was so excited that when she finally locked herself in her room, she did a joyous dance.

For tonight's stream, Zhao Yingyue thought of ways to reward her fans. Seeing as they are part of the reason for why she got scouted out and secured this deal anyway. While she may have had the skill, they were the ones who brought attention to her.

Zhao Yingyue hurriedly got ready for her stream before logging in. She always spent the first fifteen minutes of every stream waiting for people to enter the room and communicating with her viewers.

Since she knew her voice had been on television many times before, she could only do so through the text chat but it never felt like a chore.

'Hi Luna!'

'Ah! My idol has finally entered the chat!'

'We have been waiting for you all night. You started the stream later than usual so we were worried you may have forgotten about you.'

Zhao Yingyue smiled as she replied to her viewers.

'How can I ever forget about you guys? Actually, I can say that it's all because of you guys that I was late today... but in a good way.'

She couldn't help but laugh at the flurry of replies to her rather cryptic message.

'Wait, have we done something to help you out?'

'My idol, please tell us what we have done!'

'Does this mean that there will be good news coming our way soon?'

'We're dying to know. Please don't leave us in the dark!'

Zhao Yingyue really adored her viewers. They were always so kind and supportive. She thought for a second as she couldn't reveal the news herself without Q5 making an announcement first.

'Well, thanks to you guys, an opportunity has come my way. Since you guys have blessed me, I will bless many of you in the future. Someday soon, I swear you all will be the first to see my face. Just give me a couple of weeks.'

This time, the flurry of replies made the previous ones seem calm.

'A face reveal?!'

'We must have done really well for us to have the honor!'

She scrolled through the chaotic chat at all the replies. Her viewers were wondering what they had done to get so lucky, curious about the face reveal, and wondering what offer they had brought her way.

'Alright guys, you can ponder on that for a while then. I'll hop on the game now. Thank you as always for your support!'

Zhao Yingyue then opened 'Honor' and logged into her account. As soon as she opened it, she noticed that she had a few new friend requests—which was the usual.

When she clicked on the folder, five very famous names stuck out on the top of her list:

Tyrant, Yang Ruo Xuan, the Regulator of Q5. He's not one to be messed with as his zoning is impeccable. It's known that if you let him, he will easily take full control of the map.

Zero, Gu Le Yang, the Guardian of Q5. Be it tanking his team's damage, buffing, or healing them, he always puts his team first and boosts their survivability in all fights.

Aspect, Li Dong Yang, the Solo of Q5. His job is to adapt to the game based on his teammate's strengths and play to exploit the opponent's weaknesses. It's rumored that he knows every character's kit and can play almost every one there. He's considered a genius in some circles.

Surefire, Wu Bo Cheng, the former Sharpshooter of Q5. He made a huge name for himself with his near-perfect accuracy—the best in the league.

Vortex, Liu Haoyu, the Striker and captain of Q5. Since starting the team, everyone has obsessed over his tactical knowledge along with his ability to position himself just right and build the right type of damage for the right type of game.

Zhao Yingyue was stunned. She had literally only just verbally agreed to join Q5 a few hours before and they were already adding her. There wasn't even an official announcement yet but now it was plain to see for all of her streamers.

Q5 was announcing their intentions at the very least, to her entire viewership.

What Zhao Yingyue didn't know was that the members themselves were also streaming from their respective homes. This meant that a big chunk of the gaming community should know now that they have acquainted themselves.

Suddenly, she heard a notification go off on her phone.

She picked up her phone and saw a message.

'Accept our requests. We want to play a game with you.' -Captain H

'And join voice chat though you don't have to talk.' -Captain H

Zhao Yingyue didn't reply and instead followed his instructions. As soon as she accepted their friend requests, she was met with an invite to join their party. She accepted the invite and was met with the five men all greeting her excitedly.

She replied by typing in chat to them a polite greeting.

'Hi everyone! I hope you don't mind but I am live right now. Sorry if that's an inconvenience.'

Aspect replied, "Oh you're live! That's even better! Hi Luna's viewers! It's Aspect from Q5. You guys are in for a treat today!"

