Red Temperature Warning!

Hiss—!

Hearing that, Scout's eyes widened like brass bells, heavy breaths blasting from his nostrils as his gaze burned with rage.

Red Temperature Value +145

How dare he?

How dare Chu Ran?

What gave him the right to speak to me like that?

Scout felt like he was about to spiral. He was going to post on Weibo and have his mom fans speak up for him!

Family, who understands this~

"You—"

"You what? Brother Ran is glad you want to carry the game, but Brother Ran really doesn't like your attitude. Understand?"

In an instant, everyone present in EDG's backstage area froze.

No, bro, did he eat explosives today? Why was he so pissed?

Seeing this, Meiko hurriedly tried to smooth things over. He tugged on Chu Ran's sleeve. "Brother Ran, forget it, forget it. Our comp today is still better suited to playing around mid and bot. Brother Rui Can didn't mean anything by it; his tone was just a little off."

"Isn't that right, Brother Rui Can?"

"You understand again."

Chu Ran's single sentence choked Meiko. What did he mean, I understand again?

Forget it. Tian Ye's eyes darted around, and he obediently chose to keep quiet.

Scout glared furiously at Chu Ran, his face gradually flushing red. At that moment, he was already thinking about how to call Mouse back.

At least Mouse listened to him obediently. Chu Ran was just a thorn in his side.

Back in the LCK, people like that didn't get fed.

Starve them for a few days, and they'd behave.

If the top laner didn't play tanks, where was Scout supposed to get a stage to carry?

"Then we'll see what they draft later. Watch their draft. Don't let this hurt team harmony." Nofe gave an awkward smile and hurriedly changed the subject.

Just then, the staff notified them it was time to go onstage.

Scout left the backstage first with Nofe, Zet, and the others. Meiko and Chu Ran walked at the very back.

"Brother Ran, why did you have to snap at Brother Rui Can for no reason? If he posts about it on Weibo, EDG might send you to the second team to avoid any backlash. You haven't even secured your starting spot on the main roster yet. Take your little brother's advice—Brother Rui Can's fans are even scarier than GSL. Brother Ran, you can't handle them."

"Let those wannabe moms come!"

"Even if I get bombarded by GSL and then blasted by those wannabe moms, I, Chu Ran, will still remain unmatched in this world."

Chu Ran shook his head noncommittally. He hadn't been deliberately targeting Scout, either.

First, Scout's attitude toward him had been bad. Second, Scout had a rebellious streak; this was Chu Ran helping EDG avoid risks in advance.

Third, Chu Ran had his own selfish motives. League of Legends was a team game, but due to certain butterfly effects, both Pawn and Scout were on EDG this year. So who would be the starting mid laner?

Chu Ran would have to work with one of them in more matches down the line, including Worlds and the Bird's Nest.

Chu Ran definitely hoped it would be Pawn. Scout was bound to become a traitor sooner or later anyway, and he'd even signed a letter of intent. Since he wanted to leave so badly, why not let him leave earlier?

"Six." Meiko gave Chu Ran a thumbs up. "So, are you playing a tank later?"

"We'll see. Against AJ, I can play anything. I don't even need smart cast against him. Oh, right—V me 50 yuan first."

"..."

"No money. I'm broke too."

"Fine, looks like I'll have to rely on myself."

Chu Ran sighed. Good thing he could still exploit bugs and use a smurf account to V himself money.

Watching Chu Ran's back view, Meiko stroked his chin and fell into thought.

How come he didn't have that effortless ability to show off?

Was this talent too?

Amid the host's cries, Chu Ran and the others took their seats in the Player Booth one after another.

Zhengtai Plaza was packed to the brim with countless Uzi Haters and GSL members. When Chu Ran appeared, many GSL members gnashed their teeth, wishing they could rush onto the stage and beat Chu Ran up right then.

Because of him, the title GSL had spread throughout the LPL overnight, leaving them all boiling with anger.

