I Don't Play That

"I wasn't really planning to talk about things everyone already knows, but I think Shy and Uzi both played a little too much for the team in today's matches. I hope you two can play a little more selfishly."

Lin Heng looked at everyone with a serious, sincere expression.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Coach Danny immediately grew interested.

Lin Heng gathered his thoughts for a moment, then explained.

"For example, Shy rotated toward the dragon early several times. If he'd used that time to push a lane, I think he would have leveled up faster, and we could actually have won more easily. After all, both Rumble in the first game and Yone in the second were very capable of taking over in the mid and late game.

"Uzi goes without saying. You picked weak-side champions in both games. Are you weaker than the opponent? Why pick a weak-side champion every game?"

"Tch, say what you want, but quit stealing my meme," Ning said with a laugh.

"Heh, couldn't help myself." Lin Heng smiled, then continued.

"Of course, we all made the BP decisions together, but I think you need to be willing to pull out champions like Caitlyn, Lucian, Ezreal, and Ashe. Those are all champions you used to excel at, aren't they? I think they're all perfectly viable in this patch. And don't worry about support. As long as the other side dares to pick their bot lane first, I'll have an answer."

Then he looked at IG's three carries. "I know that if you were in your prime, you'd have a chance at the championship even with a dog tied to the support position. But what you're missing now compared to your prime isn't form. It's that fighting spirit—the drive to crush your opponent in lane.

"These past few days, every review and meeting has been about how to hold on and play for teamfights.

"Are TheShy, Rookie, and Uzi the kind of IDs that hold on and play for teamfights? From 2017 to 2019, if the three of you weren't up twenty or thirty CS at ten minutes, that would already have counted as losing lane. And now you want to farm safely against your opponents?

"If we don't even dare to draw our swords against a team like Anyone's Legend, whose laning was never that strong to begin with, then let's not even look too far ahead. What happens when we run into BLG in the LPL? If we get crushed in lane, how are we supposed to reach the late game?"

The others listened quietly as their youngest member, the support, offered his opinion. Not one of them argued.

When it came to drawing his sword, the kid really couldn't be faulted. He didn't stick to any particular champions, yet every pick he brought out produced very good results.

"This patch is all about laning, and that might be the theme for the whole year. I think we need to start finding our form again now."

Then he slowly added, "I don't think our goal is just the quarterfinals or semifinals. We should be aiming for the championship."

The training room fell silent for a full seven or eight seconds. Everyone stared at Lin Heng with complicated looks, as though remembering their past selves.

The young men who had once ruled their respective lanes.

Yes, they were a few years older. Maturity had taken away some of their youthful arrogance, leaving only countless distracting thoughts.

Will this comeback be just like before? Will public opinion close in on me, affect my teammates' mental state, and ultimately send me away in disgrace? Uzi had been asking himself that question ever since the day he decided to return.

The new generation of mid laners keeps getting better at laning. I'm getting older. Should I transition into a tempo-focused mid laner? Rookie, too, had been constantly hesitating and agonizing over it.

Will my aggressive playstyle become a weakness for the team again, one the opposition targets relentlessly? That was something TheShy had often considered over the past few years.

The three carries each pondered their own worries.

After a moment, Uzi spoke first.

"Yeah. Am I weaker than the opponent? Picking a weak-side AD every game... Starting tomorrow, we play for lane."

"Sure. Then can I play Nidalee?"

"The two balls and one lady are all playable this patch. I think we can pick them when it's appropriate."

"Damn, I hate it when you guys dither like this. Let me put it plainly: you're just a little older. Faker's thirty and he can still carry games, so why overthink it?" Ning, at least, didn't need anyone to give him a pep talk.

"I think Lin Heng has a very good understanding of the patch. We do need to play for lane, but BP is still my call, okay?" Danny cracked a joke at just the right moment.

Lin Heng had been with the team for over two months now and had played quite a few scrims. Everyone could see how he performed in games. IG's management had even worried that the treasure they'd picked up might leave when his one-year contract expired, and after he came off the stage today, they had spoken to him about raising his salary next year.

But Lin Heng had simply replied, "If I play well this year, of course you'll have to give me a raise next year. What, were you planning to get me for free?"

His unique understanding of the game sometimes left his four teammates struggling to keep up. When he brought out a strange champion as support, it wasn't just the opponents who had to adapt.

His teammates, too, sometimes found themselves scrambling to coordinate with Lin Heng.

But they could adapt to those things over the course of a few scrims, and by now, Lin Heng had begun to earn his teammates' trust.

Although Lin Heng rarely spoke during reviews, his teammates appreciated it when he encouraged everyone and hoped they would show the form they had in their heyday.

But everyone still had to clear away their own distracting thoughts. Whether it was pressure from outside or changes in their gaming habits, they needed to think things through more clearly themselves.

And so Lin Heng had said all he had to say.

After the tactical arrangements were made, everyone was free to do as they pleased, whether that meant playing ranked or doing some focused practice.

Just as Lin Heng opened the game to practice, his phone suddenly vibrated several times in a row.

Lin Heng checked WeChat on his phone. It was Shi Yue, whom he had added that afternoon.

"Are you there?"

"Want to play a few rounds of Arena together after practice?"

"There are four of us here, and we need one more."

Lin Heng's fingers flew across the screen.

"Sorry, I don't play that."

On the other side of the screen, Shi Yue seemed caught off guard by the answer. After a brief pause, Shi Yue replied.

"Didn't you say Arena was pretty fun this afternoon?"

Lin Heng quickly replied, "Oh, oh, you meant Arena?"

On the other end, Shi Yue froze for a moment, then scrolled back to check the message just sent. Realization dawned, and after smacking their lips, Shi Yue replied:

"?"

"?"

"???"

"Just kidding. I still have to do a review in a bit. You guys go ahead." After that final reply, Lin Heng put his phone away and started playing ranked.

Uzi, sitting nearby, saw Lin Heng solo queueing and switching between top, jungle, mid, and AD, playing each for a game but never touching support. Curious, he leaned over and asked:

"Damn, are you trying to steal our jobs?"