With the blessings of two full rows of buffs, Luo Zhen was already fearless.
The most plain and unadorned American Iaido sent Renekton and Viego kneeling on the spot. The ultra-long-range Barrett he pulled from between his legs made LWX's Jinx's scalp instantly tingle.
The damage was too high.
Caitlyn's damage at four items was terrifying. Right now, he held four god-tier items—Kraken Slayer, Infinity Edge, Serylda's Grudge, and Lulu—while also carrying equipment crafted for him by Ornn, plus the extra 100 range from Lethal Tempo.
A war machine with 750 range and the ability to deal intense, sustained damage was a literal war machine on this side of the Rift.
FPX began to collapse.
Holy shit, that Caitlyn was insane.
No, how did he manage to be timid as a mouse in lane but fierce as a tiger in team fights? Is that how an ADC charges in?
An Engage ADC? This wasn't Little Uzi—this was clearly Little JKL.
Damn, V5 really struck gold.
The viewers with God's perspective didn't care about the overall strength of both teams' players. From their perspective, all they saw was Caitlyn charging forward without hesitation and then unleashing insane damage. As for FPX's LWX, although his damage was equally fierce, the gap between their frontlines was simply too great.
Renekton and Viego couldn't withstand more than a few rounds from Caitlyn, while Trundle and Ornn could tank Jinx for a long time.
What did that prove?
Bigger ones really did perform better in actual combat, so there was a reason men generally pursued bigger ones. ()
0 for 3 in one wave.
After chasing down the enemy support who had stayed behind, V5 rode the momentum to take Baron Nashor in one push, completely securing victory in this game.
After that came Caitlyn's time to ride in their faces and farm KDA.
Though the situation was utterly despairing for LWX, that was simply what competition entailed. The team he led had been nearly hollowed out—four rookies and one Dean. If there had been even one more veteran to share the pressure with him, he wouldn't have had such a hard time.
But that was reality.
In terms of fighting spirit, the other side was also an Avengers lineup.
In terms of big names, they had two Star Players.
In terms of tactics, how many coaches in the entire LPL were stronger than Hong Mi?
The all-around crush that followed brought a nearly one-sided slaughter.
The crystal was collapsing, and the Soldiers were wailing. In the past, even when the team faced such a massive disadvantage, there would surely have been someone as noisy as a stubborn monkey chattering away, encouraging everyone not to give up. But now... Team voice chat was Dead Silence, as if the game had already reached its end.
LWX said nothing. He resolutely controlled Jinx and charged forward.
Until... he personally witnessed the crystal's destruction.
3:1
When the final score appeared before LWX, only confusion remained in his eyes.
If FPX's player booth was silent, then V5's side was an entirely different scene.
For a moment, Luo Zhen nearly jumped out of his chair in excitement. But reason quickly overcame his impulse, allowing him to complete the transition from excitement—to calmness—to picking up his cup for a drink in the shortest possible time.
One word: act!
Act the hell out of it!
"Holy shit, was that necessary? You only won a Demacia Cup semifinal."
PPGOD couldn't stand watching anymore. Though he was also genuinely delighted, since this Demacia Cup might be a good chance to wash away his record of sixteen straight losses, the contrast became obvious when he excitedly jumped to his feet and saw his own ADC beside him wearing the calm, worldly expression of an expert who had seen it all.
It just made him look pathetic.
"What do you mean, was that necessary? We only won one game. Did Brother Yijin and Brother Ka react as strongly as you did?" As he spoke, Luo Zhen dragged Mid-Jungle over to use them as shields.
That scene made both Mid-Jungle players laugh. Only Rich said he didn't quite understand, looking utterly lost and able only to laugh along foolishly.
Of course, that couldn't be blamed on the Korean imports. Mandarin was genuinely difficult for foreigners to learn. And if the person teaching them had an accent, it became even more ridiculous. Yes, that meant the dialects of Guangxi, Northeast China, Tianjin, and Sichuan.
During college, if a dorm had more than one person from those four places, they could warp the entire dorm's Mandarin accent within a semester.
