You Call This 'Steady'?

Of course, he definitely hadn't replied to the message.

Young people these days rarely weren't afraid of marriage and having children. Especially marriage. Before getting married, only your mother controlled you; after getting married, there was another woman controlling you. And those two women would fight over control of you, forcing you to pick a side, tempering your will, developing your adaptability and side-picking skills, turning you into a socially polished master who could remain undefeated in the modern workplace.

Sounds great, doesn't it?

But had anyone paid attention to how long it had been since their married friends had happily queued up for games with them or gone out drinking? What they gained was maturity, but what they sacrificed was happiness!

Luo Zhen was only 18 Years Old. With boundless prospects ahead of him, all he wanted was to make money. As for dating and then stepping one foot into the grave of marriage, he had never even considered it.

"What's wrong, Xiao Zhen? Didn't sleep well last night?" The aged Karsa spotted the dark circles under Luo Zhen's eyes at a glance, hooked an arm around his neck, and teased him with a laugh.

"Let go... Brother Ka, I can't breathe anymore. Help!" Luo Zhen gradually began to suffocate. Although he had successfully joined an LPL team, his difficult years of scraping by, combined with the meager income in the LDL, meant that his body had received no proper nutritional support in the past two years.

Put simply, he was a little weak. He couldn't take it.

"Come on, you're a grown man. Why are you so frail? Don't tell me some girl in the LDL drained you dry?"

"Does Not Exist. It's just that I didn't pay attention to my living conditions before, so I got pretty skinny. Just wait. Once I have ten mana points... ah, no, once I get next month's paycheck, I'll definitely return to my peak within three months!"

While the V5 players were still joking with one another, the Top Four match officially began on the other side.

The closer they got to the finals, the more Audience members would click into this half-entertainment, half-serious tournament.

They're here! Waiting for Xiang Zhangmen versus Little Uzi!

What bot lane? Xiang Zhangmen picked a genius from the seven talents of the initiation ceremony. V5's guy is what's left after sixteen straight losses. The gap is way too huge.

Even if he can't personally kill the traitor, killing the Opponent who killed the traitor can barely count as killing the traitor. (laugh)

This is really going to be the League of Sadness showdown. Food's here!

Just when Luo Zhen thought he had adjusted everything and could face the match with Full Effort—

FPX appeared.

Walking with steps like an alien's, his thick eyebrows as striking as Crayon Shin-chan's, the moment LWX led FPX onto the stage, Luo Zhen felt an indescribable sense of comedy.

Of course, that wasn't the point.

The important thing was... he actually sensed a murderous aura from the FPX group.

The joking chatter in their headsets immediately stopped.

The V5 group stared fixedly at the five FPX players walking toward the other side, their expressions gradually turning grave.

"What terrifying morale."

Karsa's expression was clearly one of disbelief. Hadn't FPX merely gone through a simple rebuild? Why were the entire team's morale and fighting spirit so terrifying?

Could it be because LWX had gone dark?

"I remember that before the Demacia Cup, nobody in the LPL was optimistic about FPX's rebuild." PPGOD chimed in. He could roughly guess how Everyone in FPX was feeling right now.

Compared to them, the current FPX obviously looked more like the so-called "Avengers."

"So they came to slap the Audience in the face?"

"More or less. Maybe we're one of the targets they want to slap in the face, especially since we stole one of his chances for revenge."

Hong Mi stood silently behind them, watching his players converse while their morale quietly rose.

That was right.

They had reached the Semifinals. Even if it was the Demacia Cup, they still needed to get serious.

The reason he said nothing now was because he knew that no words could be more useful than directly witnessing their Opponent's condition. FPX saw V5 as a Stepping Stone for slapping the Audience in the face, but didn't V5 also see their Opponent as a whetstone?

PS: A little trivia—the First game of the Original World's Demacia Cup BO1 used blind pick rules. They were removed here for plot purposes.

"The First game is crucial. Rookie and Karsa aren't in particularly good form, so we need to go all out from the start and help them warm up as much as possible. Then... crush their Upper Area in one go!"

Old versus new meant directly striking at the Opponent's weakness.

Hong Mi was a coach who valued results above all else. He would not give Luo Zhen even the slightest extra favor beyond BP just to train him. He would only choose the lineup with the higher chance to Win the game. So in the First game, Luo Zhen's responsibility was still to Resist Pressure, hold steady, and wait for an opportunity!

It was worth mentioning that the Demacia Cup format was rather special.

