27. Lin Jiang's hand injury
After finishing what he was doing, Lin Jiang stretched his aching arms. "I'm going upstairs to change my clothes. Call me when the team leader arrives."
Shen Ju instinctively followed, "I'll change too."
After going upstairs, Shen Ju discovered a serious problem with blood congestion.
Lin Jiang's clothes were on the balcony. The two balconies were connected, so they could see each other changing clothes...
He stood stiffly on the balcony, maintaining his posture, not daring to actually take his clothes off.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lin Jiang casually unbuttoning his shirt and glancing back at him, asking, "Aren't you going to change?"
He took off his shirt, revealing his lean waist, and picked up his dirty clothes, ready to throw them into the washing machine.
Then came an even more arousing problem: the washing machine shared on the balcony was located on Shen Ju's side.
Lin Jiang walked past him without any hesitation, threw the clothes into the washing machine, and then walked back past him.
Shen Ju didn't dare to look at him. Lin Jiang thought he was sick and touched his forehead with his cool hand. "Why is your face so red?"
The sudden closeness made Shen Ju's heart skip a beat, and for a moment he didn't know where to look.
Lin Jiang looked very thin when dressed, but after taking off his clothes, he wasn't thin at all; he had a lean and powerful look. He didn't wear any extra accessories, and his whole person was as clean as a piece of jade.
Shenju experienced a brief period of dizziness.
He stood firm, his throat bobbing uncontrollably.
She felt an itch in her heart that she couldn't scratch, and her gaze was fixed on Lin Jiang, unable to look away.
Lin Jiang turned to get clean clothes. On his narrow waist, in a suggestive place, were two small English letters tattooed, intertwined with roses like vines.
The black rose represents endless desire; it will transform all of Lin Jiang's pure aura into erosive lust.
Lin Jiang has tattoos on his body...
Still in such an ambiguous place.
Shen Ju raised his eyelids. "What's that on your waist?"
Lin Jiang glanced back, nonchalantly putting on his clothes, "My first love."
Shen Ju's breath hitched. "You've been in a relationship before?"
"Um."
A faint sense of suffocation hung in the air. "So, you and him... was your first love a man or a woman?"
"A man."
Male —
Lin Jiang actually likes men.
Shen Ju turned around abruptly, not daring to look at Lin Jiang again.
A certain desire seemed to be churning within him, like that black rose, its thorny vines reaching out to tightly entwine him...
"...So, how did you and him break up?"
A soft laugh came from behind him, and Lin Jiang began to reminisce about his student days.
“I was quite rebellious back then. He asked me if I dared to date him and challenge the authority of the homeroom teacher. I said, ‘Why wouldn’t I dare?’ Then he said that couples in school would tattoo each other’s names on their bodies, so he took me to get one. After I got mine done, when it was his turn, he said he was afraid of the pain and secretly ran away through the back door. We talked for three hours and then parted ways.”
Shen Ju paused for a moment, "How old were you then?"
"I think he's 14, still in junior high school."
Lin Jiang had already gotten dressed and recounted in a half-joking tone: "I was afraid of the pain and didn't dare to wash at the time. Later, I found it quite funny and was too lazy to wash. I just consider it a lesson I learned from my rebellious youth."
Shen Ju couldn't imagine that Lin Jiang, who was so perfect, was so rebellious during his student days.
Before Lin Jiang came to OT, Shen Ju always believed that there were no perfect people in the world, and that he would be disillusioned as soon as he got close to them.
But he never expected that Lin Jiang was so good, better than all his imagination combined, so good that he became more and more obsessed.
Shen Ju turned his face away uncomfortably. "When I was in school... I was quite rebellious too."
"Really?" Lin Jiang smiled and pinched his cheek. "I could tell at a glance that you must have been rebellious when you were young, and I was right."
Shen Ju's face turned red again from being pinched. He stared straight at Lin Jiang, finding him handsome in every way. His thin eyelashes looked just like butterflies when they drooped down.
...He suddenly had an urge to tattoo Lin Jiang on his waist.
Shen Ju grabbed Lin Jiang's sleeve, his heart pounding. "Captain, I..."
Song Zhixu's loud voice came from downstairs: "Captain, the team leader is here, come down quickly."
Lin Jiang: "Okay."
He patted Shen Ju on the shoulder, "I'll go down first, you hurry up and change."
As soon as Lin Jiang left, the scorching heat in the air was also taken away.