"Alright, alright. Get ready. You should be the one doing the interview later." Karsa was in an excellent mood. As a jungler who had just left TES, less than a month had passed, and he was already preparing to meet his former teammates again at the Demacia Cup.
Just thinking about the possibility of slapping them in the face made his blood boil.
Of course, that was assuming TES advanced from the other semifinal. But judging from the players fielded by both sides, he simply couldn't imagine TES losing.
"Huh? Me?"
Luo Zhen pointed at himself with a puzzled look. Logically, shouldn't an interview like this be handled by Rookie or Karsa? The others on the team weren't even in the same league as those two in terms of fame. No matter how he thought about it, it shouldn't have been his turn.
"Who else? In the last game, you nearly got everyone pregnant with your auto attacks. If not you, then who? Hurry up. Go over your words in your head first, and be careful not to say something wrong and get flamed the moment you come down."
"Oh, okay."
Though he didn't really understand how they decided such things, Luo Zhen obediently appeared before the interview booth in the end.
By the end of S11, LPL interviews had become very standardized.
Every question was reviewed against a script beforehand, all to prevent players from improvising some massive controversy and avoid unnecessary trouble. It made Luo Zhen breathe a sigh of relief, but he couldn't help feeling somewhat disappointed.
What a pity... He had wanted to make some big waves.
"And the final question." Just as he fell into thought, the interview segment slowly reached its last step. "Facing so many top-tier bot lanes right at the start of your career, is there anything special you'd like to say?"
"Something special... I actually studied some art before." Luo Zhen rested his chin on his hand, having thought of a rather good piece of news.
"Oh? Is there some special meaning behind that?"
"There is, actually. This year, Vienna, Austria Academy of Fine Arts had only one applicant rejected, just like more than a hundred years ago."
"Huh? And?" Luo Xin, conducting the interview, was somewhat dumbfounded. For a moment, she couldn't grasp the hidden implication of his words.
"No, that's all I wanted to say. Thank you."
Live Room Bullet Comments: ???
Chapter Thirty-Five: Also Known as Jail Time
After acting cool at the interview booth, Luo Zhen fled absurdly fast.
Seriously.
He could only fool a Female Host with relatively limited knowledge like Luo Xin. If it had been a highly educated person like Xi Ran who caught him pulling something like that, she might have ripped off the top of his skull on the spot.
Of course, after acting cool, he could also foresee the controversy tonight.
Though he could predict that many people would mock him, he was young. Without a little arrogance, could one still call oneself young? Not to mention he was a transmigrator.
What he wanted was confidence. What he wanted was madness!
However, just as Luo Zhen was about to rush back to the lounge and share his joy with the coach, he ran straight into the opponent from the previous game around a backstage corner: LWX.
Luo Zhen:!!!
"Brother Xiang... good evening."
Seriously.
Back in his Previous Life as a viewer, he had fantasized countless times that if he ever became famous, he'd have Black Chicken Pot under his left foot and JackeyLove under his right. LWX, Viper, Gala—those people would all have to stand behind him and eat dust.
But when he truly met LWX face-to-face, and it was the darkened version of him at that, he suddenly chickened out.
Mainly because those thick eyebrows were incredibly intimidating when LWX wasn't smiling. And hadn't he been underfed these past two years, leaving his body underdeveloped? Luo Zhen compared them in his heart and felt like he probably couldn't win in a fight.
Of course, LWX didn't make a move. He merely frowned and stared at Luo Zhen carefully for a long while before muttering something.
"Don't panic. I just came to take a look."
"Huh?"
"I'm done looking. I'm leaving."
With that, he directly assumed the posture of someone about to Yo-yo away, leaving Luo Zhen utterly confused.
What was this, a zoo visit? He had specifically come over just to see what he looked like?
"Oh, right." As if recalling something, LWX turned back to look at where Luo Zhen stood. "Since you've already beaten me and LNG, do me a favor in the finals too."
"Huh?"
"Though I also think the chances aren't high, I think you've probably almost found that door already, right? If so, maybe you can give them a little surprise at a critical moment."
"?"
