Zhang Hao was just about jumping in his chair, barely keeping his attention on his monitor. He had his Lissandra retreat to her outer tower and then recalled back to base. He finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. He threw both of his fists up in the air and shouted, “YOU GOT THE DOUBLE! SWEET!” He leaned forward to look around An Xin at Lin Feng and continued, “That was such an awesome turn around kill! The way you sidestepped the Charm and then Flashed the Rek’Sai! It was, it was... WOW!”
“I was sweating for you there!” Zhang Hao exclaimed. He shook his head and laughed, his heart slamming into his ribcage. “That was so tense! I thought for sure you were dead like five times!” He kept shaking his head, incredulous. Lin Feng is playing against a pro! I thought for sure he was going to lose! How the fuck was he going to win against an actual, real life, former pro! But he is! HE’S WINNING! Holy shit! He just outplayed a professional player! HE OUTPLAYED A PROFESSIONAL PLAYER! He clenched his fist and shouted, “You outplayed a professional player, dude! Oh my god! You outplayed AyDeeCee!” You’re amazing! Shit, you’re so amazing! What was I even worried about? You always win! You even stomp pros!
An Xin watched Zhang Hao losing it and giggled. She winked at Lin Feng and said, “He’s right, that was a nice job. You didn’t even need me for that one.”
“Mhm! Good job!” Tang Bingyao chimed in. She then glanced at Lin Feng, her lips curling up and forming small dimples in her cheeks. Her eyes started beaming in a mix of envy and joy and tinges of red painted the tips of her ears. I knew you could do it! You always do it! Mhm! You’re the best!
Zeng Rui turned his head to look at Lin Feng. The thundering dumbass went and did it, somehow. That was way too risky. If he’d died, we’d have lost the game right then and there! But it’s always like this. He does the weird shit that can lose us a game! It just always works out for him… He always makes it work. He shook his head lightly and said, “Well done. Keep it up and we can win.” He then turned his attention back to his monitor. His Alistar had just arrived back in the bot lane. Top is doing well, mid is doing better again and bot, well we’re sort of even right now. Plus we got the Dragon! Can we actually win this one? We might...
Lin Feng was usually the first to congratulate himself for a good play. He always jumped on any and every compliment that came his way. More often than not, he’d even complain when people didn’t give him the recognition he felt he deserved. But not right now. The compliments flew right by him. His eyes were locked on his monitor. On Ahri. Her corpse disappeared from the mid lane. She’s respawned. He bit on his lips and then said over the team’s voice chat, “Thanks, but it’s not enough. Shi Hang is way better than this.”
✹
Team Shanghai had a good couple of minutes in their first game against Zhejiang University. Each lane had found some manner in which they picked up a kill to fight their way into the game. But that was far from enough. Zhejiang University was one of the best teams in the entire Winter Collegiate Cup. They had the better Toplaner and the better ad-carry. More importantly, their team had been playing together for years, and Shi Hang switching in didn’t change much in that regard. He was more than good enough to adapt to his teammates at this level of play.
At 11 minutes, Zhejiang University’s Jungler found his way to the top lane to help Rumble pick up a kill on Lissandra. Zhang Hao had grown too confident after his own kill and especially after watching Lin Feng pick up the double kill in the mid lane. He overextended and couldn’t retreat to safety before his health bar bottomed out. The top lane started shifting back into Zhejiang University’s favour.
At 13 minutes, Shi Hang’s Ahri pushed the minion wave in the mid lane and then roamed to the bot lane for a gank. Zeng Rui and Tang Bingyao were late to react. They were forced into a rushed retreat. Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal used Arcane Shift into Flash to blink a large distance and also had to blow Heal just to survive. And even then she only survived because Zeng Rui’s Alistar sacrificed himself by Headbutting Sun Ruinian’s Vayne away. Zhejiang University killed Alistar, then went on to destroy the outer tower in the bot lane before turning their attention towards the Dragon and killing it.
Rollfire sat at the caster desk with the biggest grin possible on his face. He couldn’t be happier with how the game was developing. Those stupid representatives are losing! HA! Now to play it… He breathed in deeply and then sighed loudly into the microphone. He waited a brief moment before saying, “That was a perfect roam by AyDeeCee, exactly what we expected from a professional player! There’s just nothing Team Shanghai can do about him. He’s too good.” He shook his head, then grinned and added, “Though it has to be said that Varus should’ve reacted a little faster there.”
Silent Reed scrunched her eyebrows when she heard Rollfire’s last remark. She turned to look at him and then asked, “Reacted faster? What?” She was so surprised by his comment that it took her brain a moment to process it. Then she shook her head and explained, “Varus is a Champion that has to farm and scale up, like we discussed before the game. He’s nothing like a high mobility assassin like Ahri who is known for roaming around the map and getting kills.” She quickly pulled out her phone again and opened the Baidu page detailing Varus before adding, “Varus has to do two things. Push the lane when Ahri disappears and put pressure to make her come back. Then he also has to warn his teammates that she’s missing from the lane. He can do that with a ‘careful’ ping or by warning them over voice chat.”
“You read that out perfectly!” Rollfire said, laughing. “That guide is really helping you out, ey?” He chuckled for a bit before adding, “Varus indeed wants to scale up to be ready for teamfights and for sieging the opponent’s base. But he can’t just let the Ahri run free either. And this isn’t just any Ahri. This is AyDeeCee!”
✹
Lin Feng stared at his monitor, frowning. I can beat Shi Hang all I want, but I need to beat their entire team. Maybe I can do that in solo queue. It is what I basically did at the Shanghai 16 School Tournament... But Shi Hang, no, he’s far better than any other Midlaner I’ve played against recently. He isn’t some average player. He’s good. I can’t carry this game 1vs5 with him on their team. He chewed on his lips. If I want to beat him, I need to throw all my attention on the mid lane. I won’t have the spare bandwidth to look at the other lanes and help them out too.
The mid lane was full of action. Lin Feng was fighting Shi Hang and pushing him back. But then Shi Hang would roam the map, find Tang Bingyao or Zhang Hao slightly out of position, and pick up a kill. Every time he leaves, he comes back stronger. I can push. But I can’t help Tang Tang and Zhang Hao survive his roams. Varus just isn’t the Champion for that! How can I help them…?
Lin Feng panned his camera across Summoner’s Rift. But he was forced to focus back on the mid lane. I can’t. I just can’t take my focus off the mid lane! I need all my focus here to beat Shi Hang! He gritted his teeth, frustrated. Then he narrowed his eyes. I promised them to leave Shi Hang to me. I’ll win the mid lane. That’s what I told them I’d do, so that’s what I’ll do! There just isn’t more I can do. The rest is up to them. He forced a smile on his lips, though his eyes didn’t show joy. It’s not like they’re bad either! They’re my teammates and I fully trust them! They can win! Yeah! I trust them and they can win! I just need to trust them!
✹
The third Dragon was spawning in the dragon pit at 19:45 minutes. Both teams started setting up their wards in the river a minute earlier. But it was Zhejiang University who dictated when and where the wards were placed. They were moving around as five and pushing Team Shanghai around, keeping them far away from the Jungle entrance across the dragon pit.
The scoreboard read 6 kills for Team Shanghai to 8 for Zhejiang University and the gold difference was only 2,000 in Zhejiang University’s favour, but the game wasn’t anywhere near as even as this score would suggest. The 2,000 gold discrepancy came almost completely down to Sun Ruinian and Tang Bingyao. Vayne was strong and had hit her power spike, while Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal was struggling to get the items needed to start becoming a threat.
Ouyang sat on the edge of his seat in the stands. He was looking from the large LCD screen above the stage, down to the soundproof booths, before turning his head to look up at the casters. And finally, fidgeting with his fingers, he turned to look at his friends. He asked, “They’re setting up for a teamfight, right? We’re getting into the teamfight phase of this game. This is gonna be it, yeah?”