Shen Ju suddenly regained his senses, and the rose vines that were entwining him loosened their grip.
He quickly washed his face with cold water to calm down, took off his clothes with one hand, changed into clean clothes, and went downstairs.
Downstairs, Song Zhixu was warmly welcoming the new team leader, a 20-year-old girl with short hair and a chubby face as red as an apple. Standing next to the 188cm tall Song Zhixu, she looked like a child.
"My name is Ryan, you can call me An'an. Please take care of me from now on!"
Song Zhixu teased her on purpose, "You're so cute, are you an adult yet? You look even younger than Ah Deng..." He originally wanted to pinch her cheek, but when he saw Lin Jiang come down, he immediately stopped, "Hahahaha... Your name is quite nice."
As he spoke, he moved Ah Deng over, placing him between himself and the young lady.
Lin Jiang came down and introduced himself to her in a friendly manner. It was clear that Ryan was sincere and had done his homework before coming, even researching their preferences.
At first, Lin Jiang was worried that she was introverted and shy, but after seeing her talk fluently about her professional skills, he suddenly realized that his worries were unnecessary.
What I'm afraid of is—
He looked up and saw Shen Ju coming downstairs.
Ryan greeted him warmly: "Hello, I'm Ryan, and you are..."
Shen Ju: "I don't want to hear it."
He walked straight to his seat.
Ryan was so frightened that he dared not speak.
Song Zhixu comforted her, "It's alright, it's alright, Shen Ju is just like that, you don't need to worry about him, I'll take you to visit the base..."
Under his coaxing, Ryan quickly recovered his spirits. It has to be said that Song Zhixu really has his own way of comforting people.
Ah Deng looked at Zhou Wen, who then looked at Lin Jiang. Lin Jiang shook his head, indicating that he was powerless to help.
This is the crown prince of the e-sports world; if he doesn't want to do something, even Buddha himself can't stop him.
Ryan wants to be the leader of the OT (Overtime) team, which is a step she must go through.
Time quickly came to 5:30 pm. Ryan had planned his route to the hospital well in advance and made a list of all the troubles he might encounter during the medical visit.
She looked at them firmly and said, "Don't worry, I will make sure you get back safely!"
Shen Ju looked at her with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot, picked up his backpack, and said, "Let's go, you moron."
Song Zhixu behind him laughed out loud, and Lin Jiang coughed, signaling him to be mindful of his behavior.
When I got downstairs, the ride-hailing car arrived just in time.
It's a small electric car, and the back seat is ridiculously small.
Shen Ju made no attempt to hide his disdain: "You don't have a driver's license?"
Ryan said apologetically, "I'm sorry, my driving skills aren't very good. I was worried you might have an accident on the road. I'm sorry to have troubled you, please..."
Isn't the first requirement for hiring a team leader to be able to drive? Duren, that tightwad, must have only hired an intern because he was cheap.
Shen Ju really wanted to fire this idiot, but considering that Lin Jiang was still nearby, he could only suppress his temper and obediently go inside.
Ryan sat in the front, and Lin Jiang sat behind him.
Two long-limbed people were squeezed in the back row, and physical contact was inevitable. Lin Jiang was replying to messages, and his knee would occasionally bump into Lin Jiang.
Shen Ju awkwardly pulled away to the side.
As the driver turned, Lin Jiang bumped into him.
"Excuse me."
Lin Jiang propped himself up on his thighs and sat up straight, his fingers accidentally touching him—
Shen Ju suddenly sat up, hugging the pillow in front of him, feeling cramped and uneasy in the small space.
Ryan, sitting in the front row, fearlessly turned around and asked him, "Brother Chenju, are you sick? Why are you covered in sweat?"
Lin Jiang put down his phone and saw that his ears were bright red. "Do you have a fever?"
Shen Ju blocked his hand, "...No, I'm not sick."
Ryan: "Look at you, your voice is hoarse from the fever!"
Lin Jiang leaned over, still worried, and touched his forehead. Now, not only his ears but also his neck turned red.
Shen Ju gritted his teeth silently, determined to fire this team leader when he got back!
The ride-hailing car stopped downstairs at the hospital, and Lin Jiang got out. This hospital didn't look any worse than the one KUG had found for him.
The numbers were already assigned, and Lin Jiang arrived at the outpatient room.