The popularity in livestream rooms across every platform soared wildly at that moment. The match hadn't even begun, yet countless bullet comments were already scrolling by.

Fucking smash Ran Chu, this fucking bastard!

AJ, if you can't beat Ran Chu, just retire already.

As long as AJ smashes Ran Chu today, when Little Dog wins a championship in the future, AJ will deserve one tenth of the credit.

Hurry up, This Lord has already prepared my essay. As long as AJ smashes Ran Chu, I'll immediately start a crusade to make EDG kick him out.

Fair enough. If he can't even beat a second-team top laner, what right does he have to sit in the main team's starting lineup?

His wins over Zz1tai and Jinoo were only because they weren't in good form. They weren't even taking it seriously.

Just as the bullet comments were in heated discussion, the camera shifted to the LPL commentary booth.

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to the on-site broadcast of IM versus EDG in the 2017 LPL Spring Split regular season. I'm commentator Miller."

"I'm commentator Wawa."

Suddenly, the camera gave Uzi a close-up. They found that Uzi had dressed up even more handsomely than last time, and he smiled as he greeted the camera.

"Hello, everyone. I'm guest commentator Uzi."

Miller smiled. "It's an honor to commentate another match with Little Dog today. This game between these two teams has plenty to watch as well. You could call it an internal EDG clash, and the biggest highlight will be the duel between the two top laners."

"Discussion online has been incredibly heated lately. Player Easy's ability is beyond doubt—he's very strong. But IM's top laner AJ is no slouch either. Last year, he led IM through three consecutive promotions, defeated 957, eliminated Team WE, and reached Worlds."

"Looking at their individual career records, I think Player AJ has the edge over Player Easy. After all, his Champion Pool is deeper and broader, while Player Easy hasn't shown us much of his Champion Pool."

After Miller finished, Uzi nodded with a smile. "That's right. Back when I was teammates with Player Easy, he wasn't actually quick at learning champions, nor was he particularly serious about it. I think as long as IM properly targets his Champion Pool today and opens a breakthrough through top lane, taking an easy 2-0 won't be a problem."

"Wow, it seems Little Dog knows quite a few secrets about Player Easy. Then without further ado, let's head straight into the first game's BP."

As Wawa's words fell, the BP Interface rapidly appeared before everyone.

Nofe lost the side-selection coin toss, and IM chose blue side.

At IM's Player Booth, Sun Dayong kept flipping through his notebook. "Ban Fiora, Maokai, and Nautilus. They'll ban Camille themselves. That way, Easy will have no champions left to play. The data says he rarely plays Poppy, so we can pick her instead of banning her. As for Jayce, he probably won't pick him."

"Ah, IM opens with three top-lane bans. That's going to make things very uncomfortable for Player Easy. EDG have banned Fizz, Rengar, and Camille. So what can Player Easy play now? Jayce? We've also seen—"

At that point, Miller suddenly felt a sharp gaze and instantly stopped, changing the subject.

"IM first-picks Poppy here. Good lord, they've basically locked down all of Player Easy's Champion Pool. EDG take Jhin and Kha'Zix, while IM take Orianna and Graves. What will EDG pick with their third selection?"

At EDG's Player Booth.

Nofe glanced through his notebook. "Zhiming, get Chu Ran Shen."

"Maybe not. I haven't played this champion much."

"Then what else can you play?" Nofe froze. Before Chu Ran could continue, he said, "Shen it is. You're playing a tank this game; mid and bot can carry. I'm the coach, and I have the final say in BP."

Before Chu Ran could speak, Scout's voice suddenly cut in.

"I think if you don't want to play it, then let someone else come. Plenty of people would be willing to come to EDG as a top laner and play tanks, like Ah Guang. Who can guarantee they know every champion? Don't people learn by playing them? Besides, if you can't even figure out a tank, what top lane are you playing?"

"If you don't want to play, just say so. Next game, I'll talk to the club."