"Don't stand there looking completely lost, like some idiot. Add me on WeChat first. Once you get back, finish your review, and have free time, remember to call me. I'll give you some Specialized Training."
"???"
Even after watching LWX's back disappear, Luo Zhen still couldn't figure out what had just happened. He only stared at the new WeChat contact in his account, his thoughts somewhat scattered.
Had he... really become an Avenger?
V5's advancement in the Demacia Cup sparked a huge response on the very night the match ended. After all, for the many Amusement Seekers, watching a Pinxi xi team rise through picking up scraps was indeed a great source of fun.
Of course, there was something even more important: this group from V5 generally had rather good public appeal.
Karsa had always been mild-mannered, Rookie was an old-school nice guy in esports, and the other three unfamiliar rookies didn't leave much of an impression on public opinion. But add the tragic backstories of all five people together, and they naturally attracted casual viewers.
Well, the most important thing was that this team's fans had no conflicts whatsoever with the fans of other teams.
Because V5 simply had no fans.
If they could still have diehard fans after sixteen straight losses, every single one of them would absolutely be hardcore Amusement Seekers.
"Quick, Xiao Zhen, have you checked the internet? You seem to have gotten a little famous."
The moment they returned to the lounge, Karsa cheerfully handed his phone to Luo Zhen. Never mind how many teammates' thighs he had hugged against FPX; just the fact that he could play cautiously in lane and dared to Charge Forward when behind proved that his floor wouldn't be too low.
At this point, most evaluations of Luo Zhen were that his future was promising.
Well, though the phrase "future is promising" carried somewhat negative connotations in the LPL, it was still generally a positive evaluation.
"I know. I casually opened the app just now, and the notification sounds nearly blew me up."
"Then you need to be careful. Don't fall for the tricks of those female Demons."
Karsa's words carried a clear implication. For an ADC with such boundless potential, he could imagine with his toes how many internet celebrities were now eyeing Luo Zhen like a tree to cling to. After all, he had been through the same thing.
And he hadn't been able to resist either.
"Don't worry, Brother Ka. Your little brother here hasn't dated much, but I know quite a bit about cars. I know that many cars may not have official registration, yet already have temporary plates, have been taken on the highway countless times, and test-driven by several people. These days, test drivers aren't in short supply. What's scarce are people willing to pay after the test drive. Turbocharging isn't scary—the scary thing is direct injection."
Luo Zhen's speech instantly rendered Karsa speechless.
"I used to hear people say that if you have relationship problems, you should ask a single person for advice. I thought people online were joking, but after hearing you talk, I suddenly believe it a little."
"???"
After a brief chat came the post-match review. As the absolute core of today's fourth game, Luo Zhen's performance truly surprised Hong Mi.
Well, not because he had played too well.
It was because even after they had established bot lane as the core, Luo Zhen could still proactively cooperate with the jungler and play cautiously in the early game.
That sounded simple enough, but think about seventeen- or eighteen-year-olds. Which new player didn't want to show off the moment they debuted and took the stage? Once they went solo, they were utterly unreasonable.
But Hong Mi never expected that Luo Zhen was a transmigrator. He had skipped the rebellious phase entirely.
Bai Seyueya would have called him a true insider.
Of course, after the praise came plenty of criticism. As a rookie, Luo Zhen had many small mistakes too. If LWX hadn't picked Jinx in the final game, had poor coordination with his support, and been outmaneuvered in draft, their bot lane might not necessarily have had an easy time in that fourth game.
Since they were the first team to play in the semifinals, after facing FPX today, TES would play IG in a semifinal tomorrow. That meant they had a full day off as a buffer, while the team that won on the other side would have to play Back Against Back.
There were pros and cons to each.
The advantage was that V5 could analyze the Champion Pool of whichever team won TES versus IG, making it easier for Hong Mi to break down the draft.
The disadvantage...
Back Against Back meant their form would carry over. They were very likely to face TES or IG at their peak.
Rookie and Karsa were both eagerly waiting.
If IG advanced, Rookie could get his revenge; if TES advanced, Karsa could slap them in the face. Either way, there would be something to enjoy.
Before you continue