Dr. Cen put on his reading glasses and carefully examined both of their hands. He only prescribed some medicine for Shen Ju, but he examined Lin Jiang's hands repeatedly for a long time before finally suggesting that he get an X-ray first.
Lin Jiang's heart sank. He had been very careful to protect his hands in this life, but it still wasn't enough?
Shen Ju was even more nervous than Lin Jiang: "Is his hand seriously injured?"
Dr. Cen wasn't sure, "It's a bit more serious than yours, let's get it checked first, that way you'll feel more at ease."
Lin Jiang thanked the doctor and waited quietly outside the X-ray room.
While waiting, my hands and feet felt cold, and what I thought about most was the time I argued with He Gu in my previous life.
He had never seen He Gu so angry. He slammed the medical report in front of him and said, "Didn't we agree that you would rest for six months because of your hand injury? Why are you always secretly training behind my back?"
Lin Jiang tried to explain to him, "If you don't practice, your hands will quickly become rusty. I'm a professional player, so it's impossible for me not to practice. Besides, it's normal for players to have hand injuries. I've never heard of anyone being unable to compete anymore. Even if that day really comes, I'll still play even if I have to have surgery..."
He Gu slammed his laptop down, his usually composed and restrained face now contorted with anger. "Lin Jiang, why won't you listen to me? Don't you know how serious joint effusion is? If you keep playing, are you going to lose this hand? The competition is important? How important? Will you die if you don't play? Suspend the competition! I'm going to tell the manager right now to suspend all your matches!"
At that time, Lin Jiang was filled with grievances and had nowhere to vent them, so he smashed He Gu's computer with force.
"Why should I listen to you? Who do you think you are to me?! What gives you the right to stop my match? What right do you have to tell me not to play? You have no idea what I want, you and I are not the same kind of people at all!"
After that argument, they didn't speak to each other for a full six months, and He Gu did indeed stop competing completely, just as he had said.
To mock or ridicule.
To belittle and insult.
It came on all sides.
It was from that moment that Lin Jiang fell into an endless abyss.
He just couldn't understand why the person who personally locked up his career was the same person who had welcomed him into KUG with a smile...
Lin Jiang felt cold in his hands and feet, so he went outside and lit a cigarette for himself.
Those things are far removed from his memory, but whenever he thinks about them, his hands still tremble slightly as they hang down.
Shen Ju suddenly came over and grasped his hand. His palm was very hot, which could drive away Lin Jiang's coldness.
"Captain, don't worry. I asked Dr. Cen, and he said that medical technology is very advanced now, and it can help you last a few more years. At worst, we can work hard and win a few more championships, so you won't have any regrets when you leave this world..."
Lin Jiang turned his head to look at Shen Ju, who was also looking at him with a sincere gaze full of support.
It seems that only professional players can truly understand what other professional players want.
To be born on stage is to die on stage.
As long as my hand isn't broken and I can still breathe, I will never give up this stage.
Lin Jiang turned around and hugged him tightly.
The trembling deep within him gradually subsided.
"Okay, let's work hard together."
Shen Ju was stunned by his embrace.
This was the first time he had been so close to Lin Jiang. He carefully touched the hem of his clothes, and desire began to stir within him. Just as he was about to wrap his arms around the other's waist—
Lin Jiang patted him hard on the back and left, saying, "I'm going to film."
"..."
The captain's waist is so slim.
I regret not hugging her tightly earlier.
After the X-ray, we still had to wait an hour. Ryan suggested, "Why don't we go grab something to eat first? I see there's a KFC downstairs!"
Shen Ju had no desire to eat this garbage, nor did he want to go out to eat with this little idiot. While Lai An went to the toilet, he grabbed Lin Jiang and ran away.
I sent a message: Eat your KFC by yourself, don't bother us.
Ryan: T_T Got it.
The sky wasn't completely dark at seven o'clock. As a professional gamer, I rarely see this city during the day, and the air is filled with a sense of freedom.
Shen Ju walked behind Lin Jiang, slowly, each step carefully considered.
Inner desires nourish rose vines, which, with their sharp thorns, entwine around him and grow wildly in his heart.
At the fork in the road, Chen Ju finally made up his mind, "Captain, under what circumstances would you choose to be in a relationship?"
Lin Jiang thought for a moment, "After winning the championship and fulfilling all my wishes, I might start to consider my personal life."
Shen Ju hummed in agreement, burying his emotions in his collar. "So, Captain, what kind of person would you like?"