Yang Fan nodded. He pushed his glasses up the rim of his nose and replied, “It indeed looks like it. And it’s not looking too great for our team. Tang Tang is too far behind Sun Ruinian. And BunBun spent quite a bit of time helping Zhang Hao, but they failed to keep Rumble down. His ultimate will hurt. Lin Feng is basically the only one who’s really strong right now. And even he is only just as strong as AyDeeCee…—”
“Come on, guys! Don’t be so down!” Ren Rou exclaimed. She looked at the long faces around her and continued, “This is Lin Feng we’re talking about! He carries every game he plays! He’ll carry this teamfight! And I’m sure BunBun will have something special planned! Tang Tang will also definitely find a great angle to deal damage! We’re going to win this!”
Yang Fan chuckled and shook his head. He replied, “I want to believe you. I really do. But the facts are telling a different story.”
✹
At 20 minutes, Zhejiang University had gathered up as five in Red team’s bottom side Jungle. Team Shanghai was waiting for them just down the river. Both teams were walking back and forth, searching for an opening to engage. Zhejiang University’s Leona suddenly flashed forward and raised her sword up to the sky. She called down a Solar Flare! The flash of brightness from the sun slammed down on the Rift! When the explosion settled, three stunned members from Team Shanghai were revealed. Jarvan IV, Alistar and Lissandra.
Rumble followed up on Leona’s engage with The Equalizer! He clicked a button on his mechanical suit and fired six rockets from the missile launchers on his back! They arced through the sky and exploded in a straight line on the ground, right on top of Leona’s ultimate! Jarvan IV, Alistar and Lissandra were engulfed in a wall of flames that damaged and slowed them!
Shi Hang had his Ahri move along the long wall separating Red team’s Jungle from the river. He watched the action happening in the river and grinned. Where are you going, Ezreal? He activated Ahri’s ultimate skill. Spirit Rush! Ahri dashed through the Jungle wall into the river and appeared right in front of Ezreal! She blew Ezreal a kiss, a magical heart manifesting in the air and smacking against Ezreal! Charmed!
Everything in the world disappeared before Ezreal’s eyes, except for Ahri. She became his everything! His knees felt weak as he stumbled in her direction. Fox-Fires hit him and burned his skin, as did the unquenchable flames from Ignite! But he didn’t feel pain, only love. The Orb of Deception punched through him, sapping the life out of him! Then it turned around behind him to hit him for a second time, but he didn’t even know this was happening. He only knew he wanted to be closer to Ahri.
Spirit Rush! Shi Hang pressed down on the R key for a second time. His Ahri dashed back across the wall into Red team’s Jungle. He panned his camera to look at the Ezreal, whose health dropped down to single digits. The last tick from Ignite will do that!
《You have slain an enemy!》
The other players from Zhejiang University charged out from their Jungle and engaged Team Shanghai! Rumble and Leona clashed with Jarvan IV, Lissandra and Alistar, while Rek’Sai dug a tunnel underneath them to arrive right in front of Lin Feng’s Varus!
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes and cursed, “Crap!” He punched down on his R key! Varus raised his bow and fired Chains of Corruption at Rek’Sai! The two purple glowing ribbons wrapped around Rek’Sai and rooted her to the ground! Then they started multiplying, searching for other Champions to jump to. But there was no other Champion from Zhejiang University in range. Varus followed up with Hail of Arrows! More than a dozen arrows rained down on Rek’Sai and blighted the ground beneath her!
All the while, Sun Ruinian’s Vayne fired silver bolts at An Xin’s Jarvan IV. There was nothing Team Shanghai could do to stop him. Ezreal was already dead, Lin Feng was being blocked by Rek’Sai, and the other three Champions were still stunned. Every third bolt, the silver rings around Jarvan IV detonated and dealt true damage! His health dropped quickly and it wasn’t long before he collapsed dead to the ground.
《You have slain an enemy!》
Sun Ruinian’s Vayne picked up the second kill of the fight right as the stun from Solar Flare finally wore off. Zhang Hao’s Lissandra cast her ultimate skill on herself! Ice spires shot from the ground and encased her in a Frozen Tomb! The freezing coldness healed her while it damaged the nearby Champions from Zhejiang University. Sun Ruinian’s Vayne and the Leona were quick to escape its range, but Zeng Rui’s Alistar made sure that Rumble couldn’t run away. He combined Headbutt and Pulverise to close the distance and then slam Rumble up into the air!
A Piercing Arrow suddenly shot through the air and pierced Rumble! His health dropped by a third! The freezing temperature also continued to bite into his health bar! Zhejiang University tried to save their Rumble, but Zeng Rui was running interference with his Alistar. Sun Ruinian’s Vayne and Shi Hang’s Ahri decimated Alistar’s health bar, and Zhang Hao’s Lissandra did the same to Rumble!
《Double kill!》
《You have slain an enemy!》
The root from Chains of Corruption wore off. Rek’Sai could run at Lin Feng’s Varus again, though the blighted ground hampered her movement speed. Lin Feng kited Rek’Sai, retreating into Blue team’s Jungle. He glanced at the fight in the river. Zhang Hao is the only on—
《Double kill!》
They’re all dead. I can’t turn this around. Best I can do is kill this Rek’Sai and escape! Lin Feng focused on Rek’Sai, attacking her while also running back towards the inner tower in bot lane. Rek’Sai had a large healthpool, but Varus’ Piercing Arrows did an astonishing amount of damage! Her health dropped, yet she clung to him in a desperate attempt to slow his escape. Lin Feng shook his head lightly. You’re not nearly good enough for that!
Lin Feng panned his camera to check where Ahri, Vayne and Leona were and then quickly focused back on Rek’Sai. He jumped back and forth, calculating exactly how much space he had to maneuver around. Vayne is going to get here first. She’d kill me. A bit faster! His fingers glided over his keyboard. His Varus pulled back the string on his bow and charged up another Piercing Arrow. Lin Feng suddenly narrowed his eyes. Her cooldowns! He had Varus turn around and ran towards Rek’Sai! Right then, Rek’Sai dug a Tunnel! She passed underneath Lin Feng’s Varus and Unburrowed behind him! Good! Now back! He had Varus turn around again and released the Piercing Arrow that was still charging. The thick, massive arrow pierced Rek’Sai!
《You have slain an enemy!》
The audience erupted into deafening cheers! They clapped their hands, stamped their feet and screamed their lungs out! The ground was shaking, the glass from the soundproof booths trembling and spit was flying through the air!
“WOOOOOOO!”
“OH SHIIIIIT!”
“CRAAAAZY!”
“AAAAAAH PINCH ME!”
“INSAAAAAAANE!”
“HE GOT AWAY! OH MY GOD!”
“WOOO! What a great fight! That was a work of art!” Rollfire hollered into his microphone. He grabbed it from its stand and shouted, “Zhejiang University’s engage was perfection! The way they combined the Leona ultimate and Ahri nuke on Ezreal… WOOOOOO! They’re really bringing their A+ game today!”
“That Ahri killed the fight before it even started!” Silent Reed chimed in. She shook her head for a bit and then added, “I’m surprised Team Shanghai still managed to pick up two kills there. They fought back well after such a disastrous start!”
Rollfire laughed and replied, “Two irrelevant kills! Rumble was already behind. He wasn’t worth much. And Rek’Sai did her job, being a meat shield and making that Varus irrelevant! Zhejiang University won it all there! And now they also got the Dragon on top of that! WOOOOO! What a fight!”
Silent Reed glanced and Rollfire and pursed her lips. He’s loving it. The asshole is loving it! It makes me want to hate it! She shook her head. Don’t be so weak! He’s casting! Do the same! Cast the game! It’s a good game! She smiled and said into her microphone, “Zhejiang University pulled themselves into a massive lead there! All they have to do now is end it!”