First Ban Phase:

FPX: LeBlanc, Lee Sin, Xin Zhao

V5: Caitlyn, Aphelios, Renekton

It was worth mentioning that in the Demacia Cup patch, Jinx, Caitlyn, and Moon Man were all Hotly Sought After Big Carry ADCs. Hong Mi knew that LWX was currently in a rampaging state, yet he still chose to leave Jinx open and see whether they would take her.

First, Jinx had low Early to Mid Game damage and a long development cycle. Second, even with a Three Item Set, she couldn't have much impact on the overall situation. She needed at least Four Items. Picking her would undoubtedly extend the Opponent's Take Over the Game timing, unless their Support picked a Soft Support.

But if Hang picked a Soft Support, FPX would fall completely into the trap. Without Hang's inspired Early to Mid Game Roam Ability, FPX's Combat Power would drop by at least thirty percent.

But would FPX take her if V5 left her open?

They definitely would.

First Pick Phase:

FPX: Jinx (First Pick) + Thresh, Viktor

V5: Jarvan IV, Rakan (First Two Picks) + Jhin

There was a false premise often discussed on the Pro Scene. Many people watching games wondered why, when you knew the Opponent's Support had picked Thresh, you would still pick Jarvan IV, whose double combo could be interrupted by Thresh's E skill.

The reason was simple.

By the end of S11, there was no Jungler better suited for hard engage than Jarvan IV, especially when the Opponent's Big Carry was an immobile ADC like Jinx.

You didn't avoid picking a Hero just because one particular skill from one particular Hero could counter it. If that logic were followed, then during the S11 World Championship, once either side first-picked Poppy, wouldn't the other side have no Heroes left to pick? After all, Meta Heroes were all mobility monsters.

Second Ban Phase: Trundle, Jayce, Galio, and Twisted Fate were all sent away together.

For the Fourth Pick, Common Sense said V5 should have added another engager, but Hong Mi directly changed things up with his Fourth Pick.

Mid Laner Corki.

At the tail end of S11, in the season's final carnival, no Player who had experienced that era could forget Mid Laner Corki's rampage. He was the most terrifying late-game Big Carry in mid lane. Apart from his short range and slightly weaker damage in the early game, his late-game damage, POKE, and teamfight initiation were flawless.

Of course, against Viktor, there was no issue of weak early damage.

Mid lane was about Lane Control.

Before Viktor upgraded his E skill, what Clear Wave speed did he have? What Clear Wave speed did Corki have early on? That wasn't something Viktor could even compare himself to.

For the final two picks, Beichuan had no physical-damage Heroes he was proficient with left, so he could only Souha Viego, then add Kennen as the Fifth Pick. Kennen was one of the top laners Blue Side could pick that was least afraid of being counterpicked by Red Side on the fifth slot. At least he was playable.

At the fifth slot, they naturally had to pick a counter.

Against Kennen, there was Gragas's rogue playstyle, Aatrox's hidden-minion playstyle, the family-tree-soaring long-range AD style, the Top Laner Four Sisters' close-range invincible playstyle—Fiora excluded—and even the getting-beaten, Resist Pressure playstyle that linked into the Malphite LAN.

Considering the patch, Hong Mi ultimately chose a plain and simple Camille. The three great engagers were ready.

At this point—

FPX: Top Laner Kennen, Jungle Viego, Mid Lane Viktor, Bot Lane Jinx + Thresh

V5: Top Lane Camille, Jungler Jarvan IV, Mid Laner Corki, Bot Lane Jhin + Rakan

The match began.

Playing AD, the Most Important Thing Is Knowing How to Play Passive

Once they entered the game, the same rule applied: regardless of position, they first had to understand both junglers' pathing priority.

Jarvan IV was relatively weak at level 3, while Viego was the Strongest at level 3. The Opponent was therefore very likely to invade, so V5 needed to mirror the opening as much as possible, unless mid lane could reliably secure Lane Control.

Thus, V5's strategy was to ward their own F6, have their Jungler go Red-Blue-Frog Consort for a Level 3 opening, then make plays depending on the situation. If the Opponent invaded, they would counter-jungle or GANK. If the Opponent didn't invade, they would GANK or farm. Their game plan had to be clear first.

Following that logic meant bot lane absolutely could not Push Lane early, and they had to avoid Trading Blows with the Opponent as much as possible, lest the enemy jungler invade their jungle and then catch the scent before running straight to bot lane for a Tower dive.

See? That was the helplessness of ADCs in the S11 patch.

Everyone across the entire map had ideas about you, while only a few Heroes could build an entire strategy around the AD position. With Ban Slots targeted even slightly, you could only pick these utility Heroes. Scum, in other words.