"Someone who's my equal?" Lin Jiang wasn't sure. "She might choose someone delicate and soft, someone who would complement me perfectly."
The steed stopped in its tracks.
He finally realized belatedly: "Captain, you mean a woman?"
"Otherwise what?" Lin Jiang found it amusing. "You don't think I'm gay, do you?"
Shen Ju's heart sank. "Wasn't your first love a guy?"
"I was just joking about 'first love,' it wasn't a real first love. He and I are good buddies. I was just teasing him when I said 'first love.' What, you really think I'm gay?"
Lin Jiang laughed heartily, his bright eyes sparkling, truly resembling a butterfly fluttering its wings under the dazzling city lights.
He couldn't see that Shenju's heart was sinking deeper and deeper, and that the rampant vines would eventually entangle and shatter his desires, leaving him covered in wounds and blood.
...It turns out he was just delusional.
Shen Ju lowered his pale eyes, "...It's fine."
Lin Jiang patted him on the shoulder, speaking to him without any reservations, just like he would to a good brother, "It's too early to talk about these things now, and besides, what private time do we professional players have? Don't hold the girl back..."
Shen Ju: "Hmm."
He emphasized, "Captain, your most important task right now is to lead us to the World Championship. You absolutely cannot be in a relationship."
"Alright, alright, what should we eat now? Hey, that fish at that place looks good, let's try it, it's on you today, Captain."
After finishing my meal and returning to the hospital, the scans were already in.
Dr. Cen put on his reading glasses again and frowned as he looked at his films.
The clinic was eerily quiet; even breathing was suppressed.
After reading it, Dr. Cen suddenly relaxed his brow. "Your training volume hasn't been too high recently, so this isn't the worst-case scenario. Let's observe you more closely later."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Jiang pressed further: "Is there a risk of it worsening?"
"There will definitely be some problems, but as long as you keep applying the medicine, follow the doctor's advice, and don't overdo the training, there shouldn't be any major issues."
Dr. Cen prescribed some medicine and several courses of conditioning treatment for them.
Ryan offered to pay for them.
Lin Jiang arrived at the hospital entrance and finally relaxed and smiled, "I told you there wouldn't be any problems, look how nervous you all were."
Shen Ju turned his face away. "The doctor just said it's not a big problem, not that there's no problem. Captain, your hand injury is more serious than mine. You'll have to control your training volume from now on."
Lin Jiang, who has been given a second chance at life, has been deliberately controlling his training volume, but some things are unavoidable, such as 5v5 training matches, duo queue with A Deng, and solo with Song Zhixu.
Shen Ju had the same idea as him, "I'll play with Song Zhixu in his solo match, you can focus on duoing with A Deng."
To be honest, there are many similarities between the laning techniques for the mid lane and the top lane, and Lin Jiang can play the top lane, so his training of Song Zhixu is of great help.
Shenju is AD.
His techniques were more about pulling and maneuvering, which didn't offer much help to Song Zhixu.
Lin Jiang gave a vague reply: "We'll see. I feel pretty good right now. It's definitely not appropriate for me to stop all my training."
Shen Ju wanted to say something, but he held back.
After paying the medical bills, Ryan took the medicine and led them back.
This time she was smarter when booking a ride; the back seats were spacious enough that the two of them didn't feel cramped at all.
But as Shenju sat there, he felt a little regretful.
"..."
He stared blankly at the traffic outside the window, feeling increasingly melancholy.
How could the captain be straight...?
When the two returned to the base, everyone put down their training and asked them how it went.
Lin Jiang only reported the good news and not the bad: "It's nothing serious, some medicine will do the trick."
Shen Ju gave him a deep look.
It wasn't exposed.
Anyway, he will keep a close eye on the captain and his hands from now on.
After a brief chat, everyone quickly returned to training mode, as their opponent tomorrow would be XIG.
This team is different from the previous three teams; it is an upper-middle-tier team, and its overall strength is much stronger than FOU.
Moreover, their top laner is really amazing. He was even poached by a strong team before, but he was very grateful and chose to stay with his old team.
Lin Jiang had eaten with their top laner a few times and was relatively familiar with him. "Hore's individual skill is very strong. Without him, XIG would be a second-rate team at best. This team is also known as a strong team testing machine. Basically, only strong teams can beat them. Their performance is very stable."