✹
Lin Feng pressed down on the B key. Blue circles started burning around Varus, rising up around him before carrying him back to the fountain. He knitted his brows and turned his attention to the gamescore. 8-12. They got four kills there. Tang Tang died again too! He clenched down on his mouse. There was nothing I could do there! Tang Tang was dead before the fight even started, and the rest got caught by the Leona ult! Dammit!
They know I’m the only threat on the team right now, so they’re staying far away from me! Lin Feng closed his eyes, pressing the P key to open the shop and buying items in practiced motion. They sacrificed Rek’Sai, knowing full well she could keep me busy until the end of the fight. I couldn’t do anything to help Tang Tang, or the others! Shi Hang and Sun Ruinian aren’t stupid. They just hang back and make sure I can’t root them with my ultimate! He took a deep, long breath. Besides, Shi Hang is good. He can Flash out of my ultimate if he’s watching out for it. I’d need ZengZeng to get a good knock up on him…
Lin Feng opened his eyes and pressed down on the Tab key. It showed more detailed information about the 10 Champions on the Rift and the current state of the game. He scrunched his nose and slowly shook his head. They’ve got so much engage with Leona, Rumble and even Ahri. And what do we have? A Jarvan IV engage? ZengZeng’s Alistar? That’s nothing compared to what they have! We’re falling behind and we can’t really force what we want to force! He bit down on his tongue and let his shoulders drop a bit. I actually have to really try. We might not win this game! I haven’t felt like this in, in years!
Tang Bingyao sat next to Lin Feng. She didn’t notice his reaction to the teamfight. Her mind was focused entirely on her death at the very start of the fight. I’m not good enough! That was another misplay by me! How many is that now? Three? That’s what’s costing us the game! It’s me! I’m the reason we’re losing this! She bit down hard on her lips, frustrated and dejected. My Ezreal is completely useless! He doesn’t deal any damage, even when he’s alive!
No! Stop this! Mnh-mnh! Tang Bingyao shook her head and gritted her teeth. Don’t blame the Champion! It’s not his fault! I’m the reason! I’m just not skilled enough! If I was, I would’ve gotten an advantage in the early game, bought a defensive item to survive Ahri’s burst, and then carried the team to a win! This could’ve been completely different if I hadn’t given away those kills at the start! Now Vayne is far too strong for me. I can’t do anything right! I’m… I’m dragging them down again…
Worst of all… She closed her eyes and fought back the urge to scream out her annoyances. Worst of all, I don’t even know how to come back! What am I supposed to do in this situation? I can’t just sit back and take it, right? Do I force something? What can I force? How would I even start with making a comeback here…? She opened her eyes and turned to look at Lin Feng. What would you do?
Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng, with An Xin sitting next to him on the other side. But she didn’t see An Xin struggling. Didn’t see how An Xin’s hand was trembling. Didn’t see the pain written on An Xin’s face. And An Xin was struggling. After her screen turned grey, she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. In, and out. In, and out. She tried to relax and let the tension slip from her hand, but that just made the trembling worse. She quickly placed her other hand over her mouse hand and glanced at the others around her. They didn’t see. They didn’t see. Now come on, stupid hand! Work! She put more pressure on her hand, trying to get a strong grip on the mouse, but right then a sharp jolt shot up from her hand. She winced in pain and bit her lips.
Tears welled in An Xin’s eyes from the pain. Her stomach pulled into a knot as she glanced at her teammates again. I can’t tell them. I can’t show them that something is wrong! We’re in an important series. They’ll just get distracted by it and we’ll lose! I won’t let that happen! She turned her head to look at Lin Feng and noticed the deep frown on his face. You’ve been through so much already. I won’t let you suffer any more! I won’t let you worry about me! I know how much you’ve sacrificed and I also know how you’ll do anything to help your friends! You’re an idiot like that! That’s why I can’t tell you. I won’t tell you… I can’t tell anyone!
An Xin lowered her head, letting her long hair fall over her face and hide the pain in her eyes. Lin Feng is counting on me. I can’t let him down, not now! She flexed her stomach to pull the knot out and pinched the tears out of her eyes. It’s just a small flare-up. I can fight through it. This is nothing. You can do it, An Xin! She breathed in deeply, gathering all the pain, worries and frustrations, before letting it all out in a long sigh. It’s not going to be great. It’s going to hurt. But I won’t give up now! He’s counting on me! So what if my hand is trembling a bit? I can overcome this!
An Xin forced a smile onto her face and threw her hair back over her shoulders. She then turned her head to look at Lin Feng and said over the team’s voice chat, “Lin Feng.”
Lin Feng turned to look at An Xin, finding her smiling at him with her familiar smile, and asked, “Yeah?”
“It’s now or never. This game is hard, but it’s not over yet. The next teamfight has to be ours, though. That’s why we need to find it and play it on our terms!” An Xin explained.
Lin Feng scratched the back of his head, hesitating for a brief moment, and then grinned. He balled his hand into a fist and said, “No problem! I’ll force a teamfight!”
✹
Rollfire didn’t expect Team Shanghai to have the mental fortitude to fight back after the lost teamfight at the dragon pit. He’d expressed as much to the audience, who mumbled their agreement. But as he was looking at the large LCD screen, he recoiled in surprise. “Huh?” he muttered into his microphone. He then shifted around in his seat a little and noted, “Looks like Team Shanghai still has some life in them. That Alistar is looking for something!”
It was 21 minutes into the game, a minute after the dragon fight. Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal was in the bot lane, farming minions at her inner tower. But Zeng Rui’s Alistar wasn’t with her. He’d followed Zhang Hao to the top lane. There he hid in a brush and waited for Zhejiang University’s Rumble to get in range. Rumble didn’t see the gank coming. He was caught completely off guard when the Alistar jumped from the brush and slammed him up into the air with Pulverise! Zhang Hao’s Lissandra followed up on Alistar’s crowd control with Frozen Tomb! Ice spires shot from the ground and locked Rumble up! She then cast Ice shard! Chunks of ice slammed into Rumble!
《You have slain an enemy!》
“NICE!” Silent Reed exclaimed. She giggled and added, “We can’t underestimate Team Shanghai just yet! Don’t forget that Zeng Rui is an A- player! He’s right there at Sun Ruinian’s level!”
Rollfire nodded and said, “That was a nice roam by Alistar. Unfortunate that their carries don’t have that kind of awareness…”
✹
The game clock kept ticking. Lin Feng fought against Shi Hang in the mid lane, his Piercing Arrows becoming progressively more accurate. At 22 minutes, he forced Shi Hang’s Ahri to retreat back behind her outer tower and recover her health. That was the moment Lin Feng had been waiting for. A grin spread on his face, reaching from one ear to the other. He glanced at An Xin and shouted over the voice chat, “BunBun, follow up!” He then pressed down on the D and R keys! Varus flashed past the outer tower and fired the Chains of Corruption at Ahri from point blank range! He rooted her to the ground!
“Got it,” An Xin replied. She chewed on her lips, glanced briefly at her hand, and then focused her complete attention on the game. He needs me. I’m going to be there for him!
Varus was a Champion who relied on his long range to bring down a Champion’s health bar. He preferably never got in range of his opponent. So when the audience saw Lin Feng flashing towards Shi Hang, ignoring Red team’s outer tower, they shifted in their seats and their eyes went wide with shock.
“Da fuck is he doing!?”
“Man, so aggro!”
“HOOOOOOH! Will you look at that!”
“Maddening! Varus is cray-cray!”
Silent Reed could almost feel the doubt in the air. She glanced at the stands where everyone in the audience had something to say about this engage. But she’d seen enough games from Team Shanghai and previously High School 13 to know they weren’t ones to tilt. She focused on the minimap and spotted Jarvan IV running through Red team’s Jungle. “Oh, oh!” she exclaimed, pointing at the large LCD screen. “The Jarvan IV is ganking! That’s why he engaged! It’s a gank!”
