Chapter 439: Identity
Once he got inside his room, Lin Feng sat down on his bed. He was tired, but there was something he had to do before turning in for the night. Which is why he was sitting on his bed thinking instead of lying down and immediately knocking out. What time is it right now? Hm… that means that it’ll still be morning in Los Angeles… Lin Feng considered what he wanted to do for another few seconds, and then pulled out his phone. He scrolled through until he found the person he wanted to call, and pushed the call button.
The call connected after two rings, and a familiar, carefree voice rang out. “Hello?”
As soon as Lin Feng heard the greeting from the voice at the other end of the line, he stopped slouching and sat up straight. His expression turned respectful, and his tone reflected that same respect as he spoke. “One! I did what you asked me to do! I kept my promise!”
“Oh, that. Yeah, I heard. Good job, good job.” One said, laughing.
The approval in One’s voice and his praise was more than enough for Lin Feng. His face lit up with joy and he pumped his other fist into the air while exclaiming, “Yeah!” That was all he could say out loud. What he really wanted to say was running through his mind. Everything I’ve gone through over the past couple of months… all of that was nothing. I’ve gone through this before. I worked myself to the bone over and over again during Season 1! I can take this much pressure and come out on top, I’m already more than used to it. I just needed to remind myself who I am, who I was. But this was all worth it… I’d do it all over again if it means One’ll acknowledge me. All the pain and pressure means nothing compared to One’s approval!And I didn’t let One down! That’s what matters most here. I proved to One… and myself that I’m still Maple! I’m capable of being better than anyone else in this current era. It doesn’t matter that the scene changed and that things are way more competitive than they were in Season 1. I’m still just as good as I was back then!
Lin Feng took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then he continued talking to One, “You know what really sucks, One? The plan was to shoot for the Top 3. That’s where I was aiming. I just ran out of time…” As he trailed off, Lin Feng’s voice was tinged with regret. This wasn’t Lin Feng overestimating himself or making an excuse. He really was planning to get into the Top 3. And he knew that if he had time for a few more games, he could’ve continued riding the momentum from his victory against Orion into the Top 3.
One chuckled. “No big deal. It’s fine, really. Rank 4 ain’t bad. Besides, it’s not like it makes a huge difference if you climbed into the Top 5 or Top 3. There weren’t many other OGN pros apart from Orion playing last night. There’s nothing more you have to prove to yourself, and nothing more you could’ve proved by getting into the Top 3 last night.”
Lin Feng froze for a moment as he processed what One had just said. Then, he nodded and said, “That’s true… there really weren’t many players from the top of the OGN playing last night before the ladder reset. Now that I think about it, that’s probably why there wasn’t too much resistance on my climb. Orion was the hardest opponent I faced off against. If there were more professional players in the queue, I don’t think I could’ve gotten any of my win streaks.”
The depths of the Korean Challenger pool were far deeper than they appeared to be during Lin Feng’s climb. There was a reason so many Chinese players had failed to get into the Top 10 or Top 5 for so long. And Lin Feng knew that luck contributed to his seemingly effortless climb. He was more than aware that there were several other players in the OGN who could’ve pushed him aside and ruined his climb. None of these players were weaker than Orion, and some of them were significantly stronger. Players like Fate’s Moon or SSK’s Rake.