Solo

Lin Heng had spent nearly three years in limbo, and it was only this year that he had finally gotten a chance to play in the LPL.

He had raised his skills to their current level through hard work and the system, and had also undergone a very long period of training.

At his age now, Lin Heng was no longer as immature as he had once been.

He naturally understood that his parents had been thinking of his future, hoping he could have a good life someday.

He really did have talent for gaming, but of all the people who became professional players, who hadn't once been a young prodigy?

And of all those young prodigies, only five or six each year could claim that ultimate, most prestigious honor.

It wasn't an easy road, but Lin Heng had chosen to take it anyway.

Back in the S7 season, when ten-year-old Lin Heng first encountered League of Legends, what matches had he watched?

The sheer disbelief of a veteran powerhouse overturning a ten-thousand-gold deficit.

One man, one team, and the suffocating despair of Galio across five games.

A Flash into an ultimate, an arrow piercing the old dynasty and opening a new era through sheer daring.

And finally, there was the man who had wept at the Bird's Nest, turning to look at the trophy with unwillingness in his eyes.

Back then, Lin Heng had told himself that he wanted to become one of them.

He too wanted to shine on that stage filled with cheers and regrets.

To do so, he would work even harder than those prodigies.

Even after entering the esports scene and experiencing its cruelty and unpredictability, only two words remained in Lin Heng's heart.

No regrets.

Lin Heng, who was usually in excellent spirits, let out a long breath, a rare moment for him.

His warm breath turned to mist in the cold air outside, instantly cooling and vanishing without a trace.

But his blood was hot, and it would stay hot until he achieved his dream.

"Lin Heng."

Lin Heng turned and saw that TheShy had come looking for him. He quickly composed himself and said:

"Shy, what brings you out here?"

"I came to see you. You didn't come back for a long time. Worried something happened." TheShy's Chinese word order was a little jumbled, but his meaning was clear.

"I'm fine, Shy. Let's go back and eat." Lin Heng smiled and stood up.

"It's okay. You have very good talent. You'll definitely succeed someday. Keep it up!" TheShy said in somewhat halting Chinese, smiling as he encouraged him.

Although he didn't know exactly what problem Lin Heng was facing, professional players often fell into self-doubt before claiming that ultimate honor. No one was an exception.

Lin Heng put an arm around TheShy as they walked back inside, and also clenched his fist as he said encouragingly:

"Yeah, let's do it together."

That evening, after a brief review of the day's matches, Lin Heng and the others began their solo tournament as promised.

"Who's first?" Lin Heng sat in front of the computer, brimming with confidence.

"Me." Little Wei was the first to get up and give it a try.

Generally speaking, junglers were considered among the weaker solo players in the professional scene.

Many supports were even better at soloing than junglers.

Of course, there was no shortage of junglers with outstanding mechanics either.

"So, what champions are we soloing with?" Little Wei rubbed his hands together.

"Pick the one you're most confident with, preferably a really mechanically demanding champion," Lin Heng said.

"Damn, you're that cocky? Let's take Lee Sin mid, then. Ignite and Flash for both of us. First blood, first tower, or a hundred CS wins." Little Wei confidently locked in Lee Sin.

In terms of mechanics, Lee Sin really was one of the more demanding champions he knew how to play.

"Let's put something on the line." Lin Heng rummaged in his pocket for a while, then pulled out a half-full pack of cigarettes and slapped it on the table.

"Come on, you and Gao Zhenning are the only ones here who smoke." Little Wei laughed.

"Then the loser sends a hundred-yuan red packet to the group." Lin Heng put the cigarettes back in his pocket.

"Sure. Oh, who's afraid of who?" Wei said without a hint of hesitation.

Two minutes later, Little Wei sent a hundred-yuan red packet to their small group chat.

"No, no, that was way too easy. Hurry up and send someone good." Lin Heng taunted him as he claimed the red packet.

"Come on, Ning, you're a jungler too. Why don't you go next?"

"Look, it's just a hundred-yuan red packet, right? Here you go. I'm not going over there to get stomped." Ning sent a hundred-yuan red packet straight to the group.

"I'll try." This time it was their coach, Danny.

A minute later, Danny sent a hundred-yuan red packet to the group.

TheShy, Uzi, and Rookie looked at one another, and in the end, their captain Rookie was the first to step up.

Only once Rookie entered the fray did the solo tournament truly begin.

The two chose Zed for their solo.

In fact, when professional players soloed, there usually weren't any spectacular plays in the early game. It was all about the fundamentals.

They had to last-hit minions, chip away at each other's health, and move to dodge abilities all at once—the things commonly known as farming and trading.

Most of it was a psychological contest.

They played until level five. Lin Heng had the health advantage, but he was about ten CS behind.

Neither side chose to recall, however.

The moment Rookie hit level six first, he opened with his R, then used Ignite, an auto attack, and E as soon as he landed.

At that moment, Lin Heng also reached level six after last-hitting a minion.

Lin Heng answered with an auto attack and E of his own. The two actually traded another two or three auto attacks, neither making a rash move. Just as Rookie was about to reactivate R to return and then use Q—

Lin Heng seized the opportunity and immediately used his R.

He had been saving his R to dodge Rookie's double shuriken. With Zed, landing Q almost entirely determined whether he could burst down his opponent.

The instant Lin Heng landed, Rookie decisively used W twice to instantly put distance between them, but Lin Heng's move was fast too.

Almost simultaneously, he used W twice to follow Rookie.

He applied Ignite, then dealt damage with an E and an auto attack. At that moment, Rookie's Zed's ultimate detonated, bringing Lin Heng's Zed down to a little over three hundred health.

If Rookie waited for his next set of basic abilities to come off cooldown, he would still have a chance to outplay him. He only needed to Flash out of the way of Lin Heng's Zed's Q, but if it hit, he would most likely die.

Both held tightly onto their abilities. Lin Heng chased Rookie, landed another auto attack, then raised his hand to cast Q.

Rookie Flashed, and Lin Heng followed with his own Flash. The Q hit perfectly, and Lin Heng used an auto attack followed by R to return to his original position.

Q had a cast time, and Flash could be used to change the direction it fired in. The hardest part, however, was accurately following Rookie's Flash.

The ultimate detonated, and Rookie was slain.

"Damn, you could even react in time to follow my Flash?" Rookie was stunned.

The others had even thought Rookie would just lose a Flash in that exchange, and that the two would either have to rely on their mechanics in the next fight with both at critically low health, or both recall to restock and see how the second fight went.

But to their surprise, Lin Heng had used Flash almost at the same time as Rookie, landing that Q and auto attack on him.

"That was a prediction," TheShy said from behind them, where he had been watching.

Everyone looked at Lin Heng, seeking confirmation.

"It was a prediction. That spot was the safest place for Brother Ji to Flash. He wouldn't get hit by the shurikens from my R and W shadows there, and he'd still have a chance to fight back."

When Lin Heng finished, everyone present turned their eyes back to the screen and began discussing it in shock.

"Damn, can you really calculate that far ahead in this game?"