The Chains of Corruption rooted Shi Hang’s Ahri to the ground. An Xin gritted her teeth and activated Jarvan IV’s ultimate skill–Cataclysm! Jarvan IV leaped at Ahri and then smashed down on her with such force that he terraformed the earth into an arena! He then brandished his lance and struck at Ahri with the sharp end! All the while, arrows permeating a baleful energy struck Ahri, ripping away at her health!
Shi Hang pressed down on his R key. “Break already!” he mumbled. The root from Chains of Corruption kept his Ahri immobile. Her health was dropping quickly and he needed to dash out with Spirit Rush fast if he wanted to survive. Dash and stop Varus! BREAK! The root wore off. Shi Hang’s Ahri dashed out of Jarvan IV’s Cataclysm. She then briefly turned to look at Varus and blew him a kiss! A pink-red heart manifested in the air and flew towards Varus!
Lin Feng grinned. His Varus was underneath Red team’s outer tower. It had targeted him and fired the first energy shot already. If he got Charmed, he’d die. But that was also why he fully expected the Charm to come. He was already moving out of the way before the animation even finished! The large heart blew past him and missed him completely. All the while, An Xin’s Jarvan IV used Ahri’s animation to jump on her with a flag-toss combo and knock her up into the air!
Shi Hang’s eyelid twitched. What!? She’s playing faster than before! Was she hol— FUCK! His Ahri was still in the air and out of his control when a claw of ice came tearing through the ground!
“I’m also here to follow up!” Zhang Hao announced over Team Shanghai’s voice chat, grinning. He pushed down on the E key for a second time to jump towards the ice claw that was right next to Shi Hang’s Ahri. He then moved his mouse over the Ahri and activated his ultimate! Ice spires erupted from the ground and pierced Ahri, locking her up in a Frozen Tomb!
Zhang Hao laughed and shouted, “You’re dead!”
“THEY’RE KILLING AYDEECEE!”
“WOOOOO! GO TEAM SHANGHAI!”
“KILL THE PRO! KILL THE PRO!”
“THEY’RE DOING IT! THEY’RE REALLY DOING IT!”
Lin Feng grinned and said over the team’s voice chat, “Great timing, HaoBro!” He had his Varus move past the outer tower and towards the Jungle entrance. There was a small opening there where he was still in the lane and in range to attack Ahri, but where the tower couldn’t hit him. He linked his skills together with Zhang Hao and Jarvan IV, paying careful attention to Ahri’s health bar. Frozen Tomb is almost wearing off, still a bit of health left… He chuckled, his fingers gliding over his keyboard.
Varus raised his bow and pulled back the string. He aimed up in the air and let go. More than a dozen arrows flew through the air before raining down on Ahri! Varus followed up with a quick auto attack. Then he pulled back the string of his bow with more power than before. A thick, massive arrow appeared. The winds started howling as more power gathered around the bow. Then the Piercing Arrow shot through the air and pierced Ahri!
《You have slain an enemy!》
Zhang Hao grinned and said over the team’s voice chat, “Great engage, Lin Feng! That was so cool! I saw you going and just knew I could make it in time!” The adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he was going mad with pride. He laughed loudly before adding, “We stomped that pro! Serves him right for getting careless around us!”
Lin Feng grinned and replied, “Yeah! Serves him right! Now let’s take their towers!”
An Xin smiled and nodded along to Lin Feng and Zhang Hao’s excited conversation, hiding the stabbing pain in her hand. How much longer can I hold on for? That flag-toss combo hurt so much... I can’t do that too much. She glanced at her hand and forced herself to breath in deeply. But I’m not going to sit here and whine! I came to play, so that’s what I’m doing! She breathed out and focused her attention back on her monitor. I don’t know how much longer I can do this for. But I’m going to make the most out of every second!
Across the stage in Zhejiang University’s soundproof booth, Shi Hang rubbed his neck. He looked at his dull grey screen and sighed. Seems like they have more on their team than just Maple. I got a bit carried away with my match against him that I forgot about the others. Time to stop doing that. We need to win this game. He turned to look at Sun Ruinian and said over the team’s voice chat, “Looks like they’re really thinking about coming back into this game. Like we’re gonna let that happen. SunSun, let’s end this game!”
Sun Ruinian looked at the minion wave in the bot lane. He’d pushed it out before recalling back to base and now Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal was attacking it. She’s still trying so hard. Gotta commend her for trying even after being so far behind… He then nodded and replied over the team’s voice chat, “Got it. Lemme get this Big Fucking Sword and we can end it.”
✹
At 25 minutes, the fourth Dragon of the game spawned. Team Shanghai and Zhejiang University got into position to fight for it. But Zhejiang University was clearly stronger. They pushed Team Shanghai down the river and back into the tri-brush going into their Jungle. It was the perfect chokepoint for Leona to cast her ultimate. A Solar Flare slammed down onto the brush and stunned An Xin’s Jarvan IV and Zeng Rui’s Alistar!
Team Shanghai tried to fight back. They unleashed all their skills on Leona, who was the first from Zhejiang University to jump into the fight. And they did deal enough damage to kill her. But not before the rest of Zhejiang University’s team arrived. Zhejiang University simply dealt far more damage and shredded through Jarvan IV and Alistar’s health bars. They could push for more kills, the three surviving Champions from Team Shanghai already retreating, but decided to instead take the Dragon. That was going to give them the bigger advantage.
Lin Feng shook his head, forced to have his Varus run away again. It’s like the previous teamfight all over again. We’re just not strong enough. I can’t carry these kinds of fights… He panned his camera around the map and kept shaking his head. There’s nothing we can do here.
Zeng Rui stared at the different shades of grey on his monitor. Caught again. It’s just too difficult! Ahri and Vayne are fed. And then they have Rumble and Leona! There’s just nothing we can do about it! He glanced at Tang Bingyao who was sitting next to him. Her Ezreal still hasn’t hit his power spike yet either. She just keeps running after the facts. All the farming she did just isn’t enough! Vayne is too strong. It’s just… It’s all against us this game. He bit on his lips before finally saying over the team’s voice chat, “We’re going to turtle. Fight only under our towers and grind this game out.”
✹
Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and analysed, “We’ve got Alistar, Lissandra and Varus. They’re all great for defending a tower! And then there’s also Ezreal. He isn’t great, but he’s okay! I can see what our team is going for here and it might work!”
“Yeah! Our bros are gonna win this one!” Ouyang cheered. He clenched his fists and added, “Watch them make the comeback!”
Wei Dong pointed at the large LCD screen and said, “Look at that! Zhejiang tried to attack the tower in the top lane but is now backing away! Lin Feng’s Varus is really dealing so much damage with those Piercing Arrows!”
“They might really do it!” Liu Yue exclaimed. He moved to the edge of his seat, wrapped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, “TEAM SHANGHAI! WOOT WOOT!”
Yang Fan traced his finger across the frame of his glasses. He frowned and said, “I’m not so sure. There, see that? Zhejiang University is pushing the different lanes. They’re going to keep switching between those lanes and will look for an opportunity.”
“They won’t find one!” Ouyang exclaimed. He laughed and added, “Those are our bros up there! They’re way too good to screw up like that!”
“YEAH! We’re winning this!” Liu Yue chimed in.
The friends and teammates from Team Shanghai started building up their own confidence, pointing to the LCD screen and explaining to each other just how their team was going to pull a win out of this game. Their arguments were fueled by passion. It wasn’t long before their attention was on each other, and not on the large LCD screen. They completely missed as the game reached 27 minutes. They completely missed Sun Ruinian Condemning Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal against the inhibitor tower. And they only realised Tang Bingyao got caught out again when the game announcer’s voice boomed through the venue speakers.
