The Golden Road: The Pentakill Prince

Chapter 5: The Nightmare of the Jungle

The next morning, Noel, Grace, and Charles gathered at Grace's family home, resolved to track down the next missing member of ROG International: Zaw "Z4" Liang. Since the disbandment, Zaw had left the esports scene under the radar. Now, with no idea where he'd gone or what had happened to him, they were left with a few faint social media leads.

Grace's mother entered the room with a tray of hot drinks, setting down a mocha for each of them and a steaming cup of tea for Grace.

"Here you go, everyone," she said with a warm smile, then gently nudged the tea into Grace's hands. "And this is for you, honey—our family's special blend. It's good for the nerves."

Grace hesitated, eyeing the tea with reluctance. "Mom, I'm fine. Really, I'll just take the mocha."

"No buts," her mother replied, with a gentle but insistent tone. "You've spent too much time worrying about the past. Let this help you feel at ease."

Grace accepted the tea, feeling the warmth seep through the ceramic cup. She gave her mother a small smile and took a tentative sip, savoring the calming spice.

Meanwhile, Charles was already on his phone, fingers flying across the screen as he scoured various sites for any trace of Zaw's online presence.

"Okay," he muttered, barely glancing up, "if Zaw's been active at all lately, I'll find it."

They'd already spent hours combing through old posts, mentions, and fan pages. Finally, a look of triumph crossed Charles's face as he uncovered something.

"Got a lead," he announced. "Looks like Zaw was with Nightmare Revenants for the past two years. He was a substitute."

Noel's brows furrowed. "Nightmare Revenants? The team that beat us?"

Charles nodded, reading further. "It doesn't look like he was ever part of the main roster. He quit recently... and made a pretty heated post about why. Seems like he was treated terribly."

Grace leaned in closer, eyes narrowed. "They didn't see his worth, did they?"

Charles scrolled to the text of Zaw's rant and began reading out loud, his voice tight with indignation:

"'I'm done with Nightmare Revenants. They never gave me a real shot with the main team. I was nothing more than a backup, always called in at random hours and then shoved aside. If something went wrong, they blamed me, even if I'd barely had time to warm up. I spent more time on the sidelines than in the game. No respect, no support—just a placeholder they called a teammate. I deserved better than that. Anyone would.'"

The words seemed to hang in the air, each one landing like a punch.

Noel clenched his jaw, his frustration barely contained. "They had one of the best junglers and they treated him like that? Like a last-minute replacement?"

Charles nodded, his own anger clear as he scrolled through the comments. "Fans even noticed something was off. Some were defending him, saying it wasn't fair, but it looks like Nightmare Revenants just ignored it."

Noel's expression darkened. "They didn't deserve him. ROG was always about loyalty and growth. Zaw was a core part of our team. He didn't deserve to be benched, used, then blamed."

Grace reached out, her voice quiet but filled with empathy. "It's awful. Zaw was never anything less than dedicated, always putting the team first."

Noel let out a heavy sigh, his frustration simmering into a cold determination. "Then let's remind him of that. We'll show him he still has a place with us."

---

After some more digging, they discovered an old post tagging Zaw at Crescent Plaza, a lively part of town steeped in Burmese culture and one of his favorite spots. The trio quickly decided it was the best place to start their search.