Many people online are saying that OT will immediately show its true colors when it faces XIG, and KUG fans are urging the match to come quickly.
Although Lin Jiang didn't want to admit it, he had to: "If we lose to XIG, it's basically safe to say that OT doesn't have the strength to go to the World Championship."
These words silenced his teammates. Song Zhixu asked timidly, "Captain, what are the chances that I can beat Hore?"
He thought Lin Jiang would say zero, but after thinking it over, Lin Jiang told him, "Around 30. If you perform better in team battles, you might get more than 30. The rest is up to me and Shen Ju."
Song Zhixu: !!!
How can I suddenly feel so hopeful?
The next day, OT arrived at the competition venue ahead of schedule.
The organizers scheduled KUG's match for the same day as theirs. This time, KUG played first. When Lin Jiang arrived, KUG had already taken a 1-0 lead in the match.
"Don't you guys think Alike is playing too recklessly? They're not using their brains at all."
After training with Lin Jiang for a few days, Song Zhixu's mind became much sharper. "Look at him, if he had gone back to base to buy equipment, the lane would still be on his side, and he would have had an advantage when he went back to lane. Now, if he doesn't go back to base and pushes hard, he can't push cleanly and will risk being ganked by the jungler, which is not worth it."
After he finished speaking, he noticed Lin Jiang staring at him and suddenly felt guilty: "...Captain, am I wrong?"
Lin Jiang laughed and patted him on the shoulder approvingly, "Not bad, Song Zhixu, your understanding of minion waves is now even better than Alike's."
Song Zhixu: !!!
Has he become that strong already?!
Suddenly I'm full of energy for the next game!
The large screen in the lounge showed that Alike did indeed suffer from the minion wave disadvantage, being ganked and forced to use Flash, and then losing half a wave of minions when he returned to lane.
However, his skills were on point, and even with a disadvantage of half a wave of minions and Flash, he still managed to kill the enemy mid laner.
Unfortunately, the opposing jungler also arrived, and Alike, without Flash, could only meet his unfortunate end.
After this round, Alike's record is 2:1. It's not that his record is bad, but he could have been better, yet he always seems to be just a little bit short.
The two sides traded blows in this match, with KUG losing the second game but winning the third, securing a 2-1 victory.
At this point, KUG was ranked third, YIT was second with only one loss, and TG was first with no losses so far.
"TG is really strong this year, winning all their small-game matches. They're probably going to finish first in the regular season."
Lin Jiang remembered that in his previous life, TG had won all their regular season games and won the summer championship that year.
It's just a pity...
They suffered a major upset at the World Championship.
Lin Jiang checked the current OT rankings. His matches were scheduled relatively late, so he would be pushed to the end due to the large score difference.
If OT can win today's match, whether it's 2-0 or 2-1, OT's ranking will at least rise to...
Second place.
It just pushed KUG out of the top three.
Lin Jiang suddenly realized that winning this match was crucial.
As the music started playing and the host made his introduction, both teams took their seats.
"Next up are OT and XIG, with OT having the first pick in the first game."
Don't underestimate this small right to choose sides; it determines what tactics OT will use to launch an attack, meaning that the initiative in the first game is in OT's hands.
Both sides entered the game interface. OT first banned three of Hore's signature top laners, and XIG was not to be outdone, banning three of Lin Jiang's mid laners in turn.
Lin Jiang thought that after the ZOG match, XIG would prioritize targeting the jungler, but he didn't expect them to target him instead.
Since that's the case, then he won't hold back.
Amidst screams from the crowd, OT instantly locked down Akali.
Bullet comments—
[Huh? What kind of selection method is this?]
[Akali?]
[Isn't Lin Jiang afraid of being targeted by the opposing team?]
[Although this hero has been buffed, should we pick River as a counter pick? It's easy for him to be countered.]
At this moment, the commentators on stage suddenly noticed the key point: "But XIG doesn't have any champions that can counter Akali!"
Akali is a very agile assassin, and almost no hero can completely counter her. Generally, you should choose a strong laner to pressure her in the early game.
However, XIG banned three mid-lane champions in a row, all of whom were strong in the early game, leaving them with no better champions to choose from.
This was the first tactic Lin Jiang had prepared for them.
—You reap what you sow.
XIG decisively abandoned the mid lane, giving the bot lane Xayah and Rakan combo, preparing to play a scaling bot lane.
OT gets the Luna combo, and the burst damage in the early and mid-game is extremely high.