《A champion has been slain!》
Zhang Hao was just about jumping in his chair, barely keeping his attention on his monitor. He had his Lissandra retreat to her outer tower and then recalled back to base. He finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. He threw both of his fists up in the air and shouted, “YOU GOT THE DOUBLE! SWEET!” He leaned forward to look around An Xin at Lin Feng and continued, “That was such an awesome turn around kill! The way you sidestepped the Charm and then Flashed the Rek’Sai! It was, it was... WOW!”
“I was sweating for you there!” Zhang Hao exclaimed. He shook his head and laughed, his heart slamming into his ribcage. “That was so tense! I thought for sure you were dead like five times!” He kept shaking his head, incredulous. Lin Feng is playing against a pro! I thought for sure he was going to lose! How the fuck was he going to win against an actual, real life, former pro! But he is! HE’S WINNING! Holy shit! He just outplayed a professional player! HE OUTPLAYED A PROFESSIONAL PLAYER! He clenched his fist and shouted, “You outplayed a professional player, dude! Oh my god! You outplayed AyDeeCee!” You’re amazing! Shit, you’re so amazing! What was I even worried about? You always win! You even stomp pros!
An Xin watched Zhang Hao losing it and giggled. She winked at Lin Feng and said, “He’s right, that was a nice job. You didn’t even need me for that one.”
“Mhm! Good job!” Tang Bingyao chimed in. She then glanced at Lin Feng, her lips curling up and forming small dimples in her cheeks. Her eyes started beaming in a mix of envy and joy and tinges of red painted the tips of her ears. I knew you could do it! You always do it! Mhm! You’re the best!
Zeng Rui turned his head to look at Lin Feng. The thundering dumbass went and did it, somehow. That was way too risky. If he’d died, we’d have lost the game right then and there! But it’s always like this. He does the weird shit that can lose us a game! It just always works out for him… He always makes it work. He shook his head lightly and said, “Well done. Keep it up and we can win.” He then turned his attention back to his monitor. His Alistar had just arrived back in the bot lane. Top is doing well, mid is doing better again and bot, well we’re sort of even right now. Plus we got the Dragon! Can we actually win this one? We might...
Lin Feng was usually the first to congratulate himself for a good play. He always jumped on any and every compliment that came his way. More often than not, he’d even complain when people didn’t give him the recognition he felt he deserved. But not right now. The compliments flew right by him. His eyes were locked on his monitor. On Ahri. Her corpse disappeared from the mid lane. She’s respawned. He bit on his lips and then said over the team’s voice chat, “Thanks, but it’s not enough. Shi Hang is way better than this.”
✹
Team Shanghai had a good couple of minutes in their first game against Zhejiang University. Each lane had found some manner in which they picked up a kill to fight their way into the game. But that was far from enough. Zhejiang University was one of the best teams in the entire Winter Collegiate Cup. They had the better Toplaner and the better ad-carry. More importantly, their team had been playing together for years, and Shi Hang switching in didn’t change much in that regard. He was more than good enough to adapt to his teammates at this level of play.
At 11 minutes, Zhejiang University’s Jungler found his way to the top lane to help Rumble pick up a kill on Lissandra. Zhang Hao had grown too confident after his own kill and especially after watching Lin Feng pick up the double kill in the mid lane. He overextended and couldn’t retreat to safety before his health bar bottomed out. The top lane started shifting back into Zhejiang University’s favour.
At 13 minutes, Shi Hang’s Ahri pushed the minion wave in the mid lane and then roamed to the bot lane for a gank. Zeng Rui and Tang Bingyao were late to react. They were forced into a rushed retreat. Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal used Arcane Shift into Flash to blink a large distance and also had to blow Heal just to survive. And even then she only survived because Zeng Rui’s Alistar sacrificed himself by Headbutting Sun Ruinian’s Vayne away. Zhejiang University killed Alistar, then went on to destroy the outer tower in the bot lane before turning their attention towards the Dragon and killing it.
Rollfire sat at the caster desk with the biggest grin possible on his face. He couldn’t be happier with how the game was developing. Those stupid representatives are losing! HA! Now to play it… He breathed in deeply and then sighed loudly into the microphone. He waited a brief moment before saying, “That was a perfect roam by AyDeeCee, exactly what we expected from a professional player! There’s just nothing Team Shanghai can do about him. He’s too good.” He shook his head, then grinned and added, “Though it has to be said that Varus should’ve reacted a little faster there.”
Silent Reed scrunched her eyebrows when she heard Rollfire’s last remark. She turned to look at him and then asked, “Reacted faster? What?” She was so surprised by his comment that it took her brain a moment to process it. Then she shook her head and explained, “Varus is a Champion that has to farm and scale up, like we discussed before the game. He’s nothing like a high mobility assassin like Ahri who is known for roaming around the map and getting kills.” She quickly pulled out her phone again and opened the Baidu page detailing Varus before adding, “Varus has to do two things. Push the lane when Ahri disappears and put pressure to make her come back. Then he also has to warn his teammates that she’s missing from the lane. He can do that with a ‘careful’ ping or by warning them over voice chat.”
“You read that out perfectly!” Rollfire said, laughing. “That guide is really helping you out, ey?” He chuckled for a bit before adding, “Varus indeed wants to scale up to be ready for teamfights and for sieging the opponent’s base. But he can’t just let the Ahri run free either. And this isn’t just any Ahri. This is AyDeeCee!”
✹
Lin Feng stared at his monitor, frowning. I can beat Shi Hang all I want, but I need to beat their entire team. Maybe I can do that in solo queue. It is what I basically did at the Shanghai 16 School Tournament... But Shi Hang, no, he’s far better than any other Midlaner I’ve played against recently. He isn’t some average player. He’s good. I can’t carry this game 1vs5 with him on their team. He chewed on his lips. If I want to beat him, I need to throw all my attention on the mid lane. I won’t have the spare bandwidth to look at the other lanes and help them out too.
The mid lane was full of action. Lin Feng was fighting Shi Hang and pushing him back. But then Shi Hang would roam the map, find Tang Bingyao or Zhang Hao slightly out of position, and pick up a kill. Every time he leaves, he comes back stronger. I can push. But I can’t help Tang Tang and Zhang Hao survive his roams. Varus just isn’t the Champion for that! How can I help them…?
Lin Feng panned his camera across Summoner’s Rift. But he was forced to focus back on the mid lane. I can’t. I just can’t take my focus off the mid lane! I need all my focus here to beat Shi Hang! He gritted his teeth, frustrated. Then he narrowed his eyes. I promised them to leave Shi Hang to me. I’ll win the mid lane. That’s what I told them I’d do, so that’s what I’ll do! There just isn’t more I can do. The rest is up to them. He forced a smile on his lips, though his eyes didn’t show joy. It’s not like they’re bad either! They’re my teammates and I fully trust them! They can win! Yeah! I trust them and they can win! I just need to trust them!
✹
The third Dragon was spawning in the dragon pit at 19:45 minutes. Both teams started setting up their wards in the river a minute earlier. But it was Zhejiang University who dictated when and where the wards were placed. They were moving around as five and pushing Team Shanghai around, keeping them far away from the Jungle entrance across the dragon pit.
The scoreboard read 6 kills for Team Shanghai to 8 for Zhejiang University and the gold difference was only 2,000 in Zhejiang University’s favour, but the game wasn’t anywhere near as even as this score would suggest. The 2,000 gold discrepancy came almost completely down to Sun Ruinian and Tang Bingyao. Vayne was strong and had hit her power spike, while Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal was struggling to get the items needed to start becoming a threat.
Ouyang sat on the edge of his seat in the stands. He was looking from the large LCD screen above the stage, down to the soundproof booths, before turning his head to look up at the casters. And finally, fidgeting with his fingers, he turned to look at his friends. He asked, “They’re setting up for a teamfight, right? We’re getting into the teamfight phase of this game. This is gonna be it, yeah?”