Tyrant asked, "Why don't you speak yet?"

Vortex replied, "I already told you guys, she can't give herself away just yet. Though in two weeks, that will all change!"

Zero asked, "When's the press conference supposed to be again? Somewhere around the first of next month right?"

Vortex replied, "Not the first, that's a special day so it's supposed to be the fifth."

Aspect perked up again, "Captain, that's so far away! Won't you at least let us meet her beforehand? We're going to be a team soon after all!"

Vortex started the queue and said, "That's all up to her. But she has her two weeks to get her bearings in order."

Finally, Surefire spoke, "Then she's ours for the taking. We'll show her the real life of Q5."

Aspect yelled, "Don't scare her away Bocheng!"

As she was about to type 'I don't scare easily,' Vortex replied for her, "She won't scare that easily. Anyway, Luna, the match today can be considered our getting to know you match. Surefire will be watching so he knows where to start. He will be personally training you."

Suddenly, they were on the screen for character select.

The first to select their character was the enemy team's sharpshooter. They picked a sharpshooter that goes by the name of Tingfeng. This character's move kit consisted of a lot of burst damage and had one of the shortest ranges in the game.

Aspect sounded excited as he said, "Oh! They chose Tingfeng! Does this mean you'll choose Dingxiang, Luna?"

While most people would choose to run Dingxiang into Tingfeng due to the former's rather flexible kit, Zhao Yingyue was not one of them.

She typed in team chat, 'No, I have other intentions. Tyrant, do you mind going Yanmei?'

Tyrant, who was next to pick, wordlessly selected Yanmei in response. In his head, it was a normal game so it didn't matter much and he was curious as to the reason she'd asked this of him but he'd assumed he'd find out.

She typed in chat, 'Thank you.'

As the other's went to pick their characters, Zhao Yingyue noticed that the enemy team all chose an aggressive bunch. She'd assumed that they must be full of themselves as an aggressive team didn't always mean a win.

On the contrary, her team picked strategically.

Aspect chose Deming, who carries a sword and shield in which both can be used to attack and defend while the shield can additionally be used to do an AoE debuff.

Zero chose Huizhong, a character whose kit is able to buff and shield her team the more they suffer around her. Many are scared to use her as it's risky because it requires timing. You need your teammates to hurt but not die.

Vortex chose Aiguo, a character with a rather traditional kit who gains attack speed as his teammates lose health. The longer a battle lasts, the more dangerous he becomes.

Last but not least, Zhao Yingyue chose Weimin, the game's longest ranged shooter with the hardest kit to master.

Aspect exclaimed, "Let's win this!"

Zhao Yingyue switched screens to her stream. She saw all of the questions and comments that seemed to explode her chat in regards to why Q5 and her were on such friendly terms all of a sudden.

Throughout the history of the chat, she can se that they had all come to the correct assumption that she was going to be taking Bocheng's place on Q5.

Knowing now was not the time to deal with it, she types in chat, 'Wish me luck you guys. I owe this all to you!'

Leaving them with that message, she switched back to the game that was still loading. She always had her mic muted but decided it was okay to unmute it for the game while keeping it muted for the stream.

She typed in team chat, 'If any of you guys are streaming, would you mind muting any output coming from my account for your stream. I'll speak but only if I can trust that you guys won't let others hear.'

Aspect, of course, was the first to excitedly say, "Of course I'll do that! The rest of us will have no problem with it, too! I've already done it!"

After receiving confirmation from all of her teammates, she turned on her mic and softly said, "Hi guys."

Zhao Yingyue didn't know why, but she was really nervous now. She had never expected to ever meet Q5, much less play with them. She also knew about the rumors going around that 'Luna' was actually a man trying act like a woman—hence the disguise.

However, her soft voice immediately debunked the rumors.

Aspect exclaimed, "No way! You're actually a girl!"

Zhao Yingyue laughed a bit while saying, "Yes, I am. I've heard the rumors going around that I'm not but as you see, that's not the truth."

Vortex cut in, "Did you think that I was lying Dongyang?"