This strong draft made XIG uneasy. They still had Azir to pick, but this Luna combination forced them to pick a strong mid laner to get through the early and mid-game.
How should I choose?
After careful consideration, XIG picked Tristana for mid lane.
This champion can indeed slightly counter Akali in lane, but it's hard to say how she'll fare in the late game. But there's no other way; they have to pick her this way.
The match entered the hero ban phase again. Instead of continuing to target Hore, OT banned two heroes specifically for the jungler role.
When it was XIG's turn to pick, they didn't want to give up Lee Sin to the other side, so they locked him in, intending to use Lee Sin to limit Lin Jiang's entry into the fray.
Finally, it was OT's turn, and they locked in the strong top and jungle combination of Renekton and Vi.
The OT top and jungle duo has exceptionally high burst damage, but there's one champion who can effectively spread their firepower: Gnar, a top laner that Hore plays exceptionally well.
This hero can not only be flexible in lane, but also prevent the Luna combo from dealing damage in mid-game team fights!
XIG almost instinctively picked Gnar, and just as they were about to lock him in, they suddenly discovered a fatal problem!
The commentator on stage instantly had a flash of inspiration: "Ah, Gnar is no good! XIG can't pick Gnar! If they pick Gnar, their lineup will become a physical damage team!"
The so-called "melee team" is a lineup that only deals physical damage and has no magic damage. This is a big no-no in the game. Once the opponent builds physical defense items, no one in XIG will be able to deal any damage!
The mid-lane Tristana is a physical damage dealer, as are the jungler and the bot lane, so the top lane must have an AP champion with crowd control. Therefore, Hore only has Kennen as an option!
However, Kennen has a hard time dealing with Renekton in lane! His mid-game entry will also be restricted by Nami! This is practically putting Hore in a dangerous situation.
In an instant, the expressions of the entire XIG team changed drastically. Their mouse hovered over Gnar, but they hesitated to lock onto him.
Judging from their frantic mouse movements, they really didn't expect this tactic to turn into a suicide move!
This was Lin Jiang's second tactic.
—Using a counter-strategy.
The commentator lamented, "XIG fell into the OT tactical trap, but there's nothing they can do. Even if it's a trap, they have to jump in! A physical damage team is absolutely unacceptable! We can only hope that XIG can turn the tide with their individual skills!"
XIG had no choice but to pick Kennen.
OT has gained an unprecedented tactical advantage.
On the big screen, the director gave Lin Jiang a close-up shot. He smiled like a fox, looking harmless but actually quite cunning behind the scenes.
The scene erupted in cheers once again—
[Take ruthless control!]
[No wonder he's a professional player with four years of experience!]
[They played too cleverly; it feels like XIG is going to lose this game.]
[This lineup has too much of an advantage; XIG has no chance.]
All I can say is that Lin Jiang is a cunning fox.
Both sides enter the game.
Lin Jiang couldn't win in the early game, so he had to play cautiously. He used his top-notch understanding of minion waves to almost never miss any experience or last hits.
The enemy's Tristana became increasingly impatient, attempting to jump in and fight Lin Jiang at level three. Lin Jiang calmly used a smoke grenade, not only preventing the enemy from dealing damage but also causing the enemy to lose a combo.
Song Zhixu, who was on the top lane, also had a tough time in the early game. Based on his experience against Lao Mao and Lin Jiang, he had developed an adaptive, sneaky development tactic and didn't suffer any losses.
As for the bottom lane...
Shenju is no different from a mad dog.
The Luna duo almost completely dominates all bot lane duos in the early game. Lucian's high burst damage, combined with Nami's attack speed buff, means they can unleash a barrage of attacks from the moment they meet.
Level 1, go head-to-head with the opponent.
Level 3, charge in and take on the opponent.
Level 6, Flash in and kill the opponent.
The opposing team's development combination suffered terribly under Shen Ju's hands. Shen Ju was like a madman, taking every step with extreme caution and seizing every opportunity to bite them.
XIG's bot lane was getting crushed and had to call for help from the jungler. But once the jungler started to support the bot lane, the jungle rhythm made it very comfortable for A-Deng.
In this game, A-Deng played Vi, a jungler with strong crowd control. Once he locks someone's head down, no one can escape.
Following Lin Jiang's instructions, he stayed on the upper road and took every opportunity to lock his head on Kennen across the road.