Yang Fan nodded. He pushed his glasses up the rim of his nose and replied, “It indeed looks like it. And it’s not looking too great for our team. Tang Tang is too far behind Sun Ruinian. And BunBun spent quite a bit of time helping Zhang Hao, but they failed to keep Rumble down. His ultimate will hurt. Lin Feng is basically the only one who’s really strong right now. And even he is only just as strong as AyDeeCee…—”
“Come on, guys! Don’t be so down!” Ren Rou exclaimed. She looked at the long faces around her and continued, “This is Lin Feng we’re talking about! He carries every game he plays! He’ll carry this teamfight! And I’m sure BunBun will have something special planned! Tang Tang will also definitely find a great angle to deal damage! We’re going to win this!”
Yang Fan chuckled and shook his head. He replied, “I want to believe you. I really do. But the facts are telling a different story.”
✹
At 20 minutes, Zhejiang University had gathered up as five in Red team’s bottom side Jungle. Team Shanghai was waiting for them just down the river. Both teams were walking back and forth, searching for an opening to engage. Zhejiang University’s Leona suddenly flashed forward and raised her sword up to the sky. She called down a Solar Flare! The flash of brightness from the sun slammed down on the Rift! When the explosion settled, three stunned members from Team Shanghai were revealed. Jarvan IV, Alistar and Lissandra.
Rumble followed up on Leona’s engage with The Equalizer! He clicked a button on his mechanical suit and fired six rockets from the missile launchers on his back! They arced through the sky and exploded in a straight line on the ground, right on top of Leona’s ultimate! Jarvan IV, Alistar and Lissandra were engulfed in a wall of flames that damaged and slowed them!
Shi Hang had his Ahri move along the long wall separating Red team’s Jungle from the river. He watched the action happening in the river and grinned. Where are you going, Ezreal? He activated Ahri’s ultimate skill. Spirit Rush! Ahri dashed through the Jungle wall into the river and appeared right in front of Ezreal! She blew Ezreal a kiss, a magical heart manifesting in the air and smacking against Ezreal! Charmed!
Everything in the world disappeared before Ezreal’s eyes, except for Ahri. She became his everything! His knees felt weak as he stumbled in her direction. Fox-Fires hit him and burned his skin, as did the unquenchable flames from Ignite! But he didn’t feel pain, only love. The Orb of Deception punched through him, sapping the life out of him! Then it turned around behind him to hit him for a second time, but he didn’t even know this was happening. He only knew he wanted to be closer to Ahri.
Spirit Rush! Shi Hang pressed down on the R key for a second time. His Ahri dashed back across the wall into Red team’s Jungle. He panned his camera to look at the Ezreal, whose health dropped down to single digits. The last tick from Ignite will do that!
《You have slain an enemy!》
The other players from Zhejiang University charged out from their Jungle and engaged Team Shanghai! Rumble and Leona clashed with Jarvan IV, Lissandra and Alistar, while Rek’Sai dug a tunnel underneath them to arrive right in front of Lin Feng’s Varus!
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes and cursed, “Crap!” He punched down on his R key! Varus raised his bow and fired Chains of Corruption at Rek’Sai! The two purple glowing ribbons wrapped around Rek’Sai and rooted her to the ground! Then they started multiplying, searching for other Champions to jump to. But there was no other Champion from Zhejiang University in range. Varus followed up with Hail of Arrows! More than a dozen arrows rained down on Rek’Sai and blighted the ground beneath her!
All the while, Sun Ruinian’s Vayne fired silver bolts at An Xin’s Jarvan IV. There was nothing Team Shanghai could do to stop him. Ezreal was already dead, Lin Feng was being blocked by Rek’Sai, and the other three Champions were still stunned. Every third bolt, the silver rings around Jarvan IV detonated and dealt true damage! His health dropped quickly and it wasn’t long before he collapsed dead to the ground.
《You have slain an enemy!》
Sun Ruinian’s Vayne picked up the second kill of the fight right as the stun from Solar Flare finally wore off. Zhang Hao’s Lissandra cast her ultimate skill on herself! Ice spires shot from the ground and encased her in a Frozen Tomb! The freezing coldness healed her while it damaged the nearby Champions from Zhejiang University. Sun Ruinian’s Vayne and the Leona were quick to escape its range, but Zeng Rui’s Alistar made sure that Rumble couldn’t run away. He combined Headbutt and Pulverise to close the distance and then slam Rumble up into the air!
A Piercing Arrow suddenly shot through the air and pierced Rumble! His health dropped by a third! The freezing temperature also continued to bite into his health bar! Zhejiang University tried to save their Rumble, but Zeng Rui was running interference with his Alistar. Sun Ruinian’s Vayne and Shi Hang’s Ahri decimated Alistar’s health bar, and Zhang Hao’s Lissandra did the same to Rumble!
《Double kill!》
《You have slain an enemy!》
The root from Chains of Corruption wore off. Rek’Sai could run at Lin Feng’s Varus again, though the blighted ground hampered her movement speed. Lin Feng kited Rek’Sai, retreating into Blue team’s Jungle. He glanced at the fight in the river. Zhang Hao is the only on—
《Double kill!》
They’re all dead. I can’t turn this around. Best I can do is kill this Rek’Sai and escape! Lin Feng focused on Rek’Sai, attacking her while also running back towards the inner tower in bot lane. Rek’Sai had a large healthpool, but Varus’ Piercing Arrows did an astonishing amount of damage! Her health dropped, yet she clung to him in a desperate attempt to slow his escape. Lin Feng shook his head lightly. You’re not nearly good enough for that!
Lin Feng panned his camera to check where Ahri, Vayne and Leona were and then quickly focused back on Rek’Sai. He jumped back and forth, calculating exactly how much space he had to maneuver around. Vayne is going to get here first. She’d kill me. A bit faster! His fingers glided over his keyboard. His Varus pulled back the string on his bow and charged up another Piercing Arrow. Lin Feng suddenly narrowed his eyes. Her cooldowns! He had Varus turn around and ran towards Rek’Sai! Right then, Rek’Sai dug a Tunnel! She passed underneath Lin Feng’s Varus and Unburrowed behind him! Good! Now back! He had Varus turn around again and released the Piercing Arrow that was still charging. The thick, massive arrow pierced Rek’Sai!
《You have slain an enemy!》
The audience erupted into deafening cheers! They clapped their hands, stamped their feet and screamed their lungs out! The ground was shaking, the glass from the soundproof booths trembling and spit was flying through the air!
“WOOOOOOO!”
“OH SHIIIIIT!”
“CRAAAAZY!”
“AAAAAAH PINCH ME!”
“INSAAAAAAANE!”
“HE GOT AWAY! OH MY GOD!”
“WOOO! What a great fight! That was a work of art!” Rollfire hollered into his microphone. He grabbed it from its stand and shouted, “Zhejiang University’s engage was perfection! The way they combined the Leona ultimate and Ahri nuke on Ezreal… WOOOOOO! They’re really bringing their A+ game today!”
“That Ahri killed the fight before it even started!” Silent Reed chimed in. She shook her head for a bit and then added, “I’m surprised Team Shanghai still managed to pick up two kills there. They fought back well after such a disastrous start!”
Rollfire laughed and replied, “Two irrelevant kills! Rumble was already behind. He wasn’t worth much. And Rek’Sai did her job, being a meat shield and making that Varus irrelevant! Zhejiang University won it all there! And now they also got the Dragon on top of that! WOOOOO! What a fight!”
Silent Reed glanced and Rollfire and pursed her lips. He’s loving it. The asshole is loving it! It makes me want to hate it! She shook her head. Don’t be so weak! He’s casting! Do the same! Cast the game! It’s a good game! She smiled and said into her microphone, “Zhejiang University pulled themselves into a massive lead there! All they have to do now is end it!”