Scout's tone was extremely forceful, making Chu Ran's anger surge.

Fuck, you Korean idiot. You haven't been in China long, yet you hadn't learned anything else, but you'd completely absorbed this domestic bullshit, huh?

You, Scout, wanted to be the team's tyrant?

Then I sure as hell wasn't going to indulge you.

If you asked me properly, I might still consider it.

Chu Ran raised an eyebrow. His stomach wasn't good; he couldn't stomach anything hard.

"Uh, Rui Can does have a point. How about Shen?"

"What point? The point that ignores the fact that I haven't played Shen much?"

"Not considering a player's Champion Pool during BP? I can't play Shen. Forget coach—if you were a damn animal, it still wouldn't work."

"You—" Nofe was instantly so furious that his nostrils flared. "Zhiming, lock Shen! Chu Ran, I think you've hit your rebellious phase."

Rebellious phase?

No, I was red-hot.

Warning one!

Chu Ran narrowed his eyes, his expression dark and his tone calm. "Zhao Zhiming, if you dare lock Shen for me, I'll dare make you pick Lucian Jungler for me next game."

"Oh, right, Lee Ye-chan. I almost forgot about you. If there's a game after that, I'll make you pick Soraka mid."

"It's fine. You said it yourself—if you don't know how, you can learn. If you don't pick it in a match, how will you learn?"

"If you can't even figure out Lucian Jungler or Soraka mid, what jungle are you playing? What mid lane are you playing? Go home and raise pigs!"

Red Temperature Value +231

Red Temperature Value +145

Feeling Chu Ran's intense emotions, Ale's hand, which had been about to lock Shen, suddenly stopped. Scout's face immediately turned liver-colored with rage, while Nofe was taken aback.

He didn't want Chu Ran to play another champion, but his mouth seemed beyond his control. "Then what do you want to play?"

"Renekton."

Everyone was stunned upon hearing that.

Renekton didn't have a very good matchup against Poppy. His E Skill dash was completely shut down by Poppy's Steadfast Presence.

That was practically a reverse-counter pick. Was he not treating AJ like a person at all?

Besides, they hadn't seen Chu Ran play much Renekton. Nofe was already screaming curses in his heart, but when he saw Chu Ran's expression, he instantly followed Chu Ran's lead and asked, "Uh... Renekton into Poppy, Little Ran, are you sure? Can you do it?"

Scout frowned, feeling extremely displeased, but why didn't he refute Chu Ran?

It felt like Chu Ran had cursed him.

Chu Ran rolled his neck, his tone brimming with confidence. "I'm decent. I know a little."

"Then Renekton it is."

Sure enough, Chu Ran glanced at Nofe and the others, thinking that red temperature warnings were still useful.

As time passed, both sides banned two more champions. IM finally locked Lucian and Braum, while EDG locked Alistar and Syndra, and both lineups emerged.

IM, blue side: Poppy top, Graves jungle, Orianna mid, Lucian and Braum bot.

EDG, red side: Renekton top, Kha'Zix jungle, Syndra mid, Jhin and Alistar bot.

Once these compositions were confirmed, the on-site audience and livestream viewers were all somewhat surprised. Then, intense discussion instantly erupted, with mockery and cries of shock ringing without end.

The director gave Chu Ran and AJ each a close-up of their faces.

AJ's lips moved slowly. Judging by his mouth movements, he seemed to be saying—"Is this guy sick? I picked Poppy, and he still dared to pick Renekton?"

On the other side, Chu Ran's expression remained calm as ever, with only the slightest curve at the corner of his mouth.

"Welcome to Summoner's Rift."

The next second, everyone spawned at the fountain.

Looking at Renekton holding his axe, and recalling Nofe's worried yet faintly angry gaze before leaving the stage, Chu Ran felt a twinge of emotion.

Who said Poppy countered Renekton?

He, Chu Ran, didn't accept that.

Then let AmazingJ experience some pain.