The atmosphere in the Tiny Herb practice room was tense as the team sat around the table, eyes focused on their new coach, Bao Rongxing. His calm, analytical demeanour gave nothing away as he scribbled something on the whiteboard, a detailed diagram of strategies and formations.
"Let me be clear," Bao began, his voice sharp and controlled. "The way you've been playing up until now won't work anymore. Your opponents—Blue Rain, Excellent Era—they know your style. They've studied your tactics and your weaknesses. If you want to win, we need to dismantle everything you've grown comfortable with and build something new."
There was a heavy silence in the room. The players exchanged uncertain glances. Tiny Herb had always been a team built on strong synergy and adaptability, but Bao was suggesting they abandon their tried-and-tested methods altogether.
Wang Jiexi, their captain, leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. He was the backbone of Tiny Herb, a player known for his unconventional strategies and flawless decision-making. This radical shift made him uneasy, but he remained silent, listening intently as Bao continued.
"The meta has evolved," Bao said, tapping the board with his marker. "Teams like Excellent Era have been relying on set plays, using individual skill to push through. We can't match them head-on using the same strategies you've been employing. Our only option is to catch them off-guard, throw them off their game."
Liu Xiaobie frowned, arms crossed. "So, what exactly are you suggesting? We just throw away everything we've worked on? Our strategies have gotten us this far."
Bao turned to face the team fully. "Your strategies have plateaued. They worked, but that was then. If you stick to what you're comfortable with, you'll get left behind. What I'm proposing isn't a complete overhaul, but a recalibration. You've been reactive—now we need to become proactive."
Wang Jiexi spoke up, his voice calm but firm. "You're asking us to change our core dynamics, Bao. That's no small task. These players have spent years mastering their roles."
Bao met his gaze evenly. "And they'll need to unlearn some of it. This is about survival. It's not just the tactics of your roles, it's how you approach the game as a whole. I'm introducing a more aggressive playstyle, with quicker rotations and decisive engagements. If we can control the tempo, we control the game."
Gao Yingjie, the youngest player on the team, looked nervous but intrigued. "Does that mean we'll have to change our main characters? Or just how we play them?"
Bao shook his head slightly. "No, your characters stay the same. It's how you use them that will change. You've relied too much on slow, methodical pushes. We'll be speeding things up, focusing on burst damage and overwhelming your opponents before they can respond. You're going to need to practice attacking as a unit, not in stages."
The team fell silent again. The idea of moving away from their traditional methods was daunting, but there was something about Bao's confidence that made them feel like he could pull it off.
Wang Jiexi nodded, breaking the silence. "All right. Let's try it your way, Coach. But I want to make something clear—if these changes disrupt our synergy, we'll have to reconsider."
Bao smiled, though there was something cold in his expression. "I wouldn't suggest something unless I was confident it would work. Trust me, by the time we face Blue Rain or Excellent Era again, they won't know what hit them."
The next few days in Tiny Herb's practice room were gruelling. Bao worked the team hard, pushing them to adapt to his new strategies. They ran through countless drills, focusing on speed and precision. It was as if they were learning to play all over again.
Liu Xiaobie found himself struggling the most. His style had always been steady and calculated, and now he was being forced to make split-second decisions. "This feels reckless," he muttered after one particularly tough session, wiping sweat from his brow. "I don't know how long I can keep this up."
Wang Jiexi wasn't immune to the pressure either. Though he was known for his adaptability, the shift in playstyle clashed with his instinct to make careful, calculated moves. Bao's aggressive tactics left little room for error, and while Jiexi was a genius at reacting to chaos, forcing chaos was something else entirely.
But as the days went on, something remarkable started to happen. Slowly, the team began to adjust. Their movements became faster and more cohesive. The synergy that had once defined Tiny Herb began to re-emerge, but now it was sharper, more dangerous.
Gao Yingjie, despite his initial hesitation, was one of the first to excel under Bao's new system. His youth and adaptability made him a natural fit for the quicker playstyle. Wang Jiexi noticed the change and began to tweak his strategies to complement the younger player's newfound aggressiveness.
"Good," Bao remarked during one of their evening meetings, reviewing footage of their latest scrims. "We're starting to see the results. Keep this up, and you'll be ready for the next match."
Wang Jiexi, though still cautious, couldn't deny the progress. But something about Bao's methods still unsettled him. Late at night, when the team had finished practice, Wang would often find himself alone in the practice room, running through the day's strategies in his head.
One night, as he replayed a particularly intense scrim in his mind, his thoughts drifted back to that meeting at the bar. The man in the suit had spoken to his manager, who had now become their coach. The pieces of the puzzle didn't fit, and the more Jiexi thought about it, the more certain he became that Bao's sudden appearance wasn't a coincidence.
But for now, Wang Jiexi kept his suspicions to himself. The team was improving, and whatever Bao's motives were, they seemed to be working—for now.
As they wrapped up the evening session, Bao turned to them one last time. "Tomorrow, we focus on Blue Rain. We'll break down their weaknesses and exploit them. It's time to make them pay for underestimating Tiny Herb."
The team nodded, determination in their eyes. Wang Jiexi, however, remained cautious. He didn't fully trust Bao Rongxing, but he knew that for now, the best way forward was to play along and keep a close eye on their new coach.
The next match was going to be a turning point—not just for Tiny Herb's strategies, but for the team's future. And somewhere in the back of his mind, Wang Jiexi couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get much more complicated.