✹
Lin Feng pressed down on the B key. Blue circles started burning around Varus, rising up around him before carrying him back to the fountain. He knitted his brows and turned his attention to the gamescore. 8-12. They got four kills there. Tang Tang died again too! He clenched down on his mouse. There was nothing I could do there! Tang Tang was dead before the fight even started, and the rest got caught by the Leona ult! Dammit!
They know I’m the only threat on the team right now, so they’re staying far away from me! Lin Feng closed his eyes, pressing the P key to open the shop and buying items in practiced motion. They sacrificed Rek’Sai, knowing full well she could keep me busy until the end of the fight. I couldn’t do anything to help Tang Tang, or the others! Shi Hang and Sun Ruinian aren’t stupid. They just hang back and make sure I can’t root them with my ultimate! He took a deep, long breath. Besides, Shi Hang is good. He can Flash out of my ultimate if he’s watching out for it. I’d need ZengZeng to get a good knock up on him…
Lin Feng opened his eyes and pressed down on the Tab key. It showed more detailed information about the 10 Champions on the Rift and the current state of the game. He scrunched his nose and slowly shook his head. They’ve got so much engage with Leona, Rumble and even Ahri. And what do we have? A Jarvan IV engage? ZengZeng’s Alistar? That’s nothing compared to what they have! We’re falling behind and we can’t really force what we want to force! He bit down on his tongue and let his shoulders drop a bit. I actually have to really try. We might not win this game! I haven’t felt like this in, in years!
Tang Bingyao sat next to Lin Feng. She didn’t notice his reaction to the teamfight. Her mind was focused entirely on her death at the very start of the fight. I’m not good enough! That was another misplay by me! How many is that now? Three? That’s what’s costing us the game! It’s me! I’m the reason we’re losing this! She bit down hard on her lips, frustrated and dejected. My Ezreal is completely useless! He doesn’t deal any damage, even when he’s alive!
No! Stop this! Mnh-mnh! Tang Bingyao shook her head and gritted her teeth. Don’t blame the Champion! It’s not his fault! I’m the reason! I’m just not skilled enough! If I was, I would’ve gotten an advantage in the early game, bought a defensive item to survive Ahri’s burst, and then carried the team to a win! This could’ve been completely different if I hadn’t given away those kills at the start! Now Vayne is far too strong for me. I can’t do anything right! I’m… I’m dragging them down again…
Worst of all… She closed her eyes and fought back the urge to scream out her annoyances. Worst of all, I don’t even know how to come back! What am I supposed to do in this situation? I can’t just sit back and take it, right? Do I force something? What can I force? How would I even start with making a comeback here…? She opened her eyes and turned to look at Lin Feng. What would you do?
Tang Bingyao looked at Lin Feng, with An Xin sitting next to him on the other side. But she didn’t see An Xin struggling. Didn’t see how An Xin’s hand was trembling. Didn’t see the pain written on An Xin’s face. And An Xin was struggling. After her screen turned grey, she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. In, and out. In, and out. She tried to relax and let the tension slip from her hand, but that just made the trembling worse. She quickly placed her other hand over her mouse hand and glanced at the others around her. They didn’t see. They didn’t see. Now come on, stupid hand! Work! She put more pressure on her hand, trying to get a strong grip on the mouse, but right then a sharp jolt shot up from her hand. She winced in pain and bit her lips.
Tears welled in An Xin’s eyes from the pain. Her stomach pulled into a knot as she glanced at her teammates again. I can’t tell them. I can’t show them that something is wrong! We’re in an important series. They’ll just get distracted by it and we’ll lose! I won’t let that happen! She turned her head to look at Lin Feng and noticed the deep frown on his face. You’ve been through so much already. I won’t let you suffer any more! I won’t let you worry about me! I know how much you’ve sacrificed and I also know how you’ll do anything to help your friends! You’re an idiot like that! That’s why I can’t tell you. I won’t tell you… I can’t tell anyone!
An Xin lowered her head, letting her long hair fall over her face and hide the pain in her eyes. Lin Feng is counting on me. I can’t let him down, not now! She flexed her stomach to pull the knot out and pinched the tears out of her eyes. It’s just a small flare-up. I can fight through it. This is nothing. You can do it, An Xin! She breathed in deeply, gathering all the pain, worries and frustrations, before letting it all out in a long sigh. It’s not going to be great. It’s going to hurt. But I won’t give up now! He’s counting on me! So what if my hand is trembling a bit? I can overcome this!
An Xin forced a smile onto her face and threw her hair back over her shoulders. She then turned her head to look at Lin Feng and said over the team’s voice chat, “Lin Feng.”
Lin Feng turned to look at An Xin, finding her smiling at him with her familiar smile, and asked, “Yeah?”
“It’s now or never. This game is hard, but it’s not over yet. The next teamfight has to be ours, though. That’s why we need to find it and play it on our terms!” An Xin explained.
Lin Feng scratched the back of his head, hesitating for a brief moment, and then grinned. He balled his hand into a fist and said, “No problem! I’ll force a teamfight!”
✹
Rollfire didn’t expect Team Shanghai to have the mental fortitude to fight back after the lost teamfight at the dragon pit. He’d expressed as much to the audience, who mumbled their agreement. But as he was looking at the large LCD screen, he recoiled in surprise. “Huh?” he muttered into his microphone. He then shifted around in his seat a little and noted, “Looks like Team Shanghai still has some life in them. That Alistar is looking for something!”
It was 21 minutes into the game, a minute after the dragon fight. Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal was in the bot lane, farming minions at her inner tower. But Zeng Rui’s Alistar wasn’t with her. He’d followed Zhang Hao to the top lane. There he hid in a brush and waited for Zhejiang University’s Rumble to get in range. Rumble didn’t see the gank coming. He was caught completely off guard when the Alistar jumped from the brush and slammed him up into the air with Pulverise! Zhang Hao’s Lissandra followed up on Alistar’s crowd control with Frozen Tomb! Ice spires shot from the ground and locked Rumble up! She then cast Ice shard! Chunks of ice slammed into Rumble!
《You have slain an enemy!》
“NICE!” Silent Reed exclaimed. She giggled and added, “We can’t underestimate Team Shanghai just yet! Don’t forget that Zeng Rui is an A- player! He’s right there at Sun Ruinian’s level!”
Rollfire nodded and said, “That was a nice roam by Alistar. Unfortunate that their carries don’t have that kind of awareness…”
✹
The game clock kept ticking. Lin Feng fought against Shi Hang in the mid lane, his Piercing Arrows becoming progressively more accurate. At 22 minutes, he forced Shi Hang’s Ahri to retreat back behind her outer tower and recover her health. That was the moment Lin Feng had been waiting for. A grin spread on his face, reaching from one ear to the other. He glanced at An Xin and shouted over the voice chat, “BunBun, follow up!” He then pressed down on the D and R keys! Varus flashed past the outer tower and fired the Chains of Corruption at Ahri from point blank range! He rooted her to the ground!
“Got it,” An Xin replied. She chewed on her lips, glanced briefly at her hand, and then focused her complete attention on the game. He needs me. I’m going to be there for him!
Varus was a Champion who relied on his long range to bring down a Champion’s health bar. He preferably never got in range of his opponent. So when the audience saw Lin Feng flashing towards Shi Hang, ignoring Red team’s outer tower, they shifted in their seats and their eyes went wide with shock.
“Da fuck is he doing!?”
“Man, so aggro!”
“HOOOOOOH! Will you look at that!”
“Maddening! Varus is cray-cray!”
Silent Reed could almost feel the doubt in the air. She glanced at the stands where everyone in the audience had something to say about this engage. But she’d seen enough games from Team Shanghai and previously High School 13 to know they weren’t ones to tilt. She focused on the minimap and spotted Jarvan IV running through Red team’s Jungle. “Oh, oh!” she exclaimed, pointing at the large LCD screen. “The Jarvan IV is ganking! That’s why he engaged! It’s a gank!”