Aspect only awkwardly chuckled before being the quietest she heard him the entire night.

The game soon started and as the early stages progressed, the team made small talk and focused on strategies that would help each other out in their own objectives.

As most people expected Zhao Yingyue's Weimin was being restricted by the enemy's Tingfeng. While she could barely move from her station under her tower, she was still ahead in both experience and money.

How? It was simple. Having known how aggressive her enemy would be, she chose someone who had enough range to attack their army while the enemy focused on trying to attack her.

As the game continued to progress, she was also able to see Vortex's tactics firsthand. His decisions were always quick and smart. He also as good at hearing what his teammates had to say and taking that into account.

They were now at the late stage of the game where everything relied on teamfights. Zhao Yingyue had previously been caught out alone and killed. Her reload time was coming up.

The reason for them doing that was obvious to her. Their gunslinger needed the kill and they needed to get someone out so that they can kill her team and storm her team's Castle.

However, this was the moment that she'd planned for before. One tactic that she'd only ever been able to pull off once before in coordination with a really good Yanmei.

Now that her team was in a teamfight toward the other side's castle, she knew her timing had to be just right. The only issue was who she would target.

"Tyrant, I need you to save your charm for me."

She heard him grunt in reply so she assumed he understood and would go along with it. Now she just had to wait to reset.

She listened to Vortex's commands o make sure she targeted the right person. He seemed to want to focus on taking down the striker and sharpshooter on the enemy team. The only problem was that their guardian was a Niu—a complete tank.

Zhao Yingyue kept her eye on his health before shouting, "I have five seconds until I revive. I need you guys to attack the Niu until then. Then on my mark, I need Tyrant to charm Niu and leave the rest to me."

Her palms were sweaty as she prepared for reviving. Seeing as they were across the map, her ultimate would require a considerable amount of chargeup but she needed them to knock the Niu down to half-health first anyway. The second she saw him hit half health, she knew it was time.

"Now Tyrant!"

The second he released his charm, she released her ultimate ability. Her ultimate ability was a global shot with her sniper that gained more power the further it had to travel. The only issue was that people could either body-block it or dodge it.

Zhao Yingyue, knowing this, made sure to target the tank, who was really the only reason the enemy team lasted so long, as she knew all of their other damage dealing characters wouldn't be able to make it. She just had to aim in the path of the charm.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as the bullet spiraled across the air. Zhao Yingyue was almost positive it would hit its mark but that rush was still there.

Before she personally saw the result, she heard Aspect yell, "No way!"

He never would have expected such a move from her, especially when she's never played in a pro league before.

Her attack had hit its mark and killed the Niu.

Tyrant seemed impressed as he said, "So that's why you wanted me to pick Yanmei."

"I've only pulled that combo off once, but it requires timing. I'd assumed that with the hours you guys put in on a daily, you would be able to help me pull it off again. However, this is only the most basic form of this combo," she replied.

All the while they talked, they easily destroyed the rest of the team and ended the game quickly.

Aspect congratulated the team on their victory, "That was so much fun! Good job everyone! And I think all of us got to see a treat today. That's the newest member of our team, Luna!"

Zhao Yingyue wasn't sure if he was addressing the team or his viewers but she quietly took the compliment anyway. As the other members started to interact with their viewers, Vortex seemed to have disappeared.

Not long before she noticed, she heard her phone go off.

She took off her headset and walked away from the computer as she answered, "Hello?"

Liu Haoyu's deep voice was noticeable almost immediately, "Hi Luna, good game! But you'd better head to sleep now. I hear that tomorrow will be a very big day for you."

In the excitement, she had completely forgotten about it.

"I suppose you're right. I should try to get some sleep tonight."

He replied, "Don't worry, you'll have much more time to play games in a few weeks. For now, try to get a bit more rest and take care of your body. There won't be much time for that during training."

"Okay," she said. "I'll be heading to sleep now then."

"Mmh."

He then hung up the phone.

Zhao Yingyue walked over to her computer and logged out of the game before saying her quick goodbye to her viewers. The night had been eventful and tomorrow would be another ball game.