"I've heard about what happened to your team back then." As if he was organizing his words, Phoenix looked at Lin Feng and slowly said, "There are some things … From my standpoint, it's not good for me to comment too much on it. After all, it's just an internal matter between you and the few of you. However … from the standpoint of a team leader, you did a terrible job."
He continued to criticize Lin Feng bluntly.
Lin Feng didn't refute him. He just lowered his head and listened in silence.
Phoenix looked at Lin Feng, shook his head, and continued.
"As a captain, you shouldn't just be the commander on the battlefield. You should also be the most important link between the members of the team off the battlefield.
"The others can give up and leave. Even you can give up and leave.
"But at least —
"It shouldn't be done in such a hasty manner.
"At the very least, you should give the others a satisfactory ending and explanation."
He paused for a moment and looked at Lin Feng.
"So, you don't have the courage to meet them again?"
Lin Feng was silent. He slowly nodded.
Phoenix shook his head. "That's your fault. As a captain, you shouldn't give yourself any excuses or excuses. You should have contacted them a long time ago."
Lin Feng took a deep breath and smiled bitterly. "I don't know how to face them. Maybe they don't even want to see me anymore?
"That's not an excuse you should find."
Phoenix stared at Lin Feng.
"At the same time, it shouldn't be a question that comes from your mouth to mine."
You are the captain.
You used to be the captain, so you have to bear this responsibility forever.
If they don't want to … that's their business.
But whether you make a decision or not is your business.
Not to mention —
"Even if you find excuses to avoid these problems, leave your former teammates behind and lead a new team back to the battlefield, even if you can lead your new team to victory, even if you can win all kinds of trophies, even if you can stand on the stage of the World Finals again … Will you really feel happy?
Won't you feel the slightest bit of unease? "
Lin Feng's body trembled when he heard this, but Phoenix seemed to be minding her own business and continued, "No, you will."
And this unease will always be with you.
"That invisible, huge, and heavy sense of guilt will keep pressing on you until you can't breathe."
In the end, Phoenix narrowed his eyes and looked at his greatest rival in the past, as well as his old friend who could empathize with each other.
"'Returning' is not as easy as it sounds."
"Perhaps you can recover your strength, perhaps you can correct many of your flaws and weaknesses, but the most important thing will always be your mentality."
"If what happened back then did not come to an ideal end, then your return would never be a 'new life'."
"It's just a terrible way to move forward with a heavy burden."
"Whether it is me, F, or the other two Yonkō (Four Emperors), we have never been troubled in this aspect. On the field, we just go all out and fight without any distractions. Only in this way can we reach our peak state, but you —"
"Carrying the burden of guilt as we move forward. Our hands and feet are bound by this invisible guilt as we fight."
"Just like a sheath on the tip of a knife."
"How else can you win?"
Every word was like a heavy hammer pounding on the listener's heart, especially the last two sentences, which suddenly exploded in someone's ears like a clap of thunder.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
After saying that, Phoenix returned to his usual calm self and looked at Lin Feng.
"That's pretty much it."
Lin Feng took a deep breath, nodded to his old friend and opponent in front of him, and said with sincerity:
"Thank you."
It was as if the positions of the two of them had been completely swapped.
The one receiving the lesson became the one teaching.
The one teaching became the one listening.
But …
In the end, they both benefited a lot.
In particular, Lin Feng knew very well that from Phoenix's point of view, there was no need to say these things to him. The fact that Phoenix was willing to point out these principles to him was completely based on their friendship.
"Actually, it's also for myself. Maybe it's even for the other guys in the Yonko —"
Phoenix shook his head again and smiled at Lin Feng. "Some things have been fixed for too long. It's rare to see you return. I don't want you to be weaker than you were back then. That's not something that I, F, or any of your old opponents would want to see." Phoenix shook his head again and smiled at Lin Feng.
Yes.
For them, the oldest professional esports players of Season S1, Maple's ID didn't just represent a certain person, but to a certain extent, it represented the pinnacle of their era.
Sure, they were rivals and didn't give way to each other on the field.
But they were also proud of each other.
To put it bluntly —
If the so-called Maple ID returned to the professional scene in this new era, but was casually defeated by some newbie, then even the face of these old veterans … would be thrown away.
"If something like that really happens, F will probably be furious too."
The corners of Phoenix's mouth curved up slightly as if imagining a rather interesting scene. Then he shook his head and looked at Lin Feng.
"Also —"
"If you really can successfully contact those two … there won't be a stronger and more suitable bottom lane duo in the entire professional scene, right?"
Lin Feng nodded his head, but then shook his head.
"Of course I hope to be able to fight alongside them again. That would be the best."
"But don't be so naive —"
"Even now, my two teammates in the bottom lane … aren't bad at all."
"Oh?" Phoenix raised an eyebrow, a hint of playfulness and disbelief in his voice. "They're not bad at all compared to Eleven and Silent Speech?"
Lin Feng shook his head again.
"Of course they can't compare now, but as long as they have enough time … their potential will definitely shock everyone."
As he spoke, he seemed to have thought of something. "Oh right, didn't you see that guy with me and Steamed Bun? He's our support."
Phoenix raised an eyebrow again. "I don't see anything special about him."
Lin Feng shrugged. "It's not a good thing to judge a book by its cover. Who would know you're a Yonkō just by looking at you?"
Phoenix almost choked on his words. He rolled his eyes.
"Fine, you're right."
"What about your new team's ADC? What's her background?"
Lin Feng paused, then smiled.
"An ADC? She's much scarier than our support —"
As soon as the words left his mouth.
The number one King of Law in Europe couldn't help but widen his eyes in disbelief.
"'Her'?"
*****
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