Even though Hore is very strong individually, he still had a very difficult time playing against such a powerful Ueno duo.
Kennen is a champion who heavily relies on farming and is very squishy; one mistake can send him back to base. And once you lose in the top lane, regaining the advantage is extremely difficult…
Hore sighed in frustration and TPed to the lane.
Knowing that the opponent did not have Flash, Song Zhixu, controlling the crocodile, feinted and then Flashed to bite Hore.
A-Deng decisively locked onto Kennen, unleashing a series of crowd control abilities and high burst damage, instantly killing the fragile Kennen on the spot!
Looking at the black and white screen, Hore took a deep breath.
He hadn't expected that a top laner like Song Zhixu could play Renekton so decisively; this was beyond his expectations.
And then there's their jungler, A-Deng. Although his rhythm wasn't good, with both junglers avoiding each other, he picked Vi, a champion with easy-to-lock-head abilities, which completely masked his disadvantages...
Hore smiled bitterly.
Lin Jiang is indeed Lin Jiang.
Behind the scenes, Lin Jiang was manipulating the situation, placing every seemingly useless piece in its proper place.
Lin Jiang possesses talent that is unmatched by most.
KUG must be kicking himself for losing him.
XIG's jungler always stayed in the bottom lane, but unfortunately, both Chenju and Zhou Wen had escape skills, so at most they could only kill one Nami as a sacrifice.
OT only lost their support, but XIG lost their valuable top laner! Where can they even begin to complain? (XIG members break down in tears)
As the game progressed into the mid-game, XIG, known for their tempo, finally regained some momentum. While A-Deng was pushing the Rift to the top, XIG decisively took the Dragon and pushed the mid lane.
Seeing the four opponents surrounding his mid lane, Lin Jiang showed no intention of retreating.
He activated a smoke grenade and concealed himself within it.
The opposing team led their minions into the tower and began pushing the mid-lane tower.
The smoke grenade slowly dissipated, spreading to Xiaopao's feet. Relying on the superior numbers, he was completely unaware of the danger.
Lin Jiang maneuvered Akali to his feet, suddenly raised the Reaper's Scythe, unleashed his ultimate, and combined it with AQA to reduce Tristana's health to half.
Xiao Pao instinctively used W to jump back, but Lin Jiang used E in the opposite direction to close the distance and dodge the enemy Lee Sin's Q skill.
The commentator exclaimed, "Beautiful!"
Lin Jiang landed, raised his hand, used his second ultimate skill plus Flash, and landed directly to pierce the little cannon's main artery. This move immediately reduced the little cannon's health to a dangerous level!
Here it comes! Akali's R-flash!
Akali's second ultimate ability is not lock-on and has a fixed range, taking effect upon landing.
If you're fast enough to use Flash before Akali lands, you can extend the distance of the second R and unleash the second burst damage upon landing!
This maneuver demands extremely high hand speed, and many players can only pull it off during their peak years. Lin Jiang pulled it off when he first debuted!
I never expected that four years later, his hand speed would still be the same as it was back then!
Xiao Pao's expression changed drastically at this moment. He had used his ultimate and Flash in the previous fight, and now he had no escape skills and could only wait helplessly for death to come!
Akali, wielding the scythe of death, spoke with a joyful and satisfied tone: "Would you rather die quickly, or even faster?"
The lighthearted and playful tone, coupled with an arrogant gaze, pushed the irony to its extreme.
Lin Jiang raised his hand and took him away without hesitation.
At this moment, Xiao Pao's teammates wanted to avenge him. The Blind Monk hopped his ward and came over, intending to "coolly kick" Lin Jiang back.
Just when everyone thought Lin Jiang was doomed, a loud shout suddenly rang out: "See you later!"
This is Akali's second E skill's trigger line!
Could it be...?
Lin Jiang transformed into a streak of light and flew straight into his own defensive tower, but the blind monk's kick sent him back instead.
audience:! ! !
Lin Jiang killed the person and safely returned to his starting point!
Akali's E skill has a first part that marks enemies and minions. In addition to marking opponents and minions, she can also mark her own smoke screen. After triggering the second part, she will turn into a stream of light and return to the marked point.
When Lin Jiang pressed the reverse E skill, everyone thought he was chasing down Tristana and dodging Lee Sin's Q!
Unexpectedly, there's a third layer of meaning!
That is to leave a mark to escape!