There was little to say about the level-one lane. With 550 range against 525 range, at least holding the wave even wasn't a problem. He only needed to mind his positioning and watch out for Thresh, but PPGOD would naturally handle dealing with that thing early on.

That was how range worked: one inch longer, one inch stronger; one inch shorter, one inch more dangerous.

Of course, hardness was the most important thing.

Of course, that was all nonsense. In reality, thickness mattered a lot too.

On the Pro Scene, neither side would usually run into trouble at level one with these compositions. But Support players in Ranked Match should Pay Attention: if you find that your AD is hitting people instead of minions at level one, you can already prepare to abandon bot lane and roam the entire map. PS: Below Gold, pretend I said nothing.

The first three waves of avoiding battle made FPX realize Something's Wrong with V5 bot lane.

Wasn't he supposed to be a new ADC?

Why was This Guy playing so steadily? Hadn't he gone in with Kaisa and flown into five people in the previous round? Where the hell had the courage from your last match gone?

For a moment, they even felt as though two defensive towers were guarding the Opponent's outer bot lane turret.

LWX and Hang were disgusted.

They had prepared to feign weakness, intending to lure the Opponent's bot lane into pushing or fighting. Either choice would benefit them. To that end, LWX had even deliberately missed two minions.

But that was exactly what made it brilliant.

When LWX missed minions, Luo Zhen missed them too. Right then, his mind was as clear as a mirror. He simply didn't believe LWX's bad intentions.

Seriously.

If it had been minion waves after levels three or four, then missing some was believable. Luo Zhen would have believed it, because no ADC could maintain High Intensity focus for an entire game. Slips were inevitable. But in these first three waves, the gold from every single Soldier could determine whether you got one more Component Items piece or basic item than the Opponent early on. You were missing CS at this time, and you were the darkened version of LWX. Did you take me for an Idiot?

If the Opponent insisted on pulling more flashy stunts, Luo Zhen could only say, "The era of ruthless tricks is over. Go to Shenyang Street. I hid everything there."

Then he would continue perfectly copying the missed CS at a one-to-one ratio. Some minions really were difficult for Jhin to last-hit, so he was actually happy to see this happen.

This time, LWX and Hang couldn't hold back anymore.

Since you wouldn't push or engage, then we'll Push Lane. Jinx activated Cannon Form and immediately prepared to shove the Bot Lane Minion Wave.

But just as he made his move, the Opponent's Jhin suddenly began clearing the wave as well.

LWX: ???

Like he said, when playing AD and choosing to Play Passive, the important thing was knowing how to Play Passive properly.

Not fighting or pushing before level three was a choice to avoid getting GANKed or dove in bot lane. It was a form of admitting defeat.

But if you neither fought nor pushed and allowed the Opponent to shove the wave under your tower, the problem became serious, because you also had to watch mid lane.

Corki against Viktor, with Rookie against Gori, would definitely secure Lane Control early. That was precisely the problem. If bot lane got shoved under tower, the Opponent's AD could recall, Update Equipment, and return to lane. During that time, the AD would be completely safe, leaving the Support free to GANK Corki in mid.

Then the Jungler would come down from above while the Support came up from below. Three people would GANK one Corki. Even if they didn't get a kill, they could force Rookie's Flash, and Rookie's early laning rhythm would directly Collapse.

Therefore—

Pushing the wave out meant waiting to die. Letting the wave get shoved under tower meant Acting Up. Controlling the wave in a relatively safe position while keeping their HP healthy was the core of stabilizing the situation. If Hong Mi hadn't seized Luo Zhen recently and given him intensive lessons, he would never have imagined that the tiny matter of the Bot Lane Minion Wave could affect so many things.

This move to balance the minion wave left several coaches watching below the stage stunned.

"Quick, change his label back to steady ADC."

"But he went one-versus-five with Kaisa last round."

"That was just an occasional Burst State. A player who can kite the wave so rationally can't possibly be an aggressive ADC like JKL. You must have evaluated him wrong before."

At the head coach's instruction, the Assistant Coach group scribbled and revised the information in their notebooks, eventually changing Luo Zhen's style back to steady.

At the same time, they could not stop marveling at Hong Mi's strength.

Luo Zhen's LDL record was public, and Everyone knew what kind of player This Guy had been. As for why he had become like this now, it was undoubtedly Hong Mi's doing.

As for how he had done it...

To be this efficient, perhaps he had used the legendary Five Copper Method:

Purple copper: pure copper

Bronze: an alloy of copper and tin or lead

Brass: an alloy of copper and zinc

White copper: an alloy of copper and nickel

Male copper: those who know, know.

These days, you couldn't Play Professionally without some EQ.