Maybe it was because of the jokes about him in Pidog’s Bilibili video and the afternoon livestream, but today, after William Thompson’s stream popularity had dropped, it actually made a rare comeback, rising to over a hundred thousand.

However, there was a bit of a problem with this rebound—the barrage in the chat was over 80% trolls.

Even the moderators in his stream were bizarre; not only did they not ban anyone, they got along with the trolls like one big happy family.

“Everyone, take a break if you’re tired of flaming, and don’t forget to give our Brother William a like so it’s easier to clap back next time.”

“Where’s Brother William? Did he get flamed so hard he’s hiding in the bathroom crying?”

“Streamer, streamer, my friend tried your armor-penetration Riven build and got stomped.”

“Brother William, I followed your top Yasuo guide to climb to Diamond, now I’m playing Bronze promotion matches.”

“The International Server of Ionia is open, Brother William, aren’t you going to go grind some LP?”

“Grind LP? LP slave? Do you think I, William the Great, care about LP?”

“I think Brother William probably got demoted and didn’t get the notification.”

“……”

The chat scrolled rapidly, but William Thompson ignored it and logged into the client, looking for the entrance to the International Ionia server.

The International Ionia server was set up by the official League of Legends after the end of Season 6, as a global cross-region competitive zone.

Its purpose was to promote communication among high-level ranked players worldwide, and to help active pro players from all regions improve their skills in ranked games.

So when William Thompson received an official message saying he’d soon run into a ton of streamers and pro players, it wasn’t just hype.

Currently, pro players from all major regions have created accounts on the International Ionia server, and countless invited streamers from all over the world have joined as well.

Among all these people, it’s no surprise that Chinese players make up the majority.

At slightly lower ranks, it’s normal to run into seven or eight Chinese speakers in a single game.

……

He logged in, created a new account, and without thinking, William Thompson entered the ID he usually used on the Chinese server.

Huai Xu Seventeen.

Huai Xu refers to April, and seventeen is his birthday.

But after thinking for a moment, he hit delete a few times and entered a new ID.

Moonlit Little Sword Immortal.

Done.

William Thompson hit enter to confirm creation.

After entering the game client, the system had already set his character to level 30 and provided plenty of starting RP and gold—a pretty user-friendly setup.

William Thompson bought some top lane champions he often used and was about to start his first solo queue game on the International Ionia server when his WeChat suddenly buzzed with a “ding.”

He opened it. The message was from someone called “Press F to Enter Tank.”

“Brother William, I saw you’re streaming, all day package, take me with you.”

The so-called “all day package” is a side gig that some small streamers on Douyu’s gaming section often do.

Small streamers don’t earn much from streaming, so to make ends meet, they go to big streamers’ channels to advertise, looking for a rich guy to either duo with or boost their account—a major source of extra income.

But there aren’t many of these rich guys. William Thompson is one of the few who, even after retiring, still has enough fame to attract a “Press F to Enter Tank” type of rich fan in his stream.

On weekends, this guy often hires him for the all-day package.

William Thompson is professional enough—he won’t boost accounts, but he’s fine with duoing.

This rich fan’s account was boosted up, but his skills aren’t great, though his hand speed is decent.

In-game, he and William Thompson really hit it off—they’re both super fast typers, “verbal duel champions” who can flame five times a second, often AFKing to “interact” with teammates.

“Get lost, I’m grinding LP.”

WeChat notification: 300 transferred.

William Thompson simply hit accept and typed, “Hop in.”

Press F to Enter Tank: ……

……

Press F to Enter Tank’s in-game ID is “Tea with Swallows.” Honestly, it’s no wonder this stream’s emperor-level rich fan gets along so well with William Thompson.

Both are keyboard warriors in the Rift, notorious flamers, but their names are all artsy and fresh.

William Thompson quickly invited him. For him, having another viewer in the game isn’t a burden at all—if anything, it lets him queue as support and get into games faster.

“Yo! Brother William, you changed your name?”

Seeing William Thompson’s “Moonlit Little Sword Immortal,” Press F to Enter Tank couldn’t help but comment.

“Cut the crap and fill the role,” William Thompson replied bluntly.

Even though he’s the stream’s emperor-level rich fan, William Thompson’s personality is just like that. Besides, “Press F to Enter Tank” isn’t the type to care about that, so he just laughed and quickly filled the role.

“Tank Emperor, you’re crazy!”

“Paying money to suffer, Tank Emperor is a real masochist!”

“You guys don’t get it, this is true love.”

“By the way, when is Brother William going to turn on his camera? I really miss Brother William’s stunning looks.”

“Keep dreaming. Didn’t Brother William say he’s a looks-based streamer and won’t show his face without a hundred thousand subs? Of course, if you gift him a hundred thousand, that works too.”

“……”