The Chains of Corruption rooted Shi Hang’s Ahri to the ground. An Xin gritted her teeth and activated Jarvan IV’s ultimate skill–Cataclysm! Jarvan IV leaped at Ahri and then smashed down on her with such force that he terraformed the earth into an arena! He then brandished his lance and struck at Ahri with the sharp end! All the while, arrows permeating a baleful energy struck Ahri, ripping away at her health!
Shi Hang pressed down on his R key. “Break already!” he mumbled. The root from Chains of Corruption kept his Ahri immobile. Her health was dropping quickly and he needed to dash out with Spirit Rush fast if he wanted to survive. Dash and stop Varus! BREAK! The root wore off. Shi Hang’s Ahri dashed out of Jarvan IV’s Cataclysm. She then briefly turned to look at Varus and blew him a kiss! A pink-red heart manifested in the air and flew towards Varus!
Lin Feng grinned. His Varus was underneath Red team’s outer tower. It had targeted him and fired the first energy shot already. If he got Charmed, he’d die. But that was also why he fully expected the Charm to come. He was already moving out of the way before the animation even finished! The large heart blew past him and missed him completely. All the while, An Xin’s Jarvan IV used Ahri’s animation to jump on her with a flag-toss combo and knock her up into the air!
Shi Hang’s eyelid twitched. What!? She’s playing faster than before! Was she hol— FUCK! His Ahri was still in the air and out of his control when a claw of ice came tearing through the ground!
“I’m also here to follow up!” Zhang Hao announced over Team Shanghai’s voice chat, grinning. He pushed down on the E key for a second time to jump towards the ice claw that was right next to Shi Hang’s Ahri. He then moved his mouse over the Ahri and activated his ultimate! Ice spires erupted from the ground and pierced Ahri, locking her up in a Frozen Tomb!
Zhang Hao laughed and shouted, “You’re dead!”
“THEY’RE KILLING AYDEECEE!”
“WOOOOO! GO TEAM SHANGHAI!”
“KILL THE PRO! KILL THE PRO!”
“THEY’RE DOING IT! THEY’RE REALLY DOING IT!”
Lin Feng grinned and said over the team’s voice chat, “Great timing, HaoBro!” He had his Varus move past the outer tower and towards the Jungle entrance. There was a small opening there where he was still in the lane and in range to attack Ahri, but where the tower couldn’t hit him. He linked his skills together with Zhang Hao and Jarvan IV, paying careful attention to Ahri’s health bar. Frozen Tomb is almost wearing off, still a bit of health left… He chuckled, his fingers gliding over his keyboard.
Varus raised his bow and pulled back the string. He aimed up in the air and let go. More than a dozen arrows flew through the air before raining down on Ahri! Varus followed up with a quick auto attack. Then he pulled back the string of his bow with more power than before. A thick, massive arrow appeared. The winds started howling as more power gathered around the bow. Then the Piercing Arrow shot through the air and pierced Ahri!
《You have slain an enemy!》
Zhang Hao grinned and said over the team’s voice chat, “Great engage, Lin Feng! That was so cool! I saw you going and just knew I could make it in time!” The adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he was going mad with pride. He laughed loudly before adding, “We stomped that pro! Serves him right for getting careless around us!”
Lin Feng grinned and replied, “Yeah! Serves him right! Now let’s take their towers!”
An Xin smiled and nodded along to Lin Feng and Zhang Hao’s excited conversation, hiding the stabbing pain in her hand. How much longer can I hold on for? That flag-toss combo hurt so much... I can’t do that too much. She glanced at her hand and forced herself to breath in deeply. But I’m not going to sit here and whine! I came to play, so that’s what I’m doing! She breathed out and focused her attention back on her monitor. I don’t know how much longer I can do this for. But I’m going to make the most out of every second!
Across the stage in Zhejiang University’s soundproof booth, Shi Hang rubbed his neck. He looked at his dull grey screen and sighed. Seems like they have more on their team than just Maple. I got a bit carried away with my match against him that I forgot about the others. Time to stop doing that. We need to win this game. He turned to look at Sun Ruinian and said over the team’s voice chat, “Looks like they’re really thinking about coming back into this game. Like we’re gonna let that happen. SunSun, let’s end this game!”
Sun Ruinian looked at the minion wave in the bot lane. He’d pushed it out before recalling back to base and now Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal was attacking it. She’s still trying so hard. Gotta commend her for trying even after being so far behind… He then nodded and replied over the team’s voice chat, “Got it. Lemme get this Big Fucking Sword and we can end it.”
✹
At 25 minutes, the fourth Dragon of the game spawned. Team Shanghai and Zhejiang University got into position to fight for it. But Zhejiang University was clearly stronger. They pushed Team Shanghai down the river and back into the tri-brush going into their Jungle. It was the perfect chokepoint for Leona to cast her ultimate. A Solar Flare slammed down onto the brush and stunned An Xin’s Jarvan IV and Zeng Rui’s Alistar!
Team Shanghai tried to fight back. They unleashed all their skills on Leona, who was the first from Zhejiang University to jump into the fight. And they did deal enough damage to kill her. But not before the rest of Zhejiang University’s team arrived. Zhejiang University simply dealt far more damage and shredded through Jarvan IV and Alistar’s health bars. They could push for more kills, the three surviving Champions from Team Shanghai already retreating, but decided to instead take the Dragon. That was going to give them the bigger advantage.
Lin Feng shook his head, forced to have his Varus run away again. It’s like the previous teamfight all over again. We’re just not strong enough. I can’t carry these kinds of fights… He panned his camera around the map and kept shaking his head. There’s nothing we can do here.
Zeng Rui stared at the different shades of grey on his monitor. Caught again. It’s just too difficult! Ahri and Vayne are fed. And then they have Rumble and Leona! There’s just nothing we can do about it! He glanced at Tang Bingyao who was sitting next to him. Her Ezreal still hasn’t hit his power spike yet either. She just keeps running after the facts. All the farming she did just isn’t enough! Vayne is too strong. It’s just… It’s all against us this game. He bit on his lips before finally saying over the team’s voice chat, “We’re going to turtle. Fight only under our towers and grind this game out.”
✹
Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and analysed, “We’ve got Alistar, Lissandra and Varus. They’re all great for defending a tower! And then there’s also Ezreal. He isn’t great, but he’s okay! I can see what our team is going for here and it might work!”
“Yeah! Our bros are gonna win this one!” Ouyang cheered. He clenched his fists and added, “Watch them make the comeback!”
Wei Dong pointed at the large LCD screen and said, “Look at that! Zhejiang tried to attack the tower in the top lane but is now backing away! Lin Feng’s Varus is really dealing so much damage with those Piercing Arrows!”
“They might really do it!” Liu Yue exclaimed. He moved to the edge of his seat, wrapped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, “TEAM SHANGHAI! WOOT WOOT!”
Yang Fan traced his finger across the frame of his glasses. He frowned and said, “I’m not so sure. There, see that? Zhejiang University is pushing the different lanes. They’re going to keep switching between those lanes and will look for an opportunity.”
“They won’t find one!” Ouyang exclaimed. He laughed and added, “Those are our bros up there! They’re way too good to screw up like that!”
“YEAH! We’re winning this!” Liu Yue chimed in.
The friends and teammates from Team Shanghai started building up their own confidence, pointing to the LCD screen and explaining to each other just how their team was going to pull a win out of this game. Their arguments were fueled by passion. It wasn’t long before their attention was on each other, and not on the large LCD screen. They completely missed as the game reached 27 minutes. They completely missed Sun Ruinian Condemning Tang Bingyao’s Ezreal against the inhibitor tower. And they only realised Tang Bingyao got caught out again when the game announcer’s voice boomed through the venue speakers.
《A champion has been slain!》