When Lin Jiang slayed the enemy's cannon amidst the crowd and gracefully returned to his starting point, he had already seized the high ground in this match!
The commentator didn't even notice that Lin Jiang's E could return; he simply analyzed, "River's reverse E was very well executed; Tristana can't escape now."
It wasn't until the second wave that he realized: "River's E was perfectly placed in the smoke, giving him a chance to escape! My god, Akali's play this time was absolutely godlike!"
Players who are good or bad at playing Akali are so excited right now that their scalps are tingling. This is not only a visual feast, but also a relentless whipping of the pinnacle of skill.
Lin Jiang satisfied almost all the viewers' desire for a thrill!
Those who once criticized him for his lack of entertainment value shut their mouths and turned into fans of Lin Jiang's skills. After all, the essence of humanity is to admire the strong!
After Lin Jiang escaped, the opposing team still wanted to push the tower to stop the damage.
Suddenly, Chenju slid up and unleashed the Holy Lance Baptism, forcing the opponent to retreat with a series of swift movements.
XIG suffered a crushing defeat in this push, while OT successfully secured the first tower in the top lane!
Song Zhixu's excited voice came through the earpiece: "Captain, did you see that? If I had been a little faster, I could have killed Hore again!"
Shen Ju couldn't help but retort, "You dare to show off your lousy skills in front of Lin Jiang?"
Song Zhixu was completely bewildered.
He was focused on pushing the tower and didn't see Lin Jiang's actions.
"What happened to the captain just now?"
Lin Jiang calmly replied, "I just killed someone."
Shen Ju and Zhou Wen, who watched the whole thing: ?
It was just killing someone—?
The pace of the game shifted wildly towards OT, and even with subpar mechanics, XIG suffered greatly against such a strong lineup.
The worst off is Hore. Not only does he have to sacrifice himself to get Kennen for the team, but he also gets dominated online by a noob like Song Zhixu.
What's most infuriating is that every time he flashes to initiate a team fight, he gets precisely caught by the enemy Nami!
Why is the enemy support always watching him?
Without a sound, without a trace, it was as if... they had disappeared from the competition field!
Hore felt a chill run down his spine at the thought. Before he could even verify his guess, the match was already over.
OT won the first game, taking the lead in the match point game.
XIG took a deep breath.
This is completely different from what they predicted...
In the second game, it was XIG's turn to choose sides. They chose the blue side, got a good lineup, and used the time difference in their operations to win the second game.
OT, who had never lost a game, finally lost one. After waiting for so long, the trolls who were criticizing them could finally go wild online.
But before they could celebrate for long, the match quickly moved to the third game.
In this game, OT has the right to choose sides and chooses the blue side.
The gears of fate turned once more.
With XIG seemingly on the verge of repeating the mistakes of the first game, the coach was in a real bind.
Lin Jiang's draft picks were amazing; they were practically tailor-made for them, or perhaps the lineup was originally prepared for them, which is why there wasn't a single flaw to be found...
Ultimately, the coach decided to place his bets on Hore, giving him Renekton as his first pick and Syndra, an AP carry, in the mid lane, hoping to change the situation.
At first, Hore lived up to expectations, defeating Song Zhixu in a series of retreats.
But they couldn't withstand Song Zhixu's Ornn gameplay.
His Ornn is perfect at withstanding pressure, thanks to the strong attacks from Lao Mao and Lin Jiang, which made him an impenetrable fortress.
Hore was two thousand gold ahead of him and couldn't do anything about it. In the mid-game, Song Zhixu did nothing but keep an eye on him. Hore's crocodile had to use Flash to enter the fray every time.
However, if you flash in, you'll get soaked by Zhou Wen again!
This creates a nightmarish vicious cycle.
Hore had only thought Shenju was very strong before, and had no impression of support. He never expected that Zhou Wen would be so powerful!
As for XIG's mid laner, Syndra, the only champion with AP damage, he was completely crushed by Lin Jiang in lane and couldn't deal any damage in the mid-game.
They suffered an even more crushing defeat in the third game than in the first.
Sometimes Hore even wondered if this was part of Lin Jiang's elaborate scheme...
Since things have come to this, there's no point in thinking about it anymore.
They had no choice but to humble themselves and accept their defeat.
With this victory, OT secured second place with a score of 4-0, and successfully pushed KUG down to fourth place!
KUG fans watching the match were so angry that they slammed their tables on the spot.
Screw that garbage KUG!
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